High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The High Hopes Phillies Podcast: Kevin Frandsen is Staying Level-Headed about the Phils

Episode Date: August 13, 2018

Phillies broadcaster, Kevin Frandsen, joins Jack Fritz to talk about the Phils rough West Coast trip and what he's seeing from this team at the moment. They also talk about the additions of Asdrubal Cabrera, Justin Bour and Wilson Ramos. Kevin and Jack also sort of disagree about Scott Kingery.    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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hopes podcast i say very special because on the line with us today is a man who got here in 2012 uh was it was a great member of those phillies. Kevin Franson, who is now a broadcaster for the Phillies and unfortunately has to spend a lot of time out in San Francisco, the home of a team that ruined a lot of our fun times here in Philadelphia. So thank you for that, Kevin. Yeah, well, I still hated him for it, you know? Like, it didn't matter. I was still silly during those times.

I know, I know. But you got here in 2012, so I just want to know, like it didn't matter. I was still a Philly during those times. I know. I know. But you got here in 2012, so I just want to know, how much do you personally take the blame for the downfall of the Phillies? You know, probably about 76% of the time. You know, like the other 24 goes to, you know, the front office and the other players. But, yeah, it was mostly on me. You know, it's all right.

I was the one that caused, you know, Chipper Jones' walk-off homer against Papelborn because I had an eye on Prado with the bases loaded in 12. Pretty much ended our chances at the second world card before we went to that four-game series in Houston where there is a combined four-game series, 10,000 people, and 100 pitching changes by the Houston Astros and Tony DeFrancesco,

the interim manager then. So, yeah, you know, that's the other 24%. Yeah, but most of it should be put on me, which is great. So, all good. Facts are facts.

They had made the playoffs for five straight seasons at that point. And then Franzen shows up, Team Cancer. Yeah, it is. Team Cancer when you hit 340. You know what I mean? We'll go with that.

Kev, thanks for joining the podcast today. Thanks for joining the I Hopes pod. Well, it's been a tease this whole time because, let's be honest, I've been wanting to do this with you for a while. You keep on saying, maybe sometime maybe you can get on here. And I'm finally on here and it's the end of August.

Yeah, that's on me. That's on me. Well, it's not always the middle of August. Middle of August, I'll give it. Well, by the end of August, you should be back on the air because you haven't been on the air since June, since the Cup Series. Yeah, no, and I'm excited because that's next week. Next week with the D.C. and Toronto Series.

So, yeah, it needs to happen more often, let's be honest here. Yeah, I agree. So we're all looking forward to that. Kevin, we'll be back on the air next week when the Phillies are down in D.C. for what is shaping up to be a critical series because, as we well know, the Phillies go out west and have a tough road trip. Kev, what's your general take on this Phillies team right now? I think we're seeing just a little bit of a lull

but the you know, what we, you and I were talking out there in general about when we text on the whole thing, it's like look sports talk, radio media, all that, they want to be more reactive on the moment instead of just

seeing the whole big picture. This team's in first place, tied for first. Actually, maybe a half came out right now because of Atlanta winning the first game of the doubleheader today. They are in this position because that's who they are. They're a damn good team who's continued to play consistently well

all throughout the year. Now, you go through stretches throughout a season, and look, you go from the Dino guys played the Giants right before the Phillies come into town. And they're, I mean, yeah, 25, 30,000 at that, you know, chase field. And then the Phillies come into town. You have a first-place team, two first-place teams come in, and the place was dead.

And I really believe that is very similar to that Houston series. That's why I brought it up. The team, the emotion, you're coming in, hoping to play a good team, hoping to have a good crowd, and it just lulls you. And it kind of put them in a little bit of a, I'm not saying a tailspin at all, but you know what I mean. The lack of added fuel that they needed. But, you know, you go into a San Diego series where everyone expects you to take the series,

and you know what, baseball happens, and you get two good pitching performances by the Padres. The Saturday night was a great win for the Phillies, and, you know, obviously, because Eric Nola's pretty much the best. Yeah, I mean, it's ridiculous. And then, you know, Sunday in the Freddie Galley, and all his, you know, anger towards the Phillies, I guess you could say, because he hit the grand slam. That's the stuff that happens throughout a baseball season.

