Braves Fans Mad About Nick Markakis Starting Game 5 Don't Know Anything

Ahead of the pivotal Game 5 matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS, Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker drew the ire of Braves Twitter when he named veteran outfielder Nick Markakis as the starting right fielder and No. 5 hitter, despite a 3-for-17 mark in this series to this point.

Fans will point to Markakis' struggles on offense in this series, but the likes of Josh Donaldson and Brian McCann are hitting under .200 in this series as well, and there have been very few, if any, calls from Braves fans to have them sit out a day or so.

Matt Joyce may be more of a power threat, but Markakis is the more consistent hitter, the better defender, and the more experienced player. In elimination games, the name of the game is getting your best eight hitters in the lineup, and Markakis and Adam Duvall were the logical choices in the corner outfield spots.

Fans have been critical of Snitker for what they perceive to be an over-reliance on players like Markakis and reliever Luke Jackson, but Snitker doesn't have a choice in this scenario. Send Old Reliable out in right field and pray that he can pick up another timely knock late in this game.

Matt Joyce? Really? Haven't we seen enough of that, too?