Latest / Sports Avenue Twisted Podcast / Episode 45 Part I feat. Jeb Maize - State of the Atlanta Braves

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Episode 45 Part I feat. Jeb Maize - State of the Atlanta Braves · Sports Avenue Twisted Podcast

0:27
Welcome to another edition of the Sports Ave. to podcast.
0:30
We have a guest in here, a good friend of ours.
0:33
He's part of the Tomahawk Talk podcast.
0:38
Jeb Mays, welcome to the show. It's an honor for you to be
0:41
here. Just tell your credentials of
0:43
what you do and everything else. Well, First off, boys, don't,
0:48
don't let me get too big headed Pleasures, pleasures online.
0:52
Thanks for having me on. So yeah, I started the Tomahawk
0:56
Talk podcast a little over a year ago.
1:00
And so we're pretty much just a Braves podcast and we try to
1:04
keep it, you know, our, our saying is for the fan by the
1:08
fan. So we try to keep it as real as
1:11
possible. You know, we try to, we try to
1:14
give a fan's perspective as best we can.
1:16
I also do a little bit of riding over at Skipper's View.
1:20
That's kind of been on the back burner.
1:21
I haven't had enough time for that here recently, but yeah.
1:27
Well, thanks for joining us today, man.
1:28
It's awesome to have you. Yeah, thanks for having me.
1:32
Yeah, man, we're excited to get in talking some Braves baseball.
1:38
You know, it's been an up and down season for you guys, but
1:40
we're we're excited to get to get to talk about it and have
1:44
you on today, man. So thank you.
1:49
All right, let's get this thing started here.
1:51
So first question I want to ask you is you guys are playing the
1:55
Mets as it stands. You guys are undefeated so far
1:59
and you guys have the Mets number.
2:01
And, you know, looking at the standings right now, you look at
2:03
the way the season has gone for the Braves, it's been it's been
2:08
a lot of fluctuation, right? So how do you look at it this
2:13
way? Thoughts on the Mets, you know,
2:15
being winless against the Braves and overall, what do you look
2:18
into the season so far? Well, they've been scratching A
2:23
claw. I mean, they're, they're 37 and
2:25
41 right now. So they're, they're pretty
2:28
close. They've obviously, as we know,
2:31
they've been seven games under 500 and I believe they were even
2:36
up to 10 at one point. So they're not going away
2:39
quietly. It sucks because this team came
2:42
in with so much expectation this year to They were the second
2:49
best World Series odds behind the Dodgers, the second best.
2:53
So when they come in and basically just can't get
2:59
anything going, hits weren't falling, the bullpen was not
3:04
doing anything, it just kind of sucks.
3:07
But to answer your question about the Mets, it it's it's
3:12
really nice. It's really nice knowing that we
3:14
can be a division rival that bad.
3:17
And you know, when we have a number of somebody like that
3:21
against a potential division winning team A-Team that was in
3:26
the NLCS last year and you know who's been nipping at your heels
3:30
the past couple years, it it's pretty nice.
3:34
You know, you know, like you brought up that point that you
3:37
have their number. That's, that's a key point,
3:40
especially when you've been struggling heading into, you
3:44
know, like it's kind of been up and down.
3:46
You've had a really rough start to the season and then you're
3:49
now you're starting to pick it up.
3:50
And now in a crucial stretch against some teams in the
3:53
division, you're facing the Mets.
3:56
So, you know, it's kind of working to your advantage here
4:00
that you're taking care of them and it's kind of getting you
4:03
back in the race now. I mean, 6 1/2 out of the wild
4:06
card, I think you were 12 at one point or something like that.
4:10
So I mean, like you've cut it in half.
4:12
So and we're not even at the halfway point, like we're just
4:16
approaching the halfway point, but we're not there yet.
4:19
And we're not even not like you said, the All Star breaks.
4:21
So anything goes right now. I think you guys are, are, are
4:26
in a fine spot considering where like how the season's gone with
4:31
the injuries and, and, and all the, you know, like the
4:35
underperformance, the the not head, like, you know, just the
4:38
up and downness of the season. I think, I think you got to be
4:42
kind of OK with what with where you're at right now.
4:48
This is how I look at it so, so far.
4:50
So far, you look at the season. I know the Braves had one of the
4:53
toughest schedules to start the season, right.
4:57
I think they I think they're like second or third when it
5:01
comes to playing teams over 500. And it's just a way it struck
5:06
it. But you know, the injuries was a
5:08
factor for the Braves as well, which sucks, right?
5:11
Hakuna didn't start on time Strider and start on time yet
5:14
another stint. I mean, Renato Lopez, like, I
5:19
mean, there was rumors that was told that his velocity was a bit
5:22
down and he he was he was off to a good start, then just lost it
5:26
all together. And he's injured now, right?
5:27
So and then Joe Hammond as being injured, like we were talking
5:31
off screen that, you know, that he's trying to work his way up.
5:33
So a lot of things have went S for the Braves, but at the same
5:37
time, I think they could make some ground up, right, knowing
5:42
the fact that they've done this before a few years ago.
5:47
As you can see that if there's an opportunity right with Alex,
5:54
you know how how it works with them.
5:56
He's not going to back it down. He's he he's pretty directed.
6:00
We're going to get to the next question.
6:01
But overall, you look at it this way, they're playing better
6:03
baseball lately. I mean, Michael Harris is having
6:07
a bit of a down year, which is surprising because, you know,
6:10
knowing the upside, being rookie of the year, it's kind of
6:12
surprising that he's been up and down.
6:14
And I, I, I always think that there's always potential that
6:17
kid, right? So.
6:22
Michael Well, I I just want to add on your Michael Harris
6:26
thing. I mean, this was a guy that the
6:28
Braves signed long term after pretty much winning rookie of
6:32
the year. And he was supposed to, I mean,
6:34
all of what I've heard when the contract first happened was if
6:40
this kid doesn't hit his weight, the contract will pay for itself
6:45
for his defense. And his defense has been
6:47
spectacular this year, right? But he's pretty much not hitting
6:51
his weight. I mean, he's been atrocious at
6:53
the plate. Needless to say, there's a lot
6:57
of people calling for him to go down to triple AI.
