Latest / The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views / TABLE TALK: Phillies Hot Stove And Offseason Storylines

Transcript

TABLE TALK: Phillies Hot Stove And Offseason Storylines · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

0:00
Speaker 1: What's up everybody. I hope you are doing well. Wanted
0:03
Speaker 1: to let you know we've recorded this podcast episode on Monday,
0:06
Speaker 1: January twenty seventh, twenty twenty five. By the time you
0:09
Speaker 1: hear this, some things may have changed here or there,
0:10
Speaker 1: but we hope you enjoyed the show. Welcome to Table
0:34
Speaker 1: Talk here at the Philadelphia Sports Table podcast show, the
0:36
Speaker 1: longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show in the world
0:40
Speaker 1: that's right over eleven and a half years strong. We've
0:43
Speaker 1: got a great discussion coming your way here on Table
0:45
Speaker 1: Talk this week. The Philadelphia Phillies, Yes, their season spring training,
0:50
Speaker 1: i should say, is getting ready to start before we
0:53
Speaker 1: know it. Pitchers and catchers are going to be reporting
0:56
Speaker 1: down in Clearwater before we know it. What has been
0:59
Speaker 1: happening with team during the offseason. We've all been concentrating
1:03
Speaker 1: on the Philadelphia Eagles, so many of us have been
1:04
Speaker 1: concentrating on the Eagles and what they've been doing in
1:07
Speaker 1: the postseason. We don't want to get lost in terms
1:10
Speaker 1: of what the Phillies are looking at this coming twenty
1:12
Speaker 1: twenty five season and with some of the storylines, so
1:15
Speaker 1: we we want to dive into some of those storylines
1:18
Speaker 1: on this table talk show. We got a great guest
1:21
Speaker 1: joining us. Can't wait to have him back. Let's get
1:23
Speaker 1: to it. Joining us this week from On Pattison. He
1:27
Speaker 1: has been a regular here at the PSD podcast show
1:30
Speaker 1: over the years, and it's great to have him to
1:31
Speaker 1: talk about this Phillies off season. We've got Tim Kelly,
1:35
Speaker 1: Tim buddy, how are you, my man?
1:37
Speaker 2: I'm good. It's good to be back on We Obviously,
1:39
Speaker 2: the Eagles made us to the super Bowl yesday, so
1:43
Speaker 2: we're this is kind of the dream. You go seamlessly
1:46
Speaker 2: from the Eagles in the super Bowl right into spring training.
1:48
Speaker 2: It's perfect.
1:49
Speaker 1: It is absolutely perfect. God, let's hope the Eagles pull
1:52
Speaker 1: this one out. I mean the rematch from a couple
1:54
Speaker 1: of years ago. I mean, I said in the intro,
1:57
Speaker 1: you know, we've all been focusing on the Eagles. Meanwhile,
1:59
Speaker 1: there's a lot of the great storylines that's going on
2:01
Speaker 1: here in Phillies Nation too. I mean, I can't believe
2:03
Speaker 1: baseball seasons almost around the corner. Man.
2:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm excited for it. I think I'm ready just
2:09
Speaker 2: to get down to clear one. Yes, I have to
2:12
Speaker 2: get out of what the weather's been recently, but no,
2:15
Speaker 2: I'm excited for it to get going, and I know
2:18
Speaker 2: people are a little frustrated maybe with how the off
2:20
Speaker 2: season's gone, but like the Phillies are still gonna be
2:24
Speaker 2: one of the better teams heading into the season, So exactly,
2:27
Speaker 2: I don't necessarily get apathy. I see some people saying that,
2:31
Speaker 2: I question whether they're actually gonna feel like that when
2:33
Speaker 2: opening Day rolls up.
2:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, I think that's a really good point. But
2:36
Speaker 1: tim before we actually get into some Phillies talking some
2:39
Speaker 1: of these offseason storylines. Last week on the podcast show Here,
2:43
Speaker 1: we talked about the Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, and
2:46
Speaker 1: I wanted to get your thoughts on this too. We
2:48
Speaker 1: touched on how there was one person, one individual who
2:53
Speaker 1: just couldn't have brought themselves to vote for each row
2:57
Speaker 1: to make it a unanimous vote. Drives us absolutely. It's
3:00
Speaker 1: in fact, it really pisces me off, to be honest
3:02
Speaker 1: with you, But I'm just wondering. We talked about it
3:04
Speaker 1: last week on the show. Since we have you here,
3:06
Speaker 1: wanted to know what are your thoughts on voters like
3:10
Speaker 1: those who try to make the process more about themselves
3:13
Speaker 1: and the vote process itself more than about the player
3:17
Speaker 1: that actually is going into the Baseball Hall of Fame,
3:20
Speaker 1: like each road, Like, what are your thoughts on this?
