High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Phils take 3 of 4 from the Braves & Walker Buehler and Tim Mayza are here!

Episode Date: September 1, 2025

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz discuss the Phillies' bounce back series against the Braves before diving into Dave Dombrowski signing both Walker Buehler and Tim Mayza. Presented by Miller Lite To purchase Ring The Bell by Jack Fritz and Kevin Reavy go to ⁠RingTheBellBook.com⁠ 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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High Hope, smiling through a broken nose. Oh, hi hope, high hope. I feel a little less alone. Yo. Oh, it is another edition of the high hopes podcast, sponsored by Miller Light, official partner. I'm filled off you, Phillies. Tastes like Miller Time, Philadelphia,

celebrate responsibly. Fritz, the loss yesterday was the lockiest lock of all the locks in the history of baseball. baseball. Mets lost two. I feel so good that I didn't come on here and say season over after that Met series. Mets lose three of four of the Marlins. Braves win three of, Philly's win three of four of the Braves. And we're basically right back where we started. And they have a city field problem. But you know what? I got to see Kyle Schwabry and four home runs in a baseball game, Fritzy. Let's go, dude. Honestly, look, I will get a lot to get a new day, obviously. But I, I,

think at the end of the day um i think yesterday was an annoying loss and the way it happened is frustrating and the fact that i don't know maybe hose albrano doesn't need steroids i don't know but what i do know was that sucked yesterday but taking three or four the way they did i know some people were frustrated they got 19 runs after not hitting in in city field but like to have that experience Thursday night to bounce back the way they did like i feel good today how you doing and you buried the lead you buried the lead the fact that we mentioned tim meza on the last podcast they sign him that's my fault that is so my fault we'll get to walker bueller they signed tim meza after he comes up on the last pod how crazy is that like that's actually weird like

that actually might be people listening to the pot and being like hey we're gonna get a little easter to the eye out spot here. Like, that's crazy. First, it was Bader. Now it's, now it's another PSAC guy and Walker Bueller. It's ridiculous. I'm not, I'm not one to say that maybe we're having influence over Preston, but is there a coincidence between the second that Preston gets in that chair and two PSAC guys? And still no Fritz call, quite disappointing. And Harrison Bader, who's begged for four years and Walker, Big Game Bueller, finally. I have a random Walker Bueller signed baseball that I got for Walker and it is not a waste of time. It's not a waste of my time. It's, I, listen, yesterday, incredibly annoying. They took three or four. You know what, though, James. And, like, I'm very happy they took three or four. And maybe this is, like, Negedelphia still having its hole in my heart. I still have that Met Stench series like on me. You did. You did immediately. So in Inside baseball, you know, our tech server with Elliot, the baseball guys.

After I, I'm like, you know, being a nerd and being all giddy and Jack's like, you got to be honest, still annoyed about the Mets series, but that was cool. And I'm like, I know. No, and I was sitting there. So I drove after the show, I drove down to the Ocean City, meet back up with, with Jill met them right up on the boardwalk. I think I was in line at Manco and Manco when Schwerver hit the one. one opposite way. And I was like, well, that's three. That's three.

And then I got home, I got home for the fourth one. Annoyingly so, I did get a notification that it was happening. And then I watched it, which I hate what hate when that happens. It kind of ruined the moment for me. That does shot. Yeah, yeah, it's whatever. But, but, and so there's, there's two real, like, there's two, like, super boomery, like, negative thoughts one i was like well can we can we mix one of these in that series of course i think

every single that was the reverse the you know delaware valley dad's like say some runs for tomorrow it's like could we have used some of those runs yesterday exactly yeah and then there was a part of me where like i know in 15 20 years we would not have looked back and say the fifth home run was off of a position player but a part of me was like i'm kind of glad the fifth home run wasn't off a position player to create major league baseball history i just it was it was really cool and what i what i kept thinking about was there's been more perfect games than four home run games i dude i know i know i thought about it it's so good time as any uh i very rarely tease stuff for the pod with jack normally i'm not you know saying ooh guess what i got can't tell you usually you're just a wing it kind

guy that's i'm usually a wing kind of guy i count on you to do the take bag and the you know legwork as they say great i sent you a picture of something said 11 reasons that made and then i didn't tell you what the rest was well now seems like a perfect time as any 11 reasons that made the kyle schwerber four home run game maybe my favorite regular season game ever one playoff clinching edition and here is why i have 11 reasons are you ready yes unlike you and it does suck but like like you're we watch 160 hundred 58 157 whatever it is a year of these things you know 162 if we can we try um you miss a bets you miss moments so you go take the piss like i missed ironically in this game i missed harper's homer because i was in the bathroom like so like you just missed up somehow

some way i ended up just being there for all of the shrubber like the first like i was just looking at the screen at the exact like i didn't even look away it wasn't even like oh he's trotting around the basis let me see the reason why let me see the reason play like at and obviously the fourth and fifth like you're locked in purposely but the first three like I was just watching the game at the exact like I was not a wed I didn't miss any of them there was no more I was looking right at Kyle Schwerver as he swung the bat and hit so like I got to see for the first time my life I've never watched a four on more game live like we've talked about why the holiday playoff no hitter is so special because like how rare is that you actually see every

single pitch of a no hitter you know it's rare to like see every pitch not miss one I didn't miss a single second for the shore everything so that was for me cool uh for me that reason number two after the met series i go the other way with that after that met series to come back and put up that 19 spot i'm like good like at least they showed some gumption some fight i would have rather they scored there but like i appreciated them bouncing back yeah you know and i and i do think that's important and that's that and overall on the weekend the offense after the first game was was pretty pretty not described but at least from the standpoint and i think that's one thing that you know you and i both came on here after the

