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Update: Alec Bohm Is Good Now · The Specific Jawns

• speaker-0: Hello and welcome to our mid-August edition of the Specific Johns Podcast. I am Carl Bakudi back with you. As usual, I'm here with Mike Sambuco, who's been on a little bit of a hiatus from our pod, and we are missing our man Pat Barker tonight. ⁓ Mike, great to see ya. It's been a little while. How are things going? speaker-1: You know, I'm looking back at my notes here. I it's been almost a month since I've been on a pod with you guys and you know it's it's it's like missing family. You you you walking catching up with you guys, but you know, it's nothing like talking Phil's. speaker-0: I hear you. That's all right. The Phil's sleepwalk through a month or two at a time. So don't worry. We're we're it happens to the best of us. ⁓ just quick reminder to everybody, thanks again for tuning in to our podcast. We are available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, ⁓ whatever platform you prefer. If you could just always hit that like, share, subscribe combo. We always appreciate that ⁓ as we enjoy our run here as your elite source of Phillies baseball commentary. Let's ⁓ Mike, we'll we'll start. I'll do a little recap of the last week. ⁓ it was with Pat last Tuesday when we were in the middle of a miserable two to nothing shutout on at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals. Been a decent week since then, though. ⁓ we did lose another one after that to the Cardinals. Unfortunate outing from Zach Wheeler. We might get to that a little bit, what concerns we might have. He is pitching As we speak, actually I think he just his night just ended ⁓ here in Philly against the Marlins. ⁓ yeah, 7-1 loss last Wednesday, but then things really picked up. The romance of baseball was in high gear when the Phillies went to the Field of Dreams game on Thursday in Davenport or Dyersville, Iowa. ⁓ out in that cornfield, every Hall of Famer you can think of was pretty much there coming out of the corn along with the Phillips and Twins in their throwback jerseys. Just a great baseball night for everybody, whether you're a Philz fan, twins fan, or not. ⁓ and it was a great outing by Aaron Nola of all people. I I'll I'll freely admit that when I looked ahead at the schedule and saw that we had our big national televised moment in the Field of Dreams game and saw that Aaron Nola was going to be our starting pitcher, I groaned. I ⁓ I was ⁓ lamenting for anyone who spent ⁓ upwards of a thousand dollars for their seat. To see him pitch, but he proved all of us wrong, definitely proved me wrong. Hell of an outing. Two Schwar Bombs, including a leadoff Schwarbah. I mean, it just doesn't get any better as a Philz fan watching that. Moving on, we ⁓ had an off day on Friday, so the Philz make their way from Iowa back to Minneapolis to finish their three-game stand with the twins. I will ⁓ discuss a little later how I was in Minneapolis this past weekend, had a great time, got to see Target field for the first time. Great town, great baseball town. ⁓ and just a great weekend to see baseball in mid-August in Minnesota. ⁓ but in that series, we continued to just go on a little mini tear here. ⁓ Saturday night, a 9 1 walloping of the twins. Alec Bohm, who was our primary target last week in our podcast, Pat and I lambast at the man basically. ⁓ we're ready to ride him out of town on a rail. We might still be. ⁓ we we we kind of put the nail in the coffin on his tenure as a Philly. ⁓ titled the podcast as such, and he turned right around and shut us up, at least for the past week. Again, five for five and a 9-1 win, ⁓ backing up Jesus Lazardo with another gem. Sunday, I was at that game, day game at Target Field. Andrew Painter coming out on the bump. Got roughed up right away. A grand slam. ⁓ just got thumped by Cody Clemens. It was just ⁓ one of those games where you just feel like all our chickens come in the roost. We released Cody Clemens a couple years ago because we had too many left-handers, we thought. You look at this team now. How ironic. ⁓ and he's hitting cleanup for the twins and having a hell of a year. ⁓ but the Phillies fought back. in that game. It was it was a delight to be there and and just watch that crowd go from, you know, just thinking it was over after one inning to us chipping away, playing solid baseball really all around. Andrew Painter settled in, ⁓ gave us a couple more pretty clean innings, ⁓ five total. ⁓ and we come back, ⁓ nice little ⁓ RBI double by Brian De La Cruz puts us ahead and we win that game seven five Great pick me up win for the Phillips. And then that kind of continued last night, Monday night, against the Marlins, starting another homestand. ⁓ Phillies ⁓ spread a a double digit hits. ⁓ no home runs, really ⁓ played some exciting offensive baseball, moving the ball, moving runners. ⁓ got got a little bit of help from the umpire, ⁓ on a on a what should have been a bases clearing, ⁓ bases loaded double. I was ruled a foul ball on the field, overturned, but the circumstances of the play did not allow them to give the Marlins all three runs. ⁓ they made it second and third, and we got out of that inning enough ⁓ to hold on for the six-five win. So pretty good week. Like I just said, ⁓ been a pretty good August, honestly. We are eleven and five in August. We stumbled out of the gate. against good teams after the all star break. ⁓ Mike, my first question to you. Yes, we are, you know, looking pretty good in August. Are we just beating up bad teams again? Is this ⁓ is this fool's gold? We've fallen for this before. What are you thinking? speaker-1: we back? I like it it feels like we're back. ⁓ it's it's us getting excited about some good baseball that we're seeing because it f while yes, it has been largely against the Nationals where we took three out of four and the twins where we swept in our first series sweep since June, I'll add, it feels like the offense is clicking. And I'm tempering my excitement just a little bit because of who we played and who we beat up against. But it's hard not to look at the full scale of the post-all-star game and