3:22
Speaker 2: Well, I don't yet have a vote, hopefully one day. Well,
3:25
Speaker 2: you have to be in the Baseball Writers Association for
3:28
Speaker 2: ten consecutive years and this is my second year in it,
3:30
Speaker 2: so I'm a ways away. But certainly if I had one,
3:34
Speaker 2: each row would have been like a slam dunk, obvious
3:37
Speaker 2: put it on. And I do think all the votes
3:41
Speaker 2: of every writer should be made public. Yep. Apparently it
3:44
Speaker 2: sounds like the BBWAA actually wants that, and the Hall
3:47
Speaker 2: of Fame is the one that's, for whatever reason, has
3:50
Speaker 2: kind of prevented that from taking place, if I'm understanding
3:53
Speaker 2: it correctly. So I think that would be a way,
3:56
Speaker 2: like you're gonna have a lot less people going rogue
3:58
Speaker 2: if it's gonna come out in the I don't believe
4:02
Speaker 2: in like people should have their votes taken away because
4:05
Speaker 2: I think that could be a slippery slope. But obviously,
4:08
Speaker 2: if you're not voting for each ye row, I don't
4:11
Speaker 2: even really understand what the argument is, right. I get
4:13
Speaker 2: that there's some people that do this weird thing where
4:16
Speaker 2: they say, well, I think this guy probably is a
4:19
Speaker 2: Hall of Famer, but not a first ballot. Each of
4:21
Speaker 2: row is not even someone you would do that for
4:23
Speaker 2: it make any sense. But I was looking at the
4:27
Speaker 2: list after this if guys that have Obviously Mariano Rivera
4:30
Speaker 2: is the only one that's gotten one hundred percent, and
4:33
Speaker 2: like there's Derek Jeeter or Cal Ripken. They got really close,
4:36
Speaker 2: they were like ninety seven ninety eight. But I'm just
4:39
Speaker 2: thinking of some of the players that weren't even in
4:41
Speaker 2: that list, like who was on there? Like, no, I
4:44
Speaker 2: really got to wait till year or two to vote
4:46
Speaker 2: for Randy Johnson, right, I just I don't I don't
4:51
Speaker 2: get it.
4:51
Speaker 1: So I don't get it either. It's like they make
4:53
Speaker 1: it more about themselves and their vote than the actual player,
4:56
Speaker 1: what they did on the field or in the batter's
4:58
Speaker 1: box or from the mound. It drives me crazy because
5:02
Speaker 1: it's not about the voters themselves, it's not about the writers.
5:06
Speaker 1: It's about the person that was actually playing the game.
5:08
Speaker 1: It drives me crazy.
5:09
Speaker 2: Tim, Now I'm with you. Fortunately he got in, so
5:13
Speaker 2: it's yes, yes, it's a small storyline. And he had
5:17
Speaker 2: a funny response when he got asked about it. So
5:20
Speaker 2: he played it off. Well, but yeah, obviously it is
5:22
Speaker 2: frustrating to see that.
5:24
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, hey late, let's get into some Phillies talk here.
5:27
Speaker 1: I just wanted to, Like I said, I wanted to
5:29
Speaker 1: bounce that off of you, but I wanted to. I
5:31
Speaker 1: wanted to talk about an article that you recently put
5:34
Speaker 1: up over on on Pattison that the Phillies have been
5:37
Speaker 1: scouting Max Scherzer during his recent throwing sessions. Other teams
5:41
Speaker 1: were there too, The Yankees, Matt's, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Cubs,
5:45
Speaker 1: and some other teams were in attendance as well for
5:47
Speaker 1: that throwing session. I would be I'd be very skeptical
5:52
Speaker 1: for the Phillies to sign this forty one year old
5:54
Speaker 1: picture at this point. Yes, one of the greatest pictures
5:57
Speaker 1: of our of our time here. But I'm like, what
6:00
Speaker 1: are your thoughts on why the Philly Scouting Department was
6:02
Speaker 1: there for that throwing session and would it be a
6:05
Speaker 1: good idea to bring on Max Scherzer. I'm under the
6:08
Speaker 1: impression that probably not, but uh, you would reported on this.
6:12
Speaker 1: Wanted to get your thoughts, my friend.
6:13
Speaker 2: Well, I really just think it's nothing more than due diligence.
