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TABLE TALK: Phillies And MLB Storylines At The All-Star Break · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

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All right, everybody, you are listening to Table Talk here at the Philadelphia
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Sports Table podcast show, the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show in the
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world, that's right over ten years strong. We got a great discussion coming
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your way here the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball. Lots of storylines to get
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into, you know, without any further ado, let's just get to it
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right now. Coming to us from the Crossed Up Phillies podcast you could listen
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on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and I gotta tell you they're doing great work.
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Over there. We have the one and only Bob Wankle. How you
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doing, Buddy? What's up man? Good to talk to you. It's
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been a yeah, pretty up and down ride here for the Philly So it's
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like if we would have scheduled this a month ago versus two weeks ago versus
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today, We're all over the map here, you know we are. We're
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all over the map. And look, you know, as we're in this,
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you know, all star break time right here. It's great time to
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have you on, Bob, because I wanted to of course talk about this
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team here on our Table Talk interview and podcasts, but just also talk about
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Major League baseball as well in general in terms of some storylines which we're gonna
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be getting into in the foreseeable future here on this podcast. But really quick,
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folks, follow Bob on Twitter at Bob WANKELCB is fantastic follow And I
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gotta tell you, like you said, this Phillies team just up and down,
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Bob. And it's been a nice month and a half or so of
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Phillies baseball. They're a great series recently against the Rays, sweeping them,
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you know, one of the best teams in baseball, and then all of
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a sudden they have trouble as always, it seems, against the freaking Marlins
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here in the Nlast Division. My god, how are you wrapping your head
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around the fact that the Phillies continue to have a lot of runs on the
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field. They leave a lot of runs on the field when they have this
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type of roster on paper. I mean, what are your thoughts here?
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Yeah, when you look at them, they're they're basically they've worked themselves to
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about a league average offense at this point, and it really comes down to
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their struggles with runners in scoring position. It's what it's all about. And
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you know, the average is bottom ten, but what It really comes down
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to is that they don't hit for power with runners on base, they don't
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hit for power with runners in scoring position. They don't hit three run homers
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like and that's when you look at the construction of this lineup. You go
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back to the winter time, you think to yourself, like, man,
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it's just a going to be a grind for opponents to, you know,
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go up and down this order. There's six or seven different guys can beat
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you with a home run, and it just has not materialized that way.
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Bryce Harper's not hitting for power, you know. I mean, they've gotten
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a little bit more out of Nick Castiano certainly than they probably expected. But
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Tray Turner's been been you know, I don't want to say a bus but
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he's been disappointing. It's been dispe Hoskins, yeah, you know, and
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Brys hoskins absence has been massive. So they just they need to they need
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to add power this line of if they want to kind of become that top
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ten offense that they expect to be. What do you think, Bob about
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the whole philosophy that we need to have just power, power power on this
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team instead of really looking at I guess from a more traditional sense in the
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world of baseball, where let's just get the runners on base and I know
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we're just talking about it. Runners in scoring position. It has been the
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achilles heel for this team this season and quite frankly, for a lot of
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seasons before this one as well. But I think when you also have and
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like I'm all over the board with this, seriously, you put it,
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you put both on the scale and it just goes up and down. Sometimes
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I think if you just have guys on the team hitting for power, we're
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gonna have seasons like we have now and it's gonna be extremely frustrating for fans
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at times. Would rather have guys just getting on base, getting singles and
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doubles and seeing what manifests itself from there. I don't know what are your
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thoughts about that. Yeah, the problem is that today's game is so different.
