High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Lead-Off Kingery and a Measuring Stick Series Ahead

Episode Date: June 13, 2019

James Seltzer is on the phone from Florida but he's here to react to the Diamondback series with Jack Fritz. The guys talk about the rotation, the major offensive problems this team faces, Greinke and this huge showdown with the Braves.  See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information. 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

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Rogers. This is the High Hopes Podcast. High hopes. It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Philadelphia Phillies on Radio.com and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Yo, it is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast. Wow. Was that bad? Is that what I sound like?

I wonder how many people are going to turn this podcast off immediately after that. I don't know, man. If that's what I sound like, I can reevaluate my life. It doesn't sound that bad. I always like to play it up, though, as it does sound that bad. It's more like a, Yo, it is!

That was better. Okay, that was better. I'll take it. I prefer the mocking-ness, though, honestly. I think so, too. I mean, Jack, it wouldn't be you if you were not doing the mocking-ness. For those who don't know

why the mocking-ness is happening, because I'm in Florida, Jack. You didn't get attacked? You're safe and sound? Like there's no weird stuff going on? So here's the thing. I had to fly with my six-month-old daughter, Zoe. Turns out, she's

awesome. And she was great. And I was scared for nothing, and it worked out well. So she was great. So she was not a problem on the plane? No, no, she was a delight. There were actually two other babies on the plane and both babies way worse than Zoe. So she was like the good baby.

I feel like that's always a, I think it's always a pride point for dads. Like my baby is a good baby. Oh yeah, oh yeah. She's already like the best looking baby. She's the coolest baby. You know, she's got all these things going for her. So you just add something to the list, you know?

That is how I feel watching Nick Pavetta these days. It was good work right there. But that's interesting. I mean, like the Zoe thing, you know, I imagine in a few years she's going to be the one calming you down on flights. Yeah. I think that's absolutely going to happen nice i'm totally here already calmer than i am now i'm here i'm here for a chill seltzer that's that's whatever that's what the people need yes yeah well you know don't don't hold your breath jack they only make one james seltzer i would say all right fridley let's dive in let's talk a little phil not it's funny because i feel like every shit we've done for like the last like 10 shows there's just been something

to talk about good or bad pavetta mccutchen or whatever it is there's been like something like obvious and i don't know what to talk about today jack the diamond The Diamondbacks. Well, it was not two of three, which is very sad. Yeah, well, it was the other way, which is sad. It's the Diamondbacks using everything against us. Not cool. Yeah, I know. It was such a... The first game was just

brutal baseball. I understand the home run craze and launch angle and all that stuff. But, man, 13 home runs in a game is just crazy. It wasn't fun. No. And, like, I understand, like, home runs and they want to recreate the steroid era and all that fun stuff.

But, like, you can't just recreate. The difference between right now and the steroid era was that the steroid era had guys that were hitting 70 home runs. And there was home run chases it wasn't just hey here comes random ass vargas who has two home runs against the phillies like it was just a different time like i'll take the 70 home run guys the 60 home run guys the actual chases over this like random like freddie galvis sitting 20 home runs like i don't know it know. It's getting crazy. Yeah, I'm with you. That's what that game felt like.

I mean, first of all, to start it off back-to-back-to-back, I've never seen that. I'm sure it's happened, but personally, I've never seen my team give up back-to-back-to-backers to start off a game. And then they actually battled back, and it's a tie

game, and you're like, okay! Okay! And then just more home runs. It was a rough watch, even at the end when Jay Bruce and Reece Hoskins are hitting homers, and it's like, I didn't even want them to hit them. Like, that's how lame it was, Jack. I wanted Reece to hit

it because I have him on both my fantasy teams, but it was just like, it was lame. The whole thing felt lame. I hated that game. Yeah, it felt like the Pro Bowl. I fantasy teams, but it was just like, it was lame. The whole thing felt lame. I hated that game. Yeah, it felt like the Pro Bowl. I don't know. It was just, it was a weird thing. It felt like the Pro Bowl. I like that. It was Pro Bowl-ish. Like the NHL All-Star game.

Now, the only very important thing from that game was that Scott Kingery did a homer twice. True. Three homers in two days. I love him. I love him, man. I'm so glad Scott Kingery is fully blossoming. What is it? What is it? All right, so we've talked a lot about Kingery, and I think a lot, you know,

like there's the change in approach from this year, last year, but like if you had to pin it down, why is Scott Kingery, a guy who last year literally looked like he didn't belong in the major leagues and this year is, like right now, the best hitter on the team? What the hell is that? Well, for me, it's directly correlated

to stop listening to John Maley on all hitting fronts. I think that definitely helps a lot. No, but, like, I don't think his swing is totally different. I think this is Scott Kingery was a legitimate prospect. I mean, he's a legitimate prospect that one scout said that he is

Dustin Pedroia with more talent. Dustin Pedroia is an MVP, Rookie of the Year, World Series Champion, and one of the 10 best second basemen of all time. Dustin Pedroia is a whole... Wow! Is he one of the top... I have not thought about a top 10 second baseman. Is he that good?

He's a great player. Top 10 second baseman of all time is aggressive. He's probably great player. Top 10 second baseman of all time is aggressive. He's probably going to be a haul. How many second basemen have won MVPs? Well, not many. Sandberg, Robbie Alomar, maybe won one along the way. I don't know.

95% sure. BGO won one. That's a good point. Craig Brezio, yeah. That's a good question. You're right. Not many second basemen. Cano, probably above him on the all-time list. That's a good point, Craig Bregio. Yeah, that's a good question. You're right. Not many second basemen. Cano, probably above him on the all-time list. It's a good question. I'm not sure. Yeah, I just think that when you have a resume like his and how respected

he was, when I watched Dustin Pedroia throughout his career, I always thought Hall of Famer. Hmm. Okay. I can see that. I mean, yeah, it's the Utley argument. The point is that Scott Kingery is a higher level Hall of Famer to be, is what we're saying. Got it. He's definitely on a Hall of Fame track, some would say. But Kingery, it's just, his swing looks the same.

I think he did make minor changes. I mean, he said he's made minor changes, but it wasn't anything crazy. It really comes down to letting Scott Kingery be Scott Kingery. I mean, last year, they tried to have him on this plan of, Hey, let's take pitches and let's work pitches. But every time he would work pitchers, he'd be, he'd be down to an account. So he'd be like, why would I do this? Um, and, and this year he's, he seems like he's quicker to the ball. He's just dropping the bat head and the ball's just flying. And I just think it comes down to aggressiveness. And last year, uh, this is. And last year, this is kind of what we hoped through all the collapse.

