PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Will D-backs’ HISTORIC COMEBACK Over Cardinals Spark a Second-Half SURGE?

Episode Date: July 20, 2026

After pulling off one of the most improbable wins in franchise history, are the Arizona Diamondbacks finally ready to turn their season around? We break down the D-backs' historic comeback over the St.... Louis Cardinals, how they erased a seven-run deficit, and why this win could be the spark that fuels a second-half playoff push. We also discuss the impact of losing Corbin Carroll to injury in this win. We also look ahead to the D-backs' upcoming series against the Athletics and what Arizona needs to do to keep the momentum rolling against a team they can't afford to overlook. Plus, it's Mailbag Monday! We're answering your biggest questions about the Diamondbacks, the trade deadline, potential roster moves, the playoff race, and more! Limited-time offer! Become a Diehard for just $36: https://gophnx.com/intro-offer-youtube 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 We are still riding high on the Diamondbacks historic comeback victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, overcoming a seven-run deficit to beat the Cardinals and win the series. Is this the thing that they needed to turn the corner and get themselves locked in for a playoff push? And will they be doing it without Corbyn Carroll? Don't you go anywhere? We are starting right now. And welcome in to another edition of the P.HNX Diamondbacks podcast. Love from Studio K presented.
Starting point is 00:00:42 by our friends at Circle K, it is your mayor of PHNX, occasionally known as Derek Montia. Happy Monday to you all and welcome in to another edition of the PHMX D-BACs podcast. I got my guy Damon Dog, my dog, your dog, the D-BACs dog. Most importantly, Max Kepler's dog on the ones and twos today. Damon Farrell, how are you feeling today? Fantastic, Derek. A new lease on life, honestly. We've never been more back.
Starting point is 00:01:08 I mean, it was so over when it was 7-0. It was so over. And now we've never been more back. Now we're winning the World Series. Of course, yeah, absolutely. You're not wrong about that. No one wants to see this team. Yeah, no one wants a part of this.
Starting point is 00:01:19 But of course, this is the PHNXDBACs podcast. And we're brought to you by our friends at Bet365. Bet365 where winning is everything. Download the app today and use our code of PHNX 365 when you sign up to get yourself some bonus pets. We're also brought to you by our friends at GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms do apply.
Starting point is 00:01:41 and as always it is Mailbag Monday, and Mailbag Monday is powered by game time. But the Diamondbacks yesterday were powered by their offense stepping up and erasing a seven-run deficit. The Diamondbacks were in fact down seven to nothing in the sixth inning of yesterday's game, and they end up winning in extra innings by a score of eight to seven. They improved at 51 and 48. Damon, of course, you know what that means. Send Dilmo up that goddamn mountain. Electric.
Starting point is 00:02:22 And again, the Diamondback seven-run comeback ties a franchise record. The other instance of this happening was on August 29, 22 against the Philadelphia Phillies, where they were down 7 to nothing in the fourth inning and ended up winning that game by a score of 13 to 7. I'll say this one is more impressive. Not only were they down by 7 later in the game, but coming back and winning in extra innings,
Starting point is 00:02:49 was crucial because had they came back and tied that game and still gone on to lose it, I think this game could have been as bad as detrimental to their season as I think it is of reaffirming and uplifting to their season at this point now that we're sitting here talking about a win. And we did do our emergency podcast last night. I'm not going to go through all of this again. But for those of you that may have missed it, the Diamondbacks were down. seven to nothing in the sixth, and it started with just some patience.
Starting point is 00:03:24 Adrian Del Castillo got a lead off double that was followed by singles, by Walschman, and could tell. But the thing I'm most impressed about, again, is that Pardoma walks with one out and loads the bases, and Moreno walks in a run to make it seven to two and chip away at that lead. Then Tyler Locklear with two outs walks and brings in another run. And in fact, Diamondbacks walking in runs was a big part of the comeback yesterday. You also had Geraldo Pardomo hitting an inside the park home run, which eventually was ruled an inside the park home run for Domo's seventh Dinger of the year.
Starting point is 00:03:59 If you want to call what that was a dinger, I will. It goes down in the history book size one, Derek. Right. It goes in the home run column. Even though that was an air. That was 100% of error. And that's coming from the biggest Perdomo guy on planet Earth. God, I know.
Starting point is 00:04:16 But again, you also had another home run. This one was a no-doubter hit by Nolan Aronado to tie the game up at 7, and it was just huge. It was his 1,99th career hit. It was his 13th home run of the year, 102.4 miles per hour off the bat, 384 feet to left center field. It was Butte, and again, it was aided by the fact that Tyler Locklear, the D-Back's first baseman, was productive yesterday. Not the most productive guy on the field, right? But again, walked in a run with two outs there in the sixth. inning to chip away and make the game seven to three.
Starting point is 00:04:51 Then he singles with two outs ahead of Arnado, giving Arnado that opportunity to hit that home run and make the game tied, right? So it doesn't have to be the biggest contributions, but if you can have someone that can get on base, the way Locklear did yesterday, you can see what a difference it can make aiding a comeback like that, right? And then, of course, in the 10th inning, you have Damon Dog's, Damon Dogg, Max Kepler, are walking it off with a two-out double that scores the Ghostrunner, Jorge Brosa, and gives us the Diamondbacks their biggest comeback win of the season
Starting point is 00:05:23 and one of the biggest wins in franchise history. And a series win over the Cardinals. Oh, and we're also half a game back in the National League Wild Card. By the way, with the win. Does that not fire you up? Does that not get you ready for the second half? Because the Diamondbacks have some opponents here on their schedule before the end of July that have not been playing good baseball.
Starting point is 00:05:48 And these are teams that have been up and down all season long. The debacks have a chance to absolutely take advantage of the rest of the month. And this win could be that thing that just pushes them all the way through to the trade deadline, allowing Mike Hazen in this front office to confidently add to this team, knowing that not only with the additions that they could make, but with the additions that they could bring on from the injury list, which is becoming significantly, long, this team can still make the playoff push that we have doubted they could make at times.
Starting point is 00:06:21 But we do have, again, an injury from yesterday's game that a lot of people are concerned about and it's completely understandable for people to be concerned about. Corby and Carroll was in a lot of pain after swinging at a pitch and striking out to end the seventh inning in yesterday's game. That was a concern we already had, considering what Corbyn Carroll has struggled with this season. the way he struggled, hitting the high fastball in the zone, just in general, his approach lately and his slump that he's been in over the last month. That home run that he hit in Friday's loss was the first home run that he hit in a month. And, you know, again, this didn't look great, but he stayed in the game so that was a little encouraging.
Starting point is 00:07:10 However, he wouldn't have another bat, and he would be replaced by Jorge Barrosa as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning. So the answer at that point was, yes, Corbin is in fact hurt. We had Nick Picoro confirming it after speaking to Toy Lovelo. This is Nick Picoro's tweet that we have here that basically said that Corbin Carroll hyper extended his right elbow with that swing. Tori Lovolo said, he said Carol is day-to-day. Now, I'm not going to get ahead of us because I do know that we have a question in the mailbag about this, so we will address it there. But again, it sucks for there to be another injury for an already depleted team that's depth has been tested time and time again this season. However, it feels oddly comforting to know that the debacks have, you know, a plethora of talented outfielders that they can plug in.
