High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - BONUS High Hopes Hour with Joe Giglio
Episode Date: April 7, 2022It's a bonus edition of the High Hopes Pod as James and Jack join Joe Giglio for his annual Phillies Roundtable Show. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.a...udacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Joe Giglio with you.
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And one of my favorite nights of the entire year on the evening show
starts right now.
For the next four hours, we have our Phillies Roundtable Show.
And how about that?
We got the claps in here.
I gave myself two extra minutes. We broke early,
so it was more Jack time.
That is the most believable thing
I've ever heard. Hey, guys, we gotta break
early, alright? Just so you know. There's extra
commercials. We need to get on time at 6. Now we're
here at 5.58. Alright, well, listen, we're excited.
As you can hear, James Seltzer,
Jack Fritz are here. The High Hopes Hour.
And we get to start
off with you guys. We got the energy right away. The High Hopes Podcast is here for the next hour. Jack Fritz, here, the High Hopes Hour, and we get to start off with you guys. We've got the energy right away.
The High Hopes Podcast is here for the next hour.
Jack Fritz, James Seltzer, 215-592-9494 if you want to hop in and join us.
As we got to get set, we are two days away from opening day.
So let's just start with this.
Are you going to make it, Jack?
How's the excitement level?
Where are you right now?
Well, dude, I mean, I got to be honest.
I'm seeing them hit five dingers today.
And, of course, my first thought is, like, can we save some of this for the regular season?
I don't think anything's going to change.
Like, I need it to be Friday at 3.05.
I've already called it now.
I mean, Schwarber's leading off the game.
Just like McCutcheon did?
McCutcheon, yeah.
It's going to end well.
It's going to end better.
No, no, but that was a fun moment.
It was a great moment.
I had chills sitting here.
I almost started tearing up.
So am I handling this well, Joe?
No, I'm not.
Because I need to see how good they're going to be.
They're doing the whole spring training thing.
It's great.
They're hitting all these home runs.
I just need the real thing.
I need to see if they're good.
I need to know they're good.
I need to figure out what they're bad at.
I need to see if I need to buy a Mickey Moniac jersey.
There's a lot going on in this.
Yeah, my guess is you're going to have a Moniac jersey.
James, excitement level.
So two days from right now, let's say it's the ninth inning,
eighth or ninth inning, two days from right now.
We're all excited.
They're up on the A's.
But where are you right now?
Give me your excitement level as we're almost there.
Well, as excited as I am, which is very excited.
I always pailing it.
That's like the dynamic of the IOWS podcast.
I'm excited.
Jack is 10 times more excited.
I can't wait, man.
Honestly, like we've kind of done this thing the last few years,
ever since the Harper signing.
It's been like, all right, we're really excited about this.
We talk ourselves into it.
Yes.
And they let us down.
And they let us down.
And they let us down.
This year, it feels like the excitement is warranted.
Like, this feels real.
They went over the frickin' tax, man.
What have we talked about for years?
I listened to your podcast right after they signed Castellanos.
I was going for a run, and you opened your podcast, and you were just screaming.
And I almost fell down.
Like, I almost tripped because you were so excited. All all right let's start with the thing I think we're all
on board with they're gonna hit oh buddy okay so we will debate how good they are based on the
pitching defense depth how good is the offense gonna be Jack I got in the car today yes I heard
the the take that Jack likes to roll out I would say once every few months better than the 2008
better than the 08 offense yeah we all know all know the take. Right around this time.
How good is this offense?
So they haven't scored 800 runs in a season since 09.
That was the last time they scored 800 runs.
Correct.
Which was their offensively, numbers-wise, their best offense ever in terms of numbers.
Yep.
224 with the Homers is the most.
They had a lot that year.
I think last year seven teams got to 800.
Are they getting to 800 runs?
Because that feels like the number.
Like, if you're at 800, you're a really good offense.
If they don't get to 800, something went wrong.
I mean, it's not even – I don't even think it's hyperbolic.
Hyperbolic.
Hyperbolic.
It's all Mark's fault.
Like, with the whole regenerative.
That's not an easy word.
Yeah, I know.
Well, the whole show is just screwed up now. Wait until I on tomorrow he's gonna mess that up but um it's just like
i think one through six it's it's a combination of really good eyes i mean i think i think
schwerber is a good eye yep jt's a little bit more aggressive but harper's gonna work pitchers
castellanos like i feel like he's gonna foul 1,000 pitches and then get a pitch he can kind of strike on.
Hoskins, we know what he does well.
You know, and then Didi, Segura.
Like, they all work pitchers really, really well.
So it's just going to be a grind for these guys to consistently keep the
Phillies offense down.
Now, it's all health related.
If they can stay healthy, I think 800 runs is definitely in the mix here.
But what's nice about this team is last year,
I bring up that Braves series a lot.
They went to Atlanta last year, three games out,
and Jorge Bonifacio was in the five hole,
and Brad Miller is playing first base.
Travis Jankowski leading off.
Oduble was leading off a couple of those games.
And it's just like even if they lose one of those guys,
you have Schwarber to step up.
You have Castellanos to step up,
like all,
and all the pressures now off guys like JT and,
and,
and Hoskins.
And I just think it's a really nice balance between home runs,
good eyes,
working pitchers.
It's going to be a struggle.
And then once you get to the bottom of the lineup,
I mean,
Stotts,
I think is incredible.
Mickey's obviously having a breakout year.
Like it's, it's a really, I think, is incredible. Mickey's obviously having a breakout year. Like, it's
a really, really tough lineup to
consistently keep down. 800 runs
should be the expectation
for this team. And that's about five a game.
I think it's like 4.9 a game. Like, that's...
If they do that, they're going to win a lot of games.
That's a... I mean, I think if you go
through the teams, James, that score about
five runs per game, it's tough to be bad.
You might not be great if you can't pitch and play defense.
We'll get to that.
But they're going to win more than they lose if they score five a game.
Yeah.
I mean, I think they're in the discussion for a top five offense in the sport.
Like, there aren't that many offenses you just look at and say,
that one's better, like Toronto, the Dodgers.
Like, there are only a couple that are definitively better than the Phillies lineup.
And I think they have a real chance to do that.
I know it's just spring training, and I'm like,
my line every single year is I don't get carried away with spring training.
I barely pay attention to it.
Guys are working on stuff, all that.
But it does feel real when you watch this team
because it's day after day after day after day,
and it's bombs, and it's mashing.
And to Jack's point, like, there's no –
look, Mickey, you know, we love Mick.
Why not Mick? That's our guy. If Mickey – I'm not where Jack's point, like, there's no, look, Mickey, you know, we love Mick. Why not Mick?
That's our guy.
If Mickey, I'm not where Jack is yet, but if Mickey can be like a competent, solid niner for you,
and DeeDee obviously is a bit of a question mark, but there are no real holes in this lineup.
