sign in sign up
<<
Home , Dusty Baker, Jeff Francoeur, Kent Mercker, Mark Lemke, Tyler Flowers

Braves Clippings Wednesday, April 13, 2016 Braves.com

Braves fall to 0-7 despite Chacin's gem

Harper's eighth-inning provides only runs needed

By Mark Bowman and Bill Ladson / MLB.com | April 12th, 2016

WASHINGTON -- The Nationals and Braves found themselves in a ' duel on Tuesday night at Nationals Park. When it was over, the Nationals won the game, 2-1, on a double by , and improved to 5-1, the best start by a D.C.-based team since the 1951 Senators started the season 7-1.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the eighth inning. With runners on first and second, two outs and Braves left-hander Eric O'Flaherty on the mound, Harper swung at the first pitch and blooped a double down the left-field line, scoring Stephen Drew and .

"O'Flaherty is tough," Harper said. "I faced him twice in previous games. He is very good out there, so I was trying to jump on something early, and it worked out."

Nationals wasn't surprised that Harper swung at the first pitch and was able to get the game-winning hit.

"Usually, the best pitch to hit with runners on base or in scoring position is usually the first pitch," Baker said. "I was always taught by Jim Gilliam and some quality hitters -- like Tony Perez -- that that first pitch is usually the best pitch because [the is] going to try to get ahead of you, and then he's going to work on you.

"[O'Flaherty] didn't want to get behind. He got the pitch up. [Harper] had a pretty good knock. You keep hearing me say about a good idea -- he has a good idea about what he's looking for and what to hit."

The game began with left-hander Gio Gonzalez starting for Washington and right-hander Jhoulys Chacin on the hill for Atlanta, which has lost seven straight games to open this season. Both starters pitched six shutout innings and ended up with a no-decision.

"Losing [stinks], no matter how you lose," Braves catcher Tyler Flowers said. "It's been a tough stretch. I feel like we're playing good ball. We just can't get that big hit or that big out. Or, we come up with some kind of little miscue or something that kind of snowballs an inning on us. We're getting very close. We're all still very positive in here."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Bullpen gets out of trouble: Nationals left-hander Oliver Perez started the eighth inning off by walking the first two batters he faced, Mallex Smith and . After Perez struck out Freddie Freeman, he was taken out of the game in favor of . Treinen allowed a bloop single to Adonis Garcia to load the bases, but the right-hander induced to hit into a double play to end the threat.

Baker had nothing but praise for Treinen, who has pitched three games in a row.

"This is why you like that sinkerballer on your staff, because they throw that double-play ground ball," Baker said. "Any time you throw one pitch and get two outs and get out of trouble, that's a very, very valuable man."

Impressive debut: After Gordon Beckham doubled with two outs in the seventh, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez made the questionable decision to pinch-hit Jace Peterson for Chacin, who needed just 69 pitches to complete his six scoreless innings. The veteran right-hander notched the most valuable of his eight when he got Michael Taylor to swing through a 1-2 fastball to strand runners at second and third base in the fifth.

Gio shines on the mound: Gonzalez pitched in his first game since March 27 and didn't skip a beat, throwing six shutout innings while striking out four batters. The Braves had a chance to score in the second, but the lefty battled to keep the game scoreless. Atlanta had runners on first and second with no outs, but Flowers struck out, Beckham flied out to Harper in right field and Chacin popped up to second baseman to end the threat. "I felt locked in. I felt like I didn't miss a beat," Gonzalez said. "I was just working on things. I wanted to pound that strike zone, slowed my mechanics, slowed the game down and was trying to pick up my target as much as possible."

Questionable eighth-inning decisions: Instead of bringing in the left-handed-hitting to face Treinen with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth, Gonzalez stuck with the righty-swinging Francoeur, who grounded into a double play. After the Nationals put two runners on with two outs in the bottom half of the inning, Gonzalez passed on using closer Arodys Vizcaino and instead brought O'Flaherty in to create the lefty- lefty matchup that Harper won.

"You try to create things, think outside the box and do whatever you have to do to go against the grain to try to win and get something going," Gonzalez said. "Who would have thought Kelly Johnson [against left-hander Felipe Rivero] would have hit a double off the wall [for an RBI in the ninth inning]? That's a favorable matchup for them, you would think. We get a good situation with O'Flaherty against Harper, and he kind of mis- hits it a little bit and gets two runs out of it."

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS The Nationals have won 12 straight games over the Braves at Nationals Park. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 12-game winning streak is the longest home winning streak over one opponent in Nationals history.

WHAT'S NEXT Braves: Matt Wisler will take the mound when Atlanta and Washington resume this four-game set on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET. Wisler pitched effectively during Friday's season debut against the Cardinals, but he was hurt by defensive miscues and a seventh-inning solo homer.

Nationals: Stephen Strasburg takes the mound against the Braves on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET at Nationals Park. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 0.53 ERA in three starts against the Braves since June 23.

Chacin's debut provides silver lining of sorts

By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | 12:51 AM ET

WASHINGTON -- Jhoulys Chacin was not able to prevent the Braves from opening this season with a seventh consecutive loss. But the six scoreless innings Chacin delivered during Tuesday night's 2-1 loss to the Nationals at least provided his teammates a little more reason to hope their fortunes will soon change.

"I think we're capable of running off as many wins as losses we have right now in a row," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "I think there's that caliber of talent in the room. Chacin is just another welcome addition to help us get that rolling."

Attempting to battle back from the right shoulder ailments that derailed his career the past two seasons, Chacin proved effective enough during to earn the fifth spot in Atlanta's rotation. But he looked more like a front-line starter as he recorded eight strikeouts and needed just 69 pitches to complete his six scoreless innings on Tuesday.

Chacin's efficient outing put him in rare company. is the only other pitcher in history (since 1966) to record at least eight strikeouts while throwing fewer than 70 pitches. Smoltz did it twice (Sept. 23, 1998, and Sept. 27, 2007).

"[Chacin] is facing a pretty darn good lineup here, and he navigated through it pretty well," Gonzalez said. "So, I'm going to lay my head on the pillow and say, 'That's a [heck] of a start we got from Chacin, and I can't wait to see him pitch again in five days."

Chacin stayed ahead of hitters on a consistent basis and benefited from the recent development of a cutter. After he surrendered a pair of singles in the fifth, he ended the inning by striking out Michael Taylor with runners at second and third base.

"I'm really happy that I've got no problem with my arm," Chacin said. "I feel I can make pitches when I want to. Before, it was hard for me to throw the ball where I wanted. Right now, I'm just trying to stay healthy and keep my arm strong. I'm just trying to make pitches."

Chacin was set to pitch the seventh inning, but he was removed for a pinch-hitter after Gordon Beckham delivered a two-out double in a scoreless game. Though the veteran pitcher certainly had more in the tank, he understood why Gonzalez opted to remove him after just 69 pitches.

"It's nothing-nothing and you've got a chance to score a ," Chacin said. "It was a good matchup with righty against lefty. I was hoping he would get a base hit there and we would win the game. That's the main thing there. I was fine with it."

Braves need execution to match preparation

By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | 1:00 AM ET

WASHINGTON -- Managerial decisions are far easier when working with a roster that has more attractable depth than the one Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez currently commandeers. It has also been repeatedly proven that even the wisest of decisions are doomed by poor execution. Still, these realities did not comfort Gonzalez as he exited Tuesday night's 2-1 loss to the Nationals with no choice but to dwell on the many late- inning decisions that went wrong and consequently kept the Braves winless through this season's first seven games.

"It's not a perfect situation" Gonzalez said. "It's not a perfect bench or a perfect bullpen. So, you try to make up some stuff to get the ball to certain people or put people in certain situations."

Though the Braves are still in the midst of a rebuilding phase, they have had a chance to win six of these first seven games. They've squandered each of the four leads held in the seventh inning or later, and on Tuesday they were unable to take advantage of the six scoreless innings Jhoulys Chacin delivered in an impressive Braves debut.

It is impossible to affirmatively say this latest frustrating result would have been avoided had Chacin's 69-pitch effort not ended with the choice to pull him for a pinch-hitter. Nor do we know what would have happened had Gonzalez utilized Kelly Johnson as a pinch-hitter in the top of the eighth or used his closer Arodys Vizcaino to face Bryce Harper in the bottom of the eighth.

