SnakeBytes, 6/6: My Kingdom For a Hoarse

Published June 6, 2010 at 5:35 p.m.
...

...More photos »...Ross D. Franklin - AP...

...

...Dontrelle Wills does his best imitation of a porpoise, and scores ahead of the tag...

...

Browse more photos »

[Whisper] Good morning, and welcome to Sunday's SnakeBytes, which will be brought to you at a very low level of volume. And, thus, in complete contrast to last night's game. I will be referred to as "Whisperin' Jim" for the rest of the day, thank you very much. Here are the recap, some rehab news for Webb and other stuff after the jump. [PS: The GameDay Thread might be a bit delayed]

Recaps

• [dbacks.com] D-Train's first Arizona stop: Victory lane - Said manager A.J. Hinch of Willis' 106-pitch effort: "With all his imperfections and how he battles himself, to watch a guy go out and compete and leave it all on the line is a good sight to see. He made a nice first impression."
• [AZCentral] Diamondbacks defeat Rockies in Dontrelle Willis' debut - A night that belonged to Willis, highlighted by his dash to home plate. "I was hoping the plate would end up moving backwards as I got closer to it," he said. "Refrigerator got on my back toward the end, but whatever you got to do to win ballgames, you got to do it."
• [Yahoo!] Willis blanks Rockies through six; D-backs win 4-3 - "They definitely have a lot of talent," Willis said of his new teammates. "I think the more they believe in themselves and believe in me, the better the results will be."
• [The D-blog] Live Bloggin' the D-Train's D-backs D-ebut - "It kind of looked like a Livan Hernandez circa 2007 game, in and out of trouble all night."

Team News and Notes

• [FoxSportsArizona] CEO says changes to come "You question why you continue on this pace with the same team and continue to add to the payroll without getting the winning results," Hall said. "Teams that typically go through that put on the brakes and go in a different direction. I don’t know I’d label it as rebuilding, but one thing I am seriously considering is an adjustment in the budget."
• [AZCentral] Webb close to throwing off mound - "It's looking like one more week and I'm ready to throw off the rubber," said Webb. "It's been awhile, but I'm looking forward to it, because once I start doing that I'm on my way, and then it's just a matter of time."
• [dbacks.com] For D-backs, pitching to contact can hurt - "You don't want to send mixed messages and tell them to stop throwing strikes," manager A.J. Hinch said. "That will lead to walks, and then we'll have a different conversation. It's a vicious cycle." As Hinch suggested, the discussion should focus not on throwing strikes, but quality strike-throwing or, in other words, nailing the zone's four corners.[The same piece also says Miguel Montero will start a rehab assignment on Monday in the minors]
• [AZCentral] Vasquez looks to build on recent outing - "We had 10 losses straight, and in my mind, I had to win. I used my pitchers, and I put everything into the game. I threw my pitches. I'm nothing thinking to strike them out. I try to put the ball in play to get some outs."

Baseball News and Notes

• [democratandchronicle.com] Rochester Red Wings defeat Toledo Mud Hens - In his first start since the trade, in Triple-A, Buckner threw three wild pitches and allowed eight runs on 14 hits in 42/3 innings. So far, so good...
• [AZCentral] Once hot Cactus League now facing troubles - "In December 2006, the Cactus League in Arizona set off on a new climb to unprecedented success. Four years later, that heady moment now looks like a cautionary tale."
• [KansasCity.com] Under Seitzer's tutelage — or in spite of it — the Royals are mashing the ball - "If Royals hitting coach Kevin Seitzer gets credit for Yuniesky Betancourt's improvement, what about Alex Gordon's demotion? So the question is put to Seitzer directly. How much impact can a hitting coach really have?" Former D-backs hitting coach Seitzer is now with KC...
• [SI.com] Bryce is Right? - "Signs point to yes, but will Bryce Harper pan out? Cannot predict now...Joe Posnanski examines the hope, hype and history of can't-miss prospects and how it relates to this week's draft."
• [AP] Moyer tosses 7-hitter as Phillies beat Padres - "He also joined Phil Niekro (121) and Jack Quinn (103) as the only pitchers to win 100 games after age 40."
• [MLB.com] Report: MLB to review Perez's injury - A rare case of a "DL" stint being questioned. "According to the New York Daily News' Andy Martino, Major League Baseball will review Oliver Perez's medical records, including the MRI taken on his right knee before the pitcher was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday..."That's their prerogative -- we're confident of the facts as we presented them," said a team source. "

Back | Read more at AZ Snakepit Diamondbacks blog