High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Final Out: Jack Reacts to Another Frustrating Loss

Episode Date: May 23, 2023

Jack Fritz reacts to Zack Wheeler's struggles and the Phillies' dumbness in Monday night's Final Out. 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

On into the final out, sponsored by Regency Furniture, affordable, never looked so good. Jack Fritz hanging out with you, reacting to another Phillies loss, 2-1-5, 5-9-2, 94-94 is how you get in if you're on your way home or just sitting at home waiting to react to what was another night of bad baseball. And there's been too many nights of bad baseball. of bad baseball. And there's been too many nights of bad baseball. And there's been a disappointing lack of locked-in-ness from this team that has just permeated throughout the entire season.

And it just, like, every time you want to be like, okay, there's a good series. There's that little oomph they need to get going here. They go out and they just sputter. It's like every single time where it's like, all right, go time. Stop. You know what I mean? It has been just a stop and start, stop and start, start to the year.

And frankly, if I just felt like they were playing smarter baseball if I felt like they were playing better baseball if I felt like I was looking at a more locked in team I think it would be you could feel better about where the team is I don't think they're a bad baseball team but I think they're playing bad baseball and that's an annoying spot to be in when you know that they're dealing with rotation struggles, when their best reliever is down. You know, like this lineup who is, again, you look top to bottom, and it's like you've got to be better than what you're producing right now. And when they lose games like this, it has me just feeling like I can handle losing.

But what I don't handle well is bad baseball. And yet again tonight, where it's like you didn't play terrible. Like there was some good tonight, and you were right in it. You found a way to lose the game rather than find a way to win a game. Yesterday against the Cubs, they found a way to win a game. And that's good. Like a lot of last year, while they were treading water and trying to get back into the race, they had games like yesterday where they come out on top. And tonight's game was a lot like the years prior where it's like, yeah, you're close, but you're not doing the right things to come out of that game with a win. Even when you're not playing your best, baseball is a hard sport.

It is very unlikely that you were going to go through it and you were going to play a flawless baseball game. There are flaws in every single game. But you have to find a way to scratch and claw and come out on top. And tonight, just too much dumb, bad baseball from the Phillies. 215-592-9494 if you want to get in. And here's what I mean by bad baseball. This felt like the story of the Giants series two series ago. The Cubs on Friday night was a disaster.

Saturday was just a blowout. The Phillies offense showed up and they went to town. Yesterday, the Castellanos got thrown out at third base. I kind of understood it from that perspective of like, we got to make something happen here. And, you know, whatever. It was sort of crisp. The at-bats were brutal. Whatever.

Tonight, this is what I got in my bad baseball files that I feel like I have to go through every single night now is the Bryson Stott error in the first base. I know they labeled it a fielder's choice. That should have been a double play ball. Stott drops it. They only get one out there when they could have gotten two. Top three.

Wheeler not covering first base. I mean, if there is not one thing that you are taught as a pitcher more than cover first base on a ground ball to the right side of the infield, it's the number one thing when you're talking about pitcher defense or whatever.

And he committed the Cardinals in there. And ultimately it only led to needing to throw one more pitch, but at the same time not locked in. Not locked in. All throughout the night, shut down innings when it felt like

you can get back into the game. There was no shut down innings tonight. They would get it to one, bang, it'd be a two-run game again. They would get it again to one, bang, another run comes in the next inning. Pitchers have to do their jobs. And I know there is going to be a frustration that Rob Thompson didn't go to his better relievers tonight. A lot of them threw yesterday. They don't have an off day this week,

and they're going to Atlanta this weekend. Sometimes the lesser guys in the bullpen have to step up and keep a game close. Have to. That's what good winning teams do. And then to round it out, to make it a

three-run game rather than a two-run game, Cody Clemens commits an error in the top of the ninth. I know they labeled it as an RBI. Frankly, I don't care. That's an error and a ball that has to be made. So that's just the dumb baseball that I saw on the field. At bat, again, the at bats every single freaking night. And it's like, I can handle, again, I can handle losing. There are just, I cannot handle just poor swing decisions over and over and over again from this lineup. There's only a couple guys that I feel like have any idea of, I'm going to work a pitcher here. It's so much first pitch swinging. It's so much chasing out of the zone. I mean, they are one of the

