PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - The Houston Astros battle back in a big way in game 4 with a combined no-hitter vs the Phillies

Episode Date: November 3, 2022

Halloween may be behind us, but the Houston Astros rose from the dead after game three and were an unstoppable monster in game four, throwing a combined no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies. We discuss if combined no-hitters are in fact no-hitters, Daulton Varsho being Super 2 eligible, and so much more. BUY D-BACKS TICKETS HERE: https://gametime.hnyj8s.net/c/3442941/1410622/10874 SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsports DraftKings: Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now (https://bit.ly/3Jl1dMX), use promo code PHNX and make your first deposit of FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in FREE BETS INSTANTLY! For every leg you add you can boost your winnings up to ONE HUNDRED percent!If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisiscounseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visitOPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).21+ (18+ WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NJ/NY/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Min. $5 deposit required. Eligibility restrictions apply. See http://draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.OGeez!: Enter the “Flavoring Life” sweepstakes. One winner will receive 3 bags of OGeez, an OGeez! Hat, a PHNX shirt of your choice, and a PHNX annual membership. Sign up at gophnx.com or visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfIplqDYsxYeiotn5Zc6hRahaX0a5qG99eHVzkhOlGZDRdgUA/viewform. Must be 21 years or older to purchase.Four Peaks: We are teaming up with Four Peaks to host all US and Mexico World Cup matches at their 8th Street Pub. Enjoy beer specials, giveaways, guest appearances, and more while watching on their 22’ jumbo screen. Click here to register for free: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/phnx-2022-world-cup-watch-parties-1329339Enter to win the “Toast of the Month” sweepstakes to win a $50 Four Peaks gift card, a PHNX shirt of your choice, and a PHNX annual membership. Go to goPHNX.Com or visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfOabxo8KQxOWwn9wTilMBuTMAJdrL0CaH9lzfuJqgKN9vfSg/viewform Must be 21 or older. Enjoy responsibly. Bad Birdie: use code “PHNXSPORTS” to take 15% off your next Bad Birdie order! https://glnk.io/7qnq/phnx-sportsMor Furniture: Sit in the same seats we do! Check out https://morfurniture.comUnderdog Fantasy: Sign up for Underdog Fantasy today! Go to the link https://play.underdogfantasy.com/p-phnx and use promo code “PHNX” to receive a deposit match up to $100Liquid Death: Get free shipping on all water and merch at https://LiquidDeath.com/PHNX FOCO: FOCO has you covered with the best Arizona Merchandise. Head on over to foco.com. For all non pre-sale items use the promo code “PHNX” for 10% offWhen you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello and welcome into another edition of the PHNX D-BACs podcast right here on PHNX. My name is Derek Monti. Of course, I'm your mayor of PHNX, and I'm joined by my vice mayor, the one and only Thunderstick, Jesse Friedman. That was quite a game yesterday, Derek, for a number of reasons. So Astros 5-0, pretty crazy stuff. I don't even know what we're seeing, but it might quite possibly be one of the best, most exciting, World Series I've ever watched because I have no idea anymore who's going to win it. Of course, this show is brought to you by the fine folks at the Drafking Sportsbook app,

America's top-rated sportsbook app. Yeah, as Jesse brought up like a bad horror movie monster, you just can't kill the Houston Astros. Right when you think that they're done, right when you think that the devastating loss in game three was enough to drive the stake through the heart of the beast, here they are the following night. On the back of a Christian Javier, beautiful outing,

just as good as you could get as a starting pitcher. You know, throws a no-hitter against Philadelphia, goes six innings, hit 97 pitches. The bullpen finishes off to give the Houston Astros the no combined.

