PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - MLB.com BOLDY predicts the Diamondbacks will get back to World Series…and win it

Episode Date: March 23, 2024

Anthony Castrovince might get some free meals in Arizona with his latest bold predictions article over at MLB.com. Castrovince picked the Diamondbacks to not only get back to the World Series but to win the whole thing in 2024. Is it crazier than predicting both the Dodgers and the Rangers will miss the postseason? We are also talking about Zac Gallen being named the Diamondbacks Opening Day starter and how that outing has gone historically for the 12 Opening Day starters in franchise history over the years.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/Factor Mealkits: Use code PHNXDBACKS50 to get 50% OFF your first Factor box and free wellness shots for life with any active subscription at https://factormeals.com/phnxdbacks50Arizona Lottery: Visit http://www.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!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.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. Someburros: 20% off your order of up to $100 when you use code PHNX at checkout for the whole month of March at https://www.someburros.com/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.

Well, ski on a Saturday and welcome in to another edition of the PHNX D-Backs podcast right here on PHNX. My name is Derek Montia, occasionally known as your mayor of PHNX. Of course, I am joined by my vice mayor of Chase Field as much as he doesn't want to be called that because he'd rather be the vice mayor of Salt River Fields. It's the one and only thunderstick, Jesse Friedman. Derek gets cloudy today. I don't know what to do with myself. I don't think it's supposed to rain, but it's, I don't think it's supposed to rain, but it's, It's like kind of breezy.

I'm used to the daily sunshine and salt river fields and not even having to like give a thought to the weather being anything else than sunny. But here we are. I get it. I get it 100% Jesse. And it's because we know days like this, even a cloudy day are still numbered. These days are numbered. The days of being able to be out at a baseball yard with the weather being tolerable and enjoying it, even if it's chilly, even if it's gray out, those days are going to. to be over before we know it. But luckily, we'll get to enjoy at least a month of Chase Field

having the roof open and enjoyable things like that. Another thing that we're going to very much get to enjoy, obviously, is watching the Arizona Diamondbacks perform this year. MLB.com is very much looking to the Diamondbacks performing. And the reason why I say that is because they listed a, or dropped an article of the bold predictions for 20, This is from Anthony Castrovince, of course, a friend of the show based on the fact Jesse made me read his book about baseball in order for me to not be a dummy about it. But Anthony, Jesse, had a bold prediction when it came to this article and the Arizona Diamondbacks. And that is that they boldly predict that the Diamondbacks will not only make it back to the World Series, but they're going to win the whole damn thing. I think I lost you there for a second.

We back? I think we're back. You hear me and see me and your internet, my internet, there's going to be some problems today. But what I was saying was that Anthony Castrovins predicted the Diamondbacks to not only get back to the World Series, but win the whole thing. Yeah, I almost feel like that's a, that's a bad sign given some of the other, some of the other things that are in, that are in this article. We have the Dodgers missing the postseason all together in here. Correct. We have the, we have Jackson Holiday winning the MVP.

as a guy who is not starting the year on the Orioles opening day roster. We have, what else do we have? Yes, the Rangers missing the postseason, as you said. Division winners, including the Mariners, the Phillies, the Blue Jays, the Royals, and the Pirates. Division winners. We also have, yes, I mean, all of those in their own right are storylines. And then we also have Patrick Corbyn being an all-star and a mid-season trade ship. which if you followed Patrick Corbyn's career over the last few years,

that's not exactly the trajectory that his career has been on. So I feel like, out of all the things on this list, the Diamondbacks winning the World Series might be among the most likely of all of them. Some of these other things just don't even seem plausible to me at all. Yeah, definitely. When they talk about the Diamondbacks, they say Arizona was arguably the most likely. Did I lose Derek? Maybe you did.

Oh, no, there we go. Terrible. Am I back? This is great. This is awesome. This is great. Oh, this is not good. This is not good.

Of course, our internet isn't great today. But, of course, the one thing that they said about Arizona was they are the most likely, unlikely, unlikely pennant winner in MLB history last year. So the math says that a run to the World Series this year is also very unlikely. But, I mean, this team did do some impressive things. Nobody expected them to do. and you can't argue that they didn't go out there and make their team better. We don't know when we're going to see Erod on the field, but we do know that this roster is better and deeper than it's ever been.

Maybe not ever been, but it's been in years, I should say. I think, yeah, I think in the Tori Lavello era, I think this is the deepest roster that Diamondbacks have had. I mean, you look at that 2017 team. We've done that comparison. That 2017 team is close for sure. I think you could make a case that the starting rotation, you know, maybe you would have preferred the 2017 rotation given Zach Godley,

like how unbelievably good he was that year. And of course, E. Rod now is starting the year on the injured list. But yeah, this is, we've been saying it all offseason. This is a well-built Diamondbacks team. It's the Diamondbacks team that has depth, that has the ability to withstand injuries, right? You know, the E-Rod news isn't great. The Randall Griswick News isn't great.