Starting point is 00:08:04 It just where, how, how limited are we now, you know, and where is that depth that? There's a good chance Tim Tawa is going to see playing time. imagine out there you're going to have an outfield that consists of Tawa, Corbyn Carroll, or excuse me, not Corbyn Carroll for the time being. Ryan Walschmidt, Tawa, and Vargas, who else? Who else is going to be out in the outfield? I mean, Loris Guriel is injured. Corbyn Carroll is injured.
Starting point is 00:08:33 Tommy Troy is injured. Kepler? Max Kepler. Excuse me. You're right. I forgot. Kepler as well. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:08:39 So there's your... Kepler and Barrosa. And Barrosa. I mean, there's your outfield for the time being. So Barrosa obviously had a huge mistake in Friday's loss that we discussed quite a bit. And again, he has hopefully he can make up for that by giving the Diamondbacks some good performances here stepping up in Carol's absence. We don't know how long that absence is going to be for. However, you can't help but feel like it might be a good thing for Carol to get some time off,
Starting point is 00:09:08 considering all of his struggles that he's gone through and that he might have been playing through, you know, some soreness or some pain that he's been already experiencing this year overall. But, again, this team has just found a way to have that next man step up. And I think that they're going to continue to do that. Luckily, Tyler Lockler, like I said, contributed yesterday and makes you feel good about him being over there at first base. You also have Vargas being able to back him up there as well. and again, just the guys that have been getting limited playing time recently, those are the guys that are going to have to step up and also, you know, play more
Starting point is 00:09:49 and help this team win and prove that they deserve that playing time. But I'll tell you right now, Max Kepler feel good about him. I don't know how I could have forgotten him in the outfield because he is absolutely our king snake from yesterday's win. And I know we already threw this up on yesterday's emergency podcast, but I don't care. Let's do it again. Max Kepler, two for five, one big double, one big RBI that resulted in a walkoff win. So again, great to see this guy that was, you know, that was kind of picked up off of the heap, a guy that a lot of teams, you know, probably lost faith in after him, you know,
Starting point is 00:10:30 coming up positive for PEDs and serving an 80 game suspension. And as Damon said, not typically the kind of guy that the Diamondbacks would pick up just because they are typically an organization that values, you know, character and, you know, things like that quite a bit. It's not to say that Max here isn't a guy of character. It's just to say that, you know, you face a suspension like that, and a lot of teams don't want to have anything to do with you. He still isn't eligible for the postseason, but he could definitely be incredibly valuable down this stretch, especially now with the loss of Corbyn Carroll. I think it's that rule is so weird that he's not available for the postseason.
Starting point is 00:11:12 Yeah, he's not eligible for postseason play. It's like, well, you've suspended him for half the regular season already. So don't we think that that's kind of the suspension served? I don't know. It feels like it, right? But I think the idea is to not have a team like the Diamondbacks capitalize on him serving a suspension and then having him come in, join an organization, and then be this big postseason hero. But why not?
Starting point is 00:11:35 Like you said, he served his time as his. walk-up song suggests. I mean, it's also like it's not as if, you know, if he's a repeat offender, like a Jerks and Pro Far, I completely understand it. Sure. But if he was a repeat offender, I don't think the Diamondbacks would have signed him in the first place. So it does feel like he served his time.
Starting point is 00:11:52 And, you know, I don't know how much longer, you know, Major League Baseball wants to make a martyr out of him before they've deemed that that's enough. Right. Right. Well, I mean, at the very least... We will fight for Max Kepler. Oh, I mean, we will die for Max Kepler, especially after him getting... getting that game winner yesterday.
Starting point is 00:12:09 But we, the Diamondbacks have a chance here to make a significant playoff push, right? And I know that these are just two series, this sweep of the Dodgers and this two out of three against the Cardinals. But this ensures the Diamondbacks now have the tiebreaker over the Cardinals should they end up in a tie for a wild card spot. So this win was huge. And it makes it so that that stupid game they have to play on. Thursday of this week no longer has as big of an impact as it could have had for the Diamondbacks
Starting point is 00:12:43 overall, right? So it feels very good that they've that they've clinched the season series here against the Cardinals because again, this is a team that's ahead of them in the wildcard hunt and could absolutely be there at the end of the season. But it's hard not to take a look at these two series wins, taking five out of the last six games and feel like this team, is turning a corner, right? Especially after yesterday's game. The confidence that this team has to have now and their ability to at least believe in the ability for them
Starting point is 00:13:20 to come back and win baseball games after what they experienced on Sunday is huge. I know the Cardinals aren't the best team in the league and I know it's not, you know, the, again, the most significant comeback, right? But it is kind of. It is because at this point of the season, and they haven't really had many of those.
Starting point is 00:13:39 They have had some blowout losses where they just kind of laid over, rolled over and let it die, let the game die, let the loss happen to them, and they didn't do that on Sunday. It felt like this was a very important series to win, and it felt like the team understood that, even when they were down seven to nothing. I just think that this definitely is the kind of win
Starting point is 00:14:01 that propels you through a series, like the upcoming series against the athletics. through a series with the pirates where you now feel like you can beat that team and get you to the end of this month. Still, very, very important win and you just can't help but feel like this is going to lead to the Diamondbacks, you know, staying in that buyer category versus jumping over to the seller side of things. I don't know. Is that fair to say, Damon, or am I just putting too much stock in one win? No, I mean, I think that that was a very momentous win.
Starting point is 00:14:36 I hate to do this, Derek, because, you know, as he does, he doesn't show up for the wins. He only shows up either for our 12 p.m. shows or in our losses. Oh, you're talking about Peter. The killer X being here? Yeah, but he made a good point, surprisingly, where he said they do this all the time, where they win a series, you feel like they have momentum, you feel like they're starting to capitalize, and then they go and they shit the bed against a team that is inferior to them in the next series. And that's where we're at right now.
Starting point is 00:15:05 that coming up for sure. Yes, absolutely. You sweep the Dodgers. You have a huge series win against the Cardinals who you're fighting for a playoff spot with and who you thought you lost the series to, essentially. And now you have an A's team that is absolutely reeling right now. You have to go take care of business. At minimum, it needs to be two one. But more than likely, I feel like a sweep is totally in the cards here. Like a sweep should be on the table. If you're the Diamondbacks and you have aspirations to make the playoffs, So, yeah, I mean, again, it's it's on them to capitalize on this momentum, keep it rolling and not start playing up to your competition and then back down to your competition like they so often seem to do. I will say this. That has happened to this team this year.
Starting point is 00:15:51 But who were those teams? I think the identity of these teams throughout this particular MLB season has been a little skewed. I will say like as excited as we got about beating the Phillies and the Mets and the Orioles over that, you know, East Coast road trip, those teams turned out to not be as good as we thought they were going to be at the beginning of the season. The Phillies turned things around, but at the time they were terrible, right? Luckily, we caught them when they were terrible, not when they were playing good baseball under Don Mattingly. But the teams that I feel like we're referring to here are like teams like the White Sox and the Nationals, teams that conventionally you think we should be, but teams that are good this year,
Starting point is 00:16:32 The nationals are one of the best offensive teams in the league. The Chicago White Sox are an incredible story, and they're leading their division over there. The Rays. And the Rays. Yeah, the Rays are another team. The Marlins. Yeah, the whole entire state of Florida is just gross to me, right? But you're right.
