High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Opening Day on the Horizon and a Crossover with Kevin Frandsen

Episode Date: July 23, 2020

The guys do another crossover with Kevin Frandsen as Opening Day is almost here.  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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Hot Cloud Storage on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the High Hopes Podcast. High Hopes. It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Philadelphia Phillies on Radio.com and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Here we are. Round two of the cross pod between High Hopes Pod,

Jack Fritz, James Seltzer and myself kevin franzen that is right pine tar for breakfast eat it up folks what's going on fellas oh man you know what are we less than you know 30 hours from baseball let oh i think we're less we're like we're're right now just a little over 24 hours from baseball, like 24 and a half hours from baseball. Okay, so that excitement you get from Jack and then the let's go, which is actual real excitement from James. No, just give me what you guys are feeling right now because I think –

let's just go – we could say a month ago, but I would go two months ago seeing this time it was pretty I would say it was pretty blurry, right? I mean, yeah. I would

if you were asking my honest opinion like two months ago if we were going to have an opening day it was shaky. I mean, it was straight up shaky, I'm not going to lie. Honestly, the fact that it's here, and it's so funny, the whole time leading up to the 60 game schedule being announced

it's like, oh, this is stupid. It's millionaires versus billionaires. It feels like all that is just out the window because baseball is coming back. It's because it's society, so it's just normal. Like you just ignore something that happens, you know, a little bit ago. So anyway, keep going.

It's just nice that everyone's back on the same page. And it feels like for the first time in a while, we're almost getting some normalcy back in our lives. And honestly, I don't know how we've made it this far without baseball. I mean, baseball in the summer is just a part of life. Baseball is what you do every night, 7-0-5, you know the Phillies are going to be playing. We haven't had that for

three months. We've somehow made it. I would like to pat everyone on this podcast on the back because shout out to us. We made it through the tough period. This time tomorrow we'll be ge made it through the tough period. And in less than, I mean, this time tomorrow, we'll be gearing up for the first game.

Scherzer versus Cole, which I don't think could get any better than that. And then on Friday, we'll enjoy a nice 2-1 loss to the Marlins. It'll feel like everything's back. It's actually four months, Jack. Let's not undersell how long we've gone without baseball and we expected really almost five months if you count missing out on spring training uh i think you nailed it it's one of those things where i was so mad for a couple months there at everyone involved far more at the owners than the players it wasn't even close but

by the end of it i think everyone was just annoyed and pissed off with every single person involved with it and it literally like jack said i mean i was mad i was legitimately mad it's all gone i none of it is there and i'm sure it'll come back when we get to 2021 and all that stuff but um it's all gone it's just pure excitement pure readiness like like jack said like we have summer days it's beautiful out it's hot out and and there's no freaking baseball. That has to end. It's time for that to end. I'm ready.

What's crazy is I'm already planning Saturday. So I'm moving into the city, right? This weekend I'm officially – it's locked in. We are finishing the – Thank God. Yeah. So we're finishing the moving process this Saturday. And I was like, oh, I have all day.

I have all day on the weekends anyway. And then I was like, oh, snap, the Phillies play at 4. So I got to start planning my day around the Phillies again. Do you know how weird that is? Planning my day around the Phillies? Because they're the new norm, what we've been talking about. I've been trying to get in a routine. I don't blame you.

The routine's a little weird right now. I have no idea. Like, timing's off. We got 605 scrimmages. Are we just going to breeze past Jack saying, oh, snap? Are we just going to like step right by that? Yeah, I was trying to because if we draw light on that, it's just not going to be good.

Well, good golly gosh, guys. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I could have said another word, but we're a family podcast, so I went with those snaps. What'd you want me to do, James? No, I look, what's cool is that, you know, getting a routine back is normal. And I think that, that, that part makes me excited for this whole thing. Number one, number two, you're going to go Scherzer Cole as a better matchup than Nola Alcantara. Just a little.

It's pretty messed up, Jack. I mean, we are big Sandy Alcantara fans normally on the iOS podcast. I'm disappointed. Well, I do love the entire Marlins staff and most of the bullpen. I, I fun. I do like that. That's why they're scary. I do.

That's why they are scary. That Marlins team is scary. Like for not scary from the sense of like they might make the world series no but in a shortened season with that rotation well just to the phillies i mean look we saw it last season how could you not deep down have a little bit of fear of this marlins team when we saw what happened last season and jack has said this many times and it is maybe the most on point he's ever been with anything wow cory dickerson is going to own the philly soul this year you know it you know it cory dickerson is gonna be awesome

i mean between cory dickerson and jory alfaro only showing up against the phillies it's just gonna be those are hot takes though well it's so annoying because jory alfaro for the most part stinks and then he plays the phillies and everyone's like, I don't know. Should we have gotten rid of this guy for JT Romito? Oh, my God. Well, you know what's crazy is that you look at the Marlins, and you can understand how last year I think everyone was saying, whoever does the best against the Marlins, they're going to win the East.

And by the way, who was the best against the Marlins? The Braves. That would be the Braves they're going to win the East. And, by the way, who was the best against the Marlins? The Braves. That would be the Braves. And then number two would be the Nats. It's like it was uncanny. But this year is different. When you've got guys that, you know, I'm not going to say Jonathan Villar is someone, like, legit. Like, he's going to put – but he gives you a little bit of nerves.

He is in fantasy – in the fantasy world. Okay. No, but I'm saying, like, he gives you a little bit of the, like, you know, like, ooh, but they have arms. He's scary. He's dangerous. They have arms. And it's not one where, you know, when Jack was talking about, like,

a full season, you're going to have some of those arms die off. And, you know, young guys especially that aren't going to be able to keep it for 162. 60 games, that's why it scares me. Also, to the point of the fact that it is so much more important that the Phillies do well against the Marlins this year because you've only got 60 games, and a lot of them are against teams that are really good.

You don't have that many give-me's this year. You just don't, so you really have to take advantage of the teams that you're better than. And I'm not going to be surprised because we've seen how the way Joe Girardi has these guys prepared anyways. A Gabe Kapler clubhouse isn't bad, right? I mean, good vibe as far as guys walking around doing that stuff. But it's a little calm, right? And you go into a situation when you're playing the Marlins,

that calmness plays out on the field as well. Some days it's great because you're all amped up and you don't need to be amped up in baseball to want to run through a brick wall. You don't. But there's that little sense of urgency that you need against a team like the Marlins. And so you can just sense that the clubhouse should be different this year,

and especially against a team like the Marlins, who you should beat, but you know it's baseball and anything can happen and all that stuff. But it's like they cannot come out flat against a team like them. Now, Kev, do you think the players feel that sense of urgency? Yes. I think they do, and I hope they do. But we're more hoping that they feel that sense of urgency in a 60-game sprint. And I don't know.

