High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - THIS TIME NEXT WEEK...PHILS

Episode Date: March 25, 2021

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz get excited for the Phillies with the season only being a week away. The guys preview the season talking pitching, the lineup, general concerns, win total predictions, and much more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Hot Cloud Storage on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the high hopes podcast. It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Phillies on radio.com and sports radio, 94 W Y P. Yo! Yo! It is another edition of the High Ops Podcast.

And Jack Fritz, the next time you and I are talking to each other through these microphones on this podcast will be after the Phillies have beaten the Braves on opening day. Let's go, baby! Yeah, buddy. This time next week, we will be discussing... I mean, shoot your shot right now, James. What do you think? I'm feeling a nice 6-2 Phil's win.

Seven one-run innings from Aaron Nola. The bullpen will give up one. 6-2 is solid. I can see 6-2. They're winning. They're winning on opening day. Call Jett. They're totally winning on opening day.

Um, I wish it was not an April fool's day. That kind of, you know, causes me a little bit of pause. Um, really? Yeah.

Yeah. I got a weird thing about April fool's day. Like, I don't know. I don't feel great about things happening on April fool's day. So, um, you know,

I don't want to be, this is a real thing with you. You actually like care. You know, I'm not, I'm not very superstitious, but I am a little stitious. Michael Scott.

I don't know. For the injuries that have already happened, I'm very scarred with this Phillies team. I am definitely getting my hopes up again. I just don't like the season starting on April Fool's Day. I just don't. You know what hurts, James? Actually, I think I prefer them to lose on opening day if we're gonna if we're gonna be serious because of april fool's day because because that way i can be like well if they were fool's day so like the opposite's gonna

happen or whatever so um like i just i don't i basically i don't want to get fooled again you're taking it good job you got the who in here you got michael scott you're just a pop culture machine name someone name someone more in just a pop culture machine. Name someone. Name someone more in tune with pop culture than me. I can't. Why would I even try? Why would I even try? Yeah.

Look, I think having any sort of belief that April Fool's Day is different than any other day is foolish. Yeah. Well, listen. In April Fool's day terms. I think that's the foolish thing. You're talking, you're talking, you're talking to a guy that sat in the same chair for every game of the playoffs in 2008.

No, I've seen you. I saw you during the Eagles Superbowl run, like have a spot in the corner of a studio that you had to stand in. Like, I trust me. I know how weird you are. I know.

Well, I just want, I want the record to show. I was right. Both times. Once I, once I found, studio that you had to stand in like i trust me i know how weird you are i know well i just i want i just want i want the record to show i was right both times once i once i found i mean you can you can laugh you can say it's weird but uh i'm two and oh when i find the spot so um even you can make fun of me you can laugh but the the results the results i mean i'm two and oh in high school playoffs and i'm two and oh when I find the spot in Philly championships. Yeah, it's hard to argue with that. No, it is. Dude, I just don't like the omen of the Philly season starting on April Fool's Day. I think it's not something that I'm looking forward to, and I hope they lose.

Well, I mean, it's not just their season. I hope they lose. It's not just their season starting on April Fool's. Like, everyone else is, too. Are the Braves screwed because their season is starting on April Fool's Day, too? I don't know. The Braves have magnets. Everyone knows it.

They get big hits off us all the time, and they get lucky. So, yeah, dude, I do think that they have the April Fool's people on their side. So, whatever. Listen. Listen. Listen. To each his own, okay? All right?

I'm just saying it's a little inside my brain. Yeah. Well, thank God that we got inside that brain. I think that what people are realizing now is you don't want to go too far inside this brain. This is enough. Well, I've been talking to Jill about it. This is like the lemon, I think. No, I've been talking to Jill a lot about this actually recently.

She wonders why I get along so well with dogs and children. And I think it's because I'm on the same wavelength as them. That makes sense. The same brain. We're all on the same level of intelligence. Yeah. Zoe might be smarter than you. She definitely is a deeper thinker, that's for sure. Smart kid.

She's sharp. Well, she doesn't know anything about baseball, okay? True. You got her beat. You will never, ever be able to have on her is what she's a she's a lefty oh you're lefty you raised a loser congratulations oh it's so dumb come on buddy you're you're so jealous right now you're like i could have made it if i were lefty how many times have you had that thought oh how many times have you Jack Fritz thought if I were a lefty I could have made it um at least a hundred times yeah like no doubt about it I mean like Jamie Moyer once told me to calm down and in my head I said I throw harder than

you Jamie like you calm down that's actually a true story I'm not lying i know it is yeah yeah i was i was i was pitching and i so full disclosure i played uh travel ball with jamie moyer's son and uh i was pitching on at the university of delaware's mound or whatever like at their field and um you know i think a guy made an error behind me and like i was pretty mad which you're not supposed to do but i'm like listen i was i was a lot like jake arietta um and i just was not happy about it and uh he came down and and and told his son to tell me to calm down and my first reaction was not like oh i should listen to the guy that's in major leagues my first my first reaction was i throw harder than you jamie you calm down again we're getting really deep into the jack fritz psyche i know i know let's let's

talk some phillies quickly we're gonna we're gonna do a little some season preview stuff we're gonna dive into that but quickly i think i think before we get into that we just have to to acknowledge the elephant in the room um the what's the word i'm looking for travesty yes that why not mick is over for now for now uh i'm bummed i'll be back i believe it he'll be back he'll he will thrive but i'm bummed mick we love you yes um i'm bummed too Mick, we love you. Yes. I'm bummed too, but like, I don't know. The way that Girardi talked about him, I was like, you know, I'm not that bummed because the way, like, the way Girardi, like Girardi is basically like, hey, when you come up here next time,

like you're our guy. And I don't know. That just gave me butterflies inside. So it's just, it's definitely not a, it's a minor setback for a major comeback. That's the official position of the High Host podcast. And, you know, he's going to go to the alternate site, face some Phillies pitching. They don't have terrible minor league pitching anymore,

so he should get good competition there. And thank God that Adam Haisley and Roman Quinn are back, so hopefully a certain someone does not make the team who is now bad. Someone has not been good. Oh, but I was told. Oh, he's so great. Oh, he looks great. Oh, he's so healthy.

He's back. Oh, wow. Okay. Well, what happened? Where is he? Thank you. Yes. Mr. Mr. 222.

