High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Final Out: Phillies Win The Hangover Game

Episode Date: September 28, 2023

Jack Fritz reacts to the Phillies win behind Garrett Stubbs's and Bryce Harper's clutch home runs. 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

All-star closer, Kenley Jansen, we have a question. What's the best podcast of all time? Baseball Isn't Boring, baby. I'm Rob Bradford, and every single day I'm sitting down with the biggest names to show you this great game is the greatest game. It's my podcast. It's my passion. It's a cause I started more than two years ago and is now the most prolific national daily baseball pod there is.

Another fact, so jump aboard the B.I.B. Express. Follow and listen to Baseball Isn't Boring, presented by Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome on in. It is the final out. Jack Fritz hanging out with you here on Sports Radio 94 WIP 215-592-9494 is how you get in.

Phil's win. I'm sure, like many of you, a little disappointed because I think a lot of us took Pirate's money line tonight given what we saw with the baseball team last night in the clubhouse and then over to Xfinity Live. I definitely don't love my starting left fielder riding the bull five days before the playoffs start. But thankfully, he's fine.

And they had a good time, and their fearless leader, Garrett Stubbs, comes through the home run tonight, which is easily the funniest home run of the season. Like, no doubt about it. Everyone's like, oh, Stubbs, he's going to be seeing double tonight. Like, I mean, I saw a quote from him saying he woke up still drunk. Listen, I know the term that's baseball is one of the most overrated terms in baseball or overused terms in baseball.

I mean, that's baseball. It didn't work for me at Bloomsburg, and part of the reason why I'm sitting here today. But it works for Garrett Stubbs. And if we're going to get that kind of return from Stubbsy on nights after night outs, I think it's time to play Garrett Stubbs more. I mean, it's time to call for Garrett Stubbs to start game one of the wildcard round. 215-592-9494. Just kidding. Let's get to the biggest takeaway. The game brought to you by Morgan & Morgan. I got two big takeaways from the game tonight. Obviously, number one, let Garrett Stubbs cook.

But other things, you know, I just appreciate that they're not backing their way or kind of letting the foot off the gas pedal, heading into the postseason, heading down the stretch run here. And, yes, the Phillies last night, they definitely went after it, and they got after it. And rightfully so. It's a long season. You don't get all these moments to celebrate.

You don't get these memories back, whatever. So I'll never celebrate shame, I guess, in a way. But even during the celebration and even the way they talked and just by their actions, what felt the most different is how I think that team expected to be there. And they're not just wowed like, oh my gosh, we're going to the postseason. Last year, it was like they got in and, again, they were just blown away by how cool it was and how fun it was. And playing in postseason games and getting that monkey off their back and playing games at Citizens Bank Park.

And they kind of were just along for the ride. Well, when you have that run and then you add Trey Turner to your team, the expectations are going to go way up. And how they played last night, how they won last night, how they acted after the game, how the celebration, while definitely a go-after and get-after celebration, there was also one common theme, which was we're closing it out this year. And I like that a night after where they could easily just roll into the ballpark roll out and there's not going to be one fan mad

they went out and came back and won a ball game they didn't have to win that ball game tonight, it wouldn't have mattered I mean it wouldn't have mattered for the people that took the over of 88.5 heading into the season which they hit the over one went away from 90 I'm a sucker for 90 wins.

Like, I just, having 87 last year, making the World Series is great, but I just, I think 90 is a good benchmark for how good your baseball team is. And, again, their one away from the 90 win mark would just be a nice aesthetic, I guess. But they're not giving in, and they're not backing in. I mean, there was a time at the beginning of the month where it felt like they were, and it felt like, great,

we're going to do what we did last year, which is have to sweat out that last week of the season and have to go play, play against bad teams that, that don't have much to play for that, that want to play a spoiler. And all the Phillies have done is responded by winning seven in a row. They have a series win over the Braves in there, the Cardinals. They swept the Mets here in a four-game set.

