The Braves have reportedly postponed rescheduling their games against the Mets because Hurricane Helene jeopardized the schedule

The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets will not finish one of MLB's most important regular season series this week. Hurricane Helene is approaching the Atlanta area and heavy rain and wind are forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, when the two games between the playoff contenders were originally scheduled to take place. Instead, MLB announced Wednesday afternoon that the games would be postponed. and was rescheduled for Monday as a doubleheader.

Playing a doubleheader on Monday – the eve of the start of the 2024 MLB postseason – is not ideal. The games will only be played if there are postseason implications, but that seems likely given the state of play. The Mets entered Wednesday 87-70 and in 5th place in the National League. The Braves are currently out of the playoffs, but Atlanta (86-71) is just a half-game behind Arizona for the final wild-card spot in the NL.

The Mets will play a three-game series against the Brewers this weekend in Milwaukee, while the Braves will host the Royals. New York would then have to fly back to Atlanta for the doubleheader on Monday.

That's a turbulent schedule for a team trying to make the playoffs, so how did we get here? Partly due to decisions (and indecisions) by MLB and the Braves.

The league could have moved the game from Thursday to last Monday (September 23) because both teams had a day off. And Thursday's game could have been moved up to Monday as part of a doubleheader, but it's too late for that now.

According to the New York Post, the Braves were reluctant to postpone any games in this series because they expected large crowds at Truist Park. Here are the details:

Spokespeople for MLB, the Braves and the Mets declined to comment on how this situation came to this point or what will happen next.

But background discussions with personnel involved suggested that the Braves were generally expecting a high attendance for the three games (40,103 attended the series opener on Tuesday, which Atlanta won 5-1, at Truist Park) and did not want to forego the tickets or deal with the logistics of relocating personnel such as security personnel, concessionaires, etc. to other dates or start times.

MLB can override any weather-related decision, and the league has declined to do so in this case. Ultimately, the blame for any weather issues during these important Wednesday and Thursday games rests with MLB. The league has the final say.

Additionally, the weather could affect more than just the Braves vs. Mets games this week. The Mets have to travel to Milwaukee this weekend for a series with the Brewers. The storm could affect their trip from Atlanta. The Braves don't have to travel after the Mets series; they host the Kansas City Royals this weekend, but the Royals have to travel to Atlanta, which could pose similar problems.