Throughout a long season, injuries are inevitable. However, the Atlanta Braves seem to have already been bitten by the injury bug. To look at it from a positive standpoint, granted you never want an injury, at least these injuries have taken place at the beginning of the season which allows the players ample time to heal before the postseason.
Sean Murphy: left oblique strain; expected return early May.
Murphy’s injury at the start was definitely a big blow… after all, it was Opening Day. He hadn’t even played a full game. Murphy has proven to be a very useful tool behind the plate and at the plate for the Braves, and while Chadwick Tromp has proven he has what it takes to be a catcher in the Major Leagues, Atlanta will be happy when their All-Star catcher is back and healthy.
Spencer Strider: right ulnar collateral ligament strain; will miss the 2024 season.
Talk about an unexpected injury. No one expected the Braves’ ace to be out for the 2024 season. There were such high hopes for Strider in the coming season, and now there is a large gap to be filled in his place. On April 5th, the Atlanta home opener, Strider had a rough first inning which made the Braves’ staff wonder if he was okay. After an MRI it was announced that Strider had a strain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm. It was kept very quiet if he was going to have surgery or not, but on April 13th it was announced that Strider underwent internal brace surgery to repair the strain.
This surgery has been said to have a shorter recovery time than Tommy John Surgery. However, it still requires 12 months at the least to fully recover. There are high hopes that Spencer Strider will be able to pitch at the start of the 2025 season, but nothing is set in stone.
Ozzie Albies: fractured right big toe; expected return early May.
If there was one person on the Braves roster who has the most freak accidents- it would be this guy. During the second inning of Monday’s game (April 15th) against the Houston Astros, Houston’s starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti’s curveball curved too much and hit Albies on the top of the foot. He was in immediate pain but stayed in for the rest of the game. After the game, they did an MRI and x-rays on Ozzie’s foot and it showed a fracture in the bone of his big toe. He played 7 innings with a fractured toe! Thankfully, Ozzie won’t need surgery. They placed him on the 10-day IL, and isn’t expected to miss more than three weeks.
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Despite injuries to key components of the Altanta Braves team, they are still playing quality games. They are still getting wins, and they are still a strong team. In a way, injuries can help strengthen a team because the players work together to fill in the losses.
The Atlanta Braves 2024 season is officially underway, and the Braves started off on a positive note by winning 2 out of 3 games against their rivals the Philadelphia Phillies.
With a 9-3 win on Friday and a 12-4 win on Saturday, Atlanta’s offense proved that they did not lose any of their power at the plate. Ozzie Albies hit the Braves’ first home run of the season in the first inning of Saturday’s game, and other home runs soon followed. The Braves were also able to escape run deficits and secure the win. They were almost able to do this during Sunday’s game, however they came up one run short and lost 4-5.
Pitching wise, Atlanta’s starters did pretty well. Spencer Strider went 5 innings in Game One, only allowing three hits and two runs. He also had 8 strikeouts. He did not get the win, however, but the Braves bullpen showed off their arms to keep the Phillies’ bats from doing any damage. In game two, Max Fried had some struggles. He threw 43 pitches over 0.2 innings and surrendered 3 runs. There was a very questionable call from the umpire on a 2-2 count with two outs and the bases loaded that did not go the Braves’ way. If the umpire had made the correct call, Fried wouldn’t have surrendered a single run and could’ve possibly gone a couple more innings. There wasn’t anything wrong with the velocity of Fried’s pitches, his command just wasn’t there. He was hanging pitches and couldn’t command the strike zone. Hopefully, in his next start, he will come out stronger.
Chris Sale made his Braves debut on Sunday’s game. He threw 5.1 innings, had 7 strikeouts, and only allowed 2 runs. It was a bummer that the Braves bullpen could not maintain the lead to secure the win, but it was a very positive start for Sale. And it was exciting to see him pitch a good game.
Unfortunately, on Opening Day, Sean Murphy strained his left oblique with a swing late in the game. He is expected to miss a couple weeks at least. Having Murphy go down after just one game of the season is definitely not something a manager wants, but the positive outlook from it is that he will be healthy late in the season when the playoffs are right around the corner. Thankfully we have dependable d’Arnaud who is capable of catching multiple games in a row.
