The Phillies win the NL East!

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Hey, this is Bryce Harper and welcome to The Philly Show. Good morning, everybody.

00:00:18
Speaker 2: Welcome to The Phillies Show with Throubin Tomorrow Junior, Jim Salisbury, Todd Zlecki. Brought to you by foul Territory. It is Tuesday, September twenty fourth, twenty twenty four. This is a very special episode of The Philly Show because we're getting together just mere hours after we finished our work days to talk about the Phillies winning the twenty twenty four Nli's Championship. We were all on, you know, clocked in last night and watching the Phillies clinch where Jim and I were in the clubhouse. Jim Rubin, you were working in the studio at NBC. Always a fun night, always a crazy night. I came home last night with the stench of cigar smoke baked into my clothes. Avoided most of the champagne and beer. Jim, did you avoid most of it? I feel like you came out of it pretty clean.

00:01:17
Speaker 3: Yeah. I came out pretty clean, though my throat is on fire from all up to got smoke, and I did catch some beer and champagne shrapnel, and then I was I'm at three twenty two at that light at Route one and three two and the state cop pulls up right next to you, and I'm like, if you come over to this car and it smells all this champagne and stuff, I'm in big trouble. But it was a fantastic way. But you guys didn't partake it all. I'm really good at getting out of the way, but you do catch a few strays.

00:01:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, you get some strays, for sure, but I also like to stay out of the way as much.

00:01:56
Speaker 3: As one year. I think back in seven when you guys finally won the division, Uttley got me bad, and after that I've been pretty good staying on the periphery.

00:02:07
Speaker 4: You know that's a sign of respect, right, well, it can be.

00:02:14
Speaker 3: You got me and uh, but it was. It was. That was a very memorable champagne celebration, as was last night. I thought last night was a little smaller than some of their you know, this was the eighth one in the last two years, and I thought it was a little smaller. And I thought that symbolically was a great thing because it told you that, you know, they got bigger plans for their baseball and their bubbly and.

00:02:39
Speaker 4: It was interesting about the last out. You know, they didn't go crazy. They got on the field, they congratulate each other, gave each other some love. I thought that that sort of made me start thinking about how important it is to them that they've got more ways to go. They've got a longer ways to go. There's got there's a goal that you know, and it's not just lip service. I mean, they're not just there just to be there. They're there to try to win it, and and that's really cool. I was also taken aback in a positive way about when the families came back onto the field and they were all together, and you know, I had an advantage of being able to see some of that footage all the young families and the wives, and they were kissing on each other, and they were loving on each other, and they were all out on the field like as a family. And there's a whole that whole symbol of you know, family and togetherness. I made the point last last night, and I'll make it again that it's very rare that you have a team that is basically a team of mercenaries and guys who teamed from the other other organizations, either as a free agent or as a trade piece that have gotten together and been this close. It doesn't happen very often. You only have really, you have Stott, Bohm, Suarez, Nola. They're homegrown guys. Beyond that, I mean, I'm sure I'm missing a few guys a Kirk Rojas and I think, but but like, really the core guys are from outside the organization and really sort of started with Harper coming and I mean, well JT I think was before Harper, but then it was Harper and then bang, bang bang. I mean you ended up, you know, bringing in some of these guys that ended up, you know, the Schoreberds and the Cassianos of the world that came in and and that's really been their core, which is and for them to be that bonded and that together is a rarity and it's pretty special. It's a pretty pretty good job by Dave Dombrowski and others to get that thing done.

00:05:02
Speaker 2: And that's why it was cool last night that Nola was on the mound for the clincher because he's been through all the crap that they've been through since, you know, since Reuben, you know, you draft him many years ago. To see him get on that mound and clinch that one, this division title since twenty eleven. You know, really nobody else more fitting, I mean you, yeah, it would have been Zach Wheeler, all those guys, any guy would have been great to see. But but really for him, because he has been through I mean when they were so bad for so long and it just looked like a regular ship at times, as we know because we we were there and far and from up close you can see it to see him go out there, and I think he really is somebody who appreciated and he expressed that appreciation last night.

