ATLANTA For reasons of busine s, logistics and perhaps gamesmanship, the Braves did not want to shift start times, days or locations for their series against the Mets to play Wednesday night and even Thursday night. MLB could have overridden any desire of either team and forced different logistics for the games and did not. Thus, now the teams and MLB are in the path of a different kind of storm and potentially create a bunch of troubling, embarra sing scenarios Monday. This image obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Tropical Storm Helene on Sept. 25, 2024. NOAA/GOES/AFP via Getty Images With Tropical Storm Helene barrelling toward Georgia, MLB had been holding out hope that enough pockets would become available to play Wednesday. But the forecast and conditions worsened and late Wednesday afternoon both Wednesday and Thursdays games were postponed. Explore More A doubleheader is at 1:10 p.m. at Truist Park. That is the day after what was supposed to be the end of the regular season and the day before the wild-card round of the playoffs. The uncomfortable permutations are many, including: The Mets and Braves play 18 innings Monday in Atlanta and one would have to fly to Los Angeles, San Diego or Milwaukee to begin a best-of-three that is scheduled over consecutive days it seemed unlikely Game 1 would be moved to Wednesday to accommodate a team advancing into the tournament after playing Monday. The Braves beat the Mets, 5-1, on Tuesday. Getty Images Thus, the potential existed for, say, the Mets to play in Milwaukee on Sunday, 18 innings in Atlanta on Monday and in San Diego on Tuesday. The Mets or the Braves finish the weekend knowing they are in the playoffs, but the others do not and neither Robin Lopez Jersey do the Diamondbacks. Now, the Mets and Braves would have to come back for one or two games on Monday and the team that already clinched a playoff spot would have no incentive whatsoever to play its best players or go hard in the games while the Diamondbacks watch helple sly from afar. The commi sioner has the final call, but right now: If both the Mets and Braves know their fate through Sunday, MLB is likely to cancel the doubleheader. The games also are likely to be canceled if only seeding is at stake and both teams know they are in the playoffs the Braves lead the season series to date and would be awarded the higher seed. If everything is settled after the opener, the nightcap likely would be canceled. The teams will not be allowed to expand beyond the 28-man September roster and an option player falls under regular season rules. So, for example, if the Mets wanted to option Tylor Megill to get a fresh arm, Megill would be ineligible to return for 15 days without another pitching injury. Remember that in some ways this trouble all began on April 10 when a game was rained out at Truist Park that the Mets did not think needed to be postponed. The Mets, however, did not want to return for a single game on a mutual off day during the season and asked that it be tacked onto their next series in Atlanta. For all involved, that unfortunately coincided with Helene. Georgia governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency Tuesday to brace for the storm. MLB Commi sioner Rob Manfred has not stepped in regarding this series. AP Spokespeople for MLB, the Braves and the Mets all offered no comment on how this point was reached. But background conversations with involved personnel indicated that basically the Braves were expecting large attendance for the three games (it was 40,103 at Truist Park for Tuesdays series opener, won 5-1 by Atlanta) and did not want to forego the gates nor work through the logistics of moving personnel such as security, conce sionaires, etc. to other dates or start times. The two teams had a common off day on Monday. The weather was such that a doubleheader could have been played Tuesday. The Mets pitched the idea of moving up the start time Wednesday before the forecast worsened. In the most drastic move, the series could have been relocated to an empty park not under threat of the storm, such as in Texas. But MLB did not force a change of any type. It felt forcing the Braves into a doubleheader when they were two games behind the Mets when the series began was a strong disadvantage to avoid. In addition, the league was dealing with what it felt were better potential forecasts to play at least Wednesday through Monday and by the time the forecasts worsened, there was not enough time to order a substantial change to the schedule. A storm approaches Fort Myers Beach on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Hurricane Helene is expected to pa s SWFL on the way to the big bend area. SWFL is preparing for po sible storm surge from the Hurricane. Andrew West/The News-Pre s/USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The league had a much easier decision in moving the start time of Tuesdays Rays-Tigers game from 6:40 p.m. to 1:10 p.m. with bad weather looming because both teams approved of the change. It helps that the Rays are not in contention and the two teams are not in the same division. The Mets and Braves are in the NL East, battling for a playoff spot with one po sibly mi sing altogether and do not exactly have great love for each other. Thus, the Mets have certainly wondered about gamesmanship here. At the least, the Braves do not have to leave Atlanta over the weekend, when the Royals are in town, or Monday if the doubleheader is needed. The Mets, who were planning to fly to Milwaukee on Thursday, might be facing four games in three days in three cities in one stretch. Michael Jordan Jersey