Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 42

C8 FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2007 THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC Diamondbacks new scouting head Tom Allison carries hard-nosed work ethic from his playing days into job as team tries to continue success of farming young talent ru DIRECTOR SET FORI 15' Top picks Here are the Diamondbacks' top selections in each of their drafts: DAVID J. PHILLIP ASSOCIATED PRESS Astros ace Roy Oswalt, who starts Saturday, is 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA in six career starts against Arizona. He is 5-2 with a 3.00 ERA this season. Today-Sunday. The Diamondbacks open a three-game series tonight in Houston, where they took two of three games last July.

The Astros won six.of nine games against the Diamondbacks last year. Roy Oswalt will start for the Astros on Saturday. That is bad news for the Diamondbacks. Oswalt is 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA in six career starts vs. Arizona.

Fast fact: Astros 2B Craig Big-gio notched career double No. 646 on Wednesday, tying him with Carl Yastrzemski for seventh on the all-time list. Tuesday-Thursday: After an off day Monday, the Diamondbacks travel to Denver, where they dropped two of three games in a season-opening series at Coors Field. The Rockies, in last place in the NL West, have not been pitching well lately. They rank in the bottom third of baseball in starters' and relievers' ERA.

Fast fact: The Rockies are 2-8-2 in series this season and 1-2-2 in home series. i Year 1 2006 0 2005 1 2004 2003 1 2002 Selection Max Scherzer, RHP, Missouri (No. 11 overall) Justin Upton, SS, Great Bridge H.S.(Va.)(1) Stephen Drew, SS, Florida State (15) Conor Jackson, 1B, California (19) Sergio Santos, SS, Mater Dei H.S. (Calif.) (27) Jason Bulger, RHP, Valdosta" State (22) Mike Schultz, RHP, Loyola Mary-mount (69) Corey Myers, SS, Desert Vista H.S. (Ariz.) (4) Darryl Conyer, OF, Mission Bay H.S.

(Calif.) (103) Jack Cust, 1B, Immaculate H.S. (N.J.)(30) Nick Bierbrodt, LHP, Millikan H.S. (Calif.) (30) 2001 2000 1999 I I 1998 3 1997 1996 4 1 By Nick Piecoro The Arizona Republic In the spring of 1994, Tom Allison, a minor leaguer in the New York Mets organization, was called into an office in Port St. Lucie, and found the general manager, the Double-A manager, the Triple-A manager and the farm director waiting for him. "They said, "Well, the bad news is, you're not going to be playing Allison recalled.

'The good news is, you'll still get to Later that day, Allison went outside -and threw batting practice. That's how Allison's playing days ended and his career on the other side of the game began. He soon became an assistant in the Mets' scouting department, forging a path that has led him to become the director of scouting for the Diamondbacks. His biggest day on the job is less than a month away: Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft is June 7. If a day that has been particularly fruitful for the Diamondbacks in recent years.

Under the guidance of Mike Rizzo, the draft has been the source of most of the club's touted core of young players. But Rizzo is gone, having become an assistant general manager with the Washington Nationals, and Allison is charged with trying to keep a good thing going. Natural promotion Allison was considered hard-nosed and heady during his playing days, but as a middle infielder in the Mets organization, he didn't have much of an opportunity to play with Rey Ordonez and Edgardo Alfonzo as teammates in Double-A. The further along his playing career went, the more Allison began to think about what he might do when he retired. Scouting was natural, he said, because there's an element of scouting in every player.

"You've been scouting the whole time," he said. "Whether you're playing shortstop, and you think, 'This guy always pulls the ball so I've got to take one step into the In 1996, Allison became a Mets area scout, and when Jack Zduriencik left the Mets scouting department to become the Brewers scouting director in 1999, he took Allison with him to be his Midwest crosschecker. "Tommy was very thorough," Zduriencik said. "He always did his homework. He always had information.

When you were sitting in the front office and had to call Tommy on the phone, he always had answers. He was always in touch with his guys and made them stay on top of things." He is quickly gaining a reputation within the Diamondbacks organization for the same traits. The club's scouts say there is more communication under Allison, who seems more apt to direct traffic i.e., know where his scouts are at all times. "As much as the scouting director by himself needs to be a good evaluator, the real key is incorporating everyone's evaluations to make the best decisions for the club," General Manager Josh Byrnes said. "I think Tommy gets along with a lot of people and he knows players and I think he's level-headed when it's time to make decisions." The decisions aren't made without the information his scouts provide, Allison says.

"My job as a director is to ask a lot of questions," he said. "You have to have the complete picture of the player, and that's something that only the area scout can bring." Feeling the draft It remains to be seen how the Diamondbacks' drafts will change under Allison. Rizzo made no A deeper look into NL numbers. The top five, with Diamondbacks category leaders in bold. Statistics through Wednesday: HOLDS 1.M.Capps,Pit.

10 t2. B. Lyon, Ari. 9 t2. D.