Metsers and we were like, I get it. I'm frustrated. Like, there's certainly the city field thing. But I think, I think we should have a certain level of trust in this baseball team to where they, they have shown ability to bounce back. They've shown an ability to play against good teams all year. It's not like

they've only beat up on bad teams. It had a pretty tough schedule. Um, so yeah, I agree with you. Like, coming back, you know, laying a beat down on them right after that was much appreciated. Reason number three. And by the way, do you appreciate that I did 11? I had 10. they went 11 for you just for your little you know top 11 thing okay uh number number three just

it's against the braves like that's just fun it's fun that forever when we see the highlights of the former game it's against the braves like that alone is cool uh reason number four part of a 19 run game with all kinds of fun other stuff happening you know harper um marsh homer kepler i'm like they just poured it on and they went down three nothing and put up the five spot right after not much was yeah well kepler went here but kepler harper and the Trevor one, so maybe not Marsden that one. Either way. And they tied a franchise, they thought a franchise record. And they went down three nothing.

So, like, we got that feeling of coming off the Mets series and be like, you've got to be bleeping kidding me. Like, really would know, like really? And then we got to seem golf. So I still even got that feeling of a little bit of consternation in a 19 to 4 game, which is awesome. Reason number five was that they went down three nothing and the first whore homer was part of 19 unanswered.

Reason number six, it's an all time great home run in the midst of an all time great home run season like Kyle Schwerber when he hits his 50th homer is going to be the first player to ever have 50 homers in a four homer game in the season like he'll be the first guy no one's ever done it and all the 50 60 70 homer guys none of those were former guys like this is an all time home runner in the midst of an all time home run season doing an all time cool home run thing that's only happened 21 times so that did add before me could he have does he have does he have 10 more home runs than him that's what I'm saying to like this is he when you put in the four if he can get to 60-ish, if you can get, like, this will be, I mean, it's one of the great

home run seasons of all time, like, obviously, but like it adds to it. It adds to the legend of it. It's like, you know, like a master putting, like their masterpiece up in like a masterpiece season or whatever. So that added to it for me. Reason number seven is the combination of that. Six is that he's an all-time great home runner, and this is where I separated the two to make it into 11, the awesomeness that it could be during a 60 home run season.

I added that. as opposed to like Scooter Jeanette in a 29 homer season or whatever it was, having a four homer game or whatever. It's just more impactful when it's part of this type of season. Well, and I just, I find it so, because I remember saying to myself before maybe last year, you know, you go back and you look at Howard's 06 and you're like, are we ever going to see a Philly do that?

Totally. Now he's not going to have the RBI. He's not got that in 306 either. Yes, we get it, you know. He's not going to hit over. He's not going to hit over. I don't think that's ever going to happen again by anybody. Yeah, no, it's pretty damn special.

And I was thinking, like, are we ever going to see it again? And the fact that we're even, there's a conversation. There's a conversation of him possibly, possibly chasing down, chasing down Ryan Howard. It's been unbelievable. Number nine, the fact that it happened, the powder blues at home, you know, could be on the road, first and foremost, the fact that it was home and then the powder blues, it's just cool for forever, you know? And if I remember correctly, was Schmidt also wearing the powder blows? Because it was right. Because they were in in Chicago.

It was an away game. And those used to be the away uniforms. Yes, yes. I'm almost, I was definitely in Chicago at Wrigley that has happened. It feels right to me, though, with the highlights. Look that up. Yeah. Number 10, just the fact they're a good team and it was a game that mattered.

You know, it's not like a 75 win-filly's team that had a cool four-homer game in the middle of the season. it's part of a season a playoff season uh and yes they were wearing they were wearing it's not right and then number 11 it's just the fact that it's kioshober it's a guy we like love it's a fan favorite it's someone who you know we all truly truly care about and is going to go down as a great philly and has a chance to obviously become a legendary philly but just the fact that it you know look we would have loved the four homer game if anyone had one but if it was just like a magical brand and marsh night like and i love brandon marsh like don't get me wrong but like like the fact that it

was Kyle Schwarber and what he represents for this era of Philly's just added to it. Look, I don't know that it's definitely my favorite regular season game, again, not including like when they made the playoffs in 93, like when they made the playoffs in 07, that's a different thing. But honestly, it might be up there with Halliday's Perfect game, A, because less of them. And B, I saw like the last four innings of Halliday's Perfect game. I remember if I got to get in front of a TV, I wasn't watching a random Phillies Marlins game the whole way through at that time during the day. like I just I wasn't as locked in on that one so like it wasn't quite as special to me because I didn't see every moment of it so like look I think that's because you're probably locked in on flyers uh black hawks game's a playoff yeah Stanley Cup fun um but uh you know so look there are others are up there I mean obviously the Luke Williams game got to be pretty high on the but I don't know like it's just like you know I think every year there are a couple games that stand out and then every few years there are games that we'll talk about forever and we will all. always talk about that casualty part of me so yeah but pavetta's complete game against the reds the

bradmiller exactly yeah the brad miller three home run game of course we could forget all up there all up there but yeah yeah so i don't think there's gonna be a bit uh you know 20 years from now one other thing the fact that he actually got a chance at the fifth is cool i know i don't and you're right like i think it would have like i think down the road it wouldn't matter it's five is five as five but like it would have been a little lame off position player i honestly think it was just as cool to sit there and watch a guy have a chance at five whether he did it or not just to feel that like wow he like how many of the guys who it for even get a chance i have no idea but i'm sure it's on all of them you know like that's pretty rare so just the story the story of him and yes yes oh my god he's kidding me

like how do you not know i know and he's like well i guess i got to do it and i and him yeah yeah sucked off position players which is great uh well and that what jack was referring to have you missed it was it k long he's talking to going to he's talking to a lot of his teammates teammates whatever and he's like so he's like hey is anyone ever at five and they like look at him like idiot no and he's like well bleep yeah yeah i know i know so he i don't think there's going to be a bit 20 years from now

where we got to uh dethrone the college over for home run game like the the david bell moment so i'm glad it was him and not I'm glad it wasn't like, nah, this would never happen. That's my point, right? That's what I'm saying, though, right? Like, that is part of it for me,

that it's swarber. It means more. It's more like historically magical. Also, by the way, just as an aside, the fact there have been 21 of them, four by Phillies players, only a one other team has two.

