PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - A million to Juan

Episode Date: July 20, 2022

On this episode, Derek and Jesse are discussing Juan Soto winning the Home Run Derby, Steven Souza calling it a career, and wishing a special birthday to a legend we lost too soon.SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeWebsite: https://gophnx.com PHNX Locker: https://phnxlocker.com/Head on over to The PHNX Locker to pick up one of our new PHNX hats!SOCIAL: Twitter: https://twitter.com/PHNX_SportsInstagram: https://instagram.com/PHNX_Sports Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now (https://bit.ly/3Jl1dMX), use promo code PHNX and make your first deposit and get a RISK-FREE BET UP TO ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. Minimum age and eligibility restrictions apply.If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisiscounseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visitOPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).21+ (18+ WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NJ/NY/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Min. $5 deposit required. Eligibility restrictions apply. See http://draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.OGeez! is dedicated to creating innovative and memorable cannabis infused products that flavor life’s journey. If you’re interested in trying the amazingly delicious variety of flavors that OGeez! Brands has to offer, go to https://ogeezbrands.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That's a good title, right? That was a pretty good title. As far as your titles are concerned, Derek, that was one of the better ones. It's not a Taylor Swift lyric, I promise you that. Thank you guys so much for joining us, of course. Welcome to the PHNXDBACs podcast. My name is Derek Montia, occasionally known as your mayor of PHNX. This guy over here is Thunderstick Jesse Friedman,

occasionally known as the vice mayor of PHNX. And we are here to bring you the finest debacks coverage in all the valley. Of course, this show is brought to you by the fine folks at the Draft King Sportsbook, America's number one rated sportsbook app. Jesse, that was a fun home run derby. It was a fun home run. I had a blast watching it. It was a little, I thought it was a little anticlimactic that Juan Soda won, honestly. The Empire won, essentially.

The bad guys won. It's like Empire Strikes Back. I mean, I'm sure you don't get that. What, what, of course not there. What baffled me is that Julio Rodriguez, I believe his salary for this season is 700, grand. Basically close to the league minimum, which is $5.63 and change or no, yeah, actually went up.

I forgot. Yeah, because now it's, now it's 700,000. It is literally the league minimum. I mean, this is his rookie season. So he hasn't received any raises beyond that yet. So his annual salary for this season is $700,000. Do you know how much money he would have made, Derek, if he would have won the home run derby?

$1 million. One million dollars. He would have more than doubled his salary. Yeah. If he had won this home run derby. And the man who just turned. down a $440 million contract offer snatched away for Julio Rodriguez's $1 million. Just snatched it right away, just like taking his happiness away.

By the way, Juan Soto does make $17 million. Yeah. So at least he's not one of those guys that makes like $50 million a year, right? He's pretty close to that. Soon to be there, probably, but not yet, not yet. I was hoping that when he hugged Julio Rodriguez there at the end, that he whispered in his ear, I'm going to give you the money. That's what I wished that would have happened.

I know that's probably not what happened. And honestly, that Derby Champ chain, that Bad Bunny awarded him, apparently came for Bad Bunny, I think. And that thing alone has got to be worth a cool million because Bad Bunny's got money like that. But, or excuse me, I got to say that right, Bad Bunny. That's how my family members will never forgive me if I don't say it right. But speaking of Julio Rodriguez, What a night for him, right?

Like, I mean, this to me is, was kind of like his, like, hello world kind of introduction. And it was really what I kind of wanted for Christian Walker. That's what I kind of wanted for him to be in the home run derby for. Just to have that moment of, you know, some national recognition. And maybe. Sure. Because like you said, in a wonderfully well-worded tweet, Christian Walker would have wiped the floor with some of these guys. And you know, that's true.

Some of these fools was the exact right. was the exact phrasing. I like that. What do you think about J. Rod and his night? Yeah, I mean, Julio Rodriguez is one of the most, he's one of the most marketable players, I think. One of the most marketable young players that baseball has. Yesterday, I thought it was interesting. There were people out there covering some of the pre-home run derby festivities. And people said that Julio Rodriguez was just mobbed with reporters pretty much the entire time,

which is funny because, I mean, he plays for the Seattle Mariners. He doesn't play for, you know, the Dodgers or the Yankees or the Red Sox or one of the big market teams. But he's just so cool. Like you can't help watch Julio Rodriguez play baseball and not just be like that guy could be the face of this game. Yeah. And not just that, but I think that some people are good interviews. And based on what we saw out of him, because I haven't seen him do an interview yesterday, he gave a great interview. And I think that, you know, we tend to see some canned answers from play.