post-trade deadline stats and not get a little bit excited. ⁓ you you start thinking about or start looking at the stats of guys like Bohm, Stott, Harper, since the All Star Break and since the Arias acquisition and it paints a pretty exciting story offensively. You look at Boehm and and obviously what a series in Minnesota he had. I've always said he he's fit for the Midwest. You know, just send him to Kansas City, St. Louis. Minnesota's not too far from there. speaker-0: He is a child of the corn, so it makes sense. speaker-1: But you know, y you don't expect a a five for five game and then a a five extra base hit series. I mean he the the home run that he hit on Sunday was one that you never see him turn on a ball like that. And that was that was the three run home run that really got us back into that game. Normally that Sunday when you get down five nothing like that, it's a roll over and let's just get back on the plane. speaker-0: Starting to feel like a getaway game. That's exactly right. And that was how it felt there, I gotta say. speaker-1: And it really did. ⁓ you know, Payner I'll get into Payner a bit more but later, but ⁓ the first inning was kind of like an up and down ⁓ season that he's had. It's it had some highs where he had some great movement on his pitches. Like I I I texted you this in the moment, but like the the double play that he induced in the first inning, that was a nasty pitch. And then the pitch that was hit out for a grand slam was Just a meatball. So he had his ups and downs in the first inning, but battled back after that. ⁓ only let up the one ⁓ home run against Clemens ⁓ later in the game. but looked pretty good outside of that first inning. ⁓ back to the offense. So Bohm ⁓ had the the fantastic series. Stott has been just astronomically great since the All-Star game. He's batting three nineteen. with a 949 OPS ⁓ since the All-Star break. And his second half batting average is higher than his first half on base percentage was. I mean, he is he is the inverse of what Brandon Marsh Marsh has been. and he's filling that hole in the lineup that Marsh has kind of, you know, unfortunately fallen down back to his inconsistent self. ⁓ Earlier in August there was Just a remarkable stat about Bryson Stott that he at one point had a ten game stretch that has not been accomplished since two thousand two by none other than Barry Bonds, where he walked thirteen times in ten games without striking out. No other player in almost twenty five years has done that since Barry Bonds. I mean that's Barry Bonds and Brains and Brighton Sot do not belong in the same sentence or category, but this was all done, largely, while switching positions. Which let's not take that for granted. ⁓ we know he's a great second baseman. We didn't know what he was gonna look like at third base, and he's looked pretty darn good. I mean he's made some great plays. I think the first or second game, like he like ⁓ he should've probably got to a ball that he, you know, didn't get to, but ever since then he's turned into a fantastic third baseman already. He's made some great barehanded plays, he's turned some good double plays, ⁓ making it look seamless. ⁓ and and you know, speaking of Varias, ⁓ we haven't seen the best of him just yet. we he he's actually performed worse ⁓ with us than any other stint ⁓ with any other team that he's been in. But it's it's only been a couple weeks. ⁓ but it's really impacted the rest of the lineup. It's put less pressure on guys like Stott and Bohm. It's gotten them in a position in the lineup where they're more comfortable and where they really should be, or at least closer to where they should be. Most importantly, it's gotten Harper more protection. And since the trade, his on base percentage is five thirty two. He's getting on base more than half of the time. He gets up to back. speaker-0: And as we speak. Yeah, his his walks have been the most remarkable part, I would say. And it has to it has to be a function of protection. I mean, you you swap out Alec Bohm or Dolas Garcia or whoever we've had behind him ⁓ in in this, you know, he seems to be locked into the three-hole in everybody's mind on this team. I don't know what he's agree with that, but that's another story. But yeah, he his his Ability to you know just work counts has just gone up exponentially. And it's been kind of ⁓ a a vindicating thing for a lot of Harper ⁓ defenders over the years in that he's had always a historically high, often leading the league in first pitch pitch swing swings and misses. ⁓ he's a guy who situationally has been kind of pigeonholed into into where he has to hunt fastballs early in the count. ⁓ and that becomes predictable, as all things do in baseball. And I think that's been a rough spot for him to be in. I don't know don't think it's reflective of his talent or his eye or anything else. I think it was the game plan. ⁓ and really not having a better option given the lack of protection behind him. Having Luis Arries behind him, that's a guy that you are going to have to figure out no matter who what type of pitcher you are, is a guy who puts the ball in play, has a great eye, forces you to throw strikes, and that makes a huge difference for, you know, when you got a guy like Harper in front of him compared to a guy like Bohm, at least Bohm the Boehm that we've known most of this year, certainly, ⁓ nothing to be afraid of. Why would you give Bryce Harper something to hit? speaker-1: Yeah, and and I think it it exponentially ⁓ forced Bryce to press in a way that was detrimental to the overall performance because he's feeling like he's the last guy in the lineup that can do damage. And with a guy like Arias behind him, he trusts the guy behind him. He trusts the the the the theory of next man up. And I think that A that draws out the starting pitcher, makes him go deeper into games when you're drawing more walks, you're getting more men on the base paths, and just extending the inning. It it it really puts more pressure on the pitcher to and and puts less pressure on everybody else in the lineup in a way too. ⁓ but Harper, I mean he's had the highest walk rate in all of major league baseball since the All-Star break. So it even started before Arias. But his approach has been drastically different. And ⁓ I I think you you kind of see the the the writing on the wall of like this is what we've been saying for how many years we need more middle of the order protection for Harper and Schwarber and and Turner to an extent. speaker-0: Yeah, ⁓ and I I again I don't I still don't think it's the right configuration. I don't think they're optimizing what they can get out of the lineup. ⁓ but if a rise is gonna be your cleanup guy, ⁓ do you see any adjustments that could be made by the opposition ⁓ to get out of that little little ⁓ conundrum of Harper then a rise? I mean I I don't know that there's an answer other than perfectly execute your pitches. 