High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The High Hopes Phillies Podcast: Feeling Really Good About Harper

Episode Date: January 17, 2019

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz are back and feel really good about the chances of the Phillies adding Bryce Harper. They talk about that, get into Aaron Nola and discuss the Phillies envisioning a Harper/Trout outfield.  See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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This is the High Hopes Podcast. High Hopes. It's a bunch of baseball nerds. Well, without the computers. Talking about the Philadelphia Phillies. On Radio.com and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Yo, it is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast. I was hoping it would be an emergency edition.

Never. What the hell, Jack? We're hoping it would be an emergency edition. Never. What the hell, Jack? We're never going to have an emergency podcast. Okay, and we're going to get into it because I really think there's an issue for baseball, this whole drawn-out process, the fact that two generational free agents have been on the market since November and are still not signed. It's ridiculous, Jack. Yeah, I mean, the strike's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to happen.

It's like there's probably collusion going on. I would be floored if there weren't. If Machado signs for that contract of $7,175. Which is so absurd. It's absurd. I don't think it's a real offer. I think the Machado offer is like 8,260-ish or 8,270-ish in that range.

So I don't really buy that offer. But they're bidding against themselves, which it kind of seems like they are. Why would they up their offer? Like, why would they up it to 7175? I don't know. It's just like, it's so bad. It looks bad for everyone involved.

It looks bad that it's taking this long. But I just, I don't know what the, I don't know what the solution is. Like, besides get dumber teams. Like, just be dumb. Yeah. Well, I mean, look. Having a deadline is pointless. Because then, if guys don't sign, then what happens then?

Well, they'd have to sign is more the point. If there's a free agency period where you say, all right. Yeah, but you don't have to sign. Teams don't have to sign guys. It's their right to sign players. Right, right. And don't have to sign. Teams don't have to sign guys. It's their right to sign players. Right, right. And that's another good point. Look, it's a much more complex issue than just, oh, why can't they fix it?

I'm with you. The way, especially with the players union, the agents basically run baseball. And for as much as it's probably the owner's fault, it's the agent's fault as well. Absolutely the agents are a part of it. Look, it's a real issue i think in terms of excitement about the sport i mean we've talked about a lot but you look at nfl you look at the nba free agency is a is a thing it is a big deal it's all you talk about it makes the sport um uh when they're not playing games still an incredibly interesting thing to talk about and despite you know the diehards like us who will talk about literally nothing and still find things to talk about with baseball,

I think that it really does suck a lot of the excitement out of something that should be exciting, not just for the media, but for the fans. I mean, Phillies fans went into this offseason thinking this could be the most fun, exciting offseason of our lives. And guess what? It still can be pretty great. Probably still will be. But it's really sucked the juice out of it.

We're not, I mean, everyone's still excited for these guys to sign, but it's a lot less excitement and it's more annoyance now. It's more just like, just sign. Let's move forward already. I know. It's bad. Let's move forward already. I know.

It's bad. And I don't know. What is the difference between the MLB and the NFL and the NBA and their free agency? I mean, well. What's the difference? What's the main difference? That it happens immediately. That people sign immediately. But why do they sign immediately?

Oh, you're talking about salary cap. It's because of the salary cap. Yes, of course. Of course. It's a lot more slotted. You know what these guys are going to make. Yes. So there's no agent posturing.

So if you want a faster offseason, then you're probably going to have to get a cap, which no one really wants because everyone wants to make the most money possible. But unless something else changed, there's probably going to be a cap coming for baseball. It's just the natural progression. If you want more excitement, you want more speed to the entire offseason, you want to have a deadline or whatever, then teams are going to budget it out differently, and they're going to create a salary gap, and the

owners are going to be able to get these guys for less money, and the players are going to get guaranteed money, and probably shorter contracts. It's unfortunate. Look, that's the problem, is that for the owners, I'm sure they would love a salary cap. It makes a lot of sense.

The problem is that the players' union is the strongest union in the freaking country. I know, but the players' union also wants players to be signed. There's 150 players that are not signed right now. And it goes back to what you said at the beginning. I do think there is collusion. I do think that owners are saying to each other, you're not paying more for these guys. Don't pay this much.

We'll keep it down. We'll work together. And that's illegal. It's illegal. I'm sure it's happening. I'm sure it's happening. It's frustrating. But I will say, the Harper stuff, the Machado stuff, the Harper...

Let's actually get excited about it. How about that? Let's get excited for five seconds. How about more than five seconds? Everyone's freaking out. Just pay these guys whatever and bring them in. Well, that's pretty stupid. Yeah, you don't need to.

If the Phillies are bidding against themselves, why would they pay $50-100 million more than they have to? If you can get Bryce Harper for $250 million and you don't have to give him over $300 and all this stuff, take it to February. Everyone is freaking out. Just sign the guys now. I've said it a thousand times, I feel like.

The difference between $250 and $300 and $325 and $350 is guys now give them why listen this i've said it a thousand times i feel like like the difference between like 250 and 300 and 325 and 350 is like multiple players to make your team better so i am perfectly fine the phillies is waiting this out if they have to wait out scott boris just do it because you're gonna win the phillies are gonna get one of these guys i look i agree with you and look bob nightingale of course, friend of the podcast. Bob Nightingale of the High Hopes podcast. Of the High Hopes podcast. I mean, I saw it on the MLB network.

It said Bob Nightingale, High Hopes pod. So just saying. He now just works for us. Just saying. The insider of the High Hopes podcast. But look, Bob Nightingale puts out a tweet with no hedging, no equivocation, says, you know, Bryce Harper or Manny Machado or possibly both will be in a Phillies uniform to start next season. So, I mean, there's no beating around the bush there.

Bob Nightingale is not some jackass Jeff Evans on Twitter who's got 100 followers and has been around. Bob Nightingale is not putting that out that strong unless he's sure. Yeah, and the way I'm reading the situation, if I had to make a guess... What have we been saying for months now? It's going to be Bryce Harper. What have we been saying for months? Bryce Harper. I would be borderline...

