PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - D-backs manager Torey Lovullo joins the show to discuss his expectations for 2023 and more!

Episode Date: February 2, 2023

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo stops by to discuss the D-backs emerging young core, managing expectations for their future, MLB rule changes in 2023, and so much more!BUY D-BACKS TICKETS HERE: https://gametime.hnyj8s.net/c/3442941/1410622/10874 SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsports DraftKings: Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now (https://bit.ly/3Jl1dMX), use promo code PHNX and make your first deposit of FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in FREE BETS INSTANTLY! Gambling Problem? Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY),If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (CO/IL/IN/LA/MD/MI/NJ/OH/PA/TN/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), visit OPGR.org (OR), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/KS/LA(select parishes)/MD/MI/NJ/NY/OH/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Void in ONT. Eligibility restrictions apply. $200 in Bonus Bets: Valid 1 per new customer. Min. $5 deposit. Min $5 bet. Promo code req. $200 issued as bonus bets that expire 7 days (168 hours) after being awarded. Bonus must be wagered 1x and stake is not included in any returns or winnings.Super Boost: Valid 1 Odds Boost Token per customer after opt-in each day for eligible Super Bowl LVII prop markets only. Token must be used BEFORE placing eligible bet between 6-9PM ET daily. Odds boosts and prop markets will vary. Max bet limits apply. Tokens are non-cashable, non-refundable, and cannot be withdrawn. Boost Token expire daily at 9PM ET. There are no restrictions on the funds a customer will receive if their bet wins. If their bet loses, they will not receive any reward. Offer period valid 2/6/23 - 2/11/23. See terms at sportsbook.draftkings.com/footballterms.OGeez!: Learn more about OGeez! at https://ogeezbrands.com//. Must be 21 years or older to purchase.Underdog Fantasy: Sign up for Underdog Fantasy today! Go to the link https://play.underdogfantasy.com/p-phnx and use promo code “PHNX” to receive a deposit match up to $100Four Peaks: Drink, eat, find, and experience Four Peaks at https://www.fourpeaks.com/.  Must be 21 or older. Enjoy responsibly. Bad Birdie: Use code “PHNX_SPORTS15” for 15% off your next order https://glnk.io/7qnq/phnx-sportsMor Furniture: Save up to 50% all through the holidays! Check out https://morfurniture.comChitown Cornhole: Check out Chitown Cornhole at http://chitowncornhole.com and make sure to follow them on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chitowncustomcornholeboards/Roman: Go to https://ro.co/PHNX today to get 20% off your entire first order. Order by February 8th for guaranteed shipping in time for Valentine’s Day.When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. 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.

Okay, campers, rise and shine. And don't forget your booties because it's cold out there. You know that's a movie reference. This guy over here totally doesn't understand. I have no idea what you're talking about. But it was kind of funny. Yeah, welcome. Happy Groundhog date, all of you.

But welcome in. This show is the show you guys love to tune into for your DBAX news. This is the PHNX DBAX podcast right here on PHNX. My name is Derek Montia. Of course, I am your mayor of PHNX. This handsome devil next to me is the vice mayor. He's also the thunderstick, the one and only Jesse Friedman. I don't think anyone cares that we have to say.

No, no. If he didn't come for us today. That's absolutely the truth. But this show is brought to you by the fine folks at the Drafking Sportsbook app, America's top-rated sportsbook app. We are very excited to welcome in one of our favorite managers and people in baseball just overall. But yes, the Arizona Diamondbacks manager, Tori Lavallo, is here to join us. Tori.

Welcome, bud. great to see you good to be with you guys you know it's great i get to see a different side of you guys right now normally you guys are very reserved and very professional i get to see a different side of this personality i'm kind of enjoying this so yeah we try to behave ourselves in front of you you know this guy never changes but you know you're going to definitely see a different side out of me but uh great to see you we missed you how was your off season yeah likewise um it's always good after a long layoff we see one another every day twice a day right for an entire season and I miss the group I miss a routine in the process but my

season has been very good it's usually a time for me to re-engage with family and friends because I asked them for so much during the course of a season where I am 24-7 at the ballpark but I'm ready to go I'm super excited about the upcoming season here it's been it's been a off-season full of travel a lot of laughs and a lot of love with with my family and I always appreciate that time We're very excited about the upcoming season too. Our GM Saul told us about your woodworking skills. So we wanted to ask Did you build anything this offseason? You know, it's always it's always a little bit of

Like some bits and pieces. I built a lot. I did I didn't have one major thing. I've done Barn doors. I've done You know things things for bedroom for different different parts of bedroom furniture This year it was just a you know, some corner things and not necessarily furniture, but for some garage organization, you know, where you have a thousand like rakes, brooms, all that stuck into a corner. I kind of built something that I could organize that with. That was probably the most impressive thing because I'm an organized guy. I like to have things clean. The edge has got to be

nice and clean. So now that I can organize a garage a little bit, it was good. But nothing major, just a lot of little projects. I'm working on a Valentine's Day project right now for my wife, I usually give her something. Nice. Every Valentine's Day, it's more from the heart. I like that. That's a good move. That's a great A move right there. I think we could, we could use some furniture around the office, Tori.

