azdad1978
Championship!!!!
By Jack Magruder, Tribune
TUCSON - Brandon Lyon has been perfect this spring, although manager Bob Melvin was perfectly noncommittal Thursday when asked if Lyon had locked up a roster spot.
Still, it seems only a matter of time for Lyon, who has retired all 15 batters he has faced, striking out seven and allowing only two balls out of the infield.
Melvin said he has considered Lyon as a possible closer candidate, and believes he could be as valuable as a setup man.
"Typically, the eighth inning guy is getting tougher outs than the closer,’’ Melvin said. "You bring him into a game and you feel like he is going to put out a fire, whether it be with a groundball or with a strikeout. He’s shown us, too, he’s been so economical with his pitches that you can run him out there for more than an inning.’’
Lyon said he is just glad to be throwing well after ulnar nerve transposition surgery last March 24 caused him to miss the season.
"My arm feels great, and that’s the main thing for me right now. I always knew if I came in and threw the ball like I knew I could, I had a good shot at making this team. I’m not really thinking about that right now,’’ Lyon said.
"Spring training is just for getting everybody ready. Hitters are going through it, too. I’m just trying to fill up the zone and throw strikes and use all my pitches and get comfortable with that.’’
A MAN FOR ALL FIELDS
Troy Glaus has put on a power show the last two days. He homered over the left-field fence and doubled high off the batter’s eye in center on Thursday, driving in two runs each time, after hitting a two-run homer to right-center Wednesday night.
"He is seeing the ball well. He’s seeing spin. He’s seeing breaking balls,’’ Melvin said. "The one he hit last night, a sinker down, and he hits it out on a cold night. ... He has a little power. That was certainly a ball that didn’t look like it would end up leaving the yard to the opposite field.’’
Glaus is to play against Colorado today, his fifth straight start, a streak broken only by the off day March 15.
Of his homer Wednesday, Glaus joked: "You have to play the wind.’’
CONGRESSIONAL HEARING
The three television sets in the D-Backs’ clubhouse were tuned to the congressional hearing on steroids in the early morning Wednesday, but most of the attention turned to the NCAA tournament later on.
Melvin said he saw Mark McGwire’s appearance, and some wonder why the government feels a need to get involved now, after the implementation of baseball’s stricter testing policy.
"My personal opinion, if you were to rank the five things in the world going on that requires government intervention, I don’t think it would be up there,’’ Matt Kata said.
"We (baseball) are taking necessary steps, and in the past couple of years we have seen good results from that. Will it ever totally clean up and be pure? You know, I don’t think so. As far as substances go, we’ve already seen that the user seems to be ahead of the tester.’’
AQUINO BACK
Closer Greg Aquino’s live batting practice session Wednesday went so well that he is scheduled to make his second spring appearance Saturday in a game against Seattle in Peoria, Melvin said.
A strained flexor mass in his arm has kept Aquino from pitching since he worked an inning in the exhibition opener against the White Sox on March 3.
"You want to extend your closer to where he is pitching two innings at least a couple of times in spring, and we are on schedule with that,’’ Melvin said. "I don’t foresee any problems, and that’s why we kept him out as long as we did.’’
SHORT HOP
Melvin said he plans to attend the split-squad game against San Diego in Yuma on Sunday, where Oscar Villarreal will make his second spring start. Luis Gonzalez, Chad Tracy, Alex Cintron and Kelly Stinnett also are scheduled to make the trip. Javier Vazquez will start the other split-squad game against Seattle at Tucson Electric Park.
ON DECK
D-Backs at Rockies
What: The Diamondbacks hit the halfway point of their 35-game exhibition schedule with their second game in as many days against cross-town rival Colorado at 1:05 p.m. today at Hi Corbett Field.
TV/radio:None
Pitchers: Arizona (Shawn Estes, Jose Valverde, Jon Cannon). Colorado (Jeff Francis, Darren Oliver).
Records: Arizona 9-8, Colorado 10-6
Tickets: (866) 672-1343
AT A GLANCE
D-Backs (ss) 13,
Brewers 10 (10) Notable pitching: Brandon Webb had his best stuff of the spring before tiring, when he gave up six hits and four runs in the fourth inning. . . . Brian Bruney got five outs on four batters, getting a double-play grounder with runners on first and second in the eighth. . . . Mike Schultz, a secondround choice in the 2000 draft, got the victory with a scoreless 10th. Notable hitting: Alan Zinter hit a game-ending three-run homer with no outs in the 10th. . . . Right fielder Luis Terrero tied the game with a homer in the ninth after throwing out a runner attempting to stretch a single into a double in the top of the inning. . . . Troy Glaus had two hits, including his second homer in as many games.
D-Backs (ss) 5, Rockies 3
Notable pitching: Michael Gosling gave up three hits, all singles, and threw 56 pitches in four innings, his most effective start of the spring. . . . Juan Acevedo pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save. . . . Five of the 10 batters Jose Jimenez faced reached base, including one hit batsman. Notable hitting: Chad Tracy drove in three runs, with an RBI-double in the first and a two-run triple in the fifth. . . . Koyie Hill had a double and a single, raising his batting average to .435. . . . Quinton McCracken had two singles, raising his average to .333.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=38172
TUCSON - Brandon Lyon has been perfect this spring, although manager Bob Melvin was perfectly noncommittal Thursday when asked if Lyon had locked up a roster spot.
