High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The High Hopes Phillies Podcast: Why Are People Freaking Out About the K's?

Episode Date: April 26, 2018

The whole crew is together in studio as the Phillies are wrapping up their series against the Diamondbacks. Jack breaks out the Aaron Altherr meter, the guys talk about the strikeouts, Velasquez's shaky start and look ahead to a revenge series against the Braves.  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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Mitsubishi Motors. Yo, it is another episode of High Hopes. It is, Jack Fritz. That is right. I am James Seltzer. Clearly with me today, the one and only Mr. Jack Fritz Fritzy. What's up, buddy? Aaron Altair is back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back.

He hasn't hit a, he's hit, he's smoked balls for the last, like, four games. He hit a monster 419-foot clutch home run. He has more RBIs than hits. It's crazy. Yeah, that – Just 10 hits and, like, 15 RBIs. That was a monster home run against the D-backs. Just a big spot, bottom of the sixth inning.

They had just gone from basically leading the whole game. They score first, tie it up at 1-1, take the lead back 2-1, fall down 3-2. And after Hoskins strikes out, too, with runners at first and second, you got Rees up, you're feeling good, he strikes out, and then Aaron Altair comes up. And that's all we needed. Altair just a bomb to deep center field.

Also, not forgetting the big game winning it in the 11th against the Pirates a few games back as well.aron alter is heating up a little bit jack and this is like jack's jack's guy here it's very exciting if you need one hit to win a ball game right now aaron alter or reese hoskins answer me that question yeah uh reese is the correct answer but right now aaron alter bringing it i'm just happy he looks confident because i think the upside of this team, for this team to reach their full upside, is with Aaron Altair in right field. Nick Williams, I just don't like Nick Williams. I don't think he's a good player.

I don't think he's a good defensive player. I think his swing is garbage. I think Altair, with Abdubal in center and Hoskins in left, makes this team more formidable. And, yeah, he's having some good swings recently his OBP is hovering around 300 hitting a lot of balls hard he hit another ball hard today that was right the right fielder I know a lot of people couldn't watch it because it was on Facebook live but uh it was smacked hard I promise you I'm not lying yeah hit it right at Gerard Dyson sadly sadly. That might have been the issue with it. But, look, it's been heartening to see the way Altair has played.

And the Aaron Altair meter, as Jack Fritz liked to say, is certainly on the rise right now. Yeah, we're getting over 50%. It's exciting. It's exciting. I think of it as a three-pronged attack. Like, he's on the left side, it's dead. The Altair meter is dead.

The middle is like he's heating up. And all the way right side is he's Jason Wirth. We're right on the right side is Jason Wirth. We're right in the middle of he's heating up and he's Jason Wirth. We're right in that middle prong. I like it. Well, look, if nothing else, it's important because as much as it's – the offense has been really impressive with the approach that they've taken.

I know people are freaking out about all the strikeouts. Oh, my God, the strikeouts. Kill me, dude. But I think Gabe Kapler made a really good point when he was on with Angelo on Wednesday this week saying that he understands that they need to put balls and play more, but he doesn't want it at the expense of working counts, of grinding these pitchers of getting deep into the bullpen all that type of stuff he he put it really well he said they need

to make better contact late in counts which i thought was a really good way to put it yeah and here's the thing about the strikeouts and and all the old heads are like oh my god they're striking out all the time and like listen man we're in a month of baseball where there's been more strikeouts than hits. It's the product. Yes, for the first time in a long time. Right. It's kind of the product of the game. And the way the Phillies are approaching it.

It might be ever. I don't know if it's ever happened before. I think it might be the first time it's ever happened. Yeah, or else it's been a really, really long time. And here's the thing. It's how the game's played now. And the Phillies have had a broadest approach of, we will take the strikeout if it means that we're working the pitcher and going late into counts and and getting the starter out of the game earlier yep so like

it's it's it's how they've chosen to play they're going right along with their plan it's not like they're deviating from their plan and the strikeouts late in games sure they can be they're gonna be frustrating but they're also hitting more homers. Hopefully their launch angle is way up. Their fly ball rate is way up. It's just a product of their system. That's what it is. Yeah, and I mean, look, the Astros struck out a ton last year.

It didn't work out too poorly for them. You've seen a lot of good teams do this approach. And I think, look, like you just said there, I think later in games, it's about being smart, right? It's about being smart as a hitter and knowing the situation where a strikeout kills you or a situation where all right maybe you should choke up a little bit here and really focus on putting the ball in play it's situational awareness but to your point about altair and the strikeouts and all that it's they need someone to step up a little bit they've been winning games the offense has been grinding but we've really got only three guys

who have been contributing from an offensive perspective. One, the most underrated player in the city, a notable Herrera. All the dude does is get on base every freaking game, and everyone's like, oh, I hate that guy. 25 straight. And he's playing gold glove defense. I feel like every game the dude makes a play where you're like, wow, that was an awesome play.

