Atlanta Braves Clippings

Monday, April 4, 2016

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Braves’ opener begins a difficult early grind

By David O'Brien - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The rebuilding Braves hope to establish momentum early and give fans reason to come out other than concession-food gluttony and the likly midseason callup of some dynamic prospects. But baseball’s schedule-makers clearly didn’t care a bit about those hopes.

The Braves, who open the season at home Monday (4 p.m.) against Washington, have an early schedule rated the most difficult in the National League by ESPN’s Buster Olney. It starts with a homestand against the Nationals and Cardinals followed immediately by a four-game road trip to Washington, where the Braves were 0-10 last season.

Go get ‘em, boys.

“We definitely do have a tough April,” Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “We’ve got a lot of teams that are playoff-potential every year. So we’re going to get tested early. Usually in April if you can play .500 baseball you’re in a pretty good spot, and definitely with our schedule it’s going to be big for us to at least play .500 baseball.”

The Braves surprised just about everyone by going 42-42 last season through July 7. It would be not just surprising, but shocking, if they managed a similar start this season, with 28 of their first 41 games coming against teams that finished .500 or better in 2014.

There will be plenty of scrutiny for manager Fredi Gonzalez, in the final year of his contract. No one expects miracles and realistically even a winning season would be a major achievement with a team in the midst of a rebuild, with a bottom-five payroll. The Braves’ moves have been designed toward truly competing again in 2017.

But Braves decision-makers want to see improvement from young players in 2016, and they’ll want to see a team that plays hard and exciting baseball, to motivate fans in the final season at Turner Field and help sell season tickets for the first year at the ballpark rising at the busy intersection of interstates 285 and 75.

That early schedule doesn’t do Gonzalez and his team any favors.

“I looked at it, but I really haven’t paid much attention to it,” Gonzalez said. “You’ve got to play the schedule out. Yeah, you start off with Washington and St. Louis, then go to Washington, New York…. But I don’t pay much attention to it. If we pitch, we’ll stay in games. But we’re going to have to pitch, no ifs, ands, buts are maybes. We’re going to have to pitch.”

By mid-May the Braves will already have played two series against the NL pennant-winning Mets and road series against the Kansas City Royals, who won the World Series in 2015, and the Chicago Cubs, the team many pick to win it in 2016.

By mid-June the Braves will have played two series against the Cubs and one apiece against the Giants and Dodgers, the latter in a six-game road trip to Los Angeles and San Diego. Recent West Coast trips have been nightmarish for Atlanta.

“Yeah, we do (have a tough schedule),” right fielder Nick Markakis said. “But when it’s all said and done, we’ve got to play all the teams. Whether we play them early or late, it really doesn’t matter. We’ve got to run into them at some point.”

They don’t face the Royals most years, and the Braves get them as defending champions. They don’t normally play the Cubs twice before the midpoint, and do this year against perhaps the best team the Cubs have had in generations.

The Braves also have four April games against the Red Sox, picked by some to win the AL East. The second of back-to-back series against them is at Boston April 27-28 and starts a 10-games trip to Boston, Chicago and New York.

Veteran catcher A.J. Pierzynski thinks having so many young players and newcomers could help the Braves in their early season gauntlet of a schedule.

“A lot of the young guys don’t know anything about half these guys they’re facing,” he said. “I mean, they’ve heard their names, that’s about it. I haven’t really gotten past our first road trip, but there’s a lot of teams on our schedule that are supposed to be really good. But we’ve got to play them at some point, so we might as well get them out of the way.”

The Braves swept a season-opening series at Miami in 2015 and won their first five. They had a .500 record past the halfway point of the season before the bottom fell out in the form of injuries, slumps and trades, while the offense sputtered and the stressed pitching staff buckled.

After posting a 3.90 ERA in the 42-42 start, the Braves were 25-53 with a 4.97 ERA the rest of the way.

They scored 573 runs each of the past two seasons, which ranked 29th in the majors in 2014 and dead last in 2015. They hit just 100 homers, 20 below the Marlins’ next-lowest total. With the additions of top-of-the-order hitters Ender Inciarte and Erick Aybar and a healthy Freeman, the Braves believe they’ll have an improved offense.

“I think we’re going to be able to grind, compete, have good at-bats,” hitting coach Kevin Seitzer said. “I really like the strides everybody’s made through the spring. We’re going to have to score some runs. We’re going to have to do better than we did last year, for sure.”

Fox Sports

Numbers To Know: Braves' lineup looks to break out of MLB scoring cellar

By Zach Dillard

Two general mantras prevailed for the Braves' front office this offseason: We will win more games and we will be better offensively. The latter statement will obviously influence the former, and for a franchise that ranks dead last in runs scored over the past two seasons improvement can not come soon enough. Here are some numbers to keep in mind with the franchise's Opening Day lineup and bench options:

A.J. Pierzynski, Catcher

Number To Know: 3

To say A.J. Pierzynski's offensive resurgence came as a surprise is an understatement. Not only did the 39-year-old shed the mentor label within the first few weeks, he earned another one-year contract — a $3 million bargain — and became a bigger part of the franchise's future than his former pupil, Christian Bethancourt.

Pierzynski's numbers were also historically rare. Dating back to 1990, only three catchers over the age of 37 have played more than 100 games and hit above league average: Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk, former Yankees star Jorge Posada and Pierzynski. Both Fisk and Posada hit below league average the following season, so the spotlight turns to Pierzynski as he plans to split time behind the plate.