6:16
Speaker 2: If I had to guess, you know, and I don't
6:20
Speaker 2: think like resources this time of the year in terms
6:22
Speaker 2: of it's not like if they weren't scouting Shures or
6:25
Speaker 2: they missed out on scouting someone like the next great
6:29
Speaker 2: international prospect or whatever. I guess there's just not really
6:33
Speaker 2: a ton to lose. I don't see a spot for
6:35
Speaker 2: him in the starting rotation because even though he's coming
6:38
Speaker 2: off an injury riddled season and you figured he's not
6:40
Speaker 2: going to be making thirty three starts at age forty one,
6:43
Speaker 2: he still is gonna He may think he's gonna make
6:47
Speaker 2: thirty three starts at age forty one. So uh, I
6:50
Speaker 2: don't think he's gonna sign on to a team where
6:53
Speaker 2: I mean, right now, who are you bumping out of
6:55
Speaker 2: the rotation from him? Beyond I mean, you have Wheeler, Nola, Sworez,
7:00
Speaker 2: Sanchez and Wizardo whatever order. You've already signed Joe Ross
7:04
Speaker 2: to be the swingman type guy. He's guaranteed an MLB spot.
7:08
Speaker 2: You believe Andrew Panter is gonna make his debut at
7:11
Speaker 2: some point this summer. I just I don't see the
7:14
Speaker 2: and it's not like the I know we're gonna talk
7:16
Speaker 2: about the Dodgers in a minute. But it's not like
7:18
Speaker 2: a team where you have a lot of injury concerns
7:20
Speaker 2: about the guys in your rotation and you know you're
7:22
Speaker 2: gonna need a ton of extra bodies. It could always happen,
7:26
Speaker 2: But Zach Wheeler and Aaron Nola have been the two
7:28
Speaker 2: most durable pitchers in baseball over the last five years.
7:31
Speaker 2: So I don't really think there's a fit there.
7:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't think there is either, and I'm glad
7:36
Speaker 1: to hear that. You think it's just the due diligence
7:39
Speaker 1: of the of the Philadelphia Phillies front office that led
7:42
Speaker 1: to them being there for Max scherz Ers recent throwing session.
7:46
Speaker 1: But moving along here, you know, we've all been thinking
7:48
Speaker 1: about what the Phillies will do about the center field position,
7:52
Speaker 1: specifically Brandon Marsh when it comes to him being in
7:55
Speaker 1: the batting box as well. So I wonder how often
7:59
Speaker 1: Rob Thompson is going to allow Brandon Marsh to hit
8:03
Speaker 1: against lefties this coming season, especially right out of the gate,
8:07
Speaker 1: you know, right when the season starts. Yes, as we
8:10
Speaker 1: know Brandon Marsh, he does not have the best record
8:12
Speaker 1: against lefties, but I'm wondering if he can maybe begin
8:17
Speaker 1: to start and it's maybe a little late in his
8:18
Speaker 1: career to do it, but I'm wondering if he can
8:20
Speaker 1: prove folks wrong that maybe he can actually find some
8:24
Speaker 1: consistency in terms of hitting against lefties. Don't know, maybe
8:28
Speaker 1: that's a hope and optimism that maybe I shouldn't have
8:31
Speaker 1: with regard to this particular storyline situation. But Tim, what
8:34
Speaker 1: are your thoughts about this storyline heading into this season
8:38
Speaker 1: with regard to Brandon Marsh possibly a platoon once again
8:41
Speaker 1: and just him really trying to take on lefties and
8:44
Speaker 1: how the opportunity to do so as well.
8:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think if you're going to give Max Coupler,
8:50
Speaker 2: I'm assuming will be the everyday left fielder to open
8:53
Speaker 2: the season, Nic Casianos every day in right field, and
8:55
Speaker 2: if Brandon Marsh is going to get the bulk of
8:58
Speaker 2: starts in center field, I think there's so to be
9:00
Speaker 2: said for throwing him into the deep end the first
9:03
Speaker 2: six weeks of the season and seeing he can do it.
9:05
Speaker 2: I mean, realistically, how much better is Johann Rojas going
9:10
Speaker 2: to hit than what Brandon Marsh is going to do?
9:13
Speaker 2: Point And I would tend to think you're gonna come
9:16
Speaker 2: back after the six weeks and say Brandon Marsh is
9:19
Speaker 2: probably just going to hit against righties because he struggled
9:21
Speaker 2: last year. He had like ninety eight bats against righty's
9:24
Speaker 2: or against lefties and struck out like thirty times, So
9:28
Speaker 2: it's not a sustainable rate. I think there's something to
9:31
Speaker 2: be said though, for starting the season with Brandon Marsh
9:35
Speaker 2: running them out there every day. Maybe you keep a guy.
