High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The High Hopes Phillies Podcast: Staying Level-Headed About Kapler

Episode Date: April 4, 2018

The High Hopes crew talks about Kapler's rough debut and where they stand on him. They also go on WIP's FB live and take questions from listeners.  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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today. Terms and conditions apply. Yo, it is another episode of High Hopes as we are sitting around and waiting, waiting for the Philly Facebook game to happen. I am here with John Marks, and look at this. We are all excited. We're about to do a podcast without Jack Fritz. And who the hell walks in the studio right when we're recording? Yeah, I actually thought I didn't want to be aggravated today. You were going to aggravate me enough for a good conversation,

but Gabe Kapler Jr. here. Jack Fritz. Yeah. So yeah, I don't know if Jack's going to come back in or whatever, but yes, we are currently recording during the Phillies-Mets rain delay, which, I mean, dude, I don't

know why they didn't start the game until rain came through, but it had been. You could actually, I was in the studio with Mike Angelina, and during the breaks, Franski and Stocker going back and forth, being like, do you see rain? I don't see rain. Why haven't we started?

I looked at the forecast. I guess what they thought was there's something coming in right now and maybe done at 2, 2.30. I wonder if they decided they didn't want to start the game. Just to stop it. What's the Facebook Live? Because it's supposed to clear out. It's a great point.

So maybe they thought that people would tune in and be pissed that the game went to rain delay and then not check back in. I don't know, but it doesn't make much sense to sit around for an hour and a half or two hours. Waiting. Waiting for the rain to start. They could have gotten two hours of the game in. Yeah, I think part of it is, look, if you're either team, the Mets or the Phillies, you've got Nola or Syndergaard

on the hill today, you don't want to waste that start. You don't want to play for an hour, have Syndergaard or Nola pitch three innings, and then you get an hour rain delay and you have to sit it down. No, that's definitely part of it. This early in the season, you don't want to bring out Aaron Nola, put him in for five and a third, and then yank him because of some stupid...

Oh, sorry. I lost track of my... Let's get into that. Let's get into that. Real quick, also, for all the people out there who have complained about Facebook, I'm very sorry. I know that people are really angry about this Facebook thing, but that's either here or there.

Are you pro-Facebook only game? I don't care. It's fine. I watch all my games on a stream anyway. I watch it on the NBC Sports app and I stream it to my television, so it's not a huge difference for me. It doesn't bother me, but I get it.

Look, I get that the core audience of the Phillies is on the older side. This is not something that a lot of people are excited about. For what it's worth, I haven't been to the Facebook page yet because I knew the game hadn't started, so I don't know how it looks. I've seen a lot of people tweet out that it's a really tiny thing with a border on it. I'm not on Facebook and I have a desire to go to Facebook to watch it. I'm like you.

I go to the NBC Sports app and I watch. A lot of times, if I'm up in bed and my wife's going to sleep, she's like, can we turn the TV off? I just watch on my iPad or my phone. Me too. The picture's great. It's perfect. I do believe that it should be offered

on the regular tv even if it's the mlb network or whatever it is somewhere on tv i'm with you look it's it's a big enough thing where they're people watch every single game you know this is something where a lot of people care about this team they watch every single game and on top of that you're paying your cable bill if you are if you're not like you know someone who streams it you're paying your cable bill it's it's flat out stupid and i i would really like to know i wanted to text john brazier and at least get an idea of how the teams feel about it yeah yeah exactly you know there's a major right said here's money give us games and basically baseball said sure and that's great and i like i like the fact that they are thinking outside the box and they're saying like hey

let's try streaming it but but offer it, especially now, offer it on regular cable. Like, you've got Sportsnet's had, or excuse me, NBC Sports Philadelphia and then their sub-channel has had Sixers and Flyers on the same night to where there's really nowhere else to put the Phillies. I don't know what to say for those nights, but MLB Network should be picking up some of these games. I know ESPN isn't going to, but anyway.

Yeah, I'm a little annoyed that it's not on regular TV, but I'll still be able to watch it. Same. I mean, well, get used to it. Apparently the Phillies are three of the first nine of these 25 Facebook games, so we're going to get more of this coming up in the near future. But, John, let's get into it. You and I haven't had a chance to talk on this show in a while.

No, it's been a while. Not since everybody's wanted to fire Gabe Kapler and I'm losing my mind John and I look I know I I think that um you know it's been a tough start to the season I think there is no uh any baseball fan no matter how Jack Fritz level you are you're gonna be a little annoyed by the way this season has started but what's your general take I know you're not in the fire Gabe Ka, after four games camp like some people are, but where do you come down so far on what you've seen from the team and really from the manager through four games?

Anybody that says you're going to, and there was really three games that people were talking about. I don't really, I don't even take any of that seriously. I kind of, I laugh and chuckle at the overreactions. I feel like we're overreacting and we know we're overreacting. You're asking the question of, is it too early? Of course it's too early. Is it too early to say to yourself like, hey, maybe there are going to be some growing pains? Of course not. And there clearly are going to be some growing pains. He was on with Angelo this morning. We're taping this on

a Wednesday. He was on with Angelo this morning. He offered an explanation of sorts to exactly what happened with Hobie Milner and not having somebody. Kind of he did. And then he also answered the question to Aaron Nola. And I kind of call BS on both. That's interesting because I thought – I agree with you, the BS on the first part. I thought his answer on Nola was pretty solid, but tell me why you didn't like it. So, I mean, and maybe you can pull these up.

