Notes: Aquino gets recalled
PITTSBURGH -- By the looks of it, the covered bench in the visiting team's bullpen beyond the wall in left-center at PNC Park has room for about a dozen guys -- if they are not afraid to get a little close to each other.
If that's the case, hopefully the Arizona Diamondbacks showered well before their game with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday evening. With the recall of pitcher Greg Aquino, the D-Backs now have 11 men available to them out of the bullpen.
Still, while manager Bob Melvin admitted he would be certainly aware of the bevy of arms available to him, it would not change all that much about the way he managed a game.
"Obviously, it depends on where you are, how far behind you are, if you have to hit for a pitcher or whatever. There's a lot of variables that go into it," Melvin said. "It's not like we have six lefties and six righties out there and we can match up left, right, left, right the whole game."
Aquino was 0-1 with a 9.12 ERA in 28 games for Arizona in a tour of duty that started on Opening Day and ended with his demotion to Triple-A Tucson on Aug. 25 (interrupted by a trip to the disabled list April 5-June 11 when he missed 62 games).
The 27-year-old led the Diamondbacks in saves as a rookie last season with 16. His statistics this season did not look as ugly until he allowed seven earned runs in two innings his last two outings before being demoted. He had allowed only one earned run in his previous 10 appearances and was 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA, allowing a run on four hits in 8 2/3 innings with no walks and seven strikeouts in his limited action with the Sidewinders.
Melvin said the decision to bring back Aquino was made to give him some more work and give the bullpen the depth that many other teams have after the Sept. 1 roster-expansion period. Already stocked with too many starters, pitchers like Michael Gosling would have to wait.
"It was a matter of giving us an extra arm," Melvin said. "We've had some games this year [where] we needed guys to finish games, so this is the way it works out."
Rotation set through trip: The team had previously announced that Dustin Nippert would make his Major League debut on Thursday in Pittsburgh and Shawn Estes would come off the DL to start the opener of the series in Colorado. Right-hander Claudio Vargas will start on Saturday at Coors Field, and Melvin said on Tuesday that Russ Ortiz would start the Sunday afternoon contest.
The earliest rookie Brad Halsey -- the lefthander who, along with Brandon Webb, is among Arizona's most consistent starters this season -- could start would be on Tuesday at home against the Milwaukee Brewers. Melvin said that because Halsey, who was available on Tuesday night out of the bullpen, passed a professional career high in innings pitched, the team would lax his load and give other youngsters a chance.
"We found out we know what we have in him and know he will be a fixture in the rotation next year," Melvin said. "His innings were just adding up, so it's something we just don't feel like we need to push him right now. This gives us a chance to get Nippert in there. That's not to say [Halsey] won't start again [this season], it's just where we are right now."
New guy across the dugout: The Pirates relieved manager Lloyd McClendon of his duties on Tuesday afternoon before the game. Pete Mackanin, the team's bench coach this season, was named interim manager.
McClendon had been with Pittsburgh for almost five seasons and played in the Majors at the same time as Melvin, whom he also managed against. Melvin expressed sympathy for a fellow member of the managing fraternity.
"I've always thought he does a very nice job with a low payroll and not a whole lot to work with," Melvin said. "He's a very competitive guy."
Diamondbacks bench coach Jay Bell played with McClendon from 1990-94 with the Pirates and said he had little doubt that McClendon would find future employment in baseball.
"Every manager gets fired at some point or another," Bell said. "Unfortunately for Mac, he was starting to get better and better at what he did. The front office just felt like it was time for a change around here."
Despite Pirates managing general partner Kevin McClatchy going on record saying the team desires a replacement with Major League managerial experience, some have speculated Bell is a candidate for the Pirates job that will be filled after the season concludes. Bell was a fan favorite in his eight seasons with the Pirates.
"Well, certainly I'm a bench coach with the specific purpose of trying to be a Major League manager," Bell said. "I'm certainly not sure if they have any thoughts about having me on as a manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but I grew up in the game here in Pittsburgh. This is a great place, a phenomenal town with a fan base that loves a blue-collar style of play. I have a real soft spot in my heart for Pittsburgh, so, no, I wouldn't mind it."
On deck: The D-Backs continue their three-game set in Pittsburgh on Wednesday as Brandon Webb (11-11, 3.88 ERA) faces Pirates lefty Mark Redman (5-14, 4.89 ERA). The game marks the final 4:05 p.m. MST starting time this season for Arizona.
