PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Geraldo Perdomo named starting shortstop for 2024 Arizona Diamondbacks

Episode Date: February 16, 2024

That’s a wrap on week 1 of Diamondbacks spring training! We have more info on Torey Lovullo already naming Geraldo Perdomo his starting shortstop and the standard he plans on this team setting in 2024. We also spoke to Mike Hazen about not being satisfied with the results from last season, Jordan Lawlar getting playing time, and more!An ALLCITY Network ProductionSUBSCRIBE 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 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. Let Someburros cater your next meal big or small! Order online or find one near you by visiting someburros.comWhen 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 big ski to you all and welcome in to the PHNX Keybacks podcast right here on PHNX. My name is Derek Montia, occasionally known as your mayor, PHNX. And of course, I'm joined by my vice mayor and your thunderstick, occasionally known as Jesse Friedman. We just wanted to give a shout out to OGs brands, the official sponsor of flavoring Fridays. Head on over to OGsbrands.com to see their full lineup, including their two newest gummies, the OGs naturals and the big OGs, and find out where you can purchase them. and tell him Derek sent you and they'll be like, oh, that guy, he's him again. Yeah, he keeps coming back and eating the big O'Gs. But anyway, Jesse, you are not out at Salt River Fields.

You are going to have a beautiful shot behind you, but then they had to go and play a college baseball game over there at Salt River Fields preventing you from your normal, beautiful backdrop that you were going to institute. Yeah, some bunk about the Desert Invitational or some college, some college baseball game that they've got going on. A ball almost took me out, by the way. I was trying to set up out there to see if I could, see if I could make it work.

I told you it was a terrible idea. Almost got a talented in the process. Yeah, I think, you know, maybe there was a scenario where it would work, but, you know, they got music playing in between any. And no scenario, did it work? No, no, if nothing more than your own personal safety, it was not going to work.

You know, Mike Hazen even brought that up during his presser, where we were doing it outside. And when, you know, guys are throwing balls and doing stuff around you, you're not safe. You have no idea what's going to happen, especially when your back is to the action. But we did have lots of action out there on day three of spring training. They talk about it waning down and getting boring for us media. Jesse, I must just be a baseball junkie because it was not boring. It's still not boring to me.

It's still beautiful weather and green grass and watching. watching these guys do PFPs and then just be hanging out. I mean, we saw big crowd today on a Friday out there at Salt River Fields of fans. And it just felt, it felt wonderful to be out there watching these guys get ready to, to defend their National League crown. Yeah, I mean, I don't, I don't know if you'll hear them use the word defend. No, they hate that. Yeah, they said no.

Yesterday. Yeah. Which I don't, I mean, it's really. You know, Mike brought up. He's like, yeah, we did that last year, but it kind of means nothing now. And like, that's been the mantra a bit. Like we did that last year. It was special.

We are proud of it. But that means nothing in 2024. We need to move on and try to get better as a team. Yeah. I mean, I think the Diamondbacks have the right view on this. We have some clips from both Tori and Mike that we'll get to later in the show. But yeah, the clear feeling around. around, you know, the clubhouse and in the front office and whatnot is that the Diamondbacks

have to move on. They have to turn the page from all the success that they had last year, you know, as great as it was, there was a time to enjoy it. And that time has kind of run its course at this point. It's time to turn the page. It's time to think about baseball in 2024. And the truth is the Diamondbacks barely made the playoffs last year and that, you know, they'd like to make it a little more comfortable this time around if they can. We do have some topics involving that, including Mike Hayes. And I think. in my opinion being a little hard on himself about the results of last year. But again, more focused on, you know, versus celebrating last year moving forward and again, doing, achieving that

ultimate goal in 2024. But we will get to that. More importantly, though, we have not, not surprising, not shocking comments, but you could say I was a little surprised. to hear on day three of spring training camp before position players have even reported yet that Tori Lavolo has named Geraldo Perdomo his starting shortstop for 2024. Yeah, he just went out and did the thing. And this was a question that we kind of had coming into spring. It felt like there was a world possibly in which Jordan Lawler just comes in and absolutely rakes.

And, you know, maybe he gets the starting shortstop job and that moves Geraldo Perdomo into a utility job that, you know, I think would suit him really well. But yeah, that wasn't, that wasn't the message coming from, coming from Tori Lavello today. Nope, this is what Tori had to say in regards to Geraldo Perdomo being his starting shortstop. Perdom is going to be our starting shortstop. He's earned that. He's earned that right. I know that he's worked very hard on his right-handed swing.

So whether it's a left-handed backup or right-handed backup is undefined right now. I want to see what Jerry looks like coming to the. to camp and he deserves the opportunity to show me that he's able to handle a full full workload um is an everyday shortstop so what does that number mean 130 plus 140 plus i don't know but that's going to be my starting point um he's a great player a really good player that's growing he's a great shortstop that's growing and learning um offensively so i want to give him that opportunity to show me and then we'll fill in the gaps from there that's exciting uh and he's right i think harold Prudomo has absolutely earned that right.

And I think, you know, he he stepped up and was an incredible part of this team, not only all regular season last year, but even, even though the results aren't what some of the other guys had. Like, it always felt like Perdomo was in the mix in making things happen during the playoffs and getting, you know, getting some sort of run going, getting the offense, you know, kickstarted. Yeah, I mean, you think, you think what it was like a year ago with Geraldo Perdomo and Nick Ahmed coming into camp. And we wondered if Nick Ahmed would kind of take over as the full-time shortstop or whether

they'd sort of split that role. That ultimately wound up wound up being the case out of spring training, you know, with Perdomo facing most of the righties, Ahmed facing most of the lefties. But yeah, I think the Diamondbacks want to at least give Perdomo, as you heard there, an opportunity to show what he can do against left-handed pitching. Last year, you look at his splits. He was substantially, substantially better against righties than he was. against lefties.

It isn't the worst thing in the world. There's, you know, there's more right-handed pitchers out there than, than lefties for sure. So, you know, you'd rather have it be that way than the other way around.

But yeah, it's, you know, it's not a universal thing that just because you're a switch hitter, that doesn't necessarily mean that you're, you know, a good hitter against both left-handers and right-handers. And so the diamondbacks want to give Prudomo an opportunity to prove that.

I, I kind of, you know, I think it will still ultimately make sense for the backup at shortstop to be someone, who bats right-handed. I'm not sure if I really see Perdomo, you know, elevating to the, to the point where you don't even feel the need to have a right-handed bat backing him up. But, yeah, I mean, we, you know, we also talked about Jace Peterson a little bit today and what

positions he's going to get a look at. And Tori did say, I mean, at least sound like shortstop could be an option for him, you know, Kevin Newman, Jordan Lawler, of course, those would be backup shortstop options that bat right-handed Jase Peterson if the diamondbacks do in fact give him a look at short he would become an option as a left-handed hitter. So yeah, we'll see. We'll see how that ultimately turns out with the backup situation. But the Diamondbacks clearly believe in Geraldo Perdomo. And he is, he is going to be the starting shortstop for this team.

