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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Hammer Territory Podcast. My name is Sean Coleman.

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Speaker 1: Hope wherever you are and wherever you are listening, you're

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Speaker 1: having a great start to your Tuesday. And of course

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Speaker 1: All Star week is here, and we just finished the

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Speaker 1: home run derby and we are going to have an

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Speaker 1: all star version of this Hammer Territory podcast as you

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Speaker 1: not only get two but three of the four main

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Speaker 1: group here at Hammer Territory, myself, Scott Coleman, and Steven

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Speaker 1: Tolbert tonight as we talk about all Star weekend also

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Speaker 1: what's to come ahead for the Braves. But first we'll

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Speaker 1: get to my podcast partner, Scott. How are you doing tonight, sir,

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Speaker 1: Good to talk with you again.

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Speaker 2: Hey, Sean, I'm doing really well to do a three

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Speaker 2: man pod. We of course used to do a lot

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Speaker 2: of these back in the day with Talking Chop and

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Speaker 2: Battery Power, but I believe this is the first three

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Speaker 2: man that we have done on Hammer Territory. It's very

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Speaker 2: nice to be on with you and with Steven Tonight.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, and I think that this is the case. And

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Speaker 1: Steve and I know that me and you usually are

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Speaker 1: talking about, you know, all the different things that are

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Speaker 1: going on and you know, typically here recently it's been

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Speaker 1: us talking about, you know, how disappointing the Braves offense

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Speaker 1: has been. But I know that you tonight kind of

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Speaker 1: endured more than enjoyed the Home Run Derby. Of course,

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Speaker 1: Stephen over at Battery Power, you know, recap the Home

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Speaker 1: Run Derby. Well we'll start there. Marcello Zuna was in

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Speaker 1: the Home Run Derby. You know, a little bit of

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Speaker 1: anticipation that maybe he could have a good show, and

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Speaker 1: unfortunately he didn't. But you know, when I say that

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Speaker 1: we've had a bit of rants in the past, this

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Speaker 1: this Home Run Derby, it was supposed to be entertaining.

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Speaker 1: It didn't come across that way, even though there were

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Speaker 1: some enjoyable moments.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's good to be on with you guys, obviously,

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Speaker 3: it's it's always fun to do these and I'm very

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Speaker 3: much look forward to doing our first three man pod.

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Speaker 3: I think we have some interesting stuff to talk about.

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Speaker 3: But yeah, the Home Run Derby. Listen, I grew up

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Speaker 3: on the Home Run Derby. I was obsessed with the

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Speaker 3: Home Run Derby when I was a kid. Like it

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Speaker 3: was Griffy and McGuire and Bonds and so so like

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Speaker 3: those things were like magical to me.

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Speaker 4: The magic has.

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Speaker 3: Certainly worn off over the years. I don't know if

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Speaker 3: it's just because they changed the format every year. If

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Speaker 3: they you know, they really struggle to get the best

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Speaker 3: home run hitters in the game.

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Speaker 4: To do it.

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Speaker 3: You know, this year we had Alec Boehme and you know,

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Speaker 3: Tiascar Hernandez and no no offense to those guys. They

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Speaker 3: put on as good a show as they could. But

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Speaker 3: like you know, you need a certain amount of star

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Speaker 3: power in these things to really drive it. Even as

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Speaker 3: a Braves fan, you know, watching Marcel was cool, but

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Speaker 3: you know, if this thing has Aaron Judge and show

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Speaker 3: Hey and and Soto, you know, it's just got more juice.

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Speaker 3: So I don't really know what the league can do,

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Speaker 3: but you know, it is what it is. It's a

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Speaker 3: it's a marketing and pr event, and that's kind of

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Speaker 3: what this whole week is. So I'm not gonna get

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Speaker 3: two upset about. But yeah, it was a like a

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Speaker 3: three hour derby tonight. Not the greatest, you know, not

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Speaker 3: the best field to begin with, but.

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Speaker 4: Is what it is.

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Speaker 3: But yeah, good to be on with you guys, And

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Speaker 3: obviously we've got some interesting talk to get to about

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Speaker 3: the Braves and where they're gonna go as we as

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Speaker 3: we approach the trade deadline and Scott.

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Speaker 1: We also need to acknowledge just how busy this week

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Speaker 1: is a week that continues to get busier and busier because,

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Speaker 1: of course, we also know that the MLB Draft over

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Speaker 1: the past couple of seasons has occurred during All Star weekends.

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Speaker 1: So I'll be the first to admit myself I'm not

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Speaker 1: a draft expert, but the Braves, once again, you know,

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Speaker 1: heavily investing in pitching. But I think for many across

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Speaker 1: the league, you know, they saw us draft you know,

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Speaker 1: one of the youngest but also most appealing arms in

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Speaker 1: this draft in Cam Kamanitti with the first pick in

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Speaker 1: the draft. But beyond that, I think that it's a

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Speaker 1: good thing that the Braves invested in Cam Kmmanitti. Just

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Speaker 1: a few thoughts that you have on the fact that

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Speaker 1: the draft's going on, and of course we're going to

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Speaker 1: see the completion of the Braves twenty twenty four draft

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Speaker 1: class tomorrow.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, so far, the Braves have made ten

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Speaker 2: picks and nine of them have been pitchers. And then

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Speaker 2: they took a catcher with some pop, and lately that's

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Speaker 2: been the trend for the Braves in the draft, a

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Speaker 2: whole lot of pitching. And while I admittedly am not

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Speaker 2: a big time draft guru, the people who I trust

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Speaker 2: and who really follow this stuff really really like the

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Speaker 2: pick of Kaminetti, a player who was very likely not

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Speaker 2: going to be there at twenty four if you believe

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Speaker 2: the scouting services. He was a projected top fifteen pick,

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Speaker 2: and with good reason. And at the end of the day,

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Speaker 2: you're talking about a seventeen year old prep high school

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Speaker 2: arm There is such a long path ahead of him

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Speaker 2: in order to make the majors. But for my money,

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Speaker 2: if you're going to swing in the draft, swing for

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Speaker 2: the fences. Go for a Kaminetti who throws ninety eight

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Speaker 2: with a clean motion from the left side. If everything

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Speaker 2: goes right, you're talking about a top of the rotation

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Speaker 2: all for years to cop. He has blood lum working

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Speaker 2: in his favor. He is the kind of player who

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Speaker 2: I want the Braves to go out and try to

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Speaker 2: get because you can play for floor and you can

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Speaker 2: play for sealing in these drafts, and it is such

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Speaker 2: a crapshoot. But for my money, if you're going to

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Speaker 2: try to add a player with the twenty fourth pick.

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Speaker 2: Kevin Eddy was a no brainer, and let's hope the

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Speaker 2: Braves can develop him and turn him into a real

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Speaker 2: weapon out of their rotation in a couple of years.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, and you know you're looking at you know, a

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Speaker 1: few years from now. You know, Alex and thopplss they've

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Speaker 1: consistently gone. You know, it's just like the setu from

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Speaker 1: last year. Stephen pointed this out, in which you know

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Speaker 1: they probably had a plan going into the draft, but

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Speaker 1: on nine one those plans kind of got scrapped when

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Speaker 1: a player you didn't expect to be there was there.

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Speaker 1: So kudos to the Braves were getting that value. But

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Speaker 1: of course we're here to talk about you know, what's

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Speaker 1: to come, and I know we're in the midst of

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Speaker 1: All Star Week, not no games until this weekend, but

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Speaker 1: what's coming up after the All Star break is of

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Speaker 1: course the two and twenty four or MLB trade deadline.

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Speaker 1: And in another episode later this week, we're gonna go

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Speaker 1: top to bottom with the roster, you know, looking at

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Speaker 1: different perspectives when it comes to what the Braves could

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Speaker 1: do with the trade deadline. But in this episode, really

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Speaker 1: wanted to focus on what has emerged as the number

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Speaker 1: one need for this Braves team. And we've heard it

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Speaker 1: rumored that the Braves are already exploring options for this need,

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Speaker 1: and of course that is the outfield addition. And Steven,

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Speaker 1: I'll throw it to you with this setup, the current

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Speaker 1: situation for the Braves outfield is this. We've discussed it'

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Speaker 1: Scotten Brad have discussed it. The current Brave situation is this.

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Speaker 1: You've got right now at the top of the hierarchy

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Speaker 1: for the Braves outfield, You've got Jared Kilnick, who over

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Speaker 1: the past six weeks or so has performed very well.

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Speaker 1: Past week or so has struggled. But you've got Jared Kilnick,

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Speaker 1: You've got Adam de Ball, You've got Eddie Rizzario, You've

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Speaker 1: got Eli White, Ramon Lariano possibly could be coming back,

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Speaker 1: you know, maybe this weekend, hopefully in the next ten

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Speaker 1: days or so, maybe Michael Harris the second. But the

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Speaker 1: thing that I'm getting that when you look from that

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Speaker 1: top to bottom of the current hierarchy for this Braves outfield,

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Speaker 1: you maybe have one or two liable everyday options. To me,

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Speaker 1: when it comes to the reason why outfield is in need,

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Speaker 1: you need another everyday option to really make that group

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Speaker 1: formidable for what you hope can be a productive group

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Speaker 1: for the playoffs.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, listen, I mean you read off the names, right,

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Speaker 3: you read off Jared Kelnick and Adam Devall and Eddie

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Speaker 3: Rizzario and Ramon Loreano and Eli White. You know that

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Speaker 3: really doesn't sound like a group of players that should be,

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Speaker 3: Like you're one through four on a on a roster

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Speaker 3: that's trying to win a World Series, at least in

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Speaker 3: terms of the outfield, Like that really sounds like more

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Speaker 3: of you know, that should be the names that's like

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Speaker 3: you're three through six or three through seven. You know,

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Speaker 3: there's just not a lot of high end talent in

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Speaker 3: that position right now. You know, Michael Harris is coming back. Obviously,

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Speaker 3: at least he's planning on coming back, I should say,

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Speaker 3: you know, he's.