all year long, but, you know, this weekend, All-Star Break is where, like, we kind of want to see the, you know, the more normal human side of them, right? Yeah. And get some of those answers just about, you know, how they love baseball and how excited they are to be there, right? So many of these guys are there for their first time and experiencing this entire, you know, thing through, you know, new, new eyes. And Julio Rodriguez's interviews were refreshing, watching him hit the crap out of the ball in

the home run derby. Yeah. was refreshing and he also ended reigning champion Pete Alonzo's reign of terror over over the home run derby and the polar bear took it hard to say the least he did he was he was caught up in his feelings and he took to Instagram with this this little I I actually asked Jesse if he was joking if this was like facetious he wrote on Instagram this morning it hit me that I'm no longer the home run derby champion. If I can be honest with all of you, my fans, it's like a part of me is gone. A piece of my soul ripped and torn, staring in the mirror,

I see a man who lost his smile. I'm going to need some time off to hook to think things through, and I hope you'll respect my privacy. That's really something. It's a bit much, right? I mean, you won two home run derby, something that most players never even win one of. I think, you know, you've kind of had the admiration of everybody in baseball and, you know, no one's taking what you've done away. But that seems a little rough. I guess the longer. So breaking news, Derek, you ready for this? Is it fake?

It's fake. Yeah, I knew it. I knew it was fake. Jesse, you got me with that one. I'm just going to, yeah, yeah, I totally got you. Yeah, that was tweeted out by New York Porch Sports, which sure enough is a satire page. But I think they're just kind of making fun of how he was yesterday. Yeah, like he was visibly, you could just, you could just tell that this was.

And he was trying to, you know, he was going to give the proceeds to his charity that he and his wife have been working on. So you could tell that he really, really wanted to win this. But the reason why this is so believable is he put a lot of pressure on himself. And you could hear it yesterday during the All-Star game. or during the home run derby, you could see it with his preparation, right? Other people were kind of out there enjoying the atmosphere, talking to fellow players. Lifting weights in the back room and just sitting in a chair like kind of zoned in. He gave a hilarious answer when I think after his first round when they asked him like,

you really see him in the zone. How are you feeling right now? He said in the zone. And he was. I want to give props to, I wish I remembered her name. Do you remember the name of the ESPN reporter who was on the ground yesterday? She was trying way too hard, but I get where she was going. Like, she was trying to do everything she could to get these guys to open up.

She really was, which I appreciate it. Like, you know, Buster only will go down there and he'll do an interview and it's just kind of like, you know, he's asking good questions, but the answers are all kind of surface level. It's hard. But this woman, she would not let the clears go off, get off easy, which I thought was, which I thought was phenomenal. Absolutely not. And I think that with baseball players, you come to, the longer you're around them, like, I have been around this team now for 11 years, Jesse, 11 years. And I have just come to expect them to be a certain way.

Like, I expect a certain answer. But going back to what we were saying earlier, that's the reason why, like, during the All-Star break, you kind of hope that they come out of their shell a bit more. They don't give you the, you know, both teams played hard kind of answer. Yeah. I mean, you're playing in the home run derby. Like, it's a home run derby. Right. You have to have fun with it.

This is not the time to be like, you know, we left everything we had out on the field. You know, I was just trying to get a good pitch to hit. I was just like that. I was just trying to hit the ball hard. That's all I was out there trying to do. No, I want W.W.E level of smack talking between these guys, right? I want them to cut promos on each other. I want them to come out and be like, let me tell you something, brother.

I heard Albert Poolew also what he was saying, you know, that kind of thing. I need that. And I love the format of it. So the format of it definitely lends to that with the head-to-head matchup, right? The head-to-head matchup portion of it is so fun. I mean, I've been watching the home run derby now for a long time, and I feel like the head-to-head format is by far the best. And then we've got to see a big upset in the first round, obviously.

The Machine, Big Al, Albert Pooleholz, had himself a day. Great to see him not only get honored, but to get out of the first round against Kyle Schwabrew, who was mid at best as a number one overall seed. I was so close, Derek, to tweeting out something sarcastic about like, oh, surely this will be close. like Kyle Schwarver against Albert Pujols. And it was.