We don't really expect him to start on the opening day roster either, even though that's not official. but the Diamondbacks have the ability to weather the storm more than they have in recent years. Now, I do think that I know this is a crazy, bold prediction, right? But like you said, I don't know if it's crazier than some of the other things. I mean, obviously they admitted in this article that the Dodgers not winning the division is insane. They admitted that the Rangers missing the playoffs is not great either. or not like really something they truly, I think, believe in.

But there's something to be said about the Diamondbacks and the additions they made here, right? Like, you know, they aren't going to be selected. I don't think the math is going to be in their favor because now a lot of the projections and predictions are based on computers, kind of taking a look at players and, you know, suggesting what they're going to do next year. Conservative estimates on Diamondbacks players are going to make this. team look mediocre because this team as a whole had some surprising, you know, performances from guys that like the projections aren't going to suggest that they're going to do that again in 2024.

How do we know they're not, right? Like what we've already seen out of Cotel-Martee is like, can Cotel-Marty possibly stay as hot as he did in the playoffs? The answer seems to kind of be yes already this spring, right? Can Corby and Carroll, you know, continue to do some of the things that he's done, right? So far, all signs are pointing to this team being not a fluke. Like a team that is legitimately a dangerous team and a team that is on the rise. This isn't one of those nice stories where the Diamondbacks had a good year.

And now they're going to kind of dwindle off in a mediocrity once again. I don't think that's going to be the case. And that's why I think that of all these bold predictions, this one's kind of hold some water. You know, like it's kind of weird because like the film, Phillies winning their division also seems very much like a thing that could happen. Like that's not even a bold prediction to me. That's just suggesting that the Braves aren't going to be as good as, you know, you might think they're going to be and that the Phillies are going to be better than we expect them to be.

But, you know, who knows until we play these baseball games how any of this is going to work out. I don't know, Derek. Have you seen the Braves roster? You aware of what their lineup was like one through nine. Relogously, yeah. I think we can safely say that choosing the Phillies to win that division over the Braves is a bold. It's a pretty bold prediction. It's not, I mean, it's not as, it is not as bold as saying that the pirates are going to win the Central in the National League or that the Royals, who I think were in the upper 50s, maybe low 60s in wins last year, are going to win the AL Central.

Obviously, the AL Central is not a, not a particularly great division. But, yeah, I, I think that the Diamondbacks very much have their odds stacked against them, frankly. I mean, that's just the way that it works when you're talking about a team repeating, you know, as National League champions. That's just not something that we see very often. I think Ken Kendrick said it at the beginning of spring training that over the last 50 years, only three teams. Yeah, three times as a team managed to go back to back as the champions of their respective league. It is really rare. And, you know, it's the unfortunate thing about the Diamondbacks getting all the way to the World Series,

but not being able to finish the job, even if we've said it over and over, even if this Diamondbacks team is more talented and does win more games as we expect them to do this year, doesn't come with any guarantees. It doesn't mean you're getting to the NLCS. It doesn't mean you're going to the World Series. Yeah, yeah, I agree with that.

But I also agree with this prediction, Jesse. In fact, I'm ready to say it's not even a prediction. In the words of Paul Heyman, this is a spoiler, Jesse. This is just letting people know what you're going to see. I mean, I know. We don't want to know the end of the movie when it's a 162 game movie. We want to watch it play out. But, spoiler alert, the Diamondbacks are your World Series champions in 2024.

Give them the rings already. Give them the rings already is what I'm saying. But that sounds crazy. That seems crazy. But going back to the Dodgers, though, especially with what they've experienced this week, I don't know if the Dodgers missing the playoffs, obviously, is something that you would even put out there in the atmosphere, in the universe. However, like I said yesterday, the one thing about this week that has proven

is that anything can happen and anything can make a team, you know, kind of knock them off their game, right? Like the Dodgers, like you said, could lose Otani. They could lose several players. There's still going to be an organization that's going to win 100 games, probably. But we just, we don't know that. We don't know how well everything is going to click for them. We don't know how the locker room chemistry is going to be. We didn't even know that coming into this season, right? Because obviously they added a lot of new faces. And we know for the most part that that, you know, locker room seemed pretty solid already.

They've done, if there's one thing the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers have in common is the Dodgers have tried to work towards bringing some of like the best guys into their locker room. And I don't mean that just their play on the field. I mean, again, we've joked. The Dodgers are hard to hate with guys like Moogie Betts and Freddie Freeman over there because they're just good guys. right like they're just guys that are hard to hate overall and it feels like you know the dodgers are trying to do everything they can to obviously maintain a certain level i guess a certain standard like the diamondbacks are of of character in the people that they're bringing over right and then then they get the most innocent baby-faced man in all of baseball uh and somehow there's some

scandal attached to him if i if i was the dodgers i would kind of be sick of starting pictures like giving me nightmares and causing me ulcers. It feels like there's always some starting pitcher in this organization that's making everything, screwing everything up for them, you know? And I love it. I'm here for it. Yeah, I will say, as we kind of touched on yesterday, that this could change the vibes for the Dodgers in the clubhouse.

