High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Ugh, Ben Simmons Amirite?!

Episode Date: October 21, 2021

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz are back and they are not talking about Ben Simmons. Instead, the guys talk faith in Dave Dombroski, the Phillies offseason, hating the Braves, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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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, it is another edition of the high hopes podcast jack fritz uh you know this and we never lie to listeners so so they must know this totally forgot we're recording this podcast we were

supposed to record like 15 minutes ago i get a facetime with jack at 610. I'm watching Frozen with Zoe. He's like, hey, man, what's up? And I was, oh, yeah, pod. And then Zoe, you know, was wailing as she had to leave the TV. It's been a trying five minutes. But we're here. Hey, buddy. Yeah, I mean, listen. I totally forgot.

Zero memory of this. You know, and I'm not one to make things into a bigger deal they need to be but no never this is woefully disappointing and i might need to i might need to send you home for conduct detrimental to the podcast so yes that's i think fair now um it's just you asked me to sub in for a drill i said said, no, you got to send me home. It's the way it is. That's how it works. Just to fulfill our obligation here as Philly sports fans, we guess we got to, you know, get it out there first.

Ben Simmons, you know, this whole thing's crazy. Am I right? All right. You want to talk some pills? Who's Ben Simmons? That's my, I don't even know who that is jack yep me either but all i know is this i mean if you if you want to talk preston mattingly i could do that oh i talk dave dombrowski i could do that yeah i don't know this ben simmons fella i think the one thing that this podcast sounds like

an ass though it just the name you know just kind of an ass like name i think if there's if there's one thing this podcast does a great job of and is we really have the the finger on the pulse of this city and right now i just feel like this town wants to talk about kevin long as the hitting coach right yeah it's a great point i mean no bigger story in the city right now no yeah no you're getting you're getting a proven winner and kevin long in here um and yeah so listen let's let's do it man let's let's talk some bills long buddy yeah and this might be the most listened to pod we've ever done because it's such a hot topic at the moment oh real quick real quick can we just uh we don't curse on ielts podcast so imagine i'm using a word that begins with an f ends with some consonants ck maybe and let me just say bleep

the atlanta braves please real quick just off the top like most important thing happening right now is a gigantic bleep the atlanta braves and i'm not okay with what's happening right now jack i'm like i'm like i'm on the edge buddy like we're staring down the barrel of being the biggest houston astros fans in the country outside of houston in a week i mean well you know yeah come on, we're going to be like part of the 1% of America rooting for the cheaters. You know what's weird, though, James? Yeah, I don't hate them.

I like the Astros. I'm kind of cool with the Astros. But either way, they're the villain, and we're all in on them against the Braves. They're not my villain, pal. If it's Braves-Astros, they are not my villain. I will get Astros gear chas mccormick my good close friend oh by the way yeah yeah yeah your guy like actually your dude yeah no

legit yeah no i played against my whole life we gotta we gotta we gotta bring that audio up at some point maybe uh play for for the IOPs listeners. Yeah, I'll find it. I'll find it. But yeah, no, Chaz is a great dude. And just seeing him play like this is incredible. And it's just, you know, growing up, it was like, wow, Chaz is really good. And then he goes to Millersville.

It's like, wow, jazz is really good at Millersville played against them. Um, and then now it's like, jazz is a legitimate major league baseball player. Like, yeah.

In the, in the ALCS. And how I know it's like real is that I have friends that are like sending me trade proposal with the Astros and like, Chaz is involved with it. Cause I think he's's an underrated steal. I'm like, what world am I living in? So it's awesome.

And our good buddy, friend of the podcast, Kevin Franzen, he might ask him a question about the kid. Here it is. He's Astros outfielder Chaz McCormick, who is kind enough to join us here on the phone lines. Chaz Jensen-Lewis, Kevin Franson, thanks for taking some time.

How are you doing today? Good, good. How are you guys? I'm great. I got to start this off, all right? You're a Westchester kid. Jack Fritz, he played at Ruston. He wants to know, do you think that you owned him in high school?

