Diamondbacks skipper Kirk Gibson was in a chipper mood this morning as he addressed the media before his team took the field to face the Los Angeles Angels (formerly of Anaheim / California). Gibson talked about his goals for the running game and gave an update on a couple of his hurlers.
- Gibby wants to model his team's running game on that of today's opponent, the Angels. He's not sure he's got the horses to do it but as he pointed out, speed isn't everything.
- "I asked those guys, 'Who do we want to be?' We want to be the Angels. I think everybody respects the way they run the bases...Their manager (Mike Scioscia) is one of the slowest people I ever knew. He's also one one of the best base runners I ever knew. You don't have to be fast to be a good base runner."
- One thing that got a grin out of Gibby was taking about left-handed reliever Joe Paterson, who reportedly can get ready to come in from the bullpen after throwing just six pitches. That makes a manager very happy.
- Close J.J. Putz will pitch today. He's mostly been doing his work in bullpen sessions but wanted to get some live action to mix things up. He throw just nine pitches to get throw an inning of work last time he was up. That also pleased the manager.
- Geoff Blum is limited due to some soreness and swelling in his knee. He came in two days ago and reported the problem. The team is being cautious with it right now.
Here's full video of Gibson's pregame media session: