The 2012 Arizona Diamondbacks open spring training with high expectations as they look to repeat as NL West champions and make it all the way to the very top.
The Arizona Diamondbacks didn't have as many tough choices as some of their MLB counterparts before opening day, but still made some significant moves on Wednesday, especially to their pitching staff with the news that Takashi Saito will be placed on the DL, while RHP Mike Zagurski has cleared waivers and will be outrighted to triple-A Reno
Gibson's hoping Saito (medial right calf strain) will be able to return as soon as eligible, which he says is April 15.
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) April 4, 2012
Zagurski being outrighted means he has cleared waivers. He'll go to Triple-A Reno.
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) April 4, 2012
So that means LHP Wade Miley makes the team as the long reliever.
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) April 4, 2012
Luckily the D-backs won't be long without Saito, who hopefully can keep from having any setbacks with his strained right calf. As for Zagurski his 2.61 ERA in 10 spring appearances wasn't enough to warrant a roster spot, but could see time later this season. Miley had himself a decent spring with a 1-1 record a 5.59 ERA, helping shore up the bullpen.
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Perhaps the biggest storyline over the last couple of weeks of spring training for the Arizona Diamondbacks has been the play of pitcher Josh Collmenter. It was somewhat of a surprise that he was named the number three starter over veterans Trevor Cahill and Joe Saunders, despite having a rough spring.
It was just Monday that manager Kirk Gibson made it sound like Collmenter might find himself out of the rotation, mainly because of the performance of Corbin. When asked on Monday about what Corbin was battling for, Gibby said, "He's competing for a spot on the team." What type? "We'll see. There's many different combinations I've considered," he responded. When the follow-up question mentioned the starting rotation being set, Gibby answered, "Well, you always consider changes."
This exchange led beat writer Nick Piecoro to tweet this:
I've learned in the year-plus covering him not to read too much into anything he says. However: Doesn't sound great for Collmenter.
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) April 2, 2012
Kirk Gibson and starting pitcher Josh Collmenter talked after the game on Tuesday, when the Arizona Diamondback rallied in the eighth inning to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3.
Collmenter discussed his spot in the rotation and turning things around now that the spring is done. Gibson discussed Stephen Drew and roster moves.
Josh Collmenter:
On why his performance on Tuesday contrasted his while spring:
"I felt really good. I just got back to basics and felt more like myself. The rhythm and tempo were there and I think that was the big thing I was missing. I was trying too much to try and figure out why things weren't happening and just got back to just getting the baseball and throwing it."
On why he seems to have particular success against the Brewers:
"I think they're just an aggressive club. They swing at a lot of stuff, so especially if you can get ahead of them, then you kind of get them on their toes, and they can swing at pitches they might not want to. They like swinging early, so if you can keep the ball out of the zone early, a lot of times you can have success."
On pitching at Chase Field again:
"Your surrounding puts everything more into perspective that you're gearing up for a season. It takes some of the working on the back fields and stuff out of it. You know it's 'go time' now."
Kirk Gibson:
On Collmenter's outing:
"Yeah, I thought he threw good. He hit a guy 0-2 and then we made an error, but he was throwing a lot of strikes and moving the ball around well. And after his last start we went in and looked at some tape. He went in and looked at it ans saw a little something, kind of how how he was throwing it a little bit. Just searching for that consistency and arm slot."
On Saito's tweaked calf:
"He did it while he was out there stretching. The doctors looked at him and it's really nothing serious. but I kust want to make sure to see what they see in there tomorrow and if there's nothing we'll go from there."
On Stephen Drew and what he has done this spring, and what he still needs to do to get back to playing:
"What we have focused on is pretty much he's taken a ton of ground balls. He's done a lot of resistance running with the rubber cord, and it's extremely intense. There's probably not a lot of guys in the clubhouse that could do it. They'd be gassed. So he's really in good shape that way. We were talking today about the primary lead, the secondary lead then a return back to the base. He did run the bases the other day.
"Just at shortstop, every time that Matty (Matt Williams) throws the ball, he hits it, so in a game, the reality of it is you're doing your pre-pitch, you're getting in to the pitch, and then you're reacting, so we're going to start doing some of that stuff now. Then the gameplan will to get him in some extended stuff with an at-bat, some really light running at the at-bat. No sliding yet. Maybe play a couple of innings or an inning of defense, because that will be quite different. You know sometimes you react to a ball and the guy swings and misses. So it's all a new movement to him.
"Overall, it's the ankle joint -- the ligament, the tendon -- it's great. The bone is healed. Everything is solid there. It's just that the joint sometimes gets inflammation as he goes on. He gets sore. We know how we can take him and have it be a good day. We know how to put him in a bad day. We do some high intensity running and curves and stuff like that. We know he's going to be sore the next day, so the goal is that we can get him doing baseball activities where he's recovering quicker, which he already is. But we don't have a timetable. We;re going to kind of segue into some different activities for Stephen."
In his postgame press conference after the game on Tuesday, Arizona Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson spoke about some of the final roster moves the team needs to make by tomorrow afternoon. Despite hinting at the possibility of change on Monday, Gibson said that there will be no changes to the starting rotation. From one to five, it will be as he stated earlier in the spring -- Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Josh Collmenter, Trevor Cahill and Joe Saunders.
As a result, the team reassigned pitchers Patrick Corbin and Tyler Skaggs to AA Mobile. Corbin had thrown an impressive spring and there was speculation that he might make the starting rotation over Collmenter.
While the starting rotation is set, there is some uncertainty still with the bullpen. Right-handed reliever Takashi Saito "tweaked a calf" when he was beginning his warmups and is set to have an MRI on Wednesday. Team doctors said that it does not appear to be anything serious, but they will check before they make any roster decisions.
Gibson also said that position players Cody Ransom and A.J. Pollock would be sent to AAA Reno tomorrow.
The team expects to know what the final roster will look like by late Wednesday morning.
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There were a lot of questions coming in to Tuesday's start against the Milwaukee Brewers for Josh Collmenter. While his manager, Kirk Gibson, had not said anything specifically, the play of Pat Corbin and Collmenter's own spring struggles were fueling the idea that he might lose his spot to Corbin in the rotation.
However, against a Milwaukee team that he had great success in the regular season in 2011, he was again solid. He pitched three innings without allowing a hit, and gave up one unearned run. 34 of his 48 pitches were for strikes and he only saw three three-ball counts, getting two strikes on almost every hitter.
