High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - How Do We Talk About A Good Team?

Episode Date: May 13, 2024

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz react to the Phillies series against the Marlins over the weekend and look ahead to four straight games against the New York Mets. 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. This is the High Hopes Podcast. High hopes! It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Phillies on Odyssey and Sports Radio 94. WIP. Yo.

It is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast, sponsored by Miller Lite, official sponsor of the Philadelphia Phillies. Tastes like Miller time. Philadelphia, celebrate responsibly. Jack, we're going to talk Phillies. We're going to talk about the weekend. Classic Sunday loss before a pod, you know.

Should have seen it coming. But let's not bury the lead, my friend. Speaking of Miller Lite, High Hopes Watch Party number two. This week, my friend, we are going to be in, you're damn right, buddy, Philadelphia this week. We're going to be at O'Neill's Pub off South Street. It's going to be a Phillies-Mets watch party. It's going to be a blast. You can test your Phillies knowledge.

I'm going to have all kinds of Phillies trivia questions to win swag, and Phillies tickets will be on the line as well. And, of course, cheer on the Fightin's $3.75 Miller Lite Pints, 22-ounce live drafts for only $5. It's going to be a blast. Miller Lites for Phil's win. Celebrate responsibly. Fritzy, we're hanging.

How you doing, pal? Yeah, the trivia stuff really worked well last time, so it'll be fun to do that again in the city of Philadelphia. So we're actually in the city this time. Damn straight we are, buddy. No excuses. That's right. Play like a champ.

That's right. Show up is what we're saying. We're not asking a lot of you. We do these four times, five times a year, and we're like, hey, just drop what you're doing and coming out with us, okay? Plus, we get to see Taiwan. Well, that's the real sell. I was going to not say that.

Yeah, last time it was Ranger. This time it's Taiwan. Former team revenge game for Taiwan. Christian Scott on the mound for the Mets, which is kind of fun. Yeah time it's Taiwan. Former team revenge game for Taiwan. Christian Scott on the mound for the Mets, which is kind of fun. Yeah, he's fun. He's good. But no, Taiwan's been all right. Taiwan has not sucked, man.

Taiwan has absolutely not sucked. We'll hit the party again on the way out, but definitely coming out is going to be awesome. Let's get to the weekend. Yeah. How are you doing, by the way? You all right? I'm good. Yeah, I'm good.

I feel like you have a little stress this morning. You get that look on your face. Yeah, I'm good. I feel like you have a little stress this morning. You kind of get that look on your face. No, I'm good. But, yeah, so obviously heading into yesterday because Saturday they played well and won. And Friday and Saturday just handled business. Just going down there. Casties hitting bombs. They're just taking care of it.

There's a couple things I feel. One, it's like this team's a wagon, obviously. Just a wagon. Just really good. Just a really good baseball team. Really good team, yeah. But then there's this whole other voice in my head like, is this going to be the year everyone gets hurt?

It is a little annoying. He's like, Schwarfer and JT, Trey's already out. It's like, enough. Well, and then when Harper was moving his back around, he pulled something. I was like, are you kidding me? I know. So I'm good.

I thought the Lone Depot Park slash Marlins Park stench, I guess, had been removed. And it's still a little bit there. Like Wheeler just turns in his worst outing of the year. Unbelievable. All right, so hold on. I want to ask you about that right away. The Wheeler thing, because, you know, ever since the, you know,

yesterday we've seen all the stats. Everyone's put it out. Like it's like a 2-9-1 ERA in games he's thrown to JT Romito. Like a 6-9 or something with Stubbs. Is it as simple as that? Is it just that? Well, it seems like Zach Wheeler... It seems like it's a thing,

right? It seems like Zach Wheeler is a real creature of habit. Yeah, well we see that with the five days, you know, the regular rest thing. Like a real creature of habit. So, well, we see that with the five-day, you know, the regular rest thing. Like a real creature of habit. So, maybe he just has a lot of comfortability throwing the JT, and he was not used to throwing

the stubs. That seems like excuse making. It seems crazy that it would be that, especially that drastic, like a four-run difference in your game, right? Well, it's also probably a really small sample. It's a super, he has not pitched his stubs very often. I don't remember very many of those. Honestly, I was wondering if it was the first time.

Yeah. Apparently it wasn't. It apparently was not. So, yeah, it's hopefully just a one-game thing, and JT's back in it tonight because a week of Garrett Stubbs would be a lot in my eyes. Yeah, I love Stubbsy, but it is. And look, to be fair, JT's been really good this year

on both sides of the ball, so to speak. But it is such a stark drop-off. Even just forgetting the bat, which is, you know, light years better. Oh, yeah, it's not even close. I mean, just watching the way, I mean, how JT catches a game compared. I mean, he's better at everything. Obviously throwing, but the framing, that clearly calling game, the whole thing. Like, I love Stubbsy, but it just looks different when he's back there.

Yeah, it's not even the same ballpark. Yeah, exactly. But that's all right. Stubbs is very important to the ball club. We love him. A perfect backup catcher, but he can't be more than a backup catcher. We don't need this to be a lingering injury. Exactly correct.

We don't need this to turn into anything more than, hey, he just had to miss a day with a little bit of a sore neck. And honestly, it's one of those things where normally it'd be like, oh, just a day off for a catcher, no big deal. But since it's JT and he never has this happen, you're like, oh, what's going on? Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So, yeah, it was a good weekend.

I mean, there's not much more else to say. Like, they're just... I mean, run differential-wise, they kicked ass. Yeah. That's all that matters. Go on. That's all that matters. So, I just... I'm impressed with their ability to just go out there and take care of business.

And that's not been something that this team has traditionally done very well the last couple of years. Like I just, we've seen them play down a competition so often. It's like refreshing and weird to watch this team just go out and be like, you know what? I get there's 5,000 people in the ballpark. We're just way better than you guys. We're going to show up. We're not even going to lay down. And I think that shows the makeup of the team

that they're not going to lay down. They're just going to go out there and handle business. And even yesterday, they didn't. Yesterday, you're down 6-3. You're like, all right. You won two. Kyle, let's get on the plane and get out of here. We're going to New York.