Starting point is 00:16:46 Those are probably more significant than the ones I brought up, right? The White Sox and, yes, you know, the White Sox. I think they all fall into the same category, though. The pirates maybe even a little bit as well, the Cardinals somewhat. So, yeah. You know, but again. Surprising teams. This is.
Starting point is 00:17:01 this is the type of series that you cannot lose coming up, the athletic series. And we're going to preview that series on the other side of this break. So you guys don't go anywhere. You're watching the pH next Diamondback show. Well, if you are ever involved in an accident,
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Starting point is 00:19:51 That's code CHK-358. Terms and conditions apply. Visit 1AZCU.com for all the details. All right. Well, of course, we have the aforementioned upcoming series with the redacted athletics, and this team, again, is dangerous because they are good offensively. They are not a bad offensive team, and they will catch you sometimes slipping. But they are very bad when it comes to pitching, and this is a team that the Diamondbacks absolutely cannot have their bats go ice cold against. Here are the redacted athletics. This is what they look like this season. They got a four. 42 and 57 record with a minus 114 run differential. They are 1 and 9 in their last 10 games. They do have a 728 team OPS, which is good for 13th in Major League Baseball,
Starting point is 00:20:44 but everything else is really, really bad. Starting pitching ERA, 5.23, 29th in baseball. Bullpen ERA 5.51, dead last. Outs above average, minus 27, 29th in baseball. And Derek, I think it bears noting that, you know, yes, they are a pretty decent offensive team that there's no question about that. They were a really good offensive team, I think, last season. This season, they were supposed to be a really good offensive team yet again. But they've taken a little bit of a step back.
Starting point is 00:21:17 Them being an almost dead average in OPS in that ballpark in Sacramento is kind of indicative of their step back on offense, in my opinion. They play in a cracker jack box. Right. Well, and that's why I feel like that's what's responsible there more for their starting pitching and relief pitching ERA, right? For sure. It goes hand in hand, to be fair. So their pitching is maybe a little bit better than dead last, but it's clearly one of the worst in baseball. Sure. And their offense is probably a little bit closer to average to slightly below average than it is above average like this might indicate. But they're playing at Chase Field, not in Sacramento this time around. So you might expect their pitching to be a bit better and their offense to be a bit worse than it. typically looks like or what you would think that the A's might might accomplish. Well, and again, they still, I don't know if they're going to be allowed to be called the
Starting point is 00:22:08 Las Vegas athletics when they move into the city of Las Vegas due to that whole situation they got going on there. But they will still be the athletics in our hearts. They have to buy out that gym. Yeah, they have to. It's that simple. I was driving in Vegas like when I was last there and I saw one of those gyms. It said Las Vegas Athletics. athletic club on it.
Starting point is 00:22:30 Yeah. And it's like, oh my God, that's exactly the problem right there. It must be a pretty big company. The way that I saw the building was huge, Derek. Yeah. So it might take a little bit, but I think you got a pony up and take that one over, whatever it takes. What a disaster this entire. I mean, like, how do you move there without knowing if you can be the Las Vegas A's?
Starting point is 00:22:51 That's what I can't even get started. I can't even get my mind wrapped around that. Like how just, how poorly planned this whole situation. is. That's why it feels like it's like a heist. Like they truly knew they were stealing the athletics from the city of Oakland and they just had to do it so quickly that they didn't have time to tie up all the loose ends. They were just stealing this team from a city that loved it from a city where this team has won championships and was a historically important team and they're just running away with it with stuff falling out of the back of the moving truck while they
Starting point is 00:23:28 while they get away, but this is a bad team. Their bullpen has been inconsistent. Their relief pitching is a major issue. They cannot protect a lead. And again, their offense can also disappear for stretches, a story that we very much know about and can relate to, right? They even set a modern MLB record by striking out 50 times in their opening series of the season.
Starting point is 00:23:53 So that's cool. Good for them. But they are expected to be sellers again at the trade deadline, making this stretch between now and the end of the month, more depressing for them and more nerve-wracking because a lot of their players might feel like they could potentially be moved. There's veteran pieces they have that could be moved before the deadline, and the focus is going to remain on the young core
Starting point is 00:24:12 that they're trying to extend and build around rather than trying to chase a wild card spot in the AL. And again, they already got rid of Aaron Savali to the Cubs, which that was a pitcher that I was like, did we kick the tires on that one? Did we when they DFA'd Aaron Savali? Because I watch them go be excellent now with the Cubs. I wouldn't be surprised about that.
Starting point is 00:24:32 But they still have some great players to watch. And that's, of course, Jacob Wilson, Shea Lang Lears, Tyler Soderstrum, the left-handed power bat. Like, they got some good players over there. But this should be a Diamondbacks win. The athletics are just in a nosedive right now. However, that young lineup, those guys I named, they can put up runs in a hurry.
Starting point is 00:24:55 especially if Jacob Wilson and Langalears gets going. So they just got to keep their offense going after Sunday and try to figure out a way to get it going earlier, not so late in the game. They got to take advantage of that bullpen. And, of course, they got to win these games if they want to be a playoff team. This is the team that they have to beat.
Starting point is 00:25:16 So right now we still got a big question mark as far as the probable pitchers are concerned, but let's take a look at the series presented by our friends at 1AZ Credit Union. Again, rooted in Arizona and rooted in your financial success. Let's take a look here. The Diamondbacks do have Mitch Bratt on the mound going in game one. And this is how depleted the debaq starters are right now.
Starting point is 00:25:39 Mitch Brat going in game one, and we still have no idea who's going in game two. Mitch Bratt will take on Jeffrey Springs, who is 3 and 9 this year with a 6.08 ERA. He has not been very good. also in game two, Jack Perkins has a 6.87 ERA. So if you thought things were bad for the Diamondbacks, you can just look at what the athletics have going on in this series. Well, and Springs was actually pitching decent at one point this season. Correct. He was, he started off the season pretty hot.
Starting point is 00:26:11 He had a 405 ERA at the end of April or in April. He had a 423 ERA in May. And then he gets to June. He has a 10 ERA. and in July, one start in July, he has a 12.46. So, and he's skyrocketed his ERA from three, like eight, which is what it was as recently as like May 17th, all the way up to 608 now. So in about two and a half month or two months here, he's, he's gone from like a respectable sub four ERA to an over six ERA. He's been pitching terrible as of late.
Starting point is 00:26:51 It's a good time to catch him. Yeah. Good time to catch him. Meanwhile, Gage jump in the finale there. That left-hander might be a little bit of a problem for the Diamondbacks. He has been pretty good this year. He has a 3.78 ERA. He has 56 strikeouts.
Starting point is 00:27:03 He's one of their best pitchers. Young lefty would strike out potential. Going up against Merrill Kelly, who, you know, has had his ups and downs this season. And Merrill Kelly has looked incredible at times, and he's also had his struggles. That's why he's seven and eight, right? We keep talking about it. He either wins or he loses. He wins the game for the Diamondbacks or loses.
