The Atlanta Braves put together one of the most complete lineups in MLB history for 2023. By all stretches of the imagination, they were one of the most powerful offenses to ever take the field. It was viewed as one of the deepest ever.
Yet, on the most important stage, the bats are going cold. Wednesday night featured a 10-2 beatdown from the Phillies where pitching was the clearest sore spot, but a close second was the Braves' complete inability to score.
Thursday night, a win or go home game for the Braves, Kevin Pillar started for the team after coming off the bench the last two. He took the starting role in left field for Eddie Rosario, and Twitter had thoughts:
MLB Twitter roasts Brian Snitker for starting Kevin Pillar in most important game of the year
After a bad at-bat for Pillar, fans were quick to get on him for swinging behind a fastball on the slower end of the spectrum.
Other fans were clearly made aware of Pillar's continued spot in the majors for the first time on Thursday night. Pillar, 36, is in his 11th year in the majors.
This is a valid question that we'll answer later. Pillar had one of the worst offensive performances of any Brave during 2023. On the surface, it looks like a questionable choice.
While the jokes are funny and perhaps in some cases accurate or warranted, Snitker doesn't exactly have a great option at left field. In fact, I think Snitker actually made the wrong choice Wednesday night by not having Pillar in.
Eddie Rosario, who started the last two games, allowed momentum to move over to Philly's side early on in Game 3 when he took a lazy jog over to a catchable fly ball that fell in the left-center gap.
It's unclear if Snitker is actually punishing Rosario or simply trying Pillar as the better defensive option, but the truth is that the spot in the lineup has no perfect solution right now. As great as this team is, there are a few flaws, and that corner of the outfield is a clear one. Neither Rosario nor Pillar have been productive at the plate this series. It's not a great move from Snitker, but what does MLB Twitter suggest he do instead?