If Kirk Gibson has a set batting order he plans to roll out for Opening Day, he isn’t telling anyone about it. The Diamondbacks manager plans to do it his way, on his time, and that will be the order of things every time he posts his starting lineup.

And if a player or two gets perturbed about where they are hitting in the order, well, too bad.

“It might bother them, but I don’t think they care,” Gibson said Tuesday before his team’s exhibition game against the Brewers at Chase Field. “They might want to hit somewhere, but they don’t care. They want to win. If it’s not that way, then we’ve got a problem.”

Gibson vowed he won’t tolerate any selfishness.

“I’m confident in my guys. They just want to win, and that’s the most important thing,” he said. “Who cares? You want to win or you want to hit third? Ask yourself. It’s as simple as that.

“Who are we here for? If you want to hit third, then we need to get rid of you.”

Gibson’s lineup Tuesday looked like one fans might see often this season. He had third baseman Ryan Roberts hitting leadoff, followed by second baseman Aaron Hill and right fielder Justin Upton, and left fielder Jason Kubel batting cleanup. Hitting fifth through eighth were center fielder Chris Young, catcher Miguel Montero, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and shortstop Willie Bloomquist.

Gibson said the Diamondbacks’ goal in 2012 is to “do better than we did last year and become world champions.” If that takes constant tinkering with his batting order, he plans to do it. If it means ruffling some feathers, he will do that, too.

“I’m going to do what I think is right for the team,” he said. “There’s all different types of situations and reasons why I do what I do. Not that I’m always right. I would never say I am. But this game is about overcoming mistakes, whether it’s on the field or whether I make a bad lineup decision. If they’re good enough, they’ll overcome it.”

Asked specifically if he has at least his Opening Day lineup figured out in his head, Gibson couldn’t say.

“I’m not set on it. I know you guys think that’s crazy, but that’s just the way I am,” he said. “It will be that way every day of the year. I might field one right now and tomorrow, I might wake up, take some information between now and then, and it may be the same or it may change.

A new rival

When it comes to rivals, Opening Day starter Ian Kennedy said it pretty much starts and ends with division opponents.

But he can see why Diamondbacks fans will want to root against the Brewers, Arizona’s opponent Tuesday and Wednesday in two tune-up games before the start of the season.

After all, it was Milwaukee that defeated Arizona in their National League Division Series last year. Then-Brewers slugger Prince Fielder also snubbed Upton from taking part in the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game at Chase Field. And the whole Ryan Braun controversy was the topper.

“Yeah, I can see how our fans view it,” Kennedy said.

Gibson took it one step further, saying before Tuesday’s game: “We owe them. They get us that time (in the NLDS). We need to get ‘em back. … I’d like to beat them any day, starting tonight.”

Gibson said the playoff series with the Brewers was “hard fought, it was clean” and added that he has the utmost respect for manager Ron Roenicke, whom he said “stands for the game the right way.”

“But there’s a little extra on the line when we play them,” Gibson added.

Short hops

Gibson and members of the training staff and medical team met with shortstop Stephen Drew on Tuesday afternoon to discuss Drew’s rehab from a fractured right ankle.

Drew will start the season on the disabled list.

“We just want to determined how hard we push from where he is right now and how quickly,” Gibson said. “We need to make a good decision on that. We don’t want him to come back and go back on the disabled list.”

Wednesday’s scheduled starting pitchers are the Diamondbacks’ Trevor Cahill against the Brewers’ Shaun Marcum.

The Diamondbacks will unveil “Justin Upton Field,” their 31st baseball field in the community through the “Diamonds Back” Youth Field Building Program, on Thursday morning at University Park in Phoenix.

The field is at 1002 W. Van Buren Street. Upton will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at 10 a.m.

At some point in the next few days, the Diamondbacks will sit down with shortstop Stephen Drew, discuss the progress he’s made on the right ankle he fractured last July, and then officially place him on the disabled list to start the season.

---

Spring Training: Diamondbacks | Cactus League | Fans

---

Just how long he will be sidelined is anyone’s guess. It could be two weeks or it might be four. It may be even longer.

The good news is, Drew is beginning to turn the corner in his ongoing rehab and the Diamondbacks are in good hands at shortstop until he returns — whenever that is.

That’s because they have two veterans on the roster in Willie Bloomquist and John McDonald who each offer at least part of what Drew brings to the lineup everyday when healthy.

Bloomquist, 34, made 59 appearances at short last season with a .979 fielding percentage and hit safely in 46 of his 57 starts. He had 20 stolen bases and is the likely candidate to bat leadoff when the Diamondbacks open the regular season Friday against the visiting San Francisco Giants.

He hasn’t been hitting well this spring, however, batting just .186 through 59 at-bats.

McDonald, 37, played 38 games at shortstop with a .986 fielding percentage following his trade to Arizona from Toronto. He’s best known for his defensive prowess, still able to make highlight-type plays deep in the hole despite his age.

Whenever Drew returns, Bloomquist said it will be like adding “a stud player” via free agency or a trade. It certainly will make the Diamondbacks better.

“There are a lot of teams out there that would love to have the depth we have at shortstop,” McDonald said Sunday before Arizona’s game against the Dodgers. “There’s no way you can look at that as a negative.

“We all do different things. Stephen, obviously, is a complete player. Willie hits at the top of our lineup. And I’m a little bit more on the defensive side of it. But there’s a lot of experience there, too, which helps with the type of team we have.”

