High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - This Game Monday Night is the Most Important Game Since the Astros Series in 2012

Episode Date: June 13, 2022

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz react to the Phillies 9 game win streak and its emphatic ending. The guys talk about the importance of the team bouncing back against the Marlins, the merciful end of this iteration of #RunFritzRun, and more. Plus, James and Jack chat about an Epic High Hopes Night at the ballpark courtesy of Miller Lite. Presented by Miller Lite. 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

This is the High Hopes Podcast. High Hopes! It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Phillies. On Odyssey and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Yo! It is another edition of the high hopes podcast much like jack fritz was worried he was going to die if he had to run another extra mile added to his the arnold already insane total is his nine that turns into ten uh i was worried i was gonna have to completely destroy my voice with the yo tonight

so jack i i feel your pain i feel like it's basically the same thing yeah i don't think it is at all honestly it's totally the same i mean come on you running a bunch of miles and me having to do the yo and live up to that and strain my voice and and really go for it same thing yeah no uh i think it was an appropriate yo. You know? I mean, like. Yeah. I mean, they took two of three. They had a nine-game winning streak. You know, honestly, the biggest yo should have been for I Hope's Night,

Ring the Bell Night, you know, which we'll get to. By the way, presented by Miller Lite, this podcast presented by Miller Lite, official partner of the Philadelphia Phillies. I'll tell you more about Miller Lite later. But, yeah, I think they deserved a strong yo, but obviously, you know, you got to save the special yo's for the special times, which makes me, I just got to jump right into it. We're going to dive into a bunch of stuff. I just told you before we started, I have way too many notes considering the last time

we spoke was Thursday. But real quickly, before we dive into IOPs night, before we dive into the games, all that stuff, my question is, because, you know, thank God for you. You know, we never want the Phillies to lose, but you, in a lot of ways, needed them to lose today. And by the way, how about them ending their nine-game winning streak just in absolute spectacular fashion?

Like, if they were going to lose they just they lost wholeheartedly uh but the question is is this like a thing now like if they're good was this just something to get them going to start it or like you know if we have another eight gamer another seven gamer another whatever. Is this just a thing you you've kind of locked yourself in the rest of the season? That's, I think, what everyone wants to know. Rest of my season. I think this is the rest of my life. I think I think this is I think this is the beginning of one of those runs. Oh, buddy.

Yeah. Like, I honestly, you know, shout out to the Phil's. They didn't leave any doubt today that I was not going to run. Oh, yeah. You weren you know shout out to the phils they didn't leave any doubt today that i was not gonna run oh yeah you weren't sweating it out at all yeah yeah uh speaking of not sweating there seems to be a lot of comments about me not sweating i love that by the way i know and it's like i like anything that plays into did he really run eight miles did he really run nine miles i support any theories, anything anyone wants to do. I'm always down to hear that stuff. Yeah.

Now, it's all fun and games, but I really did run it. Like, I mean, I took screenshots of the times I was out there. I physically did it. You complained to me about your knee like 800 times on High Hopes Night. Well, I didn't know how to break the ice any other way than telling people that my knee hurt. And now added with my left knee hurting, I think my right knee now hurts worse. So it seems like we're trending in the right direction. But no, like I legitimately think that, you know, the next time the Philz win seven in a row, I'll run seven miles.

Same kind of thing until I kind of figure out the next iteration of run for its run. Love this so much, buddy. I don't know how much how much further can run for its run go like doing a 26 mile marathon. Well, I mean, again, I feel like like you need to build up to those type of things. I feel like it's incredibly dangerous for you to just increase a mile every day. I feel like what you did was not necessarily the smartest way to run. So I feel like the higher you get up in number, probably the more not smart it is for your body. You know what I'm saying?

the more not smart it is for your body. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, but I will say this, is that I should next time, I anticipate my daily running to be increasing more and more so that I should be more ready for it. But yes, I would say that. So all I'm hearing there, and I love it with every fiber of my being, is you issuing a challenge to the Phillies and saying, make me run. Like that was all I heard in that whole thing you just said.

It was a big like Wolf of Wall Street where he's like, I'm not bleeping leaving. Yeah. Is that is that basically what you think I'm doing right now? You're like, listen, I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be there to run. And frankly, I like doing it until today um today was really the full-on breaking point um i like got past eight miles i was like i was like are you bleeping kidding me i got another mile after this um so today was the one where i was like i can't do it because like

i was both my knees hurt before i even started running. And then I ran on it and it was like, it's over. So there was definitely a big part of me that was rooting for the D-backs today. I don't I didn't think I'm happier man up to admit it. Well, dude, I went to full. I want to like full disclosure to the high up listeners. Again, we never lie to them. Full disclosure to the Ohio listeners, again, we never lie to them. I feel like I should just address this head on because it's a massive scandal with the podcast.

I mean, some people are calling you a fraud. Not me. Some people. I'm just saying it's out there. No, and I totally understand. It's a massive scandal. The people that listen to this podcast think I'm a – well, they know that I'm a diseased Phillies fan. They're all I think about.

