Snake Bytes, 3/11: Meaningless losses

[AZ Central] Dodgers blast DBacks in teams’ first meeting since October - “They’re good,” Pfaadt said of the Dodgers’ lineup. “Top to bottom, we knew they were going to be good. I think we’ve just got to attack them like we did last year, especially towards the end. It’s the same game, regardless of the lineup, and I think that’s how we’re going to handle it.” Lending credence to the argument that spring results do not matter, Pfaadt said he did not throw his best pitch, his slider, in the first inning in hopes of not showing it to Dodgers hitters. He scrapped that idea out of frustration in the second and third innings, when he retired all six batters he faced to finish his outing.

[SI] How Much Do the Diamondbacks Weight Spring Results? - “We take notice of the guys that have a zero earned run average of course,” Lovullo said. “It means things are working very well and they’re getting a lot of outs. But we look at the part of the lineup, the time of the game that they’re pitching in, bake that in, and then maybe look at the stuff. In particular with starting pitchers, they’re probably going to be getting the best part of every lineup, every single time, so that’s an easy evaluation. So we want to keep it all relative. The quality of contact being given up is something the coaches are looking at closely, and which may not be readily apparent to most fans during spring training.

[dbacks.com] D-backs prospect aims to Blaze path to MLB - Lovullo meets with each player individually to lay out what he expects to see from them during their time in big league camp. When 24-year-old shortstop Blaze Alexander had his meeting, Lovullo gave him some things to focus on: “Show us that you’re versatile and can play more than one position. Control the at-bats, control the zone, don’t worry about hitting home runs, [focus on] gap-to-gap.” Oh, and there was one other thing. “Open our eyes,” Lovullo told him. There are still almost three weeks of Spring Training remaining, but so far, it’s hard to argue that Alexander has not accomplished every single one of those things.

[SI] Torey Lovullo Speaks on D-backs Roster Moves - The most notable move was the decision to send top shortstop prospect Jordan Lawlar down to Triple-A Reno. Lovullo said it was a difficult decision, but that it was best for the young infielder's development. “That was a tough send-down, but the way the team was coming together, it was showing up that if he stayed here he wasn't going to play but once or twice a week, and he's too good to do that. He still has some developing to do." Lovullo echoed the sentiment that general manager Mike Hazen expressed weeks ago, that Lawlar is "too good not to play every day." With that being the case, it made the most sense to send Lawlar back to the minors for now

[Arizona Sports] Rodriguez feels 80% there as he works toward in-season form - To get to 100%, Rodriguez is looking for a bit more oomph on the fastball. “I noticed today it was like 90-92 (mph), so like 100% is 91-94 (mph) … but location-wise, I feel like it was 100%, the pitches were right where I wanted,” Rodriguez said. “… I know when I have my command and when I have my pitches going the right way that I’m gonna get good results.. I know how my body works already. I know the more stretching, more innings and more bullpens and all that, that will come. It’s not that much of a difference, it is probably like 1-2 more miles which is gonna help me get more swing-and-miss on the fastball.”

[SI] Gabriel Moreno Is Not Going to Allow Any Thievery This Season - Moreno’s bat has picked up where it left off last season when he hit over .300 for the last few months of the season. In 15 at-bats so far, he has four hits, a homer, three RBI, and an .886 OPS. Moreno said that he’s anxious for the season to start. But, it’s his defense that is drawing even better reviews. He’s thrown out multiple would-be base-stealers this Spring Training including yet another one on Saturday during the game against the Reds. When asked afterward about his thoughts on runners continuing to try to steal, he said “I don’t know. This is baseball. They still want to win, but I’m not going to allow it.”

[AZ Central] Diamondbacks’ Geraldo Perdomo holding down SS job amid potential challengers - On the day shortstop prospect Jordan Lawlar was brought to the majors last September, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo called shortstop Geraldo Perdomo into his office. He gave Perdomo a rough outline of how playing time might shake out and told Perdomo he might be asked to play other positions. Perdomo’s response resonated for those in the room. “He’s a shortstop and he takes a lot of pride in being a shortstop,” Assistant General Manager Amiel Sawdaye said. “But he was like, ‘Whatever is best for the team.’ He didn’t have to be like that. He could have been like, ‘I’m a better shortstop.’”

[SI] Geraldo Perdomo Supports Teammates Regardless of Positional Threat - “I think [Perdomo] has a certain confidence about him that you guys can see him play with, but inside of my office I’ll have discussions with him, and I know we covered it, and he’s like ‘good for him, I’m so proud of him for doing that,’” Lovullo said. “He genuinely cares about his teammates and pulls for his teammates. And instead of competing with them, he lets his game do what it’s supposed to do, and he blocks out the noise and he can elevate his game... I think legitimately pulling for every young player to be themselves and have a great experience is his starting point, and that’s what makes him so good.”

[Arizona Sports] Barnhart’s Opening Day started at dawn of spring training - “I’d be lying if I said (this spring spring wasn’t different). The thing for me was in years past, it’s been coming to spring training in shape and ready to play but then kind of working through things and and getting ready for Opening Day on March 28, or whenever it is,” Barnhart told Arizona Sports. “This year to me, in my opinion, I came to spring training looking at February — whatever the first game was — as my Opening Day. So it’s definitely turned into more of a game-like feel in terms of regular season for now.”