'Cause if those guys are on, they're trouble. That's that's a one two punch that I would not want to face at at any juncture. speaker-1: Yeah, I think I think you still have the issue of left handed pitching ⁓ against the Phillies. I mean, Harper still has ⁓ struggled against lefties this year. ⁓ Stott has been our best hitter against lefties this year, I believe, ⁓ which is obviously interesting because Stott is a lefty himself, but bats more in like that sixth spot. it it really comes down to ⁓ what damage can Turner do ahead of that. And then what damage can Bohm do on the other side? ⁓ because you kind of know what you're gonna get with Arias, you're you're gonna get a decent at bat and you're gonna get ⁓ a guy that put the b puts the ball in play. But ⁓ it if if Harper's spitting on the balls out of the zone because he's one of the guys that gets the most pitches outside the zone because he historically hasn't had that protection behind him, if he's getting those pitches in the zone or he's drawing walks. That puts a rise in a spot to drive somebody in. speaker-0: Yeah, agreed. ⁓ one other thing just to to point out, you know, just the way the the baseball season can go. You can you can believe one thing and the exact opposite can prove you wrong for a month at a time. ⁓ the daycare, you know, that we've talked about the daycare since twenty twenty two. That's Bohm, Stott, and Marsh. And I would say the first half of the season, a lot of people were of the strong opinion that only One guy has come out of that crop that is serviceable and that will will be willing to continue in the long term. That was Brandon Marsh. I mean, he had a hell of a first half, ⁓ start at the All Star game. But his average has dropped sixty points since, I believe, the end of the middle of June. ⁓ he's down to two seventy, I believe. ⁓ looking a little out of sorts at the plate. Doesn't look like he has his balance swing that I I was actually believing was his true self that we were going to see for the long haul that has disappeared. is that something to worry about? Are we are we looking at anomalies in that Bohm and Stott are just tearing it up and and Marsh is completely down? ⁓ is it going to be mean digression mean regression in either direction? ⁓ is that just how we can look at this them as a whole? ⁓ or do you see at the end of this year us having some more clarity on Those three guys that's different from, say, the first half of the year. speaker-1: I'll be honest, I I think all three are just in their own ways very streaky, and you essentially have to hope that one, two, or three of them get hot at the right time. ⁓ we've seen the best of ⁓ Stott in current form, and we've seen the best of Marsh in early season form. ⁓ would love to see them both get hot at the same time. ⁓ Bohm we have not seen with continued success this year, but we've seen bits in previous years. ⁓ of of the three long term, I think if if you're asking the question of who do you want to commit to long term, my answer to that question is Stot because of the defense. And now the versatility. You know what you're getting on a day-to-day basis. Of the three, I feel like he works the best at bats as well. But he just like the other two can get into some really ugly slumps. And but at the same time, at on the other side of the field, he is always playing good defense. And to me, he was on pace for consideration for gold glove at second base. unfortunately I don't think he'll get to that point at this point because of the positional change, but it it it's the type of player that I I see as a ⁓ better long term commitment if I was forced to pick one of the three. speaker-0: Yeah, I would agree. I see a a a longer career out of a guy like Bryson Stott because of the defense and the versatility. ⁓ you know, I I think that it's it's almost like of course Alec Bohm got hot right after the last trade deadline of his Phillies tenure. ⁓ I would have loved for him to show this type of value, you know, any time before ⁓ August second. ⁓ I think we could have actually ⁓ made this team better at that point. But if it's ⁓ just a better Alec Bohm from here on out for the rest of this season, let's let's go. ⁓ I'll I'll I'll take it. I'll take all that I can get. ⁓ don't need to see him back in future seasons though. I think that that has run its course. speaker-1: Especially if there's a long term ⁓ opportunity at first base. I I don't think Harper's gonna be your long term right fielder, but I I do think that Bohm's days are limited. ⁓ and I do not even think that first base is his best position. I I actually think he's a better third baseman than first baseman. speaker-0: I would agree with that wholeheartedly. ⁓ which actually leads me to my next question. ⁓ how are you feeling about Bryce Harper in right field? I don't think you've been on the pod since we since that happened. ⁓ and you always seem to have good insights on Bryce Harper in general. So I'd like to hear your your thoughts on that. speaker-1: I've been clamoring for the move for a while, long long before this season even started. I I just think the flexibility of him being able to play the outfield opens up a opportunity for a big bat at first base, where we it's much harder to find a corner outfield big bat than a first base big bat. And that's what our lineup has really been missing, is as I was talking to ⁓ talking about earlier, like we