What's wrong with Jesús Luzardo?

00:00:03
Speaker 1: Hi, this is Jason Utah. Welcome to the Philly Show.

00:00:08
Speaker 2: Ruben Tomorrow, Junior, Jim Salisbury, Todd's lucky. It's a Philly Show. It's Friday, June sixth, twenty twenty five. Guys.

00:00:16
Speaker 3: The uh the Phillies have lost six out of the last seven games. They lost a two to one nail bier on Wednesday. Mcabel pitches well though, and then Thursday series finale.

00:00:32
Speaker 2: Jesus is Arta.

00:00:33
Speaker 3: I don't know what's going on, guys. How are you guys doing? First of all? Second of all, I mean Ruben, you were in the booth.

00:00:42
Speaker 2: How you watching echo? What is going on right now?

00:00:45
Speaker 4: I mean that's exactly I'm looking over at tom like the entire time, like, oh my god, crazy it It is amazing. And the interesting thing about it is, I mean it's happening early in the at bats.

00:01:00
Speaker 5: It's early, and often it is barrel.

00:01:04
Speaker 4: Contact, like hard, hard contact, and it's happening like almost on every fastball. And then there are other pitches that are he's getting whacked around on. He's left some you know, breaking stuff and some change ups up.

00:01:19
Speaker 5: In the zone.

00:01:22
Speaker 4: But I was talked to some guys yesterday about it and like he's a sinker ball pitcher, like he's got really really good movement typically, and his fastball right now.

00:01:33
Speaker 5: Seems really sort of flat.

00:01:35
Speaker 4: I mean, it's ninety seven, but it doesn't have like the action on it at the plate that it has had in the early part of the season. And they're getting good looks. For the life of me, I cannot believe how good the swings are.

00:01:53
Speaker 6: Against him over the last two outings, and everything's on the barrel, and it just strikes to me that they they're picking something up that they know every pitch is coming, or many of them, and he might be tipping him either that or something's happened.

00:02:12
Speaker 4: In his delivery that's allowing him to be a little bit flatter with his stuff overall. And it's just staying in the zone too long and not doesn't have the same sort of life at the zone such that it takes it off the barrel. It's it's I mean, I'd have to go back and look at tapes to see what's going on. I'm sure that Caleb Cotham and Rob Thompson and so many others are doing that right now, and I'm sure that the player himself is going what in the hell is going on too? And it sounded like after the postgame interviews that's exactly where he was right.

00:02:49
Speaker 1: It's it's been incredible.

00:02:52
Speaker 7: I cannot think of another situation where we've seen a picture on course for the All Star Game and maybe to start the All Star Game and then to absolutely you know, it's like a you know, a bungee jump. He's just fallen and it really does look like they, at least in Toronto, it looked like they knew what was coming. I mean, Bashett sold out on that swing. He looked like he knew what was coming.

00:03:23
Speaker 1: You know.

00:03:23
Speaker 7: I tend to think we always talk now about tip and pitches, and I think it's.

00:03:27
Speaker 1: A lot rareer.

00:03:30
Speaker 7: It's a lot more rare than people think, but we always say it. It's like, you know, you get almost tired of hearing it. But something's amiss. He has eclipsed his innings totals from last year. Maybe that's affecting his finish in that last little.

00:03:46
Speaker 1: Bit of life. But Hitters look awfully comfortable on this guy.

00:03:50
Speaker 7: And when Hitters starts seeing guys squaring it up, squaring it up consistently over and over, they all get confidence. That confidence ripples through a batrack, and you know they the previous start in Philadelphia, these guys pay attention, and then in this start in Toronto. Personally, I think the hitters look super comfortable, and I think you start there moving the feet, you got to crowd them, come up and in. You've got to put something in the back of these hitters' heads that you're not gonna get too comfortable against me, because hitting, you know, you have to be comfortable to hit. And if you can upset that level of comfort, you can have more success as a pitcher. Something's got to be done there as they dig into this and find out what is going on.