I don't know if you're volunteering at all. At least some organizational help perhaps around here, for sure. I'd love to help you guys out. We wanted to know, how was it having your first kind of normal off season in a few years, considering what we've been through over the last two years? Yeah, you know, you're right. It's COVID hit us in 20. That was a different spring training.

21 was certainly a very limited spring training. 22, there were still some effects of the COVID. And that trickles into the front office and our ability to get together on a pretty routine basis to discuss things that are moving us move this organization forward. So you're right, I was just over at Salt River Field and I thought to myself as I was sitting down with Mike Hazen and Amiel Saaday that We didn't have masks on. It was a normal interaction. You could see facial expressions.

You could laugh, have a normal conversation. And there's, it's just, it's a little bit more healthy. You know, you're able to go and see players, you're going to spend time with players, getting their space, getting their world. And I've really enjoyed this off season because of that. And we know what happened. But everything was very normal. There was a winter meeting that took place where you could interact on a different level with,

with other organizations. So it was very enriching again, and we're back to normal. And I'm happy to say that. Tori, I guess in a sense, I mean, this offseason is kind of unique in its own way, just in all of the rule changes that are coming to Major League Baseball in 2020 with the pitch clock, right? The limits on pickoff attempts, the shift restrictions, all these things. How much do you think you're going to bring that in to spring camp here in a matter of a couple weeks when pitchers and catchers report? Is that something that you're planning to emphasize kind of going into it right off the bat,

trying to get players used to some of these things? Yeah, you know me. You guys have been around me enough. And those are the little things that we pride ourselves on. Of course, we love the big picture things, home run, strikeouts, big RBIs. But it's those little things to me that continue to add up that help you win inches and win moments. And it is about preparation. So, of course, we are ready to start, you know,

We've been, well, we'll hit the ground running in spring training. Right now what I'm going to ask my staff to do is come up with ideas, fresh ideas, fresh drills. It's all new. We don't know. How do we take our leads off from first base? What is the extra, the extra inches on a bag going to mean to this team that's full of speed? How can we exploit that? How are we going to pick over to first base and make it a really, really emphasized pickoff?

So we're going to get some information about what that base runner is going to do from a pitching standpoint. So all those things we're going to tie into. And we want to use a clock to our advantage. We want our guys to get up on the mound and be ready to go without huffing and puffing and feeling like they're tired. So we're going to talk that over as a group and then we're going to move it forward as to how we can go out and practice it. I believe in full time, real time practice. And we're going to take advantage of it. Our team will be ready to go.

The no shifting thing is going to be new to us. We're a heavy team. Yeah. We're a heavy shifting team. So we got to figure out how to put our guys in the right place, the right place, right time to pick up ground balls as well. One of our listeners or viewers asked if you're going to any WBC games for the World Baseball Classic. I know your schedule is kind of a little busy around that time. You'll be a little busy those days. Any chance you'll get a chance to see Merrill or Alec or any of those guys

that might be playing in that. Yeah, we know that there's a couple guys that we have. We're proud of that. We've encouraged our guys to go out and represent their country and do it to the best of their ability. And, you know, young players like Alec, they're sheepish about it. You know, they're like, should I wonder if it's the right thing to do? Of course it is. You're going to represent Team Mexico, his mother's heritage. Go out and represent them as best you can. And yes, of course, I'm a baseball fan just like everybody else is,

and especially when we have an interest with some of our players pitching or performing, and I'm going to do what I can. But you're right. I don't know how the schedules are going to overlap. I don't know what's going to happen. But since it's going to be played a chase, we're going to definitely take advantage of it when we can. Tori, no matter where you look, it seems like everyone's talking about Corbyn Carroll and the kind of season he could have in 2023. Pretty much everyone seems to be expecting him to win the rookie of the year award.

Frankly, there's a lot of expectations there. I know from your guys' perspective, I'm sure you're looking to block out a lot of that noise. But what can you do just to help a young kid like Corbyn come into 2023 and be the best player that he can be? Yeah. Fair, fair ass, Jesse. I'm excited about Corby Carroll. Everybody's excited about Corby Carroll. The one person that's slowing it down and doing it the right way is Corby Carroll himself.

So I really can appreciate that. We've got to remember there's 25 other players on this team that are really good as well. And he's 1-26 of what's going to be pushing forward and moving forward every single day. And that'll be my emphasis. I'm not going to put one player ahead of this ball club. And I don't want to forecast anything for Corby and Carol because it's a long journey. of spring training to go out and impress and earn. He's got to earn things around here.

