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TABLE TALK: Grading The Phillies Season · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

0:29
Speaker 1: Welcome to Table Talk here at the Philadelphia Sports Table
0:32
Speaker 1: podcast show, the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show
0:35
Speaker 1: in the world, twelve years strong. We've got a great
0:39
Speaker 1: table talk interview show coming your way this week. We
0:43
Speaker 1: have from one of our favorite sites out there. He's
0:45
Speaker 1: a contributor at thatfallsad here dot com over and fan
0:48
Speaker 1: sited our good friend Eric Moretelli. How you doing, Buddy?
0:52
Speaker 2: Hi, guess I'm doing well. How are you?
0:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, b Memorial Days. We're recording this here on May
0:57
Speaker 1: twenty six, twenty twenty five. Feeling good about this Phillies team, man, Seriously,
1:02
Speaker 1: like it's like the beginning of the season. We're going
1:04
Speaker 1: to get into it a little bit here, but like
1:05
Speaker 1: beginning of the season, things were just really up and down,
1:08
Speaker 1: kind of kind of rough. But I wanted to bring
1:10
Speaker 1: you on to grade this team because I think the
1:12
Speaker 1: grades are going to be pretty interesting when we start
1:15
Speaker 1: getting into it.
1:16
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, you look, it's really like a tale
1:18
Speaker 3: of two seasons, right, I mean it was I feel
1:21
Speaker 3: like they weren't even playing like terribly, but they you know,
1:24
Speaker 3: there was definitely like that kind of bottom point against
1:26
Speaker 3: you know, when we got swept by the Mets there, yep.
1:29
Speaker 2: But since then, you know, it's hard to argue. Now.
1:31
Speaker 3: I know some of the argument's been well, it was
1:33
Speaker 3: the Pirates, it was the Rockies, it was the A's,
1:36
Speaker 3: but you know, you got to take care of those
1:38
Speaker 3: types of teamsople And even before that, you know, there
1:40
Speaker 3: were a series where you're starting to get contributions from
1:43
Speaker 3: guys who maybe struggled a little b at the beginning
1:45
Speaker 3: of the year. So it's it's really interesting because you've
1:49
Speaker 3: had such a different dynamic. I mean, the ones that
1:52
Speaker 3: we'll talk about it, but like the starting pitching has
1:54
Speaker 3: been consistent, but other than that, like everything else has
1:57
Speaker 3: been kind of much better, and it's been much more,
2:02
Speaker 3: much more fun to watch.
2:03
Speaker 1: We'll say, absolutely, yeah, So I mean, let's get into it.
2:05
Speaker 1: I know we're gonna get into the grades here, but
2:08
Speaker 1: I really wanted to like dive into more detail how
2:11
Speaker 1: this team got to where they're at right now with
2:13
Speaker 1: the best record major League Baseball as of us recording
2:16
Speaker 1: this this year. Like we said, there were some stumbles
2:19
Speaker 1: out of the gate. You talked about, you know, them
2:21
Speaker 1: getting sweet by the Mets. That was absolutely a horrendous
2:24
Speaker 1: series to watch in a lot of different ways. Star
2:26
Speaker 1: veteran players have been up and down throughout the course
2:30
Speaker 1: of this season, and they've been streaky too. There have
2:33
Speaker 1: been streaky aspects to this team. And yes, we know
2:35
Speaker 1: baseball is streaky, but now the team is kind of
2:38
Speaker 1: just pulling out all the stops. I know they lost
2:40
Speaker 1: to the A's last night, but still they're They're at
2:44
Speaker 1: a great point here in this season. How do you
2:47
Speaker 1: think they got to this point here?
2:48
Speaker 3: Eric, Like you said, I mean, baseball is such a
2:52
Speaker 3: game of streaks. It's just such a long season. The
2:55
Speaker 3: starting pitching, I think, has really been what has carried them.
2:59
Speaker 3: You getting it from pretty much everyone.
3:01
Speaker 2: I know.
3:01
Speaker 3: Nola has. He was kind of the the iffy guy.
3:04
Speaker 3: He had a couple of good outings here and there.
3:07
Speaker 3: It's not so good outings, and obviously he's been on
3:09
Speaker 3: the injury list now for for a little while. But
3:11
Speaker 3: you're getting performances from pretty much everyone.
3:14
Speaker 2: Uh, even you know.
3:15
Speaker 3: Taylan Walker has been a really pleasant surprise, the Hazel's WIZARDO.
3:20
Speaker 3: I mean I was, I was thrilled when they traded
3:22
Speaker 3: for him. I've been ALIZARDI guy for a long time. Yeah,
3:25
Speaker 3: but he has been he has been like way more
3:28
Speaker 3: than you could possibly ask for. I know, yesterday, you know,
3:31
Speaker 3: his outing yesterday started out a little rocky, but he
3:33
Speaker 3: settled in. I mean, the starting pitching has been great,
3:36
Speaker 3: the offense has been I would say, it's going and
3:40
Speaker 3: it's trending the right direction. Right it was inconsistent, but
3:43
Speaker 3: it's trending in the right direction. You're starting to get
3:46
Speaker 3: contributions from a lot of different guys in the lineup,
3:49
Speaker 3: and you know, the beginning year, I think a lot
3:51
Speaker 3: of it was kind of some of those ancillary players. Now,
3:53
Speaker 3: you know, Bryce's heat is heating up, Turner's getting on
3:56
Speaker 3: bass at an incredible clip, shres doing shores, being Forber,
4:00
Speaker 3: hitting home runs, getting on base, driving and runs. So
4:03
Speaker 3: you're kind of starting to see them put that together.
4:06
Speaker 3: And this offense is too good to be what they
4:08
Speaker 3: were at the end of last season beginning of this season,
4:12
Speaker 3: so it was kind of just a matter of time
4:13
Speaker 3: as to when some of these guys were going to
4:15
Speaker 3: start kind of breaking out of it.
