MILWAUKEE – Over the first month and change of the season, Braves fans have talked about the inconsistent offense, encouraging starting pitching and more. They have celebrated wins and dissected losses.
But there is one question that continued popping up: What the heck happened to all of those jerseys the Braves used to wear?
Two have since returned, and one may not be back.
The Braves experienced a delay in receiving their alternate jerseys, according to a team spokesperson. This was because the lockout caused a delay in spring training, which meant players were not measured as soon as usual, and the Braves didn’t have those alternate jerseys for the beginning of the season.
Some very extensive research – it really was just looking at photos from every Braves game – revealed that the club didn’t wear its navy-blue road alternates until April 29 in Texas. The Braves wore gray for their seven-game swing to San Diego and Los Angeles.
The Braves didn’t wear the red home alternates until May 13 versus the Padres. But they capably filled their time at home with other great uniforms: They wore the gold-accented threads, in honor of the World Series, during the first homestand, then mixed in the 1974 throwback jerseys for the May 6-7 games versus the Brewers.
So, both red and blue are in the Braves’ rotation now.
But there’s some bad news: The Braves no longer are wearing their cream-colored alternate jerseys.
When there’s a decision to be made on which uniform to wear, the Braves’ starting pitcher for that day does the honors. The home team decides its uniform first, so the visiting team must comply with the hosts’ uniform color.
Interesting wrinkle to Tucker Davidson’s night
Tucker Davidson had to adjust to something when he walked on a major-league mound after spending the last month in Triple-A: There is no pitch clock up here.
The pitch clock, utilized as a way to shorten games, is used in the minors. With no runners on, the clock is set to 14 seconds. With men on, it goes to 18 seconds. The batter has until the nine-second mark to be ready to hit in the batter’s box.
If the batter isn’t set by then, the umpire can put a strike in the count. If the pitcher doesn’t begin his windup before the clock hits zero, the umpire can assess a ball.
“It’s a work in progress, for sure,” Davidson said. “I don’t know how it’s going to exactly translate to the big-league level, just because the consequences get a little bit bigger whenever you’re giving strikes away to Ronald Acuña Jr. And you don’t want that to happen, he doesn’t want that to happen.”
Davidson appeared to work quickly Tuesday, which now makes sense. He pitched five scoreless innings in the victory.
It felt different without a pitch clock.
“It’s definitely sped up my tempo, for sure,” he said. “I kind of saw that (Tuesday) whenever I was on the mound. I’m just standing up there and they’re still dancing around the box, getting ready. I’m just like, I’m not used to it.”
Dansby Swanson continues to dazzle in the field
With a runner on first base Tuesday, Dansby Swanson went to his right and made a sliding stop on a grounder between him and third baseman Austin Riley, then threw the ball from his knees to get an out at second to end the inning.
It was a terrific play, the latest in a season full of them for the shortstop.
“That’s what he does,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s an elite defensive player, in my mind.”
As of Wednesday, Swanson had four Outs Above Average, according to Baseball Savant. He was tied with four other shortstops with the MLB lead among the position.
Baseball Savant defines OAA as the “cumulative effect of all individual plays a player has been credited or debited with.” This range-based metric that evaluates fielding skill takes into account the number of plays made and the difficulty of those plays.
Struggles in day games
Entering Wednesday’s day game, the Braves were 4-9 in day games. That was the majors’ third-worst record in these contests this year.
Wednesday also marked the Braves’ latest rubber match. The Braves entered this one 2-5 in rubber games, including 0-2 on the road.
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