And also like they would have to create a 40 man roster spot to get him on there. Like, honestly, honestly, it would be a dumb thing to put him on the 40 man roster for being that later. But that is an interesting conundrum they have because you figure Kinsler Watson like they have multiple guys. Well, I don't know. I don't think Watson's going to make it. OK, well, Kinsler will make it. The point is there are guys who they're going to need to already clear a spot or two prior to Oduble. Yeah. Yeah.

So I don't think it's worth the 40-man roster spot. So yeah. Yeah. I'm glad that Haseley and Quinn are back. But yeah. Why not Mick? He'll be back up hopefully and and um when he does come back up i just i'm really like i know this is sounds whatever i get it but like i'm already

excited for like 26 year old mickey moniak like just think about think about how good he looks now there's something else i know but dude i know i know i know but think about like in three years how much better he's going to be. Like, they have something here. They have something here. And we said it last podcast, whatever, but he changed the narrative this spring around him. Like, we were believers in Mickey Moniak.

We thought he was starting to do some good things down in the minor leagues. But he changed the narrative around him in spring training this year. And legitimately, he should continue to get better. Theoret legitimately, he should continue to get better. Theoretically, he should continue to get better. He should continue to get stronger, add power, already play pretty good defense. And, you know, I just think that 26-year-old Mickey Money acts to be a good player for this team. Yeah.

I love him. I'm hopeful. I love him. I'm rooting for him. I haven't gotten to 26 yet, but I appreciate you. All right. Let's do some season preview stuff. Quickly, before we do, I just want to check. Are there any podcasts

you have to leave to go guest on before we finish? Do we have a hard out or something, as we say in radio terms? Jack's a big star! I love his podcast! I't don't don't get more invites for me you know i already i i just i you know i i like high hopes listeners and and we have you know created a community here those guys have started podcasts you know there's a couple

podcasts i've been on that are high hopes podcasts although uh the one that i was on last calling it our podcast tree are we like a coaching tree listen it's it's dynamic but uh the one i was but now now i will say the one that i was on last night um they claimed that they were the original mickey moniak podcast and i said uh i almost hung up i literally okay yeah ballsy move i was was like, I mean, dude, we were talking to a right hitter. I mean, this is ridiculous, but no, I don't have any podcasts to go on.

Um, why don't you take your jealousy somewhere else? I'm proud of you. You said, no, you sound great. You sound like you're handling this well. All the best for you.

It's all I want in this world. Oh, that's for Jack. Um, all right, let's get into it. Um, let's start with with and we'll get into to what like eventually what we think the record's gonna be and all that stuff but like

off the top just the fact that we were recording this thursday night march 25th jack one week literally one week from today the phillies play a baseball game go yeah and it's like you know uh 60 games was such a freaking tease man like like honestly and this this might be the most blasphemous thing i've said on this podcast ever but but i can't wait for the first back-breaking home run. Just to have that feeling back in my life. What is wrong with you? No, but come on. Just to recap already, 10 minutes into the pod, whatever,

we've got you saying you want them to lose on opening day, and you can't wait for the first gut-punch loss. This is great. But it's because it'll be back right i mean that the the feeling of baseball and like oh my god you know this sucks but i love that they're back like give me the brandon workman home run to starling marty i mean let me let me let me feel those feelings again like honestly like i don't i i just ready freeman is listening right now and he's like don't worry i won't take

long pal he said challenge he said challenge accepted exactly exactly no but it's like just to have that feeling back like the feeling i don't like like baseball is the sport for me that i feel and live and die with every single day like james the thing that i love the most about this podcast and that with everyone listening is that we all live and die with a baseball team that plays 162 games. Like, we try not to think that every game is like an Eagles game, but we can't help it. I mean, we can't help it.

And to have that feeling back, like, I'm watching Matt Moore get shelled right now, and I'm not happy about it. But you know what? You know what? Doesn't count, and spring training results only matter when they're good. They don't matter when the guy's getting shelled. He's probably working on a fifth pitch tonight or something. Thank you.

That is what I always say to you. He's throwing his cutter 50% of the time. He would never do that in a game, Jack. That's right. So just to have that feeling back, you know, 60 games was BS. If they went 162 last year, who knows that Phillies team. But it's so close to being back. There's going to be some fans in the stands.

My hope is that everything goes well, everyone's staying safe. And when this team's coming down the stretch run in September, we start to get some sellouts. And we start to get some sellouts. And we start to get, you know, the juices really flowing. Like, 8,800 fans is whatever. Like, sure, great, they're back. But, like, it's not real. I mean, it's not like real fans are back.

Like, real fans are back is 45K and rally towels and all that stuff. So, I can't wait. I genuinely can't wait to have something to look forward to pretty much every day. And once again, you know, I can't freaking stand that they have that off day after opening day. It is the dumbest thing in sports. And I know people say, well, you know, it's because if there's a rain out on opening day that they can move it to Friday. Well, there's rain outs all the time in baseball. How about we just set a normal schedule like it's how it's supposed to be.

So Thursday will be great. Friday will be awful. I'm excited for her to get here. Yeah. Yeah. We have long both agreed on the day off after opening day being the single dumbest thing of all time. If you're playing game the next day, then guess what?

The next day becomes opening day. Like you're playing that day anyway. Whatever. What are we doing? Like, who cares? I hate it. I hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Give me baseball and give me like eight in a row. Like, you know, give me, give me a chance to sink my teeth in and get rolling. To echo your thoughts, last season was a sham of a baseball season. It was a joke. We all know it. Anyone who cares about baseball knows it. Like, you know how I feel. I think the Dodgers have a massive asterisk next to their title.

But regardless of that, they're the best team. They're probably the best team we get in this year. Whatever. It's not even just about the end result of it. It's that it was just BS. It wasn't baseball season. It didn't feel real. Nothing felt real about it.

I feel like I have not really truly seen the phillies play in two years now instead of them one year so like or year and a half you know what i mean so um um so in uh and the fans too like you know that i thought i made leading into last season that i talked about like oh well you know you i watched like a a white socks game in in in june or a tigers game in june a Tigers game in June. There's no one there anyway. It's not going to be that weird. It was weird.

It sucked. It sucked having no fans in the stands. Even small amounts of fans makes a difference. Not having anyone run after a foul ball, it felt like a mausoleum in there. I think having fans back this season is going to be the single number one most exciting thing about this season and like you said I just hope that it grows and grows and grows and grows and grows listen you can call last year a sham

all you want but they sure they sure packed a lot of failure into that sham of a season well that's the other thing is and I know that you and I know neighbor Dan Shad's neighbor Dan you and neighbor Dan the only two people i know

who actually were excited for the 2020 video yearbook to come out oh it was electric well i'll give my i'll give my full review later how would you ever want to relive that like that i honestly think all together and and the the love of having the sport back when we weren't sure we were gonna have sports at all and all that. Like, that part was amazing. But, like, outside of that, last season was one of the worst baseball seasons ever. Like, you couldn't watch a game and enjoy it. We've talked about this.

