00:00It's been a spectacular spring for the Braves when you look at the record.
00:02Best record of anybody at the Grapefruit League.
00:05And, yes, when I say spectacular, I mean on the field, what's happening.
00:10Off the field, obviously, from Schwellenbach and Waldrop, Jerkson Profar,
00:15Joey Wentz.
00:16I mean, these are nightmare scenarios.
00:17But let me just say, and we've been talking about it,
00:22they're not left with a bunch of ham.
00:24This is a bunch of ham and eggers, right?
00:27They've got some of the greatest players in the world play for the Atlanta Braves.
00:32And the number one, the top of the list, is Ronald Acuna.
00:36So, I mean, you add that to the Matt Olsen's, Austin Riley's, Ozzie Albee's,
00:41Michael Harris's, Drake Baldwin's of the world, Chris Sayles, Spencer Strider's,
00:46an absolutely revamped bullpen that should be.
00:49I mean, there's a lot of reasons.
00:50I was reading some of the great, Mike Yastrzemski's having a great spring.
00:54Yeah, they love him.
00:54I mean, Mike Yastrzemski, we could fall in love with here in Atlanta.
00:5935-year-old that is just ripping it.
01:01So, he's getting it done.
01:03And the guy you mentioned is really the biggest no-brainer.
01:08This is the biggest story out of spring training is what Didier Fuentes is doing.
01:12And he pitched again yesterday.
01:13Martin Perez started the game.
01:15But Didier Fuentes comes in and pitches four perfect innings.
01:20He struck out eight yesterday.
01:21In his three appearances, he has 17 strikeouts and has not allowed a hit, y'all.
01:27So, when you look at the Braves' opening schedule, they play 13 games straight.
01:32So, it wouldn't be so crazy to think we're going to bring six.
01:37So, there's J.R.
01:37Ritchie and there's Didier Fuentes ready to roll.
01:40Chris Sayles, Spencer Strider, Ronaldo Lopez, Grant Holmes, and Bryce Elder are your expected five.
01:45But when you hear a Mark Bowman compare Didier Fuentes' stuff to a guy by the name of Spencer Strider,
01:53and they are getting eyes on this kid, and they're having plenty of opportunities, they love him down there.
01:58Yeah, that's a great story.
02:00And it's what you need.
02:01And it's why we said there will be other guys that will emerge.
02:05There will be other storylines.
02:07Other baseball teams are going to go through massive injuries.
02:09Hopefully, we got our quota from what happened in the spring.
02:12And I just think that the anticipation, I mean, that just, that was the worst on so many levels.
02:22You open on the West Coast, it doesn't even feel tangible.
02:25It's not even that we went 0-7.
02:27And that was a disaster of disasters.
02:29But it's something about opening on the West Coast for a 10-30 game that is just an awful way
02:36to begin your season.
02:37100%.
02:37We were doomed.
02:39But I mean, it's just to have a Friday night, and Bo can speak to this because he works down
02:44there,
02:45you're going to make so much darn money over the course of that first weekend.
02:49I mean, you know, the Royals, if they come in mid-summer, is going to be a quiet, you know,
02:55homestand.
02:56The Royals coming in to signal spring has started on a Friday night.
03:00Just starting at home makes opening day a real opening day.
03:05You know, now look, I know there's a Netflix game, whatever.
03:07Okay, but this is opening day.
03:09Friday is opening day for the league.
03:11And it's not.
03:12All the names are going to be there.
03:14And it's not a Wednesday.
03:15And by the way, the Royals have this couple of stars from this world baseball clock.
03:19Bobby Witt and our favorite Italiano.
03:21A couple of the Italians from Virginia and Louisiana.
03:24And they're here, so it is good.
03:26It's going to be great.
03:26So it's a Friday, is it a Friday night?
03:29Friday night.
03:29Mm-hmm.
03:30I mean, that stadium is going to be on fire to see Acuna get that.
03:36Especially with how they're looking in the spring.
03:38Right on.
03:38Oh, yeah.
03:3916-5 going into yesterday in the spring.
03:42Drake Baldwin, did you see some of the velo numbers of his balls he's hit?
03:46Sick.
03:47I mean, Drake Baldwin looks like an absolute phenom right now.
03:52Looks like a phenom.
03:54So it's exactly what the doctor ordered in terms of get this thing going right.
03:59You know, what do they say sometimes about basketball games?
04:03You can't win a game in the first half.
04:04Or you can lose games in the first half.
04:08You get down by too much.
