High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Jack Meets Pivetta and Baseball is Delayed

Episode Date: March 12, 2020

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Yo! It is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast. A solemn edition, Jack. Wait, let... We're in studio together, so I can look at you. Listen, I'm not not going to be excited to do a IELTS Podcast. I understand the circumstances.

Jack, get out of the way. But I'm still getting excited. Yeah, look. I mean, listen, I just think that it's going to pretty, you know, long lengths to slow down break up of the season. You can't help yourself, can you? You just don't. All right, well, let's start with the news of the century, maybe.

I was going to say the news of the day, the news of the week, the news of the century. Yeah. Look, so today we're recording it on uh thursday today it seemed like you know the nba canceled their season last night throughout the day it's just been one cancellation postponement after another and sadly baseball joined suit like all right so no spring training the season delayed two weeks yeah And look, it's 100% the right move. It is absolutely the right move.

It sucks. It's a bummer. But it's the right move. I can't believe they played today. I thought that was pure absurdity. Well, listen. Take the NBA. Take hockey. Yeah, I don't care about any of that. I'm just sad about baseball.

They're taking baseball from me? I know, man. Why did they take baseball? Like, the Marlins play in front of no one every night. Oh, man. Is it jokes time? Feels like it's not jokes time. I don't know.

You can't help yourself. I'm just saying, like, come back in two weeks. I'm cool pushing back. That's a smart thing to do. Well, I don't think they have a choice. If they're going to stop spring training, guys won't be ready to play. Right, right.

Now, the thing that I'm wondering about is are they going to shorten the season or are they going to play all 162? This is what I was thinking. I think they have to shorten the season, right? Right, because if you think about it, then it would be going into, like, legit winter. Yes.

Like November. It's not like basketball, who could just be playing in an arena in July or whatever. It's not like basketball who could just be playing in an arena in July or whatever. It's not a big deal. I mean, think about this. If it goes into November,

Derek Jeter might come out of retirement and go back to being Mr. November just so maybe he could be a first-battle unanimous Hall of Famer. No.

Never mind. No. No, not this year. Not this year. But they do have some dudes. I love the name Jazz Chisholm. Is that what his name is? It's a good name. When they do have some dudes. I love the name Jazz Chisholm, whatever his name is.

It's a good name. When they got the, what's the guy's name? Victor Victor or whatever. Yeah, Victor Victor Mesa. It's a good name too. And his brothers. It's a great name.

Have you ever heard the Wander Franco thing? No, I mean. So Wander Franco's brothers are Wander Franco and his dad's name is Wander Franco. Get out of here. Yeah, they're all Wander Franco.

Well, isn't that, the Odors are all like super weird names too. It's like Rufned and then the rest are like a bunch of really strange first names as well. I don't know. I don't know either. That's where we're at right now, Jack. I don't know.

Today was supposed to be two weeks from opening day. All I was ready to talk about was you and Nick Pavetta being best friends, Jack. Well, we'll get to it. We'll get to it. Obviously. All right, so we'll be serious for a minute, and then we'll try and have some fun. I do think that, look, there are so many bigger things happening right now than sports. Sports are not an essential part of life.

Granted, Jack and I both think are living in sports. So for us, in a way, it is essential. But we understand there are a lot bigger things, a lot more important things. But I also do think that and I'm sure the people who love IOPs, the people who listen to this know that culturally speaking, I mean, baseball, particularly for us in sports in general, are something that we as a people bond over, that we use as an escape. You know, a lot of people go to work every day and this and that, and going home and watching baseball or being able to talk about baseball or obsess over it is something that helps them get through it. You know, it is an escape for a lot of people,

and it's just going to be weird to have that gone man like spring training not there the start of the season won't be there obviously no other sports happening it's just gonna be weird i mean i don't know if you're old enough to really remember 9-11 9-11 the only thing even close to this in my lifetime in terms of just sports stopping on a dime and you know seasons being interrupted but that was different in so many ways and obviously a completely different tragedy but you know you knew at some point that sports were going to start back up right now we just don't know we don't know what's going to happen it's such a fluid situation where it seems like you know like we were just talking about today was just a day where

it was like one thing after another. It's like, all right, this tournament's canceled. This tournament's canceled. NBA, NHL, baseball, the March Madness is just not happening. I mean, it's just, it's a really, it's an unprecedented moment in our lifetimes. Yeah. And the most unfair thing of this all is that like we, they just teased Spencer Howard the other day. Is that the most unfair thing? Yeah. Spencer Howard is out there throwing 97, and it's just jumping out of his hand. I'm getting excited thinking about it.

I actually – I'm just going to say it. We're a year away from Spencer Howard being the ace of the staff. Good. I like that. Maybe two years away. Just because you need to build up that arm. I mean, we're talking he still hasn't pitched 100 innings anywhere

at any point yet. Well, actually, the season being pushed back should theoretically help them. Well, look, I mean, looking from a Phillies perspective, the season being pushed back is more helpful to the Phillies than other teams. McCutcheon? McCutcheon. I mean, and we'll get into Sir Anthony. Truly shocked.

Who could have seen this coming? I mean, geez. Just shocked. I mean, if you've listened to this show at all. I think the second we said he's going to not elect to get the surgery. That's what we said. We're like, okay, Tommy John's coming at some point. Cool.

Yeah. Good. Great. Never works. Really smart. Literally never works. One guy, Tanaka. That was it. And Tanaka's not someone who throws 98 to 100. It's coming at some point. Cool. Yeah. Good. Great. Never works. Really smart. Literally never works. One guy, Tanaka. That was it.

And Tanaka's not someone who throws 98 to 100. It's just a different thing. It was such a poor decision. And I understand if you're Sir Anthony Dominguez and you don't want to get the surgery because Dr. James Andrews, Mr. Genius Guy, tells you, oh, you could- Who was that guy now? Clearly nothing. I mean, what are we doing here?

