Are Philly Teams Better When Nobody Believes

Netflix managed to turn the Home Run Derby into a conspiracy theory factory, and we’re not letting it slide. We talk through the “script leak” moment, why live broadcast graphics are easier to mess up than people think, and the surprisingly heated debate over the magenta ball and whether it changed anything for the hitters. Then we bring it back to what Philly fans actually care about: Kyle Schwarber making a run, Bryce Harper looking like he didn’t want to be there, and how derby swings can mess with real-season mechanics right when the Phillies need stability most. 

From there we dig into the Phillies’ All-Star showing and the bigger baseball questions it raises. How much does J.T. Realmuto impact a pitcher like Cristopher Sanchez when he’s calling the game? Why did the National League look so flat, and what does it say about the way MLB still treats the All-Star Game compared with the Pro Bowl-style versions other leagues used to run? We also check the standings, the vibes heading into the second half, and the “underdog energy” that always seems to define Philadelphia sports. 

Then it’s deadline mode. We lay out what the Phillies need to make a real playoff run: bullpen help, rotation depth, and maybe a right-handed bat, while being honest about the farm system cost and why a rental can’t be the answer. We hit the front office decisions, the pressure of an aging core, and what “one smart move” could look like. And because it’s Philly, we round it out with LeBron-to-Sixers rumors, Flyers offer-sheet chaos, and fresh NHL signing news. Subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review, then answer this: if the Phillies get only one major trade deadline upgrade, what do you choose and who’s your target?

Transcript

Netflix All-Star Coverage Controversy

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Welcome back to another episode of Brotherly Love Sports. I am here with John Fry, and not a whole lot has happened, but also everything has happened this week. And it's primarily Phillies. It's it's the all-star break. I don't know. We we disappointed with the baseball guide said, fuck you, Phillies, you're gonna get embarrassed in your home stadium.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

I had to go back thanks to my lovely job working Monday and Tuesday night. So I didn't get to watch any of the home run derby and barely any of the all-star game until today. So disappointed in Netflix. I hate any live sporting event on Netflix. I'm gonna leave it at that. Everybody agrees it sucks. And they also leaked the script.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

So I alright. Well, well, I guess we'll just dive into that. The conspiracy right now is is it actually rigged?

SPEAKER_01 1:16

No, you honestly can't rig a home run derby.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

It's it's hard to do so. But it's I would say you can't. So, like for for everybody that out there saying that this is rigged, it's bullshit, Netflix knew, they didn't. As a guy that went to school for broadcasting, a lot of those graphics are pre-made. And you're gonna tell me that a company that does not do a whole lot of live sporting events wouldn't fuck this up. Come on. Somebody hit the wrong button.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

It's pretty simple to fuck it up in all reality. They will have, as Adam said, everybody's name and the winner on the bottom. Or it could be Netflix is just as bad as they think you are, and they waited until it was a lower number of participants than 10, and they made it and accidentally hit the button. Because I can see both happening.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Uh I'm rolling with it.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

I think the bigger controversy is the possibility that they weren't using that magenta ball at the end. Because there was what, five total home runs hit on the magenta ball? None until Schwarber in the final.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

You we even heard the audio of Schwarber telling the guy that was throwing to him, like, hey man, you grabbed the white ball.

SPEAKER_01 2:33

They they couldn't see it. I mean, it's a whole it's not a white baseball, it's white and pink magenta. It's gonna look different.

SPEAKER_00 2:42

I'm rolling with Netflix was spectacularly incompetent. But let's uh we'll move away

Derby Stars And Post-Derby Slumps

SPEAKER_00 2:51

from that. At least Schwarber got to the finals. I gotta say, I'm a little disappointed by Bryce. The the Mr. Showman himself did not come to show. He he had some energy, but uh he looked like he didn't really want to be there, I'll be honest.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

I I was just about to say the same thing. He I don't think he wanted to be there.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

I he's declined going to the home run derby in the past because I I get it. I mean, yeah, and you probably understand this too. As people that have played baseball, like doing all that swinging, and also you're changing up your mechanics so that you can launch ball meatballs that are thrown to you. Should have had Aaron Nolan, bitch. But I mean, I I get it. It's it's tough on the back. You fuck up all of your mechanics if you swing like that for an extended period of time.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

