Atlanta Braves’ Morning Chop: a shopping list for Christmas

#11.  MARTA Rail Access to the Stadium

I’m from ‘out of town’.  When I went to Turner Field games, it was… a hook shot, but still relatively doable:

• Grab a hotel at the end of a MARTA line.
• Ride the train to the Georgia State station
• Walk through Underground Atlanta
• Pick up a MARTA bus from there
• Drop off directly at the stadium

Want to end the traffic crunch that led to the team changing start times to 7:30pm?  Extend the trains to the Northwest, with a station that’s within easy walking distance.

[That parking garage idea might actually be cheaper… and easier.]

Right now, the train lines go North, South, East, and West of the city center, which is of course named ‘Five Points’.

The Northern line already has a spur to the Northeast toward Doraville while the main line goes through Buckhead to Sandy Springs, ending at North Springs.

To serve the stadium area, Smyrna, and perhaps Marietta, one of 2 things would have to happen:

• Create a 2nd spur that branches to the Northwest at around Buckhead, or
• Create an extension from the Green/Proctor Creek Line that rides along 285 to the stadium.

Both option have significant downsides:  The Red and Orange northlines could not tolerate another spur for capacity reasons, and Proctor Creek Station itself can’t handle more than a couple of cars.

Never mind the additional 4-5 miles of infrastructure, trackage, right-of-way, and station building that would have to be done just to reach the stadium.  Beyond that, the only way to justify such a project at all would be to add the extra length (to Marietta) needed to truly provide a chance to get some cars off Atlanta highways.

So n

o, we just can

‘t have nice things sometimes.  But it’s still on my Braves Christmas list.

#10.  A New TV Contract

Now that I’ve tried to spend around a billion taxpayer dollars, let’s try something perhaps more practical… though it will take a while to get this gift.

We don’t actually know when the current TV deal expires.  It was slated to be 2027, but that was before a 2014 renegotiation gave the Braves a significant bit of relief.

However, such things come at a cost, and that cost was probably something in the neighborhood of an additional 3-5 years before the team can expect to throw open the bidding to a wider audience.

A new deal that would better represent the #9 media market in the US – never mind one of the largest fan followings well beyond the scope of the Atlanta metropolitan area – would provide an substantial infusion of new – and consistent – revenue for the team.

It was probably a tough call for the 2014 management team to get that renegotiation done, but also probably the right move.  The choice was between waiting beyond another decade before getting a change and floundering until then, or biting the bullet and gaining some relief – though at the expense of extending the timeline.

The Braves did gain back what was reported to be close to a half-billion in new monies for the intervening 13+ years… and now they have filled the gap further with SunTrust Park an Battery Atlanta.

It’s not a new deal entirely, but this investment goes a long way toward putting a more competitive team on the field for many years in the meantime.  We are seeing those benefits right now.

#9.  A New Bat for Dansby Swanson

The Braves don’t need a lot more offense, but a better hitting shortstop would have several benefits:

• help him to relax
• silence the critics
• finish out a truly formidable offense

This new bat would be one that can recognize a slider right out of the pitcher’s hand and remain on the shoulder.  That’s important since 11% of the pitches thrown to him end up low and away.

It’s also a bat that lock down and fails to swing at pitches out of the strike zone of any kind… save for those up and in… for those, this bat will unleash itself in a spring-loaded fashion, lashing the baseball toward the left-field corner at high velocity.

For Swanson, it’s easy to say/difficult to execute:  he’s hitting roughly .300 on pitches that are strikes, and .173 on pitches that are not strikes… which includes this tiny up-and-in location where he hits .482.

It’s a little difficult for him when batting 8th, though, for his job is to try and clear the pitcher… if nothing else… when he bats with 2 outs.

In such situations during 2018, Swanson hit .252 and walked 25 times with a .368 OBP.  With comparable plate appearance counts spread between 0-/1-/and 2-outs, that’s actually his best numbers among those split criteria.

Now he just needs to translate that prowess into 0- and 1-out situations by laying off non-strikes better.

I’m sure a new bat would help.

#8.  A Schedule that Doesn’t Include California

This can’t happen, but at least there are more days off now to help teams cope with travel schedules better.

The Braves have been killed in California games a lot over the past few years – especially in San Diego – and while there may not be a rhyme or reason for the flopping, those West Coast games still count in the standings.

The help may be that the AL Central clubs are all on the docket in 2019.  Four of those teams are expected to be having varying degrees of difficulty are they rebuild, tear down, or otherwise have ‘transition years’.

Unfortunately, all of the Braves’ NL East rivals have the same schedule.

Can we go ahead and expand the league so that we can also geographically re-align the divisions?

#7.  A No-Hitter

This is just something that would be ‘nice’ as part of a (hoped for) championship season.  The Braves have seen pitchers go into the 9th inning carrying no-no’s on 3 different occasionsin recent memory:

• Shelby Miller (2 hitter, Marlins, 5/17/2015)
• Mike Foltynewicz (1 hit allowed, Oakland, 6/30/2017)
• Sean Newcomb (1 hit allowed, Dodgers, 7/29/2018)

The last time the Braves no-hit anybody was 24 years ago – the year prior to their World Series win of 1995.  Kent Mercker blanked San Diego on April 8 of 1994.  He was also involved in the previous no-hitter in 1991.

