High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - We are a Dave Dombrowski Podcast

Episode Date: December 18, 2020

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz are back with a new High Hopes pod. The guys discuss coming around on the Dave Dombrowski hiring, reasons for optimism about the Phillies, potential free agency moves, 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

Shop Best Buy's Ultimate Smartphone Sale today. Get a Best Buy gift card of up to $200 on select phone activations with major carriers. Visit your nearest Best Buy store today. Terms and conditions apply. FanDuel Casino's exclusive live dealer studio has your chance at the number one feeling, winning. Which beats even the 27th best feeling, saying I do. Who wants this last parachute i do enjoy the number one feeling winning in an exciting live dealer studio exclusively on

fan duel casino where winning is undefeated 19 plus and physically located in ontario gambling problem call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connectsontario.ca please play responsibly this is the high hopes podcast Or visit connectsontario.ca. Please play responsibly. This is the High Hopes Podcast. High Hopes! It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Phillies. On radio.com and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Yo!

It is another edition of the High Ops Podcast And Jack, the hopes are a little higher Alright, it's been a rough 2020 for everyone And the High Ops Podcast is no exclusion from that Not being able to win one out of your, you know, two out of your last eight instead of one, you know, having to watch that bullpen, the worst of all time, and then this whole fiasco,

and then it being Dombrowski. It's been a tough 2020, but at least the guy could talk, Jack. At least I didn't have to watch a Phillies press conference and wish that my team would just fold and cease to exist just because of the press conference I was watching. I was able to watch a press conference and say, all right, you know what?

At least this guy could talk to the media. At least this guy is like an adult, a professional, like knows what he's doing that it's amazing jack how that alone can can just give you a little juice because it because it's been so lacking how are you buddy and speaking of talking james i think i've talked myself into it it only took me a podcast um Yeah, I'm shocked. I honestly I really, I didn't get to say it during the last pod, but I left the last pod completely

and totally floored that by the end of that pod you had not talked yourself into him. The fact that it's another pod right now is actually shocking to me. So honestly, I didn't want to feel like a phony, you know, and be in the hole i was out on dombrowski thing and then they hired him and oh classic jack sucked himself into it kind of thing

but you know once he's yours and you start doing some research yeah you know once it what you know our baby right and so you make fun of everyone else 64 year old child right like you can make fun of everyone else's kid but once it's your kid you can't make fun of everyone else. Our 64-year-old child. Right. You can make fun of everyone else's kid, but once it's your kid, you can't make fun of it. It's true. It's a very poignant, poignant thing to notice. And I would just like to point out that it is absolutely unbelievable that every single person that I, at one point, don't like ends up being a Philadelphia Philly. We've been over this a couple of times, but I think before this podcast started, like back when I was in high school and college and all that stuff really

didn't like Bryce Harper, like was not a Bryce Harper guy. Just wasn't a fan. I wasn't a fan of the way he, ever since he blew the kiss at the minor league pitcher, I've pretty much been out. And then of course, you know, I see that the Phillies have a chance to get bryce freaking harper and it's like all right all

right all right all right i'm in i'm in i'll take them i love them anyway um and then it was and then it was joe gerardi who before we had this podcast i would always like troll you and g leo about how he's not that good of a manager. He's very overrated and anyone can do what he does with that bullpen. And I mean, I don't know if he didn't have the best bullpen of all time this year. So, you know, how about real quick? How about his comment? Joe Girardi saying that we could have told hitters what pitches we were throwing

and it couldn't have gone worse is one of the all-time manager quotes. And did you actually hear it or did you only read it? I only saw it. Was it better? I only read it. Was it better? I cackled. Like, I don't really laugh at it.

I was just like, he was like, honestly, if I just put a T out there and said we're throwing this, i think it could have gone better and like it was just such a it was such like a freaking hands in the air like i don't know like sure bring in freaking um uh you know let's do workman for the thousandth time but honestly in listening to it it was like it was like oh i see his thought process because his whole thought process is, these guys are better than this. I honestly think Girardi, by the end, was bewildered. It might have been a science experiment. How many times can I do this, and are they going to be as bad as the numbers have shown?

I think that's what it was. I think it was an experiment to see if he could have the worst ballpen in baseball. Like, is this possible? Can I do this? Is this possible? Exactly. So that's exactly what I think happened. Well, guess what, Joe? It was. You did it. Yeah, congratulations. I mean, we could have won, you know, one more

game in the last week of the season, but yeah, so it was Girardi, and then it was Wheeler, who I think a podcast before they signed him, I said, imagine being the team that's going to give Zach Wheeler $100 million and then it was the Phillies. And then

it was Theo Epstein. It really is amazing. Dude, it's unbelievable. This is a true run here. It is un-freaking- Can you start talking about how much you hate Mike Trout or how much you hate him? Instead of talking about how much you love Eric Neander, that was a mistake we made this whole time.

You should have been like, whatever you do, don't get Eric Neander. I'll take anyone else. Not that guy. Well, Hey, that's the angle we should have taken here.

I agree. Can I, can I try something now? Can I try, can I try doing this? That's what we're here for. I mean, that's,

that's why we're here. This podcast is for experimental things. Sometimes seeing if, seeing if what we're doing works. Let me just say this. Let me get this out in the atmosphere. Nolan Aranato can't hit away from Coors Field and not that good anymore.

I think Nolan Aranato is over the hill, and I would not endorse the Phillies trade for Nolan Aranato. Yeah, I think that is... No, see, now you know what I can't. I got to do my part and say jack you're crazy there's one of the best their basement in probably the best their basement baseball the dude is a defensive wizard and i think the home road stuff is overblown the guys hit on the road overblown did you see him last year you know this guy guy's a perennial all-star, Jack.

Oh, you won't throw out this generation Schmidt, will you? He's headed to Cooperstown, Jack. I don't care if he's headed to Cooperstown. He's there for that ride to Cooperstown. I don't care if he's headed to Cooperstown. I'm not paying a 31-year-old Nolan Arenado $250 million to come here and suck because he can't hit away

from Coors Field. I think we sold him. I think we sold him. I think we sold him. Yeah, it was good. I feel really good about what just happened. I would just like everyone to know when they get Nolan Aaron out of this offseason, go back to this moment. And finally,

bringing this whole thing full circle, David... Oh, you were going to bring it around? I just thought we were going wherever. I would just like to point out, I always bring it around i did i just thought we were going wherever i would just like to point out i always bring it around i always get back to where i was started i'm pretty sure i've never once wandered on this podcast um and it circles back to one david dombrowski um who i maybe we admit this is maybe the biggest one because we said we never did the podcast again if they hired him. But hey, you know what?

