SnakeBytes: Springing into action

D-backs (more)

• [dbacks.com] Didi, Owings vie for spot at shortstop, in Majors "I think it would be hard," Towers said of keeping both young players at the big league level. "I don't think it's good for their development. They're both everyday type players and they're ready to be everyday type players... To me, the favorite has to be Didi. He was our shortstop last year. For a rookie, I thought he played very, very well. Great defender. He got off to a real hot start. The league probably caught up with him a little bit at the end."
• [ArizonaSports] Towers on trading young talent: 'I think we know our players better than anybody else' - "To me, sometimes these decisions, people say, 'Why are you doing that,' well I can't explain it all the time, but there's reasons sometimes behind my madness. A lot of it is I don't think they're going to continue to trend upward. I think we've seen what we're going to get, and they might even go the other way."
• [AZ Central[ Corbin: Archie Bradley ‘going to be here’ "He’s going to be here," Corbin said. "His stuff is probably the best in camp. It's just a matter of time. Everybody really has gone through that. You’ve got to basically wait your turn. I think that's a big thing for younger guys, to just kind of focus on what they're going to do. I think maybe Skaggs let it get to him a little bit last season. I would always tell him to focus on what you need to do. You're going to be up here at some point. I think he was a little frustrated all season by it."
• [dbacks.com] For D-backs, open competition to decide who closes - Putz: "I definitely want to close, but that's going to be something for Hark and Gibby and everybody to decide. I'm really focused on right now, getting the work in on the mound, staying healthy and the rest will take care of itself." Reed: "Obviously everybody knows I want to close. That's the only thing I've ever wanted to do."
• Well, it's official:

  Kirk Gibson says, Bronson Arroyo is expected to throw a bullpen tomorrow presuming #Dbacks paperwork is complete. pic.twitter.com/PACWJD2Rw8

  — Steve Berthiaume (@BertDbacks) February 11, 2014

D-backs (less)

• [AZ Central] Gibson may have altered history for 2 leagues - In 1977, he decided to try baseball, "just to enhance my leverage in the NFL," even though he hadn’t played since high school. "But I struggled. I felt football was so much easier. The thing about baseball is, when you get mad, you have to stay focused. In football, you go and drill somebody and, for whatever reason, it makes you feel better. If the play is going in the other direction, you can smoke some guy and feel better about things. Baseball was different. I had to make sure I didn’t throw my helmet into the stands and kill somebody. I did that a lot."
• [Fox Sports] Spring has sprung, and a fan has fallen - J.J. Putz threw a pitch that bounced away from his catcher and directly in front of /Adam] Russell's catcher, who naturally became distracted. Russell, in mid-delivery, attempted to hold up but could not, and the ball sailed into a viewing area, over a concrete wall and a chain-link fence, hitting the fan on the shoulder. "I'm sure he thought he would be safe thirty feet up and thirty feet over," said Russell, The man was unhurt.
• [ArizonaSports] Goldschmidt played vital role in D-backs' pursuit of Tanaka - "To watch the interaction between Tanaka and Goldy, it was very clear -- even though the language barrier was there -- that Tanaka was impressed that he was there," Kendrick reminisced. On Friday, Towers essentially said the same. "I think Goldy -- typical Paul Goldschmidt -- if I had to see there was one guy that really impacted it, at least in our meeting there, it was Goldy, just because of the type of person he was, what he said it was like to be a Diamondback."

D-backs (not at all)

• [ESPN] Pete Rose says PEDs worse for baseball than gambling - "I had nothing to do with altering statistics of baseball, and these guys, that take PEDs -- wouldn't it be nice if you could ask Babe Ruth the same question, or Roger Maris the same question or Hank Aaron, who won't talk about it. I'd like to hear what their response will be because those are the guys who lost their records because of supposedly steroids."
• [Beyond the Box Score] Major League attendance trends past, present, and future - "I'm not predicting the end of baseball, but the 30-year trend of increased attendance has stalled and may not resume. Nothing stays the same, and perhaps baseball had its run and simply reached the logical conclusion of a run-up in attendance that couldn't be sustained... But there are a whole host of factors they can control, such as pricing, game length and even season length. The best way to maintain and expand attendance is to establish a foothold with the next generation of fan."
• [USA Today] Baseball managers, GMs embrace relationship, analytics - "Baseball's evolution - a confluence of science, statistics and plain old fundamentals - continues to gain momentum as a cadre of open, modern, and in some cases brilliant minds continues to sway the industry. The influence of statistical analysts and other specialists, once confined to the front offices, has trickled down to the field gradually. And as more new-age thinkers infiltrate the general manager's office, their theories and desires gain a greater foothold in the manager's office."
• [Japan Daily Press] Baseball star Tanaka charters Boeing Dreamliner to fly his family, dog to NY - "Japanese baseball star Masahiro Tanaka chartered a plane to take him to New York with his family and pet dog. The former Rakuten Golden Eagles star pitcher spared no expense, as he leased an entire Boeing 787 Dreamliner to fly him, his wife, three other companions and a brown toy poodle." Yeah... Perhaps he's better off as a Yankee.