PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Daulton Varsho & Emmanuel Rivera lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a series win vs the Pirates

Episode Date: August 12, 2022

The Arizona Diamondbacks get a flurry of offense and solid starting pitching as they take three out of four against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and we ponder if the D-backs will ever play in the Field of Dreams game.SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeWebsite: https://gophnx.com PHNX Locker: https://phnxlocker.com/Head on over to The PHNX Locker to pick up one of our new PHNX hats!SOCIAL: Twitter: https://twitter.com/PHNX_DbacksInstagram: https://instagram.com/PHNX_Sports Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now (https://bit.ly/3Jl1dMX), use promo code PHNX and make your first deposit and get a RISK-FREE BET UP TO ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. Minimum age and eligibility restrictions apply.If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisiscounseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visitOPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).21+ (18+ WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NJ/NY/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Min. $5 deposit required. Eligibility restrictions apply. See http://draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.OGeez! We have free stuff for you! Enter the “Flavoring Life” sweepstakes. One winner will receive 3, YES THREE, bags of OGeez including Orange Creamsicle and Tropical flavors, an OGeez! Hat, a PHNX shirt of your choice and a PHNX annual membership. Sign up at gophnx.com or visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfIplqDYsxYeiotn5Zc6hRahaX0a5qG99eHVzkhOlGZDRdgUA/viewform Check out OGeez! online at ogeezbrands.com and on Instagram @ogeezbrands. You can also find their products at your local dispensary. Must be 21 years or older to purchase.Enter to win the “Toast of the Month” sweepstakes to win a $50 Four Peaks gift card, a PHNX shirt of your choice, and a PHNX annual membership. Go to goPHNX.Com or visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfOabxo8KQxOWwn9wTilMBuTMAJdrL0CaH9lzfuJqgKN9vfSg/viewform FOCO has you covered with the best Arizona Merchandise. They have officially licensed gear for men, women and kids and everything from bobbleheads to swimsuits to crocs. Head on over to foco.com. For all non pre-sale items use the promo code “PHNX” for 10% off 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, occasionally known as, I don't know, Captain Montia. I'd like that. Ar, me art, me, artie. This is me first mate, the one and only thunderstick Jesse Friedman. You're trying too hard, Derek. Am I? I just wanted it to be.

It's a good day. The Diamondbacks win yet again on a day where we have a post-series show. We were playing pickleball. Some of us better than others, Jesse. But of course, this show is brought to you by the fine folks at the Draft King Sportsbook app. Download the Draft King Sportsbook app. Use our code of PHNX and get yourself a free bet up to $1,000. Of course, America's top-rated sportsbook app. Big win today, Jesse. The Diamondbacks are able to win three out of four against the Pittsburgh Pirates and kind of did it and handled them pretty well, right? Like they, these were, these weren't small victories.

These were pretty big victories. The Diamondbacks got some pretty consistent offense. And especially today, they had a big, a big inning there that kind of blew things open. They really did. It's not often you see a seven run, seventh inning, right? That was a pretty incredible, pretty incredible for the Diamondbacks today. I know we'll get into it more,

Manuel Rivera had a really big hit in that in that inning and Dalton Varshow. That double Derek would have been a home run in 27 out of 30 Major League ballparks. It just barely clanked off of the right center field porch. It was nearly a grand slam. But nonetheless, a big time hit for Dalton Varshow and a big, big end to the series that I think was important for the Diamondbacks. Like if you had split a series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, especially going into this really difficult stretch that team has near the end of the season, I think we all would have looked at this as sort of a failure, right?

So coming away with three out of four is really big for them. Elizabeth said the debacks made the pirates walk the plank, and I appreciate that comment. Me Hardy. But of course, yeah, right. I mean, we've said this in the past, and it would have been sad with a split as our friend Brett Johnson in the comment says, I think that's it.

I mean, the pirates aren't exactly, the Diamondbacks really aren't a position to be claiming that they're much better than a lot of the teams in the league. But really, when it comes down to it, they struggled in their series in Pittsburgh against the pirates. And they have not struggled against this team. The pirates are one team that the Diamondbacks have beat over the last, like, 30 outings pretty consistently. And it was pretty big, you know, for them to do it in this particular series, I think, considering what's coming ahead, right? We've talked about how difficult their schedule is in the second half of the season.

But more importantly, how difficult, how difficult their schedule is the second half of August and moving into the month of September, things get very, very difficult. You know, I don't know else to say shitty, bad,

foreboding, all the adjectives, all everything you want to call it. Like, things take a turn for the worst here after they play the Rockies in Colorado. But, you know, these are the series. These are the games that they need to try to win just to kind of get themselves on a roll a bit before they do face some of these tougher teams. Yeah. And I mean, one of those tougher teams, which honestly is looking a little

bit less foreboding as the days go on, is the San Francisco Giants, right? The Diamondbacks have a four game series in San Francisco next week. And that's going to be a big series because the diamondbacks have an opportunity like we've been talking about the last few days. They've got a shot at third place. Like I do not think that the best that they can do is just beat the color. Rottorockeys, although that is, you know, a goal that we've talked a lot about, you know, something that would be good for them to be able to do this season. But if they could find a way to beat the San Francisco Giants as well in the division, that would be big.

