Latest / The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views / Will The Phillies Get Out Of Their Slump? (PST Episode 578)
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: What's up, everybody, It's Jeff here. I wanted to let
- 0:02Speaker 1: you know. This podcast episode was recorded on two separate
- 0:05Speaker 1: days this week. Our interview this week was recorded on Tuesday,
- 0:08Speaker 1: August sixth, twenty twenty four. The regular show with Lennon
- 0:12Speaker 1: myself was recorded on Wednesday, August seventh, twenty twenty four.
- 0:16Speaker 1: So by the time you hear this, some things may
- 0:18Speaker 1: have changed here or there, but we hope you enjoy
- 0:20Speaker 1: the show. Welcome to the Philadelphia Sports Table podcast show,
- 0:49Speaker 1: the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show in the world.
- 0:52Speaker 1: That's right eleven years strong. We've got a great show
- 0:55Speaker 1: coming to you this week. We're certainly going to get
- 0:58Speaker 1: into some Eagles talk, not necessarily in camp talk. However,
- 1:01Speaker 1: we know that Howie Roseman likes to get ahead of
- 1:03Speaker 1: the market when it comes to signing free agent players.
- 1:06Speaker 1: What players may he be signing to that extension in
- 1:09Speaker 1: the future. We're actually gonna get into some Flyers talk.
- 1:12Speaker 1: I know there's no season ongoing right now, but I
- 1:16Speaker 1: want to take a look at some of the defensemen
- 1:17Speaker 1: on this team and who might be able to make
- 1:19Speaker 1: that jump if possible, to being that top defensive line
- 1:24Speaker 1: in the in the Flyers organization with the talent that
- 1:28Speaker 1: they have Philadelphia Union. They are now six nine and ten.
- 1:33Speaker 1: They're digging themselves out of the basement in the Eastern Conference.
- 1:36Speaker 1: We're gonna get into that team. And of course we've
- 1:38Speaker 1: got a ton of Phillies talk coming your way. We've
- 1:40Speaker 1: got Tim Kelly from Phillies Nation dot com. He's going
- 1:42Speaker 1: to be joining us to get into this team. I'm
- 1:44Speaker 1: Jeff Warren. I'm here with my buddy Lenn Hunsicker. Lenn,
- 1:48Speaker 1: How you doing, man?
- 1:49Speaker 2: I am doing good. Been it's been like three weeks
- 1:54Speaker 2: since I've been here.
- 1:55Speaker 1: Right exactly. Yeah, you've been on vacation. You've had a
- 1:57Speaker 1: nice long vacation. I know you. You and the you
- 2:00Speaker 1: and the missus were up in Maine.
- 2:03Speaker 2: Yeah it was. I mean, I'm sure if I went
- 2:06Speaker 2: up there and winter, I'd be singing a vastly different tune.
- 2:08Speaker 2: But yeah, Ben, it's nice up there.
- 2:10Speaker 1: Like some lobster rolls some Yeah. Yeah.
- 2:14Speaker 2: We probably had that like three nights and then like
- 2:18Speaker 2: a whole like lobster like the one you crack open.
- 2:21Speaker 2: Oh god, So it was uh, it was pricey, I
- 2:25Speaker 2: can tell you that much.
- 2:27Speaker 1: That's our vacations are supposed to be there.
- 2:28Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's like I I think I said that
- 2:32Speaker 2: to myself in my own head probably at least five
- 2:35Speaker 2: times that week I'm on vacation, Like I'd like, that's
- 2:38Speaker 2: how I rationalized everything exactly.
- 2:40Speaker 1: Would I go on vacation with my family and we're
- 2:43Speaker 1: going out to eat to dinner like freaking five nights
- 2:45Speaker 1: a week or something like that. We're usually like in
- 2:47Speaker 1: a condo where we have like a like a kitchen area,
- 2:50Speaker 1: and there are times where we just make some meals.
- 2:52Speaker 1: So yeah, so you were eating a lot of meals,
- 2:55Speaker 1: But like we you justify it as as you should
- 2:58Speaker 1: when you go on vacation. You got in yourself and
- 3:00Speaker 1: food is part of the experience when you go on vacation.
- 3:02Speaker 1: It's I just have to tell my wife this a
- 3:05Speaker 1: lot back in the day. She's gotten better with it
- 3:07Speaker 1: because she'd always be like, well, let's just stay in
- 3:10Speaker 1: and make pasta tonight, you know what I mean, Like,
- 3:13Speaker 1: what are you doing here? We're on vacation.
- 3:15Speaker 2: You know.
- 3:16Speaker 1: We finally gotten to the point over the years we've
- 3:17Speaker 1: got a good balance with it. In fact, we go
- 3:19Speaker 1: out to eat a lot more than we ever have
- 3:20Speaker 1: on vacation, So it's just it's part of the experience.
- 3:23Speaker 2: You have to do it absolutely. Yeah.
- 3:25Speaker 1: All right, well, I'm glad you had a good vacation, Bud,
- 3:29Speaker 1: and I am excited about this Eagle season. Right around
- 3:32Speaker 1: the corner, you getting excited for Eagles postgame shows?
- 3:36Speaker 2: Yeah, well, what's so? The first one is what a
- 3:39Speaker 2: Friday night? Right?
- 3:40Speaker 1: It is Friday night. It's the Eagles and Green Bay
- 3:44Speaker 1: game coming to us from Brazil.
- 3:47Speaker 2: Yeah, that ought to be What time does that start?
- 3:50Speaker 1: I'm not sure, but I think it's gonna be like
- 3:53Speaker 1: an eight to fifteen start something like I'm.
- 3:54Speaker 2: Gonna say, I think with the positioning of where Brazil is,
- 3:58Speaker 2: I think they would be kind of more or Central
- 4:00Speaker 2: time zone. I would think.
- 4:01Speaker 1: Yeah, I couldn't be wrong with that. With that, somebody
- 4:04Speaker 1: may have to correct us out there. I'm sorry what
- 4:07Speaker 1: you saying?
- 4:07Speaker 2: I say, No, I just said, yeah, who knows with that?
- 4:10Speaker 1: So yeah, but yeah, we just wanted to throw that
- 4:12Speaker 1: out there to folks that yes, we have our Eagles
- 4:15Speaker 1: postgame podcast shows that are going to be coming back
- 4:18Speaker 1: as they have been for the eleven years we have
- 4:20Speaker 1: been doing this podcast. We started with them back during
- 4:23Speaker 1: the Chip Kelly era, Len, I remember those Eagles postgame
- 4:27Speaker 1: shows back then, some fun ones and then there was
- 4:29Speaker 1: some oh boy boy really tailed off there with Chip Hunt.
- 4:32Speaker 2: Yeah, it started off hot and then it got hot
- 4:36Speaker 2: for a different reason.
- 4:37Speaker 1: Yes exactly, a hot, steaming pile of yes exactly. Well
- 4:43Speaker 1: we have we were looking forward to that. And you
- 4:45Speaker 1: may not always hear Len and Eric on those Eagles
- 4:48Speaker 1: postgame podcasts. We've got our friend Josh Schuster from Philadelphia
- 4:52Speaker 1: soccernow dot com. He may be joining us every now
- 4:55Speaker 1: and again. We've got Matt Rogers from the honorable mentioned podcast.
- 4:58Speaker 1: He may be jumping on our Eagles post game podcast
- 5:00Speaker 1: shows every now and again as well, just because sometimes
- 5:02Speaker 1: you know, Len's working, you know, sometimes Eric's got some
- 5:05Speaker 1: family stuff, and you know, sometimes things just happen. So
- 5:10Speaker 1: we got that coming to you. We're gonna be doing
- 5:12Speaker 1: it again folks this Eagles season. And speaking of the
- 5:16Speaker 1: Philadelphia Eagles, Len, let's get into this show and what
- 5:20Speaker 1: we wanted to talk about in terms of this team,
- 5:22Speaker 1: but really, what Howie Roseman is going to be doing
- 5:25Speaker 1: from his office. He loves to get ahead of the
- 5:28Speaker 1: market when it comes to signing free agent players. Sometimes
- 5:31Speaker 1: we see this during training camp during the preseason. Sometimes
- 5:34Speaker 1: we see it during the course of the regular season
- 5:37Speaker 1: as well. So I wanted to get into a discussion
- 5:40Speaker 1: of which players we feel that he is probably going
- 5:43Speaker 1: to need to target and give that contract extension too.
- 5:47Speaker 1: And I think one of the players that is really
- 5:51Speaker 1: being looked at when we talk about this in the
- 5:54Speaker 1: Eagles Nation his defensive tackle Milton Williams. He's in the
- 5:57Speaker 1: final year of his rookie contract, a prime candidate for
- 6:01Speaker 1: an extension this offseason, and he's had a He's had
- 6:05Speaker 1: a very, very good year in an Eagles uniform, a
- 6:09Speaker 1: very I think from a productivity standpoint for who he is,
- 6:14Speaker 1: what he does on the field, his production probably doesn't
- 6:19Speaker 1: match his value as a player quite frankly, and from
- 6:21Speaker 1: a team perspective, that's the type of player you'd ideally
- 6:25Speaker 1: like to extend a contract to it a reasonable cost.
- 6:29Speaker 1: I think Milton Williams is going to end up getting
- 6:32Speaker 1: that contract extension from the Eagles again based on his productivity,
- 6:36Speaker 1: len what he's been giving this team, and also the
- 6:40Speaker 1: fact that this team is going to really need to
- 6:41Speaker 1: start to get some consistency on the defensive line because
- 6:45Speaker 1: there's a lot of new and moving parts. I don't
- 6:46Speaker 1: know you what are your thoughts about, whether it's Milton
- 6:49Speaker 1: Williams or anybody else you're looking at.
- 6:52Speaker 2: Well, let's let's start off with the fact that you
- 6:54Speaker 2: know the guys that are on this list that we're
- 6:56Speaker 2: looking at here. You look at last year. You had
- 7:00Speaker 2: two guys that they gave extensions out to before last
- 7:04Speaker 2: training camp, and you had two elite receivers in Brown
- 7:07Speaker 2: and Smith. You had two Pro Bowl linemen in Milatta
- 7:12Speaker 2: and Dickerson, guys that became Pro Bowlers if they weren't already.
- 7:15Speaker 2: And then you've got depending on you. He'll feel about
- 7:18Speaker 2: David Akers, probably the second best kicker in Eagles history
- 7:21Speaker 2: in Jake Elliott. So those are guys, those are no brainers.
- 7:25Speaker 2: Those are we have to lock these guys up. There's
- 7:28Speaker 2: nobody that's on this list here that I see that
- 7:31Speaker 2: is like, we have to lock this guy up. I mean,
- 7:34Speaker 2: there are guys that that that interest me. There. They're
- 7:37Speaker 2: guys that I like and and and you know Williams
- 7:41Speaker 2: is one of them. You know, he's a guy that
- 7:43Speaker 2: you know he's going to be one of the guys
- 7:45Speaker 2: that I think is being counted on to step up
- 7:46Speaker 2: because the Eagles, as you know, they like to rotate
- 7:51Speaker 2: their their defensive linemen. They like to have a rotation.
- 7:54Speaker 2: They like to come at you in waves. Fletcher Cox
- 7:57Speaker 2: isn't there anymore, so he is going to be counted in,
- 8:01Speaker 2: counted on to you know, step in and whenever Jordan
- 8:04Speaker 2: Davis or Jellen Carter need to come off the field
- 8:06Speaker 2: and get arrest, you know he's gonna be. He's probably
- 8:09Speaker 2: gonna be the next man in that rotation. So that
- 8:12Speaker 2: to me would kind of heighten his importance as a player.
- 8:17Speaker 2: I know Vic Fangio likes him, so that's another thing
- 8:20Speaker 2: I mean to me, he seems and I think with
- 8:23Speaker 2: a lot of guys on this list here, these are
- 8:26Speaker 2: guys that I think you're gonna be looking at hard
- 8:29Speaker 2: in training camp and if they're winning training camp battles,
- 8:33Speaker 2: then okay. Is provided they're winning those training camp battles
- 8:37Speaker 2: in terms of the guys that are they're fighting with
- 8:38Speaker 2: on the depth chart, then those are guys you look
- 8:42Speaker 2: at locking up. Yeah they lose that battle then sorry, Charlie.
- 8:46Speaker 1: Absolutely, Like I said, the names on the list that
- 8:49Speaker 1: we're looking at in Isaiah Rodgers, Devin White, Zach Bond.
- 8:52Speaker 1: You know, these aren't guys who are you know, you know,
- 8:55Speaker 1: knocking down the doors in terms of productivity in the NFL.
- 8:59Speaker 1: I mean Isaiah Rodgers, for God's sake, he was freaking
- 9:02Speaker 1: it was suspended for the entirety of the twenty twenty
- 9:05Speaker 1: three season for violating the NFL's policy on gambling. So
- 9:08Speaker 1: he really hasn't seen starting action in quite some time.
- 9:12Speaker 1: And Devin White, Zach Bond, you don't know what we're
- 9:14Speaker 1: gonna get from them. You're gonna have to see a
- 9:16Speaker 1: lot from them preseason and during the early part of
- 9:19Speaker 1: this season. But there was one guy that I think
- 9:22Speaker 1: could potentially get some sort of contract extension if he
- 9:27Speaker 1: excels at his position, if he wins the position, and
- 9:32Speaker 1: if he is really doing a great job doing everything
- 9:35Speaker 1: that Jeff Stotland wants. And that's Makai Beckton. That right
- 9:39Speaker 1: guard position len is so key, so important. And we
- 9:42Speaker 1: know how Howie Roseman loves to shore up. He loves
- 9:47Speaker 1: to shore up offensive lineman, defensive lineman, the trenches. He
- 9:51Speaker 1: has done it for years and years. We've seen it
- 9:54Speaker 1: with Lane Johnson, We've seen it with Jordan Mailatta. As
- 9:57Speaker 1: you mentioned earlier, Mackai Beckton is on a one year
- 10:00Speaker 1: deal two point seventy five million dollars and after this
- 10:05Speaker 1: he's a free agent. But if he were to get
- 10:07Speaker 1: to a point where, boy, he is playing some dominant football,
- 10:10Speaker 1: he's he's working in concert with Lane Johnson and with
- 10:14Speaker 1: Cam Jurgens, and he seems like he's going to be
- 10:16Speaker 1: a long term possibility and potential at that at that
- 10:21Speaker 1: right guard position. I could see him possibly being a
- 10:25Speaker 1: guy that's extended in the future.
- 10:28Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, they look at you know, like you said,
- 10:31Speaker 2: they the lines are probably their most valued position on
- 10:36Speaker 2: the field. Yeah, you know, with this organization. So again,
- 10:40Speaker 2: camp battles. If he does what he's supposed to do
- 10:42Speaker 2: in camp, he has a chance to make himself a
- 10:45Speaker 2: lot of money. And you mentioned a name in Isaiah
- 10:48Speaker 2: Rodgers that did interest me. I mean, a guy that
- 10:51Speaker 2: you know, I think you know, he was a good player,
- 10:55Speaker 2: you know, prior to his suspension for the Colts. So yeah, yeah,
- 10:58Speaker 2: so he's a guy that Okay, he drafted you know,
- 11:00Speaker 2: Quinny and Mitchell with the expectation that you know, he
- 11:04Speaker 2: is gonna be one of your starting corners, if not
- 11:06Speaker 2: this year, the year after that. Yeah, Darius Slay is
- 11:09Speaker 2: getting up there, so he is eventually going to have
- 11:11Speaker 2: to be replaced. So if Rogers can show that he,
- 11:15Speaker 2: you know, still has that potential in him, then and
- 11:19Speaker 2: you can look down the road once Slay has gone
- 11:21Speaker 2: and see, Okay, Rogers and Mitchell are our corners on
- 11:26Speaker 2: the outside, then yeah, I mean he he obviously becomes
- 11:29Speaker 2: a priority too.
- 11:30Speaker 1: Absolutely, And look, Slay turns thirty four in January.
- 11:34Speaker 2: Yeah, so I mean, yeah, that that day is coming
- 11:39Speaker 2: sooner than probably a lot of people, slayh included and
- 11:42Speaker 2: the Eagles included, would like to think, what.
- 11:45Speaker 1: An incredible signing that was a stash move. He gets
- 11:48Speaker 1: suspended Isaiah Rodgers here, he gets suspended and the Eagles
- 11:53Speaker 1: signed him last summer, and it's just he was He
- 11:57Speaker 1: was reinstated by the NFL four months months ago in April,
- 12:02Speaker 1: and his contract with the Eagles in twenty twenty three.
- 12:05Speaker 1: It actually goes into effected twenty twenty four, and it's
- 12:08Speaker 1: going to be the final year of his rookie deal,
- 12:10Speaker 1: and then the Eagles are going to be able to
- 12:12Speaker 1: sign him if they want. If he's going to be
- 12:14Speaker 1: a contributing member of this secondary, which I think he
- 12:17Speaker 1: is going to be this season, look for a sixth
- 12:20Speaker 1: round pick. He showed a lot of promise with the Colts,
- 12:23Speaker 1: and I have a feeling he's going to show a
- 12:25Speaker 1: lot of promise this this coming preseason and early in
- 12:29Speaker 1: this regular season for the Eagles. Vic Fangio has said
- 12:31Speaker 1: that he really likes what he's seeing from him at
- 12:34Speaker 1: this point, and of course he's saying that with a
- 12:36Speaker 1: lot of guys. Well maybe except for Niakcobe Dean however,
- 12:41Speaker 1: and that's maybe a story for another time, because I
- 12:43Speaker 1: don't know if that guy's going to be on this
- 12:44Speaker 1: team too much longer. But from all indications, Vic Fangio
- 12:48Speaker 1: really likes what he's seeing in Isaiah Rodgers. So I
- 12:51Speaker 1: don't know, buddy, Do you have anything else for this
- 12:54Speaker 1: particular story that we wanted to dive into here? Any
- 12:57Speaker 1: other players you can see?
- 12:59Speaker 2: No, I mean, I mean, none of as, But yeah,
- 13:00Speaker 2: I am interested to see Devin White. I mean a
- 13:03Speaker 2: guy that you know when he was a Tampa he
- 13:05Speaker 2: was just always like, oh man, that guy's freaking awesome. Yeah,
- 13:08Speaker 2: so what does he have left in the tank? But yeah,
- 13:12Speaker 2: I mean this is this is the interesting thing to
- 13:15Speaker 2: look at when it comes to these preseason games. Normally
- 13:18Speaker 2: it's like, okay, preseason you row in your eyes, It's like, okay,
- 13:21Speaker 2: here there's six string guys and guys that are never
- 13:25Speaker 2: gonna you know, make the team. But these are the battles,
- 13:27Speaker 2: these are the things that make them worth looking at
- 13:30Speaker 2: this year in terms of guys like Williams and Rogers
- 13:33Speaker 2: and things like that. You know, who are the guys.
- 13:36Speaker 2: Can anybody step up here and show them, Hey, I'm
- 13:40Speaker 2: worth the money long term?
- 13:41Speaker 3: Yeah?
- 13:42Speaker 2: So, I mean, these guys have a lot to play
- 13:44Speaker 2: for here, they really do.
- 13:46Speaker 1: That's why this preseason is going to be extremely interesting.
