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Home , Austin Riley, Ceremonial first pitch, Dave Flemming, Gary Thorne, Jason Benetti, Jim Deshaies

Clippings Thursday, July 23, 2020 Braves.com

For Acuña and Braves, sky's the limit in '20

By Mark Bowman

ATLANTA -- Though the shape of the challenge has changed, the Braves still have the same aspirations that existed before the coronavirus pandemic ended Spring Training in March.

While the Braves would certainly like to celebrate a third straight East title, their ultimate goal is to bring Atlanta its first World Series championship since the strike-shortened 1995 season.

The 60-game season that awaits will look much different than the one navigated by those Braves 25 years ago, but the satisfaction and excitement it creates could prove to be quite similar.

Here’s a look at what to expect from the Braves in 2020.

What needs to go right? With Ronald Acuña Jr., , and , the Braves may have the NL’s best Nos. 1-4 hitters, but the bottom of the lineup is a concern. Now that Yasiel Puig is no longer an option following a positive COVID-19 test, there is a greater need for to become the masher he was in the first six weeks of his career last year. If Riley can get back on track and builds on the success he had last year, Atlanta's lineup should be plenty deep and consequently increase Acuña’s plate appearances in the leadoff spot.

Big question One of the most influential pieces this year could be Swanson, who exited last June with 15 homers and an .815 OPS. What had the makings to be a strong season crumbled as he missed a month with a bruised right heel and produced a .611 OPS over the season’s final three months. Per Statcast, the Braves hit .020 lower than his Expected Batting Average (.271) and slugged .058 lower than his Expected Slugging Percentage (.480). If he shows opposite-field power, like he did early last season, this could be a very efficient offense.

On the schedule Though getting off to a good start is important for every team during a 60-game sprint, it will be even more important to the Braves, who are scheduled to play their first 20 games -- one-third of the season -- before getting a breather. That 20-game stretch ends with a five-game road trip that includes games against the Phillies and Yankees. By Aug. 12, we may have a good feel for how successful the Braves might ultimately be this year.

Team MVP will be ... As good as Acuña was while finishing three steals shy of joining the 40-40 club last year, he's primed to be even better this season. The 22-year-old outfielder is one of four players in the past 25 years to hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases within a 60-game span. Expect him to match that feat this year and provide even greater defensive value with his arm in right field.

Team Cy Young will be ... It’s pretty hard to pick against , who is one of the most cerebral young the Braves have developed since . The young right-hander gained confidence from the gem he produced in last year’s NL against the Cardinals and could once again be an NL Cy Young Award candidate.

Bold prediction The Braves will win a third straight division title, but they will not hold sole possession of first place before the season’s final weekend.

Riley's surge eases Braves' 3B uncertainty

By Mark Bowman

ATLANTA -- Before Austin Riley hit a pair of solo homers in the Braves' 6-2 loss to the Marlins on Wednesday afternoon at , took pain-free batting practice and passed the running and agility tests administered by the training staff.

It was a good day for the Braves’ two third basemen. But with the regular season set to begin with Friday's 4:10 p.m. ET game against the Mets, it’s still not known how plans to utilize these guys. In fact, Camargo won’t even know whether he's made the roster until he tests his right hamstring again on Thursday morning.

The rosters are due by Thursday at noon ET. The Braves will depart a short time later for New York.

“Camargo has only been on the field once within the past five days,” Snitker said of the infielder, who tweaked his right hamstring during an intrasquad game on Saturday. “If he tests [well] tomorrow and then goes up there on Friday and works out, there’s a pretty good chance, [but] he’s not going to be in the lineup on Friday. It might be a few days in before we can get him out there.”

So, the Braves’ Opening Day third baseman will be Riley. But other than saying he wouldn’t be using a strict platoon between the right-handed- hitting Riley and the switch-hitting Camargo, Snitker has not said how he will divvy up the playing time at the hot corner.

Riley struggled to garner the results he was seeking during the Braves' scrimmages and intrasquad games over the past couple weeks. But the 23- year-old slugger showed his power in Wednesday's exhibition game, the club's final tune-up before the season. He cleared the center-field wall against Pablo López’s 95.1 mph fastball in the third inning, then went the other way with a homer off Elieser Hernandez’s 92.3 mph fastball in the fifth.

“It’s real good,” Snitker said of Riley's progress. “I think he made a couple adjustments today, and it seemed to work.”

While Camargo proved to be a capable starting third baseman in helping the Braves win the 2018 title, Riley has the potential to be a difference maker with his power. He hit 14 homers through his first 42 career games last year but then struggled as pitchers baffled him with offspeed and breaking pitches over the season’s final three months.

Hamels update Asked whether Cole Hamels has made any recent progress, Snitker said the veteran left-hander is still just playing catch.

“It’s just going to take a while,” Snitker said.

The Braves have not revealed whether Hamels has had a setback since left triceps tendinitis prevented him from throwing a side session on July 11. But the 36-year-old southpaw has been playing catch-up since missing Spring Training with left shoulder inflammation. He reported to Summer Camp on time but was not ready to face hitters, like each of the club's other rotation candidates.

Wright’s role? With Hamels out of the picture for now, the Braves could give the rotation’s fifth spot to , who allowed two runs on four hits and three walks over 3 2/3 innings on Wednesday. The highly regarded prospect -- No. 4 on MLB Pipeline's list of the Braves' Top 30 -- exited Wednesday's start without having been told whether he’s lined up to start the team’s fifth game of the season, on Tuesday in St. Petersburg. The only other legitimate candidate would be veteran Jhoulys Chacín, who signed a one-year deal on Tuesday.

If Wright is not in the rotation, he’ll be ready to join the piggyback approach the Braves plan to use for some of their starters over the season’s first couple weeks. Wright was used in a similar relief role during his freshman season at Vanderbilt University.

“I’ve done some piggybacks during Spring Training,” Wright said. “It’s nothing out of the ordinary that I couldn’t do, so I’m definitely OK doing that.”

Crazy travel When Matt Adams learned he was unlikely to make the Mets’ Opening Day roster, he opted out of his Minor League deal and spent all day Saturday driving back to his St. Louis home. Along his journey, which ended at 3 a.m. ET Sunday, he learned the Braves might be interested in signing him.

After spending Sunday with his family, Adams took off early Monday morning to begin an eight-hour drive to Atlanta. So within a span of a little more than 48 hours, the left-handed slugger spent at least 23 hours driving.

“I slept like a baby on Monday night, that’s for sure,” Adams said.

As Adams preps to be the Braves’ primary designated hitter, he will attempt to rekindle the success he enjoyed with Atlanta in 2017, when he hit 19 homers in just 291 at-bats. The left-handed slugger showed some of his power when he hit a walk-off homer to end Tuesday’s 10-9 win over the Marlins, then was re-introduced to third-base ’s socially distanced toe tap. “He almost tripped me,” said Adams, 31. “I really didn’t know what he was going to do until I saw his foot sticking out. Then, I had to give him some love.”

Up next Right-hander Mike Soroka will make his first Opening Day start when the Braves hit the road to begin their season against the Mets on Friday at 4:10 p.m. ET on MLB.TV. Soroka will be opposing Jacob deGrom, who has won the past two NL Cy Young Awards. Atlanta has won both of the two previous games in which these two aces opposed each other. This will be a historic day for the 22-year-old Soroka, who will become the youngest Opening Day starter in the Braves' modern-era history.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

5 make-or-break factors to follow as Braves’ season unfolds

By Gabriel Burns, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

After taking a long, winding road that at times appeared to be heading nowhere, MLB found its destination. The season is back on, though it will be unrecognizable.

The Atlanta Braves’ pursuit of a third consecutive National League East title and second World Series championship begins Friday, when they open a three-game series at the Mets to start the 60-game season.

Overall, the Braves boast one of MLB’s best rosters. They have the ideal combination of elite talent and depth. They feature a nice mix of veterans and youth. Over a 162-game season, if health cooperated, it certainly would’ve had them in the playoff conversation, if not a lock.

Across the truncated campaign, certainties are even harder to come by. And despite an impressive roster, the Braves have their share of questions too.

Five make-or-break storylines to monitor as the Braves’ season unfolds:

1. Players’ health:

The key to every team’s season will be player safety. The Braves already had four players test positive for COVID-19, and despite MLB’s encouraging low numbers thus far, the risk will increase when teams travel.