There's no easy at-bats if those guys come through for you.
And I think Stott's going to hit too.
I mean, and just the top of the lineup, how potent that's going to be.
I think they have a real shot definitely at 800
and to be one of the five or so best offenses in baseball this year.
And I love – it feels like they're kind of feeding off each other.
It reminds me a little bit of those Braves rotations from the 90s
where it's like –
They want to one-up each other.
Yeah, you're going to throw a complete game.
Well, I'm going to throw a complete game.
Like, you're going to hit one 460.
I'll hit one, you know, 470.
It feels like
the right vibe is down
there. I think Schwarber's very important
for that. I always thought he was...
For as important as I thought his bat was, I thought
getting Schwarber the guy was equally as
important. They didn't have a good vibe.
And Castellanos too! Yeah, there was no winners
here. Let's be real. This team, before they brought
in Schwarber, there's nobody here that's won
anything. And that's something that Dombrowski has harped on with these signs. Which I thought was kind of a shot at the guys here. He didn't let's be real. This team, before they brought in Schwarber, there's nobody here that's won anything. Well, and that's something that Dombrowski has
harped on with these signs. Which I thought was kind of a
shot at the guys here. He didn't say anyone's name, but
we missed that. Well, that's because
these guys didn't have it. But it was fascinating, right? Because these are guys
that you bring in for their bats, for what they do
from an offensive perspective, and they're great signings from that
perspective. But these are two guys
who really should change this culture, and
that's been one of the biggest issues with this team
the last couple years. This culture, like to your point, it didn't,
and Jack said this a million times on the podcast,
this team doesn't feel like they know how to win.
And it feels like by bringing these guys in,
it's that extra juice, that extra kind of push to get to that level
and to feel like they can win.
Once you feel like you can win, then you start winning.
So just for reference, last year, everyone that scored at least
four and a half runs a game had a winning record
except the Rockies. And like, forget that.
Doesn't even count. Right, and Coors Field. Their pitching
gives up a million runs. But like, everyone over
five runs a game, it was Houston, Tampa
Bay, Toronto, Boston, Dodgers.
If you score five runs, and then the next two were White Sox
Giants. Like, if you score five runs a game,
you're going to the playoffs. So the Phillies have
that kind of ceiling. What are we
doing with the lineup? Because I've been watching this all
spring training, and it seems like
Joe's locked in on Schwarber 1,
Bryce 3, Castellanos 4.
But like 2...
He has batted Didier Haskins
like one too many times. I know!
For my life. 2, 5, 6, 7.
There's a lot going on there.
I don't know what he's doing.
I'm not sure if it's just experimentation
and what's going to happen in the regular season.
But, James, the one thing I'm not sure of is which Reese Hoskins
are we getting, right?
Because when he was young, he walked a lot.
And then last year, he seemed to trade those walks for power.
I guess that depends on what he's going to be,
where you hit him in the lineup.
If he's walking, I put him two.
He's going to hit just for power, five, six.
Sure.
Not behind Deedee, though. I don't know what that's about. No, no. That's like way too obsessed with the left him two. He's going to hit just for power, five, six. Sure. Not behind Deedee, though.
I don't know what that's about.
No, no.
That's like way too obsessed with the left-right.
He was seventh today or yesterday, whenever it was.
It's too low.
It's too low.
And look, Hoskins is one of those guys who, you know,
when you look at this lineup, he's kind of an X-factor guy.
He's a swing guy.
Yeah.
You know what you're, or you think you know what you're going to get
from Schwarber, Harper, Castellanos, Seguro.
Like, a guy like Reeves, we've seen the swings, man.
He could be one of the best hitters in baseball for a month
and then be literally the worst hitter in the sport for a month.
I've never seen an above-average player so streaky.
In my life.
I don't ever remember a guy who's that big a swing.
So, yeah, I think it's going to be massive.
The one thing I will say is what we were just talking about,
the idea that maybe a little less on his shoulders,
a little bit less of that pressure to have to carry
the offense, to be like, really,
the only big bopper in the lineup last year
outside of Bryce, in terms of a guy who's going to hit over
30 home runs. Now you had two guys
like that who can give you that type of power.
I think hopefully, maybe it
takes a little off Reese. He's not pressing as much.
He's not getting into those funks as much.
Hopefully. I don't like him in the two-hole,
though, because I thought last year was actually the most consistent Reese has been.
And I know that counts with an 0 for 34 streak in the middle of there.
That's the most consistent.
Yes, I thought that was the most consistent by Reese.
So you want him five?
Yeah, I want him five because in the two-hole,
I still think his idea is working pitchers.
Which I guess that is what you're supposed to do there, right?
When he was bad and when he was going through the ups and downs,
up and down, I thought he got too obsessed with,
let me get to a 3-2 count, foul off a ton of pitches,
rather than let me try to do damage.
I know theoretically the two holes is supposed to be a spot
where guys are looking to do damage,
and he should get fastballs ahead of Bryce Harper.
But I think his mentality, the higher he gets up in a lineup,
is I'm going to work this pitcher.
When I thought last year he was at his best by jumping on fastballs, But I think his mentality, the higher he gets up in a lineup, is I'm going to work this pitcher.
When I thought last year he was at his best by jumping on fastballs,
being aggressive, and looking to do damage and bringing runs,
I thought he was a good run producer last year.
And the thing I like early in spring, thinking a lot right center field.
That's where he has to stay because if he's staying on the ball,
that means he's staying through the ball.
And him thinking right center field just kind of unlocks his entire potential.
So who should be two then?
I think it's Gene.
Yeah, I think so too.
And he kills lefties.
So you figure Schwarber's a lefty, obviously.
Bryce is a lefty.
Lefties are coming in at the bullpen to face that spot.
You sandwich him in there, he's going to get lefties to hit.
And he's going to get the bat on the ball too.
I know we want to work counts and stuff, which is important.
But he's going to foul off pitches.
He's going to get the bat on the ball. He's going to put it in play if Schwarber walks.
I really like Gene in the 2-hole, personally. I'm putting
JT there. I'm putting JT
in the two-hole, and the reason why I'm putting JT
is because I think JT is the best base runner on the team,
so I think it helps from that standpoint.
I agree with that. How about that, just in and of itself,
your catcher, the best base runner on the team?
It's pretty wild. It says something about the
Phillies. Also, he's a good base runner.
He is a very good base runner. He is a good base runner.
And for me, I don't like him being a run producer.
I'm so glad he's not.
You don't trust him in a big spot.
Oh, he's never got a big hit in his life.
I think that's the analytics on that.
But in the two-hole, he's a guy that should get fastballs.
And I think he still crushes fastballs.
They're not going to want to pitch around him.
