East Valley Tribune (Mesa, AZ) articles from May 2001

East Valley Tribune (Mesa, AZ) archives from May 2001

Diamondbacks fall to Mets.
May 6, 2001... Byline: Ed Price NEW YORK _ Five months from now, when 162 games have been completed, it will be one small play of thousands, a mistake in the most basic of baseball tasks: catch and throw. But Friday it loomed large in the Arizona...

Tough going for Diamondbacks at Shea.
May 6, 2001... Byline: Ed Price NEW YORK _ If they can't make it here, can they make it anywhere? Including the 1999 Division Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks have lost nine of their past 10 games at Shea Stadium, home of the New York (New York)...

Diamondbacks lack that scoring punch.
May 6, 2001... Byline: Ed Price NEW YORK _ The four runs scored against the bullpen didn't matter. The two-out RBI single by light-hitting Rey Ordonez in the third inning didn't even matter. No, the Arizona Diamondbacks were pretty much doomed...

Suns need better health, better shooters.
May 6, 2001... Byline: Mike Tulumello Before training camp started last fall, Scott Skiles was asked what aspect of his Phoenix Suns worried him the most. With little hesitation, the coach answered: A) The Suns' health. B) Whether his team...

Suns must pay tax in cap game.
May 6, 2001... Byline: Mike Tulumello In trying to improve this summer, the Phoenix Suns will need to keep a new salary cap in mind. No, not the old "fake" salary cap. We're talking about a real impediment to spending: the new, dollar-for-dollar...

Swann aims to heal rift in retirement.
May 6, 2001... Byline: Darren Urban He left Arizona under strained circumstances after his career fizzled in an injury-riddled fade. But Eric Swann kept his home in Paradise Valley. And the former Cardinals defensive tackle, who announced his...

Stevens' brother finds envy on Derby Day.
May 6, 2001... Byline: Slim Smith It is 2:45 p.m. and 40-year-old Scott Stevens is sprawled out on a sofa in the jockey's room at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, glancing sleepy-eyed at the 19-inch color TV in the middle of the room. The picture of...

Dellucci becomes D-backs' latest loss at Shea.
May 7, 2001... Byline: Ed Price NEW YORK _ Shea Stadium struck the Arizona Diamondbacks again, this time costing them outfielder David Dellucci. Although Arizona won Sunday for just the second time in its last 11 games at the New York Mets' home,...

Schilling, Gonzalez stay hot.
May 7, 2001... Byline: Ed Price NEW YORK _ It can't be said for the Arizona Diamondbacks as a whole, but Luis Gonzalez and Curt Schilling are definitely off to the best starts of their careers. Gonzalez hit his major-league-leading 15th homer in...

Minicamp a cleansing experience.
May 7, 2001... Byline: Darren Urban Arizona Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis didn't necessarily see crisp football over the three-day minicamp that finished Sunday morning. That wasn't surprising, given all the new information being fed to the players. ...

Lee's trade to Phillies could save career.
May 12, 2001... Byline: Scott Bordow Your picture-perfect swing has disappeared. Your confidence is shot. Your nickname should be F-7 for all the lazy fly balls you hit to left field. Where don't you want to go? Philadelphia. The city of...

Reynoso throws with no pain, but still likely to miss next start.
May 12, 2001... Byline: Dan Zeiger Armando Reynoso on Friday threw a baseball for the first time in a week and experienced no pain, but the Arizona Diamondbacks are no closer to giving the veteran the ball for his next scheduled start. "Armando is not...

Phillies chilly to Schilling; former team blasts 4 HRs to beat D-Backs.
May 12, 2001... Byline: Dan Zeiger PHOENIX _ For the second time in four days, a tall left-handed pitcher named Randy bewildered his opposition in a game at Bank One Ballpark. While the Arizona Diamondbacks' Randy Johnson blew hitters away for 20...

Pittman signs one-year contract; but wavers on staying longer.
May 12, 2001... Byline: Darren Urban As expected, running back Michael Pittman signed his one-year tender offer with the Arizona Cardinals on Friday. But if there comes a time when the Cardinals try to sign him to a longer deal this coming season _ he...

Late support helps Johnson beat Phils.
May 14, 2001... Byline: Ed Price PHOENIX _ The score may show that the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1. But for Randy Johnson, it was not easy. It never is. While Johnson had to wait eight innings for some...

Knights looks for key to unlocking his potential at ASU.
May 14, 2001... Byline: Bob Moran TEMPE, Ariz. _ Donnell Knight and Arizona State coaches are still searching for the key that will unlock the potential he showed as an All-American high school player at Corona del Sol. They hope they find it this...

Grace, Diamondbacks defeat Cubs.
May 19, 2001... Byline: Ed Price CHICAGO _ Of the 851 singles Mark Grace has hit at Wrigley Field, the one Friday may have been the most satisfying. Grace drove home the first two runs of the Arizona Diamondbacks' 4-0 defeat of his former team, the...

Womack showing good signs at the top.
May 19, 2001... Byline: Ed Price CHICAGO _ Tony Womack didn't see his move from Arizona Diamondbacks leadoff man to the seventh spot in the order as punishment. In any case, it seems to be over. Womack returned to the top of manager Bob Brenly's...

Bowls in Hawaii moving to West Coast.
May 19, 2001... Byline: Bob Moran Standing in a terminal at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport the day after Christmas, Arizona State linebacker Solomon Bates swore to a reporter that he wouldn't go back to Hawaii if the Sun Devils won the right to...

Diamondbacks fall to Cubs.
May 20, 2001... Byline: Ed Price CHICAGO _ First place was fleeting. The Arizona Diamondbacks' five-game winning streak ended Saturday when their pitching finally faltered, allowing an ongoing shortcoming _ lack of situational hitting _ to catch up...