4:16
Speaker 2: Yeah.
4:17
Speaker 3: The one piece that I think is you know, kind
4:20
Speaker 3: of kind of the issue right now, and it is
4:22
Speaker 3: a little scary, is the bullpen, especially with Albarado now
4:26
Speaker 3: missing a big chunk of time and being ineligible for
4:28
Speaker 3: the postseason. But you know, if the offense is hitting
4:32
Speaker 3: and you're starting pitching is going deep into games, it
4:35
Speaker 3: makes it a little bit easier. And right now they
4:37
Speaker 3: have that going. You can't rely on that.
4:39
Speaker 2: Though, because it's a game of ebbs and flows.
4:42
Speaker 1: Right absolutely is yeah, absolutely, Like we're gonna get to
4:45
Speaker 1: the bullpen. Of course, with our grades, it's going to
4:47
Speaker 1: be interesting to see how you grade them, how I
4:49
Speaker 1: grade them as well. But let's start off with our
4:53
Speaker 1: grades with this Philadelphia Phillies twenty twenty five team. Let's
4:57
Speaker 1: first start with the infield, infield as a group, how
5:00
Speaker 1: they have performed on offense and defense, and we're gonna
5:03
Speaker 1: give some details as to why we're gonna be given
5:07
Speaker 1: those grades. So let's start off first with grading the
5:11
Speaker 1: Phillies infield and the offense. I'll let you start first, buddy,
5:14
Speaker 1: what are your thoughts in terms of your grade for
5:16
Speaker 1: the infield the way that they have performed offensively, and
5:19
Speaker 1: then I'll give you mine.
5:21
Speaker 3: So it's it's interesting right because we said how it's
5:25
Speaker 3: kind of been a tail of two seasons. So like
5:28
Speaker 3: you look at bowm in April. You you give him
5:30
Speaker 3: an F right, but now he's he's so you gotta look.
5:33
Speaker 3: I guess you gotta look at the averages here. I
5:36
Speaker 3: would say in terms of infield offense, I think I
5:40
Speaker 3: think if we're looking right now on on May twenty six, yep,
5:44
Speaker 3: and just war that, I think, you know, B B
5:46
Speaker 3: minus is probably a fair grade.
5:48
Speaker 1: I was gonna give him a B plus. I was
5:50
Speaker 1: actually gonna give him a B plus based on how
5:54
Speaker 1: a few of these guys have bounced back. You talked
5:56
Speaker 1: about Alec Bohm, Trey Turner, the way he's been getting
5:58
Speaker 1: on base, how you mentioned I think, you know, I
6:01
Speaker 1: really sometimes I'm starting to not particularly care for the phrase,
6:06
Speaker 1: you know, is he worth the contract, regardless of who
6:09
Speaker 1: it is in sports, because I want to see players
6:11
Speaker 1: get paid. I just I'm always that type of guy.
6:14
Speaker 1: I want to see players get paid if they deserve
6:16
Speaker 1: to get paid, if an organization is going to do it,
6:18
Speaker 1: like if he is living up to his contract, Trey Turner, Like,
6:22
Speaker 1: I don't know, but what he's doing right now, he's
6:25
Speaker 1: doing what baseball players need to do with getting on
6:27
Speaker 1: base and putting the team in a very good position.
6:30
Speaker 1: Bryce Harper is starting to do that now, Bryce and Stott.
6:33
Speaker 1: He is having a much better season than what he
6:35
Speaker 1: had last year. Of course in terms of his offense,
6:39
Speaker 1: his plate discipline, I think has been a lot better
6:41
Speaker 1: this season than last year, which is why I'm going
6:43
Speaker 1: to give the infield and JT. Real Muto as well.
6:46
Speaker 1: I mean, let's let's talk about how he initially us
6:50
Speaker 1: talking about we talked about it before him possibly on
6:53
Speaker 1: the downslide of his career. But he's been a very
6:56
Speaker 1: productive member of this team from an offensive standpoint as
6:58
Speaker 1: far as I'm concerned. So I'm giving a B plus here,
7:01
Speaker 1: but I totally get B B minus too.
7:04
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I think I think anywhere in that
7:06
Speaker 3: range is fair. And again it's it's on the upswing, right,
7:11
Speaker 3: I mean, if it's really all just about timing, so
7:14
Speaker 3: but yeah, I mean getting Harper back to doing what
7:16
Speaker 3: he's supposed to be doing.
7:18
Speaker 2: Turner, It's it's.
7:21
Speaker 3: Interesting, like he's getting on He's getting on base was
7:22
Speaker 3: exactly what you want, right, He's stealing bases, which is
7:25
Speaker 3: what we want.
7:26
Speaker 2: There's still like a little bit maybe missing.
7:27
Speaker 3: In the in the you know, gap to gap power
7:30
Speaker 3: or even I know he hit the home run the
7:31
Speaker 3: other yesterday or two days ago. Sorry, but yo, so
7:35
Speaker 3: that's starting to come around. But honestly, when you know
7:38
Speaker 3: he's hitting one or two in your lineup, get him
7:40
Speaker 3: on base for for Bryce, for for Shoreber coming up
7:44
Speaker 3: after that. Bom, like we said, has been as I think,
7:48
Speaker 3: what what, he was hitting under two hundred yes in
7:50
Speaker 3: the month of April and now I think he's hitting
7:52
Speaker 3: like three sixty something in May. So it's like they're
7:54
Speaker 3: starting to come around. These guys are always baseball such
7:57
Speaker 3: a game of like averages, right, Like, yes, you kind
8:00
Speaker 3: of knew Bom it was not going to be a
8:03
Speaker 3: one eighty hitter for the whole season. I mean, is
8:05
Speaker 3: he going to be the best hitter in the league now?
