High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The Phillies Are a Good Baseball Team and That's Okay

Episode Date: September 9, 2020

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz are back as the Phillies continue to split series with their bullpen being their bullpen, but they're a good baseball team and that's fine.  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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Hot Cloud Storage on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the high hopes podcast. It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Phillies on radio.com and sports radio, 94 WIP. Is another addition of the IOPs podcast. Jack, I feel like they've played 100 games since the last time we talked. Yeah, well, they physically have.

And I can't be sure, but has David Phelps allowed a home run in every single one of those games? 100 out of 100. Yeah, it's a new record. It's pretty wild. I'll tell you what. Remember when David Phelps was a good pitcher two weeks ago? Yeah, on the Brewers and then got here and decided to suck. Listen, I swear, like, James and I, if you listen to this podcast,

I think we know baseball. David Phelps is not this bad. I swear he's not this bad he can't be he's been good for like two plus years i don't know whatever this is not the david phelps podcast but like no but he's making us look bad he's making he is making you and i look bad and i i don't appreciate that at all yeah more importantly he's making matt clintack look bad so that part of that part of it i'm more okay with that's fine i mean his his combined his combined bullpen acquisitions eras is like six and a half i think it's over seven actually yeah it's terrific i mean we knew

heath hembree stunk we knew david hale more or less stunk. Yeah, mop up Hale. Brandon Workman stinking and David Phelps stinking is a real bummer. It's a real bummer for me, Jack. Yeah, it's really unfortunate. But hey, at least it didn't trade for Matt Barnes. I mean, he didn't look great yesterday. No, no.

You know what? Maybe don't trade with Boston for their relievers. Would have been a good thought. You mean don't trade with a bad team for their bad pieces. That is known for having a bad bullpen. Even on the World Series team. I know. That was the thing. They won the World Series because they put Nathan Evaldi and Chris Sale

and all those guys in the bullpen. It's unbelievable. We're back. I mean, it's good to be back, though. You know? I mean, 9 of 10 and then 10 of 11 was a lot of fun. But, you know, ultimately, I mean, this is what they are. They're going to rake.

Win one, I'll lose one kind of team? Yeah. They're going to rake. Their starting staff is going to be pretty good. And you're going to have to hold on to your butts when the bullpen enters the game. Yeah. Man, this bullpen.

Oh, man. Are you having fun? As long as you're as long as you're having fun that's all that matters right look the 10 of 11 felt really fun and this offense is fun like they're fun to watch they rake and like we talked about too it's not just that they rake like they're fun to watch because they they it's not like the last few years. It's not just go up and launch it out of the ballpark. They manufacture runs. They steal bases. They're fun to watch.

They're just a fun offense to watch. The whole team is offensively a joy. But again, we're back to the hammer. We're back to the hammer that's always sitting there. That's just looking at us and waiting for us and we know at some point is going to come down on our heads it's frustrating man and again i look i don't want to get too overboard because on a on a general level i'm pretty optimistic about the phillies right now i'm happy with where they're at we'll get into it but who would have

thought a a seven game series with the marlins would be the most important series of the year to date but such as it is uh we'll get to that but i feel really good about where they're sitting their playoff team right now it's just jacked this freaking bullpen man like it seems like we can't get away from it we've tried to run away and you know even even tommy hunter who i have really come to enjoy you know he's cruising man and then yeah then you know it all it all happened none of them not like again this is the problem right is that and again i think they're gonna make the playoffs it's when we get there this is really they'll make the playoffs but like when we get there there is is really – They'll make the playoffs. But when we get there, there is literally, Jack, in a playoff game,

or regular season game, but for the purpose of this discussion, a playoff game, there is not one single guy that they can bring into a game where we will feel good. Not one. Not one. Look, Hector's been a little better. Can you tell me for sure that Hector walks into a game you feel good? I don't. I don't feel good with anybody.

The only guy who I feel good walking into a game is sitting around with a broken testicle, Jack. Like, that's it. Jose, what about Blake Parker? He's been good. Again, the ERA is not zero anymore, sadly. I just don't like that you're disrespecting JoJo Romero on his birthday. On his birthday, no less. less oh jojo i know jojo's been great five out of six outings he's been great i like jojo but again to my point will you you know the deal we never lie to the high ups listeners is there a single pitcher in this bullpen who, if they come into a playoff game, you're like, okay, I feel good.

I still feel confident when Hector comes in for the most part. Like, it's not 100% lockdown, but I still feel more confident in Hector than, like, here's the thing with Hector. It's either going to be one, two, three. The worst. Yeah, it's either going to be one, two, three, easy peasy, and then, or else it's going to be a disaster. Workman, I know is going to make it close. Hembree, I know is going to be 1-2-3, easy peasy, or else it's going to be a disaster. Workman, I know, is going to make it close.

Hembree, I know, is going to make it close. Phelps will allow a home run. Hembree's not going to make it close. Hembree's going to give up a run at least every time, no matter what. Yeah, I mean, I think it's fair to say he's the worst 43 to pitch for the Phillies. That's where I'm at. Oh, sorry. Yeah.

So, yeah. No, I mean, obviously. But, like, whatever. Like, I'm cool with this team just making the playoffs. And, like, because, like, I never thought they were a World Series caliber roster anyway. You know, I think the offense is closer than people think. And, obviously, it's contingent on re-signing

Didi and it'd be nice if JT could come back a little bit. That'd be great. But signing JT, signing Didi, keeping those guys around, boom, should only continue to get better. There's a championship caliber offense on this team

and I think they have a really strong future 1-2-3 in Howard, Nola, Wheeler. And then I think Eflin as a 4-5 is tremendous. And then you fill the 5 spot however you need to fill the 5 spot. So really it's almost like make the playoffs

cool. It's important for these guys to get there and have the experience even though there's no fans and whatnot. And then just spend this offseason getting D.D. back, getting J.T. back, and just build a bullpen and let this thing start rolling a little bit because they're not as far away as a lot of people

thought heading into the season. This offense is better than I thought it was going to be, and it should only really get better. If Bryce starts getting going a little bit, obviously Hoskins, you can't totally trust him, but even when he was struggling, he was still getting on base at high clips, so the elite eye was always there, and maybe we can just find some more consistency with a guy like Joe Dillon.

