WEBVTT - Opening Day 2024 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:00.840 Hi, everybody. 0:00:00.880 --> 0:00:05.399 Welcome to The Phillies Show with Ruben Tomorrow Junior Jim Salisbury. 0:00:05.519 --> 0:00:09.680 I am Todd Zu Lucky, a new Phillies podcast. We 0:00:09.760 --> 0:00:12.800 wanted to do this because we're such fond admirers of 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:15.360 one another, and we just love each other's company so much, 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:17.800 and we just respect the heck out of one another, 0:00:17.840 --> 0:00:20.640 and we just love baseball. So we put this together 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:24.120 kind of about the last minute. Opening Day is here. 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:28.320 It's an exciting time. So let's start with this. Guys, 0:00:29.280 --> 0:00:32.000 what does Opening Day mean to you? Do you have 0:00:32.080 --> 0:00:35.559 a favorite Opening Day memory? Something that you always kind 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:37.440 of come back to when you when you get to 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:39.080 this day on the calendar. 0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:44.240 Go ahead, Jimmy, Well, I mean I'm sure. First of all. 0:00:44.240 --> 0:00:46.440 First of all, you know, thirty years ago, would you 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:49.640 have said we really respect each other? I would not 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:51.760 have said that about you, guys, I'm gonna tell you 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:55.280 that right now. Okay, anyway, go ahead, way, Jim, Jim, respectfully, 0:00:55.280 --> 0:00:57.000 I'll turn it over to you, my friend. 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:02.080 Driving you crazy all those years on your ass, right 0:01:03.400 --> 0:01:06.479 so you know opening Day, if baseball is your favorite sport, 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:10.160 I mean, this is where it all starts, and baseball 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:15.640 has been my favorite game forever. And you know, I 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:17.560 always tell a couple of stories. One when I covered 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:22.120 Terry Francona as manager, he he told me his mother 0:01:22.200 --> 0:01:24.640 used to let him cut school every Opening Day and 0:01:24.680 --> 0:01:27.640 go to the Pirates game because she believed Opening Day 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:30.520 was special. And you know she was right. Opening Day 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:35.080 is special. I remember being in grade school and these 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:38.640 were in the years before like big tech departments. Every 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:40.720 school had a big tech department. We had one TV 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:43.360 in the entire elementary school and it was on this 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:46.319 big rolling cart. And I remember being in fourth grade 0:01:46.760 --> 0:01:48.800 and my teacher saying, Hey, go down to the library 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:51.720 and get the get the TV. We're gonna watch Opening Day, 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:54.120 watch the Red Sox game. And I remember pushing that 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:57.560 big cart down the hallway and bring it in. We 0:01:57.600 --> 0:01:59.920 plugged it in, used to black and white, three channels, 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:02.960 and we watched the Red Sox game that day. And 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:08.359 I have to say, probably my most memorable Opening day 0:02:08.560 --> 0:02:10.959 was actually a home opener. It wasn't the Phillies opener. 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:13.520 It was their home opener in ninety four. It was 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:16.520 my first year covering the team. The team opened up 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:21.920 in Mile High Stadium in the snow, and then played 0:02:22.200 --> 0:02:24.679 in Denver, so they played in Denver, and then Cincinnati 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:28.040 came home for the home opener, sixty eight thousand people 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:33.960 at Veterans Stadium and John Cruck quite literally rolls out 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:38.919 of a radiation treatment and laces a double to one 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:43.600 hop double off the wall to right center. And I'll 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:45.280 tell you what it made. The hair on my neck 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:48.880 stand up as he's standing on second base and the 0:02:48.919 --> 0:02:53.400 crowd is just absolutely erupting. You know. That was obviously 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:55.160 the spring when he was treated for cancer, and he, 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:57.880 like I said, comes out of a radiation out of 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:01.840 a radiation treatment and is this double and the entire 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:05.520 ballpark just exploded. So and like I said, I still 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.000 have goosebumps thinking about it. I've written about it a 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:12.040 number of times, and that was That's my greatest you know, 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:14.400 even though it's just a home opener, I considered like 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:17.000 an opening day because that would be my greatest opening 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:17.680 day memory. 