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The $100 Million Dollar Knee

By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

A collective sigh of relief blanketed the Atlanta Braves, their fans, and superstar Ronald Acuña Jr.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache confirmed a team doctor’s diagnosis of meniscus irritation in Acuña’s right knee. Any injury more serious than that might’ve made the National League MVP go into surgery.

The Braves said that Acuña will gradually increase baseball activities and he’ll be ready for Opening Day.

The Braves open the season March 28 at their NL East rival Phillies, who beat the Braves in four games in the Division Series in October for the second consecutive year.

After feeling soreness in his surgically repaired right knee Friday, Acuña  was scratched from the lineup Friday and underwent an MRI that showed irritation of the meniscus.

To make sure, and for peace of mind for all parties involved, the Braves decided to have their dynamic leadoff hitter and 2023 MLB stolen-base leader travel to Los Angeles to be examined by ElAttrache, the surgeon who repaired a torn ACL in Acuña’s knee in July 2021.

That was a season-ending injury and surgery that spoiled what had been an MVP-caliber start to 2021.

When soreness and inflammation lingered during his first season back from surgery in 2022, Acuña needed occasional days off to drain fluid from his knee. There were questions regarding how long it might take before Acuña was back at full pre-injury capacity, or if this issue will continue to affect his all-star career.

In 2023, Acuña wasn’t as good as he’d been prior to surgery, he was far better. In fact, he was historically good. The Braves led the majors in almost every major offensive category in 2023, and Acuña was their star of stars.

He became the fifth member of the 40-40 club (40 home runs and 40 stolen bases) and much more, becoming the first player to have 40-50, 40-60 and, finally, 40-70 seasons. Acuña finished with 41 homers and a majors-leading 73 stolen bases while batting .337 with an MLB-best .416 on-base percentage and NL-leading 1.012 OPS.

There was understandable concern when Acuña was flown across the country during the weekend to get a second opinion on his knee. Manager Brian Snitker said Saturday that he was trying to remain optimistic, but that until Acuña was examined by ElAttrache the Braves wouldn’t know for sure.

If ElAttrache found something worse than the original diagnosis, such as a meniscus tear that might require arthroscopic surgery, there was a likelihood that Acuña would miss the early part of the 2023 season. And if that put him behind, there was no telling how long it might take for him to get back up to full speed after returning from a stint on the injured list.

The Braves might need to add a proven outfielder if Acuña was to require an IL stint to begin the season.

That didn’t happen, and the Braves and their fans, along with other fans of the wildly popular Acuña, let out a big sigh of relief.

Meniscus irritation can heal without any form of surgery.

Nothing was any more important for the Braves so far this spring than the medical update on Acuña.

Underpaid

By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Ronald Jose Acuña Jr. is the best player in baseball. Repeat after me one more time Ronald Jose Acuña Jr. is the best player in baseball. Now that we have that understood let me show you the top ten paid players in baseball:

 

Ten highest paid players in MLB 2024

 

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers – $70 million

Max Scherzer, Texas Rangers – $43.333 million

Justin Verlander, Houston Astros – $43.333 million

Jacob deGrom, Texas Rangers – $40 million

Aaron Judge, New York Yankees – $40 million

Anthony Rendon, Los Angeles Angels – $38.571 million

Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels – $37.116 million

Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees – $36 million

Patrick Corbin, Washington Nationals – $35.416 million

Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals – $35 million

 

The current NL MVP is not on this list, but he soon should be.

Ronald Acuña Jr. is not eligible to become a free agent until after the 2026 season, but he is already thinking about a contract that will keep him with the Atlanta Braves for life.

Speaking to reporters from spring training last week, Acuña said it’s “not a secret” he wants to be “a Brave for life” and is hopeful they can “make that happen soon.”

Acuña was the first Braves player who signed one of those team-friendly deals that have become so common with the Braves over the years. He agreed to a 10-year, $100 million deal in 2019, when he was 21 years old. The contract has since been re-worked with an option of free agency after year eight.

I cannot fault the Braves for doing team friendly deals with players that project out to be future superstars. Acuña falls in that category.

Would the Braves risk letting this superstar walk in a couple of seasons? This situation has the potential to not turn out so well if the Braves are not willing to have extension talks with the Acuña camp.

Surely the Braves organization feels that Acuña should be one of the top paid players in the game. I can guarantee you that the Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets feel that way.