Just, you know, and that's a real thing. Like, it's hard to say exactly what happened in San Diego last year. But from what we've heard, the vibes in that clubhouse, just weren't great. And understandably so, I mean, the team was very much underperforming the expectations going into the season. And we've seen that. Like sometimes you put a bunch of star level players together,

and it doesn't necessarily go the way that you expect it to. So Dodgers aren't guaranteed anything that, you know, they haven't won the 115 games or whatever it is yet. We're going to have to wait and see if they can deliver on that. I still think they will deliver on having a pretty darn good season. But these games aren't played in. a vacuum. These are real people and, you know, sometimes in baseball, sometimes things really don't go the way that you, that you expect them to. Look at the two teams that spent the most money last

year, the New York Mets and the San Diego Padres, right? Things don't always go your way. And it's understandable for them, you know, like the, for both of those teams to do what they did, considering that they're both in a division with a juggernaut, that you kind of have to spend that money and you have to make those changes in order to compete. However, it just doesn't mean that it's going to work out for you. The Dodgers, safe to say, got embarrassed by the Diamondbacks in the playoffs last year, and they immediately went out and corrected it by bringing in the best possible baseball players that they could bring in.

Much like the Padres and the Mets, we have no idea until the season starts and we're into it, how if that's going to translate over to them actually being a better team. Like you said, it feels like there's no doubt in my mind that this sounds crazy. Dodgers are going to miss the playoffs. Like that sounds crazy because that's suggesting they're not only going to not win the NL West, but they're also going to, you know, miss a, miss a wild card spot. That feels like it's going to take a lot. Yeah, yeah.

Like an absolutely disastrous season for something like that to happen to them, right? Yeah, I almost think that like the Dodgers missing the playoffs is more far-fetched than the Royals winning the Central. I don't know if I, like, am totally ready to say, I believe that, but I think the Dodgers missing the playoffs is extraordinarily unlikely. The Royals were active this offseason. So if those pieces that they got come together, then that team absolutely could be a threat in that division.

But that's not a division like the NL East or the NL West. It's just not. So it's not, like you said, it's not that far-fetched that they wouldn't be able to win it. Of course, we want to let you guys know. Prize Picks does make playing all, watching all this baseball, doing all this baseball stuff much more fun. They also make basketball more fun, and you know what time of year it is. It's turning time.

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We love you guys. Of course, we have a bunch of roster stuff, Jesse, I guess. I brought roster predictions, I guess. I know you wrote on your newsletter. about the Arizona Diamondbacks, once again, turning to Zach Gallen, who was officially named the Diamondbacks opening starter on Monday. He is one of 12 opening day starters in franchise history, according to Jesse's newsletter from go phnx.com.

And of course, we don't have a great track record for opening day. I mean, we had a guy named RJ who went out there and just decimated opponents on opening day. And ever since then, not really great, not really great. No, no, yeah, not really great at all. Randy Johnson has made six starts, six opening day starts for the Diamondbacks that is the most in franchise history. Right behind him is one Brandon Webb who has made four starts. And Brandon Webb did not exactly fair particularly well in those games. 22 innings total, a 573 ERA, a 1-150 whip.

So, yeah, and it's kind of interesting because some of these pitchers like, you know, some of these pitchers are certainly better than others. And I think Brandon Webb is a Diamondbacks legend through and through. And yet you're looking at his opening day numbers. And he really wasn't, he really was not particularly good. Looking at, looking at Webb, he actually, his very last start with the Diamondbacks came on opening day in 2009. That was the day where his velocity was mysteriously low. And he didn't, he didn't pitch well.

He gave up six runs and four innings. And that was, that was ultimately the last game. would throw as a member of the Diamondbacks and just in general. That was the last major league game that he ever pitched in. That's so sad. That's why opening day feels a bit heartbreaking to us, right? Randy Johnson, meanwhile, I'm sorry, complete game on opening day? Is that right?

He did. Yeah, Randy Johnson threw a complete game in 2002 against the San Diego Padres, not just a complete game, but a complete game shutout. He also threw eight and two-thirds innings against the Phillies. that was on opening day of 2000. He threw 130 pitches or more in both of those outings. Those are the good all days of baseball. That was actually acceptable.

Imagine sending your starting pitcher and your ace out there on opening day and being like, throw 140. Do it. Go. That's crazy. That's crazy with what we know about science and arms and such. I don't think that Tori Lavello, will allow Zach Gallen or Merrill Kelly to reach 100 pitches on opening day,

much less 100 and 130. So, yeah. And then Randy Johnson still went out there and had the year he had, right? Like, that's the craziest thing of all when it comes to someone like Randy Johnson is that, you know, he did that just consistently. That was just a part of his DNA. Yeah, absolutely. Ian Kennedy has made three opening day starts for the Diamondbacks.

