Fan Finds Out Braves Sign A.J Pierzynski at Honey Baked Ham Store

No really, the headline really happened. Let us explain.

The Atlanta Braves, in the market for a veteran backup catcher apparently signed long time backstop A.J Pierzynski sometime Wednesday afternoon.

They were not yet prepared to announce the one-year deal pending a physical.

But--

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez was apparently told about the signing while at a Honey Baked Ham store. (really) And he was talking to someone from the front office about it on his phone while online.

After finishing the conversation, the fan in front of him asked if it was true, the Braves had signed Pierzynski.

Fredi confirmed it. The man told his son Aaron Lusford who immediately began tweeting baseball writers.

Source: @braves and AJ pierzynski agree to deal. No details. Check it @Buster_ESPN @Ken_Rosenthal @jcrasnick @jessespector not kidding
— Aaron Lunsford (@darrenstains) December 24, 2014

Yes, this really happened.

Change Begins: Braves Fire Frank Wren

For Braves fans, it's necessary change.

The Atlanta Braves did something Monday they haven't done since 1990, they fired someone before a season ended, in this case, their General Manager.

The Braves announced they've parted ways with Frank Wren, who's been overseeing the team since his boss John Schuerholz was promoted to team president in 2007.

Wren has an odd resume during his Braves tenure as the team seemed to excel at finding guys like Aaron Harang and other players who underachieved and getting the most out of them.

But he was horrible at big ticket signings. Wren was responsible for the Dan Uggla and BJ Upton signings, leaving the Braves on the hook for some $45 million in contracts to one player who's no longer with the team and the other, likely to join him shortly.

But the overriding issue was an apparent rift with people inside the organization. There's been rumblings for the past month that he (Wren) may have been running off people like Dave Wallace and others and was responsible for some of the discord bubbling to the surface over the past couple of weeks.

The Braves had been contending and as recently as the end of August were potential leaders for a wild-card berth. But the team continued their habit of September falls and now sit at 76-79 on the season and are officially out of the playoffs.

John Hart, former GM in Cleveland and Texas and special assistant this year to Schuerholz takes over as interim GM with no clear frontrunner for the permanent job.

Rumors say team manager Fredi Gonzalez is safe...for now, but is likely going to have to make wholesale changes in the coaching staff.

We will see.

Dumb Ass Braves Fan Ejected By Umpire Capping Crappy Night

((ht: cbssports.com))

It's been a pretty crappy week, no, make that month...wait, make that a season for Atlanta Braves fans.

And that frustration may have been encapsulated on Tuesday night. The only highlight for the poor hitting Braves--a fan who was ejected by umpire Tim Welke for screaming obscenities at Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper.


Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

And yes, Welke absolutely did the right thing. There's no room for drunken fans doing that in what's supposed to be a family friendly sports event.

But...that was not the worst thing that happened to the Braves Tuesday night.

The team lost again to the Washington Nationals, allowing them to clinch the NL East on the Braves home turf.

Oh, and for what it's worth, it dropped the Braves record to 75-76 on the season. Not exactly a strong statement from the former champs who may have some housecleaning ahead (we can only hope)

Atlanta Braves Break Ground on New Ballpark

The construction on the site has been going on for a couple of months, though it's been limited to clearing land, grading it and relocating a gas line.

On Tuesday it became official.

The Atlanta Braves officially broke ground on their soon to be new baseball stadium that they plan on building on the northernmost edge of Atlanta in Cobb County.

And they managed to find a naming partner--Sun Trust Bank. (It will be called "Sun Trust Park")

Here's your introductory video:



The stadium, which will be paid for partially by the Braves and partially by Cobb County is expected to open in 2017 and cost somewhere around $600 million. It's expected to seat a little over 40,000 fans.

The biggest push for the team and Cobb County leaders is that the stadium is supposed to be the anchor of a mixed use community featuring restaurants, bars, shops, offices and residences.

We should note, we live about 5 minutes from the property and it's not that big of an area. While we are excited about having our beloved Braves so close, we wonder how they are going to fit all this in a relatively small area with major traffic issues. We suspect it still will completely change the landscape of the area though it remains to be seen how.

The whole thing has been interesting to follow. The county wasn't exactly forthcoming with pretty much anything about this project until they announced it and that made some people really, really angry.

And rightfully so. Though we understand why it was done that way. Cobb County residents, or at least the vocal ones who always show up on TV would never have gone for this in any way shape or form. Those who are complaining are the one's that elect leaders that give businesses all kinds of handouts, but it's different when it's a sports team.

