"It was mid-morning on Thursday when Diamondbacks right-hander Ian Kennedy started getting loose at Salt River Fields, tossing a ball with one of the organization's young pitching prospects as a nearby photographer snapped pictures.

Teammates Joe Saunders and Daniel Hudson jogged by and noticed the attention being showered upon the unassuming Kennedy.

"Big league!" one of them yelled.

He might have opened eyes during a breakout 2011 season, but the element of surprise won't be in play this year -- not for Kennedy or the Diamondbacks as a whole.

And Kennedy seems fine with that.

He knows last season was special, knows that winning 21 games and finishing fourth in the Cy Young voting was downright remarkable. And so what if some don't think he can turn in a repeat performance?

"What does Gibby always say?" Kennedy asked, referring to Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson. " 'Why not us?' Well, why couldn't I do it again?"

Kennedy has been preparing to do just that, working out since late November and throwing since Jan. 1, although he took a little time off this week to play in the Waste Management Phoenix Open Pro-Am.

"I was on Cloud 9," Kennedy said.

Not only was he paired at the Pro-Am with the perfect PGA counterpart -- Webb Simpson, who had a surprise season in 2011 as well -- but Kennedy sees so many comparisons between pitching and golf that he believes there's value to being out on the course.

"We can talk about the mechanics of golf and of pitching, and it's almost the same thing," Kennedy said. "Their hips when they coil up and our hips when we coil up, when we bring our leg up and start firing for home. ... Our hips open up first and our chest stays closed, and then it fires.""