You can't guarantee anything. That's why you play the game. All the analytics, everything aside, it's what happens in between the lines. And I think it has done those last couple of series. Yeah, and it's just been – obviously it's frustrating when you lose a series against the Padres. And just the way they played. Like, I'm fine if you lose, but the way they lost those games,

it was the lack of fundamentals. The defense was bad and the offense was just the offense. The offense has been inconsistent the entire season. Now unfortunately they've gone ice cold since going out west, but like you said, baseball kind of just happens.

It takes over and even though you're facing a rookie, sometimes that's tough for a lineup because you've never seen them. You have no tape on them, and that's what happened on Friday night. And then Aaron, like you say, rookie pitchers, sometimes they come out and dominate you. That's just part of the game. Jacob Nix, he's a good pitcher, man.

He's got a reputation behind him, right? I mean, he's someone that they highly covet. And Lucchese, who, you know, it's easier to say his name than watch him pitch at times because of everything that's going on with his windup and all that stuff. So, yeah, not having to play on a guy is tough. You can see all the videos you want, but until you get in the box, you don't know what that ball is actually doing, you know. And so it was tough.

You said it. Gabe talked about it after the game yesterday. Fundamentally, they weren't on. And he wants to play himself, but, like, that's Gabe being awesome and taking the brunt of everything for his players. It's on the players' excuse. You know, the players have got to go out there and get a guy over, get a guy in, do the little things right.

Doing the small things in the end will always make the big things happen. And the big things happening is a win. And so if they take care of those little things, we've seen it throughout the year. They win those games. When they do take care of them, when they do play crisp defensively, which hasn't been often, they did have

a good stretch. I want to say a good month where they're playing so well defensively that that was helping out so much, you know, so much of the games in their favor. It just happened that with the defense, with the offense going cold, the first stretch they had of this, the pitching stepped up and kept them completely in the game. I'm not saying they did anything wrong, but it was a little bit, you know, a taller task to overtake some of these deficits that they were in.

Yeah, for sure. Let me just ask you this on a holistic level. If you're playing for a guy like Gabe Kapler, you're in that locker room, and much has been made about he's so positive and with the media and he's just he's not being honest with us like what would what would kevin france and the player think of playing for gabe capler i would love it for the fact that like he's like charlie manual charlie was he yeah he spoke in truce but he never threw one guy under the bus did he not that i was the best

charlie was so good at making sure that I remember. Charlie was the best. Charlie was so good at making sure that his players, he would take the bullets for you because that's who, you know, he didn't want you to have that added stress. Look, I love honesty. I love all that stuff. But at the same time, as a player, like, we know when we're wrong. And behind the scenes, behind closed doors, if he's telling me or telling those guys,

hey, we gotta clean some stuff up, and he might not say stuff, he might say another word, then I'm in. You know what I mean? But what he's doing in the media, I think is phenomenal because why should he throw people under the bus? That's what I've been why coaches, managers,

you know, other players throw other guys under the bus when if you're not going to say it behind closed doors, then where are you saying it? And really, what can you gain from it? You're going to go to the media and say this guy stunk tonight? What does that do for a player?

It does absolutely nothing. Nothing. It actually pisses you off a lot because you're like, dude, you can say that's what, oh, I sucked tonight, but the fact that you'll find a lot because you're like, dude, you can say that's what, oh, I suck tonight. But the fact that, like, you'll find a positive and people are like, oh, this is like, you know, him being like, handling him with cake. No, it's not. You're handling human beings.

And so people that want you to get on these guys and hammer them and say, they suck, they did this. You ask that same person the same question about their boss. If they were ripping you to thousands or millions of people, how would you feel? Right. And everyone would be like, oh, I would hate them. Then shut it. Because the fact of the matter is people want to criticize because they're not that good, right?