The Diamondbacks have had two. Every other team has one. And obviously a lot of teams don't have any. There's only 21. But isn't that crazy? The Phillies have four. The Diamondbacks have two and there's no other with more than one.

Like, we're the king of four homer games. And this season, the king of former seasons, the first season ever with three former games. Well, the end, and it's good that we're finally number one in some stat in baseball. You know, we have a lot of the bad ones. What a great point, a positive stat. We're never one into negative. What a point. Well said, dude.

Thank you. Thank you. So that was great. I did all my work for the pod. So, you know, I feel pretty good about contributing this time. I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you. Yeah, I don't know.

It was a, it was really cool. It was really cool. It was a special thing. All right, let's get in the rest of the series. I do think there was a lot of interesting stuff. And I want to, I want to start with some positives against like Kirkering last night and some of the stuff from last night. But I do think I was, I was really impressed with it because like you put up the 19 and then they don't hit. But the next two games, and even look, yesterday was a tough fought game.

I thought the outside of the 19 to 4, this was just a really tight, well-fought, you know, outside of the, You know, run down our yesterday, but for the most part, you know, the hitting wasn't great, but the pitching was great. We saw really good defense this weekend. We saw tight games with big plays and big moments. Obviously, Trey Turner, the Bob Petron stat, I don't know if you saw this was wild. In 1988, the first time they started tracking these specific types of stats, but Trey Turner just began the second Philly ever along with Travis Lee for the Phillies to be losing

two outs, O2 count on a hitter and win a baseball game. second time ever and tray turner did that on is that crazy like you would think over time you know it's only 198 they tried out so two out so essentially truly down to your last strike you know wow the second time they've ever walked one off like that so I mean I thought that was a really that was awesome like that was and tray obviously had a awesome day that day just a great game and you know it sparked the hey we should be throwing tray in the MVP stuff more you'll be top five for sure top three or four like they might have two top three they might you know i think it'll probably be two top five for sure but they could be two top three i thought you know and then uh you know

you get solid outings from your starters pretty much all weekend no la outside of the first inning you pretty much got good pitching all weekend long from this team we'll get to yesterday but the the post-swarber games those two tight wins your thoughts on those games yeah i mean i thought the braves i thought the braves certainly showed up to play you know um i I certainly, after 19 to 4. Like, you could have seen the Braves be like, well, bleep this. And they fought. I certainly would have liked a better offensive effort against Bryce Elder, who 100% isn't very good.

But Sale made sense. And I know people, I mean, I don't know if I talked about him. I think I talked about him in the draft. I think I talked about him as, like, my guy, like, if I'm in advance of draft, I'm going to draft him. But I love Hurston Waldrop. I love Hurston Waldrop. Except his name should be Hurston Waldrop, the third. like how is it not like what are we doing here it's a great day it's a great name it's a great name so i think he is

i think he is uh i think he's amazing i'm a huge wall drip guy yeah so that wasn't too surprising i would have liked to rip elder but regardless they they won the game so um yeah i mean overall overall there's a lot of good i think the big is the big is the starting staff uh you know ranger dances way through it hi bud what are you doing pal you want to come here for one second yes come here come here dude how fired up is walker about having oh like so like it's one thing in the Taiwan Walker thing we love Taiwan now we're big fan of Taiwan is on this pod but like it's one of the last name Walker it's another thing to have a first name

Walker player on the team like that has to be thrilling yeah thank you he gets it yeah so we've been working on uh we've been working on come on Phillies so I love it Can you say, say, come on, Phyllis? That's close enough. Yeah, good enough. That was it. That words. That's close enough.

Oh, my goodness. All right, Bubba. We are a family pod here, buddy. Oh, we love it. Goodbye. I love it. Bye, buddy. Oh, my God.

That was pretty adorable. Oh, my God. He was like, that was my, whenever I'm Zoe on, she just, like, talks and does, can't hear you. He was, like, talking at the perfect times. It was almost like he could hear me. was answering my questions that was he couldn't pro he's a pro he's a pro i know that's my point is he couldn't he was like

what a pro yeah total pro um but yeah so like ranger was was was good a lot of a lot of hits but you know yeah but he battled you take that uh nola i was i was pretty happy with you know they didn't have to stretch him he didn't have to stress that much outside of the first and then sanchez gave what they needed we gave him with i think nola you're right he deserved he stunk at first but you know what to settle and only give up one more over six like that's what you need from that guy when you hit like that. You need him to save the pen a bit and just be able to not let the Braves keep coming back in the game and keep making it tight, you know?

And Sanchez, after the Mets start in another kind of marquee, just shoves. I mean, absolutely shoves. He's, he's, he's, he's just the best. I love him. And then I, I, Zeus. April Hayes, Lazzardo, I think is back. And I'm just going to say it now. Addings of the year. I thought that was one of his best adding to the year.