We can only stop doing the podcast so many times. Yes. All right. We can only stop to fire Matt Klintak. They got rid of him. We came back. We're like, you know, it can, you know, come on. We can only pull that threat so many times where John's like, I don't think you're going to shut down the podcast.

You know. Yeah. And look. All right. Let's get into Nebraska. Yes. Let's talk about our guy. All right. Like, you coming around to Nebraska was the single most predictable thing of all time.

But me. And here's what I'm going to say. And then I want you to sell me. Because I'm not as far along as you are, obviously. Unsurprisingly, that's kind of our thing. But actions speak louder than words. That is my number one thing. And I need to see the actions. But I will say, and obviously, I wasn't kidding before.

It's somewhat in jest. Like I wasn't kidding before. It's like somewhat ingest. But the idea that that someone can sit in front of a bunch of media and just handle questions like it's the only thing he's ever done in his life, like he is just a absolute pro, just deflecting, answering, saying what needs to be said, saying the right thing. He was perfect. Like he could not have been better. And the, the, the gigantic chasm of a, of a leap that it is to the press conferences we've been seeing, like that does matter. And I don't want to like, you know, it's not, but I'm not going to say that like, just cause he could talk, I'm all in on Nebraska. I will say though, like what he said is what we wanted to hear. Right. That's why I started with Action Speak Loud and Words, because I need to see the actions before I'm like you and I'm like really starting to really fully support Dombrowski. He is acknowledging his reputation. He understands the way he's seen, and he's saying, hey, listen, that's part of why I'm coming here. I'm not here to just tear this down and go for a championship right now. He's like, I want to build something. I care about the future of Philadelphia,

which is the one thing you said in our, let's call it a meltdown of a podcast last time, was I just, and I think it was honestly the single most important point made in the entire podcast was you said, I just need Dave Dombrowski to care about the Phillies. I need him to care about what it's like when he's gone. You know, I need him to not just care about like, let's be really 64 years old, the five years he's here. Maybe I know it's a five year contract, right? Or four year contract, four years, 20 million, who knows past that, whatever the four years, the five, whatever he's here maybe i know it's a a five-year contract right or four-year contract four years 20 million who knows past that whatever the four years the five whatever he's here for and you know it maybe it's seven eight like max whatever but like we need him to be invested in what happens after in setting up the franchise to be a sustainable, functioning franchise, obviously positively functioning franchise,

moving forward when he leaves. And the question of whether he cares or not, it sounds like he does, but obviously the question of whether he does or not will be answered in the actions. But I will say, as someone, again, who is very critical of and all that, to step back and kind of reevaluate and look at it just from looking at this guy and his history in Major League Baseball and what he's done and where he comes from and all that. who understands how a functioning franchise should work, and someone who, again, obviously has had a lot of success, and early on in his career was a draft and develop guy, and has made some great draft picks, some all-time great draft picks. So if this guy, to your point, I think the core of what we need from Dave Dombrowski is for him to care about not just his impact on the Phillies in the years he's here, but his impact on setting up the franchise for the future, I think is going to be the critical thing to his tenure as the president of baseball operations. And I think he could do it. It can be done. We just need to see that he's not caring more about, you know, getting his third world series while he's the president somewhere

or whatever, you know, if that, what's, what are his priorities? And cause I do think that ultimately we've seen that John Middleton and we'll get into Middleton and the Stark article in a minute, but we've seen that John Middleton can be swayed by base. But what, you know, look, Andy McPhail, perfect example. The fact that Andy McPhail still is so involved in this whole process shows that John Middleton, when he trusts a baseball person and puts a baseball person in charge, he will listen to them. So Dave Dombrowski will be able to theoretically steer John Middleton in certain directions. We need him to care. I think that's the biggest takeaway from what you said last week

and listening to him and all that i think it can happen but that is going to be the core of his his tenure yeah yeah and um i think the i think the main reason why i'm coming around to the dembrowski thing is did you hear him talk about power arms i mean talk about a guy that gets it actually i don't even know if it was a power arms so much as it was the uh mick abel's not going anywhere thing basically you know as soon as as soon as he was all in on mick i was like all right i will say actions speak louder than words no no no gable no But look, Mick Abel's the perfect example of this. Mick Abel ain't getting in the major leagues in the next couple years. You never know.

But we're looking probably, what, three years away? Best case scenario? Best case scenario? 21. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Starting the offseason. So that's Dombrowski having to care about the future so I think that's gonna be I really hope that's true I think that'd be massive

Because look if he does Caring about Mick Abel staying here really restricts His ability to even do that To even come in and tear something down Because like what else you got You got a couple other small pieces And then you draft and develop and whatever But Mick Abel's definitely

The prize of the class right now yeah yeah 100 um but yeah like i i just like and i know i know it's because he talked and i i i'm so bad when it comes to guys talking and sounding like they know what they're doing you know i mean that that's a big hinky guy you know that's big uh um uh like mori when he first talked to me he got here like uh even chip back in the day i'm a sucker for a good talker um i always think like oh this guy knows what he's doing i guess i just cut it just with dobrowski i just like that there's a at least there's a plan like whether or not it works is to be determined but i did and that's one minor thing from the press conference i really liked was he didn't really mention the driveline guys by name,

but he did say that we brought in new player development guys in the last couple years. I've heard really good things, which I think is important because, you know, Middleton, when he talked about the whole, you know, draft and develop and all that stuff, and we haven't done that well in 100 years. He's right. At the same time, I want John and everyone to acknowledge that in the last two years, it's also made pretty big strides. Brian Barber's

here. Everyone freaks out about the drafting and stuff. Yeah, it wasn't great before Brian Barber got here, but I think it's in pretty good hands with Barber here. The player development guys, they just have to be given the reins to go do what they do. We've brought this up a lot,

but Connor Brogdon coming out and looking like the next Ryan Madsen is because of the driveline player development guys down there in the minor league system. Jojo Romero, him going from 91 and me and Jillio seeing him up in Redding and being like like this guy stinks and then he's coming up and he's turning into a legend in the Phillies bullpen and throwing 97 that's player development

that's the Phillies player development staff Alec Boehm going from a slap hitting third base prospect to driving the freaking baseball is due to the work of Jason Ochard and that staff down there Moniak reaching the major leagues is because of that staff. Whether or not he's a starting caliber center fielder is to be determined,

but getting the most out of Mickey Moniak, a guy that looked like he was turning into a lost cause, is because of the player development staff down there. So I just don't want that to be lost on a guy like Dave Nambrowski to come in here. I want him to recognize what those guys are doing down there and enhance that. I want them to keep going. I don't want the old, I don't want this to be a whole big, like, we got to get old school scouts in here and, you know,

really just use your eyes and stuff. And data's bad. You know, I want them to use more data. And I think that, and this is going to be a faith thing for me, but I believe that Dombrowski is a smart enough baseball guy that he understands where the sport's going. He understands that for them to draft and to develop and get the most out of these guys, you have to... I was a Division II baseball player, and I see what these guys are doing, and it all makes sense. This guy's worked in baseball since

1978. He has to understand that what these guys are doing is where the sport is trending and just look at the results that has already gotten here and around all of baseball. So I need him to understand that. And I, I believe he's a smart enough baseball guy to understand that I really, really do. So, um, you know, I, I just think he knows how to set up an organization. And I think the nice part about this is that everyone's going to know who's boss. Cause it felt like, like the way it's been written about,

like McPhail has basically just been absentee president. Like he hasn't really been around, hasn't been hands-on normally. Like it was just kind of like, ah, well I'm just gonna let Mack Lentak run everything. And I don't really care where it goes, you know?

