PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Did Diamondbacks Miss By NOT ADDING fifth starter? Is It Too Late To Reconsider?

Episode Date: March 15, 2024

The quest to find the Diamondbacks fifth starter didn’t get any easier on Thursday when Tommy Henry had a rough outing against the Royals. We discuss if the Snakes missed out by not adding an additional pitcher during the offseason. Is it too late to still go after one of the available free agent pitchers at this point? Would the front office even consider that? Also, is competing in spring training an adequate excuse to get you out of jury? Apparently so!SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsports PHNX Events: Get your tickets to Suns Takeovers, Coyotes & Suns Watch Parties at BetMGM, and MORE here: https://gophnx.com/events/Arizona Lottery: Visit http://www.AZAdventure.com for more information on how you can take an adventure with the Arizona Lottery and for a chance to win $1 million in cash and Arizona travel prizes! PrizePicks - Download the PrizePicks app today and use code PHNX for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy!NASCAR Weekend at Phoenix Raceway: March 8-10! Find more information at https://www.phoenixraceway.com/spring/ on the Shriners Children's 500, and be on the lookout for racing content from PHNX!Desert Financial Credit Union: Open a free checking account online with Desert Financial Credit Union and get $200 in bonuses https://www.desertfinancial.com/200Empire: Schedule a free in-home estimate with Empire Today! Receive a $350 OFF discount when you use the promo code PHNX. Restrictions apply. See https://empiretoday.com/phnx for details.Sign up for Gila River Resorts & Casinos $1,000,000 Big Red’s Showdown! Stay in the game and get rewards; it’s that easy! https://www.gilamilliondollarshowdown.com/Gametime: Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase.Circle K:  Join Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today! Head to https://www.circlek.com/store-locator to find Circle Ks near you!OGeez!: OGeez! is not your average cannabis-infused gummy. Head over to https://www.ogeezbrands.com to find where you can purchase. Must be 21+. Enjoy responsibly. Four Peaks: Follow on social @fourpeaksbrew & @fourpeakspub! Must be 21+. Enjoy responsibly. Someburros: 20% off your order of up to $100 when you use code PHNX at checkout for the whole month of March at https://www.someburros.com/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.

A ski and welcome to you all to another edition of the PHNX Keyback podcast right here on PHNX. My name is Gareth Montia. Of course, I am occasionally known as your mayor of PHNX. This maniac next to me is occasionally known as your Thunderstick, Jesse Friedman, my vice mayor. And Jesse, it was fun to hear Tori Lavello today pregame talk about the Dillon's cease trade. because Tori is one of the most relatable human beings that I've ever met. When he says things, when he talks about his feelings on things, I just find myself quietly sitting back behind my little phone camera and just nodding

in acceptance of how like that's the exact type of answer I would give. Right. Right. In fact, he was asked about, you know, Dylan Cs coming here to the National League West. And this is what Tori had to say about it. Yeah, I wish the best players would quit coming to the NOS. That's what the first thing is, right? We know he's a very good pitcher, and it just made a good team even better.

And good for them. They know what they need to do. It just means that we've got to continue to hone in on what we're good at and just knock it out, knock it out here at Salt River Field and not be so concerned about what's going on elsewhere. Man, that's a fairly hilarious answer because, yeah, feel like Tori's becoming increasingly quotable. Like the number of pregame press conferences that we walk away with and just don't

really have anything interesting, it's basically down to zero at this point. The man talked about fighting managers and umpires yesterday, Jesse. I'm not supposed to be gassed up about that. Let's go. Yeah, he absolutely did. And then that that fire comment there about, you know, hoping that all the good players don't, would quit coming to the NOS, say, as they tend to do and certainly did this off season. Yeah, we talked about the trade yesterday, of course. I do want to touch more on Dylan

Seas just as a player. I don't think that Dylan Sees is obviously a like Sy Young caliber pitcher. I think it's important to realize that Dylan Sees had a 4.58 ERA last year with the Chicago White Sox. It was not actually very good from a surface number standpoint. And even under the hood, I mean, at a 1.41 whip, there were a lot of base runners. Walks have been an issue for him. You know, I think particularly against his fastball, left-handed hitters did a lot of damage last year. The VLO on that pitch is dropping. His strikeout rate has also dropped slightly in recent days that the Sun's crew is not happy about what's going on in the Sun Celtics game behind us. Jesse already declared that game was over.

We can just be blissfully ignorant about what's happening in that game the rest of the show, which I'm perfectly fine with. But yeah, Dylan's east is far from a sure thing, I guess, is what I'm saying. And I think it's important for Diamondbacks fans to realize that. Yes, he's a good pitcher. You know, yes, he had an unreal 2020 season. Yeah. But he's not necessarily going to make the Padres, you know, a way better team in, in 2024. It would require a pretty big bounce back for him to, you know, get back to the pitcher he was.

