Diamondbacks Notes
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Diamondbacks Notes: April 11, 2009
* WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES - There were dark clouds gathering around Chase Field yesterday. The Diamondbacks were in the NL West cellar, their bats and bullpen were scuffling, their ace was scratched from a Saturday night start due to shoulder soreness, leaving the club to face Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers without its biggest weapon. It remains a bit overcast in Phoenix this Saturday, but on account of some recent developments, the Snakes are feeling sunny. Read on, Diamondbacks Nation.
* GAME 1 GOES TO THE GOOD GUYS - The warm glow started with Friday night's 9-4 win in Game 1 of the Dodgers' series. In a match-up we identified as key, Jon Garland (7 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) easily out-pitched the Los Angeles starter, James McDonald (2.1 IP, 2 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K). Garland enjoyed a comfortable margin for most of the game, thanks to a five-run third inning that included big hits from Chris B. Young (3/3, 3 R, 2B, HR, RBI, BB) and Conor Jackson (2/5, 3 RBI,...
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Diamondbacks Notes: April 7, 2009
* ROCKIES TAKE GAME 2 - Colorado shut out Arizona 3-0 on Tuesday night, evening both clubs' records at 1-1. The season's second game was radically different from the opener. After trading runs early and often in Game 1, both clubs were held scoreless tonight until the fifth inning. Leading off the inning, Troy Tulowitzki cracked his second home run in as many games on a first-pitch curveball that Dan Haren grooved over the heart of the plate. The pitch was the only real miscue of the night for Haren, who didn't walk a batter and finished with a handsome line of 7 IP, 3 H, R, ER, 9 K.
If the Rockies' Ubaldo Jimenez (7 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 8 K) was not quite as sharp, he came through when it counted. Jimenez induced a double-play to end Arizona's two-on, no-out threat in the second. He again put a pair of runners on before striking out Miguel Montero to end the Diamondbacks' threat in the sixth.
Colorado tacked on a pair of runs against Jon Rauch to extend the lead in the eighth,...
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Diamondbacks Notes: April 3, 2009
* BONES BRIGADE - Diamondbacks Nation was introduced to James Skelton when Arizona snagged him from the Tigers in the Rule 5 draft. He got a fair bit of play in the Cactus League, showing the defensive versatility to man multiple positions. Unfortunately for Skelton, his bat didn't come to play this spring: he finished just .150 / .244 / .175 in 40 AB. That was not nearly good enough to earn Skelton a roster spot, but the spike in the middle of that line highlights part of what the Diamondbacks saw in Skelton in the first place. The young man draws a mean walk. He had 5 BB in 45 PA this spring, despite failing to demonstrate enough power in his skinny 165 lbs frame to scare opposing pitchers. (With his distinctive surname and slight build, Diamondbacks Nation proposes that "Bones" is an ideal nickname.)
Skelton possesses a keen plate discipline that belies his age. The 23-year old has advanced no higher than AA, where he has appeared in just 24 games, but he commands the strike...
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Diamondbacks Notes: March 30, 2009
* MANOS DE PIEDRA - Diamondbacks Nation is counting on Mark Reynolds to improve on his strikeout-rate from last season. He set a ML record with 204 K in 2008, so there's considerable room for improvement. In a sense, Reynolds has put himself into elite company, as the record was previously held by notable sluggers Ryan Howard (197 K in 2007) and Adam Dunn (194 K in 2004).
We wish whiffs were the only flaw in Reynolds' game. Not historic but also frightening were his ML-leading 34 errors ... 11 more than any other player. In 2008, Reynolds ranked dead-last in fielding percentage and third worst in Range Factor among regular 3B. (National League numbers are cited, but no one in the AL was any worse.)
As Nick Piecoro mentioned in the Arizona Republic, Reynolds is committing errors with even greater frequency in spring. He has a half-dozen in Cactus League games and flubbed a seventh error in an exhibition loss to Mexico. Seven errors per 20 games would give him about 57 errors...
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Diamondbacks Notes: January 28, 2009
* HELLO, DIAMONDBACKS NATION! - Welcome back. After a test-run in 2008, we're rolling out DBN v. 2.0 in earnest for the 2009 season. A schedule of preseason features will be posted soonly to whet your appetite for Arizona Diamondbacks baseball. DBN is also looking for correspondents to contribute game recaps, notes and features to the site, so if you're up to the task, we'd love to hear from you. Now, without further ado, let's get to the juicy news for this week ...
* AND YOU MAY GATHER GARLANDS THERE - The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro reports this morning that the Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with righty starter Jon Garland, who recently rebuffed the club's offer of a two-year contract. The pending deal is believed to be for one year at a guaranteed salary of $6M-8M, with an option for a second season. We'll look more closely at the signing when we release our season preview, but DBN's gut reaction is that Garland is a useful mid- to back-of-the-rotation starter...
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