I would be floor. I think ownership's in love with Bryce Harper. With good reason. With good reason. I think Gabe and him really hit it off together. That's the report. I was told that people wouldn't want to come here because of Gabe Kapler. Who would ever want to play for him?

Who's going to want to play for the guy? No, I know. It's crazy. And as soon as that came out, I was like, well, Rocky steps together. They're going to go like, they're going to go. Protein shakes, lifting sessions. It's going to be great. You're going to get shirtless photos of them running along Kelly Drive.

Bryce is presenting very well right now. I have such a vision of Bryce Harper and Gabe doing the meme with Arnold Schwarzenegger and the guy from Rocky, the strong arm meme together. The guy from Rocky. Yeah, what's his name? Sylvester Stallone. No, no, no, but the other one. He beat. Oh, you're like, there's so much. The guy from Rocky. Yeah, what's his name? Sylvester Stallone? No, no, no, but the other one. He beat.

Oh, you're talking about Creed? Yeah, but Creed's dad. I don't know. The original Creed, not Michael B. Jordan. Oh, Jack. Jack. Apollo Creed. Yeah, yeah, that guy.

Billy Dee Williams. Right, that guy. Oh, man. Or the guy from Chubbs. Lando Calrissian. Chubbs. Chubbs. Lando Calrissian. Chubbs. Chubbs. Lando Calrissian.

No, he's from Caddyshack, too. Not Caddyshack. I'm not. You're talking about Billy Madison. No. Not Billy Madison. Happy Gilmore. Happy Gilmore, yeah.

Yes. Sure. Yeah. It's a really roundabout way to get there. Yeah. Or Lando Calrissian or Apollo Creed, but move on. Sure. There's just, the way I envision Bryce Harper and Gabe Kapler getting along is, like,

just absolute bro-ing out at all times. I have envisioned Bryce Harper with his backwards cap taking BP here and taking the ball into the upper deck. I watch, like, I am back watching Bryce. If you have Bryce Harper highlights that I haven't watched, send them my way. How would they know, Jack? I think you've seen them all. It's pretty much all I do at night now. Listen, listen.

Choose to believe James and I, whatever. Bryce Harper is going to be a Philly. Bryce Harper's going to be a Philly. I have no concerns about it. I don't think they're going to sign both of them. I really don't. It doesn't feel like they want to. And again, look, with the numbers that have been thrown out,

like you said, I think it's more likely that Machado ends up in the 200s than the 100s. But with the contracts that have been thrown out, I think they absolutely should sign both. It does feel like they don't want to. No, and I don't totally blame them from the sense of Machado's not the only good free agent that's going to be out there. Unless you're 100% sure that Machado

is going to be a generational type talent, then just don't do it. Don't give them $200 plus million and completely mess up your payroll for the next eight years. First and foremost, they can afford both guys and still be flexible moving forward.

But I agree with you. I think the way it looks like it's playing out, I think Bryce Harper's a Philly, and I think whether it's Dallas Keuchel or Craig Kimball or whatever, there are going to be other signings. I agree with you. I don't think it'll be both, but I've said for a while, I think it's more likely both than neither,

and that is absolutely true. Yes, and there's going to be a Franco trade, I feel like, regardless. It feels like, go get Mo moose have him a third base i mean moose obviously it isn't great yeah like he's not great yeah it's more of a linear move than anything but at least you know it's a stopgap is what it is stopgap for a year or two until bone's ready um he's going to hit 30 plus homers here you would think um and play a serviceable defense and you just trust him more than you trust him like alfranco i see i see a lot of people freaking out like uh you know the people that only look at stats i feel like are well well they're basically the same thing why would you do this it's like watch the two play yep like watch mike mustakis then watch michael

franco and then tell me that that you'll feel perfectly fine with michael franco trying to actually compete this year this is so great to hear this out of your mouth. You just don't. I'm just doing victory laps in my head right now. He steps out of the box. He's not consistent enough. He somehow had the highest batting average on the team last year. Which I still don't believe is a true stat.

I don't think he led the team in batting average, but apparently, according to baseball reference, he did. I'm cool with a Moustaka stopgap. I'm cool with Harper in right field. I guess I'm cool with Keuchel. If you're trying to compete next year, you need another legit starter. I agree. We talked about that.

I feel like a nauseam. And the way things are breaking right now, I think the Phillies' ownership loves Bryce Harper. I think that meeting changed a lot of their minds. I think they went out there not expecting him to love them as much as they did. And I think he ended up loving them as much as they loved him. Him and Gabe, I think, really bonded. They're going to bond a lot for the next 10 years.

And they're going to, well, we'll see if Gabe's here for the next 10 years. But, well, I mean,, managers don't last that long. Unless you're Mike Socha, who frickin' blows. And was somehow a manager for 15 years. Because of one World Series in 2003. It just, it really, it feels like Harper. I'm excited about Harper. For as much as I think Machado may be a better player right now,

because of the defense and the hitting is still great. Harper is just a guy that is exciting. And his ceiling is higher. I mean, look, we've seen it. We saw it in his MVP year, what that guy can be. And that was what, at the age of 22, 23, whatever. I'm with you. We've talked kind of a lot about the idea of how,

obviously we've talked about how excited we are about the potential. I'm ready for it to be reality, Jack. And I'm with you on the sense they don't have to rush it. I want them to get the best potential. I'm ready for it to be reality, Jack. And I'm with you on this. They don't have to rush it. I want them to get the best deal. I'm just so ready to actually celebrate this and not hypothetically celebrate it. I'm ready. I know.

My body is very ready. I'm ready. I need Bryce Harper in my town as my guy. I want to just be like, that's my guy. Yeah, and I don't even know what I'm going to do if and when he does sign here. Because I've already watched all the highlights. So where can I go from here? Also, here's some more things on Bryce Harper. You could stalk him. know what I'm going to do if and when he does sign here. Because I've already watched all the highlights. So where can I go from here? Also, here's some more things on Bryce Harper.