But there was certainly reason to question each of these decisions.

Chacin was prepared to return for the seventh inning until Gordon Beckham delivered a two-out double with the score 0-0 in the top of the seventh inning. Instead of sticking with his starting pitcher, Gonzalez gambled with the depth of his bullpen by pinch-hitting Jace Peterson, who struck out against right-handed reliever .

"[Chacin] was pitching some kind of baseball," Gonzalez said. "I think if it's one of those decisions later in the summer, where you've got a winning streak going and you're rolling, you maybe let him hit there. But he was pitching some of the best baseball I've seen this year."

After Hunter Cervenka and Chris Withrow softened the blow of Chacin's exit by keeping the Nationals scoreless in the seventh inning, the Braves loaded the bases with one out in the eighth. Instead of bringing the left-handed-hitting Johnson off the bench to face right-handed reliever Blake Treinen, Gonzalez stuck with Jeff Francoeur, who grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Had the Braves gone with Johnson there, the Nationals likely would have countered with left-handed reliever Felipe Rivero. By appearance, this matchup would have favored Washington, but Johnson ended up drilling an RBI double off Rivero in the top of the ninth.

"I thought about [pinch-hitting Johnson], but Frenchy has been in the game and he's been swinging," Gonzalez said. "He comes up with those big hits in those situations. The matchup wasn't one of those matchups where it was crazy one way or another. I kind of felt good about that."

After the Braves lost Sunday's game to the Cardinals, there was reason to wonder whether Gonzalez should have brought Vizcaino in to protect a one-run lead after Jim Johnson put two on with two out in the eighth inning.

Faced with the same situation, albeit in a scoreless game on Tuesday, Gonzalez kept Vizcaino in the bullpen and summoned Eric O'Flaherty for a lefty-lefty matchup that Harper won with his game-winning two-run double to left field. Before going the opposite way with this decisive shot, Harper had one hit in seven at-bats against O'Flaherty, but four of those at-bats were in 2012, before the Braves southpaw underwent Tommy John surgery.

Gonzalez utilized Vizcaino in the eighth inning on Opening Day because he wanted his best reliever to face the heart of the Nationals order. But he said he would rather only use his closer in a clean situation within the eighth inning.

"We're thinking outside the box," Gonzalez said. "You're thinking about creating stuff and you're thinking about all kinds of different scenarios. You hate to bring anybody in with [multiple guys on base] in those situations. But did I think about [using Vizcaino to face Harper]. Of course, you think about it all of the time. We did it five games ago, but it was a clean inning."

Smith back in action after bloody debut

By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | April 12th, 2016

WASHINGTON -- Instead of simply receiving the congratulatory messages that often follow a Major League debut, Mallex Smith received a flurry of lighthearted messages from friends, who had some fun with the fact that the Braves 's first big league experience abruptly ended with a headfirst slide that left him with five stitches sitting above the bridge of his nose.

"I got it all last night, from 'Wow, you're soft for leaving the game,' to 'I hope you're OK,' to 'Maybe you'll look better now,' to 'It didn't even look like anything happened,'" Smith said. "So, yeah, I got it all."

Smith also received his wish to immediately return to action as Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez inserted the speedy center fielder back into the leadoff spot for Tuesday night's game against lefty Gio Gonzalez and the Nationals. He went 0-for-4 with a walk in a 2-1 Atlanta loss.

"I came here to play," Smith said. "So, as long as nothing is stopping me from physically being able to play, I'm here to play." Now, Smith can only hope to avoid the unusual misfortune he experienced in Monday's 6-4 loss to the Nationals, when the Braves' No. 11 prospect's much-hyped debut ended when his batting helmet fell off his head, bounced off the dirt and smacked him in the forehead as he completed headfirst slide during an unsuccessful attempt to steal second base.

Though Smith initially pleaded to remain in the game as blood dripped down his face when he walked off the field, he realized the significance of the laceration once he reached the clubhouse and looked in a mirror.

With the Nationals starting a left-hander, Gonzalez initially thought about utilizing right-handed-hitting Drew Stubbs as his starting center fielder on Tuesday. But he instead opted to give the lefty-swinging Smith a chance to prove that his speed can be just as effective against a left-hander as it is against right-handers.

Smith produced a .382 on-base percentage against right-handed pitchers and a .342 OBP against left-handers while combining to tally 548 plate appearances with Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett last year.

Odds and ends

The Braves are hoping the perfect sixth inning Jason Grilli completed on Monday will help him as he continues to distance himself from the ruptured left Achilles he suffered in July. Grilli felt uncomfortable as he issued three walks during Saturday's game against the Cardinals and agreed to the suggestion that he steadily works his way back with some lower-leverage appearances. Arodys Vizcaino is the Braves' closer, but the club wants Grilli to get back to being a reliable late-inning option.

Right-handed reliever Daniel Winkler will visit Dr. James Andrews on Wednesday, but early indications have given the Braves reason to believe that Winkler did not suffer any ligament damage when he fractured his right elbow throwing a pitch on Sunday. Winkler underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014.

Strasburg-Freeman rivalry set for next chapter

By Alex Putterman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman |

Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg and Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman both debuted in 2010 and have spent their entire careers in the East, so naturally they have squared off many times. In fact, no batter has faced Strasburg more than Freeman, and only three pitchers have faced Freeman more than Strasburg.

They'll see each other for the second time this season on Wednesday, when Strasburg starts against Matt Wisler and the Braves at Nationals Park. Atlanta will be trying to snap an 0-7 skid to start the season.

In 39 matchups between Freeman and Strasburg, Freeman has had the upper hand. He's hitting .387 in his career against Strasburg, with three home runs and nine RBIs. Of all the hitters to have faced Strasburg at least 20 times, Freeman is third in on-base percentage (.462), second in slugging (.742) and second in OPS (1.201). The 26-year-old lefty was especially dangerous against Strasburg last year, going 5-for-11 with four walks and two homers.

Freeman's Strasburg-bashing is part of a larger trend of success against the Nationals for the first baseman, who has hit .331/.393/.513 against Washington in his career.

After Tuesday night's 2-1 Washington win, Nationals manager Dusty Baker praised Freeman for his ability to hit to all fields, calling him "one of the most dangerous men in this league."

"Freddie can hit," Baker said. "You've got to figure out what he's trying to do. Sometimes he'll take you down the line. Sometimes he'll hit you to left field."

Strasburg won the most recent installment of the rivalry with Freeman, holding his nemesis 0-for-3 in a Nationals win, but the big first baseman will be lurking in the three-hole on Wednesday, hoping to exact revenge.

Things to know about this game

• Wisler has pitched more often against Washington than any other team in his brief Major League career, going 2-2 with a 5.40 ERA in five games, four of them starts. After allowing seven earned runs in 1 2/3 innings against the Nationals on Sept. 3, he was briefly demoted to the bullpen. But only weeks later, on Sept. 29, Wisler started against the Nats again and ceded only five hits and one run over seven innings.

• Stephen Drew, who got his first hit with the Nationals on Tuesday, will start in place of Anthony Rendon on Wednesday, as Baker begins to rest starters amid a stretch of 15 games in as many days.

• The back end of the Nationals' bullpen has been busy the last few nights, and right-hander Blake Treinen will be unavailable Wednesday after pitching in three straight games. • After Tuesday night's win, the Nationals have now beaten the Braves 12 straight times at Nationals Park. Washington is 18-5 overall against Atlanta since the start of 2015.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Chacin’s strong start wasted, Harper’s double keeps Braves winless

By David O'Brien - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WASHINGTON – The winless Braves didn’t blow a late-innings lead Tuesday, but they wasted their best pitching performance of the young season and found another wrenching way to lose.

Bryce Harper’s two-out, two-run double landed just beyond the outstretched glove of diving left fielder Jeff Francoeur in the eighth inning, lifting the to a 2-1 win that sunk the Braves to 0-7 and spoiled a strong season debut from starter Jhoulys Chacin.

The Braves got a two-out RBI double from pinch Kelly Johnson in the ninth inning before rookie Mallex Smith struck out on an attempted check swing to end the game.

The Braves have lost the first two of a four-game series and fell to 0-12 at Nationals Park over two seasons. They are 0-7 for the first time since starting 0-10 in 1988 in a 106-loss season, and they lost Tuesday despite the first scoreless start by a Braves pitcher this season — Chacin allowed five hits and no walks with eight strikeouts in six crisp innings.