7:01
Don't necessarily see it. I think he's got the IT.
7:04
It's either him or Eli White in center and I just you're still
7:08
going to have to play Alex Verdugo and I just trust Michael
7:11
in the lineup more than them. I just think the defense plays
7:14
too much and if he was to get on base, the speed is there and I
7:18
actually have some some some stats if if we can dive into
7:23
that just just for a little bit. I don't get off the rails.
7:25
Too much hair. But all right, go ahead.
7:27
So 2013 BJ Upton versus 2025 Michael Harris.
7:34
As it stands right now, BJ Upton's ISO was one O 5.
7:39
Michael Harris's was 112. The Babbitts are very similar to
7:44
66 to 257. The OBP Michael has a worst OBP.
7:49
The WRC plus are very similar to 56 to 54 and 55 to 59.
7:56
There's a lot of other stuff, but it it's very similar to what
8:00
BJ Upton was producing in 2013. But Michael is providing much
8:05
better defense. You know, you know, what's so
8:08
crazy about that is because like, I saw a stat there.
8:11
Credit to Thomas Nistico. We had him on our other podcast.
8:15
So he came out with a list of like most clutch hitters.
8:18
And Michael Harris is actually number one on the list, believe
8:21
it or not. So he is a clutch hitter.
8:23
And if he could put it all together right and look, there's
8:27
a lot of frustration. He his his OPS is like under
8:32
under average, right? So he has to talk to Tim Hires
8:36
to see what's going on, what approach he has to make and he
8:41
needs to retool himself like the D, like you said, his defenses,
8:45
elite, elite stuff, right? So it's probably gonna win
8:48
another goal go up this year. So, and if you look at if you
8:52
look at the way he is, there's a there's a lot of upside to that
8:55
kid too, right, Coming straight from AA to the majors.
8:59
I mean, and when rookie of the year, like you don't see those
9:02
kind of things, it's a rarity. So I do believe in the kid, but
9:06
there was a lot we got to talk about later in this episode.
9:09
But Rob, you have anything to add before the next question?
9:13
No, man, you guys, you guys covered it pretty much, but I
9:17
just wanted to talk about Anthropolis recently addressed
9:20
the media on the Braves not selling and when it came to
9:27
Chris Sale, he used the word ridiculous and he says we are
9:31
not selling, especially someone that has club control beyond the
9:35
current year. Will not happen and never make
9:38
definitive statements unless I'm going to stick to them.
9:41
Once you make definitive statements, you go back on them.
9:44
You're a liar and you're done. Will not happen.
9:47
Bold italicize caps so much that I'm trying to make a trade now.
9:52
It's very hard to make a trade in June just to signal to
9:56
everybody that we will not sell. So I just want to break down
10:00
those statements about that. It's about as bold as you can
10:03
get when it comes about specifics of what the braids
10:05
apparently will not do. So if you're out of it come July
10:09
30th, do you believe that it's a mistake that you don't sell or
10:14
do you think, you know, that they should just kind of focus
10:17
on next year, you know, retool, kind of, you know, get some guys
10:21
with control and just, you know, just play the season out and
10:25
just play for, you know, hopefully next year.
10:27
But right now you don't have to worry about that situation.
10:31
But you know, just, you know, like, what do you think?
10:34
What do you think is going to happen ultimately?
10:38
Well, you're stuck in a hard spot because you're playing
10:43
great. And if you were to send that
10:46
message of trading, you know, a Chris Sale, a Sean Murphy,
10:51
Marcellus, you know, what kind of message does that sent to the
10:54
clubhouse? Yeah, I don't think you trade
10:58
Chris Sale. I think because with the
11:01
starting rotation in the way it is now, you have Strider who's
11:04
coming back. You have Schwellenbach, who has
11:07
been amazing, but still has his learning curves.
11:11
I mean, he's he, he hasn't even pitched a full year in the
11:13
majors yet. And you have Bryce Elder and
11:18
Grant Holmes, who are both I I love them both.
11:23
I love them both, but they're they're both number fives.
11:27
So you have a guy like Chris Sale to go at the top of your
11:30
rotation who is here for next year and they're going to
11:34
contend next year with the the revenue that the battery turns
11:38
out and the the names that are on the back of the jerseys on
11:42
the field, they're going to contend.
11:44
I think the bigger problem is you have this year at least you
11:49
have a hole in left field because pro far cannot play in
11:51
the play offs. Ozzy has not been himself Riley,
11:55
there's no slug there, but he's been fine and Nick Allen has not
12:00
let anything get by him. But he's probably got a better
12:03
shot of going up there without a bat.
12:05
And I say I say that after after he had a three hit game
12:10
yesterday. So I I think if you were to
12:14
trade somebody or to soft sell slash retool, I think the best
12:19
bet is Murphy. But with Ozuna being gone next
12:25
year, I do not see them bringing him back with the emergence of
12:28
Baldwin. And I kind of see them
12:30
platooning DH catcher duties with the catchers and
12:36
potentially getting the infielders off their feet a
12:38
little bit. Knowing Alex and Topless, he has
12:43
one of the biggest egos in the baseball industry.
12:47
Listen to to him speak. You know that, right?
12:50
So, yeah. And I think I and I spoke to you
12:53
about this, about the like, he was on the 680 the fan and I
12:56
sent you clips and you heard what he said.
12:58
He said, I'm going to show you what I'm going to do.
13:01
And knowing him, like, I mean, the braids are a talented team.
13:06
I mean, yeah, you look at you look at their catcher tandem.
13:09
It's it's there. I mean, the rotations been
13:12
pretty decent, the picture and The thing is like it's their
13:16
bullpen that's been, you know, up and down like.
