PHOENIX — In Wednesday’s news conference prior to the Diamondbacks’ wild-card showdown against the Rockies at Chase Field, Arizona relief pitcher Archie Bradley admitted the onus was on first-year manager Torey Lovullo — who was hired last November following the team’s disastrous 69-93 season in 2016 — to set the tone in his initial address to the team.
“A lot of us, no offense to Torey, put a lot of pressure on him the first time he addressed us,” recalled Bradley. “What was going to be his message? What was his tone going to be, his demeanor, how he went about talking to us?”
And, as Bradley explained, while talk of “culture change” is often mere lip service in organizations that have gone through a recent reconstruction like the Diamondbacks did, Lovullo had his players believing from the start.
“I felt from the first meeting he had, the words he spoke, they kind of hit me,” Bradley said. “And it was the first time in a while when your ‘leader or coach’ — the guy you’re going to follow for the season — says something and you stood up a little straighter. The hair on my neck stood up a little bit.”
Lovullo, who prior to taking over the Diamondbacks had served as the bench coach in Toronto and Boston and as a minor-league manager for nine seasons before that, has Arizona in the playoffs for the first time since 2011.
He’ll look to ace Zack Greinke (17-7, 3.20 ERA) to propel Arizona into the divisional series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I think we all know what today means,” Lovullo said. “When you walk into a situation when you’re a team united, a team that cares about one another, that’s playing together … that’s going to help you get through tough moments and help you prepare for this type of environment.”
Diamondbacks Wild Card Roster
5 Blanco, Grégor [L] — OF
25 Bradley, Archie — RHP
40 Chafin, Andrew — LHP
46 Corbin, Patrick [L] — LHP
29 De La Rosa, Jorge [L] — LHP
3 Descalso, Daniel [L] — INF
27 Drury, Brandon — INF
14 Fuentes, Rey [L] — OF
52 Godley, Zack — RHP
44 Goldschmidt, Paul — INF
21 Greinke, Zack — RHP
47 Hernandez, David — RHP
10 Herrmann, Chris [L] — C
8 Iannetta, Chris — C
22 Lamb, Jake [L] — INF
4 Marte, Ketel [S] — INF
28 Martinez, J.D. — OF
2 Mathis, Jeff — C
45 Negrón, Kristopher — INF
6 Peralta, David [L] — OF
11 Pollock, A.J. — OF
38 Ray, Robbie [L] –LHP
56 Rodney, Fernando — RHP
9 Rosales, Adam — INF
54 Sherfy, Jimmie — RHP
