This is, simply, not acceptable. You cannot fail to call one player out for a fresh mistake over which you called another, however far back, and then say you didn't see the fresh mistake until the morning after when the earlier one compelled you to remove that earlier player.
Especially if that earlier player has a long, retentive memory.
That was six years ago, almost: Ronald Acuña, Jr., Braves superstar in the making, left the batter's box a little too slowly on a long drive that proved not quite long enough to fly out. Acuña cost himself a possible double on the slow exit and settled for a single. His manager, Brian Snitker, waited an inning, then lifted Acuña.
The Braves hung in to win that game against the Dodgers, 5-3. And Snitker was asked postgame about the Acuña removal.
"He didn't run. You've got to run. It's not going to be acceptable here," Snitker replied. "As a teammate, you're responsible for 24 other guys. That name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back of that jersey. You can't do that. We're trying to accomplish something and do something special here, and personal things have got to be put on the back burner. You just can't let your team down like that."
This was Saturday night, against the Twins in Atlanta. Jarred Kelenic, the Braves' right fielder, got himself thrown out at second base on a long drive that didn't have home run carry but was long enough for him to have pulled in with a certain double — except that he, too, didn't exactly hustle it out of the batter's box. Which enabled the Twins' Trevor Larnach to throw him out at second base.
Acuña isn't back in the Braves lineup just yet, as his rehab from last year's torn ACL, but there was nothing wrong with his eyes, and he saw precisely the baserunning failure for which Snitker called him out after lifting him from that almost six-year-old game. It was what he didn't see that steamed him a bit: he didn't see Snitker calling or swapping out Kelenic after the mistake.
MLB.com reporter Mark Bowman asked in an Xtwitter post whether Snitker commented about Kelenic. He posted further that, this time, Snitker "protected Kelenic by replying: 'Was I supposed to' when asked if he had said anything" to the outfielder. That prodded Acuña, in turn, to reply to Bowman, "If it were me, they would take me out of the game."
Acuña's reply came down within an hour. But something didn't pass the proverbial smell test when Snitker all but pleaded ignorance after the Braves beat the Twins, 6-2.
"I don't do social media, number one," the manager said, "and I heard about it as I was walking to the dugout. I heard something was up and then I came in and they said it was down. I haven't talked with him, so I don't know . . . there's no blanket thing doing that. Quite honestly, you want to know the truth? I wasn't watching that [Kelenic] play. I know he got thrown out at second and I didn't see it until this morning, and I talked to him about it."
He wasn't watching the Kelenic play? It's entirely fair to ask a major league manager in this circumstance just what he was watching.
Nobody says Snitker ought to become a social media butterfly, but he's supposed to be watching the game he's managing. And when he doesn't see a baserunning mistake by one player for which he called another, far more visible player out previously and immediately, he needs to be held accountable. Fairness to both Acuña and Kelenic demands it. So does fairness to the entire team.
This time, it was a baserunning mistake Snitker's failure to see, never mind discipline on the spot, makes him look a shade or three on the hypocritical side at minimum. Next time? Snitker might want to ask a former Nationals manager what can happen when you aren't watching when far worse than a baserunning mistake happens.
Remember Matt Williams? Remember relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon trying to choke eventual 2015 National League MVP Bryce Harper, over Harper's frustration-soaked, ninth-inning lope up the first base line, after hitting a side-retiring pop fly out to the infield? On the day after the Nats were eliminated from a race the preseason crystal ballers had them winning big? Near the end of a season about which then-Nats team leader Jayson Werth could and did ask the communication-challenged Williams, far before their mathematical disappearance, "Just when do you think you lost this team?"
"Williams said he had no idea of the extent of the skirmish until much later in the day," ESPN said after Williams faced the firing squad. "Even though he was in the dugout at the time, Williams said he hadn't been aware of exactly what happened, including that Papelbon grabbed Harper by the throat. None of his players or coaches told him about it right away, and he said he hadn't asked to know more."
Entering Sunday's play, the Braves were at the bottom of the National League West. Lucky for them they still have five months to regroup. But Braves fans are right if they wonder whether their manager, admitting to taking his eye off the road for even a moment or two, also has even one double standard when it comes to team hustle and discipline. So are the Braves themselves.
Especially for suspending Acuña three games to be served when he returns. "Despite Acuña deleting his tweet," said the team statement announcing the suspension, "the Braves are holding firm on his suspension . . . hoping that it teaches him a lesson about respecting his teammates and coach."
"If there's one thing I've consistently tried to teach the guys," said Snitker about the suspension, "it's that we keep things like this in the clubhouse, not on social media. I've told Acuña if you want to be in this league as long as I have, you've got to be consistent." Apparently, consistency is for the players, but not the manager.
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