The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets are currently tied atop the NL East standings at 97-58, and something will have to give in Atlanta this weekend with a three-game series scheduled between the two division rivals.
But just as we’ve seen with the NFL and Hurricane Ian, the Braves, Mets and MLB were looking for ways to make sure these games get played. There was one idea, though, that the Braves were absolutely not willing to consider:
Playing the game on Thursday.
Both the Braves and Mets are idle on Thursday ahead of the crucial series, so they could have theoretically made it work. Yet, the Braves were not willing to start the series a day early, and from a baseball standpoint, that seems to be a smart call by Atlanta.
Mets were willing to move today’s game to 4 p.m. and then play tomorrow night in Atlanta, ahead of the weather. The Braves declined.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) September 28, 2022
The Braves have had one off day since their Sept. 9 road series in Seattle, and Thursday was supposed to be a much-needed break ahead of the huge series.
The Mets, on the other hand, have already been off twice in the past week. Thursday would be their third off day in eight days. So, by proposing a schedule change for Thursday, the Mets would have seen the Braves potentially playing for the division title on no rest.
With Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer both scheduled to pitch in the series, there was no way the Braves were accepting that offer — especially now that forecasts show Atlanta getting mostly spared by the storm’s remnants.
If roles were reversed, the Mets would have said the same thing. Still, fans enjoyed calling out the gamesmanship from both teams.