High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The High Hopes Phillies Podcast: No, Seriously This Thing is Getting Fun

Episode Date: July 2, 2018

The Phils take 3 of 4 from the Washington Nationals and James Seltzer and Jack Fritz are here breaking it down. Gabe Kapler deserves a ton of credit, he's starting to find his groove as manager of this team. This team deserves a shot at the playoffs with some moves at the deadline and more! 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

TD and your small business go together like... TD's small business account managers have in-depth business banking expertise, so they can give you the advice and resources you need to make your day-to-day easier. So if you're ready to meet your small business match, we're ready for you. Visit td.com slash smallbusinessm match to book an appointment with one of our advisors. This episode is brought to you by Mazda. When you drive a Mazda, you'll find out why RSUVs won more 2024 IIHS top safety picks than any other brand as of June 2024. Find out what makes Mazda different at Mazda.ca. Yo, it is another edition of the High Ops podcast. I am James Seltzer.

With me, as always, as usual, I have the distinct pleasure to talk to you tonight on a night where many out there are mourning LeBron to the Lakers. But me and Jack Fritz, we're fired up about the Phillies taking three out of four from the Nationals. Fritzy, what's up, buddy? Who cares about LeBron? We have a baseball team. I don't like this. LeBron stuff has just been so overplayed. Like, none of that matters.

The Phillies are in second place in the NL East. They're legitimately good. And who cares about LeBron James? It's all pales in comparison to having a fun baseball team. And the Phillies right now are legit fun. And we don't need LeBron James in this town. The Phillies are big enough for the both of us. Yeah, I'm with you, man.

Especially because Machado or Harpo will get those kinds of stars. Yeah, listen, and they'll show LeBron James what a mistake he made. That's exactly right. And then Trout will come, and it'll be the greatest town to be in, and LeBron will know the giant mistake he made going to stupid L.A. He cares about L.A. anyway, am I right? Thank you. But seriously, Jack, we have a

baseball team in Philadelphia. We are through, I mean, how much did we talk about that month of June? The, the horrible, terrible, are they going to survive it month of June? And not only did they survive it, but they found a way to really over the second half of the month, the tougher half of the month, really turn it up, winning three of four against Washington to end this series over the weekend. We're talking here on Sunday night after the 13-inning extravaganza, Jack. We'll dive into the whole series and look ahead to how the schedule gets

so much easier coming up here. But, Jack Jack just your general thoughts on the weekend of baseball they take two or three over the weekend really get get their butts whooped on Friday and uh yeah Nick Pavetta has a rough outing and and who would know that in the same series Pavetta would get some redemption but Jack what was your just overall takeaway three or four up from washington the weekend series where you at with this philly's team right now sitting at 45 and 37 on the season this weekend redemption is spelled p-i-v-e-t-t-a yes no uh yes they've they've won they've won

four out of five series and their one series they lost was against the best team in baseball with Luis Severino, who is once again shoving tonight against that baby David Price. David Price is such a baby. I can't believe what he – anyway, I don't want to talk too much about David Price. The Yankees own his soul. Oh, it's unbelievable. It's unbelievable.

I'm very – I feel like I'm starting to really figure out this Phillies team, and I think Gabe's starting to put the guys in the right places to make plays and make big innings, and I think he's starting to find his rhythm as a manager. I think he knows when to put guys in, in the bullpen. The bullpen the last two days has just been unbelievable now they haven't been real they haven't been like tight tight games like they've been you know tie games and whatever but i we still haven't seen them dominate in a game where they have to hold a one run lead for three innings that's like the next step in the evolution of this

bullpen but still very encouraging signs last couple days but i feel like he's starting to get into a rhythm as a manager he's knowing when when to pinch hit guys he's really really good at knowing when to take out his starters and play for the beginning we saw it again today pulling jake arietta and i i just could not believe the the outrage that i was watching on twitter of like how is he gonna pull jake arietta after 70 pitches it's like well j, Jake Arrieta wasn't pitching well, and he's playing for the big inning, and this is what you always do in that scenario or scenario, whatever. I don't know who said that. I'm really sorry I just said scenario.

That's just what Jake was going to say. Yeah, it wasn't good, Jack. It wasn't good. But, like, there's this whole old narrative of, like, managers can only lose you ballgames. Gabe is turning that on its head. Gabe is legitimately helping them win ball games. Now, there's been some games early where he put the wrong guys in the wrong spot in the bullpen.

But now I feel like he's starting to figure out the bullpen when he used guys. And he really is really good at pulling his pitchers and knowing when to play for the beginning. And I was just surprised that there was such outrage over like pulling Arrietaetta today and playing for the beginning like that's the smart move in that situation and my favorite thing about the gabe kapler era so far is that he's he's making people legitimately think the game of baseball and think strategy and think good nl baseball nationally baseball without that fraud dh and and and it's it's it's really And it's really good. It's really interesting. I think it's making the city really,

it's making the city smarter about baseball because we were in the dark age for a long time. All right, many thoughts on what you just said. First and foremost, Gabe Kapler has done an amazing job so far this season. When you look at what he has had to deal with from an adversity perspective, from getting booed the first time he ever walked on the field at home in Philadelphia, he got booed.

