Speaker 1: This is Chase Utley and this is the Philly Show. Hi, everybody,
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Philly Show. Ruben Tomorrow, Junior, Jim Salisbury,
Speaker 1: Todd's Lucky Wednesday, August twenty eighth, twenty twenty four. Guys,
Speaker 1: how are we doing, Ruben? You're showing a uh I'm
Speaker 1: teasing your tea knockoff. You're talking.
Speaker 2: We got him coming. It's a knockoff.
Speaker 3: That's the uhmer is coming. It's the bullpen cart that
Speaker 3: used to meet tug At when you give you his.
Speaker 2: Jacket, that's all right, that's right.
Speaker 1: I wish they had the bullpen carts still, just to
Speaker 1: just to roll it out for old times sake.
Speaker 2: You know, I do love that cart. I think it's
Speaker 2: the coolest thing. I think they might have one in
Speaker 2: the ballpark somewhere.
Speaker 1: Yeah, dig that. They gotta dig that thing out, especially
Speaker 1: on Thursday nights when they were in the record.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: For those listening in their car, Ruben's got a Phillies
Speaker 1: Show bullpen cart t shirt on to knockoff without us
Speaker 1: in it. Without us, And it's always better when we're
Speaker 1: in the cart driving at great point, Jimmy, are you
Speaker 1: driving that cart? You're on the left hand side.
Speaker 3: No, I'm driving with my foot.
Speaker 2: I do like the fact that you're hanging out to
Speaker 2: the side though, j Yeah.
Speaker 3: I've been there before, hanging out of a golf cart.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, guys. The last couple of games for
Speaker 1: the Phillies pretty pretty good. Bryce Harper hits that walk
Speaker 1: off hit on Monday night. Aaron Nola just dials it
Speaker 1: up on Tuesday night. Last night, Nick Castianis hits a
Speaker 1: big home run, three run home run on Tuesday. Are
Speaker 1: we feeling about how they've been playing the last four game,
Speaker 1: they won four in a row. They can sweep tonight,
Speaker 1: get the first five game winning streak since May, seems
Speaker 1: like again, Jim, we talked about this the other day, like,
Speaker 1: you know, there's a lot of doom and gloom last week,
Speaker 1: but a little bit different vibe going on right now.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there was a lot of doom and gloom, and
Speaker 3: some people scoffed at me when I said my panic
Speaker 3: meter was at one point five when I take my pulse.
Speaker 1: But they did kill you for that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but you know, no panic that. I just looked
Speaker 3: at the standings. Guess what, They're tied for the best
Speaker 3: record in baseball again. They've won four in a row.
Speaker 3: The offenses awakened just enough, just enough. The starting pitching
Speaker 3: has been very good the last turn through, maybe the
Speaker 3: last two turns turn plus, they've hit some bombs. They
Speaker 3: are much better team when the ball ends over the fence.
Speaker 3: And you can say that about pretty much every team
Speaker 3: because home runs are big, and that's a lot of
Speaker 3: the way that the game has played today. But getting
Speaker 3: on base a little bit more, you still gotta take
Speaker 3: care of those advantage of those opportunities that call for
Speaker 3: some good situational hitting. But good teams will do that.
Speaker 3: But you know, they're bashing the ball just enough. Here.
Speaker 3: They had a couple of eleven run games in Kansas
Speaker 3: City last night. You mentioned Castianus with that three run
Speaker 3: home run, very very clutched, very timely. He sniffed out
Speaker 3: that breaking ball. It was a twelve sixer. It didn't
Speaker 3: break off the plate to kind of gives him trouble.
Speaker 3: He sniffed it out and he drove it into the seats.
Speaker 3: So and Aaron Nola just made it all stand up.
Speaker 3: He he has been brilliant, you know his last three
Speaker 3: or four, you know, last like twenty four innings. I
Speaker 3: think he's given up like four in runs. I feel
Speaker 3: like a lot of things are coming together at the
Speaker 3: right time. Now with thirty games left, we're constantly asked,
Speaker 3: are they back. I'm not going there. I'm not gonna
Speaker 3: say they're back to me. They're back when they're when
Speaker 3: they're on the parade, you know, float down Broad Street,
Speaker 3: That's when they're back, because that's what this is all about.
Speaker 3: But you know what, they're playing bad at a good time.
Speaker 3: They've won two series in a row. That's been a
Speaker 3: magic recipe for them winning series, and they've they've taken
Speaker 3: care of the Houston Astros here taking the first two.
Speaker 3: And wouldn't it be something if Taiwan Walker went out
Speaker 3: there later on today and had one of had it,
Speaker 3: had his best start of the season and helped them
Speaker 3: lock down a sweep going into the final month, that
Speaker 3: would be that would be something to see. I think
Speaker 3: this is actually a fascinating day, you know, this Wednesday,
Speaker 3: going for the sweep against Houston with your weak link
Speaker 3: on the mound, a guy who's really struggled, the guy
Speaker 3: everybody's clamoring to, you know, bounce him out of here,
Speaker 3: and let's let's see what happens. I think it has
Speaker 3: a chance to be some very interesting theater ninety seven degrees.
Speaker 3: Here's the thing that's back. Summer's back ninety seven today
Speaker 3: Taiwan Walker on the mound, Ruben Tomorrow, sweat and bullets
Speaker 3: in that beautiful jacket last night, Ruber. I loved that jacket.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 1: That was a great jacket.
Speaker 2: I appreciate the love. You will make great points. I
Speaker 2: think back right now to a couple of different things. One,
Speaker 2: I think back to what Chase Utley said when I
Speaker 2: was in La Listen, this team's got to go through
Speaker 2: a tough time and they got to go through some
Speaker 2: adversity and they got to bounce back and be playing
Speaker 2: well when it's time to play well. And he may
Speaker 2: be a soothsayer, because it looks like that sort of
Speaker 2: thing is happening right now. I couldn't for the life
Speaker 2: of me. People were asking me the same thing, like,
Speaker 2: what is going on with the Phillies? What is going on? Well,
Speaker 2: I think and as I think about it now, I
Speaker 2: think it's about the starting pitching, and it's about and
Speaker 2: that's where it starts, and for me, that's where it ends.
Speaker 2: When the starting pitching is going well, which was and
Speaker 2: it was the best in all of baseball in the
Speaker 2: first two months of the season. All of baseball. Maybe
Speaker 2: Seattle was the only other team that was as good
Speaker 2: or maybe to touch better. But Seattle had no offense
Speaker 2: at all, and they still don't have any offense, but
Speaker 2: they still have pretty good pitching. So they're sort of
Speaker 2: in the race. The Phillies. They're pitching rotation. Suarez going down,
Speaker 2: that was huge, and I back now about Suarez coming
Speaker 2: back and pitching in Kansas City and pitching the way
Speaker 2: he did, and that was the start of this role
Speaker 2: they got going. And I think that that in a
Speaker 2: lot of ways, it's just weird. I don't know if
Speaker 2: it's mental. I don't know if it's physical. It could
Speaker 2: be a combination of the two. I think that's one
Speaker 2: of the things that sort of picked this team back up.