So you got him, Cesar. I mean, I've, again. Who's more underrated, Cesar or Oduble? Nobody. It's a great question. They're both incredibly underrated. I think Oduble is more underrated in this city. I think Cesar is more underrated nationally.

I think people nationally give Oduble the credit that he deserves, or at least more so of it. But I think in this city, we underrate Oduble. I think nationally people don't realize how good a hitter Cesar Hernandez has become. Look who's walking into the studio right now. Finally! Honestly, he's pulling a

Kirk Gibson right now. Yes! He can barely walk. He can barely get to the mic. It's crazy. Yeah, my back's done. Johnny Marks! Johnny Marks! I sneezed this morning and I didn't think I was going to be able to work. It's like a bad movie where it's like the sneeze, and they just can't move. I felt it coming, and I was like, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it.

And I did it, and I didn't think I was going to make it in afterwards. But I'm here. John's Kirk Gibson podcast. Yes! Stumbling up to the mic. I may become addicted to opioids and muscle relaxers, but if that's what it takes to get me on the air, it's what it takes to get me on the air.

Look at that. That's dedication right there. Jim Brockmeyer. If you need someone to drive you to rehab, I got you covered, man. All right. Good. We're good. I'll be all right.

All right. Let's get your thoughts here. We're talking a little bit. Obviously, Jack Fritz couldn't do anything but open the podcast by fawning over Aaron Altair. But the offense, we've had the whole strikeout thing. It's been a thing. And I think that Kapler's addressed it.

This offense wants to work counts. They want to go deep in accounts. Sometimes strikeouts are a byproduct of that. Where do you come down on this? Major League Baseball today is about hitting home runs and launch angles. And you're going to see more strikeouts than probably ever before. I don't know if I agree with it, but guys aren't going to stop trying to hit home runs

because on-base percentage is important to certain guys. But yeah, Jorge Alfaro's strikeout rate is like 46% or something like that. So you look at him, he's a young player who's really scuffling right now. But if you're just talking about an average player uh i think he's going to strike out more than probably ever before and that's just a byproduct of uh so someone was talking about this down when we were in spring training uh that that that was in the phillies organization and was more or less complaining about the new school way of launch angles. I was always taught Fritz, I don't know about you, you seem like

a home run hitter. Swing down on the ball. You're not swinging down on the ball anymore. It's changed the game. It's changed the way that they do things. It really is. That's the way I was taught too. When I was growing up swinging down on the ball, you want to make hard contact, line drives, all that type of stuff. It's really changed. But I will

say, and I am very deficient in really following up on all this data. There's so much data now. It's so hard to keep up with everything. But it does seem like launch angle and exit velocity, when you put those two together and look at the data, it's pretty predictive. There is something to this, I believe, but I'm not educated enough on it to really be an expert on it. But you're right.

It's where it's going. not educated enough on it to really be an expert on it. But you're right, it's where it's going. We were just talking about the need for Altair to step up because really this offense has been carried by three guys so far. They've been grinding. They've had a good approach as a team. But Odeble, Cesar, Reese Hoskins, outside of that, really, really struggling across the board.

What's your take on the lineup as a whole? Aaron Altair kind of busting out a little bit, but who have you been kind of disappointed with right now? Who do you need to see more from? Kingery had the golden sombrero a couple nights ago. His strikeout rate's approaching Alfaro's. Yeah, well, if you follow him closely in the minors, he's not a big

on-base percentage or a walk guy. He's a hacker. Yeah, he is. He's a hacker. He's going up there to get a hit. You know, Santana, obviously, if you just look at the straight numbers, it's a little bit disappointing. Kingery, I thought maybe would have more impact at the plate. And it's still so early that you're not going to start to get crazy about it

or anything like that. But other than that, there's not really a lot of people hitting. Like you said, there's no one that's coming in and giving you a spark, whether it's Alfaro, whether it's anybody else. And I think I was expecting a little bit more from the JPs and the Scots and the Alfaros, and they've more or less given you close to nothing. Yeah. and the Alfaro's and they've more or less given you close to nothing. Yeah. And I look again, youth, young guys, first, some of the real first experience in Major League Baseball, obviously for Kingery, other guys, Crawford played in September.

This is a real first experience with this. So I understand it from that perspective. But, you know, I think you make a great point. I mean, guys are going to have to start stepping up here. What is interesting is the overall they have struggled, but we have seen some guys step up in big spots. They have been getting big hits. I mean, pretty much everyone down the roster. J.P. Crawford's even had big hits.

