PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Banter with Banister

Episode Date: November 5, 2021

On this episode, Jesse and Derek are joined by new D-backs bench coach Jeff Bannister to discuss his experiences in baseball, his assessment of the 2021 season for Arizona, his thoughts on Torey Lovullo, and so much more. 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 the PHNX DBAX podcast right here on PHNX. My name is Derek Montia, occasionally known as the mayor of PHNX. And of course, I'm joined by my vice mayor, my bench coach, the one and only thunderstick, Jesse Friedman. Jesse, how are you doing today? It is. I'm doing great. I'm excited to chat with Jeff Bannister here in a couple of minutes. Yes, we have a big guest on today.

I can't wait to get them in here. First, I wanted to just remind everybody that this show is brought to you by the Draft King Sportsbook app. Go download the draft king sports book app now. Use our code of PHNX and for betting $5 on any NFL team to win, you will get $200 in free bets should that team win. And

yes, Jesse, I'm thrilled to welcome a guy with a wealth of knowledge, somebody that's been around baseball and just an incredible person in this game. Jeff Bannister, the Arizona Diamond Back's new bench coach. Jeff, welcome. Thank you

so much for joining us. I can't tell you excited we are to have you. Well, first of all, thanks for having me on. It's, I can't be more excited about joining the debacks. You know, it's been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks, but I'm excited, excited to get working, and let's see if we can't turn some things around for the deback fans. Yes, yes, we're all excited for that.

I guess my first question is, as an outsider, or what's, you know, kind of your assessment of this team? I know, obviously, this year wasn't a great year to really assess, but, you know, from afar, what were kind of your thoughts on the Arizona Diamondbacks? Yeah, you know what? I watch the games. It's hard. When you're in the game this long, it's hard to get away from it.

I was able to catch a lot of the games. I talked to a lot of people inside the industry. And look, this is a position player-wise. It's full of some years. young, very athletic, talented players who are only going to get better. Every rep, every game, their knowledge of the big league is going to allow them to get better. Their comfortability with the league is going to allow them to get better. But look, they're very athletic.

You've got some guys that can play multiple positions. And in today's game, that's so valuable. You know, they run the base as well. You know, they've got a lot of speed. So, and on the pitching staff, I think you've got a mix of some veteran players like Bum Gardner who I know can help teach some of these young guys how to pitch, what it's like, how to battle. You know, I know that the bullpen was some, had some question last year. You know, but look, in today's game, those type of things can be fixed fairly quickly,

depending on which way you want to go. You see that bullpins get turned over very quickly. But look, they're not a 52-win team. You know, it is. You know, that was a record. However, I think the commitment to allowing a lot of those young guys to play, go out, get comfortable with what the big leagues feels like, what's necessary every day.

And then how do you learn to meet the demands of the, the game. Jeff, it's great to have you on once again. We're super excited to have you. My first question for you, Jeff, is just a lot of Diamondbacks fans have heard about your background with the Texas Rangers, of course, right? They remember you, you know, you won the American League manager of the year in your first season there. They're probably familiar with you from that. Just for our audience members who might not be, you know, super familiar with you as a person, as a manager, as, you know, the bench coach here in Arizona. Who is Jeff Bannister?

How would you describe to fans of the Diamondbacks who they are getting as their new bench coach? First, a very simple human being, really. I grew up in the locker room. My dad was a high school football coach of state of Texas, so football runs deep in my blood. But I was a coach's son. So I've been in a locker room since I had diapers on. And I'm a very, very loyal, competitive human being.

Loves a game of baseball. The game of baseball brought me back to life a number of times. You know, they're well-documented stories of, you know, the bone cancer when I was young, the knee surgeries, ankle surgeries, broken neck when I was in college, all the comebacks, you know, went on to be drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and still have the highest baton average lifetime baton average. There it is. There is.

You know, but listen, I've been a baseball life or a guy that has, I've always thought of myself as a learner of the game, a quest and a thirst to learn the game at a high level. I've had some great teachers along the way. I would like to think that my knowledge of the game goes all the way back to the guys like Danny Murtaugh. You know, I learned from Chuck Tanner and Jim Leland and Bill Maseroski, Willie St.orgle, you know, Manny San Guyan, Tony LaRusa. You know, there's, but I'd like to think that I'm also learning from guys that are, that are new to the game as well.

