High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - HIgh Hopes Chapter 1: Kyle Schwarber And A Weekend Of Big Moments

Episode Date: July 17, 2023

Jack Fritz and James Seltzer react to the Phillies thrilling weekend victories led by leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber. 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. Listen, we'll get into the more important things at the weekend, but I just love that a guy like Jeff Hoffman has that moment. And, like, he gives him two innings. Like, when you get moments, it's not just the star players carrying you.

It's not just, like... Well, it's Johan Rojas coming up and just having moments all weekend long. Moments, man. It's that kind of stuff. This is... And having the confidence to go to Jeff Hoffman in that situation. Give us two innings. Even one inning, you're like, alright, that's a win. How about Marte coming in yesterday and just a super

important... They could have lost the game there. The game was about to be over. Marte comes in. Boom. Stems the tide. A lot of that, dude. A lot of that. What I like is that they're finally starting to impose their will on teams. The way they're winning right now is like, sure, the offense is starting to do its thing.

The starting pitching this weekend wasn't great. No. But it feels like they're starting to be like, we're going to find a way to win this game. What makes that exciting is that it felt like early in the season, if they didn't go up big early, they weren't going to win. And if it was a tie game, they would find a way to lose it. And what they're

starting to do right now is they're starting to find ways to win games. And that's what we saw from June on last year, even when Harper got hurt, whatever, is they started to figure out ways to win games. And that's what they're doing right now. And they buried a team that doesn't believe in themselves, which is good.

They didn't let them have... Well, it felt like Friday and then taking Leon Sarri, it felt like, all right, and then when Machado hit that homer, it's like, okay, so maybe the Padres do have it back. Maybe this team has it.

And then the Phillies just run away with it. Yeah, and the Padres are a perfect example of you can go get as many stars as you want. Dude, they have so much freaking talent. It is absurd. It's absurd. It's's silly their bullpen is atrocious but but but i mean like that that lineup is stacked and they got a high-end talent hold on what about the phil's line man drew ellis i know they won two games this weekend started by drew ellis johan rojas and like a great point so sad yeah i guess it was so vintage garrett stubbs started

one of them dude i love stuff this stuff's drag bun is my favorite it's the best thing ever my favorite thing that the phillies do it's it's he's he's great like he's a phenomenal drag bunter it's actually something that if they get into postseason it's like a weapon that thing is a weapon they can use it yeah no doubt they can use that as again. Like pinch hitting against a tough lefty or something. I mean, he can get the ball where it needs to go. Especially because lefties fall off the opposite side of the mound. You're damn right, buddy. That's what I'm saying.

Yeah. Dude, Garrett Stubbs, again, we've talked about this a lot. The guy won the Johnny Bench Award in 2015 for being the top college. So unbelievable. And it's so funny how people talk about him. He's just like, oh, it's so cute. Look at little Garrett. He's a horrible little guy. Dude, he's the best catcher in baseball in 2015.

What are we talking about? It is crazy. But they are, and being able to come back in three straight, it tricks you into thinking, okay, we can do this against anyone. And they stepped on a throat all weekend rather than, like, okay, let the Padres have life. They swept a doubleheader, Jack. Well, that's not possible.

It's the first time it's happened in my lifetime, I'm sure of that. They've definitely never done it before. It has to be. I think the Rojas call-up, like, it reminds me a lot of when they would bring up Maton and he had that little bitup, like, it reminds me a lot of when they would bring up Maiton and he had that little bit of, like, spark and energy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think Kyle Schwerber talked about this.

He was like— Harper did, too. About how, like, when veterans are around for a while, it's like you kind of not lose the love for the game, but you're like, ah, just another day of playing baseball. And then they see a kid come up and be that excited, be that into it. It gives them a little, like— Yeah, it's infectious. Yeah, you know what?

Baseball's great. Totally. We are, you know, major leaguers and all that excited, be that into it, it gives them a little... Yeah, it's infectious. You know what? Baseball's great. Totally. We are major leaguers and all that stuff. I mean, think about first and foremost, I mean, this is the High Hopes podcast. We watched Johan Rojas play in the major leagues. I feel like we've talked about him for five freaking years on this podcast. Amazing he's only 21 or 22 or whatever. Yeah, 22.

