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

0:29
Speaker 1: Welcome to Table Talk here at the Philadelphia Sports Table
0:31
Speaker 1: podcast show, the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show
0:34
Speaker 1: in the world, over twelve and a half years strong.
0:36
Speaker 1: We've got a great discussion coming your way this week
0:39
Speaker 1: on Table Talk. We have to dive into this Philadelphia
0:42
Speaker 1: Phillies off season, what we've seen so far, what the
0:45
Speaker 1: expectations are going to be for the rest of this offseason,
0:47
Speaker 1: and where this team can possibly go in twenty twenty six.
0:51
Speaker 1: So joining us from the Hit and Season podcast. We've
0:54
Speaker 1: loved having her on before. It's always great to talk
0:56
Speaker 1: to her and get her insights. We've got the one
0:59
Speaker 1: and only Rocher, Liz. Thanks so much for joining us
1:01
Speaker 1: this week.
1:03
Speaker 2: My pleasure is always let's talk some Phillies. Let's definitely
1:07
Speaker 2: talk some Phillies. Yes, absolutely can't take the fact that
1:10
Speaker 2: not any other.
1:11
Speaker 1: Exactly, the fact that there's another Philadelphia sports team that
1:14
Speaker 1: completely bungled the rest of their season last night, We're
1:17
Speaker 1: not gonna We're not gonna talk about that right now.
1:19
Speaker 1: But I'm genuinely excited, Liz about the Philly season coming up.
1:25
Speaker 1: And I know there's a lot of folks that are like,
1:26
Speaker 1: a you know, we're gonna be running back with a
1:28
Speaker 1: lot of the same guys every baseball season, in every
1:32
Speaker 1: Philly season, I feel like this time of the year,
1:34
Speaker 1: you know, the hot stove season, I'm feeling optimistic and
1:38
Speaker 1: it's it may may just be me. I know there's
1:40
Speaker 1: some other folks out there like me as well. But
1:44
Speaker 1: I mean, they've made some moves this offseason, and I've
1:47
Speaker 1: heard you and your co host talk about it in number.
1:50
Speaker 1: A number of these moves are on the Hit and
1:52
Speaker 1: Season podcast. Love I love the show still. I subscribe
1:57
Speaker 1: on Apple podcasts.
1:58
Speaker 3: But thank you.
2:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, aside from Kyle Schwarber, there hasn't necessarily been a
2:04
Speaker 1: monumental type of signing. I mean, things have been kind
2:08
Speaker 1: of I would describe them as quote low key for
2:10
Speaker 1: Dave Dombrowski in the front office so far here. So
2:13
Speaker 1: I'm wondering, what has been for you the most intriguing
2:18
Speaker 1: signing of the off season thus far, And you know,
2:21
Speaker 1: maybe outside the realm of Kyle Schwarber, because we know
2:23
Speaker 1: how important he is to this team.
2:25
Speaker 4: What are your thoughts here?
2:27
Speaker 2: Well, they haven't made a ton of like important signings,
2:32
Speaker 2: but they have made some, you know, so decent signings.
2:35
Speaker 2: There's a Doolas Garcia who's going to be in the outfield. Yep,
2:38
Speaker 2: there's Brad Keller, who's a relief reliever. And I'm excited
2:43
Speaker 2: about Brad Keller. Okay, not I'm iffy on a Doola Scarcia,
2:47
Speaker 2: but I'm excited about Brad Keller. You know, we had
2:50
Speaker 2: a good season last year and the Phillies are really
2:52
Speaker 2: banking on him, repeating that since he doesn't have a really.
2:57
Speaker 3: Any history of doing that well in the past.
2:59
Speaker 2: Right, So it's a bit of a flyer, but you know,
3:04
Speaker 2: this is actually a good risk to take instead of
3:07
Speaker 2: the Jordan Romano, Like, I'm fine with them doing this, Yes.
3:12
Speaker 4: You know absolutely.
