Nick Piccone Interview -- 8/12/23

Nick Piccone joins the show to talk all things #Phillies, Michael Lorenzen's no-hitter, Trea Turner, Braves fans are scared, and more!

Episode Transcript

(00:34):
Hello, and welcome back to theTough Cover Radio Show. We've got a
great guest on the line, secondstraight week on the Tough Cover Radio Show.
Usually that's only Jansen. Jansen mightbe the only person in the history
of the show to come on twostraight weeks. So Nick Pocoon breaking down
barriers here and we're pumped to haveNick on. It was great last week

(00:54):
and it's always a great time totalk the Phils when they've won six of
the last seven. Nick Paco,how are we feeling after after a laugher?
Even even in this stretch, we'vehad to sweat some out. We've
had some some games that have noteven looked good until the eighth or ninth
inning, or games that I knowthe game I was at on Thursday,
they were down later on in thegame, had to had to have some

(01:17):
I think a sixth run ending toto take control of that game. But
last night we got a laugher.So, so how are we feeling?
Yeah, if that Thursday night gamehappened two weeks ago, he might have
seen some tweets that I've fired offthat would have made you a little angry.
But yeah, this homestand has justbeen incredible. I don't think we

(01:38):
expect, like we were hoping somethingwould click and maybe, you know,
we would feel a little bit betterheading into, you know, the last
two over the last month and ahalf of the season. But it's really
I think exceeded all expectations that eventhe haters and the lovers had. And

(02:00):
I think, obviously you throw inthat no hitter, it's not just the
no hitter, but that entire gamewas about as good a regular season game
as you can get in baseball.And you know, like I still get
kind of goosebumps thinking about it andlike reliving that night. That's why baseball

(02:20):
is amazing. You never know thatone hundred and sixty two games, something
special could happen out of one ofthose one hundred and sixty two one week.
Got that this week, and Ithink even the most negative people just
had to sit back and smile.Oh, yeah, you're absolutely right.
And you know, it's just it'sbecome my tagline on Twitter. It's from

(02:42):
one of my favorite movies of alltime, my favorite baseball movie of all
my favorite sports movie of all time, I should say, and how can
you not be romantic about baseball?I mean, that's become my line on
Twitter, and I just quote sweetthings and say that constantly. But I
mean, there's so many moments,and I love all sports, like baseball
honestly be my third favorite sport asa whole. But the Phillies are probably

(03:04):
the most important team to like mymood and how they're doing on a year
to year and week to week andday to day basis. But the Phillies
are probably my favorite team. ButI probably care less about the sport of
baseball as a whole. But there'ssomething about the sport of baseball, and
it's something about the one hundred andsixty two games season and the fact that
these guys are together for eight months, like even in a bad season,
in a good season, in anaverage season, these guys are in the

(03:27):
same clubhouse for eight months. We'rewatching these guys one hundred and sixty two
times before endthing is even of thehighest of stakes, So it feels like
you're just so connected with the favoriteteam that you have in baseball, and
having nights like that is kind ofwhy you want to be so invested,
and you have these big nights thatpay off your investment. And obviously we've

(03:50):
had plenty of nights, not justthis year, not last year, as
much as the ten years previous whereyou know you're sitting there thinking like why
do I do this? Like whyam I putting myself through this on a
night tonight? Basis this team's underperforming, this team stinks, This team is
too old, this team isn't goodenough, like whatever the case may have
been over that ten year stretch,it's that That's part of why I feel

(04:14):
like I have been so positive eversince the run started last year. And
maybe it's just out of ten yearsof absolute incompetence and seeing that I do
think this organization, this team,this lineup, this rotation, this bullpen,
I just think it's different. AndI've I've felt that way all year,
even through the lineup struggles, andyou're absolutely right. Let's talk a

(04:34):
little bit about Michael Lorenzen. Imean, what was your thoughts on the
trade when it went down from aninitial standpoint? And then, obviously I
guess the question is not what areyour thoughts on what he's done so far?
Because I think you're gonna say it'sbeen pretty good, but in terms
of how phony is it, Likedo you think this guy I mean,
he was an All Star. He'sgot a three two era, Like,

