DbackFans

Stupid "dropped third strike" rule...

2008-05-08T07:03:00.000-07:00

Who came up with that one, anyway? It's like awarding a first down to a football team that fails to convert a 4th and inches, if a defensive player misses the high five with his teammate. If you swing and miss on the third strike, you're OUT. Walk back to the dugout, please.

Instead, the Phillies got four outs that inning, Connor Jackson's birthday was ruined when his face attacked Victorino's helmet, and the D-backs lost the game (Victorino ended up scoring the tying run).

In the end, we can't pin the loss on the rule, Snyder, or Qualls... it was obviously Micah Owings' fault for failing to get a single RBI. His 1 for 4 outing was disappointment, for sure.

Scherzer makes case he belongs in "The Show"

2008-04-30T05:38:00.000-07:00

Andy Behrens over at Roto Arcade got it right in his blog post yesterday when he predicted we might see Max Scherzer later that night, since the Diamondbacks' 4-inning specialist (Edgar Gonzalez) was starting.

What he couldn't predict was how thoroughly Scherzer would dominate the Astros: He retired all 13 batters he faced, striking out 7. Since Edgar had already given up 6 runs in the first 2 2/3 innings, Arizona lost anyway. Unless Scherzer can hit like Micah Owings, it's pretty hard to get runs back that the starter already gave up.

Will he be added to the rotation, pushing Gonzalez into middle relief? No one knows yet. One thing we do know: All eyes will be on him the next time he takes the mound.

Valverde Watch: Nothing motivates like going up against the team that traded you... The Big Potato still has an ERA of 6.92 and three blown saves, but he struck out the side against Arizona in the ninth last night to notch his 5th save.

Valverde trade looking very good... so far.

2008-04-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

It's hard to find much wrong with the Diamondbacks right now, when everything is coming up roses. The bats are hot, the starting pitching is exceptional, and that bullpen is earning every cent (even Brandon Lyon managed to face the minimum in his most recent save).

So let's talk about what could have been. There were mixed reviews of the trade that sent Jose Valverde to the Astros in exchange or Chris Burke and Chad Qualls. After all, Valverde led the majors in saves last season (47), and finished 8th in the NL Cy Young voting. But what if he were still here?

Valverde has pitched a total of 4 innings for Houston, giving up at least one run in every game he 's pitched. His ERA is 11.25, he has walked 2, and only struck out 3. He has one save recorded, and one blown save (although in a bizarre twist of fate, the offense picked him up and he "earned" the win in that game).

Instead we have Lyon, who is at least doing a little better. We also now have Chris Burke, who made the 25-man roster and has done an adequate job of filling in around the infield. Lastly, we have Chad Qualls, who is currently the stud of the bullpen. In 5.1 innings of relief, Qualls has 5 strikeouts, an ERA of 0.00, and a save. He has walked four batters, but managed to work around them.

It's still way too early for a final judgment, but so far, shipping Papa Grande off to Houston looks pretty good.

Great Weekend in the Mile High City

2008-04-06T15:35:00.001-07:00

It seems the Colorado Rockies are resting on their laurels... their season-opening home series featured various celebrations at every game for their NL Championship last season, but they played nothing like the team who swept the Diamondbacks in the NLCS. Arizona swept the Rockies, out-hitting them 37 to 19, and out-scoring them 20 to 5.

We learned a few things during this fine weekend:

1. I may have been wrong about Chris Young. Since my initial grousing about what a poor fit he is for the lead-off spot, he's managed to make me look pretty foolish. In 6 games, his OBP is over .400, and he has actually drawn seven walks. His lead-off home run on Saturday was a nice touch, too. Six games doesn't make up for all of last season, but I'll give him a break for now.

2. Brandon Lyon may not be the closer for very long. His ERA of 12.00 and two blown saves in three attempts are not getting him anywhere, and Chad Qualls came in on Sunday to finish the game off. Even though he walked the first two hitters, Qualls then forced a double play, and Stephen Drew caught a line drive to end it. He faced four batters, allowed no hits or runs, and collected his first save. Did I mention that his ERA is 0.00? Qualls has only allowed one hit in 4.1 innings pitched. Something tells me he has a good shot to replace Lyon.

