Team news
[Arizona Sports] Zac Gallen turned down multiyear deals to bet on himself with Diamondbacks – He opted to return to a comfortable place and bet on having a better season before entering free agency again. “We did have multiyear offers out there, which was nice from the security standpoint,” Gallen said. “I’ve always kind of bet on myself. I think I felt like I owed it to myself, owed to my family. I even owed it to the organization, the fans here, to come back, have a good year and prove my worth again and get that little added motivation. So that’s where my thought was, and see what happens again next year.”
[SI] Merrill Kelly Reacts to Being Named D-backs’ Opening Day Starter – For Kelly, it’s not an honor he takes lightly. “I’m honored, I’m humbled,” Kelly told reporters at Salt River Fields on Sunday. “Having watched now seven opening days and just the excitement that builds around that day, being able to be the guy to take the ball and get us going and kick us off means a lot, obviously. Coming back this year, forever grateful for the organization. Not only giving me the first chance to be a big-leaguer, but obviously continuing to believe in me throughout the course of my career. I think this just shows, again, that they believe in me to give me the ball and be that guy.”
[AZ Central] Diamondbacks owners talk payroll, Chase Field fixes, fan ‘partnership’ – Kendrick was asked about how he feels about manager Torey Lovullo’s job status: “Torey is the longest-serving Diamondback manager in history. He’s had some very outstanding results. We’ve had some years that things didn’t go as well. He’s comfortable in his contract status from his side of the table and I think we are comfortable from our side. I hope Torey will be Diamondback manager as long as I’m in ownership. I’m at a point where my time is probably moving — I’m rounding third. I don’t know if I’m on my way to home, but I’m rounding third. But we’re in a good place with Torey, and I think he with us.”
[Dbacks.com] D-backs owner Kendrick ‘very impressed’ with team’s offseason – “I talked to the guys about my feeling about how competitive I think they can be,” Kendrick said. “Obviously, it’s a big challenge with the folks over in L.A. [the Dodgers] being, as I said to someone the other day, the 900-pound gorilla, but my memory of the way it works in the jungle, the gorilla doesn’t win every fight. So I think we’re going to have a group of guys who are going to bust their butts through the year, and as I said to them, I expect and I hope our fans will see that we have a competitive club that’s going to be playing baseball in October this year.”
[Arizona Sports] Diamondbacks spend more money than anticipated in ‘complicated’ offseason – “Last year in payroll, we were in the top five when you think of percentage of your revenue are you spending on your team,” Kendrick said. “We’re back in that spot, probably. … I want to succeed. I want to win. I want to spend the money that we have, and maybe then some. And now two years in a row, we’ve done it. Last year, it didn’t work out like we would have wanted. I think we can acknowledge significant beyond norm injury was a factor… I feel like we owe it to the fans to go all in to the degree we can, and hopefully that our investment will pay off.”
[SI] Chase Field Stadium Repair Costs to Exceed Initial Estimates – Kendrick expounded on the challenges to get the HVAC system upgraded. “Over time, the piping that the cool air runs through becomes corroded and clogged. So we have a cooling plant that works like it always did, and produces the air it always produced, but we can’t get it through the system into the stadium at the level that we once could… The process of replacement is going to be so arduous, because just think about the miles of piping that there is in a stadium of the size of this, and the complete replacement of all of that, that’s a big time challenge and not easily done.”
[AZ Central] Diamondbacks looking to tighten up defense after ‘disgusting’ year – Said Perdomo: “I think the defense is going to be special this year. I feel like we made a lot of mistakes last year, including myself. I feel this year is going to be way, way different with those two guys.” Though some of his advanced defensive metrics viewed his 2025 season in a positive light, Perdomo saw things differently. “I just am putting more focus on my defense than last year. I have to push myself. I have to push myself to be proud. Always my defense has been a part of my game. It’s not right — it’s not fair to the team that I performed that way on defense. I know this year is going to be different.”
And, elsewhere…
[Boston.com] One of the rarest baseball cards is up for auction – “Typically, when people say they have a Wagner, I say ‘Send me a picture.’ If it’s not graded, it’s fake,” Goldin tells me. When the family sent Goldin a photo, “I magnified it on my iPhone. I’m looking (at) the card, like, “Holy sh—,” Goldin tells me with a laugh. “There’s a resource online where every single T206 Wagner that people know exists is listed. This card was not on there,” he says. “Which meant nobody knew about this card.” The current bid, per the website as of this writing: $3.9 million. When you factor in the “Buyer’s Premium” price, the actual price it would sell for if the auction closed now is $4,758,000.
[USA Today] Manny Machado says every team could spend like Dodgers: ‘I (expletive) love it’ – “I think our game is very good at what we’re doing,” Machado said. “There’s a lot of money being made. Look at what’s going on with the game. The last five years, it’s been great. So, I think a lot of teams have the ability to do what the Dodgers are doing. We started it a few years ago with [late owner] Peter [Seidler], so everyone could do it. It’s just a matter if they want to or not.” [In related news: Manny Machado once again proves, beyond any doubt, he is a (expletive) idiot.]
[Chicago Sun-Times] How ABS challenge system will affect MLB TV broadcasts – The strike-zone box, which has become as vital to baseball broadcasts as the first-down line is to football broadcasts, will remain on the screen but no longer will indicate whether a pitch was a ball or a strike. The change was made because that box now will be used for the ABS system, and MLB is doing everything it can to ensure no one can exploit it… MLB doesn’t want that feed shown anywhere in the ballpark except the broadcast booth to prevent teams from taking advantage of it. That means players in the clubhouse and dugout and fans waiting in line for concessions won’t see the strike-zone box on nearby televisions.
Exte: Hair Extensions (2007)
Rating: B+
Dir: Sion Sono
Star: Chiaki Kuriyama, Ren Ôsugi, Miku Satô, Tsugumi
This has such a mad premise, it needs a special talent to pull it off, and Sono knocks it out of the park. I mean, hair possessed by the angry spirit of a dead organ trafficking victim? Whose body and its ever-growing tresses get stolen by a morgue attendant Yamazaki (Ôsugi) with a hair fetish? He has a sideline in top of the line extensions, but his latest batch come with a side-effect: death. Typically caused by hair sprouting from your nails, eyes, tongue and any other orifices not normally requiring a shave. In extreme cases, these will act like the chains in Hellraiser. “Jesus wept” was one of my milder pithy exclamations during this.