You know, when I watch, you know, guys like AJ Hinch manage games, we've managed a lot of games. I've learned a lot of things from AJ. I've learned a lot of things from Tori. I've learned a lot of things from Dave Roberts, guys that, you know, when you watch and you have a quest for learning, how to lead athletes, how to motivate people, how to run a baseball game.

So that never stops. And you brought up Tori. I wanted to get your thoughts on Tori Lovolo just, you know, from your time knowing him and what your thoughts are on joining him as as collaborators for this team now. First of all, I think I hope it's a great marriage. What I mean by hope, I mean, you don't know until you get in the room, you know, 24-7 with each other. You're actually doing life. People don't realize how much time we actually spend together as coaches and players and teammates in the world of baseball.

It's a long season. Oh, my goodness. It's a long season. When you're at the ballpark, you know, 10, 13, 11 o'clock, and it's every single day. And you're there sometimes to 1, 1.30 in the morning. Yeah. Have to get on a plane travel each other. Well, you know, Tori.

I'd like to think that Tori and I, moving in the same direction from different points of view. I mean, look, I'm going to wear my feelings out there. I'm going to show you just exactly who I am, what I think, how I think. You know, it's well documented that, you know, I enjoy the game. I love to be in the game, excited about the game. and show players that excitement. Tori's a little more stoic on that side, right? So I think that whole opposite side of things

could work very well for each other because it has a dynamic, the possibility of a dynamic to reach all players. And that's what I love about. When Tori and I first had our conversation, it was like, you know, this is who I am, this is who you are. I think we have the ability to reach everybody, with these two types of personalities.

And that doesn't mean we're the only two. There's a whole other group of coaches that they've got to be able to connect as well. But I thought it was a great idea by Tori. And also just he knows himself very well and what he needs in that dug out from a guy like me. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. We're big fans of Tori over here. And Tori is, it's easy to say he's very nice.

but my opinion is he's just a very genuine person. He's one of the most genuine people I've ever encountered at times. And I know at times it's hard because as a baseball manager, obviously you need to keep certain things close to your vest and not reveal your entire game plan and other things like that. But LaVolo, I think, has always been just a very genuine person with us as the media at least. But Jesse, I know you had another question.

Yeah, I was curious. I wanted to ask about what you've been up to this last season. I know that you took some time away from right from the major league, from the major league baseball scene. And you've been working at the University of Northern Colorado as the director of player development. Everyone wants to ask you, Jeff, you know, how is being a MLB manager? How is that prepared you for this for this new role with the Diamondbacks? I want to ask you, how is this, how is your job this year at the University of Northern Colorado, how is this prepared you for what you're about to take on this next season with the debacks?

You know what? Hey, listen, that, first of all, yes, I took a year away, had an opportunity to kind of decompress a little bit, digest 35 years of Major League Baseball, and reconnect with my family, my wife, my son, my daughter, you know, they, look, they're the ones who sacrifice the most. So my son goes to school and plays baseball University of Northern Colorado. I think I've got to watch him play a handful of high school baseball games. So when I, when asked to come and volunteer and be the director of play, development, which is a fancy title.

Might be one of the better titles I've ever had. There you go. But really, truly, it is the ability to connect with the college athlete. Some of these, you know, every one of these guys have the dream, like I did when I was a young player, of playing in the big leagues. Yep. I don't know how many of these guys will actually ever see a, you know. major league field. But they have the heart and mind and the soul for it. They just may not have the

skill set for it. But to walk out and just to be another coach on that field and not the manager, not the, not the bench coach, not the pitching coach, but a guy that can just sit down and have a conversation and maybe help a young athlete in something, yes, baseball, but outside of baseball. And I like to look at it this way. changing the world through baseball at the grassroots level. Here's a group of players that I can go connect with. I can teach them some baseball, give them some experiences from the major league side,

but you know what they're giving me, they're enriching me with the ability to connect with a young group of athletes who are still dreaming. Because, you know, when we guys get to the big leagues, I mean, you've made it. There's still, there's some of that dream is still there. want to be great players, become Hall of Famers, but the reality is, these young guys, they still have those stars in their eyes and that dream. And it's so refreshing. I love

showing up every day, hitting the phone go, throwing BP, and just having those conversations. Yeah. And you seem to be somebody that connects with people in a lot of ways. I've noticed on social media that you are, you're active on Twitter quite a bit. And I like that. I'm a big Twitter guy. So I just want to get your thoughts on just kind of being on social media and connecting with people through that kind of medium, especially when I guess a lot of coaches and baseball and such tend to not really, you know, participate in social media. Yeah, you know what? I'm not afraid of it. It's not a great place at times, but it's fun. Come on now.

