PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Is the 2024 Diamondbacks roster the most complete in Torey Lovullo’s tenure?

Episode Date: February 21, 2024

We are joined by the one and only “Patty Plantains” Patrick Lyons to discuss Diamondbacks spring training and their offseason additions. Is this the best squad manager Torey Lovullo has ever had to start a season? We also discuss more on Ken Kendrick’s comments from Monday, his words to the team, and his thoughts on the Dodger’s spending. We also pick which game we would go to if we could only go to one D-backs game this season.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.

You all. Welcome in to another edition of the PHNX T-VACs podcast right here on T-HNX. My name is Derek Montia, occasionally known as your mayor of PHNX. I am joined by two of my favorite people. Of course, we'll get to this maniac in a second over there on that side. It's my vice mayor, your thunderstick, the one and only Jesse Friedman. And of course, it's our comptroller, himself, the one and only Patty Plantain.

Patrick Lyons, come over here. It feels so good to be a part of the P.A.10X Diamondback sandwich. Yeah. It's delicious. It comes like hero bread. Are we still doing that? No, no. I haven't gotten the emails anymore.

Oh, don't do that. Don't do that. Max will come in here and scream at us right now. But I will say that it is very great to have Patrick here. I thought we didn't we like change the locks? when Patrick left. It took him a little while to get back in the building. Yeah.

How does it feel to be the second person Derek has kissed sitting in that exact spot? I just am glad I've gotten a smooch. I'm good with that. Jesse Jr. doesn't count, really. But of course, that's all the thing. Of course, we do have a lot to discuss. We were out there at spring training again. It's beautiful.

I love it being out there. We did have some more information in regards to, you know, the situation we spoke about yesterday, which were as Ken Kendrick's comments in regards to the stadium and the Diamondbacks not staying there. There were some people very unhappy with us about that clip that we put out there, as if we forced Ken to say the words that came out of his mouth. But those words did in fact come out of his mouth. And I don't really think that they were like misinterpreted, but at the same time, we all kind of understand. And I think that's the point Jesse and I were trying to drive home yesterday, which is we don't really think the Diamondbacks are going anywhere. And in the grand

scheme of things. I don't think that his comments yesterday meant anything other than like, the best way I could put this, and I hope my life's not watching right now, but like when you're in a relationship and you're like, you know, there's other girls out there, there are really no other girls out there. You're just saying that because you want some of the power back in the relationship, right? Yeah, I think, yeah, that's a pretty decent analogy. Look, there's a negotiation strategy that that goes into it. And at some point, it has to get unveiled. Yeah, was it a bummer that it's on the day that he had the first full squad practice? Sure, but it was bound to happen.

And for them, they might be really pleased when it did happen. Yeah. Yeah. But Derek Hall was on Arizona Sports Today, and he said, I could see why it would become a headline. And it did. And then he went on to explain further that they have no intentions at all of even starting discussions with anybody that would involve the Diamondbacks moving anywhere else. It's just again, like we spoke about yesterday, the reality of the situation, right?

The Diamondbacks do have a lease when it's up. If they haven't, if they don't feel like the deal is satisfied and that that is a facility that they want to continue to, you know, partner with Maricopa County and extend a new lease on, then they all have to look elsewhere, right? This is a situation, by the way, where I feel like we've, Ken got dinged up a lot on this, as Tori would say probably here. And there are a lot of people I don't think that really understood the situation that think that it's Ken Kendrick asking for, you know, public money or taxes or whatever. Like it's just a matter of Maricopa County owns Chase Field, right? They are the owner. The Diamondbacks are the tenant. And at the end of the day, Maricopa County does have a responsibility here to uphold that building and to go in and fix things like electrical problems and, you know, problems with the structure itself.

and I think that they should have a shared interest here with the debacks to make that a better facility, right? Do they not hold concerts there that they themselves get the revenue from the concerts for like Pink and Elton John and Billy Joel and all this stuff? Like, it's not like the Diamondbacks are the only ones that have an interest in this building being a better building, right? So, like, I will just say that this is absolutely something that Maricopa County does have a responsibility to, you know, kind of offer up. The Diamondbacks have done a lot of improvements themselves out of pocket so far. The sound system, the lights. Derek is very excited about the lights. And when I say that, that's not me talking in third person. That's Derek Hall. We spoke today. I think you also are pretty excited about the lights. I'm fucking jazzed about the lights. But Derek Hall specifically,

like, I brought up the sound system to him today. And he was like, wait until you see the lights. Like, he said it in a way that I was like, oh, let me have it, right? So yeah, I mean, and they're holding up. I feel like they're into the bargain here by, I make. those improvements and paying for them themselves, right? Yeah, yeah. Well, I think the big question here is, you know, are the diamondbacks being reasonable and trying to secure some public funding in order to assist with these renovations? And, you know, that's a bit of a loaded question depending on, you know, your perspective

on how, you know, these situations should work out. But the precedent is, is that, yes, it is a reasonable ask in that, you know, just a few months ago, the Milwaukee Brewers came to an agreement on extensive stadium renovation. where they're receiving $500 million in public funding. And that's a newer ballpark then. And that's a slightly newer ballpark. 2001 is when American Family Field originally opened. There's also, you know, there have been a number, a few of these deals that happened

recently. The Baltimore Orioles also, just a few months ago, $600 million in public funding that apparently is being released through this deal to them. So, yeah, and from what we've heard, the Diamondbacks are looking at a $400 to $500 million dollar project. You know, Ken said yesterday that they are interested. They are willing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars themselves. So, you know, it looks like just kind of doing the rough math there. The debacks are probably looking for, you know, somewhere between like, I don't know, 100 million and 200 million, something like that in public funding, which is a lot of money. I don't

want to make it sound like 100 million dollars is nothing. But, you know, compared to some of these deals that have been signed recently, put into place recently, that is actually lower than most of them. So, you know, if you're just looking from the perspective of what have these deals look like in recent history, it is actually a reasonable thing for the Diamondbacks to ask. And it so far it just seems like the county, the municipalities, you know, that be in place here in Arizona have not been, you know, willing to come to the table with that kind of money. And they're not asking for a brand new stadium either. That's the other thing too. And you go, well, they're still asking for money. Yeah. But they're not asking for a new ballpark.

And Chase Field kind of isn't the same as a lot of those other ballparks. You know, there's a lot more reverence from a for a place like Camden Yards. Even Progressive Field a little bit is one of those places that, you know, it's not the one of the top 10, but it's still a really great stadium that people in Cleveland love. Chase Field doesn't have that same general ambiance. So they're just saying, look, let's kind of meet in the middle and let's just see if we can make some improvements. It really benefits everybody.

And you cover a team that the ownership gets a lot of reasonable hate at times, right? A lot of reasonable criticism. And like this kind of turned everybody on Kendrick, it felt like, right? It felt like this, you know, this comment, which again, as much as he wanted to say wasn't a threat, did very much come off as a threat. And it seems like it is a threat is, you know, one of those things that has kind of thrust him into that position of once again being an unliked owner. Is that fair? And especially considering what this team has spent during the off season and done, is that, is that like, is that? Is that what happens when you make a comment like this publicly?

