High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Final Out: Suarez Shutout; Harper Home Run Lead Phils To Victory

Episode Date: April 17, 2024

Jack Fritz reacts to Ranger Suarez's complete game shutout in the 5-0 win over the Rockies on Tuesday night. 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 BIB 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. The 0-1 pitch. Breaking ball right back at him, and fittingly, Rangers got it. Turns, fires, and it's a shutout for Suarez. 5-0.

Phillies win it. As Rangers, Suarez throws the first complete game shutout of the season by a Phillies pitcher and just the second of his Major League career. What a night down at Citizens Bank Park. Welcome on in. It is the final out sponsored by Regency Furniture. Affordable never looks so good. Jack Fritz hanging out with you on this Tuesday night. And one that I think we'll remember for a little bit. Let's get into it. The game wrap-up sponsored by Blazer Swiss Lube and Kravitz, the metalworking fluid specialist providing professional CNC machine cleaning,

coolant maintenance programs, and waste coolant disposal. Kravitz.online. In front of 35,000 down at the ballpark. Ranger Suarez pitched a gem, a complete win tonight by the Phillies. They are two games over 500.

Start the parade now. And hopefully we don't have to deal with anymore of this little 500 nonsense because that was a good, solid win down at the ballpark. If you're on your way home, get in. 215-592-9494 as we revel in a nice throwback. A throwback pitching performance by Ranger Suarez tonight down at CBP.

The biggest takeaway of the game brought to you by Morgan & Morgan, America's largest injury firm. Well, that leads to our player of the game brought to you by Morgan & Morgan, America's largest injury firm. Well, that leads to our player of the game, which is sponsored by South Jersey Gas, committed to providing safe, reliable, affordable natural gas. Make the switch at southjerseygas.com slash lovemyhome. Obviously, the biggest takeaway from tonight is just the sheer, sheer brilliance of Ranger Suarez.

18 straight scoreless innings from Ranger. And the journey of Ranger has been so fun to watch. You know, obviously we love this team, and we love bringing these guys from the outside. Obviously, Harper's become one of our guys. Schwarber, one of our guys. JT, one of our guys. Wheeler, one of our guys.

Castellanos, when he's hitting well, one of our guys. JT, one of our guys. Wheeler, one of our guys. Castellanos, when he's hitting well, one of our guys. But there's just something cool about someone that came up through the system. I remember watching Ranger or hearing about Ranger up in Williamsport when he was a crosscutter. Crosscutters don't even exist anymore. So you follow these guys, exist anymore. So, you know, you follow these guys and Ranger all throughout the minor leagues, it was probably more of a four, you know, he's going to come up, he's going to throw strikes, but the upside is more of a back end starting option. And he comes up, gets hit around a little bit, probably is too good within the strike zone. He's kind of bouncing up and down. In 2022, he comes back. He is like a piggyback.

I forget who the starter was, but he's basically a piggyback option, a bullpen option into a closer, which he was pretty good at, by the way. Ranger was a pretty good closer for a little bit. And then he gets back into the rotation, and he's just been so reliable and how i felt about ranger heading into this year was this is when we're going to get playoff ranger

for an entire season and the frustrating part about some of rangers postseason starts is that he gets pulled a little bit too early now it's both happened down in atlanta coincidentally in game one of the nlds he started both of those in the last two years. But I always felt like, hey, let Ranger kind of cook a little bit. I think Ranger Suarez is one of the Phillies that I trust the most. And it really feels like we're about to get one of these put-it-all-together kind of year for Ranger Suarez. ERA is down to 1.73.

Like I mentioned, 18 straight scoreless innings by Ranger. And I watch him, and I've said a couple times, both on High Hopes, which obviously check out High Hopes if you want just all Phillies all the time. I feel like he was somewhere in between Jamie Moyer and Cliff Lee. He's definitely trending more towards the Cliff Lees of the world. Watching him tonight, that's what watching Cliff Lee used to be like. It was just bang, get it, go, get guys out, quick innings.