I don't even know if it's possible that we're able to pull it up and think. But so let me start with the bullpen one. It probably was somebody else's fault, or it could be somebody else's fault, but all he's doing is he's saying it's somebody else's fault without naming the person because he's saying, well, it's my responsibility, but now I'm going to make sure that Better communication, isn't that true? He didn't come out and say it's somebody responsibility, but now I'm going to make sure that better communication. He didn't come out and say it's somebody I had

called down there. He was supposed to be up. I'm not saying that he needs to call anybody else out, but really what he's doing is he's calling somebody out. You're just not naming them by name. Right. Go one way or the other. What he should have done was 100% take responsibility and just move forward. And that's it. That's it. Without an explanation. Andy Reid

gave. I agree. Andy Reid would give a it's it. Without an explanation. Andy Reid gave... I agree. Andy Reid would give a, it's on me, with no explanation. I have to do a better job. Boom. You can't say it's all on you. Because it's not on you if someone else screwed up. Bottom line, it's really not on you. But I am okay with the manager getting whoever's back, his coaching staff saying it is on him. I'm okay with that. Again,

first-time manager, he's gonna have... And I like him. I do. I like the fact that he does talk talk i think he's eventually going to maybe talk a little bit too much for his own good so i i with that whole part i was just like dude like either either you did it and then it's over like don't say oh it's all my but blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah uh right with the nola thing here here here's here's what it comes down to let me ask you this why do you think he took him out? Did he take him out because of the number of pitches that he's thrown? And or was it just totally because on Angelo this morning,

he had talked about the matchup, but then he said, oh, and we knew coming in out there for a long time. Yeah, I'm okay with that part of it. That's not why he lifted him. He lifted him because he liked the left-on-left matchup. So half of what he's saying is BS. It had nothing to do with his pitch count. Well, I think here's the thing.

I don't think it had nothing to do with his pitch count. I do agree. And I think they came in purposefully saying, we're not going to let Nola go too long today. Coming off 40, I agree. And I agree with that. I think that's right. It was just bad timing the way it worked out.

And to the point about the lefty-lefty matchup and the whole B. Milner stuff, he's right about that. I mean, Milner is a tough tanner. He is tough to face hitters. And look, he's one of the 15 best hitters in baseball. The guy made a great play. He knocked one out of the park. I'm okay with the lefty-lefty, and I'm okay with the process instead of being over the results. I think the issue there, and I think you hit on it there too, is that it looked like he

was focusing too much on the numbers and not enough on the feel for the situation. I do agree that given that situation, he says, well, if all else was equal and he had thrown 48 pitches or it was maybe the middle of the season, I firmly believe that 75% was the matchup. And this is what worries me. That in that situation, you're going to see that regardless of it's the middle of the season. Right. And here's what I think happens. He eventually changes a little bit because he's going to realize that analytics,

all they are are really numbers. You don't have to use them. It's just something to look at and take information and go from there. But these people aren't robots. That's a big key. I heard him say that, well, and I don't know if you wrote this too, the third time around the

line, Noah... It's like a 200-point jump in OPS. Big jump for the batter. And you know what? Eric Hosmer-type level guy. 8.30 hit at OPS. I think if you took most starting pitchers, the third time around the lineup, of course they're going to have better timing on you.

Remember Jamie Moyer? First time around the lineup, he would fool guys instantly. Second time, he'd struggle. And then the third time, you want him out. You want him out because they're smashing him. So he's a five- or five or six inning pitcher. Nola this early in the season? Of course. Yeah. Is it going

to change? Sure. But relying solely on that number based on stats, I have a question. In the outings that Nola was sharp and was looking really good, what was the OPS the third time around the line? That's a great question. That's why I think you hit on a perfect point, John, in that—

He was sharp, by the way. Yeah, and the point is you can't look at these numbers as a whole thing. You can't just say, oh, the third time through the lineup, it's an 830 OPS. That's the way it is. If he's struggling. What you should do is, like you're saying, man, go back and look at that 10-start streak where he had six innings or more, two earned runs or less.

See how he looked the third time through the lineup in those games. It's not a be-all, end-all. They have 30 full-time math guys that are working in their front office, which is great. I think it's a good thing. It's great. Number for when he's sharp. Because when he's not sharp, and even if he's not giving up runs,

but he's getting out of innings, he gets a double play, the weather's bad. But when he's not sharp, maybe those numbers are different. Because now they're waiting to get to the third time around, and it's just kind of the luck that's helped them before now isn't. But when he's sharp, I'd like to see what those numbers are different because now they're just waiting to get to the third time around and it's just kind of the luck that's helped them before now isn't. But when he's sharp, I'd like to see what those numbers are. And then also those numbers can be inflated by one bad time through the low end of a third time.

You give up six runs, you go through and you get really shelled. That's really going to inflate those types of numbers across the board and all that type of stuff as well. Here's the other problem. It's not just about pulling him in the fifth inning. Because you know what, James? The bullpen gave up six runs in the eighth and ninth inning. That home run had nothing to do with the loss.

It didn't. There were five to two after that. There were five to two. If Neris does his job, if Morgan doesn't come in, all that stuff. Here's the problem. He doubled up on that with using eight relievers in nine innings and then a ninth reliever to get through 11, and then he had to use Pedro Floreman the very next day.

For what it's worth, you're down 11 runs. He didn't have anybody left. But in that case, even if he did, I'd rather use a position player. That game's over. Why waste an inning of an arm? Why waste any pitches on someone who's going to throw meaningful pitches this season? The floor mounting of everything is the thing that I have the least problem with. The problem wasn't two in that spot to begin with.

That's the real thing you want to have an issue with. The problem is now you've been through three games and you've exhausted your bullpen three games into the season. And they actually kind of got lucky with that snow out in the sense that it gave the bullpen a chance to rest. And for what it's worth in the 2-0 loss, I thought he handled the bullpen perfectly. Like, I don't think you could have asked for a better job. Eat the lefty-righty stuff worked. You know, bringing, keeping Milner in, forcing them to take Gonzalez out, bringing Ramos in.

Like, I thought that all worked really well. I have, I don't think he's an idiot. You know, I don't think that he doesn't understand baseball. He's sharp. Gabe Kapler's a sharp dude. There's no doubt about it. He's going to figure it out. That's the way I have to look at's no doubt about it. He's going to figure it out. That's the way I have to look at it right now is give him some time to figure it out.

And that's the thing. I think that we kind of maybe got a little jaded because of Chip Kelly. And look, Chip Kelly is the perfect type of comp for Gabe Kapler in the way he goes about his business, the way he acts. I think we've already seen, and even with the interview from Angelo, whatever else you want to take from it, he was more self-aware and more willing to admit being wrong than we ever saw from Chip Kelly. It goes a long way. It goes a long way. It goes a long way. And it also makes a difference. I want him to think he's wrong when he's wrong.