And he knows that. That's been discussed with him. And then he's got six months of a baseball season to go out there and allow his talents to play out the way they can't and the way they should. But it is going to be about preparation and oblique and an effort that he's going to go out there and do his job every single day. And if it does, he's going to be just fine. And I don't want to too much pressure on him.

I'm not going to talk about the expectations other than going out and fitting it and being 126 and hope his team would have a baseball game today. I think Corpurn breaks it down that way. That's what makes him so unique. We're certainly excited about him. He's a very talented player. We have other players that are just as talented, and we're so excited about.

We're having a little bit of a connection issue here with you, Tories. So I just wanted to let you forgive us in regards to that. I did want to talk to you about the young guys, though, because you do have some incredible young players in your system. And I know that a lot of them have, like Jesse brought up with Corby and Carroll, been ranked on these top prospects lists. So I just wanted to, I guess, ask what are your thoughts on that? And is that

something that you personally pay attention to? Or is that, much like other things you've told us in the past where you kind of don't really pay attention to that kind of stuff? Did we lose them? Try to bring them back. Yeah, we'll try to get them back. Tori, we kind of lost you there.

One second for you guys right now. You're frozen and you're coming back a little bit. It's like Jesse at the winter meeting. It's like Jesse's connection at the winter. meetings. I don't know if we can. Is he still frozen? We'll try coming back.

If we can just have you call back, maybe try to connect or disconnect from Wi-Fi. But we'll bring him back. Yeah, we'll bring you right back to Terry. Cool, cool. Of course, that was incredible. It's great to have him on. And I know that he.

Freaking Wi-Fi, man. I know. The Wi-Fi will be the end- Winter meetings. Here we are back again. But, of course, I know that his thoughts on Corbyn, Carol are spot on there. I know that we kind of expected them for the most part to kind of block out the noise from that. But it feels like it's hard when the noise is so loud, right? A lot of

the talk about Corbyn Carroll is pretty incredible right now. And, you know, I can only imagine what it's like to try to temper those expectations for a young player. You know, it just seems like a daunting kind of overwhelming thing. I mean, what Tori said, though, is so true. And I mean, obviously Tori knows Corby and Carol a whole lot better than I do. But, but you can, you know, can just tell. Corvin Carroll is a very cerebral baseball player. He's very deliberate. We've talked about this a lot, right? On his first day in the big leagues, when we would ask Corbin Carol questions, he would sit there and think about it for 15, 20 seconds before he'd respond. He's a very thoughtful young player. And I think in a situation like what he's in, right, where he's facing all these

expectations and whatnot, he's the kind of guy who's going to be able to block out that noise and move past that. All right. Well, I think we got to story back here. I think we have to write back. We heard that we heard the ding that means we have a, we have a guest in their green room. Someone's knocking on the door. Someone's here. But of course, when it comes to a lot of those prospects, there's a lot of young players on that list. And it's not just Corbyn Carroll. That's something that we have seen time and time again is that it's expanding. There was a new list where the Arizona Diamondbacks now have six of their prospects in the top 100 Prospects list.

So, yeah. Again, we're, we're going to very soon have enough top 100 prospects list to rank the top 100 prospects, top 100 prospects list. But yeah, it's, it's not, not a terrible thing, but definitely something to manage as somebody that's going to help these young guys develop coming up to the big league level. Yeah, the list that came out yesterday was Kylie McDaniel's list over at ESPN. And Kylie McDaniel had the Diamondbacks with three, three, three, prospects in the top eight. Three of the top eight prospects in baseball where Arizona

Diamondbacks according to that list. Corbyn Carroll was number two, Jordan Lawler at number four, I think was Gabriel Moreno at number four, and then Jordan Lawler at number eight. That's pretty decent stuff, Derek, when you've got three, not only in the top 15, as we've seen on some other list, but in the top eight, according to ESPN's Kylie McDaniel. Well, in the meantime, we're going to grab ourselves a four-peaks brewing company beer because that's what you do when you need to kill some time and it's the best way to spend time sometimes. But of course, Four Peaks does have their brand new beers. They're recreational juice tank IPA, which is only available in bottles now at their

East Street pub. So make sure to get that before it's all gone and try their staycation super juicy IPA, both of which are just delightful. So spend your Super Bowl not only at Four Peaks or with Four Peaks. The Super Bowl is around the corner. Enjoy a nice Four Peaks beverage during the game. And of course, enjoy responsibly. Must be 21 or over to enjoy.

Get Four Peaks anywhere. you get your beer here in the valley. And also, in time for the big game, make sure to grab yourself the Underdog Fantasy app. Underdog does daily fantasy differently. Of course, you can pair up to five of your friends and the highest scoring squad that drafts the winning team will win cold hard cash.