So the Phillies had one of the biggest collapses in MLB history last year. September last year was a dark time that we will never talk about ever again because it was dreadful and not fun at all. But when you think about it and when you look at this year's team, Kingery getting all those at-bats was important. Obviously it's important. I mean, look at how he's performing now. If he doesn't get those at-bats, I don't think he works as hard this offseason to fix

it and get back to the player that they gave a historic contract to. So you have Kingery. You also have Eflin. I mean, Eflin took down a lot of innings in September. He did not pitch well. He faltered down the stretch. Zach Eflin has the fifth lowest ERA in baseball this year or in the NL this year. So I think

it was really important. While September of last year was brutal, it got these guys a lot, a lot of reps and it's only helping this year's team. And that's why you look at last year's team and it's a little frustrating because they bring in a Wilson Ramos. They bring in a Struble. They bring in some players who supplant

the young guys that it was important for them to get playing time. And it is helping this year's team, no doubt. And in two cases, it's Kingery and it's Zac Eflin. Yeah, and it's something we talked about a lot last year on this very podcast.

The idea of how important it was to develop these guys and that it was even more important than competing last year with the squad that they had. I think the thing with Kingery, too, and I love, you know, obviously you mentioned the idea that they're letting him actually just be Scott Kingery, like go up and see a pitch and hit it and be aggressive and be the type of hitter that makes him successful.

But also, Jack, and I know you've tweeted variations of this phrase many times recently, but who could have actually thought, Jack, that he could actually hit at the major league level playing all these different positions? I mean, how much did we talk about that last year? How much was it the consternation, the, oh my God, they're ruining Scott Tinger's career. What happened, Jack? What happened? Oh, it's pretty crazy. I thought his's career. What happened, Jack? What happened? Oh, it's pretty crazy.

I thought his career was over. Well, here's the thing. You know what the funny thing is? No, on the flip side, what they've done is they've turned Scott Kingery into an even more valuable player and asset than he would have been before. Scott Kingery's ability to play all these positions and play them well, at least to certain levels of well, makes him a more valuable player for this team. It makes him a more valuable Major League Baseball player.

And you talked about that historic contract. Like, right now, like what we're seeing right now from this guy, if this is, you know, even like let's say one-fourth, a quarter of the guy can be like, he's not even this good. This is the best kingery we see, but we see a guy who's half as good as this. That contract's still a steal. It is a

monumental steal, that contract. Yeah, you know what's funny? He's actually playing more of a set position last year than he is this year. Right? Yeah, it's a great point, actually. He played shortstop all the time last year, and everyone's like, well, you're playing them all over the place. It's like, well, that's not totally true.

I mean, he's just playing shortstop every day. And now it looks like he's just going to be there. They're full time center fielder until they figure out something out there. I mean, Roman Quinn could be available for the Brave series. I think he's going to be available. But again, with Roman Quinn, it's like, well, he's going to be fine for a day, and we're not sure he's going to make it to the next day with this crazy injury stuff, and

that means that Michael Franco has to live to see another day. Nine lives Mikel over there at third base. It used to be eight hole Mikel. Now it's nine lives Mikel. It's like 55 lives Mikel. It's unbelievable, Jack. Here's the thing.

Look, Scott King, I think of the positions they have him play at right now, I think we'd all agree center field is his worst spot. He's a better third baseman than he is a center fielder. I think ultimately he's a better third baseman than Franco long-term. He's got more range. He's got just as good an arm. He can make all the plays. But I think that it's just a bummer that this is the way it's –

like, as we talked about, and who knows how long it takes to get back from this hip injury, but the ideal lineup is Haseley in center and Kingery at third. Like, that's the ideal lineup. That is the best lineup for now and for moving into the future. It makes such a big difference. It's like, is there – Jack, is there anyone out there who watches the Phillies on a nightly basis who still believes in Mike Calfranco?

Because I would like to talk to them. Because what the hell are you watching? Like, this guy stinks. Like, Mike Calfranco stinks. Well, when you put it like that. Yeah, I mean. He's not good, Jack. No, Mike Cal is just not. He's just not it.

Everyone's always like, oh, he's so good defensively. He's fine. He's fine defensively. He looks like he carried away here. He makes nice plays if he's around the ball. I've got more range than Mike Cal like people act like he's some stud ball. I've got more rings than Mike Alvarado. People act like he's some stud defender. He's not. Yeah, he makes the plays that are right

at him, and everything else is he's not getting to. And Kingery, I understand, for this year's team, he's fine as a third baseman, but still, Mike, let's put it this way. Scott Kingery is not even second-base eligible in fantasy baseball leagues, and Scott Kingery is not even second base eligible in fantasy baseball leagues,

and Scott Kingery is a second baseman. That's crazy. That's pretty crazy. You can't even get five games in second base. It's crazy to me. So, like, he is still a long-term second baseman. And, boy, like, Cesar, five for his last 50? I mean.

He's pretty cold, Jack. Pretty cold, Jack. Do I want to blame that solely on the walk-up song? Yes, I sure do. The walk-up song is brutal. I mean, you might want to. I mean, we probably should is really the takeaway. Well, I mean, the team's just so down after hearing the walk-up song.

It's like, well, what's the point of even playing anymore? Cesar's got us in a funk. I think it's a fair point. Maybe one of your best points. Yeah. If we're going to be real about it. If we're getting really analytical, it's the fair point. Maybe one of your best coins. Yeah. We're going to be real about it. If we're getting really analytical, it's the walk-up song. But what do you think about Kingery in the leadoff spot?

Because obviously Kingery is not the ideal. Right, because of the walk rate and all that stuff. But listen, I just think the leadoff position is changing around baseball. If you're paying attention, I think you're starting to notice it. I mean, Kyle Schwimmer is leading off a lot for the Cubs. Kyle Schwimmer is batting 230 or whatever. He has a 340 OBP. But a lot of teams right now, a lot of the smart teams,

and I would like to think the Phillies are one of the smart teams, are putting guys in the leadoff position that are hard contact guys, that have a hard hit percentage that is high and a contact rate that is high and a barrel percentage that is high and all that stuff. And Kingery is all of that right now. He's barreling the baseball. He has a high hard hit percentage. And I like the idea of him in the leadoff spot, be aggressive.

I mean, George Springer is an MVP candidate. He's batting leadoff for the Astros. He's not a high OPP guy. He just sits up there and rakes. Max Kepler is the same way on the Twins. These are not your prototypical fast leadoff guys, but what they do is they get up to plate, and they're aggressive from the first pitch of the game.

And that is Scott King right now. He's jumping on baseballs. He's not letting them get into an 0-2 count. i want to see what it looks like the guy better lead off his whole life uh i he has experience doing it i just want to see what it would look like um and he could be a long-term fix there he has the speed he has the hit tool not crazy walk numbers but he'll be aggressive and i think it's the the new trend of leadoff men is guys that are going to put a good swing on a baseball and do some damage out of the leadoff spot. Yeah, look, I think the one thing you mentioned that is typical for Gingery

is he might be the fastest guy on the team in running front LB, so I think from a speed at the top of the line of perspective, that's kind of an old-school mentality, but it's what I grew up with and I love it. I like the idea of my leadoff hitter being able to run. It's a really interesting question because look, Cesar, and again, I smell sample size and all that, but you look at his numbers this season in the leadoff hole versus numbers in the six hole this season.

I mean, they're like drastic. I mean, we're talking about one guy is a all-star and the other guy shouldn't be getting every day a bat. So I think you can't do anything wrong here. I don't think Cesar is doing a good job in the Rio Spa. I know he was there last year. I know he walked. And even then, like, he's not getting on base with the same clip he has in the past.

Like, this is not a season where Cesar is walking at the same type of walk rate that he's had. So if you had someone who was going to go up and, you know, like, really get on base 36%, 37%, 38% of the time, and that's what Kingery's doing, by the way. Kingery's like a 360 OBP. Obviously not the walks, more the bat. But, yeah, I would be really okay with that. I think that's, look, I think at some point here, this offense, as we discussed on the last pod and, you know,

the eight and seven run barrages against the Diamondbacks, notwithstanding, this offense is disappointed. This offense is underachieved. So at this point, like, why wouldn't you try and do something like that? Why wouldn't you try and get a spark at the top of the lineup? Yeah, and Cesar batting leadoff this year, not just leadoff, but batting first in the order this year,

is batting.214 with a.313 OBP and a.741 OPS. Now that was after... Is that bad, Jack? That's pretty bad. Now that was after Monday's game. I think it's definitely gone down since then. I think it only had one hit. And in the sixth spot in the lineup, he's batting.307 with a.358

OBP and a.926 OPS. Is that good? Yeah, it's very good. It's an all-star. And honestly, I think moving Cesar out of the sixth hole and back into a leadoff spot, I think Cesar got so locked in mentally to

being in the sixth hole and not having to worry about drawing walks that he could just go up there and rake in a way. Jack, that's a really interesting point. I hadn't even thought of that. The idea that Cesar almost had a completely different approach being in the sixth hole and now you're throwing him back in the

leadoff spot like last year and that same mental approach isn't there. That's a fascinating thought. Yeah, now he has to rewire his whole brain for for that whole newish position in a way so i think that's a fascinating thought i really like that and kingery i i don't think you're you're not going to see a big philosophy change if you move kingery from six to lead off i think he i think there's a big hey man do what you've always done go be scott kingery. Go be aggressive. Go set the tables for this team because, really, they're almost wasting Scott Kingery in a way where he's at in the lineup. Obviously, he's driving in some runs because of Bruce in front of him

and whatnot, but let's say there's multiple times throughout the series where Cesar comes up and there's runners on base. I would just rather that be Kingery, and I'd rather it be a better hitter in that situation. So it could be twofold. You move Cesar back to where he got comfortable and looked like an all-star, and he moves Kingery up in the lineup to where he can do more damage and help this team even

more, steal more bases, be a threat on the base pass. I think it helps twofold. He's not perfect, but I just think, even if you're talking about window, I mean, if you want to get a little window talk, I will. Long term, if you want to get a little window talk, I will. Long term, if Kingery can take down the leadoff spot, it's good for this team.

I agree with you. Here's something I've noticed, though, with you today, Jack. I feel like you're using more gapism. Oh, dude, I can't get takedown out of my head. Yeah. I'm hearing it consistently. Yeah, no, I literally walk around. Me, Angelina here, Mike Angelina of WIP, and Joe Giglio, who is sometimes hosting this podcast, it's all we text and all we talk in person is like,

yeah, I got to take down 10-2 for Seltzer tomorrow. Bartred had a 45 45 minutes commercial free last night because the Phillies game was, I don't know, an hour long. And we're like, well, Barchard's got to take down 45 minutes commercial free off the top of the hour here. So, yeah, takedown is being used a lot. I'm all in on the gay-bisms. Takedown is my favorite.

I want to get a shirt with takakedown something on it in quotations that's going to be the next fake shirt idea that I create but yeah Takedown is we still need a 2 of 3 up first Jack 2 of 3 we got to get a 2 of 3 shirt we got to get Jay Bruce and we got to get Takedown

yes the Gabe Kapler Takedown well I like the Takedown I can agree with that I noticed it I heard, I like the takedown. I can agree with that. I noticed it. I heard it. I like that idea. I love it.

I like that idea. I love it. I am good with this. Again, I think you haven't seen something. They need some sort of juice. Losing McCutcheon, obviously, as we talked about, was such a big blow. And I do think they've lacked at the top of the line but obviously the numbers say they've lacked and Cesar has stepped into that role

but just watching the eye test it's clear they've lacked something at the top of the lineup. They've lacked that spark and to your point about Carey he's going to go up and he's going to he's a spark plug kind of guy not just he's going to go up and see a pitch he likes

and go for it and get on base. Again, you mentioned that I don't think we can just totally dismiss the importance of speed at the top of the lamp. I know that baseball doesn't work that way anymore and things change and all that, but all else being equal, if you give me two guys with the exact same fast at the top of the lineup and one's fast and one's not, I want the fast guy at the top of the lineup. So, I do think

it's nice to have a guy that can get up there who can make some sort of difference with his legs as well. Totally agree. Totally agree. So, I wonder how much longer they keep Cesar in the leadoff spot if he continues to scuffle. I know there's been more

questions about it. There's been,. Gabe's been pressed a little bit more about it, and he should be because having a guy that's not being productive at the top of your lineup just sets everything else in motion in a negative way. Honestly,

I know your two-hole hitter is theoretically supposed to be your most important hitter, but I still don't love Bryce in the two-hole. I would like him up with guys on base in front of him and ability to do damage. So I'd like to see Segura get back to the two-hole. I'm not in love with him. Me too, Jack. I feel really strongly about that.