“Losing sucks, no matter how you lose,” Braves catcher Tyler Flowers said. ” It’s been a tough stretch. I feel like we’re playing good ball, we just can’t get that big hit or get that big out, or we come up with a little miscue or something that kind of snowballs an inning on us.

“We’re getting close (to winning). I mean, we’re all still very positive in here. I think we’re capable of running off as many wins as we have losses right now. I think there’s that caliber of talent in the room. Chacin’s just another welcome addition to help us get that rolling.”

It was a scoreless game when Braves reliever Jim Johnson gave up a one-out pinch-hit single by Stephen Drew in the eighth inning and walked Anthony Rendon with two out.

Left-hander Eric O’Flaherty was brought in to face Harper, who hit an opposite-field soft fly ball perhaps 20 feet inside the left-field line. Francoeur, who made his first start of the season, raced over and dove for it, but the ball landed inches in front of his glove and caromed off it.

Chacin threw 52 strikes in just 69 pitches, but manager Fredi Gonzalez replaced him with pinch-hitter Jace Peterson after Gordon Beckham’s two- out double in the seventh inning. Peterson struck out.

“I understand,” Chacin said of the manager’s decision. “It’s nothing-nothing (score) and you have a chance to score a run, the matchup’s righty- lefty, I was fine with it. I was hoping we’d get a base hit there or later in the game we win the game. That’s the main focus, trying to win games. So I was fine with it.”

The Braves mustered just three hits in six scoreless innings against lefty Gio Gonzalez. They had two runners on and none out in the second inning and failed to score, and leadoff singles in the fourth and fifth innings and threatened in neither.

They loaded the bases in the eighth with two walks and Adonis Garcia’s one-out bloop single against right-hander Blake Treinen, but Francoeur grounded into an inning-ending double play.

“Every time you pitch good and your team doesn’t win, it’s hard to take it,” Chacin said. “But I was trying to help the team win the game. I tried to do the best I could to help us win. It didn’t happen today, so we come back and try tomorrow.”

The Braves didn’t need a fifth starter until Tuesday, so they carried an extra reliever in the first six games until bringing up Chacin to plug into the rotation. Chacin didn’t pitch like their No. 5 Tuesday, he pitched like their best starter.

It was only one game, of course. But his was the first inspiring performance by a Braves starter this season.

Chacin, who last faced the Nationals in 2013, extended his scoreless-innings streak against them to 16, though he snapped a three-start winning streak against them with no decision. The Braves hope they’ve found a new weapon against the Nationals – Chacin is 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA in the past five of six starts against them.

He rarely topped 90 mph on the radar gun and keeping the Nationals off balance with a mix of sinkers, sliders, cut fastballs and changeups. Most of his fastballs were in the 86-90 mph range, but he’d throw a four-seam (straight) fastball occasionally at about 92 mph. His sliders were 79-83 mph, the cutters 85-86 mph, the change-ups in the low-80s. “I’d much rather face a guy throwing 100 (mph) straight than a guy throwing 92 with some heavy sink,” Flowers said. “And he’s able to hump it up too, at times, with a little bit straighter ball that really gets on hitters because they’re expecting that 89-91 sink. All of a sudden he elevates a little bit at 92 with the four-seamer and it really gets on them.

“He really did a great job, we were able to throw off-speed early, obviously get ahead of most everybody, which is a huge part of the game to have success. And we were able to put a lot of guys away, too. We used the curveball a little bit more than in my experience with him in the spring; it was a good weapon for him.”

Gonzalez explains decisions during 2-1 loss to Nationals

By David O'Brien - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WASHINGTON – Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez made several pivotal decisions during Tuesday night’s game against the Nationals, and he was asked afterward about decisions that didn’t work out well during a 2-1 loss that dropped his team’s record to 0-7. Gonzalez didn’t dodge any of the questions.

— On removing starter Jhoulys Chacin for pinch-hitter Jace Peterson after Gordon Beckham’s two-out double in the seventh inning of a then- scoreless game. Chacin had thrown just 69 pitches in six innings. Peterson struck out to end the inning.

Gonzalez: “I told (bench coach Carlos Tosca) before it happened, the only way I’m pinch-hitting for Chacin here is if he gets in scoring position. I said we haven’t won a game in a week, get one (run) here. And sure enough, double. You’re forced to pinch-hit. (Chacin) was pitching some kind of baseball. I think it’s one of those decisions that somewhere later on, if you’ve got a nice winning streak and you’re rolling, you maybe let him hit there in that situation. But he was pitching really the best baseball I’ve seen so far this year…. Is that the situation you’re talking about? Yeah, that’s a tough call.”

— On not using left-handed hitter Kelly Johnson to pinch-hit for Jeff Francoeur against right-handed reliever Shawn Kelly with bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning of a still-scoreless game. Francoeur grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Gonzalez: “I thought about it. Frenchy’s been in the game, he’s been swinging. He comes up with those big hits in those situations. The matchup is not one of those crazy (statistical matchups), one way or the other. And I kind of felt good about that (situation).”

— On bringing in left-hander Eric O’Flaherty (13.50 ERA) to face lefty hitter Bryce Harper with two on and two out in the eighth inning, instead of the Braves’ best reliever, Arodys Vizcaino. Did he think about using Vizcaino there?

Gonzalez: “No. (We’re) thinking outside the box, creating stuff, thinking of all kinds of different scenarios. You hate to bring in anybody (with runners on) first and second, bases loaded, second and third, and those (types of) situations. Did I think about it? Of course, you’re thinking about it all the time. We did it five days ago, but it was a clean inning. It was starting the eighth and he was facing the top of the order.”

Head bandaged, Mallex Smith back in Braves lineup

By David O'Brien - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WASHINGTON – A day after Mallex Smith left his major league debut with a cut on his forehead that required five stitches, the Braves’ speedy center-field prospect was back in the lineup Tuesday.

Smith was in the leadoff spot again for the second game of a series against the Nationals, with the stitched cut over his left eye covered by a brown bandage and his enthusiasm and energy as high as ever.

“I came here to play,” he said. “So as long as I can physically go out there and play, I’m here to play.”

Smith, 23, got the gash in his head Monday when he slid hands-first on a stolen-base attempt in the fourth inning. His batting helmet popped off when he slid and bounced off the ground and directly into his face.

When he got off the ground after the inning-ending out, there was a significant amount of blood on his face, mainly between his eyes and over his nose.

“I was coming out the game saying, ‘I’m good, I’m good,’” said Smith, who briefly tried to talk his way into staying in the game. “(Later) I saw pictures of it and I was like, OK, I see why you wanted to take me out of the game right there.”

Smith’s parents, Michael and Loretta, traveled to Washington for the game, as did his brother and one of two sisters. All made it to town for the game after Smith informed them Sunday that he was being called up by the Braves to replace , who strained a hamstring and went on the 15-day disabled list. The family had time to get together after the game, and plenty to talk about after Smith’s debut.

“We all went out and got something to eat, hung out in the hotel room,” he said. “It was awesome.”

He went 1-for-3 in his debut, striking out on three pitches against Nationals ace Max Scherzer to start the game, then reaching on a two-out infield single in the second inning and on a fielder’s choice in the fourth.

Smith’s exceptional speed — he’s the fastest player the Braves have had in many years — was evident on the infield hit and when he scored from first base on Nick Markakis’ double in the second inning.

He was out on a strong throw to second on the attempted steal, but he got there quickly and looked like he would’ve been safe if he’d reached around the tag.

After the game, his phone was filled with texts and emails from friends and former teammates, some razzing him.

“I got it all last night,” Smith said, laughing. “From, ‘Wow, you’re soft for leaving the game,’ to, ‘I hope you’re OK’ and ‘Maybe you’ll look better now,’ or, ‘I didn’t even think nothing happened.’ Yeah, I got it all.”

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez had said Monday that he was leaning toward playing Drew Stubbs in the second game. The Braves were facing a left-hander (Gio Gonzalez) and he didn’t want to overwhelm the left-hitting Smith right away by having him face a lefty between hard-throwing Scherzer in his debut and Stephen Strasburg on Wednesday.

But Stubbs was 0-for-11 with five strikeouts in his career against Gonzalez, and besides, Gonzalez wants to see Smith play as much as possible while the prospect is up in the big leagues.

