LIVE from Ocean City! Phil Martelli, Fran Dunphy & Brandon Duckworth join the show

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Speaker 1: Everybody, Ruben Tomorrow Junior, Jim Salisbury, Todd's lucky here.

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Speaker 2: It's the Philly Show.

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Speaker 1: We're live from Manco and Manco on the Ocean City Boardwalk.

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Speaker 3: Oh right, we got we got here. We got action.

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Speaker 1: We got some boardwalk action going on. We're excited to be here. I hope everybody is doing well. You're watching us live beautiful Sunday morning down at the Jersey shore Manco.

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Speaker 3: MANC doesn't like it.

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Speaker 4: It's fantastic, perfect combination, Todd.

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Speaker 3: You know when you got oshi, you're here at Maco macOS. I mean it's best pizza in the planet.

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Speaker 5: The smell of a better the salty air or the pizza cooking behind us.

00:00:48
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, we're right behind it. I think we'll get some in a little bit. But uh yeah, we're we're super excited to be here. Uh Baseball season, Midsummer trade deadline, Jersey, you sure change deadline four days. It's a little bit more than four days away. So there's a lot going on right now up in New York. Guys, Phillies, Yankees, the crushing Phillies are also all of a sudden, they're starting to hit the baseball a little bit yeah.

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Speaker 3: Who needs.

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Speaker 5: But I think they need a reliever more or in the home stretch from the trade deadline. What do you think you changed your mind on reliever versus bat after this little.

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Speaker 3: Run the wrong No, I think the reliever.

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Speaker 6: I mean, obviously you got to wait to see what happens with Robertson as far as when you know how effective he'll be. But you're not gonna be able to find that out really until until you know, after.

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Speaker 3: The trade deadline.

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Speaker 6: I'm not sure when Robertson's gonna be ready, Probably in the next week to ten.

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Speaker 5: Days, about eight or nine more days, ten more days with Robertson.

00:01:50
Speaker 1: Yes about that, Yeah, he's gonna start his Uh you know, so let's let's talk trade deadline. Let's talk Phillies Yankees. It's time for the Parks first, Hitch, what.

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Speaker 2: Do we want to do.

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Speaker 1: We want to talk Phillies Yankees first, and we want to talk trade deadline.

00:02:11
Speaker 5: Sorry, top of the lineup. I mean, how about the month that JT. Real Mudo has had in the month of July. I mean they right now we're seeing what can happen when you get multiples three and four guys hot, and that's what we're seeing over the weekend. I know the Yankees are struggling, but it's great to see real mutos swinging it. And one of our big second half storylines coming in was, you know, can Bryce Harper really turn it on? And so far he has and they've it's been a real difference maker in the team, and Schwarber has been Schwarber. I think it's time we start talking about Kyle Schwarber as a serious MVP candidate National.

00:02:42
Speaker 6: Yeah, no question about that, but I I you know, one of the things that we've been waiting for is like, and we talked about it at the beginning of the season, was you know, it's just tea. This team is supposed to have a pretty darn deep lineup, and some of the guys in the back end of that lineup weren't doing squad.

00:02:58
Speaker 3: I mean they literally weren't doing anything.

00:02:59
Speaker 6: And they have picked it up obviously, particularly a guy like JT. That right handed bat that can can can help this team a lot. They've got a lot of left handed thunder with regard to you know, Harper and Schober obviously, but the right handed bats important. I still think it's important to try to get somebody to really protect, you know, those two left handed bats. But it's huge for them to have gotten to the point where JT is starting to be more productive. I think that's gigantic. I think it lengthens out the lineup. It takes a lot of heat off some people, and you know you still got Alec Bohme coming back at some point. And when Alec bom comes back that that's a big piece as well. So it will be very, very interesting to see how this all plays out in the next four days. With with Dave Nebowski, I do still think that they're so.

00:03:52
Speaker 1: Put yourself back in the GM shoes. Offense has been struggling the free first few months of this season, super super hot and cold. Now they have a six game stretch where they start having a lot of extra base hits, they start hitting for some power. Do you sit there and go, Okay, it's back, it's coming back, or do you say, I'm not going to be fooled by a six because you hear GMS all the time say well, I want to see with the week to go before the trade done, these teams on the bubble.

00:04:17
Speaker 4: I don't know if I'm going to be a buyer or seller.

00:04:19
Speaker 1: It's like one week is going to change your entire future of the organization potentially, So how do you handle how do you look at what you've seen over the last five, six, seven games in terms of you know, going out and getting a yue Ango Soarez or.

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Speaker 2: Somebody like that.

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Speaker 6: I think you have to be realistic about what this lineup is and it has failed, you know when when it goes cold, and I think you've got to try to give it a little bit more depth. And how do you do that? You got to do it with you know, a back coming in.

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Speaker 3: Again.

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Speaker 6: I think the priority has to be if they're going to make one move, I think they do need to get somebody in the back end of that bullpen to close things down, at least somebody that you feel really comfortable about, you know, getting three outs in the tight in a really tight situation when they have a one run lead, okay, or when they are tied and they.

00:05:09
Speaker 3: Can throw somebody in the ninth inning and feel really good about that.

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Speaker 6: There's some guys who are pitching a little bit better who can do that on this team, but not guys that have shown us they can do it consistently. So I think that's the priority, but you can't get sort of I don't know, mesmerized by the fact that these last few games, they they've swung the bats better because they're not facing great pitching either, and so you have to take that into account.

00:05:36
Speaker 3: They still need that bat.

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Speaker 6: I believe that's going to help them, give them a little bit more depth on the right side, and hopefully it's a dangerous bat. Again, I don't know who's available out there right now because it's it's so volatile. These next four days are insane when it comes to who's gonna be in and who's gonna be out, who's gonna be available.

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Speaker 5: And it's an eternity four days, an eternity at the trade deadline really is on the fence right up until twenty four hours before and then the text message you start rolling, We're in, make your offers, you know, bring it.

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Speaker 3: But I still agree with Rubin.

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Speaker 5: I wonder who is going to get the last three outs of ball games in October, the last four outs. Maybe that you know, those pressure packed outs in October, they're different than in July, August, and September. So I still think you have to be out there looking to get somebody who can lock down that game. But we can't kid ourselves. They need a bat. We've said it all along. It might be a marginal guy that can you can ride for a couple of months that maybe can get hot. Or it might be Suarez. I mean, he he really interests me. I love the idea of bringing him in and maybe, you know, you kind of suck it up a little bit and put Schwarber out there in left field and Suarez becomes your DH when Bom gets back. But you know, I don't know if they can pull off two mark he moves like that. But we're gonna find out. I think they know all I know, they know all this stuff. They know they need an arm, they know they need more offense. They're not gonna be fooled by one big weekend in New York. It's like when you look at mc gable right and you say, wow, he had a bad start in the Big League. Does that really hurt his value?

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Speaker 7: No.

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Speaker 5: The teams out there know that he's a developing player that's gonna need time. I don't think he kills his value, like just like I don't think one big weekend in New York is gonna convince them they don't need a bat, they need both. The time is now with this nucleus. The clock is ticking, and I think they're gonna do everything they can.

00:07:24
Speaker 3: To address both.

00:07:25
Speaker 1: I can't wait to see kind of what they do. I mean, Dave Debrowski certainly has made some moves of the past few trade deadlines, but he hasn't made that Cliff Lee two thousand and nine, Royo's vaulty ten Hunter Pence twenty eleven move where that was the guy. So I wonder if that And I'm not saying he's gonna he necessarily feels fresh. I don't think Dave is influenced by that stuff, but I almost feel like it's.

00:07:49
Speaker 2: Gone three years of kind of doing those.

00:07:53
Speaker 1: Marginal moves, and I'm sitting there going, I wonder if this is gonna be the year where he goes all Right, Miller, Crawford, Tai Escobar, Able, They're all out there and we're gonna make it go big.

00:08:06
Speaker 3: I'm all about throwing all those ships in myself.

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Speaker 6: I mean, I'm all about it, especially with the way things are set up across baseball. Detroit's not playing well. The Yankees have been terrible. The one team that's playing great is Toronto. But there's so many teams that aren't playing well. And this World Series is there for the taking. It's there for the taking, and it may be the difference in making that big move.

00:08:28
Speaker 3: I think so. Rubin in the last like JT has picked it up. In the month of July.

00:08:33
Speaker 5: Lewis Robert has had a really good run with the White Sox this month. He's turning out. He's killing left handed pitching. You have never been an advocate of acquiring him. I understand why, two very poor years, but I mean, could he be someone if you didn't have to it didn't cost you a ton of prospect capital. Maybe he's a threat, of enough of a threat that maybe you take a run at him as your right handed kind of threat in the middle of the bat, a middle of the lineup, and go for a lockdown, closer reliever with your big trade capital. Are you turning any Are you coming around on Lewis Roberts at all? Especially if he didn't cost you big You know, I've been all.

