High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - THE JOE GIRARDI IS THE NEW PHILLIES MANAGER EMERGENCY PODCAST

Episode Date: October 24, 2019

Joe Girardi is the new Phillies manager and James Seltzer and Jack Fritz are back to react.  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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Yo! It is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast. An emergency Joe Girardi's the manager edition, Jack Fritz. Good things happen on Thursdays. We're back. We are back. Thursday. We own Thursdays.

I mean, I appreciate the Phillies, you know, laying out there that Thursdays are days when the High Hopes Podcast is recorded. And, you know, we like to give these guys some news on Thursdays. Yeah, I wouldn't even put it past them

to say that the reason they did it today was because they knew we were already recording. Right. Yeah, I mean, they saw our text messages, which is a little creepy. I wish they wouldn't do that. Well, how the hell else do they know about Brian Barber so early? I mean, first off, you're welcome. Wait, this is the Joe Girardi Emergency Podcast?

I had to throw it in. I thought this was the Brian Barber Emergency Podcast. This is what we're talking about, right? Listen, are the Phillies making good moves? I can't believe it. Are we back? We are so back. That's what I said to throw it in. I thought this was the Brian Barber emergency podcast. This is what we're talking about, right? Listen, are the Phillies making good moves? I can't believe it. Are we back? We are so back. And that's what I said to you. Jack and I actually hugged today.

Jack came in for his shift. We hugged and said we're back. And Turtle made fun of us. And screw you, Turtle. Because it was awesome. And look, I said this to you before. I've said it throughout. And it's just, there was only one hire the

Phillies could have made that could have totally shifted the narrative. That press got... You're right. Two hires. I should have said two hires. Good job. I mean, that press conference was the worst. We all know. It bounced back from it. It was, to quote

John Ralphio, the worst! Oh, I'm back on my Parks and Rec It's like the third or fourth time I've watched Parks and Rec It's the best Look I would say that too And I love The Office I've probably seen The Office like seven or eight I've actually seen The Office more than Parks and Rec

I'm a Parks and Rec guy Ron Swanson's the greatest character in the history of television As far as I'm concerned That's neither here nor there Joe Girardi's the greatest character in the history of television as far as I'm concerned. So, yeah, that's neither here nor there. No. No. So back to Joe Girardi. Joe Girardi's the manager of the Phillies, Jack.

Yeah. The one move they could have made to change the narrative was to get Joe Girardi. Showalter doesn't do it. Baker doesn't do it. They would have been okay hires. We both talked ourselves into them. But there was one guy they could bring in that really says, all right, screw that press conference.

Let's move forward. We got a guy here who knows what he's doing. Joe Girardi. Well, and by the way, it's so funny that Middleton's not speaking on Monday, which is definitely a design like, just stop. Yeah, all right. Matt, the immediate reports, the moment it was announced that, oh, Matt Klintzak made the hire, this was his choice.

It was like, come on, man. He was first. Do you think Matt Klintzak put together his list of favorite candidates after it came out john middleton was in love with joe gerardi like do you think that's how it happened i think it was like that was like uh my favorite candidate show gerardi obviously i mean i great analytical mind and whatnot too because like over the last week and a half or whatever the reports come out that Buck Showalter is the favorite of the front office, but Middleton's into Girardi. It's like, hmm, I wonder which way they're going to go on this.

Could you just imagine Clem Zach being like, hey, I got a mangerial idea, John, and John being like, oh, thanks, Matt. And then guess what? I'm going to hire Joe Girardi anyway. So what is Matt Cle Clemente going to do? Disagree and get fired? What are we talking about here?

It's crazy. It's crazy. Joe Girardi is the Phillies manager. Just say that to yourself. Say that out loud. I've done it all day. I keep saying it. It's just crazy.

It's crazy. Tell that to your 2015 self. Tell that to your 2015 self that we'd have Bryce Harper, Andrew McCutcheon, and Joe Girardi as Phillies. i can't i can't tell that to myself because he would not believe me especially with 2015 when we were winning like 60 whatever games it was like we're never coming out of this no i couldn't i couldn't have believed it uh it's look uh joe gilio put out and i was trying to think as soon as they hired him i was thinking i'm like he's definitely the only manager who's won a world series they've hired i was thinking i'm like I'm like, he's definitely the only manager who's won a World Series that they've hired. I was thinking, I'm like, rocking my way. I'm like,

that's it. He's the only one who hired before, after he's won one. And then Giglio puts out that he's the first manager who's won a playoff series that they ever hired. That was crazy to me. Yeah, I guess the only guys that have done it are like player managers or whatever. Yeah, back in the day. The Harry Wrights of the world

and whatnot. Yeah, it's just, when does, again, this is just like the Harper thing. Yeah, it's just... When does... Again, this is just like the Harper thing. When does Philly get the guy? I know, twice in a row. The only team... Chip was a splashy hire. He was.

That was a big time hire. Yes. Just the guy... But he wasn't the pedigree of Joe Girardi. No. Joe Girardi's pedigree is- He has won a World Series. He has a world,

like the phrase, the quote, World Series winning manager is always attached to his name. I mean, that's, we talked a lot coming in and whether it was Girardi or Showalter or Baker,

it all held true with the idea that they needed someone who stepped into this locker room and had some cachet, some clout, someone who the players in the locker room look at and be like, all right, that's not Gabe Kapler who, not shading on Gabe, but Gabe was someone who had just played in the major leagues.