The Braves are positioned to withstand losses, but there’s no question random unavailability will play a sizable role in the season. Everyone’s hope is players stay as safe as possible and that those who are sick recover quickly and fully without complications.

As manager Brian Snitker and others around the game constantly reference, this could be a season of attrition. The team that stays healthiest will be best positioned to win.

“There are guidelines we all have to follow,” said outfielder Adam Duvall, a type 1 diabetic. “We’re all leaning on each other. It’s a collective thing. Everybody has to buy in and do the right thing. As a team, we’re going to try to stay as healthy as we can. That’s the goal at the end of this. Stay as healthy as we can and get through this in one unit.”

First baseman Freddie Freeman, who returned over the weekend after overcoming COVID-19: “I think has done a great job with the protocols in place. I have to wear a mask everywhere I go in the clubhouse. There’s testing every other day. There are temperature checks. You have to complete a home screening right when you wake up every morning.

“I think if people take a step back and look out for each other it’s going to work. Yes, there are going to be people who test positive – I did everything right and still got it. There’s no way around it. It’s not if someone tests positive, it’s when as the season goes on. You have to try to minimize it. And if people really take care of themselves and look out for themselves, you’re going to look out for other people as well.”

2. The unestablished rotation:

Mike Soroka and Max Fried should be at least above-average starters. Beyond them, it’s difficult to have any game-to-game confidence in the starters entering Friday.

Mike Foltynewicz was roughed up against the Marlins on Tuesday. Foltynewicz can be brilliant – think 2019 NLDS Game 2 – or he can be disastrous – think Game 5. He won’t have time to slowly figure himself out like he did last season, when Foltynewicz was demoted to the minors but returned with an excellent 10-start finish. The Braves need his best immediately. They need their 2018 All-Star. is a wild card. He pitched well out of the bullpen, learning how to consistently be aggressive. He wanted another shot as a starter, and he’ll get it. If he pitches well, it’d bode quite well for his and the Braves’ future.

Then there’s left-hander Cole Hamels – it’s unclear when Hamels will be ready to start a game. The Braves signed him to be a veteran innings eater who adds stability to the rotation. Instead, he’s already one of its instabilities. Whenever Hamels appears, it could provide an early-to-mid season boost. If he doesn’t perform, despite the intangible benefits, consider the signing a whiff.

Kyle Wright has a golden opportunity as the likely fifth starter. If he succeeds, the Braves are a stronger club in 2020 and Wright will enter next season inked into the rotation. If he doesn’t, the Braves’ rotation looks much thinner.

For as much depth as the Braves have, there aren’t any sure bets among it. , and even have intrigue, but they’re far from known quantities. and Jhoulys Chacin won’t invoke enthusiasm every fifth day. The rotation is the Braves’ biggest swing factor: It could be outstanding. It could be mediocre.

3. Finding a complete lineup:

The Braves’ top four is among baseball’s best: Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies, Freeman and Marcell Ozuna. What follows them could prove another strength or an undoing.

Austin Riley will be the opening-day third baseman. If he hits like he did Wednesday – two home runs – it’ll be his to keep (eventually, assuming the Braves do work Johan Camargo in). Camargo was underwhelming in 2019 while adjusting to a utility role. Just as he showed life near season’s end, an injury took him out.

Shortstop Dansby Swanson was fulfilling his offensive potential last season before a heel injury stalled the rest of his regular season. He was arguably the Braves’ best player in the postseason, leading to hope there’s still untapped potential with the bat. Health will be key for Swanson, who’s yet to complete a season without interruption.

Duvall was also stellar in the postseason, and given he’s been an All-Star, the Braves know he’s more capable than what he’s shown in his past two 74 regular season games. First baseman Matt Adams could be a solid designated hitter, and fits their need for a left-handed bat, but there’s a reason he’s been a bench player most of his entire career.

Catcher Travis d’Arnaud showed legitimate pop throughout the summer camp, but his encouraging offensive production in Tampa Bay last season isn’t sure to translate. Outfielder is another player with a track record, but his past two seasons haven’t been rousing.

Overall, the Braves have exciting players on offense beyond their top four. The odds say some will scratch the surface of their ceilings while others disappoint or don’t take steps forward. The Braves will see if the middle ground proves enough.

4. A bullpen living up to its billing:

The Braves’ high-priced bullpen will begin without lefty due to him testing positive for COVID-19 (he’s asymptomatic). The good news is Smith shouldn’t take long to be ready after he’s cleared. The bad news is nobody knows when that will be.

Smith, a 2019 All-Star whom the Braves signed to a multi-year deal last winter, might be the most important in the bullpen. The Braves planned to deploy him in tight spots, be that the seventh, eighth or ninth inning. They’ll have to make do without him for an undetermined amount of time, which obviously matters more in a shortened season.

Fortunately, the Braves are well-stacked with other options. They poured an unprecedented amount of resources into their bullpen over the offseason, assembling a group that features four former All-Stars in Smith, Mark Melancon, and Darren O’Day. The Braves also retained control artist , and they return a more experienced , who’ll more regularly pitch in the middle innings than at the end of games.

This should be one of the Braves’ greatest strengths. It provides them a significant advantage over most other clubs, especially given the scarcity of above-average bullpens in baseball. The Braves might only get one season out of this reliever group because of several impending free agencies, so they need to make it count.

5. Overcoming – or benefiting from – the field’s madness:

While the Dodgers are a comfortable bet to win the NL West, there are few locks over the next couple months. The Mariners started 13-2 a season ago yet finished as a 68-win team. In this year’s trek, such start would firmly plant one in playoff position.

Potential madness could work against the Braves. They were well-suited for a normal season, when their star power and depth likely would’ve easily pulled them away from the Marlins of the world and perhaps separated them from a Washington or New York. The NL East was expected to be close. Now, it’s going to be even .

This could help the Braves too. The Nationals’ oft-referenced poor start in 2019 would bury them in this campaign. Should the Marlins catch fire early and do damage to the Phillies, who they play six times over the first 13 games, that might put Philadelphia well behind the 8-ball. Surely, the Braves would rather the Marlins start out frisky than the Nationals, Mets or Phillies having encouraging beginnings. The unpredictability might be what makes this season most fun. It’ll create a twist that provides more hope to the hopeless and moderately levels the playing field. Slip ups loom larger while two good weeks can make a season. There will be stretches that determine the Braves’ season, be it by them or a competitor.

Wright’s stuff, Riley’s power on display before it gets real for Braves

By Steve Hummer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

For all the noise about the Braves’ depth of pitching to take on the luster of fact, someone like young Kyle Wright is going to have to inspire a little confidence in the back end of the rotation.

Wednesday’s second of two exhibition games against the – the final tune-up before the Braves open the 60-game regular season in New York on Friday – was Wright’s final audition for just that task.

And how did the depth-finding mission go?

Neither overpowering nor dispiriting, Wright pitched 3-2/3 innings in the 6-2 exhibition loss to the Marlins, yielding two runs, four hits, striking out three, walking three. So-So was not exactly the adjective everyone was looking for.

But it will have to do. “Could have been better – but not bad,” Wright said.

“A couple walks, I feel like my mechanics got away from me a little there,” he added. “I do feel like I did a decent job of coming back through that last inning.”

His parting statement was a quick strike out of the Marlins’ Miguel Rojas, Braves manager Brian Snitker then lifting Wright in the middle of the half inning on a high note.

“That last hitter I faced, that’s as good as I felt mechanically and in general,” Wright said. “Getting that last hitter, making three good breaking pitches and striking him out is something I’ll take into the next start.”

When that next appearance will be – either a traditional starting assignment or a shorter stint piggybacking off other relievers – is the question.

Wright, the 24-year-old fifth overall pick in the 2017 draft, has been commanding notice. Spring training, what there was of it, was good to him. His manager, who figures to have some say about how the Braves approach those days when the usual suspects in the rotation aren’t available, was warbling his praises throughout this brief summer school at Truist Park.

“I think he’s going to be fine,” manager Brian Snitker said before Wright’s outing Wednesday.

In terms of preparation, Wright may not be quite as far along as the other four perspective starters, but Snitker said, “That’s OK. We knew all that going in three weeks ago when we started this thing. There is nobody we’re going to have who will probably go seven innings. Just add to his building up today.”