Jack Fritz. Yeah, he was actually He was actually really good in high school But yeah In high school Which I also thought was cool I actually played against him in college Because he went to a rival school

Bloomsburg And I went to Millersville So it was cool to face him in college For a little bit too So if you're ever wondering like does this guy is he actually what are you doing does he know anything about baseball or you know here's the only takeaway from that is chas is incredibly too nice yeah yeah also i love the oh oh maybe i could dig up that audio boom i got it it's right here you ready for the audio i got it oh listen do you want it i didn't know if you wanted me to bring it up or just take it

off i can find it somewhere no oh you know i found it that was quick i knew exactly where it was yes yes no that's like your favorite piece of audio in the history of the planet no i i legitimately might need to put that on my tombstone like seriously a major leaguer is like he was pretty dominant in high school so that's the toughest part for me is that i watch him and i'm like i still get them out like i could like do you think i still get them out at this point or do you think that that ship has sailed yeah i guess i think it has the thing is they cut the quote off too soon what he would have said at the end there was, it was cool to face him in college, but shocking how much worse he was in college than high school.

I think it was the way the quote would have finished. Well, I do find it funny they say played against him in college because I'd never played against Millersville. I was not allowed. I kept the book. I kept the book against Millersville. I mean, no. You were there.

You were involved. I said hi to him before the game. You know, we hung out. But there was no actual playing against Millersville. It was just... I mean, listen, I set a PSAC record my sophomore year. You want to know what it was? I do, yes. 53 straight perfect books.

I didn't get off the bench for 53 straight games and kept the book for all of them. That's a PSAC record, my friend. I actually did get off the bench a couple times, but it wasn't a lot. I'm proud of you, pal. I'm not proud of me. I'm not proud of me.

You don't have to be proud of me. But I think this offseason, once everything calms down, I mean, I know he's an astro, but I feel like we've got to bring Chaz on the pod. Yeah, he has to come on the pod. I mean, I need to grill this guy. I mean, if we're going to be real about it.

So yeah, I'm sure our listeners love hearing about my high school baseball career. Yeah. It's like, you know what? I don't think they get enough of it. Right. You know,

I think it's so rarely brought up that, that it's, you know, that's why they love it. You know? Cause it's like a, you know, just a,

such a treat when you actually do hear about it, you know? Yeah, no, I agree. And I'm not one to, I don't, I'm not one when you actually do hear about it you know yeah no i agree and i'm not one to i don't i'm not one to really want to talk about it um no no you gotta pry you gotta pry it out of me for sure that's the problem with this chas mccormick quote like that that's the real issue with this one all right uh kevin long yes how about it uh i don't know about you i was really excited to see the harrod kevin

long i know there are a lot of people who you know think he's a little old school we're kind of hoping for someone a little more you know cutting edge so to speak but i don't know i mean look at the guy's track record he's been pretty successful pretty much everywhere he's went yeah um and like the the the 2018 nationals and really the nationals ever since like i've always felt like they had done a good job of squaring up fastballs and at least being good barrel to ball a good barrel to ball team consistently finding ways to barrel up the baseball so from that standpoint yeah i think it's uh i think it's a good hire i think the national like i think it's a good hire i think the national like i think the phillies last year were 27th uh in slugging percentage against fastballs

and the nationals were still top five even you know with the turner and or you know those guys gone um and then let line i'm not being great so um he did not being great that was terrible okay it was a minor league lineup with Juan Soto in it. Yeah, I mean, honestly, it probably was propped up from the beginning of the year, but still, regardless, he was able to get those guys to consistently square the baseball when it comes to hitting fastballs, and the Phillies have consistently struggled with that for years. So, honestly, he is here to fix Alec Boehm. I mean, that's the reason why Kevin Long's here.

Alec Boehm was the worst hitter against – I think the stat was out of 329 hitters on pulled fastballs this year, he was 329th in slugging percentage on pulled fastballs. That's how bad Alec Boehm was on qualified hitters. They need to fix that. Honestly, the reason why I think Joe Dillon isn't here right now is because he was never able to fix Boehm

when he went into the tank. Kevin Long, that's his job right now is to fix Alec Boehm. Honestly, I'm showing him and I'm doing whatever he did with Anthony Rendon to get Rendon where he was. Because when Boehm first came up,

my big comp for him was Anthony Rendon. I thought bats and ball skills were the same. Rendon wasn't unbelievable, I would say, until like 2015, 2016. And then really, Kevin Long, I think he took over in 2017. And I would say until like 2015, 2016. Um, and then really Kevin long, I think he took over in 2017 and I would say 2017, 2018, 2019 were unbelievable Rendon years.

So hopefully we can get the same thing here with, with Bomer. Um, but that's the one thing that has me excited about the, the Kevin long hire. Yeah. Look, it's,

uh, I mean, that would be amazing uh even though poor anthony rendon you know it's like you sign with the angels and you just go there to die and just waste away uh it's a shame um i keep on forgetting he's an angel and i mean i know i mean i've owned him in fantasy for the last like i've kept him since like 2014 so like i've ridden the highs and lows with Anthony. But he has been just so useless with the Angels.