Let's be honest about what this means most likely for Jordan Lawler, right? This means Jordan Lawler is probably going to start the season in AAA because you don't want Lawler backing up Perdomo. You don't want them getting such limited playing time and such limited at bats. You want them progressing and getting better every single day. So I feel like like Tori naming Pardomo the starting shortstop this early, that's the one downside of it is, you know, we know a lot of times that these battles aren't really battles in camp.

But like I discussed yesterday, you never know when somebody is going to come up and outperform the guys that are supposed to get those roles and end up winning the job. So it is kind of the downside to it, which feels like, you know, it's not even giving Loller a chance before position players even report to possibly win that starting shortstop job. He's right about Pardomo earning it. But, I mean, what do you think? Do you think that essentially means that that's where Loller's going to start? Yeah, we'll get into Haysen's comments on Loller a little bit later. There was some interesting stuff there.

But, yeah, I mean, just hearing how, hearing how emphatically Tori. just comes out and says, Geraldo Perdomo is the starting shortstop. Yeah, I think I have to automatically believe that Jordan Lawler is most likely going to start the season in Reno. I mean, it's abundantly clear.

I don't think we even had to hear anything from Tori or Mike to know that you want Jordan Lawler to get reps. You don't want Jordan Lawler to start on the opening day roster just to sit on the bench and, you know, maybe get one or two starts a week against lefties. That just doesn't serve you in the long term with a player that you've view as a cornerstone player of the future, which I think is how the diamond back still view

Jordan Lawler. So, yeah, they called him up last year. You know, they gave him a look. They wanted to see if he could help them against lefties. He ultimately couldn't. I think that was a lot to ask Jordan Lawler, you know, being just as young as he is. He's not going to be, he's not going to reach the age that Corbyn Carroll was when he was first called up until July of this year.

Lawler is still quite a bit younger than Carol was when when he first got called up to the major. So, yeah, I think they were in position to at least give him a shot, you know, last September. And just because they gave him that shot doesn't necessarily mean that, you know, he instantly has a spot on the roster this season. It seems like it's going to serve him best in the long run to have him start the year in AAA. And then when he does look ready and he's able to, you know, he's able to show you some, some success over a longer period of time in Reno, then you could bring him up at that point. We also had, I guess, not as scintillating of a comment today, considering he alluded to it yesterday.

But Tori also once again reiterated that sounds like Eduardo Rodriguez will be starting between Merrill Kelly and Zach Gallen. Or should I say Zach Allen and Merrill Kelly? It sounds like Erod will be the Diamondbacks number two starting pitcher. Not that that means very much in the grand scheme of things. It's not like it's a demotion to Merrill Kelly or anything. It's it's just as as Tori discusses here in this clip, it's breaking up the two righties, right? You go righty, lefty righty now to start off, you know, especially a series where you're going to start the series with Zach Gallen. That's a nice, you know, that's a nice change of looks to the opposing batters and causes, you know, some some lineup problems for the opposing manager.

Yeah, yeah. I think that, I mean, I don't have a strong preference, honestly, on where Erod slots into the start. rotation for the Diamondbacks, I don't think it really matters very much. I mean, you know, I think we, we may be just, just because Eduardo Rodriguez is number two in the rotation doesn't necessarily mean that he's the number two starter in a sense, or like the second best starter on the team. Right. Right.

You very well, could still be like, yeah, well, Merrill Kelly is the second best starter on the team. Maybe the Diamondbacks believe that Merrill Kelly's second best starter on this team, but you might want to deploy them in that way. If it were me, I would probably still just have Zach and Merrill 1 and 2. I think that puts you in the best position in the long run to have them make as many starts as possible as opposed to the other guys. But I mean, yeah, there's still going to be opportunities to reshuffle things throughout the year.

It doesn't really matter the way that they started and it doesn't really matter over the course of the year how that unfolds. Once you get through the first couple turns of the rotation, you know, the way that you're matching up with other teams, it's not like your number two starters always face the other team's number two starter that goes out the window pretty quick. So it just it just doesn't matter very much at the end of the day. I do know. And like this was the point I was trying to make yesterday is like with the workload Merrill

Kelly had and the medical issues he had, which weren't medical issues that are of concern. They're just medical issues that are from, you know, like the cramping and the blood clots and things like that, things that you want him to get a little bit more rest and maybe moving him to third also provides that less starts. For Mel Kelly, I know you said you want more, but at least it just kind of puts a little less, you know, on his body potentially, especially after what we saw last year. But this is what Tori had to say about Eduardo Rodriguez coming into spring camp and that where he might start in the rotation. Everything that I remember from the days where we were together in Boston, a very hungry player, a very eager player, somebody that wants to learn and grow. Ask questions, accepting of coaching.

And I think he has a very competitive mean streak in him that shows up every fifth day. So we haven't seen that yet, but that's what I remember. And I'm really excited that he's here. He chose us. You know, he had an opportunity to go in a lot of different directions, but the fact that he chose us means a lot to me. But you don't know where you have in the rotation. Yeah, I mean, early on, probably right in the middle of the first two righties.

but we'll figure that out. We've got to see how the opposing teams we're facing are lining up, stacking up line-up-wise. I mean, every team, there's moving parts with them right now. So we've got to figure out as the roster start to get a little bit more defined for the teams that we're going to be playing, we'll start to figure out where that slices. So again, nothing there that's set in stone,

but it just sounds like based on matchups and such, you know, Tori, Tori could decide where Erod goes. like you said, it's not anything, meaning Merrill Kelly, you know, is not still their number two or or even 1A, 1B with Zach Gallen, right? Those guys have been outstanding for this team, but they both had a short off season. And as it stands right now, Erod is coming in as a strong starting pitcher who is rested and ready to go for this team. So it would be smart to utilize him early on. I mean, it's crazy as it sounds, maybe even, you know, starting it. number one. I mean, it really doesn't matter. Like you said, it's really not a matter of when you,

when you end up facing other teams that you're actually facing number one faces number one, number two faces number two. So anything right now that can maybe give those guys a little extra rest after, you know, what they put their arms through in 2023 isn't, isn't the worst idea right now. Yeah, I mean, the devaks opened the season against the Rockies. So, you know, they might as well just call up a few guys from AAA, have them start the first. You get it. You get it. Yes. And then you can, you know, you can bring in Zach, Merrill, and Errod once you really need that.