Hey, listen, you're nobody's, you are nobody. You have no fans when you lose a game. When you bring a closer in and he gives it up, listen, it's my fault. And I take full responsibility. But some of those places on Twitter can get a little dark and deep. But, you know, I'm not afraid of it. And I am. And listen, that goes back to when I was, all the things I've been through in my life.

And I watch my day. I watched my dad connect with athletes. I watched my dad connect with people. And well before social media, day he died, he asked me if I, you know, if I had written everything down that I'd gone through in my life, and I said, dad, why?

He's where people are going to want to know. You have something to give back to people, and they're going to need it. And I never understood that. understood that. And then, you know, here comes this, the social media platforms. And and then it gives me an opportunity to do just that. To connect. There might be somebody that needs something today to help them get through whatever it is they've got going on in their life. Or it's just throw something out there to some young coach who is struggling with,

a challenging player. And I may put something out there that is going to spark them and give them something they can tangible they can hold on to. And the other thing, too, is that, you know, we all know, I don't know if you guys have spent any time around Clint Hurdle, who is a larger than life human being. And one of the things that, you know, he and I would go back and forth. And, you know, we kind of met the same way Tori and I.

are going to interact. I became Clint's bench coach in Pittsburgh. And so I would always sign things off there to make a difference. And then I meet Clint. And here's a guy who would sign everything off, make a difference. And I thought to myself, there's two guys who think the same way, is that we have an opportunity to make a difference in people's lives. And I'll give you a story that, and this happens so often, I can go to stadiums across America, and I'll be out on the rail signing autographs and having conversation,

and I'll see an elderly gentleman, two or three rows back. And he's mirroring me as I'm walking along. Eventually, he gets, he comes down to the rail. He doesn't want an autograph, but he'll tell me, he says, said, Jeff, I need to tell you, thank you. And I'm like, okay, he says, because I can't thank your dad anymore.

So media, the Twitter, the Instagram, you know, all the different platforms gives us an opportunity. If we, if we do it the right way. I love that. Try to make a difference. to dare to make a difference in other people's lives. I love that. Jesse? Did you have anything else,

no, I think, I mean, I think Jeff just drop the mic on us. I don't think we could say anything else after that. I'm inspired. I need to go out and I was going to ask a funny, dumb topic and I don't even feel like doing that now at this point. Oh, boy, now I don't.

I was going to get controversial on you. I was going to ask, do you put ketchup on your, hot dogs. That's what I was going to ask. Catcher, ketchup, mustard, relish, chili. Yes. Out of boy. Come on.

Growing up in Texas, you put the house on your hot dog. There you go. Yes. Yes. I am of that camp. Thank you so much. Well, Jeff, we can't thank you enough for joining us. And we can't tell you how much we look forward to seeing you in the dugout this season and seeing what you can do with this team. Mike Hazen and Tori Lavallo have been very adamant about this team. looking towards their future, looking towards their young players to develop them and make them,

you know, the next stars for this team. And Jesse and I, I think, can both agree that we think you're the right man for the job to be a part of this. Well, I appreciate that. And understand, I mean, it takes time. Yes. You guys know that. Yeah. I came from an organization, 21 years of losing. 21 years of losing, right? And we were able to take. take a very similar group of players. Started and right about 2010, 2009.

Clint came in. We got some things going. Eventually National League MVP. Right? Yes. One of the baddest pitchers on the planet and Garrett Cole. Yep. Absolutely.

The catching ninja and Russell Martin came along. You know, we went out and got a, You know, one of the bad boys of baseball and AJ Burnett, you know, Marte. It was a really good to you. Yeah. Marte.

And we were able to be patient enough, but yet develop an urgency, a quiet urgency so that these guys knew what it meant that winning means something. Winning didn't mean anything. Why the hell do we celebrate? Right. Yeah, exactly. the patience, but this club reminded me a lot of some of the things, these athletes that I saw, you know, in that Pittsburgh club.