Like me and Nebraska both think about the Phillies every day on our runs. But I bet against the – no, I bet on the Phillies so that they would lose. I tweeted positively about the Phillies. Yeah. Like I pulled out every single trick in the book to ensure that the Phillies would lose today. I was wondering what the – wow, I've got to tell you, ities would lose today. I was wondering what that the, wow, I gotta tell you, it feels like a win today tweet was all about. Well, I will say

this is kind of weird. The one this morning, because I legitimately do feel this way, James. No, not the one where you're running during the game. Yeah, I know the one where you were running after your run or whatever. That was another one, but still. Well, yeah, the one during the game. i know the one where you were running after your run or whatever that was another one but still it was great no well yeah no one during the game well first off i actually did think they were gonna win the game and then they end up like being outscored uh like i don't

know eight to nothing after that so it completely backfired did not age well um but yeah no like i legitimately watching the phillies over this run it's so weird expecting them to win. You and I, and I'm sure a lot of our listeners, just have impending doom all the time when it comes to watching our team. It was so weird during the nine-game stretch to just be like, I think they're going to win. And I have confidence that Andrew Belotti is going to come into a game with the bases loaded

for Jerry Simelea, and he's going to get out of it. It was a wild experience, this last nine-game winning streak. Balotti is going to come into a game with the bases loaded for Jerry Samilia and he's going to get out of it. You know, it was like, it was a wild experience. This last nine game winning streak. And James. Season's back on. Oh, buddy.

Is that right? I do appreciate them winning just enough games so that when they finally lost one, they were still at 500. Like, good job, buddy. Like,

well done team to, to were still at 500 like good job buddy like well done team to to keep us at 500 now we can start another streak as the schedule should get easier you know the marlins you know we know um i want to get to some baseball in a sec but in you know true pod form fashion i like that we start with you running and then clearly the second most important thing that happened since we last recorded not the two out of three phillies wins but high hopes died at the ballpark shout out to miller light we had the best time in the miller light literally on landing there it's really a great place to watch the game and hang out like if you're going to the game with like people you haven't seen in a while people you want to kind of talk to or whatever it's a sweet place and uh we had a blast met so many people met a couple kids Felix and

Theo shout out to you guys big listeners of the pod like super super diseased baseball fans at a young age like Theo was was coming up with his own stats and and the one we talked about I want to put it out there because it could be a trade secret, but it was a really clever idea. I thought it was a good idea. And it was cool to see, I'm sure you agree with me, Jack, like seeing these young kids who were just like so into baseball like we were when we were young because, you know,

we talk so much about the baseballs dying and all that. So it was cool. And we had the best time. So many awesome people, And we had the best time. So many awesome people, people we've seen before, new people we met, um, you know, mostly almost all listeners. I hope there were definitely some, some WIP fans and stuff there too. But, um, it was awesome, man. I had the, like, it was every time we get to go out and, and meet the people who love the thing that we love most that we get to do,

the thing that we – it's a joy. We do it for free. We do it if no one listened. It's just us talking baseball, two friends talking baseball, and for us to get to go out and meet so many people who relate to what we do and know the inside jokes and wear the I Hope shirts and we're going to get more shirts, I promise. I don't know, Jack.

It was awesome. It was the best time I've had all season. And they won. And they won for once on I Hope's Night. Yeah, I mean, last year, was it 15-3? 15-4, I think maybe. Many people like to remind us while we're there. So, yeah, it's always one of those things when we meet a bunch of people

uh that listens to the pod and and just kind of appreciate the work we do it's just like i don't know it's the greatest thing in the world um and tumbling that yeah and the kids that came up to us it was so funny because i was like am i talking to 15 and 13 year olds? I feel like I was talking to like, they knew all the intricacies of the podcast. They knew like, they had like a really high level of media literacy for as young of it. I was like, oh my God, this next generation is like, they're just insane. Like they, you know, that they just have a way higher uh i guess like they're just way more plugged in from a young age than i guess that all of us were i guess you you and i are still like in the same kind of tier when it comes to we weren't as plugged in no you're you're

just an old man in that way like your generation was way more plugged in like i well we were but when i was growing up like i come from a generation where i remember floppy disks and no one having cell phones and you know the internet oh what's this thing aol that's cool like that's that's what i come from man like encyclopedias, like Seinfeld, you know, that when there's no cell phones anywhere and you know, that's my era, man. So I definitely, I, I, a little different, but both of us are equally, I think not super technology driven or technology savvy. You're obviously better on social media and stuff, but, but like neither of us are like, you know, people, a lot of people your age can do anything with technology.

So yeah, we're definitely both in the group. My mom growing up was like, well, you know, I read that your generation is just as good as the computer technologists. So like, can't you figure out our computer issues? I'm like, no.

You know? Like, I'm sorry. I'm not a... Mom, I'm just looking at baseball box scores all right yeah i'm just grinding over here i'm just i'm just watching film of some single a prospect who could be the next most important thing in my life it's just like so disrespectful for you to say that when andrew panner literally it was definitely a tease i will just get there because in my notes my voluminous notes, as I said, like Jeffrey

Laurie said, I actually have on here, like, how do you feel about being dead wrong about Andrew Painter and, and, and, you know, acknowledging that you were dead wrong? How high up on your list has he risen in terms of most important people in your life? Cause I, it's gotta be pretty high. I would just like to clarify. I believe, I believe the tier that I put Andrew Painter in was the,

would not be a fan of, but would 100% talk myself into tier. And what's, what's, what's smart about my execution and the situation, James is as I protected myself on the podcast, what's what's what's smart about my execution in this situation james you've protected yourself yeah is as i protected myself uh on the podcast but on twitter i'm not sure everyone really realized what i said on the podcast so not on twitter no one's a bigger andrew painter fan

than than me um but yes he is like uh i i it's weird. I love Mick Gable, and I think Mick Gable, I can't wait for his debut and all that stuff. But I think Andrew Painter is almost in a different class, which is insane because I thought Mick Gable was the guy. And I still think he's going to be a really good pitcher. But the problem with Mick Gable is that he doesn't have great command of his stuff. The stuff's really good on paper and good rising fastball and all that stuff.