no-hit victory over the Phillies, the second no-hitter in World Series history. I mean, we can't, we got to be careful with our words here, right? We can't say Christian Javier through a no-hitter because that did not happen. Christian Javier for six no-hit innings is what happened. Javier did not give up a hit, Jesse. True. You did not give up a hit. Just like Madison Bumgarner didn't give up a hit in all seven innings of the game that he threw,

and no hit a team, right? So I know what you're saying. This game wasn't six innings, though, Derek. This game wasn't a six inning game. That's, I know, but you're confirming once again that Madison Bumgarner did throw no hitter. But, uh, Christian Javier's family knew it was going to happen. They told him apparently, according to his post game interview, that, that he was going to

throw the no hitter, Jesse. So what's more, what's more impressive here? The Philadelphia Phillies, uh, a night after they tied a war. World Series record for the most home runs in a game going hitless or Christian Javier's family being psychics? Which one? Which one are we going with here? Well, again, technically Christian Javier's family members were wrong because Christian Javier did not throw a no hitter. Christian Javier through six no hit innings. And Brian Abrae, Rafael Montero, and Ryan Presley combined it to throw this no hitter along with him. But no, you're, I mean, still pretty insane.

right, that his family members would say that no hitter or combined no hitter like this one was. I mean, that's still insane that they possibly said that. And I do think there might be some sort of psychic powers that play there. But Christian Javier was outstanding in this game. However you look at it, I mean, six innings, obviously no hits, two walks. Well, you want to discredit the man. You want to discredit the man. I could see.

Because he, I don't want to discredit him. I want to accurately describe the performance that he gave, which was outstanding, but it wasn't a no-hitter. It was a combined no-hitter. Yeah. That's how we prefaced it early on. It was a combined no-hitter. As long as that's clear. That's all I'm here for.

You don't even credit the combined no-hitter as being a no-hitter, I'm guessing. No, no. And it's not to say that, like, I am not as, as, I'm not going to go as far as Jeff Passon, who, who tweeted the other day that, um, something along the lines of combined no hitters not being deserving of respect. Um, I think you like compare, I'm pretty sure that Jeff Passon compared combined no hitters to, uh, boneless wings as opposed to bone in wings. And I, I, I don't know if I would go quite that far because, uh, frankly, boneless wings. wings are just chicken nuggets and they're not really worthy of respect in any in any regard whatsoever. And I do think that a combined no hitter is worthy of respect. I mean, like you said, the Phillies did not have a hit in yesterday's game. And we're not simply going to gloss over that

because multiple pitchers were needed in order to make that happen. It's still nine innings without a hit, right? Like you still have to acknowledge the greatness of what happened in that game. It's just different, right? Like for me, it's just a different category entirely. It's not a no hitter. But it's a still, It's still a very, very impressive accomplishment, even if you, you know, no hit the opposing team, but but use a few pictures in the process. It's still really impressive. It's a tier below a no hitter, but it's still a deserving of notoriety. And I don't want to, I don't want to take that away from the Houston Astros and what they did yesterday. Zach Allen, our very own milkman, he kind of discredited no hitters to us when we were talking about them.

And I didn't know that that was a perspective that. existed prior to that. I did not know that like I obviously just like what you just said, you know that a no hitter isn't as good as a perfect game, right? But I didn't know that there was such a gap in people's mind like Zach Gallens that he would literally let his arm fall off to try to get a perfect game if he was on course for one, but doesn't really care that much about a no hitter. I don't really think it's a... I think he cared.

I think he cared. No, no, no. He was just saying like he doesn't want to... He wouldn't do anything to go beyond what, like, his pitch count is, or to put himself in any kind of jeopardy of like missing his neck start or something of that sort for a no hitter. He wouldn't do anything out of the ordinary to try to get a no hitter versus a perfect game. It sounded like he would be willing to throw 150 pitches, if that's what it's. Yeah, which the D-backs wouldn't let him throw anyway, even if he'd thrown seven-per-finnings.