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As always, the Atlanta Braves are exciting to watch, and I am excited to see what the 2024 season has in store for them!
There have been a lot of injuries for the Atlanta Braves in the 2023 season, especially to the starting rotation and the bullpen. While injuries are not good for a team, you could consider the Braves “lucky” that they have had all of these injuries happen earlier in the season instead of September when Postseason baseball is right around the corner.
Ozzie Albies- left hamstring strain:
Albies strained his hamstring on August 13th up in New York against the Mets. The Braves said it wasn’t a severe injury, but they weren’t taking any chances with their All-Star second baseman who is such a key component to this team. Coming up to this game, Ozzie Albies had played in all 117 games this season. He is such a good player, and while Nicky Lopez and Vaughn Grissom have done a good job a second base, it just isn’t the same without Ozzie out there.
Albies’ 10-day IL period is up, and he is available to play tonight (August 25th) against the San Fransisco Giants. However, the Braves coaching staff have chosen not to start him in tonight’s game. That’s a huge bummer. But I can almost guarantee you that Ozzie is dying to get back out on the baseball field and will do just about anything to be in the lineup for the Braves!
Kyle Wright- right shoulder strain:
I am pleased to say that Kyle Wright threw his first rehab start on August 23rd with the Rome Braves! He threw 26 pitches over 3.0 innings with zero earned runs, no walks, four strikeouts, and only one hit.
Wright has been on the Injured List since early May. He had shoulder discomfort in Spring Training which led to a delayed start to the 2023 season with the hopes that he would be healed enough to pitch for the Braves. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
However, it is SO good to see promising numbers from Wright in his first rehab start. I am sure that it has been hard for him having to sit in the dugout day in and day out while the rest of his teammates are getting to play the game they all love. Yes, the Braves are going to be cautious with Kyle Wright and give him plenty of rehab starts to make sure that he is ready to go, but Wright is getting healthy at the right time and this is a good sign for the Braves!
Jesse Chavez- left shin contusion:
Jesse Chavez has been on the Injured List since June 14th when he was hit with a comebacker against the Tigers. He has been cleared to throw off the mound and has been doing workouts with the team, but it seems like he is still a couple weeks away, at the least, from returning to the Braves. His leg is still giving him discomfort, and the Braves’ training staff doesn’t want to create further injury to Chavez’s leg by bringing him back to pitch until he is 100%.
Chavez has been such a key component of this Atlanta Braves team. He is the one that the Braves could always count on coming out of the bullpen. Hopefully he will be back soon, and he will help strengthen this powerful Braves team.
Dylan Lee- left shoulder inflammation:
Like Kyle Wright, Dylan Lee has also been on the Injured list since early May with a shoulder problem. Lee, however, has made three rehab starts with the Gwinnett Stripers. Over those three rehab starts he pitched 3.0 scoreless innings only allowing one baserunner which came via the walk. This is an encouraging sign.
The next step for Dylan Lee in his rehab process would be to pitch multiple innings in one game, and then pitch to back to back games. Lee is one of the guys that Brian Snitker relies on heavily. So being able to perform well in consecutive innings and back to back starts will be crucial for Dylan Lee before he makes his return.
Yonny Chirinos- right elbow inflammation:
After only making 5 starts for the Atlanta Braves, Yonny Chirinos went on the Injured List. Granted, Chirinos has not done well with the Braves posting a 9.27 ERA over those 5 starts, but it is still a loss to have a player go on the IL. The Braves will give him the time needed to heal, and hopefully, during his rehab starts he will get into a rhythm again and start to pitch well.
Sam Hilliard- right heel contusion:
Sam Hilliard went on the Injured List on July 19th, after jamming his right foot into the first base bag on the night before. Hilliard actually began his rehab assignment on August 1st with the Gwinnett Stripers. Unfortunately, Hilliard re-injured his heel on August 5th during one of his rehab assignments. This was a big blow for him personally, and now it is unsure if he will get to play in the reminder of the season.
Obviously, you hate for any player to be hurt. But the Braves do have a strong bench right now with Kevin Pillar and Nicky Lopez, so they don’t have to feel rushed into getting Hilliard healthy in time for the Postseason.