Tyler Flowers, Catcher

Number To Know: 169

Flowers' primary function on this 2016 Braves roster lies in grooming a young pitching staff, much as he did the past few seasons in Chicago with White Sox standouts Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Carlos Rodon. One of his best attributes in this regard, particularly in building pitchers' production and confidence? Pitch framing. The Roswell, Ga., native ranked as the second-best pitch framer in baseball last season, earning 169 extra strike calls for the White Sox.

If his bat holds up — he's never hit league average (100 weighted runs created plus, but he came close enough in 2011, 2012 and 2014 — Flowers, who signed a two-year deal, could log the most starts behind the plate in Atlanta this season.

Freddie Freeman, First Base

Number To Know: 10

Despite dealing with a lingering wrist injury, which cost him 44 games and limited his second-half production, Freddie Freeman retained his place among the most devastating bats in baseball against right-handed pitching. For the third consecutive season, he posted 150-plus weighted runs created plus against righties. Only nine other hitters have maintained that level of dominance since 2013, and their names are of the household variety: Trout, Harper, Cabrera, Votto, Goldschmidt.

The difference in Freeman's output was his production against left-handers. His numbers hit a career-low mark against southpaws (89 wRC+), dipping below league average for the first time since the 2012 campaign. The 26-year-old looked more than adequate in camp in such situations, posting a .462 on-base percentage and two homers, so perhaps the issue is already in the rearview mirror.

Freeman is also looking to reverse a trend that started with his franchise-record eight-year, $135 million contract, a diminishing return on investment over the past three years.

2013: 5.0 WAR, $530,000 salary

2014: 4.2 WAR, $5.1 million salary

2015: 3.4 WAR, $8.5 million salary

With his compensation hitting eight figures for the first time this season, the team's star first baseman needs to stay healthy and return to All-Star level production.

Jace Peterson, Second Base

Number To Know: 5

For a player earning "place-holder" status, Jace Peterson was a solid contributor. The 26-year-old played solid defense and posted decent offensive numbers for an under-the-radar rookie, especially considering he played with a torn tendon in his thumb for the majority of the campaign. Of course, the presence of the Dansby Swanson-Ozzie Albies duo is the primary reason behind Peterson's uncertain role in the franchise's long-term future. The Braves are actively exploring their options, though, playing Peterson at five different positions in spring: second base, shortstop, third base, left field and right field.

In Atlanta, any utility role mention comes with the lofty expectations of Martin Prado, and Peterson's bat will have to improve dramatically to even warrant consideration — to say nothing of his struggles against lefties last season. But he has the athleticism to make this a successful experiment on the defensive end. Just how much Fredi Gonzalez moves Peterson, his presumed starting second baseman, around in 2016 remains to be seen.

Erick Aybar, Shortstop

Number To Know: .315

The 32-year-old has proven he's quality veteran option at shortstop, but one who has very little business hitting at the top of a lineup. Aybar, acquired in the Andrelton Simmons trade and the second de facto middle-infield placeholder for the Swanson-Albies Era, owns a .315 career on-base percentage, which, for those counting at home, is just 11 points higher than Simmons' career mark. (Simmons was sent out of town largely due to his bat, and he posted a higher OBP in 2015.)

In fact, of the 74 hitters who have accumulated 4,500 plate appearances since 2007, Aybar's first full season, only three have posted a lower on-base percentage.

Even if the Braves are not going to consider hitting their best player at the No. 2 spot — Freeman should probably hit there, especially against right-handed pitching — they should plan on moving Aybar down in the order. All of that being said, Aybar should be a marginal offensive upgrade and he's averaged a 2.7 WAR over the past three seasons. Not bad for a placeholder.

Adonis Garcia, Third Base

Number To Know: 21

This Braves offense boasts precious little power. The franchise's pipe dream is for Adonis Garcia, who was a surprisingly productive 30-year-old rookie last year, can provide some pop for a lineup that finished 20 home runs behind the 29th-most powerful lineup in baseball. That's a tall order for a player that combined for just 21 homers in more than 300 minor-league games, but the small MLB sample size offered hope.

Garcia was one of just four players to finish the 2015 season with double-digit home runs in fewer than 200 plate appearances, joining Curt Casali (Rays), Gregory Bird (Yankees) and Franklin Gutierrez (Mariners). Seven extra-base hits in 52 Grapefruit League at-bats and a dominant winter effort have him in contention, however ill-advised, for the team's cleanup role, particularly against right-handed pitching.

Hector Olivera, Left Field/Third Base

Number To Know: .900

There's a reason the Braves, along with other MLB clubs, fell head over heels for Hector Olivera's bat during the international scouting process. The soon-to-be 31-year-old was an absolute force in the Cuban League, posting an OPS over .900 in five of his final six seasons. For context, only 11 MLB players hit at that level last season.

While Olivera has a long way to go after a whirlwind first season, that's the backdrop for his lofty expectations. Olivera led the team in spring at-bats, which was no accident. Not only is he transitioning to the outfield for the first time in his career, but there's a good chance he's the best right-handed bat in the lineup ... and they need him to produce.

Ender Inciarte, Center Field

Number To Know: 29

The list of players capable of filling Atlanta's defensive superstar role left vacant by the trades of Jason Heyward and Andrelton Simmons is comically short. The 25-year-old Inciarte's name makes the cut, though. The Gold Glove-caliber speedster, acquired in the Shelby Miller heist, logged 29 total defensive runs saved while bouncing between all three outfield spots in Arizona last season — second-most in baseball behind only Tampa Bay's Kevin Kiermaier. With back-to-back seasons of 20-plus runs saved, that puts him in elite company.