He had a couple eight-pitch innings tonight. I mean, when's the last time you saw that? I know the Rockies stink. They have some decent hitters in that lineup. They're not overwhelming at all. But Ranger just made quick work of them all. He never got too high, never got too low. I thought by the end he definitely looked a little bit gassed,

looked like he was running out. But, I mean, shout out to him. He grinded, he dug down deep, and he didn't have to bring anyone else in. We didn't have to mess around and bring in Jeff Hoffman. We just trusted Ranger, go do the thing, close the thing out, and let's save the bullpen for tonight. But man, I felt like I was watching an old Cliff Lee start. And I've had this prediction for a couple years that he's going to throw a no-hitter one of these days. Tonight should

reinforce that. It was quick. It was easy. It was efficient. It seems like he has really good command of all his pitches right now. That cutter has been a game changer for him. It allows him to get in on right-handed hitters and get them off the barrel. So with his fastball command taking a nice step forward, it seems like his fastball command and Nola's fastball command are back to when they're at their peaks, which is great because the Phillies are a command over stuff rotation obviously Wheeler has high end stuff but for the most part and by the way he's high in command he's one of the five best pitchers in baseball but regardless you know this is a staff that is more stuff or more more command

over stuff and when these guys have their fastball location like they've had so far this season it makes them that that much better so Ranger has the fastball command of both sides of the plate working well. He has the cutter that he can get in on right-handed hitters. They can't square him up. He has the curveball that is an equalizer for both sides of the plate. He's knuckled that thing, which is good. And the changeup is a really good weapon for him. So he is in a really good rhythm, 18 straight scoreless, felt like I was watching Cliff Lee. By the way,

like, can we get the guy a gold glove? This is nothing to take away from, from Zach Wheeler, who's a good defensive pitcher, but like Ranger Swore is, is, is a stud defensive pitcher. Like every time he's out there,

it's just nonchalant, bang, ball back to him, get it over to first base. Like Ranger's been the better defensive pitcher than, than Wheeler's been the last two years. And Ranger hasn't gotten the gold glove yet. Now, some of it is amount of innings pitched, I guess. But still, the guy's like a cat on the mound, Ranger Suarez.

So a really, really just unbelievable game. It was a nice little throwback. We don't see many complete games shutouts these days. It was nice back-to-back nights. Nola pitched into the eighth. Ranger went eight, and I was like, man, just give him the ninth. And Thompson stuck with him. Now, it

helped that they had a five-run lead. That definitely makes things a lot easier, makes decisions a lot easier, but Thompson stuck with him, and Ranger rewarded him. And the final thing here, obviously this is more big picture. He's got one year left. He's got next year, and then he's an unrestricted free agent. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a nice little Ranger Suarez kind of extension in the works here.

I mean, it probably waits until after the season, obviously, because then he'll be heading into his last year. But I can't let Ranger Suarez go anywhere. Like, he is too important. And if the future of this rotation is Wheeler, Nola, Ranger, you want to go Chris Sanchez in that four spot, cool. Andrew Painter's coming. Mick mick ables you know right on his heels like they've got some options but ranger suarez can't go anywhere and and i look forward to the day they get that extension done and he hopefully is a philly for life because again he's one of those guys that i think that this city just trusts but man what a night down cP. That was my first big takeaway. Obviously, Ranger Suarez. Again, if you're on your way home, 215-592-9494 to get in and react to tonight's game. The second big thing, and this is equally as important, is number three is heating up.

And I said the other day on the afternoon show, like someone's going to pay for this streak that Bryce Harper had been going through. Again, he's three for 32 before the double to make it three nothing. And that was one of those times where you can kind of feel him getting locked in. It was a nice long at bat. He ended it by going opposite way, driving in a run, and then comes up later and just launches a two-run home run. So the big fella's heating up, and it's good because Schwarber's had a good start to the year.

