BRAVES NEWS
Braves fall in slugfest against Pirates
To let you know just how wild last night's 12-9 defeat for the Braves was against Pittsburgh, Mallex Smith hit two home runs and that wasn't the craziest thing that happened.
Mallex on his 2 HR game: "I hit every single one of my home runs in my life by accident" #Braves
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) May 18, 2016
No, it was the fact that Bud Norris hit a triple. BUD. NORRIS. Here's video evidence!
So obviously, the Braves' bats were alive last night. Unfortunately, the pitching wasn't there, and a 9-0 hole was just too much for the Braves to ultimately climb out of.
Braves fire Fredi Gonzalez
On any other day, the Braves' offensive explosion would be the talk of Braves Country. Instead, the talk was mostly about the fact that Fredi Gonzalez was fired. The writing had been on the wall for a long time now, as it was obvious that Fredi was not going to make it with the team to the new ballpark in Cobb County. Brian Snitker will be the interim manager, and the team will now begin to search for its manager of the future.
Fredi found out he was fired via email
Well, this had to have been awkward. After Monday night's loss, Fredi checked his email and saw that he had been booked for a flight back to Atlanta on Tuesday. Of course, the Braves are currently on a pretty lengthy roadtrip at the moment, so that had to have come as a bit of a shock to the former Braves manager. Fredi asked what was going on, and that ended up being how he found out he was fired. Awkward.
Where do the Braves go from here?
So now the obvious question is who will the Braves turn to as the new manager of the team for 2017 and beyond? There have been a few names bandied about, but ESPN's Jerry Crasnick figured that there would be two issues for any potential candidate to consider should they seriously think about taking on the job: Money, and development.
But the Braves will have to answer two interesting questions before they pursue Black or Gardenhire. One is money. The other is how long they expect to suffer with young players before they plan to contend.
"The Braves aren't known for paying well,'' an American League executive said, "and I think they need someone who can be in 'development mode.'"
MLB NEWS
Khris Davis hits three dingers, including walk-off Grand Slam
Last night was a great night to be Khris Davis. Hitting three home runs in a game is a great achievement no matter what, but when the third homer is a walk-off grand slam to win the game, then you know you had a pretty special night.
MLB hands out punishments for Blue Jays/Rangers donnybrook
After reviewing what had to have been some entertaining video, baseball has handed out suspensions for the principal players in Sunday's brawl between the Blue Jays and the Rangers. Rougned Odor received the stiffest punishment, as he ended up getting eight games for his role in the melee. He's appealing, but for what it's worth, he doesn't regret sending Jose Bautista to the Smackdown Hotel at the corner of Know Your Role Boulevard and Jabroni Drive.