You could stalk him. No, I'm not going to. It is just wild to think about Bryce Harper being in your town. Look, we have heard about Bryce Harper for a decade. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated a decade ago. The LeBron of baseball. I mean, Jack, when you think think about it literally in our lifetimes you know we've had mvps here right now jimmy rollins on it we've never had the most famous

player in the sport bryce harper is the most famous player in the sport i know mike trout's the best player i think we all would agree with that but in terms of you ask a hundred people in any random city whatever what baseball players do you know, Bryce Harper is going to be the name who is said the most. And that's a guy who could be in our city as our freaking guy. I know. He's the face of baseball. Bryce Harper is the face of baseball.

Let's go! For as much as Mike Trout is amazing, right? And Mike Trout will be a Philly in 2021. We'll get into that. We'll get into that a little bit. But- Are we allowed to talk about that or not? Oh, no.

It's off limits, apparently. We're allowed to fantasize about Harper and Machado for three years, but even the mere thought of Mike Trautposs is playing in my city is like, oh, well, he's actually, he never said he ever wants to be a Philly. It's annoying. Anyway, let's talk about Bryce Harper for one second, because everyone's like, well, are we sure he's really that good? Let me just, I got two things I want to point out.

Cool. Bryce Harper has had, I would say, three out of the last four halves of seasons, he has been amazing. You know what I mean? First half, second half. Elite. He's an elite. Second half. All right, so 2017, right?

Yeah, one bad half. Right. 2017, before he hyper extends his knee, stepping on first base. Let me read these stats to you. Running hard to step on first base, too. Are you sure he's even good? Are you sure he's even worth $350 million? Let me read these stats to you.

In 106 games, I would say a pretty good sample size, he batted.326 with a.419 OBP and OPS over 1,000. Is that good? Eh. He had OPS over 1,100 for a season, for what it's worth. He's one of the five best offensive seasons in the last 30 years. In his belt at age 22. Yes.

He might have won the MVP this year. It was Giancarlo Stanton in the 59 home runs. I get why he won MVP. But Harper was ridiculous. He had 29 home runs and 90 RBIs with, I would say, 50 games to go. Yeah. That's pretty good, Art. Very good.

All right, so that was 2017 before he hyperextended his knee. 2018, gets off to a bad start. Yep. And for the pressure of the contract stuff and his hitting coach, Long, whatever his name is. Kevin Long. Kevin Long was on uh series and he was like yeah we honestly we got too obsessed with the the launch angle stuff and we wanted to we wanted to get back to his base of of hitting line drives and they did drills of

like doing boring line drive work basically which is like funny because line drives are what you want usually yeah but it's what we grew up being told right um and kevin long saying they basically just got a little bit too obsessed with the launch angle movement and all that fun stuff and yes he did bat what 214 in the first half of last season but again in the second half of last season bryce harper batted once this comes up i'm pretty sure it was 300 with like a 418 OBP and 11 homers. I think I've done that. I think I've looked at it a thousand times. But I'm just saying that a guy who in his age 24 season was playing at a ridiculous level

and hyperextended his knee running to first base and then at age 25 had a bad first half and then the second half he was on an absolute tear and almost single-handedly brought the Nationals to the playoffs. Like we said all last year, the Nats are dead. Like don't worry about the Nats. They have nothing left. Harper almost single-handedly brought them back. And to say like, I don't know.

You sure? And again, I think we belittled a little too much the fact that he had one of the five greatest offensive seasons of the last three years at the age of 22. Right. This guy is going to enter into his prime. His prime. That's the thing. He is entering his physical athletic

prime over the history of baseball. 27. The magical year. The age of 27. Guess what? Well, not in music, but in baseball, yeah. I said in baseball. Thank you. Yes. Good point. Thank you. Yes. We want to make sure Bryce makes it through the contract. Good job there. Yes. In baseball, the magical age of 27. His first year is not even going to be 27 yet.

So I agree with you, man. I think it's ridiculous to not look at this guy as a 10-year, $350 million player. Because he is. Right. And Tom Verducci wrote a whole article today on SI. Stealing takes over here, huh? Verducci's a take stealer. Who knew Verducci listened to I Hope?

It's ridiculous. Welcome, Tom. Glad to have you, bud. Next time, just credit. Just say, I mean, listen, if you saw Intentional Talk last week, you would have seen that I Hope's is big now. And you do work for that network. Yeah, you could have just thrown us a bone.

No, we're kidding. But we have talked about how- Yeah, you've talked about this a lot, and Verducci puts it out today. We talk about a lot about how we want the Phillies to show Bryce Harper how many home runs he would have hit here. And Verducci said he would only hit five more home runs here last year. And I want to say, Tom, are you trying to not sell Bryce Harper? Yeah.

Make it 10. But the point was, Tom's point was they should pitch Harper by showing him his stats at CBP, but they would be. I heard from a little birdie that they did do that. Ooh, look at you. So you're saying the Phillies are listing IOPs, too? The Phillies are listing IOPs. Everyone listens to IOPs.

What am I talking about? Shout out to the Phillies. We love them. But supposedly they were showing him what his stats would look like, and I don't have confirmed sources inside the building, but I think Bryce Harper fainted. So I would say it went well. He had to get taken to the hospital for treatment. He had...

He's fine, fine, dehydrated. They fixed him up with some fluids. He had $300 million in his eyes and also the Liberty Bell ringing in the background is how they say he did faint. But yeah, the ballpark factors. I mean, CBP for the longest time has been a top five place to hit in baseball. Yeah.

And which is ridiculous given, like, can we just sit back for five seconds? We had Aaron Nola, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswald all have like insane seasons pitching in that ballpark. It's crazy. Now, obviously, they don't make every start, but it's ridiculous. It's very impressive. Also, side tangent. Ooh.

I'm putting you on the spot here. It came to my head. I'm sorry. Oh, I'm excited. I like being put on the spot. Give me your top three Aaron Nolan moments last year ranked. Boston game. Right.