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Yes, I know. That is a LOT of injuries -especially to pitchers- and I didn’t even cover all of the team’s ailments. But to me, despite all of the set-backs, this just shows how relentless the Atlanta Braves are. They have not let their injuries determine how they play on a daily basis. They still go out there every night and give every inning their all… and it has paid off. The Braves still lead all of Major League Baseball in wins with 82. Not to mention they’re still atop the National League East by 13.5 games.
It’s been quite a season for the Braves, and I’m excited to continue to watch them succeed!
There are 56 games left in the season, and despite being 13-10 in July, the Atlanta Braves are still leading the MLB in wins with 69, and are atop the National League East by 11.5 games. With that in mind, Atlanta is coming into August with their heads held high!
Like always, the Braves are continuing to prove just how exhilarating of a team they are. They just wrapped up their series against the Los Angelas Angels (July 31st-August 2nd) in which they won two of the three games.
Atlanta’s offense has finally started to come back again, and it is exciting to watch. The Braves have already hit a whopping 206 home runs this season, and the next closest team to the Braves in home runs is the Los Angelas Dodgers with 169- that’s a big difference! With the pace they are at right now, the Braves are on track to hit a LOT more home runs, and potentially break the single season record for home runs that was set by the Minnesota Twins in 2019. They hit a total of 307 home runs that season. The Braves only need 101 more!
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Injury wise for the Braves, there have been some updates. Max Fried has been assigned to return to the Braves rotation, and he will make his first start in almost three months in Chicago against the Cubs on Friday, August fourth. It will be good to see Fried on the mound once again, and hopefully he will pick up where he left off and continue to bring stability to the Atlanta rotation.
Kyle Wright should hopefully be returning before the month of August is over. He strained his shoulder back in May, and although he has been cleared to throw again, Atlanta’s training staff has not scheduled any rehab starts. Obviously they want to be extremely careful with Wright since he is so young and has such good potential, but hopefully he will begin a rehab assignment within the next couple of weeks.
The Braves have had a lot of pitcher-related injuries this season, and a lot of them are still a month or two away from returning. But fingers crossed that they will all be healthy and ready to go when it gets time for the postseason.
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The Atlanta Braves have some VERY talented players. They prove day in and day out just how good they are and why they deserve to be at the Major League level.
Ronald Acuña Jr. has 51 stolen bases already this season which is quite impressive. After tearing his ACL in 2021, we saw Acuña be much more cautious in the 2022 season. But now, you can tell that he is completely healthy again and having fun on those bases! It will be thrilling to watch and see how many he wracks up by the end of the season.
Matt Olson is currently leading the National League in home runs with 37. He is just two behind Shohei Ohtani (39) who leads all of MLB in home runs. Along with leading the NL in home runs, Matt Olson leads MLB in RBI’s with 91. So it is safe to say he is very productive in the Braves lineup. Olson is a very strong left-handed hitter. Yes, he pulls the ball sometimes, but we also see him hit the ball to straightaway center and to opposite field. He is such a good hitter and even though he has a tendency to strike out, I don’t feel that he gets all of the credit he deserves.
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I could sit here and talk ALL day about how good every single player in the Braves lineup is. One through nine, they all contribute each and every day and you can see how much playing for this Braves team means to them. They’re an exciting bunch to watch and I can’t wait to see what the remainder of the season has in store for them.
The Braves have not one, not two, but EIGHT players going to the All-Star game this year… and three of them are starters!
We knew that no matter what, at least one Brave was going to be in the All-Star game. But let’s face it, with the way the Braves are playing right now, the whole team deserves to be there.
Atlanta’s All-Stars this year are:
Ronald Acuña, Jr.
Sean Murphy
Orlando Arcia
Ozzie Albies
Matt Olson
Austin Riley
Spencer Strider
Bryce Elder
Ronald Acuña Jr, Sean Murphy, and Orlando Arcia are the Braves starters this year.
It’s safe to say that Albies, Riley, and Olson could’ve easily been starters…but the votes didn’t go their way this year. But at least they got the All-Star nod they deserved!
As for Bryce Elder and Spencer Strider, they have been the most consistent out of the starting rotation for the Braves, and they’ve put up pretty good numbers this year. Bryce Elder has the best ERA in all of baseball at 2.45 over 17 games. And Spencer Strider leads the MLB in strikeouts with 155. So it is safe to say these two pitchers have had some impressive numbers so far this season.