00:09:13
Speaker 6: Thumbs down on him for a long time and I just don't know money wise, and I think he's under control for another options dollar.

00:09:22
Speaker 2: Buyout, like a twenty million dollars.

00:09:24
Speaker 3: Here's the other thing.

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Speaker 5: If you got him, he's gonna turn it on for two months. He's gonna be very engaged because he wants that twenty million dollars option.

00:09:31
Speaker 3: Very possible.

00:09:32
Speaker 5: I don't pick it up right, but I mean he's going to be motivated.

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Speaker 6: So you have to view him as a rental and someone that you're basically spending money on rather than uh, you know, talent capital.

00:09:44
Speaker 3: So listen, listen.

00:09:46
Speaker 6: As long as they do something strong at the back end, that'd be great, and add that little piece, why not go ahead. I mean, if it's if it's gonna make them, if it's gonna make their lineup marginally better, then I'm okay with that.

00:09:59
Speaker 1: So I wrote this down because I thought these numbers jumped out of me. Luise Robert Junior against left handed pitching this season nine sixty six ops, five twenty nine.

00:10:08
Speaker 2: Against right hand you put platuna.

00:10:10
Speaker 1: But but this month Luise Robert Junior batting three point fifty one two o ps.

00:10:16
Speaker 2: Sounds like some of them wants to get traded, no doubt.

00:10:20
Speaker 6: I mean I don't. I don't necessarily trust the guy. And I've been going thumbs down on him for for a long time.

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Speaker 3: But I've been going yeah, but on the guy.

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Speaker 6: But but if you can catch lightning in a bottle and you're willing to pay whatever it is capital, you know, money capital wise and talent capital, why not if it's making your team better for for a month and that's all you need him for.

00:10:43
Speaker 5: Right And you talked about that, Brian Reynolds guy, how you thought maybe if you get out of Pittsburgh you turn it on a little bit. I'm starting to wonder if Lewis Robert gets out of kind of death Valley in the South side of Chicago, it comes to a place like Citizens Bank Park, where it's electric, where he's got guys like Schwarmer and Harper going all out, maybe he picks up his game a little bit and you get those the best two months of his career.

00:11:04
Speaker 3: I just think it's really worth bearing down on a little better.

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Speaker 2: It'll be fun. Hey.

00:11:09
Speaker 5: That was first pitch brought to you exclusively by our partners at Parks Casino.

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Speaker 3: It's Parks Casino.

00:11:16
Speaker 5: Dot com, Pennsylvania's number one casino gambling problem.

00:11:22
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00:11:28
Speaker 4: All right, we are back Manco and Manco Ocean City.

00:11:32
Speaker 2: We're pumped because, yeah, it's a big guess we got some big celebs.

00:11:36
Speaker 3: Man, we come down to the shore. Yeah, we got film.

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Speaker 4: Tell fran Donfie, thanks so much for joining.

00:11:43
Speaker 2: Us, guys. Yeah, good to be with you guys.

00:11:45
Speaker 3: So is this just so OC home?

00:11:47
Speaker 6: You guys have homes here in OC or you're just cruising by and hanging out with us?

00:11:52
Speaker 3: You do it?

00:11:52
Speaker 2: Ever, Cindy Webster tells us, Oh, that's that's a great point. We're both at Avabon.

00:11:57
Speaker 3: Oh you're both at Avalon. Oh, well that's not.

00:11:59
Speaker 2: Too far down the road. It's good, very good.

00:12:02
Speaker 3: That's awesome.

00:12:04
Speaker 5: It's awesome to have you guys. I know, legendary basketball guys in town. But how about your big baseball fans I see at the ballpark now?

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Speaker 3: And then both of you guys.

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Speaker 7: Yeah, I think I would say that college basketball coaches their next most important love is baseball. It fills that gap between the seasons, and we love every second of it. My man has a countless number of opinions that he's happy to share.

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Speaker 2: All of those, but it's it's great fun.

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Speaker 3: Opinions are our fuel.

00:12:35
Speaker 8: No.

00:12:36
Speaker 2: I just to me, it's.

00:12:40
Speaker 9: College basketball and then baseball, and I come by it like honestly when I say, all of you guys are much too young. In nineteen sixty four, I walked from Southwest Philly to the airport and met them when they came off coming off, like not a lot of people are you guys are aware of it? They won their last two games that year. They didn't go end of the season losing ten straight. They won two straight in Cincinnati, came up a game short against the Cardinals. I was down there as a ten year old as they came off the plane, thinking, well, they'll just be back next year. Who knew it would be fifty years until.

00:13:17
Speaker 2: We were like on Broad Street again.

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Speaker 3: A long time oky.

00:13:20
Speaker 6: So one question I had about you guys when you go through your recruiting process, because I know back in the day as a baseball person, and I know that baseball scouts used to go and watch kids play basketball to see what kind of athletes they were to make their assessments about it. That'sny offseasons, a lot of the kids would play basketball and they would make those assessments, would you guys do the reverse? Would you guys ever go to baseball games if an athlete was playing. I don't know if that translates the same way, because I think I happen to think that basketball players are probably the best athletes. I think all around soccer players probably get mad at me and and hockey guys, but I think the reality I was they're really really great athletes.

00:14:04
Speaker 3: Did you guys recruit that way too, or did you just watch them on the basketball court.

00:14:09
Speaker 7: I don't know if we had the opportunity to select versus recruit, so we would do anything and everything to try to get a kid who was a good athlete and watch them.

00:14:19
Speaker 2: I think in Phild probably backed me up on this.

00:14:21
Speaker 10: I would love to watch end of basketball games to see who wanted the ball, who was going to come through in the clutch, and see what else they participated in if they were also a football player.

00:14:32
Speaker 7: That never bothered me. I was fired up about that. I've also played baseball anything. I want them to be athletes and competitors and play every sport you can for as long as you can, was my way of looking at it. I didn't want kids to specialize back in the day. But now it's a whole different world that we're in and the world.

00:14:53
Speaker 2: Of collage basketball has changed. Mighty league.

00:14:55
Speaker 9: Ooh, I would go to football. I thought football was a big deal. Well, to see how what kind of teammate he was, and really to take the eye test and say, well, that's tough, because I think like we play indoors, you don't get hit, you don't get you know. But there they practice when it's hotter than heck, and they play when.

00:15:18
Speaker 2: It's colder than cold. So just to see a kid.

00:15:21
Speaker 9: Playing in that kind of atmosphere, and to be honest with you, Rubert, at a certain point in time, you don't have to see them play basketball anymore. You're more going to see what kind of human being? And is this somebody that I want in my gym. If the kid has all the answers, or he has somebody yelling to him all the answers.

00:15:41
Speaker 2: It's not going to work, right, It's it's just not going to work.

00:15:45
Speaker 9: And just to be because you're passionate about can I help them become a better person, not just a better player and a better student, but go and see them in the environments that maybe.

00:15:59
Speaker 2: It's a little bit on comfortable.

00:16:00
Speaker 9: Maybe they're overmatched in football, so I would spend time at football games.

00:16:04
Speaker 6: Do you think it was more important while you were scouting them as Big five coaches in this area in Philly or do you think this is something that's universal as far as the competitiveness.

00:16:16
Speaker 3: I know I don't wanted all my athletes to be.

00:16:18
Speaker 6: Competitive, regardless of where or when, but I think it seems to me except it always been for me, as while I evaluate players that being able to handle the Northeast and the pressure of being able to play in this environment, I thought that was really important. You both talked about makeup and how important that is, and you know their overall competitiveness.

00:16:40
Speaker 3: Is that something that's.

00:16:41
Speaker 6: More germane to the East Coast way of plan or the Big Five way of.

00:16:46
Speaker 3: Plan or was it just in general.

00:16:48
Speaker 2: For both of you?

00:16:49
Speaker 7: I think, for in honesty, our world that we lived in was more Northeast than anything else. We didn't go that far away to recruit, But I think the toughness and the athlete is all is the same everywhere.

00:17:01
Speaker 2: I don't think that that changes very.

00:17:03
Speaker 7: Much, but it's for us we would somebody would say to me, have you seen this kid?

00:17:08
Speaker 2: And he'd say, yeah.

00:17:09
Speaker 7: I saw him, but I didn't study him, because that's when you really get involved with a kid and you study every aspect of how he is with his parents, how he is with his teammates, how he is with the referee, how he is when he comes off the court and interacts with a little kid that says, I want to be you in fifteen years.

