PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Lourdes Gurriel Jr gives the D-backs a bat, versatility, and another great head of hair in the lineup

Starting point is 00:00:07 Hello, D-Bax family, and welcome into another edition of the PHNX-D-Bax podcast right here on PHNX. My name is Derek Montia. Of course, I am your mayor of PHNX, occasionally known as Derek Montia, and I'm joined by my vice mayor, the one and only thunderstick, Jesse Friedman. Derek, there are clouds outside in rain, and it's weird. There is. My natural lighting is all messed up. I have to have this light above me on. I hate it.

Starting point is 00:00:34 But anyway, of course, we welcome you guys in. to the podcast, which is sponsored by Drafking Sportsbook app, America's top-rated sportsbook app. We thank you guys for being here. Motion in the comments said, how is it already Wednesday? I have no idea. I have no idea.

Starting point is 00:00:50 And ask my kid who only has like three days left of Christmas vacation. And she will tell you she is not ready for it to be Wednesday either. But Jesse, I want to welcome a very special guy to the valley, a guy we're very excited about being here. No, it's not Gabriel Moreno. we've already done that enough. We want to welcome Lordus Gouriel to the Valley because this man, we already love this man, Jesse.

Starting point is 00:01:14 We already love this man. He sent out a tweet with himself and his youngsters there in D-Bach's hats. Look at that. Those are some sharp-looking hats, by the way. He went out and just went all in on some good-looking D-Bac's hats, but he says he's ready and we are ready. What are your thoughts about Gouriel bringing not only this attitude, dude, but that hair to this lineup, Jesse.

Starting point is 00:01:39 Can we get that picture up one more time of his kids? I can't help but notice that the kid on the far left here, that hat feels like it's got to be at least like three or four sizes too big. That's what makes a cuter. That's definitely like an adult hat on like, I don't know, like a six or seven year old. Right. This is what I would do as a father, Jesse. I would buy the hats for myself and then I would let my kid wear.

Starting point is 00:02:06 them in a picture, but not, I'm not buying. That kid's head is going to change four times over the next month. That's how many sizes his head is going to change. So no, you don't buy children clothes in the size that they fit in. You always buy them clothes that are bigger than the actual size, you know? Right, right. It does make sense. Yeah, no, it's been fun just seeing Lotus Guriel Jr. just, you know, on social media, you know, thanking fans in Toronto for everything that they meant to him, which was a lot. We've talked about it a little bit, but I've heard a lot of Blue Jays fans come out and say, you know, like, yes, it's only one year of Lordus Gariel Jr. that we're losing, but like this guy was kind of a staple.

Starting point is 00:02:47 Like he really meant something to that fan base in Toronto. And they're going to miss him a lot. And I know that Gurriel is certainly going to miss those fans as well. But yeah, it seems like, you know, as you'd sort of expect, I guess, gueriel has come out and seems to be fully embracing his future as an Arizona. known a diamond back. And he did, like you said, post an I, IG, an Instagram post where he thanked the fans saying, well, what can I tell you, Blue Jays fans? Thank you for all your support during all this time. You who saw me take my first steps as a pro player and saw me grow. Thank you all.

Starting point is 00:03:21 You will always be in my heart. Thank you to my teammates for everything. Best of luck. We got ourselves a solid guy, Jesse. I like that post. I think it gets to, you know, it's a nice thank you. He obviously wasn't choosing to leave Toronto, but again, Again, I think that when you're a Blue Jays fan or a fan of any franchise and a player like this leaves, yes, yeah, it's just one year left. But you were, you know, if you're a fan of his, you were most likely hoping that they could extend him. The Braves have no problem extending people. But, you know, I think that you, once they leave the organization, even if it's through a trade like this, even if it's for one year, you have a hard time seeing them coming back, right? And that's the part that like, yeah, maybe he does resign with Toronto.

