WEBVTT - Elder is Excellent in Seventh Straight Win For Braves 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:22.920 Oh to the Hemmer Territory Podcast. My name is Sean Coleman. Hope, 0:00:22.920 --> 0:00:25.560 wherever you are and wherever if you are listening, you 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:28.520 are having a good week. A week that started off 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:32.120 think like just a stressful day. Forty eight hours later, 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:34.839 we are forty eight hours removed the trade deadline. The 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:39.360 Braves have played two games, they continue to play very well, 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:41.960 but still there's plenty to talk about when it comes 0:00:42.000 --> 0:00:44.320 to the fall of the trade deadline. More on that, 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:48.400 plus breaking down the games in some expected but kind 0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:51.559 of unexpected maybe Roster moves all of that on this 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:54.560 edition of The Hammer Territory Podcast. But hey, let's start 0:00:54.560 --> 0:00:57.520 where everybody wants to start talking about the trade deadline 0:00:57.640 --> 0:01:00.520 or what was a lack of the trade deadline as 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:09.920 we mix it up engineered by Fastena, So we're mixing 0:01:09.959 --> 0:01:12.360 it up a bit because we're going to address just 0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:15.880 straightforward the negative, the negative that began this week. And 0:01:15.920 --> 0:01:17.600 I say that it's negative because of course we're going 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:19.640 to get into the positive of the fact that the 0:01:19.680 --> 0:01:22.480 Braves have won seven in a row. But Steven, the 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:24.240 first thing that stands out to me, and we're going 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:27.360 to break down several aspects of this, But to kind 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:30.000 of sum it all up for me is that each 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:32.279 and every time I see this team take the field 0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:35.440 and then play to their potential, them play to a 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:38.760 level that truly shows they can win a World Series. 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:43.360 This year, it makes me even more frustrated that there 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:46.479 was more resources available than we had seen in years, 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:50.200 more opportunities to add to this team in the biggest 0:01:50.240 --> 0:01:52.520 area of need than we've seen in a few years, 0:01:52.960 --> 0:01:56.240 and still for many of the same reasons that it 0:01:56.280 --> 0:01:58.800 wasn't done in the past, which made it even more 0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:02.240 crucial to do it now, this team did not add 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:05.160 the level of starting pitcher that it needed to, despite 0:02:05.200 --> 0:02:08.040 having every reason and resource to get the job done. 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:13.800 Yeah, what's up, buddy? So you and I have not 0:02:13.880 --> 0:02:16.320 had the opportunity to talk about this yet, obviously, Scott 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:21.400 and Brad to the post mortem of the trade deadline 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:24.880 on Monday. You know, it was a very kind of 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:29.200 raw episode. I thought Scott really articulated some of the 0:02:29.240 --> 0:02:33.760 frustrations very well. Had I been on the show forty 0:02:33.800 --> 0:02:37.080 eight hours ago, I would have sounded very much like Scott, 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:41.680 because I was pretty annoyed, pretty frustrated. The trade deadline 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:45.320 reminded me of like if you went to a steakhouse 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:48.400 and you ordered your rabbi and you ordered all your sides, 0:02:49.200 --> 0:02:51.160 and then like twenty minutes later, here comes the waiter 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:54.880 and they put down this beautiful bowl of mashed potatoes 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:57.960 and this big plate of green beans and these rolls, 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:01.080 and you're really excited and you're like, once the stake comes, 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:03.799 this is gonna be, this is gonna slap how good 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:06.840 this is gonna be. And then the stake just never comes, 0:03:07.320 --> 0:03:11.120 and it just leaves you kind of wanting for more, 0:03:11.600 --> 0:03:14.760 not because you dislike anything that they brought out, but 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:17.320 because what you were expecting to be the entree, the 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:20.560 big piece that ties it all together, just never came. 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:28.600 And you know, it always feels like a missed opportunity. 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:31.840 It feels like a level of, you know, a conservative 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:36.960 level of GMing that's really frustrating to watch. I do 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:40.080 believe that, I do strongly believe that you should never 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:43.119 go all in on any one baseball season, on any 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:45.880 one trade deadline, because there's too much variance in the playoffs. 