Dbacks excited about Austrailia trip! + Notebook!
Dbacks 2014 Spring Training Coverage
By: Joe Jacquez
Scottsdale- The Diamondbacks and Dodgers will play the first ever opening series in Austrailia in a little over month to kickoff the 2014 season and unlike the Dodgers, the Dbacks are excited about going to Australia despite all the challanges the trip will present. Dodgers pitcher Zach Grienke really upset the organizatiors of the event in Sydney last week when he said there was no excitement to go to Sydney and play baseball. "I would say there is absolutely zero excitement for it," Greinke told ESPN. "There just isn’t any excitement to it. I can’t think of one reason to be excited for it." The Dodgers have considered leaving Grienke off the roster for Syndey and considering Grineke would rather just stay in L.A that might be the best choice.
Unlike Grineke and the Dodgers, the Dbacks are very excited to play in the historic opening series and are ready to play baseball in front of all the fans in Australia seeing it as an oppurtunity to grow the game. Despite all the challanges the trip will present, Manager Kirk Gibson and the Dbacks are choosing to view it as a positive. "Does it give us another challenge? Yeah," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said Sunday. "I’m not sure how the Dodgers will process all that, but I think we’ve viewed it in a positive view. We should. It is exciting to go over there. We are honored and humbled to be able to go over there and represent Major League Baseball." "We’re planning on playing really good over there. So if you want to play good, in my opinion, you have to have a good attitude about that. We are preparing to play well over there and have a good time while we are at it."
Players also appear excited for the trip down under. "That’s his opinion," D-backs left fielder Mark Trumbo said of Greinke, "I think it’s going to be a cool thing," Trumbo continued. "That’s just personal. There are going to be some tougher things that come with it, there’s going to be a lot of travel and some adjusting, but I think more than anything it’s just cool to be able to bring the game over there." "This has nothing to do with [Greinke's] comments, because I haven’t heard them and I’m not going to comment on anything he said," Goldschmidt said. "But I’m looking forward to going over there and play. I’ve said that since last year when it got announced."
"I can’t speak for everyone in here, but it seems like the general consensus is everyone is excited and we are kind of honored that we’re going to be part of the first Major League game that’s going to be in that country," reliever J.J. Putz said. "I know the travel is going to be tough, but at the same time I know a lot of people have always wanted to go to Australia. To be able to bring my wife to Australia for a week and we get to play baseball? It’s win-win. I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to be a great trip."
The two teams will have a week to get back on track and Eric Chavez thinks thats enough. "The fact that they’re giving us a week to come back to adjust to the time, it’s perfect," third basemanEric Chavez said. "I’ve done the Japan trip. I love it. I had a great time. So I don’t see what the problem is."
The trip will present some obvious challangs. The lag and time changes from the trip will take some getting used to, it will throw playes off their normal routine which in the game of baseball isn’t a good thing, and the Dbacks have to come back to Spring Training and get back into that routine and play some games before resuming the regualr season on March 31st against the Giants at Chase Field. The series in Austraila will also present some unique roster challanges. Here is a look at how the roster will work for the series on March 22nd and 23rd courtsey of Steve Gilbert of MLB.com:
Cut the 40-man roster to 28
This is typically what teams do just before Opening Day, except they trim the roster to 25.
30 players travel
The D-backs will be allowed to take up to 30 players to Australia.
Players 26, 27 and 28
The D-backs will need to designate three of the 28 players who will not be eligible to play in the two games against the Dodgers.
Even if there is an injury, those three players remain ineligible. It is possible and even likely that these three spots would be the three members of the starting rotation who are not slated to start in the Dodgers series.
The players could still travel to Australia and play in exhibition games, or they could stay in Arizona to play in Minor League games.
Players 29 and 30
These players are eligible to play in the D-backs’ exhibition game against Team Australia the night before the Dodgers series.
The two players are eligible to be added to the Opening Day roster if there is an injury.
The spots will most likely be non-roster pitchers who can eat up most of the innings in the exhibition game.
Despite all of this the Dbacks should feel honored to play in Sydney and I cant wait to watch baseball in Austrailia.
Dbacks Spring Notebook: Day 18
Mark Grace making an early impact at Dbacks Camp!
Scottsdale- After getting into trouble with the law on multiple occasions resulting in extended jail time former Dbacks great and brodcaster Mark Grace is just blessed to have a job in baseball and is glad that the organization along with Kevin Towers and Derrick Hall are giving him another chance to make his life right again and make a positive impact on young kids doing what he loves most: being around the baseball diamond. Since he got inito trouble he is starting at the low end of the totem pole working with minor leaguers but from watching him work at camp he seems to enjoy working with the young kids. He has a ton of energy around the cage and the insights he provides to minor leaguers like Nick Ahmed are invaluable. I can already tell that he is making an impact and I am glad a great guy like Gracie is getting another chance.
McCarthy will start openor for Arizona!
Scottsdale- Brandon McCarthy will start the openor against the Dodgers at Salt River Fields for the Dbacks to open up Cactus League play. The Dbacks have yet to decide who will pitch in Austrailia. "We’ve had some conversations about it," Gibson said. "It would be premature to read any further into it." I would think that Corbin would get one of the starts.
Snake Bites 