High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The Injury Gods Better Not Ruin This For Us

Episode Date: March 18, 2021

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz are back talking Phillies only two weeks away from Opening Day. The guys discuss what has stood out from Spring Training so far, how they think the centerfield situation is going to play out (#WhyNotMick), and much more. 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

Shop Best Buy's Ultimate Smartphone Sale today. Get a Best Buy gift card of up to $200 on select phone activations with major carriers. Visit your nearest Best Buy store today. Terms and conditions apply. 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 and 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. This is the High Hopes podcast. It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Phillies on radio.com and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Yo, it is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast. Let me just start out off the top by saying one thing and one thing only. What is it? Hashtag why not Mick.

Hashtag why not Mick. Just saying. Fritzy, what's up, buddy? Hashtag why not Mick. I tell you what, James, still riding high off of last week's interview. I do. Honestly, we didn't even need to do this show. We're just doing it because we enjoy talking to each other.

But, like, the Mickey show could have carried for weeks. It was that great. Yeah. I'm happy for him. It seems like he's, you know, getting his way into the center field competition. Not sure it's going to be right from opening day um but i mean hey when it makes jeff pass an article saying he should be the starter i don't know i think that's a win for the high hopes podcast you're damn right it is and we'll get into the centerfield thing and all that but i just i want to start by thanking the High Hopes listeners for being awesome.

Always. Because, and I'm sure Jack will feel this too, as Jack and I in our day job are forced to talk about a football team in this town. And I hate that football team. Yeah. And I hate talking about them. I hate the way the fan base is right now. I hate that whatever you say, if you try and say anything real about T-Mobile,

oh, you're so negative. Why do you hate the Eagles? All that crap. I'm so tired of it. And all it has done is made me so grateful. So grateful from the bottom of my heart for you, for the High Hopes listeners, because I was so excited to just talk to Jack tonight and talk to you guys, because it's like a breath of fresh air compared to everything else I have to do.

And I want to say thank you. And I want to say I can't bleep and wait for baseball to start, Jack. That's where I'm at. Two weeks from today, we will have Philly's baseball. Let's go. 305. I know I say this line a lot, but i mean it every time i say it i need it like i need air to breathe jack that's how i feel right now yeah and especially tough with the eagles when they hire uh gabe capler 2.0 to be there i wish you were gabe capler he's like a dumb gabe capler that's the problem at least capler you're like this guy's sharp yeah like i might not like what he's saying but he's bright guy well that's enough that's enough eagles for this podcast let's get it back to can we stop i just said how happy i am not to talk about them i know i know i know it's just

tough reacting i know you feel me reacting to that uh that that presser from earlier but um two weeks from the day it may be april 1st but it won't be a joke that the Phillies will be kicking off the season. Aren't I the dad? Aren't I the dad? Shouldn't I be the one making the dad jokes or no? You are the dad of this podcast, but at the same time, I would say I have more dad qualities. Yeah, it's absolutely true.

I mean, I wear new balances wear new but i wear new balances you don't wear new balances no i don't you listen to podcasts i listen to radio i still i still watch baseball you still watch baseball which makes you a dad um but we do do a podcast so that makes us not very daddish but it's true yeah it's true you are more dad than i am though that's true i i got no argument well i'm very mature for my age everyone knows that yeah that's that's totally it the main word the main word to describe me is mature beyond his years yes yes that is the overwhelming sentiment all right let's let's talk some phillies because i'm i'm really excited to talk even though there's not a ton to talk about since oh whatever i'm really excited to talk. Even though there's not a ton to talk about.

Oh. Whatever. I'm so excited to talk about them. Let's start with Mick. Let's start with passing, saying in his article, people around the league saying, like, that should be the starter in center field. How are you reading the Mick thing, but also, like, you know, the center field situation? Because I'll tell you right now, I'm not excited. No.

Like, I don't want to root for this guy I don't want this guy to be my starting center fielder on opening day and every day that passes I feel more and more sure that he's gonna be yeah I'm with you I'm with you and I'm just I'm not it doesn't make me feel good and I've been thinking about this for a little while and it just it really bothers me how and we've we've avoided talking about it on this podcast but like it really bothers me how the discussion is is it always reverts back to what's happening on the field it's like yeah he's the best center field option like he makes the team that much better or whatever it's like that's not the point like that's that's not the point

the point is not to like obviously we want the phillies to do well and all that stuff we want the phillies to do well but like they're throwing it back in people's faces who don't want to do below on this team with the yeah well he's the best option in center field it's like i don't really care like i like center feels i'm making or breaking this team like i i will i'll take freaking quinn kingeryaisley, and Moniak or whatever it takes. It's annoying how the conversation is like, wow, you hit some spring training home runs, so you guys are all wrong for thinking this way. That's not the point.

The point is I don't want to root for him. I don't want him to be on the Phillies. That's how I feel. And I just hate that the conversation gets thrown back in your face because he's doing well in spring training. It's not the point. Yeah, that was never the point. If you had asked us who's the best center fielder on this team right now, he would have been in a discussion.

It has nothing to do with it. On a basic level, and and look we want our teams to win right i mean that's what jack and i rant about like we want to win games we want to go to the playoffs we want to do all that stuff like on a on a base the most basic level we watch sports because they're supposed to be fun it's a choice it's an elective thing that we do we could be doing other things we could be watching other tv shows we could be talking to our family whatever else but instead we well we don't want to do that we don't want to talk to the family we spend 162 games a year this isn't like oh on a sunday after to you know bite my tongue or

whatever this is 162 nights a year where it's supposed to be fun like this thing's supposed to be like an enjoyable activity and every time he comes up to the plate, it's just conflicting. I don't want to root for him. I don't want to get excited when he does something good. It's a frustrating spot. And look, ultimately, the Phillies have no one to blame but themselves. No one to blame. They very easily could have not invited him to spring training.

They could have, and they did it. So it's on them. They opened up a situation where I think in their mind, their perfect world, Kingery plays way better and he's just a center fielder. At worst, Haseley doesn't get hurt. He's the center fielder. Instead, Haseley gets hurt. Kingery is a disaster, like a flat out disaster offensively.

