High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Sam is in the Fuld

Episode Date: December 23, 2020

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz react to the news that Sam Fuld has been hired as the new general manager of the Phillies. The guys give their thoughts on Fuld, what the hiring means for the future, and much more. 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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WIP. Yeah! It is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast. Jack, the hopes are high, buddy. We're back. We're back, buddy.

Listen, I'm excited about Sam Fold. That might have been a too much for Sam fold yeah we got a Jew running the team now are you kidding me this is such a beautiful thing like Sam fold like this could be me Jack this could be me running the team did you know that Sam fold is two months younger than me Jack did you know that Wow so both of you guys are old but actually sam no here but here's the difference for him he's young i'm old exactly i'm two months older that's how that works yes the main difference here james is that you're old he's young that's

that's the main difference so um and also sam fold the uh owner of one of the best catches i've ever seen in my life and uh in right field for the Tampa Bay Rays back in the day. Does he count as a Rays guy? Oh, he's definitely a Rays guy. We're counting it. We're saying we're counting it. He's a Rays guy. It's kind of like how Vrabel is part of the Bill Belichick coaching tree,

even though he never coached for Bill Belichick. That's exactly right. Sam Fold is a Rays raised guy he's better so he's even better because he was just there and was so great that he absorbed so much as a player there like he didn't even need to be in the front office there he just was able to take it all in as a player jack let me ask you a question yeah did you own sam fold in fantasy for that amazing month he had with the Rays? Because I did. I rode that month.

I love you, Sam. Now, when you were playing fantasy baseball then, were you writing down his stats off the newspaper and submitting them somewhere? Is that the time you were playing fantasy baseball? Sammy! Sammy gets it. Dude, he was playing. Same age.

We're like basically brothers Jack yeah I mean I think you guys would be best friends I mean um I mean we already are he just doesn't know it yet right uh I can't believe he was playing up until 2016 like Sam Fold for not being that good played for a long time he lasted like nine years in the league and he was like a of like 25th guy on the on the team so not only did he you know was he groomed by the Rays front office he not only he wasn't an you know in their little analytics you know the little nerd closet he lived it like he he lived being a Rays player so um I mean it's just what a glorious day the phillies doing smart things yeah well and also a smart guy like i'm just excited sam fould is a smart dude like went to stanford his

parents are professors like he's just a bright guy and like you said and and we'll get into the press conference and all that and i know you tweeted this and I know I said it on the last pod, but I don't know how long it'll be. Maybe it'll take a year or whatever, but I am still not over how enjoyable it is to just have a normal press conference where people say smart things. Like I, I feel like that alone is like booing my spirit. But, um, I think what Dombrowski said in the press conferences actually was my very first thought when it happened. The very first thing when I see that sampled, I'm like, oh, that's a perfect compliment for Dombrowski. That's the perfect type of guy to come in to learn under Dombrowski, but also someone who's going to bring the things that Dombrowski is not great at.

And for Dombrowski to acknowledge that and realize that and and have the balls to bring in someone who's going to challenge him with other ideas and other ways of thinking that are desperately needed again let's remember who just played in the world series absolutely love this hire jack I this is honestly my favorite thing that's happened this offseason is simple yeah you can argue it's the most important thing that's happened this offseason because like I was worried it was going to be one of

like Dombrowski's guys, you know, like from the Tigers or whatnot that kind of oversaw that team as they were falling apart and, you know, because like a couple of Dombrowski guys were part of the Tigers like scouting department or whatever and I think their scouting's been horrible. The last couple years have been fine. Like they got Riley Green, because, like, a couple of Dombrowski guys were part of the Tigers, like, scouting department or whatever. And, like, their scouting's been horrible.

Like, the last couple of years have been fine. Like, they got Riley Green, Casey Mize. Matt Manning. Right, right. Like, they've got those. But I'm talking about from, like, from the end of the Dombrowski era till, like, the Riley Green pick. It's been horrible. And it's been mostly Dombrowski's guys still there.

