Diamondbacks Notes: August 14, 2008 (Late Edition)
* WASHED OUT -- Batting third and playing RF for the Sidewinders on Thursday evening, Justin Upton went 1-for-2 with a two-run, two-out single. Tucson had jumped to a 5-3 lead through three innings, but Mother Nature intervened and the game was suspended due to rain. The game will be made up on August 27, by which point Upton should be back with Diamondbacks. Officially, Upton is 5-for-12 with a double, an RBI and two strikeouts on his rehab assignment, although we at DBN will always wonder what might have been but for the stormy skies in Colorado Springs. Upton may have scuffled in May and June with the parent club, but AAA pitching has so far been no match for his powers. Weather permitting, the Sidewinders and Sky Sox will start fresh on Friday before our farmhands head back to the Old Pueblo.
* NICE SOUVENIR -- If anyone is curious, JUp is sporting No. 24 on his Sidewinders jersey. Since Justin will not be long for the minors and the AAA franchise plans to leave Tucson for Reno after this season, that jersey would make for one fine piece of memorabilia.
* VOODOO DOLLS? -- Speaking of souvenirs, those Micah Owings bobble heads the Diamondbacks gave away back in April? They had a pretty short shelf-life. The Owings models were the first of a series of five bobble heads intended to fit together as a set. The Eric Byrnes edition will be given away on Saturday, August 23. With Byrnes on the DL, Owings all but traded, and Chris B. Young batting a disappointing .236 / .303 / .421 on the year, it's beginning to look like bobble heads are a whammy. Carlos Quentin (.214 / .298 / .349) had one during his injury-plagued and downright awful 2007 season. DBN hopes that we're reading too much into the phenomenon. Bobble head honoree Bob Melvin has skippered Arizona into first place in the division and passed Bob Brenly to become the franchise's all-time winningest manager. Co-Ace Dan Haren will have his bobble head day in September. So maybe being immortalized in bobble head form isn't a jinx. On second thought, forget we mentioned it.
* DUNN DEAL DONE -- While Owings remains in limbo, word is out that "super-utility" player Wilkin Castillo is headed for Cincinnati as the third component in the Adam Dunn trade. baseball America rated Castillo the No. 14 prospect in the Diamondbacks farm system prior to the 2008 season -- but that was before trades that shipped the higher-ranked Carlos Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, Emilio Bonifacio, Aaron Cunningham, Chris Carter and Greg Smith (phew!) out of town. Castillo was an All-Star for AA Mobile in the Southern League last year, due as much to his ability to play C, 2B, 3B, SS and OF as for his bat. He projects as a bench player in the bigs. So the total package for Dunn now appears to be Owings, Castillo and Dallas Buck, which does not seem too high a price to pay for Arizona's new No. 4 hitter. Of the trio, Owings is the only one likely to be missed in the long run.
* HEALTHY COMPENSATION -- Some of the sting of losing Owings should be soothed by the draft pick compensation the Diamondbacks will receive when Dunn leaves as a free agent, which would almost certainly be the case if he is seeking a deal in excess of $100M. According to Nick Piecoro, Dunn non-denial denies his price tag is that high. Jack Magruder of the East Valley Tribune projects that Arizona would receive two high 2009 entry draft choices -- the first-rounder of the team that signs him, plus a supplemental pick between the first and second rounds -- if they lose Dunn. Owings and Buck were selected in the third rounds of the 2005 and 2006 drafts, respectively, and Castillo was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2003.
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