- 2 days ago
Mike and Abe get into some Braves talk and share more thoughts on Walt Weiss' decision to leave Bryce Elder in late into Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Red Sox, and agree Weiss is doing a great job having to manage the bullpen, which they agree is then, noting how he had to use three relievers on Friday.
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00:00Hey man, the Braves get it done. Another series win. Not a big deal, but do you feel that Walt
00:05was just trying to see where the pain threshold was for Bryce Elder? I like a guy trying to work
00:11his way out of it. I know the pitch count was getting up, and you could argue that, yeah, technically
00:16Walt probably did blow it, but he did let Elder pitch in the eighth, and obviously it got away from
00:21him. But I still like him giving it a shot, so I'm not as upset as maybe I would be
00:25in another situation. What do you think of how that played out on Saturday?
00:27Yeah, I think a couple things go into it. We mentioned you go right into this four-game series with
00:32the Marlins, and so maybe with a weekend series to come, and so there's no days off for this long
00:38stretch. Maybe you just try to save the bullpen a little bit extra there with Elder, and yeah, the numbers
00:44weren't alarming. He had pitched pretty well up until that point where he gave up the home run there to
00:48Contreras. Kind of a tough luck situation there where you were feeling pretty good about it, and then all of
00:53a sudden you weren't feeling too good about it.
00:55But look, I've said this before. I'll say it again. If you're going to give me eight innings and three
01:00runs allowed, offense has got to do its part. You've got to be able to score four. That's a good
01:05enough outing to win that game, and unfortunately the offense didn't deliver in that one.
01:10Yeah, and I was just going to say, to Abe's point, the issue for them going for Saturday was Friday
01:15night they did have to go to the bullpen, and they used Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez, and Rozelle Iglesias.
01:21So they were all unavailable Saturday, which kind of led to them kind of having to stick.
01:29Plus, and Bryce was pitching well, like Abe mentioned.
01:32I mean, I see both sides. If this was in September and you got a one-game lead over the
01:37Phillies, we'd be crucifying Wall-Wice over this one because you've got to get Elder out of there because you
01:41do have a strong bullpen.
01:42But as Dede said, you've had so many instances where, you know, J.R. Ritchie can't go deep or, you
01:47know, Grant Holmes couldn't go deep.
01:48And then ironically, I was kind of, oh boy, it's Grant on the bump. Grant Holmes did a really nice
01:52effort. Probably if not for the rain delay and the hail, he would have been through there through seven innings.
01:56Yeah, and Wall-Wice mentioned he would have left them in if they didn't have that long delay and they
02:00made the choice there.
02:01And I think you're right. I think you said it maybe on Friday.
02:03Like, you can't manage right now like it is game one of the NLCS.
02:09And in game one of the NLCS, well, I don't know if Elder's starting game one, but you're probably pulling
02:15them at seven.
02:16And you probably go Suarez-Iglacius.
02:18Right.
02:19It's not game one of the NLCS. It's March 18th.
02:23May 18th?
02:24May 18th.
02:25So, yeah, it didn't work out.
02:28And that's okay.
02:28But I'm not going to freak out over or I thought it was still overall a good performance.
02:33No, and I've got to be honest, you know, as a Braves fan, it's just so cool to watch Austin
02:38Riley come off the schneid.
02:40He's just, I mean, he's doing some great things.
02:42Drake Baldwin is such a, you know, I know it's funny, a day-to-day and I were joking around
02:45like, he's a professional hitter.
02:47Well, they're all professional hitters.
02:48It's like when guys say on the PGA Tour, you know, he's just a tremendous ball striker.
02:52You know, yeah, that's what they do for a living.
02:54But Drake is a guy who goes up to the plate and he's got a plan.
02:58He knows what he's doing.
03:00You know, in the count, okay, he's going to short up the swing.
03:02I mean, he just, he's so dialed in.
03:04And for a young, relatively young player, I mean, he's like, we talked to Tony Gwynn Jr. tomorrow.
03:08Like, there's guys out there that are just, they get it.
03:11And it's, like, for instance, I love Andre Jones.
03:13Andre Jones, you never really felt like he had that plan.
03:15You know, at the dish, you know, like every night.
03:17Well, when you say that term, a professional hitter, only one thing pops into my head.
03:21And I want to see if it's the same for you.
03:23What does that compliment mean to you when someone is being called a professional hitter?
03:29You know, if he's deep in the count, if it's a pitcher's count, shortens up the swing, goes with it,
03:33doesn't try to pull the ball, goes opposite field.
03:35You know, just the smart stuff.
03:36You said the key word for me as well.
03:38And just go with it.
03:39Wherever the pitch is, you're going to go with it.
03:40And if that means it's a double of the opposite field, that's fine.
03:43If you're going oppo, fine.
03:45If you have a chance to come inside on it and turn on it, then that's fine, too.
03:48But you're just not trying to fight the pitch low case to do what way too many hitters do, which
03:54is pull the ball down the line.