The first series, Erod, Bryce Jarvis, and then I don't know. U.N. Lin, I'm just throwing it out there, whatever. But there's a lot of arms, you know, and that was cool. We got to see you, Minlin, by the way. I don't fan out about a lot of players. I was like, there he is. It's him, you know. But there's a lot of excitement out there.

big shout out to everybody that listens to this show that we got to meet for the first time today and sorry to Brett who is just taking pictures of us from afar who for some reason how did we not like bump into Brett or hear Brett at any point like that's crazy that we didn't at least hear Brett at some point at least hear Brett yeah you can usually hear Brett from about a mile away I'm not I'm not sure how that happened but that was very funny Brett was in was in the discord like asking us So who's this guy? Who's this guy? And I'm like, Brett, are you here?

Yeah. And then sure enough, I'm pretty sure we could spot Brett from a distance. So we didn't, we didn't get to say hi, unfortunately. Yeah, that was, that was, there was a lot of people out there for sure, a lot of people. And, of course, Tori and Mike, they've both been fairly honest. It's, it's a tall task for them to see everybody on this team, especially Mike. He was just straightforward. Like, I'm not watching anything.

I'm just hanging out talking to the writers. But Tori did talk about. about who stood out so far in spring as far as like velocity-wise and arms that have kind of popped up on his radar. We have that clip. We playing that clip? I will say overall, the summary of what I'm seeing is a lot of velocity. And I said that last year, and it's probably spiked up a little bit more from last year. So, you know, it was 92, 93 plus last year.

Now it's 95, 97, up to 100 plus that I'm watching some of our bullpen. some really hot arms. I just want to see that translate into strikes, pitchability, and consistency. I know about some of those 100 mile per hour arms, Jesse. I've heard about them. I know Mike Hazen brought up Justin Martinez saying, you know, that once his, you know, once his arm can get things a little bit under control, that that is going to be somebody.

I think that is going to be a very valuable member of the bullpen for this team. but yeah, I mean, it does feel like the Diamondbacks are fairly stacked with some of the players that are returning from injury like Corbyn Martin, some of the new acquisitions, and even some of the young guys that you and I are getting to see for the first time in person up here at camp. Yeah, we're going to need, we're going to need Tori to spill the beans on who he's talking about because that was just, that was an unreasonable comment, right? he's going to tell us that someone's 92, 93, and then now they're 95 to 97 all the way up to 100, but he doesn't actually tell us who they are. Yeah, who is it? I feel like we have to like, like if you could, if you could pick someone to be that player, who would you pick?

Like who comes to mind is like, oh, I would love to see that player throw 97, you know, like what does what does that look like? How does that change their game? I guess Tommy Henry comes to mind for me. I was going to say, I know Ryan Nelson had a very good fastball, but what was his velocity on his fastball? He like, yeah, I think he averaged like 94-ish last year. So that would be, that would be in a slight uptick for him.

But if he's talking about someone who was 92, 93 last year, I don't think it'd be Ryan Nelson. I would think it would be maybe, I mean, Bryce Jarvis, I think was into the mid-90s last spring. So I don't know if that would be a ton of sense. If you're telling me Tommy Henry is hitting 100 miles per hour, just stop right now. Like give them the starting rotation spot now. The man already had the lowest exit be low for, you know, batters of any pitcher on the staff.

So like I just, I think Tommy Henry is one of those guys that was really held back momentarily by injury. You know, he discussed with us yesterday that he was ready to go in the playoffs and then the World Series. but it's understandable for the Diamondbacks not to call on him and expect him to, you know, come in and be able to perform in that big of a stage, you know, like just as coming back from injury like that. So I think he is a guy that we could potentially see do big things because he already felt last year like, you know, there was a lot of talk about Dray Jameson.

There was a lot of talk about Ryan Nelson and somehow Tommy Henry kind of became the bit, the more consistent of those two guys. as far as his performances when he would start for this team. People are speculating a bit in the comments. Fought, I think is actually like, I could maybe see that being the case. You know, if Brandon Faud is up into the mid-90s this spring, that would certainly be a development. Zach Gowan, someone who is this, this is Brandon, could be Gowan.

He sat 92 to 93, but I've seen him hit 97 before. True. I think I'd be a little concerned, honestly, if Zach Gowan was pumping 100 miles an hour in bolt-end sessions, when the Diamondbacks are intentionally telling him to like take it a little bit slow in spring. That would be such a Zach Gallant thing to do though. That would be a negative development actually. I would be that would be the case.

Probably the same with Merrill. But yeah, you know, if if and I think Michael is right, there might be some, you know, some embellishing happening here, you know, is, you know, these are bullpen sessions. It's a little bit different pitching. It's like he took an uptick. He's throwing 97, 98, 104. I mean, it was just wild. They're like, wait, did you say 104?

What did you stick that? 112? What? Yeah. So maybe there's not a whole lot to this, but I did. I am still dying to know like, you know, who are the like one or two names or whatever it was that he had in his mind when he was thinking that? Because there are some pictures in this system where if they do, you know, see an uptick in

their velo from the low 90s to the mid upper 90s, that would be obviously a huge development. Could be a reliever as well. I don't necessarily think this has to be a starting pitcher. There's a kind of a longer list of guys who that could be. But hopefully we'll get Tori to tell us who he's talking about sooner, sooner than later. It's all mind games. I think Josh Hunt said that in the chat. It's all mind games.

But there was a lot of talk when you talk about the mindset of this team and how the Diamondbacks are viewing 2024 about setting a standard versus setting expectations or about expectations changing. And, you know, we know that expectations are drastically different this season, obviously. And I think that would have been the case had they just even made the playoffs and maybe just won their first series, right? Like the success in the playoffs does raise your expectations, considering the Diamondbacks made it all the way to the World Series.

Those expectations might be a little outlandish at this point. But I do feel like the team has gotten better. I think that they're going to have a faster start. I think they addressed a lot of their weaknesses. So there's no reason to not think that this team can come back in 2024 and be a better team than they were in 2023. You know, and Tori talked about setting that standard versus setting expectations when asked about, you know, how to manage those expectations of the players and and everyone else involved, front office, you know, fans, all of that. And this is what Tori had to say. We're going to talk about a standard rather than an expectation.

I think that's a good way to avoid that because expectations can become burdensome. You look at them, you set them up, and then you start to achieve something that may or may not be attainable. And it might create a limitation. So I'm going to talk about a standard. We have raised the bar here considerably over the past two years. Last year we went to the World Series, and we're very proud of that. So yes, there are some achievements, but we are, are going to strive that to get to that standard every single day and continue to raise that bar.

I feel like that that creates a ceiling that is that is unknown and something that you can continually strive for that's really unachievable that it'll lead you to some really special moments. I love what he said there because this team right now has built a foundation on youth. They have young players and those young players were who performed so well last year. in the playoffs that got them as far as they got. And Mike Hazen spoke about how impressed he was with guys coming up big in those moments. And he singled out Alec Thomas's home run against Craig Kimbril.

