Speaker 1: Hi, this is Chase Utley and this is the Phillies Show. Hi, everybody,
Speaker 1: Welcome to The Philly Show with Ruben Tomorrow, Junior, Jim Salisbury.
Speaker 1: I'm todd so lucky. It is Monday, June third, twenty
Speaker 1: twenty four. The Phillies take two of three from the
Speaker 1: Cardinals this weekend at Citizens Bank Park. They lose the
Speaker 1: series finale Sunday Night Tough One in ten innings. A
Speaker 1: lot of things happened. The biggest thing that happened, for
Speaker 1: sure was Brandon Marsh pulling up grabbing the back of
Speaker 1: his right hamstring. No immediate word on the injury, but
Speaker 1: it did not look good. Rob Thompson walked straight out
Speaker 1: to second base and he told reporters afterwards I could
Speaker 1: tell by the look in his face he was in pain,
Speaker 1: so immediately called for the pinch runner. Rob said afterwards
Speaker 1: about right now, right now.
Speaker 2: He is day to day.
Speaker 1: But based off the way Marsh grabbed his leg does
Speaker 1: not look very good.
Speaker 3: Yeah it doesn't. I mean, look, the way teams and
Speaker 3: athletes now are so cautious with injuries, I think we
Speaker 3: can reasonably speculate that this is looking like an il stint.
Speaker 3: The way he you know, it happened so suddenly and acutely,
Speaker 3: and the way he hobbled off and legs are an
Speaker 3: important part of his game, and you got to think
Speaker 3: they'll protect him. And obviously no official word yet, but
Speaker 3: it wouldn't surprise me at all to see some Iel
Speaker 3: time similar injury to Trey Turner, and you got to
Speaker 3: knock those things out because otherwise they they linger all year.
Speaker 3: It was a weekend series that left I'm getting greedy,
Speaker 3: I know, but it left me wanting more. Even though
Speaker 3: the Cardinals came in pretty hot team they won twelve
Speaker 3: or fifteen, and the Phillies get out and win two
Speaker 3: games right out of the gate. They look great, and
Speaker 3: Taiwan Walker just the so so start, gave up those
Speaker 3: two run two two run home runs, didn't pitch deep
Speaker 3: into the game and starting pitching dictates everything, and it
Speaker 3: just felt like, you know, they weren't going to overcome
Speaker 3: it on Sunday night, and they did not. But the
Speaker 3: Marsh injury is significant. You need all your pieces. I mean,
Speaker 3: we've talked about it at nauseum, but this is a
Speaker 3: team that's.
Speaker 4: Going to play in the playoffs.
Speaker 3: We know that barring something crazy and that crazy thing
Speaker 3: would be a rash of injuries. So you need just
Speaker 3: keep this team healthy. They seem to have skirted something
Speaker 3: with Ranger Suarez on that comebacker, but marsh Turner, they've
Speaker 3: done a great job playing over that injury, mostly because
Speaker 3: of Sosa. Now they're gonna have to play over something else.
Speaker 3: Not sure what they're going to do out there in
Speaker 3: the outfield, but we've talked a ton about it. Needing
Speaker 3: more production out there. Somebody like Merryfield. This could be
Speaker 3: an opportunity for him to get more at bats, maybe
Speaker 3: get him gone one he needs to get going. Clemens
Speaker 3: could be in the picture, Pache will be in the
Speaker 3: picture more. I'm sure I'm missing some some David dall
Speaker 3: Is swinging it at Triple A. Maybe it's time to
Speaker 3: take a look at him. So, you know, it's it's
Speaker 3: an ever evolving season and injuries are something that a
Speaker 3: front office always has to be aware of. And that's
Speaker 3: where your depth. You know, we talked about depth and
Speaker 3: starting pitching a lot in the last podcast. Depth on
Speaker 3: your roster is vital. So yeah, we're gonna learn more
Speaker 3: about this today. You hope it's not real long term,
Speaker 3: but I think they're gonna have probably have to make
Speaker 3: some adjustments here.
Speaker 5: I mean, obviously you don't want to lose any of
Speaker 5: your key players, and he certainly is one of them.
Speaker 4: Unless it was a cramp.
Speaker 5: I don't think there's any question that this guy's gonna
Speaker 5: go on the I l they're gonna be as cautious
Speaker 5: as they were with Trade Turner and continue to be
Speaker 5: with Trade Turner that you can be sure that they'll
Speaker 5: be really cautious with Marsha as well. Big loss for
Speaker 5: them just because of what he brings to the table,
Speaker 5: not just on the field, but off the field as well.
Speaker 5: He's just like having those guys on the field as
Speaker 5: simple as that. They do have a cushion. They do
Speaker 5: have some depth in there on their club, Jim, you
Speaker 5: mentioned it, it would be interesting to see who they
Speaker 5: go to.
Speaker 4: I obviously Dolls had experience, but Weston Wilson's a.
Speaker 5: Guy that they really liked and he has performed for
Speaker 5: them when they you know, and I talk about this
Speaker 5: all the time, you make your impressions in spring training
Speaker 5: and regardless of how that guy is, you know, particularly
Speaker 5: playing at the time in Triple A, because there's a
Speaker 5: lot of different factors that are associated with playing in
Speaker 5: Triple A. Once you're back down, it's a mental thing,
Speaker 5: it's an emotional thing. You know, sometimes you don't play
Speaker 5: to your peak ability. I've been there, I've done it.