We're not even going to home. Let's get out of here. And they fought. They fought back. And a lot of the depth guys are doing their New York. We're not even going to home. Let's get out of here. And they fought. They fought back. And a lot of the depth guys are doing their jobs. I think Mundo's been really good. Mundo's been borderline great for what he is.

He's been really, really good. Witt's been fine. He's had a couple bad luck too where he smokes it, but it's right at a guy. I know. Which has to be frustrating for him given that his average is like 230 and he's traditionally a close to 300 guy. I know. So I just yeah, I think that they just go out,

they take care of business, they're doing their jobs, and it shows, like this is what I think we wanted to see when all offseason it was they're running the same team back. Like we wanted to see a different level of locked in-ness for a team and showing that they have one goal in mind, and that is to win the World Series. Yeah, and honestly, it's important. It's the next step a team like this needs to take.

If they're going to be what we want them to be, what they want to be, what John Middleton talks about them being, and be a truly great team, obviously you have to win it all, but you also got to be a team that does it all year, that comes in and just handles business and doesn't do this thing where you get in this huge hole and then have to fight your way out of it and all that. Like they are taking that next step as a team where it's like, yeah, that's what great teams do. And this whole like they're only playing bad teams.

Guess what, man? Most teams in Major League Baseball are bad. Certainly the National League. There's only five teams above 500 in the National League or whatever it is. So like to Jack's point, the last few years, even when they got hot at the end or whatever, the Phillies have not just handled teams they're

supposed to handle consistently. Sweeping teams. I know they didn't in Miami, but up until then, they have been. Two of three has not been good enough. And it almost wasn't in this series, too. The mentality of sweeping, the whole thing, it's exactly what we wanted to see coming in and it's you can only play you could play man and and they're whooping

up on teams too that is where the run differential comes in yeah totally and like again and i am really bad at living in the moment we know buddy really bad we know we know you know as as uh you'll tell us about seven guys who are going to be on the team in five years at the end of the pod. Exactly. They got to get it done. It's early. They've obviously been dealing with some injuries.

They've been beating up on bad teams. But the only thing that matters, they're going to make the playoffs. That's not a concern here. Winning the division, you could debate if it matters or not. Look, if they're going to play to a 95 to 100 win season, I mean, it doesn't matter. It matters, you know, home field, whatever. But in terms of seeing what we wanted from the team,

I wanted to see that, and they have to sustain it, but I wanted to see them be a great regular season team, hopefully win the division, but they're already doing what we needed them to do. Exactly. And it would really suck. It would really suck the one time they win the division. Of course.

And they don't. Yeah, of course. The reverse, like if the reverse happened. Yeah. I thought about all the negative outcomes. Who hasn't? Yeah, I thought about all the negative outcomes. I'm thinking about them less than you, I think is the.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, like, I just, like, I, we've talked in this podcast, I'm thinking about them less than you. We've talked in this podcast, we've talked on WIP about how I look to always protect the team. I don't want the expectations to get too high because I know what their reaction is if they don't meet expectations. It's harsh, everyone sucks, fire everyone.

They're 28-13 in Topper. It's like every game where there's any sort of decision that people don't agree with. And look, I think you agree. I think you might have tweeted it, but we both agree. I know I do. Why is Turma only pitching an inning? It makes no sense.

The whole point of him in that game is let the dude roll for a bit. Especially when you don't have to win that game. That's my point. And you have a full week of baseball this week. You've got seven straight games. So there are things you can point to, but it is wild how people are like, I saw some vitriol at top. They're 2013, you know?

I think what people just miss, and I don't understand how they – it must be people just don't pay attention. I think that has to be what it is. What he brings from a locker room standpoint is – could you imagine if they fired Rob Thompson? No. That team would riot. Like, I know they won't do it,

but these people are like, you got to get him out of there before the play. It's a very vocal minority. They get fired up about every little thing. And yeah, I would have pitched Turnbull the whole game yesterday. I just would have left him until the game was done. Either way, he'd lose with Turnbull, though. Like, boom.

I didn't need that win yesterday. It would have been nice. And Thompson managed it really aggressively. He did. Like, really aggressively. Like, shockingly aggressive. The seventh inning, Alvarado coming into phase 3, 4, 5. I know.

He was not messing around at all. He thought it was game seven. I know. Well, especially because Alvarado pitched Friday. Yeah. In an 8-2 game, no less. In an 8-2 game. Yeah.

Which is fine if he has to get work. He needed work. Yeah, that's fine. But then strong back-to-back games, Hoffman back-to-back games, which means tonight they probably can't go. I know. And yeah, exactly.

I mean, thank God you got Ranger on the whole night, so you might not even need anybody. But yeah, it was a little perplexing. Chris Sanchez on the whole night. Oh, it's Sanchez. Yes, you're right. Ranger pitched Friday. I was like, what are you doing?

It's because of the Wheeler. Wheeler, you know, yeah, it would be Nola anyway. So it's a bad job. Nola tomorrow. Nola tomorrow. Rumius, Ranger, fight that. That's even better. That's Friday. I was like, what are you doing? It's because of the wheeler. Wheeler, you know. Yeah, it would be NOLA anyway. So it's a bad job. NOLA tomorrow. NOLA tomorrow. Roomless Ranger by day. That's even better. That's great.

Great. Rain out. Ooh, rain out. Give me a rain out. Is it supposed to rain? No. I don't know. I just want a ranger.

You rooting for a rain delay or rain car. You're right. That is actually speaking on both sides of my mouth. Yeah, what are you doing? There's nothing I want more than to never have a game go later than it's supposed to. Ever, ever, ever. So why don't you calm down? That's a to ever ever ever so why don't you calm down point by you stay away but like the yeah the because i get a lot of thompson people in my in my mentions and it's like i just i don't get it like sure is there some i don't think like i don't think he makes decisions willy-nilly

no i don't think there's process there's thoughtnilly. No. I think there's process, there's thought, all that. Yeah, and ultimately, you make bullpen decisions, they're a coin flip. You know, they're a coin flip, whether or not they're going to work out. It kind of is. It's the nature of the sport. So, from what he brings for this and having the right feel for the team, look at what Cassianos is doing now. Dude, I'm going to get there.

