- 4 days ago
Former Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker joined The Steakhouse and spoke about Chris Sale's identity and what makes him great. Snitker also speaks on his relationship with current manager Walt Weiss.
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00:00Were there times during this year, I know I saw you the other night, you're like,
00:03this is going to be a little weird, you know?
00:05I mean, the energy and adrenaline and dopamine of, like, this is the postseason.
00:09Did you have that at all during the year of, like, kind of thinking, like,
00:13man, I do start to miss it more and more?
00:15No, I'd be lying if I said I didn't.
00:18I mean, because it's something, and I tell people, I said,
00:20I'm learning how to do this and I'm trying to, you know,
00:24but there are so many of the other times when I look back
00:28and I'm doing things with the kids and I'm like, you know what?
00:32I couldn't be doing this right now if I was working.
00:34Right.
00:35And that kind of overrides a lot of the, you know,
00:37the other thoughts that I have, it kind of puts it in perspective.
00:40The longing and whatnot, you just keep reminding yourself.
00:43Yeah, and you know what?
00:44If I go down there and, you know, I talk to the guys or whatever
00:47and they're getting ready to go on a 10-day road trip
00:50and I'm like, I'm sure glad I'm staying.
00:52Well, I remember the interview.
00:54Brian Snicker with us live in the studio to co-host for the hour.
00:56I remember the interview we did with you and we were talking about
00:58why you'd made the decision and you said, I don't know,
01:01I think it was New York and I think it was a high rise
01:03and you just were like, dude, I'm tired.
01:06I am like, I've been doing, this is the novelty of this.
01:10It ain't a novelty.
01:11The New York steakhouses ain't a big deal.
01:14The, you know, having a nice room, all that.
01:17Like I'm tired and I need, when you,
01:20you said that's when you kind of realized,
01:22I'm going to wrap this thing up.
01:23Well, I started worrying about all the wrong things,
01:26you know, stepping off the bus and not tripping
01:28or, you know, getting and, like I said.
01:31The anxiety started to be older.
01:32No, I am and I am older.
01:34My balance isn't as good as it used to be
01:36and things like that.
01:37And I did wake up in that 58th floor or whatever
01:40and it was 100 degrees and the wearer conditioner
01:42wasn't working good.
01:43And I'm thinking if that alarm goes off
01:45at three o'clock in the morning, I'm toast.
01:47They'll find me in the, you know,
01:48it was a crispy critter in the frigging stairwells.
01:52So, you know, I really, and I used to love being up there
01:55because you look over Central Park
01:56and it was half the fun of being.
01:59So you could tell there was a different mindset
02:01that had taken over.
02:04Yeah.
02:04Disagree.
02:04And I think I told you,
02:05and my, one of my grandsons won a pin award
02:10through the Kiwanis Club, through his school.
02:12And he wrote a story about going to the Masters
02:14because his dad took him to the Masters
02:16and I was at the Kiwanis Club at Burnt Hickory Baptist
02:19and he was reading that.
02:21And the team had just left and they were in Arizona.
02:23And I thought if I was in Arizona right now,
02:25I'd be kicking myself that I'm not here
02:27experiencing this with Jude.
02:29Yeah.
02:29Just like you had to do for so many games
02:31that you missed.
02:32Yeah.
02:32And moments.
02:33And I mean, like, you know, listen,
02:35professional athletes, professional sports
02:38is glamorous to an extent.
02:40Now, it ain't glamorous in single A
02:41or Gulf Coast League or, you know,
02:43the Florida League as much.
02:46But there's real tangible sacrifice
02:49that Ronnie just had to pick up the role
02:52as, you know, I'm dad in this situation.
02:55That's just how it is.
02:56Yeah, she did.
02:56She was working at Shepard Spinal Center
02:58and taking, you know, the kids to their sports
03:01and cheerleading and all that stuff.
03:02And I was, you know, on the other side of the country.
03:06Right.
03:06And, you know, I said, I remember I had a conversation
03:10with the kids one time and it's like,
03:12you know what, you're, you know,
03:13kind of ticking your mom off.
03:15And if I keep getting these calls
03:16and I have to come home,
03:18I'm really going to not be fun to live with
03:20if I can't do what I love to do right here.
03:22So you need to straighten up.
03:23Brad Sticker with us live in studio
03:25on Sports Radio 92.9.
03:26Again, we're going to talk about
03:27the World Series run years ago
03:29after the next segment
03:30because I'm going to go through every game.
03:32And I think every Braves fan can appreciate
03:33one of the most dynamic
03:37and incredible sports moments
03:39in the history of our city.