We're now to the point of no return, the stadium will be built. And the surrounding area will change. Only time and a boatload of construction will tell how that will play out and what the southern tip of the County will look like in just over 2-years.

Four Phillies Pitchers No Hit The Braves

Geez it sucks to be a Braves fan this year.

The Philadelphia Phillies used 4-pitchers to throw the first "Multi-Pitcher" no-hitter since 2012, beating the usually hapless Atlanta Braves 7-0 Monday afternoon.

Cole Hamels, Jake Dierkman, Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon are your pitchers of record as the Phillies just laid one on the Braves who have scored one run in the last 3 games---total.

Hamels was not sharp, walking 5 in 6 innings along with hitting a batter. But he struck out 7 as the punchless Braves continued their pathetic performance of hitting with runners in scoring position.

All-in-all, the Phillies foursome combined to strike out 12 Atlanta hitters.

Marlon Byrd robbing the Braves Chris Johnson of a hit here in the 3rd was perhaps the closest the Braves came to getting a hit all day.

Thanks MLB.com (we'll try adding more, when highlights available)

Possible Very Tannned, Naked Guy Interrupts A's-Braves Saturday

((HT: Jeff Shapiro's Youtube/Deadspin))

The HQ knew people who attended this game at Turner Field Saturday night and wondered two things:

1) How long it would take for this to surface and,
2) Just how much liquid courage was involved...

Judge for yourself...


Whiteguy Productions has the look from behind home plate- and it appears the guy was REALLY NAKED!


No word on any ID on the streaker and what he has been officially charged with- public trespass and indecent exposure would be a good start...

John Hart Versus Forbes Magazine

((HT: WJBF-TV Augusta))

Brother J-Hart is a news anchor and full fledged FOSG based in Augusta.

He is an unabashed Atlanta Braves and Falcons fan and decided to take issue, umbrance, and flying disagreement with the new Forbes Magazine piece that proclaimed Atlanta a very bad title...

Post by John Hart.

The HQ will admit that the city is one of the biggest fair-weather cities when it comes to pro franchises that we have ever seen. And those who have their issues with the pro teams will not spend discretionary income on a bad product...

J-Hart has a huge point with the college omission and just drove a truck through the hole in the survey.

Braves Broadcaster Pete van Wieren Dies At 69

Another voice of the HQ's youth has left us too soon.
Long time Atlanta Braves announcer Pete van Wieren has passed at the age of 69.

The "Professor"- nicknamed so for his encyclopedic knowledge of the sport and levels of preparedness- was a part of the Braves booth that spread the "Superstation TBS" across the country and turned the Atlanta Braves into America's team- even more so than WGN's Chicago Cubs during the battle of cable powers Tribune and Ted Turner.

The group of van Wieren, Ernie Johnson, Senior, Skip Caray, and then later Don Sutton and Joe Simpson were the voices of some very bad baseball but also got their shot when the Braves won their only World Series.

On November 4, 2009, van Wieren felt a bump on the back of his head; when he got it checked, he learned it was Stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He had been battling it ever since.

van Wieren retired from the Braves booth in 2005.

In October of 2008, Van Wieren announced his retirement after 33 seasons with the Braves. His departure came less than three months after the death of his longtime on-air partner Skip Caray.

During the 2008 season, Van Wieren announced that a publishing company approached him about writing a book about his time in the booth. His book, written in 2009, is titled "Of Mikes and Men: A Lifetime of Braves Baseball" and was released in April 2010. It was co-written with Jack Wilkinson.

The broadcast booth for the Braves' home games at Turner Field is named for van Wieren.

Here was "The Professor's" good-bye to his broadcast partner:

This Years Baseball Hall of Fame Inductions: Our Connection

Mark Harmon and Me at Spring Training 2008

It's not very often when we are able to brag...or boast about or even share insight gained from years of covering now-legendary sports figures as they are about to get inducted into a "Hall-of-Fame".

Yet that is exactly what we...or precisely me gets to do today.

I got the pleasure/honor of covering my favorite baseball team (The Atlanta Braves) for 10-years. And before you ask: I was a Braves fan long before covering them. Growing up in Florida in a time before the Marlins and Rays, the Braves were the closest team to us.

Heck, the 1st Major League Baseball game I ever saw was a Braves game in Fulton County Stadium as a 10-year old.

And I got to spend a large chunk of my professional career reporting on them.

Oddly enough as I sit here on my Mac writing this, programming the DVR to record Sunday afternoons Baseball Hall of Fame ceremonies, I'm laughing at the idea of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Bobby Cox getting enshrined.