Yeah, people have their pitchforks out now. They're waiting for more mistakes. And here's the problem with it. Real quick, like the 2-0 game where it's like that was so overrated, the non-double play on the shift. Like, sure, you would like Kingery to be in the right position there, but that's not why they lost that game. They lost that game because they got three hits and went over seven with runners. No, it's one of those early April games where it's cold.

No one wants to be up there hitting off a Harvey throwing, even if he's throwing 95, 96. It's a tough game. It's a tough—and they got two runs. Not like the Mets were hitting the cover off the ball either. It was a nasty game. It was one inning. It was one inning of scoring, and that was it.

It's going to be nasty and cold today and windy by the time they actually start this game. Noah Syndergaard throwing 98. It's going to be awesome. Which I'm probably not going to be on the air today because the game still hasn't started. Your show is not happening. You came in to do this today. I came in to do this.

It's a beautiful thing. Now we can go a little bit later if we want. I love it. By the way, I wanted to do this today. I came in to do this. It's a beautiful thing. Now we can go a little bit later if we want. I love it. By the way, I wanted to add this for everybody. If you're enjoying this, please, and we're going to have a set schedule for when we're going to do this. So we're going to try to do a Sunday night one, and then we're going to do a 51-minute podcast because it's going on Phil's 24-7, which is on 98.1 HD. HD. So the two people out there that think about HD radio, you is on 98.1 HD. HD! So the two people out there that think about HD radio, you can hear us.

Do you know when? You're one of those two people. The funny thing is I did this show, Philly's Today, last year, all year for Philly's 24-7 Network, and only one person ever said anything to me. Ever commented? Yeah, it was you. Yeah, me. Yeah, I'm like, oh, well, let me tune James in.

And I went to tune James in in and it was uh it was a podcast from 2011 or no 2012 and i was like wow i guess they play the old episodes because it was it was spring training and whoever was doing it and i don't remember his name was making the case for why the why the phillies were still going to compete and contend that year chase utley can still do it and The six years of hindsight was amazing. So that was on, and then I found out that, no, it was a mistake. It shouldn't have been airing. So Fritz just came in here.

Fritzy! What's up, Fritz? I think we know where Fritz comes down on the whole Gabe Kapler of it all. Look at the smile on Fritz's face. No, I know, but here's the thing. He has a little bit of Cal Hurd and Skip Bayless in him, and he just has some millennial in him as well, and then he's a sharp baseball mind.

But he'll like to play the other side. It's all a combination right there. Right, like James, you and I can have a game where you can be like, hey, people are going over the top. I still believe in a lot of what they do, but there's some things that you can't do. He's failing. Oh, everything's... Real quick, because I think of all the stuff

that's happened in the first four games, the one thing that is inexcusable and he's a first-time manager and I'm going to give him a pass but it can never, ever, ever happen again is you cannot call to the bullpen

and not have a guy ready. That cannot happen. So Jack Fritz, step into the microphone here. Defend that. No, and I kind of glazed over it because I had talked about it on the air.

I've watched baseball, I don't know how many games in my career, in my life. I've never seen it happen. I've never seen a manager go to the bullpen and there was no throwing or ready to come in the game. Yeah, it was ridiculous. And I don't like being painted as a artist. I just think it's

egregious. Here's the thing. I think the Phillies are moving in the right direction. And whether you want to believe that or not believe that, I don't. I think the Phillies are moving in the right direction. And whether you want to believe that or not believe that, I don't really care. The Phillies are moving in the right direction. This is the way baseball is going. And unfortunately, I love the old school. I like the old school. I love old school baseball.

I like pitchers going deep into games. I like bunning guys over. I like all that stuff. I think that's great. That's what baseball is in my mind. But that's not the way the game is played anymore. And I know it's been four horrible, five horrible games, and it stinks. But here's the thing, is that baseball's moved by the manager.

He's made some mistakes. Pulling Nola was obviously a mistake. But, like, when the hell are we going to get over it? Like, all I've heard is, like, he pulled Nola. He pulled Nola. Like, who cares? He was the first game. It was bad.

It was a bad decision. But it's always process over results. But here's the problem with it. We're not even talking about this. Here's the problem with it. He says he would do it again. Yeah. By the way, I don't believe that because what happens is then you're like, wow, well, even if you believe in the analytics, you realize, well, I can't keep doing this.

It's failing. But he said it on the end the other day. He would do it again. Okay, well, then you're an idiot because if you know the end result, of course you wouldn't do it again. Right? And I think that's how he could have answered it. It was like, well, Angelo, I know how it worked out, so no, I wouldn't do that again. But...

So he should know that they're going to blow a 5-0 lead. Here's why I did it. No, I said to James earlier in the podcast that that had nothing to do with the game. They were still up 5-2, six runs in the eighth and ninth inning. It didn't change the game, necessarily. It maybe gave them a little bit more in them, but if the bullpen does their job, they win it. If it happens again in June or May, I'll be terrified.

I'll be petrified because you can't get 68 pitches out of your ace and expect to win ballgames. I'm even okay with him putting a pitch limit on him because he had thrown what four innings was the most he'd thrown in spring training or whatever but here's the problem with it it didn't have anything to do with the pitches he wanted the matchup it didn't have anything to do with the pitches

or he would have taken them out after five right because he just had them come up at the end of the inning of course if you're worried about so he wanted the situation. He wanted the left on left. He has some freaking stat out there that tells him this is what to do. These guys aren't robots.

My one problem with stats is that it's been a lot of small sample sizes. Very small sample sizes. Hobie Milner, he's faced Freddie Freeman five times. But then what I said to James was, well, when Noel's really sharp, what's the OPS the third time around the rotation? Like when he's pitching shitty, yeah, I'm sure the OPS is going to be through the roof. When he's really sharp, what is the third time around the line? You just can't use numbers and say, well, this is the way it is, so I'm going to do it.

I agree. There's the devils in the details. Right. I agree. But we all agree that, like, I was hoping to start. Me too. I'm pretty pissed, right? I was hoping for a back start. Me too. I'm pretty pissed, right?

I was ready, man. I was ready to be walking around in my maroon fucking hat. At the end of the night. I told you. The Phillies are going to be freaking awesome. Everybody just relax and have a cream soda. Yeah, and I do think you make a good point, too, though, about the robots thing and about all that.

