High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - High Hopes Chapter 1: The Pitching Is A Question Mark

Episode Date: September 14, 2023

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz discuss the Phillies pitching staff and their recent struggles, especially late in games. 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. Do you think, I mean, because look, Sanchez is being taken out of rotation already. Like, it's going to be Walker as the four-starter, right? Like, despite what we want, like, do you believe Rob Thompson yesterday is what I'm saying? I do not. I do not.

Wow. No, I don't. There's just no way. Like, I just, I'd be floored. The guy's, he damn near has a six ERA in his last six starts. He's been horrible. Like, just, I mean, the guy has to go on Twitter every game and thank his teammates for picking him up. Which is nice, but it's like, I feel like it's happening all the time.

It's like, all right, we get it, dude. You stunk. It's like when Carson was like, I'll be better. You know what I mean? And then never was. Wow. A Carson comparison. That is tough. Well, it is. I mean, it get it, dude. You stonked. It's like when Carson was like, I'll be better. You know what I mean? And then never was. Wow. A Carson comparison. That is tough.

Well, it is. I mean, it's the same thing. It's like every press conference. I wish he was throwing darts like Carson was shooting darts. Oh. So, yeah. I just, he can't do it. You can't put him out there.

I mean, he's not, unless, again, he could go. Mob of duty. Yeah, he could be Kyle Gibson. By the way, Dylan Covey's done a decent job of mob of duty, by the way. Dylan Covey's not bad. He's not bad. Dude, I had that, I was thinking that last night. I was like, you know what?

He's not good, but for this role, like. He's just a mob of guy. He's fine. He's fine. He's fine. He's fine. So, I guess my thing with Tylan Walker is, you know is last year they were so good about we're going to get rid of Didi

because Stott's here. And we're going to get rid of Familia because we have other guys. And we're not going to do this whole pedigree nonsense. Because Girardi was so obsessed with pedigree. This guy's been to your back of the baseball card. Yada, yada, yada. I know you paid him a ton of money. I get it. It's looking like a mistake.

But Chris Sanchez being your second best starter He's looking like a mistake. But Chris Sanchez is being your second best starter. He's been great, man. You can't not. So I think their reasoning is, well, he can pitch out of the bullpen. I don't care. I need a guy who can start the game. You already have enough guys out of the bullpen.

When are you going to Chris Sanchez in a game where you can't find someone else? You also have Michael Lorenzen who can do the exact same thing out of the bullpen. Exactly. And Tyler Walker can't. Fine. I don't even need him near a mound. Like, I'm sorry. I don't need him near the mound.

Look, Gibson was on the playoff roster last year, at least the first round. He got a ring. Yeah, he got a ring. And he pitched it when it was like they were down a bunch. You know, like, that's fine. You need someone to pitch in that spot. It's just, I was, now I think,

if you just said, who's your four starter, I think he would be more like, yeah, it's probably between Tyjuan and Chris at this point. But Chris has been really good. Like, last night was really good. He had 10 freaking strikeouts, man. I know. First inning was rough, and then he just settled in, and he was really good again. He had some bleeders that fell in, whatever.

Like, he was really good. He's just good. He's been good. To your point, he's been the Philly second best pitcher this year, period. End of sentence. Nola's better on pedigree and stuff. And Ranger's better on I trust him more in a big spot because I've seen him, you know, the heartbeat and all that.

But it is unequivocal that Sanchez has produced the second best of the starters. Although, Ranger's back. Dude, I've been saying the whole time, even when he was struggling, I trust Ranger in my playoff rotation. I just do after last year. I wonder if things go the way they might be going down the stretch here. I wonder if they'd start Ranger game two. Well, I wonder, too, if it's a situation of do you start Ranger in game two

if you're down one? Do you start Nolan in game two if you're up one? You know what I mean? I don't know what you mean because I don't know. I'm not looking ahead. I'm taking this one day at a time. Good point. All I'll say is if per chance the Phillies remake the playoffs and if per chance they win the wild card series

They probably have a 5% chance to make the playoffs. I don't want people to get ahead of themselves. We should look up those numbers because they're very accurate. I agree. Hard to argue with. If I'm down 0-1, i can't have arinola starting that game like it personally like if if my season's on the line yeah like it has to be ranger that's funny if i'm a fan like it has to be yeah that's funny it's a funny way to look at it i know but

it's probably accurate um um yeah i i just so i i don't really believe him. I think things can change. And I think that, you know, if Taiwan ends the season last, he's probably got what? Two starts left? Three starts left? Two or three, yeah. And it's, you know, more of the same four earned. I mean, can he hit two batters the other day and walk three? And like, come on.