13:19
Yeah. That's that's the thing, man, I
13:23
think if there's a way Dylan Lee becomes the closer of this team
13:29
because he showed that the other day, he could be the closer of
13:33
this team. By the way, I picked him up a
13:34
fantasy. So so with that being said, I
13:40
mean, if they could make, I don't know, like, like you said,
13:44
like Marcelo Zuna has 10 five rights.
13:45
Well, we'll get into that later. That would go deep into that.
13:49
So he but knowing Alex knowing So the first thing about Alex
13:55
reminds me a little bit of 2015 in his final year of Toronto.
13:58
I'm not saying they're they're very similar, but for him when
14:03
it comes to being buyers and sellers, the first statistic he
14:06
looks at is run differential. If it's a positive run
14:10
differential, he's going to he's going to probably add.
14:12
But if if not, then I mean, you know, you know how he, like you
14:17
said, could do some tweaks here and there, maybe maybe even
14:21
upgrade for the future. Maybe you have to give up guy
14:23
down the road, but I don't know. But I'm curious to see what
14:28
what's on Alex's mind because he is such an unpredictable guy,
14:31
right. So.
14:35
Yeah, he's like, he's like, you always call him Rocky.
14:38
You see, he's a mob boss, right? So a mob boss from Montreal?
14:44
Right. I'm gonna have to take that.
14:48
But yeah, he's he's definitely a guy who's not shy to to to mix
14:53
it up and and you know, he loves making trades and and I and I he
14:57
doesn't, he's so competitive too that he does he yeah, I believe
15:01
he ain't good. So, so I mean, and right now you
15:04
don't have to worry about that scenario.
15:06
So but yeah, I'm with you. I think it sends a bad message
15:10
to clubhouse if you sell, especially when the team's
15:13
playing better, much better. And you know, like you said,
15:17
it's a talented team. It's it's a team full of talent.
15:20
So why not just, you know, like in 2015 with Toronto, he he did
15:27
that and he made trade for Troy to the whiskey and David Price
15:30
and a plethora of other guys and they went and they won the
15:33
division. So you never know, man.
15:35
You just never know. Yeah, I mean, if you if just
15:42
knowing Alex, the team is talented enough.
15:44
Ronald's playing out of his mind.
15:46
He's back to what Ronald is, right.
15:49
So let me ask you this, Let me ask you this about Alby's.
15:53
Like, so some fans are frustrated.
15:56
I see a lot of race fans saying like, what is Alby's at this
15:59
point? The guy's what, 28 right now?
16:01
I would say. So he's he's in the middle of
16:03
his crime. Like like man, he had a little
16:08
stretch of like getting, getting it going.
16:11
But like, how do you, how do you envision Alby's at this point,
16:16
like as a player? So I'm gonna tell y'all what I
16:21
have told everybody. What is my belief and I am in no
16:26
formal way close to the team and analyst, a beat writer or
16:30
anything. I think the only way you keep
16:34
Ronald Acuna after this contract extinction is if you keep all
16:38
these. I think that's the only way.
16:42
I don't think he's going to cost a lot, but I think that's the
16:45
only way you keep Ronald. Last year, I mean Ozzy had the
16:51
injury with the wrist and everything.
16:54
I think at the beginning of the year he was still battling that
16:58
and still wasn't 100% healthy. Think right now it's just he
17:04
transitioning from approaches. I mean, you had Kevin Seitzer
17:08
who was more lenient towards ambush, ambush, ambush, ambush.
17:15
And so now you're transitioning to hires who is more, you know,
17:20
kind of ambush early, but like towards the middle of the game
17:24
and later innings. Let's kind of work the pitch
17:27
count, take our walks, which I think Albees and I think Ozuna
17:31
as well are both reaping the the, I don't want to say
17:36
benefits, but they're both having those issues where we've
17:41
seen the lack of slug from them and what?
17:45
And obviously Ozuna has the hip injury, but I think that's what
17:48
Albees is issue is if you want to call it that.
17:53
Because I know that you know that lineup is great and you
17:56
know profile is going to be back.
17:59
I would say what first week of July you would say the earliest.
18:02
July 2nd. July 2nd OK, so OK, so I'm
18:06
curious to see what that lineup is going to look like with pro
18:11
profile being back, because I do think he's a bat.
18:13
But but what we're we're going to get into this man.
18:16
But because because this is going to lead me to the next
18:19
question. We talk about the bats and
18:21
knowing that a so there were reports out there that about
18:28
Rafael Devers, right? And this is this was, you know,
18:32
a winger that came out of nowhere.
18:34
And Rafael Devers has a eight-year, eight years contract
18:39
left in him, I believe, right. I think he's in a six year, I
18:42
believe 5th or 6th year. And I thought he would be a
18:45
offseason deal knowing that, you know, with that contract, like
18:48
you waited out like if you're going to play your guys, right.
18:51
But overall, you know, that came out of nowhere.
18:55
And yes, the Jays did do the diligence, but there was some
18:58
framework with the Braves as well.
19:01
And I heard one thing. You heard one thing.
19:04
Rob heard the same thing as I did.
19:06
So, initial thoughts about the Braves checking in on him?
19:12
On trade, a popular belief, I think Alex is not telling the
19:16
truth or not telling the full truth.
19:20
It goes back to what I said about what that sends a message
19:24
in the clubhouse, I think. I think that there was some sort
19:31
of communication besides besides, hey, what's the price
19:37
basically? But I think Devers, that's
19:44
depending on the package. I mean, you never know until
19:47
it's publicly out there. And most times they're not going
19:50
to publicly put that out there. I think it would have been huge
19:53
for this because he's under control.
19:56
He would have slid right there in the middle of your lineup.
19:58
You would have had your DH for years to come.
20:01
The only downside was you would have either had to have offed
20:05
Murphy or you would have. Had Murphy and Ozuna, you would
20:12
have had to got rid of both of them.
20:14
And if you somehow did not get rid of Murphy, you would have
20:17
had to turn around and find another way to get rid of him.
20:21
Because if the reason that Ronald did not sign here was
20:26
because they went and got Devers and didn't have enough money to
20:30
pay him would have infuriated numerous Braves fans.
