BRAVES NEWS
Braves squander lead and fall to the Nationals in the season opener
While there were several positives to take from the Opening Day game for the Braves including home runs from Adonis Garcia and Freddie Freeman and a strong performance from Julio Teheran and most of the bullpen, defensive miscues and a minor meltdown from Jason Grilli led to the Braves' defeat. In particular, AJ Pierzynski and Gordon Beckham both had defensive lapses that allowed the tying and go ahead runs to score.
New "Chase Utley" rule nails Nick Markakis and it feels bad
Nick Markakis was one of (if not THE) first player players to get hit with the new "Chase Utley" rule involving slides in to second. The new rule states that runners sliding in have to at least attempt to stay on the bag or the slide is illegal (more or less). Since Markakis didn't stay on the bag, the umps called him out which resulted in a double play that killed a late Braves rally.
Previewing the 2016 Rome Braves Roster
With the start of season also comes a time when all of the minor league rosters pop up and we get to find out where all of our favorite prospects are playing. In this installment, we take a look at the Rome Braves roster which looks stacked with talent on both the offensive side of the ball as well as on the pitching staff.
Francoeur 'humbled' as Braves fans gave him a standing ovation on Opening Day
Say what you want to, but Braves fans love them some Frenchy. Our friends over at Fox Sports talked to Jeff Francoeur about the ovation he received from Braves fans as well as how his mindset has changed since his first stint with the Braves.
MLB NEWS
Bryce Harper wants to make baseball fun again...he has the hat to prove it
Bryce Harper is almost universally hated by Braves fans (although more than a few still respect how good he is as a player) due to his demeanor on the field and some of the things he has said during his time in the majors. However, this past offseason he took on the cause of making baseball fun again and challenging a lot of the unwritten rules in the game. His hat that he wore after the game reminded us that Bryce is kinda like Donald Trump if Trump were pro-bat flip and post-home run stare downs.
MLB Opening Day Top Moments
MLB.com did a quick rundown of some of the really cool moments to come from Opening Day 2016. From Kershaw's brilliance to the Giants going back-to-back-to-back to the Orioles walking off in a monsoon, Opening Day was certainly one to remember for a lot of teams.