High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Which One of Us Do You Think Still Believes in the Phillies?

Episode Date: June 27, 2022

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz react to the devastating Bryce Harper injury. The guys discuss missing Bryce, how the team can still succeed without him, and more. Presented by Miller Lite. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is the High Hopes podcast. It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Phillies on Odyssey and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Yo! It is another edition of the High Hopes podcast. Fritzy, I'm hung hungover like very hungover right now zoe is being a pistol we'll say um beat up i just got back from a wedding in connecticut i couldn't be more tired right now and price harper broke his freaking hand how you doing buddy i'm doing good.

Honestly. Uh, you're fine. Everything's fine. Don't worry about it. I know. I know. Um, honestly, I'm just concerned about you, pal. You know, I want to make sure you can get through this podcast. I might not. Honestly, I really might not. I'm like so hurting right now. This is going to be my worst podcast performance ever since your last one. I just want, I just want everyone to know that. yeah i mean by the way presented by miller light celebrate responsibly which is apparently you had a a lot of miller lights on on sunday night if only i had just stuck to miller night last night everything would have been fine jack yeah fine yeah but i feel like you're one of those guys mistakes with some uh let's just say

harder varieties of alcohol okay yeah i feel like you're one of those guys that once you're there you just decide to go all in oh i'm all in there there there's no yeah there's no like middle for me it's it's all or nothing and i go all every time yeah well listen that's that's called it's good dedication that's the kind of guy you are. You know, when you go, you go. And sometimes you've got to live with the repercussions of that. That's right, buddy. That's right, pal.

I'm going to try and not throw up during this podcast. We're going to see what happens. I mean, yeah, the listening body is down on the fills because of the Bryce Harper thing. You're hungover. Everything's going fine. Everything's great. Everything. My voice is gone somehow. I know. I can barely that sounds terrible honestly it does i'm so sorry everybody everyone listening you know how much i love all of you i'm so sorry but i had to

be here we had to do the podcast wasn't like i could be like sorry i'm calling out i'm hung over right not allowed so i'm here but I am sorry for what you have to listen to I told Jack this honestly as much as this is easily going to be the worst podcast I've ever done I honestly think the pressure is fully on you on this one because you have to carry this thing like this

is really has to be a Jack Fritz you know tour de force yeah it's one of those old school like Kobe possessions where I just got to take the ball. Clear out. Clear out. Don't really pass it. Well, do you want me to just go now and just say,

Seltzer, just sit there. It's me time. You know, James, you know me. I'm not one of those guys that likes to make things about myself. So, you know, whatever you need me to do i will sit here and i will provide it if you need me to to carry the team on the back today i got you um but we'll get through this together and our i think our listeners appreciate uh you just being open and honest about your current state and your current situation so i like that and uh sorry we had to

wait till monday to record podcast, but who cares? It's all right. Everything's fine. I was at a wedding. Shout out to my cousin, Charles, who is now married. Cousin Charles. Good for you, buddy. It was a good looking venue, too.

It was it was really pretty. It was really it was a really nice place. It was a super fun wedding. You know, he's like a decade younger than me. So there's a bunch of, you know, like, you know, people your age raging hard. And maybe you were a guy trying age raging hard. There you are. And me, the old guy, trying to keep up. There you are. This is what happens to me.

This is what happens to me. So were you in Connecticut when Bryce got hit in the hand? Yes. I watched it with my brother and Emily at our Airbnb. We were hanging out after. We had, like, a really nice, like, you know uh night before like dinner and drinks and like outdoor hang and whatever and then we came back and we watched philly's game on that mlb app up there and yeah we were watching live and it was horrible and it was like so like it was so clear

the moment it happened we're all just looking at each other and emily's like that's bad and my brother's like yeah you don't freak out like that over a bone bruise this isn't gonna be good and it was just it was so clear it sucked man it was really it was a devastating thing to watch it was yeah it was and uh when it happened i immediately started thinking about carson it reminded me a lot of when carson tore his although i feel like we didn't know right in the moment that Carson tore his ACL. It was one of those,

like I just remember the, he's walking back to the locker room with the towel over his head and they went to a slow motion, like replay of Carson's knee. And I just remember, I just remember it moved like, like, like a noodle,

which is probably not the best sign for, for a knee uh and then obviously the rest of the night was like oh it's a disaster aaron andrews came out and said uh you know it's a big devastating knee injury she said that people left the like people left the the locker room saying it's bad all that stuff so that it was devastating and you know bryce got hit and my first thought was like oh my god he got hit in the face again, which is just like after everything he went through last year getting hit in the face, he got lucky last year, frankly, I think. So I was like, oh, not again.

And then, yeah, he's lying on the ground. He's yelling at Blake Snell. Definitely was not going to be a good thing. And I don't know if we'll see Bryce again this year. I mean, honestly, I know John Morozzi said like a month to six weeks. That seems insanely fast. It is a fracture in the hand. I mean, I know Mickey got back, but I think that was a different fracture. I think it was more of like a hairline fracture. I mean, this thing seems legit. So it was one of those really devastating moments. But James, I can't lie.