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:18.720 That's cool. 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:22.240 And not only not only could John Krug roll out 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:23.760 of bed and get a base HIMPI can roll out 0:03:23.800 --> 0:03:28.280 of a hospital. Man. He's got that skill set. That's 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:31.079 why he's so damn popular. And I you know, I'm 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:33.320 fifty nine years old now probably gone through. 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:38.360 This will be my fifty ninth Opening Day as I live, 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:42.400 as I continue to be fortunate enough to be six 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:45.640 feet above instead of six feet below. 0:03:47.160 --> 0:03:51.520 But I think the I think, honestly, the one that 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:54.520 that comes to mind as fat as far as like, 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:57.880 the biggest impact on me personally is the very first. 0:03:59.680 --> 0:04:02.080 Opening Day that I made as a major leaguer, and 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:04.080 that was with the Phillies in ninety two. I was 0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:07.320 traded from ninety one and the off season of ninety 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:13.200 one to the Phillies for bon Hayes, along with Kyle Labbott. 0:04:13.320 --> 0:04:17.760 For bon Hayes. It was a terrible trade for both teams, 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:20.760 but I got a chance to make my very first 0:04:20.880 --> 0:04:24.760 opening day team and for me to be able to 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:28.479 stand on the lines with sixty thousand people in the 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:31.760 stands at Veterans Stadium, the place that I had been 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:36.159 the bat boy and had grown up watching all my 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:39.720 baseball heroes, and to be able to stand there, it 0:04:39.800 --> 0:04:45.520 was really emotional. That was one. Two was when I 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:48.520 was back on the field with the Boston Red Sox 0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:51.640 as a coach and my dad had just passed away 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:56.680 March thirty first, almost seven years to the day now 0:04:56.800 --> 0:05:03.440 from this this lit podcast, and when I was on 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:07.960 the lines again in uniform, uh, for the first time 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:12.000 in what you know, it was twenty some years after 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:15.880 being in the front office. And you know, the Boston 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:18.000 Red Sox do a really cool thing and they sort 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:21.240 of honor all the people who were involved in Major 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:24.880 League Baseball who had passed away in that offseason. And 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:27.280 my dad was the very first one because he's a 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:31.560 right tomorrow and they had a long, you know shot 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:34.120 of him and I just lost it. It was awesome, 0:05:34.720 --> 0:05:35.719 still makes me emotional. 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:36.840 I bet you did. 0:05:38.000 --> 0:05:41.560 That's I lost it. So the other thing, as far 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:46.000 as family is concerned, my ex wife Virginia and mother 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:49.800 and my kids every single Opening day, guess what, out 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:55.440 of school to the game Opening day Phillies at the game, 0:05:56.120 --> 0:05:59.120 sitting in the box or whatever. That was automatic. And 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:00.880 she came from sort of family too. 0:06:00.920 --> 0:06:04.720 So how about you, Todd, In the land of Bronson Beer, 0:06:04.839 --> 0:06:08.359 Milwaukee was carved the brew Crew. You must have some 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:09.440 great ones, that's. 0:06:09.279 --> 0:06:11.960 Right, you know, Like for me, what I remember as 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:13.960 a kid the eighty two Brewers, the only Brewers team 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:15.600 ever go to the World Series. So that's what kind 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:17.880 of got me hooked on baseball, Robie. I can still 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:21.640 recite you the lineup in order, you know how Harvey 0:06:21.720 --> 0:06:25.160 Keane said it, you know, mold or young Cooper Simmons, 0:06:25.160 --> 0:06:28.800 top four guys. And I just remember as a kid, 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:31.239 as a little kid, second grade, third grade, I would 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:33.320 make my own score sheets out of my dad had 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:36.000 these big reams of like printer paper from work. I 0:06:36.000 --> 0:06:39.599 would make my own scorecard with the ruler and I'd 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:41.560 write out the lineup and I would keep scores I 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:43.640 as I listened to the game and follow the game along. 