So I'm excited about it. It's why when Tori called me and said, hey, you want the job. I say, I'll walk to Arizona. We'll come pick you up. Don't worry about it. We're going to make you want. All right, guys. Well, Jeff, thanks again.

Thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it. We can't thank you enough. Outstanding, guys. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Have a great night. You too. Well, Jesse, I don't know what else to say besides that was amazing. He's a tremendous individual. I mean, we already knew that we were going to have a fun time chatting with him, but talking to him about, you know, the team and seeing how excited he is.

It gets me, jazz, you know, here we are, what, one day after the World Series. and I'm somehow excited about this Arizona Diamondbacks team. One thing I personally feel with the hiring that they've made is, you know, Hazen said they weren't going to go outside for external help as far as filling, you know, positional needs. But they're almost bringing in an all-star coaching staff of sorts, don't you think? Yeah, I mean, they seem to have nailed it so far, Derek. I mean, Joe Mather, we got to hear from him, too.

not on this show, but just in the presser. And he's certainly impressed there. And yeah, Jeff Bannister is, once again, Derek, I feel similarly talking with Jeff as I do with Tori in a sense where it is not common. Our audience should recognize it is not common. It is not a given that when the media speaks to a coach, that the coach genuinely is fully present and gives you their full attention. Oh, yeah.

Like that is not a given. It's not a given, Jesse. It's anybody. Trust me. Oh, no. This is a guy that does not get people's full attentions when he is interviewing them. I get that. I know that. It is players.

It is everyone. It is every person who has ever appeared on a media interview ever, right? It is not a given that they are going to be fully present with you and fully available. And honestly, I think we could talk to Jeff Bannister for, you know, we could have on for an hour if we wanted to. Yeah. We could go on for forever with that guy because he's so genuine. And he's just there and he's present.

And, you know, and he certainly is, is up for a conversation with anyone, right? Like he was talking about that random person in the audience at a game, right? Man, that was touching. Yeah. That was an incredible story. Yeah. And I just love that the Diamondbacks have another person like that in their clubhouse, right? Tori Lavello, we know, has been, you know, fully present, fully himself for a number of years here.

And he's got, you know, a sidekick now who, in a. in a very different way, right? I think they do compliment each other. Jeff has a very different personality. Very much so. You know that he's going to be there for some of these young guys and he is going to motivate them and inspire them. And I'm just excited, Derek.

How crazy is this? We're excited about Diamondbacks baseball in November 4th. After a 110 loss season. I don't know what's happening right now. We can thank Jeff Bannister for that. We can definitely thank Jeff Bannister for that. Just a reminder to you guys, NFL fans. it doesn't matter what sport you're a fan of go download the draft king sports book app now use our

code of p hnx and for betting five dollars on any NFL game you will get $200 in free bets should that team win and now mind you again that's for NFL but there's NBA offers uh on there there's all sorts of game props there's all sorts of in games single game same game parley's i of course and mr parley i need a hat to put on when i call myself that but i i love doing the same game parleyes i can't get away from them no matter what even when I bet on a on a team to win, I find myself instantly adjusting and going right over the same game parlayes. It's just fun to add some of those other props and some of those other options. You know, you just combine those bets for a bigger payout and the more legs you add,

the more money you can win. Don't go crazy. I had myself a 16 leg parlay the other day. I don't even know what I was thinking. I just, if you get out of control sometimes, Jesse, I don't know what are the chances of landing a 16 leg parlay. I don't know, but I bet $10 on it. If I would have won, it would have been like $2,000. How does that sound? it goes past a point where you're actually making, I feel like you're making a bet, and you're just, it's just a lottery at that point.

Like anything can happen in sports. Right? You can have all the information you want and you can still lose, you know, your parlay because the giants decide to go for in a blowout on a two-point conversion that was completely unnecessary. No, I'm not petty or no, angry about that at all.

But again, you guys can go on the Drafking Sportsbook app, use our code of PHNX once again for betting, $5 on any NFL game or more. And as long as that team wins, you will get $200 in free bets. 21 and over only, Arizona only, gambling problem, dial 1,800 next step. New customers only, eligibility restrictions apply.

