High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The High Hopes Phillies Podcast: The Phils Get Back on Track

Episode Date: April 13, 2018

Jon Marks and James Seltzer discuss a winning Phillies baseball team in the latest edition of High Hopes. The guys look back over the first two weeks of the season, highlighting the players that have stood out, discussing how the team battled back from a rough start, and more. Plus, Jon and James look ahead to the rest of April, and talk about what the team needs to do to continue their winning ways. 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

You know what's great about ambition? You can't see it. Some things look ambitious, but looks can be deceiving. For example, a runner could be training for a marathon, or they could be late for the bus. You never know. Ambition is on the inside, so that goal to be the ultimate soccer parent?

Keep chasing it. Drive your ambition. Mitsubishi Motors. 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 small business match to book an appointment with one of our advisors.

Yo, it is another edition of the High Hopes podcast. I am your host, James Seltzer, and with me, my co-host this week as really the whole reason that this podcast was started because we didn't get a chance to talk enough and we didn't get a chance to talk about the team we love the most, the Phillies enough. And I feel like I never get to talk to him on this show. So I'm excited to actually get to talk to Mr. Johnny Marks what's up brother you know the crazy thing is now we can actually talk about the Phillies on the regular air on WIP right Gabe Kapler's made baseball cool to talk about or at least interesting to talk about again right oh my god well you we you and I were saying that we were a

part of the evening shows Phillies roundtable before the season started. And it was just, we were like, holy crap, we get to talk Phillies for a full hour on WIP. And that's the point. Like, that's what we're here to do. It was such a cool feeling. Yep. Yeah, it's great. You know, interesting start to the season.

I know we've talked about it. They bounced back, and we're going to get into it today but it's uh you know it's it's nice to have a talented young team with a manager that people are talking about not only in Philly but across the bigs yeah it's really um it's put them on the map pretty quickly and by the way for those listening if John sounds different it it's because we jumped through some hoops to make this happen. John recording on the phone mic after the computer mic didn't work, after this, that. It literally took us, what, like 45 minutes to make this happen. But that's how much we want to talk Phillies and talk to you about the Phillies because we love the High Hopes crew. And for Jack, for insanity, leave the reviews at iTunes.

John, as you mentioned, let's start there. We are two weeks. We're recording this Thursday night. Come out Friday, most likely, or late Thursday night. So we're technically right now literally two weeks into the season. Opening day two weeks ago today. Obviously, the Kapler stuff dominated the first week, but then the five out of six at the

homestand kind of quieted down a little bit. What is your overall takeaway from the first two weeks of the season? Well, you're right. I mean, it quieted some people down, so they're just going to be waiting for the next mistake that Gabe Kapler makes. Fire him! Right. I mean,

look at the teams they beat. They've beaten some bad teams. The Reds aren't. Yeah, the marlins might be the worst team by a lot and now they have the race coming up this weekend who are one of the worst teams in baseball so we'll we'll know a lot more about this team as we get going here into may but it's important that they win games against these bad teams I I'll be honest I love the the offense. I do. I love the offense. I love what they're doing with Kingery. I like what Kapler's doing. I do.

I like them moving guys around. JP had a nice bounce back with a big hit a couple nights ago and then the home run last night. So I'm liking what I'm seeing so far and I'm excited. I think it's been all things being considered after that first series and then a couple games in the Mets game it could be a lot worse so I'm feeling pretty good yeah I mean look they're over 500 and they had the the what many called the worst first week a manager has ever had certainly in Philadelphia and they're, they're over 500 a week later. So that, you know,

certainly, um, changed a bit there, but I think he makes some, some really good points, uh, in there first and foremost, they're playing some bad teams here and the Marlins might be the worst team in baseball, pretty handily. And the red's not a very good one either. The raise, I mean, John, you look through the raise depth chart. Den Spann right now is the best hitter on the Rays, along with, like, Kevin Kiermaier. It is a bad baseball team, and, you know, obviously they're well-coached and all that stuff, but they should be able to go down there and take it minimum two of three,

