Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: More on Crash; Spring Startups

Coming so quickly after the deaths of Andy Marte and Yordano Ventura, news of a traffic accident involving Sean Rodriguez and his family – which included a fatality – left us fearing the worst for a while last night.

Giselle Rodriguez will be okay.  Two of their 4 children are said to be “stable” though still in serious condition.  One of the newest Atlanta Braves, Sean Rodriguez, was reported to be unhurt.

That said, suppose you were in the front seat of a Chevy Suburban when a police car appears out of nowhere, you ram into it broadside, it bursts into flames, and you later learn that the driver is dead?  [More details as Jeff reported last night here]

There’s “unhurt” and then there’s “unaffected”.

There’s also the fact that two of the couple’s children – reported as 2 and 8 years old – suffered serious injuries in the wreck.  No word on whether the other 2 were with them at the time.

The driver of the police car was not a policeman – why would anyone steal a police car?? – and he was killed in the crash.  So many times in such wrecks, the criminal is the one who makes it out alive while innocents do not.

It’s been five year ago this month that Braves’ trainer Jeff Porter lost his wife in a wreck that did involve a police officer – a Georgia State Trooper.  That driver was fired and ultimately given a 2 year prison sentence for his actions that day.

The good news is that the Rodriguez family has survived – though ‘serious condition’ does indeed leave some doubt in children this young.  We hope to have some updates later today, but we share these sentiments with the Atlanta Braves today:

MONDAY EVENING UPDATE

Sounds like Giselle may have actually gotten the worst of it – but also appears that the children are doing better.  Excellent!