9:39
Speaker 2: It gets dicey and roster building because you want to
9:41
Speaker 2: keep Cody Clemmons, but he's out of options and you
9:43
Speaker 2: have such a lefty team to do to keep him
9:48
Speaker 2: in West and Wilson. I think you have to keep
9:50
Speaker 2: West and Wilson to be a righty bat off the bench.
9:52
Speaker 2: Maybe Johann Rojas has to start at Triple A and
9:56
Speaker 2: then who plays who's the backup center fielder like West
9:59
Speaker 2: and Wilson, Max Coupler. I think they can do it
10:01
Speaker 2: in a pinch. And I asked Weston Wilson about that
10:04
Speaker 2: last week and he said he thinks he can do
10:06
Speaker 2: it if needed. He admitted it's certainly not his number
10:09
Speaker 2: one position, but uh, that's the part of the Scott
10:13
Speaker 2: Like if you're facing Chris sale, or you're gonna put
10:15
Speaker 2: out put Brandon Marsh out in the line if I
10:17
Speaker 2: don't know, but I would give it a shot the
10:21
Speaker 2: first few weeks of the season, get your answer once
10:24
Speaker 2: and for all, and go from there.
10:26
Speaker 1: So you do think that six weeks would be an
10:28
Speaker 1: appropriate period of time to figure out if Brandon Marsh
10:33
Speaker 1: can finally figure out left handed pitching this season? You
10:37
Speaker 1: think that six weeks is enough time or maybe should
10:40
Speaker 1: it go you know, maybe two or three months into
10:42
Speaker 1: the season.
10:43
Speaker 2: I don't know.
10:43
Speaker 1: Do you think it's those six weeks as that appropriate
10:45
Speaker 1: time frame?
10:47
Speaker 2: Well, there's some degree it's going to depend on what
10:49
Speaker 2: other guys around him are doing. If Max Kupler is
10:51
Speaker 2: struggling really early on, then there may be some games
10:54
Speaker 2: where you want to have Rohason center and Marsh and left,
10:57
Speaker 2: And I would say six weeks you'll know whether it's
11:02
Speaker 2: a complete loss cause or whether it's something you want
11:05
Speaker 2: to I don't think he's gonna come out and have
11:07
Speaker 2: a four hundred batting average against lofties. But if he's
11:10
Speaker 2: hitting two thirty, maybe you keep going with it. If
11:13
Speaker 2: he's hitting one thirty, maybe you bag it at that point.
11:16
Speaker 1: Right, I think that's a good way to think about
11:18
Speaker 1: it heading into this season. And you know, as we're
11:22
Speaker 1: moving along a narrative heading into this season with regard
11:26
Speaker 1: to the Phillies pitching rotation, and I know you've been
11:29
Speaker 1: following this and writing about this over at on Pattison
11:32
Speaker 1: is whether the Phillies or the Dodgers have the best
11:35
Speaker 1: starting rotation in the majors. And I know there's some
11:37
Speaker 1: folks out there that are like, well, who cares? Both
11:40
Speaker 1: have real good starting rotations, But I think it's important
11:42
Speaker 1: when we're talking about what is going to happen potentially
11:45
Speaker 1: in the National League at the end of the day,
11:47
Speaker 1: like at the end of this twenty twenty five season,
11:49
Speaker 1: what happens to both of these clubs if they're starting
11:53
Speaker 1: pitchers can stay healthy throughout the season, It's really important
11:58
Speaker 1: which has the better rotation. Your article recently did a
12:02
Speaker 1: really good job of outlining how both teams look from
12:05
Speaker 1: this perspective heading into this twenty twenty five season, Tim,
12:08
Speaker 1: and I was hoping we could dive into it a
12:10
Speaker 1: little bit more, dive into your article a little bit more, like,
12:13
Speaker 1: what are your thoughts on which team really does have
12:15
Speaker 1: the edge coming into this season if they could stay
12:17
Speaker 1: healthy and what we may be seeing towards the latter
12:19
Speaker 1: part of the season.
12:21
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the Phillies have the edge just in
12:23
Speaker 2: terms of starting rotation. The Dodgers clearly the best roster.