The longer Atlanta allows extension talks drag out then you allow bitterness to creep in, and if this drags out over a year or so you hurt your chances of resigning the best player in baseball to a long-term extension that will keep Acuña a Braves for life.

After an MVP season the Acuña camp understands their market value, and so do the Atlanta Braves. The Braves knew this day would come.

Grossly undervalued team friendly contracts frustrate me as a fan, but I do understand the business side of it. It feels like a team takes advantage of a young player who comes from a tough background in a developing country. This was Acuña’s case and the Braves threw a big number in front of him at an early age for long-term. The Braves know that if the player develops into a superstar, like in Acuña’s case, then you a very team friendly situation. However, this creates a perception problem.

He led MLB with a .416 on-base percentage, 217 hits and 73 stolen bases last season.

The Braves have Acuña on the books for $17M for 2024. The Yankees are paying Aaron Judge $40M in 2024. The Braves are getting a sweetheart deal here.

Acuña became the first player in MLB history with at least 40 homers and 70 stolen bases in a single season during the 2023 season.

Acuña, the first 40/70 player in MLB history, is the fourth highest paid player on his own team. Matt Olsen, Austin Riley, and Charlie Morton are all compensated better than Ronald.

You must be kidding me. Braves, please get serious about locking down the best player in baseball for life.

Acuña at a minimum deserves Aaron Judge money. Period. End of story. Please get it done Braves. The last thing Braves fans want to hear is the word holdout associated with Ronald Acuña while he is an Atlanta Brave.

Buy Or Sale?

By: Colin Lacy

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Braves fans have been clamoring for a big move by Alex Anthopoulos to re-vamp the Atlanta club going into 2024.

In a trade between Christmas and New Year, the Braves pulled the trigger bringing Chris Sale to “the A”.

The 7-time All-Star has been riddled with injuries the last 3 years and hasn’t appeared in more than 20 games since 2019.  Despite the health issues, both he and the Braves believe he is the healthiest he has been in a while.

“I feel really good.  This is the first time in quite a while I’ve been able to have a normal offseason,” Sale said in media availability from the Braves Spring Training facility in North Port. “I’ve been throwing bullpens since November, and I haven’t been able to do that for years!”

Originally when the trade was finalized, Boston was sending Chris Sale and $17 million (to cover that amount of Sale’s salary) in exchange for former Braves top-prospect Vaughn Grissom.

Because of Sale’s contract structure, Sale was owed $27.5 million in 2024, with the Red Sox paying $17 million of that, the Braves were on the hook for $10.5 million, but $10 million of that 10.5 was deferred to be paid in 2039, so essentially the Braves were getting Sale for $500K in 2024.

That changed, however, just 5 days later with Chris Sale and the Braves announcing a 2-year extension of the contract on January 4th.

With the new contract, Sale will collect $16 million in 2024, and $22 million in 2025 with a $18 million club option for 2026. Don’t forget that Boston is still paying $17 million of Sale’s salary, so the Red Sox will be essentially paying all of Sale’s 2024 earnings, and an additional million of the 2025 pay.

I know this may not have been the “big splash” that Atlanta faithful were looking for, but this is sneakily a fantastic deal for the Braves. You not only get a quality left-handed starter to add to the rotation, but also an experienced 34-year-old that has seen a lot at the big-league level.

Yes, Sale has been injury-laden the last 3 years, but of those, he returned for a good portion of 2023 with the Red Sox, making 20 starts with a 6-5 record and a 4.30 ERA (remember after not having a normal off-season and beginning of the year).

This year, he will enter with the first normal off-season into spring training for him since 2018 when he went 12-4 and posted a 2.11 ERA and finished 4th in the Cy Young Award voting.

I’m not saying he’s going to post those numbers and turn into the ace of the staff in Atlanta (although it may be a distant possibility), but the great thing for Atlanta is…. The Braves don’t need him to be that.

Braves pitching took a hit themselves from the injury bug in the pitching rotation in 2023, but everything looks promising as the team heads to North Port for Spring Training.

Spencer Strider and Max Fried are one of (if not the single) best 1-2 punches at the top of a rotation in baseball.

Although Fried was also injured at different points in 2023, he pitched well when he was available, and with a full off-season to get right ahead of a contract year, I’d expect a big 2024 from Fried.

Strider has been about as steady as it gets. Somehow, I still believe Strider is underrated on the grand scheme of the MLB, but we might be slightly biased.

