High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Deep Breaths, the Sky is Not Falling... and Wow, Seltzer Agrees?

Episode Date: August 14, 2022

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz react to a disappointing series in New York and more. Presented by Miller Lite. 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

This is the High Hopes Podcast. High Hopes! It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Phillies on Odyssey and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Yo! It is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast presented by Miller Lite, official partner of the Philadelphia Phillies. Jack Fritz, just in the little bit of time we've had to talk before the pod, is very serious right now. He may or may not have called this the most important podcast of the season. I don't know if that was hyperbole, if he really meant it.

We're about to find out, but a lot to get into. Not the best weekend of baseball it started so good jack that's why i tried to give the yo a nice little start but then obviously certainly um downhill uh precipitously from that a lot to get into but i this feels like one of those times where other than saying shout out to miller light we love you we got a lot of cool miller light stuff to tell you about later in the pod uh but outside of that I feel like I should just kind of lay back and and let you do your thing because you are you are intense right now well I mean again I love this fan base I really do it's just like holy cow they like they They, oh, my God, they didn't score off Jacob deGrom yesterday.

And they won a really good game Friday night. Like, you know, I just, I can't believe the meltdown. And I guess I understand because it's been a long time since we've had playoff baseball and whatnot. But, I mean, for the love of everything in the world uh they're eight and two in their last 10 games and you know this whole idea of oh well they haven't beaten anyone it's like they are have a winning record against teams that were 500 they have tie break breakers over the brewers padres and cardinals like the three teams they're literally competing directly with for the playoff spots.

I don't know how to explain this, but the Mets are a good team. I know that hurts, and I know losing to the Mets absolutely sucks. Jack, the Mets are a really good team. Let's be honest. They're a really good team, and they're scary in October. I mean, what more could you potentially want than Scherzer, DeGrom, and the guy who's been the best closer in baseball this year, essentially? Like, that's usually a recipe for success in October. They're really good.

It's okay to say it. They're still the Mets. They're really good. Yeah. I mean, they have Scherzer, who is, I would say, the second best pitcher of this generation. I still think Verlander's better. I think it's between him. Obviously, Kershaw has fallen off the last couple of years, but those are the three names that you think of when you think of best of the generation. And I think Kershaw's peak is the best, but I actually think overall what he's done the last three, four years at the ages he's been, I actually am with you. I think it's Verlander.

Yeah, and then they have the best opener in baseball, Jacob DeGrom. That was a hell of an open, Jack. Yeah, it was fine. You know, another six innings yesterday. Good job. I mean, that's about what you can expect from the best opener in baseball. He's going to open the baseball game and then, you know, it's on the bullpen to kind of close it out.

So, you know, good for him. And I like Chris Bassett a lot just as a pitcher. So, you know, I just, again, it's not an important podcast from the standpoint of like, you know, big series and whatnot. It feels like an important podcast for a deep breath. This is a good baseball team. Like they, they went into New York. I would say the first game was a coin flip. They were able to win it. That is big. Yesterday, I felt like it was a coin flip.

And Aaron Nola was brilliant. You know, Aaron Nola being able to do that on the road in a big spot. That's not the Aaron Nola that we've seen in the last couple of years. The Aaron Nola that we've seen in the last couple of years is a guy that usually does not step up to the plate in that scenario. And they played bad today. They played bad today. And they're doing it without Kyle Schwarber, who I believe is the heart and soul of this team.

They're doing it without Bryce Harper, who's the MVP of the league right now. So, yeah. Or was the MVP of the league last year. Obviously, we know who Bryce Harper is. Was playing MVP baseball when he got hurt. Yes, exactly. So, I just can't deal with the,, oh my God, here comes the August swoon. I believe more they've proven to us that they are a good team.

And I feel like this weekend was a bit of a blip on the radar rather than sky is falling, here we go. And I just feel like that's important to get out of the way early uh today sucked but i'm not writing off this baseball team yeah i'm i'm 100 with you this is not one of those times where you're you know mr you know oh it's okay when i don't think it's gonna be okay like i couldn't agree with you more this seems still 12 games above 500 remember when we used to go do pods and be like well you, you know, they got swept, but at least they got a little wiggle room and they're three games above 500 and we're not like back at 500 yet.

That's cool. They lost a series and they're 12 games above 500. Like they are a good baseball team. And I think you hit on the key thing, at least for me, you know, it's the Schwarber thing. I think it's not just the the on the field stuff which again as we saw this weekend I mean shut out back-to-back games they've scored what you know a couple runs the last four games I mean they've obviously been been uh somewhat anemic offensively over a tiny small samples high stretch but it coincides with Schwarber he's such a massive part of this lineup

and in that big win um against the Marlins had you know was such a massive part of this lineup, and in that big win against the Marlins, was such a big part of that game. We'll get to all that, but I think just missing him on the field matters a ton from a lineup perspective, but then on top of it, the fact that, like you said before, I think this guy is the heart and soul of the team. I think he deserves to be in the MVP conversation.