- 13:49Speaker 1: As Lenn was talking about, there's a lot of battles
- 13:51Speaker 1: and there's going to be a lot of development that
- 13:53Speaker 1: we are likely going to be seeing and we may
- 13:55Speaker 1: not see it in certain players, and those players may
- 13:58Speaker 1: not be on this team and with this organization after
- 14:01Speaker 1: a too long So it's gonna be fun. It's gonna
- 14:02Speaker 1: be fun. As we're moving along with the conversation and
- 14:05Speaker 1: moving along with the discussion here, let's get into some
- 14:08Speaker 1: Philadelphia Flyers talk. It's the off season. Not too too
- 14:12Speaker 1: much is going on with this team. But Len this
- 14:14Speaker 1: past week, I'm thinking to myself about the defenseman on
- 14:18Speaker 1: this team, and it doesn't appear that they really have
- 14:21Speaker 1: that solid one D guy on the team. But it's
- 14:26Speaker 1: not a terrible defensive corps. You've got Cam Yorke, Travis Sandheim,
- 14:32Speaker 1: Jimmie Drysdale, Oliver Bonk, Hunter McDonald, Hunter McDonald, Emil Andre
- 14:38Speaker 1: Can any of these players here possibly make that jump
- 14:42Speaker 1: and become a true top line defender in the future
- 14:47Speaker 1: for this team. We look at Travis Sandheim here. I
- 14:51Speaker 1: think we know who Travis Sandheim is at this point.
- 14:54Speaker 1: He's a great number three. He's a pretty good number two,
- 14:58Speaker 1: but he's not a number one. I think you would
- 15:00Speaker 1: agree with that.
- 15:00Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, I would.
- 15:02Speaker 1: I would define okay, Cam York from what we have
- 15:05Speaker 1: seen from him thus far. I like what we've seen
- 15:09Speaker 1: from Cam York, but I don't necessarily think that he
- 15:12Speaker 1: has showcased like the dynamic aspects of his game that
- 15:17Speaker 1: we've kind of been wanting, especially when it comes to
- 15:20Speaker 1: really being able to move the puck. He seems to
- 15:23Speaker 1: be another possible Travis Sandheim ish at a really great
- 15:28Speaker 1: number three, a pretty good number two not a number one.
- 15:32Speaker 1: I think Jamie Drysdale is the guy here. Oliver Bonk
- 15:35Speaker 1: even are the two guys who have that ceiling and
- 15:38Speaker 1: possibility of maybe being that one D player from what
- 15:42Speaker 1: we have seen thus far, I don't know. I think
- 15:45Speaker 1: Bank took a huge leap last season in his development,
- 15:48Speaker 1: and with Jamie Drysdale, he's got to stay healthy. Of course,
- 15:53Speaker 1: I see these guys as as possessing borderline first pair upside.
- 15:58Speaker 1: That's my thoughts looking at where the defenses right now,
- 16:01Speaker 1: and of course I think Danny Brier in the front office,
- 16:04Speaker 1: they are going to end up when I think really
- 16:07Speaker 1: trying to make a move if it's not this coming
- 16:09Speaker 1: before this coming trade deadline, and I know the season
- 16:12Speaker 1: hasn't even started yet, but or maybe next next off
- 16:16Speaker 1: season to really get that that that that first pair
- 16:20Speaker 1: upside that they have been looking to get, or that
- 16:23Speaker 1: just that first that one D guy. I don't know,
- 16:26Speaker 1: what are your thoughts here with all this? Do you
- 16:27Speaker 1: agree with what I'm saying? Disagree? What are you thinking?
- 16:30Speaker 2: No? I I agree. I don't see a clear cut
- 16:33Speaker 2: This is our our our guy, this is our our
- 16:37Speaker 2: you know, number one defenseman, our Victor headman. Are you know,
- 16:41Speaker 2: you know, more more cider guys like that. Yeah, there's
- 16:45Speaker 2: no there's no guy in this group you know that's
- 16:49Speaker 2: going to challenge for the Norris Trophy as as a
- 16:51Speaker 2: top defenseman in the NHL in terms of one d
- 16:55Speaker 2: like like top of the line first, you know, defenseve
- 16:58Speaker 2: and potential. I think Drives Dell is the closest to it.
- 17:01Speaker 2: In terms of pure talent. He's got to prove that
- 17:05Speaker 2: he can stay healthy, though he has not shown that
- 17:09Speaker 2: thus far in his career. So he's a guy that
- 17:12Speaker 2: you know. And and even in terms of developing consistency,
- 17:16Speaker 2: it's hard to develop consistency when you're not consistently on
- 17:19Speaker 2: the ice. So that's something that that he's got to do.
- 17:25Speaker 2: I mean, if you've got a solid defensive corps all
- 17:29Speaker 2: the way through, I think you can get away with
- 17:32Speaker 2: not having the number one defenseman. If you've got like,
- 17:36Speaker 2: if you've got it, like an entire defensive corps that
- 17:40Speaker 2: grades out as second pairing guys, that's not bad. I mean,
- 17:44Speaker 2: because you know, even even your your third pair, I
- 17:46Speaker 2: mean if they would be second pair guys on another team,
- 17:49Speaker 2: on a contending team, I mean that's that's not bad
- 17:52Speaker 2: at all. I mean, you don't have to have a
- 17:54Speaker 2: superstar at every position. It would be nice. It's something
- 17:58Speaker 2: that you know, if the if the Flyers pipeline was
- 18:01Speaker 2: further along, they would have that guy. But I feel
- 18:04Speaker 2: like they, you know, even even with having Mitchkoff here
- 18:08Speaker 2: now after losing, after you know, having a trade Gotier,
- 18:12Speaker 2: you know, you still need stuff up front in the
- 18:15Speaker 2: forward positions. You still need to have a number one center,
- 18:19Speaker 2: which you don't have, and that's always going to be
- 18:21Speaker 2: the priority with this team. So even if this team
- 18:26Speaker 2: bottoms out this year for whatever reason, everything, if they
- 18:30Speaker 2: have a Murphy's loss season and everything that can go
- 18:33Speaker 2: wrong does go wrong, and they are sitting up near
- 18:36Speaker 2: the top of what's going to be a pretty loaded
- 18:38Speaker 2: draft this coming year. There's a lot of the there's
- 18:42Speaker 2: a couple guys that could potentially profile as a number
- 18:45Speaker 2: one center, and if that's a position the Flyers are
- 18:47Speaker 2: sitting in, believe me, that's what they're going to take. So,
- 18:51Speaker 2: I mean that's a long way of saying, you know,
- 18:53Speaker 2: I don't think they have that guy. Bank Is is
- 18:56Speaker 2: a guy that intrigues me. I hear nothing but good
- 18:58Speaker 2: things about him in Junie years. He's a guy whose
- 19:01Speaker 2: dad played in the NHL, so you know he's been
- 19:04Speaker 2: around in the NHL locker room, you know, you would think,
- 19:07Speaker 2: and he he knows what being a pro is all about, right,
- 19:10Speaker 2: So he's he's a guy that's going to walk in
- 19:12Speaker 2: on day one and you probably don't have to worry
- 19:14Speaker 2: about him from a maturity standpoint or being overwhelmed or
- 19:19Speaker 2: not understanding you know, the moment, or anything like that.
- 19:22Speaker 2: He's going to be just fine. I think between York
- 19:24Speaker 2: San Haim, Drysdale Bank, I think that's a solid top
- 19:28Speaker 2: four again, not spectacular, not superstar, but if everything else
- 19:33Speaker 2: is good, if you've got a good goalie that you
- 19:35Speaker 2: can count on, and if you've if you've got a
- 19:38Speaker 2: really good forward group, you can win with that for
- 19:41Speaker 2: I think you.
- 19:41Speaker 1: Can, Okay, I I boy, what was I was reading?
- 19:45Speaker 1: I think it was one of Charlie O'Connor's recent articles
- 19:48Speaker 1: where he was talking about Bonk and how he's he's
- 19:53Speaker 1: that type of defenseman where he's kind of like like
- 19:57Speaker 1: good at everything, but not great any one type of
- 20:02Speaker 1: thing for an NHL defenceman, and and I think that's
- 20:05Speaker 1: it was an interesting way that he put it, Because
- 20:08Speaker 1: if you're just good at everything, I would hope and
- 20:11Speaker 1: I would hope that something within the toolbox is going
- 20:16Speaker 1: to outshine something else at some point as you continue
- 20:19Speaker 1: to develop. And that's why I think bank look, like
- 20:22Speaker 1: I said earlier, he took some big steps last season
- 20:25Speaker 1: in his development, and I think that if he's able
- 20:29Speaker 1: to take that I'm good at everything, but not great
- 20:33Speaker 1: at any one thing, that something is going to be
- 20:36Speaker 1: able to shine within that toolbox. If that makes sense.
- 20:39Speaker 2: Now, I mean it would be great, It would be
- 20:41Speaker 2: great he you know, ends up out playing what the
- 20:45Speaker 2: you know what the people that look at prospects, you know,
- 20:48Speaker 2: prognosticated him to be. I mean that sign me up
- 20:51Speaker 2: for that. You can do that. But I still think
- 20:54Speaker 2: when you when you look at this list of guys
- 20:56Speaker 2: that you have here, including McDonald and Andre who I
- 20:59Speaker 2: think you know, especially Andre, I mean he's a guy
- 21:01Speaker 2: that if he's one of your third pairing defensemen, I
- 21:05Speaker 2: think you're probably in a pretty decent place. Yeah. But
- 21:08Speaker 2: when I look at this group that you've got listed here,
- 21:10Speaker 2: to me, I think Drysdale's just from a strict talent standpoint,
- 21:15Speaker 2: I think he's your clear cut number one guy.
- 21:17Speaker 1: Yep. All right, well, good discussions here about the Eagles
- 21:21Speaker 1: and about the Philadelphia Flyers their off season and what
- 21:24Speaker 1: could happen with this team from a defenseman situation. If
- 21:28Speaker 1: you're enjoying what you're hearing, we'd love if you'd subscribe
- 21:31Speaker 1: to the PST podcast show here on whatever podcast platform
- 21:35Speaker 1: you are on. You can also head on over to
- 21:36Speaker 1: our website Philadelphia Sportstable dot com to check out all
- 21:39Speaker 1: of our shows over there. Shoot us off an email.
