PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - POSTGAME: D-backs STAY RED-HOT! Beat Nationals for 4th Straight, Improve to 16-5 in E-Rod Starts

Episode Date: July 25, 2026

The Arizona Diamondbacks kept their hot streak rolling, winning their fourth straight game with a series-opening victory over the Washington Nationals. Eduardo Rodriguez continued his dominant run wit...h another quality start, Gabriel Moreno extended his incredible on-base streak to 40 consecutive starts, and the bullpen slammed the door in yet another one-run win. We break down how the D-backs improved to 16 wins in Eduardo Rodriguez's starts this season and strengthened their grip on the final NL Wild Card spot. Plus, Damon can't help but call out the Los Angeles Dodgers for somehow stealing the spotlight again with their unexpected trip to Washington, DC even though they weren't scheduled to play the Nationals. 0:00 D-backs = National League's hottest team 🔥  6:05 Is Tyler Locklear legit?!  20:25 E-Rod limits the damage  26:20 Bullpen does it again  31:40 Best D-backs bullpen since ___?  40:50 Worst uniform combo in MLB 👎  46:25 ZERO challenges tonight  54:30 NL Wild Card race update  1:00:35 Dodgers committing crimes (again) JOIN THE SUPPORTERS CLUB ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yc6km2r4 An ALLCITY Network Production SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtube ALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsports MERCH https://store.allcitynetwork.com/collections/phnx-locker ALLCITY Network, Inc. aka PHNX and PHNX Sports is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Phoenix PHNX Events: Get your tickets to PHNX events and takeovers here: https://gophnx.com/events/ ALLCITY — including us here at PHNX — is teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for an exciting three-year partnership. To learn more, visit https://www.bbbs.org/allcity/ Branded Bills: Use code BBPHNX15 at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 15% off your first order! Husband & Wife Law Team: If you’ve had a serious injury, Call The Husband & Wife Law Team first at 602-783-8841 or visit https://husbandandwifelawteam.com/?utm_source=allcity-padcasts&utm_medium=digital-phx&utm_campaign=allcityShowNotes bet365: https://www.bet365.com/hub/en-us/app-hero-banner-1?utm_source=affiliate&utm_campaign=usapp&utm_medium=affiliate&affiliate=365_03485317 Use the code PHNX365 to sign up, deposit $10 and bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets! Disclaimer: Must be 21+ and physically located in AZ.  If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-NEXT-STEP, text NEXTSTEP to 53342 or visit https://problemgambling.az.gov/ Gametime: Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Shady Rays: Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: PHNX for 40% 2+ pairs of off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people. 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! 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Y'all shouldn't have let the snakes get hot. The Diamondbacks beat the Nationals for their fourth win in a row, and they do it in big fashion here with Eduardo Rodriguez winning his 16th game as a starter with the Arizona Diamondbacks. We are talking about it all right now. Don't you go anywhere. We're going live. Welcome into another edition of the PHNX Diamondbacks podcast, Circle K,
Starting point is 00:00:47 extra hard for this one. But I've got to go extra hard because the Diamondbacks win their fourth game in a row. I am pumped. Welcome in to the P.HNX Diamondback Show. My name is Derek Montia, occasionally known as your mayor of PHNX. And of course, like I said earlier, they shouldn't have let the snakes get hot.
Starting point is 00:01:06 I got my guy, Damon Dog, my dog, your dog, and definitely Gabby Moreno's dog. It's Damon Dog, aka Damon Farrell on the ones and twos. And holy crap, we got ourselves a baseball team once again. The Diamondbacks beat the Washington Nationals
Starting point is 00:01:21 in game one of this series by a score of three to two. Like I said, they win their fourth in a row, and they stay hot whenever Eduardo Rodriguez is on the mound, even when he can't go very long like he did his last outing. But today was much different. Erod gave them a quality start, and the snakes get the win. Of course, this show is brought to you by our friends over at Bet365.
Starting point is 00:01:44 Bet365, where winning is everything. Download the app today and use that code of PHNX365. We're also brought to you by GameTime. download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase terms to apply. Oh boy, what a win. Not a big offensive output today and not a great game overall from the Diamondbacks, but they did enough to hold off this red hot Washington Nationals offense, limiting them just to two runs scored and beating them by a score of three to two.
Starting point is 00:02:17 And the Diamondbacks now improved to 55 and 49 on the season. six games above 500. Calvin missed it, but Calvin, it's okay. We're going to tell you everything that happened in this game. Come on in, sit down, grab yourself something to drink. Luckily, I found something other than downtown Phoenix tap water to put in my cup. Otherwise, we were going to be in trouble drinking that. But it's a little crunchy.
Starting point is 00:02:42 I will say this was a huge win, just considering that the Diamondbacks now kind of can feel that pressure alleviate a little bit. and again, apply the pressure to a Washington Nationals team that is in a very similar spot. In fact, Damon said it during the game, and he said it the other day on the show. This Nationals team is very reminiscent of the Diamondbacks from 2024. Very, very high-powered offense, but sometimes they go flat like they did today,
Starting point is 00:03:09 and their bullpen is not very good at all. I was very excited once we got to the bullpen phase of today's game, and the Diamondbacks were able to score the go-ahead run off of the bullpen. and win this one by a score of three to two. They now improve to 10 and 2 since July 9th, which is the best record in the National League over that frame and the second best record in MLB behind the Red Sox. Their 12 wins since July 4th are tied for second in MLB with the Tigers
Starting point is 00:03:40 and once again behind the Red Sox. But their 12 wins since July 4th are the most also in the National League. And you know what, Damon, the journey is absolutely right. it's time to send Little Perdomo up Mount 500. The story of today's game is that there was not a lot of offense and it truly became a pitching duel between Eduardo Rodriguez and Zach Little. And it came down to the bullpen. The game was tied when both pitchers left the game
Starting point is 00:04:15 and it came down to which bullpen would hold. The Diamondbacks would basically outpitch the Nationals by just a little bit, but enough to get the win. And the mistakes would play a role in the Diamondbacks offense today. It felt like every time they got something going, there was some sort of just base running mistake, some sort of thing that happened to keep them from really extending this lead and keeping this offense that has been rolling over the last few starts coming into this one and keep it going. In the first inning with one out after Marte struck out, Carol and Perdomo both walked.
Starting point is 00:04:51 Gabby Moreno would single. this was a softly hit single and kind of hung in the air a little bit to center fielder their center field there and both runners basically had to wait to advance they would take off perdomo would essentially overrun second base and get back picked there for the second out of the inning and then arnato would ground out to end the inning so that was one of their scoring opportunities that they kind of squandered early there instead of having bases loaded with one out, they end up having just runners on the corners with two outs and that inning ends without a runner scoring. However, the second inning would start off with a Max Kepler leadoff double.
