Friday night’s game against the Cleveland Guardians didn’t go well for the Philadelphia Phillies, who were on the wrong end of a 6-0 final score. But can the poor showing simply be attributed to the team’s less-than-ideal travel situation before the game? Phillies Postgame Live hosts Michael Barkann and Ricky Bottalico were on different sides of that argument.
Before the series in Cleveland, the Phillies were in Florida for a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. That series concluded on Thursday with a night game. So, Philadelphia traveled overnight and didn’t arrive in Cleveland until early Friday morning. The Guardians, meanwhile, were well-rested, as Thursday was an off day for them. So, when Phillies Postgame Live began, Barkann — who’s often reactionary after a Philadelphia loss — simply pinned the performance on the travel.
“All I can do is write this one off,” he said, even acknowledging that Bottalico and fellow Ben Davis might be surprised to hear that. “They are coming in at three in the morning against a team that’s off the day before, that’s lying in wait. A team that’s very, very good, that’s got pitching, that’s got hitting, as we saw…Guess what, I’m giving them a pass, Ricky Bottalico.”
Bottalico disagreed, noting that tough travel isn’t a new issue in MLB. He also pointed out that, while the Phillies scored no runs, they did get runners on base and played well defensively.
The conversation resumed later in the show, when Bottalico said that Barkann was “writing it off on sleep.”
“And a good Cleveland team waiting for ’em,” Barkann added.
Bottalico then asked Barkann how long he’d been doing pregame and postgame shows for the Phillies. Barkann replied that it was roughly 40 years.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen you give a team an excuse,” Bottalico said.
“I’m as shocked as you,” Barkann replied. “I really am. But come on. This team won 9 out of 11 games coming in.”
“It’s not an excuse. This is baseball travel. What do you think, they flew on a chicken coop? Trust me, they had nice seats. Nice and comfortable. They could’ve slept on the plane if they wanted.”
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Naturally, that created some laughter on the set.
Barkann, though, got one more joke in before sending the show to a commercial.
“Hello, Chicken Coop Air, may I help you?”