But with Dombrowski here, it seems like there's going to be at least a top-down hierarchy. So, yeah, I just, I like that there's an adult at the head of the table. And, yes, it's crazy. Because when you look at it, he's really only lost two trades in his entire history. only lost two trades in his entire history. The Randy Johnson trade in the 90s and trading Alfredo Simon for, or trading Eugenio Suarez for Alfredo Simon.

But for the most part, this is my main thing. Like Dombrowski doesn't really lose trades. I guess one of the things that he does, and I think that hopefully we'll learn, is he's really good at a value at self-scouting and knowing which prospects he can give up that aren't going to come back to bite him because there hasn't really been major cases of a prospect coming back to bite him outside of Eugenio Suarez and and Randy Johnson back in the 90s other than that his trade record is unbelievable

well that's awesome I mean It is, it is The Scherzer trade was a steal Yeah, the Cabrera trade to Detroit was massive I mean there were a bunch of And responsible, I believe I don't know if he drafted Cabrera

I think Cabrera Well he signed him I thought he did I thought he signed him And he drafted Beckett. Yeah, well, yeah, I drafted Verlander. Yeah. I mean, like, yeah, look, I think that because this is one of those cases where I think when looking for who we wanted to be the president or general manager or whatever at the time,

like we were in a box of looking at, at people who are doing things the way baseball is being done now. And as a result, I think Dombrowski, you know, we maybe a little unfairly put him in a box with some other people who he probably didn't deserve to be in that box with. He's better than the people in that box. Yeah, he's not in the Ned Coletti, Jim Hendry.

Exactly, Jim Hendry, all those guys. That actually would have been a meltdown, yeah. Exactly, exactly. He's light years better than those guys. And his resume says that. And I think that because we were so excited for the Thad Levines, the Chernoffs, the Neanders, like all those guys as potential options, I think maybe we've gone a little too far on what Dombrowski is and could be.

Because it is true. And especially, look, if we're talking about a guy whose reputation, the bad part of his reputation is that comes that comes into places and burn things to the ground to win it all but if he's not losing trades in burning things down if the idea that he's you know yes maybe he's overspending in some spots maybe he's handed out some bad contracts or whatever like clearly the contract in detroit a disaster like a horrible horrible horrible awful horrendous terrible contract but well the sale contract too yeah the sale contract

is a disaster like and even without the tommy john it was before he got the tommy john surgery it was already a disaster and that's like oh wow now it's like an epic disaster um but look he won a world series there and you know if you look look at Detroit, he did build in Detroit. He did take a team that was bad and made them good, a team that was bad for a really, really, really, really, really long time and made them good. And again, I do think that the point you're making about he's like a true baseball guy, Dave Dombrowski.

You hear all the stories, and I know that we all know them by now, but the idea that a GM or a president of baseball ops is is traveling on the road every week with a team every time they go on the road is like that's crazy. Like that doesn't ever happen. It gets super weird. And it's because this guy's like a baseball guy. Like he's a true lover of the sport. When you read that Stark article, maybe now's a good time to get into that. You know, talk to his wife's like, I know you love this too much. Like, I can't let you like,

stop. Like you're, you, this is what you love. And it does seem like, you know, you hope that he's, he's kind of re-energized by this new challenge and this new opportunity. But let's talk about the Stark thing. Cause if you haven't read it there, the Jason Stark piece on the athletic about kind of how this all happened is a, is a really good read and gives you a lot of insight into the process, a process that we all obviously for a long time thought was one of the all-time disastrous processes and ultimately didn't end up as disastrously as it looked like it could have at times. What was your takeaway from the, or takeaways from the stark article kind of detailing the process of how they went after dembrowski first it was initially the top guy on their list

he said no he said no multiple times on the way and they went and you know talked to you know a lot of the top guys that levine we know about all this stuff and then ultimately just kept pressing with dembrowski after levine you know kind of kind of begs out, they come back and, uh, and make it happen with Dombrowski. Um, what were your takeaways from that article? Well, um, my, my main takeaway was that they're really close to getting fat Levine and like, kind of, it kind of hurts that he's not here. Um, and I, you know, I was like, I almost didn't want to read that part because it was like, wow,

like we could really be sitting here with the fat Levine led baseball team and whatnot, whatever, not going to happen. But yeah, like my main takeaway was, you know, when Middleton,

when Middleton gets guys on the phone and talks to them one-on-one i don't know what he does but he seems pretty convincing i mean you know when like the like mcphail's basically like hey just talk to just talk to john right and then he talks to john like i think it was both thad levine and it was dombrowski i mean thad levine it was like yeah i'm not taking the job no matter what. And they talked for an hour, and he's like, I'll think about it, you know? And then there was the Dombrowski where it was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And then McPhail was like, all right, just talk to John.

And he talked to John, and within an hour, they both kind of realized where this was eventually heading, that Dave Dombrowski was going to be here and be the president of the Phillies. You know, it was nice. So it was nice. I, I honestly,

my takeaway from it was I feel better about Middleton. Um, and I feel better for two reasons. One, I liked a lot of the names that he had on the list. And, um, cause I guess he had three lists. He had one list of established names four

lists okay four lists okay but whatever the one the one list was all terrible names besides the broski yeah it was established old guy you're brian sabian which is the second best name on that list by far yes um and even then i wouldn't want brian sabian but at least brian sabian won three world series and is very accomplished um but then it was like Coletti and Hendry and Duquette and all these disaster names. Horrible. And then it was the list of the what we would like to call the dream list. The high hopes list.