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It will be exciting to watch the Braves in the All-Star game, especially since the ENTIRE infield made it this year. Wouldn’t it be so cool to have all of them out on the field at the same time – and with a Braves pitcher on the mound?! That is not likely to happen since Arcia and Murphy are starters, but it would definitely be something special.
With the All-Star Break coming up soon, I can’t wait to see what the second half of the season has in store for the Atlanta Braves!
The Atlanta Braves have been on quite a tear lately. They have 53 wins coming into today’s game and are still in first place in the NL East with a 6.0 game lead.
I think a part of their continuing success is due to their recent lineup swap where the Braves swapped second baseman Ozzie Albies and first baseman Matt Olson in the lineup. Albies now hits second after Acuña and Olson hits in the 4,5, or 6 hole deepening on who the Braves are facing that day.
Honestly, I really like this move. While Matt Olson is a great hitter, I believe he strikes out too much to hit in the second in the lineup. While Ozzie Albies still strikes out, like all players do, his strikeout percentage has gone down a decent amount this year.
Since being swapped in the lineup, both Albies and Olson have hit very well. Olson leads the National League in home runs, with 26 long balls, and he also leads the National league with 62 RBI’s. It’s obvious that he’s got a LOT of power in his bat.
And as for Ozzie Albies, he seems to thrive wherever he hits in the lineup. He’s one of those players that no matter where you put him – he just wants to play and will give you all he’s got in every at-bat. Albies has 18 home runs, and has 56 RBI’s which is the second most in the National League. So it’s safe to say that they are not slacking in the Atlanta lineup.
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The Atlanta Braves have been an exciting team to watch this year, and Albies and Olson have definitely contributed to the excitement! I am looking forward to seeing what they bring next to this hot-hitting team!
It’s safe to say that the Atlanta Braves got off to a hot start for the 2023 season. They have not moved out of first place all season long. The starting rotation, granted it has been injury-plagued, has been pretty consistent and so has the Braves offense and defense.
Towards the end of May, things started to slow down for the Braves. They lost their series with the Dodgers (May 22nd-24th), they split their series with the Phillies (May 25th-28th), and then lost their series against the Athletics (May 29th-31st). I think those games against the Athletics were almost a wakeup call for the Braves, because after they lost the first two of the series, they fought back in game three and it gave them some serious motivation going to Arizona.
The Braves took the series against the Diamondbacks (June 2nd-4th) and have been on a hot streak since!
The Braves just wrapped up a sweep of the Mets at home, and those games were a perfect example of how relentless this Atlanta Braves team is. All three games were come-from-behind wins.
In these three games against the Mets, Atlanta’s starting rotation wasn’t as sharp as usual, but the bullpen was lights out. A.J. Minter and Raisel Iglesias were especially sharp. They came into the games when it mattered the most and did not disappoint.
Offensively, the Braves were locked in. They hit 8 home runs over those three games – five of them came in game three of the series. We know that the Atlanta Braves team can rely on the home run game a lot. Yet in this series they showed that yes, they were capable of hitting home runs, but that they’re also capable of getting base hits when needed and taking walks in high-stress situations. And, in game three of the series, Ozzie Albies smoked a 3-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to send the Braves out in style!!
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It is safe to say that this Atlanta Braves team is getting better and better and they are proving that despite their injuries, they are the team to beat in the National League.
Speaking of Injuries, here is the latest on Max Fried (left forearm strain) and Kyle Wright (right shoulder strain):
Fried was moved to the 60-day IL, but this really doesn’t affect him and the Braves too much. He isn’t expected to return until the later half of July, but he has been ramping up some of his baseball actives like playing catch and doing some of the team workouts. Obviously the Braves are going to take the precautious route with Fried. Because he is their ace, they will need him healthy and ready to go when September come; not to mention they don’t want him to need Tommy John Surgery. But it will be nice to see him back on the pitcher’s mound.
Kyle Wright has had a rough season. He missed Spring Training this year with the same shoulder strain. Then after making just five Starts for the Braves, only one of those being longer than 5 innings, he was placed on the 15-day IL. The Braves later moved him to the 60-day IL because an injury like this is a very serious one – especially with it being his pitching shoulder.