See draft kings.com slash sports book for details. Jesse, do you put hot, do you put ketchup on your hot dog? I do. I put ketchup and I put rally. Not a mustard guy. Not a mustard guy at all. Here's the weird thing. I hate mustard on almost everything,

but it belongs on a hot dog. ketchup, mustard, onion, I'm good to go. I don't know, sorry, I didn't mean to let you down there. I feel like I really set you up like we were on the same side for a moment and it just completely abandoned you. But the Diamondbacks do have quite a number of other coaching vacancies to fill the other day that I think it was Nick Picoro asked about how many other vacancies he had to fill. And Lovalo went through kind of a laundry list, you know, of coaches.

So we still have a lot of news to break as far as the staff is. concerned and I kind of hope to see them continue down this path. Like I said, I feel like an all-star coaching staff might really be the way to go, might be the way for the Diamondbacks to spend their money at this point if their plan is to turn to their farm system, you know, for these positional needs and to try to develop some of these younger guys that are already, you know, on the 40-man roster. I don't know if it's necessarily like them spending spending their money in one place as opposed to another. I know, no, no, no, I know. I'm just saying like if they are going to spend money. I almost feel like at this point, you know, we've looked at the free agency

market. We've talked about it. There isn't a lot of help out there that can really improve this team, you know, and they're not going to spend the money on the guys that that really would. Like that Cory Seeger. Right. Exactly. So it comes down to, you know, again, if you can put in place a quality coaching staff that can get the most out of these guys, maybe that really is the way to go. It'll be great to see if that's, if that really gets the Diamondbacks over this pump right now. I will say that coaches are very important and probably more important than people realize the last two great diamondback seasons occurred on the heels of them bringing in a new manager. And I know that's not happening this year. They're not bringing in a new manager,

but they're bringing in a whole lot of new coaches. I mean, this is about as close to a full on turnover as you could imagine. And you look back 2017, that was Toro Lavello's first year. You look before that, the time prior to that that the Diamondbacks made the playoffs 2011, that was Kirk Gibson's first year. So the Diamondbacks sort of have this history where significant coaching turnover has often led to immediate results. And that's not to say that that's necessarily going to happen again this year. Obviously, the Diamondbacks have a long, long way to go coming off a 110 loss season.

But yeah, I mean, so far, so good on the coaching front. I love what Jeff said. He alluded to it briefly, Derek, about just his story growing up, all of the surgeries he had. For those of our audience members who don't know, Jeff Bannister, at one point had doctors recommend to him that he have his leg amputated when he was a kid. This was far before his Major League dream had been realized. He was a sophomore in high school when that happened. And it was due to bone cancer in his leg.

There you go. There you go. Yeah, I had some sort of an injury. It revealed bone cancer. and he had seven surgeries in order to repair his leg. And he didn't. Unfortunately, he didn't, you know, he was able to get by keeping his leg. But it was not without quite a bit of heartache on his end going through all of that.

He's faced a lot of adversity. And then in junior college, he had another disastrous issue when he was, he was catching. And he had a runner fly in at the plate. And there was another major injury there to his neck. and he was paralyzed for, you know, it took him a long, long time to even be able to walk with a walker. I think it was like four months or something. Really? Yeah.

So just to give our audience an idea of where this guy has been, what he's been through. The Diamondbacks are going through some adversity right now, Derek, and Jeff who's been there and done that. And I think they're in good hands. You're right, because it's not just his 29 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization that that makes him qualified and gives him the experience. It's that life experience. And you can hear it in them, right? You can hear it when this, in our discussion,

you can hear it in the stories that he talks, tells, and just the way that he, you know, kind of appreciates this game on a different level. And we talked about it when he got hired, but let's take a look again at Jeff's stats because he really does have some incredible stats. I mean, he led the Rangers after taking over with no managerial experience prior to that,

In 2015, he led them to two AL West Division titles, was named the AL manager of the year, the first year that he led the Rangers, being the first American League manager to ever win the award with no prior managerial experience. And again, we talked about the 29 years. And Jesse, you asked him about the player of development for the University of Colorado's baseball program.

All of that, like all of that to me is very exciting. Because everything there is all of the experience that I want to see from someone who's going to be the bench coach for Tori Lavallo, right? The main focus there being that his expertise seems to be that he develops players, you know, and that's the biggest thing that this team needs is player development. I think the second thing that this team needs is Tori Lavallo having someone to be his co-counsel. I've thought that for a while. I think that at times Tori Lavallo had, you know, the prior bench coach,

didn't have the kind of experience that, you know, Lavello could rely on to literally go to someone like he can with Bannister and ask him his opinion and value that opinion because of his experiences as a manager himself. So I don't know. I'm very excited about that. And Jesse, you know what? Let's just do this. It's, you know what today is, right?

You know what today is. I know what today is. Everyone is a year ago today, Jesse. 20 years ago today. You want to get excited about Arizona Diamondbacks baseball? Let's get excited. Let's do it. What is today, Jesse?

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Diamondbacks defeating the New York Yankees in the 2001 World Series. That's right. With this single from the one and only, Louis Gonzalez. The chance of a lifetime for Luis Gonzalez. Two, two, bottom of the night. Game seven of the World Series. But put that on a permanent loop for me.

Just put that on a loop. I'm going to watch it the rest of the night. What a moment. What a moment. I know you were. This is the most optimistic show we've had in weeks. I know. What is going on?

We're so happy today, Derek. I don't understand what is happening at all. I don't know what to say. All I can say is that, you know, I blame Jeff. I blame Jeff Bannister. He's the one that got me feeling very positive about this entire situation. and I'll tell you what. I'm excited.

I'm excited to see who they hire going forward, and I'm excited, you know, just to see how this entire thing develops. I, you know, I'm very big on some of the young guys that we've had, you know, that we talked about, Alec Thomas, some of the youngsters that are prospects that we should see this year. It's going to be great to see this team rise up from here. Like we said, we've hit rock bottom, right?

I mean, I can't imagine it going worse. And at this point, I feel like the best thing, that they can do is be realistic. I don't even think they were realistic before this season started about how bad things could be. I had my suspicions, though. My biggest concern before this season started was how their lack of depth. And that, in the end, that really became their biggest problem. Their lack of depth and injuries stacked up on each other.

They just signed Chris Davinsky to a minor league contract. Hey, there we go. And as you tweeted about, they have decided. decided to move on from Cole Calhoun and not extend the option, which we thought was going to happen, especially with the, it was a $9 million option. Yep. Yeah, same with Tyler Clippard. They also declined his option.

And they also accepted, they exercised the option for Merrill Kelly, which of course is a great season. Yeah. Fantastic. And you can definitely get more of that information on go phnx.com. We'll have some articles up about that, as well, some more articles about the coaching staff, the decisions that are made and all of the news that happens with Arizona Diamondbacks this off season, go become a member over at go phnx.com. You can either get an annual membership, which will

get you a free t-shirt over at the PHNX Locker.com. I know I'm probably not supposed to tell you this, but if you go over the coyotes and suns, you might get something extra, you can go in there. But go over and get a membership. Annual membership is around 60 bucks. You'll get the free t-shirt. If you go with a month-to-month option, you'll get your first month for just 50 cents. And we hope you do. We call you guys members because your members, of the family. And we're trying to grow this thing. So please join us over here. You can join our Discord and talk about baseball with us. Give us your thoughts on these Arizona Diamondbacks hirings and everything that's happening with this team. Are you excited? Are you still pessimistic?

What's going on? So let us know how you feel. And also go over to Draft King's Sportsbook and use our code of PHNX. For $5 on any NFL team, you'll get $200 in free bets as long as that team that you bet your $5 on wins their game. I'm also going to give you our draft king's pick of the week. I think even though the, yeah, it's pick of the week time, Jesse. Baseball's over. I don't know what to tell you. I'm kind of sad about it and I don't really know what to bet on anymore.

We're picking against the coyotes again, Derek. Is that the move? Jesse, I am always picking against the coyotes. It's the smart bet to do. I think I've only lost once. Oh, wait. We have Leah producing for us. Yeah, she's not supposed to know, shut up, Jesse.

You idiot. You're going to tell her she's going to know she's going to tell Petey, and then Petey's going to come back and want his cut because he's the one that told me to bet against them. You're complicating the situation for me substantially. All right, so my lock of the week actually is the Miami Dolphins over the Houston Texans. I do not believe in the Houston Texans at all.

And the Miami Dolphins are a five and a half point favorite. I also, believe it or not, I like the Buffalo Bills over the Jaguars, even though the spread is 14 and a half. It's the Jaguars. It is. You know, when the Cardinals were really on a roll, I kind of hesitated on that spread against the Texans,

and they blew it out of the water. So I have a feeling that the Buffalo Bills that are on a little bit of a role themselves will probably steamroll the Jacksonville Jaguars. So there you go. There's your draft king's pick of the week. Jesse, I know you can't do this. And I'm sorry, but we'll get you back here soon enough.

