Recent comments

Dolorous Jon Lester 1 day 21 hours ago (view)

Diamond Dave loves those backup catchers! Can’t wait for the first time we get to see all 3 start the same game.

First.Pitch.120 1 day 21 hours ago (view)

AZ Phil called it... reports that Torrens makes the team.

crunch 1 day 22 hours ago (view)

i watch a lot of spring baseball every year, and one thing still holds true...and it seems to be worse this year...

florida games, as opposed to arizona games, are absolutely chock full of total assholes with heckling that mirrors "i am the main character" screaming with no consideration for others around them.  a lot of it has little to do with baseball or the player's specific lack of a certain skill.

both AZ and FL has this, but florida has it in waaaaaay greater numbers.  you can only blame alcohol vs the person they are so many times, but here we are...

crunch 1 day 22 hours ago (view)

assad to pen, not AAA.  "maybe" guy mike tauchman sent to minor league camp (along with r.elias).

Arizona Phil 2 days 2 hours ago (view)

KKvG: Richard Gallardo looked OK in the first two innings (gave up a solo HR to the second man he faced in the 1st), but then he lost the strike zone after that and it got pretty ugly. FB was 92-95 and he had good bite on his breaking ball, although he couldn't throw it for strikes (it was more of a chase pitch that got a few swinging strikes, at least until he couldn't throw the FB for strikes either). 

Arizona Phil 2 days 2 hours ago (view)

CUBSTER: Luis Devers is in the Pitchers Rehab group (and has been since the start of Minor League Camp) and is only playing catch right now. 

Cubster 2 days 3 hours ago (view)

AZ Phil: Baseball America recently had a nice writeup on Luis Devers in their org report section. He was the org's minor league pitcher of the year last yr after a promotion to South Bend.  He's 6'3" and only 22. Apparently, he is not a high velo guy (they are hoping for an uptick for his FB)  but said he is a strike thrower and has an excellent changeup. One comment that caught my eye was that he can change his delivery and quick pitch or slow down. That reminds me of Johnny Cueto at least in style (albeit I've never seen Devers pitch). Can you update us on your thoughts on him from watching this spring training? Thanks, as always.

KingKongvsGodzilla 2 days 11 hours ago (view)

Any thoughts on how Gallardo looked out there? 

Arizona Phil 2 days 13 hours ago (view)

CUBSTER: I've thought about it as lot since the game ended and I have talked to others about it who have been going to Spring Training games for many years, and I cannot remember any Spring Training nine inning game I have attended (and I've been going to Cubs Spring training games since 1978) that went less than two hours (I am not including rain-shortened games that did not go nine innings).  This game was unbelievable. It was like a "Turn Back the Clock" Game, but not just with throwback uniforms. The game was actually played like it was fifty years ago. 

Arizona Phil 2 days 14 hours ago (view)

CRUNCH: Once Suzuki comes back, I'd go with this lineup vs  a RHSP: 

1. Happ, LF  
2. Hoerner, 2B 
3. Bellinger, CF 
4. Suzuki, RF 
5. Rios, DH 
6. Swanson, SS  
7. Hosmer, 1B 
8. Wisdom, 3B
9. Barnhart, C 
BENCH: Mancini, Morel, Gomes, and Mastrobuoni

And against a LHSP: 

1. Happ, LF 
2. Hoerner, 2B
3. Suzuki, RF 
4. Mancini, DH
5. Swanson, SS 
6. Wisdom, 1B     
7. Bellinger, CF 
8. Gomes, C 
9. Morel, 3B 
BENCH: Rios, Hosmer, Barnhart and Mastrobuoni