Diamondbacks Rodrigo Lopez was officially named the fourth starter by manager AJ Hinch. He said of Lopez, “He had a good spring and he has a long track record of controlling damage and being good. He’s been battle tested and he outpitched [the other contenders] this spring.” The fifth spot will be decided nearer the time Arizona needs it, which won’t be until game #11 of the season.
Around NL West Spring Training, 3/31: Giants To Wig Out Over Lincecum
Dodgers Los Angeles have sold the contract of Eric Stults to the Hiroshima Carp of the Japan Central League. The deal will get Stults about double what he would have earned with the Dodgers, even if he stayed the whole season in the majors, and his American team will also get “several hundred thousand dollars” in compensation, despite paying Stults severance of about $125,000.
Giants San Francisco plans to up the ante on ballpark fare this year. Team President Larry Baer said, “we’re a culinary capital, so we want to have fun food, different food. Hot dogs and hamburgers are going to be the staple for a lot of people, but how about that crab sandwich?” They’ll also be taking a page from the Dodgers’ playbook, with Tim Lincecum wigs and ski caps available at the park this season.
Padres Pitching, speed, defense. That’s described as “the Padres’ blueprint for a successful future.” Second-baseman David Eckstein says, “If we consistently take advantage of the things that we can do well, I think we’re going to be more successful than a lot of people expect.” Certainly, the team has had a victorious spring, with only the Giants posting more Cactus League wins than the Padres, who have gone 17-10 to date.
Rockies Quote of the month goes to Troy Renck of the Denver Post: “The only things missing from the Rockies’ spring training were the unicorns and rainbows. Everything has been so glowingly optimistic that you half expect the team to announce that Disney, not Fox Sports Rocky Mountain, will be televising their games.”
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