No Past, No Future: Atlanta’s Chris Sale Strategy, Examined

When I focus on the present, I like to repeat the mantra: no past, no future. I don’t want to dictate my personal philosophy to you, but it makes a big difference to me. It’s a reminder to focus now, experiencing what’s happening in this moment is bigger than whatever mental baggage I’m carrying, or whatever I’m worried about, might happen next week. I heartily suggest some variation of this expression when you are emotionally overwhelmed by things that are not happening to you at the moment.

Having said that, let me be clear: You can’t ignore the past and the future when you’re posting destinations, Walt Weiss. The Braves are five games into the playoffs, and have lived a “no past, no future” life this entire season. Now, I think it has some useful consequences. The present actually matters quite a bit in playoff baseball – more than the future, and certainly more than the past. But it also caused them plenty of problems. Weiss has made an even more notable example thus far. The Braves have deployed bullpen plays in each of the first two games of the NLDS over the weekend. The first was a necessary consequence of the completed rotation injury, while the second was a direct consequence of Weiss’ previous actions.

I’m talking about Chris Sale, of course. Sale started the Wild Card opener against the Phillies last Tuesday and worked his way into the seventh, throwing 95 pitches before leaving with two on, one out, and the bottom of the Philly lineup coming to the plate. After a bit of trouble (Didier Fuentes allowed both runners to score to give the Phillies the lead), the Braves pulled away. But after Philadelphia won the second game of the series, Weiss called on Sale to cover the bottom four of the decisive Game 3.