Starting point is 00:04:04 So he has that ability to do so. But, you know, once you leave an organization, you kind of spread your wings a bit. Chances are you might might not be coming back to that organization. I feel a similar way about Eduardo Escobar. Escobar's numbers might not, you know, might not jump off the page at you. They might not be enough to say, why, why are you want to bring this guy back so much? But it was just something about Escobar on this team, the way that he fit in and, you know, became a part of, I guess beyond the organization. just kind of a part of the culture here in Arizona,

Starting point is 00:04:36 and that was something that we really embraced him for. I think that's a great comp, honestly. I hadn't thought about that. But, yeah, Eduardo Escobar did really serve a similar role for the debacks. I mean, Lordus Girl Jr. has never been, like, the Blue Jay's best player. He's had some really good seasons, especially his first couple years there. It's had a couple of 20 home run seasons over with Toronto. But, yeah, it was kind of the same deal with Eduardo Escobar in Arizona.

Starting point is 00:05:01 He wasn't necessarily the Diamondbacks. best player. I guess in maybe in 2019. I mean, he was pretty good that year. He had a really game good season. Yeah. Citelle Marte was probably still the best player on that team. But yeah, Eduardo Escobar, even though maybe he wasn't like the first guy that comes to

Starting point is 00:05:18 mind when you think Arizona Diamondbacks, he was a really big part of the clubhouse and just a really big part of the organization and the culture that the Diamondbacks established here. And it is abundantly clear that Lorda Scoriel Jr. is all of those things. and hopefully we'll continue to be all of those things once he officially becomes an Arizona diamond back. I like this comp to Mark Salera in the comment says Lordus Geryl Jr. is the Kelly Uberay of the D-backs. We bring it in the vibes guy and I'm all for it. And I love it. And he's not wrong. You want to talk about vibes that he's bringing in? Let's take a look at exactly what we're getting with Gouriel. Leah, if you will, if you're hesitant about the Dalton Varsho trade, this is what we are getting in return. Leah, hair, it's the hair.

Starting point is 00:06:05 No, nothing. There's the hair. There it is. How do you feel now, Diamondbacks, man? Do you feel a little bit better about this? Maybe, okay, so this is like more of a GQ photo, Jesse. But I really want to give a great example of why many Toronto Blues Jays fans use a pineapple emoji when describing Lourdesk, Jr., and that would be this Instagram post that he had from Christmas with his adorable family.

Starting point is 00:06:32 they're once again showing off the very impressive flow that he has on top. That's that's a head of lettuce that you just can't. You just can't get that anywhere, Jesse. You just can't get that in free agency. You have to trade a valuable piece of your team away to bring a head of hair like that into the organization. That's fair. Yeah. I mean, you look at the existing free agent market.

Starting point is 00:06:52 I wrote about it today. And, you know, the quality of hair available in free agency is not very good. Not nearly what the diamond bags are getting in, in Lordus Curiel Jr. I don't think that's taken into account enough when evaluating this trade and who won and who lost, right? But I'm excited to dress up as him for Halloween because this kid, this kid nailed it.

Starting point is 00:07:15 And look at that, Jesse, I'm ready for it. I'm here for this in a Diamondback uniform 100%. That kid looks like a gamer, by the way. Yeah, that's incredible. That's really incredible. I feel like there aren't, there are a number of MLB players who have great hair. right there's no question about it we spend an absurd amount of time on this show talking about

Starting point is 00:07:37 the quality of hair on the arizona diamond bags but there's something distinctive about what lordis garrille junior has going on up there yeah i don't know exactly how to describe it derrick but it is the kind of hair that you can totally replicate for Halloween and everyone will know exactly who you are yeah like it's it's there's just something about it that that really stands out yeah gabriel ferrer says we need a D-BAC sexy Holland Day calendar now. I'm with it. I like it. And Michael back in the comments asked, how soon till we see Baxter in a Lordus Gourielwig? Not soon enough. Not soon enough is my answer to that question. But you brought up your article, Jesse, you have a wonderful article over at go-P-HNX.com on 10 free agents that can make the Diamondbacks better in 2023. And of course,

Starting point is 00:08:23 now that list is down to nine because one has already signed. Cory Kluber is already off the board agreeing to a deal today with the Boston Red Sox. That's how shit happens around here. The hot stove never cools off. We don't turn it off. But this is something that, of course, you know, I think was a very realistic list. If you get a chance to check Jesse's article out, make sure to do that over at go phnx.com. Spoiler alert, four of them are former debacks. So that's exciting. They are. They are. And of course, I know a lot of people have been talking about bringing Nathan Avaldi in, but he has agreed to a two-year deal worth $34 million with the Texas Rangers. So another free agent name off the board.

