High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - High Hopes Daily, Oct 4: Bring On The New York Mets

Episode Date: October 4, 2024

Jack Fritz recaps the Mets' dramatic win over the Brewers and looks ahead to the start of the NLDS between the Phillies and their division rival. Presented by Miller Lite. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Then sit back and let your matches start the chat. Download Bumble and try it for yourself. Welcome on. And it is another edition of High Hopes Daily as we get set for Phil's Playoffs, as what is hopefully a deep deep playoffs journey and we sit here and I sit here knowing that the Phil is about to take on the Mets and tonight was shocking you know Brewers had the big home runs back-to-back and it's like all right here we go we're facing the

Brewers this is what a lot of people wanted. And then the the frickin' Mets again we don't curse on this podcast. It's a staple of the show but the frickin' Mets come back and that absolute dork. I mean just the the worst. The absolute worst. And the saw signs and the celebrations in the locker room and him trying to look so cool, oh, it's nauseating. I mean, just nauseating watching that guy play baseball. He had the big dropout. I was like, this is perfect. Last game was a med.

He's gonna go out and just, I don't know. I cannot stand him. And I just have to get a couple things off my chest here before we get into some things. I know I've been worried about the Mets and that's very obvious. I actually sit here feeling confident and I'll get more into that as we move along.

I know that might sound shocking, but I'm an emotion on my sleeve kind of guy. I go one way one day and it's kind of like a roller coaster. I think if you listen to this podcast enough, you get that. But I do feel confident and we'll get into that. But whether I feel confident or not, like this is a message to the Phillies. You can't lose to that guy. You cannot lose to that guy. You cannot lose to that guy.

You cannot lose to that fan base. You cannot lose to that city. You cannot lose in that ballpark. Like end this charade. End the charade. It's worrisome. I know. They have the look.

I said that on Tuesday, I said yesterday that's when we first started really getting into it after they beat the after they beat the Braves and they won game one out in Milwaukee it was like they have they have the look we've seen the look we were the look we saw it last year the Diamondbacks we saw it with us we saw it with the Braves in 21. We saw the Nationals in 19 These teams they just get hot and they and they go on a run and they seem unstoppable But a couple of those teams did get stopped They did get stopped and the Phillies have to be the one that stops it. This is a high-stakes series I mean a really high-stakes series Sixers Knicks last year not that high stakes. This is high stakes series. I mean a really high stakes series. Sixers-Nix last year, not that high stakes.

This is high stakes. This is Eagles Cowboys in a playoff series. There's some history here. The Mets are hot. Their fans are cocky. They're going to want to come down here and take over our stadium. That cannot happen. Absolutely cannot happen. I know this is going to be an urge to sell your tickets. Please don't do it. They're going to pay a lot of money They're gonna offer a lot of money. Even if Jerry Seinfeld says hey, I will give you the the DVD or DVD is a bit of an outdated term at this point. I will Promise you I'll record a new season of Seinfeld. You have to say no you have to say no Okay, this series now it's gonna be

to say no. Okay. This series now, it's going to be excruciating. There is no doubt about it. This is going to be an excruciating week of our lives. And I just hope that at the end of it, we can all look each other in the in the eyes, whether it goes. I mean, in a perfect world, it goes three and we take care of business. If it goes four, if it goes five, I hope that at the end of it, we can all look each other in the mirror, or in the face, and say, we went through this together, we came out tougher for it, but this is now on the Phillies. Phillies fans, I sense a lot of fear.

We'll get more into why I actually feel all right, but this overall first message out there cannot lose the series cannot the Mets are playing with house money They didn't expect to get this far. They were 11 games under 500 gee where have I heard that before? Files for never 11 games fund or 500, but they're pretty damn close They weren't supposed to be here make them Remember that they were not supposed to be here. This is a series you cannot lose. You cannot lose this series.

They are the worst. We've had the Braves thing the last two post seasons and the Braves thing fun, but we don't interact with Braves fans outside of outside of Twitter or whatever. Where again, they're stuck in 2012. We know Mets fans, I know Mets fans, you know Mets fans, they're just close enough and in 07 to 11 if you're around for it they were the most obnoxious people on planet earth. This is priority number one. I know that's not a shock on an affiliate's podcast, but priority number one for the entire country

should be knocking down and beating the Mets. I cannot freaking believe that happened. Devin Williams, I have never seen the Phillies put together a good at bat against Devin Williams. And that stupid team hits that home run that player hits that home run and they add on to it and if Jesse if Jesse Winker Does that at Citizens Bank Park? I?