Drafts six NBA players with no positional limits, and that's it. Of course, we are writing on pitch counts this MLB season. And don't listen to this guy, ever, he still mocks me for that. But you know what? You can't mock $1,000 in my pocket. So make sure to. grab yourself. Did you win a thousand dollars off pitch counts? I want a thousand dollars on my gosh. I feel like I've talked about this enough that you should know that and you should

I mean you talk about pitch counts all the time when you bring up the sheer amount of money that you've won off of taking the higher or lower on pitch counts it does it blows my mind. It's pretty incredible you can only do that at the underdog fantasy app so it's easy to get started just go to underdog fantasy.com or download the app sign up with our promo code of phnx an underdog will match your first deposit up to $100. And while we're waiting for Tori to possibly come back, we'll see what happens there. He did tell us that his house had construction going on. So I'm going to blame somebody for cutting the wire on his router or something.

We do very much appreciate his time if you can't get back in here. The debacks do have their first ever Jersey patch partner in a new partnership that people aren't thrilled with. They're not thrilled with the patch. There's nothing to do with the partner. It has nothing. Yes. That's all fine. Right. The company is fine. We have no problems with the company itself. Obviously, one of the big things here is that the Diamondbacks have their first ever patch partner. And they are the third team in Major League Baseball to secure a Jersey patch partner. And the company is, what is it? Avnet.

Avnet. Which has a very confusing description about what they do. They're like a tech engineering thing. I told you. It's vague and I don't know what it is. but their jerseys or their patch will be appearing on jerseys this season. We have a shot of that right there. And people aren't thrilled. Obviously, I know this is a shock.

I think that part of this is the size of the patch and the fact that it's a giant black patch that is really just so. Are they the debacks or the avnets? Are the ad nets? I don't know. See, now I'm going to say something in regards to this. I don't hate this partnership one bit. And I think actually the patch would look great

if they sent the proper file over that was, the PNG file and not the JPEG, right? Like, we need the background removed from that. I think, though, if they did remove the background, am I wrong about this, that it would almost look too much like a Diamondbacks logo? Like, it's an A, it's got the teal in it. I feel like obviously they needed to put it on a background

so that it stands out. The purpose of an advertisement isn't to blend in. It's to stand out. That's kind of what I suspect is that maybe it wouldn't have stood out enough in order for Avent to want to do that. But does the patch have to be that big? We can give them the black background, but couldn't we have shrunk it down just a little bit? Or just to make it something that, as Jesse would say about certain apps, is more aesthetically pleasing.

Maybe like a circle instead of the big square or something, right? I think it's pretty aesthetically pleasing. It's just enormous for a patch on a jersey. It's enormous. And it just doesn't, I don't know, it just kind of takes over the entire uniform. I feel like if that patch shows up on merchandise, like in the DeBax team shop, I have to believe that some people aren't going to want to buy a jersey that has. that prominent of a advertisement on it.

I was talking about this about this with Patrick today from the DNVR Rockies podcast and I would believe that you give it three years and younger people, not me. I haven't qualified for that in a long time, but younger people would very, very much want the authentic jersey that the players wore wear on the field and they would want the one with the patch.

I've seen it with the Sun's jersey where if you don't have the PayPal patch on it, your jersey isn't authentic, you know? So people want the advertising on there, but whatever. That's, uh, I think there's a, there's just a reasonable limit to that though, right? Because I think in some sense, having the ads on there can be kind of a cool thing. Yeah. It's just like, I don't know.

Like when you get to a point where the ad significantly like alters the overall look of a uniform, which I would argue it kind of does with what, what the picture we just saw. Okay. Yeah. Like, I don't know. Let's put that back up there. It might not be as enticing for people. I don't like I don't like the fact that it looks like it's so, like it's so rigid and so big that you would feel it.

And I mean, also, why is it on both arms? Is it going to be on both arms? Obviously, this is just a Photoshop kind of thing, right? I think like just to show the patch off. I mean, it does look like it's on both arms, right? That means some guys are looking at their left arms. I know. I get it.

I get it. Yeah, I don't know. Hopefully, hopefully it maybe it's just one arm. That would be, that would be at least something. Then in the chat says, he says, I hate ads, but I understand it. However, I really don't want it on the jerseys fans purchase. I would agree with that.

I wouldn't want it on mine. Again, though, it does get through the point. What's the over under on how much that patch weighs? Are we sure they can still, are we sure they can still stand up straight? I don't know. I don't know, but we're definitely going to put a tweet out there. And the more retweets we get it, the bigger we're going to make that damn pat. Look out for that.

on Twitter very soon. But I don't know. I mean, obviously this is something, this is the direction baseball is going. We're going to see more of this. They are the third team

in Major League Baseball to secure a Jersey patch partner, but by no means will they be the last. I think we're going to see this with every team. I will say that Abnet, like their color scheme fits remarkably well. And honestly, is great.

Like of all the logos that you could put on a D-BACs uniform, it works really well. It's just with that black background, as we've said. it's just, it just takes over the whole thing. And again, we like partnering with local partners and, and sponsoring things here in Arizona. And of course, Avnet is a local Arizona. It's headquartered here in Arizona.

