High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Get Over the Super Bowl it's Phillies Season

Episode Date: February 23, 2023

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz get excited about Spring Training baseball. The guys talk Painter hype, Nola extension, and much more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is the High Hopes podcast. High Hopes! It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Phillies on Radio.com and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Yo! It is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast. We were actually going to come to you about two hours earlier, but Zoe had an earache and I got to take her to the doctor.

So if you are watching the pod and probably if you're listening to, decent chance Zoe makes an appearance on this pod. I'm in a room right now. She was, Jack just saw her. She's, she's, she's bringing it today. So you may see Zoe or hear from Zoe. How you doing, buddy? You know, it's been really, really hard to contain my excitement for the Phillies.

You have no idea inside me how much I just want to like go on a rant and like talk about how great they're going to be. And like every video I see down there in Clearwater is just like, it's making me like that much more giddy for the season to start. And it's like, you know, the, the general vibe around this team is so impressive and it's like they they have a good mix i think james of they love each other and they want to get back you know and they want to get back to where they were and it's just like i can't believe we have to wake up every day and it not be opening day and and bryce may not play until till may because i i need the feeling of october

and and that feeling again and i need to fast forward this next month like exactly a month from now is when uh is when my son is due which is exciting speaking of which zoe's back no he's back zoe you'll come say hi to everyone here. Quick, quick say hi, Zoe. Here we go. Say hi. Come in a bit. There she is.

I can't, Zoe. I'm doing a podcast right now. Yeah. You just wanted that off. You just wanted this. She got it off. She got it off. So she has a hair tie in her doll's hair and she wanted it off.

Somehow got it off. Literally like three minutes later, coming back saying I want it on. I'll figure it out. All right. That sounds like, that sounds like me going through the, the,

the Philly season, you know, it's still on. It's still on. Okay. Well, yeah. So you got to deal with this.

I got to do my job. All right. All right. There we are. All right, Jack. We're back.'re back going well early i tell you what this new this new schedule is already off to a bad start you know she's climbing

into her tent oh she's back yes zoe i know zoe i'm recording a podcast zoe did we talk about this you gotta be good i'll help you after okay all That's my good girl. I'm really proud of you. Yep. I will say, well, we did this at like 830. This was never an issue. It's so true, buddy. It's so true. One switch to the day. Now we're back to like, you know, everything going on in the background.

So. Hey, get ready. All right, pal. You're having a kid in like a month, dude. You are like a month away from having a kid. Like, trust me, get ready all right pal just this will be your life so make the jokes now get them in get them in my bigger question for you is it's like obviously i'm like yeah i i can't wait like i'm dying i need to happen every day

i'm watching every single live bp video like doesn't matter i'm saying shocking i'm surprised i'm surprised you're not watching like uh videos of fans outside the stadium talking about uh you know what i like yeah everything you can find well it's just like why don't we live stream at this point guys can we get a live stream because someone's like get it so it looks like a game you know i don't need these side angles um i just want i want to see what it actually looks like um so like the people know that i am you know freaking out excited my bigger question is you like are you over this little super bowl yet i mean every day the wambulance of all they lost and oh i'm hurt oh i'm heartbroken like i really just think that everyone needs to know like if you're if you're ready to move on and

open your heart back up to the team that you know I would say that you led this fan base of this podcast especially I believe was your favorite meanwhile for the last month I swear this game's been over for every day it still hurts it still hurts listen

I was over the World Series in two days you were over the World Series in a millisecond, I think, at this point. How are you doing? Have you matured a little bit? I'm happy you asked the question. I was honestly totally prepared to answer it. So first and foremost, relax with minimizing the Super Bowl loss. All right, that sucked.

It sucked. It sucked. And I will never get over it. But, but, I was planning on coming here today, talking to you, talking to the people, shout out to everyone in the chat. I see some of our great listeners. I came in,

you had to do that whole little thing, but my official statement, my honest, from my heart, even though i will never get over the super bowl i can't wait for philly's baseball baby let's go let's go fully ready the andrew painter the shwerbo yeah honestly honestly i'll tell you what it was jack you mentioned it before but like the thing that really turned me like and that speech you gave on the last pod was really helpful really i wasn't just saying that in the moment it did

kind of get my juices flowing but dude like the schwarber painter stuff the stat stuff talk about every watching it like the vibe like it's the vibes man the vibes got me like i freaking love these guys like i love this team and I love how much they love each other and I love how much fun it just seems like all the fun from that run is carried right into spring training like the Schwarber painter stuff it's hilarious that's guys who like each other that's guys are having fun they're making fun of painter for all the you know it's like it just feels like we finally got a bunch of dudes who really like each other and are going out and they're going to go out every night and have a fricking blast together.

And like that turned me, man, that was like, Oh yeah. Like this team rocks. I can't wait. Baseball is my favorite sport. Let's go.