That's your game two starter. That's your game two starter. Let's go over Ranger. Whoa. Dude, because the upside's still there. I know he can go to the pen. And I know that he can be up to 100. And I really think they might have. I think they've obviously found some things out of the stretch to make him better. You know, he's not a disaster now whenever there's runners on base. It's just what I appreciate the most about Lazardo right now is it feels like he feels it and and he's competitive in the strike zone he's not walking a ton of guys he's going right

after hitters like there was times last night right after a coonia which i which i appreciate it and he's a guy he's a guy with that stuff like if he can get the the the stones and and develop that and develop like a bleep you type attitude the the ceiling is is super super high he's a he's a a this is what he was at the beginning of the year he's been this way really for his last like five or six starts i think people would just been i think and including us like i think we've been afraid to like buy all the way back in because it the blowups have been the blowups but they've they've working some things out of the stretch they've cleaned up i think some of the tipping stuff seems like he's he used it a little bit more last night but they ditched that

change up for for a little bit um so i just think that he's getting more confident with with his with his pitch mix. I think he's getting more confident with Cotham and just the competitiveness in which he's pitching and at that ballpark, especially a home game. Road game, maybe Ranger, get their home. I think him in a game two

with the crowd behind him. I'll take that and then I'll have Knowles. I'll have Knowles or Ranger or Walker Bueller. On the on the road. For a home start,

for a home start. I'm sorry. I'm starting Lizarro game, too, if they get in that situation. So I, I think I agree with you. I, first of all, like, to your point, he's just, he's got some stones. Like, he just, he's willing to challenge guys in big spots. He's willing to go after them. And it's funny to kind of compare him to Ranger because I think they're like the two ends of the spectrum in terms of like what I like to see out of potential big game pitchers.

You know, the Ranger thing, I love the guys who are just completely like stone cold like calm and collected and never shoot anything on the mound and nothing ever rattles them and like that's one form of something i love to see but i also love to see the guys who get into it and the guys you know when they get a big out they're pumping their fists and they're like you know that they're feeling that moment they're like vibing off that moment and it feels like he's like that and granted we need to see him in bigger and bigger moments to to really know this but he does give me that feel jack i feel like without evidence real evidence to support it, I feel like I'm going to trust him in a big spot instinctual. You know what I mean?

Well, I definitely would trust him way more at home than I would on the road. Because on the road, on the road, I think that's, we've seen him get rattled. He can get rattled. It can happen. And I think that you just get more, I think you actually can psych yourself out of it on the road. I think on the road, I want more of a stone gold killer. And at home, I want the super emotional guy on the mound. And with this team, who doesn't have the most emotion in the world, I think they actually need a guy like Lazzardo that that maybe he you know gets fired up after an out in the fifth and and it kind of can spark the spark the offense in a way so I've just been really impressed with with Hesus and I'm glad that we obviously I think one of the things we

look for is is mental fortitude and can a guy handle it here and Lazzardo went through some real downs like some real downs throughout the year and for him to be able to to work his way through it bounce back by the way he's taking the ball every fifth day this is a guy that had super super a lot injury problems only 32 starts once in a year and he is taking the ball every single day and the stuff hasn't dropped off at all so so kudos to him we were talking about him reaching his his like career innings limit like two months ago or whatever month and a half ago or whatever it was you know in his season yeah it's a great point and to see him go through it in the middle there and and find his way back

such a promising thing for him in the future. You know, if we're talking about this guy next year and is this someone they want to sign and keep your long term, he's never had to do this before. He's never had to throw that many innings, go through a lull, have whether it was a dead arm period or a struggle or whatever,

and then come back. Like, he's just never faced this yet in his young career. And so far, so good. Like, it's a real, a testament to his ability to battle, to adjust, to, you know, go through the rigors of a season. You know, we always, cliche, you know, it's such a long season. But it's such a long freaking season.

And it is for those guys, too. And it's not like you just go do it, unless you're Paul Skeen's. Like, most guys have to learn how to adapt to be able to go through the ups and downs, to pitch this many in and to pitch this deep into a season. And this has been a really a big year for Lazzardo, both as a Philly. But I think for his career, I think there's been a really big year for him. Well, and the other part about the staff as a whole is, is, for the most part, the Mets series, notwithstanding,

I've been impressed by how much I think they have rallied around Zach, you know, and I think Nola has stepped up, Lazzardo has stepped up, Ranger just flipped a switch and decided, hey, I'm going to be good again. Chris Hanchis, I think, was always going to be fine. Taiwan's serviceable, like, whatever. Taiwan's fine. But I think the main guys that you needed to see step up, they could not survive if Ranger and Lazzardo were pitching like they were before

the Wheeler injury. They just weren't. And credit to those guys for realizing the moment and stepping up and taking the job and kind of running with it post-Weler. I want to get to the bats and the Kirkring stuff from yesterday. And, you know, mostly I want to talk about the casinos. But before I move on from the pitching, let's, you know, we've mentioned his name six times already.

Let's just get into the Walker Beeler thing. Because, look, if you're just sometimes there are people who are just feeling. fans they don't really pay attention to other teams and what's going on or whatever and they'll be like oh who do we trade for let me look at his numbers oh my god we signed that guy like why he's been terrible and he has and you look at a team like the red sox who is in a play like a peeping for a playoffs they're like well why would they get rid of him all fair things i will not defend walker bueller's play this year at all all i'll say is this guy's a freaking dog he is a dog like you go look at his post these numbers i might be mistaken i think he's got a sub one three er a in the world

series in his career and like 19 innings or something like that like this dude pitches when it matters he has been so great in so many big spots and i'm not saying he's going to come back and just be like that study used to be but for a team that as we just talked about has you know guys like lizardo and guys who aren't experienced and other guys like there's not you know losing wheeler hurts this this this the like veteran experience leadership type guy done it but been there before like walker bueller comes in and is immediately the most bona fide postseason pitcher on the staff now that we like wheeler would have been it's walker bueller now like it's i don't know if he's got it still and i like to see what we could do with him

