PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Inside the fan experience of the reigning PCL champion Reno Aces

Episode Date: October 28, 2022

Adam Nichols, communications manager of the Reno Aces, stops by to talk about what makes baseball in the Biggest Little City so special and the Aces’ path to the Pacific Coast League title. Plus, it’s World Series day!BUY D-BACKS TICKETS HERE: https://gametime.hnyj8s.net/c/3442941/1410622/10874 SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsports DraftKings: Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now (https://bit.ly/3Jl1dMX), use promo code PHNX and make your first deposit of FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in FREE BETS INSTANTLY! For every leg you add you can boost your winnings up to ONE HUNDRED percent!If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisiscounseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visitOPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).21+ (18+ WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NJ/NY/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Min. $5 deposit required. Eligibility restrictions apply. See http://draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.OGeez!: Enter the “Flavoring Life” sweepstakes. One winner will receive 3 bags of OGeez, an OGeez! Hat, a PHNX shirt of your choice, and a PHNX annual membership. Sign up at gophnx.com or visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfIplqDYsxYeiotn5Zc6hRahaX0a5qG99eHVzkhOlGZDRdgUA/viewform. Must be 21 years or older to purchase.Four Peaks: We are teaming up with Four Peaks to host all US and Mexico World Cup matches at their 8th Street Pub. Enjoy beer specials, giveaways, guest appearances, and more while watching on their 22’ jumbo screen. Click here to register for free: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/phnx-2022-world-cup-watch-parties-1329339Enter to win the “Toast of the Month” sweepstakes to win a $50 Four Peaks gift card, a PHNX shirt of your choice, and a PHNX annual membership. Go to goPHNX.Com or visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfOabxo8KQxOWwn9wTilMBuTMAJdrL0CaH9lzfuJqgKN9vfSg/viewform Must be 21 or older. Enjoy responsibly. Bad Birdie: use code “PHNXSPORTS” to take 15% off your next Bad Birdie order! https://glnk.io/7qnq/phnx-sportsMor Furniture: Sit in the same seats we do! Check out https://morfurniture.comUnderdog Fantasy: Sign up for Underdog Fantasy today! Go to the link https://play.underdogfantasy.com/p-phnx and use promo code “PHNX” to receive a deposit match up to $100Liquid Death: Get free shipping on all water and merch at https://LiquidDeath.com/PHNX FOCO: FOCO has you covered with the best Arizona Merchandise. Head on over to foco.com. For all non pre-sale items use the promo code “PHNX” for 10% offWhen you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello and welcome into another edition of the PHNX Debaks podcast right here on PHNX. I am your mayor. I hope you guys didn't forget me. I'm Derek Montia. Of course, this guy, I can't thank enough for holding it down while I was gone. The vice mayor, Jesse Friedman. Jesse, how you doing, sir? We missed you, Derek.

I miss you guys. I miss this place. I missed everything. And we're very, very thrilled to be joined by our special guest today, Aces Communications Manager, Adam, thank you so much for joining us, man. Thank you for guys having me here. I appreciate a lot.

No, no problem. When we appreciate the Aces, we've become big Aces fans. We've had no choice but too, but we've, you are our source right now for all of our good players to come up to this team, so we're thankful to have you here. Of course, this show is brought to you by the fine folks at the Drafting Sportsbook app. America's top-rated sportsbook app. It is World Series Day, folks.

We are here. We finally arrived. The layoff felt like too long, Jesse. It felt like too long of a layoff. I don't know. Is this normal? Is this normal? Do they normally get this much time going into the World Series?

I think it's not horribly uncommon if the championship series both only go four and five games. Yeah. So, yeah, it sort of set up an odd situation here. But the day has come, Derek. It will be World Series baseball played tonight. So I know a lot of people are excited about that. The route is on, as I predict. The Astros are going to steamroll the Phillies, but of course, that's not who people are rooting for, and we know that.

We know who's rooting for Houston and who's not rooting for Houston. And let's take a look at who America is rooting for because it's mostly just, yep, all Phillies. Shocker. All everywhere. The farther you get away from Houston, the rhetoric gets. But any surprises here, gentlemen, on Phillies dominating the nation's heart? I feel like, I mean, with the Astros, it's not just the trash can thing at this point, right? It's the fact that they were in the World Series last year.

They've been a very, very good team for a very long time. It's a combination of factors. They're in that zone that we talked about where you're so good that unless you're a fan of the team, you don't care for the team, right? Like once you achieve a certain level of greatness in any sport, you are either hated or you're a fan of the team. But there's no like, I don't really like them, but I'm kind of really. rooting for them to win another championship. Yeah.

Do you have a rooting interest or do you have an inclination one way or the other of who might come away with the series, Adam? Well, I think the great thing about Houston being in it is that there's an actual villain. And that's a great thing that happens. There's a heel. And I love it. Anytime that you have a great series is that you have that defined heel and hero. Absolutely.

And it's rare to see Philadelphia as the hero. So it's nice to see that they've got that. but they've got a lot of players that you can identify with. And there's, between Schwabber and Harper and Castiano's and Nola, you have a lot of players that show that passion that people want to see. And know what the moment is. And you've seen in the postseason that they're,

they've basically risen to that moment and had their career sort of highlighted through this. So I want to see what Philadelphia can do and see whether or not that pitching can hold up that. that that's been streaking since the second half. Yeah, yeah. You know, here's the thing with me is, is like, Philadelphia is then like two seasons away from being in Houston's exact spot. If they won two World Series in a row, they would be the team that everybody in the nation would be against, right?