It’s heartbreaking to see these two pitchers on the injured list for the Braves because they both did so well last season, but we have to remind ourselves that these things happen to the best teams. The Atlanta Braves are lucky to have had these injuries happen in early April/May instead of late August/September.
Well, after a great road trip for the Braves to start the season, things cooled off a little bit a home. They lost the series 1-4 against the Padres and then came back to sweep the Reds. It was nice to have the Braves playing at home, and all the games were sold out.
There were definitely some exciting moments from the Atlanta Braves Home-stand. Some of those exciting moments were crucial in the Braves wins. In fact, in every single game against the Cincinnati Reds the Braves won by one run.
Orlando Arcia’s Walk-off win:
A great way to keep the momentum going from the Braves great road trip was to come home and have a very exciting walk-off win against the San Diego Padres. In the bottom of the ninth inning Arcia had a 2-out single that scored Eddie Rosario from second base giving the Braves a walk-off victory. Arcia definitely proved himself in the two and a half weeks of the 2023 season.* He has been a key part of the Braves great start.
Sean Murphy’s Walk-off win:
After losing the remaining three games against the Padres, Sean Murphy got the series against the Cincinnati Reds off right when he hit a walk-off two run home run- the first of his career- in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Murphy hadn’t shown much pop with his bat since joining the Braves, but his walk-off homer proved that he can be just as handy with the bat as he is behind the plate.
Ozzie Albies’ 100th Career Home Run:
After going on a major cold spell at home, Ozzie Albies finally broke out of his hitless streak when he hit his 100th home run of his career. And it wasn’t a cheap one – he smoked that baseball into the Chop House. It was a great home run that ended up being crucial to the Braves win.
Hopefully now that his 100th home run is out of the way, Albies will start producing more offensively like we know he is capable of doing.
Braves Sweep the Cincinnati Reds:
This series was a great bounce back from the series against the Padres. All the games had a lot of action offensively, good defense, and good pitching. Overall it was a well-rounded series.
Pitching wise, it was nice to see Kyle Wright make his season debut for the Atlanta Braves. He was put on the injured list in Spring Training with shoulder inflammation, and the Braves took extra precaution with him.
Wright did decent considering it was his first start of the season. He went 3.0 innings, allowed 4 hits, 4 runs, and allowed 4 walks and had 3 strikeouts. He wasn’t as sharp as we were used to seeing him, but I am confident that with time he will be back to being as sharp as he was last season.
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*For those of you who don’t know, Orlando Arcia was taken out of April 12th’s game as a precaution after he was hit by a pitch on his left wrist. After further examination, it was discovered that he has a microfracture and he was put on the 10-day injured list. It is not clear how much time he will have to miss, but one positive thing about this injury is that it was during the beginning of the season and not in late September.
Because Arcia is now on the IL, Vaughn Grissom will take over the role as shortstop while Arcia recovers. Considering all the playing time he has gotten in Triple-A, Grissom will be ready to go, and it will be nice to see him get some playing time.
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The Braves are showing they are capable of another great season, and I’m excited to watch them play for the remainder of the year!
Spring Training games are officially underway! It has already been an eventful Spring Training with the pitch clock, but it’s something- like it or not- that the players, coaches, and fans are going to have to get used to.
With about a month until Opening Day, it’s time to start thinking about what the Opening Day lineup lineup will look like and who the starting pitcher is going to be.
Lineup Prediction:
Ronald Acuña Jr. (RF)
Michael Harris II (CF)
Matt Olson (1B)
Austin Riley (3B)
Ozzie Albies (2B)
Travis d’Arnaud (C)
Eddie Rosario (LF)
Vaughn Grissom (SS)
Marcell Ozuna (DH)
There are a few things to note about the lineup: 1) d’Arnaud and Albies could easily swap places in the lineup. It will ultimately depend on if they’re facing a left-handed or right-handed pitcher. 2) Sean Murphy could possibly be the Opening Day catcher, however I don’t think that will be very likely. 3) Most lineups across the MLB are going to have their DH in the middle of their lineup. However, with Marcell Ozuna being our DH, I have put him last. He has not proven himself at the plate over the past couple seasons and just doesn’t seem to have it together anymore. It will be interesting to see what the Braves do with him over the course of the 2023 season.