Later Wednesday, after Wright’s day was done, Snitker was no less enthusiastic.

“Overall, I thought it was really good,” he said of Wright’s appearance. “The stuff was live. It was a productive outing.”

Meanwhile look who’s raking: Austin Riley, only 23 but already known to show impressive power in surges, hit two home runs Wednesday, the first of which cleared the most yonder center-field fence with laughable ease. As Johan Camargo continues to recover from a strained hamstring, Riley will get the start at third base on opening day Friday.

Turns out the end of rehearsal for the Braves was reserved for the younger cast members. Kids gotta play.

Big picture, how ready then are the Braves, young and old, for this late-July start of a season? No more putting this off anymore, it’s here.

As for his pitchers, Snitker said, “I feel we got everybody stretched out pretty much how we thought we could. I think we’re in good shape where everybody is as far as the work load goes.”

Overall, he added, “We’re as ready as we can be.

“It’s not six weeks of spring training (rather three weeks of summer camp). I’m still concerned about the physicality of what we’re getting into and the limited time we had to prepare.

“I think our guys’ preparation this whole camp went as good as it could. Guys were unbelievable how they worked every day, how they came in from Day 1, how the intrasquad (games) went. I told them we’ll get them in as good a shape as we can under the circumstances. I feel really good about where we’re at.”

TV rating for Braves exhibition up sharply after long absence

By Tim Tucker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Fox Sports Southeast’s telecast of the Braves’ exhibition game against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night drew a 2.13 rating in the Atlanta TV market, a 209% increase over the average rating for the network’s three telecasts of Braves spring training games before the coronavirus pandemic shut down MLB in March.

Tuesday’s rating represented an audience of about 49,000 households in the Atlanta market on average. The audience peaked at about 61,000 homes near the end of the game.

It was the highest rating for a Braves exhibition game on South/Southeast since March 31, 2017, when a Braves-Yankees exhibition – the first game played by the Braves at SunTrust (now Truist) Park – drew a 3.31 rating.

Fox Sports Southeast said Tuesday’s game topped all cable programming and the prime-time programming on ABC and CBS in the Atlanta ratings.

Matt Adams’ busy week: Drive 1,500 miles, hit walk-off for Braves

By Steve Hummer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Being Matt Adams has been an interesting, hectic thing these past four days.

Saturday: After he was told by the he wasn’t going to make their major league roster and he opted out of his contract, he hopped in his car and drove through the day and night toward home in St. Louis, nearly 1,000 miles away.

An eight-year veteran with some verifiable thunder in his bat – three seasons of 20 or more home runs – he’s wasn’t sure where his next at-bat was coming from.

“It was the first situation I’ve been in like that, so I really didn’t know what to expect,” he said Wednesday. “But I knew I could still play this game and I could still bring experience to the table. I was leaving it in God’s hands and my faith with that, knowing that when a door closes, another will open.

“I didn’t know it was going to happen that quickly, but I was thankful that it did.”

Sunday: Arrived home around 2 a.m., by which time he already heard from the Braves, a team for which he appeared in 100 games in 2017 and bailed out for stretches while Freddie Freeman recovered from a fractured wrist. He heard they would like to rent his bat again, especially now that the National League is employing the designated hitter for this shortened season. A development almost custom-suited to the 6-3, 245-pound “Big City” Adams.

Spent part of a day with family. Great to see you. Now gotta go.

Monday: Another road trip, launched at 5:30 a.m. for the 550-mile drive from St. Louis to Atlanta. “I slept like a baby Monday night,” he said.

Tuesday: Hit a walk-off in an exhibition game at Truist Park against the Miami Marlins, two days before he presumably will travel with the Braves before they open Friday against the team he left less than a week earlier, the Mets. Real circle-of-life stuff, baseball version.

The suddenness of the move back to Atlanta, “didn’t catch me by surprised, but it really sparked a thing in me to want it to work out and come back here,” Adams said.

“I know this is a winning club, and that’s what I want to be a part of.”

He was part of one a season ago, as a part-timer for the who chipped in 20 home runs and 56 RBIs in 333 plate appearances.

With the Braves, Adams can serve as a DH, a bat off the bench, even play a little first base if Freeman ever agrees to a day off. So effective was Adams in 2017 that when Freeman came back from the injury, he played a few games at third base to keep Adams in the lineup.

“No, I am not going to bring up that conversation (about moving to third again) with Freddie,” Adams laughed. “He’s too good over there at first base to move him.”

“I’m just showing up and doing my thing,” Adams said by way of defining his role. “However I can contribute, that’s how I want to go about this year. However I get in the lineup I’ll be happy with.” There’s one more adjustment he needs to make to fully fit back into the Braves – that’s learning the new etiquette for celebrating big hits. He almost tripped over Ron Washington’s foot Tuesday night when the third base coach extended his leg to give Adams a socially distant toe tap as he rounded the base.

“It’s going to something to get used to with walk-offs and how we’re going to celebrate wins this year, for sure,” he said, a problem he and the Braves hope becomes common.

Other notes from Truist Park on Wednesday:

» As the Braves work to finalize their expanded 30-man roster by noon Thursday, they had a chance to further assess third baseman Johan Camargo’s hamstring injury in workouts before the second exhibition game against the Marlins.

Hamstrings are tricky things. And Braves manager Brian Snitker was noncommittal early Wednesday about Camargo’s, preferring to wait to see how he emerged from the workout before passing judgment on his availability.

» Snitker also was rather bullish on what was a quiet move by the Braves, the signing of 32-year-old right-handed starter Jhoulys Chacin. Another one-time Brave (2016), Chacin was released by Twins.

He was not good last season with and Boston, his combined 6.01 ERA a career worst. But the Braves have seen one veteran arm – Felix Hernandez – opt out and another – Cole Hamels – shelved with shoulder issues. That made Chacin more worth a look.

“I don’t have any doubt he could go out there and throw six innings right now,” Snitker said. “He’s a guy that can navigate a lineup and knows what he’s doing. He’s pitched in all situations. I think he’s going to be a really valuable guy for us to have during this situation we’re in. I think that’s a really, really good pickup.”

The Athletic

‘Big City’ Matt Adams is back with Braves, and so might be Austin Riley’s swing

By David O'Brien

After driving more than 900 miles from New York to St. Louis on Saturday, Matt Adams drove another 500-plus miles from St. Louis to Atlanta on Monday. But part of the first drive and all of the second were done with a sense of anticipation and excitement, because “Big City” knew he was going back to the Braves.

He agreed to a minor-league contract with Atlanta on Sunday, signed it Monday after driving from St. Louis and hit a line-drive walk-off homer Tuesday in his first game back with the Braves to give them a 10-9 win over Miami in a game the Marlins led 8-1 entering the bottom of the eighth inning.

“It’s awesome,” Adams said during a Zoom video call with reporters Wednesday. “Great group of guys here. I really enjoyed my time here in ’17, and when the opportunity presented itself to come back, I wanted it to work out. And here we are.”

Adams, who filled in impressively for injured Freddie Freeman during part of the 2017 season, is back with the Braves after opting out of his minor- league contract with the New York Mets on Saturday, after being told he wasn’t going to make the Mets’ Opening Day roster. His minor-league deal was signed with the understanding that there will be a spot for him on the big-league team.

The Braves, who had been looking to add another left-handed hitter with power, plan to use Adams, 31, as a designated hitter, pinch hitter and backup first baseman.

“I think everybody (on the Braves) when he walked in the door, was very happy,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Because we’re familiar with him, and he did such a good job for us that year when Freddie went down. We have nothing but good memories of him, and I hated seeing him on the other side when he left here.”

Reliever Luke Jackson was one of those pleased to see Adams fill the clubhouse doorway.

“All the guys it feels like (general manager Alex Anthopoulos) brings in, they just blend in, they jell,” Jackson said. “We got ‘Big City Light’ back, who is a phenomenal human being, a great piece. Guys like that, character is a big thing for our front office, and they choose guys with good character. And it’s cool to play with just a great group, a fun bunch.”

Jackson’s “Big City Light” was in reference to the considerable weight Adams dropped following the 2016 season, after getting the “Big City” nickname earlier with the St. Louis Cardinals when the 6-foot-4 slugger weighed 260 pounds. During the past five seasons, Adams has posted a .788 OPS while averaging 19 home runs in 120 games and just more than 340 plate appearances, including 20 homers in 111 games for the World Series champion Washington Nationals in 2019.