and, you know, the Arietta Archer matchup on Saturday is going to be a lot of fun. But I think that it's important for them to get off to a good start. You know, they've got the Pirates coming up who are playing much better baseball than anyone would have expected, a team that seemed to be kind of selling off pieces. And then, you know, more with the Braves and a schedule that they should be able to win some games here. And I think confidence is kind of contagious and winning is contagious

with a young team and buying in and doing all that type of stuff. And the other point you made about kind of how Kapler's done the lineup stuff, we've heard so much of the complaints about this, right? You know, the Nick Williams and the computer thing and then anonymous, whoever veteran players say, and that, you know, we need to get them out of the way and all this. But, you know, I think it's kind of bred some competition with these guys. I mean, look, Nick Williams is out of the lineup. He comes in, it's a pinch hit home run. He gets a big hit the next night.

J.P. Crawford out of the lineup, comes back in. Big hit in the, you know, what, seventh or eighth inning to take the lead. Two run bomb the next night. So, you know, these are competitive guys. I think there is something, too, that maybe they don't like being out of the lineup, but they can go out and play better and you'll be in the lineup more. Look, you know, Scott Kingery is producing. He's going to stay in the lineup. And speaking of Kingery, let's, let's jump in on Kingery real quick because it's funny. Fritz and I did the podcast last week, and Jack talked about how he felt like Kingery kind of looked like a rookie,

and I thought that was a fair-ish take. I thought he had looked like a good rookie, but not necessarily someone who had jumped off the screen yet. But the last three games, last four games, he's clearly kind of stepped up and really settling in here. The first career home run here the the first career home run then the first career grand slam then the walk-off and really a a professional at bat that walk-off i know mccarthy and and davis talked about it on the broadcast but it really was the

way he grinded out that at bat to get a pitch he could drive into the outfield and score that run and obviously the versatility brings john what are your takeaways from watching the first two weeks of scott kingery's career yeah he's a pro uh i i never maybe a little bit in the for his first couple games where he had some jitters or whatever but i i never thought that like oh wow he's a rookie this is this is too big for him not at all i mean he he is what he is he this is what he's going to be. He's never going to walk a lot. He's going to probably get you 20 home runs or so every year. He has great gap power.

He's going to hit the ball the other way. He's going to just be around the baseball all the time. The throw he made from left field last night was. How about that, man? I mean, right away he answers the question of whether or not he can handle the outfield. It hasn't affected his offense. You thought he was going to throw... It looked like you were like, oh, he's going to throw the cutoff man here, and he's like, you know,

screw that. I'm going for it. He threw in a line, and it also held... Was it Votto at first base? It held Votto at first base because it looked like it was going to get cut. He threw a BB home. Great play by Alfaro as well to get the ball and put the tag on him. But everything I've seen from Kingery so far is exactly what I expected

and exactly what I was hoping for, talking about a guy that's spending his first two weeks in the big leagues. I think he's been great. He's been great. And just you can't underrate not just the importance of that versatility. We've talked a ton about that, you know, the concept of Swiss army knife. And I believe in today's major league baseball with, you know, heavy reliance on bullpens and extra pitchers and all that, you know, anywhere you can save space on a roster or double up on things or

whatever, is it, it's a really valuable thing the way the game is being played right now but we haven't talked as much about the fact that this kid at the age of what 23 or 24 whatever he is 24 and he is can in his first experience i think he's about to turn 24 uh in his first experience in the major leagues in his first major league baseball experience, is able to play shortstop, third base, left field, right field, and look completely at home at each of those positions. And sure, there were a couple mistakes on some stolen base attempts and some coverage issues.