03:55And that's what I think of.
03:56I apologize.
03:57I've been killing the name when the Cubs were in town.
03:59Imanaga, you know, throws in that low sinker.
04:01Yeah.
04:02And Drake Baldwin, again, like maybe six inches off the ground, he goes down and gets it.
04:05And I just love the reaction because, you know, Braves Vision does a great job with the camera crew.
04:08And they turn to see the pitchers like, what the?
04:10How did he get that?
04:11And he did because Drake just goes down and gets it.
04:13So another part of the weekend that was so cool was Yastrzemski hitting the left-handed pitcher
04:19and then hitting the ball to be the game-winning walk-off into left center.
04:23And, again, his splits really are that abysmal against left-handed pitchers.
04:27But Jazz brought home the bacon, and then Paul Byrd interviews him.
04:31And then we talked about it at the 2 o'clock hour for guys who missed it.
04:33We'll ask Grant about it next hour, too.
04:35I didn't think, as Abe said it, a good way to put it.
04:37It wasn't the worst thing ever.
04:38We know where Paul's heart was with it, but it's the way that it came out.
04:41He was basically like, to some Braves fans, Paul said this.
04:46You know, walk off.
04:47You know, we got stars on this team, and you're just a guy.
04:49But great job!
04:50And that's not how it came out.
04:52Paul was basically saying that, you know, we have stars, and there's superstars,
04:55but you're like a worker bee.
04:57And, yeah, I mean, I don't think it was.
04:58I knew where Paul was going with it.
05:00And then Paul felt so awful, he was trying to apologize seven ways to Sunday
05:03on social media on Saturday.
05:05Yeah, it just wasn't that big of a deal.
05:07And, again, we don't have to pretend that everyone is a superstar.
05:10And I think Yaz probably is aware of his standing.
05:15I mean, the guy is part of a platoon.
05:17He understands what the situation is here.
05:19So, look, Paul Bird obviously meant nothing by it.
05:22I don't think Yaz took it disrespectfully.
05:24It's a couple of Braves fans who wanted to be mad at something,
05:27and that's what they got mad at.
05:28And then, honestly, I saw more of Braves Nation going in to defend Bird
05:33and just saying, hey, man, if you've ever met this guy,
05:36you knew this is what he's all about, and this guy's all about the team,
05:39and he's all about his teammates, and blah, blah, blah.
05:41And so, yeah, it was a big old nothing burger.
05:45It was really cool that Yaz got the walk-off.
05:48I always feel it's almost funnier that he only gets the walk-off
05:52because he couldn't get the bunt down for twice.
05:54He was mad at himself because he couldn't lay down the bunt, you know,
05:56because you've got a guy on second.
05:57You know how it is in the extra inning setup.
05:58And I get it, brother, but take the walk-off, man.
06:01Let's be happy for yourself.
06:02We'll hit the tape room and figure out why the bunt didn't get put down
06:05a little bit later.
06:06And then he comes up on Sunday and hits.
06:09I know Austin Riley had the big blow on that one early,
06:11but then Yaz hits one out there too.
06:13The thing about Yaz to me, Mike, was maybe for the wrong reasons, I guess,
06:19we got pretty amped up about his numbers in spring training.
06:22There was a little bit of that.
06:24And within reason, you thought he was just seeing everything well
06:27and playing well, and you thought maybe he'd come in.
06:30Nothing crazy.
06:30I didn't expect 35 bombs, but could this guy be 18 to 20 home runs
06:34coming off of the spring training?
06:36And it just fell flat right into the start of the season.
06:40He was just so cold.
06:41Now he's starting to warm up, and we're starting to see some of that.
06:44The other story from the weekend, again, the good news is everybody else is hitting.
06:47Ronald's not here yet.
06:48Ronald's not apparently going to play.
06:49He was seen running the bases.
06:50Actually, I saw him running the bases before the game on Sunday.
06:53And then because the field turf in Miami is a bit gimpy,
06:56you don't want to get gimpy on stuff like that,
06:58they're going to apparently not have him activated in this four-game set.
07:01It's four games, not three with Miami.
07:03So we'll have to wait a few more days to get Ronald Acuna going.
07:05But you're still killing it.
07:06You get the best team in baseball.
07:08You won another series.
07:09Even with the Phillies playing at a crazy clip, they can't gain ground on you.
07:12The only thing which is interesting, Abe and I were just talking off the air,
07:15Matt Olsen is a streaky hitter.
07:16We were talking about, is this the year where Matt puts five or six months together
07:19where just everything's rocking?
07:21You know, and look, it's baseball.
07:23Not everybody's going to hit .300 every month.
07:25He is down to his baseball card for this month.
07:27He's averaging his .232.
07:29The OPS is down from like one and change to now .853.
07:32He's got 13 hits and 56 at bat.
07:34So Matt, he's cooling off a little bit.
07:37Still got five home runs for the month.
