Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop Happy New Year’s Eve!
By Jeff Schafer
The Braves’ “Plan B” for B.J. Upton is pretty hilarious
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: As Alan described in his post yesterday, B.J. will be on a short leash in 2015 and we possibly have someone in house ready to go – Zoilo Almonte. Upton will enter his third season as a Brave and has yet to show what he has the potential to do – well, what Frank Wren thought he could do. With the new hitting coach, Kevin Seitzer arriving in Atlanta, this could help Upton find his swing once more.
"Privately, the Braves are saying they will not tolerate more of the same and keep feeding Upton consistent at-bats. In fact, Upton has fallen so far that Atlanta would consider a Plan B that is a platoon between Yankees castoffZoilo Almonte and Todd Cunningham, whose eight major league at-bats came in 2013.I’d be up for that. Heck, Almonte’s career line of .211/.242/.282 in 149 plate appearances is only a tick below what Upton has done over his past two full seasons. And he has the added benefit of not being B.J. Upton, meaning that I’m way less likely to pull out a .38 and shoot my television when he comes on the screen. So really, it is an improvement."
Jason Grilli‘s recent signing with the Atlanta Braves has given his father, Steve, a reason to smile (video)
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: Steve Grilli pitched in the major leagues back in the mid to late 1970’s – his son, Jason, is now a part of the Atlanta Braves organization. Steve said in the video linked that many teams were interested in Jason and what it came down to was a family decision. Steve actually wanted his son to pitch with the Chicago Cubs because of the upswing they are doing but it was because of John Hart that convinced the Grilli’s to come to Atlanta. Also, Jason owns a house in Orlando, Florida and that is where the Braves host their Spring Training.
"Grilli, the 38-year-old reliever out of C.W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, will be joining his eighth big-league team after having previously pitched for the Marlins, White Sox, Tigers, Rockies, Rangers, Pirates and Angels.His father, Steve, is a former big-leaguer, himself, after having spent parts or all of four seasons with the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays between 1975-’79. Not surprisingly, he was delighted to hear the news that Jason, heretofore a free agent, had come to terms with the Braves."
New Year’s resolutions for Braves
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: With Justin Upton and Jason Heyward no longer wearing the Braves uniform, the offense must figure out other ways to score runs. The existence of living by the long ball will not be around in 2015 and the Braves must find a way to play small ball. As Cory McCartney of Fox Sports South describes, the Kansas City Royals played this type of baseball last year and it took them to the World Series – also extremely fun to watch. Hopefully the Braves can run around the bases at full speed in 2015 instead of just jogging around them occasionally….I think we would all be in a happier place if that happens.
"With Freeman and Gattis the only players currently on the roster who have hit more than 20 home runs in the past two seasons, equaling last year’s 123 seems difficult.But keep this in mind: of the seven teams that finished with less HRs than the Braves last year, two (the Cardinals and Royals) made the playoffs. What does that have to do with this Atlanta team?Maybe nothing or maybe everything. With the addition of hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, the Braves could be moving toward more of a small-ball mentality, one that could make the lack of a murder’s row of power hitters an afterthought. It’s a move that may come more from need than design, but as presently constituted, that appears to be the team John Hart and the Atlanta brass are putting on the field this spring."