But I mean, like you said, John, not just that throw, but to be in the right position to field the ball correctly, to make the throw, all that type of stuff. It's been impressive, man. I bet. Look like you look at that contract now and you're like home run. Absolutely. Yeah, no, absolutely. He's he is he's looked great so far. You know, one thing he has done, though, James, he's complicated things a little bit because the Nick Williams and the Aaron Alters and the outfielders that thought that, and I think this is really a big thing why Nick Williams got so frustrated last week, was it was the game after Kingery played right field. That was supposed to be Nick Williams' start. Alters wasn't in there. It was Kingery. So I

think for a lot of people that thought like, yeah, he's going to play some second base, he's going to play some third base. No, he's going to play all over the place. And he's taken guys spots out in left field, right field, wherever. So you know what? And you said it earlier. Good. Then you got to make the most of your opportunities when you get in there. So there's no fan out there that I've heard say, no, you got to put Nick Williams in there five or six days a week. Absolutely not. You've got to earn your rebate. These guys have got to earn it, and Scotty's earning it, man.

He really is. It's been really impressive, you know, living up to the hype kind of thing. He's got an impressive girlfriend, too. I don't know if you've seen that. Oh, I have not, but that is certainly something to look up. Good for Scotty Jetpack. You know, little guy, you know, definite. He's like the, the TJ McConnell of baseball, except much more talented.

So, yeah, but all right. So, so looking around the rest of the team offensively, obviously, I mean, Reese Hoskins is the future star, current star. We all thought he was going to be. Outside of him, though, he has been exactly what we expected. There have been some interesting kind of developments, both good and bad, in the lineup so far. What have been kind of the biggest things that have stood out to you

the rest of the lineup? Well, and it's funny because when we take – I don't want to sound bougie here, but when we're talking Phillies on the air at WIP and you're talking to a lot of older school baseball guys or whatever, they still seem very angry that Carlos Santana was signed. Very angry. Because Reese Hoskins should be the first baseman. He shouldn't be playing. He's out of position in left field. Doesn't seem to be bothering him being in left field, by the way.

But the team is so much better and I know Santana hasn't been hitting the cover off the ball or if you look at his stats they're not that impressive there are so much there's such a better team with Santana being your everyday first baseman so even though I think he's hitting 150 maybe even though he really hasn't produced a lot yet, I still love it, and I still love the fact that you have Hoskins in left field and you have a very good and a quality first baseman that's going to draw walks, that's a professional hitter up there. You're a much stronger team with Santana as your first baseman

and Hoskins in left field. I couldn't agree more. And look, you mentioned the low batting average. He's got 15 walks. He's third on the team in walks. And he's someone who, first of all, switch hitter gives you versatility. He's one of the rare guys you find like Victor Martinez back in the day, like guys who can actually hit just as well from both sides of the plate, which is such a dangerous thing. But also, you know, look, I'm not a huge veteran leadership type of guy. Like, that's not something I feel like you have to have, per se.

But I do think that this is an extremely young team, and Carlos Santana has been in the major leagues for a long time, and he has played in a World Series and played in big games. And I think that experience matters in a locker room, especially like, you know, to the Latino, it's a heavily Latino locker room. And there, we've talked about Franco and how audible, like he's one of the best players,

but was never that kind of guy to grab that leadership role. I think having someone like Carlos Santana in there from that perspective adds so much, you know, like soft value, you know, you'd say, you know, stuff that you're not seeing on the front, but on the back end is actually really valuable. And like I said, just the experience of the grind of a season. I mean, 162 games is long and it is tough. And this is a guy who has been one of the most consistent hitters at what he does in baseball for the last seven, eight years,

whatever it is, like a 360 OBP locked in every single year. He's never been below it. I mean, that's so consistent. And like you said, he's a good first baseman as well. I'll give you my takeaway. The biggest one for me is I totally underrated Cesar. He is such a good hitter, man. I have been so impressed with what he's done at the top of the lineup this season. And, you know, the OBP is like, what, like 440? And the thing is, he's batting 300, which is like, oh, it's good. He's batting 300 with a 440 OBP. He leads the team in walks.