He talked about Corbyn Carroll hitting that big home run against the Brewers that kind of just shifted the momentum in that game. But the idea here is that Tori Lobello and Mike Hazen can set a standard that these young players can follow and establish as a standard of excellence. for this team going forward, right? For new guys to come on and learn. It's that weird thing that teams in the past that have won a bunch of championships and other sports and stuff talk about, right?

Like the Patriot Way and all of that kind of stuff, which there you go, Mike Hazen, who's a big fan of the Patriots. I know he'll love that. But, you know, that's the thing is leadership obviously must define what that standard is. And considering that they got as far as they did last year, I feel like the buy-in is easier for these young players to, you know, understand what Tori is trying to do here and be fully on board with it. You know, I, it's, it is a time now to kind of set the definition for this period of

Diamondbacks baseball and, and what this franchise could be over the next five years plus. Yeah, I think for the Diamondbacks, if they were coming into spring training and they were expecting to win 95 games this year, that might not be the healthiest way to view the situation. I understand where Tori's coming from. It kind of feels like semantics a little bit. I do think that setting a standard and, you know, expectations kind of go hand in hand. We heard Zach Gallen the other day. I believe he used the word expect. He said we expect to make the playoffs every year. I think that that does come along with setting a higher standard for yourself.

but if you're a player, you probably want to view it in terms of, you know, the process of getting there. And that's, you know, that's where that standard perspective kind of, you know, comes into play where you're thinking of, all right, this is, this is who we are as a team, you know, that we are a team that does things at a very high level. And you kind of use that to motivate yourself and the results are sort of, you know, the results come from that. So, yeah, it feels like a little bit of, you know, there's some managerial speak, some,

There is. I can understand. I can understand where they're coming from. It's a mindset thing, right? And yeah, like you said, the expectations is an upward trajectory, right? What's the next logical thing to happen? We had a 17% increase. So we'll have another 17% increase.

That's not the way baseball goes, right? But what they do know is that losing one more game last year meant that they didn't make the playoffs, losing a handful of games, you know, maybe not having the April that they had, maybe not coming out of the gate, right? So like there is a matter of understanding what Diamondbacks baseball is, and that's more manager speak for you. I know you love that. But we heard Tori used that a lot last year, right? Like they'd lose a game and he would say, that wasn't Diamondbacks baseball tonight.

And you kind of sit there maybe wondering, like, what the hell is Diamondbacks baseball? Like, what does that even mean, right? That's the standard he's trying to set where there is a certain expectation of what Diamondbacks baseball is. And I think, like I said, a moment ago, like getting as far as you did, you know, it's kind of like yesterday when we're talking about him convincing Zach and Merrill to maybe not give him so much shit when he pulls him out of the game, right? Like, yes, they say they're going to be better about it. Are they going to be probably not? But at the very least, maybe based on the way things went last year, they understand a bit more why Tori's trying to save them for a later time

rather than let them go out there and throw 120 pitches in a game in May. You know what I mean? Like that kind of thing, right? So like there's sometimes where the success and seeing the success as a player makes you buy in on what that manager is trying to have you do or whatever he's asking of you as a player. So I do feel like that if they approach this carefully, right? And that feels like what they're doing,

they can motivate these guys in a way to stay hungry. hungry and want more than just getting to a World Series and being able to pat themselves on the back about that. They want to be there in the conversation every year. And there are certain teams like that, right? Like the Cardinals are one of those teams where last year they were just shockingly bad because, of course, they're the Cardinals. So everybody picks them to win the division or at least be in the playoffs. And then the next year, even though they didn't make it last year and were kind of underwhelming and I don't know arguably didn't do a whole lot to really improve themselves in a dramatic way are still picked to make the playoffs again this year. That's because Cardinals

baseball has set a standard for what they are and people are of the belief they'll always be back there and be competitive almost every single year. You know what I mean? Like I think that's what the Diamondbacks are looking for, at least in this current era, because of how talented these young players are and how developed their core is, how many guys are part of that core and how they're continuing to build around it. These off-season additions are great, but as it was brought up in the press conference today, it remains to be seen how much they improve the team and how much better this team is. You don't know until we take the field and start playing regular season baseball games.

So I just, I really like what we're hearing so far. And I do think that they're doing a good job of trying to. manage those expectations in a different way so that they don't become cumbersome like he's talking about where you don't find yourself being disappointed that the team doesn't win 90, you know, five games in 2024 because you expect them to win 95 games in 24, you know, but you're right. Yeah, yeah. It's hard not to still say like, we expect to do this, we expect to do that. Those are expectations and we're going to hear them continue to use that work.

But I think Tori's going to try to continue to change their mindset like he did with, the, you know, connected and dangerous mindset that he's kind of spread amongst his players, you know? Yeah, I think results-based expectations just in general comes with a lot of pressure, you know, and I think you can put a little bit too much pressure on yourselves, especially a diamondbacks team that is still very young, you know, a lot of the players who are really playing key roles on this team in, in 2024, they are really young players. And, you know, if you're a younger player in this league who finds himself pressing early on in

season, that's not a great place to be. So I think especially given where some of these guys are in their careers, it's important to make sure everyone's on the same page mentally, you know, how we want to, how we want to approach this going into this season. You could argue that that pressure is what helped the Diamondbacks win in the playoffs last year, because those expectations were all on their opposition. It was all on the opposing teams. They were all expected to beat the Diamondbacks. All of the, all the weight of the world was on them. The Diamondbacks were just, I mean, I'm not like obviously they weren't just happy to be there. But like the Diamondbacks were just playing in a way where they were playing with House Money.

We use that phrase House Money a lot in the in the playoffs last year. But, you know, getting there and getting to a point where you win your first series and now you're taking on these teams that are all expected to be there. They're all expected to beat you. It was the pressure was on them and not on the Diamondbacks. That's not going to be the case this year coming back as the reigning defending National League champions, whether you want to admit, to that, whether you would want to acknowledge that, whether you think that's even a thing, you are the reigning defending National League champions. And people are going to play differently when they play against the Diamondbacks in 2024.

It's not going to be the same game playing as 2023, you know? It's not going to be what the Dodgers said. It's not going to be the World Series every time you play the Diamondbacks. But they're definitely going to come to play when they play the debats. I think Tyler makes a good point in the chat too. It seems like every year we've come in with expectations. we didn't reach them. That's a very real thing.

The Diamondbacks and this, I think this even predates Tori Lavello's tenure here, but it has been kind of a thing during his tenure as well in seasons where the Diamondbacks were expected to be good coming off, you know, a strong year. They really haven't been, right? 2018, the team was in first place throughout the majority of the year and then really, really struggled in September. The Dodgers wind up winning the division instead. That, of course, coming off their run in 2017, which looked very promising.