I think so. It's like, is it a threat or is it just making it a little bit more obvious? Like there are options out there, you know? Like I know for a fact that there was one owner when trying to negotiate a certain stadium situation in the last 25, 30 years, made a phone call to the commissioner at the time. And the phone call was exactly this. hey what do you want I just want to talk to you about Montreal oh okay

what do you want to know nothing just want to say that we talked about Montreal and so when they went into negotiations with the city to talk about you know the current situation again this is all private though they were able to say just so you know

I did talk to the commissioner about Montreal well let's figure some things out and that situation ended up working out fine. Now again, that's private whereas this whole situation is public. But that's just business right there. That's what it is. It's business. Yeah. And I, and I have to believe that, you know, if the Diamondbacks came out publicly with this information, you know, with whatever you want to call this, this is what appears to be a negotiation tactic saying the Diamondbacks have other options.

It's probably a pretty good indicator that they've already told, they've already told the county officials this privately. Oh yeah. They've already tried that. They've already said privately, like we have other options that we could go to if you guys don't come to the table with the money that we're asking for. And that apparently didn't work. I mean, that's sort of what I'm led to believe. And so Ken Kendrick went public yesterday. And he said publicly, which is obviously a much bigger step to take. You know, he took an enormous hit for it.

And, you know, understandably so. Diamondbacks fans coming off the World Series. The last thing they want to hear is their owner talking about the team moving to another place, right? Yeah. Understand all of that. But yeah, I mean, again, it looks like a negotiation tactic. And, you know, there's certainly a lot of history with teams using negotiation tactics like this. You know, when you're not able to get the stadium funding that you want, you say, well, hey, I bet I can find someone in another state who will give me the funding I want.

And it works. It's why it's so hard to negotiate for buying a car right now, Jesse, because when you go to the car dealership and you try to be like, I'm going to go somewhere else and buy it, they're like, I mean, good luck finding it. Second of all, if you do, it's going to be the same price. So have yourself a good day, sir. Is this a transition for an ad read? No, no. It could be, but it's not. You guys doing Carfox now?

No, don't know free ad reads. Max is going to get. All right, sorry. It's going to be so mad at you. But we do have good D-Bax news, and it's not all, of course, about the Diamondbacks relocating. There was some good things from Derek Hall, including that the Diamondbacks have added 2,500 new season ticket holder accounts, which dates. back. He said even during the playoffs, they were getting people calling in and adding in. They're

projecting for well over two million fans this season at Chase Field. And the Diamondbacks have not reached that many since 2019. I think with the way that things are laid out for this team, they have a chance to kind of blow some of their past attendance numbers away because a lot of people are very excited to come out. That $299 deal with the season ticket pass. That's awesome. It is incredible, right and I mean the big thing is about getting people out to fill up that ballpark right it's again not to keep not to keep dumping on the Rockies but it's what the frustration is with some of the fan base and Rockies is that like they feel like they want to voice their displeasure with the ownership but but course field is so so dang nice it's just true help themselves

from going there right the Diamondbacks have the adverse problem of that for sure no court yeah Coorsfield is just recession proof and so if you're a good businessman then business is going to be good and the owner of the Rockies is a very good businessman in that way he's not a terribly good baseball man right and the diamondbacks have to have good baseball men baseball people in order to have what they were able to have in 2023 and going forward because if they don't have that the fans are just not going to show up not the case of Colorado yeah uh AJW yes go check that out they do have that 299 season pass it's a crazy it's a crazy deal uh but getting back to Kendrick of course um he did say that his message to the team was a little different this year and it's understandable.

Like even though Tori doesn't want to talk about expectations and wants to talk more about a standard, there are expectations, right? And the expectation now is that this team isn't just going to, you know, hopefully make the playoffs or as we talked about last year, play meaningful games in September. The expectation is now that this is going to be a playoff contender. One last note on attendance. I just look. I just sorry. I just sorry. I just looked up and saw that the Rockies were at 2.6 million last year in attendance, which is the number of the Diamondbacks would be absolutely elated. But to be fair, it was their worst season ever.

They had never lost 103 games. So to be fair, Jesse, hold on now. Hold on now. You're right. You're right. This was an exceptional season for the Rockies. We shouldn't be lumping it in with the other. Arizona's never had a season with 2.6 mil, right?

Well, probably back in the late 90s. Diamondbacks have, what do you think in the Diamondbacks inaugural season, 1998, throw me a number. What do you, what do you think their attendance was for, for 199? 1.5. I would say around three, maybe three mil. 3.6 million. Whoa. Three point six million in the first year of Bank One ballpark.

This past year, 2023 wasn't a terrible season for attendance for the Diamondbacks. They were at 1.96 million. They were at roughly half of what they did in 1998. That's how full that building was when it first opened. But yes, the Diamondbacks haven't been up at $2 million since 2019. So getting back up there, you know, Derek Hall talked about being well beyond $2 million as well. So I think there's an opportunity here to maybe do as well as the debacks have done in attendance. Maybe going back to, I mean, they haven't really been well over $2 million since 2008.

That was the last time they were at 2.3 or above. They were at $2.5 million back in 2008. So it'll be interesting to see where that number ultimately lands. They're in a good sweet spot, I think, in a lot of ways because they've got so many guys on like option deals or going to be free agents after the 2024 season. So if things aren't great and they just need to kind of tinker with some things, restructure, not rebuild, but just kind of they've got a good core there.

But if they need to move some pieces around because they don't have the success they did last year or just in the regular season, then they can kind of scale back a little bit. the core is still going to be there, add some pieces. And if things are great, and if attendance really does ramp up, they'll still be able to add maybe even some bigger, better pieces during a free agent crop that's going to be really good after the season.

I feel like there was too much negativity in what you had to say there. I don't know. I didn't like it. I didn't like it. It didn't. It's in a worst case scenario. Things are actually going to be pretty good. That's what I'm saying.

That's better. That's what I'm saying. Back to Ken Kendrick's comments about those expectations. Sure. Kendrick had this to say. He said, my thought about it is last year. I think we were hopeful playing October baseball this year. This year, I think we expect to play October baseball.

And if we don't, we'll be disappointed. And I think a lot of fans would feel the same way about that. Yeah, absolutely. And yeah, I don't know if this is a message that Tori himself would necessarily deliver. You know, you talked about the difference between standard and expectations and whatnot. That's something Tori has really been preaching. Don't say the E word anymore. Yeah, yeah, apparently.

Tori doesn't say the E word, but everyone else does. It's kind of the sense that I've gotten so far. But yeah, you know, that was certainly a question I had for, for Ken and Derek going in to yesterday was, you know, what are the expectations? What do you think are fair expectations for this team in 2024? Because, you know, the Diamondbacks lost the World Series, but I don't know if it's fair to put the expectations at winning the whole dang thing, right? I mean, that's a pretty. You have to or else that's a failure. That's a high bar for any.

That's a high bar for the Dodgers. I mean, that's a high bar for any team, no matter where you are. But, yeah, you know, I think that's a fair. fair place to put those expectations. If we don't make the playoffs, we'll be disappointed. That's something that we talked about on this show a couple months ago, thinking about what the expectations are for this team in 2024. Yeah, you got to make the playoffs.

Once you get there, we saw last year, there's a lot of crazy things that can happen once you're in the postseason. But you got to get there. And that's something the Diamondbacks absolutely should achieve in 2024. You definitely don't want expectational disappointment, right? ED is not good. So you tamp down, tamp down those. expectations, right?

You had something you had one to say. Go ahead. I did. Yeah, but after that, I don't know. Get out of here. Three, three is the magic number. And I say that because three is the number of national league teams that have repeated as National League champions in the last 50 years.

Oh, yeah. And that is something that Ken Kendrick brought up. And of course, that just shows how hard that is to do, right? Like, it's just not an easy thing to do when it comes to repeating and coming back because baseball is so random. It's the reason why. Teams can't really become super teams in baseball. And even when they do, it might not work out for them.

Obviously, we hope it doesn't work out for the Dodgers. Everybody at this table hopes that, whether they want to admit it or not, they all hope it deep down inside. But Ken Kendrick was also asked about the Dodgers spending and if he's frustrated with the Dodgers spending. Now, he said, would we like to have the economics that they have? Which he loves that word, by the way, economics, of course. But we don't, and I think we're trying to use the resources that we have as wisely as we can.

And I think you all know we've made significant advances in terms of this money that we're investing in the team. And we did that because we feel we're at a place and at a time where we can be even more competitive. And I'm always willing to invest when that opportunity presented itself. And I think that's a smart way to look at it because there is no reason to make the same mistakes of the past where they have gone out there and gone after a big free agent when the time wasn't right. The free agents that they added this off season definitely, like, addressed weaknesses that the lineup and the starting rotation had. They didn't need to make any changes to the bullpen, really, because the bullpen, you know, for those last two months last year, were absolutely incredible. But we are going to talk about if this is the best roster that Tori Lavello has ever had in his tenure as Diamondbacks manager. It's just you cannot say that even with those comments that were made that Ken Kendrick and the front office didn't go.

out there, didn't improve this team, didn't also invest in Chase Field, where, again, they don't have to invest anything in that building right now, considering that they do not, they do not know the future of staying in that building. But they still invested in that building. They invested in this team. And what Elise said there, I think, is what I feel the same. And she said back-to-back seasons with playoff appearances would be a huge step for this team. And I do feel like that definitely is the case. Yeah, I was talking to another reporter today. And I'm hearing more and more of the Diamondbacks becoming kind of a template for other teams. There was a story from Vinnie Duber.

Our colleague over at CHGO did an outstanding job writing about the Diamondbacks way. And that being kind of a theme in White Sox camp, them trying to kind of embrace the Diamondback style of play on the field. And I also heard it apparently out of Cubs camp. There's talk of, you know, looking at kind of what the Diamondbacks did last season, that they didn't spend a whole lot of money. I'm sure Cubs fans would not be thrilled to see the Diamondbacks used as like a reason to not go out and spend. I don't think it Cubs fans are going to be on board with that.

But yeah, there was, I believe it was the Cubs chairman who went on the record and said, he was really happy with what the, you know, really happy for what the Diamondbacks did last year. And, you know, the reality that you don't necessarily have to spend a ton of money in order to win. So, yeah, in that sense, you know, again, that fan base, maybe not too happy with a Diamondbacks being used as an example in that way, but you know, you have a team that wins 84 games and, you know, last year they spent around $120 million and they went all the way to the World Series.

You wanted to be sustainable and that's the biggest piece, right? Yeah. You can't do that if you're just spending like crazy. Well, you've got to figure out who your core is. You can't just keep rebuilding and rebuilding. You have to understand who your core is. And there was a point where Mike Hazen understood that the core of this team was coming up from the farm system.

And once these guys started to come up, these were the guys that became the everyday starters for this team. They knew that that was the case. He knew that's what he was building towards when he was handed this franchise. They had that year where they had the insane number of draft picks. I think they had the most in Major League Baseball. Seven of the top? 70-some picks. Yeah, yeah.

Right. And so like that was when the rebuilding started. But yeah, of course, the Diamondbacks don't have the resources of the Dodgers. So the only way that they can build a successful team is through draft. drafts, you know, drafting smartly, trades, things like that where they're going to bring these guys in, especially young guys, that then they can bring up in their system and have become superstars here instead of that occurring somewhere else, right? Or paying those guys. Baseball does have that where you do have control over young players for a certain number of years before they become free agents. So even if you can't afford to pay them now because of the talent level that they're at, they still are stuck with you as a team for a number of years before they can move on.

And so a team that continues to build from within does have that advantage of having those young players be inexpensive and sometimes very, very good. The best part about the Diamondbacks is that as soon as these guys came up, they started to win. It wasn't, you know, and then for the Rockies, that will be interesting to see because it could take a while for that to take hold. And then you only have so many more years before they either reach free agency or they start getting paid a lot of money in arbitration. So in a weird way, you talk about tempering expectations. for them to go back to the postseason in, in 2024, seems very reasonable for a team that went that deep. But they've only done it one other time in franchise history. So in a weird way, that's pretty high.

And they only won 84 in the regular season. And I know that was something that Corbyn Carroll said yesterday to us was like, hey, I kind of view us as we were an 84 win team. So we got to do a lot better. Yeah. We're an 84 win team that went to the World Series. But we only won 84 games last year. We got to be much better than that. So temper the expectations.

but he's still got to feel really good right now. Marco says L.O.L. David Peralta is going to be a cubby apparently. Yeah. Not exactly. Not exactly the Diamondbacks type of play that they were looking for. Can we get some Ws in the chat for not having to watch the freight train celebration all year? Yeah. Let's go.

Yeah, you're right. You don't have to see Freddie Freeman and Muky. That's hit 350 doing a freight train every single. Yeah, no, they're going to do their little. We did it. Yeah, we did it. We won. We won.

Yeah. It might be better. It might be better. I miss seeing Damon dog frothing at the mouth. Oh, that was great. Foaming at the mouth. Let's go.

Put the leash on him. Type of thing that I care about and like me only. Yeah. Well, I mean, I'm still fired up over something like this. Damien, there's at least three people in the chat.

Yeah. They're just like so. They love it. Yeah, 100%. Also, I have to say that Jesse mentioned the white socks without completely destroying their franchise

and like lighting them on fire. So that's progress, Derek. We've gotten better. Yeah, he's gotten better. He's grown as a person. Patrick, the White Sox are like the one team that Jesse just like can't stand. It's not I can't stand then. He just, I don't, I don't regularly dump on MLB franchises on this show.

But I have dumped on the White Sox like twice. This is the first time you've ever talked about them where you haven't decided to just obliterate them. Yeah. In a long time. What did Ozzy Gehan ever do to you? Yeah. There's a lot of his story. Who was it?

I was a getting back. Joe Creedy. Who was it? We appreciate you and your W's being here, by the way, in the PHNXports YouTube chat. Of course, if you haven't subscribed to the channel yet, make sure to do so now. Sign up for notifications. That way you don't miss when any of our wonderful shows go live. Leave us a review or leave us a like.

