Well, well, well. We meet again, Blooper. After the Phillies rocked Atlanta in the 2022 NLDS with bat spikes aplenty, a rivalry was renewed between these two teams that hasn’t been seen, really since 2011.
When the Fightins knocked off the Braves yet again the following fall in a series that featured Phillies home run after Phillies home run, the Phils began to own this franchise, their dumb mascot and, for a brief second, it felt like the whole baseball world.
Last season saw the Phillies win their first divisional crown in seemingly forever too, ending Atlanta’s six-year run as top dogs in the NL East.
Fast forward to spring 2025 and the Braves are a disaster.
On Wednesday evening, they surrendered a walk-off homer to Shohei Ohtani out in L.A., dropping their record to a putrid 0-7. No one team has ever made the postseason after starting their season on a seven-game losing streak, per baseball-reference. Unfortunately, a playoff smackdown of Blooper and the boys feels out of right at this point. Those were so much fun, right?
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Sure, Atlanta has drawn the wrath of the schedule gods to begin the year. They had back-to-back road series out West against a Padres team with serious talent and playoff aspirations and then a three-game set with a Dodgers team that already has the makings of one of the greatest regular season teams ever.
Things are bad though.
Jurickson Profar got popped on a steroid suspension after signing a three-year contract worth $42 million this offseason. I’d note that Profar would be ineligible to play in the postseason even when he returns from the 80-game suspension, but I don’t think he and Atlanta will have to worry about that one!
Reigning NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale has been rocked for six earned runs in 10 innings of work. Matt Olson is hitting .182. Could cry baby manager Brian Snitker be on the hot seat, too?
The Phillies have taken care of business so far in 2025, winning their first two series, albeit against lowly competition. Maybe the Dodgers will humble them as they did Atlanta when L.A. hits Citizens Bank Park this weekend, but it still wouldn’t be as bad as the hell the Braves currently inhabit.
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