We talk closers and bats before Thursday's trade deadline; remembering Ryno

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Speaker 1: Hey, this is this is our own Welcome to the Philly.

00:00:04
Speaker 2: Show tomorrow, Junior, Jim Salisbury, Todd's Alecki The Philly Show.

00:00:13
Speaker 3: It's Wednesday, July thirty at twenty twenty five.

00:00:16
Speaker 2: Oh oh, fellows, fellows. The trade deadline is just around the corner. It's like thirty six hours away.

00:00:25
Speaker 4: Is sure?

00:00:26
Speaker 3: What's the math on that, Jim? I don't know. It's it's close.

00:00:29
Speaker 5: All I know is yesterday was the twenty ninth of July, and Rubin always had all his heavy lifting done by the twenty Ninthy you would do it all on the twenty ninth, and we'd coast into the deadline while writers all over the country were scrambling.

00:00:42
Speaker 1: We'd be like, what our guy is aggressive?

00:00:44
Speaker 3: Do you know what's so funny about that? I said the same thing.

00:00:47
Speaker 2: I was walking in the in the ballpark Tuesday in Chicago with Matt Gelb and I said, July twenty ninth, Rubin day.

00:00:55
Speaker 3: It was Ruben day.

00:00:57
Speaker 4: It's my day.

00:00:58
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was Ruben Day.

00:01:01
Speaker 5: So I gotta ask you a question, Tom, how's the Koala dealing with all this heat?

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Speaker 1: He's a struggle.

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Speaker 3: It's a struggle for everybody out here. Everybody's been mentioning the heat.

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Speaker 4: It is.

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Speaker 3: It is, it is hot, but I feel like it's been hot in Philly too, so it's like it's being smoking hot.

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Speaker 2: It's not like they're going to get a reprieve when they come home, or maybe they will.

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Speaker 3: I don't know what the weather's supposed to be.

00:01:21
Speaker 4: Like, No, it's gonna get hot, but get hot, stay hot, get hot, stay hot.

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Speaker 2: Philly's hot in Chicago on Tuesday night. Trade deadline, as I mentioned, is Thursday, six pm Eastern, so we'll know what they've done or have not done that they're trying right now.

00:01:40
Speaker 1: So come on, they're going to do something.

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Speaker 2: I feel like they will, but it's I feel like there's there's a lot of high asking prices going on right now for a lot of the guys, and I feel like a lot of people are maybe I don't know, I'm gonna say, freaking out about it, but there's a lot of talk like, ah, that the prices are too but rubin, isn't that the case every time? You know? And then it and then at three pm Eastern on Thursday, the teams that have all the guys to trade, they're gonna go oh crap, we.

00:02:11
Speaker 6: Gotta do something. So they've got everybody lined up on the board. They've got all the possibilities. They know what they can do, what they can't do, they know what they want. They're not gonna get what they want. They're going to get what they need at the end because at some point teams are going to say, I just can't give you that extra prospect that you want and uh, okay, so we'll take this deal. And they'll take the best deal that's available because at the end of the day, they want to they're trying to maximize what they have in their asset and they've got to get something out of it. They're not going to hold their teams. That's the that's the worst thing in the organization can do is hold the player that is not under control or someone you need to move.

00:02:55
Speaker 4: And that's that.

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Speaker 6: That is a fireable offense in this day and age, I think, and so I believe that they're going to go ahead and make moves.

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Speaker 4: It's just a matter of what they're willing to take at the end. And that's why the flurry. That's why you get the flurries at the end.

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Speaker 2: So let's take a look at a few of these guys that are available right now with the park's first pitch.

00:03:19
Speaker 4: First pitch is brought.

00:03:20
Speaker 2: To us exclusively by our partners at Park Casino, Pennsylvania's number one casino, So we know, so we know that they're looking for a closer.

00:03:31
Speaker 3: I think since since we've talked.

00:03:32
Speaker 2: Was Emmanuel Classe was he suspended that when we were got together at Manco Manco he's out?

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Speaker 3: I think that would be new. That's that's new.