03:41But the weird thing about baseball in particular
03:47is, and the two out of three thing, man.
03:49I mean, you're running, you're grinding 162 games.
03:52Chris Sales had the greatest career
03:53you could have for three years here.
03:56But man, are we all going to be paying attention
03:58to this start today?
04:00And that kind of pressure,
04:01it almost makes me nervous to think how much he,
04:03if he allows himself to know how much
04:05is riding on a game like today.
04:07Right.
04:07No, because it is big.
04:08I mean, that first one in a best of three is huge
04:11as we found out in the last time
04:13we played one of these, it didn't go well.
04:15And mainly because he wasn't available.
04:18Right.
04:18And he is right now and hitting on all cylinders.
04:21And man, it's going to be fun to watch.
04:23So you've watched 50 years of starting pitching
04:26or pitching in general at every level.
04:28When you watch Chris Sale,
04:30and you hear that in others,
04:32what's different about him?
04:34This guy, he's a Hall of Famer.
04:36I mean, those guys are different.
04:38You know, when I first came,
04:39when I signed and we came in,
04:40I started managing.
04:41We didn't really, we knew Hank was there.
04:43Nuxley was there.
04:44We didn't really know about Hall of Famers.
04:46And all of a sudden,
04:46we started developing Hall of Famers.
04:48And we saw the, you know,
04:50Chipper and Smoltz and Glab
04:51and those guys, you know,
04:53get, you know, become Hall of Famers.
04:56And we just knew they're really good players.
04:57They were great guys to be around.
04:59Chris Sale checks all the boxes.
05:01He is one of the fiercest competitors
05:04I've ever been around.
05:06I said, he's a ball player.
05:07And you don't throw that term
05:08to a pitcher very often.
05:10I used to save that for a guy
05:12like Martin Prado, Mark Lemke.
05:14Those kind of guys were ball players.
05:17Dansby who played multiple sports.
05:19Dansby's a ball player.
05:19Jeff Francor.
05:20Yes.
05:20Chipper played, you know.
05:22Those guys were ball players
05:23in the sense that they loved everything.
05:25Chris Sale loves everything about this.
05:28You know, he loves coming into that weight room
05:30every day and doing his exercises
05:32and being with his teammates.
05:33He loves to watch the game.
05:36Right.
05:36To dissect the game.
05:38To be a leader.
05:40Like he cherishes that role
05:44and appreciates even with young pitchers
05:48or just.
05:48Absolutely.
05:49Right?
05:49Absolutely.
05:50And with old managers.
05:52Yeah.
05:52You know, I mean, I would, you know,
05:53I would bounce things off him
05:54if we had something coming up,
05:56situation or whatever.
05:58When I left there, he would, you know,
06:00he was one of the guys that I would go to.
06:02Was his stuff, I mean, obviously he's got great stuff.
06:07So does it come off from an arm angle?
06:10Does it explode different?
06:12His fastball.
06:12Talk about like the technical element
06:15of watching a Chris Sale
06:17when you're watching him and saying,
06:18let's see what kind of stuff he has.
06:20Yeah.
06:20I mean, and this stuff is, it's like,
06:22it's just such a weird angle
06:24for lefties and righties
06:25that he's coming at you
06:26and the arm strength and the whip
06:29and the sling as he calls it.
06:31He's going to keep slinging it
06:32and it's just, it's different.
06:34So what does that do to a hitter?
06:36It's just, they can't ever get a beat on him.
06:38You know, he might miss him.
06:40You know, he's human.
06:41He's going to hang one.
06:42The one's going to stay in the middle of the plate.
06:44They're going to, you know what,
06:45they're going to sell out and guess right
06:46on a pitch and maybe do damage.
06:49But, you know, it's just, he's the total package.
06:53I mean, it's just, I always say
06:55he's the least diva superstar I've ever been around
06:58and never had the pleasure to manage.
07:00Yeah.
07:00I've heard of the, having the opportunity,
07:03we do a segment called Leaders
07:06where we've had the governor in
07:08and we've had Ed Bastian
07:09and, you know, Chris Womack,
07:11all these guys.
07:12And I'll ask them like,
07:12what's the sign of a leader
07:14that's most impressive?
07:15Most of them are like humility.
07:17When you are that at a certain level
07:19and you just behave a certain way,
07:22you know,
07:23because most of ego and carrying on is insecurity.
07:25Chris Sale has none of that.
07:27None of that.
07:27None of that.
07:28Humility, real humility.
07:29Total pro.