Nick Williams has had big hits. Kingery's obviously had big hits. So that's important as well. Fritz, I've got to come to you about your guy. You were spouting off for the first two weeks of the season. I was like, yo, give it some time. I'm not ready. Mike Calfranco, buddy.

He is good. No, he's fine. He's literally made really good swings. For some reason, they keep playing Kingery over him, which I get frustrated by. Because right now, Mike Calfranco is a better player than Scott Kingery. Better hitter, I would agree with, for sure. Franco, even though the balls aren't getting down. Not much, but he's a better hitter right now.

Right at this exact moment, I'd rather have Franco in the lineup than Scott Kingery. I think Kingery's going to be better long-term, obviously. He's definitely going to be. But Franco, it's not like he's a total liability. He's got a 291 OBP, for what it's worth. I know. The walks are still not there. But listen, he's making solid contact.

They've been right at guys. He's not hitting the home runs. Mike Al Franco is going to be in the independent league, and Fritz is going to be defending him and being like, he can still do it, I believe. The Long Island Ducks? Yeah. Third baseman.

I think that the St. Paul, whatever their team is. I'm just saying. It could be worse is what I'm saying with Franco. It could be worse. It could be worse than he really is. I think that's fair. I think that's fair. I think that's fair, but we do need to see more from him. J.P. Crawford, John, what has been your take?

We've seen early struggles, then a few games in there where it looked like he had it back, and now back to some struggles. And also some defensive issues recently. I'm not too worried, but it really looks like kind of head stuff more than anything. Where do you come down on Crawford right now? 23 years old, first taste of the majors. Obviously, last year had the end of the season look pretty good.

But, yeah, maybe struggling a little bit more than I thought. I wasn't expecting him to come out and hit 350. You're right. He had that stretch where he was really hitting the ball hard, and now he's kind of got back into the weak ground balls and yeah listen he's learning he's 23 years old i'm not gonna jimmy rollins had such a big impact his rookie year coming up and it really ignited the

team kingery and crawford aren't doing that yet we'll see what happens but i think this is just one of these things where you're gonna have to take him for what he is which is you hope he developed into a solid all-star type player he may or may not be that player yeah a great point too with the age i mean they're both really young and have never played in the major leagues for any sort of extended period well guys have really adjusted how they pitched to crawford too recently i mean when he was on that stretch it was a lot of down and in for some reason like for some reason, pitchers kept missing down and in, and that's the only time he can ever drive a ball. No, you're right.

It's in the wheelhouse. Now, I think for the last two weeks, they've been pitching him up and away, and they've been pretty much living up there, and he can't make any really hard contacts. They're adjusting to him. He's got to adjust back after that nice little streak. He did smoke a ball up in the middle, I think, last night, which was nice to see.

That was his first hard contact and what felt like a week uh but pitchers are adjusting to him now it's time for him to adjust back yeah i feel the same way as and kingery too like same thing's gonna happen with kingery these guys again they're really young it's their first experience in the majors that's what happens pitchers adjust we saw with reese hoskins last year when he came up you know had the the other worldly streak and and then pitchers adjust, and it's a game of adjustments. It's a game of back and forth like that. And Kingery's pressing. I mean, if you're watching him, he's swinging at balls that are worm runners.

Yep. He's trying to do too much, and Hoskins is, in the minors at least, he's a notoriously streaky hitter that will always give you the walks and the approach of the plate to where you can deal with when he goes over for 15. But let's face it, we don't really know J.P. Crawford all that well. Let's see what he turns into. The great thing is they're 15 and 9 after this game is over. We're recording right now in the middle of the 6-0 right now.

8-0 actually now. Heading into the bottom of the fourth. Eight to nothing Diamondbacks. The starting pitching has really carried this team, and the bullpen's been good too, and the hitting's not there. I would expect as we get into June and maybe halfway through May, once the hitting takes over, then it's whether or not, Arrieta's been everything and then some to what we wanted. Nola's been tremendous.

Pavetta's been great. Yes. Can he continue? And can they – because let me tell you something. I'd rather have a guy that pitches five innings and gives up three runs than have a Ben Lively that's going to come out and give up seven runs in an outing. Yeah, I think we can all agree Ben Lively is a sixth starter posing as a fifth starter.

He's done all right so far this year. I'm going to come to Jagged to Sex so we can fawn over Nick Pavetta. But real quick, just as we round out the offensive side of things, you mentioned pressing. I think we're definitely seeing pressing from Carlos Santana as well. The numbers, the underlying numbers have still been pretty good. You know, the walks to strikeouts is great. The line drive percentage

is still solid. I think, got a couple hits last night, maybe starting to break out of a little bit, but it seems to me like he is pressing. Big money comes in, new place, all that type of stuff. I beg people to give him some time. He'll figure it out. The consistency of his career has just been...