I think that that's something. And I don't think it. Look, Kepter played in the majors for 12 years. He doesn't think that baseball players are robots. But I do think that you have to be in these situations as a manager. You have to understand how players react as a manager rather than as a player. And I think that's something that he's hopefully going to assume that he's going to learn. And I think that's something that really can help moving forward.

All right. Part of this podcast. Obviously, it's not going to help anyone listening, going to learn. And I think that's something that really can help moving forward. All right. Part of this podcast. Obviously, it's not going to help anyone listen, but you'll hear it. But we're going to tweet it out. Second part of this podcast is going to be a little Facebook live action where people can get involved and ask some questions. On the WIP account. Facebook live.

On the WIP. Well, no one listening to this. It really doesn't matter. I mean, it's going to... I guess they can go back and watch it. If they don't want to listen, they can go back. It'll be on the Facebook page to listen. But it explains where it's coming from.

Right. It's not just coming from outer space where we're getting these. Yes, true. Facebook is a real hot button issue right now, so you're right. We should make sure we clarify this. I'm sure Jack's anti-TV. What's your thought on it? Real quick.

Facebook thing. Get in here. No, but everybody has a hot take on this. Get in. Are you as angry as some people that the game's not on TV? I mean, I wish it was on TV. Me too! It'd be way better if it was on TV.

But, like, I don't know. Just go watch it on Facebook if you're really going to watch it. Listen, these little people have nothing else to do besides go on Facebook all day anyway. Just go watch the game. But here's the thing. Right? It should be an option. It should.

Well, then, but you're not going to get a good test sample size if there's options. Because, obviously, people are trying to watch on TV. They're trying to figure out if things work on Facebook. Right. What it comes down to is the fact that Major League Baseball got paid for this by Facebook and that's it. End of story. It's a good

test case but I never think it's a good thing when your fans can't watch or... Well, especially when it's Nola versus Syndergaard. Yes! People need to watch Nola-Syndergaard. Or the fifth game of the season when you're trying to get people excited about Phillies baseball. But it's not the Phillies' fault.

I'm not happy about it, but I'm not really inconvenienced. I watch a lot of the games on my phone anyway. It doesn't matter to me, but I just... I don't think it's a good... You're right about the money. I think that they hear everybody talking about how baseball is this old sport and they need to change things and everything else.

Oh, well, let's stream it. That's great for the young viewers. That doesn't change the game. Viewers aren't going to be like, oh, what's this? Oh, this is baseball? I've never heard of this. I'm on Facebook. I'm just checking out pictures, but I made this baseball game.

Or maybe they're looking at the old demo, like Jack said, that people will be like, oh, I'm on Facebook here talking about Donald Trump. Was that a political meme? Oh, is that a baseball game. Or maybe they're looking at the old demo, like Jack said, that people will be like, oh, I'm on Facebook here talking about Donald Trump. Was that a political meme? Oh, is it a baseball game? Perfect. Isn't that what Facebook's for, is fighting about the president and looking at grandchildren's or children's pictures?

And something about fake news. I don't know. I've heard that somewhere. I'm not sure what that means. All right. We're coming right back. We're going to be like right back for you guys, but for us it'll be a couple minutes.

Facebook Live coming up next. We are live! How about that? What is up? No one's going to be able to see it because it's on Facebook is the problem. It will not be watched. Well, the first one to be seen on TV. Yeah, I know.

We're down with Facebook. Apparently everybody else is not so happy about the game on Facebook. People have something to complain about. You know what I mean? Do I think it's wise to not have baseball available on TV? Of course I don't. I can watch the... I'm not on

Facebook, but I can watch the NBC Sports app, and that's how I watch a lot of the stuff anyway, but for people that don't have access to that, they should be able to watch at home on their TV. So I don't think it's smart, but I think it's also the end of the world. Yeah, and it's the future. It's where we're going.

But cable is on the way down. I mean, let's be real. As soon as they figure out a way to charge us $250 a month to be able to stream stuff, then they'll do away with Cable. But the thing that's really bothersome to me is this was, what time was it? 1.10? And they're going to be starting, I guess, in 15 minutes. It hadn't even really rained there yet.

It was just drizzle. I was just talking to Mike Angelina and Moshe, and they both said that they could have been playing this whole time. They were waiting for a storm to break through. A band. So selfishly, because I want to be on the air today. I'm probably not going to get on the air today. I don't know if Mike and I are getting on the air.

I would say very unlikely. If you do, it'll be one of those 15. That should be fun. Yeah. So maybe I'll stick around and do Final Out with Joe, with Joe Giglio. It's actually the Jack Fritz show with Joe Giglio is what it's called. It's what it's turned into. And there's Jack right there.

So the people that are tuned in right now, we do a podcast that we'll be doing two or three times a week, at least twice a week during the Philly season, that you can subscribe to through Stitcher. I use all that good stuff. CVS, Rite Aid. It does allow when people have to explain where they can find the podcast. I love it. Stitcher, and all that good stuff. CVS, Rite Aid. Do we really? It does allow when people have to explain

where they can find the podcast. I love it. I'm pretty sure you're going to be able to find where the podcast is. And I love it when they go through the whole thing. The whole, like, 10 different places of mine.

It's like, iTunes. All right, cool. Thanks. We're good. It's awesome. We'll take your questions and answers.

And, yeah, and we tweet everything out. At High Hope Spot on Twitter. Give us a follow. Yep. Give us a follow. Check it out. And we tweet everything out. At High Hope Spot on Twitter. Give us a follow. Yep. Give us a follow. Check it out.

But we do, you know, we started this last year because, frankly, it's tough to talk about baseball a lot on the air unless the team's good. Or unless Gabe Kapler's the manager, apparently. Or unless Gabe Kapler's the manager, yeah. So it kind of gave us an avenue as big Phillies fans and big baseball fans to be able to talk about the team that we like rather than trying to kind of fit it in there and worry about people tuning it out,

especially with the Eagles going to the Super Bowl. So yeah, this is something fun. Mike Angeline's Big Daddy overnights. He's a part of the show. We have some times. I'm going to start doing a minor league report. Which is long time coming. I mean, John Markey's minor league report. Which is long time coming. Long time coming.