I think he knew that, hey, if I sit him that good. If I just stick with this guy. Just stick with him. And does it burn him in some instances in the postseason in big moments? Well, that's the issue. It does. It does. But when it comes to managing a clubhouse and managing a team,

I think he's brilliant at it. I think he's putting Tywon Walker back in the rotation and leaving no doubt, like, we're going to stick with you. We believe in you. I think that's big for Tywon Walker's mentality. There's a lot of instances where now people will argue, well, what about Marsh and Stott? And yeah, the Stott thing's annoying.

I love Brandon Marsh. He's batting 133 against lefties. 133 against lefties and also he's just been bad since the hot start. Do you know, Joe brought this up on the air today. I didn't realize what it had gotten to. Do you know what Brandon Marsh's on-base percentage is right now? Yeah, it's what, 288?

288, dude! Like, 288! So, yeah, Brandon Marsh probably shouldn't play every day, and certainly not against tough lefties. And it's a 167 slug against lefties. That's really hard to do. Which is really low. It's really tough, man.

It's really low. So, yeah, I just, you know, I think he's got a really good feel for this ball club. And they've responded. There's no question. The way they talk about him, too. The way they've come out to start the season. I mean, 20 and 13.

Yes! What are we complaining about here? I don't understand. Yeah, I know. The message got through. They're off to start the season. I mean, 20 and 13 after... What are we complaining about here? I don't understand. Yeah, I know. The message got through. They're off to a hot start.

They're playing bad teams. I get it, but they're good. Especially with Topper. Like, we can't be doing this in May and in April and whatnot.

Like, if we get to October and he does the same thing with a Kimbrel-type decision where the entire fan base is saying, you can't do this, and he does it and it fails then we can have a discussion right then we can say all right this he did it again this exact same thing in a big spot like during the regular season this guy is shown he clearly knows how to manage this and you know he reminds me of a lot

and obviously he's not there as you know one of the great managers of our lifetime but he's got a lot of Joe Torre in him it feels like and it makes sense i mean you know he learned that at his feet in a lot of ways but it does feel like that kind of guy who where you know tory was always like well you know what's tory's not some tactical genius he's not this he's not what he was the best probably in our lifetime at was taking a group of personalities getting them all to work together and and creating this winning culture and it seems like topper likeper, that is what he is best at. Yeah, 100%. He is 100% best at knowing the ball club, knowing the team.

And that matters over 162. It's a long freaking season. It does. Now, the players got to show up in the postseason because there might be some things that come back to backfire. But also, I mean, look at, they've lost, what, two games since Trey's gone down? They're doing a lot of injuries right now. That is pretty crazy when you put it like that.

Like they've lost two games since their $300 million guy went down. Yeah, and you look at the lineup and people question it every single day. They've produced. They just keep winning. They've produced. Chris Boyd and Pache have three hits the other day, right? Yeah, well, Roas. Yeah, Roas has been good.

Roas has been fine. He's been fine. He hasn't been like, I mean, his average after Friday night, I think,, well, Rojas. Yeah, Rojas has been good. Rojas has been fine. Yeah. He's been fine. He hasn't been like, I mean, his average after Friday night, I think, got up to 234. Yeah. And he started

to hit the ball hard. I mean, the hardest hit ball of his career on Friday, he hit the home run and he had a single late that was 99 miles an hour. He smoked the ball Saturday.

I didn't know he could hit a ball that hard. I mean, if you told me that. Dude, if you told me that through the first month and a half of the season that Yohan Rojas was hitting like 235 with two home runs. I would have said thank you.

Yeah. It's great. And it's so funny. It's so funny because I do the same thing too. I'm sure everyone does. Like when he misses a ball. Oh, everyone does. It's honestly shocking every time.

But at the same time, it's like most other outfielders don't even get to the same stratosphere. Yes, they're like diving and missing where he just misses it, but he's there. Exactly right. Exactly. And people are like, wow, is his defense actually overrated? I know that. Look how far he had to go to get that.

What are you talking about? I know. It's so annoying. Let's get to the Cassie thing, though, and then we'll get back to the pitching. But, like, credit to Topper for sticking with him. We were all sitting here like, just a day off maybe. Well, he respects the Ripken streak.

That's right. By the way, speaking of the Ripken streak, I saw a really fun stat just to put it into perspective. Did you know that Ripken played 2,652 games in a row, I believe it was? Do you know there are no players in baseball who have played that many games in their career? Really? Isn't that wild? Wow. Miguel Cabrera was baseball who have played that many games in their career? Really? Isn't that wild?

Wow. Miguel Cabrera was the only one, and he retired. Isn't that crazy? Wow. Anyway. He's crazy. What a streak. It's going to be amazing when Castellanos breaks it.

I know. Emotional moment. The Cassie thing. Like, look, is it as simple as he's just going to be super hot and cold, and that's who he – yeah, I think – right? I mean, when he gets hot, he can hit, man. I mean, like, he gets on runs. Well, it was funny. The first three at-b like, he gets on runs. Well, it was funny.

The first three at-bats, he saw three pitches. Yeah, you're right. Yeah. Like, and he said it on Friday. He's like, I'm not thinking at all. Oh, I know. He's just attacking. He's just like, see ball, hit ball.

Yeah. To be fair, though, he has done better at holding up. Like, you know, it's all come together. It's not just that he's hitting better. Like, he has looked better at the plays. He's had a better approach to the whole thing. Yeah, and this is always going to happen. It's so funny to talk about implementing a new system in baseball

because it's not football. It's not basketball. But implementing, I guess, the idea of not chasing and working and focusing so much that some guys just aren't going to adjust to it. Some guys are who they are. Nick Castellanos is not going to turn into a 400 OBP guy with a Juan Soto eye. Just is what it is. It's who you sign.