We always look for the negatives in the media because we can't judge ourselves compared to them. So what do we do? We go out in insecurities and judge people, you know, and hammer people and think that, you know, Gabe's not a good manager because he doesn't rip people. No, Gabe's a great manager because why? Because he has the players' backs. And more than anything, as a player, you want to know that you are,

not only it's not loved, but protected. And, you know, Gabe does that, and I find that to be a phenomenal trait that he has. Do you think the players care much about how the game is played today? You hear all the time about, I feel like most of the criticism on modern baseball comes from people who grew up watching the game a different way and now the game's different and they can't handle the game being different.

Whereas players, it feels like all don't mind how the game is played today. They say it's just, it's just baseball. It's how the game is played now. I've completely adjusted to it. Do you, do you think you would like how mind how the game is played today. They say it's just baseball. It's how the game is played now. I've completely adjusted to it. Do you think you would like how modern baseball is played? No, because I would be out of it, which I am because of it.

No, I'm serious. That's the thing. At the same time, I love baseball, so I don't sit there and go, I can't believe this is happening because I love baseball. I love everything about it. So, yes, I will adapt to it. You know what I mean? I'm not going to sit there.

The moment I sit there and just, you know, sulk that this game has changed and all that stuff, then I'm sulking against something that I completely, utterly love. And people hate change. People don't like to see change. And so when the analytics and all that stuff come into play, people don't step back and say, man, this is baseball. I love it.

They just think, man, there's only one way to play the game. Is there? There's no right way to play the game. It's how your team, it's how your love of the game is seen. My love of the game is seen by a team that I love or whoever I am around is playing it passionately, energetically, all that.

You know what I mean? With some of them, they love the game as well. I think more guys just, I'm not going to say love it, but they just accept it because they're like, we're playing. Why do I, if I sulk and I'm living in the past,

I'm never going to get better. So these guys, like you look at a guy like Max Scherzer, you would think this guy came up almost at that point where the game was kind of changing, and he's embraced the whole element. He's embraced that. He gets better every year. Why?

Because he knows that the game's not going back, you know, falling back to the old ways. He needs to get better. He's going to continue to get better, and that's why he's great. Yeah, it just feels like the analytics side of baseball all of a sudden just jumped on Phillies fans. They went from the old regime, which was zero,

there was no analytics, to all of a sudden Gabe Kapler talking about ex-fip in the media and all that kind of stuff. And I just feel like people weren't quite ready for it. But the game's changed. And for the most part, here's what I don't understand. If you look at baseball and you look at the

successful teams in baseball, they are all the most analytically driven teams. And I just don't understand why people don't want more information to make them better. Like, that's what players, for 100 years, it's all about getting more information. Because then there's thought. Then there's thought. Right.

You know, with more information comes thought. And then you start doing all that. The analytic side of things, like, the more you get into it, the more you understand it. I absolutely get it. You know, like I think I have a pretty good understanding of it. What the Phillies have done,

what the Dodgers have done in bringing that player liaison, right? And like Chris Young, Sam Fold, being that liaison from the management side to the baseball side. Now, that's the stuff that Jason Wirth was talking about but not talking about. There's teams that have done that, that have

had the player to be able the ex-player to be able to communicate things to the players, right? And I think that's where the game needs to go. There still needs to be baseball people. Absolutely. This thing is not about just the numbers.

There needs to be the baseball people. There needs to be the coaches that are the old-school type, but understand that the analytics, that the sabermetricians are there for their help, not to change the game, but for their help to win a ballgame. for their help, not to change the game, but for their help to win a ball game. Ultimately, ultimately, the game of any sport, of any game, is to score more runs or be better than the other team. And you know what?

If this percentage is telling me to go this way, do it. Because if my team is going to win, I'm going to do whatever it takes. Yeah, and it feels like from a whole, the Phillies staff has been working with guys to make them a little bit better. Have you noticed Jorge Alfaro? He seemed like his changes swing up a little bit as well. There's minor things, if you watch the team on a night-in, night-out basis, that there's minor things that you see from these guys trying to get better and i think a lot of that has to do with the developmental staff i mean gabe capler came

from the los angeles dodgers i mean he was he was the was he the head of player development in their minor leagues uh and it feels like they've been so they've been so they put such an emphasis on player development. And eventually that's going to bear fruit as these guys play more and more. It's just the fact that this is the youngest team in baseball. And that's why you're going to have the inconsistencies, like going out West and losing two of three of the D-backs and Padres. That's just a part of being a young team.