Starting point is 00:27:24 He has more decisions this season than Erod does, and Erod's pitched in every single cycle around the rotation, and Merrill missed a month. And Erod, and the team always wins with Erod. Even yesterday when he gave up five earned runs in one single inning and couldn't make it out of the third, the team still finds a way to win. Biggest question here is, Damon, who is pitching in game two? Do they recall Jose Cabrera?
Starting point is 00:27:47 Do they go with a bullpen start? That doesn't seem great. now that they don't have that day off on Thursday. If they had that day off on Thursday, and they didn't have to go to goddamn St. Louis and face the stupid-ass Cardinals and their dumb-ass decision-making for not moving that ridiculous game up earlier
Starting point is 00:28:06 so that we don't have to come back and make it up, they don't really have the ability to pull off a bullpen start. I feel like they're going to have to have another starter. Joey Millsap in the comments says, Cole Drake? Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised by that. already turning to Mitch Bratt for multiple starts feels like turning to Cole Drake, even though he has truly struggled
Starting point is 00:28:30 his entire time with the Diamondbacks organization, might be the time. And yeah, that's what we were hearing as well, speculation it could be Cole Drake as well. I still think Jose Cabrera gave the Diamondbacks a chance to win when he was in there starting, and he still feels like a guy that has already performed at a major league level that you would be able to trust in that situation.
Starting point is 00:28:53 But again, I get it. I get it. Got to start kicking the tires on some of these young guys. Leaving them in Amarillo and Reno isn't going to do much for them. It's not going to do much to prove that they can pitch at a major league level, nor is it going to do much for their confidence. Just keep putting up a 6ERA. But really a big question mark there about game two.
Starting point is 00:29:16 That's why this series is kind of nerve-wracking. You have Merrill Kelly, solid, going up against their best pitcher in game three. but then a lot of question marks here in regards to how Mitch Brad is going to pitch in game one and who's going to come in game two. And Millsap says Cabrera cannot be called back up yet. I didn't do the math on that yet, yeah, but I'm sure he hasn't been down for enough days. So it would seem like it would be Cole Drake because, again, a bullpen start does not seem like something that the Diamondbacks can put up with, especially after yesterday's game, which essentially became
Starting point is 00:29:49 that after EROD was only able to go in two and two-thirds. Well, we are going to talk more about your questions and more about this team because it's Monday. And you know what we do every Monday around here. And we're going to do that on the other side of this break. Don't you go anywhere. You're watching the pH next time in Beck Show. Well, I cannot say enough about how much I love Quince. August is the perfect time to hit reset before the autumn rush begins.
Starting point is 00:30:16 Get those new clothes for the fall in looking good. And honestly, I can't think of a better place to start than shopping with Quince. Quince is all about fewer and better pieces. The pair of pants that I recently ordered from Quince might be my favorite pair of pants I've ever owned. And this is, that's a real take from Derek. He was saying that to us off, off air. Yeah, I can't shut up about him. I hate dress pants.
Starting point is 00:30:41 As you can tell based on my wardrobe in general, I typically dress like what people have called a really cool toddler, right? Those shirts with the prints on it. I'm usually wearing cargo shorts, got on some cute little shoes. Maybe a hat with a propeller over top of it. Some colors on it that makes me look like I'm a little bit more mature than I actually am. But the clothes at Quince, man, they make me look like a real adult. And they make me look good.
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Starting point is 00:32:03 Now available in Canada and the UK 2. That's QI-N-C-E.com slash debats for free shipping and 365-day returns. Quince.com slash debacks. Head on over there right now. And if you've been thinking about upgrading your ride this summer, now's the time during the Sanderson Ford Summer Sales event. Something I need to go check
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Starting point is 00:33:46 Free to RSVP all diehard to attend will receive a free drink ticket for the event and the show starts at 6 p.m. And I might permanently be replacing Damon. I don't know. I might be bringing my dog, my new dog. Understandable. She might be my new co-hosting this with me. There will be someone co-hosting this with me.
Starting point is 00:34:06 Who that is? It's a mystery to both you and me. If it's like Pardomo or something, we're done. Me and you are done. Like, I feel like that's how I need to retaliate. I feel like I need to pull something off like that that really just hurts you in a way. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:34:20 That makes me feel better about yourself. Feel less pain. I think that's what we call a bully. I need to hurt you so that I feel better about what I have going on. Hurt people, hurt people. Correct. Right? Okay.
Starting point is 00:34:35 That's fair. Well, the link for that is in our show notes. So make sure to RSVP and do so as a diehard. Make sure you get that free drink ticket. Come see me when you're there. I'll get it to you. But Damon, you know what it is. You know what we do besides argue and fight on this show.
Starting point is 00:34:50 It's Monday, and every year on this podcast is our year. Every single year on the PHNXDBACs podcast is the year of the snake. Every single month on this podcast is Black History Month. Every single month on this podcast is Women's History Month. And every single month on the PHNXDBACs podcast is Black Women's History Month. Every single week is Shark Week, and every single day is Earth Day because Damon recycles. But on Monday, we go to the mailbag. Let's hit that music, Damon.
Starting point is 00:35:22 Shout out to Megaran, by the way. He is hosting a San Diego Comic-Con panel with the voice actors from X-Men 97, and I can't be there by his side, and I'm devastated. But kudos to that man for continuing to do very cool, big things. And of course, kudos to our lead-off hitter. Let's go to our first question. Got a question from Travis Moore in there, Damon? Absolutely.
Starting point is 00:35:57 It's Travis Moore. know it says contract talk i've been listening to sports podcast for over 10 years but when does the five years with phnx start to track in my 10 to 5 rights so i can't be traded when i start listening in summer 2022 or when i start submitting mailback monday questions in winter of 2023 well i mean i'm not gonna like i'm not going to say that we actively shopped Travis more around right but i am going to say that there is a chance that we may have received phone calls from a couple of other podcasts just to kick the tires on a Travis Moore trade just to see. Well, it would be, we're doing our due diligence, Derek. It would be an affront to the sport if we didn't listen to what the offers are,
Starting point is 00:36:37 because what if they're offering us a superstar in return? Our job is to build a dynasty, right? And, you know, you know, Jack and Jesse got on the call from Stink's territory. You know, they were like, hey, just wanted to see what you would give for Travis Moore. We were like, well, we're going to need, you know, several prospects, you know, for sure. And maybe an established live chatter, you know, and we definitely need a guy that's going to be like a lead-off Mailbag Monday guy. Do you think that Travis... He wasn't willing to, they weren't willing to budge anywhere close to what we wanted for.
Starting point is 00:37:05 Do you think that Travis Moore's, you know, like, when he was trashing Arizona and the state that we all love and live in, Derek, the state that has brought us all together here on the PHNXD Backs podcast, which, you know, is a podcast that covers an Arizona professional sports team. And Travis Moore was like, what's the deal with Arizona? Why do you guys even like it? I moved and it sucks and I love it in the cold way better. Was that his version of Catelle taking a vacation in the Dominican Republic in the middle of the regular season?
Starting point is 00:37:36 I feel like that was a contract negotiation. That was a ploy. He was like, I don't really need you guys. Yeah, he was like, I don't need to sign this extension and I really can be, you know, I could just move on as a free agent, you know? Yeah, I get it. Or I could waive my trade clause for any team at that point, you know, like, I don't know. I'm just saying. throwing it out there. All right, what else we got?