Well, and we are going to talk here a little bit more about the fifth starter role and how the Diamondbacks are doing in regards to that. At times, things look promising. And then, you know, you have a setback like today with Tommy Henry. But before we talk about Tommy Henry's day, Tori talked about the challenge of playing in the National League West. And I think this is very much the mindset of a team who last year was able to accomplish what they accomplished once they reached the playoffs. We embrace it and we love it. And it just means we got, like I just said to Nick, we got to be spot on in our area. And we've got to concern ourselves about what's happening in our business.

out. For a couple years, we lost our way, and we were more concerned about what was happening across the way, and we just lost what we were good at. But I think towards the end of the 22 season, we put it on us. We started to take care of our business, and it began to work very well for us by the end of last year. So I don't hear one player complain about it. I don't hear one player talk about payrolls externally. What I hear is what we've got to take care of. These players know what's in front of them and when they do things right we're going to be just fine. Is it that much easier of a cell after speaking a couple of teams with huge payrolls last October? Just easier to believe that I think it's possible?

Yeah. I mean, sometimes I say things to the front office and I think they look at me like I'm an alien, but now I feel like I got a little bit of street cred and I'm like, okay, talk to me now, right? but we do believe in amazing things here because we take care of the things that are important. We believe in synergy. And yes, when we say something today, it means a little bit more because of what we did last year. But we got to back that up. We got to go out and take care of it.

When you were talking about the quotability, the street cred line, let's go. Yeah, yeah, that's good. No, but I mean, it's true, right? Like, I mean, there is something there that, like, I feel like the buy-in is easier from everyone on this team in every aspect. in every aspect when it comes to Tori because he was able to manage them, you know, to the World Series last year, you know? And I think even on those days that he has to go out there and get Merrill early and get Zach earlier than they want to, I think he's going to receive just a little less pushback that he's received in the past because now, of course, they can see what the master plan here is in regards to the season and getting back to that, that, you know,

mountain top again there in the World Series. Yeah, yeah. I mean, the reality for the Diamondbacks is that, you know, we talk to Mike Hazen all the time about, you know, how do you feel about the Dodgers being able to go out and do what they did this offseason? You know, how do you feel about the disparity in payroll that we have in baseball today and have that for a long time? And Mike just, you know, kind of dodges those questions every time. What else he's supposed to do? Is he's supposed to go up there and say, you're right, you know, we're victims of a broken system. and we're screwed and we, you know, we're at a disadvantage. Yeah, we have no chance. No, he can't go out there and say that.

And Tori was also asked today, you know, how do you feel about having the highest spending team in the league be, you know, close to $300 million right now and the lowest spending team be at $50 million? I'm not sure exactly who that is. But, um, but, yeah, and Tori didn't go too deep into it. But you can tell that he doesn't love that. He doesn't love the dynamics of, you know, the highest spending team having a pair of, girl that's five times as big or more than five times as big as the lowest spending team.

It's, you know, the baseball is is broken in that way. I think we can all agree. And yet the Diamondbacks proved last postseason that that doesn't necessarily matter. You know, there's so much volatility once you get into the postseason that every team that's in there has a chance. And, you know, the Diamondbacks are as good of an example of that as any team in the league. And I will say that Tori had a hilarious answer that involved him telling the reporter that asked that he didn't know him. that well, but he would give him his real answer over beers because he has some thoughts that he wouldn't want to air in front of a camera. Sure. And I'm sure Mike Hazen also has thoughts that he would

be willing to share over a beer and not be willing to share on the record. Mike Hazen off the record is a pretty enjoyable conversation to have. Let me tell you. But of course, getting back to Tommy Henry today, he struggled and did not look good in a game where. you know, this is, you know, his outings are getting closer and closer to opening day. That decision at times has been hard based on how good Henry and Ryan Nelson and the other candidates have been. But now Tommy Henry really struggled today. And it's just one of those one of those days where you wonder how much did this impact his chance at that fifth starter competition. We don't want to always immediately assume that a bad outing is going to disqualify him

from the competition, but it does feel like there isn't a lot of time left to impress and today was kind of a bad time to drop the ball and I hate that I had to say that that way. Yeah, the Diamondbacks are not playing particularly compelling baseball in the Cagas League right now. They have not won a game since Friday. They beat the Cubs last week last Friday. It's been a while since we've seen the Diamondbacks actually pull out a win. And of course, that doesn't really mean much of anything, but it does mean something that Tommy Henry was not good today. And I don't think it was just a fluke.

You know, you look at some of the stat cast data from his start. He threw less than 40% of his pitches in the strike zone. 37% of his pitches were in the zone. And that number doesn't have to be 60%, but you want it to be maybe around 50, something like that. And they were hitting his stuff outside of the zone, which is even more confounding. They also were. All like, I think six of the hits were all out. He gave up six hits.

And like, all six were outside of the strike zone, but not very far. Or like right on the edge. Right on the edge. Yeah, it was kind of weird. But none of them were very far outside of the strike zone. You know what I mean? Like it felt like maybe that was the problem is when he was throwing stuff outside of the zone. He wasn't missing very much with it, which made it not really, I don't know, made it.

There was one curve ball that was like, there was one curve ball that was like several inches below the bottom of the zone. zone and someone like yanked it into the gap for a double. I still don't quite understand how that happened. But yeah, you can, you can just tell like Royals hitters were seeing Tommy Henry's stuff really well. A lot of that is because he was just behind in the count pretty consistently. And that's a goal that he set at the beginning of spring training that he wants to be in the zone more. He wants to throw strikes more and avoid walks.