00:17:26
Speaker 2: Are you going to sign my autograph or whatever? You want to see all of.

00:17:29
Speaker 7: Those things that take place, how they present themselves as a person, and then it's going to be the same as they present themselves out of a teammates.

00:17:37
Speaker 9: Grou the world, the world that you had to recruit for. It is different because how many of those kids that just were called in the draft last week? How many are you going to end up on that team if they make it to the show.

00:17:51
Speaker 3: Very few?

00:17:51
Speaker 9: Right, So in my world, I used to look around and say, you know what, that kid shouldn't go far from home because it doesn't go well for him.

00:18:01
Speaker 2: It does not have to be a.

00:18:02
Speaker 9: Phone call or a zoom call with the family. His family's going to be at the games. We have an advantage in the Northeast, and that there's so many players and they're so well coached and prepared both in the winter and in their summer basketball, that you can get them to say, you know why, it's important that you stay home because that night, when it doesn't go your way, you need somebody to hug you. And if that's somebody, it can't always be the coach, because we have thirteen or fifteen of them that we have to take care of, and not all of them are happy after every game, win or lose.

00:18:36
Speaker 2: But if they have family, that to me was a really big deal in that they could.

00:18:42
Speaker 9: Get home in a crisis and not have to pay it get on a plane. So this area was important, was the bread and butter for all recruiting.

00:18:53
Speaker 1: So the Phillies are playing the Yankees this weekend and the Yankees are struggling, and right now Aaron Who and the Yankees man is getting killed because the Yankees aren't playing well and he's not ripping his players enough in the media, he's not holding.

00:19:07
Speaker 2: Their feet to the fire enough in the media.

00:19:08
Speaker 1: Rob Thompson gets criticized for this quite a bit too, because he doesn't go out and blast his guys after they you know, Trey Turner misplays a double play, ball fumbles it.

00:19:19
Speaker 2: Guys are swinging out of.

00:19:20
Speaker 4: Their shoes, out of their shoes, out of his own.

00:19:24
Speaker 2: You guys, I think could offer some unique perspective on this. So how did you guys handle this when your players were.

00:19:33
Speaker 8: Playing, well, you had a bad play, a bad game, maybe a bad stretch, and someone's asking you, Mike Jensen or somebody's after the game asking how you know what this call that you made or whatever, this play that you call just bombed out?

00:19:48
Speaker 3: And how do you handle that?

00:19:50
Speaker 4: And how do you look at what's going on with it?

00:19:54
Speaker 1: You know, get Rob Thompson, Nick Sirianni, those types of things.

00:19:57
Speaker 7: I'm gonna just answer it and one with one succinct they.

00:20:01
Speaker 2: Give it the credit, take the blame.

00:20:04
Speaker 7: That's the when you sign those papers, when you take that job, that's part of your responsibility.

00:20:09
Speaker 2: Give the credit, take the blame.

00:20:10
Speaker 7: And you just don't want those kids, especially back then when they weren't being paid money, which now it's going to be.

00:20:17
Speaker 2: I think there's things are going to change now.

00:20:20
Speaker 7: At the college level, But for the most part, you're protecting those kids that you have in your program and You're talking to them every day because you want maybe they had a bad game tonight, you need them to have a good, good game on Wednesday.

00:20:34
Speaker 3: So let's make great scream.

00:20:36
Speaker 2: Scream your praise, scream your praise, whisper.

00:20:39
Speaker 9: Your criticism, and as often as possible, in public praise and in private you can criticize and break them down. Now, as far as the Phillies and Rob Thompson, they do not want to.

00:20:54
Speaker 2: Make me up.

00:20:56
Speaker 9: If Reeler throws a ball this afternoon, I will want him ship to Allentown.

00:21:01
Speaker 3: Immediately, and I will volunteer to drive.

00:21:04
Speaker 2: I will volunteer if Turner. If Turner doesn't get a base hit, I'm like, seriously, what are we waiting there?

00:21:12
Speaker 3: I am.

00:21:12
Speaker 2: I am completely And it starts in Clearwater.

00:21:15
Speaker 9: I watch every pitch and I react the exact same wad way in Clearwater.

00:21:20
Speaker 2: Because this is magical.

00:21:23
Speaker 9: I don't have to preach to you guys like if this disappears and we become Pittsburgh or one of these dredge franchises, Like, I just can't get over what the organization has done, with how good they are. When you go down there and walk that concourse and you see a family from North Philly and then you see a family driving in from Tom's River or whatever. Please, we cannot we cannot lose this. We cannot lose this. It is so magical to have great baseball. I don't want to ever see us where we're.

00:22:06
Speaker 3: Can you imagine I had to go?

00:22:08
Speaker 2: Can you be in that ballpark and see twenty thousand people? It would be it?

00:22:14
Speaker 3: I know we are, we all have.

00:22:17
Speaker 2: What do you want? How about how good Wheeler is? Easy? Ridiculous?

00:22:21
Speaker 3: That's insane to watch it.

00:22:23
Speaker 7: He should have fifteen wins and being the number one candidate for Cy Young.

00:22:28
Speaker 2: No doubt.

00:22:29
Speaker 4: I think we all agree that he's one of the best pitchers in baseball.

00:22:31
Speaker 2: Sh easy fellas he hasn't won his last two games. I need to see one.

00:22:35
Speaker 3: We'll put your we'll put you, We'll put you guys on the spot.

00:22:39
Speaker 6: If you guys were in the GM seat right now, would you go chips all in and and tell your prospects or would you hold something back and hope that these guys can get it done.

00:22:51
Speaker 2: That's why you had the job that you have. He's a Politicially, I would do both.

00:22:57
Speaker 7: To be honest with you, I try to find the person that we think it's going to help us right away.

00:23:01
Speaker 2: But you can't give everything away.

00:23:04
Speaker 7: And because we're playing next year in the year after, just like my man said, we gotta we gotta hold under this nothing.

00:23:10
Speaker 9: One arm, one arm, one arm in the bullpen, one arm and one arm in the bullpen.

00:23:15
Speaker 2: No b one arm in the book.

00:23:18
Speaker 9: Don't mess with that psyche of that team. That that picture yesterday of marsh carrying Sosa off the field. And by the way, he must have gone to Lords overnight because he's playing that That was.

00:23:34
Speaker 2: That was a soccer fall, wasn't it. I wouldn't mess with the psyche that of that.

00:23:40
Speaker 5: So you're touching on something that always interests me at the trade deadline. The teams that bring in talent and buy their good teams their contenders. But oftentimes when you bring in somebody, it can disrupt a little bit in the cup off. Somebody has to take a take a step back in their role. Somebody might actually have to leave because.

00:24:00
Speaker 3: You have freshmen coming up taking jobs. You have to consider that the college.

00:24:05
Speaker 9: This is how nuts it is for me last year at the trade deadline when they they dfad uh Meryfield yeah, I just said, I hope it didn't mess with that locker room, because that locker room, this is my picture. The Phillies were as classy as ever, honoring Dan Baker. He and I were there, and Jay Wright was there, and Dan Baker was speaking from home plate. And I remember telling you this. I turned to my right. Twenty six players were on the top railing, led by Harper, and I said, that's why these dudes are special.

00:24:45
Speaker 4: Don't mess with special. I tell you what.

00:24:48
Speaker 1: There were some players in that clubhouse after Witt Mirrorfield got released.

00:24:52
Speaker 4: I wondered if it effected the juju in that clubhouse.

00:24:55
Speaker 2: Yeah, so you think it's faked.

00:24:59
Speaker 5: You know, Meryfield was in the basketball equivalent of a gym rat, you know, yeah, and he was good in that room.

00:25:08
Speaker 3: Maybe you should be advising Dame Dembrowski.

00:25:10
Speaker 9: Now, today's Dave Van Grouse's birthday, by the way, So that's how.

00:25:15
Speaker 2: And I also checked the Mets.

00:25:16
Speaker 9: First thing I did at five o'clock this morning, when I got up, I checked the Mets score from last night.

00:25:20
Speaker 2: It's insane, It's truly insane that.

00:25:25
Speaker 1: Before we really go, I know, you've got a podcast filled make a different podcast.

00:25:29
Speaker 4: What can you tell us about it? You've had fran on it.

00:25:31
Speaker 9: You've had fran On, I've had fran I've had nuns who are serving the homeless. I did not want to do sport. I did not want to do basketball only. I didn't want to do coaching. I didn't want to do yuck it up. I truly wanted to make a difference. I wanted to make a difference in all of these different ways because so many people have allowed me to live the life that I live because they've made a difference.

00:25:55
Speaker 2: So when I take people on, it's very formatic.

00:26:00
Speaker 3: Beginning.

