PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - What do the Dodgers know about Merrill Kelly? L.A. continues to confound the D-backs righty in loss

Starting point is 00:00:07 Hello and welcome to another edition of the PHNX D-BACs podcast right here on PHNX. My name is Derek Montia. Of course, I am your mayor of Salad and Go. This guy over here is my vice mayor of Saladengo, the one and only Thunder chicken ranch salad, salad, salad. Jesse Friedman. Hey, now, I get to be the mayor of Salad and go, right? No. There's no way.

Starting point is 00:00:29 How do you get to be the mayor? I'm the vice mayor or your bad mouthing of yesterday and saying my takes are ridiculous about the best fast food. joint in Arizona. This show is brought to you by the fine folks at the Drafking Sportsbook app. Download the Drafking Sportsbook app. Use our code of PHNX and get yourself all sorts of fun things that we'll talk about later. Of course, it's America's top rate sportsbook app. Now, I want to talk to you guys.

Starting point is 00:00:52 I'm not going to yell at Jesse. I might yell at you guys for enabling Jesse. Isaiah's dad loves Salad and Garo. Tyler says you shouldn't yell at me. No, no, no. There is no question. There was never a question about whether or not Salad and Go was a top show. shelf, top-notch fast food place. That's not in question. We can agree on that as Jesse thinks he

Starting point is 00:01:12 exposed in an old tweet of mine. Oh, I absolutely exposed. You're just like circling back now because you realized you tweeted this out like a month ago. The question that we were asked yesterday was which fast food place would we take Salvatore Lavallo to in order to impress him? And here are my reasons why this guy and all of you that have supported him are absolutely. wrong. Salvatore Lavallo, he is the son of a man, Jesse, a man who produced and was the casting director for the iconic country sketch show. He-ha. I don't know if you know that. He does not know that. His dad, well, yes, yes. And so here's the thing. He even wrote a book about it. There's some country roots even though he's Italian, right? Like those two things right there

Starting point is 00:02:05 disqualify him immediately from ever even considering a salad to be a meal. But on top of that, Jesse Friedman, one time, Tori Lovolo ate a 30-year-old piece of bubble gum from 1991, a 30-year-old piece of bubble gum that he chewed and swallowed. Do you think that's the kind of man that's going to enjoy sitting in a 2008 RAV-4 to eat a salad with this interior inside? Look at the interior of this car. You want to sit inside? This car.

Starting point is 00:02:39 We're going to sit inside of this car. We're going to sit and look at that. By the way, I want you all to notice that Jesse said he'd plug into the ox cord, thus admitting his car doesn't even have Bluetooth. No, it doesn't. What the hell are we doing here? This is incredible to me that you would support him for the question. Here's the thing.

Starting point is 00:02:58 Understand the assignment. I am not ever going to bad mouth salad and go. And I feel like that as well. You guys have pulled me into that. Their $9.99 deal where you can get breakfast and lunch with a drink is one of the best deals out there. And they don't even advertise with us. I'm just giving this information away for free. But here is the thing.

Starting point is 00:03:17 That was not the question. The question is, where are you taking Tori Lovolo to impress him? And I am taking Tori Lovolo to someplace where he can not only get himself a Machaca burrow, but he can follow it up with as many street tacos as he want after that. And there's a free bar where you can have this unlimited salsa, Jesse. My God, I can't believe I have to even. I didn't feel like I had to give an efficient explanation yesterday. But now I think from all of your responses, you've warranted this.

Starting point is 00:03:46 So I hope you're happy. Have you ever been inside of a filiburto's, Derek? Jesse, I go inside of filiburto all the time. It's not the nicest interior. Oh, my God. Ender. Are you just looking at the interior? At least they have it.

Starting point is 00:04:02 Right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. My car's interior is way nicer than the interior. Get out of it. You're telling me that if you go inside of the Filippertos and you sit down somewhere, pull up the seats in my car again. Come on now. These seats are way more comfortable. Are we seriously looking at the interior again? I don't know. Oh, we are absolutely looking at this amount of time. Yeah. So this is the problem is now we're like see this is this is more time than I want to spend in your car is I guess is the point that I'm making here. Well, you've never sat in my car there. And now you may never, it may never happen because my car's interior is just at another

Starting point is 00:04:40 level there. And I don't know if you'll ever make it inside of there. Do you know who I blame? Who do you blame? I blame the Dodgers for this rift between us. That's fair. Look at how angry we are at each other. And this is all because the Dodgers have just made us so mad.