Why is Chris Young batting Lead Off?

2008-04-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

I like Chris Young. He is an exciting player, both in the field and at the plate. I wonder though, if he is the right fit for the lead-off spot in the lineup.

Last season, Young had an on-base percentage of .295. Look at that number again: .295. I don't know about you, but I think it's pretty hard to move over (or drive in) your lead-off guy when he's already back in the dugout. Micah Owings had an OBP of .345. O-Dog's was .376. The overall team OBP for the Diamondbacks was .321, and that includes the pitchers. Among positions players who appeared in more than 100 games for the D-backs, Chris Young was the only one whose OBP was below .300.

Part of the problem with Chris is his strikeouts. He led the team with 141 (just slightly less than the number of games in which he appeared: 148). Opening day was no exception-- Chris excited the Arizona fans with a solo home run, but he also struck out three times.

I'm not saying that Chris shouldn't be playing... he is a key part of this lineup and has a lot to contribute. But a lead-off hitter is supposed to get on base-- and it's clear that someone else needs to be filling that role. Orlando Hudson or Eric Byrnes would be fine by me.

Bullpen Perfect in Dback's First Win

2008-03-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

Chad Qualls, Tony Pena, and Brandon Lyon each pitched a perfect inning to preserve the win for the Snakes' ace Brandon Webb in their season opener over Cincinnati.

Webb gave up two runs on only three hits (although he did walk four) through six innings. Chris Young and Eric Byrnes hit back-to-back homers in the 3rd, and Jeff Salazar added another solo homerun in the 7th.

Arizona stays in Cincinnati for two more, closing out the series at 9:35am (Arizona time) on Thursday.

So... Who is the new Closer?

2007-12-14T17:11:00.000-08:00

With Valverde giving Houston fans Rolaids moments in the 9th next year, who will the D'backs run out there?

Brandon Lyons has my vote. He has been a successful closer in the past, and was a dynamite 8th-inning setup man all last season.

One darkhorse possibility: Can you imagine leading a game by a run or two going into the ninth, and out from the bullpen comes... The Big Unit? I've said it before: He closed out the biggest game of his life (Game 7, 2001), and I'd love to see Randy as the full-time closer.

off season quiet time

2007-11-25T20:22:00.000-08:00

Well I am hoping the D-backs can find a way to make a nice deal this off-season. Maybe trade Quentin with either Conner Jackson or preferably Chad Tracy for a good pitcher. They kind of proved they don't need Quentin and while some folks I know don't like Jackson, I think the injury prone Tracy would be a better trade. We shall see what happens.

D-backs are NL West Champs!

2007-09-29T17:38:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe... the worst-hitting team in baseball has clinched the NL West, and is guaranteed to have the best record in the National League and home-field advantage for the first two rounds.

Congratulations, Arizona!

It's over.

2007-08-15T11:36:00.001-07:00

According to the Arizona Republic, the Diamondbacks released Byung-Hyun Kim. According to Kendricks, Kim will likely go to Japan to play. That's too bad! Arizona has always had good luck when facing him... now that's out of the question.

What a waste of time, money, energy, and several jerseys. At least they saw their mistake and got rid of him.

KIM!!!!!!!!!!

2007-08-14T21:39:00.000-07:00

They supposedly put a bid in on Kim to keep another team in the West from picking him up? Why? The D-backs knocked him around when he opposed them. Even if they have to pay financially by dropping him, they need to do it. It will be a lot less than they paid Ortiz to go away.

Tonights box: B. Kim 0.1 IP 4 Earned Runs

Let's not forget Kennedy who they picked up off waivers and who gave up 6 runs tonight. He actually out did Kim in that area with the .1 IP and 6 ERs.

Hey D-backs next time it might not be such a bad idea to let players fall to other teams during August Waivers.

Hopefully Cirillio pays off for them. That is if we still have him. I just looked at the Box Score again and I didn't see him get a bat in the blow-out.

Let's Hope the Experiment is Over

2007-08-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

Two and two-thirds innings pitched. 78 pitches thrown. An ERA of 23.6. We've barely seen Byung-Hyun Kim... but I've seen more than enough.