Starting point is 00:05:33 That was followed by a Tyler Locklear walk. And again, cannot say enough about Tyler Locklear. Tyler Locklear feels like just the world of a difference over there at first base. It's like it's the guy we've been waiting for this whole time. I don't want to continue on my campaign to say that we don't need a first basement anymore because we do have Tyler Locklear at home, but we are going to talk about that as well as some other things, including the Dodgers and their continued activities, if you want to call it that. But going back to this game, you had Max Kepler getting that lead off double. He would move over with a sack bunt by ADC, and then Tim Tal would bring Kepler home for the first run of the game on an RBI single that gave
Starting point is 00:06:19 the D-backs a one-to-nothing lead. Kattel then hit into a double play. but the Diamondbacks challenged it. That double play would be overturned. Cotel would be safe at first. Tallow was out at second, and Locklear came home to score, making it two to nothing at the time. And runs were a premium in this game,
Starting point is 00:06:35 obviously, considering that the end score was three to two. So very good that we had those runs early on because the Diamondbacks bats would get cold. You would have Moreno get a lead-off single to start the third inning, but he would be stranded at first base. And the D-backs wouldn't get their next base runner at all until Tyler Locklear got a single in the sixth.
Starting point is 00:06:55 Then he stole his first base of the season. Once again, just continuing to be productive and find ways to get himself in the scoring position, get himself on base, and he would also not score in that inning. The Nationals, meanwhile, would go on to tie the game on a two-run home run by Dylan Cruz in the fourth off of Eduardo Rodriguez. That would be his only blemish of the day.
Starting point is 00:07:18 But we'll get to that here shortly. Meanwhile for Gabby Moreno, the single in the first inning extended his straight starts of reaching base safely to 40 straight starts, which is the second longest streak in franchise history behind Corby Carroll's 44 games of reaching base safely in 2024. And Gabby Moreno is very much still on track for that. But you can't say enough about what Moreno's done for this team over this stretch. He has just been incredibly dialed in over the last month plus. And like I have said in the past, he is by far, by far, the Diamondback's most consistent hitter. Gabby right now is hitting 312 with an 845 OPS. Insane.
Starting point is 00:08:06 Just insane numbers for Gabby Moreno this season. He also has a 394 on-base percentage right now. Getting on base 40% of the time. Love to see it. We also have, of course, the lack of offense overall here being a common theme for the Diamondbacks this season. Not something that I think we're surprised by anymore. I don't think this team is surprised by it. It's just still an anomaly, right?
Starting point is 00:08:33 But then in the seventh inning, they kind of woke up again with one out. Marte and Carroll would both single, and then Perdomo would walk to load the bases. Moreno would bring Marte home with a Sackfly RBI to give the Diamondbacks a three-two lead. and we didn't know it at the time, but that go-ahead run would be the game winner in the seventh inning. Aranao walked to load the bases once again, but Kepler would pop out to end the inning. It popped out the second base to end the inning.
Starting point is 00:09:00 And that was it for the offense. Not much offense, like I said, to speak of from the Diamondbacks in this one. They went down one, two, three in the ninth inning. And in the eighth inning, I do believe that they did get a single from Tim Tawa, but he would, Catelle Marte would be called out on strikes after they challenged a pitch that was originally called a ball
Starting point is 00:09:21 and it was overturned. The Diamondbacks meanwhile, I'm going to scream about it later, did not use any challenges in this game. And had they lost this game, I would be screaming even more about that the entirety of this show. But luckily for you guys, me
Starting point is 00:09:36 and the ABS challenge system in general, we don't have to do that because of Diamondbacks. It did win. Not a lot of offense, right? like not a lot of top performers in this game, but Corbyn Carroll was one for three with two walks. He was on base three times today. You also had Kepler going one for four,
Starting point is 00:09:55 Tyler Locklear going one for three with a run scored and a walk himself, and then Tim Tawa going two for four with an RBI. Again, they did enough, but this one definitely came down to the pitching staff, holding strong for them and ERA delivering another quality start. But Gabby Moreno is without a doubt our King Snake of today's game. Well, one, because there's not a lot of options to choose from, considering three guys had an RBI in this one overall. But Gabby Moreno here, two for four in today's game, one RBI,
Starting point is 00:10:28 one 40 game base streak, and more importantly, just the driving force right now behind the offense. Patience, taking what's given to him, and doing what is needed to simply get on base has been the name of the game for Gabby. Not a lot of power, not a lot of extra base hits, but just consistency. In his last 15 games since July 6th,
Starting point is 00:10:53 he has reached base safely two or more times in a game in 12 of those 15 games. And over those 15 games, he's currently batting 421 with four doubles, a home run, 8 RBI, and nine walks. Crazy. It's crazy.
Starting point is 00:11:11 Gabby Moreno, again, find a way to keep him in the lineup. And I do love the fact when you think about it that even though it was due to injury, James McCann is pretty fresh. So James McCann can offer Gabby some opportunities, you know, to not be behind the plate and DH, get some rest days. But overall, you can offer Gabby the opportunity to stay fresh because you have another offensive threat behind the plate in McCann. And you also have a guy that's calling some great games.
Starting point is 00:11:41 James McCann. But the bigger question is, do we have our first baseman already, guys? Do we? Do we maybe need to not shop for a first basement at the trade deadline? I don't know. I know it's crazy, right? But I feel like Tyler Locklear is going to provide us with enough production to avoid that dreaded worst OPS by a team in the live ball era moniker that we were striving for there momentarily. I do feel like Tyler Lockler gives them some solid defense. I've seen him stretch out and make some great plays. I know that today the nationals kind of beat him on some swinging bunts and some things that defensively kind of frustrate you overall, but I do feel like his fundamentals at first are solid. His defense is great and you feel like he can improve. You feel like he can, you know,
Starting point is 00:12:31 get better there. I'm not suggesting maybe that the diamondbacks don't need to go out and try to add some real oomph to this lineup at the trade deadline. I do think, though, that what Tyler Locklear allows Mike Hazen to do is truly focus more on a rental because the first baseman of the future seems to be here. Paul Goldschmidt, who? Christian Wack who? I don't know. We got Tyler Locklear, baby. He's locked in. I know. Those are all crazy things to say. I don't really mean it. So please don't come for me the way you came for Damon for that video that he made on Instagram. But I will say that overall,
Starting point is 00:13:07 Tyler Locklear does make you feel like perhaps that trade with the Mariners kind of works out for everybody and in the long run could end up working out far more for the Diamondbacks than the Marlins with Josh Naylor and his contract. But again, I just like the way he's playing
Starting point is 00:13:26 and it's amazing how quickly he has come up and given me confidence in his ability to play the position over there, right? Locklear's now, hitting 375 in a very short sample size with a 1099 OPS. But again, today was another example where, you know, his at-bats and the role that he played in this game at times allowed this score to reach 3 to 2, which is what ends up, you know, winning the Diamondbacks this ball game.