Starting point is 00:09:01 I wrestled back and forth with like including Iovaldi on the list, which obviously Yovaldi's already signed as of when I published the story. But when I was working on it, there were times and I was like, okay, maybe Yovaldi's on this list. I came to the conclusion, frankly, that I think it's very unlikely that Diamondbacks would make that big of an investment in one player. That Yovaldi contract with Texas doesn't sound too bad, right? Two years, 34 million, but there are there are escalators in there. There are incentives in there that can bring it to three years in 63 million, which is almost definitely outside of what the diamondbacks would be willing to commit to a player. Alex mentions Michael Waka. I also had iterations of this

Starting point is 00:09:43 piece from Michael Waka was on the list. But again, I think that Michael Waka at this point is probably the best starting pitcher that is still available. I don't think the diamondbacks are in need of a starting pitcher enough to want to go out and pay what it's going to take to get Michael Waka. There are also some concerns. But Jesse, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the Jokes from the Muppets, right, themselves, right? And I wanted that for me. I wanted that just so I could walka, walka, walka all day long. But anyway, there you go. There you go. I just have some concerns with Michael Waka and in his peripherals. If you look at his ERA last year, I'm in front of me, but it was low threes. His whip was like 1.1.2. Really, really good numbers. But if you look a little bit closer,

Starting point is 00:10:24 he's been pretty home run prone. I think it would be a little bit difficult to expect those kind of numbers from him again. And just knowing how the starting pitching market is and the fact that Michael Walk is relatively young, he's probably going to get paid as if he's maybe going to repeat those numbers or something close to that. I just don't think that he's a realistic target for the debacks. And frankly, if I'm being honest, the guys that I have on this list, it is entirely possible.

Starting point is 00:10:49 I don't know exactly what the debacks conversations are like internally right now about free agency, but it is possible that even some of these guys are outside of what they're of what they're looking to spend through the remainder of the off season. Well, Andrew Chafin has the hair. So I feel like he's the most qualified candidate. He definitely has an upper hand for that reason alone. You're absolutely right. Well, make sure to read Jesse's piece over at go phnx.com. If you haven't had a chance to do so already, that is unlocked and available right for all to see. But if you want to make sure that you can read all of Jesse's writing, make sure to grab yourself a diehard membership while you're over

Starting point is 00:11:26 there. The P.HN. diehards membership, not only get you a secret membership card, which I can't even talk about because it's so secret, but it's going to give you a variety of benefits as well as a free piece of our merchandise from the PHNX Locker.com every single year. You will get yourself a discount over at the PHNX Locker.com, 20% off, not only there, but off of our events, discounts from our partners as well. We will also offer you just friendship, love, support, that thing, that all that, we'll give you all that. We'll also invite you to our Discord lounge where it's the best place to be an Arizona sports fan. And of course, like I said, you get discounts to our upcoming events like our

Starting point is 00:12:06 inaugural PHNXT party taking place at Dobson Ranch Golf Course on Friday, January 13th. You will get a discount on the entry fee per person and for foursums as a diehard member. That also includes unlimited range balls. We're renting out the entire driving range. So come hang out with us. We're going to be hanging out with the PHNX Suns crew watching. Watching. Suns versus Timberwolves on giant screens. Your entry fee also includes a set of rental clubs if you don't have your own. And one free hour of range time and golf balls at Dobson Ranch to be used at a later time. I've talked about how incredible this driving range is.

Starting point is 00:12:40 I really had a blast going out there and checking it out. It's one of the coolest driving ranges I've ever been to. There's many games, including Jesse beating you at ping pong. I am not going to, I'm not going to stop reiterating how much Jesse is going to beat everybody in ping pong. There's also contests for driving range, putting more, heaters and hot chocolate, food and drink available for purchase, as well as offerings from the PHNX Locker and our partners. There will also be a free kids clinic provided for all kids 10 and under

Starting point is 00:13:08 for you to drop the little ones off at and enjoy some golf. Most importantly, our friends at Four Peaks will be out there providing beer samples and swag. So check the link in the description to reserve your spot right now. And for diehards, make sure to check the Discord for your special link where you'll save 20% on this awesome event. And of course, if you can't join us, make sure to grab some Four Peaks beer wherever you get your beer and enjoy responsibly and remotely. Enjoy it in spirit. You can get, you know, tweet us and stuff while you're not there and we'll pretend like you're there. So whether you're there or not, make sure to have a great time on January 13th.