3:13
Speaker 1: The thing is in the world of baseball, as we know,
3:16
Speaker 1: there are teams, of course outside the world of Philadelphia
3:19
Speaker 1: that take flyers on players. They're people taking flyers on
3:23
Speaker 1: baseball players all the time. Sometimes they hit, sometimes they
3:26
Speaker 1: don't hit. But with Keller, I feel like you that
3:29
Speaker 1: it's it is a good signing and one that really
3:33
Speaker 1: could pay dividends in the end this season.
3:35
Speaker 4: Those are my thoughts as well.
3:37
Speaker 2: Yeah, like he's not a project, right, he had a
3:42
Speaker 2: good season last year, Yes, and so it's not like
3:44
Speaker 2: the Phillies are waiting for him to bounce back like
3:47
Speaker 2: they want him to maintain and giving him access to
3:50
Speaker 2: some of the best you know, pitching coaches in the
3:53
Speaker 2: league is only going to help.
3:54
Speaker 1: Right absolutely. Look, I also wasn't gonna I just actually
3:58
Speaker 1: read of just recently as I'm kind of getting, you know,
4:02
Speaker 1: getting excited about the Phillies and even former Phillies players
4:06
Speaker 1: and what's happening with them.
4:08
Speaker 4: Wasn't planning on asking you about it. But Max Max Kepler, holy.
4:11
Speaker 1: Cow, getting suspended for performance enhancing uh things he was
4:17
Speaker 1: putting into his body. I guess it's I guess I'm
4:20
Speaker 1: We're glad he's probably not on the Phillies anymore.
4:23
Speaker 2: That's I mean, honestly, it's hilarious because it barely worked.
4:27
Speaker 3: It didn't even really work.
4:28
Speaker 4: It didn't work.
4:30
Speaker 2: I mean, then I think the timing of it. If
4:32
Speaker 2: he's already accepted the suspension, he's already gone.
4:35
Speaker 3: Through the appeals process.
4:36
Speaker 2: Ye, so yeah, Uh, it's almost certain that he was
4:39
Speaker 2: doing this while you know, it's not an off season test.
4:42
Speaker 3: He was doing this while he was with the Phillies,
4:44
Speaker 3: right absolutely.
4:45
Speaker 2: Yep, come on, man, and still really forget it.
4:50
Speaker 3: It's a tough place to play, but you you were sucking.
4:53
Speaker 3: It's not like we were booing.
4:54
Speaker 4: You are no reason right exactly, and you were still
4:58
Speaker 4: taking those things.
5:01
Speaker 2: So it's hilarious. Take your suspension, man, just go.
5:05
Speaker 1: Absolutely well, look as we're moving along here, Liz, I mean,
5:08
Speaker 1: the one other storyline that I've been concentrating on and
5:12
Speaker 1: really trying to follow what's been happening to and really
5:15
Speaker 1: thinking to myself, what is going to happen to this
5:17
Speaker 1: particular position on the Philadelphia Phillies in the future, And
5:20
Speaker 1: that is what happens with JT.
5:22
Speaker 4: Real Muto, And.
5:23
Speaker 1: I personally think this front office needs to bring him back.
5:27
Speaker 1: And at this point I would assume that JT also
5:30
Speaker 1: wants to come back, But I'm sure the hang up
5:33
Speaker 1: here is just how many years are they going to
5:36
Speaker 1: give him? Is Dave Dombrowski going to inevitably give him?
5:39
Speaker 1: So first, I'm wondering, do you want JT back on
5:42
Speaker 1: this roster over these next few years perhaps? And second,
5:47
Speaker 1: if it's not him, what are their options here to
5:50
Speaker 1: the Phillies have as they'd be losing a lot of
5:52
Speaker 1: talent behind home plate, they.
5:55
Speaker 2: Would be and This is sort of tied into your
5:57
Speaker 2: next question with Bobashet. Yes, because there's no way they
6:01
Speaker 2: get rid of Real Muto and then don't sign Bishet, right,
6:04
Speaker 2: and so because they need to replace his offense, there's
6:07
Speaker 2: no way they can just get rid of you know,
6:10
Speaker 2: Real Muco and be like we're fine, yeah, because it
6:13
Speaker 2: would be Raphael Marshawn.