You sign a guy that is up and down, really hot, really cold. I mean, his month last year, he had like a 497 OPS in June or something. I know. You know, he's just an up and down, hot and cold guy. And it's good to see that. I think what's been nice about this, obviously, it's not going to last forever. But at least it shows that there's still stuff in the tank.

Yeah, that he's not a useless player on your team that he can at least contribute. Because that's what I was worried about. That's what we all were worried about. It was like, oh, and look, it does feel like it's going to happen to Nick at some point. He's just going to lose it. He's not going to be able to have those hot streaks.

That's the way it feels like it's going to happen to Nick at some point. Like he's just going to lose it, and he's not going to be able to have those hot streaks. Like that's the way it feels like it's trending, but it was nice to see that he still could, you know, go on a little bit of a streak here. Yeah, especially in Miami. The sad part is he's batting 209, and I'm like, he's batting 209! He's hot! Well, and my biggest fear, and man, I just don't remember. It felt like in 2022 he never got a hit.

Literally. Like after the first month, he was like solid to start. Remember, he was pretty good. And then. It felt like he never got a hit. He didn't hit a homer from what was it? Like May on or whatever. It was something that wasn't quite that long.

It was a long time. Yeah. Like this weekend, I was like, oh, there it is. There's still something in there. So, yeah, i think a lot of that is credit to obviously rob thompson saying okay i i i trust you enough you're one of our big big guns like we we're not gonna i'm not gonna bury you and he's put him in the four spot a lot i know which is which is interesting interesting is a word interesting is a word yeah and i just

it's it's good to see signs of life. The other guy that is showing like, like, all right. What do you guess? I can't wait to see. What do you guess that Bryson Stott's average is? Oh, it's probably pretty low, I guess. 238. Bryson Stott is batting 270. Really?

Yeah. What? Yeah. What? Yeah. What? Do you know what his OBP is? Give it a guess. What do you think his OBP is? Well, now I would guess something different.

I would have probably guessed 270 or 280 before, but I guess like 305. 370. Hold up. Hold up. Yeah. Hold up a second. What? He was on base five times yesterday.

Bryson Stott has a 370 on base? Seriously? You want to know his OPSs? Sure. Why not? Essentially 800. How? 796.

Honestly, this is as shocked as I've been about anything we've talked about. Like, what? Yeah. So he hasn't sucked? Well, he was definitely down for a while. He's been up a fair amount. I mean, it's felt like, anecdotally, it's felt like he's been much better recently. But I would never have guessed that his numbers had gotten that.

370 OBP, dude. Dude, I know. That's great. I can't believe it. I know. Well, yeah, so his last... I'm like Florida. I know. His last 11 games, he's batting 412. So that helps. But it does feel like it.

With a 1300 OPS. There you go. There you go. No, but that's a big one. Oh, it's huge. And it's such a baseball thing where it's like, oh, Marsh is the best. If the season stopped the first month of the year, Stott sucks, Marsh is great. Totally.

Boehm not great. And then Boehm gets super hot. Totally. And it's just just it's so baseball that stott is now like back to being bryson stott but no one's talking about it meanwhile people are freaking out every time marsh is not in the lineup such a great point man you're so right it's so baseball it really is the most baseball thing it's been great oh are you sure about that you know yeah you're so right and marsh will be fine again because all these guys like

the nice part about where we're at with this baseball team is that we just know all these guys so well. Even with Castellanos, it was like, yeah, but he's probably going to heat up. Marsh, he's going to be hot, and then he's going to be hovering around like 250. The OBP is really low. Too low.

Yeah, he was good to OBP. Dude, last year there was an argument to make him the leadoff hitter last year if Schwarber struggled there. But it's just, we know these guys. Like Nola will drive us nuts. Nola will have his starts where he goes full five and allows five and it's like, damn it. There he is. And you can see it immediately.

He just doesn't have it. Yeah. Not often you see that with Zach Wheeler, but we've experienced it. It, damn it. You know, there he is. And you can see it immediately. He just doesn't have it. Yeah. Not often you see that with Zach Wheeler, but we experienced it. It felt very strange, yes. Well, because the first inning was nine pitches. Like nothing. Yeah, exactly.

And it was like, okay, well, this is obviously a seven inning, one hit, shutout. Plus, it was on top of the three-run homer, too, so you're like extra. You're sitting there three-nothing, nine pitches. You're like, oh, today's going to be one of those days.

It was great. He was shook by having that big of a lead. It was like, what? Three runs? What? That's too much. I'm not allowed that, guys. Come on.

Go out there and be feeble. Yes. You don't do this for me. By the way. Talking about creature of habit. He just didn't know what to do. Exactly. By the way.

Dude, who do I have to bribe in Major League Baseball? There's a lot of talk of collusion. Really? Is that a thing that's been talked about? Can we just collude against Josh Bell? It is unbelievable how... It's sickening. Yeah, it really is. He's got a career 926 OPS against the Phillies.

He's replacement level. I know. He's been replacement level for... Think about it this way. Every time we see Josh Bell, he's on a different team. Every year, it's like, oh, now he's a Padre. Now he's a Marlin. And he kills the Phillies on the net. That's my point. It doesn't matter where he is.

His game two home run against Nola in the NLCS in 2022. It's like, it's just, it's a joke. Yeah. It's a joke. The Josh Bell thing is a joke, man. It's pretty wild, actually. So if you're an all-time Phillies killer, he's the first baseman, right? Like, can we make him the first?

I think he has to be at this point. Ryan Braun's in left field. Ryan Braun is batting cleanup in left field. Is the third baseman Conine or Chipper? Phillies killer's more fun if it's Conine. But you could put Conine in the outfield too if you needed to. I got Braun in left.

Yeah, you're right. Conine's not playing center. That's true. It's just, it's awful. Yeah, it is. It's unbelievable. And McCann's the catcher. 100%. Yeah. Oh, God.

