PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Award SZN comes early

Episode Date: June 1, 2022

On this episode, Derek and Jesse are handing out awards to the D-backs' top performers after their first 50 games of the 2022 season. 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.

Hello and welcome to another edition of the PHNX D-Backs podcast right here on PHNX. My name is Derek Montia. Of course, I am your mayor of this place. I'm joined by my vice mayor of this place, the one and only, Thunderstick Jesse Friedman. We're going to hand out some awards today, Derek. Awards season is here early, sir. You're absolutely right. Yeah, why not?

Time to give a little recognition after the first 50 games. And we have a lot of stuff to talk about now that 50 games have come and gone. I think the one thing that we're going to talk about the most is, How surprising this team has been so far 50 games into the season. But before we get to that, of course, I have to let you guys know this show is brought to you by the fine folks at the Draft King Sportsbook app. Go download the Draft King Sportsbook app now, an official sports betting partner of the NBA and get down on the NBA finals action. Bet $5 on any NBA team to win and you will get $150 in free bets instantly. All you have to be is a new customer.

So go get down on the Draft King's Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NBA. Jesse, again, yes, 50 games are behind us now. The Arizona Diamondbacks have, I won't say they're not, it's not a bad record. You know, we're looking at the Diamondbacks being 24 and 26 after 50 games. Surprising, I think, overachieving just a little bit, but still right around the area where we thought this team could be this season if everything worked out well for them. and so far it has. Well, I think you have to, you have to factor in that the Diamondbacks

against the Los Angeles Dodgers are minus 31 with a two and nine record against the Dodgers. They've lost eight consecutive games to L.A. If you look at just their performance against other teams, Derek, they're actually 22 and 17 when they're plus one in run differential. So they've actually been an above average team when playing teams that are not the Dodgers. And obviously you, that's not quite.

the standings work. You can't just, you know, cut out the games against your, you know, your best opponent. But it's still important to consider the Diamondbacks have played 11 games against the Dodgers already out of those 50. And, you know, they have less than that the rest of the way. I think they have about eight games left with the Dodgers for the rest of the season. So a lot of that is already behind them. The Diamondbacks absolutely have some things to be proud of when it comes to that. And yes, I mean, when even looking at the difference in the schedules between the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers. The Diamondbacks, I believe, have played the third most games against teams with an above 500 record, and the Dodgers have played like

the third least against those same teams. So the Dodgers, you know, on one hand, the Dodgers record, mostly because of playing the Diamondbacks, they're under 500 after they run into the buzzsaw that is the Dodgers. But it feels specifically like the Diamondbacks have the worst luck with that team or maybe it's just that the Dodgers come out to play against teams like the Diamondbacks in their own division harder than they do against other teams. We saw them lose a game against the Pirates who the Diamondbacks are, you know, looking at facing after this series with the Braves. And, you know, again, now by the, by, by, you know, certain laws of, of, of, attraction here, we have the fact that the Diamondbacks might easily have a trouble with the pirates,

considering what we're seeing them do against the Dodgers. We'll see. Yeah, I mean, baseball is weird like that, right? Where, you know, a really, really good team can absolutely trounce a team like the diamond backs that's been pretty good and then struggle, you know, with a team like the pirates that has been not so good. I have to say that the Cincinnati Reds, they're the ones that, you know, they're the butt of all the jokes right now.

Like everyone's hitting on the Cincinnati Reds. It's sort of just like the trendy thing to do, which is fair. I mean, after the offseason that that team. team had and, you know, the lack of investment to the on-field product. It's all a very fair criticism. But the pirates, Derek, are minus 83 this season. There's seven games under 500, which is not as bad as the Reds. So you are 15 games under 500.