Speaker 5: I've I've gone down to Triple A and had the
Speaker 5: woe's mees where you know, you just don't play to
Speaker 5: the level of what your particularly what you you know,
Speaker 5: be accustomed to playing, and so it's hard for you
Speaker 5: to mentally get up for every single game.
Speaker 4: You're in Triple A and you're not in the big
Speaker 4: leagues where you think you should be.
Speaker 5: That said, it will be interestingly who they go to
Speaker 5: as far as, you know, creating some more depth.
Speaker 4: I do think.
Speaker 5: I mean Cody Clemens is gonna play. I mean they
Speaker 5: threw Cody Clemens out there and left field in the
Speaker 5: cores field, and I mean it was a little precarious.
Speaker 5: He made another play, he made his place wasn't pretty,
Speaker 5: But they're going to toss him out there, especially if
Speaker 5: they're playing a siss Bank Park. It's not like a
Speaker 5: really super challenging place to play left field necessarily as
Speaker 5: far as covering ground.
Speaker 4: So I think Cody's gonna get an opportunity.
Speaker 5: First, especially against the right handers. That's my guess, could
Speaker 5: be wrong. Gladly I'm not the manager. I let topp
Speaker 5: or take care of that. But but again, I mean,
Speaker 5: it's it's about being costs with them because it's one
Speaker 5: of those injuries again that you do not want to have.
Speaker 5: Linger that said, I am surprised to see all these
Speaker 5: soft tissue injuries like come on in this day and
Speaker 5: age when guys in they're monitored, their their intakes are monitored,
Speaker 5: they have these strap on things that monitor everything about them.
Speaker 4: They whether they have enough electrolytes and all this other stuff.
Speaker 5: I'm just surprised in this day and age when they
Speaker 5: talk about being hydrated and take care. Why this is happening.
Speaker 5: It's happened a lot. I mean, you got I think
Speaker 5: Blake Snell went on a g on the aisle. Are
Speaker 5: going to go on an aisle with a growing injury.
Speaker 5: There's guys with like hamstrings and quads, and in this
Speaker 5: day and age, it just doesn't seem like this is
Speaker 5: the kind of sid I know, it gets humid during
Speaker 5: the game and things can happen, but it just doesn't
Speaker 5: make sense for these things to.
Speaker 4: Be happening with the regularity. They're happening at the major
Speaker 4: league level.
Speaker 3: So guys are guys are eating way too healthy? Need
Speaker 3: you need I'm serious about this. I need to mix in.
Speaker 3: You need to mix in an occasional cheeseburger. I'm talking
Speaker 3: about like one a week, one every two weeks maybe,
Speaker 3: uh and and I think that would no, I'm serious.
Speaker 3: I just think you get a little soft when you
Speaker 3: eat a soft diet now now and now and then
Speaker 3: you need to you know, you need to mix in
Speaker 3: a good burger, a big, drippy burger.
Speaker 4: Nice and you know what, And you can't. You can't
Speaker 4: pull fat, right, You can't pull fat if it's too muscular.
Speaker 4: I mean, you just can't, you know.
Speaker 3: I actually, I actually was in a clubhouse probably this
Speaker 3: might have gone back to the Vet. I think it
Speaker 3: was the Diamond not I think it was the Rockies clubhouse.
Speaker 3: And I was talking to a couple of guys and
Speaker 3: there was a trainer talking to a player. And the
Speaker 3: trainer was telling this player how it's okay to have
Speaker 3: a cheeseburger now and then that your body craves that
Speaker 3: type of fat and if it will do decent things
Speaker 3: or put that fat to good work. Not every day,
Speaker 3: not every week, but now and then it can be
Speaker 3: good for you. So I'm sticking to that story.
Speaker 1: Let me point out that Zach Wheelers is one of
Speaker 1: the most durable pitchers in baseball, and he famously loves
Speaker 1: junk food. Yeah to his locker, he had the candy shop,
Speaker 1: him and Zach Eflin. So we talked about some options, Rubin,
Speaker 1: you said, Cody Clemens Christian pace is an option to
Speaker 1: play left field. This is all if marsh goes on
Speaker 1: the ils as we all seem to suspect Wit Marifield,
Speaker 1: he's not been good this year. Rich Rob Thompson said,
Speaker 1: I think it was yesterday that he just.
Speaker 2: Hasn't played enough. We've got to get him playing more.
Speaker 1: Now, let me ask you guys this about real quick,
Speaker 1: and then I'll continue with the other options. Wit Mayorfield
Speaker 1: is on pace right now to have three hundred and
Speaker 1: seven to play appearances, is it?
Speaker 4: That?
Speaker 1: Is that not that much where he's it kind of
Speaker 1: not excuses but explains why he's struggling so much. Three
Speaker 1: hundred and seven played appearances for over the course of
Speaker 1: the season seems like enough work.
Speaker 2: No, that you should be a little bit more productive.
Speaker 3: Yeah right, okay, all right, three hundred and seven is
Speaker 3: what Pat Gillick. He used to use that phrase, semi regular,
Speaker 3: remember that, Rubin.