It's incredible. I know. It's hard to believe because coming out of that World Series, if you would ask me to take 10 hitters, just pure hitters in baseball, that I would want to count on, get me a hit in a big spot like he would have been on my list man like he would have been on the list I thought he deserved every penny he got yeah it's just been a disaster side note and injuries and all that but yeah it's a shame side note what about what this hasn't been brought up yet I kind of thought about it what a possible

Anthony Rendon trade this offseason oh buddy I buddy. I wonder... You think we can get Trout as a throw-in, or... Dude, I saw him at the Eagles game. I know. It made me so mad. I'm so out on it. It's such a shame. That used to be such a fun, dumb thing. Oh, look at Mike Trout.

Oh, they gave him the football. It's so cool. Come play for the Phillies. Now it's like I see it, and I'm like, you're such a loser. It makes me mad. It would be... Honestly... I mean, to be such a loser. It makes me mad. Like, it would be honestly... I mean, to be

fair, he would fit right in in this city with some of the losers we got here. Right. But I took the bait, hook, line, and sinker of thinking he's going to be a Philly one day. We all did. It hurts. We all did. It hurts. It hurts. But yeah, maybe Trot can be a throw-in. But I do wonder.

I do wonder. I do wonder. I mean, the Angels, I mean, I guess they're trying to win right now, but maybe they want to get out from under that money. A little Rendon coming our way. I'd take a little bounce back, Anthony. I'd take him. Whatever. Yeah, I'll take him.

I'll take him. I have to. Yeah. I'm with you. Look, the Boehm thing is paramount. I mean, when we talk about young, controllable hitters on this team who you're excited about, that's the list. Boehm is the whole list. Other than –

Wow, Reese still counts. He hasn't come up yet. Reese, I said controllable. Reese has one more year. I'm talking about guys who you got like five years of at a great rate or whatever. You know what I'm saying? Like you don't have those guys. Boehm's the only guy.

You know, Bryson Stott you hope could be that. I'm excited about what that kid's been doing. And obviously there are guys in the lower minors who can come up and maybe be that. But, you know, I mean, they don't have a lot of young talent from a bat perspective. So, I mean, Boehm turning around is paramount i mean it's so incredibly important for this organization and important for their chances to compete next year um so yeah i'm with you on the long hiring i'm excited what do you think's next like where is this you know obviously we'll get into the the off season and players and all that type of stuff

but they still need front office moves they still still have to kind of, you know, we've heard about the Bobby Dickerson potential and all that stuff. You know, how many more moves do you think are coming from a front office coaching staff perspective type of thing? So real quick, before we get to that real quick, one last thing on the long thing. The one, my one issue, not issue,

because I'm glad he's here, and having that level of coach on your coaching staff is good, and he's obviously produced with major league talent. I think on the surface, like on a professional hitting coach level, it's a good hire. It's just I feel like there's an opportunity to get a top-down organizational approach to hitting that everyone can kind of get on the same page with.

And I kind of worry with the Kevin Long hiring that it's going to be more of the same, where maybe the minor league guys will get a guy up there, and then the professional hitting coach will be teaching something different than the minor league hitting coach was teaching. Now, unless Long comes in and wants to do a top-down approach, which I don't think he's done elsewhere, but if they wanted to, what I would have done, and again, I'm fine that Kevin Long's here, but what I would have done is I would have gone and hired a Giants hitting coach, a Dodgers hitting coach, you know, a Rays

hitting coach, whatever, but someone that sees how the best teams do it, get a top-down approach so that if you bring a guy up from the minor leagues, everyone's on the same page. And that was the one thing with Dombrowski. They have stressed this whole offseason about everyone being on the same page and we need everyone to be pulling in the same direction. I think they kind of have it on the pitching side. I think with Caleb Cotham, obviously very analytically driven, all that stuff,

I think they have that in the pitching side. I think with Caleb Gotham, obviously very analytically driven, all that stuff, you know, I think they have that in the minor leagues. I think there's a, pretty much an alignment there. But on the hitting side, I'm not sure of that. Now,

Kevin Long could be coming in and they could be instituting that and all of that. But he's never really done that before. And, the Nationals weren't exactly this, you know, data-driven team.