The Braves also picked up the $20 million option for Charlie Morton in 2024, so going into Spring Training 2024, Atlanta should feel good about some combination of Fried, Strider, Morton, Sale being the top 4 of the Atlanta rotation.

So, is it the “flashy bigtime deal”? Probably not, but if there is an organization that has taught baseball that you don’t need a roster full of “flashy, high-priced talent” to win, in the words of the late-great voice of Truist Park Casey Motter, IT’S YOUR ATLANTA BRAVES.

Wheeling And Dealing

By: Colin Lacy

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

For most Major League Baseball players, the month of November is a time to rest, spend much overdue time with their family, and decompress from the grind of a 162-game regular season.

This year, the month of November has been all but restful for Atlanta Braves General Manager Alex Anthopoulos. Over the last month there have been 37 player transactions for the Braves (albeit most of those being players electing free agency), and a couple that have raised the eyebrows and curiosity of Braves Country, but the headlines aren’t all that need to be said.

The one that sent ripples (not quite tidal waves) through the organization was a trade with the Chicago White Sox sending RHP Michael Soroka, LHP Jared Shuster, SS Nicky Lopez, SS Braden Shewmake and RHP Riley Gowens to the south side of Chicago in exchange for Aaron Bummer.

This move had Braves fans scratching their heads, especially considering Soroka was a fan favorite since his debut.

That being said, and as good as Soroka was before tearing his Achilles tendon, his time as a Brave was more than likely numbered anyway. Most, if not all, of the pieces traded to Chi-Town were leading candidates to be non-tendered by Atlanta when the deadline came just hours later than the trade (deadline was Friday 11/17).

Instead of these players turning into free agents, Anthopoulos was able to turn them into another lefty that could play an impactful role into the Bravo’s bullpen.

Just one day later, the transaction hotline was connected with a familiar pipeline between Kansas City and Atlanta.

Two different trades occurred the 17th between the Royals and Braves to send Kyle Wright, and Nick Anderson to KC, and have Jackson Kowar and cash return to the ATL.

Kyle Wright had an injury riddled 2023 season in Atlanta but had been a key part of the Braves rotation in 2022, but injuries kept him from staying in the rotation.

The Braves also delt Wright knowing that he would miss the 2024 season due to shoulder surgery and would still be paying Wright approximately $1.4 million as he rehabs.

The other deal with the Royals had the Braves send Nick Anderson, who like Soroka was a likely candidate of being non-tendered, in return for cash considerations.

There are also a couple of transactions that fly under the radar with the front office in Atlanta officially not tendering contracts to 7 players who were previously on the 40-man roster including Kolby Allard, Chadwick Tromp, and Yonny Chirinos.

Why is this important? Because when you add all of the moves together, yes, the Braves clear up some payroll space, but at the end of the day, the Braves ended up with 30 players on the 40-man roster.

This allows the Braves to re-tool the bottom of the roster and bolster the organizational depth with key bench pieces and Triple-A players that, frankly, has been a weakness for the Braves in the past few years.

So far, the Braves have also added to the bullpen as well by signing the hard throwing righty Reynaldo Lopez, who struck out almost 30% of the batters he faced last season between the White Sox, Guardians, and Angels.

This could be a bigger addition to the Braves than it appears on the surface with Lopez potentially being able to serve as a back-end starter, if need be, but also be a high-leverage reliever.

I say all of this as what seems like one of the few Braves fans that are encouraged by these moves that “Headline Only Readers” are upset with.

I completely understand. Soroka, Wright, a couple former first round picks, and on the surface not getting much back, but when you dig deeper, it’s some crafty moves to get anything back for it, and oh by the way, I think we’re just getting started with the off season shuffle we’ll see out of the right field offices at Truist Park.

Not Just The Windmill At Third Base

By: Colin Lacy

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

This month news broke that beloved Atlanta Braves third base coach Ron Washington was getting the nod to take over as the new manager for the Los Angeles Angels.

This will be the second stint for Wash as a big-league manager after piloting the Texas Rangers from 2007-2014.

Ron Washington will be dearly missed in Atlanta after becoming an infectious personality around the clubhouse, while also being a gold mine of knowledge for infielders especially.

Washington has become a fan favorite around Braves Country because of the energy that David O’Brien of The Athletic described as “more energy at 71 than many 21-year-olds.”