Very heavy. That guy's not major league baseball. Life's in the line. Life's in the line. Yes, love this. Won it back. Game seven World Series. You see Josh Bell coming up.

I just killed myself. Yeah, I'm done. Or prime Freddie Freeman. I mean, honestly, either or. I feel like it's the same person, essentially. If they're playing the Phillies, same person. Yeah. Though Freddie kills us, too.

He's got the double. You know, you probably go Freddie there. Yeah, Freddie, there's no doubt about it. He's working like an eight-pitch at bat. Yeah, oh, without a doubt. And ripping a double. Yep, that's exactly right. Not a home run.

Nope. A back-breaking double. Yep, back-breaking double. 100%. Yeah, that's exactly right. Dodgers, by the way. Dodgers- double. Yep, back-breaking double. 100%. Yeah, that's exactly right. Dodgers, by the way. Dodgers-ing. Turns out they're pretty good.

Turns out they're okay. Turns out they're pretty good. Turns out Shohei, when he's just focusing on hitting, not too bad. He might win the MVP. Wouldn't that be something? Wouldn't that be something? 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. All right, the injuries. I want to get to pitching, but are you at all – like we joked about the JT thing, but, you know, it seems like both on Schwarber and JT that Topper has been very, you know, no big deal with it all. Are you at all concerned about either i mean no but always yes if that makes any sense like i just everything's been going so well i know

and it's like what's gonna what's what's the story gonna be this year and i guess i don't if it has to happen now, it has to happen now. As long as it's. Oh, totally. I mean, yeah, we'll definitely take it now. Yeah. I just,

Schwarber thing worries me. I'm more worried about Schwarber than JT. The back, he's not the most fleet of foot. Yes. It's not like he's like in perfect shape,

so to speak. Oh, there's been talk of a six pack. Yeah, okay. There's been talk of it. Big core guy. So yeah, I just, yeah,

the Schwarward thing definitely concerns me especially from i mean again his main trade is power yeah like we can that's the issue we want that torque in that you know we can't have his powers at no that's not a great it takes a shine off the singles thing is fun but like you know yeah he's got to pick up from them in the home run department jt i'm fine like jt jt will be fine and he'll play through whatever yeah to make sure i feel like he could be you know it's like that iverson back in the day when you know they used to show the image of him and add like the injuries all over his body like the whole body was on fire that's like jt i mean the harper one actually i i don't buy like like he said he slipped on sat. Okay. Yeah, I don't believe that for a second.

Okay, Bryce. And his at-bats after that were just horrible. Were horrible. Now he ripped one in the ninth, which is good to see. It was just right at a guy. I would put any Bryce concern ahead of JT. Well, yeah. I just, come on, man.

Here's what I don't need. I don't need the Harper back turning into the Utley knees. Oh, my God, dude. We shouldn't have even said that out loud. You know? Well, it's just so hard not to. I know. No backs.

Yeah. There's a lot of back things this week. I know. Too much backs. Too much backs. Yeah. Enough back. Yeah.

Just the back. Let's get off our back. How about that? Exactly. See what I'm saying there? That's why he's playing all these guys. By the way, I mean, it is a good... It is a good... They're definitely... I feel like load managing this a little bit. Yes. Of course they are. Very clearly. And people are like, well,

Riley, Albies, and Cunha, they play every game. They've gone home early. Yeah. The last two postseasons. Yeah, that's a good point. So you can run them into the ground all you want. Austin Riley hurt, by the way, too. Olsen off to a really slow start.

Yeah. Slowly heating up. I don't know. He's killing my fantasy team. Single-handedly. That's tough, buddy. Everyone feels for you. I might be okay with your fantasy team going down in that case.

All right, we'll get to Taiwan. But shout out to our Miller Lite account of the week, McSorley's Alehouse. I love McSorley's Alehouse. Today's show is sponsored by Miller Lite and McSorley's Alehouse and Havertown. Check out McSorley's for every Phillies game and enjoy Miller Lite buckets of five for $12. That's a great deal along with pizza, wings, combo,

with the mango habanero or homemade dry rub. Both sound awesome. Miller lights for Phil's win. Celebrate responsibly. All right, Taiwan, buddy. How about it? We did our whole take your time Taiwan thing, and it's the Marlins. I get it.

But it's been three straight good starts. Really solid. Other than that one blow up in San Diego when I thought he shouldn't have left him in, whatever, the whole thing, he's been really freaking solid, man. I think if you take out the seventh innings in those two starts, his ERA's in like the two fives. Yeah, other than that, he's been really good. He's been fine.

Yeah, he's been fine. He's been efficient. Throwing strikes. There's been some hard hit balls. A couple hard hit balls. And Cassiano, I mean, if that's at Citizens Bank Park, it's a four-row sweep. That was as shocking a catch as we've had all season.

I thought Nick had a 0% chance to catch that one. Dude, that ballpark is just huge. It's not pleasing to the eye. Why would you make a ballpark that big? People want home runs, okay? No doubt. People want offense. It doesn't have to be a band box.

It doesn't have to be. CDP, I think, is actually pretty neutral. I think it's the right size. Yeah, exactly. What's the appeal here? What's the appeal? Everything they do is wrong, Doug. I know.

It's unbelievable. It's everything. It's everything. It's like, you know what I can't understand as an owner? It's like, I own a baseball team. I own a sports team. But I'm not going to invest in it so that no one shows up. Like, who's winning? Buddy it's just it just makes no sense well i'm sure the bottom line i'm sure

they make money well they of course they make money like they make money because that's all they care about because they don't spend money and they get their revenue sharing and blah blah again then what's the point of owning the team bro i know you know this is one of my passion things like i it drives me crazy. Money. The point is money. I know. To answer your question, though, it's money and nothing else.

You're not going to build a fan base with a team that every time you make the playoffs is going to suck the... Preach, buddy. Preach. It's just crazy to me. What's the point? I know. Whatever. I know.

I know. Whatever. I guess it really is just hitting me as I've reached 30. Welcome aboard. As I'm watching this. Welcome aboard. You know me. Whatever. I know. Whatever. I guess it really is just hitting me as I've reached 30. Welcome aboard. As I'm watching this. Welcome aboard. You know me. Yes.