00:03:42
Speaker 2: So you got Emmanuel Class out, Felix Bautista out or all his Chapman obviously out because he's pitching with with Boston, probably not going to be traded. But you know, you're hearing a lot about Ryan Helsley with the Phillies, and that makes a ton of sense.

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Speaker 3: The Cardinals have been you know.

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Speaker 2: This is not a surprise, this is not news, but the Cardinals have been scouting the Philly system taking a look at some of their minor league guys leading up to the deadline, seeing if there might be a potential fit there.

00:04:06
Speaker 3: So maybe Ryan Helsley makes sense.

00:04:08
Speaker 2: And to me, I feel like if the Phillies are going to hold on at some of these top prospects, you're looking at more of a rental type guy than Ryan Helsley. Although you know, maybe they do surprise and they go out for one of these big controllable arms.

00:04:20
Speaker 1: Well that's already a concession.

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Speaker 5: I mean, if that's I'd like to see, I think to me, twenty twenty five is what matters the most right now.

00:04:29
Speaker 1: Seize today.

00:04:30
Speaker 5: Helseley's going to help you now, but he's a free agent, and they had prioritized control beyond twenty twenty five because you're going to give up some topniche prospects. But if they come out of this deadline with Hellsley, I'd be very happy.

00:04:46
Speaker 4: I'd be very pleased as well.

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Speaker 6: And you know, sometimes you know, you have to go to plan B or C or D, and so if they can't get the controllable guy, maybe they have to give up a couple of prospects that they probably didn't like to give up in a rental but have sort of have to get it to get it done. And you know, that's what you could end up doing, I think with a guy like Elsley.

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Speaker 5: And Bautista's in addition to Class A, and I'm not sure Class was ever made like explicitly available. I guess it was like if there was an offer that came their way and knocked their socks off, everybody's available.

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Speaker 1: But he goes off the board.

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Speaker 5: Bautista goes off the board with an injury, and I just got the vibe that he was kind of there, most realistic and maybe even number one target in Baltimore. He goes down the Baltimore Orioles move. Sir Anthony Domingue is having a hell of a year, like since May one, he's been fantastic. If you if you could have figured out a way to get him back here, I don't think it would have been a popular move with the fan base.

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Speaker 1: They would have been like, oh, been there, done that, But the guy's getting some outs.

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Speaker 5: I would have been fine with with that, with with with sar Antony coming back to my bullpen.

00:05:55
Speaker 1: No, you guys, I've been okay with it.

00:05:57
Speaker 6: But again in a second or second movie, and then then you're looking to mix in the match, and I think, you know, for me, I would love to see them get somebody that can then they know that a pitch in the ninth, the ninth inning or the eighth inning to close close down that inning against the toughest hitters in the lineup.

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Speaker 1: Helsley.

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Speaker 5: I mean, he's been a dynamite closer for several years. He's pitched in what Rubin likes to call the tight yep and there's that irony. He had a meltdown that started the Phillies run in twenty twenty two, although I think his manager left him in there way too long.

00:06:38
Speaker 1: But I would uh, he wouldn't even have to change his shoes. He could wear red shoes. Still, great point, Jim, that's the way.

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Speaker 4: Always thinking, Jim, always thinking.

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Speaker 2: I mean, uh, make everybody expects mick Able to be traded Mick Able for for Ryan Helsley one to one probably doesn't get it done.

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Speaker 3: I would think, Oh.

00:06:58
Speaker 4: I think it might get it at the end of the day.

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Speaker 6: At the end of the day, to get a controllable starting pitcher like that, I think they might get it done.

00:07:06
Speaker 4: If that's the If that's the price, that's a pretty that's a pretty high price for rental.

00:07:10
Speaker 3: That is that that is a high pridi that is a high price for rental.

00:07:14
Speaker 2: But if you're the Phillies and you need to get a closer, and the prices are even higher for some of those other guys.

00:07:20
Speaker 3: I think you'd have to think about that. He Uh, what about an outfield bat?

00:07:27
Speaker 6: So I.

00:07:29
Speaker 4: Robert is still available? Still available? He so?

