Notes: DaVanon not yet a cannon
02/24/2006
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Throwing a ball is like riding a bicycle, and Jeff DaVanon has no concerns about letting his arm coast along in low gear in the early stages of Spring Training.
DaVanon is vying for a spot in the Diamondbacks' outfield rotation, but for the time being, he is not pushing his arm, easing it back to full strength after suffering a minor injury during the American League Championship Series last fall, when he played for the Angels. He played through the injury in October, and is confident that it won't slow him down this spring.
"It's progressing well, and I don't see it being a problem for this year," DaVanon said. "I'm on a throwing program. My amount and distance is being regulated. The only reason why they're being cautious is because these games don't count. Hopefully, knock on wood, I'll make the team and I can try and contribute during that season instead of during the spring."
General manager Josh Byrnes shares DaVanon's optimism about his prospects of contributing to the club.
"He'll be in our outfield mix and can play all three [outfield positions]," Byrnes said. "He can throw. We examined him before we signed him, so we just want to be careful. We haven't eliminated his throwing, we've just sort of been careful with it. He played catch out to 120 feet. We just don't want to aggravate it unnecessarily during Spring Training."
More important than the progression of his arm has been his own progression as a member of the D-Backs after spending his entire big league career -- parts of six seasons -- with the Angels.
"I'm still adjusting to a new team," DaVanon said. "I'd been with the same team for so long. There are different personalities, but I have nothing but good things to say about the guys here, and I've had a lot of fun."
M's on the mend: Southpaw Terry Mulholland and righty Brandon Medders are also taking it slow as they ease themselves back from muscle spasms and a tweaked scapula muscle, respectively.
Medders has yet to throw a bullpen session, but has been throwing long toss over the past two days.
"This is something when you have little aches and pains, things that are bothering you, especially for a guy like him, we want to make sure that we take care of that early in camp," manager Bob Melvin said of Medders. "It's one of the things I told the pitchers on Day 1: if you have some ailments now, let's hear about them now, because we don't want these things lingering into games when you're trying to get ready for a season. We're just trying to be proactive and get him healthy before he goes out there."
Mulholland threw a side session Friday and will likely take the mound for batting practice soon. Melvin, who managed Mulholland in Seattle, is eager to watch the left-hander strengthen the relief corps with his veteran presence.
"Terry will take a leadership role out there in the bullpen," Melvin assured. "He's a guy that if you need three innings, he'll give them to you. If you need an out, he'll give it to you. If you need a spot start, he'll give them to you. He has a resilient arm, always has. He isn't afraid to pick the team up."
Mound maestro: Orlando Hernandez was already in fine form pitching live batting practice Friday, and Melvin enjoyed the opportunity to watch his new starter tuning up his stuff.
"It's impressive to watch him add and subtract, and throw three different changeups, and [use] any number of different arm angles," Melvin noted. "It's a little more difficult with the [batting practice] screen there for him to get some of the arm angles, but his fastball can be three different fastballs, and on his breaking ball, he's got great feel and spin on the ball and great touch. He's had a lot of success because of it.
"He's almost like a point guard out there," continued Melvin. "He's very aware of who's up, what the situations are, and he has great awareness out on the mound of who can potentially hurt him, and who can't -- who he can pitch to, and who he can't. That's something that comes with the experience he has."
Melvin has been especially impressed with El Duque's work ethic, singling him out for his determination during fielding practice.
"It's like having another shortstop on the field," Melvin marveled. "He's a tremendous athlete, and he knows that fielding his position is going to go a long way for him. He's doing the intangible stuff. Very impressive."
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Throwing a ball is like riding a bicycle, and Jeff DaVanon has no concerns about letting his arm coast along in low gear in the early stages of Spring Training.
DaVanon is vying for a spot in the Diamondbacks' outfield rotation, but for the time being, he is not pushing his arm, easing it back to full strength after suffering a minor injury during the American League Championship Series last fall, when he played for the Angels. He played through the injury in October, and is confident that it won't slow him down this spring.
"It's progressing well, and I don't see it being a problem for this year," DaVanon said. "I'm on a throwing program. My amount and distance is being regulated. The only reason why they're being cautious is because these games don't count. Hopefully, knock on wood, I'll make the team and I can try and contribute during that season instead of during the spring."
General manager Josh Byrnes shares DaVanon's optimism about his prospects of contributing to the club.
"He'll be in our outfield mix and can play all three [outfield positions]," Byrnes said. "He can throw. We examined him before we signed him, so we just want to be careful. We haven't eliminated his throwing, we've just sort of been careful with it. He played catch out to 120 feet. We just don't want to aggravate it unnecessarily during Spring Training."
More important than the progression of his arm has been his own progression as a member of the D-Backs after spending his entire big league career -- parts of six seasons -- with the Angels.
"I'm still adjusting to a new team," DaVanon said. "I'd been with the same team for so long. There are different personalities, but I have nothing but good things to say about the guys here, and I've had a lot of fun."
M's on the mend: Southpaw Terry Mulholland and righty Brandon Medders are also taking it slow as they ease themselves back from muscle spasms and a tweaked scapula muscle, respectively.
Medders has yet to throw a bullpen session, but has been throwing long toss over the past two days.
"This is something when you have little aches and pains, things that are bothering you, especially for a guy like him, we want to make sure that we take care of that early in camp," manager Bob Melvin said of Medders. "It's one of the things I told the pitchers on Day 1: if you have some ailments now, let's hear about them now, because we don't want these things lingering into games when you're trying to get ready for a season. We're just trying to be proactive and get him healthy before he goes out there."
Mulholland threw a side session Friday and will likely take the mound for batting practice soon. Melvin, who managed Mulholland in Seattle, is eager to watch the left-hander strengthen the relief corps with his veteran presence.
"Terry will take a leadership role out there in the bullpen," Melvin assured. "He's a guy that if you need three innings, he'll give them to you. If you need an out, he'll give it to you. If you need a spot start, he'll give them to you. He has a resilient arm, always has. He isn't afraid to pick the team up."
Mound maestro: Orlando Hernandez was already in fine form pitching live batting practice Friday, and Melvin enjoyed the opportunity to watch his new starter tuning up his stuff.
"It's impressive to watch him add and subtract, and throw three different changeups, and [use] any number of different arm angles," Melvin noted. "It's a little more difficult with the [batting practice] screen there for him to get some of the arm angles, but his fastball can be three different fastballs, and on his breaking ball, he's got great feel and spin on the ball and great touch. He's had a lot of success because of it.
"He's almost like a point guard out there," continued Melvin. "He's very aware of who's up, what the situations are, and he has great awareness out on the mound of who can potentially hurt him, and who can't -- who he can pitch to, and who he can't. That's something that comes with the experience he has."
Melvin has been especially impressed with El Duque's work ethic, singling him out for his determination during fielding practice.
"It's like having another shortstop on the field," Melvin marveled. "He's a tremendous athlete, and he knows that fielding his position is going to go a long way for him. He's doing the intangible stuff. Very impressive."
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
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