BRAVES NEWS
Matt Kemp homers twice as Braves win their sixth straight game
The Braves dealt the Marlins a crushing blow to their already-bleak playoff hopes by beating them 6-3. Matt Kemp played the role of dream-crusher on the evening, as he smacked two dingers over the left field fence and helped power the Braves to victory. Meanwhile, Josh Collmenter only gave up two runs over seven innings, and the Braves were in clear control of this game from start to finish.
Collmenter is “all for” staying with Braves in 2017
Speaking of Josh Collmenter, David O’Brien of the AJC caught up with him recently. The 30-year-old righty told DOB that he’s been enjoying his time with the Braves so far and even expressed that he’d love to stay on with the Braves for next season. The Braves do have him under contract for next season as well, so it’s definitely possible that the Braves could decide to keep him as they enter their first season in Cobb County.
What does the future hold for the Braves?
Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post has decided that now is as good of a time as any to take a look at the Braves and what the future may hold for them. He tries to take a look at the core of the Braves future and any “curiosities” that the Braves will be facing during the upcoming offseason.
Braves have fascinating offseason ahead of them
Another writer who’s looking forward to what the Braves have ahead of them this offseason is Grant Brisbee. Specifically, he has his eyes set on how the Braves figure to address what should be a burning question for them during Hot Stove season — should the Braves keep Julio Teheran, or should they trade him away?
The baseball answer is to Shelby Teheran away and scrooge-dive into the vault of prospects and young stars. This is the perfect offseason to leverage a pitcher like that into an unbelievable trade package.
The marketing answer is a little more complicated. It’s easy to watch Teheran pitch. He’s talented. He’s fun. Fun, talented players are going to be at a premium with the Braves’ new park. And if the franchise stumbles with this rollout, if they somehow foist an awful team on an unsure public when they have everyone’s attention, it could futz up the baseball answers of the future. So, the marketing answer is kind of a baseball answer, too.
MLB NEWS
Red Sox complete four-game sweep and inch closer to AL East title
The Boston Red Sox have won eight games in a row and have clearly distinguished themselves from the pack in the AL East. They beat Baltimore 5-3 on Thursday night, and they’re now five-and-a-half games ahead of Toronto in the division. It’s looking like the David Ortiz grand retirement tour will be extended into October.
Twins lose in front of an extremely sparse crowd in Minnesota
The Twins and Tigers played a doubleheader at Target Field today, and let’s just say that baseball fans in Minnesota aren’t exactly thrilled with the home team right now. The Twins lost both games (and the first game included the awesome rarity of a botched intentional walk on the Twins’ part), and the crowd for the first game was extremely sparse. Our brave friends over at Twinkie Town documented their visit to the empty stadium.
Listen: I’ve been to at least 1000 baseball games in my life by this point, and this was the fewest people I’ve ever seen at a game. I say this as a person who used to attend weekday day-games in the Metrodome during losing seasons. Heck, I once waited out a three-hour rain delay at Target Field and there were still more fans in the stands than at this game.