He's getting more efficient, though. It took him 63 pitches to spot Pittsburgh 5 runs last week, but he managed to give Florida 4 runs on 17 pitches while only getting one out! His own throwing error helped, of course.

Gotta hand it to the bullpen though... they managed to give up TEN more runs, and I stopped paying attention in the 7th. Perhaps the Marlins will get a few more.

While I'm sure Florida was delighted to see Kim return, I certainly hope he's gone before his next scheduled start against Atlanta.

Geez. Like no one saw this coming???

David Wells as a Fifth Starter?

2007-08-09T15:21:00.000-07:00

San Diego is dumping Boomer, and given his ties to the Diamondbacks (Kirk Gibson is a good friend of his), he seems like a much better option that BK. He's not a bad value, either... his current salary is $3 Million compared to Kim's $2.5 million.

Classless... but they were right.

2007-08-09T11:58:00.001-07:00

I found it pretty classless that hometown fans booed Byung-Hyun Kim when he debuted in the first inning last night. I understand that he is no fan favorite, but he IS a human being, and he hadn't even thrown a pitch!

Granted, it turned out they were right, and the boos he received after being pulled in the 3rd inning were well-deserved.

Why in the world did they sign this guy? They get to pay the remainder of his $2.5 million contract, and I wouldn't be surprised if they skip him when his next start comes (there's a day off that will allow them to just use four pitchers over the next five days).

I understand that Petit's last two outings were pretty rough, but his ERA is still below the league average. Isn't that good enough for a 5th starter? Perhaps the Diamondbacks are just experimenting. they can bring Petit up (and send him back down) as many times as they want, and in the meantime try out a few other guys.

I just never would have guessed it would be Kim.

Here's another mystery: Why did the Marlins put Kim on waivers?

I suspected that it was some kind of personality conflict... Kim just won his last start only a day earlier, posting a season-best 10 Ks. He went 5-3 for the Marlins since May, and seemed like a good fit for them.

I couldn't find anything in the Florida newspapers, except a quote from the manager who refused to answer why Kim was waived. He referred the reporters to the general manager.

I just now found a blog post at FishStripes, a very fine Fan blog for the Marlins. The author suspects it was all about dumping salary now that it is obvious Florida is not playing into October. Take a look.

What is Going On?

2007-08-03T22:38:00.000-07:00

Dbacks won't resign Byrnes. They make him the new face of the team. Gonzo gone... cheer for Byrnes. But then they won't pay him what he is worth for a couple seasons. No they want to bring up players that aren't ready for the Big Show.. Quentin, Upton, (at times Chris Young) I have nothing against these young guys. I just think the current ownership is rushing guys up to the big leagues.

Are they modeling themselves against Atlanta? Well at least the Braves aren't afraid to resign the veterans when needed.

I believe the dbacks have a talented pool in the minors. I do not always believe in the way they manage them though. They have had some awesome win streaks and some horrible losing streaks. When it comes down to it though this team is carried by guys like Hudson and Byrnes.

Management is crazy to think that this team doesn't need those two in the future. How can you expect the youth to mature without these role models. Also you have to spend money to make money.

Tonight before I heard the story, my husband gave me the worst news... they picked up Kim off waivers.... They sign the biggest head case in the history of the Dbacks, but they can't keep fan favorites around.

Webb regaining Cy Young form?

2007-04-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

Diamondbacks fans exhaled a collective sigh of relief last night when Brandon Webb set a personal best for strikeouts (13) and held the Padres to a single earned run over eight innings.

Webb was back at the top of his game, walking just two batters and yielding only a single fly ball. Out of the 106 pitches he threw, 75 were strikes.

Webb deserved the win, but was stymied by Chris Young's dreadful error in the eighth inning, and the Diamondback's terrible record of often not providing run support for their ace pitcher (ask Randy Johnson about this topic...).

If Webb can keep it together, and Don Davis can bring his walk count down some more, this could be a pretty formidable rotation. It's gonna be a fun year.

WooHoo: Eric Byrnes drives in the go-ahead run in the 12th after San Diego intentionally walked Stephen Drew to get to him. Said Byrnes: "You're not human and probably not playing baseball at this level if you're not going to take that personally."
Boooooo: Chris Young drops a routine fly ball, stealing Webb's possible win and forcing extra innings on the bullpen. Concentrate, dude!