8:07
Speaker 3: But you look at the back of the baseball card,
8:10
Speaker 3: it's always going to trend to the meet Bryce, I
8:12
Speaker 3: was never concerned about. It's like, Okay, get your slump
8:14
Speaker 3: out of the way now and then go on your
8:16
Speaker 3: hot streak for the summer and this will be a
8:18
Speaker 3: lot of fun to watch. So yeah, the infield has
8:22
Speaker 3: definitely been trending in the right direction. So yeah, I mean,
8:24
Speaker 3: I think I think BB plus right around we were
8:26
Speaker 3: saying there I think is a fair grade.
8:28
Speaker 1: Perfect. All right, Well, let's move to the infield in
8:31
Speaker 1: terms of their defense, their defensive productivity this year, I mean,
8:35
Speaker 1: we have seen some good we've seen some not so
8:38
Speaker 1: good here at times. You know, I do think, and
8:41
Speaker 1: I know we're talking about right now, May twenty six,
8:43
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five, what we would grade them. Alec Bauman,
8:47
Speaker 1: his defense over the years has just improved. It has,
8:50
Speaker 1: and I know we're talking about this year. We've certainly
8:52
Speaker 1: seen some hiccups here and there from him. Trey Turner,
8:56
Speaker 1: there's always some hiccups here and there with him, but
8:57
Speaker 1: then we've also seen some really good plays from him
8:59
Speaker 1: as well. You talk about just baseball is a game
9:02
Speaker 1: of averages here, right, Eric, So you know a lot
9:05
Speaker 1: of these guys. Bryson Stott, I think it's been a
9:07
Speaker 1: really good defensive player for this team. And JT. Real Muto,
9:12
Speaker 1: Holy cow, the way he's been able to pick off
9:14
Speaker 1: guys trying to steal second I think it's been fantastic.
9:19
Speaker 1: I'm actually gonna get give their defense a B just
9:21
Speaker 1: a straight up be this year. I don't know what
9:23
Speaker 1: do you give them.
9:24
Speaker 2: I think it'd be is perfectly fair.
9:26
Speaker 3: I was thinking the same thing, okay, And honestly, the
9:28
Speaker 3: only thing really bringing it down I think is bowm
9:34
Speaker 3: has obviously made you know, a lot of strides from
9:37
Speaker 3: you know, where he started out when he came to
9:39
Speaker 3: the big leagues.
9:40
Speaker 2: Is he perfect?
9:41
Speaker 3: No, but he's he's come a long way and he's
9:44
Speaker 3: not hurting you there. I mean, in fact, actually I
9:45
Speaker 3: would say in certain cases he's he's been above average,
9:49
Speaker 3: not statistically, but some of the plays he's making, he's
9:52
Speaker 3: transitioned really nicely.
9:53
Speaker 2: There.
9:54
Speaker 3: Bryson Stott, I think might be one of the best
9:56
Speaker 3: second defensive second basemen in baseball. Like that guy gets
9:59
Speaker 3: to every ball. He is so good where he's at.
10:03
Speaker 3: I would not be surprised if at you know, whether
10:05
Speaker 3: it's this year or in a couple of years, if
10:07
Speaker 3: we're looking at him as a potential Gold Glove candidate. Ye,
10:10
Speaker 3: Bryce is transition seamlessly to first base. We're only doing
10:13
Speaker 3: it for for so long. Yeah, And you know you
10:15
Speaker 3: mentioned JT. JT has always been like as the offense
10:19
Speaker 3: is dipping, the defense isn't you know. I mean, his
10:21
Speaker 3: offense isn't terrible, but obviously it's a drop off from
10:24
Speaker 3: when we signed him, but between throwing guys out at
10:28
Speaker 3: second getting you know, blocking balls, and also I think
10:33
Speaker 3: this kind of goes into it too, just like his
10:35
Speaker 3: handling him a pitching staff, how good he is at handling.
10:38
Speaker 2: The pitching staff.
10:39
Speaker 3: Yeah, and and just knowing those guys I think makes
10:42
Speaker 3: a big difference too. So I think BE or yeah,
10:46
Speaker 3: B I would say, is probably fair trade turner. It's
10:48
Speaker 3: just like, as as the offense is coming along, the
10:51
Speaker 3: defense does not seem to be like.
10:53
Speaker 2: He'll make it.
10:53
Speaker 3: He'll make a really good play every now, but then
10:56
Speaker 3: he lets you know, two games in a row, he'll
10:58
Speaker 3: let he'll let one throw his legs or make some
11:00
Speaker 3: bad thrower or something like that. So it's one of
11:03
Speaker 3: those things where this is a conversation for a different day.
11:05
Speaker 3: But I wonder how how long his time at shortstop
11:09
Speaker 3: is really gonna be there.
11:11
Speaker 1: For I'm thinking the same thing. It's definitely something we're
11:13
Speaker 1: gonna be talking about on this podcast platform more and
11:16
Speaker 1: more as we uh move move along here in the
11:19
Speaker 1: coming weeks and months. Let's now look at the outfield
11:23
Speaker 1: of this Philadelphia Phillies team here, and let's look at
11:26
Speaker 1: the offensive productivity that they have had and grated here.
11:31
Speaker 1: What are your thoughts here, Eric, What what grade would
11:33
Speaker 1: you give the offense as a whole in terms of
11:35
Speaker 1: the outfield.
11:37
Speaker 3: So it's actually been I think better than expected, absolutely,
11:42
Speaker 3: but there's still there's still some holes. I'm gonna I'm
11:45
Speaker 3: gonna go be minus for the outfield. I think, Okay,
11:48
Speaker 3: you're getting you know, Casianas, you know what you're gonna
11:50
Speaker 3: get from him. Right, he's doing a better job at
11:53
Speaker 3: laying off pitches outside, Like I feel like it'll be funny,
11:55
Speaker 3: like it'll be you're watching a game and he's always good.
