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Speaker 1: Welcome on and all to the Hemmer Territory Podcast. My

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Speaker 1: name is Showan Coleman. Hope. Wherever you are and wherever

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Speaker 1: you are listening, you had a great weekend and you

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Speaker 1: are giving off to a great start in the final

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Speaker 1: week of August. And Steven Tobert for Braves fans and

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Speaker 1: Bravest Country, I think there's something that many of us

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Speaker 1: have been waiting to hear football starts this weekend and

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Speaker 1: I can't wait that kind of that being something that's

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Speaker 1: being said on August twenty fourth, and that being more

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Speaker 1: exciting to hear than the Braves entering September. Definitely not

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Speaker 1: a good sign of the season that we've had, but hey,

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Speaker 1: we're here, We've arrived. But the thing is, we've still

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Speaker 1: got five weeks of Braves based appy to talk about,

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Speaker 1: including your fan of pitching matchups. A pretty exciting game

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Speaker 1: in that perspective tonight between Edward Cabrera and Spencer Stryder.

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Speaker 1: And the thing is is that with Spincher Strider Stephen,

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Speaker 1: it was an improved start in terms of results.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, what's up, buddy, Yes, football season. The countdown to

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Speaker 2: football season started about a month ago. Uh in Braves Country, unfortunately,

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Speaker 2: and you know, we haven't had many of these seasons.

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Speaker 2: In fact, you know, relative to expectation, we haven't had

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Speaker 2: a season like this and most of our lifetimes quite honestly.

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Speaker 2: I mean, they had the the twenty fifteen, two sixteen,

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Speaker 2: twenty seventeen seasons, but those teams were expected to be bad.

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Speaker 2: A team that was supposed to be good and not

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Speaker 2: making the playoffs. It's been a long time for this team,

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Speaker 2: you know, especially you know, they had the September collapses,

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Speaker 2: but like to be this bad this early, it just

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Speaker 2: hasn't happened. Like Brais fans just don't aren't used to

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Speaker 2: going through this, and so they don't really know how

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Speaker 2: to respond. And I'm right there with him. I mean,

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Speaker 2: it's been a weird it's been a weird feeling the

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Speaker 2: last couple of weeks, just kind of playing out the stream,

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Speaker 2: looking forward to football season, still following baseball. I'm still

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Speaker 2: excited for the playoffs. I'm gonna watch the playoffs, of course,

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Speaker 2: but yeah, it's a weird feeling. So we're you know,

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Speaker 2: we're kind of looking for these little individual moments to highlight,

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Speaker 2: to talk about, to maybe look forward to to next

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Speaker 2: year and we had Spencer Strider starting tonight, and of

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Speaker 2: course this has been the topic the last few weeks.

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Speaker 2: Is Spencer has been I mean, Spencer's just been bad,

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Speaker 2: Like there's really no sugar coating and he's been you know,

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Speaker 2: I talked about it, I think with Scott at one point,

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Speaker 2: but like it might have been me and you, but like,

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Speaker 2: you know, the idea of having to kind of survive

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Speaker 2: Spencer Strider starts so that you can thrive in Hurston

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Speaker 2: Waldrip starts. It's just such a weird place to be,

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Speaker 2: but that's where the Braves have found themselves. And so

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Speaker 2: you know, every time he takes the mount tonight, it's notable.

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Speaker 2: And he made some changes tonight that we're going to

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Speaker 2: talk about. And I don't know if they're you know,

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Speaker 2: long term changes or if they were just matchup base,

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Speaker 2: but it was interesting nonetheless, and he had a good

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Speaker 2: night tonight. The Bros didn't win, they lost two to one.

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Speaker 2: They lost, you know, Edward Cabrad just kind of kicked

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Speaker 2: their ass tonight. But Strider made some interesting adjustments that

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Speaker 2: we're going to talk about.

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Speaker 1: And Mark Bowman at MLB dot Com mentioned it best.

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Speaker 1: I think, you know, so many people have had different

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Speaker 1: opinions about what kind of has fell off or decline

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Speaker 1: or regress for Strider so far this year. The velocity,

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Speaker 1: the movement, the placement. I think all those things are

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Speaker 1: have played a part in, you know, him going into

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Speaker 1: the night coming off arguably the worst three start stretch

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Speaker 1: of his career. Those things still were not perfect tonight.

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Speaker 1: You could still clearly see that there were times where

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Speaker 1: he was still struggling with this placement, struggling with movement,

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Speaker 1: all that different stuff. The Miami Marlins, who were not

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Speaker 1: themselves name as a prolific offense, they hit the ball

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Speaker 1: very hard tonight on many occasions. That still was true,

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Speaker 1: and ultimately that is something that Spencer Strider is going

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Speaker 1: to have to figure out how to limit. But what

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Speaker 1: I'm getting at with mar Bowmen is that he said,

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Speaker 1: we could talk about all the different details that we want,

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Speaker 1: but run prevention did occur tonight, and run prevention occurred

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Speaker 1: coinciding with the fact that Spencer Strider made some changes

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Speaker 1: to his overall approach of how he set up hitters

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Speaker 1: of the arsenal that he used in different parts of

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Speaker 1: the at bat in different counts. And sometimes it's that

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Speaker 1: simple it's just simple enough to where you need to

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Speaker 1: change the direction to go from. I've tried this, tried this,

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Speaker 1: tried this, and every time I'm getting shelled. But this

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Speaker 1: time I was successful. It may not have looked as dominant,

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Speaker 1: or it may not have looked as good as I

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Speaker 1: had wanted it to, but something worked. So at the

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Speaker 1: very least, tonight, I think that the emphasis instead of

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Speaker 1: going as specific as possible, it's important to talk about

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Speaker 1: what he changed up in terms of his approach. But

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Speaker 1: at the very least he saw results change, and we

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Speaker 1: talked about instead of shutting him down, Strider and the

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Speaker 1: Braves probably wanted to set him up to have a success,

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Speaker 1: to have a chance to have a successful into the season.

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Speaker 1: This was a good step. And what that is being

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Speaker 1: in the right direction, I think tenter of the offseason.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so listen, tonight he just used his other pitches more.

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Speaker 2: You know, he came into the night throwing his change

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Speaker 2: up about three percent of the time, and tonight he

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Speaker 2: threw his change up ten percent of the time, So

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Speaker 2: you know, he tripled the usage of his changeup. His curveball,

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Speaker 2: same thing it's been in the you know, around the

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Speaker 2: five percent range. For most of the year. Tonight it

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Speaker 2: was at twelve percent, so he more than doubled his

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Speaker 2: curveball usage. You know, we've talked about this before, but

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Speaker 2: in twenty twenty two, twenty twenty three, you know, Spencer

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Speaker 2: was one of the best pitchers on the planet. And

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty two, Spencer threw his fastball sixty seven percent

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Speaker 2: of the time, which is crazy. That's how good his

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Speaker 2: fastball was. In twenty twenty three, he threw his fastball

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Speaker 2: sixty percent of the time, which is also crazy, but

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Speaker 2: again that's how good his fastball was. Tonight, for most

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Speaker 2: of the night, his fastball usage set around thirty eight percent.

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Speaker 2: I think the last five pitches he threw in the

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Speaker 2: game were all fastball, so that that bumped it up

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Speaker 2: to like forty or forty one percent to end the night.

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Speaker 2: But he spent most of the night with a fastball

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Speaker 2: usage in like the mid thirties in terms of percentage,

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Speaker 2: and that is very different for him, and that was notable,

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Speaker 2: and a lot of people watching the game were just

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Speaker 2: noticing how many more sliders, how many more curveballs, how

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Speaker 2: many more changeups he was throwing. Now, again, it's one start,

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Speaker 2: and this could have been just matchup specific. It could

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Speaker 2: have been individual matchup specific in terms of actual hitters,

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Speaker 2: or just could have been team specific to the Marlins.

