High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - THE NICK CASTELLANOS IS A PHILLIE EMERGENCY POD

Episode Date: March 19, 2022

NICK CASTELLANOS IS A PHILLIE LET'S GO!!! James and Jack react to the news that Nick Castellanos is a Phillie and the JACK Middleton finally went over the Tax. What a day. Plus, the guys get excited for the mash squad we are going to watch every night, semi-earnestly compare them to the 1927 Yankees, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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WIP. Yo! It is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast. A John Middleton went over the tax edition. Jack, I feel like I'm living in a magical world that I didn't know existed. Everything I believed to be reality, everything I believed about John Middleton, about my Phillies, our Phillies, has proven to be amazingly false. They did it, buddy. They did it. Wow. What a start. Honestly, first, I have to react to what you just pulled off in that open. We will get to Cassianos in one second, but I can't like 30 seconds before we started recording. James, I just woke up. I got bacon in my in my teeth.

I'm eating breakfast while doing that. And then you pull off that, yo. And then you pull off that open. And I'm once again reminded what a pro. I mean, what a what a superstar i have as the the lead of this podcast yeah yeah so when the lights go on you know yeah you're a red light player everyone knows red light player it's exactly everyone knows that wow so i was literally sleeping like as you know like i don't know, like eight minutes ago or ten minutes ago, I was asleep. Oh, sick. I've been up since 7.30. I already had breakfast. You ate oatmeal. Yeah, it's great. People call me the old man.

James, I can't stop thinking about Nick Cassiano. I can't stop thinking about the Phillies. I can't stop thinking about how we, as a podcast, never doubted John Middleton. We always called him Jack. We always said he's our guy. We always said when push comes to shove, he's going to go over that luxury tax and it's going to be glorious. John Middleton, this is for you. I am so proud of you. For all the stories we had heard and it was getting annoying of like, oh, he's so competitive and he's doing whatever it takes to win. You really did it. And I just sit here today, whatever happens this season, I think the playoff drought is going to end and if it doesn't, I will be very, very heart heartbroken but i sit here today as a proud philadelphia phillies fan i you know i have heard my entire life james and i and you've been around

longer than i have we've established that on this podcast many times but all i've heard from old older phillies fans is ah they'll always let you down they're the losingest franchise in the history of the sport they never spend whatever it takes to win. They always get halfway there, and then they don't do it. They're half in, half out. And what John Middleton said by doing this move is this is a new era of Phillies baseball that you can be proud of. We are the big dogs. We are in it with Steve Cohen.

We're going to compete with Steve Cohen. big dogs we are in it with Steve Cohen we're going to compete with Steve Cohen and and the fact that they didn't just tuck their tail between their legs say woe is me the Mets have all this money like we're going to go out there and damn it we're going to try to compete with them I am so so proud to be a Philadelphia Phillies fan this morning James what a I honestly Jack that phrase I'm proud to be a Philadelphia Phillies fan like I didn't. What a phrase. Honestly, Jack, that phrase, I am proud to be a Philadelphia Phillies fan. I didn't know if we would say it on this podcast this year. I'm so excited. Jack, who would have thought? Who would have thought?

We do our perfect offseason, right? And we really painstakingly take our time to not just come up with what we really want to happen, but also to be realistic. And it's always our like caveat at the beginning before we start diving in. We're like, hey, we get it. They're not going to go over the tax.

So we're going to really try and come up with some smart trades and we'll make our one big signing and we're going to have a really fun, perfect off season. Jack, the big signing from your perfect off season and the big signing from my perfect offseason both happened. They got both guys.

Like, how is this possible? I'm like flummoxed, Jack. And that's the fun thing about this, too, is to your point, like what you were just talking about. And, like, obviously we never doubted that this would happen. We knew. Not us. Not us. We are foxhole guys.

Yeah. And by the way, shout out to Dave Dombrowski for being the man in the ear, let's say. But we knew this was going to happen. But I'll tell you, Jack, I have not gotten more. I can't actually believe the Phillies went over the tax than I have about maybe any sports thing that's happened recently like people everyone I know is just like oh my god like like actually floored by this like no one can believe it's real it is it is the most shocking thing the Phillies have done in a decade it's it's so exciting Jack

well and and to be fair like a little inside you know how how my old brain over here works do we want to do that? Everyone prepare your ears. You're like a surgeon general's warning before we do this or something. Yeah. No, it's not bad. It's just like I was so excited about Schwarber. And I was like, this is going to be awesome. I'm glad they added Impact Bat.

And then we're recording the podcast, you know, that night. And it was like, yeah, I i'm excited but they're not that they're still not that good like i'm very very happy that he was a philly but i was like man like i'm still kind of i was i actually ended up being a little bit you know i my expectations were dampened a little bit and i felt that way the last couple days like i'm excited about shore i'm excited about this but are they really gonna be that good and then this happened and it's like it's like holy cow i mean game changer it is like game changer move dude they're adding three 900 ops guys like they have

three of them now and reese is right there i mean reese reese could easily do that if he didn't have that over 34 streak like they're adding like the lineup i i mean the the the last couple years i've said that the lineup was better than the oh i i i so just so you know that like this is what i thought of when i went to bed last night was the doing the podcast all i could think about was cassie house all i could think about was doing the podcast when i woke up and all i thought about was how long into the podcast it would take for you to to do the oa thing and and how i would say for the first time ever it's a great take jack i mean dude i mean we're talking about we're talking about realistically. This is being realistic. We're getting 30 out of the leadoff spot. We're getting 30 out of the three hole.

We're getting 30 out of the four hole. And we're getting 30 out of the five hole. And one of those guys will be 35. And one of those guys will be 33. Right. That's minimum. And Nick Castellanos, for his entire career, up until his last couple years, was playing in Comerica Park,

which is like home runs go to die. Like cavernous. He gets to Cincinnati, which is very similar to CBP. 34 homers, 100 RBI, 309. I mean, James, he's not a better hitter than Bryce. But he might be the best pure hitter on the team. And I just – I have – I need – April 8th needs to get here. I need to just fast forward.

Like fast forward until April 8th. I need to know what this is going to be like. I need to know how they're going to mash. I need to know also the inside story as to how they went from we're done this offseason to Nick Cassianos' affiliate within a day. I need the timeline. I'm so with you, Jack. I need the blow-by-blow oral history of how Dave Dombrowski got in John's ear

and convinced him, no, John, we need to do this. It's go time. We're going to get this stud of a player. He's just sitting there for us five for a hundred we're getting castellanos for that john we can't miss this opportunity like i need to be there as dave convinced john this was the move and they went for it it's so exciting dude it's so exciting well and that's the value excited this is the guy i wanted the most this was my perfect we already did your perfect offseason guy. This was my perfect offseason guy.