- 21:41Speaker 1: We'd love to hear from you. Let us know what
- 21:43Speaker 1: you want to talk about here on the show Philadelphia
- 21:46Speaker 1: Sports Table at gmail dot com, and make sure you
- 21:48Speaker 1: follow Len on the Twitter slash x at Len Hunsick
- 21:51Speaker 1: or you can follow me at Jeffrey Underscore Warren and
- 21:54Speaker 1: the show at Philadelphia PST. We are also over on threads.
- 21:58Speaker 1: Philadelphia Sports Table is where you can find the podcast,
- 22:02Speaker 1: and you can find me at Jeffrey or I'm sorry
- 22:04Speaker 1: at mister jeff Warren. We are going to take a
- 22:07Speaker 1: quick break to pay some bills. We'll be back in
- 22:09Speaker 1: just a bit. All right, we are back. Thanks folks
- 22:13Speaker 1: for listening to the ads. It helps us here it
- 22:15Speaker 1: helps us we want to now get into the Philadelphia
- 22:20Speaker 1: Union Len. It has been a remarkably and generally terrible
- 22:25Speaker 1: season for this Union team. They're now six nine and ten.
- 22:30Speaker 1: They're tenth in the Eastern Conference, but they have been
- 22:33Speaker 1: digging their way out of the basement of the Eastern Conference,
- 22:36Speaker 1: and it seems like from all indications, this team is
- 22:41Speaker 1: somewhat having fun again playing soccer. A couple weeks ago,
- 22:46Speaker 1: they won their first home game since March. So we've
- 22:50Speaker 1: also seen what we've also seen a hat trick, right,
- 22:54Speaker 1: I believe Daniel Gazdag had a hat trick. He's now
- 22:58Speaker 1: tied for third in the league with fourteen goals on
- 23:01Speaker 1: the year. There's been some really good things that have
- 23:04Speaker 1: been happening with this Union team, and I guess the
- 23:07Speaker 1: real question is, I mean, they're sniffing a wild card
- 23:10Speaker 1: spot at this particular moment, can they actually do it
- 23:14Speaker 1: and can they keep this momentum up? They gotta stay healthy.
- 23:16Speaker 1: I mean it's like this in all sports, of course,
- 23:19Speaker 1: but the Union need to stay healthy if they're going
- 23:22Speaker 1: to even sniff the wild card at this particular point
- 23:25Speaker 1: in time. So I don't know, what have your thoughts
- 23:27Speaker 1: been with them at this point.
- 23:29Speaker 2: I mean, listen, it's better. It's been better.
- 23:32Speaker 1: The defense has been better too, by the way.
- 23:34Speaker 2: Yeah, oh oh, defense has been better. I mean, I
- 23:37Speaker 2: think since they've gotten their guys back from those tournaments,
- 23:40Speaker 2: you know, the international tournaments. Yeah, I think it's been
- 23:43Speaker 2: a lot better. But you know, yeah, I mean I
- 23:47Speaker 2: think I feel like the last time we talked about them,
- 23:51Speaker 2: they were like dead last, they were last East. Yeah,
- 23:54Speaker 2: so now they've they've they're ahead of like five five
- 23:57Speaker 2: teams in the East, which is nice. They rebounded a
- 24:00Speaker 2: little bit, but they're gonna have to go on a
- 24:02Speaker 2: bit of a heater here because so seven teams from
- 24:06Speaker 2: each conference make the playoffs, and so they're currently sitting
- 24:09Speaker 2: tenth and there's seven points out of the playoff spot.
- 24:12Speaker 2: Orlando City would be the seventh. Right now, They've got
- 24:16Speaker 2: thirty four points, Union have twenty seven. So they need
- 24:20Speaker 2: to go on a heater at this point in time.
- 24:23Speaker 2: So that's just the frank truth of what's going to
- 24:26Speaker 2: need to happen if this team wants to sneak into
- 24:29Speaker 2: the playoffs, and it's you know, they got to make
- 24:32Speaker 2: a move soon because they you know, I don't think
- 24:36Speaker 2: there's there's that much more here in terms of opportunity
- 24:39Speaker 2: for them to go here with their schedule in order
- 24:42Speaker 2: to kind of get where they need to get to.
- 24:44Speaker 2: So will they do it? I'm not optimistic, but it's
- 24:50Speaker 2: nice to see them playing better. I mean, even in
- 24:53Speaker 2: their League's Cup game against cruz Azul the other night. Yeah,
- 24:57Speaker 2: they lost five to three on penalty kicks, but it
- 24:59Speaker 2: was nice see them come back. You know, down one nothing,
- 25:03Speaker 2: you get a late goal from from Gosdag and then
- 25:06Speaker 2: you know, you take it into penalties and you know,
- 25:09Speaker 2: they lost on penalties, but you know, no big deal.
- 25:11Speaker 2: They still won their group for the League's Cup and
- 25:14Speaker 2: they move on to I believe it's Friday night they
- 25:17Speaker 2: played Montreal, which is an entirely winnable game for them,
- 25:21Speaker 2: and then that point you move into the round of sixteen,
- 25:23Speaker 2: and you know, chances are they're going to go up
- 25:26Speaker 2: against Cincinnati at that point, who's I believe, second in
- 25:28Speaker 2: the East, and that's a that's a tall order, but
- 25:31Speaker 2: you know, yeah, I mean anything can happen. So I
- 25:35Speaker 2: mean I feel like they may have dug themselves a
- 25:38Speaker 2: little bit of a hole here in terms of you know,
- 25:41Speaker 2: remaining regular season and you know, getting to where they
- 25:45Speaker 2: need to get to in order to get a playoff spot.
- 25:47Speaker 2: They're gonna they're gonna have to go on a real
- 25:49Speaker 2: hardcore run here. But you know, it's been nice seeing
- 25:52Speaker 2: them kind of get off the mat a little bit.
- 25:54Speaker 2: But I I think there's still gotta be a lot
- 25:58Speaker 2: of changes in the season done. It starts with ownership,
- 26:04Speaker 2: and that's something that you know, I have a feeling,
- 26:07Speaker 2: you know, until that changes, we're always going to be
- 26:10Speaker 2: talking about that with this team.
- 26:11Speaker 1: Absolutely. I think, you know, I'm gonna old positive. Jeff
- 26:15Speaker 1: is going to be coming out here because like the
- 26:17Speaker 1: last two performances I think have given this team some momentum.
- 26:21Speaker 1: Even Jim Curtin said at you know, one of the
- 26:24Speaker 1: pressers after the win two weeks ago that he said, quote,
- 26:28Speaker 1: no group has gone through a tough season like this
- 26:31Speaker 1: more than our group. And when your best players are
- 26:33Speaker 1: on the field together, we're still a really a good team.
- 26:37Speaker 1: And then he find finished by saying, these two wins
- 26:39Speaker 1: are going to go a long way into the break
- 26:41Speaker 1: to build some confidence, and I think that's what this
- 26:44Speaker 1: team needs. I think that's what this team has been
- 26:46Speaker 1: able to get. I think this momentum is going to
- 26:48Speaker 1: serve them well, I really do. They were downtrodden. I mean,
- 26:52Speaker 1: they were at the bottom of the basement, like you said,
- 26:54Speaker 1: in the Eastern Conference. Now having this momentum, I think
- 26:58Speaker 1: we'll be able to give this team some confidence that
- 27:00Speaker 1: that curtain's talking about. And again, it may just be
- 27:03Speaker 1: wishful thinking, but we see this in sports all the time.
- 27:06Speaker 1: A couple wins here can really do something for you.
- 27:10Speaker 1: I mean, we're I mean, I've got the Phillies game
- 27:11Speaker 1: on right now, and uh, you know, we're we're hoping
- 27:15Speaker 1: for just like two wins. You know, Eric and I
- 27:16Speaker 1: last week, Lenn making fun of the fact that I said,
- 27:19Speaker 1: you know what, if the Phillies could just get two
- 27:20Speaker 1: wins in a row, it could give them some momentum.
- 27:23Speaker 1: And Eric's like, boy, you're really you're really uh, you know,
- 27:26Speaker 1: you got the bare minimum there with that.
- 27:28Speaker 2: That particularly crazy to say, and we'll get into them,
- 27:31Speaker 2: but we're crazy that about a team that's had a
- 27:33Speaker 2: first half like the Phillies. Yeah. But getting back to
- 27:37Speaker 2: the Union here, I mean, you look at their schedule,
- 27:39Speaker 2: it's upcoming independent of the league's Cup, stuff. Just talking
- 27:42Speaker 2: strictly MLS. You know, you've got Columbus who's ahead of them,
- 27:46Speaker 2: who's currently a playoff squad. Then in like the on
- 27:50Speaker 2: the twenty fourth, then on the thirty first, you've got
- 27:52Speaker 2: New York Red Bulls, also a playoff squad. You've got
- 27:55Speaker 2: since in September, you're looking at enter Miami leading the East.
- 27:59Speaker 2: Then you got NYCFC, also a playoff team. DC United
- 28:04Speaker 2: should hopefully be a gimme. It's at home, and they're
- 28:06Speaker 2: they're not a great team this year. Atlanta is one
- 28:09Speaker 2: of those teams that they need to leap frog to
- 28:11Speaker 2: get in that seventh position. Then you've got Orlando, who's
- 28:14Speaker 2: seventh right now. And then you've got Columbus again, who's
- 28:17Speaker 2: i think third in the East, and then Cincinnati who's second,
- 28:20Speaker 2: so they have a tough road ahead of I mean,
- 28:25Speaker 2: all of the teams, with the exception of that DC
- 28:27Speaker 2: United game, all those teams are either in the playoffs
- 28:31Speaker 2: or they're jostling for position with with Philadelphia for that
- 28:35Speaker 2: last playoff spot. So that is there's there's not really
- 28:40Speaker 2: any cupcakes on that schedule, with the exception of maybe
- 28:44Speaker 2: that DC United game, and even that you know who
- 28:46Speaker 2: knows they haven't been great at home this year, so yeah,
- 28:50Speaker 2: well we'll have to see how that all goes.
- 28:52Speaker 1: Yep, it's going to be interesting to watch for sure.