When asked what it would be like facing the Nationals so soon after winning a World Series ring with them, Adams smiled and said, “It’s gonna be awesome. Ready to bring one here to Atlanta, that’s for sure. Last year was an awesome moment for us to bring the first World Series to D.C. and whatnot. But it’s in the past. We celebrated, and it’s time to get ready for the 2020 season.”

A year ago, Adams would sometimes be seen chatting with Braves players, Snitker and coaches on the field before Braves-Nationals games. He also texted regularly with a few Braves he became close to in 2017. He said it’ll be a similar experience with members of the Nationals after spending most of two seasons with them.

“I still keep in touch with a lot of those guys over there in Washington,” he said. “I had a great two years there. But as soon as I step out on the field, that all goes. They’re the visiting team, and we’re here to win. So I kind of put that behind me and go out and play the game I know how to play, try to get that W every night.”

Adams was driving from New York to St. Louis on Saturday when his agent called to let him know Atlanta was interested after the Braves’ deal with Yasiel Puig fell through when Puig tested positive for COVID-19. It didn’t take Adams long to say yes to the Braves’ offer.

He didn’t know if he would be able to catch on so quickly with a team before the season began and didn’t know of the Braves’ potential interest until they called.

“I really didn’t know what to expect (upon opting out with the Mets),” Adams said. “I knew that I was informed I wasn’t going to make the roster with New York. I was kind of on the outside looking in. So I packed my bags and started my journey back to St. Louis and got a phone call saying that the Braves were interested.

“And that, like, really, really sparked a thing in me to want it to work out to come back here, just because I know this is a winning club, and that’s what I want to be a part of.”

Hundreds of highway miles later, he was back at Truist Park, where he made a big splash with the Braves in 2017.

“Yeah, couple of long days,” he said of the trip from New York via St. Louis. “I drove Saturday morning, got home Sunday morning at 2 a.m. Spent all day Sunday with the family, then got up Monday morning at 5:30 a.m. and drove down here. So I slept like a baby Monday night, that’s for sure.”

He was 1-for-3 with two walks and the game-ending homer Tuesday in his first game back with the Braves, the homer coming off a hard-throwing left-handed prospect, Alex Vesia, who has a 1.62 ERA with only four homers allowed in 100 innings in two minor-league seasons.

For some, it harkened to how Adams announced his presence upon being traded to the Braves from St. Louis in May 2017 after Freeman sustained a broken wrist when he was hit by a pitch. Adams homered in his second and third games with the Braves and hit .298 with 12 homers, 31 RBIs and 1.009 OPS in his first 31 games for them.

Sixteen of his 20 homers last season with Washington came against right-handers, but Adams also averaged one homer every 15 at-bats against lefties in 2019. In an eight-year career, he has a .273 average and .816 OPS against right-handers and .208/.608 versus lefties.

“Actually, I remember he had a game winner or two off lefties when he was here before,” Snitker said. “That was a good day for him (Tuesday), getting all those at-bats was really good.”

Adams couldn’t have scripted a better return to the Braves, even if it was merely an exhibition game. He’ll get a chance to show the Mets what they’re missing when the Braves open the regular season Friday in New York against the Mets at .

“I felt like I put together some good ABs (Tuesday),” he said. “After (Vesia) threw that first fastball, I was hoping that he’d throw another. Because it had a little bit of sneak to it, it played up a tick. So after the first one I fouled off, I figured I got my timing down, and he threw another one, and I didn’t miss it. It was a great feeling.

“Kind of an awkward feeling rounding the bases, seeing some guys stay on the field, some guys not. It’s definitely going to be a thing to get used to with walk-offs and how we’re going to celebrate the wins this year, for sure.”

Third-base coach Ron Washington gave him a toe-tap congratulatory gesture rounding third. Adams laughed and said “Wash” nearly tripped him.

“I really didn’t know what he was going to do, and then at the last second, I saw his foot sticking out,” he said. “So I had to give him some love rounding third base.”

Riley looks ready

If Johan Camargo hadn’t missed much of the past week of the summer camp with hamstring tightness, perhaps there would be some question as to who would be the Braves’ Opening Day starter, Camargo or Austin Riley. Perhaps.

But even if Camargo stayed healthy there’s a good chance it would’ve been Riley, after Freeman returned Friday from his COVID-19 battle and it was apparent the Braves wouldn’t need Riley to move across the diamond and fill in at first base.

Because after Riley hit two home runs Wednesday against the Marlins in the Braves’ second and final exhibition game of the summer camp, it gave him four homers in 14 games, including spring training. And as long as he’s hitting for power, the Braves will find it difficult to keep Riley’s bat out of the lineup, especially when it’s not clear what production they can expect from Marcell Ozuna, their presumptive cleanup hitter.

“Riley will be the third baseman Friday because we’re not sure where Camargo is going to be,” Snitker said Wednesday, meaning where Camargo would be health-wise.

Camargo tested his hamstring with a full workout, including batting practice Wednesday, and made it through without incident. But Snitker said the Braves would wait to make a roster decision after working him out again Thursday morning before the team’s flight to New York, where they’ll open the season Friday (4:10 p.m.) against the Mets and two-time defending Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom.

Riley continued what he began at North Port, Fla., during spring training, where he hit .357 (10-for-28) with four walks, five and a 1.080 OPS in 12 games after working on smoothing his swing mechanics during the offseason. That included a couple of winter trips to Dallas to work with Braves minor-league hitting instructor Mike Brumley, to get his swing back where it was early in the 2019 season.

The relatively low total this spring and a more-consistent approach were what impressed and encouraged coaches and team officials. Riley’s offseason work helped eliminate some of the slide with his back foot, allowing him to stay back and wait longer on pitches instead of chasing and being off-balance, unable to cover as much of the plate as he can again now.

Both homers Wednesday came on fastballs in the strike zone. But it was off- and breaking stuff that gave him fits last year, particularly pitches that he didn’t recognize quick enough, that started in the strike zone and broke away from his bat as he flailed behind in counts. Sliders in particular were his kryptonite.

Can he hit or lay off those pitches other than fastballs now? The Braves will soon find out.

Here’s what Braves hitting coach said during spring training about Riley’s adjustments and why he believed Riley was in a far better place than a year ago when his blazing start to his rookie season was followed by an extended slump.

“He’s eliminated his hip slide. He was really sliding out from under himself, which causes inconsistent path, inconsistent hand speed and then inconsistent timing to go with it,” Seitzer said. “When he was hot, it was great; he got away with it because he was hot. But then when he started to lose it, and then he started to get too conscious of not chasing — that’s when he started missing his fastballs. And that was the beginning of the end.

“When you’re missing your heaters because you’re worried about chasing sliders, then he’d realize he was late, and he’d have to get back on the fastball, and then he’d start chasing sliders again. Because you just lose hand speed when you slide (hips), and he’s eliminated that. That’s huge.”

After destroying Triple-A pitching for several weeks early in the 2019 season, Riley was called to the majors and remarkably continued the pace, hitting .329 with nine homers, 26 RBIs and 1.065 OPS in his first 20 games from May 15 through June 6. He was NL Rookie of the Month for May despite only being up for two weeks.

But after that audacious first 20 games, he hit .185 with nine homers, 23 RBIs and a .624 OPS over his remaining 60 games, striking out 81 times in 195 at-bats during that four-month period, which was broken up by a month on the for a partially torn knee ligament.

Riley has been healthy all spring and through summer camp, and he’s eager to get the season started and excited to be at third base after spending most of his rookie season out of position in left field.

“I have the (outfield) glove, but as of right now I’m focusing on third base,” said Riley, who gladly will play anywhere they put him, but acknowledges he’s pleased to be at his natural position, third base. “I’ve grown up playing it. I want to play in the big leagues a long time at third base. So getting the opportunity to work there and get all our reps, it’s awesome. I love it.”

When Freeman missed the first two weeks of summer camp workouts and intrasquad games while on the COVID-19 IL, the Braves were prepared to start Riley at first base. But Freeman made it back just in time — if it had been another couple of days, he would’ve probably begun the season on the IL — and Riley and the rest of the Braves were beyond relieved.