Speaker 2: Yes, I'm sure, okay, all right, that's sure.
Speaker 3: You should be able to stay sharp on Okay.
Speaker 4: I I know that this is judge. I've talked about
Speaker 4: it publicly. I've talked about at nauseum.
Speaker 5: It's an adjustment going from and he'd being an everyday
Speaker 5: player to be an a bench player at some point.
Speaker 4: Now there's really no excuse.
Speaker 5: At some point, he's going to get a chance to
Speaker 5: play probably three out of the next seven days, out
Speaker 5: of the next seven day, whatever the case may be.
Speaker 5: He's going to get a chance to play now. And
Speaker 5: if he's not being productive, then they're going to have
Speaker 5: to start peeking around to see where else they can
Speaker 5: be more productive. Now I think he will be. I
Speaker 5: still think he's a you know, viable and.
Speaker 4: Solid major league player.
Speaker 5: Again, but you have to produce at some point, you know,
Speaker 5: Dave Dobrowski, I know where they paying seven or eight
Speaker 5: million dollars.
Speaker 4: You got to You've got to kind of be productive.
Speaker 2: You have to.
Speaker 4: And I love the guy. I think he's I thought
Speaker 4: it was a great signing, but you have to also produce.
Speaker 4: We're in a production.
Speaker 5: Business and and you know he's going to have to
Speaker 5: start coming through with more consistent you know, at bats.
Speaker 3: I think there already are peaking around and if if
Speaker 3: they're not, they should be. For more production of that outfield.
Speaker 3: You need to build this team that a team that's
Speaker 3: going to succeed in October. And to me, that means
Speaker 3: right now you should have your eye on the outfield
Speaker 3: and how they can get more consistent production out there.
Speaker 1: No, I do want to point out also we talked.
Speaker 1: We've talked a lot about Nick Castis. I probably get
Speaker 1: more tweets and emails and comments about Nicko. Why does
Speaker 1: Rob Thompson keep playing Nick cast Let me point out
Speaker 1: these numbers. I look these up. Just ten minutes ago.
Speaker 1: Nick Cassi is less ten games, betting two seventy nine,
Speaker 1: three home run six RBIs eight thirty seven ops. Nick
Speaker 1: Cassian since May fourth betting two fifty five, five home
Speaker 1: runs sixteen RBIs seven sixty three ops. MLB average ops
Speaker 1: is six ninety eight. He's actually been putting up some
Speaker 1: decent numbers for the last month. And we talked a
Speaker 1: lot about this team trying to win the World Series.
Speaker 2: That's the goal.
Speaker 1: This team's chances of winning the World Series improve if
Speaker 1: Nick Castianos gets going.
Speaker 2: That's why he's playing every day.
Speaker 1: So you've got Clemens and left, possibly Mayfield and left,
Speaker 1: possibly Christian Pace and left, possibly ed maybe when Turner
Speaker 1: comes back at Mundo Sosa.
Speaker 2: Is that crazy?
Speaker 1: I mean Rob's mentioned it, you know, possibly getting him
Speaker 1: out there in left field.
Speaker 2: He hasn't played a lot of left field.
Speaker 1: They tried him in center field a couple springs ago,
Speaker 1: and then they kind of pulled the plug on that
Speaker 1: once the season started.
Speaker 2: Would that be something you would look at?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 3: I would. I would. I don't think it's an everyday solution,
Speaker 3: but no, occasionally, if you can make a play out
Speaker 3: there and you can kind of ride this hot hand
Speaker 3: that he's shown since Trey Turner went down, I mean,
Speaker 3: why not. The kid's athletic enough. You know, there might
Speaker 3: be a lot of mixing and matching until somebody steps
Speaker 3: up and grabs that job.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I totally agree.
Speaker 5: I mean sometimes you have to be a little bit
Speaker 5: more creative in certain situations.
Speaker 4: My concern is.
Speaker 5: That that makes for a very, very ugly defensive outfield.
Speaker 5: I think that, you know, that's where it's in a
Speaker 5: lot of ways. Strangely, it sort of saves Johann Rojas
Speaker 5: because he's got to play out there in center field.
Speaker 5: If you have these other off outfielders who are sort
Speaker 5: of out of position one and left, and you have
Speaker 5: Castianis who's done a nice job but doesn't cover a
Speaker 5: ton of ground and right.
Speaker 4: So now you're putting yourself in a position.
Speaker 5: To be not very good defensively at the risk of
Speaker 5: you know, just adding you know, production with the bat.
Speaker 5: You sort of need somebody who can go catch the baseball,
Speaker 5: and you got you got to be careful about that because.
Speaker 4: You know, by and large, you're you know, one of
Speaker 4: the biggest.
Speaker 5: Strengths of your team is yours you're pitching, so you've
Speaker 5: got to make sure you support it defensively. And it
Speaker 5: was a concern a couple of years back about you know,
Speaker 5: the outfields defense is terrible. You know, it's got to
Speaker 5: get better, and so you can't necessarily sacrifice that. And
Speaker 5: something to think about as well.