So I am, I will never get over the super bowl, but I'm, I'm there, dude. I am so freaking excited for Philly's baseball. Well, and go ahead. I think Zoe's just excited, you know? And I think there, dude. I am so freaking excited for Philly's baseball. Go ahead. I think Zoe's just excited. You know, and I think that

her kind of excitement I think is really... We don't curse on this pod, but I would curse if I could. She's being difficult, I would say. She's being difficult, I would say. I will say it's a good glimpse into your life though it's a good

yes into well here's the real problem here's the real problem world she's me like that's it's the the real issue is she is a full-on celts like and she does all the celty things and it's it's it's pretty eye-opening pretty eye-opening you're like wow i do that that's pretty eye-opening. Pretty eye-opening. You're like, wow, I do that. That's pretty annoying. Crap, am I annoying? Yeah, a lot of that. A lot of that. But, you know, you talk about this team,

and you talk about how they are and how they're acting. And what makes it, I think, so... This whole offseason, I frankly, like, I've been worried about their ability to get back. And I've been worried, like... Because I know how the city is. Like, when they get in there, it's like, oh, we're going to be back.

We're obviously going to be back. That's what we do now. All we do is win. We're the new Boston. Like, we're a city of champions. And I really fought against it. Like, I am very excited for the Phillies. I can't – I'm counting down the seconds for it to happen, right?

But there's, like, there's still that, you know, I'm trying to protect myself from thinking they can do it again. But I'm over kind of protecting myself. Like, this is everything we've been asking for. And how they are acting is like, they didn't want to spend an off season away from each other. And now they're coming back. And I'm sure a lot of them have been down there longer than,

than just pitchers and catchers showing up. They've been down there for a while. And how they are, it gives you this kind of confidence that they're not going to slip. They're not going to come out slow, that they're not going to slip. They're not going to come out slow, that they're not going to, they want that feeling back. Schwarber talked about it yesterday when they retired dancing on my own

heartbreaking, heartbreaking, but the right decision, correct decision, correct decision, correct decision. But he mentioned how it was the second place song and it's on them to get back.

And, and I had this in the take back but i might as well get it out now i love when you throw take back stuff out early and then let us know that it was in the take back big fan of that well because you know i'm not one to bury leads um but with schwarber like i don't think he's gonna let them lose. He is such a winner. You know what I mean? Dude, the best leader we've had as a Philly since the heyday, since Utley and those guys. He's the best leader we've had here.

And now he's in his second year here, so he feels way more comfortable. He's busting chops. I don't know. The way that he is talking, the way that he is embracing being the leader of this team, the way that he's still's I don't know like the way that he is talking the way that he is embracing being the leader of this team the way that he's still like hitting homers and doing his thing it's it's it's like Dutch and and those kind of guys and the great leaders we've seen here and the way he talked about there's a second you know a second place song and how the the feeling of playoff baseball was intoxicating and they just want to get back there that's our guy and i know zoe agrees given how she's getting

more and more uh passionate this podcast is going on yeah i might have to text her mother to be like come get your daughter please come get zoe we're trying to do a pod so you're killing me right now you're being very bad. Go ahead. It's because she knows opening day is right around the corner. She's got an earring. She's got a whole thing going on. She knows dad's been mopey. She begged to be in the room when I recorded.

She begged. She was like, I promise you I will be good. I promise. Early returns suggest the opposite. Early returns would say that that did not happen yeah so um but yeah it every bit every day every video um every like i guess uh stubs these uh mic'd up on youtube which i can't wait to go watch the brousy talk today and that just eased like i don't really have much attention about the phillies now we're concerned about the phillies now but every time he talks i'm like oh we're just great now dude just what a what a turn buddy like what a turn from yelling about andy mcphail and

mac lentak and these loser bullpen pitchers to like i'm pretty confident that they're gonna win 95 plus games and and make a little noise next year again. Yeah. It's, it's absolutely insane. You know, it really is. I mean,

again, it's so crazy. If you just think back to how we felt, like, I don't know what the exact date was, but like September 27th or something like that, when they were in the midst of that, like mini collapse again.

And, and the Bray and the Brewers losing losing games was the only thing sustaining our hopes. And we're like, if the Brewers just decide to win some baseball games, we're done. And then this one night in Houston, Aaron Nola, all of a sudden goes six and two thirds. Perfect. They win the game.

Schwarber does Schwarber things. And then there's a magical ride. And all of a sudden in the span of three weeks of baseball and then an off season now like we are fully and totally in on the team on the players on their ability on Dabrowski like the whole thing it's so crazy we were we were this close this close to the the worst of all the collapses in of all the september ones we've been through and then they righted the ship and now they've they've become like the city's darling it's it's a it's a real wild turn man well they're winners we never

we never said always losers yeah always are never said once that they didn't know how to win they couldn't win the big win they couldn't win the big one they couldn't uh pull through when we needed them so um yeah it's a good place to be at and it really does remind me of of all the the heyday you know and i know they didn't get the job done i know they didn't win the world series but it feels like the heyday where it's like rollins utley howard hamels all showing up to camp. And now it's like Schwarber and Reese and Nola. And even Castellanos is getting his way in there, buddy. Like, again, I think I talked about this last podcast.