12:26
Speaker 2: I think they have a better bullpen than the Phillies
12:28
Speaker 2: in terms of starting rotation. Though over in one hundred
12:31
Speaker 2: and sixty two game season, I would rather have the
12:34
Speaker 2: durable guys that you know are going to pitch, and
12:37
Speaker 2: you know one year Aaron Ole and Zach Wheeler are
12:39
Speaker 2: no longer going to be pitching two hundred innings a year,
12:42
Speaker 2: But until that moment happens, they get the benefit of
12:44
Speaker 2: the doubt in that regard. Christopher Sanchez pitched one hundred
12:47
Speaker 2: and eighty innings last year. Ranger Suarez is not someone
12:51
Speaker 2: most likely it's going to make thirty three starts, but
12:54
Speaker 2: he's averaged like one hundred and forty one hundred and
12:56
Speaker 2: forty five innings the last few years. Like for your
12:58
Speaker 2: number three year four starter, that's really good, especially when
13:02
Speaker 2: you compare it to the Dodgers. And then Jesus Lofardo
13:05
Speaker 2: is coming off an injury plagued the season, but the
13:08
Speaker 2: two seasons prior. Again, not a guy that's gonna make
13:10
Speaker 2: thirty three starts, but was a very good starter that
13:13
Speaker 2: a lot of teams had interest in. And I'm still
13:15
Speaker 2: a little perplexed because I feel like the Marlins sold
13:18
Speaker 2: low on him. But you have him, or you have
13:21
Speaker 2: those five, and then you have Andrew paynter Looming who
13:25
Speaker 2: MLB pipeline just came out with their new top one
13:27
Speaker 2: hundred and he was like the number eight prospect in baseball.
13:30
Speaker 2: So I don't think it's over hyping him in any
13:34
Speaker 2: way to say that he could be a real impact
13:36
Speaker 2: this summer. And I think Joe Ross is nice depth.
13:39
Speaker 2: We'll see if Taywan Walker has anything left in spring training.
13:42
Speaker 2: But that's a really good group. And I like the
13:45
Speaker 2: Dodgers group a lot. Don't get me wrong. It's the
13:48
Speaker 2: top yeah, top four, like it's Phillies, Mariners, Dodgers, Diamondbacks.
13:53
Speaker 2: That's the teams that really come to mind for me.
13:56
Speaker 2: And the upside is tremendous. If you get to the
14:02
Speaker 2: playoffs and Shoe Otani is pitching and Tyler glass Now
14:06
Speaker 2: is pitching, Yamamoto Sasaki like certainly they can go toe
14:11
Speaker 2: to toe and it wouldn't surprise me if they outpitch
14:13
Speaker 2: the Phillies. I think over at one hundred and sixties
14:15
Speaker 2: two game season, the Phillies have a lot less injury
14:18
Speaker 2: concerns than the Dodgers. And you've really seen two different
14:22
Speaker 2: approaches from these front offices. The Dodgers do not shy
14:25
Speaker 2: away and they've almost built this nine or ten man
14:28
Speaker 2: starting rotation this year knowing that guys are gonna get hurt,
14:31
Speaker 2: and the Phillies have invested in guys that are going
14:35
Speaker 2: to pitch one hundred and eighty or more innings every year.
14:38
Speaker 2: So it's an interesting dynamic and I would lean with
14:42
Speaker 2: the group that you feel comfortable is going to be healthy.
14:45
Speaker 2: But obviously the Dodgers have a tremendous group as well
14:48
Speaker 2: at a better overall team in my opinion.
14:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, Tim, I wasn't planning on asking you this,
14:53
Speaker 1: but just like talking about the Dodgers and stuff like
14:55
Speaker 1: you know, I know at on Pattison you've all written
14:59
Speaker 1: about the and talked about this. There's discussions just about
15:03
Speaker 1: if Major League Baseball should crack down on team like
15:05
Speaker 1: the Dodgers with what they're doing in terms of payroll
15:09
Speaker 1: and just just what they have done with their particular
15:12
Speaker 1: club in terms of trying to be competitive too. Like,
15:14
Speaker 1: I wonder what are your thoughts on it, because it's
15:16
Speaker 1: like you look at this team and you're like, my gosh,
15:19
Speaker 1: they are just stacked everywhere. You look at a team
15:22
Speaker 1: like the Pirates, you know, you look at a team
15:24
Speaker 1: like the Marlins. You look at certain teams in Major
15:27
Speaker 1: League Baseball, You're like, they are not gonna be competitive.