Alex Anthopoulos, Braves GM, encapsulated the impact of Ron Washington on the Atlanta Organization by saying, “Presence, intellect, respect, work ethic, integrity.  Off-the-charts ability to lead. I mean, that guy walks in a room, it’s over.  He’s special. I’ve been in baseball since 2000. I’ve never been around someone like (Ron Washington).”

Ron Washington is a “baseball guy” through and through. A native of New Orleans, Washington was signed by Kansas City in 1970, and has been in professional baseball ever since.

He spent the next ten years primarily in the minor leagues for the Royals, Mets, and Dodgers organization. ‘Wash’ made his Major League debut in September of 1977 with the Dodgers as a September call-up but returned to the minors until 1981.

In 1981, Washington was on the active roster for the Minnesota Twins and would stay in the Bigs until 1986 scattered between the Twins, Orioles, Indians, and Astros. The end of his playing career came with his playing retirement in 1990 with the Oklahoma City Triple-A club.

After hanging up the glove (at least as a player), Washington set sails on his coaching career starting with the Mets organization for five years.

Washington made his Big-League debut as a coach in 1996 as the first base coach with the Oakland A’s where he would be until 2006 and return for the 2015 & 2016 season.

November 6th, 2006 will be a day that Ron Washington will always remember. It was the day the Texas Rangers announced they were bringing in Washington to manage the Rangers.  Washington spent 8 years in Arlington and led the Rangers to two World Series appearances in 2010 & 2011.

While in October of 2016, Ron Washington was a finalist for the Braves vacant managerial position (that would inevitably be filled by Brian Snitker), Snitker elected to bring Ron Washington on staff as 3rd base coach.  Since 2017, Washington was always around Truist park with the undeniable Wash Smile.

Washington’s pre-game routine with all the infielders, and even non-infielders, of throwing and hitting short hops to them blew up and became a must for all nationally televised game to show at some point.

Braves Country knows, and sometimes takes for granted, how underrated and top notch the coaching staff Brian Snitker has assembled over the years.

Ron Washington was a huge piece of that and will have some additional fall out I suspect. It has already been reported that Braves first base coach Eric Young Sr will be going with Wash to LA to join the Angels staff as their third base coach, and I wouldn’t be surprised if one or two others from the Braves staff joined as well.

Every offseason, each team has losses that fans will say “man that stinks” (sometimes a more colorful rendition of that), but not often is it a club’s third base coach.

Heck, many times when a coach leaves (outside of a manager or pitching coach), fans don’t realize it until opening day, and say “Hey who’s that new guy!”

Ron Washington is different. He was an incredible asset for the Braves and the Angles are getting a great baseball mind and great motivator. Grant McCauley, Braves beat reporter for 92.9 the Game, said on X what a lot of Braves fans are feeling. “It’s possible to be simultaneously thrilled for someone’s opportunity while being exceptionally sad to see them go.”

Power Surge

By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

I don’t know the journey the 2023 Braves will lead, but I now know the magnitude of their journey to this present moment.

They haven’t merely wrapped up the National League East. Their lineup is doing things baseball fans haven’t seen done in 50 years, 90 years, 100 years … or ever, for that matter, and that’s only now dawning on them.

There’s something funny about making history, you see. You don’t always recognize it when you’re in the middle of it, living and watching it, day in and day out.

There’s no perfect stat. There’s no perfect metric that reveals, unequivocally, the identity of the The Greatest Offense of All Time. So, if you’re even in the argument, alongside those ’27 Yankees, there’s no need to quibble about where to place the decimal points. We’re witnessing greatness, period.

Here’s an incredible difference between these Braves and those Yankees. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig were twice as good at creating runs as the average hitter of that era, but they were part of a top-heavy lineup that didn’t have the depth of this Braves lineup, believe it or not the Braves are deeper and a higher utility team.

It doesn’t get much more old-school than home runs and stolen bases. And the triple digits in those categories are a reminder that the Braves can beat you one way on night one and a whole different way on night 2.

That 2019 Twins team that set the home run record the Braves are chasing, for most homers in a season (307). That team stole 28 bases all season. Ronald Acuna almost had that many himself by Memorial Day.

Even if they take their foot off the gas in the next few days, the Braves are almost a lock to lead the majors in homers by 50.  No team has even done that in 55 years.

Only two teams in history that stole 100 bases even reached 250 homers the same season: the 2019 Brewers  (250) and last year’s Yankees (254).

