High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The Last Time Tiger Woods Won a Major the Phillies Won the World Series So...

Episode Date: April 15, 2019

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz are back as the guys react to the Marlins series, Jack exposes the Phillies bullpen strategy and more!  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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This is the High Hopes Podcast. It's a bunch of baseball nerds. Well, without the computers. Talking about the Philadelphia Phillies on Radio.com and sports radio 94 WIP. Yo, it is another edition of the High Hopes podcast as we come off a winning weekend, Jack. The Phillies won the series. It's all great. The last time the Phillies won the World Series was the last time Tiger Woods won a major.

Oh, buddy. We're back. You're such a Tiger guy. Oh, dude. Yesterday, I was just like. You're such a Tiger guy. I was weeping yesterday. I know you were.

I know you were. I have never. I love golf. I know some people don't love golf. I love golf. I love golf. I know some people don't love golf. I love golf. Oh, man. And seeing Tiger get back to that level and then seeing a riveting 14-inning Phillies win. Let's just say a 14-inning Phillies win.

I don't know about riveting. It was like a big exhale Phillies win. They needed that win. I know they don't. In reality, it is April 14th the game is being played on. It doesn't matter. I needed them to win that game. I know they don't. In reality, it is April 14th the game is being played on. It doesn't matter. I needed them to win that game. I needed them to win. Thank you, Gene Zagura, my hero.

For my own sanity, I needed them to win that game. I tell you what, there is not, and I kind of remember this in my playing days and whatever. When you go to a ballpark or go to a team that has absolutely no juice, you just don't play well and i think i think it's the one takeaway from the marlin series it's like when no one's there no one cares and you have to you have to you have to generate your

own energy it's really hard to play oh back on my they're human beings corner that hey it's tough to get up for these type of games yeah you you are mr anti-analytics and pro only funny because i'm so pro analytics and yet this is my number one thing that i harp on also they're either human beings it makes sense that you're gonna go down to miami and have a little less juice than when you're playing the nats here or whatever right and it's it's just kind of just what happens and you can just see it the whole weekend like they they slept walked it felt like and and it's it's hard to get up for games when no one's there. It just kind of is. It was a very, Friday night was a lot of fun.

It felt like they kind of took out their frustration on the national series. We needed that. After the Victor Robles game and then the debacle game, we needed it. Yeah. The debacle. Let's call it that. Yeah. I guess we call Saturday's game the debacle too.

The Washington Massacre. Oh, man. It was bad. Saturday's game the debacle, too. The Washington Massacre. Oh, man. It was bad. But, yeah, Friday night was good. And then the weekend, it was just like, this isn't very fun. I mean, here's the thing. When they lose, they lose, Jack. They lose hard.

That Saturday game was just away from them. That third inning happening, it was like, oh, they're just done. Like, this game is just over. The Phillies don't just lose. They lose. They lose. Capital L-O-S-E. It's either they get blown out.

Yes. Just their absolute doors blown in. Or they lose in heartbreaking fashion. One or the other. That's all that's happened this season. Yeah. The only game that they've lost this season that wasn't heartbreaking was the one we went to. Yeah, yeah.

But we don't remember. Saturday, Tuesday. We don't remember anything. So it doesn't matter anyway. Yeah, it's like this team is just two levels. It's like they're dominant. They look like they go to the World Series. Or they've got a lot of holes.

There's no in between almost. And thank God. The whole Marlins series to me was just – winning that game yesterday was a major exhale. They needed it. They needed to win the series. And then once it kept going and it kept like, you kept feeling, it was one of those games where you go into it, you say, all right, we're not losing this series to the Marlins. We're going to beat the Marlins.

We're going to win this game. And you're up 1-0 and you're like, we're going to be fine. We're going to be fine. And then all of a sudden it's 1-1 and it just stays 1-1. And you feel like they're going to win the whole time. Yet you know, because you're smart and know how baseball works, that Bryan Anderson could put one in the seats any second and the game could be over and you've lost.

At no point did I feel like they were actually going to lose. But they almost lost, man. That's my point. They almost lost. I needed them to win. I thought they were going to lose yesterday. One of the extras, I was like, I see it. It feels like a loss.

It felt like a loss the whole time. It felt like a loss. It felt like a loss the whole time. It felt like a loss. So thank God they won. They won. Mean Gene Segura came through. Mean Gene. Came through with a big home run. And McCutcheon before that with the triple.

Can we really quickly just talk about how much I'm in love with Andrew McCutcheon? Yeah. What a pro. He does everything right. He does everything right. That's a double for 95% of players. Yeah. This weekend, his left field defense was amazing.

Flawless. And if you have Hoskins out there, you're losing those games. Yes. There's no doubt in my mind you were losing those games. He got to a ball that was down the left field line, I think, Friday night. It was like, this guy's ridiculous. And he made a couple catches last night, I guess, in Sunday's game, running into the wall and just knowing where to be and knowing how to do it. Well, knowing what routes to take.

And it's the same thing with his base running, too. You watch him run bases. We've talked about this, but it's textbook. Inside of the bag, he runs bases the way you were taught to run the bases when you were a kid, when you learned to play baseball. And he does the same thing as an outfielder. He takes the perfect routes to balls. He makes things look easier than they actually are.

Right, right. And even though the Phillies offense kind of had an up and down weekend. Yeah, Jekyll and Hyde. More down than up, I would say. They really are the most Jekyll and Hyde team. It's wild, right? Even going back to last year. I mean, their highs were highs,

their lows were lows. And this year, the offense is obviously more talented, but they're still kind of doing the same things, which is semi-maddening. They're just doing it at a higher level when they're good. Yeah, I mean, their bottom, I think before the Marlins series or after Friday night, their bottom three in hard hit percentage as a team. Which is unbelievable. As an offense.

It's hard to believe. Which is like, what? They've been raking this entire season. But still, even when they're down, they have pros like McCutcheon and Segura. And Segura, in that ninth inning, you could just tell he was trying to lift the ball like a major league baseball player should do. And it happened to go out of the yard. In the 14th inning. Yeah, which I didn't hate.

I didn't hate that he decided to hit it out. And they still have him, Harper, Hoskins. Even though they're maybe a little bit inconsistent, the consistency of those guys is still there and still very, very important. Well, and they do, with the maddening inconsistencies last year, this team is more consistent in the way,

like they're going to get on base. Like this team is going to, their walk percentage I think is still the highest in baseball. It was like 13.6% as a team last year. And their team OVP is way up too, yeah. They just, they will get on base consistently and that is something that will really help them have fewer of those types of maddening lows. And we certainly won't see a two-month stretch like we did last year.

That's never going to happen to this team. They're too good and they are too consistent at the things they do well offensively to fall for that long that hard. And the track records. I mean, the guys they have here actually have track records. So do you want to get into like, do you want to go into Friday night? Yeah, I'm going to throw some in. All right, let's start Friday night.

Let's start with, look, Jake Arrieta is the best pitcher on this team right now. Yeah, I thought Arrieta was really, really good on Saturday. He did get swings and misses, Jack. He did get swings and misses. How about it? Yeah, I mean, we should probably preface this by saying it's the Mar Saturday. He did get swings and misses, Jack. He did get swings and misses. How about it? Yeah, I mean, we should probably preface this by saying it's the Marlins. The Marlins are one of the worst. I mean, like, one of the worst teams in baseball, Handley.