They would still pull him out of the game. He could try all he was, but he's not getting there, right? Same thing with Christian Javier, though, last night, right? You have no idea what he could have done, but he was limited there based on his pitch count, 97 pitches. The Astros have an exceptional bullpen as they proved to be finishing off the combined no-hitter. And I just thought it was a really impressive pitching performance. want to take a step back though. I'm not going to gloss over this because a little bit ago, you said that boneless wings are not deserving of respect. I don't know if this is your point

of view, but if it is, I have to question this because our very own Anthony Totry, aka whatever you called. I see where you're going with this. Has lovingly nicknamed you Tendys. based on the fact that you look like a guy that would order chicken tenders everywhere you go, which you take a personal offense to because you do not order tenders everywhere you go. However, you still enjoy chicken tenders. So I don't understand how boneless buffalo wings are not deserving of respect. I get that they shouldn't be considered wings. I'm fine with that.

But there's still delicious hunks of chicken meat fried. and covered in sauce, I, I feel they deserve respect. They are still delicious. Are they not? I mean, I mean, so, so I think you have to make a distinction here. Like if you go to Buffalo Wild Wings and you order boneless wings, I've never done this. So I guess I'm asking, I don't think that what they bring out to you is like chicken tenders. They, they bring out to you like, like wings, but like with no bone.

Like, it's just a different category altogether. right where like if you go somewhere and order chicken tenders between tenders and nuggets i mean yeah i get it nuggets could definitely be various parts of the chicken whereas the tender is tends to be a specific thing but still right right still really this is where uh i i don't like i mean once again this is this is a claim this is a claim that tootry is made about me that is completely unsubstantiated so i don't feel like i have to answer to you know whatever ridiculous things are coming out of that man's mouth.

As we both know, there are many ridiculous things that come out of that man's mouth. And, you know, if we tried to make sense of everything that came out of Tootry's mouth, we, you know, we just sit here and talk about it the entire show every day. We wouldn't, yeah, we wouldn't, we would have no time left in our day to try to do our work. Right. Do our things, right? We would just, it would constantly be a conversation, like a huddle of did, did you hear what he just said five minutes ago? Can we like, we got to discuss this now with the group.

I was still assessing. what he said at 10 a.m. And now here we have a new thing to assess. But speaking of assessments, I have to applaud both of these teams in the World Series for their abilities to assess their opponent, come back out with a game plan, the next game, and somehow turn the series around with one game, or at least, you know, have such a dramatic, drastic win that no matter how big the when was the night prior. Now you find yourself feeling like, oh, well, maybe maybe the Astros now are the ones on the role. The one thing about Javier's performance that was really particularly impressive to me was there was no razzle dazzle about it, right? He was just very aggressive. He

came in with, you know, the slider and, you know, his fastball, he challenged hitters. They were making contact, but couldn't get anything off of them. Like, it wasn't like the night before where it was a matter of tipping pitches. It, it seemed like Christian Javier could have told them exactly what he was going to throw and said, here, I dare you to hit this and they still couldn't because it was, it would seem like that kind of performance. He just has like a like a calmness to him, right? Like he just seemed completely unfazed out there, which is not easy to do, right, pitching on the road in Philadelphia. I saw someone on Twitter throwing shade at the broadcast for, you know, going on and on about Ranger Suarez when he was on the mouth.

the other day and you know how cool calm and collected he looked when i think the person who tweeted it said something along the lines of christian havier could keep a straight face you know while while watching like one of his dear friends die a slow painful death right in front of him or something it was it was really it was really something but um but yeah all that to say i mean christian havier just just seemed built for that moment and i mean he's theoretically the astro's number four starter in this series, right? I mean, he's the fourth starter that they've used. And to get six no hit innings out of your number four starter is is pretty incredible. On the other side, Aaron Nola just didn't quite look like himself. He was solid for a few innings, but kind of hit a wall. We've seen

that a couple times now in this series. And that's tough for the Phillies, you know, knowing that moving forward, I think Aaron Nola has a shot to pitch in a game seven. But, you know, if this is the guy that you're going to get in that game. Maybe you don't feel quite as good about it. So, yeah, I mean, I guess that would be pretty short rest. So we'll see what the Phillies decide to do on that front. But, yeah, I mean, tonight it's going to be Noah Cinderguard. So that's sort of a potentially a bullpen game set up, depending on how long they want to

stick with him. They've been pretty cautious with Cindergards so far. And like Christian Javier on the other side, do you now consider if you're Dusty Baker moving him up to potentially be? be your starter in a game seven should this go that far right i mean it feels like after his performance last night it would be hard not to consider wanting him in there for for yeah christian havier is the is the game seven starter i think lance mccolars is probably the guy that they would that they would go to um but after what happened after what happened you know game three uh yeah yeah yeah

I mean, I'm not saying he would be lined up for it, but at the same time, it just seems like there would be a difficult decision there to be made. And obviously there's a good chance that Christian Javier could be waiting in the wings potentially out of the bullpen even. You know, if Baker wants to pull out all the stops and have that in his back pocket, should McCuller's outing look as shaky as it did in game three. But this has just been a fun series to watch, Jesse. I'm really enjoying as a person with, like, it's weird. I know that we all pick the Astros to win, and I know my selection of them sweeping, obviously, is out the door. But there's this weird balance in this series between picking the Astros to win,

but secretly kind of rooting for the Phillies like we have this entire playoff. They have been the team that we decided to stand after the Mariners were put down. and now we have, you know, this combination of the team that wouldn't, shouldn't even be here, wouldn't have been here in any year prior to this versus, you know, one of the best teams in baseball. So it's, it just, it makes that dynamic exciting and the fact that these games have been such a back and forth battle has been extremely exciting to watch. Did you, I know you said this earlier. It kind of surprised me. Do you really think that there was a perception that the Astros were done after game three?

Like the Phillies are up to one. It was a commanding 7-0-0 win. I didn't feel that way. I fully expected the Astros to come storming back in this series. I, you know, I think my thing about it was I didn't feel that way personally because, again, you can score 15 runs in a game. It's not aggregate scoring. It doesn't carry over in any way, right? I think that the Phillies kind of, you know, put their foot on the throat a bit.

And I think people that thought this was going to be kind of an Astros steam roll immediately started thinking that that that that's out the door, right? That the Phillies are going to, which, which it is. No matter who wins the series, it's going to be a battle. And I don't think either team is going to be seen that they laid down and, you know, didn't deserve to be here. I just think that the Phillies had such a commanding offensive output mixed with their pitching, you know, keeping the Astros scoreless. The Astros hadn't scored prior to last night's five run inning in what, 13, I think straight, 14 inning straight.

So, I mean, the Phillies really look like they were on a roll against them. I don't know. I think sometimes Twitter is a weird sounding board where people get dramatic fast. they tend to, you know, react. They tend to be very reactionary based on one game. So sometimes that's what I'm seeing. I have no other sounding board besides you, Rock, Jacob, and Twitter. You know what I mean?

So it's like that's who I'm getting my info from. But I'll tell you, it definitely, I definitely wasn't expecting this in the next game. Yes, I was expecting the Astros to come back and kind of know this. was a must-win situation, but I wasn't expecting the Astros to completely flip the dominance like around on Philadelphia from game three. Yeah, I mean, after what we saw last night, the Astros theoretically have the upper hand in the series again. You've got, you know, three games left, and you've got two of them happening in Houston,

theoretically, if we go that far. So the Phillies have to win a game. That's all they needed to do was win one game in Philadelphia. Phillies have to win a game in Houston. That's the only way that they can win this series, which they already did. I mean, you know, they've already shown that they can do that. So not impossible. But it's two, too.

I mean, this series is fun and it's wild because one of these teams won 106 games in the regular season and the other team won at 87. And on the World Series stage, it looks like a very, very even matchup. and hopefully that continues. I think it's been fun to watch. Baseball, there's so much parody in baseball, really, when it comes down to it. That's the reason why during the season you can watch a series and watch the pirates beat the Dodgers all of a sudden, you know, one weekend. And I mean, it's not even that earth shattering, right?

