High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - High Hopes Chapter 1: Who Are The Real Phillies?

Episode Date: May 21, 2023

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz discuss the Phillies winning two straight over the weekend and Aaron Nola's last start. 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

The Giant series was just freaking crushing. And it was just like they made, what, six bad baseball plays in three games, if not more. That's off the top of my head. And it was just like, guys, what do we do? To go from that series, right, to having the off day on Thursday, to Friday night, okay, you're back home. It's going to be good crowds all weekend.

Go up and show up and play. And thankfully it was Jill's birthday. Shout out to Jill. We were at dinner. I swear to you, James. I swear to you. This is a me problem. This is a look yourself in the mirror kind of moment for me.

Even when I'm out to dinner, trying to be present in the mirror kind of moment for me. Where I like, even when I'm out to dinner, you know, trying to be present in the moment, checking scores, trying to find any single way to watch the game. I don't think you needed to tell us this. This isn't breaking news? No, this is not like, oh my God, people are not listening right now. I'm being like, no way. Oh my, for real?

Is he being serious? Yeah. I think the only way that would have been shocked, this story had been so you're not going to believe this. They went out for Jill's birthday. I didn't check the game once. I had no idea what was happening. That would have been unbelievable.

I didn't even check in. We were at the dinner. It was the first time we've really been out. We left Walker with her mom. Oh, buddy. That's the funniest part of a parent's night out is that when you go out after you've had a kid for like a parents and it was that's the funny that's the funniest part of that parents night out is that when you go out after you've had a kid for like a month and a half two months

all you talk about is the kid you know what i mean which is the funniest development of it all um but side note he's the greatest and he's like my favorite thing that's ever happened so i feel you about but yes i feel you so but yeah i was out and you know i was like i'm not gonna i'm not gonna let them roam my night and usually what i do is like next morning i got rewatch it and i was like no like i'm not doing it um yesterday i was pretty despondent you know i saw them go up six nothing. Then there was a cool little porch festival happening in Westchester. A bunch of bands are playing.

I was like, you know what? They're not going to take over and possibly ruin my weekend. Again, they were 24 hours away from being in a dark spot. They blew them out yesterday. They won today.

Shout out to Brysonson stott i mean oh what a especially like like as we all agree and it's there's nothing more annoying these days than martian stott not being in a lineup against a lefty and i know justin seals tough on lefties but it's like all right man like i get it if like they just need an off day because everyone needs an off day but he does it it against every super tough lefty. But yeah, dude, to be able to come off the bench in that spot and just rope it, crush it to left like that. I mean, that was awesome, especially after so many miscues early in the game

or at least missed opportunities. I mean, obviously the Castellanos, the the harper fly out double play sticks out like just so frustrating man well and clearly just trying to do too much i mean that's that's all that was exactly and like people i was like that can't happen people are like why he why? He's going for it or whatever. It's a 0-0 game and there are no outs. What are you doing? This is crazy. But whatever. Thank God

they won that game. Thank God Craig Kimball didn't blow at the end. He looked good those first two batteries. Boom, boom. I'm like, yeah, dude. That's on me, though. That's on me. As soon as he was like, bang, bang, I was like, oh, great. No, I said to myself, is he going to throw an immaculate inning here? Oh, no, you didn't.

Yes, I did. I sure did. And then, by the way, is Christian Morel the most underrated Philly killer of all time? I mean, he's been up for what, like half a year? And he's got like, has to have five homers against the phillies like there's there's no doubt about it you've been crushing it lately in general he's been well anytime anytime you can keep eric osmer on your opening day roster over christian morel you just have to do it i mean like are the cubs serious he's so geese he's awesome dude i love i mean

i know like this is hindsight being 2020 that took two or three from the cubs but like i love christian morel yeah no i'm with you buddy i'm with you he's really really good um all right This is hindsight being 2020 that took two or three from the Cubs, but I love Christian Morel. Yeah. No, I'm with you, buddy. I'm with you. He's really, really good. All right, let's get into the games we saw as we end. Let's start with the good.