And it's going to serve as an exclusive partner for beyond just the Jersey patches. It's going to go to community events and other things like that. So this is going to be a big partnership for them. We know that that's important. And we know that that's a big part of, you know, baseball in the direction it's going. But yes. Anything that can bring in additional revenue. That's the direction baseball's going.

But Chris said, can pitchers protest having it on throwing arm? And God, I hope so. Please, because that thing looks like it's going to... Can we bring the picture up one more time? I actually kind of wonder if, right, because both Zach Gallen and Merrill Kelly are right-handed and we see it on their left sleeve. So maybe it's just going to be on the pitcher's left sleeve or the opposite pitching arm of whatever their pitching arm is.

And also everyone else on everyone else here is left-handed and throws left-handed. So it might be that it's like your non-throwing arm. That would make sense. All right. That's fine. But you know what? You said that that, like the logo is fine, right? The logo's fine.

It could be better. It's just huge. If it was that big, it could be better. I mean. Leah, can we make it better? Yeah, that's better. Oh, that is better. Yeah, that is better.

Yeah, that is better. Now, if it's a good logo like that, you don't care how big it is, right? It doesn't matter how big it is. Even better if it was my face instead of your ass? When did Derek's cartoon head become the PHNX flag logo? That I don't know either. It's very weird, but I don't understand where we lost the flag. I think Max. Max, can you get in here really fast, please?

Because did you secure this deal to put my picture exclusively on that Gallons, Jersey, like this? Yeah, well, let's get me. If I may, come on it. If I may, you know, respectfully, if we are going to choose. a face for, you know, Ph. and X. You do have quite a nice mug. You do.

But I also don't want to single anyone person. I mean, there's a lot of different people we can use instead of a patch. What about me, Max? No. He told me he's a vice mayor. Well, he doesn't get that part of it. I mean, listen, you guys are coming here and bashing about all these partners being on a patch, all this stuff.

Yeah. How about that? Oh. Oh, all right. All right. I am up for sale, so, of you. Put one on Jesse. Oh, of course.

Well, we get some sort of compensation for this, right? That's how it works. It's in the contract. It's in the contract. I give you guys for you, O.G.' Yeah, thank you. I appreciate it. That darn fine print, man.

Give me Jesse's. Yes, of course. And I'll take Jesse's. All right, thank you. Talk to you later. All right, but yeah, see, that's what happens with advertising around here. And we understand it. Like, again.

The OG's patch would probably be an upgrade. Oh, the OG's patch would be fire. Yeah. I've seen a new shirt that we have coming out. Let me tell you if it was that patch. It would be incredible. But you know what? I'm very excited because we're still not giving up on Tori.

No, never. We will never give up on Tori. We're going to get Tori back in here. And, of course, I know that, again, they're probably excited about the partnership. And we are two. But we're more excited to have Tori Lavallo back in here with us and to finish up our conversation. Tori, you're back. Guys, that was a long journey right there.

My bad. Yeah, you're right. We were wondering who pulled out the router cord, you know, but we get it. Definitely. So my phone is officially broken. I don't know what happened. Obviously, it was an absolute worst time. Yeah, no, that's fine.

85% charged to zero. And now I can't even get it to charge. So, no. New phone for this guy. Oh, no, we broke his phone. We broke his phone. All right. I apologize for that.

No, no worries. Thanks for coming back. So I guess where we were at was just talking about the young guys. You know, obviously a lot of your young prospect. have appeared on a lot of lists. There's been a lot of lists that featured a lot of young Diamondbacks prospects. So I wanted to get what your thoughts were as far as if you kind of pay attention to those yourself and again, just what that means to you to have so many young guys that are so highly

thought of around baseball. Yeah, of course. That's part of my job is to fill in with some of these young guys, make a connection with them, help them understand that at one point in time, probably in the very near future because of the type of organization we are that they're going to need to help with out. So, you know, I welcome a lot of our, well, just about all of our newly drafted players personally, get a chance to spend some time with them. And then as they kind of filter through the system, and they rise to the ranks, of course. I know who they are. I know my first name. And

that's part of what I do and what I believe in, because I know when those young players step in, they're going to be counted on immediately. They're going to be needed to come in and help us out immediately. And the faster they get to themselves, and this is a key point for me, the faster they get to who they are, what they believe in, and their certain comfort level to go out and perform at the high level that they most likely have been in the minor league system, that inevitably is going to help us. I know that clubhouse is going to be tough. I know that perform at the major league level can be tough. So I don't want to get this mixed up. I want them to be comfortable with who they are. Never comfortable with how they got to perform at the big league level. Go out there

and play on edge. But the faster I can get to that version of themselves, they get to that version of themselves the better. So yes, I absolutely 100% on a daily basis will reach out to different prospects on different levels, whether it's text or phone call, to make them feel as welcome as possible in the sign of the organization. Your guys that came up last year did exactly what you're talking about. They seem to perform at a major league level right away, right out of the gate. And I guess now that you've had a chance to kind of work with your coaching staff, Brent Strom, Joe Mather, how much have they helped you and these young guys? be ready at a major league level once they come up. It seems like they've had a big impact on that.

