The Atlanta Braves Win the NLDS over the Milwaukee Brewers

https://tomahawktake.com/

by Trent Dickeson,   Oct 13, 2021

The Atlanta Braves defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 and advance to the NLCS for the second straight season.

The Atlanta Braves elected to start Charlie Morton on short rest for game 4. Morton gave the Braves a solid 3.1 innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 5.

Maybe Morton went an inning too long, but regardless, he gave the Braves a solid start in a pivotal game. Morton on short rest is better than most options, and there was always Max Fried on regular rest in game 5 if necessary.

Jesse Chavez came in for Morton after the starter yielded one run, though one of his inherited runners scored to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom half of the 4th inning, the Braves tied up the game thanks to a pinch-hit two-run single from Eddie Rosario to score Austin Riley and Travis d’Arnaud.

The 5th inning was just as eventful, as Huascar Ynoa allowed a two-run home run to Rowdy Tellez to push the Brewers lead back to two. However, a Joc Pederson RBI fielder’s choice and d’Arnaud RBI single tied the game up again at four apiece.

The Braves bullpen slammed the door on the Brewers at this point. A.J. Minter, Luke Jackson, and Tyler Matzek combined for 3 perfect innings with 5 total strikeouts.  One could feel the momentum shift thanks to these efforts.

But the game was still tied.

The Face that Runs the Place Comes Through

The Brewers elected to go to their lockdown closer Josh Hader in the 8th inning in an effort to shut down the Braves offense.

On the season, Hader had a 1.23 ERA, 2.18 xERA, 1.69 FIP, 2.35 xFIP, and a 2.6 fWAR. He struck out 45.5% of the batters he faced during the year… including his first 2 hitters tonight.

What he hadn’t done this season was execute a multi-inning save.  In 60 regular season appearances, he had never even been called upon for even a 4-out save… much less 6 outs.

Nonetheless, Hader has a strong case to win NL Reliever of the Year and manager Craig Counsell had every reason to be confident in his guy to shut down the Braves offense.

There was only one problem: Freddie Freeman.

It only took one pitch.  Freeman gave the Braves a 5-4 lead with his 8th inning Home Run off of Hader… who still has not pitched a multi-inning save.

Freeman did what superstars do. He pulled through in the clutch when it was needed most, something he has done time and time again for the Braves.

Will Smith then entered in the 9th with a chance to save the game and send his club to the NLCS.

After a leadoff single from Eduardo Escobar, and a pop-out bunt attempt from Kolton Wong, Willy Adames and Christian Yelich both struck out to end the game.

The Atlanta Braves are back in the National League Championship Series and will face either the Dodgers or Giants.

In a season where the team did not get over .500 until game 109 on August 5th, they will now play for a shot to get to the World Series. What a year, what a team.

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate

REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964

West Villages Realty LLC

19503 S West Villages Pkwy

Stes A2 (by Appt)

Venice, Florida 34293

Office: 941-460-3179

Braves: Ronald Acuna Jr. Comes out on Fire in Spring Training

 https://tomahawktake.com/2021/03/02/braves-ronald-acuna-jr-comes-fire-spring-training/

by Jake Mastroianni  March 3, 2021

Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. got his first action of Spring Training on Monday and gave us a taste of what we can expect in 2021. 

You could see this coming from a mile away if you’ve been paying attention all offseason. I’ve been trying to warn the rest of the league, but Ronald Acuna Jr. is about to go off for the Atlanta Braves.

And this isn’t an overreaction to one Spring Training game where he went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. This is something he’s been building towards all offseason.

If you follow Acuna Jr. on Instagram (I created an account just to do so), then you’ve seen the workout videos and how motivated he’s remained.

He sees the Fernando Tatis Jr. contract and everyone saying that Tatis and Juan Soto are the best young superstars in the game. And while it’s certainly not a competition in the clubhouse, but he watched his teammate Freddie Freeman win the NL MVP last year and knows it’s his turn.

Ronnie wants to be the best, you can see that fire in him, and now he knows what it takes to be the best.

And I’m not just talking about the best young player in the sport, but the best player in all of baseball — that’s what Ronnie is shooting for in 2021.

Again, we’re not overthinking one game, but he showed that fire on Monday.

In Ronnie’s first at-bat he laced a ball off the wall in the left. A ball hit so hard that he was almost thrown out at second — and probably should have been with a good throw and tag.

And then Ron Washington gave him the windmill coming around third to score on a close play at the plate. The left fielder — J.D. Martinez, who doesn’t have the best arm — had the ball before Acuna was even to third base.

The play at the plate still wasn’t all that close.

You could just see the aggressiveness that Acuna wants to play with and how hungry he is to succeed — and help his team succeed.

In his next at-bat, he was on every pitch and just kept fouling them off before finally grounding out to third, and the throw only got him by a step as he hustled down the line.

I know, it’s one Spring Training game, but I really love what I saw from Ronnie and hope more than anything that we get that from him over 162 games this season.

If we do, the Braves will have another NL MVP winner.

Other Notes from the Braves Second Spring Training Game:

– Cristian Pache had one of the more impressive swings of the game, squaring up a baseball to the right-center gap. The right-fielder robbed him of a home run over the short wall out there, but it was a really pretty swing.

– Huascar Ynoa and Touki Toussaint were about the same as they’ve always been for me. Great stuff, but can they control it consistently. They combined for 8 strikeouts — most coming on breaking balls, which hitters aren’t ready for this time of year — but they both also walked two batters each. I need to see more improvement from them if they want to be starters.

