Arizona Sports

Everyone knows who the top prospects in baseball are, but it is rare to see many of them play before they reach the majors.

The MLB Futures Game during All-Star weekend gives fans a chance to see these players while they are still in the minors.

All of the players selected to the Futures Game are incredibly talented, but some are much closer to the major leagues than others.

As a fantasy baseball player, it can be extremely difficult to keep a level head early in the year.

We know guys like Albert Pujols aren’t going to finish the year hitting .200, but what do you make of the players like Arizona Diamondbacks utility man Willie Bloomquist?

If you’re speculating for speed, it would be best to keep an eye on how much playing time the 33-year-old receives.

Diamondbacks’ manager Kirk Gibson was interviewed today on the Gambo and Ash show on KTAR 620 AM.  Gibson gave a few updates on how spring is going and the progress he’s seeing in some of the players.  Below are some notable remarks that he made.

Ian Kennedy is the opening day starter.

The decision about who will comprise the back of the rotation just got a little easier for Kirk Gibson.  One of the three players vying for the fourth and fifth spots the rotation, Zach Duke, was injured on Saturday after taking a line drive off his pitching hand.  He suffered two broken bones in the hand and will be out six to eight weeks.

Trouble at the Top?

Spring training is spring training.  A time for fans to slather on the sun screen, throw a towel down on the outfield lawn, and try to suck down a cold beverage before it becomes a lukewarm cup of swill.

This week, the Seattle Mariners rebuffed fan demands and shunned fan favorite Bobby Valentine in favor of former Cleveland manager Eric Wedge.    

Chances are that if you were around, you remember the 1986 baseball season.

A season capped by an exciting World Series that was best known for being the launching pad for several successful major league careers, including those of Barry Bonds, Greg Maddux, Mark McGwire, Fred McGriff, Barry Larkin, David Cone, Bo Jackson, Jamie Moyer, Steve Finley, Will Clark, and Rafael Palmeiro.

"And that's the rest of the story" was, of course, the famous phrase uttered countless times by the late, great, Paul Harvey.

For those readers too young or too sheltered to remember the immortal radio legend, Harvey gave listeners the endings to stories that were newsworthy one day and faded away from our memories the next. Harvey would present to listeners the happy or ironic outcome of a story long since forgotten.