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Arizona Diamondbacks representatives Matt Merullo, left, and Roland Hemond send out for a pizza talk to their executives before selecting third baseman Robert Borchering with the 16th pick overall.

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A fair number of semi-random bits of news and notes to get through, so figured I'd lump them all together in an afternoon update. We start with audio clippage, focusing on the return of Scott Schoeneweis after the untimely death of his wife - or as he put it yesterday, "It's time for 'Daddy' to go back to work." He actually did think about not returning at all, but felt his wife would have wanted him to play. However, he delayed coming back until he knew his kids were okay with this decision. It'll be a pretty poignant occasion when he first takes the mound, and I'm sure he'll get a good reception - he appreciated all the support he received during this sad situation.

We also have some soundbites from the Diamondbacks' 1st-round pick in yesterday's draft, third baseman Bobby Borchering, He has a scholarship waiting for him at Florida, and talks about the choice awaiting him - whether to go to college or turn professional, and also the comparisons which have been drawn between him and Chipper Jones. He doesn't have an 'adviser' [they're not allowed to have agents, if I'm not mistaken], but with an estimated price-tag of two million dollars, negotiation will be fun.

Audio courtesy of KTAR 620

The rest is after the jump!

We did want to take some position players, if at all possible. We’re certainly willing to take a shot at some upside with the volume of picks, whether that’s Borchering’s upside or Broxton’s upside. I think with a very good group scouting effort, we took the guys we liked. You can get a little caught up in how the industry sees a player, or being really strategic. I think, as best we could, we tried to position guys where we could take them and get them. We didn’t want to be the team that five picks in front of you loses the player you really wanted.

More reaction to the Diamondbacks draft picks came from Keith Law:

The Diamondbacks have a tight budget with all their extra picks, and I really like what they have done within those constraints. Outfielder A.J. Pollock and third baseman Bobby Borchering were solid picks -- Borchering easily could have gone earlier than 16 -- but they also nabbed Matt Davidson (a high school third baseman with a great swing and good power potential), left-hander Chris Owings (a prep shortstop with a quick bat, good hands and a lot of energy) and Mike Belfiore (the Boston College closer who was badly abused by his coach in the NCAA regional game against Texas but who could move quick as a power left-handed arm out of the bullpen). That alone is quite a haul, and there's some star potential in Davidson, Owings and maybe Pollock if they convert him to the middle infield.

Also discussing Pollock, Bryan Smith of Baseball America said, "This is a Cape Cod League driven pick. Pollock did his job and performed well this season, but he made his name in the Cape. Pollock hit .377/.455/.556 in a league notoriously impossible on hitters. There's not a ton of upside here, but the list of hitters the played that well in the Cape and didn't perform in pro ball is awfully short."

Day two of the draft is well under way, and the Diamondbacks seem to be leaning toward taking more hitters, with position players being selected for five of their picks in rounds four through ten, all of them being infielders. They started with 125th overall pick, shortstop David Nick and also included a local boy, Matt Helm from Chandler Hamilton in the seventh round. In the 12th round, they selected Scottsdale Chapparal alumni Charles Brewer, who is now a pitcher out of UCLA. And Matt Williams' son, Jacob, a first-baseman out of Brophy, was picked by Arizona in the 29th round.

In the sick ward, we hear from Conor Jackson: "It's probably the most frustrating I've been through in my life. My mind wants to do a lot more than my body will let me right now." There's still no timetable at all for his return. However, Yusmeiro Petit is now on a rehab assignment for Reno, and combined with Cesar Valdez on a six-hit shutout of the Portland Beavers on Monday - Petit worked the first two innings and allowed only a hit. I hadn't been all that keen to see him back, but after Buckner allowed 13 hits last night, I am rather more enthusiastic for him to be an option...

And finally, Diamondbacks' President and CEO Derrick Hall was named to the Phoenix Business Journal’s inaugural list of the Valley’s 25 "Most Admired CEOs and Top Level Executives." Cue response from 'Hacks in 3...2...1...