Speaker 1: And then triple A Wes Wilson, he is the only
Speaker 1: guy in the forty man David Dolls having a great year, Uck,
Speaker 1: you said Rubin, he's not on the forty man, always
Speaker 1: a consideration. Jordan Luplo having at another he's having a
Speaker 1: good year as well, not on the forty man. Wes
Speaker 1: Wilson started off terribly the last twenty games. He's really
Speaker 1: really come on. So yeah, probably I would think.
Speaker 4: That's the guy.
Speaker 5: I think that's going to be the guy because he
Speaker 5: also creates a lot of versatility because you can play
Speaker 5: so many different positions and he can really run, and
Speaker 5: he's gonna play solid defense if he gets chances.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Maker, that makes it right, Yeah, for sure, for sure,
Speaker 1: short term, short term.
Speaker 2: So Marsh probably head of the il.
Speaker 1: Ranger Suarez looks like he avoided serious catastrophe by maybe
Speaker 1: breaking his hand on Saturday Night. I mean that kind
Speaker 1: of illustrates starting pitching depth and the importance of it.
Speaker 1: You know, how lucky did, how lucky did, How lucky
Speaker 1: did Ranger get, and how lucky did the Phillies get
Speaker 1: on Saturday Night.
Speaker 2: It's crazy, crazy, very.
Speaker 3: Lucky, both of them, very lucky guys having a career year.
Speaker 3: Your team's had a career year. Can't affordunately, can't afford
Speaker 3: to lose anybody. And he's such a major contributor and
Speaker 3: such an important piece to this so it was good
Speaker 3: to see him escape escape injury. It was a little
Speaker 3: scary for a moment.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was.
Speaker 5: And my daughter went to the game. She came down
Speaker 5: from New York. She was all excited about seeing Ranger
Speaker 5: pitch and he gets drilled. She texts me right away, Oh, no, Ranger,
Speaker 5: Ranger got popped and he's out of the game.
Speaker 4: No way, I can't believe it. Something like that.
Speaker 5: And I told Andre, it's okay, It'll be fine. Thankfully,
Speaker 5: was because you're right. You don't want to lose the
Speaker 5: range or no.
Speaker 2: Man.
Speaker 1: My colleague at MLB dot com, Paul Cassell, he had
Speaker 1: this unbelievable stat. Listen to this eighth pitcher since nineteen thirteen.
Speaker 1: There have been eight pictures since nineteen thirteen have seventy
Speaker 1: five more strikeouts, nine or more wins and a one
Speaker 1: point seven oh ear a and like eight starts or something.
Speaker 1: Obaldo Hemen is in twenty ten. Then the list goes
Speaker 1: to Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddix, Vita Blue,
Speaker 1: Sandy Kofax.
Speaker 2: And Ranger Suarez. I mean, that's how good.
Speaker 1: That's how good you guys, Ben, So, yeah, I could
Speaker 1: see why everybody was holding the breath and while your
Speaker 1: daughter was in a panic, full pat Saturday, full panic
Speaker 1: on Saturday.
Speaker 2: So what do they do there?
Speaker 1: If it sounds like they're gonna he's gonna throw today
Speaker 1: or tomorrow, see if you can grip the ball, you
Speaker 1: need to do that. If you can't go, you go
Speaker 1: Spencer Turnbull on Saturday. Rangers schedule to go on.
Speaker 2: That's what I would do.
Speaker 3: No, and they got a nice little this little cushion
Speaker 3: time wise because of the London trip, But yeah, I
Speaker 3: would think you would go with Spencer Turnbull look good
Speaker 3: and release the other night he gave you a little
Speaker 3: bit of a little bit of length and yeah, this
Speaker 3: is why you have that depth piece in Turnbull And
Speaker 3: this is uh, he's pitched well and if you need
Speaker 3: a spot start, he has to be the guy. I
Speaker 3: would think.
Speaker 4: You just have to be careful with grips.
Speaker 5: I mean, obviously when you start changing, if you have
Speaker 5: to start changing your delivery, or you have to do
Speaker 5: something different with your hand. If he can't really grip
Speaker 5: the baseball, I mean, the only thing that's on your
Speaker 5: on the baseball, and as I talk about this, with hitting,
Speaker 5: the only thing that's on the bat is your hands.
Speaker 5: The only thing on the baseball is your fingers in
Speaker 5: your hands. So if that's not working perfectly, then you
Speaker 5: have a chance to then compromise your elbow, your shoulder,
Speaker 5: whatever the case may be. So you can be sure
Speaker 5: that they will not let him take the mound at
Speaker 5: the major league level, particularly if they have to go
Speaker 5: do it in London, to you know, compromise anything that
Speaker 5: would damage this guy. And the fact that they have
Speaker 5: Spencer Turnbull to be able to turn to sort of
Speaker 5: a no brainer. Again, if he's fine, he'll pitch. If
Speaker 5: he's not perfectly one hundred percent fine, he will not pitch.
Speaker 4: I can assure you.
Speaker 3: That, nor should he if he's ninety nine point nine
Speaker 3: take a rest.
Speaker 4: I'm right with you. Yeah, it's not that important.
Speaker 5: The London Series is nice and it's great, and this
Speaker 5: would be great for him to pitch there, But guess what,
Speaker 5: not that important when you're trying to win a World Series.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think I feel like the vibe in
Speaker 1: that clubhouse is we understand the big picture.