00:07:32
Speaker 3: So Swartz got hit in the hand the other day.

00:07:34
Speaker 2: He got X rays and they got more imaging on Tuesday, and I guess that imaging was negative.

00:07:39
Speaker 3: So he didn't play on Tuesday. But that's a good news. That's good news. And there's some outfielders out there available.

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Speaker 4: Uh still.

00:07:48
Speaker 2: Again, Stephen Kuan allegedly available, Jared Duran, Luis I guess not Duran, but Luis. Robert Junior is out there, Ramon Lareano is out there.

00:08:00
Speaker 5: So I mentioned like Hellsley really helps the short term, and really what really matters is twenty twenty five.

00:08:07
Speaker 1: I think Kwan helps him all long term than justin then twenty five. I'm not sure.

00:08:12
Speaker 5: Does he move the needle a ton in twenty twenty five as a left handed bat.

00:08:16
Speaker 1: I know you can put him in left field immediately, but you know what I'm saying, I wonder if there's.

00:08:22
Speaker 5: I'd love to have him, hell of a player and he'd be great, you know, long term, but is he enough of a push this year with this nucleus.

00:08:30
Speaker 6: I'm not sure if that he is, but I would take him in this scenario because you're still making your team marginally better and deeper.

00:08:39
Speaker 5: I'll just know, the left handed bat, I just just that you'd love to have that right handed bat to play off the two big left handed bats and Harper Shwver.

00:08:49
Speaker 6: No question, especially when you got JT hitting in the four hole. Now he's the guy who's protecting. I mean, they've gotten to the point where he's going to go with the hot hand behind Harper to try to protect him, and that's not necessarily going to work in the playoffs, right.

00:09:08
Speaker 1: I know that.

00:09:12
Speaker 2: I would still love to get Swors even though it creates this defensive conundrum in left field or you know, it's all right.

00:09:20
Speaker 4: Uh.

00:09:21
Speaker 2: Rob Thompson was asked on Monday, how comfortable are you playing Kyle Schwarber regularly in left field the final few months of this season if if you would need it hypothetically?

00:09:30
Speaker 3: He said, very comfortable and so uh.

00:09:35
Speaker 2: I also chatted real real briefly with with Bryce on Monday as well, and I said, hey, you know, I know you mentioned the off season the Phillies you would be willing to move to left field or the outfield if you got the right piece, I e. Pete Alonso in the off season. Uh, and you reiterated that stance in spring training. Are you still open to it now that the deadline is closed? And he said yes, I would move to the outfield if the right you know, the right guy came along. Basically, I would be willing to move out to the outfield. So you know, he's like, listen, Yeah, He's like, listen, I played out there before. He's like, now, I haven't played out there in a very long time.

00:10:16
Speaker 7: And he was right.

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Speaker 4: We were talking about.

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Speaker 2: He's like, the last time. When was the last time I was in the outfield. He's like twenty one. I said, no, you you started the first few months in twenty twenty. You hurt yourself in twenty twenty two, so yeah, that's the last time I played the outfield April of twenty twenty two.

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Speaker 3: So but he's like, yeah, if I if I could go out there, and.

00:10:35
Speaker 2: Then on days when say boem or sores are getting a day off, I would like to be back at first base to keep my hand in on first base. But he's like, I'm trying to win, So if Dave gave me a call and pitched it to me and said we can make this happen. He's like, yes, I would go out to the outfield. So that's another that's another thing to get. I don't know if none of us know if SAS is going to happen, and a lot of people think that it's absolutely not going to happen, that you know, they're going to hold on to him, or that the price is way too high and they're not going to get too stupid with the prospect capital that they're going to creat.

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Speaker 5: Big thing for me, do they have enough prospects that they're willing to move to get two big pieces?

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Speaker 4: Right?

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Speaker 6: Well, two big pieces and one two big pieces in that case would be neither of them controllable.

00:11:19
Speaker 4: That's right.

00:11:20
Speaker 6: That's key, Bryan Helsley, and they get you know, Ahannio Suarez, you're talking about two uncontrollable pieces that's totally.