Like when it happens, it's like, people will be like, hey, did you see the pirates beat the Dodgers? But it's not like something that people, you know, react in such a way that it's, like with disbelief that it could occur. Baseball is just one of those sports that on any given day, any team can be the better team. And in this case, we're seeing two teams

going head to head that are making adjustments, battling, and making, you know, doing everything they can to take home the World Series title. And for us as fans, it couldn't be more exciting. If I was an Astros or Phillies fan, I'd be dying.

But as a impartial, you know, mediator in the middle here. I'm, I'm okay with whatever happens. But the D-BACs, last time the Diamondbacks played the Phillies, D-Backs took two out of three. That was first game of that series was Corbyn Carroll's big league debut, the biggest comeback win in franchise history. And then the last game of that series,

the game that the D-Backs lost, they lost 18 to 2. So I guess, I guess they're, their season matchup with the Phillies didn't end so well. But they technically did win two out of three in that series. So anything can happen. I'll take it. Anything could happen, Jesse. Anything could happen.

But of course, if you haven't done so already, make sure to sign up for a membership over at go phnx.com. Jesse has a wonderful article up right now on why the Diamondbacks outfield or Dalton Bar Show should have won a gold glove. And you can actually check that out whether you have a membership or not. But once you read that, decide you want to check that. out and stick around for all the wonderful writing that Jesse has to offer, make sure to do so over at go phtonx.com with an annual membership. You'll get yourself a free t-shirt with the annual

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on Twitter, but not on the review. Just give us five stars and then tell us how we can get better. But Jesse, Dalton Varsho, Super 2 eligible on the dot just about for service time. What the hell is Super 2 eligibility mean? And what does it mean for the Arizona Diamondbacks? So Super 2 is a designation that's handed out to some players every winter that basically allows players to enter arbitration. a year early. So usually you would hit arbitration after three years of service time. And so you would have three years of arbitration before hitting free agency once you get to six years of service time.

Basically what Super 2 does is it takes those players who have between two and three years. So technically they wouldn't normally qualify for arbitration. And it takes the top 22% of those players in terms of service time and says, hey, you're close enough to having a full three years. We're going to let you hit arbitration a year early anyway. We're going to let you hit arbitration anyway this year. So the threshold in order to be eligible for that was set at two years and 128 days of major league service. Dalton Varshow has exactly two years and 128 days of major league service.

So he was basically had the, the lowest possible service time while still qualifying for the Super 2 designation. So I know it's a bunch of fancy words. But all this really means practically is that Dalton Bar Show will have four arbitration years instead of three. The debacks still have team control over him through 2026. So it's not like they lose a year of team control or anything. It basically just bumps up his salary for next year. He would have made the league minimum, probably something around 700K.

but instead he'll hit arbitration where he projects, according to MLB trade rumors, to make roughly $2.8 million, I think was their projection for him. So it's just going to be a little bump in salary for Dalton Varshow. Other than that, this doesn't affect anyone too too much.

First, he deserves it. Let's be honest. He does. Yeah. He deserves it. The service time just kind of proves that with the amount of playing time that he's had, right? but more than anything, I like how you said it's a little bump.

Don't get me wrong. Most of us listening to this podcast or doing this podcast do not make anywhere near the league minimum. Yeah, that's fair. I guess you're saying a $2 million raise is more than a little bump. It's all right. I mean, it's all right. It's all right. Like I would like to have a $1 million raise.

If I could get a $1 million raise, I would be fine with the arbitration process, which as we know is terrible and awful. The arbitration process is where, you know, we have to talk about devaluing our guy that has all the tools. And that doesn't make any sense because he has all the tools, right? Like, you don't go talk bad about your neighbor that lends you his leaf blower all the time, right? You don't talk bad about the man that lends you an extension cord because you refuse to go buy one and he has 17 of them, right? That's Dalton Vars show. He has all the tools.

and you should never say a bad word about it, but of course, arbitration. Four years, it means four years, four years of going into arbitration and potentially having... The debacks, obviously, I mean, you can avoid arbitration by coming to an agreement with the player in advance.