I think his fastball as it plays is a better pitch, but Painter can just command four pitches like it's almost nothing and effortlessly throws 100 miles an hour. It's just – yeah, he's going to be his best. And now you have the Lakewood starting rotation of the new baby aces, and these guys actually are good. Oh, buddy. Nick Gable.

Oh, buddy. Andrew Painter. Griff. Griff McGarry. Oh, my God. I mean, we're turning it at Ben Brown. Griff McGarry, by the way, I finally found my correct comp for him. James, are you ready for it?

It's all I'm waiting for, buddy. I mean, I'm glad that we're starting the podcast. That's what I'm saying. We haven't even gotten to the actual Philadelphia Phillies players yet, but we're talking Griff McGarry. So this is about his on-brand. We talked about ourselves, you, and then

us for the first 15 minutes or 12 minutes, 13 minutes, and then we talked about prospects. this might be the most on-brand beginning to i have a podcast we've ever had so griff mcgary's comp officially is spencer strider of the brace that's my that'd be great i would love spencer's rider and i need them to start moving up faster so he can join this bullpen as soon as possible and then transition back into being a starter but nevertheless james um high hopes night was

awesome we will have another one in august i don't know if we've completely locked down the date yet um but uh it's always fun seeing the people that have been at high hope stuff before seeing them again it's like seeing old friends. And then whenever we see new people, it's always special. Shout out to Matt, who flew out from Georgia. Yes, dude, that was unbelievable. And it was cool. He got to see his family. They live in Connecticut now and ended up getting like an extra week at home

because of it. He was coming up anyway the next week. So it was pretty cool. It was a cool story to hear. Yeah, that's what high hopes does man it brings people together it's super cool enjoys occasions all while drinking miller light yeah lisa and michael like we got mother mother son combos coming to hang out um fathers and sons i mean we signed baseballs for a trophy case which was like the most and so my man uh tweeted at us like

move over mickey mannell here come jack fritz and james elton i'm like that might be the most ridiculous sentence anyone has ever said to me in my life like it's so how to devalue your your baseball card collection any piece of of whatever you hand us and we sign it it's it's automatically worth less um so yeah it was really to your point it was it was really just humbling and super cool and um uh we really appreciate we'll have more nights um other events too coming up and shout out to miller light for being able to make all this happen miller lights for phil's wins has been phenomenal. People getting involved like way more than I expected. Like we talked about last time, it has been great.

So keep it coming. We love Miller Lights. Celebrate responsibly. And we'll talk a little bit more about Miller Light later as they made all that happen. So it's super cool. We had a great time. All right, let's actually talk Phillies because, you know, we probably should. They did win nine straight and uh

even though today was just a disaster um should we start with with the bad of today and then get to good stuff in general or or do you want to start good I always like to start good James look at you buddy all right uh I thought Friday a really impressive win, you know, a game where they were up and then kind of felt like it was slipping away, blew it, and then Reese hits the homer and gives him the lead. You know, I think Reese didn't have a great day today, but had the two homers in that game. Homer, the game before,

has kind of been hitting the ball to the opposite field a little bit. Let's start there. Do you think Reese is potentially about to go on a tear? What are you seeing? Oh, what's he batting? Like heading into today, I think he was 409 in the last week. So, yeah, I mean, it's going to be one of those things where one of the guys that we have trusted for a while, they will go cold,

and it's on guys like Hoskins and guys like Castellanos to kind of step up and and figure it out so um yeah I mean I mean this is the kind of player that Reese has been in his career um I think he's been actually worse than I thought he was going to be uh heading into this year because what made the beginning of Reese's um year so frustrating was that I thought last year he finally got to a point where I thought he was going to be consistent and and he was doing a really good job of thinking center right center and I felt like he was finally putting it all together again really for the first time since 2017 you know I know last year he had like the

0 for 34 streak in there but if you took that out i mean his stats were really good really consistent and and i thought that heading into this year we'd see the real reese but seems like he's back to doing the whole bad three weeks good for two weeks bad bad good bad like roller coaster season and i guess that's just kind of the player he is so it seems like he's heading into one of those good restreets good restretches and you know i i just think that i've said this i don't know a million times this podcast but the beauty of this lineup was always that you would have those guys get cold and other guys would heat up and there's enough talent

one through nine that it should be able to sustain you for long periods of success. And, you know, if JT cools down, Schwartz cools down, there's Hoskins. So I feel good about Hoskins right now. And I think it's funny. It's like with Reese, I feel like the moment that everyone's out on Reese, it's like, oh, here's a stretch where I'm going to hit seven homers and trade Reese. Oh, no. Yep.

Yep. Yep. Yep. That's what it does. That's what he does. So I'm in on Reese. I think the hot streak is about to be here. And we know that much like Schwarz, much like Harper, that when Reese gets hot, he can carry

this team for a little bit. Yeah, no doubt. And I think that's the beautiful thing. And I might have said this last pod, too with Harper where it just feels like he might never not be hot this season like everyone else will fluctuate and you know obviously June Schwerber is a beautiful thing and we expect that to continue but you know Schwerber will have his down games again hopefully Castellanos gets hot obviously and you know Reeves getting hot, like we were talking about before, where other guys can kind of cool off and go back and forth.