“He’s a guy we think highly of,” Gonzalez said. “Let him play a little bit. See what he’s made of. Tomorrow isn’t going to be a piece of cake (vs. Strasburg). You start doing that (not playing him against lefties) and he’d never play.

“Like we talked about yesterday, he mis-hit a ball and got a base hit. He may do that again today. He may hit a couple of ground balls to one side of the infield or another, and his speed will get you on base and create a little havoc.”

Braves minor leaguer gets lengthy PED suspension

By David O'Brien - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WASHINGTON – Braves minor league pitcher Alger Hodgson was slapped with a 72-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, wiping out what would have been his first professional season.

The Nicaraguan right-hander, who turned 17 Sunday, was suspended after testing positive for metabolites of Stanozolol, the commissioner’s office said in announcing the suspension Tuesday. Hodgson signed with the Braves in January and was preparing for his first season in the Dominican Summer League, a rookie league.

Braves get Grilli some early-game work

By Chris Vivlamore - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jason Grilli in the sixth inning?

The Braves reliever worked a perfect inning early in Monday’s 6-4 loss to the Nationals. Manager Fredi Gonzalez said Tuesday it’s possible the closer could be used in similar situations as he works his way back from a ruptured Achilles tendon. The appearance was by design.

“(Monday) was one of those things where Jason and I and (pitching coach) Roger (McDowell) had spoken since his last outing at home,” Gonzalez said. “He felt like, to use his words, ‘I feel a click off.’ He explained it like a shooter’s touch in basketball. They can feel a click off. Same thing with a golfer. We agreed. Because this guy doesn’t walk four guys all year, and he walked four guys in two appearances.”

In the sixth, Grilli caught Stephen Drew’s pop-up, struck out Michael Taylor and got Anthony Rendon to fly out to right.

Grilli, 39, suffered his injury just before the All-Star break on July 11 last year. At that point he was 3-4 with a 2.94 ERA and 24 saves in 36 appearances. Including Monday, Grilli now has a 6.75 ERA in three appearances with three strikeouts and four walks. He has one blown save, allowing the tying run to score in the ninth against the Nationals on April 4.

“We talked about it,” Gonzalez said. “I said, ‘Hey listen, we are not going to put you in a high-leverage situation. It’s not fair to you, it’s not fair to us, to put you out there in the eighth or ninth inning facing (Ryan) Zimmerman, (Bryce) Harper and (Anthony) Rendon.’ He’s good. He’s fine with that. (Monday) we ran him out there and he worked on his curveball and his curveball is starting to get sharp again. So we feel closer that he’s the Grilli that we want out there to pitch the back end of the game.”

Gonzalez reiterated the plan is not because of Grilli’s injury but a way to fine tune his mechanics.

“It was his best outing,” Gonzalez said. “He felt good about it. Good for him. Good for us. … We’ll keep talking with him and see how he feels.”

0-6 start for Braves has been group effort

By David O’Brien

WASHINGTON — How does a team lose its first six games despite leading at least once in five of those games, and leading in the seventh inning or later in four of the six?

I’m glad you asked.

Let’s count the ways in which the Braves have stumbled to that 0-6 start, including five games at home to mark the first winless Braves homestand of five or more games since 2006. Not five or more to start a season; five or more home games at any point in a season.

You do it by….

— Your hitters ranking 29th in the majors in batting average (.209) and 28th in OPS (.606), while your pitchers are 29th in ERA (6.67) and allow three times as many homers (nine) as your own team has hit.

— Your bullpen ranking 29th with a 7.84 ERA, ahead of only the Rockies, and your relievers have allowed a majors-high 17 walks and a majors- worst .417 on-base percentage.

— Your defenders ranking 28th in fielding percentage (.968). Still, that conventional statistic doesn’t even begin to tell the story of how costly some errors and other defensive mistakes at the most crucial junctures of games have been. The kind that lead directly to losses, of which there have already been a few in just six games.

— Your pitchers ranking last in the majors with a .378 opponents’ batting average in the late innings of close games, while your hitters are batting just .133 (6-for-45) in those same situations. Adonis Garcia, Drew Stubbs and DL’d Ender Inciarte are a combined 4-for-8 in those late-and-close situations, while the rest of the Braves are 2-for-37 including Hector Olivera’s 0-for-6 and Gordon Beckham’s 0-for-5.

— Your primary catcher, A.J. Pierzynski, ranking last in the NL in percentage of runners caught stealing at 0-for-6.

— Your hitters batting .149 (7-for-47) against lefties with one double and a .170 slugging percentage. Nick Markakis (2-for-8) has the Braves’ only extra-base hit (double) against a lefty.

— Markakis is 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position, but the rest of the team is batting .189 (7-for-37) with 15 strikeouts in those situations. No. 3-4 hitters Freddie Freeman and Adonis Garcia, plus Jace Peterson and Erick Aybar, are a combined 1-for-21 with RISP, with Freeman (1-for-6, four walks) accounting for the only hit among them in those situations.

As you can see, there are a variety of reasons why the Braves are 0-6. It’s been a group effort.

• Gio vs. Jhoulys: It’ll be Jhoulys Chacin comes up from Triple-A tonight to make his Braves debut with a start against Nats lefty Gio Gonzalez. It’s the first time this season the Braves needed a fifth starter, and this was the plan they laid out when they put together the opening-day roster, going with an extra reliever until now, when Chacin moves into the rotation.

Chacin was sharp in his only Triple-A start, now will try to help the Braves get their first win of the season and end an 11-game skid at Nationals Park, where they last won in 2014. The veteran right-hander is 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA in his past four starts against the Nationals, though he last faced them in 2013.

Ryan Zimmerman is 5-for-13 with two homers against Chacin, Stephen Drew is 6-for-17, and Bryce Harper hasn’t faced him.

The Braves had the upper hand on Gio Gonzalez for a long time, as evident by his his 4-8 record and 4.54 ERA in 13 starts against them – three more losses than he has against any other team.

However, Gonzalez was 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA and .159 opponents’ average in two starts against the Braves last season, with18 strikeouts and five walks in 13 innings. Both of those games were at Nationals Park, including Sept. 5 when he racked up 10 strikeouts in six scoreless innings.

Freddie Freeman is 9-for-29 with two homers against him and Jeff Francoeur is 10-for-25 with a homer. Fredi Gonzalez mentioned yesterday that he was leaning toward starting Drew Stubbs against the lefty instead of just-up-from-the-minors center-field prospect Mallex Smith. But it’s worth noting that Stubbs is 0-for-11 with five strikeouts. So it wouldn’t surprise me if Smith’s back in the lineup tonight after getting five stitches to close a cut above his left eye from a base-stealing incident in the fourth inning of his major league debut Monday.

That, or they could try Francoeur in center after playing him there a few games in spring training.

At 0-7, the Fredi Gonzalez Watch is officially on

By Mark Bradley

When last the Atlanta Braves started 0-7, they fired the manager. Technically, it didn’t happen for another five weeks — they were 12-27 by then — but it happened. Not wanting to can in Pittsburgh, where he’d won a in a previous posting, then-GM waited until the team completed a weekend series at Three Rivers and flew to Chicago. And there, in a hotel along the Magnificent Mile on the night of May 22, 1988, the deed was done.

(Historical note No. 1: Tanner’s replacement was , who lasted until June 22, 1990. Nixon’s replacement lasted two decades.)

(Historical note No. 2: Of all the lousy days in Atlanta sports history, May 22 ranks high/low. That same Sunday, the Hawks lost to the Celtics in Game 7 at the old Boston Garden. Dominique Wilkins scored 47 points in vain. Then Tanner, who’d famously promised a parade down Peachtree when his Braves won a title, was given the gate. Only in the A-T-L, kids.)

This is a backhanded of way of saying the Fredi Gonzalez Watch is officially on, not that it has lately been off. To lay all seven losses at the feet of Fredi G. would be incorrect; his team is, as 0-7 might indicate, spectacularly awful. (And awful by design.) That said …

Since July 7 of last year, the Braves are 25-60. Since Opening Day 2014, they’re 146-185. Yes, Fredi’s first three seasons here saw his teams win 89, 93 and 94 games, but that seems a long time ago. If he was the right manager to follow Cox — similar to the Hall of Famer without being a shameless imitator — he wouldn’t appear the right manager for what the Braves have become.