Like, they had really good scouts. They had good player development. They got, the Nationals weren't exactly this, you know, data-driven team. Like, they had really good scouts. They had good player development. They got good outcomes out of their players. But, you know, when it's coming down to, you know, finding some of the guys, the Giants, the Dodgers, those guys, and unlocking something out of nowhere, they haven't totally done that. So i would have gone out and i would have gone after you know a dodgers assistant hitting coach a giant assistant hitting coach like those kind of teams

so we can get a top-down approach and i'm just not sure that long is going to have that yeah no i think that's a fair complaint and look i think you know this could be a one-year thing i mean i think if joe gerardi doesn't produce this year i would guess he's not back and if joe gerardi's not back, Kevin Long might not be back. So there is pressure on this hiring and on the situation for all these guys. So Joe Dillon was a two-year thing, right? Yeah. Two-year thing, yeah.

So it's going to be fascinating. But look, I think they could have done worse with Dyer. But I don't disagree with the philosophy that you're talking about. All right, back to the other hires like what else do you think's gonna happen you know before the the offseason gets in swing for for what fans care about the players and all that but the important stuff i mean whatever front office hires they make are going to be more important than whatever players they sign this offseason that's just a fact so what what do you what do you think about what's to come i don't know like honestly i'm very curious to see how Preston Mattingly kind of fills out his staff.

I'm very curious to see. Because honestly, they still have to make some decisions on their coordinator positions. I think they let some of those guys go. I think they want to get everyone aligned and all that stuff. And honestly, I'm fascinated to see the hires that they make down there. I'm curious to see the people they let go. I'm curious to see, are they going to be data driven? Are they going to be old school? I am inclined to think that they're going to be more data driven, which is, which is good, but really, you know, you know, we would never talk about this stuff on like WIP or, you know, whatever.

But, you know, that's why this podcast is here. But like we're excited. Like I'm just I am fascinated to see how how Preston Mattingly and even Dombrowski and Brian Barber and Sam Fold and Jorge Valencia, like they kind of fill out the rest of their new organizational structure because other than hiring Preston Mattingly, I mean, they haven't really done anything since the big moves that Dombrowski made at the end of August. And, you know, but that's the next step. The next step is, and again, what is the philosophy going to be?

Is it going to be the old school way or is it going to be more new school? And understanding where the sport is going and hiring smart people. Like Preston Mattingly was a massive step in the right direction. I mean, just everyone you talk to is like, wow, this guy's like a superstar. So that's a good start. But how does he fill out the rest of their roster or the rest of their player development stuff? Did they not renew contracts from some of the minor league guys? You know, I mean, Gal brought that whole article.

Well, I'm not sure a lot of those guys are really going to be gone. So it's just going to be interesting. And I can't wait. And I just have this general sense that they are going to continue moving in a more data-driven way, but making sure everyone's on the same page. So when they're going through developing players, they're all pushing in the same direction and creating a Phillies way. What a crazy concept.

It's almost like you need organizational alignment to have a well-functioning organization. It sure is nice having a real president and not a fake president in that role and not a guy that just lives in Maryland and doesn't really care about being the president of the team. You know, this week I went through, James, I was trying to find the most ridiculous press conferences in the last couple of years in Philly sports history, or the last couple of years in Philly sports, because I was anticipating a Ben press conference but uh i got a joel press conference which was equally as funny um and like dude i forgot how awful andy mcphail was to listen like just the worst and

honestly i sit here today obviously we know they screwed it up. Obviously, we know that they came out of this rebuild with almost nothing. Not almost nothing, but essentially almost nothing. But listening to Dave Dombrowski versus having to listen to Andy McPhail, Matt Klintak, and thankfully they haven't had Middleton speak, but having to listen to that clown show for three years, talk about the Phillies, like no wonder they were in the position they were in.

So once again, very glad Dave is here. And it's nice having a guy that seemingly gets it. Yeah, I don't have anything to add. I think that was all perfectly said. I mean, obviously, again, back to the most important point, everyone needs to be on the same page and pushing in the same direction, have an organizational philosophy that everyone follows, and it goes top down. And that's the reason Dombrowski got rid of those guys.

That was his reason for firing people. He said it feels like a bunch of people have their own agendas. A bunch of people are not on the same page, and we want everyone pushing in the same direction like that was the whole point yeah yeah what a crazy concept i mean i know i mean it's just it's just so important i mean it's why the it's why the tigers were good for so long while he's there obviously by the end it didn't work i mean he gave huge contracts out to players that didn't need it but also i mean in his defense the owner was was nearing the end

and wanted to try to win a World Series every year because he wanted to see 140 passed on. Like, that's what he was brought... Like, Dave Dombrowski was just doing his job, you know? But what I don't think that people... And what you and I openly, at the beginning, didn't give him credit for was building that thing from, like, the ground up.