Hard to argue that this team isn’t special! The only two previous teams in history to bop 300 homers, the 2019 Twins and 2019 Yankees. They stole 83 bases combined. Acuña is on pace to steal 73 this year all by himself.

The Braves could have nine players with at least 20 homers! No team has ever done that.

The Braves could also have five players with at least 30 homers! Only the 2019 Twins have done that. And they just became the first team ever to have four men hit 35 or more.

They could lead the sport in slugging by 40 points! (They were at 43 through Sunday.) The only teams since 1900 to do that are the ’27 Yankees and 1953 Boys of Summer Dodgers.

I could spit out many more magic numbers for these Braves. But I’ve made my point. I never saw Ruth and Gehrig in 1927, but I’m watching Acuña and Olson here in 2023.

Now, there’s one more thing that needs to happen, one more thing they need to accomplish to make this season truly special, and historic.

The Braves just have to finish it. If October goes like the first six months of this season, they’ll be swirling around all these numbers for the rest of their lives.

If the Braves fail to win The World Series, they are just numbers that will be semi-forgotten.

It’s The Whole Team

By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

MLB named starters for the All-Star Game yesterday based on the results of fan voting. The National League starters are:

Position Name Team
Catcher Sean Murphy Atlanta Braves
First base Freddie Freeman Los Angeles Dodgers
Second base Luis Arraez Miami Marlins
Third base Nolan Arenado St. Louis Cardinals
Shortstop Orlando Arcia Atlanta Braves
Outfield Ronald Acuña Jr. Atlanta Braves
Outfield Corbin Carroll Arizona Diamondbacks
Outfield Mookie Betts Los Angeles Dodgers
Designated hitter J.D. Martinez Los Angeles Dodgers

 

Let us look at the Atlanta Braves in the starting line-up.

Ronald Acuna Jr.: Acuna is having a monster year. An MVP type season. He is hitting .331 BA, 19 HR, 51 RBI, and 36 stolen bases as of this article.

Acuna is on pace for a 40/60 home run, stolen base season. That has never been done in baseball history.

Acuna is the best player in the game currently. The Braves will have to break the bank and restructure his current contract soon and make him the highest paid player in the game.

Sean Murphy: Another impressive signing by the Braves for 2023.

Murphy is hot currently hitting .375 over the past week. He has 13 homers and is batting .289 for the season currently. Murphy has earned the start in the mid-season classic.

Orlando Arcia: Dansby who? Arcia is batting .303 currently with 6 HR’s. Many thought Arcia would be an offensive liability for the Braves in 2023, but how wrong were we?

Arcia missed games with an injured wrist. How smart was Braves management in signing Arcia to a contract extension before the season began?

Potential Braves All-Stars: (NL Reserves will be named on July 2nd)

Ozzie Albies: Certainly, Albies will be named to the team. 18 HR’s makes him one of the best power hitting second basemen in MLB. He is charismatic and loved by the fans.

Albies should be an absolute selection. Ozzie has played eighty games so far this season and has remained healthy.

Matt Olson: Olson has 26 HR and 62 RBI’s. That ranks him 2nd and 3rd in the National League in those categories.

Yes, he has struck out 102 times so far this season, but he is a very productive hitter. Olson will be named an All-Star.

Austin Riley: Austin is a marquee player but could be on the outside looking in this year. He has a .265 batting average and only 14 home runs so far in 2023.

I look for him to get hot down the stretch, but name recognition alone should get him selected.

Bryce Elder: 6-1 with 2.44 ERA should get Elder selected.

Elder was not being counted on to contribute to the rotation going into 2023, but with injuries to Max Fried and Kyle Wright he had to step into the rotation and should be rewarded with an All-Star selection because he has earned it.

Spencer Strider: 9-2 with a 3.73 ERA with 162 strikeouts after the halfway point. Those are All-Star caliber numbers. Strider will be on the National League squad.

At 53-27 currently, the Braves have the second-best record in baseball and have the best record in the National League.

I do not know if the Braves will have eight players named to the NL All-Star roster, but they absolutely deserve it.

Death Sting

By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

It is too early in the season to think Tampa Bay Rays cheat-coding this month is sustainable in the long run, but it’s still fun to have this many surprises in one baseball season. Good teams are bad, bad teams are good.

Quick — which team has the top OPS in baseball? That would be the Rays (.967). An undefeated start has been one of the best early storylines in today’s baseball.