John Markey's minor league report, since I've known him, it just hasn't been on the air. So this is very exciting. It's just for me. It's not for anybody else. I mean, I feel like we've been talking minor league baseball for like five years, and I very rarely, if ever, get to hear you say it on the air. Jack Fritz is our draft expert. We're going to co-mingle the segments.

He is literally the only person not employed by Baseball America who gives a crap about the college baseball draft. Well, I'd like it come June, right? Or the end of May. I'd like it once I find out who's going to be a Philly and then I'll follow his career from there. Jack's going to put a mock out, by the way. But anyway, let me read a tweet here while we wait for the questions. So get your questions in

to us. Let me give you a tweet from John Barchard. Who's that? Is that someone I should know? He's a guy that used to be on WNW. No, John Barchard, Blue and Green Nation, WIP. Here's the tweet. Phillies have played four games and Kapler has already lost everyone in this city. Impressive.

Oh yeah, and ridiculous. Kind of feels like a halfway pandering tweet to inflame some people and get some retweets. Here's the thing. All right? Here's the deal. People are overreacting.

People are being stupid. They're not overreacting to what happened in some of the games and some of the moves, but anybody that's saying right now that he doesn't really mean it, and he hasn't lost the city. They start winning games, everybody's going to forget about it. Immediately. So he has to win games. We'll complain about them. Come All-Star break, they better be winning. They're going to be pissed. That's. He has to win games. Complain about them. Come the All-Star break, they better be winning. They're going to be pissed.

That's the bottom line. Yeah, that is the bottom line. But at the same time, I think that it's also that Kapler was coming in as this different type of guy. Analytics, all this type of stuff. And I do think there is a portion of this fan base that was looking not wanting him to fail, but was looking for the first opportunity to jump on him.

And that opportunity came immediately and they pounced. I think that was part of it too. Well, Howard was like that. That's where the game even started. There was nobody happier to see the failure than Howard. I could see his smile through his tweets that he was putting out about Kapler. Oh, yeah. We had him on the show on Thursday.

I guess it would be the day of opening day. And the game hadn't even been played yet, and he is just ready to murder this team. Like, he's just ready to kill the guy. Yeah, well, basically, look at his Sixers takes and some of his other takes. If it's not Eagles, he's going with a lot of what he says. Yes. Yeah, Howard owes me $100 because I had said that J.P. Crawford would be the starter.

Well, you know he's going to get out of that. I said at the beginning of the year. He's going to say, well, J.P. Crawford only starts some games at shortstop. No. Because they have Kingery and blah, blah. You know how. He's not going to get out of it. Now, we doubled down on that $100.

With Ben Simmons, he said won't be the rookie of the year. And I was like, okay. Howard's just making bad bets right and left. To charity, by the way. I'm not going to pocket that money myself. Going to charity. He already owes me. He's going to owe me $200.

Maybe I'll contribute some to charity. No, it'll be contributed to charity. To Bartred's point, though, and I do think that. Got 119 likes. So the pandering worked. All right. I got to learn a thing or two from that. But.

No. Yeah, I don't think. Oh, so that's to learn a thing or two from that. But no. Yeah. I don't think. Oh, so that's why it happened. Thank you, Porter. Yeah, that's what did it. I don't think it is. I don't think he's pandering as much as I think he's just saying.

And he's right. To have anything close to fire Kapler after four games is a terrible, awful take. But, James, every sport in this city, every team. We just won the Super Bowl. You have idiots and flippery. They're calling and saying this. It happens all the time. No one shows.

Here's what you have to do. Hey, we won the Super Bowl. Aren't you happier? Are you going to be less angry? Blah, blah. And everyone's like, yeah. And a month later. And here's more truth. They'll be

booing and calling for people's jobs five games into the season if they're not winning games. Because that's what we do. You have to take it for what it's worth and enjoy it. I enjoy the overreaction. I laugh when I hear people call in to Angelo or whoever or call us up

in the afternoon and say, get rid of him right now. I just laugh. it's funny. Of course you shouldn't fire a guy after three games. You know who doesn't think it's funny and takes it very personally and gets incredibly angry about it? I get texts from Jack like, if I hear one more, I'm going to lose it. I'm going to freak out.

Yeah, because I can't take it. It's just the dumbing down of sports conversation is just infuriating to me to where it's like well this guy doesn't know what he's doing already what it's been five games get him out we don't need him here analytics are bad even though the two teams in the world series last year yeah we're two of the most progressive teams the entire game two most analytically inclined in the last two teams won by tanking, which, again, works per usual. It's just the overreaction to everything that goes on. We are literally maybe first drive of the first series of a football season. Well, you average it out.

Look, they are four games into the season. You are halfway through the first quarter of the first game of the football season. That's how fun we said about Doug Pirro. People keep bringing up Chip Kelly with Gabe Kapler. Why aren't people bringing up Peterson? An analytically inclined coach who got bashed in his first year, didn't know what he was doing, and then comes back in the second year and is the best coach in the sport a lot because of his use of analytics

and his ability to think differently. That worked out. Analytics are good. Who would have thought that math averages out to a good thing over time? But, I mean, she's not like with Gabe Kapler. There's things he's done so far that I haven't liked at all. But I think he's also a first-time manager. He's got experience.

He's played for 12 years. Like, just give him some time. It's been – I can't take the overreaction. Just calm down. Just calm down. If it's happening in a month, I will join you on the fire capler bridge. But, like, it's the first month of the season. The first five games of the season.

And a guy who's, again. And he's not even pitching yet. Yes. And look, he's never managed before. He's got all the baseball experience in the world. As you said, played 12 years, player development, all these types of things. He just hasn't managed before. Give the guy a chance to figure out what it is.

He seems like a bright guy. He seems like someone who is willing to at least learn from his mistakes or at least he says he is so for some reason this pisses people off but like also like most things jack says i don't know why this makes me so mad but i truly feel like he's down nishak and hunter nishak and hunter are brought in here to be just stop your two best bullpens to stop runs in the middle of a game like that's what they brought in to do ariana's not pitching yet uh vince velasquez hasn't gone past the first inning since that padres game two years ago like it's not it's not like he's willfully going out there to lose baseball games like i hope not well tommy tommy hunter tommy hunter was one of the best

leaders in the game last year and they don't have them they don't have them they don't have him or neshek neshek was an all-star last year. That's another thing. Whatever. It doesn't really matter. But, like, I don't know. It's just... Whatever. It doesn't really matter.