Yeah. My perfect scenario is when they're ready, they come up, they perform, and they never go back. Unfortunately, it doesn't happen. Sometimes the game gets hard for these younger players. But you've gotten Nelson, Jameson. We end up sending Tommy Henry back, but he performed at a high level when he first came up. We're really proud of that. We're proud of them. We're proud of the fact that they've gone out there and felt comfortable enough. to be themselves and go out and execute at a high level. That to me is what it comes down to. If you can execute at a high level at all times, especially when your competitive best is needed, that is what a major league player can do. So I know that it's kind of, you know, double-edged sword when you come up, you put pressure on herself, that's built in. We know that. But our coaches

have been taught to go out, help these guys out on a daily basis, go out to perform at a very high level. Toro, you mentioned a few young pitchers who came up for you last year, Tommy Henry, Jay Jameson, Ryan Nelson. I guess Brandon fought sort of waiting in the wings here. On paper, the starting rotation sort of looks a little crowded, right? With, you know, bringing Zach Davies back, bumgarner, gallon, Merrill Kelly, along with all those guys. Obviously, that's a good problem to have, right? You can never have too much starting pitching. Mike Hayes and has said that time and time again. But what kind of challenges does that pose for you guys, maybe coming into? spring training it seems like there might be a lot of competition there good challenges i believe in healthy competition i believe in going out and and pushing yourself to be better than the next guy don't win anything by default win it because you deserve it so we are going to have a lot of competition and you're right you just named off several guys that um are going to be counted on to be in our rotation so where does that leave others i don't know but they're going to compete and they're

going to be told to go out there and compete and win things. And we want the five best starting pitchers and then, you know, the seven to eight, or I'm sorry, eight best relief pitchers that we can get in our bullpen to help us win baseball games. Who they are, I don't know. But I will tell you this, with some of the arms that we counted on in the years past, whether it be 20, 21 or 22, the fact that we've moved on from them and we've allowed them to move into other organization, Some are playing now internationally means that we are really good. We've let some really young, well, some arms go that we wouldn't have in the years past. But we're really good in our system.

We're very proud of that. Amiel Saundiq and his group and his amateur group has brought in some really good young talent. And it's now coming to the forefront for us. You guys made an exciting trade that we don't typically see in baseball by acquiring Gabriel Moreno and Lordus Gouriel from the Toronto Bluej, But part of that trade was losing Dalton Varsho and we know what a big piece of this team he was and his production how big his production was for this team So how do you replace someone like Varsh and You know what's what what do you do for someone that was quietly one of the best players on this team? Yeah You don't you don't replace them unfortunately you don't have the ability to say look

Go get another Dalton Vars will put him in right field. He was an exceptional player. He will be missed so you don't replace him I would never want to replace anybody. I would just ask the next guy up to step up and do their job because we've evaluated them on a level where we feel like they're capable of doing something very, very special. Dalton was immersing himself inside of our clubhouse as one of our leaders as one of our guys that can be counted on. He was accountable. He was prepared. He gave unbelievable effort. So those are the demands that we have.

And we've assured ourselves to the guys that are getting ready to step into this next level of who who comes. comes in and gets those innings that Dalton is going to be stepping out of, they're going to have a standard to follow. And we know that. So we know that there are some good candidates. We know the names, many of whom we're up at the big league level last year. We know we have very good players ready to step in and fill any type of way that Dalton has left us. On the other side of that trade, I mean, you guys brought in one of the best young catchers,

one of the most highly regarded young catchers in baseball and Gabriel Moreno, of course, Lordus Gurriel Jr. was a part of that as well. Just focusing on Moreno for a second, how excited are you guys to get your hands on a 22-year-old? It's not often you see players at that age come up to the big leagues and have the success that he had. Yeah, you know, he is one part of that equation. You know, we talked about Dalton and the guys that will step in to help him out in that direct position, but you've got Gurriel and Moreno. Morano, we know He's loaded with talent. He's been one of the finest prospects at all of baseball, all minor league baseball for many, many years. And I love that. That's his reputation. He's earned that.

But now what are we going to do to tell him to take to the next level and perform at a high level, the Major League level? We know a lot about him, and we're super excited about what we've seen so far. And it's up to us to help him go out and perform as he should. I had a very premium position. With Gurriel, we know the bat is just quality. He controls his own. He drives a pitch counts. He just understands what the app bats asking for on an at-bat basis. We know that he's got some power, but we're not going to ask him to hit for power. We just want to be a good hitter that's going to hit home runs. And then he's going to go out and play a good defense for us. So we're super excited about the two guys that we brought in. Obviously, when you get something, you've had to

give up something. We feel like it was a very good trait for us to fill a couple of voids, a right-handed outfield bat and a priority catcher, a priority position, position that we feel like we're going to be good with for many, many years to come. Tori, according to an article from gambling.com, they used an app called the Golden Ratio Face app to rank the most handsome managers in all of MLB. And you were ranked third. Your thoughts. Look at this guy.