They don't want to get to Bryce like you know so I feel as if JT in a
two-hole lets him be aggressive lets him go after fastballs and that was the lineup today I mean JT
has consistently been in the two-hole I would say most of this spring training and I think they like
it from the standpoint of he's gonna get fastballs and it lets him kind of be aggressive and I just
like his base running Segura is like your classic
two-hole hitter.
He always reminds me of Polanco.
He's always reminding me of him.
Yeah, but
in a worse lineup, I guess he would be
a good two-hole hitter, but I think
JT makes the most sense for this team.
So here's the only issue with that. I'm looking at
today's lineup and
Girardi's going to figure this left-right thing out,
but Didi's now, today he was above Segura.
So Segura's down to seven?
Feels too low for him.
I'd put him six.
Especially because he's the kind of guy who it seems cares about that type of stuff.
I was thinking that.
You know what I mean?
Gene seems to care about perception.
You need his head in the game.
Gene Segura's the kind of guy who can kind of go off in his own world once in a while.
You need him locked in. And I think in the the two hole he he's been locked in when he's
in that that role yeah well i actually um the one thing with the bottom of the lineup here i know he
has i know he has moniak batting last what do you think about putting stott there and then it's
basically a second turn it over kind of guy like he like he worked an 11 pitch
at bat today you have him in the nine hole and then it left it should let schwarber get up with
some runners on base i i actually think of gerardi smart numbers wise stock's obviously a better
hitter than the moniac but if you put stott in a nine hole you get his on base skills you get his
working pitcher skills ahead of kyle schwarber i think that makes the lineup more yeah they could
do that.
We're listening to the High Hopes Hour here on the evening show.
James Seltzer, Jack Fritz, why are they in here?
It's the High Hopes Pod on the evening show.
It is our Phillies roundtable.
We got a lot to get into here.
So, look, Jack just brought him up.
How real is the Mickey Moniac thing?
Because I think – I didn't think this –
You're asking the wrong guy.
What do I want?
No, I'm asking him on purpose.
I want a real answer.
I just – I can't believe this is happening.
If you had told me all these different things play out, James,
in spring training, I could have bought a lot of this.
Pitching does this.
Knable bounces.
We'll get to the pitching.
He looks really good.
The one I never would have guessed is, oh, yeah, Mickey Monia.
Three weeks ago, Girardi said he's not an option in center field.
He said that out loud.
And then Oduble gets hurt.
They trade Haisley.
The kid goes crazy.
Is this real?
I need to see it in a real game before I believe this is like he's a real player now.
Yeah, I do too.
I mean, look, it's awesome.
It's fun.
I just said I don't overreact to spring training stats, right?
So I got to stick by that.
I will say, though, like he was the number one pick in the draft and he's 23 years
old. Younger than Bryson Stott.
Younger than most guys when they come up to the
major leagues. You guys are starting to sound like me with Jalen Hurts.
Younger than the guys in the draft.
He's got to get some more weapons.
It takes guys some time sometimes.
Nelson Cruz was a quad A player until he was
28. It happens. It takes
time for guys to figure it out.
Especially a kid who was drafted at 17,
drafted as a thin guy who's kind of grown into his body a bit.
He was really small when they drafted him.
So, like, I'm with you, Joe.
Like, I need to see this in major league games that matter
before I'm going to truly buy into Mickey Moniak
as a real potential guy for this team.
But I will say crazier things have happened
than a former number
one overall pick figuring it out 23 and growing into his body all right jack go ahead how real
is this listen here we go no i need to see it too i mean like i'm believe me i i'm over overjoyed
with how he's looked so far but i don't want to be palm tree mickey you know we can't be having
you know spring training only results i want to see see it in a real game. But I thought it was interesting, Kevin Long talking about how Moniak
was the easiest fix he's had in his career.
And he's been a hitting coach for like 15 years.
Yeah, for a long time.
16 years that Mickey Moniak was the easiest fix in his entire coaching career.
What does that say about the Phillies coaching staff before he got here?
Not great.
No one ever thought about, hey, let's move him closer to the plate.
Very complicated picture.
Listen,
I think it's more real
than not. I don't think he's all of a sudden
going to get in the game and be better.
For me, the last couple years,
I would obviously be excited, but
it was a lot of fastballs. It was a lot of doing damage
on fastballs. The last couple home runs he's had
have been on sliders. It seems like the pitch recognition is getting better and i think
for a reason to believe and i believe me i understand if people want to buy in he's a
number one overall pick that's been largely a bust here but fastballs in the outside corner
he's actually going the opposite way with intent and with damage and now i mean he's down to like
eight percent body fat where he just looks like like last year he got up it was kind of like he clearly ate all off season and he's definitely bigger but
it was on weight but it wasn't great this looks like i mean cut out fish tacos started journaling
he's looking strong oh i read the journal started journaling yeah that's important so uh and his uh
his motto of this year is bleep it let's party so he's everything's going well for mickey this year seems like he's a good headspace so i i'll say it's more real than not i don't want to say he's gonna like turn into some
superstar but is it is it unrealistic to believe i can get a 245 hitter with 15 to 20 homers well
but here's the interesting question i have for you james is he the center fielder most nights
because in a platoon as we all know the left side of the platoon plays more.
Absolutely.
What, 65% of pitchers are right-handed?
So if it's a platoon, he's the center fielder for most of the games here.
I don't know if it is yet.
They'll play Montas on Friday.
Who's playing center field?
Because if it's a platoon, it's Mickey.
Yeah.
No, and I think it will be Mickey.
I don't know if it'll be a
straight platoon and you know joe loves to look at gerardi loves to look at all the splits and
there are a lot of righties who have reverse spits and all that type of stuff so i make the playoffs
to be the real judge i wouldn't be surprised if he has some you know lineups where you don't see
it coming and all that but i don't know if it'll be a straight platoon per se but i do think it'll
be a uh for all intents and purposes a platoon where the guy who hits
wins. I think it's going to be one of those things
where if one of these guys, Bierling or Moniak,
is able to really get on a roll and start
hitting, I think they have a chance to grab the job and
run with it. I think it'll start as a
platoon, but I don't know who
he favors to begin and where it goes from there.
And we'll see with the bone
bruise today. I mean, he got hit
pretty hard.
X-rays negative, which is good.
X-rays negative, but I think there's some swelling there.
So we'll see.
So for Friday, it might be Veerling.
Yeah.
Just opening day-wise, probably Veerling and maybe Mickey Mitz the first weekend.
All right.
Now, same thing at third base.
Because that's going to be a platoon two, I guess.
Sure.
But now you have more names in there, right?
So it's Stott.
Alec Boehm is up, and they gave
Yohan Camargo a major league contract.
You know Girardi's going to put him out there
sometimes. Well, at least it's not Ronnie. No, I know.