Turner's picked it up. He had a couple runs scored tonight in a double. Getting Harper going is massive. I've been worried about the four-hole. I just think it's such an important part of this lineup that has to produce. And while JT had the home run tonight, I do think he's more of a five, six hole hitter. Same thing with Alec Baum. Having a good four hole hitter is important.

And it was good to see JT hit that home run tonight because he had been scuffling a little bit. But man, it just makes life so much easier when your $330 million superstar is doing things like he did tonight. And you just have this sense that this Bryce Harper run is coming. Because before the game yesterday, his batting average was below Johan Rojas'. We can't let that happen. There's not a total shot at Johan Rojas'. But it's just a simple fact of the matter that they need their stud to get going. And tonight was a really, really big step

in the right direction. Launched that ball late in the game to make it 5-0 and put this one out of reach and make Rob Thompson's decision that much easier to stick with Rangers Suarez. 2-1-5, 5-9-2, 94-94. Two react to the game. John's on his way back from the game.

What's happening, John? Jack, my man, how you doing tonight? Good, brother to react to the game. John's on his way back from the game. What's happening, John? Jack, my man, how you doing tonight? Good, brother. How was the game? Listen, I wanted to talk to you about the crowd, Jack. So, the game was great. Listen, Harper, Ranger, the whole bit. I know you're a guy.

By the way, this is John. We hung out at McGurk's together for the Sixers party. Oh, what's up, brother? How are you? I like to bang on your walls and drive Mike Reach crazy down at the games. It does drive him crazy, yep. Listen, tell him he needs to get over himself a little bit. I mean, honestly.

No, he's all right. All right, man. Listen, the crowd tonight. I know you're a crowd guy, Jack. Electric crowd for, you know, April night. Team's struggling a little bit. You know, goodbye, but when Ranger came out for the ninth inning, the place erupted.

Yeah. Right? So it was a lot of fun, really cool to see, you know, with a slow start, 35,000, you know, hot dog night the whole bit. But it was a good crowd. I know you're a crowd guy. Now, no one was launching hot dogs at other people? Like the hot dogs were staying in hand?

Come on, Jack, 250 a dog, man. This is Philly. We can't be throwing 250 hot dogs. That in hand? Come on, Jack. $250 a dog, man. This is Philly. We can't be throwing $250 hot dogs. That's exactly right. I'm sure it helped John, obviously, but the game was over in two hours. That was a quick ball game tonight.

Listen, I'm on Woodhaven heading back up to Warrington, my man. I'm almost home. Listen, I need you to do me a favor, though. Yes. I told you I took my three daughters to the playoffs last year. Now I got them all hooked. My daughter Megan's listening. She was at the game with me last year.

She's now a faithful WIP listener. Do me a favor and give Megan a shout-out, will you? I will, of course, John. Shout-out to Megan. Thanks for listening. Welcome on over to WIP. We get a bad rep here at WIP. That's all I'll say.

We're just sports fans like everyone else. It's a great place. I tell you what. I know that WIP is on fire when the Eagles are good, but I really do think that it gets taken to another level when the Phils are on their run. The last two years, in 2022, the Eagles were 8-0, 9-0, 10-0, whatever, and the Phils were on their run. The last two years, in 2022, the Eagles were 8-0, 9-0, 10-0, whatever, and the Phillies

were on their run. We never talked about the Eagles. It's a really good baseball town. Obviously, the team has to be good. The team has to be worthy enough for people to show up. It is definitely a town that when a team is good, they'll be there. You've got to earn the ticket or earn people going.