There's a makings of a good team here. And unfortunately, it comes down to a thing that you can't trust in the bullpen. But I still don't think it's that hard to build a good bullpen. It seems like it's impossible for a lot of baseball teams. Unless you're back, Clint. Yeah, I mean, it seems impossible for teams, but just bring some guys that can throw hard.

See, the Rays build their bullpen so interestingly because it's not just guys that throw hard. It's guys that just can spin it and spin something. If they're not throwing 96 with sink, they're spinning like a 3,000 RPM slider, like Jazz Row. They're just so far ahead of everyone else the raise i mean they have absolutely no payroll whatever this is not a raise podcast but if you could just hire jack dude and this is the whole thing at clintac it's like imagine giving eric neander and his

staff 200 million resources that matt clintac has exactly jack that's exactly it yes and that's what the red socks essentially just did so great yeah yeah yeah it's great look i agree with everything you said i think you hit it right on the head and to the very first point you made in that answer there that i'm with you like i never expected this team to win the world series i never expect them to be a world series contender at all. I'm really happy with the playoff run. I'm really happy with just getting there, feeling October baseball again, that type of feel and just games mattering down the stretch. I'm all in for that. And look, baseball's weird. The playoffs are weird. Things can happen. Ultimately, this bullpen will be

their Achilles heel in one way or another. So I mean, things can happen to a certain point. I don't think this team is going to win the World Series, obviously, or get to the World Series or whatever. But like you said, they're a solid baseball team. They just have one massive, disastrous team-killing issue, and it's having the worst bullpen of all time. And it is incredibly frustrating because, like you said, Jack, you see all these other teams just – it doesn't matter who they lose. It doesn't matter who they trade away. They just

keep cycling guys in and out the Rays, the Indians, like every year, those teams have awesome bullpens and they do it with no money. Like it can't be that hard. It can't be that hard. So that is, it's incredibly frustrating, but I agree with your overall assessment of the team. And again, to hammer home, not just to Joe Dillon, but the whole coaching staff, I think, has done a really good job this year. And I know that people early on were getting on Girardi for a few things. And I know that some people still get on him for this bullpen, which makes zero sense to me. Like, yeah, he hasn't gone to the right guy in every spot, obviously, but ultimately this is guys just not pitching. I mean, they're not like David Phelps comes here and can't get, can't get out. I mean, how's that Joe Girardi's fault? Like what did Joe Girardi do

there? Like he's putting a guy into the game who has consistently gotten out for two years. Then he can't get out anymore. Like you can't blame Girardi for that. I actually have been really impressed in a short season and it's hard to tell the impact with what the coaching staff has done top to bottom. And we talked last pod about how I think Girardi deserves a lot of credit for not pushing his pitchers hard early in the season, not pushing his players too hard early in the season. We're seeing tons of injuries across baseball, especially to pitchers. I think he played that correctly.

And then just as a team approach type of thing, like a perfect example, if you watch this team, if a batter has two strikes, guess what? He's choking up on the bat. Just about every guy, they're shortening their swing. It is a team approach. And we see it on the base pass. We see what I was talking about before, the manufacturing runs, as opposed to just knocking out of the park. You really can. Now that we're almost 40 games into the season and there's 21 left, uh, 39 games in the season. I feel like you can really start to see the imprint of this coaching staff on this team.

And, and I think that's exciting and portends really good things moving forward. Yeah. And I just, I just hate that there's 21 games left. Like for, for as much as, for as much as the bullpen, like I want to watch the bullpen blow it every night. I just hate that there's 21 games left. Like, for as much as the bullpen,

like, I want to watch the bullpen blow it every night. I just love watching the Phillies. I want to watch the bullpen blow it every night. Actually, I think I take it back. I think what you meant to say is, I'll watch the bullpen every night, whatever it gives me. The point is, you love watching Phillies baseball. There's just nothing.

There's nothing in the world. I'm losing my mind tonight. It's a Wednesday night. I don't know what to do with myself. I'm like, why is there not a Phillies game on? There's 21 games left. I feel like I'm robbed of so much joy in my life. Even less so.

It's 21 games in 17 days or something. The season is going to be over before we know it. It is a travesty, Jack. It's 21 games in like 17 days or something. Like the season is going to be over before we know it. It is a travesty, Jack. It is. It is. It is one of the worst things that has happened to me. It's a 60 game baseball season. I mean, you had a pretty crappy night last night. So that's something coming from you. We were supposed to record this pod last night.

Yes. Yes. For all those out there wondering why. Yeah. Yeah, it was a rough night for Jack, too. Talk about, I don't really get down about anything. Ever. Or, like, angry. Like, you don't really, you're a roll with the punches kind of person.

Yeah, except yesterday. Except yesterday. Yesterday was, I do have a temper, but it's only in short spurts. Watching the Phillies bullpen is one thing, driving is another, and when things don't go my way, it turns into a short spurt. Phillies games, Phillies losses usually take me a half hour. I give myself a half hour rule where like, then I got to flush it. But yesterday was basically,

yesterday was the equivalent of watching the Phillies bullpen for six hours, six hours over and over. Like, let's just go into it. Cause I'm sick and tired. It was an awful day. It was an awful day. First off. And then like,

so I'm here and we have to pack like so much stuff into an hour and 20-minute show. We have to do a giveaway. We have Brandon Graham. We have to figure out where we're going with the show. So we have to do giveaways, whatever. Then we get into the leading off, which is our Phillies thing, and not all the spots are in, so I got to manually add them in. And then after they were manually added in, they redid the log and i had to

delete that stuff all within five minutes of trying to get the phillies on the air trying to pull trying to pull philly stuff at the same time getting the sound ready to go communicating with jim knowing where we're going there and then uh first of all philly's games is like the most stressful thing in the world just that that for as just to to back you up on this as someone who produces and doesn't have to do Phillies games, I can tell you how much work. What Jack was just saying, if you don't understand it, like what he's talking about, it's a lot of work in a short period of time, and it's incredibly stressful.