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It's really difficult, and you see it happen occasionally, but it's difficult
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to sustaining sustained rum production by putting together three or four hits consecutively. Yeah,
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like, you you do need that threat, you do need that power
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production. Do I want the entire lineup to be boom or bust. Like
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if you look at a player like Greece Hoskins, I think he's probably the
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most extreme example of this, where you know, for two weeks he plays
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at MVP level and then for three weeks, you know he hits one fifty
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and there's there's one home rum mixed in there, and there's those highs and
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lows. So you want to see that consistency. But I think when you
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look at this lineup and how it's constructed, they don't get power from third
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base because it's a blend of Ed Mundosos and Alc Boom. And then you're
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not getting power first base with you know, Cody Clemens took a lot of
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a lot of starts there, Alec Boom, You're not getting traditional power at
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the corners. And if Bryce Harper is not going to be on a thirty
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five home run pace, then it's like, well, where's where's the power
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come from? Because Bryson Stott, as solid as he is, he's that
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player that you're talking about, steady, you know, bat to ball,
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three hundred hitter type, but there's not massive power production there and Trey Turner's
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not giving that to you. So when you look at this offense the way
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it's kind of comprised at the moment. I think that there has to be
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at least one more guy that and maybe he's already on the roster, and
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maybe it's Bryce Harper, maybe he gets hot, but they need one more
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guy that can really change a game with one swing, and they just lack
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that right now. Absolutely, well, let's move over to some pitching here,
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Bob. You know Jose Alvarado, my guy, he's on the fifteen
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day I l again because of some apparent inflammation in his left elbow. We
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dealt with this back in May with Alvarado. So I guess the two part
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questioned here because of the expectations for him this season and what his career may
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be with the Phillies, what does this due to the bullpen as we head
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into the second half of the season. And second, should we be concerned
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about Jose Alvarado this season healthwise and even possibly long term? What are your
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thoughts? You look at some of the numbers from this bullpen this season and
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you say to yourself, off, I mean, it looks okay, it's
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like about league average, But if you watch this team on a consistent basis,
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you know how good the bullpen's been. I mean, if they get
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a lead late in games, they've done a heck of a job protecting it.
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Whether it's the mix of guys like Jose Alvarado, Gregory Soto, Craig
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Kimbrill has been a revelation really for the last six to seven weeks now and
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gets the All Star nod because of it. It's what the injury does to
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Albert or you know Alvarado's injury, what it does to the bullpens. It
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just shortens things and you don't know exactly when you're gonna get Sir Anthony Dominguez
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back. So right now there's there's really two or three guys that you trust
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in big spots, Soto, Kimberrell to whatever degree you trust a guy like
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Marte and the Phillies. I like him more than than fans do. Right
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now, He's just struggling to find that consistency, so it takes his strength
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and it creates some question marks. And I think that the reason for concern
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is, and you alluded to it in the second part of your question,
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it's you don't know exactly what this means for Jose Alvarado Now, like Sir
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Anthony Dominguez, I think will be fine. You probably see him by the
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end of the month, maybe about two weeks from now. He'll probably need
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to go on a rehab assignment. It's been a while. But anytime you
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have an elbow or an arm injury like this and it's the second time it's
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put him on the shelf in a five week stretch, I think you have
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to hold your breath a little bit. And I know that the Phillies are
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going to be extremely cautious this time around, like this will not be a
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two week thing. They will probably take their time with this because their philosophy
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is it's all about September, all about October. We can't gamble like he
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cannot go on the ile a third time. So they will if it takes
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them an extra ten fifteen days to make sure that doesn't happen, that's the
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way they're going to proceed. But I think you have to hold your breath.
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I mean, you're talking about a high v low guy, multiple injuries
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the same spot and a short amount of time. That does give you a
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little pause, and it may make them look at the trademarket a little bit
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more closely for gonna go there with you next. Yes, go ahead,
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yeah, go ahead, yeah. I mean, listen, here's here's one
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thing that they have and I don't want to say it's a luxury, but
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Andrew Bladi comes up and he threw big outs for this team last year.
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Connor Broggden threw big outs for this team last year. Now Baladi just came
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back up and he was awesome really for the month of June. He didn't
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give up an earned run in the month of June with Lehigh and so they're
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bringing him back. On a hind note, Connor Broggeden, you know,
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it's it's such a coin flip with him. And he looked okay for a
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while down there with the Iron Pigs, but his last time out command failed
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them. He got hit, he gave up a few runs, and I
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don't think you're going to see him for a little bit, but he's probably
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back at some point as well. You still have Sodo, you still,
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I mean like you have a left handed option out there. You still have
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strom Is a left handed option out there, so they still have a good
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balance. But I do wonder now if there is true concern about Alvarado's ability
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to come back and be effective. Do do you look at the market and
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just say, hey, if there's a guy out there that we think is
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an interesting piece, do we attack it from that angle? Whereas I don't
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think they would have done that a week ago exactly, and I think,
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Dave Dombrowski, you better be looking at some options too, seriously, even
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if they don't pull the trigger, at least look at some options to see
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what this team could potentially gain in terms of an acquisition in the future.