We've talked about how even though he's kind of, you know, he's of that ilk of pitcher where, you know, control is really important. And yet his walk numbers in the past couple years actually aren't all that great. But yeah, he just wasn't, he hit a couple batters in this game. He walked a couple batters. It wasn't at all what you're looking for from Tommy Henry. And he didn't really have a ton of answers after the game. I mean, he basically just said, like, I want to execute better.

And I'm not executing at the level that I want to right now. And, yeah, we don't know exactly where this fifth starter competition stands. But if Tommy Henry came in with a lead, it's hard to believe that he still has the lead that he came in with. Two and two thirds today gave up six hits, five runs, five earned, two hit batters, two walks, one strikeout.

Elise there in the chat says, kind of sucks that Tommy had to face the same team. I don't know. It's gone now. Good job, Damon. I'm in the middle of reading game. All right, kind of sucks and Tommy. He had to face the same team and back-to-back starts.

Yeah, and not only that, but he was actually kind of looking forward to playing the Royals again, due to how bad his last start was. He said he was, you know, it was kind of nice to face the same team again. In that outing, three and two-thirds innings pitched, 10 hits,

five-erd runs, three home runs allowed, two strikeouts, no walks. The Royals have had his number, basically, in these two outings. They're by far his first out, worst outings of spring, and they were against the same team in back-to-back outings.

But, I mean, you know, adversity, I guess, is good. You know, you want to try to get back out there and have a better outing. Did not have a very much better outing this time around against the Royals. Yeah, I mean, you look at Tommy Henry's first two starts, five innings,

one hit, no runs, one walk, four strikeouts. He threw, I think it was 51 pitches. He was super efficient in his first two outings in the Cactus League. You look at his last three outings, if I can add these numbers together really quick, eight and two thirds innings, 22 hits, 13 runs,

three homers, two hit batters, four walks, five strikeouts. Not great. It's really, really bad, right? I mean, there's no other way to say it. And, you know, there's certainly still time. I don't want to say that Tommy Henry is out of the fifth starter competition or anything. I think that too would be an overaction at this point. But he's got to be better, right? If he wants to win this fifth starter spot, there's no question he's going to have to show something in these next couple starts. And, you know, it just goes to show how those first couple outings in spring training are the first few games in spring training. It's really easy to. to make big conclusions after just a few days. And, you know, things, things can change pretty quickly. Meanwhile, another guy who has kind of gone in the opposite direction in his last two starts has been Bryce Jarvis. Bryce Jarvis did not have a good February. His one outing in February was pretty bad.

And then his first start in March, not so great. Last two outings, it's gone out there today. Three and a third innings pitch gave up two hits, no runs, no one walk, five strikeouts. today in his last start to two two hits allowed in two innings pitched one strikeout no walks so Bryce Jarvis has quickly become I guess a name to watch I don't know I don't know in some cases how much honesty there is about all of these guys having an opportunity but I do feel like in the fifth starter in the for the fifth starter competition yes correct thank you for that but I do feel like Tori is honestly giving all of these guys

as a true opportunity. And I feel like Jarvis in his last two start or last two outings at least, has been awesome for this team. So just interesting considering the direction things are going, considering the way that this, you know, fifth rotation spot has not really been claimed by anybody. And, you know, now you have a name that we really didn't expect to be, you know, part of in the mix now actually in the mix for that spot.

Jarvis talk after the game about, you know, what his role can be and, you know, what he wants. He's willing to do anything for the team, but this is what he had to say about starting for the team. Yeah, I mean, I'm here as a pitcher regardless of what that role is. And, you know, I'm here to help the team in whatever way they see fit. But if it is a starter, I would love that. Just I feel like that's where I'm most comfortable. But like I said, any way I can help the team is. It's good with me.

Far-fetched to think that Jarvis could potentially just come out of nowhere and nab that spot? Far-fetched, yeah. I think it's probably fair to say it's far-fetched. It really seems to me that this is Ryan Nelson or Tommy Henry. And, you know, I don't know how long exactly they've made that determination, but that's not an insider thing. That's just kind of my personal sense of the situation is that they're keyed in on those two guys. You know, and Jarvis is kind of the opposite case of Tommy Henry, where Jarvis's first couple outings of spring training were not good at all, right?

Inning in a third, three earned runs, three hits against the Rangers back on February 27th, just two thirds of an inning on March 3rd against the Brewers, five runs, four hits, two walks in that outing. So his last couple have been really good. He was fantastic today. His slider looked really, really good. he talked about throwing a cutter as well. He said in his last outing he started throwing both a cutter and a sinker, which I am intrigued by. I think it makes sense. You know, especially the sinker, Bryce Jarvis's fastball was kind of an issue for him last year.

It's been an issue for a while where it's pretty straight. And I just think hitters have seen it well. And when that happens with a four seamer, the kind of natural solution in my mind is try throwing a sinker and see what happens. See if that throws guys off a little bit. And we'll need to see more, but he looked really good today. Tori also had some positive things to say about D-BACS fans' absolute favorite dark horse candidate to make this team, Pavin Smith. By the way, Pave and Smith had his championship ring today with him from his Dominican Republic. The Dominican Winter League, yeah.

