- 2 days ago
Braves Vision analyst C.J. Nitkowski joined The Morning Shift to discuss the streaking Atlanta Braves after a strong showing on Wednesday night. They locked up another series win.
But it's not all sunshine right now, as the Braves are working through a struggling Austin Riley. What can they do about him at this point?
But it's not all sunshine right now, as the Braves are working through a struggling Austin Riley. What can they do about him at this point?
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00:00It is the morning shift. My name is Mike. She's Allie both sitting across me and Dylan flanking me to
00:05my right behind the glass playing the music. Appreciate you guys hanging out with us so much this morning. We've
00:09been talking a lot about the Hawks and the Falcons and also celebrating the walk-off victory for the Atlanta
00:15Braves last night. The Matt Olsen tater there in the bottom of the ninth. So to talk about that a
00:21little bit further, we're going to go out to the sweet James accident attorneys hotlines and we're going to talk
00:26to Braves color analyst CJ Nick Kowski.
00:30CJ, J.R. Ritchie on the bump last night. I don't personally feel like his line reflected how good he
00:37was. I think he only threw a couple of bad pitches. What did you make of him in his second
00:42outing and his first time pitching there at Truist Park?
00:46Yeah, I mean, I think it was still a good outing. There was a couple of times where more than
00:50a couple of times where his phone behind and the pitch count got up on him a little bit. There
00:54was some weak contact. There was some hard contact, but I still thought he threw the ball. Well, right?
00:59He figures out a way to battle. He has faced a couple of really tough offenses. And while it may
01:03not be the franchises with the biggest names, Washington Nationals are one of the better hitting teams in baseball, right?
01:09That was the first start that he had. And he threw seven innings and gave up just the two runs.
01:13The Detroit Tigers against righties are also really good, right? They play a big-time platoon advantage in the way
01:18that they set their lineup. So there was a challenge there. And the at-bats were a little bit tougher
01:22than what he had against the Nationals. They were working him a little bit harder. Strike percentage was down a
01:28little bit for him overall.
01:29But for his second start in the big leagues, going up against a pretty good team with a good lineup
01:34and a two-time Cy Young Award winner, I take that outing for part of a player's development. I thought
01:39he did a good job. It was those three runs. Two were earned. One was his error. Interesting timing. He
01:44got no two count, two outs. He ends up throwing the ball away in a pickoff that ends up costing
01:49him a run. This was a real positive outing. This guy is special. We're excited to have him here. And
01:54so far, so good.
01:55Well, I want to go to that because I've been promising the listeners all morning that I was going to
01:59talk to you about this pickoff play because you're right. It was interesting timing. The 0-2 count, the two
02:04outs. Walk me through that process as a pitcher and what it looks like, especially nowadays with some of the
02:09rule changes on the pickoff moves. Like, is that in his own mind he making that move? Is that something
02:13that could have possibly been called by a Jonah Heim or something else? Or where does that process, where does
02:18that happen in terms of when you're going to make that kind of move?
02:22It's both, right? I mean, you're a big leaguer, even if you're a young big leaguer. And so they do
02:26have the confidence in you. They're not going to tell you when you can't throw over, but they may tell
02:30you when they want you to throw over. I will tell you that for him, when you look at J
02:34.R. Ritchie and kind of the way that he pitches, we know it's a deep repertoire, right? But he's got
02:37a really good curveball.
02:38And if he was thinking about, or if the Tigers were anticipating him throwing that curveball in an 0-2
02:43count, they may think about trying to steal in that spot, right? Because it's going to be a pitch that's
02:47going to be below the zone. It might be a pitch that's in the dirt that would get them another
02:51runner in scoring position. And so to potentially counteract that, again, I don't know if it was him or if
02:56it was Braves that ended up calling that pickoff.
02:58But it's not a bad time to throw over. It's not to say that he wouldn't be stealing. It's not
03:02a bad steal count. Usually it's earlier in account, a lot of first pitch, second pitch steal attempts, but it
03:07wasn't a bad one, at least to think that they might be potentially trying to steal and get another runner
03:13in scoring position because of the count and because of the repertoire that he has and the way that he
03:18uses his curveball.