We always talked about the Marlins last year. Why I think they struggled so much was because they had to create their own energy. Because when they would go down there, they would just seem to be flat yeah like it i hope i i hope that they feel the same sense of urgency that we've been telling them that they should feel for the last four months yeah well the other issue with that is that the it doesn't seem like the organization has felt the same sense of urgency with some of their moves too you know i mean like the i mean not hanging on to liriano for whatever reason is a big surprise like that doesn't make a lot of sense to me and uh you know just kind of that the message you're sending to your players is that you know spencer howard not being on the

opening day roster which i agree with jack and i have talked about it we agree that you know the year of control is is just more valuable when you're talking about five days but But if you're the players and Howard's not up to start the season, that's a sign that maybe you're a little bit less locked in and whatever. So I do think that that could be something. Look, I agree with both you guys on this. And for me, the Spencer Howard thing is like, thank God I'm not a GM. I mean, there's certain scenarios that I know I couldn't handle. And that's one, uh, when to choose, you know, pick and choose the right time. Also the way I look at it too

is, and people are going to laugh and everything, but the Vince Velasquez, Nick Pavetta, Cole Irvin, the way they started out during this summer camp. Well, let's not throw Cole Irvin in there, please. He is going to be a piece of this. Not on this podcast. I'm just telling you right now that that is a reason why they could do this for five days. Now, let's say they came in back into summer camp

and they weren't throwing well. Like, we're just talking, like, erratic, you know, not anything, right? You couldn't understand Spencer Howard being down. But those guys doing the way, especially the way they looked, especially the way Vince looked in New York, I think that's a reason why you could do the five, six days, whatever it is, for

Spencer Howard. The Liriano one kind of perked me up a little bit. It just, you know, look, they're pushing up against the luxury tax. What if I told you? That's a bummer, though, man. I get it.

I get it. But what if I told you? What if I told you? This is all hypothetical. That the Liriano-Swarczak, that extra three mil, possibly more, that would send him over the luxury tax, was the extra three mil that was going to go to JT maybe in an extension? Well, it would be massive. But it would be massive.

But at the same time, you're hurting the roster right now. If you said that $3 million is going to go towards someone at the trade deadline that can help put this team at the top, I could see that as well. The trade deadline is next week. I know, but still, it's an annoying.

It's just go over the tax. Just go over the tax. That's what we're beating around the bush. Just go over the tax. This is not that hard. You're a big boy. Philadelphia is one of the top markets. You have you have a pulpit from which you can wield power, like act like a big boy. John Middleton has told us he's going to act like a big boy. He's going to go out and be the Steinbrenner of the South, all that type of stuff. We've heard all that stuff. Like, show us. I would say the – Yeah.

Yeah, if you look at it with Bryce, that's showing you. I would even say, you know, with Didi for one year, that's showing you. Because, I mean, obviously you're paying for Gene, right? And now you've got a couple shortstops there, and you're paying for for gene right and now you got a couple short stops there and you're going to move them over do this type of thing uh i yeah i look the team's getting the team is better if you sat here and said the team is the team better than the last year yeah or last two years no question%. 100%. Now, the depth is all created as well by what? I mean, your minor league system.

So that's the other part of this. Well, that's the nice part about this roster is that the depth's actually there. You know, the last couple years it wasn't there. I wish Forsythe was on the team. You know, I like Josh Harrison. I'm not the biggest. Like, I don't get the Neil Walker thing. I think he's fine.

I think they had other bench depth pieces that I liked a little bit more. I mean, Torres is a Yankees guy, so I guess he wants to – Torres hasn't really jumped out at me. He's been special. Special? Defensively, he's been special. And in a situation like this, you need something like that you have to have your you have to have your defensive you have to have one defensive minded first

you know guy right on your roster as far as the you know on the bench he's that there you can't you can't sit there and say he's not that he is so good at shortstop as far as giving you, I think, not a sigh of relief, but you're just like, I'm confident. If something were to happen to Dede for a couple days, I can move him over there. I can move Scott over there. There's a lot of scenarios where you could do things. But the Ryan Torres one, I think he's been a lock for, I think, since the end of spring training anyways, because just he was swinging the bat well, well enough.

And he was also producing defensively where no one else is off this, right off this roster. Yeah. I mean, look, that's fair. I, I get what you're saying. And I understand that the concept of you want to have a bench guy who you feel comfortable sticking in any of those infield positions, I think is an important thing. But I also think like to the flip side of that i mean scott kingery like you said can play any position the infield sagura can play any position the infield like you have guys that you could move around and i don't know you know i know that this team offensively should be fine but

i still like the idea of a guy who maybe he's not as good a defensive player as torres but i mean josh harris and logan forsyth can play a lot of different positions not as good a defensive player as Torres, but I mean, Josh Harrison, Logan Forsyth can play a lot of different positions and I feel a lot more comfortable with those guys getting at bats, especially meaningful at bats. If that depth is needed, then I do Torres. Speaker 3, you get Malvern prep zone though. Oh, hold on. We forgot. We forgot for another podcast. He's betting white hot. I mean, he's betting what? 900. I mean, Speaker 0 7, you know why you're betting what? 900. I mean, 5.

1. You guys like him. You know why you could tell they're throwing fastballs down the, you know what to him? Come on. No, he's been, he's been fantastic. I mean, he, he is bringing you that, that added depth that, you know, Josh Harrison had Logan Forsyth had, uh, and playing multiple positions, but he's doing it where you're going, okay. Like remember Brian Price the other day was talking about lightning in a ball, right? Right. With the relievers and everything. They might have it with Phil in all honesty.

Yeah. Because the guy just rakes. Now, would you, would this be too drastic or do you think it's fair? Do you think it's time to start building the team around Phil Gosselin? Anyway, Jack, you know, like dude, you got, you got two podcasts. You got the hot take podcast and you got this one, you know, so he's barrel barrels is back baby. Speaker 0 31 years old. I don't think the Phil Gosselin breakout is finally coming. Can he be a nice bench bat? Sure. I suppose for me, I'd still rather take a guy like Harrison,

like foresight who has the actual track record in the majors of success that's that's you know and again it just all goes to that point of it feeling like the phillies are not as invested in winning this 60 game sprint as i think we would like them to be but that's but that's the thing though i think in actuality they are and just hear like on the on this one it's for me the way I look at it. When you're going for the 60-game sprint, a guy like Phil, the way that he is coming out and going, he is white hot. We're talking, can he replicate that during the season?

Who knows? You got to go with it, though, because in the 60 games, you don't have that feel-out period. You don't have that chance to be like, well, Logan, you you might get, you know, some A.B.'s here. They're like right now. I think there's a comfortable they're very comfortable right now with Phil and the way he's swinging, the way he's playing defensively. Yeah, I just wish that James didn't hate people from Westchester so much. I'm feeling that. I'm feeling. I know. It's like I'm from Westchester. Well, think about it.

I mean, you're stuck with Jack as long as I am. I mean, you know. Yeah, yeah. It is what it is. You start to have some disdain towards Westchester. It's like, I don't appreciate it. I mean, the guy's batting 900, James. It might be time to build around him.

And he's been barreling baseballs in that area since he was like, I don't know, early 2000s. He's been doing it forever. So I just don't appreciate it. Also, is it time to, like, would you extend Didi this second if he would do it? Hmm. Ooh, for how many years? Three-year deal.

Would you extend Didi this second for three years? Yes. I've always loved his game. And so when he signed it, I was so happy. Yeah, I would. I would. Would you? Me?

I would do it. I think they should be looking to extend Didi as soon as possible. There's not really another predecessor until you get to Stott and I don't know how far away Stott is. I don't know if he's going to be even as good as Didi. I just love everything I've seen. Everything.