The Neander, Chernoff, Levine. The blank checklist. The hero. Yeah. The ass jack. And then the third list was the rising stars, right? Rising stars and then the last well was the rising stars, right? Rising stars. And then the last, well, no, the assistant GMs and all that was list. And then there was also a list of like GMs who were recently out of jobs or whoever who were out of, like there was an unemployed list, an old guy list, for lack of a better term, a rising, a established stars list

and a rising stars list. Right. I would have called the the rising stars list the high hopes list, but that is not my business. So, he had the right names on there. I mean, he had the right names on there, and he had the right names on the... Yeah, well, I mean, the Mets hired one of the

guys on the rising stars list. Yeah. Yeah. But, yeah, no, he had the right names there and i'll give him credit for that and i like i like where his head was at obviously this was really hard i mean ends up that freaking mcphail was right about people uprooting during a pandemic um i mean even debrowski is still living in nashville even though he's running the phillies now No, stop. He wasn't right. We've seen a thousand GMs move to Nashville and across the country. I agree.

He went across the country. Dombrowski is 64 years old and literally just bought a house and just moved to Nashville. It's a unique circumstance. I guarantee you anyone else who gets that job. And Dad Levine, it wasn't the pandemic. It was that he loves his job. He was like, this is my dream job. I love the people I work with. I love the situation. I'm not leaving it. And even then, I think the article

slightly embellished. I did not take away from the article that it was really, I know that that's kind of what the article implied, but to me, it felt like Levine was never leaving Minnesota. Like, that's what it felt like from reading the article. It was like, oh, like John gave it his best effort, but ultimately Thad just had to stay in minnesota he wasn't interested at all but john got him a little interested and then he was like i gotta stay like that was all fluff to me like i don't think that levine was i i disagree with that take for me personally i i was like it never felt like that was really that close it felt like he said no and then he was like all right i'll listen to you really nice pitch but no like that was what

it felt like they did give him permission though they did give him permission um which you know symbolizes that things may have been moving in the right direction and then he slept on it and stayed he said he'll say now he said i want to stay cold so what a loser but um and i that levine is now dead to me but um yeah no i just i I don't know. I left the article feeling better about Middleton. And I know it sounds bad that your owner has to ask for advice around the game about what to do, about to run his baseball team. You know, I mean, you'd hope that he's been around for long enough that he'd have a better idea.

But, you know, at least he seemingly asked the right people, and they were like, just let the candidates come for you. And I'm glad he didn't make, like, a super rushed decision to hire a guy he didn't feel right about. And I know it ended up being Dombrowski, and we'll see how that turns out. But I like this process, I guess. But I really, I genuinely left the article feeling better about John Middleton, and I'm willing to give this a chance.

I'm in. I'm in on Dombrowski. I am in on him being here, saying the right things, understanding that it's not a one-year, let's go all in and try to win as fast as possible. I like that he said about this being a sustainable winner. It seems like Middleton is committed to the sustainable winner thing. It is funny

though that basically in two press conferences or press conference and interview with Angelo, Dabrowski has basically said that they're not going to really spend that much money and he's not sure on JT and all this stuff and no one really cares because he just sounds like an adult talking at a press conference.

But, you know, whatever. But, yeah, I don't know. I just I like where the team is at. Yeah, look, I generally agree with most of what you said. Um, I, I think that, um, it made me feel better about the process than I did before. Uh, obviously I don't know how you could have felt much worse. I will say, I look, I do agree that it made me feel better about Middleton to, to a point, but that is also because I felt horrible about Middleton. I feel better, but but look i'm still gonna hold him to the fact that he said he wanted to be a big boy that he said you know i want to you know i'll do whatever it

takes to bring the trophy back and all that stuff and and a big piece of that article about middleton was about slashing payroll like you just said and about having to eliminate jobs and all this type of stuff and it's like oh we lost 145 million. Can we stop saying this? Like you did not lose $145 million. You didn't make $145. That is a very different thing. That is a very different thing. This whole narrative that all MLB owners are losing all this money. They're not like it's a, it's farce. It's, it's, it's outrageous. Like crying poor is, is now in america where there are a lot of people really are poor who really have a right to cry poor who have lost their jobs and all this type of stuff it's like i i i am offended and it's not just middleton middleton is a part of this but

it is it is all these owners it is the vast majority of these major league baseball owners who are making it seem like they are these destitute, poor souls who the pandemic has just crushed their business. And it is, frankly, it's a little offensive. Like it is. And there was a big piece in that article. And I understand, look, I understand it's a business. I get it. I get that there are real life situations with everyone, with every business. Our business had to cut people. We all know that this is what it is, right? Like, I get that. But at the same time, like, I understand that that stuff has to happen,

but you are also someone who is one of the biggest markets in the country. You are one of the biggest markets. And you are also someone who has said before that you are going to spend, that you are going to be willing to do what it takes to bring a winner here. And I just like that all the, I'm losing so much money stuff doesn't ring true with me. Like it bothers me. Like that's my issue with John Middleton right now. And again, I understand it's a business and all that. I'm just saying like, I don't, I understand if you're not going to go crazy and go over the luxury tax and all that.

Like, I don't agree with it. And you know how I feel. I think he should go over the tax. I thought he should go over the tax last year. I thought rolling out that bullpen with a chance with a team that in a weird season otherwise was good enough. Like, you know, all that. I hold all that against him. And moving forward, I'm going to hold it against him if he's going to cheap out. Like, I just am. Because you said you weren't going to. It's a major market. And like jim when jim salisbury has the question he's like jim can you tell me how many people are going to be in the stands can you tell me the financial realities of all this stuff all

that type of stuff that is just it rings hollow with me like that stuff right now rings hollow with me especially with steve cohen sitting in new york wanting to go out and do whatever the hell needs to be done and and being very open about it. Like, well, that part makes me nervous, Jack. Let me first say this. Steve Cohen's a fraud. Get out of here. Like he's he's he's traded. He traded a rule five pick the other day for cash.

He kidding me? Get out of here with Steve Cohen. I'll believe it when I see it. When he's when he's spending boatloads of money, I think he'll make it. I think he'll make a nice little offseason this year. But like I saw some report the other day that he also doesn't want to go over the luxury tax this year and he has 14 billion dollars so whatever just the it's just the reality of the sport you got to work around it whatever it's frustrating but you know you can say about the money stuff and i

get it i'm it makes i it's frustrating but same time i mean nebraska had a four-year 20 million dollar deal i mean yes that's good. I appreciate it. He is. We, we may not need to bring them Browse gear, whether or not like, you know, he paid for that role,

which is something we've called for. I agree. That is fair. I wish it was, I wish it was, uh, you know, yeah.

Four years, four years, 40 million for a Neander. Yeah, exactly. But, but I agree. Look,

he went out and spent on a spot where there is no tax. There's no, you know, soft cap, whatever. But I agree. Look, he went out and spent on a spot where there is no tax, there's no soft cap, whatever. I do appreciate that. I'm with you. I just, again. FanDuel Casino's exclusive live dealer studio has your chance at the number one feeling, winning, which beats even the 27th best feeling, saying I do.