Colorado Series Wrap-up

2007-04-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

The Diamondbacks just keep gettin' it done. After four series, they've managed to win three of them, sweep one of them, retain 1st place in the NL West, and have the most wins in baseball.

They continue to win thanks to:

Starting pitchers who keep them in games
Timely hitting
Solid defense (they're third in the NL for double plays turned)
A stellar bullpen (Although Valverde scares me).

With only 13 games under their belts, they have a long way to go, but everything we've seen so far looks pretty good.

WooHoo: Tony Clark hits two towering homeruns while wearing Jackie Robinson's number 42.
Boooooo: Stephen Drew looks nothing like a leadoff man in this series: 2 for 12, 2 walks.

He coulda been our Bill Buckner

2007-04-15T15:56:00.000-07:00

As I was watching Byung-Hyun Kim hold the Diamondbacks to only 5 runs in 3 innings before injuring his thumb this afternoon, I was reminded how grateful I am that he is long gone from the Arizona roster.

It also got me to thinking. His blown saves in Yankee Stadium during the 2001 World Series are just a footnote-- part of the drama that set the stage for Gonzo's magical bloop hit. But what if that hit in the bottom of the 9th never materialized? Any number of things could have gone slightly differently, and Jeter & Co. would have chalked another world championship up to Yankee Aura and Mystique. How, though, would we have seen it?

Imagine watching the bottom of the 9th inning of that amazing game seven. Now, imagine that it ended a bit differently: Tony Womack flies out, or maybe Luis Gonzalez grounds out to shortstop. Game over! Oh, the pain! We came so close! I hate those Yankees! How did this happen? We were up 2 games to 1 in New York, and nearly won both games 4 and 5! Damn that Derek Jeter. If he and his buddies hadn't come back when we had the games won... hey... Kim blew both of those games! If he had just not blown one of his two save opportunities in New York, Game 6 would have been the end of it!

Yes, if the Diamondbacks had not staged one of the most miraculous comebacks in World Series history, Kim would have become the most hated Arizona player of all time. Twenty years from now, we'd still mutter under our breath when his name is mentioned. Byung-Hyun Kim would have become our Bill Buckner.

Kim owes a lot to the Diamondbacks for what they did (by winning game seven), probably more than he can imagine. He's lucky to only be a mediocre sidearm reliever with control problems, making 2.5 million dollars a year. He could have been a legend.

It's the little things

2007-04-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you blow out an opponent (series vs. the Nationals), and other times it is little things that make the difference. Little things such as: Error-free defense, manufacturing runs with bunts and sacrifice fly balls, making pitches when you have to, and turning double plays.

The Diamondbacks did all of these tonight, and overcame a magnificent performance by Bronson Arroyo to beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-2.

Don Davis pitched well enough to win (he reduced his walks to 3 while lasting 6 innings), and the bullpen did its job. This team is actually fun to watch!

Early season leaders:

Longest winnings streak in baseball (5)
Most wins in baseball (6)
First place in the NL West
Most strikeouts in baseball (67)

WooHoo: Tracy advances to 3rd on Scott Hairston's perfect bunt, and scores the winning run when Chris Snyder lifts a perfect sac fly to center.
Boooooo: Seeing Red on opening day. As with the series in Washington, I couldn't tell which team was which without reading the names on their backs. It's gonna be a long time before I like these wholly unoriginal uniforms.

Diamondbacks sweep Nationals, move into first place

2007-04-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

Exceptional pitching and more than sufficient offense propelled Arizona to a four-game sweep of the Washington Nationals.

Okay, it's just the Nationals (who with the exception of today's game had trailed by at least 4-0 in every game), but sweeping any team on the road is worth noting.

Being in first doesn't hurt, either. San Diego beat the Rockies today, leaving Arizona alone atop the NL West with a 5-2 record... and they haven't yet played a home game!

The starting rotation has performed very well, with the exceptions of Brandon Webb's opening day trouble and Doug Davis' high number of walks.

The only remaining question for me is this: Can they pitch like this against a real team? I guess we'll find out tomorrow, when Cincinnati comes to town.