Starting point is 00:04:52 It's hell week in L.A. And Merrill Kelly still cannot figure out those damn Los Angeles Dodgers. Yesterday he went six innings, eight hits, five earned runs, two. walks seven strikeouts, which wasn't bad. He also won me a lot of money. But more importantly, Merrill Kelly's still giving up a lot of runs, still winless in his career against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yeah, Merrill Kelly, I think in his career against the Dodgers has given up like 22 runs

Starting point is 00:05:20 and 24 inning, something like that, I want to say. I think that's just this season, actually. And so, yeah, I mean, if you take out all of his innings against the Dodgers and just like look at everything else he's done this year, he would have like a 2.38 ERA or something like that. And it's not just this year. It's his entire career. Yeah, no, it is his entire career. The 304

Starting point is 00:05:40 batting average, opponent batting average the Dodgers have against him is the worst versus any team that he has with more than one start. I think he has like one start against the Orioles where they have like a 533 batting average off of them, which is just sounds crazy. But also 11 home

Starting point is 00:05:56 runs allowed most, again, most versus any opponent. As a matter of fact, he has one more home run allowed to the entire American League than he does to the Dodgers, 11 to the Dodgers, 12 to Interleague play. So just has not had a lot of luck against the Dodgers. And I think last night, I don't know, I don't feel like we saw him get frustrated, but I think like, you know, there was a look on his face that is almost, you know, perplexed as to what the hell are you going to do against this one-up, you know?

Starting point is 00:06:28 He said after the game, it was like. he made a reference to it being like a big brother like that you just can't like you just can't find a way to that's that's that's that's a great reference which is a pretty yeah hated one of my big brothers for that exact reason what what would your big brother just like beat you in all the time like basketball it was basketball it was basketball on our front yard and he would always you know because he was taller than me and such he would always you know uh mercilessly swat the ball out of the air wow dunk on me and what do you do this like when you were like when you were really little oh yeah yeah

Starting point is 00:07:00 Yeah, okay. Like at an age where you were a criminal for doing it, you know, I mean, you should be locked up for doing that to your younger brother of like eight when you're 15. Scott, I'm talking to you. Don't think I'm not. It's a very apt comparison. I had older siblings to you. They did the same thing from time to time. So, yeah, I've been there.

Starting point is 00:07:19 That's what happens when you're the big brother. Anyway, that's why I dunk on Jesse. I try to. He got me yesterday, though. But anyway, yeah. Bringing in the car interior, I have to admit. That was pretty funny. Truth be told Derek asked me earlier today what the year if my Ravre 4 was.

Starting point is 00:07:35 And I was like, why do you possibly want to know this information? I wanted it to be accurate to his actual interior. I knew it would be a mistake actually answering that question correctly. Whenever I ask you something mysterious. Yeah, I should have said it was like the brand new 2022, like with the nice leather and everything. That probably wouldn't have changed how you were going to use it anyway. No, no, because nobody wants to be in a Rav 4. Kanye West wrote about it in the song.

Starting point is 00:07:58 Meanwhile, Clayton Kershubhub. dominant against the Diamondbacks. It looked like his old self. He didn't have problems. Hitting double-digit strikeouts and six innings. And, you know, again, it's just that same thing of, man, even when Clayton Kirshah isn't very good, he's still very good against the Diamondbacks.

Starting point is 00:08:16 And Christian Walker was still also very good. Pretty much one of the lone bright spots against L.A., but the Diamondbacks did not have an RBI by somebody with a hit. Their only RBI was by Eraldo Pordomo, who did not actually get a hit with his fielder's choice RBI. But he is the Risp king. He is the risk king, yeah. There's no question about that.

Starting point is 00:08:36 He's a known risk king. Jordan Luplo, however, not a risk king. Very much not even maybe a right fielder after some of the poorly played balls that we saw yesterday. That was a tough play yesterday. It was really close to being pretty impressive. I mean, he was like running backwards and he flings his glove up into the air and happens to make the catch. And then as he's bringing it down, it just drops out of his, out of his mitt. So there's a fine line between making like a really impressive play and kind of looking like you just screwed up the entire inning.

Starting point is 00:09:09 That's very true. That's very true. But I think what we've gotten used to very fast is the elite defense from the younger guys out there in the outfield. That immediately had me. And I'm sure a lot of you guys screaming about why is he even out there, you know, when it comes to defending, we've seen Varshow make some. incredible plays out there in right field. We've seen all those guys. I mean, if Dalton Varshow is out there, Corbyn Carroll's out there,

Starting point is 00:09:34 if Jake McCarthy's out there, maybe they probably make that play. So there's something to be said for that. But again, I think like we've also said about Jordan Loep Loe and his audition for the rest of the season, Diamondbacks just still want to take another look at him. It's like the tale of two different players almost when it comes to Looplo in the minor leagues versus in the majors. It's incredible how much more effective and, and productive he is at a minor league level. So I understand them, you know,

Starting point is 00:10:02 not wanting to give up on him when they'd send him down. And then he was performing, you know, as he was. But it just didn't carry over to, you know, his time here with the Diamondbacks now. Somebody that was pretty good, pretty good, was Louis Freitas. He threw two scoreless innings of relief pitching. Not that, like, there was much on the line at that point. But I felt like the Dodgers were still trying their best to tack on.

Starting point is 00:10:27 and add on to the lead just to make sure that there wasn't a crazy comeback by the Diamondbacks late in the game. And I still felt like it was an encouraging outing for him to go out there and throw two scoreless against the Dodgers. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it was some positive to take away from that game. I'm trying, Jesse. I'm trying here. All right. I think he had like, didn't he, did he walk a couple of guys?

Starting point is 00:10:49 Yeah, yeah. Yeah. He walked two and had one strike out, which in two innings is a little bit hard for me to be super excited about. But he didn't fold. He didn't fold, right, right. He didn't give up a run. There is something to be said about that. There is something to be said for that.