highest chase percentage teams in baseball. It's insane. Someone's got to go down there and reign this whole thing in. That has to be Kevin Long's job. Like that is, of all the important things right now, these guys cannot be chasing because these at-bats are just insane. Zach Wheeler, I feel like I'm starting to become resigned to the feeling that this is going to be an 0-9 Hamels year from Wheeler and Nola. You know, an 0-9 Hamels year where it's like good start, bad starts, good start, can never really fully get on a roll, pitches really deep into October and had never had a bounce back from that before. That's

what I feel like I'm getting out of these guys today. I thought Nola took a good step forward over the weekend. I don't know if that's something that I can count on every single start. And Zach Wheeler, like, yeah. Rob Thompson said his final line was not indicative of the way he pitched. I'm like, yeah, I get it, but that's also been a lot of starts this year,

and it feels like these one innings kind of come back to bite him. And tonight the concerning thing for me was he had one strikeout up until the sixth inning, and there was like 30-some foul balls off him, Tucker told me, which is absurd. I mean, a lot of foul balls, not a lot of swing and miss. You know, like that kills you, and that racks up your pitches. So I mostly agree with Rob Thompson. But at the same time, like Zach Wheeler's your ace.

And when you are in the stretch that this team's in right now, to get that kind of performance is a little bit deflating. It's just a little bit deflating. Ultimately, three earned in six innings, mostly fine. But it just doesn't feel like we're getting one of those kind of Zach Wheeler or Aaron Nola years, and it's just starting to feel 09 Hamels-ish. And my final thing here in my open is this team just needs a spark from someone. Someone's got to create something down there. I thought that the juice for a pretty good crowd on a Monday night

when the sense of urgency has to start kicking in and start giving some freaking like make this fan base feel good again. And it's just dead. The ballpark from 08 to 11, 07, it was kind of filling up, whatever. But 08 to 11, that crowd carried those guys. And it's just, something just feels a little bit off. Maybe it's Reese. I think the funny part about the Reese now, like, oh, we missed Reese thing,

is that people didn't want him here after the World Series. And I love Reese. Like, you know, him being the first guy, the rebuild that came up and was like any semblance of a major leaguer, besides Nova, was awesome. But he's also a super streaky player as well. It's like we just conveniently forget that. He runs hot and cold as well. I do think that his presence in this lineup would help a ton.

They're one of the three worst offenses in baseball against lefties. That showed again tonight. I mean, their two big hits were lefty against lefty. That's not how it's supposed to be designed. So someone's got to step up down there and be a spark. And this is where I turn to Bryce. You're back from injury, talking a lot post-game. It's good. You say the right things. But there needs to be more actions. Like Trey Turner talks about, oh, we got to stop just talking and do something. Then do something. Like you're Trey Turner. You're one of the most

electrifying players in baseball. Like go out and, God forbid, get a hit. I thought he had a positive night tonight. I thought he worked some good at bats. I know he struck out a couple times, but it wasn't feeble. But still, Trey Turner, you're one of the fastest guys in baseball. Lay down a bunt. Or get on first base and try to steal second. They've got to create their own juice. Maybe the Schwarber run, which it feels like we're kind of on the verge of, can do something.

But there's just too much lackluster, I feel like, at bats and play and body language for a team that was just in the World Series last year and we thought it turned a corner when figuring out how to win ballgames. So frustrating night, more bad baseball, and it's just there's a lot of little things that winning teams do that the Phillies are not doing. 2-1-5, 5-9-2, 94-94. It is the final. Let's get Mike in Westchester in here.

What's happening, Mike? Rich, I think we might be in trouble here. What's happening, Mike? Rich, I think we might be in trouble here. I'm not going to lie to you. It's not making me feel great. Let's just look ahead to the next 10 games real quick. No, no. Do we have to?

No, no. We don't have to. I'm just kidding. It's all good. Trust me. I don't want to either, but we got two unfavorable pitching matchups with Covey, who spent the last two years in China tomorrow, and then Gallin, who's obviously outstanding. Then four in Atlanta, which could get ugly.

And then three in New York, who I feel like we haven't beaten two years in a series. And it's just, I'm tired of wasting these games against average to bad starting pitching. We make them look so good, I feel like, sometimes. And there's no approach tonight.

