00:00Of everything that happened last night, what surprised you the most?
00:04Well, I mean, you know, like I said last night,
00:07that's the most improbable ending, not improbable ending of the season.
00:13You know, to think that Ha-Sung Kim's going to come up in that situation
00:17and deliver, that just was great for him.
00:22It's a great win for the team.
00:25Here's a guy, he hasn't had a hit since June 3rd.
00:27You know, he was hitting 0-68 before he sent him down and trip away there
00:31for the month of July to rehab or whatever.
00:35And I think he hasn't had a hit back since August 15th.
00:40He had three this whole month.
00:43I mean, that's as improbable as it comes.
00:46And, you know, count me among those who have said it's a sunk cost.
00:50Why is he on this roster?
00:52Hey, that one win pulls him within two games of the Dodgers.
00:57He puts them in for one of the two National League buys.
01:02And also, you know, now they've won the season series against the Dodgers.
01:06That's a big win.
01:07So maybe that's not a sunk cost.
01:10Maybe they've got some ROI there.
01:13Well, I will say this.
01:15I mean, obviously the easiest thing in the world, it made sense,
01:17is you've got a guy making $20 million that's got literally the worst numbers
01:20in all of Major League Baseball, historically bad numbers.
01:23And you've got guys that you send down that you like at the position at shortstop.
01:27So it's easy to have that notion.
01:30But there's a reason he got $20 million.
01:31If a guy could get hot, it certainly wouldn't be shocking that he could get hot.
01:35And in a postseason where we've seen the Braves have unlikely heroes,
01:40I don't know, all that could kind of fit in.
01:43Yeah, no doubt.
01:44I mean, look, you know, you want every spot on that roster that has some type of value
01:49for him to possibly be a bat off the bench, that'd be great.
01:54You know, that was certainly a confidence booster.
01:56And as you said, this guy's had success in the past.
01:59It's not like he's, you know, just coming out of nowhere or something like that.
02:04But, you know, and the big thing is how productive might he have been
02:08had he not slipped on the ice and tore the ligament in his finger there back in January.
02:13So if he can be a key piece down the stretch, whether that's coming off the bench to pinch it,
02:19probably the most likely role, hey, look, you get more ROI there.
02:25Yeah, I mean, you've got to find – I mean, if you're going to be part of the roster,
02:30I've never seen a guy more exiled than him.
02:32That's what was so weird.
02:34I mean, it's like, yeah, you're paying him $20 million, and, yeah, he's hitting his pass.
02:38But it's like Walt Weiss is just like, I know I have to keep him, but I ain't going to
02:41play him.
02:42Yeah, yeah, I mean, and that's kind of how it just felt.
02:45You know, he ran by me during BP yesterday.
02:48It sounded like one of those – you forget he's there.
02:52You know, you've gotten to that point where you almost are, hey, yeah, I remember.
02:56There's A-Sung Kim.
02:57But anyhow, like I said, one thing Walt and the teammates have said is this guy has put in the
03:04time.
03:04He continues to take his, you know, his swings before the game.
03:08And, you know, obviously last night during the game as he's preparing for that potential pinch hit at bat.
03:14So kudos to him for staying focused enough and delivering last night.
03:19Yeah, let's talk about – let's talk about a couple of guys.
03:21Talk about Sharver last night and in general because Walt seems to be very high on him
03:27and maybe having a chance to be a factor.
03:29And then, of course, Fuentes, the night he had and what he has become.
03:33Didier Fuentes, all the baseball starting to talk about him as well.
03:36Talk about those two guys.
03:37No, no doubt.
03:38I mean, let's start with Smith-Schauber and just say – you know, I tweeted out something last night.
03:43He said, look, I've been saying he could be the game two starter.
03:46I felt better about it even after last night.
03:48Look, he wasn't dominant last night.
03:50He didn't have his A stuff, but he's making his third start since Tommy John.
03:57He's, you know, he's made – I think it was an 18th career start.
04:01This kid's still young.
04:02It's just what he has with the fastball, the splitter.
04:06Now he's got a slider.
04:07The slider, that was basically the third game he used it.
04:11And that's what hurt him.
04:13That's where he gave up the home run to Edmund.
04:15Look, is the playoff starter this week?
04:18No.
04:18I'm not – I'm probably – he's probably not a playoff starter for me.
04:21He's not making game one, game two, or game three start.
04:24He's coming out of the bullpen.
04:25But what I'm thinking is, within the next month, this kid, his athleticism, his potential,
04:33I think he could be a factor there in October.
04:35Now, let's get to Fuentes.
04:38You know what?
04:39When you start thinking you've got Matt Olsen hitting 40-plus homers,
04:42you've got Chris Vail as a Cy Young candidate, you've got Mauricio Dubon doing everything.
04:47I still – any talk about who has been the most valuable brave, you've got to include Fuentes.
04:55And to see him come in there and clean up – you know, I know he issued the walk there
05:01in the seventh,
05:03but, you know, this kid has an incredible fastball.
05:08But it's beyond his repertoire.