Starting point is 00:13:54 Instead of being an automatic out as the first base and DH have been time and time again for this team. and even credit once again Adrian Del Castillo he did go 0 for three today with three strikeouts so I'm not going to act like he had a good day but you still feel like lately he's been giving them more since he's been called up
Starting point is 00:14:14 than you know then what we were getting out of DHS out of the D.H role as well so good stuff today from the Diamondbacks but Damon am I am I off base in my excitement about Tyler Locklear? I mean it's early still obviously
Starting point is 00:14:29 I was telling me Mariners fans on Twitter today that he's a bona fide Hall of Famer already and that we're getting his his bust for Cooper. Well, that's just because you like to fight with people on Twitter. Correct. But at the same time, I do like what I've seen thus far. He looks a lot more, you know, I want to say like polished than he did last season. And when he was up on the roster, he just kind of looked lost at the plate.
Starting point is 00:14:54 Like there was, you know, maybe just like not a lot of confidence in the box. Right now he looks pretty damn good. And I like that swing on that first pitch that he had for that single. Yeah. And later in the game when Diamondbacks were struggling, getting base runners at that portion of the game. Yeah. He, like, was going up there.
Starting point is 00:15:10 He had walked his last AB. And yet he was looking to hit immediately. Got a good pitch, swung on it, jumped on it, put it into the grass. Like, I think Locklear has looked pretty dang confident so far, which is good to see. Especially a game after he hits the bomb yesterday, too. And he's just, he's putting performances together right now. which is all we can ask for is just any sort of output from that position. No, you're absolutely right.
Starting point is 00:15:35 When he got the single in the sixth inning, it kind of reminded me of how you look at this team when they collectively go cold and think, how are they not able to get a hit here or there? How is it that all nine starting position players, none of them can get a hit off of a guy that has a 5.62 ERA in today's start, right? and again, even when that happened to this team in the middle of this game, Tyler Lockley was still able to deliver a single when no one else seemed like they could get their bat on the ball.
Starting point is 00:16:10 So again, excited to have him and excited to see if he can give this team enough production for their priorities to change. I still think that a DH first base is needed. And I still think if you get that, then you do have another weapon as far as like, swapping these guys out. If you could get a guy that can play first base and D.H, then, you know, there's some interchangeable parts there, which would allow you to switch some things around
Starting point is 00:16:39 and give Tori some different lineups that he can make. We got our guy, B-Com C clearly in the chat with a $2 super chat. Thank you so much. He says this team is on, is quiet on the creek. I don't know what that means. Am I too old? No one does. No one does.
Starting point is 00:16:57 But you don't have to. It gets the people going. Yeah, that's all it means. But anyway, we're going to take a quick break. And on the other side of this break, we are going to talk about the wonderful day the pitching staff had, including Eduardo Rodriguez and the Diamondbacks winning once again when he's on the mound and a damn near perfect, flawless day from the bullpen.
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Starting point is 00:19:19 Of course, nobody can guarantee the outcome of any legal case, but they can make promises to you as their client, including that you can cancel your fee agreement with them at any time for any reason, that you may speak with one of their lawyers as often as you choose about, anything you wish to discuss, and you have the right to trust that as your lawyers, they will tell you both the strengths and weaknesses of your claim so that you can make informed decisions. If you've had a serious injury, call the husband and wife law team first at 602-783-8841, or visit their website at the link in our show notes and tell them PHNX sent you. Well, Eduardo Rodriguez wasn't his sharpest tonight, but he doesn't even need to be in order
Starting point is 00:19:57 for the Diamondbacks to win because it seems like that's all they do when Errod takes the mound. and he was still really good. And when he got himself into some jams, he magically and masterfully pitched his way out. In the first, that was one of those jams right away. He gave up a lead-off single to James Woods and a one-out double to former D-back prospect, Andres Chaparro, for two runners in a scoring position.
Starting point is 00:20:23 Then he struck out C.J. Abrams with a really nice change-up. His lefty-on-lefty change-up was really good tonight as it's been all season long. and then he got crews to fly out to center field to end the inning with no run scoring. So right there was a really sketchy start to his outing, and then he got out of it without anybody coming across home plate. He followed that up with a one, two, three second inning. And then in the third, he walked Mead with two outs,
Starting point is 00:20:52 but allowed no other base runners. So he was really cooking. In the fourth, he gave up a lead-off single to C.J. Abrams. and then his only blemish of the day was a 91 mile per hour fastball that was up in the middle of the zone that was to Dylan Cruz and he hit that one very far
Starting point is 00:21:09 for a home run to tie the game up at two he would give up a single to Harry Ford in the inning but that would be all that he would give up he walked Meade again in the fifth inning but then he got a double play from his guys Perdomo and Kattel behind him to end the inning and then the sixth inning was his only other jam that he was able to escape again
Starting point is 00:21:28 And this time masterfully, he gives up singles to Abrams and Cruz, and then Jacob Young move them over with the sack bunt. He would strike out forward, walk Luis Garcia, Jr., kind of on purpose, kind of unintentional, intentional walk, and then get Nasim Nunez to ground out to end the threat. So, again, it was really, really great way to handle that particular inning, especially walking Luis Garcia Jr. to load the bases, knowing that that was the most dangerous hitter there in that portion of the lineup and getting through it without getting nicked up, as Tori would say.
Starting point is 00:22:04 And let's take a look here at his pitch chart overall because Errod had himself a day, especially with his changeup. His change up definitely seemed to be working in again. This is like what we were talking about with, I believe, Merrill's changeup on Wednesday's podcast. Or no, I'm sorry. Yeah, Wednesday show. This one was really working well for him. and the change-up never, hardly ever, landed in the zone.
Starting point is 00:22:27 I think maybe in the zone, there was maybe two, and then touching the zone or on the very, very edge of the zone, maybe three more, but for the most part, that change-up dove out of the zone. He got four whiffs on it, 12-wifts total, but only four strikeouts. His four-seam, again, kept it up in the zone, did a good job with that. That was the pitch that he used, the majority of the outing. But a good mix.
Starting point is 00:22:51 He got 31% four-seem usage. 24% change up, 20% sinker, 18% curb ball, right? That's nearly a, see, nearly an equal spread cross. He also added 6% cutter with a whiff on that one as well. His four seam maxed out at 93.7, average 91.6, which is down a little bit from his yearly average, and he got three whiffs for that four seam. Four whiffs on his change up, two whiffs on the sinker, two whiffs on the curveball and then again one whiff on the cutter pretty pretty nice mix of pitches and kept out batters off balance nicely did a great job again of escaping those jams and just overall uh continues to the diamond backs continue to win when erod is out there this is the diamond back's 16th win
Starting point is 00:23:39 when the debacks uh when he's when he's pitching the diamond backs are now 16 and 5 and erod starts enough about this man and what he's been able to do and how he's been able to do it. His ERA this season sits at 2.64. And again, he just remains one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball this year. He has a 1.24 whip, which isn't great. But still, he's done an excellent job at getting wins, going out there and keeping runs off the board. That's what he does well.