And it absolutely was. And you could tell Kyle Schwerber was just like beside himself. He was like, how on earth am I losing to this 42 year old man? But, you know, then he's like doing the whole salute thing after after the round was over, which was pretty cool to see. For sure.

For sure. And I think the difference there is the guys that did well were having a fun time. Right. Going back to Jrod. J.rod was having a fun time. He looked like. Like 32, I think his first round. and then 30 a second round?

Those are big numbers. He hit over 80 home runs in the home run derby. It's crazy. And so that's incredible in itself. One of his home runs, this is how close he was to potentially winning this derby. One of his home runs was one foot away from being 440 feet, which would have given him the additional 30 second bonus.

And who knows? Who knows? He kind of caught fire late in his round and when he had his extra time. So maybe he could have gotten to a point where he won this thing. I have to question the accuracy of the measurements. I have to. I can't help it. How do you know it went 439 feet?

I just have to, I can't help but wonder that. But Juan Soto, again, is your home run derby champion stealing $1 million from J. Rod, of course. That's how we're going to. That's how we're putting it. But Juan Soto, obviously, the most compelling story approaching MLB's trade deadline, because now we are finding out that he is on the trade block. and we have some rumors about him getting moved places that we do not want to see him get moved to. Yeah, the San Diego Padres, Derek, has been reported as the favorites for Juan Soto, which is so like, what happened to the San Diego Padres, man?

Like a few years ago, they were the kind of team that wasn't really in on any of the big names, right? Prior to what, two seasons ago? Something like that. And then all of a sudden, you know, it's Mani Machado. it's giving Fernando Tatis, you know, whatever it was, an absurd amount of money for a guy who's hardly played in the majors, which I can't blame them for.

I mean, it was probably a good decision on their part. But the Padres are a different team, a different franchise than they were a few years ago. I want to say they have a new ownership group that probably explains that. But, I mean, it's wild. And it's unfortunate for Diamondbacks fans looking at a division where not only do you have the Los Angeles Dodgers,

of course, going out and being willing to spend just about however much money it takes to get whomever, but the San Diego Padres. And of course, you're probably not trying to trade for Juan Soto unless you have at least some interest in extending him and keeping him in your organization beyond that. I guess it could just be more of a rental sort of a deal.

But the Padres are, I mean, they are a formidable franchise and their willingness to spend big time money on a guy like him is only scarier and scarier for, you know, a fan base for, you know, the Diamondbacks. It's pretty crazy. Here's what I think. And here's how I see it. This is kind of what happens when you have to put up with a team like the Dodgers being in

your division and you have to do something kind of dramatic in order to shift the power within the division a bunch. At this point, the Padres have defined kind of who their core is and who they're going to build around. They know that. Yeah. They also know who they're willing to part with if it means getting a player of Juan Soto's caliber and they're willing to part with probably a lot, right? but a lot of it is going to be prospects and building towards the future and things like that that the nationals are going to be interested in versus like trading Machado to the nationals or

something ridiculous like that, right? But who knows? Who knows what it's going to take and who knows how bad it's going to be within the division for Juan Soto to be a Padre? We hope that's not the case. I would much rather see him go to. I saw a rumor about maybe the Seattle Mariners. And I kind of love that idea because I really love.

what Seattle Mariners are doing this season. They're a fun team and I think it would be exciting to see them make the playoffs. And man, if they're a young, exciting team, if they could add a guy like Juan Soto who's very young, very much the future of baseball, that could completely change the A.L. West and the Seattle Mariners trajectory for the foreseeable future.

Yeah. Do you know how long it's been since the Mariners have been to the playoffs? No. As a former Seattleite myself, I have to know the answer to this question. 2001. It was the year the Diamondbacks won the World Series. That was the last time the Mariners or even in the postseason. And they've been close. Like year after year after year, it's not for a lack of trying. Jerry DePoto has made like 4,000 trades over the last five years or so to try

to get them there. But they've never, they've never gotten over the hump, not in more than 20 years now. It's crazy. That drought is old enough to drink. And that brings me to... It is. It is. Wow. Well, good transition, Derek. Well, done. Of course, 21 years and only drink responsibly over at Four Peaks Brewing Company, but definitely try out their variety of beers that they have to offer. Also check out their location. The 8th Street Pub is incredible, incredible food, incredible beer, incredible atmosphere. I love craft breweries, but I love them more when they're an actual production facility.