Again, like Sean Rodriguez was on the team, was his teammate. Think about that. Girardi comes in as someone who has won a freaking World Series and walks in that room and is like, not only did I win three World Series as a player, but I won one as a manager. I'm 55 years old. I'm a man. I'm an adult. You're going to listen to me. He's still in

his prime. That's what I love the most. It's like Girardi could realistically be here for the next 10 years and he'd be just as old as Charlie Manilow and the Philly Sire. It's a great point. It really is. No, it's a really, he's right in that sweet spot. He's in that sweet spot of just old enough for those guys to look at him and remember watching him maybe play

as a kid or something, but he was not playing when they were around, when they were close to baseball. And longevity as a manager. 10 years in New York. 91 wins a year is his average. He's made the playoffs six times. He's won manager of the year with the Marlins. He has pedigree.

And some of those teams overachieved. That Marlins team. That Marlins team is on the Yankees team. Unbelievable. I couldn't believe they let him go after. Do you know what their payroll was on that 06 Marlins team? I can only imagine it was incredibly low. $15 million.

Shut up, dude. That's so ridiculous. $15 million. Wow. So less than Jake Arrieta will make this season. Yeah, we picked those options today. I know. That's why I said it.

I know. Are you excited for a new back? It's like when people tweeted that out, it's like, did you have to really? What were the odds that Jake Arrieta was not picking up the $20 million option? Less than zero. Literally, if you can go less than zero, that was the odds that Jake was going to pick up. Dude, the 06 Marlins payroll was $14.9 million, dude.

That's insane. That's insane. Dude, their highest paid player... Hold on. This is actually fascinating. Their highest paid player was Don Terrell Willis at $4.5 million. Their second highest paid player was a guy by the name of Brian Moeller.

I remember Brian Moeller. He had a million and a half. Wow. Everyone else was under a million. That's unbelievable. Their third highest paid player was Wes Helms at $800,000. And he had a winning record, right?

No, he's 78 and 82. 78 and 82. He was manager of the year, though. Exactly. And for a lot of the season, they were over 500. It was one of those things where people were just like, how is this happening? What is happening right now?

Why are the Marlins competing? Our guy. Our guy. Our guy. I can't believe Joe Joraj is our manager. I know. I was watching the videos of him getting thrown out of every game. It's a 30-minute YouTube thing.

Not just watching. You were coming into the studio while I was doing the midday show and being like, watch the video, watch the video. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I was like, heday show and be like, watch the video. Watch the video. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I was like, he's not really going to be the Phillies manager, right? That was the way I felt the whole time.

Yeah. I almost- Even the last couple of days where I came to the realization, I got to the point the last couple of days where I was saying to myself, John Mills is just going to do whatever it takes to get him here. Yeah. And even at that point, I was like, no, he can't be the Phillies manager. That's why when we talked before, when we talked about Baker and Showalter, we both talked ourselves into Baker.

I was talking myself into Baker. I know. And we did that, at least for me, and I'm sure it's the same for you, because I didn't actually think it was going to happen. I was like, all right, I have to talk myself into Baker or Showalter

because they're not going to get the guy I actually want them to. So sure, why not? They actually got the guy. They did. And a shout out to the Mets. Suck it, Mets. Shout out to the Mets it mets shout out to the

mets man must be fun anytime you know anytime you can hire a first-time manager the candidate jack under brody van wagenen well that is great because i mean very clearly a situation where and and and you know i guess we have to say even though he didn't get rid of matt klintak thank you john middleton for making the decision here because clearly in New York, Brody Van Wagenen wants someone who's going to listen to what the hell he says. Yeah. The last three big Middleton decisions have been, I think, Gabe, we'll see.

I think Gabe could end up being a really good manager. Sure. It just may not have worked out here in the first-time managers thing that rarely works out. Yeah. Before Cora, the last one to win in his first tenure as a manager was Ozzie Guillen. So walking into it, he was up against pretty tall odds. Before Cora, the last one to win in his first tenure as a manager was Ozzie Guillen.

So walking into it, he was up against pretty tall odds. Obviously, David Martinez wins his World Series. It would change that a little bit. You had to do that, huh? I know. Oh, man. But for as much as we are worried about Middleton becoming too involved, and even today he's talking about how like I'm I am an in a buster only

article today I didn't read it yet because I don't have ESPN plus but but Agilio told me he was like he's like Middleton said that he owns this

team as a fan which is like kind of terrifying kind of but if he's going to make decisions like sign Bryce Harper and sign Joe Girardi like cool like yeah cool sure cool yeah that's awesome and honestly for them

to hire this is obviously the joe gerardi podcast but for me it's the brian barbara podcast um for them to make that kind of move and and show that they're still thinking forward thinking they're trying to become more forward thinking they're not getting rid of analytics i think i it it quells some of my fears well that and you had talked about that before the press conference and i think we both agreed the single part of the press conference like the only part that we were happy with was when middleton was very strong on saying the reason analytics are here is because of me they're not going anywhere all the smart teams use them that made me happy i enjoyed hearing that was the one part of the press

conference i was happy with and uh so with you and then i mean that was like our thing i mean we threatened to quit the podcast if they hired someone internally for that job for the scouting director job so well that's why they did it and then they actually hired the guy that you brought up on the pod well it's so funny i was was reading the Salisbury article and he was like, yeah, they're all prepared to hire this guy, Brian Schlitz or whatever from within the organization. And then the last couple of days have changed. And I was like, uh, come on. Just admit you listen to the podcast.