I understand there are guys who are having better statistical seasons and deserve it more from that perspective, and that's fair. And I'm not saying he should be the MVP. But what this guy has done on the field, obviously with the, you know, leading the league in homers and the spark that he's provided when this team needs it, the amount of clutch hits and home runs he's gotten that is obviously anecdotal, but we watch these games. We know he gets a lot of big hits. Like, and then most importantly, what he's done for the culture here and the clubhouse. And I attribute as much of this team's belief in itself and difference from the last few years and vibe around the team to

him as I do to anyone. Thompson, obviously too, but I think Schwarber has just been a MVP-type person and player for this team this year, and I think losing him going to the Mets series, you did play a role. I really do. And I'd be lying if I said that there wasn't a part of me that was like, he's definitely going to go yard here last night. There was definitely that. I know.

I would have melted into my couch. Well, especially because he owns the Mets, too like there's that extra layer of it you know yeah so you know um it was a frustrating day today and and the the runners left on base you know it bothers me that guys won't do a job you know you got a job there get the guy over to third base see if we can do. Too many strikeouts in key spots today. That was very, very annoying. They haven't hit a homer in five days, which is

shocking. Especially after the barrage. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So, I mean, yeah. There was things today that would cause some concern, but I just think that we've got to take a step back. It's a long season. They've they've proven i believe more than they've proven not to be a good baseball team and again like i think friday was a special win and and one of those wins i think we look back

on the end of the year is like a really fun night um i felt last night you know saturday night was as close to a playoff game as i've felt in a long time like my heart was pounding in the eighth and ninth inning which it was weird it was like i was like what what is this feeling in my chest right now like is this this is about a baseball game um so and and like it was really fun you know they lost and i was even sitting there like yeah they lost but nola doing that in that spot and whatnot was a really important thing. So here we are. You know, they lost two or three to the Mets.

But they have a chance this weekend to kind of, you know, take it back. Yeah. And, again, they also have, you know, seven of their – you know, they have the four-game series of the Mets next weekend, but the next seven of 11 are against the Reds, who are a horrible, horrible baseball team. They still have a lot of easy games on the schedule. They are still a playoff team by two games, technically three or two and a half,

whatever you want to say, because they own the tiebreaker against the Brewers. This guy is not falling at all because they lost to a good team in New York and they didn't show up with a lot of guys. know with Schwarber out obviously Harper's not back yet you know this team still has a real chance to round into shape when it matters most and again they've proven that they deserve our benefit of the doubt I mean even just within the last week since we've talked with like you said that that Friday night game you know it's funny because i feel like we always have the joke uh every year the last you know four years and you've done top fives about it and we've done all this stuff where it's like oh another worst loss ever how many of those have we

had like 20 worst loss evers how many horrible losses could we possibly have and this year it does feel like it's a lot more like how many best wins of the season have we had because we had the one on Friday we had the one in the first game of the Marlins series which was a freaking thrilling win that it just felt like they were done like it felt like they were going to lose that game and they come through the JT hit all that stuff and then there's so many others obviously Garrett Stubbs against the Marlins, the two-stop big home runs, the boom-veerling game in Milwaukee against Hader, like, it's just time after time after time after time, this team has shown us that, you know, the Castellanos homer, like, there are so many of those games where it's like, you know, this team's gonna battle, they're gonna fight, and, you know,

they had a bad series in New York that started off really well, and the second game, you know what, you got beat by the best opener in the history of openers, a hall of fame opener. You know, it's going to happen. But I do think, Jack, that this team, as we've talked about a lot, has earned the benefit of the doubt, especially from that perspective of a team that when they've battled adversity, both in games and in the season, their record without Harper and all these games that we've talked about where they've come back and had these miraculous wins, that's what good teams do. And just because they lost a series in New York, and yes, it was a hyped up series that we're all excited for, and thus people are going to overreact to it.

But to your overall point, this team has really shown that it'd be silly to... And again, they're 12 games over 500 in a playoff team, so counting them out is a ridiculous phrase, but it'd be silly to count them out after a bad series in New York. You know what I mean? Yeah, and that's kind of where I'm at. Would you also agree with me that Edwin Diaz is the most dominant closer in New York baseball history? I can't really think of another closer that that would possibly in the

be in the same class so it's it's a really really really interesting point um i mean look billy wagner for a couple years with the mets was pretty damn dominant like his stuff was was pretty nasty i didn't see goose gossage but people said gooseose Gossage, a Hall of Fame-type closer, so that's something to consider. Chapman had a good run there. Good run. John Franco had a great run. Of course. I mean, Benitez, Jesse Orozco won a World Series,

closed out a World Series, man. Jesse Orozco, I think he still pitched the most innings in the history of the game or most appearances, whatever. He's up there. hold on did they have closers and like the in the 20s and 30s and 40s are they like not invented yet because every starter went i don't think so buddy i don't think the save came into existence until like you know the 60s or 50s or whatever yeah um but yeah i think we just nailed every single great new y, either Yankees or Mets closer. So yeah, I mean, so the point is Edwin Diaz this season

having maybe the greatest season by a New York closer ever, potentially. Well, and at least he throws two pitches that are equally disgusting, not just like one fake one. I don't think that worked out the way you thought it did. I honestly think it is way, way, way, way, way, way more impressive that he only had one. It might be the most impressive thing about him that he was what he was with one.

