Don't Zook Now

Another example of how strange this baseball season has been: The Atlanta Braves have the worst-record of the three division leaders in the NL...and they were the first NL division leader to have guaranteed a playoff spot. Which is odd.

Even odder? Journeyman fringe catcher Kurt Suzuki is the starter for this awesome-looking Braves team...and he's doing pretty well! He snatched the starting gig from the clutches of Tyler Flowers, and has had his best season since his ASG appearance with Minnesota.

The proof here is that this Braves team can benefit young players as well as seasoned veterans, in a way that doesn't diminish either one. Nick Markakis is having his best season in years alongside stellar rookie efforts from Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna. This rotation can benefit Sean Newcomb as well as Anibal Sanchez. This is a team that built on top of a youth movement years ago with Freddie Freeman, and built around him properly, so that now that this season's happening, it makes perfect sense.

This is a feel-good Braves team, the likes of which we haven't had in a while. They're set to play the NL West champs next week, whoever they end up being (odds are currently on Colorado, but the Dodgers could sneak back in). It will be a tough, interesting matchup no matter how it goes, and I imagine the Braves will head in there guns blazing.

Coming Tomorrow- Last year they were readying a spot in the Wild Card game. Now? They're...not doing too well. At all.