McDonald, a career .238 hitter, is entering his first full season in the National League following stints with the Blue Jays, Indians and Tigers. He has been working closely every day this spring with Diamondbacks hitting coach Don Baylor on ways to be more productive at the plate.

“The main thing is they want me to help myself, they want me to get good pitches to hit,” said McDonald, who hit a solo home run Sunday, his first of the spring. “When you’re getting yourself out consistently, it’s a bad thing.

“I’m trying to be more patient now, be more selective. It’s a process and a different mind-set, but if you believe in it you’re going to have at least some degree of success.”

The Diamondbacks played without Drew for the final 10 weeks of the season but managed to have plenty of success in 2011. The platoon of Bloomquist and McDonald played a part in that and both players are eager for Arizona to repeat as NL West champions.

“Having been here and gone through it last year, we believe we’re going to get right back there and take another step,” McDonald said. “We lost that last game to Milwaukee (in the playoffs), but this time we want to be winning that last game.”

Drew, meanwhile, has made a tremendous amount of improvement, according to Gibson.

Though he hasn’t played in a single game this spring – and the Cactus League season officially ends for the Diamondbacks on Monday – Drew only appears to be limited when it comes to rounding the bases hard.

“Groundballs are really not an issue for him. He can hit fine. He’s been doing a lot more running,” Gibson said. “We just had a discussion the other day about how to get him to start running some light bases and some of those movements.

“He’s done everything else. He’s went in the hole (defensively). He’s went up the middle, reversed, and he’s done that jump throw. I watched him a couple days ago when he had to fully extend in the hole. He didn’t quite get the ball, but I see all that.”

At some point, Drew will be back. But until then, at least with Bloomquist and McDonald they won’t be short-handed at shortstop.

Read More: Stephen Drew (SS – ARI), John McDonald (SS – ARI), Willie Bloomquist (LF – ARI), Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals

One of the biggest questions heading in to spring training for the Arizona Cardinals has been whether or not Stephen Drew would be able to play by Opening Day. It is for this very reason that the team brought back both Willie Bloomquist and John McDonald in the offseason.

Kirk Gibson spoke on the issue on Tuesday, as reported by Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

Obviously, the time is short, but Gibson was not willing to rule Drew out for the start of the season. The coaching staff has been working hard with Drew and Gibson said that they were “going to push him pretty good” this week.

There are some important hurdles to clear still. Drew has yet to face live pitching. He has not done much running the bases. He also has not done any sliding. The work on the bases will probably be the final step and it will be interesting to see how Drew changes his baserunning, if at all.

Whether or not he plays on Opening Day is still up in the air, and most might say it is doubtful. The good thing is that he is expected to get healthy early in the season. If he comes back and plays anything near the level he is capable of, the Arizona lineup could be very potent.

For the latest AZ sports, follow us on Twitter @SBNArizona and “Like” us on Facebook.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Diamondbacks and catcher Miguel Montero say they have ended talks on a multiyear contract until after this season, when he will be a free agent.

The two sides have been in talks in recent weeks but general manager Kevin Towers said no agreement could be reached. Both he and Montero said they did not want the contract issue to be a distraction as the Diamondbacks defend their NL West crown.

The Diamondbacks avoided arbitration with Montero by signing him to a one-year, $5.9 million contract. He hit .282 with 18 home runs and 86 RBI last season. Montero was a late addition to the All-Star team after another player withdrew.

He and Towers appeared together at a brief news conference Wednesday to explain the situation.

Towers would not characterize how close the two sides were.

“I would rather not get into details,” he said. “I think the best negotiations are ones that don’t end up in the papers. All I’ll say is we worked long and hard at it. There was good dialogue, good conversation. We just weren’t able to find any common ground.”

Montero said he is not disappointed and has no “hard feelings.”

“Ultimately I’ve got a decision to make,” the 28-year-old Venezuelan said. “Like I say to them, they’re going to be my priority in the offseason regardless. Right now I don’t even want to talk about anything else, just prepare for the season.”

This is the final year of arbitration eligibility for Montero, so these were his first talks on an extended, big-money deal.

While he said re-signing with Arizona is his “priority,” he knows this could be his final season with the Diamondbacks.

“This is a business,” Montero said. “If this is my last year, I’ve got to move on and it’s just part of the game.”

Towers said “there’s certainly still a desire to have Miguel Montero here beyond the 2012 season. We just didn’t want it to be a distraction.”

Talks between the St. Louis Cardinals and their catcher, Yadier Molina, had no impact on the Montero discussions, Towers said.

“We can’t be affected by what goes on with other ball clubs,” he said. “The Yankees have had a similar situation come with Russell Martin. We worry about the Diamondbacks and our own business.”

Montero is counted on to handle the talented young Arizona rotation, as well as be a significant offensive threat from the left side of the plate.

“At this point I just want to focus on the game, on my pitchers,” he said. “The bottom line is I just want to win. Right now I know they’ve been trying hard. There’s not hard feelings right now. I just want to go out there and play.”

Manager Kirk Gibson said “everybody knows” the Diamondbacks want Montero to stay and that he’s earned the right to be a free agent.

“He’s extremely talented, he’s extremely important to our team and our pitching staff,” Gibson said. “We’re happy to have him, keep him healthy for this year and let the process take its course.”

Montero said he is confident about the coming season.

Gibson was moved to quote his manager in Detroit, the late Sparky Anderson.

“He once said, `Give me 25 guys playing for a contract and I’ll show you a world champion,”‘ Gibson said. “So take that analogy.”