And they have a lot of games coming up against the Giants between now and the rest of and the end of the season. So the opportunity is certainly there for the Diamondbacks to try to do that. Is that a sad goal? Is aiming for third place in your division? vision like the saddest goal that you could have or I mean considering where the diamond back better than naming for fourth place right it's better than naming for fourth place that's what you were talking about like a week ago so we just want to beat the Rockies we just want to beat

Patrick Lyons it's it's important we'll get to the all city division but beating teams within our company is very important to us but yes I think third place third place isn't too ambitious right it's not it's not getting into that ridiculous mode of thinking of of playoffs and, you know, that kind of thing that can really leave you disappointed should they not reach that that pinnacle. But like either Jaime or Jamie in the, I'm going to say hi me based on Portillo. He said bronze isn't bad. And I'm not, I'll take bronze. I take bronze at this point for sure as as an achievement. I just feel like it's kind of a a sad goal to have in baseball to be like, man, it would be nice if we finish third. Well, I mean, Johnny Venerable was pretty satisfied with bronze and pickleball today. So, you know, I don't know. I don't know what else you could possibly be looking for, right? Those were nice medals, by the way.

And we will get to pickleball. And Jesse still not knowing the rules by game six, I need to have a talk about that. We need to have a talk about, you know, way too many games under our belt at that point for you to be looking at me. Oh, my gosh. Letting the pickleball bounce. but that is that is the reason that one mistake Derek is definitely why we lost what was it seven to two it was just that one error that I made other than that we easily would have had that game is we scored two but let's take a look at the numbers we didn't do good offensively at pickleball but the diamondbacks

definitely did well offensively in this series starting pitching relief pitching batting with runners in scoring position all all pluses for this team in this series yeah I mean, the starting pitching was was really good throughout. Ironically, Merrill Kelly was not as good as we're used to seeing him in this game today. He went five innings, three runs, which is, which is not bad. I mean, we were at the point where that's a really bad start for Merrill Kelly as five innings, three runs. He threw 99 pitches, so pitch count was was a little bit higher than what we're used to seeing for that amount of length from him. But the debacks came through Derek in some really big spots in this series.

And we certainly saw that in the seventh inning in this game. Emmanuel Rivera was up against a right-handed pitcher, which is not primarily the role that he serves in this lineup, right? The Diamondbacks, Toro Lavello, had him in the lineup batting second in this game with a lefty on the mound. But you certainly don't, you know, it's not an ideal outcome necessarily for him to be in a big spot late in the game facing a right-handed reliever.

So for him to come through in that big spot was was really, really big. And actually, Emmanuel Rivera has been incredible, like you said, as part of this team. We tweeted out from the account exactly how good he's been as a member of this team. And I mean, this right here, this gives you fits. If you are a fan of his and you saw your team let him go to see him doing this for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Yeah. I mean, I know we tweeted that and instantly everyone on Twitter is commenting about how the Diamondbacks clearly won the trade. And which at least so far, I mean, it's hard to argue with that.

That graphic actually isn't updated with his last app out of the game, which he doubled. So he's actually seven for 19 at this point in his Diamondbacks career. For those of you curious about our old friend, Luke Weaver, I believe he's pitched three innings with the Royal. So far, he's given up two runs with, I think he's a lot of four hits. it's one walk two strikeout. So sort of more of the same, three innings, two runs. Nothing spectacular from Luke Weaver so far in Kansas City. But Emmanuel Rivera has been really good for the debacks.

And he's done some of that against right-handed pitching, which you really have to hand it to the guy. It doesn't seem like that's necessarily been a strength for him so far in his big league career if you look at the numbers. But since coming to Arizona, he's done damage against both lefties and righties. And as a matter of fact, he's actually our draft. Half Kings, King of the series. Let's go.

455 batting average in this series, two runs, three RBI, one home run. Most of that damage offensively just from today alone, but a consistent series for him, for this team and immediately making an impact as far as, you know, someone that the Diamondbacks received via trade, it's a relief to see somebody come in and pick this team up like this because they sure needed it, especially offensively. At times it felt like, you know, especially in this series when you look at the numbers, it's pretty well spread around. Like the offense was a team effort.

There was nobody particularly that stood out except Rivera, considering he so knew this team, he had a huge impact on today's win. And again, was just consistent in the games he played in and the other two games that he played in. Yeah. And I mean, I'm even thinking back to Sunday, right, against the Rockies. that series finale, the diamond backs wound up winning that game six to four. And Tori Lavello after that game was very complimentary of Emmanuel Rivera. The diamond backs were down four to two after a four run sixth inning from the Rockies.

And Emmanuel Rivera responded in the bottom half of that inning and instantly got one of those runs back with a solo home run. Tori was very complimentary of him in that spot, just lessening the deficit for the debacks and helping them maybe relax a little bit more down one run instead of two runs with a couple innings to go. So he was big even before this series. He's really done it ever since he joined the team. And I'm not here to say that Emmanuel Rivera is necessarily, you know, like the long-term answer

at third base. The Royals didn't view him that way. That's why they made this trade in the first place. But sometimes, Derek, we've seen it before. A change of scenery can be a pretty powerful thing for some players. and I know the diamondbacks have been on the opposite side of this a number of times, right? Where we've talked about it a lot. There have been some players who have gone elsewhere and found more success there.

