TalkingChop May 1, 2020
Braves Flashback/Recap: May 1
Photo by Brian Bahr/ Now THAT’S how you split a Coors Field doubleheader Well, we’ve made it to May. The 2004 Braves did, in their time, too, though you could say they were running on fumes a bit. They left home on April 19 to begin a four-city road trip. They’d lose a set in Cincinnati, win one in Miami, then go very, very west to lose one in San Francisco. (Miami to San Francisco in back-to-back days, oof.) The last leg of the trip was Denver, but after an off-day, the series opener got snowed out. (Yep.) So, after a two-day breather (one travel off-day, one postponement), the...
Kris Willis / TalkingChop May 1, 2020 
MLBPA rejects MLB proposal for 2020 Draft, per report
Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB via The latest disagreement between the MLB and MLBPA centers on the 2020 Draft. We expect the 2020 MLB Draft to take place in early June but what the Draft will ultimately consist of remains to be seen. Late Thursday night, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich reported that the MLBPA rejected MLB’s proposal for the 2020 draft. You might remember that both sides reached an agreement back in March that would allow the league to shorten the draft to as few as five rounds. MLB’s most recent proposal to the union per The Athletic’s report,...
Kris Willis / TalkingChop May 1, 2020 
The Daily Chop: MLB’s next battle, Ronald Acuña Jr. and more
Photo by Mark Brown/ As if Major League Baseball didn’t have enough battles brewing there may be a new one on the horizon. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported Thursday that an economic conflict between the league and its umpires might be on the horizon as well. Per the report, the umpires met via a Zoom call for nearly eight hours on Wednesday to debate what was categorized as the “best and final” offer from baseball for the 2020 season. The umpires’ union voted on Thursday to send the league a “hold letter” which is essentially an offer to buy more time by not filing a...
Kris Willis / TalkingChop Apr 30, 2020 
1995 World Series Game 4 discussion thread
Photo credit should read CHRIS WILKINS/AFP via Fox Sports’ re-airing of the 1995 World Series will continue Thursday night with Game 4 from Jacobs Field in Cleveland. After dropping Game 3 in extra innings, the Braves were looking to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series with Steve Avery on the mound. Avery would do his job and a three-run seventh would be the difference in a 5-2 win. You can watch tonight’s replay on Fox Sports Southeast beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Here is a look at the lineups for Game 4: Atlanta Braves Marquis Grissom - CF2. Luis Polonia - LF3. Chipper Jones -...
Kris Willis / TalkingChop Apr 30, 2020 
‘The Architect: John Schuerholz’ Episode 4
Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via John Schuerholz discusses Game 4 of the 1995 World Series in the fourth episode of “The Architect.”
TalkingChop Apr 30, 2020
Starting Nine: A study in No. 29, John Smoltz
John Smoltz is the the only pitcher in history with at least 200 wins and more than 150 saves. | Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports From starter, to closer, back to starter, Smoltz created a one-of-a-kind resume on his path to Cooperstown He rose as the Braves did, turning around a frustrating 1991 season to having the ball in his hands in two of the pivotal moments of that magical year, and would be the longest tenured in Atlanta of the three-headed pitching monster that defined an era. John Smoltz was fire and emotion, the opposite side of the spectrum from his Big Three cohorts Tom Glavine...
TalkingChop Apr 30, 2020
Braves Flashback/Recap — Quick Check-In
Photo by Mike Zarrilli/ Anything that should be done differently? If you’re still here — hello! Over the past month, as a sanity-maintaining and orderliness-of-time-enforcing measure, I’ve put together a series of flashbacks/recaps, covering a Braves game that falls on the same date as the post from the 2001-2019 seasons. As there’s no game on today’s date (April 30), I thought I’d do a quick check-in instead. The 2020 Braves would have played 33 games through today, starting on March 26 and with just a couple of off days in April before this one. As such, this series has...
TalkingChop Apr 30, 2020
Braves Throwback Thursday: That time Ted Turner wanted to play home games on the road
Never one to shy away from a wild idea, Braves owner Ted Turner in 1978 floated a short-lived plan to play a number of home games in New Orleans and Washington. ( photo) In 1978, Atlanta owner toyed with idea of games in New Orleans, Washington The plan floated in 2019 for the Tampa Bay Rays to split home games between St. Petersburg and Montreal was widely pilloried, but it wasn’t exactly an original idea. Forty-two years ago this month, Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner had a similar brainstorm, which he either unwisely or intentionally leaked to the media. In early May of 1978, Turner...
TalkingChop Apr 30, 2020
Braves change ticket refund policy for the better
The Braves did a good thing regarding their ticket refund policy. With the loss of, at the very least, the first two months of the season’s games, one hot topic has been how to handle ticket refunds. Many had maintained the position that the games, in theory, could be played but that they would just be delayed which created some complications for partial refunds of season ticket holders (since the games could, again in theory, still be played). We have also already seen sites like StubHub come under fire for how they have handled refunds (even though some of those refund policies were set...
Kris Willis / TalkingChop Apr 30, 2020 
The Architect: John Schuerholz
Photo by Patrick Duffy/Atlanta Braves/ In conjunction with World Series Week, the Atlanta Braves unveiled a new six-part series on their YouTube account entitled “The Architect.” The series features an in-depth conversation with former General Manager John Schuerholz as he discusses the 1995 World Series Champion Braves and their series against the Cleveland Indians.