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
If that's the case, hopefully the Arizona Diamondbacks showered well before their game with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday evening. With the recall of pitcher Greg Aquino, the D-Backs now have 11 men available to them out of the bullpen.
Still, while manager Bob Melvin admitted he would be certainly aware of the bevy of arms available to him, it would not change all that much about the way he managed a game.
"Obviously, it depends on where you are, how far behind you are, if you have to hit for a pitcher or whatever. There's a lot of variables that go into it," Melvin said. "It's not like we have six lefties and six righties out there and we can match up left, right, left, right the whole game."
Aquino was 0-1 with a 9.12 ERA in 28 games for Arizona in a tour of duty that started on Opening Day and ended with his demotion to Triple-A Tucson on Aug. 25 (interrupted by a trip to the disabled list April 5-June 11 when he missed 62 games).
The 27-year-old led the Diamondbacks in saves as a rookie last season with 16. His statistics this season did not look as ugly until he allowed seven earned runs in two innings his last two outings before being demoted. He had allowed only one earned run in his previous 10 appearances and was 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA, allowing a run on four hits in 8 2/3 innings with no walks and seven strikeouts in his limited action with the Sidewinders.
Melvin said the decision to bring back Aquino was made to give him some more work and give the bullpen the depth that many other teams have after the Sept. 1 roster-expansion period. Already stocked with too many starters, pitchers like Michael Gosling would have to wait.
"It was a matter of giving us an extra arm," Melvin said. "We've had some games this year [where] we needed guys to finish games, so this is the way it works out."
Rotation set through trip: The team had previously announced that Dustin Nippert would make his Major League debut on Thursday in Pittsburgh and Shawn Estes would come off the DL to start the opener of the series in Colorado. Right-hander Claudio Vargas will start on Saturday at Coors Field, and Melvin said on Tuesday that Russ Ortiz would start the Sunday afternoon contest.
The earliest rookie Brad Halsey -- the lefthander who, along with Brandon Webb, is among Arizona's most consistent starters this season -- could start would be on Tuesday at home against the Milwaukee Brewers. Melvin said that because Halsey, who was available on Tuesday night out of the bullpen, passed a professional career high in innings pitched, the team would lax his load and give other youngsters a chance.
"We found out we know what we have in him and know he will be a fixture in the rotation next year," Melvin said. "His innings were just adding up, so it's something we just don't feel like we need to push him right now. This gives us a chance to get Nippert in there. That's not to say [Halsey] won't start again [this season], it's just where we are right now."
New guy across the dugout: The Pirates relieved manager Lloyd McClendon of his duties on Tuesday afternoon before the game. Pete Mackanin, the team's bench coach this season, was named interim manager.
McClendon had been with Pittsburgh for almost five seasons and played in the Majors at the same time as Melvin, whom he also managed against. Melvin expressed sympathy for a fellow member of the managing fraternity.
"I've always thought he does a very nice job with a low payroll and not a whole lot to work with," Melvin said. "He's a very competitive guy."
Diamondbacks bench coach Jay Bell played with McClendon from 1990-94 with the Pirates and said he had little doubt that McClendon would find future employment in baseball.
"Every manager gets fired at some point or another," Bell said. "Unfortunately for Mac, he was starting to get better and better at what he did. The front office just felt like it was time for a change around here."
Despite Pirates managing general partner Kevin McClatchy going on record saying the team desires a replacement with Major League managerial experience, some have speculated Bell is a candidate for the Pirates job that will be filled after the season concludes. Bell was a fan favorite in his eight seasons with the Pirates.
"Well, certainly I'm a bench coach with the specific purpose of trying to be a Major League manager," Bell said. "I'm certainly not sure if they have any thoughts about having me on as a manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but I grew up in the game here in Pittsburgh. This is a great place, a phenomenal town with a fan base that loves a blue-collar style of play. I have a real soft spot in my heart for Pittsburgh, so, no, I wouldn't mind it."
On deck: The D-Backs continue their three-game set in Pittsburgh on Wednesday as Brandon Webb (11-11, 3.88 ERA) faces Pirates lefty Mark Redman (5-14, 4.89 ERA). The game marks the final 4:05 p.m. MST starting time this season for Arizona.
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
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