Of course, Inciarte's skills extend past run prevention. He's poised to be the primary leadoff hitter, at least against right-handers, for a team desperate to put its offensive woes in the rearview mirror. His .303/.338/.408 slash line with 21 steals should only help a lineup starving for even league-average hitters.

Nick Markakis, Right Field

Number To Know: .370

Nick Markakis' power outage was not necessarily rare among outfielders — players like Ichiro Suzuki, Juan Pierre and Ben Revere have been around for years — but his one-dimensional offensive approach did set him apart. The 32-year-old became the first outfielder since Hal Morris in 1998 to post a .080 isolated power (slugging minus average) while failing to reach double-digit stolen bases — in other words, light-hitting outfielders are typically the speedy types. Markakis was neither.

The right fielder's saving grace in 2015 was his unfailing ability to string together quality at-bats and find ways to reach base. His .370 on-base percentage not only ranked 18th-best in the majors, but it also tied the second-best mark of his long career. Without the challenges of offseason neck surgery and a disrupted workout routine, the Braves are hoping Markakis regains some power and speed while still maintaining his role as on-base machine.

Kelly Johnson, Utility

Number To Know: 8

Perennial trade option and longtime Atlanta resident Kelly Johnson returns to the fold for his third stint with the franchise, providing a proven and steady bench bat that can play five or six positions. The only disappointment? His Braves return prevents Johnson from adding to his eight-teams-in-six-seasons world tour.

Defensive versatility, veteran presence, offensive balance — for his career, he's posted near-identical splits against lefties and righties — the list of reasons for the Kelly Johnson signing are readily apparent. (Plus, as illustrated last season in helping to acquire John Gant and Rob Whalen, there's also a chance another team is looking to acquire a proven bat near the deadline.)

Gordon Beckham, Infield

Number To Know: 6

Beckham's bat never followed up on an excellent rookie season in Chicago — he's hit just .238/.298/.358 since that first year — but he was a plus defender at second and third base last season. Now 29, the former University of Georgia star signed with the intention of challenging for the third-base job, but incumbent Adonis Garcia will likely get an extended look. Still, with six defensive runs saved at third last season, Beckham could at least be a late-inning defensive replacement.

Jeff Francoeur, Outfield

Number To Know: 4

There are two ways to view the Jeff Francoeur's inclusion on the 25-man roster. For starters, he did not hit poorly last season. He posted 93 weighted runs created plus — closer to league average than most of the Braves' position players last season — after hitting .258/.286/.433 with 13 home runs in Philadelphia. As a bench bat for lefty-dominant lineup, the argument goes that he was a better option than the likes of Emilio Bonifacio and Michael Bourn. He's spring production backs this sentiment up.

Then there's the fact that Francoeur has been a sub-replacement level player for the past four seasons, totaling a minus-3.8 WAR since his surprisingly productive season with the Royals in 2011

If used sparingly (pinch hitter, rare replacement for Nick Markakis against left-handers) the 32-year-old can still be a decent bench piece. If he logs 300-plus plate appearances again, as he did with the Phillies, something has gone wrong: The outfield is locked in and any vacancy due to long-term injury or trade could (or should) be addressed with top outfield prospect Mallex Smith.

Drew Stubbs, Outfield

Number To Know: 11

The latest addition to the Braves' roster, Stubbs enters the mix after a disappointing year splitting time between the Rockies and Rangers. The 31-year-old took Michael Bourn's spot as the backup center fielder, although it remains to be seen just how willing Atlanta will be to sit its Gold Glove-caliber starter in Inciarte. Stubbs owns impressive career numbers against southpaws, but it must be pointed out that he's lived a hitter's dream by spending all but one season in hitter-friendly parks: Coors Field, Great American Ball Park and Globe Life Park.

All that being said, Stubbs brings an intriguing blend of speed and power when he's producing. He's one of 11 MLB players with at least 80 home runs and 100 steals since the start of the 2010 season.

Numbers To Know: Braves' all-righty rotation faces significant hurdles

By Zach Dillard

The Atlanta Braves are rolling with a four-man rotation until April 12, at which point veteran Jhoulys Chacin is expected to receive the call-up from Triple-A Gwinnett. The staff projects to remain a fluid situation throughout the season, though, with hard-throwing right-hander Mike Foltynewicz pressing for time early on and, later in the year, the likes of top prospects Aaron Blair and Tyrell Jenkins potentially pushing their way into the conversation.

For now, here are some statistics and trends to keep in mind with the four Opening Day starters:

Julio Teheran, Starting Pitcher

Number To Know: 294

As the 24-year-old steps into the No. 1 role in his fourth full season, he will need to find consistency against left-handed batters if he wants to put last season behind him. Teheran's 2015 splits against lefties and righties were even more extreme than his first- and second-half numbers — struggles that, at least in part, led to his shift to the first-base side of the rubber in early August.

In total, his fielding-independent pitching (FIP) was 294 points worse when a left-hander was in the box: His strikeout-to-walk ratio plummeted and his home run rate more than doubled. While Teheran has rarely shown the ability to shut down opposing lefties in his young career, the trend spiraled out of control last season. If he's going to be an ace, he'll need to correct a number of last year's deficiencies, but shutting down lefties would be a good place to start.