It is a critical point for the season, though. I mean, this has been a resilient team this entire season. And I think it's impressive for a team this young to be as resilient as they are. But what do you think is going on in that locker room? What do you think they're saying to each other? What do you think? If you were in the Phillies locker room in your playing days, coming off of a rough series out west, coming back home to face another good team, what's the general sense around the locker room? That, fellas, this isn't the end of the world this is just a series and

we're we are who we are because we've we've played our butts off to get here we are who we are because we are damn good and we are who we are because you know what at the no matter how many punches we take we're gonna still keep on getting up off the mat. And like you said, they are resilient. And every single time that they've been challenged this year, I mean, you can go back to that Sunday game in Washington, right, where they have the game, blow it, and then the next day they come out and win. And it's like, dude, how did you guys just do that? You just had the most deflating series loss or, you know,

game against the Nationals that could have derailed you. But they didn't. They don't think about the past. These guys are very, like, I'm going to look forward and, you know, not dwell on the past. I'm going to dwell on me playing. That's not dwell, but I'm going to look forward in a positive way towards what's coming next.

And that's, you know, putting myself, putting ourselves, the Phillies in to look forward in a positive way towards what's coming next. That's putting myself, putting ourselves, the Phillies, in a good spot, in a great spot to win. Now the offense did have a rough series out west. Even though me and you are both positive and bullish on the Phillies coming back and being fine,

what are you seeing from this Phillies offense at the moment? Just trying to do too much. Not taking what's given in front of you. I think that goes into the fundamentals of just playing the game. And it's not an analytical thing. It's nothing. It's literally just being a hitter, being a good situational hitter at times.

Look, the homers, the doubles, all that stuff, they're great. That's awesome. But when it comes to October, when it comes to winning baseball in September to get you to the playoffs, you've got to do the little things, move a runner over, get a guy in, instead of trying to do too much. And I think sometimes that you look at a young team, and when things happen, you could say it about any sport, you could say it about any way of life.

When you're young in something, when you're inexperienced in something, as far as a certain level, you want to try to overcompensate. You want to try so bad. You want it. So, therefore, you take away from yourself, your team, by doing that. And I think if they step back and take what's given to them, the bigger things are going to happen and i really think that don't make don't try to make the big things happen without you know taking care of the

details and the details in the situation i think uh are from a bat to a bat um you know just grinding away and you know we i think for maybe a couple series, lost the grind a little bit, but that's two series. It's not a whole month. It's not a couple-month span. It's a couple series. So I think they're going to be just fine. Obviously with the Red Sox in town and the Mets series,

I think they got some good tests ahead of them. Yeah, and I think one of those guys that's trying to do a lot right now is Reese Hoskins. I think he's won for his last 27, and we saw a streak like this in May when he, before he broke his jaw, he was going through a bit of a slump there. He has taken the burden as being the leader on this Phillies

team, and when they're struggling, I feel like he tries to pull them out of the struggle with one swing. And he can't do that. He has to relax a little bit and understand it's going to come to him as well. Seeing anything from Hoskins or just like a minor little slump? It's a minor little slump. And look, when he gets in his way, he forgets how good of a hitter he is.

I mean, there's going to be like the two strikes where he pokes one down the line, the right field line. You know what I mean? Like that certain stuff, you know that he's locked in. I feel at times he gets so not whole conscious, but he just gets, I want to yank everything. And yanking could be left center, right, not just a pull pull. And I think that sometimes the trust in yourself, it doesn't matter who you are

there's got to be a trust in yourself in your hands, in your eyes he loses it for a second and then he regains it and it's pretty special so one for 27 is not good but Reece Hoskins is very good and I think just in general

this is one of those things where as a hitter, as a young player, the ebbs and flows of a season, you're going through it. How do you come out of it? How do you react? That's what everyone's waiting for. And he's not a guy that let this thing, like, slide for a long time. He's a guy that continues to work, but he just needs to step back and just understand that the guy behind him is going to get the job done.