In typical Rays fashion, they’re doing it up and down the lineup, with not a single player in the top 10 in individual OPS as of Sunday afternoon (Wander Franco, through nine games, was 11th with 1.157).

The Rays’ early strength of schedule, which has included the Tigers, Nationals and A’s, a trio of teams not expected to contend. Still, Tampa Bay hasn’t just beaten inferior opponents, they’ve pummeled them.

The Rays have won most games by four or more runs and have outscored opponents massively. Their run differential is the largest in the modern era to start a season.

The Rays lead the majors in home runs and runs scored and rank second with a .289 batting average.

Earlier this year, an article ranked the top 10 rotations in baseball. Tampa Bay wasn’t even in the top five. This lineup may have been overlooked by baseball pundits (the Rays are used to it).

Consider this a gross oversight; one that didn’t escape people in the organization. Tampa Bay has put together a starting pitching group that has the potential to be historically good. Heading into Sunday’s games, Rays starters ranked second in ERA, fourth in walks and fifth in strikeouts.

The inferior competition is a major reason the Rays lead the majors with a rotation ERA under 2.00. The Rays believe their pitchers’ execution has been almost flawless. That is true not just of their starters but also their relievers, who rank third in the majors in opponents’ OPS.

They trailed only the Dodgers in pitches per inning at 14.31, and still figure to get better with starter Tyler Glasnow (oblique) expected to return in mid-May.

Glasnow could give the Rays a third top-of-the-rotation arm along with Shane McClanahan and Jeff Springs.

On the other hand, Drew Rasmussen held the A’s to one hit and struck out eight over seven innings Sunday, also Zach Eflin has been terrific on the mound, making two great additions.

The only area of the team that hasn’t been seriously tested is the bullpen. That’s the way it goes when you’ve been tied or had the lead in 93.9 percent of the innings you’ve played.

The Rays are the only unbeaten team in the majors; they’re also the only team without a save.

Their undefeated mark is the best start in the wild-card era. The 1982 Braves and the 1987 Brewers both won 13 straight to start a season.

The 1916 New York Giants won 26 in a row, which is the MLB record for longest winning streak.

Unfair Wildness

By: Steve Norris

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

I’m still not over it.

It was October 12th, 1997. The Atlanta Braves were in Miami, Florida for Game 5 of the National League Championship Series and looking to take a 3-2 series lead back to Atlanta with Greg Maddux on the mound.

Maddux had already lost Game 1 at home to Kevin Brown, so Atlanta needed their ace to get revenge on Brown.

However, just before the game, Brown was scratched due to illness and replaced with Livan Hernandez.

What followed is arguably the most controversial game in Braves history. The late Eric Gregg umpired that game and decided for some reason to widen his already wide strike zone, especially to left-handed batters.

This hurt the Braves far more as they had six left-handed batters to the Marlins three. Hernandez was the benefactor and outdueled Maddux 2-1, ending the game on a strikeout of Fred McGriff, where the third strike was at least a foot outside.

If you don’t believe me, do a search for it on YouTube. You’ll be shocked how awful that strike zone was that day.

The Braves would surrender the series to Brown at home two days later 7-4, in yet another first inning implosion by Glavine, while the Marlins would go on to upset the favored Cleveland Indians for the World Series title.

It was a devastating loss for Braves fans, especially after their World Series collapse to the Yankees the previous year.

The fact is, that loss to the Marlins should have never happened in the first place. The Marlins had no business being in the playoffs. They finished 9 games behind the Braves who had won 101 games during the regular season. But thanks to the silliness of the Wild Card, they not only got a chance to beat the Braves, but they were also able to earn the home field advantage by winning just one of the first two games in Atlanta in the NLCS.

Fast forward to last year’s playoffs and the same thing happened to the Braves against the Phillies, except this time it was worse. The hated Phillies finished 14 games…yes…FOURTEEN GAMES behind the Braves.

Yet, when they faced off in the National League Division Series, they were given the opportunity to win one game in Atlanta and immediately get home field advantage in a five-game series.

The Phillies would tee off on Braves ace Max Fried, who was pitching while suffering from the flu, and would win the game 7-6. The Braves would not recover and would go on to lose three games to one.

All of this after playing 162 games.

How does that make sense? Why would a team, who not only failed to win the division, but finished way out of first place, be given such an easy chance to get home field advantage?