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:45.000 And so I was old. 0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:48.680 I was like seven eight years old. So yeah, I 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:50.640 was seven eight nine years old, and yeah, I would 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:52.360 just kind of like geek out and make my own 0:06:52.360 --> 0:06:54.160 score sheets. 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:55.520 Yeah, it was fun. 0:06:55.720 --> 0:07:00.480 And in just the image of County Stadium just filled 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:02.600 and all the all the grills going at the same 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:04.720 time in early April and it's cold out, so its 0:07:04.760 --> 0:07:07.120 just like all this smoke going up around the ballpark 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:09.800 was just amazing. And I think since I've been covering 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:12.920 the Phillies, Mike, the one that sticks out the most 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:15.600 is Opening Day twenty ten when Halliday was on the 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:19.240 mound in DC, and that was just like, oh, they're 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:21.720 coming off two World Series and now you got Roy 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:24.720 Halliday pitching. I mean it was pretty cool and everybody 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:27.280 was super excited. And of course he did what he 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:30.360 did that year, which is shove and win, and so 0:07:30.440 --> 0:07:33.600 that was that was a that was a fun one. 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:37.640 So spring training ended on Monday in Clearwater. The Phillies 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:41.880 just announced their opening day roster officially today and to me, 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:45.080 there were kind of like two big storylines this spring. 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:48.000 One was Johann Rojas and you guys, if you have 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:49.760 any other ones that pop in your head, but one 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:52.560 is Johan Rojas. And the second one to me is 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:56.040 the back end of the rotation as it relates to 0:07:56.160 --> 0:08:01.200 Taiwan Walker, Christopher Sanchez, and then blake'snell and Jordan Montgomery. 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:05.280 You know, so let's start with Johann Rojas. He makes 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:07.600 the team. There's been a lot of talk about it 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:09.920 in Philly, just based off my social media feeds. What 0:08:10.560 --> 0:08:13.920 do you guys feel about this young guy making an 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:17.600 opening day roster after struggling as he did in the postseason, 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:21.440 didn't really produce in this in spring training and running 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:25.520 him out there and seeing what he's got good. 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:32.319 Jimmy Well, I think I'm not surprised that they've stuck 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:34.640 with him, and they're sticking with him even though he 0:08:34.679 --> 0:08:39.400 didn't really produce in spring training, because if if you 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:45.439 study Rob Thompson a little bit and the organization, you know, Rob, 0:08:45.559 --> 0:08:48.040 I think believes that his number one currency in the 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:51.880 clubhouse and number one currency and leading players is trust. 0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:54.880 And they told this kid, hey, we want you to 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:56.920 work on this stuff, want you to work on it 0:08:56.920 --> 0:08:59.040 through spring training, and don't worry about the results. The 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:01.559 results weren't good, but he worked on stuff. If you're 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:04.160 gonna send him down based on results, then maybe you're 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:06.079 not being true to your word. I think back to 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:10.840 last October in the postseason. I remember reading one of 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:15.240 your stories, Todd like, didn't Rob Thompson go up to 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:17.360 Johann Rojas and say, Hey, I don't want to worry 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:20.520 about anything. You're my guy, right, You're my guy. It's 0:09:20.520 --> 0:09:23.720 probably why he stuck with him late in that postseason 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:25.800 when he was Scotland, because he told him you're my guy. 