Starting point is 00:13:41 If you grab that Four Peaks beer, make sure you're 21 and over and enjoy responsibly. Jesse, before we move on, I did just want to talk about, of course, what the Atlanta Braves keep doing over there. It's hilarious. It's freaking hilarious at this point. We're acting like watching what they're doing. We're fucking watching everything that they're doing all the time, Jesse. Per Robert Murray, the Atlanta Braves and catcher Sean Murphy recently acquired catcher Sean Murphy through a trade have agreed to a six-year $73 million contract extension that includes a $15 million club option for 2029. Jesse, please tell me and the Diamondbacks how the hell they keep doing this.

Starting point is 00:14:23 It's wild. It is, it is truly wild. And the best explanation I can come up with, Derek, is that, like, once one guy signs an extension and another guy signs an extension and another guy signs an extension, at a certain point, it's like, I don't want to be the only guy who has a sign an extension. Like, I don't want to be. Because you haven't signed an extension yet. What are you doing? The rest of us signed, what are you waiting for? I think there's a real element of that here where the Braves have just locked up so many of their young players, their key players moving forward that Sean Murphy comes in and is like, yeah, the Braves are a great organization. They're in position to contend. Like what other team would I want to play for? And the other thing I'll say about this too is that I view this one pretty differently from some of the other ones. I know people seeing these numbers viewed this as being extraordinarily team friendly. I do think it's pretty team friendly, but I will also say that Sean Murphy is a catcher. And as things stood before this extension, he would have hit free agency at 31 years old. If you look at the track record of catchers, you know, in free agency once they hit their 30s, generally you're not making $15 million a year. And that's what the Braves are committing to here. They're giving him $15 million a

Starting point is 00:15:41 year for three seasons after that. So 2026 through 2028. And then there's also a team option for 15 million in for 2029. So I actually think this is somewhat bold by the Atlanta Brave. Sean Murphy's an outstanding player right now, but the track record with catchers, you know, once they get on the other side of 30, is actually not all that great. Gabriel Ferrer in the comments says they must use the Dennis system.

Starting point is 00:16:09 And Jesse, I'm going to explain to you really quickly what the Dennis system is from McCoy's Sunny in Philadelphia. It is one of the character on the show, whose name Dennis, it's his way of, of actually, I guess, making women fall in love with him, but not really in love with him, just fall for him, right? And he's suggesting that Braves are using a similar system. And each letter of his name stands for something.

Starting point is 00:16:35 So first, it's demonstrate value, right? They're demonstrating the value here. They engage physically. Maybe that's money-wise. I don't know. Maybe nurturing dependence, right? They make them think that they're making this decision. on their own when they're not really.

Starting point is 00:16:52 Then, then you neglect emotionally. That's the other end. Then you inspire hope and you separate entirely. And then it's that separation that really makes them miss the Braves, I think. I think that's the point where they can't do nothing but sign for whatever minimum amount the Braves want them to sign for. I can't explain it. I don't even think that that's a good explanation for it.

Starting point is 00:17:13 But what I will say is they're doing it the right way and it makes me jealous. I think that the Diamondbacks have a team. honestly, that's poised to be extended in a similar fashion. I'm more surprised by the fact that the Braves extended Sean Murphy, really without ever having him play for them at all, right? I mean, usually you want to see how a guy does before you extend him. And that's one difference that you could say between him and the other guys on their team. They've done a good job of taking care of their own guys that have performed well for them, right?