There's a couple of places in L.A. I used to go to, and I just kind of loved the idea of being at a place that, you know, a nationwide produced beer is also there. in their little tap room, right? Yeah. Four Peaks has that. That's where they make the beer at. So go check it out. Take a tour.

Enjoy yourself, get some merch. Most importantly, help out the local teachers because Four Peaks Brewing Company is donating a portion of their proceeds to getting supplies for local teachers. So have yourself a beer and know that a portion is going to a good cause. They have a wonderful variety of beers. You can't make it out to the Four Peaks Brewing Company location. Make sure to grab a 12-pack near you, wherever you're at. Convenient store, supermarket, it doesn't matter.

Four Peaks, as they say, has been in the mix since 96 here in the Valley, and it's my favorite beer. It should be yours, too. We'll be there, won't we? We'll be there live. We'll be there next Wednesday, right? Next Wednesday, I believe so, yeah. My final show before I go off to Disneyland, that's where I'm headed after that, the most magical place. But my magic place is Four Peaks Brewing Company over on 8th Street and 10P, and that's where we will be, all of us.

So join us that day. PHNX going live. We also have our toast of the month sweepstakes. Get down on that for Peaks $50 gift card, a PHNX shirt of your choice, as well as that PHNX annual membership. And you don't need to win that sweepstakes in order to get yourself an annual membership. Get yourself an annual membership, and you will get one of those T-shirts for free. So it's almost like you won, right? That's pretty close to winning.

Whatever you want over at the PHNX Locker.com, if you become an annual member, if you're interested in becoming a month-to-month member, we will hook you up with your first month for just 50 cents. Regardless of your membership status, you will get members-only discounts over. at the phnx locker.com, as well as members-only access to our discord that has been an absolute blast to be in. It's always a joy. It's my favorite place to hang out. I don't really have many places on social media I go besides Twitter. And Discord is it. But you guys can join us there and help us discuss this team and what we're going to do. We also need some ideas for t-shirts, I think. We need some new t-shirts. Well, someone in the discord, I'm forgetting who it was,

said earlier today that we already need a Hispanic Titanic t-shirt for Ivan Melendez so we'll have to get on that we gotta get that okay that is a that is a must but also of course if you guys haven't done so already if you're watching us right now on YouTube we appreciate you guys being there make sure to subscribe to the pH and exports YouTube channel sign up for notifications that way you don't miss whenever we go live or any of the other shows go live if you're listening to us right now in your favorite audio podcasting app subscribe to us there if you haven't done so already and leave us a five-star review Jesse good news

there was worry that Drew Jones wasn't going to end up signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks as ridiculous as that said? Was there? No. Why? There wasn't. Who was worried? Some people. You know why? Because it's the Arizona Diamondbacks. But luckily, that concern is no longer as he has officially signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks. So now we

don't have to worry about that being a thing anymore. Of course, giving an 18 year old kid over $8 million is a pretty significant way to get them to sign on the dotted line, I would say. Yeah, yeah. He got the slots. I think it was like $8.19 million something. something around there, which is what was expected to happen. If a guy gets taken second overall and has offered the slot, I mean, there's really no way

that any player is going to reject that. The only way you would possibly reject that is if Drew Jones thought that it was like a lock that he would be the first overall pick if he went to college and came back next year. But, you know, you could get hurt. Like there are so many things that could, it's probably more likely that you'll move up further down in the draft and that you'll move up that one final spot. So there was really no chance Drew Jones ever wasn't going to sign here. But it's good to see it happen so quickly.

Jordan Lawler last year did not happen that quickly. There were, I think it took two or three weeks after the draft happened. He was a trickier situation just because he was also committed to college and he was taken lower in the draft than he was expecting to be taken. The diamondbacks got him at sixth overall. He fell there, but a lot of people had him ranked. the number one overall prospect in the draft. So that was a trickier situation, but this one, not so tricky.

Drew Jones at number two, he was going to take that slot every day that ends in Y. And it's good to see that happen so quickly in the process. We actually have a little bit more clarity on what the Texas Rangers were doing as well with taking Kumar Rocker. Yeah. Right? Like they ended up taking Brock Porter, who in the fourth round, who was a first round projection. It's crazy that he dropped that low. It's crazy.