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But you know, still talking about pitching here, Bob, My gosh,
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Andrew Painter is now likely shut down for the season since he's still feeling some
9:31
soreness. We got that report recently. He was supposed to face hitters for
9:35
the first time this week since March first, but that is now on the
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back burner. It's incredibly disappointing. It's a tremendous disappointment, not just from
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the expectations standpoint, but also the fact that he's one of the top pitching
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prospects in baseball. What does this do to the starting rotation and even terms
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of the pressure, even more pressure that's put on a starting rotation that yes,
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they've gotten their footing over the past month and a half or so,
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but you know, they've had their ups and downs and struggles as well.
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Yeah, so the Phillies are in a spot where they're really trying to rebuild
10:09
this farm system and it's gotten stronger and there's more interesting depth here. And
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so the reason why I say that is because I don't think it would have
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been worth it for the Phillies to explore a fifth starter type. If you
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have Christopher Sanchez throwing the ball the way that he has since he's come back
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up, and the idea that perhaps Andrew Painter could come back and contribute over
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the final two months of the season, Now you're not You're likely I mean,
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we don't know this for sure, but you're likely not going to having
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Andrew Painter contribute at a meaningful level at the major league level this season.
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So if that's the case, then now your fifth starter hopes are kind of
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all centered around can Christopher Sanchez maintain this level of production that he has these
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four times that he's been out. Yeah, and I don't know the answer
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to that. You know, you don't need a fifth starter for the playoffs,
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but you need a fifth starter to give yourself a shot to make the
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playoffs, right, and the National League is competitive, So I think that
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the Phillies are probably going to look at this from two different angles. What's
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out there to kind of be a stop gap, back end of the rotation
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type piece, and then what's out there in terms of a difference maker that
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you could slot into maybe starting a game three for you in a playoff series.
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And I know people will listen to this and say, well, wait
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a minute. You know you have Zach Wheeler, you have Aaronola, you
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have this combination of an improving Ranger Suarez and Taiwan Walker. But would I
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would say to you right now, if the Phillies had to go play a
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playoff series this weekend, how confident are you in the way that that number
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three starter shakes out right now? Given that you don't really know what you're
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getting out of Aaron Nola. That confidence is love, That confidence is loving.
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Yeah, I'm not gonna sit here and blast Aaronoil. I still think
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he's one of the best twenty five twenty starting pitchers in baseball, and there
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are a lot of metrics that bear that out. But I mean, listen,
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he's been underwhelming this season, and he was dismal against the Marlins.
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I mean that that was an embarrassing effort in a horrible way to close the
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first half. So, if you're the Phillies and there were an opportunity,
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and this is just a long winded way of saying, the Phillies need difference
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makers on this roster because this is about winning a championship. It's not about
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being the second or third wild card. It's I'm about winning a playoff series
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or getting back to the postseason. It's about winning it. So you need
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difference makers. And if there were an opportunity, and I imagine this is
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gonna be tough because the starting pitching market's likely to be insane, but if
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there was an opportunity to add a difference maker in starting rotation, I think
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you have to at least explore that, even though the clear number one need
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is to upgrade this lineup, Bob, there's gonna be so many buyers out
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there. The way that Major League Baseball has positioned itself in terms of teams
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that still have the opportunity to even potentially be in the wild card, there's
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gonna be so many buyers out there It's gonna be really interesting to see what
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happens in terms of the market in general. I don't know how much of
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the Phillies are going to be willing to spend. I mean, do you
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have I don't want to say concerned, but do you think that Dombrowski and
13:03
company are going to say, Okay, we got to pull the trigger and
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we got to spend even more money now to make sure that we have some
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viable pitching options on the mount because of what you just said, well,
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I think it's so. It's it's a two part question. Can the Phillies
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do something creative in season here ahead of the deadline where they maybe take on
13:20
some salary where they kind of flex a little bit financially and they don't have
13:24
to give up as much on the prospect then, because I think that the
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Phillies are more comfortable spending the dollars than they are parting with meaningful pieces.
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Moving forward this offseason, though, things do get very interesting and I don't
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want to get too far ahead of ourselves here, but certainly there's a degree
13:39
of uncertainty about the status of Aaronola. The contract talks broke down past off
13:45
season. What do they do there, can you trust that Andrew Painter is
13:48
going to progress and be ready in twenty twenty four? So and the market,
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you look at the available free agents beyond this season, it's it's not
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great. And that's why I kind of always fought back to Aaron Nola is
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going to get aid. It might not be by the Phillies, but somebody's
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gonna pay him. So then do the Phillies looking season here to maybe not
14:07
just get a stopgap piece, but somebody that they have control over beyond twenty
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three And would they use their financial might, so to speak to do it?