And I'm not going to lie to you. And this, I promise you, I promise you, James, I can't lie, and I'm not going to lie to you. I promise you, I promise you, James, from the bottom of my soul, that this is not me just talking myself into this baseball team. I promise you it's not that. But I'm not that down. I'm really not. I'm bummed for Bryce. I wish that didn't happen. I love watching him

play baseball. He is our guy and our superstar and I wanted to see him win back-to-back MVPs and I wanted to see him carry this team to a postseason run. I thought that would be really special. But I'm just not down today. I know they took 3 or 4. I know

they only won 1.5 games or whatever without Bryce. But I trust this baseball team more than I've trusted them in years past. Years past, I think they collapsed. I don't think they had, I don't know if the right mix in the locker room was there. I don't know if they definitely didn't have the right manager. I think this team can handle it. And I don't think they're going to just fall out of the race. I don't think they're going to fall on their face. And it's like, oh my god, they're so bad without Bryce. The stats have been floating out there that they're 3-6

or 4-6 or whatever now in games without Bryce. And that's fine. But now they know he's gone. Now they know that Bryce is not going to come back for at least a month, probably way more. And now it's go time for everyone else. And I just sit here and I've seen what the Padres have done this year

without Tatis. I've seen what the Mets have done without DeGrom and Scherzer. We all know what the Braves did last year without Acuna and are currently doing without Ozzie Albies. There's been too many examples of that. Right here in this city, 2007, Chase Utley breaks his hand while he's on his way to winning the MVP. They survived and they, they,

they treaded water until he got back and then they went on the run and chased down the Mets. And the ultimate example, James was what we talked about earlier was that super bowl team. And everyone started picking up their games because they knew they couldn't rely on Carson bailing them out. And that's how I feel about this baseball team. I don't have this sinking feeling. And honestly, I'm excited to see how they respond.

Because for the first time since the heyday, I actually trust the baseball team in town and i feel good sitting here on june 27th talking to my hungover buddy about a phillies team that is no that no longer will have bryce harper in the lineup for at least a month and a half all right so this might be your all-time top, top, top of the mountain ability to convince yourself things are fine moment. And I just, I want to point out how amazing you are at this and how really it is. It's amazing to watch. It's a really special thing. I think. I don't know what you're laughing about. Like'm not lying to you I know you're not I

know you're not and look I to your point there are a lot of teams that have lost big dudes important guys and gone on and still done great things the Braves last year the Braves this year two good examples but man it just and I don't think the Phillies are going to be bad without Bryce Harper but I think they were already in a position where I wasn't sure they were a playoff team considering there are eight teams for six spots. And right now they're the eighth of those teams. So, and I don't know what happened over the weekend. I wasn't checking the standings as much as I normally do because I was away,

but you know, like they're in the hunt for the playoffs, but it's not like there are a lot to make the playoffs with Bryce Harper. And it just feels like such a crippling loss for this team. We know what they've looked like without him at times. And, yes, Castellanos could step up and play better. And he had a nice day yesterday. And, you know, yes, Schwarber's been a stud right now. And, like, yeah, they'll get guys who step up and contribute.

But, like, it absolutely is a lot less likely they're going to make the playoffs today than it was two days ago like it just is what it is like we got to be real about it like their their MVP is done most likely for the season if I had to bet I'm with you but at least at least eight weeks I would say like that was his hand got pulverized look you never know people here we heal strange you know in good ways i mean people can heal really quick maybe he's one of those guys but i'm not super optimistic and even when he comes back i mean that's his thumb on his dominant bottom hand there i mean that's tough man so i don't know i just i get your point and i definitely would not be it wouldn't be the most surprising

thing ever if the phillies kind of band together, and I do like the group and stuff like that. But, but to say, I, I trust them, like fully trust them to be able to weather losing the MVP. I can't say that. Like I am much more nervous and pessimistic. The schedule helps and all that, but I mean, they, they got a tough stretch coming up right now. They got the Cardinals, they got the Braves, they got the Blue Jays coming up. They got some tough stuff. I just, man, I can't get there. I'm certainly not there yet. I need them to see them play without Bryce

for a few weeks and look really good and continue to win games before I'm going to be where you're at. Yeah. And believe me, that's totally fair. It's just that, you know, when they added the third wildcard, I think a lot of people had this idea that, oh, well, here comes what an 84 win team's going to make the playoffs and 85. Like, yeah, they're going to have to win 88 to 90. And I guess I'm just, I, let me, let me just lay out how I feel about the team and just tell me if you think this is fair or not, because I don't want to say i've lowered expectations but i i think they got off to too slow a start i think they dug themselves too much of a hole they fired joe gerardi there were eight games under 500 they've made that up pretty good i mean they're four games over 500

so that's good but like i almost don't need the playoffs for me to think that they've turned into a good baseball team that I can believe in more going forward. It's hard to kind of explain. I know it's a bit of a cop out, but like, yeah, it's a cop out. But like that at all. This is a playoffs here. This is a playoffs here. They went over the luxury tax. They came in the season with playoff expectations.

Anything but playoffs is a disappointment and not something that like yeah i get it you can look at this and be like oh like i have i had more confidence than this year they were better than they were last year they started to learn how to win like sure those are fine things it's a it's a disappointing season it's a failure of a season that's fine it's i also think they got off to a super cold start i think that's gonna be the reason they sink. For example, and this season has reminded me of this ever since they sort of fired Girardi, but it reminds me of the 06 year.

When they traded Braille, they were 49-56 when they traded them, and they ended up, I don't know, missing the wild card by a game or two. That's kind of how I feel about this team. That's where I'm at. I can't sit here. I'm not's that's where I'm at like I can't sit here I'm not sitting here telling you I'm expecting them to make the playoffs I want them to make the playoffs I I think they'll they'll stay in the race I don't think it'll come down to the last week and they'll have to make plays to kind of get in there it's just that I believe

that the culture is turned here and I think Girardi being gone I think Schwarber getting comfortable Cassiano's hopefully getting comfortable I think Girardi being gone. I think Schwarber getting comfortable. Castellanos hopefully getting comfortable. I think it's, I believe in the direction of the team more. And that's part of the reason why I'm not super down, depressed about what happened with Bryce Harvard, because I think that the,

the culture here is shifted and they have figured out different ways to, to win and back each other up. Like, the way that they won games this weekend was just so different from the last couple years where I thought they would have folded. You know, Schwarber's obviously been unbelievable, and for them to have any chance to stay in this run and do anything, he's going to have to continue to do this, not just in the month of June, which is ridiculous what he's doing. But obviously you need JT, you need Cassianos. But I just, I like the vibes of the fringe players in the roster. The next man up-ish kind of guys.

