Diamondbacks Monday afternoon saw what manager AJ Hinch described as “One of the best outings – if not the best outing – in the spring by a starter.” Ian Kennedy pitched five shutout innings, dominating the Padres by allowing only two hits and striking out eight. Hinch wouldn’t commit to Kennedy having locked down a rotation slot, but with less than two weeks left and a spring ERA of 2.70, Kennedy has done nothing to lose a spot.
Around NL West Spring Training, 3/23: Beimel goes back to Colorado
Dodgers Thanks to a grant from the clunkily-named Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee, there’ll be a free bus service for Dodgers fans this season, going from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to Dodger Stadium. Service will be provided starting 90 minutes prior to the beginning of the games and will end 45 minutes after the end of the game. As anyone who’s been there knows, whatever helps counter the horrendous traffic issues getting in and out of Chavez Ravine, can only be loudly applauded.
Giants On McCovey Chronicles, Grant looks at the Joe Mauer signing. He compares it to the Barry Zito contract, which he calls “a head-on-a-pike warning for franchises thinking of paying for a marketing scheme instead of a player who comprises 4% of a baseball roster.” He also notes that the Giants have two potential franchise players on the roster – neither of them being Zito. As an Arizona fan, with Eric Byrnes in the role of Zito, and Justin Upton as Pablo Sandoval, I heartily agree.
Padres Yesterday was the Padres’ last spring-training trip to Tucson. But it has been suggested it could be a future venue for San Diego’s Triple-A affiliate. Their Portland park will not be available after this year, as it’s becoming a soccer-only facility. Tucson used to be the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate, but that moved to Reno before the 2009 season. It’s one of the few places with a ready-made park, and Tucson would be less than half the distance of Portland.
Rockies Colorado helped shore up their injury-hampered bullpen with the report that southpaw reliever Joe Beimel has signed a Minor League deal with the club. It’s a return to Coors for Beimel, who finished the season there in 2009, after being traded to the Rockies from Washington. He’ll likely replace Franklin Morales as a lefty, with Morales the top candidate in turn to replace injured closer Huston Street.
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