High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - High Hopes Chapter 2: John Middleton's great expectations

Episode Date: March 20, 2023

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz discuss John Middleton's appearance on the WIP Morning Show and what the Phillies owner had to say about this team becoming one of the all-time greats. 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

We had John Middleton on the show today, and I know he had said a similar quote. I can't remember what article it was, but it made the rounds athletic or something like that. It was in an article a few months ago, but he said it on the show again, and it was talking about his goals for the team, and he had two lines that stuck out. The first one was, when I talk to this team, if I say, I want you to win a World Series, he's like, that's not good enough. He's like, this team good enough he's like this team should win multiple world series and he said when i look back when you look back at the history

of baseball when you talk about the great teams in the history of the sport he's like i want this team to be on that like that is such a grandiose and lofty thing to say and a goal to have. And again, they have to go out and prove it and stuff. But the pieces are there. The pieces are there for this team to do what the Astros just did, to win two World Series in a five-year span or whatever. They obviously, again, win one. Win one. And we said the same thing about 08, and they had the chance and all that.

But it is really exciting to look at this group of what's here now the next few years with these guys everyone under contract already like the the sky is the limit with this group yeah and that's why you know i feel like i i i sound a bit like a broken record but you know i've kind of had that feeling all off season where where it's just like look at how they are now. Look at how Middleton is spending money on big stars and how underneath the surface they are just continuing

to build this thing. People freak out about, well, the starting pitching depth or the bullpen depth. The bench spots or this or that, yeah. It's like, well, there's more coming. When people talk about is ranger gonna make the well ranger's gonna be in the rotation but you know painter down and then it's like falter whatever and like these guys get hurt like who's to say that griff doesn't just get

hot and and he he everything starts clicking for him that he can come in there and that that raises the level of your team uh mick abel looked good the other day against the against the braves and like it's i feel almost bad for mick because it's like he just gets left behind uh with with andrew painter turning into like a superstar prospect but like mick abel is a top 40 prospect in baseball right now who reached double a at 21 years old but he has to work he's not as like flawless as as as andrew painter he has to work on fastball command but like i mean it's still great it's a great point by you jack like we we almost have like just kind of forgotten about mcable because of and rightfully so the the level of greatness as a prospect that painter has reached and kind of surpassed him but

you're right man like we don't talk nearly enough. I mean, Mick Gable could be a one or two in the major leagues. Like that's a ceiling. Like he's that talented, you know, not like a one, one, not like a, you never know, but like, he's like, he could be a two in the major leagues. Like the guy's legit. Yeah.

A hundred percent. So, you know, when we talk about Dodgers East and we talk about turning into one of these super, like, I think they're on the verge of being, well, I know, but. This is like, what are we doing here? This is a High Hopes podcast.

We're supposed to be talking about the 2026 fills and get me some pictures so we can talk about the minors. We're talking about, like, let's go on a dynastic run, Jack. But that's where the franchise is right now. mean for the next five years i mean we talked about this i think uh made three pods ago but like everyone on their team is everyone on the team is uh like at least in the lineup is locked up through 2025 so you know you look at you look at uh the core of this team is pretty much set so you have the core pretty much set on offense you have we'll see what happens like it could be extension

a week for aaron nola um so you have your one and two locked up for the next couple years wheeler we'll see what happens with him um like it's just it's so hard not to start dreaming on what they can be and and and think about them as one of the future you know superpower-ish teams in in the sport i mean there's there's only a handful of them um but they have everything there to where they can get the job done and and i don't think middleton's like speaking out of turn to say like only winning one only winning one is is obviously a big thing yeah let's win the let's win the freaking world series okay we've won one in our lifetimes okay like yes it is a big deal but but i get your

point like i don't think it's i don't think it's when he said it i wasn't like oh what the hell like i was like yeah like you're right and again the the the thing that you you know you can look at this team but then yeah there's other great teams and steve cohen's up there spending money and the braves are good and there's all this stuff but but you look at this team, but then, yeah, there's other great teams. And Steve Cohen's up there spending money, and the Braves are good, and there's all this stuff. But you look at this group of guys, and especially what they achieved last year and the mentality and the two more games thing. Bone brought that up too.

Like, just that it really does feel like this group is locked in on a goal. And clearly that goal is to win the World Series. And then you worry about past that. But as the owner, especially talking about his goals for the franchise, like absolutely he's not speaking out of turn. I mean, he has set some very lofty expectations, you know, great teams of all time. But the point is, like, the pieces are there.