I mean, it's just silly. It's absurd. He didn't even need to. He didn't even need to. He's like, I don't need a second. Yeah, I'm a metaphorical person is what I'm talking about. Yeah, again, i'm not really sure who you're talking about but um yeah so i i i can already tell like you know we're a little

probably a little too happy for the for the for the mood right now in the city but like i i just uh you know they yeah we're not happy don't get me wrong we're not like oh they this was a great weekend like they suck today and and today they had some dumb plays. I mean, the Gene play, that was just bad baseball, and they had some sloppy stuff today. But look, yesterday you're going to get beat by DeGrom. Just like once in a while you're going to get the best of Scherzer in a Scherzer start or whatever. You know, like for two games, these teams were super evenly matched and played two great baseball games. And today they didn't. You know, it happens. I'm not going to overreact. And who would have thunk?

Like, Nola twirls a gem and Wheeler, you know, and granted, you know, a lot of like, you know, bloops and this and that. But Wheeler doesn't. You know, who would have thunk it? If you told me that today's game never happened, like if you took the first two games of this series, I would have said the Phillies are maybe not as good as the Mets, but I think they belong in the same field as the Mets. And I think that's important from this weekend. And Wheeler today, he just hasn't looked the same that he did last year for the last month.

It hasn't been – now, I know his era so it looks really good but he's faced some kind of clunker teams it doesn't feel like we've gotten the same level of strikeout games that we had seen from last year um today was weird like i kind of felt like he ditched his fastball way too early and i thought he uh he had a good fastball today. So that was mildly something to kind of file away. But, you know, I kind of feel as we wind down here that as we get into these big games, when we get into September and we hope we get into postseason, it's like, yeah, I'm not worried about Wheeler.

I think Wheeler's going to give them a good effort. I think it's way more important that Ranger did what he did. I mean, Ranger, he went pitch for pitch with Max Scherz. Yeah, he did. There's no doubt about that. I think we've talked about it on this podcast about how we both feel like Ranger is back. 100%. And him doing that against a non-scrub team is further evidence.

In a big spot, too. In a big spot. And that's a first game. It's a friday night starter on the road the mets i mean shout out to the to the mets fans this weekend i mean 40 plus thousand every game and some phillies fans in there i know my brother was there wearing a high hope shirt so shout out to peter matt after some people were there so it's good love to see that um but ranger doing that in that spot i think is is massive and then then figuring out

how to win and then again we mentioned the beginning of the podcast but i think nola as we head down into september which is the month that has uh ailed him in the last couple years and something that people love to throw back in the face of people that believe that aaron nola could be good this year um you know him doing that in that spot i think bought him a bit of a grace period with philly's fans where it's like, you know what? I can be a big game pitcher. I mean, he retired 17 in a row. That is ridiculous.

And it reminded me, for old fans of this podcast, and there's two current bits going on right now for the older fans of this podcast. Only two? Well, there's a lot, but one for the real ogs of this podcast uh joey manessis oh buddy he's got like a 1300 obs or something yep mac it really might be max monthly 2.0 uh that is a super deep cut like if you are listening right now and you remember Jack saying that, like I love you because that's a super deep cut.

Yeah, that's going back to old WIP studios. That's going back to early I Hope's days. I mean, that's like I would say it's 2018. Yeah, very, very early. Very early. So that's a deep cut. And then the other bit was obviously Nola starred at Fenway and how it made us. And just play off Nola in general, like that idea.

It made us believe, like, I can't wait to see what he does when they eventually make the postseason. And him doing that in that spot, it was like, God, I can't wait. I want to see what he can do. And I feel like the last couple years, there's been a lot of doubt in Aaron Nola in big games. Yeah, I've definitely been one of them. And I think if you are a Phillies fan and love this team and love this podcast or whatever,

I think it was also perfectly okay to doubt Aaron Nola in big games and big games on the road because he, frankly, hadn't done it for for three years but him in that spot on Saturday night it's like that's a big step forward towards believing in him again so um again it was toe-to-toe with the ground frankly I think he had a better start to get a more valuable start and he retired 17 straight so uh shout out to knolls yeah i i couldn't agree with you more and again you know into september and seeing if he can continue to do this is such a massive thing you know both for the season and also let's be honest right there's a club option for him next year they'll pick it up but you know do you keep aaron noah here long term do you resign him like this is one of the big questions there is because you know prior to this season i think most philly fans would say absolutely not and this season he's it

has been a legitimate rebirth and he's still young he's still in the prime of his career so it's you know very believable that this is the guy who he could be it's just we do have that kind of lingering thing with the september you know big star type of thing so i'm with you i thought it was a really big weekend for him a big night for him and you know obviously big star type of thing. So I'm with you. I thought it was a really big weekend for him, a big night for him. And, you know, obviously a shame as it does seem like he gets unlucky with the wins when he pitches great, but shame they couldn't get it done. All right. I'm assuming you're going to touch on the other stuff you want to from the weekend and

the games in the take bag. I know you're going to get to Abel and Painter in the take bag. I don't need to get into it. The Kniebel injury, you know, not much to say. We'll see what happens. You hope he's okay. A lat strain, they say. I have three, you know, Jack me specific things that I'm just going to indulge and do it.

And then we'll get to the take bag for more stuff. Because they're all baseball related. It's nothing weird. All right, ready? First, I'm going to start with a compliment before I go for the more below the belt stuff. And to be fair, I take shots at myself too. This is going to be equal opportunity stuff, but I want to start with a compliment. And not to toot your own horn too much, because I'm sure a lot of people have already done it and all that.