And they're in this situation now where they either have to choose the kid who they probably don't think is quite ready or this guy. And it's their own fault. They open themselves up to it, but on a basic level, it's not fun. So that's why we presented the alternative, James, which is why not Mick? Why not Mick? Why not Mick?

And honestly, like, I just seeing, and this is how I felt about Pavetta too, and like, Mickey, I'm so sorry that I'm throwing you in the same category as Nicky Breakout, but like anything he does well on the baseball field, it fills me up with butterflies inside. I swear to God, James. Like, I watched the double against the Pirates from last Sunday, like, 16 times. Like, I watch it all the time. Because, like, he's roping the ball.

He's hitting the ball hard. And he looks legitimately good. Like, the whole conversation around Moniak, it's been so refreshing. Like, is it not? Like, I don't know how you feel about it, but personally for me, like, it's been so refreshing that the conversation around Moniak is no longer like, oh, well, he's this huge bust, and he took him number one overall, and he hasn't proved to be that,

and all that stuff. And it's now formed into the conversation of, like, hey, we might have a good player here. Like, we might have a good player here like we might have a a starting caliber center fielder um who a lot of people have written off from this fan base um so even like even if he doesn't start game one even if he's not opening day starter and again like we had rube on this afternoon and it was a good point and something that i think we gotta all remember is that like it's just one game out of 162 like baseball

seasons are so long they are so long so even if he's not the opening day center fielder like it doesn't really matter um at some point this year I just think he's gonna hit his way onto the field and I think he's gonna be I think he has a chance to stick at center field so um whether it's opening day whether it's not opening day like the fact that that mickey has changed the conversation and people are starting to starting to feel hopeful about him i think it's massive and it's just it's just so refreshing to finally have conversations where it's not like oh you know you're just believing in the kid and he hasn't proven anything like everyone watching right now is like i don't know they might have something here and they're not completely writing them off ah it would be it would be so great man again like because it the the conversation

as you alluded to has kind of just been like oh it's a bust you know he's a bust and and for the first pick in the draft to end up not being a bust and potentially being a valuable asset, I mean, that's such a win, right? I mean, it's such a win for this team if that guy can turn into something. And that's not even taking into account how much we're just rooting for Mick because he's an awesome guy and all that type of stuff. Just for the team, if that asset could turn out to be something of value, I mean, it's massive.

We had written him off. He was written off. Like, Mickey Moniak was a bust for people, which is crazy because he's still so young. And I think that sometimes, you know, when guys are drafted at the age of 17 out of high school, like, especially in a sport like baseball, you know, where it takes time for guys to develop, for their bodies to grow, for all that stuff. You know, as we've talked about, I mean, even 22 years old in the major leagues is young. Like, that's a young age to be in the majors. Mickey Moniak is the single, and outside of just how much we love him and he's our guy, hashtag why not Mick. Just from a baseball perspective, I think Mickey Moniak is probably the single best story to come out of Philly Spring Training.

Can I be the, do I have permission to take? best story to come out of Philly spring training. Can I be the, can I be the, do I have permission to take? Yeah. I mean, Jack,

as long as you're not giving me some sort of Eagles take that people get mad about and whine about and say, why are you being so negative? And how could you hate the Eagles and all that about? Yeah, I'm good. Sounds like you checked your mentions. I'm really annoyed with the Eagles fan base, but anyway,

go on. Well, it actually is Eagles related, so I'm sorry, with the Eagles fan base. But anyway, go on. Well, it actually is Eagles related, so I'm sorry. But. Perfect. Thank you. I hope that even if it wasn't, you found a way in that half second to spin it into something Eagles because that was perfect.

How's this? How's this? Mickey Moniac is the 2020s version of Brandon Graham. Oh, buddy. Oh, buddy. Oh, buddy. My all-time favorite eagle. That would be pretty cool. I mean, Mickey could be your favorite Philly, too,

given how the podcast has gone so far. I mean, he's definitely my favorite Philly as a person right now today. So, yes, I'm with you. So you're saying that Mickey Mon moniak is gonna hit a game winning home run in game seven of the world series is that where we're going here listen buddy or at least a game winning hit and get that that's the parallel right i mean right james james james i've never hated i've like i genuinely have never hated you more than I hate you right now just because of how that made me feel inside of pure excitement.

I'm just sitting here giggling to myself thinking about Mickey Moniak hitting a walk-off like this walk-off double into the gap in Game 7 of the World Series off of like Mariano Rivera

comes out of retirement just just just to pitch that inning i hate you i really do like i you want to hate me more you want to be more he does that then exclusive first interview on the ios podcast after that yeah see no this is this is heading down this is trending and trending in a wrong direction i'm getting i'm getting the interviewers out of the game they're trying to talk to me he's like sorry i gotta i gotta keep it for my guys yeah i'll see you later yep yep i think that's very realistic at this point so yeah i don't like you i don't like you i'm not you we love you you've lost me you've lost me for the rest of this podcast that's just thinking about it we're done here is that it should we just

shut it down sounds Sounds about right. No, I'm just kidding. But seriously, like, I'm definitely just giddy thinking about who he's going to take yard in game seven. Me too. Me too. Wait, does that mean that, does that mean, it's hard to, it's hard to, like, Nola's not as, like, Foles is bad. So, like, I'm trying to think who starts that game is it like uh is it like who who does foals compared like yeah does vinny does vinny velasquez start that game

like he never had like the foals 2013 oh yeah he did yeah he did he struck out 16 yes yes that's like a seven touchdown game yeah oh my god let's go dude starts game seven throws eight shut out oh mickey walks him off in the ninth let's go let's go this is the best fan fiction i think we've ever come up with um all right the point is we love this podcast back on track i want to be this interviewer i have notes so let's get back on track um all right spring training what stood out uh to you from the last time we spoke uh everything in the entire world be a little specific pal let me pull up my notes um i had my notes ready you didn't have your notes ready yeah i mean i'm usually i'm usually

just riffing on this podcast um let's that was good work let's start with zach efflin let's start with zach efflin um i am i am already mad at the injury gods for ruining this philly season like if i if i could call my shot on one thing it's that the injuries are going to derail the 2021 phillies i mean it's already trending in the wrong direction i mean we got what freaking real mutos hurt efflin's hurt got hurt they're like the day the contract was announced. Yeah, it's like, come on. It was like, oh, awesome. Oh, sweet.