So I was watching the Boston game this week. His start in Boston. He was amazing. He was, like, the stuff was just, like, I mean, that was the, that easily pops in my head. That was the, like, so I don't know why I stumbled upon it. I was really bored here. See, what I do here, I just want to go inside my job, which is woefully boring from 10

to 12. Like, it is, it is, it is like, it's, I would rather be at the dentist's office. Wow. It is just, like, picking teeth. Because, like, I just got done Joe's show, which we do more work. And then it's, you know, it's an in-between show shift. So, like, they'll be on. And they never ask me to do anything because they've never had a producer that actually knows what they're doing.

Wow. Just firing shots all over the place right now. Like, most producers that are doing shows all the time are always working with the host. The hosts are so used to not having a producer work with them that they kind of just know what they're doing. So you're crapping on hosts, crapping on producers. Keep going. Keep going.

I'm not doing any of that. That's not what I'm doing. That's not what I'm doing. But the point is I don't have to do much. So I sit here and after I get done podcasting Joe's show, I pretty much just go on YouTube and find full games, and I stumbled upon Nola's start in Boston, and I was re-watching, and I was like, this is one of the five best games I've ever watched. He was unbelievable in that game.

The other one that sticks out to me was when he out-tooled Scherzer late in the season when they still had a shot. And when he struck out Harper. And when he struck out Harper. Those are the two that really stick out to me. But man, I remember that Boston Star. I had the same feeling as you. I have not rewatched it because I'm not quite the nerd you are, but I love you for it.

Whatever. You got a kid or something. It's a beautiful thing about you. I know, right? Jeez. It's amazing that I'm able to find any time to talk to you about the Phillies. Please, this is your safe space. This is my everything.

That Boston game, just off memory in the moment, I remember thinking, I don't remember many Phillies pitchers ever in my lifetime with this kind of stuff. With just this kind of ability to manipulate the baseball and make it go the way they want at the speed they want. It was so impressive. Yeah, I feel like we've kind of underappreciated Aaron Nola. Well, look, the Phillies have. What's up with that? Pay him! What are you doing?

I know, but I'm a generally, when you have generational potential type guys or whatever, the idea of going to court to crap all over them in front of them for two hours or however long those hearings are, never a huge fan of it, but besides the point.

He'll be fine. They'll be fine. The Phillies took Ryan Howard to arbitration. They did. And he was a little bit more accomplished at that point. True. He'll be fine. Although I will say,

so I've also been thinking about this as well. I've been looking at Philly sports and trying to find the next, like, Foles. And obviously, I don't love Foles. But he's one of the— Very likely there will never be another Nick Foles. But I'm talking players that I trust in a big spot, in a big moment. Oh, look at you.

This is some real Foles love coming from you. He's one of the clutchest athletes I've ever seen in the city, and I trusted him pretty much with my life. Wow. How about it? Just because I want Carson Wentz to be my future doesn't mean I, and I trusted him pretty much with my life. Wow. How about it? Just because I want Carson Wentz to be my future doesn't mean I don't see what's in front of my eyes. Okay. All right.

And I'll say, I think Aaron Nola is going to be the best big game player in the city for the next 10 years. It's a hell of a proclamation. I actually, look, I think... I don't know if Embiid's great in big moments. I don't know if Simmons is great in big moments. True. Nola. Wentz, we don't know if he's great in big moments. I don't know if Simmons is great in big moments. True. Nola. Wentz, we don't know if he's great in big moments.

We don't know if Wentz is. Carter Hart. I don't know. It could be. I have no idea. I'm just saying that Aaron Nola to me is a guy that everything calms down in the moment. I agree with you. I think that is a good guess, a good supposition,

because every time he's needed to go out and take the ball and give them a horse-like performance he does it and it was this season that i really that really came to my revelation it was i think it's because of the word for it i think it's because of that boston start and it could be i mean that was the biggest game of the season to that point it was on the national stage it was a national televised game all that type of stuff going up against the red and at the time the red sox were on pace to set the wins record.

And they still finished with 108 wins or whatever. They were on pace to break the record at that point. I know that when you hear Boston fans talk about the teams they played, I know a lot of Boston fans who said the Phillies gave them as good a run for their money as any other team did that year up until that point. The Phillies split against them. They did!

They should have won both! If you think I haven't forgot. That was Jake Arrieta's best start of until that point. The Phillies split against them. They did. They should have won both. If you think I haven't forgot. That was Jake Arrieta's best start of the season, too. And then he split back at home, too. Yeah, you're right. Listen, if you think I forgot about the Boston split, it's one of the biggest series wins in recent Phillies history. Well, that's a beautiful thing.

I do love the concept of thinking about getting to watch Aaron Nola start a playoff series. Well, James, if you think I haven't thought about Joe Buck announcing an Aaron Nola playoff start, I mean, do you even know me? No, I know you have. It's literally all, like, I go to bed thinking of RallyTown. Did you tweet something like the most important part of the offseason, the Bryce Harper signing, is Aaron Nola pitching in the playoffs or something along those lines? I said, uh...

It's the number one thing. I said, you know, people are really excited for Harper and Machado, but the thing that would be most important is getting Aaron Nola from playoffs. Spoken like a true pitcher! God, like he just... Aaron Nola is just the goat, man. And when he gets in the playoffs,

he's going to be like... He's going to go on a bum gardener run. He's going to be... I love this. These are some strong proclamations. I don't care, man. I trust that guy with everything. Here's another question for you okay i'm ready no that's this this little i wish you could see jack right now i got a little like it's a little swagger to him as he's gonna if you answer this wrong i don't know if we can do the podcast anymore well that's a lot who is a more clutch philly athlete nick Nick Foles or Cole Hamels? Man, I don't know.

I would say the same. No. I mean, look, it's hard to say anyone's more clutch than Nick Foles. You're trying to say Hamels, and I get that. It's 100%. That's what I'm trying to figure. It's tough because here's the thing. I agree.