So a lot of times you don't see players actually go through that ugly process, but we'll see what happens there. It's the worst. But, of course, what it really means is we just need to sign them to a long-term extension now. Let's get the deal done. Let's go. I don't know. I mean, it's interesting. Somebody commented that on the article.

You know, you've got, you've got Dalton Varsho under wraps for four more seasons. He's 26 right now. So that would take him through age, you'd be 30 years old at the point that he becomes a free agent. So, you know, are you sold enough in Dalton Varsho to want him past age 30? I could maybe see a case for that. He's such a great defender. But he also hasn't really established himself offensively yet. I know he, you know, it was in the mid-upper 20s in home runs this year, but the OPS and, you know,

some of the other stats say he still has maybe a little ways to go offensively. So I don't know. I think it's a fair question. I'd consider it after this season, perhaps, this upcoming season. Maybe now is a little bit too early. And like you said, you definitely had him playing all around the field, which you're not going to see him do nearly as much next season. I'd like to see what he can do when he has a bit more stability in his position and his playing time, right?

So we'll probably see Dalton Varsho mostly play right field next year. And I think that would tell me a lot about what we can expect and what you would want to commit to a guy like that. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, if Alec Thomas comes out next year and plays well, then I think, yeah, Alec Thomas is going to play center field and you'll have Varsho and right. if Alec Thomas, you know, is still sort of struggling, maybe they, maybe they want him back

in Reno for a little bit, then maybe you roll with Dalton Bar Show as your center fielder. He absolutely has shown that he can, he can do that. And very well could win a Gold Glove award there if the debacks would just stick him there the entire year. Some other free agent news, friend, old friend, Andrew Chaffin, has opted out and is going to be a free agent. And I say, Jesse, that we throw all the money. money at him and bring him back here to Arizona.

I need Andrew Chafin back in the clubhouse. Yes. What do you think? He's a pretty fun guy. I mean, it seems like Andrew Chafin is, he's a real character. Him and Wade Miley together were a hoot.

They were a hoot. If I was a teacher, I would separate them. You know what I mean? Like I wouldn't let them sit together in class. Andrew Chaffin over the last two years, I guess I'm excluding, in 2020, the D-BACs traded him to the Cubs,

and he pitched three innings there, which will be excluded from this. But over the last two seasons, 2021 and 2022, he's pitched for three teams altogether, the Cubs, the A's, and the Detroit Tigers most recently.

He has a 2.29 ERA in 126 innings. He has not really walking guys anymore, 38 walks in 126 innings. That's 2.7 walks per nine. It's not really giving up home runs. The strikeout numbers look good. He has a 176 ERA plus, which is very, very impressive.

So, yeah, $6.5 million is what was on the table for him. And he decided to look elsewhere. He has a pretty good opportunity to get a multi-year contract, given how good he's been over the last two seasons. And unfortunately, this does confirm the, this is a point in favor of the notion that Diamondbacks players improve once they leave the team. Andrew Chafin had a bit of a rough go in 2020. He gave up six runs in six and two-thirds innings.

2019, he had a 376 ERA, so he was good, but not to the level of what he's been the last two years. Nolan Aronado is reportedly staying with the St. Louis Cardinals. Probably could have gotten some more money as a free agent elsewhere, but I'm telling you, Jesse, there's something about the Cardinals organization that once you go play for someone, a team like that, you don't want to leave.

And I don't know what it is because it's not like they're typically giving guys the most money. They're giving them a lot of money. They're giving them good contracts, but just not as much money as guys could potentially get elsewhere. Yeah, I mean, it certainly seemed that when Paul Goldschmidt signed that extension, it was probably a little bit below market value. It at least seemed to be below what the Diamondbacks thought they would have to pay. And then, yeah, with Nolan Aeronado, I believe it's five years, 144 million that's left on his deal.

