Morning Chop: Atlanta Braves News 8/7
By Jeff Schafer
Braves edge Nats in tense contest
"Aug 6, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann (right) is restrained by the umpire while Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper (left) yells at pitcher Julio Teheran (not pictured) after being hit by a pitch in the fifth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY SportsBraves manager Fredi Gonzalez said after his club’s 12th consecutive victory — a 2-1 win over theNationals on Tuesday night — that ”it definitely wasn’t on purpose.”Harper — and everyone else connected to the Nationals — was sure it was.”It’s part of the game and it’s something, I guess, he’s got to do,” Harper said, his hands on his hips. Then, asked whether he was surprised Teheran hit him, Harper offered this nugget: ”Uh, I hit that ball pretty far off him. So no, not really.”And Washington manager Davey Johnson observed: ”You file it for future reference.”"
Atlanta Braves: Alex Rodriguez, Biogenesis Suspensions Help Highlight a Clean Braves Franchise
Braves’ Ties to PEDs
"The Braves can’t exactly sit on a high horse and look down on the rest of the league — more like a medium-sized pony of judgment. Atlanta has had its brushes with performance-enhancing drugs, too, but those names were not franchise-defining players, nor were they in Atlanta long enough to have to register as a steroid offender and go door to door to inform the neighbors they were moving into the area.When the infamous Mitchell Report named names, it threatened to turn baseball into this generation’s McCarthy Trials. Gary Sheffield appeared in the report, but the two seasons he played with a tomahawk across his chest did not exactly earn him entry into Atlanta’s ring of honor. The same too can be said for reliever John Rocker, whose admitted steroid use may actually be the least embarrassing thing he made news for during his career. The most highly thought of player the Braves had with ties to PEDs was David Justice. Justice played eight seasons with the Braves, including being an instrumental piece to their 1995 World Series team. The rub on Justice is that his alleged HGH use did not begin until he was five seasons removed from Atlanta, when he became teammates with Clemens on the Yankees in 2000.Other one-time Atlanta players mentioned in the Mitchell Report include Paul Byrd, Matt Franco, Kent Merker, Todd Pratt, Denny Neagle and Mike Stanton — none of which were overly consequential in Atlanta’s prolonged success of the ’90s."
The Atlanta Braves and The Two-Month Victory Lap
"Braves in first, check. Nationals with chances left, check. Nationals with a blown chance, check. Twelve and a half games. Wait. Now thirteen and a half games. Because the Braves won. The number is inserted as if the gap isn’t completely ridiculous. The number is inserted as if Nationals fans ought to be holding out hope.More than a year ago, toward the end of April 2012, I wrote an article titled “The Texas Rangers and the Season-Long Victory Lap.” The Rangers looked fantastic and they’d already opened up a seven-game lead over the Angels in the West. The Angels, of course, were supposed to be the Rangers’ main competition, and a seven-game lead is hugely substantial no matter how early it might be, since those games have to be made up. I identified the Rangers as a team with everything working, and indeed, the Angels buried themselves too deep. Then, on the last day of the year, the Rangers lost the division to the A’s and I looked like an idiot. I’d already looked like an idiot, but that made it all the worse.The lesson is that, when it’s early in the year, it’s early in the year, and there’s a whole lot of time for things to surprise you. Faced with the same circumstances, I wouldn’t write that article again. The Braves don’t find themselves in the same circumstances."
Chipper Jones On Bryce Harper
"Chipper Jones @RealCJ10Don’t walk off homers and u won’t get hit!Chipper Jones @RealCJ10Apparently some one didn’t appreciate it. Win with class, lose with class.Chipper Jones @RealCJ10Many diff takes on tonites action. It’s part of the game that I wish didn’t exist, but it does. Respect the other team, respect the game!"
-And with that…Chipper Jones retires from something else, Twitter…he said this morning he is finished, I hope this is a joke
"Chipper Jones @RealCJ10No more twitter for me. Said I’d do it for one year and the time is up. Too much hate and too many trolls. Much love to Braves country! Xo"