- 28:54Speaker 1: And what's also going to be interesting to watch is
- 28:57Speaker 1: we're moving along here with the conversation and discussion is
- 29:01Speaker 1: how the Phillies are gonna get out of the hole
- 29:03Speaker 1: that they have dug and it's not even and look again, Len,
- 29:07Speaker 1: we're gonna talk to you know, Tim Kelly in a
- 29:09Speaker 1: little bit here from Phillies Nation dot com about you know,
- 29:12Speaker 1: where this team is heading and they're leading. The division
- 29:16Speaker 1: has dwindled a little bit. But interestingly enough, when the
- 29:19Speaker 1: Phillies are are are winning, you've got the Braves that
- 29:23Speaker 1: are losing. And even though there haven't been that many
- 29:25Speaker 1: wins since the All Star break, the Braves thankfully are
- 29:29Speaker 1: losing games when the Phillies are winning. So things are
- 29:32Speaker 1: kind of evening out and lucking and they're lucking out
- 29:34Speaker 1: in terms of that. But man, the bleeding needs to stop.
- 29:38Speaker 1: We may be coming out of it with you know,
- 29:40Speaker 1: Bryce Harper having a good couple nights, and I gotta
- 29:45Speaker 1: say that first game against the Dodgers, there was some
- 29:48Speaker 1: small ball being played, and there's something to be said
- 29:50Speaker 1: for small ball every now and again, especially when you're
- 29:53Speaker 1: down in the dumps, you're at the bottom of the barrel.
- 29:55Speaker 1: You need to get some sort of confidence, you need
- 29:57Speaker 1: to get some sort of momentum. Plays all ball. Baseball
- 30:01Speaker 1: is not a bad thing. I've said it on this
- 30:02Speaker 1: podcast a number of times, and we saw that to
- 30:06Speaker 1: an extent in that first game against the Dodgers, which
- 30:10Speaker 1: which the Phillies won, and I think they need to
- 30:14Speaker 1: continue to do that. Just make contact with the ball.
- 30:18Speaker 1: I know it's a power hitting type of thing where
- 30:20Speaker 1: we want home runs constantly, we all do, but man,
- 30:24Speaker 1: just play some small ball every now and then, to
- 30:26Speaker 1: get a little bit of momentum, that's what I'm saying.
- 30:28Speaker 2: Then, well, and that's the thing the good teams can
- 30:32Speaker 2: do that. The good teams can manufacture runs by a
- 30:35Speaker 2: small ball when it's not working. And when it is, yeah,
- 30:38Speaker 2: you can come up there and be like a you know,
- 30:40Speaker 2: a slow pitch softball team where everybody's just slugging the
- 30:43Speaker 2: ball over the fence. And that's great. That's fun as
- 30:46Speaker 2: hell when you're riding high like that. But when you're not,
- 30:48Speaker 2: you've got to be able to move runners over, You've
- 30:50Speaker 2: got to be able to take the extra base and
- 30:52Speaker 2: stuff like that. And it's just it's just something where
- 30:56Speaker 2: this lineup has gotten, you know, just really cold. I mean,
- 31:00Speaker 2: Harper has not been Harper. I mean, like you said,
- 31:03Speaker 2: he's starting to come out of it. But you know,
- 31:05Speaker 2: there's there's reason for concern there. I mean the pitching,
- 31:08Speaker 2: the pitching starting pitching the first half of the year
- 31:11Speaker 2: was great, but they could be frank put on a
- 31:15Speaker 2: lot of innings on their arms and it's great. You know, Look,
- 31:19Speaker 2: the the purest baseball fan in me loves to see
- 31:24Speaker 2: starters going deep in games and stuff like that and
- 31:26Speaker 2: being that horse that I grew up watching, you know,
- 31:29Speaker 2: in the eighties and even early nineties and stuff like that.
- 31:32Speaker 2: But the concern with that is with the way pitchers
- 31:36Speaker 2: are handled today. When it comes to September, do these
- 31:41Speaker 2: guys start to wear down a little bit. So the
- 31:43Speaker 2: offense needs to be able to produce in order to
- 31:46Speaker 2: counteract something like that happening.
- 31:48Speaker 1: And this is an offense that's designed to do just that.
- 31:51Speaker 1: But everybody's cold at the same time.
- 31:54Speaker 2: And that's the thing you hope that you know, Okay,
- 31:56Speaker 2: if everybody's cold, now, everybody's going to start to heat up.
- 31:59Speaker 2: I mean, it's funny, I was, I was saying because
- 32:03Speaker 2: at one point, when I was on vacation, my father
- 32:05Speaker 2: in law texted me a picture of Bryce Harper on
- 32:09Speaker 2: the back of a milk carton, like have you seen me?
- 32:12Speaker 2: I texted them back. I was like, I'm so because
- 32:15Speaker 2: I I was. I still get the updates on my
- 32:17Speaker 2: phone in terms of, like, you know what's going on,
- 32:19Speaker 2: so I knew they were losing. I texted back and
- 32:20Speaker 2: I was like, I'm so happy that I'm in New
- 32:23Speaker 2: England and like I don't have access to watch this
- 32:26Speaker 2: team right now. I'm just happy I'm not even able
- 32:30Speaker 2: to see these games right now because it's just infuriating
- 32:32Speaker 2: because I was getting those updates for like the Yankee series,
- 32:35Speaker 2: like the first game they lost fourteen to four, and
- 32:37Speaker 2: you're just like Jesus christ Man, like, what are these
- 32:39Speaker 2: guys doing?
- 32:40Speaker 1: Yeah?
- 32:41Speaker 2: So yeah, I mean you want to see them come
- 32:44Speaker 2: out of because I mean since the All Star break,
- 32:47Speaker 2: you know, last night's game included, you know, not counting
- 32:51Speaker 2: what happens tonight here, they're currently down four to one.
- 32:54Speaker 2: This team is five and twelve since the All Star break.
- 32:56Speaker 1: It's incredible.
- 32:58Speaker 2: So that is I'm I mean, I'm so glad that
- 33:03Speaker 2: they were able to build up that cushion in the
- 33:05Speaker 2: first half of the year. You just hope that they're
- 33:08Speaker 2: not going to need every single one of every single
- 33:10Speaker 2: bit of that cushion going forward here. I mean, fortunately,
- 33:13Speaker 2: the Braves are just so banged up, so I mean,
- 33:17Speaker 2: that's that's one thing. I mean, I don't know if
- 33:19Speaker 2: the Mets are going to have enough to stage a
- 33:22Speaker 2: you know, a hardcore run here. So hopefully the Phillies
- 33:25Speaker 2: just you know, can even out and just you know,
- 33:29Speaker 2: be who they are and just win the you know,
- 33:31Speaker 2: cruise to the to the playoffs, win the division. I
- 33:33Speaker 2: don't need them to be, you know, have the best
- 33:36Speaker 2: winning percentage in baseball going into the playoffs, right, it
- 33:39Speaker 2: would be great. I don't necessarily need it, but just
- 33:43Speaker 2: don't be this yeah exactly that we're watching right now.
- 33:47Speaker 1: I'm not in panic mode yet. I mean, it's getting
- 33:50Speaker 1: it was getting. It was getting a little close last week.
- 33:53Speaker 1: But I'm like I'm in that scared kind of mode
- 33:55Speaker 1: of oh my gosh, like.
- 33:57Speaker 2: Well, and it's one of those things where you just
- 34:01Speaker 2: tell yourself, like this happens. This stretch happens to pretty
- 34:05Speaker 2: much every every team, it does every year. Everybody goes
- 34:09Speaker 2: through something like this, and hopefully this is just the
- 34:12Speaker 2: Phillies time and it's just a bad couple of weeks
- 34:15Speaker 2: and then you know, things you know eventually turn. But
- 34:19Speaker 2: you know that, like like I said, with the with
- 34:21Speaker 2: the the attacks on the starting pitcher's arms, you know
- 34:26Speaker 2: that is there there. You know there are things you
- 34:28Speaker 2: can look at and maybe worry a little bit if
- 34:31Speaker 2: you look hard enough, and that's one of them. So
- 34:33Speaker 2: you know, you just you hope that the offense can
- 34:35Speaker 2: come back and counteract that.
- 34:38Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think it's gonna happen. I mean slumps,
- 34:41Speaker 1: like you said, we see it all the time, year
- 34:43Speaker 1: after year with good teams too. You see it year
- 34:46Speaker 1: after year. I mean, I man, I remember, I remember
- 34:50Speaker 1: following storylines, you know, when when the Astros ended up
- 34:53Speaker 1: winning their last their last World Series that you know
- 34:58Speaker 1: they they even went through some slow during that year
- 35:01Speaker 1: as well. Every team does it, and I think we
- 35:04Speaker 1: just got to remember that this is baseball. This happens.
- 35:07Speaker 1: And because Bryce Harper isn't performing the way that we
- 35:10Speaker 1: want to the way that he can doesn't mean he's
- 35:14Speaker 1: a bomb lehen, because I cannot tell you how many
- 35:17Speaker 1: times I've seen that on stupid Twitter. I cannot tell
- 35:20Speaker 1: you how many times I've seen Bryce Harper is a bomb.
- 35:23Speaker 1: It's like, okay, folks, all right.
- 35:26Speaker 2: I bet you go be a White Sox fan a
- 35:29Speaker 2: team that literally last night just broke a twenty one
- 35:33Speaker 2: game losing streak. Yes, go be a fan of them,
- 35:36Speaker 2: and then come back to me and tell me how
- 35:38Speaker 2: it is right exactly.
- 35:40Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, it's just it is f It is
- 35:42Speaker 1: frustrating to see, and it's amazing how it happened too.
- 35:45Speaker 2: Man.
- 35:46Speaker 1: The All Star Break literally cooled these guys off. They
- 35:51Speaker 1: just cooled them off. I mean, the momentum just it
- 35:54Speaker 1: was like they hit a brick wall. That was the
- 35:57Speaker 1: All Star Break.