20:36
Oh yeah, the, the Devers thing is interesting because I think
20:42
there were a few teams that were talking to the Red Sox about
20:49
acquiring Devers. I think it was the Braves.
20:52
Who who were the teams, Rocky, It was the Braves.
20:55
I know Toronto was there. Padres, yeah, I think those are
21:02
the three other teams, I believe.
21:03
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think you're right.
21:05
I think it was those three teams and, and you know, and either
21:09
one of them teams would have made sense.
21:13
But like you said, it might have ruffled a little bit feathers.
21:17
I I saw, I saw an article online today that said something about
21:21
it. If they would have got Devers,
21:23
it might have been bad news for Braves hitters.
21:26
And I think that's kind of what you're alluding to with, you
21:29
know, just the clubhouse and and whatnot.
21:33
But to add a bat like that at that magnitude, though, in that
21:37
ballpark, in your ballpark, I think he would have been me,
21:40
would have mashed. Man.
21:42
You know, so, yeah. So, yeah.
21:45
So I mean, it's just it, it's one of them things where, you
21:49
know, it's it's, you know, you know, it's like the what ifs,
21:55
man. Like, I mean, I always, when,
21:57
when it's my, it's like, you know, I, I don't really care
22:00
about the aftermath about, you know, oh, our team almost got
22:06
Devers. Like what?
22:07
We didn't get them. So let's move on.
22:09
You know, like, but, but yeah, if you guys would have got
22:12
Devers, man, that would have, that would have been a game
22:14
changer for for like many, many years.
22:18
So, and, and you know, and I believe he's good friends with,
22:21
with, with Ronald Lacuna too, so 'cause these guys, they're all
22:25
friends together, so. Well, it it's one of those
22:28
things to where you look at it and you know, you get rid of,
22:33
you know, Zuna and you bring in devours and as soon as a big
22:36
clubhouse guy devours is kind of more standoffish.
22:39
Devours still mashes. So, you know, whatever you also
22:44
potentially throw Sean Murphy in that deal, you get rid of a kind
22:49
of a leader or a what do you call that word?
22:55
Someone for Drake Baldwin to kind of lean on, you know, when
22:58
he goes through growing mentor. Mentor.
23:01
Mentor. Mentor yes, it I don't think
23:06
there was a wrong way either way.
23:07
I mean, Drake Baldwin has been and probably will be the catcher
23:14
of the future. I mean he has been amazing.
23:19
So I I'm not losing any sleep over it, but it but it is
23:22
interesting to see kind of the reports kind of peel back, kind
23:27
of like an onion. Well, it's so funny to say that
23:32
because didn't you guys had Solaire and Ozuna on the same
23:37
roster last year? Yep, and and Solaire was playing
23:40
right field. That that's what I'm saying.
23:43
Like, you know, I say if you can get the bat, just figure
23:48
everything else later. Like, if you can put Devers in
23:52
that, think about this for one second.
23:54
And the Giants did what it took, right?
23:57
Because it's all because The thing is that the initial
23:59
reports is that the Red Sox would have to pay some of that
24:04
contract from endeavors. But I think the Red Sox just
24:08
wants to completely get rid of them.
24:09
Like they want no part of them. They want it out.
24:11
It was so much friction. I think a change of scenario
24:14
would help in so many ways. I mean, the Jays even do their
24:18
due diligence. But but like you said, the the
24:21
Red Sox would have to pay a portion of that contract.
24:24
So, you know, just imagine if he if he put that line up with
24:28
Profar Acuna Devers, Alvis Harris, like Riley Olson, like,
24:36
I mean, that's a lethal and you're talking, but we're not
24:39
talking about like Devers. He's in his early 30s.
24:42
He's 28 we're talking about. And something tells me if Alex
24:48
is doing diligence on those type of deals, something's cooking
24:53
you, you would have to think there, there is no way that Alex
24:57
is going to go and look at short term.
24:59
And knowing Alex, he's all about long term.
25:02
He's all, he's the type of guy who likes to get players who are
25:06
under control. And that's his importance.
25:08
Because look at the Chris Sale deal, for example, He and and
25:11
and was from the Red Sox as well, which I think the Red Sox
25:14
are or I don't know what they're doing, giving up Javon Grisham
25:18
thinking that knowing knowing Chris, I mean, he's been through
25:22
freak accidents. Guy wins a saw young just like
25:24
that in the valley is just there.
25:26
So Alex Alex is, is fishing for something like if, if, if
25:31
they're looking for a guy like Devers and and the other teams
25:34
are looking for bats too, I believe, right.
25:36
You would say those teams are looking for bats.
25:39
So I do think there's going to be some movement this trade
25:42
deadline, but what what we could get to that after, right So.
25:46
Yeah, with with Snickers contract up with the season at
25:50
seasons and can we we can probably safely assume that he
25:55
won't renew the that they won't renew the contract.
25:58
But who are the most likely options to take over the
26:01
managerial position? And just what's gone on with
26:05
Brian Snicker this year, man. The four is yours, Jeb.
26:10
Well, I think I think David Ross is a good candidate.
26:19
I think I think a problem he had in Chicago was that he didn't
26:24
have the clubhouse, meaning that he had played with a lot of
26:28
those guys. So I personally think that they
26:32
didn't look at him as a manager. That's just my personal opinion.
26:37
So he has ties to the Braves, obviously, but has not played
26:40
with any of these guys. So I think David Ross would be a
26:44
good one. I think Derosa would be a good
26:47
one too. I mean, we've seen what he can
26:49
do with the Team USA guys. I don't think there's really
26:57
anybody else out there besides those two that I can think of
27:01
off the top. I mean, you have guys like Walt
27:03
Weiss and Eddie Perez. I'd much I'd feel more
27:07
comfortable handing the keys to an Eddie Perez personally, but
27:13
that's that's really the only two that I have.