You should have just said get the surgery, James. Yeah, thanks a lot, Dr. Andrews. You tell everyone else to get the surgery, but no. Yeah, I mean, and the other great thing about the injury is that they brought in so many good bullpen pieces this offseason that it's clearly not going to derail the whole thing. Well, I mean,

that's the biggest worry. I mean, if we're just talking about the team, it's bad. We've said a lot of things about Matt Klintzak. But how in your right mind do you just not – first of all, they're banking on Sir Anthony. They were banking on him. That's the biggest thing.

They had no contingency plan. They had no backup plan. How? On something where you know this – everyone who follows this sport knows this is going to happen. Like, what are we doing here? Just amazing. All right, so we'll get into your trip, and we'll talk some Phillies and all that.

But, you know, back to this. What is your general feeling on just the MLB's decision to postpone, to push the season back, and kind of how it affects the Phillies and what you expect to happen, like talking about a shortened season? Well, I actually think, unfortunately, the circumstances, like you don't want this to happen, like talking about a shortened season. I actually think, unfortunately, the circumstances, you don't want this to happen at all, obviously. It's awful.

It's awful. Again, sports take a back seat. They do. They matter to us, to people. They're an escape. But, I mean, it is not the most important thing happening right now. We all know that. No, it's not. But if I'm just looking at it from a Phillies perspective

and a general baseball perspective, if there's like 40 less games, let's say it's not just the two weeks, all of a sudden it's turned into a sprint. Yeah. And that could be kind of cool. Obviously, record stuff and stats and whatnot. If someone hits 400, I won't really count it.

Agree. For example. But I just think that from a general baseball perspective, it's going to be hit the ground running. It's going to be a fascinating study. It's going to be like Jeff Jenkins stepping to the plate in the eighth inning of the World Series game five. Yeah, it's a great comp.

We always talk about how you can't win the division in April, but you could lose it. You could maybe win the division in May. I mean, it's going to be massively important to get out to a really good start. It's going to be hard to come back. That kind of idiom is so much more important. Now, if it is just two weeks, it'll probably be more like 140-something game season, and I'm sure knowing baseball's a business, all these are businesses,

they want to get as many games in as they can. They'll take away off days. I'm sure they'll try and play as many baseball games as they can in a shortened period of time. I think about the broadcasters rights too. Yeah. They're trying to get as many games in as they can. There's no question.

Look, they didn't want to cancel this just because all these other sports said they're like, all right, we're going to look like a holes if we don't do it. I know, but I understand. But think about like,

I was just down in Clearwater. If there's no, if there's no Philly spring training if we don't do it. I know, but I understand. But think about, like, I was just down in Clearwater. If there's no Philly spring training, like, it just kills her. I know it's unfortunate, but it kills our tourism. I get it. It's the only thing that – but so many people are going to lose money. Well, that's the big thing. I mean, I feel just so awful for the – and I know a lot of people have said this, but the stadium workers, especially in these other sports as well.

I mean, the people whose livelihood depends on going to work every day at a stadium. And like you said, in Clearwater, there's a lot of people like that right now. That's really going to hurt all these spring training sites. You know, there are a lot of sites like that. Porn site, Lucy, all these different places where, you know, their year's nut, so to speak, is made in this two-month period here. It's devastating for all those people. I don't feel any sympathy for the billionaires losing money.

I just don't. I can't muster up. Mark Cuban, shout out to that dude, saying he's going to try and help the hourly workers. Kevin Love, I just saw, is donating $100,000 to help pay the stadium workers. I mean, I would like to see a lot more of that. The people who can afford this hiatus, this time off should be putting it back to the people who can't. Yeah. I think that's really the most upsetting part of it from a purely baseball's

perspective. Like you said, I think it is interesting that the way the dynamics, how this could change things. What do you think about though, the idea of, and have you, though, the idea of, and have you thought much about the idea of pitcher? I mean, look, I know that teams are saying they're going to keep the facilities open

and, you know, people could still work out and stuff. That's smart. They have to, but, I mean, these guys are going to have to ramp down. It's not the same type of thing. You know how pitchers work. I mean, you're building up for the season. How big an impact could that have in your eyes? Yeah, but at least so, I see what you're saying, but at least that they're impact could that have in your eyes? At least so

I see what you're saying but at least that they're kind of giving them a little bit of leeway they're giving them a date now which is smart April 8th is like the date so that pitchers know that they can ramp back up to that date and they're not canceling spring training

and then looking to keep opening day the same so that should help prevent injuries. And again, it's a fluid situation. They're saying at least two weeks. We still don't know. But at least they're coming out with a target date so that pitchers know that we have until this certain point to make sure I'm good to go and ready to go.

But can they do that without spring training games? I mean, how big an impact is that? But you would hope that they just start doing inner squads and they're pitching against their own guys, but then that gets old and tiresome and whatnot. Maybe they do some secret scrimmages. I know that college basketball does that where they bring in teams and they do a secret scrimmage.

Even if it's not open to the public, they kind of do that kind of thing. So there could be ways around it unless they completely shut everything down, which I don't think they will. But it is nice that they are keeping the facilities open because you hear these stories like Kyle Garlick, he was on the Dodgers and then he was placed on waivers. And if you're placed on waivers,

you can't come to the building. So it would have just been all these players just flooding Planet Fitness or whatever. Yeah. Like wherever they are. Yeah, you're right. They just start trying to work out. So, it's good from that standpoint.

And, again, this is a fluid situation. Like, look, like, the NBA didn't shut down until Rudy Gobert tested positive and was like, oh, we're shutting down. And that kind of was the impetus for all this. I mean, if a player gets it, if multiple players get it, I mean, that changes the dynamic of the situation. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, all player gets it if multiple players get it I mean that changes the dynamic of the situation yeah I mean all it takes is one but if I was

these teams because then your whole team was in a quarantine or whatever it would be bad it would obviously be terrible but I'm just saying in a perfect world the players are fine and no one gets the coronavirus or whatever there's ways where they could just do secret scrimmages

or pitch against each other. And there's obviously always live bullpens. So you could throw enough. I don't think that that's a major issue. I actually think it's unlikely to think that something else isn't going to go wrong. Yeah, we're going to lose live game reps. Again, I think it's unlikely. I think that no one in Major League Baseball will end up with this.

