Diamondbacks Notes: May 24, 2009
Justin Upton doesn't get a lot of credit for his glove because (a) his bat commands so much attention; and (b) he makes mistakes of inexperience that create the false impression he's a poor defender. But the same talent that makes him a monster at the plate is being harnessed in the field.
See here, as Upton dives for a liner in the gap, similar to a ball he'd muffed earlier in the evening.
On the first attempt, the lights of the football stadium in which the Oakland Athletics play baseball blinded him to the ball. With a second run at it, Upton was able to pluck from the air a dying drive that would have been a double or a triple against a less rangey fielder.
That sequence from Arizona's 8-7 comeback victory on Saturday night represents in microcosm Upton's rapid development. His youth and 0-for-14 after two weeks had some ticketing him for AAA. One month later, Upton is recognized as the obvious choice to bat third in the order.
The trick for the Diamondbacks is not asking the 21-year to carry the team.
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For all his mental mistakes in other phases of the game, Felipe Lopez has swung the bat well since Day 1. Gerardo Parra has been a hit from his first at-bat in the two-hole. Especially of late, Mark Reynolds has carried his weight and then some. And with Stephen Drew slated to assume the clean-up role, Reynolds can bat No. 5, a duty to which his power and strikeouts are suited.
AJ Hinch has ruffled a lot of feathers in his two weeks on the job. He's also settled the lineup. That seems to have sparked the offense, at least the top of it. Half an offense is better than none.
If, in addition, Arizona continues to get contributions from other hitters, like the Chris B. Young homer in Friday's 2-1 win and Chad Tracy's two-run double on Saturday night, then the Diamondbacks have more than half an offense.
They have a pulse.
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