And for Phillies games, too, the thing you got to think about, like Jack's producing at WIP, but it's going out to tons of affiliates. Like this is the type of thing where like it's one thing if you screw up during the midday show or the afternoon show because you could joke about it be like oh that was dumb like oh make fun of seltzer make fun of jack like you can't screw up the phillies game like it it is it is actually far more important to not screw up the phillies game or an eagles game or whatever so yeah i totally get it man i totally get it so so whatever this is i've done a lot of them so i know what i'm doing it's just like there's always little things that happen

so anyway the game's going along. Everything's fine. Everything's great. So inside the job is like, so one of the things that we have to do is sounds of the game. And it's a combination of the Phillies highlights and funny things that Scott, L.A., Kevin, and Jim say. And it's basically like putting that into a 45-second thing with a bed underneath it and whatever. I do it whenever I produce the game. But like I usually have two ready, one for when they win and one for if they blow it.

So I had it ready for if they blow it. And of course, Boem hits the walk off and that just throws a wrench in my whole plans. Like I have to go like basically i have two minutes to get the boom to get the boom walk off cut down enough to where you can tell what the play is to fit it in this 45 second thing and and have it go off so that's that's that's stressful then then i had to do all the highlights in the post game which is like it's, I didn't have one of them. So you're already there past, like, you're already there. This show would normally end at six. That game went to like seven, right?

You're there later to begin with. Right, then I had to get Eflin off of NBC Sports Philly. So I had to pull that. I had to get the highlights. I had to get Eflin, his postgame show, off of the Google Drive. All right, so this is what happens. I have four fantasy drafts to do and i was supposed to do a podcast all starting the same night yes all starting at eight o'clock

one was for someone else it's not even mine so i had four fantasy drafts i had i thought i had to do a podcast then i drive home and i can't get into my apartment so i'm locked out of my apartment and i because we have this keypad that for some reason is like just dying and it's just not letting us in so I can't get in and then I drive 45 minutes home to Westchester and I'm trying to

and the ramp that I usually take to get on to 76 to 95 of course is out so I had to drive even further. Just a truly, truly awful day. Awful. Just a truly, truly awful day. Awful. Just a long one. Just an absolute day.

But... And real quick before you move on, not only that, but Scott Franski let you have it, apparently, on the way out. Shout out to at Framing Phillies on Twitter who sent us this quote. Half-timer Jack Fritz, who after he found out Nick Pavetta wasn't starting game

two, took off. Shout out to, I mean, that is such a Scott Franski thing to say, too. Yeah, they love. Especially after you had already stayed like an hour and a half later than you're normally supposed to. It's just perfect. They love nothing more than, I swear to God, no one, everyone just loves burying me about pivetta and like i get it like i get it but holy crap can we just relax for a second like you've all gotten players wrong

before i got pivetta wrong i got it and then i kept up with the bit for like i guess six months too long and now dude i will put out a simple tweet about like something. And someone will be like, yeah, well, what about Pavetta? And it's like, oh, my God, are we going to get over it? Are we going to get over the Pavetta thing? I'm sorry. There's two things that drive me crazy on Twitter. Pavetta and this didn't age well.

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. I'll give you another. I'll give you another. I'll give you another. You know what? I'm so done with two is that's it.

That's the tweet. Nail it. Nail it. Oh, enough. Enough. We get it. Enough with that. How about just tweet what you're going to say? You don't need to do that.

You could just tweet the thing. And then that's the, that's the tweet. And then some dweeb named Bobby Dahlbach is hitting 450 foot homers. Oh, I was like, this guy I've never heard of is dominating the Phillies today. It's great. Bobby Dahlbeck? I literally had never heard of him before. Well, he's like a pretty decently –

The name sounded familiar. Was he a prospect? Because I thought the name sounded familiar, but I have not seen him. It's because you're thinking of the Stepbrothers and Dale Dahlbeck, right? Ah, there you go. That's probably what it is. Yeah. He just looked like such a nerd.

There's no way Bobby Dahlbeck is leading any championship team. I would trade him. If I was the Red Sox, I would trade Bobby Dahlbeck and maybe get a return on investment. Look at you. Dude, do you know that Rafael Devers is batting like 630 against the Phillies? You know how I feel about Rafael Devers. Yeah, I mean, Devers is batting like 630 against the Phillies. Like I, like, you know, you know,

I feel about Raphael Devers. Yeah. I mean, Devers is just a machine, but it hasn't been like if I, again, if I had to bet on one guy, 25 or under to 3000,

it's a BM. I mean, I mean, you know, you know, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis and Akuna exist, right?

Yeah. Again, 3000 hits. I'm not saying I would take them to start a team. I'm saying, I think Devers is the most likely of that group to hit 3 000 hits i think you're sleeping on alec boom good point bones better than everybody yeah that's a that's a fact uh though it is it is crazy to think that that all three of those guys are younger than boom yeah yeah yeah they're all four of those guys jesus yeah yeah they're yeah and they've been way more uh i know that's the point i know um but and like what is the what's just a boring game too yesterday whatever oh brutal game like just

thinking and look thank god they won that first one because it could have been a real crappy day alec bone the walk-off i mean mean, that was just, what a win. That was, and look, the second game sucked. It was boring. And hey, you know what, Vinny? It wasn't Vinny's fault. I mean, Vinny gave it a five to earn, nine Ks, no walks. Like, I'll take that every single time he steps on the mound.

Like, that was cool. It's a shame that you lose one when you get a solid Vinny start like that. That's always a bummer. But man, that first win really felt like the type of game that last year they lose. Like they just lose that game last year. Well,

so there's two, so there's two things. Cause I agree with you. There's two things that separate this team from years past. And I think that has a lot to do with Joe Girardi and, and what he's brought to this team. Last year's Phillies lose on Monday. There's no doubt about it.