The infrastructure for the first time in, you know, over a decade is there from a from a baseball operations perspective like we always talk about the infrastructure is there and the guy making that statement is willing to open up his checkbook and keep adding and willing to keep going over taxes and keep spending money to do what it takes to win so yeah like if they keep this formula in this group, like they should have a lot of success with these guys, you know? Yeah. And so weird. Like, man, it's like high hopes is like I what I think about with this now is like, you know, the new listeners, whatever.

And if you are a new listener who came on during the run, like, thank you. We love you. Welcome. Welcome aboard. And if you are a new listener who came on during the run, like, thank you. We love you. Welcome aboard. But like the old school listeners will know, like there is as much as, you know, it's thrilling and exciting. Like there is a bit of a like a I keep pinching myself when we do these pods being like this doesn't feel like we've never done this before a season.

These have never been the high hopes preseason pods we've been doing before. You know, there's been hype and excitement, but it's never been like yeah this team could they could go out with a few world series over the next couple years like this is crazy jack like step back and and look at this and be like you know i'm just it's i'm like feeling the feels i've been clear about all that like i'm really grateful i'm so grateful that we're here right now man i feel like we i feel like we were andy newne slogging through you know what for years with this podcast digging through

and we have come out the other side and we are raising our arms in the air and it feels amazing. Well, it's funny because it feels like one of those we almost got to calm down. You know what I mean? Like too far in the old IOS ways. It was like people told us to calm down. You know what I mean? Like in the old high hopes ways,

it was like people told us to calm down. Could it be like, listen, this, this team could win 90 games, you know? And like, this guy could break out.

This guy could turn into this. And then he's going to, you know, fulfill all of our expectations for, for, you know, we're always looking at the highest possible outcome for whatever player, for whatever team, whatever manager, whatever GM, whatever.

Like that's been the thing about this podcast. And you talk about maybe not able to handle the moment. Might be us. Maybe we can't handle the moment. Watch them start like 10 and 15, and we're like just – we'll be right back to where we were. Get them all out. That is going to be the funny part about this season, is that

you know, it's going to be way less like living and dying with every single game. I will watch every second. I will care as much as I usually do. You'll be in this feed pretty much after every game, for what it's worth. There are a lot of them, you know, regular season games. I mean, weekday games

and all that. Yeah, but it's like now that we got through, we broke through. There's not that same like, oh, my God, I'm going to miss the playoffs again. Like, oh, my God, this is all a disaster. Because for the first time since, again, the heyday, it's like I trust them. Like, I just I trust the manager. I trust the players. I trust the GM. manager i trust the players i trust the i trust the gm and

i trust the owner so you talk about coming a long way you know i used to wow i used to try to find those names like topper we never didn't trust but like we we didn't think he would ever be the manager of a baseball team the dude was going to retire after last season and now he's you know extension all that but like for the statements you just made with John Jack Middleton and Dave Dombrowski you know we've come a long way

a long way buddy yeah and I again I just you know when I think about when I think about how a majority of the last couple years like they would be in first place or they'd be like over 500 and like 20 000 people in the stadium you know and and now like i just think they're gonna get rewarded for the for the fruits of what they just went through so um it's it's gonna be a a different watching experience you know where it's not wow this

whole thing's crumbling and it's falling apart it's a disaster it's gonna, wow, this whole thing is crumbling and it's falling apart. It's a disaster. It's going to be more like, this is what we do now. This is just what we do. Maybe start a little slow. Maybe we won't win the division, but don't let us make the playoffs. Just don't let the Phillies make the playoffs. Entering into a cocky era of Phillies baseball is not something that I didn't know I'd be able to feel again,

but that's kind of where we're heading into, a cocky era of Phillies baseball is not something that I didn't know I'd be able to feel again. But that's kind of where we're heading into a cocky era of Phillies baseball. And yet again, like Andy Dufresne, this podcast has freaking earned that. All right. You know, we have earned the chance to be a little cocky about this team. And yet it's you're absolutely right. It is weird having those expectations shift, especially, you know, like we've talked about so many times, but how, you know, in September, I don't know, I'll pick a date, like September 25th, September 27th, like none of us felt this way.

None of us felt this way about this team come October 3rd or whatever day it was, they clinched in Houston, October 2nd, whatever that was. Like, it's just ever since that moment, like everything about how we feel about the Phillies has changed in such a profound and powerful and awesome way. And it all feels justified. And, and to your point, look, I don't, I don't think there's at least in my lifetime, you could maybe say a week after Oh seven, but like, it was a different thing then I think this might be the most important from a, not making the playoffs or whatever perspective because i'm

with you i think they could start slow and figure it out they're going to be good but from a a business of baseball perspective like a hot start that place is full all year