Right. I mean, it seems like the kind of thing that a lot of people are going to get. Yeah. And I actually forget what I was going to say. Oh, that happens. There's a lot going on right now, buddy. Plus, you're still tired. Yeah.

You look like a zombie since you came back from Clearwater. Yeah, well. Four o'clock flight. You just haven't recovered. We're getting there. We're getting there. I mean, I'm just going to, you know, getting back from the time of my life. All right.

Well, let's try and have some fun because I'm sure that's what people want and need right now. And if you're coming to listen to this podcast, you don't want to just listen to us wax on about something that, to be frank, I mean, neither of us are experts about. Neither of us know that much about. I get my wife works in public health. She's certainly equipped me with a lot of information and what the smart things to do and all that type of stuff. But, you know, I'm far from someone who really knows what they're talking about.

Look, I don't think anyone really knows what's going to happen. I'm trying to do whatever I can to prevent, you know, getting it. Yeah, it's a fluid situation. Oh, that I remember I was going to say. Thank God. All of, I'm already in my head, if Pavetta starts slow, I'm already using that. He doesn't have spring training as a reason as to why he's starting slow.

So just in case anyone's worried. Good. Well, I do worry, though. I do worry about injuries. Like, again starting slow. So just in case anyone's worried. Good. I do worry, though. I do worry about injuries. It's a massive concern. Look, there's nothing else we can say right now. But also, if you're a player, and if you're one of these teams, you have to just suck it up. Oh, yeah, for sure. You don't have a choice. The problem is this Phillies team, especially

on the pitching side, is not deep. They're not healthy either, which is great. It's not like the Dodgers who, you know, are really well equipped for something where, you know, they could have a mass amount of injuries. They're prepared for that. It's not like Jake Arrieta got pulled from a game 30 minutes after the season. He's fine, he said, Jack.

He said it's not an injury. It's like, what? Shoulder stiffness is not an injury? Okay, buddy. Cool, you're fine. How would you know? Yeah. I mean, you just don't know. You can't just say, ah, it's not an injury. You had shoulder stiffness, know? Yeah. I mean, you just don't know.

You can't just say, ah, it's not an injury. You had shoulder stiffness, Jake. Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine. What are you talking about? Everything's fine. All right, let's, and again, this will end the evening. You know, as we touched on it, just not surprising at all to either of us.

If you listen to this show, we've said that we expected something like this to happen. But it's still incredibly frustrating that the Phillies were not prepared for this at all that the phillies counted on him so much to be such a massive important part of this bullpen it's it's it's insane honestly it's matt klendek has made a lot of mistakes it might be the biggest one they made this year well let's let's start a list one of many i mean the area of 25 million years well no that but i'm saying right now specifically with this team, the way this team is built, not having a contingency plan for Sir Anthony Dominguez

or counting on him that much. Not necessarily the biggest mistake in terms of what could... What about banking on F1 in year three? Well, hey, not just the most in terms of impact on the team, but in terms of just being so colossal colossally stupid like again everyone in the world knew that this was a potentially likely thing that was going to happen and to just you know count on this guy and be like oh he's gonna be our guy and then and then the only sign like storin bud norris franciriano. Yes. Anthony Swarczak.

Really? God. I already hate him. I can already tell I hate him. You've hated him for a while. No, I'm just telling you. He is going to be my Chad Qualls. He's going to pitch.

Yeah. And he's going to suck. He's going to be a part of this team. He's going to suck. If I can guarantee one thing when this season starts, Anthony Swarczak is everyone's going to hate him. All right. Let me ask you, and then we'll get into the clear order of it all

and the experience you had down there. Because I do think, I know I, and I'm sure everyone else wants to hear it. It's really the main reason I came in studio is to be able to look at you while you talk about Nick Pavetta. But could Damon Jones be Sir Anthony from a couple years ago? Is he that good? I think, well, different picture. I know. I'm talking about the idea of him. All think, well, different picture. I know.

I'm talking about the idea of him. All right, not just Damon Jones, Ramon Rosso, whoever. Is there anyone there who could come up and have that type of impact for this team? Because they need someone to be that guy. I think Rosso's the closest one. I think Rosso's the closest one. I think Damon Jones is going to be nasty,

and he can get out both sides of the plate. But I think if you're looking for a Serenity, I think Rosso's closer. And he actually, his mechanics remind me a lot of Jose Contreras. Okay. A little bit. Funky mechanics? Yeah.

Well, he brings it down and then brings his arm way back behind. And it looks, I mean, I say splitter a lot, but again, Ramon Rosso would have a nasty splitter. No, but that's a thing that, you know, a lot of people were down in the bullpen, and I get why people were down in the bullpen. And obviously the Serenity thing doesn't help it. But since the first couple weeks of spring training,

and nothing's really changed since then, they have actual guys in the minor leagues that I think can come up and help. It's not like the days of Pettibone and and uh who the hell was the guy that threw like four miles and out tyler cloyd and um or how about just the days of cole irvin and you know ranger suarez although i mean suarez that slider is looking nasty and nastier by the day you better watch out maybe he'll take nick's spot well it's not gonna happen um it's fine arietta won't be ready yeah. They'll both be in the rotation. And then if you add Vinny.

Vinny is a bit of an X factor. I mean, who knows? Again. Really, I'm not banking on Vinny. As a reliever, we're saying. Not as a starter. Right. But there's upside guys.

And I think Rosso and I think Damon Jones are both going to be really good factors for this bullpen. But Damon Jones being sent down as early as he did, that kind of, I feel like they're going to leave him in AAA for a good amount of time. Great. Well, because I said it before, but they brought in so many guys that are veterans. Major league guys. Podnaris, Liriano. Right, and they don't have options. So instead of letting them go. so many guys that are veterans that Major League guys Todd Norris Larry Anno I mean

Right and they don't have options so instead of letting them go see if you get anything out of them Right and then once they suck for the first two months of the season

then we can start bringing up the reinforcements Can't wait until Mike Morin comes back it's going to be great Oh Blake Parker's here same thing Yeah

Geez Alright Awful Let's get into the real only reason I'm here to talk to you right now so let's just lead.

