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Quotes of the day
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"They are good hitters; maybe I didn't hit the right spot, but they just hit the ball. I don't blame too much [on] the pitches, they were just putting good swings on them. I respect those guys, so it was hard. After two balls, I was trying to be too careful and stay around the corners. That was my mistake, maybe."
-- Randall Delgado - "He was on and off. He actually had some good innings, and then he had a couple walks, got himself in trouble with the bunts. He's got to be more consistent."
-- Kirk Gibson -
"We were looking for guys who would fit in to how we wanted to change our team. And we found the right guys. You’re going to go through periods where things aren’t going very well at all.. It’s one of the big elements of getting veteran guys like that who have been through those battles. When the season gets going and things start getting tough, that’s when our true character is going to be measured. That’s when it’s really going to be even more important to have those types of guys on your ballclub."
-- Gibson on building the clubhouse
Collmenter a big relief
It was perhaps slightly surprising Josh Collmenter was basically not even mentioned in consideration for the fifth starter job this spring. After all, in his career, he has 35 starts with a very respectable ERA in the role, just over four. However, it appears it was because he was too valuable as a reliever - his 24 appearances there have been for an average of two innings, with an minuscule ERA of 1.31. And that excludes the time last June when he was given ten minutes notice of a start! Said Josh, "I enjoy being able to be called upon a moment’s notice. It’s exciting and you get that little adrenaline rush when the phone is ringing. That’s something you don’t get when you’re starting."
Seeing ourselves as other see us
CBS Sports has their preview of the D-backs up, and it seems quite a fair and balanced production, except the line, "there’s a strong case to be made that Towers undersold on his assets." There's a case, certainly: but it's more arguable than strong. The author also isn't exactly willing to commit, saying: "I could certainly see the Diamondbacks being a playoff team if things break right now, but another .500 season (or worse) is possible, too." I think this hedging of bets reflects a general, and reasonable, bemusement about what the D-backs have done. Will Zieglering while others Zagurski prove successful? Right now, who knows?
Around baseball
- I know I wasn't the only person to see this
and almost have a heart attack, somehow ignoring the first word and putting a comma between two and three... It refers to the other catching Montero, of course, who was upside the headed in Peoria. Fortunately, there appears to have been no lasting damage to him. Or Miggy...#Mariners Jesus Montero just whacked hard on head with bat after swing by #Indians Francisco Lindor. Down a while. Now out of game.
— Steve Berthiaume (@BertDbacks) March 23, 2013
- Looking at the team ERAs this spring really brings home the difference between the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues. The six lowest ERAs are all in Florida, with the best in Arizona being the seventh-ranked Royals at 4.26.
- The day after being held to a single hit by Oregon State, ASU went one better with Ryan Kellogg no-hitting the Beavers [Which sounds like something your mother might tell you at the petting zoo] in a 4-0 victory. He was two errors away from a perfect game: it was the ninth no-hitter for ASU It was the first since Feb. 1993, when Kevin Rawitzer did it against Southern Utah. Congratulation to Kellogg!