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5 Reasons Why the Atlanta Braves Will Compete for Playoffs in 2017

By Alan Carpenter

Mar 6, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; The Atlanta Braves scoreboard featuring a new countdown clock during the inning of a spring training baseball game at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; The Atlanta Braves scoreboard featuring a new countdown clock during the inning of a spring training baseball game at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 17, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte (11) and center fielder Mallex Smith (17) celebrate a victory with teammates against the Washington Nationals at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Nationals 7-3. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte (11) and center fielder Mallex Smith (17) celebrate a victory with teammates against the Washington Nationals at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Nationals 7-3. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

As the 2016 season wraps up this weekend, many are already talking about how the Braves have a chance to be a competitive .500 club next year.  I like to describe people like that as “pessimists”.

The Atlanta Braves are no longer in the math of the ‘Small Sample Size’.  What this team has been doing since July is shocking – particularly since no one saw it coming after a start of 0-9 and then 4-17.

The early season went from Fredi Gonzalez marking time to play out the season with a ‘gap filler’ lineup, to daily calls for his ouster, to a day-by-day twisting in the wind until he was finally cut loose on May 17th (that news broken first by Delta Airlines).

Brian Snitker, has gone from long-time AAA Manager and Braves organizational coach to Interim Manager and now suddenly the odds-on favorite to lose that Interim tag at some point in November.  What a turn-around.

Some have already written that it’s not 2017, but 2018 that the team and the Front Office are looking at before being anything resembling a force to contend with.

To that, I say:  “Nay, nay.” 

Here are the reasons…

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