00:11:29
Speaker 4: Going chips in and are they willing to do that? I don't know. Great question, that is, yeah.

00:11:37
Speaker 1: Great question, And we're going to have more trade talk.

00:11:40
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00:12:02
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00:13:03
Speaker 3: We're back, uh before we're going to do Manco Manco Best Week.

00:13:06
Speaker 2: I do want to mention this and Ruben, I got to pay you a nice compliment because you sparked an idea for a great question last Tuesday Night with Jesus Lozardo.

00:13:15
Speaker 3: So remember last week. Everybody remembers last week Jesus.

00:13:19
Speaker 2: Lozardo four no hit innings and then he gets absolutely bombed in the fifth inning. Everything falls apart. His numbers out of the stretch are so insanely bad. In fact, I had our crew at MLB dot com look up his splits over that his recent ten start stretch entering last night out of the stretch versus out of the wind up, and it was it was insane.

00:13:45
Speaker 3: It was like a like, I see if I can find these numbers back.

00:13:49
Speaker 6: A fifty point swing in an eight in a batting average and like a one hundred and ten point swing or two hundred and ten point swing and ops or some crazy number.

00:13:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was it was a massive, massive, massive number.

00:14:01
Speaker 2: So we're talking to Lizardo after the game, and oh, then last week against Boston, he pitched out of the stretch with the bases loaded, as you recall, and then he gives up the Grand Slam, and after the game he says, you know, I just you know, I just felt more comfortable.

00:14:15
Speaker 3: Pitching out of the stretch.

00:14:16
Speaker 2: And then you opined in the next episode he said, you know, pitchers in the past, Greg Maddox would do this all the time.

00:14:23
Speaker 3: He would pitch.

00:14:24
Speaker 2: He would throw every pitch in his bullpen session out of the stretch, because those are the high stress moments. You want to make sure you feel tightened up. So we're wrapping up our interview on Tuesday with Hazelusizarda. So Hey, by the way, is there any chance you might have.

00:14:38
Speaker 3: Just kind of done anything extream like thrown every pitch out of the stretch before this start here in Chicago?

00:14:45
Speaker 2: Goes, Oh, yes, everything I threw in the last five days, Every throw I made in the last five days was out of the stretch.

00:14:53
Speaker 3: About the entire my entire bullpen session was out of the stretch.

00:14:57
Speaker 2: Every throw that I threw on flat ground was out of the stretch and I thought that was interesting, and He's like, I just wanted to make sure he made a very small mechanical adjustment with his foot, he said, with where I was kind of standing on the mound, and so he said, he just wanted to make sure he failed one hundred percent, right.

00:15:11
Speaker 3: So, Ruben, thanks for making me look smart.

00:15:16
Speaker 4: I'm people. I'm people helping people. Man, That's how I do it.

00:15:21
Speaker 6: I mean, listen, you guys have always hit I've always asked the right questions. It's always been, you know, something that I've already always respected, both.

00:15:31
Speaker 4: From you, Jim and Todd.

00:15:32
Speaker 6: That's one of the reasons why I think we've become closer over the years and the reason why we do this podcast. A Yeah, so as a pros.

00:15:41
Speaker 2: Yeah, Well it was a good question and a great answer from Lozardo and kind of showed you what the steps.

00:15:48
Speaker 3: And the seriousness he was taking in terms of the improvements that he wanted to make.

00:15:54
Speaker 5: So that was like, to me, a growth moment, potentially a growth moment start because the first and you're like, oh, oh, you know, like what's gonna happen here? And he got a little help from his friends. Nice play by Marsh, but he got out of it, and I think that was big for his confidence.

00:16:10
Speaker 1: And then he ends up with seven Shuddy.

00:16:13
Speaker 5: As the coolest cool kids say that was big, little confidence build, a little growth moment at a good time going into the final two months, stuff's.

00:16:25
Speaker 1: Still really good. Yeah, it just seemed like he slowed things down.

00:16:30
Speaker 5: I know it wasn't toughest lineup in the world, but you'll take it as a confidence builder.