Logic says they shouldn’t. In fact, it’s my opinion that it’s time to make the wild card teams work harder to win a playoff series.

Here’s my proposal for the baseball playoffs: Any time a wild card team is facing a division winner in a playoff series, the division winner should get three more home games than the wild card team.

For example, if a division winner is playing a wild card team in the National or American League Division Series, the division winner should get four home games to the wild card teams’ one.

If it’s the National or American League Championship Series, the division winner should get five home games to the wild card winners’ two. This would force the wild card team to have to win two away games no matter what. If they can do that, then they’ve earned the home field advantage.

As for the World Series, that can stay at four games to three no matter who ends up there as a wild card team would have earned their way there by then.

It’s time for Major League Baseball to make the regular season important again if they’re going to keep letting all these wild card teams in.

Unfortunately, it’s run by Rob Manfred, arguably the most incompetent commissioner in sports history, so I don’t see him getting a clue any time soon.

Play Ball

By: Teddy Bishop

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

As the Braves throw out the first Spring Training pitch at Cool Today Park in North Port, Florida, six of the eight position players appear to be set.

Austin Riley will anchor the hot corner after signing a lengthy contract extension last season. Riley hit .273 in 2022 with 38 homeruns and 93 runs-batted-in. Will 2023 be his MVP year?

Matt Olsen will be back at first base for the second year of his long-term contract with Atlanta after Freddie Freeman defected to the Dodgers. Olsen will be looking to improve on his .240 average from last season, but his power numbers were excellent—34 HRs, 103 RBIs. Olsen is also a former Gold Glove winner.

The Braves are hoping for a healthy Ozzie Albies at second base, something that hasn’t happened consistently since he signed his contract extension in 2021. Albies is a leader on the diamond—and in the clubhouse—but needs to stay healthy.

Sean Murphy is apparently going to be the everyday catcher as the Braves gave up some good players to obtain him, and then signed him to a long-term deal.

Murphy is one of the best defensive catchers in baseball, and had 18 homeruns with 66 RBIs last year in Oakland. Travis d’Arnaud, a fan favorite in Braves Country, may be the odd man out if someone else emerges as the designated hitter.

Willie Harris II will probably be the everyday centerfielder for Atlanta for the next decade. Harris, the reigning Rookie of the Year, should get even better as he matures.

What can you say about Ronald Acuna, Jr.? Winning Rookie of the Year in 2018, and poised to perhaps become the face of the Atlanta franchise, Acuna simply hasn’t been able to stay healthy the last three years, from nagging injuries to a torn ACL.

All stakeholders say he is now healthy, and Acuna is looking to return to his 2019 form when he hit .280 with 41 HRs, 101 RBIS, and had 37 stolen bases. When healthy, Acuna is also among the leaders in put-outs for right fielders.

Left field could be an issue for the Braves. Marcel Ozuna is a defensive liability, and appears to be slated as the designated hitter (but let’s not forget d’Arnaud). Eddie Rosario will probably be standing to Willie Harris’ right during spring training, but I’m not convinced a trade won’t be made to plug the gap in left.

That brings us to shortstop. Vaughn Grissom is penciled in, but there is an eraser on the pencil, as Braves brass says there is an open competition between Grissom and Orlando Arcia.

Filling in last year for Albies at second, Grissom batted .291 with five homeruns and 18 RBIs in 41 games. If neither Grissom nor Arcia pans out at Cool Today Park, the Braves have hot prospect Braden Shewmake in the minors.

As for pitching, the first four starters seem set. Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Kyle Wright, and Charlie Morton may be as good as any team’s top four starters in the National League, and certainly in the NL East.

Mike Soroka, Ian Anderson, Bryce Elder, and others are competing for the fifth rotation spot. As you may remember, however, Anderson finished last season at Triple-A, and Soroka hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2019 due to injury.

The Braves bullpen will be strong again, with Raisel Iglesias as the closer. A.J. Minter, Collin McHugh, Dylan Lee, Kirby Yates, Jackson Stephens and newcomers Joe Jimenez and Lucas Luetge should be ready to get the game to the ninth.

Atlanta also has a bevy of pitchers and position player signed to minor league contracts, which could be a spring factor.

All in all, the Atlanta Braves look pretty good for 2023 and have an excellent shot at defending their 5th straight NL East title.

The first game that counts is March 30 at Washington. Play ball!

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