He just rakes. The dude just hits. He's going to be so fun to watch. And Phillies fans are going to love him. He's like a fire, like a guy with some fire. He's going to, like, get on a dude if he hits him. He's going to, like, he's fun to the fans. He had that whole thing with the kid and the bat, if everyone remembers that.

And since he, like, this dude's awesome. He is. He is, like, this dude's awesome. He is. He is like, he's, I thought, I mean, so I think Schwarber is going to be a legend here too. Just like from a standpoint of big hits, kind of beefy. Looks like he, it looks like he grew up. Kind of beefy. Kind of beefy.

It looks like, looks like he grew up in the 700 level, just like us. And, and then you add in, like Castellanos might get harper back to like blowing kisses at pitchers and and like get price back to being uh old price it's so exciting dude like no dude it's like it's crazy this is the most excited i've been to do a podcast since harper came here like which is crazy like this is crazy this feels the most real and you joke about the oh8 lineup thing, but, like, in reality, like, when this happened last night,

I went and I looked at the Braves lineup and I looked at the Mets lineup, because let's be honest, you know, those are the teams we're fighting with for the division, obviously, and those are the teams we hate the most. And, yeah, I know they have Scherzer and DeGrom and all that, and, you know, that's good and stuff, whatever. The Phillies lineup's better than the Mets lineup.

Like, flat out better. Like, I will not stand for any argument against it. Like, it is absolutely a better lineup. And I think it's a better lineup than the Braves line, too. That one you could at least maybe argue. But I think the Phillies lineup is a better lineup than the Braves lineup. I think this lineup is the best lineup in the National League East. I think it is a top three to five lineup in baseball.

And we've kind of talked about that over the years and stuff, where they've been in it, and we thought they might be that type of level. Like, this is a flat-out that type of lineup. Like, there are very few lineups, like outside of Toronto and L.A. and a couple others, that can roll out four to five to six dudes like this lineup can. Yeah, I'm fully expecting having to win a lot of games 10-7 um or or one of those one of those vintage 08 games out in uh st louis where they just pour on 20 out of nowhere and like there's

just there's protection all throughout like you can't you can't not pitch around schwarber because you have harper and gassiano's plan so schwarber should have pitches to hit. You can't pitch around. Like, dude, Bryce Harper won the MVP last year with no protection behind him. I mean, Reese got hurt. Great point. And Reese got hurt. Segura was the second best hitter in the lineup. Like, think about that.

Like, for like the last like three months, two to three months of the season, we were like, oh yeah, Gene Segura is the second best hitter in this lineup. I mean, think about how much better this is. Like, think about just how much more loaded this is. Oh my God. Like, even just getting, even if we had just been like,

oh, get Reese back to that lineup. That's what we were talking about. We were like, in the moment, we're like, man, man, if Reese hadn't have gone down, I think we're a playoff team. I think you even said that. I think you're like, I think the Phillies make the playoffs if Reese didn't go down. Like, we're talking about getting Reese back and then,

oh, by the way, adding Castellanos and Schwarber. What are we doing here? And by the way, can I give a quick shout out to Dave Dombrowski and all the people out there yelling for Chris Bryant? And look, Jack and I both like Chris Bryant. Don't get us wrong. But his perfect offseason was Schwarber.

Mine was Castellanos. How about the Phillies getting Castellanos and Schwarber for less money than Chris Bryant cost like can we talk about that for a sec Chris Bryant cost 186 million or 182 million or whatever it is and they got Castellanos and Schwarber for 179 and less years like that is unbelievable Jack no it's it's it's it's awesome like Like, how about this franchise getting a break? I mean, how about this franchise? Dave, another guy we never, ever doubted. Like, Dave Dombrowski, the moment he got here, you can go back and listen to the pods. You don't have to.

Don't do it. But, you know, listen to this one. But the moment he got here, we just said, what a hire. Championship winning general manager on a saleableailable hire we've never doubted him jack not for a second uh james uh i want you to close your eyes okay then and well unless you're if you're out there if you're driving don't close your eyes yes yeah that's it otherwise all right my eyes are closed i can't eyes are closed i want you Yeah. That's a bad idea. All right. My eyes are closed. I can't see anything. Eyes are closed.

I want you to envision it's opening day. It's like 68 degrees out. Oh, buddy. A little chilly. Yeah, but the right kind of chill. Then Dan Baker steps to the mic, and he lays out this lineup. Leading off. It's back. Designated hitter.

Kyle Schwerber. Batting second. At second base. Gene Segura. Batting third. In right field bryce harper batting fourth in left field nick castellano oh batting fifth at first base reese hoskins batting seventh starting at catcher jt

real muto batting eighth wait i messed it up batting seventh batting batting seventh shortstopting seventh. Shortstop, Bryson. Stop. Yes. Batting eighth. Starting at third base, maybe, possibly. Halic, boom. And batting ninth.

Starting in center field, Matt Veerling. I mean, talk about just crying. Fantastic. I like the evolution of your Dan Baker throughout that whole thing. Well, to be fair, I didn't think about doing that until. Oh, that was an off-the-cuff thing? Well, I thought I was going to read the lineup to you. I might as well do Dan Baker. cuff thing well i thought i was i thought i was gonna read the lineup to you yeah and then you

were like three in and you're like wow i've committed to something here yeah yeah towards the end it was slipping a little but i thought it was very good whatever a few of those and like jean cigar i thought you nailed that one there were a few in there i thought you know what a lineup dude schwarber sagoro harper castellanos h Hoskins, JT, Stott, Bone, Beerly. I mean you yesterday when I was on the air and like the news that this could happen came out and of course you know it seemed real and you were telling me you're like it's real it's real and I was like

you know okay is it really real though like until this actually happens I'm not actually going to believe it's real but like this this actually seems like it's real like as I'm going through the lineup on the air I even forgot jt as i went because it just seems like it just like he's like a forgotten man in this case remember sign jt it was like the whole ethos of everything we cared about and and now it's like jt's like an afterthought he's like the sixth

best hitter on the team it's like oh wow what a nice advantage you have when your catcher's a good hitter like that. But, like, we don't even need that much from him. It's crazy. This lineup is nuts, Jack. It's going to be so fun. And I know, we know, we talked about it the other night, and guess what? It's only worse with Nick Castellanos. The defense is going to be bad, but you know what?