00:05:48
Speaker 1: Jim Right, I mean.

00:05:50
Speaker 4: Yeah, he.

00:05:52
Speaker 3: Aaron Nola is a class act who says the right thing. He tipped his out to the artization, the fans, you know, most of all his teammates. I mean this is he seems to be always on the mound for kind of clinching games. It was a very memorable one in Houston in twenty twenty two. There was the one that got him into the playoffs last year and this one which won the division. Rubert, I love your point about guys coming in from different organizations and melding into one. I mean, I think there's a lot of reasons that they have melded into one. It's a great place to play. You know, the owner is a good guy to play for if people busted for him, and I think that was illustrated how they feel about him in the postgame celebration John Middleton I'm talking about. But you know one guy who did come from another organization as well as the manager. I mean, this guy was a Yankee. He was there for twenty eight years. I mean he practically had navy blue pinstripes tattooed on his torso. And you know, he came here and you know, he served the organization. He served, gave Gabe Kapler loyally diligently, and then he served Joe Girardi and then out of the blue he gets his chance. Uh. And I think he's been great, and I think his number one strength is bringing people together. And he does that with this authentic personality and this humility that I think guys warm up to, and I think it's a galvanizing force, the personality of Rob Thompson. So there's one other guy that came and Harper's been big on that. He brings people in, gives him the big bear hug, Schwarber's been great at it. Real Mudo is a first class, first class teammate. Wheeler strong, silent, but a great teammate. But it is rare to see guys coming in from all different parts and becoming a one like this team has. It's I think that's one of the real endearing qualities of this team, that they all like each other and they all pull together.

00:08:02
Speaker 2: They did a really good job of picking good guys or getting good guys, and I don't know if that's just luck or they did a lot of research. And I know they did a lot of research on Kyle Schwarber when they brought him in. And you know, I know Dave Dombrowski tries to figure out good clubhouse guys, and but they've done a really good job in bringing in good people that aren't you know me first only you know, guys that are going to cause problems. And and you're seeing that, you're seeing.

00:08:31
Speaker 4: That brought again. I got to give a little love to to clein tact too, because he's not getting you know, he he left here sort of unceremoniously, and and obviously they brought in, you know, a guy that to take him over to the next level. But you know, just just like you know, everybody has a hand in this thing. He signed, did sign Wheeler, He's traded for me real to.

00:09:01
Speaker 3: Sanchez.

00:09:02
Speaker 4: He brought Sanchez in and you know, so he should get some love for that. And and again, you know, you don't really know how these things will work out later on, but you know there's some things that happened during his tenure that I mean, I think he drafted Bowman and.

00:09:21
Speaker 2: Stott as well, right, I wasn't involved in those guys.

00:09:24
Speaker 3: And he brought in He brought in Rob Thompson. I mean they you know, Rob Thompson was in limbo with the Yankees. He was waiting to be interviewed for that manager's job that ultimately went to Aaron Boone. He was in limbo. They talked him quietly into driving down to Philly and talking about becoming the bench coach for Gabe Kapler. He spent the day with them. He really liked what he saw. The Yankees were spinning their wheels and he was driving home to to Toronto area and Clintach called him on the phone and offered him a three year deal and he said, we want you to come to Philadelphia. I'm offering you a three year deal. I understand he's still talking to the Yankees. If you get the Yankees managerial job, we will rip up the contract. But I want you to know there's a three year deal waiting for you here to come to Philadelphia and be our benchgarch. So I mean, that's that's another one. There's so you know, there's that old saying about there's no limit to what a man can accomplish as long as he doesn't mind who gets the credit. So this team can do special things and you know, spread the credit because a lot of people have had a hand in it. On it. Ruben Tomorrow Junior drafted a guy named Aaron Nola.

