http://tinyurl.com/7f8b4ef Day 23 of the Bus Tour took us to Diamondbacks camp, home of “the best team I ’ve seen in the Cactus League this spring,’’ one National League manager said. Fewer than 10 teams in baseball history have made the jump the Diamondbacks made last year -- 65 victories to 94 -- then made another jump the next season, or even just maintained that success. The Diamondbacks have a chance to join that group. They improved over the winter. Trevor Cahill, 24, was added to the rotation; he has won 30 games the last two years and, despite an uneven spring, is throwing that hard sinker again. The Diamondbacks were fourth in the league in runs scored last year but upgraded their offense with left fielder Jason Kubel, who should hit 25 home runs, leaving pitcher-friendly Target Field for hitter-friendly Chase Field. Kubel’ s signing makes a fourth outfielder out of Gerardo Parra, who hit .292 last year and won a Gold Glove in left field. How many players lose a job after a Gold Glove season? But Parra is expected to be a hugely valuable fourth outfielder. The acquisition of Cahill, and the re-signing of Joe Saunders, allows the Diamondbacks not to rush their best pitching prospects, Trevor Bauer, Tyler Skaggs, Patrick Corbin, Charles Brewer and Archie Bradley. When asked how many good young arms are in camp, closer J.J. Putz just said, “Wow.’’ ‧ Shortstop Stephen Drew is recovering from a fractured ankle; he hasn’t played in a game this spring and he has no chance of being ready for Opening Day. That makes Willie Bloomquist the primary shortstop; the Diamondbacks were 37-21 when he started at shortstop last season. And the D-backs have John McDonald, who will be a defensive replacement most nights. ‧ Arizona manager Kirk Gibson was interviewed by ESPN on Saturday, then told the interviewers, “If any of my guys come out here with a T-shirt on, don’t interview them. Make them put on a Diamondbacks jersey before you talk to them. We want everyone to know who we play for. That’s a Sparkism.’’ He was referring to lessons learned from the late Sparky Anderson, Gibson’s manager during his playing days with the Tigers. ‧ Last year, the Diamondbacks allowed the fewest stolen bases, and fewest stolen base attempts, in the NL. That speaks in part to the job that Miguel Montero did, and because the Diamondbacks’ coaches did such a good job controlling the running game. But this spring, Gibson said, “we have let our catchers do it [make the calls] themselves in spring training, that’s how much trust we have in them.’’ ‧ The turnaround by the Diamondbacks’ bullpen was among the biggest by a bullpen from one year to the next, going from a 5.74 bullpen ERA in 2010 to 3.71 in 2011. But it was more than just Putz and David Hernandez. As the season progressed, left-hander Joe Paterson and right-hander Bryan Shaw established themselves. “They both have electric stuff,” Putz said. What helped that bullpen last year was that the Arizona starters threw over 1,000 innings last year, only the Phillies rotation threw more. --

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