And he was, he's an MVP candidate. Like he, it would not be unreasonable. I don't think he's going to, but it would not be unreasonable to vote for Nolan Aeronado to win the MVP award. His, his war by the end of the year was actually higher than Goldschmits and right there with Manny Machado in the National League. So he had an outstanding year. I think the thing working against Aeronado is that he'll be 32. He'll be 32 pretty much by opening day next year. April 16th, he turns 32.

So, you know, do teams want to, if he hits the open market, would a team want to give a soon-to-be 32-year-old, you know, a six-year or seven-year contract? It would be a little bit harder. I think he could have gotten six years. He probably couldn't have gotten seven. And so you're looking at basically Nolan Aronado turning down potentially one more year of contract stability. I think he probably would have been like six years, 175, 180 million close to the same average annual value as what he's due for in St. Louis.

And I think he just likes playing there. Like you're saying, the Cardinals just have a thing where when you get in, you just don't get out. Like you just want to stay put there. And it's hard to blame Aronado for that. I mean, the Cardinals are a good team, and I know they had an early exit in the postseason this year, but I think the future still looks pretty good for them with both Aeronado and Goldschmidt, and it seems like Aeronado wants to be a part of that. The fans are terrific in St. Louis.

Obviously, it's like a cathedral to baseball, their stadium. Yeah, it really is. The franchise is one of the most historic and winningest franchises in the National League history, right? They're second to the Yankees for the most World Series titles. But it's weird because at least you kind of understand when players want to play in a city like Los Angeles or New York. And I'm not knocking St. Louis as a city. I'm just saying it's it really just goes to show how good that organization is, especially once you get inside of it and see its inner workings.

Because it's not like it's it's not Miami. It's not New York. It's not a place where guys that make $150 million, $200 million necessarily want to live, right? But it's, I mean, I just can't explain it other than, you know, you just know that the Cardinals are on a different level or as an organization. And they don't have these same like reputation problems that some other organizations have. And, you know, even in a year like this, right? they were they were supposed to be very good they lose to the philadelphia phillies and they don't get like talked about as being a disaster the way like the dodgers did for losing to the pardres right it's i don't

know there's something about the cardinals they're they're just incredible and i get it but i don't get it i i think i'm pretty sure what it is i don't know how much time you spent in st louis i was there briefly a couple of times and there's a little bit of times and there's a lot of free like just things to do in st louis uh they have an outstanding zoo that i believe is free at least when i was there i'm pretty sure it was free that's got to be it jesse it's got to be the free zoo that's got to be why players want i mean if if nolan aranato is only making 144 million over the next five years he needs that you know he needs all of the free sources of entertainment that you can possibly find.

I'm just saying St. Louis itself. He could have easily made $175 million plus somewhere else. But you know what? You know, you take cuts to live in an area like that so that you can enjoy their free zoo, I suppose. I think the zoo, the zoo entry fees alone will make up the difference. So it makes total sense in my mind.

It actually does. It actually does. I'll say this. In other free agent news, O.G's is trying to acquire open shirt Derek. in a free agency market move. And it's going to be a bidding war for his services, apparently. But in the meantime, the two sides, OGs and PHNX, have agreed to a new deal,

which we're very excited about. Terms of the agreement haven't been released, of course. And I'm pretty sure that they may have traded me to OGs as part of this deal. I don't know. Saul wants to have a talk with me in his office. and I'm not looking forward to it. But the sources close to both sides said that they were immensely excited. We're all looking forward to creating more great content between the brands,

having more incredible events where hopefully I don't have my keys stolen again by Shane Diefenbach. And also, you know, of course, working together with another Arizona brand that is the top selling edible in the state. Of course, make sure to check out OGs at. a dispensary near you. They have a variety of flavors, doses and strains for you to choose from, and they're all about flavoring your life. Make sure to check out those sleep gummies because they

are incredible. Must be 21 or older to enjoy and enjoy responsibly. Also, join us. Sloan Park this Saturday. We only have a few more days for the Arizona Fall League Home Run Derby, y'all. We're going to be out in the

outfield grass. We're going to be out there catching fly balls. having a good time. Tickets are just $5. But of course, open shirt Derek has also broker deals with Mountain Mike's pizza. Because Mountain Mike's pizza right down the road at 849 North Dobson Road are offering 25% off your bill when you mentioned PHNX and show your ticket stub from the event. So all you got to do, come and say the mayor sent me and then show your ticket stub. And that's, and you'll get 25% off your bill. It's not 5% off your bill.