But the pirates are minus 83, 47 games into the season, which is far and away, the worst run differential in the National League. So hopefully the Diamondbacks can take advantage of that. And due to the pirates, what a lot of teams have been able to do, even if the Dodgers, had their struggles. I think it was yesterday that that happened. Not just, no,

not just the struggles against the pirates in yesterday's game. The Dodgers are four and seven against teams from Pennsylvania. Yeah, the Phillies, right, right, while allowing 59 runs. Meanwhile,

they're 29 and 8 against the rest of the country so far. Wow. Obviously, again, like we talked about, I think yesterday, I think the key there is that the diamondbacks need to move to Pennsylvania,

right? That's the only way. It's the only way. They get over on the Dodgers. but I Jesse I know you said we talked about it when we discussed our our show pregame here but I still can't get over Tori LaVolo. I can't get over all the Tori Lovolo praise. I love it. I need more of it in my life.

People really are on board with Tori Lovolo stepping up like he did in yesterday's game to, I guess you could say kind of protect Zach Gallen, which is what he thought we thought and what he kind of confirmed after the game. but people, you know, again, we're talking, Jesse, we're in the realm of people wanting Tori Lavello to be extended now over this. And just based on that one incident. I mean, you know, again, it's awesome to see him stick up for his guys. But I just have to, I really have to wonder how awkward it is after an altercation like this. For them in game one to have something go down like this and then have to still play a series. with the same officiating crew out there and, you know,

expect to just go on about their business. I know these guys are all professional, the umpires, everybody, but that same kind of, I guess that that same kind of retaliation against, you know, what we saw with Bumgardner with the handholding and what we saw in yesterday's game with Zach Gallen.

I mean, I guess there were some people saying he was staring the umpire down. I didn't see that a lot, but that might have been more of, what was problematic and instigated the situation with the umpire feeling like he was being you know uh like punked by zach gallon in some way whatever this weird feeling is of like needing to retaliate i like to say that they're completely unbiased then when they still have two more games to officiate seems as you know as ridiculous as it as it is to say that they're not retaliating in these scenarios where they're obviously kind of taking an unnecessary step

against the diamond bags well i dare Eric, I don't know if you've heard, but every baseball fan's favorite pastime is to go on Twitter and look at the umpire scorecards. Oh, it's great. It's my favorite basketball for sure. It's, yeah, it's certainly, certainly yours. But the scorecard came out for, for the game. And at the very top, it was, it was plain to see one of the biggest missed calls of the day was the pitch where I believe this incident happened. It actually was a strike.

And yet it was called a ball. It was not obvious. It was certainly not a, you know, a missed call that was, you know, super clear and and maybe worthy of exactly the, you know, the reaction that Zach Gallen had in the moment. But obviously, this was built up over a few different calls that didn't go his way. But yeah, I mean, I think the scorecard overall said like plus 0.25 runs for the Atlanta Braves in the game. And the Diamondbacks obviously won the game 6 to 2. So it wasn't enough to sway the game in any direction.

But yeah, it has been, you know, funny seeing how much traction those scorecards get, especially after an incident like what we saw yesterday. You asked me before this game how we might have spent our money a little differently now that we're at the 50 game mark. And again, we know what we know now. We can look back and we can see what some of these guys have done respectfully for the teams that did go. out and acquire them. It's my, my Chris Bryant selection doesn't look as good preseason now as as, as I thought it was going to look,

especially considering that he did end up in the National League West. But Jesse, you said if, if we could go back and spend $10 million this year, how would we do it? And I think it's a great question. So I'm going to let you, since you proposed it, kick us off with that one.

Yeah, I mean, 10 million in my mind, like, like that's a somewhat realistic amount of money that the diamond backs could have spent. That would have certainly been the upper limit. I think we all would have been surprised if they spent 10 more million than what they did. But my hope in this is to give, you know, to give some ideas that actually would have been realistic for the team at the time. Derek, I don't know if you remember this, but this was way back in, way back in November.

This was like mid-November where I wrote an article about five free agent, five free agent pitchers that the diamond backs should consider signing over the winter. And a couple of those pitchers have fared particularly well this season with their new teams. The diamond backs, of course, didn't actually sign any of them. But the name that sticks out to me more than any other, and it's not even particularly close, is Tyler Anderson, which is a little bit painful to talk about maybe for some people. Because Tyler Anderson pitches for the Dodgers, but Derek, he signed for $8 million. It's a one-year $8 million deal, and Tyler Anderson currently is sitting at a 2.90 ERA.