00:16:34
Speaker 3: Yeah, no doubt about that.

00:16:35
Speaker 2: So all right, let's let's do Manco Manco First Pitch, best Pitch, Best Week.

00:16:43
Speaker 3: Hey, you're tired, man, It's early Mago, whatever you want to call it. It's Maco makeo Manco and Maco best Week.

00:16:51
Speaker 1: I mean, Maco Maco has been out of my mind.

00:16:53
Speaker 4: We had we did have a.

00:16:54
Speaker 2: Great show, great time guys on Sunday at Manco, Manco and Ocean. That was that was so much fun. Brought my family down. They had some pizza, you know, they we walked around the boardwalk, but a great time. Phil Martelly fran down feet, Brandon Duckworth, We had Chuck mangle On from Mango Mango great time.

00:17:10
Speaker 1: So hey, so I hate so much pizza. I still can't button my pants.

00:17:13
Speaker 4: Can I just say this? This is true story. So they have a white pizza.

00:17:17
Speaker 6: You know, I'm having trouble with the red sauce and stuff, so I'm going white pizzas these days.

00:17:23
Speaker 4: They're white pizza. I'm telling you, folks. It was broccoli. I had a broccoli one and I also had the broccoli and chicken. Oh my goodness.

00:17:35
Speaker 6: I brought it home and I would liked it so much that I took it to one of my kids in their apartments. I said, I can't throw this out. There's no way I can eat it all. I can't throw it out. I'm taking it to you. I had to literally go two miles to drop it off for them so they would finish it off.

00:17:51
Speaker 3: That's great.

00:17:52
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was that good my kids.

00:17:54
Speaker 3: Yeah, they they devoured the pizzas that they had there.

00:17:57
Speaker 4: It was awesome.

00:17:58
Speaker 3: We had a great time.

00:17:59
Speaker 2: So so check that check that out, Check that out at that episode out if you haven't seen it yet before. But Manco Manco Best Week, Best Week. It's where we picked the best Phillies player performance.

00:18:11
Speaker 3: Whatever you want to do to me. There's one guy that really pops out the last week plus a couple of days late doing this. Kyle Schwarber.

00:18:20
Speaker 2: Kyle Schwarber last week and a half, betting three thirteen, four to twenty one, on base eight forty four slug two doubles, five home runs, twelve RBIs is he demolished a ball on Tuesday night. Oh here in Chicago, dude, four hundred and forty one feet of I think it was his fourth longest homer of the season, and I think it's like his third hardest one that he's hit one hundred and fourteen point nine miles an hour off.

00:18:49
Speaker 1: That ball was smoked.

00:18:51
Speaker 5: He's to me, he's firmly in the MVP conversation with Otani and Pete Crow, Armstrong a few others, but.

00:19:01
Speaker 1: He is right there for me. That ball he hit was murdered.

00:19:05
Speaker 5: It reminded me of a ball I was in that ballpark many many years ago. I think Ryan Madison was a rookie and he was starting, and we went out there for a one day makeup game and there was a guy with this.

00:19:18
Speaker 1: There was a guy named Joe Borchard.

00:19:20
Speaker 4: Remember him, Oh yeah, he's from Stanford.

00:19:23
Speaker 5: Joe Borchard hit a ball up on the ground up onto that pavilion like four hundred and ninety feet away, and it was a little more to right center, and it was a lot like that Schover ball.

00:19:37
Speaker 4: Yeah, I saw that.

00:19:38
Speaker 6: That was the day that everything in the air was blown out of the ballpark. I mean the ball was carrying. They ended up having like to change something in their stadium because the ball was flying so much. It was almost unfair. I mean, the wind patterns were like driving balls out of the ballpark. Every fly ball was at Homer.

00:19:55
Speaker 1: You remember that particular home run when you were there that day. Oh, I was there for the game. Yeah.

00:20:00
Speaker 4: It was not pretty.

00:20:01
Speaker 1: It was so so so.