00:26:01
Speaker 9: I do my Martelli minute, and then I do my guest, and uh, we have a young lady.

00:26:08
Speaker 2: Who deals with autistic children all over this country.

00:26:11
Speaker 9: She says, guests this Tuesday, Next Tuesday, Next Tuesday's guest number ten playing shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies.

00:26:22
Speaker 2: That'll be fair. Larry's fantastic. We all love Larry. That's gonna be made. I don't know if we'll go live.

00:26:29
Speaker 5: But no, I just want to say how much I admire the the college basketball coaches in the Philadelphia market. Oh yeah, all winter long, you guys slug it out and you try to beat each other off and then when it's over, I mean you guys, just who's respect for each other and your and your your buddies.

00:26:48
Speaker 3: You do great charity work, So that's.

00:26:52
Speaker 2: Great.

00:26:53
Speaker 6: Daddy, guys is part of the community. Guys, you're Philadelphia's throw it through and we appreciate it.

00:26:57
Speaker 3: Thanks so much. Thank you, see you guys on Broad Street.

00:27:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, join us.

00:27:02
Speaker 3: We appreciate it.

00:27:03
Speaker 2: Phil Mark, Lly fran Don Free, thanks for coming on the Phillies. It's awesome.

00:27:08
Speaker 4: That was awesome.

00:27:10
Speaker 2: All right, we've got a listen. This this is how high tech we are.

00:27:13
Speaker 3: Guys.

00:27:13
Speaker 1: We're doing a fan question really, Eric promotion, Citty, what do you got buddy?

00:27:18
Speaker 2: Guys? How you doing a great job with the podcast. We really appreciate it. I think we're all wondering about Schwarber, with him being red hot and such a great leader. Do you think the Fields are gonna.

00:27:28
Speaker 1: Do what it takes to keep them and what will it take to keep them?

00:27:34
Speaker 2: Well?

00:27:35
Speaker 6: I think that I don't think there's any question in my mind that it always takes two to tango. But I have to say that there's no question in my mind that the Phillies are gonna do everything they possibly can to shine the guy. I don't that's that's I think that's their intent clearly, and he is a big priority for them. The issue I think is really is that Schwarber's could have put himself in a position to try to get as much money as he possibly can and the and the greatest length, and he wants to whittle it down to places that he loves to play.

00:28:07
Speaker 3: And I think he loves to play in Philadelphia, Don't get me wrong. I think he really enjoys it. I think that he is. There's a mutual respect there.

00:28:14
Speaker 11: But but there's other cities out there that he could consider, Cincinnati and Chicago and uh, there's gonna be some big hitters in LA and some other places maybe in New York that are gonna go after him.

00:28:26
Speaker 3: And I think he wants to set his market.

00:28:28
Speaker 6: And if I'm in the Phillies, I let them all try to put bits on him, and I pay him one more dollar than there than than they uh they throw out there and try to get him done.

00:28:37
Speaker 5: So I'll say this, I think they're gonna resign him, as I said here right now. And the reason why, obviously you need power in that ballpark. He's and he's he's got big power. I think he's gonna continue to show it into his late thirties. John Middleton is a guy who listens. He's a business man. He listens to his customer, he listens to his fan base, and they want him back. And in the end, I think John Middleton's gonna listen to his fan base and bring him back.

00:29:07
Speaker 3: So that's my opinion.

00:29:09
Speaker 1: We've made them, We've made the comparison all season that he could be like the Phillies' version of David Ortiz for the Red Sox. He's got this incredible bat speed. It's not slowing down. It's got elite level bat speed, and so it's not like we see a guy, a bigger guy, power hitting guy, and his bat speed starting to slow down. You're gonna know what's this gonna look like in three years if we sign him to a five year extension or a five year contract, I feel like Kyle Schwarber is going to be hitting home runs for the next several seasons. There's no safe bet, there's no guarantee on anybody, but I feel pretty good about Kyle.

00:29:45
Speaker 2: Schwarber being a productive hitter in the major league. They need him in several seasons beyond this one.

00:29:50
Speaker 3: They need him. Look at the year he's having.

00:29:52
Speaker 5: We said earlier in the show, he's gonna starting to move his way into the MVP picture. And now I know, you know we Soto left the Yankees, but after Big C, I just don't see. I just think they're gonna try to wrap him up and do everything they can do to keep him here because he is so valuable on the field, in the battles box, in the club police.

00:30:15
Speaker 3: He's a really special guy.

00:30:17
Speaker 6: I was in the clubhouse when they Boston had David Ortiz the last two years, his last year, excuse me.

00:30:24
Speaker 3: He makes a really, really huge difference as a leader, as a person in the clubhouse.

00:30:29
Speaker 6: And that's the other piece of this that becomes so important for them. I mean, they have Harper and they have JT, and JT's gonna be a free agent, but as far as leadership is concerned, and that's a hard thing to buy, you can't quantify it.

00:30:43
Speaker 3: But that's a really important piece of this as well.

00:30:45
Speaker 6: And I think that that's another reason why they'll probably resign him and do everything they possibly can to do.

00:30:50
Speaker 2: So what's the number. It's a five year.

00:30:53
Speaker 6: Deal, I think, and I think a five year deal is gonna start with it's gonna start with a three.

00:30:57
Speaker 3: I think it's one hundred and fifty million bucks.

00:31:00
Speaker 5: And like I said, John Middleton listens to his customers, and the people in this town want this guy back.

00:31:08
Speaker 3: I think he's coming back.

00:31:09
Speaker 1: Yes, no doubt, Yeah, thank you, yeah, thank you, Thanks for shy. So I want to ask you guys. We're gonna bring on Brandon Duckworth in a few minutes, but I want to ask you guys, besides Suarez, is there any other bats out there that might not be attainable? But man, if you were Dave Dombrowski, Preston Manningly, you're really bringing some heat on these guys. Is it Stephen Kwan who would be amazing left field?

00:31:37
Speaker 2: We did, We did it.

00:31:38
Speaker 1: We did a show about a week and a half ago, twenty five trade names flow.

00:31:42
Speaker 6: No flow, heavy flow, heavy flow, heavy flow on Kwan, Jeremy very minimal. I had very little or no flow on Robert a little bit more now than I did then.

00:31:59
Speaker 2: I love it.

00:32:00
Speaker 6: I think that for me, I think you just need to get marginally better, marginally better, incrementally better in your lineup, and then you've got to get much better I think in your battle.

00:32:14
Speaker 3: That's where I'm at.

00:32:15
Speaker 5: Totally agree with that. So if you went after a guy like Loriano, maybe he doesn't cost you, you know, an arm and a lag, and you can use your trade capital in the bullpen where you need that lockdown guy.

00:32:25
Speaker 3: At the end of the game.

00:32:26
Speaker 5: So, but Robert is starting to intrigue me with this little turnaround he's had here.

00:32:32
Speaker 3: Robert intriguing me depending on what I have to give up.

00:32:35
Speaker 5: I'm not going to be fooled and give him up and give up the farm for him. But I'd rather spend big in the bullpen and get those last three outs taken care of to.

00:32:43
Speaker 3: Bring back Austin Hayes. Would bring Austin Hayes, I mean for.

00:32:48
Speaker 6: The purpose, the reason that why they got him was what he's doing now over there with the Reds.

00:32:52
Speaker 3: I think the Reds are probably still in it. I don't think they want to sell.

00:32:55
Speaker 6: He's sort of cheap and stuff, so I don't think they want to change that.

00:32:58
Speaker 5: If you could get you know, Gino Suarez, you're probably using more trade capital there now you have less to us in the bullpen, so the you know, to me, inch that offense along and go big in the bullpen.

00:33:12
Speaker 4: What about what reliever would you guys want if you could wave him out.

00:33:17
Speaker 3: I'm still in on Class A.

00:33:18
Speaker 6: I know he struggled his last time out, and he's had some struggles throwing strikes at times in certain situations.

00:33:25
Speaker 3: I like him.

00:33:27
Speaker 6: I still like the guys in Minnesota Duran. Again, these guys have not really pitched in the tight, in those tight situations to have to make them.

00:33:37
Speaker 3: You'll get those three outs to get it done. But I mean I would take him.

00:33:43
Speaker 5: I still like Mason Miller, even though they're probably not going to move them. And I love those four years of control. Love no doubt triple digit fastball. Yeah, he hasn't been there, done that, but you can say that about every athlete. At some point in everybody's career, they had to pitch him pressure for the first time. So but you know, I, I you know, I like Bednar his questions, whether he's a closer or not. To me, he's having a hell of a year. Hellsley is gonna probably go. I know, he's a rental. The guys from Minnesota. The guy bird in Colorado. Another guy I like and I think I would be on is ryselle Iglesias has not had a good year, has been very good recently in Atlanta. Would they trade him to the Phillies? You know what, he's gonna be a free agent. I think they probably would for the right for the right return. I don't rule out right Ryssel Iglacia having a pretty good final two and a half three months.

00:34:34
Speaker 3: And you know he's been there, he's kind of been there and done that.

00:34:36
Speaker 6: No, yeah he has, and you know again he hasn't had the greatest year, but he's starting to heat up a little bit. And hey, we got Kevin Nolan from Atlanta when and we never thought we would.

00:34:45
Speaker 3: Get him, and we got him. You know who screwed this up?

00:34:48
Speaker 5: The Red Sox because they got good, they started playing good, and they're gonna keep Chapman.

00:34:52
Speaker 3: Yeah, the Chapman's the man for me.

00:34:54
Speaker 6: I mean, I love the idea of having Eraaldis Chapman and uh I.

00:35:00
Speaker 3: This guy.

00:35:05
Speaker 5: Gets hurt and I think that a lot of number one target I gotta I gotta believe so control no doubt. A power short car ride you can get him here, like you make the trade at three o'clock, he can close out that game.

00:35:19
Speaker 2: O Roll.

00:35:19
Speaker 12: This chapter was my guy, man. I was all about as battle tested. He's throwing the ball with tremendous confidence. He's left handed, which is you're gonna need Alvarado's coming back. But he's not gonna be able to pitch in the in the postseason.

00:35:33
Speaker 3: So he was my guy.

00:35:34
Speaker 6: But I don't think that's happening because Boston it's gonna be tough for them to sell.

00:35:37
Speaker 4: Yeah, no, no, for sure. But we're gonna bring out another guest.

00:35:40
Speaker 1: We've got Brandon Duckworth forward Philly Brandon Duckworth, Brandon, Welcome to the Philly Show.

00:35:46
Speaker 2: Welcome.

00:35:47
Speaker 13: Oh, it's great to be here, guys. I appreciate the invite, and it's gonna be a lot of fun. That's awesome, man, We're excited to have you.

00:35:53
Speaker 1: So I want I want to start by asking you this, At any point in the past week, have you said to anybody you know, Billy Wagner bring all you know, Uh, you know, Philly's traded.

00:36:07
Speaker 3: Me to that's right.

00:36:09
Speaker 4: Yeah, for me to get Billy traded for a Hall of Famer.

00:36:13
Speaker 3: He was traded for basically a Hall of Famer. That's right.

00:36:16
Speaker 2: I tell you why.

00:36:17
Speaker 13: You pinch yourself, and you know, to be associated with a guy like Billy Wagner first and foremost is amazing. But at the end of the day, I mean you're just kind of like, oh wow, you can't do you pinch yourself and say that's pretty dann cool. Something that you can talk to your kids about and whatnot. But you know, I always get the stuff from my kids. Oh here we go, dad lore once a.

00:36:37
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's so.

00:36:41
Speaker 3: You've been involved in baseball for a long time.

00:36:44
Speaker 6: You've been scouting there with the Yankees for a long long time, and.

00:36:47
Speaker 3: You've seen a lot of baseball.

00:36:49
Speaker 6: Tell us what you think, what some of the evolution of baseball, what's kind of going on, and do you see a big difference from the time you started scouting till now. I think you've been at this what twelve years now, ten ten or twelve years?

00:37:02
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:37:02
Speaker 13: I think the big thing is utilizing the analytics much more than we ever did in the past. We were able to measure things, you know, whether or not how accurately. It's continually gotting better. I think more of the players are more open to all these things, so they're utilizing it. Sometimes I think it's a little too much because they never take a downtime, so as soon as the season's over, next thing, you know, they're immediately in some of these, uh you know places that are measuring all your spin rates. Okay, now we're going to start tinkering with pitch grips and and all that. Like we used to do it way back, you know, but we used to do it by utilizing other other players and saying, hey, how do you do this, how do you do that? What's your thought process, what's your grip like? So now we're I'm seeing some funky grips and I'm just like, I would have never thought to utilize that. And then you know the hitters, you know, they're just trying to launch, and I think, you know, I think that's where we've gotten a little bit further away, whereas.

00:38:07
Speaker 2: There's more I guess you could say holes.

00:38:10
Speaker 13: On players now as far as hitters, because they're tuned to one thing and one thing only, and there's a lot of three true out outcome guys. So I think those are some of the biggest things that I've seen and it's progressively gotten worse, and I hate to say the fundamentals, it's not really been a strong suit in Major League Baseball over the past few years.

00:38:30
Speaker 3: I agree.

00:38:31
Speaker 5: I think we're you know, once upon a time when you were pitching, you never heard the expression pitching lab where they're you know, changing grips and pressure points and all that stuff, and you were out on the mound figuring out how to get guys out.

00:38:46
Speaker 3: And when you're on the mound, you don't.

00:38:48
Speaker 5: You can't rely on a computer and a pitching lab. You actually got to use your inate ability to actually get guys out. So I think some of the analytics and some of the technology has led to an over engineered athlete that doesn't necessarily always think for himself.

00:39:04
Speaker 3: But I do think it has its place.

00:39:07
Speaker 5: I mean, we're we're seeing these skills that just are eye popping, some of the movements on these balls.

00:39:12
Speaker 3: But I think it has to be a balance.

00:39:14
Speaker 13: Yeah, I think, you know, I think that's some of the biggest things is how much do you do with guys and you don't want to take the feel out of the game, because you know, we.

00:39:22
Speaker 2: Always go crazy.

00:39:23
Speaker 13: I'm sitting there watching guys and they're pulling stuff out of their pockets.

00:39:26
Speaker 2: Oh where do I have to adjust? Like back in the day, a lot of the guys that we.

00:39:31
Speaker 13: Had playing behind us, they knew innately, Oh who's pitching?

00:39:34
Speaker 2: Okay, what's his pitch? What's this? What's that? What's the situation? Now they're moving around on their own.

00:39:39
Speaker 13: Or you have a center fielder that's saying, hey do this, do that, shortstop saying hey, let's let's go this way.

00:39:45
Speaker 2: Maybe he knows something that's going on. But you know, we.

00:39:47
Speaker 13: See it a little bit now with pitchcon middle infielders and center fielder they know what's coming in a lot of regards, so they can cheat one way or another.

00:39:56
Speaker 2: They can do different things.

00:39:57
Speaker 13: So there's a lot of really good stuff, but it's a matter of how much do you need without it taking your feel away from the game.

00:40:04
Speaker 5: That's feel is that's such a big word, and uh and such a such a how did you get a day off today? So Brandon is a pro scout for the Yankees and they're out there, you know, looking for talent, and you're going around and looking at minor league players that you might be wanting to acquire. This is an incredibly busy time of the year for the scouts.

00:40:24
Speaker 13: Right, I'm still working, trust me, you know, I've been away for a long time.

00:40:28
Speaker 2: I was fortunate, let's have a.

00:40:30
Speaker 3: Six weeks leading up to trade deadline.

00:40:32
Speaker 5: Like for for a guy who focuses on the pro ranks, you know.

00:40:36
Speaker 2: You don't know where you're going to be from one week to the next.

00:40:38
Speaker 13: Like you can go to one series where I was at and then they're like, okay, hey go here, go there, and a lot of it will depend upon you know, are you close to any certain group of players that were interested.

00:40:51
Speaker 2: In and so on and so forth. So you know, I just came off the road.

00:40:54
Speaker 13: I have a couple of days, but I'm also going to see our minor league guys so that are potentially part of some of these trades. So our club is going to be playing in Wilmington, So I'm actually with the good fortune of being able to drive to and from and be at home. So you know, I'm doing live in and look, I'm doing video reports.

00:41:13
Speaker 4: I'm doing all sorts of stuff, making calls.

00:41:16
Speaker 13: You know, trying to see kind of what the temperature is on certain guys, what makeup is, you know, We're just trying to make sure that we have the right fit. Because the toughest thing, no matter whether you're in Philly, Boston, New York, is can they handle the market, which you guys were talking about earlier on the college drink. So you know, if you can play in any of those cities, you can play anywhere in the country. Now it's a matter of say, you, guys, we look at a guy that maybe on the in the Midwest or the West Coast, and you're like, Okay, they haven't really played meaningful baseball. Do they know what it's like to be like in a pressure cooker where every little thing is scrutinized. Northeast is at Philly, Boston, New York period, Like, it's tough.

00:41:57
Speaker 2: It's very tough. You better have thick skin. But if you if you.

00:42:01
Speaker 13: Drive there, I mean, you write your own ticket to handle me.