Starting point is 00:17:45 And I mean, when you look at Dansby Swanson being the lone outlaw, as far as guys that are leaving this team and not staying, you know, sticking around to be a part of this core in the future, that's a, that's a pretty good percentage, considering how good some of these guys on the team are, you know, and that they were able to get them to stick around for this period of time. I just think the key here is to doing it young, right? Trying your best. Obviously, Sean Murphy doesn't fall in that category necessarily, but the other guys, they were, you know, given these big contracts when they were at an age, I guess, to still kind of appreciate being paid that much more. Sometimes when you grab these guys right after being paid what they were being paid in

Starting point is 00:18:23 the minor leagues and even in their first year of baseball, that amount of money is very attractive, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I just think it's wild that, you know, the Braves are perceived now as this team that is elite at, you know, retaining their own talent. Like, that's kind of what all these extensions have led us to believe. And yet they're also the team that, you know, let Freddie Freeman get away and that just had Danesby Swanson. How that's a great point. That's a good point. have a historically guy. Danesby sponsored an excellent season in 2022. And now he's a member of the Chicago Cubs. The Braves somehow have like threaded the needle between like we're not going to keep

Starting point is 00:18:59 everyone. Like some guys are going to kind of price themselves out. But we're going to keep a lot of them. And we're going to do it better than any other organization in baseball. What's more impressive? The Padre's offseason spending or the Braves ability to sign their trades to an extension or sign their own guys to a contract extension? I think the extensions are more impressive.

Starting point is 00:19:21 I mean, at the end of the day, if you have the money to spend in free agency, I mean, money speaks louder than anything in free agency. If you're the top bidder, you're going to get the player. And that seems to be like how the Padres have generally been operating the last few years. They're just bidding higher than anyone else. And their ownership group is kind of willing to do that. With the Braves, it's a little different because you really have to get guys to believe in your organization to sign an extension.

Starting point is 00:19:46 frankly, a lot of these guys are probably walking away from more money that they could earn in free agency if they decided, you know, to just wait it out and become free agents and, you know, test the open market, they might be leaving some money on the table. But the fact that the Braves have been, you know, just as consistently competitive as they've been over the last few years, the fact that the Atlanta Braves, I think are just one of the most well-respected organizations in baseball right now. it's like yeah, even if I might be able to get more money in the open market in a few years, that is a little bit of a risk. And I would rather just have stability in a great organization and continue playing for the Atlanta Braves. That's a great point. The Diamondbacks have done an okay job at extending some of their top guys. They extended Cotel Marte back in March of this year.

Starting point is 00:20:39 And unfortunately, that didn't really, I don't know if you could say it didn't work out. out. They did, Catell did not have a great season. They also extended Merrill Kelly. That deal looks much better than Cotel. But the Catell-Marté contract extension was still fairly team friendly. We're talking about a five-year extension worth $76 million. And unfortunately, it was followed up by Cotel essentially having the worst season of his career. Now, a big part of the reason why he had the worst season of his career is due to injury. And we know that that's been kind of a looming factor with him over the last two seasons going back to 2021. But in order for us to be fair and in order for us to continue the tradition we have

Starting point is 00:21:24 started, we are going to go ahead and grade Catell Marte's 22 season. Now, I will start off by saying, Jesse, the rules here are the 2020 season. Okay. I don't want people mad tweeting me because of how badly I graded him. Catele Marte is a phenomenal player. And if you're asking me, I think he's going to have a bounce back season. It's going to surprise a lot of people, but I don't think we'll be surprised because we know what this guy is capable of once he's healthy. Yeah, I think that's a good point.

Starting point is 00:21:58 Like, there's a difference between the outlook for Cotel Marte at large and like what he did in 2022. Frankly, Derek, it wasn't that great. We can throw my my grades up there. I'll go ahead and go for it. There's some not great letters in here, frankly. For hit, I have a C minus for Ctele Marte. He hit 240, which frankly, for him is as bad as we've seen since he came to the Diamondbacks.

Starting point is 00:22:27 It's the worst batting average he's had on the team. His power, I'm going with a C plus there. I think Ctele Marte in some ways, maybe his flaw in 2022 offensively, was that he kind of sold out for power. But ironically, it didn't necessarily translate. He slugged 407. So, yeah, I mean, I think that there are some changes in approach that he might need to put into place moving forward. I do think he has a lot of power.

Starting point is 00:22:55 I mean, his, you know, he still put up some extremely high exit velocities at times. But he needs to find a way to get to that power more consistently. I have a C plus there. Base running is a C. Derek, honestly, I expected to maybe go lower on this just because it looked like Catelle was slowing up a lot on the base pass throughout the year. But I checked his sprint speed over at baseball savant. It was 41st percentile, pretty similar to what it was in 2021. There wasn't a huge drop off there.

