High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - High Hopes Chapter 2: The Phillies Are Testing Steady Fritz

Episode Date: August 21, 2023

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz implore the Phillies to get back on the right track starting tonight against the Giants. 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 been pretty consistent for a month now. It's just they also have those games where they're going to score one run. But also, that's baseball. That's baseball.

That's baseball. I agree. Believe me, what people will say is like oh imagine if they all get hot at the same time that's not possible like i'm sorry it's not possible they're not gonna get all hot at the same time unlikely highly unlikely for the most part guys have figured it out a little bit i mean schwarber has like a 360 obp in the last eight games uh turner's obviously turned it around boom is scuffled a little bit but he started great in the two obviously last night moved down yeah um but has struggled yeah yeah but but with boom it's like it's still if there's a runner on second base around on third base he's gonna bring him

he's gonna do his job he's gonna bring him in so even if he's scuffling a little bit i don't think he's been a disaster at the plate you really only have two guys who you fully i mean harper too but like two guys outside of harper who you feel can put the bat on the baseball in a moment if you need to. Like when a strikeout is the worst possible thing that can happen, you want Satterbaum at the plate. Yeah. And not Shoreburn guys.

Or Turner even. Yeah, Turner. Yeah. So it's like, I just, maybe we'll see. Even JK's heating up a little bit. JK's heating up, dude. JK's been alright, man. And I'm curious to see what happens with it. Rally killer, but you know. It was a rally killer

for sure. It was, but even still, you know. They did the same thing. It is weird that two of those games they lost against the Nats, they had home runs in the ninth to make it a one-run game. Like, Schwarber did the same thing. It's like, come on, guys. Maybe get one more round base. We need more ducks in the pond. Less balls out of the yard.

And it's going to be interesting to see what they do with Cave. And it really comes down, I guess, because Rojas has completely fallen off offensively, mostly. It's just his defense is so transcendent. Well, when you put him and Marsh out there, it's such a dynamic outfield defense. I mean, you're talking about getting to every... Rojas is unbelievable out there.

Well, he's the most defensive run saved in baseball since he came out. I actually think... I very rarely... We're offense guys. We were on board for the defense doesn't matter thing.

And we've reversed that a bit and all that. But I actually think... I almost don't think it matters if he hits. He is that great a defensive player. matters if he hits. He is that great a defensive player. If he's not going to hit, at least figure

out how to bunt. Well, of course. The bunting is... But at the same time... Sit down with Garrett Stubbs for as long as you need to. I love it. He did it last night again. That was for the kids, right? That was a little... You can do this. I can too. But at the same time, Pache is also unbelievable defensively as well.

And I think he gives you more pop at the plate. So maybe this is turning towards a Rojas send-down for Pache. Because Pache's close. I mean, he was DH'd in the other night in Lehigh Valley. And look, I'm fine. Like, again, I'm fine with that. I've enjoyed Rojas, and he's a great center fielder. But Pache's a great center fielder, pache is a great center fielder too so like you're not losing much i do think rojas might be better though which

is wild considering when pache was doing it we're like have we ever seen this kind of defense out here it's like oh yeah rojas is better i think he's better rojas is 100 better but that's crazy because what was it a month ago or a month and a half ago you came on this podcast saying i think christian passion might be the best defensive outfielder I've ever seen in a Phillies uniform. And then, like, a week later, we get someone who's better? It's crazy. It's crazy.

Yeah, it is. Well, again, it's like, first off, the reads he gets right now, he did drop the ball on Friday. Yeah. But, like, everyone's allowed one. The balls he gets to, it's unbelievable. Closing speed. Schwarber,

I feel like he doesn't have to move. Schwarber just hangs, he's like, I got it. Don't even move. That's a great point. The amount of balls

he catches in left field as a center fielder, I don't think I've ever seen a center fielder catch more balls in left field. It's crazy. That's going to be

a decision to make, for sure. They activated Marsh last night, but they didn't have to send anyone down. And they sent Weston Wilson down after the game. Weston, yep. So that runs over.

Well, and Alvarado coming back today, too, so you have another corresponding move on that side as well. And then the next decision is Pasha. Pasha, yep. I'm so happy Alvarado's back, dude. I mean, you talk about the biggest thing that this team, like the starting staff getting on a roll is good, but like you just look at the bullpen and it feels like, again,

we've watched Schramm and Hoffman and these guys every single game. Every game, yes. So getting him back is, they needed an extra arm. And that's why I'm glad they went away from the six-man thing. Oh, okay. So we haven't talked about you being glad about that. Lay it out. Why?

Oh, well, because I think. Because it was something we liked going in. Yeah. And then when it was put into practice, it's like, oh, but totally forgot that that means you have one less arm in the bullpen. And then these guys are going to get overworked. And then I started thinking more, and I think smartly, they started thinking more about September.

And a playoff run, you can't cook these started thinking more about September. And it played out wrong. You can't cook these guys in August. Yeah. No, you're right. And also, look, I think, you know, if I... The good part is they can go back to it if they need to. Sure. And if I had to bet, I would bet that the starters didn't like it.

You know, I'm sure Zach Wheeler... I don't think Wheeler liked it. Yeah, well, Wheeler, and the evidence proves that he actually probably is better going on regular rest and all that. But, yeah, I... Look, do you think ranger thing was kind of a phantom aisle thing oh yeah yeah i think so too i do yeah which is good that's what we want it to be you know we don't want it to be something real you know and that's why you have all the extra starters that you bring in so that you can do this kind of stuff and chris sanchez has been pitching well enough where it's

well yeah or it doesn't matter like Like, it's whatever. Yeah. 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. It's pretty amazing where we've gotten to with Christopher Sanchez. It kind of feels like Ranger-esque that, and you don't think he's as talented as Ranger, but when Ranger first came up and kind of just got in the rotation, we're like, well, this isn't going to be good. And he

just kind of was awesome and just kept pitching and pitching and pitching. Kind of feels that way. And he's got a similar vibe to Ranger with the, you know, kind of the calm, cool on the mound and all that. So I'm really impressed with Sanchez. I did feel bad for Ranger because last night he was supposed to start that game. I know. And you say of all of them, he's like Mr.