04:09Or you can blow the.
04:10We got into an 0-7 hole, man.
04:14Right?
04:14That's like playing somebody in, like, game 11.
04:17Y'all spot your 7.
04:18You're not winning too many games that way.
04:20Right.
04:20When you spot your season down 7 out of the gate.
04:24So I'm really looking forward to the start of baseball, which will also be night 2 of the Sweet 16.
04:31Sweet 16 will start next Thursday.
04:34Remember how it goes.
04:36It'll be 16 games today.
04:4016 games tomorrow.
04:42Then 8 on Saturday and 8 on Sunday to get us to a Sweet 16.
04:47You'll have 4 games on Thursday, Friday.
04:49And then on Saturday and Sunday of next week, you get the games for Final Four.
04:542 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday.
04:56That'll be it.
04:57Next Friday.
04:58It's over so fast.
04:5975 degrees and not a cloud in the sky is the prediction for the weather.
05:02Next Friday.
05:03So if you're wanting to go down and spend the afternoon, get your pregame on at the Battery and enjoy
05:07all things Atlanta.
05:09It's a great day.
05:10Get into the sports bar.
05:11Do you understand what I'm saying?
05:12The basketball.
05:13Yeah.
05:13Yeah.
05:13You can go.
05:14That's what I meant.
05:14Go hang out outside at Sport and Social.
05:17Damn.
05:17Big TVs.
05:18And then you just waltz right over.
05:19That TV at Sport and Social.
05:21Now, I know we got Cosm coming.
05:24I hear the commercials on our station, and it's going to be insane, which is basically, it's like the sphere
05:30for sports bars.
05:33But boy, Atlanta Sport and Social, you know, until Cosm gets here, that screen has been revamped.
05:41It is the most spectacular screen.
05:43It's ridiculous.
05:45It is ridiculous.
05:47All right.
05:48What's going to be coming up on Belly Up?
05:51Three strikes.
05:51Very excited about Belly Up today.
05:53Yeah.
05:53Very excited.
05:54You worked hard at it.
05:55First of all, Rory McIlroy's choice for just the wines alone at his master's dinner are worthy of an aha
06:02moment.
06:03Jack Hughes from the New Jersey Devils is getting so screwed by the Hockey Hall of Fame.
06:09We are mad at all of that.
06:10Okay.
06:11So there's like a reason.
06:12Like my rant today, you're going to have one on that.
06:14Absolutely.
06:15And something special happened on Jimmy Kimmel last night.
06:18There's a basketball player that I just think got the best NIL deal of all time on his program, and
06:25they did it live.
06:26So that's pretty cool.
06:27That's all coming up on Belly Up.
06:31I want to hear that Miami of Ohio coach.
06:33Do we have it cut up yet?
06:34We'll play it after the break.
06:35Miami of Ohio last night, that game was so fun against SMU.
06:40Now, again, I loved Miami of Ohio last night, and I should have put it out on the air.
06:44They're getting seven and a half last night.
06:46Bruce Pearl told you that they're going to win it outright.
06:48Yeah, he said on the show yesterday, he said, I think they'll beat him outright.
06:53Listen, the record, I don't care if you're 32-0 and you're playing Division I basketball.
07:04You're playing Division I, okay?
07:06You are a really, really good basketball team.
07:09The fact they were getting seven and a half from a mid-level ACC team, give me a frigging break.
07:14That was the steal of the tournament.
07:15And they're playing literally 40 minutes down the road.
07:18They were in Dayton.
07:18Right, it was a home game, total home game.
07:20That's why the swim team was there.
07:22In case you didn't see the highlight of all highlights, the swim team started in January
07:26showing up at games and sitting behind baskets to distract the other team in nothing but their Speedos.
07:32And it is brilliant.
07:33So they showed up last night.
07:35Yeah, Tennessee's got their hands full, but that was awesome.
07:37And both nights, the second games.
07:40I mean, Texas the other night on a buzzer, basically a buzzer beater.
07:44And then last night, Miami of Ohio, they were throwing frigging haymakers.
07:48I really enjoyed the, it was our buddy Jared Greenberg for TNT last night.
07:54Bruce Pearl back in studio.
07:55Jared Greenberg.
07:58Jalen Rose.
07:59Like some good talent.
08:01That's great.
08:01Fun.
08:02I don't know.
08:02I'm way into it.
08:03I'm happy for you.
08:04Yeah, no, I'm way into it.
08:06I'm glad you're, I'm glad you're feeling that.