07:38Well, he was 0 for 11 in the series against the Red Sox.
07:41His average went from .294 to .276 on the season in just that one three-game series.
07:47And so, yes, I am with you.
07:49This is a guy that has been a streaky hitter.
07:51And for me, those are those guys.
07:53There are those guys.
07:54You just kind of live with the ups and downs because when he is hot like he was earlier
07:58in the year, and hopefully like he will be when we hit summer, he could absolutely carry
08:01the offense.
08:02The other thing is, I bet you Grant will say this when we talk to him next hour, about
08:05less than an hour now.
08:06But Day Day just reminded me he's got that elbow.
08:08He's got an elbow.
08:09But he's an Iron Man.
08:10He doesn't miss games.
08:11You know, he's just crossing the top ten in consecutive games played, which you've got to love.
08:14But this is where, you know, the old argument, if you were a real hater, which I was never
08:19a hater, but you know, well, sometimes Cal's hurting the Orioles.
08:22He's hurting the team.
08:23He's not 100%.
08:23Well, guess what?
08:24You're giving a lift to your squad.
08:26Yeah.
08:26At the end of your career, you know, maybe, I don't know where you fall on that one.
08:30Are you a hater on that stuff too?
08:31That some days you just got to sit because you can't go?
08:34No.
08:34But I also, my old thing.
08:36In a world where everybody quits and everybody's soft.
08:38I'm not going to criticize Matt Olsen if he's not 100%.
08:40But, you know, he's struggling right now, but maybe the elbow's a concern.
08:43I'm a hater when it comes to extending the streak with like, oh, I played one inning.
08:48It's a game played.
08:49Now I'm good.
08:49Right.
08:50That's the one where you lose me.
08:51You start the game.
08:52If you need to sit, sit.
08:53If you're good enough to play, then play.
08:56Right.
08:56But I don't want to hear any complaints.
08:58I don't want to hear you blaming the elbow.
08:59Right.
09:00If you have another 0 for 11 series.
09:02Right.
09:02You can't.
09:03You can't come to do that.
09:04But that's, I look, I'm not going to crap on a guy for doing something at a high clip that
09:08nobody else seems to be doing anymore in Major League Baseball.
09:11But I just pointed out, last week we were talking about MVP.
09:14This is kind of where he lives, where he's going to have a downturn, but he'll get back
09:17up on it.
09:18He did say it only hurts on swings and misses.
09:21So I would say hit the ball and then your elbow won't hurt at all.
09:25It'll be fine.
09:26But that's, again, nothing to worry about with Grant Holmes.
09:29He goes deep, as we talked earlier about, why he said he could have gone for the seventh
09:32inning.
09:32I've never seen Hale before at a baseball game.
09:34You ever been in a baseball game with Hale?
09:36That's a good question.
09:38Not here.
09:39I think I've been up north.
09:42Day-Day, you ever been at a sporting event with Hale?
09:44I don't, I can't recall.
09:47I've had snow.
09:48I've had tropical storms.
09:50I've had a Florida State Hurricanes game.
09:52Oren, you ever been to a Hale game?
09:56The Hale has taken off your microphone.
09:57I have not.
09:58No, I'm just saying, it was just, when the rain started, because I'm sitting here and
10:02Becky's like, I'm making a beer run.
10:04I'm like, okay.
10:04And all of a sudden I hear like clink, clink, clink on my Coors Light.
10:07And it's like, oh my goodness.
10:08It's a guy in front of me.
10:10Damn, that's Hale.
10:12I mean, he really did.
10:13He was from South Georgia.
10:14He really did say it.
10:15Just like the name.
10:16Damn, that's Hale.
10:17Yeah, it is.
10:18Well, it was.
10:19Could you keep protecting me from it?
10:20I'm just, and then where I sit at 213, you get the people that are like, you know, don't
10:25be the people.
10:25As everyone scurries and runs for cover, you're so smugly sitting over the overhang.
10:30You're like, well, yeah, we got better seats.
10:33We're closer to the field.
10:34Now, the one in a million hailstorm now, you're sitting there like a fat cat, you know, a
10:38nice high and dry.
10:39I used to be a team like just sit it out when it was raining.
10:43Just like deal with it.
10:44You'd get soaked and just be those one idiots in the upper deck just getting poured on.
10:47I don't know if I'd do that with Hale.
10:49Right.
10:49It was kind of funny.
10:50One of the things, and they do a great job.
10:51Freeze won yesterday.
10:53A girl, a nice start.
10:55They all do, but he came back and went.
10:57There was kids.
10:58It was so funny.
10:58At some point, day-to-day, the kids all took their shirts off.
11:00Little kids are flexing out there.
11:02It was funny.
11:02It was in a funny way.
11:03It was cute.
11:04Hey, man, we'll come back.
11:05We'll talk about the seedy underbelly of the battery.
11:09Actually, my seedy underbelly ate way too much yesterday.
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