They've won the first two games of this Pirate Series. It's nice. And it shows that I think this team is locked in and they're ready to go. And while I am 100% afraid and I've done it, I'm guilty of it, I feel like I keep looking ahead and looking forward to that juicy second-round matchup between the Phillies and the Braves. I'm terrified of that first-round series in the wild card, whether it's the Diamondbacks, whoever gets that spot,

because those teams are all heading down the stretch around here playing in playoff-like games that they have to win because that's what the Phillies had to do last year. So they're just going to have that different level of intensity heading into wildcard game one, and the Phillies have to be able to match their intensity. That's the difference between this year and last year is the Phillies came in with nothing to lose last year.

Now they're the hunted, in a way, in the first round of the wild card. So I like that they're still getting after it, still coming back, not rolling over and showing the resiliency that Rob Thompson and his coaching staff talked a lot last night after the clinch. So good to see Bryce a big home run. I mean, I guess it counts as a big home run. Either way, he is just tattooing the baseball. And the big difference between heading into the postseason this year

versus last year for Bryce is that last year he was scuffling. You know, before that home run in Game 2 off of Michaelis, there was a lot of talk of, like, he just looks tired, looks a little worn down. I mean, the version of Bryce that we're getting into this postseason is, like, Bryce, Bryce. We're getting the full Bryce experience. He looks totally ready to go. I mean, the fact that he hit that ball out tonight, he let it travel so deep and then just, like, just ripped it into the Phil's bullpen. A poor effort by whoever was out tonight. He let it travel so deep and then just ripped it into the Phil's

bullpen. A poor effort by whoever was out there. Ball was right to him. Let it fall. Need to secure that catch. He'll get two feet inbounds for sure. But this version of Bryce is a force to be reckoned with. I like that he's playing. Kevin Stocker mentioned that it

probably makes sense to keep playing when you're in this swing so you don't lose it. And I think that's really smart. I'm not worried about him wearing down. I mean, the guy's a superhero. So he missed the first month and a half of the year. Now he's kind of, you know, getting back into a rhythm before the postseason starts. The biggest thing in the next five days is keeping guys healthy and balancing

rest versus rust. That's the most important thing. Is it the right time to get this guy off? Is it not the right time? Is it got to get this guy in some bats and keep him fresh? That's going to be the big balancing

act that Rob Thompson has to manage these next couple of games. 2-1-5, 5-9-2, 94-94. If you leave in the ballpark, a good 32,000 at the ballpark tonight. A night after they clinched, it was more of a joyous atmosphere. There was not a lot of stress. I've got to be honest, weird watching. Because you listen to me, you listen to the final out, you listen to IHOPES,

you listen to Marks and Reese. Every game for me with the Phillies is pretty much an Eagles game. They are intense. I need wins. I react hard to losses. And I felt this last year when they were getting no hit by the Astros. It was like, I feel nothing. There's no pain here.

There's no pain. So it was definitely an odd feeling. And the next five games or whatever, four games, are going to really stink from that standpoint, where it's I don't really care about the outcome. They hit the over. So, you know, that's a win. But my other big takeaway from tonight is I thought some of the relievers

that they're going to rely on in the postseason looked really good. Now, disclaimer, Pirates stink, and it's low stakes. So I fully understand that. But I thought Sir Anthony looked really good his last time out. I thought the stuff was starting to play more. And I talked about how when Sir Anthony was going on that stretch where he wasn't striking guys out, but he wasn't really allowing runs. And then the last like three out of his last four outings, he would allow a back-breaking home run. He was

sacrificing stuff for command. And what I've seen in these last two outings is he's back to just trying to strike everyone out. And is that going to lead to possibly more walks? Is it going to lead to maybe hit batsmen? Sure. But it also leads you to a much, much, much nastier version of Serenity Dominguez. I mean, there was times tonight, at least in the last battery he struck out, I mean, he's throwing 99 with, I mean,

a couple feet of runs, I feel like. I mean, obviously, I don't know, like maybe seven inches of horizontal run on his two-seamer. And then he came back with a slider that broke the exact opposite way. I mean, that's Sir Anthony. He came in, got out of a jam for Ranger, and then had a scoreless inning in his next inning. But Sir Anthony, the stuff just looks back, and it looks more electric, and it looks like he's getting on top of the baseball more and making that thing dance. So I understand the situation, but getting him right and getting him going

would really, really help this bullpen in the postseason. Ryan Kirkering, we saw him again tonight, worked himself into a bit of trouble. He throws a lot of sliders, I'll say that. And maybe against better teams, they're more prepared for it and they're sitting on it. But the interesting part about Ryan Kirkering is that he is throwing that slider to set up his fastball, whereas the old adage in pitching is you throw your fastball, set up your off-speed.