Speaker 2: He came out and pitched his ass off, and it
Speaker 2: was ranger Suarez of old and it started that turn
Speaker 2: in the rotation that made it. You know, then you
Speaker 2: got Suarez and Wheeler and Nola, and you know, Christopher
Speaker 2: Sanchez is pitching his tail off as well. Obviously, Taiwan
Speaker 2: Walker struggling and not pitching all that well, but having
Speaker 2: those four guys setting it up for those four guys,
Speaker 2: and this is what Rob Thomas has been talking about
Speaker 2: all season long. Get those guys healthy, make sure I
Speaker 2: take care of give him an extra day when they
Speaker 2: need it, you know, kind of you know, take a
Speaker 2: long time to get Suarez back after those back spasms
Speaker 2: took their time. Hopefully he's going to be fine and healthy.
Speaker 2: And I think that's one of the biggest reasons why
Speaker 2: these guys are short of back on track.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and then Jim, like you said, you have a
Speaker 1: guy pop on every once in a while and that helps.
Speaker 1: Nick Cassianis last night you mentioned him. He gets a
Speaker 1: first pitch fastball and he takes it, and after the
Speaker 1: game he goes, yeah, I was kind of kicking myself
Speaker 1: because I don't see any fastballs. In fact, he sees
Speaker 1: fewer fastballs than any any hitter in baseball, you know, Nick,
Speaker 1: It's just breaking balls and off speed stuff. So then
Speaker 1: he is going, Okay, now, I'm that's probably the only
Speaker 1: fastball I'm going to get in this at bat. So
Speaker 1: he sits breaking ball and Justin Verlander throws him an No.
Speaker 1: One breaking ball, hanger right over the middle, and he
Speaker 1: crushes it. And it was interesting. After the game, Justin
Speaker 1: Verlander said, you know what, against my I felt like
Speaker 1: he was sitting spin. So I threw him a first
Speaker 1: pitch passball, and then against my best instincts, I should
Speaker 1: have thrown him another fastball, but I said, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna throw him a breaking ball.
Speaker 2: Here.
Speaker 1: He's like, and I just had to basically said, I
Speaker 1: kind of had a bad feeling about him. Looking back,
Speaker 1: I wish I could go back, because there's no doubt
Speaker 1: in my mind. He's like, you'll have to go ask Nick,
Speaker 1: but I bet you he is sitting something soft on
Speaker 1: that old one pitch, And sure enough he was, because
Speaker 1: he said, I knew I was going to get something
Speaker 1: with some spin on it. But he's been We talked
Speaker 1: a lot about him. He's been really good over the
Speaker 1: last really since mid May. I think he's forty first
Speaker 1: in OPS and baseball out of like one hundred and
Speaker 1: thirty three failures, so he's top thirty percent in baseball
Speaker 1: in terms of OPS. He's really been putting together. He's
Speaker 1: now hitting fifth. He talked, we talked about us, remember
Speaker 1: this earlier in the season, he was kind of complaining
Speaker 1: about how he's hitting too low in the lineup. He
Speaker 1: said last night, He's like, I love I'm basically a
Speaker 1: glory or batting practice hitter. I swing at everything, and
Speaker 1: I swing hard, and uh so it helps me when
Speaker 1: I'm in the middle of the lineup. Rob Thomas said,
Speaker 1: you got to earn that spot, though, and he's earned it.
Speaker 1: He's earned a spot. You know, you don't just get
Speaker 1: to hit fifth just because you like to swing a
Speaker 1: lot and you swing hard. You have to actually produce,
Speaker 1: and he's produced lately. So now he's been hitting fourth
Speaker 1: fifth the last twelve thirteen games.
Speaker 2: Jim, I got to give it. I gotta get some
Speaker 2: love for them, because you talked about it from the
Speaker 2: beginning about how the back of the baseball football card matters,
Speaker 2: and you talked about you know, you talked about Nick
Speaker 2: Castianos a lot during the early part of the season
Speaker 2: if everybody wanted a Cana guy.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I just felt like, you don't put up all
Speaker 3: those good seasons and all those doubles and all that
Speaker 3: slug by accident. And he's not old, but he is streaky,
Speaker 3: and I just thought he was going through a bad streak,
Speaker 3: and I thought we were going to see it almost
Speaker 3: like an equally good streak at some point. We have
Speaker 3: been very very important player throughout that you know, two
Speaker 3: and a half month scuffle that this team has had,
Speaker 3: helping them stay afloat with those occasional bolts, you know,
Speaker 3: bolts of lightning to the gap here and there. So
Speaker 3: that breaking ball and he hit from Verland, it was
Speaker 3: the perfect shape for him. If it was something off
Speaker 3: the plate, those are the ones that give him trouble,
Speaker 3: but just a great piece of reaction reaction hitting, and
Speaker 3: it was it was a difference maker in that game.
Speaker 3: Fascinating to hear, you know, how Verlander's mind was working there.
Speaker 3: So yeah, really, he's a he's he's a he's a
Speaker 3: cerebral picture, he's a veteran picture. He's not afraid to,
Speaker 3: I don't know, let you in on what he's thinking.
Speaker 3: And that creates a really interesting storyline for people who
Speaker 3: love the game and interested in the game that byplay
Speaker 3: between the hitter and the picture of what they're thinking.
Speaker 3: So I really enjoyed reading about that today and your
Speaker 3: story Todd.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was you kind of hear those things that
Speaker 1: you kind of nerd out as a as a baseball fan,
Speaker 1: he goes, yeah, he's like, you know, he talked about
Speaker 1: the chess match between hitter and pitcher, and and sure
Speaker 1: enough that's what Nick was thinking. And sure enough, vier
Speaker 1: line is up there, going maybe I should be throwing
Speaker 1: him a fastball here, hanger gone.
Speaker 2: I think the other part of that is another fascinating
Speaker 2: part of it, and you mentioned it and talked a
Speaker 2: little bit about it, was how Castiano's talked about not
Speaker 2: getting a lot of protection when he's deep in the lineup. Right,
Speaker 2: when he's deep in the lineup, he knows that he
Speaker 2: can walk, they can walk him and not feel fear,
Speaker 2: you know, the Johann Rojas's of the world and the
Speaker 2: other guys behind him. But when he's in the middle
Speaker 2: of the lineup, you know, he's got a little protection
Speaker 2: with you know, whoever it is, Scott or JT or
Speaker 2: whoever is hitting behind him, so that they it it
Speaker 2: gives the picture a little bit more angst to not
Speaker 2: walk the guy and have to sort of challenge him,
Speaker 2: which means he gets more pitches to hit. I mean,
Speaker 2: it's a whole and that's that's why roster construction and
Speaker 2: lineup construction can't be all about the analytics. There is
Speaker 2: a subtle piece of what's going on here about protection
Speaker 2: and left right and you know, forcing the opponent to
Speaker 2: do certain things that they might not want to do
Speaker 2: because of the construction of the lineup. That was the
Speaker 2: one big thing that Charlie talks about that every manager
Speaker 2: really talks about. But you can't just have an analytics
Speaker 2: guy just because this guy's got X Y numbers and
Speaker 2: wobah's and all types of stuff. It's about the subtleties
Speaker 2: of what's going on in the lineup versus that picture
Speaker 2: the bullpen, how they will attack them. I mean, the
Speaker 2: lineup means something, man, it really does and uh and
Speaker 2: and that's part of the subtlety that creates and and
Speaker 2: makes what good what you know, good managers are. I
Speaker 2: think managers do two things, three things. They run the bullpens,
Speaker 2: they construct their lineups or should they know, shouldn't come
Speaker 2: from above, but they do a lot of in a
Speaker 2: lot of places, and they have to manage the clubhouse.