It's hard to believe that he's still that young for how long we've talked about him on this show. Like, we saw him play, man. He had a great weekend. It's hard to believe that he's still that young for how long we've talked about him on this show. We saw him play, man. He had a great weekend. He is a phenomenal fielder, man. That throw, that's one of the better throws we've seen. Who's the last Phillies outfielder who made a throw like that? Like Victorino.

Tyler Goodell to camera, obviously. Who could forget? Yohan Rojas. Yohan Rojas. Vince Velasquez. Vince Velasquez. Johan Rojas, a couple thoughts. One, if anyone throws him a fastball, they should be fired.

I know. Just throw him a bunch of curveballs. What are you doing here? See what happens. If he hits a home run off a slider, you just tip your cap. So, like, he definitely has some ways to go with the play. 100%. just tip your cap. So like, you definitely have some ways to go with the play. Like a hundred percent. Uh,

another thought is like, just, I need it one time. I don't know if it's going to happen because when he gets healthy, we'll see a, a patch. Hey, can you imagine just to see what that would look like?

We have our scene ever all time. Legitimately. It's like center fielder. And let me tell you something. Now, I don't remember young. I don't remember the young version of this player, so I'm curious to see if you buy it. A lot of Andrew Jones comps.

Wow. I mean, look, Andrew Jones is legitimately one of the best defensive center fielders of our lifetime. When he was young, dude, the ground that dude covered was... I can't go Andrew Jones. It's good. But Rojas is phenomenal out there.

He covers a ton of ground. The arm's great. I still think Pache's better. He might be. I think Pache might be better. I think he's better. And it's not his – it was an insignificant play because of the ninth inning. I mean, he turned the wrong way on the Soto play on Saturday.

It was awesome. I think his personality, I think how happy he was to be here, I think that lit a fire under the guys. Like, you know what, this is cool. Let's go out and, I don't know, be a little bit excited for the game. Yeah. And I thought that, I actually felt like, now I know the Pache thing happened and whatever,

but I think it was a bit strategic, too, by Dave Dombrowski. Like, this kid is happy and he knows the importance of adding in yeah a dynamic like that into a locker room yeah no i i'm with you man i think dombrowski's got a great feel for that type of stuff and i i absolutely believe that i initially we had talked about when we first saw it it was either an injury or is it a showcase then the pache news comes out you know which is upsetting because we were getting really excited about Pache they say he'll be back this year we'll see

a screw taken out of the elbow but that was a bummer it was protruding out of his elbow can you imagine dude like what the hell like oh what that's not supposed to happen you probably get that taken care of huh

yeah and it stinks because Pache it stinks it feels like he finally feels like he kind of got something going in his first time in his career, you know? Torminiscus and then this.

Yeah. It's like, unlucky season from hell. Yeah, yeah. I don't know. It's... I don't think it's showcase-y because obviously now he can be done for the year. But definitely when it first came up,

I was like, ah, maybe just like to say he played the major leagues and has that play and whatnot. So, I don't know. 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. Yeah, look, again, the ability, if nothing else, in the Pache role, the ability, he's not as good a hitter, which is an absurd thing to say.

We're talking about Pache's bat. You're talking about a 320 hitter there. That's a Hall of Famer. That is an important piece to come up because Pache did matter for this team. And look, especially now, we haven't gotten to it, but apparently Bryce Harper's about to play first base this week. So all of a sudden, the whole get Schwarber out of left field. All right, who's playing left field now?

They've got a lot of situations here to figure out. I know trades down the road were only, wow, it's only like two and a half weeks, three weeks, dude. Let's go! I was so consumed with draft stuff that I was like, oh, bleep. Two weeks later from the trade deadline. July's a big month. If your team's in it and you care about your team,

you've got the draft and the trade deadline in one year. That's a big month of baseball. that's a big month of baseball. Yes, it's a big month of baseball. It's a big month of baseball. Yes, especially for you. Well, I just, and we'll get, obviously. We'll get to the draft. Don't worry. No, no, no, no, no, no.

I was not going to bring that up, although I do have all my notes. I know. Well, I saw your tweet where your tweet for the pod was, we'll talk about the draft and the Phillies taking 3-4-2. Don't worry. I'll get there. A full breakdown of the draft um can't wait but and obviously as we get closer to the deadline we'll have like our finalized perfect trade deadline plans we always do but overall like this is it reminds me so much now oh it was different because you know they didn't make the big splashes but it reminds me of the oh, 10, 11 deadlines where it's like,

I think they're going to go get a dude. I think they're going to go get some... I would be surprised if it's just like Adam Duvall. Right. What they did last year, essentially. Although, I mean, a Duvall Paxton. Well, how long have we been asking for Duvall? It's almost like, just bring us Adam Duvall.