Especially with their payroll and their lineup, they have guys that it's easy to be fans of, but it's also easy to forget that they have the fourth highest payroll in baseball. And in a lot of ways, that's typically what's villainized in the sport is who spent more and, you know, things like that, right? So it's kind of an interesting dynamic, but I think Houston really still

not only has the cheating label on them, but it's like you said, the success they've had makes it that much easier to root against them. Yeah, yeah, I mean, the Astros do have some pretty likable players, I think, too. Sure. Like, there are some pretty great stories on that baseball team.

Like Jeremy Pena, what he's done this year, it's the Astro's shortstop, basically coming in and having very big shoes to fill from Carlos Correa and what he's meant to that organization over the last few years, and Jeremy Pena has been extraordinarily good in the postseason for the Astros. So also the Astros haven't lost a game yet in the playoffs, which I feel like we don't mention enough.

Yeah, and Derek over here thinks they're going to just go through the entire postseason without losing a game. I'm wearing an Alex Brighman shirt right now, folks. It's got Alex Brighman writing Little Tigers and Houston Rockets. This is just to troll you and make you understand how much I mean that the Astros are. going to steamroll the Phillies. I don't want to see that. I would love to see a competitive series, but I also like being right, so I'm torn there. Also, if you're rooting for Philly, you might just be rooting for an economic disaster for the United States. I'm just saying, I'm just saying, because according to this tweet, over the past 100 years, the surest sign of an oncoming financial

crisis that's been a Philadelphia-based baseball team winning the World Series, 1929, the Philadelphia Athletics. 1980? The Philadelphia Phillies. 2008? Oh my God. I worked for a home mortgage company during that time.

I saw it firsthand. Phillies won the World Series. And now here we are on the precipice of the Phillies. Maybe winning in 2020. So should they do that? Should you be rooting for that? You might just be rooting

for a recession. That's all I'm saying. It might be rooting for some sort of terrible thing to happen to this country economically. But of course, we got some game one predictions. We got Aaron Nola on the mound for the Phillies.

We have Justin Verlander on the mound for the Astros. What are your guys' thoughts here? I like Verlander a lot. I think that he's done some good things. I think Verlinder probably rises to this moment. He was not good in his first start in the playoffs, but his most recent start against the Yankees,

he was very, very good. So, yeah, I think it'll be close. It'll be a competitive game, but I do think the Astros will probably take game one. Let's not forget Aaron Nola lost the crown of King Brother to Austinola in the last series. Even though they won in advance, he still lost the crown of King Nola Brother.

But Adam, what do you think the keys are here for Philadelphia? I think the big key is can Nola go six? That's the big key. Verlander is going to be able to go in and know that this is one of the last shots of him having October greatness. And so you know he's going to bring his A game. And having Nola match that is going to be the key for them. Putting together with enough runs also as can with Swarber, Cassiano's Harper. Can they sneak a three-run homer somewhere?

And that really, I think, is the key. Because you know that Houston's going to try to have that as a close game and be able to just sort of ride on Verlander. And hopefully he goes 7-8. And you see that 14K performance that everyone's expecting. I know. And for some way that Philadelphia can cheat a Homer here or there on a fastball, that's where I think Philly can bite them early.

I think Philly has a bit of an issue when it comes to the bullpour. There. So you're right. Like Astros definitely have the advantage. I think bullpen wise. So Philly is going to need their starters to get some length in this. If the Phillies are going to win this game, they're going to get to Justin Verlender. I think that's that's the key for them. They're probably not going to win the bullpen battle. I will say as much as I will acknowledge that I just said Justin Verlinder will rise to the occasion tonight. Justin Verlander in his career in the World Series has made seven starts. He is 0.6. 25.68 ERA. Justin Verlinder has not risen to the occasion in the past in the World Series.

But for some reason, maybe I'm crazy, but I think he will tonight. No, I would get it because it's like what you both said. It's one of his last hurrahs, right? And if he has performed like that in the World Series, you don't want to go out like that. You want to go out with a ring and you want to go out with one of your final performances, hopefully being one of your most dominant in the playoffs. Hopefully, you know, for him, he has, what, two left in them, you know, for this? And they can take it.

But we'll see what happens with that. exciting. It's like Christmas. It's World Series Day. So get ready. Make some popcorn for Santa Claus or whatever you do. Cracker Jacks. Cracker Jacks. One of my thing. It's Cracker Jacks for Santa Claus. We do have some Arizona Diamondbacks news, believe it or not. Arizona Diamondbacks claim right-handed pitcher Tyler Zuber

off waivers from the Royals on Wednesday. Adding, is a bullpen arm potentially? Yeah, bullpen arm. Yeah, he's pitched a couple of years in the royals or with the Royals in their bullpen. The numbers weren't great as you'd maybe expect for a waiver claim mid-5 ERA from 2020 to 2021. I think it's about 50 innings that he pitched over for Kansas City.

