High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The Phils Take Two of Three From Harper's Former Team and Utility Man Phil Gosselin Joins the Show

Episode Date: May 6, 2019

It's the Monday edition of the High Hopes podcast as the guys react to the Phils taking two of three from the Washington Nationals and are also joined by Phils utility man Phil Gosselin (27:34) to talk about the team, his relationship with Gabe and if him and Harper have a handshake yet.  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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Buy a stick in store at Costco, Walmart, Amazon, and other Canadian retailers. This is the High Hopes Podcast. Buy a stick in store at Costco, Walmart, Amazon, and other Canadian retailers. Oh, it is another edition of the IOPs podcast. Another edition, not in our normal studio, Jack. When are people going to realize- I don't understand this. That we are the most important thing going on at this radio station. I almost feel like not only should we be able to use our own studio, but they should have like a red carpet that they leave out for us to walk into the studio every day. It's crazy.

Maybe people outside cheering as we do it. Something along those lines. And yet again, doing another podcast, winning two of three when they probably should have slept. Yeah, probably should have slept, but we just asked for two of three, so we'll take it. Can I give my Game of Thrones comp? You can in one second because first,

Jack, also coming up a little bit later, we got other guests. All we do is guests on the show, Jack. We're a other guests. All we do is guests on this show, Jack. We're a guest podcast now. All we do is guests. The first ever of a certain type of person will be on our pod today. A Westchester guy? I was talking about a Phillies player, but yes, Westchester guy.

Well, it's not really. I know. You're a Westchester guy. I know. So you ruined it. I did. All right. I tanked that mightily.

Later on. Mightifully? Mightily. You were right the first time. You were good with it the first time. I tanked that mightily. Mightifully? Mightily. You were right the first time. You were good with it the first time. You doubt yourself. Well, that's just because everyone here just always continues to put me down, so I have to always pick myself back up. It's just sad. It's just sad.

Later on, Philly's player will join us, but Jack first. Philly's take two or three. Philly's take two or three, and let me just say something off of last night's Game of Thrones episode. Daenerys Targaryen is nothing more than Reuben Amaro Jr. A total misuse of

resources and lack of forward thinking. It's actually a really good take. I get behind it. Reuben may be less mad queen-y than Daenerys, but I like that call. Thank you. That's a hell of a comp.

That's your best Game of Thrones comp yet. No problem. I like it. I'm really proud of you, buddy. Very frustrating watching what is unfolding this season. But yeah, two or three. It should have been a sweep. That Nationals team is dog poop.

Like, horrible lineup they faced. They struck out nine times against Anibal Sanchez and Jeremy Hellickson. Jeremy Hellickson again. Jeremy Hellickson owns this team. What is happening, Jack? He's just getting back for the 52 Jeremy Hellickson starts we had to watch of him as a Philly. This is all...

Do you think they made a deal? Like, part of him getting out of town was, all right, when you pitch against us, we'll just take it easy on you. Yeah, it's sad. It's crazy. And, like, it was just... The Saturday game was just...

I mean, we'll get to it, but it was just infuriating. It's like, hey, look, when they lose, they lose. That's the motto of this Phillies team. When they lose... They lose.

They lose. All caps. All right, well, let's... It's a hurtful loss. We'll get there. 19-14, though. Game and a half up on the Braves in first place. Mets free-falling.

The Nationals terrible. So we'll get to the... Wait, the Mets are falling apart. Who could have seen this coming? In 2019. Who could have seen this coming? In this economy. All right.

Friday, 4-2 victory. Obviously, Reeves, the big home run. All that guy does is hit clutch home runs. What did he hit it off of? A lefty. A lefty. That's all he does. Hit lefties these days, Jack. Yeah, he got the Fr All that guy does is hit clutch home runs. What did he hit it off of? A lefty. A lefty. That's all he does, hit lefties these days, Jack. Yeah, he got the Fritz jinx, and look at him now.

Using my jinx towards the positive. That's what we're all doing here. Finally, Jack. Yeah, you know. All right, Eikhoff. Five innings, 7Ks, looked solid. Not great, but solid. And I'm sure there's some people that are confused as to why he came out,

but it was 87 pitches. Every one of his starts right now has pretty much been between 80 and 90. I think the last one was 86 or 87 also. I think it was 87 pitches this start. I could be wrong. No, 87 for sure this past one. I think the one before it was 86. So right in the same range. And Gabe talked after the game how they're clearly monitoring

how much he's throwing. Which they should be! He didn't play for over a year! The guy couldn't type. Totally good with them taking it slow with Jared Eichoff. Yeah, and he's been great. So, listen, first game of the series, you're coming off of an off day, and I don't know,

maybe Gabe was thinking that there was going to be a rainout this weekend. I'm shocked that yesterday wasn't a rainout. I felt like they just wanted to get it in. They're like, you know what, the Nats are depleted. Juan Soto's not playing. Rendon's not playing. Let's play. Let's play ball. There's certainly a reason for the Phillies to want to play that game. That's what I'm talking about. For the Phillies just to get it in. They're like, you know what, the Nats are depleted. Juan Soto's not playing. Rendon's not playing. Let's play. Let's play ball. There's certainly a reason

for the Phillies to want to play. That's what I'm talking about. For the Phillies just to get it in and play. Because look, on Sunday, and we'll get to it, but they say there's going to be delay

and then they're like, actually, let's just start. Let's roll. Let's get this in. It was crazy because I got in my car on Sunday and I was like,

there's no way to play a baseball game. First off, I was furious. I had to go to work because they're not even going to play. And then they started on time and go me. Anyway,

so Friday, I was furious I had to go to work because they're not even going to play. And then they started on time and go me. Anyway, so Friday, I cost breakdown 40, 30, 30. 40 fastballs. They called it on Brooks baseball a cutter, which I actually like better if I'm looking at his arm slot. I think a cutter comes out more naturally and he can throw it a little bit harder. So if he can come in 88 to 91 and his fastball average velocity on Friday was 90.1. Which is good for a golf. Yeah. So we'll take.

I think a cutter comes out of his hand more naturally. If he can throw that like 86-ish, that gets off his fastball a little bit more. And then obviously the curveball, which is just the hammer. Yeah. A great curveball. So he had a breakdown of 40 fastballs, 30 cutters, 30 curveballs. Again, we talk about this a lot. Like he doesn't overpower people, but he gets strikeouts.

He struck out seven in five innings, which is really good. And he gets strikeouts off his fastball. He gets weak contact off his fastball when he's able to mix those other pitches in because it makes his fastball look like it's 94 rather than 90 because all he's doing is breaking the ball and guys to death. So really, really positive stuff from Jared Eickhoff. I would just like to say that we need to keep Dave Martinez as the manager of the Nationals.

He is awful. He is so bad. Like, I love seeing fans of their own team hate a manager. Oh, it's the best. It's such a true test of what that guy is, whether it's a manager, a player, or whatever. But, like, Bill Simmons always talks about the idea the idea when like you get a player from another team it's always a bad thing when that team's fans are like oh enjoy that guy yeah yeah this is a similar type

of thing i mean it's hilarious like so helix in through 76 pitches or whatever nine strikeouts nine strikeouts completely cruising decides hey let's it in our bullpen and see how that goes. One of the worst bullpens in baseball, no less. Crazy. Like a 570 ERA for your pen or whatever. I mean, there's no rhyme or reason. So, like, he takes out Helixson after 76 pitches, and then he left Corbin in for 118,

and then he left Anibal Sanchez in for 109. No rhyme or reason there. It makes no sense. I mean, Helixson is a guy... Hellickson's the guy you would think you'd just let him go. Yeah. You could throw 130 pitches. You know what he reminds me of?

A metronome. Like, he's just... Same thing every time. Yeah, it's just... Same thing every time. Back and forth. It's true. Very slow.

Yes. I hate when he quick pitches, because he should do it more, because it's really effective. It is effective. It's a good quick pitch. It always gets guys off guard, but, man, 9Ks against Hellickson,

it's just... It's embarrassing. It's embarrassing. And's a good quick pitch. It always gets guys off guard. But, man, 9Ks against Hellickson, it's just – It's embarrassing. It's embarrassing. And they strike out so much. Like, they're striking out a lot against bad pitchers. Yeah. And I don't get it. I don't get why all of a sudden these huge K numbers are happening because it's not like we're seeing a bunch of launch angle stuff.

It's a trend to monitor, I would say. Yeah, and we'll get into one particular player and his struggles coming up because that's obviously been a topic of discussion anything else from Friday? we mentioned the Reese clutch home run thank god for Reese and also of course we don't really need to talk about it

but lockdown Hector in the 9th 9th inning there? that's all the guy does 5 for 5 if you had to guess off the top of your head what his ERA is in the ninth inning, what would it be? It's got to be low.

It's zero. Yeah, I was going to say. I don't think he's giving up a run in the ninth inning, so zero. So his ERA in the ninth inning is zero. He's thrown seven and a third. Well, this is before Sunday's game. He's thrown seven and a third innings in the ninth inning. He has 13 strikeouts, one walk, no ERA.

What is going on? Lockdown closer Hector Neris. Yes. Never doubts. Never doubt him when he comes in. You know, he definitely doesn't have a deer in headlights look. Oh, man. And he doesn't give me heart palpitations.

It's always easy, right? I mean, you're never worried about it. Never a doubt. It's never a doubt with ninth inning Neris. And I, unfortunately, when I put out my post-game video on Friday, I said ninth inning Hector, figured out ninth inning Neres. Way better. High leverage Hector.

High leverage Hector. Ninth inning Neres. Just so versatile. Locked in. We got it. So versatile. I like that you said, when I put out my video, my post-game video, as you guys know about post-game videos.

Of course they know about it. It's a thing you're doing these days. Everyone knows about it. And it was the start of a monster weekend for Kurt Suzuki on Friday night. Homer never game. Ready for this? Kurt Suzuki? 7 for 17 with four Homers against the Phillies this year.

7 for 17 with four Homers! Is he the new Brian McCann? He might be. He's the new Jeff McNeil, I'll tell you that much. I was not expecting this from Kurt Suzuki. We're going to get back to Kurt Suzuki. Yeah, we will. He is now.

Kurt Suzuki might be a part of the High Hopes podcast. What the hell? Last thing from Friday. I am flummoxed. Of all the things on this team that aren't perfect so far, there's things that are not going well, there's things that are going well. There are things that we expected

and things we didn't expect. I did not expect Sir Anthony Dominguez to be as shaky as he is. It's unbelievable. And also, he's 3-0. He keeps coming in, giving up a run to give up a lead, and then the team gets his back

and they score runs the following inning and he keeps getting wins. What's going on with Sir Anthony? What are you seeing? Because he is the furthest thing from lockdown you could be right now. I know. I think a little bit of it has to do with that his velocity is down a bit.

I mean, in the month of May, he's throwing 97. His average velocity is 97. In the month of April, it was 98. So that's down a little bit. I think his cutter is flattening out at the end. I mean, it's kind of scary when you big-time reliever says, I don't really know when the ball is going to cut. It kind of just comes out of my hand, and I don't really know what it's going to do.

Is that a worry, you think? Yeah, it works in the minor leagues, and it worked a little bit last year. And really, I think a lot of it has to come back to this, is that I think he's become a little too slider-dependent, and I don't think his slider's good. So I think if he just comes out with the mentality that I'm going to just pound guys with my fastball and try to get quick outs

and maybe not try to strike everyone out, he's nibbling a lot. But it's just, people are squaring him up in a way that we didn't really see a lot of last year. And last year was like a surprise whenever he struggled. This year it's like, oh my God, are we going to get a Sir Anthony struggle here in the seventh, eighth, or ninth? Or sixth.

I know. It's just, it's not the same. I still think he needs to stay closed a little bit longer, but that's just my thing. All right. Let's do it quick because we don't want to do it, but let's talk about Saturday. I was there. I remember. I got a picture from you, but let's talk about Saturday. I was there. I remember. I got a picture from you, like, check out our guy in the outfield.

Our guy, by the way, joining us in a little bit. Yeah. See, I was like thinking about being, yo, Phil, me. Like, remember me? I'm the guy who just talked to you. And what I will say is, and we, you know, so people know we recorded this on Saturday with our guy, Phil. Yeah.

Two hits, just saying. Yeah, with me in left field. Just hits just saying yeah with me and left field just saying he knew there was he knew where he knows high hopes bump just saying for any future phillies who would like to maybe potentially join the podcast come on you'll get a bump you're guaranteed two hits that's what we're guaranteeing right now that's all i'm saying so saturday um yeah i didn't want to be like hey phil because i need to be like wow wow, who's that loser? More likely wouldn't hear you, but yes. Well, I can get a little loud.

Can you? Yeah. You got a lot of game voice? Yeah. One of those guys. Once I get a few in there. Like one of the, okay.

People couldn't see it. I put my hands up to my mouth. I mean, I'll echo type of thing like this. Yeah, Julio does that into the mic and it's weird. Are you listening to me? The camera does that in the mic too.

Yeah. I guess it's one of their things where they're really serious about what they have to say. I guess so. They want to make sure people can hear it even though they're talking

into a microphone. You see what I just did there without putting my hands around it? Yeah. Same thing. Go on. It frustrates you. It was a,

I didn't really, obviously didn't see much of it. Like, it's just hard to evaluate pictures from a ball game. It's impossible. Especially in the outfield. Like you just don't have a,

if you're behind on plate, sure, you can get a feel. Yeah. But if you're in the outfield, you just can't see the angle. You can barely tell if their balls are strikes

in the outfield. It just seemed, but I will say that it seems like it was another solid performance from Jake Garrett. Six innings, three runs,

two earned. He looked fine. Soft contact, Jake. He looked fine. Soft contact. He did what he's done. I think seven strikeouts. You look good.

CDP is a great ball. It's a great park. We underrate the greatness of CDP. It's a great park. It's always fun to be there. It's a great place to go see a baseball game. It really is. I think Gabe's decision on Saturday was one of the worst decisions he's made as a Phillies manager.

And we're not talking about taking Arrieta out. You're talking about taking Neshek out. Yes. It was. And look, I mean, I thought Adam Morgan might go all year without giving up a run. It finally happened. You know, let me just say something.

The people tweeting me like, oh, the jinx. It was the first run that he allowed all year. I'm sorry. Chill out, people. Adam Morgan is allowed to give up runs. Okay? It's going to happen.

No one has ever pitched an entire season without giving up a run. All right? But the decision to happen. No one has ever pitched an entire season without giving up a run. All right? But the decision to take Nischek out against a right-handed hitter, no less. Well, no.

Stevenson was coming up. Well, Stevenson coming up, but then Suzuki, they pinch hit. So you're basically creating a situation where you're going to get a pinch hitter anyway.

But I just didn't understand the move of taking Nischek out. To begin with, Nischek looked like he, I know he was a lot of base runner, but a couple of runners. But I just, I didn't feel the move of taking Neshek out to begin with Neshek looked like he I know he was a lot of base runner but a couple of runners but I just I didn't feel the move of taking Neshek out there either yeah yeah so it was so what Neshek allowed in that inning was a bunt base hit like a swinging bunt and then a blooper over Segura's head and you pull him out and you like

you like you know Dave Martinez is gonna go to Suzuki that's my point you know you know you're creating a situation where right-handed bat will be coming in. And even if so, if he doesn't pinch it, then it's Andrew Stevenson, and Andrew Stevenson stinks, and you can have Neshek against him, or you could have him face a righty and Kurt Suzuki.

It was just like... I'd much rather have Neshek against either Suzuki or Neshek against Stevenson than Morgan against Suzuki. Also, Adam Morgan just started being good against righties. So let's relax. Here's my problem with Gabe is that I don't think he has a total feel for how to work a bullpen yet.

Like, I just don't. I think he gets a little bit too matchup dependent. He looks at the numbers a little bit too much and doesn't look at what's going on in the field. Like, if Pat Neshek was getting frozen ropes off of him, then you pull him. But he wasn't. And it creates a situation where I think Gabe gets too caught up in

we have to win every single game. He uses all of his bullets. Yeah, and especially he also gets too caught up when he has fresh pitchers. He's just like, oh, I want to use them all. I want to get them in there. He's always looking for matchups instead of letting a guy work out of a jam. Yeah, and he doesn't set up one day to another. There's no rhyme or reason behind some of his moves.

I think he's developed a good feel for the starting staff. I think he has a good feel, a good handle on what they're doing, how long they can go. When they need to come out, yes. I think he's done a good job with that. I think he's done a fine job with lineup construction. The bullpen is going to be his next major hurdle he has to cross. And look, he's made some great decisions too this is not a he sucks at this thing the last pop we did we

lauded him and rightfully so for the decision to bring Hector Neris in in the sixth inning lockdown shutdown reliever Hector Neris and yes yes but that was a great decision in the moment and an unconventional decision so we can make good decisions too but i do agree i don't think there's it doesn't feel like there's consistency with his bullpen decisions either no rhyme or reason for why he's doing things from night to night and and again i think in this situation where you're talking about a team that is playing 23 out of the next 24 days in that moment you know that's uh or i guess 22 out of the next 23 days because they had played one of those games on Friday.