Like you could tell like how joyous he was there. Well, and he was supposed to start that game. I know. And you say of all of them, he's like Mr. Like you could tell like how joyous he was there. Well, and he was a cross cutter. Yeah. That's where his career started. An actual cross cutter. So was Bryson Stott. Bryson Stott was a cross cutter as well. Love it. It's good to see him back on the field tonight. Yeah. Back on this field that he made his bones on.

Yeah. And he had that awesome pencil bat. Dude, the pencil bat was so freaking cool, dude. The pencil bat was like more of that. Like why not Dude, the pencil bat was so freaking cool, dude. The pencil bat was like more of that. Like why not more? Again, that was my biggest takeaway from yesterday and last night. And I know you can't do the League World Series game more than once, but like more of that, more of that stuff for baseball.

You could play baseball anywhere. Like I loved when they did the Field of Dreams game. Like more stuff like that. Like baseball, that's the thing the, you know, field of dreams game, like more stuff like that. Like baseball, that's the thing that makes baseball different, right? Like a football field is a fricking football field. A basketball court is a basketball court.

Like a baseball field can be anything. It could just be a field where you play baseball. You know, you don't need all this other stuff. It's, it's, it's super cool to see these games, these experiences in these unique places.

I think baseball needs more of that, man. I really do. Yeah. Um, the only thing I would have said of that, man. I really do. Yeah. The only thing I would have said was put the game on Nickelodeon. Sure. Start sliming the kids in the crowd. Yeah, view plus.

Yeah, yeah. It'd be a fun time. And, yeah, I mean, that's, I think, and it does kind of, it has to humble the players, too. Like, being able to go up and see the kids and, like, and how we're playing a kids game, how lucky we are. and it kind of refocuses you a little bit and i think the phillies felt that a lot and then they realized in the seventh inning they're like oh bleep we might lose two or three of the nationals probably play we should probably figure it out we should

show up also if you just execute in the first inning and then you have first and second one and then you just they just i hate every time they get runners on base i know i feel like something bad's gonna happen i know every single time they have runners on first and second with one out or less than two outs i'm like how are you gonna mess this up where's where's it gonna come from this time yeah i'm with you what's gonna happen here yeah not great i know and it sucks because they're 10 games over 500 yet they're good like they're a good team like they really again and they and they went through it. You know, they weren't good.

And they kind of, you know, figured it out. I mean, when you think about how they started the season in the first month, I mean, they're, as we point out so many times, they're better than 10 games above 500. They have played better than 10 games above 500 since then. But, you know, then they just kind of, you know, have that little low. Then they have the brain farts. And it's like, why? And they're starting to do that thing then they just kind of have that little low. The brain farts. And it's like, why?

And they're starting to do that thing where they just back their way into the playoffs again. I promise you, I promise you, it doesn't have to be this way. It doesn't have to be this way. Just go beat the Giants. Get up freaking five games in the wild card and go do it i'm so i'm so sick and tired of it it's it's it's like it's it's it's draining it's literally draining it is and i love it like don't take this as i i love it and it's just like i don't know how you know when people say

baseball is boring it's like crazy it's like, how do you think that? Like, honestly, I was thinking about this over the weekend. Like, football's boring. Like, football to me is so boring compared to the intensity of pitch to pitch. And if you're invested in pitch to pitch, I don't know how you don't have the, like, angst. Like, I've explained this before on this podcast i think but like i'm the most positive phillies fan in the world yep except when the game's on like like

when the game's on i'm like they're gonna screw this up no one's gonna blow this they're not gonna get out of this ending like i was in a james a dark spot on before the cassiananos home run. I believe it. Like, I text... So, I guess Franski was talking to someone here, Mike Angelina, and he's like, I think everyone is just convinced that I'm going to... Like, I don't handle losing well, which I think is obvious. I wonder where they got that from. I guess he's, like, talking about how's Fritz holding up or whatever.

And Mike's like, yeah, he's doing all right. He's like, yep, old steady Fritz. And then I texted him. I was like, they're testing steady Fritz. And then the next pitch was the Cassianos home run. And he's like, ah, what are you worried about? And then Ruben came out today after your show. And he was like, you nervous?

I know. That's good. Like people, you are like the Phillies fan. You're like the avatar for all Phillies fans. Yeah. And it's very clear when I come in and you nervous? I know. That's good. Like people, people, you are like the Phillies fan. But it's just. You're like the avatar for all Phillies fans. Yeah. And it's very clear when I come in and you're happy, the Phillies are playing well. When I come in here upset, it's because they're playing horrible.

Like it just. Your whole personality is based on the Phillies. They are. They control my life. I know. They control. I can't go outside in the game because then I'm going to be checking Twitter and they get text messages.

Like they just. So it's, it's, it's draining. It's draining. It's draining. You're giving a lot to this team. I can't go outside in the game because then I'm going to be checking Twitter and get text messages. So it's draining. It's draining. It's draining. It's a lot. You're giving a lot to this team. If only they would give it back to you, Jack. But I love them. I love them.

That is not in question. I think we know that. Just turn it. Just figure it out.