There’s a catch in that: For what the Braves have become, nobody in the history of baseball — not Casey, not Sparky, not Torre, not La Russa — would be ideal. Who’s great at running a terrible team? But the one thing upper management has to fight is the notion of this thrown-together team giving up so soon. Losing 100 games is bad. Losing 120 would be historic. (Just imagine if Opening Day at SunTrust Park isn’t a sellout.)

And if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Fredi’s teams, it’s that they save the worst for last. Over five full seasons, his Braves were 40 games above .500 before the All-Star break; they were .500 thereafter. Only once have they had a winning September.

Almost never is it entirely the manager’s fault, and it certainly isn’t with this sorry club. (When Eric O’Flaherty, who has nothing anymore, is your get-out-the-lefty lefty, you’re in a world of hurt.) But when a season that was expected to be bad starts even worse, somebody invariably takes the fall. As the saying goes, you can’t fire 25 players.

Although, come to think of it, that’s not a bad idea.

Braves owner laughing to the bank

By Michael Cunningham

As the Braves stunk it up, Liberty Media Chairman John Malone yucked it up. The team’s comedy of errors continued on the field after the jokes flowed at a stockholder meeting, as reported by The AJC’s Tim Tucker.

Sports teams always appeal to emotion. The Braves have an added incentive to do so this year as they try to capitalize on sentiment during their final year at . They want fans to bask in the nostalgia from the long-ago days of 1997 before the team moves to Cobb Taxpayer Stadium.

But Malone talked about the club in the dispassionate terms of business, with the Braves as just another asset in LM’s portfolio. No room for sentimentality in the boardroom.

With the development around the publicly-subsidized ballpark the Braves will be “a fairly major real-estate business as opposed to just a baseball club.” The Braves are a content provider for ’s digital business: “Our indirect part in that is, I think, an attractive asset.”

Beyond noting the Braves are rebuilding and cracking jokes, Malone didn’t have anything to say about the losses. Management could “make its excuses for the poor starting performance of the team,” Malone said. His job is to count the money, which flows whether or not the Braves win many games. Some Braves fans will grumble that all of this illustrates the disadvantage of the Braves being owned by a corporate entity. They’ll say the Braves need a human owner(s) who cares about the performance of the team and will spend money to make it a winner, not a faceless corporation that views the club as numbers on a spreadsheet.

After nearly 20 years of covering sports, I’m here to tell you that a human owner would make little difference. Money is the main consideration for all franchise owners, whether they be rich guys or rich corporations. The only difference is that rich guys tend to be better at PR and would not be so tone death as to publicly cut it up with investors while the team struggles.

Those franchise owners who openly display their passion do so because they know that’s what fans want to see. Seeming to care about their teams beyond the bottom line creates loyalty among customers who have been conditioned to see sports teams as civic assets. This also comes in handy for owners when they go looking for their next government handout.

That’s not to say there are no team owners who really do care about winning. The point is they care a lot more about making money, which is easier to do when the team wins but also can happen when they lose if their customers stick around.

For Braves fans angry about LM treating the team like a stock, the only way to change things is to stop consuming the product. Don’t go to Braves games. Don’t watch them on TV. Don’t stream them online. Don’t click on the team web site. Don’t buy Braves gear.

I’m guessing Braves backers will have little trouble staying away from Turner Field this season. Certainly Netflix and chill is a better option than tuning in for more bad baseball. But will Braves fans come rushing back to support the Braves at their new “real-estate business” in Cobb, forgetting how they felt about the team becoming a laughingstock as Malone laughed it up?

That’s their prerogative as consumers but, if they do, joke’s on them.

Nationals hitters vs. Jhoulys Chacin

By Staff

Jhoulys Chacin is scheduled to start Tuesday for the Braves against the Nationals.

In his career, Chacin has faced nine players active on the Nationals roster. According to MLB.com, Ryan Zimmerman and Daniel Murphy have the most hits against him, three apiece. One player he has not faced: Bryce Harper.

Nationals hitters are a combined 13-for-51 (.255 batting average) against Chacin. None of the nine has hit a off Chacin, and they combined for three RBIs. Murphy has two of the RBIs, with the other by Stephen Drew.

Zimmerman is hitting .300 (3-for-10) and Murphy .333 (3-for-9). Anthony Rendon and Drew each has a 400 average (both 2-for-5). Jayson Werth is hitting. 286 (2-for-7), and Danny Espinosa is at .200 (1-for-5).

Wilson Ramos is hitless in five at-bats. Jose Lobaton is hitless in three at-bats, and is hitless in two at-bats.

Chacin prepared for his big-league season debut by starting the season opener for Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday. He pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and two walks, and he struck out seven.

Last season for Arizona, Chacin was 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA. He made four starts and pitched 26 2/3 innings. He allowed 24 hits and walked 10, and he struck out 21.

Braves’ futility threatens 1988 low point

By The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

If the Braves’ futility continues, the team could reach historic misery.

At 0-7, the Braves are threatening the franchise record for consecutive losses at the start of a season, which is 10 in 1988. Also, the Braves haven’t lost 100 or more games in a season since losing 106 (with only 54 victories) in 1988. Losing 100 or more is something that some observers predicted for the Braves in the past offseason.

One thing to remember about the Braves’ 0-10 mark in 1988 is that it actually paled beside the Orioles’ 21 losses to begin that season. The Orioles lost those on their way to a 54-107 final record. The Braves were 5-16 after 21 games that season and lost more games than the Orioles after the 21-game mark. The 1988 season was the low point for the Braves of the 1970s and ’80s (and the losses for the franchise since losing 115 in 1935), but it began to set the stage for the successful run of the ’90s, which commenced three years later with the magical, worst-to-first season. The Braves’ current rebuilding plan hopes to follow the same trajectory.

In 1988, 21-year-old John Smoltz made his major league debut July 23. He finished the season with a 2-7 record and a 5.48 ERA. He walked 33 batters in only 64 innings pitched.

Tom Glavine, 22, recorded a 7-17 record in 1988, with a 4.56 ERA. He made his debut in 1987 and through the ’88 season, Glavine’s career mark was 9-21 with a 4.76 ERA.

Glavine rebounded in 1989 to finish with a 14-8 record, while Smoltz finished that season at 12-11 with a 2.94 ERA.

Ron Gant played his first full season in 1988, hitting 19 homers and driving in 60 runs, while hitting .259. He made his majors debut the previous September.

Mark Lemke made his major league debut in September 1988 and played in 16 games, hitting .224 in 58 at-bats.

David Justice (age 23) and (21) made their debuts the following season.

That 1988 season wasn’t all about youth, though. Also on the team were three players who once ranked among the best in the game, but were long past their prime: 39-year-old catcher Ted Simmons, who hit .196 in the final season of his career; 35-year-old Bruce Sutter, also playing in the final season of his career; and 38-year-old Ken Griffey Sr., who hit .263 with eight homers and would play 201 games after that season before he retired in 1991.

Naples site strikes out for Braves’ spring training

By Tim Tucker - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A proposal to build a spring-training stadium for the Braves on a site near Naples, Fla., struck out Tuesday morning with county commissioners there.

The proposed site drew no support at the Collier County Commission meeting because of nearby residences, but the commissioners voted unanimously to have county staff discuss other options with the Braves if the team becomes interested in alternative locations in the county.

“It appears the public is not opposed to having the Braves build a stadium, but it seems that the thought of building a stadium in a residential area is not something that I think any residential community is going to take kindly,” Commissioner Hiller said.

The Collier County commissioners were told that the Braves’ “current position” is that they aren’t interested in building a stadium at another site in the southwest Florida county.

The proposal, for a site near I-75 along Collier Boulevard, had been put together by a private group interested in luring a Major League Baseball team to the county for spring training. After the proposal was presented to the county commission Tuesday, five residents spoke about it, all opposed to the location.

The Braves, whose spring-training lease at Disney World expires after next year, are seeking public funding for a new facility in Florida for 2018 and beyond. The team’s most advanced discussions are with officials in Sarasota County on Florida’s southwest coast and Palm Beach County on the state’s southeast coast.

Cobb County commission approves Braves bridge contract

By Dan Klepal - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Cobb Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $10 million construction contract to build the bridge over I-285, between SunTrust Park and the county’s convention and performing arts centers.