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:49.040 I don't think you should ever go all in. I 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:53.080 do think for the Braves, especially with a thirty seven 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:56.520 year old as this was the time to put some 0:03:56.720 --> 0:03:59.960 of the chips in, like you gotta push some chip 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:06.680 sin And you know one thing I listened to so 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:10.120 somebody asked Andrew Freeman, the GM of the Dodgers, what 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:12.600 is the goal for this season? And he gave a 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:15.920 foreword answer, and the answer was to win the World Series. 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:18.840 That's it. Win the World Series. That was his answer. 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:21.680 Over the last two days, Alex has done a lot 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:25.279 of media and they've asked him that question a couple 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:28.320 of times, and Alex's answer is always like a hundred 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:32.520 word answer, mostly a word salad, most of it not 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:34.800 meaning much of anything, but it usually ends up with 0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:37.400 some form of the goal is to make it to 0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:41.599 the playoffs and then to see what happens. And it 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:46.560 does feel sometimes that Alex's in the organization's direction is 0:04:47.520 --> 0:04:51.040 make the playoffs and then hope variance is on your side, 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:54.600 whereas other teams are a bit more aggressive in these spots. 0:04:55.360 --> 0:04:59.440 And you know, it's just very frustrating. Again, I don't 0:04:59.440 --> 0:05:01.120 think the Brave should have gone all in. I don't 0:05:01.120 --> 0:05:03.240 think they should have traded Eric Hartman, and I don't 0:05:03.240 --> 0:05:06.280 think they should have traded Cam Kevinitti and and and 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:11.039 unloaded their entire farm for this team specifically. But you 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:15.160 got to push some chips in. You just do It's 0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:18.480 I think it's disrespectful to the clubhouse. Yes, to not 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:21.080 do it. I can't imagine what Chris Sale is thinking. 0:05:23.320 --> 0:05:27.960 But they didn't, and you know, it's it was very, 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:31.800 very frustrating. And the thing is, I like Lane Thomas, 0:05:32.600 --> 0:05:36.520 I like Tyler Mallley. I actually I really liked those moves. Again, 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:39.840 those were the sides at the steak dinner that I 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:42.479 ordered that I really like, Like, I liked those moves 0:05:42.600 --> 0:05:45.400 in a vacuum just they they would have all made 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:49.640 so much more sense with one really good picture. And 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:53.320 you know, we didn't get it. And we're gonna talk about, 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:55.640 you know, how that's gonna play out, and no one 0:05:55.680 --> 0:05:57.080 really knows how it's gonna play out, how we think 0:05:57.120 --> 0:05:58.960 it's gonna play out. But it was a very very 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:01.800 frustrating day. And I do appreciate a lot of the 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:04.600 media members who kind of pushed Alex in his in 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:07.760 his zoom at the end. You know, there was a 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:10.480 lot of people very confused, a lot of national people confuse. 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:13.360 It's been a big topic of conversation over the last 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:15.279 forty eight hours about how a lot of people can't 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:18.320 believe the Braves didn't go get a frontline starter, and 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:22.560 you know, it was a very very very frustrating deadline. 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:27.400 Yes, Alex did a disservice to this team this year. 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:30.280 That's that's exactly what he did. In terms of the 0:06:30.279 --> 0:06:33.719 fact that you're asking for your GM for a team 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:36.880 that is clearly showing on the field it's doing what 0:06:36.960 --> 0:06:40.080 it can to be a World Series contender. That is 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:42.960 the team basically telling the GM, we are ready for 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:45.159 you to go out and address the needs that we 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:48.080 have so we could be the best version of ourselves 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:50.000 to have the best shot at winning the World Series. 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:53.480 Alex and Thoppless failed it doing that for this team, 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:55.880 and what makes it a bit more frustrating. There's several 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:58.680 several factors that make it very frustrating. But for me, 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:02.080 it's to continue eua of the same thing that we 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:04.840 have seen over the past two plus years. Alex has 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:07.960 consistently said he's looking for a playoff starter. He's looking 0:07:07.960 --> 0:07:10.040 for a playoff starter, He's looking for a playoff starter. 