The offense is so good it doesn't matter. Like, they are going to win games because of how damn good this offense is. And the starting staff should be all right. We're a Zach Wheeler shoulder away from winning the NL East, Jack. That's where I'm at right now. Oh, yeah. No, I'm at the – I've already started talking to myself of like – My second thought after they signed last night was was Aaron Nola better not screw this up.

Like, I just, I need Noles to be back to Noles so that we can really, really get this thing going. Like, on paper, the starting staff is definitely good enough. It's good. It's actually good on paper. That's why Nola is such a swing factor. It's good. It's actually good on paper. That's why Nola's such a swing factor. But if Ranger is some amalgamation of what he was last year,

maybe he doesn't have to be the best pitcher in baseball. That's okay. But a good pitcher and Wheeler's fine and can be Zach Wheeler. I mean, Nola's the guy who takes this from good to great, from winning the NL East potentially to, like, being a true blue, real-deal World Series contender heading into, like, that's a real thing. Like, this lineup, let's put it this way. This is a lineup capable of winning the World Series, without a doubt.

Like, they have enough bats now. Is it a defense capable of winning the World Series? You know, we'll see how good that lineup is. Is it a pitching staff capable of winning the World Series? We'll see how good Aaron Nola is it a pitching staff capable of winning the world series we'll see how good Aaron Noel is man like that it's so big like it's so big yeah and uh today would be a good start you know I'm excited to see what he looks like at one today um I need I need to see if he can get that get that fastball back back to being able to locate it and put wherever he wants but you know there's been a lot of, in the baseball community, of Nola's a guy that's undervalued around the league because of his strikeout numbers.

Yeah, the peripherals and stuff, yep. Yeah, and it's just like, that's fine. I understand why they think that. But when you actually watch him, it's like he needs to, if his fastball location isn't there, then all the stuff is just off. So this season is going to come down to Knowles. It's going to come down to that and Zach Wheeler's health. Ranger is going to take a step back.

I don't think he's going to pitch to win one. So you're not predicting Ranger to win the Cy Young this year? No. Okay, just checking. I'm not. Gibson, I guess five is fine you know whatever um and we'll see what efflin's like when he gets back i think it's interesting the other day um falter was talking how they they wanted to prepare him to be a starter so

i feel like we're gonna see a lot of bailey falter to begin the year which is equally as exciting because i think he's i think he's good um so whole, well, they need to go get more pitching now. It's like, well, I don't think they really do. I mean, the starting staff on paper is good, way better and way more deep than it's been in years past. We need Nola to bounce back. We need Wheeler to be healthy. But other than that, it's not bad.

I mean, Eflin's your four now. Gibson's your five, who was an all-star last year. You hope that some of the texas stuff comes back and the defense doesn't kill him behind him because he's a ground ball guy um but i don't know i just i think the starting stat's pretty good and i don't think the you know the bullpen on paper looks much better i'm worried about familiar hand obviously i'm worried about sir anthony just from the standpoint of of holding hasn't hasn't pitched in like 18 months yeah yeah well besides a little bit last year which was nothing but and then there's and then the guy they're planning on being their closer cory could able

who i think is awesome and for some reason is apparently learning a mystery pitch which is going to be exciting to see like he he's never stayed So, the bullpen is a bit playing with fire. Like, I think there's definitely a scenario where Jerry Samilia is closing games for them. But on paper, both pitching staffs, the bullpen and the starting staff, are fine. It comes down to the thing that's going to put this team in the playoffs is obviously the offense. The defense and Aaron Nola and health in the bullpen are the three things that could keep them out of the playoffs. Yeah, I think that's expertly said.

I think you nailed it. I think those are the concerns. It'll be interesting. I want to get into in a couple minutes about if we've seen a lot of people say, well, they're over the tax. May as well keep going. I want to talk to you about that in a minute. Just the idea that we're actually in that discussion is surreal.

Are you awake or have you fainted? I mean, this is such a benign thing for you. I can't believe that sentence actually came out of my mouth, Jack. Hey, James, James, James, James. We're over the tax, oh man how many times like it is surreal like i have no i i don't know if i can count on my hands how many times you have said on this podcast he's never gonna get over the tax so it's like not even like melting down it's uncountable i mean it's a thousand times like i feel like it's every podcast you were like he's never gonna do it he's gotta step all right i was wrong man up i was wrong john middleton the heartiest of apologies for me pal i feel

horrible forever doubting you i was wrong you were right Jack Middleton is back. Wow. You know, I call it a spade a spade. Jack Middleton's back. Jack Middleton is back in full effect. I mean, I like I'm so excited, Jack. Like as people who not just like, you know, obviously like work in sports or, you know, do a podcast about the Phillies. like work in sports or, you know, do a podcast about the Phillies. But like just as a Phillies fan who watches this team every night and has for my entire life,

like we've seen so much depressing, borderline, you know, horrendous, but for the most part the the last few years, just middling, unfun to watch baseball with not fun teams and, you know, ugly night tonight losses. I mean, how many pods have we done where we talked about like these gut punch, gut wrenching, horrendous losses? And I know those will still be here, but to like actually be heading into a season now and feel like real true hope. Like the name of this podcast has always almost been like ironic more than anything. Like I actually have real true high hopes about the Phillies.

Like I actually believe that they can go out and not just like make a run, but actually be super fun to watch every night. Like that we can do this podcast and actually be happy talking about our team, Jack. Is that the craziest thought you've ever had? Us coming on and not crying or bitching or yelling or being upset and coming on and just being like, what a week of baseball. The Phillies scored 84 runs this week.

Can you believe it? Like, you know what I mean? Like, give me that, dude. Oh, we're going to be so dopey. We're going to be so goofy with how awesome this offense is going to be. And, you know, we've been waiting for this, James. You know, we've been waiting for, hey, just be good and let us have some some fun it's all we ever wanted it's the whole point of this podcast our name is high hopes for christ's sake all we want to do is have fun and

talk about the phillies and these last ever since we started it it's just been it's just been brutal like like the there's been minor signs of life and and minor signs of hope and there's been minor signs of life and minor signs of hope and there's been these there's been these small pockets of just happiness but i think i think you you said this as well and i think it's for for our listeners and for um people that love this team we deserve this like it's the longest playoff drought in the national league we like it's up there with the mariners who have made the playoffs since 2001 like we have been through a lot and a whole decade of baseball has been basically wasted um when it comes to growing the game like there's so many young people who i again i don't know how they got into i talked to them but i don't know how

they got into baseball the team being so bad and being so downtrodden and not having hope. But Castellanos being here, Schwarber being here, Harper being all in, like they're going to be fun. And, and I hope that we don't have to worry about the whole, oh, they're, they're boring. And even when they win, it's not like you don't have this feeling of they, they're, they're boring, and even when they win, it's not like you don't have this feeling of they're actually good. I hope that they're just actually good. And sure, a little thing's going to pop up. Yeah, the defense will let us down. I'm very sure of it.

