Phillies Nation Podcast

In the second episode of the Phillies Nation Podcast, Tim Malcolm waxes about opening day with Mike Sadowski, goes through some last-minute predictions, and chats with Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com about growing up a Phillies fan and being a beat reporter.

In the first episode of the Phillies Nation Podcast, Tim Malcolm previews the 2017 season with writer Dan Walsh, talks about the legacy of Dallas Green, and chats Pat Gallen of "CBS3 Eyewitness News Mornings" about bad Phillies teams, 1993 and the glory years.

In the second minisode of the revamped Phillies Nation Podcast, Tim Malcolm chats with writer Dan Walsh in a debate over 2017 player projections.

In the first minisode of the revamped Phillies Nation Podcast, Tim Malcolm takes us through the top-10 most valuable people in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

In this live addition of the Phillies Nation Podcast, Ian Riccaboni and Steve Corino are at Terminal 5, just ahead of the Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro-Wrestling Supershow.

Ian and Steve return discussing the Phillies recent winning ways, if their level of play is sustainable, and where to expect them in the standings at the All-Star break.

They talk about the ramifications of Tommy Joseph's call-up, Ryan Howard and Darin Ruf's historically bad play at first base, if the bullpen and starters can maintain their momentum, and what to expect from the outfield.

Today’s episode is brought to you by our sponsors!

- Out of the Park Baseball is Ian and Steve's favorite baseball game and it should be yours, too! OOTP '17 arrive on March 22 and is available NOW on OOTPDevelopments.com! Use the promo code PHILLIES17 to get 10% off OOTP Baseball '17!

– 100 Greatest Phillies of All Time by Ian Riccaboni - now available on Amazon!! All purchases and reviews help more Phillies fans find the 100 Greatest Phillies of All Time! Thanks for helping make this book #1 in both the paid and free sections of "BASEBALL" on Amazon!

This week, Steve Corino and Ian Riccaboni jump head first into the first fifteen games of the season after travels took both across the country and the world!

First, Steve and Ian talk about the promise of the starting rotation, including Vincent Velasquez's masterful 16 K, 3 H, 0 BB performance last Thursday and how Ian kept up with the game while on line in Disneyland! They talk about the judicious use of the curveball, which through Tuesday, was on pace to break the modern record set by the 2012 Pirates. The common thread? Charlie Morton, the all-time leader in PitchFX stat Spin Rate measuring the rotations per minute on curveball.

Next, the bullpen is discussed. David Hernandez is on pace (93) to break Kent Tekulve's 1987 single-season Phillies record for appearances in a season (90) but will he even last through April? Hector Neris has been discussed as a positive surprise and the shuffling of closers through Dailier Hinojosa to Jeanmar Gomez is discussed. Can Gomez be a long term option? Will he mature into a trade chip?

From the good to the bad to the ugly: the Phillies MLB-worst offense is discussed. Steve plays guess the batting average and Steve and Ian discuss if there is any help in sight in the form of Cameron Perkins. The acquisition of outfielder Alfredo Marte is touched on before moving to the hot-hitting Andrew Knapp. With Phillies fans giving Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz "the legend pop", do you want to see Knapp put pressure on either with his hot hitting?

Steve and Ian play the weekly game of "How long will Freddy Galvis last as the Phillies starting shortstop?" before moving into a hypothetical: with how bad the Braves are, the known unpredictability of the Marlins, and poor Mets hitting, does it pain you at all to think that this Phillies team could have started the rebuild earlier and potentially ran up wins on bad teams?

Finally, we ask listeners to give Ian a wrestling nickname after his Wikipedia page was vandalized and was given the nicknames "The Riccabonesaw" and the "The Riccapocolypse". Best name gets a prize as Ian catches up with previous prizes awarded for past winners!

Thanks for listening!

Today’s episode is brought to you by our sponsors!

– Out of the Park Baseball is Ian and Steve’s favorite baseball game and it should be yours, too! OOTP ’17 arrive on March 22 and is available NOW on OOTPDevelopments.com! Use the promo code PHILLIES17 to get 10% off OOTP Baseball ’17!