The one run he gave up was the result of a hit batsman, an error but Paul Goldschmidt, a walk and then a run-scoring groundout.
However, despite Collmenter's play, it appears that Tuesday's performance was not going to be the deciding factor in whether he held his place in the rotation. Said Gibson before the game, "I'd like to see him throw the ball better, but if he doesn't it doesn't change anything."
Tyler Skaggs came in after Collmenter left and allowed a two-run homer to Alex Gonzalez in the fourth. He also got himself a base hit in his only plate appearance. Skaggs struggled in the top of the sixth as he loaded the bases to start the inning. However, he came away unscathed after a foul pop and an inning-ending double play.
Arizona got on the board in the fourth inning on an RBI groundout by Miguel Montero.
Arizona rallied in the eighth for four runs as Gerardo Parra, A.J. Pollock and Cody Ransom each hit singles to start the inning. On what could have been a double play, the shortstop slipped and fell for an error to load the bases. Evan Frey then cleared the bases with a triple to give the D-backs a 5-3 lead.
Joe Paterson allowed a pair of baserunners and gave way to J.J. Putz with two outs. Putz got the final out for the save, his second of the spring.
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Ian Kennedy is set to be the ace for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2012, but had a rough outing in his final Spring Training start on Saturday. The D-backs took on the Los Angeles Dodgers and came up on the losing end in a 9-3 affair.
Kennedy pitched five innings and gave up three runs on five hits. The three runs allowed matches the amount of runs he had given up in his 18.1 Spring Training innings coming into Saturday.
According to FOX Sports, Kennedy is remaining upbeat despite the black mark to round out Spring Training.
"I have been feeling better and better with command and my off-speed stuff, today too,'' Kennedy said. ''Today's results aside, I am pretty happy with how things are going."
The silver lining is that Kennedy fared much better than Dodgers ace and reigning Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who also gave up three runs, but in just 3.2 innings, on six hits and a walk.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks are entering the home stretch of Sprint Training and making the final additions and subtractions to their roster in preparation for Opening Day.
On Saturday, the team announced that they have traded right-handed pitcher Robby Rowland to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Rowland was selected by the D-backs in the third round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft. He hasn't had the best record in two seasons in Arizona's minor-league system, going 6-13 with a 7.01 ERA while walking 38 and striking out 92.
The Diamondbacks also retained the rights to Rule 5 Draft selection Brett Lorin, who is also a right-handed pitcher. Lorin was outrighted to Double-A Mobile by the team. With the moves, the Diamondbacks now have 33 players in camp, which includes 5 non-roster invitees.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks' spring training complex, Salt River Fields set a spring training total attendance record on Thursday.
According to a press release by the organization, the team's 12th spring training sellout in Thursday's exhibition against the Cleveland Indians broke the complex's total attendance record with a 359,326 total.
The Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies currently have a combined six games remaining at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. The previous mark was set by these same two teams in 2011 at 359,308.
We're very proud to have passed last year's attendance record thanks to the best Spring Training fan experience in baseball," said D-backs President & CEO Derrick Hall. (Via: MLB.com)
Arizona's single game attendance average of 11,662 is the highest in all of baseball. The complex is around 20 miles away from the Diamondbacks' regular season home, Chase Field in Phoenix.
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On Monday, manager Kirk Gibson announced the regular season starting rotation for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The guys in the rotation are not at all a surprise. They are Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Josh Collmenter, Trevor Cahill and Joe Saunders.
These guys were the ones everyone expected to be in the rotation, but the decision to put Collmenter ahead of Cahill turned some heads. Gibson would not elaborate as to the reason for this. Even as much as a couple of weeks ago, Collmenter was referred to as the fifth starter.
So why the change?
The Arizona Diamondbacks pretty much have most of their roster figured out. Only a few spots are up for grabs. One such spot is the left-handed reliever spot out of the bullpen. There are currently three guys that are battling for that spot, although there is always a chance that more than one could get another bullpen spot. In any case, it means one guy will not be with the major league club.
Lefties Joe Paterson, Craig Breslow and Mike Zagurski are those guys. Zagurski has the toughest shot.
Paterson was with the club a year ago and was fairly effective. In 62 appearances, he posted a 2.91 ERA in 34 innings and a .224 batting average against. More importantly, he held left-handed hitters to a .204 average. He was in his rookie season a year ago, so the team can save him with an option to the minors.
According to a tweet from AZ Sports 620, Arizona Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson has named his starting rotation for the upcoming season. As it stands now, those pitchers are Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Josh Collmenter, Trevor Cahill and Joe Saunders.
Kennedy finished 21-4 with a 2.88 ERA last season in 33 starts, improving from a nine win season the year prior. He was last season's opening day starter and will be again this year.
Hudson finished 16-12 with a 3.49 ERA last season in 33 starts, ending the season second on the team in wins behind Kennedy.
In 31 games (24 starts) in his first full season in the majors last season, Collmenter went 10-10 with a 3.38 ERA. He'll get another shot to improve on those numbers as part of the rotation again this season.
Cahill spent the past three seasons with the Oakland Athletics with mixed results. His 2010 season was his breakout year with an 18-8 record and a 2.97 ERA but he regressed last season into a disappointing 12-14 record with a 4.16 ERA. The Diamondbacks are obviously hoping for the 2010 version.
Saunders will fill in the fifth spot in the rotation as the veteran back-end. Gibson said the Diamondbacks won't be skipping the 5th spot in the rotation this season since they have a veteran like Saunders filling the spot. In his first season with the Diamondbacks last season, Saunders went 12-13 with a 3.69 ERA in 33 starts.
Two weeks are left in the Cactus League schedule and Opening Day is fast approaching. The Arizona Diamondbacks are down to the last few roster decisions they have to make. They also are at the point where they will start playing their regulars more so that they are conditioned to the grind of the long season.
Here is the schedule of games this week for the Diamondbacks (games start at 1:05 unless otherwise noted):
Monday, March 26: Cubs at Diamondbacks, Salt River Fields
Tuesday, March 27: Rockies at Diamondbacks, Salt River Fields
Wednesday, March 28: Diamondbacks at Brewers, Maryvale Baseball Park
Thursday, March 29: Indians (split squad) at Diamondbacks, Salt River Fields
Friday, March 30: Diamondbacks at Angels, Tempe Diablo Stadium
Saturday, March 31: Dodgers at Diamondbacks, Salt River Fields
Sunday, April1: Diamondbacks at Dodgers, Camelback Ranch
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According to ESPN analyst Tim Kurkjian, Arizona Diamondbacks short stop Stephen Drew will not be ready for opening day and Willie Bloomquist will take over for him.