And he has his team sitting at 45-37. They're through the halfway point of the season. They're on pace for just over 88 wins, Jack, which even though I predicted 88 wins at the beginning of the season was They're on pace for just over 88 wins, Jack, which even though I predicted 88 wins at the beginning of the season was still a ridiculous thing to say. And they're on pace for it. And they're playing really good baseball and they're a resilient group. And it's one of those things where when every, at no point has everything been working, either the bullpen has sucked or the offense has sucked, or'll get the occasional bad start, though.

The starting rotation has obviously been outstanding for pretty much the entirety of the season, but they've never had everything humming, and yet they're 45-37. And I don't know what else to credit that to other than the managing and the coaching staff and the way they've coached this team up, especially with how bad the defense has been, too. I neglected to mention that. So I think that from a behind the scenes perspective, the the having the right mentality for this team, having this team, the resiliency that they've shown, the fact that they can get their butts whooped 17-7

and then come back and win two one-run games, that's the type of team they are, and they've done that all year long. And any time they look like they're flagging or they are kind of faltering, they bounce back and they fight back, and that's really impressive to see from a young team with a first-year manager. And I think Kapler deserves a lot of credit for that. I think you're absolutely right on the other end that I think he's starting to really find himself from a strategic perspective. I think he's starting to really understand the game from that managing a game type of thing where we have seen him make some strategic errors earlier in the season.

He's starting to really nail those decisions. And I think that, look, obviously today's game was a great example of many things. You know, I think I saw, you know, Ben Harris at by Ben Harris on Twitter tweeted out, this will be known as the Gabe Kapler game or something to that effect because of the way he handled the pen. And like you said, look, I couldn't believe the Arieta thing. Arrieta stunk again, all right? And I guess maybe he was slightly better than he's been the last couple times out. He didn't look good. I had no problem with him pulling him there.

And you look at what he's done with the bullpen over the last two days alone. Seven innings of work after Velasquez obviously had to leave the game on Saturday as well. You know, puts Yaxel Rios in the right spot. That dude made some big-time pitches, is able to save Sir Anthony in the blowout to get him back for that one inning he needs him for there. He's just done a really good job. And then, obviously, today, navigating through 13 innings of baseball,

getting Nick Pavetta in there to get that redemption. And, look, calling on Austin Davis when Austin Davis somehow comes in and strikes out the side. Everything was working for Gabe today. Strikes out the side facing. Yeah, the heart of the order, yes. Juan Soto and Anthony Rendon and Harper, whoever it was. Austin Davis, the fireman?

Who saw that coming? Hold up. And before you move on, leaving Aaron Nola in the game, in the first game of the series, I mean, he could have easily pulled him. And he talked right after the game, and he was saying, early in the season, my heart would have been pacing. It would have been racing in that scenario. But I now trust Aaron Nola, and he trusts Aaron Nola.

He's learning who we can trust in certain situations. And that was always going to happen with a first-year manager, especially a guy that reads and listens to information as much as he does. Like, I just think he's really, really growing as a manager. And I think these guys are feeding off of that energy. You know, there's nothing wrong. Oh, I agree. I mean, look, Reece Hoskins came out and said that type of positivity from a manager that does so much for a team over 162 games.

It's a grind. And to have someone who is that consistently positive, someone who believes in you, someone who is always, you know, believing the best and looking for the best out of you. I mean, that has to help. Right. I mean, how could that not help you over such a long grind? Yeah. And I think what's interesting, and I think what we're going to learn as Philadelphia sports fans is like, maybe the, maybe the best case isn't to always just throw your players under the bus and, and rip them in the media.

And maybe that's a big stepping point to the, to the evolution of the Philadelphia sports fan. Like maybe Gabe Kapler is going to change how we think about Philadelphia sports. Think about it. Like we were all begging is going to change how we think about Philadelphia sports. Think about it. Like we were all begging for him to like go in there and throw a chair. Not all of us, but yes,

not all of us, but there's, there's a couple of us that not us, but like, you know, people like, you know, hosts on our station callers,

like go in there and lose your mind and stop lying to the media. Like if there's a, that stuff just doesn't matter. Like none of that matters. What he says to the media. Like I saw after the 17 to seven game, John Johnson tweeted at me like, Oh,

can't wait to see how he spins this. And I'm just like, who cares, man? Like none of that matters. And the players, they don't need to be ripped in the media. And I think that makes them feel better.