Man, there's a lot of negativity when the team starts slow. And when you see the ballpark, 35,000 there tonight, being loud, being into it, it's a really, really good baseball town. And they got rewarded tonight because it was a quick ballgame. Rangers brilliant. The Stars were the Stars. Not much more you could ask for when you go to the ballpark on $250,

I guess not dollar dog night, but buy one, get one free, dogs. You know what I mean. 2-1-5-5-9-2, 94-94. If you're leaving the ballpark, get in. We'll get back to your phone calls coming up next, but also an injury update and a concerning stat about one of the Phillies regulars. It's the final out here on Sports Radio 94 WIPA. Hey, fantasy football owners.

The road to winning your fantasy football championship starts now. I'm Matt Harmon from Reception Perception. Join me and James Coe as we take a deep dive into the position that's going to make or break your fantasy roster. Wide receivers. We analyze route running, target share, and all the metrics that matter, giving you the insights you need to draft the best wide receivers. As you prep for your draft, let us give you the coverage you need. Follow and listen to Reception Perception on the free Odyssey app

or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back. It is the final out, sponsored by Regency Furniture. Affordable never looked so good. And, yeah, someone's going to pay for this. He looks back. looked so good. And yeah, someone's going to pay for this. He looks back. And he had the hit last night, which was like, all right, good sign, good sign.

Then he goes opposite field after working a good at bat earlier in the game to make it 3-0. And then that was just a classic laser out of the ballpark. So hopefully Bryce Harper is getting going. I think he's heating up, and I think we're about to get on a good little Bryce Harper stretch here. Because, listen, much like how back in the day this offense went how Jimmy went and Jimmy Rollins was kind of the spark plug for the lineup, that's how I feel about Bryce.

And it's not exactly groundbreaking that once your best player starts hitting better, then things start falling into place. But Bryce is so important from the standpoint of I feel like when he's not hitting well, and this is not really a critique, it's just, it's like

he's the star player, and if he's not hitting well, and you've seen him the last couple nights getting upset about things, and it's born out of wanting to do the best. It's out of, I want to go perform and help my team win. And when he's not doing that, and he's flying out to the wall, it becomes frustrating. So it's almost like everyone else kind of breathes a sigh of relief

when Bryce starts hitting well, because it's not like, stay away from Bryce, stay away from Bryce. He's mad. And that's why getting him going is so important to the rest of the team. Maybe it's a whole kind of collective exhale and the offense can start doing what they're capable of doing because right now, now again, Schwarber is starting to heat up. Or Schwarber is at a good start to the year.

Turner is heating up. Harper hopefully heating up. And then the rest of the lineup. Marsh has gone a little bit cold. Here recently. And you get down to like the Nick Castellanos of the world. Who I mentioned a concerning stat. About one of the Phillies regulars.

He is the only qualified hitter in Major League Baseball without an extra base hit. Like, he doesn't have an extra base hit. He's hit only singles so far this year. And he's played in every game. He hasn't sat. And I just wonder when they're going to get him a day here. I know they have the off day Thursday. He'll probably be out there tomorrow. We're going to 6.05 start tomorrow. But maybe a game of Pache and Rojas and Marsh just to kind of get him off his feet. Now, Nick Cassianos doesn't seem like a guy that is going up there,

you know, really thinking or getting in his own head, but he's also like, he knows he's struggling. I mean, he's on the field for like an hour before the game the other day. So I wonder at one point, do they consider kind of sitting him down, maybe giving him a little bit of a reset? Because they did this with Johan Rojas the other day, where they gave him like a two-game reset. I and because they did this with johan rojas the other day where they gave him like a two-game reset i wonder if they consider that with cassianos because

again they're paying him 100 plus million dollars and he's the only qualified hitter in major league baseball right now without an extra brace hit you have that you have wit you have rojas so you have stats starting to heat up a little bit but he's had a down start the year. Boehm has been fine, but still doesn't have a home run yet. After the four spot, and even the four spot I don't love, there's a lot of guys that got to get going, and it would be nice if their $100 million right fielder was able to join in and help out the offense. Let's get to the injury report,

which is sponsored by the Plumbers Union Local 690. Protecting the health of the offense. Let's get to the injury report, which is sponsored by the Plumbers Union Local 690, protecting the health of the nation. Visit plumbers690.org. I know this is going to make people so excited. You know, if you're driving home from the ballpark, try to maintain your level of excitement. When I tell you that Tyrone Walker went four and two-thirds tonight up in Lehigh Valley.