Speaker 2: And those are the three biggest things I think that
Speaker 2: the manager do. Managers do And if you can do
Speaker 2: those well, you can have a lot of success, and
Speaker 2: I think Rob Thompson does a heck of a job
Speaker 2: of it myself.
Speaker 3: And they have to. I'm sorry, they have to. You know,
Speaker 3: you mentioned manage the clubhouse, build trust, communicate and when
Speaker 3: Rob Thompson says to Nick Castianos, Nick, I'm gonna have
Speaker 3: you right in the middle of that lineup. You're gonna
Speaker 3: be hitting fifth, but you got to earn it. And
Speaker 3: then he goes out and hits well and he learns it.
Speaker 3: You got to put him there, and that's how you
Speaker 3: build a great relationship. And that's how player bustes asked
Speaker 3: for the manager, and that's how players bust their ask
Speaker 3: the manager. I agree with you on all that other stuff,
Speaker 3: the bullpen and the lineup, but there's a chemistry between
Speaker 3: good manager and players and performance and the way your
Speaker 3: commune to get it with them. And I think Thomas
Speaker 3: is very good at that.
Speaker 1: And we will be right back.
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Speaker 1: Active and we are back, gentlemen. We put out a
Speaker 1: tweet last night for questions listener for your questions, and
Speaker 1: I think it's taken off because we got a ton
Speaker 1: of questions yesterday. Like, we got so many questions we
Speaker 1: won't even get to you know, a third of them.
Speaker 1: I don't think. I mean on Instagram and on x
Speaker 1: AKA the or I should say they're formally known as Twitter.
Speaker 1: So uh, let's let's jump into these. We got a
Speaker 1: bunch and let's start with the general themed big picture question.
Speaker 1: This is something I think was I don't know if
Speaker 1: the same guy asked it, but this is something that
Speaker 1: was asked a few weeks ago. The Phillies seem to
Speaker 1: be hurting me less. Now do you think they'll continue
Speaker 1: to hurt me less into the postseason? This is for
Speaker 1: Michael on x Remember we got one like that, like,
Speaker 1: why why do they want to hurt me so much?
Speaker 3: Was that the yeah?
Speaker 1: When will the ping go away?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Elizabeth, Elizabeth?
Speaker 1: So what do we think? Well, Rubin, you said the
Speaker 1: starting pitching. If the starting pitching keeps going like this,
Speaker 1: they're gonna be They're gonna be in games every night.
Speaker 2: I don't think there's any question that if if now
Speaker 2: Rangers back on track and these guys remain healthy, the
Speaker 2: four big four guys, because they're they're really they're the
Speaker 2: crux of what they what this team is built around.
Speaker 2: I think I know they spend a lot of money
Speaker 2: on offense, but the reality of it is I'll never
Speaker 2: and I'll never stop thinking this. When you have great
Speaker 2: starting pitching, man, you've got a chance to win every
Speaker 2: single night. It's as simple as that. And why the
Speaker 2: game got away from this, I don't know. If I
Speaker 2: was an executive in this day and age, I would
Speaker 2: go back to the same themes. When everybody's going left,
Speaker 2: I'm going right and going back to what's what means something,
Speaker 2: and that's starting pitching. If they're healthy, they'll be back
Speaker 2: and they'll be really, really good in the postseason. I
Speaker 2: know they have to get big hits, and they have
Speaker 2: to make adjustments to teams that have good plans and
Speaker 2: execute those plans. But if they get good starting pitching,
Speaker 2: they got a chance every single day.
Speaker 3: There still might be nights when the pain rears its
Speaker 3: ugly head when they're chasing and swinging from their heels
Speaker 3: and having a night like they had in Game six
Speaker 3: and seven last year. Unfortunately, it's kind of in their
Speaker 3: DNA that stuff can pump up. But I do think
Speaker 3: when they're going good, they can put together lengthy stretches
Speaker 3: where they avoid that stuff and seem to be in
Speaker 3: one right now. Bomb chasing a little bit, you'd like
Speaker 3: to see that him get dialed in because he's typically
Speaker 3: a very selective hitter. But right now the pain is subsiding.
Speaker 3: But I will remind you of that Bart Giamatti quote.
Speaker 3: Baseball is designed to break your heart. And you know
Speaker 3: it's a tough, tough game and a tough tough business
Speaker 3: and only one team at the end is going to
Speaker 3: be smiling on. So you got to get into October,
Speaker 3: which they will, and then you got to play good baseball,
Speaker 3: take care of opportunities, don't make errors, don't give up
Speaker 3: extra base runners, extra bases, and put it all together.
Speaker 3: This team is very capable of doing that. I personally
Speaker 3: can't wait to see how they perform in the month
Speaker 3: of October.
Speaker 1: Jim, you you mentioned Alec Boom. That was the question
Speaker 1: that British Philly on X one S wanted to asked
Speaker 1: about what's going on with Boem? Weird body language gone
Speaker 1: from constant RBIs to swinging at everything. Any inside information
Speaker 1: from coach Rubin on a player showing body language like
Speaker 1: Boom has been. I mean that has jumped out the
Speaker 1: last few games, and I know he has talked about
Speaker 1: that in the past, like trying to control his emotions
Speaker 1: on the field and not having such bad but I
Speaker 1: mean slamming the helmet, flinging his bat. A lot of
Speaker 1: frustration from him over the last six games, spatting one
Speaker 1: sixty three ninety two ops, three grounded into double plays,
Speaker 1: three double place.
Speaker 2: You know, I think he's starting to feel it. He
Speaker 2: had such a great start to the season, and you know,
Speaker 2: these are human beings, and now he started going into
Speaker 2: one of those funks. For a while, I mean for
Speaker 2: almost a month he didn't have an RBI. It was bizarre,
Speaker 2: and part of it was because guys in front of
Speaker 2: him were really not getting on. There was a lot
Speaker 2: of stuff going on as far as the lineup construction.
Speaker 2: You know, Schwarber and Turner were struggling. They weren't really
Speaker 2: doing a lot, and so even Harper was not as
Speaker 2: the dynamic clearly, and his opportunities did not present themselves.
Speaker 2: And then he struggled in those opportunities, and I think
Speaker 2: it sort of snowballed on him a little bit. And
Speaker 2: over the last a week or so, I see him
Speaker 2: sort of getting out of his comfort zone. He's a
Speaker 2: guy that uses the whole field. He swings the bat
Speaker 2: on pitches that are in the strike zone. Typically, I
Speaker 2: see him just trying to press a little bit and
Speaker 2: do a little bit much. Maybe he's starting to think
Speaker 2: about arbitration and money and contracts and things like that.
Speaker 2: He hasn't been locked up. I mean, I don't know
Speaker 2: that about him. I don't but if I'm if i'm him,
Speaker 2: if I'm in his shoes, I start thinking about those
Speaker 2: things like, oh my god, if I get another ninety
Speaker 2: or one hundred, you know, another one hundred and ten
Speaker 2: RBI season or whatever the case may be, you know,
Speaker 2: I may put myself in a position to make a
Speaker 2: ton of money. I don't know if those things are
Speaker 2: going through his head. I don't know if he's just pressing.