27:18
Do you think with with snicker is is it's like, you know,
27:24
there's so many situations that happened earlier this year with
27:28
the whole injury with AJ Smith Shover, right.
27:32
And Strider caught that. And then the whole thing with
27:35
Kellen, goodness gracious, Like what was that about?
27:38
Like what we were like, like with snicker, like what what was
27:41
the frustration? Like in my mind, I was like, if
27:44
I if that if my manager was like that, I'll be driving down to
27:47
where I need to go to do knock some sense to it.
27:49
Like what are your thoughts about that?
27:52
Well, so it's not only that. There have been numerous bullpen
27:56
decisions, including two that I can remember off the top of my
28:01
head that were back-to-back weeks.
28:03
One was against the Nationals and the other one was against
28:09
the Red Sox, I believe, and they had used De Los Santos and
28:14
Montero and they had been awful and they blew the game pretty
28:20
much. I mean, the Braves had a lead in
28:21
both games, too. So just bullpen management,
28:27
which he's never really been good at, have been really
28:30
frustrating this year, especially with the lack of
28:33
bullpen presence that we have. And switching the line up around
28:40
too much gets on my nerves too. Like you, you have guys like
28:44
Michael Harris who are hitting sub 600 OP s s that he's
28:50
throwing in the 8 hole, throwing in the 9 hole, throwing in the
28:53
five hole. And it's I, I wish he would just
28:56
set the line up with these guys and let them take off.
29:01
But the whole Kellnick thing, I don't know how you one don't see
29:07
that, how you don't look at the ball and see it off the wall and
29:13
then look at Kelnick and see he's like just now rounding
29:16
first. I don't know how that doesn't
29:18
clue in. And I don't know how a bench
29:20
coach or somebody of that nature doesn't tell you about it.
29:25
And then just handling it, not pulling him after that and
29:27
stuff. I just, I, I, I just, it doesn't
29:31
send a good message to the clubhouse and to the guys.
29:33
When Ronald got pulled for it in his rookie year and and times
29:38
after that and Ozuna did 2 and 23 it it just doesn't look good.
29:47
You know, you know, the unfortunate part about that is
29:49
like this, right? Why I asked is like, the guy's a
29:53
World Series winner. And I was like, where's the
29:56
where is the example to all this?
29:59
And I, I feel like, I feel like, you know, when it comes to like
30:03
clubhouse culture and setting the standard, like Freddie
30:07
Freeman was a big part of that team during that World Series
30:11
here. And is there a guy right now,
30:15
because this is all this is all on your Ave. is is there a guy
30:19
right now that that has that leader?
30:22
Is Ronald the leader? Is there like is Olson a leader?
30:26
Is there somebody else that the leader that could handle the
30:29
shoe? Because snicker seems like he's
30:31
just out of it at times and it's like like he need to go at right
30:36
after the season start. Like is there a guy like that
30:38
or? So I believe it was 22 when we
30:43
chased down the Mets. We were in Arizona and we were
30:46
down by 10 games and Snake called the mandatory meeting.
30:50
We have not heard of a meeting and, and there have been rumors
30:55
and guys have came out and said like what's needed to be said
30:57
has been said, yadda, yadda, yadda.
30:59
But there's not been a publicly like said like we've had a
31:02
meeting. I I don't think snits in it.
31:06
And I think part of that is, you know, you lose a guy like
31:09
Freddie, you lose a guy like Dansby, you lose a guy like
31:12
Freed. Who are these said leaders right
31:16
now? And we've noticed it.
31:18
The Braves don't have anybody who's got some fire under him.
31:21
I mean, you have Chris Sale, but he's not as as fiery yelling at
31:26
the offense and the dugout of, you know, the World Series Game
31:30
5. But from from what I've heard,
31:33
there are guys in the clubhouse who are a little bit more fiery.
31:38
They just don't show it on the field.
31:41
But if if I had to take it and and kind of presumably say who
31:47
they are, I'd probably have to say you'd probably be Strider,
31:50
Sale, Riley and Ozzy because those are your longest tenured
31:57
and those are your guys who show some kind of accountability
32:00
really. Yeah, yeah.
32:04
No, I, I, I can see that. There's another guy that you
32:08
guys brought into with, with Verdugo.
32:11
I see like he's a very quiet guy.
32:14
And like you say, it's not, it's not really his, you know, it's
32:18
not his team per SE. You know, like it's his team,
32:20
but it's not his. He's not a long tenured guy, so
32:23
he probably doesn't feel voice just to speak out.
32:26
I don't know what it's like in the clubhouse, obviously, but
32:30
he's been a guy who's been a leader in the past on, you know,
32:34
Boston and and and and whatnot. So, you know, like, I just
32:40
wanted to say something about about the Kellanic thing,
32:43
though. I I believe Acuna took to
32:46
Twitter or something after that and he's like, yeah, if it were
32:49
me, he would have took me out of the game.
32:52
You know, like, what does that say when a a player of that
32:56
caliber, you know, speaks out against the manager like that in
33:01
a nature like that, in such a public display?
33:06
It just to me snicker, it just looks like he doesn't care this
33:11
year, you know, for whatever reason it may be like like you
33:14
said, how do you miss something like that?
33:16
How do you not see what's happening right in front of your
33:18
face? Like to me, like he's checked
33:21
out and you know, he's just, I think he knows he's done at the
33:25
end of the season and you know, it's time to move on.
33:30
You know, it's and and you know, he's he was a great manager for
33:33
you guys. Like there's nothing, you know,
33:36
it's just this year. For whatever reason, he just
33:38
doesn't seem to really care. Yeah, I, I've, I've said it.
33:45
He's the second best manager in Braves history.
33:48
And I think it's one of those where as soon as he retires,
33:53
everybody's then going to start appreciating.
33:55
Like, you know, this man took over the team in 2016 when we,
34:00
you know, went through the whole rebuild and, you know, stuck it
34:04
out and brought us a title, brought us, you know, 6 division
34:09
titles. And I guess counting 'cause this
34:12
year is not over, you know, so he'll, he'll, he'll go down as
34:17
one of the best managers in Braves history.