Who wants this last parachute? I do. Enjoy the number one feeling, winning, in an exciting live dealer studio, exclusively on FanDuel Casino, where winning is undefeated. 19-plus and physically located in Ontario. Gambling problem?

Call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connectsontario.ca. Please play responsibly. I'm feeling more positive about the Phillies. I'm feeling much better about the Dombrowski thing. I'm feeling better about Middleton than I was before. Like you said, the one piece of that article that made me nervous about Middleton is, again, enough with the lost $145 million.

Enough. Enough. Enough. Just stop saying it. Like, stop saying it. That's where I'm at. Well, he can't stop. I know. But again, he said he lost $2 billion, Jack.

He said he lost $2 billion. Well, you don't. Come on, man. No, but that could also have been the freaking journalist. We don't know if Middleton really said we lost $2 billion. Like, I mean, come on. There's no way that he actually said like i think that not i think that was the the this the the new york post trying to get some

some clicks or okay it's possible regardless enough um i don't know so so yeah yeah he shelled out he shot for that yeah and i get it but also but here's the other point that i'm kind of believe excited a little bit about is that I really do think that one of the main reasons that Middleton didn't go to the luxury tax last year was, I think he lost trust in the guys that were spending his money, right? I mean, Matt Klintak's blown, what, like $500 million of John Middleton's money? I'm not blown it but he spent a lot of it uh and now i think that with dombrowski here i think middleton's gonna be a little bit more like all right i trust you you've done this before like i will if you say that this is the guy we'll go get that guy and ultimately i mean i think and I think you saw it with Dombrowski is that he was aggressive

in that he wanted to go bring Dave Dombrowski here and again that may be the right move that may be the wrong move but ultimately he got his guy and he paid him five million dollars a year to do it he he he went out and got a guy like that and I think it was because he was starting to feel like why doesn't anyone want to come here And that may be a little bit self-induced, but at least he was like, this is embarrassing to me and my organization. I'm not going to just sit idly by and let my franchise just turn into a joke. I mean, again, maybe coming self-induced, but he didn't let that happen. And he got a guy in here that establishes credibility, a lot like Joe Girardi, same kind of thing,

going from Kapler to Girardi, I guess, quote-unquote, established credibility, which, again, I don't care, really, about establishing credibility. I mean, I guess if everyone needs to put on their big boy pants over there and be a major league franchise in this day and age. I guess, good job, round of applause. But at least he did it. At least he did it.

He didn't sit idly by and just let it fester on. Another thing I liked about what Dombrowski said, I guess on the press conference, was it did seem like he wants to groom a general manager. So, you know, a lot of the talk when he was in Boston was that he never had a GM because he wanted to do everything by himself. But now he's 64. He only started a four-year deal. I don't really anticipate him wanting to be a president of baseball ops into his 70s. Because by that point, you would think, right,

that Nashville would be able to have a team. The pandemic would be over. They'd hopefully be recovering funds and all that. So maybe go back to Nashville after four years. I like the idea of having a GM ready to be groomed that can just take over when he's done and hopefully continue on having a well-functioning organization.

Yeah, look, I'm with you. Again, I am more positive than I was. There's hope I'm not as dour, depressed, as down as I was. But I will go back to what I said at the beginning of the pod because I think ultimately that's the key to all of it is actions speak louder than words. And that's what it comes down to with Dombrowski. And clearly his words are damn good, and he's good at delivering them.

Oh, yeah. But the actions speak louder. And same thing with Middleton. You know, we're again like, all right, bro. Again, you are the one who said you're going to do whatever it takes to bring the bleeping trophy back to Philadelphia. It's on you. Bring the bleeping trophy back.

That's where I stand. If we're pulling the action speak louder than words card, I mean, he's been in the job for a week, and there hasn't been a move yet, so maybe he really is thinking about building a sustainable. You got some rumors. At least we get some rumors. At least the Phillies can actually theoretically be in on people.

What an exciting thought. I know. You have someone running your franchise while free agency is happening. Oh, what a crazy thought. And now we can finally like who are Dombrowski guys? You know, who are possible GM candidates? Bradley Jr. Yeah.

Yeah. You know, finding guys that Dombrowski might go after. What does Dombrowski like? His first move with the Red Sox was trading for Craig Krimble craig kimbrell let's get brad hand or liam henderson here let's hope it's not his first move here is trading for craig what come on man one more year craig i think he had a good year last did he start to find it a little bit last year craig kimbrell um no but like listen i don't know and listen i get it i just don, listen, I don't know. And listen, I get it. I just don't, like, I just don't care anymore. Like, I'm just happy to have a freaking guy that can run our team

and I can, like, actually get excited about looking at players. Like, honestly, I didn't even want to do a freaking off-season podcast because, like, I don't even know what players to look for. What is Ned Rice's guy? What is a Ned Rice guy? I don't know what a Ned Rice guy is. I know what a Dave Dombrowski guy looks like. So I had no hope.

I had no hope two weeks ago. And look, bam, two weeks later, there's hope. And sure, it came in Dave Dombrowski. But I can't believe I'm saying it. Trust the guy. All in. All. Trust the guy. All in. All in on the guy. Look, again, it's so much better.

Also, is Dave Dombrowski the tallest guy in America? Every picture of Dave Dombrowski. He looks like David Bowie and David Byrne's cousin. I don't know, man. I don't know how tall he is but he's got to be he's got style too he's at least 6 10 right andy mcphail who's like you're i'm 100 sure his wife cuts his hair like dombrowski is like styled and cool like like again i know we said last time but like the the the biggest single thing that can be said about this is like mcphail to dombrowski is like going from like like a child to an adult in terms of running

your ranch it's like a big difference it's like going from a toyota camry like a like the the most the most the most basic version of a toyota camry like absolutely no sunroof uh there's no like you know extra gear it's only manual or only uh automatic um like no touch screen it's like the old dial thing like he he was a freaking camry from like 2007 and now we got like at least a 2013 Mercedes. I mean, right? Yeah. Like a BMW, something like that. Yeah. Something you can get to. Slightly older model.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We got a 2013 525 BMW now running our team, which is an upgrade, right? It's not a 2007 Toyota Camry. I think you're giving Andy McPhail way too much credit not a 2007 toyota camry i just think i think you're giving annie mcphail way too much credit as a 2007 really he's like a 1999 saturn viewer like he's like

he's a car that is no longer you know what he is he's a quick silver he's a quick silver exactly he's a car that you can't buy anymore unless it's Unless it's like on eBay. You know what I mean? Or like. He's not in production anymore. He's like a Mazda Miata. Oh, Andy McPhail is a Mazda Miata. I love that. You think it's a sports car?