00:04:40
Speaker 3: Jesus is our in his first eleven starts, I mean, sixteen runs and sixty seven innings, last two starts twenty runs and five and two thirds innings, two point one five era. Last Friday, when we recorded an episode last Friday, the Reese Hoskins episode, he had a two to one five era. Now it's four to four six. First pitcher in baseball history. It allowed twenty earned runs in fewer than six innings in a span of two starts. Now, Jim, you mentioned you haven't seen something like this. A guy go from cy Young candidate NL All Stars, started to have two starts like this. I went back and I looked at the last time the Phillies pitchers that have allowed eight or more runs, because he allowed eight on Thursday against Toronto. The last Phillies pitchers to allow eight plus runs in consecutive starts. And I thought this list was kind of interesting. So the last Phillies pitcher to do it was Aaron Nola in June of twenty sixteen. Now remember Aaron Nola in twenty sixteen. A month later, he went on the injured list at elbow and did not pitch the rest of the season. So that was Aaron Nola bad elbow. The last pitcher before that was Roy Halliday April May of twenty thirteen. Yeah, well he was you remember now he made those two starts, he went on the injured list.

00:06:03
Speaker 2: Had right shoulder surgery.

00:06:05
Speaker 3: The last pitcher before that was Adam Eaton in July of two thousand and eight. Those are the last two starts he ever made for the Phillies. He made two relief appearances after that and then never pitched for the Phillies again. So those are the last three Phillies pitchers to have back to back performances like this, and all three of those guys Nola elbow, Halliday shoulder, Adam Eaton, he was probably just washed up at that point.

00:06:32
Speaker 7: I mean, well, health is the first Health is the first thing we think of with when we see a guy have two starts like Lozaro.

00:06:38
Speaker 1: Okay, there's an injury. Is he healthy?

00:06:40
Speaker 7: But you know the big telltale on health is Velo and he was humping ninety eight yesterday, so you know what gives.

00:06:50
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean it could be a health issue. I don't think it is. I don't think he's complained about it. I don't think he's talked about it. I don't think that. Having just looked at the stuff, the ball coming out of his hand. Now it's a little flatter, but it's still stuff, and you know, obviously there's something going on. He knows he needs to fix it. He knows he needs to fix it fast because you know he needs.

00:07:19
Speaker 5: You know, he's a competitive kid man. I mean, this kid wants to do well. He's a great kid.

00:07:25
Speaker 4: We've got a chance to chat with him, and you know he has a high expectation of himself. He changed things up by going with the corn Rows to Jeddie because he's a very superstitious kid as well. So you know, it's it's it's mind boggling. There's something going on. They'll figure it out. The Phillies are smart. The kid is a smart kid. He's an athletic kid, and if there's adjustment needs to be made, he'll figure it out. But something does need to get figured out because.

00:08:01
Speaker 5: It's not sustainable.

00:08:03
Speaker 4: Obviously not sustainable if he continues a bitch like that, and it really does put a little chink in the armor there as far as the as far as the overall quality of that starting rotation.

00:08:16
Speaker 1: No question. And the foundation of this team is that starting staff.

00:08:21
Speaker 5: And now you start. Yeah, now you've got.

00:08:23
Speaker 7: The world's longest sprained ankle, and you got you know, you know, Wheeler attending to his family, which is which is fine, but you know.

00:08:33
Speaker 1: You don't have a hit or doesn't have his base, his foundation. He's got nothing. This team doesn't have his starting rotation, its foundation. It's it's in trouble.

00:08:42
Speaker 5: Yeah, I agree with that.

00:08:45
Speaker 3: You know, last Phillies pitcher to low twenty runs or more in consecutive appearances was Dutch Schlessler in nineteen thirty one, a couple of relief appearances.

00:08:58
Speaker 2: Believe it or not.

00:08:58
Speaker 3: You know, back in the day, He's got as would come in the third inning and pitch eight inning or seven innings, six innings in an extra inning game. Last Phillies pitchered allow twenty twenty runs or more in consecutive starts Ray Bengi in nineteen thirty So, I mean, we haven't seen something like this. Twenty runs are more in consecutive starts by the Phillies pitcher in almost one hundred years, which is you think of? I mean, yeah, you just think of all the guys they have pitched on one hundred years and Jesus Zardo Ray Bengi and.

00:09:29
Speaker 1: The bullpen had to suck up all those innings. Yeah, on Thursday, haven't.

