Phillies Are Their Own WORST ENEMIES In Series Loss vs Dodgers

Again, the Phillies found new ways against the Dodgers to embarrass themselves, just as they did in the Postseason vs LA last year. Now, they'll face the Yankees to try and salvage their homestand. You'll hear from Don Mattingly and his players after each game this past week. #RingTheBell #PhiladelphiaPhillies #MLBonX

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Alright, away we go, folks. Welcome into another episode of the 610 Podcast. I'm your host, Jay Hollyhan. Welcome into a pretty angry edition of the 610 Podcast. I think we might set new highs here for just in terms of the scale of how ticked off we will be recording this. We were gonna go, honestly, we were gonna go with some grunge music, music, some real, you know, push your fingers into your eyes kind of music, because that's what those three games were. And I'm gonna tell you this right now. If you're not willing, because this episode, I'm sorry, if you're a fan who's gonna sit there and say, you know what, you're not a real fan, you're not a real this, you're upset at the team, oh, there's still a long way to go, this, that, and the third, leave now. Leave at this moment in this in this episode. I appreciate you clicking on it, but if you're gonna sit there and be upset with what we're about to say because we're being too hard on the team, and this, that, and the third be gone with you. Uh, we don't want to hear from you right now. Because and I said this too. When we last were on, I mentioned that it wasn't gonna surprise me if the Dodgers took two of three. I expected the Dodgers to take two of three, everyone did. So I'm not gonna be one of those people that goes, oh, well, if they would have lost this way, it would have been better. If they would have lost that way, it would have been better. No, it's still all frustrating because you want to know why it's frustrating. And I was thinking about this the last two nights. I've actually been thinking about this, well, really, ever since Game 7 last year of the World Series. The Dodgers should not be playing baseball with the 29 teams in the Major League Baseball right now. They should be on a di in a different league with the players they have. Do you understand how difficult it is to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers? Do you understand how almost perfect you have to play to beat the Dodgers? Look at game seven of the World Series last year, where the Blue Jays came within the spike of a cleat to potentially winning that World Series, and they didn't. And the Dodgers made incredible play after play after play contributions from key guys hitting in the bottom third of the lineup, contributions from I don't know, the last pitcher you would expect out of the bullpen in a 16-inning game to throw multiple innings and give you a dramatic win at like 3 o'clock in the morning Eastern Standard Time. The Los Angeles Dodgers belong in a league where they play against the 98 New York Yankees. They don't belong in this Major League Baseball. In this league, playing against a team like the Phillies. Look at the bottom third of the Dodgers lineup, and then look at what the Phillies trot out. And it's not, and that's not an angry rant saying, well, the Phillies couldn't build a roster the same as them. No, because no team in Major League Baseball can build that roster. That's why we're going to a lockout. The Philadelphia Phillies, though, the last two games, as I said, you have to play almost perfect baseball to beat the Dodgers. The Phillies, you have to give not only 100%, you have to give 110% to beat the Dodgers. You can't ground out into game-ending fielder's choice double plays. You can't run into outs. When the game's tied at three and there's one out with the runner at second, you can't run into outs. You can't make stupid play after stupid play. You can't leave your starting pitcher into a game when he is shot after five innings. You know he can't go sixth. You have a day off today. You had lefties ready to go, you're facing three left-handed hitters, you go to the lefties, you don't stick with Arana. The decision making has to be right. The play on the field has to be right. And it all wasn't these last three days. And I'm not and I'm not even giving them a pass for Monday because you know what? Trey Turner should have had four errors in that game. I don't know who the hell is scoring these games nowadays, but they gave him one. Anyone watching that game is gonna remember it in terms of, you know what? A lot of good and a lot of bad from your everyday starting shortstop that you pay over $300 million for. And the fact that there, I mean, there are people that are saying, Well, we can't move him to second. Oh, it just can't be. He should, you know what? It should not be that big of a deal for him to play second base. It really shouldn't. But honestly, though, if he's that bad going to his left, like they keep talking about, why would I want him playing second base either? His future's in the outfield. I think it would look weird just optically, but that's where he belongs. He belongs in center field. Problem is, you know what you do? Anytime a ball is hit to him in the outfield when he's out there, take an extra base. He's got a noodle for an arm. That's your everyday starting shortstop. That's the guy who's been playing shortstop for as long as someone like a Jimmy Rollins or a Larry Boa, some of the best players for this organization, and he's being paid ten times the amount of money they were paid. And alright. He hits a pair of homers. He has five RBIs that night. Hallelujah. Way to go. Because you know what? You had to do something for that team. You don't have a performance like that, and then you're just able to sulk going back into the clubhouse. You had to redeem yourself somehow. And at least he showed a little heart and a little life in that game. Something that maybe in years past you wouldn't see from him because he would let his defense, his poorest play on defense, or his poorest play at the plate, would take effect out on the field or at the plate. And here was Don Mattingley, and here was Trey Turner after Monday night's game.