So a big opportunity here for Emmanuel Rivera to come in and the door is really wide open with the diamondbacks at third base moving forward. I think Rojas might be someone they look to move around more moving forward. So he has an opportunity to earn himself a role out there. Even in the loss in the series, the diamondbacks still managed to pull. put up, you know, runs on the board. It just, uh, speaking of Rojas, there was a weird thing at the end of that game where, uh, Rojas was going to pinch hit. And then they brought out, I think a lefty. And then they went with Looplo, uh, right. You know, it was, it was definitely a, an overthinking

situation, I feel like, but, uh, you can't help, but know that Jordan Looplo just happens to just crush, uh, you know, sometimes. And I, I get where he was going. But Rojas to me is one of those guys. I would like to see in the game in big moments and big situations. He seems to be a clutch player for this team. Romero might be exactly that. I don't know what the Royals situation is with at third base, but they just might have a situation like the Diamondbacks had with the outfield where he wasn't going to get to play much,

and they might have their third base situation figured out where the Diamondbacks are still searching for that. But definitely shout out to Emmanuel Rivera. He might be the answer for them at third base. It would be great to see them. have just a little bit of the infield lockdown over there at the corner because they still seem to be searching for that. Like you said, Rojas can be moved around and I think his versatility is still a shrink to his game. While we're talking about the Draft Kings sports book, I have my draft king's pick of the week early because we're on a roll. I'm going with the Arizona Diamondbacks in their game on the road against the Colorado Rockies.

I'm taking them to cover the run line. right now they're one and a half run favorites to over the Rockies which yeah come on explain your power rankings and they'll be draft Kings gets it right I'm also taking the over on runs at 13 and a half runs and I'm picking Dalton Varsho to get a hit so there's a nice little three so this is all this is all Friday's game against against the Rockies it would be Friday's game against the Rockies yes so Zach Davies Antonio Sanzatella all right yes yeah what do you think I like it you think I like it. The over 13 and a half runs.

I can't take the under. I can't take the under in Coursfield, Jesse. I think that's the trap, though. I can't take the under. I can't. I think that's the trap that they want you to fall into because everyone, everyone just feels like you have to take the over at Coresfield no matter what. But I mean, the over would mean,

the over would mean 14 or more runs. And I don't know. I mean, that's not uncommon at Coresfield. But, uh, Zach, Zach Davies has been a fairly steady presence for the Diamondbacks this season. He hasn't given up big time run totals very often. He's been a pretty consistent, you know, two run, three run a game, sort of a guy. So I don't know, Derek.

We'll see how things pan out for you. We'll see how that one plays out. You can hold my feet to the fire on that one since I took the Diamondbacks. But of course, make sure to sign up over the Draft King's Sportsbook. If you haven't done so already, use our code of PHNX, new customers, make a deposit, it and you will get to $1,000 in a risk-free bet back. Use that wisely. Make sure, again, don't do what I do.

Don't use your risk-free bet for a $10 bet and then regret it for the rest of your time. That you make it, make a big bet, swing for the fences because it's risk-free. You'll get it back as a bet. You're not getting your money back, but you'll get it as a bet to still bet on the Draft King's Sportsbook. So make sure to do that. And then you can, you know, maybe do a safer bet if you don't hit your first bet. But that's promo code P.

P.NX only at the Draft King Sportsbook. minimum agent eligibility restrictions apply see show notes for details like jesse said maybe don't fall into the traffic course field to go on the over uh instantly i don't know i don't know what the answer is like like if the over under was like like 19 and a half like would you still take the over i don't know probably i'm just a little concerned like i wonder like how high they could make it where you would still it's yeah i mean probably when you start talking about 18 runs and more that might that might you know throw me off a little bit. All right.

Like baseball is not one of those games where you can consistently do that every night, even at Coorsfield. But your mileage may vary at the draft gig sports book. So take that, take my bet, do it. And then, you know, come yell at me on Twitter. You guys know where I'm at. Of course, another place that we want to direct you to is our friends at FOCO.com, because they are killing the collectibles game.

They are filling the bobblehead-sized hole in my heart, as well as might be doing the same for you, especially if you're a Cubs fan or a Reds fan tonight is. right now as we speak, the field of dreams game is going on. We're going to talk about that in a little bit, but they have collectibles commemorating the field of dreams game, not to mention they have all of your official licensed collectibles and apparel. Because Jesse's dog, very picky, will not wear unlicensed apparel.

So we do it for Jesse's dog. We make sure that he's hooked up with only the finest of apparel and all the land. But they got you covered with crocs and collectibles. the bobbleheads have talked about all over there at phocco.com. And if you use our code of PHNX, you'll get 10% off on all non-presale items. And that's over at FOCO.com. You can go there or click in the link below in our description. Yeah, Jesse, that's what I got.