The Dominican Winter League, yeah. Had a championship ring, Damon. Pretty incredible. This is what Tori had to say about Pavin Smith and just how far he's come and where he's at this point of the year. I finally think Pavin has arrived as a major league hitter. That's my gut feel. In spurts, he has shown it. And he's so honest and so accountable that I believe everything that Pavan says to me because he has told me some things that weren't great, but it was a perfect evaluation.

Normally a player will tell you, no, I could do that. you're crazy, Tori. But Pavin would be like, no, you're right. I can't do that, and I probably need to take care of that somewhere else. And I understand why you guys are trying to me down. So when Pavan tells you he's in a good spot, I believe that he's in a good spot. And it's matching with what he is doing and his BPs and how loud his contact is during the games. He's been having some really good outbats.

Pavin is a good hitter. So I think he's maturing in bits and pieces, and hopefully this is a year where it all comes together for him. Go ahead, handle this one. I don't know what to say. I don't know what to say there. Insane. I mean, look, Pavin Smith was a first round pick for the Diamondbacks, and there's a reason they took him as high as they did,

and that draft has proven to be pretty underwhelming. There really aren't a lot of other guys taken near the top of that draft. You're way better than Pave and Smith or anything like that. And, yeah, I'm not necessarily convinced that Pave and Smith is going to make this team, but it seems like any time we talk about the backup first base role, Tori is very quick to mention that Paveen Smith is like a helpful part of that discussion. He did that today when they were talking about Emmanuel Rivera. He did. Basically, it was asked about Manuel Rivera, perhaps backing up at first base.

And Tori almost said, like, we already have Payman Smith who could back up over there at first base, right? Like, it was almost like, I don't want to say it's a decided thing, but it almost sound like he was suggesting it's a decided thing that pavement Smith will be their backup at first place. I hear what you're saying. And, yeah, I mean, Randall Grishick continues to, that situation continues to be a little hard to read. I think he played in a sim game of some sort today against the Giants, but he wasn't running the bases or at least not like really running the bases. And that's obviously something he's going to need to clear.

He's going to need to actually play in some games in the Cactus League before he could actually play in the regular season. So yeah, if Randall Grishig doesn't make the team, you know, maybe maybe that opens the door for Pavin Smith to make the team. One other note on Pave and Smith. I have to go back to the Dominican Winter League angle for a second. So Pavan Smith was part of the team. Tigris del Lacey, which I'm sure I'm butchering the pronunciation of. So apologies in advance.

I think you just need to put it together faster. You're fine. Tegris de Lacey? Yeah, there you go. Licy? No, Licey doesn't seem right. I'm sure I'm butchering that. So I apologize.

But you want to hear some of the teammates that Pavin Smith had this offseason? There is an amazing wealth of storylines here. So L.A. Dela Cruz was on the team. So that's cool. Incredible. O'Neill Cruz. was on the team. Oh my God.

Another guy who gets, gigantic people. Yeah, who hits the baseball absolutely, extremely hard. Emilio Bonafacio was on the team. No way. Diamondbacks legend, Emilio Bonifacio. Sergio Alcantra, another Diamondbacks legend, also on this team. Dowel Lugo, who was, I would say probably the centerpiece of the J.D. Martinez

trade. When the Diamondbacks acquired J.D. Martinez from the Tigers in 2017, Dowell Lugo was one of the main. prospects going to Detroit in that deal. He was on this team with Pavin Smith. Nomar Mazzara was on this team. Guy who was around for a while, had a good career. Tristan Kossis, one of the best young first base in the game.

I just, yeah, you probably said it way better than I did just there. But the range of players that you get in the Dominican Winter League is outstanding. And Pavan did have pretty good numbers there. Pavan hit 292, 462, 458. So do without what you will. I feel like people in the Dominican like screamed when they saw Pavin. Just like a ginger, just like translucent. Just screamed?

Well, I mean, he's like, he's like an odd reaction to seek a person. In like a tropical location like that. It's a little jarring. He stuck out from the crowd. Yeah, definitely. We can all acknowledge that. Tori did say Jock Peterson, Lordus Gurriel, not options to back up over there at first base. So it would be Mani Rivera and.

Paven Smith. So interesting to see how that goes. And some injury news, Gabriel Moreno, our favorite catcher in the whole wide world, was scratch with lower back tightness. He'll be down a couple of days. But Tori said it's nothing to be concerned about.

Should I still be concerned? Maybe just like a little bit. I knew you were going to say that. I feel like I should be concerned. It's lower back tightness. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's it, right? Like back injuries are never,

never great. So, I mean, no injury is great. No injury is great. Back injuries in particular, maybe a little bit more worrisome. Tori, yeah, did not seem worried. He said it's nothing to be alarmed about, but that Gabby would be down for a couple of days.

I'm not sure. I think Saturday at the earliest was said at one point, but I think that was more Tori, like responding to, he was asked like Saturday at the earliest, and he said yes, which doesn't necessarily mean that he thinks Gabby's going to play on Saturday. It just means that he's not going to play tomorrow, really. I think we can safely

say that. Tucker Barnhart is going to start again tomorrow. So yeah, we'll continue to monitor the situation for sure. For the moment, I think it, I think it's okay. Randall Gritchick, he was, he takes him at bats today at a sim game against the Giants. Tori is unsure when he'll run bases full steam. But he did say, even if he isn't running bases full steam, that he might still be He's going to have to run the bases at some point. Yeah, you've got to be able to get on the bases. Randall Gritchick is going to be on the opening day roster solely to hit dingers. Because then he can take his time rounding the bases.