There is a slump. I would not be shocked if Schwarber or Avon Walker, any of the guys participating, kind of get into a little bit of a slump for about a week. Five games. Yeah, I I think maybe less depending on how often they're playing. I think I'm pretty sure all of them are everyday starters. I honestly couldn't tell you who was in it except for was it Contreras Walker, Ben Rice, and then I mean Harper Schwarber, of course.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

Uh Caglione was there, uh Camaro Camino. Something like that. Uh the the dude, the young kid from the Rays.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Yeah, I I again I watched it with a five-year-old this afternoon, so that's that's how much did I actually watch it?

Phillies All-Star Reps Look Rough

SPEAKER_00 4:40

All right, let's uh let's talk about how the Phillies had a handful of reps and the majority of them looked terrible. Lozardo and Duran, Duran looked good. Everybody else, uh like, are they just holding back because they know the second half of the season is coming?

SPEAKER_01 5:01

Possibly. I I think Sanchez not pitching with JT. I think that had a little bit to do with it. Um he looked good. He just couldn't get that last strike in the first inning. It's what happened.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Um, that honestly just gave me a thought. Is Sanchez as good as we think he is, or is he as good as he's gonna be because of JT?

SPEAKER_01 5:27

I think JT helps, but I think Sanchez is Sanchez.

SPEAKER_00 5:30

Okay. I I also think Sanchez is Sanchez, but I would not be surprised if you saw a rather large drop-off if JT's not behind the plate.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

I think you would see that with a lot of pitchers because of how, and that just bodes to how good JT is. I mean, every interview article I read, JT knows every single thing about every batter and doesn't forget it. He is he is a walking analytics department.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

That guy's just needs to become our bench coach.

SPEAKER_01 6:05

Yeah, I I could see him coaching.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

I think he would be a great coach, honestly.

Why MLB All-Star Still Feels Real

SPEAKER_00 6:11

All right, let's uh let's let's talk about the fact that uh the Phillies went 0 for 5 in the All-Star game with what was it, four strikeouts?

SPEAKER_01 6:21

Yeah, but the entire NL sucked.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

That's a fair assessment. Even even the guys on WIP were like, I'm like, they are more used to just stacked rosters for the All-Star game, and they looked at the NL and went, what the hell is this?

SPEAKER_01 6:37

Yeah. I mean what they had four total hits.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

I I'll be honest, I didn't watch the game.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

I had uh I think they had what they had one hit until like the seventh inning. It's the first shutout since 2013.

SPEAKER_00 6:56

I feel like as as an entire like half of the league goes, that's embarrassing. You put your alleged best guys out there, and they get shut out.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

They yeah, they get shut, but the did the AL even play that well? Cody Bellinger won the MVP for a two-run single in the first inning. It was a 4-0 game. There was a total of 27 strikeouts, 15 by the AL pitchers and 12 by the NL pitchers, so it's not really that big of a difference. The only extra base hit was Miguel Vargas's home run in the eighth inning. Look, the everything else was single.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

The only thing I will say about that is the MLB does the all-star game the right way. And what I mean by that is like you don't have guys just lobbing pitches over the plate or dudes just swinging for the fences. Like everybody's trying to perform at their best. So it's still a very competitive game, which makes it more in interesting to watch. Rather than how the NFL used to their Pro Bowl, I don't even watch their skills competition now. I like a little bit of what the NHL has done with their all-star game. Like the three-on-three hockey I find entertaining, but again, it's you know, kind of whatever guy guys aren't like smashing dudes into the boards because you want to injure somebody for the remainder of the season.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

Yeah, hockey's different in a sense that you go out there and you hit somebody wrong. Same thing with a football, like a Pro Bowl. If a guy goes out in the Pro Bowl and tears an ACL, he's done. Which he's not or basketball is just basketball. Everybody knows on this podcast, I'm not the basketball guy. Um but I think AL, I think it just bodes to baseball that it's a true all-star game because it's not a contact sport for the most part. There are parts of it hit by pitch, uh players colliding, some minor, but it's not hockey, football, or basketball. Basketball is a lot more contact than people people might want to believe. And they're not gonna try and go out there and get hurt, especially in the middle of the season.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

Still a lot of games left to play.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

That's it. The NL had three hits.