So last night, we do the before every home game, every night home game that's not a Friday because we're at Chickie's and Pete's on the Marks and Reese show, we do it from the ballpark in the Novocare broadcast booth. Last night, I noticed that Matt Klentak was standing outside of the broadcast booth down in the concourse. This is early, like four o'clock. Well, he's a big fan of the show.

Certainly. Yeah. He came in and goes, I love Dear Ike. Love what you guys do. It's a big Ike Juice hotline, man. Exactly. Little Birdie told me that he was waiting for Carlos Santana's agents down there, and they were having a little conversation.

A little tete-a-tete. So he's probably in town for whatever business. I know Santana had some kind of an event at the park or something was going on. So, you know, just probably, listen, if I'm Carlos Santana's agent, I'm stopping by and having a little talk with the GM and kind of agreeing on, hey, we know he's struggling right now.

What can we do to get him out of it? Working together. He's going to be fine. Totally agree. He's going to be fine. Just every year, 360 plus on base, every year of his career, it's just as consistent as it gets. He's also had about four windblown home runs slash cold weather home runs.

The one last night was six inches from going. Go ahead. Well, honestly, if by the end of the season he's hitting 260 with 25 home runs, isn't that? That's exactly what you want, a 360 on base percentage. That's what you expect from a guy. Yes. And on top of that, too, which we haven't talked about a lot lot the man has been playing gold glove defense he has been one bad play right but for the most part stellar out there defensively really made some nice plays and has been an

upgrade of what over what Hoskins would have been there yeah but how you know with all the people like how are you gonna move Hoskins to left field you're gonna screw him at the plate yeah he's been all right he's been okay he's got 479 ob at the plate. Yeah, he's been all right. He's been okay. He's got a 479 OVP or whatever. I think it's working out. All right, to the pitching side of things, it's certainly been just the surprise of the season so far,

and we hope at least some of it can continue. You can't count on it, but Nola has been everything we expected. Top 15, 20 pitcher in the sport right now. Jake Arrieta, again, 3-0, has looked great. Obviously, we've got peak Arrieta a couple of starts ago. everything we expected top 15 20 pitcher in the sport right now jake arietta again three at oh has looked great obviously we got peak arietta a couple starts ago it still looked really good this look great he's look great 94 nick pavetta nick freaking pavetta if this guy so jack i'll come to you our our pitching guru over here mr fritz who's been talking about nick pavetta to me for the last year and a half, just nonstop, essentially.

Is this real? Is this something? Because the argument against is he's played some bad offenses, some really bad offenses in some cases. How real is Nick Pavetta in your mind? I don't think it's going to keep up for the 1.76. He's not going to win the Cy Young, you're saying? No.

Damn. John, he's got a 1.76 FIP. What's that mean to you? I don't know. It's a good thing. Is that like war? Fielding independent pitching. It's a better predictor than ERA, basically.

It basically is if you took— According to what nerd? Yes, to all the nerds. Basically, the concept is if you took the fielders away and didn't allow defense or whatever to contribute, what type of pitcher would he be? It's kind of like when a guy has a 3 ERA and you know he's not really that good. His FIP is usually four. However many years ago with the Phils.

I don't think people say FIP. They call it FIP. I call it FIP. I know you do, but you know. Let's go with the proper term, FIP. It's FIP. I mean, technically it is FIP, but everyone calls it FIP. It's like BABIP.

You know, people don't say batting average on balls in play. They just say BABIP. Yeah, I always struggle with that because I started going B-A-B-I-P and it sounds stupid. Why would you do BABIP. People don't say batting average on balls in play. They just say BABIP. Yeah, I always struggle with that because I started going B-A-B-I-P, and it sounds stupid. Why would you do that? Yeah, I don't know. It's like WAR. Do you say W-A-R?

What's the man's W-A-R? It's WAR. It's easy to say. WAR. What is it good for? So is FIP. How hard is that? What is it good for?

But to your point, it's not smoke and mirrors what he's doing this year so far. He has been impressive. He's not just trying to strike guys out, although his strikeout numbers have been good. He's learning. This is what you want out of a young pitcher. He's learning year to year. It seems like a lot of it's mental with Pavetta, and just from being down at the park and talking to a lot of people who kind of roll their eyes because he thinks that he really is the total package.

Well, now it's time to back it up. He's got the stuff. He's doing it so far this year. If he can be the third starter, you don't need him to have a 1.87 ERA. You need to have a 3.5 ERA. Yes. If he does it, this team is a wild card, not contender, a wild card team. I agree.

