Arizona Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick spent the winter that getting Brandon Webb back into…

With the uncertain status of Brandon Webb, newcomer Edwin Jackson's performance thus far this spring must be comforting for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The right-hander, acquired in a trade with the Detroit Tigers in the offseason, blanked the Los Angeles Angels on one hit through three innings in Arizona's 4-1 victory on Thursday.

With the uncertain status of Brandon Webb, newcomer Edwin Jackson's performance thus far this spring must be comforting for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The right-hander, acquired in a trade with the Detroit Tigers in the offseason, blanked the Los Angeles Angels on one hit through three innings in Arizona's 4-1 victory on Thursday.

Arizona manager A.J. Hinch says there's an increasing chance that Brandon Webb will start the season on the disabled list. Webb reached what Hinch called a "plateau" in his comeback from surgery on his right shoulder. He has not thrown a bullpen session for a week after saying he felt "stagnant" and was not making the progress he expected.

Justin Upton has joined the list of players the Diamondbacks have identified as long-term keepers.

After signing a six-year, $51.25 million contract extension March 2, Upton became the third D-backs player tied up through at least 2012. Dan Haren’s $44.75 million extension signed last August is good through 2012 with a team option for 2013, and Chris Young has a deal through 2013 with a team option for 2014.

The D-backs also are talking to Mark Reynolds and Miguel Montero about contract extensions this spring. Reynolds and the D-backs camp spoke March 5.

“Justin certainly is a core player,” D-backs general manager Josh Byrnes said. “This contract will keep him here through 2015 and allows us to build around him and our other core players.

One of the great things about sharing a birthday with the Arizona Diamondbacks is the fact that I am guaranteed seeing a baseball game that day. With Cactus League action now fully underway across Florida and Arizona, there is no shortage of baseball.

My family and I typically plan to attend a game on my birthday each year. Beginning in early January, we began looking over the spring schedules as they are released to find a game for Mar. 9. As a dedicated Diamondbacks fan, my first priority is always to see whether the team is playing in Phoenix or Tucson.

While Tucson is a great place to watch a Spring Training game, the logistics of getting down there and back in a day have many times eliminated that location from our plans. There have been years where we planned to go to Tucson Electric Park, only to have those plans destroyed by weather, traffic, or some unknown calamity.

This year, when the schedules were released, I was excited to see the Diamondbacks would be in Goodyear to face the Cincinnati Reds. This is the first season for the Cincinnati Reds in the Cactus League after they left the Grapefruit League after the 2009 Spring Training season.

The Reds share a stadium complex with the Cleveland Indians, who returned to the Cactus League last season. The Goodyear Ballpark is the farthest west of all the Spring Training facilities. From the east valley that means nearly an hour of travel time.

An hour does not seem like a lot especially when compared to the distances between parks in Florida but it does present some interesting circumstances. When we left the house to go to the game, it was raining fairly hard in Chandler.

I would have bet money the game would be rained out. As I was driving, I continued questioning what I was doing driving all that way to find an empty stadium. Strangely, as I got closer to Goodyear the rain subsided and stopped.

The Goodyear Ballpark is similar in structure to the Surprise complex, where the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals train. Given the newness of the stadium there are very few trees or landscaping besides the grass areas.

The wind has a tendency to blow most of the time at Goodyear. The stadium does a good job of keeping out the wind with most of the seating areas protected.

The stadium clearly caters to families. Along the first base side beyond the concession stands are kids areas featuring a small baseball diamond, inflatable toys, and places for small fans to run off the extra energy they seem to have in abundance.

The field is well laid out with a fairly good sized outfield. It seemed odd to see the doors to the clubhouses in the right field wall meaning both teams walked across the outfield and infield areas to the dugout.

The bullpens for both home and visitors are beyond the left field wall and are adjacent to each other. There is a covered area for pitchers to sit and wait as well as two pitching rubbers to allow for warmups.

The foul areas behind the plate and along the infield are minimal. The good point of that is the close nature of the fans. It feels as though you are right on top of the action on the field. As a result of being so close, stadium designers extended the screen behind the plate to the ends of both dugouts.

This is an important point. If you don’t like to sit behind the net, you will need to request tickets beyond the dugouts towards left field and right field.

