PHOENIX -- Cody Ross was in the opposite dugout Monday night but the mention of his name still elicited thoughts of support, appreciation and jewelry from San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy.
"Cody is one of those players you would love to have on your team, He's one of the good ones" Bochy said before the Diamondbacks' 6-2 win over the Giants.
"Certainly, I'll always remember what he did to help put a ring on my finger."
That was then, the Giants' World Series season of 2010, when Ross was the MVP of the NLCS.
Ross believes those days can return. The further he gets from the devastating hip injury that cost him the final two months of 2013 and hindered him this year, the more he is convinced.
He knows it will not be easy. He understands he must fight for his playing time next season after the emergence of rookies David Peralta and Ender Inciarte. That is fine with him. He embraces the challenge. This time, he will be able to do it on two healthy legs and after an offseason of baseball training, not one of therapy and rehab.
"The goal is not to go on the DL (disabled list), to be able to play a full season and contribute and help this team win," Ross said. "If that means I have to go into spring training and fight for a job, then so be it. I'll fight for a job. I've fought for many jobs and won many jobs. It will be good. It will be competition for everybody; have to bring the 'A' game. It is going to be a battle between all of us. Everybody is sort of in that same boat, I guess.
"It will be pretty fun."
Fun was not part of the equation this season as Ross recovered from the Bo Jackson injury, a fractured and dislocated right hip, the first of its kind known to a baseball player. The injury occurred when Ross refused to accept what appeared to be a routine groundout at first base, instead attempting to step around a tag. The play goes to his style and his competitive drive. It also makes it unwise to downplay his chances going forward.
"Obviously I'm not happy with the way the year went, individually or the way the team went, but just for me to be back out there and competing and playing was a win in itself. It was a pretty significant injury. I think it sort of got down-played, sort of like it was not that big of a deal," Ross said.
"Subconsciously, I was probably favoring my hip. In my mind I felt like I was ready to go. These guys invested quite a bit in me, and I wanted to come out and play as opposed to sitting back and taking this year off and focusing on next year. I wanted to contribute this year. I didn't. It might have actually hurt me as opposed to help me. But if I had to do it all over again, I would have done it exactly the same way."
The visual cues were deceptive -- the "Ross" on the back of the jersey and the dirtbag gleam. But it was clear the hip slowed him early this year, and it might have been a contributing cause of a calf injury that shut him down for six weeks in July and August. The nothing-but-rehab regimen also intruded on his normal swing work over the winter.
Arizona manager Kirk Gibson, who had a severe hamstring injury in his career, said the D-backs might have rushed Ross back quicker than they should have.
"He had a brutal surgery," Gibson said. "Last (offseason), he had no range of motion. He was just trying to get back when he could get range of motion where he could actually run," Gibson said.
"Watching him take 'bp' the last couple of times, his bat is much quicker than it has been all year."
It shows in Ross' numbers. Ross is hitting .321 since returning from his calf injury on Sept. 1. A small sample size, but one to build on.
When Ross looks ahead, he thinks of both years he spent in San Francisco, the magical final two months of 2010 and a less successful full season in 2011, when he hit .240 with 14 home runs and 53 RBI. That prompted an extended winter of workouts before a big year in Boston, when he hit .267 with 22 homers and 81 RBI.
That earned him a three-year, $26 million contract with the D-backs that will pay him $8.5 million next year. He has a $9.5 million option in 2016, with a $1 million buyout.
"Last year, I was focused on learning how to walk and run again. This year, I'll have a lot more time to put into baseball," Ross said.
"I'm going to start pretty early, too. Normally I don't start really zoning in until about December or January. But I've missed a lot of at-bats and I've missed a lot of time and swings, so plan on starting the end of October. I've only done that one time, after 2011 going into 2012. I wasn't happy the way that year went. It was a tough year. It ended up paying off.
"That's the idea. That's the goal. Definitely want to be a big part of this team next year."
Quietly, Eury De La Rosa has made seven consecutive scoreless appearances after holding the Giants scoreless in the ninth inning Monday. He has given up four hits and two walks in his last 10 innings, while striking out seven.
120 -- at-bats since Mark Trumbo's last home run, the longest drought of his career
* Trumbo wants to live in the opposite field, and he is doing just that. His grand slam in the third inning landed to the right of the swimming pool in right-center, just where he wanted. "I have to wear that area out," Trumbo said, "and if they do come inside, it should be a reaction. If I do get pull happy, my swing goes in the garbage can." Trumbo has nine homers and 49 RBI since missing 11 weeks with a stress fracture in his left foot. "I don't necessarily (need) long home runs, but lately I've been trying to hit the ball in the air more," Trumbo said. "There is not a ton of money on the ground for me, figuratively. I don't have the speed to beat those balls out. I'm a guy who needs to set my sights a little higher and try to shoot those gaps. If they do go out of the park, all the better."
* Wade Miley beat San Francisco for the third time this season, recovering from a career-short two inning appearance in a loss at AT&T Park last Tuesday with his sixth quality start in the last seven. Miley, who walked four last Tuesday, did not walk a batter for the first time in 11 starts since the All-Star break and did not give up a run until the seventh, his last inning. "He was great, considering his last start was against these guys and it didn't go well at all," Gibson said "He had the extra day to think about it and he put some work in and he slowed down today. His changeup was really good."
* Jake Lamb suffered a strained quad muscle while beating out a double play in the ninth inning Friday and did not ply for the third straight game. He was on deck to pinch hit when the D-backs made the third out in the eighth inning.
* With A.J. Pollock and Ender Inciarte playing side by side, the D-backs have the range to record a lot of former hits.
The D-backs recalled Andrew Chafin and Nick Ahmed and purchased Bobby Wilson from Triple-A Reno on Monday. Chafin threw 15 scoreless innings in two playoff starts for the Aces, and it would make sense to give him a start down the stretch, but manager Gibson said a decision has not been made. If the D-backs decide to shut Chase Anderson down because of his career-high 148-1/3 innings Chafin would be a logical candidate to replace him. Anderson has two scheduled starts remaining.
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