But the whole season was ruined by that bullpen. Like, it wasn't fun. It was not a fun team to watch. Every night felt like it. You made the point before. And I felt it, Jack. When you said the thing about 162 games and living and dying with each one, before night i felt it jack when you said the thing about 162 games and living and dying with each one like i felt it to my core i'm like yes

i'm like that's that's what we do like we treat each game like it's the super bowl like i love this team i can't wait for all 162 last season by the end i was like beaten down i didn't even want to watch them i was like well i guess i to watch the Phillies today, but like, can't wait to see how they break my heart into a thousand pieces tonight. Last season sucked so hard. I am so ready to get that taste out of my mouth. Well,

in one week, you will, as Aaron Nola will take the mound and everything everything in our and then but then you'll probably get, you know, you'll get sad, but that's okay no no they're gonna be great world series let's go all right all right let's get into some stuff um what's your biggest concern with this team well you're asking me the wrong time i mean we're a week away from opening day nothing's gonna go wrong like it's perfect we're good like nothing like honestly i don't think anything's gonna go wrong um uh i did i did have in my own like take bag later or note

bag i'll say because we're not takes but i did i definitely took notice of your tweet a few days ago saying you've already talked yourself into a playoff run so that felt like we're back it felt right like everything was right in the world did it um like everyone makes such a big deal about center field and i guess i just don't care like every every team every baseball team has a hole right i mean it like no baseball team is built perfectly i mean the dodgers are probably the closest team to that um you know whatever like the phillies aren't a perfect baseball team and they they have a platoon in center field that they they're gonna have to figure out and they're they have a platoon in center field that they, they're going to have to figure out and they're going to get it right until

Mickey's ready. Um, and it's like the eight hole in the lineup. I mean, and they're not like terrible. I mean, I've actually been really like, I've liked what I've seen from Roman Quinn in the last couple of weeks.

Um, you know, I, obviously it's barring health, you know, you want them to be healthy and you can never fully bank on that. But just the fact that he talked to Kenny Lofton, I guess. Gail brought it up on The Athletic.

It was really interesting. Kenny! Yeah. That's my all-time favorite non-Phillies player of all time. I loved Kenny Lofton growing up. I freaking loved that dude. Yeah, former Philly great, Kenny Lofton. Yes, yes.

He's definitely on the list of random phillies that were like pretty decent here um but only here for a year uh but yeah like i like the mentality of where roman quinn is like roman quinn should not be a guy that is that is like down oh two or has two strikes on him and he's still trying to hit the ball 400 feet like roman quinn is a guy that just needs to put the ball in play and let his wheels do the talking. I mean, he is probably the fastest player in baseball, and if not, he's one of the three fastest players in baseball. Use that speed. The thing that's annoying about the analytics discussion,

and boy, if I could just ban the word launch angle and exit velocity from any conversation, I would probably be the happiest person on earth like no one no no like the people that rail against it don't even know what it is like and they they think they think like gabe capler was teaching these guys launch angle he was the manager all right he was not teaching them launch angle that's not what managers do my god it's so annoying it's like anytime it gets brought up, oh, launch angle and exit velocity. You don't even know what it means.

Stop talking about it. Either way, either way, like analytics, not every player needs to fit the same categories. There needs to be differentiation in baseball. I mean, that's what makes baseball great. There's some teams that beat you at small ball. There's some teams that beat you with speed, defense, pitching, whatever. But not every player... It can't be cookie cutter where

everyone's the same kind of guy. Roman Quinn should not be a guy that's trying to be a 20 home run guy batting 250. He should be a 280, 290 hitter, puts the ball in play a ton because if he gets on first base, it basically turns into a double. And it messes with the pitcher. A single play a ton because if he gets on first base it basically turns into a double so um and and and

it messes with the pitcher it it a single can get him to third every single time like a a gapper scores and revert like all that type of stuff it just changes the dynamics of the game having that guy on base yeah exactly so um like i you know center field i get it it's probably it's probably the biggest issue i feel pretty good about the four or five um like you know when i say matt moore is good like i don't i'm not saying he's he's good enough it's what i keep saying like and you said it before too you're like every team has a whole well guess what almost every team in baseball has a mediocre or bad fourth or fifth starter like there aren't many fourth and there's like no fifths like who you would look at and say like that there got look there might be guys who get it young guys

who get a shot this year on a certain team as like the five but by the end of the season we're all like oh that guy's a one or two or whatever like that stuff happens but in terms of like the guys who are slotted to be the fours and five for most teams most teams have a lot of matt moores and jay sanders yeah exactly so they're the four five like i i guess i i just don't think the phillies have like a hole are they perfect everywhere no but i just don't think they have the hole i have a hole like i believe in the bullpen i think they have actual stuff back there i guess the the big hole would be just overall team defense but even that which we talked about i think i think in terms of the the looking at the areas of baseball like and again as i've said a million

times like until and i'm with you i'm excited about the bullpen but like until i am not i i have like post bullpen traumatic stress syndrome whatever you want to call it like i i need to see them be good before i'll believe it but i I think just on a basic baseball level, the defense is the biggest baseball flaw with this team. Yeah. But like I've said before, I don't think they're a terrible defensive team. Like I think TD's fine. I think Segura's fine.

I've been really impressed with Boehm. We had another nice play last night. Hoskins, I think, is serviceable. Cutch looks like he's moving a little bit better. Like Roman Quinn struggles to read fly balls off the bat, which is not great. And Haseley just doesn't have the range, I don't think, to be a consistent center fielder. Harper's fine and right, given that if he can throw.

I mean, I don't know. He seems fine so far. And then JT's the best in the sport. But even the team defense, it's not keeping me up at night. It's not like the bullpen last year. It's not like the 2018 defense, which was just awful with Hoskins on the left. Hoskins was in left field. That's one of the worst

guys at a position that I remember in my lifetime of watching baseball. A guy playing a position all year. Obviously, things will happen in games where somehow, I don't know, Vince Velasquez ends up in left field and was way better than Reese Hoskins. But weird stuff happens.