He does the exact opposite. So I do think eventually he's going to need a third pitch. I just, it seems like you obviously have a pretty good chance of guessing as to what he's going to throw, whether it's a slider or a fastball. And big league hitters, they are good enough to hit mistakes and stuff like that, which doesn't happen in the minor leagues. Either way, I mean, the fact that he worked himself into first and second, one out, and then went back-to-back strikeouts with both 98 dotted on the inside corner to a lefty and the outside corner for a righty, that's pitching. And I'm not concerned about the walk. This is a guy who walked 12 total guys in minor league baseball this year. So Ryan Kirkering continues to impress and hopefully in these next five games, we'll see him maybe two more times before deciding if he is on the postseason roster.

But either way, when he gets on top of that slider, it is a wipeout pitch, and it seems like he has confidence in throwing it in pretty much every count. Other things, I can't believe we're here. I really can't. The guy has a.9 ERA in September. But if I need, for some reason they get stuck in a situation where you need three outs and your only options are Covey, Lorenzen, or Walker, I think Covey's the first guy I'm going to.

I can't believe we're here, but we're here. And Dylan Covey, he's just pretty good. He's fine. We're here with Dylan Covey. He's pretty good. Not terrible. Not good. Not great. Fine. He's fine. We're here with Dylan Covey. He's pretty good. Not terrible. Not good. Not great.

Fine. He's fine. He's been really good for the last, I don't know, two months. Dylan Covey over Lorenzen and Walker? Who would have had that? Was that on your bingo card? It wasn't really on mine. And the final thing is Gregory Soto.

Strikeouts are finally starting to come for him a little bit here. Again, Pirates aren't great. It wasn't really on mine. And the final thing is Gregory Soto. Strikeouts are finally starting to come for him a little bit here. Again, Pirates aren't great. But it looks like he was finally getting on top of the slider, and it was moving a little bit. It wasn't just kind of spinning up there. Obviously, the 100 when it's on is nasty. Didn't walk anyone tonight.

Struck out the side. When you talk about Aaron Nola being able to rewrite his season, so does Gregory Soto. I mean, Soto's ERA is like 4-7 heading into the game tonight. So he has the stuff to be pretty good. Maybe they're starting to get him in the mindset that Alvarado got in at this time or a little earlier than last year, but around this time last year where it's strike one, strike two, strike three, you're out, and bang, we go from there.

But Gregory Soto, opening my eyes a little bit heading into this postseason. 2-1-5, 5-9-2, 94-94, that is the biggest takeaway of the game. Brought to you by Morgan & Morgan, America's largest injury firm. Also, the bullpen is officially my player of the game, which is brought to you by South Jersey Gas, committed to providing safe, reliable, affordable natural gas. Make the switch at southjerseygas.com slash lovemyhome. Let's go to the phones and talk to John in Lancaster. What's happening, John?

Hey, Jack. Hey, question for you. So, Kirkering, you know, I probably know as much as most guys about him. But with the postseason roster, how does that work? What do they have to do to have him on it? And how does Reece Hoskins come into play with

it? Can you adjust the roster? It's already postseason eligible. He could be on the roster if well so so he's already he's already it's already postseason eligible so like he could be on the roster no matter what he's they added him to the 40 man the only the only reason why people thought he wasn't gonna be eligible for the playoff roster was people thought he had to be on the 40 man by september 1st but that was only for acquired players like players that you you brought in so he he can be on it um reese is fine because he's on the 40 man roster already they didn't take him off of that the um the only thing is you have to put him on the roster before the series starts so like every