He's a leader. The shortstop play is gorgeous. Just a gorgeous defensive player. At the plate, I don't know, man. If this is a full season, 25 home runs is definitely there for plate, I don't know, man. If this is a full season, 25 home runs is definitely there for him. I don't know. If I was them, Didi is

right toward the top of most important things to get done. Well, you know how there's always the piece that fits the puzzle more than anything? He actually made this puzzle fit better than anything in my mind. Because he moved Gene off the shortstop to third base where he's accepted it and he's dude he's played a damn good third base like really good

now offensively we're waiting you know what is it going to be like i get that okay but scott kingry playing second base has made i i feel like just just how drastic the difference between his range and Cesar's range is, I mean, it's night and day. It's no knock against Cesar because Scott Kingery has the ability to cover some ground, and you need it with Reese over there first. And you've got to be able to cover the ground. And I think where Didi has really excelled more than anything is putting everyone at ease and in spots to succeed,

if that makes sense on this. Yeah, and great culture guy, great team guy. Obviously, Girardi knows him well. I don't know if I would be fine if they extend him now. I would also be fine if they wait it out. I think the best argument to why they should try and sign him now is if you look at the other free agent shortstops available this offseason like jose iglesias is legitimately probably the best free agent shortstop moving along like it moving jose iglesias tim

backup who's like not even a shortstop really jordy mercer jt riddle i mean it is it it's an ugly ugly free agent class for shortstop dd is far, far and away the prize of that class. So, you know, if you do let him get to the market and he has a really good 60-game sprint, then you're putting yourself in a situation where if a team needs a shortstop out there, it's willing to pay for you, you could get no bidding worse. So I think from that perspective, it makes a lot of sense. And, like, what are they going to do next year? Are they going to move Gene back to shortstop?

I don't know. Like, I don't know what the plan is there other than trying to keep D.D. here for at least the next two years. Yeah, I can see that. I mean, honestly, I can see that happening. And for me, like with Gene, I think, look, he's comfortable playing third base. He plays a lot of short anyways in the shifts that they play.

So he gets it there. He's able to fill his time there. I just, look, when you look at this team, for me, the depth is a lot different than it has been in years past. And there's guys – it's good conversation rather than, like, why is this guy here? You know, when you have battles and you have, you know, to pick and choose and it's a tough choice, that's what you want.

That's what you want as an organization. And I feel like they've started to accumulate guys, and that's a tough choice, that's what you want. That's what you want as an organization. And I feel like they've started to accumulate guys, and that's a big thing. Well, it feels like they're accumulating guys not only in the field, but the bullpen, they might go youth. They might go in a youth movement right out from the gate. And, brother, that is not a bad idea. Like, I'm sorry, I'm on the page of seeing some of these kids. Like, the stuff that they've shown on the page of seeing some of these kids.

Like, the stuff that they've shown and you do it in the inning increments that they're doing, oh, God. Connor Brogdon? Best change-ups in Tamils. Bro, it is straight filth. It is straight filth. Especially when you look, it's like this is not a bullpen that you have a lot of confidence in a lot of guys. I mean, I really like Hector.

I feel confident with Hector. Jose Alvvarez i'm in on jose alvarez i mean adam morgan tommy hunter if they could say healthy but like that's it there's not another guy outside of these young guys who we haven't seen in major league games there's not another guy who i feel confident in knowing what i'm gonna get from those guys so i i absolutely think whether it's rosso or brogdon or clevenger or these guys, I think those are the types of guys who should get a shot. Rosso's got that Dave Stewart-like hook

when he goes behind his back. And then the same type of movement on his fastball, you're going, that dude's disgusting as well. It reminds me a little bit of Contreras from that standpoint. I hope they don't mess around.

I hope they don't mess around and worry about keeping guys down for a little bit. If Ramon Rosso's one of the best bullpen guys, get him up here from day one. You don't have time to mess around with him being up in Lehigh Valley. I think Ramon Rosso should be in the bullpen from day one. Brogdon's the same kind of thing. Clevenger, I think, is just nasty. Clevenger is a guy that you let him go down, right? This is opinion.

You let him go down, and once he gets just ready to go, like he is hot. You could just tell. He's throwing strikes, not walking, guys. That's a big problem with him is the walk percentage. You get him here right away. That's a big problem with him is the walk percentage. You get him here right away. That's the only thing with Clevenger. He's got to be around the zone. You can't be wasting your time with guys here that are going to be walking dudes.

Not in a 60-game sprint. I don't know. There might be a path to a pretty decent bullpen here. I actually – that is one of those things that I actually think is, is huge for them. Speaker 0 7, I think it's the biggest thing. I think it's the biggest thing. I think this offense is going to hit. I think the starting rotation, especially once we see Howard will be good enough. I think it's going to come down to, to the bullpen's ability to, to, you know, keep them in some games and save some games.

Speaker 3 7, Kev, how stupid has Spencer Howard looked? Speaker 4 7, Oh man. Well, look, I think we've built him up, right? And then when he matches that, you know what you've heard and you've seen, I've watched so many starts of his in the last couple years, just watching and

listening and going, okay, yeah, that looks great. And then you actually see it right in front of you and you're like, oh, God. Like, you're going fastball, curveball, slider, changeup, and you're going, what the hell is this? Like, where have you been? You know, like you've known about it. But you're like, oh, the moment he shows up.

And I think it's special stuff. It really is. The way he attacks hitters, and I think the other day, you know, him throwing to JT was a big deal. JT playing seven, you know, seven innings in an inter-squad game. Was it inter-squad or was that the Orioles? That was inter-squad. And I think after about – I think I want to say it was a second hitter.

I can't remember who it was, but you could just tell JT, like, looked out there going, all right, I'm going to call the game how I want. Like, not like we're going to work on some things here. You know, I want to see, he's like, all right. Like he just let the training wheels off right there. And he started calling the game. Well, no, because you want to, you want guys to get comfortable, right? You want guys, when they get on the big league mound, you want to make sure that they're comfortable. And it only took like two, it might've been even one hitter where he, like JT was just like, damn. All right. And you could just see the way he was working them and the way he was pitching, right. He was allowing

him to pitch. That was so huge. A guy like Brian price, the most, I mean, I think I was, when I was talking today to John and Joe, like my, my biggest thing I said was like, it's the biggest acquisition. 1. It's like the three of them with Joe Dillon, Brian Price, and Joe Girardi. I mean, that right there, you see the confidence that these guys have, right? Well, if Spencer Howard benefits from a guy like Brian Price, and he benefits from a guy like JT Realmuto, he benefits from a guy like Aaron Nola,

guys that he sees, right, that he has these conversations with of how to attack hitters, how to do things, he is around those people. He's around guys that give him confidence. They know his stuff. They've talked to him enough to know his personality, where he's going to go with. And I think that is a – we are seeing just a little bit of Spencer Howard right now.

There's a lot more in that tank. And it's going to be – like like the way I look at it, too, what if Vince Velasquez is real? Okay, we always do this what if, right? If he is for real, if you get Zach Eflin going well, how would that guy look in the seventh and eighth? Ninth. Just shutting down a ball game real quick?

I mean, it's possible. It really is possible. And I wouldn't – I mean, if they are rolling with the starting rotation, let's just say they do it. That guy in the pen, you're talking about a shot in the arm. Oof. Oof. Good God.

Yeah, so it's interesting because you've got all these scenarios. The roster, how it's made up in the 30-man is one thing, but you've got to keep on looking at the 26. There's got to be – there's going to be a method to their madness, right, when it comes to putting out the first 30 because you feel like you're going to have guys in and out. Zach Wheeler having his baby today. Congratulations, Zach.