It's not that big of a deal. Hey, Phillies representatives. Thank you for listening. Yeah. I mean, listen, good job. Great job. You got Joe Girardi. And Brian Barber. Yeah. deal hey philly's representatives thank you for listening yeah i mean listen good job great job you got jojo and brian barber yeah they got someone from outside the organization who has been inside a high level forward thinking organization he knows how it works he knows

what to do he is bringing a level of professionalism and understanding here that we didn't have in that role. It's a massive thing. We don't know if he's a great evaluator or not. We hope he is. We think he could be. But even just understanding how smart teams go about this business matters. Yeah, and I like how high-pitched your voice got for that. It was

almost like you were as excited for Brian Barber as you were for Joe Girardi. I'm not saying I'm not. All right? It's a big deal. It was a big deal. It's a big deal. It was a big deal because I feel like everyone listens to this podcast, like, wow, we ever

care about Skyrim directors? And then we were like, no. Literally, this is the second most important hire this offseason. You have to nail this. So obviously, I'm not kidding, James. I spent way too long trying to find everything I could about Brian Barber, about

his track record. There's just no information on these guys. It's crazy. He was instrumental in getting Aaron Judge. He believed in Aaron Judge, but if you look at the Yankees draft picks from 08 on, it's not great. They've done a great job in the international market, and they've done an unbelievable job at trading Major League Towns.

Right, but that's big league scouting, which is the next thing to get a conqueror. I know, I'm just talking. No, no, but the reason why I am very, very excited about Brian Barber and what he's going to bring to this organization is that he's coming from the Yankees. The Phillies need to be building like the Yankees are now, where they use their resource, they use their financial flexibility, they flex their muscles, but they're also super smart and highly functioning. And what they talked about when they hired Brian Barber was that with the Yankees, they would have the head of amateur scouting. And then they have the lead scout for amateur scouting and the lead analytic guy for amateur scouting right below the director of amateur scouting. So it made me think that the Phillies are thinking about, here's our leader in Brian Barber. Then we're going to hire an analytic draft guy. Which would be really smart.

And then we're going to hire a scouting draft guy right beneath him. Blending the two things. Blending the two things together. We want them to. Like Joe Girardi does. Like Joe Girardi does. I'm all about the blend. Me too. We've always been. From the moment we started this podcast, we've talked about being very pro-analytics, but also you're a player. You

talk a ton about that side of things. It's massively important that you find a way to blend these two there's no organization that relies solely on analytics and nothing else in and for as for thinking as the astros are like they they they blend them of course aj hinge openly talks about it yes again you don't i mean we've seen them make decisions that were clearly not analytics based i mean they tried to and again, I thought it was a poor decision,

but trying to steal third base last night in game two. Again, I think they had a read on Strasburg and tipping pitches and whatnot. I think they thought

he was going to change potentially, but either way, I mean, the analytics say you should not steal in that spot. So they're bouncing. The thing about the

Astros, I know they're down 0-2 and they've made some questionable base running decisions, but in watching them cross congressional organization decisions, I guess they're down 0-2, and they've made some questionable base running decisions, but in watching them... And some questionable organization decisions. I guess they tried to rectify it, but I'm not sure. Wouldn't it be the smartest thing to just come out and blame correct reporting?

I don't know. It's a crazy idea. Yeah, just not say that they're lying. What horrible, horrible moves. Horrible moves. But... And the whole defending. It's a whole other part of it. A whole other part of it. Makes it hard to root for moves. But. And the whole defending. Yeah. It's a whole nother part of it. It makes

it hard to root for them. Yes. It's a shame because I don't want to root for the Nationals but they're so much more likable. And they do the dugout celebrations. It's kind of close. They actually seem like a fun team that gives a crap about each other and has fun playing together and like all the stuff you like. It sucks. Yeah. It's a real bummer. But the Astros.