– 100 Greatest Phillies of All Time by Ian Riccaboni – now available on Amazon! The digital copy is now FREE through April 2 thanks to the support of listeners like you! Head over to Amazon and download your digital copy today! All downloads and reviews help more Phillies fans find the 100 Greatest Phillies of All Time!

This week, Steve Corino and Ian Riccaboni jump head first into this year’s Spring season! Highlights, lowlights, any surprises?

News that you may have missed since our last podcast: Pete Mackanin’s extension, Hellickson being named Opening Day starter, Vince Velasquez making the Opening Day roster as the fifth starter, and the signing of Will Venable.

The reserve spots are likely down to Emmanuel Burris, Cedric Hunter, and Venable. Who makes the cut? The opening-day bullpen is rumored to include David Hernandez, Dalier Hinojosa, Brett Oberholtzer, Jeanmar Gomez, Daniel Stumpf and James Russell (9 Ks in 7 IP) with Mackanin advising that there is no clear closer. Who would YOU want to see close games for the Phillies? The final spot appears to be down to Andrew Bailey, Ernesto Frieri and Hector Neris. Who would you take? Note: Edward Mujica was re-signed to a minor league deal.

They discuss why Velasquez over Adam Morgan and why Charlie Morton cracked the rotation.

They catch up on former Phillies signing across baseball like Jimmy Rollins making the White Sox opening day roster, Shane Victorino starting the year in Triple-A for the Cubs, and Kyle Kendrick signing with the Angels after being cut by the Braves.

They discuss the Futures Games to be held in Reading and Citizens Bank Park. March 31’s game will be the first in Reading since 2000 when the Phillies played a rare May game against the Reading Phillies.

Finally, we talk final predictions: record, place in NL East, boldest prediction, and we find out what Steve and Ian think will define success and failure in April.

Thanks for listening!

Today’s episode is brought to you by our sponsors!

– Out of the Park Baseball is Ian and Steve’s favorite baseball game and it should be yours, too! OOTP ’17 arrive on March 22 and is available NOW on OOTPDevelopments.com! Use the promo code PHILLIES17 to get 10% off OOTP Baseball ’17!

– 100 Greatest Phillies of All Time by Ian Riccaboni – now available on Amazon! The digital copy is now FREE through April 2 thanks to the support of listeners like you! Head over to Amazon and download your digital copy today! All downloads and reviews help more Phillies fans find the 100 Greatest Phillies of All Time!

This week, Steve Corino and Ian Riccaboni jump head first into this year’s Spring season! Highlights, lowlights, any surprises?

News that you may have missed since our last podcast: Pete Mackanin’s extension, Hellickson being named Opening Day starter, Vince Velasquez making the Opening Day roster as the fifth starter, and the signing of Will Venable.

The reserve spots are likely down to Emmanuel Burris, Cedric Hunter, and Venable. Who makes the cut? The opening-day bullpen is rumored to include David Hernandez, Dalier Hinojosa, Brett Oberholtzer, Jeanmar Gomez, Daniel Stumpf and James Russell (9 Ks in 7 IP) with Mackanin advising that there is no clear closer. Who would YOU want to see close games for the Phillies? The final spot appears to be down to Andrew Bailey, Ernesto Frieri and Hector Neris. Who would you take? Note: Edward Mujica was re-signed to a minor league deal.

They discuss why Velasquez over Adam Morgan and why Charlie Morton cracked the rotation.

They catch up on former Phillies signing across baseball like Jimmy Rollins making the White Sox opening day roster, Shane Victorino starting the year in Triple-A for the Cubs, and Kyle Kendrick signing with the Angels after being cut by the Braves.

They discuss the Futures Games to be held in Reading and Citizens Bank Park. March 31’s game will be the first in Reading since 2000 when the Phillies played a rare May game against the Reading Phillies.

Finally, we talk final predictions: record, place in NL East, boldest prediction, and we find out what Steve and Ian think will define success and failure in April.