They've got a lot of baseball coming up. I felt like you didn't need to use Morgan in that spot. I didn't... Well, especially because he's pitched so much. That's my point. I'm saying give the guy a night off. He didn't need to be in... And he just pitched the night before. Yes.

There was no need to bring Morgan in that spot. At times, Gabe feels like he over-manages with the pen. Yeah, and I hope he learns from that. Neshek just pitched he pitched the night before too you brought him back a day later instead of I mean

you know he won't go three days in a row God forbid so like you might as well just use him as much as you can use him I mean it was a three run game in the eighth inning like that's it's a

three run game like only thing that hurts you there's a home run and I understand Adam Morgan's been amazing but we have to use some kind of historical context Adam Morgan way more likely to

give up over than Pat Neshek. Yeah. Period. Historically speaking, I'm saying. Yes. And listen, if it was Soto coming out or something like that, like, completely different story. Someone who they're not going to pinch hit for. Yeah.

It's just, it was such a bad, it was a bad decision. It was a bad decision. And it backfired immediately, and then obviously, right? It wasn't even that that backfired. He put in Nicasio in a tie game. Nicasio throws the ball away. I didn't understand that in the moment. I was like, why is Juan Nicasio the guy you're going to here?

This is a tie game right now. They need someone for that Nicasio role. Maybe it's NEL if he can get there, but it's optioned him back down. Speaking of NEL. Comes in and pitches two clean innings and then see you. Yeah, I think he's fine. He needs to learn like a splitter or something. Edgar Garcia, does that do anything for innings and then... Yeah. See ya. Yeah, I think he's fine. He needs to learn a splitter or something. Edgar Garcia, does that do anything for you?

For me? Yeah. Of course it does. He's got probably the best slider in the system. Wipeout slider! He does. I mean, it's a gross slider. It's not a good fastball, but it's a really gross slider.

But like, with NEL, does his jersey look like one of those custom jerseys you make online? It looks ridiculous. Because it's 51. Just pick one. I just think of Carlos Ruiz. Yeah. And it looks like just a custom jersey that you made online. It's way too much going on on that jersey.

He needs to change his number. Yeah. 51 is Chooch's number. Or just go with Santos or something, too. Yeah. I like De La Santos. I know. It flows.

Just a lot. I like the name. Just a lot on the jersey. But yeah, putting Nekasi on a tie game was just like, we're asking for disaster here. Yeah. You knew it. And then they... Frustrating.

What do you think about an unearned run being charged to a pitcher that makes an error? Two. He didn't give up an earned run that inning. I know, but what do you think about... I think it's outrageous. It's an earned run. It's a freaking pitcher. Like, how is that not earned?

But then how do you... He's the guy who made the error i know but how do you make the era then it's a pitching statistic there's an error on the field yeah how do you make the how do you make era then it's a really it's a great question it's a really good question i lean towards if you make the error and you're the pitcher it should count against you but it's a you're right but it's just it changes the fielding error i know it changes the whole fielding here. I know. It changes the ERA question. I hate it though. It's really annoying. I'm always bothered by the fact that they don't get an earned run when they're the one who makes the error. It bothers me.

You're right. I don't know how you figure it all out, but it bothers me. Yes. So definitely not a great Gabe game. I will say, man, the offense looked awesome on Saturday. They did. They looked good on Sunday. They're just a good home team.

They're just a good, solid home team. They did. They looked good on Sunday. They're just a good home team. They're just a good, solid home team. They win at home. They may never sweep because God forbid they could get a sweep, but they are a good home offense. They play with an extra level of energy.

The stadium on Saturday, it was like a, for the first time in a while, it was a struggle getting my seat. It was like, sure, I'm happy. I also miss the good old days when there was no one there

and I can just go wherever. Wherever you want. Yeah, but now it's like, there's 43,000 people there. There's people there. It was crazy. I'll take people over no people. I will always do that.

Although, if you asked me in the traffic on the way home, I would have had a different answer. Different take there. I'll bet you would have at that point. I mean, it's awesome. The crowd is electric. And J-Roll, I mean, he just knows how to play in front of a crowd.

He's so good at it. Yeah. And it was just so many people. So many people. Shout out to J-Roll. Yeah. Nice night. I'm not a big, you know, retire like four years after you play your last meaningful game guy, but whatever.

No, we'll save that for later. I got something I want to ask. Okay, good. I want you to. All got something I want to ask. Okay, good. I want you to. All right, moving to Sunday. Let's get over. I think if Victor Robles homers, we know it's just going to be a bad loss for the Phillies.

That's just our takeaway from this year. But moving on to Sunday, nice win. It was nice to see after the loss on Sunday. Look, the last time they had a really crappy game they should have won loss to the Nationals. We saw them put up a 15-1 spot the next day and just get boat raced. So it was nice to see him bounce back yesterday.

Eflin looked good again. Sunday Eflin. Sunday Eflin. He owns Sundays, baby. My man pitches well on Sundays. Yeah. Again, it was just a— Same thing we talked about last time with Eflin.

He just keeps doing what he's doing. Well, and the interesting part about yesterday, and it's nice that Chris Young does listen to the podcast. 65% fastballs yesterday. Chris Young! Welcome! Thank you. Just hire me. I'm very available. Just bring me in. I will help the pitchers.

No, but 65% fastballs. If he can be in the 55-65% range, we've seen it work now. That's the recipe for success for Zach Eflin. Fastball's up. It's 94. It's 95. Everything off that.

Just everything flows better. And, like, Eflin, I will say it again, he's just solid day in, day out. Seven innings, three runs or less. We'll take it. We'll take it. Coming up in a minute, we're going to talk to Phil Gosselin. First Philly to ever join the pod. But real quick, Jack, before we move on,

forgot to mention it in Desario's game, Oduba returns. But say goodbye. Say goodbye to your boy. Oh, yeah. The end. Yes. It's over. Aaron Altair.

Yeah, well. Goodbye, sir. I will say that. Better pitcher than a hitter this year. Go ahead. At least I got off the bandwagon. You did. This year you were like, all right, I don't know what I was thinking.

Well, that's not bad. My man can't hit. The talent is all there. I don't really know. Actually, there's. Who knows what happened? It's a really, like he was a good player in 2017. So Brookover was on with JJ before the game yesterday.

And he talked to some scouts back in, like, 2017, because Brookover saw him for the first time. Actually, it was in 2016. Brookover saw Altair for the first time, like, in Williamsport or something, or one of the minor league places. And he said to the scout, like, that guy looks like a player. And they were like, can't hit a curveball. And guess what happened?

Oh, no. He couldn't hit a curveball. Oh, no. So, he still has the only career grand slam off of Clayton Kershaw. I'm pretty sure. Okay. Something to, you know. He's going to morph into Jason where a 2.0 is somewhere else.

It's very sad that it did not happen here. I heard a rumor his daddy reached out to him. His dad said, thanks for the support, Jackie. Yeah, we're both in mourning. It was, you know. You know, they like to see their kids be believed in by someone. Unfortunately, someone had to be me. And unfortunately, that someone was wrong.

I'm looking forward to Pavetta's dad tweeting at me one day. Hopefully not, because that would mean that he gets DFA'd someday. Hopefully Pavetta actually figures it out. Now, Azubu, on the other hand, they do need some rehab games or something. Didn't look great. Yeah, he didn't look great at it. Not great yet. I would say. They just needed him back because they needed someone back.

All right, one more thing before we get to our guy, Phil. I love him now. By the way, I know I've said some maybe not so flattering things about Phil in the past. He's my new favorite Philly. Yeah, well. Love him now. You love everyone from Westchester.

I'm on team. Yeah, from Westchester I'm on team yeah I do I'm on team Phil real quick though before we move on speaking of struggles speaking of guys who can't hit

ever right now Bryce man yeah Bryce he got booed every at bat yesterday

he struck out five of the last six times he has reached he is on pace you ready for this you know how many strike. He is on pace. You ready for this? You know what he's striking out on pace for? 211, Jack. In case you're wondering, that would be the sixth highest total in the history of baseball.