Especially because it's both sides. Bryce makes more sense in the three-hole or the four-hole, but the three-hole realistically. Bryce makes more sense there. Segarra makes more sense as a two-hitter. Segarra just does everything you could ever want on a two-hitter. He can hit with runners on base. He can move runners over. He's going to get this guy on the ball.

He does all those things. I'm with you, man. I get, again, I know that Kapler is trying to do little things like that to mix it up, but that was one I just did as well. Yeah, so lineup construction is a major thing. Eikhoff. I mean, Eikhoff is obviously regressed. Could you say Jared Eikhoff has regressed a little bit?

You could say that, Jack. Look, hey, again, another example of this, which is funny, because it's kind of like a mixed message type of thing, where on the one end, as we've talked about a ton, we believe they don't want to go over the luxury tax. They didn't want to go for Keichel. They didn't want to do the Kimbrel thing. It seems like they have a threshold.

But then on the other end of things, they're like, we're not messing around. If you have a bad outing, you're going to the minors. You're out of the rotation. We're not, you know, messing around. We're going to win every single game. Like, it really is kind of a mixed messages thing where it's like, they're all in on the approach from that perspective with starting pitchers, as we've seen.

Obviously, Pavetta, Eikhoff, like we've seen Velasquez. Like, they're not messing around with that. Like, they're not giving guys time in the rotation to figure out they're saying every start is too important yet on the flip side they're saying 13 million for Dallas Keuchel, that's too much. So what do you

make of that? Yeah, it's a little bit frustrating. Like it's almost I actually feel pretty good about the Phillies' first three. Like I feel good about Eflin. I mean Eflin is fifth in the NL and ERA right now. I obviously feel good about Pavetta. You hope that he can keep this up. There is a – if we can just be completely honest with the High Hopes listeners

and you, even though I can't look at you in the face because you're down in Florida and this is on the phone. Which is rough. Which is rough. It's way harder to do this when we're not looking at each other. It's just a fact. Let me just – I'm looking as honestly at you as I possibly can through the phone. Is that there's a part of me that is a little bit worried that what sunk Pavetta in the first place was he got a little ahead of himself heading out of spring training.

Started smelling himself a little bit. This is going to be a big moment on Friday night to see if he's actually matured like everyone's talking about yeah talks about how he's come back and he's been humble and he's been humbled by his trip to to lehigh valley and i i agree with that but if he if he gets absolutely shelled it's going to be another one of those cases where he's not fully there mentally just yet so while while i'm all obviously i mean pivetta is my guy but there is definitely still concerns in between the years. And if he goes out and shoves against the Braves, I mean, he would go through the Dodgers, Reds, and Braves in three consecutive starts.

I think we could feel pretty good about the rotation from that standpoint. You have Eflin, which is, I mean, Eflin's just consistent at this point. Like, last night was such bull crap with how he, with the runs he allowed. Like, there were just, there were bleeders. Like, wipe the blood off him. And, like, he with the runs he allowed. They were bleeders. Wipe the blood off him. He was only allowed two earned. It was a good outing for Zach Eflin. He was eight innings 82 pitches I'm pretty sure.

He easily could have kept going. It was just they needed the offense by putting Bryce Harper in there. Then you have Nola which I think is rounding into form. Nine strikeouts for Eflin. Nine strikeouts for Eflin. I mean strikeout F. Strikeout F. Strikeout F.

And then, I mean, Arrieta is obviously a tire fire. I just have no interest in watching Jake Arrieta pitch anymore. I can't stand him, Jack. Like, I... Six innings, three runs, gets the win the other day, and it was like... It was still brutal to watch that guy pitch.

It is, and it comes down to that still brutal to watch that guy pitch. It is and it comes down to that fifth spot and they just don't have the guy. I don't like I don't know what they're going to do on Sunday. I think it's probably going to be the opener or maybe Arrieta on short rest and what whatnot but like Oh that sounds great. Yeah.

Arrieta on short rest. Yay! I guess it would be normal rest because they had the off day today so Whatever. Look I guess it can't be any worse than on short rest. Yay! I guess it would be normal rest because they had the off day today. Whatever. Look, I guess it can't be any worse than on normal rest. So either or. Yeah. If you look at the fifth spot, it's like, I don't know. There's just no one there that I feel good about taking down some innings in the fifth spot of the rotation.

It's such a glaring, glaring hole because it's either Eikhoff or we're going to Cole Irvin. What are you doing in the opening? I certainly have absolutely no interest. I don't want to move Vince Velasquez back to the rotation because I think he's... No. No, but I think that he is developing into a bullpen guy.

It'd be a disaster to move him back out. You can't keep flip-flopping the guy. They have to stick with this. He's a penarm now. That's what he is. He's a penarm. Just leave him as a penarm. There's no reason to jerk him around like that.

Just let him stay there and let him hopefully figure that out. Don't put him back in the starting rotation and get his mind. I think he's starting to work in a good way in the bullpen. I don't want to see them deter from that plan a little bit. And honestly, if they're going to. It's the opener, Jack. When you're listing these options, you're hearing them right. The opener is the only option, and that's not okay.

Again, I'm more of a fan of the opener than you because I'm not a pitcher who loves to start games and all that stuff. I just like to take down innings for my team. What can I say? You do. I know. It needs to be your day. If Fritz comes to this day and they say,

Hey, Josh, listen, we want you to eat six for us today, but we're going to go with an opener because we want to get you that first time, do the lineup a little way. We're going to win 70-79. It's going to be great. Jack would be like, no, no, no, no, no. It's my ball today. Like, it's my day today. Like, that's what you would be like, and I get that.

Of course I would. I think, of course you would, and I think a lot of media pitchers are, but in this situation, we're not going to, like, co-work and, like, the list, again, you mentioned, like, why not get the opener? Like, why not in this situation? Like, why not? I don't think it's a long-term answer. They need a starting pitcher, whether it's,

you and I have discussed a ton, the go all-in or not. We both, after the McCutcheon injury, lean towards not going all-in. So if it's someone you can get for multiple years, or Ray, a minor, sure, but regardless, even if it's just a fourth, fifth type starter who's going to be able to start games in each inning for you, take down innings for you, that's even something

they have to get a starter no matter what. Speaking of multi-year options that may well, actually in this case, would 100% affect the luxury tax. I like the idea of cranky. I really do.