Speaker 2: I don't know if he's getting out of his comfort zone.
Speaker 2: But I do see some differences in him. I think
Speaker 2: fortunately he hasn't really taken it. I don't think to
Speaker 2: the field, which is a you know, which is a
Speaker 2: very it's something where he's showing to his maturity. I
Speaker 2: think he'll be back. He's one of the most talented
Speaker 2: hitters they have, and I mean as far as just
Speaker 2: utilizing the whole field and that kind of stuff, So
Speaker 2: I think he'll be back. He just needs to take
Speaker 2: a breather, you know, relax a little bit, and go
Speaker 2: with the lessers more program, which is, you know, the
Speaker 2: Charlie Manual theory. Less is more, let the pitcher come
Speaker 2: to you, and then, you know, then take care of
Speaker 2: the damage.
Speaker 3: I see him. He's an emotional guy. You know. I
Speaker 3: don't mind a little emotion, a little snap down, and
Speaker 3: you know, I probably want to do it up in
Speaker 3: the tunnel where nobody can see it, but I don't know,
Speaker 3: it shows your care. But I just think he's reacting
Speaker 3: in the moment and in the instant to the result
Speaker 3: of that particular at bat. And I would offer last night,
Speaker 3: he has that bloop hit later on in the game
Speaker 3: where they all come together in the outfield and you know,
Speaker 3: Ringling brothers and he's standing on second base and all
Speaker 3: of a sudden, big smile, you know, big smile. And
Speaker 3: so there was his reaction. He didn't hit the ball well,
Speaker 3: but it was a reaction based on the result. So
Speaker 3: I think it's it's disappointment coming out and at the
Speaker 3: root of it, it's like, I know I'm better than this,
Speaker 3: and it's just disappointment, and everybody handles it a little differently.
Speaker 3: I'd be careful to squeal shit because I think that's
Speaker 3: who he is. But I think in their private conversations,
Speaker 3: Rob Thompson Kevin Long can urge him. You're a good player,
Speaker 3: You're good hitter. We're here. A lot of the reason
Speaker 3: we're here is because of you. Don't get too frustrated.
Speaker 3: It's going to happen for you.
Speaker 1: Stop breaking helmets.
Speaker 3: You ever heard a story about at Lee was a serial, quiet,
Speaker 3: stealthy helmet breaker, and nobody knows like because he never
Speaker 3: would do it out in public, out on the field.
Speaker 2: He's smart, he's smart about it.
Speaker 3: Snaps he would snap up up up up in the
Speaker 3: tunnel where nobody could see it. And I feel comfortable
Speaker 3: telling this because I wrote the story years ago. But
Speaker 3: there was one season he broke like seven helmets and
Speaker 3: Phil Sheridan, the equipment man, great equipment man with the
Speaker 3: Philly's been there forever and does great job. Phil Sheridan
Speaker 3: went up to him and said, like in September, said,
Speaker 3: hey man, you got to cool it. This is my
Speaker 3: last helmet. This is the last helmet I got for
Speaker 3: you in your your size or whatever, and so you
Speaker 3: gotta control your snaps. A little bit, so guys care
Speaker 3: they blow off steam. I just think people are like,
Speaker 3: oh my god, is he is he burying himself? Is
Speaker 3: he quitting on himself when it happens out on the field.
Speaker 3: But so just bring it inside where nobody can see it,
Speaker 3: and then when you retire, we'll tell all the stories
Speaker 3: about the helmet you broke.
Speaker 1: Just keep in mind, you know, like I wonder, do
Speaker 1: you does a player finally start getting charged like and
Speaker 1: that at one point is day they go all right, Chase,
Speaker 1: we gotta start charging you for these helmets. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is getting ridiculous, you know what I mean. I
Speaker 1: don't know what a helmet costs, but it's over one
Speaker 1: hundred dollars, I bet for sure.
Speaker 2: When I played. When I played, they probably would charge,
Speaker 2: would have charged. Yeah, I think it broke a couple,
Speaker 2: but they didn't give me very couple of them. I
Speaker 2: had reason to break a lot of them because I
Speaker 2: made a ton of outs.
Speaker 3: But they don't. They don't charge for anything anymore. When
Speaker 3: I started coming, when I started covering baseball, Todd, I
Speaker 3: remember covering Triple A baseball and guy in Patucket where
Speaker 3: it was cold in April, and guys were like beg
Speaker 3: borrowing and stealing to get sleeves, you know, cold weather sleeves.
Speaker 3: They had to buy their own undershirts. Do you remember
Speaker 3: those days, Ribbon?
Speaker 2: Oh? Do I remember those days? Come on, dude, I
Speaker 2: mean we were making like three dollars an hour. I
Speaker 2: worked it out to like fifty cents an hour with
Speaker 2: all the hours we put in, and.
Speaker 3: Now they get everything they need, tons.
Speaker 2: Of It's a different world now, man. These guys are
Speaker 2: living a life of luxury now in the Minor Lakes.
Speaker 2: It's crazy.
Speaker 1: Jose Alvarado question, is there any news on Jose Alvarado?
Speaker 1: Do you think whatever issue is he is he has
Speaker 1: is affecting his pitching. That's from bow ninety two to
Speaker 1: ninety two on Instagram. The only thing I can say
Speaker 1: is that, you know. Rob Thompson says he does not
Speaker 1: know when he will be back. For those who don't know,
Speaker 1: Jose Jose Alvarad has been placed on the restricted list
Speaker 1: left the team for personal matter. Rob Thompson says he
Speaker 1: does not know when he will be back, but he
Speaker 1: does expect him back this season. I spoke to somebody
Speaker 1: else yesterday saying they're trying to you know, take care.
Speaker 1: You know, they're they're they're they're expecting that he will
Speaker 1: be back this season, hopefully sooner rather than later. But
Speaker 1: there's only thirty some games left. So to me, I'm
Speaker 1: do you guys have any thoughts on how they're going
Speaker 1: to handle his absence. I know he's been super inconsistent,
Speaker 1: but he's been their best pitcher against left handed hitting
Speaker 1: like left these are hitting one thirty four hundred ohps
Speaker 1: against them against him, how do they handle that? Rob
Speaker 1: Thompson said, Tanner Banks and Ryan Kirkering. But Ryan Kirkering
Speaker 1: has been it's been okay against left these. He hasn't
Speaker 1: been great, but that's a loss.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, to me, it's to me, it's really
Speaker 2: about guys just stepping up, stepping forward. I mean, he
Speaker 2: had been struggling. My biggest concern is for the guy.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure what's going on with him. I have
Speaker 2: no idea. I tried to poke around to find out,
Speaker 2: but the reality of it is, I have no idea
Speaker 2: what it is. I just hope he's fine, and I
Speaker 2: just hope the man's okay because I have a great
Speaker 2: deal of respect and I love the guy. He's a
Speaker 2: fantastic teammate. He's important in that bullpen, if not just
Speaker 2: for his presence, and he's an outstanding pitcher when he's on.
Speaker 2: I mean he's really really good, and I just hope
Speaker 2: he's okay.
