High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Were the Phillies One Game Above .500 or Two? (Also Bryce Harper Won the MVP)

Episode Date: November 23, 2021

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz react to Bryce Harper winning the National League MVP. The guys relish in Harper's win, discuss Wheeler getting screwed, and much more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Yo! It is another edition of the High Elves Podcast. The first ever edition. With Bryce Harper winning the NL MVP as a Philadelphia Philly. Jack Fritz, you tweeted it. He's going to go in the Hall of Fame as a Philly one day. And yeah, we might not have the wins yet. We got Ray's guy.

We're going to start winning games. Dave, the hero Dombrowski, we're going to start winning games. But you know what? For right now, I'm pretty freaking stoked that Bryce Harper is the MVP. And mvp and and we may as well say you know uh thank you jack fritz right because he wouldn't be here without you you know yeah i mean many people have said that do you feel like you won the mvp was that the like internal thing that happened yeah i mean it feels like a like, honestly, I'm not lying to you. I know. Whatever you're going to say, I know.

Like, him winning the MVP, like, almost what it was like icing on the cake for me, like, for the whole hire or for the whole signing or whatever. Like, I didn't really think he was going to win an MVP as a Philly, and I was, like, perfectly fine with that. I thought he was going to be a really good player, but I didn't know if he still had, like, there are some ridiculous players in the NL, Acuna, Tafis. Like, there's some legitimate talent,

and I just wasn't sure he was ever going to be able to do it. And the fact that he did it, the fact that, you know, you were able to see, like, the real side of Bryce, I thought was awesome. And, yeah, it was all worth it uh honestly I felt happy for like our people you know like like it's been a long decade of Phil's baseball James like it's been it's been it's been a lot there hasn't been a much to to be like super fired up about but Bryce winning the MVP and kind of validating like yeah Bryce Harper's pretty good at baseball and hey maybe next year we don't have

to hear the stupid overrated chance yeah exactly go to exactly like that's a win and it was really nice seeing like the whole family there his wife and talking about his kids like he's in such a different place than when he won the last time and like honestly i think we're gonna look back on on this season kind of you know it not it won't be like howard you know like you look back at howard it's like 2006 you're like he batted 313 with 58 home runs and like 150 rbi or whatever it's like an insane z no one that that doesn't happen anymore that kind of season no it's i would be shocked if we see it again frankly i mean 313 with 58 homers will probably never happen again like 58 homers might never happen again but like i'm sure it will but like well but 313 with 58 homers i don't know

if that's ever gonna happen again that's insane yeah and like it'll take a magical season but we i feel like in the moment it was like yeah this is incredible and i want to see every howard at bat and i still remember like the home run down at rfk to pass schmidt or whatever um but like you kind of look back and you're like wow we should have definitely almost been paying more attention to what he was doing i mean honestly we should probably i the injury and the contract and stuff but like you know i think when we look back and i think you agree with this but i think we'll all agree that ryan howard probably one of the most criminally underrated players in philadelphia sports, much less Philly sports history.

Yeah, I agree with you, but I also think that that's almost been said so much that now it's flipping back around. Like we do. I think we all agree. Like we're all like legitimately like his, like whatever,

six, seven year run or whatever it is, is like, you know, it's like Ruthie and it's like high level stuff. What he did for that stretch you know yeah I mean um I could make the case that Howard's peak is still the best peak of any athlete I've seen in this city yeah it's possible it's it's up there um but and and it was great to see that Howard was

placed on the hall of fame ballot that came out today him and Jay roll like i gotta be honest james there's a little butterfly when i saw like when i saw those guys when i saw our guys in the hall of fame um ballot and then i started thinking like man you know they got freaking like injuries robbed us of what should have been three lock hall of famers ah such a Really, I mean, the fact that we went to the best era of Phil's baseball in our lives, and I don't think we're going to see one Hall of Famer. I don't think Cole gets in. I think Utley, I think the advanced stats

will probably help Utley the most. I agree. I think Utley and Rollins both have a real chance based on the opposite things. The Utley thing is the advanced stats maybe someday helping him in the Rollins thing is the opposite of it like damn that guy was just a great baseball player and he compiled numbers and maybe the advanced stats don't support it enough but but

he won an MVP and he was the you know catalyst for a world series champion stuff like you can make the case for either of the guys like they they both have, you know, they're both, you know, worthy just, you know, I think classically I would put out the end personally, but I think neither. I agree with you.

I think if I had to bet my life, I would bet my life on none of them getting him, but I wouldn't be like completely shocked if, if Utley or Rollins got it someday. Obviously not like now. I personally, I personally think Utley has a better chance. I agree. I agree.

If I had to pick one of the two, I would pick Utley. But it is kind of wild. Like, I don't know another, like, I can't think of another team off the top of my head, but like another team that won five straight divisions that wouldn't have one Hall of Famer. Like, the Braves teams had a ton of Hall of Famers. Yeah, well, the only comp, Buster Posey's going to break it,

but those Giants winning three of five World Series, like, I mean, Bumgartner is not a Hall of Famer, you know, but, like, it's Posey. Posey will be a Hall of Famer, but that's the same type of idea, I would say. And even then, completely different built teams, obviously, and all that. And, look, look I mean if we're talking about the full run I mean Roy Halladay is a Hall of Famer you know so you can throw that side of things in too but it is fascinating and look I think what it is is that to the point you know those guys were playing at a Hall of Fame level

for that run you know like Ryan Howard and Jay Sotley were hall of famers if they do that you know if you extrapolate over their career it's just like you said injuries robbed them of the length their careers could have been and jimmy that was the peak of what was a really good career you know yeah so um but not to get too distraught i guess too distracted are we talking about this i know about we started hard for mvp all of a sudden we're talking about the run. Yeah. It just shows where our heads are at. Well, that's what it evokes because you're right.

You know, like we talked about Bryce Harper winning the MVP and, you know, a decade of Phillies baseball where Bryce Harper winning the MVP is like far and away the highlight of that from a on-the-field, you know, production perspective. Obviously, Bryce Harper signing is the other highlight of that. Like I think we might look back and say Dave Dombrowski signing was the highlight of that we'll see feeling good who'd ever thunk it um but it does show like look because we're talking about that because that's you know we had MVPs back then it was Howard and Rollins back to back and that's the last time we won an MVP it's the last time we had anything to be

excited about so when Harper where it's like one of those things where like you know in a perfect world you want to say I'm VPs who cares I win titles you know like that's what we care about we've been titles and that and I agree like yes the title means so much more but when we've had nothing like when we haven't even had playoffs in a decade playoffs um I felt like Jim Moore there just came out um you know like when we haven't had that like then bryce harper winning the mvp and to your point validating especially like us like you know us being the the both literal you and me us and also the royal us of the many of us in this kind of group that we have here and the people who think like us who like really advocated the signing

and and fight fought for the signing and and argued with the people who said he got paid too much money and defended him the last two years saying you don't understand the value this guy brings and all this type of stuff it is validating right it's like it's like screw all of you we were right like this guy is generational he is one of the best players in this sport and he just showed you it like and it does have that kind of so like not only is it the best thing to happen the phillies in a decade sadly it also is an extremely validating thing for us bryce harper defenders the whole time you know i mean yeah and i i totally agree on all that but i would be lying if i said that like i didn't i'm obviously very happy that he won the mv MVP but there's a part of

me that's like did we really just waste this unbelievable yeah well a part of you are you kidding me there's a large a large chunk I mean a massive part of me and it and it kind of took away honestly it took away from the MVP for me um like obviously I'm very happy for him. I'm very happy for his family. But as a Phillies fan, you know, it's like, wow, this was honestly, I would say for me the second best offensive season I've ever seen and for you probably the same. I mean. Yeah, I don't remember. The best is Schmidt I don't remember.

So, yeah, it's after Howard the second best one I've seen. Yeah, I mean, you were around for like Richie Asher. It's after Howard, the second-best one I've seen. Yeah, I mean, you were around for, like, Richie Asher. Like, yeah. But, yeah, no, it's like they really just had one of the – at least one of the four best offensive seasons maybe in team history. Certainly since Chuck Klein was doing it. Well, and your guy, Ed Delahanty, before you pushed him off a train.

And your guy, Ed Delahanty, before you pushed him off a train. But, yeah, it's like he just had one of the four best seasons in team history offensively. And, you know, you pair in Zach Wheeler with that, who is also awesome. We'll get to the Zach Wheeler thing. Which is funny because the more people make the case for Zach Wheeler being the Cy Young, I'm like, ah, you know, he kind of was the Cy. I can't wait to get to it because I had the same exact reaction we'll get there because i we'll get there i i had the same reaction anyway right so so but they had they had a freaking

mvp and a top three cy young guy who really was tied for first and then some writers like left him off but they had all that and they went freaking 82 and 80 because they had no idea how to have like any depth around like their star players it should be it should be honestly a a pretty easy selling point and a pretty easy thing to build around a a ace like wheeler and an mvp like harper and now it's on the bros get the job done but there was this little part of emptiness is like we really just wasted maybe the best seasons we'll have of these guys in Phillies uniforms yeah no question and I thought

about it far more than I should have and to your point it did of course it took away from from it in some way because as much as I'm proud of Bryce Harper and as much as I'm proud of this the season Zach Wheeler had and and we'll get to the travesty of it and all that, him not winning the award and all that.

But, yeah, like I can't help but think about how wasted it was, you know, how disappointing it is that, you know, that season wasn't a part of a playoff run. You know, even you don't have to win the World Series. Just make the playoffs. You have an MVP and a Cy Young. You have an MVP and a Cy Young, and you can't even make the playoffs in a division where the 88 wins took it. It's shocking.

It really is. But then you look at, and I don't remember the exact numbers, but it was something like this, the Jason Stark Harper stat, where it was like the second half of the season or whatever it was. He had like an 1180 OPS, and the rest of the team was like 684. And it's like, well, then what the bleep are we doing here, man? Like, you know, no wonder. No wonder we wasted that season.