series you are allowed to you can kind of redo your roster so if you have a back-end option or a guy that um you're not going to use as much that maybe pitched a little bit in that series teams usually take them off or if you want to if you want like an extra bench piece or something so maybe they choose like a relief or like weston wilson over a reliever to get them a right-handed uh bench bat or something like that it's also like i'm pretty sure like rodolfo castro won't be on the playoff roster and they'll bring up weston wilson like the only reason he's still here is because it is like 2024 options it's it's all been that's like super in the weeds ross construction but orion kirkering

can be on it and um and and i hope he is great hey jack thanks a lot i love your philly stuff fantastic thanks john i appreciate you, man. Yeah, and part of the reason why I wanted them to at least bring up Orion Kirkering and see what he could do and kind of give him a shot here is obviously the upside's there. I mean, you see it. You have to be blind not to see what he can do out there. But also, I keep looking at that baladi marty role that they've had all year that had they've never been able to kind of settle

i mean orion kirkering can do that in his sleep you know like baladi helped out last year marty had some moments this year this kid's just way better. Doesn't walk people, throws harder, more nasty wipeout stuff. And the good part is, like, that's his floor for this bullpen. If he continues to get comfortable, continues to show he can get big league hitters out, he's only going to rise. And I know I just talked about Sir Anthony and how he looks pretty good tonight. There's also a very real chance that he goes back to being the Saran thing we've seen a majority of the year. Well, then a Ryan Kirkland can work his way into that kind of spot.

So there is a chance here for him to rise his way through the bullpen. Kimbrell, what are we getting from Craig Kimbrell heading into the postseason? Listen, he's had a great career. But I talked about it last night. He was left off the Dodgers playoff roster. And in 2018, when people talk about, oh, like Dombrowski loves Craig Kimbrell. Like he helped him win a World Series. He barely pitched.

I mean, they had to move Nathan Evaldi to the bullpen. Chris Sale closed out that World Series. So he might be wearing down again. I mean, this is his most innings since 2017. 2017 was a long time ago now, which is sad, but it is. It was. So he has a chance to rise through this bullpen ranks and become a legitimate X factor heading into the postseason.

Kev, Kevin's in Willow Grove. What's happening, Kevin? Yo, what's going on, Jack? How are you? What's going on, man? How are we doing? Excellent, man. Headed back from the game, man.

Fortunate enough to be down there. We were right behind the Pirates dugout. It was a cool energy. I mean, a very relaxed ballpark tonight, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But even though relaxed, I have to tell you, like, one of my questions is, like, you know, it's relaxed, but it still doesn't feel good to be down 5-0, I guess. You know what I mean?

Yeah. And, like, I feel like the Phillies, do they play better from behind? Like, are they a play-from-behind team? Well, I believe they have 44 comeback wins. I mean, it's also a staple of the 08 Phillies and what they did a lot. But the good part about that, Kevin, is that it just gives you this belief that you can come back from anything. And I actually like it heading into the postseason.

That was my question. How does that translate into the postseason? Because I think even earlier in the year, not to be negative, but to be objective, didn't they say, I say they had four losses this year where they had leads of five or more? Which is odd. It just makes me wonder what goes on when you have a commanding lead as opposed to, I don't know, is there more of a spark? Is there more grit that's enacted when you're behind?

Is that the type of team that this is, you know? Yeah, it's definitely interesting. And I appreciate the call, Kevin, and Safe Travels Home. They've just been really good at it. I mean, even the stretch in August where it was like they're winning every game and they're getting hot. They were down in like every single game. I mean, it became a running bit where if they weren't down 2-0

within the first three innings of a ball game, you kind of felt like they were going to lose. There's been games where it felt like big leads. Whenever they went up by five, I would be shocked if they were able to close that out. There was a stretch in July where I believe it was like 14 games were decided by less than two runs. I mean, so they weren't playing many laughers.

They're playing a lot of tight games. And I think that the more that you play in tight games, the more that you play in games where you have to come back, it does create this sense in your head of you can come back from anything. And it gives you a reason to go out there and not lay down and not roll over. So the makeup of this team is in a good spot heading into the postseason.