Speaker 3: Yeah, me too, really good man, good hearted guy, good
Speaker 3: in the clubhouse, big smile, loves everybody, so you know,
Speaker 3: all the best to him. The recipe might be what
Speaker 3: they got last night, try to get seven good ones
Speaker 3: from the I mean, you've rested the rotation periodically throughout
Speaker 3: the season because you know you want to play big
Speaker 3: games in September and October. If you could get seven
Speaker 3: and shorten the from your starter, shortened the billpen a
Speaker 3: little bit, I think that might be a really good
Speaker 3: recipe going forward. We see a lot of times in
Speaker 3: the postseason bullpen's rain, bullpen's rule the day, But like
Speaker 3: pitching backward a little bit, I think starting pitching could
Speaker 3: rule this day for the Phillies down to stretch and
Speaker 3: into October, trying to get seven, shorten up your bullpen
Speaker 3: and see what happens.
Speaker 2: Hey, let's just say, well, do you guys see that
Speaker 2: stack that they have won thirty in a row? Thirty
Speaker 2: games in a row, when the pitchers could go on
Speaker 2: seven seven innings in the very first I think it
Speaker 2: was the very first game of the season. They didn't
Speaker 2: win the first game of the season. I think somebody
Speaker 2: won seven innings. Since then, thirty straight games of wins,
Speaker 2: thirty and one. It's insane. Yeah, that's how important going
Speaker 2: seven innings is. I mean, look at that. I mean
Speaker 2: it's insane. Thirty and one. That's that. That is a
Speaker 2: big number. That's why it's so important to get length
Speaker 2: out of your starters. People have to remember that. Somebody
Speaker 2: and some executive has to understand that number because it
Speaker 2: doesn't lie.
Speaker 1: Dave Debrowski likes that. I know that. Damn he's about they.
Speaker 2: Get because you know baseball.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Dave does like the old school nature of this
Speaker 1: rotation and throwing guys out there for six seven innings,
Speaker 1: seven innings. I've preferred a couple questions on September call ups.
Speaker 1: September call ups question mark. That's from weight man Stats
Speaker 1: on Instagram. Is there anyone at Lehigh Valley that could
Speaker 1: not be on the average fans radar that could get
Speaker 1: a call up in September? That's from Dave Hyms on
Speaker 1: x I don't know if there's anybody that's not on
Speaker 1: the radar that could possibly get called up. I don't
Speaker 1: think there's an O Ryan Kirkering down there that that's
Speaker 1: going to come up in September and help. I think
Speaker 1: it might be Cody Clemens. Cody Clemens I think probably
Speaker 1: should come up. I guess you could go third catcher.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you need it. I don't know
Speaker 1: if you need a third catcher with only two now,
Speaker 1: there's only two rosters, two spots that get added to
Speaker 1: the roster in September. So maybe Cody Clemens, he's deserved,
Speaker 1: he's earned it, and then you have Tyler Phillips could
Speaker 1: come up, Michael Rutgers on the forty men roster. Tyler
Speaker 1: Gilbert who is just up here, could come up at
Speaker 1: some point. I don't know what they're going to do
Speaker 1: with the pitching, if they're going to go for a
Speaker 1: real length guy or a shorter, you know, more short
Speaker 1: reliever type of guy. But but nothing really super exciting
Speaker 1: for the fans. I don't think, you know, there's not
Speaker 1: Justin Crawford's not coming up in September.
Speaker 3: I think you might want a little bit of length
Speaker 3: in the picture capability of giving you a little length,
Speaker 3: because you still might have to nurse this Taiwan Walker
Speaker 3: thing through the final I mean a month of the season.
Speaker 3: He'll start on Wednesday, and then after that what he'll
Speaker 3: have five or six that spot will have five or six.
Speaker 3: So you might have to do a lot of Nixon
Speaker 3: and Match to get through that. So that might you
Speaker 3: might want to prioritize multi innings. As far as the catcher,
Speaker 3: that's an interesting one. We all love Marshan. I think
Speaker 3: it was a little banged up recently, but you know,
Speaker 3: I don't know that you have to carry its third
Speaker 3: catcher because you can still make moves. If somebody goes down,
Speaker 3: you can get them on the roster the next day, right.
Speaker 2: Yeah. See, that's the beauty of what MLB has done.
Speaker 2: You know, I started thinking about the limitations that they
Speaker 2: put on. Now just two guys brought up, So now
Speaker 2: you have a roster of twenty eight that you can maneuver.
Speaker 2: But you can maneuver it because if you have flexibility
Speaker 2: and options for your players. The teams now are playing
Speaker 2: like the Triple A season is now being pushed all
Speaker 2: the way down to almost lined up to the major
Speaker 2: league season now so that those guys continue to play.
Speaker 2: And if you want to make like as if you
Speaker 2: were in the normal season, you want to make roster
Speaker 2: moves now back in the day, that season ended on
Speaker 2: September second or third, and now you had to have
Speaker 2: certain guys like we would take guys and send them
Speaker 2: to Clearwater and say, okay, here's ten guys that might
Speaker 2: get a chance to play at some point if you
Speaker 2: don't get brought up to the big leagues and just
Speaker 2: be ready, and then you can expand your roster to
Speaker 2: as many as you wanted, but you can still have
Speaker 2: more guys ready. Now you can have guys actually playing
Speaker 2: in baseball games in Triple A and Double A and
Speaker 2: allow them to and and you know, if you have
Speaker 2: roster flexibility, that's why it's important to have that and
Speaker 2: move guys back and forth. Like a pitcher can throw
Speaker 2: one day, he can get sent down and you know,
Speaker 2: get sent down and be replaced. So I think it
Speaker 2: it's just a gain again, it's a it's a way
Speaker 2: to maneuver. I think a lot of it will depend
Speaker 2: on what's going on with Alvarado two, whether you want
Speaker 2: another left hander in there, or whether you know, but
Speaker 2: you can you have some flexibility of maneuver around if
Speaker 2: you have options on these guys.
Speaker 1: Jim, you mentioned Taiwan Walker question. Of course, it's got
Speaker 1: to have a question about timeline Walker. Where the realistic
Speaker 1: options for Walker DFA trade that's from anonymous us on Instagram.
Speaker 1: What do we think it's gonna Taiwan Walker tonight? He
Speaker 1: pitches Wednesday night, they can go for the sweep. It's
Speaker 1: going to be a crazy atmosphere because fans are starting
Speaker 1: to get excited again. So if Taiwan Walker goes out
Speaker 1: and he lays an egg in their first couple innings,
Speaker 1: the booze are going to rain down upon him with
Speaker 1: oh yes, with great fury. Uh I might I have
Speaker 1: my Phillies Beat newsletter is going to come out later today.
Speaker 1: I had somebody break down a lot of the stats
Speaker 1: on Taiwan Walker because the Phillies keeps saying they're encouraged.
Speaker 1: Taiwan keeps saying it's going to be coming. But the
Speaker 1: facts are the facts, and he'll probably pitch well tonight
Speaker 1: now that I'm writing this. Chase rate on his splitter
Speaker 1: by season is dropped each year over the past three years.
Speaker 1: It's way down the whiff rate, so that's swing and
Speaker 1: miss on his splitter way down. It's twenty nine sixteen
Speaker 1: point eight percent this season. Uh So, now when he's
Speaker 1: fallen behind the count, he's getting Now when he comes
Speaker 1: in the zone, you guys know it, he's getting absolutely crushed.