I bet you Andy McPhail drove a Mazda Miata at one point. Yes, he definitely did. Back in his heyday, he's like, oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm a Mazda Miata guy. Hey. Hey. What's up? Hello.

Hello. Andy, well. I don't know if you know this, but my dad. Thank God that guy's gone. Thank God that guy's gone. Andy, don't let the door hit you on the way out. Thank God. Leave.

Leave. Leave. You loser. I hate you. Wow. Thank you. Wow. Wow.

Poor Andy. I just let it flow there. You're letting the the door kick him on the way out huh how funny was it by the way that clintac was uh giving names to oh it was the best part of the article the best part of the article is even matt clintac submitted a list what do you what do you think what do you think clintac's name was honestly and i and i mean i am being dead serious when I say this. I think it was probably a pretty good list. I think it was probably the best list of everyone there. I totally agree. Of the list, they said Gillick, Charlie Manuel.

I bet you Klintak's list was the best. Can we stop with you? I actually had the same thought, Jack. And like freaking Terry Ryan. What is Terry Ryan doing around this organization? Like again, again, again, all these guys got replaced by smarter dudes, all right? Like, Thad Levine and Derek Falvey took over for Terry Ryan. Like, you know, the Jim Hendry freaking thing.

Like, Theo took over for him. Whatever. I just hate it. Get all the old guys away from the organization. Although I do like Charlie and Pat Gillick I'm impartial to those guys I don't know what Terry Ryan is doing here I hate every time he's mentioned

why the frick would I care what Terry Ryan says I agree I'm with you him and Andy McPhail can go out to pasture together yeah Dombrowski listen might be Pat Gillick I mean look

again again since this is the hey we were really mean about Dombrowski last time this is one big we're sorry he's a whole famer I mean in reality like the guy will probably be in the whole game when it's all said and done

like he is he has had a much better career. Andy McPhail won two titles with the same team in a four-year span 30 years ago. Yeah, but you have to factor in that he's Steve Bartman and catch away from him. Yeah, of course. Great point. I mean, Dave Dombrowski, like, has built multiple winners. Like, he has built two World Series teams, really built another one of them that, you know, the second one on the team was a big part of that.

Like, has taken franchises from obscurity and made them great. And, you know, like, yeah, the Boston thing is weird, but he went in there and won a title. A lot of the work was already done, but he won a title. Right, but that was also his job. Like, his job there was to do whatever it took. Exactly, they said, Dave Dombrowski, come in and get us over the top. And guess what? He got you over the top. He won 108 games and won a World Series.

So, I'm with you. I think that, look, emotion is a wild thing. Yes. Like, sometimes emotion can get the best of you. And I, again i blanket statement i i am not fully sold actions speak loud words i need to see what happens but i absolutely think that we were we were too hard on them in our last i don't think hey we never lie to high hopes listeners exactly we got to be real and honest and this is the truth you know and honestly ultimately

we wanna be in of course I'm dying to be in well you were already in cause you wanna be in so bad like you're already in he doesn't even need a move yet and you're already in because you want to be in so bad but also at the same time I think that me and him

think on the same wavelength when it comes to building a baseball team. And I didn't want to be the guy that he made a move that I would make and then me being like, you're Dave Dombrowski. You don't know what you're doing. Because I think that me and him think alike when it comes to building a baseball team. Good defensive center fielder, Jackie Bradley Jr.

Good shortstop, Andrew Alton Simmons. I think he's going to go after him. And then it's like a closer is important. Even though he weirdly crapped all over Hector Neris when he was with Angelo you just took a crap right out of me he's like we clearly don't have that guy here like didn't even like acknowledge

like you know maybe Hector could be that guy but I'm not you know like he was just like yeah that guy's not here yeah and for those who didn't listen to him with Angelo he basically said like they asked him about a angelo he basically said like they asked him about a closer and he basically said like we don't have that guy here and me and james were like i don't know man hector's all right i like hector we text each other we're like but like i thought

the answer is a good answer outside the heck you're like he was like hey like i do believe in a closer which you and i have spouted for years we both strongly believe that there are certain people who can handle that role and certain people who can't but he also said look like you don't have to go out and buy one like he's like closers can come from unexpected places and i i liked i like the answer made me think all right he's not gonna go out and like overpay for closer actually although doesn't he scream like a liam hendrix you know what i was i was about to say go out and overpay for liam hendrix but you know what like that's like the one guy like i don't want to overpay for a closer

but like i really like liam hendrix and i think he's gonna be really good for for a few years here so like i that i literally was jagged so when he's like that because when i was gonna say i hope he doesn't go out and overpay for like a liam hendrix and i i didn't say that i said for a closer because like i didn't want to imply that you could overpay for a Liam Hendricks. I didn't say that. I said for a closer because I didn't want to imply that you could overpay for Liam Hendricks because I would be super happy with Liam Hendricks. We would both be ecstatic. Now, I will say, and this is my God's honest take

because that's the thing we did earlier. I don't really want Brad Hand that much. There's a lot of people that think... All right, I'll put it this way. I like Brad Hand, but for me, he's not in the Liam Hendricks. like there's a lot of people that love they think like from all right i'll put it this way i like brad hand but he's for me he's not in the liam hendricks like level no no no but you wouldn't have to pay him like right i know i know you won't but the thing that uh scares me about brad hand is and i know his era was good last year and people a lot of people look at that but

the fastball velo dip was real, and I'm fearful that that continues. His underlying stats didn't suggest that he was that good last year, but if you look at ZRA, he was good. I would like Brad Hand, but I'm not. Like Liam Hendricks, I would be like, hell yeah. Brad Hand, I would be like, eh. So when the Phillies signed Brad Hand. I'm only in on Brad Hand for a one-year deal, is the point. So when the Phillies signed Brad Hand, let me only in on Brad Hand for a one-year deal. That is the point. So when the Phillies signed Brad Hand, let me just say, love Brad Hand.

Love Brad Hand. I love Brad Hand. I will say, for what it's worth, you're in a division with Freddie Freeman, with Juan Soto, with Conforto and McNeil and all those guys. with, you know, Conforto and McNeil and all those guys, like, you know, having a shutdown lefty closer, presumably, hopefully shut down,

like having a good lefty closer, like you could do worse is all I'm saying. Yeah. I mean, it's a good point. It's definitely a good point. But honestly, like, yeah, I just, I think, I think kind of how,

kind of how Maury came in and made like five moves and it was like, oh, all this makes sense, right? That's kind of how I'm entering this offseason with the Phillies. I just think that Dombrowski is going to make a bunch of moves that make sense. And ultimately, it might not lead the Phillies to like a, you know, I think they can win the wild card. I don't think they're winning the division or any of that stuff. But I think he's going to come in and make some moves that make sense.