I was going to start with the bad, but you know what? Because they do deserve it because we did. Yes, they won two or three. Nice job squeezing it out against the freaking Cubs. You're too hard on the Cubs. You're too against the freaking cubs um you're you're too hard on the cubs i'm just like you're too hard but you're right the cubs are like a 78 to 82 in type baseball team they're not horrible like they're they're like fine you're right that is fair um but uh like we'll start with the good because we haven't talked since the giant series too so no but did it happen let's start with i honestly the biggest

reason they won today you know stott obviously that the the big hit but but taiwan walker was awesome finally again and it's like this guy's so juggling all right i mean the last one doesn't get out the first inning he gives up four whatever he had the eight you know in three the other time but then like sandwiched between like six innings, one run today, five and two thirds, no runs. It's, you know, it's frustrating, Jack. It's probably, I mean, it was great today, but it's, it's frustrating, you know, and look, maybe he puts together and get some consistency going and he did pitch in the WBC and I don't love the WBC as an excuse for everything, but you know, who knows, you know, maybe it is different to have like a different spring training for certain guys or less starts than you would or less work than you would.

Who knows? But do you look at Walker more the guy who just is completely inconsistent start to start, or do you think that the stuff he did today he can build on and be more consistent? Well, first off, the Royal Baseball Classic stuff is so funny because like Ronald Acuna is – Oh, yeah. He's like leading the league in everything. Oh, yeah. He's having one.

He's like leading the league in everything. Yeah, that's exactly right. Play the role. But I think he's plus 150. The last of my check for MVP, which is insane. It's way too early in the season for that. But that's insane. Yeah, it is.

So I think with Taiwan is that I think he's been pretty good. Like the last four starts. I know that it was a disaster against the Giants. I think what happens a lot with baseball talk and baseball conversation is that whatever happens the first

two weeks of the season define the next couple of months. You know what I mean? I think Stott's bouncing back, but Bowman Marsh hasn't been very good for a long time now, and people are like, I think Stott's bouncing back. But, like, Bowman Marsh hasn't been very good for a long time now. And people are like, well, they're having great years. It's like, well, that's because they're hitting, like, 400 for the first.

So, you know, hopefully they can – And Stott, too, before recently. I mean, he's had good at bats the whole time. But, I mean, you know, as recently as, like, a week ago, his OBP was hovering around 300. It might still be that – I think it's, like, 320 now. But, yeah.

Okay, yeah. And he's about seven game hitting streaks. No, he's been much better. But that still be that. I think it's like 320 now, but yeah. Okay, yeah. But that's what you're right. And he's on a seven-game hitting streak. No, he's been much better, but that's the point. You're right. All three of those guys predictably fell off a little bit from their blazing hot starts. Right.

So I think with Walker, beginning of the year, he wasn't great. And he had a bad start against the Giants, and everyone's like, well, there it is. It's like, well. I mean, I think he's is he going to be great no is he going to be pretty good most of the time yeah like I think

I think he's going to throw in some stinkers you know it's going to happen when you're dealing with someone that's not as consistent as you would like to see because he had that eight run outing semi recently too like it wasn't you know I know the start of the season was rough then he settled in but then he had that eight run outing like a too. Like it wasn't, you know, I know the start of the season was rough, then he settled in,

but then he had that eight run outing like a week and a half ago or whatever it was. That was tough. Yeah. Well, the two bad ones in the last four or whatever. Yeah. Well,

that's the funny part about that. It's like the bullpen too. Like if you look at, if you look at Kimbrel Soto, Sir Anthony, like all three of those guys, I think we have a pretty good amount of faith in, but all their earrings are like four or five and above you know it's hilarious it's so and it's not like really indicative to how those guys are throwing it's just like they've had blow up blow

up outings so um he you know i think it and i know this is gonna sound simplistic or whatever but i think it comes down to fastball command for him. You know, like if he can locate that fastball, then the splitter makes more sense off of it rather than just going to like a ton of splitters or whatever. Like he has to at least have the show of, I can still spot my fastball when I need to.

And today I felt like he threw more cutters, which I think is needed. You know, I don't think he could just be fastball, splitter, and expect to get a ton of outs. You know, I think it works for a little bit, but eventually these hitters adjust to it. So maybe the – it feels like they've kind of ditched that slider.

