Cactus League
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Major Chords: Take a Bow, Craig Counsell
The first casting call was answered by Andy Fox. More recently, Augie Ojeda and David Eckstein have reprised the role. In Arizona franchise history, however, no one has played the part of scrappy utility infielder quite as famously as Craig Counsell.
Like fellow underdog Rudy Ruettiger, Counsell played his college ball at Notre Dame. Drafted in 1992 by the Rockies, he made his ML debut in 1995, but Counsell's Colorado career amounted to a total of one hitless at-bat in three games. A 1997 trade to Florida gave Counsell his first big break; in the post-season, he demonstrated his flair as a supporting actor by scoring a run in extra innings to win Game 7 of the World Series. The Fish sent Counsell to Hollywood midway through the 1999 season, but his spell with the Dodgers was panned by the critics.
Los Angeles released Counsell in the spring of 2000, and he soon thereafter signed with Arizona. He performed well in his first year with the Snakes, playing quality infield defense and...
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Diamondbacks Notes: March 30, 2009
* MANOS DE PIEDRA - Diamondbacks Nation is counting on Mark Reynolds to improve on his strikeout-rate from last season. He set a ML record with 204 K in 2008, so there's considerable room for improvement. In a sense, Reynolds has put himself into elite company, as the record was previously held by notable sluggers Ryan Howard (197 K in 2007) and Adam Dunn (194 K in 2004).
We wish whiffs were the only flaw in Reynolds' game. Not historic but also frightening were his ML-leading 34 errors ... 11 more than any other player. In 2008, Reynolds ranked dead-last in fielding percentage and third worst in Range Factor among regular 3B. (National League numbers are cited, but no one in the AL was any worse.)
As Nick Piecoro mentioned in the Arizona Republic, Reynolds is committing errors with even greater frequency in spring. He has a half-dozen in Cactus League games and flubbed a seventh error in an exhibition loss to Mexico. Seven errors per 20 games would give him about 57 errors...
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Game Report: Snakes @ Angels, March 20, 2009
* ANGELS AND DEVILS - Diamondbacks Nation came out in force for this afternoon's game against the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. All the regulars save Chris B. Young made starts, so we got our first look at Felipe Lopez in Arizona colors.
While he took the collar in today's 6-1 loss, Lopez looked fit and confident following his call-up to the Puerto Rican national club. In a Pool 2 win over the United States, he ripped Padres' starter Jake Peavy for a 2-run shot into the Miami night. Check the video to hear Harold Reynolds call with a whistle the blast that sent at least one small child into a fit of ecstasy. ODog's heir to 2B put the ball in the right center-field stands, near to where the pool would be at Chase Field. If he can match that performance for Arizona, Lopez will make quite a splash. (Go ahead, we deserve it.)
* THE KING IS BACK! - Eric Byrnes marked his Cactus League debut and his first start since a hamstring injury forced him out of action back...
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2009 DIAMONDBACKS SEASON PREVIEW - PART I
* BUILDING UP TO OPENING DAY - With Opening Day 2009 fast approaching, Diamondbacks Nation is very pleased to begin its first full season providing news and commentary by and for fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Today brings the first installment of our 2009 season preview.
We believe that to understand and evaluate the Diamondbacks of 2009, one must recognize where this club has been and how the current edition came to be. So before we take a look at the season to come, Diamondbacks Nation will try to put things into an historical context. Our preview of the 2009 season begins with a look way back to the early days of our favorite team.
We will then fast-forward to the club in the present day, focusing on the winter moves and the season schedule; the rotation and bullpen; the position players, bench and batting order. We'll dig deeper, with a review of the front office, field management, and minor league operations. And we will finish our run-up the 2009 campaign by...
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