0:07:10.400 --> 0:07:14.400 He went after some things that we've heard and I'll 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:15.880 let you break it down a bit as well, Steven, 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:18.840 There's been some news that has come out about who 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:22.760 exactly Alex went after Logan web Tark Scooble as well 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:24.000 as Jacob de Grom. 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:26.160 I'm glad he went after those guys. Those are the 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:27.480 big fish, those are. 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:30.240 The difference makers. You land one of those guys, you're 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.400 right there, I think amongst the three or four best 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:36.160 teams in baseball in terms of being a contender for 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:39.000 the World Series. But the problem is it was always 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:41.040 going to be very hard to land one of those guys. 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:44.920 And for Alex, he always seems to want to have 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:48.320 these deals be on his terms unless it's a Hall 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:51.040 of Fame level talent, and then he'll pay the terms 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:54.880 of somebody else. But if it's not that just top 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:58.600 tier talent, Alex always has to have the move beyond 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:00.760 his terms. It either has to be a certain cost 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:02.320 where value is going to be there, or it has 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:05.040 to be a certain prospect price and be willing to 0:08:05.160 --> 0:08:05.880 pay for the. 0:08:05.960 --> 0:08:06.720 Value to be there. 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:09.760 There were so many other ways for him to pivot 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:13.440 that clearly would have made this team better. He just 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:16.760 kind of, like you mentioned, he's conservative. To me, I 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:19.800 just I don't think he has anything to overpay, even 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:21.960 if it would make the team better. But the problem 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:23.680 is is that with the money that he had from 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:26.720 the profile money, plus the prospects that he now had, 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:30.480 you have the ability to overpay. It's okay to overpay 0:08:30.680 --> 0:08:33.440 if it clearly makes your major league team better in 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:36.280 a year where they clearly have the ability to go 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:39.320 in the World Series. That's what made me frustrated. It 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:42.360 was the time to overpay. We're talking about going all in. 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:44.839 You don't have to go all in because you had 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:47.160 money to make to be creative on deals, and you 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:49.839 have more prospect capital to work with to still retain 0:08:49.880 --> 0:08:52.160 a strong farm while still going out and making a 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:54.920 significant deal. And despite all that being on the table 0:08:55.040 --> 0:08:57.640 and what he's mentioned for two years, he still did 0:08:57.640 --> 0:09:02.200 not get the job done. And it's wrong and it's frustrating, 0:09:02.320 --> 0:09:05.960 and it's a disservice to this team. 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:09.040 Well, I do think I do think the Braves had 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:11.480 a very small list of guys they viewed as impact. 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:15.040 I do think the list was much smaller internally than 0:09:15.080 --> 0:09:19.200 it was externally. I don't think they viewed some of 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:24.559 the names that had been bandied about publicly as impact, 0:09:24.720 --> 0:09:27.600 and they weren't going to pay anything more than what 0:09:27.640 --> 0:09:30.760 they felt those guys were and on a case by 0:09:30.800 --> 0:09:32.800 case basis, I could be talked into some of that. 0:09:33.440 --> 0:09:35.760 I think there was two frustrating parts for me. One, 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:42.480 every other team in the National League added impact starting pitching. Yes, 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:48.760 the Cubs, the Dodgers, the Brewers, the Padres, you know, 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:51.120 like the teams the Braves are going to be competing for. 0:09:51.200 --> 0:09:52.880 And I'm not sure any of those teams had as 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:57.040 big a need that's starting pitching as the Braves did. 0:09:57.960 --> 0:09:59.840 So that was very frustrating. Not only it's a kind 0:09:59.840 --> 0:10:01.800 of a double wayman, not only did you not get one, 0:10:02.200 --> 0:10:06.240 but everybody you're competing against did. And then the other 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:09.800 thing that was kind of frustrating for me, not kind 0:10:09.800 --> 0:10:17.000 of very was it really felt like the prospects being traded, 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:20.960 Like I never really saw anybody get a crazy haul, 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:24.959 Like it didn't seem like the prices were all that crazy, 0:10:25.000 --> 0:10:27.960 Like even the schoolbul package was. There's a lot of 0:10:27.960 --> 0:10:31.000 conversation about like did the Brewers or did the Tigers 0:10:31.000 --> 0:10:34.040 get enough? Like it didn't seem like a crazy package. 