The bridge is considered a critical safety element, necessary for safe passage for fans walking to the ballpark along Cobb Parkway and avoiding interstate exit lanes that do not require cars to stop. The bridge also will help keep fans on foot from impeding traffic into and out of the stadium development.

The Braves and county have not made public their parking and traffic management plans for the new stadium, which is scheduled to open in April 2017.

The county has continually muddled the message about the bridge’s cost and completion date over the past two years. In September, Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee announced to the public that the bridge wouldn’t be ready at all for the Braves first season — just two months after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was the first to report that county transportation officials said there was no way the bridge would be open before September 2017.

Then four months later, in January, the Cumberland Community Improvement District called a special meeting, at which they approved spending $5 million on bridge construction and said the infusion of cash would help the bridge be completed in time for the first pitch in the new stadium.

The contract approved Tuesday with Northwest Express Roadbuilders says the project will be completed by Aug. 31, 2017.

But Lee said the bridge is expected to be open to pedestrians by Opening Day, with some cosmetic work left to complete between April and August.

Commissioner Bob Weatherford said if the bridge is delayed, the planned circulator shuttle buses will be in operation and move fans from one side of the interstate to the other.

“I think the plan is the bridge will be open for pedestrians and some cosmetic stuff might still happening to the bridge,” Weatherford said. “The function will be there, hopefully by Opening Day.”

The bridge’s cost also has been an issue. Lee initially said the bridge was included in the cost of the stadium, only to amend that later and say the project budget was $6-9 million. The county stuck with that estimate, even as the AJC reported that the cost was much more likely to be in the $12 million range.

The first detailed budget showed costs $2.2 million more than projected.

The cost of purchasing land — known as right-of-way — for the project is still unknown and will add to the total. But the known costs are $10 million for construction; $940,000 for design and engineering; and $56,000 for utility relocation. In addition, the county had to remove a planned $2 million plaza from the bridge project to stay within budget.

Cobb commissioners recently gave the green light for the county’s transportation department to use condemnation proceedings to acquire right- of-way if they can’t come to agreement with property owners, which includes office park owner and manager Childress Klein, which owns air rights over Galleria Drive.

In an email to the AJC, Lee called the bridge “another example of a successful public-private partnership in Cobb County.”

ESPN

Orioles without a loss, Braves without a win

Sarah Langs & Ken Woolums

Seven games into the season, there are two teams in major league baseball on complete opposite sides of the spectrum with Tuesday's results: the 7-0 and the 0-7 Atlanta Braves. The are 0-7 as well, but were idle on Tuesday. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the majors haven’t had at least one team start 7-0 or better and one start 0-7 or worse since 2003. That year, the Royals started 9-0, the Giants 7-0 and the Tigers 0-9.

Birds are the word

Pitching, defense and three two-run homers -- the recipe for another Orioles win.

With a 9-5 victory Tuesday, Baltimore ran its record to 7-0. That’s two wins shy of the most consecutive wins to begin a season in franchise history. Only the 1944 squad (as St. Louis Browns) won more, with nine. Each of the two other best such starts in franchise history led to a pennant.

The team’s seven straight wins to start the season have a place in East history, too, which is notable since four of the O's wins have come against AL East opponents. Their seven straight trail only the 1987 Brewers (12) and the 1984 Tigers (nine).

The Elias Sports Bureau notes that they’re the 28th team since 1903 to start 7-0 or better. Five of those teams went on to win the World Series, including the 2015 Royals.

How have they done it? Slugging their way has been a strong factor. The Orioles have hit 13 home runs through their first seven games, tied with the Astros for the most in the American League this season. Their .522 slugging percentage also leads their league.

It’s not just the hitting, though. Their pitchers have excelled with runners on base. They’ve held opponents to just a .165 batting average and one home run with runners on. Winless in Atlanta

The Braves are winless through their first seven games for the first time since 1988 and third time since moving to Atlanta in 1966. The Braves have a league-worst minus-24 run differential and have allowed 46 runs.

The Braves’ start isn’t entirely surprising, given they are in the middle of a rebuilding effort, having traded away several notable players, including Shelby Miller and Andrelton Simmons this past offseason.

Poor pitching has fueled Atlanta’s slow start to the season. The staff’s 46 runs allowed is its most through seven games since allowing 50 in 2006.

Twenty-five-year-old Julio Teheran, one of the young assets the Braves elected to hold onto, has started poorly. He has allowed seven runs through 10 innings to start the season after posting the highest full-season ERA of his career last season (4.04).

Marietta Daily Journal

Bridge gets final OK

Meris Lutz

MARIETTA — The Cobb Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a $10 million contract for the construction of a multi-use bridge over Interstate 285 to SunTrust Park, with an apparent agreement to look into replacing the county’s share of the funding with money from the $3 Cumberland hotel/motel tax.

The bridge as currently designed will span about 1,110 feet from the parking deck adjacent to the Cobb Galleria Centre to the Braves’ mixed-use development, The Battery Atlanta, which is being built adjacent to the new ballpark.

The winning bid was submitted by Northwest Express Roadbuilders, a joint venture of Archer Western and Hubbard Construction that is also building the $834 million toll lanes that will run about 30 miles through Cobb and Cherokee counties.

According to the item approved Tuesday, the county plans to fund the construction using $5 million from the Cumberland Community Improvement District; about $4.5 million in federal grants; $380,000 from the Atlanta Braves; about $159,000 from a special tax district in Cumberland; and $909,198 from “local match funding,” money the county budgets from its transit funds for local contributions for federal and state-funded projects.

Chairman Tim Lee has said the county would not use money from the general fund or contingency fund to pay for the bridge.

On Tuesday, just as the board was preparing to vote on the contract with Northwest and several other related items, Commissioner Bob Ott asked if it was possible to restructure the funding mechanism. Ott wanted to eliminate the nearly $1 million in local match funds in favor of using money from the special tax district, which goes toward paying off the debt for the new stadium and for the operation of a circulator bus.

Ott said he had received emails from constituents that raised concerns over the county putting more money toward the Braves stadium. The bridge’s funding has been a point of contention in the past, both on the board and among the wider public.

Ott’s query was not met warmly by staff or Lee.

“I’m not comfortable with it,” Lee said. “We’ve spent quite a bit of time laying out a funding mechanism that staff is comfortable with.”

County Manager David Hankerson said that the county had explored many options before arriving at the current breakdown.

“We’ve spent an inordinate amount of time looking at all of our funding sources, I spent two or three hours in the past week trying to work with staff,” Hankerson said. “We would have to come back and replace that funding that’s in the contract if that’s an option, but that’s up to the board.”

In the end, Ott made a motion to approve the contract as written, but asked staff to look into the option of amending the funding mechanism in the next two weeks. The motion passed 5-0.

Separately, the board voted to approve an $11 million contract with the Alabama-based Brasfield & Gorrie to widen the Windy Ridge Parkway Bridge leading to the stadium and the surrounding mixed-use development. The improvements include a 39-foot expansion on the north side of the bridge for a landscaped pedestrian thoroughfare. The state transportation agency has committed $7.8 million toward the project, with the county’s share amounting to $3.6 million.

Atlanta Business Chronicle

Cobb approves 2 bridge projects near SunTrust Park

Carla Caldwell - Morning Edition Editor - Atlanta Business Chronicle

Two bridges that will improve access to SunTrust Park in Cobb County were approved Tuesday by Cobb officials.

The bridges will cost an estimated total of $21.4 million.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners approved an $11.3 million agreement withBrasfield & Gorrie general contractors for the widening of the existing Windy Ridge Parkway bridge over Interstate 75 and Interstate 285 ramps to provide enhanced pedestrian access and greenway space.

Commissioners also approved a $10.1 million agreement with Northwest Express Roadbuilders, a Joint Venture, for construction of a multi-use bridge over Interstate 285. The bridge will span Galleria Drive, I-285 and Circle 75 Parkway to SunTrust Park.

According to Cobb County:

Engineering for the Windy Ridge Parkway bridge pedestrian improvements was funded through the 2011 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax Transportation Improvements Program, the county said in a prepared statement.

Construction will be funded from the 2016 SPLOST TIP. The Georgia Department of Transportation has committed $7.75 million towards construction of this project. The overall completion date for this project is July 31, 2017, and includes an intermediate completion date of March 0, 2017.