The guy behind that will get the job done. He doesn't need to do it all on his own, and when he does that, he's as special of a hitter as there is. Yeah, I mean, when he's going right, he's just insane. And he's a young player. He literally just had his first full year in the big leagues, and I feel like we talk about Reese Hoskins like he's been playing in the league for 10 years. That's the way he handles himself.

Yeah, that's the best part about him right I mean like he's not trying to be like I'm gonna be the leader no he just naturally gifted leader people follow he's a Pied Piper people follow him uh he can do whatever he wants because why because he works his butt off he competes he plays every game so hard and you you know what? You respect that. You definitely do. I think his teammates really look up to him. One thing I think has been underrated with this Phillies team is that they've won, all the young guys have won all throughout the minor leagues. And while they were all winning throughout the minor leagues. Yeah, all together.

And even though some of them have struggled, like Kingery or whatever. But listen, Reese has been the guy that they would turn to when things would get tough, and now he's doing that in the big leagues, and that's really cool. What do you think's going on with Scott Kingery? I think Scott Kingery's going to be fine, a good player, but right now there's really no justification for putting him out there. He just looks

a little lost on the plate. Have you seen anything from Kingery? Should we be worried about Kingery? Here and there. I watched so much of him last year in the minor leagues. I'd watch games. Sal Reddy, the hitting coach in Lehigh, always told me, you need to watch him. And I was like, why?

And then I'd turn it on and I'd be like, oh, this is awesome. Where did he play last year? What position? Second base. Yeah, and I think that has a lot to do with it. Number one, I'm not going to say I'm Scott Kingery. I played, you know, I put up numbers in the minor league, did my thing. I played second base.

When I got to the big leagues, I was having to move around. And you almost think mentally in the team aspect, you don't want to be a liability where you are playing because you haven't played it, right? And it takes away from some of your games. And it's not an excuse. It's an actual fact. And I feel like the moment they showed that they wanted him to be a utility guy, that's awesome.

You know, the confidence that they have in you. But as a young guy, you're acclimated to one position usually. And in a case like Scott Kingery at second base, where he was a stud there, right? And there was no thought about having the defense when he was playing second. Thought like, oh man, am I a liability here? Yeah, but why does...

I don't know. I don't know if that's the case with Scott, but I take it from a perspective. It takes away from something, and it's taken away a little bit from his offensive side. Yeah, but I still don't understand why. It's just playing a different position on defense. How does that translate to not being able to hit? Where's your energy? Where's your focus?

There's so much of your focus is out there, and you put yourself in a player's perspective. There's a lot that goes on in the mind. There's a lot that your focus is out there. And you put yourself in a player's perspective. Like, dude, there's a lot that goes on in the mind. There's a lot that goes on throughout a season. Like, people think it's so – like, honestly, your question makes it sound like the game's easy. You know? The game's not easy.

This is a tough game, and you're learning it. He's learning it on the fly at the big league level. It's not easy. What he's doing would not force him to do, but put him in a position to do is not easy. And whether you play every day, it doesn't matter. You're still in an uncomfortable situation. He's still new to shortstop.

And he played – he did a damn good job. Not great, but he did a damn good job for playing for the first time, really. And you put him in a comfort spot, you put him in his natural spot where he doesn't have to think about anything, he can just work on his routine, I think you'll see a Scott Kingery that we're going to love and grow with and love in Philadelphia.

So, if you're Kevin France in the GM, do you trust Scott Kingery so much that you move on from Cesar Hernandez this offseason? That's, you know, I'm not a GM, so I'm not going to be putting that spot. Yeah, it's just a tough situation. Because Cesar and I are so, I love him. I mean, I think it would be a smart move. It would be in my mind because I think he would get stuff for Cesar. But Cesar is so good in that lineup.

He sees a lot of pitches. It doesn't matter average or whatever. He plays a good defense. I just think what you invested in in Scott Kingery is a facility guy. And I really think that's a huge uptake with Scott Kingery is an infidelity guy. And I really think that's a huge uptake with Scott Kingery the moment he plays second baseman on an everyday basis. Okay, that's very fair. So the Phillies made some trades at the trade deadline,

and now with the addition of Justin Boer, what do you think the Phillies are getting in this dribble Cabrera? Your boy, Wilson Ramos, you guys are teammates down in Washington. I can't wait for him to get up here. Cabrera teammate. Yeah, you're a teammate with Azdrubal as well. What do you think the Phils are getting from their additions? Do you think it's going to lengthen out the lineup, make them even tougher?