34:19
I just think after this year, it will take Braves fans to realize
34:22
that because of how bad this year is gone.
34:25
On the Akuna thing, I think if you do it for one, you've got to
34:29
do it for all whether you know whether you do that with
34:34
Kelnick, you've got to do it with a Cunha and vice versa.
34:38
If you do it to your 4th outfielder because he's not
34:42
hustling, can you does the same thing, He's got to go.
34:45
But if you're trying to set an example with your star player,
34:48
you've got to. You've got to yank your 4th
34:50
outfielder for doing the same thing.
34:53
Absolutely. All right.
34:57
The next question I want to ask you, it might be one of the most
34:59
important questions probably for the Braves itself is Ronald
35:04
Acuna. So he has three years, I believe
35:08
left in his contract with including two club options after
35:13
27 and 28. And we've been talking about
35:18
extensions with them. And that's that's the thing
35:21
that's been talked about recently.
35:22
And he's a franchise player and knowing that his buddies like
35:27
Juan Soto and Vlad and Tatis Junior all got extensions right?
35:34
And he's probably the next to get one.
35:37
What are your what are your thoughts about him getting paid?
35:40
Like what? What would be the number that
35:43
that would they would have to go get like to resign them?
35:48
So you look at Soto, he's just going to be ADH.
35:53
You look at Vlad, he's pretty much ADH.
35:58
You look at a Cunha, he has two ACL injuries, so you got to
36:04
weigh it out. Now he has been really good
36:09
since coming back and he's apparently been lifting weights
36:12
for the first time in his life, which is mind blowing that he's
36:16
done what he's done without even touching a weight.
36:21
I think he'll be 28 or 29 when he becomes a free agent.
36:26
So I think the deal you, you have to give him and, and you
36:31
can base it off of Kyle Tucker too.
36:33
He's going to be a free agent this year too.
36:35
You can a Coon. You can easily look at Tucker
36:37
and say, I do more than him. You know, I can bring more than
36:41
what he can. And I I think Tucker will
36:44
probably get more than 450. So I think Acuna's number should
36:49
not start anywhere lower than 4450.
36:58
Yeah, yeah, I agree with that. 4450 seems seems seems
37:05
reasonable like you said sorry, like you said earlier, I like
37:16
you said you, you bring him back if you bring Alby's back and we
37:20
we have a friend that's a Braves fan.
37:21
He said the same thing. You know, it's like those guys
37:24
are just kind of tied together, you know, in that regard.
37:28
So they're a. Package deal.
37:29
They're a package deal. Yeah, right.
37:31
Like, you know, so and I and I and you know, Alby's is a good
37:35
second baseman, man, Whatever he's going through this year is,
37:39
you know, I think this year is just an anomaly, you know, and I
37:43
mean there's still the second-half where he could
37:44
bounce back. You know, like the the guy's a
37:47
great second baseman. You know, he's so I wouldn't
37:50
even worry about him. I think he'd bring him back and
37:52
and a coup and you look what he's doing, man.
37:54
Oh my God, like just just picked up right where he left off after
37:59
a serious injury like that. He is and I and I was talking to
38:04
Rocky about this earlier today. He's he, in my opinion, he's the
38:08
top three. I think he's the best player
38:10
when he's healthy on the field behind that.
38:14
I mean, you gotta put Aaron Judge and Shohei Otani like
38:17
right there right now, but he's a top three player in the game
38:21
in my opinion. So with those two guys.
38:24
So yeah, I think it's gonna start with a four and and I
38:30
think hopefully you guys got it done, man, because he'd be a
38:33
player that'd be tough to swallow losing.
38:36
If if you lose him, I I don't think there's a way you can
38:40
recover unless you were to draft a Roman Anthony type, but then
38:46
you're looking at another potentially 2-3 years and I know
38:50
they have. Yeah.
38:52
Yeah, and Rocky, you can tell me his name the the outfielder that
38:57
they signed in the international draft.
38:59
I don't know his name off the top of my head.
39:02
Yeah, he was drawing a lot of comparisons to a Kenya 2.
39:06
And I believe he's a switch hitter.
39:09
But it's one of those things where it's it's a prospect, you
39:12
know, and he's 16 years old. It's going to be, you know, six
39:18
years before he's up. I mean, The thing is that
39:23
Tripper Jones even said that he might be the most talented
39:26
Braves player of all time from a player like that, from a, from a
39:31
Hall of Famer who started and ended his career.
39:34
That's that's pretty telling about what they think about
39:39
Acuna. And The thing is, like you said,
39:40
it's APR move. If you don't let him go, you
39:44
have to cue whatever it takes to retain him, in my opinion.
39:47
But I mean, given the fact that Alex can take his time to to to
39:53
do this, but at the same time, you don't want to get to the
39:56
point there it gets it when it's too late because there will be
40:00
teams out pounce on a player like that in every aspect
40:03
possible, right? Because like you said, Acuna is
40:06
one of the best players when healthy.
40:07
He he was at MVP a couple years ago.
40:10
And importantly enough, it's like, like you said, like
40:15
franchise players like that don't come around too often,
40:17
especially the way baseball's going too, right?
40:20
So, yeah, got to give him the give him what you can.
40:22
But if they see this is a thing, how see knowing Alex?
40:27
He wants his dollar, but I mean, when he got that initial
40:31
contract for what, for the 8 for 100 because he was on a loan and
40:34
they paid him off. Like the question is, is like he
40:39
want, he like he feels like he needs to get like, you know, you
40:43
need to get his money to what he's worth at the end of the day
40:45
because like he sacrificed some of his money and the way
40:48
baseball's going, look at the guys who are getting paid.
40:50
It's insane, right? So it meant in his mind he'll be
40:53
what, 30, 3130 by the end of the season.
40:57
So it's important that for a guy like him, you have to try to
41:02
keep him for the rest of his career.