@Kurkjian_ESPN
Tim KurkjianSS Stephen Drew won't be ready Opening Day. Willie Bloomquist takes over. DBacks were 37-21 when he started at SS last year
26 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone · Reply · Retweet · Favorite · powered by @socialditto
Drew hasn't fully recovered from a broken ankle suffered last July and Bloomquist, who took over for Drew last season, will be the team's starter at short stop until Drew is able to come back to the team. Before Drew broke his ankle last season, he played in 86 games, earning a batting average of .252 and scoring 44 runs. In the 97 games that Bloomquist played once he took over the position, he also scored 44 runs and had a .266 batting average.
Bloomquist only played 59 games at short stop and in those 59 games, he had five errors on the field. Drew had seven in his 84 games.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks cut their number of players at Major League camp to 37 today by optioning four players and re-assigning four others.
Per the official twitter account:
#Dbacks option Sam Demel, Barry Enright and David Winfree and reassign Chris Jakubauskas and Rusty Ryal to Triple-A @Aceball
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) March 23, 2012
#Dbacks also option Trevor Bauer and reassign Charles Brewer and Matt Davidson to Double-A @Mobile_BayBears
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) March 23, 2012
Heading to Triple-A Reno are Chris Jakubauskas and Rusty Ryal. Jakubauskas is a 33-year old right handed pitcher that debuted for the Seattle Mariners in 2009. Prior to signing with the Diamondbacks in November, he spent time with the Orioles and Pirates. Rusty Ryal is a 29-year old infielder with two years of major league experience. He's hit .263 with 6HR and 20RBI in 266 plate appearances.
Charles Brewer and Matt Davidson head to Mobile to hone their skills.
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Adam Eaton is a 34- year old former MLB pitcher, who you may recall last seeing being booed by Phillies fans receiving his World Series Ring in 2008. Adam Eaton is also a 23-year old prospect in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, making his way in Spring Training as we speak. though the MLBPA payroll department sure didn't know the difference.
Make the jump for the full story.
On Monday, the Arizona Diamondbacks announced that the next five home games at Salt River Fields were sold out. So far this spring, they have averaged about 11,300 fans per game. Games are well attended and the atmosphere is good.
Basically, moving from Tucson to Scottsdale was a good idea.
Why exactly is there such a draw in spring training?
To start with, no other major league team has spring training in their own backyard. The stadium is just a year old, so it is still novel to people.
"There is so much excitement right now for the D-backs and you can see that every day here at Salt River Fields," said D-backs President & CEO Derrick Hall. "The fans have turned out again in record numbers and we're seeing a real impact on tickets at Chase Field as well." .
The Cactus League schedule rolls on towards the start of the regular season and Opening Day. The Arizona Diamondbacks continue to have their struggles in Cactus League play, but it is starting to get a bit more set before the games that count begin.
Here is what their spring training game schedule looks for the next week:
Monday, March 19, Diamondbacks at Athletics, Phoenix Muni
Tuesday, March 20, Giants at Diamondbacks, Salt River Fields
Wednesday March 21, Brewers at Diamondbacks, Salt River Fields
Friday, March 23, Diamondbacks at White Sox, Camelback Ranch
Saturday, March 24, Royals at Diamondbacks, Salt River Fields
Sunday March 25, Diamondbacks at Padres, Peoria Sports Complex
Tickets have been hard to come by this spring, so purchase them early or you might lose out.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks took advantage of offensive opportunities given to them as both Paul Goldschmidt and Geoff Blum each drove in a pair of runs, as Arizona beat the Chicago White Sox 4-2, Starting pitcher Daniel Hudson, despite a stomach bug he has been fighting for a few days, allowed two runs on a two-run hit by opposing pitcher John Danks, but outside of that, struck out the side in order in the first inning and retired the last seven hitters to face him.
Arizona took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when 3B Geoff Blum singled in Gerardo Parra and Miguel Montero with two outs and the bases loaded. 1B Paul Goldschmidt tacked on the last two runs in the third inning, when he tripled in Parra, who had reached on an error, and Chris Young.
The only two runs allowed by Hudson came in the second inning, when "things started getting away from him a little bit," as manager Kirk Gibson commented after the game. He gave up a leadoff double to Paul Konerko and hit Dayan Viciedo with a pitch. Two outs later he walked Jordan Danks and had John Danks, the opposing pitcher at the plate. Danks actually surprised Hudson by swinging at his second pitch fast ball and put it in the hole on the right side of the infield to drive in two.
Ironically enough, Hudson recalled after the game how on Thursday night he got a text message from Danks about how lost he was at the plate. "Being from an American League team," said Hudson, "you don't know if he's going to swing." After the hit, Hudson looked over at first and said that Danks sort of apologized for even swinging.
Take that atbat away, which, being spring training, was not planned out, and Hudson was marvelous. He struck out six White Sox hitters in his four innings pitched and only gave up two hits and a walk.
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As Daniel Hudson starts for the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday during Spring Training, we are reminded of how he said earlier this spring about how the pitching staff needs to protect Justin Upton, who was hit by pitches 19 times last season, which was eight times more that he had been hit in his career previous to 2011.
On Wednesday we were reminded of this, as Upton was hit by a pitch for the second consecutive game. Reliever David Hernandez later hit Padres outfielder Will Venable in the game, which prompted a warning from the home plate umpire.
After the game, Hernandez commented on the beanball.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are back in action after finally scoring some ruins and getting a win against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. Friday afternoon, they host the team from the South Side of Chicago -- the White Sox and D-Backs starter Daniel Hudson will face the team that traded him to Arizona.
Here are today's expected starting lineups:
White Sox:
Diamondbacks:
After scoring only one run in three games, the D-Backs rebounded with 12 against the Cubs. Can they keep up the offensive production against a White Six team that could be in for a long season?
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As Cactus League play continues throughout the Phoenix area, the Arizona Diamondbacks made 12 roster moves to pare their major league spring training roster to 45 players.
Five players were optioned to Triple-A Reno. They were right-handed pitchers Jonathan Albaladejo and Joe Martinez, left-handed pitcher Zach Kroenke, outfielder Cole Gillespie and catcher Konrad Schmidt.
Three players were also sent to Reno via reassignment. They were right-handed pitcher Mike DeMark, left-handed pitcher Jason Lane and infielder Ryan Wheeler.