You know, in 2019, the Diamondbacks had a strong year kind of bouncing back. They won 85 games. They add some pieces. And then in 2020, obviously a very weird year for a lot of different reasons. But it was not a good one for the Diamondbacks. And then here we are again, right, where the Diamondbacks, they've had lower expectations the last couple years. But now we're back to a point where people are expecting them to be a good baseball team.

I think I saw the Athletic had the Diamondbacks seventh, you know, in their early spring. training power rankings. There are some expectations on this team. And you know, you want to control mentally how you're how you're approaching that in the clubhouse for sure. Benjamin Hunley says no one in the national media is treating the debacks like reigning national league champs. That's fine.

Yeah, that's fair. But that's not how teams are going to approach them. I don't believe. So and if they are, then they're foolish. They are foolish if they approach them like that. But anyway, we do thank all of you for your comments. Thank you for being here in the Ph.N. Sports YouTube channel.

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that know way more about baseball than even Jesse, you can pick more than or less than on two to six players stats and combos, projections. You just watch them, watch the winnings roll in. And of course, prize pick is really simple to play. You can make all of your picks and submit your entry in less than 60 seconds. So go to prizepicks.com slash pHNX and use code pHNX for a first deposit match up to $100. That's priespix.com slash pHNX and use code PHNX. Daily Fantasy Sports made easy. Jesse is my case. being fair to himself about the results of last year. I feel like he did acknowledge the achievement. He did say that he was proud of what they accomplished, but he also picked apart their season a little bit.

And I think he was pretty pretty to the point about it, but I think he was pretty honest about how last year goes. talked about it just a moment ago, but the Diamondbacks lose one more game. They don't even make that playoff run because they don't even make the playoffs. So, uh, let's, what, what were your thoughts? Let's, let's, let's, let's hear what Mike Hazen had to say. And then I'll, I'll, see what you think if he's being fair to himself. We won 84 games last year. I mean, we got in, we were the last team into the playoffs. That, that's not really a sustainable position to put the team in, um, in terms of wanting to get to the playoffs every year. You know, we, we got in day or two left in the season. That's not a position I want to be in moving forward.

We were the last team in. We only won 84 games. I mean, that's we're we're we then the way we played for the first three months of the season. I think we're better than that as a team, frankly. So we're looking to build on all those reasons ways. Some of that was depth and roster and clearly my responsibility. And I'm very much aware of the things that I need to do to improve in those areas and and and we'll continue to focus on that. And I'm I think from Tori and I talking and the coaches that, you know, from an execution standpoint, everybody has the opportunity to improve and be better than they were, no matter how good of a season they had last year.

I think that's the message. Tori's talked about that standard. We've talked about holding that standard in a place that is worthy of being a perennial playoff contender. And I think that's where we're going to shoot for. Being fair. I mean, this feels like a Jesse Friedman assessment of last year a little bit. Yeah, I mean, I think it is fair in the sense of you don't want to do that again, right?

Like, you don't want to be the last team. Can't gamble on 84. Yeah. Yeah, you can't gamble on 84. That's a great way of putting it. The Diamondbacks, if they win 84 games again in 2024, they very well might not make the playoffs. I mean, there was a time not too far from the end of the season. We were trying to figure out how many wins it would take to get into the playoffs.

And we were thinking high 80s for a while. A lot of those teams kind of struggled toward the end, and it lowered a threshold of what you needed to get in. Diamondbacks very much benefited from that. You can't count on that happening again, for sure. So, yeah, I think in terms of, you know, assessing where the Diamondbacks need to be in 2024, to be able to make the playoffs again, you know,

I absolutely agree with Mike's assessment. I think at the same time, you know, he's assessing himself as if the Diamondbacks went into 2023 as, you know, a surefire playoff team that, you know, wound up just kind of squeaking in at the last second. And that wasn't really the situation going into 2023. Like the Diamondbacks even themselves were talking about wanting to play relevant games in September, wanting to buy at the trade deadline.

You know, those are boxes that they checked. But they ultimately far exceeded the expectations. You know, they made the playoffs. And then obviously everything they accomplished from from that point forward. So yeah, I see where Mike is coming from. And I agree that in 2024, like, you know, you're playing, you're playing with fire a little bit if you don't, you know, if you don't make some improvements to the team.

And the debacks did make some improvements, but, you know, they were a minus 15 run differential team last year. Like they, other teams scored more runs against them than they scored. So I think, you know, the improvements that they made were very much necessary. Well, if he has his way, the Diamondbacks will still add that right-handed bat. He continues to get asked for it. We have no news, but here's what he said about adding. a right-handed bat to this lineup.

I don't have anything to report on that, but yes, there's still players in the market, and we're still, Ken has still told me to continue to improve the team any way that we can within the bounds that we kind of have, and so we're still out there actively trying to do that.

When I hear him say that, I just think of Ken handing him the credit card and being like, here you go, the corporate account, go get whoever you need, right? Like, I mean, it is encouraging that they're still looking and we know that there are still some names available. It's not very encouraging about how much we think some of those names are going to cost. So it kind of, I feel like limits who they could still be looking at.

But we discussed Tommy Fam. We know that Gritchick is one of the possible additions. You know, we talked about Adam Duvall. So those guys are still affordable and they're still out there. We haven't heard any news on those guys getting signed yet. So I'm sure the Diamondbacks will still add one of those guys or maybe a mystery person that we aren't even discussing before, you know, they start playing baseball games. I wouldn't be surprised to see that happen here before too long.

Yeah, I think it's, I think it's totally possible. Yeah, I was Mark Fineson who initially came out with that report, tying them to those three names that you mentioned. And yeah, I mean, it's something that clearly makes sense for the team. Talked about the roster construction and how it's a little unclear what they would do right now against lefties. You probably don't want to start Jock Peterson in that situation. the team really would benefit from adding a right-handed bat. And we're, I mean, we're at the point now. I know the, you know, the Boris clients are still out there and certainly not, you know,

I don't think their price tags are necessarily going down too much. But we are at the point where guys want to play. Like, guys don't want to sit out and miss spring training with their new teams. And, you know, you wonder especially, you know, if you're Jordan Montgomery, if you're Blake Snell, that's one thing. But, you know, if you're an Adam Duval or a ran. Randall Grishik who really wants to figure out where you're going to be playing baseball this year.

Maybe the asking price on some of these guys comes down. I imagine that's probably what the diamondbacks are waiting for. And it doesn't seem too far-fetched that that could happen not too long from now. Well, we speculate that Jordan Lawler will be starting the year with the Reno Aces, but we have no confirmation of that. But here is what Mike Hazen had to say about Jordan Lawler, possibly making the team.

and, you know, their thoughts on his future. Yeah, there's got to be, there's got to be a role. I mean, I think his performance last year was, he did a good job defensively, for sure. I think from a bat standpoint, I think there's still some growth that needs to happen. And, but he's going to, he's going to figure that out pretty quickly. And he's going to come out here and compete. And we want, we need to have him, he's too good of a player to not be playing. He needs to play.