Matt Wisler, Starting Pitcher

Number To Know: 9

Matt Wisler's rookie season encountered its fair share of obstacles, but his final three starts left ample room for optimism this offseason. Wisler was one of only nine pitchers who were 23 years old or younger and tossed at least 100 innings last year, joining the likes of young stars Noah Syndergaard, Carlos Martinez, Lance McCullers, Taijuan Walker and Carlos Rodon. And while he wasn't nearly as productive as other names on the list (0.1 WAR, 4.71 ERA), he was also younger than everyone on this list except McCullers, Rodon and Red Sox standout Eduardo Rodriguez. (For what it's worth, Wisler is just two weeks younger than Syndergaard.)

One last thing to keep in mind on the birthday front: Wisler is younger than Blair, Jenkins and surprise bullpen addition John Gant.

There's a maturity about Wisler's approach that makes it easy to forget his age — seeking out Tom Glavine for offseason work on his changeup, for instance. It's one thing to be a rookie. It's another to make your MLB debut at 22 years old, take your lumps on a 67-win team and pitch three gems to end the season.

Bud Norris, Starting Pitcher

Number To Know: 856

The veteran's numbers in Baltimore and San Diego leave plenty to be desired, but the Braves seem to believe he can recapture his 2010-14 production (9.5 WAR) to eat up innings before the prospect cavalry arrives.

Even in his down years, Norris has churned out respectable strikeout numbers, logging 856 strikeouts since his first full season in 2010. In fact, there are only six pitchers who have logged 850 or more strikeouts in fewer than 1,000 innings over the past six seasons: Francisco Liriano, Chris Sale, Cliff Lee, Stephen Strasburg, Jeff Samardzija ... and Bud Norris.

Williams Perez, Starting Pitcher

Number To Know: 5.43

With the Braves carrying an all-righty rotation into the season — and perhaps for the majority of the season — they need to find answers against left-handed bats. The only viable rotation option that posted quality numbers in such situations last year was Gant — and he went through his own struggles in the Mets system before posting a 0.55 ERA versus southpaws at Double-A Mississippi.

The rest of the bunch, including Foltynewicz, Chacin and Manny Banuelos? They each posted a 5.00 FIP or worse, at least 19 points worse than league average.

Perez received the nod for the No. 4 starter role, perhaps out of necessity, and he fits right in with the rest. The 24-year-old posted a 5.43 FIP against southpaws last season, which still bested the likes of Teheran and Wisler. Without proven solutions, the franchise is simply banking on significant improvement. It starts with Teheran, but a jump from Perez would certainly help, especially against a brutal April schedule.

Fox 5 Atlanta

Braves open 2016 season for the last time at Turner Field

ATLANTA - Monday afternoon, the Atlanta Braves will take the field for the final opener at Turner Field after 19 years of calling "The Ted" home

The Bravos take on the Washington Nationals, with the first pitch around 4:10 p.m.

The team will move to the brand new SunTrust Park in Cobb County next season.

Turner Field has been a special place for the Braves and their fans. The field has hosted a World Series, an All-Star game and numerous playoff appearances. Chipper Jones had the first hit and stolen base during The Ted's first opener 19 years ago. Back then he gave FOX 5 a tour of the then state of the art facility.

Since 2009, Matthew Kaminski has entertained the crowds, serving as the Braves' official organist. He said there's something about hearing the music that lets everyone know it's time to play ball.

For their final season in the city of Atlanta, first baseman Freddie Freeman and Teheran are the only notable players left from the 2013 team that won 96 games and the division.

For all the talk of such prospects as infielders Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies, pitchers Sean Newcomb and Aaron Blair and outfielder Mallex Smith, the Braves' roster includes 14 players who are 30 or older, many serving as bridges to the future.

The Braves added veterans Jeff Francoeur and Drew Stubbs to the outfield and left-hander Eric O'Flaherty to the bullpen.

John Schuerholz, who as general manager helped build the Braves teams that won 14 straight division titles and the 1995 World Series championship, announced last week he is moving from team president to an advisory role as vice chairman. Schuerholz, 75, says he is looking forward to the Braves again becoming contenders — but he recognizes that will take time.

Teheran, only 25, will make his third straight opening day start. He beat Miami in last season's opener, but the Braves finished fourth in the division with only 67 wins.

"I think this year is going to be different," Teheran said. "I want to get a win. That's the way we want to start the year. ... I don't want to put any extra pressure on myself, just try to control what I can control and do what I can to win the game."

The teams will be off on Tuesday. Washington's Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to face Atlanta's Bud Norris on Wednesday.

WSB Radio

Braves rebuilding could ruin Turner Field send off

By Jay Black

If the experts have it right, the last season at Turner Field will feel like the longest year ever.

It’s like waiting on the Governor to call. Eventually you’ll just want to get it over with.

The Braves had to rebuild their farm system and had to rebuild this organization. It’s going to painful, but everybody says it’s going to be all better.

This is all timed for the bright and shiny oasis that awaits (with barbecue and pizza restaurants) in Cobb County. Unfortunately, the last round of baseball in downtown Atlanta must suffer.

Maybe it’s fitting that the area of our city, where much miserable ball was played (in another building of course), might have to suffer through one more losing season.

I wonder if the marketing department will have “1980s Ticket Night: Buy a cheap seat and sit anywhere you want. There will be plenty of room.

Somehow I doubt it that’s going to fly.