(04:56):
it's not like he's a five ra pitcher who's doing this out of nowhere.
But how legitimate is this is?He are number two in your mind
going forward into the playoffs? Arekind of what are you thinking going forward
for Lorenzen. I definitely think he'llbe a playoff starter. As far as
number two, I'm not entirely thereyet. I still as much as I've

(05:18):
bashed Aaron Ola and you know,some people on Twitter again and think they
called me out, but you knowthey and you know we had that whole
thing the other night. But uh, you know, I still think.
I still think he is one ofthe pictures that give us the best opportunity.
Like we said, he's adorable,he's a workhorse. If he's on,

(05:41):
he's on. So I think youdo take that chance in a playoff
series to throw him to uh maybethree, but yeah, he's definitely,
you know, in the top twoor three. Lorenzo and I would throw
in there, but I wouldn't necessarilythink, you know, with the way
Walker's pitching, the way Florez canpitch, U like it, really they're

(06:04):
in a good spot pitching wise.You know, I think that trade I
wasn't, you know, mad,but it kind of gave us, like
Ginston to Dave Debraski's view that,Okay, if we can't add like a
legitimate that, we're just not goingto like make a trade for the sake
of making a trade. So he'slike, Okay, we got these fitters

(06:25):
that need to come around, andwhether they did truly have confidence they would
come around, you know, allthey gave. Debraski knows that. Ron
Thompson knows that, but I dothink adding the potential, you know,
it's well really the sixth man ina rotation. I did think it would
help the pitching staff as a wholedown the stretch. And you know,

(06:46):
we heard last year and we sawlast year, you know, Wheeler and
Nola kind of struggle here and theredown the stretch, and then you know
in the NLCS and the World Series. So that being the thinking, I
can I can live with that,and I could actually buy into that,
knowing that, yeah, if thebats don't come around, then you know,

(07:08):
we can I play twenty twenty andwe can pick that apart all day.
But this homestand I think has givenus that spans the competence that the
bats will come around no matter ifthey're hitting bad pitching or not. You
know, they weren't hitting bad pitchingbefore. Like that was the frustration with
the offense. They just weren't hittingit hitting bad pitching. And now whether

(07:29):
you know, we think the pitchingagainst you know, bad and we try
to downplay their offensive numbers this homestandit's only going to give ann competence against
good pitching. So yeah, we'regonna We're gonna see down the stretch if
the offense holds up against good pitching. But as long as our pitching can
our bullpen, uh. That that'sthe thing that irritated me the most the

(07:55):
first few months of the season.The offense wasn't really giving the bullpen,
uh, you know, the highleverage guys a break. Almost. It
was almost like we would see ourbest full time guys so often, and
that was frustrating, just because youknow, you call me like doomsday Nick
or whatever, and I get it, Like I do understand that the way

(08:18):
I look at it. You know, certain games, but man, like
it would be nice to see DylanCovey like three times a week. It
would nice, be nice to seejunior market three times a week, the
offense getting like a five, six, seven run lead. I know that's
not practical, but that was justwhere a lot of the frustration came in.
It's like, Manue, this offenseisn't even giving the pictures a break,

(08:39):
really, So I just didn't wantthe pitching to regress. And I
know that's a doomsday scenario, butthat's just how my mind was wired in
this season, especially with all thebats we had, and it's just frustrat
adding Trey Turner and what he wasdoing. But hey, we fixed them,
so we're good. Yeah, Sothat's that's where we gotta go next,

(09:01):
obviously. And I don't want totalk so much about like the standing
o because we did so like apretty good uh segment on it last week
where we really went in depth.But I mean, he wasn't He hadn't
had a thousand ops for a weeksince the standing last week, so I
mean, it's crazy how good he'sbeen. Homer that that night after we
talked, he hit the Homer map. Yeah, incredible. Yeah, you're

(09:24):
right, that was Saturday night.You're you're right. It's funny. I
was talking to to my fiance lastnight, and I was it was before
the game. I actually thought thisseries could have could have been a tough
series for the Phillies, just becauseI thought too many people had lumped the
Twins into like the quote unquote easystretch, and the Twins are obviously like
a lot different than the Nationals andthe Royals. So I was like,
I could see this being just likewhere we're all kind of get cold water