Speaking of commemorating occasions, we hear from our guy, Gambo, on the radio, over at Arizona Sports, 98.7. FM that Corbyn Carroll is going to be called up in September. He didn't necessarily, he didn't technically say those words. He said, I expect, he said, I expect the Diamondbacks will call up Corby and Carol in September.

That's as good as it happening, right? It's concrete. It's, Gambo's never wrong, right? Right? Yeah, I mean, this didn't, this did not sound like,

like I have a big believer in Gambo and his sources in general. This didn't sound like I am reporting that the diamond. Like it wasn't quite to that level. And I tweeted about it and he quote tweeted my tweet and said, yes, I believe it is likely Corbyn Carroll is called up in September. So I think he's sort of backing off of, I don't know if he wants this to be perceived as like he's reporting that this is for

sure going to happen. I don't think that's his intent here. But it is interesting to me. If you look back to last season around this time, we were talking about this young kid named Alex. Thomas, who is putting up big time numbers in Reno. And we were wondering, are the Diamondbacks going to call up Alec Thomas before the end of the season?

And the answer to that question was no, right? The Diamondbacks did not call up Alec Thomas. In fact, he didn't open this season with the team either. It took about a month or so before he played his first major league game. So I kind of wondered, just based off of that comparison, if the Diamondbacks would do something similar with Corbyn Carroll. But based on what Gambo said, it does. It does seem like, it seems likely.

Those were Gambo's words. It is likely that Corbyn Carroll will play in September. And Derek, last I checked, September is only about three weeks away. So it's pretty exciting here for the Diamondbacks and their fan base. I say this a lot, Jesse, but if you aren't excited, get excited. Get excited now. Oh, man, Jesse, I'm getting the bat out. Like, usually I do this in anger.

Yeah, I'm not sure. I don't know. No, it doesn't work the same. It doesn't have the same impact, but I'm still, I'm that level of excited, Jesse. I'm ready. I'm ready for it. I'm hyped. I'm excited because obviously we're that much closer to the future of this team being

its present and not this future that we keep alluding to and keep talking about. Corby and Carol for the Reno Aces is slashing 325, 444, 563 with a, 1.067 OPS. It's pretty good numbers. Is that right? Can you verify that from here? Are those numbers correct? I think so.

I don't have them in front of me, but they sound, they sound accurate. He's batting like 414 in his last like four or five games. So yeah, I think the one thing with Corby and Carroll, the one thing that they might be looking at, that they want to get straightened out

before he comes to the big leagues, is that his numbers against lefties are a little bit more modest. his batting average is okay i think it's like 250 something like that his on base percentage is still okay i think it's in like the low mid 300s um but his slugging percentage is i think also in the 300s against lefties uh since becoming part of the reno aces he in 22 um he is hitting against left-handed pitching 275 376 425 with an 801 OPS but that is and that's that's against all yeah

I think that's the entire season. That's not his splits just, or that's not just at Reno. Right. So I think in Reno, it's similar, maybe a little bit lower than the numbers that you just gave. So I mean, that's like fairly nitpicky. I mean, we've seen a lot of guys come to the majors who always have had horrible numbers against lefties. If they're if they're left-handed hitters and you just kind of put up with it. I mean, most left-handed hitters really struggle against left-handed pitching.

It's it's really like an elite feat. in baseball who are able to avoid that. And also Josh Rojas, who somehow has like roughly equal splits in his major league career. I think he actually has been slightly better against lefties in his big league career, which is pretty wild. But that would be the last thing that you might be looking at with Corby and Carroll that maybe he's working on in the minors. He's only had like 100 plate appearances professionally against lefties, which is pretty

wild that he could be a major leaguer, having only had that amount of, that amount of opportunity in the minors. But he's getting close. And whenever that does happen, it's going to be an exciting, exciting day here for the Diamondbacks. In seven games in the month of August, he's hitting 412, 444, 588 with a 1.033 OPS.

There you go. There you go. Yeah, which is just sort of normal. Yeah. That's just sort of normal Corby and Carroll at this point. I will say a lot of, like a lot of his slug is because he, like he stretches out like half or more of his singles into doubles, which is, which is sort of hilarious. It's sort of like every single time Corbyn Carroll hits a ball to the outfield.

He's, he's pretty much gunning for second base almost every single time. So that's definitely part of his slugging percentage. But he's hit a few homers in Reno as well. I mean, I guess I guess the question is not to beat this up too much, but, How excited should we really be here, right? Like, are we at this point now where we are really starting to see the D-BACs Avengers assemble? You know, I don't even know if you get that reference at all in any way, comic book-wise or movie-wise. But is this where we're starting to see the pieces of the Infinity Stone fit into the gauntlet?

