NL East Champions! Aaron Nola and the Philadelphia Phillies clinch their first division title since 2011. Up next, locking in a first round bye. Jim Salisbury joins Renee Washington, Jamie Lynch, and Tyler Zulli to recap the series opening win , division title, and other MLB updates.
PHLY Philadelphia Phillies Podcast
NL East Champions! Aaron Nola, Phillies clinch first division title since 2011
It's been 13 years, but the weight is over. The Phillies are the NLE's champions. Another box checked off now seeking that number one seed and welcome into PHOI Phillies podcast, written by Bette 365. You can download the Bette 365 app and use code PHOI365 when you sign up. Whatever the moment, it's never ordinary at Bette 365. Happy Tuesday. Welcome in. We've got Tyler Zulie, Jamie Lynch, myself, Renee Washington, Jim Salisbury will be joining us at 11.30. As we take a look around the playoff picture now, looking back at last night's win, talking about some of the key moments that helped the Phillies be able to knock off the Cubs and lack in the NLE's championship. And then, of course, guys, we're watching around the league. What's going on? So first things first, as we had a chance to sleep on it, I know yesterday in our post-game show and shout out to everybody that tuned in to our post-game show as we had a chance to live react to the division championship, the clubhouse party, the champagne and beer flowing, the kids on the field, all the babies, all the cute babies. Guys, I don't know about you, but I had a chance to sleep on it. And I had a whole refresh thinking when I woke up today of not only am I excited, but when I realized where life was 13 years ago and how much has actually changed, I had just turned 18 at that time. I was barely legal, Renee, just voting for the first time out in these streets as a as a new adult. And same same for me. Totally, totally, totally well, you had the celebrate a 10 year anniversary. Yeah, 13 years ago, we weren't even married. Well, we were we've been together 19. But yeah, it's our 10 year anniversary on Friday, which is crazy. I saw a clip. Our man, David Grisbowski was circulating from six ABC last night to that point where the guy was like, I've had a wedding, a divorce and two kids since the last sign, the Phillies won the division. So, when you say it like that, I did start thinking in bed last night. I was like, wow, I've only had Skylar just about six years. That's half the time it's been since the Phillies last one. It's that's crazy. So like the longevity of it did kind of hit me because when you make the playoffs and do what you've done the last two years, yeah, you don't really think about it. It doesn't really register because it's like, you know, division crowds are nice, but World Series runs are better. So you didn't really register that it was been 13. It's been 13. It's been five years. Well, I saw a video and my apologies for the person whose name I'm the their hand on for getting right now. And they posted a video of all that's changed since the Phillies won last on the NL East. And it was things like obviously we the Eagles Super Bowl, but it was it was showing even the age of certain players like Joellen Bead and Tyrese Maxi, like how young they were 13 years ago. It was talking about all that's changed in history, you know, we had almost Tyrese. He's just turned 20. He was like three. He was literally, yeah, he was like 10, nine, 10 years old. Oh my God. And then it was even showing, of course, on the political side, all the presidents we've had since then Barack Obama's term and Donald Trump. And it was just going through all that's happened just in life, but also in Philly sports history in the last 13 years. And it did dawn on me. We've seen a lot of things in that time. I don't even like phones. It was like the iPhone four at that time. I think we might have still even been just coming out of like, iPads, like, I don't know. Go ahead. Guess what gas was a gallon in 2011? Um, well, I, oh, I do. I feel like, so this is kind of shocks me a little bit. At this time, I was a, I was just getting my license. I had my license for like a year at this point. And I was able to fill up my tank. I totally just had my license for a year. I was able to fill up my tank on like 20 bucks. So I feel like, hold on. I remember gas being stupid expensive when we were in high school, right? I think it was like upwards of high school. I think it was like upwards of four dollars a gallon. Yes. Right now. Currently in some locations is cheaper than gas in 2011. Oh, no, it was because I remember like, it went to my seven dollar an hour job. Like, here's national average was three 51 a gallon in 20. Okay. So I looked that up because that's usually like, it's so much more expensive now. You can look up, you know, if you looked up grocery store prices, like gallon of milk and dozen eggs and stuff, that's probably where you're blown away. But it has been a long time, but gas actually is cheaper. Wow. Okay. Never mind. Yeah, three 51 a gallon. Ouch. Yeah, that's wild. I really feel like I was, I was filling up my gas tank for a cheap amount. I saw three or one the other day. Maybe it was pretty exciting. I think it was in the twos in Jersey. Yeah. That's how we do in Jersey. Yeah. Yeah. A lot has changed in life since 2011. So many things have gone on. And if you like wanted to take that trip down memory lane, I highly recommend you do a little quick Google search of like, what was popular music, movies, things that came out in that time. So much of the iPhone four S cost in 2011. Oh, you're going down this rabbit hole for a show a little bit. How much it cost? I mean, this is just according to a quick Google AI search. Said starting price was $200. I actually was going to guess to something that now they're pretty much a thousand. I think they're back down at like 900 or eight. Yeah, because they come out with the new one. Every single year. I was like, free. I was basically three. It was. And we were still doing payment plans. And I would have paid for that all. And at this point, I would love that. So when I, when I took that look at it of all the things that changed, and I was kind of like, oh, shoot, I was even I was living in rock where we were personally, but where we were like a society. I hadn't even moved in with my wife yet. I don't think I think we did. Yeah, I still be looking at home with my parents again. I was in my first semester of college, I guess, at this specific specific spot. David and I were classmates. He was like, yeah, man, Chris, we're a calm class majors together. So a lot of change. And that also made me even more excited to think about how much we need to appreciate this moment. I know we all have the world series. First of all, the next step is, as