He's actually been pretty good in those games. The Diamondbacks won all three of Ian Kennedy's opening day starts from 2011 to 2013. So props to IPK from back in the day. He had a 366 ERA in his three opening day starts for the debacks. So yeah, pretty good stuff from Ian Kennedy. Moving down the list, Zach Granky, also three opening day starts from him. Derek, Zach Granky, not, didn't exactly build the best reputation for himself as an opening day starting pitcher.

He had one good outing against the Giants, which I believe was in 2018. However, he or, excuse me, I think that's 2019. Yeah, that's 20, that's 2019. So in 2017, Granky's, or sorry, this is 2016. I'm getting all my years confused here, Derek. In 2016, Zach Granky made his first start with the Diamondbacks. against the Colorado Rockies. And some people might remember,

I was, I was there. I was attending that game. And, yeah, it was not, it was not great, Derek.

Granky gave up, I believe it was seven runs and four innings. He gave up three homers in his first outing is a member of the Diamondbacks. So that was not, that was not great. 2019, Granky faced the L.A. Dodgers,

his former team, of course, on the road. He gave up seven runs there in three, and two thirds innings on opening day. So it was really just that. that one giant start actually was 2017, where he was all right.

I think it was five innings, two runs there. He was pitching, of course, against Madison Bumgarner. And, yeah, but all in all, not the best stuff from Granky. D-Bats lost two out of those three games.

It just, I honestly, like, I think that's the reason why our eye level changed as fans. And I just speak for us older fans, right? it's it's kind of the downfall to a new team experiencing the success that we experienced so early right

I'm not saying like I don't I'm not thankful for that world series but when you get when the world series your third year fourth year essentially in existence you know third year in existence then you know it's it's hard to get back up to that level like people kind of their expectations change they expect you to be just this great team and like some people who are new fans to the game of baseball don't really understand how rare it is for your team to win a world series like that right same thing with brandy johnson like i feel like ever since i first start watching this team we've never really had good opening day starters so even when you go back through some of the guys that did have success on opening day i was like oh wow because it's just felt like 20 straight

years of terribleness on opening day out of the gate even zagalyn wasn't great uh on his opening day start. So like it felt like up here we go again. Yeah, Gallen of course made his first opening day start with the Diamondbacks last year at Dodger Stadium wasn't particularly good. I think it was four and two thirds innings, five runs, something like that. He wasn't great in his next start against the Padres either. A little slow, a bit of a slow start for Gallen out of the gate last year. And then of course he wound up getting in quite a nice rhythm there to finish off that first half of the season. But yeah, it is interesting. Some of these guys in opening day,

like, you know, some pitchers start better than others. And I guess that's a factor here for sure. Well, and again, it's, it's coincidence, maybe. It's just run a bad luck. I mean, maybe there's other franchises that kind of feel the same way, but it does, it does feel a little bit like, wow, this, this only happens to me and it sucks. Yeah.

Nicholas said in the chat, didn't Granky give up two homes. homers to Mason Saunders on opening day. Yeah, that's the 2017 start. He gave up one home run to Mason Saunders, aka Madison, Bumgarner. Bumgarner did homer against Andrew Chafin, though, after Granky exited that game. So it was a two homer game for Madison,

Bumgarner at Chase Field on opening day in 2017. So that was a pretty crazy game. The Diamondbacks did actually win that, though. They came back. And I think it was Mark Malanson, actually. Speaking of a former Diamondbacks, There's Mark Melanson, attempting to get the save there for San Francisco. He wound up blowing that save.

I think it was Chris Owings, if my memory serves me, got the big game-winning hit in that game, or at least a crucial hit down the stretch to give the Diamondbacks that win. Man, as much as I was looking forward to taking this stroll-down memory lane, Jesse, I don't know if I want to be here anymore. I mean, I just missed those Randy Johnson days a lot. I think Elise said at one point, yeah, here it is. He said, Elise, the least known baseball GM said, in 2002, after throwing a million innings in the 2001 season, meaning that Randy Johnson did that complete game shut out

on opening day after just absolutely dominating in the 2001 postseason. So just a different generation of human beings, Jesse. They're just tougher than us. They're stronger. I mean, I don't know how to say it other than that. But you want to talk some predictions for this opening day? Because opening day obviously is right around the corner for the Arizona Diamondbacks. And we know Zach Gallen is going to be there.

We know all the wonderful things. Tori Lobello said about Zach Gallen. And yeah, Zach Gallen is the guy. There was the worst kept secret in the clubhouse in regards to who was going to start on opening day. I think the only factor there was that you did have like Eduardo Rodriguez maybe to consider since he was a little bit more well-rested and maybe a little bit more ready for the season. now that sounds like crazy person talk based on his injury. So let's talk a little bit about some of the other roster predictions

because I feel like for the most part, we're not going to see any surprises versus what we've already seen during spring training. Yeah, yeah. So first of all, I mean, yeah, I don't think Erod was ever. I mean, teams basically decide who's going to do their opening day starter is going to be, you know, weeks in advance. And they, you know, start their, They schedule their starters accordingly.