00:10:38
Speaker 4: You know, yeah, I mean listen, and these don't think things don't happen in a vacuum. That happened. Almost every organization has this happened, unless you know you were there Atlanta Braves and you were you know, you were John Schuerholtz and for fourteen years or whatever the case may be, you and Bobby Cox were putting this thing together for you know, fourteen years. But the reality of it is that there's a lot of different pieces. Ed Wade had a lot to do with the two thousand and eight season, and Pat Gillick acknowledged that and also had a lot to do with the fact that we were you know where we were in nine, ten eleven when I was in the GMC. So you know, it does take a village. The one thing that I will say about this this team, they have a lot of humility for being such a you know, I mean, you think about the superstars on this team, Kyle Schuerber, Trey Turner, Harper, Real, Muto, Wheeler, Nola, they're sort of not I don't I don't know stars. I don't there's superstars. I guess. I guess you could have Harper separate him a little bit just because he's a perennial MVP candidate. But these are stars in the game, and they are really humble for the most part, really super humble. We don't see him flipping bats and freaking out. I mean, they have they have pure joy. They're happy when they're when they have success, and that's cool. But there there's not a lot of show voting, there's not a lot of I think that's part of Rob Thompson's overall demeanor. I mean, he's a very very humble guy in himself, and I think the personality of the teams is taken on by who he is in a lot of ways. But this is a really like humble group.

00:12:30
Speaker 3: You know.

00:12:31
Speaker 4: You don't see guys, you know, stomping off and freaking out every time they do something. Well, I mean, they respect the game. They not that they shouldn't have fun. I'm you know, the bat flips and the posing and all that stuff. I know that's fun for the fans. I think in some regards it's a little staged and excessive, but these guys enjoy themselves without disrespecting the game. And I think that's a really really cool thing about this ball club.

00:13:02
Speaker 1: And we will be right back.

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00:14:06
Speaker 2: And we are back and Rubin following up on that point about those guys being humble, I mean, just how about how about just how approachable.

00:14:13
Speaker 1: They are and how you know just good people they are?

00:14:17
Speaker 2: You know they you would never know their status in the game, I guess just by the way they treat people, from you know, teammates at their level to the people way way below them, like littl o beat writers who come in and then ask them annoying questions after losses about why they struck out fifteen times. You know, there's never any blatant signs of disrespector or whatever. So they got they do have a they do have a good, good group.

00:14:45
Speaker 4: You know.

00:14:46
Speaker 1: Last last night, a couple of things else jumped out at me.

00:14:48
Speaker 2: I made a point to go over to Tanner Banks and ask him what he thinks about being in this clubhouse, because think about that, think about how much his life has changed. He had not been if the Phillies had not traded Gregory. So I can't remember the which one went first, I guess, but if the Gregory Soto deal had not happened, they don't go out and get Tanner Banks. And Tanner Banks right now is playing on a White Sox team that is going to lose their one hundred and twenty first game as early as tonight, I guess, to be the worst, the most losses of any team in baseball history. And I said, can you imagine where he just said, I am so grateful to be here and to be in this room with these guys and to be spraying champagne. And I thought that was really neat. And Carlos Estevez as well.

00:15:36
Speaker 4: Say the same thing.

00:15:37
Speaker 1: Yeah, Carlos Estevez as well.

00:15:38
Speaker 2: I mean, he could have been playing in a dead dog Angels team right now, but the Phillies went out and they gave up a lot, but they got him and he was on the he was on the mound for the ninth inning last night when they go out and clinch the division title, and he's like, wow, I it was just amazing that they wanted me to be in that moment, and I'm so appreciative. And man, you know, he hasn't been to the playoffs in like six seven years. He's like, man, I cannot wait to get back in there. He's pitched a third of an inning in the playoffs in his entire career with the Rockies, like in twenty seventeen. So two guys in the bullpen who are probably going can you believe where.

00:16:16
Speaker 1: We are now and where we were two three months ago? Unbelievable? That was That was cool to talk to those guys.

00:16:22
Speaker 3: I'm glad you brought up the bullpen because Hoffman and Strong were spectacular. Estevez locking it down, you know, the contributions. We focus a lot on the trade deadline and what guys do coming out of the trade deadline, but Estevez, Banks and even Hayes. They're going to be measured in the month of October. If they have a great let this team win ball games. That's where the measurement of the trade deadline comes in. They have their chance to really put their thumbprint on this team, not so much what they did the final you know, two months of the season, but now October, the month that will define the two thousand and four Phillies.

