Phillies manager on taking part in the London Series

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Phillies manager Rob Thomson on taking part in the London Series and how travel has affected the team  London Stadium, London, UK

Transcript

00:00 (audience chattering)

00:03 - All right.

00:08 Okay, good afternoon everyone.

00:13 Welcome to London for those visiting.

00:16 We're gonna get started with Philly's manager, Rob Thompson.

00:18 We have microphones on both sides of the room,

00:20 so please just raise your hand and we'll get you the mic.

00:23 First question for Rob.

00:24 - You finally made it.

00:29 - I made it, I got here.

00:31 Good to see you.

00:32 - Good to see you.

00:33 - What's the experience been like so far?

00:35 I saw you got to mix it up

00:37 with some Philly's fans last night.

00:38 - Yeah. - How's it been?

00:39 - It's been fantastic, really has.

00:42 Yeah, we had a little reception last night at the Tower

00:46 for the team and then we found out

00:50 that there was a Philly bar.

00:51 Dusty Watham found out, he did a podcast with a guy,

00:54 was affiliated with the bar.

00:56 So we, I said, "Well, let's head over

00:59 "and we'll take everybody with us."

01:00 And we had a great time.

01:02 - Getting any cheesesteaks while you were there?

01:05 - No, no. - Or getting a sample?

01:06 Okay, just mixed it up with the Philly's fans.

01:08 - Yeah, and it was amazing how many people

01:11 from Philadelphia were there.

01:14 And then obviously the Philly fans here from Great Britain.

01:17 So it was just a lot of fun.

01:19 There had to be 500 people there.

01:21 (microphone feedback)

01:24 - Rob, just Ranger all good to go for?

01:32 - Looks like it, he's doing his touch and feel right now.

01:35 So I think he's ready to go.

01:36 - And if he comes out okay, is there any limitations on him

01:39 or would it be normal?

01:40 - It'd probably be normal,

01:42 but we'll see how he feels after today.

01:44 And maybe we cut him back a little bit,

01:47 but as of right now, I'd approach it as being normal.

01:52 - And then JT on, I guess, Wednesday night

01:54 had those two plays late in the game

01:55 where he got nicked up.

01:56 Is he all good or?

01:57 - Yeah, we think so.

01:58 We're gonna add Marshon to the roster.

02:00 He's gonna be our 27th man.

02:02 And basically it's because JT has been dinged up.

02:06 And just in case something happens,

02:08 we've got that extra catcher right there

02:10 in the middle of the game.

02:12 (indistinct)

02:14 - Rob, you guys did so much preparation for the trip over

02:21 in terms of studying when to sleep

02:23 and how to get the body, the rest you need.

02:27 Have you been able to sort of check in with guys

02:28 and see in the last 24 hours how they came out of it

02:32 and whether it all worked the way you wanted?

02:34 - Yeah, I think it did.

02:36 I think everybody feels pretty good and kind of normal.

02:40 Most of the guys may have had a little nap yesterday morning

02:43 but tried to stay awake for most of the day

02:45 and get to sleep at 10 or 11 o'clock.

02:48 I was able to grind through the day without having a nap.

02:52 So I feel absolutely, when I got up this morning,

02:55 I felt just normal.

02:57 - And just to follow up on JT,

02:59 you guys are in the position of playing from in front

03:02 as opposed to the last two years.

03:04 Is there a thought to maybe being able to dial back

03:08 JT's workload a little bit just from the 130 starts

03:11 the last two years and maybe manage him a little differently?

03:15 - Yeah, possibly.

03:16 It always gets back to how he feels.

03:20 And it's tough to take him out

03:24 because he always wants to play,

03:25 but sometimes you gotta take the game away from the player.

03:29 - Hey Rob, so how do you balance the enjoyment

03:36 of this unique event with trying to stay

03:38 in the great rhythm you guys have been in so far this season?

03:41 - Well, I think these guys are professionals

03:44 and they'll enjoy their time here

03:47 and they'll do some sightseeing.

03:49 But once they get to the ballpark,

03:51 they kind of turn into professionalism

03:56 and they get after it just like they normally do.

03:59 - Yeah, wondering if you did anything yesterday

04:06 besides the Tower of London and the Philly Bar,

04:10 did you walk around the city?

04:12 Did you see anything that you hadn't seen before?

04:14 - Well, we did a tour of the tower in the afternoon

04:17 and that was unbelievable.

04:20 This is my first time here,

04:22 even though I'm Canadian citizen

04:24 and we were part of the British colony for so many years.

04:26 And it was unbelievable.

04:31 All the crown jewels and all the armory.

04:35 I mean, it was fantastic.

04:37 - Did you see anything else yesterday?

04:40 - Not really.

04:41 You know, we stayed pretty close to the hotel.

04:45 We went to Dickens Inn, which was a little pub for lunch

04:49 and had some fish and chips.

04:50 So that was good.

04:52 - Hi Rob, with all your travel recently,

05:00 West Coast and here, you have any concerns

05:03 about how that might impact the players' bodies?

05:06 - Absolutely.

05:07 Yeah, that's why our strength and conditioning department,

05:11 our medical department,

05:12 they've given us a lot of things to do,

05:17 sleep, when to sleep, when not to sleep,

05:22 supplements, things like that.

05:24 'Cause we're crossing 18 time zones

05:26 from since Colorado till we get to Boston.

05:31 So that can put a lot of stress on your body for a player.

05:35 And so we're concerned about it.

05:37 So we're taking everything we can,

05:41 everything we can do, we're trying to get it done

05:43 so that they don't get hurt.

05:45 - These international games,

05:47 recently they've been really high scoring,

05:48 you've probably noticed.

05:50 Do you have any theories about why that is?

05:52 Does hitting just travel better than pitching?

05:55 - Yeah, I know that the last couple of times here,

05:59 it was extremely hot.

06:01 And so there were a lot of runs scored,

06:04 and I think it's gonna be a little bit cooler.

06:05 So maybe that'll knock down some of the runs, hopefully.

06:10 - Quick cricket question.

06:11 Now, if you saw the US cricket team had a big win

06:14 in the T20 World Cup yesterday,

06:17 if you have any experience with cricket,

06:20 like you mentioned about being Canadian

06:23 and having some connection to Britain.

06:26 And if you saw that, or if you have any interest in--

06:28 - I missed that score.

06:29 I'm glad you updated me with that.

06:31 But no, I really don't follow cricket that much.

06:34 I'm more of a hockey, football, basketball, baseball guy.

06:37 - Thank you.

06:38 - Hi Rob, looking back at the last couple of years

06:48 for this team, obviously the cohesion

06:50 has been such a big part of it.

06:51 How important is a factor like that

06:53 when traveling so much and into foreign territory?

06:56 - Yeah, it's a big factor because these guys

06:59 kind of love each other and they get along so well,

07:03 they don't, so they're not getting on each other's nerves.

07:06 So our group is a very special group in that manner

07:11 and that they do, they support each other,

07:15 they get along, they do everything together,

07:19 play cards, go out, whatever, go to dinner.

07:21 So that helps.

07:24 - And then lastly, just obviously coming out of this,

07:26 you're gonna be straight back on a plane after Sunday.

07:28 Is the preparation change again for coming out of London

07:31 is the same as it did coming in?

07:33 - I think it'll be a little bit easier

07:34 because we get into Boston at 10 o'clock at night,

07:38 so they can go right to sleep

07:39 and get back on that Eastern time zone.

07:42 - Hi Rob, I just wondered what your thoughts are

07:52 about the long-term future of the London series.

07:54 It sounds like you and the team

07:56 have had a great time over here already

07:58 and that the overall experience for you

08:00 has been really positive.

08:01 What is your opinion about a long-term future

08:06 for MLB to come to London?

08:08 - My hope it lasts forever, to tell you the truth.

08:11 I think this is a great experience for everyone.

08:14 I think growing the sport all over the world,

08:18 we can have competitive baseball

08:20 in every country in the world,

08:22 the sport's only gonna be better.

08:25 This is a great facility.

08:27 It seems like the people of Great Britain

08:29 have really taken to this and they come out.

08:33 So I think it's a great experience

08:34 and I hope it lasts forever.

08:36 - Yes Rob, the Phillies have had a beautiful season so far.

08:43 Could you have imagined that it would go so well?

08:45 We're almost at the All-Star break

08:46 and you're one of the top teams, obviously, in MLB.

08:50 - Well, we've played well in pretty much every phase

08:54 and we've had some good fortune as well along the way

08:59 and we're healthy, knock on wood,

09:01 especially with our pitching.

09:03 So yeah, it's been a good start,

09:06 but we got a long way to go.

09:07 We got four months to go and anything can happen.

09:10 I've seen it before, so we gotta just keep preparing

09:13 and competing on a daily basis.

09:15 - Yeah, good luck.

09:19 - Thank you.

09:20 - Thank you.

09:21 - Just as a reminder for everybody,

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