This team is not built for this year. To make it worse, it’s a team hardly anybody has heard of.

Consider this: The Braves have remade this roster so much, only two players remain from the 2014 team. That was two years ago. Heck, only five players that were on last year’s opening day roster actually finished the season with the Braves and survived to make it back today.

As my eighth-grade band teacher used to say, “That’s a fruit basket turnover.”

Program sales should skyrocket.

The team is so new that Jeff Francouer finally fulfills his destiny as one of the faces of the franchise. He’s the first pinch hitter in baseball history to make the marquee.

If you listen to the players, they will tell you to ignore everything else. This team is better than you think.

“You don’t know what’s going to happen and that’s the beauty of playing 162 games,” said Freddie Freeman during spring training. “People can spit out numbers and put it into the computers. But people have to play every single day.”

Everybody loves Freddie. He might be the nicest, most positive athlete ever. But it’s hard to see a miracle 1991 season in this group right now.

There is a path to victory, but man, it’s slim.

The first half of the lineup is certainly big league worthy. But by no means is this the 1927 Yankees. Or the 1997 Braves. Or the 2013 Braves.

The bullpen can’t be any worse than it was last year (knock on wood), but that doesn’t mean it’s any good. The boom or bust potential is extremely high.

Then there’s what everybody is hanging there hat on. The young pitching.

“I can’t wait to see all these young arms,” Braves fan Jose Fernandez told me this past weekend. “The Braves were built on pitching.”

The coming attractions to the rotation are great. But right now Bud Norris is your number two pitcher. Last year his ERA looked like the answer to the Price is Right game.

That’s great for the Showcase Showdown. But not if you’re in The Show.

Maybe it will work out. Maybe this team can scrape together a run and stay interesting until football season. That seems unlikely.

But while the Braves front office did burn down the forest, it was a controlled burn. They are replanting. It’s not the work of an ownership that’s gone cheap.

“We all know this young team is going to be good,” said Inciarte. “The Braves are a team that wins a lot. They aren’t building a team just because they want the season to be over. They want to win.”

The farm system is so enticing. But it’s over in Gwinnett right now. You can practice your traffic-fighting skills by going to CoolRay Field this season.

You’ll need that workout if you want to go to a game next year.

But all that’s down the road.

For now, the end begins for baseball in downtown Atlanta. After 50 years, this is where it stops.

After so much great ball at Turner Field (even though the Braves never won a World Series game there), it ends with a team that was not designed to replicate any of that.

Maybe we will get lucky and get one more magical 1991-esque ride before everybody goes north.

You know, just one more. For old times’ sake.

WTVM

Braves prepare for final opener at Turner Field

By Aiyana Cristal, CBS46 Reporter

ATLANTA (CBS46) - The Atlanta Braves will play the final opening day baseball game at Turner Field Monday before heading off to Cobb County in 2017.

Turner Field opened in time for the 1997 season and after 20 years at the ball park, the team will move into the new SunTrust Park next year.

Fans can expect a huge party for the final home opener, complete with F-16 jet flyovers and a parade. Members of the 1997 Braves team, will also be on hand.

The 1997 team won the National League's East Division before falling to the Florida Marlins in the NLCS. The Marlins went on to win the World Series.

Players will also wear a patch, marking the end of an era at Turner Field.

The team is also introducing several new food items on the menu. Added to the menu is a 20 ounce hamburger patty with a full pound of bacon and all the cheese you can handle called 'The Burgerizza'.

Also new on the menu this year are 'The Ted', the 'Tater Tot Chop' and the 'Punisher', among others.

The Ted is a foot-long hot dog layered in fries, chili, nacho chips, beer cheese and jalapenos. It's also topped with popcorn and drizzled with coca-cola infused barbecue sauce.

The Tater Tot Chop is a layer of tater tots pressed in a waffle iron with bacon, cheese and coca-cola ketchup.

The Punisher is a smoke rib in Monster energy barbecue sauce with onions, all pinned together with bacon.

(Above: "The Ted", "The Tater-Tot Chop" and "The Punisher")

With the new season, fans CBS46 News talked with are fired up.

"It's great hearing the crack of the bat and getting some junk food," says fan Rob Wilson. "It's been a long time coming. Hopefully we'll have a great year this year.

Fans like Adam Zimmerman are also excited. He hopes some of the young Braves players and established veterans will surprise, helping to forget last year's dismal 67-95 record.

"We have some great young prospects," says Zimmerman. "We have some home town guys. It's going to be a team you can really get behind and root for this year. I predict they'll get to the pennant and see what happens from there."

Officials at Turner Field are advising fans to get the ball park early to enjoy the festivities. Here is a list of what's taking place:

10 a.m. Parking lots open to public

1 p.m. Gates open to fans

2:20 p.m. 80's tribute band 'Electric Avenue' performs inside the fan plaza

3:30 p.m. Special pregame ceremony on the history of Turner Field

4:10 p.m. First pitch

Make sure you make it out, the weather will be great!

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Bid for Braves in Palm Beach County faces opposition

By Zach Murdock

As Palm Beach County leaders consider whether to jump into the race to land the Atlanta Braves a spring training complex, residents near the proposed site there are already organizing opposition against the plan.

Residents of Lake Osborne told The Palm Beach Post last week that they intend to pack the County Commission's meeting Tuesday afternoon to voice their opposition the county's recent talks with the team about possibly building a new training complex at John Prince Park.