we know, locking in that top seed, getting that first run by, but also the world series. So the feelings are not done yet, but it is good to take this moment to just kind of reflect back on where we were. I know you guys, Frank, you're saying it's been so long. You got married and had four kids. And last night, you finally got to watch them win the division with your 10 year old son. Oh, I love that, Frank. Also, Greg, K red, Steven, what's up guys? Yeah, just can just take that trip down memory lane, it makes you appreciate it so much more when we are celebrating the excitement. But also, big parts to celebrate the excitement were just the fact that you got some major moments out of last night's game. I know we had talked about this yesterday, but for anybody that missed it, the incredible history that we saw, it started with Aaron Nola, who has been a part of so many major, major moments for the Phillies in terms of his time here as long as tenured Philly. He has now since 2022 started seven games. I know Jamie read, read the start off yesterday. Since 2022, Aaron Nola has started seven games. The Phillies could either clench a postseason berth, clench a postseason series, or clench a division title. And in that stretch, he's posted a 162 ERA with eight earned runs, 44 and a third innings pitched with 46 strikeouts against seven walks, which is a 6.57 strikeout to walk ratio across those seven games. Aaron Nola, as much as you want to talk about and criticize him at times when it comes to big moments, clenching moments, Aaron Nola has continued to be phenomenal. He came into yesterday at that three, five, four ERA and 12 and eight record on the season through 31 starts. We've seen the ups and downs of Aaron Nola not just this season, but also in his career here. But it was another reminder of when you need to rely on someone in a big moment. Aaron Nola still is your number two guy. He still is the one that can help you clench. You can still lock in big moments. And I was thrilled to see him be able to leave the mound yesterday in contrast to last September when he left and had a tear in his eye and the dugout, which still is rent free in my head to be able to leave the mound yesterday with the tip of the cap, feeling good, feeling like he set his team up to win the NL East in that moment. Big game, Nola, as everybody's always called him, right? Look, Aaron Nola's a really, really good pitcher that gets discredited probably by his own fan base more than he should. It's unfortunate. He's just one of those. Ruben was talking about it last night. Like he's almost pulseless out on the mound, but that's a good thing. And it shows you in these big game situations. It's kind of like, I'm not comparing the players, but Eli Manning to me, we got in a really interesting Hall of Fame discussion about Eli Manning on our discord channel here at PHL Y the other day. And I, and I raised this point about Eli. And it's the same thing that Nola has where the game isn't too big for them. Like they're kind of good in the biggest spots because they have that inner stability and their blood pressure doesn't rise and they don't feel the anxiety of the big moments. Now it would be great for Aaron Nola to go out there and get two World Series titles and MVPs like Eli did, but they have that kind of stableness to them between the ears and in their bodies. And I think it's what, you know, shows you in those big game situations, those closed out spots. Aaron Nola's numbers are tremendous. So he's a really good pitcher. He's polarizing because he isn't like, you know, eccentric or loud or, you know, he's always just the same. And that's a really good trait to have and as, as an athlete. So it's probably why he's polarizing. Some people still will never admit that he's good. I've had this debate many, many years going back to my time on sports radio. He gets over hated on and it's fine. He is what he is, the durability and the contract he signed. You know, our, our great moves for this organization. Now you need to carry these two starts into the postseason. And, you know, the Phillies have a great shot here. Yeah, I like that comparison to Eli Manning. I don't notice what's going on around me. I'm just in my like, and you know what, Eli Manning is that guy in general. Like I had a chance to chat with him and he was with his kids and I was just watching his interaction with them and his kids were all firing and dad dad dad dad and they were talking to him like he was just Joe Schmoe like dad, give me this dad and like, do you know your dad? He was just so calm. He's like, all right, I'll get you whatever, whatever you need. I'm like, gosh, you are exactly the same type of personality off the field as you were on. I think he'll be a chill father. He's annoying because kids, dad, watch me dad, watch me dad, give me a sack. Like to me, it just reverberates around my head with him. I feel like he's just like, Oh, yeah, he's like, okay, what would you like? Would you like it? And I'm like, wow, Eli, you're so cool. You're so down to earth, but that down to earth. Didn't think we'd see Eli Manning, Aaron Ola comparison here. I know, right? I'm glad you bring that up. It's a really good point because for for a lot of fans, they just want the player to be that rah, rah, like where your emotions on your chest and always have no poker face, always be fiery and then always be upset and Aaron Ola much like Eli Manning and there are others you can think of that they never change the demeanor. They're always the same. Like don't get high. I don't feel they don't change at all. Roy holiday was like that, but in a much more intense way. Yeah. Yeah. Nola has it in just that kind of laid back. And it gets perceived as not caring. Yeah. And that's what like a lot of people I know, Steve, you're saying a lot of people wanted Nola gone. I think a lot of people were kind of fed up with him because you have the rap for fourth inning and it just goes walking off. The grass is not always greener people. You need a picture that's you need in big moments, you need guys that aren't going to get caught up in the moment that are going to be able to just handle the pressure. You have, you know, 44,000 people like I know Matt Strom is even saying yesterday, Hey, we're just like 12 year olds playing literally. And it's like, wait a minute, there's this is not the same actually at all. But for them, when you have these guys that can handle the pressure of all the noise, all the excitement, big moments and look at it as it's just me and my friends, me and my buddies playing baseball at the end of the day. I think that does help tremendously in these moments from the kind of shining through him. Yeah. Yeah, Aaron Ola. Very cool. He's had all these close out moments there for him. Definitely. And last night, you know, Renee, I'm sitting there and I'm like, try not to drink beers on on a Monday night. But the Phillies went out and went one a division title. And I had Miller lights like 12 feet away from me in my fridge. And I couldn't help but want a Miller light because the Phillies are NLE division champs. And Miller light is the champs of light beer. They have been since 1975. And to this day, they're still the best one. Why? It's simple because Miller light keeps it simple. They hold on to what matters most and gets rid of everything else you don't need. It's a light beer that just tastes like beers should taste. What a novel idea, right? And in 1975, they became the original and they're still the best one. 