So as long as he manages to exclusively hit a home run, it'd be okay. I don't hate it. But yeah, we're going to need to see Randall Grisich clear some pretty big hurdles here in the next couple weeks. I personally am getting increasingly doubtful about his chances of making the team. Tori, as you said, has not ruled back. out though at this point. We also had an Evan Lungoria citing today right after our press conference

with Tori. It was great to see him out there at Salt River Fields. I don't know. Yeah, I don't know what to read into that. But do with that information. We had Archie out there yesterday. We have Evan out there today. I'm just saying like... So who's going to be there tomorrow? Oh, man. Tommy Fam?

It has to be Tommy Fam. It's going to be shooting the breeze with Tori in the hallway. Yeah, yeah. I believe it. I believe it. I believe it. I also believe that TAS in our comments is a Trevor Bauer-Berner account. If there is no other reason not to consider Trevor Bauer as a starting picture, it's the fact that the band posted a 23-minute video on Twitter. Insane person energy.

That's a crazy person energy. That is, that is true. I don't want to hear anyone talk about anything for 22 minutes. No, not at all. I can't believe people watch this show from beginning to end. That's crazy to me alone. But we put it on YouTube. but it's digestible parts there.

I'm not sitting through a 23-minute video on Twitter, Jesse. I refuse to do it. Yeah, yeah. That's definitely the best argument against signing Trevor Bauer that I've heard today. It was like a documentary. It was like a vlog. And then he used other people's footage because they told him he couldn't take video. So he just used footage from fans to compile some sort of weird, like, I don't even want to go into it.

But yeah, we know. Thanks for watching, Trevor. We appreciate you being here under whatever name. You're going to allegedly go by in the chat. We appreciate all of you guys being here in the chat tonight. Of course, if you haven't subscribed to the PHNX Sports YouTube channel, why not do it right now? You won't miss out on any of the great content we have.

Sign up for notifications. That way you'll get notified whenever our shows are going live and leave us a like. Gabby will always let you know that that's, he wants you to leave, whether his back is tight or not. He'll still show up on the show every single episode to let you know to drop a like. If you're listening on the audio podcasting side, make sure you're subscribed over there.

Leave us a review. We always appreciate that feedback. Of course, Circle K, if you need some gas, today is the day to do it. Today is their 40 cents off gas, Jesse. Is that why it was so cheap? 40 cents off gas today. Oh my gosh. One day, it's gas day.

Go out there right now. Go fill your car up at Circle K. If you haven't signed up for the Inner Circle membership program, do so now. You get another 25 cents off. That's crazy right now with the 40 cents off. So join Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K up today. terms and conditions apply participating locations visit zirclek.com for details but go out there and get your gas cheap fill up tonight thank me tomorrow uh speaking of tomorrow tomorrow is friday we have a

special 11 a.m. episode uh and it's all in on the entire episode is an honor of gerald's wedding that's what we're just going to talk about gerald the whole time i think and and and and amy and And Amy Gerald. What? Sweet, sweet Gerald. Well, I mean, basically we're going to go over it like a transaction. Like, Gerald is officially off the market. Gerald has been signed to a deal.

We do not know the terms of the deal, but we do know it's a long-term deal. Where do women go from here? Yeah, I mean, you guys missed out. He was on the market. You had your chance. You blew it. You blew it. Amy got a franchise player in Gerald for sure.

But where do women go from here? I don't know. That broke me. That was good. That's the angle we appreciate it from. Yeah. I mean, that's good stuff.

These two handsome devils are available. We'll get them, we'll get them married off soon enough. But in the meantime, we are taking a boys trip, which I am going to be included on to heal of river resorts and casinos. Fine. Because no one does it better.

They offer an authentic and immersive experience, and they offer all the fun of a vacation out of town right here in the valley. They have an unprecedented level of entertainment. Excitement you won't find anywhere else. And of course, their state-of-the-art gaming floor, which has over 800 slot machines, 15 black tables, live table games, and of course, Arizona's largest casino sportsbook.

So head to Heela River Resorts and Casinos right now and let them show you what next level is all about. Do not miss our draft party for the Cardinals and everything else that we have going on over there. You do you at Heala Resorts and Casinos. Visit play athela.com for details. All right, Jesse, well, I guess when we talk about this fifth starter fiasco that the Diamondbacks kind of have, We know that for the most part, I guess we should preface this by saying, we know that the candidate for the fifth starter spot is going to come from inside the organization, right? We know it's going to be one of these guys. It's going to be Ryan Nelson or Tommy Henry most likely.

Yeah. You could entertain the idea of Bryce Jarvis, but you shot that down already. So that is dead. You just completely shot it down. I just, I don't, that's not my personal sense of the situation. You're right. Because both of these guys, Tommy Henry and Ryan Nelson, have the experience. edge over everybody else when it comes to pitching at a major league level, right?