he's talented he's done it before but if nothing else like that dude ain't gonna be afraid to take the ball knocked over no no he's not no he's not no he's not he so i watched a little bit of them last night i you want to talk about true sick oh hours james i mean so i got back from the game at about 1030 um you know how the book signing go by the way it was good yeah it's met a lot of a lot of high-host people so always good to to put put faces to yeah totally almost said names to faces but i've been there many times many times so it was awesome and obviously being in the bank was cool and uh but after we went i had seats or whatever because it was my second aunt's 70th birthday and and they had they had a whole stay out they somehow had section like 1 10 is

crazy wow that is crazy well they roll out they roll out the red carpet for the fritzes you know that makes sense I did I don't think I was named at all but I but dude I was like on the I was in the second row like by the where the the ball girl sit which is the best crazy like Eli white though for that ball I could hear the thud I mean it was it was so loud I think because the way we watch games so much now especially like to watch them together we'll just stand, everyone knows we stand outside a section because we'll just see our paths and get in stand wherever we can. Like whenever I go and actually like have tickets, especially good tickets because normally I won't like if somehow I'm going with like Emily's dad tickets

or wherever we end up just like or every once in a while like we're a friend's like, hey, you want to go. I got great seats. And you sit in those great seats. You're like, oh yeah. It's amazing to sit in like the third row by the dugout watch. What a thrill this is. Like you forget, you know. I know. We're trying to get on our tippy toes to look over everyone and after section 126. And your call, like, I'm five inches shorter than you. I'm like, looking at between, I always feel bad for TK when TK's with us because he's like five inches shorter than me. So I almost want to like lift him up a little bit.

I want to put a little TK on my shoulder. You know, right? But it is. You have to find lines of sight. Like, you're just sitting there. You're like, I don't, I just get to watch the games. Well, and you unlike me, you have become friends with the ushers where I. Of course I have.

You know, good. Shout out to my guy. Alfred. I love him. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. they see me and they're like there's a problem there's a little too worked up they're like oh

seltzer brian the like guy real dear he's like oh so great to see you i'm like i'm like not now which is if you ask emily literally the most james thing that has ever happened like it's very unbranded yeah it's great so i was at the game uh you know got home rid around about like 1030 walker's already sleep so of course naturally i had my progression of things i had to go watch one i had to watch matt manning's double a double a list people are like whom let me get home oh what honey what show should we watch oh you want to watch a movie tonight what a fun idea sure jack's like let me get my list of sick oh baseball stuff i got to watch all right jill see you tomorrow time to work yep so first was matt manning so matt manning's double a debut let's get to the important

things we'll get to that five strikeouts and two innings that's all i'm saying well we'll get into it and then and then and then second was second was the bueller in boston his last couple times to see what see what was going on and then third was just how the game ended and just wanted to make sure i was all good on how that happened because it was frustrating but because at the ballpark i can't tell what's going on i got i the weird part about being the weird part about being at the ballpark is I feel way more like into the game from the standpoint of I could have a feel for it better than on TV like watching the Harper Stott rundown thing live if if there was a mic on me it just been throwable like there's just a different there's a different feel I think you know

when to get guys out of the game I don't know why totally when you're in the ballpark you're like this guy has to get out of the game totally and yet you're like you have no depth perception on anything at home like you know like at home you're sitting there like that's a home oh it's just a fly ball huh like but then it otherwise at the game like the rundown like it was probably much harder for you to tell how far part the runners were all that like are they close what's actually happening we're on tv we can see it perfectly it is a weird thing like that you know what i mean yeah i'm a way better feel for the game but no less of how like i i like watching how pitchers are doing that's my issue so um so in

watching bueller up there i think the stuff still really plays i don't think it's a stuff decline issue strictly a command for me. I think it's a command thing that I hope that they have some tricks to possibly get back. I think that he I don't know how locked in he was or in locks that

he was with what the Red Sox were trying to do with them and I think he kind of went away from what they were doing with them and try to get back to what he'd done I guess with the Dodgers there. So I don't think he's cooked. I definitely don't think he's cooked.

And I like the signing for a lot of reasons. One, which was my initial reaction was they're going to go to a six-man rotation because they want to spread these guys out and they want to make sure that those guys are as fresh as possible. And now that Wheeler's not there to say, I don't want to do this, they're just going to do it. And two thumbs up from us on that. We have no complaints there. Yes. Yes, go six man.

It is good Taiwan insurance. If Taiwan falls off a cliff or one of these guys get hurt, there is, you know, There is a guy who is a postseason riser who I think still has pretty good stuff. Like, he could start a playoff game if it comes down to it. Of course, yeah. I mean, David Broussey said yesterday, like, we have no fears of him starting a playoff game, which was wild for a guy off waivers. Yeah, I mean, yeah, which is insane.

But like, you look at his history. There's no one on this roster who can put up his resume when it comes to postseason baseball, including in recent years, like last year, he closed out the World Series. last year. It's not that long since this guy has had big playoff moments. And listen,

I know it wasn't great for the Red Sox, and I know that people will say, well, he's in a playoff series or a playoff run. Why would they get rid of him? I think it was one of those things where the Red Sox are trying to do right by him

because he is a good steward of the game and you don't want to, if you're going to, you don't want to release him after September 1st so he can't sign out of the poste. Exactly. So I think they were trying to do right by him. I think they just didn't work out.

And I think that, you know, I think that, I just, I didn't think it worked up there and he wanted a fresh start. They gave him a fresh start and maybe he was rounding into form. You know, and watching the game, the, he allowed two runs in his last game against the Yankees coming out of the bullpen. It was a BS Yankee field home run to Jazz Chisholm. I'm like, yeah.