we've needed that Harper protection in the four slot for a couple seasons now and we haven't had that. And Harper going to the outfield has given us at least a place to find somebody. Now currently we're choosing Alec Boom and you know one series does not make a vindication, but I I I I'll believe a long term success for Boom when I see it. ⁓ but I I think him being utilized as an outfielder, even as a passable defensive outfielder, is a better team building strategy than being a good to average first baseman. speaker-0: Yeah. I I I understand that perspective. I think it makes sense, at least in a one off sense, ⁓ season wise. I my concern about him is the length of his contract and his health going out to the outfield. I feel like the wear and tear is significantly more with him in right field than it it would be with him at first base. But it's hard to argue in terms of roster building that committing to that earlier would have us in a much better place than we are right now. I mean, we've we've done a lot of these ⁓ a a ton of changes that could have been done in the off season and, you know, with steps that would have built this roster to be deeper and just better overall. I mean, I think back to and Harper has done this so many times about so many big stars ⁓ that are available in the free agent or trade market, but You know, he was he was very vocal about his willingness to go to right field to sign Pete Alonso this offseason. And you kinda think about the problems that we wouldn't even have had to deal with at this trade deadline if that decision had been made. I know that was going to be a big money contract. But when you think about what we offered Bo Bachet, ⁓ I think we could have gotten a lot. So ⁓ and here we are. speaker-1: Two years ago when he s re-signed with the Mets. I mean that was the real opportunity because I mean his value was a lot lower at the contract commitment would not have been nearly as significant as five one fifty five which is I think what he got. speaker-0: Right. And he it was a one year last year, right, with the with the math. speaker-1: With an opt-out, yeah. speaker-0: So yeah, I mean w it I think we're always going to look back at the twenty twenty six offseason or twenty twenty five offseason, whatever you want to call it this past one, as as the greatest missed opportunity of all to to ensure the sustained success of this franchise. I'm not saying we can't have sustained success the rest of this decade, but ⁓ the the probability of that is significantly lower than it could have been. ⁓ with some pretty at least in our minds, y you, me and Pat, ⁓ there were some no brainer transactions that could have been made that were not. And I think the the moves that were made at the trade deadline ⁓ are an acknowledgement of that, whether Dombo's gonna say it or not. They were. ⁓ but moving forward, ⁓ you know, I I've I'm worried about Harper this season. ⁓ he already had some sort of ⁓ leg ailment that He seemed to indicate had to do with, you know, the the hard stops in the right field that he's not used to making. ⁓ he's still on a tear at the plate. So and I haven't seen him really hobbling the past couple games, so maybe that ⁓ has been resolved, but that's my big concern. ⁓ you know, I'll keep Bohm at first base because we don't have a better option at the moment, but I do want to bring up something you had brought up offline. You couldn't record with this last week, obviously. ⁓ What are your feelings about, you know, these sort of margin players that we are gonna rely on and we have frankly relied on the past few games even, of Brian De La Cruz, Derek Hill, and ⁓ a guy who's in the minors ⁓ currently but was came up for a decent cup of coffee earlier this spring when Garcia went down in Felix Reyes. ⁓ give me your thoughts about what you'd like to see happen with those guys and how they would fit in ⁓ You know, for example, ⁓ in a in a postseason lineup or run. speaker-1: Yeah, I think what they're doing right now with Harper in right, a combo of Hill and Crawford in center, and then Marsh and De La Cruz in left is kind of like the perfect platoon situation for center and left. ⁓ and and I would ride that because I mean Marsh, his platoon splits have been long r talked about. ⁓ I don't think he's an everyday player, especially in the playoffs when, you know, you're facing the Blake Snell. ⁓ from the left side of the plate or Chris Sale from ⁓ the Braves. So like I I I I do think that they're gonna run with those those platoons. I and I think that is the right decision, ⁓ with the bench that we have. And it for it feels like for the first time we actually have some decent depth on the bench with Hill as like our pinch hitter extraordinaire, like seems to come through almost every time he's in a big spot. ⁓ What a what a pickup. I I did not expect that to turn out to be such a a valuable trade ⁓ when when Dombo made that earlier in the year. ⁓ on the Felix Reyes side, ⁓ you know, I I think they're gonna ride Boom as long as they can ⁓ and give him every opportunity to continue at first base. But there was a report from Matt Gelb a couple weeks ago saying there are people inside the organization that want Felix Reyes at first base if Bohm continues to struggle. And I don't see a reason to put anybody else there if Harper is sticking in right field. ⁓ alternatively Harper could be the guy at first base instead. But if they're keeping Harper in right field, Reyes as a first baseman is a much better defensive first baseman than he is a defensive outfielder. So that that that makes sense logistically. And he's had a pretty decent triple A season, albeit it's triple A and he looked a lot different in the bigs for his cup of coffee. But ⁓ I I I don't think I need to go bite that bullet just yet because Bohm's turned it around over the last ⁓ handful of games. speaker-0: Yeah, understandable. It's just nice to ⁓ feel at any position that we have potential depth piece in the miners. ⁓ you know, as we go into the stretch run here. ⁓ you know, if we looked at it ⁓ three weeks ago, we were paper thin at every position. ⁓ so even if it's just one, I'll take it. ⁓ speaking of