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The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com SPORTS 2B Friday, February 21,2020 MLS Atlanta United seeks to add to scoring depth ATLANTA BRAVES Built from the ground up ALEX BRANDON I The Associated Press Former commissioner Bud Selig, seated, watches as Atlanta Braves president John Schuerholz is acknowledged during a media availability at Major League Baseball’s winter meetings in 2016 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Championship team in 1995 came up in its farm system Atlanta Journal Constitution Josef Martinez scores a lot of goals for Atlanta United. A lot. One already this season in Tuesday’s Champions League opener. Twenty- seven in MLS last season. Thirty-one the season before. Nineteen in his first with the club. But a concern is that if Martinez didn’t score last season, the team likely wasn’t going to get all three points. In games in which Martinez appeared but didn’t score, Atlanta United went 5-3-1, and it went 1-3-1 when he didn’t appear. Only one team in MLS was more dependent on one player to score than Atlanta United was on Martinez last season. Martinez scored 46.5 percent of the team’s 58 goals. Only Zlatan Ibra- himovic’s 30 out of 58, 51.7 percent, with the Galaxy was more. “It’s key that you don’t put all the pressure on Josef,” Atlanta United manager Frank de Boer said. “He’s thinking if I’m not scoring, we will never score. We have to have players who can also contribute to win games. (Ezequiel) Barco will be one of those. Pity (Martinez) will also be one of those players.” Pity Martinez is in his second season with the club and, through five games in the preseason and one Champions League game, looks more comfortable than last season. He pro vided the assist on Josef Martinez’s goals in the draw with Motagua. He also put two shots on goal. He scored three goals during the pre season. He scored five in 32 appearances in league games last season. Barco, in his third season with the club, is due. Injuries and absences for call-ups to the national team have resulted in him appearing in 41 of a possible 68 league games. He scored two goals in the preseason after scor ing four last season. “He’s older, mature,” de Boer said. “He has to under- Transactions FOOTBALL National Football League CLEVALAND BROWNS — Named Jeremy Garret assistant defensive line coach; Brandon Lynch assistant defensive backs coach. MIAMI DOLPHINS — Hired Gerald Alexander as defensive backs coach, Anthony Campanile as linebackers coach and Lemuel Jeanpierre as assistant offensive line coach. Promoted Karl Dorrell to assistant head coach/wide receivers and Josh Grizzard to assistant wide receivers coach. Rob Leonard will serve as assistant defensive line coach. MINNESOTA VIKINGS —Named Roy Anderson assistant defensive backs coach and Imarjaye Albury as defensive quality control/assistant defensive line coach. Basketball/college Men’s Top 25 Saturday’s Games No. 1 Baylor vs. No. 3 Kansas, Noon No. 2 Gonzaga at No. 23 BYU, 10 p.m. No. 4 San Diego State vs. UNLV, 7:30 p.m. No. 5 Dayton vs. Duquesne, 2 p.m. No. 6 Duke vs. Virginia Tech, 4 p.m. No. 8 Florida State at N.C. State, 4 p.m. No. 10 Kentucky vs. Florida, 6 p.m. No. 11 Louisville vs. North Carolina, 4 p.m. No. 12 Villanova at Xavier, 2:30 p.m. No. 13 Auburn vs. Tennessee, Noon No. 14 Oregon at No. 24 Arizona, 10 p.m. No. 17 West Virginia atTCU, 2 p.m. No. 18 Colorado vs. UCLA, 4 p.m. No. 19 Marquette at Providence, Noon No. 22 Houston at Memphis, 2 p.m. Sunday’s Games No. 7 Maryland at No. 25 Ohio State, 4 p.m. No. 9 Penn State at Indiana, Noon No. 15 Creighton vs. No. 21 Butler, 4 p.m. No. 16 Seton Hall vs. St. John’s, 2 p.m. Men’s scores EAST Binghamton 86, Mass.