Yeah. I think if he wants to take the next level, he should start going by his middle name, John Carlo. Like, John Carlo Pavetta is badass compared to Nick Pavetta. That is badass. I think if he wants to take the next level. That is pretty cool. That's what he needs. Then I can call him Mike Stanton.

Like, I still call Mike Stanton Mike Stanton instead of Giancarlo. But on the real, his last outing, he unleashed an 85-mile-an-hour changeup that was just like it started right on the middle of the plate and just dropped off the table. If he can add that to his already just disgusting curveball, his fastball that's hard to pick up on, he's working in a slider that just gives him something else for the batters to look at so it's not completely straight.

It's coming in at like 88, which is fine. It's good. It's basically a mix between a slider and a cutter. That changeup is just a game-breaker. That could unleash another level of Nick Pavetta. I love when Jack nerds out over pitches. It looked good the other day. It really did.

Here's the thing, and I agree with both of you. Look, Pavetta has the stuff. He has the actual talent to be that guy. It's a head thing. That's why I think this start has been so important for him. Even if he is facing terrible offenses, he's building that confidence. It doesn't matter who he's facing. He's going out and he's getting hitters out,

and he's building up that experience of successful major league outings. And for a guy like that who has the stuff and just needs to trust it, I feel like that's so crucial. Speaking of a guy who has the stuff but never trusts it, Vincent Velasquez, we had a couple good starts in there. I'm only giving him two because I don't count that 20-1 start because I feel like if they didn't put up a five-spot at the first. Yeah, they stopped trying.

Yeah, exactly. And that was it. He had a rough first inning and then he was fine. But he had two good starts after that against two bad offenses. Looked like the old Vince Velasquez in his last outing. I lean towards that being the Vinny Velasquez. We're going to see where you guys come in. Well, his last start, if you look at just the box score,

it seems like it's the old Vince Velasquez. He made a couple mistakes. It was one inning. He had one. The one inning killed him, and it was the walks, and it was the old Vinny for one inning. He self-destructs. He does.

If he can figure out how, because he looked good. It just seems like in every start, if you just look at the box, you're like, he sucks. But if you look within the game and you watch the game, I think it's fixable. Do I know that it's fixable? Absolutely not. But could it be fixable if they can get the right pitching coach

to get to him, if Gabe Kapler can get to him. Curt Schilling needed Johnny Padres when he was traded to Philadelphia to teach him a split-finger fastball, and it changed his career. He went from being a guy with a lot of talent that was a knucklehead to being a knucklehead that was also a winning pitcher in Major League Baseball. So, if they

can get to him, am I counting on it? Am I looking at oh, you don't need to make a trade at the trade deadline no i'm looking at cole hamels and being like all right i can't wait till june so we can talk about this every week but yeah i mean he's he's actually been better than i thought he was gonna be because at least he's been healthy me too and even just those couple outings where you know he goes over six innings and one run and like not walking guys all the time and he had one walk in each outing.

I've seen too much of it, but you make a great point. I mean, we've seen it so many times in this league. Back in the Dave Duncan days, guys like Don Cooper, Ray Searidge, there are guys who can, as pitching coaches, really turn careers around, and we've seen that happen. And Velasquez is like the perfect example of that type of guy who has the stuff. He just needs to trust it. Dave Duncan, Rick Kranitz.

Basically the same guy. But there's a stark difference between what Pavetta's done and what Velasquez has done. And it's when things start hitting the fan for Pavetta, he can actually bounce back, throw strikes, and get out of an inning. Their OPS plus against him is just way down. Whereas Velasquez starts walking a couple guys and it's just like, well, this is done. It's over. You see it coming, and you know it, and it's more or less just like, how do you prevent it?

There may be a light that goes off in his head at some point, and he figures it out. We've seen that in all sports. You just have that moment, that year, where everything starts to make sense. Here's the thing. For all the people out there that want him to go to the bullpen, he's a bullpen pitcher, he's a bullpen pitcher, you may be right. You might be right. But the Phillies aren't just going to pull the plug because he's having struggles.

A starting pitcher is so much more valuable. So unless he really, really self-destructs and is terrible, he's going to go out there every five days. Yeah, he's way more valuable as a starter. There's no question. And credence to the bullpen folks, his fastball the other night to start that game was like 97 with run. So just thinking about that out of the bullpen would be super intriguing.

Well, look, I think if it doesn't work as a starter, and like you said, John, and we're seeing it, they're going to give him every possible opportunity they can to be a starting pitcher in this league. If ultimately they come to that decision, I think he's a lot to work in the bullpen. He can pitch out of the bullpen. His stuff will play.