depth, ⁓ I want to get into the back end of our rotation. ⁓ you know, there's no argument we don't That's fine, even if it's lack thereof. ⁓ let's just take a look at some recent, you know, signs and trends that are are a little different from where we were a couple weeks ago. ⁓ last week we did acknowledge Pat and I that ⁓ you know Aaron Nola has had a solid month and a half, two months quietly, ⁓ and that has only continued since our last podcast. ⁓ kinda didn't want to address it because we didn't want to jinx it. ⁓ we just have that feeling about Aranola that he's gonna turn into a pumpkin any minute now. ⁓ and and just ⁓ you know be throwing meatballs all day and and be the ⁓ what I call vintage aranola. That's the version I refer to and people people love to use that phrase, vintage Aranola. ⁓ when was that? I I don't even remember, in in the positive sense. ⁓ But he he is he's looked like a solid fourth starter, which I will absolutely take. Don't care how big his contract is. ⁓ if that's what I can say about Aaronola, I'm feeling pretty good about our rotation. And then we'll get to Andrew Painter in a second. But give me your thoughts on Nola. What do you say? Anything different about how he's throwing? I've heard some things about his pitch selection. ⁓ w what what are you saying? speaker-1: Yeah, so h his knuckle curve has graded out really well ⁓ in in recent months, and he's ⁓ avoided throwing the fastball as often as he previously has, because that's the pitch that has gotten him into trouble because his velocity isn't what it used to be. and and so it seems like the game plan has been a big change for him. And What has resulted in that is he's a guy that keeps the Phillies in games. Not always gonna t get ya deep. He's gonna get you five to six innings, three earned runs or less. And that keeps you in a game. It doesn't look pretty on the stat sheet at the end of the year, but you're looking at about an eight start run where he's let up three earned runs or less in all but one of those games. And that's gonna that's gonna allow the team to win games. speaker-0: Yeah, I don't I don't think there's ⁓ you know, maybe the Dodgers are the exception to every rule. I'm not sure there's another team in baseball that wouldn't be thrilled to have a fourth starter that will give you five or six innings and three runs. I mean that that is rock solid. ⁓ you know, we went through the first half of the season knowing that Nolan was going to give up sixth and that our b ⁓ bullpen was gonna be depleted ⁓ for when the fifth starter slot comes around. ⁓ we're not seeing that nearly as much and it feels pretty good because I I think that bullpen death is still the biggest concern on this team. Haven't even gotten to that yet. ⁓ but all of that comes into play. ⁓ everything's a chain reaction in baseball. It is a it is a team sport. and when you think of it in terms of a it ⁓ a a full ⁓ regular season, it is truly a team sport because you need guys to Eat some innings. You need guys to step up in situations that are mop up duty in either direction. And if your starter can't hold up his end of the bargain at any point in the rotation on a regular basis, ⁓ you're you're that much worse off. and what I'm seeing in Aranola is, you know, I see that fight I see him working some almost backwards counts these days, you know, kind of leading with that knuckle curve, which I love that approach. love that in today's game in general, frankly, where hunting fastballs early in the count is is is the way of the world. ⁓ you got guys still in the launch at angle mentality, ⁓ the the true outcomes guys. ⁓ if you can you know consistently ⁓ land a knuckle curve at the bottom of the zone or or just below it, getting guys thinking, ⁓ that's a pretty good spot to be in in today's game. I think and if we can rely on that and then to set up the fastball even better. ⁓ so anyway, yeah, Aaron Nola, ⁓ let let's just ride this and and hope that he can get us enough wins in the regular season to make the playoffs 'cause I I'm still thinking of our rotation as a three man going into the postseason. And I I I think ⁓ you know, I'd like to be in a spot in September where we can do a little bit of a test run. ⁓ looking at Nola or Painter or whoever else as a long man in the bullpen. I'd really like to be able to have a week where we can do that. Not sure we're gonna get there, but ⁓ that would be the way I'd like to prepare and roll into the postseason. On to Andrew Painter. ⁓ you know he had ⁓ he got his first win since I believe it was ⁓ March twenty ninth last week. ⁓ everyone feeling pretty good about his his ⁓ Fastball being back, his location, ⁓ just his makeup on the mound, just ⁓ looked a lot better and he's he's fought out of some jams. ⁓ like I said on on Sunday, he got absolutely rocked in the first inning, but did make some great pitches. ⁓ kept his composure. After the grand slam, by the way, he hit a a another twin in the face. Knocked his helmet clean off. It was looking like the just speaker-1: Which is more speaker-0: Yeah, the the benches were worn, that's right. And it looked like the wheels were falling off and he was kinda that was his way of waving the white flag. But he got out of the inning and like I said, only gave up one more run over the next four plus. And ⁓ those are the kinds of things even though this the the stat line doesn't look great, to me, having seen enough rookie pitchers over the years and and how they develop, we could really look back at that game. Even more than we could look back at the one before where, you know, we got his first win in a while. Seeing him, you know, face that kind of early game adversity, ⁓ suck it up for the team, not burn the bullpen too much in a getaway game, as you said, where a lot of teams would roll over and he led the charge and did not do that. ⁓ really, really impressive. I don't want to understate what what he was able to do in in the context of that game. ⁓ Are you feeling like he's gonna continue trending upward? Are there anything anything that's alarming other than the first inning woes that that you feel are gonna, you know, continue to rear their ugly