SPEAKER_06 7:06

Trey's our guy. Trey works every day. So it's not like Trey's out there and doesn't care about defense. Trey cares about his defense. He wants to make plays. He's working every day. So we ride with Trey. And knowing that we talked, you know, somewhere in that game, just about you got to put it behind you. Right? You put those plays behind you. And he's not bothered by like what people would say. He wants to make plays. He wants to win, and he and he wants to get better, and he knows he's better than that.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

John, how do you avoid not getting a little nervous when the ball is coming?

SPEAKER_06 7:44

I trust Trey. Honestly, and I trust all our guys. And Trey's gonna make some great plays. Everybody's gonna make make it, you know, there's gonna be errors with everybody. So, you know, again, Trey works. So he's out there every day working on his ground balls, he's working on his hands, all that type of stuff. So as long as Trey works, we ride with Trey.

SPEAKER_05 8:09

Uh couldn't tell you, you know. But uh happens, keep working, and and uh we'll get through.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

How are you able to put those defensive miscues behind you to still be so successful at the plate tonight?

SPEAKER_05 8:23

That's what baseball's all about.

SPEAKER_03 8:26

Does the work defensively change at all or adjust towards anything in particular after a night like this? What do you want to vision there?

SPEAKER_05 8:34

No. Um just keep doing what I'm doing. Um build confidence in that and just kind of getting a rhythm, I feel like. Um, you know, everyone talks about rhythm at the plate, but I think there's rhythm on the bass pass, rhythm uh, you know, defensively. Sometimes you feel good, sometimes you don't. Um you just gotta find that flow again.

SPEAKER_03 8:52

You were talking about making better reads the other day. How much do you think what happened tonight was a matter of making better reads?

SPEAKER_05 8:58

Um, yeah, for sure. Um I think that was part of it. Um just gotta be better. How much does confidence play into that model for you? Um that's all baseball loses confidence.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

Don Mindily spoke about how much more consistent you are at the plate the past couple of months. Can you pull from finding that consistency at the plate and apply it at all defensively?

SPEAKER_05 9:20

Yeah, I mean, you just gotta have reps, you gotta get out there and make plays. I feel like, you know, when you're at the plate and you're hitting the ball hard and you're getting out or, you know, not having success, I feel like it's hard to um, you know, have confidence sometimes, and that's the same thing in the field. You gotta go out there and make some plays and build that confidence.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