So, yeah, Erod, he wouldn't have lined up for it no matter what happened. So anyway, yeah, Zach Allen is the Diamondbacks opening day starter. In terms of the opening day roster projection, I guess this is sort of the final time. We'll probably talk about this before we have answers to all of these questions. I suspect the debacks will get us their opening day roster by tomorrow. Maybe it drags into Monday. But I think we should know by tomorrow, at least in the next. 48 hours, I think we'll know.

Before our next show, I think there's a good chance that we'll know the full opening day roster. So running through it real quick on the starting pitching side, I think it's abundantly clear that, you know, you've got Gallin, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Fott are certainly in there. And then based on recent events, it looks like Tommy Henry and Ryan Nelson will be there as well. Bryce Jarvis, I don't anticipate making the opening day rotation, but I do have him in the opening day bullpen. So I don't know if you want to jump into the bullpen now or if you want to

respond starters at all. I think the thing here is that we for the most part know who the starters are going to be. I don't, I mean, backups, there's these other positions that we still don't know. But I have a feeling we even know what the starting lineup is going to look like. It might change a little bit, but based on the guys that we've seen some of the starting lineups Tori's put out there already over the last week, it feels like we've already seen what we're going to see on opening day. Yeah, I think it's just a matter of what the devacs do against Kyle Freeland,

because he's a lefty. So I don't think the diamondbacks are going to roll with the lineup that we saw yesterday, which I think could be their lineup against righties. It's just a matter of who is the Randall Grishick replacement, I guess, in the lineup against a lefty. That's the big question there. So we'll see exactly what the lineup looks like. But as far as the bullpen is concerned, the players remaining in camp right now for the debacks are Seawald, Ginkle, Thompson, Miguel Castro, Scott McGuff, Joe Manaply, Kyle Nelson, and Luis Frius. I think all of those guys will make the team except for one of them because I do at this point expect Bryce Jarvis to be in there as a long reliever. It's not a for sure thing, but my sense of the situation, based on what Tori said yesterday, the debacks are going to want someone who can give them some length, given how many young pitchers they have.

in this rotation. So if Jarvis is on the team, it's just a matter of which of those eight relievers that I listed off do you cut out. My guess is that Luis Frias would be that guy, given that he does have a minor league option remaining. That is something we uncovered a few weeks ago. Despite what Fangraph says, Luis Frius does have an option remaining. So that would be my assumption. They could also go Kyle Nelson there, but you're probably going to want two lefties in your bullpen. Joe Mantipy being the other one. Saul Frank, of course, has already been sent down. So I think it makes more sense to leave Nelson in the bullpen. Send Freas down. He's going to stay in your organization. You can bring him back up later and then have Bryce Jarvis in there in order to give you some length if you need it

in the early days of the season. I think everything you said is correct. Everything is probably the way that I feel like it's lining up as well. Taking a step backwards, though, the important question is who does replace Randall Gritchick in the lineup for that lefty spot? And, you know, are we going to potentially see Jake McCarthy in that role? I don't think that I think Jake McCarthy will make the team in Randall Grishick's spot. That would be my expectation. And obviously, Grishick not being there leaves an open roster spot. So I think McCarthy would be that guy as basically the fourth outfielder.

Jock Peterson, of course, will also make the team, but he's not really fourth outfielder material. We've seen some pretty rough defense from Jock Peterson in spring training. It hasn't been great. So I think McCarthy will make the team as, as, you know, in Griswick spot. But I don't think that necessarily means that McCarthy will take his spot in the lineup against the lefty. McCarthy being a left-handed hitter himself, that wouldn't really make sense. And that's where we get to the infielder's part of this conversation, where I think we know the, We know the main four, right?

We know about Christian Walker, Cotell Marte, Geraldo Prado, O'Hanio Suarez. The question is just who are the two other guys? I think Jace Peterson has a good chance to be one of them. I know Nick Bacoro and his story that he wrote yesterday. He mentioned Jace Peterson that it appeared that he was going to make the team, something along those lines.

So if you have Peterson in there, then it's just a matter of who is your other, who's your other backup infielder? It's going to be a right-handed hitter. do you want Emmanuel Rivera, Kevin Newman, or Blaze Alexander? My guess there, Derek, is that we are going to have Emmanuel Rivera on the opening day roster. The Blaze Alexander will start in the minors and that Kevin Newman will not make the team. I know you're not too happy about Blaze Alexander not being on this opening day roster.

It's egregious. It's egregious. When do we get like, I understand it. That's what I hate. I hate that there's a logical part of me that most people don't get to meet and hang out with very often. And then there's just the rest of me, which you guys know very, very well. But I am not, I don't feel like being logical about this because, yes, it makes all the sense in the world. Blaze Alexander is an incredible baseball player.