Jorge Alfaro right now is their best hitter in their lineup, okay? That's all we need to say. Him or Brian Anderson? I'm just talking pure numbers. Brian Anderson's a new Phillies killer. I don't know what it is, but Brian Anderson just brings it. The new Jeff Conine? I guess so, man.

He knew Mr. Marlin. Brian Anderson brings it against us. But it is but brian anderson just the new jeff conine i guess so man he missed new mr marlin brian anderson brings it against us but it is a really i mean curtis granderson's been dead for five years and he's leading off for them it's a bad lineup no it is a bad lineup it is a bad lineup for sure um but arietta what he did on on on friday that i thought was really good um he threw 85 strikes with his changeup on Friday night, which I think is massive for him. Because if he can get that pitch over, his fastball, he's on more sinkers now, but his sinker is coming in.

He threw 73% strikes with his sinker. So he's basically been a two-pitch pitcher this entire year. And we said before the season, that makes the most sense for him going forward. I don't think his curveball is good enough at this point or has the feel for it at this point sure he can still get swings and misses for it with it but i think it's more of just like a get me over kind of pitch at this point whereas um i think the change up and the sinker are legit especially when you you throw

them out of the same arm slot they go to the same spot but the change up is probably at this point like it was coming in about 87 on friday night and he was topping out at like 93 so it's enough but it's also moving a lot so you can kind of get away from that with that point but it looks like a fastball out of hand so then it just dies off at the end they're creating soft contact off of it i thought he was great i thought he was really finishing through his pitches and i was looking i was looking at his uh like strike percentages on his pitches through his three starts this year three starts this year. And his first start was horrible.

It was like 47% strikes with his sinker or whatever. And now it's up to like his last start against the Twins was like 60%. And on Friday it was 73%. Positively trending in the right direction. Good to see. Good to see. We like this. So he's looking more and more like the Arrieta we saw in spring

where he's fully finishing through his rotation, getting fully through himself. And the ball's coming out well. I mean, I don't see the huge velo concerns that we were concerned about. Like last year was 91-92. He was back up to 94. And he just looked smooth out there. He looked comfortable.

He looked like he was generating a lot of soft contact. Obviously, he's playing in a huge ballpark and a bad lineup, but 7Ks is good. 8Ks. 8Ks? 8Ks is good. 8Ks and 7 innings. So I'm with you. I think right now, you know, it's crazy to, again,

we're only three starts of the season for most of these guys, all of these guys now, actually, other than Velasquez, only two, and we'll get to Vinny coming up. But I think you have to feel really good about Arrieta. Right now and moving forward, I think that we're going to get Mr. Jack Fritz's call the back in on Arrieta

it looks like Arrieta's back he's never going to be the guy he was in Chicago the Cy Young winner the second half guy but I think Jake Arrieta can be a solid three low end type of two for you and that's massive yeah I mean if he can be if he can generate soft contact with a sinker change up combination I think that's a plan that works for him and then if he can generate soft contact with a sinker-changeup combination,

I think that's a plan that works for him. And then if he can mix in his curveball or slider and get that over, he could maybe generate more swings and misses. But for him, I think more important than getting the strikeouts and getting all that stuff is generating the soft contact, especially with the improved defense behind him, even though it's definitely not great, but it's definitely improved. But it's significantly improved, which is, it's unbelievable. It makes you realize how horrific it was last year.

Yeah, it was a minor league baseball. Because they're not a great defense, but it feels like they're a great defense because they make a routine play. I mean, Gene Segura is pretty bad at shortstop, but it feels like we have a shortstop. He feels like a stud out there. Are you kidding me? He's awesome.

All right, other thing Friday night that stood out to me, and we saw it again on Sunday, and it could be a massive thing for this bullpen. Victor Arano's back, brother. How about Vic? Who needs Craig Kimbrell? Two shutout on Friday night, of course, six strikeouts in two innings yesterday on Sunday.

What have you seen from Victor? You know, look, you and I were big fans of Victor last year. Early on, he had the, what, 33 consecutive scoreless innings or whatever it was. Yeah. You know, kind of wore and I were big fans of Victor last year. Early on, he had the, what, 33 consecutive scoreless innings or whatever it was. Yeah. You know, kind of wore down over the season. Obviously had one of the worst spring trainings in the history of spring training. Oh, it was horrible.

It was like 19 runs in four innings or something. Oh, it was bad. Absurd. Yeah. He looks back, where are you at with the run? Yeah. So I guess when he went down to Lehigh Valley, he had to figure out the pressure points on his slider.

And he had to realize he had to put more pressure on his middle finger on the slider, so it comes out with that harder spin and whatnot. And the slider looks good. So he generated 14 swings and misses on 24 sliders. I mean, that's absurdity. That's absurd. That is an absurd number. 14 out of 24.

Yeah. It's like 60-something percent. It was either 14 out of 24 total pitches with swings and misses, and 12 out of 24. Yeah. It was 60 something percent. It was either 14 out of 24 total pitches with swings and misses and 12 out of like out of 22 sliders. Whatever it is. I mean, those numbers are ridiculous. Yeah. I mean, the Phillies as a whole don't generate many swings and misses.

I think they're bottom five in team strikeout percentage. Not surprising. Which isn't great. After watching them pitch. Yeah. But to generate that kind of numbers for a guy whose stuff isn't overwhelming like it's not like he's going out there pumping 97 with a hammer slider the slider's good um he must he must generate some crazy like uh like guys just not must not be able to see it out of the hands i was thinking deception like there's for some reason the the

people just don't see the ball well coming out of it's not like it's not like an otavino slider no it doesn't fall off the table or anything like that. He's like a poor- It's not an Adam Morgan slider. No. He's like a middleman's Roberto Osuna. Like he's the same kind of mechanics as Roberto Osuna. Except Osuna's hitting 98 or whatever.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Osuna's another level. Yeah. But if they can get Victor Arano back to being what Victor Arano was last year, he's a multi-inning weapon. He's exactly what this bullpen needs right now. I mean, they need a closer, too, as we've talked about. But that's the type of guy they need.

I still think Robertson's a closer. Well, I think he is de facto right now. I think they want him to be, but I don't know if he's the guy or not. I'm backing on David. David had a couple good innings yesterday. We'll get to Sunday's game in a minute. Yeah. But, you know, I thought if you can get Arano to be a multi-inning guy, I'm backing on David. David had a couple good innings yesterday. We'll get to Sunday's game in a minute. Yeah, yeah.

But, you know, I thought if you can get a Rano to be a multi-inning guy, eat up some innings. And he's been a guy, well, last year and so far this year, at least not, I mean, spring training withstanding, has been a guy that you can put into big moments and he seems like he can get out of those big moments. So Friday night was big. Sunday was huge. And Victor Rano being back

is a big moment for this bullpen. It lets everyone, it kind of pushes everyone back. Like Victor can be your two-inning guy and then you could have Adam Morgan for lefties. You can have Seranthi for the fireman. You can have Pat Neshek for whatever you need. Like if you need a seventh inning

and you need him to get it, you're up by one. And then you have David Robertson closing it out. You see a lot more flexibility in that. For sure, for sure um but yeah i i'm happy with big should i should i do what i found out oh yes yes please so jack has a theory here i have a theory so jack is has uh crunch numbers i i literally have like yeah i mean i i i bought i eyeballed the numbers i didn't really write it down so this still, this is Jack really doing something weird, and I really appreciate it.

So tell us what you did. Okay. So the Phillies' mindset of the bullpen this year seems to be- You figured it out is the point. Yes, I figured it out. You've done the research. I've done the research. You know what they're doing with the bullpen.