Starting point is 00:24:18 he had four strikeouts Damon if you wouldn't mind firing up the circle case strikeout meter once again I apologize to the strikeout meter because four's okay four's okay but it's not it's better than like the Zach gallon three show that we were used to week in and week out look the the strikeout meter demand sacrifices is what I'm saying the strikeout meter wants to be fed right it doesn't want to we must sacrifice it doesn't want a snack like this is like giving the strikeout meter you know like the blue gummy sharks or maybe the peanut butter barrels. This isn't giving him something off of, you know, the rollers. This isn't a hot dog.
Starting point is 00:24:55 This isn't a tornado. That's what the Circle Day strikeout meter really wants. Something hearty, something that's like considered a meal that's going to fill it up. But nonetheless, unfortunately for the strikeout meter, that's not what we do this year. This year we snack lightly. We're losing weight. We're cutting down. We're trimming up.
Starting point is 00:25:10 We're going to look good on the beach this summer strikeout meter. And we're going to do it with less strikeouts because that's the MO for the Diamondback. this year. Their pitching staff has been working well when it comes to this philosophy of pitching the contact and not filling up the strikeout meter and not filling up the stat line. But what they're
Starting point is 00:25:30 doing is winning baseball games and they're keeping scores low. More specifically their bullpen is becoming what one would potentially classify as outstanding. ERAD today, six innings pitched, seven hits allowed, two earned runs, three walks,
Starting point is 00:25:45 4K, one home run. But you know what the bullpen did? The bullpen just got outs. The bullpen didn't give up any hits. The bullpen didn't give up any runs. The bullpen didn't even give up any walks. The bullpen just went out there and quietly did its work, including Paul Seawalt in the ninth inning. You had Juan Murillo, a certified stud, bona fide, wait, certified G, bona fide stud.
Starting point is 00:26:09 That's the way that goes. And you can't teach that. As you know, he gets a big strike out. He goes out there and like just, it was like he had dinner plans. He's like, I got stuff to do. We're doing this in like eight pitches and got out of that inning. One inning pitch, one strikeout. More of the same for Ginkle.
Starting point is 00:26:25 One inning for Ginkle. One strikeout. And then Paul Seawald in the ninth did it very quickly, very quietly, one inning pitched, one strikeout. Save number 24 for Paul Seawald, which is tied for fifth most in Major League Baseball and third most in the National League. How? How? He's made the most of his save opportunity. All of them.
Starting point is 00:26:48 That's not all of them, but most of his really bad performances have come in, you know, Thai baseball games where he gets thrown in in the ninth inning. Right. So he has those really good save numbers because he continues to handle business for the most part when, you know,
Starting point is 00:27:03 it's a save opportunity, which is good to have, I guess. It's better than the alternative. Yeah. Where if he was better in Thai games and then sucked in safe opportunities, that would really suck.
Starting point is 00:27:13 Yeah, that would be bad and he would be bad as a closer. Killer X is asking if the Nats are even good. I don't know. Offensively, offensively, yes. Offensively, they're one of the best teams in baseball. They're bad at everything else. They're bad at everything else.
Starting point is 00:27:28 And again, today, I was loving what was happening because once they turned to their bullpen, it was like there was panic. And given, they did a good job managing the remainder of the game. Their bullpen only allowed one run, but that one run was enough. But what I was excited about was the usage. I was sitting there like, yeah, throw everyone of your relievers in there. Let's get this bullpen nice and tired out for the next three games. It's exactly what I want.
Starting point is 00:27:54 I want this team to be as exhausted as possible going into Saturday and Sunday's game. It would be great for the Diamondbacks not only to win this series, but to sweep this series from the Nats. It's not a must win. It's not a must sweep. The Diamondbacks now sit, like I said, enough games above 500 that you feel fairly confident that there's probably talks and moves being made, phone calls being made that are about buying and not selling. And I don't feel like that is most likely going to change between now and August 2nd.
Starting point is 00:28:31 We sit what, the trade deadline is one week away from Monday. So this series is very important. Every series is for the rest of the entire season. But specifically between now. And next Monday, not this coming Monday, but the one after that, right? So the Diamondbacks are getting hot at the right time. They're winning games at the right time. And quite frankly, their bullpen has been the only thing that has been good all season long. And they were very good today. They won the battle as far as the War of Attrition on who would blink first. It was the Nationals bullpen, which sucks. It's almost like my biggest disappointment is that the Diamondbacks didn't put up more runs on the Nationals bullpen. I know you already talked about it, Derek, but I was telling you during the game where it was like I just remember the trenches, guys,
Starting point is 00:29:20 remember 2024 feeling like we had a superstar lineup full of a team that was like, especially off of a World Series season, you're like, this lineup is good enough to go back. And then you look at your pitching staff and all they do is just provide hurdle after hurdle after hurdle for your team. I mean, Derek,
Starting point is 00:29:37 they brought in these relievers and immediately. The dudes were just walking people on, four pitches. They're giving up singles left and right. I mean, it was just, it was like clockwork the second the bullpen came in. And it really just was giving me like Vietnam War flashback. You and me were excited. The minute we saw them go to the pet, we were like, wait, wait, wait, doesn't their
Starting point is 00:30:00 pen suck? Yeah, yeah, we did the number. You started clapping. Yeah, you were like, yeah. I mean, let's go. And it happened. They immediately gave up that run. It didn't take long for them to give up the go-head run.
Starting point is 00:30:11 We just didn't know that was going to be the go-head run at the time. There's just not a worse place to be as a ball club than when you feel like, man, we have the lead in a lot of these games. Yes. And then our bullpen just falls apart and gives up those leads. And the Diamondbacks this year, like this has been, as much as the season itself has really not been all that great, I think the record is about as good as you could hope for. But I'm saying like the lineup hasn't been great. The starting pitching staff as a whole has not been great outside of Erod for, you know, in Soroka. It seems like this bullpen has kept you afloat,
Starting point is 00:30:46 and they just continually go out there and don't lose you games. And that is, it's such a stress off of our back for the way that it's been so far this season, just having confidence in your back-end guys. Because I just, I can't, when was the last time that happened? Was it, was it, I mean, the World Series season in the postseason, I think we all felt like Thompson, Ginkle, Seawald had what it takes. But I'm talking about when was the last full season
Starting point is 00:31:13 that you felt like the Diamondbacks had a really good solid bullpen. I really, it might be going back to like J.J. Putts and David Hernandez and Brad Ziegler. Yeah. Like that's, that's the, how far back in my Rolodex I'm going to, Derek,
Starting point is 00:31:28 because I don't even feel like that Fernando Rodney year was like, all right, it's done and dusted. These guys have it in the bag. Like it felt like it was definitely up in the air all the time. And I don't know, this bullpen, they make me feel safe.
Starting point is 00:31:42 It's, it's weird. that you say that they're 18 and 5 or 18 and 15 and one run games right they are uh they they just find a way to win those close margins and and i don't know one run game specifically i feel like that is the biggest test for you as a team when when games like this they're now 19 and 15 in fact with today's win and i think that that is really what shows that you can hold those games like one one run wins really, I think at times is a testament to that bullpen. And the fact that they have 19 wins in one-run games,
Starting point is 00:32:19 and they've played in this many. Yeah. Right? That's a lot of one-run games this year. It goes to show one, the Diamondbacks really aren't scoring a ton of runs. True. And they are 14 and 14 in blowouts.