And that might be with us. It might not be. But we think he's going to have the chance to be a stud in this league for a long time. And part of what we're going to be as an organization today and moving forward. And we'll see how spring training goes. Let's talk about that part where he said with us or it might not be. Okay. That means the Reno Aces, you guys.

I just wanted to tell our producer, Jacob, that. I wanted to let all the guys in our group chat know that. I wanted to let everybody know to calm down and not panic because he doesn't mean that they're going to get rid of Jordan Lawler. He just means that he's either going to be playing with the Diamondbacks or he's going to be playing, you know, with the Reno Aces or somewhere else in their organization where he's going to be getting regular at bats. I think the writing is on the wall here between Tori naming Geraldo Perdomo the starting shortstop and them saying that Jordan Lawler needs to play regularly and he needs, you know, regular at bats that he's going to most likely start. triple it. Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, no GM and particularly Mike Hazen, from what I've gotten to know about him over

the years, no one is going to come out and say like, you know, such and such player might play for us or he might not, you know. I play for someone out. Who knows? It's baseball, baby. No one's going to tip their hand like that on a trade. So I feel very confident saying Mike Hayeson is not at all alluding to a trade of Jordan Lawler, although we will be keeping close eye on Jordan Lawler's Instagram because that's

something we like to do. Yeah, I was going to say. you're going to act like we didn't go crazy over an Instagram post for a Roldo Promo. Let's be real here. But yeah, it's hard to square, you know, between Tori saying heraldo perdomo, you know, saying emphatically, heraldopernamos are starting shortstop. Mike saying, you know, he's too good of a player, talking about Lawler. He's too good of a player not to play.

And then Mike saying he could play with the debacks or he could play, you know, down in AAA. Putting all those things together, it only makes sense for Jordan Lawler to start the year in AAA. isn't really a scenario in my mind where the diamondbacks could have him and Perdomo on the opening day roster with Perdomo as the primary everyday shortstop and Lawler still getting regular opportunity. Now that Ahenio Suarez is in the organization. Third base is covered. I guess if an injury arises, that would be the one situation where a spot come up for Lawler to play. But if that doesn't happen, there's no way for Lawler to get everyday reps, you know, with Perdomo being the primary

guy shortstop. That's the key is we all kind of slotted Loller at times over at third base. We thought of that maybe being our solution last year. We know it wasn't great. It wasn't ideal, but it's still a way to get him in the lineup and maybe solve the Diamondbacks third base issue. Now their third base issue has been solved. And you're not going to, like, again, Gino, as much as you want to,

you're not going to play 162 games in a Tori La Vala lineup. But he is going to play regularly. And I mean, like Tori talked about, you know, Heraldo Perdomo, that I'm not knowing the number, but 130, 140, something like that. I imagine something similar for Gino as well. I know he's a little bit older,

but I'm sure Gino is going to start the fair share of games over there at third base. So I think that that's going to limit, you know, the idea here that maybe Loller could back up Perdomo and also back up third base and get time at both. I just think that they want to continue to develop him at this point. He showed that he can play defense at a major league level, and we know that.

And we know that his bat is good. We just need him to continue getting better and be, you know, be able to contribute on both sides of the ball. Walk off sports talk in the chat says, would you guys hate it if we use Jordan to get a top pitcher? Oh, here we go. I don't know if any team is really making a trade of that magnitude at this point in the off season.

So I don't really see that happening no matter what. I think it would depend on the picture, right? Yeah, like I kind of do, but it depends on the situation, right? And the scenario, I just, you know, if you wanted to use Corbyn Burns as an example, no, I don't really want to mortgage the future for one season of Corbin Burns. And that really is what it comes down to for me. I think that Jordan Lawler, you know, is very important to this team in the future. I think that, you know, the Diamondbacks have been quick to pull that trigger in the past. And, you know, we still have people to talk about Dan's B. Swanson.

and we still have people that talk about, you know, some of the guys that we've moved on from. It's usually when we lose the trade because, you know, people don't talk about jazz nearly as much, considering a guy as Zach Gallen, you know, but, I mean, again, you're not going to be able to pull off many trades where you're going to get the equal value of what Jordan Lawler could be for, from a starting pitcher. And if you are, most likely, it's going to be a short-term, you know, kind of a pitcher on a short-term deal, right? So I don't like that because I think right now the Diamondbacks are in a mode where they can kind of, you know, keep their,

you know, keep their current momentum going and they can keep their current guys in their system. I think guys are going to want to continue to play for this team. So, you know, we're going to see more Erods where they choose the Diamondbacks as a free agent to come over here and play with guys like Corbyn Carroll and Alec Thomas and, you know, Zach and Merrill and such. So I'm, I'm against that kind of trade right now,

but that's only because I feel like they have a, fairly complete lineup as it is, you know. Yeah. I mean, Lawler is such a big part of, of their future plans, I think, too. Like, if the Diamondbacks want to be the perennial, like 90, 95 win team, you know, having another young star emerge would be a really, really big part of that. And Jordan Lawler, more than anyone else in this organization right now, looks like he could be that guy. So, you know, you don't really want to give up on him. I mean, I don't think you'd be giving up on him to trade him right now. But, yeah, you don't want to put yourself in a situation where you're trading away someone like that who has a chance to be a star

for a fairly long period of time for you in exchange for you know two years of dylan cease or you know what whatever whatever it might be with that's a good picture i'd that's a good example you're just going to pay for a picture but i just don't still don't want it i still don't want it but that is a little more a little more tempting um we do have more for mike on not adding more to this bullpen during the off season. And it's something we spoke about. We thought that maybe a bullpen move might be imminent where they might pick up somebody or even make a trade for another bullpen arm.

This is what Hazen had to say about the bullpen. Yes, we did make that decision. I think where we felt like we lost all of our free agents was in the lineup for the most part. And I've already talked about my feelings on where we saw like the rotation and what last year. So we spent a significant amount of our resources in both of those areas to do it. We have a lot of good, the balance for us in going and getting established reliever versus taking some of these young arms and giving them opportunity to come up into our pen. That's kind of a balance we had in the back end of our bullpen from the closer on down,

which was something that we hadn't solved in years past, but we did last deadline. and we're ginkle solidified Thompson and our lefties, etc. Castro, McGuff coming back. We just felt like that was more of a strategic play for us. Certainly we want to continue to build out that area because we know the bullpen that we have today. I probably don't have three weeks from now. Once we get into the season, we will through spring training, I'm hopeful, but April-wise. And that's just the nature of the bullpen sometimes and dealing with the volume and the injuries and things like that. They do have a lot of good arms.