Not because they aren't worthy, but because on the baseball field they were all remarkably similar.

((NOTE--For what it's worth, I've done stories with Joe Torre and Frank Thomas who are also being inducted, and both are the epitome of class people. Professionals with boat loads of talent and skill and honest to goodness real people))

This commercial is a classic:



For me and a lot of people I know, it's about the Braves this weekend--

Tom Glavine--The ultimate professional. The go-to guy in the locker room, he's the guy who would always talk in the good times or bad, sometimes when his teammates would bail out.

Glav lockered near teammate John Smoltz (who will be inducted soon), at the Apex of the Turner Field locker room. Tom Glavine was always prepared. It showed on the mound and his dealing with us (The Media).

And more importantly, in a big game, when the Braves needed a win, he always stepped up. Always.

Most Braves fans remember the World Series clincher where Dave Justice hit a home run to give them a 1-0 win over Cleveland. Less remember the starting pitcher who shut the Indians down to 1 hit.

That pitcher: Tom Glavine.

Greg Maddux: The smartest guy in the room. Every room. He didn't necessarily like doing interviews and I'm convinced he was brief and vague with us just to mess with our heads. He fit the teams personality to a "T" and believe it or not, was often the ringleader for practical jokes and keeping his teammates loose. We've heard some funny and gross stories about the jokes, all of which we believe, none of which we'll share....

There was no better artist than Maddux. None. I dragged my father to Maddux's one-hit game vs. St Louis back in 1996. My dad couldn't understand why I would get up to get food or a beer during the Braves at-bat.

The answer...simple: I wanted to watch Maddux pitch.

Me and Mark pre-Spring Training Animation/Courtesy: Chris Ballard

Bobby Cox: The leader. The man all revered but few knew in detail. Which was the way he wanted it.  Bobby saw everything, the guys on the team were convinced he either had cameras or spies everywhere.

True story: When I 1st started working in Atlanta (1999'ish..) along with working at the local CBS affiliate, I shot for a company that produced a Sports show weekly. And during baseball season, we'd interview Bobby. I didn't think anything about it at the time, but we'd set up chairs on top of the Braves dugout for the sit-down interview. We'd have to help Bobby get up there because his knees weren't so good. He'd had them both replaced.

But he'd always be ready to go.

The other thing I'll always remember is he called my friend, Sports Anchor Mark Harmon every other sports guy in town's name but his. Never failed.

So if you are reading this on Sunday morning July 27th or even in the early afternoon, tune in and watch. Stop for a little while and see some of my favorite baseball players...and many others favorites as they get the biggest honor in their entire careers, the thing all Major League baseball players live for.

They get inducted into the Hall of Fame....

Here's a story Mark and I produced in 2007. We interviewed Joe Torre, who also was a Braves manager at one point, while he was managing the Dodgers...

Chip Caray Joins Steve Levy With Bulging

((HT: SportsSouth/Blake Shoemaker's Vine))

Awful Announcing gets the credit for this one...

The Atlanta Braves Evan Gattis missed 17 games because of a problem with his back- something bulged...

But Chip Caray, calling the game, presented it a little differently...


That injury, and succeeding malaprop, always has us think of football
((HT: ESPN))

Phillies Play-By-Play Guy Catches Home Run

((ht: mlb.com))

Apparently he was happy about it, but wasn't allowed to say he was, which made it even funnier.

Check out the reaction of CSN Philly's Tom McCarthy, stationed in Centerfield to do Friday nights Braves vs. Phillies game in Philadelphia. McCarthy, who does play by play, decided to take his glove with him to his station near the bullpen in dead centerfield.

And low and behold as in the first inning, Atlanta's Freddie Freeman hits a monster 3-run homer to deep centerfield. Right where McCarthy and his cohorts were sitting (standing).

McCarthy made the catch, said that he was happy but not happy and proceeded to throw the ball right back on the field.

By the way, the Braves took care of the Phillies 4-2....

Your video from MLB.com:

An Accidental Backswing Causes Concussions And Ejections

((HT: MLB))

It all starts with a backswing that accidentally (at least, that's the look of it, anyway...) clocks Braves catcher Gerald Laird in the head and he gets an early exit and concussion tests.

Then, because of baseball being "Quien es mas macho," the Rockies and Braves game yesterday goes downhill and degrades into hit batsmen, ejections, and managers not taking any guff...

Here's the exchange in an edited version...

Cobb County Commissioners Approve Braves Paperwork

((HT: 11Alive.com))

Surprising no one, really, the suburban county that is getting the Atlanta Braves and their new ballpark may have slipped paperwork onto their website for only a day's review before the meeting Tuesday night.

