- 2 days ago
The Atlanta Braves sit at 6-4 to open the 2026 MLB season. The Morning Shift talks about what we've seen in both the good (Matt Olson, Drake Baldwin) and the bad (Ronald Acuña Jr.'s start). What does the 6-4 start reflect about the team?
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00:00And Braves split the series with the Diamondbacks 2-2.
00:03Both losses were by one run.
00:05Drake Baldwin still on fire so far this season,
00:08went 3-5 yesterday with a solo home run
00:11and a game-tying single in the ninth inning.
00:13It was a little bit different yesterday
00:15because Ronald Acuna was DH-ing
00:17and Austin Riley had the day off
00:19with Mauricio Dubon playing third.
00:21Is that more about getting rest
00:22or more about maybe you need a day?
00:26Both, right?
00:28I mean, that's what I think.
00:29I think both.
00:30You know, a little mental day, a little head clearer.
00:34And also, maybe there's, you know, you just need some rest.
00:38I think it's both.
00:39I think it's a mental day.
00:40But then, you know, hey, sit for a while
00:43and then we use you in a pinch for Riley
00:46and then he did not do anything in that moment.
00:51The weak pop-up.
00:52Acuna, I think, was probably a rest, though, more than,
00:55like, hey, don't, let's let you, you know,
00:58with a player, the injuries like him
01:01with, you know, the knees and stuff.
01:02Probably, you know what?
01:03Just take the day off from the field.
01:08Because everybody wants to talk about
01:09Michael Penix Jr.'s knees.
01:11I hate to break it to y'all,
01:13but Ronald Acuna Jr.
01:14has only one knee surgery behind him.
01:17They've both tore both ACLs.
01:20And, I mean, whatever you want to take of it.
01:22So, Ronald Acuna Jr. is the guy that you want to,
01:23if you can use him as a DH here and there,
01:26have at it.
01:26Once Sean Murphy comes back,
01:28if Sean Murphy comes back to the extent
01:30that you hope he does at the plate,
01:32you probably won't have many of those days
01:35down the road.
01:36Right.
01:36I mean, to me, looking at this game yesterday,
01:38Austin Riley or not,
01:39there's just, there's too many opportunities
01:41with runners on.
01:43I mean, Mikey Shremsky left seven runners
01:45on base yesterday.
01:48And, I, look, I'm excited about this team
01:50starting six and four.
01:51There's no doubt that the pitching staff
01:53has held up its end of the bargain,
01:55plus, plus some.
01:56Like, better than you ever in a million years
01:58thought they could start through ten games.
02:00But, man, I really need to start seeing,
02:03and Austin Riley,
02:05I just, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth
02:08with all the struggles you've had on Sundays
02:09to not see him in the lineup
02:10and not see him perform early in the season.
02:12It, again, am I panicking?
02:15Absolutely not.
02:15Am I going to be panicking
02:16if we're two months from now
02:17and still having this conversation?
02:18Maybe.
02:19Because you need him,
02:20and we've talked about him being the linchpin
02:22of what this team could possibly be
02:24and moving this team forward
02:25and getting the clutch hits
02:26and being that guy.
02:28And, you know, Matt Olsen's 0-3 yesterday.
02:30Austin Riley's not in the lineup.
02:31It's just not how you had it designed
02:32on the second Sunday of the year.
02:34You want to take it a step further?
02:35You were 2-for-14 yesterday
02:36with runners in scoring position.
02:38You left ten guys on base.
02:39You know who got the two hits?
02:44Ronald Acuna?
02:45Drake Baldwin.
02:46Drake?
02:47Drake Baldwin.
02:48I thought you were going to throw me
02:48for a curveball.
02:49No, no.
02:50Ronnie was 0-1.
02:51Olsen and Strzemski combined
02:53were 0-5.
02:54And everybody else was like,
02:55you know, 0-1.
02:58Harris?
02:58None of them.
02:59None of them did anything
03:00but Drake Baldwin.
03:00That's why I started this show today
03:02about Drake Baldwin.
