WEBVTT - By Any Means Necessary 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:14.000 Hey, this is Bryce Harper and welcome to the Philly Show. 0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:20.520 Hi, everybody, Welcome to the Philly Show with Ruben Tomorrow, 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:24.040 Junior Jim Salisbury. I'm todd so lucky. It is Monday, 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:29.520 July one, twenty twenty four. First three days of life 0:00:29.600 --> 0:00:32.040 with the Phillies without Bryce Harper and kyleesh Warber. 0:00:32.080 --> 0:00:33.839 They went on the IL on Thursday. 0:00:33.880 --> 0:00:36.120 They are two and one and it's been kind of, 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:38.920 I guess, maybe kind of what you would expect, guys, 0:00:39.600 --> 0:00:42.160 after losing those two and then you have JT already 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:44.040 JT Realmuto on the IL. 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:46.080 They get an incredible. 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:50.239 Pitching performance sign from Christopher Sanchez on Friday shutout, they 0:00:50.280 --> 0:00:53.599 lose Saturday, did not a very great game, and then 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:57.160 Sunday they just win a totally ugly affair. They commit 0:00:57.280 --> 0:01:00.560 five errors, but they come back as their biggest comeback 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:03.840 winned the season Trey Turner with a big hit late 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:08.640 on his birthday, and it just seems like this is 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:12.120 the way it's gonna kind of have to be until 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:16.119 Harper and Schwarber come back and Ria Muto come back. 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:19.120 They've got their lean on that starting pitching and they're 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:22.680 just gonna have to try. However, they can to eke 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:25.679 out some wins even if they are ugly like they 0:01:25.680 --> 0:01:26.600 were yesterday. 0:01:27.560 --> 0:01:29.200 Yeah, no question, I thought it was huge that they 0:01:29.200 --> 0:01:31.679 came up with that win yesterday Sunday, even though, as 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:34.319 you said, it was ugly, thirteen men left on base, 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:42.640 the errors were, you know, just ugly. Fortunately, the Marlins 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:47.000 were pretty much just as ugly. But you know, there 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:49.520 was a couple of little silver linings in there. I mean, 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:52.080 Ranger didn't pitch well the two nights before they got 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:54.280 excellent starts. They only won one of those games behind 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:58.920 Christopher Sanchez. So not a lot of runs on Friday 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:02.360 and Saturday, but they did score a bunch of runs 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:07.760 on Sunday. They did overcome a deficit. Again, there was 0:02:07.840 --> 0:02:11.160 a you know, an element of a gift in it. 0:02:11.240 --> 0:02:14.600 I mean, Tim Anderson makes that error on a uh 0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:18.200 surefire double play ball and opens the uh gate for 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:21.640 the Phillies to begin their comeback. But nonetheless, the middle 0:02:21.680 --> 0:02:23.680 of the order, the middle of the Phillies order did 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:27.040 barrel some balls up. You know. Castiano swung it good. 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:28.840 He had he had four hits, right, I mean, he 0:02:28.880 --> 0:02:31.440 had a couple of really big ones. Uh Bohm had 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:35.119 a big home run. So the middle of the order, 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:39.840 you know, Marsh and those guys did come through. They 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:43.400 they did, you know, bail out Rangers, Suarez so and 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:46.679 even you know with with you know out without real 0:02:46.800 --> 0:02:51.960 Mudo and Harper, uh and Schwarber, you know, you you're 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:55.239 losing a lot of slug. You're gonna have to manufacture runs. 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:58.280 And I thought, you know that seventh inning, Marshawn, you know, 0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:01.880 you parlay two walks. Marshawn lays down a bun. I 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:05.400 mean that was old school textbook baseball. Good job. And 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:08.240 then Trey Turner comes up and drives a base hit 0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:10.320 to you know, really the biggest hit of the game. 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:14.040 So though it was ugly, I think you take it 0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:18.880 because without Harper, without Schwarber, and with the real Mudo 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:21.760 being up, with real Mudo being out as well. Man, 0:03:21.800 --> 0:03:24.240 if you could play five hundred a little over five 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:26.799 hundred to oft these big guns, I think you're doing 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:29.639 pretty good given where you already are, with the where 0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:32.520 you have banked so many wins. And then you're gonna 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:35.320 get those guys back mid July, and we talked so 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:39.320 much about the trade deadline, but those are three big 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:44.440 July acquisitions. So I'm okay even though it was ugly 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:46.920 and they didn't score a lot of runs early in 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:49.720 that series, I'm okay with the way they got through it. 