We Hate the Braves and Cole Hamels 2020

[G-Fafif]

Nick Markakis has opted out.

[Edgy MD]

I'm curious what name the Braves might change their name to so that I may hate them.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I would suggest the Georgia Peaches, but that would look like it was honoring Ty Cobb.

[Edgy MD]

I HATE the Georgia Peaches.

Gosh, that was easy.

[Edgy MD]

Twenty-Five Suggestions

The Atlanta Aarons
The Atlanta Astronauts
The Atlanta Avengers
The Atlanta Bottlers
The Atlanta Broadcasters

The Atlanta Chickasaws
The Atlanta Peachtrees
The Atlanta Phoenix
The Atlanta Racers
The Atlanta Rhythm Section

The Atlanta Thrashers
The Chickasaw Mudd Puppies
The Georgia Cobblers
The Georgia Cottonmouths
The Georgia Cottonwoods

The Georgia Dogwoods
The Georgia Figs
The Georgia Gemstones
The Georgia Hammers
The Georgia Peanuts

The Georgia Pilots
The Georgia Pines
The Georgia Planters
The Georgia Satellites
The Wakanda Kings

[batmagadanleadoff]

I don't like when the team takes the name of the state instead of the city.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I looked to see what Atlanta's Negro League team was called, thinking that it might be a good idea for a name. I found that it was the "Atlanta Black Crackers".

THAT won't work!

[G-Fafif]

The Atlanta Deserters.

The Cobb County White Flight.

[MFS62]

The Atlanta Varsity, to pay homage to a restaurant catering to sports fans that has become a city landmark. I ate there before a game at the Ted. It is across the highway from Georgia Tech.
https://www.thevarsity.com/locations/de ... ty_Atlanta
Some of the best onion rings and chili dogs I ever ate.
Later

[Frayed Knot]

I don't like when the team takes the name of the state instead of the city.

That tends to happen when 'satellite' cities of where the team will actually play threaten to not promote the team if it only pays tribute to the main city.
So the Twins are Minnesota so that neither Minneapolis nor St Paul gets upset. And the DBacks become Arizona so that Scottsdale and Mesa and Tempe
don't feel left out. Not insulting St Petersburg is why all the Tampa teams go with Tampa Bay. And in the case of the Florida Marlins, they grabbed the
state name so as to tweak Tampa that they were the ones who got Florida's first team.

What's worse really is when teams use the name of the city they don't actually play in. Neither the Jets or Giants are in New York (city or the state) and if they want to argue that that's where they
used to be well I'd counter by saying that you left and therefore don't get the right to use the name anymore. The Braves aren't in Atlanta, the Redskins not in DC, the Cowboys not in Dallas,
and for years the Lions were some 30 miles outside of Detroit. At least the Patriots had the honesty to rename themselves New England when the moved like an hour and a half out of Boston.

Then there are the ones named for neither a city nor state: All the Tampa Bays as mentioned; the Golden State Warriors; the Carolina Panthers (which Carolina? ... why both of course); the
aforementioned NEPs; even the Brooklyn Nets.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I don't like using state names instead of city names either. The Diamondbacks and Rockies should have been the Phoenix Firebirds and the Denver Bears. I like the idea of minor-league names getting promoted to big-league names, as with the San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, and Los Angeles Angels. (In 1969, the Montreal club should have been named the Royals.) If abnormally tall people ever get offended by the name of San Francisco's baseball team, I would hope that the new name would be the Seals. I was disappointed that Atlanta's former minor league (and Negro League) names are nonviable.

[Edgy MD]

Donn Clendenon's stepdad Nish Williams was a Black Cracker.

[G-Fafif]

Nick Markakis opts back in. Apparently you can do that (from the Athletic).

Markakis went through an appeal process and was reinstated by Major League Baseball three weeks after his July 6 announcement that he wasn’t going to play.

It was reported at the time that any player not classified as “high risk” to severe COVID-19 complications would be ineligible to play all season upon opting out and being placed on the restricted list. But MLB rules include a process for players returning from the restricted list, and that still held, provided a player applied for reinstatement before Aug. 1.

Markakis made his original opt-out decision a few days into the Braves’ summer camp, citing several factors including teammate Freddie Freeman’s bout with COVID-19 at that time, fans being prohibited from attending games and a desire to be with his wife and three sons rather than trying to play baseball within protocols and restrictions that would disrupt the daily routine and regimen that he needed to prepare for games.

Since he’s on a one-year contract, it wasn’t known if he’d ever play again, although Markakis indicated at the time he didn’t plan to retire. The desire to keep playing in the future was still there, and at some point after making his opt-out decision, Markakis determined he wanted to be on the field again.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I didn't realize that there were any restrictions on who could opt in and when.

I've seen speculation that there are some players who may opt out in the first few weeks once they meet certain service-time milestones.

[Frayed Knot]

Nick Markakis opts back in. Apparently you can do that

Apparently he decided he wants to spend less time with his family.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I've decided what name the Braves should choose when they're eventually forced to rebrand themselves.

I had been looking for a name that tied into the history of baseball in Atlanta, but all I could find was the Atlanta Crackers, and that won't do. But the answer lies in the franchise's history in Boston. Before they were the Braves, they were the Boston Bees. So I humbly suggest that they become the Atlanta Bees.

[Frayed Knot]

To the Braves' credit they've actually been working/talking to native tribes in their area about the name and all assorted connections to it. I'm not sure what specifically is/has come out of those talks,
but it's a lot better than burying your head in the sand and pretending that the name has no influence outside the game and is no one's business but your own (Daniel Snyder).

[Edgy MD]

How about this guy wearing Travis d'Arnaud's uniform?

[G-Fafif]

Los Bravos have signed recently expunged Giant legend Pablo Sandoval to a minor league contract.