He had allowed three hits, one earned, walked three. So that's great. It's awesome. Love that. Walking three and four and two-thirds, 78 pitches, one strikeout. One bleeping strikeout for Tyrone Walker tonight. He sat 90 to 92 in the start so our must be just just fresh up there and as always take your time taiwan take your time the other part of this read is the pitch count ranger swartz a career high tonight 112 pitches for ranger and it looked like he was laboring but thank god he's got it done and we didn't have to mess around and bring anyone else into the ballgame. So a great night down at CBP. We'd love to talk to you if you're on your way home.

215-592-9494. Brian's in Churchville. What's happening, Brian? Jack, what's happening, man? Great night down at the ballpark. Yes, certainly. I wish I was down there. So, yeah, with Ranger, he's just the man.

He's just the man. And it's funny because I was watching a little bit of, you know, Barkan and Ricky Bowe, and they're like, oh, 112 pitches. I'm like, seriously? This is where we're at? Well, it's like, isn't that what people want? Well, that's what I'm saying. And if Topper would have pulled them early, they would have been moaning about that.

Of course. Of course. Yeah, I'm glad he stuck with them. And listen, it made it easy when it became 5-0. Like, if that's a three-run ballgame, you would want Jeff Hoffman in there. But Bryce gave him the extra insurance, and he just pushed through. It's just so – like, I don't do the whole boomer, old baseball thing. Every so often I will.

But it's just great. Like, that's a great baseball game tonight. That's old school. That's fun. That's what keeps everyone engaged. It was just perfect. I could not agree more. i'm not quite a boomer i'm not far from it but uh uh you know i mean boomer in the most in the most endearing way

possible i don't mean i don't mean it as a shot i'm just saying like no no no their opinions we know the opinions it's all it's all good brother it's all good and then uh you know we've kind of chatted you know i love wheels but um yeah the the rangers fielding i mean he he needs to win a gold glove he needs to i mean i mean he's like a cat out there now he made like the one the one misplay where where he bobbled and wasn't able to turn a second now it didn't come back to haunt him obviously but he's just he's just a monster out there he he he really is i mean and you, and you just watch him. And we've seen him in the playoffs a couple years now. He's just, you talk about cool as a cucumber.

It's unbelievable. Yeah, he really is, Brian. I appreciate the phone call. You know, I mentioned the Cliff Lee comp, and he does remind me of Cliff Lee. Still, you know, in the middle of Jamie and Cliff Lee. Obviously, Cliff Lee is the high end. If we're getting Cliff Lee, we're getting a real, real ace level here from

Ranger Suarez. But he also reminds me of Devante. Like, Devante is cool, calm, keeps it real, goes out, does his job, and I think the city just connects with Devante. I think the city connects with Ranger,

and they just have that same kind of demeanor, would never get too high, never get too low. I mean, Devontae's, what, 170 pounds soaking wet, maybe? He's going between two defenders, getting lit up, just moving on to the next play. It's like Ranger. Balls it back to him, looks around the entire ballpark, flicks it over to first base. Bang. It's good morning, good afternoon, good night. So it's good to see, hopefully, this nice Ranger putting together a really, really good season.

I still think it's probably the 3-2 to 3-5. He's probably not going to end the year with a 1-7-3 ERA like he has right now. But he is turning into a super reliable arm, and he was just brilliant tonight. Matt's in Bristol. What's happening, Matty? Yo, what's up, Jack? Jack, did you really have the balls to say Kyle Schwarber is heating up when he went 0-4?

