The Braves finally won several games in a row, guys and gals!
But things are never that easy, of course — so we’ve gotta chat about the rehabbing MVP publicly beefing with his manager.
And/or his teammate.
Quick links: Weekend reflections | Braves complete sweep | Risacher, Daniels named finalists
DOUBLE STANDARD?
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
Is it a great idea to call your boss out on social media? Not especially.
But that doesn’t mean you’re wrong.
😬 What happened
Braves outfielder Jarred Kelenic hit a ball hard to right field Saturday.
He assumed it was a home run and left the box at a leisurely pace — then the ball bounced off the wall. He got thrown out at second.
🫢 Ronald reacts
Ronald Acuña Jr., who’s in L.A. beginning the final phases of his post-knee surgery rehab, noticed. And he responded to an X post by MLB.com’s Mark Bowman on Sunday morning.
“If it were me, they would take me out of the game.”
🙃 The background
The post, which didn’t name names, was deleted about an hour later. He had a point, though!
Manager Brian Snitker yanked Acuña from a 2019 game for doing more or less the same: going into home run mode on a ball that failed to clear the fence. That hit resulted in a single.
At the time, Snitker said such things were “not going to be acceptable here.”
🤔 Snit’s response
Snitker’s initial response to being asked if he had a conversation with Kelenic: “Was I supposed to, or … ?”
As AJC columnist Michael Cunningham reports, the manager had more to say on Sunday (though he still hadn’t spoken to Acuña).
He said he has “no blanket thing” guiding how he deals with such plays.
- Then this: “Quite honestly, if you want to know the truth, I wasn’t watching that (Kelenic) play. I knew he got thrown out at second. I didn’t see it until this morning, and then I talked to him about it.”
- And this: “Quite honestly, I don’t look for (Kelenic) to not do it because he plays with his hair on fire all the time and he’s laying out.”
🙄 Tyler’s two cents
Is it possible Acuña was calling out Kelenic and not Snitker? Getting onto a teammate for not hustling? Sure.
But the fact that he brought his own punishment up six years later certainly suggests he’s harboring ill will toward his manager.
I am very much not an old school baseball guy — but I didn’t necessarily have an issue with pulling Acuña back then. No harm in sending a message that early in his career.
That said: If you’re gonna punish the hot young star, you better do the same for a guy hitting .180.
And implying Acuna *doesn’t* play with “his hair on fire all the time” probably ain’t gonna help smooth things over.
What do you think about all this? Much ado about nothing? Or a troubling bit of beef? Shoot me an email with your thoughts and we’ll discuss more tomorrow.
WEEKEND WONDERPERSON
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
I could bestow this week’s honor on any number of individual Braves. New outfielder Alex Verdugo provided sparks in his first few games. Matt Olson’s heating up and Drake Baldwin continues to impress. Heck, the bullpen strung together a series of strong outings.
⚾ But when you start the weekend 5-13 and finish it 8-13? That right there feels like a team award.
Your Bravos are now 8-6 since that 0-7 start.
“Everybody shows up and continues to feel like they’re working on the right path every day,” Olson said. “Play 162 games, you want to get better every day, so get a sweep like this … we keep building on it.”
⚾ On deck: A three-game home set with the Cardinals starts tonight (7:15 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Network). Spencer Schwellenbach will try to rebound from a rough outing last time around.
SPEAKING OF AWARDS
The Hawks couldn’t quite muster a play-in win on Friday night. Trae Young called the season a failure. But a couple of his teammates got some good news Sunday.
🏆 Dyson Daniels is a finalist for both the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year and its Most Improved Player. Daniels doubled his scoring average while leading the league with 229 steals — the most for any player since the 1995-96 season.
🏆 Zaccharie Risacher is one of three finalists for Rookie of the Year, joining San Antonio’s Stephon Castle and Memphis’ Jaylen Wells. Castle, a Newton High grad, is considered the favorite.
More end-of-season coverage:
DRAFT ON TAP
Did we mention the NFL draft starts on Thursday?
Lots more as we inch closer, but let’s kick off draft week with a quick look at five players the Falcons are eyeing for their 15th pick. How does Marshall’s Mike Green or Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell sound?
🏈 Get caught up with the AJC’s position-by-position draft breakdown, too.
PORTAL UPDATES
Lots of action in the college football transfer portal over the weekend as well. Let’s catch up.
🔄 Georgia had quite the Sunday, reportedly landing former Army linebacker Elo Modozie, Miami defensive lineman Joshua Horton and Illinois running back Joshua Horton. Modozie helps fill a particular position of need for the Bulldogs.
🔄 Georgia Tech grabbed defensive back Savion Riley, a Kennesaw Mountain High grad who has previously played at Colorado, Miami and Vanderbilt.
🔄 Nico Iamaleava, now-former Tennessee quarterback and super smart businessperson, formally announced his transfer to UCLA.
NOT-SO-FUN NUMBER: 253
That’s how many minutes Atlanta United has now gone without scoring a single goal.
Saturday’s shutout loss at Philadelphia continued the Five Stripes’ franchise-worst start to the season.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
Check out that flow!
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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