Like that, that, that Gabe always has their backs. And I think you're seeing, you're seeing them really respond to the, the mentality that Gabe has put to the media. And I think you're seeing them really respond to the mentality that Gabe has put to the media. And I think it's important. I think it's important for a young team. And I think it's important for us as Philadelphia sports fans to understand that maybe just getting angry all the time

and treating every baseball game like it's a freaking football game is not the best mentality going forward. I'm intrigued. Gabe Kapler is shaping the way that we think about sports in this town. I love the cockeyed optimism there. I don't think that is true. I mean, we just, I remember after the Super Bowl, we said, oh, you know, Nelson Aguilar and Jason Kelsey and Jason Kelsey's speech, and we're not going to be critical right away. And we're going to remember to give people time and people can learn and people can change and get better.

And then they boot gate Kapler the first time he stepped on the field. I don't know. Well, they have to go back to their roots. Yeah. I think that quickly, I think those roots always be there, but I do think that conceptually,

I like kind of what you're hinting at. And I like the idea that I do think that, you know, potentially he is showing that that maybe it's not the best to rip players in the media and stuff but i also think that there's a big difference between fans ripping players and their manager ripping them you know what i mean like i i think that you know players have to be able to not care what the fans say about them i'm sorry like you're a professional athlete you shouldn't care what i say about them. I'm sorry. Like you're a professional athlete. You shouldn't care what I say about you. You shouldn't, who cares? I'm, I'm a commentator, you know, but when your manager,

the person who is in charge of putting you in the lineup of your, essentially who has your career in his hands effectively, I think that's a different situation. So I do think there is something to that, especially on the personal level and all that type of stuff. But I think either way, it just can't be understated the job he's done. And I think it's unfair to not give him credit. It feels like he's taken all the bullets and people just are dying to not give him credit no matter what he does. He was so good in today's game that even when he makes a decision that any manager probably would have made at that point, like pinch hitting Andrew Knapp for Alfaro,

because you can't have Alfaro stay out there in a hundred degree heat any longer. Let's get him out of the game and put Knapp in there and Knapp walks it off. You know, it was like everything worked. It was just a perfect day. But I just think, think that i think that we're at least starting to see a bit of a turn do you so you say that when you say about you thinking capler influencing the way we kind of look at talking about our athletes and stuff do you think that the tide is turning on capler i know that i know that there's a lot of smart baseball people who think you know who are impressed with the job capler's doing but do do you think the people who booed him on opening day, those type of people are starting to come around,

or is it going to take longer? Well, I think those people are still the people that say managers can only lose you games, which if you've watched him manage, it's just not the case. It's not the case at all, especially the whole mentality of playing for the big inning. I think any Gabe detractor is going to say that managers can only lose a game and look at the games he's cost us and all this stuff.

So they don't really have much to say right now. And when they do, it's usually just like analytics are bad and whatever. But I do think that there are more people that are leaning towards the way that you and I think, the way me, you, and Jillio, and Angelina, like the way that we think, it feels like there's more of those people that are like, oh, this makes some sense. I understand why he's doing this.

And I think that's good. I think that's positive growth. And I think when they see this happening on the field and you go back and you see, you follow smart people on Twitter and they like and you go back and you see you follow smart people on twitter and they're saying this and then you critically think about it yeah i think there's i think there's a portion of the fan base that is that is starting to become open to what gabe capler's saying because they're 45 and 37 they're 45 and 37 they're the youngest team in baseball

like i took a step back today and i said that that to myself, and I was like, how? Like, how? And I think a lot of it has to do with Gabe Kapler because what are they really good at? Oh, I agree with you. That's my point. They have a good pitching staff, but it's pitching way better than projections would say,

and there may be some regression in there. But I think Rick Kranich deserves a ton of credit. The hitting's been inconsistent. I think it's been better recently. way better than projections would say, and there may be some regression in there, but I think Rick Kranich deserves a ton of credit. The hitting's been inconsistent. I think it's been better recently. The bullpen is obviously a major problem, and this team is 45-37, and I think that goes back to the culture that Gabe Kapler has instilled,

and really, I think guys are starting to understand their place on this team, and I think he's come up with a set lineup, a mostly set lineup. And he knows where to play guys. It's all coming together at the right time, heading into the all-star break. We're halfway through the season, James. Halfway through the season, 45-37.

I never thought they'd be here. And if they were here, I would think they'd be on the backs of an unbelievable offense. And that's just not the case. Yeah, I think that's what everyone thought if they were going to be here. I don't think anyone would have expected that the starting pitching would be the one thing you can count on. I think quite the opposite.

I think that the bullpen would have even been the second thing that people would have counted on, and the starting pitching the least that people would count on. For sure. It's been the reverse of that. So I'm with you, and I think you have to give capital to capital credit but let's look at on the field just over the weekend before we dive into i want to get into some of the um the the news and notes around the team like the return of pat neshek which i think really could help but really quickly just before we move on

from the weekend series anything else stand out to you from this weekend on the field, maybe particularly that 13 inning game, uh, you know, the, the revenge of Nick Pavetta or, uh, or anything else that just kind of stood out to you from a baseball perspective? Uh, yeah. So, um, I want to talk about Pavetta on Friday because man, the, the Pavetta takes have gotten weird. Uh, everyone knows I'm a big Pavetta guy and I think he's had a really tough most of June. But now I got a bunch of tweets saying, like, he should be sent down, put him in the bullpen, and this kind of stuff. And I just want people to relax for a second. Nick Pavetta pitched to a 3.27 ERA in the month of April, a 3.24 ERA in June or in May.