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Kyle Swarber with his 100th RBI back to back 100 RBI seasons for Swarber. He's the first to do that for the Phillies since Ryan Howard did it every year from 2006 to 2011, which is phenomenal, Ryan Howard. Yeah, it's a story. Incredible. But with that, Swarber also became just a third Phillies player since 1920 when RBI's first became official to have 100 runs, 100 RBIs, and 100 walks in back-to-back seasons. He joins Bobby Abreu who did it in 04 to 05, Mike Schmidt who did it in 76 to 77. And the last major like baseball player to do it Jose Batista 2014 and 2015. So Kyle Swarber had that moment yesterday. We saw Trey Turner have a good offensive and defensive game. Nick Castellanos was making some big plays, got his 85th RBI of the season. Everybody had their, their parts. They were able to contribute yesterday. And the one Johan Rojas big plays center field. It just felt yesterday like the atmosphere was different. I know we talked about the post game show. The buzz was different. And it was kind of like they're locking in now. Like I know we've talked about it a little bit quote after the game. He said, driving in yesterday to the stadium, I knew Nola was on the mound. And he said, baseball has a way of giving you the right guy at the right time. And he's like, and I just knew we were going to win the day because that was the guy you wanted on the mound at that, you know, at that game. You know, the longest tenured Philly. Nick Castellanos gets real romantic about baseball. I love this. But as Tyler talked about last night, I mean Nick Castellanos, like when you talk about the success of the Philly season, a guy that plays 162 that elevated his numbers from where he started to where it's at with a batting average over 250. Tyler, you can expound on it. I mean, Nick Castellanos deserves all the credit in the world. And I don't want to hear ever that his contract was a bad contract because he has, he's been a staple of right field. You might not like his play in the field. You might not like that he chases low and outside sliders. But the guy's been productive here. He's clearly loved in that locker room. He's a big part of this team's special sauce. Yeah, I mean, we talked about this plenty, right? And hold on, hold on. I was, I was going to give you a second before I said, oh, hey, Tyler, there we go. We talked about this plenty where you could pinpoint the day, right? The series against the Giants in May, he was at one point slashing 198, 264, 309. 309 slugging. Wow, was what he was at at that point. So for a guy to be able to play every day of the way, that Nick Castellanos has, he is now up to 250, 307, 418. Now the 307, right? He doesn't walk a ton. He's never going to be a walk guy. It's just not in his nature. He loves the first pitch swing. He loves to be aggressive at the plate. So you're never going to get a 350, 370 type of OBP from a guy like Nick Castellanos. But for him to be able to elevate his, his splits to 250, 307, 418. And the OPS is now at 725. The OPS in, in that series was at 573. His OPS has gone up almost 100, or over 150 points. The slugging has gone up 110 points. Everything has pointed in the right direction for Nick Castellanos to a point where I texted a buddy on ironically on Friday night, on ironic. No, I texted him no matter what that I said, unironically. I texted him and said, quote, unironically, where would this team be without Nick Castellanos this year? I know that's, that's the crazy part about all this is when you look at this season, and I know we started getting a little bit nostalgic yesterday. You guys know I'm a big nostalgia person myself. So it doesn't take much for me to get that going. This team has had so many storylines and ups and downs and contributions and very like full circle moments this season. And one of the biggest full circle moments is the fact that much like Aranola gets a lot of heat, so does Nick Castellanos. And with his start to the season in April, he was, quote unquote, the weakest Philly and was one that everybody was ready to figure out how to get rid of him, worst contract ever, DFA and trade him, get rid of him, bench him, shouldn't be an, you know, shouldn't be a starter or you need another right fielder? Well, it then very much swung that by May to the rest of the season, he has had the, he's had like double digit RBIs every month. It's been around 15, 16 RBIs per month that he's that he's had on average. He's also been the most consistent Philly. We know he's an every day or right fielder, no days off for Nick, but he's also been the one that has literally won the Phillies games. And to your point about the stats, Tyler, it backs that up that despite all the hate he's gotten, Nick Castellanos, when you look at, when we look back on this season in years to come, it's going to be a lot of underlying of how much Nick Castellanos really helped this team that we even took for granted. And not we as in the three of us, we the people took for granted as how much Nick really helped us be the best team in baseball. And so it's exciting to see that yesterday as they're celebrating, you know, I think everybody has that extra excitement in their celebration for a reason. For Nick, it's I did so much to help us get here. And he's dealt with so much from the fans and so much that he's overcome in general that I just I love to hear how he still also composed about of the the romantic side of the game and you know just the excitement and even was what he was even honest, like we would have loved to clinch in New York, he was like, this is better. This is way better. And I agree with him as much as it sucked that you dropped three games to the Mets and yada yada yada city field and NL East opponent and whatever else yesterday back at Citizens Bank Park with all your fans, all your family there. There's nothing like it. There's nothing like that. So I am so glad that the Phillies had a chance to clinch at home. I'm just glad they clench in general. Trevor