-Lowell 84 Delaware 70, Northeastern 48 Hofstra 81, Drexel 74 NJIT 78, Stetson 69 New Hampshire 67, Hartford 63,0T UMBC 69, Albany (NY) 50 Vermont 63, Stony Brook 54 William & Mary 61, Towson 51 SOUTH Belmont 80, Morehead St. 67 Campbell 66, Charleston Southern 51 Coastal Carolina 90, Troy 60 E. Kentucky 83, Tennessee St. 62 Elon 70, James Madison 62 Hampton 87, Gardner-Webb 77 High Point 82, Presbyterian 70 Liberty 82, North Florida 77 Lipscomb 68, Jacksonville 67 Longwood 68, SC-Upstate 58 North Alabama 65, Kennesaw St. 46 South Alabama 78, Appalachian St. 70 stand he contributes in the system assists and goals. When he’s healthy, he will.” The three players com bined well with passes in the preseason. Against Bir mingham, Pity Martinez took a pass from Brooks Lennon on the right and dribbled toward the middle. Josef Martinez made sure to stay toward the middle to hold two defenders. Barco stayed wide on the left. Pity Martinez found Barco, who took the pass, beat his man one-on-one and then slotted a shot with his right foot into the lower right corner. Though Josef Martinez didn’t touch the ball, his presence helped make it possible for Pity Martinez and Barco to combine to give the team a 1-0 lead. It was a pretty play, smartly executed. “I don’t play by myself,” Josef Martinez said. “The last three years I depend on the people around me. If I receive a pass, I try to score. This is a sport for 11 play ers, not just one. If you want to win, you want a team. If you want goals, you need the assists.” De Boer points that out if Barco and Pity Martinez continue to combine like that, it will create space for Josef Martinez. And he usu ally doesn’t need a whole lot of space. UNITED LEARNED HOW TO PERSEVERE IN 2019: Both these things are true. Atlanta United slipped last season; Atlanta United nearly won another MLS Cup last season. Atlanta United managed 58 points in 2019, down 11 from the previous season, only three above the yield in 2017, the inaugural year. It scored 58 goals in 2019, down 12 from the 70 in each of its first two seasons. Its goal differential was 15, the lowest by some distance in its existence. It was a good team, yes, but not nearly as dynamic. That said... If not for a saved Josef Martinez penalty in the 11th minute of the Eastern Conference final against Toronto, Atlanta United would surely have played Golf/PGA Thursday’s scores Chapultepec Golf Course Mexico City, Mexico Purse: $10.5 million Yardage:7,345; par 71 (35-36) First Round Rory Mcllroy 32-33—68 -6 Bubba Watson 33-34—67 -4 Justin Thomas 33-34—67 -4 Louis Oosthuizen 35-33—68 -3 Billy Horschel 34-34—68 -3 Corey Conners 33-35—68 -3 Bryson DeChambeau 33-35—68 -3 Tyrrell Hatton 33-36—68 -2 Paul Casey 32-37—68 -2 Patrick Reed 35-34—68 -2 Sungjae Im 32-37—68 -2 Lee Westwood 34-35—68 -2 Hideki Matsuyama 34-35—68 -2 Abraham Ancer 35-35—70 -1 Tommy Fleetwood 33-37—70 -1 Gary Woodland 37-33—70 -1 Bernd Wiesberger 34-36—70 -1 Erik van Rooyen 31-39—70 -1 Lucas Glover 33-38—71 E Rata Cabrera Bello 36-35—71 E Pablo Larrazabal 35-36—71 E Branden Grace 34-37—71 E Chez Reavie 34-37—71 E Zach Murray 34-37—71 E Justin Harding 36-35—71 E Kevin Na 35-36—71 E Sebastian Munoz 36-35—71 E Matthias Schwab 35-36—71 E Scott Hend 37-35—72 +1 Ryan Fox 35-37—72 +1 Xander Schauffele 36-36—72 +1 Brendon Todd 35-37—72 +1 Francesco Molinari 36-36—72 +1 Lanto Griffin 35-37—72 +1 Christiaan Bezuidenhout 36-36—72 +1 Collin Morikawa 36-36—72 +1 Matthew Fitzpatrick 39-33—72 +1 Webb Simpson 36-36—72 +1 Jon Rahm 38-34—72 +1 Shane Lowry 36-36—72 +1 Jazz Janewattananond 37-36—73 +2 Cameron Smith 39-34—73 +2 Kevin Kisner 35-38—73 +2 Benjamin Hebert 36-37—73 +2 Scottie Scheffler 36-37—73 +2 Danny Willett 37-36—73 +2 Jason Kokrak 37-36—73 +2 Zander Lombard 35-38—73 +2 Matt Wallace 37-37—74 +3 Sergio Garcia 36-38—74 +3 Marc Leishman 36-38—74 +3 Adam Scott 34-40—74 +3 Jordan Spieth 38-36—74 +3 Shugo Imahira 36-38—74 +3 Byeong Hun An 37-38—75 +4 Shaun Norris 35-40—75 +4 Matt Kuchar 38-37—75 +4 Marcus Kinhult 36-39—75 +4 Lucas Herbert 38-37—75 +4 Charles Howell III 38-37—75 +4 Carlos Ortiz 40-35—75 +4 for a second consecutive MLS Cup and done it at Mer cedes-Benz Stadium, site of its triumph on Dec. 8, 2018. Had Martinez given his team a 2-0 lead, that would have been that. Atlanta United dominated the game anyway -- it had 59 percent of possession and outshot its visitor 19-4 -- but it lost. That