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:29.360 But I think trust and being true to your word 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:33.120 means something to Rob Thompson. It means something to the players, 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:36.640 and obviously means something to the organization, and they wanted 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:39.240 to stick with him and let him, you know, be 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:41.360 the opening day center fielder and give him a good 0:09:41.400 --> 0:09:43.480 run and see what he can do. Now, if they 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:47.040 didn't have a powerhouse one through eight, maybe that doesn't happen. 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:50.200 But you know, they should be in a position where 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:53.719 and it's very difficult to make adjustments at the big 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:56.360 league level, but they should be in a position where 0:09:56.360 --> 0:09:59.120 if they do what they should do one through eight, 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:03.200 they can allow this kid more time, more seasoning at 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:05.200 the big league level. If in a couple of months 0:10:05.280 --> 0:10:07.559 he's still kind of lost, then you know, I think 0:10:07.600 --> 0:10:09.560 you need to get back to the drawing board, back 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:13.000 to the table, and figure out what you're gonna what 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:15.760 you're gonna do there. But that's you know, kind of 0:10:15.800 --> 0:10:20.000 the way I see, I see how they're going. Rubyn, 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:22.360 Do you have any Do you agree there? 0:10:23.280 --> 0:10:26.160 Yeah, I mean I agree with you. It's hard to assess, 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:29.720 you know, when you start talking about results in spring training. 0:10:29.880 --> 0:10:32.200 I mean, if you start talking about results in spring training, 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:34.240 you look at the rest of the team, what they 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:37.240 hit about a buck like a hundred. I mean, I 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:40.880 mean I don't ever really like to necessarily, it's very 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:44.560 difficult to sort of assess, you know, progress, I think 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:46.960 qualityly at bats and that sort of thing. I think 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:49.520 he improved a little bit. He didn't have great at bats, 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:52.439 but I see he was trying to work on swinging 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:55.679 at strikes and trying to do some bunting and doing 0:10:55.720 --> 0:10:58.120 the things that they had that he had been working on. 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:04.440 I do agree with you wholeheartedly that won this This 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:06.400 lineup is one of the better lineups, deeper lineups in 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:10.920 all baseball. And the defense, let's let's call it, let's 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:15.120 call the truth. Defensively, when you have Schwarber and in 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:17.880 left field and you have Marsh and center field, it's 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:19.760 not that good of a defensive club. It's not very 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:23.440 good at all. If you have Johann Rojas and center 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:27.360 and you have Brandon Marsh and you know, with Merryfield, 0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:31.640 whoever's out there pace, perhaps then you have a very 0:11:31.640 --> 0:11:34.000 good outfield. And the balls hit in the air all 0:11:34.040 --> 0:11:36.320 the time, and you need defense. I mean, we were 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:39.480 bitching and complaining about whether or not, you know, somebody 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:41.520 could catch the fly ball three years ago, and now 0:11:41.640 --> 0:11:44.040 now you got an outfield that's that's pretty darn good. 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.439 Because Costiganos has improved. He's not a leite, but he's 0:11:47.440 --> 0:11:50.199 gotten himself to average, I think so. I think that's 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:53.400 an important element of it. I think also, let's let's 0:11:53.400 --> 0:11:56.400 not forget the dude hit three hundred last year pretty 0:11:56.440 --> 0:11:59.400 much the entire season. I know that it was a 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:02.640 very limit look in Double A. It was Double A, 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:05.200 I get it, But he hit three hundred there when 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:07.440 major leagues only what one hundred and fifty played appearances. 