But Bryce, I didn't check. I think it's probably lower because he didn't do much today. But when I looked up early in the game, and he says he's batting.322, I'm just like, holy bleep, he's batting.322? This dude is batting.322 in tight for third did the same thing homers like right i i did the same thing i was at i was at uh my dad's brewery and i just like turned around and i looked at his stats real quick and i was like he's betting 322 you know i was like we're witnessing we're

witnessing like some special special all-time Philly stuff with Bryce. Yeah, 322 while being third in the league and homers are fourth or whatever it is. It really is special. Let's get to someone else who I think has kind of started to really heat up and homered again at High Hopes Night. Thank you for helping getting us victory, played a role, and just seems to be settling in. helping getting us victory played a role um and just seems to be settling in you know obviously we'll cross the dd gene bryson stott bridge whenever you know we we come to it down the road

but um you know there's a while before that happens what do you think about stoddy you know is he is he kind of settling into someone we can trust to you know be an everyday player this season because i think just because i think that a lot of people to you know be an everyday player this season because i think just because i think that a lot of people and you know we didn't but a lot of people early on this season would would say there was absolutely no chance that could happen well it's honestly it's one of those like thank god that he said that he's that he's doing this um because i just didn't want to deal with another phillies Brossett that came up and was not good. And honestly, it's honestly a good kind of reminder that these guys are young.

They're going to come up. They're going to struggle for a little bit. I think it was maybe like three weeks ago, I think I said, like about how, you know, Bobby Witt was starting to get going. Julio Rodriguez was starting to get going Julio Rodriguez was starting to get going after they were just as brutal as Bryson was for the first um you know uh portion of the season they got going and it's like all right well now it's kind of Bryson's turn you know those guys are higher pedigree I guess prospects than Bryson but I always trusted he

was going to hit and um yeah it's going to be fascinating what happens when Gene comes back. And it's going to be interesting because if Boehm keeps struggling with how he's doing, I mean, the opening day lineup was Stott at third base, Didi at short, and Segura at second. So I think that's what they could do. I mean, Boehm, I guess he's been okay. It's just it's still annoying that he won't pull the ball in the air and drive it out of the ballpark. It's still a lot of slap hits.

So if Bryson keeps going, I mean, you can't take that bat out of the lineup. So he definitely looks like a guy that is kind of settling down, figuring out his role. You know, just having him in the 9-hole or 8-hole with Schwarber and the rest of the lineup about to turn over with him there, that's just a massive win. The fact that Bryson Stott, the top 30 prospect, can be their 8-ish, 9-hole hitter at this point is awesome.

What really plagued him early in the season was fastballs up, like power up. He just couldn't catch up, and he couldn't do damage with it. I think he's done a much better job with that. It looks like he's starting to feel the strike zone out more, which is what made him such a good minor league player. And some of the stuff that we saw in spring training was like he had a great ability to just spit on pitches if they're not where he thinks he can do damage on it. And it just really looks like the game's kind of slowing down for him,

which is massive. We're starting to see some pop. And he just looks way more comfortable. He seems like he's developed a bit of a two-strike approach. He looks just like Bryce when he does it. You know, there's no stride. It's just lean back and let your hands do the talking. So, yeah, I think Bryce has definitely settled into a role.

And if it comes down to Segura comes back, he obviously has the play. Stadi at third, Didi at short, and Segura at second. And it's actually been fascinating. Didi looks really good. Yeah, I mean, that play made today before the game got away, Segura at second. And it's actually been fascinating. Like, Didi looks really good. You know, Didi? Yeah, I mean, that play made today before the game got away, that running backwards over a shoulder catch was, like, one of the best defensive plays I feel like I've seen him make

in his entire time here. Yeah, and he's been, even the night before, he was really good defensively. And he's hitting really well, too. He's going on the opposite field, which is a great defense. Working at bats here and there. Oh, Deedee. Yeah, man. Yes, indeedy. Yes, indeedy.

Contract gear, you know? I know. One more year? Shut up. Alright, and look, to the point you were making, I mean, what a shocker that a young kid who's never played at the Major League level might take time to adjust to the major league level, like 99% of prospects. Look, he's going to struggle again more.

It's not going to be smooth all the way, but I do think he's starting to figure it out. And honestly, I hope that Mickey can kind of follow the same path here. I mean, three strikeouts today. Seems like he's definitely struggling with spin. But, you know, he obviously showed out in spring training, and you hope that he can kind of figure that out. But with the way that Bryson was struggling, I mean, if you told me even a week ago, or I guess more than a week ago at this

point, because obviously last Sunday was the walk-off. So if you told me a week and a half ago that Bryson, we'd be having this conversation about Bryson, I would have said you were crazy because he didn't look like he was ready for the major league level. A week and a half later now, we're talking about he's figured it all out. It's interesting. For such a

long season that baseball is, it can change very, very quickly. Also, the Phillies were eight games under.500. And now they were one over. Now they're back to.500. So, you know, I think there's a lot of pressure of, oh, well, Oduble's playing really well, so play him center field.

But I think they're doing the right plan right now and making sure Mickey does get at bats while also giving Oduble his fair shot as well. Yeah, especially because Mickey's doing the right things everywhere else. He's making the right decisions as a fielder. He's throwing to the right base, cutoff, and not making stupid – all the simple stuff that I know that that sounds stupid, tagging up in good situations like taking third the other night.

I mean, I know that's dumb, but that is stuff that Oduble has struggled with. I mean, let's be honest. So for a young player, you can still point to some positives and stuff too. All right, let's flip it over to the pitching side of things and obviously get to a little bit more negative. Not much to say about Zach Wheeler other than he's one of the five best pitchers in baseball probably and is awesome. Here's what I'll say to you, Jack, because I know it kills you because anyone who's

ever listened to this podcast or met you and talked fillies with you knows that you're not the biggest Kyle Gibson fan. But if the playoffs started today and it was Wheeler, Nola, Eflin, it was Wheeler, Nola, Eflin, boom. I'm starting Kyle Gibson over Ranger Suarez, and it's not even a question, Jack. I have way more confidence right now when Kyle Gibson takes the hill than when Ranger Suarez takes the hill. What do you say? It's very disappointing.