Over the last two weeks, he's striking out at a 31% clip. Every third time he strides the plate, he's striking out right now. Where you at with Harper? I thought you had a really interesting tweet earlier about his home and road splits. I thought that was now. Where you at with Harper? I thought you had a really interesting tweet earlier about his home and road splits. I thought that was interesting. Where you at with Harper? And let people know the tweet that you put out there. Yeah, so Bryce at home

this year, he's batting 183 with a 423 slugging percentage and a 785 OPS. It's bad. Yeah. On the road, he's batting 306 with a 531 slugging and a 923 OPS. Big time difference. And obviously, he had the 5-8 game in Colorado, that first game in Washington

that kind of inflate those a little bit. But that's a serious difference. Yeah, no. And I just, in watching him at home, and we said it after opening day, it just looks like he's trying to do too much. He looks like he's trying to go yard every time and make the make the crowd happy and whatever like that's that's good that my player wants that um and it's good that he's trying to to to please his fan base but like he just has to he has to get calmed down at home and

eventually i think it will happen um i just think that he's too he's too talented he's hit too well here before like come on we're talking about the bryce harper that destroyed this ballpark he's too talented. He's hit too well here before. Come on. We're talking about the Bryce Harper that destroyed this ballpark. He's the second best hitter in the history of the stadium, numbers wise. He's got a crazy amount of home runs here. I think he'll be fine. Not worried is the takeaway on Bryce Harper.

He's too talented. I'm not worried either. I can't believe there is worry. You are afraid. He's 26 years old. Yeah, listen. If he can't catch up to fastballs at 26, that's something to be worried about. And the month of May is going to be a pretty important month

from that standpoint. We need to see some of those numbers start leveling off a little bit. Yes, I agree with you. Because if he can't catch up to fastballs, it's going to be a Howard times 10. Which, again, he is 26 years old. This would be unprecedented for someone to just fall off a cliff at 26. So I'm not worried.

I'm not worried at all. But I know there are people worried out there. Give it a chance. Well, I mean, understandably so. I mean, here's the thing is that I don't think a lot of people totally knew. Like, I think it's probably our fault. For not letting people know what the type of player that bryce harper is i mean this is somewhat in line with what

happens to bryce harper like he does have stretches of baseball where he looks bad i mean you look last year he batted 188 in the month of june an entire month of baseball i bet at 188 yeah like this happens with bryce now i am here to make everyone feel better don't worry please that's why we that's why we talked about this, Jack. Listen, High Hopes Nation, if you're out there like, oh no, should I be worried about Bryce? I got you. Ooh. Bryce Harper threw 28 games in the 2015 season.

245-405-457. Bryce Harper right now, 233-374-467. Sounds pretty familiar. Sounds about right okay um now the weird part is he's usually a hot starter in april yes he's usually has good aprils not a good april no this year not a good april in 2015 mvp if so facto mvp okay so good yeah i like that that's perfect yeah let's roll with that the The fastball stuff is concerning, but overall, I think this first month's been a lot about getting adjusted, and he did miss a month of spring training.

Month of May is going to be a big month, just to see what he can do, see if he's starting to settle in. And I did think he took some good hacks in this national series. I thought he took some good hacks. Solid, making good contact. Didn't have a great day Saturday. Sunday was fine. He did smoke two balls.

So we're standing pat with Bryson. All right, coming up, we're going to get into the St. Louis Cardinals series. Big kind of measuring stick series against a really good Cardinals team early in the season. That's coming up. But first, Phil Gosselin. And it is my distinct pleasure to welcome into the high hopes podcast the very first philadelphia philly to grace the airwaves with us and no joke this is the truth the number one guest on jack's bucket list mr phil gosling phil what up, brother? Thanks, Quinn. I hope I can

live up to that. Oh, man, you've already lived up to it. Just showing up. We're good to go. Do you feel honored that you're the first Philly to ever appear on this podcast? That's a lot of pressure, honestly. Yeah, very honored. Try not to worry about the pressure too much. Just enjoy it. You've got to be a tone setter.

Set the tone for the future Philly's guests on this podcast. Sure, guys. We'll be lining up after, you know, I'm on here and do a good podcast. Well, they heard Phil did it. I mean, they're like, oh, Phil did it. I got to do it. It's a beautiful thing.

Phil, seriously, though, man, like, you're a Philly. How cool is that for you that you, the team you grew up rooting for, you are actually living out that dream playing for the Philadelphia Phillies. Yeah, it's still like, you gotta pinch yourself kind of thing. One of my college roommates, he went to Germantown Academy, he was texting me, he's like, dude, the Phillies are always must-see teams, but I

still can't believe it. I turn on the game and you're in there. I'm like, yeah, I can't believe it. It's crazy. You gotta stay in the moment and worry about playing well and helping the team win, but when you can take a step back like that, you hear from people I grew up with or whatever that are Phillies fans, it's pretty crazy the cool things they have to say, and you realize how lucky you are. Yeah, man.

My brother went to Germantown Academy. I can only imagine that is surreal is what it is. I mean, you have the dream of being a Major League Baseball player. That's what you dream about, then, to actually get to come play for the Phillies. But let's go a step back, right? Because when you got drafted,

we gotta ask. You got drafted by the Braves. Everyone grows up in this area playing baseball, and their dream is obviously to play for the Phillies. And I don't know about you, Phil, but when I was younger, I always said, if I got drafted by the Mets or Braves, I'm just going to tank.

This would just be so bad that hopefully I get traded to the Phillies or something. Did that ever cross your mind, or am I the crazy person? No, it kind of comes off. But yeah, it was kind of weird at first. Going through the draft process, I remember my agent calling me, crazy person uh no kind of thoughts but yeah it was it was kind of weird at first going through the draft process i just i remember my agent calling me and the phillies were actually there's we're trying to figure out the whole thing and the phillies pick was coming around i think in like the fourth or fifth round i ended up getting picked in the fifth round by the

braids but i remember the phillies were in the mix um so i was pretty pumped as you could imagine at the time didn't you know didn't end up working out like that but came full circle I guess a little bit here. Almost 10 years into my career I'm a Philly so better late than never. It was a little weird being a Brave at first but you learn quick. It's just the business.

Yeah and now you're a Philly so you could say screw the Braves again. And you're going to be there tonight for J-Roll's retirement ceremony. Is that going to be weird? J-Roll is a guy that obviously we all grew up idolizing and tonight's his retirement. You've played shortstop at the same spot

that J-Roll did. That's wild. You're going to see one of your heroes tonight back at the bank. Yeah, I remember when he came to spring this year and we're working, we're doing defense and everything. He's playing short, kind of just catching came to spring this year and we're working, you know, we're doing defense and all that, and then feeding balls, he's playing short, kind of just catching up for guys.

And it's like, well, you know, I'm feeding balls here to an MVP, Gold Glove winner, you know, possible Hall of Famer, all that kind of stuff. And, you know, I was watching him. I was going crazy just like everybody else in LA when they won. And now, you know, we're on the same field talking and doing some work together. So it'll be really cool to see him tonight. He was definitely one of my favorite players

and loved watching him when I was growing up and then in high school and all that. Now, when J-Roll was throwing down there, was every ball straight to the chest like every time he was in the field? Yeah, I mean, he's insane. He's special. It was so fun to watch him play defense. I mean, there's not too many guys that were as good as him.

His offense was amazing, but his defense, I always appreciated how good he was out there. Every routine play, it was like, you didn't even have to look. It was going to get made. Well, speaking of defense and your favorite Phillies, Phil, we've got to bring this up. I heard a rumor. Is it true that Scott Rowland was actually your favorite Philly? Phil. Yeah, when I was like, I guess he was late 90s.

I was like 10. I loved him when he first got called up and everything. I know it's kind of probably not popular now because he turned down all that money. Because he hated us, Phil. He hated us. I think I was a little young to understand that side of it. I just remember, pretty sure he won rookie of the year

He did I don't know I always liked him I wore 17 in high school because of him But yeah I always loved Scott Rowland Like I said probably not Probably not the most popular pick looking back on it But that was what like 8 year old me Was who I liked

We'll forgive you because you were 8 You didn't know any better, Phil. I appreciate it. As Jack always likes to point out, I'm an incredibly old man, so I remember these things. All right, let's dive into the team. We'll get into Harper and Gabe. I want to start just a quick general question, though,

about Harper, not as a teammate, but as someone who grew up a Phillies fan. Your whole life, obviously you play for other teams and all that, but you're a Phillies fan your whole life you know obviously you play for other teams and all that but you're a Phillies fan you know Philadelphia you know that we never get the guy we've spent our whole lives wanting that guy and then the guy finally chose us the face of the sport that whole thing what was it like for you obviously a closer view on it than us but just as a as a fan more than a player what was it like to see someone finally choose the Phillies? I was pumped. You know, the city was really, really wanted somebody like that.

You know, Machado, Harper, there's one of that big name kind of splash because there's so many other good players here. It was kind of almost like, all right, if we can get that, if we can get that one guy with the big name, you know, really good player, all that, things should kind of come together and hopefully have a big window here where we're competing for division titles, World Series, all that.