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Speaker 2: Or he could have not planned on doing this at all,

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Speaker 2: got out to the mound and didn't feel, you know,

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Speaker 2: it didn't feel like his fastball had anything, so he

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Speaker 2: made an adjustment on the fly. So we don't know

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Speaker 2: if this is kind of like a new thing for him.

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Speaker 2: But when you see a guy who used to throw

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Speaker 2: his fastball sixty seven percent of the time throw at

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Speaker 2: thirty eight percent of the time in a start, you

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Speaker 2: need to make note of that, right. That's why we're

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Speaker 2: talking about it's because it's notable. And we'll see he

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Speaker 2: did have a better nine to nine. He did not

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Speaker 2: have as much swing and miss as I'm sure he

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Speaker 2: would want, and he had three strikeouts. There was a

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Speaker 2: lot of still a lot of hard contact, and he

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Speaker 2: probably got a little fortunate that he only gave up

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Speaker 2: the one run that he gave up, which was the

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Speaker 2: homer I think wasn't a Yeah, it was a homer,

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Speaker 2: So we'll see. It's just a it's a it's an

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Speaker 2: interesting data point. You know, we talked about is he

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Speaker 2: going to make adjustments. What are those adjustments going to be.

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Speaker 2: This is the first game where we saw like real adjustments,

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Speaker 2: and you know, the next time out, we'll see if

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Speaker 2: this continues. If this was just matchup based, but it's notable.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and if the velocity on the fastball is a

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Speaker 1: bit slower than it has been in the past, if

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Speaker 1: you flash more of the off speed stuff, that naturally

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Speaker 1: can make the fastball look a bit faster if it

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Speaker 1: is at a slower speed overall, So it's also just

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Speaker 1: changing up what hitters are seeing. And I'll give Strider credit,

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Speaker 1: probably again a bit of luck, but there was efficiency there, right,

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Speaker 1: only three strikeouts across seven innings, but still ninety five

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Speaker 1: pitches in seven innings. That's pretty efficient. Only fifty five

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Speaker 1: of those were strike so, you know, not the highest

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Speaker 1: strike percentage. But again, it just comes down to sometimes Stephen,

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Speaker 1: it just comes down to a pitcher just have a

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Speaker 1: successful game. And I think that that's what Strider really

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Speaker 1: was looking for. I don't think that this in any way,

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Speaker 1: shape or form convinces Strider that, hey, he's clearly on

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Speaker 1: his way back to be in himself. I think he's

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Speaker 1: smart enough to know that's probably not the case, but

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Speaker 1: at the very least, it's just it's nice for him,

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Speaker 1: probably for a mental aspect, to not come out of

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Speaker 1: a start once again thinking just what can I do

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Speaker 1: to just have a bit of success, instead of coming

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Speaker 1: out of tonight thinking, Okay, I didn't have my best stuff,

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Speaker 1: but I was resourceful enough to still get the job done.

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Speaker 1: I did my job. For Spencer Strider, he puts a

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Speaker 1: lot a lot of pride in doing his job, and

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Speaker 1: tonight he did. That's something he hasn't been able to

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Speaker 1: say for quite a while. It's nice for him to

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Speaker 1: be able to be in that position.

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Speaker 2: Exactly. And I want to mention that we've talked a

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Speaker 2: lot about how much velocities Spencer has lost. There are

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Speaker 2: plenty of pitchers in Major League Baseball that have tons

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Speaker 2: and tons of success throwing a fastball ninety five ninety

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Speaker 2: six miles an hour. It's not like you can't pitch

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Speaker 2: at this level throw a ninety five ninety six. I mean,

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Speaker 2: that's still I think Spencer's fastball is still above average

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Speaker 2: in terms of I think the average is like ninety

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Speaker 2: five point one or something like that, and I think

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Speaker 2: Spencer's is like ninety five point six. So like, of

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Speaker 2: course you can pitch at this level with that fastball.

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Speaker 2: What Spencer has never had to do that those other

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Speaker 2: pitchers have had to do and have learned how to do,

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Speaker 2: is how to use the entire arsenal to help set

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Speaker 2: up that fastball, and how to locate that fastball in

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Speaker 2: places that it's going to have success, and how to

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Speaker 2: keep it out of places where it's going to get

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Speaker 2: lit up. That's what Spencer's never had to do because

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Speaker 2: he used to throw one hundred miles an hour and

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Speaker 2: it didn't matter where he threw it. And so that's

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Speaker 2: what we're kind of that's the journey he's going to

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Speaker 2: be on on top of, hoping to get some of

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Speaker 2: that velocity back once he gets back to a normal offseason.

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Speaker 2: This offseason, it's learning how to pitch at that velocity

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Speaker 2: by using all of your other pitches. Like he's got

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Speaker 2: four pitches, he's got a curve ball, he's got a

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Speaker 2: change up, he's obviously got the slider, which is his

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Speaker 2: second best pitch. But if you use those correctly and

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Speaker 2: if you locate them correctly, it all makes your fastball

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Speaker 2: play up right. This is the journey that Harsel Waldrip

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Speaker 2: has been on about learning how to use other pitches

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Speaker 2: and location to make your fastball play up, so he

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Speaker 2: can do it. And you know, we've talked about how

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Speaker 2: competitive he is, how much of a psycho he is

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Speaker 2: in the best way possible that we mean that as

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Speaker 2: a compliment, and this is what we're talking about. He's

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Speaker 2: gonna make adjustments. He's not just gonna sit there and

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Speaker 2: beat his head against the wall trying the same thing

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Speaker 2: over and over. At some point, the kid was gonna

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Speaker 2: make an adjustment. And so it was just fun to

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Speaker 2: see that tonight, and you know, it's something to track

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Speaker 2: for the rest of the season and then moving into

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Speaker 2: next season.

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Speaker 1: And I think also it's worth mentioning that it is

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Speaker 1: good as Spencer Strider was in twenty two and twenty three.

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Speaker 1: Some may just think, Okay, well, if he's this good,

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Speaker 1: if he's this elite, then if he needs to make

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Speaker 1: an adjustment, that means that he's going to do it

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Speaker 1: in a much quicker fashion than just your average pitcher

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Speaker 1: when it comes to how he pitches. But that's not

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Speaker 1: necessarily the case for elite star pitchers when the reason

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Speaker 1: why they were elite or why they were among the

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Speaker 1: best in the game. Is what has regressed a bit,

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Speaker 1: right Like, it was his velocity, and it was the

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Speaker 1: overall control of his fastball. And we're not just talking

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Speaker 1: about one of the better fastballs in baseball. I think

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Speaker 1: that if you asked around baseball, many would say that

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Speaker 1: in terms of starters, Spencer had the best fastball in

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Speaker 1: baseball in twenty two and twenty three. Everything that he

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Speaker 1: did worked off the fastball. That's what made his other

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Speaker 1: pitches elite. Well, now he's having to figure out, at

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Speaker 1: least for the time being, how to use other pitches

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Speaker 1: to make his fastball better. That's a complete one eighty

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Speaker 1: in the overall mentality for a pitcher. So it's not

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Speaker 1: so just because a pitcher is a superstar at one

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Speaker 1: point in their career. If they've got to adjust what

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Speaker 1: makes them so effective, if they've got to go about

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Speaker 1: it in a different way, it may actually take them

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Speaker 1: longer to do that than your normal pictures because they've

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Speaker 1: been so used to having so much success off the

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Speaker 1: same source. So that's what I'm saying. This isn't just

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Speaker 1: a start where he's going to figure it out. When

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Speaker 1: we talk about the off season, really needs to come

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Speaker 1: for Spencer Strider and come in a successful way. Again,

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Speaker 1: the confidence is there, he's going to figure it out,

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Speaker 1: but you've got to be able to understand he's got

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Speaker 1: to have time to do it as well.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and listen again, I'm gonna say this number again.