Besides the point jack. Besides all that. They've done the little things really well. They focus on the fundamentals. They're moving up on bases. And for as much as it feels like the game's kind of gone away from that, the cool thing about this World Series is that no one's striking out. They're making correct decisions. I'm not the biggest play small ball guy,

but I think you have to know how to do it. Absolutely. You have to be able to execute. If it's the eighth inning of a 1-1 game you have to be able to manufacture runs like a playoff game like something like that like at a certain point it is the smart thing to do it is the smart thing to get that run especially if you have a good bullpen especially if you have a closer you trust all those types of situations like yes it's not always the right decision and and teams used to overdo it in the past but that doesn't mean that it doesn't have a place right and i think gerrari is going to bring this to this baseball team and i think

he's going to bring a you know rob thompson was the only member of the coaching staff last year or the year before that that had had major league bench dugout experience and it just matters it matters you need to put together staff that's been there and done that before because like major league bench dugout experience. And it just matters. It matters. You need to put together staff that's been there and done that before. Because giving Gabe that was setting him up to fail. Totally. Well, that was a quick example. The Doug Peterson thing, they bring in a head coach who never had experience,

but they bring in Frank Reich. Jim Schwartz is there. Guys who have coached, head coached, or whatever in the league before. That stuff matters to have guys who are experienced around you in any sport. And now they're bringing in John Maylee, a.k.a. Mike Groh. Yeah, they're reversing is the problem. Why would you do that? You had the, whatever.

But I agree with you. I think that's smart. If you have a guy who's a first-time manager, surround him with people who've done it before. Surround him with people who know what they're seeing, know what they've encountered. That have been in wars before absolutely like you absolutely I think

I think the Phillies the biggest mistake they did in the Gabe Kapler era was they acted like like dugout experience doesn't matter that's what they acted like none of that mattered right and this classic Phillies arrogance and it's being corrected now where it's like well they learned a lesson yeah I'd hope so because like it's

just ridiculous like how can you expect guys to react to guys who've never been there before? Totally. Baseball player, the guys in this team, I think, just react well to professionals, guys that have been there before. Absolutely. They have a level of respect. I think we saw it on the field. Again, you and I said it in the moment,

but I don't think most people thought that the loss of Andrew McCutcheon would have the type of effect that it did on this team, and we knew it in the moment. Yeah, unfortunately. Unfortunately, but because of all that other stuff. You talked about it a ton of times, about him coming out, leaning warm-up,

being the first guy out there, being ready to go. That stuff matters to a Major League Baseball team. It matters. Well, it matters when your dugout is not very strong. Right, right. And when you have a lot of younger players in powers of leadership. I mean, we talked about Harper a ton, the fact that this is the first time

he's ever really been asked to be the leader of a team. Yes, he was the face of the Nationals, but he wasn't the leader of that team. He wasn't the clubhouse guy they went to for guidance, for, you know, to be that voice of the team, all that. It wasn't him. That was Wirth. It was Wirth.

They brought in Wirth. And then it became Scherzer, and there are other guys in there who have been those guys. And Zimmerman. For sure, Zimmerman, absolutely. Right, so this is now Bryce's team, and now Bryce will have some help. I mean, Joe Girardi is a leader of men.

He's a leader of men. You know what's so funny about Girardi? I mean, the guy is... If it was World War II, I could definitely see Joe Girardi being the leader of the country. The leader of a full unit. You mean like the infantry type of thing?

Yeah, I could see him giving speeches like, we're going to storm that beach. We are going to... Yeah, totally. Like Patton style. Yeah, I could see... I think he reminds me of general patton a little bit the the fired up version of general patton um he just looks like he looks like a war he looks like a leader man he looks like a leader i couldn't you

see him like doing the military runs well that video you tweeted out of the objection that you showed me in the studio and then you tweet out with great tweet boom hashtag my manager i was a fan of that one thank you uh it was a good one that i mean you see that guy fighting and you're just like yeah yeah i feel like i want that guy on my side when things go down wait till the first time that happens this year and they're like oh this is a little different like can you see like, like, like Bryce kind of like nodding to JT, like, uh, it's just got real.

That's just basically what's going to happen. So, um, uh, Joe Girardi, fun fact. He wanted to judge already. Fun fact.

You know, I do. He was named the president of this frat at Northwestern after in his freshman year. Oh, Northwestern. She's smart. Leader of men. Good leader of men.

Look, um, I'm with you there. And I think that stuff matters. And I think having Rob Thompson here and set, I think that matters too. Dude, Rob Thompson last year in a dugout, I feel like he just would turn around to everyone in the dugout and be like, are you guys kidding me? He looked like he was the only one that really gave a crap. Yeah.

The last two years. Yeah. And again, it goes back to just having that type of cachet where guys walk into a clubhouse and they say, all right, I have to listen to Joe Girardi. That guy won three World Series as a player. That guy won a World Series as a manager. He's been a manager for over a decade.

He's made the playoffs six times. They're going to check out the 06 Marlins payroll and say, wow, he did that there. What did he do? How is that even possible? No, I think it really matters. I think it really matters, especially for this group of guys here. I think Girardi's going to really matter.

