I typically keep it all sports on here and don't get personal, but I've had so many people tell me how moved they were by my brother's funeral service that I feel the need to share in hopes that it might impact one of your lives for the better.
I don't know how much more evidence you need to realize the baseballs are different this year and not carrying as much.
107.2 exti velo and 29 degree LA needs to be easily gone no matter conditions or what part of the park.
And this barely makes it to warning track.
Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton, and Max Fried in this series:
18.2 IP, 10 H, 2 BB, 3 ER, 22 Ks
Don’t try to tell me the
#Braves
starters aren’t capable of going head-to-head with the Mets.
I had 3 different family members at lunch today tell me how frustrated they are that they can’t watch the
#Braves
and how hard it is to find them on TV. Fix it,
@MLB
. The sport is doing great, but imagine how much better it could be if you let fans watch their favorite teams.
The Cubs broadcast just said this Dodgers offense might be the best one we’ve seen in a long time…
You mean since the 2023 Braves that set the all-time SLG% record and eliminated your team from the postseason.?
Kevin Pillar is getting emotional in the postgame -- dude wants it and brings a lot of energy. Play him every day. And hopefully not because Ronald is injured.
Hey
@FreddieFreeman5
and
@Braves
. My sister wants to buy her son a Braves FF jersey for Christmas but was worried he might not stay in Atlanta. Should she go ahead and make that purchase.?
#Braves
#PleaseSayYes
Ronald was 3 SBs away from 40-40 in 2019 and was on pace for 40-30 in 2021. Let’s not try to act like suddenly these new rules helped him accomplish something that wasn’t possible before.
Not only did MLB nerf the baseballs, they’re trying to nerf Acuña by giving every pitcher an extra 4 inches off the plate against him. That’s just terrible.
Vaughn Grissom ends his terrific season with
@GoStripers
by going 3-4 today with his 36th double of the year and 13th stolen base.
Season: 102 G, 397 AB, .330/.419/.501, 131 H, 8 HR, 74 R, 61 RBI, 56 BB, 66 Ks.
Let me see if I’ve got this Braves cheating scandal correct. I believe the going theory is that they’re able to hack pitchcom and then play a girl screaming through the loud speaker if it’s a breaking ball and then nothing is played if it’s a fastball.? And only for home games.?
Everyone called it sour grapes when I pointed out after the NLDS (and had said it before then too) that this postseason severely diminishes 162. Now all I see people saying today is that 162 means nothing. Again, this is BAD for MLB in the long term.
Just your yearly reminder that
@MLB
could have ended all this nonsense between the
#Braves
and
#Marlins
by giving Jose Ureña an actual punishment when he tried to injure one of the best players in the league because he was playing too good. But they’re cowards, so here we are.
Always knew this could happen in Game 3. That's why you had to have Game 2. Going to need Strider and Fried to be the two best pitchers in the game to win this series.
Alex Anthopoulos has earned so much admiration from Braves Country that he’s getting praised all over this app for flipping Taylor Hearn for Nicky Lopez as if he just made the move to clinch a World Series.
Looking for positives after a rough night?
Braves haven't lost back-to-back starts by Strider since June of last year.
And, well, the offense has to wake up at some point. It's not likely they get shutout by Suarez and the Phils bullpen again.
No more excuses, get it done.
I hope we never get to a point in this sport where we don’t respect and appreciate the greatness of Simba. We use the term GOAT a lot that it’s lost some meaning. But he is truly the greatest defensive baseball player EVER.
Thoughts by on this are simple. Pitchers can throw inside. Acuña can be frustrated by constantly dodging 97. Oviedo doesn’t have to start yelling like a maniac. You spend an entire season(s) of this and see how you like it.
I think it's telling of Vaughn's character that a guy who played 64 games for the
#Braves
is being treated like a franchise legend by some after being traded.
He's such an easy guy to cheer for and I'll forever be a fan of his.
For the first time all year, I'm starting to believe this
#Braves
team won't make the postseason. Even this great pitching staff can't overcome this horrific offense.
If you watched all 162 of your favorite team’s games last year you would have spent around 494 hours watching TV.
If new pace of play rules cut game times by 20 minutes, you’ll have 54 extra hours of your life this upcoming season.
Eddie Rosario is hitting .160 since the start of July and has at least 1 ball a game drop in front of him that should probably be caught.
I'm saying this in the hopes that when I talk about something the opposite usually starts to happen.
I really want to be excited about Waldrep’s debut, and I am, but it’s just hard to get excited about anything with the way this team is playing. Waldrep could dominate and they might lose 2-0.
And we all complain that MLB doesn’t know how to market its game. They sure are doing a great job this year by giving the games most popular player all of the juiced baseballs. Everyone else over here cranking baseballs that are dying at the track.