6:14
Speaker 3: There's no one.
6:15
Speaker 2: Out there, right, It's just we talked about that on
6:18
Speaker 2: Hit and Season recently. There's just no one out there
6:21
Speaker 2: that's not that like. The guys that the Phillies have
6:23
Speaker 2: in their system right now are pretty much as good
6:25
Speaker 2: as they can do on the open market.
6:28
Speaker 4: Really, it's incredible, and I don't think that's good enough.
6:30
Speaker 4: It's not good enough.
6:31
Speaker 3: Who it won't be good enough.
6:35
Speaker 2: But you sort of have to have trust in Marshaan
6:39
Speaker 2: to at least handle the speed the pitching staff. Well,
6:41
Speaker 2: that's something that's really important that he needs to do.
6:44
Speaker 2: Because if they can replace his offense, they can replace
6:47
Speaker 2: Real Nuto's offense.
6:48
Speaker 3: That's huge, right, right, you know they'll be able to.
6:51
Speaker 2: I think they can get along with Marshan, like it
6:54
Speaker 2: would be ideal to have both if they could. But
6:57
Speaker 2: you know, I think if they resign real Muto, then
7:00
Speaker 2: they're they're not in bishat. I'm really eager to find
7:04
Speaker 2: out how that uh, how that video call went, exactly
7:08
Speaker 2: exactly who they who they teleported in and all that stuff.
7:13
Speaker 1: You know.
7:13
Speaker 4: I go back.
7:14
Speaker 1: I've mentioned this before on this podcast platform, Liz, and
7:18
Speaker 1: you know, I go back to the days of Carlos
7:20
Speaker 1: Ruiz and I always called him the General because he
7:24
Speaker 1: really was fantastic and the role that he played for
7:26
Speaker 1: so many years behind home plate and just what his
7:29
Speaker 1: role was as well in the batter's box. And I
7:32
Speaker 1: and I've looked at JT for real Muto as that
7:35
Speaker 1: next general, and I think that's something that this team needs.
7:39
Speaker 1: And I think that's why, at the end of the day,
7:41
Speaker 1: the front office is gonna need to give real Muto
7:45
Speaker 1: the contract that he he wants and to an extent
7:48
Speaker 1: that I believe he deserves as well. Yes, I know
7:51
Speaker 1: there are certain aspects of his game that are on
7:53
Speaker 1: the downslide, for sure.
7:54
Speaker 4: I mean I'm not lost, that's not lost on me.
7:58
Speaker 1: But I think you need to have that general behind
8:00
Speaker 1: And I don't know, maybe I'm being too idealistic and
8:03
Speaker 1: unrealistic about it, but they I just think they have
8:06
Speaker 1: to bring him back because they need the general here
8:08
Speaker 1: on the team.
8:09
Speaker 3: I don't think you're wrong.
8:10
Speaker 2: I think the Phillies have in the past sort of
8:14
Speaker 2: well up until Kyle Schwarber, they really lacked a vocal leader,
8:17
Speaker 2: which is why it was really imperative to get him back,
8:20
Speaker 2: not just for his offense, but because he has such
8:22
Speaker 2: a presence in the clubhouse, right, And that's really important
8:26
Speaker 2: because I feel like, I don't know what your concept
8:29
Speaker 2: of the general is.
8:30
Speaker 3: It's sort of an on field thing, right, right.
8:32
Speaker 2: I feel like I don't know, like real Muto has
8:35
Speaker 2: been relatively understated in his play, his command of the
8:40
Speaker 2: whole field, I think, right, But I think he's definitely
8:44
Speaker 2: he's steady and he plays a ton.
8:47
Speaker 4: Yes.
8:47
Speaker 2: I mean that's kind of exactly what Carlos Ruiz was, right,
8:51
Speaker 2: And I think if you look at Ruiz's offense, he
8:53
Speaker 2: wasn't always the best he was, you know, for a catcher.