Thank God, Ronald Torres.
You know what? That's not fair, because I liked
Ronnie last year. He was great last year for them.
He was at least a five-win player last year.
Ronnie baseball. By some calculations.
By some calculations. Girardi's calculations.
Girardi was definitely... Well, they sent down Alec Boehm to start running
with Ron's Rays every day in a freaking playoff chase.
Like, what are we doing?
Do we trust Girardi to, because this isn't an easy juggle.
No.
Well, no.
I don't either.
The juggling act with Boehm, Stott, Gregorius, who he likes way too much.
Way too much.
I don't think it's an easy juggling act.
You have young players.
You have lefty, righty.
But then you have the old guy he likes there at shortstop.
I'm curious how he's going to divide playing time here
because if Stott and Boehm are both up here,
I heard Dombrowski say, James,
that Girardi said he could find playing time for everyone,
which sounds wonderful, but you've got to actually do it.
Yeah, and I don't trust him.
I don't.
Joe Girardi clearly seems like one of these guys who trusts his dudes,
trusts vets, all that
type of stuff. And this is a platoon where you want to
see Bowman Stott out there. You want to see these guys,
see what they got, see if one of them can take the job
and run with it. And they're two young
dudes, you know? So I'm
very concerned. Look, I like Carmago
as a defensive replacement late, all that type
of stuff. Bench guy, yeah. Bench guy. He's a nice
player to have on your team, but
he can't be starting over these guys.
We've got to find out, if nothing else,
find out what you have in those guys and move forward with one of them.
Yeah, and honestly, there's a part of me that believes that,
because there's 28 men until May, so they can have the two extra rounds.
For now, I'm not sure that they're not going to keep that.
I guess we'll see how pitching injuries pile up,
but I wouldn't be surprised if they kept the 28 for a little while longer.
I wouldn't be shocked either.
Yeah, but at least for the first month i think from i think
the reason why boom is staying up here is because i think they want him working with kevin long
every day like i think like kevin long last year schwerber started off really slow yeah and then
as kevin long kept working with them they got schwerber to a point where like he was he got
79 million dollar contracts this offseason because of because of. He had like 20 home runs in June last year.
Yeah, it was like 20 in 24 games or something insane like that.
And I think that they want Boehm to stay up here and work with him every day
rather than going and getting AAA at-bats.
I think they view that as more valuable possibly for their future.
And in the meantime, it can be Stott and possibly Camargo.
I don't think Boehm's going to play that much.
I literally think he's just here to work in the cage
with Kevin Long and kind of candle
his development. Could be a pinch hitter late
in games for Moniak or for
Didi. I mean, we could see him in that role. Defensive
replacement. Yes.
You can't? You don't think so?
You sure about that? Is he going to
be any better at third base? No.
He's just bad.
His body is not made to play third base no no no he's just bad oh he's just he's just his body is not
made to play third we were down we were down in spring training and he was just even in practice
like field and ground balls was fighting the ball and i was like imagine what it's like in the game
no shot no it's it's you feel like you just feel something bad's gonna happen every time the ball
goes near him it's like i'll tell you, I can't wait for Bryson Stott.
He's wanting me over here in spring training.
And I am not worried about them playing him at short third if he goes to second. Do you have any fear?
Is there any post-traumatic stress from the Scott Kingery experience?
I think that thing is so overrated.
I'm so glad you said that.
You know, the only person who's responsible for Scott Kingery not being a major league player
is Scott Kingery.
He never could decipher balls from strikes.
That was his problem.
I hate that narrative.
Oh, they moved him around and thus he couldn't play.
Ben Zobris played like 10 positions.
The good teams do this all the time.
Teams do this all the time and there's so many guys who come up and have to move around and find a spot and all that.
Like, nope.
I don't buy that narrative at all.
And I'm 100% with you with stott
i'm fine with him playing anywhere in the infield and the reason why i think it's different than
kingery and i said this a couple times is that like kingery was an aggressive hitter so every
time that a pitcher would come in start breaking balling to death like he couldn't do anything
with it what you see with stats at bats is that he knows when to launch he knows when to i can
attack this pitch and do damage with it he has very good pitch selection when it comes to trying to do some damage so you know i trust you
trust eyes you trust you trust guy's ability to to see a strike zone feel a strike zone and stock
just has that way more than kingery ever had like kingery was a bit of a free swinger even with the
launch ankle nonsense yeah and even when he did well, it didn't feel sustainable.
No.
What did he bat, like 275 that one month?
And people are like, well, there's Kingery breakout.
Here he is.
And he was still striking out a lot.
He only had one good season in the minors.
One good month.
In the minors I'm talking about, he only had one elite season.
Other than that, you look at the numbers, it's pretty average.
He had that one awesome year. He got the contract, and he was never as good ever again.
He was never good in the major leagues.
Ever.
Again, he had one month.
He had one month where he looked like a major league player.
The Don Brown of the late 2010s.
He is.
He wasn't as good as Don Brown.
Don Brown was a way better major league player.
How about that?
Scott Kingery, bigger bust than Don Brown.
They didn't know that was possible.
Cost him a lot more money, too.
$24 million.
I meant those option years. Those are no's. Cost him a lot more money, too. $24 million just down.
I meant those option years.
Those are no's.
How about that?
You think?
Yeah.
215-592-9494.
That's how you hop in.
You want to join us.
High Hopes Podcast is here for the hour.
James Seltzer, Jack Fritz.
All right.
We did all the offense.
We did all the hitting.
On the other side, we need to talk about the pitching and the defense.
The two things that could derail this.
Defense is for nerds.
All right.
Here we go. the defense. The two things that could derail this. Defense is for nerds. I can't wait to see Jack's reaction
on Friday when the ball goes through
someone's legs if defense is for nerds.
215-592-9494.
Ohio's potting. We'll talk defense,
pitching, and season predictions next
right here on Sports Radio 94
WIP. Welcome back.
Sports Radio 94 WIP. Joe back. Sports Radio 94 WIP.
Joe Giglio with you.
It is the High Hopes Pod.
In for the hour.
It is our Phillies Roundtable show.
We got a lot of great guests coming up.
Ruben Amaro is going to be with us at 7.
Chad Durbin next hour.
Scott Franski for a while.
Scott's doing double duty today.
I know.
Is he trying to take our jobs?
That's what I –
Like, is that his –
This is the next step.
Yeah.
You know, like the backup career when he's done with this.
Hey, pal, we got families to feed too.
Like, relax.
I actually thought Scott was –
He loses L.A. for one time, and now he's going to come in and try to take our job?
I thought he'd back out because I found out he was doing the morning show.
I was like, oh, that's all right.
He's doing the morning.
It's okay.
He can't join us tonight.
He's like, no, I want to do it.
What a beast.
I know.