05:11You know, just to see the poise he showed last night against tough competition
05:15and some tough situations, this is – there are four guys – okay.
05:22There are three guys who you definitely are going to have – are going to be keys to the postseason.
05:27Right?
05:27So Iglesias, Dylan Lee, Didier Fuentes.
05:30You hope that Robert Suarez is in that mix.
05:32If you have that four-headed monster, you know, that four-headed monster can be every bit as valuable
05:38as the night shift was in 2021.
05:41And it kind of takes away that, oh, who's going to go into the sixth, seventh, eighth?
05:46It doesn't matter.
05:47You send a starting pitcher out there to go, you know, once or twice through the lineup
05:51and you figure out a way to get through it.
05:54And you're able to do so because you have some depth in your bullpen.
05:58So if Fuentes has been that guy out here, Dylan Lee's been great.
06:02He had a rough night last night.
06:04But I just – you marvel at how good Fuentes has been this year.
06:12And it's a good – he's been great so far, and I really think he could become a star
06:20throughout the baseball world in October.
06:22Well, it certainly has the stuff for it.
06:23Mark Bowman with us, beat writer for the Atlanta Braves, social media sensation.
06:27Association as well.
06:29Ronald Acuna, is it fair to say Ronald Acuna is a very good baseball player,
06:35but he has lost his elite status, and we're going on a few years here.
06:39Another one of his downturns going on right now.
06:42But the numbers don't lie over a now pretty lengthy period of time.
06:46I keep waiting for him to take over.
06:48It's not happening.
06:49Yeah, yeah.
06:50Yeah, I mean, before the season started, I was kind of high on it thinking,
06:53okay, he's going to go – he'll go 40-40, you know, whatever, 30-30.
06:58Anyhow, okay, that was – it's probably not wise to think that he can do that
07:05with two surgically repaired knees.
07:07You just don't see that consistency anymore.
07:10It's like you said, the struggles against the four-seam fastball have been baffling.
07:16His numbers – you know, he's kind of been up and down against the four-seamer
07:20over the past few years, but at the same time, just to see him struggle
07:24like he has against that pitch this year, I just don't understand it.
07:30You know, last night – look, we would love to see Ronald make things happen,
07:37you know, when he tries to be – but there's a situation like last night
07:42where he's flat-footed and Shohei takes second, you know,
07:46and you just feel like you're just being too cute.
07:49And maybe that's just a combination, you know, maybe the frustration, you know,
07:54I kind of showed last night when I said he's going to learn one of these years.
07:59Yeah, I read it.
08:00He made two base running errors in Milwaukee.
08:04Sometimes you've got to think, you know, and not try to be too cute
08:09because you're going to hurt your team, you know, in some key spots.
08:14Now, with that being said, every once in a while he's being cute
08:17and it just – you know, or he finds a way to take the extra base.
08:21He still has some of that dynamic talent, but at the same time,
08:26we're not seeing it as consistently as we did in the past.
08:28We're headed to the postseason opening series.
08:32Mark Bowman is going to win a lot of money.
08:34He's got to get all three day one, day two, and day three starters correct.
08:38Who are you putting in there to get your cash?
08:42All right, so I'm going to have to stick with what I've been saying.
08:45So let's go Chris Sale, game one starter, game two.
08:48I'm going to go A.J. Smith-Shauver.
08:50And once again, I'm not saying that he's ready to do that right now.
08:55I'm just thinking these next five starts are going to be great in game three.
08:58I'll go Tyler Molle right now, but at the same time, you know,
09:02somewhere along the lines, I'm still a big believer in what Bryce Elder can do,
09:06especially getting this team to the finish line.
09:10You know, so if he makes one of those starts, I don't think it would be a bad thing.
09:13Yeah, Bryce, I was looking around like, wow, Bowman just knocked me out of the rotation.
09:17All I do is give quality starts on a regular basis.
09:19Hey, we got to go.
09:2130 seconds.
09:22The Atlanta Braves make a deep run and head to the World Series.
09:26If what two guys have the postseason we need him to have or maybe surprise us.
09:33Go ahead.
09:34Okay, let's go Austin Riley.
09:35You know, here's a guy who we showed some encouragement.
09:42Still, the strikeout rate's a little bit too high.
09:44He starts putting the ball in play a little more consistently like he did last night
09:49with a sack fly and in some other situations like that.
09:52And then also, let's go with, let's just go with Sean Murphy.
09:58You know, coming off of last night, Walt said, hey, we're going to play him as consistently
10:02as we can.
10:03That's going to get Drake Baldwin off his feet.
10:06What Sean Murphy does behind the plate and at the plate, let's say those two guys right there.
10:10Yeah, I'll say this, in a World Series won by Rosario, Duvall, Jock Peterson, and Solaire,
10:17certainly Sean Murphy would fit the category if didn't see it coming, but boy, did it matter.
10:22Yeah, yep, no doubt.
10:24Thanks, buddy.
10:25All right.
10:26I'll give you another few pizza places whenever you come on, though.
10:29That's the rule.
10:30That sounds great.
10:31All right, guys.
10:32Have a great day.