You're gonna have to drag me out of the stadium. I mean it's If that hat I I'm getting mad thinking about it. I'm already mad. I'm furious. I, I, I, this is going to be an excruciating week. You want to talk about a city on edge. You want to talk about a possible tight ballpark. You want to talk about high stakes playoff baseball. That's what this week is. That's what this week is. I it's gonna be it's gonna be it could be really fun. It could be really bad. Damn it. All right. God, I'm already nervous. I mean, not to I mean, we're again, this is the the ramblings of a madman. But I'm nervous. I need to beat that team so bad. It would bring me almost as much joy

as winning a World Series is beating that team. Beating that team, silencing their fans, and I mean, making Pete Alonso, his last memory as a man, but hopefully, losing to the Phillies. So overall, now that I feel like that portion of the daily pod is out of the way, I actually feel pretty good.

I'm not nervous from the standpoint really of like, oh my God, here come the fearful meds. Listen, I think if you watch tonight and you've watched them for the last little stretch here, there's justifiable reasons to believe this could be worrisome. And we just talked about the look and we get it. But if we're just breaking this down from a pure baseball standpoint, if the Phillies play normal, if they play the way that we know that they're capable of playing, capable of playing, this really shouldn't be an issue.

You look at even the, you look at the lineup top to bottom, it's meh. Like I was, I kid you not. And I know that this, if you've again listened to me at all on WIP over the last little bit or seen the tweets, might sound like I'm lying to you, but I don't, we don't lie to the high ops listeners. We are truthful. I sat there we don't lie to the high ups listeners. We are we are truthful

I Sat there in the eighth like watching the Mets strike out and not score run again until the ninth saying Kind of use the Mets come back because I was watching them in it It just wasn't that they weren't striking the fear of God in me the biggest difference between You know this team in a team like the 19 that's or the 21 Braves. It's like those teams had Real big-time talent and nothing mess on a big-time talent like lindor's a big-time talent We know Alonso has power, but you look top to bottom and like the intro said a good year

I think the answers is gonna be a good player, but Nemo whatever I'm not a huge Nemo guy. He's sitting 224 on the year Iglesias I refuse to I refuse to to be worried about Jose Iglesias until he hits 600 this series But whatever Jesse Winker is a total dork. I mean an absolute dork Sorry March days coming back from injury. He's had a pretty good year, but still he's like 36 years old at this point Bader has been bounced around on a million teams tyrone taylor. Come on francisco alvarez I know he hit the ball like a million feet when the phillies played against them But that was a team that was held down by the brewers the affiliates pitching staff

I don't want to say they're better than the brewers starting staff 100 bullpen Probably not I would give the edge to the Brewers but similar if the Phillies pitch Well, they should be able to calm down the Mets. So I was watching the game thinking okay Wouldn't hate to see the Mets like looking at that line up top to bottom if the Phillies just do their freaking job This this won't be an issue, but we know playoff baseball, the better team doesn't always win on paper I feel good about that. The thing that I think I feel the most positive about is that Mets bullpen is Just not very good. It's as simple as that. I mean Edwin Diaz is is

Definitely looking closer to the Edwin Diaz that they traded for and pre Achilles there Edwin Diaz that they traded for in the pre Achilles there Edwin Diaz, but everyone else I mean There's no one that really worries you I mean, I feel like the Phillies have never done very well against out of you know But I'm not walking into the series worried about out of you know, they don't even probably didn't pitch the series I mean Phil Maiton is probably their second best reliever if Phil Maton's your second best reliever You got some issues

So I hope that the deficiencies that they have in the bullpen will come back to bite them that cannot be a Bullpen that goes deep into postseason like it's it defies logic it defies What winning baseball has been? That's what that that that Mets bullpen is I mean Diaz is taking down so many innings He went one and two thirds tonight Almost 40 pitches. He pitched a ton Against the Phillies in the last or you know a couple weeks ago And then he pitched a lot on Monday as well like they are running Edwin Diaz into the ground