Starting point is 00:37:56 Our next question here is from Brighton Bobbitt, who says is it possible a 10-day stint on the IL could benefit Corbyn Carroll? He refuses to not play even when he's hurt, and he seems like he might have some nagging issues holding him back on top of leaving yesterday's game. This is very insightful, Brighton. I completely agree with you.
Starting point is 00:38:14 I kind of touched on this a little bit yesterday, but I do think that sometimes time off is for a player's own good, even if they don't want it. it's hard to force a player like Corbyn Carroll to stop playing baseball. People have said that he came back from the All-Star break and didn't even take a day off. He just went right back to training, right back to swinging in the cages, right back to working out at Chase Field, even when there wasn't voluntary workouts. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:38:40 Him and his mom may have broken into Chase Field just so that he could take BP. That might be speculation. That might be rumor. It might be the truth. But Corbin just doesn't stop. He's relentless. And I think that, again, there might have been some nagging, you know, injuries, just something, right? Again, that's not been addressed and he hasn't missed time.
Starting point is 00:39:01 I don't think that this team would dare put Corbyn Carroll out there if he was actually injured just because they need him out there, right? I think this might be one of those things where Corbyn is not feeling 100%. It's part of a 162 game baseball season, and you kind of keep those little pains and nagging, you know, hurt, feelings, not hurt feelings, but little nagging injuries to yourself, the small one. You know, the ones you don't think is preventing your performance or, you know, keeping you from being at your normal self, right? But it does very much feel like yesterday's, you know, situation might have been an injury that was exasperated by those other nagging injuries and now he's forced to miss time. It's the reason why you have to take some time off when you do
Starting point is 00:39:49 feel those pain, those things in your shoulder, in your arm, whatever. And again, this is just me speculating. I have no knowledge at all of Corby and Carroll actually being injured in any way prior to yesterday. It just seems like he has not been 100%, especially when you see him swinging at those fastballs high in the zone that he just simply can't catch up to, right? So this might be very much for his own good. And let's just hope it's not too long of a lay. off for him because the diamondbacks need them. They need to be at their best and their best is Corbyn Carroll being on the field. That's it. This stretch is entirely too important to miss a guy like him. However, you might be right. This might be the best for him to get back to 100%. Just sucks that it had to
Starting point is 00:40:39 happen due to another injury occurring. All right, what else we got, Damon? Next question is from Raffs. And Raffs says this A's series is really big. for us, even though they have a really bad pitching staff right now, their offense holds them up in some games. Should we worry, considering we are going through our weaker pitching guys, Brat, TBD, and Kelly? Yes. I do think that the pitching side of things to the diamond backs is not ideal, right?
Starting point is 00:41:09 Like obviously, you know, you have Mitch Bratt and his, what, his second start? Third start. Yeah, going for the debacks here. You don't even know what you're doing in the middle. game and then Merrill Kelly has been very hit or miss this season. So yeah, it's not exactly ideal, but I do think that the way the A's are playing, the way that their pitching looks as well, and the Diamondbacks hopefully having a little bit of momentum and feeling good about themselves right now, that should be enough to still propel you to a series victory over a team like the A's.
Starting point is 00:41:41 Right. I agree. And I mean, again, the bullpen has been solid for this team, but you feel like it's going to be tested with two potential, you know, call-up arms being starters in the series. Hopefully Mitch Bratt can give them five innings and whoever pitches in game two can do the same. You feel a bit more confident. Again, it's not ideal coming off of this game on Sunday where, you know, you had Eduardo Rodriguez leave as early as he did. Luckily, Dre Jameson was able to give them some length. He won't be available anytime soon.
Starting point is 00:42:15 And so is Philip Abner. Philip Abner was sent down and was replaced. So we did have a, or it's not official yet, I don't believe, but we do have a roster move in regards to that coming where Philip Abner is going to be sent down and the Diamondbacks are going to be calling up right-handed pitcher Juan Burgos to refresh the bullpen there a little bit. So that's at least a good sign,
Starting point is 00:42:39 something that makes you feel confident in regards to, you know, the situation going to, on, you know, with the bullpen for the time being. But Juan Burgos is not the savior of the bullpen. He's just a fresh arm. He's going to give you some innings. It's just not going to be, you know, he has not been battle tested like the rest of this, you know, bullpen has. So, don't know what you're going to necessarily get out of him overall. Feels good, though, that at least they have that arm coming up. I am with you, though. I'm still, I'm still a little worried about this series overall based on the Diamondbacks pitching side of things.
Starting point is 00:43:16 Hopefully, you know, the athletics are just that much worse of a team. What we can't have happen is the offense go cold again, because I don't feel like that's going to win you baseball games against this particular team with these particular starters on the mound. All right, what else we got, Amy? Our next question is from Jarmie, who says, Jerry mentioned that Bannister and McKay said something to the dugout when they were down and that it really impacted and inspired the comeback charge.
Starting point is 00:43:48 Tori said he wouldn't repeat it. What do you think they said, Derek? A lot of curse words. Bad ones. Oh, all of the bad ones. They called the Cardinals Mother Fers, I bet. They probably referenced the fact that they have to travel on Thursday to St. Louis. And that those guys in red over there are the reason why they don't get an off day on Thursday.
Starting point is 00:44:10 That's enough to fire me up. You tell me that someone is directly responsible for me losing a day off. That person, I hate that person now. That's how I felt yesterday about everybody at this company. I get it. Yeah, I'm sure when I was like, hey, Damon, emergency podcast after you just did a three-hour watch-along for the FIFA World Cup finale, I bet you were pumped. Yeah, Derek, let's do it.
Starting point is 00:44:31 I did. I will say I was watching the game, Derek, and I like, I screamed, go over his head. Go, go. When Kepler hit that ball, because I was, as much as, you know, I didn't want to work on my off day, the D-backs winning is my priority. It's, it's, and it's everything to us. And that was probably their most important win of the season. And I know I'm being hyperbolic by saying that, but it probably was the most important win of the entire season. I did love that from Jerry, though, like that insight that he shared with the media where he's saying that like Bannister and McKay kind of laid into him and was, you know,
Starting point is 00:45:06 it's 7-0 and they're like, you know, we showed up. The coaching staff is like, hey, we showed up. We're bringing the energy. Where the hell are you guys? Did you get off the freaking bus? And the team was like, Damn. Okay. It's one thing to be losing seven to three or seven to four, something like that, right? But when you, like, not only had a terrible performance from your starter and then your bullpen gives up a couple of runs just to make it worse, and now you're looking at your offense, you're like, you chumps can't put up a goddamn run?
Starting point is 00:45:35 Are you kidding me? Are you guys, do you guys want to just go home? Do we want to just cancel the season? Do we want to play another pandemic year when we only have 60 games? That's what it feels like. feels like you guys already have called this a wrap. Mike Hazen's going to sell each and every one of you off to the worst teams you can imagine. Who wants to go to Toronto?
Starting point is 00:45:54 You? You? Who else wants to go? You? We'll trade you to the athletics while we're playing them. Yeah. Maybe the Mariners. Probably the Mariners.