I know he's just playing against so I knew he would be a great fit in the city in terms of how he would play. He plays hard. He probably gets criticized more than he should. Honestly, he's a really good teammate and he plays hard. Like you said, from the fan perspective, seeing him play,

he plays as hard as can be and gives it all. I knew that the city would really embrace him from that perspective. Everybody was really pumped when we got him, obviously. More important question. You said he's a good teammate. Do you guys have an individual handshake yet? We do not. I think I got to hit a homer or something for that.

I probably earned that first. Yes! Come on, you had the double in Colorado. Yeah. And the double the other night, too. Yeah. I mean, you're an opposite field double machine, Phil. Come on.

Doesn't that deserve a handshake? Yeah, we got to get something going. We haven't talked about it yet, but he's very... I've been lucky. I play with a ton of really good players, and he's really approachable. He's just another guy in the clubhouse. Sometimes those

guys who are superstars, they're just a little different, and they're not in their... stay off the cut by themselves, but he's definitely a real approachable, real good guy, and it's been fun getting to know him and playing with him. Yeah, and recently it just came out that him and his wife were having a child on the way. I was wondering

have you already pitched Malvern Prep to Bryce as the future? I have not. I know he's I think he's trying to figure out where he's going to live long term. Maybe I can, you know. Nudge him the right way, right? Yeah, nudge him that way. Here's the problem. Phil, if you put him in Westchester, Jack might

never be able to recover from the excitement and he might just go crazy. I'll just claim him as my own. Yeah, my coach at Malvern, Freddie Hilliard, I think he probably wants the same thing. He could use a young Harper rolling through there hitting in the middle of Malvern's order.

That would be good. I think so. We see what little LeBron's doing, right? I'm guessing little Harper's going to be all right, too. Well, and Vladdy Jr., too. See, here's the thing, Phil. I have a five-month-old daughter, so Bryce might not know it, but his future son is already betrothed to my daughter.

I'll tell him that I have a son. Yeah, let him know. Okay, good. Let him know. Let's get that ball rolling here. Let's get that ball rolling. Phil, so recently there's been pictures swirling, and one of the biggest problems when Bryce signed here

was that everyone was worried that he was a big Cowboys fan. And the other day it surfaced that he was wearing an Eagles hoodie. Can we attribute that to you? Were you the one that got him to convert into Eagles fandom? I'd love to claim it, but I cannot say that. We haven't talked about that yet. I'll have to get on him. I know he was rocking a Sixers jersey yesterday around the clubhouse,

so I think we got him good on that front. But I'll work on the Eagles end. I mean, there's not much worse you can do in the city than be a Cowboys fan. I think I've got to educate him on that a little bit. That was our worry. That was our worry. Yeah, I mean, it's a real issue. I mean, listen, Bryce has got a problem here. I mean, he's

a Duke fan, Lakers fan, Cowboys fan. Like, we're worried Bryce is a bit of a frontrunner. Grew up a Yankee fan. Grew up a Yankees fan. Come on, Phil. Not great. He's not great. We're lucky with growing up around here. It's just kind of you got your teams, whatever. Vegas, yeah, I don't know what they do out there. He's not a

4-4-4 guy. We'll work on it. Yeah, we'll work on it. Yeah, we got a, you know, nobody's perfect. We can work on that. Okay, so you got to, so just to keep the checklist going as we go, handshake, my daughter marrying his son someday,

and this. So these are the three things we need you to work on. I got my notepad out. Oh, it's good. He's ready to go. I love it. I love it.

Phil, also, were you aware, speaking of Westchester, that Jack is a big fan of yours anyway. You're from Westchester and all that. But a big part of Jack's love of you and fandom of you is that he sees himself in you, Phil. Jack believes that he could have been you. And it must be a weird thing to hear. But Jack is vicariously living through you and i need you to know that it's so sad i welcome any uh anybody that'll root

for me i'm good with that i like that i like that the support now this is gonna be the most serious question you're asking this podcast phil if i didn't wait we asked serious questions here i didn't know okay phil if I didn't lose my cutter my freshman year of college, do you think it could have been me in this situation? Absolutely. I mean, you've heard the rumors around Westchester about the Fritz Cutter. There's been the talk.

There's been talk. Don't play into this. I don't know, man. I was never that great. I kind of was a light bloomer. Maybe you could have done the same thing. So you're saying

there's a chance. All right. There's always a chance, yeah. Also, another question for you, Phil. Last night when you were sitting in the dugout, were you nervous knowing that your

High Hopes debut was the next day? Like, were you even focused on the game or were you just like, High Hopes is tomorrow, I gotta bring it? Yeah, I was gonna

pinch hit there the one time, but I told Gabe, you know, I got other things on my mind right now. You know, maybe tonight's not a good night. See, that's the dedication we need from our guys. Phil, speaking of Gabe, though, what's it like to play for Gabe? I know he's been, I mean, on this show, this podcast, we are Gabe guys.

We have long been Gabe supporters, but obviously a bit of a volatile figure so far in the city. Maybe not the type of guy who some members of this fan base would naturally gravitate to. What's Gabe been like to play for and to get to know? He's been great. I mean, he's definitely not the old-school Larry Boas type that has been around. It's fair to say.

I don't know. Larry Boas seems like an analytics guy. So, it's fair to say. I don't know. Larry Boas seems like an analytics guy. So, yeah, he's definitely not a cut from that mold, which is kind of what the people are used to, I guess, to a certain extent, like Charlie when they won it all. You know, that kind of guy. But he's been awesome. I mean, he challenges you to, like, if you want to do something different,

you know, the game's changing, and if you want to do something different, he's all for it. He's not a guy that, oh, this is how it's always been done, so we're going to keep doing it that way he's always trying to look at things different ways and trying to figure out new ways to do things that are better so i mean anybody that's like that i mean he he challenged me with some things in spring training that i think really helped and said you know if you're going to make some changes with i've made some changes with my swing and try to do some different things he said go all in know, we're not going to do anything halfway.

If you think it's going to help you, then go all in with it. And once the game rolls around, he just lets you play and do your thing. Guys can really be themselves. I know when I first got called up, it was a different culture in the locker room. There's a lot of veteran guys and kind of just sat in your locker and put your head down and didn't want to, you know, get made fun of or do anything too much. But definitely a different vibe where it's be yourself

and everybody's very accepting. It's been a lot of fun. The locker room's got a good vibe to it. That sounds awesome. That sounds like the type of locker room I'd want to be a part of. And you can see it on the field, the way you guys celebrate, the way you guys have fun out there. That's very cool to hear.

All right, only a few more for you, Phil. I won't make you choose between your teammates, so let's take your current teammates off the board. Forget this Phillies team. We know they're all the best players you ever played with, but if you had to choose someone from the Diamondbacks, from the Pirates, like the times you played before, who's the best player you ever played with?

Or who's the guy you looked at and were like, damn, I wish I could do what that dude does? I'll give you kind of a two-parter. I mean, I played with Adrian Beltre. It was probably his second last year, so he probably wasn't the player he once was, but you could still see the glimpses in there. He would get hurt a lot. So he's probably the best overall player in terms of career,

but in terms of when I was playing with him, probably Goldie in Arizona. I mean, he's just so consistent, such a good, like, great teammate, great base runner, great defender. I mean, there was, like, no detail too small, and he really set the tone there. We didn't have a great pitching staff when we were there, but we had a really good offense, and he set the tone. I mean, base running, running hard every time.

Like, he did it, so everybody else had to do it. He set the tone of everything, and he couldn't be a better guy either. He was probably the best in the moment when I was playing with him for those couple years. There's nothing this guy can't do. Phil, you've listened to James talk on this podcast so far. I don't know if you've watched It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Does he sound like Charlie Day to you? Now that you mention it, I guess a little bit.

Yeah. I'm not sunny. I'm not like a diehard, but I definitely enjoy it. I watch it when it's on. We're voice twins. Phil, I'm actually Charlie Day. I'm just not,

it's just my pseudonym that I use. It's perfect. It's good. It's good. All right. Similar question to the last one too. Who's the best pitcher you ever faced? The Grom.

Yeah. What is it? 2014, maybe something like that. It was before he kind of blew up. He was really good, and everybody knew who he was. But I remember telling my dad, I'm like, this guy is disgusting. You really feel like you go up there and don't have a chance. But I remember the day he pitched against us, it was like nobody had a chance.