(09:48):
thrown on us, even if,like I mean, if they got swept
by the Twins this weekend. Tobe fully honest with you, you know
what I would have been doing onMonday morning on Twitter, like I would
have been I would have been like, hey, guys, we're sick.
We're forty and twenty three and lastsixty three. Like I wouldn't have been
freaking out. But I did feellike that that was a potential. And
she's like, well, it's aFriday, so they're probably gonna lose.
And I was like, what doyou mean. She's like, oh,

(10:09):
you have to talk about it.You have to talk about a loss every
Saturday morning. And I'm like,yeah, you're right. So I looked
at it and it's like it isfunny. They they've been winning like Tuesday
through Thursday, winning on the weekendsand losing on Friday. So I'm happy
where we have a win to talkabout today at least. But yeah,
I mean, Trey Turner has beenunbelievable this last week. I was at
the doubleheader, I was at thegame on Thursday where you hit the home

(10:31):
run, and just seeing it inperson and seeing the swing, it's so
much more level, it's so muchless lunging, it's so much shorter than
it was before. The swing justlooks like Trey Turner, Like he looks
like the guy we all wanted,the guy that we spent three hundred million
dollars on, the guy that inthe off season was the number one pick

(10:54):
on ESPN consensus fantasy baseball leagues.Not Shootani, not Mookie Bets, not
Freddy Freeman, not Garrett Cole,whoever you want to throw him. Trey
Turner was the number one pick infantasy dresses. Here I was making stupid
arguments that he was our best playerbefore he played in an inning for the
Phillies, and I think having thatplayer back, and even if he's not
this for the rest of the season. Even if he's just some semblance of

(11:16):
this, it obviously makes such ahuge difference on what we have as a
roster. What do you think trayTurner will be going forward? Do you
think he'll just be snapped back toreality and he's Tray Turner again. Are
we gonna see kind of the oldTray return? Is he fully fixed?
What do you think? I thinkhe's more comfortable for sure. Yeah,

(11:39):
I don't know, if you know, we'll see all Star tray Turner.
But hey, those two homers hehit this week clutch moments too. You
know, they gave the Phillies theweak both times when they were down.
So that and that also is kindof like, okay, it's not you
know, a garbage time home runwhere it's like yeah, it's like it's

(12:00):
the it's literally a clutch moment forhim. So I do think that will
help as well moving forward. Hisdefense has been really good, you know,
like he's he's not. He justseems more relaxed, I guess,
you know. And even in hispostgame interviews he said, like, damn
man, it was awesome. Tookout that billboard, thank you Philly and

(12:22):
and just said yeah, like it. You know, Yeah, we're playing
this up as a fan base alittle bit, which is to me it's
just kind of funny, like afunny little bit, you know, like,
yeah, we're taking credit for trackturner, like no tray is put
in the work and uh, it'sfinally paying dividends. Yes, the standing
ovation probably uh, you know,I think it played a role in at

(12:45):
least him maybe relaxing or maybe justbeing like all right, like you know,
I need to focus. And youknow, he's been clearly a different
tray turner this past week. Yes, I do hope it continues, but
you know, if he goes likeover ten over a stretch, I'm not
going to be as negative towards itas I was, you know, April

(13:09):
through uh, you know, Augustfirst. You know, it's it's definitely
really cool to see him do thisat home too. It's you know,
in front of us where we think, yeah, maybe we're a part of
it, but this is a tradeturner that we were expecting and he's a

(13:31):
big part of this lineup. He'sa big part of his defense. And
honestly, I don't know if we'llget the Johan rojast to him being in
center field. I don't know,I just have a different feeling about this
team that I did like two orthree weeks ago. It's very I don't
know if it's just the fact thatwe're heading into August and September and they're

(13:52):
winning games, but they're also havingthese postgame interviews that not only they're talking
about the fans, but they're talkingabout how much big loved each other in
that club and it's like, wow, we're dead this even if they lose
games, and they're not. Theyweren't performing the expectations that we thought they
would this season up until you know, a week ago. They still pull