Are you serious? He's heating up. Are you serious? He's not? Are you serious? He's had a good start to the year. Listen, dude. You're killing me, dude. Why? You don't think he's had a good start to the year? Listen, this

team is built on offense. You are far too obsessive, Schwarber. I'm just letting you know. Listen, you know why I'm obsessed? Because everybody thinks this guy's a good baseball player he stinks out loud he's you know they used to say a five tool baseball player that guy has got one tool it's half broken and it's rusty in the fucking box oh i'm sorry i

didn't mean i didn't mean to curse i'm sorry i'm sorry i apologize right sorry. I apologize. Right. I apologize. I'm sorry. I'm sure it makes you that mad. I got you. No, what makes me mad is he's in the wrong spot in the lineup. The guy can be productive, but he's not productive where he is. He's a

five-hole hitter, and I don't get it. He's a five-hole hitter. Why would I want him that low in the lineup? That low? Yes. Why would I want that low in the lineup? So it's real simple, Jack.

Well, no, I'll explain it to you. This is not hard to follow. Okay, first off, the guy strikes out too much. He's only way away. So why do you want that in the middle of the lineup though if he strikes out because when he does hit right it's all or nothing and i'd rather him get all or nothing with somebody on base how many how many rbis do you think he had last year i think he had 107 rbis last year yeah but i've told you all he does hit singles and all he does is hit solo home runs no i didn't say that jack the guy is the guy is

he is what he is and that's not a leadoff hitter he is what he is and if we're going to keep banging the drum and letting this guy go out there and keep doing this over and over and over again. I mean, you can't have a leadoff hitter going 0 for 4. You can't have a leadoff hitter leading the league in strikeouts. You can't have a leadoff hitter. What about when the leadoff hitter was on five times on Saturday against five lefties? Jack.

Was that good? Jack. Yes. I just want to know if that was good. Was that good? Jack. Jack. Yes. I just want to know if that was good. Was that all right? The only time you ever make, you know, like, Cowboy Jim sound smart is when you defend Schwarber. I mean, this has got to stop.

I mean, we can keep going on and on and on about this, and you can get all you Gen X gen xers or what are gen zers i don't know what you guys are doing but the point is you guys have no clue how baseball is played baseball is played a certain way right and and we're going to produce more runs with that kind of five hole hitter stop leading off this. This is not this has got to stop. This has got to stop. And listen, I know you defended the average, but we

all know the average is volatile. It's like saying, oh, Schwarber's got a good average. Yeah, yeah. And by the end of the year, it's going to be under 200 like it always is. And he's going to lead the league in strikeouts like he always does. But the bill will come due. The guy's not going to hit 47 home runs this year.

He might not hit 30. And then at the end of the year, I'm going to call, and I hope I'm wrong because I'm a Phillies fan, but the bill comes due always. And the bottom line is it's going to happen. You can't buck the trend ever because the trend is – the reason they call it a trend is because it always happens. You can fuck the trend.

Yeah, so the trend is they win with him there. The trend is that he's hit 45-plus home runs in the last two years. The trend is you go on a good run in the postseason. I don't know. That seems like a pretty good trend to me, but whatever. I guess I just don't know the sport. 215-592-9-2. 94-94 is how you get in.

On the other side, the play of the game plus a look ahead to tomorrow, all before handing things off to Jody Mack. It's the final out here on Sports Radio 94 WIP. Welcome back. It is the final out sponsored by Regency Furniture. Affordable never looks so good. Jack Fritz a second now with you closing out the program tonight that is the play of the game sponsored by mike's amazing the official mayo and mustard of the phillies and the reason why it's my play of the game is i don't know if i can remember the

last time a phillies outfitter made a play like that like they've thrown out base runners like i remember bryce a couple years ago unleashed a seed. I think Victor Robles was on his way to third base going for a triple, and Bryce threw him out. But I'm talking about, and maybe it's because we've had Schwarber out there. We've had Hoskins out there. We've had some liabilities in left field. And it was, I mean, I might even go back to Burrell.