So one of those two is right for both months. I don't know which one's right, but one of those two is right. He struck out 13 Cardinals two starts ago. And his last start last Sunday night on Sunday Night Baseball really wasn't bad. The rain completely neutralized the spin on his curveball. That's just Mother Nature hurting you. He obviously struggles against the Washington Nationals, but the guy has been their second-best starter for the season,

for most of the season. Now, I think Zach Geffelin had an unbelievable June, obviously. He won five stars and was a stopper, and this team is not where he's at today without the pitching of Zach Geffelin. But I think there's been a lot of overreaction to what nick pivetta um has done in his last start i think it's very volatile um he's not 100 done finished product and while we want this team to be great and make the playoffs immediately it's still about learning who you can grow with and who you can't grow with and for most of the season nick pavetta has been a guy that you could definitely envision being uh at least a number

at least a number three guy in your rotation i think the the is i saw the criticism criticism was just a little too harsh i didn't i didn't expect that um that quickly and vince velasquez um the play he made was the play of the year there's no doubt in my mind easily i can't like when i try to throw baseball left-handed, you would assume that I've never picked up a baseball in my life. Totally. And for the fact that he was able to throw a strike. Fire it there.

Like, fire it. Against Adam Eaton, who's, like, not exactly slow. No, Adam Eaton can move. I was just like, that's a crazy play. And I was actually interested in the way he was pitching. Did you see his two-seam fastball at all at the beginning of that start? No, I didn't. So he was throwing this two-seam fastball that looked like Aaron Nola's.

And I'm just thinking to myself, if he can figure that out, Vince Velasquez's ceiling is almost untapped. Because it just gives the hitter another thing to think about. Right now, when you're going into the box against Vince Velasquez's ceiling is almost untouched because it just gives the hitter another thing to think about. Right now, when you're going into the box against Vince Velasquez, you're thinking about two pitches. And when he's in a jam, he pretty much only relies on his fastball. His slider curveball is still a work in progress. But if he can throw 97 and off that 97 have a two-seam slash sinker that is 92-94 and moves a lot like Aaron Nola's, then he is just a really valuable pitcher.

I hope he's able to reel that in because I think he's a legitimate weapon going forward. It was beautiful seeing a full CBP again. I don't care that it was fireworks night. The drumming on Friday night was a tough watch but saturday night it was another good crowd and i was really it was just fun it felt like a playoff atmosphere and obviously sir anthony came in and shut the door that was really fun um other things that i saw i'm really like where are you at with jesmel valentine because i think he's i saw your tweet you're a big jesmel valentine fan he just reminds me of Tomas Perez and Abraham Nunez.

I always loved those guys. Sure. And I think he's the next one of those guys. Yeah, look, I think I like him. He's fine. Like you said, he's a really solid utility guy. He can play multiple positions. I really like when they get him the opportunity to bat right-handed.

He's such a better hitter right-handed than left-handed. I almost feel like whenever he's up left-handed, it's like an automatic out. But look, I think he's a really nice utility player. I'm with you. I think probably a little underappreciated, but also someone who is not necessarily that hard to replace. But I like Jessimo Valent've been i've been happy with the production of jessimo valentine well i a player i haven't been happy with is jay garrietta

what did you think what did you think of varietta uh earlier today he just sucks man no he doesn't suck i hate i just i hate watching now where it's it's it's the freaking he can't locate his fastball, and people just barrel him up, and I don't know what it is. He's still throwing 93-94, not missing any bats. He's a barrel finder. He can't locate his off-speed pitches. He's a barrel finder. If you need a barrel found, he will find you that barrel. I think he's going to be fine.

I don't think he's washed. I think he's always been a feel pitcher. And he is just out of sync right now. He's been out of sync all month. Again, he just can't strike anyone out. And I know everyone thinks, well, that's not that big of a deal. He has a great ground ball rate, and he's

going to set the record for most double plays turned.'s like yeah well that's also why he has the most unearned runs in baseball and because the ball's always in playoff of him like the balls are always in playoff of jake arietta and he needs to figure out how to strike guys out again because if not he's just not a very good pitcher and again he wasn't good today he was it was a completely right decision to pull him um he's just His fastball is just getting teed up on now. Yeah, nice at bat by Lowe's when he came in there too to draw the walk. And look, it was clearly the right decision to pull him. It ultimately led to the Phillies three runs. They don't tie the game without that. And again, just that game in general, I think outside of