0:10:34.040 --> 0:10:38.199 I think maybe the Cubs when they got Clay Holmes 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:40.200 and Taylor from the Mets. I think they paid a 0:10:40.200 --> 0:10:42.080 decent price. I think they gave like their number two 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:44.600 of overall prospect. But other than that, it really did 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:50.520 feel like very reasonable cost for a lot of guys. 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:53.439 And you know, Alex does this thing, and he's done 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:55.880 this for years where he'll go on and he'll talk 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:57.720 about like, yeah, I could have traded for somebody, but 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:00.480 then like Drake Baldwin's out the door, and it's like 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:04.400 that wasn't the level of prospect that was traded on Monday? 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:06.880 Just wasn't, you know? Or he taught you know, well, 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:09.680 yeah I could, And what he's essentially saying is, yeah, 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:11.719 I could have traded somebody, but Eric Cartman is out 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:13.800 the door, and I find I find that to be 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:17.320 disingenuous because I don't think that level of prospect was 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:22.080 moved by anybody, and still a lot of pitchers changed 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:25.000 hands and a lot of teams were able to trade 0:11:25.040 --> 0:11:27.559 for impact. I do think where the disconnect is between 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:30.480 the fan base and the team is I think the 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:33.920 team just had a really small list of guys they 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:37.640 viewed as impact, and the list was basically Schoobale, the 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:41.720 gram Logan Web. I do think they like Gosman. I 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:44.200 think the Toronto Blue Jays stuff that we heard from 0:11:44.280 --> 0:11:47.400 Ken Rosenthal last week, I think that's real. I think 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:51.560 I don't think Toronto and the Braves deal with each other, 0:11:51.600 --> 0:11:53.920 and I think I think they would. But I do 0:11:53.960 --> 0:11:57.400 think they charged the Braves a little bit more than 0:11:57.440 --> 0:12:01.920 they charge other teams because Toronto doesn't like Alex. I 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:03.680 think Gosman would have been a guy they would have 0:12:03.679 --> 0:12:07.000 gone after if that wasn't the case. But other than that, 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:10.360 I'm not sure they felt like I don't think they 0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:14.559 thought Casey Mize was all that much of an improvement. 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:18.720 I don't think they thought Clay Holmes or you know, Soriano. 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:21.120 And I'm not saying I agree with him. I don't 0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:24.000 on some of those. I do agree with him on others. 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:29.160 But yeah, with everybody else getting better, everybody else getting 0:12:29.160 --> 0:12:31.480 the thing you're going for and you not getting it 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:35.200 is just doubly frustrating. The prospect costs seeming to be 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:39.640 very reasonable is frustrating. It was just a very frustrating day. 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:44.040 And you know, the thing I don't like hearing people say, 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:46.320 and I've seen this a lot of less forty eight hours, 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:48.880 is if you're mad at Alex, then you need to 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:50.440 take a step back and look at how good the 0:12:50.440 --> 0:12:53.199 team is. And I don't like that logic. I think 0:12:53.200 --> 0:12:55.880 that logic misses the forest for the trees, because the 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:59.160 reason people are mad is not in spite of the 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:00.960 fact that the team is. The reason that people are 0:13:01.000 --> 0:13:03.760 mad is because the team is good. You wanted them 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:08.480 to go. Add more like, push some chips in. Don't 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:11.040 push all the chips in. You should never push all 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:14.960 the chips in on one baseball season. The math doesn't 0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:19.160 support that. But push some push some chips in. And 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:24.440 they just didn't, and and it was just a frustrating day. 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:24.920 Yeah. 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:27.440 And and the thing that I'll say is this is 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:32.079 that my opinion of Alex and Thopolis in and of itself, 0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:33.920 it's not changed that much. I still think that he 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:35.720 is one of the best gams in baseball. I still 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:38.160 think that a strength of this team overall is the 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:42.440 job Alex typically does. His track record being here speaks 0:13:42.480 --> 0:13:45.240 to that. But Scott brought up a great point. When 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:47.760 you look at the track record of Alex and Thoppolis 0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:49.560 over the past two to three. 