11:58
Speaker 2: There's gonna be one at bat where he's.
11:59
Speaker 3: Gonna go after that outside slider, a curveball, but then
12:02
Speaker 3: he kind of he stops like it's not like where
12:04
Speaker 3: you know, in what was I guess twenty twenty three
12:07
Speaker 3: when he was just if you threw a pitch outside
12:09
Speaker 3: the zone, he was chasing it. It didn't matter what it
12:12
Speaker 3: was he was chasing. He's he's gotten a lot better
12:14
Speaker 3: with discipline. Rojas and marshaf A coming off the injured list,
12:19
Speaker 3: they have been both pretty productive in terms of offense. Again,
12:23
Speaker 3: you don't need them to be your superstar players. But
12:26
Speaker 3: they're getting on base. And when both those guys get
12:29
Speaker 3: on base, they have speed and that just generates more runs.
12:32
Speaker 1: Absolutely, Johann Rojas real Quick's Betton two fifty three as
12:36
Speaker 1: of us recording this, I will take that from him
12:38
Speaker 1: any day of the week.
12:40
Speaker 3: Your number nine hitter, who you know, when I think
12:42
Speaker 3: if we especially coming into this season, I really thought
12:47
Speaker 3: this was kind of maybe his last his last shot here, yep.
12:51
Speaker 2: But he's doing what he needs.
12:52
Speaker 3: To do to get by, and he's he's holding his
12:54
Speaker 3: own left field with Kepler. His numbers are kind of great.
13:00
Speaker 3: I know he's hitting like in the low yet in
13:03
Speaker 3: it was.
13:03
Speaker 2: Twenty twenty thirty range twenty.
13:05
Speaker 3: Okay, but he's all he's he's hitting the ball hard,
13:09
Speaker 3: and I feel like those numbers are going to start
13:11
Speaker 3: going up. I know he had the home run the
13:13
Speaker 3: other night to tie the game. He has the power
13:16
Speaker 3: if he's healthy for what we're paying him and what
13:19
Speaker 3: we signed him to be kind of, you know, to
13:22
Speaker 3: just strengthen the outfield a little bit there. I think
13:24
Speaker 3: he's doing his job again, You're not. Look we I
13:28
Speaker 3: think there's there's got to be tempered expectations, right with
13:31
Speaker 3: what you're going to get from him. But I really
13:32
Speaker 3: think by the end of the season, or even by
13:35
Speaker 3: the All Star break, we're going to see him around
13:36
Speaker 3: the two fifty two sixty range. And I think at
13:39
Speaker 3: the end of the season, you know, it wouldn't be
13:41
Speaker 3: it wouldn't be a shock to see him in the
13:42
Speaker 3: you know, fifteen to twenty home run range. I know,
13:45
Speaker 3: you know, because he kind of gets that platoon a
13:47
Speaker 3: little bit, so he's gonna he's gonna miss him at
13:50
Speaker 3: bats there.
13:50
Speaker 2: But what do you think.
13:51
Speaker 1: I was actually going to give a C plus and
13:53
Speaker 1: it was actually based on Max Kepler, even though he's
13:56
Speaker 1: actually exceeding some of the expectations that we talked about
13:59
Speaker 1: coming into this. And when I say that, I honestly
14:01
Speaker 1: thought the guy was gonna be batting maybe around two ten,
14:04
Speaker 1: two fifteen or so at this particular point in the season.
14:07
Speaker 1: But you know, right out of the gate this season,
14:10
Speaker 1: I think he I think he was showing us a
14:12
Speaker 1: little something. You know, he's showing okay, yeah, you know
14:14
Speaker 1: what injury stuff, you know, not really affecting me. But again,
14:18
Speaker 1: everybody goes through slumps. Everybody goes through that in Major
14:21
Speaker 1: League baseball. Baseball in general. So, like you said, with
14:25
Speaker 1: Nick Castiano's doing what he has been doing, I mean
14:27
Speaker 1: he's batting two seventy one at this point. Uh, he's
14:31
Speaker 1: got he's got twenty nine RBIs for home runs. It's
14:34
Speaker 1: to be expected in terms of what Nick Castianas is
14:36
Speaker 1: gonna give us. And then, like I said, I will
14:39
Speaker 1: take what what Johann Rojas is doing any day of
14:42
Speaker 1: the week at this point. So that's why, that's why
14:44
Speaker 1: I'm gonna give this C plus. And it really is
14:45
Speaker 1: because of Max Kepler at this point.
14:48
Speaker 2: Okay, that's fair.
14:49
Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, Uh, let's move on to the defense here.
14:53
Speaker 1: All right, I'm gonna I'm gonna get you started here, buddy.
14:55
Speaker 1: On the defense. In terms of the outfield, what great
14:58
Speaker 1: are you gonna give him?
15:01
Speaker 2: I think it depends a little bit on on the makeup.
15:05
Speaker 3: I would I would probably actually say I would probably
15:09
Speaker 3: say a B plus.
15:10
Speaker 1: Okay, I was gonna go, I was gonna go. Ye.
