Short bench an issue for Melvin
CHICAGO -- Bob Melvin doesn't have a lot of options when it comes to his bench right now.
By carrying 12 pitchers, the Diamondbacks manager is limited to 13 position players and because they're playing in an American League park with the designated hitter, that means he's only got four guys left.
Add to that, the fact that Alex Cintron's wrist will keep him out of action Monday and maybe even Tuesday, and Melvin is down to just three guys on the bench.
"I told everybody, 'Don't get thrown out today,'" Melvin said.
Cintron was unavailable Sunday and could miss Tuesday's game as well, but the club was encouraged by the progress he made from Sunday to Monday.
"It still hurts," Cintron said, "but not like [Sunday]."
Good news: Arizona closer Brandon Lyon played catch for the first time in nearly a month and did not feel any pain in his right elbow.
Lyon, who has been on the disabled list since May 13 with a strained elbow, threw for six minutes at a distance of 60 feet.
"It was definitely a positive day," Lyon said. "A month ago I couldn't really do this without any pain so obviously it takes a load off my mind. I can just keep looking forward now."
The Diamondbacks could sure use a healthy Lyon, but it will still be quite a while before he's able to pitch again. By being moved to the 60-day disabled list over the weekend, Lyon is not eligible to be activated until after the All-Star break.
"I'm just going to take it day by day now," he said. "I'm looking forward to getting back here (Tuesday) and playing catch again."
Getting in touch: Arizona general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said the team hoped to begin talks with first-round pick Justin Upton later this week.
The D-Backs took the high school shortstop from Virginia with the first overall pick in last week's draft.
Welcome home: Diamondbacks outfielder Scott Hairston is certainly familiar with the Windy City and U.S. Cellular Field.
Hairston's father, Jerry, played for the White Sox from 1973-77 and again from 1981-1990, so Scott spent plenty of time in his youth around old Comiskey Park and also got to witness history at U.S. Cellular Field.
"It's a great experience coming back," Hairston said. "I remember coming to the ballpark as a kid and watching a lot of the games and now to be playing here is really special. I still have a lot of memories (at U.S. Cellular). I was here for the first game ever at this park. I was here in the '93 playoffs.
"I love this city. I really love it."
Familiar faces: Monday was the first time the Diamondbacks and White Sox had met in Chicago. The two teams played a three-game series at Bank One Ballpark in 2003.
That doesn't mean the two teams are not familiar with each other, as they share a Spring Training facility and play each other often during the spring.
"You really do feel like you're playing a team in the National League that you know a little more," Melvin said. "It doesn't have the same Interleague flavor to it simply because we do know this club. Heck, for two months we were right there next door to them and it felt like we played them every other day."
The doctor: Arizona shortstop Royce Clayton played for the White Sox from 2001-2002 and has fond memories of the field here in Chicago.
The credit for that goes to head groundskeeper Roger Bossard, who's father took care of the field at Comiskey Park before he did, and his grandfather did the same in old Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
"It's one of the best infields in the game," Clayton said. "(Bossard) is awesome. He knows that field like the back of his hand. When I played here, all the players that came through talked about how true the infield is.
"He is one of the doctors of the infield."
Sign here: The Diamondbacks inked four more players from last week's First-Year Player Draft.
Right-handers Cody Evans (10th round), Vincent Bongiovanni (24th) and Matt Fowles (27th) along with infielder Rusty Ryal (14th) signed. Evans, Ryal and Bongiovanni were assigned to rookie league Missoula, while Fowles will start with Yakima of the Class A Northwest League.
On deck: A pair of former Yankees will hook up Tuesday night when the Diamondbacks and White Sox play the second game of this three-game Interleague series.
Javier Vazquez will take the mound for the Diamondbacks. The right-hander pitched for New York last year and has pitched well after a rough start. Vazquez started the year 0-2 with an 11.77 ERA in his first three starts.
Since then, though, he's 6-2 with a 3.04 ERA over his last 10 starts.
The White Sox will counter with right-hander Orlando Hernandez, who pitched for the Yankees from 1998-2004. Hernandez has not lost since April 14 in Cleveland.