I did it again. Another retro. I have seen the Avengers. I have seen the Avengers, so you're okay. I'm good. I'm good. But I mean, like, yeah, is this, are we starting to come together? I mean, is this, like, again, I know one of the things I really like about the idea of Carol coming up early is, you know, getting those early jitters out of Tommy Henry in start three. But what we saw out of Tommy Henry in start one versus start two was almost two different guys. And a lot of it was those nerves. Was that adjusting to being a major league player? So the fact that this season is a bit of a wide. wash at this point and we don't really have high expectations about it going anyway, one way or another. I feel like it's the perfect opportunity for a kind of low, I guess, you know,

low pressure, you know, entry into the league and and to kind of get those, those milestones out of the way, that first game, that first hit, that first home run, you know, that first defensive play that you make, just those things that are kind of like, okay, once you get that one in and it gets behind you, now you can really start your major league career from this point on. Yeah, I mean, Corbyn Carroll is the best Diamondbacks prospect since Justin Upton. I feel pretty comfortable saying that at this point. Justin Upton was, of course, taken first overall in the draft, and he made his debut at the age of 19 back in 2007.

Corbyn Carroll is not that young at this point, but he has that kind of a pedigree and that kind of a level of expectation about him. I don't think anyone can be too excited for this moment, Derek. I really don't think it's possible. I think in your excitement, like, know that it's not as if Corbyn Carroll is going to come up and, you know, bat 350 right away. Like, that probably won't happen. I don't want to say it's impossible. But yeah, temporary your expectations, but be very, very excited because I don't think that there's been a bigger day, honestly,

outside of the few Diamondbacks playoff appearances that we've had in the last decade, I don't know if there's like been anything bigger for this franchise in the last decade, decade and a half than a guy like Corbyn Carroll making his big league debut. Like this is that big of a moment in my mind just because of is the number two prospect in baseball or the number one prospect in baseball depending on who you ask. And he really has an opportunity to step in and change the direction of this franchise, not all by himself, but like to really be a big part of where this team could go in the next few years. Well, and we know how much money Ken Kendrick has in baseball cards.

So we know that the money will be there in the future to finance keeping Corbyn Carroll, Alec Thomas, and everybody part of this team. Apparently, Brett in the comments said, build him a statue already. So we got to get the money for the statues. There you go. There you go. And I mean, Brett may or may not be on over. but I'm not judging him at all because it's a celebratory mood.

And I think it's a fine time to enjoy our friends at OGs brands, gummies. They are Arizona's top selling gummy. Of course, they're a local brand. So it's always great to get down with our friends that are local. But more importantly, they're flavoring life, Jesse. They are making their gummies delicious. They offer a wide variety of flavors as well as strains and doses for anybody to get in on. More importantly, they are given away a.

free flavoring life gift basket kind of deal in our flavoring life sweepstakes. Go to our website of go PHNX.com or click the link below in our show notes and enter. The winner will receive three bags of OG's gummies, including orange creamsicle and tropical flavors, an OG's hat, a PHNX shirt of your choice, and a PHNX annual membership. Sign up at go pHNX.com again or click the link below and check out our friends OGs online at their website at OGsbrands.com and on Instagram at OJNX annual. brands. That's OGE E-E-Z. You can also find their products at your local dispensary must be 21 years or older to purchase. Emma didn't put the graphic up unless I might not have been paying attention if she did or not. But again, I just, it's another opportunity for me to comment on the fact that I don't know that woman in the picture. And that's, I'm sticking to that. I'm just, that's, there it is. I'm sticking to that. I don't. It took me a second to find the graphic, my bad. Okay, no, it's fine. It's fine. That's another, uh, just to once again say how good OGs are, I guess, is the real key there is that.

But anyway, check them out, win all that stuff. Hopefully you went, not to mention what. Derek, you don't remember it either. Don't give me shit. I don't want to hear nothing from you. You want to close your window down or what? I mean, what were you here to say? No, I'll take the heat.

But at the, bro, you sent, who found that photo to make that graphic? How did Sean or Michaela get that graphic? I took that picture. I took that photo. And you sent it into them? And you don't know this woman? No, I don't know this woman. That's okay.

See, these are the accusations I'm trying to clear up by saying I don't know this person. I don't even know how this picture got taken, but it did. Eric just, he just wanted to, he just wanted to show off his chest hair. He really liked that the picture, you know. It gets it. It's the little, it's the millennium falcons shirt. Jesse, it's got little tiny millennium falcons on it. It's adorable.

I love it. Also, they're not the only way on it's giving stuff. way. Go to our website and enter our toast of the month's sweepstakes as well from our friends at Four Peaks. Cheers to Four Peaks. Cheers to all of you. I am drinking a Joy Bus wow wheat because I'm on the Joy Bus right now after watching the Diamondbacks smack the pirates around in game four. Of course, you can enter to win the toast of the month sweepstakes. Get yourself a $50. Four Peaks gift card. Yes, ma'am, cheers to you. A PHNX sure of your choice and a PHN annual membership. Go to go phnx.com or click the link below in the show notes.

must be 21 or older, enjoy responsibly. If you get a chance, join us. That's a good catchphrase, by the way. Brett Johnson says, oh, geez, so good, you won't even know you're making friends. I like that. I might use that in the, Brett, I might use that in the future. I'm just telling you now. But also, Four Peaks, another chance to make wonderful friends.

If you get a chance, join us down at the 8th Street Pub. We'll be down there broadcasting on the final Wednesday of every month. If you don't get a chance to join us, make sure to pick up their delicious beers, wherever you get your beer close to you. Of course, coming down to the Four Peaks, H-Tree Pub, get the chicken tenders. Jesse, that's all Jesse was allowed to talk about while I was gone. Did he do that?