We want those likes. Leave us a review on the audio podcasting side. We appreciate those five-star reviews. We love our listeners, of course. Make sure you're subscribed over there as well. Make sure you take care of yourself. Jesse and I have not been doing that. Patrick is here, so he's been taking care of.

me. He had a phone charger for me. He gave me a throat loss in yesterday. This is the kind of parenting I needed my life. But of course, if you need to take care of yourself on the go, make sure to stop by Circle K. It is America's third stop, and it is the place to stop. Make sure to fill yourself up fast. Fill up your car with some cheap gas as well. If you join the Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today, you can save 25 cents off per gallon on your first five fillups and save three cents off per gallon every day after that. Their gas is already cheap, so you might as well save some more. Of course, terms and conditions apply participating locations.

Visit circlegade.com for details. We get in there and make sure you get yourself something to eat and drink some water for Pete's sake. It's already getting hot out there. The chocolate peanut butter bars that they have are unreal. They're incredible. Oh, can I talk about, okay, so some of our diehards brought us in baskets specifically for our beats and they brought us all. That's wonderful people. CWP, Chris, you guys know who are. You brought us in some delightful Valentine's Day treats. Max, get the hell out of here. We're doing a show. Anyway, Max is a suspect here, too.

Nobody in this office is free of suspicion when it comes to. Where did my salted caramel bar go? I want to know where the fuck my salted caramel chocolate bar went. That someone brought me for Valentine's Day. I was going to... What a grab. It was going. It went out.

I got it out. That was an Indiana Jones moment. The door was closing. Got it. It's brown to caramel also. This window. Okay, Tom Brady. I'm just saying.

I want my chocolate bar back. That's what I'm saying. I'm just, I'm going to find out who stole it and ate it. I think it was Owen, but he says he got one. I don't believe that. I don't think anybody likes him

enough to bring him a salted caramel chocolate bar from Circle K. Caramel. Caramel. I say caramel. Are we sure that Damon didn't steal it? Maybe Damon stole it. Are you sure?

Damon stole the cookie from the cookie jar. I heard Mac and I heard Jacob or also part of of our basket? They're all, they're all suspects. Yeah. So my question is, what is, what is this basket thing even, what are we even talking about? The fact that my salted caramel chocolate bar is missing. So, but I want to know how I can be a suspect when this is the first time I've been in the office in like three weeks. Okay, that's fair.

He's got an alibi. Me's just too. I've not been in this office very much. You just have to check the molars. Check people's molars because that caramel is going to still be back there. This is why I keep that in planting. I got you, dog. Of course, make sure you guys go out there and check out Desert Financial Credit. if you want to get yourself $200 in bonuses for free. Of course, Desert Financial has been Arizona's largest, most trusted local credit union for more than 84 years,

and they're dedicated to creating an exceptional experience for you as a customer and for the communities that they're in. Make sure you go with a financial provider that is going to have your financial interests in mind. They got me started on my home ownership journey, and they can get you started as well. Look to Desert Financial for checking and savings accounts, mortgages, loans, credit cards, investment options, and so much more. When you open a free checking account online, you'll get $200 and bonuses. Get started by visiting desertfinancial.com slash 200. Well, we were out again, spring training. How has this weather been treating you, by the way?

I know how we feel about it. How does this weather been treating you? It's been perfect. I have long sleeve, button up shirt, and a zip up hoodie over it. I'm standing in the blazing sun, and I couldn't feel more perfect. And then I'll take off my sweatshirt and then it's still perfect. Like, it's been perfect. Yeah, that's great.

People keep saying in the chat that it looks like I'm glowing, which I think is their way of telling me that I got sunburned today. Got a little sun. Got a little sun. Which, you know, maybe it's just, maybe it's just tan. We might be okay. That looks like redness there. Yeah, I'm pretty white. And it tends to pretty much always turn red for me.

You know, a little, a little bit of Brandon Fott action on the cheeks, right? Little Brandon Fott from up here, but down that's here. Is he surfing from Fott Face? A little Fought Face. Speaking of Fott face, Brandon Fott looked nasty today. They were doing some live batting practice I get shared. Live BP. Live BP.

And let me tell you, BP looked great in BP because this man looked fantastic. We have a video of him striking out. His new teammate, Gino Svarez, here. This is the vibes, by the way. This is what the vibes are like out there. Immaculate. Just absolutely immaculate. Speaking of immaculate.

Is that Gino? Yeah, that's Gina. Oh, yeah, I can see the hair now. Sit on it, Pazzi. Yeah. I'm glad that guy's on my team. That guy's good on my team. My biggest observation from this moment was that Suarez walked away because that was a

called third strike on a gorgeous front door sweeper from Brandon Fought. But he had to come back because there was some kind of a draw. drill that they wanted to do where he came back and he hit right-handed he stood in right-handed he stood in left-handed uh i guess like uh maybe practicing a pitch out or something along those lines um so yeah i mean that that just makes it worse right not only do you get struck out by your teammate you go go your new teammate but you have to like go back and do like the little stand of shame in the batters box yeah um speaking of doing it uh katelle was smashing the shit out of the ball today. I have never seen

Catell as dialed in as I saw him today. That man hit more home runs in a row out of their practice field that I've seen Catell hit the ball well. I've seen him be dialed in. Like, it seemed effortless for him. He had on these incredible shoes. He had on these Jordan cleats

with L-L-P-K on it. And yeah, like, he's just he looks ready to go, man. He looks like this is going to be Just one of those seasons for Cattel. Now, of course, I'm calling this, what, six days into total? Yeah, now is the time to make your final judgments on what kind of season all these guys are going to have. I will say that Geraldo Pernomo has looked pretty good in some of these live BP and just overall, just general BP settings as well.

I've heard from, I haven't seen all of this myself, but I've heard from other people who've seen him hitting that from the right side in particular, he's been really flashing some. power, which is a really big thing for him. We talked about Pridomo being named the Diamondbacks everyday shortstop already, and his ability to hit left-handed pitching as a right-handed hitter being really important with that. And so far so good, it's, you know, it's just BP. I don't want to, again, read into too much at this point. No, let's speculate. Let's get crazy with it.

He was testing out, like, an extremely exaggerated leg kick at one point while he was hitting today. It was comical. It was cartoonish. And you knew it wasn't going to be something he was really doing, right? Yeah, I was like, I mean, I'm not a hitting coach, but that doesn't seem like something you'd want to be doing. And sure enough, yeah, I think it was just like some sort of a drill, some sort of movement he was practicing or something like that. It's not, I don't think it's going to be part of his batting stance.

But he has looked good and, you know, the limited stuff that we've seen. To pull it off to like do something in an exaggerated fashion like that and still be successful is great. It's probably why when I was in the locker with you guys yesterday, the only person that I got excited to see was Jerry P. We know I'm the Jerry P stand. That's it. You and me. You and me. I looked and I was like, is that him?

This is a Pardomo podcast is what this is, by the way. Followed by Randall Gritchick. I'm like, I spent last season with you in Colorado. I'm good. Is that Jerry P? And it was. And I felt good. My heart's gift to beat.

This may or may not be a true story, but he may or may not have told me that our show is the only show he'll watch. That's maybe what he said to me. I don't know. Is he telling the truth? Maybe not. Maybe I'm not telling the truth. Who knows?

I'm a known lie. and that's for sure. But I will say that at least the balls that Pardomo and Catelle hit stayed in the practice facility and didn't go out into the parking lot. Ellie de la Cruz, not so lucky out in good year. The same could not be said about a home run he hit, which smashed teammate Hunter Green's window in the parking lot.

Not a great. I'd miss that story. Yeah, not awesome. And Green was the pitcher too, I think. Oh, we'll see. I think he was. Yeah. Don't even tell me that.

I think he might have. You'll quote me. That's incredible. You're paying for that. I mean, why are we have, why do we have the outfield facing the player parking lot? Like in what way? Does that happen?

That is, that is a follow. We need to move good year down on our tier ranking because that doesn't make very much sense to me at all. But we did talk to Tori a bit. Jesse actually went out to Media Day in Glendale. We did. And I mean, it was the same.

Patrick was also. It was the same conversation we were going to have with him out at the other place. But speaking of the other. place. Tori did make some comments on A. Hueno Suarez and just what he's seen out of him so far as one of the newest additions to this team. Real good hands at third base, good actions at third base, barreling up the baseball and just seems to be in a really good spot

with being able to make good decisions as to where that ball's going when he's at the plate, where the ball is coming to him when he's at the play. But the second part of him is the clubhouse presence. I think he is integrating himself here after only just a few days of being in camp. And just so it's really nice clubhouse qualities that I'm enjoying watching. He really has. You really see him viking with his teammates really well.

Eduardo Rodriguez as well. Those are guys that really seem to like they're not sectioned, off from their teammates. We saw Erod holding a little session holding court over in the corner where he was teaching his teammates how to make some Moroscompoio. So like there was some good conversations going

on and I mean yeah these guys don't look like these are new members of the team. These are guys that look like they are already integrated in with their teams and or with their teammates and are viving. Like it looks like you know that things are good. The Suarez deal I think was just almost a stroke

of genius where a guy that just goes out and posts and he says ah you know is he like all-star caliber where when you think of the top 10 third baseman you might even forget to mention him but go back and look the dude has 229 home runs over his last eight seasons like he just posts like he manages to not get hurt he's he's a lock for 145 games and that's what you want that kind of stability over there and it allows you that flexibility so yeah if jerry p stays hot you know at shortstop and luller's ready to come up you got a trade chip you got an all star guy there on your bench. It just gives you so much flexibility. And so I think that one, that one's going to age the best of all the moves this offseason. And there have been a lot.

I think, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, actually talked to Mike briefly at media day just a couple hours ago about Suarez and specifically about a conversation that Mike had with Paul Seawald. Apparently around the time that the diamondbacks were, uh, completing that trade with the Mariners. Mike called up Paul Seawald and asked like, tell me about, um, tell me about, Gino Suarez. You know, what do you know about this guy? And yeah, of course, you know, heard nothing but good things.

It sounds like Mike was very much expecting to hear good things, and he did. I think Paul Seawald talked about this a little bit on foul territory as well and kind of gave his side of the conversation. But yeah, suffice it to say Seawald is a pretty big Gino Suarez fan. And by all accounts, I mean, anyone who's played with Gino Suarez really seems to appreciate him as a teammate. And, you know, it's certainly still early. but I don't really have any doubt that those kind of relationships will be formed here in Arizona as well.

The Kosai from Seawald, that's big. Well, and I mean, again, that Mariners team, the one thing from Seawald's. I miss this guy, but stop it. Stop it. No, the one thing, the one thing is that Seawald has had some great things to say about, you know, how close the Mariners were and how, you know, like especially, He was talking about how when they got behind, they just had this confidence level that, oh, yeah, we'll catch up. Like, we'll win games.

We'll get back to where we were at, and they just didn't get a chance to do it. But he felt like that was a talented team that didn't live up to their true potential. And, I mean, he talked about, you know, coming over here and this team having the success they had this year. And hopefully, you know, we talked about him being the dad of the bullpen, hopefully his experience with what happened with the Seattle Mariners. And, you know, essentially that being a reason why he's a part of this Diamondbacks team, It's a big reason why, you know, you can kind of let guys know. Like, we got to stay focused.

We got to stay locked in. But, yeah, I would definitely take his advice on, of course, any dad-related stuff, building a cabinet, going on a road trip, you know, things like that. And I would take his advice on Gino. You know, that's something, of course, that you definitely want the input of players that are currently on your team that have played with a guy like that. But I do feel like Gino does make this lineup complete. And you add in Jock Peterson.

you add in Randall Gritchick, you add in all the other components that they added to the starting lineup. You also have a bullpen that felt like it was fairly complete, didn't need many additions, and they didn't really add to it, a starting rotation that got a big name starting pitcher that's going to, or maybe not a big name, but a quality starting pitcher that's going to fit right in there. Big addition. Big addition. Yeah. And this truly does feel like in Tori's time as manager, the most complete team. Now, I, I'm a. I mean, maybe at times we had more aspirations about other lineups that he had, especially earlier on in 2017, 2018, things like that. But this really does feel like Tori's most complete lineup from start to, from top to bottom,

the starting rotation feels complete, the bullpen feels complete. This is what Tori had to say about this being the most complete team that he's ever managed as a Diamondbacks manager. I think so. We've talked about a few times. You guys are smart. You guys are working the roster backwards like we are. I think at times we've had maybe five or six spots

that we're open, maybe more. But we know what we have in returning is some of our starting pitchers. We know where that opening is. We know what the bullpen looks like. We know what the position players look like. So not only do we have competition for those spots, but we have depth beyond that.

So there's going to be a winner and there's going to be some losers. Those losers are going to be depth. And that gets very healthy for us as well because we know we're going to need probably 35, approximately 35, 40 players that are going to help us go to where we need to get to this year. Well, Jesse, I know you wanted to analyze it, and I know you didn't have very much time to do so,

but is this the most sacked lineup in the history of Tori Lavalobian manager? Well, the first question you posted. to me is, is this the most well-rounded team in Diamondbacks history? Yeah, that was my first. I mean, probably not, but there's a lot of reasons to be done there. Best bullpen possibly ever, because I know

we talked about that, that remains to be seen, right? Yeah, I would lean toward probably not the best bullpen, although the bar there is not particularly high, to be frank. I think in terms of comparing position player core this season to like what the Diamondbacks

had back in 2017, you know, when they won 93 games, I think. Yes. For some reason, 93, it feels right. Yeah, but I think, like, in the middle of the lineup in 2017, the Diamondbacks had Paul Goldschmidt. They had J.D. Martinez for the second half of the season. A.J. Pollock was a pretty darn good hitter.