That run in 08 was as clutch as ever. I mean. But he wasn't good in 09. In the playoffs. 09 was bad. 09 was very bad. But Foles was also bad in both playoff games this year. One playoff.

He was good in Chicago. He was terrible in Chicago. That's a great defense. Minus the fourth quarter. What are you talking about? Best defense in football. I don't care. Choked.

Outside of 09, right? But the point is, I get where you're going. 10 and 11. Hamels was like... Hamels was amazing in the playoff. I trusted that guy to take the ball and go out and give it to me. Just a question. I think it's a good one.

Do you want to know? Do you want to know? Like, listen, everyone's proclaiming Nick Foles the clutchest athlete in the city's history. Cole Hamels is... Have people said that? Well, I don't know. He's up there. I like actually talking about sports rather than like... Winter Foles the clutchest athlete in the city's history. Cole Hamels is... Have people said that? Well, I don't know. He's up there. I like actually talking about sports rather than like, who ends your Foles?

Like, who are you going to keep? You're just taking shots at everything that you do on a daily basis right now, huh? I'm just sick and tired of it. I can see that. I need Harper to sign. I need Harper to sign too. And let's get back to that because

the Nightingale tweet the whole situation and i actually your point about the meeting i actually think that harper was their number one guy before that good question we're looking at the tv can low blood sugar lead to murder wow sure who says again low blood sugar oh wait till harper doesn't sign here just kidding um you're saying you won't kill anybody just to clarify on this okay um i actually think that harper was always their number one target i know there was a lot of different you know local reporters who put out other things on it i think harper was always the guy yeah and like i obviously like

jim salisbury's a lecky like they're all amazing. Terrific. Every time I read their stuff, though, they kept pushing this Machado thing and how Machado, he's definitely their primary target. And when he looked at it logistically and he just looked at it more holistically, down on the paper, it's like, really? Yep. Like, Harper's the guy. Like, if I'm Middleton, right? Yep.

Jack Middleton. Yeah. Well, not yet. Soon to be Jack Middleton by the way part of my highlight watching was watching the home run derby again from this year i wonder if middleton watched that again and was like look at this star like look at this yes he's a star so i think if you're middleton right and you're looking at bryce harper you're saying to yourself sure machado may be a better fit, and I understand the front office drafted

him and all the fun stuff. But look at this stuff. Sex sells, right? Yeah. And in baseball, home runs are sex. Bryce Harper's sex. Bryce Harper is sex, if so facto. If so facto.

Two plus two equals four. Bryce Harper hitting home runs is sex. It is. But it sells. It's so sexy. It sells. Home runs sells. It sells. Home runs sell. I still go to bed thinking about the Altair home run off of Clayton Kershaw.

Oh, God. Because it sells. Who are you? Who are you? But I'm serious. If I'm Middleton the businessman and I have a chance to add Bryce Harper, the face of baseball, even though he's not the best player in baseball, who hits 400-plus foot home runs, is going to be playing in my ballpark where you have three

stories of fans that he could possibly hit balls to in a home run friendly park. I can give him a contract at this point. It's not going to be as much as he's probably worth. Agree. And listen, given the track record of Bryce Harper, the guy plays hard. Plays really hard. He wants to win. The thing that I want people to stop doing is stop bringing

up his war last year. Because his war last year was complete BS. He was playing center field. The whole defense thing to begin with, he's had one bad defensive season in his career. He was a good defender prior to that. Like you said, he's playing a lot of center field. The whole

he's a bad defender thing is so overblown. It's ridiculous, to be honest. And I just want to say, you have to take in the human element of this. The guy's about to get paid $350 million. If he gets hurt, he's screwed. So why would you try to—you don't want to go out for everything. Just the fact that he is physically capable to play center field should tell you what type of right fielder he can be.

Yep. Yep. So I think Harper's their guy. I think ownership's in love with them. They're not the only ones, Jack. They're not the only ones. I love you, Price. If I'm Boris, right, who am I waiting out?

Well, there is no—I think he's waiting out his many creations, like his many smoke screens, his many different things. I agree with you. I don't think there is another offer on the table that is even close. There's not. I will say, I'm kind of worried about the Astros as

a mystery team. Out of nowhere! They pursued them at the deadline last year. They have Verlander coming off the books next year for $28 million. They have Cole hitting free agency after next year. But, so they don't have much committed money.

They have Altuve making $29 million a year. They have guys who they're going to have to pay down the road. Right, so Correa is a free agent. Correa, Bregman.

I mean, these are all guys who eventually in three, four, five years, whatever, they're going to have to pay. And you know what I don't get? Like, you know what I don't get? You know what I don't get? Why Alex Bregman is not a way bigger star?

I love Alex Bregman. Go ahead. Everyone's like, well, I think Machado's going back to the Yankees and whatever. And he'll eventually end up there. How can the Yankees afford the Giancarlo contract and Machado and Odovino? Well, because they're the Yankees. Well, I understand that. I don't think they're the Yankees well I understand that but if you're

I don't think they're going to I really don't I don't think they're I know that everyone thinks they're just waiting in the wings on Machado I don't think they are but I'm saying

look at how they put their team together I'm just saying like all these teams are able to bring on these 30 plus million dollar contracts like do that like Phillies yes

like the Astros would be taking on a Harper contract of 35 million or 30 to 35 million to go along with a team that's already like in ready to ready to compete for the world series and they're fine taking that money so i wonder if the phillies are thinking i wonder if the phillies are thinking pay the big money for harper now maybe not pay for machado and then add to him once the ticket sales come in all that stuff you know what i mean like i wonder so the classes in the next couple of years are also ridiculous.

Next year you have some big pitchers and Arenado and possibly Rendon, even though if Harper doesn't go back to Washington. I think that he'll stay in Washington. So I'm just wondering. I'm trying to get inside the mind of the Phillies, right? And they don't want to pay both these guys. They want to just pay for one and then possibly wait for Trout and whatever, which I don't think is a terrible strategy.

