After running a streak of 14 straight NL East pennants over the course of the 90′s and early 2000′s, the Atlanta Braves have not seen the playoffs since they fell short to the Houston Astros in the 2005 NLDS. Now, in longtime manager Bobby Cox’s final season as Braves’ skipper, the team is once again in position to make a post-season push. Forming their most likely opposition are the Philadelphia Phillies, who have walked away with their own divisional pennants in back to back seasons now. The battle for the NL East looks to come down to one final high intensity series scheduled to begin on September 20^th, spanning three games. Both the Braves and Phillies positioned themselves for late season runs as they moved to add the necessary pieces before the trade deadline approached.The Phillies made arguably the biggest splash in this season’s trade market, acquiring starting pitcher Roy Oswalt from the Astros for their less proven starting commodity J.A. Happ, along with a host of prospects. Oswalt marks a consistent trend of big Philadelphia pitching moves as they have struck to acquire Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee in recent seasons. The Braves, on the other hand, shipped out shortstop Yunel Escobar to the Blue Jays, getting veteran shortstop Alex Gonzalez in return, in addition to two raw minor leaguers. The Braves hope Gonzalez will provide defensive consistency and an offensive boost, as Escobar, an otherwise highly regarded player, struggled through much of the season. In a deadline deal, the Braves also acquired Rick Ankiel from the Kansas City Royals. Ankiel should contribute as a rotation player in both left field and center, adding a little pop to the back end of the batting order. Atlanta followed up with a waiver wire deal to acquire Derek Lee from the Cubs, in an effort to replace the corner-infield bat lost to the Chipper Jones injury.The Braves took 2 of 3 in the two teams most recent meeting, though new lineups and roster additions could change the face of the rivalry when the two teams take the field one final time in 2010.