Like, Vierling's batting over 300 in June. Stubbs seems to come through in big spots. I think Stott's getting more comfortable. I just, I have a different vibe around this team, a different feeling about this team that I haven't had in years past. And I just kind of trust them to keep it together here while they're down their best player.

Look, I love the belief in the positivity with this team. And I hope you're right, buddy. And again, I'm not saying I think you're right buddy that and again i'm not i'm not saying i i i think you're absolutely insane and this couldn't happen i'm just saying that i if i'm betting on it i'm betting on them you know being an 84 win baseball team or something when it's all said and done 83 win baseball team or something and to your point in years past that's something where maybe you're in or a game out or whatever this year it's not going to be like this year i think yeah you gotta win that's five six games out you know so so i get it and uh you know i'm i'm clearly a lot more down than you are after it and and for

bryce himself like we talked about i mean it's just it's so upsetting and you know he was again i mean batting in the 320s i mean this guy like, it, it seems like he figured out like actually like the science of hitting and he had just cracked the code and now he could just do whatever he wanted. Like matrix, like Neo in the matrix when he just figures it out and like can stop bullets. Like that's what Harper felt like as a hitter now. And, um, you know, and it's, it's the prime of his, his athletic life right now. And it's really, it's, it. And it's really a baseball tragedy.

You know, obviously there's real-life tragedy that's way more important than that, but this is a baseball tragedy right here what happened. And look, you know, Blake Snell clearly didn't mean to do it. You could tell the dude felt awful when it happened. I thought Harper's reaction was, you know, honest and real, and I thought him being able to kind of step back and realize that he was, you know, the way he was reacting, it was just all like a really, you know, it was real theater and drama to watch, but you

know, in the end it, again, I let's put this way. I do think you're right that the Phillies could power forward and find a way to win some games and maybe, you know, band together and use Harper as there's this inciting motivation for the team moving forward. But for Bryce himself, I mean, it's just, there's no redeeming thing here. You know, it just, it just sucks. Yeah. Yeah. And like we're, we're 18 home runs away from him hitting his 300th this year, which I thought would have been a cool feat.

I was, I was already having visions of it being September big series, maybe, or maybe not. the rally towels are out. People are getting fired up. Bryce hits number 300. City starts melting down. Everyone's weeping in the stands. I mean, that's kind of the division that I had had in my head.

I'm sure a lot of people kind of felt the same kind of way. But yeah, it just stinks because, you know, he's done now for probably a month and a half half two months at a minimum you had a 60 game season which was obviously uh you know 100 games less than a regular season he had hit in the face last year he missed what like a month two weeks um so like these kind of things it starts to make you wonder is he gonna get get to 500 is he going to get is he going to have these

big legacy things that are going to are going to you know vault him into hall of fame and all kind all-time discussion categories so it just stinks for him uh he was playing so well and really kind of felt like you know the last couple weeks when they were in their downturn really felt like he was was starting to get more comfortable as as a leader top of the dugout seems to be able to find ways to to stay in games I mean I guess like you know he'd be going back uh in between innings and and looking at tape on uh in the dugout while while having or while being the DH so maybe that got him to another kind of stratosphere as a hitter but yeah it uh it's really a bummer. Goldschmidt was probably going to win the NL MVP, but I wanted to see Bryce kind of go for it.

And what was that? I'm dying over here, buddy. I mean, jeez. I'm just trying to get through this battle. I mean, that was all over. Yeah, I know. I thought I was making a really good point, and then I get that. I thought you were, too.

Yeah, well, listen. I didn't mean to interrupt you. I tried I get that. I thought you were too. Yeah. Well, listen, I didn't mean to interrupt you. I tried. How am I supposed to keep going? I should have muted the mic. All right. I'm beat up.

Can you be a pro for me one time? I mean, just. I'm trying. Can you, can you. I'm here. I'm here. You know what?

I should be in bed right now. Well, listen, why don't you make better choices? You're in your 40s i know buddy yeah thanks for that one that was good are you gonna you're gonna get back to your point i don't know what my point was anymore it couldn't be that good a point if you just totally get sidetracked like cough it wasn't just a cough that was an it was an aggressive cough

directly and it's like it's like you turned your mic up and did it right into it as in the middle of a compelling compelling sports point um i think my point was that i'm bummed for bryce and that stinks i think it's a really good thank you yep insert insert cough there yeah it's a really thoughtful smart insightful point and i appreciate it uh all right uh let let the rest of the weekend like um you know what you obviously as the one who ate needs to talk more so talk but also the one who of the two of us came out of the weekend you know focusing on the positives whereas i come out the weekend saying bryce got her and that's like really all i could think about you know talk to me that's because you castellanos had a nice weekend you know like that like that like if nick castellanos becomes the castellanos from last year like from what we've gotten the

first two months of the season or whatever then all of a sudden it's like oh well that's the kind of thing that can change a team or whatever. Like there are things that can happen, but what is it so specifically? Because you talk generally, but what is it specifically? What do you see happening with this team that is going to be able to sustain them until Harper gets back or even if he doesn't, Tick and B? James, honestly, I've got no thoughts. I want to hear more of what you have to say about the weekend. You know, I didn't, I don't really have much.