15:14
Speaker 3: It seemed to be like, well, yeah, we're just like
15:16
Speaker 3: a half a off on everything here. It seems like
15:19
Speaker 3: kind of we're like either you know, plus minus or
15:21
Speaker 3: right on. So I think you know, cassianis from a
15:25
Speaker 3: metrics standpoint, isn't necessarily a great outfielder, uh from a
15:30
Speaker 3: defensive perspective, but he's done a lot of work to
15:34
Speaker 3: to be serviceable out there. And it's funny like he
15:37
Speaker 3: he'll make like he'll make what look like really good plays,
15:40
Speaker 3: but the reason they are they look like really good
15:42
Speaker 3: plays is because he's a little bit slower and isn't
15:45
Speaker 3: getting them getting to the ball as quickly. But either way,
15:49
Speaker 3: like he's he's not necessarily hurting you out there. You know,
15:52
Speaker 3: Rojas and Marsh, you pretty much know like they're kind
15:55
Speaker 3: of here for defensive purposes. Like Marsh's throat the other
15:58
Speaker 3: night to save that game. That was that was awesome,
16:01
Speaker 3: Like that was to me, Uh that I didn't because
16:05
Speaker 3: his arm was he could get to balls, but his
16:07
Speaker 3: arm was never something that I really looked at as
16:10
Speaker 3: kind of an above average tool. Right, But that throw
16:13
Speaker 3: right there was like it was right on the money.
16:15
Speaker 3: It had just enough zip on it.
16:17
Speaker 2: It was perfect.
16:18
Speaker 3: And I think Kepler is is an upgrade in left
16:21
Speaker 3: field because of the offensive standpoint, Right, Like you last
16:24
Speaker 3: year they were doing the Marsh Rojas kind of left
16:26
Speaker 3: in centerfield, but you're losing a little bit in terms
16:29
Speaker 3: of offensive production there. But Kepler moving who's only played
16:33
Speaker 3: maybe not much time forget exactly how much time, but
16:36
Speaker 3: not much time in left field in his career. I
16:38
Speaker 3: think he's made that transition pretty seamlessly where he's not
16:42
Speaker 3: hurting you at all out there either. So I I
16:45
Speaker 3: like the defense out there. It's it's way better than
16:48
Speaker 3: having Kyle Schwarber out out there playing playing left field.
16:51
Speaker 1: Who it's only been in the outfield four times this
16:54
Speaker 1: season and really has yeah, exactly and and really wasn't
16:58
Speaker 1: a detriment and those four times to keep it up Kyle.
17:01
Speaker 3: Exactly right, And that's if he only has to play
17:04
Speaker 3: a handful of games out there, and yeah, he's not
17:07
Speaker 3: going to get exposed, right, I mean it just that much.
17:09
Speaker 3: And also the fact that you know he's he's not
17:12
Speaker 3: out there as much, right he's his legs are not
17:15
Speaker 3: going to be as tired. You can even tell, like
17:17
Speaker 3: you get on the bass pass, like he looks I
17:20
Speaker 3: don't want to say fast, but like you know, in
17:22
Speaker 3: in years past he was like, you know, bumbling around
17:25
Speaker 3: second base and you're like, oh my god, this guy
17:27
Speaker 3: looks like he's struggling to move. But he's actually looking
17:31
Speaker 3: sleek on on the base past these days, it's like energy.
17:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like higher energy that he has rounded the bases.
17:39
Speaker 3: That's what happens when all you gotta do is swing,
17:41
Speaker 3: not all you got to do is swing the bat,
17:42
Speaker 3: but when you're not standing quite as much.
17:45
Speaker 1: Right, Well, now that we're talking about Kyle Schwarberg, you know,
17:48
Speaker 1: I know, we talked about he's designated hitter, of course,
17:50
Speaker 1: you know, so he's really not out there playing defense
17:53
Speaker 1: in terms of offense, and yes, he is a he
17:56
Speaker 1: is technically an outfielder, you know, when he can be
17:58
Speaker 1: put into left field. But at this point forty RBIs
18:01
Speaker 1: on the season. He's got eighteen home runs, for God's sake.
18:05
Speaker 1: I mean when you talk about having that in your
18:07
Speaker 1: back pocket in terms of your DH and what they're
18:10
Speaker 1: able to give this team, I mean, that's that right,
18:13
Speaker 1: There is an A plus. That's an A plus.
18:15
Speaker 3: Right, we agree on that one. I was just a A plus. Yeah,
18:19
Speaker 3: we definitely agree on that one. Yeah, I mean you
18:21
Speaker 3: can't beat it. I mean, the power numbers, he's hitting
18:23
Speaker 3: for average, he draws a ton of walks, the guys
18:25
Speaker 3: on base, you know, we saw what was it forty
18:27
Speaker 3: some games or whatever that streak was. Yeah, so the
18:30
Speaker 3: guys on base all the time. He hits for power
18:33
Speaker 3: and like everything he brings to the table is like invaluable,
18:38
Speaker 3: So a plus. And if you can give higher than that,
18:42
Speaker 3: is there extra credit?
18:43
Speaker 1: We should Yeah, we should give him after credit absolutely.
18:46
Speaker 1: All right, Well, let's move to the starting pitching. We're
18:49
Speaker 1: gonna grade the starting pitching of this Philadelphia Phillies team.
18:52
Speaker 1: And boy, again has it been up and down throughout
18:55
Speaker 1: the season. More ups of course, because as we mentioned
18:59
Speaker 1: at the top, folks, I mean, if it wasn't for
19:01
Speaker 1: this Phillies pitching staff, the team probably wouldn't be having
19:05
Speaker 1: the type of season right now in May that they are.
19:08
Speaker 1: So Eric, I'll let you go first in terms of
19:10
Speaker 1: your grade for this Phillies pitching starting pitching unit. What
19:13
Speaker 1: are your thoughts here, I'm gonna go A. I think,
19:16
Speaker 1: I mean, that's what I'm doing too. Yep, there's really
19:19
Speaker 1: not ment.