I hope that come back comes back to bite them So you look at that and then you get to the rotation the Brewers were horrible against Jose Cantana tonight But I'm not walking into again a playoff series that worried about Jose Cantana now It seems like Tyler Phillips is gonna or time time I wish Tyler Phillips is pitching for the for the meds, but Tyler McGill is Is probably gonna start in this game on on Saturday McGill shoved against them over the weekend He's got power stuff. He went he pitched really well down in Atlanta in that game one Doesn't go super deep into games and given where the Mets bullpen is. I feel pretty good about that. But

You know, that's a game that a game one. We always knew was gonna be imperative, but it's even more imperative now to kind of nip this whole Nets thing in the bud. So man, game one just becomes more and more, more and more massive, but you look at the starting rotation and it's Quintana, it's Severino, it's David Peterson, who close out the game tonight. It's not that on paper,

and again, you can't play the games on paper. I totally understand that. But I think a part of why, Sean Manaya who I will always just think about the Padres game where they came back again. So he's been really good. He went to drive lines up to 95. He's had a great year.

But again, it's not some unbelievable staff. If the Phillies just play their game They won't have an issue here The problem is is that we just saw them go to New York in one of these series where the Mets were playing for their They're playoff lives and the Phillies were chasing all over the place. They were they were Chasing out of the zone. They were the fastballs up. They were going after they were expanding the strike zone and The Mets have guys with power stuff to where they can do that against you.

But again, games are not played on paper. But on paper, this should not be too much of an issue. It should be fills in four. Clenching up there would be so freaking sweet. It just comes down to, and I think the more and more we get through this It comes down to I think a lot of people have no idea what we're gonna see out of this team on Saturday and Sunday Because it's been a long time since we've seen them. We know that they had the

The bye and we've seen teams struggle to to get up after being on a buy. I just, I think part of the trepidation about where we're at with this Phillies team is we've seen the Mets play now for a couple of days here. We have not seen the Phillies play. But if the Phillies just come out and play the way that they can and the way that they should play, this again should not be much of an issue. The Mets have the look.

That's been the biggest thing that I've been Worried about is they have that That oh my god There's the the team that was under 500 and they got hot and they rode it all the way to the World Series kind Of feel to them but watching tonight. I left feeling more like okay, they can do this like I I Didn't have this well, look at the lineup Look how they just under achieved all year and now they got all these superstars that are hot at the right time. Don't feel that.

Starting staff, don't feel like that's too big of an issue. And bullpen wise, that bullpen stinks. It really does. I mean that's a bad, that cannot be a bullpen that is going on a run. So it could be the famous last words, no doubt about it. This could be clipped in and shared. And it's nerve wracking to even put it in the universe. But I'm confident in the Fills. I feel good about where this team is at. Watching them at tonight wasn't super afraid. And I actually, if you wanna start looking at this

as a glass half full kind of capacity, I think the Phillies watched the game tonight and they're gonna be an extra level of locked in. Brewers win, might be a little bit of a emotional letdown. Mets win in that kind of fashion, seeing them celebrate the way they did. The Phillies know, they know that they have to show up prepared for a war, for battle.

Because that Mets team is not afraid. If there's one thing that I do worry about with the Mets, with all these comebacks that keep happening, with what happened in Atlanta on Monday, with what happened tonight, what happened in game one of the series, is that they never believe they're out of a baseball game. They never believe they're out of a baseball game. So the Phil's gotta play a full nine. You have to play a full nine against this Mets team because with the amount of comeback wins that they've had,

the more and more the belief starts to creep in, saying we can do this, we can come back, we've done it before. They have to squash that. They have to squash that. But I do think them seeing the Mets win the way they do with the way they did, I think it's going to have them even more locked in knowing the ramifications of a loss. So I, if you're looking for a glass half full, if you do truly trust this baseball team, I think with the way the Mets won and the Phillies obviously

watching that game tonight, they're going to be locked in. So that's part of the reason why I feel pretty good tonight. And a couple of other things that I want to get to before getting on out of here. Now that they play the Mets and now that you know what City Field could be like and what the road atmosphere is, I think it becomes more and more evident that they should start Chris Sanchez at home. They need to start Chris Sanchez at home. It's a place he feels more comfortable.

