Chipper Jones has no illusions that the Braves are going to catch the Phillies in the NL East ? he rules that possibility out ? but he thinks the Braves stack up pretty well with them overall and is hoping the teams meet in the playoffs:
?The only team that can really put any pressure on them and beat them somewhat is us. And I hope we get them head-to-head in the postseason. If we get them head-to-head, we like our chances. We?ve beaten their big three. I?m not sure if any other team in baseball has beaten their big three. They?re a great ballclub, don?t get me wrong. But we?re not scared of them. It?s going to be a knock down, drag out [fight].?
I think playoff predictions are kind of silly. Every team ? even the best teams ? play three or four lackluster games in a row several times a season and every team ? even flawed ones ? play three or four awesome games in a row several times a year. ?If those things line up just right (or wrong) in a series in October we tend to read more into it than we should. Which is understandable because of the stakes involved and the significance of the victory after the fact.?But it?s not like one can predict that kind of thing.
So, yeah, if the Braves meet the Phillies in the NLCS there is a chance they could beat them. If you put a gun to my head and make me pick a winner I say it?s the Phillies because I have a hard time seeing how anyone can beat Halladay, Lee and Hamels the?requisite?number of times to advance past them. But of course?there is a chance anyone can beat anyone in a short series, so that?s not worth a ton.
And given the Braves? postseason experiences over the course of his career, Chipper Jones knows that inferior teams can easily beat superior teams at any time because the playoffs are just crazy and unpredictable like that. Indeed, he knows that better than any active player in baseball.?Which makes me think that ? wait for it ? he?s just trying to mess with Phillies fans, much the way he messed with Mets fans for years.
Imagine that. A Braves partisan baiting Phillies fans. ?That?s unpossible!
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