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Speaker 4: Got a hamstring.

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Speaker 3: Hamstrings are notoriously tricky, especially for guys who use, you know,

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Speaker 3: their legs as a big part of their weapon, like

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Speaker 3: a center fielder does. So obviously, Michael coming back and

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Speaker 3: when he comes back, and how healthy and productive he's

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Speaker 3: going to be when he comes back is a factor

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Speaker 3: in all of this. But at the end of the day.

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Speaker 3: You know, I can spit out a ton of numbers.

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Speaker 3: I can, you know, splits left right, you know, obp

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Speaker 3: slugging like there's a there's a million numbers, and we'll

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Speaker 3: talk about some of them tonight. But like if you

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Speaker 3: just step back and just look at the names and

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Speaker 3: like the talent level, like it's just insufficient, Like it's

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Speaker 3: just not that's not a talented enough outfield to help

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Speaker 3: the Braves win a World Series in my opinion, And

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Speaker 3: I just think they need more. And you know, whether

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Speaker 3: they need one or two more is probably pretty dependent

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Speaker 3: on where they think Michael is in terms of his rehab.

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Speaker 3: We're going to get into some names tonight a little bit,

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Speaker 3: and some of the teams that are that are potentially.

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Speaker 4: Selling, but they just need more. I mean, they just

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Speaker 4: need more talent. You know.

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Speaker 3: We can hope for guys to play better, and hope

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Speaker 3: Eddie Rosario plays better, Adam de Ball plays better, Kellnet

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Speaker 3: gets a little more consistent, but at the end of

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Speaker 3: the day, it's, you know a lot of a lot

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Speaker 3: of times just about talent, and I don't think the

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Speaker 3: Braves have quite enough talent there. I think they need

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Speaker 3: to make a couple of external moves, at least one

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Speaker 3: external move if they feel comfortable about Michael and just

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Speaker 3: add to the talent level and then go from there.

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Speaker 1: And Scott. The thing that I'll mention about it is

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Speaker 1: is that when you're looking so the Braves obviously need talent,

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Speaker 1: they need to out elevate their talent level in the outfield,

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Speaker 1: and a lot of times when it comes to trade deadlines,

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Speaker 1: outfielders are one of the more, you know, easy to

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Speaker 1: come by options that you can get, especially for the Braves,

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Speaker 1: who we've seen time and time again, go get a player,

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Speaker 1: have them improve in Atlanta versus what they did previously.

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Speaker 1: You know, it's a tel As oldest time, you know,

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Speaker 1: master of the move on the margins Alex and Thopless

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Speaker 1: and so many people want to point out we just

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Speaker 1: celebrated the three year anniversary of us going to get

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Speaker 1: John Peterson in twenty twenty one. People want to point out, well,

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Speaker 1: he did it in twenty twenty one, he could do

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Speaker 1: it this year. But one factor that's changed between now

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Speaker 1: and in twenty twenty one there's an extra playoff team.

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Speaker 1: I went back and looked at the Wildcats Stadings in

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty one. At this time, there was no team

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Speaker 1: within the top two wildcard teams by more than three games.

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Speaker 1: The standings in the situation for the playoffs have changed.

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Speaker 1: That makes the amount of outfielders and teams that are

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Speaker 1: willing to trade change a bit. It's a point you

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Speaker 1: brought up time and time again, but it's an important

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Speaker 1: factor as to who could be available when it comes

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Speaker 1: to adding an outfield edition.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely will. And if you go and look at

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Speaker 2: the standings that there are as many as maybe a

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Speaker 2: half dozen teams who are going to ultimately decide what

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Speaker 2: they're going to do with the deadline based on the

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Speaker 2: next two weeks once the games begin. Teams like what

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Speaker 2: do the Texas Rangers do, What do the Toronto Blue

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Speaker 2: Jays do? What do the Tampa Bay Rays do? Go

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Speaker 2: on and on down the list. And obviously, if you're

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Speaker 2: the Braves, you're winning as many teams to sell as possible.

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Speaker 2: Prices generally go down when it's more of a buyer's

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Speaker 2: market and you just have more flexibility and options for

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Speaker 2: who you're going to try to add in right field.

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Speaker 2: I would agree entirely with both you and Steven. The

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Speaker 2: Braves have to go out and ad an outfielder of

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Speaker 2: some kind. It may not be a superstar. I know

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Speaker 2: Luis Robert is probably the biggest outfield name on the block.

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Speaker 2: I mean, sure, could the Braves unload the farm to

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Speaker 2: go get Robert and hope that he stays healthy and

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Speaker 2: if he is, then that's a massive addition. Sure, I'm

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Speaker 2: also not sure that Alex and Thoppless, just knowing everything

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Speaker 2: we know about him, is going to unload three or

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Speaker 2: four of his top prospects from a pretty thin farm

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Speaker 2: system in order to go take that gamble. Does a

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Speaker 2: player like Randia Rosarina become available in Tampa Bay? And

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Speaker 2: we can go on and on down the list, But

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Speaker 2: the point is is that Alex kind of zigs when

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Speaker 2: we expect him to zag. He has never really made

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Speaker 2: the obvious move, especially recently. Who saw him going out

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Speaker 2: and getting Chris Sale. I don't think that name was

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Speaker 2: mentioned once all off season connected to the Braves, even

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Speaker 2: by US people who follow the Braves and cover the

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Speaker 2: Braves closely. And he goes out and ads Sale, And

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Speaker 2: I think that's a point of Whenever Alex, He's never

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Speaker 2: afraid to look under every rock, and it would not

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Speaker 2: surprise me that in a couple of weeks if a

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Speaker 2: he were to add an outfielder, and b if it's

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Speaker 2: somebody who we maybe aren't thinking is an obvious choice.

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Speaker 1: And Stephen, the thing that I'll say is this is

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Speaker 1: that you're correct, absolutely, Scott, Alex and Thopolis. He had

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Speaker 1: the resourcefulness that he has especially on these moves in

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Speaker 1: the margins of going to get names that we may

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Speaker 1: not expect. I think is definitely something that kind of

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Speaker 1: always keeps us in the loop to be able to

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Speaker 1: find a valuable get even if the number of teams

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Speaker 1: that are out there are not that numerous, at least

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Speaker 1: not as much as they were in the past. But Stephen,

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Speaker 1: while the names may not be available, I think that

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Speaker 1: one thing we could pinpoint is one or two traits

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Speaker 1: in a specific outfielder that really could be a need

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Speaker 1: for this Brave's team. I know we've talked about someone

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Speaker 1: who can get on base at the top of the

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Speaker 1: line up, obviously, someone that could hit right in and pitching,

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Speaker 1: of course with the Brave's preference. When we saw Horor

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Speaker 1: Hace Layer do what he did in twenty twenty one,

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Speaker 1: it's power potential. Could it outfielder here be more powerful

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Speaker 1: than he was elsewhere. Steven went it. While the names

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Speaker 1: may not be obvious, what are one or two obvious

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Speaker 1: traits of a potential outfield get that would really improve

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Speaker 1: this Braves lineup?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, listen, I mean when you lose Acunya, you know,

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Speaker 3: you lose a lot, But the biggest thing you lose

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Speaker 3: relative to the rest of the team is on base percentage,

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Speaker 3: because you know, outside of Matt Olsen, there's nobody else

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Speaker 3: on the team who you would describe as on base

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Speaker 3: percentage being a strength of theirs, Like, it's really a

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Speaker 3: Kunya and Olsen, maybe a little bit of Riley, but

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Speaker 3: that's about it. But Acunya is the is the is

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Speaker 3: far and away your your most talented player in that regard.

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Speaker 3: And so when you take him off, I mean, you know,

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Speaker 3: you look at the numbers. We uh, somebody tweet him

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Speaker 3: out Earler Scott was talking about but before we went

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Speaker 3: on live here. But you know, the last three months

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Speaker 3: or so, the Braves are dead last in the league

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Speaker 3: and on base percentage, and it's even worse when you

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Speaker 3: take a Kunya out of the equation, who obviously won't

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Speaker 3: be back this year. So you you kind of need

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Speaker 3: to take him out of the equation. So on base

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Speaker 3: percentage is a huge part of it. You know, the

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Speaker 3: Braves do have an archaeotype in terms of players they like.

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Speaker 3: If you go look at all of the players that

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Speaker 3: Alex and Thoppos has ever acquired, you know, it's a

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Speaker 3: he's really a power in defense guy like Jared Kelnick

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Speaker 3: was a power in defense acquisition, Sean Murphy was a

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Speaker 3: power in defense acquisition. Mattilson when he came over, his

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Speaker 3: reputation was power and defense. Michael Harris is a power

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Speaker 3: and defense player.

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Speaker 4: Before the injuries, Azzi Alby's.

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Speaker 3: You know, before all the shoulder stuff that he went through,

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Speaker 3: he was a power in defense player. Orlando Arcia was

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Speaker 3: a power in defense. But like they have a they

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Speaker 3: have a type that they look for and it's power

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Speaker 3: and defense, and on base percentage is not a huge

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Speaker 3: part of that. And they've been able to win and

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Speaker 3: score a lot of runs without that, So maybe that's

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Speaker 3: not a huge part of what they look for. But

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Speaker 3: you know, if you're talking about where could this team

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Speaker 3: improve the most, well, when you're a dead las in

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Speaker 3: the league and on base percentage, then that is clearly

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Speaker 3: where you can improve the most. You know, the Braves

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Speaker 3: are one of the worst teams in baseball in terms

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Speaker 3: of walk rate. Again, especially when you take out a Kunya,

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Speaker 3: who you know is far and away the best at

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Speaker 3: that you know in the Braves lineup, you take him out,

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Speaker 3: it's very pedestrian, just straight up bad really, So on

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Speaker 3: base percentage, it would be, you know, adding an outfielder

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Speaker 3: that can you know, at least like a three forty

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Speaker 3: three fifty clip. You know you're not trying to go

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Speaker 3: get you know, Bryce Harper, that's on base you know,

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Speaker 3: forty three percent of the time, but just anything in

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Speaker 3: the three forties three fifties would be a help, honestly,

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Speaker 3: because the Braves are running out a lot of guys

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Speaker 3: who are two ninety three h five three ten.