Recovering from an injury right now, but I think he'll be ready to go next year as a bullpen candidate for the Diamondbacks. And this is something where we were sort of expecting Mike Hazen said that, you know, in his final year press conference, he talked about how the waiver wire is something the debacks will look to be active in in trying to find some more options in their bullpen. and they have gotten some pretty good pitchers that way. I know you're definitely not going to get everyone to pan out, you know, using the waiver wire. But, you know, Kyle Nelson was a really good pickup for the Diamondbacks in that way last off season.

So maybe Tyler Zuber can be that same guy. And I believe that the Diamondbacks believe in their coaching. I think that they believe strongly enough. I think they've seen it. I think they've seen the impact that it's had on players, even guys that have been a bit of a castaway from another team. and I think they look for certain qualities. It's almost like when a young pitcher in spring training or even in the Arizona Fall League kind of have a rough outing, but there's still a lot of positive takeaways,

even though they gave up three runs or whatever, right? Yeah. They're encouraged by a lot of the stuff they've seen. So there's, I'm sure there is, what is happening here? What are we getting by the Reno Aces account? We agree, Reno. All right. What is happening here?

I don't like this. I don't like this, but we'll get around to you guys later. Of course, we have more Diamondbacks dude. Christian Walker named Fielding Bible Award winner at first base by Baseball Info Solutions. And he was also named a Silver Slugger finalist along with Catell Marte. So what do you? A bit of a surprise, right? I wasn't expecting that.

It's almost like baseball still trying to say like, we were right about Catele-Marte. Remember earlier when we said he'd be the best second baseman in all of baseball? we're trying to make something happen here. But yeah, no surprises there about Christian Walker. I don't think for winning a fielding award, any kind of gold glove or, you know, he's been excellent for this team. We've talked at length about his defensive run saved and his defensive metrics and how good he's been over there at first base. But it's good to see him also nominated for the Silver Slug Award as a finalist. Not sure if he'll win it based on his competition there.

He won't. I'll just say it. There's Freddie Freeman and Paul Goldschman in the National League. It's a bit of an obstacle for him. Well, actually, Jesse. I'm glad to see that didn't go away. Yeah, I kind of have to be that guy in that circumstance. Ketel Marte, I think, was nominated more just because of the fact that there aren't offensively in the National League.

Second base is just fairly light. And so Kutel Marte was able to be one of the five guys nominated there. I think Jeff McNeil probably has the best chance to win the award of the Mets. Jeff McNeil, not many people maybe realize this, but Jeff McNeil won the batting title, I believe. He had 326 for the New York Mets this year, so a pretty crazy offensive season from him. So, yeah, unfortunately, I don't think you're going to see Catell or Christian Walker come away with these awards, but it's always still great to, you know, get those nominations. And Christian Walker, with regard to his fielding, he is four days away from winning the Gold Glove Award.

I'm just going to go on record and say that. Wow, he just did it. Or as we've said in the past, if it doesn't happen, we riot. That's a hot thing. One of those two things will happen. Adam, I want to say did Christian Walker, he spent some time in Reno. He had a couple years in Reno actually, working his way up. Yeah.

And the funny thing is that they also tried him in different positions as well. Yeah, yeah. So it wasn't just a first baseman in Reno. He was learning outfield and third base as well. So, yeah. Do you have any memories of your impressions of him from that time? Like, did you think that, like, he was going to be a guy that made it? Yeah, was he, like, a gold glove first baseman?

Like, did people see that coming? I think that really they saw footwork, but they, the true soft hands were there. But he didn't really have a home yet. So just having the stability at first base of learning the position because everyone thinks that you can just put first baseman, just anybody at first base. Correct. Yeah. Just he's a big guy. We'll just throw him over.

there. It is a position that you need to be agile enough. And the other thing is that it's a completely opposite from all the other positions because the footworks opposite. So you're going towards the baseball when you're trying to get a, uh, a ball thrown at you and everything else like that. So you, you have to almost have to think of it opposite compared to playing on the left side of the field. Um, the bat was always there. Uh, it was just whether or not the, the glove could match the bat and it seems like, like you said, trust the process of the coaching staffs with, with the diamond back. and they've got some great people behind the scenes that are that are putting in the work to get these guys prepared.

Yeah. So it's nice to see that that hard work that Christians put in is now putting in the results. Yeah, yeah. Because he's been excellent. And like we said, we've even seen other guys over there at first base. And it's funny how quickly you take for granted, how good he is defensively over there just with the small things, just with his ability to stretch out and get that, you know, give that extra little little distance and his consistency over there. right but so if he's if he's mastered first base is i mean we we try him somewhere else now no we don't no we don't no we absolutely go play center field yeah no i don't like that

there's plenty of outfielders that's true but i'm saying if we can catch maybe that's the way i don't know cooper hummel might not like that but uh i will say that he you know again we tend to think of guys that are in a place like reno that are switching positions as somebody that's not necessarily a lost cause but it sends like it can tend to send a alarm arms off, right? But it's something that's common when you guys are trying to figure out where their best fit in. And especially in the case of the Diamondbacks, like you said with the outfield, where can they play? Like if the outfield is so stacked, where else where you might be able to be a viable defensive player that will get you playing time. Also until this year, when

the DH was added to the National League, versatility was a key for a National League club. And I think that organizationally, the organization values a player that can be more than just a spot. And the more hats that you can wear, more gloves that you can have in your bag, is only an added value, I believe, with the Diamondback. So you start to see a lot of guys that can play shortstop in second base before it was usually one or the other. And even with like Cooper Hummel or even Dalton Varsho. It's like, can you play outfield and can you catch and everything else like that? So can you do everything? And he's like, sure, I have all the tools. Exactly. And And that's a very important role when it comes to having that versatility that entire bench can be four or five position option instead of just one.