happens in soccer. Also: Had the Eastern final been a two-leg affair, as it was the year before, Atlanta United might well have advanced despite los ing the first match. But all rounds of the MLS Cup were knockout affairs last season, so no joy there. Then again, the top two seeds -- LAFC and New York City -- had been eliminated in the con ference semis. That hap pens, too. The path to a second consecutive title closed as abruptly as it had opened. Even so, we can’t say that Atlanta United 2019 ever looked like the class of MLS. It won two of its first eight matches in all competitions; one of those victories was a 1-0 decision in the second leg of a CONCACAF Cham pions League tie against Monterrey that it trailed 3-0. The MLS Cup holder opened league play on March 3; it didn’t win an MLS game until April 13. Much of this was inevita ble. Tata Martino, the coach who did more to shape an expansion franchise than anyone else, left to guide the Mexican national team. Miguel Almiron, at worst the second-best player in the club’s brief history, bolted for Newcastle of the Pre mier League. These men were replaced by Frank de Boer, who was fired after ridiculously brief tenures at Inter Milan and Crystal Pal ace, and Gonzalo Martinez, nicknamed Pity, the South American footballer of the year for Argentina’s River Plate. Barely a month in, Atlanta United supporters were posting #deBoerOut on social media. By midsea son, Atlanta United players were lining up to express reservations. Dustin Johnson 37-39—76 +5 Graeme McDowell 41-35- -76 +5 Kurt Kitayama 35-41- -76 +5 Robert MacIntyre 40-36—76 +5 Michael Lorenzo-Vera 37-39—76 +5 Brandt Snedeker 36-40—76 +5 Sung Kang 38-38—76 +5 Jorge Campillo 35-42- -77 +6 Ryo Ishikawa 43-37- -80 +9 Tae Hee Lee 43-37- -80 +9 Victor Perez 42-39—81 +10 Basketball/NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pet GB Toronto 40 15 .727 — Boston 38 16 .704 V/2 Philadelphia 34 21 .618 6 Brooklyn 25 28 .472 14 New York 17 38 .309 23 Southeast Division W L Pet GB Miami 35 19 .648 — Orlando 24 31 .436 11% Washington 20 33 .377 14 1 /z Charlotte 18 36 .333 17 Atlanta 15 41 .268 21 Central Division W L Pet GB Milwaukee 47 8 .855 — Indiana 32 23 .582 15 Chicago 19 36 .345 28 Detroit 19 39 .328 29 1 /z Cleveland 14 40 .259 32 1 / z WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pet GB Houston 34 20 .630 — Dallas 33 22 .600 1 1 / 2 Memphis 28 26 .519 6 San Antonio 23 31 .426 11 New Orleans 23 32 .418 11 1 / 2 Northwest Division W L Pet GB Denver 38 17 .691 — Utah 36 18 .667 1 1 / 2 Oklahoma City 33 22 .600 5 Portland 25 31 .446 13 1 / 2 Minnesota 16 37 .302 21 Pacific Division W L Pet GB L.A. Lakers 41 12 .774 — L.A. Clippers 37 18 .673 5 Phoenix 22 33 .400 20 Sacramento 21 33 .389 20 1 / 2 Golden State 12 43 .218 30 Thursday’s Games Milwaukee 126, Detroit 106 Miami at Atlanta, late Brooklyn at Philadelphia, late Charlotte at Chicago, late Memphis at Sacramento, late Houston at Golden State, late Atlanta Journal Constitution Like many of us, John Schuerholz cannot believe it has been 25 years. “No, that’s impossible,” he said. “It is a glorious memory in my mind. I have a lot of great ones, but that one is right up there at the top.” Somehow, it was indeed 25 years ago that the Braves won the World Series, the only one they have won since moving to Atlanta. “That team didn’t just suddenly show up in 1995,” Schuerholz, the Braves’ gen eral manager at the time, said in a recent interview with The Atlanta Journal- Constitution. “It was a building process that began when Bobby Cox was gen eral manager, and he and (former long-time Braves scouting director) Paul Sny der focused on gathering the most talented amateur play ers they could.” The building of the 1995 World Series champions can be traced well back into the 1980s. In June 1984, Snyder and staff selected a Massachu setts high school pitcher and hockey player named Tom Glavine in the second round of the amateur draft. In the fourth round a year later, they drafted an outfielder and basketball player from Thomas More College in