This was an epic failure by the Atlanta Braves. There’s no other way to put it | Bill Shanks

Did that really happen? Was it all a bad dream?

That’s what many Atlanta Braves fans asked when they woke up Friday morning, right after the Philadelphia Phillies eliminated the Braves in four games in the Division Series for the second straight year.

Yes, a team that finished 14 games behind the Braves in the regular season beat them in the playoffs.

Easily.

Of course, you could look at it and say the Braves were not alone. Two other 100-win teams, the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers, were also knocked out in the Division Series. The Tampa Bay Rays, who won 99 games, didn’t even get out of the Wildcard Round.

That gives no one solace, however. The expectations were high. This had been one of the best Braves teams in history. They were so prolific offensively they were mentioned in the same breath as the 1927 New York Yankees, the team known as the standard-bearer for offensive excellence in baseball history.

And yet in four games, the Braves scored only eight runs. Eight. Two per game. That’s after scoring 5.85 runs a game in the regular season and setting team offensive records that might never be broken. They didn’t have a four-game stretch that bad in the regular season, but as we often find out, things change in October.

If not for a 30-minute span Monday night, the Braves might have been swept in three games. That’s when Austin Riley, the only one who really did anything during the series for the Braves, hit a home run and then made a remarkable defensive play doubling up Bryce Harper to win the game.

Riley’s home run and his play were really the only highlights of the four games for the Braves. That’s not enough to win a series in October. Only one hero won’t win many games.

This was an epic failure. There’s no other way to put it. The Braves looked like the best team in baseball all season, but in October they looked like they didn’t even belong. The Phillies had the energy, had their stars step up with big hits, big home runs, and big pitching performances.

And the Braves could only score eight lousy runs. Eight.

So, why did this happen? Did the Braves clinch the National League East too early? Did the five-day layoff afforded to the two teams with the best records in each league hurt the Braves (and the Dodgers and Orioles)? Did the pitching issues the Braves have make it impossible to win a series with a team as talented as the Phillies?

But the main overriding question is simple: How in the world did the Braves not hit?

The Braves scored eight runs in a single game 14 times during the regular season. They scored eight or more runs in 41 games, which is one-quarter of the 162-game season. Atlanta’s offense was a machine. Were they tired?

First, it’s tough to say the Braves clinched too early. How do you time that? They were easily the best team in their division all season. They were 8-8 in 16 games after they clinched, so they didn’t play great ball then, but it was probably difficult to keep up the same energy, even fighting for the best record in the game, after clinching. Was it too hard to ask them to push a button and start over after having two weeks of simply getting ready for October?

Yet last season the Braves fought with the Mets to the very end of the season. Some said that division race and the rebounding from being 10.5 games back of the Mets wore the Braves out. So, what is it – do you clinch early to prepare for the playoffs, or do you hope to play hard until the end and hope you’re not too tired to play for three more weeks?

As for the five-day hiatus for the teams with the best records, this will be re-examined. Too many national writers have discussed the disadvantages of the supposed advantages that baseball built-in to its playoff format. But unlike last year, the Braves tried to keep up their energy with simulated games with fans in the stands at Truist Park for three days last week. Even that didn’t seem to work.

There is no question the Braves entered the postseason (for the second straight year) with pitching trauma. Max Fried did okay in his start, but the blister keeping him out for two-plus weeks at the end of the regular season did not make him as sharp as he could have been. Charlie Morton being out this round was devastating. You can survive with three starting pitchers in a playoff series, but not just two. And Bryce Elder hit a wall 40 innings ago and was not good enough to pitch effectively in a playoff game.

The offense taking these four games off is inexplicable. We all kept waiting for that big rally, that big inning that we’ve seen time and time again this season. Riley (.353) was the only player to hit above .300. Five of the regulars didn’t even hit above .200. And three home runs in four games for a team that averaged 1.9 home runs per game in the regular season? Incredible.

Before the Braves scored 947 runs this season to set an Atlanta record, the 2003 Braves had the mark with 907 runs. That group had Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Gary Sheffield, Javy Lopez and Vinny Castilla and won 101 games. But in the playoffs against the Cubs, the offense disappeared scoring only 15 runs in five games.

No one thought that would happen this year. The Braves had the league’s presumptive MVP (Ronald Acuna, Jr.), baseball’s home run and RBI leader (Matt Olson), five players with 30 or more home runs and four with 100 or more RBI. And yet, it wasn’t enough.

October raised its ugly head once again to bite the Braves. All they can do is go back to the drawing board and try again. But this will hurt and leave scars, as a team most believed would be unbeatable in October somehow left their bats at home.

Listen to The Bill Shanks Show weekdays at 3:00 pm ET on 104.3 FM in Savannah and online at TheSuperStations.com. Email Bill at TheBillShanksShow@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: This was an epic failure by the Atlanta Braves | Bill Shanks