Thanks for listening!

Today’s episode is brought to you by our sponsors!

– Out of the Park Baseball is Ian and Steve’s favorite baseball game and it should be yours, too! OOTP ’17 is available NOW on OOTPDevelopments.com! Use the promo code PHILLIES17 to get 10% off OOTP Baseball ’17!

– 100 Greatest Phillies of All Time by Ian Riccaboni – now available on Amazon! The digital copy can be yours for free if this podcast receives 15 Five Star reviews on iTunes by April 1! Get to writing and help spread the word of the PN Podcast and we’ll share the 100 Greatest Phillies of All Time!

Ian Riccaboni is joined by Dan Szymborski of ESPN and FanGraphs in a chat recorded the evening of March 23. Thankfully - no drastic changes to the fabric of the Phillies occurred in that time!

Dan and Ian talk about ZiPS, its accuracy as a projection tool, are young players more difficult to project, why pitchers are so tough to project, the outlook for the 2016 Phillies, and what it would take for the Phillies to earn a playoff spot in 2016 (hint: odds right now are only about 1 in 200!).

Should Ruben Amaro get any of the credit if the Phillies end up turning things around quickly? Was it due to the "secret analytics lair" that Amaro claimed to have in an interview? How did the Phillies screw up so badly in the amateur drafts from 2008 through 2013?

Dan and Ian touch on the robust MLB Free Agent class of 2018 and discuss why Phillies fans should get excited about that year!

Dan and Ian briefly talk wrestling and why baseball needs more fun - a weird conversation coming from two stat-heavy baseballsmen!

Be sure to check Dan out at @DSzymborski on Twitter and read his work on ESPN and FanGraphs!

Today's episode is brought to you by our sponsors!

- Out of the Park Baseball is Ian and Steve's favorite baseball game and it should be yours, too! OOTP '17 arrive on March 22 and is available NOW on OOTPDevelopments.com! Use the promo code PHILLIES17 to get 10% off OOTP Baseball '17!

- 100 Greatest Phillies of All Time by Ian Riccaboni - now available on Amazon!

Ian Riccaboni and Steve Coring discuss the latest Phillies news including:

A discussion of Steve's trip to Clearwater where he met Mickey Morandini, Larry Bowa, and took a very special photo with Larry Andersen!

We discuss the rumored six-year, $39 million extension proposed to Maikel Franco - would you do it?

We talk about Tim Malcolm's latest piece on what outfielders may be available to fill in for the injured Odubel Herrera and Aaron Altherr.

Which free agents may be available after this season? Does Jose Bautista make sense? Would that signal a third stage of the rebuild?

The game today in Cuba and the Phillies' history with Cuban players including current non-roster invitee Reinier Roibal and former 1960 Rookie of the Year runner-up Pancho Herrera.

We found out where Phillies Nation listeners' Stevie Winwood allegiance lies: "ROLL WITH IT, BABY!"?

We take view emails on Alex Rodriguez and Steve talks the importance of Ichiro Suzuki to baseball and baseball as international game

Ian introduces a deal: if 15 five-star reviews for the Phillies Nation Podcast are posted on iTunes prior to April 1, he will post the 100 Greatest Phillies of All-Time's Kindle version for free.

Send your questions, comments, and more to @ianriccaboni, @kingcorino, and @philliesnation! Like and subscribe on iTunes! Thanks for listening!

About Ian Riccaboni: Ian has been a Phillies Nation contributor full-time since 2011 and is the author of The 100 Greatest Phillies of All Time. Ian can be seen on Phillies Nation TV, is the voice of Women of Honor, and is a Sports Media professor at Holy Family University.

About Steve Corino: Steve is a life-long Phillies fan whose love for the Phillies dates back to the launch of PRISM! Steve is a former ECW World Champion who has 80 tours of Japan. His best friend Mr. Wrestling III can be seen every week calling Ring of Honor action in Philadelphia at 11:30 PM on Saturdays on WMCN 44 and Midnights every Wednesday on COMET.