I think it's awesome. I think that Justin Poore was a perfect baseball move. And you look at the situations, dude, they didn't give up much. They gave up nothing. They didn't give up much, and they got a lot back. And I feel like that is huge. And when Wilson gets healthy, he's a dynamic hitter. He's not fast.

So don't expect him to be Carlos Ruiz down the line. Chooch would get down and bust his ass down the line. We all know that. He's not that. But, you know, from a defensive standpoint, he's got a cannon. Just like Alfaro, he knows how to call a game. He's been around great pitchers. It's not like a new situation for him.

He knows how to win. Great teammate. As dribble teammates, I don't know, you know, where it's going to take him defensively at shortstop, you know, per se. But offensively, he's going to do some good things. The Justin Boer one, I still think was one of my favorite moves because it took away from that divisional opponent

who's hurt him a little bit here and there, not the Marlins, but Justin Boer, and added strength to something that they didn't have a lot of strength from, and that's their bench, and I think it's a huge part of a baseball season, having a strong bench, as strong a bench as you can have, and obviously this lefty-righty

will make him susceptible to playing more against righties than lefties, and I think that's a big move. Would you consider starting him over Carlos Santana if he continues to kind of scuffle? I think more or less he'd give a break here and there. It has nothing to do with, you know, you've got to bench Carlos Santana because you're paying him good money.

You're not going to pay him to sit the bench. He's a good player. You know, whether he hits 215, whether he hits 280, he's doing things to help you win ballgames. And that's a big thing. So how is a guy – I want to see how a guy affects my team when he's not doing anything. And I think that we've seen it from Reese.

We've seen it from Carlos Santana. They still find ways to get on base, right? When they're not hitting, they're finding ways to get on base and making things happen as far as just, you know, creating that doubt into someone's mind. And, you know, I don't fit them for games on end, but you can give them a break here and there and be like, hey, man, take a deep breath.

We got you. You got a guy more capable to handle your spot. Sounds good. So I want to get a little inside Kevin Franson, the batter, like back in the day. Is there any way to have a plan against a guy like Aaron Nola when he go up there? It feels like he is just impossible to plan for because he can throw

three pitches whenever he wants. I think your plan is throwing out the first inning of the game because he'll show you something different every time. And rarely do we see a pitcher have all his pitches going, but rarely do we see a young pitcher when something's off, he has multiple ways to get you. And, you know, because we see so much stuff these days, right, the 98s, the 100s, that's how guys get away with things.

We see a pitcher in Aaron Noah that is cerebral. He's going to outwork you. He's not going to outthink you because I don't see him being a thinker, but he might be. I mean, who knows? I'm not in his mind. But I see someone that has the capability to, okay, this isn't working. I'll work around it.

You know, it doesn't make him panic. And as a hitter, when you know that, that's not fun. That's really not fun. Because it's, for me, you're going, you're always trying to look for an advantage, right? Whether it's a guy tipping pitches, whether it's a guy that gets in the predictable counts. He's not predictable. And that's the best part between him, Andrew Knapp, Corey Alfaro.

They are on the same page, and I love that. It doesn't matter if it's him and one guy. No, it's him and both guys. He's on the same page. That's huge, right? So I think that's going to be interesting when Wilson gets in there is understanding and seeing Aaron Noah because Aaron Noah as a pitcher is different than a lot.

He can work around a weakness that he has for the day because he's got so many other weapons. And we're seeing someone special. It's not just a special year we're seeing someone that's going to be special for a while you know you know the health staying healthy uh obviously but um you know aaron noah's a stud his his mentality is a stud and it makes me think that you know philadelphia phillies and fans are in good hands for a long time with him. Yeah, and you were around on those 12 and 13 teams. Like, you were around guys like Halliday, Lee, Hamels.