I just feel like this team, there's this sense around them right now of no urgency. And I know it's still early, even though it's getting late early. But I feel like they think they can do what they did last year. And that we caught lightning in it. We had to play almost perfect from June on last year just to make the sixth seed. I just don't know if this team has that in them again this year, and something's got to change real quick. Yeah, and I appreciate the call, Mike.

Yeah, and I appreciate the call, Mike. And the frustrating part for me is that if you're a Philly right now, you have to know that firing a manager is not going to be the thing that jumpstarts you this year. Have a sense of pride down there. Say it's on us. That's what it took last year. I thought Girardi was a disaster, and I thought that he was too stoic in the dugout

and didn't act like he cared about these guys. Rob Thompson's been the opposite. Rob Thompson's been someone that does connect with these guys, and I feel like more often than not does put players in positions to succeed. And if every year it's going to take firing the manager to get you to look like you give a crap, then that's a problem with the makeup of your ball club.

So, you know, it is frustrating. Because I have the same sense, too, where it's like, oh, you just think you're going to roll the baseball out and go win tonight. It's not how it works. There's too much little things that happen in a ball game that can go the wrong way. And when it's Tommy freaking Henry against Zach Wheeler tonight,

that's a game you got to win. And it's just, it's unacceptably sitting here, especially with the stretch they have going up. And especially with Zach Gallin on Wednesday, 215-592-9494 is how you get in. If you're leaving the ballpark. We'd love to hear from you here on the final out. On the other side, two contradicting quotes from two of the Phillies on if someone is injured and why I believe one of them

over the other and what I believe a positive development is for one of the Phillies' young hitters. We'll get to that and all of your phone calls coming up next here on the final out. 1-2 and it's swung on, lifted into the air to left center field. Guthrie getting under it. He'll come in and make the catch. Runner from third coming home.

Here's the throw and the tag, and he is out. And Dalton Guthrie with a tremendous throw from left center field as he guns down Moreno for the second out of the inning and saves a run. That is our Mike's Amazing Play of the Game presented by Mike's Amazing, the official mayo, mustard, and vegetable oil of the Phillies. Welcome on back. It is the final out. Sponsored by Regency Furniture. Affordable never looks so good. Jack Fritz hanging out with you reacting to the Phillies loss there and then you, good play by Dalton Guthrie. I got to be honest, it was shocking to see the Phillies throw someone out,

like, you know, coming home. Because, like, Castellanos and Chor are the ones that are usually put in that situation. And, I mean, those guys' arms are just atrocious. So, you know, Guthrie able to do that there was borderline shocking. Kept it at a 3-0 game at that point. But part of the reason why I play that is that I think there's a good chance we're going to be seeing more from Dalton Guthrie. And my reasoning behind that is just these weird quotes pregame

from Kevin Long and Rob Thompson. pregame from uh kevin long and rob thompson and kevin long basically said that uh marsh is dealing with a nagging ailment that is zapping some of his power and you know he's had one extra base hit since may um and like lost in this quote he says i mean he's just improved so much he's a really good hitter he's a disciplined hitter who swings at strikes. He's got some pop. He's fighting through some stuff physically, but he's playing through it. It's hindering his power a little bit right now, but he's still going up there and putting together good at-bats,

which I'm proud of him for doing that. We're lucky to have him. He's a really good major league hitter. Yada, yada, yada. The thing that obviously sticks out there is he's fighting some stuff physically, but he's playing through it. It's hindering his power a little bit right now, et cetera,

et cetera. Um, according to Rob Thompson, Marsh is fine. Um, you know, whatever. But then tonight,

uh, Marsh struck out or he took like a hard check swing. His first at bat off the bench. And he went back to the dugout and the camera kind of panned over, and I thought I saw him kind of trying to stretch his back out a little bit, and then even his bat in the ninth inning, he worked it 3-2, but then it was a strike right down the middle. But even during that at bat, he was getting a little fidgety with his back.

So that's just something to monitor because obviously Brandon Marsh is at a good start to the year. If it's true that he is dealing with an injury, it would make sense why a lot of his pop has declined in the last little bit. I think that Kevin Long is right when he talks about, you know, he does put together good at-bats. He does. I mean, his OBP is still in the 380s. So that's good.

But when it comes to driving the ball, it seems like he's dealing with a little something in his back. And, you know, hopefully this is something to kind of work its way out. But if not, it's going to be a lot more Dalton Guthrie. And I think Guthrie's fine. You know, like I don't ever really expect anything from him at the plate. Seems like he plays a pretty good center field. Won't wow you. But this is one of the reasons why the Christian Pache injury stinks.

