Sports Daily: Braves rotation locked in

Here we go, folks.

Braves baseball truly, officially arrives this week — and the NCAA Tournament’s headed to the ATL as well.

After a weekend of good-but-minimally-mad basketball, top overall seed Auburn and sixth-seeded Ole Miss (two of the SEC’s record seven Sweet 16 teams) are set to play Friday night at State Farm Arena. They’ll take on Michigan and Michigan State, respectively, for a chance at joining Sunday’s Elite Eight action.

More on all that as the week progresses.

But first: Wanna vote on some more Atlanta sports happiness and heartbreak?

Quick links: Braves trade Anderson, bring back Chavez | Daniels strikes again | A big meeting for high school sports

SURVIVE AND ADVANCE

Credit: Cayce Dunn/AJC

Credit: Cayce Dunn/AJC

Our Sadness vs. Gladness bracket is slowly filling in — and Friday’s matchups proceeded without any upsets.

💔 On the misery side of things, Jim Leyritz’s crushing home run in the 1996 World Series easily topped the 2012 “infield fly rule” game, netting about 61% of y’all’s votes.

❤️ In the realm of happier memories, the 2021 Braves championship pulled in roughly 85% of votes to dominate Atlanta United’s second-year title.

Today we’re voting on a pair of matchups between No. 2 and No. 6 seeds — and the Georgia Bulldogs feature heavily in both. Cast your ballots here or by shooting me an email.

THE MISERY MATCHUP

2nd-and-26 vs. Hockey bids adieu

Credit: Curtis Compton/AJC

The No. 2 seed: Perhaps it feels cute now for a Georgia fan to complain about not winning a title. But in January 2018, the Bulldog faithful were still chewing on a nearly 40-year championship drought — and Alabama was still Alabama.

UGA led 13-0 at halftime of the College Football Playoff final right here in Atlanta, manhandling Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Then Tua Tagovailoa got the call.

He led a comeback and forced overtime, during which Georgia got the ball first and settled for a field goal. The defense stepped up, sacking Tagovailoa on the Tide’s first offensive snap — putting them out of field-goal range and in an unenviable 2nd-and-26 situation.

But, just like that, Tagovailoa chucked a 41-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith.

Game over.

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

The No. 7 seed: Has Atlanta ever been a town overrun with hockey fans? No. Even the “traditional” local sports teams need to be good, exciting or have their games viewed as a “place to be seen” to consistently draw big crowds.

The Thrashers were rarely any of those things — and their management was a mess. So it’s no real surprise they fled for Winnipeg in 2011, ending a 12-year ATL experiment.

Still a bummer and an embarrassment, though! And it was the second time — Atlanta’s original hockey team, the Flames, bolted for Calgary in 1980.

Maybe Forsyth County can make a third try the charm. But I wouldn’t count on it.

CAST YOUR VOTE RIGHT HERE

THE FOND MEMORY FACEOFF

UGA doubles up vs. It’s Atlanta!

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

The No. 2 seed: Yep, we’re combining both of Georgia football’s recent titles into one item.

Why? Well … limited bracket space. And also because they’re part of the same insanely dominant run.

The 2021 season, of course, ended with the Bulldogs avenging an SEC championship loss to Alabama in the national title game (Kelee Ringo!).

And TCU is still sore from the 65-7 beatdown Georgia gave them the following year.

Credit: Andy Clark/Reuters file photo

The No. 7 seed: Imagine Atlanta being selected to host the Summer Olympics today. Feasible!

Then think about the fact that Atlanta was selected to host the Olympics in 1996 — when it was half as big, half as developed, half … everything.

Craziness.

You can argue about whether it changed our city for good or bad. And about Izzy, the nonsensical mascot (I love him, fight me).

But for a few weeks, the world’s eyes were truly on our city. Muhammad Ali lighting the torch. Michael Johnson setting the track on fire. Kerri Strugg being awesome.

That’s a pretty fantastic sports moment, all around.

That’s it for today. Don’t forget to vote, vote, vote!

ANDERSON OUT, ROTATION SET

Credit: AP

The funniest bit in baseball continued over the weekend, as the Rangers released reliever Jesse Chavez — and the Braves scooped him up within 48 hours.

That makes five straight seasons (and six times total) that the 41-year-old with cool hats has signed with Atlanta. He’ll join fellow late addition Craig Kimbrel in minor league camp.

↔️ As far as starters go: The team shipped Ian Anderson, former No. 3 overall pick and postseason standout, to the Angels in exchange for lefty reliever José Suarez. Anderson lacked minor league options and again struggled to find his control this spring.

The move means the early-season, pre-Spencer Strider rotation is all lined up.

🗣️ From our friend and AJC beat writer Justin Toscano: “Barring any surprises, the Braves will roll with Grant Holmes and AJ Smith-Shawver at the back end of the rotation. They had 14 pitchers in camp — for 13 spots — on Friday. They swapped Anderson for Suarez and optioned Bryce Elder.

“So they’re at 13 and the pitching staff is set — except if general manager Alex Anthopoulos makes another move or two, which could happen given all his activity the last week.”

In case you missed it: Top prospect Drake Baldwin made the opening day roster and will do his best to catch ‘em all.

TRIVIA TIME

When was Jesse Chavez’s first stint with the Braves?

Answer at bottom of the newsletter.

FUN WITH NUMBERS: 200

The Hawks won their third straight Sunday night, downing the shorthanded Sixers 132-119.

Trae Young did Trae Young things, Zaccharie Risacher impressed — and Dyson Daniels marked another major milestone.

🤯 The Great Barrier Thief recorded his 200th steal of the season, making him just the third player in the last quarter-century to do so. At 22 years old, he’s also the youngest to hit that mark since at least 1974.

Others to record 200-steal seasons before they turned 23 include Magic Johnson and Chris Paul.

QUICK HITS

🤔 The Georgia High School Association’s reclassification committee resumes meeting today in Thomaston, and much-discussed proposals to change the state’s competitive-balance model face an uphill battle.

😠 Georgia Tech women’s basketball coach Nell Fortner hopes her team’s disappointing loss in Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener leaves players “incredibly hungry to not ever let this happen to ‘em again.”

💪 Atlanta United remains winless since its first match — but Saturday’s draw with Cincinnati did feature a strong debut from midfielder Will Reilly.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Credit: AMBSE

The official poster celebrating Atlanta hosting eight matches in next year’s World Cup dropped over the weekend, and it’s packed with local landmarks and other imagery.

The leafy allusion to the roof of Mercedes-Benz Stadium caught my eye first — but the “giant sky peach giving birth to a golden soccer ball” part is pretty wild. What’s your favorite part?

Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.

Oh, and the trivia answer: 2010, when Chavez pitched in 28 games before being traded to the Royals along with Gregor Blanco. The Braves got Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth in return.

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