Well, and there's no bigger sucker on planet Earth than me and James Paxton. Oh, yeah. Big Maple. I'll go back to Big Maple. Yeah, well, don't throw out Big Maple because you don't know what that is. Because I texted you and you read it at 3.30 in the morning. Yes, I was confused in the moment. All right.

Then I was like, oh, yeah, I remember. Like, oh, great movie. What are you talking about? I got confused. Then I remembered, oh, yeah, he's Canadian., oh, great movie. What are you talking about? I got confused. Then I remembered, oh yeah, he's Canadian. Big Maple. Got it. Got it. Topper and Big Maple together? It's true.

Canadian, like... Yeah, maybe they could put out the Wildfires. Right, get Joey Votto down here. I'm sure the Reds are selling. Yeah, the Reds are selling. Yeah, get Pavetta back too. Oh! Oh, buddy. Pavetta's the new Foles?

Oh, God. What? Who said that? Who said that? I don't know. What idiot? Who said that? Yeah, who said that? Nobody said that.

No one said that. No one would say that. He would be the, I mean, similar. Yeah. Both great. Both great, yes. Speaking of Foles. Clutch.

Speaking of Foles, why don't we get to- How? How are you transitioning this into a Nick Foles point? I'm a freaking pro. Let's get to someone who is clutch. Something we need to talk about. Because he should be the leadoff hitter for this team. Because all they do is win when this guy is in the leadoff spot.

Big clutch weekend for Schwarber. The dude had a tying homer, a go-ahead homer, a walk-off sack fly, taking the lead single late in the game. Obviously, we're talking about the three homers over the weekend. A big single. Yeah, and the big single, and then the sack. It wasn't just that he kind of got the power going. It was like, these were big hits Kyle Schroeder had this weekend.

Yeah, and he's in those positions because he's batting leadoff. Yeah, exactly. He would not have had a three-run home run. He would not have had the, this is because he's batting leadoff. I thought he didn't hit home runs with runners on base. That's what I was told. All he does is hit pointless solo home runs. That's what that's a costume.

Yeah, you know, it was a tough weekend for the Schwababies. Oh, I like this. Is this the complainers? Tough weekend for the Schwababies. Oh, Schwababies is strong, buddy. Thank you. I'm in. Very in on Schwababies. And I babies is strong, buddy. Thank you. I'm in. Very in on shore babies.

And I guess, so there's a couple things. One, obviously, I'm not an idiot. I know that the pitching staff has been. I was going to say, like, I'm not an idiot. Well, it's just like these people are so annoying that they, like, the pitching's been great. I know. Yeah, thanks, buddy. We get it.

Yeah, I know. I watch. I get it. I know. I know the pitching's been great. We get it. I watch. I get it. I know. I know the pitching's been great. I get it. I'm just saying that when you were 26-11 with the guy batting leadoff, you're not putting someone else there.

Like, I'm sorry. It's over. I'm sorry he doesn't steal bases. I love that people bring up the OBP. It's like, okay, he's also fourth in the league in walks or whatever. So, like, yes, the OBP could be higher. It's like, okay, he's also fourth in the league in walks or whatever. So, like, yes, the OBP could be higher.

If he's batting 230, his OBP is what? 360, 370? Yeah, something like that. Like, just relax. The batting average is annoying. I get it. But when he does, like, this weekend is what he can do. And it's not lost on me that it was a, you know, they lose Friday night. And it's not lost on me that it was a, you know, they lose Friday night.

And I feel like he was, you know, like, let's figure this out. Like, let's figure it out. Because he's usually a laid back, like, we'll get it going. Don't worry. I saw a different demeanor from them. Like, I thought Friday night they played. Like, I was prepared. Yeah, again, do not handle Phil's loss.

I was getting prepared to be like, dude, are they ever going to win games at home this year? Like, is that going to be their thing where they're just tight? They're just tight at home all year, and they can't get out of their own way, and they're trying to do too much and whatnot. So I thought they looked tight on Friday night. And then I just think that when Schwarber does what Schwarber does,

it just causes an exhale effect on everyone else on the team, and they just let him go do his thing.