I don't think... Yeah, well, that would definitely... If you're thinking like $30 million, that would affect the luxury tax. Oh, it would destroy the luxury tax. But here's the reason for cranky. He's a great this year. Dude, that guy's ageless.

He's a really good pitcher this year. He's going to pitch until he's 40. I just think he's always going to be good. He's super smart as a pitcher. Super smart as a pitcher. Super athletic too. The Phillies wanted to draft him as an infielder in the top 10 when they were drafting him. Wow, really?

Yeah, they talked about that the other day on the air. They wanted to draft Granke as a position player and the Royals took him as a pitcher, obviously. But with Granke, I'm just thinking of the starting pitching available this offseason. Obviously, Garrett Cole, Pam, whatever. If you can get Garrett Cole here, that's an absolute. Oh, my God. Whatever he wants.

Give him a Bryce Harper contract. I don't care. But you're bidding against so many other teams. With Granke, I'm of the belief I don't want to give up the prospects this offseason or this trade deadline. Like, I want to keep Boehm. I mean, Boehm's being talked about in, like, a Matthew Boyd deal. And I love Matthew Boyd.

I think he's really good. But I'm not trading Alec Boehm for Matthew Boyd. Like, Matthew Boyd's Matthew freaking Boyd. I understand he's having a good year, but I don't know. I'd rather pay the money. I'd rather pay the luxury tax. And again, it's not my money, but I'd rather pay the luxury tax for a guy like Granke

who is not going to cost me a bunch prospect-wise, but I know is going to be able to take down some innings and be good. Granke will be a good starting pitcher wherever he goes. The home runs at Chase Field are down anyway and be good. Like, Granke will be a good starting pitcher wherever he goes. I mean, the home runs at Chase Field are down anyway because they changed the humidor last year or whatever. I just think Granke's always going to be good. I don't care about the luxury tax, but I think if we're looking at what helps this team the most,

like a Granke, Adam Jones, don't give up a ton prospect-wise and only have to pay money, it's basically getting a better version of Dallas Keuchel for, obviously, more money. Yeah, I would say right now a definitively better version of Keuchel. And that's the key is that that cranky has owed so much money that the Diamondbacks, like the point of what Jack's saying is the Diamondbacks will give him away if you take on the money. Like that's where they're at with that cranky.

Like he has owed a lot of money and they don't want to pay him that over the next year so um yeah i would love that cranky i think that that type of guy makes a ton of sense and again i think that the key is whether it's cranky whether it's ray whether it's minor and i think i think you get cranky for way cheaper than either of those two guys obvious for obvious reasons um i think when you're looking at it like that, I think you need to get a guy who's going to be here for multiple years. Unless you're truly going for a pure Band-Aid type guy, like, again, someone who's just going to give you innings and somebody you don't really care about,

and someone who's a major impact on you, but someone who is better than Jared Eickhoff or whatever, fine. But that's, like, why you wouldn't sign Dallas Keuchel. That's Dallas Keuchel, essentially, right? Like, that's bringing in someone who's better than Jared Eickhoff and will eat any of you. That's Dallas Keuchel. I'm with you.

I think that if they're going to go in, and Grunke is a beautiful ad because it's just money, and I think we both agree, like, don't be cheap. Billy's like, I know, like, you had a big offseason with money. Well, now you got Harper. Like, yay, that's great. Jack Hiddleton. But, like, that doesn't mean you should just stop now and say, like,

well, we're going with the luxury tax. Like, no. Like, you know, commit. You know, you're a big market team. Be a big boy. Act like a big boy. Be like every other big market team in baseball. But the beauty of the Greinke deal is you don't have to give up prospects to get it.

If it's a Ray, if it's a minor, those types of things, you're going to have to give up something else in addition. But I do think that ultimately the idea of, and again, the Phillies are going to make trades. They are in this. They are competing. They're going to make moves. I think the idea of making moves for guys who, like Jay Bruce, for that matter,

who will be here past this season, I think is a really smart way for them to go about it. Yeah, and I think the best point you made during that entire little segment there was... Soliloquy. I like to call it a soliloquy. Okay, well, listen, you took down some words right there. But the best thing you said during that entire thing was, like, listen, a little quick okay well he's so listen you took you took down some words right there but um i the best thing you said during that entire thing was like listen bryce harper great i understand you spent 30 330 million dollars and 27 million dollars a year that's fine i am sick and tired of of not being a big boy in baseball like a monster you are a top five market uh you like

look at look at the team teams thriving right now. You have Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers. Those are the big market teams. You are right with those teams when it comes to revenue. The Phillies are making so much money right now. They're up 10% in attendance. You're making a ton of money as an organization. You can afford the luxury tax.

Like you there's, there's two things that I'm, that I'm mildly frustrated with is I want them to enter the 2010s when it comes to finding pitching, pitching prospects, pitching anything like the fact that they're, they're throwing out guys right now. And it looks like down in the minor leagues,

like until you get to Spencer Howard and Francisco Morales, like you're looking at guys that throw 90 and you have Cole Irvin's your best option to bring up. Like seriously, Cole Irvin's the best option you can do. Like, obviously like Medina has a 0.83 ERA in his last five starts, which is a really good trend.

Cause he was not pitching that well, still walk 10 guys, but he's striking out some people. So Medina, maybe they give call up soon. He's, was yeah but i mean howard's hurt right now obviously but howard's hurt he's not coming up anytime soon and that's the thing is really after medina and howard like they don't have any other like like super high-end arms period much less guys or at least anyone above low a you know like't have any guys who you could look at and say

that's a potential top 60 or 70 prospect as an arm. They don't have those guys. No, I mean, Morales I think is going to be really good but he has control issues. He throws hard but Ramon Rosso he just got moved up to AAA yesterday. I think he actually has a chance to stick

a little bit but there's some theory that he might be the next Sir Anthony turning a actually has a chance to stick a little bit, but there's some theory that he might be the next Sir Anthony turning a guy from a starter to a reliever and helping that way because Sir Anthony's obviously done for the rest of the season and probably next season. But I'm just so sick and tired of having pitchers that

come up and can't strike anyone out. The ability to not miss bats is mind-boggling. We thought there might be a trend here of, hey, let's just generate soft contact. Well, that's not working. Like, the soft contact thing is absolutely not working. Like, Jake Arrieta is another product of this,

where it's like, oh, let's throw another soft contact generating Jake Arrieta, but meanwhile, they're squaring him up because his sinker is just leaking over the middle of the plate. They need to make sure their evaluations are in the modern-day realm of baseball. I'm so pleased, for the love of God, and the draft was a good start with this, but get guys that can miss freaking bats.

