Speaker 1: Hey, let's get into the Phillies right now. The Philly
Speaker 1: Show host Jim Salisberry joining us and you can catch
Speaker 1: that show multiple times per week with his buddies tied
Speaker 1: to Lecky and Rubin tomorrow, Junior, Jim, Great to have
Speaker 1: you back on here, man.
Speaker 2: What's the latest? What's going on with this team?
Speaker 1: Can we start with the experiment too, right, because a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks ago, I think they shot the world
Speaker 1: with the Luisa Rise edition, not the addition, but the
Speaker 1: way they did the whole shuffle.
Speaker 2: How is the shuffle going in your minds experiment at
Speaker 2: this point?
Speaker 3: Well, you know, they won five in a row, matching
Speaker 3: a season high first time since May. They're back to
Speaker 3: eleven game twelve or five hundred, and the offense is
Speaker 3: really clicking lately in a way where they're not just
Speaker 3: sitting back and waiting for big home runs. They're actually
Speaker 3: getting on base more. They're a team on base percentage
Speaker 3: for the month of August is one of the best
Speaker 3: in baseball, and putting pressure on a posing pitcher, scoring
Speaker 3: more runs, and just playing a better brand of offensive baseball.
Speaker 3: So I think it's been a nice addition his approach.
Speaker 3: I think maybe is rubbed off on a few people,
Speaker 3: but you know, Bryson Stott's been really good for two
Speaker 3: plus months. Alec Bowman was having his best stretch of
Speaker 3: the season, and that's also increased the contact in the lineup.
Speaker 3: Harper lately is walking a ton. I mean, he's on
Speaker 3: base percentage in August Leeds Baseball. He's getting on base
Speaker 3: every night some way, shape or form. Now is tied
Speaker 3: for the major league lead and walks, and there was
Speaker 3: some you know, they were teetering coming out of the break,
Speaker 3: but I think they've righted themselves and on a really
Speaker 3: good course now here over the final thirty five games
Speaker 3: to get into October and and see what happens. I mean,
Speaker 3: they still have holes, They're still very thin in that rotation.
Speaker 3: There's still suspect defensively, but lately the defense has been
Speaker 3: a lot better. A lot of their holes lately or
Speaker 3: their question marks have have you been answered positively? And
Speaker 3: they're just having a really good stretch here.
Speaker 4: Hey, Jim, you never know how players are going to
Speaker 4: rack the changing positions, But do you believe moving Alec
Speaker 4: Baum from a third base over to first base is
Speaker 4: kind of freedom up offensively?
Speaker 3: That's a good question. I don't know. I don't know,
Speaker 3: because he's actually played a quite a bit of first
Speaker 3: base in his career. It's not foreign to him. He
Speaker 3: has gone over there and he's had a couple tough games,
Speaker 3: but more often than not, he's been either just fine
Speaker 3: or very good. But I don't know if the defensive
Speaker 3: move has freed him up as much as he's just
Speaker 3: starting to see some results, and I see it's just
Speaker 3: a more confident hitter. I see a more confident body
Speaker 3: language and the way he's walking around the clubhouse going
Speaker 3: out to VP. Just this whole demeanor seems to be
Speaker 3: looking up. And it was just ten days ago there
Speaker 3: were folks around town and fans and whatnot talking about
Speaker 3: DFA and him, as crazy as that sounds, that's not
Speaker 3: going to happen. He's an important guy on this team.
Speaker 3: But lately he's just picked up his offense and he's
Speaker 3: just I think personally, it's just all about getting some
Speaker 3: results and having some confidence. And Bryson Stotts the guy
Speaker 3: that's played great defensively at third base, and last night
Speaker 3: Boem really joined the party unassisted double play at first base,
Speaker 3: where he made a terrific athletic move. So I just
Speaker 3: think he feels better about his entire game. It's been
Speaker 3: a struggle for him all season. He's had an off
Speaker 3: field personal issue that I think is weight out him.
Speaker 3: But lately he just looks more free and easy to me.
Speaker 3: I mean, you guys know, like I think, when you're
Speaker 3: more free and easy mentionally, you play better.
Speaker 5: Right, Yeah, for sure, But you need to stop listening
Speaker 5: to w I P if you're talking about Boem getting dfade,
Speaker 5: because you're never gonna You're never gonna DFA.
Speaker 3: Yeah I said it. What it's not going to happen.
Speaker 3: Alcohol is a good player having a tough.