But lead off stop, buddy. That was not only a great call by you that it should happen and would happen but then he has like a historic game against max scherzer at his first spot leadoff spot um you know take a bow buddy sometimes you get a bow do you mean that uh it's good that the that the that bryson stott is the first player in major league baseball history to reach base four times in a game against max sure yes that it's pretty good that's what you kind of want to see in his first ever game in the leadoff spot in major league baseball not horrible yeah and again we've mentioned this you know the last like what it feels like 10 podcasts Like we don't care at all about Bryson Stott's batting average.

Like I do not, there's not one part of me that cares because frankly, ever since June 1st, I think he's been a really good offensive beats. I think his, I'm pretty sure his strikeout rate since the all-star game is 4%, which is, I think,

I think he's fourth best in baseball is what I saw. Yeah. So over that stretch is what I saw. Yeah. Over that stretch, obviously. Yeah. I mean, again, he's a rookie, man. Yes. And a lefty. I do think it matters.

I think it's tougher to be a left-handed hitter in late innings against – we always talk about these guys just coming and sliding you to death. I do think it's even a little bit more impressive that he's a lefty. Yeah. And I guess my basis for Stout in the leadoff role was like, you know, I think he works good at bats. I think he's going to put the bat on the ball, and I think he's going to give them a chance and maybe a little bit of a spark at the top of the lineup.

And it's so interesting. It does feel like he consistently puts together better at bats when he is just like spread out from the beginning, but he just never really does it. Usually that's more of a two-strike thing. And I guess the thing with Stott in the leadoff spot is, okay, well, what happens when Schwarber comes back? Because I'm not one of those people that's like,

ah, you've got to get Schwarber out of the leadoff spot so that he can move down the lineup and get more RBI chances. I think that he's comfortable there. lineup and get more rbi chances um you know i think that he's comfortable there he's done a good job there i'm kind of surprised actually the obp is so low but i think he's been more aggressive within the strike zone so it's it's whatever but i there is a part of me that's like okay you you bring schwarber back do you just leave Stott there and you go like Stott, Hoskins, Schwarber, Boehm, Real Muto? Like does that make the Phillies offense better?

And I don't think I disagree that it would give them a chance to do some damage. So I'm really curious to see what Topper does as this goes along here. I think he's going to be back tomorrow in Cincinnati. That was kind of the word pregame was that Schwarber will be back tomorrow night in the lineup. But I don't think it's the worst thing in the world that, hey, maybe we could have some good talent at the top of the lineup

and reward Stott for everything he's done. And then you have Schwarber in an ideal world in more RBI chances. Let the record show that Jack just called Rob Thompson topper. If you want to rewind your podcast, I don't know, 30 seconds a minute, you'll hear it. He called him topper. Just want that to be noted.

I go back and forth. It's whatever I'm feeling. All right. Second, and I agree with a lot of what you said. I think it'd be a really interesting thing, at least until Harper gets back. Obviously, look, good news on Harper. He's swinging. You know, we're kind of getting a live BP situation.

Minor league game's not that far off, I would think. Really exciting. Really exciting stuff. And who knows what kind of difference that can make. All right. Second show thing. And again, we'll get to the take bag. I'm going to, in a minute uh the third one

i'm going to put myself out there and then i'm going to wrap it back around to you but uh this one's totally you and totally on you uh that and look you know you never um you know i think fernando tatis is good for baseball i i think he is um one of the fun young players in the game who can help grow the game and all that but when i saw that he had an 80-game suspension for BDs and obviously has not played yet this season. Wow, I did not think you were taking this to the podcast. Well, I told you I was. I told you I was.

And my first reaction was, hey, this is great for the Phillies. And Jack goes, yeah, but it sucks for my fantasy team. And that that was more important, the implication from Jack. So, you know, we never lie to the Iop's listeners. I'm about to submarine myself in a minute, too. Don't worry. We don't lie. I got another omission or, you know, omission from me coming, admission.

But I feel like you have to respond to this. Like, you know, it's pretty bad. A lot of missions going on here at the Hot Ghost Podcast. Holy cow. Can you spit it out at the Hot Ghost Podcast. Holy cow. Can you spit it out for me? All right, all right. The floor is yours. All right, don't deflect.

It's an ad mission, Anthony Rendon. All right, all right. Are you deflecting more? Are you going to speak to the IOPs listeners who are devastated that you cared more about your fantasy team than the Phillies? I'm just putting that out there. Well, frankly, I don are devastated that you cared more about your fantasy team than the Phillies. I'm just, you know, just putting that out there. Well, frankly, I don't know what you're talking about. No.

First off, good team player here. Would it be, you know, part of the team? I told you I was going to bring it up, too. I texted back. I'm like, I'm definitely bringing this up on the pod. Full disclosure. bring it up too i text it back i'm like i'm definitely bringing this up in the pod uh full disclosure i have been uh very very frustrated with my fantasy and it's like so so full disclosure i've i've won the regular season i think the last four seasons and i've lost my championship in three of four and i i'm just so sick and tired of it um and, you know, I'm like, I don't know.