Because I thought he was kind of developing to a nice piece for this team. And it just stinks that if Brandon Marsh is banged up a little bit, that we're not seeing what they have in Christian Pache. Let's go to the phones here, and then I'll get some thoughts on a positive development for one of the Phillies' young hitters. Derek is in Reading. What's happening, Derek? Hey, Jack.

How are you doing, Bob? I'm doing all right, man. I wish they would play better baseball. But, you know, there's always tomorrow. I could not agree with you more. It is just such bad baseball sometimes when you're watching these games, especially when you just go on a run like you talk about, you know, with the Cubs. I know it was only two out of three, but still, you know, it gives you a little hope. It gives you a little hype up.

And then they go and just do this with the Diamondbacks. Yeah, it's totally frustrating and you know the one thing i'll point out is the castellanos at bat in the seventh inning i mean he's just standing there oh two they throw him the classic slider like they always do and he just flails at it and it's just absolutely nothing for the team yeah the frustrating part about that derek is that I think Castellanos has been pretty good at that this year. I feel like he's been better at laying off those pitches, but

in the 7th and the 9th, it was like vintage Castellanos, which at this point, with the hitters they have in their lineup not really hitting, Castellanos taking any sort of nosedive would be annoying. I'll give him a bit of a pass tonight, but yeah, he's part of the group that's like

anything remotely close to the strike zone, I feel like there's a swinging through for no reason. Kevin Long's got to get these guys together because it's just killing them. Oh yeah, I completely agree. Because that lined up a just perfect opportunity

for the Phillies to take the lead. They just did not capitalize. And, yeah, I'm with you, man. It's frustrating. I know it's early in the season, like everyone's saying, but I'll be honest, I'm getting kind of sick of it. So I just hope things start to turn around a little bit because that postseason run last year was just so much fun.

But, man, they got to get their, you know, crap in line. Yeah, I know what word you want to use, and I'm with you. Well, the good part of that is if they get one more win, they have surpassed their 22-29 start to last year. So, hey, a little bit of positives. But, like, that's what, you know, I just, there's something about being able to, to grind out in a bat. And it just feels like I don't see that, you know, like if it's, if it's not first pitch

swing, it feels like these guys are down Oh two. And it's just like, man, you know, I swear, maybe just cause we watch the Phillies every night, but I don't see other teams doing this. I don't see other teams with like feeble approaches, especially with, again, the amount of talent they have in that lineup. And it's just it's really frustrating. one of the positive developments, I'd say, of the Phillies' offensive side of the ball, of course, has been Bryson Stott. And Bryson Stott went into a little bit of a funk there, which is going to happen with young players. Young players are going to go into funks. I think Marsh, him, and Boehm,

it was predictable that they were not going to all hit over 300 and lead the league in a lot of those categories. So that was natural. But I think that Stott, more than those two, has done a really good job of fighting through it and getting through it and kind of riding the ship here. And I think the thing that has been a really important development for him is that he's developing pull-side power, element for him is that he's developing pull side power, which, you know, it feels like early in the year was a lot of like little slappy hits the other way, fighting off inside pitches and still trying to take it the other way. Well, the adjustment I think he's made is like, all right, if they're going to pitch me in, then I'm going to take that pitch and I'm going to look to do

damage with it. And that's really important when you're talking about the upside of Bryson Stott. You know, like, I think he's going to be a good offensive player. I don't think he's going to have high strikeout numbers. I think he's going to hit 280 to 300. But what kind of 280 to 300 am I going to get? Is it going to be Revere-ish, which is a lot of singles? Or is it going to be a higher upside player that can hit the ball in the ballpark more often than not or more than that? So the pull-side power thing has been an exciting development

because if he can do that and then, okay, the pitcher is now playing like, okay, well, if we pitch him in, he can deposit that over the right field seats. Let's go away. And I think Bryson Stott has enough back control to where if it is a way, he can just kind of slap it to the left side of the the field and he just becomes that much more dangerous of a hitter um Alec Boehm what was so exciting about spring and what was so exciting about the first like two weeks of the season was he was finally lifting the ball and looking to do damage and um like really driving