This is why we're going to have a terrible baseball season is because of these freaking injuries. But when Zac Eflin was healthy, I mean, I've watched. I mean, I remember Zac Eflin's first start against the Blue Jays up in Toronto. And it was an utter disaster. But I have never seen Zach Eflin's sinker dance like that. Like, it was legitimately dancing. And I kind of was squatting on this for a little bit. But, you know, might as well get it out there now.

Like, Zach Eflin is a middleman's Roy Halladay. Like, he has the same stuff. Oh, my God. What? Keep going. But he has – the way he pitches is very similar. Like, it's 94, 95. I haven't seen his sinker dance like that.

It was dancing like that on, on Sunday when he started, um, maybe that was Saturday when he started, but, um, I was just, I was just blown away with, with his stuff. It was, it was 94, 95. The curve ball has nice depth to it. Um, the changeup seems like it's coming along, but just the way his stuff was moving i hadn't seen his stuff move like that um ever so um i hope this this injury thing doesn't hurt him um obviously it's just because i just i feel like he is on the verge of having a really solid season like i would not be surprised if he pitched to like a a 2-9 to 3-3 era like in that in that range because i i just think his stuff is too good he's too consistent um and i just

i just trust that every time he's gonna go out there there's gonna have those starts where he pitches a complete game and then he'll have those starts where he goes six and he kind of struggles a little bit but it's only like three runs. Like I just, I think his stuff, I think his command, I think his like his mental fortitude right now, he seems like he's a really good headspace. I think it just lends itself to Zach Eflin figuring it out. And we talk about how young everyone is, right? With the Phillies, James, like dude, Zach Eflin is 27 years old. I mean, I feel like Zach Eflin has been around forever, but he's 27 years old,

and it's probably the most not-talked-about-enough trade in Philly sports right now, but Zach Eflin, for Jimmy Rollins, who was pretty much done by that point, is just an absolute steal. Yeah, you could say that again. And how about the non-trade of not trading Zach Eflin for Manny Machado? You're right.

The Phillies are right. Untouchable. We destroyed them. We were like, what? They value Eflin that much? Yeah, look, I'm 100% with you. Assuming this back thing isn't a big issue, which I hope it's not. The Phillies are seemingly making out like it's not.

I'm all in on the Zach Eflin breakout season. I am. I think, look, you saw it last year. He is swinging missed stuff. That was something he didn't have before. Real, nasty, legit swinging missed stuff. If he can move forward, and especially with our guy Caleb there, kind of helping him along,

I think the sky's the limit for Eflin in that three role. I think he could be a – everyone's like, oh, well, he's not – he's like the Phillies three, but he's not really like a three. I think he could be like one of the better threes in baseball if he is locked in and healthy. I really do. Yeah, yeah. I just watch him, and I just see a guy who is very comfortable

in his mechanics right now. They're free and easy. And, you know, it's not like when he came up, I wasn't a believer in his stuff. His stuff just didn't pop. Like, Eflin's stuff never really popped before last year. He was always a guy that relied on early contact. Totally. Totally, Jack.

His stuff looked different last year. Yeah, but last year was up to like 94 95 which we just hadn't seen before the curveball had depth and he was he was throwing the you know what out of it i mean he was he he his his curveball velocity went from 78.5 i think miles an hour in in 2019 to 81 miles an hour in in 2021 like that's that's legit and that gets more spin on it and we saw it last year and now he's worked on the change up a little bit, but the fact that it looked like his, his sinker was dancing the way it was like, I just,

I haven't seen that kind of stuff from Zach Eflin. Um, and Saturday against the Tigers, I'm just, I, I, again, the injury thing scares me. Um, and we know he's had injury stuff in the past and that the whole heavy legs thing and people have been kind of hesitant to jump on the Zac Eflin bandwagon. But I feel just really confident in that guy to go get the job done on most nights. Yeah, me too. I'm really, really with you there.

What else you got from Sing Train? Yeah, so I'm looking, I'm going game by game now. Honestly, James, like I forgot my routine on this podcast because I think last week was was Moniac. So I kind of threw my whole balance off. But I'm back in my rhythm. The first 15 minutes of this podcast is like when an ace struggles during the first inning. And you were thinking the same thing, right?

Like when an ace struggles the first inning. Yeah, it was exact phrasing, exact thought. I mean, you literally were in my head right there. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But now it's a second through the rest of the game. Now you have to get to Fritz early or else the podcast is over. Casey Mize stinks.

Like, I know this is not a Tigers podcast, but, you know, I never bought into the number one overall pick thing and him being this generational pitcher. Like, that dude stinks. Andrew McCututchen's bat looks really fast um we talked a little bit about this i think last podcast maybe one before but um it feels like a lot of people are sleeping on cutch obviously because of the injury and

he's kind of figuring his way back and and and that stuff but if you think about it like he tore his acl midway through a year he's an older guy it takes him a little bit to get back he looks like he wasn't running very well. He looks like he's running pretty well right now. Obviously, he's never going to be as fast as he was, but it looks like he's moving well. And the bat just looks quicker. It's taking a lot of balls to right field.

So I am cautiously buying Andrew McCutcheon's stock, James. Ooh. That's what I want to hear look he's definitely looked uh you could see it and he heated up the end of last year i think you know we kind of disappointing september what or yeah september i was thinking about was at the same time of year yes it was which is last game um how disappointing september was with phil's and all that like mccutchen did turn it on a little bit after that really, really rough start. And you could see last year when he was in the outfield,

he had that kind of giddy-up in his movements. It looked like he was limping all the time. And I haven't seen that as much so far as spring training. So I think that's a really exciting thing. And contract year, for what it's worth. Oh, contract year, Cutch. Contract year, Cutch. I like that. Yeah.