It's just they're going to do everything they can to see if he can survive as a starter. Yeah, you're just like, all right, here you go. You have one inning. Go out there and get three guys out. It's a lot easier than the second time through the lineup, the third time through the lineup, and that's where you see like like jack said you can see the moment that it's that it's done that he's done all right you can literally see it

yeah you can see it and speaking of the bullpen i i mean you know i think we can all agree we've been very very happy with the performance so far the pen i think the one question mark right now the guy at the end and i know he's got five saves he's getting the job done for the most part since opening day at least but man hector narrows scares the crap out of me every time he's in there and and last night was a perfect example you know he gets two easy outs and then all of a sudden runners on first and second and balls being hit to the warning track so i john first to you like where do you stand on the narrows thing let Let's put it this way, in easiest terms, is Hector Neres the closer at the end of the season?

Man, if he's not, is it Arano? Is it Ramos? Last year he was really streaky, and he does not have command or confidence in his fastball this year. He's thrown a ton of splits. They're up in the zone. I'll say yes, he is, just because I don't know. I think he'll just be good enough to keep his job.

But here's the thing. Don't you feel like he's on a short leash with Gabe Kapler? Don't you feel like all he needs is one stretch, and you'll see guys coming in for save opportunities? He won't even think twice about it. I think that's what you have to do. He won't even think twice about it. I think that's what you have to do. He will not be the closer at the end of the year because Sir Anthony Dominguez will be the closer at the end of the year.

Is that why the fedora was at Reading the other day? Fritz has already changed his take from our last podcast, which was like three days ago. Zach Britton was going to be his answer. Now he's already off that. I'm not completely off of that, but I don't know. Either it's going to be Britton or Sir Anthony Dominguez because Sir Anthony Dominguez up to 12.46 Ks per nine. And that is exactly what I want on my closer.

I cannot stand watching Hector Neres operate in the ninth inning. It just gives me a heart attack every single time. It's really uncomfortable. Plus, it's wrong, but I will always have flashbacks to that Dodgers game in the back-to-back-to-back. Has he been the same? I see it every time he takes them out. I see it every time. I can't help it. And for 99%

of the people out there listening that say, who the bleep is Sarah Anthony Dominguez? He is an arm in Redding. Johnny Miners! That was a starter for his career. He's from the Dominican, and they moved him to the bullpen this year in Redding. Johnny Miners! That was a starter for his career. He's from the Dominican. And they moved him to the bullpen this year in Redding.

And the results have been outstanding. Gabe Kapler went on Monday, their day off. Sat by a home plate. He did. He had his fedora on. He had a steakhouse. Redding's known for their steakhouses. And yeah, so believe me. They're looking at arms right now in the minors for this year.

Which they should be. For this year, they should be. Sir, by the way, no better name for a closer than Sir Anthony. Are you kidding me? That guy comes in, you're like, yup, that dude's a closer right there. Sir Anthony. The best name ever. It's a great name.

Automatically becomes the best closer in Philly's history. Yeah, I think he already is without even being the closer.. Automatically becomes the best closer in Philly's history. Yeah, I think he already is without even being the closer. Well, who is the best closer in Philly's history? Sadly, it's Jonathan Papelbon in terms of the numbers. But, I mean, Bradledge. I would say Bradledge. Just for that one year. But it's Pap.

And Pap has the most saves. If it's not Pap, it's Joe freaking Table. Jose Mesa. It's rough, man. It's rough. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know which makes me more angry.

The fact that Papelbon's our all-time saves leader or that David Bell has our last cycle. I think I'm more mad about Papelbon. David Bell. Oh, wow. I hate David Bell, too. But here's the thing. Who cares about a cycle?

A cycle is such a meaningless, stupid thing. It is so stupid. But here's why. Not that a save isn't stupid, either. With Papelbon, he took it away from Jose Mesa. So it's like, yeah, you can't get too upset. He didn't take Mike Schmidt's record off of him. It's a good point.

It's not like Tug McGraw was sitting there with the record. It's like, no! All right, real quickly, because you just mentioned Kapler. We went through the whole thing, and people are finally not saying fire Kapler anymore. At least, ironically, people say it now. But what has been your... Sunday is one month since the season started. Opening day was March 29th.

This Sunday is one month. Jack, I'll start with you. One month into the season, what is your feel on Gabe Kapler? I actually, I think X's and O's wise, it changes every night because they're all using the analytics and my main philosophy on them

is that water finds its level. Most of the time they're going to work out. Sometimes they won't. We'll all emphasize at times that they don't. That's just how we react to baseball here in Philadelphia. But I've been more impressed by the culture he's instilled. They've come back late in games. They've won close games.