Most of the seats behind the plate stretching to the sections over the dugouts are in the shade at game time. For warm Arizona spring days, this is great. For days where it is cold, windy, and scattered rain showers the game can be very cold.

The team shop at Goodyear Stadium is fairly large and contains a lot of merchandise for both the Indians and the Reds. If you are looking for any opposing team merchandise you won’t find it here.

The concessions are modest. The biggest draw is Hot Dog Nation, which features several varieties of hot dogs. The most popular seemed to be the Chicago dog. Based on feedback from my family, they were great and are a must have.

I went with the bratwurst from Southwest Grille. It was not good. It came with grilled peppers and onions which tasted like really bad chili. It took most of the game for me to finally get it down and even then I wasn’t sure it would stay there. Overall the concessions would rate near the bottom when compared to other ballparks in the Cactus League.

The stadium features two “all inclusive” experiences which are marketing speak for all-you-can-eat. One section is beyond the right field wall and the other is on the press level of the stadium. Both of these were well attended. I did not see what types of food items these sections offered. Hopefully it wasn’t the brats.

The game itself was great. The Diamondbacks had a good outing by Billy Buckner who held the Reds hitters to two hits in three innings. Unfortunately those two hits were both home runs.

Luckily the Diamondbacks offense was able to answer scoring 10 runs in route to a 10-4 win. This was just the second win of the spring for Arizona and the first against a non-split-squad opponent.

Justin Upton looked good both in the field and at the plate. The star for me though was Conor Jackson who went 3-for-3 with a double. He looked completely recovered from valley fever and should put up good numbers this season.

The game against the Reds almost seemed like old home week for the Diamondbacks. Former Arizona pitching coach Bryan Price is now with the Reds as is former head trainer Paul Lassard. Micah Owings was there as well greeting his former teammates.

There were other dignitaries in the stands. Former Big Red Machine member George Foster was at the game signing autographs in the stands. I also ran into Diamondbacks General Manager Josh Byrnes who was sitting with the scouts behind the plate.

Speaking of scouts, former Arizona manager Bob Melvin was also in attendance. He happened to be getting a brat when I was. He was recognized by several fans and graciously signed autographs. I was curious whether Melvin would be sitting in the section with Byrnes but that didn’t happen.

Overall the stadium at Goodyear is a nice place to watch a ballgame. The stadium gives you great sight lines and protects you from the elements. There are places for the kids to play and friendly staff at every section willing to help.

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There seem to be certain days that stick out in your mind, where you can remember the exact place you were and what you were doing.

Many of these days are associated with historic events, such as the bombings of Sept. 11 or when man first walked on the moon.

March 9, 1995 is one of those days for me. I can recall even the minutest detail of that day as if it happened yesterday.

It started out like most any other Arizona day. The sun was shining with nary a cloud in the sky.

It was a workday, which meant that I was in the office wishing I had the day off. Major League Baseball was in the midst of a work stoppage. Spring training was happening around the valley, but the clubs were using replacement players in the games.

I was never a fan of the concept of using replacement players, but as a fan it was hard to take sides with either the owners or the players on this. They were both acting like children, and the ire of the fans was beginning to reach a boiling point.

Despite all of woes in baseball, it was still at the forefront of my mind that day. The owners had been meeting in Palm Beach, Florida that week. They had several items on their agenda, but for fans in Arizona, there was only one thing they were interested in: Would Major League Baseball again expand, and if so, would Arizona receive a franchise?

Jerry Colangelo and influential Arizona leaders were there waiting to hear. The expansion committee had met the day before and made their recommendations. Besides recommending two new franchises be added, they also met to set the price for what fees the teams would have to pay.

There are a lot of stories about that. Colangelo claims MLB pulled a fast one, significantly increasing the expansion fee just hours before the announcement. There were rumors that the proposed ownership groups considered walking away from what they viewed as extortion.

Despite all of the drama, no one flinched, and the prospective team owners agreed to the terms of expansion. What that behind them, baseball commissioner Bud Selig held a news conference to announce that just two years after MLB expanded to include Denver and Miami, they would award two new franchises.

The areas vying for new teams included Portland, Oregon; Northern Virginia; Orlando, Florida; Tampa Bay, Florida; and Phoenix, Arizona. The frontrunners were Tampa Bay and Phoenix, but baseball rarely does things conventionally, so baseball fans were not exactly sure what to expect.

At the press conference, Selig announced that baseball would expand by two teams and that the new franchises would begin play in 1998. The principal owners were allowed to unveil the team names and logos.

As we all know, the franchises awarded were the Tampa Bay Devil Rays—now the Tampa Bay Rays—and the Arizona Diamondbacks. I sat in my office listening to the announcement that Major League Baseball was coming to Arizona.

I had my wife Trina on the phone. She was at home watching the press conference describing the team logos, colors, and name. It should be noted that Trina’s first impression was that the Devil Rays logo and color scheme were much better than the purple and teal of Arizona.

It’s funny that within a decade both of these teams would change their logos, colors, and, in the case of Tampa Bay, their names. Perhaps Trina wasn’t as far off as I first imagined.

In 1995 there wasn’t much of an Internet, so getting this news was much more difficult than it would be today. Nonetheless, the news did travel throughout the valley, and baseball fans everywhere rejoiced in the knowledge that Major League Baseball was just three short years away from being played in Phoenix.

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Jake Westbrook allowed a run and three walks in 1 2-3 innings in his first game against major-league hitters since May 2008, and the Cleveland Indians beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Monday. Westbrook said he felt strong and was encouraged by his first outing since undergoing Tommy John surgery.

During the Arizona Diamondbacks FanFest at Chase Field last month, team officials discussed how they had begun conversations with the representatives of several of their core young players. Specifically, they named third baseman Mark Reynolds, catcher Miguel Montero, and outfielder Justin Upton.

Of the three it was assumed Reynolds would be the first to sign, with Upton being perhaps the hardest to sign to a long term contract due to his perceived value. It was therefore somewhat of a surprise when Upton was the first to agree to a long-term contract.

The deal was reportedly a six-year contract buying out all of Upton’s arbitration years plus two years of free agency. Given Upton’s meteoric rise and talent, it is my opinion this deal will look like a steal if he can remain healthy and progress as he has the past two seasons.

With Upton’s contract now completed, all of the focus has turned to Reynolds. Clearly all of the talk about his contract situation is beginning to wear on him. Each day when he reaches the ballpark he is asked by teammates, media members, and the fans what the status is of his contract.

The sound of his voice and his body language shows how much Reynolds is struggling with the questions and how much he wants to put this behind him. I have to wonder though, did the Upton contract help or hinder Reynolds?

It would be possible for Reynolds’ agent to make the case for a deal similar to the one Upton received. Looking back at the previous two years Reynolds has met or exceeded Upton in many offensive categories.

If Reynolds were represented by Scott Boras, this argument would be accompanied by a multimedia presentation describing in detail how Reynolds is not only a peer of Upton but his superior in many ways.

You could point to the 44 home runs and the 102 runs batted in. You would of course discount any mention of the 200 plus strikeouts for each of the previous two seasons; a stance Reynolds seems to be adept at.

There are of course a couple of fallacies on this argument. For one, Upton is much younger than Reynolds, meaning he is likely entering his prime the next two seasons, whereas Upton will be reaching that peak after this six-year contract is completed.

The ceiling on Upton is much higher as an overall player versus Reynolds. Defensively, both are less than a Gold Glove standard, but they both are making headway cutting down on mental mistakes in the field that cost the team runs.

It is rumored the Diamondbacks are interested in signing Reynolds to a two-year contract in the $13 million range. The Reynolds camp is counter proposing a $18 million package. Obviously a six million dollar gap is relatively large so there is a lot of work to do.

Announcing the Upton signing with financial details could be a bargaining point to either the team or Reynolds. From a team perspective they will point to the financial commitment they made to Upton as a way to describe the financial constraint they are under as a mid-market team.

From Reynolds perspective, his agent will use it to establish a baseline value comparing his value to not only Upton but also to Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder, a Scott Boras client.

While Reynolds wishes this contract distraction would just go away, expect to see this drama continue until either the gap between sides can be bridged or until Opening Day. Both the Diamondbacks and Reynolds do not want any negotiations going on during the season.

I can appreciate removing the distraction once the season starts, but I think both parties are naïve to assume the reporters will drop the subject once the season begins, especially if no contract has been agreed upon.

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What I’m Reading

• Uh-oh. Looks like “Broken” Brandon Webb might be starting the year on the DL. Yes, even after spending the past year on the DL.