But, like, I don't know. I'm mad. I'm mad. The one thing I do... You can tell. The one thing I do think is a little bad is the fact that, like, you spend whole offseason telling Franco he's got to do this, do that, if he wants to be a long-term member of this team.

And he goes out in his first game, walks twice, and then is on the bench. So what does that positive reinforcement do? I think that's fair. I mean, granted you're a Franco stan, but yes. But I don't like making the lineups a week out. I don't either, actually. I agree with you on that. I like if a guy's hot, keep him in the lineup. I'm totally okay with that. I agree with that, actually.

Why does he change things? Well, that's what we don't know. Does he say that, all right, here, and you're watching or listening right now, Gabe Kapler had said during the pregame show, I believe the opening day, that he makes the lineup seven days out, six or seven days out. I'm sure that he would adjust based on injury, based on a guy getting nicked up. Well, based on injury, he's going to have to. Well, I mean, it's one thing you're not in the lineup. It's another thing maybe if your elbow's a little bit sore, give him an extra day.

But if a guy is on fire, why would you take him out? And I feel like he will anyway. Don't you get that idea that I'm sure that he's willing to change it? That's what I'm worried about. I don't think that he's going to change it unless, I mean, I don't even know. No, that's what I'm worried about. I'm worried. I heard that.

I didn't like it. I don't think that. No, that's what I'm worried about. I'm worried. I heard that. I didn't like it. I don't think that's how you do baseball. I'm with you. Look, people get on. I'm not a, and I know the stat community is not very, and this is probably why, stat community is not big believers in streaks. They look at it as all independent, whatever.

I think you get hot. Sometimes you see the ball like a balloon coming at you. You know, sometimes you're just locked in. It's a mental game. Yes. When the game's in your head, whether you're you're just locked in. It's a mental game. Yes. When the game's in your head, whether you're a pitcher or a batter, it's in your head. Yes. The one thing Charlie Manuel did very well was he knew when to ride a guy,

when to keep going with him. He knew when to ride him. Really, really struggling. Charlie sat him down for, I think the last time, this might have even been 2008, where you felt like he was going to be a lost cause, and Charlie sat him down for a decent amount of time and came back. He really did. Brett Myers.

Did the same thing with Brett Myers. No, you're right. And I think eventually Kapler, everybody's just assuming that you're going to have a robot manager. He's going to figure it out. He's going to know the proper balance of using the analytics. Or he's going to fail spectacularly. And still being a baseball. proper balance of using the analytics. Or he's going to fail spectacularly. That's exactly right. Look, spectacularly.

Like, that's it. These are things that have to happen. And we believe, based on what we've heard, seen, whatever from Kapler, that he is going to make adjustments. But obviously, if he doesn't, it's going to be a real issue. You got any questions coming in, Porter? A lot of stuff. I mean, more so.

How many fire fritz comments have we got? I'll just read them. Yeah, read them. Jessica's saying, hi, have a good day. Oh, you too, Jessica. Seltzer is the man. Jackie Pucks will throw 82. Ooh, Todd's got your back.

When's that happening? When's that happening? May 16th. May 16th. Okay, let's take a poll of where we're at. Yeah, explain what's happening. Jack is throwing out the first pitch at a Reading Phillies game. It's one of those 11 o'clock games that they have, so the kids come.

So Jack's throwing out the first pitch. He claims former base, he claims that he can still do it, or he's going to throw it. 81.5 is the over-under. Oh, I'm going under. Really? I believe in Fritz. If I lose, I have to dress as a mascot for the Reading Phillies all day

and be that guy. Or if I go over, Giglio has to do it. So Giglio doesn't believe in you either? No. Wow. He believes in me. I can't believe the hate that's going on. I'm putting it on the record.

I think I'm the only person at WIB. No, I'm with you. You're with me? Yeah. He's going to do it. Fritz is a pitcher. He's going to throw over 81 now. He doesn't know he can throw 82 right now.

I feel so confident he's going to throw over 81 now. He even said, he goes, it's been a couple years since I did it. Fritz, don't make me look bad. I got your back here. Here's my worry. Remember when John Ross from the Bengals ran that 4-2-40? Yeah, and then he couldn't. His season was over.

No, but he was hurt after he finished running it. He fell down as he was running. He finished at the end and crumbles to the ground. He was hurt. You're like, oh, God. But I never heard anybody mention that. They just talked about how fast he ran it. So if Jack throws 82, but he has to have Tommy John surgery

or he literally has a compound fracture in his arm, I don't know if it's worth it. Oh, it's worth it for me. I should still win the bet. See, that's what I'm saying. It's worth it for me. If you have major injury, it doesn't count. No, it's worth it for me. I should still win the bet. See, that's what I'm saying. It's worth it for me. If you have major injuries, it doesn't count. No, I'm factoring this in.

I'm fine. Throw your shoulder out. Get over 81.5. Listen, I don't care if I throw my shoulder. I will do a lot of things to win a bet. That's what I'm talking about. I don't care. It's just a dedication.

And here's the thing. Here's the thing. I'm also not going to be a first-round pick in the NFL draft like John Roswell. That's right. Going all out to win a four-yard dash. I'm just going to be pressing buttons back there. I can do that on a torn rotator. You're damn right you can, Fred. That's what I'm talking about. What's the highest you ever threw

back in the day? 86. Okay. Okay. Must have been a quick gun. Okay. Okay. I was a control guy. 86, my ass. What else we got, Andrew? Steve Trout says Johnny Marks looks like Charlie Day. Well, it's Johnny Marks looks like Charlie Day.

Well, it's funny because I sound like Charlie Day. That's amazing. He looks more like Rob McElhenney than he does Charlie Day. I think there's no question about that. I have a beard and I'm white. I don't care. I legit sound like Charlie Day. I mean, that's a thing.