SPEAKER_00 9:20

Alright, so let's talk about the second half of the season.

Second-Half Stakes And Mattingly Effect

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Right now, the Phillies sit at 54 and 43, and they're two games behind Atlanta. Oh, and another fun fact, they're 45 and 24 since Mattingley took over.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

Which we call this. I mean, we've talked prior to even starting this podcast, you, Brett, me, the fantasy baseball group, that the second they hired him, we knew that was gonna be Topper's replacement. We just didn't know how long Topper was gonna get this season. How what what was his leash?

SPEAKER_00 9:53

I I think we were hoping that the Mattingly hire was gonna just ignite Rob and like just send us to the promised land. But obviously that didn't happen, and here we are. Either way, having Mattingley as as the guy has been a massive improvement for the team, and their playoff odds have shot through the roof.

SPEAKER_01 10:16

They're in the playoffs right now, they're plus two games up in the wild card.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Right. So, and like I I I think they're sitting at like an 86% overall to make the playoffs.

SPEAKER_01 10:26

Yeah. Yep. I mean, it was kind of weird too. It almost seemed like the the um NL East was kind of in a slump. I mean, everybody. Oh well, yeah, all right. So the last 10 games for the Braves and Phillies, 5-5. Whites uh um sorry, Whites are Nationals, Mets, 4-6. The only Miami's the only team to have a winning record in the last 10 games. They're six and four, but they also just lost three straight.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Miami's one of those sneaky competitive teams.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

They're they're in the um wild card.

SPEAKER_00 11:08

If they don't make the playoffs, they're at least gonna make it hard for everybody else.

SPEAKER_01 11:15

And in the end, all baseball fans can agree. At least we're not New York Mets fans.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

The Mets are gonna met.

SPEAKER_01 11:23

Mets are gonna. Bo Bo is absolutely walking out on his contract.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

I am rather happy we didn't get him now. He looks terrible.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

He does, he looks awful.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

I don't think he's happy to be there. I think I think he regrets his decisions.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

He went for the money.

SPEAKER_00 11:42

Oh, then I don't want him anyways, because that means he's not gonna play hard here. So let's let's talk about what the Phillies need to remain competitive and actually make a deep playoff run.

Trade Deadline Needs And Realistic Targets

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Obviously, Bullpin help and that bottom rotation starter still think they need a right-handed bat. I don't know. You don't you don't need so I you know Ruben was actually talking about this on the radio, uh, I think either this morning or yesterday. The Phillies do not have the assets to go out and acquire big name people. I mean, like you would have to give up way too much to to do it. Um and they kind of discussed trading Gage Wood, but uh I don't know, I'm torn because either he is gonna be legit or you're gonna we're gonna have another painter on our hands, and like at what point do you say, like, yes, we will trade him, but I don't you gotta make sure you get the right guy. You don't want a rental in return.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

Well, I wouldn't trade him for a rental, but when was the last time the Phillies actually had a homegrown pitcher workout?

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Cole Hammels.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 12:57

And we're going back almost 20 years-ish. Actually, we might be right around 20 years since he broke into the league.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

20 years exactly, 2006.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

Yeah. All right. So I there's a couple of guys where you don't have to necessarily submarine your organization to try and acquire.

SPEAKER_01 13:20

Who's on your mind?

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Lucas Erseg on the Royals.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

He is a viable option for a you know, seventh, eighth, ninth at times if Duran were were unavailable. He he's that kind of pitcher where I don't think you have to sink too much in to get him. I still like Taylor Ward. The guy's hitting 255, six home runs. I think he's got like 25-ish RBIs on the season. He's not doing anything spectacular, but what I think he does is help balance out your lineup. So you look at like some of the acquisitions the Phillies had on their more competitive teams, like when they got Matt Stairs or Joe Blanton, those were rather cheap dudes that they held on to for a while, and they were the pretty much the missing pieces. Like Stairs contributed, I think, a lot more to that 08 World Series title than I think people realize. And it wasn't a lot, but it was enough. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 14:21

I will still, every now and again, go back and watch Joe Buck call the deep into the night, uh Matt Stairs home run.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

What a memory.

