Atlanta Braves News: Saturday Morning Chop, Coaches Announced, Who Are You Cheering For?
Bo Porter Among Additional Possible Rockies Managerial Candidates
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: So the Atlanta Braves announced their 2017 coaches and Bo Porter was (demoted or promoted???) given the job as the Special Assistant to the General Manager. This job title sounds like something out of The Office. I think this got folks talking and then the report came out yesterday about Porter being a candidate for the Rockies job. He’s obviously looking to get back in this position, but he has an extremely slim chance to do so with the Braves. He hasn’t been with Atlanta long (one season), but seems to be a great guy and coach. The Rockies should give him another chance at managing an MLB team. Wonder what they thought of Eddie Perez.
Former Astros skipper and current Braves special assistant Bo Porter is receiving at least some consideration for the Rockies’ open managerial position, according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. The report identifies a number of other possibilities on a growing list of names who appear to be on Colorado’s radar.
Another former Astros’ manager, current Indians bench coach Brad Mills, has also come up. His Cleveland staff mate, first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr., is another name to watch. Obviously, neither of those possible candidates can be pursued in earnest at present, with the Indians just opening play in the ALCS.
Two other bench coaches who could draw interest from the Rockies are Dave Martinez of the Cubs, who also is busy with his current position, and Ron Wotus of the Giants. We heard earlier today that Wotus had received contact from a team with a managerial opening. Given that the Diamondbacks — the other team with an opening — haven’t yet resolved their front office situation, it seems reasonable to suspect that it was the Rockies who came calling.
The Atlanta #Braves today named Brian Snitker as the club’s manager and announced the 2017 coaching staff! pic.twitter.com/u3wGSEvMPR
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 11, 2016
Chicago Cubs’ balanced attack makes LA Dodgers the underdogs
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: Last night we saw the Cleveland Indians win game one of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays. Today we (see game two of the ALCS) see the start of the NLCS with the Dodgers and the Cubs. With the Nationals being eliminated by the Dodgers, I don’t have a team that I “don’t” want to win. So I tried to sit back and think about who out of the final four teams would I like to see with 2016 World Series. The Blue Jays are a fun team to watch, but most of the time they are just complaining about calls. The Indians are kinda a boring team that just gets the job done…I kept looking for Albert Belle, Jim Thome or Kenny Lofton to come to the plate. The Dodgers are a great trading partner, but they are an easy team to cheer against. The Cubs have former Braves Jason Heyward, Tommy La Stella and David Ross…let’s go with the popular pick and the Cubs.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw had just pitched the inning of his life Thursday night when he addressed reporters after Game 5 of the National League Division Series in Washington D.C. Soaked in champagne and drained of emotions, he still had enough left in the tank to make a subtly ironic statement about the Chicago Cubs.
“They’re a solid team from what I understand,” he quipped.
Chicago won 103 games in the regular season — eight more than any other club and more than any Cubs team since 1910. They have been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated three times this year, twice proclaiming them the prohibitive World Series favorites.
G-Braves Enjoyed Historic 2016 Season
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: What a year the Gwinnett Braves had in 2016. To withstand the turnovers in players and coaches they experienced this past year and still make the playoffs was remarkable. They came up short in the Governors’ Cup Championship Series with a 3-1 series loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRider, but still saw huge success. This number may not surprise you, but it’s ridiculously high…the G-Braves made 274 roster moves in 2016! Also, when the Atlanta Braves fired Fredi Gonzalez and called up Gwinnett’s manager Brian Snitker, John Moses stepped into these shoes. Gwinnett finished the season with a 65-78 record, but it was the best in the International League South. Expect this team to be really good next year as our young guys just inch closer and closer to the MLB.
The 2016 season resembled a roller coaster in a lot of ways for the Gwinnett Braves, but in between all the highs and lows, the fast start and the setbacks, the managerial changes and the numerous roster moves, history was made in the eighth season at Coolray Field.
Despite posting the lowest winning percentage (.455) of a full-season division winner in Minor League Baseball history, the G-Braves won the International League South Division for the first time since the club moved to Georgia in 2009 and earned the franchise’s first trip to the Governors’ Cup Championship Series since Richmond won the Cup in 2007.
Gwinnett fought its way into the postseason by winning 11 of its final 20 games, including a winner-take-all season finale at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte on September 5. The G-Braves then knocked off the IL West Division Champion Columbus Clippers in four games of the Governors’ Cup Semifinals, capturing Games 3 and 4 in thrilling fashion at home.
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