I got nothing for you um okay so how i feel is uh one now is is part of my feelings on this aided by kyle schwarber being the best hitter in the history of baseball in the month of June. Yeah, it could definitely be aided by that. And the thing about Schwerber, I mean, he is top three among NL outfielders in like every important statistic besides, you know, batting average. So it's just... Did you see that stat about his June homers, by the way? That he's at a... It's like a homer every nine point like six at

bats in june right and like mcguire was like every 11 yeah but babe ruth was like 10.6 or something it was the most it was like the highest rate ever in a month by a player of home runs per bats in a month ever yeah i mean it's just been ridiculous. And honestly, I think the reason why I feel okay by the Bryce thing, it's not just Schwarber on the field. It's honestly Schwarber off the field. You know, I think he's talked yesterday about how when Bryce went down the first time, he kind of felt like everyone was trying to be Bryce,

and he just had this message to everyone like, listen, we can't replace Bryce on every kind of felt like everyone was was trying to be bryce and he just had this uh message to everyone like listen we can't replace bryce on every kind of swing we kind of got to be ourselves and i just think they haven't had that kind of leadership in the years past so i think that's a a really positive thing you know schwarber i guess uh before the game yesterday like bought everyone coffee so it just that's a good vibes kind of guy. And he's hitting big home runs. It's not just like he's hitting home runs when they don't matter. I mean, a massive home run early in the series to give him a lead.

He had an RBI single on Saturday. Yeah, an RBI single to give him a lead on Saturday. And then the big homer Sunday. And it's just, I trust him in big spots you know it seems like he's always top step seems like he's always talking to guys and I think he's been a real uniting force

that can kind of hold this thing together do I think he's going to do what he's doing this June for the rest of the season no I don't think he's going to hit 50 60 home runs like that's that's asking a lot out of a guy who you you know, is doing great but hasn't done that before. But I do think he can kind of be a stabilizing presence at the top of the lineup.

There's been some talk of possibly moving him down the lineup. I wouldn't do it. I would just stick him in the leadoff spot. I think he is still driving in runs. He's getting on base. I mean, 30 straight games, James, of getting on base. For as much as people talk about average and all of that, at the end of the day, he's on base.

And no matter which way you do it, through a hit or a walk, it all matters the same. So he's hitting the ball. He's honestly the most three-outcome hitter I think I've seen. It's home run, walk, strikeout. So he is a three-outcome hitter. But when you're talking about this locker room and part of the reason why I kind of believe in them more than years past, I think Schwarber's presence

is a really big part of that. And it has me, honestly, again, it has me excited as to this little stretch here and seeing what this team's really made of. You know, they talked yesterday, I guess, about how some of the veteran hitters kind of all huddled up. I don't know which players were there. I assume it was Schwarber, Hoskins, Cassianos, and Real Muto. And they kind of had like a little bit of a team meeting of how things are going to go down when Bryce is out. And I just don't think that was happening the last couple years. So now, obviously, reporters weren't in the clubhouse the last couple years.

So we don't know what the stories were like, but I just, I like consistently seeing these stories come out. So part of the reason why I believe is the clubhouse. I think it's in a different spot. Another reason why I think I I'm still in is the starting staff. You know, it's kind of been the,

the offense has been inconsistent throughout the year, but rain, I mean, Nola's back to being ace level Nola. I mean, I didn't think we were ever going to see this version of him again. He made one bad pitch to his freaking brother. And that's another reason they didn't sweep this series against San Diego.

And that game was frustrating too. They left 15 guys on base. You know, they just could never get the big hit. But, um, Nola's back to being a horse. Wheeler's back to being a horse.

Uh, Gibson, it's like, you'll have the one bad start, but usually has like three straight good starts, one bad start. Ranger is kind of the same thing. And Eflin, I'm definitely worried about Eflin. I need to see if he can kind of bounce back and go deep in the games.

But I also think there's a trade to be made there. I think there's obvious trade options out there, whether you want to go big and go Montas or others. I mean, there's other starters that they can get for much cheaper, but if they want to swing big and go montas or others i mean there's other starters that that they can get for much cheaper but if they want to swing big and get a real another ace in here they can do that i think they're good enough to kind of tread water here for a month another thing that i feel pretty good about james is now too many people were tweeting about it yesterday there was way too many people that were throwing around the stat that the phil's

bullpen retired 30 plus straight before the game was over. And I needed everyone to stop doing that because I could just see run starting to, to fly on the board, but to their credit, they didn't. And is the bullpen great, James?

No, I don't think the bullpen is great, but what I think the bullpen can be is again, tread water for the next month before reinforcements are on the way. And I liked that. They have a plan back there that I think actually can work. You know, Sir Anthony closed out a game over the weekend.

Brad hands been pretty good. Uh, Brock did on the, on the IL stinks, but, um, Alvarado, since he's coming back,

his looked like a completely different picture. I can't say I fully trust him. But that cutter, I think. So the difference for... He's throwing strikes. He's throwing strikes. Right. The difference for Alvarado, for me, is that being in the mindset of cutter first

and throwing that first strike rather than turbo sinker first, where he doesn't really know where it's going, I think that's just been a really big difference. Now it's like 95 with cut that he can throw for a striking and get ahead 1-0. And then bang, there's 1-0 too. You know what I mean? So it's just been a different kind of backwards level, backwards way of pitching, but it's gotten to his head of,

I can throw my cutter for more strikes. Let me get ahead of guys rather than fall behind 1-0 by trying to throw that sinker a little bit different. I think the bullpen, is it locked down? No, but they have a 3-6 ERA in June. They've gotten Knievel out of the closer role. He actually

looks like he's starting to show some signs of life in kind of the Hector Neris way of last year. And Brogdon's coming back. Kunrod's coming back. We'll see what JoJo can do, whether he can be like 2020 Jojo or last year's Jojo. So there's some reinforcements coming in the bullpen. There is a pretty good starting staff. The vibes are good.