15:30
Speaker 1: It's just like what the Dodgers have basically done over
15:32
Speaker 1: the year. And look, the Phillies spent a lot of
15:33
Speaker 1: money too. I'm not gonna sit here and say the
15:35
Speaker 1: Phillies are a bunch of cheap skates. Dave Dobrawski certainly
15:39
Speaker 1: is not, and front office is not by any stretch.
15:42
Speaker 1: But I don't know what are your thoughts on how
15:45
Speaker 1: the Dodgers, you know, whether Major League Baseball should kind
15:48
Speaker 1: of quote come down on the Dodgers here for the
15:50
Speaker 1: way that they operate during the off season in terms
15:53
Speaker 1: of their acquisitions.
15:54
Speaker 2: Well, I think there's nothing they can do until after
15:56
Speaker 2: the CBA, after twenty twenty six. So it's probably going
16:00
Speaker 2: to get ugly at that point one way or another.
16:01
Speaker 2: Because usually owners and employers are united against labor in
16:09
Speaker 2: this case, I think owners are not on the same
16:12
Speaker 2: page in some senses. But like you mentioned the Pirates,
16:16
Speaker 2: they have one of the great young pitchers that's come
16:19
Speaker 2: into baseball the last twenty five years and they haven't
16:23
Speaker 2: tried this offseason. So yes, I agree the Dodgers or
16:27
Speaker 2: the Pirates are not capable. The Marlins the same thing,
16:30
Speaker 2: are not capable of putting up the same payroll as
16:33
Speaker 2: the Dodgers, but the gap between them is not the
16:37
Speaker 2: same that the owners of the quote unquote smaller market
16:40
Speaker 2: teams made. It seem like. I think you have a
16:44
Speaker 2: lot of teams pocketing revenue sharing money that aren't trying,
16:47
Speaker 2: and that's where I think it gets more complicated as
16:51
Speaker 2: far as the Dodgers. Look, if you have that money
16:55
Speaker 2: and you can spend it, more power to you. I
16:58
Speaker 2: don't think there's going to be a salary cap because
17:00
Speaker 2: I don't think the teams like the Pirates are I
17:03
Speaker 2: don't think they're gonna want a salary floor. So and
17:07
Speaker 2: even if there was a salary floor, I think it
17:10
Speaker 2: would be an unforgiveable stake from a labor sense. If
17:14
Speaker 2: you're the union and you agree to a salary. Cop
17:17
Speaker 2: whether it would be good for like the competitiveness at
17:20
Speaker 2: baseball is probably a different conversation. But with the Dodgers,
17:25
Speaker 2: I think putting saying you can defer money into the future,
17:29
Speaker 2: but it is all going to count against the luxury
17:31
Speaker 2: tax threshold and the present is a better way to
17:33
Speaker 2: do it. Maybe you increase the penalties for the luxury
17:37
Speaker 2: tax threshold. I would tell people, though, be careful what
17:40
Speaker 2: you wish for, because most of this is going to
17:42
Speaker 2: affect the Phillies too. Yeah.
17:43
Speaker 1: Absolutely, that's what I was saying. The Phillies. You know,
17:45
Speaker 1: they're a team that likes to spend money as well,
17:47
Speaker 1: So it's gonna be interesting to follow for sure, well
17:51
Speaker 1: into the future. Again, folks are talking to Tim Kelly
17:53
Speaker 1: from on Pattison. Give him a follow on the Twitter
17:56
Speaker 1: slash x at tim Kelly Sports. He's a great, great
18:00
Speaker 1: and I think you're out there on Blue Sky as
18:02
Speaker 1: well too, my friend, right and then threads.
18:05
Speaker 2: Blue Spy, threads, all of them Facebook wherever.
18:08
Speaker 1: All right, very good, All right, sticking with the Philadelphia
18:12
Speaker 1: Phillies and what we may see in terms of you know,
18:14
Speaker 1: this team. I want to talk about the catcher position.
18:17
Speaker 1: Talk about JT. Real Muto. We have all loved him
18:20
Speaker 1: for so many years that he has been on this roster,
18:23
Speaker 1: but I mean, I do wonder how much he actually
18:26
Speaker 1: is slowing down, especially from a defensive standpoint. Batting wise,
18:30
Speaker 1: he didn't really have a terrible twenty twenty four season,
18:33
Speaker 1: I don't think by any stretch, but he only appeared
18:36
Speaker 1: in ninety nine games when he usually plays over about
18:38
Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty games per season. Due to his
18:41
Speaker 1: injury last year, So I'm wondering what kind of JT.