The Mets game, they lose 14-1 the night before. They blow a 6-0 lead. Last year's Phillies team folds. And I thought coming back and winning Monday was going to kind of jumpstart this team a little bit more. They went to the 10 of 11. Then they lost to two in New York. They got blown out on a NOLA day. And by the way,

Jacob deGrom, I mean, it's unreal. Yeah, just imagine. It's unreal. It's actually unreal. It's like 100. The ease with which he gets it up there at 100, at like is it's really

impressive dude he didn't throw a pitch under 90 miles an hour i know i know like that's enough imagine imagine we're legitimately watching one of the better runs for i mean again you know he's got a long way to go career-wise to be one of the greats. But this three-year, two, three-year run he's having is one of the best ones we've seen, legitimately. Yeah. Imagine telling Babe Ruth that you're going to go up there and you're not going to see a pitch below 90 miles an hour. Well, Babe's probably never saw one over 90,

or not much over 90, right? So is DeGrom going to be the first pitcher to win three straight Cy Youngs? No, no, no. Has that happened before? I don't think it has happened. If it did, maybe in the old school days, but I don't think so. Is he going to be the first pitcher

to go to the Hall of Fame with less than 100 wins? He might. He only has 70 wins. Look, I think he'll get to than 100 wins? He might. He only has 70 wins. Look, I think he'll get to over 100 wins is the point, ultimately. He's 32. Is he 32? I thought he was 29 for some reason.

He hasn't been 29 since 2017. Thanks for the math lots in there. Look, he's not a Hall of Famer yet. If he wins, you can't keep a guy out with three straight Cy Youngs. I know. Look, even two Cy Youngs.

That's incredibly impressive. Well, Lincecum has two Cy Youngs. I know. I'm saying it's incredibly impressive. But three Cy Youngs, you probably have to put him in. Three straight. I know. I'm with you.

He's not going to win it this year anyway, I don't think. He might. Who's winning it? Six, this year anyway, I don't think. He might. Who's winning it? Six, though? Well, I thought Max Fried might have. Well, he's on another break for the Bills. Another break for the Titans. I know.

I know. It's huge. We'll get that. We'll get that. DeGrom is just unreal. So anyway, as you were saying, it felt like, and I'm with you, it felt like Monday, the way they won that game, too, because it felt like after i'm with you it felt like monday the way they won that game too because it felt like it felt like after 14 to 1 you know losing the two straight after the run and then blowing the six nothing lead it was like oh they're back we're back we're back yeah we're back

yeah it was it was so classic and like i tweeted uh i tweeted on like the seventh. I was like, God, this just has gut wrenching loss all over it. And I was right. I mean, it should have been another one. They last year is absolutely gut wrenching loss. Yeah, because, you know, you know, the way that the Phillies, the Phillies met and then the Mets metets, which was a truly just a, what a, what an experience to, uh, to be a part of.

I mean, both because both the Phillies and the Mets, like both fan bases are just like, Oh, let's figure it. Let's see how they lose this one. Well, it's one of those things where whenever like that kind of like,

we'll always, any Phillies fan or whatever would be like, no one loses like the Phillies or whatever. And then like the only response you'll get is forgot about the Mets yeah Mets Mets Mets and I do always forget about the Mets yeah I do always forget about the Mets but it was nice to be a part of that it was two teams that that lose harder than everyone else both trying to it's a real beautiful thing yeah but they came out on top getting it getting getting a split getting a split in that series is massive massive it was so incredibly important for this team especially

going into look the doubleheader like yes that second game uh loss yesterday was frustrating but like you can't ever go even against bad teams you go into a doubleheader saying all right we have to win one like you always want to see the doublehead, but you understand if you split a doubleheader. Like, it's just baseball sometimes, you know? It's hard to win two games in the same day. Like, it is what it is. But if they had lost that last game in the Mets series, it would have been panic city, buddy.

Yeah. Panic city. Not this team. No. Well, James Cigarettes. I mean, what do you expect when you got Jimmy Siggs there? Yeah, Jimmy Siggs. I love that. Yeah, it's one of. What do you expect when you got Jimmy Cigs there? Yeah, Jimmy Cigs. I love that.

It's one of those things that Sixers Twitter would turn into something bigger than it is, but I feel like Phillies Twitter has gotten there a little bit with James Cigarettes. Yeah. What a day for him, man. What a day.

I heard Franski say it's him. So there are three Phillies ever who had, what was it? It was four hits, five RBI, and a home run in extra innings, or a game-winning home run in extra innings. It's only happened three times. Jimmy Siggs and then the other two are like the two best offensive players in the history of the franchise in Schmidt and Klein. So, you know, not bad company.

And I think both of those, the Schmidt and Klein games, I think they both happened in their four home run games. Oh, wow. Did they really? Yeah. That actually makes a lot of sense. Yeah, I think you said that yesterday. What a game.

What a game, Siggs. Bringing it. I think it's safe to say the Phillies won that yesterday. What a game. What a game, Sig. I'm bringing it. I think it's safe to say that Phil's won the J.P. Crawford, Carlos Santana trade. Crawford has cooled off. I haven't looked in a little while, but last I looked, Crawford had markedly cooled off. Oh, I reached Mariner's Twitter the other day.

Oh, no. Did you tweet about it? Yeah, I tweeted about his stats, and they were like, yeah, well, have you seen his defense? And it's like, dude, whatever. Like know bro you can you can you can you can literally draft jp crawford every year like he's just not a special player i'm like yeah now six though on the other hand is dude i thought we weren't going to talk about it i know i know and i don't want to talk about it but we're going were going to talk about it. No, no, no, no, no. I thought we were going to talk about the 180ERA. I know. I thought we were going to talk about the just gif after video after gif after video that I have to look at in my timeline.

I thought we were done with the Pedro Martinez comparisons. I thought we were done with people comparing him to Jose Fernandez. I thought we were done, Jack. I thought we were done. No, we are not done. Because just imagine how much fun we would be having if Sixto was here. It would be the best.

It would. I just, it's making me. We could do whole pods with you just breaking down Sixto's start. Like, it would be, all right, pitch five, sequencing. Like, we would literally just break it all down because it would be so enthralling and exciting. Meanwhile, Spence is losing velocity every start.

I know, I know, I know. We're not talking about that. Well, yeah, so we're not talking about that one. Oh, my God. It's going to be tough, man. Like, that game, I think it's Sunday. One of the two games of the doubleheader on Sunday is going to be the 6-0 game.

Are you going to watch? Yeah. I'm not excited about it. Are you going to watch with your hands over your eyes? I might just watch the Phillies pitch and then leave when they're up every time. We talked about it earlier. I look forward to every Phillies game.