Right-handed pitchers Evan Marshall and Kevin Munson and outfielder Marc Krauss were reassigned to Double-A Mobile, and infielder Chris Owings was reassigned to Single-A Visalia.
11 non-roster players still remain among the 45 players left.
More moves will be coming in the couple of weeks left in the spring before Opening Day. The way the roster is set, it will likely be more about what minor league teams players will go to, but there might be a surprise or two.
The Arizona Diamondbacks offense once again was stifled, as they managed no runs and only six hits in their early game against the San Diego Padres. However, youngsters Patrick Corbin and Trevor Bauer looked good in the combined five innings they threw. In the end, San Diego plated eight runs in the final four frames and beat Arizona 8-0 at Salt River Field.
Corbin got his first start of the spring and showed great composure. Manager Kirk Gibson used the words "very aggressive" and "athletic" when referring to his work on the mound. He threw three scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out three.
Bauer then came in for a pair of innings, but what got more attention was his warmup work. He did his long toss on the field before the game, throwing nearly 500 feet by the end of it (foul pole to foul pole) and then did his warmups in the bullpen from the start of the game when Corbin was in.
Corbin joked that the team was glad he worked three quick innings because Bauer had already thrown 75 pitches in his work in the pen.
The scoring started in the sixth inning when Takashi Saito was brought into the game. He gave up back-to-back homeruns to start the inning, but then set the next three batters down.
In the top of the ninth, San Diego added another six runs to get the final score.
The D-Backs play one more game tonight under the lights at Salt River Field, this time as the visiting team against the Colorado Rockies.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks will play two games on Wednesday, both at Salt River Field. They will play host to the San Diego Padres in the afternoon game that starts at 1PM. They will be the visiting team against the Colorado Rockies, with whom they share the facility.
The afternoon game will feature a pair of young, promising pitchers who will not likely make the Opening Day roster. Left-hander Patrick Corbin will get the start and is expected to go three innings. Following him is Trevor Bauer, the D-Backs' top draft pick from a year ago.
Bauer, who is already known for his long warm-up routine, will come in to pitch three innings as well. That is the plan. Fans will be able to see him warming up from the start of the game and throwing across the outfield.
Here are the starting lineups for both Arizona and San Diego:
Padres:
The Arizona Diamondbacks have several talented, young pitching prospects, including Trevor Bauer, their top pick in the 2011 draft. There has even been some talk of Bauer making the big league roster. One thing that is particular about Bauer is his regimented, lengthy warm-up process. This is something that he is almost religious about. However, part of making it in the big leagues is making adjustments, and this is something the team is asking Bauer to do to some extent.
He is scheduled to pitch on Wednesday in relief of Patrick Corbin, who will hopefully go three innings. If all goes as planned, Bauer will start his throwing early, but if Corbin gets into trouble, he may have to speed things up.
Luckily for the Arizona Diamondbacks, these spring games really mean nothing. In another tough offensive outing, the team mustered only one hit after a leadoff single by Willie Bloomquist. Former Diamondbacks ace Dan Haren pitched three innings, striking out seven, and the Angels got two runs off of starter Trevor Cahill, which would turn out to be plenty. The Angels came away with a 3-0 win over Arizona.
Cahill pitched three innings, gave up five hits and two runs, including a homer to Alexi Amarista in the third inning.
Manager Kirk Gibson said after the game that he threw better, but part of what the team is looking to do right now "try to figure him out," both in catching him and defending behind him.
Cahill feels is he right where he was last year, but that it took him "about an inning to get comfortable." After that, he said he "felt pretty good."
Of the five hits he gave up, two of them were ground balls that just got through the infield.
Tyler Skaggs relieved Cahill and had much better results than his last outing. In his two innings, he gave up only one hit and had a strikeout. After his appearance, he noted that the difference was that he was simply "more comfortable" and that he was throwing more strikes.
Gibson expanded a little more on the outing of the youngster, noting he "still overthrew" some pitches, but that "his shoulder is sound." He mentioned that he was working on some mechanical things, which Skaggs said was shortening his stride and let his height do more of the work to throw downhill.
Skaggs was acquired by Arizona in the trade with the Angels that sent Haren there. Skaggs said "he grew up" playing with many of the players on Los Angeles. He said it was a great experience to throw against them.
As for the result of the game and the offense, Kirk Gibson explained that he takes "every game personally" and even quipped that struggles like today are why he was going to run up Camelback after the game.
Arizona has two games on Wednesday. Patrick Corbin will get the start against the Padres. Trevor Bauer will work in relief. They also have a split squad night game against the Colorado Rockies.
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One of the biggest questions heading in to spring training for the Arizona Cardinals has been whether or not Stephen Drew would be able to play by Opening Day. It is for this very reason that the team brought back both Willie Bloomquist and John McDonald in the offseason.
Kirk Gibson spoke on the issue on Tuesday, as reported by Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
Obviously, the time is short, but Gibson was not willing to rule Drew out for the start of the season. The coaching staff has been working hard with Drew and Gibson said that they were "going to push him pretty good" this week.
There are some important hurdles to clear still. Drew has yet to face live pitching. He has not done much running the bases. He also has not done any sliding. The work on the bases will probably be the final step and it will be interesting to see how Drew changes his baserunning, if at all.
Whether or not he plays on Opening Day is still up in the air, and most might say it is doubtful. The good thing is that he is expected to get healthy early in the season. If he comes back and plays anything near the level he is capable of, the Arizona lineup could be very potent.
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Today the Arizona Diamondbacks face the Los Angeles Angels at Salt River Fields. If you are looking for tickets, good luck, because the game was announced on Monday as a sellout. However, there is hope. The game will be aired on Fox Sports Arizona. So if you can't get out to the ballpark, turn on the TV at 1PM and watch the game with commentary.
Unfortunately, you will not get to see superstar Albert Pujols play. He was not on the travel roster with the team. However, two former Diamondbacks will be on the field. Infielder Alberto Callaspo will start at third base and Dan Haren will get the start on the mound.
As for starting lineups, here is what is planned:
Angels:
Diamondbacks:
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The Arizona Diamondbacks continue to struggle in the early going in their 2012 Cactus League Spring Training games. They dropped a night game to the Seattle Mariners on Saturday by a final score of 7-1. With the loss, the Diamondbacks fell to 2-5 in the Cactus League.