Yeah, actually, Jack, it's a great point because you talked about this a lot last year, too, as we talked about the Phillies' approach. And you kind of saw it changing in the moment last year. We talked about the tweaking pitches, that whole thing. And you had compared it to the Red Sox a lot throughout the season and obviously the World Series overall. But it was like that maybe that approach that the Phillies had taken to going about their business offensively,

that had already changed. That they were already behind the curve with their quote-unquote new approach they just implemented. So I'm with you in the sense that they need to make sure that they are ahead of the curve. Like, we're not talking about like, oh, everyone else is doing this. We'll do it now, too, because baseball is changing so fast now.

Like, it is changing so quickly with the amount of information that we have, the amount of numbers that these guys have, the amount of analytics they have to kind of put in the hopper to make these types of decisions. Like, it's changing quickly, and that's why the best teams, the teams like, I don't know, the Tampa Bay Rays find ways to do so much more with so much less every single year it's because they're constantly ahead of the curve

everyone's copying the Rays instead of the other way around, like the Phillies need to be that team, they need to be the team that is out in front of these types of movements and we haven't seen that yet. Yeah and when you're obviously the Rays are kind of an extreme example. They can kind of take it.

They can think of the best of the best. Well, the best of the best and they can take the most risk because no one cares. So like they have no, they have no fans here that are ripping them for trying an opener. You know, like they don't have that. No,

it's a really good point, Jack. You're right about that. But on the counter side, like Jack, that we've been doing for like a year and a half But on the counter side, like, Jack and I have this little thing that we've been doing for like a year and a half now where Jack will text me like, alright, will you

take like, and this is an extreme example, but just even I, 1927 Yankees lineup or Rays front office? And Jack has not found an alternative yet that I would take over the Rays front office. So just to kind of hammer home that point. Yeah. We would do a lot of things take over the Rays front office. Just to kind of hammer home that point.

We would do a lot of things to have the Rays level front office, but even if it's not the Rays front office, like the Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox, Astros, that is still four major markets. That is four teams that are in major cities that have the same kind of pressure. The Red Sox have pressure. The Yankees

have a ridiculous amount of pressure. The Dodgers haven't won a World Series since 88 like yep there's pressure on all of those teams but they're all big market teams and they're all smart they're all forward thinking and listen i think the phillies are getting there i think they're getting there but i want them to invest everything into into player development into analytics into scouting and just start finding these diamonds in the rough start finding how the game's trending start like the lead-off thing like kingery could be the the next way the helping with the next wave of lead-off men like there's there's certain things that i'm that i just have not seen from this phillies team

and the fact that they keep bringing up eikhoffs, Irvins, guys that cannot strike people out. The Phillies are 21st in home runs right now. They're not even... They're supposed to be launching baseballs. They're not launching anything. They're not

looking for the one pitch, one spot, and jumping on it. When I watch Reese Hoskins bat and then I watch Jay Bruce bat, like, Jay Bruce is almost where I want Reese Hoskins to get to. Like, I know Reese Hoskins is a better player, a better hitter, just a phenomenal player, and I love Reese. I'm just saying the next step for his evolution is taking the one pitch, one spot, and just looking to do damage on it,

because he's had three home runs since that Brewers series. He had the two in the Brewers series and then the one in the Steinbeck series. And then he's had one, yeah, exactly. So he's really had one home run other than the two games. And the thing is, prior to that Brewers series, it was like 13 or 14 games without a homer too.

I think it's like over the last 30 plus games, 35 games or something, he's got three homers. That's not okay for Reece Hoskins. And we know he goes cold. We know that he's a streaky kind of guy. But my man can't be hitting three homers over 35 games. We need him more.

That's not going to do it. And same thing for Bryce. Yeah, well, yes. Bryce has 11 homers. He's basically hitting some yes. Bryce has 11 homers. Like, he's basically... I mean, he's hitting some doubles. He has whatever. But, like, he's not driving the baseball. He's taking it the other way and doing the things he can to help his team.

But he's not hitting home runs. Bryce Harper has pulled four fly balls in the air this year. Four. That's outrageous. Four! That's outrageous. Four. That's like, honestly, that's hard to believe. Are you sure about that? Yeah.

Yeah. No, I'm sure. He's only pulled four balls this year in the air. That's unbelievable. So legitimately, that is like, I don't believe that. I believe you because I trust you and I know you do your work and your research, but I don't believe that. That sounds not real to me, Jack.

It shouldn't. Really? It should sound not real to you. That's insane is what it is. Four balls? Yeah. Wow, man. Of all the Bryce Harper alarmists, that's the most alarming Bryce Harper shot I've heard all year.

It's not great. He's not driving the baseball. Hoskins isn't driving the baseball. Real Muto is doing fine, but I expected more home runs when he left Marlins Park. I think a lot of us did, but he has 10 home runs, so it's not crazy. I mean, Segura is Segura, but even he has been in a little slump. I don't like the idea of calling for a guy's job, but this has been

two years of frustration with John Maley. It feels like they're only looking to walk and work pitches, and there's nothing outside of that. It feels like they're not jumping on pitchers' mistakes. When was the last time Reece Hoskins hit a curveball out, uh uh a curveball

out or drove a curveball it's like yeah sure like i just i just know it's a great point and look i think like you said it what most of the time they've been fired for four jobs i also think that when you look at it it's one of those things where again like when you look at the offensive numbers across the board whether it's home runs whether it's whoa, whether it's home runs, whether it's Wobo, whether it's team average, whether it's whatever. They're in the bottom third or, at best, bottom half in every single offensive category. At what point do you blame someone? This is a lineup that we, again, after the first week of the season, after all

the moves they made and all that, we said could be the best in Philly's history, if not one of the best. We said unequivocally probably the best lineup in the National League. At some point, you have to blame someone, right? At some point, you have to say, okay, this isn't good enough. Who do we blame? And what would you blame John Maley? No one knows what the guy does.