00:09:34
Speaker 4: Now after this evening they have to have a bullpen game with chill Ross starting.

00:09:38
Speaker 5: And that's uh, that's problematic.

00:09:41
Speaker 7: All this starting push, all this starting pitching after we've been talking about for the last two weeks.

00:09:47
Speaker 1: Now they have a freaking bullpen game.

00:09:50
Speaker 3: Exactly right, Hey, guys, this weekend, the Phillies are in Pittsburgh.

00:09:54
Speaker 2: But if you're looking for something to do.

00:09:57
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00:11:01
Speaker 2: They say Delco's a lot, and they're right.

00:11:03
Speaker 5: You guys are a lot. We got there, guys, I.

00:11:07
Speaker 7: Want to I want to give a shout out to one of my good buddies, Ed Crowley listening to the pod and Dunedin, Florida, and of course he runs Delco's Cheese Steaks.

00:11:17
Speaker 1: They're on Main Street and Dunedin.

00:11:19
Speaker 3: Awesome Delco's, Yeah and Yeah, and they're right behind home plate at at Bake hair Ballpark as well.

00:11:27
Speaker 7: He told me a great story that Fred McGriff apparently comes in there all the time and nobody recognizes him.

00:11:34
Speaker 2: Is that right?

00:11:34
Speaker 5: I hung out.

00:11:35
Speaker 4: I hung out with Fred McGriff at a bar in Atlanta one time.

00:11:38
Speaker 5: We stood in the corner and not no one knew who he was.

00:11:40
Speaker 7: I had four hundred and ninety six home runs, one of the great gentlemen of the game, great player, and he comes in and gets his cheese steak and walks out the door.

00:11:50
Speaker 1: I would have him autographed the cheesesteak.

00:11:53
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's gotta get that autograph for sure.

00:11:55
Speaker 5: Man.

00:11:57
Speaker 4: Well, we were talking ahead Ruby, you know, we were talking a little bit about their their pitching, but the offense is the issue that I'm.

00:12:07
Speaker 5: Not a little concerned about. What do you think?

00:12:09
Speaker 2: Well, Ruben, I wanted to ask you this and Jim Jim as well.

00:12:13
Speaker 3: And the offense is that I think that what they scored six runs in the first game of that series, they scored four runs.

00:12:23
Speaker 2: In the final Let's do the masks, thanks Jim. Four runs in the final twenty sixth innings.

00:12:30
Speaker 3: And I want to ask you guys about it. About the leadoff hitter right now. Bryson sid this is a guy that we've talked about, can be a three hundred hitter. We have talked about him. You know, he would make a lot of sense in the leadoff spot. They've won a lot of games since he moved in the leadoff spot in mid April. But since May one, Bryson Stott is batting one ninety six, two home runs, eleven RBIs five eighteen ops.

00:12:59
Speaker 2: He has a two point fifty on base percentage in that span. And I'm wondering, do we start talking about making a change in the leadoff spot. I mean, he's seen it.

00:13:10
Speaker 3: He sees a lot of pitches, which is great, but you also at some point have to have some production up there. And he's he's absolutely he's been scuffling for more than.

00:13:18
Speaker 2: A month now.

00:13:19
Speaker 4: I've be an advocate of him being in a one role forever, and I really think that he has the tools to do it. But he's going through a month long slump right now. That that has heard him that I mean, they it's amazing that they did so well in May, just in general without any real production from him. Again, I still have some confidence that he can, you know, bounce back. But if in the next you know, a week or ten days or whatever, he doesn't get going, then I'll just go ahead and slide Turner up there and let him roll with the way Turner's.

00:13:57
Speaker 5: Been swinging the bat. He's been in all the whole field. I'm I'm a little shocked that that Bryce is not.

00:14:09
Speaker 4: That Bryson has not you know, continued to develop, because I think he still has those tools and and those abilities and bat the ball skills and the base running ability. But you know, they're seeking wins and they need to do that by with production, and uh, they're not getting it right now. I would stay with him for another couple of weeks and see how that goes, and continue that sort of platoon against lefties and righties. But you know, he has not, he has not come through lately. I think he's much better than he's shown in this past month. But he also has to get it done because it's a it's a production business, and if you're not getting the production done, then it becomes very, very difficult to win baseball games.