Honestly, James, the only way they're staying in this is if Cassianos and JT aren't a disaster. If, if they can do their job and Cassellanos can show why they signed him, I think they can say in this thing. You know, I think Schwarber's going to be pretty good.

I think Hoskins is going to be pretty good. It's those two guys because the lineup just has more question marks when Bryce isn't in it. It goes Schwarber, Hoskins, Castellanos, Real Muto, Didi? Yeah, they need Castellanos to be back to silver slugger last year, Nick Castellanos.

A lot of stuff in there. How was that? Did I give you a nice reprise? Did you have some water? I feel like we're good. We're done. That was brilliant. No, I thought that was good.

I think the Schwerber point, especially off the field stuff, is really key. Like we talked about, you know, all the toes, all the stuff. It's just, you know, he's all the stuff it's just you know he's brought something to that locker and then it didn't have and it desperately needed and i think now is the time you know when you lose your best player you know that's the time where those type guys need to steer the ship you know and and it seems like schwerber hopefully is capable of doing that with you know some help from the other guys. But to your point, yeah, Castellanos has to hit.

Yeah. Honestly, Romulo has to be better. Castellanos has to hit. Like, Castellanos has to be really good. Romulo just has to be better than he's been. Castellanos has to be good. Like, he has to pick up the slack. Like, he's the only player in the lineup who is not producing at a –

who can produce, like, within within 10 to 15 percent of what harper can do and isn't anywhere close to that you know he has to do it yeah every point is moot if if if nick castellanos can't hit you know like i do like how you set it up where you know i'm in on the team i think they're gonna do this they're great but if they don't blame nick castellanos well because that's what it comes that's what it comes down to it's good it's good that was that was some next level stuff right there buddy i just appreciated it i noticed it i saw it i appreciate it thanks buddy all right yeah um all right uh take bag in a sec i have um i wanna i wanna see what you think of of a uh new potential not like weekly you know for the pod segment but

a potential recurring segment i think it'd be fun to every once in a while if we have one that makes sense give a take that we're really mad we missed because in hindsight it was so obvious that they should not have signed jt to this contract. Like it was so obvious. And I think back so much about like, how did we smart baseball guys who love to talk baseball, like not be on that, that giving a catcher who is not an elite hitter is a good hitter for a catcher, a catcher who's, you know, defensive skills are part of the biggest reason he's getting this contract to give him 23 and a half million a year how were we not like shouting from the rooftop saying this is a horrible idea this is a horrible idea don't do this don't

do this we missed this one so bad jack and we shouldn't like we bryce was wrong we were wrong like it was obvious that this contract was a terrible idea in the moment as we were leading up to it, and none of us saw it. Yeah, I mean, I did like JT. I mean, I was a JT fan. We were all in on JT. Yeah. I mean, yeah.

I think it's the five years, honestly. Like, if they did it for three years, they don't have to pay him for one more year after this. Like, I just don't know what the team was that was offering him five years you know the Mets were the Mets had signed James McCann by that point I think Grandol was already on the on the White Sox you know I think the Dodgers they already had Will Smith there you know Houston they probably needed to catch her at that point they they were never really that interested it was really the Phillies kind of bidding against themselves i mean i guess the blue jays could have gotten in if they didn't sign

springer or whatever but yeah i think it's the it's the five years for me and honestly you know hopefully this weekend was was him kind of getting going he has talked a lot about how he thinks the power is still there and he's been working with kevin long a lot to kind of unlock it but yeah i mean it's one and especially because you know they would they're paying a 30 plus year old catcher for and that's that's the this doesn't work that way like yadier yadi is like the only example of where it's like oh this guy's aged really well even posey you know posey had a good last year but a couple years before that was was brutal so yeah yeah he struggled in between yeah so yeah not great but also at the time i was like eh you know i want jt to still be here so i don't know i i can't i can't look back totally negatively i did want

them i like them it's just it's one of those contracts that's just not gonna age well yeah all right uh let's do tape i got a going to age well yeah all right uh let's do the take back i got a couple of final thoughts at the end but uh let's do it and we gotta give a gift card away oh yeah well uh here we go we don't have to give up we have to remind people i was gonna do that after the take back but you know what jack let's do it now bleep it we'll do it now uh miller light sponsored by gash out Shout out to Miller Lite. We love Miller Lite. They are the official partner of the Philadelphia Phillies. And we still have four gift cards to give away to four great places to watch

Phillies games and enjoy their Miller Lite specials. So, Appetites on Main and Axton. The Yards Pub off Westchester Bike in Havertown. Oscars Tavern on Sansom Street in Center City. I've been there many times. Great place. And Milk Boy, also been there many times. Great place at 11th and Chestnut in Center City. Go right now

to the contest page at 94wip.com and you can have the opportunity. Those gift cards are still there to be won. So go to the contest page. Check that out. And then at the next pub, we'll tell you about the next new Miller Lite bar of the week and some more awesome opportunities for you. Again, all courtesy of Miller Lite.

It's Miller time to enjoy Miller Lite because Miller Lite's awesome. Yes, it's the only way to watch the fills without Bryce Harper is the official statement. Oh, yes. What a great point. Yes. Miller Lite has become so much more important in the act of watching Philly's game. Especially because you said it just in passing, you're going, though, it's like,

as much as it sucks to lose Bryce for the team, for the chance to win, this and that, it also just sucks not watching him play every night. We watch his team every single night of our lives we watch 160 of them or 158 or whatever we end up at the end of the year if we miss a couple um and like it just sucks that he's not in him like he was my favorite part about watching baseball this year yeah yeah yeah i mean listen it's gonna be okay though they're they're playing good baseball it's okay to trust okay, though. They're playing good baseball.

