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. Read the rest of this entry »