Rice and I see you back in the chat too. It has been a minute. I know each champion day. Yes. I ordered my hat last night. The only place I could find it online. I was thinking about driving into rally house today. I'm not a huge division gear guy in general. I tend to wait for the bigger stuff. But I figured one hat for the Lynch house. Yeah, it's an adjustable one. It's that gray mat one they had on the field, which is pretty sweet. Yeah. I figure adding my wife will steal it. And then I also figure my daughter Skyler will steal it. Yeah. And I will be the one that wears the hat the least amount. But I was able to get one from the Lehigh Valley iron pig store. It was like the only place available. Fanatics is crashing. New era was like giving you the 404 error code. So I did order a piece of gear last night. So we'll see when it arrives. Huh, that's interesting. But apparently rally house has really good on you in February when it finally gets there. Yeah, exactly. That hat is not going to be mine. Yeah, I was and welcome to the era of now, not only sharing with your wife to sharing with your daughters. Yeah, there's like, oh, let me wear it. Yep. And you're not getting back. Haha jokes on you. Good thing is I'm too fat that they'll never like steal my hoodies and stuff. Oh, they'd have to be pretty damn big. Oh, it's so crazy because my dad has and I still am trying to figure out where they are. So I can steal that. He's got these vintage, like the old school Eagles jackets. Oh, yeah. And I'm like, I need to find that. I need to and he's got he's got them hidden for a reason. He's like, no, no. They're like the ones that they're it's just like two vintage to like where? Yeah, like they're two bitches to where and I'm like that. I can now lock box. I can now wear them as an oversized jacket, which is now a stylish thing. But we do have Jim Salisbury joining us in just a moment guys. And of course later on, we'll also get into some around the horn playoff picture things. I know in the chat you guys are talking about the magic number. There's a lot of games this week. And starting today, a lot of series that have huge playoff contention and implication. So it's exciting times. I love this time of season when you get to the chance of the best football back playoff baseball started and what makes it even better is the party locked in. Of course, you still want to get that first round by. Well, they have a 99 chance doing that. Correct. They have a 99% chance. They can honestly do it as soon as tonight, depending on what happens around around the league. And you don't have to worry about the stress of sneaking in as a wild card. But Jamie, I know you had some wild numbers, some wild things around Aranola as well as we put a bone on the NL East cohemels. Oh, I thought we are you already touched on that earlier. Oh, I didn't even met did you? Well, I thought we maybe didn't. Well, I think I got afraid to say it because I thought you had said it and I didn't want to, you know, because it's pretty good streak of not repeating things that you have. And I've impressed. So I was a little nervous because when you were doing your NOLA diet tribe, I thought I heard it. And then I registered it like, don't say it again. I'm sorry. I've triggered you. No, that's all right. I'm trying to. I was taking it up for you. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Aaron, oh, yes. Last night did pass Cole Hamels for the most wins at Citizens Bank Park history. Now it's the 20th anniversary this year, right? So, Tyler and I were talking about it, you know, like Cliffley and Cole Hamels are up there, or Cliffley and Roy Halliday are up there just because it's only 20 years of the ballpark. Brett Myers is up there. But the man with the most wins at CBP history is Aaron NOLA. Pretty cool. He's going to go down as an all-time Phillies, like great pitcher and a homegrown guy. And it's part of like why you want this team to win so bad is they're highly likable. And Aaron NOLA is a homegrown piece that's going to probably play majority of his career in a Phillies uniform. That's rare these days. So very cool stuff for him. Yeah, I love that moment. Again, because of all these little things about it. Would it be Ranger Saturday? Would it be Zach Wheeler back at City Field Redemption Sunday? It was Aaron NOLA long as tenured Philly on Monday to help them clinch the NL East. And it just is exciting because Aaron NOLA has been here for so long. 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All right. Well, as we are putting a bow on everything around last night's wing, obviously exciting times for the Phillies. Tyler, I know you're doing a million things right now, but as we are looking ahead, it's now time to start focusing on locking in that first round by locking in the top seed, getting ready for the playoffs. And so we will have everybody, Jim Southbury, joining us in a moment just to get his thoughts on the NL East, winning the NL East, the playoffs and much more, because, you know, this is that time of year guys, we're now starting to really focus on the little things, you know, making sure that the Phillies are healthy, making sure that they're playing well, making sure that, you know, all the pieces are coming together essentially either. It's not done. It's far from done. Honestly, it's about to just get tougher. Yeah. And let's go Padres. You know, we'll talk about all the scenarios coming up here, but now you got a number one seed to play for. And as much as I don't want to see Chase Field again, you know, you can't really pick who you play. You want that number one seed. You want the home field advantage of Citizens Bank Park. The, I mean, John Middleton said it last night, it might be the biggest home field advantage in sports, not even majorly baseball. And that's no BS. That's, that's legit. Their winning percentage is real there. That place is nuts. The video that the Phillies put out today with John Crock was awesome because he's showing you moments you think are like playoff atmosphere. And he's like, Oh yeah, that's the middle of April. Oh yeah, that's the first week of May. And it's wild. So that place is going to be rocking. So great job. And we'll talk to Jim about it. Because his piece is up on all PHL Y.com. But yeah, Citizens Bank Park, you want every game you can going through that place. Yeah. As Rob Thompson said, there was an opponent, a coach that mentioned a playoff game in Philly as an opponent is like four hours of hell. All right. Well, let's, let's talk about last night, first thing and recap the excitement that went down at Citizens Bank Park with our friend Jim Salisbury joining us. Jim, hello, happy Tuesday. Happy NL East championship day or whatever you want to call this day. Last