Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop, Shelby Miller Returns, Jeff Francoeur Joins Twitter!

My AJC

Did the Atlanta Braves sell high on Shelby Miller or what?

Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: Of course they did, to say they didn’t sell high on Miller would be a huge understatement.  By now, we all know the path that took Miller to the Braves, to the D-Backs so we won’t get into that in this article.  One thing I will say about this is…Mark Bradley continued in his article with the sentence “According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic: “(The D-backs) believe his most recent issues are more rooted in mentality than mechanics“.  Looking back on this comment, Miller was THE GUY in Atlanta last season and maybe his stats were related to this.  He enjoyed being on top of the mountain and now that he’s in Arizona with Zack Greinke, he’s no longer THE GUY.  The Braves do face Miller on Saturday so it will be interesting to see how he performs against his former team…what’s left of it.

"Miller’s stats: An ERA of 8.49, a WHIP of 1.971 and a FIP (fielding independent pitching) of 7.23. He leads the majors with 19 walks. His WAR value is minus-0.8. Among MLB pitchers who have worked a minimum of 20 innings, his FIP and WAR numbers are the worst. His WHIP is the fourth-worst. His ERA is the sixth-worst.The Diamondbacks have won two of Miller’s six starts. In the first, they rallied from a 6-3 deficit after he was removed; in the second, he was lifted in the third after walking four consecutive batters. He has worked beyond the fifth inning only twice. He has no quality starts.According to Brooks Baseball, he has lost velocity on both his four-seam fastball and his sinker: From 95.11 mph last year to 93.60 on the former, from 94.55 to 92 on the latter."

NBC Sports

Eddie Perez likely to be Braves’ interim manager if Fredi Gonzalez is fired

Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The speculations continue for the offices of the Atlanta Braves.  I hate to continue down this path because I’d rather worry about the play on the field, but this story will stay in the news until something happens.  Braves beat writer, Mark Bowman says that a move could be made this weekend.  Per above, the Braves face Shelby Miller on Saturday…what if he’s fired right after a loss to his former pitcher.  One way or the other, the Braves need to make a decision.  The announcement needs to come out whether he’s staying with the team or not.

"There’s been a lot of rumbling that Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez will soon get the pink slip. His team is 7-20 entering Thursday’s action. Historically, front offices — particularly those of rebuilding/restructuring teams — respond to that by making coaching and/or managerial changes.Per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, bullpen coach Eddie Perez is likely to fill in as the Braves’ manager on an interim basis if and when Gonzalez is fired. Perez has been with the Braves as a coach since 2007. He played for the Braves in 10 out of his 11 seasons from 1995-2005. Perez wasn’t known for his bat, but was respected for the way he called games and handled the Braves’ then-elite pitching staff.Bowman notes that Gonzalez isn’t expected to be fired over the weekend. If the team plays well, that could extend Gonzalez’s leash, so to speak."

Twitter

Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: Braves former and current outfielder Jeff Francoeur has finally got with it and has joined Twitter!  He’s only sent out one tweet, but he already has almost 5,000 followers.  Hopefully he starts getting on more because I’d love to read what this guy has to say!

>>UPDATE ALERT: Francoeur has posted his second tweet – this time sending his love to country performer Cole Swindell