03:19And so, yeah, it's not a bad idea to throw over, just a little bit overaggressive and one that got
03:24away from him.
03:24So it's one of those things you can say, hey, man, it's 0-2, it's two routes, just focus on
03:28your hitter.
03:29It's probably something you'll hear at a Little League game, something you might even hear at a high school game,
03:33and there is some truth to it.
03:34At the same time, there's a strategy behind it based on the pitcher, based on the stuff, and based on
03:40how aggressive a team like the Tigers can be in certain spots.
03:42I bet they thought maybe that'd be a good time just to keep him close, and unfortunately the throw got
03:47away.
03:47We are joined by C.J. Nikowski of Braves Vision on the morning shift.
03:51And, C.J., back in 2023, the Braves' offense was the best in baseball.
03:56In the last two years, kind of middle of the pack, what do you think has changed this year to
04:00get them back on track?
04:02Yeah, I mean, health is a big one as part of it.
04:05You know, it's interesting when you sit here and look up and down the lineup, there are still some guys
04:09that are struggling.
04:10We know Austin Riley is going to come around, and we know we're going to see bigger numbers from Ronald
04:14Acuna Jr.
04:15Mikey Stremski is going to come around.
04:17There's just been some guys that have been off to amazing starts.
04:20Obviously, Matt Olsen has been in the middle of it all year and was last night.
04:23I think a big part of this is the way that Walt has constructed the lineup and what he has
04:28done with Ozzie against lefties, right?
04:30And Ozzie being in that three spot.
04:31When I first saw that, I was like, man, that's kind of an aggressive move because what's fresh in my
04:35mind at the time was what we saw from Ozzie last year.
04:38Maybe it wasn't quite all the way there and dealing with some of the risk stuff, but Walt really wanted
04:42to put him in that spot.
04:44He has sparked the offense.
04:45It happened right away on opening day in the home run that he hit.
04:47So, I think lineup construction has been part of it.
04:50It's year two of Drake Baldwin, which has been a really big part of it, and what you're noticing is
04:55he's playing every day.
04:56He did not play against lefties nearly as consistently last year as he is this year.
05:01He can hit lefties.
05:03He is proving that he can hit left-handed pitching.
05:05So, that's been a big one for me, that he is in the lineup every day.
05:08Mauricio Dubon, who's been an add to this lineup, has been a really big part of the offense.
05:13So, it's been an interesting time in the sense that this offense is really, really good right now, and it's
05:18not even at full strength.
05:19That's kind of the scary part, I think, for the rest of the league.
05:21So, I think health is part of it.
05:23I think lineup construction, who's in and whose spots, has been a big part of it as well.
05:26And a month into the season, it's been really fun to watch.
05:29Well, when you talk about Matt Olsen, CJ, last couple years, 29 homers, 95, 98 RBIs.
05:36He's already almost a third of the way there in each category, but he's been healthy.
05:41What is different for him right now that you've either talked to him or seen him do as a pitcher
05:48that he is just so locked in?
05:51Yeah, so there's not a lot when you sit there and go to break it down.
05:55You know, chase rate's the same.
05:56His strikeout rate is the same.
05:58His walk rate is the same.
06:00He's not swinging any more.
06:01He's not swinging any less.
06:03The contact hasn't changed.
06:04He's getting the ball in the air a little bit more this year than he was last year, but not
06:07significantly enough to say, man, what has changed?
06:10He's hitting the ball about as hard as he usually does.
06:13He's using the entire field the way that he usually does, right?
06:17I mean, there's some different numbers that you can look at when you kind of look year over year.
06:21Batting average on balls in play is one that sometimes will indicate whether or not a player had, you know,
06:25the worst luck at different points either in the season or in his career.
06:29That is the number right now that is sitting at a career high for him.
06:32So it gets a little bit nerdy, but the fact that he's still hitting the ball hard, but the batting
06:37average on the balls that he's putting in play is higher than usual.
06:40I don't think he's been lucky at all this year, but you can talk about, you know, previous years that
06:43he ran into a little bit of bad luck, but there's not a lot different here.
06:47He's getting to the fastball really well, which is important.