head? speaker-1: Yes, ⁓ so ⁓ Sunday fell off very much similar to the game against the Orioles where first two batters are ⁓ putting you down in a two nothing hole after an Alonzo two run home run. ⁓ felt very similar because both games he bounced back and gave you an outing that made you feel good at the end. ⁓ so you know, hi his stuff lately looks a lot sharper. ⁓ and the advanced metrics are really high on his last start despite the the the overall stat line. ⁓ his ⁓ and no master of pro stuff plus but it was rating him higher than Scoobyl on Sunday, which is just a a a class that you love to see somebody like Andrew Painter be in. But since he got called back up The opponent's batting average is 194 with a 657 OPS. So he's doing his job right now. ⁓ the end results of runs and earn runs versus you know innings pitch is not you know the the best. He's not rebounded, you know, his stat line at the end of the year is gonna look pretty bad. But what I'm seeing from his his fastball, it's getting a little bit more of that rise he had ⁓ talked about. ⁓ the adjustments that he made with the pitch grip and it seems to be paying off pretty significantly because he's getting a bit more of that vertical rise on his four seam fastball, which is what we saw before Tommy John surgery. He's st he even admitted he's still not back to that pre-TJ fastball. Not that anybody didn't realize that already, but we are seeing him progress in the right direction. and it just makes me more excited about the following season after a full off season where he can recover after you know a pretty sizable workload this year and then you know regain some of that that pre TJ fastball ⁓ velocity once again. speaker-0: Yeah, I I hope that I hope that the the rising fastball that yeah, he was that a lot of that was talked about a lot when he was, you know, a a recently drafted prospect. ⁓ I'm hoping just you know, knowing who else we have on the squad, I I hope that he learns some things from Zach Wheeler. 'Cause ⁓ that guy, you know, his his release point is is one of the nearest to the plate in the league. ⁓ gets everything out of his height and Painter's I I think got two or three inches on Wheeler. and I am already noticing mechanically, and I did even two weeks ago when he was called up, ⁓ you know, he's not falling off the mound. ⁓ he's getting that that length to the plate. ⁓ and that is very noticeable to whether you're a trained eye or not. ⁓ I hope that that continues and if his fastball can get that kind of rising feel that Wheelers does at its best, ⁓ yeah, he is gonna be ⁓ A phenom in this league. speaker-1: Now I I'm gonna get my ahead of myself a little bit with this next piece of the conversation. Like if we're thinking ⁓ postseason rotations, we obviously have a a ⁓ clear one, two, three in whatever order you decide. ⁓ I I do think they would ride with NOLA if they needed a fourth starter and in the DS you would given the schedule and the number of off days this year in on the NL side. ⁓ But I could see Painter being like that second guy piggyback behind Nola, where Nola has a relatively short leash and you wanna have a painter take some additional innings so you're not just you know running seven innings a bullpen. having said that, my biggest red flag with Painter since he's returned, and really all of this year is his first inning at ERA has been horrendous. And you can't have that in the postseason. You have to come in sharp and ready to go. so i if if he can somehow even that out a bit where his first inning woes turn into a bit more of what we're seeing since his recent call up after his first inning, which is a one point six nine ERA and a point eight eight whip. Pretty damn good. I'll take that any day of the year. speaker-0: Yeah, I I almost just wish they were one was a lefty, ⁓ 'cause that would be a hell of a one two punch to work towards ⁓ on the back end of a a division series or whatever else. ⁓ I will say that I'm I'm gonna try to get to as many painter starts as I can live moving forward this year. ⁓ you know, I got to the ballpark early at Target Field on Sunday. watched as many guys ⁓ warm up as I could as I walked around the ballpark out of field for the grounds. ⁓ And caught a a significant portion of Painter's long toss session, which is always fun for me to watch. I love watching a starter do long toss. speaker-1: It's the best. Really fun. Just bullpen sessions before a start and long toss. I love it. speaker-0: Agreed. Because you you just you see that you get to experience the velocity even more. ⁓ first what they're just throwing farther away, but they're they're usually, you know, just throwing their pitches that just, you know, don't hit the the catcher's mit for another ⁓ fifty feet. But ⁓ I gotta say Painter's long toss was alarming. ⁓ and I almost could have, if I had to bet on his first inning being a problem, I would have bet on that because he was wild as could be. ⁓ It was it was it was a problem. I don't know if that is a symptom. I don't know if that is truly an indicator ⁓ of how his start's gonna go, but I'd like to get to some ⁓ more of his starts and and see if it there is a pattern ⁓ just to get an idea of what to brace for in a painter's start. Last question we'll wrap up this segment from here till the end of the regular season, 'cause the Phillies do need to rack up wins. ⁓ no matter how you slice it, they've got to shore up a postseason spot. They cannot they cannot coast. They can't take their foot off the gas. They got out of the hole that they dug at the very beginning of the ⁓ second half of the season. They're looking good now, but they're gonna have some better teams rolling in. ⁓ you need that fourth and fifth spot in your rotation to be ⁓ you know competitive. Who do you trust more, who do you believe in more for the rest of the regular season, Nola or Painter? speaker-1: I'm gonna go with Nola and I it's this for the same reason that I would pick him as the fourth starter to at least start the game. he keeps you he y he's more of a known in the sense that he's been keeping you in most games that he's pitched. ⁓ I'd say since the first definitely since ⁓ July first, but