I am dreading this Marlins series. Me too. It's a massive series. They're right there. Marlins play the Braves tonight. As of right now, the Phillies are a game and a half up on the Marlins and a game and a half back at the Braves. So one way or the other, depending on what happens tonight,

either the Marlins will gain or lose ground on them or the Braves will gain or lose ground on them or the Braves will gain or lose ground on the Phillies so one way or the other you're gaining a half game somewhere and losing a half game somewhere but they're going to go into this series with the Marlins either a game or two games back of them right there in the thick of the playoff hunt and I can't believe that we first of all seven game series the only seven game series you see are playoff series. So that in and of itself is unique. Two double headers in the seven game series. And then, you know, of course, of course, it's against the team that somehow is your kryptonite for the last few years.

Like, it's crazy. The Marlins stink. Well, they're better than they've been. Like, you know, Starling Marte is a good player. They got some players, but comparatively, the Phillies are a much better team than the Marlins. And yet, I'm terrified. I'm terrified.

So, hold on. Is this the first seven-game series in Phillies history? It has to be, right? I mean, way, way, way back when. No, but even postseason. They've never played a game seven. Whoa, really? The Phillies have never played a game seven. Oh, my.

I never thought about that. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Jack, that's crazy. They've never played a game seven. They've played game fives. Game fives in a five-game series.

Yeah. You're, wow. Yeah. Dude, that's a great nugget. I can't believe I didn't know that. I never thought of it. The first seven-game series in Phillies history. This is, wow, momentous.

Who would have thought it would be against the Marlins? Yes, in a regular season, yeah. With no fans in the stands. Well, there wouldn't be fans in Miami anyway. Yes. So the whole series is in Miami? Yeah, at least that's what it says on the schedule. Now, this kind of threw me off, too.

I guess the Phillies are losing home games, right? I mean, because you wouldn't – it would be crazy for them to play three games in Miami and then hop on a plane to play here. So I think they probably just agreed to play those games there. But ultimately, the Phillies are losing home games out of this. They're losing two home games, theoretically, right? It's ten games. It's supposed to be five and five in theory.

And they got the first three, and it looks like these seven are going to be in Miami. That's thanks for the Phillies. I know! I know! And hopefully... Obviously, it is what it is, but... Yeah, it's just... I get excited for every Phillies

game. I look forward to them every single day. I am nervous for this for the terrified just terrified because like this is this is arguably the biggest series since since since the cardinal series in 2000 actually since the astro series in 2012 this is the biggest series since this is the equivalent of the astro series in 2012 is that fair um yeah look, I think like, you know, 2018, they entered September in first place, right? I mean, like they, um, they've been up there before.

So I think you could say just based on record and all that, that there are some series where you could argue they were as important in the moment and didn't go the Phillies way or whatever. But yeah, I, I think, look, if nothing else, I think you and I both agree definitively that this is the best team that we've had since 2011. So on that basis alone, it's, to me, the most. And also you could argue, too, that seven games in a 60-game season, certainly with 21 games left heading into it, that just that alone, the impact of each game mattering so much that you could argue is definitely the biggest series.

Yes. And I just, you know, I believe in this team more than those teams the last few years i understand their winning percentage is better but even like you know when we were in the moment it was like oh we knew no way come on i don't care about the winning percentage like look this philly's team i i honestly think that first of all if they had the bullpen they have now which again is not good it is bad but even the bullpen they have now at the start of the season they're three four games better than they are right now at least two games better definitively yeah they have so many losses you can point right to the bullpen and then on top of that too like taking a eight days off like after

playing the first week of the season then eight games off like then getting back into it like that was absolutely a disadvantage and i know they split with the yankees the season and eight games off, then getting back into it, that was absolutely a disadvantage. And I know they split with the Yankees and split and all that, but who knows what they could have done if they hadn't had that time off. It's hard for me to judge too much that early part of the season. I think the team that we've seen start to emerge lately is, for me, what I believe in more than what we saw earlier in the season. Yeah, I just think that if you put this team over 162,

they're going to win more often than not because of the offense. Yeah, they feel like an 88-win team. You know what I mean? They feel like a really solid baseball team that will make the playoffs as a wild card, and magic can happen, but they're certainly going to be an underdog against a fair amount of teams that type of team i think that's fair with a with a dynamic

one-two punch yeah and that's what you know makes it interesting certainly especially look the first round of playoffs this year is three games it's three games so like in theory obviously depending on who you're going up against there are certainly teams teams in the National League, though not that many, but there are teams in the National League that can kind of match you 1-2 for sure. Well, the first-round matchup of us of today would be the Padres. Yeah, and I mean, Clevenger and Paddock.

Well, and Lemaitre. And Lemaitre, too. He's been ridiculous. But, you know, point being that if you play the Cubs, I mean, they're not matching you 1-2. I know Jon Lester's a great playoff pitcher and all that but hendrix and darvish aren't as good i mean like and don't get me wrong darvish is it looks good again and hendrix is a good pitcher but like the point is is that in a three-game series in theory the phillies could

maybe have a pitching advantage depending on who their matchup against against you know a fair amount of teams in the national league especially if they can catch the Braves. Jack, catching the Braves is not the craziest thing ever. We talked about the Max Fried injury. How many times have we talked on this podcast about how the Braves pitching sucks without Max Fried? That's the one guy they can count on. Yeah, and I was watching Kyle Wright last night, and I'm like, how the hell is he so bad? You're like Kyle Wrong, am I right?

Hey, that was bad. I mean, I get it that you're a dad now. I gotta make the dad jokes. That's what I'm here for. Almost entering your 40s. It's sad, because that is very true. I know. We don't lie.