I mean, he got there in, what, 06? Like, or was he before that? I mean, he got there in what, 06? Or was he before that? It might have been 05 or 06, somewhere in there. Yeah, but he had to build the Tigers up from nothing, essentially. I mean, I know the Ordonez moment happened in 06 or whatever. You know, wait, no. No, it was Ordonez, right? Maglio?

Was he a White Sox? No, Matt, he was both. Oh, but the home run was he was on the Tigers, was oh six i believe so yeah it was was it kenny rogers versus the white socks and the white socks no i don't know whatever oh either way either way oh six happened whatever but he still had to build that team up um and he turned them into uh one of the best teams in the al for a couple years there. And that's really what he's tasked with doing here. Oh, he was there in 2002. Really? Wow.

So even more so. Okay, so 2002. By 2006, they were in the ALCS? No, they were in the World Series because that was the Cardinals year. Okay, right. They went to the World Series in 2006. They had a good run out. Either way.

Either way. The point is, is that long-winded way you're crushing you're crushing this right now am i nailing it it feels like i'm doing a really good job you're just nailing it yeah this is yeah i'm getting i'm feeling the billy madison uh everyone is dumb yeah well i don't think i'm making anyone the world series you are correct then they had a few years off, but then made the playoffs in 11, 12, 13, and 14. Lost in the World Series in

12. Yes, and he was gone after 2014, I think. 2015. It said 2002 to 2015. Listen, man, you're the one that's 40. Stop saying stuff. You should have known that in 06 they went to the World Series. That's on you. I was in

6th grade that's true I mean I if I had gone backwards I might have been able to like get there correctly but I remember like specific years and I remember like when I was younger

like I remember the years then like 91, 82, 93 like all that I can name all those by the year. Anyway. This is a long-winded way of saying. Yeah. Long story short. He has built up organizations before.

He built up the Tigers. He's doing it here. With the Red Sox, he was brought in strictly to win from the jump. With the Marlins, he was brought in strictly to win from the jump. With the Marlins, he was brought in strictly to win from the jump. That's not what he has here. So he's done it. With the Marlins, he also still set up that organization for that next run and drafted a lot of those guys, the Beckett's and all that too.

So you should get credit for that as well. Right. But I'm excited. I genuinely am. And it's so nice having a real adult in the room that's done it before and knows what he's doing. And just the fact that, again, it doesn't seem like he's trying to revert them back to 2005.

Yeah, that's huge. He's smart enough to know where the sport's trending. You're not catching the Dodgers, Giants, whatever, by hitting the ball the other way and bunting. It's a good spot to be in. All right. Take back in a sec quickly. We mentioned the playoffs before,

but I'm just going to speak for the both of us, and I'm sure most of you Phillies fans who are watching, and if you're not watching, I'm assuming if you listen to this podcast, you love baseball as much as we do i know it sucks the phillies aren't there but these playoffs have been fantastic like it has been super fun watching these games i think they always are though like they always i honestly as i was saying and i was thinking you know what they're just always great but the the point i'm making here is a plea, a need, like a deep in our souls need. Like watching this every year, and it feels so pronounced this year because this is the first year in a long time I actually thought at a certain point we might make the playoffs and actually envisioned it and all that stuff.

Like, we got to get back there man like all this is doing watching these awesome games and you know these big home runs like the bellinger one the other night and like the walk-offs the braves games like just like watching these games like all it does at this point it's like i love watching these games but it's like killing my soul like it's been too long like it has been way too long like we should be experiencing this like we should be watching the phillies in these games that matter like this where your like heart is beating a mile a minute and like every pitch matters and you're hanging on the end of your seat like we deserve that we need that like i need it so bad man i need it like i'm loving these games like i need the freaking phillies to play in these

freaking games like i i almost cursed twice there jack Jack. Yeah, I mean, I don't know. They seem pretty stressful. I might be good over here on this side. They seem like a lot. You're talking about... You know what's funny, though? It's because my heart is pounding, too, and I'm not even a fan of these teams. Yeah. So, yeah.

It does pay me to my core. It really does. And it's like... You know, you see Fen like it's like you know you see fenway and you know you could like i hadn't the fenway has a very similar roar to what cbp used to have like when when the when they know the ball's like going out or whatever and like you know i know they're down three two right now or or whatever, but the Schwarber homers, the Bogarts homers, and all that stuff, I need that big go-ahead, clutch, late homer that CBP just starts rocking again.