You think of business, you think of me. One of the great business minds of our time. Yeah. The Carnegie? The Rockefeller. Same thing. Both the same. They have the same idea for either or.

Yeah. Same general thing. Yeah. Just rich guy. The Titans. Yeah. That the same. They have the same idea for either or. Yeah. Same general thing. Yeah, just rich guys. The Titans. The Titans, yes. Yeah, that's right. It just makes no sense. No one's in your ballpark.

Congratulations on owning a team. Just spend some money and get some good players, and then more people will show up. It seems like a not bad plan. But yeah, Tywin. And listen, they won an $18 million a year pitcher. Tywin Walker. Oh, there you go. It's called getting a star. You're going to spend a little money. Yeah, but Tywin, and listen, they won an $18 million a year pitcher. Tywin Walker. Oh, there you go.

It's called getting a start. Spent a little money. Yeah, but Tywin's been fine. He's got that little, I like that little two-seamer he's got going on inside the lefties. That's been fun. Cutter seems like it's doing pretty well. I don't know. He's your number five.

Yeah. Fine is number five. He's taken down innings, and that's all that matters. He's been exactly what you want from him. It's fine. And look, to the whole, the turnbull thing all that this and that and obviously we've made our our feelings on that known it's never bad to have arms man like over 162 games the more dudes you can go out who can go out and give you five or six i was about to say quality but even uh acceptable innings, that matters. That really matters. Taiwan coming back and pitching well matters.

I will say the results have been good. It is unbelievable people don't hit him. I watch him pitch, and every pitch I feel like it's just going to get pulverized. I know. And it doesn't for the most part. I know. It's just we know how to pitch like that. That's right.

It's guts and guile, buddy. Add another guy to the staff that knows that. Greg Maddux, eat your heart out. It is funny, man. You know, we know the classic number fives that have been around forever, like Aaron Harangs and whatnot. Like, Ty one's better than that. That's my favorite.

Sure. Yeah, I like that. That's good. Yeah. Yeah, he's fine. Again, they're just, everything's fine. Besides the injuries. Besides the injuries, bullpen's fine.

Match drawn, by the way, there's not a lot of runs. Since opening day. Since opening day. Dude has been nails. Gregory Soto? Less nails. Not so much. Not so much.

He's not bad. I just never trust him. He's just inconsistent. He's unreliable. It's exactly right. He's unreliable like it's exactly right he's unreliable is where it comes to my you he could go out and pitch as good an inning as anyone in the bullpen you'd be like wow that was nasty look at that and then he can go out and and walk three guys in a row like it's just you don't have any idea what he's going to be

from from outing thatting yeah that's that's concerning especially if we're talking about you know when the games really matter a lot more. Yeah. Yeah. But he's in third left, the other bullpen. Yada, yada, yada. It's fine. They need one more guy. Look, that's what we're heading towards. And you talked about this earlier, and this is the most excited, and I know we're still a couple months out,

but I'm most excited I've been for a trade deadline because theoretically, assuming they sustain. Hold on, man. You mocked me. You mocked me for being all in on the trade deadline. You got me going now because this is it, dude. Like, we got the team. Add, win. Let's freaking make this happen.

That's how I feel. Go get Mason Miller. Go get him. Nah, I mean, like... Untouchable, I'm guessing. Well... No, they're the A's. Everyone's touchable.

They're the A's. Rosenthal stays available. Of course he is. John Fisher's the owner. The asking price is... He's got six years of control left stays available. Of course he is. John Fisher's the owner. The asking price is, he's got six years of control left. Anyone but Aiden. Like,

if they traded in Miller, I would be beside myself. You'd be sad. Yeah, I'd be down. I'd be down. I don't know if, they probably won't get him,

but man. Well, there's a lot of interesting variety options out there. I mean, like. And that's what they... I think that would you say, as of today, I know we've talked about

a right-handed bat, we've talked about certain things, but if you had to pick, I can get one thing no matter what, other than, you know, you always want to... If you can get an ace starter, you'll take it. You know what I mean? But the point being, the biggest need for this team in your eyes is another right-handed bat. Yeah, I agree. One more big-ass arm. Dude. Yeah.

I agree. And Michael Kovac. Sure. I like that. I like that it's arm. Dude. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. And Michael Kovac. Sure. I like that it's and Michael Kovac. You can't count on him, but the stuff's... Yeah, there's some righties that are intriguing that this team could really use. It's really going to come down to the Phillies and the Orioles. They both have the same need. Maybe the Orioles should assign Craig Gembrell.

Who would have thought? Who would have thunk it? Four blones. I'm shocked. I'm shocked that he has struggled. Who would have thought? Who would have thunk it? Four blokes? I'm shocked. I'm shocked that he has struggled. Who would have thought? Who would have thought? Come on, O's. The O's are too smart for them. Imagine if Felix Batista were just healthy. Oh my god.

I would love Phil's O's World Series. Oh, it would be great. 83 rematch. Almost the 40 year reunion. Yeah, it. Almost the 40 year reunion. Yeah, it'll be the 41 year reunion. Reunion? Yeah, anniversary.

Anniversary. That was anniversary. I mean, I guess they all showed up. Yeah, it'll be a reunion. They would have one. They'd bring some players back I'm sure.

Bring them all back. Bring them all back. But yeah, it might be a two horse race for Phillies and Orioles like for the best right-handed relieving option out there.

Well, at least they don't have like a robust farm system from which to deal players. Yeah, it's a joke. It is a joke. They're good. They're really good. Because like you look at the right-handed options of the bullpen right now. Hoffman, lockdown.

Stud. Trust Hoffman with my life. I think you could very clearly say Alvarado, Hoffman, and Strom, a cut above. Those are your three... If you have to pick three innings, get nine outs to save your life, and you have to pick a different guy for each inning, those are your dudes and your set.