And not just that, he's flashed a little pop. He's hitting in key situations i always thought cesar was kind the kind of guy you develop and then you trade away for a piece or whatever i think he could be part of a championship team like i think it'd be a legit starter on a championship team i think he's that good a player and I think just watching how he's developed as a hitter in his time here has been so impressive I I really underrated this guy John yeah I think I did too I was ready just because I knew Kingery was on the horizon I was ready to be like all right we'll get out of here yep and and what you realize now is it was a good move not to just give him away because he is a valuable hitter he's probably more valuable than anything you're going to get back for a second baseman

in return on the trade market. And now you can let Kingery ease his way in the lineup. If Franco, who by the way is playing pretty well to start the season, if he goes cold at third base, Kingery's going to get a lot of starts at third base. So top of the lineup, Cesar, if you were worried about who's going to be your leadoff hitter, you don't have to worry about it. He really has matured as a hitter. You're right, you have seen a little bit of pop too this year out of him. He's setting the table. He's about as professional as they come. You never have to worry about the glove at second base.

He's been more than a pleasant surprise and really not a surprise. I think I should have seen this coming, but for whatever reason, I just more or less was kind of like the Freddy Galvez. I was just expecting him to go because you have the young player behind him. I'm glad he's here. I'm very glad he's here. He's had a great start. Yeah, me too. And I'll give you one more on the defensive side. Yeah, me too. And I'll give you one more on the defensive side. Jorge Alfaro has impressed me from a defensive perspective far more than I expected.

I knew he had a cannon of an arm, but when you watch it on a night-in, night-out basis, I mean, it's one of the best arms I've ever seen on a catcher in my 36 years or whatever, 31 cognizant years of watching baseball. Like, it's that good an arm. And he seems to be progressing a lot since last season even from catching and framing and, you know, kind of handling the staff,

at least from, you know, an outside perspective. What have you thought so far of Alfaro? You know, obviously offensively been solid and you want to see him take more and more walks. But but from a defensive, even more important at that position perspective, what have been your thoughts on Alfaro? He's going to strike out a lot.

He's not going to walk a lot. He's going to show raw power. The one home run he hit. Boy, did he crush? Oh, man. It's like the light tower power. You know, guys don't hit balls like that that far the other way in the alley. It was just an impressive.

It takes a ton of strength to do that. No, but you're right. He makes throwing the ball easy. He really does. Even Carlos Ruiz, that was such a great defensive catcher in calling the game. He didn't have an arm anywhere close to that. No.

He really is a monster behind the plate. Now I'm paying attention to how he's doing with calling games, and it seems like that he's getting more of the starts now over Andrew Knapp. But now I'm watching him call the games. But, you know, beware if you're going to run on him because he has a, you know, people were comparing him to Pudge Rodriguez for a reason. He's got the tools that Pudge has. We'll see how he develops.

But he's been good so far. Not great at the plate. And you know what? I'm almost okay with that. I would rather see the raw power and him really learn the defensive and calling the games back there. Totally. I think even more than shortstop, and I think you can get away with having

a subpar, below average hitter at each of those positions if they're great defensively but uh I think you know Alfaro's he's never going to be the the receiver that Pudge was but he certainly has the arm that Pudge had and he's got the power for sure I don't think he'll ever be the the the average hitter OBP no he'll never be that player yeah he's he's not a, you know, but that's not taking away from the fact that he can be a really good major league catcher and the arm itself is, you know, plus, plus, plus, plus.