Kentucky, David Justice. Cox became the Braves’ general manager in October 1985, and 22 months later he made the best trade in franchise history, acquir ing minor-league pitcher John Smoltz from the Detroit Tigers for veteran pitcher Doyle Alexander. In June 1990, Cox and Snyder selected high school short stop Chipper Jones with the No. 1 pick of the draft after pitcher Todd Van Poppel insisted he wouldn’t sign if chosen. By 1995, Glavine, Justice, Smoltz and Jones were key players on Atlanta’s champi onship team. Glavine pitched eight spectacular innings of one-hit ball as the Braves silenced the fearsome Cleve land Indians offense to win the decisive Game 6 of the World Series, 1-0. Justice hit a home run to provide the game’s only scoring. Jones, having moved from shortstop to third base, was runner-up for the National League rookie-of-the-year award that season. Although the 1995 Braves were remarkably home- BRAVES ■ Continued from 1B you can.” To that end, Acuna will open the season as the team’s right fielder, a posi tion he settled into nicely last season. The Braves saw how valuable his arm was in right -- a spot that was held by Nick Markakis until a mid-season injury -- and realized that was Acuna’s destiny. “I’ve said it before: As long as I’m in the lineup, I’m happy,” he said. “But I’d say right field is a position I feel more comfortable at.” Acuna entered the league handling left-field duties. He’s shifted to center when Ender Inciarte has been injured. He was bumped to right to substitute Markakis. grown -- six of their eight starting position players were drafted or signed by the organization from 1983-90 -- the team presum ably wouldn’t have won the World Series without play ers added by Schuerholz. He joined the Braves from the Kansas City Royals as general manager in October 1990 after Cox moved from the front office to the dugout for his second stint as the team’s manager. Of Schuerholz’s many moves, three in particular had a large impact on the 1995 championship season: the acquisitions of pitcher Greg Maddux in December 1992, first baseman Fred McGriff in July 1993 and center fielder Marquis Gris som in April 1995. Maddux was coming off a 1992 Cy Young Award winning season with the Chi cago Cubs when the Braves signed him as a free agent to a five-year, $28 million contract. There’s a compel ling backstory to the best free-agent signing in Braves history: The team wouldn’t have had the money to pur sue Maddux, Schuerholz said, if a blockbuster trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates hadn’t fallen through nine months earlier during 1992 spring training. “I made a trade for Barry Bonds!” Schuerholz said. “The deal was agreed to with Ted Simmons, who was then the general manager of the Pirates. He took it to their manager, Jim Ley- land, who stormed into the owner’s office and said, ‘We can’t trade Barry Bonds!’ And the owner unplugged the deal.” The deal would have sent relief pitcher Alejan dro Pena, outfielder Keith Mitchell and a prospect-to- be-named-later from the Braves to the Pirates for Bonds. For about 15 hours by Schuerholz’s count, the deal was done, although not announced. Then it was undone by the Pirates. “So after that happened, the money we had ear marked for the cost of Bonds’ salary was used to attract (Maddux),” Schuer holz said. “The money we were going to spend on the best hitter in the game, we used instead to get the best pitcher.” Maddux accepted less money to sign with the Braves than the New York Yankees were offering. He won the Cy Young award in each of his first three seasons with the Braves, giving them a rota- His versatility is one of the many traits that has baseball buzzing. While Acuna surely will continue changing shifts in the outfield, the Braves expect him in right over most of his career. Top pros pect Cristian Pache profiles as a dynamic, Gold Glove- caliber center fielder, while other top outfield prospect Drew Waters could fit seam lessly in left. The good news for the Braves, of course, is each of the three can play any spot. Perhaps