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Speaker 2: In twenty twenty two, he threw his fastball sixty seven

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Speaker 2: percent of the time. That's banana, that's what like relievers do.

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Speaker 2: Like that as a starting pi that's crazy. That's crazy.

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Speaker 2: And so not having that weapon, or at least is

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Speaker 2: the version of that weapon that he had, is going

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Speaker 2: to be a massive adjustment. Not a little adjustment, a

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Speaker 2: massive adjustment. And again we're still hoping that some of

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Speaker 2: that velocity comes back next year. We're not just completely

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Speaker 2: given up on that. But in the meantime, you know,

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Speaker 2: he's kind of kind of make do with what he has,

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Speaker 2: and tonight was just you know, tonight was a good

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Speaker 2: step in that direction. Again, it was one start. We

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Speaker 2: have no idea he might go back to his normal

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Speaker 2: usage the next start. This might have been all about

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Speaker 2: the Marlins. You know, this might not have been anything

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Speaker 2: he was doing other than just matchups. So we're not

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Speaker 2: gonna draw any conclusions off of one start, but it's

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Speaker 2: just a data it's a data point to kind of

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Speaker 2: mark and then we'll see what the next one looks like.

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Speaker 1: Never underestimate the the the power of a positive data

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Speaker 1: point as things. If that line graph that's measuring whatever

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Speaker 1: in your life, if if that, if that line graph

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Speaker 1: that you're seeing keeps going down, down, down down, but

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Speaker 1: you eventually get to that data point that just goes up.

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Speaker 1: Never underestimate the power of how positive that side is.

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Speaker 1: But speaking of positive developments, we certainly saw one for

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Speaker 1: Drake Baldwin tonight as well, despite the loss. A good

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Speaker 1: game from Drake Baldwin, and right now that may matter

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Speaker 1: more than you think. What has come become a very

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Speaker 1: close race for the nail Rookie of the Year more

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Speaker 2: No mash.

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Speaker 1: FT sent you, so Stephen, you know, coming into the

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Speaker 1: second half of the season, we made it clear that

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Speaker 1: one of the biggest storylines that was gonna be there

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Speaker 1: for Braves Country to follow was how Drake Baldwin and

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Speaker 1: the NL Rookie of the Year race will would continue

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Speaker 1: to shape up as time went on. The AL Rookie

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Speaker 1: of the Year Race it's taken care of. Nick Kirks

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Speaker 1: has been unbelievable for a few months now. Roman Anthony,

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Speaker 1: I don't think he's gonna make it close, but he

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Speaker 1: is unbelievable to watch as well. But on the n

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Speaker 1: L side of things, many have reason to watch Drake Baldwin.

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Speaker 1: He was a clear favorite about a month ago, and

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Speaker 1: of course if he wins, that could mean extra draft

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Speaker 1: capital and what should be a very critical draft for

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Speaker 1: the Braves in twenty twenty six. But the thing is

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Speaker 1: is for Drake Baldwin is that it now has become

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Speaker 1: a much closer, and it actually has become a three

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Speaker 1: man race. You know about you know, two weeks ago

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Speaker 1: Isaac Collin of the Brewers, when the Brewers were just

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Speaker 1: unbelievably hot. To believe you had that fifteen game hitting streak,

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Speaker 1: rightfully so our winning streak. Isaac Collins was a big reason.

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Speaker 1: He was playing better than Drake Baldwin at that time.

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Speaker 1: But both of those players have cooled off over the

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Speaker 1: past week or so, and Cade Horton, pitcher for the

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Speaker 1: Chicago Cubs, has entered the fray as well. So we're

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Speaker 1: basically now in a three horse race for the NL

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Speaker 1: Rookie of the Year campaign. The point that I'm getting

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Speaker 1: at is, unfortunately it's become much closer race than any

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Speaker 1: of us had hoped. But the fortunate thing is it

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Speaker 1: very much is still in Drake Baldwin's hands to be

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Speaker 1: able to make the most of this.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so if you look at the odds on draft kings,

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Speaker 2: you know, Horton, Collins, and Baldwin are all very close,

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Speaker 2: like it's one guy is like a one three fourhead

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Speaker 2: game away from take the lead. So it's very much

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Speaker 2: neck and neck. The thing that's gonna hurt Drake is

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Speaker 2: that the Brewers and the Cubs are both playing for

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Speaker 2: playoff spots. Like Cad Horton and Isaac Collins are doing

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Speaker 2: this for teams that are winning and therefore are just

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Speaker 2: gonna be in the spotlight more. Drake's playing for a

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Speaker 2: team that's you know, a million games under five hundred

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Speaker 2: in back of a playoff spot. So he's got to

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Speaker 2: be that much better. And unfortunately for Drake, he has

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Speaker 2: cooled off quite a bit. I think his last multi

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Speaker 2: hit game was on like August ninth. He's been pretty

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Speaker 2: pedestrian for about two weeks now. He did have a

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Speaker 2: Homer and a walk tonight, which is what you're talking about.

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Speaker 2: So there's a nice bounce back, and he was quite

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Speaker 2: literally the Braves only offense tonight. But yeah, I mean

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Speaker 2: other gout. You know, he Drake certainly hasn't had quite

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Speaker 2: the second half that he had in the first half,

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Speaker 2: and so he's allowed other guys to kind of come

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Speaker 2: into the race. But also you got to give those guys.

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Speaker 2: I mean, those guys are just having great seasons as rickies.

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Speaker 2: I mean, Kate Horden's got like a two to eight

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Speaker 2: eer for a team that's currently got a playoff spot.

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Speaker 2: So you know, some of it is just you got

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Speaker 2: to give credit to other good players. But it's still

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Speaker 2: such a close race. This is not a Nick Kurt situation.

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Speaker 2: Whether it's just a runaway winner. Drake is probably one

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Speaker 2: hot week away from being the clear favorite. Again, that's

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Speaker 2: how close it is. So good night tonight. You know,

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Speaker 2: we looked it up. He's he's played in about seventy

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Speaker 2: percent of the Braves games in August. I think he

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Speaker 2: DHD in two of those and caught the rest, So

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Speaker 2: you know, I would probably prefer to be more like

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Speaker 2: seventy five percent, but to be honest, Sean Murphy and

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Speaker 2: Marcelo Azuna have been just as cold lately. Sean Murphy

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Speaker 2: just broke a massive I think he was like, oh

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Speaker 2: for thirty four or something like that. He broke that

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Speaker 2: last night. Marcel went into has gone into a pretty

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Speaker 2: big slump himself. So I'm sure Brian Snicker is just

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Speaker 2: you know, mixing and matching on any night just to

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Speaker 2: try to get some production out of any of those guys.

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Speaker 2: But again, Baldwin has played about seventy percent of the time.

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Speaker 2: You can't really say he's not been given a chance.

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Speaker 2: He's just he's just gone cold. And listen, he's a rookie.