00:14:58
Speaker 7: I would not stick with him for a couple more weeks. I would do something this weekend. I mean, and I'm a patience guy. I think patience is a very very valuable virtue in baseball. I think it's needed. It's just because of the nature of the sport. Every day there's ups, there's downs. A lot can be dictated by the guy on the mound that night, and sometimes you just tip your hat. And but as much as I would advocate for some patience, I do think there's a time when the manager says this ain't good enough, and you know, shake things up and trade. Turner is getting on base, he's using the whole field. He's figuring out ways to get on on first base, which is, to me, the job of a leadoff me. I think I'm not saying I would sit start, but I would.

00:15:42
Speaker 1: I would shake that.

00:15:43
Speaker 7: Lineup up, get Turner up top, move, move Stot down. Like I said, this ain't good enough, and you know they've lost. They've had a tough little stretch here. This is about the time last year. It's exactly the time last year when they went into a tough stretch. I think you need to nip it, and I think you need to send a little message. And you know it won't I don't think it'll hurt.

00:16:05
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00:16:10
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00:16:26
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00:16:30
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00:16:45
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00:16:51
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00:16:51
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00:17:12
Speaker 3: Month of the season, I was looking trying to see if there's anything kind of cooking in the numbers and Stott first month April through the end of April's batting three sixty eight off of fastballs.

00:17:24
Speaker 2: In May he batted two fourteen off of fastballs.

00:17:27
Speaker 1: The last year he didn't hit fastballs.

00:17:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, last year he didn't hit fastballs. Now it's interesting.

00:17:32
Speaker 3: So the expected numbers, right, and the expected batting average, that's basically just what they expect you to hit based off.

00:17:40
Speaker 2: Of exit velocity, launch angle and those types of things.

00:17:43
Speaker 3: Expected numbers off the fastball in April was too eighty seven, expected off the fastball in May was two ninety seven. So if you if you wanted to, you could say, maybe he's run into some bad luck in May, some balls didn't find hole or he hit him right at guys, and maybe there's certainly something to that, but you know, there's been some at bats recently that you certainly could have been a.

00:18:08
Speaker 2: Lot better, I guess.

00:18:09
Speaker 3: So I just wanted to throw that out there in terms of bryce and size, is this offense continues to struggle.

00:18:16
Speaker 4: So the offense in the last two games, he went five for thirty one in each game. Ten for sixty two. Wow, ten for sixty two. I think those are the right numbers. I'm not big numbers, guys, but that's pretty much. I mean, you're not getting it done. But ten for sixty two with this kind of lineup, and you know, they faced some decent pitching. Those guys are you know, yeah, but they have to be able to hit good pitching and that's you know, that's part of being a good but ball club and it starts to strike. This is a good test because they are again they're going to face Skins again in Pittsburgh and see how they handle him again. I mean, Skins pitched brilliantly against him last time, and he's a brilliant pitcher. But they're gonna have to make some adjustments. I guess some other guys have got to face and there's some good pitching. They have to make adjustments and do some damage against those guys too. So, uh, I am concerned about this offense because it's not rolling the way you would expect it to roll right now. And this was a good test after playing those poor teams and some of those really bad bullpens. Now they're playing some a little bit better teams and they're not producing, and uh so there should be some level of concern. And I'm sure there is that front office and the people in uh, you know, in the coaching staff. I'm sure that they're thinking, Okay, why are we not playing better baseball. Let's let's kick it in gear a little bit. And uh, you know they're gonna have to you know, they're gonna have to do that. They're gonna have to gear up and and uh and make some adjustments and and perhaps make some changes because in the back part of that lineup right now, it's almost dead water and they're not doing a whole lot.

00:19:54
Speaker 5: It's not uh, it's not happening at the back end of that lineup.

00:19:57
Speaker 4: After Casianos right now, who's been really consistent. You got to give some love to the guy because he's been one of their most consistent. Is didn't close to three hundred and or if not three hundred and beyond that, they're getting nothing, like literally almost nothing, and they need to have some more production from the back end of that lineup because it's been it's been light, super.

00:20:22
Speaker 7: Light left left field, left field, center fielding, no left field, center fielding, catcher, not get much.