18:44
Speaker 1: Real Muto do you think we're gonna end up seeing
18:46
Speaker 1: this season here in twenty twenty five, give it his
18:49
Speaker 1: injuries from last season and where his defrance may be
18:53
Speaker 1: trending during this stage of his career. What are your thoughts?
18:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I think it was not sustainable to
18:59
Speaker 2: like the pop time was going to slow down as
19:01
Speaker 2: you get older. And what I would say is, I
19:03
Speaker 2: think you're past the point of him catching eleven hundred
19:06
Speaker 2: innings every regular season, or at least you should be.
19:09
Speaker 2: And I remember I asked him last spring training, like, hey,
19:13
Speaker 2: twenty twenty two, you had this amazing second half and
19:17
Speaker 2: it was in the summer that year, he had some rest.
19:20
Speaker 2: He wasn't able to play in the Toronto Series. They
19:23
Speaker 2: came back, they had the Miami Series, he played in that,
19:26
Speaker 2: and then it was the All Star break. He wasn't
19:27
Speaker 2: an All Star that year, so he really had more
19:31
Speaker 2: extended rest than he had had in quite a long time.
19:34
Speaker 2: And he came back and had a great summer, and
19:36
Speaker 2: he really I don't think I didn't appreciate that question
19:39
Speaker 2: necessarily going to do with that. It has to do
19:42
Speaker 2: with my swing. And I said to Rob Thompson said
19:45
Speaker 2: in his postgame or his end of season press conference
19:48
Speaker 2: at the after the playoffs last year that he knew
19:53
Speaker 2: that JT probably would benefit for more time off, And
19:57
Speaker 2: I said, okay, but like when we've asked asked him
20:00
Speaker 2: about that previously, he seemed hesitant to it, and he
20:03
Speaker 2: admitted he has some convincing to do. But I think
20:07
Speaker 2: they need to do that. I think he would benefit
20:10
Speaker 2: from having a little less time And maybe sometimes that
20:13
Speaker 2: means he DHS a day or plays first base or
20:16
Speaker 2: whatever when Bryce Harper's not in the lineup for Kyle
20:18
Speaker 2: Schwarburn needs a day off. But yeah, it's a toll
20:21
Speaker 2: and he's done a tremendous job. This is age thirty
20:24
Speaker 2: four season. He's done a tremendous job holding off father
20:28
Speaker 2: time and continuing to sustain these great workloads. And no
20:32
Speaker 2: one's saying he's going to catch five hundred innings this year,
20:35
Speaker 2: but maybe he catches nine to seventy five instead of
20:38
Speaker 2: eleven hundred, and Rafael Marshawn I believe will be the
20:42
Speaker 2: backup catcher to open the season, assuming he's healthy, and
20:45
Speaker 2: maybe that gives you a little more comfortability. I would say, though,
20:48
Speaker 2: like it isn't as drastic taking him out of the
20:52
Speaker 2: lineup now as twenty nineteen, twenty twenty, when he was
20:55
Speaker 2: hitting clean up or hitting fifth, right before you had
20:58
Speaker 2: Kyle Schober, before you had Nicks, before Alec Bohm came up,
21:02
Speaker 2: Like you really couldn't afford to take him out of
21:04
Speaker 2: your lineup. Now, I think it's a little less drastic
21:07
Speaker 2: if you just look at him being one of the
21:09
Speaker 2: righties in the lineup, like the way they're going to
21:12
Speaker 2: have to balance out the lineup. He could hit seventh
21:14
Speaker 2: or eighth this year. Having taking that guy out of
21:17
Speaker 2: the lineup for Rafael Marshawn is not nearly as big
21:20
Speaker 2: of a deal as it was taking real Muto out
21:23
Speaker 2: in his prime when he was hitting cleanup and you
21:25
Speaker 2: have to scramble and find a four or five hitter.
21:28
Speaker 2: So I think he would benefit for more time off,
21:31
Speaker 2: and I would expect you'll see that this year, but
21:34
Speaker 2: I'm not sure he'll be a huge fan of it.
21:35
Speaker 2: But in the end you will see the benefits.
21:38
Speaker 1: It's going to be interesting to follow how JT. Real
21:40
Speaker 1: Muto's season goes for Shorge again just based on his age,
21:44
Speaker 1: and I think it's I think it's great that you
21:47
Speaker 1: asked those questions, you know, in recent years of him,
21:50
Speaker 1: because what happens with the catcher position is so very important,
21:53
Speaker 1: not only Major League Baseball, but for this Phillies organization
21:56
Speaker 1: and team. I mean, we remember the days of Carlos Ruiz.
