NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERS

October 20, 2021

Brian Snitker

Dodger Stadium

Atlanta Braves

Pregame 4 Press Conference

Q. With Chavez, is that influenced by the fact that, how many right-handers they have in their lineup?

BRIAN SNITKER: Yeah, I mean, it was kind of a, again, we'll just, I say have Jesse get it off the ground like he has before and it may be five hitters or six hitters or whatever it is, just to, like I say, just to get it off the ground like we've done in the past with him, so...

Q. What do you, what's your take on the evolution of all this? I mean, you go back so far in baseball and in terms of, I mean, 10 years ago you would have never thought about doing a bullpen game in the playoff. You go back to the old age of the Braves when they were in their run with the starting pitching they have, Cox would have never done it either.

BRIAN SNITKER: Yeah, I know. It is different. I mean, I've said before, I was raised in a culture that existed on starting pitching. I mean, that's just, all the way through my career and with the Atlanta Braves, and this is something, it's a new age and the fact that we have done it now a few times, it isn't such a big deal, I guess. I mean, we're kind of, we have navigated this before.

So I think that's good going forward. I don't think it's something that, especially in the National League, is easy to do. I think you would, I would obviously much rather have four starting pitchers at this point, but it's kind of where we're at and we have to adjust and adapt accordingly.

Q. To those, along those lines, you, yesterday when you left Morton in to hit and then he pitched well, continued to pitch well after that, it seems like there are parts of the way you manage that are, I was going to say more conventional, but today it might be less conventional because you maybe show more faith in guys or confidence and I'm wondering if that, how much that plays into the decisions you make.

BRIAN SNITKER: Yeah, well, some of those times, especially when you're on the road and it's the 4th inning and a lot of, you know, man, I just got three innings out of a really good starter and, yeah, and we're not, I don't know that we're built to do that all the time. I think we can get by with it every now and then.

But Charlie had kind of, yesterday's game, for instance, had kind of regrouped and it's almost like got his second wind a little bit after that first inning. I'm still amazed we got five innings out of him. It was phenomenal after what he went through in the first inning. And, yeah, and a lot of times it's more about that situation, just trying to maximize your starter the best you can.

Q. Will you replace Ynoa on the roster by tomorrow?

BRIAN SNITKER: That's something that the medical, they're all looking at all that right now, so I don't honestly know how that's going to play out today.

Q. The other question is, while you are going with an opener, is it safe to say if you did have the original four or five starters that you planned to be confident with, you would be going with a more conventional route of going with a starting pitcher?

BRIAN SNITKER: Yes, absolutely. Yeah.

Q. At what point in time did you know his shoulder was bothering him?

BRIAN SNITKER: It was actually just this afternoon. I mean, he had felt a little discomfort yesterday, but he kind of was like, you know, I should be good, and he came early, got treatment, went out and played a little catch and it was really tight, and it's like, we're just not going to take a chance.

So I don't know, like I say, they're evaluating him right now to see what the next step is.

Q. Have you seen guys, like back to Charlie again, like when you show faith in them, have you seen it sort of come back like it did yesterday and, again, like how, when you're assessing something, how much does that play?

BRIAN SNITKER: No, I think especially a guy like Charlie that has that ability, I think, to -- he grinded through that first inning, got out of it and then showed it was like, okay, and then things started ticking up again and velocity and the command of his breaking ball and the whole thing. Sometimes they start out and it's just, they're trying to get a feel for everything and but, yeah, I think I'm going to go the extra mile with a guy like Charlie, Max. You know, for instance the other day Ian I just didn't feel like it was going anywhere, that it was going to change. But I think with a guy like Charlie, with his experience, you hope that he can draw upon that. And you know the moment's not going to get to him, it's just it's going to be feel, touch, the physicality of it that he'll be able to rectify and get rolling again.