The final score is perhaps even worse than it may at first appear. The only Diamondbacks run of the game came in the bottom of the sixth inning on a hit batsman and a wild pitch. The D-Backs managed just five hits, no extra-base hits and no RBI in the game.
The Mariners scored four runs off of starter Ian Kennedy in the first two innings and would end up needing no more runs, but tacked on a couple more just for fun. Kennedy picked up his second loss of the spring, going three innings and allowing four runs on six hits. He allowed no walks and picked up three strikeouts.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks continue their Cactus League schedule this weekend. After losing their first four spring games this week, they pulled out an 8-5 win on Friday over the Seattle Mariners. They play twice over the weekend, with no split-squad games.
Arizona faces Seattle again on Saturday, but it will be a split squad Mariners team, at Salt River Fields. However, it will be a late game, starting at 7:05 PM, one of only three night games before they start playing at Chase Field.
Their game on Sunday is against the San Diego Padres, out at the Peoria Sports Complex.
Information about the upcoming games, along with ticket information, can be found at cactusleague.com.
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PEORIA -- Trevor Bauer's second spring training start was among the more celebrated Friday for sure, with national media types from Fox Sports, CBS Sports and ESPN in attendance to see the 21-year-old Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander do his thing against the Seattle Mariners.
Calling Bauer offbeat probably isn't fair, but he's certainly unique. His pregame long toss, which started closer to the right-field foul line and ended up with him looping throws from straightaway left field all the way across the outfield, drew plenty of curious onlookers. Even the D-backs coaches had to send out a cutoff man in center field because the catch partner couldn't reach Bauer with return throws.
But the real reason to see Bauer was his potential. He was the third overall pick in the MLB First-Year Player Draft last June by the D-backs, and he's a legit competitor for a spot in the starting rotation.
After a scoreless two-inning debut last weekend, Bauer faced some adversity Friday, allowing two runs on four hits in three innings. He threw 44 pitches, 30 for strikes and struck out two. Brendan Ryan tripled and Mike Carp (on a dropped fly ball in left field) and Alex Liddi hit doubles off Bauer, who said he was missing more down in the strike zone than he preferred and had to work out of the stretch for the first time.
"I really don't pay attention to the results. I pay attention to how I executed my pitches and you're never going to execute at 100 percent efficiency, especially not outing to outing, so I think I executed a little bit better last time and a little bit worse today," Bauer said after he was done. "But that's to be expected, especially it being only my second time facing hitters. I'm not too worried about it. Good to be out there and learn a lot from it so I'll get better next time."
Remember last spring when the Arizona Diamondbacks went 12-25 and then the regular season started and the team ended up winning the division? Well, keep that in mind as you note the D-backs sluggish start to the 2012 Spring Training season which continued with a 10-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday.
The team fell to 1-4-1, and even more concerning (if we were concerned about such things) was the sloppy starts for Trevor Cahill and Tyler Skaggs. Both are expected to play a big role in the D-backs future with Cahill already holding down a spot in the rotation and the lefty Skaggs right on the cusp of his big league debut.
Cahill had an ugly first inning of work on a windy and chilly day at Salt River Fields. He gave up a lead-off hit and followed that with back-to-back dingers to find himself down 3-0 in his first frame of work for the Snakes. Trevor did bounce back well, however, with two strike outs and an easy ground out to second base in inning number two.
Trevor agreed that he was a little "amped up" for his first start, "It was my first time throwing to hitters without a screen in front of people. After you get comfortable, you find a rhythm and go from there."
Young Tyler Skaggs was scratched from his first start on opening day due to shoulder soreness which turned out to be nothing. That left this Wednesday as his opener and he didn't impress going just two-thirds of an inning with four runs, four walks and three earned runs allowed.
If you're keeping score, and why would you be, Cahill and Skaggs combined to allow 7 runs in the first three innings of the game. Brad Ziegler was touched up for two more.
"It was a crap game, again, three in a row. It's frustrating so you certainly have to watch what you say," Kirk Gibson said about managing the game while wearing a microphone for MLB TV.
"Regardless of what process we're in right now, we're still out here to play well and win ball games and it's still frustrating and it doesn't feel good to lose, I don't care where it is," Gibby added.
The team will have a day off Thursday and Gibson is looking for his team to come back Friday with more energy.
For more on the Diamondbacks visit AZ Snake Pit.
The Arizona Diamondbacks started their Cactus League schedule over the weekend, playing split squad games on Saturday and a game on Sunday. Their first full week of baseball games begins this week. For those of you that are big baseball fans, there are multiple opportunities for playing hooky from work or school to catch some beautiful Arizona weather and spring baseball.
Arizona plays every day except for Thursday this week, with four games at Salt River Fields. and if the afternoon games are a little too early (1PM is when games start unless it is a night game), the Diamondbacks even play on Saturday evening. Call it a date night.
Here is how the schedule looks for Arizona for the week:
Monday, March 5: Diamondbacks at Rockies, 1:05 PM, Salt River Fields
Tuesday, March 6: Rangers at Diamondbacks, 1:05 PM, Salt River Fields
Wednesday, March 7, Indians at Diamondbacks, 1:05 PM, Salt River Fields
Friday, March 9, Diamondbacks at Mariners, 1:05 PM, Peoria Sports Complex
Saturday, March 10, Mariners at Diamondbacks, 7:05 PM, Salt River Fields
Sunday, March 11, Diamondbacks at Padres, 1:05 PM, Peoria Sports Complex
Looking for tickets? The official Cactus League site is here. You can catch special deals on tickets here through TiqIQ, our ticketing partner.
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It is only spring training, but one of the more intriguing stories of this season will be how the young Trevor Bauer does in his first full season of professional baseball. His major league (spring training) went well. He threw 22 pitches in two innings, 14 for strikes and struck out two.
He did not allow a ball out of the infield and he threw a first pitch strike to each of the hitters he faced.
In the end, not a bad beginning to his career.
There is a lot expected of him in his career, but this year the plan is to keep him in the minor leagues, as the starting rotation looks set from the get-go. However, Bauer could make things difficult and continue to pitch like this.
Some believe that he will be playing in the majors this season. It is possible. But the team's plan to not force him up too early is a good one.
Even so, the way he pitched on Saturday is definitely encouraging. If he can do that from day one, it is really easy to think ahead and project how he will do every fifth day.
But we will refrain from that now.
What matters is that his first game went perfectly. You could not think of a better way for a first spring start to go.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks opened the 2012 Spring Training season with a win and a tie in their split-squad games. The D-backs downed the Giants 9-6 in a "road" game in Scottsdale while at "home" at Salt River Fields they finished 10 innings tied 1-1 with the Rockies.
Manager Kirk Gibson ran the club at home while Alan Trammell took the offensive show on the road. Justin Upton went 3-3, Chris Young 2-3 with a home run and Ryan Roberts hit another out of the yard. OF Marc Krauss added two hits and three RBI in the win.
Josh Collmenter got touched up for three runs in his start that went two innings and included three hits and two walks allowed.
The defensive duel in the other game was kicked off by Trevor Bauer's impressive start. He went two innings facing the minimum six batters and record two strike outs and four ground balls.
(Here's more on his start including some video of him pitching.)
Patrick Corbin allowed the only run of the game in the fourth inning. He had three walks and was a little wild according to Gibby. Gerardo Parra had the lone RBI.
The big story, of course, was Bauer's first start for the big league club.
"It was fun," the 21-year-old said after the game. "It was baseball again. It's been awhile since I've gotten on the field so it was enjoyable."
He didn't report any nerves and certainly pitched like a guy in complete command of the situation.
"At the core level, you throw strikes and they're hitters and they still got to hit it so it was more of a competition against myself as it always is to try and see if I can execute pitches."
Bauer is known for, among other unique things, his nine-pitch repertoire which needs the help of this handy guide to fully appreciate.
He said he threw his curve ball well which he considers his best breaking pitch. He also threw a fastball, change, slider, and splitter. In fact, he threw two variations of the slider but didn't "get to" throw the reverse slider.
According to Gibby, his secondary pitches looked fantastic, "Some of his secondary pitches were actually better than I've seen anytime that he's thrown so far."
Bauer was pleased with the way he attacked the zone and got ahead of the hitters, "I think today was a pretty efficient outing, especially for the first one of spring. I was pleased with my control and command. I'm pretty happy with all of it."
This game was our first opportunity to see live his famous pregame long toss routine where he stands far in right field and fires the ball all the way to the left field line. It was a sight to see in person. He said that before this game he "only" threw about 360 feet. Normally, he'll throw 400 feet before games but "it's early in Spring."
Here's the explanation he gave for the routine:
"It takes awhile for my body to get moving. The longer I go out, the more efficiently I have to move and get everything kind of connected and moving efficiently to throw the ball that far. I kind of take my time with it and get my body moving together and linked up."
As for the reaction of his teammates, "Their reaction is about 400 feet away so I don't really notice. Sometimes they scatter when I over throw one."
The D-backs have been good about letting Trevor do things his unique way but they did request that he not wear his headphones on the field during pregame warm ups. He's listened to music as part of his preparation since he started learning these mechanics to help get everything "linked up with his body".
With no music available, Bauer relied on singing to himself. He listed the bands "Disturbed" and "Haste the Day" and then went along with whatever was on the stadium public speakers.
Regardless of the mental music of choice, it didn't seem to bother him in the least as he blew threw a formidible list of big league hitters including Dexter Fowler, Carlos Gonzales and Troy Tulowitzki.
Kirk Gibson down played the outing which was probably smart in terms of managing hype and expectations.
"It's one outing. A spring outing. It could have went the other way but it didn't."
The only other play singled out by Gibby for praise was third basemen Matt Davidson, "Davidson I thought played pretty well over there (at third), showed soft hands, I like the way he looks at the plate."
Trevor Bauer is the future. He might be a future rotation pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He might be a future Hall of Famer who's unique approach changes the entire game. It's way too soon to say...of course.
Where ever it ends up, Bauer's first appearance starting in a D-backs uniform was at Salt River Fields on March 3, 2012 and it was impressive.
In his first inning of work for the Diamondbacks, Bauer breezed through the top of the Rockies order. He struck out Dexter Fowler with four pitches. He then induced an easy ground out to third from Marco Scutaro and finished things off with a slow roller back to the mound from Carlos Gonzalez.
Seven pitches and it was over.
In the second inning, Bauer was just as good.
He got Troy Tulowitzki to ground to third, followed by Michael Cuddyer who did the same. Bauer finished the inning with a strike out from Tyler Colvin.
All told, he threw 22 pitches with 14 strikes and recorded two strike outs and four ground ball outs. No walks. No runners. No balls out of the infield.
Below is video of his warm up and first batter faced and here's video of his entire second inning:
The Arizona Diamondbacks are set to open the 2012 Spring Training schedule with two games. Half the team will be in Scottsdale facing the Giants and the other half will be at home at Salt River Fields taking on the Rockies. The eyes of the majority of the D-backs media are on the home game where rookie Trevor Bauer will get his first start in a Diamondbacks uniform.
Tyler Skaggs was scheduled to pitch first in this game with Bauer following, but Skaggs was a scratch due to shoulder soreness. No worries there though, as he was throwing to bases on game day and will pitch a bullpen session on Sunday.
"He's fine, he's fine," Kirk Gibson said.
As for Bauer, the priority is getting through the start healthy (of course) and getting him exposed to his first big league game.
"Can you just imagine what he's going through?" Gibby said. And he's not the only one excited. "Walking around today...there's some game faces today."
Bauer will likely go two innings depending on pitch count. With a split-squad schedule on opening day, some guys will play more than normal and that includes a lot of minor league players who haven't faced much live pitching.
The Arizona D-backs have a strong roster assembled for the 2012 season and just about every player from their 2011 NL West Division championship team will be back. While every player was under contract for the upcoming season, there were a few details left to hammer out with various players and their contracts. The club just sent out a press release with details on the deals that were finalize this morning:
"PHOENIX - The Arizona Diamondbacks announced today they have agreed to terms on one-year contracts for the 2012 season with 15 pre-arbitration players and renewed the contracts of right-handed pitchers Josh Collmenter, David Hernandez and Ian Kennedy and outfielder Gerardo Parra, according to D-backs' Executive Vice President and General Manager Kevin Towers.
The 15 players who agreed to terms on one-year contracts are right-handed pitchers Sam Demel, Barry Enright, Daniel Hudson, Brett Lorin, Yonata Ortega, Bryan Shaw; left-handed pitchers Zach Kroenke, Wade Miley, Joe Paterson and Mike Zagurski; catchers Konrad Schmidt and Craig Tatum; outfielders Cole Gillespie and David Winfree and infielder Paul Goldschmidt.
The D-backs now have all players on the 40-man roster under contract for the 2012 season."
For more on the club, head over to AZ Snake Pit.