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Speaker 4: That's tough. Man.

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Speaker 3: It's tough to string together any sort of offense that way,

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Speaker 3: especially when the when the home runs aren't coming, and

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Speaker 3: we've seen that too many times this year.

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Speaker 4: With the the home run ball just goes dry.

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Speaker 3: And listen with this, the way they designed this and

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Speaker 3: built this team. You know, when the home runs go dry,

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Speaker 3: you desperately need somebody to get on base at some

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Speaker 3: point to maybe generator run. So yeah, that's what I

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Speaker 3: would say on base percentage. But I would also remind

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Speaker 3: people that Alex does have a type. He's been very

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Speaker 3: clear about that type for six years now, and I

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Speaker 3: wouldn't be surprised if he's stuck to it and just

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Speaker 3: kind of, you know, went doubled down on more power

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Speaker 3: to see if he can wake the rest of this

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Speaker 3: lineup up.

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Speaker 4: It wouldn't surprise being off.

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Speaker 1: That's what he did, absolutely, And Scott, when you when

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Speaker 1: you look at the power, when you look at the

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Speaker 1: on base percentage, that's what kind of defines, you know,

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Speaker 1: the Braves wanting to be able to go get that type.

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Speaker 1: But again with less teams now being available to provide

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Speaker 1: that type of outfielder, those teams are know that they

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Speaker 1: have assets to where they're going to want a milk

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Speaker 1: as much value out of them. The Braves may not

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Speaker 1: necessarily have as much out there as other teams will

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Speaker 1: like the ability to go get three or four outfielders.

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Speaker 1: And the you know, most valuable prospect you give up

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Speaker 1: is the twenty first prospect on your you know, top

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Speaker 1: thirty list, Like they didn't do twenty one. That's going

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Speaker 1: to be hard to do. So your thoughts when it

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Speaker 1: comes to you know just how much Alex Entthopolis may

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Speaker 1: be willing to pay. I know that we've got, you know,

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Speaker 1: a few minor leaguers who have had some special seasons

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Speaker 1: so far this year. But do you think it makes

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Speaker 1: sense for alex to pay a relevant, even to substantial

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Speaker 1: cost for an outfielder that could really come in and

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Speaker 1: change things for this lineup?

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Speaker 2: You know? I think my first response to that is

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Speaker 2: when a team is very much in a World Series

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Speaker 2: contention window, my concern about the farm system and having

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Speaker 2: a deep pipeline goes down a bit because at the

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Speaker 2: end of the day, your World Series window is only

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Speaker 2: open for so long, and if you have an opportunity

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Speaker 2: to add an impact player, you should go do it.

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Speaker 2: And maybe you have to overpay a little bit in prospect,

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Speaker 2: or maybe you have to take on a contract in

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Speaker 2: order to get a player. But for the most part,

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Speaker 2: I'm not overly concerned about the health of the farm

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Speaker 2: system when the Braves are trying to win their second

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Speaker 2: championship in four years, and I think with Alex, I

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Speaker 2: know we talked about traits and what he looks for.

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Speaker 2: I wanted to add. Another thing that I think is

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Speaker 2: always something Alex has tried to do in the past

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Speaker 2: is adding underperforming players. And sometimes people will see the

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Speaker 2: surface level stats, like on a Pierce Johnson for example,

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Speaker 2: And I know Pierce is a reliever, and of course

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Speaker 2: we're talking about outfielders tonight, but his surface numbers were terrible.

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Speaker 2: But if you dug in a little bit deeper on

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Speaker 2: the stats, you would see that Pierce Johnson's a very

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Speaker 2: capable and talented reliever, had a great spin rate on

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Speaker 2: his curveball, had great underlying metrics even if his ra

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Speaker 2: was inflated. Those are the kind of players you look at.

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Speaker 2: So when I look around the league, you know, you

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Speaker 2: look at a player like Taylor Ward out in Anaheim.

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Speaker 2: Ward's numbers on the surface are nothing special. They're not bad,

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Speaker 2: but they're not going to blow you away. But then

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Speaker 2: he has one of the highest expected wobas in terms

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Speaker 2: of the way he hits the ball, his exit velocities,

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Speaker 2: his line driver those are things I think the front

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Speaker 2: office really looks for. And I'm sure that some of

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Speaker 2: our listeners are a little more on the traditional side

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Speaker 2: of stats and others are more on the advanced and

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Speaker 2: analytical side. They do think when you're looking at players,

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Speaker 2: you kind of have to dig a little bit deeper

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Speaker 2: than what their surface numbers are. You know, what's their

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Speaker 2: exit velocity? Like are they running into bad luck? Is

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Speaker 2: this just a down year? What trends do they have

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Speaker 2: right now? All of that is going to factor into

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Speaker 2: the equation. And there may not be a perfect outfielder

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Speaker 2: out there for Alex. They think he's just gonna kind

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Speaker 2: of have to weigh everything and try to add the

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Speaker 2: best player for this year and potentially beyond.

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Speaker 3: And to piggyback on what scottch just said, if people remember,

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Speaker 3: you know, the Braves paid almost nothing in twenty twenty

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Speaker 3: one to get the four outfitters. They brought in very

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Speaker 3: very little in terms of prospect costs. And the reason

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Speaker 3: was is because you know, Jorge Hilarira was having a

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Speaker 3: terrible year with Kansas City before the Braves acquired him

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Speaker 3: in twenty twenty one. Any Risoria was hurt and barely

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Speaker 3: put it all.

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Speaker 4: For Cleveland in twenty twenty one.

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Speaker 3: Jock Peterson was having a very mediocre year with Chicago

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Speaker 3: in twenty two. Like this is exactly what Scott's talking

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Speaker 3: about like he Alex bet on upside and he bet

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Speaker 3: on you know, bat at ball numbers that were better

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Speaker 3: than results. You know, he decided that he would rather

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Speaker 3: you know, pay less on a guy who maybe hasn't

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Speaker 3: performed well but they thought could perform well in a

433
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:30,320
Speaker 3: better lineup and hope that works. And you know, like

434
00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:32,840
Speaker 3: Scott said, that's just been Alex's m O.

435
00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:35,440
Speaker 4: I mean, he is a find the.

436
00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,119
Speaker 3: Hidden gym, find the you know, the the unlocked value,

437
00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:40,879
Speaker 3: and try to get more out of a guy than

438
00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:43,280
Speaker 3: you give up in terms of costs. So, yeah, just

439
00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:45,199
Speaker 3: to piggyback on what Scott said, Alex has done this

440
00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:46,480
Speaker 3: multiple times in the past.

441
00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:47,520
Speaker 4: He's done it with the outfield.

442
00:20:48,119 --> 00:20:51,359
Speaker 3: Obviously in twenty one it had unbelievable results that pretty

443
00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,480
Speaker 3: much every move hit exactly what they want. But yeah,

444
00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:56,760
Speaker 3: you know, Scott's one hundred percent right. He doesn't always

445
00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:00,359
Speaker 3: just go get the guy having the best year. A

446
00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:02,200
Speaker 3: lot of times they go get the guy who they

447
00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,040
Speaker 3: they think might have a better second half than they

448
00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,040
Speaker 3: had a first half, and you know, get some get

449
00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,520
Speaker 3: some some value out of a deal where the cost

450
00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:15,720
Speaker 3: maybe isn't quite as high.

451
00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:17,680
Speaker 1: And that's the question that I'll ask when it comes

452
00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:20,400
Speaker 1: to that cost. You know, again, the way that they've

453
00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,040
Speaker 1: been able to find value is you're right they you know,

454
00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,920
Speaker 1: we've seen it time and time again Atlanta Kevin Sitzer,

455
00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:29,000
Speaker 1: the hitting you know, for the hitting approach that's here.

456
00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:31,640
Speaker 1: We do such a good job of getting value once

457
00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:34,600
Speaker 1: a player comes versus where they were. But this leads

458
00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:38,000
Speaker 1: to another interesting conversation, I think because both of you

459
00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:41,680
Speaker 1: have offered great insight on something that I myself have

460
00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:45,840
Speaker 1: also been weighing as well, going after a rental versus

461
00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:48,640
Speaker 1: someone that's controlled. And we'll start kind of with those

462
00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:51,359
Speaker 1: rental pieces. You know, when you look at the on

463
00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:55,919
Speaker 1: base percentage aspect of things, I think some rentals potentially

464
00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:58,119
Speaker 1: stand out. I believe each of these players are going

465
00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:00,000
Speaker 1: to be a free agent after the season. Some veterans

466
00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,480
Speaker 1: names such as a Jesse Winker, a Tommy fam a

467
00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:06,480
Speaker 1: Charlie Blackman. Those type of players you don't have as

468
00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,119
Speaker 1: much upside because those are older players. You don't have

469
00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:12,240
Speaker 1: as much power upside either, but you do have players

470
00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:14,720
Speaker 1: that could come in and can give you that on

471
00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:17,879
Speaker 1: base consistency that you're looking for. Probably you're not going

472
00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,320
Speaker 1: to cost as much because of the fact that they

473
00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:23,840
Speaker 1: are rentals. Does that type of approach really make sense

474
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:27,040
Speaker 1: to either one of y'all? Cost is reasonable, you kind

475
00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,280
Speaker 1: of know what you're getting, and it's someone that at

476
00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:32,040
Speaker 1: the very least could help the on base approach of

477
00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:34,440
Speaker 1: the Braves. If one of those type of players were

478
00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,399
Speaker 1: to be available, I think that they could make sense,

479
00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,000
Speaker 1: and especially if you feel they could be better in

480
00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:42,520
Speaker 1: Atlanta than where they are right now.