0:03:50.840 --> 0:03:53.880 Yeah, it was a pretty good effort overall, just being 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:56.160 able to stay resilient enough to stay in that game 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:58.520 and win it. There were so many ways that they 0:03:58.560 --> 0:04:02.240 could have just folded because Ranger didn't you know, didn't 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:05.760 throw the ball very well. He struggled with he couldn't 0:04:05.800 --> 0:04:09.720 make the pitch with two outs. Marlins came up as 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:12.200 a lot of big two out base hits, which are 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:14.880 sort of demoralizing for a team. But this is a 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:17.760 super resilient team. It's We've shown that time and time 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:20.200 again from the from the twenty twenty two season on. 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:22.840 I think it's one of the most resilient teams I've 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:25.480 ever seen. They've lost some tough games, they bounce back, 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:28.599 they have a tough inning, they bounce back, they make 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:31.919 a bad play, they somehow bounce back and win a ballgame. 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:35.080 And yesterday was not pretty. It was the ugliest win 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:37.360 I think I've ever seen, but they figured out a 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:41.080 way to put a w on the board under a 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:45.400 tough circumstance. Lest we forget, I mean, they've also lost 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:47.840 two starting pitchers. You know, they lost Taiwan Walker and 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:53.560 they've lost Turnbull. So not only have they lost their 0:04:53.600 --> 0:04:55.640 big guns. And I know those guys are down in 0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:59.080 the rotation, you know, the four and five guys or 0:04:59.440 --> 0:05:02.159 the five hole guys as far as the starting pitching 0:05:02.240 --> 0:05:05.080 rotation is concerned. I mean, still that's you're still losing 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:06.920 some depth there. And now I'm gonna have to hope 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:10.600 that Michael mccardo steps up on Tuesday and figures out away. 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:13.400 And you know, they have that. You know, it sounds 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:16.240 really cliche, they have that next man up mentality, but 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:18.320 that's the reality of it. I mean, guys are stepping 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:22.400 up and figuring it out. They did not have very 0:05:22.400 --> 0:05:25.760 good situational hitting at times during the course of the weekend. 0:05:25.800 --> 0:05:28.280 It was a little frustrating to watch them do what 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:29.800 they did. But then they'll come up with like a 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:33.440 two out base hit and figure it out. So it 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:37.159 was good to see, in particular for me in particular, 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:40.039 to see Marshy bounce back this over the next last 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.560 few days. To see Castillanos swing the bat pretty darn 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:46.680 well over the last couple of days and a couple 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:49.480 of weeks. Actually it's been maybe a month or so. 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:53.000 He's been much much better. So he hasn't been like 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:58.279 a stall worker or anything like that. But he has 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:01.360 come up with some big bass hits and some big 0:06:01.480 --> 0:06:04.520 RBIs and that's pretty important. He's won some games, he's 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:07.080 done some things that have that have helped the ball club, 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:11.479 and so that's huge. But you're right, guys, you know, 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:13.800 I've got to figure out how to win baseball games 0:06:13.839 --> 0:06:17.279 over the next two weeks three weeks and be able 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:20.800 to sustain things until the All Star break rolls are ound. 0:06:21.200 --> 0:06:23.039 I was going to ask you, Reuben, you brought up 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:26.800 Nick Castianos, and I just while you were talking, I 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:29.640 just looked up some of his stats recently, because I mean, 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:31.920 I don't want to base everything off my Twitter feed, 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:34.520 but man, oh man, he has one bad game. He 0:06:34.680 --> 0:06:38.160 just gets crushed on social media because he had such 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:40.960 a terrible start because of the way he finished the NLCS, 0:06:41.440 --> 0:06:43.719 And I just found out like a three hit game 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:47.160 he had in May. So from May nineteenth three yesterday, 0:06:47.440 --> 0:06:52.480 he's hitting two seventy five seven home runs, twenty five RBIs, 0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:55.480 and eight fifteen ops, and I feel like with Nick 0:06:56.480 --> 0:07:00.200 you almost have to just accept the fact that he's 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:02.039 going to have some really nice games and then the 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:03.760 bad ones are just going to be really ugly. 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:06.680 Is that kind of what it is with him now? 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:09.240 I mean you just have to, like, as a Phillies fan, 0:07:09.400 --> 0:07:11.640 just to calm your nerves so you don't lose your mind. 