I was like, wait a minute. Stop making me sound oh wait oh yeah he was dead right yeah good good yes um yeah the braves the braves rotation is is trash but like ozuna is back to hitting like he's back to like don't get me wrong the braves are so good yeah i mean just three minute kunya and i albies whenever he comes back i mean they're they're good honestly i haven't i haven't stopped getting you mentioned earlier about the you know three game series and i just i've already marty's nervous like i'm just i'm nervous about i'm nervous about playoff philly already nervous

about the three games here yeah yeah i'm nervous about playoff phil's man like yeah it hasn't been that way for 10 years like we're throwing this back how years how crazy is that like playoff fills is just gonna be i'm just gonna be on a different level just it's gonna be the best like again that we have we've never done a playoff hopes yeah like one like that's that's all i want i just want to do a playoff additional high hopes can i please can i give a playoff yo can i like yo it's game one we got yes i feel like this is not asking too much here we got clevenger versus nola oh my god i'm really excited now you're getting me excited jack i will say it's both it's both excitement and like a pit in my stomach yes like like having

to having to you know what's gonna suck is having to watch them get a lead and then know that well that's dude that's what i keep saying like that's again that is the one fly in the ointment you know that's the whole like the one thing that kind of holds you back from really jumping on board and jumping in fully because you know that in any game at any moment that hammer can drop and like it really does suck some of the energy out of it because you can't really enjoy things that generally you should be able to enjoy watching baseball and definitely take the over of the uh padre series because oh buddy the over over the games because they also hit the big

yeah well if you look at i mean i think offensively they are they're the one national league team that has like a better Woba and a few other. They've been better offensively than the Padres, but the only one statistically. So, yeah, no, I'm with you. It's just, again, it's exciting that we can talk about playoffs and feel like it's real. Obviously, in a season that does not deserve an asterisk is a completely fine, real, normal baseball season that we feel good about them making the playoffs in. We can laud that, that they are a playoff team in a normal,

regular season. So, you know, I mean, get that out there. One more year of Glenn's act. Oh God. That's the one again,

flaw with it all. But, um, all right. Uh, before we, I know you got your notepad coming up in a bit, but I wanted to ask you a couple quick things because we didn't –

we haven't gotten into specifics too much, and we obviously aren't going to go through every game, but there are a couple specific things I wanted to ask you about. One of them you mentioned before. We didn't really get into it, but the Spencer Howard thing, I think, look, Nola had a bad start, big deal, whatever. We're not worried. Wheeler continues to be Wheeler.

Eflin wasn't great, but he was fine. Five innings, three runs isn't great. a bad start big deal whatever like we're not worried wheeler continues to be wheeler efflin wasn't great but he was fine you know five innings three runs isn't isn't great but i just think efflin efflin is just he's so close to getting on one of those he's right there man he's right it's a couple mistakes like you just it's a couple mistakes and and you know he's so close it feels like he's so close yeah he'll i he going to be fine. I really like watching that. I'm with you. I'm not too concerned. Even though his ERA is still four or five.

Yeah. Look, well, that's because, you know, it's still a small sample size and stuff. But Spencer Howard is more concerning. You know, we still have not, other than for an inning here or a couple innings there or for a burst, we haven't seen the guy, and I get it. He's young. I'm not nervous about the future. I'm talking for right now and what he can do for this team right now.

We haven't seen the guy we had hoped to see. Yeah, but I do still think he's going to go on a run here. To finish out the season, he should be pretty built up right now. The VLO concerns are definitely a thing. They're there. And again, I just think that comes down to... He hasn't thrown more than 100 innings ever. Ever. Literally.

He's just not... I don't think he's built up for it. And I think he needs to build up his leg strength. And it seems like he gets tired easier than, than you would want to see. But again, like I really think that six though is skewing everyone's mind. You know, you see six though come up and it's like,

Oh my God. Yeah. Well, six, those six, it was unbelievable. I mean, six,

though is six. It was one of those freakish, like young pitchers that come up. He's getting compared to Pedro Martinez. Dude, Pedro Martinez is comparing himself to Pedro. Pedro Martinez is the best pitcher I saw pitch in my lifetime ever. Number one. Top dog.

Like, this is not, like, 6-0 is special. He's different. Exactly. And I think Spencer Howard is eventually going to get there, but to me, he just looks like a rookie. He just... He looks like a rookie. He looks like a rookie that is coming up.

Look at the rookies around the league. Paddock fell off last year, and Paddock hasn't been unbelievable this year, but you see the stuff. Jesus Lazardo is the same way. Unbelievable stuff flashes it, but it's not consistent enough. You know, again. Mitch Keller. We see with a lot of guys who are big-time prospects, high-level prospects. Yeah, some come up and deal right away,

but there are a lot who it takes them a year or whatever to kind of figure it out. Yeah, Kyle Wright's another example. He was a top-three pick. Mitch Keller was a top-10, top-20 prospect in all baseball, and He was a top three pick. Mitch Keller was a top 10, top 20 prospect in all baseball, and he was a disaster last year. I think he had an over eight ERA last year and looks better so far this year. It takes guys time.

It took Nola time? Yeah, it took Nola time. It took Garrett Cole time. I mean, it takes time. Right. So, again, this usually happens, honestly. And the guy he always has reminded me of is Shane Bieber. And obviously, if he becomes Shane Bieber, we'll be...

What a comp. The thing with Spencer Howard, and this is the two things he has to work on this offseason, is maintaining velocity. And that comes with leg strength. That comes with building up the legs and making sure you can go six, seven innings and keep that V low up.

You know, I think we brought DeGrom earlier, but DeGrom was averaging. They have the same average fastball velocity when they got brought up. Like Spencer Howard is 94.6, and that's what J.R. DeGrom is. Like he's going to have to build on that velocity, keep growing, and then it's going to come

down to sharpening up the off-speed. The curveball could eventually be good, but we've talked about it a lot. It kind of just floats up there, and it's like a get-me-over pitch right now, but that pitch has to get tightened up. As soon as he tightens that up, it's going to be great. The slider, I think, is eventually just going to

be disgusting. That's going to take some tightening up change up i thought he had started he's starting to get a better feel for um and then the fastball you know it's all gonna come down to consistency within the strike zone but it's all four of his pitches just have to keep getting a little bit better and keep progressing and he's gonna be fine be fine. I don't think we can expect him this season to anchor the staff or whatnot, but if in two years he's not the best pitcher on this staff, I'd be surprised. All right, and I hope you're right. That sounds very good.

And I'm with you in general in the sense that I'm not concerned at all about the long-term Spencer Howard. I just hope that he's able to give you something this year that can really help. Yeah. I mean, obviously you with area to be in is. Yeah.