Starting point is 00:32:32 So that's kind of a push as far as that is concerned. Interesting. But one-run games now they're 19 and 50. They lead baseball, right? Yeah, in one-run. And one-run games played. I don't know if they lead them in one run. I think it's victories as well, but I could be wrong.
Starting point is 00:32:46 No, I wouldn't be surprised. 19 is a lot. That's a lot of one run game. So, again, it just, those are the things that makes you feel, you know, like this team is, is battle tested in a way. They're ready for those moments because they've experienced so many of them this year. They've seen them go sideways on them and they've seen them, you know, they've come out on top. Most importantly, they have the confidence when they have a one run lead to not think, like, oh shit, we're going to blow it.
Starting point is 00:33:15 Yeah. And unfortunately for a lot of teams, including this one in the past, that's probably something that runs through every player's mind when their bullpen is not something that you can count on. Yeah, absolutely. There's no doubt about that. I mean, I just think that like this bullpen is ready to go. Like, I feel super confident in them.
Starting point is 00:33:33 Like, I know that we had the conversation yesterday. Do you add a closer? I think that that's the one thing I would even consider. I feel like the rest of it is pretty in place. at the moment. You even have some options in the minor leagues that are not half bad if you needed to call a guy or two up. And they've had to do that just to have a fresh arm in the pan. Drey Jameson's on the IL.
Starting point is 00:33:53 He'll be back at some point you would presume. Like it just feels like there's a there's a handful of dudes here that you have a lot of confidence in. It's a new feeling. It's new territory. That's for sure. Just get this lineup up to par with what a playoff lineup should look like. bide your time until Corbin Burns and Michael Soroka get back. And it feels like this team really could make some noise, you know, all things considered.
Starting point is 00:34:20 More importantly, they get the win on the day where you felt confident about the starter facing the nationals. Not to, you know, not to discredit Mitch Bratt or Cole Drake, but we have two rookies going this weekend. Yeah, that's fair. It's at least a little comforting to know that we get the win in the series opener and we don't have to worry about necessarily, you know, getting swept or anything at that point. At this point, if either of those guys shove and give this team a chance, then you know, you feel a good
Starting point is 00:34:50 opportunity to win the series, right? And that's all they have to do. They have this road trip ahead of them. They take that stupid-ass game in St. Louis that they shouldn't even had to play. They win today. They win four in a row. That was a revenge game, right, Derek? It's 100% of revenge game. We didn't do a post game for that much to kill a Rex's chigrant. I said I refuse to work
Starting point is 00:35:08 extra. I'm not going to do work because the Cardinals decided not to move that. goddamn game up in the first place. Oh, I have to do a five o'clock show now instead of my 12 p.m. off day show where I get to go home and watch pro wrestling, put my cute little feet up on the table with my new little dog on my lap. No, not doing it. And I couldn't do that because I still had to watch baseball and I still have to do an audio podcast. So subscribe to our stream and make sure you get those. They took their anger out on the Cardinals though. Oh, yeah, they did. They were pissed. And I mean, 25 runs in 14 innings, Damon, is something that I don't think we thought we were going
Starting point is 00:35:42 see at any point this year from this particular offense. It was cathartic. It felt good. More importantly, they have a positive run differential now. So that's something that we haven't seen this team have very much this year. And like I said earlier, they win again when Erod is on the mound, 16 and 5 this season when Eduardo Rodriguez is up there and you just love to see it. AZ cards nerd says that Tori called it karma after the game. Love to see that. It was karma. You know that they were fired up. It was karma. You know, Tori was in the locker room going,
Starting point is 00:36:14 let's go beat these guys' ass. And everybody was like, yeah. Yeah. Oh, fired up. Are you guys, are you guys happy you're here today? Are you happy that you had to get in a plane and fly to the state of Missouri? Oh, come on.
Starting point is 00:36:31 Kevin Thomas isn't going to like that. I do it on purpose for Kevin, but anyway. The worst city in America. The worst city in America? You got a metal arches. It's a big metal rainbow. It doesn't even have colors on it. It's stupid.
Starting point is 00:36:46 You have it on your license plates. Anyway, we're going to take a quick break. I'm going to settle down. And on the other side of this break, I'm going to get all worked up again about them wearing those hats that they wore today without the matching uniforms. Don't you go anywhere you're watching the PHA next Diamondback Show. Well, the AZ Heat is here to stay, folks.
Starting point is 00:37:08 And you know, today it was like walking on the surface of the sun outside. It was oppressive outside. I hated every minute of it. And I hated that heat coming through my windows. And I need some new windows. You need some new windows. We can all use new windows.
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Starting point is 00:38:09 belongs outside. But they are more than just a window store. they offer doors, cabinets, countertops, and a whole lot more. Plus, they have in-house designers which are there to help you plan your space at no extra cost. From cabinets to countertops, they make it simple. The Window Depot, more than just a Windows store. Visit them at the Window Depot.com and get started on your next project right now. And if you're looking for the ultimate spot to watch the game, maybe watch a podcast, place a few bets and grab some drinks, make a whole day out of it.
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Starting point is 00:39:17 And speaking of Hila River, you got to join us this Thursday coming up. We are less than a week away. We are going to be out at Hila River Resorts and Casinos Wild Horse Pass doing this exact show you are watching now, but live in person at the upper deck bar and grill. All you diehards will receive a free drink ticket for the event. It's free to RSVP, and the show starts at 6 p.m. If you're worried you're going to miss a Diamondbacks game, I can tell you right now, it's an off day. So we planned on that.
Starting point is 00:39:48 Also, I'm going to be joined by Alex Dagestino. He is no replacement for Damon. In fact, he is just better, simply better. That's it. It's just a better person there with me co-hosting the show instead of Damon. And this is not at all me retaliating against him for him being on vacation next week and hurting my feeling. So head on over to the link in our show notes to RSVP and find out more about that event. I don't know. No comment. You shouldn't. You shouldn't. But you should, well, I do want to hear
Starting point is 00:40:19 what you have to say about those damn hats they wore today. And see what I'm saying. See what you have me saying? Damn hats. I like those hats. I love those hats. Sick hats. Sick hats. The ice cream hat, the OG, the original. We barely even got to see those hats because of how quickly they got stained with dirt and sweat. True. They didn't want to wear those on the field, but they wore them today. And they wore them, once again,
Starting point is 00:40:43 inexplicably as they do when it's a special weekend and they have to wear these hats with their normal uniforms that do not go with them at all in any way, shape, or form. Derek, if you want to look at the by the numbers right now, we can get a good peek at the uniform. Oh, God, let's do that.
