And, it keeps raining in Colorado...

Your game recap, brought to you in the form of the starting line-up. Game 8/162.

This game snapped a 2 game losing streak and the Dbacks were able to make their early lead hold up – in spite of more of mother nature’s best efforts. The 2 competing stories of this day are Trevor Cahill’s great performance on the mound and Chris Young continuing to tear the cover off the ball.

1. Ryan Roberts (3B) – 2-for-5 on the afternoon.

2 Gerardo Parra (LF) – After a very strong showing last night, Parra got the start again in left, going 1-for-5 (with a force-out).  He scored 2 runs and collected two stolen bases on the afternoon.

3. Justin Upton (RF) – He seems to be braving a sore thumb well, going 2-for-5 with 2 runs scored.

4. Chris Young (CF) – More of the same with Chris Young. 2-for-4 with a walk, including a home run and 3 RBIs. So far, on the season, Chris Young is raking in a major way:  .364 / .475 / .818  / 1.293

5. Paul Goldschmidt (1B) – Went 1-for-4 on the day with a double. But, impressively, he seems to be more and more comfortable over at 1B every time we see him.

6. Aaron Hill (2B) – So, yeah, Aaron Hill went 1-for-2 with 2 walks and 2RBIs. That was great and all, but he also did this [click to watch the video]. He made a great running catch and then fired to first for an unconventional double play, taking advantage of a Colorado baserunning blunder.

7. John McDonald (SS) – Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to replicate his fantastic offensive game from yesterday, but as the cold rain continued to fall throughout much of this game, his sure hands in the infield with Trevor Cahill on the mound was of great value.

8. Henry Blanco (C) – He got his first start of the season (thanks to the day-game-after-the-night-game schedule). He called a solid game behind his starter today and did something he probably doesn’t do very often – reached base on an infield single.

9. Trevor Cahill (SP) – He had a much more relaxed start this time around – 7.1IP, 4H, 1R, 2BB, 6K. The only Rockie really able to figure him out was Jonathan Herrera, but nobody got further than second base. He got 12 ground ball outs and 6 strikeouts and generally was quite dazzling. Definitely the pitcher that Arizona thought they were getting – and who fit very nicely into a start at Coors Field. After he was pulled with a one-out double (to Jonathan Herrera) in the 8th (while it continued to rain/sleet/snow/etc), it was the start of the bullpen hoedown.

9b. Joe Paterson (RP) – Came in with one out in the 8th and induced a walk, a single and a force out, allowing his one runner inherited from Trevor Cahill to score.

9c. Brad Ziegler (RP) – Came in  with two outs in the 8th inning and Troy Tulowitzski promptly singled and drove in another run, sending Kirk Gibson back to his bullpen.

9d. Craig Breslow (RP) – Came in with two outs in the 8th inning and lost a 9 pitch at-bat to Jason Giambi, who took a walk.

9e. Bryan Shaw (RP) – Came in with two outs in the 8th inning, with the bases loaded and got the pinch-hitter Ramon Hernandez to end the inning with a ground ball. In reward for finally ending the 8th inning (and for being possibly the best rested member of the bullpen), he got to come out and collect the save in the 9th inning. He pitched a perfect 9th (fly out, ground out and swinging strikeout) in the elements.

Score: 5-2, Diamondbacks win (and avoid being swept by Colorado); Record 6-3. The weather – and the 8th inning – made this a lot closer than it should have been, but a win is a win and now the boys get to pack up and go back to the sun and warmth of Chase Field – or, at the very least, a roof over their heads.

Conclusion: It was wet and cold and miserable again. But the boys held on and kept this one from slipping away. 

I’m not a baseball executive, I have never been a baseball executive, and – barring an event of cataclysmic proportions – I will never be a baseball executive.

However, that being said, I feel like there is something a’brewing in Arizona.

Earlier this off-season, the Diamondbacks claimed Craig Tatum off of waivers. When it happened, it was considered an all-around good move, given that the Diamondbacks have almost no organizational depth at catcher.

Earlier this morning, Ken Rosenthal‘s column addressed some of the rumors floating around during spring training. The end of his column focused quite heavily on the Diamondbacks.

The D-Backs seek a long-term solution at catcher — Miguel Montero is a free agent after this season, and the team is thin at the position in the minors. Club officials have targeted 10 to 15 potential trade candidates, and eventually could use their relative surplus of starting pitching to acquire the catcher they need.

It is true. The Dbacks have a full rotation and a whole pile of pitchers in the minor leagues that are very nearly (or entirely) ready to step into the rotation on a moment’s notice. And, this holds true looking at the prospect rankings, where it is clear that the Dbacks have strength in pitching. So, how about catchers? Is the outlook that thin?