So he'll be with us in the 8 o'clock hour.
And I'm excited to talk about this part of the team, because we got all the excitement out, the hitting
and the offense. All the good stuff. All the good
stuff, and now we gotta talk
about the stuff that I'm worried about, which
is, alright, let's start with the defense. Jack, you
said defense is for nerds. Uh-huh.
And, um,
we'll see if you have the same feeling a month or
two or three from now. Well, listen, I,
April Jack doesn't care about
July Jack's issue
with the Phil's defense.
But I can see the sadness that August Jack has
when the defense costs him another game.
And I can also see September Julio.
Oh, no.
I can't do it again.
Come on, man.
What, your fifth straight year of September Julio?
There's nothing worse than September Phil.
When I'm sitting here doing final out after another loss.
The pain of my existence, yes.
It's just soul crushing.
It really is.
We're doing this again.
All right, before we get to September and what our predictions are,
I'm worried about the defense.
I know we could poo-poo it and say it's not a big deal.
Right.
Are they above average at any position?
Well, here's the thing.
Just answer that.
Here's my reason.
Here's why I need you to calm down.
All right?
Just answer the question.
Calm down.
Calm down. Third base is better? Just answer the question. Yeah, just answer the question.
Calm down.
Third base is better if Stott's playing there.
You're getting shortstop range at third base with a guy that actually plays it. Okay.
We'll see how much he plays there, though.
If Didi can't get the same balls that he used to be able to get to,
Stotti can get the 5-6 hole.
That shortens Didi's range.
Gene Segura is very, very good at second base.
And I know he's another year older, but he's a very good defensive second baseman.
Good.
Very good.
Hoskins, looking skinnier.
That's all I got there.
Oh, my God.
What are we doing?
Did he drop a pop-up like three weeks ago?
Don't worry about it.
Pop-ups are tough, man.
He lost in the Florida Sun.
Everyone knows the Sun's higher down there.
Left field, I think.
Dude, McCutcheon was terrible in left field.
I agree with that. I think Schwarber
actually grades out decently well
DRS-wise. He's still negative. What are you
talking about, man? You are like
out of your mind right now. I just
don't think the defense is... I think it's going to be bad.
But I don't think it's going to be detrimental.
And I think it's going to be better than last year's.
And I thought last year's was terrible. I think
center field, I think Moniak and Veerling are pretty good.
And right field's Harper, who's fine.
I just don't – I don't view it – it's going to be bad.
But I don't think it's going to be the detriment that people think it's going to be.
It's going to be horrible.
Let's all be honest.
Thank you.
They're going to be terrible.
JT, I would say, is above average.
If we're going to pick one guy on the team who's the above average defender...
Someone answer the question. Yeah, I had to answer the question.
They're going to be horrible defensively, and
it's going to hurt them. We will have days
where we come out of the game saying,
wow, they lost that game because of defense.
But, to Jack's point,
I don't think it's going to be something that
submarines this team. I think they're going to hit enough
to make up for those errors, and
hopeful, at least. And I think they'll
be, I don't think they'll be the worst
defense we've ever seen. I just think they're going to be bad.
Well, listen. I know that.
Listen to that, you know. That's the
bar I'm shooting.
I don't think they're going to be the worst defense
we've ever seen. I just know that I'm
sitting here with two guys
that watched Reese Hoskins play
left field for an entire season.
The worst left fielder I've seen in my entire life.
The worst outfielder I've ever seen in my life.
Maybe the worst player at a position I've ever seen in my life.
Besides DeeDee Lashley.
The day that Kingrey pitched, people forget that he dropped a ball on left field that I could have made the play.
I mean, it's just like any of us could have made the play.
You want to know why I don't forget that day?
Because I produced both games of that doubleheader on PhD,
and it was 20-4.
I will never forget Angelo's reaction the next morning.
Of Kingery pitching?
That team was in the race.
Dude, I know.
Gabe!
Yeah, you're telling me.
Gabe!
You're telling me a team that started Carlos Santana at third base
down the stretch run of that year and Justin Boer at first base.
They had five first bases in the lineup in one game.
Yeah, like, listen, it's going to be bad.
It's just like I've seen them be the worst defense in the history of the sport,
so I don't think they're going to be that.
But can they out-hit it?
Well, if they can't out-hit it, we've got a problem.
Well, but I'm sure you guys saw the Jason Stark piece of the athletic
a couple weeks ago.
There's only been a handful of teams that have ever had defenses
that are as bad as we think this will be that actually won.
And they're all built by the same guy.
I know.
It's Dombrowski's team.
But that team had Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder.
I mean.
And some elite pitching as well.
You don't think that there's five Cy Young winners on this rotation?
Now you led me to that.
So the pitching.
Do they have enough pitching?
They don't have good pitchers.
They have good pitchers, right?
On paper, yeah.
Yeah, you look at the rankings.
I think a couple sites had them as top 10 or 15.
Fangraphs has them number three.
You writing for Fangraphs these days?
They did talk to Billy Falter today.
That was exciting.
I did see that.
I worry about the depth of their pitching.
If you tell me right now these guys stay healthy for the most part all season,
I think there's enough pitching.
I think it's above average and it's pretty good.
Let's start with the rotation and the bullpen we'll get to because that's
always the concern in Philadelphia.
What do you think of the rotation?
I think you nailed it.
Like, I think if those five guys stay healthy, it's a good rotation,
not even average or whatever.
It would be good.
It's a good rotation, especially because I believe in Ranger.
I do.
He's not going to be a 1-5 ERA guy.
But I think Ranger's good.
I think he's a major league starting pitcher.
So I feel really good about the five.
I think Eflin could have a bounce-back season, contract year for Eflin,
like a big spot for Zach.
Obviously, he's looked awesome in spring.
Looks like he's back.
The Wheeler injury is a concern.
But if they stay healthy, Gibby is a fine fifth.
He's not great, but he'll give you innings.
He's a five.
He's a classic five.
I feel really good about the five they have,
but to your point, who's next?
Every year, every year pitchers go down.
Every year we deal with pitcher injuries,
and I don't see that depth of roster and depth of system.
We see other teams bring up minor leaguers.
The Padres can bring up Mackenzie Gore for a start if they need to, or this
or that or whatever. Like, that's
100% my concern, is if
and when one of these guys go down for any
sort of extended period of time, what's next?
So, I think we counted the other night,
Tucker, and I think there was like 25 starts
last year by guys that weren't the top
five most started pitchers on the team.
How'd that go? And that's not bad.
That's pretty good. Yeah, it's pretty good.
But if there has to be 25 or 30 this year, who's taking the ball?
Who are the next – let's just go with three names.
Jack, who are the next three guys that are going to start games for this team?
Bailey Falter.
I was going to say bullpen, bullpen, and bullpen.
