High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Pitchers and Catchers are Reporting... Are You Ready?

Episode Date: February 14, 2018

Jon Marks and James Seltzer get you ready for pitchers and catchers reporting with this edition of High Hopes. How do the guys feel about the roster, what they're looking for/worried about and how to decipher real Spring Training breakout from fake Spring Training breakouts. All that and the player they're watching for in this edition of the High Hopes podcast! 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

Shop Best Buy's Ultimate Smartphone Sale today. Get a Best Buy gift card of up to $200 on select phone activations with major carriers. Visit your nearest Best Buy store today. Terms and conditions apply. This episode is brought to you a Mazda, you'll find out why RSUVs won more 2024 IIHS top safety picks than any other brand as of June 2024. Find out what makes Mazda different at Mazda.ca. Yo, it is another edition of High Hopes. I am James Seltzer. With me as always, Mr. Parade Float himself, Mr. Johnny Marks.

What's up, brother? Well, not as always because we have different schedules now, but a lot of times Fritz somehow weasels his way in here. It's true. It was supposed to be as always. I think the heart of the podcast was that. Yeah. But it has been a little while since you and I have gotten a chance to talk.

And, hey, John, what's happening tomorrow wow man it it's crazy because the the eagles normally the bridge only gets you so far with the eagles well the bridge took us all the way to the spring training because you saw the bus leave or the truck leave and pitchers and catchers and it's a beautiful thing that that's the craziest part is is none of us really know how to deal i'm sure a lot of people listening to this podcast probably eagles fans as well uh it's so strange because we don't really know how to deal with this where we actually are are still wanting and craving eagles super bowl talk you know this late into february um so i think the phillies have kind of gotten a little bit of a short shaft. And that's why we're here to talk about it, because pitchers and catchers report to spring training tomorrow, John. And there's no better words for a baseball fan than that.

And we're going to dive into kind of some of the potential themes or storylines for spring training in just a minute. And also look at some of the still hot stove move left out there as as it seems like no free agents are ever going to sign as teams are reporting and there's so many guys who are still on time we'll get into that in just a little bit but uh first and foremost johnny uh what just the feel for you when i say to you tomorrow pitchers and catchers are reporting reporting and the Phillies are starting their season, what's that feel for you? I can smell the leather. I can smell the ballpark. You can hear the ball going from mitt to the smack of the mitt.

I mean, it really is. And being someone who's been able to go down to spring training a bunch of times, working in radio and seeing behind the scenes and, and watching the guys get ready. And I mean, it's really, really cool. And it's,

it, if you haven't been down to spring training as a fan, I recommend you do it. And good. Now's a really good time because when, when the Phillies are really good, Philadelphia takes over that whole town. And it's like,

it's just, it's chaos. You're paying a $100 for a spring training ticket back in the good old days. Yeah, 9 and 10 and 11. Now you can get down there. You get a relatively cheap ticket. It's a great stadium.

But this is, in spring training, everybody has a chance and there's the stories and the guys that might make the team and you get to take a look at the younger guys that aren't going to make the team and you get to take a look at the younger guys that aren't going to make the team, but it's pretty cool. John, in case you didn't know, every single player in Major League Baseball

is in the best shape of their life. So get ready for that, baby! I can't wait for the first best shape of his life guy. But John, let's dive in. There's a lot to talk about with this Phillies team as they come into spring training. Crazy to say that until the Hugh Darvish signing, the Phillies had the highest free agent signing of the offseason with Carlos Santana,

which certainly didn't seem like it at the time would be. But still some big names left on the market, but we'll get into that in a bit. John, let's start. I want to do some macro kind of theme type stuff looking at spring training as we look at this team as it's constituted heading in. Right now, as we head into spring training, what is the thing that you feel the strongest about about this team? What's the thing you have the most confidence in?

Well, I mean, I think that they're going to, offensively I think they're going to be pretty good this year. They are. I actually see some real talent on there with what Reese was able to do last year and the fact that Santana's coming in here and you're talking about a bona fide major league player. You are. Forget about all in base percentage which he knows

what he's doing and there's a reason why they brought him in, but in this ballpark he could hit in any number of places. I don't know what they're going to do. I really don't. But you have some flexibility. You actually have maybe some depth in the outfield now with Hoskins moving to left field. And yet you have a real possibility of being able to score some runs this year.