night, the Phillies with a great win over the Cubs behind Aaron Nolis tremendous pitching will get into the specifics. Had a chance to lock in for the first NL East title since 2011. Jim, you've been around a lot of teams. First things first, last night's the vibes, the experience, the celebrations, you know, what are, can you put into words and describe what that moment was in your eyes? Yeah, it's like two elements to it. There's the baseball game that they needed to go out and win to clinch the NL East. It kind of had been a, we had, we'd known it was pointing this way for a while a little stumbled in New York. They're having trouble punching in from the red zone, but they came home in front of their home fans where they played great this year, played a great ball, great ball game. I mean, you know, when you win the division, you want to play a great ball game and, you know, terrific start from Aaron Nola, six innings teetered a little bit in the seventh. Strom comes in, gives him a big lift and Hoffman comes in over powers, the Cubs, Estes closes it out. So great work from the pitching staff. Big, big hits by two of this team's classiest pros and best leaders in Kyle Swarler and J.T. Real Mudo. And you know, the young guy, Johan Rojas, what a game he had with two sacrifice buns. And he was on the hitting end of a successful hit and run that sent Brandon Marsh to third base. So if Johan, and he made a great catch in center field, the Johan Rojas can contribute like that in a ball game in October, get big hits, big performances from your best pitchers. It could be awful, awful lot of fun. So the game was terrific. That element of it was terrific. And then obviously the post game celebration. And, you know, I'm a believer that you win a division, you go celebrate it because winning a division is hard. It's six months. It's 162 game grind. It's seven months when you count spring training and oh yeah, it's eight months if you count the post season. It is a grind like no other. It's a grueling test of your endurance, of your talent, your performance, of your depth in your clubhouse, your leadership, your front office, everybody, it just tests you. So they, you know, they get off to that awesome start. I had a little struggle in the in mid summer, but stay afloat. And that counts for something and then turn it on again, little blip here at the end, but then they punched it home. So, you know, you got to celebrate that thing because division titles, like I said, for those reasons I mentioned are special. It was funny. I thought this celebration was actually toned down a little bit from some of the previous ones you've seen the last two years. This was actually their eighth champagne celebration in the last two years. I don't think it's getting to be old hat because this stuff never gets old. These type of celebrations and everybody coming together to kind of salute each other on the occasion of a great accomplishment. But I just got to feel that, you know what, they, this is a goal and it was a big goal, but they have bigger, bigger champagne corks to pop along the way. And they have, you know, they've carried that resolve all season, getting knocked out by Arizona stung last year. They reported this spring training talking about it, how it was going to shape them, how it was going to shape their season and motivate them. And I don't think they have lost that. And though the division is nice, I just thought that celebration kind of told me that, yeah, this is a team that ain't going to be happy unless it's popping World Series corks. Jim, you've been around the Phillies for a long time. And last night, Aaron Nola became the winningest pitcher in Citizens Bank Park history. His numbers in these kind of clinching moments, whether it be to get in the playoffs, win a division title, wild cards, whatever it may be, are phenomenal. Talk a little bit about, I mean, Aaron Nola's going to go down as an all time Phillies great pitcher. Talk about the importance of his last two starts here, heading into the playoffs. Well, you know, they, you mentioned what he does in Clintus. He comes through in big games. The one that stands out to me and has a lot of them. But that clincher in Houston in 2022, they hadn't been to the postseason in 10 years, struggled in September, needed to beat a good team in Houston to get in. And he was out and no hits him for six and two thirds innings. And you know, last night, another occasion where he pitched great in a clinching performance. So, you know, this is the guy that pitched in front of 12,000 people as a teenager in on Friday nights at LSU. So he knows his way around for a long time around big game settings. And you're right, he's going to go down as a top five pitcher in Phillies history when it's all said and done. He's been a great one. I know he takes some, he takes some, some punches to the gut now and then because, you know, he can be susceptible to a big inning. Every pitcher has a flaw now and then but when he's on, he is awfully good. And I think we should appreciate him for what he does. Well, you know, well within his prime. In the short term, what is these last two starts to Jamie as you kind of asked? I don't know. You know, maybe it's the, the, the tipping point for Rob Thompson to say you're going to be number two in the post season behind Wheeler because I think, you know, they probably had to be discussing and maybe they still are how they're going to line up their post season rotation Wheeler, Nola, Sanchez, Suarez, or Wheeler, Sanchez, Nola because Sanchez has been so good and he pitches so well at home and you have that game two at home. So things they have to weigh. But you know, there is something to be said in a short series about trying to go for a kill early. And if Aaron Nola is going to pitch like this, maybe he's the guy who go number two, couple that with the experience he has, might be a good choice for Rob Thompson. So I'm surely going to be talking about that kind of a fascinating issue. But if Sanchez pitches the way he has been, Nola pitches the way he has been, it's, you know, it's a win-win kind of choice. Yeah, that's a great point to bring up. There's some, some tactical decision-making that can happen to your point. You just knowing a little bit more of what's an Aaron Nola's going to bring to the Mount, come post season time versus maybe still trying to figure out what Sanchez. But in terms of the offensive side, somebody that definitely has been phenomenal late, especially Kyle Swarber, you know, last night's gets his 100th RBI. We had talked about the history of back-to-back 100 RBI seasons, back-to-back seasons of 100 RBIs, 100 runs, 100 walks, which cement him in history for the Phillies and also across Major League Baseball. Huge moment last