“It’s time for me to kind of pick my (expletive) up.”
Max Fried was happy the Braves completed another comeback win Saturday, though one wouldn’t know by his demeanor. He was disgusted they required one.
While teammates celebrated in a clubhouse that could’ve been confused for a nightclub, Fried sat solemnly at a table in the media room down the hallway, expressing his displeasure with another lackluster start.
Fried was eager to return to the mound after a disappointing season debut in which he recorded only two outs. His first home start Saturday, however, also began horribly. He surrendered six runs on seven hits in the first inning. He gutted through 4-1/3 frames overall, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on 10 hits.
In two outings, Fried has an 18.00 ERA while logging only five innings. The Braves won both games thanks to their offense and bullpen, but Fried demands far more from himself.
“Being frank, I have to be better,” Fried said. “This team has been playing so well. These guys are fighting, coming back after I put them in pretty big holes. It’s my job to go deep into games. I pride myself on that. In two starts, I’ve really only gotten into the fifth and had high pitch counts. That’s not acceptable for me.”
It’s too early to declare Fried any concern. It’s two starts of what he’ll hope is 30 or more. A call here or a ball dropping there could’ve changed his fortunes. And his resume speaks for itself. Conventional wisdom says he’ll get it sorted out soon.
The big-picture view centers on how desperately the Braves need Fried to consistently be his best, despite winning the past two outings when he wasn’t. Co-ace Spencer Strider has a damaged UCL and could miss significant time, perhaps the entire season. They could win the World Series without Strider - Lord knows, ‘21 was a lesson for everybody - but it’ll be more difficult without him. Others’ responsibilities increase, starting with the Braves’ long-time lefty.
This was already the most important season of Fried’s life, one that’s under a league-wide microscope with his free agency looming this winter. Strider’s absence only increases the team’s need for Fried to be his finest.
They need Fried to stay healthy and produce his best campaign. As marvelous as Fried has been, he’s only pitched 180 innings in a season once; this would be an ideal time for his second such campaign.
In a rotation of questions, he needs to be the unquestionable presence.
Strider was supposed to have the least injury risk in the team’s rotation. The postseason-minded Braves can’t afford for Fried to be injured or underwhelm, too. Chris Sale was always a higher-risk addition due to his limited availability in recent years (151 innings in four seasons). Charlie Morton, at age 40, can’t be relied upon as a workhorse. Other starters will fill in the gaps. The team probably won’t have the prospect pool to acquire whomever becomes the most coveted starter on the trade market.
Fried must be the Braves’ bona fide ace. Outside that November 2, 2021, evening in Houston, it could be argued the team has never needed him more, especially if you’re already looking ahead to October, which we’re all guilty of doing.
“You pray for the best for Spencer,” third baseman Austin Riley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Max has been in that position. He knows how to handle himself. Whatever happens, I know he’s going to step up in whatever role he needs to. So we’ll see.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
If this is indeed Fried’s final season here, it’s a chance to come through for this franchise one more time. Fried has constantly responded when needed. Remember the 2019 National League Division Series against the Cardinals? (Admittedly, most probably try not to.) He was the team’s not-so-secret weapon out of the bullpen.
In 2020, Fried – who’d assumed ace duties following Michael Soroka’s early injury – had a 3.04 ERA in four postseason outings as the Braves came within one game of a pennant. The following season, of course, Fried pitched the game of his life in Game 6 of the World Series, tossing six scoreless innings to help clinch the championship in Houston.
The ensuing summer, Fried earned his first All-Star appearance at Dodger Stadium, near his native Santa Monica. During that event, Riley, who’s played with Fried since 2016 in the minors, told The AJC: “I would pick Max in a Game 7 of the World Series. If I needed somebody (to start), I’d pick him. He’s a dog fighter, and he kicks it into another gear when he needs to. He’s the elite of the elite.”
Reminded of that comment Saturday, with the context of how much the Braves need Fried in the coming months, Riley echoed the same sentiment.
“There are guys who, when the big moments happen, they get in a different zone, a different mindset,” he said. “They step up. Max is one of those guys. … He’s a bulldog, for sure.”
In football terms, Fried needs to be more a Georgia Bulldog, not a Mississippi State one (apologies to Riley, a fan of the latter). We can credit Fried for getting through 4-1/3 innings Saturday when 1) he started so poorly and 2) his team was shorthanded pitching-wise.
“Frankly, the only thought was: Can’t really get much worse, so just go out there and keep going,” Fried said. He holds himself to a much greater standard. The Braves hold him to the same expectations, too.
That’s why there are no worries about Fried inside the building. If he’s healthy, everyone around him is certain he’ll rectify “the little things,” as he’s said, that’ve plagued him.
“It’s something that happens,” catcher Travis d’Arnaud said. “It sucks that it was the first two starts of the season. There’s not much you can do but keep moving forward. Fortunately for him, he was able to get out of the first inning and got on a little roll there, so I think that was big for him to get out of the first inning.
“It’s part of a 162-game year. From a short perspective, it looks terrible because it happened the first two games of the year. But it’s 162 days. He’s been here before. He knows what he needs to do. All of us still have faith in him and nobody is worried.”
It’s the year of Max Fried. And it’ll be fascinating to see how it progresses.