So, you know, it's like I'm very with you, though. It did in at least certainly not in a not tiny way in a in a in a meaningful way did somewhat take away from the enjoyment of it but um i do think that that when we look assuming and that's what obviously it's also important to you know be, be good, you know, because it erases all the pain. But if we're heading into a time where Dombrowski does, you know, head where we hope he's heading and where, you know, Ray's guy comes in and crushes the world and Preston Mattingly crushes and all that. Then I do think we'll be able to look back on the Harper MVP fondly in the sense of it was the beginning. Maybe it was the best season Harper has in Philly. But it's like, oh, remember Harper won the MVP

and then we got good and it was just kind of like fun again and all that. Like, I'm hoping that's what we get out of it because the whole it's already, you know, the whole like we've already ruined the season. Like we're clearly not taking advantage of the season from wins and losses, making the playoffs perspective. Like I'm going to choose right now to look at it in that light,

in the, hey, this is just the beginning light. I'm like you, Jack. This is like me sounding like you. So refreshing. It's unbelievable. Look at me. Dave Dabrowski's got me wrapped around his little finger. I guess you could make the case that the season wasn't totally wasted

because the team that won the division, they didn't do anything in the playoffs. So it's not like a total waste of time, right? But, yeah, honestly, the hope is we can look back. When we're doing this podcast 15 years from now, we can look back and be like, wow, you know, that was kind of the 06 Howard season where everything after after the howard look at you look at you just grabbing it and running yeah that's called picking up that's called picking up what you're putting down that's

called that's called podcast synergy but um yeah no like honestly and honestly i i feel the way you do i i i really think that the the Phillies are on an upward trajectory. Obviously, it depends on what they do this offseason. But, you know, I don't think the Harper MVP is going to be this, like, the lone highlight of another down five years of Phillies baseball. I think it's just the beginning, you know, and I just said it a little bit ago. But you have an ace that you can start a team with. You have an MVP that you can start a team with you have an mvp that

you can start a team with now he's got to build around those guys and you gotta you gotta facilitate the talent um unfortunately it's not like they're these super young pieces i mean harper is still in his prime but you know wheeler should have two more prime wheeler seasons left so you don't have like all the time in the world but it's not it's definitely not the worst base to try to, to build from a, uh, MVP and top three side guy. No, I think most teams would be pretty cool with that base. I agree. Um, all right, let's get to the side guy. Uh, it's, it's funny. Cause I love that you said that. Cause I had the exact same reaction where I went into the voting thinking oh he's not the Cy Young like you know he's definitely top three he should be there like but he's not it's

like Kerpenburn should win it you know and then you know the vote happens he loses and everyone starts parsing the numbers and really breaking down the case and I came out of being like wow Zach Wheeler really should have won the Cy Young. I was wrong. He pitched like seven more starts than Burns when you put the innings together. Seven, eight more starts. It's a not insignificant number of innings. Certainly, I think less insignificant than the difference in the ratio stats and stuff. Now, I will say watching both guys pitch this year like i definitely was more impressed with corbin burns i look wheeler was amazing but like corbin burns

when i watch that dude pitch i was like wow this guy's the best pitcher in baseball like when i'm watching pitch so he definitely felt like a cy young to me when i watched him um but again it's you know and it's funny because it's one of those things where it's like the analytics are actually kind of what one burns the Cy Young but in reality when you look at the numbers the innings pitch like that stuff has to matter so I actually think it kind of went too far with it so you know I think Wheeler should have won the Cy Young and I didn't realize how easily it should have happened Jack and it didn't yeah honestly i i think i could make the case that burns was more dominant but wheeler was more valuable yeah i think that's where i was going like because when i watch burns burns just

i mean that dude was like dude he struck out 13 less batters in 46 lessons that is that is stupid um that is like next level stuff as they say um but honestly the phillies bullpen is the reason why it's not the it's not the the cy young yeah i mean and the defense the defense but like gerardi had to push wheeler because he was clearly the best option they had and wheeler pitching the seventh a lot this year um early in the year he was clearly the best option they had. And Wheeler pitched in the seventh a lot this year. Early in the year, he was getting through the seventh. Towards the end of the year, he was just getting to the seventh. But, like, if he had any guys he could trust behind him, he could pull Wheeler and give him some breathers down the stretch.

But they couldn't do that because they had to try to make a division run. And they had to try to get in the playoffs. So really, I mean, the Phillies bullpen caused Zach Wheeler a Cy Young. And innings pitch has to matter. I don't think Corbin Burns faced a lineup four times all season long. He's lucky if he can face it you know three times um so it's just yeah like Wheeler I think honestly September kind of skewed my thought of Wheeler's season obviously I knew he was dominant and I knew that at every fifth start I was going to get at least seven innings um at the beginning of the season it was more like seven dominant towards the end of the season it was like seven with three runs um but you look at the overall scope of his year and kind of take out his six era in september um like he should have been this young and and now i get where

everyone was like kind of looked at the numbers and they were like what are we doing here like he was obviously a more valuable pitcher i think his his war was like. Oh, it wasn't even close. Like, crushed him in war. Crushed him. Yeah, and again, honestly, I don't know how pitcher war is like totally calculated. I don't either. It's a lot of FIP. I don't either.

I know. I don't know what to do with it. I don't really have any interest in FIP. I got to be honest with you. Well, that was Corbin Burns' Cy Young case. I mean, come on. You had a 1-6-3 FIP, Jack. Oh, I know.