I need another stairs moment. I need something. We've just been dead inside for too long, James. Just dead inside. too long james just dead inside yep although although i am taking you hear my dog in the background i can hear your dog in the background um although i am taking a bit of of what are you laughing at my dog being hilarious right now anyway god oh so you're not even you're not even paying attention i was trying to but when your dog's sitting next to you like going it's hard not to pay attention

that's pretty good dog dog imitation buddy um but i am i am you know very happy to see my guy nikki pivetta fully breaking out in the postseason yes It's just so annoying that whenever he would get hype in the past as a Philly, it'd be like six runs the next inning. And now he's feeding off of the energy of the crowd and throwing 95 with hammer curveballs and he's spotting a slider. It's like, what am I even watching right now? It's hard for me even to have joy in this victory lap because it's like, this even to have joy in this victory lap because it's

like this wasn't the same guy you know now he wasn't the same guy like a month ago it was rotation um but either way he looks pretty good some guys just rise to the moment jack you know and that's why i always loved him because i I knew in big moments. You saw it. You got the eye for that. Well, listen. Listen, me and him, I always told you. Like a sixth sense. I always told you. My pitching always reminded me of Pavetta.

We know. We know. Trust me. We know. I never lost in the high school playoffs. Pavetta's never lost in the playoffs. It just is what it is. It's fait accompli.

Some guys know how to win in the postseason. Pavetta's doing it on the big. It just is what it is. It's fait accompli. Some guys know how to win in the postseason. Pavetta's doing it on the big stage. I did it in high school. So basically the same thing. Yes. All right. Take back. Take back.

The Mets getting turned down by a car salesman for their. So explain this because you sent me this tweet and like i didn't even like understand what they were trying to say neither neither did i ridiculous it sounded like something from like a major league or something yes so uh joel sherman tweeted out the other day that a report that the mets have put uh Pirates first baseman Dorian Boyland on growing short list led to pleasant conversation with Boyland who told me no contact with the Mets

no interest in the job he said he's happy to run his car dealerships so this is a GM candidate is that what they're trying to imply? maybe he's on a short list we might end up never having been more wrong about anything than we were about

being afraid of Steve Cohen buying the Mets. Well, I mean, oh my god. I personally think you're a little more afraid of him than I was, but yes. That's fair. I was. I was like, this is a disaster. This guy's got $14 billion to play with yeah now he's tweeting about his team and stuff he's a maniac this guy is it's like having a

maniac running your team it's it's fantastic i i love it yeah it's like having you buddy it's like having a point guard that won't shoot and then won't dunk in a game seven jack when you're going to do these like ridiculous comparisons like at least come up with something believable a point guard who doesn't shoot i mean that's not something that could really happen yeah well at least the sixers are handling like grown-ups anyway i mean seriously there's both both sides are an absolute joke anyway um i do find it funny that every single big candidate the mets are going after is like no i'm good like like david stearns oh yeah billy billy beans no i've seen david stearns they're all like cool honestly like the mets the mets i i wouldn't

be surprised if colin was like trying to pay off the steinbrenners to fire cashman so he could hire him because like like that's what the Mets need. I mean, the Mets need Brian Cashman. I mean, the Mets need any of these guys who's really good. I can't believe they're... I mean, Cashman's not going anywhere, obviously. Yeah, but it's like Yankees fans wanted him gone so bad. I know, it's so weird.

It's very strange. Granted, though, giving Aaron Boone a three-year contract is seemingly indefensible. him gone so bad and like i know it's so weird it's very strange granted though giving an aaron boone a three-year contract is seemingly indefensible i don't know if we can we can get our boy cashes back on that one well we could always send him joe gerardi i mean if they wanted him back hey hey what you i will drive joe if y'all if you guys want Joe Girardi back, he is yours. Happy. I'll bring the binder, the whole thing. Come on, Brian. Come down. Bring home Joe. But,

yeah. The thing about Cashman though is he's obviously elite, but I don't know if he actually knows how to build a winner. Training for Joey Gallo, whatever. It was pointless. He keeps doubling down on these high strikeout, all home run guys. And it's like, why?