SPEAKER_01 14:33

At Dodger Stadium.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

And that's all we wanted him to do, and he provided that. And Blanton gave us that bottom of the rotation consistency that we needed. He wasn't great, but he was good enough.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Correct. They haven't had I mean, Bader was good last year, but didn't put us over the hill. Derrick Hill's showing flashes that are reminiscing of Bader, but he's with the team a little longer. It's the production of the team in general in the last couple of playoffs, have just it they just disappeared.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

It is all of them. It it's weird to see how from 22 we went to the World Series on a team that wasn't even supposed to get there, and they have just steadily declined.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

It's it's I'm gonna stumble over my words a little more tonight. I think Philly just can't be the favorite. We were the underdogs for the world uh the world series to even make the playoffs. The Flyers were underdogs to make the playoffs at all, and then wound up beating the Penguins. Phillies again were favorites and disappeared. They weren't favorited in the in the World Series. I think Houston actually had a favorite, but not by much. The odds weren't that bad. The Eagles, same thing. The whole underdog story.

SPEAKER_00 16:14

That's the whole mantra of Philadelphia is we are the underdogs. Now, I'm not saying like we we don't want to remain competitive, and I would love for any one of the teams to be the favorite and then go win it all. But that doesn't always happen. And it's I don't I it's almost like the players get more energized when they are the underdog because we have a chip on our shoulder and we got something to prove.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

And I don't know. I mean, the diamondbacks are slumping, so they're probably gonna look to offload. It's just who do you bring somebody in like Corbin Burns?

SPEAKER_00 16:49

Is he still hurt?

SPEAKER_01 16:51

He went under John, uh, under Tommy John last year, and he should be available to throw towards early August.

SPEAKER_00 16:59

He is an interesting option. My hesitation is because of the injury, he hasn't thrown, he hasn't pitched in a game yet this year, but he would be potentially cheap enough. See, I I think Arizona still likes him too much that if they were willing to give him up, they're gonna ask for more than what specifically the Phillies would want to give up.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

Yeah, they're gonna want to haul. It's just like the people thinking that we're gonna get Scoobyl from Detroit or I am out there. Or even people like we could still go get Mason Miller and he could be the eighth-inning guy.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

You're not gonna get Miller. He's one of the best closers in the game right now. You're not gonna get Scuble without trading probably both Painter for you know the bag of donuts he's fucking worth right now, and wood. And some other key pieces that I'm that I'm not even gonna bother touching on because it the the deal wouldn't make sense. You would have to make that trade and somewhere in there have a clause that ensures Scoobyl wants to sign with us for like the next five to six years.

SPEAKER_01 18:09

And again, it goes back to the fact that I would sell the farm, but it can't be for a rental.

SPEAKER_00 18:15

The the guy you get either has to cost you very little, or if he cost you a lot, you need to be able to control him for the next I would say at least four to five years, at the minimum.

SPEAKER_01 18:29

Here's one from uh the interwebs not pitching, but it's a right-handed bat out of on the LA Angels. Joe Adele.

SPEAKER_00 18:45

I think he's worth too much.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

He's currently 13 hemruns, 53 RBI, he's hitting 245, just under 300 OBP, and an OPS is 686. I again it's gonna come down to who's available and what they're willing to give up. And we don't make those decisions.

SPEAKER_00 19:08

But it it's well post the GoFundMe tonight, we're taking over all the sports teams in Philly.

Bad Contracts And A Closing Window

SPEAKER_01 19:13

It doesn't also seem like Dombrowski and Middleton really want that trophy. There hasn't been that splashy signing.

SPEAKER_00 19:26

So I will give more credit to Middleton because he's come out and said, like, you know, check checkbook is open. But Dombrowski hasn't spent the money wisely.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

He has not.

SPEAKER_00 19:37

He has given out so so many bad contracts. And right now, Turner looks like one of the worst contracts in our lifetime.