They did that. They both did it last year and they both did it at times very, very well. Like both Ryan Nelson and Tommy Henry were very good starting pitchers for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The problem was the consistency. The problem was staying healthy. And, you know, obviously the big, you know, idea here or the big topic that we're discussing is, you know, the Diamondbacks seemed fairly confident coming into this off season that they were going to be able to find their fifth starter from within the organization. Was that, did they miss on that? Was that a bad idea?

Should they have gone out there and really just solidified their rotation by bringing in one of these, you know, experienced guys that are available on the market right now? And maybe some of these guys that we've got what we saw get signed by other teams for really not that much money, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I guess we have to start the conversation with saying that Ryan Nelson has pitched pretty well this spring, right?

And, you know, if Tommy Henry were struggling the way that he is and Ryan Nelson struggling in that same way, you know, maybe you'd feel a little bit worse about the situation. You know, do I think that Ryan Nelson has turned a corner in his development? I'm not quite there yet. I need to see more. He's still tinkering quite a bit. We saw a completely different version of his slider in his last start, which is kind of an indication that he hasn't totally figured it out yet, right? like he's still experimenting. So, yeah, I think we just need to see more from Ryan Nelson before I'm ready to really think

that he's reached another level and is, you know, is ready to take on this spot and, you know, do a really good job in that fifth starter role. Not to say he couldn't do it, but I'm just not totally convinced yet with what I've seen. There are some guys out there. Parker in the chat mentions Michael Lorenzen. Michael Lorenzen is still out there. And he had a 4.18 ERA last season. threw a no hitter as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies after being traded.

And then he kind of was terrible for the rest of the season. He was an all-star. And then, yeah, he threw the no-hitter. And then the Phillies got to the playoffs and we're like, yeah, no, Michael Lorenzen is not going to throw a single inning for us in the postseason, whereas the Diamondbacks probably would have been a late at Michael Lorenzen in the playoffs. But yeah, I think that there are. there are some pretty big questions with Lorenzen about the second half of the season that he had.

And if I were the Diamondbacks, I wouldn't necessarily have been like jumping at the chance to sign him. But there are other guys. There are other guys as well. Not a lot though. Not a lot. And I think a lot of it is that when you look at some of these other deals, obviously there's, you know, good situations. There's quite a few guys that are injured. And you don't know exactly when their season is going to start.

we talked there the other day about you know the couple of the guys like sunny gray that the diamondbacks kind of you know missed out on and apparently we're very close to potentially signing we don't know how close but when you look at the guys available i mean pretty much it seems like there's not a lot of options that the diamond backs could go with should at this point they turn around and you know want to kind of go back on on the whole at this point yeah yeah yeah hard hard to imagine the Diamondbacks suddenly going out and signing a fifth starter at this point. It seems like the money that they were going to spend they've spent at this. I mean, Mike Kazen is not ruled out further additions to this team.

Even after the Randall Grishik move, he said he's still looking to try to improve this team in any way that he can. But I don't get the sense that spending like real money on someone, you know, like north of a couple million dollars is really on their radar at this point. I think if they were actually going out and getting another starting pitcher, it's something they would have had to have done already, and it's something that would have had to take the place of another move that they made. So, you know, maybe you can't have Michael Lorenzen or Mike Clevenger or, you know, James

Paxton before he signed with the Dodgers. He's one name that I kind of like. But it would mean that like, okay, well, now you can't have Jock Peterson or now you can't have Eugenio Suarez or, you know, maybe you have to take a more, a cheaper route to solving one of those issues that you solved elsewhere on the team. So it's a balancing act. And, you know, as of right now, I like the way the debacks handled their offseason. I think they did a lot of good things.

And I don't think it was an egregious mistake for them to not get a fifth starter as of right now. Maybe that age is poorly. But as of right now, I think they handled things pretty well. Michael McDermott with some fire in the chat where he said, Yuma and Lynn has a better chance of starting a game for the debacks in 2020. than Trevor Bauer. Yeah, I mean, that's fair.

The Diamondbacks are not going to sign Trevor Bauer. This is a crazy night. I've never seen this much Bauer support in our chat ever. As a matter of fact, I think the two times we talked about it, I almost got burned at the state. Anytime we talk about Trevor Bauer on this show, half of people are very angry at us. And half of people are like,

finally you are talking about what we've tried, when trying to convince you to talk about for weeks and weeks. I feel like it's pretty simple. I mean, Ken Kendrick, you guys have talked about it before. He cares about like the image of players and he wants to have like like what is considered to be like good guys on his teams. And I don't even know if that's Ken Kendrick as much as that is like a Mike Hazen and Tori Lovola kind of thing. Yeah, it's an organizational thing. I feel like it is an organizational thing.

And I feel like this organization, the people that were there when Bauer was there, they remember how much, how difficult it was to deal with him. And I feel like that's not the kind of thing that goes away reputation wise. So I think maybe another team will pick them up, but I just don't think that this team is like going to be interested. I agree. They're too close to being, you know, I guess as far as a team goes, they're fully, they've filled all their gaps. They have, they have addressed all of their needs. There's still some questions out there, right? Like backup catcher, I think is not at all solved.