Speaker 1: He's last in baseball in barrel percentage. That's his balls,
Speaker 1: you know, hit certain exsit velocity, line drives last, and
Speaker 1: average exivelosity ninety two point one last, and hard hit
Speaker 1: percentage fifty. When he's when he's hitters are ahead in
Speaker 1: the counter batting three point fifty three with a one
Speaker 1: point I ops against him. So not a lot of
Speaker 1: there's not really any signs. There's not a lot of positivity.
Speaker 1: There's not a lot of signs of these boy he
Speaker 1: could just this is just coming along and you know
Speaker 1: he's all he's just right there. I mean, he's really
Speaker 1: just getting pulverized out there. So I don't know what
Speaker 1: the answer is. I do you guys think he's gonna
Speaker 1: get dfaide this season? Do you think he could get
Speaker 1: dfaid this season? That's a lot of money to eat, right,
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 3: It's a desperate for the roster spot. But I would
Speaker 3: be surprised to see him back next year. Next year,
Speaker 3: but I don't know how they're gonna handle it in
Speaker 3: the short term. Ruben, You've had to make these decisions.
Speaker 2: It's a tough one man. Third eight million dollars is
Speaker 2: a big, big nut. I mean, that's a lot of money.
Speaker 2: And so I know that Middleton doesn't I mean he
Speaker 2: cares about money. I mean everybody cares about the money.
Speaker 2: I mean when especially when you're when you're having to
Speaker 2: dole out those types of dollars for an unproductive player.
Speaker 2: But I mean in the past, you know, we've we've
Speaker 2: had to make some tough decisions. You know, he's providing
Speaker 2: some depth right now because he is a starting pitcher
Speaker 2: and they need somebody to eat some innings.
Speaker 5: Uh.
Speaker 2: I know, Alert has pitched pretty darn well at times,
Speaker 2: and Phillips can fill mix in, and there might be
Speaker 2: some other guys that you can throw in the mix,
Speaker 2: but right now, he is a starting pitcher and they
Speaker 2: need some innings to be eaten up, and he needs
Speaker 2: somebody to protect the other four guys in that rotation
Speaker 2: and and the bullpen. Now, if he can't, if the
Speaker 2: man is throwing two or three and that's it. They
Speaker 2: may end up going to like a piggyback situation. Who
Speaker 2: knows where they say, Listen, I'm going to get him
Speaker 2: for two or three innings and I'm going to bring
Speaker 2: you know, a long guy in and go from there.
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know if you can necessarily do
Speaker 2: that when you're going to a six man rotation right now.
Speaker 2: And I'm not sure about all the plans that are
Speaker 2: going to be happening over the course of September, but
Speaker 2: he certainly put them in a tough position. If he
Speaker 2: was pitching, better to be a much easy position to say, man,
Speaker 2: we're just going to give you the baseball, but you
Speaker 2: just cannot continue to get hammered and get knocked out
Speaker 2: after three innings, because it's just the domino effect on
Speaker 2: the on the bullpen and the rest of the U
Speaker 2: and the rest of the club is just too great.
Speaker 3: Start by start basis. Right now, you know, he's gonna
Speaker 3: have to earn his innings, you know, five days later
Speaker 3: every time he goes out there, and you know, I
Speaker 3: don't know if they can go through another season of
Speaker 3: this unless there's some dramatic improvement and I'm not sure
Speaker 3: that's in the cards at this age, and he's apparently
Speaker 3: pitching healthy, so it's a it's a tough call. I mean,
Speaker 3: all that really matters, though, is right now, in the
Speaker 3: next thirty days, and he's going to get the ball
Speaker 3: on Wednesday, and he needs to give them just take
Speaker 3: five innings, you know, give me five innings and and
Speaker 3: we'll deal with the five days later, five days later.
Speaker 2: And I just I just don't know if he can
Speaker 2: throw it with people ask can throw out of the pen.
Speaker 2: I don't think this guy, I don't think so. I
Speaker 2: don't think he's going to elevate his fastball. I don't
Speaker 2: think that, you know. I think he's giving it all
Speaker 2: he's got right now, and and I think this is
Speaker 2: where he's maxed out.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree with that.
Speaker 3: I don't think you have any trade value in the
Speaker 3: off season if you ate a whole bunch. I think
Speaker 3: that's iffy.
Speaker 2: I think I think it's possible, but you have to
Speaker 2: eat like almost the entire contract, I mean everybody's I
Speaker 2: mean Todd gave the numbers. I mean, if you're looking
Speaker 2: at the numbers, you're just hoping that the guy bounces back.
Speaker 2: In some way, shape or form, and you don't really
Speaker 2: want to pay much for the guy.
Speaker 3: And if if there's a chance they're going to let
Speaker 3: him go and you can get him from the minimum,
Speaker 3: why would to give up a player?
Speaker 2: Right, No doubt exactly.
Speaker 1: Uh see, when I don't know, if there's ruben, you
Speaker 1: might have a good story on this all. I'll ask
Speaker 1: you this one. When trading a player for cash considerations,
Speaker 1: what is the lowest amount that a player has been
Speaker 1: traded for? This is from your Phillies educator on X.
Speaker 1: You remember one dollar and.
Speaker 3: I think I think the max is one hundred grand.
Speaker 2: I think, yeah, it has to be approved or yet,
Speaker 2: although you can you can send the player and you know,
Speaker 2: pay down. I mean it also has to be approved
Speaker 2: by by the commissioner's office. Sure, so you can move
Speaker 2: a player and pay him down, but I think I
Speaker 2: think the minimum. I think I may have traded a
Speaker 2: guy for a buck or something like that.
Speaker 3: Okay, I remember a trade for zero dollars.
Speaker 1: Who's that.
Speaker 3: They had a minor league pitcher and they traded him
Speaker 3: to the Anaheim Angels for zero.
Speaker 2: That gave well the minor leagues.
Speaker 1: Sort of transferred his contract okay, okay, today is Jim
Speaker 1: Tomey's birthday. I guess this is maybe sent yesterday, and
Speaker 1: Big Jim is known for being one of the nicest
Speaker 1: players in MLB history. Who are some of the nicest
Speaker 1: guys you have dealt with? Also, any jerks you wish
Speaker 1: to dump dirt on? That's some steampunk Philly Uh you
Speaker 1: know what. So I'm sure you guys get this too, right,
Speaker 1: I mean, other than like the day to day questions
Speaker 1: of why is this guy struggling? Why is that guy's?
Speaker 1: The thing I get asked the most is who's what
Speaker 1: are guys like in the clubhouse? Who do you like?
Speaker 1: Who do who don't you like? Who's the biggest jerk
Speaker 1: in the clubhouse? I'm not going to say who the
Speaker 1: biggest jerks are, but uh, there's been a lot of
Speaker 1: really great guys.
Speaker 2: Because that's because you'll lose them. You can't I mean, yeah, professionally,
Speaker 2: you can't really name those guys. Yeah, for your sake
Speaker 2: and for my sake. I mean, uh, the ones in
Speaker 2: the past, you can, you can toss them out there
Speaker 2: a little bit, but but typically, you know, it's very
Speaker 2: difficult for writers to have to dump on guys, because
Speaker 2: then they don't have any respect from from the guy
Speaker 2: when they want to have a conversation and want to
Speaker 2: do a story about them or talk to them. And
Speaker 2: that's a difficult position to put you guys in. But
Speaker 2: you know some great guys, and most of them are
Speaker 2: great guys really honestly, ninety seven percent or ninety nine
Speaker 2: percent of them are pretty darn good guys. Do you
Speaker 2: guys not agree? And then you know you have a
Speaker 2: couple of apples that are you know that that will
Speaker 2: upse up the car.
