Well, of course, they won. What did you expect?
“It’s the greatest thing I’ve seen since David Justice hit the home run in 1995 — I feel like we just won the World Series,” Braves chairman emeritus Bill Bartholomay said.
First game. A 2-1 lead. Save situation. No Craig Kimbrel. What did you think was going to happen?
“Like that Greek tragedy — you trade Kimbrel and all of a sudden you have a one-run game and here comes (Jason) Grilli,” team executive John Hart said. “It’s like, ‘All right, let’s have some fun with this.’”
A strong performance by starter Julio Teheran. A remarkable bullpen performance. A small-ball attack that produces two runs, which for one game was enough. A lineup of relative obscurities that produces a 2-1 win over the Miami Marlins to open the season — after all of those trades, after all of that angst.
Visionaries!
Stop the season!
“Did you expect anything different?” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said, smiling.
You knew it was going to be a strange day when the game was interrupted by a 16-minute rain delay in the second inning. Marlins Park has a retractable roof. Problem: It was open.
I know — who would think that when the skies suddenly darken and the breezes kick up and the temperatures cool in south Florida that it’s going to rain, right? Question: Do they not have radar or the Weather Channel in the stadium? Because you didn’t have to be a meteorologist to know rain was coming.
The obligatory effort was made to bait Gonzalez, the former manager of the dysfunctional Marlins’ organization, into a response, but he declined: “I’m not saying anything. I’ve got enough problems.”
Yeah, well: Not in game No. 1.
The Braves scored two runs the small-ball way, free of big swinging, which has been the plan. In the first inning, Jace Peterson singled, advanced on a balk and scored on a hit by Nick Markakis. In the sixth, Eric Young Jr. lined a sinking double to center, was sacrificed to third and and beat a throw home after Markakis’ well-placed ground ball to second.
That’s all they needed. Julio Teheran pitched six strong innings, then was rescued after allowing three consecutive singles in the seventh. Luis Avilan induced a third-to-home-to-first double-play grounder from Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Jim Johnson entered to get the next Marlins’ batter on a foul pop-up, then recorded three more outs in the eighth.
Then came the ninth. There was no Kimbrel, the latest casualty in Hart’s offseason gutting, (Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Evan Gattis). Kimbrel was dealt to San Diego on the eve of the season, not because Hart was looking to get rid of one of him (yet) but because the Padres phoned and offered to take Melvin Upton Jr. and the remaining $46 million on his contract as part of the package. Deal.
Hart before Monday’s game: “This doesn’t make us better, that’s for sure. And the sheer timing of this is difficult. Not the ideal time.”
Understatement.
So instead of Kimbrel in the ninth, the Braves went to Grilli. All he did was strike out one of the game’s best players, Giancarlo Stanton, then Michael Morse, then retired Martin Prado on a liner to Peterson at second.
“I’ve always loved closing,” Grilli said. “(But) we’re all closers. Avilan was the hero of the game. He made a pitch and got a double play for us.”
For one game, they got what they needed.
They’re in first place. They’re on a pace to go 162-0. (Milk it.)
This has been a difficult offseason for Braves fans. When the dust settled and the blood-curdling screams finally stopped, this is what the team’s opening-day lineup looked like:
- They started two rookies (Peterson and catcher Christian Bethancourt).
- They had five starters who weren't in the organization last season (Peterson, Young, Markakis, Kelly Johnson, Alberto Callaspo) and one spent most of the season in the minors (Bethancourt). Freddie Freeman and Andrelton Simmons will be holding getting-to-know-you mixers.
- The lineup consisted of eight players with major league averages last season of (in order) .229, .113, .276, .288, .248, .215, .223 and .244.
Didn’t matter. The team held a pregame meeting, just to clear the air and spread the message that the team was not conceding anything, even if all transactions screamed the contrary.
“It’s a big boy’s world, and in three hours you’ve got to go play a game,” Gonzalez said.
For one game, the Braves’ world seemed a better place.
