High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - High Hopes Chapter 1: Phillies Are Comeback Kings

Episode Date: July 28, 2023

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz discuss the Phillies penchant for comeback wins over the past week. 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. I think they've had the lead first once in the last 14 games. It's unbelievable. I mean, it's unbelievable. And it is, look, it is great.

And we got this feel with them last year when they started to really put it together and all that. But, like, It is nice having a team that you can watch a baseball game and be down 2-0 or 1-0 or 3-0 or whatever and feel like they're not out of a baseball game. Ever. And I think that that's what this team is getting back to. And that's

one of the hallmarks of a great team. That's one of the hallmarks of the best teams. Those are the teams that you feel like have real chances to do something. It's a team that's never out of a game. A team that always fights. A team that battles because it says something about that team those well and i type of team to battle against adversity you know what i mean i believe the o8 phillies led the league and come back wins so and i think like it is you're 100 right it's a hallmark of what the good teams do now it doesn't mean that you have to do it no no every game force yourself to it. You should be able to do it, not always do it.

Yes, exactly right. It would be nice, a nice 5-0 lead once in a while. Let's do that, buddy. Maybe against the Pirates we could do that. It would be a thought, yes. Now, I think the biggest difference between the team now and the team at the beginning of the year is I didn't feel that.

Absolutely. It's been the last month. The last month or so, it's turned. Yeah. When they would go down early in the season, I'd be like, nah, they're done. And it was a lot like the pre-Girardi Phillies, where it was like the Girardi, the pre-Thompson Phillies.

Definitely the Girardi Phillies. Whereas they go down, it's like, oh, they're going to lay over and die. And this team just hasn't done it. Even the games, and I think that's another reason why I didn't have this doom and gloom attitude, was like, go down and say, Oh, they're going to lay over and die. And, and this team just hasn't done it. Even the games. And I think that's another reason why I didn't have this doom and gloom attitude was like, even in the games that are losing, they were coming back.

It would just be like some dumb eighth inning home run or whatever. And that would cost them, you know, now they did that on as well. Um, but it's, it's, it's exciting.

Like, like it's exciting that, um, they are finding ways to come back it's exciting that listen I think the Orioles are great and they the Orioles are get ready for this this is the next five years minimum

of Orioles which is that's all they can do because then they'll have to tear it down that's what I mean they won't sign the guys but the next five years is going to be a really good run for the Orioles. And again, Jackson and Hurst aren't even there yet. They have the best young team in baseball, and they have the best prospect

just hanging out, among other guys. But the best prospect in baseball is just hanging out. Not hanging out, shooting through the minors. He's 19 in AA. It's no big deal. minors he's 19 in double a like it's like no big deal well he's the best prospect for now i mean aiden miller's coming um i mean come on three four yesterday in his debut i mean i so we'll get back to everything no lie i watched

the video real quick i mean just for reference, the kid we were talking about is Jackson Holiday. Same age. He's in double-A crushing. Same age, he's in double-A crushing. Well, you can make the case the FCL League for the Phillies and Tigers is equal competition in double-A. Good point. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, I watched the video.

That one game Aiden Miller had was very impressive. You are correct. I'm so excited. I watched the double a minimum of a million times. But, yeah, like, the Orioles, the Orioles were really good. Now, the Phillies got lucky because Felix Bautista was not available, like, the entire series. They basically gave the series off.

Which is unbelievable. Yeah. It was great. So, like, because I guess. And, look, all their open pitchers are good. So, like, any, you know, it's still impressive. But Bautista is a stud. I love Cano.

When he was coming in the ninth, I was like, well, I mean, I'll hope. I guess if you want to look at his arm slot, it's dropping because he's getting tired late in the year. We all saw that one coming.

