azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Melvin still won't name fifth starter
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 21, 2005 12:00 AM
TUCSON - When it comes to naming his fifth starting pitcher, Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin is still pleading the fifth.
At least for a day. Maybe two. Tops. Well, probably.
Though all signs seemingly point to left-hander Brad Halsey winning the job and joining a rotation that includes Javier Vazquez, Russ Ortiz, lefty Shawn Estes and Brandon Webb, Melvin refuses to be swept into submission by endless speculation.
In short, he refuses to come clean on the grounds it may not only incriminate any decisions he may have made, but on Sunday at least, it also would cast dispersions on the two other pitchers deemed to be still in the hunt:
Oscar Villarreal, the reliever-turned-starting hopeful who is coming off arm surgery and got rocked - probably right out of the mix - on a windy afternoon in Yuma.
And southpaw Michael Gosling, the Stanford graduate who just happens to be pitching today at Tucson Electric Park and doesn't need the added aggravation of knowing if he has lost the job and should start eyeing an apartment in Tucson as a member - again - of the Triple-A Sidewinders.
But give Melvin credit.
Whether he's decided upon his No. 5 man or not, at least when he spoke by cellphone from a split-squad game at Yuma's Desert Sun Stadium, he came off sounding as truthful as he could without spilling the beans.
Asked about Villarreal's shaky outing, which featured seven earned runs in just three innings, Melvin said:
"I'll probably have more to say about that (today)."
Translation: Villarreal is headed to the bullpen, where he's spent the better part of the past two seasons at the major league level and did fine, until overuse in 2003 and some iffy mechanics cut short his season last year.
That leaves the Diamondbacks with Gosling, today's starter, who has been good, but not great, and might have to throw a masterpiece against the Chicago White Sox to make management and the coaching staff agree to push the competition with Halsey to the wire.
"Even if I had that in my head, I wouldn't put that kind of pressure on Gosling (today), to where he felt he'd have to go out there and it was make-or-break," Melvin said, when asked if he was now on the verge of naming his No. 5 starter.
But he is. And he will. Well, probably.
Melvin led all the candidates, from the three aforementioned to the likes of Tony Peña, Casey Daigle and the other also-rans, to firmly believe the decision would be made by results on the field, not behind closed doors based on contracts, personalities or otherwise.
If that's the case, Halsey, at least through four outings, has dominated and deserves the job. He has the better numbers (a 2.77 ERA with eight strikeouts and a .245 opponents batting average) than the other remaining contenders.
It helps that he has a knack for throwing inside to right-handed hitters, is good against lefties, and was also part of the return investment on the controversial trade that sent Randy Johnson to the New York Yankees.
If Halsey makes the team - a supposed throw-in in the trade - it just looks that much better for everyone involved.
And that matters; like it or not.
"From one performance to the next, everything changes, so you just go out there and continue to get opportunities to pitch," Halsey said, refusing to acknowledge the fact he appears to be in the driver's seat.
But he is. Gosling, with a 5.23 ERA, and Villarreal, who was at a 9.53 ERA before Sunday, have to know where they stand.
It means it is Halsey's time to shine - once the decision becomes official. And when it comes to naming his fifth starter, Melvin is still pleading the fifth. For the moment.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/0321dbacks0321.html
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 21, 2005 12:00 AM
TUCSON - When it comes to naming his fifth starting pitcher, Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin is still pleading the fifth.
At least for a day. Maybe two. Tops. Well, probably.
Though all signs seemingly point to left-hander Brad Halsey winning the job and joining a rotation that includes Javier Vazquez, Russ Ortiz, lefty Shawn Estes and Brandon Webb, Melvin refuses to be swept into submission by endless speculation.
In short, he refuses to come clean on the grounds it may not only incriminate any decisions he may have made, but on Sunday at least, it also would cast dispersions on the two other pitchers deemed to be still in the hunt:
Oscar Villarreal, the reliever-turned-starting hopeful who is coming off arm surgery and got rocked - probably right out of the mix - on a windy afternoon in Yuma.
And southpaw Michael Gosling, the Stanford graduate who just happens to be pitching today at Tucson Electric Park and doesn't need the added aggravation of knowing if he has lost the job and should start eyeing an apartment in Tucson as a member - again - of the Triple-A Sidewinders.
But give Melvin credit.
Whether he's decided upon his No. 5 man or not, at least when he spoke by cellphone from a split-squad game at Yuma's Desert Sun Stadium, he came off sounding as truthful as he could without spilling the beans.
Asked about Villarreal's shaky outing, which featured seven earned runs in just three innings, Melvin said:
"I'll probably have more to say about that (today)."
Translation: Villarreal is headed to the bullpen, where he's spent the better part of the past two seasons at the major league level and did fine, until overuse in 2003 and some iffy mechanics cut short his season last year.
That leaves the Diamondbacks with Gosling, today's starter, who has been good, but not great, and might have to throw a masterpiece against the Chicago White Sox to make management and the coaching staff agree to push the competition with Halsey to the wire.
"Even if I had that in my head, I wouldn't put that kind of pressure on Gosling (today), to where he felt he'd have to go out there and it was make-or-break," Melvin said, when asked if he was now on the verge of naming his No. 5 starter.
But he is. And he will. Well, probably.
Melvin led all the candidates, from the three aforementioned to the likes of Tony Peña, Casey Daigle and the other also-rans, to firmly believe the decision would be made by results on the field, not behind closed doors based on contracts, personalities or otherwise.
If that's the case, Halsey, at least through four outings, has dominated and deserves the job. He has the better numbers (a 2.77 ERA with eight strikeouts and a .245 opponents batting average) than the other remaining contenders.
It helps that he has a knack for throwing inside to right-handed hitters, is good against lefties, and was also part of the return investment on the controversial trade that sent Randy Johnson to the New York Yankees.
If Halsey makes the team - a supposed throw-in in the trade - it just looks that much better for everyone involved.
And that matters; like it or not.
"From one performance to the next, everything changes, so you just go out there and continue to get opportunities to pitch," Halsey said, refusing to acknowledge the fact he appears to be in the driver's seat.
But he is. Gosling, with a 5.23 ERA, and Villarreal, who was at a 9.53 ERA before Sunday, have to know where they stand.
It means it is Halsey's time to shine - once the decision becomes official. And when it comes to naming his fifth starter, Melvin is still pleading the fifth. For the moment.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/0321dbacks0321.html