Arrieta, a nice example of this philly's team i think you said this earlier this season but it is a team that they can go down early and you don't feel like it's over you know granted when they go down you know like 10 runs early that's a different thing yeah but even then they almost came back yeah there was a moment there where i talked myself into yeah you talk yourself into it but uh you know that they just came back right away and it was 3-3 and it was like boom and and then just again, before we move on from this weekend, just a, a major shout out to a bullpen that has been very rightfully much derided as of late, as we know. And certainly on Friday, it didn't look very good in that 17 to seven game though. It wasn't

very high leverage type innings as Hector. We saw the old actor Naras again, but yeah, that guy's back. But otherwise look Saturday and Sunday, just outstanding work from the pen. You know, obviously Velasquez gives out seven clean innings from the pen. And then of course,

going into the 13th day, an area to getting pulled in the fifth, you know, just really, uh, what 13 innings of, of work from the pen, only one run. And shout-out to Yaxel Rios.

I mentioned that before, but that dude won them the game yesterday, or at least was as big a reason as anybody. And he's got stuff, and he can really dial it up. You know, he hits 99 on the regular. He's an impressive pitcher. Are you a Yaxel Rios guy? Is there some upside there for you, or was that a one-time performance to your mind no there's definitely upside i mean when you're hitting 98 and it's a it looks like a hard 98 like it seems like one

that's tough to get on top of and drive or through and drive um and coming into that spot was just like that's a almost a no-win situation for a guy as young as he is. He needs a little better slide piece, a little better off-speed. But the fastball is legit. He got sent down because he wasn't able to locate. It feels like he's locating again. Yeah, I'm a believer. I'm not going to say I trust him wholeheartedly. But they needed someone to step up with the loss of ed by ramos the loss

of luis garcia and he's been the guy that stepped up outside of sir anthony dominguez he has been the guy that has stepped up they they needed one guy with with ramos going down and luis garcia and now nishek's back it helps a lot but they needed someone to bridge the gap and that has been yoxel rios yeah i've i've been impressed with Rios. And certainly on Saturday, I was very impressed. And another guy, I mentioned it before, nice to see back. I wasn't sure if it was him or Tommy Hunter at first. I saw him coming out. Not as fat as Tommy Hunter, but a similar goatee beard thing going on.

But Pat Neshek is back, Jack Fritz. Tell the people how important pat neshek theoretically could be to this bullpen listen he's important but the fact that he that he said to like scott lauber and the and the reporters like yeah i could use one more rehab and reading i know it's like dude like are you kidding me just just just get up here and help us out like you don't need it was it was infuriating. He probably, he probably had like a,

a sports card, a event he had to get to and thought he could have a little extra time for it. Yeah. It's like, come on, man. Like this team needs you right now. The bullpen's in shambles to its best relievers are hurt and you can't come

back and then help us out. Uh, but yeah, I mean, Neshek, Neshek back. It just gives them a guy that has been in big spots. Pitching big spots as an all-star last year. But, yeah, I mean, Neshek back, it just gives them a guy that has been in big spots, pitched in big spots, was an all-star last year, has been an all-star before.

It gives them another reliable guy. They have one reliable guy. They have, theoretically, two or three more reliable guys. And basically, Pat Neshek automatically becomes probably your second best reliever. And a veteran out there that's done it before, you saw today, comes in perfectly. It's just like I feel a sense of relief when he comes into a ballgame. I trust Sir Anthony with my heart. Everything perfectly fine when he comes into a game.

Everybody else, I am crapping myself. And I don't feel that way pat pat neshek i feel like no matter what situation he comes into he is going to uh create soft contact uh he's a soft contact machine and i i trust pat neshek no matter how much of a baby i think he is yeah he's such a baby he's he's a turd he's just a turd but i'm glad we we have him. Yeah. Hey, go get outs, buddy. And he's good at getting outs. And that's all we need right now. I'm with you on just the comfort of feeling like the world

isn't ending when someone comes into the game. Like every time Tommy Hunter comes in Oh, it's brutal. It's brutal. I was so annoyed when they took Neshek out for Hunter. I was like, why? Why? I don't need to see Tommy Hunter. And it worked out. It was fine. But I hated it. I was like, why? Why? I don't need to see Tommy Hunter. And it worked out. It was fine. But I hated it. I was so not a

fan of the decision to take Neshek out even against a lefty and put Hunter in. I know Hunter's better against lefties. I hate Tommy Hunter. I hate seeing him. I hate when he comes out of the bullpen. Look, there are not many guys I trust. I mean, the fact that we got three clean innings from Jake Thompson today

is as big a miracle as anything that's happened this year in my opinion i mean you gotta be kidding me and it's so funny because everyone all of us that follow the phillies like it's our life we all know that that jake thompson sucks and oh he sucks so hard and i saw all of us tweeting, like, me, you, Stoleness. We're all just like, this guy stinks. And then, of course, he has three good, okay innings. And now you have all the people who just started tuning in being like, what?