Matt Williams making progress.
May 20, 2001... Byline: Ed Price CHICAGO _ Matt Williams tested his strained left hip flexor Saturday by taking batting practice at Wrigley Field, and the two balls he hit onto Waveland Ave. showed he is making progress. Williams, who suffered the...

When is it time to go for aging veterans.
May 20, 2001... Byline: Ed Price At times we become fascinated with athletes and their realization _ or not _ that their career is over. An individual, such as boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, can decide his own retirement. But in a team game, when someone...

Some aspects of sports graduation are unfair.
May 20, 2001... Byline: Bob Moran Ever since the introduction of Proposition 48 in the mid-1980s to standardize academic requirements for an athletic scholarship, the publication and evaluation of graduation rates has become a yearly ritual in big-time...

Cardinals expected to change divisions, rivalries.
May 20, 2001... Byline: Darren Urban Daren Sigrist has never had to go far from his Tempe home to see his beloved Dallas Cowboys, since they visit the Arizona Cardinals and Sun Devil Stadium once a year. Such was the benefit of the Cardinals remaining...

Arizona State meets Texas Tech.
May 25, 2001... Byline: Bob MORAN FULLERTON, Calif. _ With a probable matchup with the top-seeded team and its ace on Saturday, Arizona State and Texas Tech figure their matchup is critical to advancing out of the Cal State-Fullerton Regional. The...

Switzer high on the draft list.
May 25, 2001... Byline: Bob Moran FULLERTON, Calif. _ Jon Switzer had little expectations when he arrived at Arizona State three years ago. Now the pitcher has high expectations of being an early round draft pick. Major League Baseball conducts its...

Diamondbacks fall to Padres.
May 25, 2001... Byline: Ed Price SAN DIEGO _ The Arizona Diamondbacks did not look like a first-place team Thursday, and by 5 p.m., they weren't. In a 3-1 loss to the San Diego Padres, who took over the top spot in the National League West, the...

Arizona State in a lineup game.
May 26, 2001... Byline: Bob Moran FULLERTON, Calif. _ Pat Murphy said he wasn't playing head games. He just changed his mind. Murphy initially announced a dramatically different lineup that had center fielder Chris Duffy leading off, second baseman...

Arizona State defeats Texas Tech.
May 26, 2001... Byline: Bob Moran FULLERTON, Calif. _ Chris Duffy tried to pretend Arizona State's first-round NCAA baseball regional contest against Texas Tech was just like any other game. But his mind couldn't control his emotions. "I was...

Reynoso feeling better.
May 26, 2001... Byline: Ed Price SAN DIEGO _ Armando Reynoso's one night in Las Vegas paid off. Reynoso rejoined the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday, the day after a successful minor-league rehabilitation start got him ready to come off the disabled...

Diamondbacks defeat Padres.
May 26, 2001... Byline: Ed Price SAN DIEGO _ All the Arizona Diamondbacks offense needed was a little help. OK, a lot of help. The San Diego Padres committed five errors Friday, three in a six-run third inning that keyed the D-Backs' 7-1 victory. ...

Did Ben Davis break unwritten no-hitter rule?
May 27, 2001... Byline: Jerry Brown SAN DIEGO _ When Curt Schilling extended what was then a perfect game by striking out the side with a flourish in the San Diego seventh inning, Padres catcher Ben Davis decided it was time to pull out all the stops on...

Mantei's return delayed.
May 27, 2001... Byline: Ed Price SAN DIEGO _ Matt Mantei's simulated game has been postponed until at least Tuesday, meaning the Arizona Diamondbacks closer will not come off the disabled list until after this road trip. Mantei played catch before...

Schilling's perfect game bid ends on questionable bunt single.
May 27, 2001... Byline: Ed Price SAN DIEGO _ Neither the weather nor Curt Schilling was perfect here this weekend, but Schilling came a lot closer. Schilling made a bid for the first no-hitter in Arizona Diamondbacks history, going 7 1/3 perfect...

Don't hate gay athletes.
May 27, 2001... Byline: Scott Bordow Brendan Lemon, editor in chief of Out Magazine _ which calls itself "America's premier monthly magazine of gay and lesbian culture," _ recently wrote that he's in the midst of a long-term love affair with a...

Brenly's return to San Francisco bittersweet (Ex-Giant never got chance to manage team).
May 28, 2001... Byline: Ed PRICE SAN DIEGO _ Bob Brenly returns to San Francisco on Monday, his first time there in a uniform other than the one the Giants wear. And while he won't say he arrives (as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks) with bitterness...

Gonzo sits for first time in 214 games.
May 28, 2001... Byline: Ed PRICE SAN DIEGO _ The day finally came. For the first time, manager Bob Brenly on Sunday left Luis Gonzalez off the Arizona Diamondbacks lineup card. Gonzalez had started 214 straight Diamondbacks regular-season games...

Diamondbacks rally past Padres with 4-run ninth.
May 28, 2001... Byline: Ed Price SAN DIEGO _ All season, the Arizona Diamondbacks bench had come up big. And when the bench became the lineup Sunday, those players still came through. No Luis Gonzalez, no Mark Grace, no problem. Spot starters David...

Elbow pain cuts short Mantei's side session.
May 29, 2001... Byline: Ed PRICE SAN FRANCISCO _ Matt Mantei cut short a side session Monday, the biggest concern in a bad day for the Arizona Diamondbacks late-inning relievers. Mantei, who has been on the disabled list since suffering a torn elbow...

The Late Show continues for Diamondbacks.
May 29, 2001... Byline: Ed PRICE SAN FRANCISCO _ Get those pesky starters out of here. Bring on the relievers. For the second straight day, the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday scored on one of the game's top closers. And when that wasn't enough,...