Like I said yesterday, he was tied for second as of yesterday for hits in all of Major League Baseball this spring. He has proven that he can steal bases. He can defend well. he can play different roles in the infield. Like everything about Blaise Alexander is everything you would want in a backup, except for the fact that you don't want him to be a backup. You want him to be a regular player. That's the part that confounds me, though,

because you would rather let this guy dwindle away in Reno, rather than having him here contributing to this team, letting him get that major league experience while he's on the roster in a reduced role, and maybe allowing him to blossom into a guy who could even steal Jerry P's job. Do I want that? no, I don't really want your, like, can we just have two short stops out on the field at the same time? No, they told me you can't do that either. So I don't know what the decision is here. I understand it's a difficult one. I just think that Blaze Alexander at the end of the day is going to be a

much bigger asset, a much better player than any of the other three options than you're describing. And I think that if you gave him a chance to play in the majors, you would just see him blossom. You would just see him come into the baseball player that we think he can be. I just don't, know what this man is going to be 35 years old he's going to be celebrating his 43rd birthday just like i am tomorrow in reno jesse that's not fair i need him to be a major league baseball player already yeah i i'm not i'm not disagreeing with you i mean if if it were up to me i probably would put blaze alexander on the opening day roster but i feel fairly confident about this just because if jace peterson is on the team and we know the positions that he plays, right, at second base,

third base, he's played some shortstop this spring as well. Emmanuel Rivera is the only other guy who can back up first base. And we've heard Tori Lavello say that Jock Peterson is not an option there, that Lordus Correel is not an option there. Tori has mentioned Pavin Smith. Pavin Smith, of course, has now been sent down to minor league camp. The debacks are probably going to want someone on their opening day roster who can comfortably back up first base.

And if Jace Peterson is already there, he's not that guy. Blaze Alexander's not that guy. He hasn't played any first base. It feels like it's going to be Emmanuel Rivera, which is interesting because in terms of backup shortstop, that does leave you in an interesting position. We've seen Jase Peterson and Emmanuel Rivera play short this spring, and I wouldn't say it's been disastrous or anything,

but it's hard to know. Like, you know, maybe you should only play a handful of Cactus League games at the position. You know, a lot of these games, they're only playing half of the game at shortstop, then they're being removed. Some of these games, you're not even really, they're not even really getting any actual reps. Like, the ball isn't really even being hit to them more than once or twice in a game at shortstop.

So it's hard to, it's hard to know how it's going to play out there. But this is, that's kind of the way I see this going as of right now. Shout out to Andrew for the super chat. Thank you so much. He said, got to go. Let's my GCU Lopes first win in NCAA tourney. Congrats to the GCU Lopes. That is such a cool thing to happen to that school.

And again, this is the reason why this tournament is so great. It's also the reason why 162 games for your sport doesn't make any sense. Because let's just, do you get into the tournament and then anybody can win? GCU can win? This is awesome. But what's the point of 162 games when we're going to turn the MLB playoffs into this eventually? I don't know. But thank you, Andrew.

And I know that entire thing I just said infuriated Jesse. Ryan Simmons says, Jace Peterson starting at first base today. So there you go. That is what I wanted to touch on. That, well, I think that goes, that's very contrary to what I was just saying. If the Diamondbacks are comfortable with Jace Peterson serving as their backup first baseman, which maybe they are.

I mean, Peterson is moving around a lot in his major league career. That could open the door because at that point, Amin or Rivera isn't really giving you any coverage anywhere that you're not also getting from Jase Peterson, right? Peterson also can play second, which is a position I don't. think Rivera would play. So, yeah, I mean, if the D, that's really interesting to me. If the D-backs are starting J-Speeters in at first base today, that, I mean, a manor, like, if you're, that sounds, that looks like the Diamondbacks are trying to test Peterson out there, in which case maybe Rivera is not a guarantee for the opening day roster. So I, I don't know.

That, that's, that's pretty interesting to me, Derek. That might, but maybe Blaze does make this team after all. Um, um, Gerth is here, Jesse. Uh, Jagirth is here. So it's a party now. It's officially a party. Shout out to Jagurtha. Elizabeth says we are the Jagurtha backs, which is absolutely the case. Chris Melton says, I love all 162 games with a little snorty, emotie. And I get it. You want all the baseball games. I know. She loves baseball more than most people love anything else in the world. So I understand you not wanting your games to be taken away. I'm just saying it's there's, there's, there's, there comes a time we're playing this much baseball during the regular season. It might seem a little unnecessary in the future, considering the way baseball's changed over the years. But I'm not going to be the one to take any of your baseball away. So we'll just, we'll leave it at that.

I do want to say a great way to watch baseball, of course, is by getting your tickets through game time. You can get those last minute spring training tickets before spring training is over through game time. You can also get your opening day tickets from our first. friends at GameTime. So make sure to check out Game Time. It is the place for last minute ticket deals. It is the fastest growing ticketing app in the country for a reason. Snag the tickets without the stress with Game Time. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms do apply again. Create an account and use

code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Download game time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Shout out to Chris, by the way, because of Chris Milton, we are going to be giving away two tickets to opening day. So make sure in order to win, you do not miss any episodes of our show this week, Monday through, what, Wednesday, Monday through Wednesday. We will be picking a winner on Wednesday, but in order for you to win, you have to not only be present, but you have to be here on Monday or Tuesday in order to be entered into Wednesday's drawing. That's how we're doing it. So make sure you show up, because if you need some great tickets to opening day, we might be able to cover that for you. And if you don't win, of course, check out game time.