Haven't even given the thought. I might be more in on Castellanos this year than you, frankly. Which is unbelievable. Well, it's because I'm all in, too. I'm right there with you. There's no way he's not going to be like significantly better. I want to talk about the Cassianos thing because it drives me nuts. It's like everyone just expects because he was bad for a year.

Like that's what he is now. Exactly. Every single thing he did last year at the plate was bad. We all can. Why is it so? I don't get why it's so hard to say, yes, he was awful last year, but I also think he's going to be good this year, given that for the last nine years,

he's been one of the 20 best hitters in baseball. I don't get why it has come to the point where it's like, oh, he has no shot. He's cooked. He's this. I understood he swung at every single slider away last year. I get it. I know it.

I watched it. We all watched it. That doesn't mean he can't work on it all offseason and fix it. Is he just going to sit there and not do anything this offseason? I don't get the Castellanos. He's obviously done. He's done. Why would you have any faith in him?

I don't know because he's 30 and had one awful year. And I know a couple years ago, the COVID year, he was terrible as well. But like, can we look at a track record? Can we, can we just, can we kind of,

you know, look at this and be like, Hey, maybe he's not going to be a disaster this year. And it's okay to believe that until he proves us wrong. Like he could prove us wrong. He could a hundred percent do that. And maybe he's done.

I just don't understand. It's a philosophy. If he's a hundred percent done it over, there's no point in even believing it. i think it's crazy dude again like the track record says that he's gonna be better and we've seen this a lot of times there are guys who have these weird outlier years and then go back to being the player they were their whole career and oh like you know i i always pound on it it's like my thing athletes are humans they're not robots sent out to go and play baseball and like it was a big life change he moved here he got a new house it happened late I always pound on it. It's like my thing. Athletes are humans. They're not robots sent out to go and play baseball.

And like, it was a big life change. He moved here. He got a new house. It happened late in spring. Like it wasn't early. Like this is something where he kind of had to hustle to get in. He ends up in fricking Ben Simmons's house.

That's the issue. Disaster. But like, you know, he had a lot of change a lot and I'm not, I'm not making excuses. Like he was horrible comparative to what he got paid and all that stuff. But,

but it is certainly believable to think that with a full offseason here in the situation where he is fine or comfortable, that he's going to be better. In my mind, it's obvious, to be honest, Jack. And, you know, the big contract, that's something that has always been talked about where it's like oh you know that it's a lot of pressure and yeah there's a lot of pressure in year one some guys are like harper in his first year wasn't that great you know exactly

not until the second half like the first half he was like pretty mediocre and um so he wasn't that great you know not everyone not everyone is is sch Schwarber who can come in and be adaptable to, to kind of any locker room that they are being brought into. You know, sometimes it is an adjustment for people. So obviously selfishly, if you add in like, imagine, imagine like, Oh dude, I know, I know he's in a lot of ways, you know, it's kind of a cliche term or whatever you want to call it, but like an X factor. Like, he is such an X factor guy for this team this year

because I think when you look at the lineup, we have so much faith in so many guys, but he's, you know, almost written off by a lot of fans, I think. You know, almost like, oh, you know, that sucks we have him, but the team's really good. I mean, he could be one of the three best hitters in this lineup you know like he's that good like it should go harper turner cast like career-wise harper turner castellanos he's the third best hitter on this team career-wise like if he's anything close to that it is such a massive

upgrade to this team that went to the freaking world series and that's the one thing i've also fought against because i'm really high on boom heading into the year i'm i'm like absurdly high on boom actually i i i can't wait um obviously very high on stadi like i think the fact that he went back and i love it oh i love it so relatable i i dude he's so relatable and also like i love that he did it but also like he's learning from it and you did it as something that was fun to do but also as a way to get better i mean i and just with stott i mean just the improvement he had over the course of the year last year from day one to the end of the season like like how could you not get excited

about someone like that who in season is able to adjust and have those type of at-bats we saw him have in big spots like you know obviously you didn't have a good world series but i mean it's freaking rookie playing shortstop in the world series i'm i'm super bullish on stuff well and the other thing that i just don't think people can kind of like wrap their heads around is that last year or you know two years ago at this point whatever uh finishes the year at Redding, doesn't really have any time off, immediately goes to the Arizona Fall League. I didn't think about that.

He was in the Arizona Fall League until freaking end of December, maybe gets a month off, and then immediately goes into trying to compete for a job on a major league organization that is kind of like, hey, come here and take it. He took it.

He got sent back down after a disastrous start. And then having to overcome all of that in one year and by the end of the year, he was pretty good. The overall numbers obviously will not tell the story of Bryce Stott's rookie year because the first what two weeks he was basically unplayable but something happened in the Brewers series and they simplified his approach and

and he turned into a really solid player I think he struck out like three times in the like two months stretch like just in a strikeout so so Stotty Marsh you know like if those guys take step forwards which they should. The lineup

becomes really good. But then you factor in a Castellanos bounce back. There was a quote the other day in The Athletic about how they could be the deepest, most versatile lineup since the 90s Indians. It's a crazy spot to be in. Obviously, you remember those teams.