Again, I don't... I can't believe they hired him, man. I can't believe we're talking about the Joe Girardi podcast right now. And I think we're going to see the difference a manager can make. I don't know if Girardi is the best in-game X's and O's manager, but I just think

that he's going to have a different... He's going to have this team playing at a high level. I agree with you. Is what I think. And I think we're going to see that managers do more than I think people give credit. Well, especially from a clubhouse perspective, from a managing personalities, from that type of thing where it does

matter. It really matters. And accountability and discipline and all that. I mean, again, we like Gabe. He seems like a good dude, but he was lacking in those areas. Like, I'm sorry, you're not going to see players loaf out like they did with Gabe like Joe Girardi's not

going to take that Joe Girardi will bench anyone on this team if he needs to in a second he has the clout to do it they'll take him seriously when he does it we played a Joe Girardi or a Gabe Kapler tribute today on the show just some of the old cuts that we have

dude the one about the one about listen wake up whenever you want and come in a drink oh god it was at that moment I was like I don't know forever and always I like that idea I love it will be one of my all time

favorite drops in this real estate it's such a good drop whenever they start getting off getting off track i'll be like i'm really glad we're talking about this yes it's so good yeah so like but the whole freaking like ah just just coming to spring training practice whenever you want yeah the next one was like yeah we sent them home because they're practicing too hard what are you talking about right like it was just crazy some of the stuff and that was year one and i do think the

difference between guys matters too we've talked about that a lot but the idea of going from boa talking about. Right, like, it was just crazy some of this stuff. And that was year one where like- And I do think the difference between guys matters too. We've talked about that a lot, but the idea of going from Boa to Manuel, going from someone who is so far to one extreme

and then going to someone, I mean, Girardi is so not Gabe Kapler. He's so not Gabe Kapler. Plus, something else that I love, and this has always been something I've believed

for as long as I've watched baseball, I really like former catchers as managers. Always it just I mean obviously it makes logical sense I mean these are the guys who are game planning they're the guys who are looking at lineups and looking at tendencies for pitchers for hitters all that type of stuff so it and they're involved in every single play of a baseball game so it makes sense but at the same time I still in general i'm i lean more positively towards a former catcher as a manager than any other position yeah i mean they're just the ones that have i mean they're they're the quarterback yeah that's what they are so it's i god how

excited you think real romito is oh he's probably he's like out of his mind right now yeah because he's his guy like he comes out he'd be like, oh my God, I can learn from you. Like you could teach me stuff. He saw his face when Jared, he's running in. Like, yeah, I just think that Real Muto, Real Muto and Harper obviously are the ones that matter. But like Real Muto is just such, he's just like Girardi. Yep.

Except he's better. I mean, Girardi. Oh, he's way more talented. He's a horrible, horrible player. Girardi was not a horrible player. He was just not a good player. Like he was fine. I mean, Joe Girardi played in the major leagues for 14 years as a horrible player. Girardi was not a horrible player. He was just not a good player. He was fine. Joe Girardi played in the Major Leagues for 14 years as a catcher.

He was a very solid Major League player. He was just a weak hitting catcher. He was a good catcher. He was just he wasn't anything special. But 14 years in the Majors, you're at least a certain level. He wasn't horrible. You know what I'm saying? Is that fair?

14 years? 14 years. He wasn't horrible. You know what I'm saying? Is that fair? 14 years? 14 years, yeah. He wasn't good. He wasn't horrendous. He was fine. One second. Are you looking up his stats, Dan? Tell me how bad he was?

No, I'm just... 14 years. 14 years. It's a long career. It's a really long career. All right. Quick question. Yes.

All right, hold on. Joe Girardi's career OPS plus. Oh, God. It's probably horrendous. Was 72. Yeah, that's bad. It was OPS plus. All right.

I'm not saying he was good. It was a different era, too. Do you want to know what Andrew Knapp's OPS plus is for his career? Oh, no, I don't. 76. Oh. You just brought in Andrew Knapp to be your manager? It was a different era, and you know that.

Not fair, Jack Fritz. Not fair. Wow. And you're a way better defensive catcher, too. I can't believe you fully endorsed Andrew Knapp for Philly's manager. Come here, Jack. You're hating on Girardi. Are you really hating on Joe Girardi on the Joe Girardi podcast?

That's messed up, man. No, I just can't. Messed up! I just can't believe you're fully endorsing Andrew Knapp for Philly's manager. That's good work by you. That's horrible. I respect that. He's a second-round pick.

He's got some talent. Can you believe they took him? The pick before Cody Bellinger. Why would you do that? Like, why? This is a celebratory... Brian Barber's here! That's what I'm saying!

And you gotta go freaking talk about that! Celebratory mood here, Jack. Yeah, we're good, man. We're good. We're good. We're better than Cody Bellinger here. Yeah. Is John Mid're good, man. We're good. We're good. We've got our buddy Bellender here. Yeah. Bellender's here and they're there.

Is John Middleton turning into Steinbrenner South? Hey. I mean, he's hiring all the Yankees. A bunch of Yankees, baby. It's good. Listen, if you want to hire from, if you want to model the Phillies after one team in this, like, I know we all love the Astros. We love the Indians.

No, it's the Yankees. It's the Rays. But for this team, for this market, it's the Yankees. It's the Rays. But for this team, for this market, it's the Yankees. Well, they're also the greatest professional sports franchise. I mean, I hate them more than anything, but they're the best. Part of the reason I hate them. I mean, they had 27

championships. I mean, let's be real. They didn't win a World Series this decade, though. First time since, what, 1920? Yeah. I mean, 1920s were like No the 1990s they never won one.

What? Or 1980s. Excuse me. I don't know why I said 90s. 80s they never won one. For sure. Yeah. But still.

But whatever. I'm pretty sure. I'm 99 98% sure Either way they've won World Series 27. Yeah.

