In 1993, I was at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium when the Braves defeated the Colorado Rockies in the final game of the regular season to give them 104 wins.

Despite that impressive win total, Atlanta still didn't know if had clinched a postseason berth, because division rival San Francisco entered that day also seeking its 104th win, needing to beat the Dodgers to force a one-game playoff with the Braves for the NL West title.

I remember after the Braves won, we stayed at the stadium with a few hundred others and watched the Giants lose to the Dodgers on the JumboTron, and celebrated with some Braves when they emerged from the clubhouse, stood on the infield with champagne bottles and thanked the small crowd that stuck around.

Seventeen years later, the Braves' postseason chances may again come down to the final day of the season and, like before, I will be on hand. Also like before, postgame activities may involve staying at the stadium to watch the outcome of the Giants game.

The NL East second-place Braves begin a three-game series Friday with the Phillies and hold a slim lead in the NL Wild Card race, with the Giants and Padres locked in a three-game series of their own. The Giants have a slim lead over the Padres in the NL West, and whoever finishes second in their division will matchup their record with the Braves to see who gets the NL Wild Card.

Should the NL Wild Card come to this Sunday, Tim Hudson will take the mound for Atlanta against a Phillies' pitcher to be decided. Since Philadelphia already clinched the NL East and its postseason berth last week, it will rest it's big three -- Halladay, Oswalt and Hammels -- for the NLDS.

That makes the Braves a favorite to win the series. Meanwhile, the Giants and Padres will be fighting for their postseason lives. Given the circumstances, and given the Braves' lead in the Wild Card race heading into the weekend, Atlanta is in the driver's seat for a playoff spot.

If it does come down to the final day, the Braves win and I stay to watch the outcome of the Giants game, and that game's outcome results in a Braves playoff berth, to me it will feel like '93 all over again.

Which means I will do all my celebrating for the Braves on that day, because in '93 the Braves flushed 104 wins down the toilet by losing the NLCS to the Phillies, and the season ended with a bunch of Canadians celebrating a World Series title when the Blue Jays beat Philadelphia in six games.

The fact this is legendary manager Bobby Cox's last season may even make these Braves more urgent to choke the postseason away.

Nearly 20 years of watching Bobby Cox and the Atlanta Braves in the postseason has taught me one thing -- Don't trust Bobby Cox and the Atlanta Braves in the postseason.

Farewell, Bobby. Thanks for the (choke) memories.

Adam Krohn is a sports writer for The Times. Follow him at Twitter.com/gtimesakrohn.