Are you kidding? They must have been blind. I don't know what's going on. That's what we said. But I will, I'll take anything I can get these days, you know. I think my wife is the only person that feels like they got it right. And I'm thankful for that. But those things crack me up.

I don't see it myself. That morning that it came out, I had probably like four or five text messages from people that are very close to me going, what's going on here, man? What's the matter with these people? But I don't know. That stuff kind of cracks me up and I have fun with it. And I think a lot of my friends and family enjoy it as well. Toria, a few months ago, this is a question that our listeners have very much been anticipating.

A few months ago, our listeners asked us, if we had the opportunity to take you to any fast food joint in Arizona, where would we take you? My answer was the one and only salad and go, which I feel very strongly about. But of course, salad and go doesn't have a dining area. So we would basically have to eat in my car. My car doesn't have Bluetooth, Tori. It's 2008. 2008 RAV-4 doesn't have Bluetooth. It's a sick Rav-4, but it does not have Bluetooth.

So if I hand you the ox cord in my Rav-4, Tori, what's the first song that you would play? That's a really good question. I'm probably going to go. Because I tend to be a little bit of a dreamer at times, right? Yeah. I love all genres of music, but you throw at Izzy, I-Z, somewhere over the rainbow at me. Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. I am going deep. That's a good one. I'm going deep into the imagination. And it brings me to some unbelievable places. But look, I mean, when my wife and I are here and we put on some music. It's anywhere from Walker Hayes to Maroon 5. So, yes, we are going to that concert here. I know it's coming up here in a couple days. I'm very versatile with music. But if you got me and

you trap me and I had to play one song, it's definitely going to be a Z. Yes. I trust you with the ox cord a lot more than I would trust Derek. That's for sure. He refuses to give it. Torre, we know you're busy. We appreciate you taking the time today. Thank you so much for stopping by and we're excited to see out Salt River Fields. I can't believe we're like less than two weeks away from all this stuff kicking off. I agree, guys. I appreciate you guys too, man. I'm looking forward to it. I'll talk to you soon. All right. See you, Torre. Take care, Tori. All right. Well, that was the best interview we've ever done. There's nothing we can do. The people got their answer. They got their answer that they wanted. They got their answers about everything, to be honest. It wasn't

just, obviously, it wasn't just the sick rev four. Like, we got the real answers that we wanted about, you know his handsomeness and of course my life feels that way but I love that he had four to five text messages for people I love that too that's fantastic he's like we're probably the only people who saw that but no no I also love that he specified four to five like he could have been like I got so many texts but no four to five and they all razzed me basically but a big thanks to Tori for coming on and of course we appreciate you guys for being here if you're not

already a pH NX die hard member what are you waiting for this we do this for you, stuff like this, having Torreon. So come on, be a diehard member. Not only do you get a free merch from our PHNX Locker.com every single year you're a member. You also get 20% off all future purchases. You get access to Jesse's amazing content that's locked. Not much of it is, but every once in a while one is and you know you want to read it. So grab yourself a diehard membership to do so. Also, you get content from Craig Howard, Gerald, aka Girth. And you've got all sorts of extra stuff too. Your members only Discord lounge is worth the price of admission alone. So grab yourself a diehard membership.

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both Jesse and I. So we're okay with this. You guys are okay with these patches, right? So, I mean, we're getting there. But of course, you can grab your favorite. favorite OGs at your local dispensary. It's official strawberries and cream is hitting the shelves soon. As always,

you can find them at your local dispensary. Must be 21 or over to enjoy. And check out the wide variety of flavors that OGs has to offer. They're all about flavoring life. And of course, life is great. Life is great right now. I feel... I haven't taken any OGs, but I feel... I feel on the high right now. It's a lot because of that guy. But before we get you out of here, of course,

again, we thank Tori for being here. We got to give you our draft king's pick of the week. Oh, what do we got? Jesse, I'm already looking ahead at the Super Bowl. Okay, I figured. I know people, I know it's what, like 10 days away or whatever. I don't care. I'm picking the Eagles to win by a billion.

It doesn't matter what the line is. It really does it. The Eagles are going to smash the Kansas City Chiefs. A billion seconds is how many days? Oh, yeah, that's right. A billion seconds, 31 years, a million, 12 days. But yes, they're going to, whatever the point spread is, take it on the Eagles. The Eagles are going to win this hands down.