And that is definitely a great way to get your tickets. Another great way to watch baseball is with our friends at OG's brands, because OGs brands do make life better. They're all about flavoring life, and they have launched two new products to basically accommodate people like me that need 100 milligrams in one simple, single bite, or for people that are vegans because they have their OG's naturals, which are vegan gummies with live rosin,

available in the sweet clementine flavor. the big OGs is a mega version of Pegs, Raspberry, Orange, RSO, and they are delightful. If you want to have yourself a wonderful Saturday, check out the Big OGs. Like freshly squeezed juice, the live rosin, and the naturals is created through a pressing process, which is very interesting. A lot of very interesting things when it comes to edibles and marijuana. But make sure if you want to learn more about OGs companies and where you can find them, head on over to OGsbrands.com. Jesse normally on my birthday weekend

I would have taken the whole weekend off I would have taken the Friday off before the Monday off after maybe a few days on the other week and a few days on the other but I love this job so here I am on Saturday morning before my birthday wasting my weekend

doing multiple podcasts with you this is it's the last it's the last day of me being this number right here, 42. It's all over for me after today. But I did want to just get some suggestions on how or where I should spend my birthday. Tonight is supposedly my night out as an adult with my friends. I haven't made a single plan. I haven't made a single plan. I don't even know where I'm going to go or what I'm going to do. I do know that the PH&X crew is going to be out at Dobson Ranch. And I know a lot of you guys that are diehards are going to be out there. So that might be the perfect place for me to start the

party and then just let let the night take me where where may you don't you don't want to hang out with all with all of us your favorite are we not your favorite people see in the world stare at i was trying to get around to that i think the reason the problem here is how much time i've spent with you today i'm already tired of you uh i've been looking at you in a fuzzy digital form now for the last 40 minutes and like that of course big fuzzy jesse not my favorite jessie i can't lie it's not my favorite Jesse. That's fair. But I will say that, I don't know, I think at this, this age, it's kind of funny to me how the little things really do matter, right? Like, my wife got me a cake, she got me the presents. I came home last night, even though we had a very, very long day,

you and I. And like, it was just, it was just the coming home to the house having a little bit of birthday decorations up and stuff like that. I will reiterate sometimes that the, the, the, Thought being the thing that counts really matters in today's age more than anything. Because you can literally have a gift here in minutes from Amazon. It's not a matter of getting a gift. Sometimes it's a matter of feeling like people at least thought about your birthday a day or two beforehand. Yeah, that's fair. That's fair.

Although as someone who's gotten a couple of gifts from you recently that were very, very delayed, very delayed. Of course, that was, I'm going to blame that on you, Derek, not on it. You know that. You know they screwed me on that. You're a monster. What did you? Where's my present? Is there present for me?

I mean, there might be. There might be. We'll see. Patience. All right. I do know you're shopping last minute. I do.

I do. Yes, you know this about me. Can I cover a couple things here on our, on our way out? Please. Let's do this. Yeah.

So first of all, I just want to give the full list of D-BACs opening day starter since we didn't give that earlier. There are 12 pitchers who made an opening to start for the D-backs. Zach Allen is one of them. We talked about Randy Johnson. We talked about Brandon Webb, Ian Kennedy, Zach Granky. Of course, Madison Fumgarner, also on this list.

He made three starts. And then there's a bunch of guys who have just made one opening day start for the Diamondbacks. That list includes Andy Benis in 1998, who started the first ever, the inaugural Diamondbacks game back in 1998. Andy Benis will forever be Diamondbacks legend for that reason. 2005 Javier Vasquez started on opening day for the D-backs. That one didn't go so well. He gave up seven runs and an inning in two-thirds of the Cubs.

D-back fans might want to forget that one. Dan Heron. Thanks for reminding. Yes, of course. Dan Heron, now the Diamondbacks pitching strategist, of course. He started opening day for them in 2010, was very good in that game. Wade Miley started in 2014. That, of course, was after Patrick Corbin, who had been slated to start that game,

wound up needing Tommy John's surgery, suffered that injury right before the season. Wade Miley made that start in Australia in 2014. And the list rounds out with Josh Colemanter in 2015, who did make an opening day start for this team against once again Madison Bumgarner. And then 2018, Patrick Corbyn started for the debacks that year. That's because Zach Granky was dealing with a groin injury

that pushed him back a few days and Corbyn stepped in and wound up having an unbelievable season. Patrick Corbyn in 2018. was outrageously good in his walk here. So that's the full list. That is every Diamondback starting pitcher who has ever made an opening day start. Anybody that you, when you were still a fan, I don't know, I feel like you were born as a journalist when it comes to this team.

But anybody stuck out to you there as like a big favorite of yours, obviously, besides, you know, the Randy Johnson's? Sure. I mean, I don't really remember Randy Johnson pitching for the Diamondbacks, frankly. So I couldn't really have been a fan of Randy Johnson. I'm just dying. I literally making me wither away when you say that. I do remember Ian Kennedy.