Regardless of how it’s set up, the Atlanta Braves lineup is going to be very solid, and if everyone performs to the best of his abilities, it is going to be tough to get them out!
Starting Pitcher Prediction:
Max Fried
Fried seems like the most logical choice to be the Opening Day pitcher. He was given the job of being Opening Day pitcher last year, and I think Snitker will give it to him again this year. He is the Braves ace and has been given the nickname “Mr. Consistent,” so I believe they will go with him.
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It has been very enjoyable to have baseball back, even if it is only Spring Training. I am looking forward to Opening Day, and I can’t wait to see what is in store for the Atlanta Braves in 2023!
With pitcher and catchers set to report in less than a month, it’s time to start looking ahead to the Atlanta Braves’ 2023 season. Obviously, we are all excited for our beloved baseball to return, but there are going to be some major changes coming – not only on the Braves team, but also for the MLB rules.
The Atlanta Braves team:
Along with Dansby Swanson, Luke Jackson and William Contreras will no longer be Braves in 2023. Swanson signed a 7-year, $177 deal with the Cubs, Contreras was part of the Braves 3-way trade with the Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland Athletics, in which the Braves got catcher Sean Murphy. And most recently, Luke Jackson signed a 2-year, $11.5 million deal with the San Fransisco Giants.
It was sad to see these three loved players go, but we can’t dwell on the past…and the Braves are still the same good team we know them to be.
Rule Changes:
Why is MLB changing/creating new rules?
I recently had someone challenge me on this topic. A lot of people say that the only reason that MLB is changing the rules of the game (i.e. adding the pitch clock) is to speed up the game. That is simply NOT true! Time is a contributing factor, but it is NOT the “ONLY” reason they are adding the pitch clock as some people would like to argue. Part of the reason they are implementing the pitch clock is that it speeds up game play which will help enhance production on the field. That means there won’t be as much “dead time” for players while they’re on the field. On average, a MLB pitcher took anywhere between 15-45 seconds to throw one pitch. 45 seconds is a long time to take to throw a pitch! Not to mention, it seems the longer a pitcher takes to throw a pitch, the more comfortable the batter is facing that pitcher. From the time a batter gets into the batters box to the end of his at-bat (whether he got out or reached base) it’s about intimidation factor. If you go up to the batters box and seem uncomfortable…the pitcher is going to trample all over you. But, if a batter is hard-core staring at the pitcher while he is going through his excessive windup, then it’s going to have an impact on the pitcher and make him redo his windup, causing the at-bat to last longer.
With the pitch clock, MLB pitchers will now get 15 seconds to throw a pitch with no runners on base and 20 seconds with runners on base. If they don’t throw a pitch within that amount of time, it is charged as an automatic ball. This rule is going to be harder for some pitchers than others. For example: last year, it took Braves reliever Jesse Chavez roughly 13.5 seconds to throw a pitch. Whereas it took former Braves closer Kenley Jansen roughly 20 seconds to throw a pitch with NO runners on base, and roughly 25.5 seconds to throw a pitch with runners on. I do not mean this rudely, but as a Braves fan, I’m glad we don’t have Jansen as our closer for the first year with the pitch clock.
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There were two other rule changes that will be implemented this year. There will be larger bases, and no more shift.
When I first heard they were enlarging the bases from 15inches to 18 inches I was intrigued. Those three extra inches added onto the bases are to help prevent collisions. It will give the position player and the player running the bases more space to operate. This will especially come in handy with stolen bases – bringing the stolen base rate up that is. But stolen base rate, in the end, is not why they are enlarging the bases. They are doing it to try and prevent collisions and life-threatening injuries to the players. All of Braves Country wish these larger bases would have been on the in-field last year for Ozzie!
The new rule about the shift is that when a pitch is thrown, four infielders must be on the dirt, two on each side of second base. Once the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand, they are allowed to move, but they are not allowed to shift and “prepare” for what the hitter might do before hand.
Adding this rule to the game of baseball is to get more players to reach base. Honestly, some players should be embarrassed that MLB is adding this rule. It almost seems like a pity rule because they can’t pull their hands in and shorten their swing to hit the ball the other way.
