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Forbes
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Jarred Kelenic, Brian Snitker, Ronald Acuña Jr. And The Braves Dumpster Fire
Jarred Kelenic clearly thought he had hit a home run. He was wrong! (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty ... More Images) When it rains, it pours. Unfortunately, sometimes the rain is kerosene, and it pours right onto an existing dumpster fire. The Atlanta Braves started the season 0-7. It took until their 20th game for them to win two in a row (pushing their record to 7-13). They are currently 11-14, in last place in the National League East, and 6.5 games out of first. The Braves' best pitcher, Spencer Strider, came back from major elbow surgery to pitch one game before straining his hamstring. Their former MVP, Ronald Acuña Jr., has not yet returned from ACL surgery. And pitcher Reynaldo López is currently in the IL for at least the next twelve weeks with an undisclosed shoulder injury. After an injury-marred 2024 season, the Braves could not have gotten off to a worse start. And then, last Saturday night, outfielder Jarred Kelenic decided to throw some additional fuel on the dumpster fire. It's been a full week, but even with the passage of time, this dustup doesn't look any better – for anyone involved. In the sixth inning of a game against the Minnesota Twins, Kelenic hit a long drive to right field. Off the bat, Kelenic thought he got it all, and stopped to admire his shot (see above). Unfortunately for him, the ball bounded off the top of the wall. Kelenic ultimately got into gear, trying to get at least a double, but he was thrown out at second base. The Braves had already tied the game when Michael Harris II led off the inning with a homer. Nick Allen followed Harris with a single to right. Kelenic then had his fateful at-bat. Allen moved up to third on Kelenic's long single, and scored when the next batter, Alex Verdugo, singled to right. But, instead of it being a two-run single, providing the Braves with a two-run lead, giving Atlanta four straight hits with no outs, Verdugo found himself at first with one out. Two batters later, the inning was over. Luckily for the Braves, they held onto their one-run lead to win the game 4-3. Jarred Kelenic tried to at least get to second after watching his ball hit the top of the wall. He ... More didn't get there on time. (Photo by) The next inning, Kelenic trotted right back out to right field as if nothing had happened. After the game, reporters rushed to manager Brian Snitker to get his reaction. And this is where the team's leader decided to throw some additional fuel on the dumpster fire. reporter Mark Bowman asked Snitker if he had said anything to Kelenic. Snitker angrily replied: 'Was I supposed to?' There are about 50 or 500 reasons why this is a bad response; one that should not have been uttered either in the heat of the moment or after careful consideration. Part of being a major league manager is knowing how to deal with the press, and knowing how to respond to difficult questions. This was not a difficult question. Snitker eventually said that he did not see the play. There are about 50 or 500 reasons why this is problematic. Sure, maybe, in the moment, the manager was looking at a scouting report, or was on the phone to the bullpen, or sneezed just as his right fielder swung the bat. It is easy to miss one play in a three-hour game. But it was only the sixth inning. Someone, a coach on his staff, an executive in the front office, a fan sitting next to the dugout, had to make Snitker aware of what just transpired. But, to be clear, even if the manager missed the play in real time, the Twins appealed the original 'safe' call; the slide at second was replayed on the jumbotron; the game stopped for this to be sorted out. It beggars belief that Snitker didn't see the play. Acuña, still away from the club as he rehabs his knee, took to X (formerly Twitter) to throw some additional fuel on the dumpster fire. The next morning he posted: 'If it were me, they would take me out of the game.' He quickly realized the error of his ways, and deleted the missive. But it was too late to keep this from furthering the controversy. To be clear, Acuña was not wrong. He was referencing a game in 2019 when he hit a ball to almost the exact same location as Kelenic, admired the shot in nearly the same manner, but he at least didn't try to stretch it into a double. After his long single, and after one inning in the field, Snitker brought Acuña down into the tunnel, spoke with him, and then pulled him from the game. Afterwards, Snitker told reporters: Last Saturday, Snitker did not pull Kelenic. In an effort to put out his dumpster fire, the manager said he saw the play on Sunday morning and then spoke with Kelenic. The outfielder, and his .170 batting average, was back in the lineup on Sunday, going 1-for-3. He still remains well below the 'Mendoza Line' (less than .200), has hit a mere two home runs, and has a negative bWAR for the year. If it is not suitable to reprimand this type of player for a lack of hustle, then who is? If it is not suitable to to punish/bench this type of player for hotdogging in a tie game when you are (at the time) seven games under .500 and fighting for everything just to get to par, then who is? Unfortunately, no one comes out this looking good. Kelenic adds another chapter to his book of his bust (6th overall pick in 2018; now with his third organization; career total of 0.2 bWAR). Acuña showed his pique and his immaturity by lashing out on social media rather than discussing this directly with his manager. And Snitker showed a total lack of care for what happens on the field, how his decisions (or lack thereof) may affect the clubhouse, or how his reactions play in the press and with the public. Being a manager requires being proficient at many skills, and with this incident, Snitker failed at all of them. At best, this event represents a manager already checked out in what may be his final season at the helm of the team. At worst, it infers racial disparity in assessing punishment for misdeeds. In the middle, it is just a bad look all around. The Braves have enough talent to win the NL East, and are only a win-streak away from leaping over the Nationals, Marlins, and Phillies to get right back into contention with the Mets. But, the effects of 'L'affaire Kelenic' may linger for much, much longer.