Engineering for the I-285 Multi-Use Bridge was funded from a combination of Federal Transit Administration grants and the 2011 SPLOST TIP. A combination of funding from the Cumberland Community Improvement District, FTA grants, the Atlanta Braves and the Cumberland Special Service District 1 will be used to construct the project.

The 32-foot wide multi-modal bridge will include a multi-purpose trail for pedestrians and bikes with accommodations for a future transit lane. The project is now eligible for inclusion in the local match funding category of the 2016 SPLOST TIP. The completion date is scheduled for Aug. 31, 2017, but the pedestrian component of the bridge will be operational by Braves Opening Day in April 2017.

Naples Daily News

Collier commissioners reject proposal for preferred location of Atlanta Braves spring training site

By Greg Stanley of the Naples Daily News

Collier County commissioners rejected a proposal Tuesday to consider building an Atlanta Braves spring training stadium at the site preferred by the team near Interstate 75 along Collier Boulevard.

Commissioners, however, voted unanimously to reach out to the Braves to see if executives would consider other properties in the county. But it's unclear if the Braves, who are in talks with Sarasota and Palm Beach over potential sites, would be interested.

"I think it's dead," said Commissioner Tim Nance, who thinks a stadium would benefit the county. "They need really good access to I-75. Maybe if we had another interchange. But the Braves aren't going to wait on us."

A representative for the Braves couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

Fifth Avenue Advisors, a private group that has worked feverishly to bring the team and Major League Baseball to Collier, isn't ready to throw in the towel just yet.

"We're going to keep going. We are going to reach out to the Braves," said Gary Price, a partner in Naples-based Fifth Avenue Advisors.

His group walked away from the commission meeting feeling positive about the discussion and the vote.

"The feedback I heard is, 'We do like baseball. We do like a baseball stadium, but at another site,'" Price said.

If the Braves still want to consider a location in Collier, Fifth Avenue Advisors plans to arrange a meeting between the team's representatives and county officials, including county Manager Leo Ochs and possibly one of the commissioners.

"If the only issue is the site, then we are going to do our best to convince the Braves to look at other sites," Price said. "There were other locations." Price said the Braves considered four to five potential spots for a stadium, but preferred the land off Collier Boulevard because of how close it was to the interstate.

After working with the Braves on and off for about two years, Price's group hoped to hand over negotiations to the county on Tuesday, but it appears it might continue to be involved in the recruitment effort if the team agrees to consider other sites.

"We're going to work on this until they tell us they are not interested," Price said of the Braves.

Commissioners suggested several other sites, including ones farther east in Ave Maria or as part of a new town located next to Golden Gate Estates at Oil Well Road. But a deal would require a willing landowner, which may not be so easy to find.

"I think that is a tough thing to do. As you get further east, there is not the access to 75. We are still early on in the growth and development of the eastern part of the county," said Blake Gable, president of real estate and minerals management at Barron Collier Cos., a large landowner and co- developer of Ave Maria.

While one day a stadium could make sense farther east, he doesn't think it makes sense now.

"I think it's probably a little premature at this point," Gable said.

Fifth Avenue Advisors presented commissioners with a plan Tuesday to build a stadium on 160 acres directly off Collier Boulevard south of Forest Glen Golf & Country Club. The land is owned by Naples-based Stock Development and residentially zoned.

Dozens of homeowners from Forest Glen and other neighborhoods surrounding the property packed commission chambers to oppose the location at Tuesday's meeting. It was standing room only for the presentation, with many in the audience sporting collared shirts with their community names on them.

All five commissioners said they were concerned about the proposed site in a residential area. All five speakers from the audience opposed the location because it was too close to their homes.

In addition to concerns about the location, there are also questions about what the county would get for its investment, said Commissioner Tom Henning.

"There are too many unknowns, too many uncertains. I am very concerned about the proposal," he said.

The stadium would cost the county nearly $135 million in tourist tax dollars to build, finance, operate and maintain over 30 years, according to a proposal from Fifth Avenue Advisors presented to commissioners. The county would pay a little over $3 million a year to start, and its payments would increase annually until more than doubling in 30 years to $6.4 million.

Fifth Avenue Advisors estimates the stadium would spur $20 million a year in direct spending outside the stadium during the six weeks of spring training alone.

"Forget about the rest of the year when you can use the facilities for other venues and events. A $3 million to $4 million of investment from the county results in $20 million in direct spending. We think that's a good investment," Price told county commissioners.

The Braves want to have a stadium in place by 2018, though they might be willing wait if they can find the ideal site in Collier, Price said.

It's hard to see the county and land owner moving fast enough to meet the 2018 deadline, Henning said.

Commissioners would need to rezone land and either increase or change the way it spends a 4-percent tourist tax, actions that would both need a supermajority of commissioners — four out of five.

Barry Gerenstein, who lives just south of the proposed stadium in Verona Walk, said he was overjoyed that the site was rejected.

"It would be disastrous to place this in a residential area," he said. "If you look at sports complexes in other places, they are not generally in the greatest of neighborhoods. We don't want that next to Forest Glen and its neighbors on Collier Boulevard."

A spring training home for the Atlanta Braves in Collier County would look much like JetBlue Park built for the in Fort Myers. The Braves' home would be a bit smaller, with an estimated construction cost of $53 million, according to Fifth Avenue Advisors.

The cost of the land is estimated at $25 million, bringing the total budget to $78 million.

Fifth Avenue Advisors argued the complex wouldn't be used just for spring training, but as a public park to meet the growing demands from the community and as a venue for other events that will help grow sports tourism in the county.

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Collier County rejects Atlanta Braves proposal

By Zach Murdock

The Collier County Commission has rejected a proposal to build the Atlanta Braves a new spring training complex in east Naples.

All five commissioners and dozens of nearby residents raised concerns about the proposed location of the complex on about 160 acres off Collier Boulevard just south of Interstate 75, between several gated neighborhoods and country clubs, the Naples Daily News reported from the commission's meeting Tuesday morning.

The deal proposed by Fifth Avenue Advisors, a private firm that has been working to land the Braves in Collier County, would have included $135 million in tourist tax dollars to build, operate and maintain over 30 years, the Daily News reported.

The site off Collier Boulevard was reportedly the team's preferred site in the Naples area, but commissioners voted unanimously to ask the team to consider if there are other potential sites in the county.

"I think it's dead," Commissioner Tim Nance told the Daily News. "They need really good access to I-75. Maybe if we had another interchange. But the Braves aren't going to wait on us."

Meanwhile, talks continue behind closed doors between team executives and officials in Sarasota and Palm Beach counties. Palm Beach leaders were to meet with team consultants late last week to discuss a possible formal proposal to put before commissioners there.

The Sarasota County Commission remains the only government to formally authorize negotiations with the team. The county and West Villages developers have proposed a $100 million complex to anchor a new town center on 100 to 150 acres in the heart of the planned West Villages commercial district along the south side of U.S. 41 and west of River Road.

Palm Beach Post

Owners of former Glades prison offer Field of Dreams to Braves

By Joe Capozzi - Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

As the Washington Nationals and continue to transform an old trash dump into a spring training facility, a group of Belle Glade businessmen is making a pitch for another bold makeover — turning an old prison into a baseball complex for the Atlanta Braves.

The new owners of the vacant Glades Correction Institution in Belle Glade want to offer half of the 211-acre site for free if the Braves build a spring training complex there.

“It would certainly be a game-changer for the Glades,’’ said former Mayor Tom Altman, one of six partners who make up BGI Group, which bought the vacant site for $1.2 million in 2014.

Altman and his partners floated the idea to Palm Beach County officials this week, but not to the Braves. But when it does reach the Braves, it might not go very far — even with the lure of 100 free-of-charge acres.

The Braves have told the county they prefer to set up camp along the Interstate 95 corridor, close to Palm Beach International Airport and close to the county’s two other spring training facilities: Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter and the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, which will open in January.

A local Braves lobbyist could not be reached for comment Tuesday. But a facility in Belle Glade – even with the lure of free land — could present at least two challenges.

For one, the Braves want to avoid having their players spend too much time on buses traveling to Grapefruit League Games. And it might be tough persuading fans in coastal Palm Beach County to drive 30 minutes to games when they take a 10-minute drive to the county’s other two facilities.

But Glades leaders think a Major League Baseball facility would be a big draw, with fans and players spending days at time attending baseball games and fishing on Lake Okeechobee.