Starting point is 00:23:26 Catell is not a guy who's going to steal bases, but it was fine. I think it was a decent season for him on the base paths. Going down the list, I have a D plus at fielding. we've talked about this a lot. It was gross defensively for Catel Marte, especially at the beginning of the year. That's the best way to describe it. Gross. It improved, I think, toward the end of the year.

Starting point is 00:23:48 I think we maybe started to see fewer just like blatant mistakes. It wasn't necessarily errors for him. It was just like, wow, like he just doesn't look as athletic and as mobile as he's looked in years past. So I have a D plus on fielding. durability. I have a C. I actually thought I might need to go lower on this, just given the injuries that just seem to keep coming back over and over and over again, in particular, the hamstring problems that we've seen for a number of years.

Starting point is 00:24:18 He still played 137 games and had 558 plate appearances. So I'm going with a C here. That's actually a pretty full season, all things considered. I'm sure the injuries probably played a role in how well he played, but he still was on the field a decent amount. And then lastly, dogging him, I'm going with a B, Derek. I feel like I can't go lower than a B for dog and him on anyone.

Starting point is 00:24:39 I could tell Marte, we know deep down, he still has that dog in him somewhere. So hopefully he can unleash it a little bit more in 2023. Well, Jesse, you're not going to like my report card. Let me tell you, because I definitely went lower than a B when it came to dog in him. Leah, would you throw mine up there, please? Because mine is not very good here. B minus, I feel like I could have gone lower with hit. Didn't think that, again, like you said, his batting average was his

Starting point is 00:25:03 lowest of his career. There's just not a lot of things. Also, struck out 101 times. That's another thing that was concerning to me. But like you said, I think that translates over to the sea and power. I feel like he was just absolutely smashing the ball at like a negative 17 degree launch angle right into the ground. Right. So it's like, it's not that his exit velocity wasn't there. I believe some of the most hard to hit balls this season were off of Catele's bat. They were forever. out. You know, so I don't believe for a second that his power isn't there and his hit ability is gone.

Starting point is 00:25:40 I just feel like what you said hit the nail on the head. This guy, he has always been able, at least for the last couple of years, to have a really, really good batting average. I mean, going back to 2019, he hit 329, 287 in 2020, and then 318 last year. So with, with, based on this schedule, based on this trajectory, this. this odd number year he is going to just fucking tear it up jesse uh but running i agreed with you uh it wasn't terrible he just and the the biggest problem with running was it seemed like when he ran when he sprinted that's when he was injuring himself the most right that's when the hamstrings

Starting point is 00:26:21 would go bad and i just didn't understand what was happening with and most of the time it was a run down the first base fielding uh d for disappointment d for hello and welcome to disappointment Jesse, this man was at one point prior to this season, selected by the MLB network to be the best second baseman in baseball. And I just don't know what criteria they were basing that on. We were very excited about it at the beginning of the season. And of course, we know how that went. I think it was shockingly bad,

Starting point is 00:26:55 considering that we thought his weaknesses were just kind of put on display in center field. and then he comes back to the infield and just struggle at times. F durability because, of course, I feel like I'm giving him an F for durability because I feel like all of these factors are connected to his injury. I feel like his lack of mobility in the field was due to that. I feel like even his struggles at the plate were due to the injuries that he just played through, right?

Starting point is 00:27:23 Because they were pooled, strained hamstrings and it's stuff where they just kind of cramp up, but it's not really enough for you to be out for a significant period of time or have surgery or anything like that. And it's it's frustrating. So that the durability F is more towards his body and less towards him. But the dog in him, I gave him a C. And I think that's more for him. I could tell, I mean, he's always been a gamer, right? He's always been a guy that just seemed insanely competitive.

Starting point is 00:27:51 But there was something about this season that felt like he was kind of just relaxed. He was cool with what was going on. It didn't seem like his struggles offensively or, you know, his struggles in the field, you know, bothered him. Now, again, that might just be his personality. I might just be putting my aggressive nature. Like I would fall apart if things happened to me badly as a professional athlete. No, I'm not just limping off field. I'm going to be throwing my helmet and throwing a fit and being a giant baby out there.

Starting point is 00:28:26 If I pull my hamstring or some shit like that, right? there is something to be said about the fact that some guys just don't show that level of, you know, anger or fire over struggling or over injuries or anything like that. But you want to see it, I think. You want to see a frustration. You want when things aren't going well, I want you to be angry. And I know that might help, but I guess it helps me. Helps me as a fan.

Starting point is 00:28:48 Look at you, see you angry, see you frustrated and feel the same way. Like feel equally as frustrated as you are with what's going on with this team, right? this team wasn't as bad. I don't feel like, as the record indicated, they just went on some really bad stretches this season and their bullpen was just atrocious. I feel like they're very close to rectifying a lot of their issues. In 2023,

Starting point is 00:29:10 easily could be that year that Cotel bounces back. I think, I mean, in my mind, Cattel, I don't know if he's necessarily the biggest X factor for 2023, but like he's up there. I mean, if you get another season of, you know, odd numbered year, Catelle Marte, as you were talking about earlier, if that happens, the debacks are going to be in pretty good position. I don't think most people are even really expecting Cotel Marte, you know, to be like a big factor in this lineup in 2023. But if he is

Starting point is 00:29:43 that guy, it would be a huge boost. And it would give some stability to a lineup that has a lot of excitement, but also kind of a lot of question marks. Like you don't really know what you're going to get from Jake McCarthy and Alec Thomas and Corbyn-Carroll and there's just not enough track record there to really know. Cotel Marte, there's a track record here. And at times he's been very, very good. And I don't think that extension that you talked about is necessarily a disaster or anything. I think it's still sort of okay.

Starting point is 00:30:15 But if he continues to trend downward, you know, if 2020 was just kind of the beginning of, you know the downturn of his career, then it could look pretty bad in a few years. The debacks already had Cotel Marte through 2024. This deal brought that out to 27. And it's a little bit harder to sell that like you definitely want Cetel Marte on your baseball team that far into the future. Yeah, that's a great point. That's a great point.

Starting point is 00:30:45 Well, if you guys are here right now in the PHNX Sports YouTube channel, we thank you so much for being here for being in their chat. always appreciate you guys in your time. Of course, if you haven't done so already, make sure to subscribe to the PHNX Sports YouTube channel. Sign up for notifications. That way you don't miss when we go live or any of our other wonderful shows go live. And also leave us a little thumbs up. It just makes me happy. It makes me feel warm inside. If you're listening to us right now in your favorite audio podcasting app, make sure to subscribe to us there if you haven't done so.

Starting point is 00:31:10 And leave us a review. We always appreciate your feedback. We appreciate you guys downloading the show. We can't tell you how much we appreciate it. We have had our best month to date of this show existing in December during the off season. And that's because of you guys. So we not only thank all of you that have been here regularly, but we thank you Toronto Blue Jays fans that have kind of popped in to give your two cents and really help us get over the edge here at the end of the month because, of course, we were expecting things to slow down during the end of December and Christmas and the holiday.

Starting point is 00:31:42 And it did not. You guys did not let us down. And we thank you so much for being here and supporting us. We are just over the moon with how well things are going. If you want to, go to morefurniture.com and reward yourself for being a fan of this show. Buy yourself a new piece of furniture on me. Like, I'm not paying for it, but just feel like that I authorize that and it's on me because more furniture has wonderful furniture. And of course, you know you have stuff in your house you need to replace.

Starting point is 00:32:09 You know you have that cabinet, or not cabinet, but like a nightstand or like a where you put your clothes, like one of those dressers that's outdated from the 90s get rid of it it's time to move on you're better than that you deserve better than that go to more furniture.com get yourself some new furniture and tell you what just to make you feel extra special more furniture will not only give you free delivery uh but they will give you free white glove delivery with any minimum purchase of 1,999. So make sure to check out more furniture.com for that and get your get get them to bring it over make sure they wear white gloves. Maybe bow ties. I don't know. That's what I would request. seem to go with bow ties, but whatever you want to do.

Starting point is 00:32:49 And honestly, tell them your friends from PHNX, sent you. Well, we appreciate you guys doing so. Last night, Jesse, was the guaranteed rate bowl at Chase Field. And I'm upset. I'm not upset because a football game took place at Chase Field, Jesse. I am upset because, as we talked about yesterday, they had indoor fireworks, Jesse, indoor fireworks at Chase Field. I am furious.

Starting point is 00:33:12 I feel like I've been lied to my whole life. What is this? I mean, so for one, it appears the roof is open. Yes, I believe. How where? How do you appear? Where? I don't see that.

Starting point is 00:33:25 Maybe. Okay. The picture is showing up a little bit. It's a little bit hard to tell for me. No, I think you're right. I think you're right. I don't think the roof is open. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:33:32 I don't think it's open. Yeah. No, the roof is not open. So, yeah, we definitely do have an indoor fireworks situation here. It's a little different, right? Because they're being, like, launched from the field. And I don't think they're like those really, really big fireworks. to like go way up into the sky because that would probably like blow the roof off or something.

Starting point is 00:33:51 But maybe there maybe there is some potential for the debacks to do something along along those lines at some point at Chase Field. What you're saying is we have to launch them off from second base. I am okay with that. I don't know if you heard, but the bases are bigger. Maybe that allows for this to happen from the, I don't know. Michael Rokickey says, did they not have indoor fireworks at the Royal Rumble? You bet your ass they did. It's a WWE event.

Starting point is 00:34:15 Are you kidding me? Of course they had indoor fireworks. I'm just pointing out. Roof was closed, panels open. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think all of the panels were open except for one of them, which it appears was closed. I want to say that that was also an issue during the season where like there's this one panel that that doesn't open for some reason that is not, will not open.

Starting point is 00:34:37 And it doesn't appear that they fixed that, which kind of goes back to our conversation yesterday about the roof situation. and, you know, some things in the ballpark just kind of lingering as problems. But Jesse, when you want to get rid of your car, you don't go off and put some new rims on it. You know what I'm saying? I think that's what's happening right now. That's only speculation. So don't quote me on that. Of course, we know it's Christmas vacation week.

Starting point is 00:35:00 My daughter can't wait for me to take her to do something fun. We are going off to Octane Raceway and Mavericks after we're done doing this show. Because we had an absolute blast as a team there. and of course I want to make sure that my daughter has at least one day of not sitting around the house on our iPad this vacation, you know, to take in as a memory. But you guys can also do the same thing. Of course, Octane Raceway and Mavericks has a wonderful selection of food. Their burgers are absolutely to die for. I enjoyed them very, very much, though.

Starting point is 00:35:32 And Octane has the only full-time indoor, outdoor racetrack in the United States. So check out Octane Raceway. Check out Mavericks in their 22 bowling lanes. 85 arcade games, state-of-the-art laser tag, and so much more. You can have your events there. You can have your parties there. You can just go there as a family and have a great afternoon. So make sure to check out their restaurant, their bar, their craft beers, custom cocktails, everything they got.

Starting point is 00:35:54 Daily specials today on, or excuse me, today, what day is? Today is Wednesday, right? Today on Wednesday. Today, I believe is Wednesday. I don't even know anymore, Jesse. These people are in my house. I can't keep up to date on what day of the week it is. I'm still forgetting to feed myself.

Starting point is 00:36:09 I'm glad my wife is here to take care of me, but Wednesday is winning Wednesday. So half-price arcade games all day. What better time to go down to Mavericks and check them out. We're very excited to have Octane Raceway and Mavericks as part of our Ph. And you can come check it out for yourself, give you your kids one last blast before their Christmas vacation is over. So make sure to check them out.

Starting point is 00:36:29 And of course, we thank you guys for checking out all of our sponsors. Thank you guys for being here today in the chat. We thank you guys for being a part of the PHNX family. In the meantime, you can follow us on. Twitter. I'm at cap underscore caveman with a K. Jesse is at Jesse and Friedman. Our show is at PHNX underscore Dbacks, but of course all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Again, we thank you guys for your time on behalf of Jesse, Leah and myself. We always appreciate you guys being here. And remember kids, baseball is so much fun. Excuse me, I'm messing up

Starting point is 00:37:03 the ending. It's fun. Baseball's just fun, but it's so much more fun. When your lineup consists of guys with fantastic heads of hair.

PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Lourdes Gurriel Jr gives the D-backs a bat, versatility, and another great head of hair in the lineup

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