What? You have to build on confidence. You're getting paid that much money, and you're telling me you gotta build on confidence. So what, you're not a confident player? Which I think we've all seen when he gets into a rut. You know, him and Nick Cassianos are cut from the same cloth. Gets into a rut, can't get out of his head. Oh, well, that's baseball. Yeah. But you know what? You're paid more than the average baseball player. You gotta be better than this. Now they won game one. But again, as I mentioned, that's they they were barely up fourth rate. You know, Christopher Sanchez, who went out there and pitched well, pitch well against pitching the way he did against the Dodgers, that's actually a good start against a team like the Dodgers. You have to be damn near perfect. We'll get to that in a minute, but you have to be damn near perfect in order to outpitch that team. Because they are designed, their philosophy is they will wear you down. They will break you. That is the that is the exact essence of that team. They know they're better than you. They're better than you, and they know it. Because eventually, you're gonna hit a point where you just hit a wall. You cannot, you cannot go and treat every single player in a lineup the same in a tradition in a typical lineup. Look at the Phillies. You don't think you can pitch Rafael Marshand differently than you can pitch Bryce Harper? You don't think you could pitch Gabriel Rinconis Jr. differently than you can pitch Kyle Schwerber? With the Dodgers, you have to give it your all every single pitch. And Sanchez gave you his best effort, but you know what? You turn it over to the bullpen, you get a couple doofus plays by Trey Turner in the field, and guess what? It's a one-run game. Good on Brandon Marsh and good on Trey Turner when he got back up to make it a five-run game. Then they had it at a six-run game when Derek Hill hit one out after Bryce Harper had hit one out a couple innings prior. But you know what happened in the ninth? Do you know what happened? The Dodgers make it a game again. It's a three-run game. And you had to bring in Johan Duran. In a game that he that he should not have ever been into. But you know what? That's what happens when you play that team. That's why it's like, and listen, you're gonna sit there and say, well, what's the point in trying? Then there's no point in trying. There's, you know, you have to try, and this, that, and the third. But that's why I just don't see any team beating the Dodgers. Not just in the National League, in the American League, too. It's probably gonna be a rematch. They're on a collision course with the Dodgers and the Yankees. All that you can hope for is that Judge will be back and Stanton will be back, and hopefully that's gonna be a fun series. But let's face it, the Dodgers are gonna win it. And I'm sorry. The Dodgers, I only know the Yankees by reputation. I only know the great Yankees teams by reputation alone. I do not know the great Yankees teams that won three in a row from 98 to 2000. Three straight World Series. That went to four straight World Series then from 98 to 01. I don't know the teams that they had in the 60s or the 70s or the 80s. I wasn't around then. I know the 09 team. And I know based off of reputation alone, America, the world, well, most of the world is Yankees fans, but America hates the Yankees. If you're not a Yankees fan, you hate the Yankees. Just the way it works. But you know what? The Dodgers are right there. And I can't stand the Dodgers. I cannot stand the Dodgers. That's what makes this whole thing so aggravating. Because you want to know why? The Phillies, right now, the way the last four seasons have gone, the Dodgers had a couple of those postseason performances from like 2017 up until 2022. Now they won the championship in 2020 because someone had to. It was a COVID shortened season. You put it, you do put an asterisk next to it. The way I describe it is 24 and 25 were more meaningful for the Dodgers. You take nothing away from the 2020 team. But in a traditional season, in 162 season, from 2017 to 2023, the Dodgers had very similar postseasons, and the way their seasons would go, they ended similarly to the way the Phillies have in the previous couple. They were the team that could just never get