Look, the Trout thing is interesting. My main question is, once they're competitive, are they going to be able to hand out money? Let's say they already give out, let's say two years from now there's a Robertson-like guy and there's an Odovino-type guy. Are they going to be willing to pay for both of those guys? I think so. No, I mean, look. The Phillies did do this, I will say, in 2011

and 2010. It feels like the Phillies are ready to be a big market club again. From everything they've said, from the actions, assuming they're going to go give Harper a bunch of money, and still, look, again, they might not sign Harper and Machado, but they're signing Harper and others or someone else. That won't be done

after Harper. We've heard too much about it. Whether it's Keiko, whether it's Kimbrell, whatever it is, they're in on these guys. The Kimbrell stuff has to be BS. I hope so. Well, here's the thing, right? Please, God. It's a Boris claim, right? No.

Kimbrell's not. Okay, Keiko is. Okay, because that's one of those things I always think about. Hey, I'll give you Bryce for this number, but you've got to give Dallas this, too. Those things happen. They absolutely happen, and I could certainly see something like that happen as well. Look, I think Scott Boris and the Phillies are going to be in bed together moving forward. And I think there are worse things that could happen.

Well, I mean, they have Hoskins, obviously. Yeah, already. Exactly. I forgot. I can't believe I took this long to bring this up. Vince Velasquez changed his number from 28 to 21. Ooh. So, I don't think they're going to give 34 out to Harper because of Doc. Oh, good point. I didn't think about that.

I don't think they will. Ooh. 28 was worse number. 28 was friend of the podcast, Kevin Franzen's number. Ooh. I think. Bryce Harper number 28? Bryce Harper number 28? Ooh. I didn't think about the Doc part of it. I mean, his number's not number. Ooh. Bryce Harper number 28? Bryce Harper number 28?

Ooh. I didn't think about the Doc part of it. I mean, his number's not retired. They could do it. Yeah. Well, see, and that's why, that's probably why you couldn't make him. I don't think he retired. I mean, here's the thing.

He's a Hall of Famer. Roy Halladay will be. And Morosi came out this morning and said he's trending at 94%. Oh, I'm saying this year he will be a Hall of Famer. No, I know. I'm just giving people an update. No, yeah. He's going to get in. It looks like a first ballot Hall of Famer. No, I know. I'm just giving people an update. No, yeah, he's going to get in.

It looks like a first bout Hall of Famer. He's going to be a Blue Jay when he goes into the Hall of Fame. Most likely, you would think. Obviously, he had postseason success here, but... He really loved Philly. He did, but it's on his choice. A Major League Baseball Hall of Fame chooses the cap for the player ever since Wade Boggs decided to go in as

a Ray because they paid him a bunch of money or whatever it was. So they choose. So my guess is he'll be a Blue Jay. The only retired numbers the Phillies have are all Phillies Hall of Famers, Phillies legends. You know, it's Schmidt, it's Carlton, it's those type of guys. I don't know. I don't know if they retire a holidays number.

I think it's a really interesting one. I think that— Well, we know why it's not out there now. Right, of course. And that's why Knapp changed his number. Right. why it's not out there now. Right, of course. And that's why Knapp changed his number. Right. So, it's going to be interesting. It'll be interesting. And obviously, if Harper is not No. 34, I think we can assume that down the road, they're

going to retire Holiday's number. It's a really interesting... Well, he'll make the wall of fame, at least. Well, of course. I'm saying, but if they won't give out his number, that's a sign that potentially they would retire it. My guess is they don't. My guess is Bryce Harper is still No. 34 when he comes here.

That's my guess. Interesting. It's an interesting... I like that you notice those things, Jack. Some things I love about you. All right, Trout. John Amon with the most ridiculous tweet in the history. John Amon basically tweets, the Angels are going to try and sign Trout.

We don't know if it's going to happen. Phillies would be interested. Along with 30 other clubs in major leagues. Well, I don't know. I mean, clubs aren't interested in 26-year-old superstars. Look, we don't need John Amon to tell us that the Phillies would be interested in Mike Trout. Fair? Fair. We also don't need John Amon to tell us that the Angels want to sign him to an extension.

I think we know that. The fact that it's unlikely, there's a little bit of news in there. That's a newsworthy thing. Regardless, where are you at with this Mike Trout thing? Because like you said, it's almost become a thing where people are like, you can't even talk about Mike Trout,

which is ridiculous to me. We've talked about Mike Trout for years. We all know he's from here. We watch him get a football hand into him every friggin' Eagles game. I think he's only an Eagles fan, James. Oh yeah, he didn't like the Phillies. No, he's just an Eagles fan think he's only an Eagles fan, James. Oh, yeah. He didn't like the Phillies. No, he was just an Eagles fan.

He's only an Eagles fan. Right. I mean, that's the way he's portrayed. Sure. Wouldn't want to be in the same city as his buddy Carson or any of that type of stuff. Right. That's why he can't get rid of Carson.

Why would he not want to do that? That's why he can't trade Carson. Everyone's like, oh, well, get rid of Carson. Well, do you want Mike Trout losers or what? Sorry. Sorry. No, and I understand there's a little bit of Trautity because every Philly fan is like, well, I would love to want Mike Trout losers or what? Sorry. Sorry. No, and like, I understand there's a little bit of Trout fatigue because, you know, every Philly fan is like,

well, I would love to get Mike Trout here. He's coming here. And I get that. But at the same time, like, we obsessed over Machado and Harper. For years. I've been thinking for three years that they were going to sign Bryce Harper. Right. And it's going to happen.

You're damn right it is. I can't wait. Like, I just, I don't understand what people get so mad about. Like, just let us love Mike Trout and let us believe he's going to be. And listen, I'm pretty sure he's going to turn down that extension. I don't think he wants to stay in Anaheim. I would be floored. Floored if he accepts the extension.