Still, it seems only a matter of time for Lyon, who has retired all 15 batters he has faced, striking out seven and allowing only two balls out of the infield.
Melvin said he has considered Lyon as a possible closer candidate, and believes he could be as valuable as a setup man.
"Typically, the eighth inning guy is getting tougher outs than the closer,’’ Melvin said. "You bring him into a game and you feel like he is going to put out a fire, whether it be with a groundball or with a strikeout. He’s shown us, too, he’s been so economical with his pitches that you can run him out there for more than an inning.’’
Lyon said he is just glad to be throwing well after ulnar nerve transposition surgery last March 24 caused him to miss the season.
"My arm feels great, and that’s the main thing for me right now. I always knew if I came in and threw the ball like I knew I could, I had a good shot at making this team. I’m not really thinking about that right now,’’ Lyon said.
"Spring training is just for getting everybody ready. Hitters are going through it, too. I’m just trying to fill up the zone and throw strikes and use all my pitches and get comfortable with that.’’
A MAN FOR ALL FIELDS
Troy Glaus has put on a power show the last two days. He homered over the left-field fence and doubled high off the batter’s eye in center on Thursday, driving in two runs each time, after hitting a two-run homer to right-center Wednesday night.
"He is seeing the ball well. He’s seeing spin. He’s seeing breaking balls,’’ Melvin said. "The one he hit last night, a sinker down, and he hits it out on a cold night. ... He has a little power. That was certainly a ball that didn’t look like it would end up leaving the yard to the opposite field.’’
Glaus is to play against Colorado today, his fifth straight start, a streak broken only by the off day March 15.
Of his homer Wednesday, Glaus joked: "You have to play the wind.’’
CONGRESSIONAL HEARING
The three television sets in the D-Backs’ clubhouse were tuned to the congressional hearing on steroids in the early morning Wednesday, but most of the attention turned to the NCAA tournament later on.
Melvin said he saw Mark McGwire’s appearance, and some wonder why the government feels a need to get involved now, after the implementation of baseball’s stricter testing policy.
"My personal opinion, if you were to rank the five things in the world going on that requires government intervention, I don’t think it would be up there,’’ Matt Kata said.
"We (baseball) are taking necessary steps, and in the past couple of years we have seen good results from that. Will it ever totally clean up and be pure? You know, I don’t think so. As far as substances go, we’ve already seen that the user seems to be ahead of the tester.’’
AQUINO BACK
Closer Greg Aquino’s live batting practice session Wednesday went so well that he is scheduled to make his second spring appearance Saturday in a game against Seattle in Peoria, Melvin said.
A strained flexor mass in his arm has kept Aquino from pitching since he worked an inning in the exhibition opener against the White Sox on March 3.
"You want to extend your closer to where he is pitching two innings at least a couple of times in spring, and we are on schedule with that,’’ Melvin said. "I don’t foresee any problems, and that’s why we kept him out as long as we did.’’
SHORT HOP
Melvin said he plans to attend the split-squad game against San Diego in Yuma on Sunday, where Oscar Villarreal will make his second spring start. Luis Gonzalez, Chad Tracy, Alex Cintron and Kelly Stinnett also are scheduled to make the trip. Javier Vazquez will start the other split-squad game against Seattle at Tucson Electric Park.
ON DECK
D-Backs at Rockies
What: The Diamondbacks hit the halfway point of their 35-game exhibition schedule with their second game in as many days against cross-town rival Colorado at 1:05 p.m. today at Hi Corbett Field.
TV/radio:None
Pitchers: Arizona (Shawn Estes, Jose Valverde, Jon Cannon). Colorado (Jeff Francis, Darren Oliver).
Records: Arizona 9-8, Colorado 10-6
Tickets: (866) 672-1343
AT A GLANCE
D-Backs (ss) 13,
Brewers 10 (10) Notable pitching: Brandon Webb had his best stuff of the spring before tiring, when he gave up six hits and four runs in the fourth inning. . . . Brian Bruney got five outs on four batters, getting a double-play grounder with runners on first and second in the eighth. . . . Mike Schultz, a secondround choice in the 2000 draft, got the victory with a scoreless 10th. Notable hitting: Alan Zinter hit a game-ending three-run homer with no outs in the 10th. . . . Right fielder Luis Terrero tied the game with a homer in the ninth after throwing out a runner attempting to stretch a single into a double in the top of the inning. . . . Troy Glaus had two hits, including his second homer in as many games.
D-Backs (ss) 5, Rockies 3
Notable pitching: Michael Gosling gave up three hits, all singles, and threw 56 pitches in four innings, his most effective start of the spring. . . . Juan Acevedo pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save. . . . Five of the 10 batters Jose Jimenez faced reached base, including one hit batsman. Notable hitting: Chad Tracy drove in three runs, with an RBI-double in the first and a two-run triple in the fifth. . . . Koyie Hill had a double and a single, raising his batting average to .435. . . . Quinton McCracken had two singles, raising his average to .333.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=38172