He's 6-0. He has 48 strikeouts against six walks in 49 and 2-thirds innings. He's frankly been one of the best starting pitchers in the National League. And I will fully admit that I did not anticipate Tyler Anderson having this dramatic of a career shift this season. And maybe that's because he pitches for the Dodgers now. that's certainly a possibility. We've seen them instigate some pretty incredible turnarounds for guys in the past. But he's been incredible, Derek.

And I mean, the Diamondbacks don't necessarily have a sore need for another starter. I guess this would have given them more depth. Maybe Humberto Castiano is more of a bullpen guy, is able to provide some stability there if this happened. But, I mean, for $8 million, it's hard to imagine any more value that could have been got than a guy like him. $8 million. It's, uh, yeah, that's, that's definitely the diamond backs kind of miss on that as well.

And, and of course, it's the, it's the Dodgers. So you have to wonder how, you know, how good he would have been had he not gone to the Dodgers. The Dodgers seemed to just do great things with guys. Um, but, you know, I get it. I, I really wanted to go, Jesse with Eduardo Escobar. that's because that was his exact contract. He got a $20 million contract with the Mets for two years. I feel like if the Diamondbacks could have matched it at $10 million per year,

he would have come back here. I think he enjoyed playing here. I think he likes, he has some great friends on the team, and we might have been able to get him back. But if I'm going to pick someone, I'm going to take Michael Waka from now, from Boston.

from Boston Red Sox. They acquired him, Jesse, just to kind of undercut your deal, they got him for $7 million on a one-year deal. And he is currently 3 and 0 in 7 starts with a 2.83 ERA. I think if the Diamondbacks were able to bring on a guy and solidify the rotation, I mean, we could potentially be talking about this being the start, best starting rotation in baseball. And I don't know who the odd man out would be. I'm not saying not signed Zach Davies because Zach Davies has been pretty good at times. And honestly,

tonight's starter, Humberto Castiano's has been very good for this team. But, you know, again, this is one of those things where it feels like they're still trying to figure out who, you know, their fifth guy is and who they can rely on as far as a starter. It also still feels like it's a bit fluid with some other guys in the mix. And that's just kind of how it's going to be throughout the season with the double headers sprinkled in and things like that. But yeah, that's who I would have spent my money on. And, you know, maybe not spent too much money there on a $7 million deal. But we're not living in the past anymore, Jesse.

We're living in the now. We're going to be talking about some awards for Arizona Diamondbacks players for this season, some deserving awards. I know it's only 50 games in. We're not even a third of the way into the season, realistically, but I don't care. We're going to give out some awards because it's that time of the year. Before we do that, I want to remind everybody that we would love you to join us over here at

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Turns out it's a hot girl summer. That's what's going on right now, at least with the debacks. Things are getting hot. people are talking about playoffs it's getting crazy it's the people are actually out of their minds about this team right now because again they're doing so much better than we thought that they would but you can find out our thoughts on that our takeaways as well as some other stories on offense and baseball and uh joe mantapply jesse had an amazing piece on that on him as well so uh get all of that over at go p hnx.com uh jesse 50 games in

what are your thoughts on this team? Where do you think? Do you think that we'll see the same type of season going forward? Or do you think that we could see this team kind of build a little momentum considering that one of the more difficult parts of their schedule is now behind them? It's a fair question. I mean, 24 and 26, having played almost a quarter of your games against the Dodgers, is a pretty compelling start to the season for the debacks over 50 games.

I think there are some guys who started really hot where you kind of wondered, okay, is this really sustainable, particularly on the starting pitching side of things. A lot of those guys have kind of taken a step back. You think back to, you know, even two or three weeks ago, it feels like the ERA of every D-back starting pitcher has jumped like a full run or two just in that span of time.

