{"id":53578,"date":"2025-05-07T08:45:49","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T08:45:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=53578"},"modified":"2025-05-07T08:45:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T08:45:49","slug":"warning-braves-lineup-sends-crystal-clear-message-to-slumping-michael-harris-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=53578","title":{"rendered":"WARNING: Braves lineup sends crystal-clear message to slumping Michael Harris II"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Harris II keeps playing every day, but his bat is not helping the Atlanta Braves out at all.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_8640,h_4860\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/229\/01jtkj1fmv1k4nb7zqha.jpg\" alt=\"Michael Harris II, Atlanta Braves\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Things are getting better for the\u00a0Atlanta Braves, but we are all starting to wonder if and when it will turn for popular centerfielder Michael Harris II.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">The 2022 NL Rookie of the Year is on seemingly every commercial during FanDuel Sports Network telecasts. He wears cool cleats and headbands, but he is only slashing a pitiful .214\/.232\/.328 in 34 games this season. Only Jarred Kelenic has played worse.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Kelenic was recently optioned to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers. His streaky to bad bat, coupled with his laissez-faire approach to playing right field, culminated in his demotion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Manager Brian Snitker could never do that to Money Mike, right? If it does happen, Snitker will be &#8220;Sawry, Not Sawry&#8221; for having to teach the hometown hero a lesson. You have to have some approach in the batter&#8217;s box.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">If you want proof that it can happen, look at where Harris is hitting on Tuesday vs. the\u00a0Cincinnati Reds.<\/p>\n<ul id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"!list-disc ml-5 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">\n<li><strong>1. LF Alex Verdugo<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>2. 3B Austin Riley<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>3. DH Marcell Ozuna<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>4. 1B Matt Olson<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>5. 2B Ozzie Albies<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>6. C Sean Murphy<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>7. RF Eli White<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>8. CF Michael Harris II<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>9. SS Nick Allen<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>SP Chris Sale<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">It would be a shame if the Braves gave Chris Sale no support right after AJ Smith-Shawver&#8217;s gem&#8230;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"min-h-[550px]\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1919829678367392203&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Ffansided.com%2Fbraves-lineup-sends-crystal-clear-message-to-slumping-michael-harris-ii&amp;sessionId=cd8c751ef0a132ef1e658f99d6b9e03c218d6be0&amp;siteScreenName=fansided&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Sale gets the start \ud83d\udcaa#BravesCountry\u00a0pic.twitter.com\/RPUtr1P5pN<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 6, 2025<\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">With Alex Verdugo and Eli White starting to emerge, could Harris be replaced by Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr.?<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Could Michael Harris II ride pine once Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. returns to Braves?<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Look. Even I know this is not happening. I may be a Harris critic, only because he reminds me so much of Jeff Francoeur and Andrelton Simmons at the plate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">The great glove work is one thing, and so is being a likable guy, but the lights cannot be on and nobody be home whenever you step up to the plate. Acu\u00f1a is a different case, but Verdugo and White are earning the A emblazoned on their caps.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Through the Braves&#8217; first 34 games, they are 16-18 on the season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">This includes their absolutely brutal 0-7 start to the campaign. If we remove that week from hell from the equation, they have won 16 of their last 27 games. A 16-11 record, I can work with that. What I cannot work with is an arsenal of offensive weaponry that regularly short circuits and comes up empty on account of strikeouts.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">No, I do not think Snitker has the stones to bench Harris.<\/p>\n<p class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Frankly, I do not think anyone does.<\/p>\n<p class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">What is important to know is Snitker clearly values White&#8217;s, and especially Verdugo&#8217;s, plate appearances more so now than he does Harris&#8217;. I do think Harris gets to keep his job, but only because Acu\u00f1a is still working his way back from a torn ACL. He did not play in the field daily the last time this happened.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">So where do we go from here? I could see the Braves implementing a bit of an outfield platoon between the four of them in Acu\u00f1a, Harris, Verdugo and White once Acu\u00f1a returns. Acu\u00f1a and White hit right-handed, while Harris and Verdugo bat from the left side of the plate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">This affords Snitker the opportunity to mix and max. The man is not a meddler, but this season has forced him into being one.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Ultimately, Atlanta will always have a use for Harris&#8217; defense, but his bat has to improve here shortly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Harris II keeps playing every day, but his bat is not helping the Atlanta Braves out at all. Things are getting better for the\u00a0Atlanta Braves, but&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":53582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>WARNING: Braves lineup sends crystal-clear message to slumping Michael Harris II - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=53578\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WARNING: Braves lineup sends crystal-clear message to slumping Michael Harris II - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michael Harris II keeps playing every day, but his bat is not helping the Atlanta Braves out at all. 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