This is now my 100th time to say this, but if Murphy thinks you have the feel for a certain pitch, he’ll just keep calling it. That fastball was electric for Iggy, Phillies hitters likely thinking about that change-up. Just great.
What a win!
If it's both, then great. But if you're asking me if I'd rather give Aaron Nola $150 million this offseason or use that money to extend Max Fried, then my answer is easily Fried.
I don't want to provide more engagement to a certain national MLB writer, but how in the WORLD do you
A) Forget Ronald Acuña exists
B) Follow up with a worse take after forgetting him
The
#Braves
still managed to go 15-14 in May despite playing some of their worst baseball, losing Fried and Wright, and going through their toughest stretch of games on the schedule.
Hold up, Acuña would have been a free agent this offseason had he not signed that extension.!? Could you imagine what he would get right now coming off the season he just had.!?
Spoke briefly on this in the podcast after Game 3 because I don't want to give it any more light.
My biggest issue here is that it makes Arcia seem like a bad guy for a harmless comment in a locker room with his friends after a big game.
Here's Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud on the reports of comments by Orlando Arcia about Bryce Harper:
"Orlando's a great person. He was joking around... When things get out, which I'm sure other teams say things as well, it's not a good feeling."
I think calling fans fair weather or labeling fans as “real” or not is silly. Let fans be fans the way they want.
But I’ll say this, if you’re willingly still watching this
#Braves
game, you’re a real one.
I just went back and watched every pitch from Max tonight (only took about 40 minutes). That was glorious pitching. Blowing upper 90s by people is cool, but there is nothing like watching a pitcher carve up a lineup for 9 innings. It’s a rarity in today’s game.
Matt Olson, I don't know what to tell ya buddy. Just keep squaring up baseballs. That swing to that spot should either be a home run or a double of the wall.
Full disclosure, I’ve had Austin Riley on my fantasy team all year. The was the first time he was active and I didn’t start him.
It was me all along…
I’m sorry.
Boog doubling down on this was unexpected. If anything I expected him to announce an apology today for taking such a historic moment for Acuña and the sport and making it about themselves.
That last inning from Sale…
- getting frustrated at walking a batter in ST
- pumping up to 96
- blowing the last batter away with 96, 95, and 93
I’m so ready for him this year.
The lineup change in Game 1 setup Ozzie and Ozuna to face a lefty in the 6th. Ozzie singled and Ozuna hit 109 MPH lineout.
It set Ozzie up to face a lefty in the 8th in which he hit a ball 103 MPH and Turner just made an outstanding play.
Here is my weekly rant about the use of Sean Murphy. He homered and walked twice in his last game, so naturally, you give him two days off. Also, he's caught Schwelly the two other times he's faced Philly this year and both were great outings.
If you predicted that for a week-plus stretch of this season Ramon Laureano and Whit Merrifield would by far be the two best players in the lineup well, you win.
The argument for Pillar over Rosario (even against righties) thread:
I get Rosario is the better hitter, but this lineup can sacrifice it. What they need right now is all the defensive help they can get - especially with the struggles of starting pitching. Pillar gives you that
Blake Snell & Chris Sale are the 4th pair of pitchers to EACH have more than 10 strikeouts and allow 3 hits or fewer in the same game, joining:
5/26/24 Garrett Crochet + Kyle Bradish
4/3/21 Corbin Burnes + José Berríos
9/20/20 Joe Musgrove + Jack Flaherty
Snell + Sale are the
Yoshinobu Yamamoto's deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers is the largest contract for a pitcher in Major League Baseball history, beating Gerrit Cole's deal by $1 million. Furthermore, the Dodgers will pay an additional $50.6 million in posting fee. Total outlay: 12 years, $375M.
Whatever you do today, carve out 15-20 minutes to read this article and watch the video at the end.
If you loved Acuña before, you'll love him even more after.
If for some reason you didn't like Acuña before, hopefully you understand to appreciate him more after.
I want you to understand the full picture. I want you to know about the whole person, and what’s important to me. About the things reporters never ask me about. Not just the baseball part.
This is my story.
@PlayersTribune
Joe Jimenez is maybe an unsung hero in this one. Settled things down late in the game and kept the Mets off the board for 2 innings. Looked really sharp too.
#Braves
If the
#Braves
stay with the regular rotation, Sale would miss both of the upcoming Phillies' series. With the off day on Monday, they could skip someone, keep him on 5 days rest, and he'd pitch the finale of both Phillies' series.
Prayers for the Freeman family. Nothing more stressful and painful than seeing your kid hooked up to a bunch of machines in the hospital. Praying for Max.
So in the “biggest” series of the year to this point, TDA catches more games than Murphy as Murphy had been showing signs of coming around with the bat. I hope that aren’t going to the every other day method they used in the 2nd half last year.