But, I mean, I don't really see anything about this team right now that looks completely unsustainable or completely unrealistic moving forward. I think if anything, there's still a few guys that I think will probably turn things around. I think Christian Walker, as we've said many times on this show, he's having a better season than his numbers indicate right now. And I think things will turn around for some other guys as well. We've started to see David Peralta get a little bit more comfortable. I think Dalton Varshow is having a big season.

I only expect him to improve as the year continues. So through 50 games, I mean, I know it's a, it's a below 500 record, but relatively speaking, it's a, it's been a big time success. All right. So we have six awards to give out tonight for the first 50 games of the season. And our first award is a guy that we've talked about quite a bit on this show, a guy that we've kind of idolized a bit for what he's done with this team. And it's our MVC. It's our most valuable coach. And that award goes to Brent Strom.

So it's only fitting this is the first award. that we give out as to a coach and not to a player. You know how we've been doing things around here. So we're acknowledging the changes at coaching staff that this team has made during the off season. It was the most impactful changes. And, you know, again, like you said, this is the overall ERA for the team. This season, 4.15 versus last season of 5.40.

This looked a lot different, even much better a few weeks ago as far as the starting pitching ERA and the contributions there. But still, what we're looking for, what this season was about was improvement. And even though this is, you know, through that number, that ERA is after one of the Diamondbacks' most difficult stretches

in franchise history last year, it's still, you can kind of see right now the trajectory that they're on and the improvements that they've already made this early into 2022. Yeah, I mean, Brent Strom, He's drawn all the praise from all the pitchers.

And it's hard to hear anything bad about Brent Strom. It seems to be impossible. I mean, everything this guy touches seems to turn to gold right now. And, I mean, the results certainly bear that out. The Diamondbacks pitching staff has been much better than expected. It's certainly regressed a little bit over the last few weeks. But compared to what we saw last year, I mean, it's a completely, completely different pitching staff that you're looking at this season.

Yep, absolutely. And again, improvement is what we're looking for. And that is our next award, by the way. It's for the most improved player. And again, the guy who Jesse just wrote his most recent piece about, Joe Mantiply, 0.48 ERA, 0.80 whip, 37 out of 39 games scoreless dating back to August 30th of last year. So this most improved basically goes for Joe Mantiply, like almost August to, you know, now, which is, almost a full calendar year where he has looked like a completely different pitcher than he did previously in his career, just putting up the best numbers of his career, currently boasting a 10-game scoreless streak. Honestly, he's just been the most reliable reliever that the Diamondbacks have. And luckily, it feels like they have more and more of those guys when early on in the season, it looked like he might have been the only one. he's been incredible and it's funny that you know we call him most improved because the basic

eye test just watching joe mantiply pitch this season compared to what he's done in past years it's not that different derrick in fact his his velocity believe it or not is actually down about a half a mile per hour very insignificant could just be you know the beginning of the season but it hasn't mattered and it's been because uh the movement on his pitches is as good as it's ever been. And I think more than anything, just his execution of his game plan, you know, throwing his slider down and away to left-handed hitters, throwing his change up down in a way to right-handed hitters and executing his sinker, keeping it down in the strike zone.

The way that he's executing the game plan is better than it's ever been in the past. He's putting these pitches exactly where he wants to. And so for the first time in his career, it doesn't really matter that much. that he's throwing, you know, 91 miles an hour, and there's not much in the tank beyond that. He doesn't need it because of how well he's spotting these pitches and just how well his game plan and his pitches work against both lefties and righties. Our last award is more of a, I guess, a figurative award. It's mostly because of his recent miced-up performance where we've had a chance to see him, really what he's saying on the field and his attitude and how infectious of a person, he can be out there on the field, but Josh Rojas gets our heart of the team award.

