00:00So I wasn't really too concerned about the Chicago series,
00:03but that New York one, it got kind of ugly fast
00:06with the Spencer Strider stuff.
00:07I'd say the highlight of it, obviously, though,
00:09was we saw J.R. Ritchie really come back and bounce back,
00:11and a good Saturday, then that was followed by a bad Sunday.
00:15So clunky is kind of the word I would look at.
00:18Amazingly, the Braves didn't have Drake Baldwin for 23 games.
00:21They went 14-9, so they did pretty well,
00:23despite not having one of their best hitters, of course.
00:26Now we have to talk about being without another of their best hitters
00:29on the I.L. and Ronald Acuna Jr.,
00:31and what is Michael Harris' back injury going to mean for his playing time
00:34in the short term or longer term, since this is the second time.
00:38So there are some unfun things going on, but by and large,
00:41this is still a very good team that has found ways to overcome
00:44and ways to win all year long, despite never being at full strength.
00:47So they just kind of have to keep doing the same thing they've been doing.
00:51What do you think goes on?
00:52I mean, not what goes on.
00:53What do you think is going to happen?
00:54I know we got the diagnosis on Spencer and the length of time before he throws,
00:58but do you see this as something that it could be, you know,
01:01where he might not piss his shit with the stain?
01:04I mean, that's on the table, right?
01:06But you've got good news to begin with, at least,
01:08that they didn't go in and immediately find structural problems in the elbow.
01:12And that, obviously, when he went to go see the same surgeon
01:16who had given him the UCL brace surgery in 2024 that's been part of his odyssey.
01:21And I talked to Walt Weiss about this yesterday.
01:23I asked him, he's watching Spencer Strider,
01:25and what he's been through the last couple of three years.
01:28How difficult is that?
01:29And, you know, how hopeful are you that he's going to be back
01:31and going to pitch this year?
01:33And he said, you know, I'm always cognizant of what a player's going through.
01:36And when you watch somebody walk off the field, especially a pitcher,
01:39you know how difficult, you know, that is for them
01:42and how much Spencer's had to deal with that.
01:44And, you know, nobody prepares themselves better.
01:47He just has not been able to shake this thing.
01:49There's not a thing.
01:50And I know people will sometimes say there's a lot of discourse online.
01:53Some of it can be on the money.
01:55Some of it can be very misguided about what level of preparation
01:58or physically where he's at and what he's been doing.
02:01And is there something that's just been left to chance?
02:03I don't think Spencer Strider's left anything to chance.
02:06And this has just been the frustration of your body not cooperating with,
02:10you know, the mind is willing and the body just not being able at this point.
02:13And hopefully he can find a way to rest up over this next month,
02:17get the treatment he needs to, and have an opportunity to pitch again.
02:20But if he does, Randy, to make a long story short,
02:22I do think we're talking about early September
02:25if we are looking at this in the most optimistic of timelines.
02:29We were talking in the last segment about how maybe all of the Strider
02:34and kind of other pitching rotation stuff would encourage them to be more aggressive
02:39in terms of trade.
02:40And maybe I just think it's logical because I want them to do it.
02:43But do you buy that?
02:45Like, do you think that all of this stuff maybe leads to them being more aggressive
02:48and really taking that big swing for a Tarek Skubal or someone like that?
02:52Yeah, I would agree with that.
02:54I don't necessarily tell you that it's going to be Tarek Skubal
02:56because I think that his future really hasn't even been decided by Detroit yet.
03:00I mean, what happens over the next five to six weeks with them
03:03will let you know if they're even in a position where they feel like they can sell
03:07on Tarek Skubal.
03:08Because if they do and they're in contention,
03:10well, then they've got to figure out how to replace a Tarek Skubal.
03:12To say nothing of if the Tigers feel like, okay, maybe we will reach deep into our bag
03:18and give Tarek Skubal a big contract.
03:20And we want to be the one, you know, able to make an offer and resign him.
03:23I don't know about all of that kind of stuff, but there will be pitchers available.