Speaker 5: Year, Yeah, one hundred percent, and he's you know, he's
Speaker 5: going to end up with really good numbers because that's
Speaker 5: what he does every year. It'll be an interesting free
Speaker 5: agent case. I think the Phillies let him walk. You
Speaker 5: mentioned Bryce and Stott changing over to third base. Most
Speaker 5: people don't know his errless streak at second base is
Speaker 5: still intact because he's not playing second base. Do you
Speaker 5: see this is the year where Scott wins his gold Glove?
Speaker 5: Since you've watched him and now he could be up
Speaker 5: for the utility gold Glove.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that would be a certainly I think a nice
Speaker 3: way to handle it that utility spot because he's bounced.
Speaker 3: He was on his way, I think to a gold glove.
Speaker 3: Just played an exceptional defense at second base and moved
Speaker 3: over to third base in a year where he could have,
Speaker 3: you know, maybe won the Gold Glove at second and
Speaker 3: he's been great at third base. I don't know if
Speaker 3: he saw last night's game. He was playing great at
Speaker 3: third base even before last night. But they're in a
Speaker 3: two run game in the ninth inning and Johann Duran
Speaker 3: is down for the night, and they're going to try
Speaker 3: to get through that ninth inning with Brooks Railey and
Speaker 3: Chase Sugar is up in the bullpen, and they get one, two, three,
Speaker 3: with Brooks Railey on the mount and Stott makes two.
Speaker 3: He looked like Greg Nettle's over there, Mike Schmidt one
Speaker 3: diving to his left for the first out that I
Speaker 3: thought really changed the kind of complexion of the inning
Speaker 3: because you don't want to get that leadoff guy on.
Speaker 3: And then he made another great one to end the game,
Speaker 3: so I almost thought he deserved part of the save.
Speaker 3: So he's been terrific over there, and he could win
Speaker 3: a gold Glove. I think I think it would be
Speaker 3: really fitting for him to receive consideration for that utility
Speaker 3: gold Glove, and I think he deserves one of This
Speaker 3: kid is a really he's a really good baseball player.
Speaker 3: If you go back to like June tenth, he's fourth
Speaker 3: in the majors in war according to Fangrass for position players.
Speaker 3: I think he's been their MVP over the last two months.
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Speaker 4: All right, staying on the defensive topic, I got a
Speaker 4: question for you. Bryce Harper decides what's best for the
Speaker 4: team him going back to the outfield when they go
Speaker 4: out and acquire Luisa Rise. I got a chance to
Speaker 4: watch Philly shortly after the All Star break when they
Speaker 4: were playing Toronto. Bryce didn't seem like he had the
Speaker 4: same army head when he was a full time outfielder.
Speaker 4: Have you seen some improvements in that arm strength? And
Speaker 4: I know it's very difficult because you're going to train
Speaker 4: a little bit differently as a first baseman than you
Speaker 4: would as a right fielder, But have you seen signs
Speaker 4: that he's getting kind of back to that outfielder that
Speaker 4: he was before the move to first base.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he hasn't hurt them at all out there. He's been,
Speaker 3: you know, more than adequate. If anything, maybe he doesn't
Speaker 3: move quite as well as he did before because he's
Speaker 3: had a little bit of a knee issue. He banged
Speaker 3: it right before the All Star Game, sliding into second base.
Speaker 3: I think it's natural that the arm's gonna need a
Speaker 3: little build up time. And the day they decided to
Speaker 3: implement this plan, he went out to the outfield immediately
Speaker 3: and started throwing, started long toss and so I think
Speaker 3: it's a work in progress, but it's certainly been adequate.
Speaker 3: He has really I can't recall. I guess once there
Speaker 3: was a throat of the plate where he kind of
Speaker 3: aired it and it looked fine to me. But this
Speaker 3: whole new defensive configuration to accommodate a bat. They needed
Speaker 3: a contact bet they needed started with Bryce Harper, and
Speaker 3: you know, if they get to October and have a
Speaker 3: nice run and arise makes a difference. You know, I
Speaker 3: think you have to give Bryce Harper and obviously the
Speaker 3: front office that made the trade, but you have to
Speaker 3: give Bryce Harper a tip of the hat because you know,
Speaker 3: that was an unselfish move to get a hitter in here.
Speaker 3: Because the guy, he's got a great resume, but he's
Speaker 3: missing a world championship. He wants to win very very badly.
Speaker 5: And the fans want him to win, win very badly.