00:20:03
Speaker 2: Kyle Schwarber is our manco and manco week. Yeah, no doubt about it. He's been on an absolutely.

00:20:09
Speaker 6: I got to give a little quick uh you know, Brandon Marsh deserves a little bit of love. Over the last week three thirty three, he's gotten some extra base hits. Finally had two extra base hits in a game, uh, you know, Tuesday night, first time in over a year that's happened or something like that, or about September, last September.

00:20:29
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean that's in a long time.

00:20:32
Speaker 6: And that show is sort of like the mediocrity of what he's been over the over the last you know, several months, but much better lately. And he's, uh, he's playing an overall better game. So little honorable mention for him as well.

00:20:46
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00:20:48
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00:22:18
Speaker 3: Earlier this week, Ryan Samberg passed away from cancer. He'd been battling cancer for for a very long time.

00:22:25
Speaker 2: And we all knew him, you know, obviously he managed the Phillies for a few seasons and Ruben you you hired him as manager.

00:22:33
Speaker 3: And and I was just thinking, the last time I saw him was in Clearwater, probably probably a couple of years ago. Just randomly, he was I was walking out.

00:22:44
Speaker 2: Of the hallway out of the ball out of the clubhouse in Clearwater and he was like just standing there with Pat Gillick and had a real nice talk with him. Uh, you know, just chatted for a while about what's going on in his life and what he's doing in Clearwater and what just he was always such a nice man.

00:23:04
Speaker 3: I mean, you've seen the.

00:23:05
Speaker 2: Word like dignity and class a lot written about him in the past few days.

00:23:09
Speaker 3: And I mean that that to me is what Ryan Samberg was as a person.

00:23:15
Speaker 5: Yeah, well, yeah, I mean a gentleman through and through and it was just one of those guys in your life that was an honor to know him. We know he managed here a short time. It didn't go well, it was at a different time in the organization.

00:23:33
Speaker 1: There was a rebuild.

00:23:34
Speaker 5: I think the losing kind of ground him up a little bit and he decided to step away. But you know, nothing but fond memories of that guy. You know both even as a teenager watching him play in the major leagues. He was a classy player. He wore his uniform as a like a classy player. He played defense like a classy player.

00:23:57
Speaker 1: He was a great hitter. He had a beautiful downward stroke and the ball just jumped.

00:24:05
Speaker 5: There's a Chase Utly aspect to him in that he was kind of that guy in the Midwest a lot like Chase Utley, big time fan favorite, good looking guy, played the game well, played it the right way. We when he was managing the Phillies, I remember being in Saint Louis one day talking to him kind of during VP in front of the dugout and there was this kid looked maybe thirteen, fourteen, fifteen years oldly a big placard and it said, hey, hey, Ryan Sandberg, can you come take a picture with me. I'm named after you. My mother named me after you. And he went over and signed the kid the placard and he posed for a picture with him. And I would imagine a lot of moms named in the Midwest named their kids Ryan. But just a real class man and very sad and you know, to lose him, and you know, condolences to his family. Remember his wife. She was always around and just a tough loss for for for really everybody.

00:25:14
Speaker 4: So, uh, just a couple of things later on in life.

00:25:18
Speaker 6: Over the last several years, Margaret, his wife, Brian, Pat Gillick, Doris Gillick, Benny Looper, Sandra Looper, Ad McDonald, Jack McDonald, they formed this like four couple group that was super super tight, and you know, I know that they traveled together, they did things together.

00:25:40
Speaker 4: It was something really really special.

00:25:43
Speaker 6: But even prior to that, and and I knew that, And you know, I've known Ryan obviously for a long time. I've known him since he played for my dad and Mark Kibo Venezuela in for the Aguilasto Sjulia Ball Club. I think that's sort of when he sort of catapulted his career forward, a little bit like Jimmy Rollins, because Jimmy right before he came to the big league, same thing.

00:26:04
Speaker 4: Like that experience I think really helped them now Righto ended up getting traded and moving on.

00:26:11
Speaker 6: And I got a chance to be there in Chicago with my dad because my dad had moved over with Dallas Green as one of the coaches le Early was there John Bucovich and my dad spent a lot of time with Ryan, working with him, watching him develop as a player, and I got a chance to take.