The Arizona Diamondbacks kick off their Cactus League schedule with split squad games on Saturday. They will be the road team in both games, one playing the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Field and the otehr playing the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium.
The starting lineups for each game are:
At Giants:
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On Saturday, the Arizona Diamondbacks will commence their spring training schedule of games, after a couple of weeks of workouts. Baseball is finally here. To start off their Cactus League schedule, the Diamondbacks will have two split-squad games.
They will be the road team at Salt River Fields and play the Colorado Rockies, with whom they share the stadium. The game starts at 1:10 and is sold out.
The pitching schedule will be with rookie Trevor Bauer starting and left-hander Patrick Corbin following him.
In Scottsdale at 1:05, the Diamondbacks will play the San Francisco Giants. Josh Collmenter will start the game and be followed by Wade Miley.
The Dbacks last season were dismal in Cactus League play, finishing 12-25. They hope to win more games, but that is not the ultimate focus of the spring.
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Ian Kennedy of the Arizona Diamondbacks is coming off an outstanding season where he won 21 games and only losing four, posting a 2.88 ERA pitching 222 innings, all while striking out 198 and issuing only 55 walks. Kennedy came up fourth in the NL Cy Young voting, with Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers finishing first, Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies going second, and Cliff Lee of the Phillies at third overall.
This great season came after the D-Backs decided to let Kennedy start Opening Day of the 2011 season. It makes sense to put him right back up out there to start this season as well. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic files this report.
So Gibson made official what everyone pretty much already knew, announcing that Ian Kennedy will get the ball on Opening Day, April 5, against the Giants at Chase Field.
“If Ian is healthy, he’s going to start on Opening Day,” Gibson said. “Why wouldn’t he?”
Exactly. He earned it on the basis of his impressive 2011 season. That said, Gibson left himself some room to maneuver in the event Kennedy doesn’t look right in spring training.
“If he’s throwing the ball good, that will be the case,” Gibson said. “If he isn’t, I’ll change my mind. If I think it’s better he doesn’t start Opening Day, I’ll change my mind. If everything goes as planned, he’ll be on the mound.”
The Diamondbacks hope that Kennedy can lead a rotation with Daniel Hudson, Joe Saunders and Trevor Cahill back into the postseason for a second straight year.
To discuss Kennedy and the Diamondbacks, check out AZ Snake Pit.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are trying to lock up Miguel Montero, but it looks as if the sides are too far off to reach an amiable solution before the season. So both sides will have to wait until after the season to come to an agreement.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic filed this report.
"Over the last two or three weeks, we've been working at it with Miggy and his side," Towers said. "We weren't able to find any common ground. It was a good process. These things happen in baseball. This doesn't mean it's the end of the world. My desire, as well as Miggy's desire, with an important season coming up and our first game here on Saturday, is to kind of put it behind us until the end of the season. We'll address it at that point in time."
Montero had his best season last year, batting in 86 RBIs and 18 HRs along with hitting .282 for a batting average, a .351 OBP and a .469 slugging percentage, which helped him make the All-Star Game. Great catchers are always important to hold onto, although this is only the first season Montero has performed at an All-Star level. It makes sense for the D-Backs to be cautious about signing him to the best possible deal until they get another year of Montero and know what they're dealing with.
To talk about the Diamondbacks, check out AZ Snake Pit.
The Arizona Diamondbacks opened their second full week of spring training on Monday. The team did a full complement of drills from fielding to bunting to live batting practice.
Meanwhile, shortstop Stephen Drew continues to make progress on his ankle rehab. Manager Kirk Gibson had both encouraging news along with a dose of reality.
"Stephen did good," Gibson said about Drew who took about 40 or 50 ground ball reps on Monday. "He put more movement, left to right, did a reverse pivot, planting in the hole, so I think he feels good. Tomorrow we may transition him in with his regular group and he's get far fewer (reps) but it will be higher intensity."
In addition that optimistic report, Gibby added that Drew probably isn't ready to go everyday and he's "not even close" to being ready to run bases.
Gibson also talked about the development of young first baseman Paul Goldschimdt who Gibby said aspires to one day win a Gold Glove for his defense at first. In the meantime, his manager used the word "raw" to describe Goldy's talents. For more on that topic, head over to Arizona Sports.com and watch this video report.
We realize that not everyone can make it out to the D-backs training facility at Salt River Fields so we put together this fun little video tour. Enjoy.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks pitches and catchers reported on Sunday and now the position players are set to report this Saturday. The defending NL West champs are looking to keep their momentum going and go even further into the playoffs in 2012.
But first, who will be showing up Saturday to get the team moving on the right foot?
Catchers will include Henry Blanco, Miguel Montero, Konrad Schmidt and Craig Tatum.
Infielders consists of Willie Bloomquist, Geoff Blum, Stephen Drew, Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Hill, John McDonald, Lyle Overbay and Ryan Roberts.
Outfielders on hand will be Cole Gillespie, Jason Kubel, Gerardo Parra, Justin Upton, David Winfree and Chris Young.
The non-roster invitees include infielders Matt Davidson, Chris Owings, Cody Ransom, Rusty Ryal and Ryan Wheeler and outfielders Adam Eaton, Marc Krauss and A.J. Pollock.
To talk about the Diamondbacks and take a further look at spring training news regarding Arizona baseball, head on over to AZ Snake Pit.
Gerardo Parra had himself quite the year in 2011. He hit .292 with 46 RBI and earned himself a Gold Glove for his play in left field. None of that was expected, but most would have to say that after a year like that, he should be ready to go the next season and get rewarded with some confidence.
What did the Dbacks do to thank him? They went out and signed another left fielder in Jason Kubel, whom they are paying over $7 million in 2012.
A lot of guys would be upset and hurt. Parra? He's not letting on if he is upset.
Gerardo Parra was one of many important cogs to the Arizona Diamondbacks success in 2011, but may be transitioning into a new role on the team now that free agent Jason Kubel has joined the team. Kubel and Parra will be vying time for action out in left field, though Parra is a consumate professional, and when asked about he and Kubel, Parra had nothing but good things to say about him:
Per Diamondbacks beat writer Nick Piecoro:
Parra: "I know Kubel. I saw him when he played with Minnesota. He’s a great player, a great hitter. I don’t take it personally."
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) February 22, 2012
Parra: "Kubel is a great player. I’m happy because the team looks strong. The goal is to get to the World Series. I’m ready for anything."