And honestly, I think it's just amazing because this team, I don't know, doesn't have a lot of guys that have been here for a long time. And Josh Rojas definitely has not been here for a long time, at least playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is very familiar with the Valley and has been a part of Arizona for a long time. But he feels, I mean, maybe that's it. Maybe it's his connection with the Valley that makes it feel like he's already developing into a leader on this team. One of the best things the Arizona Diamondbacks absolutely have done this year,

besides their funny tweet with the cat sitting at the table confused and Toro Lavello yelling at it yesterday, which was just chef's kiss. One of the best things they've done is miced up Josh Rojas. It's really allowed us to see what kind of person he is out there, baseball, his reactions, his, his enthusiasm, his, you know, his, his emotions are, are just a joy to watch. Yeah. I mean, he's, he's really a fun player. I think fans gravitate very, very easily toward a guy like Josh Rojas, who constantly has a

smile in his face. We've talked in the past about how he, he just plays the game with emotion. We saw him show those emotions, maybe a little bit more even last season. We haven't seen it quite as much this year so far, but he's the guy who will, I mean, he'll get into it. And I think fans really enjoy seeing that kind of like they enjoyed what they saw from Tori Lavello, right? Yeah. Fans enjoy watching both players and coaches really get into the game emotionally. And Joshua Haas is certainly that guy.

And we've seen all too little of him this year. Hopefully he's able to stay healthy the rest of the way. That's the big thing. That's the big thing. It's key. And he's been doing pretty well, 281, 316. 48, 438 at the plate with an 806 OPS. It's a small sample size because, like you said,

he's only had a chance to play in 20 games, so less than half of the D-BACs games this season. It just, it feels very much so like it's a different, it's a different atmosphere out there. And, yeah, the clutch connect says, Perdomo looks like a fun player in the clubhouse too. He might have had the flex idea. He might, absolutely.

And I think, like, that's the fun part, again, about this team is young guys like Pradoe, Rojas, Alec Thomas, they all seem very at home in the dugout at Chase Field. Like, they all seem like they have very quickly acclimated to being a team. And, you know, again, we've seen that in the past,

how important that chemistry and how important these guys coming together is. But I think it's also important that a lot of these guys are coming up at the same time in their careers together. and sharing this experience, sharing this opportunity, they're coming in with a different attitude and a different mindset than, you know, maybe a guy that's been here for a while like David Peralta, you know, so it's just a fun, exciting time to see.

Plus, Josh Rojas, as we've talked in the past, is an absolute gamer. And I feel like we're getting more of those guys, but he has stood out as being the guy that will do the small things to help generate a run that might end up being very important when, you know, when all is sudden done in the course of a baseball game. So I love Josh Rojas for that reason, that he's always willing to go out there and try to make something exciting happen. He's also looked damn good at third base,

as much as I wanted to bring somebody in through free agency. I mean, he's had his mistakes. He hasn't looked, you know, sharp the entire time. But I feel like he really from the looks of, things from the miced up from the debacks. It feels like he's really enjoying having a position on the on the diamond where he knows where he's going to play. Yeah, I mean, he's been a huge utility presence for the diamond backs really since he, since he got here. And the team has certainly taken advantage of that the last couple years. But you're right. This year, he's,

you know, he's had a little bit more stability. He knows where he's playing in the lineup. I don't know how long that's going to last for him, Derek. I mean, it sounds like from what we've heard from Mike Hazen and Tori Lavello that I don't think they really mind moving Josh Rojas around a little bit because he's shown the ability to do it and to, you know, to do it pretty well. So, you know, maybe next year we see Josh Rojas kind of jump back into that utility role depending on the needs of the team. But for right now, I mean, yeah, that stability is certainly not a bad thing. And he seems to he seems to be more than adequate at third base, which is really an ideal scenario. We have a new award, Jesse. It's for the I Need OGs Award, and it's going to Mark

Melanson for some reason. I don't know what that's about, but you can, if you do need OGs, you can stop by your local dispensary and grab some amazing scratch-made THC G summies from our friends at OGs. They have a wonderful variety of flavors, a wonderful variety of dosages, whether you're looking for a dose of 10 milligrams, which is their typical dose or a micro dose of three milligrams. They have you covered. They have you covered with wonderful flavors, blackberries and cream, pinie collata, personal favorite or mine, orange cream sickle, all sorts of great stuff. Perfect if you're in the mood for an uplifting setiva or a chill indica.

