Arizona Diamondbacks: Feeling of familiarity and expectation

By Mark Brown |

Manager Torey Lovullo (r) has created an environment of familiarity that's conducive to winning. (Norm Hall / Getty Images)

Through the opening days of spring training, there is a positive atmosphere coming from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

After one of many bullpen sessions which clogged the opening week schedule for the Arizona Diamondbacks, catcher Chris Herrmann walked forward to meet Zack Godley, who just completed his bullpen session Sunday morning. The two met halfway between the mound and the plate, and the greeting was warm with wide smiles.

This appeared like an old reunion of old friends, separated by distance and time, who renewed their association with spirit and elan. Herrmann was the first with a smile and an encouraging tap on Godley’s right shoulder. The event was obscure and hardly noticed. Yet, this warm association now characterizes the Diamondbacks’ approach to the season ahead.

There’s a strong feeling of familiarity in the camp, and, though relaxed and comfortable, this edition of the Diamondbacks recognizes the amalgam of comfort and urgency.

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Coming off post-season participation in 2017, the expectation is to extend the bar and continue to reach. While the remainder of the National League West reloaded, the Diamondbacks have remained virtually unchanged, and therein lays the comfort level. Plus, the gesture displayed by Herrmann and Godley on Sunday signals that level of familiarity which does not go unnoticed.

This was the observation of utility infielder Daniel Descalso, who told Call to the Pen that the previous season of success remains a strong foundation for the future.

“Last year was (manager) Torey (Lovullo’s) first year here, (GM) Mike (Hazen’s) first year here and my first year,” he said Sunday morning in the Diamondbacks’ Salt River clubhouse. “There’s the feeling now we want to pick up where we left off. We essentially have the same team back and there’s a continuity which was established.”

Given Lovullo’s insistence on unity and family, he managed to create a culture, brought in by players, conducive to a positive spin. In turn, that helped to forge an environment in which players renewed their passion for the game and their commitment to one another.

Going forward, Lovullo appears comfortable about the cultural change instituted, and told Call to the Pen that his players’ commitment is firm.

“This is a unique group,” he said Sunday after 12 pitchers threw bullpen sessions. “Many of these players grew up in this organization, and it’s a tribute to those who drafted them. So, they’ve become friends and supported each other for a long time. They are passionate, and at the same time, very good baseball players. They also pay attention to details and now lined up for a very special season.”

At the same time, Lovullo cautions against the obvious.

“We can’t rely on what happened here last season,” he told Call to the Pen Sunday. “It’s not like we roll the ball out there and something magic happens. They have to work for it and earn it.”

Monday is the day …

Position players report to the Salt River training facility on Monday. At this point, Lovullo told Call to the Pen Sunday, and all players are expected in camp.

Still, two pitchers, righthander Neftali Feliz and lefty Antonio Bastardo remain absent. On Sunday, Lovullo told Call to the Pen that Bastardo could arrive in camp as early as Monday, but Feliz could be a few days away. Both are addressing paperwork issues in the Dominican Republic, their home country.

Elsewhere…

Shortstop Chris Owings, who underwent surgery last July 30 for a fractured right middle finger and rehabbed for an extended period, has been cleared for all baseball activity.

For the first day of full-squad activity Monday, Lovullo told Call to the Pen there is no live batting practice. Players will hit on Tuesday, and the Diamondbacks open their spring slate Wednesday afternoon at Salt River against Arizona State University.

On Sunday, Lovullo would not reveal his starting pitcher against the ASU Sun Devils but assured Call to the Pen that information would be available the starting pitcher is notified. The Diamondbacks open their Cactus League season on Friday against the Colorado Rockies, a team whom they share the Salt River complex. For Friday, the Diamondbacks are the visiting team.

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For the coming weekend, the Diamondbacks have games at Salt River against the Cleveland Indians on Saturday and Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.

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