But they said that part of the reason why, was because of his bonus demands and the concern with him not signing with the money that they saved by taking Kumar Rocker with that, what, the third pick, they end up having that additional slot bonus to be able to pay someone like Brock Porter. So that actually ends up looking a little bit clearer for the Texas Rangers, even though they did sacrifice a pretty high draft pick for someone who most people thought wasn't going to go anywhere close to the top 10. Yeah, that's a good point. I mean, I think Brock Porter was ranked around 15th, something like that on most draft boards. And ironically, Kumar Rocker was ranked lower than that by most people. Right, right.

Absolutely. I mean, he was, in some drafts, he wasn't expected to go until round two or the competitive balance round. Yeah. In other drafts, he, yeah, he was a bit higher, obviously, right? I think he went as high as 15 through 16. Some people had him connected to going to the Padres, which sure would have been another absolute nightmare for us to deal with. But, you know, it is, it is one thing that, of course, it seemed like they have a pretty good plan now when you look back at everything they were doing. That's kind of what we might have, we thought we might have seen out of the Baltimore Orioles, but they went with a much higher draft pick in Jackson Holiday. Yeah, Jackson Holiday, I think is pretty much going to be a slot pick, which is kind of interesting. I mean, that suggests that

the Orioles didn't pick Jackson Holiday because they wanted to save money. They picked him because they thought he was a better player, I guess. I mean, they had him higher on their board than they had Drew Jones, which is interesting because there's not a lot of scouts, not a lot of analysts out there that I've seen who felt that way. Pretty much everyone had Drew Jones at number one. You know, the thing about it is that they were looking for an infielder. Like everybody that they had the Orioles connected to was a shortstopper or second basement.

Tomar Johnson was the one. Or catcher. Or catcher. Kevin Perada I saw it thrown around in a little bit. but they definitely had the, I think that they got, you know, what they wanted as far as in the draft. And I think that, you know, they got the highest ranked infielder that they could. He was, it's like splitting hairs at that point. Like you said, it's a matter of maybe needs for the organization.

But, I mean, who really knows what these guys are going to be down the road or what you're going to need down the road. So it's, it's always going to be out there. And that's the wonderful part is I don't think the Diamondbacks are going to be the ones. left with question marks in five years when, you know, we're seeing these guys on a major league level. Let's hope not. Let's hope not. But speaking of that's the future. Let's take a look at the past because we got a little bit of spying on our exes to do today, you guys.

And not necessarily in a good way. Not, well, I guess I don't know how to phrase this. I feel like I'm phrasing this poorly already. But it's not that we are spying on someone doing good. We are spying on someone calling it a career about four. hours ago Stephen Sousa tweeted out what athletes are doing now, which is like a note message on social media. But he titled the tweet, Time to Call it a Career. And he says 16 years after my name was called in 2007 by Mike Rizzo and the Washington Nationals, I have finally decided

to hang up my glove in my career. It's been an incredible journey that I dreamed as a kid I would be able to go on without Jesus, none of this would be possible. And I'm forever grateful for all that blessed me with. I want to give a special thanks to all the coaches, players, who impacted not only my career but my life. I want to give a special thanks to my wife and my family for supporting me during this amazing journey. Without your love and support, I would never have made it out of the GCL.

I don't know where Jesus is leading me next, but I do know that I want to share my experiences and my love for the greatest game in the world with those who strive to be what I did. Here's to the next chapter. And here's to you, Stephen Sousa, because, again, yeah, we, it was a short time with the Arizona Diamondbacks,

but definitely a guy that had his career probably cut short, unfortunately, due to some injuries, you know, limiting him a bit. But somebody who had some flashes of being pretty great at times in his career. Yeah, I mean, it's pretty sad when you look at his journey, honestly. I mean, he was a pretty good player in 2017 with the Tampa Bay raise. We're looking at 239 batting average, 30 home runs, 78 RBIs. He was a pretty good outfielder. He stole 16 bases.

And that's when the Diamondbacks made a pretty significant trade. to acquire Stephen Soussa. They traded Anthony Banda, who was one of their top pitching prospects at the time. They traded Brandon Drury, um, All-Star snub, Brandon Drury.

Don't bring him up. More spying on our exes. There you go. Um, but yeah, and then, and then he came over to Arizona and he just wasn't the same guy. Um, in 2018,

Steven Sousa hit 220 for the Diamondbacks. He slugged 369. He at five home runs. Uh, he only played in 72 games. He suffered a pretty significant injury in an exhibition game right before the season started. It was a gut-wrenching time to be a Diamondbacks fan right before the season started to see that. I was at that game.