even since June. ⁓ you kinda know what you're getting with him. ⁓ you just need to make sure that you get him out before any damage can kinda ruin. the outing. ⁓ having said that, I I'm optimistic, more optimistic about Painter, ⁓ than I have been all year. So I I'm really happy to see his turnaround progress and if we can just figure out a way to have a more consistent approach from inning one to whatever inning he ends up with, ⁓ you you you you are You have the making of somebody that can help you in the postseason, let alone just be your number five. speaker-0: Sure. Fair answer. Mine would be ⁓ ask me next episode. ⁓ I'll ⁓ I I just need I need one or two more starts out of both of them, probably two out of painter. ⁓ and then I'll I'll really know who I would ⁓ who I'd want to ride ⁓ for the rest of the year ⁓ between the two of them. But ⁓ yeah, all positive stuff that I don't think we would have expected a couple weeks ago. ⁓ to feel any sort of good vibes about the back end of the rotation. Real quick thing, and I don't want to get too into it. I don't want to jinx anything. He's still our guy. Are you worried at all about Zach Wheeler? ⁓ even tonight's start, and again we're ⁓ we're sitting five four, ⁓ looks like the bullpen ⁓ let the lead get shortened. But ⁓ even in tonight's start, you know, his pitch count rose early ⁓ and his walking guys and it's been a couple starts now. Really a month worth of starts where he's been not vintage Zach Wheeler. ⁓ got shelled two starts in a row, frankly. ⁓ what do you see going on with him? Are you concerned long term in terms of the rest of the the season? ⁓ and anything in particular as to why he's had some recent struggle. speaker-1: No, I'm I'm I'm honestly I'm unsure of the why. I think it could just be ⁓ it could be something related to a dead arm. It could be anything related to the surgery that he had last year. I I don't know what's causing it, but I I I still trust him with everything once we get to October. And ⁓ I I don't think it has anything to do with him kinda taking his eyes off the prize or anything like that. ⁓ he's not that type of player. He's a competitor. He wants to win every single time he's out there. ⁓ so yes, it is a bit concerning when you see him walk four guys today, ⁓ when he doesn't, you know, go deep into games. He had a handful of starts in a row where I mean, some of it was rain delay related, but like he didn't go deep into games. And so it's it hasn't been that classic Zack Wheeler stretch of late. But I I don't doubt for a second that we see it again this year. speaker-0: Exactly the answer I was hoping to hear from you, Mike. I just ⁓ I believe it. I just need to hear it from another from an expert, frankly. Thank you. ⁓ before we wrap up, ⁓ let's let's just talk about, you know, the Field of Dreams game. ⁓ what were your impressions of it? Obviously we we enjoyed the hell out of it. ⁓ the Phillies won. ⁓ anyway, but ⁓ I just think baseball gets it right with this one and it I guess maybe 'cause it's only what the third year they've done it. ⁓ it hasn't had a chance yet to feel passe or ⁓ you know just contrived ⁓ as as some things in baseball can be. You'll they'll they'll run back the same ⁓ you know off on off field ⁓ antics that it just it everything feels so authentic and pure and fun and interesting. ⁓ give me give me some of your highlights from watching that game. speaker-1: Yeah, I it's it's a fantastic event. ⁓ it's kind it's in my opinion, it's better than the Little League ⁓ game that they do, the Little League Classic ⁓ in Williamsport, ⁓ just because of the the cornfields in Iowa. I mean it's like it literally is a movie. it is ⁓ so unique, so baseball, so America, and it is just ⁓ an incredible event that sounds like they're gonna do more frequently because they've already named that the Royals and Red Sox are going out there next year. so I'm excited to see that that is something that baseball is taking ⁓ you know taking note of. I am very disappointed, however, that the ratings were pretty putrid. I mean it was ⁓ a little over a million people. It was on Netflix. It was a Thursday night. It didn't feel like there was any sort of build up towards it other than like the week of and even that felt lacking. Like outside of Philly and probably same thing with Minnesota. Like I don't think anybody knew what was going on. speaker-0: Exactly. I I couldn't agree more with that. ⁓ you know, we everyone's got their opinions about these ⁓ almost one off ⁓ ni niche platform ⁓ televised games, you know, everyone gets pissed off every couple Fridays because it's on Apple TV. At least I know that how that works in this town, ⁓ myself included. yeah, you've got you've got a game, like I said, that you're doing exactly right. ⁓ even better than the All Star game in my opinion. ⁓ it you know, it could just be the newness of it. ⁓ but yeah, put that thing in prime time on a network at least. You know, if it has to be on a Thursday speaker-1: It is the Sunday night baseball game on NBC as opposed to a Thursday night on Netflix. Like I get what Netflix is trying to do. They're trying to attract events as opposed to like regular cadence of games. ⁓ and this you know fits that very much. But it just doesn't feel natural. Like even the home run derby, I obviously I was there, so I didn't watch it on Netflix, but like even the home run derby felt like more of a Netflix type event than The Field of Dreams game. speaker-0: Sure thing. Yeah, I ⁓ I gotta say a a a couple other things about ⁓ the just the sentimentality of that broadcast, even though it was on Netflix and you know wasn't ⁓ heavily viewed. the the use of Barry Bonds as as sort of an anchor for the broadcast was something that I initially completely bristled at. ⁓ you know, I I I that I'm a little older than you, but I grew up seeing all of Bonds' career. ⁓ just one of the the most devastating just story arcs to me in baseball. Not devastating to me for him, but for baseball. ⁓ that it what he could have been you know, not only maybe the greatest player of all time, but the greatest sort of, you know, ⁓ representative of the game, ⁓ and chose to do what he did