All right, flipping over to the pitching side real quick. You know, Nola has been as we've expected and Gabe, you know, has let him pitch deeper. You know, people. How you know people how about that yo wow adapting and changing it's such a crazy thought uh but um i think and we'll get to ariana in a second because he's pitching against chris archer this weekend and and that is the the matchup of the weekend for for the phils but real quick I think you know at least in my mind that the story of the season so far has been how good Nick Pavetta has been and if he can really potentially slide into that

three roll or even a four masquerading as a three or whatever and again the caveat we've said Marlins Reds bad teams but but what have you seen and thought of so far out of Pavetta? Well, Marlins, Reds, bad teams, but Nick Pavetta, he has great stuff, whether he's against a bad team or a good team. It's consistency now. And you said, see, Nick Pavetta, he doesn't have, he's not a masquerader with stuff. He's got the stuff. It's whether he has it in the head. It's whether, and that was the book on him talking to people last year being down the park almost every game down there last year that's the book on Nick Pavetta is well is he what does he think of him because the the word is he thinks that he's really good and everybody kind of looks he has a swagger

out there for sure you know there's no question. He's got the stuff. So can he put it all together? I think in today's world, we think the guys should just come up and immediately be all-stars, that they should be finished products. And the reality is sometimes for pitchers, it takes a little bit longer than others. Aaron Nola figured it out faster. He's also a first-round draft pick than a guy like Nick Pavetta.

So what I've seen so far has been extremely encouraging. If they're going to compete and they're going to win a wild card, we know what Arrieta and Nola are going to need to do, but someone's going to have to step up and be dead three. It's not going to be Vince Velasquez. I'm pretty sure it's not going to be him. Is it going to be a guy they have to trade for? Or is it going to be a guy that's on their staff? And Pavetta has the best chance to do that. He's got swing and miss stuff. And he hasn't been walking people either. That's the great thing.

His command has been there. So let's see. Let's see what happens. Yeah, well, like 16 strikeouts, no walks. I think the last two outings, you know, it doesn't matter how bad a lineup you're facing. And that's impressive. And like you said, Pavetta has stuff. You can see it. He passes the eye a lineup you're facing. I mean, that's impressive. And like you said, Pavetta has stuff. You can see it.

He passes the eye test when you watch him. And look, to your point, he doesn't have to look any further than his own clubhouse to find a guy who actually has a very similar delivery to him who couldn't figure it out right away. And Jake Arrieta, and it took some time for that guy to figure out how to be successful in the major leagues even though he had the stuff.

So, you know, you hope that's a good role model for him to look at over there, but I'm with you, man. And again, I know they've been bad teams, but Pavetta has been so impressive and the control that has been the key for me, throwing first pitch strikes, stuff like that is, is so big. And what I said, I said the other day to someone, I can't remember who, was that for me in my mind, pitching, like you said, the swagger and stuff, there's so much about pitching that is about confidence and believing in your stuff and believing that you can outsmart the guy you're facing. You can outclass the guy you're facing.

And whoever you're facing to start the season doesn't matter. It's building that confidence up. It's letting Pavetta trust his stuff and know that he can throw this pitch in this situation, and it's going to work for him, and build up that kind of reservoir of experience and confidence that, John, I think could really serve him moving into the future. Yeah, they're going to need it for sure.

This is the year for him. This is the year that he needs to take that step because I don't know how many times we had the conversation last year where it's like, well, is Nick Pavetta a starter or is he a seventh and eighth inning guy? He's got back of the bullpen stuff. He does. It's just whether or not can he be a starter.

A starting pitcher is so much more valuable, and he's got the stuff. It's just whether can he put it together. And when you look at him, he's more of a strikeout. He's 19 strikeouts this season, 16 to two-thirds, 19 strikeouts. Doesn't walk a lot. Let continue doing it because if this team is going to win, a guy like Nick Pavetta and other players are going to need to step up. Yeah, I couldn't agree more.

And we just mentioned him, Arrieta. What did you think of Arrieta's first outing? Obviously, again, him going up against Archer will have more pitches to work with. But what were your thoughts on Arrieta in his first outing? I thought he looked good. Once he calmed down a little bit, I thought he was good. I actually thought that I was okay with uh with with capler taking him out when he did get get him in get him out um obviously you were left

wanting to see a little bit more from your uh your new shiny toy but i is pretty much exactly what i expected uh you know he gave you four innings he looked good out there he's got swing and miss stuff he's still got some good velocity so good velocity. So even though it wasn't a great first outing, it was still encouraging at the same time. Yeah, 100%. And after that first inning where he just didn't look, his stuff wasn't working quite as well, and then he settled down. He looked great.