00:20:30
Speaker 3: Yeah, Max, Max Kepler in the last month has bet in one sixty eight. So, uh, you know this and that's and that's not well, he's he's faced a lot of lefties in that time. It's almost exclusively against right handed, right handed pitching, which he's supposed to, which he came here to kind of like blow up and and and that hasn't happened. So yeah, no doubt the offense they need, they need to get it going. And this kind of plays into the whole wall they you know, who did they beat a.

00:20:53
Speaker 2: Couple of weeks ago. They beat all these bad teams and so now, you know.

00:20:57
Speaker 4: Yeah, becomes a reality if you if if if these guys don't start playing the day the way that they've you know, they're expected to.

00:21:06
Speaker 2: Play, right, were you guys?

00:21:08
Speaker 3: So Taiwan Walker came in yesterday Thursday and pitching inning and relief, and everybody's like, all right, we're gonna see what is how his stuff jumps. It's gonna jump, and we're gonna get him, give him a look as a as a late inning guy, and I want to see what he does in one ending way. He comes out and I think the fastballs popped out at popped out at ninety three.

00:21:27
Speaker 2: To me, that was a little disappointing just one appearance, you know.

00:21:31
Speaker 3: I guess Rob Thompson said after the game that you know, Taiwan didn't necessarily have maybe the time that he needed to properly warm up. But it's just I'm just mentioning it because this is something that we're gonna so hopefully then next time, if that's the case, he gets enough warm ups and he comes out and he starts throwing a little bit harder because I think everybody's hoping that the stuff plays up because they need him.

00:21:56
Speaker 2: To help this bullpen out.

00:21:58
Speaker 4: So I stated this in the in the broad cast, and I think this is somewhat true, and you don't really know exactly where he is until he's pitching in a situation where the game's on the line and the adrenaline's flown.

00:22:11
Speaker 5: It's eight nothing. The game meant absolutely nothing. At that point.

00:22:16
Speaker 4: They were not going to win the game unless some miracle like that what happened in Atlanta yesterday was going to happen, which is rare.

00:22:24
Speaker 5: That's crazy.

00:22:24
Speaker 4: We can talk about that a little bit more of what's going on with some of these games, but the reality of it is that when you have an adrenaline rush out of that bullpen and you know you have to get three outs to win the game or to keep the game in hand, uh, there's a totally different feel than going into an eight nothing game. For the first time you're coming into the out of the bullpen. I'm sure he's going, I know I have to do this, but this is like a spring training game for me. And so that's a that's a that's a totally different for a veteran guy who's been the starter his whole career, pretty much his whole career. Now he's and deserves sort of to stay in the starting rotation. Now he's relegated to the bullpen. He's supposed to be playing, playing, pitching and important innings and he's coming in an eight nothing game. I know why he did it. I know why Rob did it. He had to get him the feel of coming out of the bullpen and getting ready and pitching in one inning. But I think it's gonna be a little bit different. I mean, he did his job, got his three outs, but it's gonna be different when it's time for him to uh to try to lock down a game or to keep a game in hand. And I'm interested in that situation much more than a one that he just came in on.

00:23:37
Speaker 1: Totally agree that was There was no adrenaline there. It was mop up.

00:23:43
Speaker 7: It was like the night Joe Girardi had to get on the phone with Nick Pavetta trying to convince him to come into that game years ago.

00:23:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I don't think that's an accurate judge.

00:23:54
Speaker 7: But I've always said, I'm I'm I don't know how the stuff is going to play out in the bullpen. And you know, I don't know if ninety two or three is going to play out there unless you're really precise, unless that breaking ball is really good, unless that split is dancing. And I just don't know how it's gonna work out there. We're not talking about, you know, a young kid like like a mick Abel.

00:24:19
Speaker 1: He's had this little tick in velocity since he's come up. You know, stuff is playing a little hard. I guess it's adrenaline and whatnot.

00:24:27
Speaker 7: But I think a young kid, he put him out in the bullpen, you might get a little bit more on the fastball in a short spurt. A guy with all those innings, you know, over thirty years old. I don't know that there's going to be a huge tick up in stuff, but I guess we're gonna find out. But it's tough to find out in a mop up situation because I'm sure he was thinking I.