At least one resident even hired a towing company to pull a mobile billboard reading “STOP ATLANTA BRAVES IN JOHN PRINCE PARK” around the area every day over the weekend ahead of the meeting, the newspaper reported.

The County Commission is expected to discuss Tuesday whether to open formal negotiations with the team, pulling the Braves' former spring training home into the mix with Sarasota County, which has been formally negotiating with the team behind closed doors over the past month on a possible training complex in the West Villages development in North Port.

Palm Beach leaders met with Braves officials two weeks ago, and they said last week they are hopeful the team submits a formal planfor them to consider, the Post has reported.

But the rumblings already have reignited Lake Osborne residents' opposition to a spring training complex at John Prince Park, a 728-acre park just west of Interstate 95 in Lake Worth.

Homeowners there fought the county two years ago when a portion of the park was considered as a site for a shared training complex for the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals. The teams ultimately abandoned that location and instead struck a deal with the county to build a $144 million stadium in West Palm Beach.

That location is much easier to manage than trying to build a major development in an area already filled with residents skeptical of such a plan, said George Gentile, a senior partner with Gentile Glas Holloway O'Mahoney & Associates who is helping plan the West Palm Beach complex.

"We just tried this ... putting the Nationals and Astros stadium over here in the (park) where there was already developed residential," Gentile said. "They fought it because they didn't want the traffic, they didn't want the lights, they didn't want this and that."

Despite the potential opposition and on-going negotiations with Sarasota County, Braves leaders have told Palm Beach County that John Prince Park is their top choice, the Post reports.

However, funding for the potential $100 million complex remains a critical question for the Palm Beach County, which committed $113 million toward the new complex for the Astros and Nationals.

Sarasota County leaders and the Braves have declined to elaborate on the status of their negotiations, but Sarasota officials have said they will not engage in a "bidding war" for the team.

But if Sarasota County and West Villages developers are successful in landing the team in North Port, the development could look very similar the spring training complex in Jupiter, just a few minutes from John Prince Park.

This town shows impact of Braves spring training complex

By Zach Murdock

A dozen servers stood watch over empty tables in the middle of a summer-hot March afternoon under the patio awnings at JJ Mugs Stadium Grill.

But the tables won't stay empty long, because next door at Roger Dean Stadium, the St. Louis Cardinals are losing to the Detroit Tigers and red jerseys and caps already are starting to trickle out of the stadium gates.

A few minutes later, the trickle turns into a flood and a sea of red pours into the town center around the stadium, inundating JJ's and the pub next door and the brewery down the block.

As thousands of baseball fans clamor for bar seats or hit the corners of the little town square to relocate their car and jam the few roads out of the development called Abacoa, it's hard to imagine that a stadium and two-square-mile hive of homes and shops and condos was no more than a grassy field less than two decades ago.

Across the state, the picture is reversed.

At the corner of West Villages Parkway and U.S. 41, it's hard to imagine the empty fields and woods in every direction transformed into a city center covered in concrete and glass.

Yet that's exactly the plan: Local officials hope a proposed new spring training complex for the Atlanta Braves could become the area's crown jewel, catalyzing development at the heart of the biggest city in Sarasota County after nearly a decade of planning.

What would that look like? And would it work?

The developers of Abacoa, the massive commercial and residential district in Jupiter, believe they have proven it can.

Almost 20 years ago, they hatched their own plan to build a spring training complex for the Braves as the centerpiece of what was then farmland just off Interstate 95.

Although the Braves ultimately abandoned that deal, Roger Dean Stadium was built as a spring training site that became home to the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals. The complex has become the anchor of a renowned mega-development with its own downtown, a university, research institutes and condos and homes as far as the eye can see.

Their baseball complex is the standard bearer for many of the Florida and Arizona spring training complexes that have followed, and that development model — along with critical lessons learned along the way — inform the future for the West Villages in south Sarasota County if the Braves, the local governments and the developer reach a deal in coming weeks.

Present meets past

The Atlanta Braves and local leaders have been negotiating to bring the team to a proposed new $100 million spring training complex in North Port since last summer.

The plan — still the subject of closed-door negotiations — would include a 7,500-seat stadium, practice fields and ancillary training facilities on 100 to 150 acres in the heart of the planned West Villages commercial district along the south side of U.S. 41 and west of River Road. Proposed financing for the project includes roughly $22 million in county tourism development tax dollars to be devoted to eventual maintenance of the facility and $20 million in potential state grants, West Villages general manager Martin Black has said.

The West Villages would donate the acreage, build the infrastructure to support the stadium and make it the hallmark of a planned downtown district within the development — an estimated $30 million contribution to the project, Black said.

Under the equation, the Braves would get a new state-of-the-art facility and a training site close to several other teams on Florida's west coast. West Villages would get the spark for development in an area sorely lacking a characteristic downtown.

That thinking and those proposed terms sound remarkably familiar to Nader Salour, principal of Cypress Realty of Florida and the lead developer of Abacoa.

About two decades ago, he and local Palm Beach County leaders found themselves in much the same position.

The master plan for the Abacoa development had been approved in 1995, and the MacArthur Foundation donated land there for a college campus, which would eventually become Florida Atlantic University, Salour recalled.

Across the county, in West Palm Beach, the Braves were considering leaving their decades-long spring training home, and county officials were pulling out every stop to try to keep the team in the area, said Karen Marcus, who served nearly three decades on the Palm Beach County Commission and helped craft the Roger Dean Stadium plan.