481
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,760
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I would definitely say listen to brain.

482
00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:51,560
Speaker 3: The brains have to weigh some interesting things here, like uh,

483
00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:53,399
Speaker 3: and I know Scott and I both talked about this

484
00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:57,680
Speaker 3: at different on different occasions, But in twenty twenty five,

485
00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:00,680
Speaker 3: the Braves have three outfitters under team control. They have Acunya,

486
00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,400
Speaker 3: they have Michael Harris, and they have Jared Kelnick and

487
00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:07,639
Speaker 3: you know, Marcelo Zuna. The guaranteed portion of Marcelo Zuna's

488
00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:10,520
Speaker 3: contract is up. If they wanted to move Ronald Acunya

489
00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:12,440
Speaker 3: to DH for the year, and they could do that

490
00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:15,239
Speaker 3: and bring in an outfielder. But if you do that

491
00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:17,919
Speaker 3: then you lose mar Solo Zoom, right, And that's a

492
00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:18,879
Speaker 3: huge piece.

493
00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:20,159
Speaker 4: Like that's a huge.

494
00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,280
Speaker 3: Part of this is if you want to bring back

495
00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:24,480
Speaker 3: Marcelo Zuna, the Braves have a team option on him

496
00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:25,000
Speaker 3: for next year.

497
00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:26,280
Speaker 4: That is very reasonable.

498
00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:29,160
Speaker 3: If you want to bring him back, then that eats

499
00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:32,000
Speaker 3: up your DH spot, which means then you didn't have

500
00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:36,399
Speaker 3: three outfield spots for Acunya, Harris and Kelnick, which means

501
00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:38,720
Speaker 3: if you want to go get a controllable outfitter that's

502
00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:41,280
Speaker 3: got more years of team control after this year, then

503
00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:42,040
Speaker 3: what are you gonna.

504
00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:42,560
Speaker 4: Do with it?

505
00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:44,680
Speaker 3: Would be my question, because you're not gonna ever sit

506
00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,240
Speaker 3: a Kunya if he's healthy. You're not ever gonna sit

507
00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:49,440
Speaker 3: Michael Harris if he's healthy. And Kelnick has already shown

508
00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:51,520
Speaker 3: that he's been better as a full time player than

509
00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:55,840
Speaker 3: he ever was really as a platoon player. So under

510
00:23:55,840 --> 00:24:00,800
Speaker 3: that lens like part time rental outfielders make more sense

511
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:03,840
Speaker 3: just because they're cheaper. Obviously we just talked about twenty

512
00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:06,960
Speaker 3: one how cheap Alex was able to get guys, but

513
00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:09,200
Speaker 3: also because you don't have to worry about twenty twenty

514
00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:12,959
Speaker 3: five and fitting all of these outfielders in. I understand

515
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,800
Speaker 3: you can't have too much talent, but like you also,

516
00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:19,320
Speaker 3: if you have three outfielders already locked up, past this year,

517
00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:22,080
Speaker 3: and that is your plan for twenty twenty five. It's

518
00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,160
Speaker 3: tough to go get a fourth outfielder who's a full

519
00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:28,679
Speaker 3: time player and make all of that work. So you know,

520
00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:31,560
Speaker 3: could they do it? Yeah, they probably could. They probably

521
00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:35,920
Speaker 3: could bring Azuna back, have four full time outfielders, spread

522
00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:37,879
Speaker 3: the playing time around enough where everybody's happy.

523
00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:39,880
Speaker 4: But that's not easy to do, and it's a lot

524
00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:41,480
Speaker 4: to ask for the manager.

525
00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:44,080
Speaker 3: And you know, managers always got the guys that he

526
00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:47,040
Speaker 3: likes the most. And I don't know it, maybe Scott

527
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:51,480
Speaker 3: has a different opinion, but in my opinion, our rental

528
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:54,160
Speaker 3: outfielder just alleviates all.

529
00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:54,880
Speaker 4: Of those problems.

530
00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:56,199
Speaker 3: And if you want to bring him back in the

531
00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:57,919
Speaker 3: off season, you can if you really love him, if

532
00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:01,440
Speaker 3: he plays well. But acquiring an outfielder with a ton

533
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:05,040
Speaker 3: of team control, to me, it might solve some problems,

534
00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:07,639
Speaker 3: but it also creates some problems. But I kind of

535
00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:08,879
Speaker 3: want to hear what Scott thinks about this.

536
00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:14,239
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a fascinating logjam. And I found myself just

537
00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:16,960
Speaker 2: in a like a never ending tweet storm a couple

538
00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:20,440
Speaker 2: weeks back about this exact situation. Because if you're Alex

539
00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:24,120
Speaker 2: and Thoppolis. Obviously you're thinking about this year, but he's

540
00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:26,640
Speaker 2: paid the big bucks to think about years down the road.

541
00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:29,679
Speaker 2: And I think Alex basically has two choices here and

542
00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:33,000
Speaker 2: you just outlined them. You can add a rental and

543
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:37,160
Speaker 2: admittedly the rental market is not great on the surface

544
00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:40,520
Speaker 2: in terms of outfielders. We could do a super deep

545
00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:43,440
Speaker 2: dive on this, but just on the surface level, it's

546
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:46,040
Speaker 2: not like there are a half dozen rental outfielders who

547
00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:49,359
Speaker 2: make a ton of sense for this team. But at

548
00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:53,159
Speaker 2: the same time, in the interest of winning this season,

549
00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:55,600
Speaker 2: if you can go out and trade for a player

550
00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:59,000
Speaker 2: who has control through twenty five or twenty six or

551
00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:02,760
Speaker 2: even twenty seven, you could always add that player and

552
00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,440
Speaker 2: then figure it out in the winter time, and maybe

553
00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:07,960
Speaker 2: that gives you a better chance of winning in twenty four.

554
00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:12,200
Speaker 2: Knowing that then in November and December Alex can potentially

555
00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,399
Speaker 2: trade someone. It would also give them a little bit

556
00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:17,720
Speaker 2: of insurance because we have no idea what Ronald Acunya

557
00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:21,359
Speaker 2: Junior is going to be able to do defensively next season.

558
00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:24,840
Speaker 2: I think that is the big unknown right now, and

559
00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:26,800
Speaker 2: Alex is going to have to operate as if he

560
00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:31,280
Speaker 2: doesn't know because frankly, there is very little precedent for

561
00:26:31,359 --> 00:26:34,960
Speaker 2: players at Ronald's age, in particular coming back from two

562
00:26:35,119 --> 00:26:38,800
Speaker 2: torn acls in less than four years. Is he going

563
00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:41,680
Speaker 2: to be able to play right field every day come

564
00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,359
Speaker 2: April first? Next season? Do the Braves want him to

565
00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:47,920
Speaker 2: play every single day? And I know we could probably

566
00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:50,480
Speaker 2: talk about this for hours about next year's outlook on

567
00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:53,119
Speaker 2: the team, But at the end of the day, it

568
00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:55,399
Speaker 2: is very much a consideration that Alex is going to

569
00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:58,160
Speaker 2: have to figure out whether he goes for a rental

570
00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:00,680
Speaker 2: who may not be as good, or if he goes

571
00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:02,720
Speaker 2: for a player with a couple of years of control

572
00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:04,920
Speaker 2: and then tries to figure it out in the winter

573
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:05,600
Speaker 2: on what to do.

574
00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:10,160
Speaker 1: Absolutely, and I think I see both sides of the equation.

575
00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:12,479
Speaker 1: I agree with Steven in that you know, you go

576
00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:14,640
Speaker 1: for a rental, at the very least you got someone

577
00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:16,560
Speaker 1: that can help out your own base percentage. You know,

578
00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:19,359
Speaker 1: maybe it's someone that could come here and do better again,

579
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:21,800
Speaker 1: like we've talked about, than they have elsewhere. But also

580
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:23,960
Speaker 1: get Scott case and and I think that there's multiple

581
00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:26,640
Speaker 1: points to why you would maybe want to go after

582
00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:29,840
Speaker 1: a controllable person. You probably are going to find more

583
00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:32,840
Speaker 1: upside and the controllable talent. You could then take that

584
00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:35,960
Speaker 1: controllable talent potentially and use them in a trade in

585
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:38,560
Speaker 1: the off season to go get an arm that you need,

586
00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:41,440
Speaker 1: because we're gonna have plenty of arm questions about twenty

587
00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:44,040
Speaker 1: twenty five as well. And to Scott's point that he

588
00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:46,640
Speaker 1: brought up into Steven's point as well, you're also going

589
00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:49,639
Speaker 1: into next season with Ronald Accoye Junior coming off a

590
00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:52,439
Speaker 1: big injury. But you've also in general experienced plenty of

591
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:55,160
Speaker 1: injuries as a whole to your outfield this season. Michael

592
00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:58,120
Speaker 1: Harris is also injured this pass off season. After having

593
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:00,879
Speaker 1: so many pitching injuries in twenty twenty three, Alex and

594
00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:02,720
Speaker 1: Thopless went out and got a whole bunch of arms.

595
00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:06,320
Speaker 1: Maybe he sees the value in getting another fourth outfielder,

596
00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:08,359
Speaker 1: but someone that could start if you need it, So

597
00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:10,840
Speaker 1: maybe he likes that control. So I think that there's

598
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:13,919
Speaker 1: plenty there to both sides, And I definitely think that

599
00:28:14,119 --> 00:28:16,960
Speaker 1: Alex and Thopless, if he finds the right situation. To

600
00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:19,960
Speaker 1: Scott's point, I think he will pay a notable price

601
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:22,080
Speaker 1: to go get it. But we've been talking about all

602
00:28:22,119 --> 00:28:24,720
Speaker 1: these different parameters, all these different thoughts as to what

603
00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:27,919
Speaker 1: type of outfield we could go get. Scott, Steven, whatever

604
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:31,200
Speaker 1: word er you would like, Just some names that intrigue you.