I don't know. It's whatever. Dude, their lineup in the freaking wild card game was like Rizzo, Judge, Stanton, Gallo. It's like, what is that? Or Rizzo, Stanton, Judge, Gallo. Whatever it was, it was like those four guys in a row to start your team. I'm like, I mean, you got

a thing clearly. What are we doing here? What are we doing? It's like, why? Another 200 hitter or whatever. All right. What else do I have here? Bryson Stott

is absolutely torching the Arizona Fall League. Quite hot. And Jonathan Mayo said, I guess, maybe yesterday in his prospect chat thing, that he very well could be better than the prospect rankings had said. He's one of those guys that flies under the radar as a top 100-ish guy, but then the big leagues is just consistent. It didn't take much, James, but

I am already ready to fully jinx Bryson Stott. God, don't do it. He's going to be our Brandon Crawford. I mean, he is going to be Brandon Crawford. Leave the kid alone. He has enough to contend with trying to succeed in Major League Baseball. He doesn't need

you on his friggin' back, too. Yes, I want to still sign Trevor Story, Seager, Correa, one of those guys. But, that doesn't mean I can't get Stoddy up here to play somewhere. I actually don't know if he's going to be up next year at the beginning,

but I am very curious if they don't go after one of the big names i wonder what the plan is and i wonder if it involves that but either way can't wait for his mlb debut i love everything about the player from the from the good contact good feel the strike zone solid defensive defensive player, good baseball instincts. So yeah, I'm in on Bryce's thought. I love what he's doing. Keep doing it.

And Logan Ohapi is also tearing up the AFL as well. So like we said last year, I think. No, I think it was two years ago where we said, sure, it's nice to have playoff baseball, but the Arizona Fall League is our playoff baseball. Oh, God. And it worked out so well with Spencer. Oh, yeah. That was the right tact to take.

Everything worked out very well. Just more reminders that we're not watching playoff baseball. Yes, but soon with Bryson Sott batting in the seven hole next year the Phillies will be there look at you hook it and last thing I'm going to start

ending podcasts with a fake trade proposal until we do our perfect offseason oh really look at you don't hold me to that put pressure when you put pressure on yourself to to continue something for like longer than you know what the end date will be you know we can think of many examples of this you know i think harper lent probably the most famous um but i love this idea yes every pot we do until it happens you have to you have to come up with

this so you know don't forget don't hold me to it i i'm holding you to it all right fine you just made a promise that we don't lie to iops listeners you just said every i mean i'm not i i'm not i'm not gonna go back and check the tape but the listeners can you did that little like 15 second back thing and say i'm pretty sure you said every pot until it happens i'm going to come up with fake trade proposals so you know i'm just saying well hopefully we can do the perfect off season in like a month so it's only four maybe i'll be like oh not ready yet maybe i need another week or two keep coming with those trade proposals. You ready for it? Yeah, I've been ready. I was waiting the whole time.

I'm just bantering. I mean, come on. JT Real Muto. Done. Let's do the deal. To the Yankees for Aaron Hicks and Clark Schmidt. So you're pretty high on Clark Schmidt is the takeaway here. I am. I I am Full disclosure

This trade was proposed by Joel Sherman Of the New York Post One of those I mean Aaron Hicks is a throw in I mean Aaron Hicks is whatever As far as I'm concerned Yeah but when he's healthy he's a good center fielder One of the worst contracts in the sport right now

Maybe I mean it's not because they're like really long really expensive ones but like he got way more money than he is worth that was a horrible contract i am out on the aaron hicks part of this like i'd rather just take someone else who makes less money on the team because if you're doing this trade you're saying all right we're not competing like this is a a rebuild type of trade so if you're gonna make that trade like why not why do you need aaron hicks in the trade like what's the point of the aaron hicks part uh because you get a center fielder that when he is healthy he's a very good center fielder it's fine i mean he's a fine player

oh see i like aaron hicks more when he's healthy than you he's fine he just wasn't has been healthy wasn't healthy i know he's never healthy he's never healthy yeah but again like why i don't get that the thought process i mean if you're trading you're trading JT, I want like a stud prospect and two other prospects. What's the point of taking Aaron Hicks back? Well, the thought process is that you get a control over center fielder. That is good when he plays. I mean, on the surface level, that would be what the trade is for. And you get off JT where you're not paying him for four more years at $20 million.

Right. I'm good with getting off JT. Let me look at Varanek's contract. I feel like he got way more money than he should. I don't know the exact details of it. All right. So he's owed $10 million next year, $10 million in 2023. Seven years, $70 million contract.