Now, pitching's a different story, and I'm sure we'll talk about that. But I like the lineup, and I'm liking the fact that we're going to see J.P. Crawford from the onset as the starting shortstop. It's pretty fun. I feel the exact same way about the lineup, and I'm liking the fact that we're going to see J.P. Crawford from the onset as the starting shortstop. It's pretty fun. I feel the exact same way about the lineup, and especially from a getting on base perspective. You look at how it's constituted. You got, I mean, Santana. You look at, A, the durability that guy's had, and B, just his ability to get on base so consistently.

A.366 career on base percentage over a pretty large sample size of Major League seasons. I love that addition. He batted leadoff sometimes for the Indians. He did. He batted one, two. He gets on base at such a high clip. And then Crawford, man, a.350 on base percentage as a rookie last season.

You look at Hoskins, the upside there. I'm with you. I think the ability of this team to get on base is going to be a hallmark for this offense. And look, I think it's clearly what they're trying to do. Kapler, we have talked a million times about Kapler, analytically inclined,

someone who is geared towards that type of stuff, and just the way they put the team together. I'll give you another thing I feel really good about, though, is I think that the offense on the whole and the guys you kind of highlighted are what is the first thing that pops to mind. But I'm feeling really good about this bullpen, John,

heading into spring training. The moves they've made, love bringing Neshek back, Tommy Hunter. I feel really good about Hector Neris, obviously. They've done a really nice job of molding some young arms that I feel like you can count on moving forward with some of the either older or a little bit higher price type guys. But I mean, Tommy Hunter's $6 million a year contract

looks like a steal the way the rest of the market played out, usually $7, $8, $9 for those type of guys. John, I feel really, especially for a team, and we're going to get into it in a minute because I feel like there's not much of a bigger worry than the starting rotation, but the bullpen potentially something that could make up for some of the issues on the starting end.

Yeah, I mean, even if they, and I don't know what's going to happen if they're going to be able to snag a guy that, and when you look at the way free agency is working out, it's really a waiting game. It's crazy. Darvish goes, and now you figure that maybe everybody else in the market is going to go. But you have to feel good about where the bullpen is. Now, if you can't get starters to take you six innings and give you quality starts, you forget about the bullpen.

But listen, they have a good idea what they're doing. This front office knows what this team is right now. They're not ready to compete. They're not ready to win right now. But that doesn't mean next season if this lineup evolves and you can make a good trade or you can sign a guy even next year, you're still going to have this bullpen in place. So when you talk about strengths on your team, if your bullpen's a strength, that's a good thing.

And the other thing is, can you use those players to leverage a trade at the trade deadline and everything else? And you saw it with Neshek last year. You were able to get a guy that was actually – Rins repeat, you know? Listen, he was phenomenal in the Phillies bullpen, and you were actually able to get a top – I think he's a top 30 prospect in their system right now, which is saying something for the Phillies bullpen, and you were actually able to get a top, I think he's a top 30 prospect in their system right now,

which is saying something for the Phillies system. Yeah, I mean, the guy they got, as far as for the, he was a top 10, or I believe a top 15 prospect in their system. In Colorado, yeah. Yeah, in Colorado. Look, I'm with you 100%, especially a guy like Neshek, who has shown that he can come in, do a really good job, and get traded for an asset

at the deadline when teams are more in need of middle relievers more willing to make that kind of sacrifice because it's a missing piece you know it's a lot easier to do that at you know midseason when you know what you've got than right now where everyone thinks that they've got everything figured out so I'm with you 100% there

I think you know it all comes back to the starting rotation and you said there and I agree I think they know what this team is and they're not quote-unquote gearing to compete this season, but I do think that if they go out and get a couple starters, not that they're going to be a World Series contender, but they could play meaningful September baseball. With this lineup, if you can add, and look, I know that we'll talk about the level of type of free agent,

but even if you can have Nola take a expected, you know, solid, tiny step forward, just be what he was more consistently, you know, over that stretch where he was one of the best pitchers in baseball, you don't expect that, but you expect a number two, potentially, whatever. You know, you're lacking that ace unless they want to go out and get Arrieta, which is kind of the discussion which we'll get into, especially if he potentially likely turned down what the Cubs said they turned down what the Cubs offered, which I don't think is true. I think if Arrieta got that offer, he would take it.

Yeah, really. But look, I think that right now you've got Aaron Nolan and literally nothing you can count on, John. You had what you had last year, which wasn't good enough. Absolutely. And you have guys that – and I would prefer that the Phillies don't go out and overspend on a pitcher that's not going to be worth it.