I mean, I feel like I don't commit myself ever to a bet this much, but I don't even understand why anybody thinks the Kansas City Chiefs, which are decimated by injury, are even going to have a chance in this game. How much money you putting on this? You sound pretty confident. I'm, I don't, are you cornering me? I'm cornering you. I'm not cowards like Leah.

Me and Leah, we make the small bet. You're going to say this number and I'm going to hold you to it. I'm going to bet $50 American dollars on the Super Bowl. Is that okay? Is that enough? I know my friends would probably shame me for thinking that's a lot of money, but I have a kid and a mortgage payment, which... But you're sitting on all this cash from your pitch counts, right?

No, you're right about that. Yeah, I should parlay that into a bigger win, but... Of course, you can parlay your way to a bigger win over at the Drafking Sportsbook app. The more legs you add for your Super Bowl victory, the more money you win. And right now, for a limited time, all new and existing customers can get a no-swebette-game. Same game parlay every day. So that means you go into the Drafking Sportsbook app. You make your bet.

You opt in first because, of course, that's the biggest thing. You got to opt in on all of this stuff. You place your same game parlay on any NBA game. And if it doesn't hit, you'll get a free bet back. Download the Drafking Sportsbook app now and use our code of PHNX if you're a new member. New customers can bet $5 on the NBA and get $200 in free bets instantly, only at the Drafking Sportsbook with code PHNX. Minimumage and eligibility restrictions apply.

Void in Ohio, C-show notes for detail. I wonder if Tori got his tickets on game time. He said he's going to the show. Oh, I hope so. We hope so. The most aesthetically pleasing ticket. Although it'd probably be a little early for shopping on game time, right? He's right about that.

Yeah, you got to wait until the day up. That's the way it works. Procrastinators, this is all about us. We're all about waiting at the last night. We'll explain it to him a full lowdown. We'll get him to sell us tickets and then wait and buy them later. There you go. We'll get them in the sick rap four, give them the ox board.

And then you'll show him the game time happen. He'll fall in love with it. I love that Tori Lavello now knows that I drive a 2008 rap four that does not have two. I never, that's not something I ever pictured myself sharing with the Diamondbacks manager. The question is, is he going to remember that? That's the question. Like if you ask him, if we quiz him in three weeks, is he going to remember that? Oh, I'm definitely going to ask him what I drive once we're out there for spring training.

Oh, yeah. First thing he asks him at the first managerial meeting is going to be that. Save up to 60% on tickets when you buy tickets last minute. the best way to support us is by buying your tickets through game time, through the link in the description on the show. Well, that was a lot of fun. Again, big thanks to Tori Lavallo, obviously, for joining us. We are so excited.

It's February 2nd. MLB games are going to be played this month, Jesse. This month, eloquently. 24 days away, the Diamondbacks first cactus league game. Can't wait. Not to mention the fact that one thing I saw the debacks confirm on social media yesterday, and it was something they actually confirmed to us internally prior to this, But like, the workouts are back.

The fan access to workouts are back. You don't have to stand up on the catwalk or far away. They are going to let that very personal access once again return to the workout. So make sure if you have a chance to get out there during their workouts over the next month, because it's definitely a unique opportunity. And talk to Tori. He's a great guy. We had fun with him today.

But we will both attest to the fact that Tori Lavallo is one of the best human beings. I think we've ever met in baseball. He's just an incredibly kind, thoughtful person that always has time for everybody. And I don't understand how. Yeah. Because he's such a busy guy. And I want to emphasize, too, that not every big league manager is like that. I have had a lot of conversations with a lot of people who know Tori well.

And they talk about him versus almost all of the other managers in baseball. I mean, there's a lot of great, a lot of great people in this sport. But Tori really is the kind of guy, no matter how. you feel about him as a manager. I mean, that's just a totally separate thing in my mind. The way that he treats people, the way that he's intentional, he asks you questions, right? He shows a lot of interest in people that you don't get from a lot of people that work in professional baseball. And there's something to be said for that, right?

And we're very lucky to have had him on today. And hopefully in studio is next. Maybe we get him down here. And we'll have to figure that out. We'll cater salad and go. Yeah, we'll cater salad and go. He can pick up. all the music for the entire day

in the building. But again, big thanks to the Diamondbacks and the Tori for coming on the show. We thank you guys so much for being here. Of course, you can follow us on Twitter. I'm at Kapp underscore Kman with a K. This guy over here is at Jesse N. Friedman. Our show is at PHNX underscore Dbacks,

but of course, all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. I got to do some shopping. I got to go to Avnet later today, get some capacitors and whatnot. Yeah? I don't know. you're going to spend your afternoon.

I'm going to spend it photoshopping that patch bigger and bigger and bigger. Okay. All right. It's what I'm going to do. But, of course, tune in for that a little bit later. We thank you guys so much for being here. And again, thanks to Tori. On behalf of Leah, Jesse and myself, we always appreciate you time.

And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when you're managed by Tori LaValto.