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:15.000 Every time he's going to have a couple games in 0:07:15.040 --> 0:07:16.720 a row, maybe three games in a row, where he 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:19.880 goes one for twelve with six strikeouts, he chases, he 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:22.880 just looks totally clueless. And then the next three or 0:07:22.920 --> 0:07:24.600 four games he's going to have a couple of multi 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:27.600 hit games, two or three doubles, maybe a home run, 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:29.040 and he's going to look really good. And it's like, 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:32.040 this is what Nick Castianus is, So you know, maybe 0:07:32.080 --> 0:07:33.360 this will help you relax. 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:35.400 This is what he is. 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:35.760 Yeah. 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:37.840 I think what's happened with Nick is that there's such 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:40.560 a high expectation. He signed such a big contract, right, 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:43.600 He signed for big money, So the expectation was that 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:45.480 he was going to be a middle of the lineup, 0:07:46.080 --> 0:07:50.280 protect Bryce Harper in the four hole. You know, have 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:53.120 twenty five home runs and one hundred and five RBIs 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:57.800 and that's really not who he has been for the Phillies. 0:07:57.800 --> 0:08:00.000 He's had stretches where he's been okay, but he's been 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:03.400 super streaky as he's gotten older, and I think that 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:05.200 that's sort of part of it. You know, he had 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:08.640 a great, you know, certain part of the season last year, 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:10.480 makes the All Star team in the early part of 0:08:10.520 --> 0:08:12.280 the season, and he sort of fades off at the 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:17.640 end and then really struggles in the playoffs. But you're right, 0:08:17.760 --> 0:08:20.320 I mean, you just the expectation for him is much 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:23.960 much higher than the actual production. But we we talked 0:08:24.000 --> 0:08:26.040 about this in the early part of the season. It's 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:28.320 not really how it starts, it's how he ends. And 0:08:28.360 --> 0:08:30.520 the fact that they're winning baseball games. I mean that 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:33.280 just becomes a plus later on. Like if he starts 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:37.600 becoming a seven fifty to eight fifty ops type player 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:41.120 over the last you know, half of the season, then 0:08:41.120 --> 0:08:44.000 that's pretty damn good under the circumstances with the type 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:46.960 of lineup of the guys like Alec Boem stepping forward 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:50.840 and really becoming a guy and the talent, the super 0:08:50.880 --> 0:08:52.960 talent that they have at the top part of the lineup. 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:58.080 Yeah, he's a streaky guy, and I do think he 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:02.719 thrives on confidence when he's feeling good about himself. And 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:04.160 we saw him a little bit in the two hole 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:06.720 and didn't go well. I just think down in the 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:08.640 order helps him a little bit. Maybe he doesn't put 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:12.480 so much pressure on himself. You know, he was really 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:15.640 hit a big hit yesterday. He drove it hard one 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:18.840 Harper by Tim Anderson at short and it was really surprised. 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:21.119 Anderson doesn't have a lot of range, doesn't. 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:24.040 He can't move, He really can't move. He's been he's 0:09:24.080 --> 0:09:26.120 been a sort of a detriment to them. They try to, 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:29.199 you know, add a little veteran presence and a short 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:32.040 stop in there, and he just hasn't been very good 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:32.680 all around. 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:35.600 Yeah, he like, you know, the red light was going 0:09:36.120 --> 0:09:39.120 on behind him like a hockey goalie all day. They 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:41.320 were driving stuff by him, but you know, I mean 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:44.640 they were squaring it up and I'm not saying these 0:09:44.640 --> 0:09:47.680 were balls he should have gotten, but they weren't even close. 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:50.760 But I mean Nick drives that ball for a really 0:09:50.760 --> 0:09:53.120 big hit. I think first pitch. I think there are 0:09:53.160 --> 0:09:57.240 times when his aggressiveness early in the account really benefits him. 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:00.760 Men on base. If he gets a pitch over the middle, 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:03.720 he's going to do some damage. It's it's when the pitcher, 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:06.240 you know, pulls the string on him early in account, 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:09.000 and that's not and he's aggressative. That's where the chase 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:11.000 comes in, and all of a sudden, you're leaving runners 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:13.959 on base. And those have been you know, really team 0:10:14.000 --> 0:10:16.640 wide issues the chase and leaving runners on base really 0:10:16.679 --> 0:10:19.400 for a few years. I think when when it happens 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:22.520 to him, the glare is just a little more intense, 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:26.960 maybe because of the way last season ended. I don't know, 0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:29.600 maybe it's the contract, but if he could build some 0:10:29.920 --> 0:10:32.200 continue to build some confidence because he has the last 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:34.920 two weeks he's been terrific, and even before that, as 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:40.120 you mentioned Todd, he's been a valuable, you know, productive bat. 0:10:40.880 --> 0:10:43.640 I just think, you know, sometimes we remember how the 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:47.439 season starts. Well, he's been pretty good. Lately, he's been contributing. 