it done. And that's this Phillies team. I mean, who who do you sound like what does it sound like I'm describing here? I watch them every night. Now, as we move forward to Tuesday, and as I mentioned earlier, when I talk about you have to be damn near perfect to beat this team. You know what? Zach Wheeler was damn near perfect on Tuesday night. He made one mistake. And you know what? A base running blunder by the Dodgers when they got when Otani trying to get to second, and a great throw by Derek Hill nabbed him there, and then I can't remember who it was at the time, didn't run hard through home. It may have been rushing. And out at second, he didn't cross home, run doesn't count. But you know what? Dodgers ended up getting a two-run blast from Muncie. And unfortunately, the Phillies couldn't could not have an answer for that kid on the mound for the Dodgers. Just couldn't. Roblensky has the Phillies number, and that's a polite way of putting it. Okay. Now the ninth. Boom leads it off with a single. You get Justin Crawford to pinch run for him. There's one out. JT Real Muto laces a double down the left field line. Second and third, one out. Now let's set the scene here. They go out to talk to Tanner Scott. Marsh is at the plate year all-star, who's been slumping, had a homer the night before, but cameras catch Kyle Schwerber over there talking to Brandon Marsh. It looks like it's an intense conversation. Looks like it's like a, hey, I just faced the guy. This is what you need to look out for. You know, one of those, hey, it's this, this, this, and this. Now, here's the biggest thing. There were three stupid things that all happened in about a minute. Number one. Go back and watch the first pitch to Marsh. It's down the middle of the plate, not center cut, but in that lower third, and a pitch that's right in his swing path that he could drive to right center field. He hits it on the screws, he squares it up with Crawford speed. If it's a sack fly, if it's deep enough, he scores. If it's really deep enough and it's a sack fly, you know what? He scores JT to third. And then if Marsh really gets a hold of it, they're either splashing water on him at second base because he hit a walk-off two-run double, or he's rounding the bases because he just won it for the Phillies on a three-run home run. And he's getting smacked at the plate. First walk-off homer since actually Schwarber's against the Dodgers. Trivia enough if it would have happened in that situation in 23. But Marsh doesn't swing it. He takes a pass, he watches it. Next pitch, and if if you had cameras on me, I was pirouetting around there. I was spinning around going, oh my god, how'd you not swing at that pitch? The next pitch he swings at is about a foot in off the plate that he squibbles to the left side of the infield. Here's stupid number two. Justin Crawford. Oh, he's going on contact. Oh, but wait, we had the contact play on, but no, he paused, he hesitated before he went. Why? If the contact plays on, you go! Maybe you get caught in a rundown, maybe you don't. But maybe if you got caught in the rundown, it wouldn't have mattered because stupid number three, JT Riomuto, one of the smarter base runners on the team, goes to third and then. Oh, you know what? I'm gonna go back to second! He's clearly gonna come back to third safe. Let me abandon the play and go back to second! This isn't spring training! This isn't April! It's July 21st against the Dodgers! And I'll tell you, that just that play in and of itself just goes, that's all you need to know. This has been their problem for so long. So long, dating back to when they got no hit in the World Series, dating back to when they threw up on themselves in 6-7 against the Diamondbacks, the Mets, Kirkering with the Dodgers last year, the bunt play in the ninth in game two. It j they just cannot help themselves against good teams. They have a huge brain fog. It's like, oh, guess what? I'm gonna make the stupid play. I don't know what to do all of a sudden. I panic. And not and and and why is Contreras not standing there going, stay at third, stay at third, the third base going stay at third. What do you do? Why is he going back to second? It's so unbelievably bad. It's so unbelievably bad. I'm gonna catch my breath. Here was Don Mattingley.