SPEAKER_01 19:47

Uh that it's going to go down as one of the worst uh contracts in Philadelphia sports history. If you haven't uh checked out the Brotherhood Love Sports Facebook page, let us know who you think it is, and we will talk on it in a future episode. It's already post up. I think it's been up for a week.

SPEAKER_00 20:09

Uh yeah. Uh tomorrow. It's been up for probably longer.

SPEAKER_01 20:19

I don't know what they can do. I don't know. Well, I know what they can do. They can go out, sell the farm, sign anybody they want, open checkbook. Obviously, things are gonna change with the CBA next year. So it's gonna look a little different. But the window's closing fast. You have Harper, Schwarber, Wheeler, Turner, Romeuto, Arnold, all 33 or older. The window is closing.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

Well, as we so enjoy saying in the city, there's always next year.

SPEAKER_01 20:52

Oh, we might have some breaking news here.

LeBron Rumors And Philly Expectations

SPEAKER_00 20:55

Uh-oh. What are you what are you finding out?

SPEAKER_01 20:58

Um scrolling through Twitter right now, and there are a lot, a lot of rumors that LeBron James is close to signing with the Sixers. And I'm going 15 minutes ago.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

Uh all right. Well, you know what?

SPEAKER_01 21:14

We will touch on that next week.

SPEAKER_00 21:19

I was gonna say how the Sixers, like they're between the players and the staff, have reached out to LeBron and his agent multiple times trying to just court him into coming here. And the question was gonna be like, is it gonna be one of their better moves, or is it gonna be the I don't know, the most expensive, you know, group chat retirement in NBA history? Look, so okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

Uh we're we're we're Philadelphia sports fans, we should just expect to be disappointed.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

By specifically the The Sixers, yes. Let me put it to you this way. My old man and I were talking about the Phillies and something that they need, and everybody knows that we need an outfielder and we need a right bat. So maybe a month or two ago, people were talking about okay, well, what about getting uh oh god, dude from the Angels, local kid, center fielder.

SPEAKER_01 22:25

The one that we traded back to on?

SPEAKER_00 22:27

No, he grew up in Jersey and he shows up at all the Eagles games in the offseason.

SPEAKER_01 22:31

Oh, Mike Trail.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

I thought you were talking about more of like a rookie.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

No, no, no, no, no. Uh maybe I've had too much to drink tonight, or I've been working toward. Maybe a combination of the two. I don't know. People were trying to speak into existence, essentially getting trout because the Angels are going nowhere. He's locked up for several more years. But to my old man's credit, he thinks that Trout would never come here. Here's why. He's an older player, and if he doesn't perform the way we've seen him perform in Anaheim, LA, he is gonna get booed to holy hell. And his legacy would be tarnished coming here, honestly.

SPEAKER_01 23:22

You think tarnished?

SPEAKER_00 23:24

With us, with with the with the Philly Faithful, yeah. You're not gonna remember him for all the things he did for the Angels. You're gonna like us as fans, we are going to crucify him if he doesn't come up here and live live up to the hype. And I think you could say the same thing about LeBron. If LeBron wants a ring, the Sixers have a roster now, like since they got Jalen Brown that could potentially do that. And adding him into the mix, okay, like you could have a legitimate shot. Or you just signed the most expensive 42-year-old on the court who's probably gonna blow out a knee or an Achilles in his first 10 games, and we're all gonna be like, well, this was fucking stupid. Why did you decide to sign a 40-plus year old vet?

SPEAKER_01 24:14

It's also just Philly's luck, and it's not gonna happen on the court. It would be some freak accident where he gets like T-boned by a cab on a way to the on the way to his first game.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

No, it's because he's fucking 42 and he's gonna trip going up the stairs. I mean, it's not like he's out of shape 42. I know he's not out of shape, but like we both know things happen. All you're doing, if you sign him and he doesn't perform, all you did was sell tickets. And I feel like that's been the monster of the Sixers, it's just sell tickets. Because they haven't done jack shit that makes them a competitive team. Yeah, you hadn't beat. Maxie's turned out okay, but every other draft pick you've made has either been a bust or you fucking traded them too soon and they've had success elsewhere. Or you didn't you didn't even target them at all. I know you're not the basketball guy. I get a little more passionate because I do love basketball more college than anything, but also the fuck.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