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:09.840 He hit three hundred there, and so you have to 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:13.280 sort of assess that as well. He did perform at 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:16.839 the major league level, albeit you know, they started to 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:19.640 make adjustments on him. Can he make those adjustments back? 0:12:20.400 --> 0:12:23.079 You never know. I mean, I hopefully he can. He's 0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:26.160 athletic enough. I hopefully that he doesn't feel the pressure 0:12:26.160 --> 0:12:27.680 to have to do it. And you also hope that 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:33.080 he doesn't play offensively so poorly that he starts to 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:36.280 lose confidence in himself. And it'll be really interesting. I've 0:12:36.280 --> 0:12:39.240 seen Dave Dombrowski in the past as a GM when 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:42.760 I was when I was coach, Blake Swinheart was a 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:45.319 perfect example for me. Blake Swihart was supposed to be 0:12:45.320 --> 0:12:47.880 an everyday catcher and he caught for about five or 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:51.680 six games out of the shoot, and he really struggled. 0:12:51.679 --> 0:12:53.920 He struggled to receive, he struggled to run the game. 0:12:54.040 --> 0:12:56.800 Now totally different position, probably the most important position on 0:12:56.840 --> 0:12:59.600 the field. But then they got him out of there. 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:03.080 They sent him down pretty quickly because he had it 0:13:03.120 --> 0:13:06.200 was just too much responsibility. Now, this guy is an 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:10.440 elite center fielder. Blake Swyhert was not an elite center 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:15.160 fielder excuse me, catcher, and so it's a little bit 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:18.120 of a different story there. And he's definitely not gonna 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:21.160 be overmatched on the field, So that part of the 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:24.440 game he's going to be fine with. But I think, yeah, 0:13:24.480 --> 0:13:27.000 I think, Jim, I agree with you. I think that 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:29.120 what will be interesting is how long the leash is. 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:30.920 I think it's going to be at least a month, 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:34.080 and then you know, we see where we go where 0:13:34.080 --> 0:13:36.120 we go from Plus the other thing is this, no 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:37.920 one really stepped up and said, Okay, I'm going to 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:41.640 be I'm going to take over the center field job, 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:43.640 like Patch started off okay, but then he kind of 0:13:43.679 --> 0:13:47.760 fizzled at the end. No, no, no, there was nobody 0:13:47.760 --> 0:13:49.160 that you looked at it and you said Oh my god, 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:50.840 this guy's going to be center fielder. 0:13:51.280 --> 0:13:54.720 And you mentioned you mentioned defense, and it's not like 0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:57.200 this guy is not going to contribute. You mentioned the 0:13:57.240 --> 0:14:00.679 elite defense, and there's the game is simple. Form is 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:03.760 about scoring runs and preventing runs. And he's going to 0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:06.000 help you on one side of that coin a lot. 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:09.160 You asked Zach Wheeler and Aarondola who they want playing 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:12.400 defense center field. Okay, we're gonna say, I'll take Johann 0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:15.600 Rojas hitting two hundred, if you know, if he can play, 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:18.040 if he can play every day, I'll Johann Rojas hits 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:18.480 two hundred. 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:20.800 I want him in the lineup. Everything that's important. 0:14:21.160 --> 0:14:24.040 Thirteen, all thirteen of those, all thirteen of those pitchers. 0:14:24.800 --> 0:14:29.000 Absolutely absolutely, it's important to keep those guys on the 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:31.840 hill happy, you know. I mean, we know all those 0:14:31.880 --> 0:14:34.480 stories about Roy Halliday. He wanted certain guys in certain 0:14:34.520 --> 0:14:37.960 places on certain games after certain things happened. So you 0:14:37.960 --> 0:14:39.840 know you want to keep the pitching stuff happy. 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:43.440 Hey there, that's where your bread is buttered. Brother. You 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:45.360 don't have to tell me about the pitching and how 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:48.200 important it is and the defense in the run prevention, 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:51.480 because if you can prevent runs. You have a chance 0:14:51.520 --> 0:14:54.040 to win every so you can hit. You can have 0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:56.720 it two runs a game. You can prevent runs. You 0:14:56.800 --> 0:14:57.400 got a chance. 