We can't very lead. We're getting the whole clear out of it all. But for those who haven't seen Jack's Twitter, Jack and Nick, it finally happened. The friendship that we all knew was there has finally blossomed. What was it like, buddy? It was like that episode of, I've never watched It's Always Sunny. What? When they met Chase Utley.

Oh, my God. It's an amazing episode. This show is amazing. I know. I've watched a couple episodes. Oh, it's one of the best shows on television. Listen, I might have time. You should watch it.

There's no sports to watch anymore. Your co-host is a star of the show. Ike? No, Charlie Day, me. Oh, you. That guy I do the podcast with? You're Ike's co-host these days, huh? Poor Mark.

Well, that's what I was confused about. No, but so Monday, John Brazier comes into the booth, and he goes, all right, guys, I got some good news and some bad news. And he's like, Arietta can't do it, so we're not doing Arietta. But I got you guys nicked the best. Jack was like, so you mean you only have good news? This is great.

Yeah, this is greatness. I get a text from Jack that says, guess who's coming on with us tomorrow? And I'm like, well, from your tone, it's clearly someone big. So I'm going to say either John Middleton or more likely Nick Pavetta. Which would I have been more excited for? Obviously. Pavetta. We know.

And, like, he comes out, and I start just, like, beaming. He comes out from the clubhouse. We can see it in the picture. Start beaming. Because, like, in my head, while obviously like love pivetta in my head really we didn't know in my head i was thinking this is ridiculous yes like it is very ridiculous this is ridiculous yeah it's so silly and and he comes out and they're like all right there's jack your your biggest fan did they say that yeah yeah yeah there's your biggest fan and i shook his hand said only but biggest is and he he started

smiling because like here's here's my whole takeaway from pavetta is that definitely knew who i was tried to play it off like he didn't know really yeah like his face the whole time was like, there he is. That's the guy. Oh, no. That's the guy. Oh, come on. That's the guy. That's the guy. So they were doing the interview.

You are something else. They were doing the interview. You can't stop looking at you the whole time. Well, I was turning around because I had to be eight feet from the players or whatever. Because of this thing. It was very coincidental they did this right before the pivetta interview i don't i don't really get it the guy we gotta figure out how to get jack yeah yeah so so they're doing the interview and like i don't know eight

minutes in first off like a really good interview i was surprised he was good i will say the one thing i didn't love was it's still he's still doing the thing where he's not really taking any responsibility for his struggles you know i get it it's like it's cool to throw it all on chris young i get it but nick buddy come on well here's the most ridiculous thing is like how did it take you till now to realize you need to change up yeah like if you listen to this podcast you didn didn't need Chris Young. No, you've been saying it for years. War splitter.

So, like, eight minutes into the podcast, or into the interview, into the interview. We're much more than eight minutes into the podcast. Ike goes, Ike goes, yeah, and Jack, our producer over there. I'm surprised it wasn't Marks. That's a Marks move right there. Well, he will get to Marks.

Okay, good. Ike goes, yeah, Jack, our producer over there, he was the main one calling for a breakout Pavetta last season, and Pavetta gave this face, and I will never get it out of my – It's burned in your brain. It was basically the face of, thanks, man. You're the guy. Yeah, that's what I mean by the whole thing was oh that's him um

because it was like it was like he's like like you know what i mean there's the i know exactly what you mean and the eyebrow raise yeah so so and then i goes like why did you not why why do you think it didn't happen basically whatever Whatever. Chris Young. It was all Chris Young's fault. So then at the end of the year. Not my fault at all. More Jack's fault than my fault. Right. So at the end, Marks goes Marks goes, yeah, so

Jack was actually a college pitcher. Or so he says. And he goes, we want to have Jack do a dry run of his windup and have you critique it. On the air? I look like an a-hole.

That's great. I look like a total a-hole. And I do my motion. I got pretty into it. I really exploded through the zone. I mean, if you're doing it for Nick Pavetta, you better do it. Right. For real. And I mean It really exploded through the zone. I would hope. I mean, if you're doing it for Nick Pavetta, you better do it. Right. For real.

I mean, just exploded towards the plate. And Pavetta started laughing, and he's like, pretty good frontside explosion. And I just want to say, yes. And you just melted. I agree. You melted there. You're like, yes.

It was all I ever wanted. And he said something about spin rates, and they asked me what my spinner rate was, and I was like, I don't know, 2,500 RPMs, which is not realistic at all for how bad I was. Of course not. Are you kidding me? You'd be pitching at a higher level right now.

If I had 2,500 RPMs? Yes, I think so. Yeah, so Pavetta got a kick out of that, set an explosive frontside, which is, of course, better than an explosive backside. Hey, look at you with the jokes. Did you like that dad joke? This guy. This guy. That was such that dad joke guy this guy

oh so bad so i had that one queued up for a couple days i could tell i could tell when you said i'm like oh this was a planned joke and so we get the done the interview we shake hands whatever and hug best friends i wanted to i did I wanted to go on a hug. He starts walking away and Ike's like, are you going to get a picture? Listen, I don't want to be the guy. I hate being that guy. I hate it. I don't think I've ever taken a picture

with an athlete in that type of situation. It's weird. Nick hears it and he goes, do you want to get a picture? Alright, kid. I'll take a picture with you. I was like, do you want to get a picture? All right, kid, I'll take a picture with you. And I was like, I would love to get a picture. Because I had the caption written in my head. Two friends. Two friends talking baseball.

Dude, and I know. I had the caption written in my head. I know people think I'm crazy, like i looked at the photo all day and every time i looked at it i got so happy you can see in the picture and for those who haven't seen it go to jack's twitter i retweeted it you can go to any of them it's there um you can like it's one of those pictures where you know like the live pictures you can like, it's one of those pictures where, you know, like the live pictures you can take where if you hold it, it looked like that, but it's still picture.

Cause you're like, so bursting out of your skin. You are so happy to be in there at that moment. You can like, I felt like I was touching the picture and you're just like bursting out of your skin. It was great. I know.