They're breaking ball. They're breaking balling people to death. So every single reliever has a higher usage rate on his off-speed breaking pitches than he does on a fastball. Every single one of them. Every single one. This is very interesting, actually. Hector Neris is throwing 73% splitters this year. What?

I mean, it's felt that way when you watch him. It feels like he throws nothing but splitters, but I didn't actually expect the anecdotal evidence to actually be backed up. Well, this is where it came from, because watching them, it's like, throws nothing with splitters but i didn't actually expect it to like the anecdotal evidence to actually be backed up well this is where it came from because watching them it's like are they throwing fastballs i feel like they're not i think they're not throwing fastballs at all with robertson you watch him you're like i feel like he hasn't thrown a fastball he's throwing his highest percentage of of breaking balls that he ever has in his entire career wow neshek throwing more than ever this is clearly an organizational thing yeah it's definitely it's

all chris young i mean chris young comes from the Houston Astros where spin rate sliders. I mean, they brought in Ryan Presley because of his spin rate and told him to just throw sliders. And that's basically what he's done. And that's what they're doing with Adam Morgan and all that you've talked about. They told Adam Morgan just to throw sliders and he's just throwing sliders. Arano, we're talking about. Yeah, this is actually really interesting. Look at you.

Yeah. Look at you. Math guy. Jackie Analytics. Jackie Math. Yeah. Jackie Numbers. Yeah, this is the classic case of watching it every day

and then also using the analytics to back up the eye test. See, that's what you do. All right, so let me ask you a question, a follow-up on that. Double part. What does that mean moving forward and do you think that's a smart strategy? I think... I do like the idea of breaking and balling people to death because breaking balls are

harder to square up than fastballs. I mean, teams... Players are hitting fastballs harder than they ever have before. They're able to hit 97 with their eyes closed at this point. It makes sense to change that philosophy. Fastballs up and just breaking ball, breaking ball, breaking ball. I think it works for the

bullpen. Where I don't like it is I don't like it for the starters. The one thing from Eflin's start on Saturday. I like this because we were going to move. Anything else from Friday before we move on? No, no, no. Nice McCutcheon homer. Nothing else to talk about. A great McCutcheon. A bomb. I just want to get it in there. I want to mention it. He had a couple of their home runs at Citizens Bank Park. No, no, no. Nice McCutcheon-Homer. Nothing else to talk about. A great McCutcheon. A bomb. Like a bomb. Bomb. I just want to get it in there.

I want to mention it. He had a couple of like, their home runs at Citizens Bank Park. Yeah, the triple was a big hit. I mean, he had a big, really nice weekend. Go ahead. A weekend that Harper didn't really do much.

Yeah, they needed him. Hoskins didn't do anything this weekend. Real Muto really didn't do much. Like, none of their big guys really brought it this weekend. McCutcheon and Segura did. Yes, and I also,

I think we don't give enough credit to the Marlins pitching staff they have some legitimate arms well you do well of course

it's like your favorite Zapp baseball my second favorite team in baseball but they do have a lot of talented arms yeah even in the

pen like that they brought that guy Guerrero in disgusting he's firing a hundred I was like who the hell is this guy I've never heard of

this guy I've heard of him he's nasty so I'm with you. And Adam Conley kind of blows, but has like some Andrew Miller to him. Adam Conley's all right, man. I like Adam Conley. He needs to go to a better team.

Yeah. Like a smarter team. I think Adam Conley will get traded at the deadline and will make a difference for whatever team he's traded to. Yeah, I agree. That was a takeaway. And like their offense is atrocious. So the pitching staff stuff is frustrating.

So with that in mind, Eflin. Eflin. So Eflin was frustrating on Saturday because, so he's throwing that cutter more than ever. Like he threw, I think he threw like 20-some percent fastballs, like 14 fastballs. And when Eflin is at his best, it is 14 fastballs both sides of the plate.

It is up and into lefties, up and into righties, and then also, you know, whatever. That's when he's at his best because his off speed is not good enough to where he can just throw it whenever and expect swings and misses on it so like what i didn't like about saturday was he threw so many of these cutters that are like it's a cutter slider combination like sometimes kind of comes out of the hand it looks like a slider sometimes it looks like a cutter but they're all 88 and they're 87 then it's change up to 87 and it's like you cutter, but they're all 88 and they're 87. Then it's changed up to 87. You need some change in speed there. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And he didn't go up and in with his fastball. He didn't do that. He didn't throw his fastball. And what made Eflin so good in June of last year when he went 5-0 was he was throwing like 50-some percent fastballs. And for him to get away from that, I don't like that idea, basically. Okay, so why? What happened?

Especially after his first what happened where we saw the zach evan we saw his first two starts and then he goes and faces this horrendous lineup in miami and there somehow is kryptonite how does that happen i understand what happened from a pitching perspective why does that happen maybe it's your guess well maybe he felt comfortable with it like in the and when he's warming up. I don't want to say that I think that Chris Young was telling him to throw more cutters or whatever because they want things to move. So I pulled it up. Oh, no, it's not updated yet.

That's annoying. My bad. You got us all excited for that. I know. They didn't do it yet. I don't use a computer when we talk. It's all up here, Jack. Yeah, well.

I just look right at you. Right. Well, I try to do the same, but also mix in some advanced, some Zach Eflin-ness. I don't know. I don't know where the idea came from. I mean, because, I don't know. Because what was working in the first two starts of the season was, or first three starts, I guess, was the fastballs. You're right. The first two starts. The first two starts. the season, or first three starts, I guess, was the fastballs.

You're right, the first two starts. The first two starts. So it was the third start. The fastballs up, and then his slider and cutter and changeup all look devastating off of his fastball. To go away from that philosophy, I don't totally get why. Maybe he thought he didn't have a good feel for it. I would hope that they didn't say, hey, I would just hope that they hands off a little bit. I understand what the philosophy is uh breaking ball guys to death but i mean zach efflin does not have unbelievable

breaking stuff so i would hope that this is a minor blip so where are you at with efflin moving forward i'm fine with him i don't want to overreact to one start like the first inning was like oh he's he's just good now like i watched the first thing on saturday i saw your tweet it was like oh efflin's in like i'm in. It was like, oh, Eflin's in control. He was. He's a master right now. Everything was just like, dot, dot, dot. And it was weird. It was weird how it just kind of all fell apart.

And when he started getting behind, he started using his off-speed more and more. Maybe that's maybe he didn't have the confidence in the fastball on that day. But, I mean, I don't want to overreact to Eflin's bad start. I mean, bad starts happen. And I think the first inning showed that it's still in there. It's just that I want to see him use his fastball on that day, but I mean, I don't want to overreact to Eflin's bad start. I mean, bad starts happen, and I think the first inning showed that it's still in there. It's just that I want to see him use his fastball as much as possible.

Alright, anything else from the horrendous, just terrible Saturday performance? No. Down 10-0 going into the ninth. Thank God they got those three runs in so they can help their run differential. I was mildly annoyed when they had those three runs, and he just sent back out Sir Anthony to hit

when he had runners on first and second. I know, I was like, really? At this point, what are we doing here? Yeah, just put Arrieta up there or someone. I totally agree with you. It was like, come on, Gabe. So we'll get into, I didn't think Gabe had a great weekend. And we'll get into Sunday.