Yes. I'm still buying Sir Anthony. Slowly but surely. Look, Kirkering's good. They got dudes. I'm just saying those three are like a cut above Kirkering I still don't Totally trust yet I think it comes down

To that fastball Like it just He throws the sweeper So much I know He just throws it so much I know It's so strange

And hitters are gonna hit it They're gonna hit it But I think he's He looked like He looked like The other day When he pitched I saw more

Two seam run on it Which is good Cause he needs that Yeah cause it doesn't Have a lot of life It can't be It can't be flat. It's fast, but it doesn't hop. Hitters hit flat fastballs.

It doesn't matter how hard they throw. It's exactly right, and that's why Zach Wheeler doesn't have to throw 100 but can throw in the mid-90s, but there's so much life on that thing that it looks like it's 102. Yeah, baseball's weird, man. It's so weird. Some guys just have heavy fastballs. Yeah, or some guys like that

and he's not that great but the idea that the only reason Bailey Falter was successful was because it's such a late delivery and that that's what... There's so many

little things like that that just the deception, just how hard it is to see a ball out of a guy's hand can be something they can make a pitcher great. That kind of stuff

is so wild. It's baseball. It's baseball. It's the best. All right. Let's take back it. Well, I mean, we haven't really gushed about Rancher. It's a good point.

I mean, he's 7-0 with a 1.50 ERA and a.72 whip. And I think he's- Dude, like, seriously, there are only nine pitchers in the history of baseball who have done that, ever. Wow. For a season or just for a start? For through eight starts or whatever it is. Yeah, it's like, and it's like Warren Spahn.

It's like mostly Jay Garriotta was on there. But, you know, he had some good years. Well, he was the best pitcher in the sport for two years. It was mostly Hall of Famers on the list. Yeah, that's pretty good. I think he's – it seems like he's every Phillies fan's favorite Philly. Without a doubt. I mean, he's mine.

I freaking love the guy. Like, I love him. It's like Devontae on the Eagles. I feel like everyone's like – What a great comp, dude. What a doubt. I mean, he's mine. I freaking love the guy. I love him. It's like Devontae on the Eagles. What a great comp, dude. What a great comp. Yes. Devontae's my guy. Ranger's my guy. Universal approval. He's such a

pitcher's pitcher. The way he... I made the comp on the final out, but for me growing up, you'd have these... Your youth baseball coaches would be like, go home and watch J. Sutley. That's what a ball player is. A ball player.

That's just a ball player. You know what I mean? And I think Rangers got to that where it's like, if you are teaching young pitchers how to pitch pitch, and teach them, hey, you don't have to throw 91,

or you don't have to throw 100. For kids, you don't have to throw 90. Yeah.'t have to throw 100. For kids, you don't have to throw 90. Yeah. Listen, you don't throw 100, but you're close. But to be able to pitch the way he does, I mean, it's just masterpieces every single time out right now. I mean, the way he goes after righties is so fascinating. He gets 93 on the hands. He has the cutter that he can throw.

It's top of the zone. It's bottom of the zone. It's inside. It's outside. He gets 94, he gets 93 on the hands. He has the cutter that he can throw. It's top of the zone. It's bottom of the zone. It's inside. It's outside. He throws a curveball. There's multiple times in the game where he throws

a 59-foot curveball and they're swinging over it because they didn't see it coming. He is just so good. I'm so happy that now it seems like the rest of baseball

is kind of catching up even though I believe he's still like, well, no. He's still like seventh or eighth. I checked today. He was fifth. Oh, he went up? Okay. He's plus 900.

Which is still crazy, honestly. But he was like plus 2,000 before this last start or plus 1,800 or something like that. And Wheeler's still the frontrunner, which is nice. But, you know, we talked about like in fantasy community, Chris Sanchez, obviously the guy you want, not Ranger. You know, we talked about, like, in fantasy community, Chris Sanchez, obviously the guy you want, not Ranger. And for Phillies fans, that made no sense because of what Ranger's done in the postseason.

And now you're seeing it translate to the regular season. I just hope he can keep it up. I look forward to, like, I want them to sign him. I just wonder how much he's going to get now. Like, he might be pitching his way into a $100-plus million contract. I think he is. I mean, again, if he's like, and he's not going to get now. Like, he might be pitching his way into a $100-plus million contract. I think he is. I mean, again, if he keeps, like, and he's not going to most likely not go 30-0

with, like, a 1-5 ERA or whatever, but, like... But it is a little reminiscent of when Cliff Lee just popped. Totally. But my point is, is, like, if he just continues on any sort of semblance of the season he's having, yeah, absolutely,

he's going to get a ton of money and deserve it. And I would pay him. I feel better about paying him than I did that NOLA contract, and we were happy that happened. But, like, I would pay this dude. I think he's going to age great. And to your point, like, I can't remember where it came up, but the David Cohn quote came up recently, which is basically the best –

I'm paraphrasing, but the best weapon a pitcher can have is mystery. And that's Ranger, man. Like you were talking about, he's got so many different pitches that he can control and throw effectively that these guys have no idea what's coming at them. And you can see it. They look so off balance.

They look so uncomfortable in the box against him this year. It's been amazing. And I love the phrase, LA uses it a lot. You've heard it when like pitchers are really dealing, but it just looks like he's playing catch out there. And it does. Like it looks like he's just going out and just tossing the ball to jt no big deal and it ain't shut out like it's it's it has been it look it's one of the best months we month you know month and a half we've ever seen a phillies pitcher have i mean he has been unbelievable

so first three years of cliffley like when he started being a starter-starter, not like originally coming up, he had a 4-7-6 ERA. He had a year of 5-4, 3-7-9, 4-40. And he won the Cy Young. 6-2-9. He popped and won the Cy Young. Dude, he had a 6-29 ERA the year before he won the Cy Young. And then he just popped out of nowhere. Yeah, 2-5-4 ERA in 2008

with 22 wins and 3 losses. Yep. 22-3, wow. That's where it's trending. That's where it reminds me of. Yeah, that's exactly what it reminds me of. Not only just pitching-wise. Which is so, we've talked about it forever. It is wild.