Speaker 5: And you were talking about the last fourteen days. Fourteen
Speaker 5: days ago there was some fear that this team may
Speaker 5: not make the playoffs. Okay, let's say they are a
Speaker 5: playoff cinch now that they've won five in a row,
Speaker 5: which I don't agree because there's some teams that are
Speaker 5: nipping on their heels. Is this bullpen playoff ready? The
Speaker 5: same bullpen that essentially lost them the last two playoff runs?
Speaker 5: And I know people are gonna say, oh, that the
Speaker 5: offense didn't hit, but it was really the pen that
Speaker 5: lost it. Are they playoff ready? Well, you're right about
Speaker 5: the pen.
Speaker 3: The last two October's they've played eight games and they
Speaker 3: have a bullpen ara over six and five blown saves.
Speaker 3: So the bullpen, along with the inconsistent offense and some
Speaker 3: defensive meltdowns. Last year against the Dodgers, they really beat
Speaker 3: themselves in that series. But for the last three years.
Speaker 3: You go back to twenty three, the bullpen struggled in
Speaker 3: Arizona and that series really turned. Are they October ready
Speaker 3: out there? I don't know, they know they have personnel
Speaker 3: that's done it before. I just look at bullpens as
Speaker 3: being so up and down some mercurial that I think
Speaker 3: the key to them in October is going to be
Speaker 3: beyond having one of their kind of upticks, which they
Speaker 3: can have at times. The good thing is, and you
Speaker 3: had him last October, you have a lockdown closer in
Speaker 3: Duran that's been a heck of a pickup for the Phillies.
Speaker 3: The guy you really need to get going is Alvarado,
Speaker 3: who has struggled pretty much all year, hasn't thrown strikes
Speaker 3: like he has in the past, but if they could
Speaker 3: get him going here, he'd make a big difference Bowl
Speaker 3: and has been a nice pick up pit pitching and
Speaker 3: towards the back end eighth inning in leverage. You know,
Speaker 3: Kirkering is a guy who had a really good run
Speaker 3: to start the year, has kind of struggled a little
Speaker 3: bit here here and there lately. If you can get
Speaker 3: him going, that's going to help you. So I do think,
Speaker 3: you know, there's a there's decent personnel there. But you know,
Speaker 3: if if people are out there saying I don't really
Speaker 3: trust the Phillies bullpen, I mean I think there are
Speaker 3: reasons for that because of the season they've had, but
Speaker 3: it can turn quickly out there. If guys can get
Speaker 3: out a good role.
Speaker 4: Well, it's help on the way. Because reports our nextter
Speaker 4: Cortes is in agreement on a major league deal to
Speaker 4: come there is the plan for him to go to
Speaker 4: the bullpen or is he going to be in the rotation.
Speaker 3: Well, I would think he's going to come as as
Speaker 3: death because from what I hear, is going to need
Speaker 3: a little time to get ready. They did not add
Speaker 3: to the starting rotation at the deadline, and that was,
Speaker 3: you know, kind of I it caught your eye because
Speaker 3: it was an area they really needed to address, starting
Speaker 3: pitching depth. So I think he comes in immediately as
Speaker 3: starting pitching depth. Maybe he can give these guys some
Speaker 3: rest if you can get him in there. But I
Speaker 3: don't know how long he's going to take, you know,
Speaker 3: how long it's going to take him to get ready
Speaker 3: after that. If he's getting people out, I could see
Speaker 3: him almost in any role, certainly in the bullpen, because
Speaker 3: that's what it's going to take, is that they need
Speaker 3: guys to get out, and if he's going to get out,
Speaker 3: still find a place for him in that bullpen in
Speaker 3: October because they're starting rotation in October is going to
Speaker 3: be you know, it's gonna be the Lozarto, wheel or
Speaker 3: Sanchez Nola. But if he wants to, if he wants
Speaker 3: to complicate things at the back of the rotation or
Speaker 3: in the bullpen, they'll take it. Because they're thin in
Speaker 3: all areas of pitching. I mean, they have one breakdown,
Speaker 3: they're gonna be in big trouble. So that's to me,
Speaker 3: that's what this signing is about. The depth issue that
Speaker 3: they did not dress address at the deadline. Much like
Speaker 3: last year when they brought in Walker Bueller late. I
Speaker 3: think this is very similar to that. But if he's
Speaker 3: up and ready and ready to take some starts as
Speaker 3: this thing winds down, I can see them occasionally maybe
Speaker 3: one or two turns using a six man so you
Speaker 3: can get Wheeler, so you can get Lizardo and Sanchez
Speaker 3: all a little rest because they've all carried some pretty
Speaker 3: heavy loads.