See? He's not that bad. Do you guys even know what you're talking about? And it's just like, no, the guy stinks. Like, let's all relax with the small sample size bull crap. The fact that they got three innings out of Jake Thompson is the most surprising thing of the entire season. I agree with you.

There is not a single more surprising thing than that guy. I agree. Legitimately. Helping us win a ballgame. Yes. Yes. It's less surprising that we're 45 and 37 than the fact that that guy did that.

I know. I know. I know. It was great. Happy for him. Still stinks. I hope I never have to watch him pitch again. Yeah.

I'm not a fan. Yeah. No. Very much not a fan of that guy. All right. Any other? So Velasquez will be on the 10-day dl uh it doesn't seem like it's that big a deal like a contusion but obviously he took a he took a wallop so not surprising he's

going to take a starter two off there eikhoff on the comeback trail we'll kind of see how that works itself out i think we both agree that that pavetta nola efflin not going anywhere right now and who knows maybe velasquez is back, or maybe they keep him on the DL a little longer to bring Eikhoff back, or the phantom injury for Arrieta. We'll see how that plays out. Really quickly, the Manny Machado rumor is heating up a little bit.

And we'll do a lot more trade deadline stuff as we start to get there. Again, look, the Phillies coming out of June looking amazing. It's unbelievable. And now we'll get to the July schedule in a second. But, oh, baby, it's easy. So there's a real chance that by the time the trade deadline,

this team, you know, Matt Klintak really doesn't even have a choice but to make some moves. But, Jack, we'll get into some other stuff down the road. We've talked a little Beltre. We've obviously talked bullpen pieces. We talked about Brad Hand last time. But over the weekend, John Heyman kind of doubling down on his Machado report. Four teams in it, he's saying, but the Dodgers and your Philadelphia

Phillies, the top two pursuers. What are your kind of just general take right now? I'm sure this will come up again in the future but but we've both kind of been pretty staunch in our um don't trade something that's really big for the future for machado now unfortunately hayman reported that amenable was the word he used to six to sanchez potentially in a machado deal i know how you would feel about that yeah so but overall on the whole where are you at with the phillies being kind of in this machado thing at least according to hayman yeah you know i love manny machado but i am so not in on like this rental piece and i and unless you can get and he won't resign in

season unless there's some kind of wink-wink. But the Dodgers can't even re-sign him. The Dodgers have no chance of re-signing Manny Machado. They have a really small window of World Series contention. I understand why they would go after Manny Machado. Totally. They lost Corey Seager. They have Kershaw who can opt out and also seems to have chronic back injuries. He may never

be the same after this season. They have a very small window of trying to win a World Series. Going and giving up like Alex Vertugo for Manny Machado seems like a win if you're the Baltimore Orioles. And I think that makes sense for them. Makes sense for the

Dodgers. They're not going to re-sign him. That's going to cost them $400 million and they already don't want to be up against the luxury tax. So the Dodgers stuff makes sense, but it's fine. Losing him to LA is not going to kill this team's chances of getting Manny Machado in the offseason.

I think there is some credence to getting him here and getting him around the facility and around Gabe and letting him feel comfortable. Paul George certainly says there is, right? Right. That's a pretty good example. I mean, the fact that that guy was willing to re-sign with Russell Westbrook for the next four years. Unreal.

Anything is possible at this point. And stay in Oklahoma City instead of going to his home in L.A. Totally. What are you doing? Anyway. But, yeah, I think there is some credence to that. I've said it before. I'm not giving up a premium player for him.

I will give up Medina. I will give up Daniel De Los Santos. I'll give up Moniak. I don't want to give up eniel de los santos i'll give up moniak i don't want to give up hazy like i i've pretty much identified my untouchables as as kingery six though and hazel everyone else is like semi-game to i would probably deal them so if you can work a deal of like cole irvin medina moniak, and Nick Williams or something, sure. But I'm not in the camp of

give up everything for this guy. Just try to sign him in the offseason. It's not smart GMing. I also want to give this team as many chances as they can to compete, but giving up that much for Machado just seems like a massive mistake i i can't shake

that yeah i 100 agree with you if giving up six that would be not practice and look for what it's worth i'm not the biggest john hayman fan i feel like that dude throws a lot of stuff at the wall and hopes it sticks so yeah i'm not, I'm pretty much agrees with that. Yeah. I'm not taking this too much to heart, but like you said, I'm not giving up Kingery. I'm not giving him six dough.

You love Adam Haseley, but he's betting three 50 the last like six weeks. I'm not. Look, you know, point is I don't, I ultimately don't think they will trade for many much out of this season. I think,

no man, there's so much buzz about it. Yeah. It's weird. It's weird. Well, I think that if they do, it's because they really think they're going to re-sign him, and thus it won't look like that big a trade because they re-signed him.