And if you're interested in trying the amazingly delicious variety of flavors that OG's brands has to offer to forget any performance from any sports athlete at all, If you're choosing, we're not specifying or picking on anyone at this point, but you can go to OGsbrands.com to get over those performances. That's OGsbrands.com, OGEEZBrands.com to find OGs near you. More serious awards, I guess. I mean, I still like that one myself, but we got our MVP, which is our MVP, most valuable pitcher. And that, of course, goes to Zach Galen. Four and O Jesse this season, 2.3,2.E.

and a 2.98 FIP. Here's the other interesting thing. Those four wins, not only does it already tie the number of wins he had last year in 2021 for the entire season, but it also ties his career high of wins in a season,

which was also last year with four. Zach Allen has a tremendous amount of bad luck when it comes to run support and all sorts of other like constant no decisions thrown his way when you look back at his career. So it feels nice to see him not only have a four and no record at this point, but to be this at this point of the season, be able to build on his success and have his win loss record and his other numbers kind of back up how good of a pitcher he's been for the Arizona Diamondback

since they acquired him. I mean, I think his career record is still below 500, which is honestly a crime that a guy who's pitched just, as well as Zach Allen has. Yeah, he's 14 and 18 in his career. So there's still, there's still some work to be done there for a pitcher who's been pretty darn near elite since he broke into the league a few years ago.

But yeah, I mean, he's been the ace for the staff. And that's what people hoped he would be this year. And that's exactly what he's been. It's hard to ask for anything more than a 2.32 ERA. We've mentioned his name a few times in Sayung conversations. it appears that he's at least going to be a guy. He's at least going to be a name that generates some traction when it comes to voting for that award.

And yeah, I mean, that's exactly what everyone's hoping for, you know, getting to see him work with Brent Strom and just what he's been able to accomplish. I don't even know if I've seen the best of Zach Allen yet, Derek, to be frank with you. I still think that there might be another level in there that he can reach. I mean, it's felt like at times game by game. I don't know if he's necessarily had the whole arsenal working in any game yet this season. So as good as he's been, I don't even really think he's hit his ceiling yet at this point. He wasn't very sharp in yesterday's game.

That's for sure. No, he wasn't. And he still rattles off, you know, five and two thirds innings two runs. Like that's the sign of an elite pitcher when they're kind of off their game and they're still, you know, doing even more than just giving your team a chance to win. they're still putting you in a pretty good chance to win the game with an outing like what he had yesterday. Yeah, you're absolutely right about that. Another guy that has been putting the Arizona Diamondbacks in a great position to win is our defensive MVP so far for the first 50 games. And that goes to Christian Walker.

Eight defensive runs saved this year, Jesse, which is tied for fourth for all positions in all of MLB. Not just first in first baseman, but the eight defensive runs save are up there for the elite defender. in all of baseball for this first quarter of a season, which, again, not super flashy in the way he does it. There's not a lot to his defense at times because we've kind of grown used to him kind of being over there and doing such a good job at first base, but been better, better than average this season for sure. Yeah, I mean, to give an award like this to a first base, and yes, it's still early. We're only 50 games through the season. But to, give an award like this to a first baseman is is unheard of but that's how good christian walker has been i mean

he's provided more defensive value than anyone on this team i guess dalton varsho is is probably the closest contender there he's been great behind the plate in and center field as well um but yeah i mean heraldo perdomo i think has played a pretty good short stop i don't know if he's quite reached his ceiling there just yet but hard to hard to argue with what christian walker has done at first he's really he's he's he's been the best in baseball by all accounts of playing his position well the other guy you said would be our overall MVP we're not giving that out yet because that seems a little crazy but probably would be our overall MVP but he's definitely the offensive MVP and that's dalton bar show this is in his last 26 games he's hitting 302 with 10 doubles four home runs 12 rbi in those last

26 games so over half of these 50 games that the diamondbacks have already played His seven lead-off home runs or seven home runs from batting in the lead-off position are second to mooky bets in all of baseball for the most home runs by a lead-off hitter. I don't think it's lead-off in the position. I think the way they worded it is player hitting in the lead-off position. So it's not just lead-off home runs. He's doing great as far as, you know, defensively, offensively. He's all over the place. but his numbers at the plate have been very good.

