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Top 5: Reasons To Be Happy About The Diamondbacks
Diamondbacks Nation has been feeling a bit frustrated about the start to the season for the Snakes.
Perhaps our expectations were too high. Our sense is that this team is capable of much more than they have consistently shown so far. But we have not lost faith.
Rather, we think the team is capable to achieve great things in 2009. We only want to see the Diamondbacks play to the true level of their abilities.
There are plenty of reasons to be happy about the Arizona Diamondbacks. Here are our Top 5 --
1. The Rotation Is Strong. The win-loss record does not show it, but the Snakes' starting pitchers have been incredible in 2009. Through thirteen games, Arizona’s rotation has made five quality starts (defined as at least six innings pitched with three runs or fewer allowed). But even when they've not met the QS-standard, the starters have kept the team in games.
Only twice in the first thirteen have the Diamondbacks starters really taken it on the chin. Those games featured...
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Series Preview: Diamondbacks @ Giants
* PREVIEW: ARI @ SF - There are just two teams in the National League off to a poorer start than the Diamondbacks (3-6). The first is the dysfunctional Washington Nationals (1-7) franchise; the other is the San Francisco Giants (2-7). The Snakes will have wait until May to sink their fangs into the Nats, but as Arizona embarks on its first road trip of the season, the NL West-rival Giants look like a feast of kangaroo rats.
The Diamondbacks just completed a three-series home-stand that ought to have been a springboard into contention, but was more akin to a backyard trampoline accident. San Francisco fared even worse over their first nine games. After winning a home set with the Brewers, they were swept on a six-game trip through San Diego and Los Angeles. Thanks to the Giants, the Diamondbacks are not the doormats of the division.
How brutal has San Francisco been? For a sample, consider the probable starting pitchers for this weekend.
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Farm Bureau: April 10, 2009
* CLASS A+: VISALIA RAWHIDE - In the California League, the Rawhide (formerly known as the Oaks) got off to a good start with a 6-5 road win over the Padres' affiliate, the Lake Elsinore Storm.
Although top prospect Jarrod Parker is expected to headline the Visalia rotation, his 2009 debut was deferred until Saturday so that Max Scherzer could make a rehab start in the opener. Scherzer went 4.2 IP, H, ER, 4 BB, 5 K as he continues his recovery from shoulder soreness that landed him on the DL. The walks suggest he's not yet in top form, but Scherzer finished the Cactus League strong and should be on track to join the Diamondbacks rotation next week.
Batting third and playing right field was mighty-mite Collin Gowgill; he powered the Visalia offense with a 2/2, 3 R, 2B, 2 BB, 2 RBI performance. A 5'9", 195 lbs product of the University of Kentucky (the alma mater of Brandon Webb), Cowgill was rated by Baseball America as the No. 9 prospect in the Diamondbacks organization. With a...
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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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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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