Look, because ultimately if you say to me, and my argument is just sign him after the season and don't give it up, but if you say to me, if you trade for him now, he is re-signing here, I'd give up six to out. I would, because then I know me and my child is here for the next decade. Do you know what I mean? But then again, it's like, well, couldn't I have not done that and just still sign him? So it's one of those, you know, kind of catch-22s in those ways. But look, I agree. I do think there is value to getting him here, getting him into the clubhouse, meeting the most positive manager on the planet, all that type of stuff.

But, look, I think it's going to be interesting to see how it plays out here. And listen. And I'm with you. I don't want to give up something that's really going to help me long term. If they trade for him, me and you are not going to be, like, morose about it. Oh, my God, we're going to be so fired up. I'm going to be like, I get to watch Manny Machado play every day. Like, I don't want to be a Debbiebie downer about it like i would be very

excited about manny machado i'm just trying to think of the best team building strategy and just giving up all that for a guy you're not 100 sure you can resign it's just not it's it's just not good team building that's just the fact i totally 100 agree with you especially when you again have the have the opportunity to sign him absent or separate of that. And especially when the team are competing with the trade, the most, like you said, is very highly unlikely to re-sign him, especially with the long-term assets they have at both shortstop and third base. All right, Jack, let's look ahead real quick as we are stepping into the month of July here. And oh man, does it look good, Jack.

When you think about the month that we just went through, and like you said, the Phillies winning, what, five or six series or whatever it is, winning series against Milwaukee, against St. Louis, against two separate series against the Nationals. I mean, they are playing the better teams in the National League, and they're playing them well. the better teams in the National League, and they're playing them well. And now they get, you ready for this, Jack? The Orioles, the Pirates, the Mets, who are coming off a 5-21 June. Orioles, Marlins, the All-Star break, Padres,

then the Dodgers are good, Reds, Red Sox. So outside of the Dodgers and Red Sox, they've got the Reds, the Padres, the Marlins, the Orioles twice, the Mets, and the Pirates. That's awesome, Jack. There's a real chance for this team to make a run heading into August. I mean, what the hell is that? And it feels like they're just starting to play their best baseball now.

They're just starting to play their best baseball right now. Remember two podcasts ago, I was so upset with this team. Totally. They were still playing well, and they still had a winning record, but it just didn't feel good. Now it feels good. I know that sounds flippy-floppy because they've won four out of five series, but it's not flippy-floppy. The offense is back in a big way, and really just the defense.

The defense has been really competent. Kingery is looking better and better at shortstop. They're getting Valenti more playing time, which I think is interesting. Defensive-wise, I've been pretty impressed with him. It just feels like they're settling into a groove, and I feel so much better about this team than I did two weeks ago. And now heading into that schedule, if they go out and get a Brad Hand, if they go out and get a Beltre, like, this thing could get serious very, very fast.

It feels like he's found the right catching game, those guys the right playing time. It feels like they're turning into a more complete baseball team. And now they're heading into the easiest stretch of their schedule. Now, some young teams, they could see the schedule coming up and be like, oh, well, we'll just coast through that and all of that. But that's just not this team. This team that I've watched all season is not a team that's going to be fine just playing okay.

They know when they have to raise their level of play. They really do. And then if they go get a Brad Hand, if they go get a short-term rental at their base i mean you could see a a them run off a really legit month of of july and august it's it could be really really exciting around here yeah i'm with you and you're selling them short jack they won five of six series wrong brother how exciting is that how exciting is that but seriously they have won five of six series especially after i mean there was not a more down time than a few weeks ago, like we talked about.

And after that Giants series and then going to Chicago and Jason Hayward hitting the walk-off Grand Slam and all that stuff, it was really a—and then losing those two practically by 10-run games against Milwaukee. Like, it was a down time. Like, it wasn't cool. And ever since then they've played great baseball over the toughest stretch of their schedule all season long, Jack. That's, um, it's awesome and it's exciting and there, and you should be excited about this team out there again, 45 and 37. Um, it's awesome. It's really awesome. And a, a, a nice week here for them to

regroup to after this really tough stretches they've got only two games with the orioles and then three with the pirates so as much as it sucks for us because there is only five phillies games this week it's a good week for them to get some rest before they kind of get into the the you know grind again and then they all start breaking nice little rest the schedule is really setting up well here for this philly's team that is um look really a legit playoff contender right now yeah they really exciting the bullpen really needs this this this week totally well oh my god seven innings seven innings two days ago and then they had to pitch another what uh six or seven today so uh yeah i mean it's desperately needed it yeah it's huge it's gonna start getting real

because now they're playing easy teams. The schedule is going to look better and better. And, man, the pressure is on Glensack now. This team is – Yeah, it's like I said before. He might not have a choice. Like this team is making it so he might not have a choice. They did not come into this season and say,

we're going to be making moves at the deadline. That was absolutely not something they intended to be doing. And this team is making it so that he might not have a choice, Jack. It would be malpractice on the other end to not give a team that has a legitimate chance to make the playoffs come July 31st. Look at this month they've got out if they if they just keep winning series they could be 12 13 14 games up come july 31st i mean think about that i mean what is he supposed to do other than say all right i'm gonna help you

guys they deserve it i mean they deserve that's what i mean yeah the chance to to compete they may not win the world series but they deserve the best chance to go out there and try to compete on a night-in, night-out basis. So, like, what do you make of that Nationals team real quick? Like, is there something wrong there? Are they the 2012 Phillies or are they the 2016 Astros? Look, I think there's a couple things wrong right now. I know your boy Bryce Harper not hitting at all. Wait, what?