19:19
Speaker 3: And we you know, with Taiwan Walker pitching the way
19:22
Speaker 3: he has, I know Nola you know, struggled a little
19:25
Speaker 3: bit out of the gate, but he I think once
19:27
Speaker 3: he's healthy again. We talked about averages and trending back
19:30
Speaker 3: to the mean. I mean, you pretty much know what
19:33
Speaker 3: you're getting with Nola almost every single season now this year,
19:36
Speaker 3: because he's missing some time because the ankle injury, we're
19:40
Speaker 3: not we might not see that two hundred innings, two
19:42
Speaker 3: hundred strikeout type performance. And his ERA is already so high,
19:46
Speaker 3: so he's probably not going to get back. You know,
19:48
Speaker 3: it would be impressive if he got back below before
19:51
Speaker 3: e R at this point, I think, because he's always
19:53
Speaker 3: going to go up his runs, right, He's gonna GetUp
19:55
Speaker 3: the home runs. It's just a matter of keeping your
19:57
Speaker 3: team in the game. But it's like Zach Wheeler goes
20:01
Speaker 3: out there and the other night, you know, he was
20:03
Speaker 3: kind of saying how the mound wasn't great and you
20:04
Speaker 3: could tell like his command was a little bit off.
20:07
Speaker 3: But even when Wheeler it is not having his best night,
20:11
Speaker 3: he's still like a top probably fifteen pitcher in the
20:15
Speaker 3: National League. I mean, he's just he's that good. And
20:17
Speaker 3: what a signing that one potentially one of the best
20:20
Speaker 3: free agent signings in in Phillies in Philly, and then
20:24
Speaker 3: being able to extend him like he is just completely
20:28
Speaker 3: he's a different pitcher here and it's been you know, perennial.
20:32
Speaker 3: He's you know, he's in contention for the cy Young
20:34
Speaker 3: or in conversation for the cy Young every single year.
20:37
Speaker 2: Ye.
20:37
Speaker 3: Just what he's been able to do is is so impressive.
20:41
Speaker 3: Christopher Sanchez is is picking it up. It feels like
20:45
Speaker 3: his his command is a little different this year. He's
20:48
Speaker 3: been walking more, but he seems to still be able
20:50
Speaker 3: to get out of it just because, like his change
20:52
Speaker 3: up is one of the best pitches in all of baseball. Yeah,
20:56
Speaker 3: Ranger Suarez after his first outing, has really settled in
21:00
Speaker 3: and you know he's he's looked he's looked really comfortable
21:02
Speaker 3: and really good. And yeah, I mentioned him earlier. My
21:05
Speaker 3: boy has this lizardo. I I love that guy. And
21:09
Speaker 3: just what he's been able to do here so far
21:11
Speaker 3: has I think exceeded pretty much everyone's expectations.
21:15
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, just in terms of his stuff.
21:17
Speaker 3: He's added some new pitches, he's tinkered with some pitches,
21:19
Speaker 3: the way you know he grips, his velocity is looking good.
21:22
Speaker 3: He seems healthy. His you know, he's not walking a
21:26
Speaker 3: ton of guys. So everything he's doing just you know,
21:30
Speaker 3: looks great. And then you know, even the spots start
21:32
Speaker 3: that Mick Abel came out and had and pitched, Like,
21:35
Speaker 3: what an awesome game that.
21:36
Speaker 2: Was, But that was so much fun to watch.
21:37
Speaker 3: Yes, So starting pitching, other than a couple frustrating Nola outings,
21:42
Speaker 3: I don't really has anyone we really had many games
21:45
Speaker 3: to complain about in terms of starting pitching.
21:46
Speaker 2: I don't think we really.
21:47
Speaker 1: Have, not really. I mean that there were a couple
21:50
Speaker 1: there were a couple Zach Wheeler games, you know, one
21:53
Speaker 1: in particular, the one loss that he did have, you know,
21:56
Speaker 1: which really wasn't even his fault. That was, if I'm
21:58
Speaker 1: remembering correctly, that more just the offense not coming to
22:01
Speaker 1: play ball that particular day. But with Zach Wheeler eighty
22:05
Speaker 1: eight strikeouts leads the team six wins, he six to one.
22:09
Speaker 1: As of us recording this, Hey, zus Lozardo two point
22:12
Speaker 1: one five e r A. You've got Christopher Sanchez sorry,
22:17
Speaker 1: three point one seven e r A. Zach Wheeler two
22:20
Speaker 1: point four to e r A. The reason this team
22:23
Speaker 1: and pitching staff, I should say, the reason the pitching
22:25
Speaker 1: staff starting pitching staff doesn't get an A plus for
22:27
Speaker 1: me is obviously Aaron Nola with a six point one
22:30
Speaker 1: six e r A. He has a chance to you know,
22:33
Speaker 1: once he gets back. I think he has, Like you said,
22:36
Speaker 1: I don't know if he's gonna get under a four
22:37
Speaker 1: at this point, you know, the four point zero e RRA.
22:40
Speaker 1: But that's why they're not an A plus for me.
22:43
Speaker 1: But this pitching staff is what is really keeping this
22:45
Speaker 1: team alive in so many ways, and it's it's fun
22:48
Speaker 1: to watch. It's just fun to watch this year. Yeah,
22:51
Speaker 1: all right, well let's move on to the bullpen. Now,
22:54
Speaker 1: the bullpen, grating the Phillies bullpen. This is gonna be interesting.
22:57
Speaker 1: I'm gonna let you go first, buddy, what are your
22:59
Speaker 1: thoughts here?
23:01
Speaker 3: I am gonna go see and I'm gonna go like
23:06
Speaker 3: c C PLO.
23:06
Speaker 1: I was actually gonna do c C plus. Actually okay, I.
23:10
Speaker 2: Was thinking c C minus.
23:11
Speaker 3: I'm see, just because we've seen some potential good things
23:16
Speaker 3: coming out of it. It's just, you know, obviously, I
23:20
Speaker 3: think even coming into this season, it was evident that
23:24
Speaker 3: they were probably shorten armed after losing A Stevens and
23:28
Speaker 3: and Hoffman. Yeah, but and the way Romano started the
23:33
Speaker 3: season obviously wasn't wasn't great. He's pitched really well except
23:37
Speaker 3: for that other night when you gave the three runs.