I'm in like third or fourth place right now. And it's like, okay, I'm getting Tatis back and I'm getting Trout back. Like I've had to overcome so much adversity in this fantasy season. And I was like, oh, finally, I'm getting Fernando Tatis Jr. back. And then he does this ringworm

or whatever and is not going to be back for my team. And it just crushes my soul. So yes, for the Phillies, it definitely is good news. The Padres not adding a top five player in baseball is probably a good break for the Phillies but I can't lie my first reaction was are you kidding me like I can't I can't get him back for for a postseason run here as I'm starting to for my team to kind of round into form so um completely selfish move by me uh I am one who takes accountability Donovan Donovan just I just said that I might go back to the point where you were like i mean whining and put in violet like sad violin music as you go on i might do that when i edit

the pot i'm saying you know just because you should because because there's not one person out there that cares unless you're fernando tatis fantasy owner or a Padres fan I would assume yeah yeah um so yeah listen for me it sucks for the Phillies it's great but yes my first reaction was this sucks for me I'm not a me guy you know I'm not really a me guy I'm more of a team guy but you know in every in every team there is an me so that's true that's the uh that's the lesson here that's true and look i get it i like fantasy too all right uh now i'm gonna put myself out there and then maybe bring it back to you but yours less egregious i'll just be honest about it um and i need i honestly don't know if this is okay or not like i'm kind of asking you i'm asking iops

listeners so you know uh uh tampa bay has a perfect game going today. Rasmussen heading into the ninth inning. And the Phillies are down 6-0, pitching. And Knievel's on the mound. And I was like, you know what? Because my daughter was commanding. You know, I have the two TVs, so normally it wouldn't be an issue. But, you know, Zoe had the one TV.

And, you know, I wasn't going to, you know, force my daughter to watch baseball. She actually was watching Fanatic Highlights, which is pretty cool. But I turned the Phillies off for like two minutes. It could have been longer. It was like a second because the first batter ripped a double in the left field immediately and in the perfect game. But you know what? I said, I'm going to switch over and I'm going to watch history rather than a few Corey Knievel pitches. Jack, was that right or wrong?

Then we'll get to you, buddy. But was that right or wrong? Listen, perfectly fine. Thank you. You didn't miss a thing. I know. I know. It was –

It was going for like two seconds. It was like boom, hit. All right. Well, that was cool. Yeah. I mean, I had it on my computer, so I was watching as well. Boom, hit. All right, well, that was cool.

Yeah, I mean, I had it on my computer, so I was watching as well. But today was one of those games where it was like, wow, 1.40 to about 4 o'clock was the biggest waste of three hours and 20 minutes of my life. It really was. All right, so the second part of it, you just, again, bringing the text to the air, because that's what we do. Tell everyone what you texted me after the Rasmussen thing. All right, so let me set this up by saying that uh i don't think i'm a bad person um that's good you shouldn't i think it'd be twisted if you thought you're a bad person yeah i think i'm a pretty decent guy um but i gotta be honest like i like seeing perfect games broken up more than I like seeing perfect games.

That's so crazy. What are you talking about? It's history. Dude, I know it's history. But it's just to see all those people get so excited and then crushed in one double down the line. It's like, ah, gotcha. It's dark, Jack. It's a dark take on this i know it is it is and i don't know why i'm the way i am but i just i like seeing perfect games get broken up uh i

think it's like like the the pan to the crowd after they get broken up i find hilarious it's like it's like oh you weren't paying attention for the first like seven innings but now you're all in and now you're devastated and um and whatnot and it's just like the air that gets completely sucked out of the building i find it be hilarious um so yeah i don't know because i'm one of those guys as well like my favorite thing in sports is is when a player goes in the road in a playoff game and dominates, like, I think that's the coolest thing in sports because it shuts up, like hopefully a sold out crowd.

And, you know, I kind of take that mentality to perfect games. they, they shut the crowd up when they get the, uh, the hit. And then like,

everyone's mad at that guy, but it's like, what is he supposed to do? Just get out and give the guy the perfect game. There's so many factors that go into rooting for a perfect game to be broken up i will say this james it is pretty crazy that it's been literally the uh as long as the phillies have not been in the postseason since there's been a a perfect game yeah yeah i mean there's only been 23 ever it is incredibly rare there's only been 15 since i was born in 1981 like it's pretty i know i'm old it's pretty crazy it's pretty nuts that's

why i would root for it yes hold on hold on i want the record to show oh god that i was rooting for doc's perfect game good i would hope so about and look yeah i i refer it super fun we would add the galaraga one if that had never i mean like that was a perfect game obviously wasn't um but yeah i root for him i mean the umpire called him out so yeah i think it's hilarious because my you know i you texted me that and i was like i was like you're horrible like you're alone on an island and then like two minutes later my best friend since first grade teddy texts me i get a morbid fascination i love when a perfect game is broken up ninth i'm like you know screw both of you all right like i was like i felt very good that jack was alone on an island and then like two seconds later anyway uh all right uh take back in a second i

think we got through through my stuff with a plumb uh Again, shout out to Miller Lite. Reminder, the next Ring the Bell Night at Miller Lite Landing, Liberty Landing at Citizens Bank Park is coming up Friday, August 26th. That is one week from this upcoming Friday. It's going to be against the Pirates, 7.05 first pitch. We will be in the Miller Lite Landing from 5.35 on, hanging out. And as you know, if you've come to the games with us, we basically just stay there the whole game and hang out with everybody. So if you want to come hang out with us, you can spend as much time as you want

because we'll be there the whole baseball game, hanging out. It's super fun. We will have some ticket giveaways on WIP, so tune in tomorrow, this week, Monday, and moving forward. I don't know what days they'll be there, but we will have giveaways this week, next week, I'm sure, as well. Coming out with us. It's going to be awesome.