21:58
Speaker 1: I've mentioned him number of times on this podcast over
22:01
Speaker 1: the years, calling him the general. You need to have
22:03
Speaker 1: that general.
22:04
Speaker 2: JT.
22:04
Speaker 1: Real Muto has really picked up that mantle and as
22:08
Speaker 1: he starts to you know, get it, like you said,
22:10
Speaker 1: you know, father time catching up with him as he
22:13
Speaker 1: begins to, you know, get to that point. It's definitely
22:17
Speaker 1: a storyline for us to continue to follow. But Buddy,
22:20
Speaker 1: before I let you go, I wanted to talk about
22:23
Speaker 1: an acquisition that the Phillies recently made. It's not the
22:26
Speaker 1: biggest deal, quote quote biggest deal in the world, but
22:30
Speaker 1: they acquired minor league outfielder Dylan Campbell from the Dodgers
22:34
Speaker 1: a little over a week ago. He's a prospect, he's
22:37
Speaker 1: going to be in the minors. But when you look
22:39
Speaker 1: at his numbers, he has really hit well thus far
22:42
Speaker 1: during his very short minor league career. He's extremely productive
22:46
Speaker 1: defensive numbers as well. Again, you all were reporting on
22:50
Speaker 1: this over on Pattison. Do you see Campbell as possibly
22:54
Speaker 1: being a potential up and comer within this Phillies organization
22:57
Speaker 1: and should we really be keeping our eyes on him?
23:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I think he's someone to keep your
23:02
Speaker 2: eyes on, but I don't also think he's like, he's
23:05
Speaker 2: not going to be a top five prospect. If you
23:07
Speaker 2: look at his numbers a year ago at Great Lakes,
23:10
Speaker 2: which is the high A ball of the Dodgers, he
23:14
Speaker 2: hit ten home runs, fifty three RBIs, fifty walks. That's
23:17
Speaker 2: all good in one hundred and fifteen games. He also
23:20
Speaker 2: struck out one hundred and ten times. And posted a
23:22
Speaker 2: seven h three ozhps. So it does feel like it's
23:25
Speaker 2: a big feast or famine offensively, just based off of that.
23:29
Speaker 2: But I would imagine, once again, the Phillies have a
23:32
Speaker 2: lot of the same team coming back in spring training,
23:34
Speaker 2: so people will be on the hunt for storylines, and
23:36
Speaker 2: I would think he's going to be someone that people
23:38
Speaker 2: are interested in seeing because sometimes this is like what
23:42
Speaker 2: you can do with these organizations like the Dodgers that
23:45
Speaker 2: run out of forty man spots or they run out
23:48
Speaker 2: they're just so talented in the organization. Some of these
23:51
Speaker 2: guys slip away and you can end up being a beneficiary,
23:54
Speaker 2: and maybe this is one of those guys.
23:56
Speaker 1: All right again, Tim Kelly from on padd On Pattison
24:00
Speaker 1: dot com at Tim Kelly Sports on Twitter, slash x
24:04
Speaker 1: and Buddy, was great talking to you, as always, always
24:07
Speaker 1: fun talking about the Phillies major League Baseball with you
24:09
Speaker 1: come back and join us down the road, my friend.
24:11
Speaker 1: I'd love to have you back on the show for sure.
24:13
Speaker 2: Thanks Jeff.
24:15
Speaker 1: It's always great talking to Tim, and that is going
24:17
Speaker 1: to do it for us this week here on table
24:19
Speaker 1: Talk Quick Programming. Note, I love that phrase, you know
24:23
Speaker 1: from old time radio programming. Note, we just wanted to
24:27
Speaker 1: let you know that we are not going to have
24:29
Speaker 1: an Opposition Territory podcast this week based on the fact
24:33
Speaker 1: that the Eagles are going to the Super Bowl. We
24:36
Speaker 1: definitely are going to be having our Opposition Territory podcast
24:39
Speaker 1: focusing on the Super Bowl matchup next week, but we
24:42
Speaker 1: are taking this week off from our Opposition Territory show
24:46
Speaker 1: and stay tuned for it next week. Just wanted to
24:48
Speaker 1: throw that out there to all of you. Make sure
24:51
Speaker 1: you're following us on social media platforms. Just search out
24:54
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Sports Table Google Us. You can subscribe on
24:57
Speaker 1: whatever podcast platform you are on, and also you can
25:00
Speaker 1: head on over to Philadelphia Sports Table dot com to
25:03
Speaker 1: check out all of our shows. Take care, everybody, and
25:06
Speaker 1: we will catch you next time.