Bailey Falter, Hans Cross, and Christopher Sanchez.
I know.
It's not exact.
Well, Bailey's good.
I like Bailey Falter.
You can get
by with bailey fault i think bailey's interesting uh i would actually say pitching depth is my is
a bigger concern for me than the defense like just because i think with how april's gonna be
they have no off days they've had a shortened spring training pitchers aren't fully stretched
out although i mean definitely like seven innings i should believe it's like what are we doing
i was thinking could we save some of those innings for the season? Yeah, of course.
Save some home runs and save some innings.
We didn't even know if he was going to start the season with that injury.
Yeah, they said May could have been.
But he wants his money.
He does.
That's what I'm saying, man.
That would be great.
And I would die for Eflin to put it together for one year.
Because I think there's a really good pitcher there.
I do, too.
It's just that he's never done it.
And he's worn down.
He had a heavy body. Who could forget the heavy body? It was pitcher there. I do, too. It's just that he's never done it. And he's worn down. He had a heavy body.
Who could forget the heavy body?
It was the worst.
It was the worst.
Another thing they blamed Gabe for.
So you had Eflin, who's just never done it.
Gibson, I think Gibson stinks.
I really do.
Well, he's on the wrong team.
He needs a great defenseman.
I know.
Well, Stott's at their base now.
Oh, yeah.
Mike Schmidt, Scott Roland, Bryce Stott.
Millennium.
Yeah, he doesn't inspire confidence in me.
I don't trust Nola.
The metric articles drive me crazy because you're just not watching.
I mean, the strikeout numbers are fine.
Well, he should be good.
He should be good.
He strikes a bunch of guys out, he doesn't walk anyone.
That means you should be good.
I know, but it's the 0-2 home runs that he just can't put guys away.
And my worry is that runners in base is kind of in his head now.
It's almost like, oh, gosh, really?
Like a runner's on base now,
and he hasn't been able to almost put that behind him since 2018.
I think we'll get a better Nola.
He won't be a 4-4 guy like he was last year.
But they desperately need a 3-2 to 3-5 from him for this team to be good.
And a September. And a September. Because that's the biggest one and one brave star can i just get one like one good start against the braves in atlanta where i don't
hear the freaking tomahawk chop gabe was right get him out of the game because he knows the number so
i i don't know that the rotation worries me a lot just health wise like efflin's never done it no i don't trust wheeler with the shoulder thing already i don't know he The rotation worries me a lot, just health-wise. Like, Eflin's never done it. Nola I don't trust.
Wheeler with the shoulder thing already.
I don't know.
He threw 200 innings for the first time in his career last year.
We're supposed to expect him to bounce back and be the same guy?
I can't put my confidence behind that.
I started to wonder if the defense is in Nola's head
because he doesn't throw the two-seamer anymore.
He wants to strike everyone out.
The home runs are like those fastballs over the plate.
He seems like
he's afraid of this defense. And I would be
too. I was just about to say, can you blame him?
Of course. And that can get
it. That's a dangerous thing because then he's trying
to strike everyone out. Then he's trying to get
that pitch always. And that gets you into trouble.
You need to trust your defense at times.
And you need to be economical with your pitches
at times. And if you don't trust your defense,
that really does create a problem.
Now, he did drive across country in a van this offseason.
That was his offseason big thing.
So maybe he's in a good headspace now.
Aaron was in a van across the country?
Yeah.
Nola?
Yeah, him, his fiance, and his dog just driving across country.
That actually strikes me as an Aaron Nola thing.
Yeah.
Getting in a van and going across the country.
Could anyone at this station do that?
I mean, I could.
Really?
I went on fish tours. Oh, yeah. I always forget this station do that? I mean, I could. Really? I went on a fish tour.
Oh, yeah.
I always forget this side of you.
I could handle that.
You mean like can anyone here handle it or like in their current state?
Because like Mark said, three kids and babies.
Yeah, now I couldn't, obviously.
I was talking, yeah, I'm 40 with a kid.
Right.
Like I think I could do it, but not with two kids.
I think Kefra could do it.
Kefra is about to do it, right?
Straight down to Memphis or whatever.
You guys leaving us, which I didn't know was allowed.
I didn't know you were allowed to leave WIU.
Unbelievable.
Let's take a call here, and then we'll hit the bullpens up.
Chris in Phoenixville wants to talk.
What's up, Chris?
Chris, you there, buddy?
I'm here.
Can you hear me?
Gotcha.
What's up?
What are you thinking?
This is the time of year everybody gets pumped up.
It's the beginning of a new.
Everybody has a shot.
I think the one thing that the Phillies shouldn't do,
but they're going to do,
is why would you put somebody at their second-best position
and make your whole defense feel amateur?
So if you think Scott's going to be the man at short,
you put him there from day one.
DeeDee should be either at first, third,
or put away to the pastures, or DH,
and then maybe trade Reese Hoskins for a pitcher that can close,
or you rely on an injured pitcher.
Dominguez has been injured for five of his years in the minor leagues.
So I think you've got to get the guys and put the best guys at each position,
and this way you have a solid shortstop as opposed to half-assed across the board.
But don't you want the best players on the team?
Isn't that what they're doing?
By bringing Stott up, they're putting the best 28,
and they're not worrying about the positions of us.
You put them at short.
Then you've got the same thing that happened to Kingery.
You put them in an unnatural position.
Do you think Kingery failed because of the position thing?
No, no, no.
I think it was a bad instruction and bad hitting instruction.
He just started to go.
He was bad.
Scott Kingery is not a good baseball player.
That's what happened, man.
In AA, he had a different thing.
One year.
He had one good year in AA.
What are we talking about?
Let's look at Dominic Brown.
Let's look at Michael Taylor. These guys are all studs allegedly according to major league baseball but chris a lot of players
are studs in the minors and also prospect ranking is not a perfect science man like yeah but there
are so many guys like it happens all the time where guys are highly ranked and don't pan out
or like paul goldschmidt wasn't on any ranking ever and he comes up and he's a stud.
It is an overrated thing to just rely on those prospects.
Let's not be homers here.
How come Asuna's there?
How come Rosario?
How come the Braves can do it, but the Phillies?
Rosario was a trade.
Asuna wasn't.
They didn't.
Asuna was better.
Yeah, Asuna was.
The Braves are better at finding talent.
Obviously, the Braves are better.
Acuna and Albies, they're better.
No question.
Matt Klintek and Ruben Amaro
single-handedly destroyed our minor league system.
Well, I mean, the Phillies never really had a minor league system, Chris.
I mean, they had one run.
Chris, we appreciate the phone call.
We could argue about the minor leagues.
But we know the minor league system.