No one knows what hitting coaches do. I get it. But at a certain point, if you say, all right, this is the level of talent we have. These are the stats we would expect offensively, and we are way below them. Who do you blame? At a certain point, I feel like it almost has to come back to John Bailey.

Yeah, I do agree with you, and I understand that there's this whole thing, well, we don't really know what the hitting coach does anyway. I would argue that that is completely changing. I think that is changing right in front of our eyes. It may not be the hitting coach, but it's the hitting philosophies. And it's looking at a modern way to build a major league offense. And I just don't think this is,

like, this doesn't feel right to me. There's something off about how the offense is. Like, there's just something off when you watch it every night. Like, sure, they'll do their runs and spurts and they had a good game on Tuesday. But, like, last night was an embarrassing effort. Merrill Kelly is not that good. He's had some good starts recently.

Merrill Kelly's not good. He's just not good. He's just not good. He's 30 years old. Like, he's like, everyone's like, oh, he's the new Miles Nicholas. No, he's not. And by the way,

Miles Nicholas has sucked this year, so, all right. Yeah. And Taylor Clark is nothing either. Because apparently, my little brother's a big Merrill Kelly fan. He said to me, his last three starts have been great.

So that's for you, Peter. Peter wanted me to get into Merrill Kelly doesn't suck as much as we think he does. He sucks, Peter. He did pitch well last night, but there's just something off with his offense and I just it feels like there's a disconnect between

what Maylee's maybe preaching or maybe it feels like the analytics department is lagging behind where they need to be, but his offense should undoubtedly be better than where they are and uh i just want to see them invest if it's not if it's not firing mayley if it's not doing that invest in more guys like jason ochart and bringing those kind of guys that can develop this thing from the ground up it's a ground up campaign because again after the ruben amaro era this this team had nothing left. It was

barren out there. So, something has to change. This offense is too talented to be as average as they are, and whether it's moving on from Mailey or whatever, it's got to be go time because they're too good.

Make O-Chart the hitting coach, Jack. You know that's where I'm at. All right, I don't know how we came in and said, oh, we're going to have nothing to talk about. I feel like we've gone for a while now. Yeah, it's 45 minutes. I know you're not looking at it. How did this happen, Jack?

Well. I was like, we're going to be like a 25-minute podcast. All right, let's talk about the Braves, because that's like a thing. Well, what is a thing? It's a big series this weekend. Of course it's a big series. In fact, they're facing 27 games against NL East opponents.

You have the Braves, who I think Corey Simon tweeted out today, are 17-6 in their last 24 games, if that's the math. Pretty good. Yeah, they're starting to figure it out a little bit. It feels like they never lose. Just anecdotally watching, you know, and the standings on it, it's like why don't the Braves ever lose? I feels like they never lose. Just anecdotally watching, you know, and the standings on it, it's like, why don't the Braves ever lose? I feel like they never lose these days.

They don't, but the good thing for the Phillies is that they have their ace and their number two on the mound Friday into Saturday. Nick Pavetta starting Friday, obviously the ace of the staff. It's a big measuring stick series for Nick, and we talked about it earlier

listen if he goes Dodgers, Reds Braves all in order and looks the part like you're talking about a completely different Phillies team and this is again on the road in Atlanta last year

Atlanta gave him troubles big time trouble so I mean I am nervous I'm not going to say Atlanta. Last year, Atlanta gave him troubles. Big time trouble. Big time trouble. So, I mean, I am nervous. I'm not going to say I'm not nervous, but I'm also very excited to see what he can deliver because if he goes out there and shoves,

I just feel so good about the rest of this Phillies season in a way. Take down some innings, Nick! Take down some innings, brother! Now, he is facing Max Freed, which sounds like a miserable experience. Max Freed is disgusting. Nasty. Yeah, he's nasty.

Well, that's the annoying part about the Braves. Whether it's Freed, whether it's... They just keep bringing up these arms where it's like, why don't... That guy's so much better than Jared Eikhoff. Jared Eikhoff... Where'd that guy come from? I than Jared Eickhoff. Jared Eickhoff's just never played in the last few months. Like, where'd that guy come from?

I know. I know. It's really frustrating. I know. It really is. They have a bunch. Mike Sirocco is like a Cy Young contender right now. Mike Sirocco's awesome.

He's awesome. They haven't even gotten Kyle Wright right yet. So, like, I don't know. Yeah. And Tookie. Tookie hasn't been what he can be. Like, it's crazy the depth and talent that they have in that system and what they've been able to funnel in already and what they still have left. It's not great.

I'm not a fan of it, Jack. Me either. Me either. But as always, they're cheap and the Phillies have money. So we'll see how long. Jack, that is a great equalizer. And that's why it brings us back to the discussion we had before, the bright, hard-working, the whole thing.

Spend money. This is your advantage. You're in a division where you have the Braves who are the all time cheapest. You have the Mets who lost all their money to made off. You have the nationals who are in salary cap helper or whatever, you know, like luxury tax help for the next decade. and they haven't gotten any,

and the nationals haven't gotten any TV money. So, or Juan Soto, or all these guys coming down the road. And then on top of that, that none of the ones were obviously a joke. Like,

the Phillies really do from a organizational construction perspective have an advantage over these other teams. They have the opportunity to be a bigger boy

than the other boys in the division. They need to do it, Jack. Just a weird sentence there. I know. I liked it, though. I felt really good about it. They have the ability to be...

You know, like the big boys. It's like the big boys. Who are the big boys? Sorry, actually, like, lengthened it out. You know what I mean? They have the ability to be bigger boys. They need to be bigger boys. Yeah, yeah.

Well, go back and listen. It worked. It worked. I'm all in. I'm all in. I think it was pretty great, to be honest. It might have been the greatest sentence I've ever said. Why?

You're throwing that out there? It's pretty impressive. No. It was a good sentence. Not greatest. It was good. Yeah. The big boy stuff.

Jack, I'm standing outside in Florida right now, and I'm literally sweating. Good. Just from being outside, because it's so hot here. If you don't work up a sweat, listen, while baseball players, some say you don't actually play unless you get a little dirt on your uniform, you don't actually do a High Hopes podcast unless you sweat a little bit. It's true. Well, I'm sweaty, so it worked out.