Yeah. Yeah. That's a great point. Well, this, by the way, the Yotes play their inaugural home game at Mullet Arena this Friday. And we've seen your meet. That's tonight. We've seen your, it's this. Derek.

It's today. It's a little out of the loop. I'm a little out of the loop. I apologize. But today is the day. So make sure you guys join our PHNX Coyote's crew at four peaks for our tailgate watch party. It's free to enter and you can enjoy $3. Beer specials and watch on a 20-foot jumbo screen.

Registered through the link in our show notes. Also hook yourself up with some discounted beer. They're going to have $15 for a 24 pack of their fall variety. This Saturday only at Four Peaks, Wilson Street, Brewery, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The first 50 peeps there get a free October Fest t-shirt. $15. for a 24 pack. $15 for a 24 pack. That's a killer deal. And it's a variety pack. I don't know if you guys are like me, but I... You're going 24 are the same thing. I love a variety. Yeah, I love a variety. It's the best. So,

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The Reno Aces want to know is Adam going to the game. game. Is Adam going to the game? Are you going to Mullet Arena? If there's a way to get a free ticket, we'll see what we can do. I don't really have that power. That's another ad read. Well, what about your experience? Because you over at Greater Nevada Field, you guys have a fun fan experience. And I guess something that's kind of, I don't know, underestimated is we tend to think of minor league teams just as a place for the younger players to play. But for Reno, it's, it's kind of a big deal for the city, right? It's a big deal for the city. We have a tremendous fan base. Another great thing that we try to doffer is that we have 75 home dates. We try to have 75 parties.

So the baseball is the backdrop. It's just a different way of, way, fans of Reno really look at the field and the entire experience. Baseball insiders love the prospects, but we want to have this as a great of environment as possible when it comes to enjoyment, entertainment, having a great day out at the ballpark, enjoying warm weather once and finally the summer hits. Reno is a little bit chilly in April in May. If you saw that we even had a Mother's Day sort of snowstorm. Oh, gosh.

Yeah, that was my welcome to Reno moments. So, but we do. We have promotions every day. We have fireworks every Friday. We have family Sundays where we have where you have dollar hot dogs, dollar drinks, everything else like that. Dollar hot dogs. Dollar hot dogs.

That's crazy. That's crazy. That's crazy. Sean to pies. Yeah. Do I let Sean know about that? For sure. Exactly.

So we try to have every single sort of themes from Star Wars Night. We now also have teamed up with Marvel and Defender the Diamonds. Yeah. So we've got that entire promotion. We're going to also, we're rebranding our COPA team as well, our logo and entire nickname and everything else like that. I love all that stuff. Yeah, I love all of that stuff. And we really want to have it as an enjoyable experience as possible when it comes to just come out to the ballpark, enjoy a great day, have great memories, and enjoy some great food, watch some quality baseball because the dimebacks have been fortunate enough to send Reno a lot of top prospects.

No kidding. So there is great baseball behind it, but we want the experience of coming and entertaining beyond that as well. What's your favorite promotion from this past year? Something stick out to you? The one that stuck out the most to me was it had to be really Star Wars is a huge night. Yeah. It's always interesting. The Reno resident is actually some of the original cast members were there, the extras and everything else like that way.

But just also having some of the. the actual just super fans dressing up. Just the way the crossover of that is of having the passion of a sci-fi father as well, having that and baseball, just seeing people dressed up and costumes, having the pictures taken, the custom uniforms that we had, I think were great.

They're Reno Aces with Artudito streaming across sort of like Tequila Sunrise style. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So having that type of just experience there, I think just was really an amazing time. Well, and now you guys, like you said, you have the Marvel promotion now where you guys have Mr. Baseball. We have Mr. Baseball.

Mr. Baseball comes out every seventh inning already. He's a giant inflatable baseball man that sings the seventh inning stretch. Take me out to the ball game. And luckily, we have a very talented designer in-house and a combination between that and feedback and Marvel and everything else like that. we're happy to unveil that new hat that's going to be pre-sale I believe a week before Black Friday. So that's you can you can go to the website right now and register and we'll send you an email when that's finally on sale. And then new uniforms actually will be coming out, I believe, early next year. So they'll have a custom uniform that will wear twice next year at least.

That's awesome. That's awesome. Ben in the comments says Reno is greater than Vegas. Can you confirm, Adam? Is that true? Tell us about the biggest little city I've never been. Yeah. How would you describe it to someone who's never been there?

You're in the high desert. I think that there's a, it's a great town where we actually city. There's a lot, a lot to do. If you love the outdoors, if you love baseball, if you love golf, the downtown scene is growing. And there's some great food that's popping up left and right. So, and honestly, one of the other interesting things is like there's the National Car Museum, I believe, that's right down the street from the Truckee River from the ballpark. So it's got this collection of all classic cars and all that type of stuff. There's always something to do. September's got the balloon festival. So you have the hot air balloons that are all throughout the entire. It's really cool to look at. Like, sadly, we had a lot of smoke when that happened this week, this year. But I've seen pictures of previous years and you've just got an entire just lit up sky. I have just hot air balloons everywhere. It's really cool.