It's a crazy spot to be. And obviously you remember those teams. Yes. And it's, it's a big comp, but like if Castellanos bounces back and boom takes a step forward, it's top stock, take a step forward. Real Muto is going to be JT. Hoskins is going to be Hoskins and Hoskins could be better. When Bryce comes back, he's Bryce Schwarber is going to do his thing. I think he got up a higher average this year, you know, with the, without the shift being in place, the lineup top to bottom is just, it's just stupid. It is absolutely stupid.

All right. Let's get away. Yeah, I can't either. Let's get to the pitching though. Cause that has been kind of the talk of camp. Obviously let's talk about the one that everyone's been talking about. The note Noah songs. No, I'm kidding. We will get back to emergency Noah song podcast. of camp um obviously let's talk about the one that everyone's been talking about the no no a song no i'm kidding we will get back to emergency no a song podcast we gotta start with painter though

like we have not talked since painter got to camp since you know we have been talking about painter as you know an elite elite prospect on this podcast for a while now obviously everyone's come around he's the best pitching prospect in baseball most places that you look right now there's still lists to come out and all that but you know going to camp and all of a sudden he's like the most hyped dude down there it's all everyone's talking about the excitement around painter what do you what's your kind of read on the whole painter situation down there in terms of like the hype about him obviously we know how we feel about painterter, but like, do you think he's actually going to make the team out of camp?

Cause I like, I would be really surprised. They have to find a way to manage this guy to when it matters most, but like, like there's a lot of hype, man. Well, and I think it's the right thing that this team kind of needed,

you know it gives you that little bit of juice that I think they, you know, they come off the world series last year and everyone's kind of expecting them to go back. And this little Andrew painter kind of hype train gives them kind of an extra little juice. I think Turner being brought in adds in a little bit of juice, of course,

but you, you, you, you, you Andrew painter is there. He has all this buzz around him. Everyone is apparently at his live BP session, wanting to see what he looks like and wanting to see how he does.

And I like that it gives them a little bit of something that can give them a little bit of extra jolt rather than just like, oh, we've got to count down the second until spring training is over. little bit of extra jolt rather than just like, Oh, we've got to count down the second still spring training or until spring training is over. Now I,

I think he, I think he starts the season in, in the major leagues. I don't, I don't get the point of like, unless he's terrible, right? Like unless he's terrible in the spring and,

and doesn't deserve it, but what's the point of having a pitch triple A innings? You know, if he's good enough, you're still getting the innings regardless. We might as well do it at the major league level and where i think i've gotten to with the andrew painter thing is let's be smart about this he they start six man from day one bailey falters in their rotation um and they they go six man to give these guys plenty of rest they kind of of ease them into it. And then in the middle of the season,

given what you did with Ranger and Wheeler last year, you know, like Ranger and half offers on range. They essentially gave like a month off heading into the all-star break. I would give like, I would give painter the two weeks before the all-star break and then give him the all-star break off and then have him back and ready to go. Like,

so last year through 103 innings, which is actually pretty good for a 19-year-old in his first year of full Pro Bowl. 103 innings is a lot. Like, I don't think Spencer Howard ever got to 100 innings. Like, in a season. Yeah, he's not Spencer Howard, that's for sure. So I just think that the Phillies need to,

obviously they're going to manage it well, but if you go six man and you give them a month or three weeks off in the middle of the season, like that should get him to around 130 innings. And I think 130 innings is the right kind of spot for him to be in. You don't want it to be Steven Strasburg where you like push them. And then by the end of the season, you're just like, ah, we'll shut them down.

Whatever happens in the postseason happens. I hope that he can be a factor in the postseason. In a perfect world, he comes out and immediately is the four or three, given how good his stuff is. But I would do that for everyone, James. We talked about this a couple of months ago, but Nola, I'm not having pitched 200 innings this year. I think they've got to be smart about this. 170 of months ago, but Nola, I'm not having pitched 200 innings this year. Like,

I think they gotta be smart about this. 170 is a good number for him. Same thing with Zach Wheeler. I think Ranger, you know, as he gets more durable, gets more used to this. I think he can go,

he might have the most innings on the team this year. I think that's fine. And Tywon Walker, if you, if you buy into the theory that he struggles in second halves, then let's be smarter about what he does in the first half. And let's be smarter about extending what he can the first half. Let's be smarter about extending

what he can do. They have options. The one guy that doesn't get talked about that I think should be talked about is Michael Plassmeyer, who they got last year from the Giants and saved the season. I don't know if people remember this, but he saved the season in the middle of the year when things were falling apart. He came in and got out of a bases loaded

jam. Plassmeyer and falter i think there are good six-man options um and i think they can manage this i think they can be smart about this and um you you hope that they manage these innings well and they are heading into the postseason way fresher and and get able to get through the postseason rather than to the postseason yeah i mean i love that idea and i definitely think get through the post season rather than to the post season. Yeah. I mean, I love that idea. And I definitely think with Wheeler and Nola, you need to do something to, to get them rest throughout the season. And, and a six man rotation makes a lot of sense. Obviously you need falter to pitch. Well,