Cause I was just envisioning like how it was going to make people feel when they saw it on Twitter. Like, are you kidding me? It was a combination of some people being really excited about it and some people being incredibly angry about it. Yeah, but in my head, I was like, this bit's gotten insane. When a bit goes too far. Right, and like... When a bit goes too far, that is it.

Dude, I got roasted by Scott Palmer. Imagine being roasted by Scott Palmer. That is aggressive. Scott Palmer is like the nicest guy ever. Yes. And he's like, heard you met your boy today. Like just the fact that, because it's Nick Pavetta. I mean, just the fact that people there were talking.

The fact that Brazier said it that way where where he's like, I got good news, because Nick Vecchi knew. It is way too far. This has gone way too far. It's so funny. The level of ridiculous that this has reached is really kind of epic, actually. It's unbelievable.

They've definitely, the Phillies, they've never dealt with this. No. This kind of thing before. No. From a media member. No, they definitely have not. Are you saying I'm not objective in my analysis? I think anyone who listens to this knows that neither of us are objective.

Jackie O is particularly not objective. I just think we're going to be friends somehow. I really do. Oh, God. I see this as only the beginning. This really is the Chase Utley thing from Always Sunny. Chase, I think we'd be best friends. Brothers, really.

All I'm saying, I'm not lying. I think this is the beginning. The beginning of a beautiful friendship. Yeah. Yeah. When he wins, when he's starting game four of the World Series, he's going to remember. He's going to look

into the stands, see you there, give you one of those, Jack. Yeah. You always believed. That's all I need to hear. That's all I need.

I mean, to be fair, there is literally no bigger Nick Pavetta man than you. None. I just love him. None. I think everyone else is out.

Only one in. He should appreciate you in all reality out only one in he should appreciate you in all reality I know he should appreciate you that's why the friend thing's a little weird I didn't

the friend thing's a little weird I thought about if you envision you and him having beers that's definitely happening right yeah well I've done that more with Carson and John Mayer

I told my John Mayer dream right yeah I think so. Where I drove him around all night in Philly and we became best friends by the end. Yeah. So it was a moment, man. It really was a moment. It was a moment.

You can see it in the picture. Spring training was a buzz about it. Yeah. I sent all the broadcasters and they were dying. Oh, man. Yeah. Dude, unbelievable. It's gone were dying. Oh, man. Yeah. Dude, unbelievable. It's gone too far.

Yeah, but guess what? We're not done yet. Beautiful friendship has just begun. All right. Thank you for that. What else happened down there? I mean, obviously nothing else matters. Yeah, I mean, only one thing mattered.

I didn't see O-Chart, which was unfortunate. It's too bad. Because like, so he works down there for the Phillies, I guess, and he didn't have time to come say hi

to the picnic tables. So, yeah, so he was like DMing and being like, hey man. No. Oh,

texting him. Sorry, big dog. Sorry. I let the big dog hunt. Yeah, come on, man.

So, so it's funny. So we get there we get there we get to wake up at like 7 a.m or actually 6 a.m to get the field by 7 wow so we're yeah dude we're practically an adult i know i hate it i'm standing we're on the picnic tables have a kid yeah um we're we're at the picnic tables outside of the um workout room or whatever where all the players enter in because they're to come out and and do the interview outside and by the picnic tables and during the uh Hoskins interview the freaking trash truck is is right there yeah picking up stuff yeah awful I wanted I wanted to kill him. But so we're doing these interviews outside by the picnic tables and all the players start rolling in

and like McCutcheon has this Lamborghini driving by. Gene Segura gets dropped off in a Cadillac and it's just such a power move. Arrieta drives by in this F-150 that's all souped up. And then Bryce drives by. So Bryce is right behind McCutcheon in his Lambo. And I looked at Bryce's car, and I thought it was a Kia. And I was like, is Bryce driving a Kia?

He's so Philly it hurts, man. No, it was like a Jaguar. Oh, OK. So he wasn't. I was like, it would be great if he's just driving a Kia or something. Right. And I was like, what is he doing? And I looked at it. I was like a Jaguar. Oh, okay. So he wasn't. It would be great if he's just driving like a Kia or something. And I was like, what is he doing? And I looked at it. I was like, oh, thank God.

I think it would have been better if it were a Kia. That would have been real. So Bryce walks by. Didn't say hi. You didn't yell you're welcome for bringing your affiliate? No, I didn't meet Bryce, which is very sad. You chickened out a little bit with Bryce, didn't you? Yelling at Bryce.

Well, no, because they were doing the Hoskins interview as he was walking by. Okay. Would you have done it, though? Be honest. You would have yelled, you're welcome. Well, no, because I'm supposed to be a member. I'm not supposed to be a fanboy. Hey, I'm the Harper Lynn guy.

It's me. Bryce, look at me. No, no, no, no. I would not have done it. Don't lie. No, I actually would have been embarrassed. Now, if it was Pavetta that was walking by me no i'm just kidding so um yeah so like like he said i'm supposed to be a member of the media not i am a member of the media listen fake it fake it till

you make it man fake it till you make it supposed to be a member of the media so i guess supposed to be you know i brought my glove with me to the wall park every day yeah no i sure did what is wrong with you i don't know man i tried to i try to view it as the experience of a lifetime i'm happy i'm happy you enjoyed it so uh yes we get to the field like seven what did you expect to happen real quick with the glove there like what was what was the end game was bringing it having a catch with bryce or something like that was the end game? Having a catch with Bryce or something? That was the end game, right? Well, I thought there was an outside chance I could have a catch with Pavetta. But that didn't happen. It's awesome.

And I also wanted to throw a bullpen and see if I could still hit. Actually, I wanted to get in front of a Rapsodo camera because I wanted to see if I could spin it and see what my RPMs actually were versus what I tell myself. Like hundred or whatever yeah come on come on don't don't don't play that game and uh yeah so i brought my glove and i actually almost needed it because alec bone was taking bp on one of the backfields just hitting tank shots and i was like oh i gotta protect my guys like i can't let i get hit by a baseball. So I grabbed my glove. That was one of my reasons for bringing it. The other reason was.