I know. It's riveting. I love, come on. You're the 163 pip, Jack. Oh, I know. I know. It's riveting. I love when award debates come down to those kind of stats. It's like essentially like with fit where it's like wins above replacement. Like, okay. Like that, you know, I get it. It's like a sentence in a way. You know, Vorp, you know, value over replacement player.

Sure, I get it. Like fielding independent pitching, like that doesn't even make any sense. Like I get it, but only because I understand it and I know what FIP is. But like fielding independent pitching, really? That's what we got? That's the acronym we're going with here? Like how about have something that makes sense first and then make an acronym for it jack seems like a seems like a crazy concept um yeah i mean

i don't know it's i think i believe me i love analytics i love it's just like it's just so not fun it went too far man it went too far which is crazy because i mean i was just about to say when we were growing up, and then I remembered how much older I am than you. No, you can throw me in that mix. I'm an old soul. You know that. You know that.

Yeah, you are an old soul. That is definitely true. Jack, when we were growing up, they used to pick the Cy Young by who led the league and wins, Jack. I mean, come on. Now, I will say, that sounds horrible i know i think that i know see that's the thing is is we needed to get away from that and it was great and felix fernandez won it that year with like 12 wins or whatever it was and it was great not and now we've gone too far

now we're like well zach wheeler pitched 100 more innings than this guy but this guy's fit was 1.3 so i think we might need to go with that like enough already like let's let's rein it back in we need to find a happy medium this is why people hate analytics it's because we always go too far with it it doesn't all have to be analytics okay like analytics

plus it's all good like it doesn't have to be as much as it is Jack yeah also is that fair I gotta Like, it doesn't have to be as much as it is, Jack. Yeah. Is that fair? I got to be honest.

The eye test is always king. I mean, it just is. Well, I mean, let's be honest. I test Corbin Burns with a scion. Well, I know. Honestly, if you want to be honest, that's why I didn't think it was even that. Me too. That was my whole thing. I didn't dig into the numbers.

I was just like, I knew Corbin burns the numbers were ridiculous and i was like i watch that guy pitch like that guy's insane he's awesome you know and i know i know this is gonna sound selfish but i i had both in fantasy and wheeler screaming down the stretch and corbin was like my guy all year so i'm a little jaded that I went wire to wire in the most dominant fantasy baseball season ever and I lost in the championship so I don't want to make this about me oh that is tough no wonder no I'm not a guy that likes to make things about me no never it's not you at all it's really uh I've never heard you make it about you right so again i'm not going to start now um but yes as the guy who had both a fantasy i felt like corbin burns was the better picture

yeah yeah i think that's a uh i think it's a really rational intelligent way to decipher something like the saiyan word you know i think that's the right way if I filled that out if I filled that out on a ballot would it get passed all right speaking of ballots we got to do it we love him he's I think he's the goat I'm all about him he's my man but we never lie to the hopes listeners like we got to talk about Salisbury's MVP ballot like a little aggressive Jim I love it I want Bryce Harper to win what did you think of Salisbury's ballot that was amazing it was the greatest thing I've ever seen I mean are you kidding me like like I just got shushed by Emily because I'm being too loud for Zoe that was how much it made me laugh there oh it was amazing it was it was it was the perfect ballot it's like oh everyone

thinks juan soto versus harper's like the best mvp debate since since miggy versus trout i guess and and jim's like his team won like 56 games so he's not the mvp uh it was a true work of art from jim um and i just love that he got in my head, like Jim said, you know, I hate all this analytics stuff. Yeah. Even though like OBP isn't really analytics anymore. But he was like, you're not going to tell me that a guy whose team won like 65 games is the MVP.

So guess what? I'm putting him seven. Love it. I respect it. I really do. Strong work. Yeah. Like I couldn't have done it. Did what had to'm putting in seven. So I respect it. I really do. Like strong work. Yeah. Like I,

I couldn't have done it. Did what had to be done. Yeah. For the, for the sanctity of the sport, uh, Jim did it and I, uh,

I applaud him for it. And it was a true work of art. I love this. This is a good take on this. Um, all right. Anything else on the MVP inside before we get to some of the other like random stuff going on? Yeah. So just to and this is what was your favorite harper moment this

year um like you know it's a good question there is not a signature moment like i think of like groups of moment i think i think of groups of moments. I think of things like... Like Howard. Like Howard, he had the three-homer game off Hudson. Honestly, what I think about is more the feeling I had watching him hit during that run, especially when he was at his hottest, where it just felt like no matter what,

he was getting a hit or walk, and it just felt like no matter what he was getting a hit you know or walk and it just felt like man this guy is as locked in as i ever remember watching anyone step into the plate feeling that confident that he was going to come through so it's more a feeling i get but it's a great point jack because obviously you know like i can't think of a signature moment to the bryce harper season you know i can't think of oh that's the moment honestly the whole season was a dominant moment like for me if he hadn't gotten hit in the face like imagine what kind of

season he could have because he started the season off as the MVP get hit in the face was off for a little bit and then was the MVP the rest of the season like sure you can assume that maybe it wouldn't happen but if you know logic dictates that if he hadn't got it hit in the face, like, it would have been even better, you know?