(14:13):
for each other. They're still tightin the clubhouse. They're not they're not
having stories published about them about,uh, you know, their clubhouse being
you know, some mess, chaoticmess like we've seen with the Padres and
Mets recently. So I mean there'ssomething to that. You know. It's
like, yeah, and I know, you beat the drum. It's a

(14:35):
long season. I just didn't wantto wait till August to see this type
of stuff. But they listen,like, I'm as long as it gets
them. And now they're separating themselvesin the wild card, Like, I'm
in a good spot. I thinkeven if they struggle here and maybe they
lose, you know, three outof four, four out of five,
like, I won't be as negative. Yeah, you know what I'm gonna

(14:56):
say, They're They're forty and twentyin the last sixty they're the second best
thing. First, it's pretty good. It's pretty good. No, I'm
just joking. I mean, thecrazy thing. I really do think that
the four and nine start like ruinedthe discourse for like two to three months,
to be quite honest, Like,I do think that it was as
bad of a start as possible,and they were so inept in that start

(15:18):
of the season that I think thatreally did And we were also in to
start the season two, so Ithink that did have a huge effect on
everything. And even though I dothink they did a good job crawling out
of that playing average baseball in Apriland May, they obviously have turned it
on since June first, and thenobviously the last couple of weeks even more
show. So yeah, I meanI think that this is legitimately one of

(15:39):
the five best teams in baseball.And I mean I've always thought they were
top seven or show, but Imean, at this point, I'm looking
at our roster, I'm looking atthe Dodgers roster, and you look at
the Dodgers rotation, and it's like, I feel a lot better about ours.
Obviously. The Braves are another kindof conversation. The Braves are really
really good obviously, if they're notplaying quite as good late, I don't

(16:00):
think the division thing is realistic,but it's a fun. It's a fun
subplot to make fun of Braves fanson social media with I love it.
I'm not gonna I'm not gonna stop. It's just hilarious because they get so
angry. Yeah, you have it'sfunny Braves fans. Are they your number
one fan base that you have anissue with? You think? I don't

(16:22):
know. It's just like sometimes I'lljust have an idea in my head and
I'm like, this will be funny, and so I post aw video of
a Boogeyman from like two thousand andfive. It's like, we're coming to
get your braves, and they getso upset, and it's like, you
know, have a good time.Ten and a half games back, It's
like, for me, it's noteven about the division. It's just funny
that you know, they're you know, kind of struggling. They're not winning

(16:45):
games that equipped that they were before, but uh yeah, they just get
mad and then you I guess they'rehaving rotation issues, so you see the
fans get like, aren't pitching,it's terrible, blah blah blah blah.
And it's just it's funny. AndI'm sure people look at me like the
same way, like when I'm talkinglike that about the Sillies. But I
think a lot of things I postedare just trying to get like a chuckle

(17:08):
or like a last when it comesto other fan bases. And I'll go
with other fan bases as much asyou know, they come at me,
but even just like a joke likethat posit a video of the bookman me
and they're just like oh yeah,like uh and then they they bring up
these hoskings and it's like a commoditieslike his injury. It's like some people

(17:32):
just take it too far, likeI'm not gonna do it there. But
yeah, I think I think they'relike the they always seek out things too,
you know, and they blame meout algorithms on Yeah, it's like,
well you you said Brave in yourtweets, so I can see it's
like, yeah, I'm sure you'researching that stuff too. So yeah,
to me, it's just funny.Tell them to go enjoy the Hawks games

(17:56):
that they don't attend. They're theBraves games that they don't attend. One
of the funniest fits to me isthey include the Boston Braves and the Milwaukee
Braves titles is their own. It'sjust like nobody Atlanta Braves only have two
and they're like, no, wehave four, and I'm like, no,
Boston has one, Milwaukee has one. They include that because of the
franchise thing, and I just Ido the same thing with the Sixers.

(18:17):
I don't include any Syracuse Nationals championshipswith Times of the Fixers. And it's
just they I don't know. It'sjust kind of a fun time for me
on the app when they come atme and I just left. Yeah.
I mean, anytime anyone below theage of like fifty is talking about any
titles like before nineteen sixty, it'slike, all right, like what are

(18:37):
we doing? You know, theywent to Wikipedia or something and just to
try and you know, get theirknew their research before they reply to me
and it's just funny. Yeah,yeah, I mean it's yeah. So
that's such years real quick. Obviously, we have plenty more time to talk
about the pills, and obviously wehave plenty of time to talking about the
Eagles. But the Eagles are comingaround the corner. First preseason game to

(18:59):
night against the Baltimore Ravens, whohave won twenty three straight preseason games.
Fund stat out there, But theEagles going into the year, their total,
their win total is eleven and ahalf. They are the odds on
favorite by a pretty wide margin inthe NFC to repeat as NFC champions and
go back to the Super Bowl.What's your thoughts on the Vibes going into

(19:21):
the year. Are you of themindset that it's like, this team is
really good and the NFC is notvery good, and I expect them to
be right back where they were.Are you have the mindset that it's just
too hard to repeat that success orwhat do you think kind of the Eagles
end up as going into the playoffsthis year? Well, you know,
they will have a tougher schedule.It will be you know, a year

(19:45):
a year though, you know that'swhat the schedule argument kind of like loses
me in a way because the firstplace scenes last year might not be good
this year. And so we werefocused on the Eagles and we're here every
day hearing reports about training camp andhearing what Nick Sirianni has to stay,
hearing what Jalen Hursts has to stay, and you just you listen to Jalen

(20:07):
Hursts and you see how he playedlast year. This guy, even if
they won the Super Bowl, Ithink Jalen's coming in. It's like,
Okay, we gotta we put thatbehind us. We need to win this
year's Super Bowl as we want toreally you know, be the best type
of thing. And that's to me, that's a great mindset to have when
you're in professional sports. You know, he signed his new contract and he's

(20:33):
saying all the right things, andthat's that That goes a long way with
us. And I just I don'tsee, barring injury, why can't they
repeat, you know, as NFCchampions or you know, NFC East Champions.
I know within the last twenty years, no one has repeated as Nfcast
champions or something like that. ButEagles are in as good at spot as

(20:56):
I need to do that again barringinjury. Biggest saying you have Kelsey coming
back, you know, a jBrown, Delante Smith. You know the
offense is and you got two legitrunning backs that and DeAndre Swift ever shot
Penny where you know they stay healthy. Uh, you know, maybe you
can utilize gay Well in a differentI don't know different way, but you

(21:22):
know maybe, Uh you said morenow that you know you have three legit
running backs that can score touchdown.It's it's funny that you think, Okay,
that Super Bowl roster can all beyou know, I don't want to
say get worse, but take astep down. But when you add guys

(21:45):
like we shot Penny and DeAndre Stewartand and if they stay healthy behind this
offensive line, this offense is goingto be taught to beat the big question
of marketing and defense where you know, well, we'll see how these guys
get to under a different defensive coordinator. I don't necessarily know if they'll be

(22:10):
better, but for me, theJonathan Gannon vibes, I'm glad they're gone.
You know that goodiness the defense mighthave been statistically last year. Yeah,
I just that guy really let usstayun to the Super Bowl man,
I just I can't believe you.I like the same play beat him three
times in a row, wellmated onin the row, but three times in

(22:32):
that game. I can't get overthat. That's one of the things I
can't get over. So hope,hopefully, you know, I don't think
the defense is going to click rightaway. And honestly, whereas football season
is not necessarily as long as season, they don't play one hundred and fifty
two games, but hopefully by afterthe first month a month and a half,
the defense is in a good,uh you know, routine and playing

(22:56):
well enough to the offense, youknow, gives them early leads type of
stuff where the defense can just goout and play as well as they can
and get turnovers stuff like that.I'd love to the turnovers. It's my
favorite part of games actually, whenthe defense get like a turnover and score.