03:26And I think if anything, you know, the need for it has been apparent,
03:31has been evident really all season long.
03:35I mean, it started basically day one of spring training.
03:37And you knew that it was going to be hard to get to full strength in your rotation.
03:40What could you do about it in the short term?
03:42We've already seen that.
03:43What can they do about it for the stretch drive is a totally different equation.
03:47And for the first time in what feels like a long time,
03:50the Braves have some prospect capital.
03:52And I would say that depending on the deal and the years of control,
03:56you can get back with the player that you get.
03:58It could definitely be worth that because as I've heard over the years,
04:02those flags, they fly forever.
04:04Prospects are just prospects until they become something.
04:06But we always judge this stuff in hindsight later down the road.
04:10So you just kind of, as a GM, I just don't think you can think about that.
04:13You've got to assess the team and the chances you have right now
04:15and do everything you can to win those titles
04:17because that's what the organization's doing.
04:19It's not trying to be the number one ranked farm system in baseball
04:23year after year after year with no trophies to show for it.
04:26Has Walt Weiss given any updates on Ronald at all?
04:31No, Ronald's just kind of in that holding pattern.
04:33I did see Ronald yesterday.
04:34I mean, he's getting around okay.
04:36It's just a low-grade hamstring strain.
04:38It's a frustration, much like I'm sure Michael's back is just one of those
04:41nagging injuries.
04:42And it hasn't been an IL thing for Michael, but for Ronald,
04:46as soon as you strain a hamstring, you're pretty much stuck and having to wait,
04:50go through the treatment, heal up, and then spend some time on the IL.
04:53But he was around in the outfield doing some stuff yesterday.
04:56He wasn't in full uniform, wasn't trying to run down any fly balls or anything like that,
04:59but just conditioning and doing that kind of thing.
05:02And that's what I would imagine this week will be a lot of.
05:04And then they'll just kind of assess him as it goes along.
05:07And I don't think that they're looking to rush him back,
05:10but I also don't feel like this is something where you have to just wait and wait and wait
05:14to the point where it's just not really making a lot of sense for how much time you're just kind
05:18of forcing him to miss.
05:19I think a lot of people are under that misconception, well, you can just make him a DH.
05:23Well, he got hurt running the bases, so that doesn't really solve a lot.
05:27It's just kind of one of those things where you do everything you can,
05:30you put these guys out on the field, and injuries can happen,
05:32and there's not some kind of cure-all preventative that the Braves have missed
05:36that all the other clubs are doing.
05:38Guys across all of baseball get hurt.
05:40These injuries happen every single day,
05:42and it's not because the training staff or the player just doesn't know how to condition their body.
05:47What's the plan today?
05:47I know that the first game is a continuation of yesterday,
05:51so the lineup will be the same, but what are they going to do pitcher-wise,
05:55and then do they stick with Richie tonight as planned?
05:59Yeah, Richie's going to go tonight.
06:00They're just going to try to get through it bullpen-wise,
06:03and they will get an extra arm in game two,
06:04so they can kind of empty out the bullpen as much as they need to.
06:09I mean, they're not going to, I think, try to use everybody,
06:11but you've got a little bit of flexibility,
06:13and you'll try to, I think, manage and balance what you might need for later tonight
06:18because, obviously, you want to try to win both of these games.
06:21They're equally important, and you're just kind of in that weird doubleheader place
06:25where you've got to think a little bit harder about maybe who you use and when.
06:28But, yeah, bullpen game for game one, unfortunately, at this point,
06:32because you burned Grant Holmes yesterday,
06:34and the Giants are kind of in the same position.
06:36They're using Robbie Ray, I think, though, in game one.
06:38That's supposed to be their starter for today,
06:39and I guess they'll figure things out in game two.
06:42But it'll just be a challenge for both managers
06:44because of what happened with the weather last night
06:46that, you know, honestly, it was supposed to just kind of pass over and be gone,
06:50and it just would not go away.
