Around NL West Spring Training, 3/16: Paging Dr. Jimenez

Diamondbacks The team was distinctly unimpressed by what appeared to be the Mariners’ Cliff Lee throwing at catcher Chris Snyder yesterday. Third baseman Mark Reynolds said, “It’s bush league. Stuff like that doesn’t need to happen anytime, especially in spring training. You’re messing with guys’ careers going up that high. I think something was intentional. I’ve faced Cliff Lee enough times to know he has amazing control.” Reynolds is right: over the past two seasons, only Roy Halladay and Kevin Slowey walked fewer batters per nine innings than Lee.

Dodgers True Blue LA have been impressed with the numbers put up by Ramon Ortiz this spring. “It would be great if Ortiz, who turns 37 a week from tomorrow, has suddenly turned over a new leaf as a pitcher,” they say, with Ortiz saying his time in Japan has helped him grow as a pitcher. However, they are not entirely convinced, this being spring training ‘n’ all – “Color me skeptical that Ramon Ortiz will make it” - though they note success from similar projects in the past, like Chan Ho Park.

Giants Rule 5 draft pick Steve Johnson has been sent back to the team from whom the Giants selected him, the Baltimore Orioles. Johnson allowed five hits and three runs in 4 2/3 innings this spring, but it was his lack of control which damned him – he walked six batters and hit another in that time. By the draft rules, he had to be kept on the 25-man roster all season, or offered back to the Orioles at half the price paid for him ($50,000). The Giants decided to cut their losses early with Johnson.

Padres Gaslamp Ball write poignantly about Adrian Gonzalez: “As a player with no speed in a ballpark that robs him of hits and home runs and on a team that can’t afford his services much longer this seems just about the worst place for him.” This follows up Adrian’s comments that "I play in San Diego, but I’m not playing for the name across the jersey." One wonders how long the first part will remain true.

Rockies Fascinating story on Ubaldo Jimenez growing up in the Dominican Republic. His mom was a nurse and his sister is studying to be a doctor, so if baseball hadn’t come calling, it’s likely he would have entered the medical profession too. He said, "I used to love medicine… It’s something I grew up seeing. Every time people got sick, my mom would be the one who helped make them better." Now, it’s just the reverse: seeing Jimenez tends to make opposing hitters feel sick.