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Speaker 2: I mean, he wasn't gonna run a one forty WRC

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Speaker 2: plus all season long. He was gonna hit up some

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Speaker 2: cold spells. So we'll see, we'll see if they keep

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Speaker 2: giving him the playing time. I very much hope they do,

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Speaker 2: and hopefully he can get hot and put this, you know,

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Speaker 2: get out back out in front of this thing and

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Speaker 2: maybe bring it home.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I agree that you know, to the point

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Speaker 1: that you know he has called off a bit that

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Speaker 1: that certainly is a factor in it. And I know

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Speaker 1: that you got to get all three of the guys

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Speaker 1: playing times as well. But but the one thing that

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Speaker 1: I feel, the one thing where I think the Braves

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Speaker 1: are making a mistake, is if he's not the priority

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Speaker 1: of the three to be given the playing time. Like

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Speaker 1: in my opinion, we looked it up over the past

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Speaker 1: two weeks, Sean Murphy had played six times, Baldwin had

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Speaker 1: played eight times, Marcelo Zun now has played thirteen times.

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Speaker 1: There should not be that much of a difference between

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Speaker 1: Baldwin and Azuna's playing time. In my opinion, Baldwin should

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Speaker 1: be playing between DH and catcher. If it's a two

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Speaker 1: week span, he should be playing double digit games. And

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Speaker 1: it's not even about Rookie of the year, nor is

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Speaker 1: it about that draft pick that should play into it.

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Speaker 1: But set that to the side. It's also just simply

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Speaker 1: Baldwin going through a stretch of the season where he's

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Speaker 1: had the wear and tear of the majority of the

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Speaker 1: season now wearing on him. He needs to work through

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Speaker 1: that right if he's going to eventually be the Braves

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Speaker 1: primary catcher. They've also been sitting him quite a bit

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Speaker 1: against left handed pitching. I don't think that's doing him

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Speaker 1: any favors. When he has clearly been producing against left

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Speaker 1: handed pitching. These are opportunities that you want him to

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Speaker 1: continue to have a six in because that's where it's

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Speaker 1: going to allow for him to be able to have

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Speaker 1: a better chance of sustaining it. As the league becomes

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Speaker 1: more used to him, he gets more playing time, it

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Speaker 1: becomes more important for him to play every day in

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Speaker 1: the future. So that's why I feel like it makes

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Speaker 1: sense for them to play him as much as possible.

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Speaker 1: I don't mean to be on my soapbox. From my perspective,

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Speaker 1: it comes down to winning work in the year and

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Speaker 1: getting that extra draft pick, but there are many other

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Speaker 1: factors that are going to be more important in the

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Speaker 1: future when we're trying to win again. That if Baldwin

430
00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,520
Speaker 1: has success now, it lines him up for a better

431
00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:35,199
Speaker 1: chance to have success again when it matters more in

432
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:35,760
Speaker 1: the future.

433
00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:40,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't love that they're just kind of blanket

434
00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,280
Speaker 2: sitting him against left handed pitching like they have the

435
00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:46,919
Speaker 2: last couple of weeks. And even if you don't believe

436
00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:50,359
Speaker 2: in like his early success, you know, it's not a

437
00:22:50,359 --> 00:22:54,159
Speaker 2: ton of games. It's a small sample size of splits

438
00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:57,040
Speaker 2: that he's had success. And even if you don't believe

439
00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:00,400
Speaker 2: those are fully real, you still want him to develop

440
00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:04,879
Speaker 2: against lefties. You still want him to see lefties. And

441
00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,439
Speaker 2: I've talked about this before about how quickly now in

442
00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:10,200
Speaker 2: the Major's left handed hitters get platooned, like most of

443
00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,520
Speaker 2: a lot of teams don't even let you try, or

444
00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:15,320
Speaker 2: they let you try for a very small amount of time,

445
00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:17,040
Speaker 2: and if you have don't have success, they're just You're

446
00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:20,960
Speaker 2: just a platoon guy. Drake has had success against lefties.

447
00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:24,080
Speaker 2: He's actually hit lefties or at one point he had

448
00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:26,240
Speaker 2: hit lefties better this year than right He's I don't

449
00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:30,359
Speaker 2: know if that's still true, but I do want to

450
00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:32,520
Speaker 2: see him play against lefties again. Even if you don't

451
00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:36,439
Speaker 2: believe his success is completely real, if it might be

452
00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:39,000
Speaker 2: a little noise in there, you still want him to develop.

453
00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:43,520
Speaker 2: So but all that being said, you know, I think

454
00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,359
Speaker 2: what has cost Drake in terms of where he is

455
00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:48,280
Speaker 2: in the Rookie of the Year right now, is he

456
00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:51,280
Speaker 2: just hasn't played as well when he's gotten the chances.

457
00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:53,760
Speaker 2: And so that's really what you know, He's just gonna

458
00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:55,040
Speaker 2: have to find it again. He's just gonna have to

459
00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:58,560
Speaker 2: get hot, you know again. He's been playing about seventy

460
00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:01,280
Speaker 2: percent of the time. It could definitely be more. I

461
00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:03,520
Speaker 2: wish they would play him more against lefties. But the

462
00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:05,840
Speaker 2: big thing is, like tonight, when he's in there, he's

463
00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,840
Speaker 2: got to you know, he's got to produce. So and

464
00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:10,439
Speaker 2: again he's going up against two guys that are in

465
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:14,199
Speaker 2: playoff races, and that's you're already kind of playing with

466
00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:16,520
Speaker 2: one arm tied behind your back. Because there are voters

467
00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,239
Speaker 2: who don't like giving these awards to guys who are

468
00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:23,280
Speaker 2: on bad teams. I don't agree with that, but that's

469
00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:25,399
Speaker 2: how they you know, that's how they view it. Now

470
00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:28,399
Speaker 2: it'd be pretty hypocritical. Since Nick Kurtz is running away

471
00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:31,719
Speaker 2: with the you know, Rookie of the Year from you know,

472
00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:34,720
Speaker 2: the A's who are a million games back, that actually

473
00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:38,120
Speaker 2: should help Drake a little bit. Kind of ignore that argument.

474
00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,159
Speaker 2: You know, Boston is in the playoffs and in the

475
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:44,000
Speaker 2: A's or not. But Nick Kirk is running away from

476
00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:46,920
Speaker 2: Roman Anthony and Rookie of the Year. So that should

477
00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:49,640
Speaker 2: help Drake. But he's got to play better, pretty.

478
00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:53,560
Speaker 1: Simply, absolutely, and hopefully he'll be giving those chances. And

479
00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:55,439
Speaker 1: like I say, I know that many people will have

480
00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:57,520
Speaker 1: different perspectives. But the thing is is that there's just

481
00:24:57,680 --> 00:24:59,960
Speaker 1: there's plenty of reasons to give Baldwin his man each

482
00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,560
Speaker 1: chances is possible, And to your point, hopefully this all

483
00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:05,920
Speaker 1: quiets down if tonight can be the start of another

484
00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:08,600
Speaker 1: seven to ten day stretch where Baldwin can really once

485
00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:11,399
Speaker 1: again set himself ahead of the pack in the l

486
00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:15,800
Speaker 1: Rookie of the Year chase. But speaking of more positive developments,

487
00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:19,679
Speaker 1: I know tonight is not the best example, but overall

488
00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:24,439
Speaker 1: here recently the Braves offense has looked clearly better than

489
00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:26,760
Speaker 1: they were in the first half. What's been the big

490
00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:30,080
Speaker 1: difference why? And is it Does it mean that a

491
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:33,040
Speaker 1: corner has been turned for the future. We'll discuss that

492
00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:33,800
Speaker 1: in just a moment.

493
00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,360
Speaker 3: Oka KP. This is your first arena club experience. We're

494
00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:38,760
Speaker 3: going to open a slab pack together. So first off,

495
00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:40,840
Speaker 3: we're gonna buy one of those twenty five dollars slab

496
00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:42,840
Speaker 3: packs and we get to see what is.

