Recaps
- [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks fall to San Francisco Giants - Gerardo Parra logged two assists, including nailing Angel Pagan by throwing behind him after he rounded first base a little too aggressively on a bloop single in the first inning. "That’s certainly one of the strengths that we have with him out there," manager Kirk Gibson said. "He’ll be a good weapon for us out there."
- [Fox Sports] D-backs game report - Miley threw 61 pitches, the most for a D-backs starter the first time through the rotation, and used all four of his pitches. He gave up only one hard-hit ball, a double to the fence in right-center by Juan Perez. "There at the end, he was really throwing the ball good. He was sharp. I know he's been champing at the bit," manager Kirk Gibson said... Brad Ziegler gave up four singles in 2/3 of an inning in the fifth. "He wasn't able to locate his pitches like he usually can," Gibson said.
- [dbacks.com] Miley keeps it simple in strong first start - "I felt good today," Miley said. "I still have some things to work on, but everything went well. This spring, Miley said he's going back to the basics: Get the ball and throw the ball. "That's my mentality. I'm not going to change speeds and take something off whatever I'm throwing. My mentality it to let it rip and see what happens."
Team news
- [AZ Central] Paul Goldschmidt gives back; Kirk Gibson talks Archie Bradley; & roster construction - Goldschmidt said, "I learned more in the three weeks I was here than I might have during all of the previous minor league baseball season. If I hadn’t been in camp, there’s a chance I wouldn’t have been called up that year... Those guys helped me and gave me a lot of info. Now that I’m kind of in that position, I try to give back and help other guys as well."
- [Fox Sports] When Miley takes the mound, quality usually follows - "One of two things are going to happen: I'm going to have success or I'm not going to have success. That's my mentality. Whatever I throw, my mentality is to let it rip. That's how I go out. Let it fly. See what happens... "I'm not a big stats guys. I'm not a big ERA guy. I just want to win. My mentality going into every start is I want to go nine and give up zero. But yeah, if you can go out and have a quality start every time out, the club is going to have a chance to win that game. That's huge."
- [dbacks.com] Cody Ross, D-backs being patient with recovery from serious hip injury - "It wouldn't be human not to think about something like that after the kind of significant injury I had. But I pushed those thoughts quickly out of my mind and started back on the recovery process. I haven't looked back since then... There's sort of some fine-tuning. Sprinting at 100 percent instead of 80 percent. Running the bases, which we'll get into tomorrow. Turns, so far it's been very subtle. No sliding yet -- hopefully we'll do that sometime this week."
- [AZ Central] Corbin is keeping his cool - "It was really frustrating. Getting your (butt) kicked is not the best thing. It’s the worst feeling in the world. In baseball, you’re going to go through that a lot. I think the way that you handle it can determine how long you’re in this game." He may rein in his bullpen work: "Those are the days, two days after your start, where you’re not feeling the best. I think I’ll tone back on those a little bit and maybe have a little fresher arm."
And, elsewhere...
- [MLBFanCave] John Axford's 2014 Oscar Picks - John Axford went 18-for-18 in picking the Academy Award winners last night. Not many people can probably say that. Admittedly, he didn't dare make a selection in either of the short film categories...
- [Tampa Bay Times] Heath Bell hopes to redeem reputation with Rays - Bell welcomed change, but a trade to Arizona wasn't a good match of his free-spirited ways and manager Kirk Gibson's no-nonsense style... He danced around describing what seemed a prickly relationship with Gibson. But in nearly an hour of conversation over two days, he couldn't get past what he said is significant internal conflict. he referred repeatedly to "personal problems" He engaged a reporter in eliminating some possibilities: It "wasn't alcohol, it wasn't abuse… it wasn't anything like therapy or AA."
- [NYTimes] In a Rough First Season in Atlanta, B.J. Upton Suffered in Silence - The younger Upton shook his head when asked if it surprised him that B. J. did not ask for his support when he dealt with hitting .184 and being benched. "Nobody’s going to help you fix yourself," Justin said. "People take that a little too far, I think. Until something clicks with you in your mind, things won’t go the right direction. You have to fix yourself before anyone else can."
- [Empire Sports] Colorado Rockies Baseball Team To Sell Marijuana Brownies At Their Concession Stands - Yes, this is satire. Not least because, at stadium prices, how much would one of those damn things cost?