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And you know, we'll see. But you made a great point.
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This deadline is going to be chaos. And granted there's still another three weeks
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before we get there, and a lot can change in three weeks, but
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just look at the standings. How many teams right now across this sport can
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you identify as a clear seller? Oakland, Kansas City, the White Sox
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of underwhelmed, the Cardinals are probably out at this point, and there's a
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couple other teams in there as well, But by and large, every team
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can kind of talk themselves into being a player for a wildcard or a division
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spot right now. And if you have twenty two teams that have a mathematical
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shot at it, what's this gonna look for nuts, It's gonna be absolutely
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crazy, And folks, real quick, you know, despite our feelings or
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despite your feelings about Aaron Nola, like it or not, he's going to
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be one of the top three pitching free agents potentially at the end of this
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season. I mean that is reality. So he's gonna get some money.
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As Bob was saying it again talking to Bob Wankle from the Crusted Up Phillies
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podcast. You listen on Apple, podcast, Spotify, whatever your favorite podcast
15:22
platform is. Bob, let's move on to some Major League Baseball storylines,
15:26
because there's there's been a lot of storylines this year in MLB. It's been
15:31
a rather interesting year. You know, whether it's the new rules that are
15:35
impacting the game here, you know, whether it's a lot of those twenty
15:39
twenty two playoff teams that have been actually been struggling this year. It's been
15:43
a very interesting year in baseball. So I'm wondering, you know, what's
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what's been one of the top storylines of Major League Baseball this year for you?
15:50
In your opinion, I think it's it's I don't know if this is
15:54
just an isolated occurrence, but you look at the teams that have spent so
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much money, Yeah, and to the degree that they're struggling, like the
16:02
teams like the Padres and up until a few weeks ago, the Phillies and
16:07
the Yankees have been a mess and they just fired their hitting coach, And
16:10
you do wonder across the sport why is that happening? And there's there's maybe
16:17
a couple different ways to look at it. And this is something that you
16:19
know on our show that I've I've speculated with Anthony San Filippo, who I
16:22
did the show with, and we're talking about it, like, is there's
16:26
this idea, you know, to kind of draw back to what Jason Kelsey
16:29
said after the Eagles won the Super Bowl, like do hungry dogs run faster?
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And then conversely, do the dogs that get paid millions and millions and
16:37
millions of dollars at the top of the scale do they run a little bit
16:38
slower? And you know, I don't know, but you mentioned the rule
16:41
changes, which is probably the biggest storyline in the way that it's impacted the
16:45
sport. You've seen so many good pitchers around baseball, Aaron Nola, Sandy
16:49
all Contra. It's just so many big name guys that have had a hard
16:53
time, I think, adjusting to the flow and pacing of the game.
16:57
And you wonder if more established teams, more high priced veterans, are kind
17:02
of almost scoffing at some of these rule changes and they're not is quick to
17:06
adapt. And then you look at teams like the Oils that have more prospects,
17:10
more younger players that went through the minor leagues and played with these rule
17:14
changes, and so you almost wonder if some of the younger teams, the
17:17
more inexpensive teams, are just better equipped to deal with the reality of how
17:21
these rule changes have impacted the game. Like fans don't want to hear about
17:25
the pitch clock, especially three months in, about how it affects pitchers,
17:29
but I mean it's real, Like you can it's still affecting Aaronola, it's
17:33
still Affectingla And it sounds like an excuse, and I guess to a degree
17:37
it is an excuse, But I mean it has had a profound impact on
17:38
pitchers like Aaronola, who try to think through their sequencing and really try to
17:44
dictate pacing in the flow, and that's that's part of the strength of their
17:48
repertoire. And so when that gets taken away from them, there is a
17:52
vulnerability there and there's a pressure to adapt. And to this point, he
17:56
struggled to do that on a consistent basis. But we've even heard Zach we
18:00
talk about it, and so it all draws back to your point. I
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think it's twofold. It's the high price, big expectation, teams struggling a
18:07
little bit in the first half, and then also these rule changes. I
18:11
think it kind of goes hand in hand almost to the degree it's probably impacted
18:15
some teams more than others. Yeah, and look, there are certain teams
18:18
that we kind of alluded to it earlier. I mean we did allude to
18:21
it earlier. There are some teams, the Phillies being one of them,
18:23
who are looking to get hot during the second half of the season. And
18:27
I think some of these teams will get hot because they're in a position to
18:32
do it or rate leading rate up to the All Star break. Here,
18:34
you know that we've seen some good baseball from certain teams. So I'm wondering,
18:37
Bob, you know who, who are some teams that you think we
18:41
need to be on the lookout for during this second half of the season here.