Speaker 5: And Scientism and Wheeler have not been throwing the most
Speaker 5: strikes as they normally have. Maybe a little wear and tear.
Speaker 5: But how encouraged or do you think it's fool's gold
Speaker 5: Andrew Painter's return to the big leagues has been for
Speaker 5: the Phillies and what they think of him moving forward
Speaker 5: for this season, not future, but just this season.
Speaker 3: For this season. They want him to, you know, kind
Speaker 3: of stabilize that fifth spot. And I don't think they're
Speaker 3: going to get greedy. If he can give them five
Speaker 3: goode and keep them in a game, they're gonna take it.
Speaker 3: If they can push it to six, they're gonna be elated.
Speaker 3: Is it fools gold?
Speaker 5: You know?
Speaker 3: I don't know. I think it's the natural growth of
Speaker 3: a talented young pitcher. It takes time. And you know,
Speaker 3: he got his nose bloodied quite a bit here earlier
Speaker 3: in the season and he's grown from it. And what
Speaker 3: we're seeing is lately he's keeping him in games. I mean,
Speaker 3: there was some kind of evidence of that in his
Speaker 3: last outing and gave up a first inning grand slam,
Speaker 3: and it was like there was no woe as me.
Speaker 3: He stayed at it and he kept him in the
Speaker 3: game and they ended up rallying and got a victory.
Speaker 3: Stayed in that game ate some innings and they were
Speaker 3: able to come back and get a victory. So that
Speaker 3: was a growth moment for me. So I don't think
Speaker 3: his growth is fool's gold. I don't think he's going
Speaker 3: to decide this penet race, but I think he can
Speaker 3: be a real contributor here down the stretch as he
Speaker 3: continues to grow and hopefully become a mainstay and a
Speaker 3: really productive, important contributor in future seasons.
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Speaker 4: I want to ask you a question about Schwarmer. You
Speaker 4: got a chance to watch him over the last couple
Speaker 4: of years, day in and day out. Is he quietly
Speaker 4: putting together a Hall of Fame resume?
Speaker 3: I think so, you know, I think he can get
Speaker 3: to five hundred. Where's he right? He's pushing four hundred.
Speaker 3: Him and Harper are both pushing four hundred. He came
Speaker 3: into the season, I think with three forty. I mean,
Speaker 3: he could get five hundred home runs in a Philiates uniform.
Speaker 3: And he's an habitual winner who, like in what eleven
Speaker 3: or twelve seasons, goes to the postseason every year except one.
Speaker 3: So I personally think he can get there. I think
Speaker 3: if he gets five hundred, it's going to be hard
Speaker 3: to keep him out. And I think, you know, with
Speaker 3: that bat speed and the fact that he's here for
Speaker 3: you know, four plus years, he's really you know, he
Speaker 3: had a little rough spot here in the last few weeks,
Speaker 3: had a kind of a tender back, had a bit
Speaker 3: of a stomach issue. But he's back. He's back now,
Speaker 3: and if he gets the five hundred, don't you guys
Speaker 3: think he's gonna be tough to keep out?
Speaker 5: I mean, I think there's gonna be the Kyle Schwarber
Speaker 5: slash Gian Carlos Stanton, Like, if they both make it
Speaker 5: to five hundred, are they gonna keep him out? Are
Speaker 5: they gonna be the two kept out with five hundred
Speaker 5: that haven't been linked to steroids? I mean, that's gonna
Speaker 5: be the question. He's one that do you think he
Speaker 5: should have played in the or done the home run derby?
Speaker 5: Because I know it was bannered about that. His back
Speaker 5: was a little tight, and then he decided to do it,
Speaker 5: went deep into the home run derby, and then until
Speaker 5: I showed up at Alumni Day, he didn't have a
Speaker 5: home run. And I told Franski, the radio announcer for
Speaker 5: your buddy, Scott Franski for the Phillies, I said, look,
Speaker 5: he'll hit a home run tonight. He'll be fine. His
Speaker 5: back's fine. I massaged it, But do you think he
Speaker 5: should have done that? And do you think that could
Speaker 5: have been a misstep that in Philly, like maybe a
Speaker 5: little distraction could have kept them. You know, if you
Speaker 5: lose by a game two weeks of Sworeber being hurt scary.