8:57
Speaker 2: He was decent at the time, of course, but he
9:01
Speaker 2: was if you compare him to today, he would have
9:04
Speaker 2: some trouble staying afloat. I think you sort of have
9:08
Speaker 2: to adjust your expectations of the catcher these days. Yeah,
9:12
Speaker 2: because like the reason why real Muto was such a
9:16
Speaker 2: hot commodity at any point in his career is because
9:19
Speaker 2: he is a catcher who can hit.
9:21
Speaker 4: Yes, he's good.
9:22
Speaker 2: Behind the plate and he's good at the plate. And
9:24
Speaker 2: that's becoming rarer for catchers because being a catcher is hard.
9:29
Speaker 2: You have to have a special kind of personality because
9:32
Speaker 2: you're doing like three different jobs. Yeah, you know, you're
9:35
Speaker 2: doing your own job as catcher, you're also supporting the pitchers,
9:40
Speaker 2: which is a much more complicated job, and then you
9:43
Speaker 2: have to hit. So it's kind of no wonder that
9:45
Speaker 2: a lot of guys that, you know, there aren't what
9:47
Speaker 2: we consider like great catchers anymore. But you know, there
9:51
Speaker 2: just aren't guys like.
9:53
Speaker 3: That out there.
9:53
Speaker 2: Maybe there'll be a resurgence, but the catcher just doesn't
9:57
Speaker 2: seem to be a position.
9:58
Speaker 3: That a lot of guys want to play anymore.
10:00
Speaker 4: Right, And JT.
10:00
Speaker 1: Real Muto is a productive member of this batting lineup
10:04
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, and I think that's
10:05
Speaker 1: why they have to really get this done. But then,
10:08
Speaker 1: you know, you you mentioned, I guess the elephant in
10:11
Speaker 1: the room in terms of a storyline with this Phillies team.
10:14
Speaker 1: And I'm not even sure if it's realistic necessarily anymore.
10:17
Speaker 1: But the Bobashett to the Phillies talk, I mean, it's
10:21
Speaker 1: still out there. We don't really know how this may go.
10:24
Speaker 1: But on a scale of one to ten, here, Liz,
10:28
Speaker 1: how serious do you think the front office is in
10:30
Speaker 1: terms of trying to acquire Bashett? And also how likely
10:34
Speaker 1: is it that Phillies can actually acquire him?
10:37
Speaker 2: I think they're one hundred percent serious about acquiring I
10:40
Speaker 2: don't think they would go after a bet.
10:43
Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, that's definitely a ten.
10:45
Speaker 2: There's no way if they want If they didn't want
10:47
Speaker 2: to acquire and they you know, if they were just
10:49
Speaker 2: if he they would have just made a phone call,
10:51
Speaker 2: made sure his team knew and just left it in
10:54
Speaker 2: his court. But they actively courted him, you know, they
10:58
Speaker 2: wanted to do this conference. And I think part of
11:00
Speaker 2: the appeal of him being here is the clubhouse. He'd
11:05
Speaker 2: be very comfortable in this clubhouse, and I think people
11:08
Speaker 2: would leave him alone to do his own thing. I
11:10
Speaker 2: think he's, from what I've heard, is the type of
11:12
Speaker 2: guy that needs that, and I think Philadelphia is a
11:15
Speaker 2: place he can get it. As far as how realistic
11:19
Speaker 2: I think it is that it will happen is a
11:22
Speaker 2: different story, right, scale one to ten.
11:26
Speaker 4: To be honest with you, I'm thinking like three at
11:29
Speaker 4: this point.
11:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, Like I was asked to put odds on it
11:31
Speaker 2: at one point I said five percent, which was higher
11:34
Speaker 2: than my co host, and well said zero. And then
11:37
Speaker 2: when they decided to do a video conference, I felt indicated.
11:41
Speaker 2: Yes exactly, So I think it's honestly, I think it's.
11:46
Speaker 3: Like a four or five. They actually had a video conference.