And ultimately, the guy knows how to build a baseball team. And for as much as I think we reacted strongly to the Red Sox era, Dombrowski, I think the reason why I'm more in on Dombrowski a week later is because of what he did with the Tigers and not what he did at the end of the Tigers. And even Florida, but particularly Detroit. end of the time. Even Florida, but particularly Detroit. Right.

But yeah, I mean, Florida was whatever. It was a long time ago. Yeah. And I, and I guess, I mean,

it is nice that, you know, the year he tore down the first, his first draft, you know, he said he was able to, to, to go out and build a team,

like basically a championship team from scratch through agency and trades, and then still rebuild another team that would win the world series or play a vital role in building that team like i don't know i think that's impressive but i think that i mean that was he was out of there before you know before 03 even so like it's hard to give that too much credence it's like a different sport in a lot of ways now in terms of running teams but the detroit stuff is recent enough and the way he did it like that i think that i mean again he took a team that hadn't made the playoffs in something like 14 years or something like that and and turned them into a team that won the

division five years in a row like it was a you went to the world series you know like that was a a legitimate turnaround for a franchise yeah and i guess my thought is, I guess after reading more and all this stuff, is that he's really done it a couple ways. And he's ultimately won everywhere. You know, he's done it. He's done it in like 1997. He put a team over the top after building them. With the Tigers, he took a team that was in the dumps and built them into a real contender and made the correct moves to put that team over the top. And then with the

red sox he came in and they were like hey when it's a world series like all right cool i'll go do that so i i just like the fact that he's done it different ways and i guess what my i didn't i guess i didn't put together all the stuff you do the tigers i more looked at the end of the tigers but also you kind of have to factor in with the like the owner if i remember correctly was on his like he was kind of towards the end and he was just like, pay whatever it takes. I don't care. I'm going to be out of here in a couple of years kind of thing with like the contract and price and, um, all that stuff. So yeah, I, I, I liked the Detroitness of it all. Um, you know, his first draft pick was Grandy. He drafted Verlander, you know,

draft pick was Grandy. He drafted Verlander. Really good picks out there. Yeah, listen. We knew it was going to happen. We couldn't stay down forever. We're here, baby. We are a Dave Dombrowski podcast. We are a Dave Dombrowski.

I think we just found the title of the pod. How about that? Two weeks in a row towards the end of the pod. It naturally happens. We are aave dombrowski podcast never a boom uh take back ritzy um i honestly don't think i really have much you know it's been a lot oh well i think we should talk about jbj right yeah that's a jbj and uh it's really been and i guess we can quickly mention that they signed Neftali Feliz. All right, we're good. Neftali Feliz, yes, who is somehow only 32 years old. But, yeah, so JBJ.

So everyone talks about JBJ like he's not the best hit tool, and I get it. But, I mean, just in watching some of his at-bats from this year, it does look like he made some nice swing changes um i always felt like when he hit with the like even 17 and 18 he had those was the the 18 uh alc ask where the big the big grand slam and all that stuff i always felt like he was correct but he was off balance you know like you'd hit him running like his feet would be all over the place um it would be like he locked into it. But in watching him last year, I felt like he finally got a good base underneath him. He did bat 282 last year. And if you look at his hard hit rates, pretty good.

Nothing's going to jump out. But he's always pretty consistently hit the ball hard. And I just love the idea of JBJ patrolling center field for the Phillies. Like, just an absolute, I mean, he's a defensive superstar. He's one of the best defensive center fielders of allies. Like just an absolute, I mean, he's a defensive superstar. He's, he's like one of the best defensive center fielders of all time. It would be,

it would be like, yeah, he is a all time stud. Yeah. It's what the old heads he's talked about with like Gary Maddox and all that stuff. So, um,

I would just, I would just be excited to see what he would do defensively. And ultimately like Roman Quinn always took horrible routes. I mean, no matter what, I can't, like, Roman Quinn always took horrible routes. I mean, no matter what. Oh, I can't. Again, I was literally just had a conversation about the Austin Hayes inside the park home run, which is like just a like, what were you doing, dude?

Like diving there was one of the all time, like, like most, just like having such a lack of feel for it. It's such bad instincts out there. It was unbelievable. And not just that, Jack. If we're going to talk about defensive, we've gone from Quinn to Kingery to Herrera to Haseley for the last six years.

You know what I mean? Herrera would make some nice plays, but was never a true defensive center fielder. We would be talking about bringing in, again, the best center fielder in baseball. Like a stone cold... Yeah, and Kiermaier. Those two guys, yes.

Like a stone cold stud in center field would be a lot of fun, man. Yeah. We've had such bad outfield play. Other than a little Bryce Harper fun the last couple years like we've had such bad outfield play for the last five plus years Jack that like just to see someone out there is like a true great at his position would be really exciting yeah and like I mean uh pre-ACL Taren Cutchin and left feels like oh my god I mean

like it was like because that. That was going from freaking Reese. It was. Reese in left field, I love the guy. That was part of what I was talking about. With the bad outfield play we've had this season, we had to watch Reese Hoskins play left field. Unbelievable. I can't believe we lived through that. Talk about a miserable

experience. I know. Again, we've had so much bad phillies baseball yes yes it's only been nine years not that long um but yeah jbj and then like thinking about if they could get andrew allen simmons on a one-year deal i mean just i mean the offense squad you go from like i mean you have that uh one of literally the top defensive shortstops in the history of baseball, maybe the best.

Maybe the best. Like, Angleton Simmons. Angleton Simmons, like, literally might be the best. Like, I know Ozzie and all that, and it's probably Ozzie and all that, but, like, legitimately, like, Angleton Simmons as a case is the best defensive shortstop in the history of baseball, even though some people think Freddie Galvis was better, but we'll let that slide.

Like, and then you had like an all-time great center fielder i mean think about that up the middle if you could bring a certain guy behind the plate back i mean that's an all-time great defensive up the middle i mean especially if kingery can figure it out and play second base for you i mean man that's about as good and up the middle as you could ask for. Yeah, Dustin Majora with more talent at second base there would be great. Yeah, that'd be dope, as the kids say. But, yeah. Is that a thing they say?

But, yeah, I would really like – I would just like to have a guy like JBJ out there in center field to make things pretty sweet. Do I have permission to call my shot? Jack, you don't even need to ask. This is the trust tree. This is the safe space. This is us.

It's IHOPES. You always have permission. You can just call your shot. Call my shot. I think Josh Hader is going to be a Philly. I think Dabrowski loves his shutdown reliever, and I think he goes and gets Josh Hader is going to be a Philly. I think like Dabrowski loves his, loves his shutdown reliever. And I think he goes and gets Josh Hader this off season. How about that?