And then kind of this coming out party, whatever year that was, or the All-Star game was, I think he punched out the side on nine pitches. And I remember telling him the same thing my dad was like, I told you this guy was pretty good, and he's only gotten better since then. But he's probably the best. He's not fun to face.

Yeah, I mean, he's got to be crazy. It's like 97 that looks like it rises, and then a slider that just falls right off the table. I don't mean, he's got to be crazy. It's like 97 that looks like it rises and then a slider that just falls right off the table. I don't know what your plan would be. And he's got great command.

Like, he commands all his pitches. He's like real tall, skinny, so it almost just feels like the ball just explodes out of his hand like real smooth motion. And yeah,

he's not fun. Scherzer's not fun either. I mean, neither are those guys. Well, he's got the two eyes that kind of freak you out. Yeah, yeah. The two miscolored eyes are weird. That's a's not fun either. I mean, neither of those guys. Well, he's got the two eyes that kind of freak you out. Yeah. The two miscolored eyes is weird. That's a weird look, man. Yeah, he's wild

out there on the mound. I mean, he's like going crazy. He's the ultimate competitor and coming right at you. He's not a fun at bat either. Alright. Last question. I gotta get to the bottom of this because, you know, we do our research when we have a guest on. Well, Jack doesn't, but I do. I care about these things.

I checked out your Twitter and I saw that you haven't tweeted since 2017, Phil. But you did update your bio to say you're part of the Philadelphia Phillies. What went into that process of updating the bio but not tweeting? I'm intrigued by this, Phil. I mean, you could have tweeted like, Hey, welcome to, I'm a Philly. Well, you could have said like, Hey, dear people in high school,

guess what? I'm back. Yeah, that would have been great. You could have got real cocky with it, Phil. Could have tweeted last night, I'm going on the High Hopes pod tomorrow. I don't even know what to do with myself. I'm so excited. I think anybody that knows me knows I'm pretty low-key. So Jack could not have been you. The point is you and Jack are

not the same person. Good to know. Yeah, I had to get to... I know, I couldn't be supporting, you know, the Braves or whatever team I had listed on there that I played as last. I like that. I like that. But, yeah, not a big tweeter. I'll get on that. And I'll keep up with stuff and all that.

But not huge in tweeting myself. I just, I don't know. I think I'm just getting old. Tell me about it. I'm getting just getting old. Tell me about it. Tell me about being old, Phil. It's just sad watching two old men talk here on this podcast. Oh, man. Phil,

thank you so much for coming on. We can't tell you how much we appreciate it. Yeah, thanks for having me. This was fun, guys. Alright, so Phil's my new favorite player in the history of baseball. I just love that guy, Jack. Yeah, he's the best. All Westchester people turn into legends no matter what. Is that true?

Yeah. Wow, I didn't know that. Wow. It's impressive, right? You didn't know that? I feel like I should move to Westchester so I can be a Westchester fan. If you want any chance of succeeding in life, that is where you move. Seriously, shout out to Phil for coming on.

We had a lot of fun with him. He was super cool about it. Kind of let us do our thing. I was stuck in traffic on 76. Phil was such a Philly guy. He said, hey, 76 is a nightmare. He knew. Yeah.

Mike Trout would never. Mike Trout would never. Mike Trout would never. Not half the player Phil is either. Gone right. Well, you know. Shout out to Phil. I can't wait for the update. The Millville Gone right. Well, you know. Shout out to Bill. I can't wait for the update.

The Millville Meteor. Or Millville Missile. Jack texted me that today because we were talking about nicknames on the Midday Show. I was like, is that really his nickname? I didn't even know. Yeah. Not a great one. I mean, it's a good nickname, but I don't care about Mike Trout is what I'm trying to say.

But what I do want to know is how long, it's Monday now. We recorded that on Saturday, where's Phil on the checklist? Has he told Bryce about Zoe yet? I mean, that's really important. They flew a plane to St. Louis. True. There's a lot of time to talk.

Do they have a handshake yet, Jack? I mean, there's so many things I need to know. I don't see the handshake. It's a bold move to go up and be like, Bryce. Bryce, can we have a handshake? Handshake? I mean, I'd see you do them with everyone else. I'd kind of feel left out, but I mean, I'd do it. I'm like, Bryce, give me a be like, Bryce. Bryce, can we have a handshake? Handshake? I mean, I'd see you do them with everyone else. I'd kind of feel left

out, but I mean, I'd do it. I'd be like, Bryce, give me a handshake, man. Yeah, what would your handshake be? I don't know. What do old guy handshakes like? Some old guy handshake. Yeah, you'd be like, Oh, you remember this? No, you know what you would do? You'd physically hold your hand out for a handshake. Yeah, I would actually go like, hello.

Hello, nice to meet you. Nice firm grip. Alright, I like that. That's my handshake of Bryce Harper. Yeah, because you're old. A handshake. All right. Jack, we've got a few things to get into before our final thoughts. Heading to St. Louis. St. Lou, Jack.

Dude, I'm just going to be honest. I don't feel good about this series. What a shock. You never feel good about this series. I know, but the Cardinals rake. Who predicted them to go to the World Series? This guy. Nice. I'm with you. On this podcast,. Who predicted them to go to the World Series? This guy. Nice.

I'm with you. On this podcast, I guess you weren't paying attention when I said it on this podcast. Joe Giglio was. Joe Giglio mentioned on the air. He said, oh yeah, you picked the Cardinals to go to the World Series. I was like, my guy listens to the IELTS podcast. Giglio remember that? Giglio did.

You didn't. Nice. Anyway, I think the Cardinals are good. That's my takeaway. The Cardinals are good, but I will say that I think the Phillies got a fair draw pitching-wise this weekend. Yeah, I think they got a good draw. I mean, Nicholas has just been eh. He's been bad, and they gave him a bunch of money.

We do get your boy on Wednesday, though. You understand my money? I almost said Sunday. Yeah. I almost said Sunday. You're getting there. I'm getting there. Wednesday.

You should be better on Monday podcast. I should be better on the days of the week. It was literally just Sunday yesterday. I should always be better, Jack. Don't give me any sort of leeway here. Jack Flaherty on Wednesday. Jesus Christ. Yep, you blew it.

Jack Flaherty on Wednesday, so you can see your guy. He's just been eh this year. Eh too, but nasty. You watch him. The stuff's there. He seems like he's having the same trouble that Nola has. He doesn't have total command of that curveball yet or slider yet. He'll figure it out against the Phillies, I'm sure. That's what everyone does.

No hitter coming on Wednesday. Nola versus Dakota Hudson. Dakota Hudson was a pretty big prospect. He's been bad, though. He's just not. Like flat out bad. He's not good. He's not good.

It's a big one for Nola. Because we've been seeing some incremental improvements with him, a little bit better each time, but not vintage Nola yet, and there's a really good lineup. If Nola gives them seven innings less than two runs, I mean, we'll get a, Nola will be back at that point. I mean, it's a good lineup. They are raking. If you want to buy into Nola

being back to being Nola again, this is the kind of team that he has to dominate against, because like his last two starts have been against the Tigers and the Marlins. Yeah, no, this is a big matchup. They got some offense on that team. Obviously, you mentioned Goldschmidt has been raking for them. Ozuna's been raking. Paul DeYoung,

who I wasn't sure could hit. Don't tease my Kurt Suzuki award winner coming up. Paul DeYoung is a really nice guy to have on your fantasy team. I was not expecting that from Paul. Nice job. Nice job nailing the name. Paul DeYoung? It's DeYoung. When I first saw it... Hold on. Wait, are you questioning me? I'm just saying. You nailed theJong? It's DeJong. When I first saw it. Wait, are you questioning me?

I'm just saying. You nailed the name. Yeah, well, I do. You're not. When I first saw it. That's my role in this podcast. You're the one. We were very close to it.

It could have been a Paul DeJong type of thing. Yeah. It's DeJong. Yeah, DeJong. I found out. How long did it take you? I argued with a buddy about it and he was right. Oh, man.

You just can't do it. That one I didn't really argue strongly because i had never actually been said i just as i was like oh i assumed it was the young and he's like no it's the young and i looked it up and it was the young so i'm happy i found out look at you look at me taking some accountability for your problems he's good he's good so yeah i did i this this cardinals team rakes um in st louis in St. Louis they have they have talented pitchers on the mound which I always just assume

we're going to figure it out against us I mean they sorry I'm not feeling too confident after nine cases from Jeremy Helix and Anibal Sanchez

yeah right you're facing someone who's actually good worry a little bit about it yeah so a little bit it'll be a big measuring stick series

I mean I think these are two of the top four teams in the NL yeah I mean I I think these are two of the top four teams in the NL. I mean, I would say Dodgers. It's the Dodgers. Then we could discuss

the other teams. Yeah, so Dodgers, Phils, Cubs are 19 and 12. I mean, Cubs are in first place, technically. Half game up on the Cardinals.

