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- Willie Bloomquist, SS
- Gerardo Parra, CF
- Martin Prado, 3B
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
- Miguel Montero, C
- Eric Hinske, DH
- Brad Snyder, RF
- John McDonald, 2B
-
Adam Eaton, LF
Pitchers: Tyler Skaggs, Heath Bell, David Hernandez, Nelson Figueroa, Joe Paterson, Evan Marshall, Eric Smith, Starling Peralta.
Expect Skaggs to go two, and the rest an inning apiece. Of course, the starting line-up and the one that finishes the game will likely also be extremely different, as is typical for early spring games. Tyler is all ready: he was initially scheduled to start the first game of spring last year, but was scratched from that. This time, he appears raring to go, as he kicks off the competition for the fifth spot in the rotation:
"If you don't get nervous, you shouldn't be playing, so of course I'll be a little nervous but I'm excited to be able to be the first starter and go first and kind of show them what I can do and that I belong out there and show what I've got. My arm feels great, so it's going to be fun. It's exciting to kind of set the bar and hopefully set the bar high, so we'll see how it goes."
Kirk Gibson knows what he wants to see: "The first thing we preach is command the fastball, so right now that's what I'd like to see -- command the fastball, spot it where they want it, keep the ball down. If they want to go up, go up where you want it. That's the No. 1 thing at this point." Of course, we all know that if the team lose this afternoon, then this proves the team are just not serious about baseball and the entire 2013 season will be a lost cause. But if they win, then the unstoppable juggernaut which is the 2013 Diamondbacks will be assured of going 199-0, then cruising to the World Series. So it's not as if today matters...
Game is on the radio on KTAR, and I presume there will be some primitive version of Gameday operating so you can follow the action there as well. Time to get this party started!