00:42:06
Speaker 6: I just want to switch gears a little bit and ask you about your time in Philadelphia as you were coming through the system and as you were getting opportunities to get towards the big leagues, going to big league camp, being in big league camp, any players that you sort of idolized.

00:42:21
Speaker 3: Or you learned from or players.

00:42:24
Speaker 6: That as you got closer and closer to the big leagues, you thought about or not.

00:42:29
Speaker 3: Idolyzed is probably not the right word. Maybe you know, seek maybe some of their advice and that kind of stuff.

00:42:34
Speaker 13: No, I think the biggest thing for me was I watched a lot of baseball. Like, not only did I play, but I watched. I loved watching Greg Maddox and guys like that pitch. So I tried to do all I could to emulate some of those people and just say, Okay, he doesn't throw particularly hard, but man, he's a master.

00:42:53
Speaker 2: He knows what he's doing. He's one or two steps ahead, you know.

00:42:56
Speaker 13: So coming through, I was always just pound the zone, pound the zone, pound this own. But you know, maybe you have average stuff versus some of the kids that you see today that have the big monster arms, but you still have to command it.

00:43:09
Speaker 2: It doesn't play if it's not in his zone, no matter what to do.

00:43:12
Speaker 13: So coming through, you know, I would always idolize, Like I used to love watching Kurt Schilling, Like.

00:43:18
Speaker 2: He didn't care. He was just like here it is.

00:43:20
Speaker 13: If I give up a homer, guess what, it's a solo homer, right, solo homers generally don't beat you, and you know he would give up his solo homers, but he was eight innings in next thing, you know, complete games, So you're.

00:43:34
Speaker 4: You're trying to idolize something like that.

00:43:36
Speaker 2: You know.

00:43:38
Speaker 4: Obviously Greg maddox is who I really like to watch.

00:43:41
Speaker 2: Just because he was a surgeon. He could do.

00:43:43
Speaker 13: Different things and set guys up. He would set guys up if you watched any of his thing on MLB Network. He set up Jeff Bagwell for the playoffs, throw him a pitch that he knows he wouldn't throw, and next thing, you know, he didn't get it later on and said it to Eddie's like remember three months ago when like so guys like that tacticians, you know, and as you work through you get into big league camp. You know, I rubbed shoulders with a lot of great guys, like a guy, a couple of guys that were.

00:44:12
Speaker 2: Really close to me. The late rial Fourmier was amazing.

00:44:16
Speaker 13: Yeah, you know, you'd have Ricky Beatallico in there, so you would ask him things and you're like, okay, here.

00:44:21
Speaker 3: We go, am I gonna put a quarter in?

00:44:24
Speaker 2: What's gonna happen? What's gonna come out right.

00:44:28
Speaker 13: But you know guys like Dan Pleasak, who in the moment, like if I was in the bullpen and he's talking about situations like those are the things that I don't think a lot of people realize that happened. You're always constantly learning. I would try to listen to the hitters on the bench, listen to Bobby Bray, Ricky Ledee. They're talking about guys and what they used to do. Hey, you can pick this pitch. Two of the best guys I'd ever seen picking pitches on pitchers or what they're doing.

00:44:55
Speaker 2: So you're sitting there going, okay, now I got to close up that hole.

00:44:59
Speaker 13: Am I doing suff Or you'll ask them, hey, I feel like people are on me. Can you see anything? Some may tell you, some may not. They're like I may have to face them later on down the road. But you're always trying to get that edge to make yourself better. Whether it's talking to position players, whether it's talking to pitchers. You're talking to the pitching coaches and coming through anybody that would come in on a rehab you'd sit and talk to, you know.

00:45:24
Speaker 2: So I don't think you ever stop learning.

00:45:27
Speaker 13: And I think That's one of the biggest things that I think I could express to kids is ask questions, ask how people do it, and try to emulate someone that has similar stuff, similar style.

00:45:39
Speaker 2: You know, but stay within your strengths.

00:45:40
Speaker 4: Your son Easton's here, what I mean, he's playing the ball, travel ball.

00:45:43
Speaker 1: I mean, is there anything from your career that either you had success with or struggled with? Is like maybe like one or two things that you always key on with him or you would tell you. We have a lot of parents that listen to show kids playing baseball from five years old through high school right now, like what would you?

00:46:00
Speaker 13: I think that the power of positivity with young kids is immense. It's easy when you're on top of the world, playing hitting, making all the plays. But it's when they find themselves in a little bit of a rut and trying to help them get out of it the power of positivity because that's when the kids need you the most, when maybe they're struggling and whatnot, and they're like, oh man, I'm just not hitting, or I'm in a rut. Defensively, like, so hey, let's go, we're gonna work. I have all the confidence in the world. I think positivity at the young ranks I think is paramount. Get them to believe in themselves and maybe they're not doing anything wrong.

00:46:38
Speaker 2: Next thing, you know, they believe in themselves and they take off.

00:46:44
Speaker 5: Brandon, I don't know if you can, let's talk about this, but the state of the Phillies farm system. Can you give us a general overview of it? It seems like it's gotten better in the last handful of years. Seems like they have some marquee guys. We hear a lot of the name trade deadline time. You never knew who's on the move. But if you can, you offer a snapshot of the health of the Phillies bulb system.

00:47:07
Speaker 13: Yeah, like right now, they're pretty top heavy, and they got a pretty good top five guys, I would say, and then after that it's just kind of marginal type of prospects that you're like, Okay, can this guy turn into excuse me one a different player? Like, what are the odds? I think that's the big thing. And then then you have some the top tier and then you got some lesser knowns, or I should say, the kids that are at the lower levels, the tight eights, the Escobars of the world that have a chance to be pretty dang good players. I think they have some healthy guys, more of the upper echelon, but then it kind of falls off a little bit. But at the end of the day, they got enough to go out and try to bolster their bullpen, maybe get another position player if if they need or feel that they need that. But right now there's not a lot out there and prices are just going further up and up, and.

00:48:04
Speaker 2: No doubt, Yeah, that's awesome.

00:48:06
Speaker 1: Well, Brandon, thanks so much for for stopping by the show. We appreciate it. Well, I guess I was gonna ask you, what do you think the Philly should go out and do?

00:48:17
Speaker 4: But I guess he's not allowed to say that, say what they can do.

00:48:22
Speaker 2: But yeah, yeah.

00:48:24
Speaker 13: Yeah, they're in a good position as they're beating up on us this weekend.

00:48:27
Speaker 14: Yeah, I was gonna say, yeah, what feeling on the Phillies. You know you've seen this weekend up in New York. Run prevention is key at this point in time. Playoffs is all about run prevention. They've got a strong lineup, I think, so.

00:48:41
Speaker 5: If you could do only one thing with the Phillies, a bat or a big arm at the end. I think I'm I think, I I'm picking up what you're laying down.

00:48:50
Speaker 2: Run prevention prevention sounds like a bullpen piece.

00:48:55
Speaker 3: That's that's a signal for bullpen.

00:48:58
Speaker 1: Well, now that let me ask you this question because a lot of people in Philly, of course, fans watch their team and they see every flaw, but they don't watch all the other teams and see all their flaws.

00:49:10
Speaker 2: Could this team win a World Series?

00:49:12
Speaker 1: Because right now, you know, a lot of talk from Phillies fans is it's like the offense is too hot and cold, the bullpen's not consistentough.

00:49:18
Speaker 4: There's no chance, no chance they can win the World Series.

00:49:23
Speaker 2: Welcome to Major League Baseball in twenty twenty five.

00:49:25
Speaker 13: Everybody has the wars, as we say, and it's a matter of when do you get hot.

00:49:32
Speaker 2: If you're hot at the end, you can run through a system, no doubt about it.

00:49:36
Speaker 13: You know, you just want to be one of the teams that doesn't have to play in the wild card, right, So if you're one of the top two teams, you're like, okay, great, now we can structure and get our all of our ducks in a row to start the game, and then guys get a little bit of a rest. Sometimes it can hurt because you take that rest and you're not playing all the time.

00:49:58
Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, you can talk to anybody. They're like, no, we'll take that.

00:50:02
Speaker 13: We'll get into the Division series right away and not worry about it.

00:50:06
Speaker 2: We'll roll roll with that. So I think it's pretty open. I mean, the Dodgers aren't playing great right now. Detroit's not playing great. We're not playing great. The team that's playing amazing right now is Toronto. I mean they're lighting it up.

00:50:19
Speaker 5: Hey, since they signed Guerrero, it's like that Composts came alive and they just started winning ball game.

00:50:24
Speaker 6: Yeah.

00:50:25
Speaker 3: John Schneider was like on the hot seat. Now he might be the manager of the year.