Well, I promise, you know. And then you can be here. We'll go watch Jeff, you know, manage games with Tori. It's going to be a fun time. I'm excited to see this team play next year. So, hey, at least there's that. There's hope. There's light at the end of the tunnel.

And it's a superior coaching staff. So I'm excited to watch this team. I know Jesse is. Jesse, what else you got? You got anything else coming up on go phtonx.com? Oh, I will. Yes. Yeah, we're going to be actually starting to jump in and embrace all the questions

about what should the Diamondbacks do over the off season? You know, what free agents should they look at? We've gotten these questions for a long time. And we're a little bit scared to answer it because it's like, well. He said no. Mike Hazen has just flat out said, no, he's made it sound. I don't believe that's going to be the case. I think they're still going to acquire some free agents in this off season.

I feel like with Bannister's philosophy about combining veterans with, you know, the young players and having the veterans be a part of their, maturation and having the veterans be a part of, you know, them becoming the next superstars for this team. I can't see them not going after veterans, kind of like what they did with one-year deals this year, which I don't, I don't hate that at all. Absolutely will. Yeah, there's going to be, they're going to, I think they're going to get a third baseman. They don't really have a viable everyday third baseman as of right now. So, but yeah, it could be. It could be. I mean, not, not likely, I wouldn't say, but you certainly never know.

One thing I do want to bring up. Yeah. One thing I do want to bring up real quick before we finish the show. Back to Jeff Bannister. There's a connection here that I think it's important we point out. Jeff Bannister, of course, as we've talked about, spent 29 years in the Pittsburgh Pirates Organization, growth as a player and eventually for a long time, a coach in a number of capacities, serve a number of different roles there.

But in one of his final positions working alongside Clint Hurtle with the Pirates, that was also under the regime of one Mike Fitzgerald, who is currently the Arizona Diamondbacks director of, or I think vice president of research and development is his official title. So basically, Mike Fitzgerald right now is the Diamondbacks, one of their sabermetric guru type people, right? he has been well known in the industry for a while, primarily for his work with the Pittsburgh Pirates, working alongside Jeff Bannister. And what Mike Fitzgerald was known for was like traveling with the team, which is something that you don't have a lot of analytics guys do, right? They kind of sit in the office upstairs and relate to- doesn't seem like a necessity to travel with the team.

Yeah, yeah. But there's a great article from about seven years ago from when Mike Fitzgerald was with the pirates and talking about all of the things that he was doing there. And it talks about him having frequent conversations with Jeff Bannister as one of the coaches at the time in Pittsburgh. So I think it's an interesting connection how Mike Fitzgerald is now with the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks bring Jeff Bannister aboard. We obviously know Jeff Bannister is going to be receptive to some of those ideas.

And also he's going to be familiar with a guy in Mike Fitzgerald who's been really good historically at relating to players and making sure that these messages are delivered in a way that they can understand that isn't going to be overbearing for them. So we've talked a lot, Derek, about how the Diamondbacks have maybe had issues, giving too much information at times. And I think this is probably, you know, a good move in the right direction with both Jeff Vanister and Mike Fitzgerald. They've worked together doing this in Pittsburgh.

And I think there's a good chance that will continue in a positive way here. remember when the Diamondbacks were feuding with the Pirates, Jesse? I do. I do remember that. What better way to get back at them than single white femaleing them? They're single white femaleing them. They're adopting their identity. They're becoming them and they're going to mimic their success.

And I can't wait for it. I don't know if the Pirates are an organization you want to mimic in that. That's a good point. That's a good point. Well, no, mimic right before they got rid of all their good players. Right before, yeah. And I guess maybe add a little more success to it. I don't know where I'm going with this anymore.

It's kind of a bad idea. But anyway, thank you guys all for watching. You can get me on Twitter with more insane ideas like this. I am at Cap underscore Caveman with a K. You can get Jesse for more reasonable ideas. And he is at Jesse N. Friedman. Our Twitter account is at PHNX underscore D-Backs. But of course, all roads lead to at PHNX underscore Sports.

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baseball is fun, but it's more fun when you bet on it.