This is getting tougher to see a single pitcher accomplish the feat – new data is suggesting that pitchers who throw complete games are much more susceptible to injury that those who don’t.

Such data is only going to fuel up this notion of using ‘Openers’ and ‘Bridge’ pitchers who never get through lineups more than 2 times.

100 pitches thrown used to be routine.  Then it became a rule of thumb for managers to consider removing their starter.  Now it’s becoming a wall that few should ever climb.

The complete game is thus going by the wayside.  The no-hitter is likewise – unless you count ‘combined’ no-no events, which are much more rare than the solo effort in baseball history.

#6.  Braves Fans Becoming… ‘Territorial’

You’ve seen it.  When the Cubs, Cardinals, Mets, Yankees, or Red Sox make their way into opposing stadiums, their fans follow like they’re drawn by a magnet.  Commentators often are compelled to mention that their home park has the feel of a road game due to the vociferous chantings of the opposition forces.

This happens because ticket brokers buy up season tickets in large numbers and then make their profits by selling them for individual games, which makes it easier for any fans – including the opposition to get to see ‘their team’ on the road.

This is actually not a bad thing for displaced fans, but it’s particularly bad with the above-named teams are involved since their fans ‘travel well’, as the saying goes.

How does this get countered?  Basically, the Braves have to win more.  Winning sells tickets… and the fewer tickets available for brokers makes more for actual home-team fans.

Here’s hoping that the Tomahawk Chop is able to choke out the “Let’s Go Cubs!” chants for the foreseeable future.

#5.  A full year of a fully healthy Josh Donaldson

In 2013 while still with the A’s, Donaldson put up a 7.2 WAR season.  This was followed in consecutive years with 5.7, 8.7, 7.6, and 5.1… a remarkable run through 2017 that tells us that this guy has the capability to throw an MVP-like season up on the board.

You like Bryce Harper?  Heck, Donaldson has been that good and more… even if his 2019 rebound is only as good as the worst of those seasons noted above, he’ll be better than Harper has ever been – save for just 1 year.

The idea of seeing Acuna, Donaldson, and Freeman perhaps hitting 1-2-3 for a full year is a gift that all Braves’ fans would like to see, but it will only be realized if Donaldson is completely over his multiple maladies (calf, shoulder) from 2018.

If that happens, this team will be tough to stop.

#4.  Can We Be the Masked ‘Mystery Team’?  Just Once?

This one speaks for itself, but here’s why the thought came up…

No mystery here, though:  Alex Anthopoulos went to Denver to meet with his ‘owners’ – the Liberty Media executives.  The mystery owner in Las Vegas was very likely Fred Wilpon of the Mets.

#3.  No Sophomore Slump for Acuna Jr.

More from Tomahawk Take

• Atlanta Braves 2023 Preseason Top 30 Prospects List: 11-15
• Braves News: Braves sign Luplow, Atlanta’s shortstop plans, more
• Atlanta Braves Could Go With Six-Man Rotation in 2023
• Atlanta Braves sign free agent outfielder Jordan Luplow
• Atlanta Braves 2023 Preseason Top 30 Prospects List: 16-20

There were adjustments for Ronald Acuna Jr. upon reaching the majors – but those went very well for him during his first foray at baseball’s premier level.

He finished the season hitting .293 with a .917 OPS and 26 homers in just 433 AB.  That’s remarkable… and the kind of stuff that makes pitchers target you (not meaning Hit By Pitch targeting, though that happened 6 times as well).

So pitchers will be moving the ball around while searching for a hole in his swing.  The question will be whether (a) they find one; and (b) whether he covers it.

On this development will rest one of the major keys to the Braves’ campaign over the next 10-ish months.

#2.  An Adult-sized zip line for STP

Sure – the kids get a zip-line in Hope & Will’s Sandlot – the kids’ play zone at SunTrust Park.  That’s cute and a wonderful thing.

I want an adult-sized one.

I want to see it mounted from one corner of the stadium to another… practically foul pole to foul pole.  Riders would zip across the grass for a distance of roughly 400 feet.

Okay, yeah, it can’t be used during a game (darn it).  Okay, so how about this:  zip lines from the upper reaches of the stadium to a couple of the nearby parking lots?  Cover a third of a mile in a minute instead of a 10 minute walk!

A local company here in North Alabama set up an unusual event as part of their 30th anniversary celebration a couple of years ago:  a zip line from their 9th floor tower across a lake… 1,150 ft.

So it can be done… I can see Kelsey Wingert live streaming her run on the line now.

#1.  Multiple World Series Titles in the next decade

Yes, I’m greedy and selfish.

I don’t want just one win out of this core group this time around.  I want… more.

It’s been 23 years and counting.  Let’s get it done.

Isn’t this exactly what we all want here in Braves Country?