Back to Back Wins Via Multiple Back To Back Homers Is A Nice Way To End July

00:00:23
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Hammi Territory Podcast. My name is Sean Coleman. Hope, wherever you are and wherever you are listening, you were having a great week and it should be a great week. The Braves have won four out of five games, four wins against teams that right now are looking to be in the playoffs with the Braves, and it's an opportunity to talk some positive Braves baseball, and of course that means it's gonna be a lot of fun talking with my podcast partner Steven Tolbert. Stephen, how are you this evening, sir, It's good to talk with you with the Braves playing some good baseball.

00:00:54
Speaker 2: Yeah, what's up, Sean? Yeah, four out of five after you know, after what I would call the low point of the season. I think that's fair.

00:01:04
Speaker 3: You know, they had lost six in a row after those first two games in New York, and the vibes were at an all time low.

00:01:10
Speaker 2: There was some pretty horrific losses in there. So to win the last two in New York, take two out of three in Milwaukee against a good team, a playoff caliber team, that's big. I mean, that's you know, that's that's really really flipping the script because it was going off the rails quick and the Braves actually lost control of the top wild card spot for a day there. They were actually all the way down to third I think. So yeah, good, really good bounce back against New York and Milwaukee, like you said, to playoff caliber teams.

00:01:48
Speaker 3: Now we get to go home. Schedule lightens up a little bit, so yeah, good vibes.

00:01:53
Speaker 2: We're gonna talk about it, but yeah, we're it's a Tonight's going to be a positive vibes podcast.

00:02:00
Speaker 1: Absolutely, And of course Hammer Territory is part of the Foul Territory family of podcast Make sure if you haven't been able to catch up on all the great content in this week from Hammer Territory and Foul Territory. Plenty of reaction, plenty of coverage. When it came to the twenty twenty four MLB trade deadline, will discuss the Braves, you know, loan trade a little bit later on in the episode, but first, Steven, let's talk about Chris Sale. And the thing about it is this is that you know, a lot of our podcasts that we've discussed are either you know, we won because Chris Sale was absolutely dominant or we lost despite an absolutely outstanding performance from Chris Sale well in this game. This actually was an instance to where Chris Sale definitely had one of the worst starts that he's had in the game this season, but he was able. He didn't have his best stuff. He definitely was not as in much of a dominant groove as we've seen so far this year, but he was able to manage through it and get the job done to where he was able to keep the Braves in the game working out.

00:02:55
Speaker 3: Of some jams.

00:02:56
Speaker 1: But the big key is that in a playoff type game, him and Freddie Peralta easily could be a playoff pitching matchup. In a playoff type game, even without his best stuff, Chris Sales showed he's still more than capable of putting the Braves in a position to win. And that is definitely reassuring.

00:03:13
Speaker 3: Yeah, he did. I mean, like you said, it wasn't his best start. He gave up two runs obviously, just like right off the jump, I think the first three or four hitters of the game all got on base. He was in a jam immediately.

00:03:24
Speaker 2: You know, the Braves were down to nothing, and you know, honestly, after some of the other games he's pitched where he's only gotten one or zero runs of support. I mean, you were already kind of like, oh man, is this gonna be one of those games where they lose two to nothing. But you know, credit to the offense, and we're gonna talk about the offense on this show, but you know, they they kind of you know, the offense owes Chris a few of these where he doesn't have his best game and they bail him out. And I mean, he wasn't bad today by the church. I think he went like six innings and gave up three earned runs. You know, that's bad for him, but you know, for a lot of guys, they would take that every time. But yeah, it wasn't his best game, and he actually gave up to earn runs now that I think about it, you gaus Milwaukee on they scored two, So again that's six innings to earned runs. That's that's pretty damn good for one of your bad games, to be quite honest.

00:04:17
Speaker 3: But the offense built him out, which was huge.

00:04:20
Speaker 2: A lot of momentum in this game, you know, win the series. Now you're going home against Miami, are very depleted Miami team, like you just keep the vibes going. So yeah, it wasn't sales best. But after that rocky first he settled in. He gave him, you know, he gave him a pretty solid start, he kept him in the game, and the offense was able to jump on and you know and actually build a pretty good sized lead and make it a pretty easy win.