I was afraid he was going to take one of those guys and bring them here. Also, the Red Sox, like, I was also worried that he was not going to have a GM. He didn't have a GM for his three years with the Red Sox. It was Dombrowski running everything. And I don't want to give, like, we can't, I don't want to give people the impression

that, like, Sam Foles is going to be, like, doing the data. He's, like, making decisions or making moves. It's Dombrowski's show. We're not trying to imply anything else. It is Dave Dombrowski's show. It's still Dave Dombrowski's show, but when he talked in his opening press conference, we both came away feeling that

he wanted to groom the next guy, and we both thought it was important that he wanted to groom the next guy because ultimately Dombrowski's probably only going to be here for four years. I mean, he'll be 68 by the time he's done. And four years from now, hopefully this pandemic's over. It's trending in that direction, but I hope it's over. And you would think that by then, Nashville would be getting closer to getting a baseball team.

And Dombrowski already made a pretty strong commitment to those guys that he would come back and he would help lead the effort to bring a baseball team to Nashville, a major league baseball team to Nashville. So, you know, there needs to be the next guy. There needs to be a guy that can take the Phillies into the future. And I'm glad they chose a guy like Sam Fold to do that because this is where the game is trending towards.

It's trending towards data-driven analytics. And Sam Fold is a guy who not only played the game, but in his years leaving playing, he's been with the Phillies. Every team, the smart teams, the Phillies tried to be a smart team and it backfired because they had no idea what they were doing. But they've all been looking for a guy that can basically explain the analytics to the players, right, to make it feel more human and where it's not just, oh, you know, hit the ball,

launch angle and all that stuff, whatever. Like, it was a way to explain the numbers to the players, and that's basically what Sam Fould's done here. So he's lived both sides. And, you know, at 39, he gets to learn from a future Hall of Famer kind of how the day-to-day can be run. To me, it just feels like there's a plan now. It feels like there's a plan in place, a top-down approach.

They have a well-functioning front office that everyone knows their role in their front office. Even Jorge Valencia is a really interesting hire. Seems like a smart guy. Everyone I've talked about him rave about how great of a person he is. So I'm excited for that. But it just, it seems like now there's a, there's a real clear vision in there um and it's just it's just so refreshing and i'm so glad they didn't go after one of the older guys i'm glad that they they see where the sport is trending and it gives me hope that john middleton is still believing in what you know the driveline guys are doing and the data stuff and player development through uh data and all that stuff it gives me hope with that.

And, you know, it's just it's good to see because that's ultimately where the sport's going. It's not slowing down anytime soon. Yeah, I think you hit on a lot of important stuff in there. First and foremost, just for our guys, for who we care about. And in the tumble of the organization's offseason, we're like, don't mess with O-Chart. Don't mess with our people. Don't mess with our guys. This hire is great for them. Like this is, to your point,

I think this symbolizes that Dombrowski's not coming in and messing with everything that's working. You know what we're going to do? We're going to use our eyes. You know, that's the only thing that matters is using our eyes. Right, and we were worried about Dombrowski. And also, it was fair to worry about that not just

eyes james gut as well using your gut it's key i mean you can't make a decision without it yeah i like so i think this putting fold in this role shows that that dombrowski understands what he doesn't know and the importance of what he doesn't know and and that he's willing to believe in the things that are working here and that alone is I mean, the hire is worth it alone because, I mean, that was one of our biggest fears. But I do think you made some really great points in there about the idea of infrastructure and the idea of, look, bringing Dave Dombrowski in, and obviously we've kind of very clearly turned as the hire was made, as he talked, as we kind of look more into it and all that stuff. But we've obviously gotten more optimistic.

Listen, hey, we're Dombrowski, guys. We're a Dave Dombrowski podcast. Yep, always were. Never said one bad thing about Dave Dombrowski. I mean, go back and check our titles of our podcast. It says it in a title. That means it's fact. We are a Dave Dombrowski podcast.