night to follow up after JT gets the two run homer for them, got to get the solo home run, really felt like that took the air out of the Cubs sales, so to speak, with that play, how big is it that last night we got the production from the top of the batting order, something we've been talking a lot about when you get JT, Kyle, Trey, Nick, you know, all the way through Bryce that are contributing at this win of September to really be able to put the pieces together just in time for the postseason around the corner. Yeah, it was huge. I mean, Swarber has been just, he's had a great season. I mean, you can debate who this team's MVP is, maybe him, maybe Zach Wheeler, I don't know, you could probably debate it forever, but Swarber has had a terrific year with 14 lead-off home runs leading off game, 14 time with home runs, but what makes that really impressive is they've won 13 of those games. You mentioned last night's home run, it was a dagger. It was a dagger that, you know, finished the Cubs, his old team, I'm sure it meant a lot to him, but you mentioned, you know, having the top of the order clicking, it's a must. It's a must in October, because your stars need to play like stars. You win with stars. And when your top guys aren't carrying the load or when they slump a little bit or they're chasing and striking out and leaving men on base, then this team has a history of struggling. If they're stars, Swarber, Real Muto, Harper, Bohm, Castellanos, all the, if they're big guns, a firing, and the guys on the mound are locating and firing, and you're making plays and running the base as well. There's a lot to this game, but it all comes together. This team's tough to beat, but your stars need to play well. They played well last night. We know how good this team is when they're getting big contributions from their star players, and that's what's going to be needed. That's why they signed so many of these guys to $100 million contracts and $300 million contracts. To deliver in October. And if this team's going to win, those guys need to come through for you. So it was a great sign they did last night. Got a build on it. Jim, I'm curious. Ranger Suarez. What? I know the, the organization, I believe it was Matt Gell wrote the piece or was it Alex coffee? All the writing is kind of blending in my head here that they're trying to get more out of his legs ever since returning from the injury, and they might have seen a mechanical adjustment they can make here. They feel slightly encouraged that he's headed in the right direction. The unfortunate thing is times running out here before the playoffs. What, what do you see as Rangers role heading into the playoffs? How do you think Rob Thompson's going to use them? Obviously, if you get the buy, you can avoid the three game series. So he becomes a logical, I guess game for starter. What do you, what do you expect to see from Ranger heading into these playoffs? You know, I don't know, Rangers, one of those guys that, you know, you know, slow heartbeat, nothing really bothers them. We could roll out of bed and pitch a two hitter, you know, he's that type of guy. But what we have seen lately is not what we saw in the first two and a half months of the season. He has admitted that he's, his leg strength has been slow coming around. It, it doesn't surprise me because he hasn't looked, he doesn't look to be in the best of shape, or at least peak shape. But if this sent him out there, he's healthy. I, you know, I would expect Sanchez to pass him on the on the depth shot in the rotation. But, you know, that remains to be seen how they're going to go there. But I think Sanchez is pitch better and has earned either the second or third spot, depending on how they go there, like we talked about earlier. And Ranger just needs to finish strong here in the regular season and build some more strength, build some more confidence because there's no reason he can't contribute. Whether it's as a fourth starter in the first round, whether it's out of the bullpen, if you could ask you, do you think Rob would go back to him in the bullpen, like he has in the past? Yeah, I think, I think depending on how things line up, but they may need a fourth starter in that first series, depending on how things go. And I think if they need a fourth starter, he's the guy. If you get into subsequent series and the off days cooperate, you go with three man rotation, he can be a guy that can really help you out of the bullpen. He knows how to pitch. It's just about execute. He hasn't pitched up to his standards lately up to the standards he set in the first half. But you know, things can click, things can click. There's still a lot, there's still a lot there. And he's he's pitched in every role as a filly. He's actually been a closer. He's been alone, man. He's been a star. He's been their best star. So he can do a lot of things. It's actually a nice little option to have if he's pitching well, it's up to him to pitch well. Yeah. Now, Jim, as we are closing down the regular season, obviously, this is the last home stand, the final series is against the nationals. Time is winding down. It's crazy that we're already talking about red October being here playoffs. All of this is here. As someone that's been, as you've been following the team all throughout the course of the season, I'm curious to know, you know, as of this moment, looking at how they've been playing lately, what do you think, I know you've hit on this a lot for the playoff, the playoffs in general, what's going to be the difference that makes a break this team? We've talked about so many different elements, the starting pitching, the bullpen, the offense. Obviously, it's all got to come together as we know, but in your in your early prediction, what do you think is going to be the biggest key that is the difference maker for the Phillies to either be able to get further than they were in the past two seasons, win a world series or to be a team that falls just short? You know, I point to little things, you got to play good defense. You got to get to the balls that aren't necessary that the championship teams get to, the one that breaks the back of the opposition, you know, take a hit away here and there, not necessarily make the routine plays, but you know, not necessarily balls that are ruled errors, but make to make a difficult play to take away a hit from it from another team, keep runners off base. I expect them to pitch well, so I think they need to be supported by good defense, but probably I guess the biggest difference maker is what we talked about early. Top of the batting order right down to the bottom, got to produce, we all know it, they can be a high strikeout team, they can they can chase a lot of fast balls out of the zone, they can chase