you need Plossmeyer, one of those guys to be consistent, at least if you're going to go to them, especially if you're going to give guys, you know, a month rest at a certain time and all that. But look, I think they're ultimately going to need more starting depth, you know, with the potential for injuries. If they're going to go with this type of situation, if they're going to try and go with a six man, like you're going to lose guys, guys will get hurt for stretches too. And not everything's going to go just according to plan. So I do think that ultimately, and maybe it's a trade deadline thing they're going to need to add a little depth there um but look you know maybe their guys who come up from the minors can make a difference too but um just the concept of andrew painter starting the season the majors at 19 or whatever is like that would be not though i guess i get it i get it i get it what

else unless he's terrible unless he's terrible in spring training, which is fine. It's clear he needs more work. But if I'm going to have him in AAA pitching every fifth day, I'd rather have him in the major leagues. I love it. I love it. I think it's a great take. I support it wholeheartedly.

Now, I will say the pitch to Schwarber was absolutely hung. I mean, it was just a hanger breaking ball. Now, what I did here, and I think this is important for people to get out there. I don't need misinformation being spread. He's only throwing sliders or breaking balls that entire at-bat. Well, that's what they do. That's what I always say with spring training where I just, I never,

ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever take spring training stats seriously, especially pitchers because like, or you can look for certain things,

position battles. You can win a position battle, like for that stuff, it matters. But in terms of like, it is a big fantasy thing for me, you know, like I don't overreact if nothing else to spring training stats.

Cause like, to your point, a lot of times a pitcher will be going out and being like all right i'm working on my curve today and i'm gonna throw it like 60 of the time when in the season they'll throw 20 of time or whatever you know like so i do think that that you can be you could be fooled by spring training well and i that's so admirable of you like and yeah honestly that's just a little fantasy advice for all the fantasy baseball players out there. Take it from a 22 year fantasy baseball veteran. That's that's just don't overreact to spring training stats.

They will lead you astray. And believe me, I think it's, I think it's commendable. I really do. I'm just telling you, I'm telling you it's impossible for me. I,

I, I had every single spring training training like don't buy into it don't buy into it and then by week two i'm like listen i think i think they could win 100 look at where this team is look how great they look um so believe me i try it's just it's just not in my dna it's not in my d. I totally believe that. You're watching every video. Yeah, it makes sense. All right. Coming up in a few minutes, we'll get to a couple questions from the chat on the YouTube video.

If you're not watching us, we usually try and do these on YouTube, the WIP YouTube page. We tweet out when it's on. Yeah. Hey, look. She's right here. She's been better. There she is. She's been better.

She was being bad before, but now she's doing much better i'm really proud of you sticking her tongue out at the audience this is a family friendly program you can't be doing that kind of stuff so that's the kind of benefit you get if you tune into the youtube uh we'll we'll take some questions some comments in the comment section in a couple minutes before we get to the take bag. Two other pitcher things I want to get to quickly. Obviously, one of them is Noah Song. Thank you. But quickly before Noah Song,

just obviously the other big story around the team right now is the NOLA extension that talks about it. If it'll happen before the season, obviously if it doesn't, it'll be a free agent. He said that it was a deadline for the season. He's like, we can continue talking in the season. So I don't know what kind of deadline that is. What's your take on the whole?

Because look, if he does decide to play it out and if he does decide to go to free agency, he will be by far the best pitcher on the market. Like light years, the best pitcher on the market this off season. So he was doing better. And right after I said you were doing better. Anyway, we'll figure it out. Jack, your thoughts on the market this off season. So he was doing better. And right after I said, you're doing better anyway,

I will figure it out. Uh, Jack, your thoughts on the Nola extension. And do you think he would sign it? Cause you know, if I'm him, I really would consider going out and testing the market and maybe getting a fricking massive deal.

Yeah. Uh, I think he would sign it. Um, he said also last week that, you know, he's not looking to break the bank. Like he wants to be here.

He wants to be a part of this team. He to obviously paid accordingly he's not gonna take like 12 million a year like his first contract um but i but i do think that i i think i don't think he's looking i don't think he's looking to be like a 30 plus million dollar a year guy or 35 million dollar a year guy you know i think why like why i don't think that's it i don't think that's him. It's so weird, though. I get it. Wow, wow. He's a team guy. I know, but don't you think his agent is like, Aaron, bro, what are we doing here, pal? When he gets to the players' association, being like,

hey, what are we doing here? My feeling is that he's not going to try to break the bank, even though he could. What you said is completely true. With you, Darvish, signing, it's over. I noah's the the number one guy on the market next year the thing that i and i would sign him like just because it's not my money and i and i want him here and he's a good pitcher he's very durable it's important but i just i i it feels i i wonder how much the the them not trading any of the pitchers this offseason, the Griff, the Nick Abel,