497
00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:43,520
Speaker 1: In the pack.

498
00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:44,040
Speaker 2: There.

499
00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:46,600
Speaker 3: It is the Grail, which is the best card in

500
00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:49,440
Speaker 3: the pack and worth the most. There are some other

501
00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:51,400
Speaker 3: cards that we're chasing, and you can see the entire

502
00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:53,399
Speaker 3: lineup so that you know what you're in the running

503
00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:57,840
Speaker 3: for there's the Yamamoto signed card. Now let's open up

504
00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:01,840
Speaker 3: our pack and see how we do. We have ourselves

505
00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:07,359
Speaker 3: a really cool graphic and then a show Heo Tani

506
00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:11,119
Speaker 3: fifty to fifty card from last year. What do you

507
00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:12,800
Speaker 3: want to do? Should we sell it right back to

508
00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:14,639
Speaker 3: them for sixteen or should we keep it?

509
00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:17,439
Speaker 2: You should give it to me, I'll.

510
00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:20,399
Speaker 3: Keep good answer, fine, I will give it to you.

511
00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:22,680
Speaker 3: Since the Blue Jays didn't Ghetto Tani, you can get

512
00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:25,480
Speaker 3: this fifty to fifty card instead. Use the code foul

513
00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,200
Speaker 3: foul to get yourself twenty percent off your first slab

514
00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:30,600
Speaker 3: pack or card purchase. Yes, you get to keep that

515
00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:32,080
Speaker 3: card if you want it. They send it to you

516
00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:36,480
Speaker 3: foul at Arena club dot com slash foul So Steven.

517
00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:39,320
Speaker 1: Obviously, one of the things that has made this second

518
00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:42,280
Speaker 1: half a bit more bearable than the first half was,

519
00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:44,840
Speaker 1: you know, we knew that with the pitching injuries, that

520
00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:46,639
Speaker 1: you know, the riding was on the wall, that we

521
00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,520
Speaker 1: just were not going to make this season. You know,

522
00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:51,480
Speaker 1: the goals that many of us have had for this season,

523
00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:53,080
Speaker 1: we're just not going to be breaching. We're going to

524
00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:55,439
Speaker 1: make the playoffs. Call it a lost season, what have you.

525
00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:57,119
Speaker 1: But the clear thing is that it's been a bit

526
00:26:57,119 --> 00:26:59,960
Speaker 1: more fun because the offense has improved over the past

527
00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:03,080
Speaker 1: six weeks and looking it up. One of the biggest

528
00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:07,280
Speaker 1: reasons why is because this team clearly has improved in

529
00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:10,720
Speaker 1: one area that was one of the two biggest complaints

530
00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:14,760
Speaker 1: about this offense over the past thirteen to fourteen months

531
00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:17,480
Speaker 1: going into the Alsto break. They have clearly taken a

532
00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:21,159
Speaker 1: step forward with runners in scoring position in the second

533
00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:24,280
Speaker 1: half of the season. So far, the Braves right now

534
00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:28,200
Speaker 1: are eleventh in Major League Baseball in offense with runners

535
00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:29,880
Speaker 1: in scoring position. They have a one to twenty eight

536
00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:33,040
Speaker 1: WRC plus with runners in scoring position. That is really

537
00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,880
Speaker 1: really encouraging, in a big difference from where they were

538
00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:37,920
Speaker 1: for a bunch of twenty four and the first half

539
00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:41,400
Speaker 1: of twenty five. Now. The reason why they're having that

540
00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:45,560
Speaker 1: success their overall approach at the plate has been quite good.

541
00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:48,080
Speaker 1: They are with runners in scoring position in the second

542
00:27:48,119 --> 00:27:51,000
Speaker 1: half of the year, they are six in strikeout rate

543
00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,320
Speaker 1: and second in walk rate. This team has showed patience,

544
00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:57,600
Speaker 1: they've shown better selectivity at the plate, and it's led

545
00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:03,360
Speaker 1: to better results. That is definitely encouraging. But Steven, while

546
00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:07,760
Speaker 1: it's encouraging and it's an improvement, we're looking for sustainability.

547
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,080
Speaker 1: We're looking to get back to being a winning organization.

548
00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:13,520
Speaker 1: So we need to figure out how to find success

549
00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:17,520
Speaker 1: and sustain it. And while it's encouraging to see this improvement,

550
00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:20,080
Speaker 1: I think this is only a half or third of

551
00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:22,880
Speaker 1: the offensive equation that we need to really get back

552
00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:24,560
Speaker 1: to where we were a couple of years ago.

553
00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:31,040
Speaker 2: Yeah, so it's interesting. The offense is undoubtedly better right

554
00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:33,840
Speaker 2: now than it was earlier in the year. Now. Obviously,

555
00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:37,960
Speaker 2: tonight's game, Edward Cabrera just just smoked him for seven

556
00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:40,920
Speaker 2: inning heats. I mean, he's he's kind of nasty to be.

557
00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:42,680
Speaker 2: I mean, the guy those one hundred miles an hour

558
00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:45,120
Speaker 2: with a does a ninety three mile in our change.

559
00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:47,960
Speaker 1: Up when he's owing like a I think he's getting

560
00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,080
Speaker 1: a bit more consistent. But the one thing that I

561
00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:52,040
Speaker 1: failed to mention in the first part of the show,

562
00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:57,240
Speaker 1: he can be just as impressive as Sandy Alcantara or

563
00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:00,640
Speaker 1: Contra or your Perez when he's on. He's the one

564
00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:02,000
Speaker 1: who won the best of the league.

565
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:04,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's nasty. He's nasty as hell. And the Braves

566
00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:06,960
Speaker 2: had nothing for him tonight. Yeah, had ten strikeouts and

567
00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:10,120
Speaker 2: seven innings and not much hard contact at all. So

568
00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:17,120
Speaker 2: tonight's game, notwithstanding, the offense has looked better. But like

569
00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:20,120
Speaker 2: Sean said, what we're looking for is a model that

570
00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:26,400
Speaker 2: is sustainable for six months. And I was watching I

571
00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:29,120
Speaker 2: was actually watching the game yesterday and I was thinking

572
00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:32,200
Speaker 2: about this, like, is this current model of the Braves

573
00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:36,840
Speaker 2: offense sustainable for six months? And what's it being built on? Right,

574
00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:40,600
Speaker 2: It's being built on a tonne of walks, which is sustainable?

575
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:45,280
Speaker 2: Walks are I think walks are maybe the most underrated

576
00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:48,200
Speaker 2: offensive stat in the sport. I actually have come to

577
00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:51,000
Speaker 2: believe that walk rate, on an individual level, may be

578
00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:54,400
Speaker 2: the most important offensive stat because it reveals so much

579
00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:56,440
Speaker 2: about the type of hitter you are. Like if you

580
00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:58,080
Speaker 2: go if you just sort, if you just go through

581
00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:00,440
Speaker 2: any stats page, any any website you like to use,

582
00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:02,920
Speaker 2: and just sort all the best hitters in baseball by

583
00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:05,479
Speaker 2: walk rate, and then you go look at the names.