It looks like it's carrying over to what we saw in the second half of last season for him. It really is. Yeah, I mean, he just continues to get better and better. And yeah, I mean, can Mookie Betts catch, right? I mean, the versatility here is. I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't think.

I don't know. Bucy Betts has some tools, Jesse, but Dalton Varshil, he has all the tools. I'm not sure if you've heard that before, but he has all the tools. Mookie vets is an athletic guy. So, I mean, who knows? Maybe he could catch. But, but yeah, I mean, Dalton Varsho has been really incredible this season.

Can you not do that? Can you not give the Dodgers more ideas on how they can get Mookie bets into the lineup more often? I think it would be good news to the league. It'd be, it'd be great news for the league, Derek, if they started putting Mookie bets as a catcher. I mean, I don't know. I don't know if those would last quite as long. Things were terribly wrong for them if that's happening, for sure. that is yeah when you have a guy like will smith you're not exactly looking to you know turn your star outfielder into a catcher but

bar show over mookie confirmed yes yes that's exactly what we're saying that's exactly what we're saying yes absolutely um so what do you think though overall i think that uh these awards i don't know i don't know what you guys think i feel like they're pretty accurate i think these guys deserve the praise that they've received uh i don't know about any unsung heroes. We didn't give anything like that out. But if I was given it to anybody, I would say Noe Ramirez, because I continue to love Noe Ramirez. I've loved everything he's done. I think he's one of those rare trash heap guys, if you want to call it that, that feels a little degrading to say. But, you know, like we talked about with the Dodgers, where they picked up some of these guys like Justin Turner and Max Muncie, and they ended up putting up their best career

numbers with the Dodgers. You know, when, When we got Noi Ramirez, he wasn't exactly that, you know, that desirable of a reliever, but he's been outstanding for this debacks team. And he's just gotten better with time. I think that he, you know, again, he quietly comes in and does this thing much like Joe Mantyply. And these middle relievers that we have between those two and Kyle Nelson have, have really helped turn the bullpen around from being a liability to kind of being the Diamondbacks. most reliable, you know, piece right now.

I mean, we have not allowed an earn run over their last four games. That's 14 innings pitched by the bullpen. That's incredible. I mean, it's kind of like the rotation and the bullpen sort of switched roles here, where suddenly the starters were taking a little bit of a step back and the, and the bullpen has come around and certainly picked up their slack. Yeah, I mean, about no way. I mean, here's a guy who, like you said, is picked up.

you know, was DFAed by the Los Angeles Angels, not thought to be much. And he comes over to the Diamondbacks, and he was great at the end of last year. They decided to tender him a contract, and he's been great again this season. And, and oh, by the way, I mean, he's, he's like near the very top of Major League Baseball and appearances. So he's, he's been a workhorse for the Diamondbacks as well. I'm going to give out a couple of more, just a couple more important awards, Jesse. MVP for toppings in the hot dog race at Chase Field Relish.

I fucking hate Relish, but Relish is doing work. Relish is... You hate relish? You hate relish. I can't stand, relish is disgusting. Relish is disgusting. It literally should not be a topping. She's not wrong.

I hate relish is the best. Oh my God. You'd be so happy with Relish's performance in the hot dog race. Relish keeps sneaking wins from mustard, sneaking them from ketchup. doing dirty things, but doing what it takes to win. So you got to appreciate it. Even if you fucking hate relish as much as I do. I also have to give a shout out to Randy Johnson in the Legends race

because he is killing it himself, the big unit, not known for his speed. But a little dastardly, I saw him Tripp Luis Gonzalez the other day. And I was actually, you know, I'm not a fan of it. But hey, you got to do what you got to do. You take one legend out. it's going to take all the ones behind you out. It's not like a one thing. If you get one of those guys to fall, that race is yours.