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) February 22, 2012
Parra may be giving up left field to Kubel, even though he started 117 games in left field for Arizona last season, making 12 outfield assists and only two errors while riding his .993 fielding percentage to a Gold Glove Award in the process. Kubel won't have the ability to DH anymore, so finding a spot for him in the batting order means he'll have to fill some space in the outfield. He started 57 games in the outfield for Minnesota last year, but only nine in left field.
Kirk Gibson said on Sunday that he hasn't yet talked to Parra about where he'll be playing, but it will be likely that he'll split time in all three positions. Either way, Gibson isn't stressing about the situation:
"He's got a great attitude. He's Gerardo Parra."
For more on the D-backs, check out AZ Snake Pit.
Arizona Diamondbacks outfields Justin Upton and Chris Young are great baseball players, great friends, and great guys. They are very (VERY) good at what they do. Chances are, they are better at what they do than you are at what you do.
However, when the pair went on 12 News in Phoenix to play the role of weathermen they looked about as comfortable as a weatherman at the plate facing Clayton Kershaw.
It's all in good, fun and the video is definitely worth a watch. Take a look after the jump...
Among the things that happened with the first day of workouts for the Arizona Diamondbacks, starting shortstop Stephen Drew, recovering from a broken ankle and a sports hernia, saw his first action on the field since is injury, something that manager Kirk Gibson said were "big steps."
They didn't work him too much and they have no plans on pushing him at this point, but Gibson said "he looked good today."
As for what he did, Gibson explained in his press conference:
"We put him through some agility stuff, I hit him some ground balls and he went over to the batting cage. then we shut him down. We did some things to cool him down properly, and we'll see how he does tomorrow."
Despite, the layoff, Drew did well in moving around. "He moved a lot better than I thought he would, to be honest," said Gibson.
They don't know whether he will be on track for Opening Day, but all indications are that this first step is a positive one.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks made a calculated risk when they took 42 year old Takashi Saito and signed him up to a one year deal. However, things will be a little different with him compared to everyone else on the team. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that Saito will be on a different rotation compared to everyone else.
"I talked to Ron Roenicke, his manager from last year, about that and he said (Saito) just got behind," Gibson said. "We don’t want him to go too far and pull a hamstring like he did last year. His program will be a little different. When we’re doing all of our (pickoff drills) and PFPs (pitchers’ fielding practice), all those manual labor things, he’ll do probably less reps of those, but he’ll also stay there with his group."
Interestingly, General Manager Kevin Towers said the club didn’t require Saito to undergo a physical before signing him to a one-year, $1.75 million deal in December.
"We knew he probably would have failed his physical based on everything that we’ve heard over the last four or five years," Towers said. "Mark Weidemaier, our advanced scout, was with him in LA and I think that they said four or five years ago that one pitch and his arm could go. But he’s been pretty darn successful the last four or five years.
Saito is an older guy, so it makes sense to not put him in the same rotation and subject him to the same demands as other players to ensure he stays in the lineup. Saito has proven that he can still produce at the age of 42, finishing with a 2.03 ERA last year in 30 games pitched. Saito struggled with injury though which limited his pitching appearances, so the Diamondbacks probably want to be as cautious as possible before putting him out there.
To talk about the Diamondbacks and take a further look at spring training news regarding Arizona baseball, head on over to AZ Snake Pit.
The Arizona Diamondbacks pitches and catchers reported on Sunday which meant Monday was the first real day of "action". The "action" was light with about half the group still pending physicals and the other half only getting in about half a day's work in on the field.
Things started with some light stretching and group calisthenics that would not have impressed my Army Drill Sergeants. From there the players split into their groups and rotated through various stations that included some light fielding from the mound, some soft toss and the big event -- eight minute bullpen sessions.
According to the official team press release, the first official pitches of spring were thrown "at 2:20 p.m. by a group consisting of Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, David Hernandez, Barry Enright and Charles Brewer."
Down below is some video of Ian Kennedy and Dan Hudson cracking the leather. Please don't read much into Kennedy burying one in the dirt.
Kirk Gibson did his daily press conference in front of another packed house. The normal local media was out in force along with a fairly large contingent of Japanese press onsite to follow Takashi Saito.
Here's Gibby's press conference. He talks about Stephen Drew's first baseball work out right up front and then he has a typical Gibby session, which quite honestly, are extremely informative if you are into this sort of thing.
Here's Ian and Dan throwing their bullpen session:
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Last spring, Arizona Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers said his team would compete for the National West Division title. Nobody really believed him. The team was coming off a 97-loss season, had one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, and had a rotation comprised of unproven youngsters and vets with checkered histories.
We know how that turned out.
This year on the day pitchers and catchers reported and officially opened the 2012 Spring Training season, manager Kirk Gibson set the bar even higher.
"What we're after this year is to win enough games to get to the playoffs and become World Champions," the reigning NL Manager of the Year told a packed press conference room on Sunday.
Needless to say, Gibson and his squad have a long road ahead of them that will be filled with all kinds of challenges both on the field and off. One thing on the top of the Skipper's mind is the change from scrappy underdog to expected division-winner.
"It's something you worry about too. I've been through it before as a player and really as a coach. Success can be very dangerous. We have to continue to do the same things that we did last year, plus more. What we did last year was good, but obviously, it wasn't good enough. We have to get better," he said.
It starts Monday with the first full day of workouts for the pitchers and catchers and builds through 24th when the rest of the team officially reports. The D-backs Cactus League Spring Training schedule begins on March 3rd with a split-squad day and runs through a total 34 games.
Last spring the D-backs finished with a lowly 12-25 record which turned out not to matter in the least. The team always wants to win games, but the goal for these exhibition games will be to work on all the various individual and team fundamentals that go in to a winning baseball team.
Holding runners on base was a big emphasis last March and the team got better picking off runners and limiting stolen bases.
This year, Gibson talked about wanting more from his pitchers at the plate and to get better as a team executing sacrifice bunts and mixing in the occasional slash play to keep the defense honest.
Gibson said the he was pleased with the team's performance in 2011 and felt their elimination from the playoffs came down to just a few plays. This year, the goal is to increase the overall margin for error and get better in all aspects of the game.
Other Notes From Gibson's Press Conference:
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Arizona Diamondbacks 25 Man Roster Announced For Opening Day
The Arizona Diamondbacks have resolved their 25 man roster. Here are the names that are on the list.
To talk about the Diamondbacks, head on over to AZ Snake Pit.
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Apr 05 3:00a by Avinash Kunnath