Starting point is 00:40:59 I'm not even going to talk about the numbers. Let's look at Paul Seawald here in the stupid hat and uniform combo. And again, I'm saying, it like I don't like the hat. I love the hat. Let me make this so abundantly clear. This is one of my favorite hats in Diamondbacks history. But it doesn't go with the outfit. And you know me. If there is one thing you know about me, it's not that I know baseball. It's not that I host a podcast. It's not that I am a dad or the mayor or the mayor. It's that I am impeccably dressed at all times. you might not like my outfit,
Starting point is 00:41:35 but you will never be able to look at me and say I didn't match. In fact, Lauren, one of our ad people here in the office one day complimented me on matching and I was appalled by it. Not because she complimented me, but because she acted like it was the first time she had seen me in a matching outfit before
Starting point is 00:41:56 ever walking around this office. David, have I ever been in this office and not matched? No, not to my honor. Has there ever been a day where my hat didn't match my shirt and my stupid little shoes? We did a PHNX superlatives vote and it was someone had to be most likely to wear team gear to a wedding and Derek was, I think unanimously voted. Because I think we could all envision Derek showing up to a wedding in like a snake skin. And I will say it again.
Starting point is 00:42:25 Sedona Reds with deal accents. I would not wear something like that to someone's wedding. I dress nice to weddings. I have suits. I have ties. I wear buttoned up shirts that don't feature the Rugrats. I think we were all just expecting you to show up in like a three-piece suit that is perfectly Diamondbacks colored. Like, just to a team.
Starting point is 00:42:47 That's fine. Yeah. That's fine. What I'm envisioning is that I ordered off a fanatics. No, no. A top hat of some kind. No, with a logo. That's a diamond bag's logo.
Starting point is 00:42:57 No, I'm not envisioning any logos. I'm thinking like the nicest tailored snows. snake skin maroon suit you've ever seen in your life. And you're like, is that a superstar wearing that? No, it's Derek Montaia. He bought it so we could wear it to his co-worker's wedding. Did he, does he own it? No, he specifically bought it just for this one event.
Starting point is 00:43:15 No, I mean, listen, this is a bad uniform. It's just, like, like, I have, it's these swagless uniform. If we're doing the Hall of Fame thing, let us wear the old uniforms. Yes. Why is that, why is that not okay? Why is their specific hat so, and I know there's other teams that this is happening to, so the Diamondbacks are not alone when it comes to the Hall of Fame hats.
Starting point is 00:43:39 But we've had to do this last year as well with the purple hat. And they do this with like, I think like Armed Forces Day, right, where they have like, you know, a camouflage hat, but then they'll still wear it with their, give me a Camo jersey. Whatever happened to those days? Remember when we used to have like Camo jerseys
Starting point is 00:43:53 when we're honoring the troops? We can't have that. Those were cool. I'm just saying. I just want the jersey event. hat to match. I mean, if we, if this was with a purple uniform, I think we'd be as about as fired up as anybody, but you just can't, you can't mix and match the red with the new teal, with the old teal, with the purple. It just looks terrible, man. It looks so bad. It's just so bad. We're the only
Starting point is 00:44:17 team in the league that has 700 colors in their palette. And yet they made us wear all of them at the same time. Yes. Right now. Yes. Disgusting. Yeah. Ketel looked ridiculous. He looked ridiculous. Yeah. We're wearing 18 different colors between his his shoulder or his elbow pad and his shoes. Here's my question, Derek. Why are they not making the Nationals in their Navy blue jerseys? He's wear like a Royal Blue Expos hat and just screw up the whole vibe. Yeah, baby blue or so shit.
Starting point is 00:44:48 A different logo than what they're even wearing. Like, like, why are we the only team that has to look disgusting? I don't know. I mean, but here's the numbers. It's almost ruining the win for me. It's almost ruining the win. Like, how is, how is on that graphic the hat jersey combo the worst thing? Throw that graphic back up there, David.
Starting point is 00:45:08 Look at these numbers. Look at these numbers. One extra base hit. O for four with runners in scoring position for the Nationals? Oh for four? And they're supposed to be the second best offense in the league? Ha! Diamondbacks were two for seven runners in scoring position.
Starting point is 00:45:25 They had one extra base hit. Nationals had two. like I said those bums were 0 for 4 with runners in a scoring position their 19.2% of their contact was hard hit 32% of the contact made by the Diamondbacks was hard hit Diamondbacks expected batting average in this game was 221 the expected batting average for the nationals in this one was 166.
Starting point is 00:45:51 Another thing that truly bothers me there is the O for O on ABS challenges. Not that I picked up any egregious times during this game that the Diamondback should have used their challenges. But on a three to two game, do you really want to take your challenges home with you? I still don't understand this philosophy, this mindset. Yeah. Are you trying to leave your challenges
Starting point is 00:46:12 to your next of kin in your will? Do you think those challenges are going to go up in value over the years, like a Pokemon card? Again, are you trying to turn your challenges in for prizes at the prize counter at the end of the week? I don't know what you're saving them for, but it could have been detrimental.
Starting point is 00:46:29 and I know this is new technology. I know this is a new wrinkle to the game. But my God, I implore the Diamondbacks to listen to me when I say, a big moment in a game doesn't just happen in the ninth inning. A big moment doesn't just happen in the seventh. And you don't need to hold on to your challenges like you're saving them to collect them so that you have the whole set. Challenges should be used.
Starting point is 00:46:58 They should be used in big, moments, they should be used in scoring opportunities, and they should be used. Whether you go 0 for 2 or 6 for 6 or 1 for 3, I don't care. Use your goddamn challenges. They are there to be used. They are there to prevent you from losing a baseball game. And the problem is, is at times it feels like the players themselves are too reluctant to use them, and that philosophy, that mindset comes down from Tori LaBalo and the coaching staff.
Starting point is 00:47:25 And I know that they have their whole certainty versus impact. and all this stuff, can it? Can it? I don't care. Don't reprimand them when they use them and they're wrong. Stop trying to save them all until the seventh inning so that you can use them in a big moment. It just feels like they absolutely need to be more active with these challenges and care far less about the percentage of challenges that they get correct. I do feel like it's easily the thing that you can criticize Tori for the most this season is how, how, how, I mean the diamond backs have the highest percentage in the league so I don't want to call them bad at challenges they're just easy when you don't use them as they're soft yeah they're soft at challenging they're really really soft at challenging and it feels like they could utilize it a whole lot better if they were a little bit more aggressive and that you're right it's a directive from the top down so it's it's got to change it does it does well we're going to take a quick break on the other side of this break we are going to take a look at the wild card standings and see exactly where the diamondbacks are at plus uh uh I'm going to let Damon go off on a Friday afternoon about that criminal organization known as the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Starting point is 00:48:34 So don't you guys go anywhere. You're not going to want to miss this. We'll be right back. And you're watching the PHNX Diamondback show. Typical. I can't shut up about Quince, which is a website that basically has everything you need in life. I think that's the best time, the best way to describe it. But now is the best time for you to reset your wardrobe for the fall, right?