breaking balls off the plate. I don't know if that's a result of pitch of pressing when you get behind, or sometimes it's just the pitching you face. So I think they need to get to early, get some early leads, play some good defense, like I said, I expect them to pitch well, but be selective at the plate, be selective at the plate. I don't like the word patient because if a guy comes with a cookie early in the car, you should be hammered. So be selective, lay off the junk off the plate, and but it's hard to do because the game moves a million miles an hour. These are the best players in the world, but we've seen this offense when it's clicking, when it's driving in, runners in scoring position, when it's swinging at pitches, they should be swinging at when it's laying off the pitches, they should be laying off. And when they get clicking, they're awfully good. So you need Turner to be good, you need Hopper to be good, you need Swerber to be good, foam, Ramuto, all your studs need to be good to kind of bring this thing, you know, all together. Kind of like we saw last night, you need to play a game like that. You need to play a bunch of games like that where everything kind of clicks. Yeah. And the bullpen is pitching so well right now, Jim, it could be their biggest asset going into the playoffs. Final one for you for me. My heart kind of breaks a little bit for Zach Wheeler, because this Cy Young race, and I know it's just an individual award, but he's talked about it. It means something to him. Should have had it two years ago, his numbers this year pretty much deserve it. It's neck and neck with Chris sale. Chris sale is probably going to get it, but the stats are closer than a lot of people realize. Baseball Justice says this man deserves a Cy Young at some point, Jim. When the hell is he going to get it? He might get it this year. Sales are the chance. I think like you used to phrase neck and neck. What does that mean? Yeah, but I feel like I feel like the national narrative is that sale just has it, you know, I feel that way too. I feel like the national narrative is like you said that it's sales, but you know, when you see a guy up close and personal every day and see the innings he gives you, you know, you see the performance he's given you against top teams. Those could be separators, but you know, I feel he sure wanted two years ago. These numbers he's put up this season that he put up right right now in 2024. This is as good as any best season of his career. Certainly worthy. I don't know how the votes going to go, but you know, sales got a big start. I think Wednesday night and Zach will have one more though. Rob is indicated he's not going to pedal to the medal him on Saturday in Washington. He's not going to go pedal to the medal, even if it means trying to get the best record on baseball because he's going to protect this guy's health. He's going to protect the whole health on Sunday. It's not pitches, Jim, like rough. I don't know. You know, I 95 pitches if they're high stress pitches, that's like 115. So I don't know. So it depends on what stress level is how he looks. If he's sailing, who knows? So but they're going to protect him, and I'm sure they're going to communicate with him through the start. But it I agree with you. Sale might have this much on him, but Wheeler, you know, by the weekend could have that much on on sale. It's going to be a very fascinating vote. And either one of them could get it and like deserve it, you know? Yeah. Like you said, I mean, he should have won it two years ago because innings matter. But for some reason, they didn't matter on the ballot that year. You have like five plus more starts than than Corbin Burns. And and, you know, I remember talking to Zach in spring training, he was legitimately hacked, ticked that he didn't win it. And I kind of applaud the honesty there. I love it. I love it. A lot of guys would kind of say the right thing. No, he was ticked off that he didn't win it. Thought he should have won it. Set it. Came in this year saying he wants to win one. Hey, nothing wrong with setting goals, especially, especially when you're going back it up like he did this year. Jimmy Rollins set it off for a big goal in 2007. And he went out and wore that every day and backed it up every day and won the MVP. So you know what, you can back it up more power to you. And that's two great sign. When you think about, you know, Wheeler should have won one and Bryce Harper has won one. He talked about two of the best free agent signings and franchise history all at the same time. That's great, French. You know, Wheeler Harper, Shorber, Real Moodle's with great signing. There's been, you know, so many good moves. Yeah, the front office is, you know, and I'll use plural because some of it goes back to Matt Clinton. Yeah, sure, tomorrow. Ruben tomorrow. Drafted. You know, Aaron Nola, he went down a couple times in Baton Rouge because they had a high pick and they needed a quick moving picture and they're all in that. So, look, a lot of people have had their hands in this success and ownership spending the big tickets they have. And they've given us a lot to enjoy this season. But the prizes in October, this team will be defined by its performance in the month of October. And, you know, can't wait to get it going. Last night, it was a lot of fun. 43,000 played great. That was the important thing. They played great and they sewed it up. So really eager to see how October shapes up here. Yeah, Jen, definitely looking forward to it. And as you mentioned, it's been some great signings and some great pieces and moves over the years that have led the Phillies to this today, with the greatness that we're seeing out there and the product that we're seeing. So, Jim, it's always a pleasure having you join us just to weigh in and share your thoughts. And we'll be chatting with you again as we're getting deeper into red October. We're talking playoffs next. So always a pleasure, Jim, and for everybody, playoffs. We're talking playoffs. We're not talking regular season. We're talking playoffs. But a great piece that you put out that people can check out on all PHLY.com. And Jim, we'll talk with you more soon, buddy. All righty. Thank you guys a great day. Thank you. Love that Jim and I were matching. I just always love to pick up on the little thing. Tyler, are you noticing that? She's very big on the color on the matching. I think it looks fun and then it looks great. And you're coordinating. Bernie says to us last night. Hey, look, we're almost like we're matching. I'm like, we were we were like green. I was wearing like blue, like green. I had like green t-shirt, but last night I had the same show. I think you were just greenish. You were just manifesting us. I don't need