Starting point is 00:11:03 Especially against the Dodgers because he's still a young guy that hasn't had a lot of time at a major league level. So I feel like it's encouraging just to see him be able to kind of get himself into that jam a bit and work himself out without letting a run or without having to be bailed out by another relief venture. Right. His stuff. I mean, Luis Free is still some of the best stuff. Like, yeah, some of the best stuff in the organization. So it's still, I mean, in some ways, it's. It's like, how does this guy have an ERA over 10, you know, when he's throwing this hard and he has this sweeping slider and everything.

Starting point is 00:11:32 But I guess more so the curveball for him. But yeah, he just hasn't really put it together yet. And it's crazy how once you get to the big league level, right, like there's a fine line between, you know, having an ERA of 10 and just sort of, you know, not really being competitive out there a lot of the time and being really effective. And Luis Frius is one of those guys where it might just be a matter of one or two little. adjustments that could that could kind of put him over the top and get him to a place where he is a really effective relief pitcher. And that's what they need him to be next year. Like they need young guys to take this next step and become, you know, reliable forces in the bullpen next season. I don't know if the Diamondbacks are about to, you know, attack free agency again and bring in,

Starting point is 00:12:15 you know, another couple of 37 or 38 year olds for the back end of the bullpen. I think they've, they've gone to this well a few too many times. And they're probably going to start looking to their younger guys to have some of those bigger roles in the bullpen next year if they can prove that they're ready for it. I think the idea there is is that Friass's stuff kind of can be overpowering to minor league guys that might swing at a lot of a lot of power, you know, because it's coming in. They don't really know what to do with it. They've never seen like a 97 mile an hour fastball with good life like he has. Right.

Starting point is 00:12:48 You know what I mean? So I think it might be easier at a minor league level. But right now what we're seeing is him working with Brent. and being effective at a major league level. And again, two walks, you know, the hit, it's not great. I'm not trying to go out and say like I was blown away by it. But that's why I said it's encouraging because with this guy's stuff, if he can learn how to just make those small adjustments to, you know, again, get ahead in the account and, you know, not be so wild, you know, maybe sacrifice some of that velocity to be in the strike zone instead of, you know, we've seen him hit ridiculous. velocities like over 100 miles an hour before but he wasn't able to get it anywhere close to

Starting point is 00:13:30 the strike zone so right you know got got a little rick vaughn in him you know as well as that dog but uh he can definitely uh i think be coached and what better coach to have him with than brent strong i think that's that's again the benefit to having guys like him dray jameson ryan nelson up here right now is that they've they've been coached up they've worked with some good coaches within the organization, but now, again, they're working with the elite pitching coach and the staff, and that I think couldn't be better for a young player's development. Older guys like Madbom are still going to listen to him, but they might, you know, again, Madbom's adjustments and all the things that they're working with him might be why he's been struggling so much

Starting point is 00:14:10 because he's a bit set in his ways at this point. It does, from what we've heard, it sounds like Madison has kind of stuck to what he's been doing and kind of tried to find a way to get that to work. I, from what we've heard in interviews and whatnot, and granted, you know, they're not going to say everything that's going on behind the scenes. But it doesn't sound like he's, you know, been trying to change a whole bunch of stuff and is trying to learn this new way to pitch. It's really been Madison Bumgarner just being like, hey, I used to be really, really good, you know, with a pretty similar arsenal to what I'm using right now. I'm going to try to find a way to get back to the pitcher that I was before. And unfortunately, it hasn't really worked for him so far. So maybe the adjustments are what's needed.

Starting point is 00:14:53 I don't know. But again, that again is part of the problem with someone like Madison, Bumgarner because it's just that much harder. But young guys, the amount of or the impact that someone like Strom can have in their career can be priceless. It really can. Especially if they can learn this stuff at a young age, implement it and have it, you know, make them an effective pitcher out there,

Starting point is 00:15:16 help this team win ball games. Right now, that's, I don't know what they're going to do with the bullpen. It's one of the questions we get on Mailbag Monday every single day. But if they can start developing some of these guys, even maybe some of their potential starters into strong bullpen arms, the future might be once again, just like with the outfield and everywhere else, it might be within the organization and the farm system with the younger players.

Starting point is 00:15:37 Has Kevin Ginkle convinced you? Is he like a guy for next year in your mind there? You know who convinced me he's a guy is Caleb Smith. Okay. I think Caleb Smith has really impressed me. And you know what? I'm going to let Caleb Smith be whatever kind of crazy person he wants to be.

Starting point is 00:15:53 As long as he doesn't hurt himself anymore, he can punch whatever he wants. Let's get that man, you know, I don't know, some sort of mixed martial arts membership or something. So he can put that stuff to good use. He's been, he has been really good. He's been incredibly good. We've seen him used in like a multi-inning role recently. We've been a couple games where he went like two, two and two-thirds innings out of the bullpen and really gave the diamond back some length where they needed it.