41:03
But let me ask you this then. So is there like a ripple effect
41:08
with him and Alby's? Because those two grew up
41:10
together in the organization, They pretty much got called up
41:13
like, I think like a year apart, right?
41:16
Let's just say if they resigned Ocuna, do you have to resign
41:18
Alby's as well? Is he is he like a cornerstone
41:21
type of player too? So Aldi's is going to be a free
41:27
agent before Acuna. So that's the only way I say
41:31
that you have to sign Aldi's before Acuna, unless you somehow
41:35
can sign Aldi's for a one year deal and then have them both be
41:39
free agents. But I kind of think that's just,
41:44
I, I don't, I don't, I don't even know.
41:48
So I that's why I say you have to sign Aldi's if you want to
41:52
sign a Cunha. No, I get that.
41:59
No, I get that. No, because I think it's
42:01
important like 2 homegrown talents like that don't come
42:04
around in today's baseball like like it's hard to to look at
42:09
players of the way their calibers are playing their
42:11
pretty much a whole careers. And like you said, it's not easy
42:15
right so. So the Braves called up recently
42:22
20 year old prospect, their 10th overall prospect, Didier
42:27
Fuentes. He he made his debut against the
42:31
Marlins, a six two loss. He he allowed four runs, 3 three
42:37
on one swing with a home run, six hits, one walk in five
42:40
innings, striking out three. He looks like he's doing pretty
42:44
well tonight through a couple innings.
42:46
You know, he's allowed two hits got AK so pretty impressive for
42:52
a 20 year old to get called up. So let's just talk about him a
42:55
little bit. How do you look at his first
42:57
start? Obviously he I don't believe the
43:00
the the numbers tell the whole story here.
43:03
So let's let's let's dive into him a little bit.
43:07
Well, First off, I want to say that he is 20 years old.
43:13
He just turned 20 and I am 22 and I am sitting here doing a
43:19
podcast with you. So no, he I like he said he's
43:29
the number. Was it 6 or 10 ranked prospect?
43:32
#10. Yeah #10 yeah, from what we've
43:35
heard and what we saw in spring training, this stuff was there.
43:38
He was really, really good. You know, the fastball I believe
43:42
gets up to 97. There was a graphic going
43:49
around. I'd have to send it to you.
43:51
I don't know it off the top of my head, but a bunch of his spin
43:55
rate and fastball characteristics and stuff were
43:59
very similar to Brian Wu. So if we have basically a Brian
44:04
Wu in the making, I will take it.
44:07
But in his first start for a 20 year old, even if it's against
44:11
the Marlins, I mean, you go out and get 5 and give up four and
44:14
he's not asked to be the number one, that's fine.
44:20
And I don't know what the move is.
44:21
I don't know if he sticks in the rotation.
44:23
I don't know if he gets sent down.
44:25
I don't know if he goes to the bullpen.
44:28
I don't think any of us know. But if he just continues to
44:32
throw like he has been being kind of, and I guess, I mean, I
44:38
don't want to say it's a bad and I mean, he's 20 years old.
44:43
So yeah, he, I, I've been impressed.
44:48
I think with Fuente knowing, knowing Alex, he's so aggressive
44:52
calling up these guys, right? So yeah, that's the thing about
44:56
him. He doesn't care where the
44:57
timeline's at. Like I remind him a bit little
45:01
bit of Julio Tehran years ago, remember when he was called up
45:07
relatively young. But I think Fuentes has more, a
45:10
little bit more power. He's a power pitcher.
45:13
So and and I wonder what's his pitch count at this point?
45:18
Because the question is, it's like, is he a formidable guy at
45:22
the rotation for this year? Or is he, is he at the point
45:27
like it's it's it's he's a long term guy that that's without a
45:30
doubt right. So, so it's important to look at
45:34
the fact that for for a caliber like him, I mean, we could see
45:38
other guys getting called up. I mean, he got called up before
45:41
Hurston Waldrop, he got called up before Hackenberg.
45:45
Like it's it's so it's so insane to think like for a guy like
45:48
him, just, you know, going through the system from what he
45:52
was what I high 8 ball to AA to AAA to the majors in such little
45:56
time as it's an anomaly, right? And I think he could be a
46:01
frontline starter puts it together.
46:05
Just, you know, just got a monitor situation.
46:07
So I mean, just got play out and see, but but the question is,
46:10
like with this rotation, Rob, you could get to this if you
46:13
want. Where?
46:15
Where does where do you think feel Fuentes fits in a rotation?
46:21
I mean, obviously, I think you have to say #5 right now you've
46:25
still got Schwellenbach, you've still got Strider.
46:28
Holmes has made some strides. You've still got Smith Schauber,
46:33
who seemed to figure something out.
46:36
And he's 20. I mean, he's 20 years old.
46:40
So I, I agree with you. Like I I do see the power
46:45
pitcher comps. So yeah, I could potentially see
46:48
him being a front line guy. I think you've got to figure out
46:51
what you're doing with Swelly first, though.
46:53
You've already started his clock and it was reported in the
46:57
offseason that he turned down Strider esque deal.
47:01
So I think swell is a guy you've got to get locked down for sure.
47:07
But I I could see him potentially climbing up the
47:09
ranks. I mean the Braves have so many
47:10
pitching prospects and they're and they're so young to like Cam
47:15
Caminetti's 18 years old. You know, Drew Hackenberg, he's,
47:20
I mean, he's still in, I believe, AA, but he's still
47:25
still developing. You've got Hurst and Waldrup,
47:27
who a lot of people are saying closer of the future, but the
47:33
Braves are going to let him ride out as a starter until they're
47:36
forced to put him in the bullpen.
47:40
And and Jr. Richie too.
47:41
I haven't even said Jr. Richie.
47:44
So they've got a bunch of guys in the rotation down in the
47:46
minors that are really, really good or have really good upside
47:51
along with the guys up here at the big league level.
47:55
Yeah, I, I agree with you on him being at #5.