0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:54.439 Years, it's not that great. It's not his very well. 0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:56.280 Alex is in a bit of a cold streak. 0:13:57.040 --> 0:13:57.760 But the other. 0:13:57.600 --> 0:13:59.840 Aspect of it is is that again he's kept pre 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:02.079 about we need to add a starter. We're looking to 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:03.560 add a starter, we need to add a starter. We're 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.200 looking to add a starter, but he's not doing what's 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:08.679 necessary to add a starter. I still think Alex and 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.320 Thoughtless is one of best geams in baseball. He did 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:14.480 not he did not do his job when it mattered 0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:18.080 most of this year. And yes, this team still clearly 0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:20.200 has a chance to win the World Series, but I 0:14:20.240 --> 0:14:22.320 think that they would have had an easier time going 0:14:22.360 --> 0:14:23.200 about it had he. 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:24.280 Just clearly added the need. 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:26.120 And one thing that I'll end on on is this, 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:30.440 the Braves won the twenty twenty one World Series. That 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:35.240 should absolutely live on that flag will fly forever. But 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:37.920 it's also been five years, and in that five year span, 0:14:37.960 --> 0:14:40.960 this team has won two playoff games. As Scott Coleman mentioned, 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:45.600 Alex consistently references that when he's talking to the media. 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:47.960 I know that he was aggressive at that deadline, but 0:14:48.000 --> 0:14:50.120 I also know that he didn't give up any prospects 0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:53.960 of value. At some point, when you clearly need to 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:57.480 get value, you've got to give up value. And that's 0:14:57.520 --> 0:15:00.200 the thing that stands out to me. I won't say 0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:02.040 more than anything, but just another aspect of it. It 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:05.000 stands out you speak on value so much, well, then 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:07.880 if you speak on value, that to me represents that 0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:10.560 you understand value and to get it, you've got to 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:13.080 be able to give it up. It just does not 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:15.280 feel like that that was the case this time around. 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:17.960 A disservice was done. We'll have to live with it, 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:20.840 but I truly do think it's a missed opportunity and 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:23.080 I'm just hoping that it doesn't come back and haness 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:26.440 when it matters most. But of course this team right 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:28.920 now is not really letting and effective because they've won 0:15:29.040 --> 0:15:31.360 seven in a row. 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K twelve dot com 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:42.760 slash foul K twelve serving three million students and counting. 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:45.480 So Stephen. 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:47.280 Of course, the best way to be able to move 0:16:47.320 --> 0:16:50.080 on what was a disappointing deadline day is just your 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:52.280 team just played to the best of its ability, and 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:55.480 that's what we've seen this Braves team do as seven 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:58.080 straight wins and we talk about, you know, the fact 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:02.560 that you know, after a pretty abysmal or June offensively, 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:04.800 this team bounced back to be one of the best 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:07.800 offenses in the game in July. But over this seven 0:17:07.800 --> 0:17:09.880 game stretch and really since the All Star Break, it's 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:12.960 been the pitching, especially the starting pitching. Grant Holmes and 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:15.959 Bryce Elder deciding to do their best Greg Mannicks impressions, 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:19.199 the Braves starting pitching do an absolutely incredible against the 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:22.400 best offense in baseball over the weekend against the Nationals. 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:25.080 This team is on a roll right now and it's 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:27.880 really good to see. It goes to show how effective 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:30.080 this team can be. If they can get some quality 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:32.880 starting pitching and this offense can mix in the homers 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:36.520 with also being able to hit situationally, we can get 0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:38.320 the job done on a consistent basis. 