Starting point is 00:46:02 Probably the Mariners. Jerry DiPoto's on the line at all times. Correct. I will say that it probably was just about, you know, again, looking at yourself, looking at your ability to walk in every day. I asked Tori, like, how do you keep these guys motivated in the second half? And Tori's response was, like, almost like, are you kidding me? How do you not stay motivated as a major leaguer?
Starting point is 00:46:29 Right? And he's not right. You've got to bring that motivation every single day. However, it's also part of the manager's job to keep those guys motivated. So I will say that it was nice to have Bannister and McKay step up. maybe the fact that they needed to is because after a while you need to hear a different voice. Maybe Tori's, you know, motivation is falling on deaf ears. And maybe Bannister brought that exact kind of fire that Tori isn't, you know, willing to bring.
Starting point is 00:46:56 I don't know, man. I mean, listen, I don't really subscribe to that, Derek. I feel like Tori's staff is a is a collective unit and it's a brain trust, you know. And I think that Tori, like, he has Bannister for that exact reason. He knows that he's a little bit more of a guy who's going to get into the players and yell at them and motivate them like that. And that's not necessarily the role that Tori is playing in the organization. So, you know, I think, and I feel even better about this considering who's in the chat saying that this is, you know, not a good look for Tori when his right-hand man is the guy that motivated the team to do better.
Starting point is 00:47:35 It's like Jeff Bannister doesn't work for Tori if he doesn't believe in Tori himself as the boss. So it's just a ridiculous conversation to me to be like, well, maybe, you know, maybe this is, this just proves that Tory is worthless. It's like, actually, it doesn't at all. It proves he put together an amazing staff. It proves that he put together a good staff, which is a sign of, a part of his job, a big piece of his job. I'm going to give you another one, too. When Perdomo left the celebration on Sunday, he beeline it to the dugout, grabbed the Gatorade cooler, and proceeded to find Jeff Bannister and pour it on Banny,
Starting point is 00:48:15 which was just hilarious to me, and shows that Pardomo truly felt like whatever Bannister said had a big impact on that win. I think Bannister was Pardomo's King Snake for yesterday's win for sure. But let's do one more, and then we've got to take a break. What do we got, Damon? Last one comes from King Corbin, who says, who would you rather have as your first base option,
Starting point is 00:48:37 Luis Garcia Jr., Vinnie Paskin, Or Nolan Shanul. Shannonwell. Seanowell. And wants to pronounce it. Shanoel. Derek, please pronounce Nolan. Seanowell.
Starting point is 00:48:50 So you looked it up before. I did it. I mean, I looked this up the last time I was ridiculed for not pronouncing that man's name right. I was doing more of like a Daniel situation. Yeah. I remember now I'm remembering the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, uh, but if you're asking me, I would, I would have the most. , I would have the most. it would be Luis Garcia Jr.
Starting point is 00:49:11 Am I right? Yeah, he's having a good season. He's having an incredible season. He's a young, talented player. He's not all crotchety like Vinnie Pasquentino was about hitting Blake. Like, you think I'm going to want Vinny on my team after he got into it with Blaze, my sweet, sweet boy? Absolutely not. And I am not going to pronounce Nolan Shauna well's name for an entire season.
Starting point is 00:49:33 I refuse to do that. So the only reasonable choice there is Luis Garcia, Jr. And also the best player there that you would want. But we're going to take a quick break. And on the other side of this break. I mean, I would take, can I just say I would take Pascontino as much as, you know, that, that Blaze situation rubbed me the wrong way. Who really cares at the end of the day? He has $7 million on his deal next year, arbitration in 2028.
Starting point is 00:49:59 And also, you're buying incredibly low. It's not like he's making a lot of money and he's been awful this season. So if the Royals even were looking to get rid of him, you could take a flyer on him. He's been terrible, though, so bad. We need something. He had 40 bombs last year. I mean, it's... Well, Luis Garcia Jr. isn't going anywhere anyway, so that's not even a reasonable...
Starting point is 00:50:18 Yeah, I mean, he's much better, obviously. Vinny actually could be a guy that's available on the market here. We'll see. Would kill the Royals fan base, though. That's a difficult one. That one's going to be a hard one for them to swallow. But we'll be right back on the other side of this break. We're going to answer more of your mailbag Monday questions.
Starting point is 00:50:34 Don't you go anywhere. You're watching the PHA next Diamondback show. Well, shout out to game time. As always, for powering Mailbag Monday and for giving us the advantage with constant innovation. It's how we unlock amazing tickets and experiences in just a few taps in the GameTime app. And the Game Time Guarantee means you get 100% authentic tickets on time at the best price. No surprises. And as I've said time and time again, that is what the Game Time experience is all about.
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Starting point is 00:51:46 Game time? It's always game time. It's always game time. And speaking of game time, Kim Caballero is ready to represent you, and there are plenty of amazing real estate agents in Arizona, but one is at the top, and that is Kim. Kim has been working in the Arizona business realm for over 25 years, and she is now helping Arizona families with both buying and selling. With a network of investors, builders, and developers, she'll give you insider insight on property potential, helping you see opportunities that others may miss.
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Starting point is 00:52:37 Call Kim Caballero today at 480-489.5. That's 48048950 and Teller, PHNX sent you. And speaking of good times and speaking of vibes here in the Valley, we are going to be getting together with all of you for another D-BACs takeover of Chase Field on August 25th. Make sure to join us. It's Tuesday against the Cubs. We're going to be sitting in the All You Can Eat section, stuffing our faces with glissies once again. And there is a good chance that I go join the tarps off section again during this game, especially if the game is on the long. and, you know, we could do it to walk off fashion.
Starting point is 00:53:15 I will defend the entire tarps off section myself from usher's making us go back to our seats. I will be the bodyguard. I will stand in their way. Me and Baxter will hold the line and ensure that tarps off remains with their tarps off until the end of the game. Because that's the way it's going to work. But you do get PHNXDBAC's merch of your choice. That's a shirt or a hat with your ticket purchase along with a game ticket to the Bar S All You Can Eat section. And you diehards do get 20% off.
Starting point is 00:53:41 So get your tickets now at go p hnx.com slash events. All right. What else we have in the good old mailbag today, Damon? Next. Next question is from Corby Carroll enthusiast, not to be confused with King Corbin, who did the last question. It says when is it time to put Gabby Moreno
Starting point is 00:54:00 in the top three catcher discussions, Derek? Oof. I feel like there's things that Gabby needs to do better. And I feel like it's hard to put a catcher in the top three catcher discussions when your pitching staff is this bad? Is that fair to put on the catcher? What do you think? I mean, I know you have your opinions there about catching overall,
Starting point is 00:54:23 but I do feel like a catcher should have an impact on the pitching staff as well. And I think when you have one of the worst pitching staffs as far as starters in Major League Baseball, it's a little hard to have that top three catcher discussion. but I will say consistently offensively, Gabriel Moreno absolutely deserves to be in that discussion and probably deserves some consideration for the All-Star game overall, considering when you put his numbers up against the guys that were in there, he does kind of outperform those guys.
Starting point is 00:54:56 But I don't know. I think that Gabby's biggest problem has been remaining on the field consistently without injury. And I think it's been more about his behind-the-plate production rather than it's been about his offensive production overall. But that's just, that's the only things I can think of that, you know, really would prevent him from that. You could also argue that he is still the, you know,
Starting point is 00:55:20 catcher behind the plate with this bullpen being as good as they've been. And he could also, you know, say that Gabriel Moreno overall is still, you know, incredible at getting runners out. But I feel like his numbers have kind of dropped as far as, you know, catching runners stealing and things like that. So that also makes me feel like he might not be there for that top three catcher category. Probably closing in on top five, though.