605
00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:34,520
Speaker 1: A few names that stand out is being okay, if

606
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:36,119
Speaker 1: we're really gonna go out and maybe get a guy

607
00:28:36,119 --> 00:28:38,160
Speaker 1: who can get on base and hit for power. What

608
00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:40,479
Speaker 1: are a couple of names that stand out for you? Steven?

609
00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:43,360
Speaker 4: Go ahead, yeah, listen.

610
00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:46,400
Speaker 3: I mean I I'm always tied to what teams are

611
00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:48,720
Speaker 3: gonna sell, Like it's just hard to get past that.

612
00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:49,480
Speaker 4: Like I would love it.

613
00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,280
Speaker 3: Like, for instance, if the Pirates were gonna sell right,

614
00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:54,480
Speaker 3: like Brian Reynolds has been a name on the market

615
00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:57,720
Speaker 3: for years, you know, would they ever pull the trigger

616
00:28:57,800 --> 00:28:58,000
Speaker 3: on that?

617
00:28:58,040 --> 00:28:59,640
Speaker 4: I have no idea because we don't know if they're

618
00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:00,200
Speaker 4: gonna sell.

619
00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:04,000
Speaker 3: You know, Ian happ for the Cubs, same thing he's got,

620
00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:05,720
Speaker 3: you know, I think Ian I looked this up a

621
00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:07,320
Speaker 3: couple of days ago. Ian Hamp's got like a three

622
00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:10,440
Speaker 3: sixty on base percentage this year. But the Cubs are

623
00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:12,800
Speaker 3: only like three or four games out of the third

624
00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:15,520
Speaker 3: wild card, so like, who knows what they're gonna do?

625
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:17,680
Speaker 3: You know, Cody Bellinger's another name, like, if the Cubs

626
00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,880
Speaker 3: ended up selling, do they move Cody Bellinger? You know,

627
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:24,600
Speaker 3: Jazz Chisholm is a name that Marlin's people have brought up.

628
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:29,000
Speaker 3: Jesse Winker is a name from the Nationals that's an

629
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,200
Speaker 3: obvious just because he's a rental. He has had some

630
00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:34,239
Speaker 3: off field stuff, some clubhouse stuff that I don't know

631
00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:36,840
Speaker 3: that that Alex would be terribly interested in, but maybe,

632
00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:39,800
Speaker 3: I mean, who knows. You know, the the Tigers have

633
00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:43,080
Speaker 3: got some interesting guys, but again, they're not that.

634
00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:44,720
Speaker 4: Far out of it.

635
00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,760
Speaker 3: It's just so you know, we're we're so tied to

636
00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:52,080
Speaker 3: the buyers and sellers. And the extra playoff spot has

637
00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:55,800
Speaker 3: really you know, I've railed against expanded playoffs enough on

638
00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:59,200
Speaker 3: this podcast. But another problem with it is how much

639
00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:01,880
Speaker 3: it's kind of down what it means to be a contender,

640
00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:05,480
Speaker 3: which is in effect, you know, created a situation where

641
00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:07,760
Speaker 3: you have I mean, right now, we have nine teams

642
00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:08,520
Speaker 3: in the National.

643
00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:11,560
Speaker 4: League that were are like within three games of the

644
00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:14,560
Speaker 4: last wildcard spot. Nine teams. That's crazy. I mean, there's

645
00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:15,680
Speaker 4: only fifteen teams in the league.

646
00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:18,080
Speaker 3: There's nine of them within three games of the last

647
00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:23,120
Speaker 3: wild card spots. So yeah, until you know those sellers list.

648
00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:25,480
Speaker 3: It's very hard to pick names. But one thing I

649
00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:28,320
Speaker 3: do want to say in our last what we were

650
00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:32,720
Speaker 3: just talking about is I think in a perfect world,

651
00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:36,840
Speaker 3: in an absolutely perfect world, I think you would keep

652
00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:40,040
Speaker 3: your DH spot open to allow Acuna to play DH

653
00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:44,840
Speaker 3: whenever he needs to on a daily basis. I don't

654
00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:46,320
Speaker 3: know if you can afford to do that with the

655
00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:48,160
Speaker 3: way Azuna has been hitting and the way the other

656
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,560
Speaker 3: guys haven't been hitting. But if we're just talking about

657
00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:53,160
Speaker 3: in an absolute perfect world in terms of matching up

658
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:56,880
Speaker 3: outfielders with positions, I think in an ideal world, Acuna

659
00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,960
Speaker 3: would have the DH spot for himself in twenty twenty five,

660
00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:02,560
Speaker 3: and you would have three other outfielders who could all

661
00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:06,320
Speaker 3: potentially be your everyday guys that you know that Acunya

662
00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:10,400
Speaker 3: is not one of them. I just I don't know

663
00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:13,560
Speaker 3: if they can afford to do that until Matt Olsen,

664
00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:17,320
Speaker 3: Austin Riley, Ozzy Albius, till these guys start hitting the

665
00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:19,520
Speaker 3: way they're supposed to hit. I just don't know if

666
00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:21,560
Speaker 3: you can afford to take Azuna out of the lineup

667
00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:26,200
Speaker 3: like that. But in a perfect world, I think Acuna

668
00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,480
Speaker 3: would have the DH to himself next year. We'll see

669
00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:31,960
Speaker 3: what happens. But yeah, in terms of names, it's tough.

670
00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:33,800
Speaker 3: It's tough when you don't.

671
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:34,440
Speaker 4: Know who the sellers are.

672
00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:36,800
Speaker 3: But those are a few guys that I have been

673
00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:39,000
Speaker 3: watching to see if maybe their teams fall out. Jock

674
00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:42,680
Speaker 3: Peterson with the Cardinals with the Diamondbacks is another one,

675
00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:44,160
Speaker 3: if they fall out of it.

676
00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:45,600
Speaker 4: But you know, we'll have to wait and see what

677
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:46,600
Speaker 4: actually happens.

678
00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:51,200
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I was going through MLB trade rumors.

679
00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:54,880
Speaker 2: Just drop their list of the top fifty trade candidates,

680
00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:56,840
Speaker 2: and I would encourage folks to go take a look.

681
00:31:57,160 --> 00:31:58,880
Speaker 2: There are a lot of names in there. There are

682
00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:00,920
Speaker 2: quite a few outfielders, which is a good thing for

683
00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:04,959
Speaker 2: the Braves. Steven mentioned the name Ian Hap. That's an

684
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:07,600
Speaker 2: am I would be very very interested in because he

685
00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:10,280
Speaker 2: gets on base. I would love to get Ian in

686
00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:13,200
Speaker 2: like the second spot in this lineup if the Cubs

687
00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,640
Speaker 2: decide to sell. He's a corner bat. He's under control

688
00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:19,360
Speaker 2: for beyond this year. But again you can figure that

689
00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:23,720
Speaker 2: out in the wintertime. There's other names too. When I

690
00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:26,360
Speaker 2: go through, I mean, the dream would be Randy or

691
00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:29,960
Speaker 2: Rose Arena from the Tampa Bay Rays. I don't think

692
00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:32,760
Speaker 2: Tampa Bay is going to tell him, but the Rays

693
00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:36,120
Speaker 2: also operate very differently. He is having a down season,

694
00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:38,160
Speaker 2: so maybe there's a chance that they would be willing

695
00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:41,640
Speaker 2: to trade a Rose Arena. That's probably far fetched, but

696
00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:44,080
Speaker 2: I can dream. I love Randy, you know, if I

697
00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:47,000
Speaker 2: had to guess, And this is a very official July

698
00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:51,560
Speaker 2: sixteenth prediction, Man, there's two players who stick out to me.

699
00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:57,200
Speaker 2: Taylor Ward with the Angels is interesting because, as Steven

700
00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:01,280
Speaker 2: talked about at length, Alex has very much type and

701
00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:04,160
Speaker 2: Ward fits the type of a couple of those things.

702
00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:07,440
Speaker 2: He's having a really he's having an okay season with

703
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:11,200
Speaker 2: the Angels, but he has huge stat cast numbers. His

704
00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:15,400
Speaker 2: exit velocity and expected numbers are way more than his

705
00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:19,080
Speaker 2: one hundred WRC plus. I would not be surprised if

706
00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:21,520
Speaker 2: it's Taylor Ward for a couple of reasons. There's also

707
00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:25,000
Speaker 2: a lot of familiarity with Los Angeles' front office with

708
00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:29,480
Speaker 2: Alex and some folks who move from Atlanta to Anaheim

709
00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:33,680
Speaker 2: with Perrimanasian, so there's a Nobvius connection there. And then

710
00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:36,000
Speaker 2: if he's gonna go, if Alex is gonna go boring,

711
00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:40,920
Speaker 2: I think Lane Thomas with the Nationals is interesting enough.

712
00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:44,800
Speaker 2: He's having a decent year. He is unfortunately right handed,

713
00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:46,880
Speaker 2: which I think in a perfect world he would be

714
00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:49,040
Speaker 2: a lefty just to help balance things out a little

715
00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:52,640
Speaker 2: bit with Duval, but solid numbers from the right side,

716
00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:55,440
Speaker 2: a lot of speed he could fill in. I think

717
00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:58,120
Speaker 2: he's a significant upgrade over what the Braves currently have.

718
00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:01,600
Speaker 2: Otherwise we know that that's a pretty low bar to clear.

719
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:04,960
Speaker 2: I would hope they could add somebody better than Lane Thomas,

720
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,880
Speaker 2: but I think Washington's clearly going to sell, and as

721
00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:10,200
Speaker 2: a player who is not under control for much longer,

722
00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:14,600
Speaker 2: he seems like a fallback option if other choices or

723
00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:16,440
Speaker 2: preferred options fall apart.