David Peralta had a good year. So I think, like, maybe the middle of the lineup, there's a little bit more, a little bit more thump, potentially. But in terms of depth, I do think, in terms of well-roundedness, I do think that this Diamondbacks team, they just, like the players who would come in if certain guys on this team got hurt, you feel better about with this team

than I think you have in the entire tenure that Tori Lavello has had. The top level talent again, I mean, you know, that year you had Zach Granky having a phenomenal season. You had Robbie Ray having a phenomenal season. You know, those two guys with Zach Gallin and Merrill Kelly, I guess there's a debate to be had there. That team also had Zach Godley,

who we forget how. Very good. Forget how good Zach Godley wasn't in 2017. Patrick. Patrick Corbyn, you know, it wasn't his best season. Also, he had a 409 ERA. Taiwan Walker had a mid-3 ERA. The starting rotation that year was excellent all the way one through five.

But yeah, I mean, comparable, comparable for sure. And especially on the position player side, I like the depth that this team has. But going back to what the question was, has something to do with hype, like going into the season. That's where the 2017 team failed. Like they had only won, what, 69 games in 2016. So going into the year, it was, all right, hey, maybe this team can kind of bridge the gap. There are the expectations of going to the postseason weren't quite there. It was more like the 2018 team.

You go, oh, we just made the playoffs and 17. 2018 team had the expectations. Exactly. Like 18 was that team. And it was, again, it was really good. But it was a group of guys that that was their window. That was it. Because right after 2018, what happened?

happens, Paul Goldschmidt gets traded, right? Corbyn's on his way out. So it's like there was a very small window. So I think this team is on par, if not maybe a touch better than the squad that Tori went into the year with at the start of 2018. Difference, of course, being, you know, when we're sitting here this time next year, if things don't go right this season, they're not going to blow it up like they did after 2018. So at least that's the positive thing is that, you know, even if they're around 500 this season. We'll come back and in the start of 2025, still talk about,

hey, is the 2025 team still maybe one of the best that have ever been assembled in Tori's time? Yeah, that's a good point. I mean, you know, beyond two years from now, I think there are some questions there was Zach Gallen and Merrill Kelly. You know, you're not sure what happens after 2025 with those guys. But yeah, if the Diamondbacks, you know, struggle in some way in 2024,

they still are in pretty good position to, you know, kind of run it back in 2025 and give it another go. So, yeah, you don't have, you're not in the same situation then where guys were really, you know, coming close to the end of their contract and where you'd be in a position to trade them. Yeah, I'm not going to go down that road because people get angry when I talk about anything along those lines whatsoever, but Patrick started it. He's right. He's right.

He do. Jesse just hit on something. That needs to be the new shirt. Run it back. Run it back. They steal bases. They went to the World Series. Run it back.

It's pretty good. Size large. I'll give you my address all fair. That's what he does. Send me a free one. Text Eric. What are we doing here? This is not.

Stop giving it away for free on the show. I will say this. Also, you know, obviously we have other additions in regards to this. But Tori talked about Jack Peterson today. And I mean, there's, I do think that the depth, like you said, Jesse, is really the key here. And just how many weapons Tori's going to have in certain scenarios, situationally, how he's going to be able to change his lineup. He likes.

to do that anyway and now he has more tools to do that with than he has more weapons to do that than he has in the past but he did speak about jock peterson today yeah yeah this this is a reporter i think from from the bay area i was kind of you know trying to get the diamond bex really sense of what jock peterson is bringing to the table and yeah tory was asked you know what i think tory had said something about how intelligent jock had seemed and so he was asked as a follow-up you know what exactly makes you think that and he told a pretty a pretty interesting story here in the middle of an offseason when we were recruiting him he said 14 of the 18 right-handed starters in the NL West was that as close to that number I can't remember what it was or 12

14 projected starters in the NL West I match up really well with they fit right into my wheelhouse and I'm like where are we what month is it and what teams are he talking about So he's clearly thinking about things on a totally different level. And he's right. When we did some research, we found out that he matched up really well with some projected stars in the analyst. We didn't break it down by that in that way. Actually, we did. I have no idea they are.

So I don't know. He's going to do some damage. There's no doubt about it. He's a proven left hand of battle. And he's going to walk up there, very prepared and very ready to go do some damage. And that's what he's built on. Wow. That's interesting.

What's interesting is that they're sitting in the wrong scenes. That's what's interesting. It's also interesting that Mike Hazen. Like, why are they doing that? Why are they both up there at the same time? Like, let's have these guys. Eventually, they kind of broke off. And people, some reporters were talking with Tori.

Some were talking with Mike. But at the very beginning, they're just both sitting there. And people would address questions to one or the other. And so one person would be talking and the other person would just be sitting there board as you saw Mike Hazen there. But yes, they were. Tori Lavello. was speaking with a sign that said Mike Hazen above his head.

And Mike Hazen was sitting there with a sign that's a Tori Lavello above his head. So that was fun. I'm all in on Jock. I think Jock's going to be a great player for this team. But I mean, I also think like that intelligence makes me feel like he knows the right things to say. Right. And he's very, so far everything he said has piqued my interest. It's like, first you had my curiosity.

Now you have my interest, right? Like now Jock Peterson has gotten to the point where like I do feel like he is indeed a player that's going to work very hard for this team. But that was kind of the question marks around him last season with the Giants. And I can understand, you know, especially reporters that have covered him over there kind of asking, like, what is a team that's young and fast and does a lot of things like run the base as well and defend well? Like, what do they need a Jock Peterson for?

And I think that there is a lot of things he brings to this team, including a tremendous amount of experience in the playoffs that nobody really else has. And you also have that. Like him knowing that he matches up with that many starting, well, with that many starting pitchers in the National League West is truly something that is an asset

for a player to be thinking in those terms, right? Not every player thinks in those terms. Seven consecutive postseason appearances, mostly with the Dodgers, right? But Atlanta won back-to-back world series. Like the dude has that winning. pedigree. Even, you know, hey, obviously it didn't work out with San Francisco and, you know, the Cubs were kind of in the mix when he was with them. But he's one of those guys that you add.

And there's, there's not too many of them around. I feel like they existed more in the 90s and 2000s of like, just add this one player and it's going to just improve everybody around them. And I do get that sense that, you know, Jack Peterson is is one of those guys. Michael McDermott in the chat said, D-Backs lost a lot of their core after 2018. and hadn't even built a roster as good until last year. I mean, that is true, but I still think you could argue that this year's team might be better than that one. And I mean, they did have a good core back then, but this is, I think, a far more promising core as far as their potential. And I think a lot of that does start with Cattel Marte.

I think when asked, when Mike Hazen was asked about like the one trade he looks back on and is just kind of pats himself on the back a little. little bit about it's it's the catele marty trade because they didn't even like marty far exceeded their expectations for what he could be as far as a consistent offensive contributor to this team base hit like every game of the world series it was a lock that's the guy he's amazing impressive of course uh you guys can get a lock by listening to a damon over at p hnx bets uh and then get down on the bet mgm sports book app of course if you do download that app and use our code of p h and x you can get yourself $150 in bonus bets for absolutely nothing other than placing one wager at a standard odds price of at least $5.

But you will get those $150 in bonus bets. You can go crazy with those. You've got all sorts of MLB future bets you can get down on and so much more. So sign up for bet MGM. Use that bonus code of PHNX, the best letters in the alphabet. And place your first bet MGM sportsbook wager through the sportsbook mobile application for at least $5. You will receive $150 instantly and additional winnings regardless of your wagers.