I love, please call your shot more often. Whenever, whenever you need me to call my shot, I will call my shot. Can you imagine just like going from the, the Phillies bullpen of last year to just Josh Hader? It's like,

it's like, oh my God. I mean, talk to me. It's like JBJ. It's like water in the middle of a desert, Jack. It's water in the middle of a desert. And you've been wandering for days and you're about to die of thirst.

And there's Josh Hader hurling 99-mile-per-hour fastballs, and it's like... Yeah. Because ultimately, I still believe that they're a bullpen away from being a pretty good team. If they brought JT back, and maybe signed

Andrew Allen to play short, I just don't think DD's coming back. And had Simmons play short, JBJ in the outfield. You trade for Hayter and maybe sign Liam Hendricks on top of that. The Phillies could be a good team.

They could be a good team next year. They're not as far away as I think a lot of people think. I believe. But that might just be me. Look. Positivity, baby. Yeah, that's what we want.

That's what we want. That's what we do. We are a Dave Dombrowski podcast, and we're on board. Yes. You got any final thoughts? I have two final thoughts. The MLB Top 100 prospects are out

for the MLB Draft. Red season. Oh, I can't wait. I can't wait. There's already so many guys that are team that I can't wait for. And I'm already pissed that they didn't lose more so we get where I wish they were. But I just can't wait. I can't wait.

There's some. I just can't wait. I can't wait. There's some... I just need them. Honestly, one of the things about Dombrowski is that I think... I have this weird feeling he's not going to make major moves this offseason, but I think he's going to invest heavily in international and the draft and try to get as much talent through there as possible.

Obviously, you want to do that. Please. No, but I think... Please. But for a different reason, because I think he wants to use it in trades eventually. I think he does eventually want to use it, and they just don't have the talent right now to do it

in the minor league system to make the trades that he wants. And that's the quickest way to get legitimate talent that you can pay for. It's an interesting thought. Yeah, I just think he's going to spend on all the comp picks. They're going to spend on first-round talent. If a big-name guy starts dropping, on all the comp picks you know they're gonna um spend on on first round talent like if a if a big name guy starts dropping i think they'll spend the money on him and then i think they'll spend

heavily in the international market and try to make aggressive moves there and try to get as much talent into the system as fast as possible so we could use that to try to upgrade the major league roster so um that's kind of what i was kicking around in my head the other day. Early favorite for me at the Phillies at 13. I think I got to do it. I think he's going to be the guy is Andrew Painter. He's a right-handed pitcher from Florida

that throws 97 and reminds me of Charlie Morton slash Roy Halladay. We'll leave it with that. Also, as always... The able painter future one, too. Yeah, Andrew Painter paints. But final thing, High Hops cans are officially here. Oh, and they're glorious.

Yes. They are as awesome as you would think they would be. Yeah, so officially this weekend at Four Fingers Brewing Company in Aston, PA, you can get some High Hops cans for yourself. We also have some other cans in the building that I think you would enjoy.

But yeah, High Hops cans are official here. We're going to put out some stuff on social media tomorrow. But yeah, fun times. I'm excited for everyone to see the can. High Hops is the official beer of the High Hopes podcast. Yeah, go get High Hopes.

Get the cans. Get some other beer. Holidays are coming up. It's cold. You want to get tucked into your house and drink some beer. That sounds like all I want in the world. So that is a must. Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays are we are going to be uh available for emergency pods david if you're listening yes we're ready the jbj the jbj emergency podcast our guy dave we are here

uh but otherwise we will be back in early January, Jack, with, can I say it, our perfect off-season podcast. I feel like now that Dave's here, that is our, and it'll be 2021, which will be beautiful. Like, not 2020 anymore. We're going to start 2021. Let me just

be honest with you. Nothing's going to change from January 31st or December 31st to January 1st. Just because it strikes 2021 does not mean... It's the end of 2020. Everything will be glorious. It'll be like sunshines and rainbows everywhere you go. It's all good.

Once this year, it was just the year, Jack. It was a thing that is unique to 2020. Yes. It's completely done. If you could ask for one Phillies move to wake up to under the Christmas tree, what would it be? Yeah. If I could.

Oh, that's a great. I mean, JT. JT? Oh, that's so boring. That's so boring. Want to know what my answer is? Fine. How about this one?

How about this one? DeeDee. DeeDee. DeeDee back. Boring. Boring, boring. I love that guy. Too boring.

I'm so sad. I'm so sad. I'm so sad. I got one for you. What do you got? Go for it. If I could get one move to show up under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning, it would be a nice, fresh trade for Joe Musgrove. Bring me Joe Musgrove.

Please, Davey. I need him. I need Joe Musgrove here to be my new actually good Pavetta. Okay. I'll take JT. I'll take DD. Sucks. Jack and Ash and Jack and Joe Musgrove. Sounds awful. I'll take, I'll take Joey breakouts. By the way, speaking of Pavetta, he's going over the top and his motion now. And I would just like to point out, I had been screaming from the rooftops for him to start going over the top in his motion now and i would just like to point out i had been screaming from the rooftops for him to start going over the top with his wind up for three years because it made more sense for

how his mechanics worked and i hate that he's doing it in boston he's gonna break out in boston and i'm already sick and tired about it and that's why i need joe musgrove here yeah well high and bloom was wearing a spin rate with a dreidel on it sure which like literally is like my spirit animal and i was like well that that could have been us i could be wearing that spin rate dreidel shirt but you know what dave's here we got dave dave the actual winner high Chaim Bloom, not a winner. How many World Series do you have, Chaim? Loser. Loser, Chaim Bloom. Hey, Chaim.

How many World Series you got, Chaim? Yeah. Hey, nerd boy. How many rings you got? We got Davey three rings? Davey two rings. Two rings. Two rings.

Sorry. I was already counting my next one. Davey two rings. Two rings. Sorry, I was already counting my next one. With Joe Musgrove starting pitcher one. Oh, man. Oh, my goodness. I don't even know what else to say.

It was perfect. We'll be back in 2021. Unless Dave gives us a reason to otherwise. The hopes are high, baby. He's friends himself. We'll be back in 2021. Unless Dave gives us a reason to otherwise. The hopes are high, baby. He's friends himself. We'll see you later. All-star closer, Kenley Jansen. We have a question.

What's the best podcast of all time? Baseball isn't boring, baby. I'm Rob Bradford. And every single day, I'm sitting down with the biggest names to show you this great game is the greatest game. It's my podcast. It's my passion. It's a cause I started more than two years ago and is now the most prolific national daily baseball pod there is.

Another fact, so jump aboard the BIB Express. Follow and listen to Baseball Isn't Boring, presented by Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.