And stacked the deck on speakers before putting their ideas to a vote that was going to pass anyway...

And had people tossed from the meeting who wanted to speak, weren't allowed to, and then raised their voices in protest...

It looks like an additional $31-million was added onto the county's responsibilities. If the Braves and the county don't meet their expectations with incoming revenue and revenue streams, then county taxpayers are on the hook for the balance...

Here's team coverage with the Hull Man and Melissa...

Construction starts in late 2014 and the team is set to move into its news digs in 2017

Fernandez Fakes Out The Braves On Way To Win

((HT:MLB.com))

The HQ doesn't quite know what it is about Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez and the Atlanta Braves...

He has their number- on the mound, at the plate, and now in the field as he cruised to a 9-0 win last night.

He bluffed the day lights out of Tyler Pastornicky and kept a run from scoring early on...


In two weeks, Fernandez has thrown 17 scoreless innings against the Braves. His scoreless innings streak at home is now at 21 and two-thirds innings and he is now 8-0 in his last nine home starts with an ERA UNDER 0.50

All the Braves have to now is wait for free agency and they'll pick him up...
Or the Yankees will...

Braves Getting Lessons From Yankees On New Ballpark

((HT: 11Alive.com))

The Atlanta Braves front office is trying to figure out how best to build (and properly monetize, naturally...) their new ballpark- whether it's Turner Field II is currently unknown...

Our friends at WXIA-TV got to take their behind-the-scenes tour with them to figure out what is needed, how much is needed, and what to cut out as they build...

So, expect less seats for premium effect, not a whole lot of parking, even less public transportation access, and a lot of headaches for the fans as they commute to one of the more-highly trafficked areas in the entire town...

Enjoy...

On Jeff Ears: Elaborate Prank on Jeff Francoeur is Documented and it's Awesome

((@ajcbraves))

Oh, this is epic. And no, the prank isn't the former wunderkind Jeff Francoeur is still playing baseball.

Here's the set-up. Francoeur, a former MLB Rookie-of-the-Year is playing AAA Baseball for the San Diego Padres team in El Paso, Texas. And he's apparently on a veteran laden team with several of his ex-Atlanta Braves teammates including Blaine Boyer and Brooks Conrad.

Francouer, for all his struggles to hit off-speed pitches, is one of the great nice guys in professional sports. Always has been.

And his El Paso teammates, well, they had some fun.

At his expense.

The ruse: They convinced Francoeur that teammate Jorge Reyes was deaf. It was all built around an incident when Francoeur first arrived, where Reyes didn't move when a fly ball landed near him.

Before they knew it, the entire team was in on it.

And....as an added bonus, they had a documentary style film shoot to document the gag. And it's priceless...

Check out this production by Antihero Baseball/Daylight Films:

Braves Win on Bloop Single Scoring Runner from 1st

No, this headline won't make any sense until we explain it and you see it.

The Atlanta Braves who seem to have the number of the much-hyped Washington Nationals, won a bizarre, attempted replay and error filled game Friday night on a walk-off bloop single by Justin Upton.

Why is this noteworthy?

Upton's 120 foot pop-fly dropped to the ground in front of National's rightfielder Bryce Harper. Meanwhile, Braves pinch runner Jordan Schaffer was off and running on contact because there were 2 outs, managed to score...all the way from 1st. The Braves win in 10 innings, 7-6.

In the grand scheme of things, the win wasn't that big a deal, but seeing someone score from first on a short hit like that is always impressive.

Your highlights from MLB.com:

715 Was 40 Years Ago Today

And the HQ will maintain that Hank Aaron is the home run king of Major League Baseball since we don't quite believe the Bonds numbers are naturally obtained...

To celebrate the day... here's your flashback...
((HT: FilmArchivesNYC))


And here are three home run calls from Curt Gowdy, Vin Scully, and Milo Hamilton


The video version...


And, in another note, the following year- Frank Robinson was named manager of the Cleveland Indians...

Two cool moments...
One day...

Another Home Run By Aaron Chewning

((HT: Aaron Chewning his own self))

Yes, the HQ used a baseball cliche...

But it's another solid Opening Day tune from the big Braves fan...

Enjoy...

Tom Glavine's Tour Of Cooperstown

((HT: MyFoxAtlanta))

There are trips. There are assignments. And there are assignments that are trips...

Tom Glavine is set to be inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame this year, but he got a behind-the-scenes tour to get ready for his time to be enshrined...

FOSG Cody Chaffins was with him every step of the way...
Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

How cool was that...???

Pretty cool...