There was one particular move that I really, and it didn't come back to bite him the way I thought it would, that I just thought was a really poor job by Gabe. I really thought that, I thought Nap had a great weekend. Are you like trying to trigger me right now? You know how many pens I broke this weekend? So if you look at my show sheet, so you bring a computer, I bring my show sheet with my notes.

There is only one thing written in all caps. Do you see that, Jack? NAP. In all caps. Because I don't want to not talk about how much I hate Andrew Knapp. Why is this guy still on my team? Why is he here? Jack.

Okay. Okay. Here's the thing. I get it. Catchers don't hit, right? That's the way baseball is right now. JT Romito's like a unicorn. The fact that he can play defense as well as he does and he can hit.

Let's make sure he can get it going a little bit. In theory, though. He is a unicorn. I get it. Can you get me a catcher who can play catcher? Who can actually stop the ball from going by him? The guy put no effort. I mean, I am so done with Andrew Knapp. Actually, I feel bad because I'm sure Andrew Knapp's a good guy,

and I hate him. I legitimately don't like him as a human being because he's on my team. That's how I feel. Andrew. No more Andrew Knapp. There's no one out there who can play the position? Nobody? They should go get Sandy Leon.

Sure. Go get anybody. Anybody, Jack. First Coast? Whoever's playing. Who's your AAA catcher? Bring that guy up because he's better than Andrew Knapp. Anybody.

Debbie Green. Sure. They're calling for Debbie Green. What happened to Drew Batera? That didn't work out. He's still there. He's still there. You can get him.

You want him? Someone who can play catcher, Jack. Just play catcher. I don't care if you bat 0-100. I don't care if you don't ever get a hit in the Phillies lineup. As long as you can do that other part of it, you're better than Andrew Knapp. So you were not impressed with Andrew Knapp's weekend. He didn't enjoy the Sunday when he had chances to end the game like three times.

The strikeout was just terrific. I mean, and that's the thing. I get that. I expect that from Andrew Knapp. I expect him to come up and strike out, whether it's a big spot or not. I'm expecting a strikeout. Stop the ball. Stop it.

At least play catcher. That's what I mean. Play your position. That's all I'm asking. Yeah, but he's a switch hitter and has a good eye. Oh, man. In all seriousness, why is Andrew Knapp on this team? Why? He's a good

locker room guy. What? Is he a picture of Gabe or something? Why? Why is he on this team? It makes no sense. Because he's a good locker room guy that theoretically works good at bat. You know who's a good locker room guy? I'm a good at bat. You know who's a good locker room guy? I'm a good locker room guy.

Bring me in there. I'll work at a bat. Come on. Okay. By the way, Eflin threw 36 cutters on Saturday as opposed to 17-14 fastball. See? Nailed it. Not enough.

It loaded finally. What? It loaded. It loaded. I had to get to the right page. All right. Now that you brought up Andrew Frig Well, I had to get to the right page. All right. Now that you brought up Andrew freaking Knapp, let's talk about Sunday and you know how I feel about Andrew Knapp.

All right. First and foremost, let's start with Velasquez because I'm sure everyone is dying to know what you think. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So, um, uh, I was kind of, obviously I had my eyes fixated on my boy Tiger. Uh huh. I mean, Sunday Red Tiger.

I mean, talk about swooning. Jack, this is what you got to do. This is what I do. Two TVs. Well, I don't have two TVs. I have two TVs set up in my basement. One was on the Masters. One was on the Phillies.

Well, I had my computer on the Phillies. Okay. So I was watching. Oh, so I chose Tiger over the Phillies. Of course I chose Tiger over the Phillies. Wow. I would not. Come on. It's his first major. I was Phillies. Of course I chose Tiger over the Phillies. Wow. I would not. Come on.

It's his first major... I was very compelled by it. I thought it was great. Did you have the sound on the Masters or did you have the sound on the Phillies? I had the sound on the Masters. So that is fair. Only because it was a historic moment. So that doesn't change anything. What were you listening to?

I don't care that you had two screens up. I said I was listening to the Masters. Okay, that's all good. So before you try to remember. I loved the moment. I thought it was compelling. I love the drama. I was actually watching it

holding my daughter on my lap when he's hugging his kid. Of course, I'm like all like Oh, here we go. Welling up and all. I'm holding my daughter. It was a beautiful moment. I just think he's a scumbag.

That's how I felt watching Vince Velasquez. Yeah, I just think Tiger's a scumbag. That's how I felt watching Vince Velasquez. Yeah, I just think Tiger's a scumbag. I struggled to root for the guy, but it's an amazing accomplishment. I get it. He's my favorite golfer ever. I understand. It was a nostalgic thing.

I understand it. So, Vinny. Vinny, I thought, was awesome. Wow! Wow! Especially after the last start, five innings, everyone's And if Vinny... Wow! I know, I know. Especially after the last start five innings, everyone's like, Vinny looked great.

And you're like, no, no, no, my friends, he did not. Well, he didn't look great. On the Vinny bandwagon. Someone wrote today, like, two spectacular starts in a row for Vinny. I was like, oh, come on. I believe the word stud was thrown around on this radio station here at WFJ. So Vinny made an interesting mechanical change that I thought was much needed and one that should have happened maybe two

years ago. And we'll see if he actually sticks with it because what Vinny does is he'll find something he likes and then he'll go away from it. Totally. That's what he does. Oh Vinny, look at Vinny. And then it's like oh yeah Vinny. Oh he goes back to being Vinny. So what he was doing was, obviously he's going

over his head which is his new thing this year but he was much more like methodical and making sure all his weight was back and he's doing this thing like as he was coming down the mound where he just did this one little extra leg kick kind of thing kind of like Scherzer you know when he kicks out at the end sure um and and Vinny what he was doing was he was trying to make sure he's as back on his back leg as possible before firing home. And I thought it was a really, really good development for him. Because what his problem has been the last couple years is that he tries to just strike every single batter out. And he's all over the place. He nibbles.

And what he didn't do on Sunday was nibble. He threw 80 pitches in six innings, which is like. It's great. I mean. It't do on Sunday was nibble. He threw 80 pitches in six innings, which is like... It's great. I mean... It's outstanding. Which was more impressive? Tiger Woods winning the Masters at 43 coming off back surgery, or Vinny Villolo throwing 80 pitches in six innings? It might be Velasquez. I think it was Velasquez.

Vinny doesn't get through six innings very often, much less than 80 pitches. That is a real rarity right there. And do you think he was on the mound, and he was like, this is easy. Do you think Vinny was like, maybe I should do this more often? I hope he was. I mean, for the love of God. Probably not.

I think he only struck out four. Four. Four and he walks three. Three, correct. Only obviously the two hits. No hitter through five and two thirds, so they gave up that homer. To Jeff Conine Anderson? Philly's killer, man.

Well, don't worry. I mean, they'll sign Brian Anderson when he's eight years past his prime. Like they did with Conan and Wes Helms. Yes. My least favorite

Philly of all time, Wes Helms. Wes Helms, he's high on the list. Steve Jelts still holds. Steve Jelts apparently a wonderful guy.

Way before my time. Yeah. It was rough to do for Steve Jelts. Actually, my least favorite Philly of all time is David Bell. Oh, mine's Andrew

Knapp. Well, that makes sense. I tweeted a little while ago that with every bat Andrew Knapp inches slowly up the makes sense. I tweeted a little while ago that with every bat Andrew Knapp inches slowly up the list of my most hated Phillies, he might be at the top. I hate him.