You end up with some really bad guys in bad positions. But in terms of a guy who was in that position for a season, it's maybe the worst I've ever seen. Hoskins was that bad a left fielder. Well, I mean, you would know better than I do, but didn't Burrell come up as a a third baseman you did Burrell was drafted yeah out of Miami as a third baseman yeah and how do you look over there wasn't good wasn't great Bob

wasn't awesome yeah so I guess it would be the defense uh I understand center field but honestly I I just I don't think they have a, major flaw outside of I'm worried about the injuries. Yeah, and you know what? We never did it, obviously. Clearly, everyone knows, everyone listens. We would never lie to our listeners. But there were people who were not excited and ripped Dave Dombrowski when he was hired. Not us.

Not us. Dave Dombrowski podcast here. Yes. when he was hired not us not a dave nombrowski podcast here yes um but to those people i would say maybe you feel like an ass for that because i think he's done a really good job since he's been here in terms of putting this team together in terms of making under the radar moves um you know getting guys re-signed convincing and obviously if you didn't read that todd zalecki piece todd's like he had a good interview with dombrowski where he went deep into a lot of stuff and and dembrowski basically said that that when he got here like everyone wanted to re-sign jt but he basically told middleton like

if you want me to re-sign jt like that's cool he's a really great player but we can't do the other stuff you know we're not going to be able to really field a team. And Middleton, and he got Middleton. And this is something, Jack, to your credit, you've talked about very early on with Dombrowski is the idea of Dombrowski being able to convince John Middleton to take an extra step, to put a little more money in, to maybe go over the luxury tax at some point, all that type of stuff.

I think Dombrowski's gotten here and really, it makes it feel like a baseball team. It makes it feel like there's someone who knows what he's doing running the organization. And I think that we didn't realize how wayward. Look, we all hated Andy McPhail, right? I mean, that's one of the guys who's come through this city. And pretty much universal, unanimous, that guy sucks. Like, that's the takeaway from Andy McPhail.

Everyone agrees. Like, that guy's the worst. But I don't think, you know, with Klintag, at least times, you know, he didn't make every movie made was horrible or whatever. I don't think we realize just quite what a difference having someone like Dombrowski here who just knows how to run a franchise would be, you know? Yeah. And that was my main takeaway from the Zalecki article as well was just like we. It's basically like when Gillick took over for Ed Wade. It was like moves that made sense. Even like Brad Miller.

It was like, wow, this makes a lot of sense. You get a bench piece that can have to pop off the bench. Matt Joyce, same kind of thing, getting him for a million and a half. Matt Joyce has a gorgeous swing. Another one of those, though, guys like we were talking about before, they're going to have to clear a 40-man spot for him. I know, but it does seem like given... I love Matt Joyce, by the way.

I've talked about Matt Joyce for years to you. He's such a perfect situational guy. He crushes right in at pitching. Just put him in there. Have you thought about 26-year-old Matt Joyce? I've thought about 26-year-old Moniak. No? Everyone came up. Yeah, I do, too.

No, the moves all kind of made sense. 26-year-old Moniac? No? Everyone came up. Yeah, I do, too. Everyone came up. I do, too. No, the moves all kind of made sense. Even the bullpen additions. It's like, oh, we got Jose Alvarado for absolutely nothing? Sweet. Here's $100 more. Which, by the way, he needs to stay consistent. The shoulder needs to stay healthy and all that.

But it's looking like the Jose Alvarado trade might be one of the biggest steals of this offseason. It's heading in that direction, trending that way. When he's got 30 saves and a sub-2 ERA and like 14 strikeouts per nine at the end of the season, we're like, wow, Dave, good work. Yeah, I actually don't want him to be the closer. Do you want him to be the closer? Yeah, now, look, I...

Okay, I mean, this is one of those loaded questions where with what we've suffered through here last year particularly but really the last few years where it's like anyone who's going to get outs in the ninth inning yeah i want that guy to be the closer like boom done but yes you know i philosophically agree to you a guy like jose alvarado you want that guy in your highest leverage spots whatever those spots in the game like i think that it won't take long for most Phillies fans to realize that Jose Alvarado is the most talented pitcher in that bullpen, without question.

And you want your most talented guy in the biggest spots in games. And as we both know, as your question leads to, very often the ninth inning is not the most important spot in the game. Yeah. And it reminds me a lot of when Sir Anthony came up. I think they had the right idea with Sir Anthony. They just didn't have anyone that could, well, I think Hector can still do it,

but they didn't have anyone back there that they could trust, so they had to put Sir Anthony back there, but yeah. You've watched Phillies baseball for a long time, James. Obviously, I mean, almost like, what, 50 years at this point? So on pure talent, is Jose Alvarado the most talented Phillies reliever you've ever seen?

Yeah. So on just pure stuff? Yes, pure stuff, yes. Billy Wagner is the only other one that comes to mind. Like, honestly, I think he's that level. Like, yeah. I'm so excited, dude. I'm really, I'm so excited to watch this guy pitch.

I'm so excited. But yeah, I honestly, Billy Wagner is the only one that pops in my head as like definitively like that kind of stuff. Is that crazy? Well, that's why I asked it because I kind of threw it out there the other day in my head or on Julio's show. And I was like, is that true? Is that a real take?

And then I said about it and I was like, you know what? That is a real take? And then I sat about it, and I was like, you know what? That is a real take. He's the most talented Phillies reliever I've ever seen. He really is. He's the most talented Phillies reliever I've ever seen. I can't wait to watch him. I just, I'm giddy. I know, like, you're so annoying with your, oh, I've got to wait and see approach.

Like, boring. Boring. Boring. Boring, boring, boring. You can wait and see all you want but uh i i'm sold on this bullpen i don't need look uh if you've noticed when i talk about operato i say stuff like if his shoulder stays healthy yeah yeah or whatever there there's no doubt about him like i have zero he's amazing like he's as again yes the most of one of the two or three if i'm forgetting some of the most talented phillies relievers i've ever seen like that's

crazy that's crazy ah let's go buddy then they got him for freaking clevenger really what are the raids doing hey hey neander we got the real guy here yeah we never wanted eric neander we were not a neander podcast um all right let's quickly because because you know we we do this as a thing on our show you are you are the pitching guy you know you're looking for you and stuff like talk to the listeners because i think that when i say the biggest concern i think when a lot of people say the biggest concern i think the four or, which you've talked about, and the bullpen recovering are the two biggest concerns. I don't think anyone's concerned about the offense.