It's the truth. It's so sad. I guess I'll say I don't really have much confidence in either. Yeah, I'm not implying I think Kyle Gibson's a freaking, you know, Rocket Gibraltar or anything, but, you know, he's been solid, and Ranger's not. Yeah, it's just like he's the same. Honestly, him and Ranger are kind of the same picture.

Like, Ranger's last start, he did go seven innings and was pretty good. It's just like my frustration with Kyle Gibson, and I agree with you, like, on the surface. Like, if you just showed me the stats and you showed me the stuff, I'd be like, okay, that's a good fourth-fifth starter. The thing that frustrates me with Gibson is that it feels like when runners get on base, he panics. And it just seems like it always snowballs. It always, like, it can never just be, like, a normal get out of it and keep it moving. It has to, like, drain on. So that's my frustration with Gibby.

But, yeah, I mean, it's hard to argue with that at this point. And I guess I just don't know what to do with Ranger. Doesn't obviously doesn't look good. Jack, that was literally going to be my next question is obviously look, they don't have anyone to throw into the rotation right now. You know, we're excited about the Lakewood guys, but I mean, it's high a, we're talking about high a, they're not ready to pitch in the majors. Um, you know, they don't really have that. That's kind of thing we talked about coming in the season one of our concerns was the depth with the rotations the rotation has been great on the whole it's been

the biggest strengths of the team including the the lineup over the the whole of the season um but you know ranger's been tough and they don't have that depth to say, hey, let's try him in the bullpen where he was a freaking stud last year. And we have one guy who anyone trusts in there in the pen. Like, what do you think about the idea of Ranger going back to the pen if they can find a way to acquire another starter? Or if Bailey Falter comes up and turns out to be able to give you a five or six decent like where do you stand on that well i guess it comes down to this would you rather trade like what what's a smarter move for this team a montage trade uh or you know one of the trades for the controllable relievers that are actually good the alex lang's bednars um like which i guess which do you value more and i would

pretty much always say i value starters more even though i definitely want them to legitimately invest in in um bullpen options um this year like i speaking of that real quick i'll get back to the other thing like i i have no interest in going after like an Ian Kennedy this year. You know what I mean? Like, like go get me a real same. A hundred percent. Same. Like, no,

no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Go get me a real guy. Like don't trade for frigging Alex Cologne or something. All right. Yes. Can I just, I'm just going to, I'm just going to put it out there. And this is,

this is strictly guessing, but can I, can I make a prediction right now on this podcast? Yeah. I mean, of course. What? June 12th.

Can you imagine if I was like, no, Jack, keep it to yourself. Nobody wants to hear it. That's part, part of the bit, but you're right.

The Phillies before the trade deadline will trade for martin perez if i could just i love martin perez yeah it's like he's been really good in texas well very good last start where he completely blew up and screw my fantasy team but yeah i'm i'm fantasy too but he's been a great pick up too oh i picked him up off the wire so he's been great for me that's probably why i have more fondness towards him, because I give him nothing to get him, and he's been awesome for me. Yeah. Anyway, he just seems like a classic.

He's having a really good year on a one-year contract. He's a ranger, so I anticipate Dabrowski doing business down there. So that's my early prediction on who will be affiliated. Martin Perez. So if that happens, credit me. Credit. But the Ranger thing is interesting. You know, I don't think, like, putting him in the bullpen just fixes everything.

You know, I know he was good there last year, but, like, his mechanics are off. And it's interesting because last year everything felt so easy to him. And his outings this year have just been slogging along. So I don't hate the idea of putting Valter in if it continues this way because I do believe in Billy Valter, and I think he can be a good pitcher. And I think he can go on a run here and help his team. So I would give it a little bit more time you know because Ranger did just go seven innings his last start and he's been weird

it's like two good starts one blow up two good one blow up so it's not like been a total disaster season it's just so tough because we saw a 1-5 ERA last year easy seven innings it felt like everything he started um really good changeup off his fastball. It feels like the big adjustment on Ranger this year has not been chasing that fastball, or chasing that changeup away. But the big problem for me with Ranger is that the fastball location is just off.

I mean, this is what we talked about with Nola for two and a half years, where it was like, I don't care what the strikeout numbers are. I don't care about any of that stuff. His fastball command's off, and that's why we're not seeing the results that we thought we'd see. So he's got to kind of figure that out. I keep thinking that he's getting off plane. I keep thinking he keeps falling off too hard to the third base side.

And if he can just get more focused on finishing towards jt and throwing to jt i just think that would help him the most but um yeah it's frustrating especially because you anticipated heading this year ranger kind of being your number two you know that's how we were with aaron nola that aaron nola was going to be the number three or four because ranger was that good last year i mean bill james had him in his top ten of starting pitchers heading into this year. It's something they definitely need to get back on track. I just don't see it.

