Braves Skipper Sends Warning to Philadelphia Phillies Amid NL East Race

The Atlanta Braves head coach has no plans of being a Wild Card team, sending a message to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Jun 14, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker (43) in the dugout against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second inning at Truist Park. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies have an impressive eight-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the National League East. A season ago, the Phillies found themselves in a similar position to their longtime rivals.

In fact, both teams are essentially doing the opposite of what they were a year ago.

Philadelphia dealt with injuries, and now the Braves have dealt with them. Similar to how Atlanta took advantage and built a lead in the division, the Phillies are doing the same thing.

Eight games seem big, and it is, but crazier has happened. There's still more than 90 games left in the season, and if they have a stretch where they even go 3-7 over a 10 game span, the Braves could be right in the mix to win the division.

If things stand, Atlanta would be in a position to make the playoffs via the Wild Card. As baseball fans have found out over the past few postseasons, it doesn't matter how a team gets there. It's all about what they do in October, and the Phillies have proven that in the biggest way over the past two campaigns.

However, Braves head coach Brian Snitker isn't thinking about the Wild Card. He plans on winning the division.

Snitker had the following to say, according to David O'Brien of The Athletic.

"I'm not planning on doing the wild card series. We're planning on winning the East."

His squad is the type of team that could make noise if they just sneak into the postseason. However, having to play at Citizens Bank Park and other stadiums due to not having a home-field advantage poses many challenges.

There isn't a team in the league that wants to have to come to Philadelphia and play in front of the craziest fans in baseball.

Snitker made comments about the Phillies fan base back in March, saying his wife would refuse to return to Citizens Bank Park.

“It’s rough there,” Snitker said in an interview with Atlanta radio station WZGC broadcast. “And they don’t seem to mind, either, quite honestly. It was rough on them all last year to the point where it was concerning.”

Given how he feels towards the fans, the last thing Atlanta wants to deal with is another hostile environment in October.

Philadelphia, however, is in a great position to accomplish that.