18:45
Yeah, it's it's a great question, and I think that in the
18:48
National League it probably starts with the Padres. You know, there are four
18:53
games under five hundred right now. But I look at that NL West and
18:57
you know, the Dodgers I still think in the long run probably win that
19:02
division. They're not as good as they've been in previous seasons, but you
19:06
see the Diamondbacks now and sort of sliding back to earth here a little bit.
19:10
It's a good lineup, but the starting pitching leaves a little bit to
19:12
be desired. I don't love that bullpen. It's a competitive division, and
19:17
I kind of feel like Arizona's sort of played over its head a little bit.
19:19
I also think that the Giants have played over their heads as well,
19:22
and credit to them. It's a good organization. I actually think that their
19:26
coaching staff, Gabe Kapler, has done a nice job getting the most out
19:30
of you know, I think that they've gotten the most out of what they
19:33
have. But I just don't think that their team that's going to play twelve,
19:37
the twenty games over five hundred. When it's all said and done,
19:41
and San Diego's pitching is there, it's outstanding. The top of that lineup
19:47
has gotten better here over the last few weeks. There's a couple of guys
19:51
that they have expectations for, like guys like Jake Crunworth that have had down
19:53
years, and I just think that there's more there. I expect them to
19:56
get hot and then just you know, teams to kind of keep an eye
20:00
on. I love that Red's team. I'm really curious to see if they
20:03
can sustain the vibe that they're playing with. They lack pitching depth, but
20:08
they're really fun and they play with a ton of energy. And you know,
20:11
in the Al East, I kind of think that that division might end
20:15
up being had by the Orioles. I just I think that we've seen Tampa
20:22
Bay come back to earth here over the last certainly the past couple of weeks.
20:25
Yeah, you take that start that they had where they beat up a
20:27
bunch of bad teams early on in April. To credit to them, they
20:30
not only did it, but they did it at a historical rate. But
20:33
I just I like that Baltimore team right now a lot, and I'm really
20:37
curious see how that division shakes out. So those are kind of like the
20:41
teams right now that I'm looking at in addition to the Phillies. Because I
20:45
sort of expect the Phillies to finish with about eighty eight wins. I think
20:48
that they're probably the first or second wild card team because I expect in the
20:53
next three weeks for them to do something that's going to be difference making with
20:56
the roster. Absolutely, I'm with you for or when it comes to the
21:00
Phillies, you know, I don't think this quote streak that they have right
21:04
now is going to end. We know with the second half of the season
21:07
has meant to this team, and we certainly saw what happened last season.
21:11
Can they replicate it? I think it's pretty pretty possible for sure. And
21:15
to close us out here, Bob, you know, there there are a
21:17
lot of people who think that the All Star Game in general, and it's
21:22
it's like this in every sport across the board with their All Star Games,
21:26
you know, needs to be changed and altered in some way, shape or
21:27
form, you know, And I think there's a point because so much has
21:32
changed in the sporting world, whether it's you know, ticket sales and costs,
21:36
contracts, endorsements, and when you put them all together, it's it's
21:40
these multi billion dollar industries with a lot at stake. So I'm wondering,
21:44
do you like the way that the MLB All Star Game is currently at the
21:48
moment here or do you think some changes and alterations need to be made.
21:52
I mean, for me, personally, I like for players to wear their
21:56
team jerseys instead of the new, brand new All Star jerseys that they introduce
22:00
every single year. I mean, that's just one thing. It's not the
22:03
biggest deal in the world, but still personally, that's what I would like
22:07
to see in terms of change or alteration. What are your thoughts in terms
22:10
of maybe changing the MLB All Star Game, if it even needs to be
22:14
changed. Yeah, I wonder if some of it is being just a thirty
22:18
seven year old, grumpy, middle aged guy. Yeah, I loved I
22:23
love the All Star Game, the MLB All Star Game as a kid.
