PHILADELPHIA — In the gloom of the Braves’ clubhouse after Game 4 of the NLDS, someone flipped a switch. For a moment, the room grew sadly, appropriately dim. And then it flipped back: Maybe it had been a mistake, or maybe it seemed pointless only after it was done, but either way, the lights turned back on almost immediately. It was obvious there was no use for mood lighting here. With this mood? Better to look at the situation head-on.
There is no early playoff exit that would have felt right for these Braves. That’s a product of the fact that they were reigning champions, that this regular season was even better for them than the last one, that so much of their year had been focused on the future—long-term extensions, big commitments, discussion of a winning foundation that was meant to last for half a decade. It was only natural that this season would end in disappointment if it finished with anything other than a parade.
But an ending like this was especially—painfully—hard to process.
