Good morning. This is LEADOFF, the early buzz in Atlanta sports.
When we checked a month ago, the Braves ranked last (30th) in three sets of MLB power rankings and almost last (28th and 29th) in two others.
They’ve moved up a bit since then.
We re-checked the same five rankings as a month ago, and the Braves this week rank as high as 22nd (Bleacher Report) and as low as 27th (USA Today and Fox Sports). They are ranked 24th by Sports Illustrated and 26th by ESPN.
Not good, but not as bad as before.
The larger takeaway from this week’s rankings, albeit not surprising, is the overall weakness of the Braves’ division, the NL East.
The Marlins and Phillies are ranked among MLB’s three worst teams in all five sets of rankings. In one ranking, the NL East has four teams in the bottom five. In three others, the division has three teams in the bottom five.
But you’ll find the NL East-leading Nationals near the top of all five sets of rankings. They are ranked No. 2 by ESPN and USA Today, No. 3 by Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated and No. 4 by Fox.
The Astros, of the AL West, are No. 1 in all five rankings this week.
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The Braves' planned move of their spring-training home from Disney World to southwest Florida cleared another governmental hurdle Tuesday.
The Sarasota County Commission voted unanimously to approve an operating agreement that spells out the terms and conditions of a new facility for the Braves and a non-relocation agreement that requires the team to hold spring training in the complex for 30 years.
The operating agreement sets a targeted completion date of Jan. 15, 2019, for construction of the approximately $75 million facility, which is to be built in the Sarasota County city of North Port.
A few hurdles remain, the largest being an application for $20 million in funding from the state of Florida.
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DON’T MISS …
Three weeks later, there's a lack of clarity on the Hawks' search for a general manager. See Jeff Schultz's column here.
Former Hawks star Steve Smith says the team should consider some of its former players for the GM job. See Chris Vivlamore's story here.
Jonesboro High guard M.J. Walker plans to announce Wednesday morning where he'll play college basketball. He is expected to choose among Georgia Tech, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Ohio State and UCLA. See Ken Sugiura's story here.