But I do think in looking at this situation, the Diamondbacks, again, they, the guys that they are looking at are guys that most likely are going to be candidates either to start the season as a fifth starter or still maybe come up and, you know, and fill that role at some point this year, right? Yeah. It's not going to be a definitive thing where whoever wins the job is going to get it regardless of performance. They are going to have to perform well and they're going to have to continue to outperform

the other guys that Tori was considering for this spot. in order to keep that job. Yeah. And, you know, going back to like, should the diamond backs have added a fifth starter, I think there are other things that I feel more strongly about than the fifth starter. Like, I think the fact that debacks didn't really add to their bullpen at all this offseason, if I were them, I would have prioritized that over adding another starting pitcher. I think you could make a similar case with the backup catcher job, you know, should the debacks have shot

a little higher there and gotten someone who's a little bit more established who has a better, a better, you know, recent track record on both sides of the ball than, you know, a Tucker Barnhart or some of the guys they brought in on minor league deals. So, you know, this team doesn't have unlimited resources, right? I mean, that's, that's the way that that they've, that they've approached this. And they certainly did spend a pretty decent chunk of change this off season. So I think they, I think in terms of starting pitching depth, they're in a better place than they've been recently. And that, That doesn't come with any guarantees. You're still relying on a lot of young guys here.

But I think they're going to be okay. I'm just going to address right now in the chat. There are more than nine incredible women that love the Diamondbacks that watch this show alone. So there are some amazing female fans when it comes to baseball. And I'll go a step further. There's a reason why I call Elise a known baseball gym. And that's because female fans are incredibly knowledgeable about the game. They know they know ball.

They know balls. So we're happy to have you guys here. And, of course, yeah, I get it. Trevor Bauer does alienate that aspect of it. The Diamondbacks want. I think it's more than that. And I think that is something very much to consider, but I think it's more about alienating the locker room, the clubhouse.

Like at times, like I said, I plotted Jock with his tacos thing because just observing Jock Peterson, I can see why he gets the reputation he does. He's just a naturally different kind of human being, right? And I mean, when it comes to playing ball, he plays ball. But like when you see him outside of that, I kind of love him because he's just the unique person that kind of marches to the beat of his own drum. Right. So I can understand how people think Jock is weird.

But when it comes down to it, we very much saw Jock try to, you know, do something to, you know, make his teammates, you know, kind of bond with his teammates a little bit more and do something that brings himself closer. And that kind of shows that he is kind of one of those guys. that does have that makeup about being a good teammate and the kind of guy that they want in this clubhouse for sure you bring me tacos you're a good dude not forgiving everything based on tacos that's a fast way to derrick's heart right there you bring in a taco truck you're going to get you're going to get big time points the other thing i'll say is that you know if the debacks wanted a fifth starter they they could do that at the trade deadline right uh it's not like it's not like this is the only window they have to make that addition.

Mike Hazen did not get a starting pitcher at last year's trade deadline, and he very openly regretted that decision after the fact. And, you know, I suspect if the team were in a similar position where there was a need for that, I suspect he would go out and get it this time. So the book is not necessarily closed on the starting rotation. They can't make any additions in the near term without spending a decent amount of money, but they could, you know, once we get closer to the middle of the season. Well, we, again, appreciate you guys so much,

and we implore you to check out our friends, a bet MGM sportsbook. If you haven't downloaded that app now, you should do so right now. If you sign up using our bonus code of PHNX in place a bet at $5 or more, you will get $150 in bonus bets regardless of the outcome of your wager. Check out the PHNX bet show. Make sure let Shane guide you on what bets to make and then sign up for that bet, MGM sports book,

and use bonus code PHNX, place your first bet MGM sportsbook wager through the sportsbook mobile application for at least $5. You will receive $150 instantly in additional winnings regardless of your wager's outcome. Check out the show notes for full details and now listen to Damon, talk about the disclaimer.

Gambling problem, call 1-800 Gambler. Available in the U.S. Call 8778-Hope-N-Y or text Hope and Y for 669-9-N-Y call 1-800-3-2-7-50-Massachusetts. 21-1-1-8-1-800-9-1-8-1-7-1-1-7-1-1-7. for confidential help Michigan, 1,800-981-0023 Puerto Rico, subject to eligibility requirements. Rewards are non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in seven days. In partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel, see betmgm.com for terms.

U.S. promotional offers not available in D.C., Mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Wow. Straight up, dropped the ball. The entire island is furious with you right now. Disconnected team. I'm sorry. See, we're not dangerous. We're not dangerous when we're not connected.

But anyway, of course, make sure to check out our friends over at Desert Financial. Credit Union because for more than 84 years, Desert Financial has been Arizona's largest, most trusted local credit union. They started me on my homeownership journey and they can get you started as well. You can look to Desert Financial for mortgages, checking and savings accounts, loans, credit cards, investment options, and so much more. Make sure you join a credit union that is committed to giving back to the community and sharing success with its members. When you sign up for a free checking account online right now, you can get $200 in bonuses. get started by visiting desertfinancial.com slash 200.

Well, Jesse, I do know that spring training is very important, right? All of these games matter. Every single game matters. The entire month matters. It matters to society. It matters to the baseball players, the teams, everything. But what I didn't know is that it circumvented government obligations that we all have as citizens to the great country of the United States of America. Red Sox pitcher, Josh, and I'm going to blow this, but I'm going to go for it.