I didn't bring up area. Cause I don't even feel like it's worth analyzing him. Like you just don't know what you're going to get. Like he was really good against the Mets. Like that was a really nice outing. It almost seemed like he was taking it personally and he went out and dealt. And I'm sure that tomorrow in Miami,

he's going to go out and get bombed. Like, this is just who he is you know so there's not much analyzed there i do have one more for you and then we'll get to your notebag whatever else you got but um i saved it for last um in a reverse save the worst for last everything's they want to talk about it but we haven't talked about it much i think it is time to at least discuss it are you you at all concerned about Bryce Harper? I mean, this is kind of what he does.

I mean, it's frustrating that it's happening again. Actually, it doesn't worry me right now, but I'm worried about 34, 35-year-old Bryce because I don't know if he gets out of these when he gets older and loses the bat speed. So that's more what I'm concerned about. The thing that's frustrating with Bryce right now is, like, it feels like he's taking it to the field. And you saw it yesterday on the double play ball

where he was just kind of jogging down to first base and wasn't really busting it. And that wasn't something that we had seen last year. We saw him bust everything, and he didn't do that yesterday on the double play ball, which is really frustrating and you can't you just can't take your struggles to the plate to the field i mean we saw it with neil walker on was it friday night where walker's going back and he's waiting for bryce to call him

off and bryce just didn't move even even though he needed to get that ball to cut off the play the plate so he's taking his struggles at the plate to the field which is which is frustrating and i feel like i almost feel like the first couple months here uh the first like month and a half when it was just him and jt kind of wear it on him a little bit and he wants to help this team we talked about that like we talked about that on this podcast the idea that it it felt like those guys were starting to it was wear on them that you could tell they like they had to carry everything and they would go out we talked about them having to like whenever

a bullpen guy gets brought in be like here we go again here we go all i come out and dominate and this is what i get like i'm sure that took a toll on them for sure yeah and i just think bryce's swing is getting a little long um but again, Bryce is one of those guys, he'll figure it out. It's just figure it out. And it's a little frustrating seeing him take it to the field and letting it affect everything else going on on the team. Because the frustrating part about it for me is that the rest of the team is playing well, and I don't want Bryce's attitude to drag down the rest of the team is playing well and i don't want bryce's attitude to drag

down the rest of the team like the the rest of the guys are doing well like reese is back everyone's feeling good about reese kutch has been pretty good he's gotten cold the last couple games dd's been great all year boom is like the guy now um and i just don't want i don't want bryce's bad vibes going throughout the whole team. When they won 10 of 11, no one cared that Bryce was doing bad because it felt like the rest of the team was kind of just motivated and they were having fun playing baseball again. But honestly, I worry that they came out slow against Boston

because their star, their leader is struggling and he's letting it affect the rest of his game. Yeah, I'm with you. I think that's certainly the concern here. And look, I agree with you. I think I think Bryce will be fine. You know, this is who he is. He goes through these types of streaks, but it's been a prolonged one now. And certainly after the start he had, you know, it felt like he was on his way to that MVP season we were hoping for and predicting and obviously has leveled out a ton. I mean, the fact that Reece Hoskins is having a better offensive season than Bryce Harper. I mean, I think that would surprise a lot of people.

Obviously not the people watching the Phillies every day and know what they've been doing lately. But, you know, on a macro sense, I think people would be shocked that that had flipped. So I'm with you. I would like to see bryce turn around but if nothing else like even last year when he struggled he was still working it in the field working it on the bases the energy the effort all that was there that has to be there that can't go away so i'm with you all right what do you got in the note bag well i feel like we should get this out of the way now because you wanted me to bring it up uh on what is it monday or oh yes i i should have brought it up myself yeah uh jackie purist

yes uh i just want to point out here that i came on this show i don't know what it was a month ago or whatever and i was like hey you know what i kind of dig the seven inning double header for baseball you know it's it makes it a shorter game feeling, you're 14, it's so good baseball. Seven innings is still a joke. I got ripped. Seven innings is still a joke. Oh, really? What are you going to say? Because that's not a joke?

Go ahead. Say what you're going to say. Just say it. I like the X rating rule. Fraud! No. You are a fraud. You are a fraud purist.

That is way less baseball than seven innings. At least seven innings. It's the same game for seven innings this is completely bastardizing the game you're putting a ghost runner on second base you're creating a fictional runner out of air you know what you know why i like it because it feels like i'm watching freaking baseball again i hate extra inning baseball and what it has become the last couple years i understand the idea of playing the games forever. There's no time on a baseball game, and I think that's great. But the approaches in extra innings were getting embarrassing.

It was just trying to hit a home run every single time. And they literally just stopped playing baseball. And the reason why I like the extra inning rule is because it gets them back to thinking baseball, playing baseball, and looking like the sport that I've played and watched my whole life. And it makes me mad when they can't execute,

which is great. I love getting mad when teams can't execute. There's nothing more fun than heading into the bottom of the 10th or whatever when you get out of the first one, which, by the way, adds significant pressure from the jump. Then you get to the bottom and seeing how they're going to execute. Are they going to bunt the guy over and then try to hit a ball to the wall and get a little sack fly action going on? Like, are they going to do that stuff? So, like, I just like it. I like that I feel like I'm watching baseball again.

I like thinking the game. I like seeing, are you going to put the guy on and try to create the double play? You know, it's actually watching the sport that I grew up watching, and I like it. I don't like that it took to this point to get it back to that way, but it's another reason why I like the three batter minimum rule because I like the three batter minimum rule so we don't have these stupid guys that just come

in and get one out and get out of there. I feel like we fought about that too. I'm happy to hear you're on my side with this one as well. No, I always like the three batter minimum. If nothing else, for sure, but I definitely feel like I was far more, like I was pounding the table for it. It gets them back to actual pitchers pitching.

I can't believe this. Again, look, I'm fine with it. I don't actually hate the second runner on second. I'm not going to say I love it like you yet, but I'm fine with it. I agree that it has made the 10th inning more intriguing and more exciting from the jump. You know, there's a energy it brings to it where it's like, and I, somehow I seem to

forget about it every time it, the 10th inning starts. I'm like, why is it? Oh yeah. Whoops. Like every time it's unbelievable. You would think by now I would have yesterday to be blatantly honest, yesterday was the first double header where in the seventh inning, I was like,

Oh yeah, this is the last inning. Like early on, like where I didn't at any point think, Oh, it's only the seventh inning. Oh, duh.