No one is. And I don't think people really think about the defense in those terms. So I think when people talk about the concerns, it's the pitching staff. Tell everyone why you're so optimistic on the staff. Well, they have stuff now. I mean, seriously. I mean, the main thing that sunk the Klintac-built bullpens was they had a bunch of guys that didn't have any stuff.

I mean, like, they're big. Seems pretty simple. Yeah, I mean, it's literally as simple as that. I mean, you look at the back end of the bullpen right now, it's Naris, who we talked about a lot, about his three-pitch mix now that makes a lot of sense um just being able to tunnel the the sliders uh split fastball all off each other and all moving different directions all that stuff uh you have connor brogdon who i did i for as much as i love the next ryan manchin yes you told us yes that one former general manager of this team may or may not have stolen on the broadcast but to each his own i heard it on the broadcast and i texted you and

i was like did you hear that did you hear that no but people tweeted me i'm just kidding i love rube um i heard it i was listening live i couldn't believe it yeah but listen if rube's taking my baseball opinions that means i feel pretty good about my baseball opinions. That's a win, dude. That's a win. Yeah, it's definitely not a ripping. I would be honored if he took my Ryan Madsen thing. So, like, Brogdon, I mean, like, just so consistent.

Seems like he's just never up and down. He seems like he's very even keeled. And it's like 97. I mean, it's 97 with a wipeout changeup. Archie's looked better recently. I was worried about the fastball a little bit ago, but I think the fastball is starting to get that little bit of giddy up, that little extra oomph again.

Like Brandon Kinster last year probably would have been their best reliever. I think he's going to make this team. And now he's like the fourth or fifth guy. They're actually fifth or sixth guy, because then you have a guy like Sam Coonrod who throws 100 and looks like his stuff is starting to play up pretty well uh and then like i i i personally would would go jojo over tony watson not that i not that i think tony watson's not good anymore it's just that i i trust uh like i i really i've always liked jojo romero uh especially as he came up last year james

you might know this answer you might not but it surprised me what what do you think that jojo romero's era was last year it was really high uh i want to say like in the sevens yeah it was like seven four nine which is not real that's not real i i i remember towards the end of the season looking at a box score at one point and noticing it was in the sevens, and it was like very end of the season. And I was like, what? What? I was blown away, so it stuck in my head.

Yeah, that didn't feel real. That didn't feel real. And then you rounded out with a guy like Spencer Howard, who is probably not going to make the rotation. That's fine. They want to manage his innings, all that stuff. But, I mean, you're adding a guy to that bullpen that's 97 with four legitimate pitches.

I mean, he could be a total game changer for this team. I think if I had to guess here, I think Vinny gets traded before the season starts. So I don't think. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa whoa whoa whoa that is a like uh a drop right there so you think he's not gonna make the roster they look to move him around they find a taker yeah I think I think that like a c-level prospect or something yeah if I had if I had if I had the if I had the bet I think Vinny gets gets moved before the season starts and they

would rather have that roster spot open for something. That's $4 million. Yeah, that's the other big thing. I would rather have the $4 million in free luxury tax or not salary cap. We can't even say salary cap even though it basically is a salary cap. $4 million extra to get not over

the luxury tax for the deadline acquisitions that I think is going to be better than Vince Velasquez anyway. I think Vinny gets moved for the season, and then you have like an eight-man bullpen that I kind of laid out right there. So, like, those guys should give you a chance every night. Those guys should give you a chance every night to get consistent outs. And then, you know, Matt. No, quick, quick follow-up on the Vinny thing before you move on.

What do you say to the people who say, look, I don't want Vinny to ever start another game for the Phillies. I'm good. But, like, they're starting pitching depth after more than Anderson in the 4-5, where neither of which, and particularly Moore, I think is not a sure thing of any kind to be able to even give you innings. I mean, after that, what do you do? I mean, Howard obviously is the next thought.

But, like, I think the counter to them trading Velasquez would be there aren't any other guys outside of Howard in that pen who can step in and start games for you. Yeah, I think that's a risk they're going to have to take, though. I mean, I don't think Vinny has minor league options left, so I don't know if they could send him down. I would be shocked if he does. And then Howard.

Howard does. he does. And then Howard. Howard does. He does. I just think he provides too much value out of the bullpen at the moment. That's kind of the crazy part about where we're at with the Spillies team is that their roster is actually good enough to where they have to make tough decisions.

Tony Watson would have been one of the best relievers in their pen last year. He probably won't make the team might not make the team, uh, over a guy like Jojo Romero, who is a guy that they, they developed. So listen,

I mean, that's the tough decisions you make when you have a 26 man roster. So, um, yeah, it's, it's definitely, it's definitely a question mark.

And maybe if they didn't trade freaking Seabold and Pavetta last year, or I'm more mad about Seabold. It's not a Pavetta thing. Which you have to be, please. Yes. Even though Pavetta, who was I? I saw someone like Passon. He got shelled.

Was it Passon who said that the Pavetta breakout's coming this year? I saw someone legit say it. Yeah. Well, yeah, definitely not me a couple years ago. No, you never said that. Never liked that. Never believed in Pavetta. No, breakout Pavetta, that was never a phrase you said.

No, not on this podcast. No, not on any. Not on any of the million pods that you guessed on. Yeah, dude, anything else? Anything else? You got anything nice to say to me tonight? I just want to know if you have anything nice. Anything nice to say.

Not yet. Maybe something will come along the way. I'm trying to think if there's anyone like, anyone down there that makes sense. Like, Medina could come up and make spot starts, whatever. But, like, they, like, apparently they, like, David Hale is, like, a long man, which, like, gross. I just, no interest in it. Oh, Ranger. That's Joe Girardi right there.

Ranger could come up and make spot starts if they need to. Sure. You're good. You're right. So they have some options. All right. Offensively, I think we're all pretty optimistic about it. Are you at all worried about JT coming out of the gate with the injury?

I know he's hit pretty well in spring training. He smoked another double tonight. Ripped a double today. I would. In general, obviously, we've dove into the center fields, Papu. How good do you feel about the rest of the lineup? I mean, we have 162 of Alec Boehm. I mean, seriously.

We have a full season of Alec Boehm ahead of us to add to a lineup that was already pretty good. And then when he came up, they were pretty unanimous top 10 offense in the sport. So, yeah, I feel great about the offense. I mean, they can kind of configure the lineup however they want. They can put Hoskins in the two hole if they wanted. They can put JT in the two hole if they wanted.