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Starting point is 00:52:14 rest of you are as well, because we are going to be taking over Chase Field on August 25th against the Chicago Cubs. This is a D-BACs takeover presented by our friends at Circle K. your ticket includes a piece of PHNX debax merch, a choice of your shirt or your hat of your choosing. And they also get a game ticket to the Bar-S-all-you-can-eat section and you die-hard to get 20% off this event. Get your tickets now at go-PHNX.com slash events. And who knew at the time when we planned it
Starting point is 00:52:43 that this game could actually be for the top spot in the National League wildcard? Who knew? I did. That's why I picked this game. We're a ways away from that. But that would be incredible if we got to a month from now, fast forwarded. And this was a game that was... We're duking it out with Christian Walker back on the roster.
Starting point is 00:53:04 And Territzcoble pitching for us. It's the best. Yeah. But Kevin and I were having the debate today when we were promoing this on Wildcats. What jersey are you going to show up in, Derek, a Cubs jersey or a Diamondback's jersey? I see what you did there. I see what you did there. Well, people were just wondering.
Starting point is 00:53:20 It's a good gimmick. It's a good gimmick. That's funny because I'm not showing up in any jersey. Because Kevin threw in a curveball. He said a Dodgers jersey. You might even throw a wild card at us. Well, I'm not the one that drafted Showy Otney number one on my fantasy league. Again, I didn't say that.
Starting point is 00:53:37 Kevin said that. I don't know why you're going at me. I don't know either. I just like to go at you. You know that. You know that. Well, you said we're ways off. We have both Dodger news and wildcard news.
Starting point is 00:53:47 But let's take a look at the wildcard standings and where we sit after tonight's win, Damon. because again, things are good for the Diamondbacks. We just wanted them to get through July without being massacred with this schedule. I knew that there weren't the most difficult teams ahead of them. I definitely didn't know that they were going to sweep the Dodgers in that three game set right before the All-Star break. But I think what we just wanted was things not to be a complete disaster
Starting point is 00:54:18 in the month of July. And instead, what we sit here at is a two. 12 and 7 record in the month of July. And as it stands, they are currently on pace for July to be the best month of their entire season, which reminds me very much of a time where we thought that April for this team was going to be the worst month that they could experience with how difficult their schedule was. So much so that I offered up my hair that I would dye it purple like Lordus Gurriel Juniors if they were to come out with a plus 500 record. And boy, did they. I'll still never forget the day that Jake McCarthy shouted at me on the field from 500 feet away,
Starting point is 00:54:56 hey, you're going to look good with purple hair, is what McCarthy told me. I think they did the thing. I think they put a like standup of me in the clubhouse, but instead of it being like the owner for Major League that they undressed, it was a giant picture of my face that they added purple hair to with every win. But as we can see here, the Diamondbacks right now sit in what one would call firm control of the third wildcard spot. And not so crazy to say that after they've lost three games in a row, breathing down the neck of the Philadelphia Phillies for the second wildcard spot, just one game behind them.
Starting point is 00:55:33 But the Diamondbacks are now two games up on the Cardinals and the pirates. The Pirates, who they play during this particular road trip, the Marlins continue to free fall, losing their 10th game in a row. that's a disaster. You don't have Otto Lopez in your lineup. You're not winning games anymore. And the nationals. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:55:52 That does make a whole lot of sense now. I mean, the guy is like a 400 hitter as far as everything I've ever seen. He's the best hitter I've ever seen in my whole entire life, basically. So I think I said he was Honest Wagner on my Twitter account, if I'm not mistaken. I think that's what you said. He was day to day with finger inflammation after getting an injury while fielding. And the Marlins, again, they were kind of one of those.
Starting point is 00:56:15 teams that we had a lot of concerns about. They've been playing good baseball all year long, and they beat the hell out of the Diamondbacks when we played them. So it's just great to see a team like that falling as fast as they have. They literally have plummeted out of the wild card spot when they at one time were in firm control of one of those wild card spots themselves. But now the Diamondbacks sit, going eight and two in their last 10 games, two games above the next closest team. And, I mean, I'm impressed. Color me impressed at this point.
Starting point is 00:56:48 All they really needed to do was stay above the water, right? Stay afloat. Keep your head above water. Don't sink down too many games below 500. Now we're legitimately talking about them possibly passing the Phillies for the second wildcard spot. I think that the cooler part about this, Derek, is that you look at the teams that the Diamondbacks have played recently. And they're pretty much all on this list. Yeah, the Dodgers at the top.
Starting point is 00:57:18 It's the Padres down at the bottom. It's the Nationals right now. It's the Cardinals yesterday. And they're winning these series. So they're doing it against not only, you know, like just winning baseball games. They're doing it against playoff caliber competition as well. And to compound them on top of that, they have one of the easier schedules in the league, the second half. And they've played a lot of kind of playoff contending teams so far.
Starting point is 00:57:44 So you would think that they're getting maybe some of the more difficult teams out of the out of the way here potentially and have some easier series on the horizon. Well, between now and the trade deadline, they have a series, obviously the rest of the series with the nationals, but they have a three game series with the Pirates and then a three game series with the Guardians. Those aren't unwinnable. Those teams aren't juggernauts. Those are teams that. The Pirates is, I mean, that's a huge series. That's a huge series. It goes without saying if you just look at the standings for two seconds here.
Starting point is 00:58:13 Right. But between now and the trade deadline, which is August 2nd, right, they have eight games, and they're currently six games above 500, right? So this is still a test, and beating the pirates is very important, right? Then they have after that point, you're talking about post-August 2nd, they have another four-game series with the Padres who are really not playing good baseball right now. They have another three-game set with the Dodgers to once again assert our dominance over that, fraudulent baseball club. Then we got three with the Rockies, three with the Braves, three with the Red Sox,
Starting point is 00:58:50 which at one point looked like a much easier series than it does now, three with the Reds, and then there's the Cubs series where we will be taking over Chase Field. After that, four more with the Giants, three more with the Phillies. Like, this schedule has a lot of winnable games on it, right? It just depends on how these teams are playing when we catch them, and how much can the Diamondbacks continue to dominate the Rockies and the Padres. They still have seven games against the Padres to play, six more against the Rockies, they have four more against the Giants, and they have three more against the Dodgers.
Starting point is 00:59:23 Luckily, the Dodgers series there on August 7th, 8th, and 9th finishes up our season with that team. So it'll be good to have them in our rearview mirror and not to need, not to have to worry about playing them again before the end of the season. But they do finish up kind of a mixed bag. You know, the end of the season finishes up with a series against the Rangers, Marlins, Yankees, Rockies, and once again, the Padres, which we always seem to wrap up our year against. This year needs to be different. The Diamondbacks need to get their revenge against the Padres in that series
Starting point is 00:59:56 and dominate that baseball club and finish their season strong at that point. That's what I want to see. But the other thing I want to see, Damon, is the entire Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group thrown in jail. Correct. Am I right about that? Well, not just the owners. Also, the face of the franchise as well.
