Cowtipper
01-26-2009, 12:58 PM
PHOENIX -- For the second straight year, D-backs reliever Chad Qualls avoided a salary-arbitration hearing and for that the right-hander is very thankful.
Qualls, 30, signed a one-year, $2.54 million contract on Tuesday prior to the deadline for teams and players to submit salary arbitration figures. Last year, Qualls signed for a little over $1.3 million.
"It feels good once you get a deal done that both sides are happy with," Qualls said. "You don't have to drag it along any longer than necessary. I'm glad I have never gone to the actual arbitration process. I was really happy with what we agreed on last year. I've been really happy these past two years with how things have taken place."
Qualls was 4-8 with a 2.81 ERA and nine saves in a team-high 77 games for the D-backs last season. He was recently selected to be on the provisional roster for the United States team in the World Baseball Classic.
The right-hander began the year as a setup man, but moved into the closer's role in September when Brandon Lyon faltered. Qualls converted all seven of his save opportunities from Sept. 12-27 and his performance prompted Arizona manager Bob Melvin to declare at the end of the year that Qualls would be his likely closer heading into Spring Training in 2009.
Being a closer is something Qualls has wanted to do since he served as a setup man for then-Astros' closer Brad Lidge.
"When I was setting him up it kind of made me want to be that guy," Qualls said. "If I couldn't be the starter that I was all through college and the Minor Leagues and become a No. 1 starter, then I wanted to be the No. 1 bullpen guy, which I think is the closer. I just enjoy shutting down the game, getting the last three outs. I had a lot of fun doing that the last month of the season and it's something that I want to continue to do in my career. I've been working my butt off this offseason and we'll see what happens. It's going to be a fun year."
Qualls and his wife, Tara, are expecting their first child in mid-April.
"It's just good to get everything out of the way now so I can just focus on taking care her and getting ready for the baseball season and not worry about numbers," he said. "I'm just really looking forward to getting back to playing baseball again. I'm starting to really miss it."
Qualls was acquired by the D-backs along with infielder Chris Burke and pitcher Juan Gutierrez in December 2007 from the Astros in exchange for closer Jose Valverde.
Right from the start, Qualls seemed to fit into the clubhouse, becoming good friends with Brandon Webb and Chris Snyder among others.
"It's just a really laid-back atmosphere," Qualls said. "Everyone in there likes everybody. Everybody contributes to the team. There's not a lot of animosity between players, there's not a lot of cliques in there, it's just a bunch of guys that enjoy playing baseball. You can have all the talent in the world, but if all the guys don't get along you're not going to go very far."
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090120&content_id=3751205&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp
Qualls, 30, signed a one-year, $2.54 million contract on Tuesday prior to the deadline for teams and players to submit salary arbitration figures. Last year, Qualls signed for a little over $1.3 million.
"It feels good once you get a deal done that both sides are happy with," Qualls said. "You don't have to drag it along any longer than necessary. I'm glad I have never gone to the actual arbitration process. I was really happy with what we agreed on last year. I've been really happy these past two years with how things have taken place."
Qualls was 4-8 with a 2.81 ERA and nine saves in a team-high 77 games for the D-backs last season. He was recently selected to be on the provisional roster for the United States team in the World Baseball Classic.
The right-hander began the year as a setup man, but moved into the closer's role in September when Brandon Lyon faltered. Qualls converted all seven of his save opportunities from Sept. 12-27 and his performance prompted Arizona manager Bob Melvin to declare at the end of the year that Qualls would be his likely closer heading into Spring Training in 2009.
Being a closer is something Qualls has wanted to do since he served as a setup man for then-Astros' closer Brad Lidge.
"When I was setting him up it kind of made me want to be that guy," Qualls said. "If I couldn't be the starter that I was all through college and the Minor Leagues and become a No. 1 starter, then I wanted to be the No. 1 bullpen guy, which I think is the closer. I just enjoy shutting down the game, getting the last three outs. I had a lot of fun doing that the last month of the season and it's something that I want to continue to do in my career. I've been working my butt off this offseason and we'll see what happens. It's going to be a fun year."
Qualls and his wife, Tara, are expecting their first child in mid-April.
"It's just good to get everything out of the way now so I can just focus on taking care her and getting ready for the baseball season and not worry about numbers," he said. "I'm just really looking forward to getting back to playing baseball again. I'm starting to really miss it."
Qualls was acquired by the D-backs along with infielder Chris Burke and pitcher Juan Gutierrez in December 2007 from the Astros in exchange for closer Jose Valverde.
Right from the start, Qualls seemed to fit into the clubhouse, becoming good friends with Brandon Webb and Chris Snyder among others.
"It's just a really laid-back atmosphere," Qualls said. "Everyone in there likes everybody. Everybody contributes to the team. There's not a lot of animosity between players, there's not a lot of cliques in there, it's just a bunch of guys that enjoy playing baseball. You can have all the talent in the world, but if all the guys don't get along you're not going to go very far."
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090120&content_id=3751205&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp