PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Jazz Chisholm is your MLB the Show 2023 cover athlete, but does he deserve to be?

Episode Date: January 31, 2023

MLB the Show revealed their cover athlete for the 2023 edition of the game, and it is former Arizona Diamondback Jazz Chisholm. We go over all the reasons why we disagree with the decision – both legitimate and petty – and give our long list of better options.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! Gambling Problem? Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY),If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (CO/IL/IN/LA/MD/MI/NJ/PA/TN/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), visit OPGR.org (OR), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/KS/LA(select parishes)/MD/MI /NJ/ NY/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. VOID IN OH/ONT. Eligibility restrictions apply. Free bets: Valid 1 per new customer. Min. $5 deposit. Min $5 bet. $200 issued as free bets that expire 7 days (168 hours) after being awarded.  See terms at sportsbook.draftkings.com/basketballlterms. No Sweat: Valid 1 per customer. NBA same game parlay bets only. Min 3-leg. First bet after opting-in must lose. Paid as one Free Bet Token based on amount of initial losing bet. Max. wagering limits apply. Free Bets expire 7 days (168 hours) after being awarded. Ends at the start of the final NBA game each day when offered prior to 2/16/23 @ 10PM ET. See terms at sportsbook.draftkings.com/basketballterms  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.Underdog 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 $100Four Peaks: Last Wednesday’s are back! Join our PHNX crew at the 8th Street Pub on January 25th as all of our shows are live and in-person throughout the day. Enjoy $3 beer specials and come say hi to us. Must be 21 or older. Enjoy responsibly. Bad Birdie: Use code “PHNX_SPORTS15” for 15% off your next order https://glnk.io/7qnq/phnx-sportsMor Furniture: Save up to 50% all through the holidays! Check out https://morfurniture.comChitown Cornhole: Check out Chitown Cornhole at http://chitowncornhole.com and make sure to follow them on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chitowncustomcornholeboards/Roman: Go to https://ro.co/PHNX today to get 20% off your entire first order. Order by February 8th for guaranteed shipping in time for Valentine’s Day.When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello and welcome into another edition of the PHNX DBAX podcast right here on PHNX. My name is Derek Montia. Of course, I am your cover athlete for PHNX, the video game. This guy is the runner up. He's also the vice mayor and the thunderstick, the one and only, Jesse Friedman. Do we have a video game?

We should have a video game. What would a PHNX video game entail? What would the object of this video game? It would be like a job simulator game where you would be given tasks to do and you would have to accomplish them. Maybe there would be some puzzle aspects to it. Most of it would be running away from Saul.

That's what I feel like. That's fair. That's fair. Saul would be like if he touched you, it'd be game over kind of thing. Right. Anyway, this show is brought to you by the fine folks of the Drafking Sportsbook app. They love video games over there too, but make sure to check out their app is America's top rated sportsbook app.

Welcome in guys. Of course, we have lots to talk about today. Most of it's us just being petty about the fact that jazz Chisholm is the cover athlete for MLB, the show, 2023. Let's just rip the Band-Aid off and take it. We have a look at that right now. I mean, this is what we're talking about. This is what we're here for.

Can I just say regardless of how you feel about jazz jazz chis and being on the cover? It's a pretty sick cover. Oh, it's a great cover. It's one of the design standpoint. Correct. It's really cool. We've seen a lot of covers. We've seen people like make up mock-ups and stuff.

People they thought that should be on the cover. I know we have a long list of people we think should be on the cover. We have both logical reasons and petty reasons. like I said. But I guess Michael Rokickey in the comments says, all right, I'm not here for the jazz hate. I'm totally okay with him being on the cover. And I appreciate the input on that.

And I agree. Do you? No, no. I agree with Jesse that it's a great-looking cover. I also agree with what a lot of people are saying. He's an exciting player. He's very fun. He's got a big personality.

I just don't know if that is enough for you to deserve to be on the cover of MLB. be the show, right? And we're going to get into the idea of it being some sort of, I guess, recognition, if you want to call it that. But we have our own reasons to be petty. Yes, we, we are still not over-losing jazz chisholm. We're kind of okay with the guy we got in return, right? So this trade isn't one that we regret. It's just, once again, seeing a player like this that was once connected to the Arizona Diamondbacks franchise, kind of getting all of this hype and hoopla about him when, in all honesty,

the numbers don't really support him being considered one of the best in the game that should be on the cover of the annual video game. MLB the show is kind of, you know, it's like Madden, right? It's a big deal to be on the cover of the show. It is a big deal. It is a big deal. So let's look at the history of MLB the show cover athletes, right? Like what is the precedent that they have set over the years? So first game ever, 2006, David Ortiz, right? Big poppy.

Can't go wrong with that. 2007, David Wright, 2008, Ryan Howard, 09, Dustin Padroia, 2010, and 11, Joe Mower, 2012, Adrian Gonzalez, Andrew McCutcheon, Miguel Cabrera, Yacio Puig, Josh Donaldson, Ken Griffey, Jr., Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Javier Baez, Fernando Tatis, Jr., last year, Shohayotani. No complaints about that. And jazz chisholm, 2023, right? It has a, one of these is not like the other, right? It kind of has that feel to it because jazz chisholm, as you alluded to, is not an established player in this league, right? And he had an extraordinary, you know, a couple months to open last year.

He was an all-star last year because of that. He was very, very good, right? I know the batting average wasn't that great, but if you look at the peripherals and whatnot, Jazz Chisholm really seemed to be on the verge of a breakout year. And then he got hurt. And then he didn't play the rest of the year. And he played 60 games all season. And if you look at his numbers over the course of his career,

he's been basically a league average baseball player, just a little bit above league average baseball player, right? So I get that, you know, there's another side of this where you're thinking about his personality and just his brand. And from that standpoint, I think Jazz Chisholm is a great choice for a cover athlete of MLB the show, right? But if you just think about like where we've been,

as far as MLB the show covers are concerned, they haven't had a player like Jazz Chisholm on that. list, right? There are a couple names that I will point out, Yassiel Pueig, right? Yassil Pueig no longer plays in Major League Baseball because he didn't have staying power in this league. He was still a cover athlete. But if you look at his numbers, the two seasons prior to the year he was on the MLB the show cover, he was a darn good baseball player when he first came up. And of course, he had the brand to go with that. The other name is Javier Baez that stands out to me as a player who was, you know, very good, maybe not elite at that point. I think his charisma probably played into

him, you know, getting, getting that nod as the cover athlete that year. It was not immediately after the Cubs World Series. It was 2020. The Cubs won it in 2016. But again, if you look at Javier Baez's numbers leading up to that season, he wasn't like elite, elite, but he was a very good baseball player and an excellent defender, right? I know now he hasn't been quite as good. He since coming over to the Tigers. So I just, just going from Shohei Otani to jazz chisholm, like that's a really,

a really, really big difference compared to not only show Hey Otani, but, you know, all of the athletes that MLB the show is used for almost two decades. It's just a change of course for them. There's been 11 teams,

I believe they said, that have been recognized on the cover of MLB of the show. Diamondback's not one of them. Not one of them. Definitely not. But I believe Randy Johnson was on the cover of, Was it MVP baseball maybe back in the early 2000s?

Maybe someone can confirm that. I feel like I remember that growing up, seeing Randy Johnson on the cover of one of those games. But never, never on ML with the show. We've seen a Diamondback. Brian Abdallah says, Who picks the cover?

Is it just the game people? Yeah, I think so. I don't think that they had any kind of vote or anything. I do know that one thing I saw in response to this on non-sports-related websites because I think a lot of baseball fans know who jazz chishism is. But on like,

IGN's post about it. There were a lot of who remarks, which I think is another thing here. It's not taking anything away from jazz, but there are a ton of players that have kind of name brand recognition that people that don't really watch baseball would still know. I'm not suggesting Aaron Judge gets it twice, but Aaron Judge would have been a better selection, I feel like, even though he's already going on before.

Aaron Judge getting it twice. I don't know if you want to repeat the same guy. No. There are plenty of other players that you could put on there without repeating anymore. There are. There are. And of course, we have plenty of ideas when it comes to that. Jesse.

You want me to list them? Do you have a list, perhaps? I do. Jesse has a list. I have a list of 25 players that I think are more deserving cover athletes for MLB the show. And I'm going to drink this beer while he gives you all. Okay. All right.

I was going to talk about them like one by one, but I'm just going to list them rapid Fire, if any name stand out to you along the way. We can talk about them afterwards. Go ahead. All right, here we go. Nolan Aeronado, Paul Goldschmidt, Mike Trout, Mani Machado, Frayman, Francisco Lendor, Yordon Alvarez, Jose Altuvei, Muki Betz, Rafael Devers, Juan Soto, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzerzer, Spencer Strider, Corbyn Burns, Sandy Alcantara, Zatt Gallin, Julio Rodriguez, Adley Ruchman, Garrett-Garerrero, Jr., Zander Bogartes, Tray Turner, Carlos Correa, Edwin D.S.

You good? Yeah, I'm good. 25, Eric. All better choices. Would Jazz have been selected if he's still played for the Diamondbacks? No. It's that easy. He's not wrong.

I don't think so. I don't think so at least. I'm curious what people have to say in the chat. And I know there's a case to be made that like, well, if we're comparing the Diamondbacks market with the Marlins market, market, right? I mean, the Marlins do worse in attendance than the Diamondbacks do. Correct. So why are we suggesting that the Marlins that the Jasm gets some advantage playing with the Marlins? I still think there's something to be said for Miami as a city. Miami as a city, just like the culture there. It's a very colorful, unique, right, American city. And there's also

the fact that, I don't know, like, I just think I have a hard time seeing MLB, the show ever stretching themselves to put an Arizona Diamondback on the cover unless it's, unless it's very, very clear that, you know, they have a player that that warrants that. So my hypothesis is that they would not have put Jax Chisholm on the cover if he was still with the Diamondbacks. But I'm curious what you all think. Let's take a look at one of some of those covers would have looked like. We got some from Twitter. Yeah, look at that.

Look at that. Yeah. Julio Rodriguez. Julio Rodriguez. That's by far my pick for, for, for, for, when you talk about a young athlete. Yeah. That came onto the scene in 2022 and not only had six. success, but literally became a name that everybody started to know, that's the guy.

And if you wanted to go with a young guy that deserves it and is also exciting, that's the guy. I mean, that's the guy. What else we got? Pat Hoburg, perfect game, World Series, umpire. Better choice here, you got to see? That's an absolute better choice. You brought up Carlos Correa. How about Carlos Correa in all of his uniforms?

How about that? Let's go. That's incredible. That's incredible. We also have our own more obvious candidates for Dback's fans. These are guys that I know every Dback fan will agree with would have made a better choice than jazz chisholm. First, let's take a look at the guy we got because of him. Look at that cover, Jesse.

Yeah. I mean, you put him on that background with that gold, with the gold. I mean, I think those colors are kind of distinctly Miami Marlins color. So it's a bit of an outfit. The Miami Marlins do not use those colors, Jesse. They are not purple or teal. That's fair. Right?

I mean, they do have, I guess they don't have pink. No. I guess they don't have pink. You're right. There's some overlap with their color scheme, but it's not the exact Marlins' colors. Yeah, no, I think Zach Gallen probably has a better case than Jazz Chisholm, at least in terms of like on-field performance. Like, Zach Gallen is a more established major league player at this point, has contributed more in the big league level in his career than Jazz Chisholm has. I do want to play devil's advocate on this real quick, though.

kind of to what Michael said in the chat earlier, and I'm sure that he's not the only person who feels this way. Jazz Chisholm is an incredible story, right? He came over from the Bahamas. He was signed as an international amateur when he was probably about 16 years old. It's an incredible story. And I love that Major League Baseball is showcasing that. And I mean, if you've heard any interviews or anything with Jazz Chisholm,

you know how colorful his personality is, how just kind of hilarious and quirky he is, as a human being. And there's something to be said for putting a guy with that kind of charisma on the front cover of MLB the show. I mean. So I do get it. It's just. I don't disagree with you.

But if you want to talk about a guy that has a great story, let's put this guy up there. This is the one all D-Backs fans want to see. If you're talking about guys with charisma, you're talking about guys with a great story, it's this guy that hurt himself and used it to become a scout, basically, and become better and learn the game of baseball. more than he ever did. And now look at him. He's most people's number one prospect going into

2003. That's exciting. But if you want a real story, Jesse, if you want a real story. Who do we want? We want Mason Saunders. That's who we want. We're throwing Mason Saunders up there.

Right? This version of the show... I'm trying to make like real rational arguments. You're putting that picture on the screen. Look, this version of the show has a side quest where you actually have to go to a rodeo. you have to raise a horse. There's a whole cowboy simulation that's attached to that as a side-less.

San Diego Studios really at their hands full with that video game. They haven't done rodeos. Baseball games can't just be baseball games anymore. It's got to have the story part attached to it, right? That's the new road to the show. Yeah, that involves a rodeo side, side track. Let's be honest, though. The team we all want to be, even as a Diamondbacks.

fan. This is the team we all want to be, right? We all want to be the Savannah Bananas. So there's a Savannah Bananas, the show 23 edition. We also have the PHNXD-Bax edition, which, look at that. Look at how great we look on that cover, Jesse. We look so good on that cover. We?

Yeah, we look great. We look great on that cover as a duo. Sweetheart. It's you? Yeah. I mean, yeah. I don't know why you even bothered to like even put me in there. Well, it's because in this particular picture, my arm was kind of cut off.

So, like, there's not my full right arm there. That's where my arm in. So I needed to leave you in the picture somewhat or else it was just an incredibly close-up shot of my face. And as beautiful as that would have been. Still might not be as good as this one. This one might be my favorite. There is. Look at that.

There is. Jesse with the sick rap four edition. Talk about side quests. Oh, my God. You have no idea. You have to navigate your way. to a salad and go with Tori LaBello in the front seat. You have to properly hand him the ox cord.

That's part of it. Yeah, that's part of the mini-game. So a lot of fun to be had there. I can't wait for MLB the show, to be honest. Mostly, there is a mode for us to continue our discussion about a hot dog being a sandwich or not, which, by the way, it's fucking not a sandwich. Oh, my gosh. No, it's a taco.

We've been over there. Emma has strong opinions. Look, here's another. Someone brought up lobster rolls yesterday, right? Lobster rolls a sandwich, I get. That's what you're thinking it is. But a lobster roll is a lobster roll for a reason. They call the goddamn lobster roll because of the vertical orientation, just like a hot dog.

Things can be something else. Not everything with bread and meat has to be a sandwich. That's part of MLB, the show, 223. So enjoy that as well. It's a really multifaceted video. I told you. You can't just have a one-player game anymore. Has to have multiplayer.

It has to have side quests. I have all this stuff nowadays. Can I ask real quick? What do you think of? So Edwin Diaz was the last name on my list. Generally speaking, MLB the show has not had pitchers. If you go through every MLB the show cover that's ever been made, Shohei Otani is the only pitcher who has ever appeared on an MLB the show cover.

Other games have had pitchers. And you could argue he's not just a pitcher, right? Well, that would be a pretty good argument. Yeah, he's not just a pitcher, right? He's an adorable scamp. But I still feel. when I was making that list, I still feel that if you put

Edwin Diaz on a cover, that that still would, I don't know, maybe you put some trumpets on the cover too. Oh, I'd be with, I don't know. Put Timmy trumpet in the background.

He's a reliever, obviously, but he has, I mean, he's arguably the best reliever in the game or at least one of the best relievers in the game. And I think he just built such a recognizable brand last year

that I still think people would get behind Edwin Diaz being on the cover. Oh, man. Now we're comparing hot dogs to, die hard not being a Christmas movie. I just want to shut this chat down. Can we just shut the chat down? Okay, fine. Well, if you are here in the chat, grab yourself some Four Peaks beer, wherever you get your beer. Four Peaks Brewing Company is the best. And of course, we thank them for letting us come to their Eighth Street Pub for our last Wednesdays. Make sure to join us if you can out there for that. Also, the Super Bowl is right around the corner.

Enjoy a nice Four Peaks beverage during the game or check out Four Peaks, Eighth Street Pub, a great place. to go watch the game, have some chicken tendees, enjoy yourself, have a great afternoon. While you're there, make sure to check out their brand new beers, their staycation super juicy IPA is on tap currently, and their recreational juice tank IPA is available in bottles, so don't leave without taking some home with you. And also, speaking of the Super Bowl, uh, Draft Kings is, is your number one app on your phone. Make sure to have it. Make sure to download it right now for a limited time. All new and existing customers can get a no sweat same game parlay every single day. Go to Draft King Sportsbook app today.

Opt in and place the same game parlay on any NBA game. And if it doesn't hit, you'll get a free bet back. Download the Drafking Sportsbook app and use our code of PHNX. If you're a new customer, you can bet $5 on the NBA to get $200 in free bets instantly, only at the Draft King Sportsbook with code PHNX. Minimum age and eligibility restrictions apply. Void in Ohio, see show notes for details. Hey, Derek.

Yes, ma'am. I hate to interrupt you, but I need to get on this topic. I really have to. I'm very passionate about this. Let's hear your two cents on this. So welcome to the Cube rule of food. This is identifying based on where the starch is. Did you draw this?

No. Okay. I'm not that talented. Okay. Talented in other aspects. This is not one of them. All right, let's do this. So if you are saying hot dog, correct?

Hot dog. So certain hot dog buns, we often find that the bottom, sometimes rip, correct? Yeah. And it's very unfortunate. But if you get a good bun, quality bun. Yeah, you got a bottom on it

in two sides is what you're saying. That bitch is a taco. It's a taco. Not a sandwich. It's only a sandwich if you have shitty buns. Is a, oh man, this is blowing my mind here a little bit. This kind of goes back to cereal

being a soup, Jesse. I'm just not okay with taco being like a generalized category because a taco is clearly a very specific kind of food. Right? Is a Euro a taco? This is based on where the starch is located.

According to this it is. No, but it's not. A taco's a taco. A euro's not a taco. A hot dog's not a taco. You were trying to make a hot dog a sandwich. We all know what a taco is. That's all I'm saying.

You were making a hot dog a sandwich yesterday. Mr. A taco is a taco. Right, because it looks like number two. I refuse to have this conversation again. Me too. But we're going to continue to have. Emma's just trying to stir trouble here, as she usually does. Well, yeah, but I'm just like, I had this argument with the son's crew,

and Gerald was very passionate about it, and he was passionate about a hot dog being a sandwich, yes? No, it was completely, it was a, I don't even remember. I had like two brain cells that day. Nothing made sense, but this made sense. So I just wanted to bring it up. Yeah. Because you guys were arguing about whether a hot dog is a sandwich or not. No, she's a taco.

All right. Unless you just have really bad buns. But like at that point, take care of your glizzy. Jesse told me he eats his hot dog sideways. And I, I hate that. Excuse me? Yeah, he takes his fucking taco and he turns it sideways and he eats it like a sandwich. And that's why he thinks that it's sandwich.

That's not what I. That is not what I meant. Okay, now I need to know. I don't eat it like a flute. If that, like that's the. No, but you're saying you turn it sideways and you eat it. One bun is on top. One bun is on bottom.

the hot dogs in the middle, what, the ketchup and the mustard squirting out of the side? I have no idea. Where's your precious relish going, by the way? I don't understand this, but it doesn't make sense to me. Oh, I hate it. Jesse, do you put toppings on your hot dog? And if so, what are they? I think we've had this conversation.

Put ketchup on his hot dog. Yeah, I put ketchup, and I've had this conversation with both of you on this show before. I also put relish. And I know that both of you think of relish is terrible. That vile vinegar weed that he puts on his, you know, I'm okay everyone I can't even comment on people's food choices because I have the pallet of a toddler she really does she didn't know like we give jessie shit she didn't know what a lobster roll was and she actually got mad at me I just never had it for thinking that she would know what it tasted like oh no no no sir kind sir I know what a lobster roll is I've seen it I've been in the same presence as a lobster rule but personally not my choice not my forte I need to help from an adult. I need help from an adult. Are you calling yourself an adult?

Yeah, I can't. No, I can't. It's not me. I can't. I can't help in this case. But, you know, if you want to talk about more things that are arguments with no conclusion, we could talk about ESPN posting more trade deadline candidates for 2023.

And in this case... No, early to be talking to trade deadline. Why are we doing this? We just, we have nothing to talk about. So we got to figure out something to talk about. Six months away. Six months away. Six months from today is the trade deadline. We better preview it.

Again, I would appreciate him writing an article on top 100, top 100 prospects list more than I would appreciate this article. But I don't think there are a hundred top 100 prospects list. It kind of feels like there are, but I don't think. I don't think there's 100. David Schoenfeld from ESPN, Schoenfield had a much more reasonable set of candidates for the Arizona Diamondbacks than the earlier list we addressed that said that Christian Walker might be there. likely trade candidate at the deadline. He ain't going nowhere. But in this article, he selected Pavin Smith and Dominic Fletcher as the D-BAC's most likely trade deadline moves, which actually makes quite a bit of sense. It's not only is it something that we agree with, that would be a good

move, especially Dominic Fletcher, considering his value added to the fact that he is going to have a problem getting some playing time with the young core of guys that are up here right now. Payvon Smith who's kind of been lost in the shuffle a bit. Yeah, I think it is reasonable. I don't know how much you're going to get for Pavin Smith in particular. I don't think Pave and Smith has much trade value at this point. Dominic Fletcher probably still does have some trade value. I don't think he would net you a whole whole lot. But yeah, I mean, he definitely has value as a very, very good defensive center fielder. He can play center field. The debacks don't really need. to centerfielders, especially not ones that left-handed at this point.

So both of those guys, in theory, on the depth chart, makes sense that those would be trade pieces. I will say that Pavin Smith theoretically does have a role as maybe a backup first basement. For the debacks, there is some need for depth in that department. So I think they would need to have some assurance there before trading Pave and Smith. But they do have Lorda Scuriel Jr. in the organization who's also played some first base. And that's another guy would maybe mention as part of this list. That would be more so if things go south for the diamondbacks. Lordus Girl Jr. is only under contract for just this one season.

And so, you know, maybe Jake McCarthy and Alec Thomas are playing great. And, you know, Evan Longoria is, you know, doing some good things in the DH spot. And you feel like you don't necessarily need that extra bat. Lorda Scarreal Jr. could be a piece that they look to move at the trade deadline as well. And the return for the article was simply bullpen arms. something that we are absolutely here for. This should be the target for this team now, then, and forever. But really, the Diamondbacks need to, I think, still bolster their bullpen.

I know that they have, you know, they've made some unproven moves, which could end up netting them some wonderful results. But it definitely doesn't feel like they brought in the kind of, I guess, rearming that we would like to see based on the performance of the bullpen in 2022. I think the, yeah, they're like their position player group should be set. I don't really see them needing to add any anything in that regard. It's sort of like if their position players perform well, then that's what's going to put them in position to be adding at the deadline in the first place. So yeah, I think it's it's bullpen, bullpen, bullpen, and maybe they, maybe they would want to add a starting pitcher depending on how things work out, but they do have a decent amount

of depth in that regard too. So pretty much a guarantee that bullpen. help is what they'd be looking for. Here's what I say is last year they actually did add proven arms and look what that ended up doing, right? So I am not really, I will say I'm cautiously optimistic about the changes they've made. And I'm cautiously optimistic that Mark Melanson will be better than what we saw out of them from last year. Hopefully this team as a whole will be better defensively. Again, as much as we want to completely blame the bullpen, a lot of the like way those games unraveled,

Last year wasn't entirely the bullpen's fault. It was a team effort. It just, you know, you'd love to see this team find some guys that they can just absolutely rely on last year. Even the arms that they could rely on like Joe Mantiply ended up eventually becoming a bit unreliable before the end of the season. So we would love to see them, you know, get that back together. I still can't help feel like internally they still feel like the arms they had last year. Kyle Nelson, Manteply, Malanson, some of those other. guys really are going to bounce back this year and have a better season than they did.

I just, I don't know about always, always banking on that, you know. Yeah. I almost feel like it got to a point with the bullpen where like, it's like that thing in school where you're like, don't, don't pick me, don't pick me, please don't pick me. Like, don't, you know what I mean? Like, that's, I mean, because that's that attitude that LaVallo kind of talked about in the clubhouse, right? Like, you know, maybe the problem with the bullpen is it starts to be like it gets in

their head where they think like I don't want to be the one to blow it tonight instead of that attitude of like I want to be the one to go out there and and you know I want the ball right yeah I don't know I mean it felt like no matter what this team did as far as a late inning bullpen move it didn't work out for them yeah I mean I don't know if if it necessarily got to the point where we're like guys didn't want to pitch but but you know what I mean like it's it's a mentality sometimes that like maybe it's not that you don't want to pitch, but you're worried that you're going to go out there and screw it up more than you're worried that you're going to go out there and kick that. It's the kind of thing that no, like no pro athlete is ever going to come out and say something like that, but it is still

reasonable to wonder if maybe that was in the back of their minds at some point. It just felt, it felt like it was something that encompassed the entire bullpen, no matter who they tried to rely on, you know. Yeah, it wasn't, wasn't great. Wasn't great. Michael Rokicke in the comment says they went 64 and 60 against everyone else. 10 and 28 against the Dodgers, 17 and 29 in one-run games. So there's a case to be made. They'll be better just on that alone. And they went 74 and 88 to boot.

Yeah. Oh, and 10 and 28 total against L.A. and San Diego. So, yeah, there you go. 10 and 28 against San Diego and L.A., which they are not going to be playing that many times, right? 26 games total this season against those two teams combined. So, hey, maybe all of these things combined for the Diamondbacks to have. a much improved 2023, and they were already one of the most improved teams in 2022.

You would know great stuff like that if you were a diehard because you'd read every piece that Jesse has over on go p hnx.com, including his recent piece on some of the Arizona Diamondbacks unlikely home runs in 2022. It's really nerdy, but it's fun. It is fun. It's very fun. It's very fun. And of course, you get fun pieces like that being a diehard piece, not only, or diehard member,

not only from Jesse, but from Craig, Gerald, and Howard. everybody here at PHNX. You also get exclusive merch discounts, 20% off over at the PHNX Locker.com, free piece of merch every year, either a hat or a shirt. You also get access to our members-only Discord, members-only discounts with our partners, member-only invites to our events, as well as discounts on some of our events, and so much more. So sign up to become a member today over at go-PHNX.com.

We thank so many of you guys for doing so already. If you are here right now on the PHNX Sports YouTube channel, make sure to sign, subscribe, sign it for notifications. That way, you know, when we go live, whether it's us or any of our friends around here, also leave us a thumbs up. We love those. Thumbs ups are the best. And also if you're listening to us on your favorite audio podcasting app, please subscribe to us there. Leave us a review. We always appreciate you guys doing that as well. And if you really want to, like, if you want to get the premium version of listening or watching the show, whether you are a listener or a viewer, make sure to pick up OGs wherever you get your edibles. They are all about flavoring life. and they're all about coming up with new strains and new ways to enjoy their products, including their new strawberries and cream. Happy balance, THC to CBD ratio. It's hitting the shelves soon. And as always, you can find them at your local dispensary must be 21 or over to enjoy.

And the strawberries and cream happy balance is all about balancing between that CBD and the THC, which again, kind of helps you enjoy all the benefits of THC without some of the euphoric feelings, maybe some of the feelings of being stone that you might hear about those stone feelings, you know. So make sure to grab the happy balance if that's not your cup of tea. They also have a wide variety of doses and strains to enjoy, including their sleep addition gummy, which is one of the best things you can do to get a good night's sleep. We hit 5,000 followers on Twitter yesterday, you guys,

and we just wanted to thank everyone for their support. In the 17 months that we have existed, We know it was going to be an uphill battle at times. We started this podcast after one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Right, right in, it was sandwiched right in between one of the worst seasons and franchise history. It was at the end of one of the worst seasons. Right. We didn't start it at the beginning of one of the worst seasons.

We started it after the worst season. After you knew it was going to be the worst one of the worst seasons in the franchise history. September of 2021. And then it was sandwiched in between that and a lockout. So to say we had an uphill. battle would be saying the least, but things weren't great. We knew, though, Arizona was baseball Nirvana, and we knew that we had an absolutely outstanding fan base here. So we love you guys, and we appreciate you so much. Thank you to you all for helping us get here. We have a bunch of

stuff to give away, which we are going to be doing on Friday's show. Actually, we're going to have like four little gift packages to give away. So make sure to stay tuned. Go to our Twitter account. We have a tweet out there if you want to be a part of this. Make sure to follow all of the directions on there and we will enter you into our drawing. And again, we appreciate you guys so much for checking out the show being here, being a part of this. We seriously, we can't thank you enough. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I fully remember those days, those early days when, you know, tank season and I feel

like that was sort of the only Diamondbacks narrative to talk about at the time. Yes, yes. which is always a dark time for a fan base to go through. But it also blows my mind just how much the perception of the future of the team has changed since then. I mean, we've only been around right for about a year and a half now. And it seems like this Diamondbacks team went from the lowest of lows to, you know, now there's still some questions. There's still some things that have to get figured out. We're not talking, you know, World Series contending just yet.

But it is remarkable just how the perception. of this team has changed. You know, we've talked about all the top 100 prospect lists over and over and over again. And he's not saying it's because of us, but you're welcome. Yeah, it is because, yeah, I'm just saying between the time when our show started and right now, everything's better.

Things have improved pretty drastically all the way around. Things were dreary, the future looked grim, and now there's hope on the horizon, and you're welcome for it is what we're saying. Hey, you can doubt tank season say it was dark days, but tank season led to Drew Jones, baby. We are not dumb fans around here. We are smart fans and we are patient fans and we know what we're doing. When we, when we root for tank season, it's for a specific purpose. And now that we are seeing those top prospects list and seeing Drew Jones, who still hasn't played a single inning of professional baseball ranks so highly on so many of these experts lists, we know that tank season had a purpose, right?

Even though this guy over here strongly wanted Elijah Green, who's like 45th now. But Drew Jones fell out. into our lives and these wonderful things happen when you do like stuff like Root for Texis, right? That's that's the great stuff around here. But we thank you guys, especially for helping us get there because so many of you have been there since the beginning, since the days, where we had like five people watching this show. So we appreciate all of you for being a part of this and for helping us get to 5,000 because we know it's because of you guys sharing our tweets and trying to get your friends to watch the show or at least follow the account that we got here. So we truly appreciate it.

and as our thank you, make sure to tune in on Friday and we'll be giving away some stuff to you guys all of you so thank you. One last thing is sadly Zach Granky is off the market. I think we saw a tweet earlier about that or a message about trading for Zach cranky but we are sad to say

Zach Granke is no longer a free agent. He has resigned with the Kansas City Rolls where he should have resigned to be honest. Yeah, that's kind of we all suspect. It's the fitting ending for his career I would say but Granky continues to be just an incredible person, and we wish him the best, even though we really didn't think that I'm back

we're going to go after him. We just, I just wanted it. I wanted it. I mean, it sounds like Zach Rinkie is probably going to be the Kansas City Royals opening day starter, which is just incredible to me. And I don't know. Like, I think this will be Zach Rinkies last year in the big leagues,

but I don't know. I mean, the man had a 3680 RA last year and didn't strike anyone out. So, you know, who's to say this year, he can't have a similar season and just continue to show that he still has something to offer. The deal that he got with Kansas City pays a decent amount of money. According to MLB.com's Mark Feinstein, it's worth between $8 to $10 million in base salary. And then there's some performance incentives and whatnot on top of that. So, you know, we were talking about Granky the other day and how he didn't want to pony up the extra few pennies for guacamole at Chipotle. That's right.

83. Yeah, I don't know if, I don't know if another $10 million is going to move the needle on that. But Granky is, you know, has earned well over a quarter of a billion dollars at this point in his big league career. And he is one of the best. I mean, he just continues to contribute even as he ages. And he will always be a treasure that baseball fans everywhere will, will enjoy. So excited to see him back next year. Wish him the best. Wish him the best. Two weeks from today, you guys, two weeks from today, we will be out at Salt River Fields for the very, first time. Pitchers and catchers report 15 days from today, but two weeks from today, we will be out there checking out the new, a demonstration of the new baseball rules.

We have no idea what that means, but we're very excited to be invited to it. We can't wait to see exactly what they're going to show us. I mean, do we get to touch the old bases and the new bases? I'm hoping that we get to participate. Oh, God, yes. Oh, my God, please. I get to be on the mound and I get to experience what the pitch clock is like. I want them to make me do defensive.

Like, you can't. This is what a defense. defensive shift is you could stand over here, but now you can't stand here. You want to try to break the defensive shift rules. I want to figure it out. I want to be a part of it, but it's going to be exciting. And yeah. No better way.

No matter way to spend Valentine's Day. No kidding. What else would I rather do? At baseball. How can you not be romantic about that? Get out of here. But yeah, of course, we are very excited for that. So buckle up because baseball will be here before we know it.

And we are very excited for it. We've already seen some pictures from the D-back social media accounts of like They're out there. Corby and Carol out there just putting that work in. So we are very excited. And you guys should be too. Make sure, if you haven't done so already, download the Underdog Fantasy app because I will tell you it is the best way to enjoy fantasy sports with your friends,

to still do daily fantasy, to be able to wax the floor with your friends and win some cold hard cash. You also have Pickham games, and don't forget, we are writing on pitch counts in 2023. So download the Underdog Fantasy app, as Jesse would say, be an overdog on the underdog fantasy app. Everyone's an overdog. Everyone's an overdog on the underdog fantasy app.

But it's this easy to get started. Go to underdog fantasy.com or download the app, sign up with promo code PhNX, and Underdog will match your first deposit up to $100. So we're making you some money over at the Underdog Fantasy app. Enjoy it. Have fun with your friends. And most importantly, ride with those pitch counts higher and lower. That's right.

That's what we're doing. And then once you save your money, go over to. to game time save more money. Win some money, I mean, over an underdog, save money on game time. Go over to game time. Grab your tickets for concerts, sporting events, and more. It's that time of the year, man. Stuff is crazy.

I'm not going to suggest that you go on the day of the Super Bowl to game time and try to buy Super Bowl tickets. I'm not suggesting that. But what I am saying is, would it really hurt to check it out the day up and just see what's available? I don't know. The Super Bowl tends to play by different rules. Sure, sure, sure.

You say that, but you might be able to save 60% on Super Bowl tickets. Who knows? Crazier things have happened. So make sure to download the GameTime app, as Jesse would say, one of the most aesthetically pleasing apps that you can download. And save yourself up to 60% on tickets when you buy tickets last minute. Procrastinators rejoice, it is our time. The best way to support us is by buying your tickets through the link in the description.

And make sure to wait until the last minute. I'm not even joking about that. You will literally see tickets drop like for a show on. Friday. Wednesday they'll be one price. Thursday they'll be lower and come Friday you might even see them for a ridiculously low amount and I'm joking about the Super Bowl they're not going to be on there you guys but anyway it still wouldn't hurt to look though over on the game time app so make sure to do that. We appreciate you guys for being here. We appreciate MLB the show for giving us so much to talk about and argue about specifically them. We can't wait to we need to stream that. We need to get down on

Maybe a little... Yeah, I'm down. I'll be the show action between the two of us. I know Jesse will probably... I will probably destroy you. I'm going to let him talk that shit like he did about ping pong and remember how that went.

So anyway, if you don't remember, make sure to follow us on social media because I try to remind him every single day. I'm at Cap underscore Caveman with a K. He is at Jesse and Friedman. Our shows at PHNX underscore DBEX, but of course, all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

We thank you so much for stopping by. On behalf of Emma, Jesse and myself, we always appreciate your time. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when one of your players is on the cover for MLV the show.