Let's go with that. Yeah, why not? All right, what else you got? We got enough hashtags in this show, don't we? It's what we do here, buddy. Another takeaway from Saturday, Bryce hit the absolute tank off of Casey Mize. I haven't seen a swing look that easy in a little while from Bryce. Like, it reminded me a lot of the tank off of Walker Bueller a couple years ago,

where it was just, like, free and easy and bang. But for where he is spring training-wise, you know, early in the season, I do think that people, like, I'm pretty worried about the back thing, James, I gotta be completely honest with you. No, like, like I don't think like I,

this year, no, like I'm fine. Like, but the fact that he's already having back injuries to where he can't like throw a baseball, you know, for,

for, for an entire offseason and like just start picking up the ball again and he had to revamp his old throwing motion just to make his back you know feel better and stay healthier like that was always the concern with signing Bryce for 13 years was that his his his motions are very violent and the swing on saturday gave me some hope that hey you know your your natural power is enough just use your natural power you don't have to try to hit everything 500 feet like this is not tropicana feel when you're 16 um like just just just go kind of swing smoothly um but i i just think i'm i'm starting to worry about, and I know it's a couple years down the road, but 34.

Oh, buddy. You're making me nervous here, Jack. I like this. Well, I know, and I don't like it either, but if he's already having these back issues at 28, how is it going to get better by the time he's 34? Now, I know modern medicine and all of that, it'll help, but I don't think there's enough being made of the back

injury because backs are not good they are not the thing you want to mess with the sports his swing is very violent he had to change and revamp his whole throwing motion this offseason because it was affecting his back like it's just it's not it's not where i wanted that's not where i want my 28 year old superstar who's signed for the next 11 years to be yet in his age 28 season. Yeah, I obviously agree with that. And look, we've talked about Bryce's swing before and the violence of it and the concerns about that with the rest of the body and particularly the back and all that. And look, I think I don't think there's any question. He's even talked about it.

Bryce is not the kind of guy who makes excuses, as we've learned and as we've seen, but he's talked about how the back last year was a factor, was an issue, and I think it was pretty clear. It started off like gangbusters, was the hottest player in baseball for a month, and dipped. It was noticeable and picked it back up a little bit at the end, but still I think that back was clearly something

that was bothering him last season. That's what a bummer, Jack. Way to really bring the pod down. I know, I know, I know, but as we've said a thousand times, don't lie to the High Ops listeners. It's something that I don't feel like

tweeting to talk about it. I don't feel like dealing with it. So I figured I'd bring it to this podcast, but it is something I've been thinking a lot about recently. He's 28. He's having these back issues where he can't even throw in the offseason and all of this. I just hope – my hope is that he figured out this offseason.

The throwing motion was a thing. He worked out his legs more so that it strengthens his back, strengthens the hamstrings, which helps strengthen the back. All that stuff. That is my hope. But I definitely just don't love my 28-year-old right fielder who is signed for the next 11 years to already be having back issues. Yeah.

It's not what you want, Chad. Do you want me to raise your spirits a little bit? Yeah, could you? I'm all bucked right now. I know. I'm so sorry. I'm so excited to talk Phillies. Looking forward to the Phillies.

I hate the Eagles right now, and you've got to come and just whack me down. Just stop. Stop talking about the Eagles. Anyway, how about Alec Bone? I'm trying my best. How about Alec the Eagles. Anyway, how about Alec Boehm? I'm trying my best. How about Alec Boehm? Can we just talk about Alec Boehm? I mean, every single time he comes up to the plate,

I'm expecting him to hit a ball hard. Even his fouls back to the backstop are like, wow, that was hit really hard. He was really close to squaring that up. Everything he does at the dish, it is perfect he's always balanced he's never fooled um i mean julio tehran struck him out yesterday which i'm not handling well but um like it every single time he goes up there he is squaring a ball up and it's just so refreshing to see and i just i genuinely feel that by the end of the 2021 season it's going to become abundantly clear that he is the philly's

best offensive player yeah well i've said that like i'm so with you we talked about in the last pod like if i if i need a hit to win a game i I want Alec Boma. Like that's it. I think he's the best pure hitter on this team today. Like seriously, if the Phillies are down one run, there's a runner on second, like obviously a home run, you want a home run. I'm walking off there, but all I care about is a hit and extending the game. Like if Phillies have a runner on second, two outs, bottom of the ninth, biggest game of the season. I want Alec Boma at the plate instead of Bryce, Bryce. I want Alec Boma at the plate instead of anyone else on the team. Like, that's crazy.

This guy's been a major leader for like 50 games, Jack. And I want him at the plate in the big spot more than anyone else on the team. Like, that's wild, dude. It is wild. And I just, I'm so excited for hopefully, you know, 162 if these freaking injury guys don't get in our way. But hopefully get 155 games of Alec Boehm this year where it's night in, night out. We get to watch this guy. And I'm already getting sick and tired of the, well, Don Brown also had a good month.

It's like, can we just sit down? Just watch them play. Watch them hit one time. I know. It's like, can we just sit down? Just watch them play. Like, watch them hit one time. I know. It's so lazy. But it's day in, day out consistency. And I will say this. I've been really impressed with this defense so far in spring training.

Like, it just looks smooth. I don't know how long he can do it. There's not history of 6'6 third baseman lasting at third base. There might be one, but I can't think of one off the top of my head. The only one that comes to mind is Gloss, but I don't think he was 6'6. Yeah, I don't think he was quite that big i think it was like six four six three and even then like even towards the end like he was there but he was a mess at third base yeah and so i don't know how long he's going to be there but

for what it's worth the the defense this spring has been pretty good like he's he's made some nice stabs um five for trick loss so yeah he was a big boy. Yeah, he's tall. But he's made nice plays over there. Honestly, for Alec Boehm, I'll just make the routine plays. Just make the routine plays and the flash plays. If you can get to him, great. If not, not a big deal. But I've been more impressed with his defense than I thought he would be.

So it's a nice spring training revelation. Well, it's interesting you bring that up because, and again, he needs to be good. Right now, if we had to bet that he's not good, I mean, I need to see more. But the idea of the defense, because I was on with Joe Giglio earlier this week in the normal Jack Fritz Memorial 9 o'clock spot. Well, that seems like I do. I do Thursdays at nine with Joe every Thursday. I didn't know.