07:30I mean, he is...
07:32Clubhouse guys.
07:32He's the first guy
07:33that's going to do a prank on somebody
07:35or the sense of humor.
07:37You know what?
07:38And you look back
07:39and you look at the total guy,
07:40the person, the father, the husband, all that.
07:45I mean, it's just, you know,
07:46he has a beautiful family.
07:48They're very supportive of him.
07:50He's with them and it's awesome.
07:52Man.
07:52It's so cool to see.
07:53Was it the Wednesday night star?
07:56Oh no, it was a month ago
07:58when Walt leaves him in.
07:59Yeah, yeah.
08:00The shot of his son.
08:01Oh my God.
08:02And that's it.
08:03Was that awesome?
08:03Yes.
08:04That is so cool.
08:05Right.
08:05And that's their family.
08:07I mean, it is like they are a family
08:08and they are wonderful people.
08:11I guess it's an argument to have kids younger
08:13because, or to pitch a long time
08:16because now, right?
08:17Yeah.
08:18I mean, there's really a chance
08:20for them to be immersed in it.
08:22Exactly.
08:22Not like a five-year-old like,
08:23daddy's pitching like,
08:24no dude, I know what's going on here.
08:26And that is so cool
08:27that he gets to experience that
08:29and they get to experience that
08:30and they will have those memories
08:31for the rest of their life.
08:33And to be at that level
08:35and mean really no end in sight.
08:37So there's also the freakishness of genetics
08:41or something going on, right?
08:42No, there's something going on there
08:43and he's at a good time in his life
08:45and I think the Brave,
08:45we do a really good job of taking care of him
08:50and giving him time off.
08:52It's like something I learned from him
08:53a few years ago.
08:55It's kind of like,
08:55I'm a strike thrower.
08:56It doesn't matter how long.
08:57I'm going to wake,
08:58you know, he's going to wake up
08:58on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning
09:00and if he goes out in a mound,
09:02he's going to throw strikes.
09:03But is his point to you,
09:04doesn't matter how many days you give me
09:05or did he start to say,
09:06I'm always good with an extra day?
09:08No, he's, you know what,
09:09we just, you know,
09:10you look at the guy, his age
09:11and you're always going to look
09:13to give him an extra day.
09:14Right.
09:14I guarantee you,
09:15he's not going to need an extra day
09:16from here on out, you know.
09:19If his day falls on five,
09:21he's going to take that ball and rip.
09:22And you also know what adrenaline can do.
09:24Oh my God, yes, no.
09:25Well, that guy gets to 100 miles an hour
09:27that's a 98, right?
09:28Yeah, no, it's,
09:29and you look at him now
09:30and it's like he's playing catch at 99.
09:32Right.
09:32You know, something's really special.
09:34Brian Snicker with us live in studio.
09:36What is the relationship?
09:38So Walt Weiss is sitting there.
09:40Is it an ongoing monologue
09:43as your bench coach the entire game?
09:47How, is, is there opinions exchanged?
09:49Is that the role of that guy
09:51the entire time?
09:53Just talk about the dynamic
09:54and the relationship you have with him.
09:55It is a great,
09:56and you need that guy.
09:58I mean, you need somebody
09:59that you can lean on
10:01and Lord knows I leaned all over him
10:02for eight, for eight years.
10:04And I respected everything
10:06that he had to say.
10:07I would run, bounce things
10:08three innings in advance.
10:11Like, what do you think right here?
10:12Who are you jiving on right now?
10:14As far, you know,
10:15and I'd always want his opinion
10:16if, you know, before we got,
10:17what an awesome thing to have.
10:19It's great.
10:20A guy, like literally, you know,
10:22it's like a CEO
10:23or the guy sitting next to him
10:24that you trust implicitly,
10:26but I got to make the call here.
10:27But you have something
10:28to bounce off somebody
10:29on every moment, right?
10:31Yes.
10:31And I've always told,
10:32like, Walt, the pitching coach,
10:34whoever that was,
10:35and it's like, you know what?
10:37I'm going to make the final decision
10:39because if it blows up,
10:40I'm the one that's going to be
10:41sitting up there in front of everybody
10:42in a couple hours.
10:43You know, I remember
10:44when I pinch hit for Ian Anderson
10:47in the World Series
10:48and he had a no-hitter going,
10:49and I remember I told Cranny,
10:50I said, well, Cranny,
10:51this is going to go one of two ways.
10:53It's either going to work
10:54or I'm going to get fried here
10:56in about three hours
10:57when this thing's over.
10:58What was he best at?
