Atlanta trails by just three games in the NL East. The Phillies have been good enough long enough now that we all should have learned not to overhype a single series in July. A sweep one way or the other or anything in between doesn't decide anything.
Heck, we just went through this drill a couple of weeks ago, using advanced mathematics, flawless logic and expert testimony to prove beyond a doubt that the Red Sox series was not, in fact, a World Series preview.
And yet, there's something about this weekend that transcends the basics of a midseason matchup between a pair of baseball's better teams, even if words like "crucial" and "critical" are best left in storage for at least a couple of more months.
Part of it is that these teams are so doggone similar. The Phillies rank first in team earned run average and shutouts. The Braves are second in both categories. The Phillies' rotation has a 2.99 ERA. The Braves are at 3.17. The Phillies' bullpen is anchored by a pair of youngsters, Antonio Bastardo (0.87 ERA) and Michael Stutes (2.54). The Braves have closer Craig Kimbrel (26 saves, 69 strikeouts in 44 innings) plus lefthanders Jonny Venters (1.53) and Eric O'Flaherty (1.13).
"I was curious to see exactly how good their bullpen was going to be. Because the kids are young and they have great stuff. I'm still kind of hoping that because they're young that the length of the season might catch up with them," Manuel said with a laugh before last night's butt-ugly 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Marlins at Sun Life Stadium. "It's up to them to prove that it won't."
The same, of course, could be said of Bastardo and Stutes.
!["I was curious to see exactly how good [the Braves'] bullpen was going to be," Charlie Manuel said. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)](http://media.philly.com/images/600*450/070611-charlie-manuel-400.jpg "\"I was curious to see exactly how good [the Braves'] bullpen was going to be,\" Charlie Manuel said. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)")