The Atlanta Braves passed a big test Sunday by winning a three-game home series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team’s 74th win came behind the grand slam of recently called-up Rafael Ortega. However, while this was the highlight of Ortega’s young career, so far, it was not the highlight of the game as it should’ve been.
“He didn’t run,” Snitker said after the game when asked about the situation. Snitker also went on to say: “That name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back of that jersey.”
Finally, Snitker finished the comment by saying: “Personal things have to be put on the back burner, you can’t let your team down like that.”
When Acuña was asked about being pulled he responded by saying, through a translator: “He sat me down and told me why he was pulling me, and I respect his decisions.”
With all of this going down right before the start of Duane’s show, this was the topic of choice for the first two hours. Duane does not disagree with Snitker’s decision, but he’s looking at this a few different ways.
One, he knows Acuña was in the wrong and he deserved to be benched in that situation. However, on the other side of the coin, Acuña is definitely an MVP candidate and the future of this team. So while Snitker proved that no one is going to receive special treatment, did he possibly damage the relationship between himself and his young phenom in the process?
Also, Duane raised the question if whether or not Snitker got caught up in the moment or not. It’s the bottom of the third, nobody out, with a runner on second, and you’re down 3-0. If Acuña hustles, like he usually does, he’s easily at second and already in scoring position. Max Fried may score, and Acuña wouldn’t have ended up getting caught stealing because he would’ve already been on second. Also, he possibly could’ve been a second run and the Braves would have cut their deficit to one. That all really doesn’t matter because the Braves ultimately went on to win anyway.
However, in the heat of the moment, in a rubber match against the No. 1 team in the National League, Snitker might’ve been more upset in this situation because of the magnitude of the game. Do we really think he pulls Acuña if he does the same thing in a game against the Marlins where they are up three runs already?
For Braves fans you don’t want something like this to overshadow an impressive series win by a Braves team that is nowhere near full strength. But at the end of the day this whole story will probably be old news by Tuesday when Acuña is back in the lineup against the Marlins.
However, this also could be the beginning of the end to an era that just started in Atlanta. It all boils down to how Ronald Acuña Jr. will handle the situation moving forward. If handled correctly this story will be old news soon, but this situation has the potential to be a potential dynasty killer for the Atlanta Braves.
