azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 15, 2005 12:00 AM
TUCSON - The Diamondbacks trimmed 12 players from camp on Monday, including a starting pitcher who was on last year's Opening Day roster and a veteran reliever who was hoping to win a spot in the bullpen.
Right-hander Casey Daigle, who went 2-3 in 10 starts for Arizona in 2004, was among six non-roster invitees to be reassigned to minor league camp. Lefty Donovan Osborne, meanwhile, was released, but is said to be willing to sign a minor league deal to stay in the organization.
Five members of the 40-man roster were optioned: pitchers Enrique Gonzalez, Dustin Nippert and Justin Wechsler, along with outfielders Josh Kroeger and Reggie Abercrombie. Other non-roster invitees reassigned to minor-league camp included outfielder Doug DeVore, pitcher Phil Stockman and catchers Juan Brito, Corey Myers and Alan Zinter.
Daigle was one of the better stories out of camp last spring, winning himself a job as Arizona's No. 5 starter, only to get rocked for five home runs in his major league debut against the St. Louis Cardinals. Daigle had his share of ups and downs during 10 appearances with the Diamondbacks, but he wasn't able to accumulate enough innings in this camp to impress new manager Bob Melvin.
Melvin took the blame for that, but said he can envision Daigle in a role where he can be useful this season both as a starter and quite possibly a reliever.
"Just because he's not here doesn't mean he could be in the plans later on," Melvin said of Daigle, who was 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA in 4 1/3 innings this spring. "You saw the turnover here last year. That was a year where everything that could go wrong did, but that's how quickly it can change."
Using Daigle in long relief "gives him options to come back here," Melvin said, adding: "Casey's got good stuff, but I just wasn't able to get him innings in there and that's why we sent him down early, so he could go over there and build up some arm strength."
Osborne, meanwhile, was brought in with two other non-roster veteran relievers, Juan Acevedo and Jose Jimenez, to provide some competition for a mostly young bullpen. They remain long shots to make the club, however.
"It's tough to release a guy like that," Melvin said of Osborne, who allowed seven hits and six earned runs in three combined innings.
Getting in tune
Melvin hadn't planned on starting Troy Glaus at third base on Monday after he had started the day before in Maryvale, but when Glaus entered the clubhouse early in the morning, the first thing he did was make a beeline to the skipper's office and say he needed to be in the field.
Glaus, who missed most of last season following right shoulder surgery, said he hasn't yet gotten into a groove defensively, and said he needs more repetitions and innings to better read the ball coming off the bat.
"I'm about a half-step slow from where I want to be," he said. "I'm seeing it, but I'm not quick enough. . . . I've played, what, three or four games over there now? Sixteen innings, maybe? It's going to take a little bit."
Short hops
Right-hander Brandon Medders, who underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in June, made his first Cactus League appearance and pitched one steady inning of relief against the Brewers.
"I thought it was going to be a tougher outing for me," Medders said.
• Left-hander Billy Murphy underwent a magnetic resonance imaging test on his strained left hamstring, which he hurt during conditioning drills Saturday, but results were not immediately available.
• Outfielder/second baseman Scott Hairston was deactivated due to back spasms.
• Closer Greg Aquino (sore elbow) threw a productive and pain-free side session Monday, but a date for his next appearance has not been set.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/0315dbacksnbook0315.html
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 15, 2005 12:00 AM
TUCSON - The Diamondbacks trimmed 12 players from camp on Monday, including a starting pitcher who was on last year's Opening Day roster and a veteran reliever who was hoping to win a spot in the bullpen.
Right-hander Casey Daigle, who went 2-3 in 10 starts for Arizona in 2004, was among six non-roster invitees to be reassigned to minor league camp. Lefty Donovan Osborne, meanwhile, was released, but is said to be willing to sign a minor league deal to stay in the organization.
Five members of the 40-man roster were optioned: pitchers Enrique Gonzalez, Dustin Nippert and Justin Wechsler, along with outfielders Josh Kroeger and Reggie Abercrombie. Other non-roster invitees reassigned to minor-league camp included outfielder Doug DeVore, pitcher Phil Stockman and catchers Juan Brito, Corey Myers and Alan Zinter.
Daigle was one of the better stories out of camp last spring, winning himself a job as Arizona's No. 5 starter, only to get rocked for five home runs in his major league debut against the St. Louis Cardinals. Daigle had his share of ups and downs during 10 appearances with the Diamondbacks, but he wasn't able to accumulate enough innings in this camp to impress new manager Bob Melvin.
Melvin took the blame for that, but said he can envision Daigle in a role where he can be useful this season both as a starter and quite possibly a reliever.
"Just because he's not here doesn't mean he could be in the plans later on," Melvin said of Daigle, who was 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA in 4 1/3 innings this spring. "You saw the turnover here last year. That was a year where everything that could go wrong did, but that's how quickly it can change."
Using Daigle in long relief "gives him options to come back here," Melvin said, adding: "Casey's got good stuff, but I just wasn't able to get him innings in there and that's why we sent him down early, so he could go over there and build up some arm strength."
Osborne, meanwhile, was brought in with two other non-roster veteran relievers, Juan Acevedo and Jose Jimenez, to provide some competition for a mostly young bullpen. They remain long shots to make the club, however.
"It's tough to release a guy like that," Melvin said of Osborne, who allowed seven hits and six earned runs in three combined innings.
Getting in tune
Melvin hadn't planned on starting Troy Glaus at third base on Monday after he had started the day before in Maryvale, but when Glaus entered the clubhouse early in the morning, the first thing he did was make a beeline to the skipper's office and say he needed to be in the field.
Glaus, who missed most of last season following right shoulder surgery, said he hasn't yet gotten into a groove defensively, and said he needs more repetitions and innings to better read the ball coming off the bat.
"I'm about a half-step slow from where I want to be," he said. "I'm seeing it, but I'm not quick enough. . . . I've played, what, three or four games over there now? Sixteen innings, maybe? It's going to take a little bit."
Short hops
Right-hander Brandon Medders, who underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in June, made his first Cactus League appearance and pitched one steady inning of relief against the Brewers.
"I thought it was going to be a tougher outing for me," Medders said.
• Left-hander Billy Murphy underwent a magnetic resonance imaging test on his strained left hamstring, which he hurt during conditioning drills Saturday, but results were not immediately available.
• Outfielder/second baseman Scott Hairston was deactivated due to back spasms.
• Closer Greg Aquino (sore elbow) threw a productive and pain-free side session Monday, but a date for his next appearance has not been set.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/0315dbacksnbook0315.html