“It’s huge,” Riley said. “Having a guy like that out is the last thing you want. He’s the best player on our team, he’s our No. 3 guy in the lineup. To not have him in the lineup, that would have been devastating. For him to have those two negative (COVID-19) tests and get back here — it’s a huge confidence boost for everyone.”

‘So, that’s going to be weird’: MLB announcers prep for an unprecedented season

By Meghan Montemurro

The home TV booth at Yankee is now devoid of its typical hustle and bustle on game day. A glass wall separated YES Network play-by-play announcer Michael Kay from his broadcast partner , located in an adjacent booth, during Monday’s exhibition game against the Phillies.

Over the past three weeks, broadcast teams throughout Major League Baseball have been ramping up preparations for their new reality centered on social distancing, calling road games off monitors and being backed by the din of fake crowd noise. TV and radio broadcasters are fans’ connection to the game when they cannot be there in person – and this year, no one can.

“The thing that worries me a little bit is I’ve always been a broadcaster that doesn’t work off a monitor a lot, because I started in radio, so I always broadcast off the field and I continued that when I went over to TV,” Kay told The Athletic. “So just reading the ball off the bat is going to be a little bit of a challenge, but something that could be conquered. You’re at the mercy of the director and you’re not going to see where the outfielders are lined up specifically before each pitch. It’s going to be hard to read the ball off the bat. A ball on TV that looks like it’s going to be a home run could end up just being a normal fly ball. That’s going to take some getting used to.”

Playing a shortened 60-game season amid a pandemic requires creativity, and that extends to the TV and radio broadcast booths across Major League Baseball. Ahead of the season kicking off Thursday, The Athletic spoke to seven broadcasters about how they will adjust to these unique circumstances and the potential challenges ahead.

For half the games, TV announcers will not have the benefit of seeing the action in person. Radio play-by-play announcers and color analysts are permitted to travel and call games in the opponent’s ballpark. At the moment, no teams’ radio broadcasters are planning to travel for road games. However, the Giants’ and Phillies’ radio teams are among those leaving open the possibility of traveling at some point this season. The broadcasters would be responsible for getting themselves to road games; they are not allowed to fly on a team’s charter as they normally would, or travel to and from the ballpark on the team bus because of league protocols. This contributed to , ’s play-by-play announcer, and , the color analyst, deciding against covering road games, for now at least.

“We were willing to take a risk in being on airplanes, being on the road for a few weeks during the season, and the benefit would be a better broadcast,” Flemming said. “But we decided without that cushion of being with the team, the risks were too high to make it worth it. So we’re just going to do our best to pull it off otherwise.”

The Phillies asked radio play-by-play announcer Scott Franzke if he wanted to travel. Franzke consulted with his road broadcast partner Kevin Frandsen, who tried to get him on board with the idea of renting an RV. Frandsen went so far as securing a driver – his dad. Franzke was intrigued by the concept, until he saw the beginning of the Phillies’ road schedule, which included series against Toronto and Miami.

“I really think that’ll be a matter of repetition more than anything else,” Franzke said. “I have no doubt that (initially), I will be looking at the scorebook in front of me and instinctively look out towards the field and realize there’s nothing there.”

“Like everything else with this crazy year and season, be ready to be flexible.”

Renardo Lowe, one of the lead directors of the Brewers’ TV broadcasts, operates on a central approach: Cover the action on the field.

That’s what fans want to see. This becomes even more important given the limitations for local baseball broadcasts in 2020. Both home and road teams will operate off a “world camera feed,” which will also be used by radio broadcasters when calling road games. Essentially, this camera is a 50-50 feed that doesn’t skew toward one particular team. Each can also add their own graphics to the world feed.

Prioritizing social distancing and safety means fewer people on-site aiding the technical components of a broadcast. Lowe said a dual production truck could feature as many as 22 people in it during games before this year. Now, it will be limited to 12. The home team’s production crew is responsible for both the world feed and providing supplemental feeds. Each team will have only one cutaway camera at their control to help localize their broadcasts. Broadcasts will become very dependent on what the home director is covering. The home team’s production team is obligated to cover both teams equally. So, when St. Louis plays Milwaukee, fans will likely see more direct shots of Christian Yelich on the Cardinals’ Fox Sports Midwest broadcast or of Yadier Molina on the Brewers’ Fox Sports Wisconsin. Lowe said he will have to be cognizant of not getting too involved with what Brewers play-by-play announcer Brian Anderson is talking about, thus skewing what appears on the world feed.

“You kind of have to approach it with the mindset that things will change,” Lowe said. “We have to learn after every game and even after every inning, we’ll have to kind of re-evaluate and say, hey, that worked well or we need to rethink how we do this.

“Baseball is so much about storytelling and the announcers and their sense of humor and the stories they tell. That’s probably going to be the greatest challenge because there aren’t fans in the seats, so that atmosphere and environment isn’t going to be there.”

The lone cutaway camera will be the directors’ opportunity to put a local spin on the broadcast. Teams have some say as to where in the ballpark it’s located. For many teams, it will be set up on the side opposite the road dugout. So, for example, the local camera would be mid-first base line on the concourse, allowing shots into the dugout. Lowe plans to use his liberally in between at-bats to allow Anderson and longtime radio announcer to tailor their commentary to the Brewers. Familiarity among regional directors can bolster the broadcasts, too. Lowe knows his counterparts well for the other teams, and that familiarity will help him anticipate where they focus their camera and how they cut a game. The person in charge of the road camera will have a direct line to the TV directors of visiting teams and also will be able to hear the commentary from the visiting TV booth, so they can react accordingly to get relevant footage to the conversation.

“We’ll just do our normal thing and it is what you make of it,” Anderson said. “We’ll continue to tell stories and continue to talk about the Brewers’ players in that context. You’re just not going to have the shots to back up what you say. So if I recognize that somebody in the dugout is getting treatment, well, the director is going to have to fight his urges to show that (on the world feed), because that would be totally out of left field and maybe the other team is not going to recognize what that is.”

Anderson will have two new monitors at his disposal during games. One will feature an isolated feed of the high robotic camera atop the netting behind home plate. It allows him to see players’ defensive positioning. Another screen will have a tight-center shot focused on the pitcher, catcher, hitter and home plate . Aside from what he sees on air, those two feeds become Anderson’s eyes when the Brewers are on the road.

“Baseball’s the hardest sport to call off a monitor,” Anderson said. “You have to train your eyes.”

Radio broadcasters will still be tasked with needing to be more descriptive to their audience than their TV colleagues, making them particularly reliant on what is shown on the feeds. That could be an issue if the world feed doesn’t give both teams equal on-screen time.

“We get the worst of both worlds where the picture isn’t matching what we’re interested in talking about and we’re not privy to why they’re showing those pictures,” Flemming said. “I think everybody’s going to make a real attempt to kind of play this down the middle. Everybody I talked to, the TV productions are going to try to be as basic as possible, but that’s not gonna eliminate those instances where we’re going to get cut off from the things that maybe otherwise we’d be talking about.”

Broadcast teams may have to adjust how they play off each other, since they might not all be in the same location. The most common combination of broadcasters for YES Network, which typically airs about 150 Yankees games a year, is a three-man booth of Kay and color analysts Cone and Paul O’Neill. At one point two months into the shutdown, Kay, Cone and O’Neill tested “announcing” a simulated game in MLB The Show remotely from their respective homes. When the trio is the Yankees’ TV game crew, O’Neill will participate from his home in Cincinnati, while Kay and Cone are on-site at for home games and in YES Network’s studio in Stamford, Conn., for road games. For those studio games, Kay estimates 15 feet will separate him and Cone while using a big monitor to call the game.

“We’re going to completely be at the mercy of people that we don’t even know, so that’s going to be a little bit of a challenge,” Kay added. “It’s not going to be our Yankee-centric broadcast. We’re going to have to make it as such, but not with the pictures to match all the time.”

When ESPN play-by-play announcer calls Thursday night’s season opener between the Yankees and Nationals, his backdrop won’t be .

Vasgersian and color analyst will call their national games from ESPN’s studio in Bristol, Conn., this season, though it won’t be the first time the network’s lead baseball announcer does games off site. In his seven seasons (2002-08) as the Padres’ play-by-play announcer, Vasgersian gained experience doing games remotely when San Diego had an exhibition series in China and the team didn’t send its broadcasters. Vasgersian, 52, previously was part of Olympics broadcasts on NBC Sports that required working off-site, too.