SPEAKER_06 20:06

I think for the most part, I I don't know what JC was thinking there, honestly, like because he got the third. It's really what you with contact on, you're just hoping Kral stays in it long enough to get Marsh to second and you end up in the same spot. Yeah, I'm not quite sure what he's thinking. I don't know if he thought that Kral was gonna get back or they were gonna let him get back. Um but something we you know we'll talk about. Obviously, we're we're gambling, not really gambling, but we're we're taking a shot that at pretty much anywhere but there. And if he gets in a run down, if he stays in a rundown just long enough, then we get marsh to second.

SPEAKER_03 20:44

How frustrating was it to use a really good Zach start tonight and then ended the way you did?

SPEAKER_06 20:50

I don't know about frustrating. It was a game, it was a good ball game. You know, their guy threw good, Zach threw great, you know, just one pitch, and Muncie did a nice job. I think it gets him with the cutter, the the first at bat, and then just try to go back early, just switching it up. Tried to go there early instead of late, and you know, Max did a nice job.

SPEAKER_01 21:11

I said after the game, the Phillies are about the only team that hits into a fielder's choice double play, and people are going, Oh yeah, you're smart. You think they're the only team that makes a base running mistake. Number one, it's called exaggeration. Obviously not. Obviously, they're not the only team that makes that dumb of a mistake, but let's face it, when they're going bad and when they're going up against the Dodgers or any good team, doesn't it just look like they're gonna make that dumbass of a mistake? Maybe you say to yourself, Man, if anyone's gonna do it, the Phillies will do it. They'll find a way to lose. They'll find a way to spoil the opportunity. Of winning this game because you know what? Marsh may have done that. Crawford stupidly I hate that contact play, by the way, might I say? I've seen the Orioles do it at least twice, run into and out at the plate. Why don't you wait? Why don't you wait? The infield's not in. Why not wait and see where the ball's gonna go? You should be able to tell. We played enough baseball whether or not it's coming to third. Which, if it is and you're still going, go! Go hard to the plate. Don't stop and go back. Honest to God. And then don't go back to second. And now here's JT.

SPEAKER_04 22:45

Uh yeah, it was just a bad base running play, really. We were going on um seeing it through there, and once Carl gets in the in the rundown and I'm on third base, there's no reason for me to go back to second. Um, just a lack in judgment. You know, I can't make two outs on that play, and um just gotta stay in the scoring position. It's just a lapse in judgment if a crawler could get another rundown for some reason. And the chances of that are so small you just can't take a chance at making two outs on one play. Something I could have done better was play that in my head before it happened. I think that's something on the base pass, you have to be proactive and think of those things. Um I was more just trying to get a good lead, get a good jump, and score on a base hit where I should have maybe thought through that scenario before the play even happened.

SPEAKER_01 23:25

I think high A Jersey Shore would have known what to do in that situation. And you know what? The way you ran the bases, you look like you belong in high A Jersey Shore after this week. Because now let's get to yesterday's fiasco, shall we? Couple things. Number one, Bohm hits a two-run shot out of the gate. Okay. After last night, maybe that's what the doctor ordered. Aaronola threw three innings, looked good. Fourth inning, a little hairy. Fifth inning, really hairy. Gives up the lead. Again, it's gonna, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when they get to you. And they got to Nola. They didn't get to Wheeler the night before, which as you heard Matt Engley say, oh, well, you know, it sucks, but not really. No, it sucks because of what I just said. You don't do that to a team like the Dodgers. You know what you do? You have an opportunity there, you win the game. That's what you do. But back to yesterday, Nola goes out, gave up the lead in the fifth, but you know what? Inning-ending double play gets you out of it. And when Nola's coming off the field, I saw him do something I don't typically see him do. He turned to Harper, I think it was Harper, he turned to someone on his left, he said, Hey, good job. Usually when Nola comes off, he comes off very stoic, he's very silent. Now maybe he's like, hey, I've sucked this season. You guys helped me out. It's a one-run game. I'm gonna do something I don't typically do. I'm gonna give you a void of confidence. I'm gonna try and let the guys know. Switch things up here, let the guys know that, hey, I appreciate what you just did. I appreciate what you've been doing through five. Maybe also thought, hey, I'm out of it. They got three lefties coming up. Alright, he's probably going to the pen. Now, in the home half of the fifth, De La Cruz leads it off. Brian DeLacruz. First game as a Philly. Solo Homer over the center field wall, hit off a Pajes' glove. Yeah. The Dodgers made a mistake. They did make a mistake. But you know what they did after that? They you well, what you did was you countered that mistake with another mistake of your own. Bryson Stott then hits a double. Rafael Marchand tries bunting him over to third. You know what? If that's gonna be how you're gonna bunt on a play, just don't do it. He pops out and failed, foul territory. He sent well, it was like he was having a catch with Dalton Rushing, saying, Hey, go fetch, pal. And Rushing goes out, grabs his glove, looks over at second, and Stotz dancing off second base and says, Hey, as John Boy Media, I saw this last night on social media, rushing, they read his lips. Hey, get the bleep back at second. Stott's like, What? Okay, yes, sir, Mr. Rushing. Just goes to show you how arrogant that Dodgers team is. Now, maybe, you know, I'm sure a lot of teams talk crap. I'm sure JT Rio Muto talks crap to guys at the plate. I'm sure Bryson Stott gives it to guys at second. But come on. Look at Dalton Rushing in that situation. He's going, get the bleep back there. There's one out with a runner on second. He's the go-ahead run. You know what that shows? Rushing's going, yeah. You might score here. It doesn't matter. We're going to come back and win this game anyways. And then Trey Turner gives you one of the best at bats you'll ever see. Fouls off 9-10 pitches. But then unfortunately grounds to third, and then Max Muncie goes, gets the ball, comes in, fields it, and goes, Oh my god, I can't believe Bryson Stott's running to me. You're out. Probably said, look back at the dug, looked over at the dugout, like, are these guys kidding? Probably go looking back around going, hey, how many games above 500 are these guys? These guys have a postseason spot? This uh really? Probably looking over there going, it's Tide Game of Threes, but boy tide game of three, but boys, we're gonna win this game. This team is too stupid to beat us. This team craps in their pants too many times against us. We're in their heads. They are in the Phillies' heads. That's what you come away with this. Think about it. This is now four times in a calendar year that the Phillies have made so many fundamental blunders, whether it's two guys who can run the base as well and Stott and JT, or Kirkering not knowing where to go, seeing that they got the wheel play on in game two last year, but oh, let me butt Castellanos who can't run as is, let me try and bunt him over to third. And then what happens? Last night. Yep. Dodgers took full control as they bring Nola back into the game to start the sixth. And the Dodgers take the lead back up 5-3. Muncie again. Uh Don Mattingley after the game, first on the Bryson Stopp play.

