Atlanta Went Looking for a Slight

Bryce Harper complimented the Braves on Tuesday night. I already know how this city is going to take it.

That's not on him. That's on us.

Here's the entire answer, per NBC Sports Philadelphia. He's talking about the Phillies after a win in Arizona. Offense, defense, bullpen, rotation, all working. Then:

"We've got a long way to go. The Cubs are a really good team. The Bravos are really good, as well. We've just got to keep going. I'm not really worried about that right now. We've just got to win games and keep playing the brand of ball we are now."

Read the order. "Long way to go" comes first. He's naming two other teams as the reason his own clubhouse shouldn't relax. He says it again later, unprompted.

That's a compliment buried in a warning to his own team. It isn't a shot at anybody here.

The word order is all that's left, and it has a boring explanation. Philadelphia just passed Chicago for the top wild card and leads the Cubs by one game. Atlanta led Philadelphia by three in the East as of this morning. He named the closer threat first, which reads less like a ranking of who scares him than a man reading a standings page.

So why does this city need it to be an insult?

Because Atlanta has spent a decade being told it doesn't get taken seriously, and when nobody supplies the evidence, we manufacture it. That's my read of my own town, not a poll.

Here's what should bother you. Philadelphia has won six straight, 15 of its last 17, and went 21-7 in August, the best month in baseball, per NBC Sports Philadelphia. Atlanta has lost two straight and lands at Citizens Bank Park on Friday for four games.

I'm 64% sure Atlanta doesn't take that series. Three of four, or I'm wrong. Philadelphia has been the hottest team in baseball for a month. Atlanta hasn't.

Two days ago I wrote about a real Atlanta problem. This isn't one.

We don't need Harper to disrespect us. We need to win in Philadelphia. Only one of those is a real problem.