They have a good righty-lefty mix in Harper and Didi. They can kind of put Didi in there. It's a well-balanced offense. You have Segura, who hopefully can have one of those throwback Gene Segura years. He can hit close to 300. But there's not really a huge hole until you get to center field, and even the guys that are in the center field

aren't terrible at the play. They're not great, but they're not terrible. JT I would usually be worried about, but given how he's coming back, he doesn't look lost. He doesn't look like he's not picking up on speed. I feel great about the offense. Every single night, we're going to be able to watch them

go to work. Now, this year, we'll actually have a bullpen to where if they get a lead, it won't be too bad. While we're talking right now, I mean, Didi just hit a ball 400 feet to the right. Long drive long drive long drive into right field the reds take a four nothing leap you uh you could have just said right i think if you said a 400 foot dd shot i think he's the one player of all the players we could say it was right because he's literally never hit one literally not once not one time in right because he's literally never hit one. Literally not once.

Not one time in his career has he hit a ball. This is the year. That's my big bold take on this show. That would be a super bold prediction. If you said, dude, he's going to the opposite field on run this year, would be about as bold as they come. Honest to God, what would the odds be on it? Could you get odds on that?

No, it's like 10,001. It's not 10,001. Dude, it's like 10,001. It's not 10,001. Dude, it's not 10,001. He could luck into one. What are you, Elliot George Barks here? Well, the major league hitter, not a scrub Eagles beat writer. All right. I lost my train of thought.

That was so funny. It was good work by you. All right. Phillies, they're playing, huh? All right. No, let's get into some division stuff quickly before we go. No, I don't. Dude, I don't want to think about the division.

Okay. No, no, no. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. No, how do you think they stack up? Because I think we all know the Braves are really good. The Mets add a lot of talent. Washington, who knows? But How do you think they stack up? Because I think we all know the Braves are really good. The Mets add a lot of talent. Washington, who knows?

But what do you think? Listen, I'll concede. The Braves are fine. They'll be good. The Braves are winning the division. Let's just kind of put that in. I know. A full season of Ian Anderson and Soroka's coming back.

And they brought Ozuna back. And Charlie Morton. Charlie Morton. I forgot about that awesome awesome bullpen Will Smith sure why not let's go yeah anyway they stink but

the Mets like dude the Mets outrunners like 92 like let's let the Mets play a little bit before we're crowning them the champs of the NL East now I do I do forget I think once a week that they brought in Francisco Lindor. I definitely have blocked out that. I don't think that Francisco Lindor is on the Mets. And speaking of which, they have one week to sign him or else he's going to free agency.

So, good trade. Yeah, the Mets are fine. But do it before I'm crowning you like 92 win ball club plus the nationals stink like stop like everyone talks about the nationals like they're great it's like what what what are the nationals they're the their their whole team is cooked like trey turner and wanso are amazing but who else do they have sure is old he's not the same pitcher patrick corbin throws 84 miles an hour now. They signed John Lester. Great. Cool.

Brad Hand has no stuff anymore. Like, I mean, obviously Brad Hand had good ERA numbers last year, but the VLO is going to catch up to him sometime. I'm sorry. It just is. Will Harris is 40 years old. Like, Daniel Hudson, whatever. They're old. They're all old. They're like the 2014 Phillies. So,

yeah, the Nationals aren't that great but so does amazing so whatever he'll kill the phillies and everything will be terrible but uh the marlins i need to see it like i need to see the marlins do it you know it's it's still 162 it's not this 60 game sham of the season so obviously they have stuff like i'm terrified of their arms or their great arms but again i i need to see the marlins to believe it yeah i think it's far more likely starling martez on another team at the trade deadline than the marlins are trading to add guys to help their team but um i think i think i think the phillies are the third best team in the division that's where i'm competing with the mets yeah that. We are exactly on the same page. I think they're better than Washington.

I think they're better than Miami. I think Miami is far more likely to fade back. I think they'll be better than Miami teams have passed, but I think they're more like a mid-70s win type of team. And Washington, look, I could see that going either way, but really outside of Soto and Turner, there isn't a ton of offensive talent there. And Patrick Corbin took a huge step back last year.

We'll see. Strasburg, who knows if that guy's even going to stay on the field. It seems like, you know, ever since the October run certainly wasn't at all right last year. And, you know, he's back now. But, you know, I had that weird tendon injury a few days ago. All kinds of I just I'm not I'm not super convinced that that team's going to hold up. I'm really not. So I'm with you. I think it's the Braves winning the vision. Then it's between the Mets and the Phillies for a second. I do. And look,

I think the Mets are clearly more talented than the Phillies. They are, they're more talented. And, and I think it's a question of all these pieces coming together with a new manager, a new, a whole new situation, I guess new manager from two new manager a new a whole new situation i guess new manager from two years ago but a whole new situation it's a question of how do these pieces all kind of fit together is it going to work um i don't know i don't know i could see it going one of two ways for the mets i can see it where it's a disappointment there are 500 ball club and i could also see him being like a 90 plus one team like they have that type of talent

and lindor as i've said a million times my fate my former favorite most favorite non-phillies player i can't do that anymore right because he's a mat so you know that's ruined but um i'll find some other cleveland indian to like or something um uh shane beaver congratulations you are now my favorite until until they trade him in a year or whatever and tristan mckenzie is our new friend meal reyes congratulations oh no he's not even there anymore all right uh no he's still there i think he is there he is there okay friend meal friend meal reyes congratulations puig was there left um anyway um i uh i think the phillies are the third best team with a chance to be the second best team i think that's a really

i think it's the right way to look at it. And I think a lot of people think they're the fourth best team. I don't think that's true. So let's get to it and we'll get to the take back in a sec. But give me the prediction. Give me the wins. Are they a playoff team? Where does it come down?

All right. So we're going win-loss, right? We're going through the whole schedule. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think 45 minutes into the pod, I think that's the appropriate move to do. Game by game. April 1st, Braves.

With a full breakdown. My heart says 88. My head says 85. There's says 88 my head says 85 uh but i there's just you know there's something about this team i was gonna say we all know which way you're going there's something there's something about and i'm picking 93 guys 93 win i have for as excited as i've been about this team in years past i have not believed. I've always been lower on win predictions than you in the last couple of years.

Even when they got Harper, even all that, I've always been lower. But I believe in the bullpen. I believe in the staff. I believe in the offense. And I just think that Archie Bradley had a quote the other day. Archie Bradley, we'll see. He said he wants to go on a lot of Philly's podcasts.