New York Post
23-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Ex-Brave eviscerates Ronald Acuna Jr. for calling out Brian Snitker, Jarred Kelenic: ‘Meaningless and stupid'
Ronald Acuña Jr. needs to be a better teammate, at least according to one former Braves outfielder. Days after Acuña's since-deleted post on X that criticized manager Brian Snitker over his handling of outfielder Jarred Kelenic, ex-MLBer Jeff Francoeur spoke on the topic on 680 The Fan on Tuesday about the situation and went as far as to say Acuña 'buriedz a teammate.' The origins of the situation stem from Saturday's Braves game in which Kelenic hit a deep fly to the outfield and jogged out of the box, seemingly thinking the ball was going out of Truist Park. Advertisement 4 Ronald Acuña Jr. called out his team in a since-deleted social media post. Getty Images Nevertheless, the ball didn't leave the yard, and Kelenic was thrown out at second base. Braves reporter Mark Bowman wrote on X the following day that Snitker said, 'Was I supposed to?' when asked if he talked with Kelenic about his lack of hustle. Advertisement 4 Jeff Francoeur called out Acuna on the radio on Tuesday. Bill Kostroun/New York Post In a reply, Acuña wrote: 'If it were me, they would take me out of the game.' Francoeur, who noted how the Braves have been criticized for their slow start, said Acuña's post was not something the team needed. 'And you got a guy who's supposed to be your teammate, tweeting, probably out in LA, something that is completely meaningless and stupid,' he said on the radio. Advertisement Francoeur then said any notion that Snitker, who once benched Acuña in 2019 for a lack of hustle, is racist is preposterous. 4 Jarred Kelenic advances to third base on a single by Alex Verdugo in the second inning of the Braves' 6-2 home win over the Twins on April 20, 2025. Getty Images 'And you want to go farther with context, Acuña was warned time after time after time. After time. Let's talk, like, 10 times to run before he ever got yanked. This is the first time Jarred Kelenic has ever done it. Now, real quick, do I think Snit's answer to it was great? Probably not, probably not. He probably also didn't expect after winning two games in a row, this is what he was going to be talking about. 'And also, to give you context, Jarred Kelenic was sitting in that man's office Easter Sunday morning, waiting for him for 30 minutes, crying and apologizing. So there's your context on that. Advertisement 'Number three, Ronald basically buried a teammate. This wouldn't have been a national story. Y'all probably wouldn't even talked about it Monday. OK, right? Let's be honest. If he did not mention it in a tweet and bring it to the forefront. So not only that, you buried a teammate by tweeting about this.' 4 Brian Snitker looks on after challenging the call on the field that Austin Riley is out at first base in the eighth inning of the Braves' 7-6 home win over Cardinals on April 21, 2025. Getty Images Francoeur later said both former manager Bobby Cox and Hall of Fame icon Hank Aaron both preached that no one was bigger than 'the A.' Francoeur did concede that Acuña is probably the most talented player in the history of the franchise, but that shouldn't exclude him from being a 'good teammate.' 'Be a good teammate,' Francoeur said. 'Be a good teammate. You're making millions of dollars. You're getting to play a kid's game. Be a good teammate and pull for your team.'
