Phoenix.BloggersPub

It’s funny how we perceive time. It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting at Chase Field watching the Diamondbacks try to put together a string of victories that would lead them to become the 2006 National League wild card team. That of course didn’t happen and the Diamondbacks faded to finish third in the Western Division. The memories of the 2006 season are still fresh in my mind and it seems as though I have just been away from the stadium for a short road trip. Now if I compare that to the time it has been since pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training on February 16 and it seems like it has been years until Cactus League games will finally begin.

From Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic:  ”Amaré Stoudemire emerged from the showers late Tuesday looking like a wild animal had cut his chest and stomach. Or Jermaine O’Neal. Apparently, O’Neal could use a manicure. Maybe when Indiana comes to Phoenix to play Friday, Stoudemire could send a spa gift certificate over to the Pacers’ […]

Editor’s Note: I wanted to comment on this article and since TexSUN was kind enough to link to it in the diaries, I figured I should give credit where credit is due and promote the diary. Thanks, TexSUN, for the link. This is a great article about Steve. All of […]

The Suns rallied in the third last night and put up a huge fourth quarter to lead the Suns to a win over the Pacers 103-92. One more road win against Philadelphia and the Suns become the first NBA team to ever sweep it’s road games against the other conference. That sounds like […]

Recently the Cacique Miamis did well in the December blind tasting at Herfer’s Paradise so I thought I should try one again.

Well, actually, for the first 3 quarters, it was the Pacers who set the tempo of the game.  At one point, the Suns were down by 18 points.  What happened at that point?  Hard to say.  Is it that the Suns picked up the intensity and played the way they should?  Or is it that […]

The Bird & The Bee
self-titled (Blue Note)
You might be forgiven for thinking that the bird and the bee come across as too, too cute on their self-titled debut, but surprisingly the most pretentious thing about them is their lower-case name. The duo of vocalist Inara George (daughter of Little Feat’s Lowell George) and instrumentalist Greg […]

The trade deadline causes havoc with fans’ and players’ emotions. Riding the crests of waves of optimism and of despair where everyone learns who is leaving and who is staying. Sometimes, the decisions hurt the fan base and help others, and sometimes it’s a purely business decision, especially in the current CBA Salary […]

Sorry, there is absolutely no way I was able to resist using that headline today. Blame Steve Gilbert, who offers an, er, blow-by-blow report of his second bullpen session on Monday. Said RJ, “This time I felt…not hesitant, but the residual effects from the first time out. Back was a little stiff, legs were a little stiff. I thought the second 17 pitches were much better, so I ended on a good note.” Bob Melvin agreed, as Johnson threw 37 fastballs in total. The next sessions are scheduled for Thursday and Sunday, and if all goes well, he could face hitters next week.

Another difference of opinion, this one regarding Stephen Drew. 3rd-base coach and former Tucson manager Chip Hale says, “Nothing really bothers him. He’s not in awe of anything. I think at times people might think there’s some cockiness there, but I don’t think so, just a quiet confidence.” Confidence? Who does Drew think he is? Thankfully, Bob Melvin isn’t going to stand for that kind of nonsense in the Arizona clubhouse:

In contrast, Melvin positively drools over Chris Young, saying, “His publicity is well-deserved, but Chris isn’t that type of kid. He wouldn’t get out of control,” adding, “He’s probably one of the higher-ceiling guys. This is a guy that can run, tracks down balls, defends, runs on the bases. He’s got power. He should hit for average. He should steal bases. Out of all the guys, he and Upton are the guys who have the most tools.” Exit Quentin and Drew, muttering darkly about “teacher’s pet” - Young may find himself the target of some wet towels during gym if he’s not careful.

Young also talked about the change in approach which helped him cut back markedly on strikeouts this year: “Last year I kind of stayed aggressive, but aggressive and in control. I started understanding that when I have two strikes, (the pitcher) still has to get another one on me. I’m not going to just give it away to him like I have in the past. Just settle down at the plate and focus harder. I just focus on commanding the strike zone, no matter what type of pitch it is… I don’t feel like I have any problems with (off-speed stuff). I have in the far past, but nothing lately.”

That’s definitely a prime factor for their success this year: I saw some monumentally-bad at-bats last year by all our rookies, when pitchers broke out the breaking balls. Now, Young many not have had “any problems” lately, but I think the difference between a Triple-A breaking ball and the same pitch in the bigs, is much more significant than that between a Triple-A and big fastball - which is maybe only a couple of mph, and probably better location. If you have major-league quality off-speed stuff, you won’t be sitting on buses for very long. Young may find himself in for a nasty surprise or two when he faces that kind of pitcher on a regular basis.

Before the official start of the Cactus League on Thursday, there’ll be an intrasquad game tomorrow. Starting for the two sides will be Micah Owings and Dana Eveland, though that one isn’t expected to go past six innings. Still, it’ll be another milestone as we head towards Opening Day, albeit a minor one. Starters have also been announced for the first five Cactus League games, though it’s probably unlikely they’ll be going much more than two or three innings each. Webb will start the opener on Thursday, facing Javier Vazquez; I’ll get to see Hernandez 2.0 on Friday down in Tucson, and Doug Davis gets the start Saturday. Sunday’s split-squad games will be pitched by EdGon in the afternoon, and Nippert in the evening.

Does that maybe hint at Nippert having the inside track on the fifth spot in the rotation, until the Big Unit is ready? Though this report says he needs to work on his change-up as a third pitch, to go with his fastball and curve, if he wants to stick in the big-leagues as a starter. Usually, two-weapon pitchers end up in the bullpen, to avoid hitters getting too comfortable against them. Nippert reckons, “being able to throw that third pitch will really help because right now the hitters are just looking for two pitches because they know my changeup is not that good.” So look for him to be working on that this spring.

Seems Chad Tracy will, at least initially, be slotted in the three-spot once again this year. Melvin says, “Sometimes you puff your chest out a little bit in that fourhole and try to do some things differently. The fact that he’s trying to go to using the whole field may prohibit me from hitting him in the four-hole.” Though, as noted a couple of days ago, Tracy actually had a higher average (and lower home-run rate) when hitting cleanup, than at #3. The piece also reports Byrnes, Young, Hudson and Drew are all candidates to bat lead-off, among the everyday starters.

An interesting article came across my desk today. The Topps baseball card company released their 2007 baseball cards. Among these cards is the #40 Derek Jeter player card. Since I am not a fan of Derek Jeter this didn’t really seem newsworthy to me. In fact I would have assumed there would be a card with the likeness of the Yankees team captain so I wasn’t sure why there would be a story specifically about that. Curious I decided to read on and see if there was something special about this card. It seems that someone within the Topps company has a sense of humor. On the card featuring Derek Jeter at-bat, Mickey Mantle is sitting in the Yankee dugout looking on. And if that were not enough, President George W. Bush is sitting in the stands behind Jeter waving.