06:49You're not getting to the fastball.
06:51You're going to struggle.
06:52There were some times last year where there were some fastball issues.
06:55A lot of the guys have talked about, you know, it's this day and age and you get harder and
06:58harder throwers, cleaning up your swings, being a little bit quicker to the baseball without giving up what you're trying
07:04to do when it comes to damage.
07:05But there hasn't been any significant differences that I've noticed or heard him talk about, but he's locked in.
07:12CJ Nikowski joining us here on The Morning Chef.
07:14CJ, you mentioned Walt Weiss, and I was a snicker defender, and then I kind of wanted him to go
07:22a different way.
07:22I'm going to be honest about it when they hired Walt.
07:25But the thing, you mentioned it earlier about how aggressive he was with Ozzie.
07:29It feels like he's aggressive every night and almost like he's going to each series and he's trying to win
07:38these series, which they haven't lost one.
07:40You know, making moves like bringing Perez going to the bullpen and bringing him out in the middle of the
07:46game when he was supposed to start like a night or two later.
07:50Moving Lopez to the bullpen, like you talked about Ozzie.
07:54He just seems to be managing in a different way than we've seen in a long time, and he's also
08:01being very transparent about it.
08:03What have you thought about so far, like the first month of Walt?
08:07He's been great.
08:08And I will tell you that, I don't say this as an indictment on you or fans, but let this,
08:12and listen, we're only a month into the season,
08:14but let this be a reminder for all of us, myself included, that you never know for sure, really, what
08:21is the best managerial decision, right?
08:22Because we're not there.
08:24And I have known Walt for a long time.
08:26We're from the same hometown.
08:27I was pulling hard for him to get the job.
08:30And I actually didn't think he was going to get it.
08:32I thought Alex was going to go outside the organization.
08:34I was like, man, I wish they would hire Walt.
08:35And they ended up hiring Walt, which was amazing.
08:38Your reaction that you had, I think, was similar to a lot of people in Braves Country because you're coming
08:41off a bad year.
08:42You feel like you want complete change.
08:44Do you want to hire the bench coach that was under the guy that is now stepping aside?
08:49It wasn't an uncommon thought.
08:51I saw enough of it on social media to know that a lot of our fans were there.
08:55And I get it.
08:56We're fans.
08:57We deserve to act like fans sometimes.
08:58But some of the reactions and some of the things I read I thought were pretty far out of bounds.
09:03But, again, and I'll say that, again, as any kind of indictment on anybody, we all have a passion for
09:07the team.
09:08But we've got to trust what they're doing on the inside because they just have much more information.
09:12I was thrilled when Will got the job.
09:15The relationship part of this is really important.
09:17I know you can't quantify it.
09:19It's hard to put it into context.
09:22But Walt knows these guys.
09:24And when you're the bench coach, you actually have a better chance of developing those kind of relationships than when
09:29you're managing.
09:29When you're managing, your role changes completely.
09:32You're now managing the game every day.
09:33When you're a bench coach, you have more time to dig in with the guys and to get to know
09:37the guys and develop that personal relationship that Walt has over the last eight or nine years.
09:42And so he knows how to push buttons.
09:43He knows how to get the most out of guys.
09:44He's seen them at their best.
09:46He's seen them at their worst.
09:47He has a real feel for what makes them tick.
09:49And Alex valued that.
09:50And I was really appreciative of it because in this day and age, it's not necessarily something that is valued
09:55as much because it is so analytical right now.
09:58So I love that he's gotten the job and he's gotten the opportunity, and it's just great that he's gotten
10:02off to a good start.
10:03There will be patches this year where you'll question what moves he makes.
10:07There's just no way you're going wire to wire and you're making every move that's going to work out.
10:11Right now they are.
10:12And to your point, when it comes to the pitching, he's hit all the right buttons.
10:16Now, Jeremy Hefner has done an excellent job.
10:18I think everybody would tell you that.
10:19You look big picture with him as your pitching coach right now.
10:22Everyone loves Rick Krannis, right?
10:23It's not an indictment on Rick Krannis.
10:25It's just that right now with Jeremy Hefner, it seems to be working out really well.