And I did like Ian Kennedy. And yeah, from 2011 to 2013, I know that this performance kind of waned a bit as the years went on. As his Diamondbacks career got further along, he wasn't quite as good. But in 2011, I mean, Ian Kennedy was a 21 game winner. he was he was really good that year i also had an appreciation for josh cole mentor who i i don't think was was exactly opening day starter material uh no no offense to him uh but you know i mean he had a really nice run for for the debacks i say that and yet uh you know the year before making that opening day start he had an er a i think it was three four six or something working mostly as a

starter uh so he had he had some pretty good seasons for the debacks even though his stuff wasn't exactly electric. He had a way of getting outs with that funky, over the top, Tomahawk delivery thing he had going on. It's right. There's a lot of guys. Like, it's kind of funny to look back historically at some of these guys. Because if you were a fan, like,

not every one of these guys was somebody that you thought, you know, was like, oh, I'm just like this guy because he's a little bit of an underdog. No, like you became fans of guys that kind of emerged as a star on this team at one point. and you truly thought you were maybe seeing the emergence of a superstar, right? Like there's been a couple of guys on this team that pitched so well at times. You were like, man, Wade Miley is the future of this team. Josh Coleman is the future of this team. Patrick Corbyn, again, we talk about spring training.

I still remember that spring training where Patrick Corbyn just came in and bypassed all the other pitchers that were supposed to be the bigger prospects, the guys that were going to get the job over him, and just immediately won that job just, through spring training. I remember how kind of he was almost like the Bryce Jarvis, if you would, on the list of starters. I wouldn't say maybe that low, because he was

actually more considered a starting pitcher. I think Bryce is still considered a bit of a reliever, a bit of a long reliever, but still, like, it didn't seem like Patrick Corbyn really had a chance, and then his performance just completely blew everyone away, and next thing you know, he was named to the starting rotation. So

there's a lot of things like that that when you see it, you watch it happen in real time. You feel like, man, this guy I'm seeing in front of me could end up being the, you know, the greatest thing ever. I thought Martine Prado was going to be like the greatest baseball player to ever live when he came over to this team. So like, we all have our moments with that. But of course, thank you to you all for your early birthday wishes in the chat. I love and appreciate each one of you. And I hope to see you guys tonight out there at the tea party. I'm not committing myself to

anything tonight. I'm just going to say that now. But I hope to see you guys out there for sure. Of course, a great way to make sure you make it out there is by stopping and fueling up at Circle K. Gas prices got very expensive overnight, Jesse, let me tell you, but Circle K still has our back, because of course, if you are an Inner Circle member, if you join Inner Circle for free, if you haven't yet, and you do so right now, you can save up to 25 cents per gallon on your first five Phillips. You'll also save three cents off per gallon every day after that. And remember, it does stack with their easy pay option for their gas. So you get 10 cents off for easy pay and another 25 cents off if you're a new

Inner Circle member. You can join Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K up today. Terms and conditions apply at participating locations. Visit CircleK.com for details, but just do it. CircleKs are everywhere. Do you really want to drive all the way over to that warehouse place you have a membership for and wait in that ridiculous line in order to get gas? You just want to stop at the Circle K right there by your house. And guess what? The Circle K gas probably cheaper today than you can get at that other place. But make sure to stop by Circle K today. Fill up. your car, fill yourself up. Also check out AZ lottery. Jesse would be taking his sick Rav 4 on any adventures that he went on, including the Arizona Lottery Adventures. And there are some

wonderful ways you can play their new promotion called Arizona Adventure. You can obviously play with these Arizona Adventure Lottery tickets that feature iconic Arizona landscapes. You can also enter tickets online for a chance to win $1 million in cash in Arizona travel prizes. The most exciting feature of this promotion is that you can play. Arizona Adventure while checking in at geolocated adventure spots at 10 destinations across the state from Flagstaff to Yuma. And that's really what Arizona Lottery is all about with this promotion. They say proceeds from the ticket sales support environmental conservation, among other important initiatives across the state. And Arizona Lottery is not just about playing games and winning prizes.

It's also about giving back to the state and its communities. Visit ASEAventure.com for more information on how you can take an adventure for a chance to win $1 million in cash and Arizona travel prizes. Well, that's all we got this week, guys. We thank you so much for stopping by and being here and dealing with blurry versions of both of us. In the meantime, we will be back on Monday, and then it's opening week, baby. So we got baseball games. Make sure to follow us, though, in the meantime. I'm at Kapp underscore Caveman with a K.

Jesse is at Jesse N. Friedman. Our father, Overlord Jacob. He's at Jacob underscore Franklin 4 because he's the fourth best Jacob Franklin in existence. Of course, our show is at Ph.NX underscore D-Backs, but all roads do lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We thank you guys so much for your time today. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. We will see you again next week.

And in the meantime, hope you're well. Remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it is so much more fun when you actually have a productive opening day starter in the rotation.