An open letter from an Atlanta Braves fan’s perspective to general manager Alex Anthopoulos.
First off, this article probably stewed a little bit from the very agonizing opening Atlanta Braves series against the Philadelphia Phillies, but it’s time to send Braves General Manager Alex Anthopoulos a letter and ask him why he didn’t act more aggressively in the offseason — especially in the bullpen side of things?
Everyone knows of the problems the Atlanta Braves had finding the strike zone last year, and so far in 2019, it is showing no signs of slowing down.
In the opening three-game series, the Braves gave out 20 free passes. It goes without saying that the Braves will obviously have to crack down on that big time to come close to playing meaningful games in October again.
The frustrating part about all of this to me is that it was a buyer’s market this winter and there were countless relief options available that Anthopoulos could have pursued.
Maybe he did and he deserves a little leeway, but the fact is the Atlanta Braves and everyone else around the league knew the Braves needed it and the fact is not a thing was done about it.
I don’t want to slight anyone, and I know injuries were a major factor in the decisions the Braves made out of Spring Training, but no defending champ should have two rookies start in the first three games of a season no matter how high their ceiling is.
I know the market for a frontline pitcher this winter was a little bare, so I’m going to give Alex a slight pass on that one, especially not knowing what mega-agent Scott Boras and Dallas Keuchel are exactly aiming for still, but while he still was not extremely high on my wish list, he would have definitely stabilized the rotation.
To keep going on that end of the spectrum, I have no clue why Luke Jackson or Shane Carle were included on the Opening Day roster.
It goes back to my earlier analysis that a countless number of options were at the disposal of the Braves front office this offseason and again, not a thing became of it.
To me, that all falls on Alex Anthopoulos shoulders. He made a terrible miscalculation this winter and now, the Braves may have to pick themselves off the floor and beat and bang all season long.
So, this was, in essence, a letter to Alex Anthopoulos asking why in the world didn’t you do a little more?
We will probably never know the full answer, but I along with many other Braves fan’s saw a problem with the pitching side of things, and yet, nothing was done about it. Let us know how you feel down below.