00:17:06
Speaker 4: And getting into some of the nuts and bolts of this thing too, as far as a bullpen is concerned. Where the way Rob Thompson utilized these guys. So you notice that Hoffman came into the game in the middle against the guys in the middle of the lineup, the two three four guys or three four five, I think it was right in the middle. And I think that's what you're going to see in the playoffs. You're going to I think that he probably trusts Hoffman to get the really tough outs late in the game and then he will probably then use a StEB as you know for the seven eight nine, you know, middle partly part of the lineup, that sort of thing, And I think that's what you're going to see in the playoffs, and people are probably saying, well, why doesn't Hoffman closed? Why is it? Well, you got to get to the closer. You got to get the outs before the closer too, And I don't have any problem with the way he sort of utilized done a really nice job that And that's where I sort of measure who and how. You know, Rob Thompson manipulates that that bullpen.

00:18:08
Speaker 3: So you think Hoffman is kind of the kill shot.

00:18:11
Speaker 4: I think he's the kill shot. I think he and Strom at the end are the kill shots. And then I think the other guys are cleaning it up.

00:18:18
Speaker 3: So Esteva is not necessarily in the ninth.

00:18:21
Speaker 4: Not necessarily, Not necessarily, I think that Steve is, even though he's used to being in the ninth. He may, you know, in a game that's maybe a three run game or something and you've got the softer part of the lineup, he might come in the eighth.

00:18:35
Speaker 3: Todd, do you think do you think Rob tipped his hand a little bit by how he intends to utilize Johann Rojas offensively?

00:18:45
Speaker 2: What do you mean the two sacrifice bunts the.

00:18:50
Speaker 3: Last night and a hit.

00:18:52
Speaker 4: And run And I don't know if it was a design hit and run, but it was hit run.

00:18:57
Speaker 1: So that's what that that's what he made. A great catch he made. He made a great catch.

00:19:04
Speaker 2: But that's what that's where his value is and that's that's how you keep his bat in the lineup if you want to keep his glove in center field.

00:19:12
Speaker 1: So yeah, that made That's what he has to do.

00:19:14
Speaker 3: So yeah, what a game contact, two bonds, big catch.

00:19:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, I will.

00:19:20
Speaker 3: I'll also say this.

00:19:21
Speaker 4: Let me just say that I want to be, you know, mister Homer guy, because I want to throw some reality out there. So people talk about wanting Kyle Schwarber in the middle of the lineup to drive in runs. Kyle Schwarber's got a lot of strikeout in him, so he so so Joann Rojas buns the guy over man on second and third, and then Kyle punches out. And you know in those situations. He has some trouble with those situations because I think he I don't know if he changes his mindset when he's at the plate. I'm not sure what the story is, but I mean, there's a reason why Kyle Schwarber is in one hole he creates I mean, his ability to to do what he does at the top of the lineup is a really really important thing. He got one hundred RBIs at the top of the lineup. Nobody does that, very very few guys.

00:20:12
Speaker 1: In a row.

00:20:12
Speaker 4: And yeah, for the first time, and god knows how long that somebody did. I think the last time somebody that was Ryan Howard. So yeah, So, I mean that's the reason why he's in the one hole. He's he he does drive runs in, but it's usually himself he's driving.

00:20:31
Speaker 3: And with a homer, he actually leads off the game again with you know, he was outstretching, but you know that was a bolt to right field. I thought it kind of electrified the dugout a little bit and ended in disappointment at second base. But then later in the game it's a hits a big home run. You know, you cannot dispute the way he gives this team early energy, hit fourteen leadoff home runs, they won the ball game thirteen times.

00:20:57
Speaker 1: They love and those guys all love him hit being a lead off too. I mean they do.

00:21:01
Speaker 2: They they love him in that spot and he loves himself in that spot, and that matters.

00:21:07
Speaker 8: It does.