Starting point is 00:16:17 And it's been effective. Like since he came back from that, from that, injury, that unfortunate injury, he really has been effective for this team. So yeah, I think it's likely that Caleb Smith is back next year. I think Kevin Ginkle, name I just mentioned, probably back next year as a guy, you know, who you at least want to see, get an opportunity just given how big his stuff is back there. So they have some bullpen pieces moving into next year. I mean, you know, you'd be lying if you said that like you're excited about Kevin Ginkle, you know, being like your setup manny or closer or something at this point, right? I don't know.

Starting point is 00:16:50 if he's proven that he's to that level yet. But moving in the right direction, right? They've kind of narrowed down into some guys who might be able to contribute next year. If you haven't had a chance already to read Jesse's wonderful writing, he will get you amped for the Arizona Fall League like no one else will. Make sure to check out his latest article on go phtnx.com. I believe that one's unlocked. It is unlocked. It is unlocked. It was in a very giving mood when I wrote that one. Sometimes he's a nice guy and then sometimes he wants you to take 20 friends in order to win. giveaway t-shirt, you know, but check out his piece. If you like what you see, stick around.

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Starting point is 00:17:47 And, of course, our members-only discord that happens to be the pop-eastern-es. Popinist. Can I say Popinist? Popinist. I think we can allow that. Popinous place for Arizona Diamondbacks fans to be. So of course, we thank you guys for already signing up for those of you that have. And of course, those of you that are here with us right now, we appreciate you spending your lunch with us. Make sure you sign up or subscribe to the PHN exports YouTube channel. Sign up for notifications. That way you don't miss when any of our shows go live. And if you're listening to us right now in the audio podcasting app, please subscribe.

Starting point is 00:18:17 Leave us a five-star review. Again, also if you're in YouTube, leave us. a thumbs up. We hope you guys like the new digs. We're very happy in our new home here at PHNX Studios. We thank our friends for more furniture for hooking us up with all of this wonderful all these wonderful seats, tables, chairs, loungers, the whole entertainment area that I spend most of my time in kicked back with my feet up, which makes it sound like I live a really difficult life is all courtesy of Moore. And you can have that same wonderful life in your house this football season by checking out

Starting point is 00:18:49 Moore's Furniture's fall sale over at MooreFurniture.com. So make sure to do that and get yourself hooked up with all of the football needs. I know Jesse doesn't like it when I talk about football, so I have to quit right now. We did get some update on Probables. Right now, Zach

Starting point is 00:19:05 Davies is pitching. I have no idea how good he's doing. You could be doing bad. Could be doing good. Wasn't a great start. No, it wasn't great. We're in the third inning as we speak right now. For those of you joining us live, Davies is not pitching particularly well. He's allowed four hits and two walks. And as we speak, the Dodgers have two on and nobody out.

Starting point is 00:19:25 Corbyn-Garrel still his first base, though. Let's go. His first big back, there you know. He said on MLB Network yesterday, it was funny that all of the people interviewing him on MLB Network were like, why haven't you stolen a base yet? Like, you're the fastest guy in baseball. Why haven't you stolen base yet? In his defense, he did get thrown out.

Starting point is 00:19:43 He did get thrown out once. That's true. Makes you be a gunshot. Yeah. But, I mean, he would. stealing third, like in a situation where he probably shouldn't have gone in the first place. So I don't know if that's really indicative of his base stealing ability. But yeah, he basically just told them, like, I'll steal it when the time is right.

Starting point is 00:19:58 And I guess today is when the time was right. He's a very patient man. We know that about him. He is. He is. We also have Dr. Dre Jameson going in our second game today as part of the double header. And then the rest of the lineup has been filled out for the series that includes Madison Bumgarner tomorrow.

Starting point is 00:20:15 And it's Galentine's Day. in the finale with Zach Gallin being in there. But speaking in Galentine's Day, speaking of the third inning of this game, history is being made today. Jill Guerin is on the call today for the Arizona Diamondbacks for a few innings, which she, let's be honest. Right now.

Starting point is 00:20:32 Right now. It's one of the few times where we'll encourage you to go listen to something else while you're watching our show. But Jill is the director of broadcasting and media relations for the Vassalia Rahide. And this is actually history because she's the first ever female DBAX broadcast. So it's incredible.

Starting point is 00:20:50 She is really, really good if you've never had a chance to hear her before. And again, it's just something that is long overdue. I have quite a few friends in broadcasting for baseball. Melanie Newman with the Baltimore Orioles is a friend of mine. And I've been so proud of the strides we've made in a short time to have more female broadcasters be a part of this game. To be honest, I mean, I actually know more women that love baseball than I do like. guy friends. Like friends in my personal life that love baseball besides this guy and people at work at

Starting point is 00:21:23 this station is pretty much rock. You know, uh, you know, my friend Josh moved to Idaho. He loves, he loves baseball. And even rock.

Starting point is 00:21:30 He's just there for the baseball cards. He's just there for the baseball cards. He doesn't really care about the actual game, right? Yeah, he's just there to root for Fernando Tatee's Jr. But, uh, yeah, I mean, I,

Starting point is 00:21:39 I, I say it's long overdue and it's very cool to see for the Diamondback. Yeah, Jill is, Jill is great. Um, I, I had Jill on,

Starting point is 00:21:46 on my show a few years back. and just getting to hear her story and everything was was really, really, really cool. So, yeah, I mean, this is, it's kind of sad, right? Like, it's a little three-inning sneak peek, right? That's what I said, yeah. She should be on the whole game. Yeah, like, it's a doubleheader. Let's just get her on the whole game.