I just need to get through that wild card round, and then it's game on. 2-1-5, 5-9-2, 94-94. It's Jack Fritz hanging out with you reacting to a Philz over a clinching night and winning the hangover game. Never a doubt. 2-1-5-5-9-2. 94-94 is how you get in. On the other side, some stuff that Rob Thompson said earlier today that I thought was interesting

and an update on one guy that would give a huge emotional lift to this team. What is all that? We'll get to that and more of your phone calls coming up next here on the Final Out. Welcome on back. It is the Final Out. Jack Fritz hanging out with you. 215-592-9494 is how you get in. And with Red October being back, obviously,

Sports Radio 94 WIP is your exclusive home for Phillies baseball with all the up-to-date playoff matchups for the Phillies as we get ready for the return of Red October. The return of Red October is brought to you by your local Ford stores. Visit buyfordnow.com and your local Ford store today. So Rob Thompson was on the morning show earlier today, talked about his playoff rotation. He confirmed before the game that it's going to be, obviously,

Wheeler-Nola game one, two. That's not surprising. But what he said about game three I thought was interesting. And to me, it really shows the confidence that they have in two things. One, it shows that they believe that Rangers Suarez can go to the bullpen and be fine. Listen, Rangers Suarez last year, the exact same thing that in Houston, and it didn't matter. He was okay in the first start against the Braves. They won the game, whatever. But then after that, I mean, he was pretty much lights out. I mean, he closes out the NLCS.

He starts a game in that series. He was just, he was good in, in the world series as well. So I'm not going to like overreact to him pitching poorly tonight in the hangover game. So, but it shows they have confidence that they think that he can go to the

bullpen and, and be a weapon out there. He's obviously on the past. He, he closed games for this team. He came out of the bullpen. They piggybacked him. They've pitched Ranger Suarez in pretty much every single situation imaginable. So Ranger Suarez, they have confidence that he can do whatever, whether it's start or coming out of the bullpen in games one and two. But I also think it shows a ton of confidence in Chris Sanchez. Because if they didn't believe Chris Sanchez was a viable enough starter for that game three, I don't think they're even thinking about this.

Like, you can't take your game three starter out and bring him out of the bullpen in games one or two and leave yourself vulnerable for game three. I mean, there's no off days. It's just Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. So it shows a ton of faith and a ton of confidence in Chris Sanchez that, hey, if we have to use Ranger and maybe it backfires, we trust you to go out there in a game three and pitch a solid ball game

and help advance us to the NLCS or NLDS. So I thought it was an interesting line of thinking. And I know that when, I mean, maybe a month ago, he was asked what his playoff rotation is, and Tywin Walker was in there and Chris Sanchez was not. And that annoyed me to no end because, like, I just don't know how he had two eyeballs and watched Ty Tom Walker and thought this guy could pitch in a playoff series. He can't.

I mean, Tom Walker is going to have a nice view from the bench, hopefully, this postseason. He just doesn't have it. And, you know, we'll see what happens this offseason. Do they try to get out from under that contract? Can they get out from under that contract? I'd like to find a way, but whatever. Michael isn't is in more of a bullpen role now i'll see what i don't know what that role is exactly going to be but again i don't think that they even think of the idea of pitching ranger out of the bullpen if chris sanchez hasn't shown them that he deserves

a a postseason start. And if he does start, I have a ton of confidence in him. Do I think it's going to be dominant shutdown baseball? No. But do I think Chris Sanchez gives me a really good chance of going six innings, allowing three runs or less? Yes, I do. So it makes me happy. I'm glad they're using their eyes. And if Chris Sanchez starts a playoff game I got confidence in him and and I thought that Rob Thompson showed that with that quote from earlier today the other thing that he said both on

WIP at the morning show and uh and his pre-game availability was just about Reese Hoskins and I mean he's he said World Series um but he also kind of feels like he's laying the groundwork maybe even for the NLCS. It'll be really curious to see if they put him on the NLCS roster. I would think they would put him on the World Series roster, given the way they talk about it at this point, but a lot of reports are saying he's progressing pretty quickly here

and he's hitting off the field and stuff, like 70-80 hacks. I don't know. I'm just saying that if Reese Hoskins is back for the World Series, the Phillies are winning it. It is such an emotional lift. Imagine Citizens Bank Park if Reese Hoskins gets in a bat. I mean, the place would melt.