It's one thing if you get an Arrieta, who I actually like, but a guy that's a four-starter that you're paying really two or three money to get. But you can't go into this season with bringing out the Pavettas and the Eflins and those kind of guys to where you have to rely on them every five days. I don't think it's fair to the rest of the team because the rest of the team is at this level, but their starting pitching certainly isn't at that level. So I was hoping they were going to be able to be creative

and get something done. The problem is everybody in Major League Baseball is trying to be creative to get something done. Yeah, and look, if there's something everybody needs, it's starting pitching. You know, it's a tale as old as time, as they say, but I think even more so now, especially like you were talking about, John. Like, you know, starting pitchers don't pitch nearly as well. as they say, but I think even more so now, especially like you were talking about, John. Starting pitchers don't pitch nearly as much. When we were growing up, not just where they're the Nolan Ryans of the world,

but just in general, pitchers pitch more complete games, pitch more innings, less of the specialization in middle relief. That is more of one of the byproducts of the analytics movement and seeing matchup-driven type pitching. So I think the Phillies, they're going to have to get a guy at least who can just eat innings for them, whether it's a Wade Miley or someone like that out there who's not anything sexy but can maybe give you string two, three good starts at a time

and then maybe a bad one and kind of that type of pattern for you. But look, they've got to do something. And there are guys out there. I mean, Arrieta really, I think, is the only top guy on the market left, obviously. But I mean, whether there's, you know, and I'm not super excited about an Andrew Kashner or Jason Vargas or whatever, but those are the types of names you're going to see. Alex Cobb's still out there.

That's who's available. Yeah, that's who's available. So Lance Lynn, what's amazing is the entire market like you said is still available. The Darvish contract happens. You think that stuff's going to start happening here, but I mean, they have to do something, John. So would you

rather they go and say and look again, not 5 for 126, but let's say Arrieta, the reason that he hasn't signed yet is he's looking for a four-year deal instead of a three-year deal. What if he wants four years at $80 million or something in that range? Sure. Lock. Lock that up.

$20 million a year? I think you're... He'll probably want more than that. Yeah, he will. It's just the question of whether the guarantee... Look, he's going to get three-year offers with higher AAV, obviously, than four years. Three for $85? Exactly. Like three for $75, three three for 80, something like that. That seems like it's right up the Philly's alley,

that they would much rather do the shorter-term contracts and give the extra dollars per year. Smart. It is. Especially to a pitcher at that age. I like him. I do, too. I'm a fan.

I like him better than Darvish, to be perfectly honest with you. I do. No, look, I'm thinking about it. Look, I've seen Jake Arrieta have some great games on the world's biggest stage. Granted, I'm not holding Darvish's World Series performance against him in that sense. I think Darvish is a more talented pitcher. But look, Arrieta is really good. My bigger thing is more that I feel more confident in Darvish's ability to continue for a longer period of time,

even though they're right around the same age. Arrieta's a little bit older. But look, I see what you're saying. I think you can make the argument. I would like to get him for three years. Four seems like too many for me. If I were a betting man, I'd bet on Arrieta having one more really good season, one good to solid season,

and then a bad season in a three-year deal if you signed it. Who knows? Yeah, there's got to be a team out there that's willing to go more than three years. You would think so. I mean, there are teams that need starters that are really planning to contend this year. But here's the other thing I'll say. GMs

in baseball these days aren't stupid. You know what I'm saying? More than ever in the history of the sport times a million. They're all really smart. There's no more idiots you can take advantage of for the most part. Right. The talk of collusion among Major League Baseball, and I'm not telling you that it doesn't go on in all sports,

but I think more than anything, GMs are looking and being like, yeah, we're not going out and giving a seven-year contract to a guy that we know, A, isn't that good, B, is going to be an injury liability. The Cubs reached on Hugh Darvish giving him the sixth year. The back end of that contract, I don't really understand what they're doing anyway, but the back end of that contract, they're more or less saying, for the first three or four years, we're willing to give a six-year contract. Which is a lot of contracts.

It was the Yankee way for a while. Yeah, totally. No, the CeCe contract, even though CeCe ended up really earning that contract and pitching much better than expected on the back end. But I think that's exact. I think with any of these types of deals, you're hoping that the first two years, even if you sign a three-year deal, you're hoping those first two years,

the value outweighs it. But at the same time, it's also a team that the Phillies have all the money in the world to spend. It is insane how solid this offense is considering how much money is still on the table for them. I think there's no secret they are going to spend in 2019. We've talked about it.