They haven't been great at getting guys
to reach their ceiling at
the major league level i mean that's yeah that's just a fact but i think a lot of that also goes
back to drafting and not drafting the right kind of things you know i think but i will say i think
it's turning a corner i think they're the right guy down there yeah leading that charge so and
honestly given where they are payroll wise the only way they're really going to compete in this kind of core window
is if they can get guys up from the minor leagues
and get guys that can contribute because you're committing $200 million,
essentially, to five or six players.
Yeah, I know they went over the tax,
but there's only so many $100 million players they can have.
Yeah, which they're not going to stay over the tax.
Yeah, but even if they're around it,
you can have, what,
four or five of these guys?
That's it.
Then you've got to fill in.
Even the Dodgers only have so many of these guys.
It just doesn't work.
All right, let's get to the bullpen.
I mean, we can't avoid it.
It's Philadelphia.
I mean, this is the Phillies.
This is the Achilles heel every year.
I am cautiously optimistic.
There you go.
At the top end of the bullpen.
Knable. Yeah, Sir Anthony.
I think Familia will be fine.
Fine.
He will have five or six games.
At the end of the season, we'll look at his numbers and say,
that was good, but you're right.
There are going to be a few nights where people are going to be cursing his name.
He's going to be the name that you get on the call screen during the midday show a lot.
People are going to hate him, but his numbers will be okay.
I agree.
That's kind of where I'm done feeling great about.
Everything else in there, I didn't like the Brad Hand signing.
And everything else is just like they're throwing stuff at the wall.
I could see it being a little bit better.
But then I also, James, I worry about Girardi and his management of the
bullpen.
It's not good.
Everyone blames the guys.
They have.
But he's part of it. He's not good. Everyone blames the guys. They have, but he's part of it.
He's done a horrible job, a horrible job.
And even with having guys not up for a night and all this type of weird stuff
and not letting guys pitch multiple nights in a row and just going way
overboard with all that type of stuff.
I'm all for protecting your pitchers.
He seems to go way overboard with that type of stuff.
And you're right.
The feel for what guys in what spots is missing.
Girardi has been bad.
5.2 ERA as the bullpens he got here.
It's horrendous.
I mean, they had the worst bullpen in the history of baseball two years ago,
and last year was the most blown saves in the history of baseball.
We had a 7 ERA one year and the most blown saves in the history of the sport
the year after.
I mean, think about that.
It is, like, all-time bad futility there.
But I agree with your point.
The guys, like Kniebel, it's just if he stays healthy.
If he's healthy, he's awesome.
He could be an all-star.
People are going to love Corey Kniebel if he stays healthy.
Sir Anthony, I'm really, really excited about him being back.
I think he's a legitimately talented dude.
And if he can stay healthy and get back, I feel good.
But I'm with you.
Like, I don't have a lot of faith.
I'm nervous about Alvarado.
I'm nervous about Kunrad, who's already here.
Brogdon.
I loved Brogdon.
Where did his velocity go?
And now I'm terrified about Brogdon.
So I'm with you.
I think they might be better than the last two years,
but I certainly wouldn't be surprised if at the end of the season
we look back and say, what was this team's Achilles heel?
It wasn't the defense.
It was the bullpen.
Yeah, it's funny.
The one thing I like more about this bullpen
than in years past is I just trusted
the guys they have at least have stuff.
Like even Nick Nelson, who they got
off waivers. It's still 97 with a good
change up and a pretty good curveball.
It's a flat fastball. It's not great, but
I think they at least have guys that
have legitimate major league stuff, where in years past
it was like we're bringing up guys who just have no shot.
So it's funny. I think theillies bullpen is either gonna be top
10 or bottom 10 like i don't think there's any prediction i don't think there's any in between
i think they're either they hit and they're they're really good because they have stuff i
mean knable stuff alvarado stuff uh familia stuff sir anthony stuff brogdon who is i mean he's back
up to 95 his last game which is rod throws hard coon rod throws hard he's like the you know he's like the fifth or sixth guy down
the bottom of the bullpen um they have guys with actual stuff which i which i like but there's also
the reality that a lot of them get hurt like familiar is the only one that doesn't really
have an injury that's why he's going to be the one that callers flip out on he's going to pitch
the most games yeah no one's going to get his name right,
and the WIP callers are going to struggle with it.
Do we think – what will his name be?
Jerry?
Instead of Jerry?
Yeah, for sure.
Jerry stinks.
Yeah, I could hear it.
Family?
Yeah, it's going to be great.
Jerry family.
Yes, but, you know, so I think it's either top ten or bottom ten.
I don't think there's an in-between there.
So I like that these guys have stuff.
I think the upside is definitely there.
I think Knable, if he is healthy, you know, obviously Papelbon was fine.
But best closer since Lidge.
He's going to be better than Papelbon?
I kind of forget the Papelbon era.
I don't really count it.
Yeah, Philly saves leader all the time.
Yeah, I don't really count it.
I got to be honest.
Well, he was good.
He was crafty.
Let's take a call and then we gotta get our win predictions
from these guys and
a bold take. Hot take, bold take,
bold prediction, something.
I'm trying to think what Jack told me last year
around this time. Was Alvarado something about
the greatest reliever? Alvarado's the greatest reliever
in Philly's history. No.
It was Alvarado. I've seen Papa Bon. Alvarado's the greatest reliever in Philly's history. No, it was Alvarado.
I've seen Papelbon.
Alvarado is the greatest reliever I've ever seen.
Sounds familiar.
I think I just heard something like that about someone else.
Alvarado is not going to allow a run was the take.
What do you mean?
Like ever?
Yeah, that season.
Matt is in Wilmington.
What's up, Matt?
Hey, fellas.
How you doing?
Good, Matt.
What's on your mind?
What are you thinking?
I'm thinking why are we keeping Alec Boehm up on this roster
when he could be better off seeing live pitching on a regular basis in AAA?
And I get you want to keep him with Long and working on his stuff here,
but I think what value does that provide when you're not seeing regular starting pitchers?
It's a fair question.
I think most teams would send him down, Matt.
I mean, if you have a player you still believe in, you want to get him consistent at-bats.
I mean, Jack brought up the point of keeping him with Kevin Long.
The other thing I wonder is if they, maybe they still want to trade him.
That was my thought.
You throw him down there, it makes him look bad.
Joe, that was my exact thought.
Matt, I think that could be part of it.
There's still maybe a, he could be in a trade this year.
That's true.
If Stott takes off and just claims third base,
what are they going to do with him? They're going to trade him.
Yeah, you don't want to Spencer Howard him
or you want to be able to Spencer Howard him
where you're able to dump him off or something before
his value diminishes.
But on another note,
I think that the way this
the big five or six of this lineup,
the way that they are constructed could lead to Reese Hoskins being a potential MVP candidate
if everything falls right.
That's my hottest take.
That is a fire take right there.
I like the fire take thrown in there, Matt.