Very consistent. No one's more consistent than this podcast. No, we never flip. We're very down the line, and we stick to what we think. Dave Dombrowski podcast. Very consistent. No one's more consistent than this podcast. No, we never flip. We're very online and we stick to what we think. But I think one of the worries, like we said with Dombrowski, was coming in and changing things around. But one of the strengths of Dombrowski,

maybe the biggest strength, is of literally everyone on the market, there probably is no one who knows how a baseball organization should run and function better than this guy. I mean, just think about where this guy has been, what he's done,

and who he's been around in his career. I mean, this guy, it's not like, Andy McPhail was a dinosaur. Matt Klintak, who just had no idea what he was doing.

I mean, Dave Dombrowski can come in and know how to run a baseball organization, like know what needs to happen for the trains to run on time, so to speak, to use an analogy. So I think when you get that, that infrastructure, that organization building,

all that type of stuff, but also can still keep the analytics, the data-driven stuff, the driveline guys, Brian Barber, all that stuff, and still focus on that and make that stuff important too. I think to your point, Jack, that's what a plan feels like. That's what it feels like. All right, we're building a front office here. We always joke about the Indians and the front offices of the 90s and the 10,000 general managers that came out of it. You know, guys who aren't even like, you know, the Dan O'Dowd's and this and that and Shapiro and Antonetti and like all these. So many guys came out of those John Hart and like all those years.

But like that's because they built a front office and an infrastructure and a system that works and then brought smart people in and these smart people learn the way these things work, build up, build up, build up, and then go run their other franchises. Like, I'm not saying the Phillies are about to become a powerhouse front office for the next 50 years, but like, this is what it looks like when you start something like that. You know what I mean? This is a, at least a plan an infrastructure, something where you could see, all right, Dombrowski's in charge.

He's going to set up the infrastructure. He's going to walk away. Fold's going to learn from him. Fold's going to set up the, and like it feels like, and you have smart guys in, Valencia first, Venezuelan assistant general manager

in baseball history. Like that's neat. But like there's infrastructure and then you can build something. The key is obviously bringing in smart people and continuing to, you know, build this stronger and stronger where you can become something like an Indians front office down the road. But at least right now, it feels like for the first time in forever, Jack, it feels like there is a future for the Philadelphia Phillies front office that doesn't seem like a mess, like a wayward disaster. It's a Festivus miracle, James.

Happy Festivus. It truly is. I got nothing to grieve about, man. I got no grievances. It's a Festivus miracle. And honestly, hopefully it doesn't turn out the same way. But in our terms, it reminds me a lot of Gillick and Amaro. I mean, Gillick was brought in as a guy who this was his last stop on a storied baseball career,

and he's going to groom Ruben Amaro Jr. to take over him, and, you know, it wasn't great. But, you know, that's the same kind of idea here. At least Sam Fold is the right kind of hire. kind of idea here at least at least sam fold is is is is the right kind of hire um and again like we just talked about it but just this the sport is not getting away from data-driven stuff to get the most out of their players it's just not and and to try to avoid that and and try to rely on old school tactics while i think still important um it's just it's just not the way the sport is going and and fold's been a part of player development um he was saying listen and this may be this may be the most important part and i know it took me it took me 13 minutes to

get here but here we are high i'm one of this guy to be his manager and if i am wants him then guess who wants him this podcast wants him so um podcast wants him. So he is all good. Which also, by the way, this reinvigorates my potential for my dreidel spin rate shirt to be a thing in Philly now, too, because Sam Fould definitely is a dreidel spin rate shirt guy. Yes, 100%. I might have to get that shirt myself james if you could if you could pick up if you could pick up an xl for me when you go down to the store uh that'd be great because i'm all in um but yeah but seriously like this guy is coveted around baseball um i mean like he was a he's like the fact that he's a finalist for a manager's job, but also in player development and in analytics and all that stuff,

and now is a general manager of a team, that's some serious versatility to where that teams must have bought into his ability to communicate effectively with players. I felt like Gabe Kapler. Did that sound like Gabe Kapler? A little bit, but it's such an important point. You're dead on. I think it dovetails with what you were saying before. Communicate effectively with our players.

Yeah, that this guy is going to be an elite general manager. I think the ability to communicate the data type stuff, the analytical type stuff to players in a digestible way where they can understand it and then implement it.