Honestly, I've never gotten too high on Ranger this year because it's never felt easy. Yeah, I think it's a really good way to put it. It's never felt easy. It always feels like he's laboring. It always feels like it's a really good way to put it. It's never felt easy. It always feels like he's laboring. It always feels like it's a struggle. And look, he's one of those guys where his stuff just isn't good enough for him to not have that pinpoint command. That's the only way it's going to work. He's not going to be able to compensate for a lack of that with just filthy, unhittable stuff. So, um, yeah, it's definitely something to watch and something that's concerning because he's been, you know, nerve wracking. Um, I know much to talk about in the bullpen, you know, the cable injury, we'll see where that goes. Um, you know,

fingers crossed. So I don't think anyone wants to be a closer. We've talked about that on this pod, but also, um, they need him. They don't have good pictures out there and he's at least decent. Um, all right. I have a couple other, uh, random things, but we'll do that after the take bag. So take bag in a sec. But, again, one more thank you to Miller Lite for the Miller Lite Liberty landing night at the ballpark. We had such a great time, and there will be more of them. But also check out the Miller Lite Bar of the Week.

It's a great one, actually. It's Milk Boy in Philly 11th and Chestnut. It is an awesome place. I've been there a few times. It's a music venue and just a really fun place right in the heart of the city. So they have some sweet MillerLite deals as well. Enjoy $3 MillerLite drafts from Philly's Games, which is awesome. And aside from Philly's Games, again games again they have music an impressive lineup of local and nationally recognized musicians um also

um this is awesome we have a 50 gift card from milk boy hey from milk boy to give away uh to a lucky listener a pod listener can i take? Can I take it or no? Honestly, I thought about, can I get it? And the answer is no, Jack, neither of us can. No, Milk Boy's a cool place. I'm actually super jealous. That's what I'm saying. I know. Milk Boy's awesome. It's really cool. I really like Milk Boy. So pod listener can win. Go to 94wip.com and click on the contest page to register. All right, Fritzie. Miller Lite, by the way page to register all right fritzy uh miller light by the way it's miller time all right uh fritzy it's miller time to get to the take bag yes um

dude it's funny uh so so friday night uh jill and i went out to dinner for the first couple innings of the game and we sat down and i think i think as my butt hit the seat schwarber uh went yard um and like this guy couldn't get the table away got the notification same same time i did and it was just it was one of those pure bliss moments where it's like wow did you lock eyes? Yeah, 100%. We locked eyes. Love it. We shared a moment. So, yeah, it's just like it feels like the city. There's nothing funnier to me when the city goes from zero interest in the baseball team to we're back to 08 days. Oh, yeah, buddy.

Oh, it's so quick. It's so good. Oh, yeah, buddy. Oh, it's so quick. It's so good. And good it should be because, you know, the Phillies deserve to have not had people pay attention for a while because they have been bad, and they deserve to not have people invested in them.

But when they're good, you know, we should be there because they're super fun, and, you know, I know it's a rare occurrence. Well, yeah, but you know what's interesting about it? It's interesting because the last couple of years they've been in first place deep into the season, but no one really believes. Yeah, totally. They were in first in August in 2018.

The Reese left field team was in first in 2018 in August. It's unbelievable. Anyway, what's next, Fertzi? I'm not worried, I guess, but man, like I just need Castellanos to, he's breaking my heart. He's breaking my heart. It really is. I mean, it must crush yourself.

I don't even want to talk about it, dude. I don't want to talk about it. Every pot. I don't even bring it up. I, I purposefully, I purposefully don't talk about it because it, it hurts. Like what is going on? Is it Ben Simmons's house? Like, what's the deal?

I'm not a big... I believe in... I don't necessarily believe in superstition, but I definitely do some superstitions. I'm not exactly superstitious. I'm a little superstitious. That's perfect. But what's going on with this dude, man?

It's crazy. Well, especially since they gave him a second round pick to sign him you know especially around the most important part you're right yeah yeah i mean just think about it like we could we keep getting kate and wallace in the second round we could be getting peyton graham in the second round we could be getting uh ian ritchie jr in the second round but we had to sign this, and he can't even hit it anymore. So I'm just kidding, mostly. But it really does kill my soul that we don't have a second-round pick. Like, there are so many studs in the second round the Phillies could take.

Because, like, what sucks, James, is that every guy that I wanted at 17 is now flying up draft boards. It's just so tough having the eye for prospects. Oh, it must be. You feel that too, though. Oh, I get it, dude. I get it. I know it.

Here's the thing. You just got to trust that Brian Barber will pluck out the gems in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth round so that it won't matter. Think about it that way, Jack. I'll try. But I was really starting to get excited about, fourth, fifth, sixth round so that it won't matter. Think about it that way, Jack. I'll try, but I was really starting to get excited about Caden Wallace in the second round and Peyton Graham. Oh, trust me. I know you were, buddy.

Yeah, so listen. I can't wait. Listen, you tell me the time, and we will get really deep into draft conversation, okay? Are we having a draft party? Yeah, I'll let you know, buddy.? I think, are we having a draft party? Yeah, I'll let you know, buddy. I'll let you know.

I feel like we should be having a draft party this year. Hey, if you want to take the reins on that and make that happen, I may or may not show up. Nah, you'll be there, pal. Anyway, your guy, Gazianos, who cost me a second-round pick. It's tough, man. It's a tough scene. Really needs to get going.

Tough scene. What's next? I feel like you're, you're, you're rushing me. I am. I absolutely am. I can't die.

I ate it. It kills me. It kills me. Thank God. I will say I have Schwarber on my fantasy team. So at least I've, you know, gotten some joy out of that as well.

Though the first two months of hanging onto him were tough. hey tough times don't last tough people do yes you're right jack good anyway so i'm moving on from you being dead wrong about what is next do you know next like that means after that one okay okay. Okay. Time to lock in. Yeah. Because this is, this is me. The most important. Should I start doing my, I have to wake up soon bit. Is it,

are we at that point of the podcast yet? Cause you know, it is late on a Sunday night and I have to work tomorrow. I'm just saying. Wow. I didn't, I didn't take you for a Sunday. Scary's guy.