And I love how he came out immediately post-game and said, yeah, I knew I had 10 pitches. Gabe and I had talked about, you know, didn't like totally put it out there that like he was in on the pitch count and that was the number of pitches he was going to throw. And like, just bypass that was a veteran move to bypass that type of stuff. Cause you could see people saying, Oh, I only took him out after 74 pitches. You know, he was dealing after that first inning and uh you know in his first start after basically no spring training i thought that was um obviously the right move and uh you know the bullpen too just to we'd be remiss without saying how how impressive

the bullpen has been after that first series in atlanta especially considering john no tommy hunter and no pat neshek and this bullpen has really held up. But, you know, obviously, Neres the other night with the blown save, but able to get out of the inning. Can he throw a fastball? Can he stop throwing that splitter, dude? I don't get Neres. I really don't. Look, sometimes he looks so good and unhittable,

and then sometimes he's just like, you're like, you could feel it almost. Like, you're like, oh, this is going to be a bad Hector night you know i felt like it too yeah it did it really did and i didn't know if i wasn't sure if that was just the the stink of last season that kind of had carried over with him on there uh you know like that i don't think i'll ever forget watching that dodgers game last year with the back to back to back to to walk it off, that was like scarring to my soul. But just in general, really from the top to the bottom, really impressive work from the pen. Arano's looked great.

And one of the reasons why I wasn't as excited when they did sign some people in the bullpen was I liked what I saw out of Arano at the end of last season. And listen, there was a reason why they put him on the 40-man roster. They did not want to lose him. And he's got back of the bullpen stuff. Oh, yeah. I really like Arano.

He's really impressed me. I mean, Luis Garcia has been good. Ramos has been good. Ramos has been good, yeah. I mean, Adam Morgan had that one rough outing, but we know how devastating he can be. Milner as a lefty specialist. Yaxel Rios, who they just brought in, has looked

great every time he's been in so far. So, getting the win in that 12-inning game. I love when the pitchers get the one-out win. Not nearly as bad as Jake Thompson's save in the 20-1 game for pitching the final three innings and coming into a 19-1 game, which is the dumb's save in the 20-1 game for pitching the final three innings and coming into a 19-1 game, which is the dumbest rule in the sport

that you get a save in that situation. But all right, Johnny, looking ahead, you know, what do you think we're two weeks into the season? When we're like two weeks from now, a month into the season, what do you hope to – obviously we need wins, and we've talked about kind of how the schedule shakes out and there's some winnable games, but what are you looking to see over the next two weeks? What do the Phillies need to do to be successful in your mind?

Well, the one thing I'm looking for, the first thing that comes to my mind when you ask me that question is I'm looking for J.P. Crawford to take the next steps that we've seen the last two games. Came up with a big hit that gave the Phillies the lead in game two of the Red Series. And then he smashed a home run. I saw a lot of weak contact from him early in the season, which ironically was the same thing that you saw last year when he was in the minors. He looks like he's missing a little confidence.

So as long as he's playing defense, we're good. Selective at the plate, getting his walks, but I want to see more confidence in J.P. Crawford taking those next steps. But really, I mean, this team's going to win games based on their starting pitching and their big boppers. And we're talking about Hoskins, Herrera, and I'll even say Mikel Franco. Hoskins is going to be good. Herrera just does what he does.

He's an expert-based machine, and I've been expecting it. Mikel Franco has 12 RBIs right now. Leads the team. He's been really, really good. Let's hope that Gabe can get these guys the same thing he's been doing. He's pushing the right buttons right now with some of these guys. So that's what I'm looking for is just continuing with the lineup, push the right buttons, and then the starting pitchers, 3, 4, 5,

got to get some innings and got to get some wins. Velasquez has got to at least give them five innings when he comes out there. Yeah, I'm with you on the Velasquez ain't the guy train. I think if anyone throw him in the bullpen, I just, I'm at the point where I've seen enough. He just, like, it'd be one thing. I know he has this stuff, but, like, how can you not change your approach after all this time?