03:03He's the only guy
03:04that's consistently hitting.
03:05How long can that keep going, though?
03:07How long do you think
03:07he'll be on fire?
03:08Well, look,
03:09the game of baseball
03:12is a...
03:13I mean, there's very few players
03:15in the history of it
03:17that stay hot
03:19for an entire season.
03:20Those guys end up
03:21with, like, MVP years
03:23or, you know,
03:24you think about, like,
03:25guys that hit 400,
03:26which is very, very, very rare.
03:28I mean, think about the year
03:29Chipper hit 364.
03:31I think it was 2008.
03:32He was 400 for most of the year.
03:34And then he hit a little bit
03:35of a lull
03:36and finished 364.
03:39He's gonna hit a lull.
03:40And look,
03:41Matt Olsen has been
03:42pretty consistent this year.
03:44If you think about it,
03:44like, he's been pretty good
03:45to start the season.
03:47It's just that
03:48Drake has been so hot
03:51coupled with
03:52Acuna and Riley
03:54being so bad.
03:55I mean,
03:56Acuna and Riley combined
03:58have 13 hits
04:00in, like, 70 at-bats
04:02with 13 strikeouts,
04:04I think, combined.
04:05I mean, 16 strikeouts.
04:08Both of them are hitting
04:10under 200 for average,
04:11and if you combine
04:12their own base percentage,
04:13it would be, like,
04:15280-something,
04:16290.
04:17Like, it's not very good.
04:18Yeah.
04:18And those are two guys
04:19you absolutely depend on.
04:21They're stars of the team.
04:23Ali, this is why
04:27I was so stuck on
04:28a week or two ago
04:29about it does matter to me
04:31when the back of the
04:32baseball card happens.
04:33You know,
04:34eventually they do,
04:35and Michael Harris
04:35made an incredible run
04:36in the second half
04:37last year, right?
04:38Ozzie Albies comes around.
04:39But when you look at
04:40Matt Olsen in these
04:41kind of games,
04:41the winnable games,
04:42the one-run games,
04:43the extra inning games,
04:44and you see that he's
04:440-3,
04:45and like Bo just brought up,
04:46he left four runners
04:47on base,
04:48that's tough to stomach.
04:50I just,
04:51I keep planning on
04:52coming in here
04:53on Mondays
04:53and being really excited
04:54about whatever the Braves
04:55did over the weekend,
04:56and the Sunday thing
04:57for the last three years
04:58has stuck it up.
04:59And I just think
05:00that this offense
05:01at some point
05:02with all the big players
05:03that you have,
05:04you've really leaned on
05:05over the last few years,
05:06I've got to come together.
05:07And I don't know
05:08how much longer
05:08Drake Baldwin can just
05:10shoulder the leg.
05:10But I also think about
05:11the other night
05:12when Matt Olsen
05:14was good.
05:15I mean,
05:15he hits a home run
05:16in the 2-0 win on Friday.
05:18He hits a home run
05:19in one of the guys
05:20that helped the big rally
05:21on Thursday.
05:23So,
05:24you know,
05:25Matt Olsen is not the guy
05:26to talk about
05:27in this instance,
05:27to me.
05:29It's Acuna,
05:30it's Harris,
05:31it's Albies,
05:32and it's Riley.
05:33Those are the guys.
05:34You're picking on Matt Olsen,
05:35and I know you were
05:37just using him as an example,
05:38you're not necessarily
05:38picking on him,
05:39but a lot of fans
05:40in this fan base
05:42like to pick on Olsen
05:43when he doesn't get the hit,
05:44yet you never hear
05:46about the guys
05:47that have been,
05:49honestly,
05:49really bad as of late.
05:51Which is right.
05:52You know,
05:53what's the difference
05:54in Austin Riley
05:54and Ozzie Albies
05:55the last few years?
05:56Neither one play
05:57full seasons,
05:58and neither one
05:59play to the back
06:00of their baseball card
06:01if you want to go there.