47:58
You got, you got it because like you said, you have, you have
48:01
those guys right now, Strider and and Schwellenbach, you know,
48:09
leading the way. And then you got, like you said,
48:11
Grant Holmes to me has been one of the the saviours of your
48:15
rotation this year. The guy is really, really
48:18
pitched well after grinding it out most of his career in the
48:22
minor leagues. He's been he's been fantastic.
48:26
So and then you have, you know, like the the other guys that
48:32
have filled in and and like Elder, like you said, and and
48:37
Fuentes, who has this incredible upside to become more and I
48:44
agree at the frontline starter too, because you just never
48:47
know. He has the stuff, the stuff is
48:49
there. It's all about command, you
48:51
know, So if you can put that all together, I think he has the
48:55
upside to become a really, really good pitcher in this
48:58
league. All right.
49:02
The next question I want to ask you is there's a rumor out
49:04
there, I don't know. I told you this earlier, it's
49:07
about a possibility of awesome rally going back to left field
49:12
and giving Nacho Alvarez an opportunity at third base, which
49:16
is I would never expect that to happen, to be honest.
49:19
I mean, we've seen this situation before, and now that
49:27
it's actually been a thing in recent memory, I'm pretty sure
49:30
they had conversations about that because they do need to
49:34
figure out something with their offense, like consistently.
49:36
I mean, how do you have any confidence with Sandlin?
49:39
I mean, not Sandlin, Sorry, Alvarez, right.
49:42
Because if you look at it this way, the last time Riley played
49:48
left field was when Josh Donaldson was with this team and
49:51
he only played for one year. So.
49:53
So could you see this thing work out?
49:58
So 1st a thing popped up on my screen that said that Braves
50:07
pitchers who are 20 or younger to pitch versus the Mets since
50:10
1990, Steve Avery, Julio TEA, Ron and Mike Soroka.
50:16
OK to answer your question, no the question was asked by the
50:24
Braves 680 the fan guys. I believe Christamino, and I
50:28
can't think of the other guy's name.
50:30
They asked if he was in on Bregman and Riley would move to
50:33
left and Alex simply said no. Riley is not a left fielder.
50:37
Riley is not an outfielder. He, Riley's a slugger and I just
50:45
don't think they're going to put him back in the outfield after
50:47
he's been at third since 2020. So he's been a third for now
50:53
five straight years. I mean, I know Chipper did it,
50:57
but you know, Chipper was a little bit more athletic and I
51:02
and I just think the way that they've constructed this team in
51:07
the way that they're looking at stuff going forward, their plan
51:12
is to have their infield set with what they have right now
51:15
with Olson and Riley at the corners.
51:17
So no, I don't see that happening.
51:20
And obviously you have pro far for two more years after this
51:22
year. So.
51:26
Yeah, I agree. I don't see, I, I've never never
51:30
thought about him playing in the outfield or quarter spots or
51:34
whatever because he's a good third baseman.
51:36
Like I think he's solid at what he does.
51:39
Like he's, you know, is, is he like a goal?
51:42
You know, like, like is he like he's really good, right.
51:46
So I mean, why would you, why would you move him to to a
51:51
position like that and hurt yourself defensively to bring up
51:56
a rookie, even if it is to try and get a like another bat and a
52:00
little bit of juice in the I don't I just don't see it.
52:05
You know, he he's, he's an interesting and Nachos an
52:09
interesting player, of course, but I mean, I think there are
52:12
other ways to. Yeah, you.
52:15
Kind of disagree a little bit there.
52:18
I don't. I see a bunch of people saying
52:21
that Nachos, the second baseman, the future which?
52:24
Yeah. It depends.
52:26
He's been mashing in the minor leagues from what I've seen.
52:29
But when he was, I mean, it was six games, I believe he could
52:33
not catch up to the big league fastball.
52:36
And I would just I would just like to see them just let him
52:42
season and basically give him the Von Grissom treatment.
52:45
Just let him sit down there in season and just get some at bats
52:50
under your belt because I don't think he I'm pretty sure he was
52:53
rushed up through the minors because it's bad.
52:55
It's been so good down there. But I'd like to see him get a
52:58
consistent day-to-day, you know, grind in the minor leagues kind
53:03
of everyday feel for it, if that makes sense.
53:10
Could you see Nacho as a trade ship?
53:13
It's like a rehearsal bringing him up until profile gets
53:17
caught. Gets back up to the majors at
53:20
some point within the next week or so and see what you can get
53:24
because if Nacho was hurt, I think most of the year so far,
53:27
right, he just got back on his free playing in the minors.
53:31
So they gave him an opportunity last year until he was hurt.
53:35
So he's been hurt a lot. So I mean, you can see what you
53:38
can get and then probably gets us sent down, right?
53:41
So I it all depends, right. It seems like this is a fluid
53:45
situation just to see where things go because I know that I
53:49
know Alex likes to do the unusual.
53:51
Just try to figure out who's who and what's what.
53:54
You know how Alex works, right with these situations, right,
53:57
Because he's just trying to retool the lineup, trying to
54:00
trying to flex it out to see whatever works for him, right.
54:03
Because like you said, if, if there's an opportunity for the
54:06
Braves to to go on a little run, I mean, in any way, I mean,
54:11
what, what are you going to do right?
54:12
Like like you said, I don't know what's Alvarez's value Nachos,
54:17
Like what is his value that that's another question.
54:20
Like we don't even know. Like he got a cup of coffee
54:22
until he got hurt. But other than that, we just
54:24
don't know, right? So.
54:26
Austin Riley Want to Go or Not Want to go glove, but was
54:29
nominated for one that wasn't. I believe so.
54:33
He he's, he's made strides to be better at 3rd and then this year
54:39
he started off really good and then had a stretch where he was
54:43
just, he couldn't field anything.
54:46
But he's gotten back on his feet.
54:48
I don't think he'll ever be a Gold Glove caliber third
54:51
baseman. But if he makes the makes the
54:55
makes the routine plays and he even makes a lot of the the
55:00
highlight reel plays. So I think his defense doesn't
55:04
really hurt or help you.