High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - BONUS: Turning Point in the NLCS? | Big Time Baseball

Episode Date: October 21, 2022

Cody brings in Ryan Lavarnway to break down the NLCS between Philadelphia and San Diego to determine who has the edge moving forward in the series. The guys then pivot their attention to the realistic landing spots for Aaron Judge next season along with a debate on who they'd rather throw a big bag of money at in free agency, Carlos Correa or Trea Turner. Subscribe to Big Time Baseball! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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See Kraken.com slash legal slash CA dash PRU dash disclaimer for info on Kraken's undertaking to register in Canada. Odyssey Sports presents Big Time Baseball. Let's switch it over to the NL side because as much as it may not be as fun for everybody to talk about this series between the Phillies and Padres, which, by the way, the Padres are an incredible story right now. Hell, the Phillies are an incredible story. Why are the Phillies an incredible story? Because they have no business being anywhere near this right now. They shouldn't have made it in the playoffs.

The only reason they made it in the playoffs is because the Brewers absolutely screwed themselves by one, giving away Josh Hader, and then, of course, getting no offensive support. They gave away that last wildcard spot, especially in the last week and a half. So the Phillies get to sneak in. No one gave them a chance in hell against the New York Mets. I'm sorry, not against the New York Mets, against the St. Louis Cardinals. Well, they made short work of the Cardinals.

They follow up by beating the Braves, which, again, no business beating the Braves. I did not see them taking on the Braves after the season they had against the Braves either. And keep in mind, as much as, and as someone that was a poor defender, I can say this, this is the worst defensive baseball team I've ever seen above a ball. I'm baffled by how bad they are on defense, but they do have a good two-headed monster in their starting pitching. And offensively, we talked about the long ball with the Yankees. This team can go toe-to-toe with any offensive team, maybe ever. I think the Phillies also have this team can go toe-to-toe with any offensive team, maybe ever. I think the Phillies also have a little bit more bat-to-ball skill, a little bit more hit ability than the Yankees. And when I look at this Phillies roster, I see a lot of talent, especially on the offensive side. I see a Bryce Harper that is living up to every bit of hype that he had when

he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. And I see Kyle Schwarber as being a leader on that team, somewhere that has been there before, won a World Series, played a big part in that World Series with the Cubs. I think that Schwarber and Harper are leading this team and willing them to keep going in these playoffs. I like it. I like it. I'd like to touch on something you just said, and that's on Harper. Harper really has become the guy that he was labeled to be now even like during his first MVP run which was an incredible season I didn't look at Harper going like no yeah that's the dude I'm like no that's a great ball player in a in a great pool of ball players now I look at Harper like you can't throw to Harper every time this guy swings the bat I I clinch up going like he's if he makes contact some a fatality will take

place through the television it feels violent like he's gonna hurt us yeah and the baseball that is being hurt and he's just so ridiculous offensive and schwarber too like you mentioned by the way this team also has nick castellanos who had a down year would still hit like 20 home runs yeah you can forget about a guy like Castellanos who had a five war this year yeah it's just and by the way got booed all season with it like just yeah oh love you Philly fans just love you to death well here's the deal that team is looking good they are split one one with the San Diego Padres now here's the here's my honest to god take the Padres should win this series. They flat out should. They're a better ball club. They have a better pitching staff.

They play great defense. They flat out can rake. Juan Soto is a guy that sees more pitches than most teams, basically than the entire New York Yankees. Juan Soto sees as many pitches as they do in a game. It's just, they're a very good team. And that's without Fernando Tatis Jr., mind you. But man, the Phillies have this punch I can describe this a lot and I and forgive me if you heard me say it elsewhere or even here

on this podcast but I will say this the Phillies are George Foreman in their 50s George Foreman won a championship at age 50 with a nice right hook that he connected on if the Phillies connect with their right hook you're going down but it's a very slow right hook that he connected on. If the Phillies connect with their right hook, you're going down. But it's a very slow right hook and you should be able to dodge it, San Diego. God, you should. And I hope you get back to the World Series. And I personally would like to see

a San Diego-New York World Series rematch of 1998. I don't think that's what we're getting. I personally think we're going to see San Diego versus Houston. What do you think we're going to be getting? Well, I think Joe Musgrove, who's pitching game three for the Padres, had a really poignant point when he was interviewed about his upcoming start because he's another guy that is showing up and is being the dude that you want him to be if you're the Padres.