they were never trading Pater, I don't think that. I wonder how much of that is factoring into the possible Nola stuff. Because in theory, they could say, okay, we'll let Nola walk. We'll have Wheeler, Painter, Griff, Taiwan Walker, Nick Abel a part of this, and we'll go go young and we'll use the nola money elsewhere um i guess the big counter to that is wheeler's got what two years left or a year left after this year i believe yeah you're one after this year i think so yeah and at that point do you want to pay a yeah it's a great point man a 33 year old wheeler um

you know who's obviously a power pitcher crazy money like i'm not sure how that age is now it could be great it could be like scherzer um and we'll see how he does with with the with with holding up this year um but i think it'll be a fascinating one you know the first time he's gone into october in his career it'll be really fascinating. Yeah. I would be surprised if he got Rodon money. I think Rodon cashed in at the right time, and he's a free

agent. This is a team negotiating it. But $25 million a year over the next five years sounds about fair to me. That'd be unbelievable. That'd be a great deal for the Phillies. I would probably break it off at like 30 you know 30 million a year for the next five years um but somewhere in the ballpark of like 5 130 to 5 160 feels about right and and um and listening to mbrowski today um he seemed pretty motivated to get it done um he said uh

it's destiny destiny asked him um does painters emergence make it easier to move on from nola and he something that effect and he was like uh yeah we want good players around like like we want to have as many good players as possible um so yeah generally so um i but there is that thought in the back of my mind of like, are they planning for him to walk with Nola or with Painter, McGarry and Abel possibly coming along? But I don't think that's right. All right.

No song. We're there. We've reached that time. Look, we were excited when it happened. It does seem like he has a, it was a real chance to be a top tier prospect type of guy, even, you know, considering the age and all that stuff. He has a real chance to be a top-tier prospect type of guy, even considering the age and all that stuff.

But he has to stay on the 26-man roster all season for him to stay on the team. Seems like a long shot. What are your thoughts? I don't know how it works. That's where I'm at. I think it's the right gamble. I'm excited about him. I think if you ask the Phillies,

I don't think they expected this to happen happen this year you know i think very clearly yeah yeah i think they were like give me give me this one more year i think this this surprised them a little bit frankly that that he is coming over um so on the surface like it's it's it's really interesting you know he probably would have been a first round pick had he not been committed to staying in and serving his four years. He hasn't pitched off a mound since 2019. And I guess he got on the mound last week and said that it felt like he hasn't been on the mound in three years. It is hard, man. You can throw all the flat grounds you want.

You can loosen your arm up all you want. But there's a different feeling when it comes to pitching off a mound again. Having the same feel for when to release the ball, have the same, you know, whatever. So I think it's a long shot. Now,

what I think they can do now, obviously it's dependent upon how he looks. If his fastball is not 97 and it's more like 92, it's like, well, this is a waste of our time. Go back to the Red Sox. But I,

they could also make him on the 26 man roster have him up for a little bit not really use him and then find a way to give him like a phantom il stint and if you think he's that good and if you think yeah i love that idea you could give him you can give him all you have to do is find a way to get a 90 day of mlb service time and and he doesn't have to get sent back so they could phantom il know a song and bang we gotta we gotta need someone to go in with like a pipe and just like take his ankle out or something not too bad but you know little like whatever i need to do to help this happen there's a great idea. Great. So other than that, like it

just seems like a long shot and they'll maybe send it back to the Red Sox. I think there's I think I think long shot is being nice. I think if they can't find a way to phantom my own, there is no shot that he will stay on the 26 man roster all year now. Right. Comes out and he's like, yeah, unless you can be like a one inning guy for you

or something. Yeah, who knows? All right. Let's get to – Well, real quick, real quick. I do wonder if it could come down to Drew Baker or him. Oh. I mean, they're very high. So if you're high on Drew Baker, would you have the options for him? Yeah, of course.

Yeah. I mean, he has to be able to pitch. He has to be – Song has to be able to pitch in a game. Yes. If you're going to keep – That's the point. He can pitch. He can pitch.

He can pitch. Don't worry about it. I like it. All right. Let's get to a couple comments and a quick take back. You got to get out of here. You have a job to do today. Yes.

See a lot of awesome people. Shout out to Sean. I met Sean of the Eagles. We're on great, dude. Mid-major Matt, our guy. Drew from Westchester, our buddy there. He's in the wrong Westchester, though. Have you noticed that?

He's in the New Yorkchester though have you noticed that he's he's in the new york westchester what yeah i did not notice that i just assumed it was westchester westchester all right i love drew it's a tiny day against him but i do love him um yeah i i think we got a bunch of people in here i saw bridget shout out to bridget a lot of great people in here p sheep um all right let's get to a question or two um jack have you seen anything that's jumping out to you that you want i want to get i want to address one question before you get to that uh this guy b will just said the first time i've ever seen you guys live after years of listening he thought i would be tiny and he thought you would be johnny bravo in what world would that work out like like the seltzer seems like a big macho man and i seem like a little guy that's great i don't see that i don't see that