Not going to miss the start. So that's a huge deal, you know. Unless he realizes, like, damn, I'm not getting any sleep. Can I get an extra day? Well, Joe Girardi and his emotional intelligence will totally understand from that standpoint. Not sure the last guy would have got it, but Joe would be like, hey, man, if you need a day, take a day. That's the beauty of this Phillies coaching staff.

As we move along here, Jack, so, no, yeah, I agree. I agree. I agree. Look, we have seen Joe Girardi from the very beginning. This is not like just to sing his praises on anything. I agree. I agree. I agree. Look, we have seen Joe Girardi from the very beginning. This is not like just to, you know, sing his praises on anything. He has proven to us what he is, who he is, and what he's about. And you could say everything you want. Nothing's scripted on this guy. Nothing.

This guy is genuinely a great human being first right and so when it comes to the zach wheeler like he these guys know he has his back you know each other's back and it's it's baffling to me to see the difference and did the gabe have the guy's back yeah absolutely he did you know like the random shout out sean rodrig Rodriguez for taking two pitches today. Great job. You know, like that's that, that stuff. I'm not saying you need that,

but you don't, you don't as a player, you know what you, you you're, you're doing right. You don't need someone to go out of his way to sing your praises in the media. You don't.

So, well, yeah, I would also think that it also like other players see that and go like, he didn't do that or that wasn't good or what, you know, I'm sure there are a lot of players in that locker room. We're looking at what he that it also, like, other players see that and go, like, he didn't do that or that wasn't good. You know, I'm sure there are a lot of players in that locker room who look at what he said and said, bro, like, come on, man. Yeah, maybe just a few. Maybe just a few.

So as we are here, the High Hopes podcast with Pintar for breakfast, Jack Fritz, James Seltzer, myself, Kevin Franzen. Boys, I know everyone has your your twitter handles let's make sure that it gets out there jack the single most james you would agree like the single most like the highest highest tweeter philly's tweeter so yeah i i mean maybe ever i mean the volume is insane. You might say Jack is the Dean of Philly's Twitter. How about that? I would, I would agree with that. I would agree with that. Yeah. I mean that's a lot of pressure. Um, it's really not a press like any pressure when it is who you are. Yeah. I mean, you know, pressure makes diamonds.

I feel like I was, uh, I'm built for this. But sure. We've let ourselves down a hard path, Kevin. Yeah, we have. We have. Listen, I mean, do we need to talk about my Twitter game? Listen, I don't know. My Twitter handle is at JackFritzWIP. If you want a lot of Phillies tweets, you get Phillies tweets.

That's what I'm here to do. It's directly my brand. And I've said it before. I'll say it again. They're really the only thing I care about. And I need here to do. It's directly my brand. And I've said it before. I'll say it again. They're really the only thing I care about. And I need them to be good. Well, Jill will say something about that, too. I'm talking not real.

Well, Phillies are real life. But, like. They are real life. That is your life. I know. And, honestly, I'm feeling a little, you know. James can give his Twitter handle, even though it's just him retweeting and putting out. It's at James Helzer, and it's just uh him retweeting and putting out yeah it's at james seltzer and it's just me tweeting out podcasts it's just it's just tweeting out podcast links

from once once games start again i make it sound like it's a path so i'll be there yeah i know james james just like he just is just not a twitter guy you know he'll check his mentions every once in a while check and see if they're a dumpster fire or not and then and then go go spend life and go spend time in his real life meanwhile i'm sitting there living and dying with these freaking inner squad games on youtube this is a really fair way to put it yeah yeah i got franzen and murph on my on my youtube and i honestly honestly i re-watched the last week I was watching them, obviously, when I got home and then since I couldn't

sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about Vince Alaska's breaking out, I was waking up at like 6am and re-watching it. It truly felt great to be back. And honestly, honestly, like, I was kind of, so, full disclosure, never lie to the High Hopes listeners, Kevin.

That's fine. You never lied to the Pintop or Breakfast and High Hopes listeners. If you're going to join this podcast or be a part of this podcast, you cannot lie to the High Hopes listeners. Perfect. That's part of the deal. Fine with me? Yeah.

Honestly, I did a predictions thing for Radio.com, and I was giving out AL East and kind of went through the whole NL, and I was looking at it, and I was like giving out you know AL East and kind of went through the whole NL and I was looking at it and I was like there is just no shot this team is making the playoffs given the teams in the NL East and then before we started rolling on this podcast it came out

that we might get expanded playoffs and dear Major League Baseball I'm gonna need you to figure it out because I'm feeling a pen and chase baby. I mean, like there's a legitimate excitement for like, obviously we're excited for baseball way back, but there's a legitimate chance this team can make the playoffs. There's 16 teams that might make it like that's crazy. It's it's, it's almost go time. Speaker 3 and here's the other thing I would go with uh this is this is not being broadcast or

this is trying to be honest and everything to the high hopes uh they already know on pine tower you know shout out 100 listeners my bad um anyway uh i i do think with based on how other teams have had guys pull out, guys being sick, some guys getting hurt early on in camp right now, in summer camp, I do think when you look at the Phillies roster, knock on wood, they could seriously – Things are breaking their way, let's say, right? Things are breaking their way, let's say, right? Things are breaking their way a little bit. And part of winning a division, part of winning, you know, moving forward in playoffs is luck.

You don't want to ever say that injuries are luck. But when other teams have guys that are missing, you know, certain times, I mean, that's some good juju going there, right? I mean, that's some good juju going there, right? I mean, that's a big thing. And for me, I look at it, two guys in ESPN picked the Phillies to win the East. Who were they? Because they should be applauded. No one knows. You cannot tell me you know every single team that's going to be winning their division because every division is so different. The Dodgers could, look, conceivably, the Dodgers probably should run away with the NL West. We should say that.

But what if they get out like two years ago, they started out, they were 500 through two months. And then they went and played like 900 baseball after that. But what if? There's so many what ifs in this whole thing like for me the chicago white socks are that team that could get red hot for 60 games they got a bunch of streaky guys that if they get hot enough oof right yeah they got a lot of young talent too too. I think taking it a step further, too, I would argue that this is, in the history of baseball or in the history of the last 50 years, whatever you want to say, this is the hardest season to ever predict because it is not, look, talent matters, injury, luck, all that stuff is going

to play a role. But this season, more than any other, these players are playing in the most unique set of circumstances in the history of baseball. These guys are playing in the middle of a pandemic with all kinds of fears and insecurity and unsure about everything, you know, getting your family sick, you getting sick, all this stuff, the players, the teams, the organizations that are able to have guys compartmentalize that are able to put that in the back of their mind and focus on baseball, lock in when it matters. Those are the teams that are going to have the most success and i don't think we know who

those teams are like i think you need a certain level of talent like if you say in a normal year there are seven teams eight teams that could realistically you know heading in you feel like have a real chance on the world series i think you double that this year i think it's like 15 teams just because we don't know how these guys are going to react to this unique moment in time and then like you said streaks a bad start could sink a team a great start could make a team make the playoffs i mean there are so many different factors and that's why with the braves especially right i mean like look with freddie being sick and then now coming back and he's played, right, that is huge for them.

And I would say for most, it's huge. Acuna wasn't great, but you know who he is, right? You know Albies, who he is. If they do get off to a slow start, I mean, that's a good thing. Now, they could get red hot in a 30-game span, right? We could talk about it. So it is important how you get out of the chute. Jack referenced it earlier. Like, do they sense that urgency?