11:51
Speaker 3: It means he's interested.
11:52
Speaker 4: Yeah, all right, you know.
11:53
Speaker 3: I mean, here's the thing. I could say five and
11:55
Speaker 3: it means nothing. I could say ten. I don't think
11:58
Speaker 3: I'd go to jail for it.
12:01
Speaker 1: Oh, it's always great talking to our good friend Liz
12:03
Speaker 1: Rocher again from the Hit and Season podcast. Tell everybody
12:06
Speaker 1: where they can find you on the interwebs out there
12:07
Speaker 1: before we go to break here, Liz.
12:09
Speaker 2: I'm on Blue Sky at Liz Roacher, the same as
12:12
Speaker 2: on Twitter. I do not go there anymore. My account
12:14
Speaker 2: will live forever, but I do not go.
12:17
Speaker 3: There anymore unfortunately. So I'm over on Blue Sky.
12:19
Speaker 2: You can also find my work at sabersabr dot org,
12:24
Speaker 2: slash publications. I am the editor for the Baseball Research Journal,
12:30
Speaker 2: which is free to all SABER members and I think
12:34
Speaker 2: about twenty dollars for non SABER members or an online version.
12:38
Speaker 3: It's excellent.
12:38
Speaker 4: Please read it, very good, very good, folks. Check it out.
12:42
Speaker 4: And we are going to go to break really quick.
12:44
Speaker 1: But if you're watching on YouTube, like and subscribe to
12:46
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Sports Table podcast show and share our podcast
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12:55
Speaker 1: content coming your way. That being said, we're going to
12:59
Speaker 1: take a break here. When we get back more Philadelphia
13:02
Speaker 1: Phillies talk and what's gonna happen in this twenty twenty
13:04
Speaker 1: six season.
13:07
Speaker 4: All right, we are back with our good friend Liz Roacher.
13:11
Speaker 1: And as we're moving along the discussion here, Liz, with
13:14
Speaker 1: this upcoming Philadelphia Phillies season, I mean, every baseball team
13:21
Speaker 1: that are considered quote contenders, they're in that win now
13:25
Speaker 1: type of mentality, rightfully. So I believe the Phillies are there.
13:29
Speaker 1: I believe because of the seasons they've had, the talent
13:31
Speaker 1: on this team still a contender to potentially win the
13:35
Speaker 1: NL East this coming season. They have a roster with
13:38
Speaker 1: a lot of strength, whether it's pitching, whether it's batting,
13:42
Speaker 1: but they could be better in certain areas. And they
13:46
Speaker 1: also need to look towards the future and what the
13:48
Speaker 1: future holds at certain positions as well. So what other
13:52
Speaker 1: acquisitions do you think the Phillies should be looking to
13:56
Speaker 1: make as it pertains not only to this season, but
13:59
Speaker 1: possibly future seasons as well. We don't have a crystal ball,
14:02
Speaker 1: but I wanted to get your thoughts here on this one.
14:05
Speaker 2: They have to be careful because a lot of people
14:08
Speaker 2: want them to trade Alec Boum for someone you know,
14:12
Speaker 2: or for anything, and I think it's important to keep
14:15
Speaker 2: him around until they know if his minor league replacement,
14:19
Speaker 2: you know, the guy who they know his name, is
14:21
Speaker 2: escaping me at the moment.
14:22
Speaker 3: But they have a.
14:24
Speaker 2: Third basement down there, and they have to find out
14:27
Speaker 2: whether or not he's going to be legit before they
14:29
Speaker 2: get rid of him, because that bomb's a really good.
14:31
Speaker 4: Player, right.
14:32
Speaker 2: They have to be careful at first base because they've
14:35
Speaker 2: got Harper there for quite a while.
14:37
Speaker 4: Yep.