a phenomenal take my friend terrible take in the history of the i i do get a lot of um a lot of you know you don't look like what i thought you would look like when people meet me i feel like that's a pretty consistent but i but i sound like charlie day i kind of look like what I thought you would look like when people meet me. I feel like that's a pretty consistent, but I, but I sound like Charlie day. I kind of look like Charlie day. It should be that hard. Like you look kind of similar. I mean, geez. Zoe's thoughts on mix Mick Abel's potential. Zoe, do you have a lot of hope for Mick Abel? Oh yes. Yes. Yes. You're excited. Wow. Did she think that,

did she think that he fixed his fastball command or what? Do you think he fixed his fastball command? Do you think he fixed his fastball command? Yeah. She's too enamored by being on camera. She sees herself on camera and she's like She's very excited. Does she know that thousands of people

are watching her right now? Probably not. Probably not. All right. excited thrilling all right you know that like thousands of people are watching right i probably not so probably not um all right um most of the questions here are stuff we talked about like casting because you're pros i don't know how to know questions uh will the next podcast be in a nola emergency pod jack do you think it'll happen that quickly i do yeah i i think i think it happens for opening day you know i don't know if you know extension is an emergency pod territory but you know we only get excited when they sign someone else yeah it's like yeah he's already here we're

excited but yeah um yeah so but i think it happens for opening day you know i think i think i think they take into account the general feel around the team right now and the general feel is like we're having a great time once you guys be together for a while bleep it let's sign nola and it seems like after middleton's quote last week that uh he's very open to just paying whatever it takes because no one knows no one remembers how much the 27 yankees made james no one remembers remembers how much they made. That's a good point. All that matters is rings. So, Drew from Westchester, you're wrong.

Clarify, he says it is the PA Westchester. Oh, really? Wow, just out here slandering our loyal listeners and friend. Drew is in this chat every time we do it, and you're just like, oh, let me throw some shots out at Drew. So, that's good. All right, well, I guess we throw some shots at Drew. So that's good.

All right. Well, I guess we're neighbors now, Drew. So that's good to know. What are the odds we broke Strider from Robert McKnight? Not good. Yeah. He's done. Bench prediction.

Last question, then we'll get to take back from AJ Thomas. This is an interesting question. I think we know Sosa is going to be on the bench. I think Guthrie, the clear outfielder on the bench who's well uh oh and then and then josh harrison yeah and then josh harrison are that is are those just the three bench guys and that's what it is uh yeah i mean obviously stubs is the backup catcher um yeah i wonder what they've been keeping the extra pitcher so they haven't i would rather i would haven't. I would rather have more. I would rather have more bullpen pieces anyway.

Yeah, which is what every team does. Every team does these days. So but it is interesting. I like to I like to report the other day about social playing some center field. I did, too. I like thinking outside the box with that type of stuff. Like, why not? The dude's a great fielder.

See what can happen. Well, and I don't know if we want to break this down or factor this in, James. But did you see who hovered off Nola today? Ooh, I did not. Scotty Jetpacks. Oh, we done. Come on. He's got a $13 million option for next year, James.

Oh, yeah. Can't wait to pick that up. He's got to pick it up somehow. He's got to pick it up somehow. He should send his agent like every day just like flowers or chocolate every single day he should call his agent just be like yo dude thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you so much you're freaking genius i love you thank you but if you need a right if you need a right-handed center field option with marshy if he can't hit lefties this year, Scotty Jetpacks.

I'm just saying, like, you want to sign Nola to an extension? He's giving up dingers to Scott Kangary. Yeah, it is concerning. Honestly, it's the most concerning thing that's been brought up in this whole pod, other than Zoe's whole, you know. Nah, she's doing all right. She's doing all right. Yeah, you're doing great. She's not doing great. All whole, you know. Nah, she's doing alright. She's doing alright. Yeah, you're doing great.

She's not doing great. Alright, take bags. You have like three minutes. Nah, it's all good. You're extending the deadline. I love this. Well, I had, I wanted to get an extension done by 1245, but I figured we could my people can talk to your people. Dude,

did you see the story of of Boehm saying that Bryce didn't tell him anything? They were just playing mind games with the Astros. No way. For real? Yeah. No way. Everyone remembers the McCullers game where they picked up on something. No way.

Boehm came and said, we didn't have anything. We just thought they're such a smart team. Maybe we get in their head a little bit by saying we on something. No way. Boehm came and said, like, we didn't have anything. We just thought they're such a smart team. Maybe we get in their head a little bit by saying we have something. That is freaking phenomenal. That is next level stuff, dude. Seriously. Wow. That is so impressive.

I'm stunned. I love that. I love that. That is so cool. Yeah, well, and. I love that. I love that. That is. Well, and it's, and it's, it's just baseball. That's what,

that's what I think the game's missing is stuff like that. Um, and again, not to bring this back to my illustrious high school career, but I would never do that, but it did remind me of, uh, my senior year against sun Valley when I was just,

uh, sitting on the bench, uh, cause I wasn't pitching that day. And I was very good at picking up other teams signs and me and my coach, like I was just sitting on the bench because I wasn't pitching that day. And I was very good at picking up other team signs. And me and my coach, I was like, I don't have their signs. We whispered to each other like we had our signs. And then they started freaking out.

