Diamondbacks notebook: Utley’s slide was dirty

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia’s Chase Utley is known as a player who plays the game hard, but the Diamondbacks believe he may have taken it too far on a slide into third base Tuesday.

Replays showed Utley was at least six feet out of the baseline when he attempted to break up a double play on a ball hit by Pat Burrell with one out and runners on first and second in the seventh inning.

“That’s not OK,” said Callaspo, who stepped on third and threw to first to complete a double play as the D-Backs maintained a 5-3 lead. “It’s all part of the game.”

Utley slid hard into shortstop Stephen Drew while attempting to break up a double play in the fifth, raking his left leg into Drew’s left shin.

Drew was down momentarily but remained in the game, hitting a three-run triple in a five-run eighth inning that put the game away.

“After that (slide), it was killing me,” Drew said. “I knew as I was getting the ball that he was coming hard and going to slide late.

“I wouldn’t say that was out of bounds. The one that was out of bounds was the one with ‘Cayo.’ Unbelievable. It was not a very good play. If ‘Cayo’ throws that away, it’s going to be an out, anyway, because of interference. No question in my mind.”

DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN

The last time the Diamondbacks were here with an unsigned No. 1 draft pick represented by Scott Boras, in 2005, they signed Stephen Drew with a whole 15 minutes to spare.

Discussions with Boras on 2006 No. 1 draftee Max Scherzer could go down to the final moments before the 9 p.m. deadline today, after the sides discussed money Tuesday but did not reach agreement.

“We talked about figures that made sense from each side,” D-Backs general manager Josh Byrnes said.

“They were very detailed discussions, but I have nothing to report. We know how to reach one another if we find an area of compromise. It’s hard to predict.”

Scherzer will reenter the draft — and the D-Backs will get the 65th pick in this year’s draft as compensation – unless a deal is reached.

COUSIN TOM

Bob Melvin and Kirk Gibson visited Melvin’s cousin, Tom, at the Philadelphia Eagles’ minicamp Tuesday. Tom Melvin is Andy Reid’s tight end coach.

Tom Melvin, like Bob a native of the Bay Area, was a walk-on football player at San Francisco State before getting into coaching. He is in his ninth season with Reid.

“It’s a pretty smooth operation they have over there,” Bob Melvin said.

SHORT HOPS

Randy Johnson and Jamie Moyer will meet for the second time this season, again setting the record for the pairing of the oldest left-handed starting pitchers by combined age – 88 years, 88 days. Moyer is 44 years, 192 days old. Moyer and Tom Glavine set the record (85 years, 163 days) on April 12 this season, since extended by Johnson and David Wells (87 years, 200 days) on April 24 and by Johnson and Moyer on May 9. …

The D-Backs have no position players in the top five (top 15 in the outfield) after the first tabulation of All-Star balloting released Tuesday. Houston’s Craig Biggio (.230 batting average, 16 RBIs) and the Mets’ Jose Valentin (.279, 13 RBIs), out since April 28 with a knee injury, are among those ahead of Orlando Hudson (.295, 33 RBIs) at second base.