OK, thank you. So anyway, I was on with Joe and he asked me what the Achilles heel for the Phillies would be this year. And you had talked before about thinking injuries was going to be the issue, which is, you know, obviously I could have it on any team, but I agree. I'm concerned about that. But he made a really good case about the defense being this team's Achilles heel. And I had mentioned a few pods back. I talked to you about that Joe Sheehan piece that my brother sent to me that talked about the Phillies being the worst defensive team in baseball

for multiple years now and historically bad a couple of those years and you know I made the case that if you watch his team play every night every night they're not that bad like they're not historically bad but you know when you step back and think about it like going around the diamond you know they have one above average defensive player in JT and maybe two if you want to put Bryce there and Didi like I guess best case could be above average but certainly wasn't last year like they don't have a lot of defensive talent I guess Kingery if he's playing second base which he won't be would have been a above average guy but they're really not a good defensive team you know Boehm being

competent would be a big, big help to that. But are you as concerned about the overall defense of this team as people like Joe are? No. No. Wow. Shut your boy down. No. I don't think the defense would be great.

I just – I don't know. I've never cared about defense with baseball until I think, what was it, the 2018 Phillies? Was that the team that was historically terrible? Yeah. That was the first time i was like all right fine defense means a little bit but um like i just major league baseball players can make the routine plays i fundamentally believe that like roman quinn has no idea how to read a fly ball that's that's obviously frustrating you see that every night but like dd last year i don't know if the range is great whatever but i felt like he made most of the plays there right adam he had the

he messed up in toronto like urban buffalo whatever i thought segura played a good uh second base last year i think reese is fine at first he's not gonna win gold gloves i don't he's a dh let's be real i don't i just don't think he's as bad as defensively as you do he's he's okay he's whatever he's gotten much he's gotten much better that's not true but i think he's got better to be fair i agree with you he was better last year than he was in 2019 i will give you that um kasha thing is moving better in left field it's just like i don't unless they're 2018 bad which they won't be like i just don't think that's going to be the reason they're gonna miss the playoffs would i like a better center fielder yes i mean being able to run down balls and you know victorino was obviously great at that and the phillies and

in 2008 were a great defensive team i mean worth a great right fielder defensively victorino was obviously no rollins i mean phiz, Utley. Howard was not, but Chooch. Obviously, great defensive players, and I get it, and it would be nice to have a good defensive team. It would be great to have. But I would much rather have an offense like this than a good defensive team. I don't think that's going to be the reason you lose games, especially when I don't think...

There's no Hoskins in left field.'s no hoskins in left field there's no burl in left field there's no like there's no like kingery at shortstop like these guys are in their natural positions like they they should be able to make the routine plays on a night in night out basis so over 162 yeah they're gonna grade out as a below average defensive team yes but that's not gonna be the reason that they don't win games. Look, I generally agree with you. That's kind of the way I lean to. But I do think that they're right to point out that we don't talk enough about how bad this defense is.

It's not going to be good. All right, what else do you have from spring training? What else do I have from spring training? Can I throw one at you? Yes. Because I'm assuming this is something you had from spring training because as you know uh you know preparing for the show and all that i like to peruse the old jack fritz twitter account you're very close to passing me by the way it's

real you're like on the doors everyone yeah but everyone follows yeah so tell anyone you know to follow jack fritz on twitter so you can pass me on Twitter because it is so important to him. And I really want him to pass me. I will get there one day. Are you cool with me being okay with you passing me or do you want me to be like angry about it or something? I can fake it if you want. Yeah. I mean, it does bother me that I haven't passed you.

Please, please, please pass me, Jack. I'm dying for it. But checking your Twitter out, I thought the narrow street was interesting. So I think most people have just assumed that Archie Bradley will be the opening day closer. I know we've talked about his velocity, but if not Archie, I think Archie the favorite

in terms of the fan base's eyes. But you know, you got guys who've closed games. And of course, the nastiest guy there, we'll talk about him in a second, Jose Alvarado, like, hero, we'll get to him,

but, but, you know, Tony Watson's closed game, Brandon Kintzler's closed games, what makes you think, and you tweeted out, for those who don't know,

Jack tweeted out that Hector Neris, from what he's seen, should be the closer for this team, what makes you say that? Um, well, I could endorse one person to be the closer if said person comes on this podcast but uh i'm not oh i love it i love yes yes yes you're right well done that's right um

yes i appreciate you jack no no problem what we're keeping this bit on the pot i'm just saying yes i'm just saying yeah we're here you know i tweeted last pod i know just saying i know you know talking about when i come on all these podcasts well prove it um i'm on a phillies podcast dude like don't ask all of twitter to tell you what the best phillies by guys are and then go on none of them just say yes also yeah no i just I'm legitimately worried about his fastball. You know, every time I watch him now, it's like, that fastball just does not look like it has the same juice that it had in years past.

And when I watched him last year in Cincinnati, I thought it was down, but I thought the spin on it was good, and I thought it still kind of exploded. And the fastball I saw here is just looks flat to me, and like this isn't going to make people

feel better, I don't think, even though he is the Phillies all-time leader in saves, but he kind of reminds me a little bit of Papelbon. Like when Papelbon lost his fastball, he had to figure out different ways to get outs, and he was effective at it. The splitter became more of a pitch for him

and whatnot. In recent outings, Bradley's been using his changeup more than I'd seen in years past. I thought his curveball still has good bite to it. I think he's transitioning into a different phase of his career where the fastball

is not going to be as electric as it was you know a couple years ago and he's just gonna have to figure out how to get outs in other ways um but ultimately like i just i really like what i've seen from hector and and hector is so you know weirdly you know kind of maligned in this fan base like hector narrows is good like he's great like he's a is he unbelievable no i mean he's not but but i just i love his i love the slider idea and he's been throwing it more and more and it really like hitters can't really figure him out um because if he can get that pitch over for a strike like we talked about it last time, but if you can get a slider that breaks away to righties but starts in the same spot, and you have a splitter that breaks into righties

that starts at the same spot, and then you have 94-95, it's just a really good plan of attack for when you're facing hitters. So I just think with that, he seems comfortable. I like what he's done so far with Gotham. And I just, I just think he's still the best option because I,