No, that was a happenstance. It was almost like a you're welcome thing. But really, the main reason was it could have been my last shot for glory. Yeah. And it didn't happen. Really? Yeah. I'm still here.

I can't believe it. If I had to bet on it happening I would have bet on it so I know I know it's okay I know

it's okay but so we walked in the first two days for both days we walked into the stadium we were being followed basically by Kingery and Hoskins

which is cool how yoked is Kingery yoked is it just one of those things where you're around him and you're like yoked yeah

it's like his head's small his body's small. His body's huge. Yeah. So that was awesome. Brian Barber, you get to say anything to Brian Barber? I didn't see him.

I saw pretty much everyone. Didn't see O-Chart. Didn't see Brian Barber, which is unfortunate. So basically, other than Pavetta, the two most important people I have was Black Ice. Saw Josh Bonifay, which is cool. So Brazier took me to the – I'm the only one who would care about this, but he took me around the minor league facilities. Of course he did. Of course.

So I was like, hey, John, come on, John. Can you take me to the minor league facilities? So I was like walking back there, and I was doing it. Oh, oh, other face I'll never forget is Moniak saw me, and he definitely knew who I was. And just didn't say anything. He was, like, walking in with Addison Russ and maybe another guy, and he, like, definitely did, like, a little double take,

but I didn't want to be like, hey, Mickey, it's me. It's the bio guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's the bio guy. Hey. Yeah, so I didn't say hi to Mickey, but I did say Mickey. I interviewed you. Hey, Mickey, it's It's the bio guy. Hey. Yeah, so I didn't say hi to Mickey, but I did say Mickey. I interviewed you. Hey, Mickey, it's me.

Remember that time I interviewed you? Yeah. You've never been interviewed before? He was awesome, by the way. I know. No offense to the other guys we interviewed there. You mean Alec Bowman, Spencer Howard? Yes.

Who were the actual superstar guys. Yeah. Mickey was way better. By the way. Like, not even close. Smoked a ball while I was down there. Uh-oh. Smoked a ball. Is he looking big, maybe? Yeah. Yeah. Big. way. Like not even close. Smoked the ball while I was down there. Uh-oh. Smoked the ball.

Is he looking big maybe? Yeah. Yeah. Big. I need him to be big. Walked around the minor league facility. I went back to where they do like player development stuff. I feel like this might be in good hands.

I'm actually excited. Really? It's big back there. Okay. It's like you got a whole facility just for like, I mean, I'm sure most of these teams have it, but I was like, wow, that's, like, real baseball. Okay. Basically, my whole takeaway from being down there was that this is what real baseball is like. And then it's a different stratosphere from what I bring to the table.

And I almost feel like it discredits everything I say at this point. Because these guys are like legit, legit. And I'm like, wow. I wasn't even in the same stratosphere. I worked out at all kinds of baseball facilities. But, man, seeing all that stuff down there, this is real big league stuff. And they're all big. I'm a big dude.

No, baseball players are big dudes. I don't think people realize how big they are when you're around them. They're big guys. And the second day, we were also on the field just waiting to interview. We interviewed Pavetta first. Had a really long wait because we were waiting for Segura. He unfortunately couldn't do it, so we had Hector Neris. But in between, Tommy Hunter came out,

and he was playing with his remote control car thing. They can get up to 60 miles an hour and just zipping it around the field. And Ike was all mad because he's like, dude, we'd be hitting right now in training camp. Meanwhile, these guys are flipping around this stuff. Yeah, it's probably true. But, dude, it was crazy. So, like, you'd just be walking around downtown Clearwater.

You'd be going into places. Like, for example, Monday night, we go out to dinner, and Aaron Boone's sitting there. Nice. Oh, yeah, I saw the guys took a picture with him, right? He's at the dinner because Greg Luzinski, who was also there, was his son, or Luzis, babysitted Aaron Boone. What makes that mean you knew Bob?

Right. Yeah. Right. How about it? So they're just sitting there all having a great time. That's pretty cool. And then Aaron Boone goes, is that the great Ike Reese? Get out of here.

Oh, I forgot Aaron Boone was like an Eagles fan or something. The Iron Eagles fan. Yeah. I forgot about that. He starts asking Ike about what the Eagles are going to do in the draft. Get out of here. Yeah. That's pretty cool.

He Instagrams out a picture of Ike. It's hard to hate Aaron Boone now that I know this. Love Aaron of here. Yeah. That's pretty cool. The Instagram's got a picture of Ike. It's hard to hate Aaron Boone now now that I know this. Love Aaron Boone. Yeah. But that was crazy. The next night we went out and Paul O'Neill walked by.

Get out of here. And was totally like. Paul O'Neill. Exactly what you'd expect. Yeah. Ike was like, is that Paul O'Neill? And he goes,

he was like, nah, just an older replica version or something. It was weird. It was weird. Rather than saying, yeah, I'm Paul O'Neill. You just had to be like, nah, just an older replica version or something. It was weird. It was weird. Rather than saying, yeah, I'm Paul O'Neill. You just had to be like, yeah.

Hit or miss with baseball players. It's like, leave me alone. Oh, and Morandini's still furious about how we treated him after the trial. I don't blame him. You guys crapped all over him. I'm still furious they treated me. I didn't even have anything to do with it. Yeah, because you didn't do anything.

I wasn't allowed to. What do you want me to do? He was mad. He's still furious about how we talked about him. I agree because you didn't do anything. I wasn't allowed to! What are you going to do? He was mad. He's still furious about how we talked about him. I agree. I don't blame him. Mickey's a great dude. Shout out to Mickey. Yeah, I love Mickey more than him. He's an awesome guy. He had a bad defense that day. He had the crap all over him.

Prosecution. And then, yeah, just seeing the games and seeing Spencer Howard was amazing. Zach Wheeler was great. But, yeah, I mean... Sounds like you had a really greateler was great. But, yeah. I mean, sounds like you had a really great time down there. Dude, for three days, we packed so much stuff. That's awesome.