584
00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:07,840
Speaker 2: You'll see the best hitters in baseball. I mean you'll

585
00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:12,480
Speaker 2: see Ronald Cuna, Junior, Lonsoto, Aaron Judge, Shoheo tany like

586
00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:15,640
Speaker 2: Price Harper, Kyle Schwarber, like the best hitters in baseball

587
00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:17,600
Speaker 2: take a bunch of walks, and I have come to

588
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,440
Speaker 2: believe that walk crade is is very important. And so

589
00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:23,960
Speaker 2: the fact that the Braves have increased their walk rate

590
00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:27,080
Speaker 2: as much as they have in the second half is

591
00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:31,360
Speaker 2: maybe the most encouraging part of what has happened, because

592
00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:35,040
Speaker 2: I do believe you can build a sustainable long term

593
00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:37,000
Speaker 2: offense with walk right. In fact, I think you have

594
00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:39,720
Speaker 2: to have that as part of the equation, and this

595
00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:42,040
Speaker 2: is something I think the Braves have missed, you know,

596
00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:44,600
Speaker 2: especially when Acunya's out. Akunya and Olson have always been

597
00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:46,600
Speaker 2: their best guys in terms of walk rate, but now

598
00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:48,800
Speaker 2: you've got other guys joining the party, and I think

599
00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:51,479
Speaker 2: that's crucial. You know, Profar is a big part of that.

600
00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:55,880
Speaker 2: You know, Marcel has been walking a bunch. Ozzie has

601
00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:58,760
Speaker 2: been walking way more this year than he has. Michael

602
00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:00,640
Speaker 2: Harris is still not taking any walk but it is

603
00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:02,640
Speaker 2: what it is at this point. But I think walk

604
00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:05,120
Speaker 2: grade is important. So that's one thing. But the other

605
00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:07,520
Speaker 2: thing it's being built on the offense right now, is

606
00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:11,520
Speaker 2: it's being built on this like white hot Michael Harris run,

607
00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:14,560
Speaker 2: which I don't really believe in. If I'm being one

608
00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:17,880
Speaker 2: hundred person honest, I'm I'm not gonna poo poo it

609
00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:21,800
Speaker 2: completely because it it's valid what he's done. But if

610
00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:24,360
Speaker 2: you're asking me, is this sustainable for six months? I

611
00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:27,560
Speaker 2: don't believe it. Again, he doesn't ever walk and I

612
00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:29,440
Speaker 2: just went through a whole list of reasons why I

613
00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:31,720
Speaker 2: think walk grade is so important, So I don't believe

614
00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:35,080
Speaker 2: that part is sustainable. The other part that is worrying

615
00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:38,840
Speaker 2: to me is that the homers are so so far down,

616
00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:43,120
Speaker 2: Like Matt Olsen has two homers since the All Star Break.

617
00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:47,120
Speaker 2: You know, Ronald Cueter Junior has three. Obviously he was hurt.

618
00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:52,280
Speaker 2: But the thing I want to see from this offense,

619
00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:55,400
Speaker 2: because they built it around a bunch of sluggers, is

620
00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:58,800
Speaker 2: I want to see walks and homers because those are

621
00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:01,480
Speaker 2: the two things with this crewup of players that I

622
00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:04,400
Speaker 2: know for a fact they can sustain for six months

623
00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:07,480
Speaker 2: because I've seen him do it. What I don't think

624
00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:11,600
Speaker 2: you can sustain it on is hoping Michael Harris is

625
00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:14,480
Speaker 2: just out of his mind. Our jerks and profar are

626
00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:18,840
Speaker 2: going crazy. I think I think the the walks are

627
00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:21,680
Speaker 2: crazy encouraging. I want to see the homers get back

628
00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:23,680
Speaker 2: to where we saw them in like twenty twenty not

629
00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:25,440
Speaker 2: even twenty twenty three. What they what they did in

630
00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:27,520
Speaker 2: twenty twenty three is crazy, and I gotta see three

631
00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:29,840
Speaker 2: hundred and seven homers in a season again. But like

632
00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:32,600
Speaker 2: just in the top, you know, top ten in baseball

633
00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:36,920
Speaker 2: in homers, that's perfectly attainable for this group, and in

634
00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:40,440
Speaker 2: my opinion, it's sustainable because the Braves are some of

635
00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:43,800
Speaker 2: the streakiest hitters you'll ever see, and the one way

636
00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:46,800
Speaker 2: to score runs even when you're going through bad streaks

637
00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:49,880
Speaker 2: is homers, because somebody can take a walk and one

638
00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:52,600
Speaker 2: guy can pop a homer and it's two runs, right,

639
00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:55,120
Speaker 2: It's just two runs instantly. And that's what the Braves

640
00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:57,480
Speaker 2: were built on for years. Is all right, we might

641
00:32:57,520 --> 00:32:59,280
Speaker 2: not have we might only have two or three guys

642
00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:01,440
Speaker 2: going at the moment, the rest of the lineup as

643
00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,520
Speaker 2: cold as ice, but we're popping homers, we're still scoring runs,

644
00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:07,880
Speaker 2: we can still win games. That to me is the

645
00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:10,520
Speaker 2: sustainable version of the offense that they've been missing for

646
00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:13,760
Speaker 2: the last two years is walks and homers, and that's

647
00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,720
Speaker 2: what I want to get back to and the walks

648
00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:18,880
Speaker 2: have been fantastic to watch. I want to see the

649
00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:21,600
Speaker 2: power come back in this lineup. I want to see

650
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:24,600
Speaker 2: matt Olsen. You know, matt Olsen's gonna hit like I mean,

651
00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:28,320
Speaker 2: He's got twenty homers or nineteen or twenty homers through

652
00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:31,560
Speaker 2: you know, six hundred plate appearances. That's kind of wild,

653
00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:34,760
Speaker 2: to be honest with you. You know, there's just not

654
00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:38,400
Speaker 2: the same. I think Marcelazuna has like twenty homers. I

655
00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:41,840
Speaker 2: think twenty leads the team. There's like fifty guys in

656
00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:44,520
Speaker 2: baseball that have hit more than twenty homers, and none

657
00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:48,240
Speaker 2: of them are Braves. So that's the part I want

658
00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:51,520
Speaker 2: to see. That's the next step where I think this

659
00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:55,800
Speaker 2: offense can sustain itself for six months is walks and homers,

660
00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:59,360
Speaker 2: because that's the personnel they built it around.

661
00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:04,080
Speaker 1: Yeah, the difference between a six week sample size and

662
00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:06,239
Speaker 1: a six month sample size and what's going to lead

663
00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:09,680
Speaker 1: to success in the second half of the season, which basically,

664
00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:11,880
Speaker 1: you know, it's been well five weeks, we'll give it

665
00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:13,960
Speaker 1: five weeks or so. But in the second half of

666
00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:16,920
Speaker 1: the season. Here are a couple of homer tallies for

667
00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:20,480
Speaker 1: the Braves. Michael Harris leads the team with ten home runs.

668
00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:26,120
Speaker 1: Jerkson Profar and Marcelo Zuna are second tied with seven.

669
00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:30,440
Speaker 1: So Michael Harris has hit ten, Jerkson Profar has hit seven.

670
00:34:31,239 --> 00:34:36,400
Speaker 1: Austin Riley, Ronaldcunya Junior and Matt Olsen have combined for

671
00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,320
Speaker 1: seven home runs in the second half of the season.

672
00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:47,560
Speaker 1: So it's really encouraging, yes, players, but again that's the

673
00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:51,720
Speaker 1: difference between a six weeks and a six month sample size.

674
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:54,520
Speaker 1: When it comes to sustaining offense, you've got to be

675
00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:57,680
Speaker 1: able to have your best players contributing. That's the first thing.