So, all right, so other things I like about it on top of the three I just laid out. I should have done 11 reasons why I like the walker people. That would have been. good for the podcast. See, if I had actually told you what my 11 reasons were about that maybe you could have, but I had to be in a kitchen tease you and all that. So my bad. Yeah.

They don't have a long man, really, after Joe Ross was cuts. So if they need someone to be a long man, he could do that. Also, given the current state of the righties in the bullpen, I would like if he had to go to the bullpen. Yeah, yeah, for sure. He could possibly do that. And then the other thing that I think is not really. been talked about is we're talking about a guy who has in-depth knowledge of who is your direct competitor in the national league so he has a lot of he has a lot of history of like what they do

in the postseason or like I don't know I'm sure he has a lot he's been there for what 10 years Walker Bueller he's a Dodger for a super super long time like seven years something like that at least yeah by the way Walker Bueller to me is perpetually like a 25 year old young arm i same same it's like sunny gray the only exists as a playoff superstar for me like everything else is just irrelevant yeah but i also think that he has a lot of intimate knowledge of the podres i think he will have a good feel like they've pitched in a lot of games against them so from the standpoint of going against the dodgers and having someone who spent so much time and won a world series with them i think that also is is is super noteworthy here

it can't hurt this team to possibly have a guy who has such intimate knowledge of the Dodgers to to help maybe in the clubhouse or help with game planning or tells on on certain pitchers with the with the Dodgers so there's there's virtually no downside signed a minor league deal yeah so I think that was because it was so last minute he had to sign something um but I just man it was I was legitimately excited when they signed a 5.25 era guy on on august 31st i was thrilled i was absolutely it was like the best move they could have possibly made in that moment for me like it's all upside no downside in my mind like you didn't have the guy you lost wheeler on top of that you got out like an open kind of spot you know philosophically and this guy by the way i was wrong I was right about him having 19 World Series hittings. I said he had like a 1-2 ERA. He has a 0.47 ERA, my fault.

Holy cow. Yeah, for real. Hell yeah. Seriously. And he's only 31. He has been good recently. It's not like he has been a bad for five years or three years or something like that. And you're a point, Jack, I think you're absolutely right.

I think in Boston, Boston is a young team that's building, heading towards something. I think they realized, hey, Walker Buehler is not going to be our post. season roster he is not a part of what we're doing now and i'll bet you they said hey don't go sign with the yankees pal don't go sign with you know one of our competitors they're saying go to the national league or whatever and i'm sure it was a cordial thing like that and as a result and that's why it happened august 3 1st they they cut him on the 30th or 29 like they knew like this is your one chance to get on another team before that september 1st deadline to be able to pitch in the both season and they did him a solid and i think it was a smart move on both sides and we're the beneficiary of it

because usually again i know he's been bad this year i know he's cut by a contender but usually you don't get a chance on august 31st the last day before you know you have to add someone to your your 40 man to be able to pitch in the postseason it's rare that someone who closed out last year's world series is sitting there being willing to be picked up like that a guy who again has a 0.470 already and 19 postseasoning it's not like two postseasoning 19 that's two starts plus like a freaking two starts plus of point 470 r8 in the world series of innings like again he might be cooked i don't think he is he might be but like for an august 31st flyer it's i can't believe it it's great man and when i find notable too is one he didn't just go back

and sign with the dodgers true so i think he wanted to be here that's a really interesting point jack it's been the dodgers whole career it makes all the sense in the world oh it would have been so would have been so uh early 2000s eagles and uh flyer's to to go right back So I think, I mean, the Cubs, I think, could have used them. The Mets, maybe, you know, if Sanga's going to be banged up, having Walker Bueller, I guess probably wouldn't have been the worst thing. And I think he chose Philadelphia, which I, like, I know to not make a five-a-a-a-guy into, like, this killer. He chose us. But, like, but he chose us.

He chose us. Walker. It's because I have that signed baseball and he said, I'm not going to let it go to waste. So I'm thrilled. And not even, we might as well get the other one. And they added Mesa. I mean, what a, I mean, Dabrowski and co. We're cooking the last couple days.

Also pitching the World Series last year. He was on the Yankees last year. They got two guys who pitched in the World Series last year on August 31st. And he allowed the 62nd home run of judge. Most importantly. Who can forget? And he dominated the Huskies in 2014. As you, again, last pod, you're like, I would come to you with the Lutrovino hype

and you're like, you wasn't as good to Tim Mesa. So like, what? Okay. Tim Mesa, sure. Tim Mesa was sick. I thought it was a joke when I said. At first I was like, is this some high hopes listener like messing with us? Because we just brought it up.

It was crazy. Yeah, that was awesome. It was awesome. So it's good to see them finally respecting the P-Sat. Yeah, it matters. It's what matters. And for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Everyone take it down notch.

It's always been the P-SAC. Okay. All right, a couple more things. We haven't even thought about the tag bag. We are way out. uh the casty thing let's get to the bats the last three games you were a little bug but like anything that's wise but mostly the casty thing look uh you know sat a couple of games ago or yesterday as well um had the comments got finally for the first time since florida actually

got replaced late in the game for defensive replacement and a close game on uh this weekend and comments post game you know look he wasn't you know he wasn't like you know bleep rob this BS, wherever it wasn't that. But he definitely was clearly upset. He said he was upset about it. But he said, you know, it's what it is. But he doesn't like being taken out. Said that Rob never talked to him about it.