The bullpen's going to pull us down. Yeah, exactly. The bullpen will let us down, I'm sure. The Juris Familia is out there. We will have some Juris Familia nights. Just mentally prepare yourself. But I just think that there's going to be so many nights, James, at the ballpark where the sunset is just cascading over the center field wall.

We have a classic CBP summer night, and the Phils are just pouring on 10 runs. Yeah, baseballs will be cascading over the summer wall as well seriously dude like like i already can't wait for the first time like cassiano schwerber and harper hit a homer in the same game and i just i i can't wait i mean i we love baseball however however we take it but having an offense is what made that 08 team so fun and and what can really get a city behind you like having great pitching is having great pitching but being able to go out there and score seven plus runs a night is is just way more exciting for the general populace of baseball fans so um you know i feel so bad for the opposing pitchers that have to deal with

a top of the lineup of like schwarber segura Cassianos Hoskins like that's just that is an absolute gauntlet to go through just to get to oh there's JT you know so exactly yeah it's like oh that guy can hit it's not like you're getting a 200 hitter you're getting into there and I don't know about you but I feel like Cassianos always got big like the back breaking hits oh yeah but he I feel like Castellanos always got big, like the back breaking hits. Oh yeah, buddy. I feel like he lives for those moments and he's going to be, he has unbelievable like cockiness that this city.

Swag. He's got swag, dude. This city is going to love that guy. I've watched him slide at home and stand over the pitcher like 100 times already i mean now the place of fire like you know oh god i love the guy i'm so well the will the four nothing lead thing get old yes it will i think it already is it already is old can we i would i would like to retire that and let me just enjoy the castellanos as a philly but and a drive to left field and yes we all hilarious ha ha ha i will say sometimes when like when it does the problem is that it's so overused now and obviously it's going to be so overused

here that it like it's not as funny but like when they get you they're really funny like when you don't see it coming it can still be very clever it's just you see them coming too much yeah i agree um so yeah it's, it's a great day. It really is. And by the way, the point you just made, like that is something you've talked about many times in that like longtime listeners of iHopes will know that the, hey, it's way more fun to watch teams rake point

has been like a point that Jack has made many times over the years. Like this is all you've ever wanted. You just want a freaking team that rakes. Yeah. I'm never, I never liked pitching anyway. You're not a pitching guy. You're a guy who rakes.

Let's go. Well, it's good for everyone though. It's like, it's good for the team. It's good. Just think about this. Think about this.

There's a lot of, I'm sure, you know, dads out there that want to get their kids into baseball. Like they get to go to the ballpark now and see this team like they're gonna see this team and it's gonna be exciting like we all were freaking out about the uh the 19 lineup you know kutch's first year harper's first year oh yeah remember that first week that was oh the franco's the best eight hitter in baseball stuff there i mean there. I mean, look at this.

I mean, imagine if Alec Boehm just gets back to being Alec Boehm. If Alec Boehm, yes. He did bad like 338 a couple years ago. What if we hit it every level? I don't know. No, I will say, not an encouraging start yesterday in the spring. I mean, just balls. He's the new Donovan where he's just worm burners and whatnot.

So I need him to get back. I need him to lift the ball. But if we – hey, it's early. I actually think that Bone's going to be a guy that people are going to freak out with for the first month or two until Kevin Long can really start working with him. Schwarber started really slow last year and then turned into a monster. And they have less time to prepare. Normally they've got a full spring training and all that, and he's been working with the guy since February and all that. really slow last year and then turned into like and they have less time to prepare like normally

they've got a full spring training and all that and he's been working with the guy since february and all that it's a tighter thing it'll take a little bit more time it's a great point though the good thing too is last year there was a lot of pressure on boom now he's like the eight hitter or the nine hitter you know or best the seven hitter like the uh the take some of that that pressure that was there last year off of him that doesn't have to be the savior of the franchise like it felt like he did at times last year yeah totally agreed so um dude all right I gotta by the way we're 30 minutes into this podcast so I gotta say this I I apologize for this this is my fault and I really it really should be I guess in a roundabout way, I'm thanking you, Jack. So ultimately, it's because of you.

So thank you, Jack Fritz. But really, the IOPs podcast, that guy you work with, whatever it is. But 30 minutes in this pod, remiss. Thank you, Bryce Harper, for being the best thing that has happened to the Philadelphia Phillies by light years since, you know, well over a decade. That not only does this guy come in here and, you know, be the freaking MVP, but like I am 100% sure that Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber are not Phillies if Bryce Harper is not a Philly. Like all that we hear is Bryce Harper's pursuit, Bryce Harper forcing Middleton Sam, Bryce Harper getting them to go after Castellanos even after they signed Schwarber. Like, and obviously who knows how much truth there is to it. Who knows how much it is the Boris mouthpiece organization getting stuff out for Bryce. Who knows? All I know is I feel

incredibly confident that after Bryce chose us, it made it possible for him to go out and recruit other people here. And now we're sitting here with Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Nick Castellanos. So, Bryce, you freaking rule, man. Like, thank you for choosing us. Thank you for going out and getting more dudes here. And I can't wait to watch you play baseball. So, I had to do it. Yeah, no.

And I had it written down on things I want to talk about. and I had it written down on things I want to talk about. It's very rare, I would say, that a guy gets that kind of money. It would make sense, I guess, in a way, for that guy to just be like, eh, I got my money. I'm good. Winning is whatever. But Bryce... Like Mike Trout? Is that just is that uh just okay gotcha no it wasn't

it wasn't a dig at trout i mean it's all over sports but like bryce got the money he kept the aav down because he wanted players to come here and he's backed it up like the guy wants to win like he's actually he actually meant what he said about being invested and being invested in the city and knowing the organization top down and sure could gm bryce definitely be wrong on some things and and and get player evaluations wrong of course he can but the heart's in the good in a good spot and and the the motive behind it is good and and the fact that we have that guy who cares and and didn't just get the money and sit back and say hey i'll go into the hall of fame as a philly uh but i got my money i'm good um this is what i worked for my entire life to

get my 300 plus million dollar contract and i got and I'm good. For him to keep pushing and keep staying in their ear like, I'm here to win. We need to do more. Look what they're doing around baseball. We can do this too. Let's go do it. It says a lot about that guy. And I couldn't be more proud to have Bryce Harper as the face of this franchise.