Speaker 3: Do I think he should? I think he made the
Speaker 3: right decision for baseball and for the city he plays in,
Speaker 3: because that's the type of guy he is. Because it
Speaker 3: was the home run derby in Philadelphia, Bryce Harper was
Speaker 3: in it, and everybody wanted to see there are two
Speaker 3: hometown sluggers in it. They wanted to see the reigning
Speaker 3: National League home run king be in it. I do
Speaker 3: think he felt some pressure to be in it. He
Speaker 3: held out to the last minute because he wanted to,
Speaker 3: you know, get a good handle on the health of
Speaker 3: his back, because he had that little tweak earlier and
Speaker 3: he decided to do it. Did he have a setback
Speaker 3: because of it? He hasn't admitted to that. He hasn't
Speaker 3: said that he has. But is it possible. Sure. We
Speaker 3: know athletes keep things to themselves and don't want to
Speaker 3: be perceived as excuse makers, so it might have given
Speaker 3: him a little setback. This This guy is a very
Speaker 3: unselfish player, as you know, and he's a wonderful teammate,
Speaker 3: and he always thinks of others, and I do think
Speaker 3: he was thinking of the sport and the show and
Speaker 3: the spectacle, and it was hard for him to say no.
Speaker 3: And it might have taken its toll on him. But
Speaker 3: hopefully it won't hear down the road and he's back
Speaker 3: on track. He had a pretty good at bat late
Speaker 3: in last night's game. His line drive down to the
Speaker 3: opposite field produced a run which was good to see.
Speaker 3: And he has come around here with some home run pop.
Speaker 3: They need him, they need him all. They need all
Speaker 3: their pieces to be clicking here down the stretch to
Speaker 3: make this happen. But in a lot of ways, Schwarber
Speaker 3: is the guy that makes them go. He is such
Speaker 3: a difference maker when Kyle Schwarber is producing this as
Speaker 3: a different team.
Speaker 4: That final one for me. I know. The travel to
Speaker 4: Aisle for the Field of Dreams game wasn't easy on anyone.
Speaker 4: What have you kind of heard about the players experience
Speaker 4: are playing in that game.
Speaker 3: They loved it. They absolutely loved that. It was difficult travel.
Speaker 3: They basically made a day trip where they flew in
Speaker 3: bust In played a game played well. Schwarmer hit two
Speaker 3: home runs that was the game that kind of got
Speaker 3: them going a little bit because they were They lost
Speaker 3: two out of three in Saint Louis leading into that
Speaker 3: Iowa series, and one of those games was with Sanchez
Speaker 3: on the mound and the other loss was with Wheeler
Speaker 3: on the mound. And you cannot lose games with those
Speaker 3: guys on the mound. You have to cash in when
Speaker 3: you're big three are on the mound, adding Wazarro to
Speaker 3: that list. So they go into they go into Iowa
Speaker 3: and Aaron Nola, who is everybody's favorite teammate, one of
Speaker 3: the most respected men in that clubhouse. It's hadding up
Speaker 3: and down season really for a couple of years. Lately
Speaker 3: he's really got it together. He goes out there and
Speaker 3: pitches great. Schwarber hits two home runs. I think everybody
Speaker 3: takes a cleansing breath. So though it was a demanding
Speaker 3: travel day where they, like I said, parachuted in and
Speaker 3: then finished the day by getting on a bus at
Speaker 3: an airplane going to Minneapolis. Though it was a really
Speaker 3: argorous day, I think it got them on a bit
Speaker 3: of a right path because they had that next day
Speaker 3: was an off day, kind of a reset day, and
Speaker 3: they went into Minnesota to finish the two game series
Speaker 3: and won those two games to complete a sweep. And
Speaker 3: now they're back home with a chance here on Wednesday
Speaker 3: night to sweep a very pesky Miami Marlins team. Boy,
Speaker 3: those guys put the bat on the ball. They never quit,
Speaker 3: they always keep coming. And if you can sweep this
Speaker 3: Marlins team, I think it's a real confidence booster and
Speaker 3: a good feat for the Phillies team. As Saint Louis
Speaker 3: comes in, two teams you know, Saint Louis and Miami
Speaker 3: looking up at you in the wildcard, right, it's a
Speaker 3: chance to deal both of those teams a blow. So
Speaker 3: it's a pivotal part of the schedule here and they've
Speaker 3: done a pretty good job with it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, those two teams you're mentioning are not fun to play.
Speaker 1: Those are not the easy dubs at this point in
Speaker 1: the season. Jim, good stuff man. Good to see you
Speaker 1: and love listening to you as always on The Philly
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Speaker 1: thank you, good talking to you.