• In mlb.com‘s top 20 prospect rankings, clocking in at number 9 is Michael Perez. Michael Perez was drafted in 2011 and is 19 years old and clearly not major league ready, having played only 7 games in the rookie league this past year.  After that, there’s not another catcher on the list.
• Fangraphs tosses in 22-year old Rossmel Perez onto their list at #15, giving Michael Perez an honorable mention.
• Baseball Prospectus, however, lists their top 20 and leaves both catchers off the list entirely.

So, yeah. There really doesn’t appear to be much in the way of organizational depth when it comes to catchers to replace Miguel Montero, if he leaves for more money at the end of the season.

So, today’s afternoon news comes as a little bit of a surprise.

Not that he was going to be a long-term solution, but it is true. Every organization needs a 3rd catcher, waiting in the wings. It’s part of any truly comprehensive emergency contingency plan. It’s a small thing, but it is an important thing.

So, when taking into account that the Diamondbacks’ cups runneth over with quality young, controllable pitching + the Diamondbacks have a seemingly large gap in their system at catcher + there isn’t really a ready and waiting candidate in the event that either Miguel Montero or Henry Blanco go down with an injury, it seems like there might be something in the works for the Diamondbacks. More specifically, something involving a young, controllable catcher no more than a year away. Or, more likely, with a little bit of MLB experience under his belt.

And, recent comments made by Kirk Gibson don’t really do anything to quell these thoughts that are swirling around in my head.

Spurred on by the suggestion that Patrick Corbin (see yesterday’s post) could spend the start of the year back in the minor leagues (article from mlb.com):

“You’re assuming that’s where he’s going. There are some things that still could happen. There’s various things that could happen.”

So. There’s that.

There’s no specific deadline that the Dbacks have to adhere to (given that Montero is a Diamondback until the end of the season, if all goes according to intial plan), so things may stay just as they are until the trade deadline (or later), but it seems like this is somewhere where we, the fans, will see some movement, sooner rather than later.

Looks like it’s time to break out the magic 8 ball. Again.

Well, Patrick Corbin had himself a day.

In case you need an introduction, the following (taken from the pre-spring training post regarding the non-roster invites):

• Patrick Corbin – LHP
• Age: 22; Draft: 2009 – LA Angels of Anaheim, 2nd rd
• Service Time: MiLB – 2 years
• 2011 Highlights: 26G with AA Mobile
• 2011 Stats: 9-8 record; 4.21 ERA; 26G (26 starts); 160 IP; 8 SO/9; 2.2 BB/9
• Other things of note:
• Acquired from LAA in the Dan Haren trade.
• The number 5 prospect in the Dbacks’ system going into 2011.
• Was talked about as potentially playing a part, either in promotion or in trade at the deadline last year.
• Led his MiLB league in strikeouts, he was also pitcher of the week 3 times in 2011 and was a mid-season all-star.
• There’s a lot to like here.  Probably someone to keep an eye on this spring.
• Can’t get enough?: @PatrickCorbin11

After today, however, he’s probably not going to need an introduction for much longer.

Facing the division rival Colorado Rockies, Patrick Corbin pitched 5 innings of no-hit ball and made it very clear that he’s not getting sent bak to the minor leagues without putting up a fight and making some noise.

The highlight video is posted at MLB.com. Click the image below to watch the highlights:

And, he helped his own cause in the bottom of the 4th innng, in his second at-bat of the game, he made solid contact and legged out a triple, gaining his second hit of the game and an RBI to help his own cause.

The kid’s got wheels. A stand-up triple is nothing to sneeze at, spring training or not.

Clicking on the image to the left will take you to the video.

And if you’ve ever wanted to see what a happy manager looks like, all you need to see is at 0:21 in this video.

The dugout was clapping, the manager was trying very hard not to smile (He has a reputation to uphold. It’s serious business up in here.), and the announcers were cracking up and Patrick Corbin looked pretty pleased with himself. As he should be.

Grace and Sutton were on the call (follow them @dbacksbooth) and, although they were laughing, what they were saying – that Patrick Corbin is Kirk Gibson‘s kind of player – couldn’t be more true.

A few months ago, I summed up the Kirk Gibson philosophy of playing hard for each and every one of the 27 outs in a baseball game, each and every time, as so:

‘you are a grown-up, professional human being, you are being paid very well to do your job and you will work as hard as you can until the game is over, deal with it or sit on the bench’.

So, its not hard to see that Patrick Corbin putting his head down and digging for third – instead of being merely satisfied with a double – is exactly the kind of attitude that he loves.

But, there’s more.

At the start of spring training, Kirk Gibson made it very clear at the beginning of spring training that he was very adamant that his pitchers get better at the plate.

