azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 18, 2005 12:00 AM
TUCSON - Thursday marked the official opening of spring training for the Diamondbacks, which also means it's now open season in the hunt for the starting catcher's job.
And what a competition it is expected to be.
"Let's get after it," Koyie Hill said.
"I'm looking forward to it," added Chris Snyder.
Each of the three catchers from last season's Opening Day roster - Brent Mayne, Robby Hammock and Bobby Estalella - are long gone. That opened the door for either Hill, 25, or Snyder, 24, to lay claim to the No. 1 role, with veteran Kelly Stinnett, a non-roster invitee, the likely choice to serve as backup.
It's a virtual dead heat between the two youngsters, according to manager Bob Melvin, who said ideally, one will win out over the other. That way, one of them won't be left sitting on the bench, wasting valuable development time.
But who's going to avoid the Triple-A assignment? Which one gets the chance to handle a revamped pitching staff that now features Javier Vazquez and Russ Ortiz at the top of the rotation?
"Each of them do some things a little bit different, but we'd feel very good about either one of them being our starting catcher," Melvin said. "And both of them can be, and that's a good problem to have."
Healthy competition
Melvin hasn't completely ruled out the thought of keeping both Hill and Snyder on the 25-man roster when the Diamondbacks break camp in another six weeks. But he'd like to keep a veteran presence such as Stinnett, 35.
Hill and Snyder know the score, and they promise to take the competition seriously and maintain a good relationship, despite what's at stake.
Hill has respect from Melvin - a former big-league catcher - for a gutsy effort last August, when he blocked the plate in a nasty collision with Pittsburgh's Ty Wigginton, suffering a fractured right ankle, and yet staying in the play to help in a rundown.
"That tells you a little something about the individual," Melvin said. "He's a tough kid and a catcher that wants to succeed and is here to win a job."
Hill was just regaining his own stroke and hitting the ball hard every time up when the collision ended his season.
"But it feels great now. I feel like I'm me again," said Hill, who was the Dodgers' projected catcher of the future until Arizona acquired him in the Steve Finley trade. "I never had an injury keep me out of a ballgame before and to just sit there and watch guys play and not be able to do anything about it just drove me crazy."
Snyder, though, similarly impressed when he made the jump straight from Double-A to replace Hill on the roster. Playing solid defense and showing some nice power at the plate, it took only a few games before he moved ahead of journeyman Juan Brito into a starting role.
Veteran advice
The competition for the starting job could become a little nerve-racking, too. Pitcher Shawn Estes and Stinnett both warned the youngsters on Thursday that their main focus should be on establishing a quick bond with the pitching staff and let their bats do the talking later.
"If one of them goes 0 for 4 and gets into a little mini slump, offensively," Estes said, "it's only natural to start dwelling on that instead of what you need to do behind the plate."
"It can catch up to you in a hurry," Stinnett said.
Neither player seems uncomfortable with the pressure, and both appear to believe strongly in their abilities.
"I wouldn't say I'm walking in with my chest blown up, but yeah, I'm completely confident," Snyder said. "You have to play this game with confidence. But it's different now. Last year, I came (to spring training) just to help out. It was an honor, but this year, I'm going to get more playing time and I'm going to try and do the best I can with it."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/special3/articles/0218dbacks0218.html
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 18, 2005 12:00 AM
TUCSON - Thursday marked the official opening of spring training for the Diamondbacks, which also means it's now open season in the hunt for the starting catcher's job.
And what a competition it is expected to be.
"Let's get after it," Koyie Hill said.
"I'm looking forward to it," added Chris Snyder.
Each of the three catchers from last season's Opening Day roster - Brent Mayne, Robby Hammock and Bobby Estalella - are long gone. That opened the door for either Hill, 25, or Snyder, 24, to lay claim to the No. 1 role, with veteran Kelly Stinnett, a non-roster invitee, the likely choice to serve as backup.
It's a virtual dead heat between the two youngsters, according to manager Bob Melvin, who said ideally, one will win out over the other. That way, one of them won't be left sitting on the bench, wasting valuable development time.
But who's going to avoid the Triple-A assignment? Which one gets the chance to handle a revamped pitching staff that now features Javier Vazquez and Russ Ortiz at the top of the rotation?
"Each of them do some things a little bit different, but we'd feel very good about either one of them being our starting catcher," Melvin said. "And both of them can be, and that's a good problem to have."
Healthy competition
Melvin hasn't completely ruled out the thought of keeping both Hill and Snyder on the 25-man roster when the Diamondbacks break camp in another six weeks. But he'd like to keep a veteran presence such as Stinnett, 35.
Hill and Snyder know the score, and they promise to take the competition seriously and maintain a good relationship, despite what's at stake.
Hill has respect from Melvin - a former big-league catcher - for a gutsy effort last August, when he blocked the plate in a nasty collision with Pittsburgh's Ty Wigginton, suffering a fractured right ankle, and yet staying in the play to help in a rundown.
"That tells you a little something about the individual," Melvin said. "He's a tough kid and a catcher that wants to succeed and is here to win a job."
Hill was just regaining his own stroke and hitting the ball hard every time up when the collision ended his season.
"But it feels great now. I feel like I'm me again," said Hill, who was the Dodgers' projected catcher of the future until Arizona acquired him in the Steve Finley trade. "I never had an injury keep me out of a ballgame before and to just sit there and watch guys play and not be able to do anything about it just drove me crazy."
Snyder, though, similarly impressed when he made the jump straight from Double-A to replace Hill on the roster. Playing solid defense and showing some nice power at the plate, it took only a few games before he moved ahead of journeyman Juan Brito into a starting role.
Veteran advice
The competition for the starting job could become a little nerve-racking, too. Pitcher Shawn Estes and Stinnett both warned the youngsters on Thursday that their main focus should be on establishing a quick bond with the pitching staff and let their bats do the talking later.
"If one of them goes 0 for 4 and gets into a little mini slump, offensively," Estes said, "it's only natural to start dwelling on that instead of what you need to do behind the plate."
"It can catch up to you in a hurry," Stinnett said.
Neither player seems uncomfortable with the pressure, and both appear to believe strongly in their abilities.
"I wouldn't say I'm walking in with my chest blown up, but yeah, I'm completely confident," Snyder said. "You have to play this game with confidence. But it's different now. Last year, I came (to spring training) just to help out. It was an honor, but this year, I'm going to get more playing time and I'm going to try and do the best I can with it."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/special3/articles/0218dbacks0218.html