You know, the Phillies. And for me, I look at it like, yes, they do, because they understood where they were the last couple years. And they started out red hot. Like, not red hot, but like, you know, you're in first place in July both months or both seasons under Gabe Kapler. And then it kind of, you know, we get that whole thing. So I think that there is a sense of urgency from them.

You know what scares me about the Braves, though? Because you win two straight NLEs titles. You get Ozuna. Who killed all kinds of young talent in the pipeline still. The Shoemake kid is the one that, like, have you seen him play? Who? The shortstop. I don't think I've seen him yet.

Out of Texas A&M. He's a lefty hitter. This kid, oh, my. Yeah, I mean, the big. Braden Shoemake from Texas A&M, lefty hitter. I mean, if Swanson were to go at some point, because, like, he kills us. He seems to kill us every time. I'm okay with that.

They have depth everywhere. Oh, I know. Colin Patsy, Drew Waters, Ian Anderson, they're stacked, man. Yeah, I mean, Kyle Wright hasn't even figured it out yet, and I still think he's got some nasty stuff. I'm kind of – 98, no big deal. Yeah, yeah, just roll out of bed.

It's nasty. And then Marcelo Zuna, I don't know. I haven't looked up the stats, but I'm 97% sure he bats 600 against the Phillies. Like, when I was talking about – Jack, it's actually 700. I think you got that wrong. And, like, I don't know if I'm exaggerating, but they're always, like, tank shots. Like, no doubters.

Now, I do think it helped that they were all off of Sean O'Sullivan. Yeah. But, like, Marcelo Zuna, I'm already, that team just, they have so many freaking Phillies. Like Freddie Freeman's impossible to get out. Acuna, Swanson. Now the ad Marcelo's like, thank God Donaldson's gone. Like Donaldson, Donaldson was another one that just stepped right into a Braves uniform and all of a sudden I'm just going to match against the Phillies. Well, come on, I mean, Chris Camargo's a really good player, you know? And you look at that another one that just stepped right into a Braves uniform and all of a sudden I'm just going to match against the Phillies.

Well, come on, I mean, because Camargo's a really good player, you know, and you look at that and I'm like, oh man. I think, well, but it takes it. But to your point before, Kev, I do think like Marquegas opts out. Yes, another killer. That's a leader. Even if he's playing, he's not, Freeman is not necessarily like in total game shape to start the season.

Cole Hamels, not going to be ready to start the season. Who knows how long it takes. Same thing with the Mets. Marcus Stroman just tore his calf muscle. He's going to be out a while. I mean, Rick Porcello is going to miss a start. Not that I'm a big Porcello fan, but he's a starter for them. Is that a new player?

Yeah, who's Rick Porcello? Porcello. There you go. Is that like, I didn't say Gallo, I said Callow. I didn't call you out on it. My cousin Vinny right here or what? It does feel, we get into name stuff a lot, Kevin. It does feel like things, if you're looking at it,

like things are breaking more in the Phillies direction than not as far as the division goes. Yeah, I mean, Austin Riley stinks. Two homers tonight, guys. Don't worry about it. Austin Riley? Yeah. He stinks. I'm not worried about Austin Riley. Really? You think that guy's – okay. Yeah, I think he stinks. I think he's like Frank Gore.

Now, I know you like Frank Gore, but I think he's kind of a Frank Gore-ish kind of player. And I'm sending this take to Frenchie right now. Yeah, like, look. But he's so – here's the deal. He's 22. He has so much time to develop. Like, truly develop. He had nowhere else to go and develop in the minor leagues he was crushing everything so that that you know that that's a part for him that i think

will come he'll have to understand you know obviously he's gonna have to learn how to hit something that spins yeah he can hit a fastball we We do know that. Yes. How about against the Philadelphia Phillies? Yes. In 89 games for Marcelo Zuna. He's a 281 hitter, 15 homers. So not 700. 48 RBIs. 793 OPS.

And 15 homers is a lot. I don't know. I'm just saying during the rebuild. 15 homers? Did you say 15 homers? 15 homers, Yeah. And in the 89 games, it's not bad. Uh, he has one every six games. I mean, that's pretty good. Whenever there's more homers against the brewers and 69 games. I mean, that's interesting. That's actually pretty impressive. 17 homers in 69 games against the brewers. Yeah. Wow. That's really impressive. Killed the bro.

So we talked about the braves. I don't know where we at, where we at on the Brewers. Yeah. Wow, that's really impressive. Killed the Brewers. So we talked about the Braves. I don't know. Where are we at on the Nationals? Look, I think when you look at the Nationals, I'm never going to say that there's any positive out of the pandemic. None. And I hope that comes across. There's none.

But if there is a silver lining for them, they got that extra rest for those guys that went deep in the playoffs. Totally agree with you, Kevin. What is the biggest problem these guys have year after year, you know, they go to the playoffs or whatever, they have that short break, and I feel like – and maybe I'm way off. Maybe I am. Maybe this is something I'm looking way too much into.

But for me, I look at the Nationals as being a scary team with the pitchers, the starting pitching, especially those guys that can go now deep into games. We'll see. Yeah, I feel like, I don't know. I get this sense that we're, as an industry, overlooking them too much, not giving them enough credit for what they did last year and who they really are because you go from the first 60 games to what they were at the end of the year.

They're the best team in baseball for pretty much four months of the year, five months of the year, four. We'll go four. Yeah. No, and then I think you nailed it on the head. I would say the two teams that again to your point there's no real silver lines there's no positives out of the the pandemic but the two teams who benefit most from the way this played out i think are the nationals and the

astros the astros for obvious reasons not even going to opposing stadiums and fans and all that stuff um but i i think the nationals like i i really was down on the Nationals before the pandemic happened for that exact reason. They had to work those guys so hard, so deep into October, seven game series, seven game series. Scherzer, Scherzer, Strasburg. Yeah, exactly. So I really I was I thought that was going to be a big advantage for the Phillies, that the Nationals were not going to be as hot out of the gate. And losing Rendon obviously is massive, but I'm with you. Look, if you're rolling out a ready-to-go Scherzer, Strasburg, and Corbin

at the top of your rotation, you have to be taken seriously. Well, see, you bring up the good point, though. I was on record in saying that the Nationals had the ability to mask the loss of Bryce. The ability to mask the loss of Bryce, you're never going to fulfill what Bryce did for them with one guy. You're going to have to have multiple guys' career years to match that, right? But you lose Rendon on top of it now. You don't have that. You don't have the pieces, what we see.

Keboom could be something. Carter Keboom, he's good. But could he be Rendon? Eh? Could they have a lot of guys put up Rendon-type numbers? I don't know. They had enough talent in the minor league system with Soto,

Robles, and not even the minor league system, but with Eaton to combine those three guys to make the loss of Bryce up for it. Right in the outfield. The infield, I don't see it yet. I don't. Yeah. Listen, you guys are a bunch of babies.

That team's finishing fourth in the division this year. I don't care. Oh, buddy. Come on. You kidding? You kidding me? Jan Gomes. Kurt is now – Suzuki's going to hit seventh out. Kurt Suzuki is going to hit seventh out.

Kurt Suzuki is going to hit a back-breaking home run against us. Maybe the king of all Phillies killers. Because he's the random Phillies killer that sucks usually, but against the Phillies it's like, oh, here comes Kurt Suzuki. Howie Kendrick might hit 400 this year. All the rumors from everything you've heard down from Washington is that he's still crushing the baseball. Starlin Castro.

Guys, I witnessed him hitting.390 for 70 games in A ball. Yeah. Actually, he was 60 games in Rancho Cucamonga, the year that Brandon Wood hit 43 homers. Howie Kendrick was the most ridiculous hitter I've ever seen in my life. As a teammate, he was one of the most ridiculous hitters I've ever seen in my life. And still to this day is one of the most ridiculous hitters I've ever seen in my life. As a teammate, he was one of the most ridiculous hitters I've ever seen in my life, and still to this day is one of the most ridiculous hitters I've ever seen.

Former Philly great. Got a McKenzie Mills for him. Quarter key boom. Get out of here. Trey Turner hasn't had a big hit in 100 years. Now, Juan Soto is obviously going to kill us. Yeah, Juan Soto is going to kill us. Listen, Juan Soto is

probably the best bet in baseball. Is Juan Soto the best bet in us. Listen, Juan Soto is probably the best bet in baseball. Is Juan Soto the best bet in baseball, him and Acuna? You mean long term? Yeah. I would go Acuna over Soto, but really close. Yeah. Yeah, I'll go there. Yeah, but then Robles does nothing for me, and Adameen, nah.

Listen, he had a nice postseason. Nice postseason. Adameen's been a pretty big disappointment down in Washington. So, no, I'm not. Listen, sure, obviously the big three is the big three, but did you see what that Phil's line-up did to Max Scherzer? So, you know, and that bullpen's still trash. You know, Doolittle was cooked last year.

Will Harris is like 39 years old. Daniel Hudson had one shot in the arm. That's all he had left. Tanner Rainey is good, and Wander Suero is going to be good. But that's it. I'm so sick and tired of the Nationals. Last year was a fluke. I'm out. They're finishing fourth in the division. The Phillies

are going to finish third, and the Mets are going to finish second. Wow. Oof. Wow. You're coming in hot. It was takes. You're coming in hot it was aches you were coming in hot listen i'm just sitting here thinking there's a three-man pod so it's easy to sit here and gather my thoughts start start looking over the nationals roster here you guys guys uh clamoring oh sure is your strasburg i give respect i i give respect to where it's due and And that, to me, look, I think we still, as a whole industry, we don't give them enough credit for what they did.

We don't. And that's a hell of a team. I mean, they have more to make up for this year. Losing Ryan Zimmerman for the year is, you know, for most, they lose him throughout a season every year, it seems like, right, through injury, but you're losing them out of the clubhouse. And that's a big part of that clubhouse. So that's the one I'm interested to see who takes over that.

Max is awesome. You talk about, like, as far as leader. But it's who can make up for Ryan. And that almost goes in line with, you know, you lose J-Dub. Well, you have Ryan Zerman there that could make up for the the clubhouse type stuff there right and you lose Ryan as well now and you're like oh that this I don't know I don't know I don't I don't I don't know where we're gonna go with that it feels like it feels like it has to be Scherzer I mean if there was one

guy to do it I mean Scherzer's the guy that could carry that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, he's put anything on his plate, he's in, right? I mean, it just seems, it feels like that. What about the Mets? I mean, with the guys that have gone down so far and Jacob DeGrom being hurt. Brutal. That's brutal. I mean, it might be, right now, that might be the biggest injury in baseball right now. What happens with that? How good is he?

I'm sorry. If there's two people in this world I sing the praises of more than anything, it's Jack Fritz and Jacob deGrom. Wow. And not James Seltzer. I like that. Well, no. I mean, my whole thing is –

Well, I mean, how could I be compared to two pitching greats like Jacob deGrom and Jack Fritz? Two guys that just know how to get outs um but i mean like scherzer and de grom are the two guys that i i feel because they compete and everything and i feel like for baseball in general you hate seeing guys like that being down at any point in time so uh whether or not you know he's missing a long time or whatever or no time it's they they start piling up and you get the stroman deal and you're like dang man like that actually that rotation scared me because that was the one thing i told

you last year jack and they actually did it at the end and i don't care who they were playing i got an argument on mlb network radio talking about this because uh the guy i was working with was saying well they played nobody like the game of, in my mind, is a little screwed up anyways. But in my mind, you still got to go out there and compete and do it, right? And it doesn't matter who you're playing, like the Phillies with the Marlins, right? You still got to go out there and compete and win. In baseball, so many things can happen for that you know to go wrong they played such good baseball in the second half because that starting staff was ridiculous

their first baseman hits 50 something homers and you're like good god that guy's gonna go nowhere because why because he's got the like the simplest swing for a big dude right for sure uh and and i'm looking at them. That's scary. Now you start taking away some of that pitching depth. Well, Stroman, I mean. Syndergaard, Stroman. Tours calf today.

That's a – I mean, now I got to rely on Rick Porcello. Porcello? New guy. Rick Porcello. I don't know. Did you guys watch the Yankees-Mets game from, what was it, Sunday night? Like he was throwing – No, I have a life. He was – okay, well, I was watching know. Did you guys watch the Yankees-Mets game from Sunday night? No, I have a life. Okay, well, I was watching it.

Listen, just because you two have young kids doesn't mean I can't sit there and watch Rick Porcello versus the Yankees. He was like 87 miles an hour. With sink. With sink. Yeah, he might be. But, I mean, Porcello and Michael Waka is the anchors to a rotation, isn't it exactly?

But you look at those two, right? And I talked about this last year, and I thought that the Astros did it poorly, where they had it going Verlander, Granke, Cole, all the way in the regular season. Or it could have been Cole, Granke, Verlander. When they got to postseason, then they stacked up Cole, Verlander, and then Granke, Verlander. When they got to postseason, then they stacked up Cole, Verlander, and then Granke. And I feel like you put Granke in the middle of them, they run through everyone

because it's such a drastic change, right? All three guys. When I look at the Mets, a guy like Rick Porcello, he mixed in perfect between DeGrom and Stroman. I'm not saying he's a two, but just how you can mix and match and get guys off their game in a series with him in the middle of them or a walk in the middle of them I think matters.

And so it's just like losing one of those guys, losing a Stroman, losing a DeGrom, losing a Syndergaard. You know, I mean, you still have Matz. Is Matz the second half Matz last year where he gave up like two runs? Or is he, huh, I don't know. That's the big question. The Steven Massa got lit up by the Phillies. Ten runs.

Eight runs. Was it eight runs in an inning or ten was it? I thought it was ten. I think it might have been ten. I thought it was eight. It was my first game doing it at Citizen Music Park. Well, then you should know better than I should. That's on you. I was so fired up. I was like, this is awesome.

So you're talking about the rotations. That's like going from Max Scherzer to getting shut down by Thomas Eschelton. Well, and that's why, look, it is not. How about this? It's like going from Max Scherzer to Jack Fritz. I mean, like going from Pooslinger to a Pooslinger. I mean, I am pretty comparable to Thomas Eshelman.