That's good. So Pavetta versus Freed on Friday, which is going to be a tough game, honestly. I mean, Pavetta could shove, but Max Freed is really, really good. So, tough task for the Phillies Friday. Then you have Nola versus Sean Newcomb. Newcomb's stats are actually a little better than I thought. He's a 2-5-9 ERA. I still, I'm not a big Sean Newcomb guy.

Yeah, the whip isn't great. The whip isn't great. Need Nola Saturday. Need good Nola. He's back down south. It'll obviously be warm, but I think it's supposed to rain a good amount this weekend, so watch out for that. And then,

obviously, the Phillies don't know what they're going to do on Sunday yet, but they are facing Mike Fulton-Evich, who I think is just dog poopy. Yeah, he has clearly reverted from the terrific, to be fair, terrific season he had last year. Not the same guy this year.

No, I would say not. So, James, what do we say? What do we say? We say two or three, Jack. Two or three. All I want is two or three. That's all, like, especially, like, a lot of times I say two of three, and in my head I'm thinking, sweet, these guys.

Sweet, these guys. I really just want two or three. The only time we did not say two or three was before the Dodgers series. Yeah, we're like one of three, please. And that wasn't enough. Please just take one. Yeah, it's just this is going to be gut check time for this Phil's team. I mean, they got Braves this weekend.

They got the Nationals. Like 27 games against NL East opponents. Obviously, the Marlins are still the bottom feeders, but they've won 13 and 16. Yeah, they've been playing good baseball. And they've got Zach Gallin just waiting to come up and dominate. Yeah, so the rest of the NL East is actually playing pretty good baseball. So the Mets are even starting to hit the baseball a little bit.

They're still the Mets, and Jason Vargas is their best pitcher right now, which is very funny. Jason Vargas is dog poopy. But, yeah, this is going to be sink or swim time. If they go in the tank here and don't come out of the stretch, I need at least two games over.500 or more. It's going to really define the rest of this Phillies season. Yeah, I'm with you.

Look, it's funny because this has been a running joke the entire time we've done the podcast. Biggest series since 2011. This is the biggest series since 2011. Legitimately, and other series have been because this one hadn't happened yet, but

right now, in this moment, where this team is at right now, this is the biggest series since 2011. Or maybe 2012 if you want to say, like halfway through the year when they were still in it. But this really feels like the first real showdown series with a division opponent we've had in a really, really long time. Listen, man, you keep discounting the 2012 series against the Astros where they got swept. I threw it in there. That's why I said 2012 for you.

I normally don't, but I threw it in because you got so mad about it last time. I mentioned 2012. Listen, that was a dark period for me. It was 2011. I can tell you, you always get mad when I don't mention it. Yeah, it was the 2011 thing into 2012. I just needed one more run out of that team. I just needed one more run, and I didn't mention it. The 2011 thing into 2012.

I just needed one more run out of that team. I just needed one more run and I didn't get it. We all did, Jack. We all did. I remember I was sitting at the beach on July 4th and I texted my friend and I was like, this is where they go on their last run, their last hurrah. And then they came up short in that Astros series. They sure did, buddy.

I don't want to get too sad, but it was the end of an era. So let's get to it. You can start final thoughts this week since you're on the road. Yeah, okay. So my final thought, not baseball related, just to anyone out there who ever has to fly with a baby, it was going in, literally I've never been more afraid of anything in my life. It was just awful.

It was so stressful. But here's the thing. People are actually nicer than you would think. And the lady who sat in the third seat in our row was like, your daughter is great, don't worry about it. Like, there were people behind us. So I think

like, what I'm trying to say is my faith in humanity was somewhat restored today because I came in expecting people to give me death stares. They were like, bring my baby on a plane. Because I've done that in the past. I'm not terrible about it, but people were really awesome. Zoe ended up being awesome.

They were right to be awesome. She didn't cry at all, and she was great. But I don't know. I got a little more faith in humanity after Day Jack, so I wanted to share that with the High Oaks listeners. The beautiful, wonderful High Oaks listeners.

Now, was the lady that said Zoya was a great baby, does she listen to the podcast? Great question. I don't think so. Yeah, Brian. Maybe.

I don't think so, though. Well, I don't know. Maybe you could have had an opportunity there to add another listener. I should have grown the pod there. There you go. Hey, thanks for saying know. Maybe you could have had an opportunity there to add another listener. You're right. I should have grown the pod there. There you go.

Hey, thanks for saying that. Do you listen to the Highlands Podcast or no? I think it's a fair follow-up. Because if not, you should. I think it's a fair follow-up. I really think it's a fair follow-up. I think it's the only follow-up, really. Some would say that. Yeah, it's such a weird situation you're in because your whole life you're probably like oh my god i hate babies on planes and then that's exactly what it

is yeah yes yes i have been that guy like i literally said like like to emily to my wife waiting for a plane like and i see a baby like why don't you bring the baby what name is it oh like my grandmother died and I have to bring my baby back to Florida. So, like, now you get it. Like, maybe you want to find a baby, maybe you have a choice and you should be respectful

and nice about it. That's my takeaway. There you go. Life lessons with James Seltzer. Gotta love it. My two final thoughts is, one, obviously, rate and review the podcast.

I know James is on a phone today, and, you know, it's probably not great, but we battled through it. You know, James took down some minutes on this podcast. I did.

I did. Thank you to my mother, my brother, my wife, and my daughter for letting me go for this time. a lot of thanks. Yeah.

You know, make it happen. So, rate and review the podcast. Again, 1,000 ratings. We will release the Bryce Harper Is Never Coming Here podcast, you know make it happen so rate and review the podcast uh again a thousand ratings we will uh release the bryce harper is never coming here podcast and uh we have circled a date we are working on pricing for high hopes night look out for that is going to be electric and i i'm already

counting them days for high hopes night and my second final thought is that Cody Bellinger, after, let's see, this was two days ago, so heading into Wednesday's games, Cody Bellinger was batting 136 with a 524 OPS and no homers since being since being pivoted. Since he got pivoted

on last Sunday. I knew exactly, the moment you said Cody Bellinger's name, I knew where you were going. It is a really sad scene in L.A. He has completely gone in the tank. He got pivoted. It's very sad.

I thoroughly, thoroughly look forward to him pivoting Austin Riley and knocking that crap off because there's no way that guy should be as good as he is. But he is about to get pivoted on Friday and go into a similar tank to cody bellinger very excited take two or three from the braves and we'll talk to you monday all-star closer kenley jansen we have a question what's the best podcast of all time? Baseball isn't boring, baby.