I want him to close and I want to have Alvarado Brogdon and Archie Bradley be like the, the fireman and coming in and shutting games down. Like Jose Alvarado is far and away their best reliever. Like it's not even close. I best picture on this team. I'm like, Jose Alvarado is far and away their best reliever like it's not even close i'm the best pitcher on this team i'm like jose alvarado is a god he might be the he might be the best village reliever i've ever seen and it's unbelievable like like oh my god dude we talked about it when they traded for him we're like oh go look at go go uh go to twitter and put him

pitching ninja and jose alvarado and just see whatever he's got there and salivate like man he looks healthy he's locked in he is the nastiest stuff we have seen from early pitchers since Ryan Matten here dude he lost 50 pounds this offseason like that's that's a lot of weight to lose but it's a lot of weight you're right that's a lot of weight to lose in an off season um but he is just he is ridiculous like just i honestly i don't know how anyone's gonna score a runoff yeah i don't understand the physics like i don't understand how that dude makes the ball move at the speeds that he does like the physics don't work jose alvarado has broken physics as far as I'm concerned. I mean, it's 99 with straight down,

and then it's this... Yeah, like they disappear. It's like, what is happening right now? I mean, if you're attempting to hit that curveball, you can't make solid contact with that curveball if it's in the zone. He is absurd. Absolutely

absurd. I don't know if he's gonna allow a run this year i mean he might allow a cheapy run but whatever and as long as he stays healthy i mean he i don't know man but i don't and ultimately could he close yeah i think he obviously i think he could close but i would i would like him to kind of be the rotating guy and have a guy like hector back in the ninth that i know has done the job before, done it a long time here. Well-liked by his teammates. And again, I really like what I've seen so far with his stuff and the three-pitch mix.

So I'm endorsing Hector for closer. Jose Alvarado, rotating guy. Brogdon, if he gets his rib back or whatever happened. At least it wasn't arm-related with his injury. Yeah, I'll take it. Yeah, I mean, seriously. The injury gods are already getting out of hand. Crushing us. happened at least it wasn't arm related with his injury yeah i'll take it yeah i mean seriously these like the injury gods are already getting out of hand crushing yeah it's just annoying again the jt injury and i'll look we've kind of downplayed it oh he's gonna be back for opening

day we think all that but like all i'll say this is if uh for those of you who play fantasy don't get too excited about jt romita for the first month or two of the season. Because those type of injuries, I think he'll be fine defensively. I don't think he's going to hit out of the gate. I just don't. It's really rare you see guys with those broken fingers who come back and just hit right away. We'll see. But it's going to take him a little time to get going.

Without spring training, too. Yeah. I mean, he's not going to see live pitching until maybe the last week of spring training. If that. If that. um i'm with you so it's it's it's really annoying but i just i i like where the bullpen's at right now like for as worried as i'm about archie bradley like i still think he's gonna be a good reliever on most nights like it's not gonna be one of these disaster signings but yeah it's gonna be uh i mean at least we said it a lot so far but at least

these guys have stuff um and at least i mean yeah what do you imagine what honestly like like like the brasserie coming in here is exactly what maury did when he took over the sixers like oh we need shooting okay well here's shooters oh you guys you guys need power bullpen arms here's power bullpen arms like crazy concepts right i mean who was here before us guys didn't know they're doing yes guys didn't know what they're doing i i think that's the really i jack and we've said it and said it but i think it's just it shines a light on how incompetent andy mcphail was it really does and how and how mediocre to bad matt klintec was but particularly mcphail just in terms of running organization, like it feels like it's being run by adults again, you know, on a very simple level. Yes.

All right. We hit everything on my my notes. What else you got? Um, I love Matt Moore. I just do. I know. I know. I know you're going to laugh.

Everyone, we did it. We did it. I know. We made it. I know you're going to laugh. I know you're going to laugh. I know you're going to laugh. I know. I can't wait to see what you're about to say.

I can't wait. What are you going to say? They were right to rank him in front of Trout and Harper? Listen, the prospect rankings were always right. They were always right. They were always right to put him ahead of Trout and Harper. I just think he's going to be good. I don't know how good I think he's going to be.

He's going to have those blow-up starts. He's going to struggle. But I think Matt Moore's back, baby. I think Matt Moore's back. The Phillies cracked the code. And you know what's so nice, James, is that we can bring in free agents and they cannot suck here. Like our coaching staff at this point can get more out of these guys. Is that not a novel concept?

And I know it's spring training. I know it's spring training. And I know you're going to throw it in my face when he goes out and struggles. But I don't give a damn because matt moore is good all right so you're gonna hate what i'm about no you're gonna hate it don't um i yeah you're really gonna hate it because like he's not in terms of talent like 110 the guy i have so much more faith in chase anderson than i do in that one that's actually i wouldn't say more faith i i i kind of like both i just i i trust chase anderson to give me six

innings three runs six innings four runs six innings two runs seven innings two runs six innings four runs like like i expect chase anderson to pitch to a a 40 ra and i know that's not exciting but for a four starter fist or whatever, that's acceptable. He's going to eat innings. Like I just met more clearly as higher ceiling than chase Anderson. I just have a lot more faith that chase Anderson is going to be solid for me than I do Matt Moore.

Yeah. I just think this comes down to you hating me being happy. You genuinely just don't like seeing me. Yes. I just said, I want, I think one phillies picture is gonna be good and you're like oh i'm not happy i thought you loved the phillies jack

not just more i know i know i know i just honestly james i know i know i can't believe i'm at this point i can't either i mean honestly a month and a half ago whatever it was when they signed matt moore and we ripped the signing we like, I don't know what they're doing. Maybe it's a bullpen thing or whatever. I would have never get. I mean, I would have. I would. I actually knew deep in my core knowing you that you would talk yourself into it.

But like to hear you sitting here saying Matt Moore is good right now is, you know, it's something, Jack. He's just it's just it's just so fun to watch he's like the left-handed eflin like it's it's it won't be weird to have a left-handed starter again i'm gonna go every time dude like i swear to god i swear to god it's like watching hamels it's like it's like oh this is just glamour's again but obviously not glamour's but could he be though? I don't know. I don't know, but I know, I know he won't, he won't, he won't blow. He won't blow a world. I knew you were going to do that.