I didn't. but yeah so like the and this is how i felt about the race series as well is i think the phillies look toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the american league the thing with the phillies and the and the single most like we can talk about the deadline and we will and whatever but they're not gonna go like i would be shocked if Juan Soto is a Philly on Tuesday. I think it's going to be a Braves-ish deadline from a couple years ago, 2021, where they find fringe pieces. And the Phillies will be as good as the top of the lineup is. I think it's like, to boil this down into its simplest form,

and the top of the lineup has just been so, so annoying. Like the Turner, the two-spot thing. Schwarber was just dreadful in the Orioles series. Cassiano, what he's done post-All-Star break is terrifying. Hasn't gotten a hit since the all-star break yep it has but i see your point i know harper is is is coming along harper's been good yeah jt like holy cow man please like for all the for all the the turner stuff and i agree with it like jt's been just as as as brutal at this point um and it's like to boil it down

to its simplest form like if the stars can just be the stars like just be the stars for two months and see how good this team can be and if they're not it's just I because you see it like they're they're they're totally like they have the bullpen. They mostly have the starting pitching. It's those guys in the lineup. If they can just be who they are, they've got a real shot here to do something. Yeah. I mean, the fact that, like, they're all sub-800 OPS guys. Like, Harper might be back over it or whatever now.

But, like, the fact that those five guys each of them making 20 million or more every single one of those five guys that we're talking about makes 20 million or more for a season to come out and hit and they're all sub 800 ops guys bryce is 802 okay so i thought b I thought Bryce. But seriously, think about that. Think about that. We're not saying something 900. We're saying something 800. These are your best hitters.

These are $20 million a year guys. We'll get to Juan Soto, but everyone's like, oh, he stinks. He's just OPS is way higher than anyone on the team. This is crazy. You're right, Jack. It is the single biggest issue with this team and we'll talk about the trade deadline we'll talk about just moving forward but like this team will go as far as those five bring them and and that's that's what yes they're being paid 120 million

dollars combined like that yes that makes sense you spent 120 million dollars on five guys for a season you're gonna go where they go they going to take you where they take you. And to be honest, the fact that the Phillies are eight games above 500 right now and able to look like a similar level team like the Orioles or these other teams that are playing better baseball and have a better record, that is, to your point, such a sign of hope to me. Like that, if even if like two of these guys just get on a roll,

like what could this team be? Like they're, they're a playoff team right now. And they're five best players have underachieved. Like that's, that's, I'm taking it as a positive, but to your point,

like ultimately they got a hit, but, but I'm taking it as a positive. Like those guys haven't hit their eight games above 500. 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

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on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. The Phillies should be, should be, the third best team in the National League this year. It's as simple as that. Braves, Dodgers, Phillies. Like, they should not be worse than the Reds. They should not be worse than the Diamondbacks.

They should not be worse than the Giants. The Brewers. The Marlins. Like, it's five teams. They all pretty much have the same record at this point. And now it's about separating yourself. Like, now it is the trade deadlines on Tuesday. You see who you upgrade.

And then after the trade deadline, given the schedule in August. And I was like, well, I was going to bring up the take bag. But like the next 14 games, Pirates, Marlins, Royals, Nationals. I had it too. Yeah, I know, dude. They got like a real run. Honestly, it's really the next month of baseball. It's a whole month. but like the next 14 games.

And the thing about the time that they're getting this run and why it should make this even better, James, is that it's all these teams that are selling at the deadline. Totally. So like whatever semi-talent that these bad teams have they're getting rid of like the pirates already trade santana um we'll see if they make moves over the weekend um the nationals are gonna trade whatever well they might hold on to lane thomas but lane thomas but they'll trade uh canelario canelario and they'll maybe trade finnegan and and stuff like that yeah rules are

gonna trade what they can get for a lot of their you know whatever arlo whoever stuff like that. Royals are going to trade what they can get for a lot of their whatever. Arlo, whoever, stuff like that. They played the Nationals twice this month. So, again, this is the time where you can distance yourself. You get St. Louis, who's probably going to trade some pieces, if nothing else. They've been well out of it. I mean, they got some real scheduling opportunities, and to your point, teams that are going to be worse in a few days,

potentially.