“You have to embrace it,” Vasgersian said on a conference call last week. “You have to understand that you don’t have the usual channels that you’re used to for getting your information. You are kind of on the monitor. And when sports TV is working at a high level, there’s this kind of triangle of creative thought that’s all working in simpatico: producer, director, booth.”

Vasgersian and Rodriguez won’t have any scheduled rehearsals ahead of ESPN airing the season opener. A key to remote broadcasts, Vasgersian said, is to be prepared for last-minute changes – without being at the ballpark, the chain of command is different if there’s, say, a lineup substitution – and stay flexible. The duo will be relying on whatever sounds and images are shown to them in studio. Vasgersian is trying to get the biggest monitors as possible, ideally jumbo screens, from which he will call the action.

Between Thursday night’s opener and , ESPN is broadcasting seven games. For non-exclusive games, such as the three airing Friday, the home team’s regional sports network is responsible for providing a feed. ESPN will augment it, using additional cameras, K-Zone and other “bells and whistles,” senior vice president of production and remote events Mark Gross said. Those games will also be called from their Bristol studio where or would be on site, though the color analysts would contribute from home. It slightly deviates from the Korean baseball broadcasts where everyone is at home during broadcasts.

One of the things Rodriguez will miss the most from not being at the ballpark is chatting with players, whether it’s about their health, what’s going on in their lives and anything in between.

“Ninety percent of that stuff you don’t use on the air,” Rodriguez said, “but it kind of gives you color and it helps you round out the telecast as you are well informed.”

Since June 2, ESPN has aired six live KBO games each week. That process helps Gross and the network determine what works best on remote baseball broadcasts and challenges that might arise during the MLB season. Gross reiterated multiple times that technology is their best friend in pulling off these games, along with an open mind. ESPN learned that a little bit of crowd noise goes a long way, Gross said. So fake crowd noise and live ancillary sounds from the empty ballparks (organist and public address announcer) will be incorporated into the broadcasts. Gross, coordinating Phil Orlins and producer Jeff Dufine found the audio sweet spot for broadcasts through experimenting during those KBO games, figuring out the right balance to capture on-field chatter and the supplied crowd noise to make it feel natural for viewers at home.

As of last Thursday, it was still unclear whether ESPN would have expanded delays with the feed, according to Gross, in order to make sure the audio is clean and avoid certain on-field chatter.

“We are not looking to fool anybody,” Gross said. “We realize there’s no fans there, but by having a little crowd sound below the announcers just seems to make it work and doesn’t sound quite so hollow when we are doing the games.”

Added Vasgersian: “I can’t wait to hear what we hear. Nobody involved in broadcasting baseball wants to compromise strategy. We are not looking to pry into the playbook so to speak, but we do want to hear things that maybe we wouldn’t have heard ordinarily. I’m looking for the positives in this weird year of ours and that, for me, is one of them.”

“Things are changing and will continue to change when it comes to TV production,” Gross said. “I think everybody is realizing that just because you did it one way for X number of years, doesn’t mean you have to do it the same way.”

White Sox TV play-by-play announcer has been part of ESPN’s KBO broadcasts. Benetti said he tries to slow down his brain as much as possible so he’s not too far ahead of the action. Working off the same perspective as the viewer creates a different dynamic.

“There’s almost a fun challenge, like a crossword puzzle presents, in that you’re trying to figure out the best way to convey the game without at all putting the labor on the viewer,” Benetti said. “Our goal is to put as much of the strain on us rather than the viewer.”

There is an art to calling games, and skills that play-by-play announcers hone over the years.

Letting a moment play out a little longer, allowing the action to breathe and being a tick behind the on-field play becomes more important for remote broadcasts. Some balls hit into the outfield corners might be obstructed on screen. Home runs might be harder to judge right off the bat.

“All the different stadiums have quirks between the lines and the booth and the way the stands are,” Franzke said. “On those, you might have to rely on somebody else, and I may just have to lay back sometimes and not call it wrong. I guess if I get it wrong, I’ll just correct it and move on because I’m hoping that people are so excited to have some sort of live sports to listen to that they’ll grant me a little bit of grace to make a few mistakes along the way.”

Familiarity and camaraderie on a broadcast team become increasingly important in an unconventional season.

“To be working the first year with a new guy in a situation like that would be really weird,” said Cubs TV color analyst , who has worked alongside since 2013. “Having a few years under our belt together, I think we’ll be able to pull it off. It’ll be comfortable; I’m not worried about that. I’m just worried about the lack of people in the ballpark.”

The lack of ambient ballpark noise creates potential complications for broadcasts. Even with the canned crowd sounds, some broadcasters are concerned about calls bleeding into those of their TV or radio counterparts. Imagine a walk-off home run at . Boisterous reactions from Franzke and Phillies TV play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy could get picked up on each other’s microphones. Although intrasquad games have served as good test runs for how broadcasts will operate in the season, a big hit in a scrimmage won’t have the same oompf behind the call compared to a real game.

“It’s going to be super odd when we’re (at ) alone,” Flemming said. “It’s not like the big scoreboard will be able to have sound. It’d be one thing if we were sort of watching TV with sound up on the big video board.”

Kay is concerned about how much players will be able to hear from the field. He recalled a conversation with Orioles TV play-by-play announcer , who was behind the microphone on April 29, 2015, at Camden Yards. That day, played the White Sox without fans in the stands because of nearby riots and protests. Adam Jones hit a double in the game with Thorne and his booming voice serving as the soundtrack to the play – and not just for MASN viewers. From second base, Jones called, “Shut up, Gary. We can hear you.”

“So, that’s going to be a little weird,” Kay said.

A new setup will inherently have its hiccups. Benetti wants to make sure viewers at home enjoy the White Sox telecasts without worrying about what might be happening behind the scenes. Improving the experience is part of a broadcaster’s job, regardless of the circumstances.

“I think we all are a little nervous, but nervous is OK, too,” Anderson said. “We’re all a little anxious, but it’s good to be stretched every now and then and to get out of our comfort zone and just remember what we’re doing is entertainment and it’s fun. We’ll do our best and try to make it interesting.”

Schultz: As Braves near opener, let’s hope this season will be about baseball

By Jeff Schultz

If your objective is an escape and pure enjoyment, divert your attention. Ignore the empty seats. Ignore the cardboard cutouts of fans and the camera shots of the lonely team mascot roaming the stands for some strange marketing reason. Ignore the words about daily tests and masked-up coaches and umpires and certainly the real world swirling around this petri dish. Turn down the volume on your TV to mute the fake crowd noise. Maybe say a prayer to your higher power or even .

Just watch baseball. Watch, even if, to borrow the words of Braves reliever Luke Jackson, “it’s gonna be a little weird.”

Yes. But real games are here. The Braves open their season Friday night in New York.

This feels less like the usual celebration of Opening Day and more like the first day of a science lab, where there’s always one kid who sneaks off when the teacher’s back is turned and thinks, “So what happens if I take the stuff in this tube and mix it with the stuff in this tube?”

We need sports as a diversion.

We need our health to appreciate that diversion.

Pick a side.

Baseball’s season will be short — 60 games. Weird. The trade deadline will be in a month. Weird. The Braves’ magic number after the first weekend will be in the 50s. Weird. A 10-game winning streak will have the mathematical impact of a 27-game streak in a 162-game season. Weird. Both leagues will use the designated hitter. Weird only in that it makes sense. Baseball, endeavoring to save arms and throw stuff against the wall in an experimental season, also will have extra innings begin with a runner at second base. So weird.

Baseball thoughts: The Braves, with a solid lineup and a deep bullpen, have a chance to contend for a title. This assumes the two stable young arms and minds at the top of their rotation (Mike Soroka, Max Friend) are supported by the less stable beings below them (Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb) and also that one day soon Cole Hamels doesn’t make those scary, crackling noises when he lifts his arm. (Bad sign: Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos is so uncertain about Hamels and the rotation’s depth that he signed vagabond Jhoulys Chacín, who has pitched for six teams in the last five seasons and in 2019 went 3-12 with a 6.01 ERA and 25 homers allowed in 103 1/3 innings.)

Science thoughts: The Braves had four players initially test positive for COVID-19 and two players and one coach decide to sit this season out, and we learned Tuesday that likable player-turned-broadcaster has the virus.