I'll go back to Burrell. Now Burrell had a hose. He didn't really get too many balls. I went to Banez. It was damn near shocking to see a left fielder make a play like that. I don't know if I can count on my one hand. I've seen a Philly South fielder make a play like that. You see something new every night at the ballpark.

Either way, Brandon Marsh, a plus-plus defender out in left field. Him and Rojas are special defensively. And again, if Rojas can just hit. He did have a walk tonight. I feel like the at-bats have not been terrible. He doesn't look totally overmatched. So hopefully the game's slowing that down for him. Because I mentioned it last night, he is just such a phenomenal defensive player. But Marsh is too. Pache in the mix. I do wonder if they get Pache in there for Castellanos one of these next couple days just to give him a bit of a breather. It's only so long you can go on with being the only qualified hitter without an extra base hitting all of baseball. But Schwarber is the main problem with the team. I want to make

sure that is clear and evident. Tomorrow on the mound, it is a 6-0-5 start, so a little bit earlier. They actually have their work cut out for them. Ryan Feltner is one of the more underrated pitchers in all of baseball. Really good stuff. You know, the Rockies have some power arms. I mean, every team does these days. It's not, like, shocking to see a power arm. But Ryan Feltner has some interesting stuff. Christopher Sanchez wasn't great his last outing. I did make two errors

in the mound. So he's kind of just pitching to a typical four or five starter. He'll have his outings where he strikes out seven and goes six. He'll have his outings where he goes four and two thirds. You know, he's kind of up and down, been more good than bad, so hopefully he can get back on the right track tomorrow. But Ryan Feltner won't exactly be the easiest matchup for the Phillies tomorrow. Let's get some phone calls in here. Alex is in Bethlehem. What's happening, eh? Jack, what's going on, man?

What's up, brother? You know, sometimes another caller gets me to call in. That guy, you know, saying those things about Schwarber. What does this guy have to do to endear himself to some of these older fans? My God. It's not like he's begging to be the leadoff hitter. I mean, they put him there. Like, it's as simple as this.

They put him there because he does damage. He works the pitcher traditionally. He walks 100 times. The last year he'd driven over 100. there because he does damage he works the pitcher traditionally he walks a hundred times he'll the last year he drove in over a hundred he scored a lot of run like he's he's a people are just so obsessed with the average and they're so obsessed with the strikeouts and the question is like why would you want him batting in the middle of the lineup with people theoretically on base where the strikeouts hurt you more and like he's, what, one of the three most important offensive players in the team?

I mean, when Trey's going, he's going. But, I mean, it's him, Harper, and Turner. Like, I want that guy getting as many at-bats as possible to do damage. So I just think people get so obsessed about Schwarber to where it just blinds them from what he does well. It blows my mind, Alex. The lead of this story of tonight's game, you know, has nothing to do with Kyle Schwarber. You know, there's so many other things to talk about.

I appreciate you saying all those things. You were spot on. But there's so many other things that happened. Harper gets back on track. JT hits a homer. Ranger Suarez. Ranger Suarez goes the distance and pitches nine shutout innings. Just a beautiful game, a beautiful win.

Enjoy the win, man. To quote Andy Reid. To quote Andy Reid, enjoy the win, man. My goodness. I appreciate the call, Alex, for sure. Oh, my God. A baseball player Alex, for sure. Oh my god. A baseball player went 0 for 4. It's shocking.

He might hit 240. Shocking. He's batted like 400 against lefties. He's got more singles than home runs this year. Isn't that what people want? They want him to be a little slap hitter? My gosh. Jack is in South Jersey. What's happening,'s happening jack hey what's up jack

how you doing good to hear good good man big night down at the ballpark just uh yeah just heading back from the game right now uh like 10 minutes from home um and yet you know kind of the same reason you know that guy kind of ticked me off the the whole Schwarber hate um because when you know when you think back about it you know you know i'm a Gen Z-er, like you mentioned. Growing up, my leadoff hitter was Jimmy Rollins. How many times has Jimmy Rollins hit over 300? Not a whole lot. To be fair, two completely different players.