Speaker 2: So he's not going to go You know, I'm okay enough.
Speaker 1: I think even Ranger hopefully is smart enough to say,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm kind of not there, give me a
Speaker 1: few more days and let's go forward. But it kind
Speaker 1: of illustrates, gosh, if something had happened to Ranger, kind
Speaker 1: of illustrates again starting pitching depth and what they would
Speaker 1: do and and you know, you look down a Triple A.
Speaker 2: Mc gables hurt right now.
Speaker 1: But even if he wasn't hurt, I don't think he
Speaker 1: would have been an option.
Speaker 2: He's really struggling right now in Triple A.
Speaker 1: Tyler Phillips is a starter with the ERA over five.
Speaker 1: Davy Buchanan's got an e O over five. Michael Mercado
Speaker 1: maybe their best starter right now, but he hasn't really
Speaker 1: gone more than like four innings since he moved into
Speaker 1: the row to So.
Speaker 2: Just illustrates starting pitching depth too.
Speaker 1: You know, all this kind of stuff comes up and
Speaker 1: kind of shows you how close they are to, you know,
Speaker 1: walk on that line.
Speaker 3: Thank goodness they have Turnbull and excellent signing.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it might might be one of the best signings
Speaker 5: of the Yearnest for sure might pre for the dollars
Speaker 5: and cents might be one of the best signings in
Speaker 5: all baseball.
Speaker 4: I mean there's others that you know, I've done a
Speaker 4: good job there, but.
Speaker 5: Wow, with the with the level of importance that and
Speaker 5: the level of depth that he creates for this team.
Speaker 1: Well, my going back to my colleague Paul Cassella, he said,
Speaker 1: the only other starter this season with six or more
Speaker 1: starts with an ERA better than Rangers Suarez A Spencer Turnbull.
Speaker 2: He's got a one six seven. I mean, really, again,
Speaker 2: you think about it. When they signed him, it was
Speaker 2: it was a Super Bowl Sunday.
Speaker 1: They agreed to terms, and it was like, maybe he's
Speaker 1: going to be a Triple A starter to start the year.
Speaker 1: He would have to accept the assignment. Will he accept
Speaker 1: the assignment to Triple A? Maybe he'll be a long man.
Speaker 1: And now we're he's, like you said, Rubin, one of
Speaker 1: the best signings of the year.
Speaker 5: You got to get lucky sometimes, man. I mean, obviously
Speaker 5: it's a good job by scouting with the guys. I mean,
Speaker 5: he had the stuff and you know now they they
Speaker 5: pitch designed him. You know, Brian Kaplan and and Caleb
Speaker 5: Coffin probably worked with him, and yeah, probably put him
Speaker 5: in a really good position.
Speaker 4: To have success, you got to give them some love
Speaker 4: for that.
Speaker 5: And shoot, you got to get lucky sometimes when you
Speaker 5: make signings and we have Chinaha Park who did some
Speaker 5: stuff for us, and you know, I mean.
Speaker 3: You had you had wanted to me one of the
Speaker 3: ultimate you got to get lucky guys in Jason Worth.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and I think that that was again, that was
Speaker 5: a familiarity that Pat had with the guy. He had
Speaker 5: drafted him, he had seen him play. He knows what
Speaker 5: kind of athlete he was. He loved the background of
Speaker 5: the of the athlete. You know, that's that's all you know,
Speaker 5: that's all part of it. You know, that's all part
Speaker 5: of make these.
Speaker 3: It was essentially a released player. And yeah, I remember
Speaker 3: you guys trying.
Speaker 5: I'm sorry, an underperformer in a lot of ways, but
Speaker 5: also you're underperforming.
Speaker 3: But he had the pedigree and athleticism and at some
Speaker 3: point in most guys career, something clicks, you know, sometimes
Speaker 3: it takes guys time. I was watching that Jojo Romero
Speaker 3: for a last night. He's turned out to be pretty good,
Speaker 3: just needed some time. And it's a lot. It's that
Speaker 3: way with a lot of athletes. And it Worth was
Speaker 3: to me a classic example of taking a shot and
Speaker 3: then the talent and the experience and the health all
Speaker 3: come together and you get a hell of a player.
Speaker 5: Oh well, the big story for me is, I know
Speaker 5: you guys remember this when we were in Chicago and
Speaker 5: he kind of and Pat sort of like aired him out.
Speaker 5: I mean, because Pat believed in him, and he was like,
Speaker 5: I think he took him in the office. He's just
Speaker 5: like slammed him, like, dude, it's time for you to
Speaker 5: like step forward, let's freaking go.
Speaker 4: And he did and from that went on.
Speaker 5: I'm not sure if Jason really talks about that all
Speaker 5: that much or is discussed, but I mean Pat sort
Speaker 5: of challenged him in a lot of ways, and the
Speaker 5: kid responded and it became Jason Wirth.
Speaker 4: He owes a lot to Pat. I think.
Speaker 3: Story we're kind of on a tangent, but I like tangents.
Speaker 3: So you were going to kind of maybe sign him
Speaker 3: to a minor league deal, and then didn't Billy Bean
Speaker 3: come in and kind of backdoor you with a big
Speaker 3: league deal and you had to give him a big
Speaker 3: league deal.