Speaker 1: The way I always tell people is it's just like
Speaker 1: wherever you work at, you know, if you work in
Speaker 1: an office building, or if you work at a you know,
Speaker 1: car dealership, or wherever you work, right like, most of
Speaker 1: the people you work with are pretty good people. And
Speaker 1: then there might be one or two people are like, man,
Speaker 1: that guy, Oh my god, what an a hole. But
Speaker 1: I will say on this roster, this current roster, and
Speaker 1: I'm not just saying this because these guys are playing
Speaker 1: right now. Most I think I can't think of a
Speaker 1: guy in there that I'm like, Ah, this guy just
Speaker 1: gives me a hard time every single time I go
Speaker 1: up and talk to him. Or this guy causes so
Speaker 1: many problems in the clubhouse or whatever. It is a
Speaker 1: really good clubhouse from top to bottom. But I mean
Speaker 1: favorite players, I mean, nicest guys have ever covered me.
Speaker 1: Jim Tolmy obviously there. Love Jeff frank Core we had
Speaker 1: him on the show. He might be my favorite, my
Speaker 1: all time good guy. Just you know, you only play
Speaker 1: with the Phillies for one season. But there's chooch. You know,
Speaker 1: there's all the backup catchers you could talk about, you know,
Speaker 1: from Hoskins, Andrew Knapp, you know, Tommy Joseph we just
Speaker 1: saw him in se Alley's the assistant hitting coach for
Speaker 1: the Mariners. Great guy, you know, but you know, and
Speaker 1: then the star players. To Ryan Howard was always tremendous.
Speaker 1: I always liked talking to Jason where Shane Victorino, I mean,
Speaker 1: the list could go on and on and on.
Speaker 3: Shane Victorya was HILARI You know, I love covering Jimmy
Speaker 3: Rollins because he did exciting things on the field and
Speaker 3: he said provocative things after the game. Same with Shilling.
Speaker 3: He did exciting things between the lines and he said
Speaker 3: interesting things after the game. Yeah, you know, I liked
Speaker 3: all those you know, Jim told me, just gentleman, Jim,
Speaker 3: and you mentioned Tommy, Joseph, Michael Franco was a great kid,
Speaker 3: remember Michael. Oh, just you know Rico, Bronia, Rex Humbler,
Speaker 3: you could just I mean, just Billy Wagner. Just there's
Speaker 3: so many good guys. And Brad Lidge.
Speaker 2: I mean, Brad, what a quality human being.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, has this storybook season in two thousand
Speaker 3: and eight, and he's more than willing to take you
Speaker 3: along for the ride and share it with you as
Speaker 3: a writer so you can write about it, very accommodating.
Speaker 3: The next year is the Season from Hell, and he's
Speaker 3: the same guy. He's very accommodating, you know, it's not
Speaker 3: your fault, and just a gentleman. So I could I
Speaker 3: could go on for an hour about all the good
Speaker 3: people you know, I've met in the game.
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's the same here. But the guys that
Speaker 2: come to mind, Jim Tomy was my teammate and then
Speaker 2: I signed him a couple of times, had to trade
Speaker 2: him once or twice. Just just saw to the earth
Speaker 2: man just a wonderful, wonderful human being, almost to the
Speaker 2: point where it's just real and it is the other guy.
Speaker 2: The other guy that was like that a little bit
Speaker 2: was Mike Sweeney. We didn't him for very long, but
Speaker 2: what a tremendous human being he was. And you mentioned
Speaker 2: the other guy, Rex Hadler. I just saw Rex. He's
Speaker 2: doing the TV over there in Kansas City. Man, he
Speaker 2: is just an absolute treat man. I just I love him.
Speaker 2: He's so positive, he's such a I mean, there's so
Speaker 2: many different characters in the game. I have some great
Speaker 2: friends in the game. Gary DiSarcina who was a teammate
Speaker 2: and a coachmate of mine, Paul Sorrento, same thing. I mean,
Speaker 2: just there's so many millions of guys that I could
Speaker 2: sit here and name that are just sweet, sweet people
Speaker 2: and great people to be around. Dave Hollins, I mean,
Speaker 2: oh my god, one of the one of my great
Speaker 2: great friends in the game. Just super human beings that
Speaker 2: you that you're in a lot of ways. I'm a
Speaker 2: better person for knowing a lot of them.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, you know, it was a really good guy.
Speaker 3: He just popped into my head. Is Markleter Junior, who
Speaker 3: just came through with the Yankees. He was here briefly,
Speaker 3: just a kid who was you know, from Jersey Shore,
Speaker 3: you know, appreciated being a major leaguer, worked really hard,
Speaker 3: just a good guy. I mean, it's just there's so
Speaker 3: many of them.
Speaker 2: You know. I I gotta mention Kevin Jordan because he
Speaker 2: was an unlivable teammate. What a superhuman being he is.
Speaker 2: We see him in San Francisco all the time, and
Speaker 2: it's great to get a chance to see him my benchmate.
Speaker 2: Just the awesome, great peaks.
Speaker 3: So today, you guys, I'll tell the story really quick.
Speaker 3: Kevin Franzen loves this story. In ninety eight, so you
Speaker 3: guys signed directs how the ninety seven ninety eight two
Speaker 3: year deal. He showed up hurt because he blew out
Speaker 3: his hamstring trying to run twenty miles an hour on
Speaker 3: a treadmill two days before spring training and it was
Speaker 3: never right. Har And so you guys released him towards
Speaker 3: the end of ninety eight at the VET and he's
Speaker 3: standing in the front of his locker and uh, there's
Speaker 3: gaggle of reporters around him. I'm kind of off to
Speaker 3: the side a little bit, and he's saying, you know,
Speaker 3: I just wish I played better, and you know, I
Speaker 3: was hurt, but I appreciate the opportunity and all the
Speaker 3: right saying all the right stuff. Then he catches my eye.
Speaker 3: And he used to call me Steak for obvious reasons,
Speaker 3: and he catches my eye. He goes, Steak, I got
Speaker 3: fired today. He busts out crying big tears, and he's
Speaker 3: hugging me and on my shoulder crying his eyes out,
Speaker 3: and I'm looking around saying, what am I supposed to
Speaker 3: do here?
Speaker 1: That must have made you feel very comfortable.
Speaker 3: Today?
Speaker 1: Oh my god.
Speaker 2: He was just disappointed and he wasn't able to live
Speaker 2: up to the contract because he was a pretty good
Speaker 2: I mean prior to that. I think he was with
Speaker 2: the Angels just prior to that, and he had been
Speaker 2: playing some pretty good baseball as like a utility guy,
Speaker 2: second maseman, little outfield, little listle that could run a
Speaker 2: little bit, to do some things. And he was a
Speaker 2: positive influence in the clubhouse.
Speaker 3: But were you on the team, he probably are on
Speaker 3: the team. When he stole the little leave from the
Speaker 3: Wrigley Field ivy, he went out and took a piece
Speaker 3: of ivy.