We always have fun when we do these things. It's coming up soon, August 26th. Yeah, let me tell you something. We have no interest in watching a baseball game during IHOP. We just want to hang out with people. Yeah, we're just strictly there

to hang out with people. When people cheer, we. We're just strictly there to hang out with people. When people cheer, we'll run over. When people like Boo, we'll run over, but that'll be about it. You know, late in games, we're locked in, for sure. Of course. By the way, I'm 3-0, or yeah, 3-0 games this year, so, you know, just saying.

Yeah, but it doesn't matter because, you know, Zoe gets factored in this time. Well, it's true. It's true. It's a big point. It's hard to trust Zoe Seltzer. Big point, my friend. Big point.

And frankly, if she loses that game, then no, not allowed back to another High Hopes night. It's not wrong. Not wrong. That's an official High Hopes position, I'm sure. I agree. Okay, so Cincinnati this week, just simply put, need to take care of business. Like, I have no interest in messing around, you know, get me at least two or three, which we always say. But a sweep should be on the table.

For sure, that team is dead. And, hey, maybe being in Great American Ballpark can wake Nick Gasconoff. Yep. Wake him up a little bit. Because, man, I don't understand why all of a sudden he starts just taking non-conviction swings out of nowhere. He'll just all of a sudden be like, you know what, I'm not going to try to swing

and do any damage with this pitch. I'm just hoping to put it in play. So it was a frustrating week for Nick. After the Braves Homer, it kind of felt like we were on our way back. But not the case. Not the case. So maybe being back in Great American Ballpark and get him going a little bit. I'm going to start off with saying something about Noah Syndergaard, who I uh not been a fan of and reminds me a bit of Arrieta no I don't care that he uh you know they he went like six innings allowed two runs

the other day and it's like well yeah that's fine but it wasn't impressive like he's facing two of the worst uh offensive teams in the National League but I think there's something interesting in the Syndergaard slider um you know it was up by i think three miles per hour from his first start um to that start so if they can you know the phillies has done a good job with you know having guys throw their best pitches more you know whether it's uh the belotti slider the alvarado cutter. Noel's been working his cutter in more. You know, so they've done a good job with these kind of pitchers. Like Brogdon has thrown a cutter more.

So when I look at Syndergaard's slider, it seems like an obvious, let's throw this pitch more because it's like the one pitch in his arsenal that I'm like, yeah, that pitch is kind of nasty. And then everything else is just like, eh. So look for that. You know, I think his next start, I expect to see the slider more. Again, it was up three miles an hour. It had good movement to it. And, again, when you look at everything else in his arsenal, it's like, eh, that kind of sucks.

But when you see that pitch, it's like, oh, that could be okay. So look out for the Cinderguard slider this week against the Reds. I will take, eh, that could be okay. So look out for the Cinder Guard slider this week against the Reds. I will take, ah, that could be okay. I'm in on that. Yeah. But overall, an okay start to the Cinder Guard era. Yeah, it's what we expected. Come on.

You know, we can't say we're surprised. Although the Mets did give him a video tribute, which I thought was nice I think if I was doing New York sports radio I'm pretty sure I would have melted down about Syndergaard Oh I'll bet you would have buddy A Mets video tribute

The second thing In my take back Is a shout out to Katie Nolan She is a friend of the podcast Obviously at this point On Friday night she uttered the phrase. She is, huh? I had no idea.

All right. She has to be. I like Katie Nolan. I'm a fan. There's simply no other explanation for Katie Nolan uttering the phrase, who let the Philz get hot? Oh, buddy. Yeah.

On Friday night's broadcast. So I tweeted out because I was listening to the game because I had to watch the stupid Eagles again. It's like, oh, my God. I'm in the press box. The stupid Eagles. First off, I'm in the press box, and no one else is watching the Phillies game,

which I find atrocious. It's like, can we please lock in on the important things? We got Phil's Mets in New York. Pick a series in a decade. Yeah, it was so sad. Like the whole, like, what's more important? What do you want to see more? Lock in on the important things. We got Phil's Mets in New York. Pick a series in a decade. Yeah. It was so shit. Like the whole like what's more important? What do you want to see more?

It's like really like stop. Stop. Right. So me being the obviously having the pulse of the city and no one better at it. I was watching Phil's Mets in the press. We all saw your tweet, buddy. We all saw your tweet. It's all about priorities. Yeah.

And so I didn't, and so then I had to go back to the studio and I was watching it on mute as we were doing the post game show, whatever. And then I started getting tweets like, oh, Katie Nolan said, who let the Phil's get hot or whatever. And that of course forced me to tweet.