00:24:49
Speaker 3: Got to go into this thing, you know, Jim, On on Wednesday, we were taking listener question reader questions. Listener question your questions.

00:25:01
Speaker 1: Nobody reads anymore?

00:25:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, no one reads anymore well on your phone on their phone, they do?

00:25:06
Speaker 3: I do.

00:25:06
Speaker 5: Uh.

00:25:07
Speaker 3: We were we were talking about mick Abel, and you said, man, at some point he keeps doing this, I'm gonna not be thinking about who the Phillies might be able to get for mick Abel. I'm going to be thinking about how he can help the Phillies in a in a roll down the stretch and man, what you see him pitch on Wednesday night and you're going, maybe they got hold out of this guy.

00:25:29
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, it's funny.

00:25:31
Speaker 7: I could see he kind of lost his mechanics and think it was the sixth in he did kind of pull the ball a little bit, you know.

00:25:39
Speaker 1: But my point was, you know, last year he couldn't throw strikes.

00:25:43
Speaker 7: You're like, and then over the winter you're thinking, well, maybe they can get something for him, or last year at the at the deadline.

00:25:49
Speaker 1: Maybe they can get something for him.

00:25:51
Speaker 7: Now I'm starting to you know, when you drive up ninety five and you get to like Center City and you start to see the Ben Franklin and you see those two humungo granite pillars on which the Ben Franklin Bridge springs from.

00:26:10
Speaker 1: I'm thinking, Painter and Abel. I don't know that I want to do anything.

00:26:16
Speaker 5: You know.

00:26:17
Speaker 4: Uh, you know some of those teams that didn't want to trade for Abel because of his stock last year are kicking themselves. Yeah, I guarantee you right now, the A's or the Saint Louis Cardinals or some other teams are going, God, we could have got a damn good pitcher last year and maybe even a really good third basement. Yeah, because there is this there. This kid has developed really nicely so far. You know, the proof is still in the pudding. He still has to continue to pitch and do it for a long time. But from what I've seen, as far as his poise and the way he's handled himself and his focus, I've been super impressed by what he's done.

00:27:00
Speaker 5: And yeah, you're right about that.

00:27:02
Speaker 4: He hit a little bit of a wall in the sixth inning, went into the stretch and sort of started struggling, and his mechanics got away from him a little bit, but they did a good job of getting them out of there. But they didn't give him a whole lot of offensive support, no, sadly, And they didn't give him any defensive support, and.

00:27:20
Speaker 1: In no way. No, you're right about the defense that that ball's got to be caught.

00:27:25
Speaker 5: Yeah, the ball in center field has to be caught, has to be caught.

00:27:28
Speaker 7: You need a guy who can put stuff away. You know, those are not errors, but they're plays that a sharp team makes. But with able, I'm not suggesting he's anywhere near a finished product. There's there's gonna be a night when he gets his nose bloodied.

00:27:46
Speaker 5: And honestly, I'm interested to see how he bounces back from that to Jim.

00:27:49
Speaker 7: That it'll be good for him, yes, and how he bounces back and it becomes a growth moment. But right right now, and I'm not just saying and it's about the two starts he's had in the big leagues, I'm saying about that little body of work over the first two months in Triple A, threw more strikes, seems more comfortable in his own skin, seems more confident letting that talent kind of.

00:28:12
Speaker 1: Bubble to the surface. You just really have to like what you see.

00:28:17
Speaker 7: And and you know the potential that Brian Barber and all his guys saw, they saw it for a reason. And you know, he's still a very very young man. So you know, I'm just thinking about what he might become with with with Painter at the top, and who knows.

00:28:38
Speaker 1: It's a fickle game, but kind of like like the.

00:28:42
Speaker 7: Possibility of those two young men as uh, you know, twin studs.

00:28:47
Speaker 1: But you know, we'll see how things develop.

00:28:49
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what everybody was talking about.

00:28:50
Speaker 4: Hey, I wanted to go back a little bit Todd and talk about the bullpen because I saw a couple of guys.

00:28:55
Speaker 5: You know, we talked about who can they acquire.