And, you know, that's, that's special stuff. And I really, really, I need him to win a ring here. I need him. Jack. That's what I was about to say. Yeah.

That's what I was about to say. Like, I know, I don't know if I've ever wanted like maybe doc, you know, kind of similar type of thing, but not even that. Like,

I don't think I've ever wanted a Philly athlete to win a ring more than I want Harper to for the legacy for everything. Well, I feel, I feel similarly about Embiid. Like Embiid's done a lot of the same. Sure, that's a great one. It's a great call.

So I definitely want Embiid to get one as well. But Harper, for what he's done here, for not just getting the money and saying, whatever, when we win. That doesn't happen all the time, James. It's rare. Honestly, it's rare, Jack. If nothing else, it's rare where guys don't just put their head down and go about their business. And, you know, you can be great and you can play well. And, you know, if you win, you win. But it's rare for a guy to be like this, like outward vocal, like, like, again, like calling out his front office, like challenging his front office, you know, all that type of stuff. That is that is really rare, mostly because mostly because like you have to be a person of

bryce harper's stature to get away with it you know like most players if most players did that it would just be like what what the hell's that like you know but bryce harper is bryce freaking harper and he came here with uh you know promises and all that stuff and he is following up on that and to your point like that's super rare and we're super lucky that we have this guy doing this stuff it's almost like he had to win the mvp to convince the like this to convince the front office that i'm in my prime i won an mvp it's your turn well and also the core now that we we have a real core jack they're all the same age too which is exciting you know they're all in the 28 to 30 range. So like we talked about the kind of dual thing

of finding a way to draft and develop and worry about that and don't trade away prospects and all that, but like compete now. You have a group of guys with Wheeler and Harper and Nola and, you know, Hoskins and all these guys who were here prior, you know, and Real Muto who are all right around the same age, you know, from 27 to 31, whatever you want to say,

that general age range and can all kind of go for it, have this, this window now. And then they bring in two guys who are right in that window with it and spend to do it. I mean, that's freaking exciting, man. It's freaking exciting. Like this is freaking awesome. I know. They're right in their prime. And we've been saying, go.

Like, this is your window. I mean, this is their window, whether they like it or not, whether you screwed up the rebuild or not, whether you don't have the prospects in here or not, this is what you signed up for. This is your window. Hoskins, same thing. He's right there.

Like, Sky Kingery, same age as these guys. So it's just, and actually it's something that I thought about bringing up later for the take bag. But like now, like if they want to get really crazy with it, they do have expendable parts now to where you have left field for the next five years. If you have like an Ethan Wilson, who I'm very, very high on, if he's going to be blocked, you already have short version of DH. Now you can move that kind of talent. Like now, now they can use the farm system, I believe, to facilitate the rest of the major league roster and continue to get talent in here while also, you know,

trading some for players that can help. Because, I mean, left field is locked down. I think Johan is going to be in center field starting next year. And by the way, good start yesterday for the Johan in center, in center field. I mean, he just glides the ball.

Like he just glides there and it looks so natural. It's like, wow, is that what it's supposed to look like? Um, and he, he smoked the ball in the first inning. He talked after the game,

how he thinks he's the next Acuna. So listen, everything's going, everything's, everything's going right to plan's everything's going right to plan everything's going right to plan so um so no he actually did say that by the way i'm not lying did he really say that no he did yeah i have the quote he said it was like a really cocky quote which i which i appreciate wow here's what he said he said uh rojas is eyeing another comparison acuna he said referring without a trace of immodesty to atlanta brave star ron acuna jr i love the way he plays aggressive on the bases aggressive on his swing makes things

happen in the field 40 stolen bases 40 home runs i want to be like him i want to be like acuna wow so so i mean obviously two One, love the confidence. I mean, that takes some real chutzpah to say that. Two, Johan Rojas listens to the pod. Who knew? Who knew? Who knew? Well, third takeaway, this might be getting ahead of myself,

but what if he is the next Ronald Acuna Jr.? Oh, my God, dude. Imagine that lineup. Oh, buddy. Oh, buddy. Are we winning multiple World Series in the next Ronald Jr.? Oh, my God, dude. Imagine that lineup. Oh, buddy. Oh, buddy. Are we winning multiple World Series in the next five years? Just start printing the tickets now. The 2026 fills are going to be so much fun because they're going for a three-peat.

That's why they're going to be so much fun. Hey, hey, it's better to be early to a take than not have a take at all. You're damn right, buddy. But to the rest of the point, like Castellanos has locked in for five years. I think Johan in center field next year. Harper's locked in. We know that. Third base is going to be something

that they have to figure out. Shortstop, Stott. Second base, Kingery. First base could be Reese, could be Boehm. JT's locked in. Wheeler's locked in. They have the core here, to your point, and it's already on a major league roster, which is great.

Now they can either bring those guys up to facilitate the rest of the roster or move them in trades and make the rest of the roster really, really good. So it's such a good base point of a franchise now, and they've raised their floor so much, which is massive. Like the last couple of years, it's like, yeah,

the highest outcome could be 90 wins. Like the, the, the lineup is good. They have two aces and Nolan Wheeler. No, obviously it's not that anymore. And we need him to bounce back,

please, Aaron. Um, and the bullpen is, is, you know, if they stay healthy, they could be okay.

But the floor of this team is so much higher now with the bats like Schwarber, Castellanos, Harper, Hoskins. Like the floor has been raised. And it's just a good base point when you're building out the rest of the roster. God, Dave freaking Dombrowski, dude. Dave Dombrowski. He brought in his Tigers guy. He got Castianos here he whispered in in john

middleton's ear and said this is the guy we got to go over the tax for this guy and that was always the value of having dave dombrowski his track record his eye for the game his trust in in in that john middleton has in him, that's the value. And we're seeing the value. John Middleton trusts Dave Dombrowski with his money. And that's something that he lost with Matt Klintak and Andy McPhail. And that is something that we have back now. And they built a damn bomb squad.

Are we going with Broad Street Bombers, by the way? Do you like that? broad street bombers um i mean i kind of like it but it's obviously like broad street bullies ask yeah bro combo like it's broad street bullies and the bronx bombers it's like kind of like feels like both are taken almost you know what i mean yeah i know i know I don't like the Yankees feel But I don't I think it's clever Yeah It's clever Don't get me wrong

Yeah It's clever It's not I'm not like printing the t-shirts yet But I need They need to have a nickname I mean

Murderer's Row Maybe we could take that one Oh that's I've never heard that one before That's Yeah I mean seriously Which lineup would you rather have,

9-27 Yankees or this lineup? Oh, man. Yes. Good. We're officially 42 minutes into the podcast. We are back. All right. It feels like we're –

Hold on. Is that the podcast title? Yes. If we can figure out the way to phrase it, yes, I think that's probably the title. That or the Nick Castellanos emergency pod, probably. You know, one of those. But, all right, it feels like we are firmly in take-back territory.