- 35:58Speaker 2: And that's you know, I mean, And that's the thing
- 36:02Speaker 2: you if you listen to any baseball player talk ever, ever, ever, ever, ever,
- 36:07Speaker 2: they talk about how much of creatures of habit they are, yeah,
- 36:11Speaker 2: and creatures of rhythm. And then all of a sudden,
- 36:13Speaker 2: you got this three or four day break right in
- 36:16Speaker 2: the middle of everything. And for guys, a team full
- 36:19Speaker 2: of guys. And it's not just the Phillies. I mean,
- 36:22Speaker 2: I think every team is full of guys like this,
- 36:24Speaker 2: guys that you know, are used to a routine. And
- 36:27Speaker 2: then that I mean listen teams that respond to it
- 36:30Speaker 2: in different ways. Who knows, maybe next year the Phillies
- 36:33Speaker 2: will come out of the All Star break and will
- 36:35Speaker 2: be hot for whatever reason. Yeah, it changes from year
- 36:38Speaker 2: to year, but you know, for for a team of guys,
- 36:43Speaker 2: and like I said, this is every team in baseball,
- 36:45Speaker 2: for a team of people that are so used to
- 36:47Speaker 2: a routine. Getting out of that for three or four days,
- 36:50Speaker 2: it can it can do something.
- 36:51Speaker 1: You can do something here. Yeah, absolutely, all right, Well
- 36:56Speaker 1: we got some more Phillies talk for you, folks. Longtime
- 36:59Speaker 1: listeners of the show very much appreciate you. If you
- 37:01Speaker 1: are new to the show, feel free to subscribe. We'd appreciate,
- 37:05Speaker 1: rate and review on Apple podcast lend. Buddy, I'm gonna
- 37:08Speaker 1: let you go before we get to the interview here.
- 37:11Speaker 1: You got anything else, Buddy, I.
- 37:13Speaker 2: Don't just uh, I don't know. We'll kind of see
- 37:17Speaker 2: what happens here. I'm kind of a it's funny. I'm
- 37:21Speaker 2: at that that point where like it's August now, and
- 37:23Speaker 2: I'm starting it'll be like, Okay, let me go on
- 37:25Speaker 2: ESPN and see when the first like weekend of college
- 37:28Speaker 2: football is. Yeah, just when that starts up, because I
- 37:32Speaker 2: know it's probably by the end of the month it's
- 37:34Speaker 2: going to start up. So yeah, it's just it'll be
- 37:37Speaker 2: interesting to see. You know what the Phillies do. You
- 37:39Speaker 2: know we we do for for all the you know,
- 37:42Speaker 2: griping that we've been doing over the past couple weeks
- 37:44Speaker 2: about this team, we do have a team that's that's
- 37:47Speaker 2: probably a top five contender in their sport to be
- 37:51Speaker 2: in the championship, so we we should enjoy that on
- 37:54Speaker 2: some level.
- 37:54Speaker 1: That's great way, great way to end this segment here, buddy.
- 37:58Speaker 1: I'll let you go, folks. We are going to take
- 38:00Speaker 1: a break, and when we get back, we got more
- 38:02Speaker 1: Phillies talk for you with Tim Kelly from Phillies Nation
- 38:05Speaker 1: dot Com. We're gonna take that break now, we'll be
- 38:07Speaker 1: right back. All right, we are back. Let's get into
- 38:12Speaker 1: some more Phillies talk here. Gonna dive into the weeds
- 38:15Speaker 1: a little bit more with our guest. It's what we're
- 38:17Speaker 1: throwing down on the table and now on the table
- 38:23Speaker 1: joining us from Phillies Nation dot com. He is a
- 38:26Speaker 1: writer over there and the editorial director. You can find
- 38:29Speaker 1: him on the Twitter slash x at Tim Kelly Sports.
- 38:33Speaker 1: He is a great, great guest. We love having him
- 38:35Speaker 1: on to talk about this Phillies team every now and again.
- 38:38Speaker 1: The one and only Tim Kelly. Hey doing, Buddy, I'm good.
- 38:41Speaker 3: Thanks for having me dot on, Josh.
- 38:42Speaker 1: It's great to have you on, my friend, because this
- 38:44Speaker 1: Phillies team, you know.
- 38:45Speaker 3: Bye.
- 38:45Speaker 1: My co host Lennon and I were just talking about
- 38:47Speaker 1: how terrible things are right now, just hoping that this
- 38:51Speaker 1: team gets back into some sort of form here. And
- 38:55Speaker 1: as we are looking at what this team has done,
- 38:58Speaker 1: or I should say not done, since it's the All
- 39:00Speaker 1: Star break, this Philly's Division lead is absolutely crumbling before
- 39:04Speaker 1: our very eyes. And this West Coast road trip, it
- 39:08Speaker 1: was such an important one. It's one that we were
- 39:10Speaker 1: talking about on this podcast platform. Of course a lot
- 39:12Speaker 1: of others were talking about it as well before it happened.
- 39:14Speaker 1: They needed to help write the ship in some way,
- 39:16Speaker 1: shape or form, and they have just I mean, yes,
- 39:18Speaker 1: they had a nice win against the Mariners, but they
- 39:22Speaker 1: faltered at almost every step of the way here and
- 39:25Speaker 1: last week Tim, I was scared about where this team
- 39:28Speaker 1: was headed. I said it on the show. I'm scared
- 39:30Speaker 1: about where they're heading. I wasn't incomplete panic mode, but man,
- 39:33Speaker 1: I am slowly creeping up to panic mode here at
- 39:36Speaker 1: this point. So where should Phillies Nations heads be at
- 39:40Speaker 1: this point? Should we be scared panic mode? What are
- 39:42Speaker 1: your thoughts?
- 39:43Speaker 4: I think concerned. I definitely wouldn't be in panic mode
- 39:46Speaker 4: because even in the worst case scenario, I still think
- 39:48Speaker 4: they'll end up with.
- 39:49Speaker 3: A wild card spot.
- 39:50Speaker 4: Yeah, but it is crazy to talk about that. Of
- 39:53Speaker 4: six weeks ago, I think it felt like a pretty
- 39:56Speaker 4: comfortable lead. I will say the Braves know how to
- 39:58Speaker 4: win this time of the year, so surprised me to
- 40:00Speaker 4: see them getting closer. But obviously the Phillies have helped
- 40:04Speaker 4: them get closer by how they've played. This is a
- 40:07Speaker 4: concerning stretch. I do believe that you go through stretches
- 40:12Speaker 4: like this during one hundred and sixty two game season.
- 40:14Speaker 3: I know people don't want to hear that, and.
- 40:16Speaker 4: You have to stay poised during that time, but you
- 40:19Speaker 4: also have to find the balance between doing that and
- 40:22Speaker 4: having a sense of urgency not letting this snowball much
- 40:25Speaker 4: longer than has So if the Phillies are still playing
- 40:27Speaker 4: like this in a week or ten days, it's panic
- 40:30Speaker 4: time potentially. I don't think right this moment it is.
- 40:34Speaker 4: They're still in control of the division. They're still right
- 40:36Speaker 4: above the teams that have the most wins in baseball,
- 40:39Speaker 4: and that's why running up the margins early in the
- 40:41Speaker 4: season was so important. But now it is time to
- 40:44Speaker 4: kind of get your second win to the season and
- 40:46Speaker 4: get going again.
- 40:47Speaker 1: Absolutely, and there's so much chatter also tim about you know,
- 40:53Speaker 1: amongst the fan base, about Rob Thompson and he should
- 40:56Speaker 1: be held more accountable for what has happened with this
- 40:59Speaker 1: Phillies team since coming out of the All Star break
- 41:01Speaker 1: and even before the break. You know that that series
- 41:04Speaker 1: with the Dodgers they had before the break, in the
- 41:06Speaker 1: series with the A's as well. I'm not one hundred
- 41:09Speaker 1: percent sure what that accountability would look like. And again,
- 41:13Speaker 1: these are folks that are shooting off posts and tweets
- 41:16Speaker 1: on social media and things like that. I don't know
- 41:18Speaker 1: what accountability looks like at this point for Rob Thompson.
- 41:22Speaker 1: But this is a guy who's been pretty successful manager
- 41:24Speaker 1: for this team since taking the reins, and I don't
- 41:28Speaker 1: know if so much should be put on his shoulders
- 41:30Speaker 1: in terms of what has happened since the All Star break.
- 41:33Speaker 1: Perhaps how much fuls should we be placing on Rob
- 41:36Speaker 1: Thompson at the moment for this slide here? And does
- 41:39Speaker 1: he need to be held accountable that What would that
- 41:41Speaker 1: look like?
- 41:42Speaker 4: Well, that's a good question what it would look like.
- 41:44Speaker 4: I don't know what it would look like exactly.
- 41:47Speaker 3: I think we.
- 41:47Speaker 4: Overestimate the role that a manager has in game. I
- 41:52Speaker 4: think the most valuable presence, or the most valuable thing
- 41:55Speaker 4: a manager can do, is be a positive presence, specifically
- 41:59Speaker 4: on a team like this that has veteran players that
- 42:02Speaker 4: they're set in their ways, they know what they need
- 42:03Speaker 4: to do and comes down to executing, and their biggest
- 42:06Speaker 4: problem recently has been they haven't done that. I see
- 42:11Speaker 4: the people that complain about Kyle Schwarber leading off have
- 42:14Speaker 4: come back out of the woodwork.
- 42:15Speaker 3: They were nowhere to be found for a couple of.
- 42:18Speaker 4: Months prior to that. They don't have a real solution
- 42:21Speaker 4: of who should lead off. They don't even have a
- 42:22Speaker 4: reason of why Kyle. Why is this the time to
- 42:25Speaker 4: move Kyle Schwarber out of the leadoff spot. The last
- 42:27Speaker 4: he was hitting home runs, he was walking like the
- 42:30Speaker 4: alternative would be Trey Turner or Bryson Stott. Does anyone
- 42:33Speaker 4: think right now that either one of them would be
- 42:35Speaker 4: doing a better job leading off? So I understand, and
- 42:40Speaker 4: it's fair to point out at certain points of the
- 42:44Speaker 4: season decisions that he's made that have maybe not worked,
- 42:48Speaker 4: or maybe you want him to be a little more
- 42:50Speaker 4: aggressive with the bullpen on certain days, whatever the case
- 42:52Speaker 4: may be.