00:21:09
Speaker 4: He does. He does a nice job of it. He's not. He's scoring runs and he's driving in runs. It's about run production and he's doing the job there. And you know, I originally thought that they would flip flop he and Turner, but now that I watch Turner hit, he's not a guy who's ever going to walk. He just doesn't walk. He's a he's a hacker. I mean he's swinging, and when he's swinging, well, he's unbelievable. But there are times when he does, you know, slump off. But I mean he gets hits. He gets on by getting hits. Kosh Weber gets on by walking and hitting homers, right.

00:21:46
Speaker 3: And you mentioned like he likes it in the lead off all. I think that's part of a manager's job is to read his players of this spot where a player feels really good about himself, you kind of want to get him there because if a guy feels good about himself, you're gonna get the best out of It's like the old saying, contented Kyle's gets sweeter milk. You know, that's knowing your personnel. I mean, you don't put a guy there who can't do the job. He just does the job. He does the job differently Todd. I wanted to ask you, like before the game. So Rob's talking. You know, their goal, right, division championship, so check next goal is that buye for the first round by they have prioritized for the rest. Some teams want to keep going, they want to get some rest. And then it was interesting, He's not going to go like all out the best record in baseball. He's going to try to win it. But he said, he offered that I'm not going to put anybody's health and jeopardy, meaning he's not going to like, you know, bring the whip out Saturday and ride Zach wheeling so they can get the you know how the stretch they comes, so they can get that best record. He's kind of prioritizing the buy over the best record. They'd like to get it. But what were your kind of wants on that when we're a little surprised to hear that.

00:23:01
Speaker 4: I was.

00:23:02
Speaker 2: I guess I was a little surprised to hear it because usually he keeps things pretty close to the vest in terms of that.

00:23:07
Speaker 1: But that was interesting. You know, we want the buye the bye period. I don't care if it's the ones. I'm sure he wants the one seed.

00:23:14
Speaker 2: They want to finish with the best record in baseball, so they have home field advantage Game six, game seven in the World Series if it comes down to that. But this is a guy who has talked about the value the importance of his player's health since the beginning of the season. I don't think the day goes by when he doesn't talk about somebody's health. There's been moves that he's made this season that he's gotten killed for because he was thinking about his player's health. Remember the game that Harper and Rio Muto didn't pinch hit on that Sunday afternoon. I can't remember the opponent now, but but so he basically said, I love the number one seed, but I'm not going to kill my guys for it. That tells me Zach Wheeler on Saturday, Aaron Nola on Sunday, don't expect them. If their crews and to go eight inx, they're probably going to dial them back.

00:23:59
Speaker 1: Maybe Aprahm offfin inning. That also tells me. And Bryce Harper.

00:24:04
Speaker 2: Hinted at this to Jimmy, you were there last night for it. He said, we'll see what the lineup looks like the rest of the week. And because he needs some rest. Other guys need some rest. I think there are a lot of guys that are banged up and they would rather go into the postseason healthy than grind through to get a hypothetical Game six against the Dodgers at Citizen Bank Park versus Game six at Dodger Stadium.

00:24:32
Speaker 1: And oh, by the.

00:24:32
Speaker 2: Way, I think the Phillies beat the Dodgers in the postseason, you know in eight and nine in the NLCS when they did not have home field advantage, So it can be done.

00:24:43
Speaker 1: You can beat a team.

00:24:44
Speaker 2: Without having home field advantage. So Rob Thompson again prioritizing that. But it was interesting that he just came out and said it. You know that he that he's going to prioritize that health going in.

00:24:55
Speaker 3: Yep, it was very interesting. It's not going to put his players' health in jeopardy. So you know what part of me likes that because you know how far they go is still going to be determined by them. You know, the support and the stands is great and they acknowledge that. But they're the ones who are going to go out and catch the ball, make great defensive plays, make the routine plays, not give extra bases, throw strikes, throw quality strikes, not chase have beginnings. You know, they're the ones that have to play good baseball.