I don't need him going on the road to, to that kind of ballpark. Again, credits to the Mets, city field that Sunday night felt like a playoff game, it felt big and it was a regular season game, so it has a similar CBP kind of vibe to it. I mean, in 2015, it was, it was really, really fun. It was really good to watch, you know, as, as the Phillies were horrible, you know, seeing that crowd be, be as into it as they were. Like, City Field is, is, is, is a, is going to be a home field advantage for the Mets. The Phillies again, they are 10 and 21 there in the last four

seasons. So it's not exactly a place they played very well. And I don't need Christopher Sanchez in his first, again, big marquee start being thrown into a Hornets nest like that. I hope that that's a spot for Knowles who I trust to go into the city field and not be Super rattled. Listen, I know that his roadie arrays is 3.8. It's not like there's it's not like he's been lights out on the road, but I trust Aaron from the standpoint of ice in his veins not going to be too overwhelmed by the moment whereas I don't know that with Sanchez and Especially if you want to factor in Ranger in game four, which we don't know what we're getting Using a lot of the bullpen guys in game two to Hopefully already be up 1o and then go for a potential

kill shot and go up to oh use a lot of bullpen guys be aggressive so you can manage the the ranger start whatever happens with Nola in game three imperative so now that's the mess I want to make sure that Chris Sanchez is is starting at home and the way that Rob Thompson has talked about it it sure seems like that's going home and the way that Rob Thompson has talked about it It sure seems like that's gonna be the case. I mean he was talked a lot about road split home road splits He's talked about breaking up the the righty lefty or breaking up the righties with the lefty in there I see his his point on that. I don't think it's as important as people make it out to be but it's definitely something to think about even though Nolan Wheeler about his opposite of right-hand starters as you can be, but it's here. It is 100% here.

The Phils Mets, for the first time in each of our franchise's respective history, are going to meet up in the postseason. And given how Mets fans feel about their team, given how we feel about the Phillies, I mean, this is going to be, like I've said multiple times throughout the podcast, it's gonna be excruciating, it's gonna be exhilarating. You're gonna wanna talk so much trash if you win a ball game. Again, until the job's finished, I'm not getting cocky.

That is a good Mets team. They fight, they scratch, they claw, they never feel like they're dead. But if the Fills show up and they do their jobs, they don't chase, they don't strike out a million times like they did in the Mets series a week and a half, two weeks ago, and they play their game, and they look locked in, and they come out

and play the way that they know they can, it should not be that much of an issue. You look top to bottom, this is a series you have to win. You have home field, you have game five on your field, a split would not love, I would love to go up two oh, obviously, split makes the Mets feel like they came down here and accomplished something. Obviously going up 2-0 would not be the end of a series,

but I think you would have a stranglehold on it. Man, the nerves are rationing back up, but I kid you not, I was watching them tonight and there's a part of me that wanted them to come back because you look at them and they're just not that good. Could be my famous last words, famous final words, but that's what I felt tonight. They're just not that good.

Are they resilient? Are they tough? Do they scratch and claw? 100%, but they're just not that good. And if that bullpen is good enough to go on a run I'm gonna be sick to my stomach. I'm just gonna be Absolutely beside myself if that bullpen is good enough to go on a run, which means they're probably gonna shove against the Phillies I need to stop talking. Thanks for checking out another edition of high hopes daily. I Probably won't record one tomorrow night,

maybe Saturday morning, but either way, me and Seltzer and Giglio and I think Ike's gonna stop by, Devon Kaney will all be at CBP, so outside section 126. So come hang out. If you missed any of the, we had a lot of interesting stuff on the station today. Jon Minilton, I thought he was fascinating and it makes you really wanna win a World Series for him.

And then we had Bryce Harper on the afternoon show and Bryce is phenomenal. So if you missed any of that stuff, go to our podcast feeds on WIP Afternoons and WIP Morning Show to listen to all that. But as always, we're here. It's playoff season. Buckle up.

It's gonna be a, it's gonna be a excruciating, intense, hopefully fun and enjoyable week of baseball. But thanks to everyone that checked out the pod and we'll be back soon here on another edition of High Hopes Daily. What's better than watching your team win, winning money while you do it. I'm Jim Costa and I cash the ticket.

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