676
00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:02,040
Speaker 1: So that's to Steven's point, it's encouraging to see what

677
00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:04,040
Speaker 1: we've seen in the second half, but I think it's

678
00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:06,759
Speaker 1: still okay to question how sustainable it is. That's the

679
00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:10,240
Speaker 1: first thing. The second thing to Stevens point about walking

680
00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:14,319
Speaker 1: consistently and hitting homers consistently is the one thing that

681
00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:16,959
Speaker 1: that does is that it makes the margin of error

682
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:20,680
Speaker 1: for the pictures to work with so much smaller, which

683
00:35:20,719 --> 00:35:23,480
Speaker 1: plays into what the Braves can do, because if you're

684
00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:27,239
Speaker 1: consistently making pictures work out of the stretch with the

685
00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:31,640
Speaker 1: worry of runners on base, but you're also consistently taking

686
00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:35,239
Speaker 1: advantage of taking their mistakes deep. That's where you're going

687
00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:37,759
Speaker 1: to excel as an offense. That's what really helped the

688
00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:40,560
Speaker 1: Braves out in twenty twenty three. And if you can

689
00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:43,000
Speaker 1: get those two things working, not only does it matter

690
00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:47,000
Speaker 1: over sustaining your offense over a six month sample size,

691
00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:50,239
Speaker 1: that also is a very good remedy or a very

692
00:35:50,239 --> 00:35:54,359
Speaker 1: good mixture of success to find wins in October when

693
00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:55,200
Speaker 1: it matters most.

694
00:35:56,800 --> 00:36:02,760
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I'll never forget watching the two series

695
00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:05,520
Speaker 2: versus the Mets at the very end of the season,

696
00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:07,480
Speaker 2: when the Braves and the Mets were in this you know,

697
00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:10,600
Speaker 2: Titanic battle for the division. The Braves would come all

698
00:36:10,600 --> 00:36:14,080
Speaker 2: the way back the Mets were coming to town. They

699
00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:17,040
Speaker 2: had de Graham, Scherzer, and Bassett lined up to pitch

700
00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:20,040
Speaker 2: in that series, and the Braves just beat them with

701
00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:23,479
Speaker 2: homers like Dansby Swanson homer and in every game Matt

702
00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:25,680
Speaker 2: Olson homer and in every game Austin Riley hit a

703
00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:28,440
Speaker 2: couple of homers like. Those guys didn't make a lot

704
00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:31,640
Speaker 2: of mistakes, those pitchers, I mean, but the ones they made,

705
00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:34,600
Speaker 2: the Braves put them in the seats. And that's how

706
00:36:34,640 --> 00:36:37,720
Speaker 2: you beat good pitching. And that's what I mean by sustainability.

707
00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:42,040
Speaker 2: You don't need nine guys in your lineup getting hot

708
00:36:42,239 --> 00:36:45,960
Speaker 2: at the same time to score runs. When you're hitting homers,

709
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:48,200
Speaker 2: you just need one or two guys and a couple

710
00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:51,600
Speaker 2: of guys taking walks, and you can you can survive

711
00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:55,040
Speaker 2: the cold streaks because let's be honest, we know by

712
00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:58,480
Speaker 2: now this offense, the collection of players it has, they're

713
00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:01,080
Speaker 2: gonna go through cold The individual players are going to

714
00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:04,160
Speaker 2: go through some massive cold streaks. Michael Harris is gonna

715
00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:07,920
Speaker 2: go through massive cold streaks. Austin Riley, Matt Olsen, Sean Murphy,

716
00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:11,439
Speaker 2: Ozzie Albi's they're all streaky as hell. I mean, they're

717
00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:14,400
Speaker 2: gonna go through crazy cold streaks. How do you survive that?

718
00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:18,640
Speaker 2: You hit homers, because then you don't need nine guys hitting,

719
00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:21,080
Speaker 2: You only need two or three guys hitting. The thing

720
00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:22,800
Speaker 2: that Braves have missed the last couple of years is

721
00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:27,120
Speaker 2: the home run ball. Right when you're not hitting homers,

722
00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:29,000
Speaker 2: you need four or five or six guys in your

723
00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:32,919
Speaker 2: lineup hitting. When you're hitting homers, you don't. And that's

724
00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:35,320
Speaker 2: what this lineup was built on. It was built on. Okay,

725
00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:36,960
Speaker 2: we got a bunch of streaky hitters, but they're gonna

726
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:39,440
Speaker 2: hit a ton of homers. So that's how we survive.

727
00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:41,560
Speaker 2: And that's what I kind of want to get back to,

728
00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:44,880
Speaker 2: quite honestly, because this last two years of trying other stuff,

729
00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:49,400
Speaker 2: you know, you know, all we live and die too

730
00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:51,120
Speaker 2: much on the homer. We need to try other stuff

731
00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:54,319
Speaker 2: that hasn't worked. It just hasn't. And what they've done

732
00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:56,200
Speaker 2: the last six weeks is fun. But again, I just

733
00:37:56,239 --> 00:37:59,080
Speaker 2: don't buy it. I don't if Michael Harris is gonna

734
00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:01,759
Speaker 2: be the best player in baseball. Yeah, I mean, maybe

735
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:04,719
Speaker 2: they could sustain it, but does anybody really buy that

736
00:38:04,719 --> 00:38:06,680
Speaker 2: it's gonna be the case over a six month sample.

737
00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:09,600
Speaker 2: I don't. Jerkson Profar is I think it will help

738
00:38:09,640 --> 00:38:11,560
Speaker 2: a lot. I think Jerckson is a big piece of

739
00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:14,960
Speaker 2: this going into next year, maybe one of the biggest

740
00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:22,200
Speaker 2: outside of Austin Riley. But you know, having a Kunya Olsen, Riley, Baldwin, Murphy, Profar,

741
00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:26,640
Speaker 2: whoever's dhing, having the Harris, Ozzy, having the Goose, having

742
00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:30,160
Speaker 2: those guys hit homers and take walks. I think that's

743
00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:32,000
Speaker 2: how you sustain an offense. For six months, and I

744
00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:33,520
Speaker 2: know people are gonna push back on that. I know

745
00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:35,799
Speaker 2: people think they lived and died by the homer too much.

746
00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:38,720
Speaker 2: But when they were doing that, when they were living

747
00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:40,880
Speaker 2: and dying by the homer too much, they were one

748
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:43,440
Speaker 2: of the best offenses in baseball. And ever since they

749
00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:46,360
Speaker 2: stopped doing that, they've been a very metio okrah offense

750
00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:50,120
Speaker 2: at best. So I mean, you tell me, was it

751
00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:53,719
Speaker 2: really all that bad? Wouldn't you just gladly take that again?

752
00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:56,040
Speaker 2: The twenty twenty two I'm not even talking about the

753
00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:58,680
Speaker 2: twenty three offense, the twenty twenty two offense, where they're

754
00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:01,080
Speaker 2: still one of the best offenses of big and yeah,

755
00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:03,000
Speaker 2: they lived and died by the homer, but they were

756
00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:05,439
Speaker 2: still one of the best offenses of baseball. Ever since

757
00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:07,560
Speaker 2: they've gone to this new stuff of kind of de

758
00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:11,760
Speaker 2: emphasizing the homer, they've been a mediocre offense at best,

759
00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:13,719
Speaker 2: and sometimes one of the worst in the sport. So

760
00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:16,160
Speaker 2: I want to see them go back to hit homers

761
00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:19,480
Speaker 2: and take walks. And I think that's how you sustain

762
00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:23,680
Speaker 2: for six months and survive the cold streaks from the

763
00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:27,239
Speaker 2: individual players that are going to inevitably come with this

764
00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:29,440
Speaker 2: collection of hitters, and.