the baseball and it just he he looks like he is back to being a little kind of slap hitting 6-5 guy and it's like dude like Alec Boehm to be less than a 20 home run guy is a bad year. Like Alec Boehm needs to hit 20 plus home runs. He can bat 280, whatever. But for his frame and for what he can be, that should be the benchmark. And it just feels like we're back to last year where it's just getting jammed inside. And, you know, it's still just trying to take everything the opposite way. And it's like, I appreciate that you can drive the ball

off the right center field, you know, fence on a line. I appreciate that. But in order for you to reach your highest potential possible, I'm going to need you to start depositing some baseballs into the left field seats. And that has to be his next development. going to need you to start depositing some baseballs into the left field seats and that has to be his next development and i don't it just it frustrates me that he doesn't see that and it feels like we're back to a lot of last year which is not this super impactful bat that we

thought we were getting at the beginning of the season 215-592, 94-94. Blake's in Narberth. What's happening, Blake? Hey, Jack. That was just a bad, bad loss for so many reasons. It was the offense, the pitching, and the defense all letting them down, whether it be the costly errors by Stott and Cummins, which resulted in runs. Every time the offense scored, the pitching just let them down. Zach Wheeler, his sip might be good at the end of the day,

but he has to work out of those jams, and he has to pitch better, particularly with that sweeper who left up in the zone. As your ace, he has to be better than that. But I think the most frustrating thing is Tommy Henry, a guy who just got shelled by the athletics. I mean, who's on that team? I mean, Rooker and Ruiz and nobody else is value. That team stinks, and he got rocked by them. And the Phillies, they looked feeble against Tommy Henry,

who was not a good pitcher. And I'm starting to get nervous with this stretch coming up and it's the Braves and Mets if they keep playing like this. Yeah, Blake, and I appreciate the call. You know, it's so funny because it feels like the Phillies consistently play down to competition. And then every time, I remember there was a stretch last year where it was like, oh, well, this is when they obviously are going to fall apart.

And I think they played like 500 baseball through that. So it is funny that it feels like they do play up to competition when people are doubting them. So hopefully we get kind of that run. But if you're telling me my confidence level heading into four in Atlanta and then a Mets series, wouldn't say it's very high. 2-1-5, 5-9-2, 94-94. We will run through all of your calls on the other side. But also look ahead to tomorrow.

They're planning for the pitching rotation. And what I believe the next step should be for the Phillies starting rotation. We'll get to all that before handing things off to Jody Mack here on the final out. Welcome on back. It is the final out. Sponsored by Regency Furniture. Affordable, never looks so good.

Jack Fritz hanging out with you here. Let's get to the player of the game, brought to you by South Jersey Gas, committed to providing safe, reliable, affordable natural gas. Make the switch at southjerseygas.com. Southjerseygas.com slash lovemyhome. And obviously, Lord S. Goriel.

4-4-4 tonight with a home run. It killed, obviously, me as a Phillies fan. But unfortunately, he yelled my fantasy team, which is always a little bit of a predicament when you're watching the Phillies. So, yeah, Goriel just torched them tonight, and the Diamondbacks are finally reaping the Lord S. Goriel breakout year, which never really happened up in Toronto, even though he always hit for a high average.

The power is finally starting to develop. So, good for them, but not good for us tonight. Tomorrow, Phil's going back to Matt Strom even though it's in an opener role. I know there's been a bit of an outcry here of like, well, why don't you put Matt Strom back

in the rotation? In normal circumstances, I would agree with you. It's just like he's been battling knee injuries the last couple years, and I think part of the reason why he has turned into a full-time bullpen guy is I don't think they think that his knees and his body can hold up to handle a starter's workload. So, you know, he was really good at it. He only had a couple outings where it was like, eh, that was terrible.

For the most part, he's great. He struck out a lot of guys through strikes, was aggressive. And I think he's transitioned perfectly fine back to the bullpen. So, like, clearly has been a valuable, valuable pitcher for this team. Like, you could make the case he's been their most valuable pitcher besides, like, Jose Alvarado this year. So, Matt Straum's been a great signing. But I don't think he's someone that you can be like, all right, you're a full-time starter now.

