Jon Rauch
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Diamondbacks Notes: April 22, 2009
* GAME 2 GOES TO THE ROCKIES - The Diamondbacks (5-9) are almost ready to put together a total team effort. On Tuesday night, Arizona got another worthy performance from a starting pitcher: Yusmeiro Petit (5 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 4 K). The offensive surge continued, powered by Chris B. Young, Eric Byrnes and Mark Reynolds homers. Felipe Lopez had three of the Snakes eleven hits against the Rockies (5-8).
Now if only the bullpen can do its part, the Snakes will be in business. Asked to protect a three-run lead, the relief corps instead surrendered six runs in the last four frames. The final result was a 9-6 Colorado win. On account of the loss, Arizona remains without back-to-back and series wins on the year. The Diamondbacks will try to take the rubber match this afternoon at Chase Field.
* BULLPEN BLUES - Arizona relief pitchers have been spared some scrutiny for the team's woes. This owes in part to the slow start on offense. There have been few late leads to protect, so...
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Major Chords: Bonifacio has Speed to Burn
One-time Diamondbacks prospect Emilio Bonifacio has always had wheels. In a minor league career spanning 656 games (2841 plate appearances), Bonifacio swiped a total of 233 bags. On a per-game basis, that would translate to more than 50 SB over a full ML season. His 77.7% success rate suggests Bonifacio was picking his spots well, too.
But speed on the base paths is only valuable if a runner can in fact get on base. And in that department, Bonifacio was found lacking. As a farmhand, he posted a combined line of .285 / .341 / .362 with 212 BB against 532 K. Considering that much of Bonifacio's time was spent in the hitter-happy environments at A+ Lancaster and AAA Tucson, the numbers are pretty underwhelming.
Here are the raw and adjusted statistics (source: Baseball Prospectus) from his last three stops in the Arizona system.
| YEAR | LVL | TEAM | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | ...
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2009 DIAMONDBACKS SEASON PREVIEW - PART IV
* LOOKING FORWARD - Having once been a team of veterans drawn from other clubs, Arizona enters 2009 with a roster whose players are predominantly young and of local origin. For most of these players, the coming season will be their third together as a group. The experience of developing as a team is rare in modern baseball, where free agency and trades shuffle almost every organization's roster annually.
Indeed, the Diamondbacks have not been immune to turnover on their pitching staff or in the field. Several key players are gone from the 2008 edition. Unable to work out a new pact with the club, Randy Johnson has taken his quest for 300 wins to San Francisco. Orlando Hudson has joined another division rival, signing on to play second base with the Dodgers. A third NL West team, the Padres, have made David Eckstein their starting second baseman. The Nationals reached a two-year agreement with Adam Dunn, who will play first base in Washington. Ex-closer Brandon Lyon joined the...
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Diamondbacks Notes: August 16, 2008
* ARI @ HOU, GAME 1 -- The Diamondbacks crossed the plate early and often, cruising to a 12-2 win over Houston in Friday's series opener. Astros' lefty starter Wandy Rodriguez issued five walks and Arizona batted around in the top of the first inning. But the visitors scored only three runs in that frame, as Chris Burke and Brandon Webb both took called third strikes with the bases loaded. Webb would need no more support, his Cy Young form evidenced by a line of 8 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 6 K on 82 pitches. His teammates took no chances and scored in all but two innings. Every starting position player notched a hit and reached home safely at least once on the night. In short, this was a laugher.
* ARI @ HOU, GAME 2 -- By a score only a litte less one-sided than Friday's final, Arizona gave Houston a case of déjà vu and defeated the hosts 11-5 on Saturday. The winning formula was eerily familiar -- a crooked number in the top of the first, a dominant pitching peformance, and...
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Diamondbacks Notes: August 14, 2008
* ARI @ COL, GAME 2 -- Arizona fell behind early Wednesday night before mounting a pair of rallies, first to tie the game at 4-4 in the seventh inning, then again to draw to within a run in the ninth following Brad Hawpe's two-run HR off Jon Rauch in the bottom of the eighth. Despite the Diamondbacks' resilience, Colorado evened the series as Brian Fuentes struck out Adam Dunn with the bases loaded to seal a 6-5 Rockies win.
* WEB GEMS -- With runners on the corners and no outs in the bottom of the sixth inning of last night's game, Augie Ojeda combined with Stephen Drew to turn a pretty double-play. Drew fielded an Ian Stewart grounder, then checked Brad Hawpe at 3B before throwing to Ojeda to force Troy Tulowitzki out at 2B. Ojeda, who started at 2B for the third straight game following Orlando Hudson's season-ending wrist injury, smartly saved a run by again looking Hawpe back to the bag before firing to 1B to finish the 6-4-3 twin-killing.
* TRACY GETS HOT -- The Dunn...
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