Right. I guess for me, to the stick out, and I was like, this guy is the MVP, the Met series where he hit the homer off Diaz and Diaz points to this guy as if it's a pop-up and it, like, almost ends up in Ashburn alley that was one of my favorites and the Cubs game where they go down they're down by what like eight oh yeah that one was great and I think if I remember correctly tied the game up or gave him the lead and then hit an absolute like tank job moonshot that got another correct reaction so um but yeah it's just you

know you think like you you would have thought he was the mvp in 2019 off because of the homer off derrick holland or whatever um because that cubs home run walk off gets played over and over again but like this year it was just consistent mashing over and over and over again so um and i and there's a moment early in the season when they blew a lead against the giants and then he hit a he hit a home run to get the lead back that was a early season mvp moment but yeah there's not like that one signature wow well there's i guess there's a whole month of september of wow this guy really is the MVP yeah and August really too uh I think I do have a moment um I I'm trying to pinpoint exactly where I was and and how it played out but it was the moment that whatever he did in that moment convinced me to say yes I'm gonna bet on plus 3,300 odds for him to win the MVP.

Thank you. Whatever that moment was. I don't remember. What was that? Like April? No, dude. It was like June or July I got plus 3,300 odds. It was crazy.

Yeah. Plus 3,300 odds? That's pretty good work by you. I know. You big gambler. I wish I bet more than $5. Oh, this doesn't even count then. I'll tell you, it was 5 to win 155.

Come on. What a massive victory. I'm very happy for you, but that does not count. I know. I know. 20 bucks or more and I'll count it. Okay. Well, it's hard.

I'm not Jack. I'm not the gambler that you more and I'll count it. Okay. Well, it's hard. I'm not Jack. I'm not the gambler that you are, all right? I am not. But back before this whole thing became trendy, I was pretty involved. But now that it's gone mainstream, it's like fantasy football. That sounds about right. Yep. That sounds all right.

I'm not a mainstream guy. I've got to be honest with you. Really? No way. about right. Yep. That sounds. I'm not a mainstream guy. I gotta be honest with you. Really? No way. Um, all right. Uh, what is that voice?

I know you're not. No, no. It was just like, I know. Like it was a, yeah, duh.

I know. I know you pretty well. Wow. You're, are we going to have a feud, a pod feud? Well, I mean, listen, that was a very mocking tone i was gonna wait to mock you for this later but since we're in the mocking version of the podcast i may bring this up the way you say tatis is hilarious you're like tatis you like it like

tatis listen i have had him in fantasy since he was a prospect. We've come up and developed into a... We've developed two dominant fantasy baseball teams together. I like this. You're close personal friends. Speaking of... How about a guy who could become your close personal friend? What do you think about him?

Hold on. Before we get past that... Okay. I'm just trying to talk Phillies. I'm trying to talk about, you know, rumor trade.gie go ahead what do you got this is an important distinction all right can you tell me because i don't get bullied about anything like if someone calls me on something i fix it immediately so i erase any doubt of being made fun of or anything like like i've literally started dressing nicer at work this one i know you have it's so true you like bring it every day now the first day you did it i'm like what are you doing and you're like what are you

talking about i'm like what this is you never wear this you know you're wearing a button down like what's happening you were showing me how nice your pants fit you were really excited about your they really i am able to wear tighter pants now because I have lost a considerable amount. Also, if I pitch again, I might be able to go seven strong. My legs are absolutely jacked at this moment. And you saw that photo. I mean, I still got that. If they don't let me pitch in sneakers, I'm throwing at least 82 with sync.

No question. I don't even think it's a question. Yeah. No question. So is it platoon or is it it's platoon yeah so so when i say all right so if i see the the movie of charlie sheen it's platoon platoon and no one will make fun of me for that right no one no they will make fun of you for saying platoon that's what they'll make fun of you so it's platoon platoon yeah okay

we can now move on as i think about my future platoon of matt veerling and kyle schwarber love it love it even though schwarber's not schwarber's not a platoon guy um but i have thought a lot about you know adding a lefty so i i appreciate this that you're you're at and and obviously because you you know it's part bullying and not wanting to bully not but also it is part of and i don't think we've talked about and i always and i think i hope deserves to know jack is is now a growth mindset guy yes i guess we haven't brought this up i. I know, I know. And that right there, getting it right, not just yelling at me for saying, hey, you're wrong,

it's platoon, not platoon, is growth mindset stuff right there, Jack. Every day. Every day we're getting this growth mindset a little bit better. There used to be times where, you know, I would just like think about something over and over and over and over again. And now it's just like, you know what? I'm going to take what they said and I'm going to say, hey, are they wrong or are they right?

And if there's like, hey, you know, you know, Donovan Chesspat, a little bit. This is on me. And I'll say, hey, that's on me, too. And I'll accept the consequences or I'll accept the responsibility. And that's a good exhibit of a growth mindset. And it's been great. And I'll accept the consequences or I'll accept the responsibility. And that's a good exhibit of a growth mindset. And it's been great. It's really been great.

I'm happy, buddy. I no longer have any negative thoughts about the Phillies. We are post-Harper MVP. It is now growth mindset season as the Phillies are growing towards being back in the playoffs. It may have been said in this town maybe a month ago by someone who most people didn't believe in, that there was roots that were growing underneath. And that said football team is now doing some pretty special things.

