Braves Report: My manager could beat up your manager

Hey, y’all.

After 13 games in 13 days, we’re letting beat writer Chad Bishop off the Braves Report hook this week. He’s earned a little breather.

And like Walt Weiss, we can handle ourselves just fine, thank you.

RANDOM MUSINGS, TWO WEEKS IN

That’s manager Walt Weiss’ left arm wrapped around Jorge Soler’s leg.

Did our trusted beat writer recently write his own collection of observations from the first two weeks of the Braves season?

Yes. Yes he did.

But that doesn’t preclude us from doing our own, slightly weirder version now does it?

1️⃣ Is there another manager who could beat up Walt Weiss? Sort of joking here, but the Braves’ 62-year-old leader is absolutely yoked (have you seen those traps?). He’s trained in tae kwon do and mixed martial arts. And he’s fearless too, apparently.

“I just felt like I had to get him off his feet because he’s gonna hurt somebody,” Weiss said, rather nonchalantly, after taking down 6-foot-4 Jorge Soler during Tuesday’s brawl in Anaheim.

“That was my instinct, just to get in there and get Georgie off his feet. He was on the warpath.”

Tackling an active player is one thing. But are there any obvious candidates for a proper managerial melee?

• Fellow old heads like Rob Thomson (Phillies) and Terry Francona (Reds) wouldn’t stand a chance. Not feeling Pat Murphy (Brewers, 67) either.
• The Tigers’ A.J. Hinch (51) apparently got into a bar altercation during his Houston days. He also gets toughness points for being an ex-catcher.
• The Blue Jays’ John Schneider (46, 6-foot-3, 250 pounds) might make the most physically imposing matchup. But can he scrap?

There’s also a growing crop of youngish skippers who made the managerial turn quite quickly after their playing days. And Tony Vitello, the Tennessee coach turned Giants manager, seems … edgy.

But I’m gonna stop here, because 1) this is a little dumb and 2) it’s pretty clear I’m riding with Weiss regardless.

How could you not?

“He lifts more than anybody in here,” first baseman Matt Olson said before the season. “It’s insane.”

2️⃣ Drake’s gonna rake. What more is there to say? The reigning NL Rookie of the Year is on pace for ... checks notes ... 62 dingers and 187 RBIs.

And that’s without Ronald Acuña Jr. getting on in front of him particularly often (he’ll be fine).

3️⃣ We got this guy for Nick Allen? Seriously, Mauricio Dubón is a ballplayer. He leads the team in average (.333) and his nine RBIs trail only the Marvelous Mr. Baldwin. Defensively, only six other players have accrued more “outs above average” than he has.

Dubón can play pretty much everywhere and the team will presumably want to keep that flexibility in play … but it’s also possible Ha-Seong Kim finds the starting shortstop spot spoken for by the time he’s healthy.

4️⃣ Psssht, what pitching worries? I’m gonna borrow directly from Chad’s recent story here.

• “Braves starters have thrown 71 innings and compiled a 2.29 ERA, the fourth-best in baseball and second only to the Cubs in the National League.”
• “The Braves’ pen has only allowed four total earned runs — the Rangers are the next-closest team in MLB, having given up eight.”

Whatever you’re doing to keep the good juju flowing, don’t stop.

5️⃣ BravesVision is A-OK: This whole “run your own TV operation” thing seems to be going pretty well, no? The theme song is a nostalgic delight. The picture is clearer. The broadcast crew hasn’t changed.

The BravesVision folks tweeted about “issues impacting the feed” during Sunday’s game, but lags are gonna happen here and there. Besides that and my TV routinely trying to take me to Braves.TV (which I don’t have) instead of the BravesVision channel, not many functionality complaints to speak of.

Also: A girl I went to high school with (hi, Jade!) is in that Valvoline commercial that plays just about every break. So that’s cool.

6️⃣ The vibes are immaculate. This time last season, the Braves were 3-9. Isn’t 8-5 a lot more fun?

Columnist Michael Cunningham thinks so.

“The hitting, the pitching, everything has been really, really good,” pitcher Grant Holmes told him. “Thirteen (games in a row) out of the gate is pretty crazy. To do what we did is pretty special.”

LOOKING GOOD, FELLAS

Braves All-Star Ronald Acuña Jr. models the new City Connect 2.0 jerseys, which are a throwback to the ’80s and ’90s teams.

The Braves’ new “City Connect” jerseys make their on-field debut Friday night. They’ll wear them throughout the weekend, then on Saturday home games for the rest of the season.

The AJC’s Gabe Burns recently caught up with Braves senior creative director Insung Kim to talk about the yearslong process.

“Once we got this concept of talking about the Braves being America’s team, about having a generation of fans — the TBS generation, as we call them — that was the idea that really stood out,” Kim said. “We all agreed that’s the concept. That’s a really good idea.”

Indeed. And I dig the execution, too (even if the $200 purchase price seems … a tad excessive).

📬 But what do y’all think? Shoot me an email or weigh in via the official Braves Report mailbag.

A RETURN TO TRUIST

Guardians and Marlins on tap for the homestand.

BRAVES VS. GUARDIANS

⌚ Game times: Friday and Saturday’s games against visiting Cleveland both start at 7:15 p.m. on BravesVision.

Sunday’s series finale is at 7:20 p.m. on NBC.

🤔 What to know: The Guardians are 8-5 and, thus far, led offensively by rookie outfielder Chase DeLauter — who’s tied for the MLB lead with five home runs while batting north of .300.

The Braves figure to miss Cleveland ace Gavin Williams, but the Guardians staff as a whole leads the league in strikeouts. Saturday’s scheduled starter, Parker Messick, has surrendered just one run over two starts this season.

• Bryce Elder, Martín Pérez and Chris Sale — who got roughed up last time out — are lined up to pitch for Atlanta.

🆓 Free stuff: The first 15,000 fans through the Truist Park gates get a replica Dale Murphy jersey. On Sunday, the first 3,000 kids get a Braves bucket hat stylized like that dripping ice cream brand they’re all wearing these days.

🐟 Meanwhile, in Gwinnett: Catcher Sean Murphy is slated to start a rehab assignment with the Triple-A Stripers on Friday. First pitch: 7:05 p.m.

BRAVES VS. MARLINS

⌚ Game times: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday’s games all air at 7:15 p.m. on BravesVision. Tuesday’s game is also simulcast on your local GrayTV station.

🤔 What to know: The Marlins and their school of youngsters have breached the top 10 in most offensive categories en route to matching the Braves’ 8-5 start.

Former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara appears back to his old self, but good news: The Braves figure to miss him, too.

• Atlanta won eight of its 13 games against the Marlins in 2025. It scored at least seven runs in every victory.