A lot of World Series. a lot of World Series. A lot of World Series. But modern day, they haven't won as much. No. Well, not since the Jeter, Rivera teams, Posada, those guys. Since Joe Girardi managed them. Yeah, technically, yes. I was talking about Joe Torre.

But Joe Torre also mentored Girardi, for what it's worth. I mean, Girardi on those Yankees teams, like he was mentored by Joe Torre. I mean. He's been around the right people. Like, I mean, Zimmer, Torre. He's just, listen, he is. Show Walter. Show Walter.

That is pretty funny though. Cause I think he was there in 95. Show Walter was probably manager back then. Yeah, I would say so. So it's just massive. It's a massive day and it's, I can't believe they got the guy. They never get the guy.

Although I guess you're learning that they got Bryce Harper last year. It's okay to believe that you're going to get the guy. Sure. It's because it's just weird because I can never picture these guys in Philly's gear. Well, I mean, when you think about it, like really. What number is he going to wear? Ooh. So he wore number 27 his first year as Yankees manager because they had 26 ranks and he wanted to win 27, right?

And then he switched it to 28 the year after. So is he going to be like three? But he can't be three because Harper's three. Oh yeah, duh. Duh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Conundrum.

Uh-oh. Conundrum. What's he going to go with? I don't know. It's a great question. I don't know. It is the important stuff that we tackle on the- I've thought about it a lot.

I know. I bet you have. What number is he going to wear? I like the idea of wearing a number three because you need to... I love that. It's a very cool gimmick. It's a good thing. I dig it. You should just wear number

two. And just say we're never winning another one. Maybe you should wear number four. There you go. That's Kingery's number. Because you win multiple here. Just go for like seven and say I'm winning a bunch here. Franco won't be here, so we're fine. Yeah, that number's open.

That won't be an issue at all. Take number seven, Gerard. But he's just, he's I'm excited to see his first leg. I'm just excited to see baseball again. Me too. It's made me way more excited. Like, I'm ready. Like, sign Garrett Cole, let's go. I'm ready. For as much as I liked Gabe and appreciated the progressiveness and whatnot

and how he thought about the game, it's just nice to get back to it. It's how I felt when they hired Doug. I wasn't as in on Doug as I am on Joe Girardi, but it's the same kind of feeling from me. We went to the extreme with Gabe.

Give me a baseball guy. Give me a baseball guy. As to the extreme with Gabe. Now give me a baseball guy. Now give me a baseball guy. As much as we like Gabe, he wasn't a baseball guy. Even though he played in the majors for over a decade, he just wasn't a... Joe Girardi is the quintessential baseball guy. He is a baseball guy. Besides me. Of course, you gotta do that.

Matt Klontag, not a baseball guy. No. Matt Klintak is definitively not. He's a Dartmouth guy. Yeah, he's an Ivy League baseball guy. But it's just like, it's a massive day for the organization. And then like...

Again, actually, when you think about it in the city, like just, like you said, other than Chip, and that didn't have the same cachet, it's definitely the biggest hire in our lifetime in Philadelphia in terms of cachet clout

of a guy they bring in as a manager or coach. I mean, really, the only coaches who have been brought into Philadelphia in our lifetime who have won a championship before somewhere else are like Ken Hitchcock. Oh, the Flyers guys. That's the point. That's what I'm saying.

So, Girardi, like- No one was like, doing emergency, we got Ken Hitchcock. You could argue this is the biggest, loudest, whatever you want to say, managerial coaching hire in the city's history. You could argue that. I would say Chip- Chip because of like the, you know. He was like, oh, we're going to revolutionize the NFL.

But in terms of like just a pure resume, you put a resume on a table and say, all these people got hired, whatever. It might be the best resume hire in the city's history. Hmm. Coming in. Obviously Frank Kona won a couple after he left. Well, no, I know what you're saying.

Larry Brown? That was another one I meant to mention. Won a couple after he left. Well, no, I know what you're saying. Larry Brown? That was another one I meant to mention. Won a college title, obviously, no pros till after. But, I mean, he's up there. He's in the discussion for the biggest hire in the city's history. Yes. Wild, man. Our guy.

Our guy. Let's go. The Phillies did it. They did. I don't know how. I don't either. Well, they actually did it. We were despondent after that press conference.

Yeah. It really felt like the future of the organization was in peril. Yeah. And now we're all right. Yeah, I think we stabilized. We stabilized. We're highs and lows, guys. Yes.

You could say that. Yeah. When they're low, I mean, we're changing John Mellon's name. I mean, we're, you know. But to be fair, I feel very justified in what we believed and what we said. And look, I'm still not set

on the health of the organization long-term. There's still a lot of question marks and all that. But for 2020, and again, assuming that Middleton and everything we've heard is that dude's going to go out and spend money again, assuming that is true, assuming he is legit, genuinely willing to go out

and spend a bunch of money again this offseason, I mean, they can compete in 2020. Yeah, I think they can. I think they have the talent. I think they'll actually believe in this team. Yeah. I never believed in the last two years. No.

Look, yes, they need to re-overhaul the bullpen. They need to get Garrett Cole. Batanzas? I would take a chance on Batanzas in a second. He didn't pitch at all this year, like, pretty much. It was a rough injury. But, I mean, at a time. It'd be so classic.