Really? Yeah, it was devastating. It's happened a couple of times. I think A.J. Pollock had a big injury in one of those exhibition games. They got to stop playing those exhibition games. It just doesn't tend to end well. Oh, man, yeah. Those last couple of games right before the season get rough.

but yeah, I mean, it's just sort of sad to see. I mean, really ever since that injury, ever since his recovery trying to work his way back from that, he was just never really a big league quality player again. He kind of bounced around, the Cubs took a chance on him, the Dodgers took a chance on him. This year was the Mariners. But altogether, I mean, he played a total of 34 games

after he left the Diamondbacks over the last three years. So it's just been a rough go for him. And, you know, he still had some, some really good playing days early in his career with Tampa Bay. So, but it's sad to see an injury just, you know, leave a player so different from, from what they were before, you know, and leave them in a spot where they just can't get back to the player that they were. So sad to see Steven Sous's career end.

But he's a, yeah, he's a cool guy. I interviewed Steven Sousa actually a few years ago. I talked to him on the phone for like 15 or 20 minutes. And he's a really, just a really neat, very down-to-earth, fun to talk to sort of a person. So, so, yeah, it'll be. Baseball will miss Stephen Sousa for sure. For sure. And by the way, make sure to try out our friends at OG's Gummies.

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But you guys can do that too. And again, make sure to check them out at OGsbrands.com or online at OGs. these brands must be 21 years or older to purchase. Oh, Jesse, we got the All-Star game tonight. We do. What are you looking forward to seeing tonight? Wait, let me ask you this. Do you like the All-Star game?

No. Is it something? Well, okay. What kind of a question is that? I'm not a huge fan of the All-Star game at times because I feel like the Home Run Derby is, in my opinion, it's the best event in all of like All-Star weekends for any sport. I love the Home Run Derby.

And I'm not saying that they should put the home run derby last, but I am saying that it's kind of like the home run derby is the peak for me. And then we have the All-Star game the next day. However, MLB found a way to rectify that. Yes. Because again, if the All-Star game tonight ends in a tie after nine innings, they are actually holding a home run derby to determine the winner. And again, this is the best possible way to determine this.

I think it should be implemented all across baseball. It really should. I mean, I do think that the new way the extra innings are done makes makes extra earnings a little bit more exciting, maybe. You know, a little bit, not much. People in baseball are so on board with it. And a reason why is because they are as sick of baseball games not having a determinable ending as we are. Like, they don't want these games. I mean, it was literally the players who wanted this. It wasn't, it wasn't the owners. It wasn't the executives. It was the players who wanted this in place because they don't, they don't want. want to play six hour base. I want it in place. I want it in place.

I have been at Chase Field sometimes until almost one o'clock in the morning, Jesse. And that's just like watching the game, not to mention the post, you know, game stuff that we had to do, right? Right, right. I was there. I didn't get home until like two one night of a 15, 16 inning game. It was ridiculous, right? I don't want any more of that ever. But I think that this idea really is like someone said like maybe let them play one inning.

Uh, maybe, maybe do a 10th. And then why would you even try in that one end up? It's like screw it. Let's just play. Let's just do a home run. We'll just get to the good stuff here. But anyway, what are you thinking about seeing tonight?

What are you excited besides possibly ending in a time? I mean, that is 100% what everyone is. That's all we want to see. We just, we just want chaos. That's what we want. We absolutely want chaos.

I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. The Brian Snicker decided to name Clayton Kershaw, the starting pitcher for the National League. Really? Um, just because it's in LA, it's in LA. How many more All-Star games does Clayton Kershaw have? Yeah, I get it. But he just didn't, he just didn't deserve it.

Sandy Alcantara far and away. I mean, he's the Scy Young favor right now, probably by a pretty significant margin. Um, and so I just think it kind of sucks for him to be in a spot where he did everything that he possibly could have and he's not getting that honor. Well, that's why we're in favor of Joe Mantiply being part of the National League team, right? It's not to say that Joe Mantiply is the most exciting choice on the team. Don't say that, Derek. I know. But I'm saying, you know what I'm saying.

Right. Like a lot of people, it's not going to be, you know, the Cattel Martes or, you know, like Josh Rojas or some of these guys that probably would be a little bit more charismatic, a little bit more exciting to see out there in the All-Star game. But Joe Mantipy was the right selection based on merit, right? He was the one that, based on his performance in the first half, truly deserved this honor. Sure. I think that's what it's about sometimes is getting it right and not having the like commemorative thing for someone that like has been around for a long time like we saw with Albert Poo Holes.