Sure. Who wins a foot race, Jimmy Rollins or Kyle Schwarber? Depends. You have to give Kyle a pretty good head start. Maybe if he starts at first base. maybe if he starts at first base. Maybe he starts at first base. Yeah, give him 90 feet and he'll get it.

But, you know, listen, the thing with these power hitters is once Schwarber gets his timing and that swing down, that's all it is. If he's going to get the at-bats, then he's going to get the hits. He's going to hit hard. And he has been hitting a little better for average. I like that he's going up the middle a little more. He's trying to take things the other way. I think he has lost a little bit of weight,

so he's moving a little better. But with that being said, if you do move him back, alright, cool. Now he's clogging up the bases for Marsh, Scott, and Rojas. Great call putting him into five or six, right? I think if I move him down, if I move him down, I'm

more worried about the cleanup spot. If I was to move him down, I would want him at least backing up Bryce just from the standpoint of, and listen, I don't love lefty-lefty, but give me someone with some thump behind him. Right now, and JT had the home run tonight, which was great. I just know, Boehm is more a professional hitter than home run hitter. At least Schwarber would give the, he can hit one out of the ballpark in any given instance,

so he would maybe get Bryson better pitches to swing at. But five, it just, what's the point? You know, I mean, that's, you know, listen. He's not going to hit 300. He's not going to steal you a lot of bases. But what he is going to do is he's going to hit the ball hard. He's going to put in good at-bats. He's going to take pitches. And he's going to hit the ball hard. He's going to put in good at-bats. He's going to take pitches.

And he's going to set the tone for the lineup. And, you know, how many times have the Phillies gotten off to a fantastic start because he hits one off the first pitch into the seat? I mean, you know, I guess that's not the whole part of the game, but that energy that he can bring with just one pitch is a game changer. And, you know, maybe there is something to be said about, you know, his on base or his average. And I know I do kind of think about that old way where your top hitters

should be guys who get on base to that Bryce and JT and boom, and can move them over and get them in. But, you know, that's not the player Schwarber is. And like you said, it's not his fault he's in the leadoff spot. So, you know what? If he's there, if he goes over four, great. Oh, well. But the next day he could always hit three or four home runs

and drive you in a couple runs. So, I think that, you know, games like this where, and again, we won the game 5-0, and the only thing you have to say is about Schwarber striking out. Yeah. I know, Jack. I appreciate the phone call. Listen, like, would everyone like Mookie Betts to be their leadoff hitter

where he can do everything? He can get on base. He can steal a base. He can hit a home run. Of course. But for the Phillies, it works. They've won a lot of games the last two years. They've gone on playoff runs.

The thing that I just don't get about the Schwarber thing is whether you want to talk about his spot in the lineup and what he brings to this team from a clubhouse, from a winning mentality. I mean, the second he got here, we've never seen this team be able to win like this in a decade. I mean, he's had big NLCSs. He's had World Series home runs. I mean, again, in Game 6 of the World Series, that home run off of Valdez is talked about as an incredibly memorable home run,

but it doesn't matter because they blow the game late. Like, he's a tone setter. He gives you the lead just like that. We saw that in the NLCS. Relax, Ashwarver. 2-1-5, 5-9-2,9494 is how you get in for Jody Mack as he will take you through the rest of the night here on WIP. Francisco Rojas produced the program tonight.

I'll be back tomorrow. We will have leading off on the new afternoon show, Spike, Ike, and myself. Plus, I'll be back for the final out, as it's a big day down in Philadelphia tomorrow with the Sixers and the Phillies playing as well. So, I'll be back to react to it all tomorrow. Jody Maxx got you next. He'll take you through the rest of the night here on Sports Radio 94 WIP.