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
By carrying 12 pitchers, the Diamondbacks manager is limited to 13 position players and because they're playing in an American League park with the designated hitter, that means he's only got four guys left.
Add to that, the fact that Alex Cintron's wrist will keep him out of action Monday and maybe even Tuesday, and Melvin is down to just three guys on the bench.
"I told everybody, 'Don't get thrown out today,'" Melvin said.
Cintron was unavailable Sunday and could miss Tuesday's game as well, but the club was encouraged by the progress he made from Sunday to Monday.
"It still hurts," Cintron said, "but not like [Sunday]."
Good news: Arizona closer Brandon Lyon played catch for the first time in nearly a month and did not feel any pain in his right elbow.
Lyon, who has been on the disabled list since May 13 with a strained elbow, threw for six minutes at a distance of 60 feet.
"It was definitely a positive day," Lyon said. "A month ago I couldn't really do this without any pain so obviously it takes a load off my mind. I can just keep looking forward now."
The Diamondbacks could sure use a healthy Lyon, but it will still be quite a while before he's able to pitch again. By being moved to the 60-day disabled list over the weekend, Lyon is not eligible to be activated until after the All-Star break.
"I'm just going to take it day by day now," he said. "I'm looking forward to getting back here (Tuesday) and playing catch again."
Getting in touch: Arizona general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said the team hoped to begin talks with first-round pick Justin Upton later this week.
The D-Backs took the high school shortstop from Virginia with the first overall pick in last week's draft.
Welcome home: Diamondbacks outfielder Scott Hairston is certainly familiar with the Windy City and U.S. Cellular Field.
Hairston's father, Jerry, played for the White Sox from 1973-77 and again from 1981-1990, so Scott spent plenty of time in his youth around old Comiskey Park and also got to witness history at U.S. Cellular Field.
"It's a great experience coming back," Hairston said. "I remember coming to the ballpark as a kid and watching a lot of the games and now to be playing here is really special. I still have a lot of memories (at U.S. Cellular). I was here for the first game ever at this park. I was here in the '93 playoffs.
"I love this city. I really love it."
Familiar faces: Monday was the first time the Diamondbacks and White Sox had met in Chicago. The two teams played a three-game series at Bank One Ballpark in 2003.
That doesn't mean the two teams are not familiar with each other, as they share a Spring Training facility and play each other often during the spring.
"You really do feel like you're playing a team in the National League that you know a little more," Melvin said. "It doesn't have the same Interleague flavor to it simply because we do know this club. Heck, for two months we were right there next door to them and it felt like we played them every other day."
The doctor: Arizona shortstop Royce Clayton played for the White Sox from 2001-2002 and has fond memories of the field here in Chicago.
The credit for that goes to head groundskeeper Roger Bossard, who's father took care of the field at Comiskey Park before he did, and his grandfather did the same in old Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
"It's one of the best infields in the game," Clayton said. "(Bossard) is awesome. He knows that field like the back of his hand. When I played here, all the players that came through talked about how true the infield is.
"He is one of the doctors of the infield."
Sign here: The Diamondbacks inked four more players from last week's First-Year Player Draft.
Right-handers Cody Evans (10th round), Vincent Bongiovanni (24th) and Matt Fowles (27th) along with infielder Rusty Ryal (14th) signed. Evans, Ryal and Bongiovanni were assigned to rookie league Missoula, while Fowles will start with Yakima of the Class A Northwest League.
On deck: A pair of former Yankees will hook up Tuesday night when the Diamondbacks and White Sox play the second game of this three-game Interleague series.
Javier Vazquez will take the mound for the Diamondbacks. The right-hander pitched for New York last year and has pitched well after a rough start. Vazquez started the year 0-2 with an 11.77 ERA in his first three starts.
Since then, though, he's 6-2 with a 3.04 ERA over his last 10 starts.
The White Sox will counter with right-hander Orlando Hernandez, who pitched for the Yankees from 1998-2004. Hernandez has not lost since April 14 in Cleveland.
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
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