Sources are saying that Katie Nolan said, who let the Phil's get hot. And then Katie Nolan liked that tweet. Oh buddy. And I didn't add her, which means that she was searching her name on Twitter, which would suggest that she was looking out for my Twitter to see if, uh,

yeah, I don't even think she was searching her name. I think she probably just checks her Twitter every night and saw what she was like, Whoa, that's me. Well, I will say if I was doing a game, a national broadcast, and I wanted to learn about the team and I had to search Phillies on my like Apple podcast or whatever as the number one Phillies podcast, the highest rated Phillies podcast, I think we'd be the correct one to listen to. So are we the highest rated?

Is that true well most five star rating i didn't know that by like almost 400 now thank you everybody we look at we're warming my heart right now i feel so happy oh by the way it's been a while since we've done this yeah we totally forgot about it we'd love you to rate and review. Contribute to the five-star ratings, please. Yes. So, yeah. So, shout out to Katie Nolan, an obvious listener of the podcast, and you're welcome on anytime.

The feeling on Saturday night, again, I mentioned this earlier, was unlike anything I felt in damn near a decade. I was sitting there in the ninth, and my my heart was just pounding out of my chest so it felt good to be back but there's also a part of me like man this is stressful you know what i mean like forget how stressful it is every pitch like it's very tense it's very very tense it is it's like oh my god and and i was sitting there and the game was over whatever and you know i was like

how the hell do people find baseball boring like that was one of the most intense games i've seen in in a long time like i understand that the day-to-day can be boring and and whatnot but when you're in that moment in that spot like i just don't think you like sports if you don't find that uh entertaining yeah couldn't agree more obviously um all right uh two things so uh last thing harper's taking bragging practice tomorrow um that is massive i saw some hacks he was taking the cage the other day looks like just as good as he uh always does uh i guess he's gonna go on a a rehab uh soon, which will be fun. There's a part of me that just can't wait to see Bryce go through Lakewood, Redding.

I know. I always love that stuff. I love that stuff. Jacob DeGrom. I always think about what a cool experience it must be for those career minor leaguers or the guys who are young and in the minors or whatever and be like, holy crap, I'm batting against Max Scherzer in a rehab start.

That just must be so cool. Well, Jalen Ortiz took in yards, so Max Scherzer's obviously Why do you think I mentioned Scherzer, buddy? Obviously a fraud. And then the last thing, obviously, had to get to this.

The Redding fight and fill. Yeah! Let's go! Their rotation. The future one and two of a World Series winning team in 2026. The 2026 fills led by Painter and Abel. Like Schilling and Johnson in 01. Let's go.

Abel, like Schilling and Johnson and oh one. Let's go. There's a part of me that believes that the Reading rotation could be better than the current. I don't know if I'm ready to throw that take out there. That would be a pretty aggressive one, but I really, I really do appreciate it. I tell you what, it's going to be exciting seeing what those guys do. I would be, well, I wonder if there's, I'm not sure there's a,

I think there's like a non-zero chance that Griff could be moving up even more this year. Like he seems like they want to get him on a fast track to the big league. But it's just so surprising, you know, what Dave Dombrowski and Preston Mattingly, like they just trust these young pitchers and they're going to push them. And it's just so wild to see like a 19-year-old, he's advanced three levels in five months. And Andrew Painter, like, again, he might be the best pitching prospect in the sport in a year from now.

I think, you know, right now it's Grayson Rodriguez. He'll be brought up and he'll be in that orioles rotation but and it might be andrew painter after that which is just insane so the reading rotation of him able griff it's hard not to dream and he started thinking like wheeler nola griff painter able it's exciting do i think that it's it's interesting because i get excited about that but then i'm also saying to myself like no shot they're all going to be on the same big league rotation like they'll probably trade one no like a zero percent chance honestly like there's a uh at least a chance that neither wheeler nola are here i think one of the two will be but like you, you know, figure what,

Abel and Painter, obviously I agree with you. I think McGarry will see the majors first in one form or another, but what are we like two years away from legitimately thinking they could be a, like one of the five, maybe a year and a half at best. Like, so I think Wheeler's prior, no, they could both be here. It's possible. I don't know it's on like three years maybe like you know no like painter i think painter could be up next year i

really do wow i love that i love that i mean they're pushing them they are you're right you're right it's just it i mean that's that's the thing that i think i know we've talked about this in the past in the pod but when you look at whether it's for hitter or pitcher but when you look at that particularly um you know the minor league numbers for guys it's always super important to look at their age and the level they're at because you know a 19 year old dominating double a is a very very very different thing than a 22 or 23 year old dominating double a like that's, you know, elite, elite, elite stuff when you could do that at that age, you know, either side of the ball. So, yeah, I'm not used to it, Jack.

Like, what is this? We've not had a painter, you know. Honestly, I mean, Hamels was a, you know, ended up being a great pro, but prospect-wise, like, he wasn't Andrew Painter. You know, we haven't he wasn't Andrew Painter. We haven't had anyone like Andrew Painter. It's nuts. And let me just get this out there for the people.

I can just feel it coming. I can just sense it. I got a spidey sense when it comes to this fan base. The whole, oh, well, what did the baby aces turn out to be? Like, Andrew Painter and Nick Abel and Griff McGarry are on a different level of the baby aces. Like, they, I know. Andrew Painter might be the best pitching prospect in the sport league. He might be like a top three prospect in the sport in a year, like you just said, you know?