06:02So there's not much difference,
06:03except for one
06:04is way overpaid
06:05if you want to go to it
06:06compared to the other one
06:08if you want to say
06:09they're the same player.
06:10Because one of them
06:11is making 200-something million,
06:12the other one's
06:12making like six a year.
06:14I'm confused
06:15as to what's going on
06:16with Ronald Acuna.
06:17Because coming off
06:18the WBC,
06:20I mean,
06:21playing first country,
06:22as excited
06:22and as emotional
06:23as he was
06:24throughout that entire series,
06:26I just don't understand.
06:27I thought he was going
06:28to come in here hot.
06:29There was a moment
06:29yesterday where he got a hit.
06:30I think he ripped it
06:31up the middle
06:32or maybe between
06:33shortstop and third baseman.
06:35And you could see him
06:36talk to himself
06:37on the way down
06:37to the first baseline.
06:38It was just a single.
06:39Just a single.
06:40Just good contact.
06:41And you could see
06:41he was like,
06:42yeah.
06:42You know,
06:43like,
06:43man,
06:44I really can still do this.
06:45That was a good feeling.
06:46Some people,
06:46and I don't know this,
06:47I don't remember
06:48reading anything about this,
06:49but some people
06:50have been talking about
06:50that they think
06:51he's changed his stance.
06:53I'd like to ask,
06:54I'd like to talk,
06:55maybe I'll text,
06:56you know,
06:56or you can,
06:57we text Grant about that
06:58and ask him about it.
06:59Like,
06:59I don't know if that's
07:00something he's done.
07:01I have no clue.
07:03Maybe there's a letdown.
07:05Maybe it was such
07:05an emotional thing
07:06for him playing in WBC
07:08and winning that
07:09that,
07:11you know,
07:12it's just kind of,
07:13he's having a little bit
07:14of a Trey Young effect
07:14where the regular season
07:16is just kind of boring
07:17to him.
07:18I mean,
07:18I'd hope not,
07:20but for all the people
07:21that want to say,
07:22go ahead and pay him,
07:23go ahead and pay him,
07:25I'm going to pay him
07:26on what,
07:26two years?
07:27Are you on that,
07:28you're not on team pay him?
07:29I thought for sure you were.
07:32Well,
07:32I'm still
07:34a little bit
07:35holding out
07:35because
07:37I think Ronald Acuna Jr.
07:38is a phenomenal player
07:39and when healthy
07:40and when playing
07:40the top of his game,
07:41he's a top three player.
07:45But
07:47other than
07:4919 and 23,
07:52what am I paying him for?
07:55Getting hurt?
07:56I'm with you,
07:57but I would have never guessed
07:58that you were on that.
07:59I just,
07:59for a franchise
08:01that hasn't paid guys
08:02that have performed
08:03year in and year out
08:04like Freddie did
08:05and Max Freed did.
08:09Well,
08:09what am I paying him for?
08:11He's got two seasons.
08:13I'm not a hater.
08:15I love the dude.
08:16But let's be,
08:17let's look,
08:18he's had two seasons
08:19of being
08:20the best player in baseball
08:22and everything else
08:24is,
08:26I don't know.
08:26You know,
08:28he hasn't stayed healthy
08:30and
08:31then he's had lulls.
08:33I don't know.
08:34You know,
08:34Ali,
08:35this,
08:35I almost,
08:36just for the sake
08:36of gaslighting Bo
08:37like three weeks ago,
08:39almost brought up
08:39a conversation
08:41comparing
08:42the career
08:43of Tua Tungvaloa
08:44to Ronald Acuna Jr.
08:46And I didn't want
08:47to do it
08:47because I was like,
08:48it's going to sound
08:49so ridiculous.
08:50Are you about to do it?
08:51No,
08:51I just,
08:51I'm shocked.
08:52I didn't bring it up
08:53because I knew
08:55that what side
08:56of this conversation
08:57Bo would be on
08:57but now I'm a little bit shooketh.
08:59Tua was never
08:59the best player
09:01in football.
