The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves are in a tight race for a spot in the postseason and are playing each other in one final series.
But unfortunately the biggest opponent for either roster is not the other team and instead the weather in Atlanta. Hurricane Helene is forecasted to pass through the area and will almost definitely cause delays due to severe conditions.
As both teams compete for a playoff berth and for one of the wild card spots in the National League, the timing is impossibly bad for both teams because it could lead to a potential double header rescheduled for Monday before the postseason begins.
The weather concerns for this Mets/Braves series could have easily been avoided if @MLB had any clue. Thursday's game is a makeup from April. It should have been played yesterday on a mutual off day. They could have had an extra day as a cushion. This never had to be a problem.
— Michael Fliegelman (@MFliegelman) September 24, 2024
This was easily avoidable, though, as MLB absolutely had all of the warnings possible that this is what the weather would look like in Atlanta.
They could have easily played the first game of the series on Monday night, when both teams had an off day. Then, they could have scheduled a double header for Tuesday when the conditions were still clear and finished out the series before Helene.
This whole situation is such a bad look for Major League Baseball who had plenty of time to move the Mets/Braves to a neutral site. Instead they sat on their hands and will now cause a major inconvenience to both teams before the postseason begins for one or both of them.
— Ben Yoel (@Ben_Yoel) September 25, 2024
Or they could have moved to a neutral site and played the entirety of the three-game series with no impact from the weather.
Instead, however, MLB will likely ask the Mets to travel to Milwaukee to play the Brewers and the Braves to host an entirely new series against the Royals. After that is over, the Mets would have to rush back to Atlanta for two more games that would potentially get played immediately before the playoffs.
Considering that at least one and perhaps even both teams could make the playoffs over the Diamondbacks, asking them to play a double-header the day before the postseason begins is irrational and poor planning.