I remember the slider was really good against the Yankees, but they've kind of gotten away from that. And now it's like more cutter heavy. So if his repertoire – it seems like they can't figure out what they want to do with them you know i think the splitter thing is there but then it's like okay what's the secondary pitch do you want to be the cutter do you want to be the slider he threw like one curveball today and i was like i didn't know he had that in his arsenal now it was like a get me over 71 mile an hour curveball wasn't't anything that was like going to rewrite the,

the, the history book on pitching. But, you know, I, I just, it feels like they have a different plan for him. Every game,

you know, three starts ago was like, all right, you're going to be an 80% splitter guy. It's like, well, I like for a reliever. I understand it for a starter.

I don't think that works. Yeah. It's not sustainable. Right. So I, I just think that maybe they need to get a better feel for who he is as a pitcher um but it feels like to me right now they're very not sure of what they want out of him which is like a tad annoying from the standpoint

of the contract yeah you're you could add anyone out there, and you targeted him. Well, at least it wasn't Jason Tyone. Well, that's true. Yes, and look, hey, at least it wasn't Carlos Rodon, at least first year of the contract returns. And, hey, you know, Eflin's been good, but, you know, we know Zach Eflin. He'll have a heavy body at some point. All right, one more good, and then we'll get to some of the bad. But, you know, look, a Saturday game against the Cubs.

Now, granted, a game they needed to win to stop a losing streak, but, you know, maybe not the highest of profile spots, but, you know, gets a big lead, holds it, 10 strikeouts for Nola, like actual swing and miss stuff a bit, where, you know, we've talked about him pitching to contact seemingly more. What do you think of Nola on Saturday? Very good.

Rewatched it this morning. What I found so interesting is they threw two change-ups. In an entire... Oh, okay. I got you. Only two change-ups in the whole start the whole start like so just to show how weird that is and they were and they're the same at bat too they're the

same hold up i thought when you said two change-ups i was about to say like two different kinds of change-ups really explain like he has a new change-up that's what i thought you meant that's how weird like two change-ups at the start doesn't even seem like it's crazy now no that's wild now they're very right-handed heavy so you know it makes a little bit of sense but still that was that was surprising to me um now i think if you look at the numbers it's the lowest whiff rate he's ever had on the change-up but also like the numbers are are like the the raw data are pretty good but the i guess maybe behind the scenes they don't think they're that good i don't know but either way either way yeah yeah the peripherals anyway um sample size so far too so yeah yeah um but yeah so he only threw

two change-ups and they were to the same hitter and the same at bat um so yeah which is which is insane my general thought was um i want and this again i i can't prove this but what what what kind of went off in my head was is the change-up causing him to have less command on his fastball? Because he threw two of them, but it was also his best fastball command we've seen in forever from Aaron Nola. Like it was wherever he wanted it, up, down. I thought it was really fascinating. You know, to righties, it seemed like, okay,

we'll try to hit down and away fastball. We'll go up a little bit with a four seamer. And then bang, just when it's like, you know, just when you have a right-handed hitter, that's like, all right, they're, they're setting me up outside. They're going curve ball outside. They're going fastball outside. Like I can just sit on that pitch.

I thought he did a great job of just being able to rush guys in on, on 92 on the hands. And he had a lot of broken bats, a lot of ugly swings. I thought that was an interesting kind of plan and that was something that in watching and knowing the only two change-ups, is that the kind of plan going forward because

he was able to just dot both sides of the plate, which we haven't seen from him, I feel like, in a while. I don't think it's going to be the plan going forward because I think that chain-up's been a pretty good pitch for him. And against lefties, like, I don't know what the out pitch becomes unless you just like,

want to just rely on that two seamer that starts at the hip or starts at the shoulder. But other than that, like, I don't like, I don't like his curve ball and all the lefties. So it's going to have to be there. Like the cutter up and in could work,

but I just, I never trust the cutter up and in could work but i just i never trust the cutter but either way just something to kind of file away as like what if that's something that kind of gets and he was sitting 96 or sorry 94 in the sixth which i thought was also an important development so it was one of those uh yeah that's a little interesting here i know let's start for sure look at that that was some like old school Fritzy pitching breakdown analysis right there. Good stuff, pal.