It seems like everyone in the world has talked about it. Seems like it. But that doesn't mean that they might not say, alright, well we want to really contend in 2019. We bring in Arrieta now. He's a big part of that next season. I don't think that's crazy. I think that they

are starting to turn the page. It's all going to come down to the value and the number, and I know that seems obvious, but I certainly think they're in on it. If not, John, how worried are you? Alex Cobb is a name that I think we both like more than some of the others out there. Lance Lynn.

But let's say they end up going out and getting a Wade Miley and a Jason Vargas or whatever. How drastically does that kind of damper your excitement for their possibilities this season? I had no expectation of them going out and solving their starting pitching needs. I know how you build this team. You've got to do it through your farm system,

and then you've got to add key pieces. Right now they have pitchers in their farm system that may or may not develop. They do. They've got guys. They've got guys. Now what happens from when they're 19 to 20 years old and high A ball to making the majors, who knows? Exactly.

That's why they're called prospects. Yep. But at some point they're going to have to spend money to get starters because they need guys to throw innings? Exactly. That's why they're called prospects. Yep. But at some point they're going to have to spend money to get starters because they need guys to throw innings. Exactly. And we saw last year, look, a team that has this type of offensive potential, it's not going to be good enough to roll Zac Eflin out there every five days. It's not going to be good enough to roll the Jared Eikhoff we saw last season

out every five days, though I think Eikhoff, the most likely of that group to have a spot in the rotation this season. Pavetta, you know, showed some stuff at times, but also showed to be, you know, I think he's got, at least of that group, another somewhat decent chance. I don't think you see Eflin anywhere near the rotation

to start the season. I'm missing one guy. There's one more guy in that group who was up and down who I'm forgetting, but also someone who's unexciting to me. But look, that's the problem. And I think that we're going to have to see. That's going to be the biggest thing you're watching, right?

You're watching him. Let's get to that. So with this in mind, and we're still waiting to see what free agent moves are going to happen, and if maybe there's a trade on the table still, who knows? You know, Klintak is as aggressive, has already made made some moves i think he'll be aggressive if the opportunity is there but spring training starts tomorrow i mean pitchers and gadgets tomorrow for all intents and purposes within the next week we'll really start getting into the flow of spring training and games will start what are you looking for early on because again you know you're going to

hear everybody's in the best shape of their life. That type of stuff is going to come out. We'll get to that in a sec because I want to ask you a question about sifting through that. But first, what is the main thing you're going to be looking for? Obviously, you're going down there at some point, but what are you paying attention to? I want to see what Aaron Noah looks like. I mean, really, when you talk about things that you want to see in 2018, and last year, early on, the boxes weren't checked because there was just really nobody on the roster

that was going to be here long-term that was doing anything. Now, Oduble heated up. God, Franco just struggled the whole season long. But really, until Reese Hoskins came up, that's when you saw then J.P. Crawford came up. Then you actually saw Scott Kingery had a great season, and then he was going to be 18 at some point. So I'm checking the boxes.

Aaron Noah, listen, he's shown flashes. He's got to pull it together. He's got to put the whole season together. He's had stretches. He's got to stay healthy. So that's had stretches. He's got to stay healthy. So that's number one. He is the one pitcher that I know that can come out every five days and actually win a game for you.

I think you could say he's the most important person on the team. He is. He is because if nothing else, and Curt Schilling proved this when he was at Philly, that every five days you knew that he could stop a streak. That's a great point. And Aaron Noah, he's going to have to be that guy. Yeah, he doesn't have a choice. He doesn't have a choice.

Because you're right, he's probably not that guy. A number two. Yeah. A solid number two. A good number two. He's not even a 1A. He's probably a number two. We'll see.

But until they get to number one, he's the number one. Exactly. And he's going to have to be. And sometimes you go, and look, and that's the number one exactly and he's gonna have to be and and sometimes you go and look he should and that's the thing he showed during that 10 start stretch whatever was 11 start stretch he showed that he can be that guy for stretches he should like he was a number one a bona fide he was no question about it number one for that stretch so we know he's got it in him once you've displayed a skill you own it you know so i believe that he could do that at the major league level especially over that long a period

of time so i'm with you i think that nola the most important person on this team right now outside of that if you know it's so hard and that's kind of what i want to get into here it's so hard to kind of piece the real from the not real, the fake in spring training, especially, you know, we're obviously in a time where news is hard enough to know what's real and what's not. But when you look at spring training, it really is hard. I mean, I can't tell you the number of times I've seen guys just tear up spring training and then the season starts and they can't hit because pitchers are working on things.

Pitchers aren't showing their stuff, this and that, whatever it is. So, John, are there any ways that you kind of, are there any things that you look for in particular in your coverage? When you're looking at the guys down there covering spring training and you're reading the articles and you're sifting through all the information out there, like, are there any particular general things or themes that kind of stand out to you as a way to decipher the real from the not real? As far as pitching velocity, because a lot of times you'll see guys that come in,

and I think it's natural to gain your philosophy as spring training goes, but guys that don't. How many times have we seen? I'm trying to think of a pitcher, and Cole Hamels in 2009 was one obvious example. But you get to April, and the velocity's still not there. They're still thrown in the high 80s. And it's like, hold on, what's going on? Is there an injury?

Was he not ready for spring training? So it's that. But like you said, with a pitcher, they're working on stuff. They're working on their pitches. So by the end of spring training, that's where you want to see. It's kind of like a quarterback, we're all Eagle up on this town. You want to see by the second. Wait, the Eagles?

Did something happen with the Eagles? I heard they were in the Super Bowl. I didn't see the result. Don't spoil it for our listeners. They might be going back to home. Yeah, they may not have seen it. It's on the DVR still. But it's like the quarterback in the NFL, the second to last preseason game,

because they're not playing in the last preseason game. You want to see them look their sharpest then. So I want to see guys looking sharp towards the end of spring training. As far as the position guys, J.P. Crawford, I want to see his defense in spring training. He may press. The offense may not be there right from spring training, and I'm not going to go nuts about it. I want to see what he looks like. we didn't see him a lot of shortstop

we didn't, we saw him look great at third I want to see his defense and how he looks defensively with Cesar at second base's battery mate right there, I have no interest and no expectation with anything involving Mikel Franco, because nothing that he can do is going to make me feel better

even if he's on fire in spring training, I'll be encouraged, he's going to prove he can do is going to make me feel better. Even if he's on fire in spring training, I'll be encouraged. He's going to prove he can do it during the regular season. Yeah, I'm at the point where I don't even know if I'll be encouraged. I just need to see it during the regular season. I mean, sure, he can hit, you know, pitchers who aren't going to make rosters or this or that or whatever. He can hit a mistake.

To quote the great Lou Brown, yeah, if a guy will be bagging groceries. Right. It's true. But I think you hit on a really important point with the pitching. I think velocity, seeing velocity, seeing upticks in velocity, guys who are throwing harder, I think that's a real important indicator. Also, I like finding, you know,

I think the stuff that's real is when you hear about guys who have legit new pitches or have changed something to the way they do their approach, changed their batting stance, changed their pitching motion, whatever, moved to the other side of the rubber. I know that sounds silly, but it's those type of changes that usually precede some sort of unexpected breakout or some sort of, you sort of big step forward. And look, those don't always work out, but I think that that type of stuff, especially if you're hearing positive reviews about it,

like he changed his stance and he's able to open up much quicker and it's really helped him so far, stuff like that. Whereas if you see Mike Alfranco, perfect example here, you see he's batting.500 through the first two weeks of the season. It's one thing if he's just batting.500. It's another thing if a bunch of stories are coming out about Mikel Franco has drastically changed his approach at the plate, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Move closer to the plate. All that. Is trying to hit the ball the other way. Exactly. That's a great point. As open as stance. I think that's the type of stuff to look for. If you see they're in the best shape of their life,

just assume it's not true. You know, as we've joked around about the biggest cliché, you're going to see that type of stuff. With Franco, he will, if he's pulling everything, if he's swinging out of his cleats, then that means nothing's changed. So don't expect different results. If he's doing something different, if Gabe Kapler has gotten through to him with a different approach, that's reason to be excited. approach, that's reason to be excited.

I have absolutely positively no great expectations for Franco. I have zero expectations. Honestly, in my mind, Kingery's the second baseman and Cesar Hernandez moved to third. That's where I'm at. I'm ready to move forward. Maybe Kingery can play third base. Maybe he could. I mean, they tried him out a little bit last year. They tried him out a little bit.

Maybe King or he can play third base. Maybe he could. I mean, they tried him out a little bit last year. A little bit. But I think that Mike Calfranco gets me so frustrated. But look, there's still a lot of talent there. He's still young. I expect nothing, and hopefully I'm pleasantly surprised. Maybe he'll be Nelson Aguilar for the Phillies.

Unexpected. But I think the bigger thing for me, you made a great point there talking about Kapler, and we haven't really given that enough credence in terms of what Kapler can come in. We haven't, you're right. So maybe if I do see some changes with Franco and it makes a difference, maybe I'm even more inclined to believe it

because it's a new hitting coach, it's a new system, whatever. I think all that stuff matters, and I think it's going to be interesting to see how Kapler sets his lineups, how Kapler goes about kind of managing a team. I think that's going to be a fascinating storyline of spring training heading into the season.

Talking to a couple people here just recently in the Phillies organization, talking about Kapler, it's all kind of the same reaction, which is, he's a really, the word they use is interesting. He's a really interesting guy.

High energy, very positive, just a very interesting guy. Now, that's not going to work for everybody. Right. But it could work, especially for a young team. Bingo. That buys into it. I think that's a great point, John. I think that's exactly who it works for. I think you're dead on with that.

You bring him in, the Ryan Howard and Jimmy and Shane and that team in 2011, done. Young guys that want to be successful and see an opportunity, you can grow with them.

I think a lot of people poo-poo a manager in Major League Baseball because they're like, what do they really do? And I understand when people say that, but at the same time, the good managers can make such a difference in a clubhouse. And for what we saw last year out of Pete McKinnon, there could be a world of difference with Gabe Kapler if he turns into the guy that the Phillies organization think he is.

Yeah, it's a great point. I mean, and again, the eagled up. I mean, we saw what a type of personality and a coach can do for a locker room and can do for certain types of players or a certain group of guys. Kapler's high energy, like they said. I think that that's good for a younger group of guys.

I think that he's got a lot of history in player development. You know, he knows what to look for with younger guys. So I'm with you. And I think it's going to be fascinating. I think one of the the keys is going to be and you have to assume that it will be but klentak and the front office having caplers back and defending because he is as we've discussed interesting guy he's going to do some quote-unquote interesting stuff as a manager you know it's coming and you know people like at our own station, like Howard Eskin, are going to

go after him when he does it. If it doesn't work out, he is going to need to have Klentak have his back. And I agree. I just think that's going to be a massive part. Because this is their guy. Pete McKinnon wasn't their guy. Agreed. And for all the

and you mentioned Howard. Last year, Howard liked Pete. And all season the, and you mentioned Howard last year, Howard liked Pete and all, all season long. And I'm not a, I'm not a guy that normally calls for this person to lose their job or fire this person or fire that person. But I, I, I said this about Pete McKinnon and I was doing pre and post for, for every weekday game. I said this about Pete McKinnon last year, normally managers that lose that many games don't keep their jobs. And at the same time, when it was announced that he wasn't coming back,

a lot of people were taken off guard. That's because we weren't paying attention. That's no other reason other than we really just weren't paying attention. We should have seen that coming from a mile away that a regime that didn't hire him, results that were not good, a team that he was not pushing the right buttons.

Gabe Kapler now, this is their guy. This is their guy. So for him to be successful, it makes Matt Quintet look better. So he's going to do everything possible to make that happen. A million percent. I expected McKinney to get fired. Talked about it a fair amount on the Phillies Today, the other podcast that I had done last season. Are you doing that again this year?

I don't know. We'll see. You're doing a daily Phillies... I know! ...on Phillies 24-7. Talking to myself for 25 minutes. It was aggressive. But, um... Towards the end of the season, it was aggressive. But, look, I think that I think with

the Kapler thing here, and I agree with you, Klentak is going to want him to succeed. With McKinnon, I said he was going to get fired because my whole rationale was, first and foremost, was that I didn't think he was the guy. There's a reason he's only been an intern before. He's a major league lifer, not the type of guy to develop a young team. But regardless, more so the fact that we saw what they did with the contract status.

He was a lame duck manager. They said, all right, we're giving you another year, so you're not a lame duck, so saw what they did with the contract status. You know, he was a lame duck manager. They said, all right, we're giving you another year. So you're not a lame duck. So you have some authority in the locker room. You knew they weren't going to give him another year. They weren't going to bring him back to be another lame duck. So you either have to give him another year or get rid of him. So I felt pretty confident about that.