There was Paco. And, you know, it was just very surly. It does not seem like Nick Castiano's loving the whole situation they've got going on. But as we've said many times, like, good on Rob. This is what they should be doing. This is what they have to be doing with the way people are playing. But your take on the whole Castiano's outfield play. playing time thing after a tumultuous weekend with it uh we're trying to win ball games i don't like

it's it's he's hitting one 98th in shall i agree i mean i mean i agree and i thought rob said it perfectly when he now it i think the way rob says things versus the way that that it is written sometimes is wrong or it's not wrong it's just like it doesn't it doesn't it doesn't capture it i agree with you so but when he said the line of like it's time to check our ego at dorm go win baseball games. Maybe if like someone more fiery said it, I'd be like, all right, there we go. But you know, Thompson was like probably more nonchalant about it. But the idea. But the idea of that, I'm glad that they're finally taking that approach. And so on one hand, I'll defend Castiano's from this point. And I think, you know, Rob said this and I do agree. Like, I want the guy to want

to be out there. You know, like I think it'd be something wrong with like, oh, sweet. I'm out, cool. Mind thinning, one run a game. I have a chance to help in the field. Thanks, coach. Yeah. Pressure's off. Pressure's off.

So on one hand, I'm like, all right. Like, I would be annoyed, too, if I was getting pulled out of games. But at the same time, like, and maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't remember Burrell complaining in 2008. Not publicly at least. Like, we never got to feel that he was upset about it, ever. It was just that was what they had.

had to do to win baseball games. And I do think Cassiano wants to win baseball games. Does he contribute from that standpoint often? Not always. But, like, I think he's obviously having a tough time looking in the mirror and realizing that he's a bad defensive player because for some reason, he thinks that errors are the only thing that matters when it comes to outfield defense, which it doesn't. He gets absolutely no balls.

So, like, I don't know what to tell you, Nick. But he's obviously struggling with that. I think he's struggling with, I'm a hundred billion dollar player. and like they don't think i'm that guy anymore clearly um so i think he's struggling with like the reality of who he's becoming in his older years in baseball and i think he's trying desperately to like hang on to that idea um so i wish he was handling it better i didn't think he was going to handle it i thought this is how he was going to handle it i thought he was going to be annoyed with Rob with ice me short post game and and he has been all of that uh i still think this is

the last month he's a month and a half he's going to be a philly and and and they're going to move on from him this off season and and you know let the chips fall where they may um but i'm disappointed on one hand i get it and hopefully if they can just keep annoying him he will just go on a month and a half run and we'll be world series champions. Good way to look at it. I agree. I don't know. He's just, he's just frustrating.

I agree with a lot of what you said. I think you really laid it out there well. And I agree with the fact that I, you know, I want my guys to play and I want them to be frustrated when they don't want. I just don't want them to necessarily tell the media as bluntly as he does that they're frustrated. I do give a lot of credit to Rob Thompson. And I'm sure the front office as well, you know, as a part of it, I'm sure this is a, you

a collaborative organizational decision, but I appreciate that they have prioritized not playing Castiano's every day. And they have prioritized, even, I mean, that game, especially a perfect example of a game

where Cassi actually had one of his best defense plays in the season. Like, that throw home was awesome. Like that was a, I did not expect him to, I mean, he said a few gunned down to home. He's disaster with the arm,

but that was a really nice play, a really nice throw. And even in that game, still getting bench late for, for fielding. I'm like, nice, you know, that really hammers at home.

And I appreciate, Thompson and the organization have the Stones to stand up to Cassie House because we know in past years with Philly's teams that doesn't always have David Bell, like they didn't put Polanco at third. Like everyone knew they should have,

but they didn't because Dave Bell was here. Like they've done that many times in the past where they've, they've kowtowed to a contract or to a name or whatever. So I really appreciate the way they're handling it. I hope they continue to move down this path. And I get your point. I don't blame Cassie House for the way he feels.

You're a 31, 32, every year old guy. Like, I just, I need him to be more of a pro and maybe maybe behind the scenes it's fine like I don't think he's causing problems with other teammates it seems like the guys really like him like I don't think this is some like huge issue but like dude you've made so much money in your career you're you've had a lot of moments you've got a lot of great things like suck it down up and act like a pro like that that's really my only thing like act like a pro well it's and it's the entitlement too like hold on I'm being paid like I have to be out there well dude you haven't produced I think it's it's very

simple right now now besides baiter having to sit that game which is annoying um i i get because he was so hot and i don't as he had a hit since um but yeah i it's the it's the entitlement of like hold on i'm that guy when he is is not that guy and at the same time you know and and i try not to do the the contracts thing but it's like man you're being paid 20 million dollars just play better shut up yeah just play better i don't know what to tell you like they're playing you a lot they paid you a lot of money for the last couple years and you've been basically a replacement player for for every single one of them it's been a disappointing contract like let's not let's not like be so certain entitled yeah and entitled about it you know and like uh i i thought i saved the quote i can't find it but i saw

a quote where it was dave roberts on a dave roberts on sitting tasker her nandez he just Put it really bluntly, he's like, there's a guy who helped them win a world series last year. A guy who's also being paid, you know, $30 million a year or whatever it is, 20 million, whatever. Clearly, he hasn't hit right-hand in pitching. I think two-day reset could help. He's an everyday guy, but I do think that's where we're at. You've got to perform too. And it went on.