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Braves broadcaster sounds off on Ronald Acuña Jr.'s social media post: 'Completely meaningless and stupid'
In case you needed an update on how the Atlanta Braves are doing these days, beyond their 9-13 start, just know that we've reached the point where one of their in-house broadcasters is publicly lecturing Ronald Acuña Jr. One of MLB's more disappointing teams so far this season saw an internal feud emerge with a single tweet over the weekend. The quick version is Braves outfielder Jarred Kelenic got thrown out after not running on what he thought was a homer, but wasn't benched for lack of hustle by Braves manager Brian Snitker. Advertisement Snitker has, however, benched Acuña for similar plays multiple times in the past. The former MVP, who has not played this season as he continues to rehab a torn ACL, responded to the manager defending Kelenic by tweeting "If it were me, they would take me out of the game." The tweet was quickly deleted, but its impact was still being felt Tuesday when team broadcaster Jeff Francoeur went off on an extended rant about the reaction from both Acuña and The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, via Awful Announcing: 'There are 26 guys in that locker room that are busting their ass every single day. Every single day,' he said on The Jeff Francoeur Show on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network. 'And they are taking crap from, let's be honest, all of us, all of national media. This team's a let down. They were the second-best pick to win the World Series and all this. And those guys are trying their butts off every single day. You finally get something going in your direction. And you got a guy who's supposed to be your teammate, tweeting, probably out in LA, something that is completely meaningless and stupid. Francoeur played six seasons for the Braves in his 12-year MLB career and has been calling games for the team since 2017, with additional postseason work for TBS. He specifically took issue with a column from Rosenthal published Monday with the headline "In calling out Brian Snitker's double standard, Ronald Acuña Jr. had a point." He called the column "the dumbest article I've ever seen" and proceeded to defend Snitker, note Acuña's history of not hustling and reveal Kelenic spent a half-hour crying in Snitker's office. Advertisement Again, via Awful Announcing: "Let's get context here first. Anything to do with racism on this, that Brian Snitker has been in baseball 50 years. I saw him weep at Hank Aaron's funeral, for God's sake. He was the most influential man in that man's life. I don't even want to hear it. 'And you want to go farther with context, Ron Acuña was warned time after time after time. After time. Let's talk, like, 10 times to run before he ever got yanked. This is the first time Jarred Kelenic has ever done it. Now, real quick, do I think Snit's answer to it was great? Probably not. Probably not. He probably also didn't expect after winning two games a row, this is what he was going to be talking about. 'And also, to give you context, Jarred Kelenic was sitting in that man's office Easter Sunday morning waiting for him for 30 minutes crying and apologizing. So there's your context on that. 'Number three, Ronald basically buried a teammate. This wouldn't have been a national story. Y'all probably wouldn't even talked about it Monday. Okay, right? Let's be honest. If he did not mention it in a tweet and bring it to the forefront. So not only that, you buried a teammate by tweeting about this." On that last point, we're just going to note that due to Francoeur's words, national outlets such as this one are now covering this matter on a Tuesday, because Francoeur is a team employee jumping into what was already an ugly situation for Atlanta, on the team's own radio network. Ronald Acuña Jr. hasn't played a game for the Braves this season. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) It's also worth noting Rosenthal himself literally wrote "Snitker vociferously defended Acuña when the Miami Marlins repeatedly drilled him in 2018." Francoeur, however, acted as if that fact were forgotten: 'And if you all want to even more context, let's go back to 2019. We all remember when the Marlins hit Ronald about 10 times. You all remember the beanball war? I didn't see many players out there sticking up for it. Who was the first guy out of the dugout about to rip up? What was that guy's name. I totally forget his name. But you all remember. Snit was the first one out there. He came onto the field, yelling at that guy to back up his player. And man, how do you forget that so quick in six years that your manager is the one out there. None of this is what the Braves needed with the team tied for last place in the NL East. They still have enough talent that the playoffs should be within their grasp, but you usually don't see stuff like this when everything is going well.