Starting point is 00:22:01 Yeah, it feels like maybe they could have gone a step further here and maybe given her the whole game or something. I know Chris Carriage Gola and Tom Candy Adia are, I guess, they're with her right now as, as they broadcast this game. But, but, yeah, she's super talented and couldn't be more excited to have. have her in the D-BACs broadcast booth is the first ever woman broadcaster. Couldn't really think of a better person to fill that role. So best of luck to Jill as we speak as she's broadcasting this game.

Starting point is 00:22:28 We definitely want to go back and listen to that for sure. But I'll tell you, I'm sure Tori is a fan of hers. But we also know that Tori is a huge fan of Jason Bateman. After yesterday, Tori Lavallo was quoted as saying, I'm a huge Ozark fan, big, big fan of his. So I'm trying to get his attention. to figure out how I can ask him to be my friend. Jesse.

Starting point is 00:22:54 I have no idea who Jason Bateman is. Oh my God. I just go ahead and say that now. I didn't even think about that as a popular. How did you not think about that as a possibility? I'm a fool. I'm a fool. It's like I don't even know you, but.

Starting point is 00:23:08 Ozark is a TV show? It's a Netflix show. Yes, it's a Netflix show. But I guess what I will say is, I don't know, is this unprofessional? is it unprofessional for a baseball manager to go out there and admit that he is just a big fan

Starting point is 00:23:24 as somebody that's at the ballpark you know, like a professional who's there who's working and he is trying to do his job but there's just somebody visiting that day that is making him you know, maybe do something like take pictures that he wouldn't take

Starting point is 00:23:40 or I don't get the point that you're trying to make here but my point is is that, you know, maybe Tori should he should be more tactful. He should be more professional. More calm, cool, and collected. You get you out there quoting about how much I want to meet these people or begging them for a picture or anything like that. You know, it's not like at all.

Starting point is 00:24:00 I'm going to take this information and like brag about it to my friends or put it on social media or do something ridiculous. Like make it into my profile. Jacob, I don't like what you're doing here. I was trying to make a point. For those on the audio side, Jacob. It's just been putting up pictures of Derek with celebrities while he was at work. I feel exposed to me. Be more humble, Derek.

Starting point is 00:24:25 Whatever. Look, I'm going to shoot my shot. And I'm glad Tori did too. Tori, I hope you meet Jason Bateman. I hope you long. When you're in L.A. I hope you guys become friends.

Starting point is 00:24:33 When you're in L.A., I feel like there's just, you know, you just run into celebrities and stuff. There's people everywhere. Especially if you fly into the Burbank airport. Apparently, like the Burbank Airport is really big for seeing celebrities, which of course, I've flown there multiple times and have seen none, probably not because there weren't any, but because I just had no idea who these celebrities were. They were sitting next to you on the plane. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Starting point is 00:24:56 I just was completely oblivious. By the way, Burbank, we shouldn't be able this information away, but it's a top 10 airport to fly into. Really? Oh, it's so old school. It's so much better than LAX, but yeah, it is like the most old school. Like it feels like you're in a time machine back to the 70s. You have to pick up your luggage outside.

Starting point is 00:25:14 It's wild. Yeah. It is pretty weird. But yeah, I do hope that Tori becomes best friends with Jason Bateman. You know what they're not going to do is go to salad and go. I know that for a fact. But who would, you say you wouldn't even recognize. Well, they can't.

Starting point is 00:25:26 They're in L.A. They're in L.A. Oh, God. It's a local food chain there. Jason Bateman does have a private jet to fly out here. What? Is there anybody that would make you react like this? Yeah, I mean, so like for me, I mean, they're not going to be like actors, right?

Starting point is 00:25:40 I mean, you all know me at this point. I wouldn't know, like, the most famous actor in the world if he came up and said, hi to me. No actors. It's just going to be like athletes, isn't it? No, it's going to be like Jeff Passon. Like if I saw Jeff Passon walking around on the field at Chase Field, oh man, I would be, I would absolutely take a picture with Jeff Passon. We are very good friends with Bob Nightingale. Is that not enough for you? Bob Nightingale's great too. But like I mean, Bob Nightingale is is there all the time, you know? And Jeff Passon is someone that I've interviewed before. I interviewed Jeff Passon back when he was at Yahoo Sports.

Starting point is 00:26:12 I like to think I sort of knew him before he like, you know, before he made it big time. Even though when he was at Yahoo Sports, like he was sort of their main baseball guy. So he was still pretty big then too. But anyway, I love I love Jeff Passon. If I saw him, I would probably go a little crazy. The other guy is Joe Davis, the Dodgers broadcaster, who I have to admit, I think is one of the best broadcasters in all of sports. And he's also like he's sort of made it big time now as as like Foxes.