I wish it was a week. Well, yeah. I could have done way more. Well, we got to do a high hopes week down there. Yeah. At some point. Yeah. Not in the next two weeks.

No, yeah. It's not going to be an option. No. No, no, no. Yeah, I would love to do something like that, but unfortunately. Down the road. Yeah. Maybe it won't until we retire.

We'll graduate from High Hopes Nights to High Hopes Week. With fans of Philly. Ooh, buddy! Yeah. So, that's awesome, man. Yeah, it was amazing. Sounds like you had a great time. I'm happy you got the experience. Happy you and Nick are, you know, best buddies now.

Future best friends. Me and Nick Paveva. I think that's fair. I think it's fair. I mean, I think it would be unfair to say anything else. Really. Anything else from a baseball perspective from down there that kind of stuck out to you?

From a baseball? Dude, you should have heard. You should have heard just the players talk about this coaching staff. Really? They're all in. That's awesome. They're all in.

That's actually really great. Every single player is all in. You could tell from a lot of the public statements, certainly, again, I don't think I ever remember a coach get skewered the way Chris is. It is unbelievable. I mean, the stuff Nola said about him was scathing.

For Aaron Nola? Yeah, exactly. Like, they hated this dude. I mean, that is some serious stuff. So it makes sense, but that's still cool to hear. Everyone mentioned it. I mean, everyone mentioned it. It's awesome.

So I understand there's a lot of fans that are looking at the division and saying there might be the fourth or third best team and that kind of stuff. I agree. Talent-wise, for sure. It's just the reality of the division. The division is just loaded. But I just think

that we're going to be proud of the Phillies this year. I think we're going to be... They'll be a professional baseball team. Yeah, regardless if they win 86, 88, 90 games. I don't think they'll win 90. Some people are going there, but I think they win between 85 and 88. That's exactly where I'm at. 85 and 87 is kind of the window I've been in. Right.

Obviously, that's definitely going to have to change now. We're going to have to. We can't. They are. Because they win. If you win 90 games with two weeks. Oh, well, now. Yeah, yeah.

Well, now. That was what I was saying before. We don't really know with how many games they play. That two weeks to go back. Yeah, yeah. Well, now that was what I was saying before. We don't really know with how many games they play. That's going to be hard. I'm going to have to do actual math. Yeah. I don't want to do that at all. 140 games. What does that mean?

Yeah. Like 75, 77? I don't know. We're going to get mad about a 75-1 baseball game. Yeah. Just the players down there. That is. I didn't think about that.

When we talked about that before, when we were talking about sprint to finish, I didn't think about what you're going to need to get to the playoffs. It's hard to do those kind of mental gymnastics with that. It's going to be a straight-up sprint. J3 Romito has ginormous calves. You're obsessed with calves.

Can we just put that out there? You are a guy who notices and talks about Cavs. Me and Johnny Drama. Yes. It is actually, like, I've heard you talk about people's Cavs multiple times. And this is the first time, I guess, John and I could experience this because they were interviewing, or no, they were waiting to interview Hoskins, I think, and Real Amudo walks by. I was like, that guy's got big Cavs. And they were they were waiting to interview Hoskins I think and Real Muto walks by I was like

that guy's got big calves and they're like what yeah I appreciate their reaction yeah I don't know it's not like it's just noticing people I just I notice calves I know I guess that's what it is I guess that's a little part about me that I know a little thing about me you might you might find interesting I notice calves I just notice Cavs. I look at Cavs. I'm a Cavs guy. Yeah, sue me. Yeah, the players are just raved about them. Everyone, all the pitchers talked about Brian Price.

They love that guy. And talking to him, I could see why. You can just tell he's been around the game forever. I think there's a big level of accountability with the, this, um, this coaching staff, you know,

and, and, uh, there's a lot of like the problem with Gabe and not a problem, but one of the things with Gabe and with Chris young is that if you're a player, you have to kind of see it work before you're going to fully buy in. I feel like when you have Girardi, Price,

even like Joe Dillon and Rob Thompson, like you can just trust that they probably know what they're talking about. There's more benefit of the doubt. Yeah, they come in with the credibility that Gabe just gave. Right, the credibility was there, and that's one thing that that last staff, like it had to hit from day one for that team to kind of buy in. And we saw them last two Septembers yeah once it once it went south like that won't happen that won't happen

with gerardi here um yeah and and in seeing gerardi it furthers my belief that he would beat gabe capler in a arm wrestling and that's a big statement i mean mean, if Gabe has anything, he's got, you know. Straight up, yeah. The muscles. And muscles. Yeah. Nice. Yeah. Also, real Muto just, like, continues to confirm, I believe, that he's going to be, like, our Dalton.

Carries himself that way. Yeah, comes out. Swagger. Yeah. That confidence. Yeah, himself that way. Comes out. Swagger. Yeah. Confidence. Yeah, it was interesting. Like, I thought it was more interesting than I guess most people did. But he said, like, yeah, about the extension.

Like, we're working on it. And then he started saying something else, whatever. And then he finished it up saying, but we're definitely working on it. That's good. Which is good. Okay. It's good. I need it to happen.

It really feels like it's going to. Yeah. Okay. We can use that for sure. But other than that. Sounds like a really good trip down there, buddy. I already can't wait. I hope I can go next year.

I'm happy. Yeah, I've never been. It's my number one bucket list thing. Yeah, maybe next year. Not all of us are lucky enough to go, Jack. Let's see. It doesn't work out for all of us. Yeah.

Well, maybe you should have a stronger take about an average Phillies player. All right. We will be here through this, however long this takes. We'll continue to be here for you guys weekly. As soon as the season starts, we will be twice a week, like usual. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later. It's a fluid situation, all that. Rate and review the podcast.

It really, again, it means a lot, not just to Jack, but it also really helps people find the podcast when people are looking for baseball content and they type in Phillies. It's more likely to come up if we have more ratings, reviews, all that kind of stuff. Jack, any notepad final thought type stuff, even though we kind of just hit most of it.