I don't think he wants to play there. And everyone's like, well, why would the owner let him leave? It's like, well, he has a choice in this. He doesn't want to be there. I mean, why would he want to be there? He's been there for, what, six years now? And they have yet to put a team around him. It's like the whole thing with Nick Foles,

where people are like, oh, Nick doesn't want to be a starter. He wants to be here as a backup. BS. No, I know. He wants to be a starter. Guess what? Mike Trout wants to win. People are like, oh, he doesn't care.

We'll stay in Los Angeles. Why? Why wouldn't he care about winning? He's the best player in the last 20 years, 30 years, since Bonds. What are we talking about? Because the owner's a moron? Is that why he's going to stay out there? They haven't done enough to make him want to stay out there.

I think there's no chance he signs an extension. How about that? No chance. I think the bigger question is if someone trades for him or not, whether it's this season, next season, whatever. As I've said many times, he has a full no trade clause. I will say it this way. If Mike Trout is a free agent after 2021,

he's going to be a Philly. Sorry. He's going to be. He's going to be. It makes all the sense in the world. So here's the more overarching question. And here's the thing that people are freaking out about. Do you pass on a 26 year old Machado? more overarching question and here's the thing that people are freaking out about is is do you pass on a 26 year old machado well yeah do you pass on that guy knowing that he's out there you can do both you can sign harper machado and still be able to afford track well theoretically of

course you can well here's another well i don't think they would do that i don't think they're going to but my point is they can't but but they could trade machado if they need to and now this is not i think people think this is such speculation and whatever listen i'm just saying that tom verducci and jason stark who i think are two of the best in the business no question and talk to people and don't write bs are guys that talk to people they verducci came out this morning and said that they are they went to this offseason thinking about Trout. Yeah, and Stark said something very similar. They're envisioning a Harper-Trout outfield.

Ho, ho, ho, let's go! Listen, I... Let's go, Jack! Went through the roof. Oh my, I can't eat yet, right? Woo! And maybe it's the worst-kept secret in baseball. Are we sure? People knew LeBron was going to the Lakers for two years.

They did. Everyone in baseball suggests that Mike Trout is going to be a Philly, and yet all the bloggers and people are like, well, you know, they're just saying that. Do you connect the dots? Well, maybe everyone knows. Maybe you should connect the dots because they're there to be connected. Maybe everyone knows it's the worst kept secret in baseball

and Mike Trout wants to play for the Phillies. I feel incredibly confident in it, to be honest. And again, there are so many variables, like you said. Look, the Astros could trade for Mike Trout and offer him a contract and be like, yeah, I want to win here for 10 years, whatever. That stuff could happen. And once again...

I think that if you had to bet right now, if you had to bet your life on who Mike Trout would be playing for come the 2021 season, I think that the best odds on the board should be the Phillies. I think so too. And if they do trade him, he has to approve a trade to where he wants to go and he can essentially stand in the Angels.

And if he wants to play for the Phillies, listen, if Mike Trout's really a Philly guy and he really wants to win here. He seems like one, man. He really seems like one. Then he can force his way here. Mike Trout can force his way here and say, I'm only playing for the Phillies. Figure out a deal.

Get what you can for me. Now, I know Trout's a loyal guy. He's not an a-hole and whatever. I'm just saying that there's that scenario out there where they trade for him, and he resigns on the spot. That's not bull crap. That's real. That could actually happen.

And again, I think you can't under underrate look john hayman is a guy who says a lot of stuff and throws things against the wall and all that jason sargent tom verducci are not newsbreakers these are guys who's not whose job is not to break news their their job is to be the venerable baseball legends that they are and they don't just say crap just to say it. They're not putting it out there just because, oh, I'm going to be the first one to say this. They're putting it out there because they've heard it, because they know it.

Right. So I just want to say, the official High Hopes stance is that we are open to all Mike Trout conversation. Yes. We will accept every Mike Trout thing. Please. We enjoy Mike Trout conversation.

Listen, I'm just me, you, James, and you. Listen, let's fantasize together. Yes. I mean, like, for what it's worth, guys and gals, we've been saying Bryce Harper is going to be a Philly for like a year on this podcast now. So, look, things can work out. Just because you say it doesn't mean it can't happen or won't happen.

Official High Hopes stance. We are a pro Mike Trout to the Phillies podcast. We will accept all conversation regarding Mike Trout. That's the official High Hopes podcast stance. I feel really good about that stance, too. It's a stance that makes you happy. I'm happy about it. If you're ever down, just remember that Mike Trout is going to be a Phillie in 2021.

Just shoot us a, hey, you have a Mike Trout question, and we'll talk about it because we love it. All right. I'm happy about it. If you're ever down, just remember that Mike Trout is going to be a film in 2021. Just shoot us a, hey, you have a Mike Trout question and we'll talk about it because we love it. Alright, Fritzy. What do you think? Are we going to be recording an emergency podcast soon or is this going into February? Man, I hope it doesn't go into February.

I've had seven different days over the last two weeks where I'm like, today's going to be the day. Emergency pod coming. And it hasn't been yet. Yeah, I wake up every day, check my phone. Me too.

The first thing I do is I check my phone to see. Usually I'm thinking you're going to text me because you're like up all hours of the night. Well, that's what I do. I know. I know. I usually have a 1.30 in the morning text from you. I'm waiting for the one that says, it happened. Well, the last time I was texting you in all caps, it was when the Phillies signed Bobby Dickerson.

It sure was. To be his. It's Machado's mentor. He is Machado's mentor. I know he is. They're getting Bofa. Bofa. I forget what we're talking about, honestly.

I asked him, when's it happening? Listen, I think there's a possibility it could be this weekend. And it could be... I think... Listen, I understand everyone in baseball is saying that it's going to wait until February. I kind of get a weird sense that it could happen almost any day with Harper. Like, if the Phillies are the best offer and Borch doesn't want to wait out and be the BS and they just come together and they hash this thing out and he...