23:41
Speaker 3: But so we're we're starting to see some flashes from
23:44
Speaker 3: like I'm starting to feel confident in in Romano. His
23:47
Speaker 3: slider is when it's on, it's a really dirty pitch
23:51
Speaker 3: and a really good out pitch as a late inning reliever.
23:55
Speaker 3: But losing Alvarado, I think to have like another eighth
23:59
Speaker 3: ninth in guy just is a like a complete what's
24:05
Speaker 3: the word detriment to to this team. Yeah, because now
24:09
Speaker 3: everyone else gets pushed forward in terms of what they
24:12
Speaker 3: need to do in terms of high leverage situations. And
24:15
Speaker 3: you know, Matt Strom has been pretty good. Tanner Banks
24:19
Speaker 3: has actually been way better than I anticipate. So yeah,
24:23
Speaker 3: thank thank god, because otherwise it thinks could be really bad.
24:27
Speaker 3: But then you look at seeing some of the other
24:29
Speaker 3: part of the bullpen and like Carlos Hernandez probably shouldn't
24:33
Speaker 3: see a mound again in the major leagues until he
24:38
Speaker 3: can figure some stuff out. Jose Ruiz I had really
24:41
Speaker 3: big expectations for coming this season. I really hope you
24:44
Speaker 3: can build on what he did last season, and it's
24:46
Speaker 3: just there's an injury there. But it's just not coming
24:48
Speaker 3: to fruition like he just doesn't look like the same pitcher.
24:53
Speaker 2: So you know, there's there's, there's week. I think if
24:56
Speaker 2: you're looking at this.
24:57
Speaker 3: Team and you're looking for a weakness, it's it's the
25:00
Speaker 3: And I think in a playoff series where starting pitchers
25:03
Speaker 3: have such a short leash, your bullpen becomes way more important.
25:08
Speaker 3: And right now, if this is the Phillies bullpen going
25:12
Speaker 3: into a series in October, I'd be very scared.
25:15
Speaker 2: Yeah.
25:16
Speaker 3: I think they do something. I think they do address it,
25:19
Speaker 3: but as of right now, I think a C is
25:22
Speaker 3: is all I can really give that.
25:24
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm gonna do. See, you've convinced me to take
25:27
Speaker 1: it from a C plus to a C. Look, you
25:29
Speaker 1: know I had such a I remember on our Phillies
25:33
Speaker 1: season preview show my co host Eric, we really had
25:36
Speaker 1: the high expectations for a Ryan Kirkering. We had talked
25:39
Speaker 1: about him extensively and just his development and his growth
25:43
Speaker 1: over the past couple of seasons and where his game
25:45
Speaker 1: could potentially go Seemingly, you know, our thought was, you know,
25:50
Speaker 1: a higher ceiling than where he is currently at right now.
25:53
Speaker 1: He's been extremely disappointing thus far, even though he leads
25:55
Speaker 1: the team with eight holds. I mean, okay, whatever. You know,
25:59
Speaker 1: that's tied for like twentieth in Major League Baseball. So
26:02
Speaker 1: at this point, all right, congratulations, but you know, losing
26:07
Speaker 1: Jose Alvarado is it's just it's just it stinks. It
26:12
Speaker 1: just stinks. There's no other way to put it. You know,
26:14
Speaker 1: the type of season he was having, and you know
26:18
Speaker 1: what he brought to the bull the consistency that he
26:21
Speaker 1: was inevitably bringing to the bullpen with seven saves already.
26:25
Speaker 1: And you know, you talked about whether you know Tanner
26:28
Speaker 1: Banks being a surprise, but like you said, again, I
26:31
Speaker 1: don't want to see Carlos Hernandez at all. I feel
26:34
Speaker 1: like with the bullpen, what they were going into this
26:37
Speaker 1: season doing was throwing, throwing it all against the wall,
26:40
Speaker 1: seeing what sticks. And I think we have a better
26:43
Speaker 1: understanding of what's sticking what's not sticking. They're going to
26:46
Speaker 1: address this at the trade deadline, for sure. So that's
26:50
Speaker 1: that's thoughts there on the bullpen, folks. And we have
26:53
Speaker 1: given them a C right now, and maybe that at
26:56
Speaker 1: times that's generous based on the outing for sure. Last
27:00
Speaker 1: but not least, before we let Eric go here, we're
27:03
Speaker 1: gonna grade the Phillies manager Rob Thompson. What are your great?
27:07
Speaker 1: What are you giving Rob Thompson.
27:08
Speaker 2: Here might be controversial, but I'm giving him an A.
27:12
Speaker 1: Okay, I think give him a B plus. We're right
27:15
Speaker 1: there in that we're very close.
27:17
Speaker 2: We're very close.
27:18
Speaker 3: Yes, he he seems to have a really and he
27:22
Speaker 3: has since he's taken over. He has such a good
27:25
Speaker 3: pulse on the clubhouse and people. People do question his decisions.
27:29
Speaker 3: But every baseball manager, like, it doesn't matter who it is, right,
27:32
Speaker 3: you're gonna question their decisions and they're.
27:34
Speaker 2: Gonna they work out.
27:36
Speaker 1: Yes, I was gonna say sometimes they work out, sometimes
27:38
Speaker 1: they don't work out. Every manager goes through that, folks exactly.
27:43
Speaker 3: So he he the players love playing for him. He
27:47
Speaker 3: gets the most out of this team. And I think
27:49
Speaker 3: that's like because he's his demeanor is always so even keel.
27:54
Speaker 3: I think people are like like even when they're playing bad,
27:57
Speaker 3: everyone's like like yo, certain local radio states or you know,
28:00
Speaker 3: you have people calling in all the time talking about,
28:02
Speaker 3: you know, time to fire Rob Thompson.