He's supposed to be my boy. Because you own him on your fantasy team. Oh, yeah. Contrast to your Harper is not going as well as I thought. Yeah. But, look, Rendon's been really good for them this year. And I think, yeah, I think offensively they'll be fine. Look, I think Max Scherzer's had to carry the team.

Gio's been pretty good, but I think just that the instability in the staff has hurt them. Strasburg, obviously, being hurt has hurt them. I think they're ultimately going to be fine, but I don't think they're a great baseball team. I certainly don't think they're going to get back to what people predicted they would be before the season, but I think they'll hang around the wildcard race. people predicted they would be before the season but i think they'll hang around the wild card race you know and i think they could have a stretch where if they get trashed or back they could certainly compete for a wild card spot but i i don't think that they are by any means a favorite anymore something feels weird with that team something yeah something's something's off i agree and look you know uh you make the playoffs what four or five years in a row? Sometimes there is that down year.

And they've had injuries. And they just got Daniel Murphy back. And Adam Eaton's been out all year and all that type of stuff. So look, I think it's interesting. I don't know if Dave Martinez is good. Are we sure Dave Martinez is good, Jack? We are not sure Dave Martinez is good. I don't know.

Yeah, he makes some weird moves. He does, yeah. But yeah, it's weird. That team should be much makes some weird moves. He does, yeah. But, yeah, it's weird. That team should be much better than it is. I agree with you. All right, Fritzie, any final thoughts? We'll be back to talk to you guys probably, I guess, on Wednesday or – no, it'll be Thursday, off day.

So we'll come and we'll preview the weekend on stuff. So, Fritzie, any final thoughts before we get a nice off day here and then the Baltimore Orioles in town, Jack? The Baltimore Orioles, I think they're 10 games worse than the worst team in the NL. They're so bad. Put that into perspective. And that's with a top five player in the sport.

So, wait until they trade in. No, it's just I feel so much better about this team. I feel good about this team. It feels like they're in every game. Obviously, Friday night did happen. It was 17-7. But even there, there was a glimmer of hope with how the offense was coming back and the Reese at bats.

Reese is back in a big way besides today. But I feel good about this team. It's something to tune in on a night-in, night-out basis. And I think there's a lot of positive momentum around this team just from the fans the casual fans i've seen a lot of philly's gear in the last couple days and it just genuinely it makes my heart warm like seeing seeing philly's gear pop up around uh the the delaware valley it legitimately makes my heart warm and i think there's a lot of positive momentum around this Phillies team.

I think the crowd's going to start showing up. And this stretch is just going to have everyone believing in this team again. I think you're going to see a lot of the negativity surrounding Gabe Kapler, surrounding analytics. That feels like it's starting to go away just because people are starting to understand more and more what this team is doing every game. I feel really good about this team they're getting into a groove they're just starting to play their best baseball now and

they're 45 and 37 i think that's incredible i uh i am so happy i can tell listen i just i just positive friends in the house i am positive i'm mostly positive about the kids there's a little couple weeks stretch there where i was just mad like I was just mad at the team I was watching because I knew they could be better. And right now they feel like a good team. And this trade deadline is going to be super interesting. I don't know what they're going to do. If you ask me what they're going to do, I have no idea. I have no idea.

I'll speculate, but I really don't. But they have a chance to go get guys that can help them win. I would prefer they go get guys that can help them win now and in the future. I want controllable guys, and I have no problem giving up pieces to get controllable guys. But this team is good. They're fun.

It's starting to feel finally like a fun team, and I think that has to do with the offense actually being semi-competent this last couple days. So just buckle up, Phils fans, because easy month coming up, easy month and a half coming up, and then the trade deadline. This is gonna get real real quick listen to that what a positive happy jack fritz this is a that's that's worthy of at least one review that's what i'm saying rate and review the podcast that's at least one review listen to that happy joyous rant we just

got from fritz they're not always angry rants we get a happy joy as everything is rainbows and jelly gumdrops so uh beautiful stuff there from fritz i echo all the same and seriously i read uh please rate and view the podcast it really helps people find the podcast and we're just trying to get all the phillies fans we can to check it out because we love to talk phillies and we want to talk phillies to people who love to get all the Phillies fans we can to check it out because we love to talk Phillies and we want to talk Phillies to people who love to hear about the Phillies so that's you guys and gals and beautifully said so you were you were a true wordsmith I'm a wordsmith and I'm uh I'm uh yeah let's stick with that all right uh for for Jack Fritz uh I'm James Seltzer thank

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