- 42:53Speaker 3: I get that.
- 42:53Speaker 4: He's not above criticism as far as going in and
- 42:58Speaker 4: flipping over this whatever thing people think happens based off
- 43:05Speaker 4: of a movie they watched in the nineteen nineties, It's
- 43:08Speaker 4: just not really.
- 43:08Speaker 3: How it works.
- 43:09Speaker 4: So I think Rob has largely done an excellent job
- 43:14Speaker 4: since he's taken over as Philly's manager. There are times
- 43:17Speaker 4: where there's decisions he's made that I would do differently,
- 43:20Speaker 4: but ultimately this team is going to sink or swim
- 43:23Speaker 4: based off of the whether the players do it or
- 43:25Speaker 4: they don't.
- 43:26Speaker 1: It's an interesting thing you say that too, because I
- 43:28Speaker 1: remember a couple months ago I was praising Rob Thompson
- 43:31Speaker 1: on Twitter and somebody came back at me and were like,
- 43:34Speaker 1: the guy actually stinks. If he didn't have these stars,
- 43:37Speaker 1: he'd be nowhere. And it's like, well, what I mean
- 43:40Speaker 1: to an extent, Yeah, these players who are amazing, like
- 43:43Speaker 1: Bryce Harper, Trey Turner, Kyle Schwarber doing the type of
- 43:46Speaker 1: work that they were doing at the plate prior to
- 43:49Speaker 1: the All Star break. But I think I think people
- 43:52Speaker 1: are so black and white with their thinking sometimes that
- 43:55Speaker 1: there needs to be a balance with this stuff. It's
- 43:57Speaker 1: not just either or.
- 43:58Speaker 4: At this point, we already had a lot of those
- 44:01Speaker 4: same stars in twenty two. We didn't have Trey Turner.
- 44:03Speaker 4: He had a lot of them in twenty twenty one.
- 44:05Speaker 4: Gabe Kapler even had some of them at the end
- 44:07Speaker 4: of his managerial tenure. The differences in winning percentage between
- 44:11Speaker 4: those groups is staggering. Yeah, to be honest with you,
- 44:15Speaker 4: I think the difference I just I think if you
- 44:20Speaker 4: pulled the clubhouse on which of the three managers they
- 44:23Speaker 4: liked the best, I think it would be ninety plus
- 44:27Speaker 4: percent for Bob Thompson if I had to guess. So yeah,
- 44:31Speaker 4: I mean, I think he is the manager for the
- 44:33Speaker 4: time being, will probably continue to be for the future
- 44:36Speaker 4: because he's done a very good job and Ultimately, this
- 44:39Speaker 4: is going to be a team that sinks or swim
- 44:41Speaker 4: based on how the Stars performed.
- 44:43Speaker 1: Absolutely well. Moving along here, you know, you have the
- 44:46Speaker 1: opportunity to get into the clubhouse, You have the opportunity
- 44:48Speaker 1: to speak with players, You have the opportunity to really
- 44:51Speaker 1: dissect what they're doing out on the field. Bryce Harper
- 44:54Speaker 1: and Trey Turner have been absolutely dismal since the All
- 44:57Speaker 1: Star break, as we all know. I mean just a
- 44:59Speaker 1: few days ago before recording this here, they were collectively
- 45:04Speaker 1: batting since the All Star Break was like one thirty,
- 45:07Speaker 1: which is absolutely horrendous for both of these guys. So
- 45:10Speaker 1: let's start with Bryce Harper here because I want to
- 45:12Speaker 1: dive into both of these guys with you, Tim. Starting
- 45:15Speaker 1: with Bryce Harper, what are you noticing with Harper when
- 45:18Speaker 1: he's at the plate? Has he been talking about anything
- 45:20Speaker 1: back in the clubhouse when when you are are are
- 45:23Speaker 1: there with him after games, what are you noticing and
- 45:26Speaker 1: what is he saying?
- 45:28Speaker 4: I definitely think he holds himself to an extremely high standard,
- 45:31Speaker 4: so he gets frustrated relatively easily, I guess when he
- 45:36Speaker 4: doesn't perform the way he believes he should perform. Yeah,
- 45:39Speaker 4: and sometimes that can spiral, but sometimes you just get
- 45:42Speaker 4: in a funk. I mean, he won Player of the
- 45:44Speaker 4: Month in the NL in May and June, right, he
- 45:47Speaker 4: come back this month and really struggled, but he's shown
- 45:50Speaker 4: some signs dating back to that Sunday game in Seattle
- 45:54Speaker 4: of potentially coming out of it. And he is someone
- 45:57Speaker 4: to me, I just I think it's extremely short sighted
- 46:01Speaker 4: people that want to jump all over Bryce Harper and
- 46:04Speaker 4: weeks like this, because like, do you not think in
- 46:07Speaker 4: two weeks he's going to be going again?
- 46:09Speaker 1: Exactly?
- 46:10Speaker 3: It's it's is baseball to me.
- 46:12Speaker 4: That doesn't mean you can't say he's playing poorly. He's
- 46:15Speaker 4: playing poorly right now. There have been games where he's
- 46:18Speaker 4: really struggled, swinging it pitches outside the zone that he
- 46:21Speaker 4: doesn't normally chase. That's all fine, but you got to
- 46:23Speaker 4: see the bigger picture here, specifically when you're talking about
- 46:26Speaker 4: a player like this that has such an extended track record.
- 46:30Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, Well let's get into Trey Turner too, wondering
- 46:33Speaker 1: what your thoughts are with him when you're in the
- 46:35Speaker 1: clubhouse with him, you're interviewing him, asking him a question,
- 46:39Speaker 1: and as what you are seeing from him at Citizens
- 46:42Speaker 1: Bank Park as well. Have you seen anything with his
- 46:45Speaker 1: swing that's been detrimental? What's been happening with Trey.
- 46:48Speaker 4: Well, when he's not going right, he chases pitches, specifically
- 46:52Speaker 4: the low and outside pitches. We always talk about Nick
- 46:54Speaker 4: Castiano's chasing those turner Maybe he isn't quite to that extent,
- 46:59Speaker 4: but he is someone that will chase out of his
- 47:01Speaker 4: own when he's locked in. He's like as locked in
- 47:04Speaker 4: as you can get as a hitter. But right now,
- 47:07Speaker 4: since maybe like the Minnesota series, i'd say is where
- 47:11Speaker 4: he kind of got off kilter, he needs to get
- 47:14Speaker 4: back on offensively. I don't have any doubt that he'll
- 47:17Speaker 4: do that. I do think his defense continues to be
- 47:19Speaker 4: a real question, and you worry about that potentially making
- 47:24Speaker 4: or potentially there being a major hera at some point
- 47:27Speaker 4: in the postseason. And I do wonder like he's worked
- 47:31Speaker 4: hard defensively. He acknowledged he was not good enough there
- 47:35Speaker 4: last year, and I thought early in the season he
- 47:38Speaker 4: seemed to be better. And it's not that they were
- 47:40Speaker 4: ever expecting him to be a Gold Glover, but most
- 47:43Speaker 4: metrics have him rated as one of the lowest heirs wise.
- 47:47Speaker 3: Since he's come to the Phillies.
- 47:48Speaker 4: He's been one of the worst defenders at shortstop and
- 47:52Speaker 4: really any position, So I wonder what the long term
- 47:55Speaker 4: future is there. But for the rest of this year,
- 47:57Speaker 4: at the very least, he's the shortstop, so they have
- 47:59Speaker 4: to make it work.
- 48:00Speaker 3: Yeah.
- 48:01Speaker 1: Well, as we're moving along here, there's so many players
- 48:03Speaker 1: on this team. I think we all know who need
- 48:06Speaker 1: to step up. You know, we just talked about Bryce Harper,
- 48:08Speaker 1: Trey Turner, and they certainly need to get back to form.
- 48:11Speaker 1: But I'm really looking at players like JT. Real Muto
- 48:14Speaker 1: as a guy who really needs to step up on
- 48:16Speaker 1: this team. As a leader on this team. He needs
- 48:19Speaker 1: to be that cog in the wheel of success if
- 48:21Speaker 1: this team is going to dig its way out of
- 48:24Speaker 1: this hole. He's just one guy that I'm thinking about here.
- 48:27Speaker 1: So from a batting perspective, tim outside of Turner, Harper,
- 48:31Speaker 1: maybe real Muto as well, who do you believe really
- 48:34Speaker 1: needs to take some big time strides over these next
- 48:37Speaker 1: couple series here to kind of help right this ship.
- 48:40Speaker 4: Yeah, certainly real Muto needs to get back on track,
- 48:43Speaker 4: I think the biggest and Bryson Stott as well does. Yeah,
- 48:47Speaker 4: it does as well too. But I think the biggest
- 48:48Speaker 4: comes back to Nick Castianos.
- 48:50Speaker 3: I understand he.
- 48:51Speaker 4: Had a really bad March slash April that sunk his
- 48:55Speaker 4: numbers to a degree, but the reality is it's August now,
- 48:59Speaker 4: in his ops is still below seven hundred. They just
- 49:03Speaker 4: they need better. I know he's been better since the
- 49:05Speaker 4: start of May. I know he works extremely hard, but
- 49:08Speaker 4: ultimately it's results based and for someone that is on
- 49:12Speaker 4: an one hundred million dollar contract, they need better production
- 49:15Speaker 4: from him or you know, who knows what happens in
- 49:19Speaker 4: the offseason. I think if things crash and burn this
- 49:23Speaker 4: year and whatever fashion, not a lot of like moving
- 49:27Speaker 4: parts on the team, But you have to question does
- 49:31Speaker 4: he fit moving forward If he struggled a lot his
- 49:35Speaker 4: first year, last year he had a much better season
- 49:37Speaker 4: but was still inconsistent, and this year it's been spotty.