Enough people say it. Enough people have said it. Yeah. James Sasson. Fran says fire Kapler before it's too late. There it is. Fran, we're talking right to you buddy fire capper too soon cappers a strange duck that's true are the phillies of playoff teams very early yeah but we i think james and i both were james well james james um was a little bit more bold than me. I believe you.

I was, like, put it in this perspective. I was saying 9-7 for the Eagles. James went 10-6. James was saying, no, this team's making the playoffs. I was kind of like, whoa! It was partially also playing off you at 86. I was coming in thinking 86, to be honest. And you went 86, and I was like, oh, man.

86 is right there to get you in the playoffs. And I couldn't even go 87 because that's too lame. I had to do the double jump and went to 88. I didn't feel great about it. 86 was the number, Matt. And I think they'll contend. I'm not backing off of it. I'm not backing off of it.

They're going to play meaningful September baseball. It's early. They could have a really bad April, July, and August. This lineup's going to be hitting. I think Kapler's eventually going to have to tinker with the lineup and figure it out. I don't like Santana batting second. I know he is the second and the fourth. He doesn't have any speed.

You get a guy on the base pass with a little bit more speed, it can create havoc. That looks like a place to put Kingery, in my opinion, is second. It doesn't bother me as much. I'm okay with that, but I understand that. As long as my one and two hitters get on base, I don't care if they're fritz slow, when that's slow.

Maybe move Cesar out of there and put Kingery there. I understand what you're saying, and I also think that one thing just to kind of mention is, look, a one and three, one and four stretch, a one and eight stretch, or whatever, if it happens in July, no one's talking about it. It's just that

it's the start of the season. The worst thing that could happen for Gabe Kappa was to start not even with losses, but losses like this where he's doing... It couldn't have been worse. I've never seen and I'm not 80 years old, but I've watched a lot of baseball. Me too. I've never seen

a manager go out. I've never seen it. There's nobody warming up. I've never seen it. That's never happened before. I've never seen it. And's nobody warming up. I've never seen it. That's never happened before. I've never seen it. I've never seen it. And by the way, and we talked about this earlier in the podcast, he, total BS answer. He said it to Angelo again today. He might as well have just said, yeah, it was somebody else's fault, but I'm not going

to tell you. You take responsibility all you want. You take responsibility, you move on. You can't take responsibility and then say, oh, and you know, I'm making sure that that never happens again. He should have gone one way or the other. It should have been, hey, I made the call. You can't take responsibility and then say, oh, and, you know, I'm making sure that that never happens again. He should have gone one way or the other. It should have been, hey, I made the call. It didn't work out.

That won't happen again. Or this is all my fault. I'm sorry. Reading between the lines of his answers to that, he's putting it on somebody else, which – Did you guys hear the Angela interview this morning? I did. Yes.

I actually listened to it on the brand new website that we have. Can I say this? And I'll get you guys to think. I thought he was very feisty. It's only been four games, but his react, this is hitting him hard. I can kind of hear it in his voice. Maybe I'm overthinking it. I think feisty is not the word I would use, but I totally agree with you.

He sounded a little humbler than the last time. He's been a little more self-assured in the way he talked. And I think thatisty is not the word I would use, but I totally agree with you. He sounded a little humbler than the last time. A little more self-assured in the way he talked. And I think that was smart. I don't know if it was purposeful or not. He's the kind of guy who you could believe that it is purposeful, that he would actually think about the way he sounds in an interview. Well, I think Andrew's saying that. Yeah, I was saying not nice.

I see, but I didn't get that. It sounds like he's almost freaking out. See, no, I didn't get that at all. I got the opposite. I got that he sounded humbled, a little more chill about it, but being like, he's wired as tight as they come. I understand where you're coming from. That's what I mean. I thought he sounded less

tight-wired and more just like... What we don't know is if they were 4-1, would he sound exactly the same? Or would he come in with some bravado or whatever? Because let's face it, and Andy was like this, Andy Reid was like this, when the Eagles were winning, he's telling jokes, he's coming to Eagles were winning, he's telling jokes. He's coming to the press conference.

He's saying this to Howard. When they start losing games, man, is he a different guy. Howie Roseman's the jokester. Perfect example of it. They're winning. He's throwing jokes around. He's like, ha, look at you, shooters and stuff. And I think that's natural.

Sure. You're on the top of the mountain. I agree with Andrew. I think he was a little bit tighter today than he needed to be. I definitely think he sounded different. We just have different interpretations of why he sounded different. I think he's a little bit overconfident to the point where you get fired when expectations get out of hand.

Chip Kelly was a great example of that. He was super overconfident. And I don't know that he needs to be so confident. He's allowed to win 70 games this year. He's not going to get fired. But if he keeps talking, like, playoffs, playoffs. Well, here, and I actually, I disagree. Even if they don't make the playoffs, it still should be the expectation. This team has enough talent on it to where they should be winning in the 80s.

But there's a difference internal and external. Well, he didn't. But I think he's just put, you know, what's he supposed to say? His team, if you're his players and you hear that, aren't you like, yeah. Yeah, we do. Hell yeah, we do. We're going to make the playoffs. We're going to the season.

Can he just say that in the clubhouse? But it gets put out there. It gets put out there. You're right, Andrew. Oh, look, I get it. That's a good point. I love what these guys are doing. Well, that's the same thing, right?

We ripped Doug for the whole Green Bay comment, and Doug was proven to be right. The point is you need to back it up. That's what it comes down to. It's exactly right. You could say that now, but you need to be a good baseball team. If you win 70 games and you put it out there, hey, we're going to make playoffs, we're going to make playoffs, and you're terrible, then that's where it becomes an issue. People are going to come back and say, hey, dude.

Why would you say that? You guys sucked. He's putting himself out there. I'm okay with that. I agree. I'm okay with that. And I actually respect that in a certain way that he's willing to put it out there. Oh, Jack's still here.

I respect it, too. I like his comments. I just don't know that the fan base can handle it. I understand. I think it's a fair point. I was a little creeped out by how many times he said man today. He sounded like he wanted to be relatable. It's not just man yet.