0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:00.440 Let me. I want to ask Ruben a question because 0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:02.760 he actually stood in the batter's box at the major 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:07.720 league level. We talked so much these days about the swing. 0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:11.040 The swing, the swing. They teach it, they work on it. 0:15:11.280 --> 0:15:14.480 They you know, apparently worked on a lot this winter 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:22.040 with Rojas. What's more important the swing or pitch recognition, 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:27.960 and and pitch recognition is really hard to learn or 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:30.680 develop or whatever you want to call it. It's it's 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:34.360 a tough tough thing to learn or to get good 0:15:34.400 --> 0:15:37.920 at at the big league level. Any concerns there. 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:39.560 Yeah, I think there are. 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:41.960 I mean, that's why the hitting is the single most 0:15:41.960 --> 0:15:44.760 difficult thing to do in sports, the one thing that's 0:15:44.760 --> 0:15:47.120 the most difficult thing to do, I think, unless maybe 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:48.600 you're a golfer and you're trying to hit a green 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:51.800 every time, or hit it, you know, I mean, golf 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:53.400 might be we were talking about that the other day. 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:55.960 Maybe golf is a little bit more negative. Who knows, 0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:59.640 you know, one in one a but it's a it's 0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:03.040 a very difficult thing to do, and it's something that 0:16:03.080 --> 0:16:07.119 you can improve on and you can work on, but ultimately, 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:09.200 if you don't have the eye hand coordination and be 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:12.400 able to make you know, contact with the ball with 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:16.840 your bat, then you're in trouble. And hitting is an 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:20.200 art and it's something that you know, sometimes he can't 0:16:20.440 --> 0:16:24.200 piece together and you're hoping that the guy is athletic enough. 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:26.120 I go back and start thinking about some of the 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:30.080 athletes who became who were terrible hitters, who became good 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:33.120 hitters because they were athletic and instinctive. And I think 0:16:33.120 --> 0:16:36.960 about guys like Ozzie Smith who could not hit, but 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:39.480 was a tremendous instinctive player. It was a switch hitter, 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:41.080 but he he can figure out a way to get 0:16:41.080 --> 0:16:43.520 the barrel of the ball eventually and like maximize. So 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:45.960 he became a little bit better as he got as 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:50.440 he got older and got more experience. Omarvas SkELL, horrendous hitter, 0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:53.600 became a pretty darn good hitter later on in his career, 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:56.920 and so you know, I think start thinking about that. 0:16:56.960 --> 0:16:59.280 Even a guy like Freddie Galvis, like at some point, 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:01.560 you know, the question was was just got to go 0:17:01.600 --> 0:17:02.440 to be able to hit? It up. 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:03.200 Well. 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:08.320 He wasn't a great hitter, but he made himself usable offensively. 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:11.199 And so I think that if you have instinct and 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:14.480 you have eye hand coordination, I think that you can 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:17.480 get there or get be improved. Do you become a 0:17:17.520 --> 0:17:21.760 Hall of Famer? Maybe not, but you know there's if 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:23.960 you can. You have the ability to adjust, and you 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:26.720 have instinct for the game, which I do believe that 0:17:26.840 --> 0:17:29.720 Rojas does have, then I think he's got a chance 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:31.240 to make those adjustments. 0:17:31.520 --> 0:17:33.960 Yeah, for what it's worth. As of like late last week, 0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:37.359 he small sample size, no pressure. Spring training, he was 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:40.240 chasing less out of those pitches out of his own again, 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:44.639 super small sample size, totally different situation, no pressure to produce, 0:17:45.320 --> 0:17:49.639 but he was chasing less. So, uh, Taiwan Walker is 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:53.680 opening the season on the il right shoulder soreness. 