I just knew that was coming. It was the most obvious thing of all time. I can't believe I led you into it. Um, no, but in all seriousness, like I, let's get back to the real talk. Here's about Matt Moore being good. Um, I just, I, I genuinely like his, I like his mix. I let's get back to the real talk here about Matt Moore being good. I just I genuinely like his I like his mix. I like his mix.

I like that he pitches. And I know I know people are like, oh, these guys do throw hard these days. And it's smart to throw hard. Like, why would you not want guys to throw hard and strike people out? But there's there is still that there is still that nerdy pitcher in me. You've watched games with me, right, where it's like I'll start going through the sequencing and... Oh, I know. Yeah.

Tunneling. You're talking about all kinds of stuff. Yeah. I genuinely love pitching and that's why the Pavetta thing hurts so bad, although he is dominating in the spring. He's been good! He's been good! He's been up to 97. What?

I just genuinely love the art of pitching. And, like, Eflin has always been that guy for me where it's like this guy knows how to pitch. And that's how I feel about watching Matt Moore right now. And it's just intriguing to watch him kind of navigate throwing 90. I he's up to 94 the other day which is good but he's pretty much been like 91 to 93 um but I just I like how he throws I like that I like that he has a plan to righties now where it's like his changeup is diving away from and he has righties like basically he'll throw his changeup on the outside corner or start at middle and let it fade to the outside he has righties like basically he'll throw his change up on the outside corner or start

at middle and let it fade to the outside corner to righties and then next pitch he'll dart in with like a 92 to 93 mile an hour fastball like i know jacob stalling took one yard the other day but like that was an inch from being foul um so i just i just i love his plan to righties i love that they never seem to fully square him up his fastball up well. It seems like he always jams them, which is great to see. It feels like Hamels always did a good job with that. Cliff Lee always did a good job with that.

I'm not putting Matt Moore in that category. I'm just saying that I like his plan to righties. I like the movement on his changeup. That curveball is a weapon. It's a legitimate weapon. I'm excited to see what it does for a full season. And, like, yeah, I mean, listen, I don't know how good Matt Moore can be, but I think he's going to be good for this team. And we both didn't like the Chase Anderson-Matt Moore signings.

We wanted more high upside arms. But now that we've seen it kind of play out, it makes sense why they did it. You know, they want guys who are going to take down innings. These guys take down innings. And, you know, I don't think Chase Anderson is going to be unbelievable, but I see why they signed him. I see why they signed him. So I'm feeling if you were asking me a month ago what my Achilles heel of this

Phillies team was going to be, I was going to say the 4-5 because I didn't trust those guys to be able to consistently get the job done. I felt good about the one through three, but I thought the four or five was going to be the guys that were going to really going to struggle. And I don't, I don't feel that way right now.

Do I think they're going to be, you know, world beaters and unbelievable? No, but I think that there's a realistic path to both of those guys, you know, pitching to a three, eight to four,

two ERA. I mean, that would be huge. Look, I say all the time, I've said to you, I say it all the time, the idea that, you know, we're so myopic with the Phillies. We watch the Phillies every night. We freak out about everything with the Phillies. But if you look at the 4-5 starters across baseball, the vast majority of them look a lot like Matt Moore and Chase Anderson.

You know, there aren't that many teams that have guys that you can really count on in the four or five spots. So it would be huge if they can get something out of these guys. Look, Matt Moore hasn't been good since 2016. So fingers crossed. I'm hopeful, Jack. I'm hopeful. And at least he's a guy who has stuff

and has had stuff throughout his career. But it's been a while. It's been a while. So if they can see something in him when he's in Japan and bring him back and get something out of him, a lot of props. Again, I'm still skeptical.

I'm not where you're at, especially, as you know, with our last pod where I kind of just undercut your knees. I take nothing away from spring training. But I'm hopeful but i'm hopeful i'm hopeful listen that's all i will take your your your glimpse of hope um and while we're here talking about the starting pitching i want to hit really quickly on zach wheeler yesterday because it was awesome i mean i know how much you don't believe spring training results but um like it was just

it was cool watching zach wheeler from the standpoint of the first three innings. He was doing his whole ground ball thing and getting in and out of innings fast. And then the fourth and fifth inning or whatever, he just decided to strike out the side one inning. So that was refreshing to see. It was weird watching Zach Wheeler last year because it was like 99, but it wasn't a fast 99 if that makes sense to anyone out there it was like it was like a slow 99 which again doesn't really

make sense but i guess when you watch gary cole it's like wow that's a really fast 99 and then you watch zach wheeler like yeah it's 99 but it's not like a fast 99. But I saw this stuff yesterday. It was humming a little bit. It looks like he had a little bit more juice behind it. It looks like he's added a little bit more spin to his curveball. And I think he's going to be a guy that's going to benefit a lot from a guy like Caleb Cotham. I mean, part of the reason why Zach Wheeler said he signed here

was because of the analytics department, which is a crazy concept to believe, knowing this Phillies team in analytics. But a guy like Cotham, you would think with all the information that he has and how much he loves digging into the numbers and figuring some stuff out, Wheeler did not have a good start before this game against the Tigers yesterday. But what I saw yesterday was a guy that could get swing and miss when he wanted to. And it looks like he had some extra little giddy up on his fastball. So a really positive Zach Wheeler start.

I like the swing and miss. I like the whiff that he got on his fastball. He threw this like 91 mile anhour slider that was just stupid. It was a good, positive start from Zach Wheeler following up a bad one from the game before. Love it. Love it. Can't wait to see him pitching games that count and matter. I haven't brought up Nola because he got shelled by the Blue Jays. But as we all know, James, spring training results only matter when they're good.

And when they're bad, they're just working on something. And not even then. Not even then. They don't matter. Well, they matter to some people. They matter to me, damn it. All right? What else you got?

I don't think Scott Kingery should make the opening day roster. Oh. I really don't. Not back. Dude. Not even like remotely back. Like not even, not even remotely back.

Like CJ Chatham. I thought she'd made the team over. I'm like, whatever. I, I'm so despondent over Kingery. Um, um,

I don't know. It's, it's, he just looks so lost. Like, dude, he's bunting. He's bunting in a two-0 count like the other day.