He's got four years, $40 million left on the deal. Yeah, it's not horrible. You're right. It's not a horrible contract but it's not like awesome oh well it's not like i'm gonna be pumped to pay a 35 year old aaron hicks 10 million years 32 yeah i'm good on that one i think you need to do better on your future trip if this is you know this was from joel sherman it wasn't from me okay all right again, I should have seized on this earlier, but you're going to come and say, Oh, every pod until everybody else. He's not going to give you a fake trade proposal, and then you don't even come up with your first one? No.

No, I didn't. I mean, talk about mailing in the pod. I mean. Bro, you were 10 minutes late to this podcast. I forgot it was happening and i brought it more than you what are we doing here you brought it more than me fake trade but hold on let me just steal joel sherman's fake trade and i'll use that one as my first one of this thing that i made a big deal of hold on you mailed it in more than me did you not like did you not like

my answer i'm dave dombrowski building teams and i thought it was great me. Did you not like my answer on Dave Dombrowski building teams? I thought it was great. I mean, it's not like the eighth time I've heard you say it, but, yeah, it was really good. Oh, okay. So now I'm just repeating my – I mean, spot the lie. Listeners, have you heard Jack say that before?

I can tell. I have, too. It's okay. All right. All right. Nice. Wow. Okay.

But to use that as your go-to like wasn't this great thing i mean come on all right guess you guess you're searching for a new someone else to do the podcast with hope you enjoyed that last comment hope it was worth it hope it was worth it it is pretty funny that you stole the trade, though. I told you. You love fake trades. I'm surprised you don't have 15 ready to go just off the top of your head. Honestly, I thought of the bit when I sat down, and as you well know, life is a bit. Is it a perfectly worked out bit?

Yet, no. Next time, maybe I'll create my own. How about Glaber and Clark Schmidt for JT? Better. I'm kind of out on Glaber, though. It's been a rough couple years for Glaber. To be fair, owning him in fantasy this past season made me way more out on him than I would have been before.

So he's a good player. That's unfair of me. But God, he was awful this year. Well, maybe we can send them Didi. Oh, oh, yes. Yeah, I'm sure they'd love that. Didi, JT, Girardi for Schmidt and... Yankee season tickets.

Yes. Oh, okay. We'll go to some Yankees games together. I can do that, buddy. Like Jack and James take New York. Yeah, but I think I would resell them on the market, honestly. Make some money back. I do think that there is a path to it.

Listen, JT is a fine player. I was disappointed in him this year. He's broken. He's gotten hurt at the end of seasons, the last three years. I do think there could be a, like, I'm not pumped about paying him 25 million for the next four years,

25 million a year for the next four years. So if they can get out and the Yankees would make a lot of sense in a possible JT trade. Just like, I wonder if Sherman put that out there with a inkling of, of information. So I would explore that and see if there would be any legs to that because I think it could be something that could be beneficial.

Like, honestly, like, you take the JT money off the books and you kind of, like, you could give $25 million a year to Trevor Story if you wanted to have him play shortstop, you know? So I'm just talking about allocation of resources. I don't think JT's a bad player. Just allocation of resources wise i think it would be something to explore i'm very with you i'm i'm very in on on the potential trade jt uh you got anything else in the take bag yeah so my last thing here in the take bag is i just want to say dave dembrowski you know i don't know how many times i've said this in the past i don don't know if I even have, but he did help build those Tigers teams.

You know, he got there in 2002. He built the 06 team of the Magliordone as Homer to get them to the World Series. Got them to the playoffs in 11, 12, 13, and 14. You know, it didn't end well. It didn't end well because he had to pay some contracts to players that, you know it didn't end well it didn't end well because he had to pay some some contracts to players that you know all right that the owner was near the end and he wanted to pay more and and he just was doing what the owner wanted same thing with the red socks but here i trust him to kind of build this thing the right way all right enough. I got to put my daughter to bed.

Yeah, I'm sure you do, pal. I do. I do. You know what? She's late for bed because we didn't start this podcast on time. So thanks a lot for that, Jack. Yeah. I wonder whose fault that was.

All right. You got any final thoughts? Yeah. So Dave Dombrowski did help build. I'm just kidding. I almost cursed there. All right. Go zoe to bed you can probably if you go back 15 seconds you can probably hear hear me say like the first two

letters of a curse because it was about to come out all right i'm good we somehow talked 45 minutes kind of about the village i have no idea how i thought this would be like a 20 minute podcast i love it uh you guys are the best. Jack, you're not bad. Thank you. You're all right. Appreciate it. He spread some salt, so we'll see you later.