It would be on fire. And obviously, I'm rooting for Reese, but that is a chance to be an all-time moment. God forbid he goes yard. And he's got the perfect teammate in Kyle Schwarber to kind of navigate him through how to do it. I mean, Kyle Schwarber, he tore his ACL in the first week of the year in 2016, fought his way back, and was able to go in the World Series. The big difference here is that there's no National League ballpark where he can't hit.

So Reed's Austin's going to hit on the road. He's going to hit at home. The one caveat is it probably takes Johan Rojas out of the lineup. I mean, unless the lefty's on the mound. Then he starts against the lefty and starts the center field. But it puts Kyle Schwarber back in left field. So it would probably go Rojas slash Marsh, Schwarber, Castellanos. Harper stays at first, and then Hoskins is your DH.

The lineup would be sick. The lineup would be out of control. But obviously Schwarber back in the field is not something that a lot of people would be excited about. Either way, two good updates there. And man, again, if Reece Hoskins gets back, this team's winning the World Series.

The lift that guy would give them, I think would be just ridiculous. Blake joined the show from Narberth. What's happening, Blake? Hey, Jeff. You know, coming into today, I really didn't care about today's game. But to see the guys, after all that celebration last night, come out and win today from a 5-0 deficit, that was pretty cool.

And to see Bryce, they didn't pack it in. He hits that home run, Harper, and then Garrett Stubbs. I mean, I don't know how you can't love that guy to see him get that home run that moment that was pretty cool and i know i'm i want to look at one series at a time but you never know we go the way we want this season to go one or two wins could be big with the all-star game not determining home food advantage either yeah and um, like next Tuesday, obviously this whole thing starts and Blake appreciate the call. Like I just,

it's going to be, it's going to be really fascinating. Like the Cubs lost tonight and just brutal fashion again, they're just really choking down the stretch, just completely giving in. So I, again, it feels like we're going to get a little diamondbacks action here

uh next tuesday wednesday and hopefully not thursday which again they're a young team they are um you know they they have corbin carroll who's a 25 homer 50 50 steel guy christian walker local guy zach gallon local guy um the the, I guess, is there's like two – I can't tell which one I am leaning more towards. On one hand, I'm like, wow, the Diamondbacks are going to have to pitch their guys all throughout the weekend, and maybe they avoid at least one of Merrill Kelly, Zach Gallin. I'm sure they won't.

They'll pitch those guys on short rest if they have to, and maybe like a Zach Davey starts game one, which would be awesome. Or if I'm of the camp of, well, they're playing in postseason games all weekend, so their intensity levels are already going to be raised heading into Citizens Bank Park. Like, it's an interesting kind of balance. But either way, again, next Tuesday. It feels like the 5 o'clock game.

Like, they won't be the 2 o'clock game, they won't be the 12 game. It'll either be 5 or 8. But, I mean, that 5 o'clock spot would just be absolutely prime. And the weather's supposed to be in the 80s. So, yeah. We kind of luck out there instead of the cold, which is usually coming later

into the postseason. 215-592- 9494 is how you get it. On the other side, we will look ahead to tomorrow, but also I want to see one guy start to get some rest here in the debate of rest versus rust. We'll get to that and the probables for tomorrow before handing things off to Tom Kelly here on Sports Radio 94 WIP. Hey, fantasy football owners.

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Follow and listen to Reception Perception on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Right on time for Garrett Stubbs. Welcome on back. Jack Fritz hanging out with you. That is the Mike's Amazing Play of the Game presented by Mike's Amazing, the official mayo, mustard, and vegetable oil of the Phillies. Yeah.

Garrett Stubbs, a lot of people, including myself, making jokes. Is he going to be seeing double tonight? Is he going to get out of bed? Is he going to make it to the ballpark on time? Yada, yada, yada. How does he respond? With a little home run. Yeah, a three-run home run.

He said after the game he thought it was going to go further. Is this like when LeBron said to shoot for the rim in the middle because he was seeing triple? He saw three balls coming and he swung for the one in the middle. He nailed it. Try it more often. Game one starter, Garrett Stubbs. Embrace the bait.