TalkingChop Apr 30, 2020
The Daily Chop: MLB Draft, Hall of Fame Induction, TC Podcast, and more
Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/ Baseball could be returning in a completely revamped format this summer. MLB eyeing June 10 as date for 2020 Draft, per report Major League Baseball has set a target date for the 2020 MLB Draft. June 10 is the current date being discussed, though the number of rounds is still undecided. 2020 HOF induction postponed to July 2021 Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons, and Marvin Miller are set to join the Baseball Hall of Fame, but due to COVID-19 their induction will be delayed until 2021. Minor League Baseball denies report that season is...
TalkingChop Apr 29, 2020
Talking Chop Podcast Episode 214: Plans and more plans
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/ Good evening! May is nearly here and, while baseball still isn’t up and running, there is plenty to discuss on Episode 214 of the Talking Chop Podcast. TC’s Eric Cole and Scott Coleman join us this time around and topics include the following: The MLB Draft might be landing on a particular date in June The 1995 World Series is being re-aired this week and fun is had by all Bob Nightengale of USA Today laid out a potential plan for MLB’s restart that features three divisions, divided by geography Jeff Passan of ESPN has his own takes on the next step(s)...
Kris Willis / TalkingChop Apr 29, 2020 
1995 World Series Game 3 discussion thread
Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Fox Sports’ re-airing of the 1995 World Series will continue Wednesday night with Game 3 from Jacobs Field in Cleveland. Atlanta took the first two games of the series but suffer a 7-6 loss in 11 innings in Game 3. The game features a couple of homers by Fred McGriff and Ryan Klesko as well as a short start by John Smoltz who was tagged for four runs in just 2 1/3 innings. The replay will get underway at 7 p.m. ET and can be seen on Fox Sports Southeast. Here is a look at the lineups for Game 3: Atlanta Braves Marquis Grissom - CF2. Luis...
Kris Willis / TalkingChop Apr 29, 2020 
‘The Architect: John Schuerholz’ Episode 3
In the third episode of “The Architect,” John Schuerholz discussed Atlanta’s Game 3 loss to the Indians in the 1995 World Series.
TalkingChop Apr 29, 2020
Braves Recap/Flashback: April 29
Photo by Brian Bahr/ Is Coors Field always crazy? It certainly was in this game. On the final flashback/recap of April, let’s take a trip to 2007, just for maximum wackiness. The 2007 Braves weren’t bad. They weren’t the come-down from the division title streak of 2006, and they weren’t the plunge into a pretty bad team in 2008. They also weren’t the 2014 collapse, or the horrible 2015-2017 teams. They were just kind of mediocre, the most “I guess they were there” of the Braves teams since 2000. But hey, it’s baseball! The most mediocre team can still have a completely...
Kris Willis / TalkingChop Apr 29, 2020 
MLB eyeing June 10 as date for 2020 Draft, per report
Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB via We still don’t know how many rounds the draft will have. Major League Baseball is eyeing June 10 as the date for the 2020 MLB Draft according to a report by MLB Network’s Jon Heyman and later confirmed by the NY Post’s Joel Sherman. The draft will be held virtually but we still don’t know how many rounds it will be. Somewhere between 5-10 is expected. 2 sources confirm that MLB is closing in on making June 10 draft day as @JonHeyman reported. What is still not finalized is if the draft will be 5 or 10 rounds.— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1)...
Kris Willis / TalkingChop Apr 29, 2020 
The Daily Chop: Optimism growing for baseball’s return
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/ No one is sure when, where or how but confidence is growing that we will have games played in 2020. There is growing optimism amongst Major League Baseball officials that regular season games will be played in 2020 but it is still unclear how, when or where they might take place according to a lengthy report by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal on Tuesday. Rosenthal writes that you can pick virtually any idea in regards to baseball’s return and the league is considering it. He adds that the Arizona plan, which was reported several weeks ago, is now probably the...
TalkingChop Apr 28, 2020
Braves would join “Central” region in new MLB season proposal; officials optimistic about June start
Photo by Carmen Mandato/ The most recent proposal, which is said to be gaining traction in front offices, would effectively combine with East, Central and West divisions, but with the Braves and Pirates swapping places. Good news has been hard to come by in recent weeks, but a new report from USA Today should bring some hope to baseball fans everywhere. According to the report, “MLB officials have become cautiously optimistic this week that the season will start in late June, and no later than July 2, playing at least 100 regular-season games, according to three executives with...
Kris Willis / TalkingChop Apr 28, 2020 
1995 World Series Game 2 discussion thread
Fox Sports Southeast will continue its re-air of the 1995 World Series Tuesday night with Game 2 set to get underway at 7 p.m. ET. The Braves took Game 1 by a score of 3-2 behind a vintage pitching performance by Greg Maddux and a home run by Fred McGriff. Game 2 would feature a pitching matchup of Tom Glavine and Dennis Martinez for Cleveland. Here is a look at the starting lineups: Cleveland Indians Kenny Lofton - CF2. Omar Vizquel - SS3. Carlos Baerga - 2B4. Albert Belle - LF5. Eddie Murray - 1B6. Manny Ramirez - RF7. Jim Thome - 3B8. Tony Pena - C9. Dennis Martinez - P Atlanta...
Kris Willis / TalkingChop Apr 28, 2020 
‘The Architect: John Schuerholz’ Episode 2
Photo by Rich Pilling/MLB via In the second episode of “The Architect,” John Schuerholz discussed Game 2 of the 1995 World Series, Tom Glavine’s start and much more.