724
00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:19,239
Speaker 1: And I think that the point that you bring up

725
00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:22,480
Speaker 1: about Taylor Ward is so critical. You know, he's the

726
00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:25,000
Speaker 1: type that Alex lights. We had the familiarity with LA's

727
00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:28,200
Speaker 1: front office, and like all those twenty twenty one outfield

728
00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:31,600
Speaker 1: candidates that we got in the past, when they were

729
00:34:31,640 --> 00:34:35,600
Speaker 1: in their younger years, they showed star level potential with

730
00:34:35,680 --> 00:34:39,520
Speaker 1: the plate, highly productive potential at the plate. They went

731
00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:42,160
Speaker 1: down because of whatever occurred. But when you look at

732
00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:45,960
Speaker 1: Eddi Rizzario, jorgees Selaier, Jock Peterson. They had had tremendous

733
00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:48,960
Speaker 1: seasons back you know, each of them, twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen,

734
00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:50,920
Speaker 1: and then they come to Atlanta and get back to

735
00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:53,680
Speaker 1: those levels. Taylor Ward in the past has had that,

736
00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:56,120
Speaker 1: not necessarily to that level, but has had success. He

737
00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:58,120
Speaker 1: could get back to that level as well. You know

738
00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:00,520
Speaker 1: an interesting name I find out there though he really

739
00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:02,799
Speaker 1: doesn't have the profile that Alex goes after because there's

740
00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:05,840
Speaker 1: not a lot of power potential. But Isaiah Isaiah Kiner

741
00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:09,120
Speaker 1: Falefa of the Toronto Blue Jays. Just someone who's got

742
00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:12,160
Speaker 1: some versatility to potentially play in the old field or

743
00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:14,640
Speaker 1: the outfield, can get on base, and has shown some

744
00:35:14,719 --> 00:35:17,279
Speaker 1: versatility with the bat. Maybe someone like that as a

745
00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:20,120
Speaker 1: singular source could help you out at shortstop or in

746
00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:22,640
Speaker 1: the outfield if you need help at both places. Of course,

747
00:35:22,719 --> 00:35:25,440
Speaker 1: I'd love to see us go get maybe an outfielder

748
00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:29,080
Speaker 1: for the White Sox. You know, if the Braves feel

749
00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:31,040
Speaker 1: they like Tommy fam if they want to get him

750
00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:33,759
Speaker 1: and Paul Deyung, I think that combo would be hard

751
00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:35,920
Speaker 1: to get. And then as a Bilow candidate who's got

752
00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:38,080
Speaker 1: a few seasons left on him, I really like Hazu

753
00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:40,560
Speaker 1: Sanchez of the Florida Marlins. I think there's a lot

754
00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:43,399
Speaker 1: of power potential that you could play, you know, him

755
00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:45,560
Speaker 1: with He would be kind of a Bilow like Jared Kilnick.

756
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:48,360
Speaker 1: Don't know how likely that is, but just some names

757
00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:50,839
Speaker 1: out there that could make sense. But Scott, the whole

758
00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:53,040
Speaker 1: thing is this is that even when we talk about

759
00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:55,319
Speaker 1: there not being a lot of teams, the thing to

760
00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:58,320
Speaker 1: remember though, is that when it comes to Alex Nthopolis,

761
00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:01,040
Speaker 1: I think more than most shems, he's going to go

762
00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:04,879
Speaker 1: through all these scenarios. He's going to consider all these perspectives,

763
00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:08,120
Speaker 1: and for someone as resourceful as he's proven to be

764
00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:10,560
Speaker 1: in the past, well, even when there's not just a

765
00:36:10,600 --> 00:36:13,080
Speaker 1: perfect candidate out there, at the end of the day,

766
00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:16,080
Speaker 1: he may even bring multiple candidates in one thing. To remember,

767
00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:18,600
Speaker 1: he's been here before and if there's anybody who can

768
00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:21,560
Speaker 1: do it once again, it's him.

769
00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:21,879
Speaker 4: Yeah.

770
00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:25,200
Speaker 2: I think, especially with his in season moves, Alex has

771
00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:27,919
Speaker 2: earned a lot of benefit of the doubt. And he's

772
00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:30,720
Speaker 2: not going to bat a thousand because nobody beats a thousand.

773
00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:32,960
Speaker 2: But I do have confidence that he's going to go

774
00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:37,399
Speaker 2: out there and adequately access his team and say, hey,

775
00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:40,520
Speaker 2: we need to add an impact outfield here, and it

776
00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:43,600
Speaker 2: may not be a superstar, but I would be a

777
00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:47,239
Speaker 2: little surprised if Alex adds someone and we all jump

778
00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:50,520
Speaker 2: on here for an emergency podcast and it's kind of

779
00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:54,040
Speaker 2: like a wamp womp kind of reaction of Okay, I

780
00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:56,400
Speaker 2: guess he's a little better than Adam Duvall or I

781
00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:59,359
Speaker 2: guess he's a little better than Eddie Rosario. I would

782
00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:02,359
Speaker 2: imagine that al going to go out there. The farm

783
00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:04,840
Speaker 2: system does have a little bit of depth right now.

784
00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:09,920
Speaker 2: They have some intriguing players at premium positions. Drake Baldwin

785
00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:12,480
Speaker 2: is the I think if the Braves are going to

786
00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:15,640
Speaker 2: add an impact outfielder, Drake Baldwin, who was just in

787
00:37:15,680 --> 00:37:19,279
Speaker 2: the futures game, is a catcher. The Braves obviously have

788
00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:22,600
Speaker 2: Sean Murphy locked up for years. Presumably they're going to

789
00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:25,239
Speaker 2: keep Travis Darno around for a few more seasons as

790
00:37:25,280 --> 00:37:27,520
Speaker 2: well because of what he does on and off the field.

791
00:37:28,239 --> 00:37:30,920
Speaker 2: So if you're asking me to pick a prospect who

792
00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:33,480
Speaker 2: could be moved in the next couple of weeks, I

793
00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:36,319
Speaker 2: would guess that Baldwin is probably the one I would

794
00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:39,160
Speaker 2: pick from the top five or top ten of the farm.

795
00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:42,760
Speaker 2: But I think again, Alex is also shown a desire

796
00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:45,160
Speaker 2: to not trade his prospects whenever he can do it,

797
00:37:45,840 --> 00:37:48,239
Speaker 2: and that situation may or may not present itself in

798
00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:50,960
Speaker 2: the next two weeks ahead of the deadline. But they

799
00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:54,560
Speaker 2: do ultimately think that Alex is going to give this

800
00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:57,160
Speaker 2: team a real chance to make a push by adding

801
00:37:57,160 --> 00:37:59,680
Speaker 2: an impact player to this lineup. And if you can

802
00:37:59,719 --> 00:38:02,960
Speaker 2: add I had a good enough hitter in right field,

803
00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:05,600
Speaker 2: all of a sudden, your lineup one through eight looks

804
00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:08,640
Speaker 2: pretty damn good. It's really just that ninth spot with

805
00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:12,000
Speaker 2: the Orlando Rcia that you're not loving. And that's fine.

806
00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:14,040
Speaker 2: Right now, the Braves only have five or six hitters

807
00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:16,440
Speaker 2: that they feel good about. But if you get Michael

808
00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:19,960
Speaker 2: Harris back, you're going to get an outfielder. Presumably you

809
00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:22,239
Speaker 2: can do a whole lot worse than what the Braves

810
00:38:22,239 --> 00:38:24,399
Speaker 2: will be running out there one through eight, especially if

811
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:26,759
Speaker 2: guys like Matt Olson and Ossi Alby's pick it up

812
00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:27,600
Speaker 2: in the second half.

813
00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,759
Speaker 3: And I will say this because I was just sitting

814
00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:36,360
Speaker 3: here thinking about it, there is a scenario that makes.

815
00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:39,960
Speaker 4: Sense, like let's say, let's say Alex wants.

816
00:38:39,719 --> 00:38:43,040
Speaker 3: To go get Louise Robert. Let's just hypothetically say, Okay,

817
00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:44,960
Speaker 3: I want to go big. I want to go big

818
00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:48,279
Speaker 3: they you know, the White Sox love Drake Bald when

819
00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:50,840
Speaker 3: the White Sox love not you al Morez.

820
00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:54,399
Speaker 4: You know, pick your top prospect that it would take.

821
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:57,920
Speaker 3: There is a scenario where if you go get a

822
00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:03,080
Speaker 3: guy that good, where he's got multiple years of team control,

823
00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:10,000
Speaker 3: then you could potentially you could potentially let Ozuna walk

824
00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:12,760
Speaker 3: at the end of the year because you've essentially replaced

825
00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:16,480
Speaker 3: him with a guy like Luis Robert, And then how

826
00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:19,480
Speaker 3: couldn't you could dh in twenty twenty five, Like, if

827
00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:20,719
Speaker 3: you go big enough.

828
00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:25,480
Speaker 4: For your addition this year, you do actually create a.

829
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:28,880
Speaker 3: Scenario where you can let Ozuna walk next year and

830
00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:32,040
Speaker 3: it's not gonna kill you as bad. So there is

831
00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:35,000
Speaker 3: a threshold where it actually does make more sense to

832
00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:37,440
Speaker 3: go bigger than smaller. I don't know if they'll do it,

833
00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:41,480
Speaker 3: but as I was listening to Scott talk, that scenario

834
00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:43,279
Speaker 3: popped in my head where like it does actually make

835
00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:44,200
Speaker 3: some sense.

