Today's game was a real playoff preview

Not because the Braves are going to play the Phillies in the playoffs, but instead because the Braves lost a game against a quality opponent because Bobby Cox left his starter in for too long and Tim Hudson, who had pitched effectively for eight innings, got torched in the ninth after he had clearly run out of gas. In this instance, though, Bobby can be blamed because he does have one obviously reliable pitcher - Kyle Farnsworth - and he was at home, meaning there was no chance for a save opportunity once the ninth inning rolled around. Bobby possibly worried about pitching Farnsworth in a third straight game, but was it better to send his game two NLDS starter's pitch count north of 110?

And let's not lose sight of the fact that the Braves were only in a predicament in the first place because they didn't score a run all game, which makes it hard to win a baseball game. The offense's downfall has been a large reason why the team has played mediocre baseball over the past 50 games.