Hasn't come on a Philly's podcast. He tweeted it tweeted it out he's like tell me what pods are going oh no never mind just just leaping around just kidding just kidding lol lol lol cool arch cool great um but he had this quote the other day about you know how they've kind of used the the blowing leads thing as kind of like an inside team joke, like, oh, we're going to blow one today. And it seems like it's kind of fueling them. So it feels like last year's collapse kind of fueled them. It's another year of Joe Girardi. Like, this is, listen, man, they needed another win in the final week

of the season to make the playoffs with with a supposed huge upgraded manager uh that supposed upgraded manager now has a bullpen that he should be able to do some stuff with i mean we were told how great he is with the bullpen well listen buddy it's time to show it so like if i'm putting the most pressure on one person this year it's on joe gerardi i mean like i like joe gerardi i'm glad he's here i think he's a great guy. But, I mean, we were sold that he was this huge upgraded manager. He's going to change the whole culture and all that. Well, listen, it's time. I mean, this team is good enough to compete and make the playoffs.

So let's show it. So it's go time for Joe Girardi. Now, dude, if they win 88 games and they miss the playoffs, I'm not going to kill them. But if they're hovering around 500 and it's the same stuff as last year, Joe Girardi needs to be held accountable for that. Gabe was held accountable in the same kind of way. So I just want to keep it fair.

I'm curious to see what Girardi does with the more talent in the bullpen. I think they're going to win 88 games this year. I really do. I love it. I think it's going to be a great year. Nothing's going to go wrong. We're going to have some important baseball games in September and I already can't wait for them. I love that you said my heart

went to pick 88. My head went to pick 85. I just listened to you talk for like four minutes after that and the whole time i was waiting for you to say so i'm picking 88 yep is there you could you could have fast-forwarded that the last four minutes yeah you have the 15 second ahead skip thing and it's like oh wow there we go that's what i thought that's right um all right well done uh so make the play do they make the playoffs at 88 too just to are they a wild card team uh yes okay um so i think everything

you said is on point i agree with everything you said about the potential i agree with everything you said about gerardi flat out you are he is this is the year bro like yeah i know that it's only year two but you know if it's the same type of stuff especially with what we saw last season the same type of issues then you know he has to take some heat for that but i don't think it will be i think they're going to be a better baseball team um i've picked them to make the playoffs yes at least two years in a row i think three years in a row so i take note of that you know i notice oh oh yeah they're gonna make the playoffs oh they didn yeah, they're going to make the playoffs. Oh, they didn't. Oh, they're going to make them. Oh, they didn't.

Oh, they're going to make the playoffs. No, no, they didn't. So 84 wins, Jack, and the Phillies missed the playoffs this season. All right, I'm just – God, you're such a hater. Everyone can see what's happening here. Yep. Putting it out there.

They're not making the playoffs. Yeah. You like it? Is that good? It's about time. It's about time. It's about time you tempered your expectations around this ball club. 84 wins.

Nice little season. I'm going to cut this audio. There's a purpose. I know. Whenever I say one thing, the other happens. We don't need to keep talking about it. We don't want to jinx it. We don't want to jinx it.

You're right. All right. What you got in the take back, buddy? On paper, the 2021 Phillies are better than the 08 Phillies. How's that? No, stop. They are, dude. What do you do these things?

They are. I'm just telling you that they are. Like, the lineup is just as good. It doesn't have the upside it has of Howard and Utley and Rollins and all that. But I would take this starting staff and I would take this bullpen. And I think the bullpen...

How am I supposed to respond to this? What am I supposed to say to you on this? I just wanted to see what you would say, honestly. Next item. Alright, well, you would say honestly next uh next item all right well you remember you remember that what's next jack i just want to just remember that take when we're we're on a parade down broad street well i will not forget that take don't you worry um the video forget it the video yearbook was uh great actually it wasn't it reminded me a lot of a lot of uh about a lot of bad times like like the orioles pop up remember that um it was just just what a what a painful

season but you know it was it was good it was good it wasn't as good as like the old video yearbooks where it's like actually going through the whole year and you know it's kind of it kind of felt a little bit rushed but i get it there's only 60 games but um you know i you know i wanted more i wanted more even though it was a dreadful year i i wanted more but like honestly james video yearbooks from the phillies are my favorite thing on earth like i i know i could watch oh dude i know i could watch all the video yearbooks like to watch the 2021 like they have to be your favorite thing because that it sounds like torture to me jack like that sounds like i can think of off the i could sit here and just list things for the next six hours of things i would rather watch not even do watch than the

2020 philly year bro i watched the 2017 video year i watched all the video yearbooks like i get i get giddy i get giddy about philly's video yearbooks okay so yes of course i'm gonna spend 48 minutes watching that one um i think kingery should start in triple a i tweeted this earlier i was gonna so this is good this was one of the things in my note bag not take bag right and a couple things and one of them was that yeah like um i just think that so lauber wrote i think a week and a half ago maybe in the inquire about how him and joe dylan have broken this whole swing down and they're reworking and starting to scratch and it's like great good good time to do it and spring training was supposed to be competing for a center field job um but uh like i just don't want him to have to do that against major league pitching so

i would like this to see him start of the year at triple a work with the phillies uh coaching staff down there and and kind of go from there and hopefully get this thing right because i don't think working on a rework swing at the major league level as the best way to get the most success out of Scott Kingery. Obviously, I'm not even sure Scott Kingery is a major league baseball player, but I think the only chance for it to happen would be doing this and

reworking the swing and breaking it down to zero. I would just like to see him start at AAA. Don't have him have the pressure of being on the major league roster facing major league pitching and kind of go from there. Hashtag Jet Packs, not back. No. Real bummer, man.

Real bummer. It took me. Yeah, you were really excited about that one. That was a good one. And it's not your fault. He failed you. Scott failed you. Let's call it what it is.

Scott failed you. I know this is not related to the podcast, but Jim Nance just stepped down from CBS. What? Yeah, how crazy is that? What? That's insane, dude. That is like into the Masters,

obviously Super Bowls, him and Romo. He has the rest of the NCAA tournament. Oh, yeah. He just stepped him and Romo. He has the rest of the NCAA tournament. Oh, yeah. He just stepped down out of nowhere. Wow. Well, I know he was looking for Romo money. I know, but wow, that is crazy. Dude, that is insane.