He was the best reliever in baseball for a solid year there or whatever. But, yeah, like, it is exciting to think that after as low as we felt that with this hire, with the potential, if they make some moves this offseason, we could all be really, like actually have

high hopes again heading into the season. Well, the manager's not going to get booed on opening day. Won't that be something? Yeah.

That'd be special, Jack. I would like to know the process to where he would get booed on opening day. I don't think it's even possible. I feel like murder somebody prior to the game. It would never happen. day i don't think it's like murder somebody prior

to the game it would never happen if he comes out and takes like a dump on the fanatic maybe maybe maybe if not people probably go it's hilarious fanatic probably loved it our guy say our guy um but yeah it honestly it is good that it did like i'm glad that Middleton's like still spending money I was a little worried that his bravado wasn't real I think it's real I think he really wants to win

but sometimes I just don't know if he's going about it the right way but he wants to win and he's going to spend the money and I mean I'm not going to say it. I'm not going to say it. But I'm a little worried.

I was a little worried that he's just the Angels owner of the East. You know what I mean? They spend big money. Spend skin contracts. Artie Moreno? Yeah, Artie Moreno. Let's hope not. Let's hope not.

Let's hope we just Steinburner the South. Let's hope we Steinburner the South. We're building Yankees South here. And again, not to bury the lead, Brian Barber. Brian Barber. Brian Barber. Pretty cool.

It's good. It's good. Again, smart organization. I mean, he pitched in the big leagues. It wasn't very good. But just being able to nail that hire and not hiring from within and coming from a team that spends money and has both analytics and scouting when it comes to to

picking guys and the international stuff i mean their international their international signings are insane i mean they crush it every time sevrino like now they got jason dominguez i know which infuriates me yeah what do they call him? Like the Latin Ruth or something. He's got one of those. He's like the Otani of, like they're saying he's the best Latin prospect ever. Yeah. Is what a lot of people are saying.

Right. I mean, that's coming off the heels of Wander Franco and like Juan Soto. Yeah. Like Wander Franco. I mean, come on. Are you kidding me?

I know. It's insane. Juan Soto. Yeah. Like the guy who's the star of the World Series. It's crazy. It's crazy. How good he good he is dude he's 20 he's 20 years old

he's the star of the World Series he's right now if the series ended today he's the MVP of the World Series good thing he's not

going away oh great him and Acuna 10 years from now he's going to be 30 but I'm sure people said the same thing about Andrew Jones

so yeah still still he's better than Andrew Jones. Yeah. Still. Still. He's better than Andrew Jones. Yeah. He's better. He's the next Bonds.

Yeah. He feels that way. He just feels so much bigger and older than 20. It's hard to believe. He's a man. Like Acuna, you see him like he's one of the best players in baseball already at 21. But you're like, okay, I could see him being 21. Soto doesn't, that dude seems like

he's way older. It doesn't seem real. He's a man. He's a 20-year-old man. He's a man. But he's really good. I know. I got nothing bad to say about him. It sucks. That homer in game one off Garrett Cole was a bomb.

Opposite field. Like a bomb. No, it's a good thing Garrett Cole's already getting used to being a Philly. Zinger. Zinger. Give him 240. Honestly, I worked out the math and

240 divided by 6 is like $38 million a year. It's terrifying. It's a lot. It's a lot of money for a pitcher. Think about it this way. Patrick Corbin, a year. Yeah. It's terrifying. It's a lot. It's a lot of money for a pitcher. Well, think about it this way. Patrick Corbin, a really good pitcher, like a top 20 probably. 240 divided by six is $40 million a year. Yeah.

That's insane. Think about it again. Patrick Corbin, a top 20-ish pitcher in baseball, like a really great pitcher, got six for 140. 140. Think about I think I found that. We're going to grow $100 million more. I hope you're ready to write that check, Johnny. Let's go! Is that our next

thing? We brought in Bryce Harper. We tried with Haim. We own a choice here. We got Joe Girardi. Brian Barber. Most important of all of them. Right. How could I forget? And now we have to

say the Phillies again and tell them to give We just do what we do. To give Gary Cole $225 million. His opening offer of six years $225 million. And we'll go from there. Get it done. Yeah. Get it done. I mean, you're welcome. We'll spend all your money, John. I'll spend all your money john i'll spend

all your money really good at it real elite some would say the best and we are elite money spenders unlike matt clint that was not an elite no he just spends it on neshek and hunter and robertson it's a good day jack it's a great day it's a great day final thoughts no it it feels like we got our team back I feel for the first time today in what feels like a while I feel genuine true excitement about the Philadelphia Phillies

for the first time since mid season July maybe for as low as we were after the press conference, we bounced back. We bounced back in a big way. They bounced back. And they deserve us bouncing back because, again, they went out and got the one guy they could to change the narrative,

and they did it, and props to them. Good job. They got the guy that everyone wanted. Yeah. Again. Again. At least we didn't have to record a Joe Girardi's never coming here pod to make it happen. Yeah.