It's okay to trust this team. Everything is fine. Are you ready for Mickey to be the Nick Foles of the 2022? Oh, I liked how you tweet that, and I thought it was the best tweet you've ever had. Especially because, you know, if you're going to mention Mickey in the same breath as Nick Foles, that means, like, maybe you're not, you know, going to hate on Nick Foles as you have in the past in a nick foals that means like maybe you're not you know gonna hate on nick foals as you have in the past in a slanderous outrageous way so i just want to get that out there well you know as i always call him nick foals um yep uh some trade option so they they

claimed oscar mercado off of waivers today. Hasn't hit well at the big league level. It was kind of interesting in 2019. But he honestly, I think he's like the Camargo of the outfield where it's like super defensive kind of guy that has some pop in his back. Not great pop. I'm not saying they got like a a a really big upgrade here but i don't know cleveland's been weird about developing hitters the last couple years

and i mean like outside of jose and francisco lindor it's like hitters just seem to kind of go there and not perform well so maybe they can kind of unearth some kind of yet they yet they continue to win baseball yeah it's like every year and they're like kind of raking right now but it's weird they're in first place i know like shed they shed salary in the offseason and they're yeah anyway they're they're all different different yeah different yeah no and ricardo also a little bit of speed too like it hasn't run as much majors mostly because he hasn't gotten on base, but he had some big stolen base seasons in the minors too. He can kind of be a spark plug guy if he could actually

hit a little bit. So some names I like Robbie Grossman, who I've just loved for years with the Tigers who are just collapsing. He's on a final year of a contract and play right field. Has the sixth most walks in baseball since the beginning of last year. They need to find their Tad of last year so um they need to

find their tatahito oguchi they need to find their jock peterson and jorge soler like they need to find those kind of guys if they're going to stay in this thing so uh grossman's the name that i like chad pinder who has been like a kind of analytics darling for the last couple years for the a's obviously they're kind of breaking things up out there. I think they'll take a flyer on him. Ian Happ would probably cost a good amount of prospects to go get, but if they wanted, he hasn't been great in center field, but he can play center field

even if Bryce comes back. Either way, can definitely play the outfield. Plus, he could add David Robertson in a trade or whatever. So, Ian Happ's the name that kind of makes some sense to me. Tyler Naquin, who was red hot for the Reds to start last year, was good at the beginning of this year before getting hurt.

He's still hurt, but he's starting a rehab assignment. So I kind of like those names. Tommy Pham, same kind of thing. He's on a one-year deal. And plus he could fight Jock Peters and have to play in the playoffs. So that's an added addition.

Again, I don't want to invest like heavy prospects i want to kind of find under the the value under the radar guys like the gucci jock peterson solaire like kind of find those kind of players that can help a ball club ian happen be a bit of a different story ben intendee like ben intendee would be interesting i guess you'd have to just trust he can play center field if Bryce does come back. But he's having a really good year, hitting over 300. Obviously on the final year of a contract, so you hope it wouldn't cost a ton prospect-wise. But man, if they come out of this deadline with Benintendi and Scott Barlow,

or Josh Stomont, who has had a down year somehow, I think that'd be really, really interesting. So there's some options out there. And I'm really curious to see how aggressive Dave is going to be. I mean, the Mercado right off waivers I thought was interesting. So they're definitely looking to make moves fast. And I don't think they can wait until the trade deadline or close to the trade deadline to try to find a bat.

Yeah, I'm with you. I'm with you, especially. And, you know, I think, you know, we'll learn more in the coming days whether Harper needs surgery, how that all plays out. But if you know for sure that he's probably not going to be back or, you know, at best you're talking like September, then you got to act quick. Again, again, real quick, especially to what you talked about before, the idea that we talked about,

that this is an eight teams for six teams race and that you can't afford to lose any ground. This is like every game really will matter at the end here. Also, I'd rather trade for an outfielder rather than trade for a DH only. There's been some Nelson Cruz floated out there who obviously would be fun, but I want to't need i want to i want to get an outfield yeah enough of that honestly the one advantage there are no advantages to harbour getting hurt the only like and it's

not an advantage but the only thing you can say well at least cassianos doesn't have to play the field every day anymore at least schwarberg can dh every once in a while like at least we could like that's the the opening up the dh spot is literally the only thing that that you could look at and say oh that's a byproduct that's a good thing going getting nelson cruz would literally ruin that like immediately yes so um yeah it's gonna be interesting to see what they do getting a better fielder on the field like you know if you can get veerling and right that kind of stuff you're gonna have a better defensive outfield by being able to deal, which was the original idea with Harper playing the outfield. Yeah, I mean, this should be Dave's

strength. I mean, they've done a pretty good job here, this front office of finding good fringe players that can help this team. They've done some good trades from that standpoint. So I actually, I'm excited to see what they do. And I hope they don't wait until the trade deadline. So

I know you're obviously hurting right now. And I hope they don't wait until the trade deadline. So I know you're obviously hurting right now. And I know this conversation will not make you feel any better. And I can just tell your eyes are going to fully glaze over for this next. Are you going draft right now? We're going draft, pal, because I am locked in. I'll just sit back.'ll let emily know it'll be a few more minutes before i come help her with well we are less than a month away from the draft and i tell you what i'm starting to get downright giddy i really am like i i think between schwerber

going off and the draft it's really helped and watching griff mcgary mcable and and andrew painter i've been watching way more like blue claws games the last like uh week why am i not surprised because like dude when there was no uh like once the nba finals were over and i'm obviously not watching the stanley cup finals but like i was like well i have nothing else to watch like me and joe watch something on tv i need something to watch on my computer so yeah i've been tuning into a lot of blue claws games and tell you what, those prospects are getting more and more untouchable by the day. But yeah,

so draft is less than a month away. I have three favorites, James. My first favorite is Drew Gilbert, who is the center fielder from Tennessee, who is 5'8", makes great swing decisions, and hits tanks in clutch moments. And kind of has the flair of a Jock Peterson, where he got ejected mid-game from a Super Regional for arguing balls and strikes. He's got a little bit of edge to him, a little bit of fire to him. So I would love Drew Gilbert.