They never seem to give up, although it's 8-0 in the fourth, so they'll probably give up today. But you're 4-0 in extra inning games, 6-1 in one-run games. And the one thing I really liked was the other day, it was a four-run lead, I think on Sunday, and he let Neres hit. And he didn't have to let Neres hit. He didn't have to bring him back out there for the ninth inning. But it was a cool moment for everyone that dug out to start laughing at a pitcher hitting, which I just, you know, it's just a classic.

It's an age-old tradition where everyone laughs at the pitcher. The relief pitcher gets it. Yeah, because every pitcher in that dugout. They're all waiting, too. They're all dying to get up there and take hacks. Every single one of them wants the opportunity to hit. And they're all like, all those pitchers are like, listen, man, if I got up there, I'd hit at least 300 in the league.

Of course. So, like, give me a shot. It's team building. It's team building. It's culture building. It's the same thing they have with Doug and the Eagles. I've been more impressed with the culture stuff. The X's and O's stuff has been fine.

It's modern baseball. Yeah, I would have to – I came into the season being behind Kapler, not knowing what kind of a manager he's going to be, which we still don't know. I mean, we're still talking about a small sample size. But I would have to believe that if you – listen, he's had an excellent start. He's had an excellent start. The opponents are going to get tougher as we get deeper into the season.

We will talk then. But I don't think you're being fair if you don't give him credit for what he's done to start the season. It's been an excellent start. I agree with you. And the one thing you guys didn't mention, in addition to the culture, not necessarily the shifts and the line-up stuff, but there have been X's and O impacts,

like the aggressive base running this team has. Agreed. We see that on a night-in, night-out basis. JP Crawford scored from first base on a single. That was crazy to watch happen. And they're aggressive on the base pass. And just the general approach we've talked about, instilling. I mean, how long have we been waiting in this city for a lineup that takes walks?

Like, Ruben Amaro didn't even know the difference between a plate appearance and a bat. He cares about hits, not getting on base. Exactly. And Gabe Kapler is instilling something we've been dying for here, and it seems to be working. So I think those are some areas where Kapler is instilling something we've been dying for here, and it seems to be working. So I think those are some areas where Kapler is maybe not getting enough praise for it. All right, looking ahead to this weekend, obviously I'm guessing we are not winning this Diamondbacks series. Although Altair had a hit in an RBI.

Altair meter is just flying. It's about to break off the machine. It's going to go past Jason Wirth. I told you I broke my hand the other day slamming the back button. So hard. It was unbelievable. All right. Braves coming into town this weekend.

Ronald Acuna finally comes up. Acuna, I don't know if you guys have seen it yet, but he mashed one his first career home run into the second deck today. It was a beast shot. It's going to be fun to watch that guy. But, you know, look, the Braves, we've had some issues down in Atlanta this season. They're coming here for the first time, John.

Remember last year, the Phillies, without playing the Braves, would have been... Yeah, they were like 19-2 against the Braves. 17-2 or something insane. They would have been, without playing the Braves, they would have been the worst team in baseball history. Yeah, they were like a 45- or 50-win team.

You're absolutely right. It's evening out, and they've had their number this year. Listen, let's see. If I'm a Philly this year, I know that the Braves have kind of had their number, and you get good starting pitching performances, you're going to get Nola.

You're not going to get Arrieta. You're going to get Nola, Pavetta, and Velasquez. It's the same matchups for the first two weekends. Every game's the same matchup. You're right. This will be Aaron Nola's third start against the Braves. It'llola, Pavetta, and Velasquez. It's the same matchups for the first two weekends. Yep. Every game is the same matchup. Yeah, you're right. You're right. Yeah, this will be Aaron Nola's third start against the Braves. It'll be Nick Pavetta's third start against.

It's a good point, Jack. I didn't even notice that. Right on there. So, hey, get two or three. If you lose two or three against the Diamondbacks, get it back against the Braves, and you're at home. They've played very well at home. So I'm looking forward to it.

Yep. After the potential loss today, it's still only 10-3 on the season at home it's huge that's huge to have home field advantage fritz it feels like uh the phils and the braves are kind of on a on a collision parallel kind of uh uh rebuilds yeah side by side i hated the braves i mean you guys obviously grew up with the 90s braves i didn't oh yeah because i'm young we really know hating the Braves. I know about Larry Chipper Jones. Larry freaking Jones. Before that, Jeff Blauser, Mark Lemke. Steve Avery.

Oh, my God. God, I hated all those guys. Yep. But it feels like, I mean, they have Freddie. Mark Wohlers. Remember when Mark Wohlers was a closer? Anyway. They have Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Alves, Acuna is coming up now.