He's retraining. What are you doing? He's bunting against a lefty the other day. It's like, no, dude. He's lost. He's lost. Yeah, he is. Striking out every other bat.

I still think from a versatility perspective, he adds value, obviously, because he can play every position on the field. But it's tough. it's tough right now Yeah I I'm of the proponent Send him to AAA and Let him work with the coaches there for a little bit And try to get this thing right

Rather than having him on the opening day roster He's already talking about how he's lost You know There's a story today by Lobs in the inquire where it's like it's like yeah i'm lost i gotta figure i gotta take my i gotta break my swing down back to the basics and do whatever it's like great you know like the opening day is two weeks away uh you're competing for a center field job so i am uh yeah i uh i'm pretty disappointed in Kingery, but I guess that's kind of where we're at with Scotty Jetpacks. Yeah, it's hard to be excited.

It really is. It's tough. It's a real bummer. We had hoped that with the whole, maybe it was COVID last year, this or that, or whatever. It's starting to trend in the direction of oh he's not going to be good yeah and that that's a concern it is a concern uh speaking of nola real quick i guess he's been messing around the cutter and i guess i don't get why like i just don't think it i don't think it works uh arsenal wise like it nola is a low arm slot guy that he relies on run from being a low arm slot

and getting his elbow out first and letting it be a little whippy with his arm. And a cutter doesn't really make sense, and it should be easy for the hitter to pick up on. So I appreciate working on a cutter. I'm a big cutter fan. I just don't think that Nles should be working on a cutter, to be honest with you. That's an interesting take. I think most people would just be like,

oh, add another pitch, why not? That's interesting. No, I genuinely don't think it works. All right, and then last couple things here. Last couple of things here. Do you ever think about, I don't know why i'm bringing this up but i've been thinking about this a lot because i don't know why but do you ever think about that robles home run off of eddie brad ramos that sunk the 2019 village i remember it i don't often think about it. It was so awful.

It was. It was like a 2-2 count. You know, it would have been a big win over Strasburg. Carpenter took Strasburg deep. I mean, I remember the game vividly. Like, I remember everything about it. I just don't go back to it the same way you do. It really ruined the 2019 Phillies.

It did. It really did. And then Soto hit the furthest ball I've ever seen in my life as is the bank park and an extra as well. And you knew he was going to homer too. It was like the most obvious

this guy's going to homer and this is bad of all time. I genuinely, though, I do feel bad for Juan Soto, Freddie Freeman, and Jeff McNeil because Jose Alvarado is here. And Francisco Lindor.

I feel bad for him too because Jose Alvarado is here and Francisco Lindor. I feel bad for him too because Jose Alvarado is here and the days of those guys ruining my life is over. Yeah, I think Francisco Lindor is doing just fine. Yeah, I think he'll be all right. I think he'll be just fine. What a division dude we got we got lindor lindor peter lonzo uh mcneil conforto up in new york we got akuna uh freeman and that's about it they all they stink down there besides those two and then you have soto and trey turner it's like come

on can we just can i can we get a break can we get a break? Can we get a break? But whatever. Jose Alvarado is here, so it doesn't matter. And last thing I got is, did you see that Rookie passed away? Reese Hoskins' dog and Jamie Hoskins' dog? I didn't. That's super sad. Oh, it's awful.

It's awful. I genuinely like I was super sad about it. I love Rookie. Rookie seemed like a great dog. So thinking of the Hoskins family and very sad about Rookie passing away. Yeah, that's really. Younger, right? Like, not a super old dog.

Dude, he was, like, two and a half? Three? What? Oh, that's horrible, dude. Oh, it's terrible, yeah. Oh, I have a 13-year-old and a 10-year-old. And every day I feel lucky that they're still going. So I can only imagine that's, that's, that's tough, man. That's tough.

And of course I have a two year old child, but that's a whole different thing. Right. Right. There's a dog. Yeah, I know. I said 13 year old, a 10 year old. It is wild how much older my dogs are than my kid. That's, that's fun.

Um, yeah. Shout out to the Austin's family. That sucks. That is, uh, not easy. No. a 10 year old and it is wild how much older my dogs are than my kid that's that's fun um yeah shout out to the austin's family that sucks that is uh not easy no oh and i got a house oh yeah you got a house yeah yep so i've i've already i'm starting to pick out a really nice house i'm starting to pick out where i'm gonna watch the fells i'm getting excited i'm thinking about i'm thinking about beers in the back with some uhanski and friends in L.A. on the radio. It's so nice for this whole process to be over. And I just can't wait for Fells and outdoor and fun. So, yes.

Yes. Your boy got a house. Wow. Wow. What an adult. What what an adult and a year older happy birthday i know i know i know i know it is kind of tough though because they do say that 27 is the year you're supposed to kind of break out and you're in your prime so some are saying this is the jack for its breakout year on this podcast that's what i'm saying age 27 season buddy gotta bring it yeah i need you that's right carry us um all right final thoughts um two weeks to opening day yes dude i need it i need it in my life in such a profound way

i need the phillies it's so bad i miss. I miss it so much. I hate football. I hate basketball. I hate hockey. I just want baseball. That's where I'm at. We good with that? I can hear the pain in your voice. It's just, I need it. I need it. Especially

after the last year's sham of a season where we got a third of the games we normally do, and it was a joke, and I watched the worst bullpen of all time, and every game sucked because you knew that no matter what the lead was, it was going to get screwed up anyway. I'm just, I'm ready for a real let's go Philly season.

We're going to have fans back at the Citizens Bank Park. Like, I'm just ready, Jack. I'm as ready as I've ever been for any baseball season in my entire life. I'm just ready, Jack. I'm as ready as I've ever been for any baseball season in my entire life. I'm not kidding. I'm there with you. My long, my long life. Yes.

You've been around a while, buddy. Oh, man. All right. Rate and review the podcast. It means the world to Jack. We are two weeks away. We'll be back next week. Two times a week.

Uh-oh. On the horizon, baby. I can't wait. So one more pod next week. And then after that, it's go time, baby. I can't wait. Go Phillies. Go Jack.

He's friends himself. We'll see you later.