0:17:55.960 --> 0:17:56.639 A lot of talking. 0:17:56.720 --> 0:17:59.120 So every time I ran into somebody Rubin in Clearwater, 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:01.800 I'm sure you get it way worse than me because 0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:04.920 people run and you know, recognize you a lot more. 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:09.560 But it was always they're gonna sign Snell, They're gonna 0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:12.199 sign Montgomery, right, are they gonna? And then Philly said no, 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:14.960 And I'm wondering what you guys think about that back 0:18:15.000 --> 0:18:17.000 end of the rotation. And I think the first three 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:20.840 are super solid obviously, but do you have any thoughts 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:24.600 on them not going after Snell and or Montgomery? And 0:18:24.800 --> 0:18:28.200 are you concerned about Taiwan Walker's shoulder and his lack 0:18:28.240 --> 0:18:28.959 of velocity. 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:32.600 So here's my thing. Let me let me let me 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:34.800 go first. Go ahead, yes, go ahead. No. 0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:36.600 I was just saying, also, like the fact that they're 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:40.680 really counting on Sanchez to continue where he left off. 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:42.399 You know, it's Almos's I don't know how much of 0:18:42.440 --> 0:18:44.199 a lock that is or a guarantee that is, but 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:46.920 they're obviously really much They're very much counting on him 0:18:47.040 --> 0:18:49.600 to repeat what he did last year, right. 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:52.399 And so I'll start with Sanchez. Great segue because it 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:55.960 had Sanchez not sort of made the development changes that 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:58.600 he made and become maybe one of their more consistent 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:00.960 guys down the stretch. I think he was one of 0:19:01.000 --> 0:19:03.520 the most consistent pitchers they had, and I know they 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:06.280 protected him some, but this is a guy that came 0:19:06.320 --> 0:19:08.760 a long way. This guy was like a rock thrower man. 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:11.680 He didn't have any idea where he was and he 0:19:11.760 --> 0:19:15.280 made the adjustments to become a pitcher and started pitching 0:19:15.640 --> 0:19:19.240 much much better. And it is my feeling that he 0:19:19.320 --> 0:19:23.040 is going to continue on that path. Good kid works hard, 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:26.880 knows he hasn't made it. I think he's humble enough 0:19:26.880 --> 0:19:28.520 to understand that he's got a lot of work to 0:19:28.520 --> 0:19:30.560 do still, and he's got you know, and teams are 0:19:30.560 --> 0:19:32.240 going to make adjustments on him, and he's gonna have 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:35.600 to make adjustmente back. But I think the emergence of 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:39.879 of Christopher Sanchez probably had a lot to do with 0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:41.880 the fact that these guys did not make a run 0:19:41.920 --> 0:19:45.320 at Smell in Montcomery, because I think that they felt 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:49.480 that with four solid starters they could piece the other 0:19:49.720 --> 0:19:54.200 five the other whether it's whether it was Taiwan Walker 0:19:54.440 --> 0:19:59.520 or you know, whoever they could sign, which they did 0:20:00.400 --> 0:20:03.520 Turnbull Spencer Turnbull in this case, I think that they 0:20:03.560 --> 0:20:06.639 felt comfortable with that, knowing that, hey, if we have 0:20:06.760 --> 0:20:10.640 other needs and and a need in starting pitching arises 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:12.840 that we could try to get that and hit that 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:17.920 element later on, whether it be through excuse me, through 0:20:17.960 --> 0:20:20.040 trade or what have you. I think that they have 0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:23.960 some of the resources to be able to combat that, 0:20:24.080 --> 0:20:26.520 and it may be a different one somebody might get hurt, 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:29.120 you know, somebody. They may lose a catcher, they may 0:20:29.160 --> 0:20:33.119 lose a you know who knows, and God forbid for 0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:36.840 for the Phillies fans. But but I think, you know, 0:20:36.880 --> 0:20:41.879 I think Taiwan Walker's situation is he had a slow start. 0:20:42.320 --> 0:20:44.719 He had some personal things going on in the spring. 0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:49.560 He had a knee issue and he couldn't really utilize 0:20:49.600 --> 0:20:53.160 his lower half very well for a while, basically backed 0:20:53.240 --> 0:20:57.119 him up. So that sort of morphed into having a 0:20:57.119 --> 0:21:00.280