So I would say those are the four that kind of stick out to you and then if you want to throw the Braves in there, you can throw the Braves in there. Well, Phils are ahead of them

in the standing. Yeah, game and a half up. We don't have to do that yet. Yeah, screw the race. You know, you're certainly not throwing in there, you can throw the Braves in there. Well, Phil's ahead of them in the standing. Yeah, game and a half up. We don't have to do that yet. Yeah, screw the race. You know, you're certainly not throwing in there the Mets or the Nationals because they stink. Dude, that Nationals lineup this weekend was, I could not believe that it was that bad. They're bad. It was a minor league team.

I mean, granted, they're missing Soto, they're missing Rendon, they're missing Trey Turner, they're missing some names, but they're bad right now. Very bad. And did you hear about their plane, too, by the way? No. They had an right now. Very bad. And did you hear about their plane, too, by the way? No. They had an engine problem. They were on the tarmac until like 4 in the morning or something like that. Yeah, in Philly to fly to Milwaukee.

I'm shocked the Philly airport. They got a 640 game. So if you're a betting man, bet on the Brewers tonight. Guessing it's not going to be a good day for the Nats. I'm shocked the Philly airport did not come up close. I truly am. All right. So we're premiering a new feature on this show.

In honor of Kurt Suzuki, you just crapped all over the Phillies this weekend. Yes, this weekend. And it's Dominic. All right. And again, 7 for 17 with four homers against the Phillies this year. Every time we go into a series, we're going to pick the Kurt Suzuki award winner.

Yes, because it feels like in every single series of play, there's always that one guy that just wears us out. The Kurt Suzuki, the Jeff McNeil, so on and so forth. Yes. So, you mentioned it already. I'm going to go with it. Phillies fans might not know who Paul DeYoung is. They will after this series. Paul DeYoung, we're going to hate that guy after

this series. He's been killing it lately. Homer yesterday. Actually, when you look up the last two weeks for the Cardinals, has been the best player on their team for the last two weeks from a war perspective. I think Paul DeYoung's going to be really annoying. He's going to wear us out? He's going to wear us out. Alright, my Kurt Suzuki

award winner this week, who is going to just own the Phillies. And he always does. He always has. And that's Marcelo Zuna. Marcelo Zuna, listen to these career stats. Dude, I knew it. I didn't even want to go with such an obvious answer because he's been so great against the Phillies. 285, 333. He has 20 homers against

the Phillies. 20! How many games? How is that even possible? 20 games or 20 homers in 82 starts. Get the hell out of here. He destroys us. 20 homers? That's a lot of home runs against one team. That's a lot of home runs against one team for someone who hasn't been in baseball that long.

So we're going to get Marcelo Zunit again. Great. It's a good lineup, man. They're talented. Hey, man, if Vince can bounce back, it's a big start. I mean, for Vince. It's a big start for Vince. Well, especially because last time was the most Vinny-Vince start that we've seen this year.

Sure was. It's a nice bounce back opportunity for Vinny. And then we get a lockdown Eikhoff in game three, so that'll be nice. Never a doubt. Weird to think that we're going into a series with Nola Velasquez and Eikhoff pitching, and I feel the most confident in what I'm going to get from Eikhoff. That's weird. Yeah.

It's weird. Yeah, it is weird. If I had told you that in March, you would have been like, stop. Well, someone did on this podcast predict that he's going to save the season. Praise Dykov. Not at the expense of Aaron Noah. All right, Fritzy. Anything else before we get to final thoughts?

Because I have one more thing before we get to final thoughts. Yeah, let's just unload the notebook here. Whoa. It's one of my favorite features of the show. Unloading of the notes. Mike Alfranco, his opposite field hit percentage right now is 36.5, which is a career high. Good for Mike Alfranco. 36.5.

That's my guy. It's like an outlier. Always believed in him. Always believed in him, Jack. Always did. It's like a big time career high, too. When you look on Fangraph, it's like way. What's the outlier here?

Yeah, it's pretty crazy. Second one, Bryce Harper got a couple boos last week against the Tigers. Couple? fancraft it's like way yeah it's like what's the outlier here yeah it's pretty crazy uh second one bryce harper got a couple boos uh last week against the tigers couple he got against the tigers before the national series threw on the eagles gear very smart man he's now an eagles fan that is smart welcome to the club yes and phil gosselin did not do that sadly but we thought it might have been phil it's it still might be and he used to he was magnanimous and wanted to give bryce the credit without saying oh that was me. I mean I think it was still

Phil. Let's do that. And my final note from the... Final non-final thought from the notebook. From the notebook. It's like Mel Allen over here. You got twib notes. Go ahead. Is that Ben Davis An old man reference for you. Ben Davis has made my personal list. Oh no!

I have a beef with Ben Davis. Oh no! Very serious. He it was reported back to me that he said on the telecast after the the win on Friday

that he was the only person that said that Adam Morgan was going to have a breakout season. Oh no. And I would just like to say

Ben first off a little disappointed that a fellow Westchester guy does not listen to the podcast. Wow. What can you do?

You were not at all. I mean, we're talking about documentary. All I'm going to say is I never heard. I like that, actually. Documentary? I actually really like that. That should be a thing. I never heard Ben Davis say it.

I heard you say it. That's all I'll say. Just saying. The people know, Ben. Should we get Ben on the pod to argue about it? Can we talk about this? Ben, sources say that you are taking credit for Adam Morgan. Taking shots at Jack Fritz.

It feels like he's taking a personal shot at me. Open shots. Speaking of which, let's talk about one of the other color commentators. Talking about the Phillies. Because I have something in my notebook that I have to empty out. Friend of the pod, Kevin Franzen. Of course, does great work on the radio with Scott Franzen. He'll be back tonight. Happy birthday, Larry Anderson, today.

He's going from St. Louis to Kansas City, and there's going to be so much barbecue that I'm so jealous. Do you know why I'm bringing Kevin Franzen up? No. Because Jack committed pod-ultry, folks. Pod-ultry. Jack Fritz, guest on Kevin Franzen's pod. Yeah, buddy. How about that?

Did you feel betrayed? A little bit. I was all right with them. I'm confident in myself. If we're being honest, it wasn't even a good performance by me because every time I talked, I kept hearing myself. I kept rotating through my phone. Oh, no.

I feel like it wasn't even making sense because I was just so focused on- Trying to hear the echo. Yeah, that's a terrible spot. It was horrible. It wasn't even my best podcast performance, which happened today. Well, no. So I feel like it wasn't even making sense because I was just so focused on- Trying to hear the echo. Yeah, that's a terrible spot. It was horrible. So it wasn't even my best podcast performance, which happened today. Well, good, good, good. But yeah, no, Franny has a new podcast,

Pine Tar for Breakfast. He's a big pine tar guy. There's a feature on the Philly show. It's called Pine Tar Tuesdays. It's going to go to- Love you, Kev. Pine Tar for Breakfast? Nah.

But yeah, so he went from, he went from, no high hopes, I'll say that, okay. In one week, he had like, McCutcheon,

Burrell, Kendrick, Fritz, Jack Fritz. I like that. Yeah. Which one doesn't belong? All washed up.

Kyle Kendrick is the correct answer. I knocked my water bottle on the ground. All washed up players. This is where I'm at, I'm a mess right now. All washed up Major League Baseball players and a washed up Division II player. Oh, ground. All washed up players. This is where I'm at. I'm a mess right now. All washed up Major League Baseball players and a washed up Division 2 player. Oh, buddy. Alright.

Final thought time. I have three today. Wow. They're all stats. Factoids. My final thought is that with J-Roll getting inducted this week, or J-Roll retiring this weekend, all three Again, ridiculous. You retired a long time ago, but

fine. Love you, J-Roll. But I hate the whole waiting to retire thing. Larry Anderson technically still has never retired. Really? Yeah. Come back to trail. Can't wait. LA.

Hey, I'd take him in this bullpen right now. Would you? No. They have the best bullpen in the NL East. Easily. It's not even close, which is crazy. Go ahead. So with Rollins getting his retirement thing on Saturday, all

three of Rollins, Utley, and Howard should have their numbers retired. I don't care that they're not Hall of Famers. You have the best first baseman, best second baseman, best shortstop in team history during the best run in team history. I just think that if anyone else wears 6'11 and 26,

it's just going to look weird. Those guys were the face of this team for five years, or for longer than that, but they had a five-year window of the best era in Phillies baseball. They're the best at each one of their positions, and I think their jersey should be retired, even if they're not going to make the Hall of Fame. If Chase Utley didn't have bad knees,

he's no doubt about it, lock Hall of Famer. J. Roll's right on the outside of being a Hall of Famer. If Barry Larkin's a Hall of Famer, J. Roll's probably a Hall of Famer. And Howard, obviously the injuries derailed him, but during that peak, he was the most feared hitter in baseball. Okay, I think Jay Zutley should be in the Hall of Fame for what it's worth.