I've heard it's like, it's like Vegas kind of used to be a little bit too when it comes to like its casino scene and things like that. Like it's not as gigantic resorts and things, but it's still got the vibe of Vegas. Oh, yeah. You still have the casino scene. You can get your sports book or your blackjack play as much as you want. That's never far away. That's important. But honestly, for me, 20 minutes away is like Tahoe.

I'll take Lake Tahoe or Lake Mead. Yeah. So we'll take the win there. All right. So speaking of Reno and the outdoors and everything, is like the elevation. Is that something that like people there know that they're going to get like monster home runs and they're kind of an under. Is it like Colorado in the aspect that they just know it's a highly offensive ballpark due to it? I think that they expect home runs and a higher scoring game, especially early on.

I noticed the spring and early summer before really summer set in. There is a jet stream out to right field. I've heard about this. So there's a serious jet stream out to right field. So left-handed pull power hitters, they're getting some extra feet on their on the multiple Diamondbacks players in the clubhouse told me about the jet stream going to right field. And the other great thing about it with the games as well is that no lead is safe. So even if you're down by five or up by five,

nothing ever feels safe. It's just a more fun brand of baseball. Yeah. I mean, that's like, like we like lead changes. We like a lot of back and forth. That tends to be what you would consider to be a good baseball game, right? But like, yeah, there's, I think with baseball, we've come to accept that there's going to be a lot of low scoring, three to one game. and things like that.

And so sometimes... If Brandon Fott is on the mound. If Brandon Fott is on the man. It's possible. Yeah. Definitely. And he tamed not only Reno. He also tamed Amarillo.

And I guess from what I'm saying, Amarillo is the worst ballpark in minor baseball in all when it comes to pitching, to home runs, anything else like that. So he's definitely a dynamic pitcher that if he can tame Amarillo in Reno, having having him in the NL West, hopefully sooner than later will be something that will be,

We can't wait. Imagine pitching in like Oracle Park after after being so used to Amarillo and the PCL. Like, oh my gosh, this outfield is huge. I didn't know the ball could fall like that. I didn't know if it could fall out of the sky suddenly. Speaking of dynamic players, I guess that's something that we were kind of wondering about when it comes to the dynamic of the best players on the team basically leaving once they're start to achieve that point. So like is that something that you got. view as constantly a good thing, like a promotion going up?

It's got to be a good thing, but it's like also kind of sad, right? When Corvin Carroll gets called up, like celebrate, but also Corvin Carroll isn't in Reno. Is leaving, yeah. Yeah, ultimately we're a pit stop on their journey. So we provide the platform for them to develop. And we want every single Reno Ace to succeed in Arizona. And some get the chance, some don't. But ultimately, that's where we try to provide this best of a spot for them to continue to hone their craft so that ultimately they're in chase field or they're playing in the NL West.

And it is sometimes it's bittersweet because like Stone Garrett, we lost 25 home runs and 95 RBI. But he put in the time and he got his shot in the big leagues. And ultimately, that's what we want all these players to get. Right, right. It's got to feel like that's part of your achievement as well. I know it's their achievement, but like if they can be a successful player based on their time in Reno, I feel like that every time they make it up and they start doing well, that it's got to be kind of a bit of a like go get them kid moment for you guys.

Absolutely. And AAA is a unique spot because there are a lot of veteran players that have a major league experience. So you're starting to see some guys that are sort of those tweeners that are sort of, They're back in major league roster guys, but they're quality AAA players. And they're fine in their spot too. But it also gives a chance for these prospects to get that taste against major league players that have that experience, whether it's a thought, learning to pitch against a guy that's been in the big leagues before, getting those A-Bs against him.

And these players, these hitters know how to work counts. I think that's one of the things that the top flight pitching prospects that the dimebacks have had, especially about last year here with Reno is that they got day in, day out battles against guys that know how to work counts and take every at bat seriously. And the same thing when it comes to any position player is that they're getting quality pitching back.

And so they need to take every at bat seriously as well. Ben and the chat asks, do Reno fans follow en route for the Diamondbacks in the same way we do? Or are they more just Reno fans? I know that the debacks is growing arena. Yeah. The infiltration of the giants over the last, let's say, decade with three World Series titles,

makes it a little bit more difficult. Geographically, we're kind of closer to a winner than a dive-in-back. Exactly. But I know that we have a core diehard fans that love the players that are aces and then see them succeed at the dime-back level. And the more that they succeed at the major league level, I know that that's continuing to grow a fan base. And one great thing about going to a game greater Nevada field is that you have access to these players. Pregame and everything else like that, it does not cost an arm and a leg to get down to field level. So you can have that five-year-old, six-year-old, have a chance to see Tommy Henry or Stone Garrett and get that autograph and everything else pregame and have that connection.

where at the major league level, that's a little bit more difficult. That's an expensive seat down there. Yeah, yeah. Not only that, but like we've seen when they do autograph signings. And like unless you have a field pass, you don't get access to some of the guys. And in some cases, maybe only, you know, two or three of the guys come over to the stands and sign autographs from fans that are there and such. So like it's kind of like what we say about fall league and spring training too. It's just a chance to not only see the future of this team, but get a chance to meet them for a second and get a chance to get an autograph or a picture with them before.