Um, Oh buddy. Um, okay. Not about going to work about waking up. That's it. Ah, you know what you do to work, about waking up. That's it. Ah, you know what you do? No, let me tell you.

This is what you do. You just get up. It's wild. You just sit up and you get out of bed. Thanks, buddy. That is some really deep, deep, deep, insightful, thoughtful help. Thank you. You go run nine miles and everything's okay did i say what's next yet

well i'm trying to get there because if i didn't what's next you keep talking i'm trying to get there anyway um what i'm about to say is probably the most important thing that we've said with podcast tonight and it's it's maybe i don't want to put too much pressure on tomorrow night oh my god but how jesus how this team bounces back tomorrow is the single most important thing of the entire season i actually i actually do a point i agree with you i think you're getting slightly over but i i agree i think i think tomorrow is massive Like you can't just go off. Because then people are going to be like, oh, same old Phillies. You got to come out. I know it's Sandy Alcantara.

I know it's that. I got it. I know it. But you just, I need to see it. I can't. One loss is fine. It was always going to happen. They got to bounce back tomorrow night and not let this kind of avalanche,

you know, they got to, they got to figure it out. So especially against the Marlins who, you know, for most teams, they would look forward to it, but we all know that facing the Marlins is like facing the 27 Yankees. So, you know, playing the Marlins tomorrow and, and, you know, bouncing back and getting a win would, I really think help allay a lot of really think, help allay a lot of fear. Wow, allay a lot of fear. That's pretty good. You like that?

Let me ask you something. This is the last thing I have in the take bag. Good, good. What do you think Girardi's reaction was when they were winning nine straight? What do you honestly think he was doing? was when they were winning nine straight like what do you honestly think he was doing i think he was saying i think he is saying wow they bleeping hated me they hated playing for me that i just what i did this is if he's being real with himself you never know what people lie themselves but if he's being real he's like, what I did there clearly wasn't working. And I'm sure there's part of him that's rationalizing it saying like, oh, it's partially

luck. This team should be better than we were playing, you know, blah, blah, blah. This happened, that happened, whatever. I'm sure he's finding ways to rationalize it because it's hard for people to just say, yeah, I failed. But a big part of him has to be saying, wow, like this is hard to argue with right here. Yeah, I think there's definitely there has to be a little bit of doubt that creeps in like, wow, was I really the problem? And given how much fun they're having, I mean, they call themselves the Phillies daycare, the young, the young. I know it's so great. But yeah, I just feel like he definitely was sitting there saying i told him the bats were gonna turn it around you know what i mean like he said that maybe a million times like i told him

the bats were gonna get going so um it was wild uh even the saturday night i know they they won for nothing um but it felt like if gerardi made any of those decisions they backfire but the fact that it was toms that made those decisions it was like ah it's gonna work out and everything's gonna be okay um did not work out today but it's a uh well nothing worked out today to be fair no no but it's just a minor it's a minor roadblock in a major comeback so oh i love that i love that all right before we get to top five couple quick hitters i want to throw at you. One, do you think people will be as mad tomorrow at Rob Thompson for pitching a position player as they were at Gabe Kabler?

Yes or no? No. No. I didn't think so. Stubbsy. He did hit 88 on the gun, which was inspiring. He was one of the best pitchers. He was one of the best outings of the day.

He was the only Phil's reliever that didn't walk a batter today. Yeah. All right. I would like to apologize to everyone for taking us 45 minutes into this podcast to address second base veerling, Jack, in the building for it, no less. Your thoughts? I loved it. It was one of those things that i feel like smart

teams do um and it makes me think you know i think rob thompson um has his own feel but i do think that he is kind of listening to the analytics department more i think he's listening to everything involved um you know advanced scouts And I just like the idea of, okay, we have a lefty on the mound. This is kind of an interesting kind of wrinkle in the lineup in the middle of June, semi-dog days-ish of the summer. Let's put a little spark in there. Let's put Bierling at second base. And like second base is one of those positions where, I mean, turning two is, is definitely the biggest thing that they would have to deal with.

Um, but you've seen a good amount of teams in the past, um, put bad defenders there. I always think about the Brewers when they put Moose there for their big run, I think in 2019. Um, but it's something that smart teams has done in the past. So yeah, if you have a lefty on the mound and you want to get veering in there and you know, you want to keep Oduble slash Moniak in center field, you know, they might've figured something out there. It was, it was a cool, super nerdy baseball moment for, I feel like a lot of people out

there. All right. Top five it up. All right. All right. Top five it up. All right. So what I have tonight is the top five things I am currently most thankful for in Philly's land.

I guess it's Thanksgiving in June. Okay. Number five is June Schwarber. Very creative. Very creative of you. Is that sarcastic? Yeah, a bit of a male in one, but go ahead. Well, I don't really have anything else. Like I had like little ideas, but not.

I forget you buddy. It's been a long weekend. You did a lot of running. You probably need to go to bed as much as I do. Anyway, the fifth thing I'm most thankful for is June Schwarber. Cause it is, even today he hit two balls. Oh, they were both like look like and both again, that thing where he kind of like almost goes to his knee.