So I understand the heel tactics for sure. But shout out to everybody at Chase Field, by the way. I love this place. I can't wait to go there tonight. Diamondbacks have a chance to win another series this time against the World Series champions in game two. And hopefully that's like winning the World Series, right? I mean, that's what that means. Again, yes, by transitive properties, I believe that.

much like I'm scared of playing the pirates. Now we are the world champions if we beat the world champions. That's how it works in pro wrestling, Jesse. I don't see how it can't not work that way in baseball. I'm excited to get over there and see what they got going on. Hopefully the Diamondbacks can get it done tonight. Of course, we thank you guys so much for checking out the show. You can follow us on Twitter.

I'm at Kapp underscore Caveman with a K. Jesse is at Jesse and Friedman. Our show is at PHNX underscore D-Backs. but of course, all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. If you haven't had a chance to do so already, make sure to sign up for the Draft King's Sportsbook. I know it's still the end of basketball season, and I know those wounds are still healing Suns fans. But if you're ready to see a new NBA champion crown, which we will indeed get, you can join the finals action with the Draft King's sports book and make a bet of $5 on any, team to win and you will get $150 in free bets instantly.

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slash sports slash sports book for details. So why don't you why don't you like relish Derek? I don't hurt you. Why did this? Why did this happen? How much relish? Relish is you're talking to someone. My fantasy, so when I play fantasy football or fantasy baseball, my team name for years

has been always bet on relish, which is not only true because as you all know, in the battle of ketchup, mustard, and relish, relish always wins. But. Jesse graphic right now. He's doing the thing again. He's doing the thing. He's telling the future again. I don't like it.

It's very good. No, he's not wrong. It's unknifted. It's that one. Yeah, that one. There he is. Doing the thing. Talking about relish.

I knew the name for years and knew that relish was going to have a winning record this season somehow in the diamond. I don't, why is your team named after relish, Jesse? Jesse. don't get that. Who names their team relish? I didn't name it. We were not relish. We were always bet on relish. Oh, okay. You see how offended he is by the fact you got that stupid name wrong? Oh, my God. How dare you have?

No, relish is, is lovely to eat, but by itself, it doesn't, it doesn't make it great. It doesn't make a problem, Jesse. That's what our listeners say, but. How is my gosh. Yeah, we have to talk about this. We have, again, there's a whole condiment podcast. It is the best hot dog topping. Oh my God. I'm not taking, no, Jesse, I'm about to boot you off. I've,

I've heard your intelligence before this moment right now, Jesse, and I've never thought less of you than I do right now. There are people out there that will support me in this. I'm going to hop in the Discord. I'm going to take a poll. Thank you.

How? Yeah, Brute Squad. Brute squad. Brut squad. Squad, brute squad. Jesse, everyone in the comments, please tell Jesse how wrong he is. Well, again, we thank you guys so much.

If you're listening to us right now on your favorite audio podcasting app, please make sure you're subscribed to us and leave us a five-star review. If you're watching us on YouTube and you haven't done so already, sign up for the PHNX Sports YouTube channel, sign up for notifications, subscribe to us. That way you don't miss any of the live content

coming out from our show, from all the other shows. You don't miss anything that way. you can pick and choose which ones you want to watch. I get it. Sometimes you're busy. I'm busy. The baseball doesn't stop, all right? Like, trust me, I'll be the first one to tell you.

I have a life too, but baseball is 162 games and I have to go cover all of them. So we thank you guys again so much for watching the show, for being baseball fans. Don't be jealous of the roll. Oh, oh, the clutch connect. There we go. There we go. But again, we thank you guys so much on behalf of Jesse and myself. We appreciate you taking the time to join us and remember kids.

baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when you don't put fucking relish on your hot dog.