I think he's more like an opener, and then he gives you a good three innings, and then the other times he's pitching two or three times a week, giving you multiple innings and helping you win games. So we'll see what happens tomorrow with Matt Straum opening. And then the plan, I guess, is Dylan Covey after, which Dylan Covey was like a pretty... Doesn't he return punts for the Eagles? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I don't think this city needs two Coveys, if I'm being honest with you. I think one Covey was enough. But yeah, Dylan Covey, who was a decent prospect, if I remember back in the day, never really panned out, went over to the China and pitch over there for a couple years. And, you know, the Dodgers gave him a shot. And I guess the one good thing about Dylan Covey is that the Dodgers saw something.

So if the Dodgers saw something, then hopefully the Phillies can, like, get the most out of him. But either way, don't feel great. But they are facing Ryan Nelson, who's got an ERA in the fives, but he did go five and a third in his last outing of shutout baseball. It's a game that they...

Again, to say must win is dumb in May, but you have Ryan Nelson tomorrow. You need to win that. You have Zach Gallen on Wednesday, which I don't feel great about. He's facing Ranger. Ranger has been obviously bad in his first two outings so far.

Like I'm not giving up on a season, but for what he is right now, Ranger is not something you can rely on. And then obviously they have four against the Braves over the weekend. So yeah, you got to go out and beat Ryan Nelson tomorrow, even if it's a bullpen game. Now, what happens after that?

And what I think happens after that, and what I think should happen after that, is that they start ramping up Griff McGarry to come up and, you know, start as a guy that can open a game, give you three, four innings to start a game, and then hopefully develop into someone that can help you until Andrew Painter comes back. Or maybe he's good and he just sticks there. Whatever. I don't think you can bank on Andrew Painter coming back

and saving the season and being your deadline acquisition if he does great. And I think he is going to pitch this year. I think this doomsday mentality of like, well, he's never going to pitch this year. That's dumb. I don't buy into that. He was throwing out to 120 feet, I guess today, I think Rob Thompson said before the game. So it feels like they're, they're working him back, but I still think he's a month

and a half, two months away at the, at the least. So, uh, Matt Gelb said yesterday that they think that, that, that, that McGarry is going to pitch 60 pitches in his next outing at AA, and then they consider him for the rotation, which is a pretty big step up and kind of speaks to how desperate they are right now. But, I mean, they've brought guys up from AA before. I mean, Kyle Kendrick, he came up 07, I think, and gave them some quality outings.

And McGarry, his stuff suggests he should be better than, obviously, Kyle Kendrick. He came up 0-7, I think, and gave them some quality outing. And McGarry, his stuff suggests he should be better than, obviously, Kyle Kendrick. But I just think that when you look at all the options right now, Falter proved this year that he wasn't worthy of that spot. Maybe he goes down to AAA and unlocks some confidence. It worked with Jose Alvarado last year. We'll see. But I'm not banking on that. You have Chris Sanchez, who I, again, I think is a minor upgrade over Bailey Falter, but nothing to

get excited about. Michael Plassmeyer was someone that I thought that they believed in. He's been brutal at AAA. Noah Skiro is this guy that I know about, but that's because I care a lot about prospects, but is not major league ready yet. I mean, Griff McGarry is one of their big three of their pitching prospects. He's 25 years old now. He was a senior in college when he got drafted. So, like, he's older. And it's not like Mick Abel, who's 21,

and expecting him to come up and make a leap and get into the starting rotation. This is a guy that it's getting near go time for Griff McGarry, and they need him right now. And if he can just come up and give you four solid innings, we take that. And you have to hope that Tywin Walker continues to trend in the right direction. Three out of his last four starts, I think they've been pretty good. Ranger, hopefully as he gets more comfortable, gets more locked in,

you get the last year's Ranger. And then you have to hope that Wheeler and Nola turn a corner here. It feels like one good start, one bad start from those guys, much like this baseball team. And they've been so hit or miss on what they are. And that's why no one has a real good feeling for this team.

But I think McGarry, if he can go down, continue rehabbing from the injury, look good, looks like he can throw strikes. That's been the whole book on Griff McGarry, that he can't throw strikes. Well, proof to me you can, and then we'll see in the big leagues, Griff. I know it's a big step up, but sometimes you've got to take risks, and I think that Griffin McGarry will be the right kind of risk. That's going to do it for me. Thanks for hanging out. Tucker Bagley

produced the final out as always. Jody Maxx got you next. He's going to take you through the rest of the night here on Sports Radio 94 WIP.