We should do a starting nine. Should. At one point. Okay, I like that. Sounds like an off-season pod. Yeah, but Vinny I thought was really, like his fastball, he's locating well both sides of the plate. And I think him being able to stay back that little bit longer,

and he was still 94 95 he jumped up to 97 at one point so it's not like the VLO wasn't there but it was much crisper I saw the ball rise

a little bit on his fastball which I think was big I saw some good breaking balls but again this is the full disclaimer of Vinny does this all the time

and now that Vinny right there the one that is staying back as long as possible not not trying to strike everyone out. And if he's making a mechanical change and that holds, that is the type of thing that changes people. Right. So that could be sustainable.

He's just so finicky sometimes with how he changes all the time. So I am holding on Vinny. I thought it was a really, really positive sign. I like this. I thought it was positive. Good. I really did. I thought it was a really, really positive sign. I like this. I thought it was positive. I really did. I thought it was good. And I thought he was finishing his pitches.

And the fact that he was like, all right, I'll get ground balls. And I'll try to just get through. That is so big for him. And he looked like a pitcher on Sunday rather than a thrower. All right. Bullpen, eight shutout innings. Anything stand out? Crazy.

Unbelievable. Jose Alvarez. And don't get me wrong. If you actually watch the game, every single ball was hit hard. It was not a clean, easy inning for Jose Alvarez, but got through it, got the save, unexpected, but in general, the pen comes in and

Robertson throws two, Arano, six strikeouts and two. Neris gets out of a tough little jam there. They got it done. They did. Morgan, once again, dominant. Well, I was holding on Morgan because I want to, I'll just say it. That's my issue with Gabe.

I couldn't believe that he brought Morgan in for one batter in that situation. I thought that was, I thought that was horrendous managing. I really, that was a really disappointing moment for me. You bring Adam Morgan in who has owned both righties and lefties.

It doesn't matter. You can put Adam Morgan against anybody right now. You bring him in to face one righty and then you bring Neris in for two in a 1-1 game when you don't know it's going to go 14 innings, but hey, guess what, Gabe? It ends up going 14 innings. They brought him in for a righty? One batter. A right-handed hitter.

One batter strikes him out, and then Neris comes in. See, I made this thing with Jill. I was like, let me watch the Masters, and then we'll go on a walk or something. We'll do something outside the apartment. Oh, look at you. Listen, sometimes you've got to compromise. So I missed the seventh and eighth and made it back for the ninth. Okay, yeah, I texted you.

I'm like, Morgan for one batter, and you're like, I'm not watching. And I was like, oh. Yeah. I don't totally know what happened. All I know is that Adam Morgan dominated. The point was Adam Morgan comes in, strikes a guy out, and Gabe pulls him. And that was it. And then brought Nerison to face two righties.

And it just was a weird. Yeah, that scene. If nothing. And then brought Nerison to face two righties and it just was a weird... If nothing else, just bring Nerison to start the inning or whatever, but it felt like in a game that had the potential to go long and did ultimately. It was a 1-1 game at the time. It felt like a misuse of who I believe right now is potentially the best reliever in your pen. It felt like a misuse.

Yeah, see, sometimes, Gabe's problem I would say with the bullpen is that he gets a little too match-up dependent and does not think about the future of the pen. He doesn't set up one day with the other. He tries to win every game. Especially when they are in the middle of the first three games of a 17-day stretch of baseball games. Right.

I think that's Gabe's main flaw right now is that he does not set up games one-to-one. He tries to win every game, which I understand the philosophy of wanting to quote-unquote win every game, but you can't do that. And my main issue with Gabe this weekend was why are you pitching Serenity and Dominguez in a 10-1 ball game?

That was asinine too. That was Joe Maddon-level-esque of horrible bullpen management. It made no sense. Bring in a position player before you bring in Sir Anthony at that point in that game, in my mind. Especially because Sir Anthony looks good.

I understand if he's coming off a dismal performance to put him back out there and try to get his confidence back. Or you bring Jose Alvarez in to get chilled. That's what you do there. I'm very with you. And then they used him yesterday so that he's probably out for tonight against the Mets team that's coming in playing good baseball.

We'll get to that coming up. He may be out until Tuesday. You're in the middle of a 17-game stretch right now where you don't have an off day. To bring him in a 10-1 game just seems stupid to me. I totally agree with you. I would say his problem with the bullpen is he does not set up days and he doesn't really have a

he gets a little too matchup dependent and too numbers dependent and like this guy traditionally does this well well if this guy's throwing well today leave him out there so but uh yeah that's where i agree with you and look it didn't come back to bite him and the bullpen on the whole was outstanding i mean it's eight shutout innings that's awesome it's process of results process of results which is what we try to do here generally this whole podcast is just all it is uh we don't even really have any results, right? Yeah.

Shout out to Segura again. That was awesome. Just getting it done when it needed to get done because I was about to lose my mind. Jack, before we... Oh, one other thing. Two other things before we move on. Michael Franco is Michael Franco again.

Yeah. Who could have seen this coming? I don't want to dump on... Who could have predicted this? I don't know. Can anyone have predicted this? I don't want to dump on Michael Franco because have predicted this? I don't know. Could anyone have predicted this? I don't want to dump on Mike Alfranco because I have enjoyed how much fun he's having this year and whatnot, but his last seven games, he's batting 160 and has a 222 OBP and one

home run. There's a lot of people I mentioned saying, oh, you sure you didn't want Mike Moustakis? I would much rather have Mike Moustakis. So many people, oh, you were wrong on Franco. I wasoustakis? Uh-huh. I would much rather have Mike Moustakis. But we are not. So many people, oh, you were wrong on Frango. I was like, I don't think I was wrong. Seven games. Yeah.

Yeah. And we said this like last week, still kind of looks the same. Yeah. It's just that he's not missing mistakes now. And I even like Kik has helped him to an extent. But the idea that he's going to turn into a top 10 third baseman is a little crazy. A little crazy. Yeah. Or even a top 20.

All right. One other guy we got to talk about. The flip side. How about that Scotty Kingery, Jack? Scotty. How about Scotty? Freaking play the guy. Like, what are you doing?

He's been great, man. Every opportunity. He's playing 500. And I know it's an incredibly small sample size, but it shows that every opportunity he's gotten, he's taken advantage. He should have more than 13 plate appearances. That's the point. And he's actually driving the ball a little bit. He's finally...

He just looks more comfortable. Yeah, what we'll learn with Kingery is that when he is going and he's going at his best, it's going to be drives through the right center field gap. That is going to be... That's when we'll know that Kingery is locked in. It's right center field gap. And he had two of those yesterday. He had the triple and he had the ball up the middle

in like the eighth inning or whatever. I thought he looked, I think he just looks like a solid ball player right now. And whether it's dispelling Franco at third base, if he continues on this little bit of slide, or Cesar, who they just, they must just love his at-bats or something. And he's broke.

He's played better the last couple games. Hit the homer yesterday in Miami, which was nice. Made a couple nice defensive plays, but he's not been great. No, no. They must just love his at-bats or something. And he's broke. He's played better the last couple games. Hit the homer yesterday in Miami, which was nice. Made a couple nice defensive plays, but he's not been great. No. No. They must just love his at-bats. That must be what it is. His OBP and his... Well, it's a very Phillies thing. It's very believable. Right.

My man grinds. The most important... For this team to reach its potential, for this team to... Yeah, reach its potential. Kingery is your second baseman. You're a window guy anyway. I'm a window guy. Big window guy. I know, we talked about it.