Like I knew immediately for the first time yesterday. So I'm just getting there, uh, still, but, um, it doesn't really bother me that much. I'm just shocked for me.

Like, I'm proud of you, Jack. This is, this is growth. Well, I, but ultimately it's not growth because it's getting back to playing the sport i watch like i i just think it brings out of a it just makes the game more enjoyable for me like i like thinking along with the manager i like thinking what are these guys

gonna do i like seeing if they're gonna screw it up um and i just think i just think it's interesting you know and you know i i just think that extra inning baseball has gotten so out of control where it's like all summer in the 14th inning everyone's trying to hit home runs we're gonna put a position we're gonna put a position player into pitch and who cares we're gonna lose like at least with this comes out it's it's it's intense from jump street and you just you just it's you just go and it adds excitement into an extra innings that I wasn't anticipating and I

don't understand why they don't just walk the leadoff guy and set up double play and go from there. I would just do that every time I think but I don't know I like since they took the DH and put it in the National League it's nice getting back to thinking the game along with the manager.

And I've always liked thinking the game. So even though it's not the purest thing in the world, I like what it adds. All right. I'm proud of you, buddy. What else you got? I think it's fair. You know, a lot of people give me crap about Nick Pavetta.

No. Yeah. It's true. It's definitely true. I was dead right about Ale Pavetta. No. Yeah. It's true. It's definitely true. I was dead right about Alec Baum. And no one gets credit when they're right about things, especially in what we do. But can I just get a little bit of credit?

I mean, I said in March. I said in March. Jack looking for credit? No. I know. It's ridiculous. But I said in March that he was going to be the clutchest Philly on this team. I was throwing out Rendon comps. I was throwing out JD Martinez comps. And JD Martinez stinks now. I know. It's ridiculous. But I said in March that he was going to be the clutchest Philly on this team.

I was throwing out Rendon comps. I was throwing out JD Martinez comps. And JD Martinez stinks now, but whatever. Like, I mean, do you not feel more comfortable with Alec Boehm on the plate than Bryce Harper and JT Romito? Yeah, I don't even think it's a question for me right now. Right, right, right. I was on that three weeks ago. So, you know, just put that one.

Put that one in the win column for the fight in Phil's and myself. So he is phenomenal. I love him. I just love him. I love him. He might be my favorite player on the team. I can't say. I think about Alec Boehm all day long.

He wears 28. Jason Wirth, I think, is developing into my favorite player from that run. The more and more I think about it, the more and more I love J-Dub. And Boehm's there. I mean, Boehm is the dude. He is 100% the dude. He's the clutchest filly. And, you know, maybe swap him and JT in the lineup

and see how that goes for a little bit. You know? And just JT back in the 8-hole. Maybe a little. Yeah, yeah. Put Boehm in there, and let'sT back in the eight hole. Maybe a little, you know. Yeah, yeah. Put Boehm in there, and let's get some RPIs going. Yeah, let's have a little fun.

So, listen, I don't want to pat myself on the back, but some of us have the eye, and sure, the eye missed Pavetta, but the eye might be back on Alec Boehm. Look, I'm all in on Alec Boehm what a hitter what a what a hitter this kid is he's so i mean and again showing it in clutch spots so calm cool collected and just a pure hitter i i love him you don't have to sell me james james we got at least a decade more i think it would be better for your mental health if if people tweeted you when boom did stuff instead of pavetta i think that would help yeah well yeah um there are they i think they moved to uh they're 10 and 1 now

when alec boom drives in a run so maybe you should keep doing that yeah more runs yeah yeah let's go yeah alec boom in clutch situations. I would like to say that for the duration or however long this podcast lasts, we're an Alec Bowman podcast. Yeah, L-cosine. I agree. Support this. Love him.

That's all I have in my notebook. Alec, we love you. We will say your name right. Boom. I don't appreciate. Hey, hey, hey, hey. What are we doing here? Friend of the podcast, Alec Boom, we should say. On the pod before he was a big guy, before he was famous, all that.

We were there back when you were nothing, Alec. Sure. Nothing but a third overall pick that was the number one prospect in the system. Let's go nothing. Let's go with nothing. The Terran up there is in the fall league. I would just like to say to the Phillies social media team, I came up with Bombers at least a year and a half ago.

Oh, look at you. You know I came up with Bombers. You did. You know I came up with Bombers. I will say you had it a long long time ago i will give you credit as far as i'm concerned but i mean this is not like uh coming up with the theory of relativity or something like that like might be more impressive i mean what what really does that really matter my point is i think people were gonna get there no matter what

but as far as i'm concerned, you created it. Yeah, thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. I know you need that. What the hell was that? What even was that? What did you bring up?

The theory of everything? Is that what? Relativity, Jack. Yeah, I don't know what that is. The theory of everything is a movie about Stephen Hawking. Yes. But, yes. Yeah, I don't know what the theory of relativity is.

Yes, you do Einstein come on man Einstein's a fraud oh man alright screw Einstein go Philly

I gotta go see if I can get my apartment I have to put my daughter to bed alright Monster Series coming up tomorrow we Marlins. We'll be back Sunday. We'll talk about it all. Hey, hold on. What are we saying? Do they got to take 5 of 7? Yeah, it's 5 of 7. 5 of 7 against the Marlins? Here's the thing.

They have to, official position, they have to win the series. They have to take 4 of 7. I need them to take 5 of 7. You know what I'm saying? Like, four of seven is the official position. Four of seven. Could you do five of seven? That's how I'm phrasing it.

Listen, I will take four of seven and sleep well. I agree. Like I said, four of seven is okay. I'd like five. That's all I'm saying. What if they sweep? Five is the two of three. If you want to sweep.

That'd be amazing. Can you imagine? Then we're parading down Broad Street. Let's go. We're winning the division. Sweeping for the Marlins? I think I actually might be winning. If they can sweep the Marlins,

they're putting themselves in a really good position. Yeah, of course. It's good. Either way, we'll be back to talk about it. Again, rate and review the podcast. Tweet at us. Any questions, all that type of stuff.

And, go Phillies, man. Go Phillies. He's Fritz himself. So, we'll see you later.