28:05
Speaker 2: What what's your backup play?
28:06
Speaker 1: Right?
28:07
Speaker 2: Like, what's your backup plan? What would you like him
28:09
Speaker 2: to do? So? Because he doesn't he's not.
28:12
Speaker 3: He's not Larry Boat, right, He's not getting up there
28:14
Speaker 3: screaming and kicking things and and and and throwing things
28:17
Speaker 3: around and cursing. He's a very even keeled guy. He
28:20
Speaker 3: is gonna he's gonna talk to his players, and I
28:22
Speaker 3: think they respect him because of that. There's I guarantee
28:25
Speaker 3: you there is more going on in that clubhouse behind
28:28
Speaker 3: closed doors than anyone knows about. Yeah, And like he
28:32
Speaker 3: is not just sitting there and be like all right, yeah,
28:34
Speaker 3: Like in his postgame presser, he doesn't throw his players
28:36
Speaker 3: under the bus. And sometimes that frustrates people because they're like,
28:40
Speaker 3: well he's been like you know, Boom frustrated to meet
28:43
Speaker 3: so much during April and I'm.
28:45
Speaker 2: Like, how can this guy?
28:47
Speaker 3: I felt like he was grounding in double plays when
28:48
Speaker 3: there wasn't even guys on base, Like he would still
28:50
Speaker 3: find a way to ground a double play. And I'm like,
28:53
Speaker 3: say something about him, say something about him, mention. But
28:55
Speaker 3: I'm like, you know what, he knows what he knows
28:57
Speaker 3: what he's doing. And now Boom turns around. He doesn't
28:59
Speaker 3: throw his play of the bus, but I guarantee you
29:01
Speaker 3: if players make a bad play, he's calling an office
29:04
Speaker 3: and he's talking to them about it like it's not
29:06
Speaker 3: like it's going on a dress. And I think we
29:10
Speaker 3: have to understand that in a baseball clubhouse, there's a
29:12
Speaker 3: lot more going on there than as you know, as
29:15
Speaker 3: as fans.
29:16
Speaker 2: And even to even some media.
29:17
Speaker 3: Right there's only certain parts of the clubhouse that the
29:19
Speaker 3: media are allowed of access, right, So there's more going
29:23
Speaker 3: on there than we know. And I think Rob Thompson
29:25
Speaker 3: gets the most out of this team. They just showed
29:26
Speaker 3: a stat the other night he was the fastest, uh
29:29
Speaker 3: now the fastest manager in Philly's history of three hundred
29:32
Speaker 3: wins including postseason. He beat out Charlie Manuel, he beat
29:35
Speaker 3: out Dallas Green. So like he is frustrating as people
29:39
Speaker 3: think he can be, he's he's fine, Yeah, I get so,
29:42
Speaker 3: I give it.
29:42
Speaker 2: I give an exactly I had.
29:44
Speaker 1: I had a ridiculous, stupid Twitter discussion with somebody last
29:49
Speaker 1: year who wanted him to exactly last year, and they're like,
29:55
Speaker 1: of course, you know, he should be winning as many
29:57
Speaker 1: games as he is as a manager with this roster.
30:00
Speaker 1: Of course he should be. Wait, give me a break.
30:03
Speaker 1: I don't care how good your roster is. We have
30:05
Speaker 1: seen really good major League Baseball rosters over the years, right, Eric,
30:09
Speaker 1: and they haven't been able to do much because of
30:12
Speaker 1: the leadership from the manager. We've seen it time and
30:14
Speaker 1: time again. So that argument absolutely stinks. Like you said,
30:19
Speaker 1: there's more to what's going on behind the scenes in
30:22
Speaker 1: terms of camaraderie, in terms of being held accountable. That's
30:25
Speaker 1: what you want out of your manager. Keep things together,
30:29
Speaker 1: keep things cohesive. That's what Rob Thompson's done during the
30:32
Speaker 1: course of his tenure here. That's what he's done. Yeah,
30:36
Speaker 1: all right, buddy, that was a great discussion. I really
30:38
Speaker 1: enjoyed our grades there and we were, like we said,
30:40
Speaker 1: we were right around the same areas there.
30:43
Speaker 2: Discussing it ahead of time. Yet we were really absolutely.
30:46
Speaker 1: Absolutely Again, folks, Eric Moritelli from that balls out of
30:50
Speaker 1: here dot com, I know you've got for our YouTube
30:54
Speaker 1: watchers there. You've got your handle up there for Twitter
30:57
Speaker 1: slash x at Eric underscore Moretelly, are you anywhere else
31:00
Speaker 1: will use on the interwebs out there you want to promo.
31:03
Speaker 2: I'm on Blue Sky.
31:04
Speaker 3: I don't post on it very often just because I
31:07
Speaker 3: feel I feel like it hasn't gotten as much traction,
31:11
Speaker 3: But I'm on there. And I say this, I feel
31:13
Speaker 3: like every time I'm on this show with you, I
31:14
Speaker 3: should really just look it up one of these times beforehand.
31:16
Speaker 3: I forget my handle. But I think I'm the only
31:18
Speaker 3: Eric Mortelly on there.
31:19
Speaker 1: I think you are. I've seen it more than you,
31:21
Speaker 1: I think at this point. All right, folks, Well, if
31:25
Speaker 1: you're watching on YouTube right here on your screen our
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31:32
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Speaker 1: out the Philadelphia Sports Table. You're gonna find us on
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Speaker 1: various social media platforms out there. And again, Eric Moritelly, buddy,
31:54
Speaker 1: it was great talking to you. Thanks so much for
31:56
Speaker 1: coming on. I'm hoping that you can join us down
31:58
Speaker 1: the road.
31:59
Speaker 2: Absolute thanks for having me, Jeff.
32:01
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32:03
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