There's enough of those... Like, the Nationals are out of this, according to uh rosenthal nightingale all those guys like it's all smokescreen um the yankees aren't getting involved maybe the astros but maybe there's no other team maybe there's no and boris is just like all right we'll take your 350 over 10 years let's do it um i think i i honestly if i'm being honest i feel like harper's gonna sign before machado because i think machado i think he going to wait out the Yankees. And I know he might not go there, and it might take him into late February. He's going to give him every chance he can, is what you're saying.

Right. And I don't think he wants to play for the White Sox. I could see Harper. Cheap-ass White Sox. Yes. Jerry Reinsdorf is so cheap. They're going to fall out. Like, oh, let's go sign his brother-in-law and his buddy.

He'll come here for cheap. Idiots. They're going to fall ass backwards into a 26-year-old Hall of Famer. They might. They might. They might. They might. So I could see Harper signing first.

I know everyone's saying it's going to wait until February. I don't totally believe that. I think Philly's ownership is determined to get it done. And I think they just want to make him the face now and get it over. I's ownership is determined to get it done. And I think they just want to make him the face now and get it over. I almost think they want to get it over with. Well, we all do too. Now I will say, if going into February gets them a better deal, I don't care. Right.

Like, get the best deal possible. I know that sounds bad from the laborers, whatever. Like, whatever. They want to pay the guy as much money as possible. I want the Phillies to have as much money as possible to sign more players along with Bryce. Everyone's saying it could take a while. I'm just saying, I'm not sure. I'm not sure. It could be this weekend

because I think the show stuff is ending this week. Which is a big part of it. We've talked about how much we buy into that. We believe in that whole thing. Listen, I'm just saying I think it could be soon but honestly, no one really knows. The emergency pod will be ready.

Rate and review the podcast, by the way. It makes Jack so happy. I do. It really does. I really love reviews. And then I get happy because I'll get Jack sending me reviews. Yeah. Check out what this person said.

Also, if you want, follow us on Twitter. I'm at JackFertsWIP. James is at JamesSeltzer. And if you want to follow the High Hopes Pod, it's at High Hopes Pod. Also, you can check out Tim Kelly's episode yesterday of Mound Visit, episode three, with this author that came up with the perfect dream team for the Phillies or whatever, which is kind of an interesting conversation. Sure.

You want to check out. He's coming out with one, I think, next week or from the next two weeks with Franski, LA, all these guys, on the 10 best home runs in Citizens Bank Park history. next two weeks with franski la all these guys um on a 10 best home runs in citizens bank park history so i think i think that is one to definitely look out for check out uh mound visit with t how many of those is ryan howard huh uh all i know is that i stumbled upon the three homer game against hudson the other day and it moved yeah and i thought he's definitely got some in there every time i see ryan how home runs, I just envision Bryce Harper home runs.

And I envision Bryce Harper heading into his prime. So here's the crazy part. Is that I think Howard's MVP season was 26 years old. Yeah. Which is going to be Harper's 26-year-old season next year. Oh, yeah. He's going to be entering into his prime at Citizens Bank. Buddy!

Like, good luck sleeping at night. Yossi Varanola, Reese Hoskins, all the financial flexibility in the world. I'm so ready for this. And again, the High Hopes podcast is the official Mike Trout podcast. No, you're damn right it is. Of the Philadelphia Phillies. The official Phillies podcast. Whatever.

We'll throw it out. The only Phillies podcast. You know, one of those things. Some would say that. All right. Final thoughts, Fritzy final thoughts Adubo Herrera first guy in camp

how about it hashtag pro Adubo I have heard I have heard things on Twitter about how he looks in great shape I'm all in on Adubo

I think all this added talent around him is only going to make him better hey look we talked a lot about the idea

that for his personality, the type of guy he is, that he is not the type of guy who should be the centerpiece of a team, the best player on a team, all that. And it was a long time here where he was. So you hope that maybe the spotlight taken off him can kind of give him the chance to get back to the guy we know is there. I mean, if Odubel Herrera is your sixth best player. Dude, can you imagine if you can get a good Odubel

and he's your sixth or seventh best player, he's hitting like seventh in the lineup or whatever. I mean, think about that. Or, you know, wherever you want to hit him. But like, I mean, good Odubel is a really good baseball player. Like a really good baseball player. I know. And imagine his defensive numbers are going to go way up

with McCutcheon out there. With actual outfielders next to him. Like Harper. That could be one of the better defensive outfields in baseball. With McCutcheon, Harper, and Oduble out there. We have long been a pro-Double podcast. Long. One that took a significant hit the final four months of the season.

I still have my Oduble jersey. I didn't give up. Listen, he may or may not have batted.222. He may or may not have been Scott Kingery at the plate for the final four months. Yeah, you could say that again. But the talent is all there. He's only 27. Which is crazy.

And he's on one of the best contracts in the sport. Yes, that is definitely true. Even if he were a bench player, it's a good contract. Listen, for as much as it makes the Phillies better, if he can get back to being Oduble, it's a really good contract to trade if they need to make a trade for a legit piece. Another good point.

It's good to see Oduble's the first one there. Any other final thoughts that I stumbled upon? Adam Adovino's a Yankee. Say goodbye. I love that a mere two months after saying he would strike out Babe Ruth every time, he is heading to the New York Yankees. How about it?

I'm sure they'll love that line. So, yeah, no, it's fun, and hopefully we can do an emergency podcast soon. Yeah, that's my final thought. Just, Phillies, give us an emergency pod. We don't ask for much. We just talk about how much we love you, how into this team we are.

We talk about the team, the minutia, all of it. Do it for us. Give us an emergency pod. We talk about the team, the minutia, all of it. Do it for us. Give us an emergency pod. We're so ready. All right. For Jack Fritz, I'm James Salzer. We will be back, hopefully, emergency style. Either way, we'll definitely be back to continue to talk about it.

If it's not an emergency pod, we'll keep talking about it. Regardless, we both think Bryce Harper will be a Philly soon enough. And let's talk Mike Trout. We're here for you. All right. 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.

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