It's unbelievable to watch, man. It is. Four is a foolish CBP. I mean, this weekend was really cool. A lot of people there today. Saturday was was electric. And I thought Friday night was really cool. Like when Schwarber hit the home run,

it felt like he was hitting into a sea of red. And it just seems like the city's more in on this team than the years past, even though years past the records may have been better at this point. I think people believe in this team more, and I think they're going to go nuts if this team continues to progress here. And that's why tomorrow night or tonight, if you're listening to this podcast is, is simply put the most important game of the season.

Number three is Bryce Harper, who I think I have to be on all of these lists. Yeah. He should probably just be one, but I get it. Yes. Again, just now he's just flicking balls to left field.

You know, he's not striking out. I feel like, well, he struck out today. But I feel like his strikeout rate has just plummeted. And, like, we are witnessing a special Phillies career. And I don't want to take that for granted. I think we were talking actually at High Hopes tonight. Like, we're about to see his 300th home run of the season.

And there's a realistic shot. I mean, realistic, more than realistic, I would say. And I can't wait for it. But we're going to see Bryce's 500th home run in a Phillies uniform. That is special, man. That is a special thing. And we're going to see Bryce's 500th in a Phillies uniform. It'll be the first one that we have seen since Schmitty.

And I think for a lot of my generation and and yours as well because you weren't really old enough i mean i thought you were in high school when schmidt his 500th but you said that you didn't know you didn't remember it um like it's gonna be it's gonna be a really cool moment and i already can't wait like i always think one of HK's most underrated calls, I would say, is Oh, his 500 is top tier. No, no, no. Ease up. Ease up. I know the Belmont was on

Saturday, but hold on. Is it bedtime? Or not yet? I'm saying that I think one of HK's most underrated calls was Tommy's 400th. I think it was a great hk call no i think that's really cool buddy i'm happy i'm happy you revealed that to the world um all right that's that's good that's good jack all right how much more can i extend this i don't know number two i can't number two i thought. I forgot. No, that was number three, pal. You had two more. That was number three.

Number two thing I'm currently most thankful for in Philly's land is that I'm not dead. True. I did want to see the Phillies make a playoff run in my life again. And there have been many points where I didn't think it was impossible. But I'm thankful to be here. And I'm ready for the long haul. And number one, James, the single most thing I'm most thankful for in Philly's land right now is that we have ourselves a baseball team for the summer

because it was looking like we were about to head towards a possible under 500 season again with this baseball team. But they gave ourselves a summer and they pulled together. They figured it out. They went on a run and now it's like, all right, prove to me you're good. I think the nine game winning streak was to get them over 500. They lost today back to 500. Now it's about go be a good team. Yep, win series. It's not about these long, I mean, these long streaks are nice and it'd be nice if the Braves ever lost,

but it's about winning series. It's about being consistent. It's about week after week after week, the grind. That's why it's the dog day of the summer. So yeah, I'm with you, buddy. I'm excited. This is fun. All right, speaking's the dog day of the summer. So yeah, I'm with you, buddy. I'm excited. This is fun. Um, all right.

Speaking of excited one last, uh, shout out. Um, I got a, uh, a chance to listen to a fair amount of the radio this weekend. Um, had to go make an emergency trip to target today for a bed skirt. Cause it was tonight is Zoe's first night in her big girl bed. So shout out to Zoe crushing it, went to bed no problem so far jack so you know we're in a good that is an exciting move by the way like going from yeah little bed to big bed now i went from little bed she's very excited i went from little bed to bunk bed even though i was an only child but just in case i had friends over i had a bunk bed and and then i went to

and then i went to big bed the big bed the first night it's like wow i really am an adult now yeah she's loving it it's a very very cool thing um but i got to listen to a lot of radio and and i think the guys they brought in this year you know born and durbin and kratz and um and stocker have done a great job, but man, like Scott and LA are just so good together. It's just so nice to hear them. Like they just, it just works. So shout out to those guys. They're, they're the best. And it was nice to, you know, get an opportunity to catch them when they're, you know, less opportunities, um, to catch them. So I just ran out out brand new take to end the podcast with scott and la hey you know what you know what they're so good that i don't care i'll say it i'll say it over

and over again i at least once a year i need to say it all right you got any final thoughts can we go you're just gonna rip me and to extend this you're gonna do the one more thing it's like my daughter like zoe will be like oh i gotta go she'll be uh i need something else i'll be like what do you need she's like well um i'm like you don't need anything anyway go ahead what do you got you have a final thought i got nothing man i think you just wrapped up my thoughts in your little zoe rant um i'll make sure i replay that rant uh for zoe as she gets older so she can know how little you appreciate her wanting to be around her father i appreciate that but it's good yes that's that's the takeaway from that uh my final thought is again thank you to everyone who came out for ios night it was really a thrill and

we had the best time we're looking forward to the next one and whatever else we have planned so we will uh let you know as it all happens and And we'll definitely give more time notice for the next one too. So let's go win the most important game of the season. Is it just the season or is it like the most important game in years since you have won the competition? Since the Astros. Love it. Love it.

All right. So the most important game since 2012. Tonight. Tomorrow night. Tonight for a lot of people listening to this, that will be very exciting. Oh, hold on. Actually, I do have one final thought really quick. Have you noticed how intense that Rob Thompson says kills it?

Oh, it's great. Oh, it's probably my favorite thing in the history of sports. Kills it. Like he talks about relievers coming in and killing it. Oh, dude, it's like that's a baseball guy. So that's my final thought. Total baseball. And he definitely sounds Canadian too, which is hilarious.

When you said that like a boot, I was like, oh, wow. It's great. It's great. All right. Beat the Marlins, man. Win the freaking series against the Marlins and certainly win this most important game since 2012 tomorrow. And we'll be back after that.

He's for himself. See you later