Starting point is 00:26:40 his main broadcaster for, you know, for like the playoffs and the All-Star game and all that stuff. And these are people you would openly tell other people that you're trying to pursue them to make them your friend. I mean, yeah, like, sort of. Like, if I was friends with Joe Davis, I mean, that would be pretty cool. No, you really, I promise you it wouldn't be. I promise you. There'd be such a small percentage of people you meet that would find that cool.

Starting point is 00:27:03 Yeah, but I mean, I don't care what other people think, Derek. I know you don't. That's why you fascinate me. because you really don't And I care so much I care about what everybody thinks So much Who are you trying to befriend

Starting point is 00:27:16 At a baseball game It might be in the stands Okay here's where I'll get a little bit snobby Is like it's weird Ever since I've been covering sports and such Like I don't really get I'm not like that big of a fanboy Over people anymore

Starting point is 00:27:30 You know like it's like I used to be a big sport Like athletes by saw them Okay fine Pro wrestlers yeah of course that's Come on it's Daniel Bryan and that's Katie Nolan. Katie Nolan's a wonderful human being. She called me her friend.

Starting point is 00:27:43 And that is Rosario Dawson and our cheeks are touching Jacob. There is nothing to be ashamed of there. But I will say like Steve Martin is somebody. Okay. I've been watching only murders in the building and I've really enjoyed that. But I've always, always, always love Steve Martin ever since I was a kid. I mean, watching him from the arrow in the head and his bits on Saturday Night Live to like every movie's ever been in.

Starting point is 00:28:08 Cheaper by the dozen. Cheaper by the dozen. There you go. I think of parenthood, but that just shows my age, of course. I will say that Steve Martin is somebody that, like, I would have a hard time if he was at the ballpark, not going down and meeting him. And, again, like, there's not a lot of people who I would, like, openly say, screw it. I don't really care about how other people think of this. When else am I going to get a chance to meet Steve Martin?

Starting point is 00:28:34 It's just so different at Chase Field, though. Like, Steve Martin, probably not going to. to show up at a Diamondbacks game. Probably not. Realistically. Could maybe show up that you as a baseball player or something. Yeah. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:28:45 Unless something like that is happening. Sure. I don't know. Like what's who is the most famous celebrity that you've ever seen at Chase Field? You've spent a lot of time there. You've probably seen like just about everyone that they've had there in the last decade. I don't know. Like I guess Michael Phelps.

Starting point is 00:29:02 I think Michael Phelps has been there because he's a local guy. I think that would probably be it. But then that's not even that big of a deal because of how much time he spends here and going to ASU games and stuff like that. Right. But yeah, you know, I don't know. I don't know. I mean, to me, like, Vince Scully is like the most famous person I've ever seen. That is also, I would also say that if, yeah, Vin Scully were at Chase Field, that would be, that would have been something I would have loved to, love to, love to gotten to talk to him and meet him.

Starting point is 00:29:32 Yeah, it was always a special day when he was around. It really was. He would, like, he would talk to you guys, right? Like he would just walk around. I mean, he would eat dinner in the press area. And I mean, people were respectful, you know, but you could tell there was a lot of people that like. Oh my gosh. Yeah, right.

Starting point is 00:29:50 And they want to go meet him or at least say hi, but they're looking to not go up there when someone else is also up there saying hi to him. So it's like this. He just has like a constant line of people. It's just like weird hovering around him. But it was he was so gracious and he was so nice to everybody. and I met him twice and I mean he was just an incredible person. And like, yeah, I would say to me that that was probably it. Like at least in my time as a broadcaster just based on everybody's reaction to him.

Starting point is 00:30:18 But again, thank you guys for taking Jesse's side and this whole salad and go to bait because I don't think of her. And thank you, Jacob, for throwing those pictures up. You jerk. But I do want to tell you guys about our friends at OGs, by the way. They are launching a brand new edel. that has a bunch of Zs on the end because it is their sleep formula to help you get the best night's sleep. So make sure to check out OGs on their website at OGsbrands.com or on Instagram at OGs brands to get more information about that. But we have some free stuff for you as well.

Starting point is 00:30:54 Enter the flavoring life sweepstakes over at go phtonx.com. And one lucky winner will win yourself three bags of OG's gummies, including my favorite orange creamsticle. an OG's hat, a PHNX shirt of your choice, and a PHNX annual membership. No, open shirt, Derek, does not come with the price. Sign up at go-PhNX.com or click the link in our show notes. And again, make sure to check out our friends OGs online. Check out that new. I know a lot of people use edibles for getting a good night's rest.

Starting point is 00:31:23 And it's a very particular formula that's going to give you the best night's rest you've possibly ever had. So make sure to check that out. We're very excited about them releasing that. We're also very excited about ASU firing Herm Edwards. Now we are going to celebrate, come out to Four Peaks tailgate this Saturday to will this team on. They need a win more than ever. $50 get you access to an all-you-can-eat buffet to Four Peaks beers and a free ride to the stadium. Plus our PHNX Sun Devils guys will be there playing Cornhole, Jenga, and Connect 4.

Starting point is 00:31:56 I'm going to tell you right now, do not challenge Sean DePaul in any games. and I'm not trying to give him credit. He's a frustrating person to play in sporting events. He's a bragger. He's a bad winner. And he probably will beat you. What have you played Sean DePazard? Oh, I went to him.