00:25:24
Speaker 2: To me, the bigger question is how are they going to stay sharp next week so they don't go into that NLDS. It's Game one is on October fifth, so they have a good five five days of not playing baseball. How do they go into game one of the NLDS and not pull the braves use an excuse that the layoff just you know, oh my gosh, our timing is off, and you know, Ken Rosenthal said that on the broadcast that earlier this season, Brian Snicker mentioned the layoff really killed him and Phillies took offense at that.

00:25:58
Speaker 1: So that's going to be a big storyline.

00:26:00
Speaker 2: I think next week is how do these guys stay sharp so they go in guns of blazing and and take care of business.

00:26:09
Speaker 4: How I think that they're gonna do some simulated stuff. I think that they'll I don't know that they'll they'll have some guys. I'm not sure if they're gonna have live vps or anything like that, but they might bring some guys to do some live vps, either from Clearwater or from Lehigh Valley. Whatever the case may be. They may have they may be doing some of that, but you also got to be careful about that as well. So I don't know. I think that they have some plans. I do know that they've been thinking about a lot. I know that Rob Thompson thinks about all this stuff all the time. Do they do they pipe in sound? Do they you know, you know, when they're during their workouts. Uh, there's there's a lot of things to think about. Someone mentioned that to him one time and Rob was like, like, LI may not be a bad idea.

00:26:57
Speaker 1: I don't know.

00:27:00
Speaker 4: These guys have been through it a little bit. They understand it, and they understand their bodies. They do have to figure out way.

00:27:07
Speaker 9: To be sharp because live live action there's only there's only one way to simulate live action, and it's by having live action, and so there is some element of that.

00:27:20
Speaker 4: But that said, they can use a couple.

00:27:24
Speaker 3: Of days off.

00:27:24
Speaker 4: It's okay. I think that I think that overrides, you know, uh, the fact that there are some guys that are banged up a little bit. I think it sort of overrides the fact that you know, they have to be ready.

00:27:36
Speaker 3: So come out, come out get an early lead and and look at that rest as, Hey, you guys earned this, this is your reward. And then you come back and and you get the starting blocks again, and you know, you come firing out the starting blocks and and win a sprint. You know it's they can do.

00:27:53
Speaker 1: It anything else. Jump out to you guys before we wrap this up on the celebration last night.

00:27:59
Speaker 4: No, just to the whole family atmosphere and cheers, cheers to the organization because they had a goal. They've set several goals. They've hit a couple of them, and hopefully for the Phillies fans, they're they're on the way to a couple more.

00:28:15
Speaker 3: Yeah, and they played really good ball game on top of it all. And Aaron Nola, Aaron Nola, you know the clinch whisper. Now he's got the most wins. He passed Cole Hamil's. I think that was his fifty seventh win at Citizens Bank Park, so he had the most wins ever at Citizens Bank Park. But you know, you'd never know what he would never strut and he's a very very humble guy and did a good job. Man.

00:28:47
Speaker 1: We will be back later this week. Seems like a good opportunity.

00:28:51
Speaker 2: If anybody wants to fire off any questions, we'll send something out on x and Instagram, and if you are watching us, throw a comment in the common section on YouTube and we'll answer all of your Phillies postseason questions. I've been asking for life questions, but again, no life questions. No one wants our personal advice.

00:29:11
Speaker 4: They should either from YouTube.

00:29:14
Speaker 2: H So thanks, Ay, that was fun wrapping it up and we will back later this week.

00:29:23
Speaker 4: Smell you lady boys, Smay Jim.

00:29:31
Speaker 8: This is the Philly Show. If you haven't already, please subscribe to The Philly Show wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch us on our YouTube channel. If you like what we do, give us a review, tell a friend. Catch Reuben, Jim and Me on Phillies Nation TV, presented by Valley Forge Tourism. New episodes air an hour before every Saturday Phillies game on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Replays air throughout the week and on Philliesnation dot com. Get more of Ruben's analysis during before and after Phillies games on NBC Sports Philadelphia, on the Sports Radio ninety four, WIP Morning Show, and MLB Network. Rejim at the Allcity Network at allphl y dot com. Find more of me at mlb dot com, the PHILLIESB newsletter, and occasionally on MLB Network