Chase DeLauder is this super offensive piece from James Madison, another more right fielder, but has legitimate pop. Strong name. Chase DeLauder. DeLauder. Yeah, he reminds me a lot of Jay Bruce. So that's my comp for him. And my last one. All-time great Philly Jay Bruce. So that's my, my, my comp for him. And my last,

my last one, all time. Great Philly, Jay Bruce. Yes. My last one that I love, like these are my three. These are the threes that I,

three that I would love to come out of the draft with is Zach Nito, who is this, uh, shortstop from Campbell that, um, like again, great swing decisions and hits tanks. And, um, I swing decisions and hits tanks.

And I think he might be a second baseman because he's a little small, but a really, really polished hitter that would be super fun. So I got a list of players I like. Give me hitters. I like hitters. Oh, yeah. I got about no interest in drafting a pitcher. I mean, Kumar Rocker would be fun. There's some prep arms.

Like, Dylan Lesko is a guy who had Tommy John, but was, like, the best prep pitcher in the country. It would be fine, but I'm just so in the mode of I need some bats in the system. So those are my three favorite at the moment. I can't wait for the draft. Less than a month away. All right. Very excited.

Did I get through that one okay for you? It was good, actually. Yeah, it wasn't bad. Honestly, a little impressed. Speaking of human stories that I know that James will love... So I was going to bring it up. If you're going Mark Appel, I was obviously going to bring it up.

No, I wasn't. What a story. Marco Pell finally making it to the majors. Yeah, anyway, you can do your Marco Pell thing. But, did you see the reason why the Phils wore Father's Day suits last week? Oh, so one of my two final thoughts was about the fedoras. No, why? One of my two final thoughts was about the fedoras. No.

Why? So from Todd's lucky story, it was that. So Rob Thompson wears a suit on every road trip, even though that it's relaxed, I guess, the dress code and all that stuff. But he said he does it because to honor his dad and the Phillies players knew this and how much they respected Rob Thompson. They decided to wear suits in honor of Rob Thompson honoring his father. I know, are you crying? I love that. I know, I can tell. I'm almost crying.

That's like, I love it. That's as much a me story as you'll find. I know. I'm so in on that. I know. So I thought that was, I think, again, that's another one of those things where I'm so in i know so i thought that was i think again that's another one of those things where i'm like in you know like the toast thing yeah that that kind of stuff gets me going i'm i'm really with you i think that's that's really cool oh i have one

give me a team i have one last thing before you can do final thoughts and all of that okay and this is very important um For the first time, Saturday night, I didn't want retaliation from the Phillies. I know I'm an old school guy. I am very pro throwing at people in most cases. I think, you know, whatever. In that moment, I was like, there's nothing here. Blake Snell didn't want to throw at Bryce Harper he did it by accident you know we don't need to take an

eye for an eye in this situation it's an unfortunate thing I didn't think a Padre needed to wear it it didn't I didn't see an egregious uh break of baseball uh unwritten rules uh I didn't want to see a guy get plunked after Bryce got hit in the thumb and I felt like that was a big you know I'm on a big growth mindset kick right now yeah that's what I was going to say this is like growth Fritz right here welcome to the club

buddy yep yes I didn't need to see someone hurl a deadly weapon at someone's body it's good. It's good. How's that? Growth from the head. Proud of you, man.

Really proud of you. And, dude, you could see it. Blake Snell was mortified. You could tell that he took the cap off. He made it very clear, I did not mean to do that. And Harper even realized it after. Harper was angry at first, but he realized it too. I did not mean to do that. And, and Harper even realized that after, you know, Harper was angry at first, but he realized it too. Like, I'm so with you, dude. Like there, look to your point. Sometimes it does happen where there are situations where it's like,

you know what? You got to retaliate. That's the game. That's the way this game is played. If a guy, if a ball slips out of a guy's hand and he hits someone like, like, let it go. You know what I mean? Like, it's not, you don't always have to retaliate because someone made a frigging mistake, you know, and he felt horrible about it. Yep. So, uh, I'm glad the Phil's didn't do anything and I had no problem that they didn't. Uh, I'm really proud of you, buddy. That is really good stuff. Thanks. Um, all right. Uh, final thoughts. Um, uh, Marco Pell, by the way, I meant to mention that before, but I mean, that is a really, really cool story. The guy was the number one overall pick in the draft.

It looked like he was going to be out of the sport. He's really worked his way back and humbled himself and become a relief pitcher and finally getting called up. I don't know if he'll pitch a game for the Phillies or not at any point, but just getting to wear a Major League uniform, I think is a pretty neat thing for him. Yeah, he's going to have to. Brogdon's like, hey. They just getting to wear a major league uniform is a pretty neat thing for him. Yeah, I mean, he's going to have to. I mean, Brogdon's like, yeah, they're going to need him.