Starting point is 00:32:13 He ruined a trip to Dave and Busters for me. Just absolutely ruined. I came in second all the day long. That figures. So that's just a heads up. That's a pro tip. But do come down and challenge Shane because he's always a little beatable.

Starting point is 00:32:29 But check the link in our show. notes to sign up, must be 21 years or older to enjoy and enjoy responsibly. And also, same thing with our friends at OGs. Make sure to be 21 years or older to purchase those as well. And make sure you enjoy all of that stuff, all of it. But yesterday we talked about the Reno Aces clinching their division. And honestly, it's been kind of a fascinating team this year, especially considering the way that these players have moved on from the Aces, come up to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and have become honestly so effective. that there hasn't been a lot of guys being sent back down to replenish the ACE's lineup.

Starting point is 00:33:07 But compared to opening day, they've actually had quite the turnover. So it's been impressive that this team has continued to win with this ever-changing lineup that they've had. Yeah, I mean, that's, I can't even really imagine what it's like to be like a manager of a AAA baseball team because your roster is just changing all the time. Right. Right. And you're constantly like, you know, the major league team will call up somebody and use them and then send them back to you. And they're like super gas and they don't have anything left in the tank anymore.

Starting point is 00:33:39 And then also like it's a good thing when your players get called up, right? Yeah, like it's what you want essentially. It is ideal when players leave your baseball team, which must make it a real headache to like put together a lineup card every day. But, um, but yeah, I mean,

Starting point is 00:33:56 if you think back to where the, the Aces started out this year. I mean, Ryan Nelson was their opening day starter. Of course, he's with the big league club now. Alec Thomas was with AAA to start the season. Stone Garrett was with AAA for the vast majority of the year before getting called up last month. So yeah, it's just been a lot of guys that were big contributors for them early on are now contributing on the Diamondbacks. And we were joking about it the other day about how it was basically like the Reno Aces who single-handedly beat the San Diego Padres in one day. Like it was all, I think it was Ryan Nelson, you know, throwing seven scoreless innings

Starting point is 00:34:34 in that game. And then Stone Garrett and Alec Thomas, I think, did most of the damage offensively. So you've seen how good some of those guys who started the year in AAA have been so far at the big league level. And not only that, but like, again, for the success that we've seen from these guys come up and contribute to this team, it's exciting to see. the next wave playing for this Reno Aces team. A lot of the guys right now, I mean, there are several guys that were actually slated to be

Starting point is 00:35:03 called up this season that haven't been yet. And to be honest, I don't even know where some of those guys are going to play, right? Yeah, the Dominics. And yeah, there's several guys that it's kind of a little bit of a head scratcher as to where they're going to fit in. And obviously, that's where the offseason moves, we could, we could, see some of the younger guys, hopefully not any of the core that we've kind of grown to love, some of the younger guys may be moved for relief pitching help or at least pitching prospects

Starting point is 00:35:37 that the Diamondbacks still seem to be a bit short on. But Brandon Fott has become the ace's ace. And I know he's a guy that a lot of people are excited about. I know he's a guy a lot of people want to see up here, but we'll probably stay down in the minor leagues for the remainder of this season. Yeah. And is a good call-up candidate next year. So it's going to, it's, It's going to be exciting to see this team continue to evolve, even if the rest of this season doesn't end up being very exciting. You know, we got way too many games against the Dodgers still. Yeah. Be excited about anything.

Starting point is 00:36:08 But remember, we don't have much season left. So make sure to not only keep an eye on what the Reno Aces are doing, but come on out this weekend to the Arizona Diamondbacks game. We're going to be doing a special meetup through our friends at game time for this Friday's game. So keep an eye on that right now. You can get tickets for $14, we found out, over at GameTime. So if you haven't had a chance to check out the GameTime app, make sure to do so. It's the hottest new ticketing site that makes it easier than ever to score the best deals on tickets to sports, concerts, and shows. You save up to 60% on tickets when you buy tickets last minute.

Starting point is 00:36:45 It's great for all of those procrastinators out there. And let's all get together this Friday and have a D-BAC's PHNX meetup. Me and Jesse will be out there. I will drag this guy out. of the press box and make him sit with us. I'm going to drag you to the game. That's, yeah, that too. I mean, I've lost a little steam here at the end of the season.

Starting point is 00:37:03 But if you love PHA Gen X, you'll love game time. And we'll definitely get some more information out to you guys about that meetup event. But come watch baseball with us. It's the last series of the year here against the Giants at Chase Field. So the best way to support us is by buying your tickets through the link in the description. Make sure to do so. And again, if you have any questions, make sure to hit up Jesse or eye on Twitter. Hit up our account.

