{"id":44770,"date":"2021-03-20T01:17:04","date_gmt":"2021-03-20T05:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=44770"},"modified":"2021-03-21T01:35:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-21T05:35:45","slug":"diamondbacks-spring-training-20210319-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2021\/03\/20\/diamondbacks-spring-training-20210319-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona Diamondbacks Spring Training 2021 Notes: March 19"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arizona Diamondbacks Spring Training Notes: March 19<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are 12 days left in Arizona Diamondbacks spring training. Here are the updates from Friday, March 19….<\/p>\n

They have a lineup full of guys who can play several positions, giving manager Torey Lovullo a lot of flexibility. Someone asked if that makes things more challenging as a manager. Lovullo said it wasn\u2019t any more challenging than other aspects of being a manager. To him, it\u2019s like a chess match. He feels it\u2019s up to him to put the pieces in the places that are most advantageous to the team.<\/p>\n

Left-handed pitcher Caleb Smith had a rocky spring leading into Friday\u2019s exhibition game against the Milwaukee Brewers<\/a>. Before the game, Lovullo said he wanted to see Smith \u201cestablish his pitches from the get-go.\u201d He continued, \u201cI want him to make things easier on himself.\u201d This included feeling good from the time he walked out of the bullpen, executing pitches and pitch plans, and keeping his pitch count down.<\/p>\n

The team is keeping Taylor Clarke, Taylor Widener, and Alex Young \u201cstretched out\u201d so that they can be used in an emergency spot-start. It\u2019s been challenging for the coaching staff, since they\u2019re planning to \u201ccarry 14 guys into the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kole Calhoun will get some regular batting practice on Sunday. The team will use this as a benchmark to see how much more time he\u2019ll need to fully recover from his knee surgery.<\/p>\n

Diamondbacks Spring Training Player Notes<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Caleb Smith<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Smith\u2019s approach to the game was to \u201cpound the strike zone.\u201d The two hard-hit balls in the first inning were sliders that he hung. Other than that, he felt that his performance was an improvement over his previous starts this spring. \u201cIt felt good to go out there and do better \u2014 to have better command of a lot more pitches,\u201d Smith said. He said that he goes through slow starts \u201cpretty much every spring, so I knew that I would come around. I knew I would figure everything out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking a lead early helped, especially since it came from a three-run tape-measure home run off the bat of Christian Walker. \u201cAny time we take the lead first, that\u2019s definitely a sigh of relief for the pitcher.\u201d Smith continued, \u201cBut at the same time, you can\u2019t get too comfortable when you have the lead like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, he feels good about where he is. \u201cObviously, there\u2019s always room for improvement. The only thing I could say that I wish that I had more of right now is (velocity), but that will come as the season goes on.\u201d He likes where his breaking balls and off-speed pitches are right now, with the exception of the two sliders he hung in the first inning. Smith also loved batting on Friday. He put it bluntly. \u201cI love hitting \u2014 I think I like hitting more than I like pitching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christian Walker<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Walker \u201cfeels competitive\u201d at the plate. \u201cIt\u2019s comforting to be able to make some adjustments on the fly,\u201d Walker said. \u201cFor example, in the first at-bat, I swung over a couple of breaking balls. I was a little jumpy to the heater and thinking about the sinker in, maybe. But I told myself, \u2018Back it up. Relax. You\u2019ve got time.\u2019 All of a sudden, there was a good pitch to hit.\u201d That pitch landed halfway up the berm after a towering three-run homer to left-center. But Walker wasn\u2019t satisfied with the result so much as the approach he took. \u201cYeah, the result\u2019s great, (and the home run) was awesome, but to be able to feel myself making these adjustments in the moment is important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

One reason why he feels competitive is that he\u2019s \u201cnot going out of (his) way to hit the ball in the air. It\u2019s seems like it\u2019s just happening right now.\u201d That\u2019s another great feeling for him, and it\u2019s another reason why he feels competitive. \u201cIt\u2019s a matter of timing and direction, and I feel that good things are going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lovullo Reflects Postgame<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard struggled in the eighth inning. He surrendered a double, a single and stolen base, a wild pitch that scored a run, a homer, another single and stolen base, a hit batsman (on the dome), and a double steal, in that order. Suspicions arose that something was wrong. When Clippard motioned to the dugout, it confirmed those suspicions. According to Lovullo, Clippard had \u201cright shoulder discomfort.\u201d More specific evaluation is pending. As far as Lovullo knew, there was not one specific pitch that sparked the feeling in Clippard\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n

Lovullo said that Caleb Smith did \u201ca nice job\u201d of \u201cattacking the zone.\u201d He was pleased that Smith pitched into the fifth inning, but also that his \u201cfastball command was much better.\u201d Furthermore, \u201cthe secondary stuff off of that was more consistent.\u201d Smith was \u201cable to fine-tune some things,\u201d and Lovullo \u201cthought it was a good outing for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>