to match you guys, but I like going to be coordinate. All right. So the Phillies, as we are talking to and wrapping up here, the Phillies now get their first division title since 2011 when they had won five streets. And with that, they also that was a fun time with that. They also break the six consecutive and out East titles that the Atlanta Braves won. So taking it back and now as John Middleton has continued to remind us, we're not done yet because he wants to also take back the bleeping world series trophy. It's a great chance. It's got to be in the shambles right now, possibly losing out on the playoffs. So let's talk about it. New York Mets. Let's talk about it because here's a current playoff picture for as of this moment as of today. Who are the women now claims the NL East, the Brewers and Guardians also clinched their divisions. The Yankees and Dodgers with a postseason berth. Showeo Tynig and his first playoff parents are happy for him and all his many years and many, many accomplishments his first. Also, you have a lot of teams that are in playoff position. So the Astros, Orioles, Royals, Tigers, Padres, Diamondbacks and Mets are currently in playoff position with the Braves, twins and Mariners, as well as the Red Sox even raised that are still alive and in the mix and on the hunt for locking in that final spot. So I know just some updates on how this can shape out because we've got some great matchups this week. The Orioles magic number for their second straight postseason would be his two. The Astros is also two. The Padres are just at one to clench a wild card spot and there's some great games this weekend that are going on or even this week. It's only Tuesday. Wow. It was like, I don't know what day it is apparently, but some great series. I agree with you. It feels like Wednesday. There's some great series kicking off this week because like the Tigers and Rays are playing each other. You've got the match up between the Orioles and Yankees, the Mets and Braves series when the East with the win, the Mariners and Astros and Mariners are one and a half games back. So yes, the Yankees can win the East with a win tonight. Well, my prediction of that missing the playoffs, I guess, was a bad one, but I didn't expect a nice season from the Guardian. So I canceled each other out. Tyler and I actually brought up those predictions that we had and we were, we all had a couple that hit a couple that missed because we were on our watch along. We had some more time. So we decided to bring up the March predictions. How are we looking? Anybody get an MVP, right? Did you get your band? Taric is a well, remember, I didn't, I didn't officially take it. You were a coward. I ended up taking it out of all off season. And then you didn't bet him for Sam Yup, rookie, just sad, sad move. So it's exciting, Bobby with to lead the league and hits though. And I think that that's probably, I think that's probably going to catch at this price. Yeah, the Royals and the AL race there is awesome. You know, with the twins, only a game back in the Royals and Bobby Whit. If it's not fair, it sucks. Like Bobby Whit is the pitching equivalent of Zach Wheeler. Aaron judge is going to win the MVP. Bobby Whit deserves it almost any other year such as Zach Wheeler deserves it and probably isn't going to get it. Jim seems optimistic that he's got a fighter's chance there. Anything is possible is what this comes down to. The feeling he's had in there press release yesterday, the side by side stats. I mean, you can make the case that Wheeler does deserve it more. Like, you know, he leads in a lot of the category. So it's a good final week of Major League Baseball here. Some good playoff hunts and good award hunts should be fun. Yeah, if it were to end today for the NL specifically, it'd be the Berbers and Diamondbacks facing off as three and six. The San Diego and New York would be four and five with the Phillies and Dodgers. Of course, locking in the one and two spot. And then on the other side, it would be the Detroit Houston matchup for three, six and Kansas City Baltimore for four and five with the Cleveland Guardians and the New York Yankees locked in for the first round by. So lots to keep an eye on again. It comes down to the wire because of the series. Every series matchup that I love for the most part, you are getting teams that are either in the playoffs or on the outside looking in that are playing each other today. So there are today and in the next 40 hours in general, if not even 24, should be a lot of clinching scenarios. But for the Phillies, they are needing that one because the Mets are going up against, as I mentioned, Mets are going up against the Braves. So the depending on, I'm sorry, in the the Brewers, too, is actually the one that we're watching now. The Brewers series against the pirates is going on today. So depending on what happens, the Phillies can lock in. It's a 640 game. There are the only day games that raise tigers, which starts at 110. Everything else is 640. So that game at 640 is one to keep an eye on because the Phillies could actually lock in a first round by today. And what better way to get things started today than with Tanner Banks pitching. As the opener, we've got Tanner Banks with a six flat ERA. He's given up three hits, two strikeouts, three walks going up against Justin Steele, who has, in his last three appearances, Tanner Banks has those stats, I should say, for Justin Steele and his last three appearances, a two for five ERA, 12 hits, 17 strikeouts, five walks. Tanner Banks has a 378 ERA on the season with a two and two record where I steal has a 303 with a five and five record. They get things started today. It could be a hangover game. We could get a big Garret. He said he's going yard today. So maybe you want to bet that with bet 365. That certainly would not be ordinary. Stubbs going yard on the all possibly. Who knows? He called a shot in the locker room last night. He did. He also was very many beers in. So that should be an exciting match up of Tanner Banks and Justin Steele to get off get started with the pitching today. And we'll see now the Phillies close in on the next big task of a first round by so we back tomorrow 11 a.m. to recap the game and look ahead and hopefully be talking about more playoff match ups who the Phillies are looking to face in the NLDs versus a first round match up because they should lock in that by tonight. That'll do it for us here though at PHNY Phillies as we've had a chance to hear from Jim Salisbury. We've got Tyler Zooli, Jamie Lynch, myself, Renee Washington saying so long from the NL East Division champs of 2024. The Philadelphia Phillies will see you back here tomorrow to talk more Phillies live on PHNY Phillies presented by bet 365. Go Fills!