Turnbow, Mil. 9 t4.J.Broxton,LA 8 t4. M. Corpas, Col. 8 t4.J.Rauch,Was.

8 PITCHES THROWN 1. J.Smoltz, At. 837 2. D. Willis, Fla.

826 3. R. Oswalt, Hou. 819 4. W.

Williams, Hou. 806 5. T.GIavine,NY 781 6. D. Davis, Ari.

758 TIMES ON BASE I.T.Helton, Col. 76 t2. D. Lee, Chi. 69 t2.

J. Reyes, NY 69 4. Berkman, Hou. 65 5. A.

Rowand, Phi. 64 t6. 0. Hudson, Ari. 62 PCT.

OF PITCHES TAKEN 1. B. Bonds, SF 68.3 2. Burrell, Phi. 67.6 3.

S. Hatteberg, Cin. 66.4 4. K. Johnson, Atl.

64.7 5. J. Hardy, Mil. 64.0 9. C.

Jackson, Ari. 63.3 1 I DEIRDRE HAMILLTHE ARIZONA REPUBLIC No. 9: A productive pick The Diamondbacks have the No. 9 overall pick in this June's draft. A look at 10 years' worth of No.

9 overall picks. Year Player Selected by 2006 Billy Baltimore 2005 Mike Pelfrey, RHP New York (N) 2004 Chris Nelson, SS Colorado 2003 John Danks, LHP Texas 2002 Jeff Francis, LHP Colorado 2001 Colt Griffin, RHP Kansas City 2000 Mark Phillips, LHP San Diego 1999 Barry Zito, LHP Oakland 1998 Sean Burroughs, 3B San Diego 1 gene j. puskaras50Ciated press 1997 Michael Cuddyer, SS Minnesota secret his preference for college players, though he didn't shy away from taking high school players when the situation dictated it. Club scouts say they have seen more high school players than in previous years, and while they may end up selecting more prep players, it could just be an adjustment to the current climate: The prevailing notion is that this year's draft is heavy in high school pitching. Allison, whose team has the ninth pick in the draft, said finding a college pitcher who can reach the majors quickly is always a focus.

But he didn't rule anything out and says he isn't a believer in drafting based on need. "What we do and what we see is so far away from being in the big leagues, too many things can happen," he said. "To me, you line up the players early and you say to yourself we're going to take the best available player just because of all that can happen." Doug Davis Triple-A Tucson: OF Jeff Salazar, claimed off waivers from Colorado in March, continues to swing a hot bat, with four hits and three walks in his past six at-bats. He has had an impressive start to the season: .328 average, .396 on-base percentage, .566 slugging percentage. Double-A Mobile: LHP Greg Smith made his season debut Sunday, throwing four innings and allowing two earned runs.

He struck out four and walked one. OF Carlos Gonzalez still is struggling. He is hitting .212 with two home runs and is 6 for 43 (.140) against left-handed pitching. Class A Visalia: OF Justin Upton is dominating the California League and had another three-hit game Wednesday night. Upton, hitting .360 with five home runs and nine steals, seems to be making a case for a promotion.

Class A South Bend: RHP Tony Barnette had a fourth consecutive impressive outing Wednesday night, pitching eight innings and allowing no earned runs. He has allowed one earned run in his past four starts, a span of 30 innings. Did you ever have a welcome-to-the-big-leagues moment? "Yeah, the first hitter I faced was welcome to the big leagues from Shawn Green. Three-run home run. Third pitch.

I gave up 12 runs, 10 that were mine, in innings, 78 pitches. Four doubles, three home runs, four singles. I was sent down that night." That must have been tough to go through. "I took with me a six-pack and I was fine." So you were coming out of the bullpen? "Yeah, we were losing 7-2 and they were short (pitchers). So they left me out there.

Shawn Green hit a double and a home run, Darrin Fletcher had a double, Shannon Stewart had a double. Carlos Delgado was the only guy I got out." You enjoy playing golf. Do you have any favorite golf stories? "Yeah, it's about a certain person I used to play with so I can't say everything. It was with John Rocker. Let's just say his blow-up antics carried over to the golf course.

He started out with 14 clubs and he ended up with seven." You're also into remote-control cars and model airplanes? "I've always been into RC cars ever since I was in high school. Model airplanes were something I started getting into two or three years ago. It was just something I wanted to try. I really wanted my pilot's license. When I was younger, I used to take gliding lessons.

When I was 15 1 almost had my license and then my stepdad came close to a crash, chipped his wing on a mountain when he was trying to get lift. He ended up selling it. And we also had a Cessna plane and he ended up selling it, too." Was a close call like that enough to keep you away from flying? "Yeah, and Cory Lidle was a good friend of mine and obviously that was disappointing. And the kind of plane he had had a parachute in it. It's not something I'll do until maybe my kids get older." Nick Piecoro ROB SCHUMACHERTHE ARIZONA REPUBLIC Doug Davis remembers, in vivid detail, the horror of his big-league debut: 12 runs (10 charged to him) in TA innings..