I mean, you talk about, you know, all you're doing right now. They're trying to, Jack in a in a text to me james i can't tell you exactly what it is uh but it rhymes with homer over you know joe dylan okay and and what he's brought in the velocity training and that's all they're doing right there they're really emphasizing velocity and all that so now you get in a guy like eshelman it's gonna throw you off in that game right you're gonna be bending at the hip you're trying to reach you you think it's coming because all you've been seeing for the last two weeks is you know 95 plus off a machine off of reaction time drills that you could do it's just anything and everything is all about

velocity you throw an eshelman boom you get like that's what's gonna happen yeah it's still tough to watch you know it's still tough to watch no it is i i get it i'm just saying i'm just saying and look but that is the kind of thing that like once the season starts you know you still need to be able to hit those type of guys so they have to figure out some sort of adjustment right that's going to work in those situations. Cause you have, you will see pictures like that. Before we go, we got to talk about Mookie bets. We also real quick. I have to talk about the fact that I remember Kevin Franzen's first home game at citizens bank part better than he does. Cause it was eight runs. Wow. Was it, it just seemed like this. I thought they went double digits cause it was unbelievable.

Well, they, they scored 14 total, but it was eight off of Matt's. Wow. Yeah. That game reminded me. Do you remember, Jay? Well, I don't know. Do you remember that game against the Reds where they scored like 10 runs in the first off Cueto? Oh, yeah, of course.

And they ended up winning the game like 20 to something. That was just one of the random fun nights of the run. I think that was the same series. I think it was the same series that Travis Wood had a perfect game into the eighth, and he was facing Halliday, and the Phillies broke up in the ninth, and Halliday still threw a complete game shutty. That's just Doc being Doc, though.

That sounds about right for Roy. He's going to keep it in. He's like, I don't care if this guy's doing it. I'm going to keep doing my job and we'll win. That's just how it's going to go. Mookie Betts, 12 years, 360? $65 million signing bonus.

Obviously awesome for the Dodgers, awesome for Mookie Betts. How about JT? What do you guys got? Yeah, look, obviously I think JT Romito may be the second happiest person in Major League Baseball. I guess third if you want to say Betts' agent is up there. But, yeah, look, I think for JT, I mean, this is a huge deal

because, look, personally, I thought that the Phillies had screwed it up by not already having him under contract before all this happened. But once all this happened, I did understand the idea of the Phillies wanting to step back and try to get a better feel for what the market is. I did think that heading into the offseason, once the offseason happened, that owners were just not going to hand out the type of contracts that they would have had all this not gone down, especially after crying poor and saying all this money they're losing and all this stuff. I just, I expected them to take it out of the free agent class.

And look, they still might. Like, we don't know how it's going to ultimately play out. This is one team that was willing to do a deal with a transcendent generational type of player. But I think if you're JT Romito and you see Mokie bets get essentially what we all thought he was going to get maybe even slightly more than than you know in those numbers it was 350 to 400 were those numbers that you kept hearing he's right in that range i think it's a huge win for romito and i'm sure that he's not going to sign for a significantly smaller number than he would have prior which

i i don't know if you try and sign him last week maybe you could i don't know i don't know what the inner workings are i don't know where he's at if i'm him i'm taking it to free agency either way like why not at this point personally but um i definitely think you're you're really happy to see this contract if you're j2 ramito yeah and it's uh it's you know it's just annoying it's all it's It's getting annoying that it's not done yet. The fact that this happened, I think, was surprising to me. I didn't think anyone was going to sign during the season. I thought everyone was pretty much going to wait until free agency.

Yeah. And the thing that annoys me the most is this could be over if they— now, obviously, it takes two to tango, but this could be over if the now obviously takes to the tango but like this could this could be over if the phillies wanted to be over like they rather than risking losing the player like this could just be done and and jt could be here and we don't have to worry about it and like the whole thing with jt is i don't know what the plan is if he's not here and i don't know what the plan is if jt's not here i don't know where they go from here uh you know it would i mean bryce would it's important to

factor in your best player when you're talking about building a team around them and it's just going to be a hard convincing uh to to tell bryce that the team's going to be fine if JT's not here. Like, sure, they can go out and sign George Springer, and maybe everything would be fine. But, I mean, everything that JT brings is part of the value of JT Romito, how he calls a game, his defensive prowess. His bat, I think people make too big a stink about the whole, oh, he'll be a DH. His bat's I think people make too big a stink about the whole, oh, he'll be a DH.

His bat's not special. No, it's definitely not. For a catcher, it's special. See, that's where we'll always differ. That's where we'll always differ. The argument you could say is maybe if he's not catching every day, does that allow him to be a better hitter? Sure, I think that's a fair argument but but right now the reason he the reason he is you know his bat has so much value

is because he plays catcher yeah and look here's the other thing too as jt gets older if he gets slower it's still faster than every catcher in game baseball yeah well that's that's right so so you're talking about an athleticism where you know his legs are are a huge deal because he's not slow he's not yadi yadi was like you we're seeing someone go from really slow to like almost slower than benji right and that's hard to do yeah for sure and so like for me jt the is just, you know, physically, that's a huge thing. How about this? 115 of the $365 million is deferred. Ah!

So he didn't get the contract we all thought he was going to. Well, and here's the deal. It's a big number. He does not include opt-outs or no trade clause. So he has those still in there with the no-trade. So does not include opt-outs or no-trade. So a very team, actually quite a team-friendly deal. Definitely.

If Betts is traded, deferrals in subsequent years will be converted into present-day dollars, creating greater financial value. So it's a win on both sides. And if the Dodgers end up getting out of it at some point, I mean, it's the benefit to the player. There you go. So there's a lot of things and look, they're going to have to get creative with JT, but I mean, you've got guys coming off the books next year. But I think building this franchise, it's not a one-player thing, right? Like, you're not looking at Bryce Harper should never alone win you a world. It can't. Nope.

It is about the whole team aspect, and it always will piss me off that everyone puts everything on Bryce about the $330 million. Like, he didn't play up to $330. Yeah, no one in the history of the game has ever played a $330 million a year. But what he did was play above his value in what he brings as far as, what, $26 million, $27 million a year? That is insane.

The insanity people think. Bryce Harper has done a benefit. The Phillies did themselves a benefit in getting a contract this long because it starts to dwindle down towards the end when we see all these other ones go up and you can't build teams around that. Bryce Harper has made it possible for the Phillies to build and continue to build around him. And maybe he is the bar, right?

Like maybe we set it and no one's ever going to make more than Bryce. Well, that's fine. Because if you could have, it's hard to build around a team around $35 million a year, right? You take $10 million or $9 million off of that, you can start spreading that pretty good. Well, I think that's why it makes it so frustrating that the JT thing's even gone on this far.

Because, like, Bryce did sign that contract to add stars to it, and you traded 6-0 for JT. Like, JT's the guy that, when you trade for him, you're paying him. So that's what makes it a little bit frustrating. But I will say, I think, like, JT is also definitely worried about setting a precedent for catchers and making sure that they get their money. And what sucks for him is that it's just not the—I don't think it's the offseason to do that. And it's unfortunate that the pandemic happened from that standpoint for him,

but it's kind of the realities of the situation. Like, the reality of the situation, he's not— I don't think he's going to get $26 million a year. I don't think he's going to surpass the Maurer contract. I think there's a middle ground that these two have to come to. It'll happen. I'm full belief

that it's going to happen. Full belief. Here's my other and last point before I get off. 16-team playoffoff we already referred to it if the first round is best of three do you like it hate it love it i'm i'm fine with it like i don't i like it better than best of one for sure yeah so i think that's an improvement. I would always prefer more games. I think that's what baseball is, and I think the longer the series,

the more likely you're going to have the correct team win. But I think three is fine. Again, I think it's certainly better than one. Yeah, it's just a shame because the one games are always great. The one games are great. The three-game series, now you're talking like, oh, God. Like, you talk about as a fan. Excruciating.