10:29What Bryce Elder is doing is incredible.
10:31But, again, going back to kind of what you were leading to, and that is that Walt makes really decisive,
10:36impactful decisions,
10:37and it seems like without hesitation.
10:39I'm sure he's hesitating in his mind, and he's going over every possibility when he's talking to half during the
10:44game,
10:45and you'll see it happen.
10:46But he makes a decision, and he makes it with conviction, and it's worked out really well.
10:50They're not all going to work out.
10:51There's going to be some that will not work out this year.
10:53I promise you it's coming.
10:55But so far, so good.
10:56And the guys respect him so much, right?
10:58So what it means is Ronald Lopez goes into the pen.
11:00Martin Perez has come here and said, I'll do whatever you want.
11:03The guy's been in the Big Lich for 15 years.
11:04He wants to be a brave, and he wants to win.
11:06He understands the culture and appreciates it.
11:08So when Walt says, hey, you're going in the pen, or they say, hey, we're going to DFA you,
11:11but we probably want to bring you back, he says, okay.
11:13He says yes, and that's a tribute to the entire organization.
11:17Well, I have to ask you about the moment last night when Matt Olsen hit that walk-off home run.
11:22You were down in the nice seats, got the night off, but he hits that home run.
11:26Tristey Rupps, is that one of those moments you're like, okay, I kind of wish I was in the booth
11:30right now?
11:33Not necessarily.
11:34You know, listen, in this job, especially now I'm working a few more games this year,
11:38I get nearly the family time.
11:40We're a baseball family.
11:41We love the game.
11:42The reason I was at the game yesterday is because my youngest son is a senior in high school,
11:46came to me and said, man, is there any chance we can go watch Scoogle and Richie?
11:50I said, yeah, I'll ask and see if we can go.
11:53And so it worked out, so we've got great family time in that moment.
11:56And so there's going to be a lot of great moments,
11:58and I'm fortunate to be in the position that I'm in.
12:00And so while that would have been fun to call, quite honestly,
12:03in those moments for me when I'm in the booth, my goal, and I hope I do this,
12:07and I don't always do it, is to get out of the way.
12:09But that's Brandon's moment.
12:11That's Brandon's moment to bring that alive and have this great call that we continue to hear over and over
12:15again,
12:16and we'll hear it all year long.
12:17And same with Ben, who did an amazing job.
12:18I heard the radio call as well.
12:20So while it's cool to be there in those moments, like you're fist pumping in the booth,
12:24for me last night in particular, it was just nice to be there with my wife and my son
12:29and a buddy of his, and kind of enjoyed that moment.
12:31It was a great night to be there all the way to the end with the brace, having a chance.
12:34And I was joking around.
12:35I actually said to my son, I just picked up my phone, and I said, you know what, I'm going
12:38to take this.
12:39And I said, hey, when Matt Olsen hits a walk-off, you've got to drive home.
12:42He said, all right, and then he hits a walk-off.
12:44So it's just like a fun little family moment that we have.
12:47So sure, I love being in the booth for all that kind of stuff,
12:49but would I trade it for what I had last night with my family?
12:51I would not.
12:52That's awesome, man.
12:54And I think I speak for all of us here.
12:55We're a massive fan of yours in the booth, so keep doing what you're doing when you're back doing it.
12:59Yeah, CJ, as someone, we all spend time in radio booths, Mike and I do football stuff.
13:05You stay out of the way pretty well.
13:06You let Brandon have his moment.
13:08I said earlier, you bring a nice calmness to the booth at times.
13:13But you can tell you're excited, but you do a good job of kind of staying an even keel.
13:17I love it, man.
13:18Good stuff.
13:19I appreciate you saying that.
13:20And I'm glad they don't have booth cam on all the time,
13:22because there are times where I'll cover my own mouth just to remind myself not to talk here.
13:25Because you do get excited.
13:27You want to scream.
13:28Like in that big moment, you want to scream or you want to say something,
13:31but it's not what I should be doing in that spot.
13:33So I appreciate you guys saying that.
13:35And, again, I'm just grateful for the position I'm in.
13:37I'm surrounded by great people.
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