Anyway, if it's more of that stuff and Sanchez goes out and it's just fine again. Like, I just, you can't, like, it's something that I think they get crushed for. I think they get crushed for it if Tyrone Walker starts a playoff game over Chris Sanchez. Yeah. But again, they would still have to win their first round matchup anyway. Yeah, yeah. It's a good problem to have if you get to that next round. And I just, I can't worry about the bullpen thing because Tyrone can't throw the bullpen

and Chris Sanchez can. I need who's going to give me the best chance, pitch one, of a game. All right, speaking of the bullpen, I think that's probably the other biggest concern heading. I mean, I think, you know, you feel good about where the line's at. There are things you can point to. And the back of the line hasn't been as good as before, but the big guys are hitting and stuff.

Yeah, the lineup's interesting right now because, and again, I get annoyed bringing up stuff that I brought up on Final Out because I know people have listened to it. Listen, yes. But now that you're here, I'm running it by a new audience. Please. I'm sure there are people who just listen. I know.

I'm just kidding. Because the offense right now, it's pretty much Turner, Schwarber, Hart, Bryno, Schwarber to navigate series against the Braves. But he's been white hot. Those guys are carrying the team. And then they are dealing with collective slumps from Cassianos, JT, Marsh. Particularly Cassianos. Even Stott.

I mean, Stott has it. I mean, he had the home run on Saturday, but the home run on Tuesday. You know, but he's it's been a lot more. It feels like more chase and strikeouts and Bryson, which are not used to. And then and then, boom, it's like all all of those guys, it we're not used to. And then, boom. All of those guys, it seems like, are kind of struggling at the same time. The three at the top are out of control, which is great. So if we could just get those guys turning this.

Well, especially when it's those three and the fact that, like, let's say you have three guys who are hitting, you might want to space them out a little more in the lineup, too. I know. It's so funny. because beginning of the year it was like, oh, I can't wait to get to the bottom of the lineup, because the top of the lineup is so bad. Now it's like, oh, thank God, we might score some runs. Turn it over,

turn it over. It's how it's supposed to work. I agree. It's good to have a normal functioning baseball team. It is just funny when the three guys who are hitting home runs on your team are all batting the same in a row. I know they'll put Harper in four with Toplafty and all that. They've been the best offense in baseball since August 1st, but it's really just been those three going nuts.

And so that, like, the devil's in the details, I guess, when it comes to the offense right now. Yeah. And, look, I feel good about the bats, and I feel good about the playoffs that they'll hit. And, you know, when the moment comes, they did last year, and I'm going to believe that they're going to, assuming, of course, that they make it.

I'm not sure what the percentages are. Yeah, big question mark. But yeah, I mean, like the rotation and the bullpen. It's a question mark. 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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I mean, they have question marks at all three. It's as simple as that. You're right. You're right. But the point is, of the three, the one I feel best about is the lineup. Yes, I agree. I totally agree there. If you ask me who I feel better about, the bullpen or the starters,

I think it's the bullpen. I do too. So it's one of those things where it's like, obviously you feel better about Zach Wheeler than anything else of all that. Of my life, yes. Yeah, definitively better. Well, I guess you did not. It wasn't the best outing last time, but you feel good about Wheeler.

But I agree with you. I think if you're taking the whole of them both, I think so. Yeah, well, and the— Ranger. Ranger can be awesome. If you can have Wheeler-Ranger and then win some bat games, I think that could work. Look, the Diamondbacks won a World Series.

And granted, they had two of the greats of all time pitching at the top. What are you doing? No, but I'm saying they won a World Series with two pitchers. Like, that team won a World Series because they had two pitchers who pitched great. That was it. That was the reason they won the World Series. And they had a couple guys who had some hits. You know, like Luis Gonzalez had a hit off Mo.

Believe it or not, yes, that's true. That is true. But the bullpen, it's like, you know, I kind of think they're turning it around a little bit. You know, I thought they had a pretty good series against the Braves. I mean, so did a lot of the bombs of Michael Harris in the second deck. But, like, that was it. You know, I just. It's Anthony Alvarado.

It's going to come down to those guys being those guys But is it though? Because why, it might be Hoffman instead of Sir Anthony Oh, I think Hoffman will be one of them too But like, all those guys will pitch No, I know, I know, but the difference between Hoffman You're saying Hoffman is like the go-to 7th inning guy Or something

If they have a lead, and they need a righty That could be what we're talking about And I think Kimbrel's looked... I think Kimbrel's fine. He has a little dip. Yeah, I'm not too worried about Kimbrel. The Rosario at bat was frustrating from a million standpoints, but... It should have been a strikeout. It was a strikeout.

