Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop, Box Score, Randy Johnson a Brave???
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: Don’t look now, but the Atlanta Braves younger Matt Wisler is 5-1 in a Braves uniform with a 3.43 ERA in his seven games started. The 22-year-old is making a name for himself and probably a position in the rotation in 2016. The Braves defeated the Cardinals on Sunday 3-2 to avoid being swept in St. Louis – the best team in the MLB. Braves are 1-0 since Freeman rejoined the starting lineup!! We now travel to Baltimore to take on the O’s.
Projected pitching match-ups…
Alex Wood vs Kevin Gausman
Julio Teheran vs Ubaldo Jimenez
Manny Banuelos vs Chris Tillman
More from Tomahawk Take
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- Atlanta Braves 2023 Preseason Top 30 Prospects List: 1-5
- Braves News: Braves acquire Diaz, moves around the division, more
- Atlanta Braves 2012 Top Prospects Review: J.R. Graham
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jace Peterson 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .246 | .324 | .342 |
| Cameron Maybin CF | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .282 | .346 | .399 |
| Nick Markakis RF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .286 | .368 | .359 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .298 | .368 | .516 |
| Adonis Garcia 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .250 | .333 | .625 |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .263 | .325 | .343 |
| Eury Perez LF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .247 | .310 | .299 |
| Ryan Lavarnway C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .192 | .300 | .308 |
| Matt Wisler P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .083 | .214 | .083 |
| Arodys Vizcaino P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Daniel Castro PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .500 | .500 | .500 |
| Jim Johnson P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Team Totals | 35 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 39 | .229 | .308 | .343 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Wisler, W (5-1) | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3.43 |
| Arodys Vizcaino, H (3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.13 |
| Jim Johnson, S (9) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.11 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2.00 |
Nick Markakis, former O’s teammates agree: return will be ‘weird’
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Atlanta Braves head to Camden Yards to take on the Baltimore Orioles in a three game series starting on Monday night. Former Oriole, Markakis will be returning to his former home after spending nine seasons in a Baltimore uniform. The Braves signed Markakis to a four-year, $44 million deal in December only a few weeks after having neck surgery. The Orioles were obviously concerned about his condition moving forward in his career and they decided not to resign him. The Braves came in and gave him a great contract.
"Nick Markakis admits he’s thought a lot about what it’ll be like when he takes the field at Camden Yards on Monday evening, the first time he’ll do so as an opposing player in his 10-season career.He also admits he has no idea what his emotions will be.“I don’t know what to expect, but once I get out there and I’m playing right field in a Braves uniform in Camden Yards against a team I played with for nine seasons, I can’t say it’s not going to be weird,” Markakis told The Baltimore Sun this past weekend. “I’m sure it is going to be weird. We’ll see. It’s going to be fun; it’s going to be an interesting experience.”“Kelly (Johnson) told me that when he went back and played against the Braves for the first time, it was a weird feeling,” Markakis said. “He didn’t expect anything at first, or he didn’t know what to expect. But once you get there and the game starts, it’s a little weird. I think I’m along those same lines right now.”"
From Braves draftee to Hall of Fame, Johnson’s dominance never guaranteed
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: By now, we all know that Braves pitching great, John Smoltz, joined his former teammates Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine in the MLB Hall of Fame. But did you know that they were very close to having another HOF teammate? Randy Johnson was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1982 draft out of high school, but decided to go to college to work on his control. He turned down the Braves offer to sign with the team, but one could only wonder what that could have changed in the history of the Braves. Would they have had four HOF pitchers at once? – they probably would have had more than one World Series. Would they have drafted Glavine since they already had a promising young lefty? Would they have traded for Smoltz? The “what if” game is always fun.
"The Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz triumvirate accounts for the vast majority of Braves-related anecdotes, for good reason, but dominant left-hander Randy Johnson’s ties to the organization conjure up hypothetical scenarios that border on the absurd. Johnson, once considered a talented prep project out of California, was taken by the Braves in the fourth round of the 1982 draft, but he declined Atlanta’s $50,000 signing bonus offer, opting instead to play for the late legendary coach Rod Dedeaux at Southern Cal.“It was a big decision. I got drafted, I believe, in the fourth round by the Atlanta Braves. I didn’t have as many control issues in high school because I really hadn’t hit my height spurt at that point,” Johnson said. “Then I had a few colleges that were interested in giving me a scholarship, so when I eliminated going and playing for the Braves it was a matter of deciding where I wanted to go.”Still, Johnson’s decision makes for an interesting alternate reality for the Braves. If he signs that $50,000 bonus, would the Braves have afforded Johnson the same patient approach they needed at times for Glavine and Smoltz? Does Atlanta spend another high draft pick on a left-hander (Glavine) in the 1984 draft? Would the team have still acquired Smoltz via the Doyle Alexander trade with Detroit in 1987?"