00:50:29
Speaker 2: Well thanks, Brandon, appreciate it. Man. Oh my pleasure. Good luck to the Yankees. Maybe Yankees Phillies World Series. Heys, great, that'd be fun.

00:50:40
Speaker 15: But all right, we got another question. We got Jim from Warrington stop by a what do you got, buddy? I got a question for you. How much do you pay attention as a general manager to what the competitors are doing at So, for example, if the Mets announced the trade this afternoon for Duran and Buxton from the Twins.

00:50:59
Speaker 4: How would that is what Playbowski to do to combat that?

00:51:04
Speaker 3: I missed?

00:51:05
Speaker 1: So he said, basically, if the Mets go out today and they get Duran and Buxton, if you're if you're Dobrawski right now, how much does that influence what you do? And you go, oh crap, all right, we're gonna throw Painter in, Miller Crawford, We're gonna get Suarez, and we're gonna get you know.

00:51:20
Speaker 6: Yeah, you try not to be too reactionary as a GM. You try to do what's best for your club. It's obviously would be a big blow, and it's in you know. I mean, the reality of it is, you gotta hope that your your team is gonna be able to step up for the most part. But I mean you still want to start trying to be aggressive. I mean, I'm a believer in in this situation because the team is good enough to win a World.

00:51:48
Speaker 3: Series right now as it stands. But I would throw my chips in and try to be as aggressive as possible.

00:51:55
Speaker 6: Who knows one of those doors closing, sometimes another door opens up in that situation. But I would continue to try to be as aggressive as I could, but I have to work a little bit in the back. Evil necessarily work in that vacuum, because hey, there's teams around you that are doing things. But but you also have to be really well focused on what the goals are for your team and your organization and and have those be foremost in your mind.

00:52:24
Speaker 3: And you can't really worry about too much about what the rest of the you know, rest of baseball is doing.

00:52:31
Speaker 1: That said, you do probably pound your desk when you see the Mets make that trade movement.

00:52:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, right, I would not be happy. Yeah, I would not have been happy if that happens. But but listen, that's part of the game. The beauty is in the eye of.

00:52:43
Speaker 6: The beholder all the time. You never know what prospects other teams you're interested in. You never know what kind of talent other teams are willing to give up. And that's the difficulty of making trades, especially at this time.

00:52:54
Speaker 1: There you go, awesome, thank you, I appreciate it, all right, Ruben h phillies up. They can go over the sweep today against the Ink, Yes they could, yes, But if you're down at the shore right now, you're listening to the game on the radio, you can still follow the game. You can have a lot of fun on your phone. You sure can parks casino maybe.

00:53:15
Speaker 6: And you can do it on your phone because you one and only betting app that I would recommend using for betting on sports and playing casino games is this one, bet Parks. Bet Parks app. I mean it's been it's been outstanding. You can do all types of different stuff on it. You can play games, huffing more puff, There's all types of games that have become more and more popular. It's a little bit like TikTok for those who love the bet instead of love, you know, dances and songs. But I think that bet wire is also something that's kind of cool. That's an all new sports betting live feed. It's right inside the bet parks app with quick videos, hot takes, game predictions, all types of stuff that come from across the country. There's new Users can also get up to one thousand dollars back cash if you're down in your first twenty four hours.

00:54:04
Speaker 3: She betparks dot com for details.

00:54:07
Speaker 6: You must be twenty one in Pennsylvania, in Jersey, in Maryland and Michigan. You have to be uh if you call one eight hunter gambler. If you do have a gambling problem, you love to play, you love to win your bet bet parks.

00:54:24
Speaker 4: Well, well, well.

00:54:25
Speaker 2: Here what you're I'm betting on that is in heaven right now. This is an appetizer.

00:54:30
Speaker 1: Appetizers, Ah, Jimmy, the right guys, let's bring We brought the pizza, but we got the man that makes the pizza.

00:54:38
Speaker 4: We got Chuck Bango for Manco and Manco. How are you, Chuck. Welcome to the Philly Show.

00:54:42
Speaker 16: Thanks for having Thank you for being here. It's absolutely great to have you. Our fans appreciate, our customers appreciated. Yeah, this is these guys waiting line overnight.

00:54:51
Speaker 4: Yeah that's awesome. Thank you so much. Yeah, we are really excited to be here.

00:54:57
Speaker 2: Same here, guys.

00:54:58
Speaker 3: So tell me about your experience.

00:55:00
Speaker 6: I know, I know you have a great relationship with the Phillies organization, and I know it's it's something that's important to you to watch them have their successes and you've gone through the successes and failures.

00:55:11
Speaker 3: Tell me about you know when that started for you.

00:55:14
Speaker 6: Because you're you're not necessarily a Phillies originally a Phillies.

00:55:17
Speaker 2: Oh no, I'm a I'm a border Race Phillies fan.

00:55:20
Speaker 17: I'm responsible for sneaking about five hundred pony bottles of beer into the bat back in.

00:55:24
Speaker 16: The day, a false bottom in the cooler, Eagles fire sixers, all all of our staff here for Phillies fans, and the Phillies approached us to be a corporate partner with them four years ago. We said yes, and it's been a great ride on both sides of the baseball Aaron Mark and the Phillies.

00:55:41
Speaker 2: It's just been unbelievable. Cindy Webster has been great to deal with.

00:55:44
Speaker 17: She's she's the best back there and having and this is the icing on the cake.

00:55:49
Speaker 2: And we're proud to be part of your.

00:55:50
Speaker 5: So we're in the era of analytics. How many pizzas do you sell every night? And Citizens Mac Park?

00:55:56
Speaker 2: A lot? I can tell you about half. To tell you, I'm sorry, a lot.

00:56:00
Speaker 3: We saw a lot.

00:56:00
Speaker 2: Savannah Manana's last night was off the off wow. But we're just proud to be part of the Phillies organization. Just been unbelievable extremes.

00:56:08
Speaker 17: I mean a diehard baseball fan to meet a few folks the Phillies players, John Middleton, his staff just fantastic.

00:56:15
Speaker 5: I know you saw a lot because all I see is people walk in front of the press box.

00:56:21
Speaker 2: So Chuck, when you get, you get.

00:56:22
Speaker 4: You've been assistants Bank Park since twenty twenty two.

00:56:24
Speaker 1: You're our four year right, So I wrote, I wrote a little story, Uce wherever have to re signed exactly exactly right, exactly right. I wrote a little story the first homestand the first of of opening weekend. Yes, as this Bank Park post game, the Phillies are about to go on the road. You had players were just crushing Manco and Manco in the clubhouse. Remember Jeans of Gura had a couple of slices. I remember that very distinctly. And I remember people were leaving the ballpark with whole pies, like they would go to the game, get pizza and then on their way out.

00:56:59
Speaker 4: I think you sold a brown almost six thousand pizzas in that six games.

00:57:02
Speaker 2: We were busy. We were actually overwhelmed.

00:57:05
Speaker 1: Yes, I mean that's how what a huge hit it is. It was such a huge hit. John Middleton a few years later called you up and said, we want you to do what do you know what I'm asking you go down to clear Word, clear Water and bring down Manco Manco. Now, I also asked you this a few years later when you're coming into clear Water. I said, Chuck, are you one of these pizza guys that believes the water makes the pizza? And you said one hundred percent. I said, all right, So you don't have the Ocean City water in Clearwater, Florida, But you said you have a little.

00:57:41
Speaker 2: We bring the water to Ocean City or to clear Water. Yes, yeah, you have, like we bring it to the bank.

00:57:47
Speaker 17: Well not literally, but we used the same water to make the doll in clear.

00:57:50
Speaker 2: Water as well as I'm filled out here.

00:57:52
Speaker 1: Yes, so the pizza in clear Water tastes like the pizza right here.

00:57:57
Speaker 2: If it didn't, our loyal fans will let us know and York minute.

00:58:01
Speaker 6: So so when I make a beat back in the day when I made a big trade and we got you know, the hundred pencils of the.

00:58:07
Speaker 2: World and the Royals Wilds to the world.

00:58:09
Speaker 6: I know how our our front office felt when we got those things done. How did it feel when you guys were finally in the ballpark and building that really what was that day like for you?

00:58:23
Speaker 3: When when you guys became part of Citizens Bank.

00:58:26
Speaker 2: Day, we ain't the contract.

00:58:27
Speaker 16: It was just overwhelming and as I told Dave Buck and Howard and John Middleton, and we were just honored and humbled to be there.

00:58:35
Speaker 2: Couldn't believe it. We still pitch ourselves. We get to go into that ballpark, be.

00:58:39
Speaker 16: Part of this organization and sell pizza to or fans, and I have to thank our loyal fans.