Speaker 2: Sure I played with him, Yeah, he went out and
Speaker 2: took a.
Speaker 3: Piece of ivy off the Wriggley field long and he
Speaker 3: was going to like root it, you know that home
Speaker 3: to throw it, and the grounds crew got all over
Speaker 3: his case.
Speaker 1: Is that right? That I would love. I would love
Speaker 1: to know if he actually did plant it, and if
Speaker 1: it's still goes, that's that is fantastic. Let's see if
Speaker 1: we got one or two more. Our good buddy John
Speaker 1: Finger wants to know how does Jim get his tomatoes
Speaker 1: so big?
Speaker 3: Oh man. You know a lot of people ask me that,
Speaker 3: and the analogy I give them is when when it's easy,
Speaker 3: grown tomatoes is easy. So when Charlie manuelill manage Roy Holliday,
Speaker 3: he used to take the ball and say, you know,
Speaker 3: go get him soon, and so I stick him in
Speaker 3: the ground. I look up on this guy and I said,
Speaker 3: go get him some little, water him a little bit, and.
Speaker 2: That's perfect.
Speaker 3: Before you know it, you know, you're talking tomato sandwiches
Speaker 3: on sour dough. Oh my god, nothing.
Speaker 2: I wish I could eat him. I can't do it anymore.
Speaker 2: Digestion problems, Oh my gosh, you bumps me out. Man.
Speaker 2: I love tomatoes too, and yours are great.
Speaker 1: Jim, Jim's got yeah, Jim does a great job. With
Speaker 1: his with his produce and let's let's see, let's wrap
Speaker 1: this up. This is from a teamnt ten on Instagram.
Speaker 1: He asked a few questions. Favorite ballpark other than Citizens
Speaker 1: Bank Park and then he said, any Phillies merch show
Speaker 1: show merch coming, any Phillies show meetups soon. Let's start.
Speaker 1: Let's start with the ballpark. Favorite ballpark other than Citizens
Speaker 1: Bank Park? If you had to send somebody on a plane,
Speaker 1: all expenses paid, front row seat behind the visitors, dugout
Speaker 1: watching Phillies game, where are you sending them? And don't
Speaker 1: give me one answer, don't don't start real. Rattle off
Speaker 1: seven eight Your favorite ballpark I'm.
Speaker 3: Sending I'm sending him to San Francisco when the Giants
Speaker 3: are good and it's a big game.
Speaker 2: That's a good one. I'll say PNC Park because it's
Speaker 2: it's at night, twilight, when the bridges and the lights
Speaker 2: are going on in the city, purple lights, skyline. I'll
Speaker 2: say panc.
Speaker 1: That's a great one. That's a great one. I was
Speaker 1: going to say eighteen t as well. I love I
Speaker 1: love that ballpark in San Francisco, the location, the just
Speaker 1: the view from behind behind home plate.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Uh The atmosphere there is just fantastic, like you said, Jim,
Speaker 1: when they're good, when the Giants are good, it's a
Speaker 1: great atmosphere. And and it's a great ballpark food ballpark,
Speaker 1: good lot of great, a lot of great, a lot
Speaker 1: of great food at that ballpark. You get the garlic fries,
Speaker 1: which you'll be feeling and tasting and smelling for the
Speaker 1: next six days, no matter.
Speaker 2: How pouring out.
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly right. But that is a great ballpark to go.
Speaker 1: I love walking up there in the afternoon before the game.
Speaker 1: It's just a great view the outside of the ballpark.
Speaker 1: And then leaving is great because they have all the
Speaker 1: palm trees out front like wrapped in these led lights,
Speaker 1: these orange led lights. So you walk out, the ballpark
Speaker 1: is really lit up beautifully. You have the Willie May
Speaker 1: statue out front. It's just a great, totally great vibe.
Speaker 2: Let me just say this one thing as a coach,
Speaker 2: I remember John Farrell telling me this, said, Reuben, when
Speaker 2: you go out on the Lions and you have a
Speaker 2: good team, and they had a good we had a
Speaker 2: very good team in sixteen and seventeen, there'll be nothing
Speaker 2: like being a first base or third base coach at
Speaker 2: Brickley at Fenway. It was spectacle. I walked out and
Speaker 2: the club and the dugout and the first base coaching
Speaker 2: box is like six feet I walked out there, man,
Speaker 2: and felt like, Wow, this is heavenly. That's gotta be
Speaker 2: It was so badass, it was fantastic.
Speaker 1: That's gotta be cool.
Speaker 2: That's gonna be really cool.
Speaker 1: So and then answers other questions. Any Phillies show merch
Speaker 1: in the works, any Philly show media. We would love
Speaker 1: to do a meet up. We have to figure that out.
Speaker 1: We have to fear about to do that. Yeah, figure
Speaker 1: out something. We have to figure out a day to
Speaker 1: do it when we're all off, when there's no Phillies game.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 1: And then we can do like.
Speaker 3: An Eagles watch party.
Speaker 2: Funny.
Speaker 1: Chit chat, little chit chat Phillies in between.
Speaker 2: Uh, we do have some fun interesting We have some
Speaker 2: interesting guests coming.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we do have some stay tuned to that. And
Speaker 1: then right, yeah, we've got some merch on the way,
Speaker 1: I think, so hopefully we'll be introducing that at some point.
Speaker 1: We're excited about that. It's been a long time coming.
Speaker 1: But we've got to tease that's a little bit a tease.
Speaker 1: That's a little bit of a teas. It'll be a
Speaker 1: little bit different than that. But yeah, it'll be good.
Speaker 1: It'll be good.
Speaker 3: So we went. We went really long today. I feel
Speaker 3: like we pitched deep into the game.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we did. We might have gone to eight innings,
Speaker 2: Aaron in.
Speaker 7: So let's wrap this up exactly. We'll be back later
Speaker 7: this week. But then, yeah, we answered answer a lot
Speaker 7: of listener questions. We get we didn't even I didn't
Speaker 7: even get to half the questions I wrote down on
Speaker 7: my on my list here.
Speaker 2: Maybe we'll do it. Maybe we'll do it on Friday. Whenever, Friday.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we'll come back on Friday.
Speaker 1: All right, Well, hey guys, I'll uh, I was gonna
Speaker 1: sell smellia. Am I allowed to say?
Speaker 6: Smell you later?
Speaker 3: For sure? You guys?
Speaker 1: All right, I'll smell you guys later.
Speaker 3: We'll smell you too. Have a great one.
Speaker 2: Smell it.
Speaker 8: This is The Philly Show. If you haven't already, please
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Speaker 1: You can also watch us on.
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Speaker 8: us a review, Tell a friend, Catch Rubenjim and Me
Speaker 8: on Phillies Nation TV, presented by Valley Forge Tourism. New
Speaker 8: episodes air an.
Speaker 1: Hour before every Saturday.
Speaker 8: Phillies game on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Replays air throughout the
Speaker 8: week and on Philliesnation dot com. Get more of Reuben's
Speaker 8: analysis during before and after Phillies games on NBC Sports Philadelphia,
Speaker 8: on the Sports Radio ninety four WIP Morning Show, and
Speaker 8: MLB Network. Read Jim at the Allcity Network at allphl
Speaker 8: y dot com. Find more of me at MLB dot com,
Speaker 8: the philliesb Newsletter, and occasionally on MLB Network