Yeah. But admittedly, as much as I didn't want Poo Holes in the home run derby, it got fun. It was fun. It was fun. And I don't, I didn't hate that. Clayton Kershaw is not retiring though, you know, at least not as far as we know. You know, you're right. And so it just feels a little bit different to.

me, you know, if it was like his last All-Star game, then I'd be like, sure, you know, we can, you know, it's in L.A. It's a perfect fit. But, but, but I mean, it, I just don't think you can, I just don't think you can do that just because it's in their home ballpark. Um, I think that's just not a, not really a great reason at the end of the day. But, um, but I mean, yeah, the All-Star game is always fun. And, um, I think we're all rooting for a tie. We're rooting to see Joe Man to apply, uh, you know, face a couple batters. Hopefully, I think that'd be fun for us to see. But, In the American League, they got it, right? Right?

They got a guy, a lot of people don't know in Shane McClanahan starting for the American League. He's had an extraordinary season. By far, he's had an amazing season for the raise and a guy that, again, deserves it and isn't a household name. But that's the point of this. That's the point of All-Star Games. That's the part of promotion and Nike and Gatorade commercials and shit. The point is so that you know who these guys are, especially for smaller market teams. and you know what they've done.

They get a platform like this for them to come out not only show off in a game like this, but for people to see the kind of first season that he had because he's had an incredible first half. And here's the other thing. Shohei Otani made the declaration that he doesn't want to hit or he doesn't want to pitch in this game. And I love that he said that. And I'm glad that he did because why? Why should he? Right?

Like we know he's incredible. We don't need to see him pitch anymore. We all just want to see him hit dingers. That's what we want to see out of them. I think it would have been pretty cool, honestly, if he did both. Because Shohay Otani is, I mean, he's pretty iconic in this game at this point. At one point, just D-Hing and pitching at the say it's time. I think there's a way to finagle the roster so that he could do both in one game.

And I just think that would be so cool because everyone, I mean, at this point, the word is out that showy O'Tani does both and is, you know, essentially the modern day Babe Ruth. Oh, yeah, the word is out on that. unlike any player we've ever seen. And I just think it would be cool for, you know, in the All-Star game, in the midsummer classic, the spectacle, that the country really does have their eyes on. I think this is one day where baseball really does kind of control the sports landscape. Like there's not a lot of other things happening right now in sports, relatively speaking, relative to other times of the year.

And so this is baseball spotlight moment. And what more do you want in baseball spotlight moment than Shohei Otani pitching and hitting in the same baseball game. I just, I think that would be incredible, but sadly I don't think we're going to see that today. Probably not. Probably not. Another interesting factors on the Draft King's Sportsbook app, Jesse.

The National League is a favorite in this game. Shocking. Shocking. Wait, no, excuse me. Well, yeah, the National League is a favorite to win by or to not lose by one and a half, right? So American League right now, technically the run line is one and a half. for the American League, but that's a plus 170, minus 200 for the National League. So it's close.

It's saying it's going to be a one-run ball game or less potentially, or the National League is most likely going to win, especially being a home. So the National League, they're the favorites? The run line is for the American League to win by a run and a half, but the National League has the minus 200 for plus 1.5 runs, right, for the run line. So basically they're going to lose. by a run or win is what it's saying here. I mean,

that seems a little crazy to me because the, I mean, the National League, okay, so you're saying the American League is then the favorite. It's, or it's just weird. It's the favorite,

but it has a better value. Yeah, it's a little bit harder to tell, but it's basically that it has a better value. But yeah, they are, American League is set, is a minus one and a half favorite on the run line.

The National League hasn't won since 2012, which is, like, It's not worse than the American League. At least I don't think so. I guess this year it's a little different. They both have the DH power in them, right? Both the National League and the American League are now sort of on the same page in that regard.

So I don't know if that changes anything, but my, it is weird that the American League has dominated this game over the last decade. I don't really know to explain that. It really is, right? Because you would just think that it's really not that important of a game, but then it was for a period of time. It was, right? It was. You know, home field advantage.

Which was absolutely ridiculous. That's crazy. Like, we're going to look back on that. Think that is one of the most insane things baseball ever did. Yeah. But we're also very glad that they had that rule in place in 2001 because that's why the Diamondbacks had home field advantage.

