azdad1978
Championship!!!!
By Jack Magruder, Tribune
TUCSON - Koyie Hill, Chris Snyder and Kelly Stinnett are all hitting at least .333 and making it difficult on manager Bob Melvin to make a final determination on his catching situation — two younger catchers, or one youngster and Stinnett? And which younger one?
"It’s a good hard,’’ Melvin said, "but it’s hard. I like every one of those catchers.’’
Stinnett’s contract situation could cause the decision to come sooner rather than later. A non-roster invitee, Stinnett has a clause in his contract that stipulates he can ask for and receive his release if he is not on the 40-man roster by Monday. He does not plan to waive the clause.
"We need to have some kind of direction to go by that date,’’ Stinnett said, "because if I wait another three or four days, there could nothing out there. That’s when people are starting to cut down their roster. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.’’
The D-Backs could open a roster spot by placing a player on the 60-day disabled list, although only shortstop Jerry Gil (knee) and left-hander Bill Murphy (hamstring) are disabled.
DEFENSIVE CHANGES
Being back in the National League gives Melvin a chance to do more maneuvering, and he said he plans to take advantage, even if it means removing some of his biggest bats in the late innings.
Melvin said he has spoken with left fielder Luis Gonzalez about the possibility of being replaced for defensive purposes, perhaps as part of a double-switch, adding "I probably could do that in just about any spot.’’
"If I want to improve my defense, I’ll do what I have to do,’’ Melvin said. "Tony Clark is a good first baseman. I might do it with Trace (Chad Tracy) if I have to do it there. I would have trouble doing it at short and second.’’
Gonzalez is returning from ligament replacement surgery Aug. 2 and is still building arm strength, although he made a one-hop throw to second base from near the left-field corner to keep Henry Blanco from advancing on a single in the third inning of an 11-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.
"He knows I want to be out on the field,’’ Gonzalez said. "As time goes on, we’ll go as we go.’’
HAIRSTON SURGES
If the D-Backs open the regular season with a fourman starting rotation as part of a 10-man pitching staff, a scenario Melvin is considering, outfielder/second baseman Scott Hairston has emerged as a logical candidate for the roster opening.
Sent up specifically to pinch-hit against Cubs lefthander Eddie Oropesa Wednesday, Hairston lined a single to left to raise his spring average to .333.
He hit .307 against lefties in his rookie season with the DBacks last year and could provide right-handed power off the bench.
"One of the reasons we have him playing some outfield is to make him more flexible. And if he’s flexible in some positions, considering he is major league-ready to hit, you might look at a different-type role than every day,’’ Melvin said, seeming to suggest Hairston could fill a reserve spot.
"Most of the time you play a guy every day in the minor leagues because they are not ready to hit at the big league level.’’
SHORT HOPS
Jose Valverde was diagnosed with an irritation in his right biceps tendon, trainer Paul Lessard said, after the pitcher reported soreness following his appearance in a camp game Monday in which he gave up two home runs in one inning. Valverde, who has a 22.50 ERA in four innings this spring, had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn right labrum Sept. 9, but the D-Backs see no evidence of a link and are treating the injury as normal spring training soreness. "Hopefully, within a couple of days we will see it calm down,’’ said Lessard, who said no tests on Valverde are planned. . . . Michael Gosling is scheduled to make his final spring start in a split-squad game March 31, Melvin said, although it has not been determined if he will face the Chicago Cubs at Hohokam Park in the afternoon or the Boston Red Sox at Bank One Ballpark that night. . . .
Melvin identified Greg Aquino, Mike Koplove and Randy Choate as certain to open the season on the 25-man roster in the bullpen, barring injury. "There are probably going to be five righties down there, unless something were to happen and we were to make some sort of a deal for a lefty, which there is certainly nothing imminent,’’ Melvin said.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=38465
TUCSON - Koyie Hill, Chris Snyder and Kelly Stinnett are all hitting at least .333 and making it difficult on manager Bob Melvin to make a final determination on his catching situation — two younger catchers, or one youngster and Stinnett? And which younger one?
"It’s a good hard,’’ Melvin said, "but it’s hard. I like every one of those catchers.’’
Stinnett’s contract situation could cause the decision to come sooner rather than later. A non-roster invitee, Stinnett has a clause in his contract that stipulates he can ask for and receive his release if he is not on the 40-man roster by Monday. He does not plan to waive the clause.
"We need to have some kind of direction to go by that date,’’ Stinnett said, "because if I wait another three or four days, there could nothing out there. That’s when people are starting to cut down their roster. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.’’
The D-Backs could open a roster spot by placing a player on the 60-day disabled list, although only shortstop Jerry Gil (knee) and left-hander Bill Murphy (hamstring) are disabled.
DEFENSIVE CHANGES
Being back in the National League gives Melvin a chance to do more maneuvering, and he said he plans to take advantage, even if it means removing some of his biggest bats in the late innings.
Melvin said he has spoken with left fielder Luis Gonzalez about the possibility of being replaced for defensive purposes, perhaps as part of a double-switch, adding "I probably could do that in just about any spot.’’
"If I want to improve my defense, I’ll do what I have to do,’’ Melvin said. "Tony Clark is a good first baseman. I might do it with Trace (Chad Tracy) if I have to do it there. I would have trouble doing it at short and second.’’
Gonzalez is returning from ligament replacement surgery Aug. 2 and is still building arm strength, although he made a one-hop throw to second base from near the left-field corner to keep Henry Blanco from advancing on a single in the third inning of an 11-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.
"He knows I want to be out on the field,’’ Gonzalez said. "As time goes on, we’ll go as we go.’’
HAIRSTON SURGES
If the D-Backs open the regular season with a fourman starting rotation as part of a 10-man pitching staff, a scenario Melvin is considering, outfielder/second baseman Scott Hairston has emerged as a logical candidate for the roster opening.
Sent up specifically to pinch-hit against Cubs lefthander Eddie Oropesa Wednesday, Hairston lined a single to left to raise his spring average to .333.
He hit .307 against lefties in his rookie season with the DBacks last year and could provide right-handed power off the bench.
"One of the reasons we have him playing some outfield is to make him more flexible. And if he’s flexible in some positions, considering he is major league-ready to hit, you might look at a different-type role than every day,’’ Melvin said, seeming to suggest Hairston could fill a reserve spot.
"Most of the time you play a guy every day in the minor leagues because they are not ready to hit at the big league level.’’
SHORT HOPS
Jose Valverde was diagnosed with an irritation in his right biceps tendon, trainer Paul Lessard said, after the pitcher reported soreness following his appearance in a camp game Monday in which he gave up two home runs in one inning. Valverde, who has a 22.50 ERA in four innings this spring, had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn right labrum Sept. 9, but the D-Backs see no evidence of a link and are treating the injury as normal spring training soreness. "Hopefully, within a couple of days we will see it calm down,’’ said Lessard, who said no tests on Valverde are planned. . . . Michael Gosling is scheduled to make his final spring start in a split-squad game March 31, Melvin said, although it has not been determined if he will face the Chicago Cubs at Hohokam Park in the afternoon or the Boston Red Sox at Bank One Ballpark that night. . . .
Melvin identified Greg Aquino, Mike Koplove and Randy Choate as certain to open the season on the 25-man roster in the bullpen, barring injury. "There are probably going to be five righties down there, unless something were to happen and we were to make some sort of a deal for a lefty, which there is certainly nothing imminent,’’ Melvin said.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=38465