22:26
I mean, it was it was special and it certainly doesn't feel that way
22:30
anymore. And I'm in full agreement with you on the jerseys. I think
22:33
each players should wear his team's Jersey. I hate that they did away with
22:37
that, but I think that the biggest thing for me is that the fan
22:41
voting's a mess. Ye the wrong guys get into the game. I understand
22:47
putting a player from every team on it because you want every fan base to
22:51
be engaged, but at the end of the day, I almost wonder it's
22:53
become something so diluted. I think that they have to do a better job
22:57
of getting the best players on the field to play the game. And I
23:02
don't I don't know exactly what goes into that, but so many guys get
23:04
selected and then they pass up on it. They're dealing with, like maybe
23:08
some tightness they throw three days earlier, and so then they waive the appearance,
23:12
and then another ad on gets made like last minute, and then all
23:17
of a sudden you're looking at it. You're saying, okay, well,
23:18
each each roster has an additional By the time everything said and done, you
23:22
have the initial roster, and then there's another eight guys on each side that
23:26
end up on the team, and you're like, are these guys even really
23:27
truly all stars at this point? So I would love to see a way,
23:30
and I don't know how they do it. I don't know if it
23:33
requires further financial incentive or what, but I really would like to see the
23:37
best players not only get voted onto the team or placed on the team,
23:41
but then those guys actually want to play in the game. Yeah, and
23:45
I think we're missing that right now, I really do. Yeah. And
23:48
I think we see this too in other sports as well. Whether it's the
23:51
NBA, it's the NFL. You know, these organizations try to make some
23:55
alterations here or there, but like I said, at the end of the
23:57
day, you know, things come down comes down to their contract, their
24:00
injuries, you know, whether or not they have certain endorsements and things like
24:04
that. It's like a recipe of success or failure. And I think from
24:08
an All Star Game standpoint, across the board hasn't been doing too well any
24:14
whether it's the NFL, NBA. I mean, look the NHL All Star
24:18
Like it's actually not that bad. But I mean we're seeing this across the
24:22
board, Bob, Yeah, I mean listen, I just look at Bryce
24:26
Harper, and you know, credit the Bryce Harper for coming back way sooner
24:30
than anybody would have ever thought. And you know, he's he's contributed.
24:33
I mean He's a reason that they are back in the mix here. Yeah,
24:37
but he's not having a Bryce Harper season. He wasn't an All Star
24:41
this year. And you have the Phillies pushing for Bryce Harper to be a
24:45
representative to be the DH and like, you cannot have a guy with a
24:49
sub eight hundreds who has three home runs be the starting DH and All Star
24:55
Game based on merit, Right, But so then what does the sport do
24:56
because Bryce Harper's If you said, give me the five biggest stars in baseball,
25:02
Bryce Harper's one of them. So do you want them on that stage
25:03
or I think that they have to decide what matters to them and they have
25:07
to incentivize the players to actually be in the game. Yeah, but certainly
25:11
from an aesthetic standpoint, as you talked about with the uniforms. All right,
25:17
Bob Wankle from the Crossed Up Phillies podcast, check out what they're doing
25:21
over there. Bob, Man, it was great to have you on our
25:23
table Talk interview podcast this week. Man, I would love to talk to
25:26
you down the road more Philly sports. Let's get into it, my friend.
25:30
I'd love to have you back on the show. Yeah, hopefully We're
25:33
doing it before a World Series or something. You know what I mean,
25:37
Change the All Star Game uniforms, Major League Baseball, get it done.
25:41
I cannot stand the new uniforms year after year after year. Let the players
25:48
wear their own team uniforms. This is not hard. It would be cool.
25:52
It'll bring back a traditional aspect of the game, and I think it'd
25:57
be fun to watch the All Star Game in that way. So that's gonna
26:00
do it for us here on Table Talk. You can follow us on Twitter
26:04
at Philadelphia PST. You can follow me on Twitter at Jeffrey Underscore Warren.
26:08
Yeah, you know what I am on threads, mister jeff Warren, give
26:12
me a follow there. We greatly appreciate that. And if anything happens to
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26:29
around for it. Eagles Talk, more Phillies Talk. It's gonna be fun,
26:33
folks. Take care, We'll catch you next time.