Yeah, they're going to probably need him. So it might not be the greatest timing because he's going to have to pitch. Tom Purcell said he's going to be a long man for a little bit there. So it's probably the best circumstances if he's coming into a game. But it's cool. And just watching him a little bit you know the strikeout numbers are weird to me i think he's been striking out guys more recently um but again it's only 7.7 per nine at triple a which which is not really what you want to see but i mean just stuff wise

it's 97 i mean a legit 97 is 96 to 98 um and they i guess they added sweet to his slider, and it's a legitimately nasty pitch. So three-pitch guy, I think there's some actual upside here. I'm excited to see what he can bring. He's obviously a big draft prospect, and obviously it was not great when he went to the Astros and eventually here, but I don't know. 96-98 with a wipeout slider can play in any bullpen and i'm i'm curious to see what he's got all right uh final thoughts um and one is funny enough about

the rob thompson thing and you've somewhat changed my opinion on this with how adorable that story is and how much of a you know team bonding thing it is and all that. But, but in related to that story, uh, Alex coffee, who's doing a great job, by the way, Alex coffee is really very quickly, uh, got a lot of information to her readers. Very, you know what I mean? Like she's got some sources, she's getting some out there. It's pretty, it's pretty good. She's doing a nice job. Um, but talking about, uh, that where I get, it turns out that Rob Thompson's a fedora guy. Yeah. And he has eight or nine fedoras. I don't love it, Jack. Oh, no.

Anti-fedora? My instant thought is I don't love it. Wow. Not that I'm necessarily anti-fedora. I'm anti-being-a-fedora guy. Who is really a fedora guy anymore that's what I mean he's got eight or nine fedoras man he's like oh which fedora my oh let me go with this one it'll match well with this suit like what what is that I not a little nervous about that yeah so out there so I't disagree, but I will say this.

Okay, thank you. I will say this, that if they go on a run here and they get in legitimate playoff contention, you're going to see 45,000. You're going to see 45,000 fedoras. It's going to be the new. Oh, God, it's going to be the dumbest thing ever. It's going to be the new dog mask.

Yeah, it's going to be the new dog mask. I want that to happen. This is such a great call by you, Jack. I love that. You know the city. Yeah, you're going to be the new dog mask. I want that to happen. This is such a great call by you, Jack. I love that. You know the city. Yeah, you're right. All right. And my last final thought, outside of, again, apologizing to everyone who had to listen to me for far too much time tonight.

I'm sure you've thought about this because I know that when the Bryce Harper thing happened, you think of every angle and everything. We're not going to get to see him play in the All-Star game again. I know, I know. It's a massive moment. Like, you know, who cares? It's a stupid All-Star game, whatever. But like, come on, man. Like, he was going to be in the All-Star game.

He won the freaking MVP last year without being in the All-Star game. We've never seen Bryce Harper in a Phillies uniform in the All-Star game. It's just like, come on yeah it is it is and um at least but at least this time it's like yeah he's still an all-star so we don't do the whole he's never made the all-star yeah never made the all-star team as a member of the phillies like at least that's kind of out the out the door but yeah it's a total bummer and you just know he would have definitely hit a tank and that's that's all i that's all i can think about um my final thought before letting you out of here is that the tv guys are are trying to push the schwarberian nickname on kyle schwarber and i just

no i'm not nope no it's not nope it's not it it's not it it's it's schwarbs schwarbo schwarbaum like i'm in the schwarbarian out i've never been more out on anything yeah it's bad it's like it's like it's honestly it's like it's almost fed like when it was like oh what a good jack yes it is almost feds like i i think there's a decent chance that if this catches on it could ruin his career so let's really stop this okay i mean that being attached to you is i mean what else is going to stop kyle schwerber right now nothing other than this nickname it's the only thing that has the potential to ruin what he's got going. Or the month of July. Yeah, good point.

Or the calendar going to a new month. We better enjoy these next three games a lot. By the way, team record and wins this month by this baseball. Really? In any month? Just in June. Well, they're at 18. They got to win one more.

But yeah, the tie to team record and wins for a month for June. Cool. Yeah. So listen, listen, Braves coming to town. They're playing really frighteningly good baseball. This Braves team. Also, actually, final, final thought. Dude, dude, I can't take any more Freddie Freeman tears.

Like enough, man. Oh, I know. It's like, dude, you won the World Series. Like, get the hell out of here oh my god and thank god clayton kershaw was like i hope we're not second fiddle you know you're on a team that's got world series of aspirations and he looks checked out like you don't we don't need three days of ovations utley got a day rollins got a day like we don't need three days of of crying on a baseball field. Like, Freddie, if you wanted to be there, whatever. It's just like, it's an unfortunate circumstance.

You're playing for the best team in the NL. Like, stop. Enough. Enough of the tears. Like, you got the first day out. I don't need three days of it. Come on, Freddie. Well done, buddy.

Good stuff right there. Can't take it. I needed that. Yeah. All right. We're done, or do you have like there. Can't take it. I needed that. Yeah. All right. We're done, or do you have like a final, final, final thought? No, it's a big series this week. Proof to me that you guys can do this.

I mean, it goes what? Braves. Braves Cardinals. Braves Cardinals, and thank God it's only a two-gamer in Toronto, because I'm not sure how many fields are going to be there. Dude, dude, I was going to wait until the next spot, but I was going to make that point and be like, honestly,

how nervous are you for this Toronto trip? Like, I mean, just for the, the list. I'll let the fills know. I got, I got 82 in my back pocket.

If you need it. Oh, there you go. Funny. Do you have 82? No, I got 79, 77.

All right. We'll be back, I'm sure, to talk about at some point, which Phillies won't be going to Toronto. But hopefully we'll be talking about the Phillies going on a run because Jack Fritz believed. He's Fritz himself.