Dropped in on the Diamondbacks on Tuesday afternoon. Eduardo Rodriguez was introduced to a packed interview room at Chase Field. This wasn’t much of a press conference for the Diamondbacks to try to “win”. But I thought what Managing general partner Ken Kendrick said outside of the interview room was more important for fans to hear.
- The payroll for the Diamondbacks in 2024 will be the largest in team history (right now north of 160-million dollars) “Mike has been given the authority to go make the team better than it is as we sit here today.” Talking about GM Mike Hazen. The J.D. Martinez, Justin Turner, and Jorge Solar have been linked to the Diamondbacks in one way or another over the last couple of weeks.
- Kendrick had some thoughts on Ohtani joining the Dodgers “He’s a great player. Is he the second coming? I would suggest not. Would you like to have a player of that talent on your team? Of course, everyone would. We will have fun competing against them”
- Staying in downtown Phoenix at the current ballpark seems to be more and more likely. “We’re going to have to invest in the infrastructure here, whether it be over time plumbing, electrical, lighting, a whole series of things that are important to keep a ballpark vibrant, and it’s twenty-six years old. we will get it done”.
Rodriguez pitching against the Dodgers in LA will be a must-see. He rejected a trade to the Dodgers at the trade deadline last summer. I asked him about it, and his reasoning for not uprooting his family made sense. I have to believe the Diamondbacks made a run at Rodriguez at the trade deadline, though Hazen didn’t want to shed any light on that topic when I asked him about it…
Happy trails Myron Bluford. The well-regarded, respected head football coach at Arizona College Prep stepped down yesterday. Two head coaching jobs are now open in the CUSD. Very rare..
Love watching Devin Booker play the game, except that he never, ever commits a foul…
Thumbs up – Arizona tackle Jordan Morgan passing on playing in the Wildcats bowl game…
Thumbs up – The Big 12 football media days will be in Las Vegas for the next two years…
Thumbs down – Ron Wolfley is not in the Cardinals Ring of Honor…
QB Dylan Raiola may end up in Nebraska. Hmmm. So, I remember him from Chandler High School, which feels like a long time ago, except it wasn’t. In the last twelve months, the order of stops has been Chandler, Pinnacle, Buford High School (Georgia), throw in his commitment/decommit to Ohio State, as I noodle he’s committed to Georiga, but may drop his word to the Bulldogs to go to Nebraska. Quite the timeline. The NIL component is between $1.5 million to $3 million depending on who you believe…