Speaker 5: Well, basically I've told him I was talking to the
Speaker 5: agent I was in charge of like sort of managing
Speaker 5: the negotiations, and you know, Pat.
Speaker 4: Was like, he's not gonna sign. You know, he's not
Speaker 4: gonna sign a major league deal.
Speaker 5: And I'm like, I'm like, Pat, I don't think we
Speaker 5: can get this guy. If you really want this guy,
Speaker 5: we're gonna have to give him a major league deal.
Speaker 5: And we ended up having to put him on the
Speaker 5: forty man roster. I'm not sure if it was a
Speaker 5: bunch of bs or not, but had we I mean,
Speaker 5: I'm like, if you really want the player, you got
Speaker 5: to step forward. I don't know if we at the
Speaker 5: time we had room on the forty man. I don't
Speaker 5: remember all the particulars about it, but uh, but Pat
Speaker 5: did some serious background as he always does, did some
Speaker 5: awesome background on him, went to see him. I think
Speaker 5: he and Mike Arbuckle went to see him personally and
Speaker 5: chatted with him. But I mean, we we basically had
Speaker 5: to step forward and do a major league deal for
Speaker 5: the guy. I don't know seven hundred thousand or a
Speaker 5: million dollars or whatever the case may be, but we
Speaker 5: sort of had to guarantee him that money, and Pat
Speaker 5: was kind of reluctant to do it. I'm like that
Speaker 5: we're not gonna get the guy if it don't do it,
Speaker 5: and we ended up signing him in the rest was
Speaker 5: sort of history.
Speaker 3: Well, Spencer Spencer Turnbull's some similarities. You know, it's a
Speaker 3: cut right deal, a guy coming back for some injuries
Speaker 3: he had. It was a pedigree kind of draft, high
Speaker 3: round draft. And if he goes out that continues to
Speaker 3: have a really good year, much like Jason Worth is
Speaker 3: gonna you know, get his career back on good footing
Speaker 3: and has a chance to go Chi Chang.
Speaker 5: Chi Chain, no question about especially with the dearth of
Speaker 5: pitching and people who go, are you kidding me? If
Speaker 5: you're a starting pitcher right now and you can have
Speaker 5: some level of success, I mean they're turning guys. How
Speaker 5: about Jordan Hicks who they turn They're turning you know,
Speaker 5: bullpen guys into starters right now because it's.
Speaker 4: Amazing, guys. The starting pitching is actually important.
Speaker 2: It's nice, it's fun to watch.
Speaker 3: Can you believe it?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I love it?
Speaker 3: I mean again, but what old will we do?
Speaker 5: It's just it's just the silliness of what is gone
Speaker 5: and making contact and not striking out and stealing a base, And.
Speaker 4: Isn't that amazing. It's for twelve years, somebody else took
Speaker 4: over and changed the whole world. I don't get it.
Speaker 4: Well confused.
Speaker 1: Well, Jason Worth one of the most productive right handed
Speaker 1: hitters for the Phillies in the last you know how
Speaker 1: many years. Reyese Hoskins one of the most productive right
Speaker 1: handed hitters for the Phillies in the last how many years? Uh,
Speaker 1: Brewers coming back into town tonight, three game series at
Speaker 1: Citizens Bank Park. Jim, you wrote about Reese at allphl
Speaker 1: y dot com.
Speaker 2: Yeah, what do you want to tell me about it?
Speaker 3: Well, he's coming back tonight for three games. Comes off
Speaker 3: the I l You know, I always had a lot
Speaker 3: of respect for Reese. I remember he was drafted during
Speaker 3: Ruben's time as GM. He was drafted fourteen, fifth round,
Speaker 3: which is kind of a bit of a magic round
Speaker 3: for the Phillies and first in Big Bats where they
Speaker 3: got Ryan Howard. But you know, I still remember his
Speaker 3: first year talking to Charlie Manual and Charlie said, you
Speaker 3: know in his voice that Boyden knows how to drive
Speaker 3: in a run, and he had a knack for driving
Speaker 3: in runs. And you know, he developed the leg kick
Speaker 3: with Joe Jordan and Andy Tracy and it became a
Speaker 3: real staple in his in his swing. But what always
Speaker 3: jumped out about me Reese's maturity, his intelligence. He was
Speaker 3: and this is no BA. He was always team first,
Speaker 3: and he would survived from some rough days in that
Speaker 3: rebuild when he was like the great Hope and the
Speaker 3: great position player Hope, and he was the kind of
Speaker 3: the one guy that emerged from that group and was
Speaker 3: there when they were ready to win. And you know,
Speaker 3: he always looked to me like a foundational player that
Speaker 3: might be around a good long time. And then all
Speaker 3: of a sudden, now there was this influx of players
Speaker 3: from outside the system, Hoskins, Wheeler, Real Mudo, Turner, Schwoar
Speaker 3: or Castianos, and they all have big price tags. And
Speaker 3: I used to talk about this with Reese more than once.
Speaker 3: You know, everybody's getting their paydays, and you know, do
Speaker 3: you ever wonder if there's gonna be room for you?