We appreciate it.
So Reese Hoskins, I mean, he would have to have 120 RBL,
like a Jose Abreu kind of season a few years ago.
That's the only way.
Hoskins MVP?
If Hoskins is the MVP, this team's winning 105 games.
You brought up the win total.
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I'm watching and listening to see what the boldest take we can get from these guys is.
All right, so give me a win total, James, and then give me a bold take on the team, a play or something.
Okay, so I'll actually give you two bold takes.
One of them is tied to my win total.
Okay, I like it.
So I'll do that one second.
First, my—and I don't know how bold this is, but I think Bryce is back-to-back MVPs.
I think Bryce Harper is going to win the MVP again this season
and have an empirically better season than he did last year.
I agree.
Well, wait a second.
I agree.
If this happens, I mean, they might as well just carve out the plaque in Cooper's head.
Damn right, buddy.
Three MVPs, you're in the Hall of Fame.
He's already in the Hall of Fame.
I mean, Bryce Harper's going to be a Hall of Famer someday.
Right, of course.
But, I mean, there's been two-time MVPs.
Yeah.
But three is different.
It's a special thing.
Mike Schmidt, one of them.
Until Bonds, like, there was no one above threetime MVPs. Yeah, but three is different. It's a special thing. Mike Schmidt, one of them. Until Bonds, there was no one above three.
Yeah, of course.
So I think Bryce Harper's going to win the MVP again.
And to James' point, he just looks –
when they signed him, I thought they were getting a really good player,
but it looks like he has turned into the best hitter in the sport,
which I didn't think was a realistic outcome.
I thought he was just going to be really good here,
and I wanted Bryce Harper.
But how he's looking right now, he two different swings so even when a guy is
he thinks a curveball is coming he has a toe tap ready to go like he is so locked in i i can't
believe i can't believe how good bryce harper well they can't waste this right the year they got last
year james well they have they did last year no but they don't know like but to their credit is that they they didn't just say okay we'll get schwarber i don't. Well, they have. They did last year. They have. But to their credit is that they didn't just say,
okay, we'll get Schwarber and get done.
No, but you have something special here.
I mean, if he's better than last year, holy moly,
because his OPS was almost at 1,100.
Yes.
We're talking Bonzi.
That had 309 last year.
I mean, no one talked about his harvest coming here and bagging 309 here.
All right, and then my other.
So it's a tied prediction.
Bold. I think it's pretty bold. So it's a tied prediction. Bold.
I think it's pretty bold.
But I have an 89 wins.
Okay.
But I have them winning the division at 89 wins.
So everyone's kind of in the 80s.
I think everyone's in the 80s.
I got the Mets at like 85, 86.
The Braves at like 87, 88.
And the Phillies win the division with 89 wins.
Similar to Braves last year.
Let's go, baby.
You know what that means.
That means baseball in October here.
You're damn right, buddy.
Do we know what the rule is for the three-game series in the first round?
You don't get any home games if you're the road team.
Correct.
So even if they make the playoffs as a wild card,
there'd be no games here unless they won a series.
And then they would obviously get games in the next round.
So James is guaranteeing October baseball in Philadelphia.
Lock it in.
I might tear up.
I really am.
Just thinking about it gets me all warm and fuzzy inside.
So, you know, a lot of people accuse me, I would say, of being over the top.
A little bit.
Being optimistic about the Phillies.
You're just emotional either way.
Like, you want to fire everyone, cut everyone when they're bad.
And then when this is happening, Moniac's all-famer.
The best Mickey ever to play baseball
is what I heard.
And the best left-handed hitter
in the team right now.
But to my credit,
my win total is the last couple years.
To my credit, by the way.
My win total the last couple years
has been lower than everyone else's.
I was 86 and 84 the last couple years,
so I never really fully bought in.
First time, I'm going over 91. I think
they win 91 games.
I just think that people are afraid
to get there because they've let this team down.
This whole city is truly being a bunch of
cowards. Hard to blame
them, though.
It's been a decade.
I know, but this...
Also, again, like we just talked about, it's been
three straight years of this is the year,
and then it wasn't the year, you know?
And they die in September.
Yeah, that's personal for you.
We know what that's about, you and your September Phillies.
Final out after a 15-5 loss in September is brutal.
Yeah, well, listen, it's going to get longer this year
because you guys both wanted AL baseball in the NL,
so I hope you enjoy your longer games. The Phillies
need it. Oh, buddy.
My bold take is
that Mickey Moniak has a better
rookie season than Bryson Stott.
Wow, that is very bold.
That is bold and an interesting take.
Thanks, that's what I do, pal.
Do you notice how his take was one that didn't
mean that they both couldn't be great?
He found a way to-
Right, just better.
Better.
One guy hits 300, one guy hits 330.
There's no negative.
Listen, Stoddy can have his little slap singles to the left side.
I'll take dingers.
That's what I get out of Mickey Monia.
How many home runs is Mickey Monia getting?
17.
I would take that.
In a second.
You're a nine hitter?
Wow.
From a guy that we didn't think was a major leaguer the half two months two weeks let's
be honest the vast majority of philadelphia wrote this guy off as written this guy off you know
imagine the last thing we'll talk about the last thing we'll hear could you imagine telling someone
in this city two years ago that mickey moniak of the 2016 number one picks or top picks would be
the one here playing well and the other guys would be gone. Mickey Moniak. No, I can't.
I still don't really believe it.
When you think about who was picked that year, I still really don't.
Mickey Moniak is going to be
starting in center field for a
playoff game this year for the
Clayton Phils. He just keeps going.
So you haven't won in the division? Yes.
I think the Mets think
they're already with DeGrom and Scherzer.
They're already falling apart.
Their lineup is so... signing Starling Marte.
Like, awesome.
Cute little team you have there.
And getting rid of Frey Freeman, like, there has to be some baseball gods that are like,
you got rid of a guy that was the pillar to you winning a championship?
I'm sorry.
You're not winning the division.
Acuna's not back till May.
I will take the fills over all those teams.
Also, a magical run into late October to come back.
And we just saw the Nationals fall apart the year after.
They did.
It's tough to do that, especially as a French,
as your first World Series since 95.
It's been a long time.
It's tough to ratchet it back up after that and have that same sort of fire.
Playoff baseball in Philadelphia.
You getting excited?
I am getting excited.
Yes, I can see it on your face. That's why we lead off I'm gonna see we'll see by the end of the night
if my win total has jumped I'm at 86 but you guys are making me feel like I think this team stinks
good pretty all right this was fun thank you guys for coming in high hopes pod hour when is the next
podcast tomorrow night tomorrow night all right subscribe to high hopes podcast James Seltzer
Jack Fritz thank you Ruben Amaro is going to join us next on the Phillies roundtable on sports radio
94 WIP