And it feels like Nola's cut from the same. He's right in there. Right in there. No doubt. I mean, the guy works his butt off like he's an ace. He starts a game wanting to finish it, whether he does or not. It's there. It's not like, oh, okay, yeah, I'm so happy you took me out in the fifth.

No, he's not. He wants to finish what he starts. And that's a special trait that we saw with those guys. And, you know, obviously we could go on and on about what it takes to be an ace and to be around it. Stop there and watch Aaron Nolan. You know what it is to be an ace and to be around it stop there and watch aaron nolan you know what it is yeah now what's your uh what's your general take on the the rest of the starting staff like arietta uh pavetta we hit a nice hit a nice outing in arizona i'm a big nick pavetta guy i think he's

gonna be really good as soon as he learns a third pitch uh efflin has been consistent he's been spotting his fastball both sides of the plate. And then you have Vince Velasquez. Seems like he's taken a nice little step forward this season. Obviously had a bad start against the Diamondbacks the other day, but for the overall season he's been really good. What do you think about the rest of the starting staff heading down for a chance at the division?

I love it. And I love the fact that the front office and Cap and Rick have decided that these are their guys, right? They didn't go out and get any starting pitching during the trade deadline. Why? Because they believe in these guys. And you know what? When a team is all on the same page like that, you know they have good, good, great arms. Nick Pavetta,

obviously, he went through a pretty down stretch for a while. Last time out looked great. Fastball was there. Curveball was there. Changeup at times looked good. Not great. Different level because that fastball and the way it explodes, the way he can

keep it up at the letters, it's pretty awesome. Eflin, obviously, right now with him going down, it's only for logistically what they had to do. He's been good, man. He has been so solid. Someone that they can build on. I read that article about his agent coming out and saying

he needs to, number one, understand his agent's trying to have his back, but number two, the Phillies have his back and understand that this is a bigger thing than Zach Eflin. Look, you will make your money in this game. Do not worry. This is not to try to like, oh, we're fine. You

have options. We needed this for the Philadelphia Phillies and now. I think if he overcomes that and is on the same page as everyone, we're talking about someone that's going to be so special for a while. And Velasquez, look, guys don't strike out 16 guys

in a game with average stuff. And whether that's a couple years ago or not, this guy's got a special arm. And we're seeing it. We're seeing it more often this year than in years past. And you can't just like that's part of the media thing. We can't just

rely on one start. He has a good three, four, five in a row. And he has a bad one. Don't take a step back on him. Stay with him. Because it's going to be there. That arm is special. He's got a lot of talent. And, you know, going forward, we're going to be seeing some, you know,

really good arms here. Arianna is the one that kind of scares me lately. I don't know why. Because I think it was, you know, the June and then he has the July. And now we're seeing that almost the June again with him. Maybe not as bad, but I don't know. Stuff-wise, it's moving all over the place in a great way. I just don't see how guys are hitting him like that.

Yeah, that's always been my thing with him. It's 93, 94, but guys just seem to be able to barrel him up. It's the weirdest thing ever. It's weird because it's not easy to hit. That's why it scares me because I'm like, what is going on here? Is he hiding? Is he not hiding as much? Is he

unpredictable? But I think in the end run, he'll be just fine. He's obviously had the experience in the postseason and hopefully he can lead these guys and Nola can lead these guys to the post yeah well uh things are getting fun franzen things are getting fun the phillies are back finally i mean i know you were on the last team that was actually kind of competitive

um but it just feels like it just feels good that the phillies are back and hopefully dude it's so good i know the bank is starting to rock again. And that place is what made me fall in love with it when I was a Giant in 2006 and 2007, is those crowds, the unbelievable atmosphere that it created. It will always go down as my favorite place to play because of that, just alone. So having it back for them, these guys, these young guys, and experiencing it, oh, man, I wish I was there to see it.

Yeah, well, unfortunately, you're going to be on the road games. Again, next week is when you, oh, man. I wish I was there to see it. Yeah, well, unfortunately, you're going to be on the road games. Again, next week is when you're back, finally, on the airwaves down there in D.C. We'll try to get you on next week and talk a little bit about some fills, okay? Woo! Alright, let's go! Thanks, guys.

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