It's the uh it's the Sixers' front office is the worst front office in Philly sports, right? Like we can agree on that.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

Oh, yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_01 25:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

I I I do I will say I do like their new GM.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

I I think, I mean, he's obviously GM tied to LeBron, like they're like friends.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

Even if they are, and maybe that plays in our in our favor of getting LeBron, but signing a big name does not always produce resorts on resorts, results on the court, the field, the ice. It does doesn't matter what the sports team is. You like they got an expectation. They got Paul last what last year, two years ago, whatever the fuck it was. Sign him to a big, big contract, and what did we get out of him? A season and a half because he decided to he had to do drugs to stay competitive, and he wasn't even that great while he was here.

SPEAKER_01 26:12

Okay, I'm not the basketball guy, but you are correct. From what I remember watching ESPN and listening to my talk radio, the Sixers front office sucks. It's that simple.

SPEAKER_00 26:24

They could be so much better. Honestly, I I think Howie just needs to take over all GM positions for all teams. I know that's not physically possible, but wouldn't it be nice to have a Howie like in every GM position amount of Adderall he would have to take. I will say though, I'm I'm happy with how Breer is so far handled this offseason.

Flyers Momentum Offer Sheets And Signings

SPEAKER_01 26:50

I agree. I they just today was the um game one announcement. The uh the Flyers will be opening the season at home 7 30 p.m. on September 30th against Sydney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tomorrow, the rest of the schedule gets released. So I'm pretty cool with that. Home openers were announced. Um you got uh Gavin McKinnon is gonna make his debut. Um Boston Rangers, Vegas, Blackhawks, you got Kings and Avalanche. So the NHL did a good job there. Back to the Flyers. I think Danny did a absolutely phenomenal job with the offer sheet.

SPEAKER_00 27:48

He put the league on notice for that.

SPEAKER_01 27:51

I and then on spit and chicklets, uh Keith Yandel said he's hearing rumors that Cutter is already saying he won't take a penny less than what Carlson got.

SPEAKER_00 28:02

Oh, he Rear completely pigeonholed Anaheim into like they're not gonna be able to pay players now.

SPEAKER_01 28:10

Correct. 30% of the cap can only go to one player.

SPEAKER_00 28:15

Yeah, well, Cutter might want to try to find a new home. Yeah, go play for Arizona, you fuck.

SPEAKER_01 28:23

I know Bettman wants the team in Arizona again. But uh Danny absolutely put them on blast, and it's it's nice to see. That's nice to see that it doesn't feel like there's somebody in the Flyers for an office that just doesn't care. Comcast. So I think the Flyers are on probably the best upward trajectory. Obviously, the Eagles are the Eagles. Again, it's recording this July 15th, not much Eagles talk. Lull in the Philly sports action. We got about a month until football. Sixers are signing. The only team playing is the Phillies. So we're all hyper focused now on the Phillies. The World Cup, the team USA is out, so we can't even distract ourselves by bad baseball with soccer that I still don't understand off sides.

SPEAKER_00 29:12

Yeah, I uh I just I I can't get into soccer.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

I watched the team USA games, they were exciting, but I'm like, everything exciting that happened offsides is always the first thing called. I'm like, I don't I don't understand. I just don't get it. I do understand the rule. I understand you can't go past the defensive the last defender. Goalie doesn't count until the ball passes M. Give it like a step or two. Don't have to you don't have to bring NASA into it to figure out that he was an inch and a half. Straw string of his pants were off sides.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Maybe one day I'll understand it, but I'll probably be dead 20 years before I do.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

That sounds about right. I watched soccer again in the four years. Probably the next time I watch a soccer game.

SPEAKER_00 30:03

Well, here's a bit of breaking news. Flyers just signed Ziegers to a four-year 9.125 million. That's a pretty good contract. That's team friendly. Yeah. Yeah. That that news just broke uh via ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

SPEAKER_01 30:19

Yeah. See her on Twitter now. Hell yeah. I like that. I like that a lot. And then there's rumors that Drysdale's gonna get some money too.