And like you said, I think anyone should have been confident about that. Pete McKinnon was never handpicked by this new regime here so that you would never expect, look, GMs are going to bring their guys in. It's the way they work, and they should. Look, the importance of a GM and coach relationship and the ability to work together is incredibly important, like we talked about. So you want someone who you can work with,

who you feel comfortable working with. So I'm all for it. You know, McKinnon, nice guy, but I think it was the right move to move on. And you know, I'm excited about at least the outside the box and, you know, different way of thinking that Kapler can bring here. Yep, it'll be interesting because this is really the first,

you go from Charlie Manuel to Ryan Sandberg to Pete McKinnon. Yeah. Now you have Gabe Kapler. Yeah. What a contrast. Oh my God. It's like you have Gabe Kapler. What a contrast. Oh, my God. Put Gabe Kapler and Charlie Manuel in a room together and just record it, and it'll be amazing. Charlie might only say three words.

But I do think, though, Kapler, and that's the thing, I think that Kapler already, just by the way people have talked about him and stuff, I think that he throws a lot of people off. Just don't forget that this guy played in the major leagues for a long time. He has been around baseball his whole life. He is an incredibly smart man. I know that he could be off-putting for some,

but give him a chance because I think that he's got a real chance to be successful. There was a reason a lot of teams in the league wanted him. And Charlie's a big fan from what I hear. And Charlie was someone who certainly was not wholly accepted when he first came into this city, and he shut everyone up as well. So, yeah, I'm with you there. All right, Johnny, before we get out of here, a couple more things just with spring training.

I asked you before kind of what your biggest worry is what your biggest strength is gone through kind of looking around the diamond who's you mentioned jp crawford who's the one guy that you need to see something from this spring training aaron alter what like that and that's interesting too because the whole like that's going to be interesting to watch too we didn't really talk about the potential, like, who's going to start out there if they don't make a move. But Altair, I think, is a great one. Yeah, and we didn't get to it, and we'll have plenty of time during spring training doing this. We're going to be doing a lot more bods.

The outfield situation is really interesting because you went from being like, well, you know, there's room for Altair and Nick Williams and Oduble to, oh, Reese Hoskins is now your left fielder. Who's the odd man out? And I actually think that Klintock did a great job because Nick Williams had a good season last year, but we'll see year two. It's great to have an Aaron Altair batting from the right side. Aaron Altair can't stay healthy. When he's healthy, pretty good player.

Pretty good player. You also have Herrera who could be traded at any point, batting from the right side, Aaron Altair can't stay healthy. When he's healthy, pretty good player. Pretty good player. You also have Herrera who could be traded at any point, could flake out, is also, by the way, very talented and can really get this lineup going. Totally. And a great defender too. And listen, if Gabe Kapler, great defender, if Gabe Kapler pushes the right buttons, there's four guys,

there's plenty of at-bats for four guys. There are. There's plenty of at-bats for four guys. There are. There are plenty of at-bats. So if Santana needs a day off every two weeks, Hoskins slides to first base. Maybe he plays six out of seven games, 12 out of 14 games. There's enough at-bats.

And if you play situationally, where Williams is sitting against the tough lefties, if he's struggling, I like this outfield. I'm intrigued by the outfield. I totally agree with you. And I think Altair is someone who, like, we don't really know what his ceiling is. What is he?

Exactly. Because obviously, you know, the nice first, you know, whatever, 100 plus at bats that first year, then hurt the next year, awful. And then, you know, really good at at stretches last year but also unable to stay on the field he's flash brilliance at times yes but it's consistency when you put when you're a professional right but the right age heading into that you know 27 28 prime of your career you know at least historically for baseball players well and and here's the other thing that for guys like Aaron Altair and if I'm assuming he, like you said, everybody's in the best shape of their life.

I'm assuming that being he's injured and everything else, that this is the time for him to step up because as he approaches his arbitration years and then becomes a free agent, this is his life right here. It's a great point. It's a great point. He could set up his family and his family's family and his family's family if he turns into a good starting major leaguer. He can't stay healthy and is what he is right now.

He's going to live a nice life, but we're talking about $50 million or $10 million. No, it's a great point, and I do think that's what he has riding. I mean, maybe the numbers are slightly off because baseball players make so much freaking money. Yeah, below average starters are making $7 million a year. Todd Frazier's making $7.5 million. He batted $2.13 million last year. That's what I mean. You're saying $10 million.

$2.13 million. That's what I'm saying, man. I'm saying Aaron Altair is going to make more than $10 million in his career, no matter what he does, probably. It's more my point. Yeah, you're right. That's where I was going. Regardless, the sentiment is dead on.

My guy, I mentioned him before, it's Jared Eikhoff, just because, look, no matter what they do, they're not signing four free agent starting pitchers between now and the start of the season. Let's hope for one or two. They've got to fill up this rotation.