However, in some ways I suppose it is good that MLB is adding this rule, because it keeps the infielders in the position they are supposed to be in. When Austin Riley ran across the diamond from third base to play behind first base in shallow right field after every other pitch, that was excessive. And what blew my mind was that when the third base line was WIDE open, players still hit the ball RIGHT at where Riley was positioned. Yes, I know. As a Braves fan I was happy it worked out in our favor – but come on!!!! You’re supposed to be a professional, yet you can’t hit the ball in a wide open gap.
So yes, I think it is a good thing that they are ending the shift, but I also think it embarrassing for players that they are having to take it away. That is my view on the end of the shift.
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Braves Potential in 2023:
The Atlanta Braves are a good team. Just because they lost two of their long time players does not automatically put them at a disadvantage. I believe the Braves are going to have a great 2023 season and are easily title contenders.
Here are a couple reasons why I believe this:
The Braves will have a healthy team coming into this season:
It was clear to see that Ronald Acuña Jr. was no where near 100% in 2022. He was not as comfortable in the outfield and was not the Acuña we were used to seeing at the plate or on the basepads. He was caught stealing 11 out of 40 times. While that doesn’t seem like a bunch, it’s a LOT compared to 2019 when he stole 37 bases and was only caught 9 times. Acuña has been training a lot this off-season. I think, if anything, this season taught him that he wasn’t the invincible “king” he thought he was and that it really is a team effort for all of the wins that the Braves team got. It will be good to *hopefully* see him play with a team attitude and not a me attitude this year.
It will also be absolutely wonderful to have a healthy Ozzie Albies back. Ozzie broke his foot on June 13th of 2022 and was out until September 16th. And then, on September 18th, just two days later – Ozzie broke his finger sliding into second base. It was so painful to see him go down again with another freak accident after he had just worked SO hard to come back. And you could tell that having him back sparked something in the Braves. He brings enormous energy to the club and brings out the best in Ronald Acuña Jr. Just imagine how many wins the Braves could have had in 2022 (keep in mind they had 101) if they had Acuña to his full potential and Ozzie 100% healthy.
Another player the Braves will have healthy in 2023 is RHP Mike Soroka. Soroka hasn’t played in a major league game since he tore his ACL on August 3rd, 2020. It’s been almost three years!!! That’s insane. He could have pitched in the mid 2021 season, but he tore his ACL AGAIN by walking into the Braves clubhouse for some extra rehab. Soroka was a great pitcher in the short amount of time we got to see him pitch before he became injury plagued. I am looking forward to seeing what he can/will bring to the Braves starting rotation.
Braves Young Rookie Duo:
Michael Harris the II and Spencer Strider were a big part of the success that the Atlanta Braves had in 2022. They were both extremely impressive – so impressive that they both got long-term deals with the Braves before the 2022 season was over. Now that says a LOT about their potential!
As soon as he came up, Michael Harris II was a phenomenon. His defense was easily Gold Glove worthy. I still don’t know how he made some of those plays that he did! He also brought more offensive power into the lineup. He hit his homers, got his hits, and took his walks. He found ways to get on base.
Spencer Strider started his 2022 season in the bullpen, then around late April- mid May, the Braves coaching staff made the great decision to put him into the starting rotation and there was no looking back. He had 202 strikeouts in 131.2 innings pitched. That’s incredible! Not to mention he has such a high velocity on his pitches and can control them at the same time. A lot of pitchers either throw fast and have no control of their pitches or the strike zone, or have low velocity and control of their pitches. But Strider is capable of doing both.
Harris won the Rookie of the Year award for 2022 and Spencer Strider was the runner up for the award. They have both proven that they are great players and they are going to have an impact on the Braves for years to come.
There are, of course, other reasons why the Braves have the potential to have a great season in 2023. They have a solid lineup, solid defense, a solid rotation, and a solid relief core. It’s just a matter of getting all of those things to work together at the same time. Many times last year it seemed that we struggled with having great pitching and no offense, or great offense and terrible pitching. Yet, when they got over those slumps, they were almost unbeatable.
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I am beyond excited for the 2023 season! I cannot wait to see the Braves play- and play to their full potential.
Braves Chop Chat 