• And how about Joe Nathan? Might be too early to tell, but this isn’t a good sign for the hopeful Twins.

• Dodgers catcher Russell Martin may be missing an extended period of time with a strained groin—who’s going to be filling in?

• Former Ranger Hank Blalock looks to be headed to the Sunshine State. Marlins or Rays?

•Angels infielder Howie Kendrick is looking to extend his stellar second half into a regular starting job this season. Who stands in his way?

What I Think About It

• “If we get 30 starts from him, great,” general manager Josh Byrnes said Friday, according to The Arizona Republic. “If we get 20, that’s great. We just need to get it right.”

Twenty starts from a former Cy Young winner is still better than 30 starts from an average starter, but who’s to say that at this point Brandon Webb is anything but average? We haven’t seen him pitch since his four innings on Opening Day last season.

Webb has been sidelined for 11 months now. He’s expected to be a crucial part of Arizona’s rise back to the top, but if he continues to be on again/off again over the course of the season, he won’t be of much help.

After injuring himself in his first start of the season last year, I understand the Diamondbacks’ hesitance to let him loose until he feels 100 percent.

But on more than one occasion last season he was on the brink of returning but faced a number of unexpected setbacks. I’m just afraid that if they keep waiting and waiting until he is absolutely ready, we’ll be seeing Webb sometime around July.

By then he’ll be a former Cy Young winner who hasn’t seen MLB action in a year and a half. Not quite as intimidating.

• We won’t know the results of Nathan’s test until tomorrow, but anytime a pitcher needs to be sent away from spring training to get testing on his elbow, it is never a good sign.

Luckily for the Twins, it’s still exceptionally early in spring training, and they have the ability to rest him for a bit. On the other hand, though, this likely pushes back his readiness for the season, as he hasn’t gotten much work in to this point.

Nathan is creeping up there in age, and with his history of elbow problems, it will pay off for the Twins to be extra cautious with him this spring.

I don’t expect him to start the season on the DL. The more likely scenario is that he’s delayed a week to a week and a half before he makes an appearance while he continues to get his strength up.

This is, of course, pending no structural damage found in the tests he was sent for. We’ll know more tomorrow.

• Good news for Los Angeles: Russell Martin’s goal is to be back for the season opener.

Bad news for Los Angeles: This type of injury (strained groin) is especially hard for catchers to come back from, hence the cautiousness.

Despite Martin’s aspirations to be in the lineup for Opening Day, manager Joe Torre expects him to be sidelined four to six weeks. 28-year-old perennial minor leaguer A.J. Ellis is slated to be the Dodgers’ backstop in Martin’s absence.

LA’s two-time All-Star catcher is going to do everything he can to return from this as quickly as possible. He’s a tough guy and will play with a few ounces of pain if he feels he has to.

“Russ is a guy who wants to play through injuries, play through pain,” trainer Stan Conte said, according to the LA Times. “That’s worked for him in the past. It won’t work with him with this particular injury.”

A.J. Ellis it is, then.

• Over the past few days, Hank Blalock has more or less narrowed his choices down to the Southeastern peninsula, specifically the Marlins and Rays.

It’s now looking like Tampa Bay is closing in on being the landing spot for the big fish.

Blalock experienced a roller coaster ride of successes and failures last season, showing good power numbers but a lack of consistency in his ability to get on base.

However, in a low-risk minor league deal, the Rays will be getting a 29-year-old former offensive threat that will be looking to rebound and prove to the American League that he can still be a valuable asset.

The deal is expected to be completed shortly, and if he signs, he’ll be backing up Carlos Pena and will also get some occasional DH time off the bench.

• Howie Kendrick had one of the more interesting stories of 2009.

He was expected to have a bit of a breakout season but instead came out of the gate exceptionally slow and was sent down to the minors.

Eventually he was called back up and had an astoundingly hot .351 average after July 4.

But he also never started more than four games in a row during his summer streak, splitting time at second base with Maicer Izturis.

Now that he’s re-established himself as a player capable of being in the lineup every day, Kendrick is looking forward to carrying his success into 2010.

“That feels good that I’m going to be an everyday player,” said Kendrick, according to the LA Times. “When you’re out there every day you have a chance to be even more consistent, so it’s awesome to know they believe in me as a player.”

Meanwhile, Izturis is expected to split time between third and second.

PD

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