Come check out the show notes for full details. And now listen to Damon, talk about the disclaimer. We're doing Ontario? We're doing this? And you stonewalled me. Sure. See at the bottom, it said Puerto Rico. Whatever you want, idiot.

But that doesn't mean that's what me and Jesse are going to do. We're a team and I wanted to remind you of that. I was ready to pivot, but I whiffed. Well, I'll tell you, we'll all go on a guy's trip to Hela River Resorts and Casinos. What do you say about that? A little staycation action. Three best friends, anyone can ever have. Well, I know you're saying over it.

Me, Damon and Patrick will have a great time. You son of a bitch. Did it to me again. I know you're staying on Jesse's couch. And I'll tell you a much better place to stay would be Heel River resorts and casinos. No one does it better, even better than Jesse. He doesn't have nearly the entertainment options.

I am a really good host. No, he doesn't have. He doesn't have over 800 slot machines in his living room or 15 blackjack tables. He doesn't have a pool? No pool. Access to a table. Access to a community.

Access. Yeah, no. I don't have to jump a fence, Jesse. No frosted beverages. A bedemg and sports book? The largest sports book in Arizona, I believe. Does Healer River have an entire dishwasher full of dishes? No.

That just need to be clean, but no one does it? What? No. Come on. Do they run out of paper towels? They absolutely do not. Wow. They have an unguarded supply.

You're going to sleep on the patio tonight, Patrick, all right? Do they, if you buy items and put it in the mini fridge, just somebody come in and just drink all your chocolate milk? They drank your chocolate milk. I have the place that I'm currently. I'll completely own up to drinking all of the chocolate milk. And I will not apologize. No, Heller will treat you much better than this.

They will absolutely never treat you like this. They will actually show you what next level is all about. So let them. Let them show you what next level is all about. Go to Heela River. Check out of the place you're at, and you do you at the Hela River Resort and Casinos. Visit play atheela.com for more details. You can get your reservation right now.

Speaking of getting your reservations right now, Big tip, thank you. Diamondback single game tickets are going on sale very soon here. And I do have to ask you, boys, the question, if you could attend just one Diamondbacks game this season. Buy yourself one single season, not season ticket, one single ticket for a single game. What game would that be? Wait, so you're saying I'm taking like the entire season off? Like I don't have to work the whole summer.

No, I said one game, Jesse. I said one game. One game. You have to take you, you can only go to one game this entire season. What game are you going to? You're buying yourself one fan ticket. Well, opening day is always you can't miss. If you know nothing about baseball, you pick that one.

But I don't know if I don't know for me. It's first game against the Dodgers at home. April 29th. Kind of, yeah. I'm letting them hear me. Yeah. We own you. Yeah.

Yeah. The whole game. Do you remember? Oh, I remember. I was there. I was there. Do you want to get thrown out? I mean, is that the level that we're going to take it to?

Because I'm ready. I want tribute videos on the score on the video board. Yeah. Of the back to back to back to back. home runs or the four home run inning. Can we just have that running on a loop or there's some sort of MLB rules against that that that just plays in the background while the game is going on. Lancelan isn't there anymore.

So it wouldn't hit quite the same. Kirkshaw damn sure is. Yeah. Giveaway nights are good choice. I don't think Clinton Kirchall will be pitching by in April. Show me the Gabby picture. Show it on the scoreboard. Yeah.

Put it up on the scoreboard. All Clayton Kirshah is pitching in the game. Uh-huh. Yeah. That is what I'm here. You know what? You know what? He had the split leg.

He didn't cross his arms. He didn't need to. But that was evocative. Go down the hallway and change every picture in the hallway in the frames to that picture of Gabby hitting that home runoff picture. You know what they don't have in the giveaways that I'm disappointed because I would almost would want to go to game two of the season where they give away the magnet schedule. I know. I'd say what you will. Magnet schedule is my favorite giveaway.

I don't want any bobblehead. I need the magnet schedule. I wear out the space in front of my refrigerator because I stand there looking at the games. I got to know who's coming. When are they on the road? Oh, when do they go to LA? The magnet schedule is my favorite giveaway. It is.

It's my favorite giveaway. All right. That's fine. That's the best. That is just the best. It's my favorite. Patrick. You know, Patrick, we have these things called phones and laptop.

Lots of devices. I mean, it's in my pocket. I'm going to look at a goddamn refrigerator magnet to get my schedule off of there. It is a novelty. It is on my phone at all times. It's on here at all times. It's a magical box.

You've got to type in a password to get into that. When I won't buy my refrigerator, it's just. up. No, look. Sometimes they do cool graphics. Like, they'll use cool pictures and they'll like, they'll like use Photoshop and stuff. It looks cool.

No. We're not even going to talk about the Alec Thomas shirt. Like the Alec Thomas shirt giveaway is the one night. That's the one giveaway you want to go to. The Corby Carroll Bobhead is pretty far. The Gabby Moreno one is also really great too. Yes. Yes.

Star Wars Night also very much. If you're talking about one single game to go to, that's all of my favorite things in one. A bobblehead giveaway, I get something for free. I get to go to a Star Wars related event. and I get to go see baseball. That is against the Blue Jays. And it's against the Toronto Blue Jays. Ooh.

Right? It's the only matchup at home against the Blue Jays. That week is a whole good one. Dalton Varsho's triumphant return. Oh, good call. That whole week is a good one. You have Atlanta and then Toronto. How about May 17th?

Pickleball night. What does that mean? No one knows. But pickleball is the promo. Show up, find out. Pickle ball night. Let's go. I'm just talking about promo.

nights now and I'm all for that but obviously the best promo and and even our friends over at PHLY had to give it up for for uh yeah it's August 10th you should go on August 10th yeah August 10th NL championship replica ring night against

oh that's cool that's cool yeah they uh the Rockies gave away in 2008 a replica of the trophy like a big wooden like this is the National League trophy yeah a big wooden one that's just yeah that's pretty cool that's hard to find out there But September 10th rematch with the Texas Rangers World Series rematch.

September 10th. Yeah. And then also the end of the next day. What's more likely both those teams? Oh, I know your answer is going to be. Both those teams are like in the playoff hunt or they're both out of the hunt. I would hope in Patrick. I know.

I know. I shouldn't have said that. I know. I'm sorry. One thing that occurred to me and Patrick last night was that Tori Lavello, was going to manage the National League in the All-Star game, which is somehow something that hadn't really occurred to me. Oh, my God.

And the All-Star game is being played at Global Life Field in Texas, which is going to be quite a full. Oh, that's true. Oh, I didn't think about the Texas part. I know he had said it, but I, yeah. I was like thinking of synonyms of different ways. I'm like, all right, it's his eighth year. How else could you describe Toy Lovello?

I'm like, ah, the 2024 National League Manager of the All-Star game, and we were both like, oh, yeah, that's cool. that's cool him in book showalter this is the only ones right last time he was there he was managing the world series and the next time he'll be managing the all-star game so that's pretty cool you might need some ice cream

chocolate peanut butter chocolate peanut butter is the correct I'm there I'll make sure he get some for sure you guys absolutely did not nail the correct date though because the correct date is Wednesday July 31st when we are going to be hanging out at the Chasefield pool

against the Washington national that's a good that's a good that's cool we are going to going to have our takeover of the pool on July 31st. So do not miss that. Do not. That is the correct answer and that is the game that you should come to. Of course, if you are a diehard, you get a discount on that event. So make sure to sign up today, become a diehard because you will still be a diehard when that comes around in July.