Did you do that the whole time? Did you tell them about the chicken tenders? I told them about the chicken tenders. Jesse was like, what do I talk about? I said, just talk about the chicken tenders the whole time. They're worthy of being talked about that much. So, again, if you get to go down there, enjoy their food, it's wonderful.

Their merch is wonderful. Hell yeah. Go for it. as Brett Johnson says. All right, I think he's just giving me license to use that catchphrase, which I'm going to do going forward. By the way, I talked about it earlier. The only division that matters to us, of course, is the all-city division. So let's take a look at how we're doing. Diamondbacks, a little bit of breathing room there between us and the Rockies and catching up on those white socks that have kind of stalled out at 500. But Jesse, the most important thing of all of this

tonight, at least, is that our friends from the CHGO Cubs are out at the Field of Dreams game, which is currently going on. The Cubs last time I checked were up for nothing. I believe that's still going on. What are your thoughts on this Field of Dreams game? And by the way, if you get a chance, make sure to go over and check out the CHGO Cubs because like I said, our crew is out there covering the, they're actually at the field of dreams game. It's awesome. I couldn't imagine being there. But what, what, your thoughts on this game and and especially these teams i know we kind of poked fun at them but uh you know these teams being involved uh that don't really have much going on do you do you like that do you

want teams that are more in it playing each other in a game like this yeah it is a little unfortunate that it's the cubs and the reds like two teams that aren't particularly relevant right now um but it's like when they scheduled it they kind of knew that these teams neither one of them i have a feeling they knew they weren't going to be, you know, big contenders this year. Yeah, I'm not really sure how you would have come to the conclusion that the Cubs or Reds were going to be good this year when planning this event. So they fully knew what they were getting themselves into. But I had some questions like I voiced the other day about like would the novelty of this sort of be lost just because, you know,

this is the second time around. The Field of Dreams game last year was incredible. And I wondered if it would just lose its luster a little bit. That seems to have not happened. We had Ken Griffey Jr. And Ken Griffey, Sr., coming out of the corn. And Ken Griffey Jr. asked his dad if, you know, you want to have a catch.

You want to have a catch? Yeah. Yes, it was just an outstanding moment. There's a scene from Field of Dreams that's also, that was also part of this that was voiced by Vince Scully himself, the late Vin Scully. And so I think that was an incredible moment from what I can tell for people in the stadium just to hear that. So it seems like they've knocked this out of the park. No pun intended.

But the Cubs. Okay, the pun was sort of intended. That's fair. The pun was wholly intended. But yes, the Cubs are out four to nothing right now in this game. And I just hope that both teams brought their bug spray because, you know, being in Iowa near field of corn, I imagine. you would need that sort of thing. So there you go.

I feel like this is my chance to say that the field of dreams is not a very good movie, but I don't want to get blasted by people. Don't kill the mood. We can talk about that another day. You can't do that today. No, I mean, I get it. I get it. I'm not going to do that.

But I think Brett just brought it up in the comments. I think we talked about this before, or I don't know, I do a lot of baseball podcasts. It might have been years ago that I talked about this. But would you like to see them do something with another, like, movie related type lot or field or something like that i mean there's not too many because there's not that many uh baseball movies out there and a lot of them are just about playing in the actual ballparks that existed at the time so i don't know if it's really like there there's not a lot of

historic i don't even know what the polo grounds is now i'm sure it's like high rise apartments or something like that right but like you know i i don't know there's like things that i would like to see. I would love to see them play in a sandlot type game, even if it's not in the official place where they shot. Like the game that they played against the kids that were actually in Little League, that would be a great type, you know, just your standard like, you know, sandlot or someone even suggested like in a backyard, you know, or something like that. Like, these would all be incredible. But I don't know. There's not, there's not too many other movie locales, I think, that you can really do for baseball. That is.

isn't just actual stadiums. Yeah, really what I'm waiting for, Derek, is for them to take some of the, some of the stadiums from backyard baseball, and to, like, turn those into, like, actual physical places. There would be a big time market for that sort of thing. So that's what I love it. That's what I'm looking forward to, hopefully.

Will the Arizona timebacks ever be involved in something like this? Um, are they only going to be overlooked because, time is always going to favor teams that have been around for 100 years versus, you know, the babies of the league, essentially. Yeah, I mean, field of dreams, I'd be pretty

surprised to see the devax in a field of dreams game. But a, you know, a backyard baseball facility was brought to life. I like it. I think they'd let any team, they'd let any team do that. So we just need to get that to happen. And then the Diamondbacks can have all of the national attention that we've all been craving for.

So there you go. I think that's what it's about. Like I know right now that it's not like the Diamondbacks are a good team that's not getting, you know, the spotlight. So I get that, right? But that could very easily be the case next year, right?