Winkowski. Josh Winkowski, who is in the mix for a starting rotation spot with the Boston Red Sox, almost missed his start today. And the reason why he almost missed his start was jury duty. Yeah. He had to serve as civic duty as jury duty. It turns out one of the questions they asked when asking your occupation was, would this trial be a hardship?

and he said, I'm actually in the middle of spring training, so yeah, kind of. Like, I'm up for a rotation spot with the Red Sox, right? Yeah, I mean, it's very valid. Absolutely. I don't know if, I don't know if when the government pictures hardship, they necessarily envision, like, you know,

someone who has to go pitch in a baseball game. But, you know, he's a major league baseball player. I mean, he's not a guy guaranteed a spot. He's a guy fighting for a spot, Jesse. That's very different. That is very different. That should get you out of most obligations, I feel like, weddings. Like, if you were in the hunt for the rotation spot, you would have to be out at Maryvale.

You could not miss it for Gerald's wedding tomorrow. That's fair. Yeah. I don't know what. I don't know. But anyway, I didn't know it. I honestly did not know that jury duty was something you can do. I didn't even know people still serve jury duty.

That's a brand new information. I have yet to be asked to... I can't believe you said that out loud. I can't believe you just said that out loud. They're watching the show. That's fair. The city of Phoenix, they're huge fans of the show. I'm a mayor, Jesse.

I didn't know if you know that. They just dropped it in the mail, didn't they? Well, I mean, I don't know, but anyway, let's see. Where do we... Kevin said, when is the first D-BACs takeover? The first D-BACs takeover is in May. And I don't remember the exact...

Is this a quiz? Is this a quiz? Okay, all right. May 4th. There we go. We still have some tickets available for that one. We do have some tickets available. So make sure to join us.

What did I say right? Michael's agreeing with me. So this is a rare occasion. I need, can we frame that comment from Michael McDermott? Because I just need it to say that. Derek said it right. I'm going to put that on my desk over here.

Like make that your business card. Yeah. But again, I don't know what other things you can use spring training to get out of, But can we do that? Can I do that? Can I say I have to go spring training games and just get out of anything? Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, I tried to use it on Gerald's wedding, but I was told that was impolite and I should probably go anyway. Yeah, well, it's like a company meeting, basically. Yeah, pretty much. Yeah. But yeah, we will be, like I said, we will be on at 11 a.m. tomorrow. And then you are going to be joined by Patty Plantains once again, Patrick Lyons. If you guys talk a little bit more about the spring, these spring breakout games. Which the Diamondback Spring breakout game is this Saturday.

It is on Saturday. Yes. Me, you and Patrick? Yeah, yeah, let's do it. Do like a Gila River run or something. Yeah, yeah, that'd be fun. Yeah, that would be fun. Why are you like this?

It'd be fun. I don't know what you're talking about. What are you talking about? Jesse, what's his deal? Yeah, I don't. I don't know. He just gets spontaneously mad about something about feeling left out or whatever. I never, I never understand.

It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. I, because I have a section still to read on this show before we wrap it up. But I do want to let you guys know, of course, check out Empire Today. If you are interested in spursing up your home, Empire Today, you can shop at home convenience, the right product for your needs, quick and professional insulation and a price match guarantee, all from the, all from the convenience of your home. They have a virtual floor designer, which is a great way to see how floors will look in any space.

It's easy. All you have to do is just snap a picture and instantly see how the new. floors will look in your room but whether you're looking for tile hardwood floors carpeting Empire Today has your back they also service their own warranties so they'll have your back long after installation schedule a free in-home estimate today all listeners can receive a three hundred and fifty dollar discount when they use promo code P HNX restrictions do apply see Empire Today.com slash PHNX for details and that's Empire Today there you go you did it that time I came through that time that's good I mean you're inconsistent

like some of our starting pictures, but you do come through every once in a while. Arizona Lottery, by the way, is introducing a new unique ticket promotion called Arizona Adventures. And as we've talked about, there are three great ways to play. You can play using Arizona Adventure Lottery tickets featuring three iconic landscapes. You can also enter tickets online for a chance to win $1 million in cash in Arizona travel prizes, or you can take an adventure on your own and still maybe win some money by checking in at geolocated adventures at 10 destinations across the.

the state from flagstaff to yuma right now arizona lottery says that this promotion is all about celebrating state pride and the uniqueness and beauty of arizona and all proceeds from ticket sales supports environmental conservation among other important initiatives across the state so visit a zadventry com for more information on how you can take an adventure with the arizona lottery and for a chance to win one million dollars in cash and arizona travel prizes well that's all we got for tonight guys we appreciate you guys stopping by again like i said make sure to join us tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. For our final episode

of this week. But in the meantime, you can follow us on Twitter. I am at Kapp underscore K-man with a K. This guy next to me is at Jesse N. Friedman. Of course, Damon, the people's producer, is at Damon Dogg. That's D-A-W-G. And we are Ryan Thompson's dogs.

Bark, bark. Bark. He always gets it back. He always gets lost live. Yeah. But anyway, you can also follow our show at P-HNX underscore D-Vax, but all roads. do lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We appreciate you guys stopping by tonight. We thank you so much for your time.

Again, we'll be back tomorrow at 11 a.m. Have it yourselves a wonderful night. Appreciate your time. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun. When you just go out and get two starting pitchers during the offseason instead of one.