Oh, it's so bad. As a player, it's even worse. But, I mean, like, as a fan, like, you are living and dying. You're going, oh, my God. Like, no. That's how I look at it. Guys, real quick, real quick, some breaking news. that's how I look at it guys real quick real quick some breaking news

I have just come to an agreement to allow the Toronto Blue Jays to play in my basement this year everything's fine dude this whole thing is so screwy I don't get it I just wish you know someone tweeted out earlier it's like can you

make sure that Toronto's taken care of before you worry about the playoff thing let's be honest here. It's not a bad point. I mean, have you ruled out? The season starts tomorrow. I will say this. I will say this.

Let's say they're the road warriors, and they're just playing everything on the road the rest of the year. I think that's what's going to happen. Honestly, at this point. Would you put money on them? I would. Why? Because that is the ultimate.

I think that would be the ultimate. I don't know. Just feel good story. Just someone having to do like, you know, hey, I'm coming away. Oh, yeah, it would be fun. Come together. That's a tough beat, man. Everyone else is at home, and you're in hotels the entire season.

You're away from your family for months. They already have to do that. I think it's already a really tough spot for the Blue Jays. I'm not expecting a lot out of the Blue Jays this year. Well, it's one of those things where you're going, man, like, I hope for the players because, I mean, look, with their families and everything, it's kind of, I can't even imagine. Like, being a player that has a family with them in Toronto,

not being allowed, you know what I mean? Like, it just, now it's, now it adds in something else, and you're going, oh. It's brutal. I just hope it ends up great. I really do. So before we get out of here as well, I mean, Kev, how weird was it calling a baseball game without a baseball game in front of you?

It was weird. But, guys, I mean, look, I have a great time around the game anyways. I'm going to find a way. And you sit back and you realize you already knew how pro he was but scott franski's so pro like when it comes to this friend of the podcast friend of the product that is right am i even a friend of the podcast uh you're gonna technically because it's a cross pod it's like no, no. Even on two crossovers, I would say that's a friend of the pod. All right.

Anyway, it's difficult. It's worth it, obviously. I just think that when you take away something that's so organic right in front of you, right, that just happens and now you're watching it from a screen, I really feel like we should be doing it from a bar agreed with a beer why not look doing a game

being lucky enough to call a game is awesome it sucks there's fun to almost leave this in or something I think it'svin's best point yet no he's crushing it uh really impressed at this point kevin yeah i think he can still hear us too

which makes it even more frustrating for me i mean just i totally agree kev another great point i think the smartest thing he's ever said i think it's the smartest thing he's ever said as well unequivocally yeah yeah is he gonna pop back up is he back there he is hello there we go all right hey you guys are here the whole time all right so what i would say is look calling a game is unbelievable not have not being there in the ballpark sucks but it it is what it is. We're going to have to make the most of it. We will make the most of it. Hopefully it sounds good to you guys. The question I have, because the NBA, I watched a little bit of the NBA game today, and they had their, you know, like the NBA, playing music, right?

Yeah, up and down the court. What if they had just some sort of soundtrack going on in the background, not crowd noise? Would you be down with that? No, because you're not a pitcher. You don't understand. You've got to lock in. You can't be distracted by the music.

All right, Kevin Costner, here we go. Clear the mechanism. Exactly. You've got to lock in. That's the way he sees a pitcher. I'm just trying to think of other things. The biggest thing is MLB, the Phillies, all that, they they're trying they're trying to make the most realistic you know broadcast we can it just it's tough yeah yeah i can imagine yeah i mean it's definitely tough um so i want to make a bet

i'm making i'm making this bet with both of you oh Oh, I like that. Mookie? Assuming we disagree with you, of course. I think you will disagree with me. I am betting, I'll bet you, beers on me that Vince Velasquez. Wait, wait, wait. Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on. We got to like, it can't be from Pops' brewing company. Okay. Can't be from there because we know that you're not paying for it.

It's great beer. It wouldn't be losing a bet. It would you're not paying for it. It's great beer. It wouldn't be losing a bet. It would be, you know. You're giving a handout. I'll pay for beers. I'll pay for beers. Wherever we go, I'll pay for beers. Making sure that we're on the same page, right, James?

Yeah, this is very to camera view, by the way, Kevin, and very disappointing. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. No, it's actually thinking in realistic terms here. I love bets. I am betting that Vince Velasquez will have an ERA under three, five this year. Deal. I'm in.

I bet you. I take the over deal. All right. Deal. Have fun. Have fun buying. Have fun buying all those beers. I can't take that bet.

I believe I actually believe. Speaker 0 1 and I only want it. I was thinking Vinnie's going to be below three, five. Oh, have fun buying those beers loser. Yeah, I know. I, I, if, if he could stay with what he's been doing, oh my God. Like, Oh my God. When Vinny three, five is that and Jack is crying about it. I'm going to, all right. So I'll take, I'll take the bet, but my, my thing is going to be a three seven. Okay. So I will take the over, but it's for me, I look at him being a below four guy this year. James below four. Um, okay. So you're saying, so I'm, I'm betting both of you separately. Is that,

no, I'm just, we're just, I'm just, I'm just curious if you're willing to go below four. Look, I think he's going to be around four. So I wouldn't bet on below four, but if I had to bet, I would bet on over four. I think he's in the low fours, but I wouldn't be shocked if he's 3-9-6 or something like that. But I would take the over on four if had to. If Vinny Velo is a three, nine, six guy, we're still having a parade down. It's a, it's a win. I think it'll be over before. Yeah. I think it'll be okay. Why do you, why do you hate disappointing? Why do you hate disappointing? Isn't it more fun if we make a bet? If I had said, I agree, there's no bet. Well, you said three, five. So I took

the bet at three, seven and you know, like when I win, I think we're all good. I think Speaker 3 and me and Kev will be on the under a four. James will be on the over a four. Yeah. So it's double beers for James double beers for James and everything. Double beers for us. Yeah. Speaker 0 5. Again, the second one, I have a blast doing it. High, high hopes podcast getting it where you get it. I'm going to be on the, on the, on the, it's again, the second one, I have a blast doing it. High Hopes Podcast, get anywhere you get it. It is the

best, number one. It is absolutely number one Phillies podcast out there. I believe it. I don't lie to you guys. I don't lie to your fans. Thank you. My fans. You guys actually have like a marketing team for it, so it's all good. Appreciate it. We do, man like a marketing team for it. So it's all good. Appreciate it. We do man. So we do baseball. It's back. It is.

Like last prediction here before we get out. I mean, what are the two and one this weekend? Sweep one and two. I'm going to get two in one, two in one coming out of the weekend. Oh, that's, that's a bold take. That's the, that's the hottest take of this podcast. Really want to know. I think they start five and oh, wow. I do. Wow. And when it's because, because the reason why I say that is it's going to be the point where it's going to give everyone the false hope. I think. Are we recording this? Yeah, we're still recording. Perfect. So I think that false hope and then it's going to become discussion like, where

are we going to go? I am saying 5-0 to start the year because of one reason and one reason only. For Sports Talk Radio. Bang. That's all I care about. Yes. Let's all I care about. Yes.

Let's go.