Next year they could easily be one of those teams that, you know, could be a handful of games over 500 and contending for like some sort of playoff spot, but not really getting much attention because essentially there's still third in their division behind the Dodgers and the podrays. yeah yeah well i think someone said in the comments earlier speaking of of just being underrated in general um zach gallon was on uh starting nine i believe today i watched some of it and uh

and they referred to zach gallon is the most underrated i'm not sure if it was pitcher or just player in general but the most underrated pitcher at the very least in all of baseball um so that was a pretty cool interview the part of it that i saw i need to i need to watch the rest of it but um jake Arietta is one of the one of the hosts for starting nine. So it's pretty pretty cool hearing their conversation. I get it too because that gallon again, uh, you know, how many great performances have we seen out of him this year where he didn't end up getting the win to the point where we were kind of laughing about it because it was either those rare few implosions that he had where he kind of, you know, things fell apart for him before he got pulled out of the game there for a stretch

or just the comebacks and, and, you know, the team. kind of blowing things after he left the game. So, you know, there is something to be said for, you know, focusing on his win-loss record especially and having it factor in, considering that he should probably have double-digit wins at this point of the season easily, right? Yeah, yeah. You know, hey, we'll continue to see this team roll go ahead.

Like I said, that Colorado Rocky series is coming up. And, you know, their offense is already in a pretty good place to go to Colorado and go to course field can only, you know, hopefully keep things on a similar role. Yeah, yeah, this is, I mean, this is the last part of this stretch that we've talked about, where the Diamondbacks have an opportunity to really gain some ground on some of the other teams that we've been talking about. So, yeah, I mean, it's off to, it's off to course field and the Diamondbacks are playing good baseball right now, Derek, they've won four out of their last five games and they've had some

success in in Denver of late so um hopefully they can uh they can continue their success into Denver this weekend. Alan Sergio says poor cornfield today is this uh is that uh just the cornfield's the star man this yeah field you're looking at this the wrong way the cornfield has been waiting all year for this. This is the cornfield's mind shine like they get to be the what the wall for a baseball game they get to be the focus do you know how much? Do you know how much corn is probably getting eaten by people attending this game. That's got to be

the primary delicacy, right? Some sort of a lote, you know, some sort of that's all they have. The concessions better be all corn. Or at least corn based varieties of corn. I would be, I'd be mad if it wasn't all that, you know? Corn dogs? Jesse? There you go. There you go. Corn dogs. Corn on the cob.

Probably have a corn on the cob sort of a deal. I love corn and the cob. I still, Disneyland had corn on the cob. It was fantastic. The pickle, or the, the pretzels shaped like Mickey Mouse

and the corn on the cob. That's what got me through that hellish three days I spent in that park. But, kettle corn flying off the shelves, Jesse. There's our connection. That's how, that's why we should play in the field of dreams game right there. Okay,

okay. I have a question for you. So what is, what is your favorite form of corn? like any kind of food that is like corn based what is the best what is the best one i had again i'm sorry for this to be disney related but when we went to uh disney world and we went to their animal kingdom park which by far was the best park of all four in orlando uh we were going on a safari ride that featured real animals on it so it wasn't like a safari ride it was literally just you and a truck

going around and seeing the live animals that they have at the Animal Kingdom Park. And while we were waiting in line, I decided to stop at a stand and get corn. And it was just like, I don't know, it was just grilled corn with like, it was like a form of a lote, but it was more based on like some African spices and things based on the region of the world that we were in when we were going on the safari, right? But it was still just, it was just bomb ass grilled, buttered corn with amazing, like, spicy spicy seasoning on it. I can't even describe it.

But it was like I ate. I had some before we got on the ride. Then while we were in line, I decided to go back and get more. Then when we got off it, I was like, well, I don't know if we're going to come back

to the corn place, so we should get some to go, right? Three years of corn that day, Jesse. That was just one of four parks I went to. So that shows how much I enjoyed that corn. I've tried to replicate it at home. I've tried to use curry seasoning and other things. I can't get it right.

but it was just simple, but it was incredible. It was the best form of corn I think I've ever had. I'm a big cornbread advocate. I don't know if I'm alone in that, but I do love myself a loaf of corn of corn bread. Yeah, especially like homemade corn bread. I mean, I don't like there's just, I love it. I'm big. I'm a big bread person.

Bread's almost a weakness of mine. I will eat an excessive amount of bread. I will turn a good dinner into a sandwich just because I want bread. with it like oh yeah this chicken's good but if i slice it up and put it between two pieces of this sourdough bread we got going on here bam you know like so bread's definitely a week this of mine for sure but um by the way yes and core bread slaps uh if you guys haven't done so already we appreciate you guys being here uh those of you signed up for a membership thank you as always uh if you haven't signed up for membership make sure to do so go to go phtnx.com grab a membership

become part of the family get yourself an annual membership you'll get a free t-shirt like this one I'm wearing that almost matches the sticker on my microphone perfectly. Jesse hates the show so he doesn't wear our stuff ever, apparently. What do you got on? We've got a Cardinals one today, don't you? I'm wearing a Cardinals shirt. Where's the D-Back stuff, Jesse? We're the D-Back show.