They have some really interesting young talent. They have, what is it, Mark Sirocca is the pitcher they have coming up, who is a.99 ERA, and he's taking the next level. And the Phillies obviously have their young core. They have higher-end prospects in the Phillies. I mean, Newcomb's been good. Fulte's been pretty good. I mean, they got some arms too.

So, yeah, I mean, it feels like this is the start of another Braves-Phillies little run here of rivalries. And it's going to be at least, honestly, there's a lot of fun talent besides the Mets. I mean, like the pitching staffs or whatever. But even the Nats, they have Soto. Yeah, the Mets are getting by with Todd Frazier and Adrian Gonzalez. And, you know, it's like 10 years ago. Todd Frazier batting 215.

Yeah, it's a ticking time bomb with the Mets. I agree. Especially because they have no money to spend somehow. It's like you're the New York baseball team. But, oh, we lost all our money, so we're just going to be cheap. Bernie Madoff. It's like you're the New York baseball team, but we lost all our money, so we're just going to be cheap. Bernie Madoff. It's unbelievable. I can't. The fact that Major League Baseball allows the

Wilpons to cheap out in the biggest market in America is such I mean, I love it as an affiliate, but it's outrageous. The Matt Harvey implosion has just been great. He's not even a starter anymore. He's in the bullpen. What a fall from grace. It's awesome. He was unbelievable when he came. He seems like such a jerk, that guy.

He's got some issues. He's got some major issues. He can't handle the New York lifestyle. But yeah, it feels like the Braves and Phillies are on a collision course. We can't get blown out down there in Atlanta and then not defend our home turf up there. Need two or three. Yeah, definitely. Need two or three or I'm calling for the manager's job, Jack.

Fire Kaplan. He got fired months ago, I thought, right? I mean, he's clearly responded to the boos. He got booed on opening day, and now he's changed his whole approach. Keep booing him, guys. That worked. Did you see the quote that he gave to Jason Stark

at The Athletic about getting booed? Yeah, I thought that was a great quote. Basically saying yeah, they can boo. If they're booing, that means I'm doing something wrong, essentially, was the article, right? He appreciates the feedback. Yeah, appreciates the feedback.

Who says that? And I'm looking for the exact quote. Hey, guys, thanks for booing me. I really appreciate you letting me know this. Fans don't boo for no reason. Well, sometimes we do here in Philadelphia. Let me start again. Fans don't boo for no reason. Well, sometimes we do here in Philadelphia. Let me start again. Fans don't boo for no reason. They're attempting to communicate with me. It's my job to never reject any source of information that can lead to my getting better,

no matter who is giving me that information. How can you hate on that mentality? Like, wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever, like, everyone should live life that way. I mean, that is a really positive outlook on things and trying to get better. Yeah, of course. It's a good way to look at things. It's also a way to outlook on things and trying to get better. Yeah, of course. It's a good way to look at things. It's also a way to fuse a fan base that already hates you. Yeah, it's true, too.

Not on this podcast. No. Pro-Kapler. Pro-Kapler. Flitz, final thoughts? Reviews. Listen, man. I love the reviews.

We need more reviews. Obsessed with this. Reviews. Lots of reviews. Yeah. Because let's face it. There's a lot of good Phillies podcasts out there. We're the best, so you should give us the best ratings.

I actually tweeted one review that we saw. I tweeted him and thanked him for it. And he's, as I try to pull up, a Jersey Josh, I think. Yes, that was way too nice. Mr. Jersey Josh. Way too nice. No, I almost felt like, yeah, we're not that good, bro. I was like, oh, my God, thank you.

But thank you. Keep them coming. And we're going to keep, we're doing at least two a week as we get going here. We're going to add some stuff. And any emergency pods when the Phillies trade for Cole Hamels, we'll be there. John will be on a tin can somehow. We'll make it work. I will be.

We've already shown. We'll do it. John called from a tin can on the road cursing at drivers. Yeah, he woke me up at 1 a.m. Yeah. No, I got up and I did it. He's doing this on the Kirk Gibson podcast today. Yeah, so my back is, I don't know how I'm going to work and sit down.

But you made it for this. And that's the point. We love you guys. We love the Phillies. And we just all want to share in it. Jack Fritz texts me every day, literally once a day, saying, I love High Hope so much. I think about High Hope 95%. It's his baby, is what he says.

I know. That means I don't have to think about it all the time. It's a terrific thing. And it's in good 95%. It's his baby is what he says. I know. That means I don't have to think about it all the time. It's a terrific thing. It's in good hands. It's a beautiful thing. Again, thank you for listening. We will be back on Monday with some new content for you. Go Phillies. See you later. podcasts 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.