CINCINNATI -- Even though Eric Byrnes isn't a 2007 National League All-Star, the Diamondbacks left fielder may end up the player with the most unique experience of this year's Midsummer Classic.

Rather than taking in the All-Star Game within the confines of San Francisco's AT&T Park, Byrnes will spend part of batting practice and the game itself just behind the stadium's right-field wall.

In a kayak. With his dog.

Byrnes has agreed to appear for FOX Sports during the network's broadcast of the All-Star Game on July 10 as a special player-commentator in McCovey Cove with his pet bulldog, Bruin.

"It's a very innovative idea that they came up with, and I told them that I had a bulldog that swims," Byrnes said. "So I'm going to bring [Bruin] along with me, and we're going to have some fun out there."

He will have an advantage over the other kayakers in attendance in recovering any floating baseballs that might make their way out of the stadium and into the cove. Bruin has a knack for fetching balls in water.

"What's going to happen is as soon as a ball hits the water he's going to jump out and go get it," Byrnes said with a laugh. "I live right on the beach... So I take [Bruin] out to the beach all the time. He's used to the cold temperature water, and he's used to swimming."

Byrnes said a kayak wasn't his first choice for his vessel.

"I've never been in a kayak before. My idea was to get on my surfboard. I'd feel more comfortable on that than I would on a kayak. But I'm going to be in a kayak. Plus, it will be easier for Bruin to stay afloat on the kayak."

Byrnes' adventure into the cove for television cameras won't be his first experience with on-air broadcasting work. He's made several appearances with FOX Sports in the past, but he said that television work was never something that he actively pursued.

"It's just come to me," he said. "It's situations and opportunities that were offered to me, and I would do it, and one thing kind of led to the next, and here I am now sitting in a kayak during the All-Star Game with my dog, and they're going to be filming it on national television. I'm going to have fun with it."

Quentin Tucson-bound: The Diamondbacks optioned outfielder Carlos Quentin to Triple-A Tucson on Friday. Quentin batted .210 with five home runs and 28 RBIs in 66 games with Arizona this season.

The Diamondbacks filled Quentin's roster spot by recalling outfielder Jeff Salazar.

"More than anything, we just needed to give Carlos a little bit of a break," manager Bob Melvin said. "Carlos wasn't getting the results that he expected to get.

"He's a guy that can be -- it's well documented -- can be tough on himself, and we just felt like it would probably be good for him to take some of the pressure off and go down there and just be able to play without the pressure that you get at the big league level at this point in time."

Melvin said he did not view Quentin's demotion as anything permanent.

"Does that change our opinion of him? No," Melvin said. "We still feel like he's our right fielder. More than anything, it was just kind of a separation to give him a little break and take some of the pressure off."

Melvin spoke to Quentin before he was sent to Tucson.

"He was fine [with the news]," Melvin said. "Obviously he didn't want to go down, but he understood, the big leagues are results based, and we're not getting some of the results that we need to get, or he expects to get."

Salazar called up: When Triple-A Tucson manager Bill Plummer called Jeff Salazar into his office Thursday night, Salazar asked his skipper if he needed to close the door.

"He said, 'Yes,' so it was either really good or really bad," Salazar said. "Fortunately, this time it was really good."

Plummer's news was indeed good, as he called Salazar in to inform him that he was a Major Leaguer, again (Salazar appeared in 53 games last season for the Rockies).

"We were kind of surprised when he came on waivers [from Colorado]," Melvin said. "We liked him over in Colorado. He can play all three of the outfield positions, he's a good defender, and it's a left-handed bat in the outfield, which we haven't had."

Salazar was running on next-to-no sleep on Friday when he started in right field and batted eighth for the Diamondbacks against the Reds in Cincinnati. But, Melvin said he wasn't concerned that the outfielder's play would be affected by a lack of rest.

"Once you get here, you'll have the adrenaline," he said. "We do it with almost everybody. We want to get them involved right away. He'll be alright once the game gets going."

Salazar was glad to be in the lineup on his first day with the team, but didn't bother speculating how frequently he'd see playing time afterwards.

"I'm in the lineup today," he said with a smile. "That's all that I know."

Up next: The Diamondbacks will continue their weekend set against the Reds at 4:10 PT on Saturday at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb (8-6, 3.27 ERA) is scheduled to face Reds rookie Homer Bailey (2-2, 8.10 ERA).