836
00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:47,520
Speaker 1: Absolutely, And I think the one thing that we can

837
00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:49,759
Speaker 1: all agree on is that one thing in Scott you

838
00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:53,799
Speaker 1: hit on this point. But this Braves pitching staff. It

839
00:39:54,239 --> 00:39:58,520
Speaker 1: enters the All Star Break leading the majors in EURN

840
00:39:58,600 --> 00:40:01,720
Speaker 1: run average. We just had three starters from our staff,

841
00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:05,240
Speaker 1: a staff that's lost Spencer Strider unfortunately for the season,

842
00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:08,440
Speaker 1: but three of their starters, including two who are in

843
00:40:08,440 --> 00:40:10,920
Speaker 1: their first year with the franchise, go to the All

844
00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:14,520
Speaker 1: Star Game. If that pitching staff can remain healthy, we

845
00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:17,880
Speaker 1: have ingredients here to be able to put together the

846
00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:20,120
Speaker 1: type of run that you have seen many teams do

847
00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:21,880
Speaker 1: that we did in twenty twenty one to win the

848
00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:25,080
Speaker 1: World Series title. We are a World Series contender, and

849
00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:29,000
Speaker 1: we've just recently seen our offense in the ten games

850
00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:32,920
Speaker 1: before the All Star Break. They scored five plus runs

851
00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:35,560
Speaker 1: in eight of those ten games. Yes, they were shut

852
00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:38,160
Speaker 1: out in the other two. But if this team can

853
00:40:38,239 --> 00:40:41,160
Speaker 1: just at least get a boost from somewhere, even if

854
00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:43,800
Speaker 1: it's not a superstar, if it's just a notable player

855
00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:45,840
Speaker 1: who can offer a bit more consistency than some of

856
00:40:45,880 --> 00:40:48,239
Speaker 1: the other outfield options we've got, if we can get

857
00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:50,399
Speaker 1: back to score in those four or five six runs

858
00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:53,400
Speaker 1: a game, this team is a really good spot to

859
00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:55,759
Speaker 1: potentially go on one of those runs. So anyone who's

860
00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:58,040
Speaker 1: thinking well, maybe it's not worth investing in this team.

861
00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:01,640
Speaker 1: It's worth it because this team, Sean's pitching staff has

862
00:41:01,719 --> 00:41:03,640
Speaker 1: the talent to be able to win a title. And

863
00:41:03,719 --> 00:41:06,279
Speaker 1: I think that's going to motivate Scott to or is

864
00:41:06,320 --> 00:41:09,400
Speaker 1: going to motivate Alex and thoughtless to your point, Scott

865
00:41:09,600 --> 00:41:13,600
Speaker 1: to want to go get something done and something notable done.

866
00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:17,160
Speaker 2: Yeah, and hey, if Alex wants to make me assistant GM,

867
00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:21,040
Speaker 2: I'd be down. Give me a call, Alex. No, he

868
00:41:21,080 --> 00:41:24,880
Speaker 2: doesn't need my yapping in his front office. Yeah. I mean, clearly,

869
00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:27,800
Speaker 2: this team has a lot of components of a World

870
00:41:27,800 --> 00:41:31,239
Speaker 2: Series champion, high end starting pitching at the top of

871
00:41:31,239 --> 00:41:35,279
Speaker 2: the rotation, a lights out bullpen as a whole. Maybe

872
00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:37,360
Speaker 2: we are guilty on the podcast of not giving the

873
00:41:37,360 --> 00:41:40,160
Speaker 2: bullpen its flowers for just being a really great and

874
00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:44,120
Speaker 2: consistent group all year long. And then line up. Yes,

875
00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:46,359
Speaker 2: there are players underperforming, Yes there have been a bunch

876
00:41:46,360 --> 00:41:49,560
Speaker 2: of injuries, but if you can get healthy and stay healthy,

877
00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:51,720
Speaker 2: you get a bounce back from a couple of players,

878
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:54,680
Speaker 2: and then you can add an outfielder. We just talked

879
00:41:54,719 --> 00:41:58,080
Speaker 2: about how deep this lineup suddenly looks while also being

880
00:41:58,120 --> 00:42:02,160
Speaker 2: pretty solid defensively, you can absolutely see this team making

881
00:42:02,160 --> 00:42:04,960
Speaker 2: a run. We could do our whole rant about how

882
00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:07,480
Speaker 2: random the playoffs have become and we don't have to

883
00:42:07,520 --> 00:42:10,719
Speaker 2: go down that whole rabbit hole right now. But clearly, man,

884
00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:13,520
Speaker 2: you can't just say, well, Okay, maybe this isn't our

885
00:42:13,520 --> 00:42:15,560
Speaker 2: best team. We're not going to go out and improve it.

886
00:42:16,200 --> 00:42:18,719
Speaker 2: Of course not because we can't predict the future. And

887
00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:21,000
Speaker 2: if you're telling me the Braves can get to October

888
00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:24,799
Speaker 2: with a healthy Sale and Freed and Lopez, a very

889
00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:28,239
Speaker 2: deep bullpen and a lineup that's going to hopefully find

890
00:42:28,239 --> 00:42:30,960
Speaker 2: some more consistency in the second half, and I think

891
00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:34,080
Speaker 2: it will. Why not the Braves? Maybe they aren't going

892
00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:35,839
Speaker 2: to go in with the best record, but as we've

893
00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:38,920
Speaker 2: seen the last couple of off a couple of playoffs,

894
00:42:39,160 --> 00:42:40,919
Speaker 2: going in as the number one or the number two

895
00:42:41,120 --> 00:42:43,520
Speaker 2: seed does not mean a single thing, especially in the

896
00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:44,200
Speaker 2: National League.

897
00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:51,080
Speaker 3: And I'll add this, you know, we haven't really adjusted

898
00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:55,800
Speaker 3: our thinking because in the offseason, you know, the constant

899
00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:58,280
Speaker 3: conversation was how big of a question mark the rotation

900
00:42:58,360 --> 00:43:00,279
Speaker 3: is going to be in twenty to twenty five losing

901
00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:04,560
Speaker 3: all these guys. But you know, Alex went and got

902
00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:06,800
Speaker 3: Chris Sale for multiple years. He went and got Ronaldo

903
00:43:06,800 --> 00:43:10,359
Speaker 3: Lopez for multiple years. Spencer Swallenback has come on, who's

904
00:43:10,400 --> 00:43:12,600
Speaker 3: got multiple years of tea control all of a sudden,

905
00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:16,279
Speaker 3: like the twenty twenty five rotation. You know, you get

906
00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:18,560
Speaker 3: Strider back, you have Sale, you have Lopez, you have

907
00:43:18,560 --> 00:43:22,399
Speaker 3: swollen Block. Maybe you get Morton back, like and even

908
00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:24,120
Speaker 3: if you don't get Morton back, like you know it's

909
00:43:24,160 --> 00:43:25,719
Speaker 3: it's going to get a back and started, Like the

910
00:43:25,760 --> 00:43:28,480
Speaker 3: twenty twenty five rotation suddenly doesn't have as many question

911
00:43:28,560 --> 00:43:30,719
Speaker 3: marks as it did. Maybe in the winter when we

912
00:43:30,760 --> 00:43:32,800
Speaker 3: didn't have Lopez, we didn't have Sale, we didn't know

913
00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:36,759
Speaker 3: about Schwellenbach. And I do think that's relevant to this

914
00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:39,400
Speaker 3: conversation because if if you were looking at the twenty

915
00:43:39,480 --> 00:43:42,480
Speaker 3: twenty five rotation has still this huge question mark, then

916
00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:44,880
Speaker 3: maybe if you're Alex, you're saving some of your prospects,

917
00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:47,640
Speaker 3: like you're saving some of your your resources, you're saving

918
00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:49,360
Speaker 3: some of your dollars because you know you've got some

919
00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:52,560
Speaker 3: pretty big holes to fill in the wintertime, and maybe

920
00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:54,960
Speaker 3: you don't, you know, push us hard for an outfield

921
00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:57,879
Speaker 3: right now. But now that that is not as big

922
00:43:57,920 --> 00:43:59,960
Speaker 3: of a question as it was maybe even three four

923
00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:03,040
Speaker 3: months ago. You know, this team all of a sudden

924
00:44:03,080 --> 00:44:05,719
Speaker 3: doesn't really have that many holes going into next year

925
00:44:05,800 --> 00:44:09,040
Speaker 3: outside of we got to figure out the outfield and

926
00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:10,880
Speaker 3: or we got to figure out the h you know,

927
00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:12,799
Speaker 3: we got to figure out something for this year. Do

928
00:44:12,880 --> 00:44:15,480
Speaker 3: we you know we do we do multiple years to

929
00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:18,800
Speaker 3: spill over into next year. What do we do with those? Know,

930
00:44:18,880 --> 00:44:21,960
Speaker 3: that's that kind of becomes the biggest question, and so

931
00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:24,719
Speaker 3: once again it does kind of justify maybe spending a

932
00:44:24,760 --> 00:44:27,759
Speaker 3: little bit more, going a little bit bigger on that

933
00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:33,000
Speaker 3: acquisition right now because you don't have those massive holes

934
00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:35,440
Speaker 3: in the roster, you know that maybe we thought we

935
00:44:35,480 --> 00:44:37,920
Speaker 3: would even three or four months ago. So it is

936
00:44:37,960 --> 00:44:40,840
Speaker 3: going to be to see how they allocate resources given

937
00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:44,080
Speaker 3: the emergence of guys like Sale and Lopez and swallowing

938
00:44:44,160 --> 00:44:47,399
Speaker 3: back to really solidify not only the rotation this year,

939
00:44:47,440 --> 00:44:49,680
Speaker 3: but the rotation you know, next year, the year after.

940
00:44:49,719 --> 00:44:52,120
Speaker 3: It's it's a lot less scary than it was even

941
00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:53,200
Speaker 3: a few months ago.