Anyway, yeah. Well, the Masters is coming up in like a couple weeks. I know. Well, and the NCAA tournament is. Yeah, well, yeah, you're right. I don't want to say I hope it's real because I would miss Jim Nance, but that's really interesting. It seems like a pretty legitimate source. Anyway.

It says he will stay with CBS. What are you reading? I messed up the resign and the re-sign. I blew it! I blew it i blew it oh no oh i've messed up the resign and the reason are you embarrassed yes a little bit yes i'm embarrassed you should be just a little bit oh that oh that was so weird i was like oh that it now it's crazy that's on me that's totally on me

I'm so sorry dude can we get a different word in the English language than resign and re-sign I actually agree with you it's so stupid I mean come on at least you didn't this is a podcast where by the time everybody hears this they'll know that you were wrong

the moment you said it i on the radio today thank you sir yeah good job on the radio today said that george hill that the sixers traded two first round pigs instead of second round pigs so everyone like in the moment was like no no no second round pigs but still i gave everyone a heart attack so i feel your pain yeah i don't think that I don't think that's as bad as misreading re-sign and re-sign bad this you're right this is especially because you could have just I know you clearly just read re-sign gymnast instead of reading the rest of whatever tweet there was yeah I know I also could have just as easily not have brought it up and I was just like sitting here shocked like I was like, oh my god, he's gone? Alright. I love that you brought it up. I love that you brought it up. It makes me happy.

Yeah, well, listen, I could always cut this. People forget that. You won't. I know you. And my final take back here is after this week's events, I would just like to officially put it out there that Joe Flacco is greater than Mike Trout because he came home.

True Philly guy. Yeah, he's not a traitor like Mike Trout. That's fair. As much as I'm not a fan of Joe Flacco coming back, you're right. Joe Flacco, true Philly guy. Joe Flacco, greater than Mike Trout. Okay, I have my own little note bag today.

A couple things for you. You already hit on some. Coming into the minors, your playoff run. You've talked yourself into it quickly. Obviously not going to be on the major league roster, but Neftali Felice throwing 97? Jack, what the hell was that? I know.

What was that? What happened? Couldn't Neftali Felice come up during the season to help this team? What was that? Well, it's a real shame. It stinks that I guess he had the visa issues so he couldn't get up here.

Because I would have liked to have seen what he was going to look like. I it, it stinks that I guess he had, um, like the visa issues. So he couldn't get up here. Cause I will, I would have liked to have seen what he was going to look like. I mean, 97 from Neftali. We haven't seen that since, uh, 2011 game six. I was going to say a decade.

Yes. Literally, literally actually a decade. Actually a decade. Yeah. So, uh, yeah,

he could, he definitely could have factored in, um, probably too late now, but I hope they, like, I was pretty pumped that Brian Mitchell was able to get down to the minor league camp or whatever.

Because I think he could come up and help this team if need be. So, I feel the same way about Neftali Feliz for sure. All right. Next one. So, do I win the bet now that Jeff Mathis is – See ya. Yeah, that's like – Do I win our bet? It's like a is... See ya! Yeah, that's like... Do I win our bet?

I just... It's like a default for you, right? Well, I kind of forget what my bet... Oh, the ERA. Well, listen, you can claim that bet as much as you want, but I would just like... I won. I won.

Well, no, it's... I won. It's okay. No, it's fine that you won the bet. I'm just saying that in Aaron Nola's last start, he went six innings, one hit against one of the best climbers in baseball. So, listen, you can mock me all you want, but I guarantee you that if Jeff Mathis made this team,

the team ARA would be lower. Jeff Mathis, you won't be missed by anyone but Jack Fritz. Dude, I'm just telling you. Goodbye, sir. It's a massive mistake, but whatever. Last thing, the Lance McCullers dream. I know. I was so sad.

Dead. Dead. The dream's dead. Yes. It's a real bummer. It is. It is, because he's added a new cutter now, and it's like- You did.

You did. I mean, I don't want to call you out or anything. No, you never. You never. You said, we'll never lie to the IOPs listeners, and you said to the IOPs listeners, I don't want to call you out. No, you never. You said, we'll never lie to the iOS listeners, and you said to the iOS listeners, I will get Lance McCullers to Philadelphia. It's something that happened.

So, you know, for real. Well, maybe five years from now, he will be here. How's that for a spin, though? That will be the all-time victory lap. That will be the all-time victory lap. That will be the all-time victory lap. I told you I'd get him here, and I delivered. But yes, the Lance McCullers thing was a punch in the gut. He's on my fantasy team, so we're still cool.

We're still good. Well, good for you and Lance. All right. You got any final thoughts for today? Dude. Well, I think we should tell the listeners we will do a podcast post opening day of course oh yeah i that that i would hope is assumed yes thursday night next week whatever time it is that the game is over jack and i will be recording

and you'll have it so yes uh my final final final thought is, was the Reese Hoskins home run on opening day against the Braves in 2019 the most underrated Phillies moment since 2012? How am I supposed to respond to that? I just don't think we talk about it enough. We talk about Nola in Boston. We talk about the Harper walk-off. We talk about the Harper home run in D.C. We talk about all enough like we talk about we talk about nolan boston we talk about the harper walk off we talk about the harper home run in dc we talk about all these moments you know pivetta's complete game against the reds but we but i feel like but i feel like we just slide that in there

i feel like we don't talk about the the reese home run against the braves on opening day grand slam off of that scrub luke jackson like it's a it was a great moment. It was probably the moment that brought me the most joy outside of the Harper walk-off against the Cubs. But I loved that moment. I mean, that first weekend was so fun. That brave sweep was like that felt special. And it wasn't, very clearly.

But it felt it. So I'm with you. We don't talk about the slow trot enough either. Yeah. All right. What were you saying? I said that's true. Thank you.

My final thought, RIP Jessica Walter. Jack, I'm sure you have no idea who Jessica Walter is. She's from Arrested Development. Oh, look at you, buddy. Yeah, relax. Did you watch Arrested Development? I watched the OG Arrested

Development not the the one that came to you that's fair the OG is the best those three seasons are unassailable uh she was hilarious R.I.P. Jessica Walter the world is a less funny place without her there um Britzy I can't I honestly like I almost like giggled as i was about to say to you the next time we talk on this podcast will be after philly's game that matters but like the next time we talk on this podcast is going to be after philly's game that matters yeah and the next time we talk about uh the next time we do this podcast i'm going to be emotionally drained because i'll be producing yeah i didn't think about are you going to be all right recording a podcast on april fool's day yeah well that again hope they lose i hope they lose philly's baseball baby hope they lose