Speaker 3: And you, the homegrown guy who endured the rebuild, are
Speaker 3: going to be the guy that's pushed out? And you know,
Speaker 3: he he was always mature in talking about it, recognized
Speaker 3: it was a possibility, never complained about it, and just
Speaker 3: worked hard every day and Indeed, he was the guy
Speaker 3: that for a lot of reasons just wasn't payroll. It
Speaker 3: was spot you know, they needed a spot for Harper,
Speaker 3: they needed a spot for Schwore where they're heavy in
Speaker 3: these DH types and first base DH types. And he
Speaker 3: also survived to me, three very serious injuries. I mean
Speaker 3: he had the the UCL tear, he had the abdominal tear,
Speaker 3: and the the a c L which he missed all
Speaker 3: last year, three serious injuries that required major surgeries. So
Speaker 3: I always thought he was a good Philly, good guy,
Speaker 3: class guy, and I believe he'll get a really nice
Speaker 3: ovation tonight and we might even see that Batspike a
Speaker 3: little bit up on the scoreboard.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I would think we'll see it. Several times. I
Speaker 4: would just say this a couple of things.
Speaker 5: One, I have a soft spot for him, obviously because
Speaker 5: he was in our system when we brought him into
Speaker 5: the system, when I was still as the GM and
Speaker 5: just watching his progression and you know, come through the system,
Speaker 5: there was a question always about you know, defensively he
Speaker 5: could be okay and he's gonna end up being a DH,
Speaker 5: but a great run producer. Really matured as a hitter,
Speaker 5: especially and I think he put some ridiculous numbers up
Speaker 5: in reading at one point where he was just mashing
Speaker 5: the baseball and driving in runs at at a tremendous rate.
Speaker 5: But when I think of Reese Hoskins, I think of
Speaker 5: a classy young man and and sort of represented And
Speaker 5: I know he was sort of the spokesman for a
Speaker 5: while as as they were, as we were in that transition,
Speaker 5: or as the organization was in the transition.
Speaker 4: I was gone at that point once he got to
Speaker 4: the big leagues.
Speaker 5: But I think he represented the organization extraordinarily well. I
Speaker 5: think he represents his family. He and his wife represent
Speaker 5: the family extremely well. And so you have a soft
Speaker 5: spot for someone like that who's that classy and that professional.
Speaker 5: And yeah, I mean baseball is a tough game, and
Speaker 5: it's the decisions that you have to make. You know,
Speaker 5: they end up signing to Castillanos and that's probably Castiumers.
Speaker 5: And then and then you have you know, the Schwarbers,
Speaker 5: as you said, Jim of the world, and you start,
Speaker 5: you know, looking at your team and Okay, where can
Speaker 5: we improve in certain areas? Where do we fit all
Speaker 5: the pieces of the puzzle. And he ended up being
Speaker 5: a guy that then ended up being sort of the
Speaker 5: odd man out. But but I think in his heart
Speaker 5: of hearts, he'll always sort of be a Philly. I
Speaker 5: think he probably feels that he probably felt a little
Speaker 5: disappointed and shunned about, you know, what happened in in
Speaker 5: the offseason. But I'm glad he landed with Milwaukee. Great
Speaker 5: spot for him. He I'm sure he's bringing a lot
Speaker 5: of maturity to that team, who has a has a
Speaker 5: very young team, uh with some very good athletes, and
Speaker 5: I think that's a it's a great thing for that organization.
Speaker 5: Good kid man, good you good young man, I should
Speaker 5: say kid man. He's a he's a grown man.
Speaker 2: He's a girl man. You know, think about this. You know,
Speaker 2: they he and his wife Jamie, bought a house in
Speaker 2: Center City. They lived here a couple off seasons.
Speaker 1: That doesn't happen too often anymore where you know, players
Speaker 1: was just scattered to Florida or Scottsdale or wherever they
Speaker 1: want to live warmer weather.
Speaker 2: In the off season.
Speaker 1: They stayed here a couple of years because they were
Speaker 1: so connected to the city, did a lot of work
Speaker 1: charity work with MDA, and you know, they were always
Speaker 1: out in the community.
Speaker 2: They really did love it here.
Speaker 1: When I think of Reese, I think of the same
Speaker 1: thing Jim just being in the clubhouse. How many times
Speaker 1: during that awful run they were.
Speaker 6: On to be go.
Speaker 1: Yes, let's talk to Reese, because he's kind of he
Speaker 1: was kind of the de facto spokesman. They know you
Speaker 1: valued his opinion, and he was always available and at
Speaker 1: his locker after bad loss after bad loss after bad loss,
Speaker 1: if he had a good game or a bad game,
Speaker 1: he was there. I very distinctly remember at the end
Speaker 1: of I think it was the twenty nineteen season, they
Speaker 1: lost like ten in a row. They finally gotten eliminated
Speaker 1: in Atlanta, A couple of his teammates were kind of
Speaker 1: yucking it up, getting dressed ready to go back catch
Speaker 1: a team bus, and he was still in full uni,
Speaker 1: his head buried in his locker because they had finally
Speaker 1: got officially eliminated from the postseason.
Speaker 2: Because he he did care that much.