SPEAKER_06 29:06

Well, obviously we got to execute, right? And you know, Daly hits the home run, ties it up, Stott hits the double. You know, at that point we don't get the butt down, and then we have the, you know, we make the out at third where you're already in scoring position. It's not something you want to see. We didn't get hit uh after that. So I guess if you play it out, it doesn't really matter. But still it's a situation where, you know, obviously we don't want to run into an out at third base when we're in scoring position.

SPEAKER_01 29:33

I'll tell you, a lot of people are out on Don Mattingley. And I'll tell you what, I didn't think he was gonna be a miracle worker and just completely fix this team's but fix this team in a matter of, you know, months. But you know what you also come away with? Wouldn't you think that, because we've saw this happen in years past with the Phillies, wouldn't you just think, hey, we gotta hone this in on these guys during spring? We gotta get better at this stuff. I mean, these guys clearly think they're too good to be listening to a lot of these coaches, which is why I'm telling you, things have to change. Now, I don't know if you're gonna play baseball next year, but in 2028, or whenever you play, things have to change for this team. Organizationally, they have to be better at the little things. And they talk about all the time, oh, they're just better than us on the margins. Oh, we gotta clean it up. Clean it up! Don't just talk about it, be about it. Here was Dom Adingley on sticking with Aaron Knowles.

SPEAKER_06 30:36

Again, back to where our our our bullpen is tonight. We had some guys down. So situation, we know it's a tough spot, but Knowles is his pitch count's down. You know, you can choose anybody out there who's still in the sixth at that point. You feel like Knowles is gonna, you know, he had gotten Freddie out once, uh, Muncie out a couple times with the slower stuff. Yeah, it was a it was a it was a spot. So it was you could I can go left-handed there or at the bottom and and turn the corner and get back to it. So I'm trying to get through the sixth there and then kind of sets us up right.