– Just going off of looks, Jake Lamb looks like a dude. He had a solid hit his first time up, and being a lefty, I’m starting to really like his chances to make the Opening Day roster. He’ll be a solid lefty off the bench and could even work his way into a platoon role with Austin Riley (if Riley struggles).

– I really love what I saw from William Contreras at the plate. He’s the best choice for the back-up job, but they may choose to send him to Triple-A so that he gets everyday at-bats. One thing that kept bothering me though is balls kept popping out of his mitt — very reminiscent of Tyler Flowers. Not sure if that happens with him a lot or if he’s breaking in a new glove, but hopefully that doesn’t become a thing.

The Atlanta Braves will be back in action on Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins with Ian Anderson making his Spring debut. It was announced that Drew Smyly will pitch on Wednesday and Bryse Wilson on Thursday. Freddie Freeman will also make his debut on Friday.

 

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate

REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964

West Villages Realty LLC

19503 S West Villages Pkwy

Stes A2 (by Appt)

Venice, Florida 34293

Office: 941-460-3179

PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE

 https://www.wellenparkjournal.com/articles   February 17, 2021

BY ROBIN F. DEMATTIA,  Wellen Park Journal Correspondent

“Twenty-six heritage oak trees, including the one above, are being relocated to areas of Downtown Wellen Park.”

Future Downtown Wellen will feel well established thanks to an investment by developer Wellen Park, LLLP.

“The developer is making the investment to relocate 26 heritage trees along the boulevard entrance and throughout the mixed-use development to give Downtown Wellen a sense of maturity.”

“This was the right thing to do both from a conservation point of view as well as creating a sense of place,” says Christine Masney, vice president of marketing for Wellen Park. “These trees are beautiful and worth saving, plus they will allow us to create a truly special environment at the entrance to Downtown Wellen and throughout the mixed-use project.”

The 26 live oak trees vary in size from 14 inches in diameter to one with a trunk that is 96 inches. Some of the younger trees are about 15 years old, and one is close to 90. Most are 60 to 80 years old.

They are growing on the old Taylor Ranch property, which means they need to be moved anywhere from a quarter-mile to almost a mile.

Most of the trees in the relocation program are 60-80 years old, and one is close to 90. STEVE LINEBERRY / WELLEN PARK JOURNAL

Eleven will be showcased at the Wellen Park entrance from U.S. 41 and along Preto Boulevard. The others will bring shade and provide color around the stores, restaurants and businesses around Downtown Wellen.

The project, which Ms. Masney calls “a labor of love,” cost $1 million, which was paid for solely by the developer.

Almost two years ago, Wellen Park engaged the services of Environmental Design, a national leader in tree transplantation, and Kimley- Horn, a nationwide planning, engineering and design firm, to help select the trees.

“It was determined by the team that a major investment in the relocation of mature oaks and trees into the new downtown was something that would really help set Downtown Wellen apart from other new master-planned communities by utilizing the existing vegetation and natural resources on the property,” says Chris Cianfaglione, a landscape architect with Kimley-Horn. “The design of the downtown is organized around those relocated trees as the predominant feature. Every important space is anchored by the relocated trees.”

Wellen Park is bearing the entire cost of about $1 million for moving the trees to their new homes. 

Once the trees were identified, preparation for their eventual move began.

Staff from Environmental Design dug a trench around each tree, pruned each tree’s root ball to encourage new root growth and then backfilled the trench. The staff have monitored and watered the trees daily to ensure a successful transfer. “Oak trees can live for hundreds of years,” says Paul Cox, a certified arborist and eastern division vice president for Environmental Design. “Root pruning has a rejuvenating effect on older trees, giving them additional lifespan. The trees will be there way after all of us and our grandchildren aren’t.”

Environmental Design has a patented process for the actual relocation process.

Each root ball will be wrapped with burlap and wire fencing to make it stable. Pipes will be pushed under the root ball in a grid-like fashion, and those platforms will be tied together with proprietary hardware.  

The company’s ArborLift system uses a series of inflated pneumaticbladders with extremely low ground-bearing pressure that roll around each other for minimal disturbance to the trees.

“The beauty of this method,” Mr. Cox says, “is that in the past, you had to use gigantic and expensive cranes. It was labor intensive and dangerous to the people involved. This method takes root ball deflection out of the equation, is low to the ground, safer and more cost efficient.”

It’s a slow process, rolling about 100 feet per hour. It takes 10 hours to move 1,000 feet.

Mr. Cox expects to start moving Wellen Park’s trees in March. The effort should take up to 16 weeks.

Wellen Park residents will be able to see photos and a time-lapse video of the tree relocation at http://www.wellenpark.com and on social media @WellenParkFL.

Mr. Cox says Environmental Design has a 98% success rate in moving trees. His firm will conduct post-transplant maintenance for a year, paying particular attention to soil moisture management.

“Because of the soil condition and forgiving nature of the environment, I suspect that once the irrigation is fine-tuned, we will be on autopilot with oversight,” he says.

The relocated trees will do more than provide beauty and shade for Wellen Park residents.

Mr. Cianfaglione says the mature trees will minimize runoff of rainwater and remove thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide from the air annually.

The trees are part the sustainability strategy that Wellen Park is creating around the grand lake, which serves as a stormwater basin and focal point for the downtown.

“We trying to create a more urban setting and be more efficient in the use of the land,” Mr. Cianfaglione says.

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate

REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964

West Villages Realty LLC

19503 S West Villages Pkwy

Stes A2 (by Appt)

Venice, Florida 34293

Office: 941-460-3179