You're a window guy. I know. And Cesar doesn't really help that. And if Kingery is playing well where it looks like he might take the job, you have to let the guy you gave a historic contract to, to take the freaking job. Right now it looks like

he's earning the job which is what we need to see out of Scott Kinger they're not just giving him the job like they did last year obviously it was off spring training

where it was ridiculous and they were a worse team with less guys who deserved jobs in the first place right we just have to see what we have with this guy

it's more important to the future of the team to play him now than worry about Cesar or whatever if nothing else he's earned a few starts a weekesar or whatever if nothing else he's earned a few starts a week

type of thing if nothing else if you're not going to go all the way and eventually I think it gets there as we've talked about a lot but if nothing else

like give him two starts a week like get him a chance to be in the lineup on a weekly basis and to continue to grow what he's doing now I wasn't I was obviously around

but I don't remember this but someone pointed out to me now but you would remember this because you're I'm sure I would. 37. 40. 37. Okay, 37?

37. Is this like Polanco and Utley? Interesting. No, it was a little different in the sense that with Utley, like Utley had such a, I mean, it was Chase Utley. You know what I mean? Okay, but we don't know what Chase Utley was at that point.

Yeah. I mean, he was a bigger prospect coming out, is my point. Well, Kingery did have a lot of hype about him. You're right. We talked about him for a while. He's done some bedroia with more talent. I think Polanco was a better player than Cesar is. Yeah, I would agree.

I mean, Polanco's a borderline Hall of Famer. But it is kind of similar. It is kind of similar. But in a certain way, Polanco's a borderline Hall of Famer. But it is kind of similar. It is kind of similar. But in a certain way, Polanco is a better player. I think it's the big difference. It's just much easier. And also, for some reason,

look, I know you're right. Like, Kingery was just as big a prospect and stuff. But I think maybe it was because Chase was older when he came up. But there was just more of a feeling when Chase came up that he was going to be good. There was more of a belief.

Like, not let's see what we have. It's like, put Chase Utley in because he's going to be good, was the feel for some reason. So, obviously played out that way. Yeah, I would say. I would say, but yeah, I mean, Polanco's definitely way better than Cesar. That's the biggest difference. Polanco's just a better player than Cesar. It's like not close.

No, I agree. All right. Anything else from the weekend? I don't think so. Okay. This could work by you. All right. Anything else from the weekend? I don't think so. Okay. This could work by you. All right. New York Mets coming to town.

I know. And I, okay. So we talked a lot about the NLEs and the preseason previews and all that type of stuff. And I was- By the way, hold on. Before we get into this. Yes. Do you see the new Lent I started?

The new what? The new Lent. I did. Hashtag literally anyone else from Back to Catcher Lent. I think you did it just for me that one's for me and i appreciate that it's exactly oh wait hold on oh this is what i forgot this is what i forgot okay did you notice that david robertson was dropping down on his fastballs did you notice this what do you mean like he was dropping down

oh it's going sidearm a little bit. Yes, I did notice that. Great point. I forgot to bring it up. I was like, what are you doing? It was really weird. I texted my one Yankee friend who watches every game. I was like, did you ever see Robertson drop down? He's like, no.

I was like, well, this isn't good. I don't know. This isn't good. So he started dropping down. And I was like, hold on, hold on. I had a couple beers at that point. Let me make sure. Let me just focus in here. Lock in. Lock in. And he did it again. I was like, what on, hold on. I had a couple beers at that point. Let me make sure. Let me just focus in here.

Lock in. Lock in. He did it again. I was like, what are you doing, man? I couldn't tell. So a theory on it was that his first couple of batters, he did not have good fastball location. And I thought maybe dropping down was him trying to just make sure he got a fastball over.

But eventually it's going to get hit because if you start doing that, people are going to know that a fastball is coming. Yeah, and they're going to see it immediately. And then they're going to see that aim. But I understand if you want to mix it up. I mean, the Dodgers do this all the time. I mean, Urias. Different looks.

I think it's really smart as a general thing. If you have the ability to have the ball come out of different arm angles or different spots, I think that's more confusing for a hitter. Right. Agreed. So one's a monitor, for sure, and definitely weird. Definitely weird. I wasn't expecting David Robertson to be a drop down.

He's probably off guard. Yeah. I like it. Which is good. I mean, keep guys off guard. Keep guessing, baby. You're 34. Just keep doing what you gotta do to get out.

Whatever. All right. New York Mets. Yes. I thought the Mets weren't gonna be that good. Really? That was my whole thing. I was like, oh, I think it'll be like an 84 win team.

They're pretty good. Mets are a good baseball team. I was wrong. They're fourth right now in the NL in runs. They're good, man. They're pretty good. Mets are a good baseball team. They're fourth right now in the NL in runs. They're good, man. They put up runs. And I think we all, you know, look, they gotta stay healthy, but DeGrom, Syndergaard, Matz, Wheeler, they got arms.

The question was the offense, and they got a dude who is the early frontrunner for rookie of the year. J.D. Davis. Yes, J.D. Davis, too. Pete Alonso. It's pretty annoying, because you look at the braves and you see a kunya and you're like ah crap they got a kunya freddie freeman's there for a long time albies you look at the gnats you're like oh you know soto and robles and rendon and with the

you're like oh they don't have those guys pete alonso is that dude yeah pete alonso is their reese i mean he's so good yeah he's a better hitter than Reese was right away. I mean, early. I mean, granted, Reese was historic when he first came up. But I think that Pete Alonzo's got a higher ceiling than Reese Hoskins. I would say this. I think Reese has a better eye, has better plate appearances, and has more power. I think Pete, well.

Pete's got some power, too. I think Pete's a better pure overall hitter. He can go the opposite way. That's what I'm trying to go with. He feels like a better hitter to me. Yeah. Yeah. Pete Alonzo's legit.

Another guy that's going to be a D, it should be a DH just like Chris Hoskins. Yes. So should J.D. Davis, by the way. They should bunt on J.D. Davis all weekend.

They have a horrendous defense. I mean, they got Robinson Cano playing second base, man. Yeah. Robinson Cano. But I still love him, man. That swing is gorgeous.

He hasn't been great so far. Yeah, but the swing is still there. But it's a good line. You know, Michael Conforto seems to be finally turning into the guy people thought he would. Michael Conforto. You're a big Jeff McNeil guy. I do love Jeff McNeil. You love Jeff McNeil.

Brandon Nimmo can play. What's with even McNeil? He's one of those guys that I would have no chance of getting out. I love that. I love the way you evaluate players. You're like, I couldn't get that guy out. I get everyone getting out. I love that. I love the way you evaluate players. You're like, I couldn't have gotten that guy out. I get everyone else out. I can't get that guy out. No, I understand, but he's the kind of guy when I

was, which is like, crowds the plate, can just fouls off a thousand pitches. This guy would own Nick Pavetta because he has no idea what to do against lefties. Oh, good thing Nick Pavetta gets to face him on Tuesday. We'll see if he plays. He hasn't really been playing. He's been playing like starts in here and there. The Mets are just good offensively.

They have a well-constructed offense. You have Pete Alonso. You have Wilson Ramos, who we know can just rake. When he's healthy, he's going to rake. They have Cano, who's still Cano. Ahmed Rosario. Nimo. Yeah, Ahmed Rosario.

He's really good. He's a monster. J.D. Davis. J.D. Davis is batting eighth for them in seven. He's a really good hitter. I was right. He's your guy. He's a really good hitter. I was right. He's your guy. He's like fifth highest in MLB exit velo or whatever.