So when it works in our favor, we're okay with it. But now get that out of my sight because it is, it is atrocious. It is not, it is not the way that it should be done. It helped us, but fuck it after this. Get rid of it. Right. And speaking of the draft king's, Sportsbook app.

Make sure to go sign up. If you're a new customer, you can use our code of PHNX, and you will get a risk-free bet up to $1,000 on the Draft King's Sportsbook app. America's top-rated sports book app. That's promo code PHNX only at the Drafking Sportsbook. Minimum age and eligibility restrictions apply. See show notes for detail. And I don't know, Jesse, I might be taking the American League.

Might be taking the American League. It doesn't make any sense, but I might be taking the American League. We'll see what happens. But, of course, before we go, I want to do. I wanted to give a big happy birthday to a personal hero of mine, somebody who has inspired me to be sitting in this chair. Oh, mine too. Me too. This is both of us.

Right. Absolutely. Stuart Scott would have been 57 years old today. And I just can't say enough about how much of a inspiration he was on my life, how important and fun he made sports to me. and how even, you know, after he passed away, he found ways to continue to teach me lessons. It's kind of wild because I've always kind of been fascinated by Stuart Scott and read a lot about him. And of course, you know, I've, one of my favorite stories is how he got hired to ESPN. I've talked about it quite a bit.

He was covering a rodeo and he was working for local news and he covered this rodeo so well that, you know, they just were like, we have to have this guy. This guy has to be a part, you know. That's how you got hired at PH next too, right? That's how we all got here, actually. We all covered rodeos and that's how we. I think the lesson there, right, is that like you, one, you never know who's paying attention to one, you're doing, right? That's part of it too.

But the purpose here is, especially for us, we want to make watching this team fun and we want to make what we do here fun. And that's what Stuart Scott did. He made sports fun. He made anything he did fun. He went to a rodeo and he made it compelling and fun and did a great piece on being there. And he put himself all into it. And I think especially with what we're trying to do here at PHNX, there's a bit to take away from that. We just had our draft day coverage.

And as most of you guys know, people don't really cover the baseball draft really well, right? It was pretty much just us. Hell, we didn't even cover it that well. Let's be honest. We got the first pick wrong. We have no idea we're gone. We're like to Mar Johnson. But, you know, I think the point is is that we want to do, we want to be that for you guys.

We want to make sure that we make this team fun even when there's no one else to do that. We appreciate you guys being a part of this. And I appreciate Stuart Scott very much for his impact on my life. Yeah, yeah. Stuart Scott is just, he's just so good at what he does. And you're right. There was just something about his, just something about his personality that just made sports moments seem even bigger than they were. Like he just added gravity to the situation.

He made shit cool. Like he made sports cool. Yeah, I mean, I really did. I often say I was addicted to a sports center when I was a kid. It was my favorite show to watch, you know? Yeah.

Unless the sun's lost. Then I avoided it at all costs. Even watching a highlight when the sun's lost. Stuart Scott made it fun. And that's what it was all about. These guys, they made sports fun. And that's what's important.

Sometimes with the sports, even with the betting and the wins, losses, everything, it can be a bit. I guess it's not fun anymore. It gets to a point where it can't be fun, right? So it's like, we got to embrace it, we got to know, set your expectations reasonably, and enjoy watching the moments in the second half from this team. I think that's what we're going to get and take away from the Arizona Diamondbacks is, you know, you can't expect them to have some radical, you know,

all of a sudden win streak or something that happens in the second half. Hopefully we see things kind of level out for them and maybe even return to some of the success that we saw earlier on in this season. But, you know, for the most part, we're just going to see fun moments. We're going to see a lot of Alec Thomas highlights. We're going to see Merrill Kelly doing the damn thing. And it's, you know, Christian Walker is going to continue to smash the hell out of the ball when nobody is on base. We're going to get to watch it.

And that's what being a fan is all about. I know, but he's on pace. I got to add that caveat, obviously. But, of course, we thank you guys for watching us and tuning in. You can follow us on Twitter. I'm at cap underscore caveman with a K. Jesse is at Jesse and Friedman. Our show is at PHNX underscore DVACs, but all rose.

leadsly to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We thank you guys, again, so much for tuning in. We appreciate your time. On behalf of Jesse and myself, we always thank you guys for being here in the comments and watching the show. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when you're cooler than the other side of the pillow.