Like, do you think that, like, kind of brought some joy back to him? 'Cause he's been a hell of a player for you guys again this year.

You know what the biggest difference is, Trev, for me, is that there was a period at the start of the year where his back stiffened up, and over the last two years he's had to go on the IL for three, four, five weeks, and missing that much live pitching, it just sets you back.

This year, he got hurt early on, or sore early on, and he played through it.

He got some at bats at the DH spot.

He was able to continue to, to see live pitching, and I think that's helped him out.

He's been so consistent all year long.

He had a tough June, like everybody in the Braves lineup did, but as far as consistency goes, he's been around that 300 level, that 290 level, with an 800 OPS all year long.

I guess, and throw the Snakes in there as well.

Of course, it looks like, you know, of course, the Brewers, the Cubs, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Dodgers, either the Padres or the Diamondbacks.

Right now, I'm looking at the Brewers as the team to beat in the National League just because you look at someone like the Cubs and there's been ebbs and flows in their season where they've gone on two 10-game losing streaks and they've still managed to be where they are.

It just feels like Milwaukee never goes through the extended slumps, whether it be on one side, whether it's pitching or whether it's offensively.

There's never an extended slump with that team because of the style of baseball that they play.

They're able to get themselves through slumps and through slower periods by playing some small ball, and they're always going to pitch, as you know.

The Padres have had our number over the last couple of years, it feels like.

So that would be a dangerous team if they're able to sneak into the playoffs.

What is most important for the Braves as they move forward in your mind?

What do you make of, of Bryce and his evolution?

So I have a theory that I think that, you know, Braves fans have, for some reason, have a bad taste in their mouth, uh, for what Bryce has done over h- the early part of his career when there was some struggles and, you know, he, he had kind of had to be thrown into the rotation out of necessity.

Uh, and Braves country didn't like that.

He still did a serviceable job.

But I think the Bryce that we've seen since about three-quarters of the way through last year until this point is the, the real Bryce.

And if that's the Bryce that shows up every five days, you know he's gonna show up every five days.

It's the other thing that I think he's just so honorable, so, so valuable.

Uh, why do you think that is?

Um, what's been the biggest change?

Uh, I think, honestly, there has been, until the last couple of weeks, it's been the health of everybody.

Everybody seems to be in fairly good health.

Uh, even the likes of your Ozzie Albies, who somehow will foul a ball off every part of his body and still continue to play, but he's had a level of health.

And I think Walt Weiss has brought a different kind of energy from the get-go.

Um, I think there's been some obvious frustrations around the team over the last couple of years, and I think it's just all come to a head this year.

Walt's t- taken over.

Yeah

So what have you seen the difference? 'Cause he is walking a little more, but beyond that, what are you seeing in Michael that has turned this season into maybe an All-Star campaign?

I think there's a balance to his swing.

The movement with his head stays so still throughout the whole swing, and I point to the long West Coast road trip where he had a little bit of a quad, uh, issue, and instead of going on the IL, they decided to have him fight through that and still DH and still get his at-bats and still be, you know, putting together a consistent consistency of plate appearances where he didn't have to spend a couple of weeks trying to fight back, and I think that's allay- allowed him to maintain that level of consistency that we've been waiting for from Michael.

He's still only 24 years old.

He's just been around for so long and, and we've seen him show flashes that this isn't a surprise to me, and I, I remember speaking to Snit all the way back when he first came up to the big league level, and Snit was raving about the bat to ball skills, and it's like somebody that he'd never seen.

He, he called him a future Hall of Famer at the, out of the gate, which is something you don't hear Snit do.

So I just think we're seeing the, the maturity of a baseball player right in front of our eyes.

I just wanna remember or hear some of your remembrances about that 2010 season and the last go-round for the late Bobby Cox.