“I don’t think (the travel time) would be that much of an issue. It’s straight shot from West Palm Beach out here on a nice four-lane highway. Wellington is even closer,’’ said Belle Glade City Manager Lomax Harrelle.

“The Glades has been a depressed area for a long time with high unemployment. This would be fantastic for the area.’’ The Braves already have a history in the Glades. When the team trained in West Palm Beach from 1963-1997, players such as John Smoltz and Phil Niekro and manager Bobby Cox often took fishing trips to Lake Okeechobee.

“They put together team tournaments. They tore up this lake with bass fishing,’’ said Altman.

The Braves’ top choice is the south end of John Prince Park west of Lake Worth. The team also is negotiating with Sarasota County and it has attracted interest from builders in Collier County.

Henry Rionda, BGI’s lead partner, said he got the idea of turning the old prison into the spring home of the Braves after reading in The Palm Beach Post about opposition to the team’s plan at John Prince Park.

“This could be like Dodgertown,’’ said Rionda, referring to the old spring training home of the Brooklyn and in Vero Beach.

Altman said: “It’s just a chance to make a huge impact in an area that could certainly use it. I’ve heard about Major League Baseball’s efforts to impact depressed areas. There’s no bigger impact that could be had than right here.’’

Associated Press

Harper's 2-run double in 8th lifts Nationals past Braves 2-1

By HOWARD FENDRICH (AP Sports Writer)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tough to decide who was more pumped up by Bryce Harper's go-ahead, two-run double in the eighth inning - the reigning NL MVP himself, who clapped and yelled as he stood at second base as his silver chain bounced around his neck, or his new manager, Dusty Baker, who punched the frigid air with his gloved hands and screamed some, um, choice words from the dugout.

Indeed, based on what the TV broadcast showed him saying Tuesday night, Baker was expecting to get chastised by his mother.

''I'm not kidding,'' he said. ''She'll call me as soon as I get in the car.''

Harper's big two-out hit on the first pitch thrown by reliever Eric O'Flaherty broke a scoreless tie and lifted Washington past Atlanta 2-1 for the Nationals' 12th consecutive home victory against the Braves.

''I was just excited we didn't have to play extra innings,'' Harper said with a hint of a grin when asked about his animated reaction. ''I saw the whole dugout was pretty fired up about it.''

The winning rally came after Stephen Drew got his first hit as a member of the Nationals and Anthony Rendon walked, both against righty Jim Johnson (0-2). The left-handed O'Flaherty entered to face the lefty-hitting Harper, who immediately hooked a hit toward the left-field line and away from outfielder Jeff Francoeur, who dove in a bid to make a catch but had the ball go off his glove.

''I saw the left side of the field was open. Just trying to get something out over the plate I could hit that hole with,'' said Harper, who was 0 for 3 to that point. ''Back-spun it a little bit, cut it a little bit.''

Said Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez: ''The right guy at the right time.''

It made a winner of Blake Treinen (2-0), who got Francoeur to ground into a bases-loaded 6-4-3 double play to end the eighth.

''That's why you like that sinkerballer on your staff,'' Baker said.

Treinen stayed in for the ninth but was removed after walking Gordon Beckham with two outs. Felipe Rivero then gave up Kelly Johnson's RBI double to make it a one-run game before earning his first save of the season by striking out Mallex Smith.

On a windy night with the temperature dipping into the 50s after the first pitch, the Nationals improved to 5-1, the first time a Washington-based team had that record since 1951.

The Braves fell to 0-7, their worst start since opening the 1988 season with 10 losses.

''It's been a tough stretch. I feel like we're playing good ball and we just can't get that big hit or get that big out or we come up with a little miscue or something that snowballs an inning on us,'' said Atlanta catcher Tyler Flowers, 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. ''We're getting close. We're all still very positive in here.''

Their futility in Washington is the worst stretch for the Braves on the road against one opponent since a 13-game skid at the Dodgers in 1951-52, according to STATS LLC.

FOR STARTERS Both starting pitchers were making their season debut, with Atlanta's Jhoulys Chacin brought up from Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday and Washington's Gonzalez seeing action for the first time since a March 27 spring training exhibition. Each threw six shutout innings. Baker said about Gonzalez: ''He was very sharp. You wouldn't know that he had missed two weeks.''

OOPS

Baker acknowledged it was his fault for accidentally putting on a hit-and-run when Daniel Murphy got doubled off first base on Jayson Werth's lineout to right in the seventh inning. ''I inadvertently touched the wrong part of my body,'' Baker said. ''That won't happen too often.''

FEAR THE BEARD

Nationals GM Mike Rizzo's duties apparently include more than making trades, negotiating contracts and hiring managers - he needs to keep tabs on batters' scoreboard photos, too. After Danny Espinosa's at-bat pic showing him with an overgrown beard was replaced by a clean-shaven version, Rizzo issued a statement via a team spokesperson: ''This was my decision. I reserve the right to choose the player photos we use on the scoreboard during the game.''

UP NEXT

Washington RHP Stephen Strasburg (1-0, 1.50 ERA) is 3-0 with a 0.53 ERA in his past three starts against Atlanta, including a 3-1 victory in this season's second game. RHP Matt Wisler (0-0, 5.40) starts for the Braves.

Braves-Nationals Preview

By SCOTT GARBARINI (STATS Writer)

Stephen Strasburg probably couldn't ask for a cushier spot to begin an important contract year.

The Washington hurler draws a second consecutive assignment against the winless Atlanta Braves as he attempts to continue the Nationals' strong start Wednesday night.

Both Strasburg and the Nationals are banking on a better 2016 after an assortment of injuries limited the right-hander to 23 starts last season and contributed to a playoff absence for a team widely pegged as a World Series favorite. The early returns have been promising for both parties, with Strasburg tossing six effective innings in last Wednesday's season debut at Atlanta to help Washington (5-1) to the franchise's best start since the opened 6-1 in 2001.

Strasburg limited Atlanta's underwhelming lineup to six singles and a run in a 3-1 victory that built off his strong and healthy finish to 2015, when the 2014 NL leader posted a 1.90 ERA in 10 starts after returning from an oblique strain.

"Just from my experience, I think this is about the time when guys really get it together, when they come together emotionally and physiologically and spiritually," Nationals first-year manager Dusty Baker told MLB's official website of the 27-year-old Strasburg. "They kind of figure it out about this time."

Strasburg has yielded one run over 24 innings in winning four straight starts against Atlanta (0-7), batting .203 with a .291 slugging percentage during its worst start since an 0-10 beginning to 1988.

''It's been a tough stretch. I feel like we're playing good ball and we just can't get that big hit or get that big out or we come up with a little miscue or something that snowballs an inning on us,'' said catcher Tyler Flowers. ''We're getting close. We're all still very positive in here.''

The Braves mustered six hits in Tuesday's 2-1 loss, their 12th straight at Nationals Park and 18th in the series' past 22 matchups. It's the franchise's longest road losing streak to a single opponent since a 13-game skid at the Dodgers from 1951-52.

Atlanta's punchless offense negated a sharp debut from Jhoulys Chacin, who struck out eight while matching counterpart Gio Gonzalez with six scoreless innings. The game remained tied until Bryce Harper delivered a two-out, two-run double in the eighth.

The Braves hope for a similar effort from Matt Wisler after the 23-year-old produced an encouraging first outing of his second major league season. The right-hander allowed four runs over 6 2-3 innings Friday against St. Louis, taking a lead into the seventh before surrendering a game-tying homer toJeremy Hazelbaker in Atlanta's 7-4 loss.

"I only gave up a few hard-hit balls and that was definitely the big mistake of the day," Wisler said. "If I execute the pitch, I get an out. I didn't execute it and he took care of it."

Wisler was 2-2 in four 2015 starts against Washington but was hit hard in two on the road, permitting 11 earned runs and 14 hits over 5 2-3 innings in losing both. Harper is 0 for 4 with four walks against Wisler but Daniel Murphy 3 for 6 with a pair of doubles in the matchup. The offseason addition had two hits Tuesday and is 10 for 20 with seven RBIs.

Freddie Freeman is batting .387 (12 for 31) with three homers off Strasburg - tied with Miami's for the most hit off Strasburg - but is off to a 2-for-21 start after going 0 for 3 Tuesday.