“It was just a timing issue,” Marcus recalled. “Abacoa was coming out and (the developers) just stepped in at the right time. It was really just a perfect timing sequence.”

Together with local planners, Marcus and Salour helped craft a plan to dedicate about 100 acres at the heart of Abacoa to a new stadium to be shared by the then-Montreal Expos and the Braves. The county would contribute about $28 million, the state would issue a spring training facility grant and development in Abacoa would boom, they hoped at the time.

Nearly all of those things eventually happened — with the exception of the teams.

Unwilling to share a stadium, the Braves left the deal and the Expos followed suit. In 1997, the Marlins and Cardinals signed on to the plan and they have trained at Roger Dean Stadium since.

The Braves left Palm Beach County the following year for their current home at Disney's Wide World of Sports in the Orlando area, where the team's lease ends next year.

That's led the Braves on a hunt for a new home and right back to a deal nearly identical to the one that the team turned down two decades ago.

Blueprint for success

Because the master plans for both Abacoa and West Villages match almost as closely as the proposed deals do, the almost-built-out Jupiter development serves as a sort of glimpse into the future about what West Villages could look like in 20 years.

The Abacoa development was among the early mixed-use districts established in Florida and designed following the ideas of New Urbanism, which focuses on compact commercial and residential communities that promote walking and sustainability.

Those ideas have become common tenets of development at every stage, and the West Villages residential and commercial district is a large-scale version of the concepts played out in Abacoa.

At the center of the development is Roger Dean Stadium, which anchors a surrounding town center district that combines first-floor restaurants, bars and boutique shops with upstairs condos and townhomes.

The West Villages likely would include a similar combination around a new Braves complex, designed to create the community center North Port has always lacked.

But for massive, mixed-use developments like Abacoa and West Villages to be successful, they cannot rely solely on a stadium to create that center, said George Gentile, a senior partner of Gentile Glas Holloway O'Mahoney & Associates and one of the lead planners of Abacoa.

“It should have institutional, it should have government, it should have retail and consumer services, as well as entertainment,” Gentile said. “That's what makes the town center viable.

"The stadium is not the end-all, be-all of the project.”

In Abacoa, Florida Atlantic University, Scripps Florida and the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience flank the town center and each add a different anchor to the development, Gentile said.

In West Villages, State College of Florida already anchors the center of the planned commercial area and a proposed Sarasota Memorial Hospital campus could add another institution.

Those pieces provide critical stabilizing forces to the tumultuous first few years of developing a mixed-use area at that scale and set them apart from the typical suburban sprawl, Gentile and Salour said.

“If you really want to do a true New Urbanism deal, you've got to have these kinds of uses,” Salour said. “You've got to make up your mind what you want to be … Most locations probably require something like this (stadium) to be successful, and from what little I know of yours, it's probably more important for yours than ours.”

Lessons learned

After two decades of development, a series of important lessons have emerged from Abacoa, planners admitted.

Chief among them is the handicap that the spring training complex put on Abacoa's surrounding town center.

To put 80 acres of baseball fields in the heart of a valuable development district at times starved the town center of the residents needed to spend at its local shops. That's repeatedly landed the town center in bankruptcy and led to a cycle of shop turnovers from which the center has only recently emerged, Gentile and Marcus said.

At the time the plans were made, the Braves would not budge on relocating the practice fields to another part of the development. But in a perfect plan, the current location of the practice fields could have been more condos or apartments, because, Salour said with a laugh, “grass doesn't shop.”

“To have the stadium itself as part of the town center, is a great idea; I don't think anyone thinks that's a bad idea,” Salour said. “But I think it's important to recognize spring training is a six-week event. You need to have concerts or entertainment of some kind to give meaning to the remaining 40-some weeks of the year, because it's a decent chunk of land.”

Roger Dean Stadium has done just that, said stadium general manager Mike Bauer.

“People know us for spring training — that's our bread and butter,” Bauer said. “But when the big league teams leave, we have four minor league teams that move in.”

The 13 practice fields behind the stadium also host 16 to 18 regional and national high school and men's league tournaments throughout the year around those professional and minor league schedules, he added.

“It's become a 365-day baseball business here,” Bauer said.

That programming is crucial to the town center's viability. No such plans have been considered publicly for the potential complex in West Villages, although leaders have cautioned the plans are only in their earliest stages.

Transportation issues will also be a critical component.

Past meets future

Despite Abacoa's struggles, leaders there emphatically agree the plan worked as envisioned.

Almost completely built now, the town center is beginning to thrive after weathering the economic downturn better than most.

“Even when the market tanked, I would look at sales by community,” Salour said. “The vast majority of communities would have zero sales per month or quarter. We never went below 20 or 30 per quarter. It's crazy. The reason is, clearly there's a segment of the market that embraces what we offer.”

Should Sarasota County and the West Villages strike a deal with the Braves, the West Villages could tap into the same vein in the fastest growing municipality in the county, the planners agreed.

Now Gentile is on the planning team developing a new stadium complex in West Palm Beach for the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals, considering some of the same things that made Roger Dean Stadium successful, he said.

If the West Villages can follow the blueprint laid out at Abacoa over the past 20 years, the development can become the downtown local leaders dream it could be.

“It's as good as we thought it would be,” Marcus said. “It's been a big success and it has proved to be a really great anchor.”