It was a strikeout. JT dropped two straight, and I just... I don't know why you're calling out a million straight fastballs when he had them set up for a curveball the entire time, but who am I? Dude, it was like, it was, and only the sickos are going to appreciate this, and I know you're going to appreciate this. It was the Sandoval at bat off of Hector Neris all over again,

where it's like you have him set up for a splitter, and you throw a fastball, and he hits it. That wasn't a home run, a back breaking, but it was like you have him set up for a splitter and you throw a fastball and he hits it. That wasn't a home run, a back breaking, but it was like the same exact feeling for me. Yeah, sure. So I think Kimbrel's kind of rounding into form. I think Strom's interesting because he's sort of like what Soto was doing where he's like a million good things in a row and then a blow up

and people are like, oh, he's bad. He's not. Maybe just don't bring him out for a second freaking inning. I feel like so consistently when he comes in a big spot, he gets the freaking job done and it's like, hey, come on out. And then it's like home run. Yeah. It's like every time. I just

if you're going to keep if there's a bloody Junior Marte, like that's the last spot in the bullpen. I just want to see what Orion will do. Dude, did you see the Dodgers just brought up that kid, Isaiah Stryker, right in the minors? Kyle Hurt.

Kyle Hurt. Which is a terrible name. Just a tough name. A disaster name. But again, yes, you have a dude in the bullpen who has as good a relief arm as anyone in the freaking system right now. Of course you bring him up. Yeah.

What are you doing? I think he had two innings saved yesterday. He struck out five. He has the best slider in minor league baseball. He doesn't walk a ton of guys. What are we doing? So if you're, you can't convince me that he's not better than Bilotti or Junior Martin. Absolutely.

Like, we're not saying come up and put him in the freaking eighth inning of a tie game. I'm saying in a spot where you're going to bring in Andrew Bilotti, I would much rather see Ryan Kirk ring. This isn't even a question in my mind. Is he on the 40-man? No. So are there any issues with the playoffs and all that? As long as they're in the organization, you can still bring him up?

Yeah. So I'm pretty sure. Because I know there's only if they're not. As long as they're up before, obviously, the playoffs and they make a 40-man spot, I think he's playoff capable. Okay. I think.

Because that would obviously be a big part. Totally. And that's totally different. So, yeah, I just, I would be, like, if, so, and Sir Anthony, the tough part about Sir Anthony right now and what is, I think, tough for people to grasp, like, well, why do you keep pitching? Because you have to see if you can get them right. And we've seen this so many times with him.

Like, he is one of those guys who can be like that, where it's like one night he's horrible, and the next night it's like, oh, there he is. You want to talk about consistency to bits. I mean, this is exactly what he was doing last year. Exactly. And then all of a sudden he gets in the Cardinals game, and it's like, oh, my God, it's the best reliever I've seen in the Phillies uniform since 08 Lidge. Yeah.

I mean, the Cardinals series was out of control. And then, obviously, he closed out the Braves. Like, he can get hot and go on a run. Yeah, the only bad moment he had was when it freaking ringed on him in the Bedlam game. Yeah. Ironically. So they have to keep pitching him because they have to.

And to Thompson's credit, he's putting him in a pretty low-leverage spot. Yeah, he is. I mean, the sixth inning, I think, both times. Sixth inning, both times. That he blew it. So it's not like he's pitching the seventh, eighth, ninth. It's the sixth. Like, he is. I mean, the sixth inning, I think, both times that he blew it. So it's not like he's pitching the seventh, eighth, ninth. It's the sixth. Get us through this. Let's see if you can

figure this out. And then, again, it's going to be the biggest test for how real it is, but if Hoffman pitches like he has the last month, I mean, that's a little... He's been amazing. So I know you're a huge fan of Stuff Plus.

You know I am. It's what I go off of. All my decisions and thoughts are based on Stuff Plus. Is that a real stat now? Stuff Plus? It's a real stat. Not just Stuff. See, at Thanksgiving, I have Stuffing Plus.

Yeah, it's Plus. I have Stuffing Plus at Thanksgiving. That's good. You know my opinion We should eat stuffing year round I don't know why we don't I agree It makes no sense to me

Stuffing's great It's delightful It's the best part of Thanksgiving And it's like alright Have that next year Like why See you next year Yeah

It's like the Christmas tree It makes no sense Yeah we'll see you once a year Stuffing Yes Good take Thank you Shocking from you

It is shocking Rare I come up with one of those No because Alex Coffey tweeted it out, and he was 11th in all of baseball in Stuff Plus. Wow. Which is, and he's just, and he's cut out walking people, so now it's just like 97 right at you with a lich-like slider. Yeah.

So, I mean, if he's real, it just increases. So that's why down the stretch here, I need to see him in more 7th, 8th. Yeah, big spots. He's coming in big spots, but it's been more emergency. Yeah, it's like when Alvarado's struggling, all right, let's bring Hoffman in to get out of it. Yeah. And he usually does, unless Alec Boehm misses a baseball or whatever.

Exactly. But if it could be like a 6-4, 7th, 8th, and just see what he looks like, just a clean inning, like come in and see if he can do this, that's just something they have to figure out the next two weeks.