Speaker 1: And every time I will point out, every time you
Speaker 1: see a Phillies player homer and salute the bullpen, that
Speaker 1: was a tradition that Reese Hoskins started back in eighteen
Speaker 1: so and now you see it all around baseball. That
Speaker 1: is a Reese Hoskins started tradition the sal college.
Speaker 2: Yep, he started that. He started that.
Speaker 1: I wrote about that last going in the last postseason.
Speaker 1: You know, I was a little piece of Reese is
Speaker 1: going to carry into the postseason.
Speaker 3: And he started at City Field.
Speaker 2: No, he started it. He's we went back and found it.
Speaker 1: He came back from the injured list.
Speaker 2: When you remember when he broke his jaw, falling up
Speaker 2: all off his face.
Speaker 3: And.
Speaker 1: Yes, he he was on the il and I think
Speaker 1: what the story he told was after the game, after
Speaker 1: you a game, Hector Norris and he were by the
Speaker 1: iPad in the clubhouse where they turn up to music,
Speaker 1: and they were doing some rock and roll music and
Speaker 1: Hector Norris did the rock on signed from him. It's
Speaker 1: like jumping around acting like a goofball because that's what
Speaker 1: Hector Nerris is.
Speaker 2: And then.
Speaker 1: Hoskins came back from the aisle. It might have been
Speaker 1: that first game back or second game back. He homered
Speaker 1: and he gave he gave the old salute to Hector
Speaker 1: Harris in the bullpen and then he just kept doing
Speaker 1: it ever since.
Speaker 4: So that's that's pretty cool.
Speaker 3: That's an awesome little tidbit everybody does it now, you
Speaker 3: shit it up and down the game, and it's like
Speaker 3: the guy who invented the high five, Glenn Burke, him
Speaker 3: and Dusty Baker invented the high five. So Reese Hoskins
Speaker 3: invented the bullpen salute, which is like we said, it's
Speaker 3: probably gonna be around for an awfully long time.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, you know, Kyle, and Kyle Schwarber said, I'm
Speaker 1: going to keep doing it, and you know, every well, everybody.
Speaker 2: In the Phillies keeps doing it. It's it's kind of
Speaker 2: a thing now.
Speaker 3: And I like it because those guys in the bullpen.
Speaker 3: I mean, you go in the doug everybody high fives,
Speaker 3: he gives you a little, you know, a little love
Speaker 3: of home run. These guys in the bullpen just as
Speaker 3: much as part of the team, and they're just as happy.
Speaker 2: And that's what that's what that was part of it.
Speaker 2: Hector and Nerris said.
Speaker 1: He's like I told Reese afterwards, like you got to
Speaker 1: keep doing that because we're we're part of.
Speaker 2: The team too, you know.
Speaker 1: And now it's to the point where Bryce Harper has
Speaker 1: done this a few times where he's forgotten to salute
Speaker 1: and he will call down the bullpen to apologize.
Speaker 3: That's right, bad guys. I will sorry about that.
Speaker 2: I forgot to give you guy. This is the salute.
Speaker 3: So that's pretty cool.
Speaker 1: So Reese will get a standing ovation, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2: If he hits a home run, it might be a
Speaker 2: different story.
Speaker 1: But I think no, I think it would be at
Speaker 1: some point it will be sure that it would be a.
Speaker 2: Loving boo if he gets booed.
Speaker 3: It's the funny thing, is he you know, he hits
Speaker 3: that home run against Spencer Strider in Game three in
Speaker 3: twenty twenty two against the Braves in the NLDS. He
Speaker 3: was booed early in that hit, the home run in
Speaker 3: the third inning. He was booed after striking out in
Speaker 3: the first inning. He was booed during introductions because he
Speaker 3: had a tough night in Atlanta the night before, and
Speaker 3: I mean that was part of that batspike.
Speaker 1: It was like, you know for him, yeah, that that
Speaker 1: isn't quite a moment for him.
Speaker 3: And he never complained about the booze. He never complained.
Speaker 3: I remember that one great quote he had about Philadelphia
Speaker 3: said it's an honest market, meaning you know, I'll tell
Speaker 3: you when you're good to tell you when you're bad.
Speaker 3: And it was to me a perfect summation of playing here.
Speaker 2: That's a moment.
Speaker 1: Fifty years from now, they're going to be doing a
Speaker 1: retrospective on the Phillies and you're gonna have Tug mcgrad
Speaker 1: dropping to his knees.
Speaker 2: You're gonna have bed limit the bank.
Speaker 1: You're gonna have you know, brad Lidge dropping, Tug raising
Speaker 1: his arms, Lydge dropping to his knees, and you're gonna
Speaker 1: have the batspike from brhys Hoskins in Game three of
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty two NLDS, no doubt about it.
Speaker 4: So don't forget that home run from Bryce Harbor no.
Speaker 2: Limit.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that literally was the greatest. I was one of
Speaker 4: the most amazing moments I've ever seen. Anyway, that's that
Speaker 4: was gonna digress.
Speaker 1: More more what we will be back Wednesday or Thursday
Speaker 1: before the Phillies go to London. So don't want to
Speaker 1: miss that next episode. It's gonna be a good one,
Speaker 1: I promise. Oh yeah, thanks guys.
Speaker 3: Smell your lady boys, small Jim.
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