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:51.080 He's a really really important piece because I still don't 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:53.000 think they've made up their mind how they're going to 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:56.360 act at the deadline. I still think a bat would 0:10:56.360 --> 0:10:59.200 be nice to get out there. But I also believe 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:00.920 that if he's going to produce and have one of 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:04.880 his good streaks in the second half, you know, maybe 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:07.360 all of a sudden, the plan that they had on 0:11:07.440 --> 0:11:09.600 day one, which was this lineup's going to be deep 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:13.360 enough to carry a Johann Rojas and get the defensive 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:17.960 contributions from him while sacrificing offense. If Johann wrote up 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:20.760 Rojas is indeed going to pick up his defense, uh, 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:23.880 then you can maybe do that with a marginal bat 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:28.640 improvement in left field, somebody you can platoon. But Nick 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:31.839 remains a vital, vital piece on this team, and it's 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:33.319 swinging a better Yeah. 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:35.480 The other guy that's really vital, I think is Bryson 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:37.720 Scott because he hasn't swung it that well at all, 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:40.760 and so or likey like he can and like I 0:11:40.760 --> 0:11:44.720 think people know he can. And what I noticed remember 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:47.200 last year when they talked about him getting his top 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:49.800 hand involved and then kind of going to that no stride, 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:52.559 Well I see that sort of happening with him being 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:54.560 a little bit lazy with that top hand and sort 0:11:54.559 --> 0:11:58.160 of collapsing. And I feel like, because he hasn't driven 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:00.559 the ball out of the ballpark and has not been 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:03.600 really high, that he's almost starting to try to create 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:06.120 that when he gets certain pitches to hit, and I 0:12:06.120 --> 0:12:08.320 think instead of just using his hands the way he 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:10.000 was using him before, I think he goes back to 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:13.360 that mentality. I think he'll be I think he'll be fine. 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:17.760 I just feel like he's trying to create air with 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:22.400 his swing, meaning you know, launch angle, and I think 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:25.520 that that's he's missing some pitches that he really should 0:12:25.559 --> 0:12:28.719 be getting to and he's not doing them as consistently 0:12:28.760 --> 0:12:30.600 as he was last year. When he's using that top 0:12:30.640 --> 0:12:32.959 hand to drive the ball, don't keep the barrel above 0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:35.480 the baseball a little bit better. So hopefully he can 0:12:35.559 --> 0:12:37.800 make that adjustment because he's a good player man, and 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:41.040 they and they need him for that depth in that 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:44.080 part of the lineup where they where he needs to 0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:44.880 contribute more. 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:48.040 It definitely looks like he I haven't really looked at 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:50.079 any numbers, but it looks like he has not handled 0:12:50.080 --> 0:12:53.800 the fastball with the authority he did last year. And 0:12:53.880 --> 0:12:56.679 you know, his hard hit rate is not what it was. 0:12:58.000 --> 0:13:01.960 But you know, I've I'm a fan of hitters who 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:06.640 use the top hand, you know, line drive maker. You know, 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:09.240 it would be great to see remember Doug Glanville's top 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:11.679 hand that was, and Hank Aaron had a top hand, 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:14.400 and rockab Old Delhi had a top had Joe DiMaggio, 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:16.520 I don't know why you would take it out of 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:17.000 your swing. 0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:21.600 Guys like Goutva, Chase Uttley out to Bay, Chase Utley, 0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:23.880 Mookie Betts was one of the best when he first 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:25.640 gave me to the big leagues. Man, I mean he 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:30.240 had the ability to you know, Chase that Chase was 0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:33.400 great top hand. So I just feel like those guys. 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:35.360 I just feel like he's the type of hitter that 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:38.880 should should be working to stay on top of the 0:13:38.920 --> 0:13:42.040 ball better and throw the ball better. And when he 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:43.720 does that, he has a lot of success. 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:46.160 What an acquisition he would be if you could get 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:50.040 you know, what you're seeing on a nick now, there's 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:53.719 just more of it. And if if Bryson Stott has 0:13:53.920 --> 0:13:56.559 you know, a couple of really good months a lot 0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:59.040 of this team's issues that we think they have issues 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:00.640 and they don't have a lot of issues. Are a 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:05.720 really good team? Yeah, boy, they might be considering upstairs 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:10.200 get fixed in house and you can maybe focus on 0:14:10.240 --> 0:14:11.640 a bullpen arm. 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:13.920 We're a starter, a starter. 0:14:14.400 --> 0:14:17.640 Other areas whatever, you know, pitching, whatever, whatever you think 0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:22.480 you need to get to be to become invincible in 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:23.560 the October tournament. 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:28.840 Jim Stott against fastballs this season betting two thirty five, 0:14:28.920 --> 0:14:32.160 hit three or four against fastballs last year, you know, 0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:35.600 three eighty two slug against fastballs this year four thirty 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:39.080 nine against scout good scouts. 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:41.640 And he knows this. I'm sure Kevin Long knows this. 0:14:41.720 --> 0:14:44.560 How do they remedy remedy? Is it simply just going 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:46.200 in and working on the top hand in the cage, 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:48.920 or is it being we used to always hear Charlie say, 0:14:48.960 --> 0:14:50.240 be ready to hit the fastball. 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:54.040 I think that there's two parts of it. I mean, mentally, 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:57.120 you have to be ready to hit the fastball number one. 0:14:57.240 --> 0:15:00.720 But also, you know, there are drills. Charlie used to 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:03.760 work with me when I you know, when I when 0:15:03.800 --> 0:15:05.720 I was playing in Cleveland and play very much, so 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:07.720 I so I had to be ready for the fastball. 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:09.080 I mean, I was the only pitch I was gonna 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:11.280 be able to hit anybody. A really good breaking ball, man, 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:14.120 I was sort of screwed. So so I if I 0:15:14.160 --> 0:15:15.960 was going to get one, I better get it, you know, 0:15:16.000 --> 0:15:18.640 I think it better get to it. So I he 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:20.720 used to put the tee up on for me and 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:22.320 he used to flip the balls. He used to do 0:15:22.360 --> 0:15:23.800 a lot of flip with me. But he used to 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:26.480 put the tee it up so that I could attack 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:29.160 the ball from up top, so that I can drive 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:32.480 my barrel down or at least be flat. You know, 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.720 there's a real push to work underneath the baseball now 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:37.960 to try to create you know, air. But if you 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:40.280 see all the like the great hitters in the game 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:43.640 doing their instagrams and on X and stuff like that, 0:15:43.720 --> 0:15:45.920 you see him talking about going down to the ball 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:48.840 right so and up through the ball, and so I 0:15:48.880 --> 0:15:51.200 think that's really in this day and age, with the 0:15:51.240 --> 0:15:54.720 velocity the way it is, that's the most important part 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:57.720 of your swing, I think is working down to the 0:15:57.760 --> 0:16:00.400 ball and making sure that your barrel still is stays 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:04.000 flat when you get to the hitting plane. So I 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:07.160 think teeing the ball up and just and just working 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:10.600 your hands to sort of not chopped wood necessarily, but 0:16:10.680 --> 0:16:13.520 to certainly to certainly utilize that top hands so it 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:16.640 works works down to the ball. Yeah. You know, Ruben's 0:16:16.640 --> 0:16:19.200 funny you mentioned something on social media. There's one that's 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:20.040 out there. I've seen it. 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:21.480 It comes into my feet a lot because I guess 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:23.480 I watched a lot of hitting videos. There's it was 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:27.720 Juan Soto, Albert Pouholz and somebody else. They're all on 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:30.000 MLB Network talking about hitting and they all said, I 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:31.840 just try to hit down on the ball. Hit down 0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:33.320 on the ball. And they were showing it. They're all 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:35.280 showing their swings out. They're trying to hit down. 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:39.520 On the ball. So George Brett, just George Brett just 0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:42.280 had a great one. Man, it's really good. It's a 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:44.840 good one. And George Bratt he had a few hits, 0:16:44.880 --> 0:16:47.800 just a couple. Yeah, he had just a few kits. 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:53.000 He talked about the same the same, the same hitting. 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:53.640 It would go. 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:55.720 Jim, you said earlier. 0:16:56.080 --> 0:16:57.800 If the Phillies can just kind of keep their head 0:16:57.800 --> 0:17:00.560 above water, maybe play five hundred till these guys come back, 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:02.600 That's that's kind of what I mean. Obviously, if they 0:17:02.600 --> 0:17:04.680 can play a little bit better, that's that's even better. 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:05.080 Yeah. 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:09.639 The last I think last nineteen games since they came back. 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:11.760 From London, they're ten and nine, and there's been a 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:13.640 lot of hand ringing about that, but they've only lost 0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:15.720 a game in the standings to the Braves in that time. 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:17.919 They've only lost a game and a half to the 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:19.960 Dodgers in that time. You know this, they haven't been 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:22.959 playing great baseball, but they get those guys back. And 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:25.879 we talked a lot about the hitting, but really the 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:28.760 four starting pitchers should they should be able to do 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:32.200 that with these first four starting pitchers, don't you think? 0:17:32.640 --> 0:17:36.200 Yeah, yeah, we saw it. You know they they limit 0:17:36.280 --> 0:17:40.440 runs and with these guys out, you're not gonna score 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:43.320 as many runs. So this team is still the bedrock 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:47.240 of this team is still starting pitching. You know, Wheeler, Nola, 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:51.640 Suarez Sanchez, two lefties and I mean three of them 0:17:51.680 --> 0:17:53.880 could could end up in the All Star Game. 0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:56.680 Seriously, and the innings. 0:17:56.320 --> 0:18:01.600 They're getting from from their starting rotation is is refreshingly 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:05.119 all school. I mean, it's just really great. Great to 0:18:05.160 --> 0:18:09.080 see these guys pitching, pitching deep into games and uh, 0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:11.960 we just know the the effect that has on a 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:15.720 bullpen on the entire team. So starting pitching is still 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:17.800 the thing on this team that that that keeps the 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:18.600 motor running. 0:18:18.880 --> 0:18:22.280 Qualifying, yeah, no question about it. Good good, No, I 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:23.480 was gonna say, just qualified. 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:27.920 Start wake up this morning, National League qualified pitchers uh 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:31.120 Ranger Suarez leads the National League two point two seven ERA. 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:33.720 Christopher Sanchez is second in the National League with a 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:36.040 two four to one ERA. Zach Wheeler is third in 0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:39.880 the National League with the two seven three are that's. 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:43.560 Pretty crazy, No, it's crazy, yeah, no, no doubt. And 0:18:43.600 --> 0:18:47.280 the overall development of Christopher Sanchez has just been insane. 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:48.800 I mean, we've talked about it a little bit, but 0:18:48.800 --> 0:18:52.919 it's just an amazing transformation of a pitcher. But I 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:56.480 think you know, as as someone who is an ex 0:18:56.520 --> 0:18:59.560 executive and someone who like believed in pitching, and you know, 0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:03.000 watch the Atlanta Braves win fourteen straight you know, National 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:08.040 League East titles because of their starting pitching. It is 0:19:08.600 --> 0:19:10.720 it is the one thing that can keep you in 0:19:11.119 --> 0:19:15.160 every single baseball game. You can talk about hitting all 0:19:15.200 --> 0:19:17.560 you want, and you can talk about a whole lot 0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:20.000 of other things, but if you can pitch it, and 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:23.199 you can play enough defense to support it, you have 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:26.240 a chance to win every single game every single night. 0:19:27.040 --> 0:19:30.399 Because if you are preventing runs, then you don't have 0:19:30.440 --> 0:19:33.440 to get a whole lot to win baseball games. Now, 0:19:33.480 --> 0:19:35.960 I do believe you know, I talked to you should 0:19:35.960 --> 0:19:38.720 talk to Jeff Cooper about this, a lot long time 0:19:38.920 --> 0:19:42.560 trainer about these pitchers. Because they're logging a lot of 0:19:42.600 --> 0:19:45.000 innings there there's gonna be a time, and I feel 0:19:45.040 --> 0:19:47.359 like it's sort of happening with a couple of different 0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:49.640 guys where they get that sort of dead arm period 0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:53.199 where they're not as sharp. I saw that with Ranger 0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:54.880 a little bit. It was a little hot. I didn't 0:19:54.920 --> 0:20:00.200 see him be as crisp with his stuff. Wheelers a 0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:02.760 couple of starts where he's not been quite as crisp. 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:05.080 Aaron Nola the same way, and he sort of goes 0:20:05.119 --> 0:20:08.760 in and out sometimes. But each one of these guys, 0:20:08.800 --> 0:20:12.000