(23:17):
I don't know if there's something abouta defensive score that I just like
love because I guess you don't reallygo and every play expecting an interception to
turn for a touchdown or a fumblereturn for a touchdown. So those plays
are just things I love the most. And I do think the defense is

(23:37):
valid validly being questions having into theseason, but I don't think they're going
to fall off a cliff or anythinglike that, So I'm more I'm most
looking forward to that. I don'tthink the offense I'll really miss a step.
Yeah, I totally agree, Andhopefully it is going to be a
fun next couple of months here inPhiladelphia like it was last year. Hopefully

(24:00):
just a little bit more fun here. Yeah, that's that's what we're hoping.
But yeah, I mean I thinkSeptember, October, you know,
maybe even into early November for thePills and then obviously into January and February
for the Eagles. I think it'sgonna be a crazy time. Then.
I guess the Wills Fargo Center inhabitstwo franchises as well, so well,
well we'll leave, we'll leave thoseuntalked about any any oh. Yeah,

(24:27):
yeah, yeah, you're absolutely right. We should mention that that is a
big deal mess was it Tuesday?Yeah? Yeah, that's that's cool.
I don't know soccer at all.I don't care about soccer at all,
but even I know Lionel Messi,it's like you know Lebron James of soccer,
so that's that's pretty cool stuff rightthere. But a lot of fun
come in the next couple of months, talking Eagles, talking pills. I'm

(24:49):
sure we'll have you on plenty,plenty more so, Nick mccohan, thanks
so much for hopping on. Nick, thanks for having me man Go Fills.
You can follow Nick at Underscore paconeon Twitter. You can check out
his podcast at the Shooters Pod.Check out of stuff over on Philly Influence
search follow at phl Underscore Influence.I'm gonna try to get back to writing

(25:11):
my picks in a little article overthere, like I was doing last season
before things got crazy hectic for me. But I'm gonna try to try to
resume that this year. I'll talkto Nick about that actually, But let's
real quick. Sean Bernard has acouple as a couple of picks that I
didn't. I rudely as a host, did not get over to Sean to

(25:32):
explain those MLB picks. But Sean, what do you got? Yeah,
no worries, No worries at all. I'm kind of jumping on the Phillies
train with you for the first onea little bit of a different direction.
I'm taking the over four and ahalf for the Phillies. I'm very surprised
to see that at plus money.You can get that at plus one fourteen,
I think that's a bargain. Justthe way they're hitting right now,
it's impossible not to be all overthe run line on a pretty much daily

(25:52):
basis right now. And to thatsame tune, I'm taking Nick Castiano's over
one and a half total basis that'salso a plus one forty five. I'm
loving seeing the resurgence of Niggi cIt seemed to drop off for a little
bit where he seemed to be fallinginto some bad habits, and he's back
hitting is contagious. We all knowthat, and he's called the bug as
well. So I'm happy to seeCassiano's back at it. And I think
over one and a half bases isa safe bet for that, and the

(26:15):
plus money is obviously a bonus.And then the last pick for me real
quick. They scored five plus runsin eight of their last nine games and
in nine of their last eleven games, and in those two games that they
did not, they scored four runs. Yeah, and coming off a night
where they put up thirteen relatively easily, I was very surprised to see that
at plus money. I think that'sworth jumping all over. And then on

(26:36):
the opposite side of the spectrum,my last pick will be under eight and
a half in the Cubs versus BlueJays games. I like both these teams,
both of them playing really good baseballright now. The Cubs have won
fourteen of their last nineteen. TheBlue Jays have also climbed into the wildcard
spot in the AL. They're doingit by pitching that I think this is
going to be more of a pitcher'stool. Two r a under three by

(26:57):
the starter for the Blue Jays inthis match, so I think the under
eight and a half is a safeplay there. I leaned towards the Cubs
getting the win, but I thinkit's safer to go with the run line
and I expect this want to bea picture stool. I actually had the
Blue Jays on my card, initiallyended up deleting it just because Justin Steele
has been so so good for Chicago. I am. I am one of
Chris Bassett's Bassett Hounds. I'm aChris Bassett believer. I've long been a

(27:21):
Chris Bassett guy since his days inOakland, even begrudgingly in his days in
New York with the Mets. He'sbeen a guy that I've liked to back
in terms of financially for a longtime. So Chris Bassett, I like
that underplay. That's that makes aton of sense for sure. So real
quick, let's switch gears up.Let's talk fantasy football on the other side.

(27:41):
Roy Burton coming up at twelve o'clockright here on the top cover radio
show on The Gambler.