SPEAKER_01 31:09

We have a day off today. Burn Alvarado three games in a row. I don't care. You just had the days off for the All-Star break. You were off last Friday. Sure, he pitched the two days prior. You have a pocket of lefties, and even if you don't want to go to him, bring in Tim Mesa. Like, what what are we doing here? You not want to win the game. You knew Nola was spent. He sit there speaking into the microphone, pretty confident. You know what it was? It was damned if you do, damned if you don't, practically. But you know what? I'm pretty confident Aaronola is spent. I don't know what's gonna happen if I bring someone out of the bullpen, but I'll tell you what. I'm gonna go to the guy, if it's Mesa, if it's Alvarado, preferably Mesa in that situation, I suppose. I'm gonna go to someone else and say, you know what? They had to execute. And we got a day off tomorrow. They can rest up and be ready for Friday. Which we'll get to after this, as Dom Addingley talks about his concern after the Phillies lose their second. Well, actually, the question was just preferenced your concern after losing the series to the Dodgers.

SPEAKER_06 32:33

No, nothing in this series changes our thoughts. If we play well, we're we're capable of beating anybody. So there's nothing that happened in this series that that changes my view at all.

SPEAKER_01 32:45

I'm not getting on whoever asked that question, don't mistaken me here for this. But I would have asked your concern after watching this team the last 15 days. They lost two out of three against the Royals. We came on here and said, you know what? Bad losses, series losses will happen. They gotta take it to the Reds, they gotta take it to the Tigers, they gotta come out of this nine-game road trip, six and three, and I'm feeling good. They come out of it five and four. They didn't look particularly good against a bad Reds team. They looked better Saturday and Sunday against the Tigers, but that's because you had to win that series to finish the first half on a positive note. Then you come out of the all-star break. You lay an egg last Thursday against the Mets. You beat them Saturday, great. Sunday, Alan Ron Hill looks like he needs to go back to double A. And then what do you do against the Dodgers that none of us are surprised about? You lose two out of three. The Phillies right now have, and you know what? I said it last time, they tend to be bad out of the all-star break, but this year feels different. Because of the age of this team, because of the pressure, because of the fact that you need to add at the deadline. You gotta add a reliever, you gotta add another starter, you need to add a bat. Who knows with Marshawn? Hell, we might need to add a catcher too. Throw that on the list. As Stubbs has already hit the I. Although Stubbs at this point should just be, you know, the uh the assistant to the water boy, you know, the assistant to the bat boy. Just be a coach, dude. You want to be around the guys, you like it here, you like being Mr. Good Vibes guy, okay. Be the strategical uh catcher's coach. I don't know, make something up for them. Cause at this point, real it's a waste of a roster spot. Sorry, man, if you want like being around this team, you like being around the guys, and you're okay with not playing anymore and hanging them up, be a coach. And then Marshawn gets hurt yesterday. They might need to go out again. Who knows what what they're gonna call up? But, anyways, what's ahead to end this nine-game homestand? My apologies, I thought it was a ten-game homestand when we came out of the break. Nine. You gotta face the Yankees for three games. Now the Yankees are not exactly lighting the world on fire. But you know what? I don't think it matters right now against the Philz. Yankees are two and a half games back of the rays. They hold the top wild card spot in the American League. They're four and a half games to the good. They're going. The Yankees are going to the postseason on roller skates. The Phillies need to wake up. Uh they they need to seriously wake up. Because, you know, the Diamondbacks are still there. Cardinals aren't going away. Pirates aren't Pirates aren't going away. Now the Marlins have lost nine in a row. Nationals haven't been good. The Padres are talking about selling. The Reds are out of it. So you can eliminate Padres all the way down to the Rockies, most likely eliminate the Padres as of right now. But you can also look at the division, and as the Braves just beat the Padres today, you're now four and a half games back. So while everyone was excited that, oh, we can still win the division. Two and a half games back, two games back, well now you're four and a half