And there's a lot of good arms you're training. like you said, Scott McGuff is another name. We also have Corbyn Martin, who was kind of an unknown. You know, they talked about he was on the trajectory to make the team last year before his horrific, you know, tendon injury. And, you know, that's something that we don't know how he's going to factor and how good he's going to be. We talked about Louise Fria still having that option so he could end up in AAA, obviously, and the Diamondbacks would have an opportunity to maybe develop him a little more and make room

for somebody else that wins that spot. But the answer, the question he was answering was, was it was, was it a decision to not add to the bullpen? And he confirmed it was. And they doesn't sound like, you know, that's in their plans with the guys that they currently have on their roster. Yeah. I mean, we had, you know, we had wondered if the diamondbacks do go get a right handed bat.

And, you know, maybe that makes it. So Jake McCarthy's role on the team isn't, isn't as clear. He probably would become minor league depth at that. point at least based on the roster they have that that would be my expectation um you know does that be does he become a trade candidate for relief pitcher maybe uh i guess we can't rule that out entirely but it does sound from what might said there that the diamondbacks made a pretty conscious decision like bullpen isn't an area we really need to address uh and and to be fair bullpens are also probably the easiest thing to address at the trade deadline you know if you if you run up to the trade

deadline and your bullpen is okay but it's not great that's something that can fix at the trade deadline you know and you're going to you're going to pay a premium that's kind of how it always is that time of year but you're still going to be able to get you know what what you probably need at that point so maybe that's the diamondbacks plan kind of in the you know what they're not saying is that the team is prepared to do that or kind of maybe expects to do that come the trade deadline if the team is in that position but uh yeah it i i've said this before i i think I think it's something that that is pretty important. Like I don't view this Diamondbacks bullpen as being, you know,

top notch necessarily. I think it's right around the middle of the league. I definitely hear what Mike is saying about wanting to add or wanting to leave room, I should say, for some of those younger guys to come in. Right. But this Diamondbacks team is, I mean, they're trying to contend. They're trying to do the thing. They don't have quite as much, you know, patience,

quite as much margin for, you know, younger players to come up and struggle a little bit. So it's a balancing act for sure. Hopefully Kevin Ginkle stays healthy and this elbow thing doesn't turn into anything big because he, as we talked about yesterday, that would be a pretty big blow to so good for sure. Yeah, it really would. And it's not to say they couldn't have guys fill in in the meantime,

but it would be a big loss right away. And yeah, there's other unknowns, right? We know that Tommy Henry or Ryan Nelson could end up in the bullpen possibly. I don't know if they're going to go that route. I mean, Bryce Jarvis, there's a lot of other arms that factor in here. I do understand, though, that with limited resources on improving this team, there were bigger areas to address, like the fact that they literally didn't have enough starting pitchers to play in the playoffs last year, right? So, you know, you wanted to make sure you address that. You wanted to address that in a big way.

They got the guy that they were, have been pursuing for a while, you know, that Tori has had that connection with Erod. And, again, it's a guy that wanted to come. here, right? Like, it's not through a trade. It's a guy that chose to come to Arizona and be a part of this team. It's an exciting, you know, future, but I understand, like, addressing third base and starting pitching in other areas before they needed to address a bullpen that they did technically address at the trade deadline last year. Like, if you would have picked up a Paul Seawald in the offseason, then you look like you absolutely, you know, to short up your bullpen and your biggest flaw. But they were able to do that at the trade deadline last year.

There were a lot of jokes being thrown around, though, Jesse, about, you know, this is the one year where we came into, into Diamondback Spring Training Camp and don't get to pester Tori with the question of who's going to be your closer. Yeah, yeah, that is. You got to do that a lot in the past. Yeah. Yeah, Tori, Tori's already like when he stepped up to the mic yesterday, he's like, Paul Seawald's the closer. Like, you don't even have to ask it. It's already decided. No, we're not even doing this again.

Yeah, for sure. That's a new thing. That's not exactly a situation that Diamondbacks have been in a lot, especially. I mean, there have been some years where they did have a closer end during the season, but it didn't necessarily last very long. And then it was kind of an ongoing saga throughout the season. So, you know, hopefully for the team that that doesn't happen this year. I think you wrote an article about their ongoing struggles with their entire bullpen situation,

but mostly closers and such, right? And historically, their bullpen has always been bad. this this might be one of the best Diamondbacks bullpens we've ever seen in team history you know and that's I love hyperbole but that might not I mean that's probably not hyperbole but it says more about the quality of bullpens they've had in hey hey I don't care about that part you said anything after the butt it was just the fact you said that's not hyperbole and you agreed with me but of course we thank you guys for being here those of you that are diehards by the way we thank you a whole

lot for being a diehard. If you're not a diehard, you should join us because, of course, we're doing all of our PHNX events this year. And a great way to get a discount on those events is by becoming a PHNX diehard. You get all of Jesse's content. You get the free shirt from the PHNX Locker.com, which, by the way, I had the pleasure of showing Tori for the first time today, the, uh, we're fucking dangerous shirt. And let's just say he likes it a lot. And he's getting one very soon. But you can get that shirt or whatever shirt you want. from the PHNX Locker.com as part of your diehard membership. Of course,

PHNX is taking over the Arizona versus ASU basketball game. Come with us to Desert Financial Arena on February 28th at 7 p.m. Food, drinks, tickets, and a fun game between our two college teams. Let's get down on it. Forks up. Of course, get your tickets today. Click the link in the show notes or visit go phnx.com for more info. Also, speaking of fun events, you got to go check out Phoenix Raceway.

I have to go check out Phoenix Raceway. Jesse, I've never been to a NASCAR race, and that is going to change on March 8th. We got our tickets to the Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway. It's March 8 through the 10th. Gotta go. Gotta get out there. It looks like a blast.

And of course, don't worry, there is a Circle K right there for you to fill up on. But Phoenix Raceway, it's the best in class in fan experience. And it meets racing's toughest drivers for three days of actions, all surrounded by our beautiful state, the beautiful Australia mountains out there. So whether you're diehard racing fan or simply looking for a fantastic, fantastic day out,

this event promises fun for everyone from live entertainment, fan hospitality areas, an immersive infield experience. So get your tickets to the Shriners. Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway, March 8th through 10th promises again, a good weekend of a whole weekend

of good vibes for the whole family. Get your tickets now at phoenixraceway.com. Jesse, before we get out of here, of course, A big thank you all to all of you guys for being here this first week of spring training. It's been a lot of fun. Neither one of us are very sunburned. So that's definitely a good sign that we did our job well.

But we did. I did. I did. I did. You had a water bottle too. I'm so proud of you. I know. I'm really taking care of myself.