Yeah. So I couldn't be happier, and he's such a treat to watch. And it's like, Rangers must see TV. Again, I can just hear WIP callers. Yeah, Ranger. Ranger. He knows how to pitch, man. He gets calls. Yeah, Ranger, man. He knows how to pitch, man. He gets it. He really does, though.

He does. You're so right, dude. I have not gotten this excited on a weekly basis for one pitcher's starts since like Doc maybe. And just right now in this moment, obviously Wheeler is Wheeler and all that, but in terms of just this run that he's on right now, I mean, again, he's 7-0 with 1-5-0 ERA. He is on a special, special run right now,

and to your point, it's not just the numbers. It's watching it every time because it is like eight shutout every time. It's like, no problem, man, and it's effortless. And it's like you look up in the sixth inning and is it 60 pitches and you're like again how how do you keep doing this it's uh you're right it's it's worth highlighting just how amazing he's been uh yes he's he's the best by the way 24 and 10 game started by taiwan in his two years is that that's what it's unbelievable he's three and oh right i'm i think he's three and oh it's what he does unbelievable just a winner winner man should he get should he get a post

season start no wonder they say it's to get spend 72 million on him money will spend well speaking of uh change the culture he did yeah speaking of uh ranger i had it in my take back but um like there was there was a video of him and six though talking on the field yesterday and it's just so crazy how different those guys are oh my god especially because you have five years ago if you're gonna bet your life on one of them every single phillies fan would have bet on six though you know and especially like every baseball person would have been on city yes he was viewed as the next patron yeah you know yeah pedro said it pedro's called him a mini me yeah it's crazy

and now it's like 6-0 struggling to stay on the Marlins roster and Rangers got a chance to win a Cy Young yeah

yeah baseball baseball man you're so right it's baseball I love it yeah the best

yeah so but trade for 6-0 bring them home just for the vibes yeah bring them back bring them back

bring them back alright I don't really have much much in the take back actually cause everything else we've kind of talked about The vibes. Yeah, bring them back. I like it. Bring them back. I like it. Bring them back. All right. I don't really have much in the take back, actually, because everything else we've kind of talked about. Light bag this week? Well, no. It's just Ranger versus 6-2, Marlins Park.

No, we just kind of got to it all. I'm kind of not terrified of Marlins Park now. I don't go down there. It's starting to change. It's starting to change. I think once they got rid of the monstrosity in center field. Oh, that thing was horrible. What was the point? I think it was supposed to be like art.

Honestly, I think the idea, you know, Miami is like huge with art scene, the art basil thing. Like they thought, I think they thought it was like cool and artistic and all that. And it was neither of those things. Bagels swing and a miss. Yeah. Yeah.

Which is ironic. Bagels. What it was meant for. Yeah. St old swing and a miss. Yeah, which is ironic. Big old swing and a miss. What it was meant for. Yeah, Stotts all of a sudden up 270. The Rojas drops, platooning Marsh. Look at us, just knocking it out. No Aiden Miller talk, home run. Well, he did home run again.

He did another home run. He's just. Well, he homered. He homered again, yes. In case you didn't notice. I think his OPS is like 950-ish on the year. Is that good? As a first-year player in low A.

I love it. It's not bad. It's not bad. It's pretty good. Untouchable. Are you worried about Boehm's hip at all? No. I was.

Like, when he sat out the game, I was like, eh. But then, you know, he hit a little bit this week. I wasn't like, he was great. But, you know, a couple doubles. He was ripping the ball. Not too worried. He looked good in the field. So not too worried.

I hope it doesn't turn into anything. He's 27. It better not. You know when, you know when that stuff starts hurting when you're 40, man, let me tell you.

Are you old? Yeah. You know what, you know how annoying it is to like take a nap and wake up and your entire body's stiff just because you're old.

It's great. It's really cool. That seems, I don't know if I'll ever get to that point. Oh yeah. That seems impossible. That shouldn't happen. All right, big dog. that shouldn't happen alright big dog

alright big dog that won't happen to me reminder and we will tweet it out tweet it out thank you Jack will tweet it I'll copy and paste what he puts and then basically put it in mine and tweet it out change like a word or two and I'll tweet it out also

but coming out with us Thursday night Philliesies-Mets 640 game, O'Neal's. It's right off 3rd and South. It's right in Center City, right down the Queens Village area there. I believe it's 611 South 3rd Street, so it's right at 3rd and South there. Awesome place. It is a dog-friendly bar. Okay. Bring a dog and go with that, which is always fun.

Hopefully it's warmer. Why is it in the 50s in May? Better question is, have you noticed how during the week it'll get warm and then every weekend now it's cold and rainy? It's like they don't care about us at all. It's a joke.

It's a joke. I could really use a nice little warm up here I think it's getting there We're gonna get there I think it's gonna be The 70s this week Memorial Day's coming You know

We're almost there Coming out Thursday night At O'Neill's We'll be there for the game We'll be there You know Game starts at 640

So we'll be there A little before then Hang in Again All kinds of awesome Swag And prizes I'll be doing

Phillies trivia And I believe Three winners Will win I'll be doing Phillies trivia. And I believe three winners will win tickets to an actual Phillies game. An actual Phillies game. An actual Phillies game. Instead of a fake Phillies game. Well, instead of non-actual Phillies tickets. All right. All right.

Interesting work. Thanks. Yeah. I'm doing my best here, all right? That's good. You could have just, you know, you could have raised me up, supported me. Mm-mm. No.

I am a teardown guy. You're a teardown. You're a gatekeeper. Yep. All right. Bad guy. Bad guy. O'Neal's Thursday night for the Phillies-Mets game, $3.75.

Miller Lite pints and 22-ounce Miller Lite drafts for $5. It's going to be an awesome time trivia. All that coming out. It's going to be an awesome time trivia. All that coming out. It's going to be awesome. And four against the Mets, Fritzy. Where are we going? Live with the split. Always, always with the split.

Three of four. He's Fritz himself. We'll see you next time.