He was the only guy last year who didn't get it in the playoffs. Yeah, I know. Garrett Stubbs, and I think one of the things that dave dobrowski is definitely um i think one of the one of the big differences and then and the seasoned kind of leadership that he brings is understanding what building a true clubhouse and winner is like, if you have heard any stories of what the clubhouse is like under McPhail and, and, and Klintzak and Gabe, they just were kind of all disconnected. And, and, and Girardi, I'm sure in the same way where, you know, they just, they just, you know,

they weren't totally connected and I don't think people talk to each other and they just weren't that close. And since Dave Dombrowski has taken over, I mean, he's gone out and gotten clubhouse guys. Are some of them flawed players? Sure. Could they get an upgrade to Garrett Stubbs? Sure. But he's a backup catcher behind a guy who plays, I don't know, like 135 games a year.

So it's a lot for a catcher. I mean, Garrett Stubbs, I think has only appeared in like 39 games this entire year. So, that's not a lot in 162 game season. So, the guy's not going to be, you know, great who has that spot. But what Garrett Stubbs brings is energy every day. He embraces being the backup catcher. He has a glove that says day game. He brings stuff like the overalls to the team. He has the win playlist.

You need guys like that in a 162 game season. Dombrowski understanding the value of great clubhouse guys is a reason why this team has been as good as they've been this last, I don't know, year and a half. Garrett Stubbs, Kyle Schorber, everyone. I mean, for as much as you want to bring up the strikeouts

and the batting average, the most important thing that Kyle Schorber brings to this team is leadership and how the old players, they look to him, the young players, they look up to him. Like, is he a superstar? No. But I think that I've said this a couple of times. I think Kyle Schor was the most important player of the team when it comes to keeping this team together, getting them to do fun things, going to each other's events.

And, I mean, Dave Dombrowski's been a part of so many winners, and he's called Kyle Schor the best teammate he's ever been around like that stuff matters brandon marsh another guy who yes he's your starting center fielder slash left fielder but constant energy constant positivity johan rojas will make a big play brandon marsh first one off the bench to congratulate him christian pache same thing like that stuff really matters and i think that's been the the best thing that dave dobrowski has brought to this team is identifying what a winning ball club looks like it's the biggest reason why uh you know this team is where they're at and and you know they're kind of mercenaries in a way it's like they're all homegrown kids that learned how to play the Phillies way.

They're kind of piecing this thing together. And teams like the Mets, like the Padres, who also have spent a ton of money on outsiders, they can't hold it together and keep it together. Well, Dave Dombrowski is the X factor there. So is Garrett Stubbs an unbelievable baseball player? No. But what Garrett Stubbs brings to this team is a ton of value.

And what he does in that locker room brings a ton of value. And that stuff matters over 162 games slog of a baseball season. So I love Garrett Stubbs, and I'm glad he had that moment tonight. I'm glad that he's able to sign that kid's jersey after the game. That's great stuff. And I'm glad he had that moment tonight. I'm glad that he's able to sign that kid's jersey after the game. That's great stuff.

And he just seems like a really, really good dude and very, very easy to root for. So tomorrow on the mound, Zach Wheeler, which is kind of interesting. I was surprised they were going with that in a traditional sense. You want him to get some rest. But Zach Wheeler is one of those guys that when you get him out of his rhythm and you have him sit for more than his regular rest, he's I guess a bit worse. He doesn't like doing it.

So they're going to keep him on his regular rest even though it's kind of a pointless game against the Pirates. I'm sure they're not going to let him go deep, like maybe five innings. I don't know. They'll probably have him like a 90 pitch count if I was them. I don't think I'd be surprised if he's pitching in the seventh at 100 pitches.

But I guess they just want him to get some rest or get him some work and have him on his normal rest so he can just keep in that rhythm that he's been on. So Zach Wheeler, starting tomorrow. The one guy I don't want to see starting tomorrow

is Bryson Stott. I've been talking about this a lot in the postgame, how he's just, the bat looks a little bit slow. Jim in Phoenix brought up last night how everything looks kind of off since he got hit in the ribs. Well, his batting average is in the mid 100s

in September. Just not on a good streak right now. Played tonight, let off. I would get him off his feet for a couple days before maybe playing him Saturday or Sunday before the game Tuesday.