Like, even attempt to change it. Like, that's the thing. Mike Calfranco and Velasquez, really interesting parallels in my mind. As kind of similar in the sense that you know hype prospects really talented some success at the major league level but then fall into this rut where they have all this talent yet they can't harness it with an approach and consistency and Franco going kind of the other way right now from Velasquez and you know Jack Fritz thank God he's not here there would be just you know gushing sounds coming out about Franco but you have to be excited about what you've seen so far but I'll still say I need to see Franco do

it for a longer period of time and and again like you said stay consistent and and I agree I think look you just want to see this team continue to build on. That's the other thing, like, with these wins against bad teams, whatever you want to call it, right now it's early in the season, so no one's looking at other teams and saying, oh, they're the worst. They're in last place. Like, you're just going out and winning baseball games. And it builds confidence for these guys. This is a young team, and they're winning games in the 12th inning.

They're winning gutty games, like you said, like J.P. Crawford, that big hit, and then the Kingery Grand Slam, people really forgot about it because those were four runs they didn't technically need. They won 6-1. That J.P. Crawford hit was the winning run. And then Crawford, just for what it's worth, I've been with you with the worries,

but he murdered that baseball into the second deck. So if you want signs of hope that his confidence is coming back, I mean, no better ones than that ball he hit into the second deck in the finale, I guess, of the 12-inning game of the Reds series. So I'm with you. I just want to see this team continue to build on this experience and grow and continue to kind of band together. And like you said, Kapler, man, look,

people have criticized him for these line-up moves, but they seem to be working. Everyone gave Nick Williams the credit for, oh, he showed Kapler with that pinch-hit home run. Yeah, but Kapler also put him into pinch-hit in that spot. No, like, you know, I mean, you know, there's a double standard with all this stuff. Oh, wait, what?

You're supposed to give Kapler credit when they win games? Well, that's the funniest thing. No, you're notpler credit when they win games well that's the funniest thing no you're not allowed to do that yeah that's the funniest thing obviously not the best source for this but howard eskin was on the midday show today and he said quote unquote baseball managers can only get credit or only get uh like are only responsible for helping teams lose they don't get any credit for winning i'm like what the hell's that dude like that's like so what's the point so it's just always their fault if they lose and if the team wins there's nothing like it was such a like a it was such a statement that was so on brand for him with his well that covers him that covers him for

both his agendas against gabe capler and charlie manual for however many years that covers him for both his agendas against Gabe Kapler and Charlie Emanuel for however many years. That covers him for both. There's nothing I want more than Kapler to do what Charlie Emanuel did to him and just shut him down with a World Series title. All right, Johnny, we'll let you go because you are on the phone right now. And I love the dad voice, too, when you're at home. You know, the kids are sleeping and it's a little bit lower, John Marks. It's not quite the, you know. Well, it's also still recovering from flu, John Marks.

Yeah, that, too. That, too. Johnny, you got any final thoughts before we get out of here? Yeah, man, it feels good. It feels good to have Phillies baseball back and kind of how the Sixers surprised people a lot this year. I really, really believe the Phillies have a chance to do it. So win these early games, get some confidence,

because the schedule gets much tougher as the weather gets warmer. Yeah, a ditto to what you said about the Sixers and the city and the excitement and just how crazy it is that this town is such a fun, exciting, and successful sports town right now. And I think it's contagious. And this team's just fun, man. Kingery, Hoskins, these guys are fun to root for. And it's fun to watch.

And it's been a while since we had a compelling baseball team. So it's exciting to have it. All right, everyone have a great weekend. Enjoy the Rays-Phillies series. We'll be back to talk to you on Monday. See you guys later. 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 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.