I mean, that's what we always said about Klintak, right? Like that was our biggest issue with Klintak was like, yeah, he's got all these numbers he's using and all these analytics. He doesn't know how to apply them. He doesn't know how to explain them. He doesn't know how to execute them. being a player and actually using these analytics and and using these types of things in tampa bay and then understanding how to take them and incorporate them into play and then thus explain that to other people and again a smart guy who is good at these things it's massive jag it's massive yeah now perfect perfect under dombrowski like that type of guy under Dombrowski I agree now I do hope that you know it wasn't a

Sam Fold problem it was uh the guys giving Sam Fold the numbers problem you know I mean because it's pretty unbelievable how bad they've been at like using the numbers and using the data I mean we remember the beginning of was it was it 18 when they were shifting all over the place and they were 18 yeah and it came out halfway through the year that they were using they're like that the numbers backwards i want to say like they were just like they were basing their shifts off of the hitter and not the pitcher or something like that like basically the everything they were telling the defense to do was the exact opposite of what they're supposed to do.

And they didn't realize it until halfway through the year. It's unbelievable. But again, I'm not going to blame Sam fold for that. I'm not blaming Sam for that. I am just, yes. I'm just hoping that,

you know, there's not a problem with him communicating to the players, the numbers and all that fun stuff. It's real quick sidebar. Unbelievable. That 2018 team was in first place until – August 1st. Yeah. August 1st.

I mean, just – That team was horrible. That team was terrible. That team should have – I know they finished, what, 80 and 82. That was like a 75-win baseball team. Oh, they were terrible. It's an 80-win baseball team. Yeah, they were so bad.

And, like, no one could get behind them because everyone just knew that they were going to absolutely collapse at any moment and then september happened and it was like i'll never get over the the rocky series in 2018 with vince velasquez went like an inning and a third and it was like eight runs off like 14 and nothing and like the second inning i wanted to see it i I was like, okay, this is cool. They got destroyed. Absolutely destroyed. But not Sam Foles' fault.

Officially, officially, not Sam Foles' fault. Also, first year on the job. Takes a lot to grow. He's a young guy. You're old, he's young. Well, that is the thing. Exactly.

He is young. He is young for this role. And also, look, we will certainly acknowledge he does not have as much experience as a lot of people who get hired in this role. But I think a big part of that is that he's being paired with someone as president. Right. I mean, what's he going to be more experienced than everyone else?

And also, again, to Jack's point before, like Dombrowski is a hands on guy. Like, right. Just because Dombrowski is hiring full doesn't mean that. I mean, Dombrowski is still like for all intents and purposes, the general manager too. Yes. But now Fold gets a chance to work side by side with him and also, again, as we said, challenge him on certain things, show him the numbers, try and help inform some of his decisions and all that. So, again, I go back to the compliment thing. I think, like, looking at these two in tandem as a unit, Dombrowski and Fold gets me a lot more excited than either individual hire by itself.

Yeah, honestly, if Sam Fold just brings Dave Dombrowski, if he just brings him guys with upside, that's all I really want him to do. Let Dombrowski kind of take care of the big moves, free agent signings, all that stuff. But if Sam Fold finds some undiscovered talent, that's all I want him to do. Because that's really why he's here. In my mind, he's here to find the undervalued talent. Like what the Rays do, what all the great teams do, is they find undervalued talent and get the most out of them.

And that's what I think Sam Fold's going to do. Like Dave Dombrowski's going to have the eye, he's going to have whatever to get players here, but I need Sam Fold to be the guy that is digging into his savant page and what I mean, you know, Major League Baseball has, you know. Brooks Baseball. Yeah, like has their own resources, obviously. Of course.

I need him diving into that stuff and just trying to find what can unleash uh unlock the next potential of guys that's what i need sam full to do also i think an important point is that and he just brought up about how hands-on dombrowski is and that's great because like basically what happened here in 2015 was the phillies hired andy mcphail to be their freaking president. And then Andy McPhail hired Matt Klintak and then left. Like he was not around. He was not an active participant in the day-to-day operations. And ultimately, he let this thing get out of hand

and didn't really have a clear path on getting it back on track because he hadn't run a freaking baseball team since like 2011. Like he doesn't run a baseball team forever. And he didn't want to do it major a major shift in baseball in that time from when he ran an organization to when he started again with the phillies where like baseball changed it's what we always talk about but it's just a fact like analytics data like that all became the way of the world in baseball and andy mcphail missed that transition yeah and but but what with here like dembrowski is literally going to be 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 B.I.B. 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. Day-to-day, hands-on, and grooming Sam Fold from day one. And I just think that's a really key distinction. If people are worried, oh, well, McPhail is also an old guy that brought in a young GM and let him kind of run the ship. That's not what's happening here.