The Sports Xchange

OPENING DAY PREVIEW: Nationals at Braves

The Sports Xchange

The Washington Nationals are not the overwhelming favorite to win the National League East this season, and that might be a good thing considering how badly Washington handled those expectations a season ago. With new manager Dusty Baker at the helm and reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper anchoring a talented lineup, the Nationals open the 2016 season Monday at the Atlanta Braves looking to return to the postseason — and put last year’s shortcomings behind them.

“Baker understands the mentality; he understands the grind of 162 games,” Harper told reporters this spring in describing Baker, whose first season in the nation’s capital may hinge on good health and bounce-back campaigns from Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman.

Atlanta stuck to its rebuilding plan over the winter, continuing to stockpile prospects and shed contracts as the Braves prepare to move into a new stadium in 2017. An offense that finished last in baseball in runs scored needs Freddie Freeman to stay healthy after he missed almost two full months with a wrist injury.

“We’ve got a good team this year, and hopefully that translates on the field when the season begins,” Freeman told reporters this spring.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Max Scherzer (2015: 14-12, 2.79 ERA) vs. Braves RH Julio Teheran (2015: 11-8, 4.04)

Scherzer lived up to the billing in his debut season with Washington, throwing two no-hitters — including a 17-strikeout gem against the Mets in the season finale — and leading the NL in complete games (four) while finishing second in strikeouts (276). The 31-year-old lost double-digit games for the first time since 2010 with the Nationals scoring two runs or fewer in 11 of his 33 starts. Scherzer lost his only start against the Braves last season, giving up two runs on five hits in 8 1/3 innings July 2 in a 2-1 road loss.

Teheran’s ERA rose by 1.15 from his All-Star campaign in 2014 as he struggled with command issues for most of the year, but gave up three earned runs or fewer in 11 of his final 12 starts and posted a 1.62 ERA across his final six outings. The 25-year-old made 33 starts a year ago, tied for tops in the NL along with Scherzer and eight others, and was outstanding at home — going 8-2 with a 2.89 ERA in 17 starts. Teheran did not get a decision in three starts against the Nationals last season, posting a 5.40 ERA while allowing 25 hits in 16 2/3 innings.

WALK-OFFS

The Nationals dominated Atlanta in 2015, winning 14-of-19 matchups while outscoring the Braves 112-58.

Harper blasted a league-leading 42 homers with 99 RBIs while hitting .330 last season, at 22 becoming the third-youngest player to win the NL MVP award.

The Braves come in after their worst season since 1990, going 67-95 in 2015, and open their final season in Turner Field before moving to SunTrust Park in the Atlanta suburb of Smyrna next year.

Associated Press

Braves, Nationals bring contrasting expectations into opener

By CHARLES ODUM (AP Sports Writer)

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals represent the extremes of the 2016 NL East.

Max Scherzer, who pitched a no-hitter in his last start of 2015, starts for Washington in Monday's opener against Julio Teheran, a rare holdover on the rebuilding Braves.

The Nationals and defending NL champion Mets appear to be the division powers. Most observers expect the Braves and Phillies to compete for last and rank among the worst teams in the majors.

The Nationals' focus is on winning now. Manager Dusty Baker was hired to massage a talented roster that includes 2015 NL MVP Bryce Harper.

Shortstop Danny Espinosa said Baker has brought an upbeat spirit to the team.

''I feel like it's a pretty good clubhouse to be in,'' Espinosa said. ''It's a lot of fun. It seems like a real good, positive attitude and lightened mood. That starts with the manager. Our manager has done a real good job of keeping everyone light and keeping everyone having fun and keeping it loose.''

Washington looks ready for success after compiling the major leagues' best spring training record.

''I kind of sense a winning attitude,'' said outfielder Chris Heisey. ''We kind of are starting to expect to win. I know it's spring training, but when you win as much as we did, you kind of start to realize how much you like that and you want to continue to do it.''

The Braves' focus is on 2017, which will bring the opening of new SunTrust Park and the expected first wave of prospects. For their final season at Turner Field, first baseman Freddie Freeman and Teheran are the only notable players left from the 2013 team that won 96 games and the division.

For all the talk of such prospects as infielders Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies, pitchers Sean Newcomb and Aaron Blair and outfielder Mallex Smith, the Braves' roster includes 14 players who are 30 or older, many serving as bridges to the future.

The Braves added veterans Jeff Francoeur and Drew Stubbs to the outfield and left-hander Eric O'Flaherty to the bullpen.

John Schuerholz, who as general manager helped build the Braves teams that won 14 straight division titles and the 1995 World Series championship, announced last week he is moving from team president to an advisory role as vice chairman. Schuerholz, 75, says he is looking forward to the Braves again becoming contenders - but he recognizes that will take time.

''We've gone from one of the worst farm systems in our league in a snap of fingers to one of the best,'' Schuerholz said.

''I want to be around to see this, you're absolutely right. This is going to be a lot of fun around this organization and in this community watching Braves baseball for many, many years to come. Once the young guys begin to matriculate to the major leagues and take their place on this roster and become stars of this team ... it's going to be a very exciting time. I hope I can stay around for as long as possible to enjoy that.''

Teheran, only 25, will make his third straight opening day start. He beat Miami in last season's opener, but the Braves finished fourth in the division with only 67 wins.

''I think this year is going to be different,'' Teheran said. ''I want to get a win. That's the way we want to start the year. ... I don't want to put any extra pressure on myself, just try to control what I can control and do what I can to win the game.''

The teams will be off on Tuesday. Washington's Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to face Atlanta's Bud Norris on Wednesday.