It has been a long, dark dismal winter in a whole variety of ways, not least for Arizona sports fans, who had to witness the spectacular implosion of the Cardinals, as well as the ongoing failures of the Coyotes and Suns. But as the sunshine of spring begins to warm the earth, and we contemplate whether or not we need to turn on the air-conditioning [hahaha! Suck it, the Northeast!], baseball begins once more. Enjoy the seven or so weeks of calm folks, when losses don’t matter, and hope springs eternal. Because eventually, the games will count, and based on last year’s experience, that’s when things start to go wrong...
For now, though? Let’s just revel in the simplest of pleasures. Which would be...
Pitchers! Doing pitchery things!
Bullpen sessions with @tai_walker, @mattykoch20 and more. #DbacksSpring https://t.co/3FNkCQ0ysR
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) February 14, 2017
Catchers! Getting ready to catch!
Time to do some catching. #DbacksSpring pic.twitter.com/n1AuoP2und
— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) February 14, 2017
Jimmie Sherfy throwing. I was about to praise the perfect way in which he repeats his mechanics each time, when I realized I was actually watching a four-second clip of one pitch on a loop...
#Dbacks Jimmy Sherfy throwing his bullpen. pic.twitter.com/AYUXr61qwi
— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) February 14, 2017
Meanwhile, Zack Greinke was adopting a particularly low-key approach to the first day of workouts, with a “simulated bullpen”. Which would appear to be right up there with “artificial margarine” in terms of meaningful statements.
#Dbacks Zack Greinke (left) throwing a simulated bullpen session. pic.twitter.com/AzrD8LANvp
— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) February 14, 2017
Shelby Miller made it through his first session, with knuckles apparently unscathed. So there’s that...
.@Dbacks pitcher Shelby Miller takes the mound on the first day of #DbacksSpring. pic.twitter.com/aR7E3Ky5Pw
— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) February 14, 2017
Finally, here are Mike Hazen and Torey Lovullo, meeting with the media after the first day of workouts.