Of course, you'll also get yourself a free t-shirt from the phnx locker.com. All sorts of wonderful benefits, including Jesse's content. All of the Jesse fan content that you can have. And I assure you, it's all very not mature rated. You can also get everything that we have to offer over here, including discounts with our partners, discounts on our events. And, of course, access to our members-only Discord Lounge, which is the best place to be an Arizona sports fan.

We're doing all sorts of stuff, including an extended mailbag Wednesday tomorrow. So make sure to get your questions in for that, as well as join us if you are a diehard. And, of course, we're doing this all for you guys. So make sure you sign up today at go p.hnx. Make sure you email in Montia. Make sure you email in Montia.

Oh, we're doing that. I found a new favorite Diamondbacks baseball player, you guys. You mind throwing him up on the screen real fast? There is a month. There's another. There's another. I'm not the only one. There's another Montia.

There he is. Oh, I need this jersey so bad. What can I do? What can I trade this mountain of a man for for his number 45 Montia jersey? This is email in Montia, or Montija. It's spelled email in. Email in Montia. Yeah, so.

Emeyne. It's cool that it's got your age on the back of his jersey too. Oh, you son of a bitch. Oops. That hurts because it's not very far off from my actual age. I'm going to go cry at the corner. Why don't we bring Patrick on this show? Get this son of a bitch out of here.

I'm done with him. Uh, man, yeah. But yeah, I'll trade one of my Roosevelt shirts for that. I'll trade. anything. Jersey swap. That's a good one. Right? Jersey swap. I'll jersey swap with that man. He is a real, like, he's a real prospect.

Oh yeah, he plays for the Amaral Sad Poodles, and he's actually quite good. Yeah. And so I need to find out everything. I need to know everything about him. Do you want, do you know that he played in Japan? He did. Yes. He's one of those guys. Why are you like this? Isn't that cool? Yeah. You believe the Hiroshima carp. That's pretty dope. Yeah. I think he's 24 years old. For how many years? About two years. Two years? Yeah. This Monty is way more interesting than ours is. Bullshit.

I was the youngest DJ in 99.9KZ history, but that is a story for another day. What's radio? Don't do that. That's unfair, Jesse. Derek is pretty interesting guy. I mean, he's pretty interesting. I mean, I'm not good at my job.

No. There's lots of things I'm bad at. Yeah. But you are interesting. I think wacky is the more appropriate. You son of a bitch. You call me wacky? What do I look like a clown to you?

All right. I'm going to get out of here. I'm sick of both of these guys. They want to go out dinner after this. Fuck that. But anyway, I'm going to go on an adventure. No, I'm not paying. Oh, I know.

You made great investments. I mean, come on. You can just take out your 401k. I do. I mean, Derek, I'd be like a 2.5% interest rate. So honestly, why do I ever pay for any of my own meals when we're out together? He refinancing. When you get started on your home ownership journey early, I've been telling you guys.

He's got a 15-year mortgage. He's almost paid off. You know, it's all good. He's not wrong. But I will tell you, living interesting life involves a lot of adventures, and you can have your own adventure with our friends over at Arizona Lottery. Big shout out to Arizona Lottery. They're going to be sponsoring all of our spring training content.

So we love our friends at Arizona Lottery, and we love the fact that they're trying to get us to go out there and see more of this beautiful state. Right now, you can check in at geolocated adventures at 10 destinations across the state, from Flagstaff to Yuma. and when you do, you enter an opportunity to win $1 million in cash in Arizona sports. What's the problem over here? I just heard a chuckle and I didn't let it go. I go, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. Hold on. Now the Sundberg is coming out.

The sunburn is really cool. Oh, yeah. No, you're getting red. I just thought again as much. It's looking at a picture of a Montia jersey with 45 on the back. And Patrick's like, they put Derek's age on the back. It just like, Patrick's a funny guy. Just be glad that he does.

and have one of those like you're never going to make the roster numbers like 63 okay just be happy about that that's not invited back because look what you're doing you're corrupting my young jesse and instead we should be going and having adventures like this Arizona adventure uh thing where we are checking in at all sorts of destinations across the state are you going to be good now are you going to mind yourself are you going to yeah don't he started i'm i'm composed again ask jessie about the the we we did some research and we learned that there was someone who worked in the cafeteria for a baseball team and later became a general manager. Was it right?

I'm not commenting on this story. Okay. All right, Patrick. Well, you are not invited on the geolocated adventures that we're going to take. But, of course, we're also not going to split the $1 million in cash and Arizona travel prizes with you. This promotion does celebrate state pride and uniqueness and beauty of Arizona. The Arizona lottery says proceeds from ticket sales, support environmental conservation, among other important initiatives across the across the state.

Visit azeeadventure.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 in Arizona travel prizes. All right, that's all we got. Groundhog Mama says Damon lock the doors, don't let Patrick leave. We are going to lock the doors after Patrick leaves and he's not allowed back in. That's the way that's going to work. You can follow him at Patty Plantains. No, you have a real Twitter handle.

At Patrick D. Lyons. I'm writing about all basic. Baseball, all baseball teams, not just the ones that lose 100 games, for just baseball. So it's been fun. I'm over at Dodgers camp, and I get to watch that whole carnival of craziness. Yeah, that's an interesting situation developing over there. So make sure to follow him for lots and lots of great MLB news. Of course, you can follow us as well.

I'm at K-Mad, Underscore Caveman with the K. Jesse is at Jesse Henne Friedman. We are, even though there's been some debate about it, still Damon's dogs. You can follow our producer, the people's producer, Damon, at, Damon dog, that's D-A-W-G. Of course, we're Damon's dogs. Bark-bark. We did it.

Okay. I begrudgingly barked this time. I haven't seen David. I didn't know you pivoted to bark. I thought that was too weeks. We are also wrong. Oh, there's a whole history. Explain it to Patrick.

Yeah, because I thought it was woof-woof. Yeah, things change with time. That's why I wouldn't bark to be different. But we're also Ryan's dogs because Ryan Thompson made us his dogs. And then things got complicated. But we found out that, according to Jesse, based on hierarchy, if Damon becomes one of Ryan's dogs, then we can all...

No, if Ryan becomes one of Damon's dogs, then we would also become Damon's dogs once again. That, however, has not happened yet, so I gave a courtesy bar. Damon needs to accept Ryan into the fold. That's exactly. I thought if you were like part of Ryan Thompson's thing,

you know, since it's tea time, you were a tea bagger. I thought you texted me that. This is why you're not allowed back on the show. All right. Of course, Our show is at PHNX underscore DVax. Don't follow this man.

He's a bad man. He's a bad person, and you shouldn't follow him. But all roads do lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We thank you guys so much for your time. We appreciate you stopping by. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when Patty Plantain stops by.