I think he was a Hall of Fame player. I think J. Roll's close. I don't know if I put him in, but I think Larkin was a better player, but I get it. You can't retire the numbers, I'm sorry. Why? It's a ridiculous take.

Why? How many players in all Major League Baseball who are not Hall of Famers have their number retired? I don't know the number, but it might be zero. But it's the Phillies history. It might be zero.

Like, you just don't retire numbers unless they're Hall of Famers. The Yankees retire everyone. Really? Who's that? Who's a Hall of Famer who's retired? Name one. Name one Yankees Hall of Famer

whose number is retired and is not a Hall of Famer. It just doesn't happen. It's a really rare thing across baseball. I'm sure there are examples. Before people start tweeting the pot, I'll bet you there's a max of one per team. Jeter. Well, Jeter's going to be a Hall of Famer.

That's the point. Look, the Phillies don't have any. All their numbers retired right now are all Hall of Famers. Every single one of them. I get it. I think that the retiring of a number is wholly enough in baseball where I think it has to be the elite of the elite of the elite

of the elite. Sorry. It's a controversial take here. I couldn't disagree more. We're talking about the Phillies who are the quickest team to 10,000 losses. Well, that's the argument you want to make. So here's the thing. It's like, oh, let's put them on the wall of fame with Bobby Abreu.

Well, see, here's the problem. They ruined the wall of fame. The wall of fame should have been that spot where it mattered to put something like Dak on there and then not retire the number. The problem is when you dilute the wall of fame with Mike Lieberthal and Bobby Abreu and all this stuff, then it's like, who cares? So I get it. Oh, by the way, Don Mattingly's not a hall of famer oh don mattingly's numbers retired all right but that was a mistake

by the yankees regardless they're allowed one but you really had to work for that you're really looking so there's one i knew i said maybe there's one i knew there was yankees that are that are have their number tired they're not hall of famers because they are great but they are great yankees like page or i was number retired by the red sox? Pedro's a Hall of Famer. He's retired. Wait, hold on. Where did I hear that from? Yeah,

Pedro's a Hall of Famer. So, played for a lot of teams though. Yeah, but he's a Hall of Famer. Again, Hall of Fame. It matters.

Andy Pettit? No, no Hall of Famer. Those numbers are retired by the Yankees. Is it? Did they retire it? The Yankees have gotten soft

very clearly as the- Bernie Williams? Oh, they did the four. That's because they get off. But this is the same thing. I agree. I don't think that was right to do it.

I think the Yankees made a mistake. But here's the thing. All right. The wall of fame is dog crap. I agree. That's the problem. Look, in this unique situation, because of how dog crap the wall of fame is, I get it. Look, if they retire their numbers, I'm not going to be upset about it.

I'm going to be okay with it. Oh, you're going to be in the stands, classic old man yelling at the clouds? No, he just said I'll be okay with it. I'll be fine with it. I just think that the retiring of the numbers should be for Hall of Famers. That's all. Yeah, I just think this is – I would normally agree with you. It's just I think –

It's a unique situation where – It's a unique situation where – Listen, are you really not going to put the best first baseman, second baseman, shortstop? It's a fair point. I get what you're saying. Look, I could be convinced of it. I don't feel incredibly strongly on the other side,

but I'm also okay with them not retiring. Can you imagine Utley, Rollins, and Howard next to Lieberthal, Abreu? No, I agree with you. The Wall of Fame screws it up. We can agree the Wall of Fame is a joke. You don't have to do it every year. That's the problem. You don't have to do it every year.

Phillies, you can spread it out. Oh, I agree. It should be way spread out. Yeah. But I'm not going to fight you on this. If they retire. Oh, I agree. It should be way spread out. Yeah. But I'm not going to fight you on this. If they retire their numbers, I'll be fine with it.

Is it? Yeah. The wall of fame is one of the most frustrating things. It's a joke. I wish they would just get rid of the whole wall of fame. Restart.

Restart. Start over. Make it an actual wall of fame instead of a wall of good or a wall of okay. All right, my final thoughts. Much less controversial. You know how many

stolen bases the Phillies are on pace for this year 12 I don't know 34 that's sad as a team

yeah they are on pace to steal 34 bases as a team and I like the analytic movement just not to be old man in the cloud

thing but like part of the game that I love is the Zac Eflin squeeze yesterday which is just that's baseball that's beautiful baseball and stealing. That is beautiful baseball.

Yep. And stealing bases. Like, it just adds excitement. It's fun. It's a fun thing. It's gone. It makes me sad, and especially for the Phillies. Well, we're going to get a high dosage of running this week with the Royals.

Yeah. They're the only team in baseball that runs. And they run a lot. Yeah, they run a lot. And we got Real Muto, so. So we'll be fine. Good try. I told you this.

I texted you this. All 25 of the fastest pitches thrown in baseball this year thrown by the same guy. Former Eagles linebacker, Jordan Hicks. Correct. Who we're going to see...

Well, hopefully we don't see because these are closer, but St. Louis is closer to Jordan Hicks. 25 fastest pitches in baseball. And this one's just for you, Jack, because this blew my mind. And this is courtesy

of Jason Stark in his Useless Information Department article. If you don't read it, it might be worth getting an athletic just for that article. But did you know that for the first time in baseball history,

it took until April 30th this year, April 30th, for the average hume of starters ERA to go above reliever ERA. So essentially until April 30th, starters had a lower ERA than relievers. That's a long time. That's crazy, right?

Like, that shouldn't happen. Baseball. Speaking of starters ERA, the Philly starters ERA is now 3.02. Really? Pretty sure. That's fantastic. How about that, Jack?

What a way to end yeah I mean listen they're pitching for a team without Dallas Keuchel if they are you know

Dallas Keuchel not getting signed allowed to the draft anymore sucks for Dallas yeah well neither him nor him nor

Kimbrell oh speaking of the draft one more speaking of the draft oh no I let Liz yeah there it is we were almost done and then the draft came up.

This is about the mock that just came out, whatever. Keith Law put out his mock draft today and had the Phillies taking Zach Thompson, number 14 overall. Let me just say, big fan. I'm in on the Zach Thompson pick. I'm in on taking a talented pitcher in the first round because the Phillies have done a- Phillies don't do that, Jack.

No, it's not that. It's just that they've been taking such lottery tickets on the international players that give me a talented player in the first round and use the resources that you have that have turned into Sixo Sanchez, that have turned into Adonis Medina, that have turned into Spencer Howard,

and use it on a really talented pitcher. He's a lefty. He has a two ERA in the SEC this year. You're the lefty pitcher. Let's do it. Give me a lefty. Let's do it. Go lefty.

You got the bulldog look with him. I'm in. Big game Zach Thompson. Young left-handed Pavetta. That's what they're calling him. I'm coining him now. Big game Zach Thompson. All right.

Go Phillies in St. Louis. Go Phil Gosselin. Go Phil Gosselin. Our favorite friend of the pod. And I'm having a Reddit AMA on Friday. Louis. Go Phil Gosselin. Go Phil Gosselin, our favorite friend of the pod. I'm having a Reddit AMA on Friday. Oh yeah! Friday! Reddit AMA for Jack Fritz! You can ask him anything you want.

The Phillies Reddit. Go to Phillies Reddit Friday at noon. We'll hype that up again on Thursday. Doing an AMA. Because we'll be back Thursday to talk Royals and wrap up the Cardinals season. I'm looking forward to talking some Royals baseball. Break down some Alberto Mondesi, baby. Let's go.

A little Brad Keller. Let's get into it. Alex Gordon has been there for two decades. It's been great this year. All of a sudden, the Alex Gordon rebirth. Which is more shocking, him being able to hit or Jason Hayward? They're like the same guy. Same thing.

Same amount of shocking. All right. We'll be back later to give you more Alex Gordon analogies and whatnot. Until then, go Phillies. He's Fritz. I'm Seltzer. We'll talk to you later. All-star closer, Kenley Jansen.

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

two years ago, and it's now the most prolific national daily baseball pod there is. Another fact, so jump aboard the BIB Express. Follow and listen to Baseball Isn't Boring, presented by Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.