So, you know, just give the kids some credit. Give the eyes some credit. Give the kids some credit. I mean, I just... Give the kids some credit. And their bullpen's okay. I mean, they go Diaz, Familia. They got very closer.

Did you watch Familia last night at all? No. Okay, well, he got dropped in the F-bomb. I don't know it was funny so he was throwing but like as he's throwing sometimes when you when you're pitching

they teach you to like grunt at the end to get the actual oomph out of you and actually really interesting mind games that go along

with pitching so Jamie Moyer what he used to do was he put he would throw a fastball and be like or whatever throw his fastball

and he'd do it like three straight times throw his fastball and he'd do it like three straight times in a row and then he'd do it with a change up and the guys would be all out. I love that. It's very clever. Yeah, it's very clever.

I mean, the guy pitched till he was 50 with 82 miles an hour. That's why. But he kept like throwing the ball and being like, F.

Really? And the mics kept picking it up. That's awesome. And Matt Vestgergen was like, he's saying fire. Good job, Matt And Matt Vestgergen was like, he sang fire. Good job, Matt. But the bullpen, I mean, they have spin rate. They got talent there.

They have spin rate god, Seth Lugo, who I want the Phillies to get just because I love his spin rate. They have Familia Diaz. I mean, that's a good back end of the bullpen. Don't really have that left. They still have Robert Verchelman. They have Luis Avila. Luis Avila.

I think he's a pretty good pitcher. I think he's a pretty good pitcher. I think he's a pretty good pitcher. I think he's a pretty good pitcher. I think he's a pretty good pitcher. I think he's a. I think Gisellman's a pretty good pitcher. Gisellman's good, yeah. He can get outs. Yeah, so I mean they're just a solid team across the board. I mean Wheeler hit 101 the other day.

Yeah, Wheeler had a bad start and looks great again and Cinderguard has looked great this year and Matt's even coming off a great start his last outing.

And then there's Jason Vargas. And there's Jason Vargas who looks like a science teacher. Who is horrible. He looks like he's like a fifth grade science teacher. That's what the guy looks like a science teacher who is horrible he is he looks like he's like a fifth grade science teacher that's what the guy looks like it's bad it's really

weird but it's gonna be a fun series I think there's gonna be a lot of Mets fans here they always seem to love to invade or try to invade not a fan of that but it happens I think this is gonna be that first time where we're gonna be like more Phillies fans and Mets fans that for the first time in a while that but I think we're gonna're going to be like, wow, I hate the Mets. Ooh, it'll be back. Yeah, it takes me back a little bit. Like, I think Conforto always rips us. Just Cano, Rosario.

They don't really have too many hateable guys like the old teams had. No. Like Pete Alonzo, like you can't hate that guy. Like he's just this chubby little guy who

hits the ball well. I mean, yet. I mean, we'll figure out a way. Oh, we will. We'll figure out a way. Oh, I'll hate him. Don't get me wrong.

Wilson, you know, he had bad hamstrings here. Couldn't play two days in a row. Yeah, he screwed us. Are you kidding me? We'll figure out a way. Oh, I'll hate him. Don't get me wrong. Wilson, you know, he had bad hamstrings here. Couldn't play two days in a row. Yeah, he screwed us. Are you kidding me? We'll figure out a way. We'll make it work. We'll dig deep for it.

Nimmo's a fraud and just tries to run to first base like a total jabroni. It's honestly, Nimmo, I love him for fantasy purposes. He's like my least favorite player in baseball. He's like a tryhard. He's awkward looking too. Not like as a human being. The way he plays the game is awkward. It's like Pence least favorite player in baseball. He's like a tryhard. He's awkward looking too. Not like as a human being. Like the way he plays the game is awkward. It's like Pence.

Yes, it is. It's exactly like Hunter Pence. That's a perfect comp. Yeah, it is. It's stupid sprint to first base after you walk. That's a really good comp. He's got a weird running style. I love that comp.

Ow. That's good stuff. All right. So, Syndergaard, Nola tonight. What are you looking for from Nola? And by the way, Jackie Robbins today too. Shout out to one of the, you know, obviously most important americans much less sports heroes 72 years ago today jackie robbins stepped on a baseball field pretty uh pretty wow they do that like it's about time they

started putting the numbers on every jersey i i couldn't believe they didn't from the beginning it should every single jersey should wear it it's 42 today that's what it is yeah alright so Nola what are you looking for from Aaron I mean because obviously we need Aaron Nola we need Aaron Nola yeah I mean you could really

like with that bullpen the way they pitched yesterday I mean they need they need Aaron Nola they need at least 7 yes I mean we need 7 big dogs

so I mean I'm looking for see where his change up's at I mean if he's using his change up more I think that'll go a long way. We'll see if he still has the feel for it, if he doesn't have the feel for it. Fastball location, I think it's going to be huge. And if the ball's flying out of the yard, I understand the balls have been juiced again, I guess.

I mean, that's the... Feels like it. Well, that's the new rumor. Is it? Yeah, the balls are juiced and whatever. So we'll see where he's at with his fastball. But I want to see what the changeups like tonight

more importantly wait by the way if Syndergaard's in the mound I want to see them stealing a lot again they better remember that game last year of course

he's still Santana got a steal he still doesn't have a pick up pick off move Franco got a steal more importantly Bavetta tomorrow oh yeah tomorrow tomorrow is

that when I don't show up for work I don't leave my house? Anything positive. He's going to get rocked. Oh, no! He has to face Conforto, McNeil, Nimmo. What a disappointing turn of events.

Look at all those lefties he has to face. So don't start Nick Pivetta in fantasy tomorrow. No, don't even look at him. Okay. Yeah, don't even acknowledge he's even here. Do they take two or three? Who's starting on Wednesday? Wednesday. Arrieta versus Wheeler.

Arrieta, Wheeler. And then who's Pavetta facing? Matz. Oh, they're going to rock Matz. That's soft-minded fraud. I say they take two or three. I think so, too. I'll take two or three. I think they're at home. I say they take two or three. I think so, too. I'll take two or three.

I think they're at home. I think they take two or three. Then they got to go up to New York next weekend. Maybe they lose two of those three, but I think they take two or three, too.

It's okay. All right, Frenzy, final thoughts. Actually, let's do one thing before final thoughts. Oh, okay. The Phillies are poorly doing their due diligence

on Madison Bumgarner. Yes. That came out last week. And also, it did come out recently as well, today as well, that Dallas Keuchel's down to looking for a one-year deal. Craig Kimbrell's lowering his asking price. Shocking.

Whatever. Should have done that a month ago. Great read of the situation. I don't know what Dallas Keuchel's doing. I can't believe he's not anywhere yet. It's unbelievable. It's just dumb. But especially a one-year deal at one point.

At this point, you're gonna take a month to get ready and then your values are gonna be declining you have to be unbelievable from day one

if you want to get any kind of big contract at the offseason so good job Scott I mean after Matt Klintzak

took your lunch money not the best offseason you're losing it again Scotty the legend diminishes this offseason

you know much like you hate to see it much like Chris Sale Corey Kluber and maybe Madison Baumgartner Corey Kluber man

yikes he looks like 2013 how he looks horrendous yeah it's like it's kind of you know that it's the same thing that happened with

Halida where like you see the horse running you're like he doesn't have it anymore he's walking guys more he's striking out less it's

well especially guys like Kluber who Kluber was a workhorse a workhorse exactly he was never someone who he never had the best stuff ever well his his his curveballs he made himself have the best stuff my point is like he didn't have the natural ability that everyone else did he didn't even become a great pitcher till his late 20s like he didn't he's not the type of guy who's just gonna blow you away with the stuff he worked for everything he had and he's bringing down yeah i mean it's just going to blow you away with his stuff. He worked for everything he had, and he's bringing it down. Yeah. I mean, it's sad.