We talked about it. I wore that. I think I wore it yesterday or the day before. It is currently, it is currently in the laundry pile right now. But I'll resurrect it. By the way, you can go, Jesse, to PHNX Locker. dot com and pick yourself up some more. Do you have the Seth Serveza shirt yet? I am a shame to say that I have not

purchased that surveyorses shirt. I'm not going to hang you out to dry. I also don't have it. So I think we should go mutually and both get that shirt. We probably should. We should, right? Yeah, we probably should. Who knows how long it's going to be available for. But if you get an annual membership, you can get that Seth Surveza shirt for free or whatever shirt you wish from the phnx locker.com. If you get a month to month membership, you'll get your first month for just 50 cents, regardless of your membership status, you'll get discounts over at the PHNX locker.

You get us, you get Jesse. I'm probably going to write some stuff, too. I'm not, Jesse's not the only one that writes around here. Saul just looked at me one day and he told me to stop. So I don't, how do you take that?

Is it, am I bad? I don't know. That's a, yeah, I'll let you, people don't tell you to stop when you're good at something, right? I don't think that's the way it works.

Anyway, definitely check out Jesse's writing over at GoPHNX. com get that membership and join us in the discord by the way where we are always having a great time if you're watching us right now on youtube thank you for being here subscribe to the phnx sports youtube channel if you haven't done so already give us a little thumbs up like we always appreciate you doing that as well as signing up for notifications that way whenever we go live like this show that was unexpectedly late due to pickleball uh you guys can know when we're going to go live and i'm going to talk about it jesse pickleball results not a strong day for

team debacks. Not a strong day. Especially when you got us to the together on the court. We thought we were going to pick our partners for this event. So Jesse and I were like keyed in, which would have been a disaster. And no offense to Jesse, but on one of our heads, but not on mine. By the way, Jesse in game six did ask what the rules were about bounces on returning the ball, which was fascinating to me considering how many games. Wow, you really, you really will not let them.

I am so disappointed in you. in that and I was terrible. So the way I take it out on, how terrible I was is by yelling at you about that one. Sure. That one time. Makes sense. Yeah.

I had a strong comeback after my buy round though, Jesse. I went undefeated after the buy. I went four and oh. So I had some water. I reset, you know, I refocused,

had a talk with the guys. We came back stronger than ever in the second half. I mean, you brought your own paddle. so there's a certain amount of, you have to live up to a certain level if you're going to bring you on Powell and pickleball. It sucks when you do that. Yeah. It's like bringing your own ball to the bowling alley. I just got this ball one day on the cheap and I don't like sticking my fingers in a ball that is a rental, right? Like that seems like a reasonable thing. Same thing with shoes. They were a tandem. They came together. But because my shoes match my bowling ball that I bring to the bowling alley, people, expect me to be good. I'm not. I just wanted my own shit when I go, I like to go bowling. I enjoy bowling. It doesn't mean I'm good at it. Right. Same thing with pickleball, right? There's a court by my house.

It's outdoors. It's packed all the time. I found out there are not very many pickleball courts in the state of Arizona. It's one of a few and it's free. So a lot of people go to it. And they will toe tap the hell out of you if you're taking too long while playing a casual game of pickleball with your daughter, Jesse. no matter how old she is, no matter how adorable she is. They are like, yep, I don't care. Get your child, get your shit and get out of here. You know, that's, wow. That's how I was raised on pickleball.

That's why I had a bit of a chip in my shoulder there about you, not knowing the rules, six games into the thing. How do we even know that it was exactly six games? I don't know. I know. Because I was counting my own losses, Jesse, so I'm pretty sure I knew how many games we were in deep at that point. but anyway. Fun day though.

I always love our staff meetings. I just don't know, Jesse, if I'm going to survive them. I don't know if I'm going to make it through the rest of the staff meetings for the end of the year. We were supposed to play paintball. And that got revoked for all the reasons,

I feel like, right? For many, many different reasons, including lack of attendance because nobody wanted to, like, go murder each other playing paintball. We almost killed each other with racing cars. I don't know what the difference with

ball jumpers, whatever. Anyway, we thank you guys. No, Elizabeth says I didn't realize pickleball was real. I thought Chirston made it up. It is very real. Chirston, by the way, brought her paddle today. And she brought her A game.

She did. The word, the word going around was that Chirston was stealing souls on the pickleball court, which I don't know exactly what categorizes that, but it made me terrified. And then I beat her 7 to nothing.

So whatever. Wow. You beat Pearson 7 to nothing. It might have been 7 to 1. I don't know. I'm just going to say 7 to nothing because hopefully she won't see this. But we thank you guys so much for watching us. Of course, you can follow us on Twitter and chat with us more about pickleball or in the discord.

Of course, I think there's some pictures going around. There's going to be a video that makes me look very foolish. Jesse, I know that for a fact. But I didn't end the day as badly as I probably look in that. video. You can follow us on Twitter. I'm at Cap underscore Caveman with a K. Jesse is at Jesse and Friedman. Our show is at PHNX underscore D-Backs, but of course all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Again, we thank you guys for being here in the comments for watching along and for being Diamondbacks fans. Big win, big series win. We appreciate you guys being here on behalf of Jesse myself. Thank you so much for your time. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when I hit the same game parlay on the Arizona Diamondbacks.