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5 min readThe Phillies' Turnaround, Cal Raleigh's Crash, and Florida's Subpoena of the NFL
The Phillies fired manager Rob Thompson after a 9-19 start—a .321 winning percentage through 28 games—and replaced him with Don Mattingly. Since then, Philadelphia has gone 12-4, a .750 clip, and sits right back in the National League East race. But Ben Maller isn't buying the narrative that Mattingly has fixed anything. "Don Mattingly did not all of a sudden become Fix-It Felix and fix the Phillies," Maller says. "He just stopped them from tripping over their own shoelaces against a schedule of dollar menu opponents."
The Mattingly Mirage
Under Maller's microscope, the Phillies' hot streak looks less like a turnaround and more like a scheduling accident. Since Mattingly took over, Philadelphia has faced the Rockies, Athletics, Marlins, and Red Sox—teams Maller calls "traffic cones." "If beating tomato cans makes you a savior, if God Mattingly is now the Messiah of the Phillies, then Marcel in Brooklyn is a Michelin star chef for heating up oodles of noodles in the microwave," he says.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:46) **Opening and Show Preview** - Maller sets up the hour's topics: the Phillies' turnaround under Don Mattingly, Cal Raleigh's struggles, Florida's subpoena of the NFL over the Rooney Rule, and the fifth hour podcast.
- 2 (08:00) **Don Mattingly's Phillies Turnaround: Legit or Mirage?** - Maller argues the Phillies' hot streak is a "pillow fight" against weak opponents, not a true revival.
- 3 (13:18) **Cal Raleigh's Collapse in Seattle** - Maller uses Pitbull's "Fireball" to describe the catcher's dramatic fall from 2025's magic carpet ride.
- 4 (16:46) **Florida Attorney General Subpoenas NFL Over Rooney Rule** - The state has moved from threats to action, demanding seven years of hiring data.
- 5 (23:16) **Maller Riddle of the Day** - PETA is mad at George Kittle for bragging about what? Listeners guess answers like cockfighting, fur coats, and beating the Jets.
- 6 (33:42) **Listener Calls: Jed Who Fled and Dorco the Comedian** - Two callers bring chaotic, tangential conversations about spiders, time warps, and comedy gigs.
- 7 (40:28) **Big Ben's Lame Jokes of the Week** - A rapid-fire segment of listener-submitted puns, mostly targeting Weedman Hippie and other show characters.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
In hour 3, Ben wonder if this Phillies turnaround has anything to do with Don Mattingly's managerial magic, where are we at with Cal Raleigh's performance so far this season with the Mariners + a new edition of the Lame Jokes of the Week!
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