Braves Exec VP & GM Frank Wren "issued an apology on his team's behalf" yesterday after the team's Twitter account on Tuesday poked fun at Nationals CF Bryce Harper, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Harper caused the benches to empty after he was hit by a pitch from Braves P Julio Teheran in Tuesday's game, prompting the Braves' Twitter account to post, "Clown move bro." Wren said, "It was simply an inappropriate attempt at humor from our social media department. It doesn't reflect how we feel or how we want to do business or who we are. You shouldn't be directing anything unless it's positive or uplifting to another team or an opponent. I think that is plain and simple" (MLB.com, 8/7). The Nationals' Twitter account responded to the Braves' post, and ESPN's Jackie MacMullan said the tweets are "overtaking a really minor dust-up." MacMullan: "I'm not a Twitter fan ... but I think these PR guys must get bonuses in their contracts for being clever because it's happening all over the place." ESPN's Bomani Jones said he was "not accustomed" to the Braves "doing something like that in a public way." The team has personified "professionalism to the point of being boring, and then you see this from the Twitter account there." Jones: "We're in a whole new world with that franchise" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 8/7).