It's not $3 off your bill. I am getting you 25% off your bill, ladies and gentlemen. So there you go. That's for you. I appreciate everything you guys do for us, and I want to do something for you. So thanks to Mountain Mikes for hooking us up with that 25% off. Jesse, I have one last thing to take care of.

One last little bit of business to take care of. And that is the Draft Kings, pick of the week. And I'm going with baseball. I am taking some picks in tonight's game. Houston Astros at the Philadelphia Phillies. You ready

for this, Jesse? I'm taking a four-leg parlay. I'm taking the over on the total runs at seven and a half. I think both teams are going to bust out the boomstick tonight. We're going to see some offense. I'm taking

Alex Breggman to get a I'm taking Reese Hoskins to get a home run, Jesse. And I am taking the Philadelphia Phillies money line, packaging that together for a plus 1,800 value on a very minor bet, on a $5 bet, Jesse. You're making nearly $100 on that.

So low, ask high reward. Go out there. Get yourself. Get yourself. If you don't, if you don't, if you don't, trust my same game parlay, that's totally understandable. I have no idea what my record here is, but it's not good. It's not good to know that. So I'll tell you, though, this is the perfect game for some craziness to happen.

And I think if you get down on the Draft King Sportsbook app, you can get yourself a very similar value. Maybe you decide who you think is going to get a hit or get a home run. Do that over at the Draft King Sportsbook app. Also remember, if you're a new customer, you can bet $5 on any NBA money line. bet and you will get $200 in free bets if your team wins using our promo code of PHNX. Of course, you can also boost your winnings up to 100% with Draft King stepped up same game parleyes. It's this simple.

Download the Draft King Sportsbook. Use promo code PHNX. That's promo code PHNX on the Drafking Sportsbook app. And you will get that opportunity. If you bet $5 on any NBA money line bet to get that $200 in free bets instantly. Minimum agent eligibility restrictions apply. See show notes for details. Jesse also, of course, our friends at Four Peaks, we got some Four Peaks brew.

It's going to be out at Mountain Mike's this Saturday for the Home Run Derby. But of course, we are also teaming up with them to host all U.S. and Mexico World Cup matches at their 8th Street Pub. Enjoy beer specials, giveaways, guest appearances, maybe I'll even be there and more. Check the link in the show notes to register for free. Make sure you register. And that way we can get a head count of how many PH&X members we're going to have join us and make sure to enjoy Four Peaks brewing responsibly must be 21 years or older to enjoy. Jesse, that's all I got.

We got World Series action. We got another Arizona Fall League game. The stuff doesn't stop. Baseball doesn't stop for us. We got to get going. But of course, we thank you guys so much for listening to this podcast. In the meantime, you can check us out on Twitter. I'm at K-Ban-W-A-K.

Jesse is at Jesse and Friedman. Our show is at P-H-N-X underscore D-Backs. but of course all roads lead to you at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. You got anything else? I'm a little hesitant on your, so you're taking the over on seven and a half total runs. I'm taken over on seven and a half. So I, when I filmed the breakdown with Mac the other day, I also took the over on seven and a half runs. And that was game three when the Phillies literally scored seven runs.

and the Astros couldn't give me a run. And so I apologize to any of you who followed my advice and bet you over it because that was not successful. I mean, come on. How are the Astros not going to muster one run up? You know, like I don't think that's going to happen tonight. I don't think that's going to happen tonight. But we'll see if I'm wrong.

And of course, you can grill me for it tomorrow because that's what we do on Fridays. But we thank you guys again for checking out the show on behalf of Jesse and myself. We always appreciate your time. and remember kids baseball is fun but it's way more fun when you hit the over