00:04:44
Speaker 1: Absolutely, and that's the thing that stands out. You know, we talked about the fact that, you know, the Braves have won four out of five games, and you know, when we typically talk about that, they've gotten some good pitching. But of course the other big thing that is really stood out is that the Braves offense is going once again, and that's what they were looking for at the trade deadline. Of course, the lone trade deadline edition that the Braves added was Hoegey Celaire to the offense and then of course Luke Jackson to the bullpen, and and we talked about it extensively, Steven. Going into the trade deadline, the Braves are really looking for three things. They were looking for added power. They were looking for somebody that can get on base, and if that person could produce out of the lead off spot, that was a bonus I don't think there was a better singular source that could help out in all three of those areas than Jorge Celaire. But the other thing that I think stands out. We talked about the home runs with Celaire, we talk about getting the big home runs in big moments, But to me, the biggest thing about Solaire, especially compared to the outfielders we were trotting out, there was just a frequency at which he could have productive at bats. He didn't have a hit on Monday, he didn't or in today's game on Wednesday he didn't have a home run, but we saw in that seventh inning he was able to work a key walk that got Austin Riley up there to win, to lead to a game winning hit or to a go ahead hit. That to me is what stands out. The power is great, that you know, delivering in big moments is great, But the one key that we saw today, even when he didn't have a good game overall, Orgeesler having productive at bats in big moments is probably the biggest reason why the Braves went and got him, and where he's going to be able the most able to add the most value as this season goes along.

00:06:22
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean he's always walked, like that's always been a part of his game. We talked about it on the on the show we did the bro the emergency podcast we did right after the trade broke.

00:06:32
Speaker 3: Is that he's always walked.

00:06:34
Speaker 2: And you know, if you look at the Braves walk rate, especially after Acunya or you know, since Acunya has been out, it's one of the worst in baseball, you know, as a team, and especially the outfield is probably the worst in baseball.

00:06:49
Speaker 3: Uh, they you know, the Brais are just really.

00:06:51
Speaker 2: Struggled to take walks and you know, Solaire's been running about a fifteen percent walk crate for the last month or so. So yeah, it's a huge I mean, Alex talked about it and his zoom call. You know, they were looking for on base. They were looking for somebody who can get on base at the top of the lineup because with Riley Ozuna and Nelsen right behind him, like, you know, we need to turn some of these solo home runs into two and three run homers to you know, to increase some of these margins. And you're not always gonna hit four home runs in a game, you know, sometimes you're all gonna hit one or two, and you know, sometimes you need those to be two and three run homers instead of solo home runs because that might be the all the offense you get, especially in the playoffs.

00:07:30
Speaker 3: So yeah, it's big.

00:07:31
Speaker 2: I mean walks on base. I think it's probably the most underrated part of Ronald's game. Everybody talks about the power in the in the stolen bases, but my personally, my favorite part of Ronald's game is he always runs like a four hundred on base percentage, and you know, as a leadoff guy, that just adds so much to your lineup. It just it sets the table for everybody else. And it's what the Braves missed the most when Acuna went out, and that's why they went and got Sol there, because you know, he's.

00:07:57
Speaker 3: Not Acunya all the way around.

00:07:58
Speaker 2: But he can get on base, he can take walks, he'll get his hits, he can get on base, and that's gonna be major going forward and in a you know, hopefully into October as well.

00:08:10
Speaker 4: Hey ftfam, it's Alana Riso. I can't stop talking about viewory. Viewery is perfect if you are sick and tired of traditional old workout gear, I wear Viewery in all settings, not just in the gym, because honestly, it's comfier than whatever you're currently wearing.

00:08:25
Speaker 1: No joke.

00:08:26
Speaker 5: I'm wearing Beory daily leggings right now. They're high waisted with the drawstring and cupped ankles. They look good and they feel great. You're gonna love them. Viewory is an investment in your happiness for our listeners, they are offering twenty percent off your first purchase. Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at vieory dot com slash foul. That's Vuo Rii dot com slash foul. Not only will you receive twenty percent off your first purchase, but enjoy free shipping on any US orders over seventy five dollars and free returns. Go to view dot com slash foul and discover the versatility of Viewry clothing.