WooHoo: Livan Hernandez takes a no-hitter into the sixth, throws 7 shutout innings, and helps sweep his old team.
Boooooo: Nationals fans, of whom only 17,000 came out to see their team on Sunday.

In a word: Sloppy.

2007-04-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

Three games: Five errors, 15 walks, two losses.

Those are the relevant numbers. Sure, the D-backs rank 6th in RBIs, 10th in batting average, and 12th in on-base percentage in all of baseball, so we know the offense is working... but the losses are all related to sloppy play on defense (by pitchers and fielders, alike).

It often comes down to fundamentals, and the Diamondbacks need to clean up their act. 'Nuff said.

WooHoo: Eric Byrnes! He's hitting .500, has two RBIs, 1 HR, and a stolen base.
Boooooo: J.D. Durbin... ouch! That was truly painful. He deserved the Loss more than Davis. Unfortunately for him, Arizona has already designated him for assignment.

Bullpen continues to shine, Mostly.

2007-04-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

For the second straight night, the Arizona bullpen was sharp, for the most part.

With the game tied at 2, Tony Pena had a little trouble in the 8th. Giving up a one-out double to Garrett Atkins, and then intentionally walking Todd Helton, he suddenly was on the verge of letting the game get out of hand. Matt Holiday woke up the Coors Field crowd with a line drive to Eric Byrnes, and then Scott Hairston made it all better by scooping up Brad Hawpe's single and throwing Atkins out at the plate with a PERFECT throw.

Pena retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth, and Brandon Lyons came on in the bottom of the tenth to do the same.

After Stephen Drew gave the Diamondbacks the lead in the top of the 11th, on came the Big Potato. The Rockies were sure glad to see him! They had no trouble making contact-- every batter that faced him put the ball in play. He almost got out of it with a beautiful double play by Drew & Co., but then a failed (but valiant) attempt by Byrnes to catch a liner tied the game, and a ground ball touched (but not stopped) by Alberto Callapso dribbled into left field. Yep, Valverde managed to blow the save AND lose the game.

Still, what did we expect from him? Even when he's good, he's scary. He sure wasn't good or scary tonight.

WooHoo: Livan Hernandez pitched 7 strong innings.
Boooooo: D-backs put gloves on the last two balls hit by Colorado, both missed, runs scored.

Webb unimpressive; doesn't matter, though!

2007-04-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

Brandon Webb looked nothing like the reigning Cy Young award winner, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits over just five innings. It turns out that didn't matter much, since Eric Byrnes and his buddies combined for 8 runs and a Diamondbacks victory over Colorado.

So, what does it mean? Not much, of course, since there are 161 games to go. But a win is a win, and they'll take it. Any other takeaways? Well, for one thing, it looks like Coors Field is still a hitters park. It also looks like Arizona isn't going to have as much trouble scoring runs as they've had in the past.

After four years of losing on opening day, it's nice they won one.

Big Unit's Recovery On Schedule

2007-03-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

Randy Johnson took the mound today, facing live hitters for the first time since his back surgery. Throwing 52 pitches during batting practice, Johnson was happy with his progress.

"To not have any real setbacks other than maybe a stiff back here and there, I think that's to be expected, especially with the workload I've been doing this quickly," Randy said.

Read more at Yahoo! Sports.

This could be interesting

2007-01-09T07:21:00.000-08:00

So it has come to pass: Randy Johnson is returning to the team where he earned so many Cy Young awards.

I have to confess that I am more than a little excited about this development, and I'm not sure why. It's likely that the Big Unit will win 15 games or fewer this season, but I just think things are going to be different in the club house and on the field. Randy was an outsider in New York, but he will be an automatic leader for Arizona.

The rotation looks much better with him than without, and 15 wins would be pretty helpful. Only two D-backs besides Brandon Webb had more than 10 wins last year, and they're both gone (Batista to the Mariners, and Claudio Vargas was traded to the Brewers in the Doug Davis deal).

I don't know why, but I feel that Randy is far from through. I'm looking forward to heading out to Chase field for a couple of his starts, and I won't be shy about checking his numbers in the box score every fifth morning after. I just have a good feeling about this.