00:26:29
Speaker 4: Round balls with him. He gave me his bats to use.

00:26:33
Speaker 6: I remember a quick story yosh Kawano, who was kind of a pain in the ass. He was a big you know, clubhouse he was a clubhouse manager with the Cubs. I remember Rhino told me to go get some bats to go use for VP to you know, early VP with my dad and I was in college.

00:26:47
Speaker 4: At the time.

00:26:48
Speaker 6: So I walked into the batrack. He said, grab you know, a couple of different bats. I went in there, grabbed one, and Yosh Kawano came running out screaming at me, what are you doing with the bats? Those aren't your bats, Those are the Chicago Cubs.

00:27:00
Speaker 4: I said, hey, Ryan Sandberg sent me in there to get the bats. My dad kind of freaked out on Yosh.

00:27:06
Speaker 6: But anyway, I mean, it was to the point where Rhino Rhino was just so gracious about everything.

00:27:13
Speaker 4: I worked with him, and you know, took ground balls with him.

00:27:16
Speaker 6: My dad, you know, talked about, you know, making sure I watched him in particular everything that he did because he was so consistent with everything he did. The way he feeled the ground balls, the way he worked in pregame, all the stuff that you want to have as a player, the consistency, the.

00:27:35
Speaker 4: You know, the just just the whole routine part of being a major league baseball player.

00:27:40
Speaker 1: He was all about that.

00:27:42
Speaker 4: But he also respected the game so much.

00:27:44
Speaker 6: His his speech at the Hall of Fame was just spectacular, might have been one of the best ones.

00:27:50
Speaker 4: The fact that He actually mentioned my dad in his speech.

00:27:53
Speaker 6: Makes my heart swell as part one of the people that sort of, you know, impacted him many and many others the Phillies organization where he sort of grew up as a as a minor leaguer, and you know, I thought he was the perfect fit for our team in transition, and sadly it wasn't a perfect fit because we I sort of put.

00:28:14
Speaker 4: Him in a tough position.

00:28:16
Speaker 6: We still had veterans around, and he was outstanding with the young players. I think that there was something about some of the veteran players that he they didn't respect the game as much as he wanted them to respect it. And I think that's that's where the there was a disconnect between them, some of the veteran guys and and Rhino. But if you ask anybody who played for the Lehigh Valley Bryan Piggs during his tenure there as a manager, they was They might tell you Kevin Franzen in particular. They might tell you that he might be the best manager he's ever been around, or they've been around, because he was outstanding there and that was the reason why, you know, we we brought him to the big leagues. As a coach and why we thought, you know, he'd be a great fit for us as a manager. But listen, I can't say enough good things about the person. I can't say enough good things about the player. But more importantly, and I've said this before, man, I'm a better, better man for having known him and to be able to spend time with him and terrible loss.

00:29:17
Speaker 5: You mentioned the respect for the game when when you when he took over as the interim guy. I went back and listened to his Hall of Fame speech, and it, you know, it just it painted a picture of him, the hard work, the respect of the game, respective authority, doing things the right way.

00:29:37
Speaker 1: It painted a real picture of how he played the game and lived his life.

00:29:42
Speaker 5: And then when you hired him as the full time guy, I ordered his autobiography.

00:29:47
Speaker 1: I found his autobiography online on Amazon.

00:29:51
Speaker 5: Was like three bucks, and you know again, it was about just doing things the right way, never cheating yourself, never cheating the game. It was a great read, and they painted a picture of him, and I would suggest anybody pick it up. I mean, this guy was a marvelous, marvelous athlete, a better high school quarterback than he was a shortstop, recruited by all of the Pac ten schools on the West Coast. He's throw Spokane, recruited by all the Pac ten schools to be a quarterback, drafted late by the Phillies, wanted to go out and be a baseball player. So he's a shortstop. He's a shortstop in the Phillies system. But there's this kind of mindset that he's maybe a little too big to play shortstop. And of course we can't move him to third base because Mike Schmid is there. Well, Dallas Green goes over to Chicago, and this is what we talk about all the time, being creative. Nobody really thought a lot about second base. Dallas said we'll take him, and you know, he made him a Hall of Fame second He was originally.