Well, I think that there are some roots growing underneath this phil's organization that are going to be popping out and growing very soon look at you making the eagles reference thing you're just this is a whole new jack fritz here if only there was a podcast about the eagles yeah I could possibly host. All right. Can we talk Phillies again? Are you good? Yes, we may.

Brian Reynolds, you in? Not at the price. That's it? That's all Brian Reynolds? Well, no. It's like, all right. So Brian Reynolds is unbelievable. Honest to God, I was before you. I really like unbelievable. Like, honest to God, I was before. I really like him.

He's a good player. I know. And before we even brought him up, like I was watching highlights, just getting ready for this podcast. And I was like, oh, wow. He's basically, you know, prime Daniel Murphy from both sides of the plate where just like just hits and he's going to hit forever.

And he definitely plays elite center field and all that stuff. So. And only 26. Like, I think he's gonna hit forever and he definitely plays he leads center field and all that stuff so and only 26 like i think like he's gonna cost a ton so do i want to get like am i ready to already ship mick abel out for for brian reynolds uh i guess no we can't do that but i know what you mean i know you mean look here but it is the Pirates. I'm just saying. They have been taken advantage of in trades in the past. No, I know. And I guess I'm kind of, and I know this sounds like I'm prospect hogging, but at some point, you know, I don't want to have to give away all of our young players just to like,

like they need to build this thing. Like even if that means not being involved in some major trades this offseason, even if that means not being involved in a Brian Reynolds or even like a, I gotta be honest. I'd probably trade Mick Abel for, for Jose Ramirez. I would. Um,

but like they got to build this thing and, and have a sustainable core around the guys that they have here. So I'm, I'm interested in trades, um, obviously cause they're the best and I need need a cool trade because they literally have not had a cool trade in, I don't know. I guess the Spencer Howard trade is kind of cool, but they got a sinker baller and a bad closer. It's a trade deadline trade.

It doesn't even matter. I know. I know. But we haven't had a cool trade in a while. And I could use one but like i just they need to they need to keep young pieces here that you can hopefully build a a sustainable core to where you can you know have young pieces in place to where you can kind of add around that rather than always having to try to trade your top prospects to get players in here and then they're only signed for like three or four years at the

max and then you gotta almost do it all over again. Yeah, you know that's where I am too, obviously. I want them to spend money. I'm not giving up any of my young talent if I can avoid it. But Brian Brown's a good player. And if he somehow ended up here and they can find a way to make that work, I would be very happy to have him. I think he's, like you said,

I think he's just a dude who's going to hit for the next like sex, seven years. Like he's just going to hit and a, and a great fielder and he's young and he's a hard worker and all that kind of crap. I like Brian Reynolds, but I'm with you. I think what it would cost to get him,

it's not worth it. Michael Givens was mentioned in my perfect off season. Also in rumors connecting him to the Phillies any interest in Michael Givens? I don't remember any of this from your perfect offseason you never do you said Aaron Loop was in my

perfect offseason? I thought he was I was wrong about that did you do a perfect offseason with someone else without telling me? Angel Aaron Loop which is a shame it is Do a perfect offseason with someone else without telling me? Angel Aaron Loop. Yes. Which is a shame. It is. I've done like six perfect offseasons with people.

I can't keep them straight. Wow. That's unbelievable. This is a scandal. You know me. You know me. Just going around doing perfect offseasons with people. I will say. I will say.

Seen some perfect offseasons people. I will say, I will say, seen some perfect off seasons out there. Just saying. Huh. Yeah. You know, not saying, you know, we did it first, but you know, we did it first. So I'm just, you know, just saying. Let's just say, let's just say we see it.

And it's not, it's not just one. There's been multiple. I would say I've seen at least three other Perfect Solve seasons that coincidentally came out after this podcast, also created by people that had listened to this podcast first. So not to say that there are others out there, but, you know, we see you know we're just we're here we're just here yeah yeah yeah whatever anyway again we don't like to make things about us so

um so michael gibbons i feel like has been linked to the phillies for four years you know he's i feel like michael gibbons has been a Philly four times and then not a Philly and taken away and trades like the Rockies for nothing. So, no, but Michael Gibbons is – He's good. No, no, no. Here's what's going to happen, James. They're going to sign him.

We're going to say all offseason, Michael Gibbons is good. Oh, yeah, you're right. All of a sudden, we're going to have likeseason michael gibbons is good oh yeah you're right all of a sudden we're gonna have like an awful michael gibbons year it's like oh wow and then he's gonna be released by like july it's a great point it's a great everyone everyone prepare yourselves for this i mean literally kinsler had like a two five year right the year before he came here and he's like closing games for the marlins he gets on a philly's uniform and he's like one of my five least favorite bullpen guys with knee shack. He's up there.

I love Michael Gibbons. I think Michael Gibbons would be great. He throws 95 to 100 still at his age. He's got some funky right-handed movement on his stuff, and he's been good forever. So naturally, if the Phillies sign him, he will be bad. Such a fair point. You're very right about that. All right, that's all I got.

Take back. Boy, that's all you had. We're 40 minutes in the pot. I don't think it's that disappointing that that's all I had. I didn't know if this was the time that you wanted me to break down the Kent Emanuel waiver wire pickup. Look, I don't control the take bag. The take bag, you have full editorial control over what's in the take bag.