14:39
Speaker 2: I think they can really do some good work in
14:41
Speaker 2: the bullpen. They've done a lot of good work internationally
14:43
Speaker 2: the last couple of years as well. I think the
14:46
Speaker 2: bullpen is important. A lot of those guys are interchangeable,
14:48
Speaker 2: but the Phillies like to have an anchor of a
14:50
Speaker 2: handful of guys that have been there for a while
14:53
Speaker 2: or that will be there for a while, right, And
14:56
Speaker 2: that's important because they're because their bullpen is always changing.
15:01
Speaker 4: It is it is always changing. Yeah, And I.
15:04
Speaker 2: Think starting pitching is also really important. As we've seen,
15:08
Speaker 2: even if a guy's signs of contract, it means nothing, yes,
15:11
Speaker 2: whether or not he'll be good in the future.
15:13
Speaker 4: And so I'm glad you mentioned it.
15:14
Speaker 1: I'm glad you mentioned the starting pitching because as some
15:17
Speaker 1: of these gentlemen get a little older, whether it is
15:20
Speaker 1: Aaron Nola Zach Wheeler, we don't know what the heck
15:22
Speaker 1: is going to be happening with him down the road
15:23
Speaker 1: in terms of his health.
15:25
Speaker 4: I mean, those are two main pitchers to quote ace
15:29
Speaker 4: based pitchers that there's a lot of uncertainty about their
15:33
Speaker 4: futures and what the future.
15:35
Speaker 1: Is gonna hold for this pitching staff because of those
15:38
Speaker 1: two gentlemen, and from a development standpoint, from a farm
15:42
Speaker 1: system standpoint, I am extremely extremely concerned Liz with the
15:48
Speaker 1: starting pitching rotation, what that's going to look like even
15:51
Speaker 1: next year or even two years from now.
15:54
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's an area where they've been strong for a
15:57
Speaker 2: number of years, and I don't know that they've really
16:00
Speaker 2: looked forward as much as they could. The Aaron Nola
16:06
Speaker 2: stuff is just a completely separate thing. It can't really
16:10
Speaker 2: count that as normal.
16:11
Speaker 3: That's a whole separate thing.
16:13
Speaker 2: But like they know that Zach Wheeler will probably be
16:16
Speaker 2: retiring at the end of his most.
16:19
Speaker 4: Recent contract, absolutely.
16:21
Speaker 2: And so that's not too far away.
16:23
Speaker 3: I don't know who. I mean, all we've been hearing
16:26
Speaker 3: about in.
16:29
Speaker 2: For the Miners in pitching is Andrew Paynter or Andrew Paynter,
16:33
Speaker 2: and he's not even considered their top pitching prospect anymore.
16:36
Speaker 4: I know. And we're gonna get to him in a second.
16:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, And so it's really it's their starting pitching is concerning,
16:45
Speaker 2: and that's an area that they desperately need to start
16:48
Speaker 2: thinking about, and I'm sure they are, but the issues,
16:52
Speaker 2: I don't think they're doing enough at this moment to
16:55
Speaker 2: really address that. And maybe maybe they're going to do
16:58
Speaker 2: a pitching heavy draft, you.
16:59
Speaker 4: Know, Yeah, maybe it would probably.
17:02
Speaker 3: Be Ian do it.
17:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm just no longer confident in the draft to
17:07
Speaker 2: provide the type of top tier talent that it used
17:11
Speaker 2: to because it's at this point, it's so it seems
17:16
Speaker 2: very hit or miss.
17:17
Speaker 4: Yeah, that absolutely does.
17:19
Speaker 3: It does it in a way with the top draft picks.
17:22
Speaker 2: It's sort of all we have, yes, yeah, it's all
17:25
Speaker 2: we have to sort of, you know, measure younger players
17:28
Speaker 2: when they are first coming into the league. But it's
17:31
Speaker 2: flawed at best, and so like the Phillies, I would
17:34
Speaker 2: love to know what they're doing because it seems like
17:36
Speaker 2: they're doing nothing.