11:00What instinct?
11:01Would he sometimes know,
11:04sense, maybe,
11:05I wouldn't say you were
11:06getting emotional here,
11:07or you're not.
11:07I mean, what would he bring you back to
11:09that you could count on?
11:10No, it's just,
11:10I trusted him explicitly.
11:13I mean, just the man he was,
11:15the experiences.
11:16He'd been through it all.
11:17I mean, this guy's,
11:18he's got rings,
11:19he's got awards,
11:21and he's a ball player.
11:22Great ball player.
11:23He's a ball player.
11:23Oh, yeah.
11:24I mean, football player too,
11:25you know, his background.
11:26It's just it.
11:26And I just, you know,
11:27as the relationship goes
11:29and as I got to know him more
11:32after we hired him,
11:35you know, it just became where,
11:38you know, I trusted him
11:38with everything.
11:39I trusted his opinion on everything.
11:41I'd ask him about,
11:42you know, we'd talk about lying,
11:43ups or should this guy,
11:44you know, sit
11:45or should we give so-and-so a day off
11:47or, and then the end game thing
11:49was awesome.
11:49Yeah, just constant.
11:50Just a constant.
11:51It's a constant dialogue
11:53for three hours.
11:54If I were going to say what you miss,
11:57I mean, that just sounds fun.
12:00Yeah.
12:00Like sitting next to a guy
12:02and here's 40,000 people
12:04and me and him get to just chit-chat here
12:06and figure out what we're going to do next.
12:07And we just sit there, you know,
12:08we would sit there
12:09and we'd be in our own world.
12:10Yeah.
12:10I mean, we didn't hear the 40,000.
12:12We didn't, you know,
12:13everything was kind of slowed down
12:15and, and then I probably was,
12:17you know, I'd be the one
12:18that'd be getting excited or whatever.
12:20And it's like, I need to know,
12:21I need to know
12:21or something like that.
12:22Or, um,
12:23but we're in good shape
12:24with this guy at the helm today.
12:25No, absolutely.
12:26He's so ready for this.
12:27I mean, and, and, um,
12:29you know, we had experience
12:30in Colorado,
12:31which didn't go well
12:32and it wasn't his fault.
12:33I mean, it just wasn't a great team.
12:35Yeah.
12:35He had to navigate
12:36a lot of rough waters
12:37and he comes here
12:38and he sees our group,
12:40our, our culture,
12:42um, the organization.
12:43It's almost like he's owed this.
12:44Give that guy a team
12:45he can win a World Series.
12:46Exactly.
12:47Give him a real team.
12:48Give him Chris Sale
12:48in game one of a series.
12:50Yeah, right.
12:50And, and, um,
12:51and he's done a great job.
12:52I mean, he was so red.
12:53He was the perfect guy
12:54to take this over
12:56because he knew the players.
12:57The players knew him.
12:58Uh, nervous as you guys,
13:00you and Ronnie watching games.
13:01I mean, are you,
13:02what's it going to be like today
13:03and next few days for you?
13:04I'm not a great fan.
13:06I've, I've found that out.
13:07What does that mean?
13:08Well, I put it,
13:09I, I kind of sit there
13:10like I did
13:11and I'm not very reactionary
13:13or, you know,
13:14I, people,
13:15everybody's jumping up
13:16doing high fives.
13:16I'm just kind of sitting there
13:18because I didn't want to,
13:20I, I just,
13:21So you're not emotional.
13:23No, I'm not emotional
13:24out there.
13:25Right.
13:25Um,
13:26you're not in front of people today
13:28where they're going to see you
13:29jumping up and,
13:30I'm not going to be jumping up
13:31high fiving everybody
13:32when Chris Sale
13:33strikes out the side
13:34or, you know,
13:35Austin Riley hits
13:36a three run homer
13:37or something like that.
13:37you know,
13:39Devon makes a great play
13:40or something like that.
13:41I'm just,
13:41you know,
13:42it's the game.
13:43Right.
13:43Watching the game.
13:43Watching the game.
13:45Uh,
13:45when we come back,
13:46are you okay?
13:46Uh,
13:47we relive,
13:48uh,
13:48one of the great
13:50playoff runs in history.
13:51Go through some of these games.
13:52Do it every day.
13:53Yeah.
13:54I walk around saying
13:55Braves Hall of Famer
13:56World Champion.
13:57Braves Hall of Famer
13:58World Champion.
13:59Brian Snicker
13:59live in studio
14:00Sports Radio
14:0192.9 The Game.
14:02Braves Hall of Famer