Starting point is 00:55:47 And I mean, again, not to say Gabby isn't up there as one of the best catchers in baseball, just probably not at the top just yet. I'm trying to find, I'm clearly just inept, but I'm trying to find the fan graphs war leaders at catcher for us here, Derek, to see if maybe we can get a read on where he stands in terms of wins above replacement comparatively to the top catchers in baseball. Well, if you grab that, we'll circle back around to that. Let's skip the next question.
Starting point is 00:56:24 What else we got in the mailback? Interesting. Interesting. Next question is from flea ball. He says, J-Mart is coming back soon. Who goes? Assuming Dre stays. He's the only long reliever we have.
Starting point is 00:56:34 My vote is to trade Seawald. His stock is the highest it's ever going to be. I don't really think anyone's trading for Paul. As much of a good season as he's having. Yeah. I mean, you're right about that. And I think that that's a pretty hard sell, considering his ERA is what it is,
Starting point is 00:56:52 and you still just feel as uneasy as you do about Paul Seawald being out there in any capacity. Also, I mean, the Diamondbacks have him as closer due to necessity and due to his experience, but I'm not sure if another team is going to be willing to give him that operation. As it stands right now, obviously they are going to send Philip Abner down and call Juan Burgos up. I feel like that spot is probably going to be the spot that they would essentially give J-Mart when he returns. But I'm not 100% sure about that.
Starting point is 00:57:27 What do you got? I got an update on the other situation. But to answer this question, yeah, I guess I don't really know. No. It's an interesting, someone has to go. Right. And I mean, again, like I said, they have the Philip Abner spot. And the Philip Abner spot feels like it can right now be like that can go to J-Mart eventually. You're not going to get rid of Taylor Clark, Brandon Garcia, Kevin Ginkle. He's, Dre Jamison might be an option, but he is right.
Starting point is 00:57:59 They don't really have another like long reliever outside of Dre Jameson. He did give them two innings yesterday. Abner also gave them two innings yesterday. So both of those guys, you know, both of those guys do give you some length. But like I said, Abner is already going to be sent down according to Gambo. So, you know, again, I feel like that Wamburgos spot. I still doubt that they're going to move Seawald. And I don't even know if, I don't even know if A.J. Puck returned,
Starting point is 00:58:27 which is looking less and less likely based on him now getting a second opinion on his injury, that he would be the closer. when he came back. I don't know if Justin Martinez would be the closer when he came back. I don't know what you do with Paul Seawald though
Starting point is 00:58:41 if you don't have him closing. As we saw, he literally can't pitch at any point in the game at all unless the game is on the line and he's in there to make the save for some inexplicable reason. But yeah,
Starting point is 00:58:54 I would feel right now like it's this one rotating spot that they have left that they would use to bring back J-Mart. All right, what else we go? So Gabby was not qualified, Derek. That was why it wasn't showing up at first,
Starting point is 00:59:05 which I find interesting because he really hasn't been two in and out of the lineup this year. And I think that's displayed by him being second in war among all catchers in Major League Baseball behind Dylan Dingler, only behind Dylan Dingler. And there's not a lot of competition as far as... Well, it's because offensively Gabby's been fantastic. I mean, Dylan Dingler is considered, I guess, the top defensive catcher. That's why he's, his war is so high because he's at 4.0 right now. And Gabby's at 2.6, which puts him at second place. which is 1.4 behind Dylan Dingler,
Starting point is 00:59:38 which is a lot when you can factor in second is at 2.6. But Gabby's above Shea Lang Lears right now. He's above Hunter Goodman, who has, you know, what, 30 bombs? He's above Adley Rushman, Drake Baldwin, who has 18 bombs. So, yeah, I mean, great season so far from Gabby. I don't think it was a question offensively. He definitely is a top three catcher, you know. But again, they're also, like I said,
Starting point is 01:00:04 there isn't that much competition. So that might be a fair point to be making that he probably is a top three catcher when you take a look at the rest of the field. He's 14th in defensive fielding and positional adjustment and offensive and base running contribution combined. He's fifth. So the combination of him being positive
Starting point is 01:00:29 and both of those things puts him second overall. Well, Scotty Mack makes a good point. also feared this. He said, Puck pitched his last game for the snakes. He's as good as gone. And yeah, I've feared that too. This capsular strain in his left shoulder. They're seeking a second opinion on and, you know, disaster. It's already the end of July. So at the very least,
Starting point is 01:00:54 the good news that we do have is that Ryan Nelson is beginning his throwing program and he, shockingly, might be back to this starting rotation before the end of the year. We've also heard nothing but good things in regards to Corbyn's MRIs and his injury. Everything is clean on Burns and he has begun throwing as well. So those are good situations. Scotty Mac says second opinion equals bad news, which is exactly why I thought Ryan Nelson was done for the year.
Starting point is 01:01:25 But overall, apparently the second opinion for Ryan Nelson has a much more positive prognosis than what's going on with AJ. puck as it stands. So some good news and some bad news overall here for the Diamondbacks when it comes to those injuries. But what else we got, Damon? Next question here is from Mighty Schumann who says, which prospect in Reno do you think has the best chance of getting called up and helping this team down the stretch once we reach September? Penna, Groover, Chrysontes promoted to Reno this morning, by the way, which that's pretty cool in the incident.
Starting point is 01:01:58 Yeah, Demetrio Chrysantes. I missed that. So good to see Southern Arizona's own making his way. up to the AAA ranks, or Jose Fernandez. He's killed it with the sod poodles overall. He has a 319, 413, 548 slash line for a 961 OPS, just doing great things there. So great to see Cresontes getting that call up. Probably wouldn't be him with the recent call up. Probably still wouldn't be Manuel Pena, Manny Pena. But, I mean, Damon, at this point, considering how fast he's kind of moved through the Diamondback system.
Starting point is 01:02:33 and everything else that he's gone through. I don't know why the Diamondbacks wouldn't give him a chance. The man's been incredible. He really has. Chrysantes? No, no, no, Pena. Pena. Pena.
Starting point is 01:02:47 I mean, Manny right now with the Rito Aces again. Yeah. He's slashing 333, 362, 510 for an 872 872 OPS. He has four-home runs and 18 RBI in 96 at bat. So not the numbers that he was putting up for the sod poodles when he was still there, but again, very encouraging. He might be ready. I still think that if you're talking about somebody that returns,
Starting point is 01:03:12 it would probably be one of the guys you mentioned that has major league experience. I still feel like Lou James Groover made a good impression while he was here. Both he and Jose Fernandez, though, had their struggles offensively. The difference is that when Fernandez first came up, he was incredible, and he helped his team win several baseball games. So I'm not sure on the answer there, but if I was leaning in one direction, I would probably say Lou James Gruver just due to his versatility. I think it does depend, though, on what they need, right?