The general recent testing news has been positive. According to MLB officials, there were only six new positives (five players, one coach) in 10,548 tests in a five-day period. But games haven’t started yet.

Will players continue to practice social distancing at home and mostly hibernate in their hotel rooms until it’s time to get on the team bus on the road? Sightseeing, restaurants — all of that is out.

Jackson said he has adjusted to the testing protocols and wearing a mask but not everything else.

“No fans — you play for that adrenaline rush,” he said. “You can try to simulate it, but it’s hard to get that going. Shotgun a Red Bull or something.”

His normal road routine includes walking to a coffee shop in the morning.

“I guess that’s a no-go now,” he said. “I’ll be a hotel coffee drinker now.”

His manager, Brian Snitker, doesn’t completely disagree.

“I don’t know that they’re going to shoot anybody if they step outside to get a cup of coffee or anything like that,” Snitker said. “But you have to be aware when you go out. You have to be accountable to your teammates. It’s going to be a boring existence.”

Baseball thoughts: What can the remarkably cool Soroka do as the ace of the Braves’ rotation at the age of 22? How can Ronald Acuña Jr. follow up his near 40-40 (41-37) season? Can others in the lineup compensate for the free-agency loss of and the opt-out by Nick Markakis? Will a bullpen that includes Will Smith (when healthy), Mark Melancon, Shane Greene, Chris Martin and Jackson carry the team? Can the Braves win a postseason series for the first time in 19 years?

Cling to the drama. Embrace the uncertainty. Throw something at your TV. It’s all part of what makes sports a great reality show.

Science thoughts: Freddie Freeman and Touki Toussaint are healthy after testing positive before summer camp. Smith and Pete Kozma remain out. Markakis, Félix Hernández and coach opted out. Overall, MLB has had 93 positive player/coach tests (4 percent) since intake in late June and 18 opt-outs. I’ve never flip-flopped on my desire to have baseball back, only on whether it could be done safely. To this point, MLS and NBA have worked, although those sports are in BubbleLand at Disney.

Atlanta sports fans couldn’t draw any satisfaction out of either. Atlanta United were buried early in the “MLS Is Back” tournament. The Hawks didn’t make the cut for the NBA bubble. Nobody knows about football, college or pro. The Braves represent a bubbling spring in the middle of a sports desert.

Freeman understands the dilemma. He was so sick that his fever spiked at 104.5 degrees, and he prayed, “Please don’t take me.” He has a wife and a 3-year-old son. But once Freeman was cleared medically, he returned to the Braves. Didn’t hesitate. He praised MLB’s testing protocols, but he knows that for this to work it goes far beyond that.

“You still have to be truthful with yourself,” Freeman said. “That’s going to be the hard part. Is someone (thinking) they just have a little bug, and they don’t say anything, and they still come to the yard? You have to be accountable. People are going to test positive. I did everything right and still got it. So it’s not if people test positive, it’s when. But you have to try to minimize it.”

Hope for the best and hold your breath. For two to three months. Play ball.

New York Post

Sneak peek: Fox to use virtual fans for MLB broadcasts

By Andrew Marchand

Fox will utilize virtual fans for its MLB game broadcasts beginning Saturday.

The use of augmented reality is designed to make viewers feel as if telecasts are as normal as possible, despite the ongoing pandemic that has left ballparks empty.

“The original concept sounds like something that would never even happen — pie in the sky,” Fox Sports executive vice president Brad Zager told The Post. “Pretty quick after this pandemic hit we thought we could be in a position to produce games without crowds.

“We were dead set on trying to make the broadcast with no crowd feel as authentic and organic as possible. We want to give people an escape.”

Zager provided The Post a sneak peek of what augmented reality is and, while not perfect, it does look realistic.

When you contrast with the view of an empty stadium or cardboard cutouts, the experience probably will be superior.

That said, we will reserve full judgment as we only saw a 90-second demonstration.

Fox also is working with the NFL, which could implement it on games if, as it appears now, most, if not all, could be crowd-less.

“We will learn a lot,” Zager said. “The NFL has been partnering with us and knows where we are in this process, and we will continue to work with them as we get closer to NFL season in rolling it out there, if we do.”

Three weeks ago, Fox, led by senior vice president of graphic technology & integration Zac Fields and their partners on the project, Silver Spoon Animation and SMT, along with MLB, sent officials to Chase Field in Phoenix to see what a virtual crowd would look like during a game. The technology gives the network ways to make the look more appealing.

Saturday’s Yankees-Nationals telecast will feature virtual fans and Fox can gear it the way it pleases.

Fox has the ability to decide the attendance. At Nationals Park on Saturday, it can program whether it wants 30 percent or whatever of the crowd to be Yankees fans.

The fans will dress according to the weather and will show emotion depending on what happens in the game. They could do the wave.

They will not be able to catch a home run ball or, when the Yankees are at home, do a Bleacher Creature chant yet.

There may be critics of adding fans, feeling it is not authentic, and perhaps starting a slippery slope. Fox will not have any permanent graphic that remains up that says “video enhanced,” which we would recommend. Fox’s broadcasters will acknowledge the use of the virtual fans.

“It is not like we are trying to make people feel like there is a crowd there,” Zager said. “We are trying to make them feel that in the normal pitch- by-pitch, shot-by-shot baseball it is what they are used to. We aren’t trying to fool anyone.” As of now, no other networks are using virtual fans. ESPN, TBS, YES, SNY and all other RSNs will have cardboard cutouts or empty seats. When asked if others would be able to utilize it if it were a success, Zager said he had not thought about it, but seemed open.

“We are good partners with Major League Baseball,” Zager said. “We would work with people if they wanted to adapt also.”

On MLS, Fox has added crowd noise, while ESPN has tried to pick up more of what players and coaches are saying. The added fan chants are superior as, without it, the MLS games feel too much like a random college game you might watch on ESPN+.

For the NBA, hearing players mic’d up may be really good as basketball is more suited for conversations and trash talk than a more spread out game, like soccer.

The response of many soccer fans watching the added sound on MLS or NBC’s Premier League is the enhanced sound becomes unnoticeable after a little bit.

Zager said he is hoping the same impact can happen now with video, though Fox is not trying to trick anyone.

“When people see it I think there is a comfort to seeing sports the way you are used to seeing them in a time like right now,” Zager said. “What sports are is an escape to all the things that are going in the world. We want to make this escape right now as close as it was before and have as much fun as possible.”

MLB discussing expanded playoffs for 2020 season

By Ken Davidoff

An industry source confirmed that MLB and the MLB Players Association were talking Wednesday about increasing the playoffs from 10 teams — under the format that has existed since 2012 — to 16 for this coming season.

The agreement ideally would get formalized before the Yankees and Nationals begin the 2020 season Thursday night at Nationals Park (weather permitting), though precedent exists for enacting changes after the starter’s pistol has fired. The NBA expanded its first-round playoff series from best-of-5 to best-of-7 at the All-Star break of its 2002-03 season.

The players and owners discussed the concept at length in May and June as they tried to find common financial ground to hold a season without fans in attendance. While the format naturally lowers the bar to qualify for the October tournament, it just as naturally increases the revenues from the television networks during a season in which the clubs’ revenue streams are getting hammered.

When the union declined to collectively bargain an agreement for this coronavirus-shortened campaign, instead compelling to unilaterally impose the terms of the season, the plans for expanded playoffs fell by the wayside. Those plans, however, are rising, which would represent good news for mediocre teams hoping to earn a ticket to the big dance.

Let’s hope MLB can pull off this bizarre season: Sherman

By Joel Sherman

The season begins with an immunologist throwing out the — and that immunologist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, is one of the most famous people in the country.

The season begins with many players, including Aroldis Chapman, AL Rookie of the Year Yordan Alvarez and All-Star Austin Meadows on the COVID- 19 Replacement Injured List, and we wonder what the number would have to swell to in order to shut down the game again.

The season begins with the Blue Jays having to play 60 games outside of Toronto and no firm deal yet where the nomads would call “home” after joined Canada in refusing to take the team in. At the moment, they are supposed to “host” a game for the first time on July 29.

The season begins with no fans, unless cardboard cutouts and piped-in noise is your thing. Will “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” still be played every seventh-inning stretch, even if no one could be taken out to the ballgame?

The season begins with an MLB Big Brother looking out for what is now forbidden, such as spitting, high-fiving and fraternizing with opponents. A vital element in 2020 is who does the best internal policing, since the healthiest teams are going to have a substantial edge.