So quickly, before I go to the take-back, last question. You know, to the point I made before where a lot of people are like, oh, you're over the tax, just spend, spend, spend. Do you see them doing, like, obviously, trade deadline, I really think like oh you're over the tax just spend spend spend do you see them doing and like obviously that trade deadline I really think now they're over the tax we can all just assume that if they're in at the deadline they'll do whatever it takes from a money perspective at the deadline but prior to the season do you see another reliever do you see an add-on somewhere else do you see them saying like yeah why not um so there's two things I could see um I I still wonder if there's a trade. I still think, like, I just have a weird feeling about Boehm.

I wonder if they try to find an upgrade at third base. I do think that you have to care a little bit about defense, and I wonder if Boehm now, they try to move him in a deal. So I do think there's a possibility for a trade. You know, obviously, this doesn't help third base, but, I do think there's a possibility for a trade, you know, obviously this doesn't help third base, but I mean, Frankie Montas is sitting right there and I could definitely use him to add to

the rotation if Dave wants to get crazy. Um, but it's not the sexiest name, James, but you know what I actually, you know who I actually want to sign? Uh, I want to sign Albert Amora jr.

To just to be a nice little defensive guy out there. He's like the best defensive center fielder in baseball. So he's a very, very nice defensive player. So like he's going to cost like, I don't know, 500 K, whatever the minimum is now,

like maybe I love you splurging right now. I love you saying we're over the tag. Let's spurge. Yes. Let's bring in Albert Amora Jr. No, I know it's like such a nice, it would be nice to have a defensive replacement guy.

That would be cool. I'm just thinking late in games. You can put him in center field. You can put Vierling in left. Then you can put Harper obviously still in right. That's a pretty good defensive outfield. That's my big sexy move to keep going over the tax. There's some names, I guess,

going over the the tax there's like the there's some names i guess um that are still out there from a reliever standpoint um but nothing that like there's no name that like jumped out that i was like alex colom i think is still he already signed though did he sign okay well there you go yeah yeah and like and like michael michael given signed yeah who i wanted by the way quickly i would you know i would rather have him at five million a year than uh familiar at six but yeah well i'd rather have hector too but well oh yeah that too hector was more though but i agree right yeah so uh yeah there's nothing out there that's that's that really jumped out at me um i think a trade could make sense like yeah i think the key is that they have space to do things in season

where in the past we always kind of felt like they weren't willing to do that. Right. Everyone's so old. I mean, everyone's just like Sergio Romo is 39, who is still good somehow. But yeah, other than that, I mean, Rosenthal, I guess. Rich Rod is out there. There's a lot of Rosenthal buzz last year,

so maybe you get him on a bounce back. Andrew Miller is cooked. Patances is cooked. Tony Watson is only 37, so bring Tony Watson back. Rich Rodriguez was so bad for the – Yeah, but he's not great. Trevor Cahill? Oh, Blake Parker is out there.

Hey. Oh, actually, I got a name. I got a name. I now need this to happen. I need Kyle Zimmer in this bullpen. Oh, okay. I'll give it down with a Kyle Zimmer signing. I like that move.

Yeah, that's my big move. Kyle Zimmer and Albert Amora. I think Adam Conley. Is he still all right? He was good. He always had stuff, but he kind of sucks. All right. Firmly take back time right now.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. What a day. What a day. So this is a question for you and I guess the audience. Do I no longer slander Derek Jeter because he left the Marlins,

thus letting Nick Cassianos be a Philly? Oh, wow. It's a big leap. Yeah, hold on. No, no, no. Not just a big leap, but also a big moment, a big thing. Like the decision we make here is going to have wide, wide-ranging effects and ramifications.

I mean, this is wheelhouse stuff for you. You know what I mean? Yeah, it's one of my favorites. Okay, here's what I'm going to say. I'm going to say that knowing Nick Castellanos like I do, my close personal friend, confidant, Nick Castellanos, that was all BS. There was no way he would have actually said,

I'm going to go spend the next five years of my life playing for the Marlins when I can come to Philadelphia, play for a real baseball town with real baseball players like Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, and I can actually go win. Like, I care about baseball. I care about being a winner. So here's the thing.

I think that he was probably like his buddy Derek maybe throwing him a bone, but he was never going to go there in reality. So, Jack, you are free to still crush Derek Jeter. Congratulations. I think that's the the outcome we all need what a loser franchise the marlins are by the way we we know that but seriously like you're not going to spend a bank like cassiano's ultimately didn't even cost that much like he really did it it's it's five for 100 i thought he's i thought he's gonna get about 120 so it's it's a little bit less than that but he's an unbelievable bat in the middle of the lineup so

um good job marlins and and thank you for for firing or for letting the cassianos be a philly um how does our callers pronounce his name james is it is it castellanos is oh it's gonna be so bad it's gonna be so bad castellanos is gonna be the go-to go-to mess up i would say castellanos castellanos no that that's actually close yeah i was like that's kind of right it's actually how you it's actually how you say it it's gonna be bad castellanos um I'm trying to think what else we can get. Because they won't. Yeah. People will definitely miss the double L sound. Yes. That will be lost for sure.

Castellanos. We'll get some Castellanos for sure. Yeah. That kind of stuff. Yeah. Joe and John love the show, man. I'm excited about Castellanos. I think they can actually get it.

I actually have faith in the WIP callers to get this one right. It's not – it looks more difficult than it is, but then once you start saying it, I mean, it's not that bad. I'm with you. It's super easy. And Casti is fun. Casti? That's a good one.

I feel like the shorten the name, shorten the last name, can go hit or miss. And we got two great ones like casty is great and schwirby or schwarbs is like next level great we got really lucky with that jack with these signings i am because like chris bryant like what are we doing like bry bryany chrissy like no it's horrible right it's horrible but cast it would be kb exactly you might as well be jg you know what i'm saying? Like, we got Castie and we got, I mean, Schwarbs is,

whether it's Schwarbs or whether it's Schwarby, but really Schwarbs, Schwarbs Bombs, like that is the best name we could have possibly gotten. I'm so excited about this. You're leaving out my favorite one, which is Schwarbo. That's true. Schwarbo. Another great one.