Getting stock going would really help this team. We all know that. 2-1-5-5-9-2. 94-94. Let's close it on out with Jeff in Los Angeles. What's happening, Jeff? Hey, Fritzy. How you doing? I'm actually back from doing great. Yeah, appreciate it. Big fan. First time, long time. Big High Hopes fan. You know, live in LA now, but born and raised in Philly. Lifelong Philly's fan. Raising my son out there in LA. Phil's fan. So he's a bigger fan than me, even. Gets food every day. but yeah, great, great experience at the park today. Uh, better Sir Anthony, you know, better Soto,

better, better Covey, right. Even, uh, not to meet, uh, a Ryan Kirkering's dad actually today just was walking in the park with my colleagues. Yeah. Recognized him just, you know, went up and just, you know, said, excuse me, sir, you know, just you're a Ryan's dad, right? He's like, just, you know, went up and just, you know, said, excuse me, sir, you know, you're Orion's dad, right? He's like, yes, yes, I am. I just, you know, I told him how proud we are as a fan base of his son, you know, how amazing it is, his development and everything and how proud we are of him, you know, as a dad, as a coach and everything. I'm a coach.

I coach my son and everything. It was just an amazing experience just to obviously immediately recognize him, you know, as a big fan and see him there. Just tell him we all love him and support him and love his son. And it was a great moment. And then Orion, you know, went on to get the win tonight, which was kind of cool. Like you said, ran into a little trouble, but just, you know, worked his way out of it. Great seeing the plus plus slide.

I mean, it's just it's unreal, right? A little better than the Vasquez, you know, six straight sliders or whatever. Are they going to land, right? A little bit, a little bit, a little bit, but really, really exciting. Question for you is, you know, love that Topper, you know, knows to do his mix and match stuff or whatever, but as we're seeing things develop and maybe Jose putting it all together, do you think it's possible that we might move into a mode in the playoffs where, you know, despite the mix in matches, Jose could be that ninth inning, like, okay, he's got it together. This is our guy.

This is who's going to close out the game. I mean, could it move in that direction, you think, as we go into the playoffs? Yeah, Jeff, and I appreciate the phone call, and I'm glad I saw Mr. Kerkering. You know, I haven't gotten there yet. Walk's only six months old, so I

haven't gotten to the whole coaching portion. I'm sure I'm going to be very hands-off when it comes to that. But yeah, so Alvarado, Rob Thompson said this morning with the morning show that it's going to be sort of by committee or where it's going to be dependent upon pockets in the lineup.

So I could see a scenario where a lot of lefties in the eighth or maybe it's a more high leverage spot in the eighth, like you're facing the middle of the lineup. Maybe he goes Alvarado there and then say it's Kimmel for the bottom. Either way, the nice part is they tried this a couple years ago with Gabe where they put anyone in the ninth inning and you just have a fireman for the middle of the game. The nice part is I feel confident in Jose Alvarado closing out a game.

They have two guys that can close out games. I'll put it that way. Alvarado closing out a game. They have two guys that can close out games. I'll put it that way. Kimbrell is just right now, again, he's allowing a good amount of home runs. And I don't know. He's just in a weird spot.

Like he's allowing home runs and that's kind of it. Everything else is mostly fine. It's just that one home run that comes back to bite him. So either way, they have two guys that can close out games. It's not like they put Alvarado in the ninth and he'll just kind of melt down. I think he kind of rises to those moments. But either way, you know, it seems like they're going to kind of be more matchup based as they as they get into bigger games. And if it's a big spot in the eighth, maybe it's Alvarado. Maybe it's Kimberly musing him in the eighth in the last little bit. Either way, ERA is 4.8 since the new intro at Citizens Bank Park. Either way, that's going to do it for me.

Dan Wilson produced the final out tonight, and we'll be back tomorrow. Six o'clock start. Marks and Reese, we will lead you into on deck with Greg Murphy, and I will be back after the game reacting to it all here on the final out. So I'll talk to you tomorrow night. Tom Kelly's got you next. He'll take you through the rest of the night here on Sports Radio 94 WIP.