But, you know, I also would say, you know, think of the listeners. Think of the listeners. I am thinking of listeners, which is why I'm telling you right now. He's going to be our jc um no so here's my quick take on kent and manuel has a bit of a sweeping breaking ball from a lefty which i like a lot and i feel like the second lefty out of the pen is gonna be coming down to him and ryan sheriff and both have been parts of very smart organizations so i'll take a shot um oh howie kendrick uh they they added him as an uh i guess he's a assistant yeah he's the dwight shrewd of the philly's front office yes yes now

i it's probably an insignificant move but this is something that the dodgers have been doing for years out there in la where it's like yeah sure they're this big progressive organization um but they also always bring in ex-major leaguers that they view as as guys who have you know rising capabilities obviously we know gabe um uh placidos out there right now um like they they they've consistently done this over the last couple years where they will sign a guy or bringing a guy to who is recently retired and just have him around the organization howie kendrick is an unbelievably smart guy and i'm all about just adding smart guys especially guys who play at a high level

and and was like just a pure hitter like the dude understands the science of hitting well and listen i'm not i can't rule out that i might need him to pinch hit in july like i mean like just come out and and hit 300 for me cowie because i know you still can but um it is funny that like i I feel like he could have definitely gotten, like, almost better offers from other teams. Like, it's funny that he chose the Phillies. He was only here for, like, four months. But, yeah, I think it's an exciting little move.

So, that's cool to me. They traded for Nick Nelson, who, like, if he can ever figure out how to throw strikes, he could be disgusting. I mean, like, you see the videos from, like, Pitching Ninja, and it's like, wow, he should be awesome. But he just hasn't. But I think it's the right kind of guy to give to this staff and see if they can get anything out of. Like, it's a pretty electrifying arm. And, I mean, it could be one of those trades. We look back on it.

It's like, wow, that was a steal for them. Cause the Yankees, every single off season, they give up like dope relievers that go elsewhere and just turned to be good. Like Garrett Whitlock last year was a rule five guy and he was

unbelievable for that Red Sox team. So maybe the Phillies can get lucky here. He's the right guy to uh take a shot on sure i thought you were waiting for a says i was like yeah they traded my guy they traded my guy logan cerny which hurts um i was i was i was devastated about that one too it hurt but they traded for garrett stubbs who i guess like they're hoping is the nap replacement it's really interesting. So in the Yankees trade and in the Astros trade, they acquired catchers in both.

Garrett Stubbs is probably more major league ready. Also, elite clubhouse guy. He's like the hype man of those Astros teams. So I think that is kind of important. So do you think they're going to trade Marchant? I think Marchant is traded. Right. I mean, that's the only way to take it, right?

Because obviously Marchant is so clearly the backup catcher if he's on the roster. Yes. Yeah. So I think Marchant is obviously on the block. Because I don't think Logan Ohapi will be traded. But, I mean, listen, if they have JT signed for the next four years and they think he can stick a catcher, I wouldn't trade him. But I do wonder if maybe they'd look to sell high on Ohapi,

who is just tearing up the Arizona Fall League. But it's interesting with how many catchers they're trading for. Donovan Sands is another guy that has good marks as a defensive player, but also hits homers. So I don't know. They're two interesting trades. I'm not happy they gave up Cierney, but whatever. I get it.

He probably wasn't a major leaguer, but there are legitimate chances there. There were some interesting hires last week real quick, like Brian Kaplan. He was named like assistant major league pitching coach and director of pitching development and it's just like one of those moves that i feel like a smart organization does where it's not just like caleb coffin does everything by himself the minor league guys do it by himself like caplan's kind of in that middle he's like the middle man from the major leagues to the to the minor leagues and also helping out the major league staff so it seems like a move that smart guys smart organizations would do he comes from like a driveline like thing

um down in florida that a lot of top pitchers have thrown at so maybe that connection helps them this offseason with some of the big free agents out there and then uh jason camilli i think is a really fascinating hire um got out a lot got a lot out of like mitch or uh like kettle marty when they traded for him with arizona i feel like they've always done a pretty good job of getting a good amount out of hitters but just adding him to the staff and having another assistant hitting coach with kevin long i just think that's what smart organizations do like the giants have a thousand hitting coaches so you know more smart guys is not a bad thing uh fake trade idea oh i'm not i'm not saying i would do this do not get mad but i'm curious to see what you would say and i do wonder if the

phillies would do it aaron nola to the padres for trent grisham and Emilio Pagan. Wow, buddy. You get a legitimate gold glove. Yeah, I mean, Trent Grisham's a good player. Man, I don't think you'd do that trade, though, right? I don't think I would. Yeah. But if they were looking for a center field upgrade for a team that would make sense, I feel like the Padres always looking for starting pitching.