17:37
Speaker 1: It does absolutely, I mean, and look like I said,
17:40
Speaker 1: we're gonna get to Andrew payn Or to close us
17:42
Speaker 1: out in just a bit here. But before we get there, Liz,
17:46
Speaker 1: I I want to talk about this outfield because the
17:50
Speaker 1: Phillies still seem to have one of the worst, if
17:52
Speaker 1: not the worst outfield heading into twenty twenty six.
17:55
Speaker 4: And at this point, you know, it has been years
17:58
Speaker 4: in years in years that.
18:00
Speaker 1: We have been talking about this outfield and who's going
18:05
Speaker 1: to platoon, where, what is the talent going to inevitably
18:09
Speaker 1: look like year after year, and how these players have
18:12
Speaker 1: performed in the batter's box and what they're going to
18:15
Speaker 1: give to the team overall. It's just it's a it
18:18
Speaker 1: is a tiring theme. Quite frankly, I think for all
18:21
Speaker 1: of us Phillies fans here, a lot of weight I
18:25
Speaker 1: think as a result is going to be on Justin
18:27
Speaker 1: Crawford if he's truly going to be a starter this
18:30
Speaker 1: season in one of the main cogs, whether in the
18:33
Speaker 1: batter's box or out in the outfield. What are your
18:36
Speaker 1: thoughts on how the Phillies have really handled this outfield
18:40
Speaker 1: for so many years here, the.
18:42
Speaker 2: Phillies have never been serious about their outfield, at least
18:46
Speaker 2: for the last twenty years at least.
18:48
Speaker 4: It's not true, that's true.
18:50
Speaker 2: I mean they won the World Series with I mean
18:54
Speaker 2: it was a little bit more solid than but they've
18:56
Speaker 2: always loved to screw around in left field.
18:58
Speaker 4: Yeah.
18:58
Speaker 2: They always love to just put like actual trees out
19:02
Speaker 2: there and expect them to move.
19:03
Speaker 3: Yes, And they love doing that.
19:06
Speaker 2: And they've done that so many times, I mean since
19:09
Speaker 2: two thousand and eight, and so they just don't seem
19:12
Speaker 2: to ever take the outfield seriously.
19:15
Speaker 3: And I at.
19:17
Speaker 2: This point says they've got so many players with big
19:21
Speaker 2: contracts that are in the infield. Yeah, you know, you
19:26
Speaker 2: could see why they're not focusing on the outfield.
19:28
Speaker 3: And part of the reason.
19:29
Speaker 2: Is just like catchers, there aren't a lot of good
19:32
Speaker 2: outfielders out there right now, Like center field is tough.
19:35
Speaker 3: I don't know why.
19:38
Speaker 2: I don't know why the Phillies have decided to do
19:40
Speaker 2: what they're doing this year. And it's almost a little
19:44
Speaker 2: unfair to Justin Crawford, I think, yeah, yeah, you know,
19:48
Speaker 2: considering that he everyone expected him to be up this
19:51
Speaker 2: year and then he just wasn't. Yes, he just did
19:54
Speaker 2: not come up, and so they're just like, all right, well,
19:57
Speaker 2: dive in dive in twenty one year old.
20:00
Speaker 4: It's going to be so much weight on him. Yeah,
20:02
Speaker 4: there's just going to be so much weight on him.
20:04
Speaker 1: And I think we all need to keep that in
20:05
Speaker 1: mind as training camp start, a training camp, as spring
20:09
Speaker 1: training starts, and yeah, exactly, we have to keep that
20:13
Speaker 1: in mind, folks. So before I let you go, Liz again,
20:17
Speaker 1: wanted to talk about Andrew Paynter here because I feel
20:20
Speaker 1: like we've been talking about Andrew Paynter now for ten years.
