Arizona Diamondbacks News, 4/27: Mexi-cans or Mexi-can’ts?

Noticias del equipo

[AZ Central] Diamondbacks president cites reasons to play this Mexico City series – Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall said, “We want to build our fan base in Mexico. We’ve always had a desire to sign a Mexican-born player who can hopefully be a star one day. All those are reasons to want to be there.” The Diamondbacks are giving up two home dates at Chase Field to facilitate the series. Hall said MLB will “replace the revenue that we would have otherwise seen” by calculating the average of what they had made in comparable series in the past. “They’re just trying to make us whole,” Hall said. [SI] What D-backs’ Uneven Mexico City Series Told Us — And What It Didn’t – What’s going wrong for Ryne Nelson? His ERA is up to 7.71 after he surrendered six runs in five innings in game two, including two home runs. He threw fastballs for over two-thirds of his pitches and struggled with leaving his secondary pitches in hittable locations. Nelson has struggled like this in the past, and came out of it looking like a different pitcher. But he will need to find a way to lean on his entire arsenal more reliably, or hitters will continue to sit on his fastball — as deadly as that offering may be. [Arizona Sports] C Adrian Del Castillo leaves game vs. Padres after being hit by foul tip – Del Castillo left Sunday’s game against the San Diego Padres due to a left ring finger dislocation. With one out and a runner on first base in the third inning, Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill fouled a ball off Del Castillo’s glove, and his immediate reaction showed he was in pain. He tried to shake it off, but after working with the trainers and flexing his right hand, the D-backs catcher left the game, and James McCann replaced him.

Y, en otros lugares…

[MLB.com] A microwave and a steamer? How MLB players break in their gloves – During Spring Training, I came across a sight in the Arizona Diamondbacks clubhouse that made me do a double take: A steamer. When a player lifted the lid, steam rose into the air, and what came out was not freshly steamed pork buns, but baseball cleats and a glove. “Wait … a steamed glove?” I asked. “What is this supposed to be?” The explanation was simple: Steam helps soften leather, especially in Arizona’s dry climate. Speaking further with players and staff, it became clear that glove care methods vary widely. [ESPN] Mets’ Baty sees bases-loaded walk changed to inning-ending strike – Done in by a robot reversal, Brett Baty of the New York Mets became the first batter to have a bases-loaded walk changed to an inning-ending called third strike by Major League Baseball’s new challenge system. Instead of moving ahead 1-0, the Mets never led all day as they were swept. The Rockies won the nightcap 3-0 for a three-game series sweep, sending the Mets to their 15th loss in 17 games. [*We are now a month into the season. As we all predicted, the Mets and Phillies, #1 and #3 in cash payroll, are tied for the worst record in the majors*]