Grisham had a down year-ish offensively.ly pagan had a down year out of the bullpen but like a year ago both were very good yeah it's a it's a really interesting idea i i don't hate it from a value we're sorry i just look i also think with trading nola i just i don't think trading nola now is the smartest thing you're trading him in is his bottom is value and um you know i do think that i would be okay with trading aaron nola and look if you're going to find a team that because like from a you know if we're going to talk about analytics and all that like you know all of the the you know predictive metrics for nola this year were good you know it's just the the era wasn't the the watching and pitch wasn't the september wasn't all that but like the strikeouts strikeouts walk like all that type of stuff is still you know

borderline elite um so if you get a team paying for that cool i just don't think you're gonna get the value that nola is worth based off you know right now in time i agree and i wouldn't trade him unless i felt like i was getting at least equal if not a little bit a little bit below equal value for him i'm not interested in a solo of aaron nola um if i could call my shot real quick i think kyle schwarber is going to be a philly wow everything everything seems seems to be, you know, lining up for that. He's a middle-of-the-order thumper that can play left field, can also, if they wanted to, bat him leadoff. Also would not cost a second-round pick to sign,

which I think they're interested in, and so am I. We know you are. So he seems like a Dombrowski Philly guy that comes here and hits like 40 homers at the bank. And I don't know, people are just crushing beers in the stands and having a great time as Kyle Schwarber is just hitting tanks. And my final thing is the other night I watched the Oh six fills video yearbook. What is it?

Yeah. And I noticed you did this on a night. So Joe was away for the night and you basically had a night all to yourself. Like the house is yours. You have no obligations, nothing to do. And your choice of what to do that evening was, ah, 06 Phil's yearbook.

That sounds good. Now, full disclosure, I... I think we just did the full disclosure. I had just come off watching, like, four episodes of The Sopranos. So I was like, ah, I could use a little change-up. It's great, but, like, you know, it's a lot of Sopranos. Um, and you're already, already annoyed me enough this year, but, um, so, so, uh, I was

like, you know, Howard MVP, Harper MVP. Let me remember what the Oh six season was like. Now I only got halfway through it it so i didn't get fully done but there was like one thing that stuck out to me um and that was that like the nerve of that team to lose like aaron rowan slash bobby abreu and be able to just bring up shane victorino and he turns into shane victorino um they like lithal gets hurt, and the nerve of that team, they say, hey, here's Carlos Ruiz that's going to develop into, like, the second-best catcher in team history.

Like, it's the nerve of that team to give us that false hope of finding a diamond in the rough, and we know that turned into Jason Wirth a year later. Yeah, it's pretty crazy. What is this? Yeah, it's pretty crazy. What is this? Yeah, it's pretty crazy. Is this even allowed? So the nerve of Pat Gillick and his staff to do those things

is just not the nicest. Yeah, it's well said, though. I mean, it's what we talked about. It's where we want to be. You're so right. That's what great teams do. They have an injury, and they bring up a guy who ends up being a seven-year stud for them or a 10-year star or a five-year star or whatever it is.

I mean, we're a quality role player or this or that. And the Phillies didn't have any of that this year. And that's how you end up having an MVP in a Cy Young and not winning any two games, Jack. Believe it or not, yes, it did happen this year. We got the Rays guy, Jack. Believe it or not, yes. It did happen. We got the Rays guy though, so I don't even care. We got Rays guy. Honestly, I mean... All's right.

All's right in the world. I mean this with all sincerity. I've already feared the day of losing Ani. Like, I'm already... I can't... He's already like one of the 10 most important people in my life. I love it. You think I'm kidding. I don't. He's already like one of the 10 most important people in my life. I love it.

You think I'm kidding. I don't. I don't at all. Honestly, I'm surprised you said 10 and not five. That's all I'm ruminating on. He's very important to me, and I need him to be smart for us. Oh, buddy. All right.

This is good. This is good. We got an MVP. Next step, a winning baseball team. Well, we're 82 and 80 this year. Also, do you say, real quick, do you say that there are two games over 500 or a game over 500? I say two.

But they were really a game over 500. I know. I know. Trust me. I get it. I know. I get it. I get it. This is... I know. I get it. I get it.

I say two. It's just easier. Say RBI. No, I will not. Do you want to fight? Are we going to end this podcast arguing with each other? I won't do it. If anything, I would say RBI before I would say RBIs.

No, you wouldn't. I would. I would. Because it's more correct. before I would say R.B.I. No, you wouldn't. I would. I would. Because it's more correct. So R's B.I. it is. You brought this on yourself. Can you believe Bryce Harper won the MVP with only 84 R's B.I.? I mean, we've really come a long way, Jack.

How did that make you feel? It felt good. Warm and fuzzy. You know? I don't think it did. I've got to be honest with you. I don't think it did I'm dumb with this You don't come after me on the RBI thing At the end of the pod it's outrageous

Outrageous You got anything else Just say RBI No Is this a feud we're feuding now Oh I do have one more thing I do Oh, oh, I do have one more thing. I do have one more thing. I'm sure you do.

I do have one more very important thing. Robbie Ray became the fifth Cy Young winner of the 2014 Tigers. And James Seltzer, who built that team? No idea. Context gives me nothing. Knowledge of baseball history gives me nothing. I just can't remember what was happening that time in the league. How could I possibly know this, Jack?

Well, luck are for you. I have the answer. And it's Dave Dombrowski. How about it, buddy? How about it? That guy, you give him a Rays guy. I mean, you give him a Mattingly. I mean, look what we're doing here, Jack.

Look what we're doing. MVP. MVP. He's for himself. We'll see you later. He's fared himself to a sailor. 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.B. Express. Follow and listen

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