09:02He led the NFL
09:03in passing yards.
09:04He was never
09:05the best quarterback though.
09:06He was never
09:07like
09:09Ronald Acuna Jr.
09:10in 2023
09:12and
09:142019
09:14you can make
09:15an argument for
09:16and half of 2021.
09:18But I have to say
09:18that that,
09:19I can't say
09:20that finishes it
09:20because you can't tell me
09:22that injuries matter
09:23in one sport
09:23and when another guy
09:25is off the field
09:26consistently.
09:27You can't yell at me
09:28that Michael Penix
09:29has old knees
09:31and therefore
09:32you can't trust him
09:33and turn around
09:34and tell me
09:34that Ronald Acuna Jr.
09:35is a guy you can trust
09:36who has had
09:37I'm not telling you that.
09:38No, no.
09:38I'm not saying
09:39you're saying that.
09:40I'm saying in general
09:41because I see the argument
09:42I can see people
09:44making the argument
09:45for Acuna
09:45but not for Penix
09:47based on health alone.
09:48But you can't tell me
09:50that you can criticize
09:51one guy
09:51for not staying healthy
09:52and the other one
09:53gets a free pass.
09:55My bad.
09:56I lost the train of thought.
09:58The point is
09:59is that
09:59So you're yelling
10:00at the people
10:01that you think
10:01are going to yell at you?
10:02No, I think.
10:04I've seen people
10:05yell at me
10:05about Ronald Acuna Jr.
10:06Gotcha.
10:06I saw the argument
10:07that Ronald Acuna Jr.
10:08should be given
10:09a whole year off
10:10from baseball
10:11so he can be healthy.
10:12That's ridiculous.
10:13That's absolutely ridiculous.
10:14That was the argument
10:15made at one point.
10:16You saw it?
10:17I saw a person
10:18say that, yes.
10:19The reality is
10:21the reality is
10:22is that
10:23he hasn't stayed healthy
10:25for most of his career
10:27and there's only been
10:28two seasons
10:29that you can look at
10:31that have been
10:32out of this world.
10:34So how can I pay him
10:36an enormous amount
10:37of money
10:38late in his career
10:39when I don't know
10:40what I'm getting?
10:41You let Ronald Acuna Jr.
10:43walk.
10:43The city will riot.
10:45Well, and
10:45You let Freddie Freeman walk.
10:46That's what I was about
10:47to ask you
10:48which is the bigger deal
10:49Freddie or Ronald?
10:50Freddie.
10:50I should be Freddie.
10:51Freddie.
10:52Freddie should be
10:52a bigger deal.
10:53But you know
10:54that the Dodgers
10:54will go out
10:55and pay Ronald Acuna Jr.
10:56for average output.
10:57Absolutely.
10:57For sure.
10:58They'll match
10:59whatever the Braves
11:00will pay.
11:00I cannot watch
11:00Ronald go to the Dodgers.
11:02Because in that lineup
11:03you don't get average.
11:04You get bomber
11:06after bomber
11:06after bomber
11:07and therefore
11:09you can't
11:10pitch differently to him.
11:12Now look
11:12I think he's done
11:13a good job
11:13at getting walks
11:14this year.
11:15But how many times
11:16he's been thrown
11:17thrown out on base?
11:19I think four.
11:20Almost happened again.
11:21They checked him
11:21checked on him yesterday.
11:23Almost happened again.
11:24At second base
11:24they checked on him.
11:26So yeah
11:27I'm with you man.
11:28He's got to be better.
11:29So does Austin Riley.
11:30Austin Riley does not
11:30get a free pass in that.
11:31I was going to say
11:33the totality of Ronald's year
11:35and he went two for five
11:35yesterday
11:36Austin Riley
11:36with the off day
11:37that's the one
11:38that I'm hanging my hat on
11:39going alright
11:39we've got to get
11:40some movement here.
11:41And you can make the case
11:42just because you have
11:43paid Austin Riley
11:45top dollar
11:47there should be more
11:48on him.
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