They dug out. They put up towels over their guys giving out signs. I love it. It's just, that's just good old-fashioned baseball, buddy. That's why it's the greatest sport in the world. That's what you do. That's what you do. All right, so what else you got in the tape bag?

No, actually, we covered everything else besides. Hold on. One thing. Hold on. Yes. My last thing in the take back. And this is just I haven't been able to do it on WIP because people are still in their mourning about the Eagles loss.

And I don't want to get too nitty gritty because we don't do that on radio. about the Eagles loss, and I don't want to get too nitty-gritty because we don't do that on radio. But if you've seen the videos, if you've seen the videos of Alec Boehm's swing in the batting cages, you want to talk about making the correct

adjustments and figuring out how to drive the ball out of the ballpark. So if you remember the one thing that I felt zapped his power is that he'd go from a power position to like a flat bat for no reason. If you look at the videos right now, he's gotten much more like rotational into it.

There's not that awkward stop that I think zaps some of his power. I'm just telling you of all the people I'm most bullish on heading into the season, whether it's Castellanos painter, some of the bullpen guys. Wow. My guy this year is Alcboer. Wow.

I love that. I think he's hitting over 20 homers. I think he's going to be in the 280. And I'm not anticipating Castellanos struggling in the four spot. Because I would open with Castellanos batting four. But I think by the end of the year, Alcboer gets his way into the top five of this lineup. Wow. I love this

the videos, they've just made me giddy they have made me legitimately giddy about his upside and making the right adjustments and developing that power he's freaking 6'5 he put on 10 pounds of muscle it's time Boehm

it's time so I think this is going to be Boehm's breakout year 10 pounds of muscle. He's a big dude. It's time, Bomer. It's time. So I think this is going to be Bomer's breakout year, and the early returns are great. I can't wait. Is Alec Bomer the biggest, in terms of comparatively, the biggest dude with the babiest face that you've ever seen? His face looks like it's a toddler's face. He looks so young.

No, it's a fact. He looks so young. No, it's a fact. He looks so young. He's a giant. But now, with the new swing, he'll probably start growing more facial hair. The hair's already down low. It's starting to look more like Worth. And if he continues on the Worth-like trajectory, wearing the same number, he's going to have a grisly old beard by beard by the time he's like you know 32 so uh he'll get there that's that's all part of growing

up james all right uh final thoughts i'll go first because i want your reaction to this too because i'm seeding my final thought speaking of westchester uh i did an event in westchester during the eagles run before. Oh, yes. Yeah. And I had the pleasure of meeting manager Skip. Skip was Jack's adult baseball league manager. Full disclosure, huge fan of Jack. Loves him.

Thinks he's a great dude. Very proud of all he's accomplished in media, in media, on baseball. And this is the quote that he said i have to say on the podcast because this is his assessment his true assessment of jack fritz in the adult baseball league are you ready for it uh i am but i but before you give it do i have the ability to retort if it's not true yeah of course i want your I want your retort. This is, I want your reaction. This is the whole reason I'm going first year. So just kind of want your reaction. Then you can do your,

right. Yes. From manager skip who again managed Jack Fritz in a baseball league. Jack Fritz was the Vince Velasquez of the league. Quote unquote. Yeah. You're a toy. Uh,

I didn't know that Vince Velasquez at one point had the third lowest ERA in the league for a season. It's a shame to see Skip continue to put lies out there. I had the third lowest ERA in the league in 2014. I want that to be known. That's not a lie, by the way. That's a fact. Now, I will say... It's way too specific to be known. That's not a lie, by the way. That's a fact. Now, I will say.

It's way too specific to be a lie. I was terrible when I came back after a year off from baseball. So maybe he's talking about that. But peak prime Jack Fretz was still a monster. He said it was easy to get in your head. He said once something went wrong, it was like a snowball going downhill. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was not great at locking back in. That's what he said.

He was not great at that. I needed things to be going my way. He was great, though. It was really fun. He loves you. He's a big fan. All right. Your final thought.

My final thought is that we have Phillies baseball this weekend on WIP. Yes, we do, buddy. And, James, and I'm including postseason, last weekend without Phillies baseball for 33 weeks. 33 weeks. We're back. We are so back. 33. 33 weeks. We are so back. 33.

33 weeks, buddy. Hey, Jack, you might not know this. No one ever says it, but season's a marathon, man. It's a marathon. Don't overreact to opening day. All right. All right. Shout out to our co-host today, Zoe.

Zoe, you want to say bye to everyone? There you go. Could you hear that or no? You did. Okay, good. Good. All right. Bye to everyone. Thank you for putting up my daughter. Thank you for joining us in the, as a, yeah, there we go. In the chat. Fritzy, what a pleasure. Go do your job. Thank you for giving us extra time. Oh, that's what I do. Nobody. All right. We'll be back next week. He's Fritz himself. you for giving us extra time oh that's what i do nobody all right we'll be back next week he's himself