- 49:41Speaker 3: So yeah, it comes down to results.
- 49:44Speaker 1: He's thirty two years old. I wonder if he is
- 49:46Speaker 1: starting to hit that proverbial baseball wall at this point.
- 49:50Speaker 1: Has there been any chatter about that, you know, behind
- 49:53Speaker 1: the scenes, perhaps people saying, you know what this could
- 49:56Speaker 1: be it, I mean, this could be the best that
- 49:58Speaker 1: we're going to get from Nick Castianos.
- 50:00Speaker 4: I don't think it's O, but he is a guy
- 50:03Speaker 4: that like everything has to be going right for at
- 50:06Speaker 4: the plate, and there have been some stretches since he's
- 50:09Speaker 4: been on the Phillies where everything has been going right,
- 50:11Speaker 4: there's been.
- 50:12Speaker 3: More where they haven't.
- 50:13Speaker 4: So uh, it's just it's kind of something to.
- 50:16Speaker 1: Watch, all right again, folks talking to Tim Kelly from
- 50:20Speaker 1: Phillies Nation dot com. They're doing great stuff over there
- 50:23Speaker 1: as always at Tim Kelly Sports on Twitter slash x.
- 50:27Speaker 1: Give him a follow if you're not already. And I
- 50:29Speaker 1: wanted to get into the pitching with you too. With
- 50:31Speaker 1: regard to this team and where they're heading, Tywan Walker
- 50:33Speaker 1: ranger sworez that you know they need to get healthy.
- 50:36Speaker 1: We know that we need some stability, more stability from
- 50:41Speaker 1: this starting pitching staff, and I know both guys have
- 50:44Speaker 1: been shaky at different points throughout this season. We're gonna
- 50:47Speaker 1: be getting one of these gentlemen back sooner rather than later. Here,
- 50:50Speaker 1: what are your thoughts on what Suarez and Walker are
- 50:52Speaker 1: gonna be able to give this rotation that we're not
- 50:55Speaker 1: getting from the rotation right now.
- 50:58Speaker 4: Well, I'm not sure what to back from Taiwan Walker
- 51:01Speaker 4: to be completely honest with you, he hasn't been able
- 51:03Speaker 4: to locate the pitch he's called his bread and butter
- 51:07Speaker 4: this season, so that's concerning. And obviously much has been
- 51:10Speaker 4: made about the velocity diminishing since he's come to the Phillies.
- 51:14Speaker 4: So we'll see again another guy that's working hard but
- 51:17Speaker 4: ultimately either going to get good results or you're not
- 51:19Speaker 4: gonna get good results. So we'll see with him and
- 51:23Speaker 4: then but when he is as right as he's going
- 51:26Speaker 4: to be at this stage, I think he's someone that's
- 51:28Speaker 4: an innings either that at the very least is going
- 51:30Speaker 4: to give you five or six innings every fifth day
- 51:33Speaker 4: or maybe every sixth day. And then Ranger Swarrez, even
- 51:36Speaker 4: if he isn't pitching like how he pitched in April,
- 51:38Speaker 4: if he's pitching how he did the last two years,
- 51:41Speaker 4: that's a very good number three or number four in
- 51:43Speaker 4: your starting rotation in the playoffs. So getting him back,
- 51:46Speaker 4: getting the composed Ranger Swarz, that is a tremendous fielder
- 51:51Speaker 4: at his position, Getting him back healthy and having him good.
- 51:54Speaker 3: To go for the stretch obviously would be huge.
- 51:56Speaker 4: And I think it is important to monitor the innings
- 51:59Speaker 4: of him and Christopher Sanchez. In one way to do
- 52:02Speaker 4: that when Taiwan Walker comes back, it might be to
- 52:05Speaker 4: have a six man rotation, keep Tyler Phillips in there
- 52:08Speaker 4: for an extra turn or two and see where things go.
- 52:11Speaker 1: Yeah, and I was talking to one of my guests
- 52:15Speaker 1: this past week on our table Talk interview show. Folks,
- 52:17Speaker 1: if you go back into the feed, you'll be able
- 52:19Speaker 1: to check out that show, and we were talking about
- 52:21Speaker 1: that potential six man rotation. You also think that is
- 52:25Speaker 1: likely going to be happening, you know, keeping Tyler Phillips
- 52:28Speaker 1: in there and making sure that he's part of that
- 52:30Speaker 1: six man rotation. It's to me, it seems to make sense.
- 52:34Speaker 1: You're essentially saying, you know, we're probably gonna end up
- 52:36Speaker 1: seeing this correct.
- 52:37Speaker 4: Well, I think it maybe would have happened. I don't
- 52:39Speaker 4: know if it would have been with Tyler Phillips, but
- 52:41Speaker 4: it would have happened at some point with Turnbull and Walker.
- 52:44Speaker 1: True.
- 52:44Speaker 4: Yeah, specifically when like maybe when they felt like Ranger
- 52:49Speaker 4: Schwarz and Christopher Sanchez or one of them was kind
- 52:52Speaker 4: of hitting a wall a little.
- 52:53Speaker 3: Bit because they had pitched so much.
- 52:55Speaker 4: It would have been a good way to kind of
- 52:57Speaker 4: level things out in the middle of the summer, specific
- 53:00Speaker 4: when you get in stretches like this where you don't
- 53:02Speaker 4: have off days.
- 53:03Speaker 3: But yeah, I think at some point you're going to
- 53:06Speaker 3: see that.
- 53:07Speaker 4: I don't know that it's necessarily going to be for
- 53:08Speaker 4: an extended period, but two three times through the rotation,
- 53:12Speaker 4: I think it makes sense because ideally for the Phillies,
- 53:15Speaker 4: these guys are going to be making your Wheeler Nola
- 53:19Speaker 4: and maybe Swarz and Sanchez close to thirty six or
- 53:22Speaker 4: thirty seven starts this year.
- 53:24Speaker 1: Yeah, it's going to be interesting to watch for sure.
- 53:26Speaker 1: And before I let you go, Buddy, so many of
- 53:29Speaker 1: us fans are looking at this division. We're just asking
- 53:32Speaker 1: ourselves should we be worried about the Mets and the
- 53:35Speaker 1: Braves at this point on? In our Opposition Territory show
- 53:37Speaker 1: this past week, we were talking about the Mets and
- 53:39Speaker 1: just how the Mets have been, you know, consistently getting
- 53:42Speaker 1: better and better throughout this season past two months, have
- 53:45Speaker 1: been playing good baseball. These teams are slowly creeping up
- 53:48Speaker 1: behind the Phillies in the NL East. What are your
- 53:50Speaker 1: thoughts here about this in terms of how worried we
- 53:52Speaker 1: should be about the Mets?
- 53:53Speaker 4: And the Braves, well, I guess it's different your worry
- 53:57Speaker 4: level of them catching you in the NL or you
- 54:00Speaker 4: just getting them at the wrong time in the postseason.
- 54:03Speaker 4: I don't think that the Mets are going to catch
- 54:05Speaker 4: the Phillies. I don't think they have the pitching to
- 54:07Speaker 4: do it, but who knows what could happen in a
- 54:09Speaker 4: short series. The Braves, I'd be a little more concerned
- 54:13Speaker 4: about potentially catching you, especially if Matt Olson and Austin
- 54:17Speaker 4: Riley get going and then they get back some of
- 54:20Speaker 4: the pieces they just got Max Freed back, if Michael
- 54:23Speaker 4: Harris comes back and later in the season they get
- 54:26Speaker 4: Azzy Alvi's back, Like that's a team with the proven
- 54:29Speaker 4: track record, they've won six division titles in a row.
- 54:32Speaker 4: I think you'd be more concerned if the Phillies don't
- 54:34Speaker 4: get it back together here soon that they could catch you.
- 54:38Speaker 4: And who knows what happens in the playoffs. The thing is,
- 54:41Speaker 4: if the Phillies win the division, either one of those
- 54:43Speaker 4: the Mets and Braves, and they could end up playing
- 54:45Speaker 4: each other, will have to win a playoff series before
- 54:48Speaker 4: even getting to the Phillies, and the Phillies would have
- 54:50Speaker 4: home field advantage. So we've seen flip the last two
- 54:55Speaker 4: years and the Phillies ended up emerging. But to me,
- 54:58Speaker 4: you would always rather be the team has to play
- 55:00Speaker 4: one less round of the playoffs and it isn't taxing
- 55:04Speaker 4: your pictures to the same extent.
- 55:05Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, all right, it's gonna be interesting for sure.
- 55:08Speaker 1: We're gonna keep watching this Phillies team again, folks. Tim
- 55:11Speaker 1: Kelly from Phillies Nation dot com check out everything they
- 55:15Speaker 1: have going on over there. Great great content as always
- 55:18Speaker 1: at Tim Kelly Sports on Twitter slash X. My friend,
- 55:20Speaker 1: it was great talking to you. Come back join us
- 55:23Speaker 1: down the road. I'd love to talk more phills with you,
- 55:24Speaker 1: my friend.
- 55:25Speaker 3: For sure.
- 55:26Speaker 1: Thanks Jeff, and that's gonna do it for us this week.
- 55:29Speaker 1: Make sure to share the Philadelphia Sports Table podcast show
- 55:33Speaker 1: with your friends and family members who may be Philly
- 55:34Speaker 1: sports fans. You can always head on over to Philadelphia
- 55:37Speaker 1: Sports Table dot com to access all of our podcasts
- 55:40Speaker 1: or any major podcast platform on your device. We appreciate
- 55:44Speaker 1: our guests taking the time to join us every week
- 55:47Speaker 1: to help make this podcast happen and to give us
- 55:50Speaker 1: great content, and ultimately we appreciate you. Take care and
- 55:54Speaker 1: have a great week. We'll catch you next time.
- 56:02Speaker 2: He