06:52And by the time they spent 90 minutes or whatever it was working on the field
06:55and finally pulled the tarp,
06:57you could just feel the very palpable frustrations for everybody involved,
07:00everyone that bought a ticket, everybody in both dugouts,
07:03the umpires, the grounds crew, pretty much everybody left,
07:05I think, pretty miserable about how last night played out.
07:07If you had a ticket for last night's game, you can go back today, right?
07:10You can go back to the 2 o'clock game here.
07:13It does take a separate ticket for game two, though, the 7-15 game,
07:16which technically, I don't know if this is really a traditional doubleheader
07:19in terms of, you know, it obviously wasn't scheduled,
07:23so you do have to have two separate tickets to go to both games.
07:26Grant, appreciate it.
07:27Appreciate it, Jimac.
07:28Bye, guys.
07:29Thanks.
07:30That's what I was thinking.
07:30Yeah, go hide in the bathroom.
07:31Find a good hiding space.
07:32Yeah, find a good hiding space.
07:33You know, there's all kinds of, like, big, like, statues of former players.
07:38There are so many.
07:38I bet there's so many.
07:39Just pretend you're, like, Eddie Matthews.
07:41I bet there's so many places to hide in there.
07:42I'm sure.
07:43I'm pretty sure.
07:44Yeah.
07:45I think they check a lot of them, though.
07:47They did a pretty good job.
07:47Like, you think about it.
07:48Like, you went to a lot of them.
07:49Have you been a doubleheader before?
07:51You know, not really.
07:53When you were a kid or something?
07:53No, because we never had them, because they never had rain outs.
07:56Okay.
07:56Because it was a dome.
07:59Okay, I see what you're saying.
08:00They don't do just, like, for the fun of it.
08:02Right.
08:02They used to back in the day.
08:03That's what I'm saying.
08:04I'm not old.
08:05No, no.
08:06I didn't know how long ago back in the day there was.
08:07Oh, no.
08:08I don't think they've done that since, like, the – I don't know when.
08:11But, no.
08:11Growing up, they didn't do that.
08:12Okay.
08:13To answer your question, what was the follow-up going to be?
08:16Oh, I'm saying, what did you do?
08:18Oh, I've never been.
08:19I've never been to a doubleheader.
08:21Because, again, like, because normally now they're all weather-related, right?
08:24Yes.
08:25And the Mariners played in a dome, and then they had a retractable roof.
08:28I've never even been to a rain delay until I went to Camden Yards when I was, like, 25.
08:35And me and my buddy Sam were actually excited.
08:38Everyone's like, oh, man, the game's going to get postponed or, like, rain delay for a while.
08:42We're like, this is great.
08:43Like, watching them roll out the tarp and stuff.
08:45I'd never seen it before.
08:45Oh, okay.
08:46And then it always made me laugh, too, because at the Kingdome, they had a tarp.
08:49They had a tarp at the Kingdome?
08:50Yeah.
08:50I was like, what's that for?
08:52Who's – what are they going to do with that?
08:54This is a dome, and that's turf.
08:56Yeah.
08:56I was like, just in case.
08:58Maybe every team just has one.
09:00Yeah.
09:00Come from the stadium?
09:02Like, I know why they have one at Safeco, because sometimes in the off-season or off-days,
09:06they'll let it rain in the outfield so they don't have to water it.
09:09So it's just saving money on watering.
09:12But, yeah, they had a tarp at the Kingdome.
09:13Yeah, maybe it comes with the stadium.
09:15Yeah, right.
09:16You know what I mean?
09:17Were they sponsored back then?
09:18Stadium's starter kit.
09:20Yeah.
09:21Yeah, maybe.
09:21Maybe it said, like, McDonald's on it or something like that.
09:23Buy one stadium, get a tarp free.
09:25Yeah.
09:25Maybe that's it.
09:26I'm saying.
09:26Like, maybe it came with the stadium.
09:27Maybe it did.
09:29I wonder if there was even anything in it, you know?
09:31It's just, like, sat there, but there wasn't really even – anyway.
09:34All right.
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