Let's get into that for a second. Because it's not just that. It's be relatable. It's not just man yet. Let's get into that for a second. Because it's not just that. It's the brothers. And he's dirty, man. And he talks like a bro. It's weird. It's a weird thing coming from your manager. It is.

Because normally you're not a bro. You're Pete McCannon. No, you're right. When was the last bro manager that was out there? He tans. He's talking about Hobie Milner. He's like, man, he's dirty. He's out there.

He's dirty. It is, but you don't hear managers talk like that. I don't. I agree. I know. It's just the whole way he talks. If you heard him talk and saw his pictures, you'd think he's on the Jersey Shore more than he's a baseball manager.

And let's face it, he's tanned. He's buff. Well, my wife saw him for the first time. My face it, he's tanned, he's buff, he's very much clean cut. Well, my wife saw him for the first time. My wife goes, that's the Phillies manager? Yeah, man. She's gorgeous. I'm like, yeah, I know. He doesn't look like a manager. I can tell you this, though. From talking to the guys down in spring training,

they... You can tell that they... Not that they need to be talked into the whole outfield shift and all this new stuff, because they... Whatever's going to work the best to win them the most games,'re open to it i think a lot of the guys kind of are like yeah we'll see out but they all all to a t like them and not just because they're saying it you can tell you could tell that you could tell that they they definitely they like gabe they like his enthusiasm they like his energy and they like the fact that he always has their back now we'll

find out if he really does have their back because he kind of sounds like he's blaming other people already. Also, look, talking about a lot of the Eagles too and all that, I mean, winning is contagious, losing is contagious. They both are. That permeates the locker room. We saw it last year with that Phillies team last year. It was a bad team, but that month of May made it a whole lot worse, and people are fighting with each other,

and the knee-sick thing and the audible thing and all that. Bad things get magnified when you're losing baseball games and they seem to disappear when you're winning baseball games and that difference, especially for someone who's doing things a little differently. Well, I'll leave it as this. John Kaczynski says, I asked for questions. The guy from The Office?

No, it's Jim. Sure. Who's available next year for the Phillies manager opening? Ba-bum-bum. Ba-dum-bum. Yeah, that'd be great. I can't, yeah. Oh, my God. Oh, God, shoot me now.

Well, I think they're out of the, they're 1-2-3 in the first against Syndergaard. Nick Williams struck out. Truly, truly shocking. I don't know. They need to just, they need to calm down. I wonder how hard, how hard is Gabe Kapler going to get booed tomorrow?

Is it going to be like Adam Eaton getting his World Series ring booed, or is it going to be louder? By the way, I was at that. I was there, too. I was at that game when they got the rings. It was the best. Literally, every single person. They had guys coming out who I'd never even heard of,

like the deepest of bench guys who played a game on the team. We were also. Yes, exactly. And every single person gets a booed. Adam Eaton. also a trainer. Yes, exactly. And every single person gets a assistant equipment manager. Yes, that was what it was. And then, your Dan Baker is amazing. I know I've said that to you. It's so good. It's so good. Traveling

secretary. What's his name? Frank Copenagher. Director of fun and games. John Brazier. But the biggest, like, when Adam Eaton gets called, literally a chorus of boos. I was waiting for it, too. It was awesome.

Like, with blood in my eyes. It was great. I was so all for it. He's an asshole for even coming out and do that. Yes. He didn't learn. Just take your ring and go home, bro. His teammates hated him.

They didn't want him to be there. That's exactly why. So he would get booed. So he could act like a jerk off afterwards. Yep. You're exactly right. But to the point, firstly, I hope Gabe Kapler. They're going to boo Gabe Kapler.

It's only a matter of how hard of a boo it's gonna be. I feel like Philadelphia... Billy's manager, Gabe Kapler. Oh, there's gonna be a note. Yeah, it's gonna be more than a matter of... I hope there aren't. Giancarlo Stanton got booed yesterday. Which is ridiculous. In fact, the midday show... Two homers on opening day strikes out five times a...

Yeah, but it's a reaction strikeout. It's a reaction strikeout. It's not big of a deal. They're booing the fight. Yeah, like, I don't know if I'm overrated, too. Yeah, again. But tune in Thursday at 10 o'clock. The midday show will be saying whether or not

gay couples should be booed. That'll be the topic tomorrow. Lock it in. Well, that's our topic tonight, so don't steal it. Here's the thing. I hope they don't boo him. I'm sure there'll be some boos in there. If the Phillies are smart, and I saw someone tweet

this, and I don't know who it was. First of all, the Phillies were genius to have Doug Peterson throw out the first pitch. You could not have picked a better person to go out and throw the first pitch. If they're smart, they bring Gabe Kapler out there. I saw someone tweet this. Glenn, I think, tweeted it. pitch. If they're smart, they bring Gabe Kapler out there. I saw someone tweet this. Glenn, I think, tweeted it. Arm in arm, baby.

Doug Peterson and Gabe Kapler. No one in that place is booing Doug Peterson. Sorry, they're not. Not until after he leaves and then they'll boo him. I think I disagree. I think it's Peterson and Kapler. You think people will boo? No.

No, no, no, no, no, no. Doug doesn't matter. You could have him next to, I was going to go like something very aggressive. But you still have to introduce him. Put him next to some a-hole he's getting cheered. You still have to introduce him. He's coming out through the first pitch, not the introduction. And the first pitch, Doug Peterson and Gabe Kepler is with him as well coming out. In the unlikely occasion that you're still listening to us on Facebook Live,

check us out, High Hopes Podcast. We'll put out at least two episodes a week. And make sure that if you are listening, as Jack always reminds us, make sure you give us a rating so it's easier to find. So give us the review so we get it and then more people can see it. If you search for Affiliates Podcast, it's not as easy as it should be to find us, and we're working on that. Yes.

Give us the five-star rating. But you can help with that. Give us the five-star rating. Or ratings at all. Just give us ratings. And go on Yelp and give us five stars on there, too. Don't let Jack knock us down from a five-star rating, please. Do it for John.

Who's Skip Fritzless? All right, everybody. See you on Facebook Live. See you, podcast. We'll talk to you 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. It is now the most prolific national daily baseball pod there is another fact so jump aboard the BIB express follow and listen to baseball isn't boring presented by wasabi hot cloud storage on the free odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts