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