0:17:40.280 --> 0:17:42.120 Yeah, I mean they're playing really well right now, seven 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:46.119 in a row. Bryce Otter was really good tonight. I 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:50.960 maintain when Bryce Otter takes the mound, and I don't 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:53.320 know if I've ever seen a pitcher where literally every 0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:57.840 outcome is possible, Like Bryce could have easily thrown a 0:17:57.840 --> 0:17:59.679 no header tonight and it wouldn't have done me the 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:02.280 way he was throwing the ball. He was at like 0:18:02.400 --> 0:18:04.640 thirty nine pitches at like in the like the fifth 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:06.960 inning at one point. There was not a lot of 0:18:07.160 --> 0:18:08.679 hard hit balls, a lot of pop ups, a lot 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:13.440 of weak rounders. It's just very, very difficult to figure 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:15.399 out what the hell is going to happen in a 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:18.840 Bryce Elder start. I never know. And tonight we got 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:22.479 the awesome version. And you know Bryce when he had 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:26.200 three strikeouts, Like when Bryce goes well without the strikeouts, 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:29.880 it's almost always just babup stuff, you know, I think 0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:32.480 the I think the Marlins had like an O fifty 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:35.880 bab up tonight, So like is that real? I don't know, 0:18:37.000 --> 0:18:40.040 it counts, doesn't count any less if it's not real. 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:42.600 You know, I saw a lot of Well there's your 0:18:42.600 --> 0:18:46.159 game two starter right there tonight. I'm my guys, I 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:48.520 don't think the I don't think the August Marlins are 0:18:48.600 --> 0:18:51.080 going to be in the postseason. Like, we we can't 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:53.560 do this every week where whoever has a good week 0:18:53.800 --> 0:18:55.840 is now the number two starter in the play. Like 0:18:56.560 --> 0:18:59.479 I'm gonna start making account of how many times that 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:02.800 changes over the next two months. But he pitched well, 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:06.560 and the Braves are playing well. And you know, one 0:19:06.560 --> 0:19:10.840 thing I do really enjoy right now is I looked 0:19:10.880 --> 0:19:13.520 at the lineup tonight when they posted the lineup and 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:16.560 they had Riley batting eighth I think, and Sean Murphy 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:18.600 batting ninth, and it was like, this is the most 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:21.919 talent the Braves have had in their lineup, just like, 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:25.919 maybe not the production from all those guys, but you 0:19:26.000 --> 0:19:28.760 just look at the names, like it just feels more 0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:32.520 talented right like Acuna's back, Murphy's back, Riley's back, or 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:35.760 you know, Riley's hitting decently right now. And yeah, they're 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:39.160 playing well. And I'm really not worried about this. I've 0:19:39.200 --> 0:19:40.800 said this a few times on the show. I'm really 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:43.960 not worried about the regular season with this team right now, 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:48.000 Like I think they're gonna you know, I anywhere between 0:19:48.119 --> 0:19:52.400 ninety and one hundred wins feels very normal right now 0:19:52.440 --> 0:19:55.800 for this team. The Phillies have gotten a little hot again. 0:19:55.840 --> 0:19:58.560 They really fell off, but you know, the Braves lead 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:02.600 I think is still at like eight games. You know, 0:20:02.640 --> 0:20:06.320 they can be very conservative with Chris Sale. They actually 0:20:06.320 --> 0:20:08.800 pushed him. I think originally he was gonna pitch in 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:13.159 this series. They pushed him to the Yankee Series, and 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:15.560 they can do that now because they've got a comfortable lead. 0:20:15.560 --> 0:20:18.920 Like the regular season is really not all that worrisome 0:20:18.960 --> 0:20:22.320 to me, and I do think the Braves have a 0:20:22.359 --> 0:20:26.200 really good regular season team right now. How this team 0:20:26.280 --> 0:20:29.159 is gonna be judged is gonna what happens in October, 0:20:29.280 --> 0:20:33.520 like the first. You know, one really good thing that's 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:36.320 happened is the Dodgers have really fallen off the wagon, 0:20:36.680 --> 0:20:39.760 and the Braves have actually caught the Dodgers in terms 0:20:39.760 --> 0:20:41.760 of like the seed one in two seed. I think 0:20:41.760 --> 0:20:43.879 the Braves are the two seeds right now, so that 0:20:43.880 --> 0:20:45.800 would mean they would get to skip the wildcard round. 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:48.800 I don't think the Dodgers are, Like, you know, the 0:20:48.840 --> 0:20:51.800 Dodgers have played like four hundred baseball for about a 0:20:51.800 --> 0:20:55.239 month now. I don't think that's gonna continue. But you know, 0:20:55.280 --> 0:20:58.280 it's now a race again of who's gonna get those 0:20:58.320 --> 0:21:01.280 top two seeds. And that's probably with the most important 0:21:01.280 --> 0:21:03.960 part of what's left in the regular season and keeping 0:21:03.960 --> 0:21:07.000 everybody healthy, of course. But yeah, the team's playing well 0:21:07.240 --> 0:21:10.080 and it is going to be funny watching over the 0:21:10.080 --> 0:21:12.480