That was the Spring Training that was…

by user Bobman024

Original post here: http://azsportshub.com/that-was-the-spring-training-that-was/

I write this while watching the final game before the contests start to count. As of tomorrow, our starting pitchers (hopefully!) won’t be taken out after five innings; the latter stages will no longer be occupied by a veritable Who’s That? of minor-leaguers; and we’ll be paying a sight more for seats behind the dugout, but the beer prices will, at least, still be as extortionate. Back in February, I looked at ten issues to concern AZ in spring, so now seems like a good point to see how these things unfolded for our Diamondbacks.

He’s back! But how’s his back? The return of Randy Johnson has been unrushed but impressive. From soft-toss through bullpen sessions, to batting practice and on into a B-squad game, another step was taken on Thursday. He threw three innings against the Padres in an exhibition game at Chase, allowing two hits and no runs, while striking out five. Three or four more rehab starts, of increasing length, will be needed, but at the moment, we’re apparently looking at April 18th or 24th for his appearance in the majors.

Who’s Number 5? Just call me Nostra-Jimus. Back then I wrote, “looks like Edgar Gonzalez will be the regular fifth man” and that Micah Owings “could see some action at the start of the season, to cover us until Johnson is 100%.” Both have had a series of impressive Cactus League performances, and these predictions have come to pass. EdGon was never seriously challenged, and though Owings was pushed the whole way by Dustin Nippert, it’s our rookie who will get the start against Washington on April 6.

Close(r) to the Edge Valverde got a late jump on things, because his wife had their first kid, but since coming back has done nothing to dissuade anyone from thinking that he’ll be the closer. Obviously, the trade of Julio (more on which shortly) has cut the list of potential candidates. But Tony Peña has been getting a number of save opportunities, and would seem to be the understudy to Papa Grande, should such a need arise.

Catcher in the Eye It’s been made clear by Melvin that Snyder will be “the guy”, even though Montero had the better spring at the plate (batting .368 compared to Snyder’s .256). That’s probably partly because Montero’s arm has proven pretty wild - whoever’s manning second-base may need a butterly net to reel in some of the throws he’s unleashed. Montero will get his starts, but don’t be surprised if Snyder is used as a late-innings defensive replacement.

Relief Workers The bullpen is panning out much as expected, by Medders, Lyon and Cruz joining the aforementioned Valverde/Pena pairing. Left-hander Doug Slaten has had a poor spring, with a couple of memorably ugly outings, but is still getting a spot as the LOOGY of choice. The final spot is undecided at time of writing, but may go to J.D.Durbin, plucked off waivers from the Colorado Rockies.

Bench Press The situation has been complicated by injuries which have put outfielders Quentin and DaVanon on the disabled list for Opening Day. That means Scott Hairston will be the everyday LF initially, with Byrnes moving to center. Dave Krynzel was waived, so Robbie Hammock and another waiver pickup, Jeff Salazar, may get spots on the roster until our injured warriors come back. Alberto Callaspo hit .397 in the cactus League, with ZERO strikeouts in 63 at-bats, and should see plenty of playing time too.

Trade Winds Just call me Nostra-Jimus, #2. As predicted in last week’s column, Jorge Julio was indeed traded, to Florida, for a pitching prospect. We did have to pay them $1m to get the Marlins to take Julio off our hands, but Petit is not a negligible arm. His minor-league statistics include some great K:BB ratios, and he is only 22 years old. That’s been the only deal of spring, though we did pick up a couple of names off the waiver wire, as noted above.

Can I take your order? Melvin is still going to mix and match his lineups, but today’s game against the Padres might be an order that we see fairly often: S. Drew ss O. Hudson 2b C. Tracy 3b E. Byrnes rf C. Jackson 1b S. Hairston lf C. Young cf C. Snyder c Pitcher

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Youth movement The young players have had a mixed Spring. Drew has earned his way to the leadoff spot with a .422 on-base percentage and three stolen-bases. However, Chris Young has struggled, batting only .239, and if that continues in the regular season, he may end up down in Tucson before long. Quentin (left) injured his left (non-throwing) shoulder on a wild swing: he’s got a tear in his labrum, that will need maybe another week of recuperation after Opening Day.

It all counts for nothing Let’s not expect Orlando Hudson to bat .451 in the regular season, or the team as a whole to hit .313. Conversely, let’s hope that pitchers Doug Davis (ERA 8.50) and Livan Hernandez (13.06) do not take their spring form past Opening Day. Still, at time of writing (5-1 up in the sixth inning of the last game), we look to finish with a 20-12 record, which would give the Diamondbacks more wins than any NL team. Here’s hoping we can say the same thing come October!