He very well could be. So, I don't want to hear any baby aces comparison. I don't want to hear phillies don't push their prospects oh phillies this phillies that's what the prospects like take a chill pill um but i really chill pill i love that that was good work it's good work see i'm really interested to see what painter does at the double a level um just because i mean it was very evident that single a high a um was like not enough i mean that's ridiculous to say but like it wasn't enough for him he was so good uh and and through so many strikes and struck out like dude i mean heading into his last start he had 100 strikeouts and 63 innings this year i mean that's just absurd so So, you know, now he goes to Reading. It's a tough ballpark to pitch in at home. And if he dominates there, I mean, the big leagues are only a this point, but I also don't think it's like completely fair to write him off as a

prospect. I just think that he has a little bit to go when it comes to command, you know, I think he can throw strikes, but when it comes to commanding all of his bitches, he's not at the painter level. But again, like this is his second full year at a,

at a, or I guess it's, I guess not. It's the second full year. Well, yeah. It's like say at first one and a half years essentially. Right. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean he, – I guess, no, it's his second full year. Well, yeah, it's his first one and a half years essentially, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So, I mean, he – but still, like you look at the raw stuff, it's really good. It's just like, you know, they're having him work on all his pitches rather than what he's totally comfortable with. So, it's just wild to see Mattingly and Dabrowski just comfortable pushing their pitching prospects. Like pitching prospects are usually the ones that they are the softest on. They're the ones that you can only throw four innings and then you're out of there. Meanwhile, the whole philosophy with these two is you're going to pitch every Friday night or every Saturday. You're going to pitch just once a week, whatever, and go as deep into a

ballgame as you can. And we're going to get you ready for the NL East. And I think that is how you develop future aces, like letting these guys and letting their bodies learn how to pitch deep in games. That matters a lot rather than four or five innings. And then what do you get, like a Jacob deGrom? So it's really exciting. And I'm glad for the people of Reading that they get to see it.

Yeah, it is really, really exciting. It is a a potential turning point for the franchise um in terms of just you know we've talked a lot about brian barber and matt and you know all these guys like if they can really turn this thing around and start to draft and develop guys especially to this extent it could be um it could be really exciting man um all right uh you got anything else? I got nothing else. I got nothing. I'm all good.

Look at that, buddy. I'm assuming almost definitely either Wednesday night or Thursday, I would think. It's a short game on Wednesday, Thursday, and off day. So, look, if they get swept by Cincinnati or lose two of three in disappointing fashion. Well, there's no podcast ever again. Yeah, so you probably won't hear from us. But assuming two or three, sweep, whatever. Wednesday, Thursday, I would say is fair. And again, August 26th, Phillies-Pirates.

We will be there the whole night, literally there to hang out. Again, like Jack said, we love watching the Phillies. We're always there to watch the Phillies. We're there more to hang out and meet people than we love watching the phillies we're always there to watch the phillies we're there more to hang out and meet people than we are to watch the phillies that particular night so if you ever wanted to come and hang out with us and watch some phillies with us and whatever like august 26 it's happening we will be there uh ring the bell miller light liberty landing um that night all right uh fritzy um this is fun, buddy. This is good. This is good. I can put my daughter to bed now.

This is good. You have a final thought? My final thought is how many times did you watch the Franski video of B-roll? Oh, buddy. How about that? I mean, who'd have thunk it? Just the defensive highlights. And then to score on what should have been a throwout at home in the next.

It was all just very – it's such a shame they couldn't win one of the two because we really – if they had been 2-3 and had that win on Friday, we would have been just riding high no matter what else happened. Yeah, and speaking of the defense, I'm already over the Keith Hernandez thing. I just – I'm over it. I was never under it. I have never even cared. Like, don't care.

Who cares? No, it's just like, it's like every time they make a good defensive play, it's like, oh, take that, Keith. Yeah, take it off. Like, who cares? He's Keith Hernandez. All right? It's not freaking, you know, Stan Musial or, you know,

all-time great first baseman guy. Everyone would say Jimmy Foxx. You know, he's Keith Hernandez. Like, who gives a crap? Am I right? I'm just – I don't need to see it every time to make a good play. Like, just make a good play and let's move on. I think, honestly, I'm surprised you didn't comment on the fact

that me naming Jimmy Foxx as my second option that popped in my head for all-time great first baseman. I didn't even know. I think he played outfield too. It was a really old guy moment for me? Like I'm surprised you didn't just kind of latch on to that and be like, Jimmy Fox, man. You know.

Well, frankly. Willie McCovey. Sugar, I'm Willie McCovey. How about that? Lou Gehrig. Well, yeah, Willie McCovey, whatever. I don't frankly care. I mean, our Bullholz is like three homers.

I was going to say Bullholz, but I thought it was too obvious. I thought it was too obvious. I'm going to show a little. I'm going to flex a little bit. And also, I mean, come on. Jimmy Foxx couldn't hold a candle to Ryan Howard. It's probably true. Well, I mean, you know, that's a whole other discussion.

You know, Jimmy Foxx probably couldn't hold a candle to, you know, some minor league player today, if we're being honest. But that's a whole other discussion. Oh, you know I would league player today if we're being honest but that's oh you know you know i would have struck out i like i legitimately believe i would have won cy young in the 20s or 20s or 30s like at peak of peak of my powers i'm pretty sure i would have won a cy young in the 20s 30s or 40s he's read some seltzer we'll see you later you