Dombrowski is here, too, because he actually wants to win and is not going to— And again, again, again, as much as yes, we made some comments about Dave Dombrowski. I don't, well,

I don't know if we really have said we did regardless. He's light years better than McPhail. Like do not put him in any McPhail in the same sentence. Don't even think about it. Don't even think about it. And it failed times better than this guy. Like McPhail is a statue. He is useless. fail in the same sentence don't even think about it don't even think about it thousands of times better than this guy like mcphail is a statue he is useless he is a waste of space like this is stop no more comparisons i will i will we will accept no dombrowski mcphail comparisons in any

way i don't even not even age dombrowski's younger even if he's older he's younger and he's taller he's definitely taller all that stuff i mean come on all that matters is the height with dombrowski's younger even if he's older he's younger and he's taller he's definitely taller all that stuff I mean come on all that matters is the height with Dombrowski but yes um also I don't know just not having a bowl cut is is for me a big uh a big thing much like Andy McPhail they're big in the 90s so um yes I'm so glad I'm so glad. I lived that, Jack. You were a child. I lived the bowl cuts in the 90s.

Let me tell you, they were ridiculous. Did you ever have the highlights? I never had a bowl cut. My mother would have died rather than give me a bowl cut, but I saw some bowl cuts. They were horrible. What about the frosted tips? You ever have the frosted tips?

Oh, no. I was never into that. I had buddies who were into the frosted tips. Not my thing. That's a tough What about the frosted tips? You ever have the frosted tips? Oh, no. I was never into that. I had buddies who were into the frosted tips. Not my thing. That's a tough phase. The frosted tip phase. It's a tough one. It is fun to look back on. I have buddies who we still will bring up the frosted tips. Yeah, the frosted tips weren't great.

I don't think the kids these days know anything about the frosted tips, but the people that went through it like us um it was a bad look it was a tough scene it was a horrible it was a bad scene it's terrible terrible look i can't believe it was ever a thing yeah i don't i don't know what i don't know how it became a thing i don't know why they became a thing and i'm glad they're no longer a thing i actually i actually like i think you nailed it i like i like's style. I am a fan of today's style. Sure.

Less frosted tints. It works for me. No bowl cuts. It's just a normal-looking style of today. I mean, honestly. Yeah, just cut your hair normally. That's my general philosophy. Although, does Dave Dombrowski, does he still have a flip?

Oh, yeah. It's a little much. Does he still have a flip phone, though? Every picture I see of Dombrowskiowski it's like he has a he has that did you ever have the uh the cell phone on the on the belt buckle thing with the with you you have you had that every picture i see of dombrowski he has that so i want to make blackberry yeah oh yeah i just want to make sure i just want to make sure he is he is has an iphone it's really important to me that Dave Dombrowski has an iPhone. I feel like that's a fair thing to care about.

Every picture I see of him, it's one, he's the tallest guy I've ever seen. And two, is that he has the cell phone on the belt, and it looks like a flip phone, and he's going to take it out. And his shirt's always tucked in which is such an old guy move like i don't know who decided that shirts should be tucked in all the time but dave dombrowski is a tucked in shirt guy at all times um and then he's also has the the the flip phone on the side thing and i just if someone could figure out if he has an iphone or not i would really appreciate it. He is 68, Jack.

He's 64. Excuse me, not 68. He is 64. He's 64. It's very important to me that my 2020 president of baseball operations has an iPhone. I think that's a very fair thing to say. Thank you.

Cosign. Cosign. Was that the end of the point? That was the end of my point yes yes oh i'm just excited i'm excited about fold we got a jew in the front office jack this is uh this is a good thing yes this is proven historically was he on that was he on that uh that that uh fam famed Israel team from the 20... Oh yeah, I believe so. I feel like he was. I'm not 100% sure, but I feel like he was.

I think I've seen pictures of him. He's only 39. He could probably play in the next one. Tell me about it. He's young like me, Jack. Well, no. You're old. He's young. He just turned 39. Less than a month ago, Jack. He's a young 39.

You're an old 39. Yeah, I think that. I don't know what else to say to that. I think it's fair. So what else we got? You got anything else? I do. I do. These are very me. I'm sorry in advance, but I

have to get them out because it's Bobby. So who are you targeting at 13? Is that where we're going now? Yeah, let's just start laying the groundwork for whoever Dave is going after. So I know I just brought up the iPhone thing. I just need to make sure he has an iPhone because, you know. And the tucked-in shirt thing bothers me because, like, I mean, come on. Like, no one tucks in their shirt anymore.

It's 2020. The other thing that bothers me is that he doesn't turn off his notifications during press conferences so like you're just listening and all of a sudden it'll just be a loud loud ass notification yeah this is a fair take like mute your phone yeah just turn it off turn it off turn it off there's yeah well which leans towards the no iphone iphone so easy just flick that little yeah it's nerve like just i would i'm worried about dobrowski's uh use of technology you know it's i'm worried about it it's 2020 like i just got sam man it's like me and joe to camera like you know he just

have sam do all the the electronic stuff he needs done yes um but joe to camera is only 42 he just acts like he's 64 yeah i think he likes that though it's like a point of pride for him um but yeah it's just yeah i don't like the the notifications during that and i'm worried about his use of technology um another thing that like look i am i'm glad sam folds here i think it was the right hire i think it was smart and i think it's um it's the right kind of decision to make. It does kind of bother me that he didn't interview anyone else outside the organization. He only interviewed from within. And Sam Folt might end up being a great GM and whatnot.

It just I would have liked to hear that he went outside the organization. He interviewed all around and he decided that Sam Folt was the best guy for the job. I agree with you on that. Like, why not? You know, what Russia and like there's and it makes the Fold hire seem stronger, obviously, because you talk to other people. But on top of that, like I want you to as much as I like Fold, like I want you to talk to everybody. I want I want you to feel that this is the best possible compliment to you that you could find. So I agree with that no stone unturned is what i is what i would like um but i guess you know during these times when you know

there's a lot of talk about uproot jack well yeah one guy to uproot the odds you could get two i mean come on yeah who could possibly do that um but i understand it's tough during zoom and whatnot but in the same fold i've been here and people in the organization know him i just would have liked to have heard that i've you know scoured the earth trying to find the best gm candidate for the job and sam blew me away and all that stuff maybe he did maybe maybe he did blow him away in the press conference and was like this is my guy i'm good so that's my hope at least um another thing we just we brought up earlier Gillick and Ruben Amaro, but in a modern-day situation, Mike Hazen was with the Diamondbacks,

or not with the Diamondbacks, with the Red Sox when Dombrowski took over, and it ended up being that Dombrowski's guy was Mike Hazen in the Red Sox organization, worked under him, groomed him, and Hazen now took the Diamondbacks job a couple years ago, one of the best GMs in the sport. I mean, he grew. Very highly thought of.

Yes. Very highly thought of. Yes. So he took that job. We're hoping Sam Fold becomes Hazen except here is the idea. Right. Stays here, all that fun stuff. But that's what it reminds me a lot of.

And it's, it's a good, it's, it makes me feel good. It makes me feel like Dombrowski knows how to scout front office candidates. Right. I mean, and again,

and again, I, I, I'm harping on it, but again, it also shows that Dombrowski is willing to admit what he's not great on and bring in someone who's going to help him with those things. Like those are the best type of leaders. Like are people who say, all right, this is my weak spot. I know who I am and what I'm good at and what I'm bad at.