and and never truly admit that he did what he did regarding steroids. ⁓ But and having him at that game made me just feel some type of way. It's like this is this is about the purity of baseball and and all the all the romance around it. And our beautiful game and you got, you know, Ken Griffey Jr. and senior having a catch in the outfield. ⁓ but I gotta say watching him, especially in the the segment afterwards, he he talks to Kyle Schwarber, ⁓ who got like the you know, the corn award or whatever for ⁓ V P of the game. ⁓ and was you know, they're They're talking constantly about look at all these Hall of Famers. Isn't this beautiful to see all these Hall of Famers? and Bonds like kind of rolled with it in a way that I felt was genuine. Like and clearly he and Roger Clemens and a few others are on sort of this ongoing PR campaign. I think they're trying to to get a little more likable. speaker-1: Can add an A rod to that too. Yeah. speaker-0: Exact ⁓ of course. Arod is probably the the best example. ⁓ but at one point, you know, there was ⁓ they they were showing ⁓ a father and son having a catch. ⁓ I think they invited some ⁓ some fans to do that or something, and Bonds was like tearing up, genuinely tearing up, you could tell, ⁓ it at the anchor desk. And it was the first time in ever, frankly, where I was like, you know what, maybe Barry Bonds, you know deserves the same redemption arc that baseball is known for every day. ⁓ baseball has always been about second chances and redeeming yourself. And it was the first time I ever got to think that about Barry Bonds ⁓ in you know, in the cornfield game. So I thought that was pretty neat. ⁓ speaker-1: I it is remarkable the juxtaposition of seeing Roger Clemens talking to his son during the game on the broadcast. That's right. He was in the same boat as as Barry. I mean, clearly stat wise, they are both Hall of Famers, but they have those big steroid related question marks that have kept them out. And you know, y you you think of all of the background of the Field of Dreams game and it's not you know Field of Dreams, the Shulas Joe Jackson era ⁓ Black Sox scandal. And then you also see the the ads on the walls in the outfield for different sports betting companies and you're like MLB really wants to have their cake and eat it too. And you know, you y you often feel for the guys that, you know, probably have done something wrong, ⁓ but at the same time were clearly in a league of their own. No pun intended. But i it you got to see I I agree with you on the bottoms thing. You got to see a side of him that I don't think anybody really saw when he was a player. And he he's he's like he's a completely different person almost right now, it feels like. Just ⁓ from one night of watching some ⁓ commentary from him. Sure. but do I think he'll ever get into the Hall of Fame? Unfortunately I do not. And it really is a shame that the major league baseball home run champion, ⁓ both single season and all time are not in the Hall of Fame. speaker-0: Yeah, agreed. We can have the home the Hall of Fame debate, ⁓ you know, some other time and forever. ⁓ but yeah, just for one night only. It was ⁓ it was just nice to have a glimmer of that. and I'll leave ⁓ I'll leave us on one other sentimental baseball note. ⁓ I was, like I said, at Target Field for the first time, got to experience that whole scene and ⁓ not only is it a it is a great ballpark, it's tucked into the the heart of of downtown Minneapolis in a really, I think, tasteful way. it's got great views of the skyline around it. The layout of the park is pretty cool for a cold weather ⁓ you know, spot. It doesn't have a huge open open air concourse like a lot of ⁓ ballparks these days do. ⁓ And honestly, the the in inside concourses do actually feel like a target in some sense. They even use the same font ⁓ marking the sections as they do the aisles of the target. ⁓ but they have one feature that just ⁓ had me ⁓ tearing up. I'm glad no one caught me doing so. But ⁓ they've got they've got a live organist there. ⁓ not many ballparks have that these days. ⁓ her name is Sue Nelson, she's eighty-one years old. ⁓ she's got this great spot ⁓ at press level that you can go up to and just be next to her. I mean, I'm talking like you could easily just reach out and and and shake her hand. She's playing the organ, ⁓ she's kind of vamping at at at any given moment. I happen to get up there from my seat ⁓ right as it was actually Cody Clemens who had a little bit of an injury scare in left field. ⁓ and it was one of those sort of lulls in the game where they don't know whether to go to commercial break or not. ⁓ and that's her that's her time to shine. Just just improvising on the organ, entertaining the fans, filling the space. And ⁓ it was just such a delight to watch her. ⁓ you could tell she enjoys every second of it. The second she stops playing, she's turning around and talking to the fans, you know, talking to little kids, getting pictures, signing autographs. She's got little ⁓ like crayon drawings taped to the side of her organ that little kids are handing her because they love her so much. And it was ⁓ it was something that made the whole thing worth it. It could have been a terrible game, a terrible stadium otherwise, but to experience that, you know, this this lovely grandmother playing the organ and loving baseball and embracing all the fans was one of the the coolest baseball experiences I've ever had. So I gotta recommend that to anybody ⁓ who gets out there, make sure you check check out Sue Nelson, ⁓ playing the organ in the ⁓ I guess the two hundred level of target field. Can't beat it. Well speaker-1: You've just given me an excuse to get back to target field, so ⁓ thank you for that. speaker-0: Amen. All right. I think that's a wrap for this week's episode. I will be back next week. I think you will too, Mike. And hopefully our boy Pat will join us as well. Starting to hit the home stretch of the regular season, getting exciting. Hope we can continue this little hot streak and have a lot more positive things to talk about in a week. Till next time, this is the Specific Johns Podcast. Go fills. speaker-1: Yeah.