Starting point is 01:03:44 Where they need these guys to play, if they need an infielder or an outfielder, right? I feel like Gruver would get that opportunity over Payna, considering they're both infielders. But I don't know. I think if Payna continues to mash the way he has so far, this season. I could see the Diamondbacks giving him a shot. That's why. It's not out of the question.
Starting point is 01:04:05 He's been outperforming pretty much every single person that he's, you know, kind of being compared to here. So I wouldn't be like mad at that at all. I think Grover is probably most likely because he's already been up on the roster at a different point this season. So they're familiar with him. So, you know, when the roster expands and those are probably two positions they could use a little bit of backup help at in particular on the corners there that Gino plays.
Starting point is 01:04:30 or Lou James, I should say. And then, yeah, I would say that those are the most likely, in my opinion. But also, cool to see Cresontes moving up as fast through the organization as he has been, especially because he was injured for a large portion of last season there, where he just missed a ton of time. And now he's already gone from Hillsborough to Reno in that time period. And there's a reason the Diamondbacks were given the mantle of having the best second baseman in their farm system.
Starting point is 01:05:03 And I feel like croix might be like the cream of the crop there. I'll give you another name that we have not talked about at all, but he's another guy that was recently called up or recently promoted from AA to AAA. And that is Gavin Conticello. He was recently called up from AA to AAA. So far for the Reno Aces, he's slashing 357, 471, 6403.4,000. 643 with a 1.113 OPS. He's an outfielder.
Starting point is 01:05:34 So perhaps if their depth continues to remain very, very, very limited at outfield depth, perhaps they give him a shot. Because again, he has not played many games in Reno. I think he's only played four games so far. But just a name to throw out there to keep an eye on because he's had some immediate success since landing with the Reno Aces. What else we got, Damon? Our next question here is from Karen with a C who says Chase Field got a new sound system hosting all kinds of concerts.
Starting point is 01:06:07 So what happened to the home run siren? Am I the only one making a siren sound at home? No, you're not. In fact, Damon makes it here in the office every time they hit a home run and any runs around doing it. I don't know. I mean, there's a lot of things about Chase Field that I think are going to take time to improve, but that need improving. right and and I think that they just need to listen to the fan base that's what I think they need to do I think that one of the things we've been clamoring for is to bring back the clock so bring back the
Starting point is 01:06:39 clock it's not hard make it a big old LED thing like my watch and make it change and have it do fun things when it has a home run have it turn into a baseball have it turn into Baxter's face but more importantly have it be a clock because that's what people want they want a clock face they want it up there where the clock used to go and I don't understand that why that's that hard to provide to people. I feel like you could get one of those on TEMU for like $1,200, at least based on my shopping on TEMU. Also, I will say bring back the out of town scoreboards and make those digital as well, make them look like the old scoreboards, but also make them change and do stuff. I mean, these things are not hard. Make the water shoot out of the pool
Starting point is 01:07:19 again when they hit a home run. Do we not miss the water cannons? I miss the water cannons. I miss all of this stuff. Try to make Chase Field a fun, unique place for people to watch baseball and use some of the things that many of these people grew up loving about this team. Like the stupid clock and the stupid out-of-town scoreboards.
Starting point is 01:07:38 Just give the people what they want. It's not hard, right? It means everything. Is it hard? I'm just saying, it's not hard. I'll tell you where the clock is. The clock is sitting in the garage. I've seen it with my own eyes several times. I wanted to do a like a
Starting point is 01:07:54 a heist, like Ocean's 11, where we steal the clock, because I think the clock belongs in a museum, and I think we should put it in museum. I know Josh Rowich, he heads up the Baseball Hall of Fame. We'll get it in that place. It belongs somewhere. It deserves a better home than that hot garage. It's like most of us keeping stuff in our garages at home. We know we have collectibles that belong in an air-conditioned, quality-controlled environment, not in those garages.
Starting point is 01:08:20 All right, what else we got? Let's do one more, and then we've got to get out of here. Our last question is from Michael Rokickey. Who else? And he says the debacks are three in ten in games I've gone to this year. Yikes. I currently have a six game losing streak going. I was going to go yesterday.
Starting point is 01:08:35 I chose not to. We all know what happened. Am I cursed? Derek, can you get me in touch with Danhausen? I may need to give human monies. More importantly, you got to give human teeth. That's critical to having a curse removed from Danhausen. you are cursed, there's no way to go about it.
Starting point is 01:08:54 There's no mincing words here. You were going to go to the game, and then you chose not to. That information took a while to filter down to the team. They were like, oh, Roakiki's not here. Maybe that. Maybe that is what Jeff Bannister said to the team. Maybe he walked up to the team and was like, look at you. Seven to nothing, you guys are all acting.
Starting point is 01:09:21 Like Michael Rokiki is here. You all think Michael Rokiki is here? He was going to be here, but he chose not to be. And you're going to lay down and die on a day where this man isn't in the building. Get your shit together. And that's now what I think Bannister said to the team. That feels fair.
Starting point is 01:09:42 Yeah, I like that. I'm wearing my Danhausen shirt in honor of you being cursed by Danhausen. And I will say, I can get in touch with Danhausen. In fact, Dan Housen has sent me a blimp. And that blimp is a way for him to remotely curse and uncurse people, especially involving Arizona sports. So we'll have that in this office very soon. A big shout out to Manifest This Life.
Starting point is 01:10:10 Thank you so much for being one of our supporters club members. We love you. We appreciate you. He is celebrating seven months of membership. And he said, epic comeback last night. Let's go, D-Backs. Let's make the post. season, loving the offensive consistency and better pitching.
Starting point is 01:10:25 Hope Burns is back in 27. Let's hope for all of those things. Let's hope Burns is back in 26. Let's hope Burns is back in 28 and 29, too. I mean, well, I was going to say, it's not over like for this year. We could get him back this season. I think he's going to be back. Yeah, we just need to stay relevant.
Starting point is 01:10:41 I'm starting to think Ryan Nelson is going to be back. You're right. Because relevancy not only impacts the trade deadline, but relevancy does impact them deciding to shut Corbyn Burns down for the season. as well. Correct. Right? Like if you're talking about him pitching his first game on the other side of August 31st,
Starting point is 01:10:59 then maybe if they're not in it anymore, maybe you don't want that to happen. Maybe you want to just invest long term in one of the best arms and have him rest and be ready for the 2027 season whenever the hell that happens. But I'll tell you, we love you guys so much. We thank you so much for your questions and for being here today. We will be back tomorrow with another post game. show. So make sure to join us for that. In the meantime, you can follow us on social. I am at cap underscore caveman with a K. Damon is at Damon Dog with a DAWG. But as always, we're all
Starting point is 01:11:31 Damon's dogs. Bark, bark. Our show is at PHNX underscore D-Backs, but all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We thank you guys. We love you. We appreciate your questions. Mailbag Monday wouldn't be what it is without you. And remember, your time is your most valuable commodity. So be careful who you share it with. We thank you for sharing some of it with us today. We'll be back again tomorrow like I said. Until then, hope you guys have a wonderful Monday. Hope you all have a wonderful evening and hope the Diamondbacks can pull off
Starting point is 01:11:59 the victory here in game one against the athletics. Until we return, again, love you guys. We'll see you back here. Hope you guys have a wonderful night. Remember kids. Baseball is fun but it's so much more fun when you can pull off a seven-run comeback.

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