00:58:43
Speaker 2: Without them, we'd be nothing. So it's just.

00:58:46
Speaker 6: Just you're feeling here. You're following here in an ocean city. I've been coming down here for many, many years. It's been a staple. It's been something that you know, everybody Maco, macOS and me that you come down, that's something you at you actually have to do. I mean, my kids, you should come down. First thing that we did was come here. How does that make you feel like you're you're the king on the boardwalk here?

00:59:10
Speaker 17: I mean, we're humble, we're honored. We don't take anything for granted. I really have to give a shout out to my wife and her parents back there. Her parents are the founders of the company. Next year b O seventieth anniversary, and we work hard to keep this place going the way it goes. You can see the customers who are stay up in here and we don't. We don't take it for granted to me.

00:59:29
Speaker 1: To me, one of the cool sites about just again going back to spring training clear Water is to see people walking. I always tell people that's like a bucket list item. If you haven't any clear Water, you got to go because to the atmosphere.

00:59:40
Speaker 2: Is just tremendous.

00:59:41
Speaker 1: And now you see people around walking around with the box Manco Manco pizza boxes. I mean even at Citizens ban I mean it's one thing for people to come down here in the short and being your restaurant needed, But what.

00:59:52
Speaker 2: Does it feel different?

00:59:54
Speaker 1: Like what do you think when you see people walking around Citizens Bank Park with the pizza boxes clear Water?

00:59:59
Speaker 2: I just say it's amazing. I just think it's amazing.

01:00:02
Speaker 17: And uh, if my wife isn't at the game with me and my work husband.

01:00:05
Speaker 2: Greg, who's back there. We go to about seventy five of the eighty games. So text me and go, I saw a box. I saw a box. It's all yeh, there we goes. These boxes are great. That's right, there we go. This is the box you see? I mean, they're all over Clearwater.

01:00:18
Speaker 4: You know, it's amazing, it's stay hard, it's great.

01:00:21
Speaker 6: So I want to go back to your childhood a little bit and what were your favorite if you were going to pick out your favorite Phillies teams, what year, what team, what players? Were the teams that you you felt that you really sort of gravitated.

01:00:35
Speaker 18: Mike Smith days in nineteen eighties were fantastic, and the eight No.

01:00:39
Speaker 2: Nine teams, yeah, really everyone in between. It was just it was it was just great.

01:00:45
Speaker 18: All the players are great, whether it was Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt, cho Brad Lage. It's just great to watch. It's my favorite sport. Oh really it is. You're still your favorite sport favorite.

01:00:56
Speaker 2: That's pretty cool.

01:00:58
Speaker 3: Awesome.

01:00:58
Speaker 16: We love it guys, and you do a great job and thank you for being here.

01:01:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, well we have.

01:01:02
Speaker 1: We love Every Monday, we do the Manco Manco Best Week segment, we do the Player of the Week, and we always out of fun, a little fun debate every once in a while.

01:01:10
Speaker 2: Sometimes we agree.

01:01:12
Speaker 3: Sometimes we agree, sometimes we.

01:01:13
Speaker 16: Don't know that's the game right to banter about.

01:01:17
Speaker 3: We agree that this is great stuff. We got here. There was a line out in front. You weren't even open yet, there was already a line.

01:01:24
Speaker 4: I know that.

01:01:24
Speaker 2: I mean that's gonna be great as well.

01:01:26
Speaker 3: Yeah, so what move were you making to try to break make this team better? What's your move? Yeah, what's your what's your deadline move?

01:01:34
Speaker 2: But you got one move to make?

01:01:35
Speaker 3: What are you doing?

01:01:36
Speaker 2: Chuck? One move? Maybe Suarez?

01:01:40
Speaker 6: That's like, all right, Henny, you give away the farm to get a couple of Reynolds.

01:01:47
Speaker 2: But uh, I think you're okay.

01:01:49
Speaker 3: With where they are. Just go ahead and get another bat.

01:01:52
Speaker 2: Bring up Painter, Let's try out Crawford. What do we have to lose? Bringing up Justin Bofford? See what he could do. I agree with that.

01:01:59
Speaker 3: I think, all right, right on, I think he's gonna be up major league pitching, and he's not. It's real.

01:02:04
Speaker 5: If he doesn't hit it right away, eventually he's gonna there.

01:02:07
Speaker 3: There is a breaking pare no doubt.

01:02:10
Speaker 2: And I'm excited that that Robertson's back. In a strange way.

01:02:12
Speaker 3: I like that guy.

01:02:13
Speaker 5: Yeah, he pitched well, and he knows he's been here, done it, been here, and he knows pizza to he knows pizza.

01:02:20
Speaker 2: That's right.

01:02:21
Speaker 1: What do you order when you when you get when you're here, Like, do you have a go to playing in a white broccoli?

01:02:27
Speaker 2: Hands down my favorite really white brock white.

01:02:33
Speaker 3: And get some bright white broccoli, the white Brompton green.

01:02:36
Speaker 2: She says, A Heineken bottle doesn't count.

01:02:39
Speaker 3: I'm not leaving it without some white broccoli. Brother, take care of that is amazing.

01:02:44
Speaker 2: I like to know that.

01:02:45
Speaker 4: I like to know what the guy that makes when he eats.

01:02:48
Speaker 2: That's a great recommendation. That's awesome.

01:02:52
Speaker 4: Well, Chuck, thanks so much, man, appreciate us.

01:02:55
Speaker 3: Thank you.

01:02:55
Speaker 2: This has been awesome.

01:02:57
Speaker 19: Jonathan Jang hungry guy. Thank thank everybody. We're gonna we're gonna wrap this up. I want to say, Dick Allen's going to the Hall of Fame today.

01:03:09
Speaker 2: That's huge, you guys, It's a wonderful years. I mean, what are you any thoughts on Dick Allen going in.

01:03:15
Speaker 3: I'm just so disappointed.

01:03:17
Speaker 6: I'm happy for the family clearly that Dick Allen is now a Hall of Famer or will be.

01:03:24
Speaker 3: It's just unfortunate that he wasn't able to enjoy it while he was with us.

01:03:30
Speaker 6: One of the best athletes that ever played, ever done a uniform in Philadelphia, which was you know, my dad used to talk about it all the time, how how special he was as a as a player, probably the most misunderstood player back. I mean, he was truly the most misunderstood player, and he took a lot of heat.

01:03:47
Speaker 3: It was a difficult life for him.

01:03:49
Speaker 6: Here in Philadelphia at that time, and for him to work through it and be the player that he was and then to come back again to Philadelphia make an impact, great thing. It long overdue. I'm glad it's happening. God blessed the Dick, the Allen family. I'm super super happy for all of them. Well deserved, and it's great that he's gonna be forever, Yeah, in Cooperstown known as one of the best players that ever played the game.

01:04:18
Speaker 3: Long overdue, well deserved.

01:04:20
Speaker 5: I mean, from sixty four to seventy four, that's eleven seasons, his numbers were right there with Hank Aarons. You know, one of the criteria, I think loose criteria, unofficial criteria that we looked at for the Hall of Fame is dominating your era, and he was a dominant hitter in his era from sixty four to seventy four.

01:04:43
Speaker 2: You look at some.

01:04:43
Speaker 3: Time at his nineteen sixty six season. It is incredible.

01:04:46
Speaker 5: Maybe he beloved in the Hall of Fame just based on his nineteen sixty six season, and there was some real great season finished like.

01:04:53
Speaker 3: Fourth in the MVP that year. A bunch of guys had great years.

01:04:57
Speaker 5: But I am really happy for him, having gotten to meet him a few times, a real gentleman. And I'm happy for John Middleton because, uh, I think he spearheaded this effort to help right this wrong that he wasn't in there, and it's it's great to see that it's happening today.

01:05:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, he got his number retired a couple of years ago, but when when Dick was still around, and I definitely think that that kind of pushed him to the forefront of the minds of some of those.

01:05:20
Speaker 4: Voters on the Doubt Hall of Fame Committee.

01:05:23
Speaker 1: So, uh, thank you so much. Thanks to everybody that stop by to watch a show. Thanks to Phil Martelly, Thank you, Brand Duncan, Thank you, Brendan Duckworth, thank Chuck Bangle, thank you everybody at Manco and Manco. The Philly Show will be back. We're gonna have a few, We're gonna have several episodes this week. Is I have a feeling the Philly that be making some emergency.

01:05:44
Speaker 3: Let's get to eat some pizza, the slide some in. All right, well it's that time.

01:05:52
Speaker 4: Well thanks everybody, We will be back.

01:05:53
Speaker 2: Philly Show will be back this week.

01:05:56
Speaker 3: Smelling Later, Boys, Smellia Je Smellia