20:23
Speaker 1: I feel like it's year after year after year, what
20:26
Speaker 1: is going to be happening with him. What are the
20:27
Speaker 1: expectations for him? But in all seriousness, you know, we're
20:30
Speaker 1: waiting to see what kind of picture he is going
20:32
Speaker 1: to become, and we're all anticipating this. And again it's
20:35
Speaker 1: kind of like, I wonder how unfair it is for
20:37
Speaker 1: us to feel how we're all kind of feeling about
20:40
Speaker 1: Andrew Paynter, kind of like with Justin Crawford. How much
20:42
Speaker 1: pressure is going to inevitably be on him to be
20:45
Speaker 1: a key cog in this Phillies rotation. So what should
20:49
Speaker 1: in your mind those expectations be for Andrew Paynter coming
20:52
Speaker 1: into this season, if even when he is on the mound, Well.
20:57
Speaker 2: It's I think after last year we all need to
21:00
Speaker 2: temper our expectations.
21:02
Speaker 4: There you go.
21:03
Speaker 2: He came back from Tommy John and was was really
21:11
Speaker 2: looking good and then they moved him up to Triple
21:14
Speaker 2: A and he had some trouble and that's disappointing. You
21:19
Speaker 2: wanted him to do well. It feels very much like
21:22
Speaker 2: a JP Crawford type of thing. They move him up,
21:25
Speaker 2: he doesn't do quite as well.
21:27
Speaker 3: That you know.
21:29
Speaker 2: As well as you thought, and you move him up. Anyway,
21:32
Speaker 2: I'm glad that Phillies didn't move Andrew Painter up this year.
21:36
Speaker 2: I think they had been planning on it and they
21:37
Speaker 2: decided not to because he just was not cutting it
21:40
Speaker 2: at triple A as far as being MLB ready. But
21:45
Speaker 2: I feel like this year they don't have a choice.
21:48
Speaker 2: They have to bring him up. They have to bring
21:50
Speaker 2: him up, and he has to be productive at some point,
21:52
Speaker 2: so it's.
21:53
Speaker 4: A lot of pressure.
21:55
Speaker 2: Let's just cross our fingers for him and just remember
21:59
Speaker 2: to give these guys, these young guys, some grace. I mean,
22:03
Speaker 2: because they're they're gonna be doing this.
22:07
Speaker 3: Full time for the first time.
22:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, because I know Andrew Paynter I think has been up, right,
22:12
Speaker 2: He's been up once or twice, Yeah, yep, yep, And
22:16
Speaker 2: we just need to remember these guys are doing all
22:18
Speaker 2: this for the first time in the big leagues, and it's.
22:21
Speaker 3: Hard, you know.
22:22
Speaker 2: I think maybe by July we could be like, all right,
22:25
Speaker 2: maybe it's time to pick it up if they're not
22:27
Speaker 2: doing well. But right I'm in the I'm on the
22:29
Speaker 2: team of let's let's give these these younger guys of
22:32
Speaker 2: grace before we start bringing the hammer down on them
22:35
Speaker 2: as we so often do.
22:36
Speaker 4: I like it.
22:37
Speaker 1: I like that's a great ending message here on our
22:39
Speaker 1: table Talk Interview show this week. Here, give these guys
22:43
Speaker 1: some grace, folks. Okay, they're not gonna be perfect right
22:45
Speaker 1: out of the gate. Let's let's temper expectations. And again,
22:49
Speaker 1: like Liz said, let's give them grace again, folks. Liz
22:52
Speaker 1: Rocher from the Hit Season podcast and uh also Saber
22:56
Speaker 1: as well.
22:58
Speaker 4: Uh.
22:58
Speaker 1: She is a fantastic and over on again and Season podcasts.
23:03
Speaker 4: Love her.
23:04
Speaker 1: Justin and John, so my friend, thank you so much
23:08
Speaker 1: for taking the time to join us here on our
23:09
Speaker 1: Table Talk Interview show this week. I would love to
23:12
Speaker 1: have you back on and come back and join us anytime.
23:17
Speaker 3: I love you guys. I love you guys so much.
23:19
Speaker 2: In Coming on here is one of my favorite things
23:21
Speaker 2: to do, so anytime that's.
23:23
Speaker 1: Going to do it for us here on table Talk
23:25
Speaker 1: this week. Please share our podcast with your friends and
23:28
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23:32
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23:55
Speaker 4: and we'll catch you next time.