before they become that superstar that Corbyn Carroll is going to become. We know that. Exactly. Of course, if you guys haven't had a chance to get a membership yet, I don't know what you're waiting for. Get yourself a membership over at go-PHNX.com. You can get an annual membership

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That kind of thing. Make sure to sign up for a membership, and that way you don't miss out on any of that stuff. If you're here right now on the PHNX Sports YouTube channel, we thank you guys for being here. Big shout out to Adam for joining us. We appreciate you, sir. If you haven't already,

subscribe to the PHNXports YouTube channel, sign up for notifications that way you don't miss whenever we go live. And also, if you're listening to us on your favorite audio podcasting app, please subscribe to us there and leave us a review. We love you for it. Of course, we want to give a shout out to our friends at Moore Furniture for everything that they've done around this office. This place is beautiful. My face is still up on a picture that says no office chairs at every location. I still don't find that to be fair. But you can buy an office chair or whatever you need over at the More Furniture Falls. Your picture is on what? Yeah, they have a picture of me up and it says, don't sell this man off his furniture. Oh, right. I'd say no more office chairs for this guy is what it said at one. I tried to wear a mustache and glasses like, you know, like, what's his name? Why, my Mets manager, I can't, it's slip in my mind now.

It was a funny joke and now I ruined it. But anyway, you'll receive a $100 gift card for every $1,000 you spend over at more furniture. So make sure to check them out and spruce up your home this fall for all of the sports that are coming. Not only now, but, but, you know, of course, you know, the Super Bowl. bowls right around the corner. So you want to make you sure you're ready for that. Back to Reno, our favorite place. The Tops prospects who played for Reno Aces this year include a variety of the Diamondbacks starters now and guys that are... It feels like about half of the Diamondbacks roster there are a lot of call-ups this year. And also six of the D-Backs organizational all-stars were Reno Aces.

Juan Cedeno Sitteno, Leandro Cedano, Domenico, Dominic Kenzon, Stone Garrett, Dominic Fletcher, and Brandon Fod. So just what are, I guess, what's your assessment of the Diamondbacks system? Do you feel like they really are producing some of the best talent now that, that, you know, of most baseball teams as far as young guys go? I think that where a lot of the organizational rankings are, D-backs being high is spot on. Yeah. Yeah. The big thing that the D-backs, I think, have in spades is they have arms that throw hard. and they have athletes.

And that's two big things that the way that they're viewing everything is that trust the coaching. They've got the coaches to start sorting out where they all need to go. And there's some really talented players that are coming through the system. And they're right on the edge where the Diamondbacks got to see a peak of it at the end of the season already. And there's more coming. Like you said, Brandon Fod's on his way. You've got some other arms that were in Amarillo that more than likely will probably be in Ream. you know, to start out the year and work her way up.

And I just see a lot of big time arms, big guys when it comes to, especially the pitching. Pitching's all got size. Yeah. They all throw hard. They've got serious secondary stuff. And the case of like with Ryan Nelson, Tommy Henry and Fod and Dre, they all throw multiple pitches. It's not just one. It's just not them just leaning on their fastball.

Right. Yeah. Right. We've seen that. We've seen the variety, especially from Jay Jameson. He's put together a pretty wonderful game plan at times against teams where he, you know, kind of switches up what his dominant pitches through some of his outings and things like that. So it's been incredible to see how quickly he's adapted at the major league level.

Yeah. And honestly, the big thing that noticed the difference is just him being able to, whether it was elevation or anything at the PCL level, his secondary breaking balls really took off at the major league level compared to They were a little bit flatter sometimes when it came to at Reno. And that's sometimes just elevation or just the balls itself. Right. And so his strides and just seeing what he was able to do the last couple of starts was really impressive.

Same thing with Ryan Nelson before he got shut down at the end with his shoulder. I expect him to keep throwing 95, 97 as long as everything's healthy and have that power slider that he was working on really hard to have that repeat motion when it came to him working on having. it being a little bit more just hidden with his windup. And that was one of the one thing with Ryan is that he was really, he was a short step in Oregon. Like he's only like three, four years of learning how to really pitch. Yeah. And then, and then you get to the big league level and you shove for two straight back to back

shutouts. Right. Yeah. So it's two of the best teams in baseball. Yeah. Exactly. So he's still learning. You've got a lot of, you got guys like that.

And then you go from there to the outfield, the outfield depth that's here is just unbelievable. It really is. Like to have Dominic Fletcher is like your fourth or fifth option. Yeah. It's like how do they how do the debacks find playing time for the guy? There's so many there's so many guys in that spot for them and yet Dominic Fletcher is that a really good year in Reno and probably deserves that opportunity. He he's a plus defender. He was a

three-old hitter that hit 300 in the PCL and he's sort of like the also ran prospect. Yeah. That's how much of riches that the debacks have. And so still coming up. So I'm still excited to see Leandro Sedanio is huge. He's a massive individual. We talk about it. The 527 foot home run. Yeah. The funny gag with him when it came to the clubhouse is that he was the Latin

shack. He's this great basketball and everything else like that as well. So he's a multi-sport athlete. He can hit. He can do everything. I'm excited to see what he can do at the Reno starting out the year. But I also think that that's an adage powerful stick that that was found from St. Louis and everything else like that in their organization. Let me ask you this. Do you view it as a hindrance or as an aid to these pitchers to be pitching in ballparks like Amarillo and Reno? Because we always talk about that, right? It's hard to gauge how good or bad they are at times based on their numbers because their numbers don't always back up them being.

I mean, I think Dre Jameson had an ERA over seven, I want to say. He was like a five and 12. Is it almost like boot camp in a way where you like want it to be tougher before they get to the major leagues in a way so that then maybe, you know. How tough is Reno if a guy who had an ERA of 7 there comes up and like dominates the podraiser of the doctors like on the road, right? It doesn't seem like it's the worst thing, but it makes it hard to like gauge that we have talented pitchers in the minor leagues when you look at their numbers. If you just look at the surface stats, then that's where you can't look at them at the PCL level. Like, honestly, it could be one inning. It could be one pitch.

It turns into four runs. Yeah. And that blows up an ERA. It's the secondary stats. The deeper analytics is really what a lot of the baseball developments looking at. Whether it's spin rate or release point or just the ERA or and everything else like that. They're looking to see what the performance is. But it also is a mindset of the organization itself.

think that the diamond backs want that challenge, especially with its pitching. You're going to pitch in Colorado. You're going. Yes, a lot. A lot. You're still pitching an elevation here in Phoenix. Yeah. Yeah, that's good point.

So they want to be, if they can do it and show that you can throw a strike and you can be able to handle those adverse situations at AA, and you can respond and continue to compete and battle through and say, I can do. this regardless, I think that they want that mindset in the player. It seems like that's really what it is. And we've heard a lot of the Diamondbacks coaches and whatnot talk about that too. It's like their gauge is less so, you know, the ERA or the whip or some of the numbers for their pitchers.

It's more like, did you throw strike one to the next hitter, you know, after giving up that cheap grand slam or, you know, whatever it was. So there's a mental aspect of this, I think is really, really big too. I want to get into the fact that the Reno Aces were 85 and 63. like they had a really good season. They won the Pacific Coast League championship. They almost won the AAA championship. That was a rough, rough game.

They had a 6-5 lead going to the ninth inning. Unfortunately, the bullpen couldn't hold things down there. But a fun season all the way around for the aces. I know there was a lot of different players that played a role in that and, you know, players coming in and going out and whatnot. But it must have been a lot of fun for you guys to have a team that had that kind of success. Winning's always fun. Yeah.

Okay. You can never, you know what that's like. Diamondbacks fans have a craving that has not been satisfied in a few years. And the great thing is that there's a core here that is very similar to those mid-2000s Royals teams, that they had prospects that won at the A ball level. They won at the AAA level. They kept them together.

So there's a group of guys that are coming into this Diamondbacks clubhouse that know how to win and expect to win. And that is much of a mental hurdle that you need to break to make it happen. So there's- Tories talked about that a lot. Tori's a big, he's a big proponent that he feels like they don't come in with the same attitude like that a team like the Dodgers come into a game with knowing that they're going to win. He says far too often, he feels like the vibe is that they think they're going to win or they hope they're going to win versus that confidence of knowing you can win baseball games and knowing you're going to win today kind of deal. Oh, absolutely.

You can develop it while learning how to lose and you can learn how to win. And one of the big things that this coaching staff at Reno was is that development through winning. Ultimately development is the number one priority. But that secondary level of just learning how to win, squeaking out a win, doing the little things you need to do to be able to just get through to get that W, to get that one extra run above everybody else. that's a skill in itself and to have a clubhouse to believe that if I can do that one little thing to make that win happen,

it's a win for everybody in the clubhouse. So I think that that's a mindset that is definitely throughout the minor league level with the diamondbacks and the coaching staff instills that. And it's important. When you get to the major league level, that margin's like that thin. Yeah, it really is. And coming into that clubhouse that every day of saying, you know what, I'm going to go in and I'm going to win. is a mentality that that separates when you can finally get to that point and you know that you're coming in already. We've talked about that with like the bullpen, right?

The Diamondbacks led the league in losses in the bullpen. And it's not that we think all of those losses are going to magically go away with a better bullpen. But when you look at their season, 10 wins out of those 41 losses changes the complexion of this season from being a season where they finish below 5.5. to finishing a few games above 500, you take a few more wins than that, and you're usurping the Phillies who right now are in the, you know, World Series for the final playoff spot. So, like, that's, that just shows how close, how razor thin it is.

And honestly, how close the Diamondbacks really are, even though, you know, we're still feel like we're very far away from that point of being back to the playoffs, being back to where the Reno Aces seem to be. Now, Jesse and I need to know this, because we need to know who to attack, who to be against. So who is the Aces' biggest rival? It's Vegas and Sacramento. Are the Vegas still the aviators, right?

They're the A's AVIATers, right? They're the A's affiliate, and then Sacramento is the River Cats, and they're the Giants affiliate. So they're the two closest ones. All right, we could get on board with the Giants affiliate, hating a Giants affiliate. The Reno Acese say Tacoma. They say Tacoma. There's also, that's an on-field one as well.