00:30:52
Speaker 6: Originally a third base there for Chicago because Bronsea was gone. He took over and played some third and they said let's move.

00:30:59
Speaker 4: In the middle infield, and then he became Ryan Samberg.

00:31:03
Speaker 2: So Monday, we're in the press box and Matt elves and I kind of like looking. He pulls up the inquiry story from the day that they traded Ryan Samberg to the Cubs, and it was was it. It was Boa and yes, and and Samberg was the throwing guy. We read the entire main story that day in the Philadelphia Inquired. Ryan Samberg didn't even get mentioned. There was a little photo on the side that shows you like he was just under the radar. I mean, trading bo obviously was the story in Philadelphia. Or trading Larry bo away. He had that dispute with Bill Chiles, blah blah blah.

00:31:42
Speaker 1: But Samberg got it head.

00:31:44
Speaker 2: There's a little photo and it said Ryan Samberg, a third year minor leaguer, also included in the deal.

00:31:50
Speaker 4: And that was it.

00:31:51
Speaker 5: And then I remember Todd when he got the first year he was eligible for the Hall of Fame, he went in. I believe he went in the first and uh that was like my first year of voting, and I remember voting for him and what a thrill it was because having watched his playing career from Afar and being just being so impressed by you know.

00:32:11
Speaker 1: I love the way he had that kind of downward angle in his swing room.

00:32:14
Speaker 5: But he used to talk about all the time you talk hitting with him, he would talk about this might even sound a little bit strange, especially in today's era. But he would talk about hitting the top of the ball, the top half of the ball, just above the equator of the ball.

00:32:32
Speaker 6: That sounds like, yeah, because later on obviously everybody's hitting the bottom half of the ball want and it hit about it. I always thought about driving through the bottom half of the ball myself, but with a downward start and an upward finish, And that's sort of how I think that's where he wanted to put his eyes and ultimately the ball.

00:32:54
Speaker 4: When you play in the game, when you make the contact.

00:32:57
Speaker 6: You typically would hit it on the bottom half to create the backspin that he did, which he did a lot.

00:33:04
Speaker 4: But I think his focus was on the top half just because the.

00:33:08
Speaker 6: Like Charlie Man used to say, and during the game, your your your barrels almost automatically gonna work underneath it.

00:33:14
Speaker 1: So it was probably like a trigger for him.

00:33:18
Speaker 7: Yeah.

00:33:18
Speaker 6: So so that and that worked for him. He consistently hit the ball hard, you know online and uh, you know a lot of those line drives went out of the ballpark. So just a great, great player, great person, great baserunner and what a gout golf swing.

00:33:34
Speaker 4: Oh could he play some golf. Unreal athlete.

00:33:38
Speaker 5: I think he was like a one or a plus one, even when he was a manager, even when he managed the Phillies. I just remember thinking how good he always looked in a baseball uniform.

00:33:48
Speaker 4: It was like he was made player.

00:33:51
Speaker 2: You're so good in a uniform, very well, said I mean Ryan Samberg. When we missed our less thoughts and condolences to his to his family, the guys the Philly Show. We'll be back everybody. We're going to record something on Thursday night after the trade deadline and have more trade talk on Friday, so we'll be back later this week.

00:34:13
Speaker 1: Smell lady boys, nice you.

00:34:15
Speaker 4: Jim.

00:34:15
Speaker 9: The Philly Show is brought to you by the Foul Territory Network. Subscribe to The Philly Show on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. If you like us, give us a review, follow us on Instagram, TikTok x, Facebook, and threads. Find Rubens analysis before, during, and after Phillies games on NBC Sports Philadelphia, on the Sports Radio ninety four, WIP Morning Show, and MLB Network. Find Jim at all phly dot com. Find me at MLB dot com, the Phillies beatnewsletter, and MLB Network