765
00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:33,040
Speaker 1: Never forget how much of a role hitting that homer

766
00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:36,839
Speaker 1: at crucial times played in the braves twenty twenty one

767
00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:40,160
Speaker 1: World Series run. I know that we're nearly four years

768
00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:42,640
Speaker 1: away from that, but I again I labeled the World

769
00:39:42,640 --> 00:39:45,200
Speaker 1: Series run for the Braves the bombs of the bullpen.

770
00:39:45,360 --> 00:39:48,480
Speaker 1: Their ability to hit homers consistently and their ability to

771
00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:51,919
Speaker 1: limit from that bullpen was the big two biggest keys

772
00:39:51,960 --> 00:39:55,279
Speaker 1: to their success. So but yeah, the homers will come,

773
00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:57,520
Speaker 1: you know, I do believe that the homers will come.

774
00:39:57,880 --> 00:39:59,960
Speaker 1: But at the end of the day, it is great

775
00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:02,840
Speaker 1: to see what we're seeing, and I do think that

776
00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:06,520
Speaker 1: this team, it has taken a significant step forward in

777
00:40:06,600 --> 00:40:09,040
Speaker 1: terms of bettering their overall approach of the plate in

778
00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:12,440
Speaker 1: crucial moments and taking walks from a year ago. But

779
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:14,480
Speaker 1: you've got to get your best players back, and I

780
00:40:14,480 --> 00:40:16,279
Speaker 1: think that's a big key when we talk about hitting

781
00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:20,120
Speaker 1: more home runs. Your three best home run hitters, Austin Riley,

782
00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:23,240
Speaker 1: Ronald Acune Junior and Matt Olson in need of hitting homers,

783
00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:26,640
Speaker 1: and hopefully through a healthy off season, we'll get that back. Stephen,

784
00:40:26,880 --> 00:40:28,719
Speaker 1: anything else from you as we wrap up this edition

785
00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:30,240
Speaker 1: of The Hammer, Territory Podcast.

786
00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:35,720
Speaker 2: No, we're moving into September. Listen, it's not the season

787
00:40:35,719 --> 00:40:38,280
Speaker 2: that Breaves wanted. It's not gonna be quite the same

788
00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:40,799
Speaker 2: fire and energy in every game as we're used to

789
00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:42,680
Speaker 2: at this time of year when they're fighting for a

790
00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:48,000
Speaker 2: playoff spot. But we're gonna cover the team just the same. Right,

791
00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:50,960
Speaker 2: We're gonna cover the team for get, you know, four

792
00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:53,439
Speaker 2: shows a week, just like we have been. There's gonna

793
00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:55,960
Speaker 2: be storylines that matter into the off season. You know,

794
00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:58,280
Speaker 2: we're probably gonna get into some more big picture stuff

795
00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:01,440
Speaker 2: in September, you know, the twenty twenty five roster, the

796
00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:05,680
Speaker 2: twenty twenty six roster, the offseason potential moves. You know,

797
00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:08,360
Speaker 2: it'll probably be a little bit more big picture stuff

798
00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:10,600
Speaker 2: in September. But still we're going to cover the team

799
00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:15,239
Speaker 2: exactly the same. So we appreciate you guys as always listening, downloading.

800
00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:17,400
Speaker 2: You know, it's a big help to us and we

801
00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:18,120
Speaker 2: do appreciate it.

802
00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:22,319
Speaker 1: Plus, as time goes along, we're going to have, you know,

803
00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:25,080
Speaker 1: big time revelations, you know, from all of us that

804
00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:28,880
Speaker 1: are going to make it worth you tuning into. For instance,

805
00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:31,240
Speaker 1: I'll go ahead and you know, let a little secret

806
00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:33,920
Speaker 1: be known when it comes to me and Steven. Many

807
00:41:33,960 --> 00:41:36,359
Speaker 1: know that I am a die hard Balls fan and

808
00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:39,480
Speaker 1: Steven is a die hard Alabama fan. Well, I'm in

809
00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:42,279
Speaker 1: a bit of a conundrum this year because it just

810
00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:47,759
Speaker 1: so happens that Alabama's starting quarterback, Ty Simpson is from

811
00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:50,480
Speaker 1: my high school alma mater. He won a state title

812
00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:53,239
Speaker 1: for my high school where I went in Tennessee. So

813
00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:57,000
Speaker 1: I'm bought in a bit to Alabama's success for Ty

814
00:41:57,080 --> 00:42:00,400
Speaker 1: Simpson being successful. I still hate Bama. I still want

815
00:42:00,480 --> 00:42:02,480
Speaker 1: him to lose every single game all he has a

816
00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:05,680
Speaker 1: good game, especially against Tennessee. But that's the type of

817
00:42:05,719 --> 00:42:08,759
Speaker 1: dilemmas that we're facing. That's the type of stuff that

818
00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:11,120
Speaker 1: normally we would not have to worry about if the

819
00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:14,040
Speaker 1: Braves were playing successful baseball. But we have to face

820
00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:18,439
Speaker 1: those realities this year. So interesting topics like that will

821
00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:20,840
Speaker 1: certainly also take up time when it comes to the

822
00:42:20,880 --> 00:42:24,440
Speaker 1: Hammer Territory podcast. And can't thank you enough for tuning

823
00:42:24,480 --> 00:42:28,560
Speaker 1: in for these revelations that at other points in time

824
00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:31,080
Speaker 1: I would not feel so comfortable discussing.

825
00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:39,759
Speaker 2: And your quarterback is at UCLA, No, what what.

826
00:42:39,080 --> 00:42:42,640
Speaker 1: Happened to your quarterback that he went to Ucla.

827
00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:45,840
Speaker 2: Yeah he got he yeah he went to But you

828
00:42:45,880 --> 00:42:47,240
Speaker 2: got UCLA's quarterback.

829
00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:49,720
Speaker 1: We did get UCLA's quarter Guys, made like a trade.

830
00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:52,040
Speaker 1: We did. We did, We did make a trade.

831
00:42:52,080 --> 00:42:53,080
Speaker 2: I'm sure that'll be fine.

832
00:42:53,239 --> 00:42:56,040
Speaker 1: It should be fine. You know, we've gone through a

833
00:42:56,120 --> 00:42:59,200
Speaker 1: lot of change here recently when it comes to the balls.

834
00:42:59,239 --> 00:43:03,719
Speaker 1: You know, some bad, some good. What's Chall's record over

835
00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:06,880
Speaker 1: the past three years versus Tennessee. I'm like tra tuning

836
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:09,000
Speaker 1: into this edition of the Hammer Territory podcast. You could

837
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:12,560
Speaker 1: bind Stephen at b Underscore Outliers on Twitter slash x.

838
00:43:12,760 --> 00:43:14,239
Speaker 1: My name is Sean Coleman. You can buy me at

839
00:43:14,320 --> 00:43:17,800
Speaker 1: stats sac on Twitter slash x as well. Hammer Territory

840
00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:20,000
Speaker 1: across all forms of social media. Part of the Foul

841
00:43:20,080 --> 00:43:23,200
Speaker 1: Territory family of podcasts. And we're here to have fun.

842
00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:24,919
Speaker 1: At the end of the day, we're here to have fun.

843
00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:28,239
Speaker 1: We're here to talk braves, have fun, banter back and

844
00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:30,920
Speaker 1: forth a little bit, but give you the most entertaining

845
00:43:30,920 --> 00:43:33,960
Speaker 1: coverage of the team that we possibly and informative coverage

846
00:43:33,960 --> 00:43:35,799
Speaker 1: of the team that we possibly can. Until next time,

847
00:43:35,880 --> 00:43:38,000
Speaker 1: go Braves. We'll talk to you again soon here on

848
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:39,360
Speaker 1: the Hammer Territory podcast,