That's the point. It's so good. Yeah. So either way, I'm excited to see what our callers come up with you know um i think we may get some castles like castle on us or castle something i don't know i'm excited to see what they come up with how about the instagram he put out last night like what a fun what a fun like 20 minutes there was like okay is he coming also is he in philadelphia right now also is he at the art museum steps taking a picture of the city also why is no one why did no one see him at all so weird so the whole thing was a really and essentially for the deal to come out like you know 10 minutes later like i figure if you're

gonna do that like let it sit for a bit right let people think about it talk about it but it was like no this is it was just his way of saying i signed i guess but so was he in philadelphia he must have he must have come here to sign and then he's going to Florida, right? That's my thought. So my guess is what happened when we heard all the stuff early in the day with the Stark piece and this and that. My guess is they were working on the contract, and he was here and Boris was here, and they were all getting it done.

And when it was done, he probably went out to the art museum and took that picture and was like, I'm going to live here. This is my city now and also i think boris was at the chris bryant um press conference yesterday afternoon so we maybe had to fly in here uh after that um but also well bryce signed and then he was in my it was in he was in clearwater so unless unless middleton's up here you know unless middleton is is not down at spring training, which I would find out as well. So I don't know. That's another thing that needs to come out in the book about the Nick Cassidy.

Yeah. We really need this, this blow by blow. Really what would be cool is to take us from the Schwarber signing through the Cassidy signing. Cause like, you know, to know about the Schwarber signing and then to know like the process of dave convincing john to go over for nick of them luring nick here of of harper getting in their ears saying we got to get this guy we got to get this guy we got to get this guy like i'm i'm just so ready for all that i have an idea how about we call it signing castellanos and then every rain delay oh buddy we can watch it a thousand times i think that makes sense yes and you're full of a murderers row signing castellanos original ideas

right and left today jack i'm very impressed also i still would trade for j Ramirez, which was also my idea. So, um, there's a lot of my ideas that are, are coming out now. Um, real, real quick diversion before I get to, uh, a top five for you. Um, Ooh, I was a little disappointed when there wasn't one on the short, but I'm not gonna lie. Not gonna lie. I know. By the way, real quick, real quick, real quick, just to, before you get to the next thing, this is definitely the first time we've ever done back-to-back emergency big signing pods, right? That's never happened before. I think we did two in a row, but it was for like D. It was like, oh, but like, yeah.

And also they were like weeks apart, weren't they? Or something like that. I think you're right. Yes. I don't think we've ever done like two in a week like this with this just kind of over-the-top amazing excitement or two, essentially in a little over a week or whatever it was. Yes, more of this. More of this.

More of this. No, so speaking of the luxury tax thing, I think it's $3 million that they're going to have to owe this year or whatever, which is obviously pennies. The thing that always frustrates me is you're going to make that back within the first weekend because of how much excitement there is like why is that never factored in when it comes to how much people are gonna be like no one was that fired up about the phillies after like they were excited that schwarber is here but now that cassianos is here on top of schwarber and on with harper already like the buzz about the phillies is is ridiculous so um they're gonna make that god by the way thank god jack thank is ridiculous. So they're going to make that move back to Temple. Thank God, by the way.

Thank God, Jack. Thank God. You know what? Our team deserves to have a little shine on it for once. All the Eagles talk, all James Harden, all this stuff. Like, can our team be the team that everyone's talking about for once? Wouldn't that be fun? Go Phillies, baby.

Yes. That's exactly right. What a time. What a time. What a time. So, uh, also very curious. I'm very curious to see if the Eagles respond real quick.

I mean, just a quick, they're, they're about to get lapped here by the fills and the, and the, and the sixes could be exciting. Same little time here with all our, but Jack,

literally as we're talking, Adam chapter, Fletcher Cox, reach an agreement to come back to the Eagles on a one year deal. So, you know, steal them back. Awesome. Wow. They got the city back.

They really the Eagles are back. All right. Top five things updated now after the last week of of pure Phillies excitement. Top five things I'm most excited about now for the Phillies season, because the last one was like kind of a bit uh and now it's officially back so uh the fifth thing i'm most excited about is the first kind of cold ish weather september game where they're fighting for a playoff spot it's a little chilly um and you just it has that like oh seven uh series against washington where like like howard in the first inning with the rally dials going it's a it's a home run and kind of sets the tone like i need one of those games

like the first big september game where's real, that's number five. Love it, love it, love it, love it, love it, love it. Number four, opening day. Obviously, needed to get here. First off, we need to be there, obviously. We need to. Powers that be, can we make this happen? Yeah, we'll be around the people as we celebrate this Phil's lineup.

And they take down the A's and they score 10 runs and we come on talking about Super Bowl. Just kidding, World Series. Number three, again, this is strictly me, but the first blown game I am excited for. I'm going to let you have that one. I'm still excited for it. I'm going to let you have that one.

Come on, man. Just to know the pain's still there. Just to bring us back down to earth a little bit. I need that first blown game. I'm sorry. Okay. Okay. It's a weird take, but yeah.

I get it, but weird. Number two is the first time they score 10 runs. It's just going to be... Oh, I need that air to breathe, Jack. I need it to happen in the first few games of the season. I just need it. I need a 12 spot. Give it to me, boys, please.

And maybe for old time's sake, do it out in St. Louis. I always love when they pour 20 runs on in St. Louis. Beautiful thing. And you know what? How about do it at CVP? Let the fans go crazy and make it the first game where Schwarber and Castellanos and Harper all Homer in it. Like you said before, make it that. I might, I might, I might well up a little bit. I gotta be, I gotta be honest. Honestly, I'm not kidding. I might do like,

I might actually well up in that. I like just seeing like, I'm going I'm going to like just seeing these guys in Philly's pinstripes, like it's going to be like emotional. It really does feel like we've we at this podcast do an amazing job, especially one of us. I won't say who of deluding ourselves to believe in Philly's teams that are not nearly as good or as great as we hope more wish them want them to be this team is legit like this is the first time i don't feel like an idiot getting really excited about this team like that's awesome that's an awesome feeling man well it's not the first time i would say that i don't feel like an idiot because i feel like an idiot most days but i'm definitely excited to not feel like less

of an idiot yeah i mean because i really james you know i've put myself out there the last couple years of the films you know you have you know and every time i feel like sometimes too far even some might say yeah but i you know i feel like i feel like a rom-com character with with with the phillies where it's like, Oh, he keeps getting his heart broken. And then that great, perfect,

uh, girl comes along and it all works out. And finally Jack's happy. Well, that's how I feel with Nick Cassianos and Kyle Schwarber now in the Phillies lineup, which leads me to number one. And there's no other thing that I'm more excited about this Philly season

than them clinching a playoff spot. It's over. It's going to be over. Our long 10 years, 11 years. Sorry. How could I forget? 11 years. No, it's 10. Yeah's yeah i mean now you're right it's 11 2011 it's 2022 but it's it'll be 11 by the end of this season is the point but it won't be

because the film right it won't be but you point being yes this season is the 11th season since we've made the playoffs. Yes, yes. So that's going to be – That's even gross to say. It's going to be incredible. And the rally towel is back. You know, CBP back to being electric. The fills are just going to hit so many tanks. They are so back.