Whoa. That's good. And some people were like, why don't you do a Girardi Lent? I was like, it's just a manager. Yeah. Let's have Gary right here. We saved that for the big ones. Yeah.

Okay. We saved that for Cole. Gary Cole Lent. Might have to do that. Right. If it looks like it's trending in a positive direction. You have to make things happen there. Right.

But now, the first two big steps to the offseason, the Phillies have crushed. Yeah. They crushed the manager. It's a great point. We went through our whole list of all the big things that had to happen this offseason, and these were the first two, and they nailed them both. They nailed them both. So, good start.

Oh, man. Now, let's- Hopes are high, baby. Let's see what bold trades you make. Oh, I'm ready Um Oh That's what I wanted to bring up

Before we got out of here Um So The former Yankees That are free agents This offseason That have played Under Joe Girardi

Brett Gardner Starling Castro Didi Gregorius Starling Castro by the way, is one of those guys who's going to end up like, like people, like approaching 3,000 hits.

People are like, what the hell? It's like, oh yeah. We're going to wake up one day and Starlin Castro's going to have 3,000 hits. Yeah, legitimately. And it's horrible. Like he probably has the best chance

of anyone like young playing right now. Or one of the better chances. I mean, one of the, like. In terms of the pace. I mean, one of the... In terms of the pace, I mean, Trout obviously has a really good chance to get there. So, Arlen's going to be there.

I should say, he's like the most unexpected great chance. Yes. Like, you wouldn't believe how good his chance is at this moment. No, it's like Markekis' stats.

Yeah. No, he's better, though. I mean, like, not better stat-wise, but better accumulation-wise. Yeah. So young. Played forever.

Didi, Austin Romine, Jan-Havis Salarte. Austin Romine. Eduardo Nunez. I'll take him over nap. Can I get Austin Romine over nap? I don't know. You just endorsed Andrew Knapper, manager. So, Eduardo Nunez, Michael Pineda.

I like Eduardo Nunez. I like him to an extent. He's fine. Pineda, Nova. I would absolutely take a shot on Pineda. Oh, for what? Why? Why not?

Why? Every time he disappoints. He is so disappointing. He had stretches last year in Minnesota where he was good. It doesn't matter. Yeah. He's always going to... I'm done with pitchers who let me down all the time.

Okay. So, is that a better shot? No. Well, it is. It is, but I'm already dreading when they trade him. I know. I'm already dreading it. Chapman, Batances.

Yeah, well, Batances. They're going to sign Gardner. Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? They're going to sign Gardner. And him and Haseley. Because Gardner will be their... He can't play center anymore. He's like a left fielder, though, is the problem.

He can stand there. They're going to put freaking Corey Dickerson in center field. They put Reece Hoskins in left field. I think he can play center field if they need to. Okay. But Gardner, he's going to be their clubhouse setter guy. I could very much see it. Clubhouse setter guy, he's a good culture guy.

He's a guy that if he's on your team, you love him. Yeah. Everyone else hates him. Right. Like, I hate him. Why do you hate Brett Gardner? Because he's so annoying. But that's because he's a Yankee.

He's the best. He's a Yankee. So I hate him because he's like the most annoying Yankee. And he's just a Yankee. He's like Yankee. Yeah. He is a Yankee. He's a Yankee.

But of those guys, I think Gardner's going to come here. I would love for them to trade Segura and bring in Didi. Look, the Yankees are dying to get rid of Didi. Are they dying to get rid of him? It seems like they are not in on the Didi Gregorius thing. It's been a story in New York that they're not going to resign him. Weird. I know.

I guess what? Glaber shortstop? I would assume so. And who's their second baseman? Tyler Wade? Sure. They're going to give

that many? I'm sure they've got other guys. I'm trying to think of who they have. I'm sure they have someone else. Right.

We'll probably just forget it. They're loaded with talent. They'll be fine. Yeah. They'll be fine. They'll figure it out.

Oh, they can move DJ Lemay back to second base. That's an actual position too. Right. And then opens

first base for Voight. Opens first base for Voight, put G on third. D-H Giancarlo. Mm-hmm. Or just cut him, I mean. Right?

Doesn't want to clutch Gene in his body. Yeah. Vatanis is interesting. I love. If he's healthy, I would, in a heartbeat. Yeah. I don't know.

It's interesting. It is interesting. I'm excited. Romine also would be classic. Yeah, get don't know. It's interesting. It is interesting. I'm excited. Romine also would be a classic. Yeah, get rid of Knapp. I'm in. Romine was great

when he played. Andrew Knapp could be managing your baseball team 10 years from now. I can't wait, man. Really. I can't wait. All right.

Rate and review the podcast. It means a lot to Jack. It means a lot to us. Helps people find us and all that good stuff. Anything else on your mind? Just congrats, everyone. Yeah, we got Girardi.

We did it, guys. We did it. Even though the Nationals are about to win the World Series. We did it. We got Girardi. We're back. Nothing else matters. He's for it's himself, so we'll see you later.

All-star closer, Kenley Jansen. We have a question. What's the best podcast of all time? Baseball isn't boring, baby. I'm Rob Bradford, and every single day I'm sitting down with the biggest names to show you this great game is the greatest game. It's my podcast. It's my passion.

It's 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.