The season begins with a 60-game schedule — by June 6 last year, every team had played 60 games. The Phillies had the second-best record in the NL. The Rangers were in playoff position. The commissioner, though, has control of this schedule and could shorten or end it at any time.

The season begins, and 39 days later there is the trade deadline. Without the minor leagues to judge prospects. With no more than five weeks to determine whether to buy or sell. With concern about the morality of asking a player to move himself and perhaps his family in a pandemic. The season begins with the designated hitter in both leagues, a runner on second to start extra innings and virtual advertising projected onto the field (have to make some money back somehow). If you are a traditionalist, bring your own peanuts, popcorn and defibrillator.

But here is the thing — the season begins. At 7:08 p.m. Thursday, is scheduled to relieve Fauci and deliver the first meaningful pitch of this season. He will be opposed by Gerrit Cole in his Yankees debut.

At any other time in the game’s history this would elicit euphoria for baseball fans — a faceoff of elite starters at their peak; the biggest team in the sport in the nation’s capital against the defending champs. This is how you would draw it up for how a season should begin. But this one was drawn up in pencil with a very thick eraser.

This one will have extremes. Much will be familiar, much will be bizarre. There will be a sense of both joy and dread. The happiness of watching the games will mix with the worry if it is right to be doing so in a pandemic.

How long will it take to normalize the national anthem becoming a forum for gestures toward social justice such as kneeling? Players distancing under canopies in the stands? Pitchers carrying a wet rag in their back pocket to gain moisture on the ball because they can no longer go to their mouths?

Will it ever normalize? If MLB can get this season rolling, use its protocols to limit coronavirus cases, stack one week of games on top of another, will this feel like a major league season? Will 60 games be enough to spark familiar debates about best teams, best players, who will win? Or will it always be abbreviated, asterisk-filled?

The season begins and I have all the curiosities and conflicts. I want to appreciate all the challenges, all the hurdles, all that could go wrong. But I want to see it go right. We are not getting a standard season, and something potentially longer was lost in contentious negotiations between MLB and the union. Yet, this is what we have. And I want to embrace it.

I want to see Mookie Betts as a Dodger, Anthony Rendon as an Angel and Cole as a Yankee. I want to see hitting and pitching regularly. I want to see Mike Trout being Mike Trout, and the same for Christian Yelich and Jacob deGrom and . I want to see what the Astros look like post exposure as cheaters, even if there are no fans. I want to see if the Padres, Reds and White Sox really are ready to take a giant step toward contention.

Even for 60 games, I want to see Aaron Judge’s might and Kyle Hendricks’ finesse. The speed of Walker Buehler’s fastball and Trea Turner’s legs. Clayton Kershaw’s curveball, Luis Castillo’s changeup and Adam Ottavino’s Bugs Bunny slider. The intensity of Josh Donaldson and the joy of Francisco Lindor. The growth of Ronald Acuna Jr. and Juan Soto, and the debuts of Luis Robert and MacKenzie Gore. The all-around brilliance of Cody Bellinger, Alex Bregman and Xander Bogaerts. The comeback attempts of Yoenis Cespedes and Lance McCullers Jr. Zack Britton throwing ground balls and magically fielding them. Seth Lugo for two innings and Justin Verlander still trying to deal nine. The continued rise of Buehler and Jack Flaherty and the refusal to fall of Zack Greinke and Nelson Cruz.

The season begins and I see all that can go wrong. But here is hoping Scherzer and Cole pass a baton of possibility and it all goes right.

Sportico

ANALYTICS TO PLAY SMALLER ROLE IN A 60-GAME MLB SEASON, MANAGERS SAY

BY BARRY M. BLOOM

Playing the game by the numbers is going to take a hit as Major League Baseball opens its COVID-abbreviated 60-game schedule when the take on the defending World Series champion Washington Nationals on Thursday at Nationals Park.

As they say, the use of analytics doesn’t play itself out in a short season or series the way it does over the course of a 162-game season.

“It’s too small a sample size,” Arizona Diamondbacks manger Torey Lovullo said.

Lovullo went on to explain that in a normal season, his club would use matchups from the previous season for the first 30 games before transitioning into the fresh data. But 30 games this year will already be half a season.

“We’re very aware of that,” he added.

Analytics cover everything from pitcher-batter matchups to how many times a team shifts its infielders depending upon the tendency of where a batter hits the ball, whether on the ground or a line drive. The data has become so refined during recent seasons that managers move infielders on every pitch. Last season, the Dodgers led MLB by shifting 50.5-percent of the time, with the right behind them at 49.5-percent. With the firings of analytically-driven general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch because of the 2017 sign-stealing scandal, change was headed to Houston anyway, even before old-school manager took charge. Baker, 71, has a .532 winning percentage managing mostly from the gut for four MLB teams over the course of 22 seasons.

The Dodgers, though, are one of six western teams that are very analytically driven. They include the Diamondbacks, , , Oakland A’s, Colorado Rockies and .

The Dodgers, under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and manager Dave Roberts, know they’re going to have to adjust.

“It’s going to be tougher and I think that’s a very fair point,” Roberts said. “There’s a track record that certainly matters. But you’re talking about a longer view and a larger sample. It’s going to have to be a combo. It’s the eye. It’s what you feel. And some analytics as well.”

For the Dodgers, that will be a vastly different approach.

The Angels are led this season by veteran manager Joe Maddon, who introduced the extensive use of the shift while looking for any edge during his days as skipper of the small-revenue . Prior to that the shift was used intermittently to thwart left-handed power hitters like and .

Maddon then went on to Chicago, where the Cubs actually began to diminish use of the shift during the seasons following their win of the , the team’s first in 108 years. In 2019, the Cubs were last among the Major League’s 30 teams, having utilized the strategy 12.7- percent of the time. The Angels last season under Brad Ausmus were 23rd in MLB, shifting just 16.8-percent of the time.

This season, however, lacks the build up to define any regular defensive trends.

“I think the way to describe it is it’s kind of like September baseball, and being in the playoff hunt and being solvent,” said Maddon, who was given his pink slip by the Cubs after last season. “No matter what you use, you have to manage it like you have no time to make up any ground.”

It’s also worth noting that the world-champion Nationals used the shift 14.3-percent of the time last year, good for 27th in MLB. On his arrival as manager in 2018, Davey Martinez started to minimize the shift solely because his star pitchers Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg don’t like pitching to it.

The success of the shift, and thus pitcher-batter matchups, is contingent on the pitcher hitting a spot of the plate, depending upon the batter and the infield alignment. If the pitcher misses his spot, the entire system collapses. The less data, the lower chances for success.

The shift in part has led to the “launch angle” trend of players attempting to lift the ball in the air and over the infield. As the use of shifts have gone up from 2.6-percent per plate appearance in 2010 to 44.6-percent in 2019, home runs and strikeouts have increased along with it.

The unintended consequence of the shift were these records last year: 6,776 total home runs (11-percent higher than the previous mark), and 42,823 strikeouts (the 12th year in a row that figure was higher than the previous season).

The Dodgers were very adept at the shift, saving 39 runs defensively because of it the last three seasons — second most in MLB. The Nationals were not, saving only two during the same period.

“When you have great pitchers like Strasburg and Scherzer, there’s really no reason to shift,” said Martinez, who was Maddon’s bench coach in Chicago and Tampa Bay prior to moving to Washington. “They pitch to contact anyway and get a lot of ground balls. You do what they’re comfortable with.”

When a team has a smaller sample size of games – and thus plate appearances and pitches – it has to change its entire approach.

The Giants were a middle of the pack analytics-driven team under former GM Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy, who retired at the conclusion of the 2019 season. Under president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and new manager , computer-driven baseball was expected to become a way life.

Kapler, who was fired last year by the after two unsuccessful seasons, said the expected approach has already been different as the Giants conclude nearly three weeks of summer camp.

“The small sample of the 60-game season is not as challenging as the small sample of this modified camp,” he said. “I think the biggest and most exciting component is that we really have to put our scouting caps on. We’ve only had a handful of at bats for our position players and a handful of innings for our pitchers. From an evaluation standpoint this has been pretty refreshing.”

And once the short season starts?

“You just try to get the most out of your roster,” Kapler said. “I see the challenges of it.”