It occurred to me, though, that like there's like a seasonality element to like UV rays and how intense it is. And like this time of year, the sun isn't as brutal as it is in the summer. If I'm if I'm not mistaken, I'm no scientist, but I believe that's the case. So maybe I don't need to wear sunscreen this time of here, Derek. That's a bad idea. I'm so white though that it doesn't, it doesn't really matter.

I mean, it could be it could be like rainy and 44 degrees and I could still get sunburn. So I probably just have to err on the side of, on the side of caution. You have to take care of yourself. You have to take care of yourself. It's why Rob Manfred probably didn't come out here. It's because of how sunny it is. He doesn't want anything to do with that. He needs the humidity of Florida, but he decided to stay over there in the Grapefruit League this year.

And he did announce that this will, in fact, be his last term as commissioner of baseball, which is really shouldn't be a surprise to anybody, but it seems to be, Jesse. There seems to be some surprise from folks that a man is going to step down from being commissioner of baseball at 70 years old. But is that not the best thing for not only himself, but for baseball that he steps down at that age. Let me, let me ask you this. I saw this in a story yesterday.

Somehow I'd never known this. What do you think Rob Manfred makes on an annual basis? Yeah, if you haven't seen it, like what's your, like what's your rough, what's your rough guess? My rough guess would be a quarter of a million dollars a year.

He, you are off by a factor of a hundred on the dot. According to a story that I saw yesterday, I think this was at Yahoo Sports. They said, it said reportedly, I don't know who initially reported this, but it said that Rob Manfred reportedly makes $25 million per year, which I had no idea. Okay. All right.

I take it all back, Rob. What the hell are you doing? Don't ever quit this job. Work it until the day you die. What the hell? $25 million a year. Are you shitting me, Jesse? That's a lot of money.

That is a lot of money. I thought it was going to be a more thankless job than that. There's a lot of thanks in $25 million. Like, you're thanking me quite a bit by paying me $25 billion a year. I also think, though, that, oh, wow, Groundhog Mama says Goodell. Roger Goodell makes like $40 million. My goodness. Oh, my God.

Yeah, I guess it's telling, though, that someone who could, you know, feasibly stay at a job like that for quite a bit longer. And we saw Bud Sela go until his early 80s, I believe. This would put Rob finishing at age 70. You know, there's a lot of stress that comes with being the commissioner of baseball for sure. And, you know, I think Rob has done some things really well. You know, there may be some other things. The Houston Astro situation comes to mind that are always going to be knocks

against the legacy that he leaves behind. But yeah, like he seems pretty content. walking away from that. I think he put it as, you know, one can only have so much fun in this field for so long or whatnot. And if I were him, I'd maybe try to stick it out for a while.

My God. Jesse, I just realized I am a mayor. So I have some government experience. And then I do this baseball podcast. And I report on baseball. So I have the baseball side of things covered. Could I be baseball commissioner?

How can I get? Where do I start my training? How do I start out of the path of me getting to be baseball commissioner? Because $25 million a year, Jesse, is just a little more than I make here at PHNX. But I don't have to send the time codes. I don't have to send as many time codes as commissioner. I'm pretty sure that that's handled by someone else. I don't know.

I don't know. That seems like a good gig that I wouldn't leave. I mean, I take it all back. I do think, though, that, like, of course, you know, we talked about, this on the audio podcast we did when this kind of, when we first kind of discussed some of Manfred's comments and that this might be the end of the road for him. But I think he leaves a pretty, pretty solid legacy behind. Like you said, there's some blemishes. But baseball was kind of in a bad place when he took over. And I feel like the focus has shifted. And baseball has

kind of regained its reputation a bit. You know, like there was a time where it was just like a bunch of steroid injected men with bats bashing baseballs millions of miles outside of stadiums and such and that was the perception from some people about baseball was just a a drug-filled sport that had no laws and you know ended up somehow in you know in hearings at congress and things like that but i mean in the last 20 25 years uh or you know at least during rob manfred's tenure i feel like the focus has been more on again making baseball a better game a safer game you know worrying a little bit more about everybody involved including the players and the fans and not everything has been perfect but i do think that you know stepping down he should be proud of the things that he's done and you know where baseball is at when he leaves it and he still has five more years right so there's still plenty of time he's got another he's got another cba negotiation coming up after 2020 so he's got plenty of time to screw this up another 10 years. And yeah, there's still a long way to go between that and the whole A's moving to Vegas

situation and, you know, trying to figure out where expansion stands over the next five years. I know he'd like to make progress on that. So, yeah, he's still got his work cut out for him for sure. Yeah, I mean, Brett's right, though. We're not going to forget about MLB trying to get out of players paying, paying players in AZ, not just a livable wage, less than minimum. wage. Let's not forget less the minimum wage, but that's a whole other thing. We could do a whole other podcast about that. In fact, we might. So Jesse and I are going to

stick around after we wrap up right now. We're going to continue to chat. Make sure not to miss that. That's going to be our audio podcast that drops on Saturday. Of course, we have the most valuable party tomorrow out there at Chase Field. So we will hopefully see some of you guys out there for those festivities as well. Of course, in the meantime, you can make sure to follow us. on Twitter. I'm at cap underscore caveman with a K. Jesse is at Jesse and Friedman. Our show is at P H&X underscore D-Backs. But of course

all roads do lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. I'm not going to forget Damon. Damon Dogg is here. He's in the dark right now. We don't have his video on, but you can follow Damon Dog. He is the people's producers at Damon Dogg. That's D-A-W-G at the end. We are

Ryan's dogs. Bark, bark. Bark. How dare you? How fucking dare you? Sorry. David. He said it again today. We saw him again today. High five just and said, my dogs. And he says it just like that. I love it. I know. I'm so, I'm so sorry. Anything else we got, Jesse, before we get out of here? Oh, the Discord thing. If you're not a diehard, you missed out on us being behind the scenes today, by the way. So we did post some silly videos and discourse today. We had some silly videos of what it's like to deal with working with Jesse and such. So make sure to check that out if you are a diehard. But of course, we'll be continuing to bring you all sorts of diehard content like that all year long. So make sure to not miss out on the full PHNXDbacks experience by becoming a diehard today. And of course, get that free shirt. Of course, in the meantime, we thank you guys again for your time.

We hope to see you this weekend. If not, we will be back on Monday. I think we're going 2 p.m. until baseball games start. And then maybe some post game action around 5 p.m. So make sure to keep it locked here for all of your Diamondbacks coverage. We thank you for stopping. We appreciate your time. Great seeing all of you guys out there at the yard today.

And of course, we look forward to seeing many more of you next week. Until then, make sure to have a great weekend. And remember, kids, baseball is fun. But it is so much more fun when you don't need a closing, a closer, another closer.