Okay. There's always been sort of just a chippiness to it that between the two clubs up there. I think they're just attacking Jesse because Jesse used to live in Tacoma, right? That's true. Yeah, so I feel like this is just yet another personal attack on Jesse who, Jesse, by the way, Reno Aces has beef with you. Jesse has beef. We were out here. We were having a good time.

Everybody was picking on Jesse. The Amarillo sod pools. The raw hide started it. The sod poodles got it on it. It started because on our show, you were talking about how VHS players could record TV shows. And I had no idea. Full disclosure. You can go back and watch the video.

I have no idea that was possible. I don't remember these conversations. I really don't because, again, you just like I'm Matt Damon in that gif of me aging right now as we speak. Would you take saying you don't know VCR is record live television? But yeah, no, I get it. I understand. And the Reno Aces, they hit you up with a who's Jesse, which they did just now. in the comments.

I know this isn't your fault, Adam, but I have a serious beef with whoever your social media manager is. I know it has nothing to do with you whatsoever, but I don't know what it is. It's pretty good. Everyone else is having a great time. He's actually texting right now under the desk, and he's not even looking at it and he's hitting this stuff.

No. Is it Vince? Is it Vince that we have to blame? Yeah. I feel like all the blame should go to Vince. From what Max tells us, we were told, we were supposed to heat massive amounts of blame on Vince.

Well, he's the hell. at the entire department. So you always can go after that. But there's a group of us that we have no problem pushing buttons when we need to. Everyone else is just having so much fun. It was just lighthearted, the raw hide, the hobbs, the sod poodles. And Max is here. Max has some bad things to say about Vince, I'm sure, right?

I mean, let's get it out. What's up, Max? Oh, absolutely. Friend of Vince. If you want to call it that. No, no, no. Fortunately or unfortunately, Vince is one of my best buddies. But yeah, that guy's a giant piece of shit.

Yeah, I know. That's, wow. That's, you know. That's what friends do. That's love. No, no, but I do know who to blame for that. That is Mr. A.J. Graham. That's all his doing.

And that man is grim on Twitter because he's spicy, man. He'll give it to you. Yeah. He's gotten third-party validation of World Cloud. troll. Yes, I love it. Well, we are happy to have the aces in our lives, for better or for

worse, for shit talking or not. But he probably stole my keys. Yes. He probably did. The aces are just that social media guy to blame for everything, right? That was just shame. That was just shame.

But, of course, we thank you guys for being here. Shout out to our friends over at OGs, by the way. If you haven't had a chance to check out, their wonderful edibles. They are Arizona's top-selling gummy. And of course, they are putting you to bed with their new sleep edition gummy. You won't want to sleep on these. I had to say that because Max is in here and he loves that line. You won't want to sleep on these. But of course, OG's new sleep edition gummy has a two to one THC to CBN ratio, the CBN being a compound that not only helps you fall asleep,

but stay asleep. And we know that's what so many people are seeking out a good night's sleep. So make sure to flavor your dreams with the new sleep edition gummy from OGs. They have a wide variety of doses and strains for you to check out. Make sure to check them out at your local dispenser. You can check them online at OGsbrands.com or on Instagram at OGs brands. Must be 21 years or older to purchase and enjoy. Enjoy responsibly. Thank you guys again so much.

Adam, thank you so much for joining us. Man, we appreciate you. We can't wait to come out to Reno and check out the ballpark because we want to come out and see the vibe and be there for a game. And we need to check out the future of this team in person without it just being so far away. You're welcome anytime. Come out to Greater Nevada Field, and we'll definitely make sure that you see all the prospects coming your way down here.

Let's go. Let's go. And hey, some days, Derek didn't want to go to a diamond vaccine. He just wanted to go to the Aces game. No, that's very true. But I had to tell him, that's like, why are we doing this? And I'm like, yeah. That's like four hours.

It's getting the car. Let's go. I think Vegas is four hours. I don't think Reno. Hour 45 flight. There you have to, you haven't driven with me yet though. Oh, gosh. Oh, God.

Shout to Adam. Thank you so much. If we take the rap four, maybe. If we take the rent four. Wait, Derek. I got to get the oxford. Derek, you missed this. Wednesday, Jesse was talking about how his rap four would beat anybody's car on a race.

It would be six. This is what happened to a lot around? He was literally looking up zero to zero to 60 times. Oh, God, no, there's no way. No. What? I looked up to zero to 60 times of like basically everyone's cars in our office. I found that mine was the lowest.

Yeah, but you're not. That is not true. There's no way. This is the slowest. The lowest. It was not the lowest. It was not the lowest. There's no way that's possible.

We're going to have to do research on this. It was faster than your Audi Q, whatever it was. It was. It was not. Oh my God. Let's go. Let's try it. I'm just reminded about all the terrible cars we have here at the office.

But of course, we thank you guys for joining us. In the meantime, you can follow us on Twitter. I'm at cap underscore caveman with a K. Jesse is at Jesse and Friedman. Of course you have to follow the Aces at the Aces. You have a Twitter? All right. Well, you contact him through the aces, so that's what you need. Of course, all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports and at PHNX underscore Dbacks.

That's on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for the at PHNX underscore sports. I'm still rusty at this, but I promise, I'll get back on track. We thank you guys again so much for joining us on behalf of everybody in this room, Faj, Max, Adam, Jesse, and myself, we appreciate your time as always. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun. in reno.