00:28:57
Speaker 4: You know, is the guy from you know are from Tampa Bay, you know the couple of you know, a couple of Mason Miller and you know all those other guys. Well, I saw a left hander in Toronto and Brandon Little, the kid from brynmar who was lights out. You want somebody to replace Alvarado? Holy smokes. This guy's quote unquote knuckle curve. It's really a slider, is filthy and it's nasty. And he's been outstanding in the last couple of that's six weeks or so, he's been lights out, really impressive with what I've seen from him. I mean, that's the sort of under the radar type of arm that they are probably trying to pursue right now, to give them a little bit of depth in that in that bullpen, to give Matt Strom and Tanner Banks an extra left handed arm to help them, or even a right handed arm, doesn't matter which one. But that's the type of picture I think that would be interesting to try to acquire. I don't know what's gonna take to get him.

00:30:00
Speaker 1: The Jay's are in. I'm just I don't.

00:30:03
Speaker 5: Think the Jays will trade him.

00:30:04
Speaker 4: I'm just saying, I mean, that's sort of a veteran, sort of a veteran guy right now because he's twenty eight, twenty nine years old.

00:30:10
Speaker 5: He hasn't pitched a lot in the big leagues.

00:30:12
Speaker 4: But but that's the type of player that you sort of want to see that somebody's who is sort of under the radar but has can have real effective stuff to get outs, important outs in the back end there.

00:30:29
Speaker 3: So this weekend Phillies in Pittsburgh, Ruby, you got, you got quite the view.

00:30:35
Speaker 2: You must have the VIP suite behind it.

00:30:37
Speaker 1: The GMS.

00:30:38
Speaker 5: You may have a suite. I do not have a suite.

00:30:42
Speaker 4: Let me start. Let me start with that one. I guess you have a suite. I used to have sweets when I was in assistant GM and the GM when you were when you were sweet.

00:30:51
Speaker 5: Yeah, when I was much sweeter. Uh but uh, but this is the US Steel Building.

00:30:57
Speaker 4: It's a beautiful building back there, and it's actually I like aberg I love their ballpark. Love It's always been in the top five for me yep, and looking forward to it. The weather's not great. I think we're gonna get through these first two games, okay, dancing in the in the rain a little bit. But they got to do a little damage against the old Pittsburgh Pirates because that's an abysmal offense.

00:31:18
Speaker 5: I mean abysmal.

00:31:19
Speaker 4: I'm talking about an abysmal offense, and they need to do some damage against it. Their pitching's okay, and that's a good that'll be good test for these guys. Offensively, they got to do some damage here, so.

00:31:29
Speaker 3: Maybe they can muddle through this bullpen game. On Friday night, Joe Ross is going to start. I guess he's going to go to two plus innings. That's the plan anyway, and they're going to hopefully, hopefully he's going to go to two innings, maybe two plus innings if he can get through that lineup facing former Phillies Lefty Bailey Falter that Saturday.

00:31:51
Speaker 2: He's been throwing, well, yeah, he has been. You know, think about how is Philly's career ended when.

00:31:56
Speaker 3: He's terrible last year, but he's bounce back. Yeah, but he's bound back. And then Saturday it's Ranger Swarz versus Andrew Haney, and then Sunday is Christopher Sanchez versus Paul Schemes.

00:32:08
Speaker 7: So hey, Ruben, You've got a beautiful view of the US Steel Building, but you got nothing on me. I got a beautiful view of the Chester County Prison.

00:32:18
Speaker 2: Yes, Jim is doing this from his warden suite.

00:32:27
Speaker 5: Are you the wardeners and the wharden.

00:32:33
Speaker 1: I'm just a yeah, I'm just an inmate.

00:32:36
Speaker 5: I understand.

00:32:38
Speaker 3: Well, guys, uh, Ruben, enjoy the weekend in Pittsburgh and we will be back on Monday.

00:32:45
Speaker 1: Smell you, lated, boys.

00:32:47
Speaker 5: Jim.

00:32:47
Speaker 2: The Philly Show is brought to you by the Foul Territory Network.

00:32:51
Speaker 3: Subscribe to The Philly Show on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

00:32:55
Speaker 2: If you like us, give us a review, follow us on Instagram, TikTok hey, 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 pH l y dot com. Find me at MLB dot com, the Phillies beatnewsletter, and MLB Network