Todd Zolecki Talks Phils Playoffs on the DL

Listen to Dan talk with Todd Zolecki.

Click here for more information and a clipped up version of the show.

Todd Zolecki joins the show to talk about the Philadelphia Phillies upcoming trip to the Post Season!!!!

Zolecki is the beat writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer. And he’s from Milwaukee. Conflict of interest? We ask. Personally, I wouldn’t let him within 100 feet of the clubhouse this week. Just sayin….

We talk about the job of a beat writer, and just how daunting that job is. Jeff Pearlman called the baseball beat the toughest job in sports journalism, so we get Todd’s reaction to that assertion. We also talk about his relationship with the players having to go into the locker room every day and ‘work’ them to get information. Sal Paolantonio likened that to going into your neighbor’s house and learning their deepest darkest secrets, telling the world, then going back in the next day and doing it again. We talk about how close Sal is to the real thing.

We discuss the changes in his job over the last three years, going from working a near-empty press box in September to sharing his job with at least a dozen writers at Philly.com. How do they divvy up the coverage?

Did he even bother going into the champagne bath on Saturday? Is the clubhouse just an absolute madhouse, and Todd shares a great story about his clothes getting ruined, and how he learned his lesson from last year’s afterparty. Did he get the Jade McCarthy treatment?

We talk on the field stuff, including the merits of Ryan Howard being the MVP. Is Howard even the MVP of the Phillies this year, or should that honor go to Brad Lidge? Exactly how important were these two to the success of the team? Short answer: very.

We compare this year’s team to last year’s squad. Now that the Phillies have been there before, and looking at the teams in front of them, do the expectations change for this season? How far do they have to go for this season to be a success?

Last, we talk about the Philly fans. What is our reputation around the country? Are we as hated as Red Sox fans? Do we just care too much? Are we the best fans in the country, the worst….or both?