Pache and/or Waters debut this season, but for now, Acuna is the swing piece of an outfield loaded with veterans. Inciarte is expected to maintain the bulk of work in center, with newcomer Marcell Ozuna in left. “Ozuna is an awesome player,” Acuna said. “He’s going to help contribute on tion for the ages with three future Hall of Famers (Mad dux, Glavine, Smoltz). Left forever unanswer able was the question of how baseball history would have been altered if the Braves had acquired Bonds -- but not Maddux. The Braves weren’t a great offensive team in 1995, finishing 21st of 28 MLB teams in runs scored, but that wasn’t the fault of cleanup hitter McGriff, who led the team in home runs with 27 and RBIs with 93. Schuerholz acquired him from the payroll-slashing San Diego Padres two years earlier for three minor leaguers: outfielders Melvin Nieves and Vince Moore and pitcher Donnie Elliott. The surrendered players weren’t the Braves’ most prized prospects at the time. “No, but they sure as hell sounded like it when I was on the phone (with the Padres),” Schuerholz recalled with a laugh. Schuerholz acquired Gris som on April 6, 1995, four days after the end of the players’ strike that had can celed the 1994 World Series, from the salary-dumping Montreal Expos for out fielders Tony Tarasco and Roberto Kelly and pitching prospect Esteban Yan. Before that price was agreed upon, the Expos had asked for young left fielder Ryan Klesko, who would remain with the Braves and hit 23 home runs during the 1995 season (and three more in the World Series). “Trades never come together easily because everybody you’re dealing with wants to get the big gest pound of flesh they can get,” Schuerholz said. “We wanted, No. 1, to get (Gris som), and we wanted, No. 2, to limit the damage to our assets that we had left behind after the deal was made.” Grissom was the final high-profile player added to the Braves’ roster for 1995, and fittingly he would catch the final out of the World Series. The Braves won the National League East by 21 games that season and rolled through the Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds in the NL playoffs. Then, in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on the night of Oct. 28, 1995, the team painstakingly built by Schuerholz, Cox, Snyder and others won the World Series. That it did so by post ing a staff ERA of 2.67 in the series and limiting the Indians to a .179 team bat ting average reaffirmed the pitching-dominant philoso phy with which the 1990s Braves operated. and off the field. I was happy to hear we acquired him.” The Braves also plan to deploy Nick Markakis and Adam Duvall, two corner outfielders who could be aided by Acuna’s center- field ability. Acuna and Ozuna will play every day. To accommodate oth ers, the Braves could bump Acuna to center, allowing Markakis or Duvall to han dle a corner outfield spot. They’re tasked with manag ing playing time for Inciarte, Markakis and Duvall. “It’s going to be difficult,” manager Brian Snitker said. “Ozuna and Acuna are going to play every day. That’s a given. You look at one spot with three guys, that’s going to be hard.” But one thing the Braves know for certain: Whatever position it may be, Acuna will be a fixture in the out field for a long, long time. TODAY ON TV BASKETBALL ■ Buffalo at Kent State, 7 p.m., ESPN2 ■ Canisius at Quinnipiac, 7 p.m., ESPNU ■ Nuggets at Thunder, 8 p.m., ESPN ■ VCU at St. Louis, 9 p.m., ESPN2 ■ Pelicans at Trail Blazers, 10:30 p.m., ESPN RACING ■ NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Las Vegas Practice, 4 p.m., Fox Sports 1 ■ NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: Las Vegas Qualifying, 5 p.m., Fox Sports 1 ■ NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Las Vegas Final Practice, 7:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1 ■ NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series:: Strat 200, 9 p.m., Fox Sports 1 GOLF ■ PGA Tour Golf: Puerto Rico Open, 10:30 a.m., Golf Channel ■ PGA Tour Golf, WGC Mexico Championship, 2 p.m., Golf Channel