They've nobody. Eikhoff is going to have to start. I have seen enough from Eikhoff two years ago to believe that he, look, he's not going to be a star. He doesn't have one, two type of that, but he can be a four or five, like a legit four or five. Someone who can give you a good amount of innings without walking guys, can strike some guys out.

I need to see that from Eikhoff because as sad as it is to say, like, we need guys who can be major league caliber caliber starters whatever whether they're if you're gonna have aaron nola and and four fives if you tell me you have aaron nolan four may not be fours or fives i'd feel good about it because right now i feel like you have aaron nola and a bunch of fringe quad A type guys, guys who aren't really major league, you know, successful major league pitchers. I think Pavetta has flashed enough where I believe there's some upside there, but he's got good stuff.

Pavetta has shown, of all those guys, Pavetta has shown the ability to be the most dominant. But again, he's done nothing close to put it all together. Exactly. So Eikhoff, I know that guy can do it over a full season. I've seen it happen. Weird year last year. You see that all the time.

I'm watching Eikhoff. He also lost some velocity, and he's not a guy that can afford. He had the injury to the back thing. I always feel like those back things are something that's so underrated in terms of velocity. It's your whole motion. Everybody thinks shoulder or elbow, but that really does. He's a guy that can't make a lot of mistakes, and

when you're going from 91-92 to 88-87, that's a problem. Exactly. It's not just a problem, it's your career. As a right-handed pitcher, it's tough to do that. And that's the thing. It's such a massive difference. The

velocity in those levels like is everything. You can't unless you're unless you're peak Greg Maddox and even then Maddox through in the 90s, low 90s, most of the time, 89, 98, 88, even. But 91, whatever. But like the 87, 86, like you cannot get by unless you're literally as good. Pinpoint control, your stuff moves like Maddox. And even then, your ceiling is so limited by your inability to strike, I said. All right, Johnny. Yeah.

Final thoughts. Well, I mean, I can't wait to get started. We're going down there March 19th, I guess. So I still have a couple weeks, and I'll be down there towards the tail end of spring training. Which would be nice considering you've been like, in Minnesota on parade floats, here and there. Oh, but real quick, I know this is a Phillies crowd. I mean,

can we petition to make it a Reese Hoskins tattoo instead of a Nick Foles tattoo? No. Yeah, for people that don't listen to my regular show, at some point I started mouthing off saying that, yeah, Eagles are going to be fine with Nick Foles. And if Nick Foles wins a Super Bowl, I'll get his face tattooed on my back.

Wasn't a bet or anything. You just said it. I just said it. Normally, the anti-Nick Foles guy would say, it would be somebody that said, if Nick Foles can't win a Super Bowl, if he does, I'll get a tattoo. No, I was actually supporting Nick Foles and somehow ending up with his face on my back, a real tattoo. No, John Brazier actually texted me, and he said that if the Phillies win a World Series in 2018, will you get Oduble tattooed on you?

And this is what I said to him. I'll get El Torito from shoulder blade to shoulder blade up top. Yeah, I'll get El Torito. See, that would be up top. Yeah, I'll get El Torito. See, that would be a much more badass tattoo than Nick Foles' face. That would be badass, dude. See, that'd be cool. That'd be like gang member. Yes.

And then they'd look down and be like, what is that face? Yes, that's even better. El Torito, Nick Foles. It's great. You've got to do, by the way, the Foles picture from getting off the plane with the headphones and the glasses. No, I don't. No, I don't the headphones and the glasses. No, I don't. It's so ridiculous.

My final thought is pitchers and catchers tomorrow and we are going to be here for you, especially, look, if any signing happens, whatever, we've already shown that John will literally call from anywhere at any time to be able to do it. It's a snowstorm. Yes, in the car. Via Twitter. People honking, John's cursing, all kinds

of awesome stuff. We will be there if the Phillies make any big moves. Either way, we'll be there more and more now that the football season's wrapped up and we'll get our baseball chatter going. Oh, yeah. Fired up. Fired up. All right, for John Marks, for myself, James Seltzer, and for the absent Jack Fritz, this has been High Hopes.

We'll talk to you guys soon. All-star closer, Kenley Jansen, we have a question. What's the best podcast of all time? Baseball isn't boring, baby. I'm Rob Bradford, and every single day I'm sitting down with the biggest names to show you this great game is the greatest game. It's my podcast. It's my passion.

It's a cause I started more than two years ago and is now the most prolific national daily baseball pod there is. Another fact. So jump aboard the BIB Express. Follow and listen to Baseball Isn't Boring presented by Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.