And to everyone that has listened to this podcast since the beginning and has been with us through the highs and the lows, mostly the lows, I think we all deserve it. And we deserve this moment. We deserve that lineup. And I think getting baseball really, really back in this city is just going to do wonders both for the Phillies and for the sport. And, James, I can't wait to go through this season with you. I can't wait to go through this season with our listeners.

You are our people. We all deserve this. Nick Castellanos is a Philly. Kyle Schwarber is a Philly. castellanos is a philly kyle schwarber is a philly bryce harper is still a philly uh they are going to absolutely hit the crap out of the ball this year and um i just i can't wait for it to get here i'm so excited for them to be back i'm fist pumping right now i'm literally you can't you can't hear it but my my fist is nonstop pumping right now. Yes. We deserve this. We deserve this. It's the perfect phrase, Jack. We deserve this. Yep. Yep. So I can't wait. They're on the TV

at one today. We get to see them back. Harper's in the lineup. And hey, if you see James and I around town, we'll most likely have a smile on our face because they really, really did it. John Middleton, again, I'm so proud of you. You really, really did it. Bryce, thank you for being you. Nick, can't wait to see that first CBP home run. And Kyle Schwarber, man, when you hit a walk-off off of Garrett Cole in the ninth, I don't know why he's still pitching in the ninth, but whatever.

When you hit a stairs-level home run off of Garrett Cole in a playoff game at Citizens Bank Park into a sea of rally towels and Phillies fans, it's going to be electric. So what a day, James. What a day. We deserve this, and I can't wait and shout out to dombo too it took a it took a true champion a true adult to come into the room fix the mess that was left behind by andy feet up on the desk mcphail and and to really you know get john middleton to believe again and be willing to to do this i think you know it Dombrowski be able to convince him to do this give him some Cassianos the guy and Harper's help and

all that's really it's just thrilling it's thrilling to see our team function like a well-run baseball team like wow what a what a what a crazy freaking thought the thing we've been asking for again we've never covered a good team. Like, we've never done that. Like, the IOPs podcast is our favorite thing. We always say it. It's just the truth. Like, of all the stuff we do, like, this is our favorite thing to do. It's our favorite, like, group of people to talk to.

It's a favorite community that we've built. And it's just the most fun because we love the Phillies the most. They're our favorite team. They're the most fun, all that stuff. But, like, we've had trash teams. Like, the best team we had was an 82-win team last year. That's the best Phillies team we've ever covered with iHopesPod. Like, this group of people, the iHopes community, us and the listeners of this pod, to Jack's point, like, it's the perfect phrase.

Like, we deserve this. Like, we have gutted out some horrendous baseball, some horrendous baseball, some super depressing night after night after night of watching this bullpen or this defense or this, that, or these blown games or whatever. Like we have gone through it, man, in the history of this podcast, the entirety of this podcast has been alive. We've gone through the ringer. We've had like like a couple moments like the Bryce Harper signing just has stood out as like this this shining beacon of light of like happiness on a podcast like now we could have a season that's like that a season of fun a season of mashing a season of awesome dudes playing baseball and getting excited about it we We deserve it, buddy. You made the analogy

last time, and it's even more apropos this time. We are all Andy Dufresne, and we have all been crawling through that for what seems like a decade. Oh, wait, it is a decade. We've been crawling through it for a decade, And now we're out the other side And Zewataneo is right on the horizon for us, buddy Like this, it's a perfect analogy But it feels like we're finally truly out the other side It really does What an end to this podcast

What an end What a start What an end This has just been top notch Just sitting here smiling I'm so happy I'm like so happy right now an end what a start what an end this has just been just sitting here smiling just sitting here smiling i'm like so happy right now it's the i have to like catch myself it's the most happy i've been about the phillies in over a decade like and all of us are like that's that's a big

statement you know like it's a big statement it's really exciting man i'm so pumped it's a good day this is a really good day buddy it's a good saturday all right uh let's enjoy that sari let's watch some philly's baseball one you got any final thoughts uh i think the 2021 phil's video yearbook is here so just when i just when i thought i could uh get past the pain of having to endure the last year's team again, I'm going to watch that as soon as it comes out and be giddy about it because Nick Cassianos. Yeah, see, it's actually fun now

because you can watch it through the prism of knowing what's coming. It's almost like a fun little jaunt to see how it's going to be so much better this year. I like that. Yeah, I can't wait for the Phil's video year yearbook every year so i'm pretty sure it's back and uh yeah what a day james what a day and uh again we deserve it and i can't wait for hopefully a lot of nights down the ballpark uh with our listeners and um you know and everything's everything is going to be glorious and opening And opening day truly can't get here.

And we will be down at the ballpark with the listeners. High Ops Nights will happen. Lock that in. Cannot wait. My final thought. Last time, Jack, we did a disservice because we didn't give her enough credit. We gave Millie some credit for a Kyle Schwerber signing. Millie, born in 2008, always had good Phillies mojo with her we gave her some

credit for the couch where we're signing and she was like come on guys you think that's all I'm gonna do on the way out it's like no no no no no no we're going over the tax we're getting Castellanos shout out to Millie what a what a gift on the way out I feel like that was Milton's present to you you know I think so too he knew I needed it he knew like i'm going through it right now and he was like buddy you've been such a a true fan a true believer you never doubted me once i got your back yeah it's a beautiful thing shout out to millie thanks billy shout out to millie shout out to the phil's shout out to the phil's this is so exciting man i can't wait we'll be back obviously this week to just you you know, be more excited.

This is awesome. Say the same thing. Yeah, but we can break down spring training baseball. We can start looking at the NLEs, breaking down the other lineups, lineup versus lineup, staff versus staff. Like, we can do the fun stuff. We can actually talk baseball, Jack. We can talk about, like, real team with a real chance.

Like, it's all we ever wanted this podcast to be. It's pretty amazing. Yup. We made it buddy. We made it like Andy Dufresne and Shawshank redemption. We made it. What a day, man.

What a day. We'll be back soon. He's Fritz himself. We'll talk to you guys soon. 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 Pod, there is another fact. So jump aboard the BIB Express. Follow and listen to Baseball Isn't Boring,

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