00:09:05
Speaker 1: And that's the two things that we'll focus on, because the defining I think the two biggest characteristics of last year that made our offense historical, well, there were three characteristics really. One was how historic we were at getting runs in the first inning. The second is how good we were at hitting home runs, obviously tying you know, the team record for most home runs.

00:09:23
Speaker 3: In the season.

00:09:23
Speaker 1: But third was the ability to turn the lineup over and I think that that's been one of the more underrated drastic differences between this year and last year. If you compare all MLB teams when their leadoff hitter is up with runners in scoring position up through today's game, the Braves were twenty eighth in such scenarios in the majors with an eighty one WRC plus. This season, Jorg Silaire in those scenarios has a one to seventy one WRC plus. So that is what's going to be such a huge, huge benefit to this lineup. It's the ability to once again trust the fact that when the leadoff hitter comes up, especially at the bottom of the order, can produce, that lead off hitter is either going to drive runs in or connect us to our other best hitters to drive runs in for multiple scoring opportunities for the big innings that we've been lacking all season long. Again, Stephen, we're getting back the aspects that made our offense so successful last year, and if the bottom of the order can produce like we're seeing Orlando Arcia, do we can once again. I'm not saying we'll have as complete one as we did last year, but we're showing signs that the lineup is starting to get complete once again. At the right time.

00:10:35
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, adding Solari just gives you more talent at the bottom of the lineup too, right, because like you know, we need to give Orlando Arcia's shout out. Like you just said, he's been, you know, on his best streak of the season by far. He's been getting hits, he's been hitting for some power. But now you have Kelnick down there at the bottom of the lineup because Solaira is now at the top. So you know, he's certainly capable. You know, Mayfield is a major league caliber player. You know, he signed an eight million dollar contract in the in the winter, you know, because he's got talent.

00:11:07
Speaker 3: And you know, you take those guys and Mayfield.

00:11:11
Speaker 2: And Kundt of go speed, which is another aspect I like at the bottom of the lineup. So yeah, you turn those guys over into you know, your Big four now, which is Solier at Riley.

00:11:19
Speaker 3: Ozunan Olsen, then you can do a lot.

00:11:24
Speaker 2: I mean, you can do a ton with that and you know, that's that's gonna be the briatest formula, you know, the keeping the pitching healthy and getting you know, their top four some big chances in games and hoping they come through. I mean, that's gonna be the formula going forward. But yeah, it's it's it's just good to have more talent. Quite honestly, that was my biggest takeaway from the trade deadline is they added talent. Like there's just more talent in the lineup, and there's more talent coming, you know, when Michael Harrison and Ozzy Albi's get back.

00:11:54
Speaker 3: So yeah, it's a big deal and hopefully this can be the start of something. You know, I'm.

00:12:03
Speaker 2: I'm optimistic. I'm cautiously optimistic, I'll say, because we've seen this before with the offense gets going a little bit and then it feels like, okay, they're gonna get going, and then they hit like a crater. So I'm I'm not fully ready to say we're back, like we're now we're gonna get rolling. But this feels good. It feels like they're on a little bit of a roll. They've got a soft schedule coming up. You know, this could be the start of kind of a big push if they if they can keep it going.

00:12:30
Speaker 1: And of course, part of the way to keep that going is that, you know, hey, it's great to be able to create run scoring opportunities, creating converting those runs scoring opportunities by having the deeper lineup, but nothing beats hitting the home run. And we've seen that the Braves are now starting to get the frequency of the home run up as well. For instance, in their first sixty seven games this season, basically through June fifteenth, the Braves hit three plus home runs five times. In their first sixty seven games this season. The Braves have hit three plus home run Stephen seven times in their last eleven games. So the power is starting to return as well. Now, whether that or not that has to deal with the baseball, you know, we'll see. But I think more than anything, it's just finally the Braves are starting to see the results of their efforts paid off. Even coming into Monday's game of this week, they were first in an average exit velocity second and barrel percentage second, hard hit percentage. The efforts the activities that you need to do to hit the ball hard to lead two power, the Braves have consistently done. They're just finally starting to see the results. For instance, Matt Olson and Travis Darnaut became the third pair of Braves teammates to go back to back multiple times in a game, first time since a Hobby low Pez and Andrew Jones did it in nineteen ninety eight. From McGriffin. David Justice also did it in nineteen ninety three. But there's a key name in there that you said was going to be the biggest factor and if the Braves could turn it around and get back to their normal level of playing baseball, and that's Matt Olson returning to be Matdilson. You start you talk talk about more talent in the lineup. I think part of that equation is the current talent that we have playing two it's expected level, and we're seeing once again Matt Olsen.

00:14:09
Speaker 2: Is doing that. Yeah, the the outputs are starting to match the inputs a little bit. You know, the Braves all year have like you said, they've led the league in hard hit rate, they led the league in you know, average ex velocity, top five in barrel rate. Like we're starting to actually see the results that should come with those type of inputs, like the outputs are finally matching. But I want to make two points, and one of them is very obvious. And I've tweeted about this a lot, and we've talked about this a lot. But if Matt Olsen is going to wake up, like if if he's actually going to do this and it looks like he's doing it, there is no there is no bigger factor.

00:14:49
Speaker 3: There's no bigger, bigger variable.

00:14:53
Speaker 2: To the rest of the season than Matt becoming Matt Olsen again, like he is their weapon and gets right handed pitching right handed is what they struggle the most against, and he is the equalizer for that problem because he is a left handed just absolute masher. And if he wakes up, if this is like the start of a big second half for him, there is no bigger there is no bigger variable for the Braves other than maybe the health of their starting rotation. I would probably put that one. But just behind that is Matt Olson, Like he is that important because they have such you know, because they are so right handed dominant. The big, big left handed bat in the middle of that order, which is Olsen, matters so much more. So That's my first point, is that Matt Olson is critical. My second point is this, and I'm gonna I'm gonna ask you, Sean, there is a storyline this year that has gone way under the radar and way underappreciated.

00:15:51
Speaker 3: Do you know what I'm talking about? Do you have any idea what I'm about to say right now?

00:15:56
Speaker 1: I'm gonna let you say it. At the beginning of the year, I was gonna say the d but I'm interested to see what you considered to be.

00:16:02
Speaker 3: It's not the defense, it's not the defense. There is a player, but we have not given we have not given nearly enough.

00:16:11
Speaker 1: Respect to Travis Darna.

00:16:13
Speaker 2: Has Travis Darna there? It is Travis Darnaut has a one twenty three WRC plus this year as a catcher, and he has catched on you know, he's caught a lot of games with you know, Sean Murphy being hurt and then you know, they've gone more of a fifty to fifty split here lately. And Travis Darnaul has been awesome, like awesome. I mean, we've talked a lot about how Marcelo Zuna has carried this lineup. Travis Darnaut has really been there all year. Just for some reason, I don't know why. And you know we're to blame as well, because you know, we have a podcast and we talk about this team every day. He just doesn't get talked about, and we need to change that. Travis Darnau has been unbelievable. Get two more homewers today. You know, he's got I think he's got nine or ten homers for the year. Again, he's got a one twenty three WRC plus as a catcher. You know, the bar for hitting for catchers is so low that anything above one hundred is good, So a one twenty three is crazy good. And I just I, you know, we need to give Travis Darnault his flowers because he has been unbelievable this year, and you know, he has been you know, he hasn't been as consistent as Marcelo Zuna, but it hasn't been that far behind Marcello Zuna, and he doesn't get talked about nearly as much as Zuna does. So you know, Matt Olsen of course is the big key, but you know, we need to give Travis Darnaut a little bit more credit than we probably have so far this year because he's been.

00:17:39
Speaker 1: Unbelievable, absolutely, and you know the fact that he stays ready. He is one of the things that you know, just absolutely stands out. It's it absolutely is Such a huge key is that, you know, he had that weekend. I want to say it was against the Brewers earlier this year, but I don't think he was. It may have been against the It maybe get someone else because we played the Brewers again in a few days. But he had that big weekend where he, you know, I believe he hit three home runs in a game, four home runs in a weekend. It was at a needed time where we, you know, had to get some wins.

00:18:09
Speaker 3: That was the Rangers.

00:18:10
Speaker 1: I think, yeah, there we go. It was the Rangers. It was against the Rangers. And then of course he had this. But the big key about that is this is that Travis Darnaut has this ability to take over a game. He can win a game. Not a lot of players with his level of playing time as a part time player can multiple times a season single handedly win you a game. You put that ability of his with the fact that, hey, stat show he's one of the most productive catchers in the postseason in Major League Baseball history. I don't think it's far fetched to say that at least in the bat There may even be a game where Travis Darnau may play a big role in helping us this postseason. But we'll see how that plays out. But Steven don't want to get to Another thing that kind of emerged today is the fact that you know the Braves now they've won four out of five against two playoff caliber opponents. There are three teams right now in the National League that have winning records win playing opponents who have a five hundred or better record. The only three teams that have a winning record in the National League against opponents with the winning record are the Dodgers, the Phillies, and the Braves. And the Braves have played fifteen more such games than the Phillies and the Dodgers. What I'm trying to say is this is that people can talk about how our offense has fallen off, and it certainly has. All this and all that, but two things that this tells me. Number one are pitching has consistently proven it can make noise in the difference in a playoffs. Our pitching itself is good enough to make a run to the World Series. But if you now add our offense just having flashes of what it's truly capable of. To go with that pitching, you clearly have the team that's there with the Phillies and the Dodgers as the three biggest strets to the Opennate. So I don't want to put too much emphasis on that stat about our record against winning teams, but I will say that if we're showing the signs of life offensively to go with our pitching and the fact that we've got a pretty easy schedule coming up in August, the time is now to make some noise and make a run to make this season even better than some may anticipate.

00:20:21
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, let's be honest, Like what's held the Braves back this year is not being able to beat good teams. Like they've won both series against Philadelphia. They you know, they just won a series in Milwaukee. They went to the New York and beat the Yankees two out of three. Like, what's held this team back is they've had a hard time beating the bad teams. You know, they're I think they're I think they were like two and six against Washington this year or something like that. They went one and two against the White Sox. They lost two games to the White Sox, who were probably the worst, maybe the worst team in the history of baseball. You know, they've had trouble with the Marlins at times, like you know, and that's why this next stretch of games where the Braves schedule.

00:21:02
Speaker 3: Gets very easy, it does. It gets very easy.

00:21:05
Speaker 2: They play the Marlins, they play the Rockies, some bad teams who just got worse because they traded with some players. Like that's why this stretch is so important. The Braves need to take care of business against bad teams. You know, Philadelphia built that big lead in the first half because they played so many games against terrible teams. But now only did they play the games against terrible teams, they won those games. And that's where the Braves have stumbled a bit this year. And that's why I'm very interested to how they come out in the series. You know, they're about to go home and play four against Miami. Miami just traded its entire roster. I mean, like, you're not going to recognize eighty percent of the players that Miami plays in this series, and that means you need to win three out of four, like the Braves need at the very least need to win three out of four this weekend. They don't need to split at home against the terrible Miami team. They certainly don't need to lose the series. They need at the bare minimum to win three out of four and keep this role going. And if they want to win all four, that'd be great too. But you know, it's the losing to bad team stuff that needs to quit now, Like they need to start really making a run. They haven't really had a big run yet this year, except right at the beginning of the year. You know, they've got some very very winnable games coming up. Philadelphia's going on the road, and it got a very tough schedule, especially early in August. Like, now's the time go beat the bad teams. Go beat the teams you're supposed to beat, and get on a roll.

00:22:33
Speaker 1: And as Steven alluded to, there's no better time, literally no better time than now for that run to start. Because now with the trade deadmine passed us, let's kind of reset the scene where the Braves are in the standings. You know, we've consistently talked about despite all their struggles, you know, the two week the hot two week stretch or three week stretch they had at the beginning of the season has kind of been what's held the Braves afloat, you know, with the fact that basically for the past what three months, they play a few games under five hundred. But going into August now, the Phillies have won four out of their last era I think they're four and eleven. In their last fifteen games, they have lost five straight series, and the reason why is because they dealt with a bit of injury issues. But their schedule has been tough as nails as well, and they've struggled against swinning teams. But here is how the Braves and Phillies line up going into the month of August. Right now, the Braves are six and a half games back of the Phillies. If you go back, I believe two weeks ago they were ten games back, six back in the in the lost column. But when it comes to their schedules, that's what really stands out. The Phillies through the month of August. They're gonna be on the road in Seattle versus on the road versus the Dodgers, and on the road versus Arizona. They didn't have the Marlins and Nationals in the middle of the month, but then at the end of the month, they prayed to play the Braves twice, and in between those games. Between those two series with the Braves, they also play Kansas City in Houston. Basically through the end of August, the Phillies are gonna consistently be playing playoff worthy teams. The Braves, on the other hand, are gonna have things lighten up a bit their next four or against the Marlins. Then they play the Brewers again, but then after that the Rockies, the Giants, the Angels before they face the Phillies. Steven, what I'm getting at is we're seeing this set up. When we got Jorgeselaier back in twenty twenty one, in his first twenty games after we got him, the Braves went seventeen and three. I'm not saying they're gonna go on that type of run. I am saying the Braves have been there before twenty twenty one to win the East twenty twenty two, to come back on the Mets again. Not saying it's gonna happen again. But I am saying a golden opportunity to make it a chance to happen again is right in front of them. And if this offense can keep going. They're gonna take advantage of it.

00:24:55
Speaker 3: Yep, yep.

00:24:56
Speaker 2: And you know it's not a it's not a definitive thing yet. But the if you look at the probable starters for the Miami Series, it's gonna be Morton on Thursday and then schwelling'black on Friday. But then they have TBAs listed for Saturday and Sunday, And based on the reporting, based on the schedules, it's very possible that Ronaldo Lopez pitches on Saturday and Max Freed actually comes back in pitches on Sunday. It's not a definite thing. They haven't announced that they're still listed as tvas, but it's very possible. You have you know, your you know, all of your normal starters in this Miami Series going. And that's again, I'll say it again, the Braves need to win at least three of these games like that. The losing to bad team stuff needs to stop. Miami has decimated its team. They traded away everybody you know. You potentially have you know four of your best five going. Uh Sales going to miss the series obviously because he pitched today. But if if you have Morton schwellingbout. You know, Ronaldo and Max pitching the four games at home against a terrible team, you need to win three of those. Like it's just that simple, and you know a sweep would be fantastic. So yeah, I mean, I agree, this is the time, like the Phillies have faltered. They're finally facing really tough teams for the first time consistently, and they've shown that they're not maybe the greatest team of all time like they look like in April and May when they had a you know, seven to fifty winning percentage. Now that the schedule has gotten tougher and they're actually playing real teams consistently, you know, they're going through their struggles, so you know, and the Braves have a very favorable schedule in the next few weeks, so go get it, like make it a race. I don't really care about winning the division, but I do care about playing well, and you know, go make Philly earn it. And the Braves still play Philly seven more times, you know, obviously they're down six and a half games. That technically means the Braves still control their own destiny. You know, if you've got seven head to head games left you're only down by six in terms of the standings. That means you control your own death team. And the Braves have it all in front of them, and they have an easy schedule. Phillies have a tough schedule. You know, go take care of business, Go win the games you're supposed to win against bad teams. And you know, when you get to these head to head games against Philly, you know you're not gonna be ten games back. You might only be two or three games back, because again, Philly's got a.

00:27:18
Speaker 3: Really tough schedule.

00:27:19
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's a it's a really important I mean, this is the time the trade deadlines passed, this is the team that you're gonna have.

00:27:26
Speaker 1: It's time to go, and the Braves really don't have a choice but to go because even mole Philly may be coming into more of a clearer focus for this team to go after it. And I'm like you, I would love to win the division. It would be it would be a fun development, but you know it's not necessarily. You know, playing well and staying healthy are the two top things for me. But the breaks when I say they have no choice to play well, is that while they're going after Philly. They also may not necessarily be looking in the rear view, Mirra, but there are obviously plenty several teams who still have designs on wild card spots in the NAT League. And we're to the point. The reason why the Braves are in this position to have a chance to go after Philly now, is this past two week stretch where Philly went four and eleven. One bad two week stretch or one bad or one really good two week stretch for the rest of the season could really define the playoff chances for a National League team. And you've got the you got the Mets, the Padres, the Diamondbacks, the Cardinals, not to mention many others who are right on the Braves. Heels the Braves right now a game up in wild card, but the Braves are also just two and a half spots out of being out of the playoffs completely. One of the things that helps out the Braves again have one of the easier schedules that are out there, and it's hard to say other teams are going to have a better crop of reinforcements coming back than Michael Harris the second and potentially Ozzy Alby's. But the thing that stands out for the Braves is that they know they need to get in the right mindset. The power coming back is huge. But the other thing that stands out is that there's you can't rest on your laurels, you can't be streaky. You've got to win consistently because this National League race for even the wild card positions is crowded as can be.

00:29:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, we've talked about how mediocre the National League has been this year and kind of.

00:29:11
Speaker 3: Slowly but surely that has has ceased to be the case.

00:29:15
Speaker 2: Like, you know, you look at Atlanta of course, as the top bald card team, they've got a five to forty two winning percentage. Just behind them, Arizona and San Diego are tied at a five thirty.

00:29:25
Speaker 3: Two winning percentage.

00:29:27
Speaker 2: You know, they're both fifty eight and fifty one. The Mets are right behind them at fifty seven and fifty one. Saint Louis is right behind them at fifty six and fifty two. So all of a sudden, you know, it was hard for a long time, it was hard to find it more than two or three National League teams that were were above five hundred. Well, now you got one, two, three, four five. You got six teams in the wild card Hunt Braves, Diamondbacks, Padres, Mets, Cardinals, and even the Pirates.

00:29:52
Speaker 3: The Pirates are fifty five and fifty two and one to three in a row, and they had it at the deadline. They went and got Da La Cruz and some other guys.

00:30:00
Speaker 2: So, you know, the kind of the mediocre National League wild Card racist has suddenly not you know, become not so mediocre. And yeah, like you said, the Rais don't have a lot of room to play around here because you know, at this point, when it's this close, it doesn't even take two weeks one bad series, I mean one bad you know, seven games stretch and you could find yourself multiple games out of a playoff spot.

00:30:26
Speaker 3: So yeah, they gotta go.

00:30:28
Speaker 2: I mean, there's just no other choice. They want to hunt down Philly, they got to go. And if they want to stay in the playoffs, you know, in a playoff spot, they got to go because they got teams right on their tail.

00:30:38
Speaker 1: Absolutely, And the great thing about it is is that with the power coming back with so they're being back in the lineup, us getting healthier again, us being able to go, just that ability to be able to do that. I think it's going to be easier as time goes on. But Steven, it's been a lot of fun just being able to talk about, you know, some good play for the Braves, a lot of positive things. Again, as you mentioned, want to be cautiously optimistic about it, because again, you know, you're always one injury away, especially with this team of things kind of you know, dampening down or watering down in terms of your excitement. But overall, I think we're trending in a good direction and I'm certainly here and going to be excited to cover it with you and Scott and Brad as we go into a month of August where we really could make the most of a good schedule. But as we wrap up this edition of the Hammer Territory Podcast, anything else that you.

00:31:24
Speaker 2: Have to add, No, I want to give a shout out to our fans. We had the biggest day and our you know, our podcast history. On deadline Day, we had you know, as many downloads as we've ever had. Obviously, the Emergency podcast was solaried, it was a big part of that, but in our short history, that was the biggest day we've ever had, So big shout out to you guys for downloading and listening, and you know, we of course we try to say it every show, but we are unbelievably appreciative of the support that we've been given. Big thanks to the foul Tare guys who are constantly, you know, coming alongside us and assisting us with anything we need. You know, they've been unbelievable to work with and have helped us tremendously, So big shout out to them, big shout out to the fans.

00:32:12
Speaker 3: We're just we're very grateful for all the support, and.

00:32:16
Speaker 1: The content is only going to keep coming. Special guests who will talk with us perhaps here in the near future about the state of the Braves farm system after the draft and the trade deadline, where the Braves stand for the rest of the season, and some other fun sources of content coming your way in the near future to go along with what hopefully will be better play from the Braves overall. For Stephen Tolbart, you can find him at b Undersquare Outliers on Twitter, myself at Stat's sac on Twitter, the Hammer Territory podcast across all forms of social media at Hammer Territory, and of course part of the foul Teller Territory family of podcasts all across social media as well. For Steven Tobart, my name is Sean Coleman. We'll talk to you again soon here on The Hammer Territory podcast