SPEAKER_00 30:30

He's a guy that they they definitely need to sign, bring back. Speaking of the Flyers, going going back to the question of the week last week was before Leo Carlson, which star defenseman did the Flyers famously sign to a 14-year $110 million offer sheet that Nashville matched?

SPEAKER_01 30:53

Shea Weber.

SPEAKER_00 30:54

It was Shea Weber. So the Leo Carlson thing is not the first time the Flyers have tried to just buy a star, and the other team said, nah, we're gonna keep him.

SPEAKER_01 31:09

Yeah, but what did the Predators do with Shea Weber?

SPEAKER_00 31:11

Nothing. They gave him the Montreal.

SPEAKER_01 31:14

Exactly gave him.

SPEAKER_00 31:16

Gave him. But such is life. Alright, let's uh let's let's do a question of the week for this week.

Question Of The Week Deadline Move

SPEAKER_00 31:26

You got one?

SPEAKER_01 31:27

I do not.

SPEAKER_00 31:28

Okay, I got one. It's a little more open-ended. But if you if you could guarantee the Phillies make only one major move at the trade deadline, would you choose a right-handed bat, a shutdown reliever, or another starting pitcher, and who would you target? I'll let you guys marinate on that one. I'll post that question tomorrow and we'll throw some comments in there and get that conversation started. Trade deadline's coming up. We're gonna be talking about this for a week or two. And even post when the Phillies do absolutely nothing.

SPEAKER_01 32:03

We are Monday, August 3rd at 6 p.m.

SPEAKER_00 32:10

So about what, two and a half, three weeks away-ish.

SPEAKER_01 32:16

Uh yeah, two and a half, three. Two Wednesdays away, and then a weekend.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

Alright. Well.

SPEAKER_01 32:24

And then we have our softball tournament that same week.

Softball Tournament Plans And Jerseys

SPEAKER_00 32:27

Yes, if you are so interested, there is a softball tournament at Fort Indiantown Gap called the Battle at the Gap, where myself, John Fry, and another buddy of ours, CJ Kraft, will be participating.

SPEAKER_01 32:44

And it is a blind draw tournament. None of us are on the same team.

SPEAKER_00 32:48

We are not. It's gonna be it's gonna be great. I can't wait.

SPEAKER_01 32:52

We have my team is the Bayside Ballers. We have picked our jerseys, and I will let them be a surprise. We are fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 33:02

We are Task Force dingers.

SPEAKER_01 33:05

The only problem is my jersey might arrive after the tournament because of Amazon's shipping expectation listed for August 11th.

SPEAKER_00 33:16

Was that a team buy, or did you like buy that individually?

SPEAKER_01 33:19

No, that was the team buy. Um we we individually bought it, but it was decided on by the team that we liked those ones the best. And it's like the I mean it's Amazon, it's a custom order, so it gave me like July uh was like July 21st to August 11th. So it gave you like a 10-day period. 11-day period. That's unfortunate. 20-day period of when it would be delivered. So we'll see.

unknown 33:54

Mr.

SPEAKER_00 33:54

Team Captain fucked you.

SPEAKER_01 33:57

He definitely forgot a player and just added them to the group chat today. We've been talking for four.

SPEAKER_00 34:04

I can't wait for it. At least we can drink.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

That's why I'm coming up there. Trying to get Carl to come up uh Friday before because it's the 8th, right?

SPEAKER_00 34:16

And I'm already off of work until September 14th, so I'll be home with a fat beard.

SPEAKER_01 34:23

Let's ride, as one great peanut would say.

Wrap-Up And Listener Challenge

SPEAKER_00 34:29

Well, my friend, I appreciate you as always coming on the show.

SPEAKER_01 34:33

Absolutely. Thanks for having me again. I always enjoy doing it.

SPEAKER_00 34:38

For all you fans out there, if you like us, send us a message, share us with another fan, argue with another fan, and we will talk to you guys next week.

SPEAKER_01 34:47

And boo those kids who can't catch fly balls coming off the bat at 115 miles an hour.