942
00:44:54,680 --> 00:44:56,399
Speaker 1: Absolutely, and I think at the end of the day,

943
00:44:56,480 --> 00:44:59,520
Speaker 1: the one thing that stands out for a general manager

944
00:44:59,560 --> 00:45:02,839
Speaker 1: like Alex and thoughtless, who again is creative and resourceful

945
00:45:03,200 --> 00:45:06,760
Speaker 1: and just you know, is consistently making moves that wind

946
00:45:06,880 --> 00:45:09,919
Speaker 1: up making sense. Again, just look at what he's done

947
00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:14,799
Speaker 1: with Kellennick Sale as well as Rinaldo Lopez getting an

948
00:45:14,840 --> 00:45:16,920
Speaker 1: asset at this trade deadline that could help now and

949
00:45:16,960 --> 00:45:18,920
Speaker 1: potentially could be here as an asset in the future.

950
00:45:18,960 --> 00:45:21,239
Speaker 1: That's a good problem to have, and it certainly is

951
00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:23,719
Speaker 1: something that I think Alex and thoughtless. You know, he's

952
00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:25,360
Speaker 1: looking to do what makes the most sense for this

953
00:45:25,480 --> 00:45:28,680
Speaker 1: year right now, but while he also is considering years ahead.

954
00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:31,560
Speaker 1: I think that you know, he looks forward to you know, hey,

955
00:45:31,600 --> 00:45:33,239
Speaker 1: if I can get something that can help me now

956
00:45:33,320 --> 00:45:35,360
Speaker 1: and potentially can give me options to use room in

957
00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:38,920
Speaker 1: the future, that type of option could be worth investing in.

958
00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:42,200
Speaker 1: But Scott Steven, the reason why I always enjoy talking

959
00:45:42,280 --> 00:45:44,719
Speaker 1: with y'all is because obviously y'all are two of the

960
00:45:44,719 --> 00:45:46,319
Speaker 1: best when it comes to breaking down the game in

961
00:45:46,440 --> 00:45:50,279
Speaker 1: Bravest Country. Always learns so much and just enjoy y'all's perspectives.

962
00:45:50,280 --> 00:45:52,640
Speaker 1: That either one of y'all have anything to end on.

963
00:45:52,680 --> 00:45:56,160
Speaker 1: As we wrap up this edition of the Hammer Territory podcast.

964
00:45:57,920 --> 00:46:00,480
Speaker 2: Uh no, nothing really on my end. We like this

965
00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:02,840
Speaker 2: was a great opportunity to do a bit of a

966
00:46:02,840 --> 00:46:05,360
Speaker 2: deep dive on the roster and look ahead to the

967
00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:08,560
Speaker 2: trade deadline, which is July thirtieth, so we are two

968
00:46:08,560 --> 00:46:11,600
Speaker 2: weeks away. It is very quickly approaching, and with no

969
00:46:11,680 --> 00:46:13,560
Speaker 2: games for a couple of days, we thought, why not,

970
00:46:13,680 --> 00:46:16,000
Speaker 2: let's do it. I thought that this was a great conversation,

971
00:46:16,560 --> 00:46:18,960
Speaker 2: and man, isn't it just fun to be talking about

972
00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:21,640
Speaker 2: a really good Braves team, maybe a team that hits

973
00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:24,480
Speaker 2: them roadblocks in the first half, but at the end

974
00:46:24,520 --> 00:46:26,960
Speaker 2: of the day, there are eleven games up, they're firmly

975
00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:29,800
Speaker 2: in the playoffs, and the fact that they have navigated

976
00:46:29,840 --> 00:46:32,480
Speaker 2: such choppy waters and they are in the position they're

977
00:46:32,480 --> 00:46:34,480
Speaker 2: in with two and a half months to go in

978
00:46:34,520 --> 00:46:37,000
Speaker 2: the season. It's just fun. It's fun to talk about.

979
00:46:37,040 --> 00:46:39,640
Speaker 2: Hopefully it's fun to listen to. And we're going to

980
00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:41,560
Speaker 2: do another show here in the next day or two,

981
00:46:41,719 --> 00:46:43,480
Speaker 2: just kind of doing a deeper look at the roster,

982
00:46:43,600 --> 00:46:44,880
Speaker 2: so be sure to keep an eye out for that.

983
00:46:47,560 --> 00:46:50,600
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would just add I agree with everything Scott said.

984
00:46:50,880 --> 00:46:52,880
Speaker 3: This is one of my favorite things to do, quite honestly,

985
00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:57,279
Speaker 3: is just talk roster and trade stuff. I think I've

986
00:46:57,280 --> 00:46:59,560
Speaker 3: talked myself into like going to get Louise Robert if

987
00:46:59,560 --> 00:47:02,080
Speaker 3: I'm being honest, like just go get him and figure

988
00:47:02,120 --> 00:47:03,080
Speaker 3: out twenty twenty five.

989
00:47:04,520 --> 00:47:05,440
Speaker 4: I don't know if they'll do it.

990
00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:07,239
Speaker 3: I do think they have the high end triple A

991
00:47:07,360 --> 00:47:10,680
Speaker 3: talent to do it, you know, both position player and

992
00:47:10,880 --> 00:47:14,560
Speaker 3: pitching wise, you know, with Balden and and and Nacho

993
00:47:14,600 --> 00:47:15,640
Speaker 3: having the years they've had.

994
00:47:16,120 --> 00:47:18,000
Speaker 4: So I think they could do it, and I think it.

995
00:47:17,920 --> 00:47:21,239
Speaker 3: Does maybe solve some problems with maybe letting Azuna go

996
00:47:21,560 --> 00:47:22,799
Speaker 3: at next year.

997
00:47:24,320 --> 00:47:26,000
Speaker 4: So yeah, I've kind of fallen in love with that move.

998
00:47:26,040 --> 00:47:26,840
Speaker 4: I'd love for them to do it.

999
00:47:26,840 --> 00:47:28,320
Speaker 3: I don't think they will. I think he'll go a

1000
00:47:28,360 --> 00:47:31,320
Speaker 3: little more measured. Alex is much smarter than we are,

1001
00:47:31,880 --> 00:47:33,439
Speaker 3: so we'll see what they do. But yeah, I agree

1002
00:47:33,440 --> 00:47:35,600
Speaker 3: with everything Scott said. It's a ton of fun. We

1003
00:47:35,640 --> 00:47:39,279
Speaker 3: appreciate it all the support that we've gotten, and and

1004
00:47:39,320 --> 00:47:43,839
Speaker 3: Sean very much appreciative you kind of, you know, quarterbacking

1005
00:47:43,840 --> 00:47:44,719
Speaker 3: this whole conversation.

1006
00:47:44,840 --> 00:47:47,360
Speaker 4: But but yeah.

1007
00:47:46,840 --> 00:47:49,040
Speaker 3: It's been fun and obviously a lot more to get

1008
00:47:49,120 --> 00:47:52,200
Speaker 3: to in the next couple of weeks, and this is.

1009
00:47:52,200 --> 00:47:54,399
Speaker 1: Where we enjoy it the most, you know, not only

1010
00:47:54,400 --> 00:47:56,160
Speaker 1: getting to talk with each other, you know, as Scott

1011
00:47:56,200 --> 00:47:58,320
Speaker 1: and Steven both said, but this time of year, I

1012
00:47:58,640 --> 00:48:00,239
Speaker 1: don't want to speak for Scott or Stephen, but I

1013
00:48:00,239 --> 00:48:02,279
Speaker 1: don't think that it would be you know, in any way,

1014
00:48:02,320 --> 00:48:03,960
Speaker 1: shape or form wrong to suggests. It's kind of like

1015
00:48:04,040 --> 00:48:05,880
Speaker 1: Christmas to all of us because we get to, you know,

1016
00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:08,040
Speaker 1: enjoy talking about the potential moves the Braves can make

1017
00:48:08,040 --> 00:48:10,120
Speaker 1: for a championship run. But we want to make sure

1018
00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:12,200
Speaker 1: that you know that we're going to continue to you know,

1019
00:48:12,280 --> 00:48:14,000
Speaker 1: pipe out a lot of content when it comes to

1020
00:48:14,080 --> 00:48:16,840
Speaker 1: trade discussions. The Braves have a big series against the

1021
00:48:16,840 --> 00:48:19,759
Speaker 1: Cardinals coming up this weekend. The two teams right now

1022
00:48:19,800 --> 00:48:22,000
Speaker 1: at the top of the wild card race in the

1023
00:48:22,120 --> 00:48:24,239
Speaker 1: National League, so plenty to get to over the next week.

1024
00:48:24,239 --> 00:48:26,520
Speaker 1: But watch out for that next episode in which we

1025
00:48:26,600 --> 00:48:29,239
Speaker 1: will have you know, more in depth conversation about the

1026
00:48:29,280 --> 00:48:31,800
Speaker 1: rosters of Hall and what potentially could occur. Of course,

1027
00:48:31,840 --> 00:48:35,360
Speaker 1: Hammer Territory as part of the Foul Territory family of podcasts,

1028
00:48:35,360 --> 00:48:38,000
Speaker 1: they had a great interview with Chris Sell earlier today.

1029
00:48:38,040 --> 00:48:41,080
Speaker 1: Make sure you check out the latest Foul Territory podcast

1030
00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:42,640
Speaker 1: to be able to see that, and of course for

1031
00:48:42,760 --> 00:48:46,040
Speaker 1: Scott Coleman at Scott Coleman fifty five on x Slash Twitter,

1032
00:48:46,560 --> 00:48:49,160
Speaker 1: Stephen Tolbert at Beuder Score Outliars. My name is Sean

1033
00:48:49,239 --> 00:48:52,640
Speaker 1: Coleman at stats SAC. Thanks for joining us on this

1034
00:48:52,840 --> 00:48:55,560
Speaker 1: all star wik condition of Hammer Territory. Make sure you

1035
00:48:55,640 --> 00:48:59,160
Speaker 1: check out Hamma Hammer Territory across all forms of social media.

1036
00:48:59,239 --> 00:49:01,640
Speaker 1: Until next time, go braves. We'll talk to ye again

1037
00:49:01,719 --> 00:49:04,120
Speaker 1: soon here on the Hammer Territory Podcast