After his team won five straight games at home, Arizona Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall joined Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Thursday to talk about the team’s hot play, among several topics.
“That was a great homestand,” Hall said with a laugh.
“To take care of business when you look at the probables we had to match up against (Cubs pitchers Justin) Steele and (Kyle) Hendricks, who always baffles us… that was a great series to sweep. And then you go into this two-game series against the Giants and they probably felt like they had to win both and for us to walk out of their with a mini-series sweep, five straight wins there at home … for us to jump from the four-spot to the two-spot, it can happen again.”
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The D-backs are now a game-and-a-half up in the second wild card spot in the National League.
Arizona now takes to the road for six games as they visit the New York Yankees for three and then the Chicago White Sox for three.
“When you go into Yankee Stadium with a young team… you hope your young guys don’t go in there and say ‘Whoa, there are the monuments,’” Hall said. “I hope we do what we need to do on the road, because you would hate for it to come down to those final three against the Astros.”
Corbin Carroll
Hall was glowing over his rookie outfielder.
Carroll joined the 25-home run, 50-stolen base club on Wednesday night.
“He’s unbelievable, he’s truly unbelievable,” Hall said. Carroll “should be rookie of the year.”
Hall said that Carroll is a “true five-tool player,” comparing him to Raúl Mondesi from Hall’s time with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Saying of Mondesi, “the arm, the speed, the power, and the fielding; he had it all.”
“Corbin is truly that. You see a different aspect of his game every day. He’s always a difference maker,” Hall said. “The best thing about Corbin Carroll is, he doesn’t even realize how good he is. He’s so humble.”
Mike Hazen
Questions have been circulating around Diamondbacks executive vice president and general manager Mike Hazen for days, following the release of Chaim Bloom from the Boston Red Sox.
Hazen came to Arizona from Boston in 2016.
But when Hall was asked on a scale of 1-to-10 how concerned he was about Hazen leaving, he went off the scale.
“I’m a zero,” Hall said flatly. “Mike and I have had several conversations. He’s very happy where he’s at. He’s proud of the team he’s built.
“Three months ago, I went to him and said ‘Hey, we’ve got about one year left on your contract, why don’t we start talking about extensions.’ I’m very confident he’s going to be here.”
Merrill Kelly
Starting pitcher Merrill Kelly’s health has been a topic of concern for the D-backs, especially when pitching at home.
The right-hander has battled leg cramps in his previous starts, which he has attributed to the heat in the stadium.
“The chill system was working great on Wednesday,” Hall joked. “The weather has turned a bit, knock on wood. Anytime you can see Merrill go back into form … for him to shut down 11-straight, yeah, I definitely felt good about that start.”
Things were much better on Wednesday, as Kelly threw 6.2 innings of one-run ball against the Giants.