games back. And you're sitting there going, What the hell just happened? These guys look like they needed more than just three days off for the All-Star break. They look like they needed about a week and a half. And as you walk him in the Yankees, you'll send Jesus Lazardo to the mound Friday evening, who's nine and fourth of three four-three ERA. In two starts against the Yankees since 2023, he's given up 14 runs on 17 hits and 18 innings. He's 3-4 with a 6-1-2 ERA and 9 starts at home this year. Now in his previous two starts, they have been encouraging. The problem is what you're facing Friday night, nationally broadcast game on Apple TV, if you have such a subscription. Pretty cool. Apple TV, by the way, you get to listen to the home radio broadcast. It's the only redeeming part about having to pay to watch games about once or twice a year. Back to business, though. You're facing the guy who's probably going to win the Cy Young out of the American League, Cam Schlitler. He's 9-6 with a th 2-1-9 ERA. He's never faced the Phillies in his career. He's 7-2 with a 1-1-8 ERA and 12 starts on the road. He leads the American League in ERA, whip, and war. For pitchers, he leads in war. Nice. That's what you come away with. Good. Great. I always wanted to face Cam Schlitter after what we've been uh looking at right now with the Phillies. My dream. Um, so two-game losing streak could turn to three. But then Saturday, and here's what puzzles me. It's listed as TBD for the Phillies. This is where you have the fifth spot come back in the rotation. Could be Alan Ron Hell. Who's 0-3 with a 5-4-0 ERA and 6 starts this year, and is 0-1 with a 5-6-3 ERA and 2 starts at home. But on regular rest, wouldn't it be Christopher Sanchez? Because not only do you put your best guy out there on the mound, one of two. Because we don't want to disparage Zach Wheeler. But you also avoid pushing back the fifth spot in your rotation that we've been talking about for God knows how long, being an absolute joke. What are we doing here? Now you're going up against Ryan Weathers, who's a left-handed pitcher. So there you go. Phillies are 19-21 this year against lefties. He's 3-7 with a 4-4-OERA. He does hold a 0-2 win-loss with a 8-6-8 ERA and two starts against the Phillies in 23-25. He's 1-2 with a 4-2-3 RA and 7 starts on the road. Okay, so put your best guy out there and I don't want to say guarantee it because he's a lefty and the Phillies can't hit them. But you at the very least say, hey, we hold probably the advantage here. And then on Sunday, again on regular rest, you go to Wheeler. But right now it's listed as Sanchez, who's 12-4 with a 2-7-1 ERA. He pitched five and two-thirds of an inning against the Yankees in 24. We gave up six runs on eight hits and his lone start in his career against the Yanks. He's 8-1 with a 1-1-5 ERA at home in 12 starts. Now, might I also add, you're not going to see Aaron Judge. You're not going to see Giancarlo Stanton. You're facing a Yankees lineup that's been up and down. They've been just about from the read I've been getting from my college buddies who are Yankees fans, it's tough to watch the Yankees at the moment. Although, you know, it's tough. As I mentioned, they're going to the postseason roller skates. That's a tough watch for Yankees fans, might I say. Then you got Will Warren, who's seven and four with a four-flat ERA. He has a four-nine-one ERA in two starts against the Phillies. He pitched at Citizens Bank Park in 24, reality four runs on four hits and five and a third innings, struck out six and walked three. Now, unfortunately for the Phillies, uh, they got swept by the Yankees in 2024. So they lost that start. He's 3-2 with a 4-2-4 ERA and ten starts on the road. Now, if you're going to throw Alan Ron Hell out there, the pitching matchups are about as easy as even as you can get. And by me being a bit of a pessimist, I would sit here and say, I'm going to tell you, the Yankees are going to take two of three. With the way the Phillies are going, they're taking two of three. Not only are they going to the postseason on roller skates, they're coming out of Citizens Bank Park with another series win in their back pocket, also on roller skates. Now mind you, this would be, if they lose this series to the Yankees for the Phillies, it would be their third straight series loss, which sounds all too similar to the way they were going back in April. Which again lets you know that the holes on this team that they set up for themselves before the season even started might be too much for them to overcome at one trade deadline with a farm system that's been talked about as being ranked near the bottom of Major League Baseball. Embarrassing.