Well, I'm trying to figure out what old TV what old Phillies stuff I want to watch now. Ooh. Whatever it takes, dude. The 93 Phils. old Philly stuff I want to watch now. Ooh. Nothing else to really- Whatever it takes, dude. The 93 Phils. Yeah, that's a good video yearbook. That's a good video yearbook. Maybe re-watch the O.A. World Series.

I don't know. Also, I wrote this down. You are a TV slash movie guy? Yes. Oh, by the way, I would like to- For example, our good buddy Elliot Gerb, your parks, whenever I ask him to watch something, he never does it. He'll say he is.

He never does. And it makes me mad. And I'm sure Elliot's listening right now because he loves high hopes. So Elliot makes me mad when you don't do this stuff. Jack, I asked him to watch when Harry meant Sally to be fair, badgered him a little bit, but you watched it and I really appreciate that, and you dug it. Yeah, it was good. I mean, it was good.

Thank you. Still like Hitch. Of course. That's fine. I like Hitch, too. No, Harry and my Sally, it was good. Thank you. It was definitely good.

Thank you. I know it's a little dated for you and all that, but- For an old movie, it was good. Nice. It was weird seeing Billy Crystal. Also, the problem was that Billy Crystal looked just like my younger version of my friend's dad. So it threw you off a little bit. Yeah, I couldn't get past the whole movie.

I get that. It totally ruined my whole movie experience. That happens. Yeah, it was funny. It was funny. Good. It meant a lot to me. I enjoy...

I'm a chick-fil-A guy. That's why I suggested to you. I was like, this is the original one, like the best rom-com. How was that the original one? It was 1989. Yeah, I know. It took that long for people to realize it's the best movie drama. I know, man.

I love rom-coms, too. All right. You got to give some people some things to watch. I feel like you don't get to do this often on the Midday Show. So, I mean, I feel like I'm going to give you your platform. Look at you. To give people some show slash movie recommendations. So, next show, I'm going to come with some recommendations for people.

I think we're still all kind of processing everything right now, but I will come back next week with some legit, and I'll give you another rom-com recommendation, even though you've seen a lot of them now.

Dude, I'm actually surprised at how many rom-coms I've seen. I know. Well, it's funny. I found out how many when we were driving back from Cooperstown, and Jack's like,

yeah, I'm not a movie guy. And I was like, okay, but what movies do you like? Because we had four and a half hours and we're just chatting it upstown. And Jack's like, yeah, I'm not a movie guy. And I was like, okay, but what movies do you like? Because we had four and a half hours and we're just chatting it up and stuff. And then he just starts, he says he's a rom-com guy. And I was like, oh, have you seen this? Yeah. Have you seen this?

Yeah. Have you seen this? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm like, so you kind of are a movie guy. You just like this type of movie. I guess I didn't realize how much FX I used to watch back in the day.

You've seen a lot of them. Yeah. And Hitch is a good movie. If you haven't seen Hitch, watch Hitch. If you haven't seen When Air Met Sally, watch When Air Met Sally. That is an all-time classic. I'll give you an older one

that I'm sure most of the people listening to this have watched because I feel like it is such a classic. But have you seen The Princess Bride? Yeah. Okay. Just making sure. Yeah. Also a classic.

How about I'll give you a deep cut. I'm guessing you have not seen this. And it's a rom-com, but not a classic rom-com. It's more a comedy than a rom-com. But have you seen So I Married an Axe Murderer? No. Michael Myers at his finest. No, I have not.

Check out So I Married an Axe Murderer. And speaking of rom-coms. Very funny movie. Speaking of rom-coms, I'm always. So I know Boston fans don't like Fever Pitch, but I loved Fever Pitch. I thought it was okay. See, I love the concept. I loved all of it.

It's just, I'm not a Jimmy Fallon guy. Yeah, no, I totally get it. Drew Barrymore's great. All in on Drew Barrymore. I need a Philly's version. She's like the rom-com queen. Oh, my God. Well, what about the one from...

Originally, it was... What about Renee Zellweger? What's her name? Zellweger. Zellweger? Yeah. I mean, she's kind of. Just because of Bridget Jones and stuff like that. But, like...

I mean, Drew Barrymore's got 50 first dates. She's got Never Been Kissed. Have you seen Never Been Kissed? I think so. Classic. It's where the high school... She goes back to be the high school student. I watched the one from,

I forget what it's called now. It wasn't that good. It had way too many stars in it. It had way too many stars. It had Bradley Cooper, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck.

Oh, I know which one you're talking about. I didn't like that one that much. It wasn't as good as it should have been. Yeah. I'll come back with some more recs, some rom-com recs. How about this? Tweet at us.

What kind of movies you like? Like, I can give some wrecks for whatever. I just like that you're calling them wrecks. Wrecks. Recommendations, baby. Wow, that's so 90s of you. I know. I'm a 90s guy.

I was born and bred. Well, not born, but bred in the 90s. So, all right. I'm sure people love the last five minutes. I know. It's like, tune out. Yeah, seriously, thank you for listening. Thank you for sticking with us.

And more than anything, congrats, buddy. I'm so happy the beautiful friendship has finally begun. It's really the dream of this podcast has really been achieved. It's all, you know, it's all gravy. Yeah. I don't know what else we're supposed to do. We got Bryce. Yeah.

Matt Pavetta. Yeah. Don't know what's next stay safe out there maybe make the playoffs can you imagine a high hopes playoff podcast that would be pretty cool the sprint to the playoffs will hopefully start not too long after April 8th for now stay safe out there

wash your hands practice social distancing stay away from large groups of people try and stay away from most people if you can for the next couple weeks as much as that sucks

but we will definitely be there for you we'll be back again tweet at us what else you want us to talk about because we're gonna

need some content whatever you want whether it's movies TV whatever Jack and James talk movies that's fine we'll do that too we'll do whatever you guys want so go until then peace, friends, whatever. Jack and James talk movies. That's fine. We'll do that too.

We'll do whatever you guys want. So, until then, peace, friends, and sponsors. 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 it's now the most prolific national daily baseball pod there is

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