Starting point is 01:00:15 I mean, that's, that's, that's on you. That's, that's on you for sure. But that, that's a more of a you thing. But there was a- I thought it was an us then. I mean, it was kind of an us thing. But, I mean, I'm not, I'm gonna stay. As a community, I thought that we were calling for Otani to be in prison.
Starting point is 01:00:31 I'm going to stay more on the Mark Walters thing. I'm going to stay on Mark Walters because Mark Walters is part of the ownership. They're all committing crimes. That's a fact. They are all committed. crimes, you're right. But Mark Walter seems to be trying to get out of those crimes. He's a billionaire, American businessman, sports owner. He is the CEO of Guggenheim partners and owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Damon's beloved Chelsea
Starting point is 01:00:57 FC. Leave us out of it. I just needed to make sure I added that for it. And according, basically what it happened was basically what had happened as many of you saw as the Dodgers. The Dodgers went to the White House, hilariously enough to go see Donald Trump. And, uh, let's call it what it is. The Dodgers are obsessed with the Diamondbacks. They knew the Diamondbacks were in.
Starting point is 01:01:22 Correct. This is the, and so they felt the need to be the main character as they always do. Correct. And said, why don't we make this the time to make our trip to D.C.? They weren't even playing the Nationals. Like, why not wait until you're playing the national? We are.
Starting point is 01:01:38 Yeah, they're crazy. Sessed with us, Derek. It's ridiculous. And you're right. They are obsessed with us. They're obsessed with upstaging us and showing us up and whatever. And basically they came in to do a ring ceremony and to give Donald Trump. They play them in September, by the way, but it's in D.C.
Starting point is 01:01:55 Or it's in L.A. So maybe that's why they didn't. But anyway, regardless, they gave Trump a ring and it had his name on it. And apparently it's very transparent because there was a tweet that went out that basically said, this entire thing. seemed to kind of stink of sucking up, and it was because when a reporter looked into it, apparently U.S. prosecutors and the SEC are investigating Mark Walters, insurance companies, and Guggenheim partners for possible financial improprieties.
Starting point is 01:02:29 There it is. Improprieties. That's been a hard one for me tonight. But yeah, that's maybe the true reason why they stopped by. In fact, Trump's response to getting the ring was, wow, I don't want to report this. So we're just doing crimes out in the open and we're okay with it. It's just a big joke. Not only that, Derek, we are committing crimes out in the open, but we're openly,
Starting point is 01:02:57 probably actually we're committing crimes not out in the open behind closed doors. They're kidding and crimes trying to get away with them. But then when they are faced with having to answer for those crimes, they are openly bribing people to at the top who have positions of power to allow those crimes to slip through the cracks. And where have I seen this before? Oh, that's right. Shohei Otani has been doing the exact same thing over the past three to four years,
Starting point is 01:03:24 whether it was IPE and the gambling situation, insider trading and going ahead and just, you know, having a fall guy to take the brunt of the penalty there and getting off Scott free or whether it was Shohei Otani stealing hundreds of millions of dollars, defrauding real estate investment scheme in Hawaii. You know, they're trying to financial crime their way out of everything, Derek. As long as the Dodgers can make a bit more money, it's all good what happens in the meantime. The dirty work is, who cares? This is Dodgers ball, and this is who they are.
Starting point is 01:04:02 And people root for these guys. and no R.A. I will not find a new team. But I will say, Derek, that before I was a Chelsea fan before this new ownership group came in, we used to have a humanitarian in charge of our club. He's a Russian oligarch. And now we have bad guys that run the show. That's bad guys. Got it. Got it. Got it.
Starting point is 01:04:31 I got it. I just want to make sure. I was the one that was in a Dodger uniform earlier. And you're in here in a Chelsea FC kid. We used to have the richest man in Russia running the club and everything was fine and all things were above board and we were humanitarian. And now we have scumbag Dodgers running our show. It's ridiculous.
Starting point is 01:04:52 Oh, and guess what? We stink. Oh, yeah. I'm not surprised. Well, that's all I got. And I think that's all the Diamondbacks had. I think Damon's all tapped out. but I hope you guys definitely enjoyed this one,
Starting point is 01:05:05 and I hope the Diamondbacks can keep things rolling. Four in a row, let's make it five tomorrow, and we will see you back here on Monday with another 12 p.m. show recapping whatever happened over the course of the weekend. At least one of us will. The other one, aka Mr. Vacations, will not be here. And I don't even know where the hell he's going. He still hasn't told me that.
Starting point is 01:05:25 Have I not? I don't know. Maybe I just don't pay attention. If I, if I, gun to your head, if you had to guess where I was going, in what we say. Tucson for a week. I'm going to Alaska. Alaska? What? Yeah. Are you going crab fishing?
Starting point is 01:05:42 I don't know, but I might see Kyle Cooper when I'm... Oh my God, no way. This is insane. My mind is blown. We got to talk about this next. But the rest of you, you guys go away. We're going to talk about it privately while David uploads the audio. We appreciate you guys, though. We love you. We do have some final super chats here for. Oh, we got BCSCSC. What we got from BCSC? dollars i got back with thought don't tell nelson quiet then goes and uh gives us a seahawks super world champ no we don't want to do that one and then says i'm sold on max kepler kind of weird to think
Starting point is 01:06:15 no kidding right i really like max kepler a lot are you into germans bcccc i'm just might need to know the next time that you're in the chat i'm more i'm more like his chill vibes he very much reminds me of a surfer dude and that's why i like him but he reminds me a blaze he fills a special hole in my heart that's blaze shaped but and my nips hurt is here finally i mean we've been we've waited the whole show for you we went long just waiting for you my nips heard our favorite watching to national's fans is close match can't wait to get belligerent behind home plate on sunday hell yeah don't harass our players too much enjoy that and don't get to have fun don't don't get sad drunk if the bullpen blows it yeah yeah yeah because my nips hurt you were talking about how in 24 the nationals this year
Starting point is 01:06:58 the twenty twenty six nationals are spider man meme pointing at the 2024 diamond backs. The most fun offense is electric baseball nighted and night out. Decent starting pitching. You just lose game after game with a lead or a tie game because your bullpen absolutely stinks. So we can level with you, buddy. Brighter days are ahead with the nationals line.
Starting point is 01:07:21 Absolutely. Absolutely. And you guys really truly did fleece the San Diego Padres. Oh, thank you. And for that, we can never thank you enough. We can never think you. That's, I mean, that is, that was a win for baseball, a win for the league and everyone in it. Sure is.
Starting point is 01:07:36 But anyway, we're going to get out of here again. Thank you guys for your time. You can follow me on social at cap underscore caveman with a K. Damon, of course, is at Damon Dog with a D-A-W-G, and we're all Damon's dogs. Bark, bark, our shows at PHNX underscore D-Backs, but as always, all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Thank you guys so much for your time. Appreciate you.
Starting point is 01:07:57 See you back here on Monday. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. And remember kids, baseball is fun, but it is so much more fun when you beat everyone and hold on to the last wildcard spot.

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