Ron Washington has chance to sink former team's playoff status as Angels host Braves

When the Los Angeles Angels hired Ron Washington to be their manager, it was largely because of how he rebuilt his reputation as one of baseball's premier coaches with the Atlanta Braves. He was widely lauded as a teacher of the fundamentals and as a motivator.

It didn't hurt that he had a successful run as manager of the Rangers before that, but it was his time in Atlanta that turned him back into a prime managerial candidate after he basically got blackballed by Bud Selig and the Braves have missed him dearly.

Starting on Friday, Washington and the Angels get to see if they can make Wash's former team regret losing him even more as LA takes on a very motivated and talented, but struggling Braves team for a three-game set.

Angels set to take on Ron Washington's former team with nothing to lose

For the Angels, this series presents an opportunity for the team to truly test themselves with nothing really to lose. LA isn't in the hunt for a playoff spot unless they go absolutely wild for the next six weeks or so, but they have been playing significantly better of late and are going to be a bigger challenge than their record would indicate.

Meanwhile, the Braves have been through the wringer with injuries this year and are hanging on to a playoff spot for dear life. After slumping badly during the summer months, the Braves did manage to take three out of four from the equally desperate Giants before coming to Angel Stadium. Assuming they can carry that momentum, they remain an extremely dangerous team if they get going.

Perhaps seeing Washington in the opposing dugout gets Atlanta riled up, and if that happens this could be a tough one for the Angels. However, fans can fully expect Washington to try and exploit the weaknesses of his former players that he is very familiar with, and that could certainly lead to an upset over the next three games, which would seriously impact the Braves' spot in the playoff race.

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