In an interview with AZCentral.com on February 24, Kirk Gibson was not shy about pointing out his pitchers’ faults:

“We have to be better, period,” Gibson said. “The whole team has to be better at  bunting. We were brutal. It wasn’t acceptable at all.”

There was also a report at that time that the Diamondbacks pitching staff had been working on bunting and slashing heavily during spring training morning workouts.

His reason for also stressing the slash hits?

“I’d love to pull them in and jam it down their throat.”

And, just in case you thought he was just spouting off for the media, there was an incident in the game on March 11th that reminded everyone that he was serious.

He always is.

Daniel Hudson – winner of the 2011 NL Silver Slugger and someone who knows how to handle a bat – came to the plate with 2 outs and nobody on in the top of the 4th. In spite of the fact that he’d pitched 3 perfect innings, he’d reached his pitch count and it was going to be his last at-bat of the game, with his reliever warmed up and ready to come in.

So, with 2 outs and nobody on, Daniel Hudson squared to bunt. Because that’s what spring training is for – getting ready for the season by getting better.

(As a side note, Daniel Hudson pitched against Barry Enright in an intersquad minor league game this afternoon. And, following the game, the “friendly competition” continued onto twitter. And, it appears that Daniel Hudson is still bunting, 2 weeks later.)

Going 2-for-2 with a single, a triple and an RBI is a good day at the plate, no matter who you are. If you’re a pitcher, however, it probably earns you a few extra brownie points.

And, in the same article, Daniel Hudson was asked about his approach at the plate that led to that Silver Slugger award last year.

 ”I don’t really have an approach, I just swing the bat.”

More specifically:

Well, in the top of the 4th, Patrick Corbin did just that.

And, then he put his head down and ran himself into a triple and, possibly (though still a longshot at this point) into a spot on the 25-man roster coming out of spring training.

“We’ve got nine games left so things could happen. There’s various things that could happen. He’s come out of the bullpen for us, he’s started for us and again he’s very athletic at what he does.”

Yes, Kirk Gibson – he certainly is.

Well, Patrick Corbin. Looks like you’ve officially put yourself on the map. Get comfy.

So, Diamondbacks’ closer JJ Putz is a bit of a prankster. So far, at least two of his pranks have been captured for all to see and enjoy during this pre-season.

Posted by the official twitter account of the ballclub on February 26th:

And, in the latest development:

It really is a pity that JJ Putz hates his job so much.

» Continue reading “Dbacks Spring Training=Pranks. And Bees. Or: What? There Was a Game Today??”

click here to buy ST tickets!

Pitchers and catchers reported for the Diamondbacks today.  They weren’t required to check in if they’d already had their physicals (as we learned from Daniel Hudson via twitter, when he was asked why he was spending the day watching “Major League“), so there wasn’t a ton of action, but there is some news to report, mostly from Kirk Gibson‘s media conference.

Thanks to Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB), Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) and Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) for providing updates throughout the day.

Today, we learned:

• Takashi Saito was the first to report for ST this year.
• The Diamondbacks coaching staff has not yet addressed Gerardo Parra‘s playing time with him yet.
• Dont be surprised to see Parra get lots of reps in CF this spring. He has to improve. Gibson: “He has a great attitude. He’s Gerardo Parra!” (@JesseSanchezMLB)
• This has led to a potential new #DbacksHashtag for 2012: #HesGerardoParra (@nickpiecoro)
• Kirk Gibson addressed the media and it is very clear that he’s still the same Gibby who showed up to ST in 2011 (@SteveGilbertMLB):
• Last year wasn’t good enough, but he feels the team is way ahead of where they were last year.
• He wants his pitchers to slash the plate better. “I’d love to pull [the other team] in and jam it down their throat.”
• And, Gibson plans to work everyone hard again this season. Check out Steve Gilbert’s column at the official site for more details [here].
• Practices start tomorrow and are free to the public.

Baseball begins! #GibbyUp

Of all of the (many) things to love about the Diamondbacks, the skipper is definitely one of them.

Kirk Gibson’s approach essentially boils down to ‘you are a grown-up, professional human being, you are being paid very well to do your job and you will work as hard as you can until the game is over, deal with it or sit on the bench’.

And, I love it.

The Diamondbacks’ Fantasy Camp at the shiny and new Salt River Fields started, and there are lots of stories pouring out about how beautiful the new state-of-the-art facility is.

Why do I bring this up today? Well, in one of the articles, posted yesterday on the official site, they somehow ended up on the subject of organizational culture.

My personal opinion is that it was possibly entirely so they could use the following quote from Mr. Gibson:

“Culture eats strategy for lunch”

Seriously.

He is awesome. I have always agreed with this concept, but after last year, it is even harder to argue with it, looking at the crazy results in Arizona.

And, obviously, culture must eat strategy for lunch.

[points to image in this post]

Since we already know what it is eating for breakfast.