He has been unbelievable. I played with him for about 15 minutes on the Pirates 2018, I think it was. I can't even remember what year it was. He is a stud. He is. He's unbelievable. He talked about how the most important count for a pitcher when you're pitching to any hitter is the 1-1 count because the swing and batting average,

if it's a ball from 2-1 to 1-2, if it's a strike, is the biggest swing. This game three, when it's 1-1 right now, it's the biggest game of the series. I think whoever wins game three is going to win. I think the Phillies, the atmosphere in Philly is second to New York is probably one of the toughest places to play. But I think that the Padres in Joe Musgrove have the advantage

with the pitching, with the starting pitching. I think the Padres take game three and go on to win the series, but barely. Psst, want to get in on the best savings hack ever? Only Kudo saves you up to 40% on a sweet phone plan, reliable home internet, and all the streaming you could ever need with Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime. That's right! When you bundle with the Happy Stack, you can spend up to 40% less a month, every month, all year long, as long as you're with Kudo. Dare I say saving this much money has never been this easy?

Stack more, spend less, like way less. The Happy Stack, only at Kudo. Now with internet. I agree with that assessment. Not only that, Joe Musgrove. Now keep in mind, Joe Musgrove tonight, as we're currently sitting here on Friday, Friday evening will be the next ball game. You can check that out, of course, on FS1.

By the way, also check out the Carton Show on FS1. Why not? Some guys on it. But also on top of that, listen, Joe Musgrove faced the Phillies once this year, and he got roughed up. Six runs, six innings. Ranger Suarez did not have a very good year,

but he faced the San Diego Padres, and he shoved that game. He went into the eighth inning only giving up two runs. Now, of course, that is a small sample size, one ball game, and this is a different ball club, I think, on both sides right now. But I'm going to agree with you. I think Joe Musgrove gives the Padres the advantage of game three. I think they go on to win the series.

However, I do think it's going to be a 2-2 series going into game five because they got Noah Syndergaard taking on Mike Clevenger in game four and I I don't have anything against Mike Clevenger but I'm not feeling as confident Mike Clevenger as I say I am Joe Musgrove yeah Joe I mean Joe Musgrove is absolutely a stud especially last year and this year he's really grown into himself and turned into a top of the line rotation guy and he's number three for the Padres is that crazy he's a top of top of the end guy. He's, he's pitching for number three for them. But I like, I like what you just talked about it.

Sometimes a lineup or sometimes a hitter just doesn't see the ball out of a specific guy's hand. So we got Suarez who shoved, like even though he didn't have a great year against this team. And we got Musgrove who shoved all year, didn't have a great outing against the Phillies. So I think maybe today might be a better matchup than I originally thought, now that you point that out.

But I'm going to go with my horse. Musgrove is the horse in this situation. You bet on the horse. Yep, I dig it. I dig it a lot to the point where, listen, I'm an ex-Padre. I love me some San Diego Padres. A part of me was just so – as happy as I was that they beat the Dodgers, I still can't believe they did.

I'm like, I still look back at him like thinking, is this real life? Did this seriously take place? Did the Dodgers legitimately drop another series? But this time to the Padres. Oh, man, it was just so, so sweet. So great. And the Padre fans are just eating it up, which, hey, listen, the Padre fans have not had a lot to root for over a 52-year span.

So, man, enjoy every second of this, and I hope they do get to the World Series. But before we wrap this up, Ryan, and I want to thank you so much for joining me today. By the way, Ryan, where can people follow you on social medias? Instagram, rlevarneway. Twitter, ryanlevarneway. And ryanlevarneway.com is under construction. Check it out soon. Oh, baby.

And by the way, Ryan LeVarneway has become a very fun follow on Instagram. So make sure you guys check him out over there. But before we finish up, I just want to ask you one question. What are your thoughts on free agency? And obviously, we're only going to mention, I'm really only going to mention three names. And I'm very intrigued by this. And the reason I'm going to mention three names, obviously, we'll mention Aaron Judge. I mean, it's going to be everybody's talk

talk about for the next four months where is Aaron Judge going to be and in my opinion as much as every fandom was going to be like oh Cubs fans oh come to Chicago the Ricketts ain't paying any money to Aaron Judge let's be real clear um there's really only in my eyes two places he's going just two he's either remaining a New York Yankee and as much as Mets fans want to pretend Aaron Judge is coming over to Queens it ain't happening he's either remaining a New York Yankee, and as much as Mets fans want to pretend Aaron Judge is coming over to Queens, it ain't happening. He's either going to be a Yankee or he's going home to San Francisco to be a San Francisco Giant. What say you? Does he think the Giants are going to be a contender in the short term when he's in his prime is my question there. If I am Aaron Judge, which I am very much not, I want to be a pinstripe for my career. I want a

statue. I want to be out in Monument Park. I want a chance to win because they have a team right now that if they put it together, they should be the best team in baseball. Right now, we just talked about the Astros are the best team in baseball, but the Yankees have every chance to compete in that division, which is a little weaker than it historically has been. So they're going to be in the playoffs. They have all the pieces. And if they add any more pieces, they're just going to be ridiculous. But if I'm Aaron judge, I'm looking for the Yankees to back up the Brinks truck. You know, he's not, he's not the 27 year old free agent. He's a little bit older. So we're not going to see the years, but I think the annual pay, the per year pay is going to be among the highest that we've seen.

I think you are absolutely right. Now here's the question. Does he take those years? I don't know. This is why I really think San Francisco comes into play because I think San Francisco who has as much money as anybody, I cannot stress that enough. They, I think they'd be willing to give the years along with the salary. That's just my thought. Now, do I know that for a fact? I do not. That's my speculation right now. But there's a reason why that team didn't go and sign any free agents the last two years.

They got money, and I think they're looking to spend it. And here's the other two players I want to mention real quick, just before we sign off. Carlos Correa, any other year, like last year, would have a stranglehold on the market. That ain't the case this year because the Dodgers have a lot of free agents available, specifically one name I want to mention, and that is Trey Turner. If you were a general manager, who do you want as your shortstop? Trey Turner or Carlos Correa? Boy, that's tough. Trey Turner has the hit ability, the on-base. Correa's got the edge in the power. I think with the Dodgers, you just had the best regular season

in your history. Your postseason ended a little bit sooner than you would have liked to. But you like the pieces you have. The clubhouse camaraderie, I think they understand. Magic Johnson running that team, I think he understands how much it means to have players that like each other and like playing together. I think the Dodgers try to retain Trey Turner. I think they do as well. And I'm going to tell you right now, if I was a GM that was looking for a shortstop right now, and I had the funds available to me, of the two, I want Trey Turner. And it's not just the reasons you said. There's one big thing you didn't mention that immediately comes to my mind. He stays on the field.

Carlos Correa misses at least a month every season. Now, when he's on the field, yes, he's the best shortstop in baseball. He's the best offensive shortstop definitely in baseball. But quite frankly, Trey Turner is on that field every single day, putting up absurd numbers, getting on base and wreaking havoc. And like you said, the Dodgers had the best single season of their history. And it's a very rich history. If I'm the Dodgers, I get my hands back on Trey Turner. I lock him up and just do my best to stop screwing up in October. Oh, Ryan, this has been a blast,

guys. Make sure you like, share and subscribe to big time baseball wherever you get your favorite podcast and of course the odyssey app itself make sure you follow ryan lavarnway everywhere he goes and make sure you follow his journey going for the next wbc team israel world baseball classic ladies and gentlemen and of course you can follow me on twitter at decker6 and anti-hero baseball on instagram that's it for us be enjoy you some baseball beat it