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Atlanta Braves Sunday Chop: the great beat writer dance-off

By Alan Carpenter

TOKYO, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 08: Catcher J.T. Realmuto #11 of the Miami Marlins runs after hitting a solo homer to make it 8-4 in the top of 5th inning during the exhibition game between Yomiuri Giants and the MLB All Stars at Tokyo Dome on November 8, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images)
TOKYO, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 08: Catcher J.T. Realmuto #11 of the Miami Marlins runs after hitting a solo homer to make it 8-4 in the top of 5th inning during the exhibition game between Yomiuri Giants and the MLB All Stars at Tokyo Dome on November 8, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FL – SEPTEMBER 4: J.T. Realmuto #11 of the Miami Marlins is congratulated by Derek Dietrich #32 after hitting a home run in the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Marlins Park on September 4, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – SEPTEMBER 4: J.T. Realmuto #11 of the Miami Marlins is congratulated by Derek Dietrich #32 after hitting a home run in the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Marlins Park on September 4, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) /

Mark Bowman’s Side

By stark contrast, there hasn’t been much here… recognize, though, that the Marlins are clearly not running as tight of a ship as the Alex Anthopoulos front office.  The information flow is not nearly as free as it appears to be in Miami.

Right away, then, you’d have to think that on the basis of sheer volume and specificity (never mind consistency), Mish has this rumor covered, hands down.  I personally tend to agree.  Point for Mish.

Nonetheless, there have been some strong counters from Bowman.

This was delivered late on Saturday, following Mish’s “Braves are favorites” tweet:

“Five days” essentially points back to the beginning of the Winter Meetings… and encompasses Mish’s tweet from last Wednesday.  This is pretty much a Mish shutdown.

He then followed that up with additional explanations, including a full story that included this line:

"While Atlanta has continued to be linked to J.T. Realmuto rumors, a source said Saturday night the Braves exited the Winter Meetings with the understanding there will not be any further reason for them to discuss trading for the Marlins’ All-Star catcher."

Here are other tweets on the subject from Bowman’s timeline:

  • Oct 31 – this ‘might be the right time‘ for the Braves to pursue Realmuto.
  • Nov 16 – ‘Realmuto deal currently seems unlikely‘
  • Nov 23 – Writer Anthony Castrovince suggests it ‘would be foolish‘ for the Marlins to ignore NL East teams as suitors for their catcher.

Bowman also suggested that Atlanta’s last contact with Miami was on Tuesday… close enough to have Mish tweet what he did the next day and more-or-less consistent with the ‘5 days’ Bowman tweet above.

Clearly , Bowman believes that the Braves have ‘turned their attention away from Realmuto’.  Braves Writer Dave O’Brien (The Athletic) seems to be on that same side of the fence… and he’s said nothing to bolster Mish’s position at any point in the process.

So yeah:  Bowman has a nice beat, but can he dance to this tune?

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