I'm not great at this thing. Let me bring someone in who's going to strengthen me in that thing. I mean, that's really good business. Right. Right. So, uh me excited. Just thinking about what Hazen's done, where he's gone, and Dombrowski realizing that, I thought was massive. So I thought that's a good comp to have. I thought it was weird that it took JT's agent 10 days to reach out and

congratulate him on getting the job. You know, he's been on the job for 10 days. He's Dave Dombrowski. He obviously wants to have a conversation with you. And it does make me believe that I think that JT's agent thought he was going to the Mets, and the Mets are out now, and he's going to come crying back or, you know, coming back to the Phillies. And I feel good about their chances to re-sign JT. I mean, the fact that the agent called him kind of just like,

hey, congrats on the job thing. I don't know. It felt weird that it took him 10 days to do it, and it seems like he thought he was going to be a Met and he would like to get the most money out of the Mets as possible and drive the leverage up, and I just, I don't know. I have a good feeling, James. I do too, and i didn't as you know obviously as recently as you know a few weeks ago um but i do too where the james mccann signing

obviously with the mets takes them off the board and i agree with you it feels like jt's agent was trying to leverage the mets he overplayed his hand they said all right well fine we'll just sign james we can. We like him anyway. And he found himself in a position without a lot of suitors. I totally – or without a lot of big suitors who could really kind of scare other teams. So I'm with you. You never know. It's still a potential.

It takes his one team to kind of come in over the top and say, oh, well, he's going to cost less than we expected him to or whatever. So the Phillies are still going to have to pay, obviously. But I am definitely far more optimistic than I was a few weeks ago, like a lot more optimistic. Would you rather just JT or JBJ, Andrew Alton Simmons, and two bullpen pieces? I mean, so if you're saying it's like jt and nobody else like i don't fill

those positions like you you you fill them but it's not with like a caliber player of jbj or like league average guys is your point right right right like more neftali felizes it won't be that bad but yeah you know you don't like jt it's jt because it won't be that bad and there'll be upside and stats on the way sometime next year whatever all that type of stuff um so you get you take jt and you move forward but i do like the other side too you know i think there's upside there i really wish i wish dd wrote like it's so annoying that like it just is like oh dd's gone yeah like why but that guy annoying that, like, it just is like, oh, Didi's gone. Like, why? But that guy was so fun.

Like, he was so great as a Philly. Like, oh, but that's it. All right. I guess we're just signing someone else. Like, I don't know. I'm not over Didi yet. But I am optimistic about JT. And I would take the JT side of that if I had to.

Yeah, because, like, my thought process is that, like, at least with JT, it's the core is still here. Even if they don't add this offseason, you would hope that next offseason they'll be like, all right, we have our core, now let's go fill in the other holes once there's fans in the stands. Once we're getting our revenue back, because we lost $2 billion last year, apparently. billion last year apparently um so yeah like like next year's team would probably probably be better if they you know got simmons jbj sandy leone uh brad hand um you know another bullpen guy like yeah next year's team would be better probably but you gotta think of this thing as a as a window window and JT, Bryce, Boehm, Reese, Kingery, Kingery, I guess. Can you imagine? Yeah.

What if he turns into something? Wouldn't that be fun? Yeah. I need it. I absolutely need it. So, yeah, it's just, yeah, that's the core is still there, even if, you know, the team isn't as good next year as it could be. Dave Dombrowski's answer about Matt klintak's role made me laugh

out loud it was it was like i'm paraphrasing but he basically said he won't be involved in the day to day operations and i was just like wow awesome cool great good to hear dave he was like like even ned rice has a bigger role with this organization than Matt Glensack. Good. I mean, that's what should happen. Like he was essentially fired.

We thought it is good. Very happy with that. He won't be a part of day-to-day operations. Yes. No, he's, he's collecting a paycheck. It's so happy.

Just so happy. Look, and if you're mad, I mean, there are worse things to do for a year than collect whatever it is. Three million or whatever. Yeah. Three million and just come in and mess around the computer all day. Yeah. Just Twitter and whatever.

All right. Turn on the light. I mean, I made fourteen thousand dollars today. See you guys tomorrow. Go down the bowl. Go down the bowls. Barbecue. Cook up some nice food. Not going to lie, I could live that life, Jack.

Honestly, I'll take it. I'll take it. I would switch jobs with Matt Klintak for a year. Right now. Right now. Yes, please, Matt. Let's do it. Oh, can you imagine?

Honestly, I just couldn't do that to IELTS listeners, make them have to listen to Mac Lintac all year. That's tough. I would figure out a way to get phone lines on the pod and just open them up. Just let people call it and yell at it. Love it. My final little thing here is it bothers me

that Zembrowski called Alex Boehm Alex Boehm. Did he say that? I missed that. We need to fix that. Dave, you're not a WIP caller. It's not Alshon Jeffries. It's not Alex Boehm. You're from Chicago. You're from Chicago.

Also, a little worry meter about the possible Alex Boehm trade. The moment Zembrowski signed, I came here. I was like, Also, you know, a little worry meter about the possible Alec Boehm trade. But I think that's – Wow. The moment Dabrowski signed, I came here. I was like, oh, okay. Yeah, it was –

You could get a lot for Alec Boehm right now. That's probably reading into it too much. Definitely reading into it too much. But if we could please remedy that and please call him by his name, Alec Boehm, that would be great. I don't want him – I don't need him named Ale Alex Boehm. It's Alec Boehm. Alec is better anyway. It's stronger. It's more powerful. Listen, Alec Boehm is a quick, compact swing. Alex

Boehm is a long swing that doesn't have any loft. Exactly. You nailed it. That's just facts. Dave, it's Alec. He's your future star. He is our version of Freddie Freeman. You better respect that man and a better offensive player than Bryce Harper. So, on that note, I would just like to say, James, happy Festivus. Merry Christmas. Hold on, though. Hold on.

Hold on, though, because I feel good about the Merry Christmas, but last time we said Merry Christmas, Happy New Year. we'll talk to you guys in the new year yeah and we're here now so here's my question yes will be recording another podcast before the new year or will dembrowski's first move not happen that's my question because you know if we could say you know we'll talk to you guys in 2021 like we did last time but it was a lie jack so i'm wondering what is your guess obviously we can't control it we'll be here if we're needed if not we'll talk to you guys next year prediction time will we be talking again this year on the house podcast no but yeah i don't

think so either i hope i hope we do me too i need i need a nice i need a nice jJ under the Christmas tree. A nice JBJ. I get to look at the defensive highlights, get excited about the defensive highlights, talk myself into his swing, starting to look at... If you squint, you see Christian Jelic. So I get to talk myself into that. The swing changes from last year.

You can see Christian Yellich. Christian Yellich, bad season. Who are you? Who are you? I don't know. I don't know. It's a good question. Also, there is High Hops Cans, which I need everyone to go get for the holidays.

We are open. They're so awesome. Yeah. They're so awesome. Open today and tomorrow like better than i could have ever dreamed they would come out yes today and tomorrow from four to seven closed on christmas and then open this weekend saturday and sunday normal hours at four fingers brewing company come get a high hops can and just think about baseball season. Even though baseball season's under a hundred days away,

James, it's 99 days away. Well, we think we don't actually know. That's true. Exactly. Well, the owners,

the owners just care. The owners care so much about the players that they want them to get vaccinated before that. Oh yeah. That's definitely what a good point. Yeah. They care so much about the players. No animosity between those two groups whatsoever.

Yeah. They definitely don't just want fans back in the stands so they can get money. Yeah. Happy Hanukkah, Sam Folt. Yes. How about that? Even though Hanukkah's over, we love you, Sam. All right, any final thoughts?

Buy High Hopes cans? Buy High Hopes cans and find me some undervalued talent that we can mold into a superstar here, Sam Fold. That is your New Year's resolution. I mean, Sam could be a listener. That's possible, right? If I wouldn't put it past him. Maybe. I mean, everyone else in the Phillies player development listens.

Why not Sam Fold? Sam, if you're listening we love you buddy And come on the pod Well come on the pod Come on the pod I mean come on Merry Christmas Happy Festivus first and foremost

The most important holiday happening right now Merry Christmas And probably Happy New Year we'll see we think maybe uh either way we'll definitely be back we'll talk to you guys later he spreads himself