Starting point is 00:37:25 absolutely love to answer any questions you have about the GameTime app. But more importantly, the whole reason I'm excited to be here today isn't to talk about Saladin go with this guy, or isn't to talk about RAV-4 interiors. It's to talk about the fact that I won $1,000 last night. I won $1,000 American dollars last night on our favorite app, the underdog fantasy op. Let me tell you, it was as easy as picking five over unders on pitch counts. That's all I need to to do. No game results. No, if anybody's going to hit. Like, here's the thing. You look on there and you understand why, right? You got to do your research. I was looking into some of the pitchers, why their pitch counts were so low. Some of them haven't surpassed 75 pitches for the entire

Starting point is 00:38:10 season, for instance. So, you know, when they set it at 78, they're saying like, oh, is this guy going to go for his longest outing of the year against what could be a pretty good offense? These are the things. Like, you go to Las Vegas. Those are games of chance, folks. When you go to the Underdog Fantasy app, this is where you use your brain and your experience as a baseball fan to win you some money and what better way to do it. Like the best hitter can go 0-4 in a night, right? We all know that. But you can, I think you all have a good gauge on pitch counts. And it's just one of the things you can bet higher or lower on on the Underdog Fantasy app. You go in there and pick between two and five players and the more legs you add, the more money you

Starting point is 00:38:50 win. The more pickums you add, the more entries that you get on there. If you get all your picks right, You can win up to 20 times your money like I did it was a $50 bet I won did you hear me I won $1,000 I'm gonna keep saying it because I keep texting I keep sending it to my brother and stuff just to you know really rub it in but you can search in the app store click in our link below to download the underdog fantasy app or sign up using that that beautiful it's a beautiful QR code that beautiful QR code right there so make sure to do that use our promo code of PHNX an underdog will double your first deposit up to $100. They did it instantly for me.

Starting point is 00:39:27 I was on the ropes. I lost some pickums. I wasn't doing good, Jesse. I was down to my last $50. And there I was staring down Merrill Kelly and Clayton Kirshaw as the two last pitchers I needed to hit their particular amounts. Clayton Kirshaw's pitch count was 84.5 or 85 and a half. And I believe Merrill Kelly's was 94 and a half. I, oh, Merrill Kelly.

Starting point is 00:39:51 Merrill Kelly was close. He was close. But luckily, I'm a $1,000 richer, thanks to the underdog fantasy. What are you going to do with your winnings? I don't know. I think I'm going to, I was thinking about taking my daughter to the Hollywood Bowl because her favorite movie is Enkanto. They are having the cast from Enkanto sing the songs from the movie with like an orchestra and a chorus.

Starting point is 00:40:17 And I've done this for Danny Elfman for Nightmare Before Christmas. And it's one of the most enjoyable shows I've ever gone to. It was during Halloween. Super cool. Yeah. So I might do that. I might splurge and spoil my daughter because, of course, you go. You know, there's no, we don't have a lot of time left, folks.

Starting point is 00:40:33 Remember what I said. All the time, Southwest Bias, we're not here for a long time. We're here for a good time. So make sure you enjoy yourselves. And, you know, these apps can help you win a little money and help you enjoy yourself even more. And the apps are fun. I had a blast last night watching pitch counts. You have no idea the agony I was in when I was watching Corbin Burns.

Starting point is 00:40:50 on the mound pitching a hundred pitches and I had him at 100.5 the under and then I see that beautiful phrase come up in MLB.com. Mound visit. I was like, let's go. Anyway, you can have that kind of fun over it, Underdog Fantasy. But that's all I got. We thank you guys so much for being here today. Can I get one more thing in? No. I get one more thing in real quick. So I'm looking I'm looking at, no, it's not. I could though. I absolutely could. But no, I'm looking at the the ACE's opening day roster, like we were the opening day like lineup and the box score for that game. And I can't help but notice that Kyle Nelson through a scoreless inning for the Reno Aces on opening day because I'd forgotten Kyle Nelson lost out in spring training on a job

Starting point is 00:41:36 to the one and only Oliver Perez who is DFAed like a week or two into the season because things were not going well for him. But anyway, it's just, it's crazy how things can change, right? I mean, Kyle Nelson opened the year in the minor leagues. And although he struggled with injuries down the stretch, he's been one of the team's most reliable relievers throughout most of the season, whereas Oliver Perez, unfortunately, you know, at the rival age of 40 was trying to make things work here for another big league season. That didn't quite work out.

Starting point is 00:42:06 And Kyle Nelson wound up having a really, really good season for the debacks. Well, we thank you guys again so much for joining us. In the meantime, you can check us out on Twitter. I'm at cap underscore caveman with a K. this guy is at Jesse and free. You won't stop yelling at people. To do a draft Kings read, Derek. I did not do a draft Kings read.

Starting point is 00:42:25 I did not have a draft Kings read in today's reads. Look that. Look at that. So you know what I'm doing, Jacob. Yeah. Get on him. He's at Jacob Franklin 4. Yeah, you can do that.

Starting point is 00:42:37 I'm not at that, but you can do that. Oh, no. Isn't it? There's an underscore in there. Underscore. Yeah, there is an underscore. There is an underscore. There's a underscore.

Starting point is 00:42:45 Jacob underscore Franklin 4. I don't know. Find him, though. Shame him for trying to correct me on the show. But we thank you guys again so much for joining us on behalf of Jesse, Faj and myself. We appreciate your time. And as always, remember kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when you win a thousand dollars guessing pitch counts.

PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - What do the Dodgers know about Merrill Kelly? L.A. continues to confound the D-backs righty in loss

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