He was basically like, listen, I love to ask her. He helps us, but if he doesn't hit, he's not going to play. Like, basically what he said. Like, it's like, yeah, exactly. Like, that's exactly right. And that's what organization should be. And I appreciate that it feels like we're getting. there well and the other thing that I appreciate is that it feels like there really is a

recommitment to defense with the whole organization they didn't ever cared about defense they did the Braski's whole thing was was like just mash and you have a bunch of power arms they I think there I think there's a organizational shift happening with with valuing defense because I think it's what the smart teams do I think like we'll see with this Brewers team right which I can't wait for the game yeah but you know the Brewers the Brewers started super, super valuing defense over a lot of the other traits even like a lot of hitting stuff

because if you're a small market team, you can develop pitchers and you can play good defense, you're not always going to have the best offense. So that's the way that you can win games. And you just hope you get hot. Yeah, you develop Chorio and you get William Contreras and you kind of

piece together in offense. But your first priority is stopping runs from being scored. And you could do that pretty cheaply but is having great defensive players and i i just think that the phillies are are slowly but surely starting to revalue good defense and that's why they go got they went and got harrison vaders why kepler i think is still here i agree because i think actually what he does in the field although for some reason has he been a little weird out there yeah was he lost arm strength

i mean i don't know lollipops yeah i don't know i don't know but he is better out there i agree And I do think, look, I think it makes a lot of sense to the way baseball is played right now in the postseason where we talk about, well, you just got to get hot and stuff. And that's true. But, like, as an organization, I don't think you can plan to be hot at the right time. So, you know, what can you plan on? You can play defense all year long, great. You know, you can play defense great at any time. You don't have to just get hot to play defense.

And that's something you can completely control in the playoffs. It does make some sense, you know, especially, you know, if bats go cold, if bads, if other 13 bats are, oh, it's another way to combat it. It's a, it's a fascinating thing if we're seeing a bit of a shift back to that. All right, let's get to the take bag and and Kirkering yesterday in it, I would say, because I wanted to get that, but very rarely this long before we get to the bag. So throw out the bag, too. Let's take bag it.

So Kirkering, the, a couple things. I feel like he does every year where he goes to like a two-week stretch of just not being able to find the strike zone. And then he usually rounds into form. to a certain extent. My concern level is with him coming into a postseason series, which he has not had great postseason success. And he just might be a lights are a little too bright for him guy,

which is frustrating because they need him to be a difference-making right-handed option out of the bullpen. That is what his stuff suggests he should be. He needs a way better plan against left-handed pitching. He needs something that can get in on their hands. Like, every time he throws a sweeper to the left-handed hitter, I expect it to get hit 450 feet because it just drops right into the nitro zone. And even when they hit it foul, it's smoked.

Now, he can hit the, he can do the 97-mile-an-hour two-seamer that starts to the guy's shoulder and bring it back. That's a good development. But he needs something else for lefties. And then the command has really fallen off, which is annoying. he's not striking out as many guys as he as he usually does like when he gets well uh he's not gives me whips as he usually does like he used to get a lot of whips it feels like this year when he gets strikeouts because he dots 97 on the outside corner against the righty like i i

the playoff stuff is the one that i'm worried the most with because he has to take down important endings for this team and i just he just really does seem like maybe the lights get a little too bright for him um i mean his numbers with inherited runners are brutal i mean 14 of 30 i believe have scored on them this year um and even in a clean inning last night wasn't even close to getting the job done so uh it's it's definitely concerning for right now i'm not too concerned about i think by the end of the year he'll he'll write the ship but it definitely comes down to well what's this guy got to do with the postseason because that's a place that he has really struggled in his early career yeah i'm with you and uh i

like I think you can get there he's still young and there's still you know you know long career ahead but right now I didn't think I'd be saying this last pot I told you I trust Tanner Banks more than I trust Matt's around which is still true I trust David Robertson more than I trust Ryan Kirking like my top three relievers right now if you ask me honestly are Doran David Robertson and Tanner Banks and like nice I just I can't believe those words came out of my mouth so that's where I'm out I love Banks, man. What a moment last night. Stones!

Like, he has stones, man. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, he, I love Tanner Banks. And he is a, he's a stone cold, calm, just comes in, does a job. So, yeah, so those, I agree with you. Robertson came in and last night, did a good job. Did a really good job. And then, I don't know, I feel pretty good about the bullpen.

Like, Strom seems kind of hit or miss, but, like, been more good than bad. Kirkcurring's the big one. And then, and then, uh, Duran good to see him bounce back in a normal way. Yeah, just a nice, clean, normal outing. Um, I do think Maze is interesting from the standpoint. Like, they already have strong. They have, uh, Ovarado and they already have banks. So, like, I guess he won't have Ovarado for the playoffs.

So it's an interesting lefty arm to, to try out, you know? Yeah. And then did you just say you pooped? Hey, no. Nice. Way to let the world know. Go work. Go work, buddy.

And I guess, because Walker's ready for the podcast to be over. Yes, he is. It's fine. Yeah. How about Stubsy? How about Stubzy? Welcome back. Welcome back, King.

We missed you. Everything's fine. Oh, and a quick Matt Manning thought. Oh, yeah. So here's the most sicko, Matt Manning thought maybe ever. You squint. He's got similar stuff to Wheeler. He just does.

Like, he just, he's got similar stuff. And he's 94. don't worry we're almost done buddy we're almost done he's got 94 but it's got a little zip to it he rides me a lot of Zach Wheeler but the command is not there it he was all over the place yesterday um I know he struck out five it's double a he's a big league pitcher like I'm not going to get too caught up in that command will get there's his first start back um but there there's something there best performance by a manning this weekend am all right all right uh yeah yeah all right uh walker we're out here this is we're ending this pod for

walker for it's and for walker bueller how about that can you say can you say can you say high hopes yeah that's close enough i think you nailed it all right uh we'll be back at some point after the brewer's series weirdest series ever monday monday wednesday thursday i mean like no tuesday game playing on the thursday the eagles are play on instead of just playing money Tuesday, Wednesday, and taking off the day the Eagles are playing, like, oh, I don't know. That would have made some sense. But whatever, I know they make the schedule well in advance or whatever. I know.

But it is what it is. We'll figure it all out. I don't know if my new podcast room being next to Walker's room is going to be a good idea, but we're going to find a different room. We're going to find out. All right. We'll be back at some point later in the week. Until then, he's Fritz and Walker Fritz. I'm Sauter.

Thank you.