I hate seeing horses, like traditional horses, kind of lose it. Flu-bot, man. Yeah, I know. But he doesn't look great. They probably should have traded him this offseason for peak value. Yeah, they absolutely should have traded. That was a mistake. Right.

So, Bumgarner. So, they're doing their due diligence on Bumgarner. I know I said last week, I'm not totally sure. You were pretty pessimistic. Pretty sure. But I went back, so I watched his start before this one. He let up five runs to the Padres, but I thought the stuff looked good. But he did, there was like three balls that would have been out of this

in the bank park, so it could have gotten worse, but whatever. I watched most of his start on Saturday against the Rockies. Looked really good. All right. He looked really, really good. I like that. Because as we discussed, the market for starting pitchers, it's bad. It's barren.

Barren is a perfect word for it. There's nothing out there. There's nothing out there. So I thought Baumgartner looked good. I thought his stuff was starting to look sharper. I thought it was starting to look sharper in the Padres start. And I think it looks really, really good on Saturday. I mean, he allowed one run.

No, he allowed two runs against the Rockies, which is a good offensive team. Reynolds took him deep on a bad pitch. But I thought he was hitting both sides of the plate. And guys were legit swinging missing out in front of his slider like back in the old days. So it was a throwback start for Mad Bum. And I'm excited to see what he does heading into the deadline because he might be the guy that can put this team over the hump. And, yes, I still dream about Enola Mad Bomb back-to-back in a playoff series.

And look, I mean, like, whatever else, breaking down all this stuff, like, Madison Bumgarner did one of the greatest things I've ever seen in the history of my watching baseball playoffs. Like, no one's ever done what that guy did. I would take that guy in a big game anytime, anywhere, no matter what. Yeah, and I want it to happen here. That's what I mean. I want to see what it would look like.

I want to make sure he's not a good postseason pitcher anymore. I just want to see him. I just want to have the shot of him being unbelievable in the postseason. Let's go. I know. Although I was thinking, how would him and Gabe get along? They figure it out. I don't know about that.

I don't know. He's not big on the analytics side of things. I think you could say. All right, final thoughts. All right, I got two final thoughts. Mickey Moniak! No, he went one for eight. Alec Baum!

That's my second thought. I knew it. Okay. My first final thought is I wonder if the Phillies regret taking back Juan Nicasio in that Mariners deal because they probably could sign Dallas Cutkle at this point if they didn't take back Juan Nicasio. He's owed $9.5 million. It's a lot. And $8.5 against the luxury

tax. They probably had to take it back just to get the deal done. They probably had to take it back to get back Pazos or had to give up only J.B. Crawford and Carlos Santana just to offset that money. But I wonder if they're like,

we probably wish we didn't have Juan Nicasio and we could use that money elsewhere. Yeah, I think so too. I mean, very clearly, $8.5 million, $9.5 million for that guy at this time. It makes a difference, especially if we're talking about them being $17.8 under the cap and it seems like they don't want to go, or cap, we're calling it cap because it feels

like they're over it. It is. I think We're calling it cap because it feels like they want to go over it. It is. I think that's a really fair point. All right, Alec Boehm, lay it on me. So Alec Boehm hit his first home run in the minor leagues over the weekend, which is a big sign. You did it, buddy. So he, of course, there's no video of it because minor league baseball

and major league baseball don't want to spread baseball at all. Really quickly, just as part of this final thought, what are you doing? Major league baseball and minor league baseball and whatever. It is unbelievable. We saw this with Pitching Ninja on Twitter. If you're listening to this podcast and you're not following Pitching Ninja, you're doing it wrong. Because all it is is just awesome gifs of awesome pitching and wild stuff like that. because all it is is just awesome gifs of awesome pitching and wild stuff like that.

But they shut his account down for a while, because Major League Baseball stepped in and said, stop spreading our product. And all this guy is doing is promoting your freaking game. For some reason, Major League Baseball seems to feel like they don't want people to enjoy or promote their game. That's what it feels like when they do this type of stuff. You look at the NBA, who just says, take our stuff, like House of Highlights, all that type of stuff.

They just say, here, here's all our stuff. Use it. Make people like our game more. It's free freaking marketing. It was so – Baseball America, you saw they did the whole thing. They're not using clips anymore. I think this is such a horrendous decision by Major League Baseball and minor league baseball. It is.

And we can't see what Baum's hands are looking like because that's all I care about at this point. Not cool, man. And by the way- We need those Baum hand analysis tweets from Jack Ritz. I need to know what they look like. I need to know if O-Chart has fixed them because I guarantee O-Chart will fix them. And on the year, he is now up to 297, a home run, three doubles, seven RBI, and seven walks. All right.

Alec Boehm. Yeah. I like it. Let's hope he continues on it. All right. My final thought, and I mentioned this on our last pod because it came out right before then, but I did not remember, so I'm ceding my final thought to Bob Brookover. I'm not sure if you saw this.

We have to... Really? It's not Bob's actual thought. It's just a factoid that he pointed out to me. I'm not giving Bob any credit here. Okay, stat of the day from Bob Brookover. The average age. Did you see this? This is pretty awesome.

The average age of the 12 position players the Phillies have used through the first 11 games of the season is younger than the 12 position players used by the Lehigh Valley AAA affiliate. How about that? Yeah, the AAA team is old. It's very old. But it's still pretty good. The average age, 27.3.

McCutcheon the only player over 30. I like that. Yeah, I think that's a good sign. I think that's a good sign. You're a window guy. Big window guy. It leans towards windows. Yeah, and I mean, as soon as McC I think that's a good sign. You're a window guy. Big window guy. And leans towards windows. Yeah, and I mean, as soon as McCutcheon is done, we have Moniak coming up.

It's great. And McCutcheon might never be done. Might never be done. Because he's the greatest player I've ever seen. Might only be this guy forever. MVP McCutcheon is back! He needs to get the batting average up a little bit and not strike out as much as he is. But yes, a very not overpaid left fielder.

Let's put it that way. All right. Go beat the Mets. And on Thursday, we have a guest. We got a guest coming in on Thursday. Do we want to leave it a special guest or do we want to tease it? Let's leave it a special guest. Let's leave it a special guest.

All I'll say is my man brings the stats. Yes. Is that fair to say? That he does. All right. Special guest on Thursday. We'll recap the Mets series, look ahead to the Rockies.

Oh, wait, hold on. Ryan Howard is calling tonight's Phillies game. Oh, I meant to bring that up. Damn it. Pretty cool. I'm excited about that. I'm excited to hear how he does. It's going to be him and,

is it Shambi? Oh, no, it's Ravich. I do love, I love Boo Shambi. And Scott Kingery is not in the lineup tonight. Oh. They're back to old faithful. Gabe did not hear us.

Did not listen to the podcast. That's fine. Listen to Ryan Howard tonight. Beat the Mets. We'll be back to talk about it later in the week. He's Fred Somsalza. We'll talk to 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.

It is now the most prolific national daily baseball pod there is. Another fact. So jump aboard the bib express follow and listen to baseball isn't boring presented by wasabi hot cloud storage on the free odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts