» Arizona Diamondbacks News

I’m more than content. Cliff Lee was lights out for the Phillies, they have less payroll flexibility for 4 years, and the Phillies could have had both Lee & Halladay leading that rotation together.

Halladay; Lee; Hamels;  Happ; Blanton/Drabek/Moyer would have been Lights Out.

Also I think some other moves fall into place now. The Mariners upgraded already this off season with the Figgins signing and another ace in Lee. I think they’ll next go with power in LF via Bay or Holliday, which then potentially forces the other to accept a little less money from the Mets/Giants/Red Sox/Yankees. However, with Cameron to Boston, the Sox are out of it, and in my opinion Damon (for 5-7 million and 3-4 years less than Holliday) re-signs with the Yankees. Therefore, either Holliday or Bay signs to a slightly less than expected deal with the Mets.

No matter what, I fully expect the Phillies to take the NL East yet again – unlike the past 3 years.

I truly wish the Mets were the 3rd team in the Yankees-Tigers-(D-backs) deal replacing the D-backs. I thought 0f a crazy, but interesting scenario that could have actually worked: Carlos Beltran, Ike Davis, Fernando Martinez, Wilmer Flores, Ruben Tejada or Reese Havens, and Brad Holt or Bobby Parnell from the Mets; Robinson Cano, Phil Hughes, Austin Jackson from the Yankees, and Edwin Jackson, Curtis Granderson, and Miguel Cabrera from the Tigers.

Mets receive: Miguel Cabrera/1b, Robinson Cano/2b, Curtis Granderson/cf, Phil Hughes/sp (go on to sign a FA LF & another SP and their offseason needs would have been completed beyond expectations)

Yankees receive: Carlos Beltran, Edwin Jackson, Wilmer Flores (and go on to sign Hudson or FA 2b + FA lf)

Tigers receive: Ike Davis, Fernando Martinez, Tejada/Havens, Holt/Parnell, Austin Jackson (and get even more payroll flexiblity trading Miguel Cabrera for a decent haul). I of course understand the Tigers got a very nice haul of SP’s from the trade they actually did complete with the Yanks & D-back. I think if Scherzer stays healthy, Verlander through Porcello can still keep them toward the top of the AL Central.

Do you think my proposed 3-way above is irrational, however? It completely depletes the Mets farm system, which isn’t great any way, but I think it instantaneously helps them compete with the Phillies.

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It’s been a while since I have been here and I’m absolutely positive you’ve missed me.

Where have been? Between migrating back to the midwest and hitting up a few Twins games, I have been on the hunt for the next best thing in life. Coincidentally, the Diamondbacks are doing the same. No, they aren’t selling the farm just yet. They are, however, looking at making a second half run. So far Josh Byrnes has been weighing his options, possibly shopping around Garland and Davis as well as dumping Tony Pena for a minor league first basemen from the Sox (Good riddance). The only thing I’m still skeptical about is why Arizona still has Juan Gutierrez and Blaine Boyer: They’re terrible. It’s time to say good by and bring up some newbs from the minors. Great options lie in Jarrod Parker and Bryan Augenstein who are destined to be starters but right now it can’t hurt to bring them up to get comfortable in the big show.

But seriously, Arizona will make a run in this last half of the season. No, they will not make the playoffs but I can guarantee they’ll turn some heads (as long as Gutierrez is cut). Stop laughing and don’t try to act like you’re not. The hitting is coming around and the pitching is definitely improved. All things considered, I think in the end their record will be around or just under .500 and you will probably be in disbelief. Care to weigh in?

On a final note: 1 of my 2 preseason predictions are holding true: San Francisco is for real and they are a strong contender for the wild card (since they’re leading it). There was some doubt on my original post and now has come to be semi-hilarious now that the Giants are contenders, while Arizona sits in the dust. Will the Giants overtake the Dodgers? I sure hope so because I cannot stand seeing Manny Ramirez happy. Go Giants.

Listen close, Arizona Front Office:

No more saying our current bullpen will come around because it’s not going to happen. Why? Because a few, er, a majority of the pitchers need to go to the minors and work on control or just are unable to handle the pressure.

After witnessing it in person in Seattle tonight, I will be EXTREMELY upset if Arizona does not move at least five or six people from their bullpen. “But that’s such a high number!” Yes, but that is what it’s going to take to help Arizona from blowing games.

To give Seattle credit, Griffey’s two-run home run sent chills down my back, especially since his entrance song was that old Chicago Bulls warmup theme. But still, after being annoyed by Seattle sports talk radio claiming “Griffey changed our season,”  I feel it was Tony Pena screwing up more than anything. He’s a mental case and was probably thinking, “Oh Gawd, it’s Ken Griffey Jr. What am I suppose to do?”

If I were the GM of the team, here’s what I *think* I would do:

1. Give Schoenweiss more time to work mechanics. Yeah, he’s old and he hasn’t been that reliable, but his wife just died (I’m weak, I know). Just need to drill in his head that he needs to pitch for her.

2. Send Esmerling Vasquez and Dan Schlereth to the Minors. They both have crazy speed and potential, but horrible command. They are not ready for the big league level.

3. Trade Qualls, Gutierrez, and Pena for José Valverde. Wait, didn’t we trade FOR two of these three guys two years ago, sending Valverde to the Astros? Yes, but there is a need for an intense and flashy closer on the team. Even though he blows a few saves he makes things exciting.

4. Even if we don’t get Valverde, we need some bullpen guys. Clay Zavada can be our new closer and Leo Rosales can be our setup man. No one is more consistent in the pen than these guys.

Super Stache: Zavada Can Save the DBacks Pen Whoas, One Mustache at a Time.

5. Cut Byrnes. Who cares if Arizona owes him money; they’re paying for little to nothing as is, so why not get him off the team and let someone more deserving help them win.

If Arizona’s bullpen blows another game, which with the current setup they will, I may have to send Josh Byrnes an email asking why he won’t make moves in his bullpen and hope to God I get a response.

I’ll admit it: off-days feel like an eternity. Lucky for me, the DBacks are one of the few teams that do not have today off. They’ll be kicking off their series against the Cinnicnati Reds tonight with John Garland taking to mound. But wait, who’s pitching tomorrow for the Reds? Micah Owings.

Crap.

If you’re not familiar with Micah Owings, let me introduce you: he’s a pitcher with a big stick. When Micah was with the DBacks the last few years, Bob Melvin

Spring Loaded: Pitcher Micah Owings Also Features a Big Bat.

would use him as a pinch-hitter so he wouldn’t have to deplete his bench. When was the last time you’ve ever heard of a pitcher being used to pinch hit?

Either way, it brings the Reds an actual 9th batter to the lineup. I will point out that Owings ERA has steadily been climbing the last few years, ultimately leading to his trade last September: 4.30, 5.93, and currently 5.08. Sure, he can hit. But once he begins to struggle in a game there’s no getting out of that funk. In the back of my mind, anytime he issued two consecutive walks, you knew it was time to get a guy up in the bullpen (Bob Melvin never necessarily thought so).

Speaking of changes, AJ Hinch seems to slowly be finding his groove within this team. I will admit that I don’t think he’ll bring enough firepower to the table to help the “Struggle Backs” make the post-season (let alone a winning season). I’ll just start acting like a typical Cubs fan: there’s always next year!

Press release from dbacks.com can be found here. It’s official: Bob Melvin is Out. A.J. Hinch, the Arizona Diamondbacks farm director, is in.

Remember this Face: Rick Schu, You Led the Dbacks to the Worst Average in Baseball. Kudos.

You know how I said I’d like for Rick Schu to be cut?

“The club also dismissed Rick Schu as hitting coach and announced that Bryan Price resigned as pitching coach. “

Wow. Talk about getting my wishes. Hopefully the Dodgers hire him as their hitting coach.

After reading the news of Man Ram I wasn’t sure if I was having one crazy dream or if it was some big hoax. I’ll admit I was pretty ecstatic when I read the headlines because I absolutely hate the Dodgers. When anything bad (minus death) happens to them, deep down I’m filled with glee. But tonight, karma came back and bit me in the face with a little more serious news than I would have liked to have seen: Bob Melvin to be Dismissed as Manager.

Bob Melvin is a great manager and I feel as if the DBacks failure is not his alone. The front office should do a shakeup of the coaching staff altogether. Go ahead, cut off Rick Schu (hitting coach) and Glenn Sherlock (bullpen coach). Then again, the DBacks were hesitant to land a few big bats during the off-season. Sure, we signed John Garland and Felipe Lopez, but those two alone do not compensate for the poor play for the rest of the team (minus Haren).

R.I.P., Bob Melvin: DBacks Fire Melvin.

On the flip side, if firing only Bob Melvin is what the front office believes to be the best way to win more games, I support it 100%. However, if they are going into rebuilding mode I will rant and rave for all you to read on regular basis until something is done. This blog is big enough (with the ESPN appearance and all) to generate enough public outcry for the DBacks to appease the masses. I will not support a team that stoops to the level of the Pirates (in years past).

To the Diamondbacks front office: Get us a GOOD Manager and let’s win the WEST (please?!?!)!

After dropping two straight to the Giants, it feels pretty good getting a victory in extras. Is anyone else as surprised as I am to see Justin Upton have a GOOD game? He had 2 RBI’s, 2 walks and 1 HR. Hopefully we see more of this in the next few games with the Cubbies in town.

On another note, Arizona is hurting. Webb is going to be out for at least 6 weeks and Stephen Drew was placed on the 15-day DL for a hamstring issue. While I think we can survive without Drew, it’s going to be kind of rough not having Brandon Webb in the rotation. Sure, we have Haren, Davis and Scherzer, but Garland’s ERA is high and Petit isn’t consistent.

And one final thing: If I see more blue in the stands than sedona red tonight, I might puke. DBack fans need to get to the game and get rowdy; don’t let Chase Field become Wrigley South.

Notes: What I tend to do heavily in my rankings, unlike all the other rankings, is group players together based on their position/projection/potential. For example, in round 8/bubble I grouped together 4 cl (Brad Lidge and Jon Broxton as well as Matt Capps and Heath Bell). Broxton has had a great start and Lidge has had a rough one, but by season’s end the stats should be about the same. I also grouped together 6 sp (Rich Harden, Joba Chamberlain, Adam Wainwright, Yovani Gallardo, Josh Johnson, and Erik Bedard). These are all great sp’s with ?’s though – inning/injury concerns. Of course, I have 3+ weeks of the season now to include in my rankings (upping Zach Greinke and Josh Johnson on my list, but honestly guys like Carlos Quentin and Matt Kemp I already thought should be ranked where I have them), but here, I posted my rankings followed by a notes section [In the notes section,  I’ve bolded the players that are in the referenced round]. Within the rankings, I bolded some guys I like and ranked higher than most others, and italicized others I didn’t like as much or ranked lower than others or have since been hurt.

Top 12/Round 1:

In 2009, I think Miguel Cabrera could break 37 homers and 127rbis he had last season. He’s already off to a hot start, batting .431 up to this point. With an increase in runs from 85 to about 100 and to me – a sure increase in batting average from .292 to about .315, I think Miguel Cabrera could be ranked above David Wright this year. Similarly, I see Ryan Braun breaking 40hr and 15sb. If his avg raises passed .300, and I think it will, he too, could surpass Wright because of the HR total, but obviously I would take Wright over both Miggy and Braun b/c of 3b eligibility – Is Miggy 3b eligible in your league though??? Chase Utley to me at 2b just beats out Ian Kinsler (2b) because of the RBI total. He’s healthy, and he’s already got 4hr and 2sb with 12r, 12rbi, and a .362avg. One guy who is absolutely on fire, and probably will stay that way if healthy for a full season, is 2b (position scarcity) Ian Kinsler. His line is already: 15r-5hr-16rbi-7sb-.381avg. Most projections call for about 25sb, but I didn’t see why he can’t break 30 (now 35) with a full season – 118r-26hr-84rbi-34sb-295avg anyone??? Like I said, I’d honestly rank him above Utley if it wasn’t for Utley’s rbis’s – and for that matter at 2b he could also be above Wright/3b, Miguel Cabrera/1b, and Ryan Bruan/of by year’s end. Kinsler had 23 and 26sb respectively in the past 2 seasons in 483ab’s and 518ab’s. With health, and in that lineup, he should approach 550ab’s, score a ton of runs, and should have a decent amount of rbi opportunities. Evan Longoria jumps into the first round again because of position scarcity (3b) over Josh Hamilton (of) and Mark Teixeira (1b). He’s already on fire batting 10r-5hr-16rbi-1sb-.386avg.

Round 2/Players 13-24:

There may be some surprises in round 2. Justin Morneau is so clutch, I just can’t rank him any lower. I think 27-30hr and 120rbi with 95r and 300+ avg is justified where I have him. Alex Rodriguez will miss time, but there’s no question he could still go 100-32-105-12-300. There is only 2 more sure thing 3b’s in Kevin Youkilis and Aramis Ramirez in the next 4 rounds (Chone Figgins, just there for speed and Chipper Jones is so injury prone I think he should be in round 7). The New-B’s here are Carlos Quentin (of) (who is already studding it up, and I have no idea why most projections were so low on him maybe batting avg. He’s got 7hr already); Matt Kemp (of) (don’t love his lineup spot, but still a great lineup with a lot more rbi opp’s and he’s such a great power-speed combo – already at 13r-3hr-14rbi-4sb-.362); Nick Markakis (of) (who would be first round material if he gets more than my projected 23-25hr and 9-12sb. He should hit 100-105r and 105-110rbi with a .307-.315avg.

Round 3/Players 25-36:

Tim Lincecum/Manny Ramirez/Dustin Pedroia/ BJ Upton are all still 2^nd round material to me depending on if you like drafting one ace very early in Lincecum or stolen bases in Upton or position scarcity in Pedroia. Kevin Youkilis somehow remains underrated (especially because he’s 3b eligible). He contributes greatly to 4 categories: about 100-105r; 27-30hr; 109-115rbi; 3sb-4sb; .305-.315avg. I just don’t love Matt Holliday outside of Coors and in Oakland, but his 95/25/95/15 potential is still 2^nd round material if that’s his line by season’s end. Aramis Ramirez could be ranked right before Kevin Youkilis or maybe early into round 4, but at 3b, I still love him in the Cubbies lineup.

Round 4/Players 37-48:

Ichiro Suzuki is sometimes ranked in the top 24, and his avg, runs, sb’s make him worth it there, but his lack of hr and rbi keep him down here for me. I’m usually doing fine with sb providers by now (say Kinsler/2b-27sb, Longoria/3b-11sb, Kemp/of-30sb) or (Wright/3b-18sb, Soriano/of-25sb, and Markakis/of-10sb) – that’s 68sb and 53sb respectively. If you end up with like: Howard/1b-1sb and Santana/sp, and Crawford (of) or Roberts (2b) are already off the board, than Ichiro can get bumped up if you think you’ll need the sb. I’d rather someone else and go for Shane Victorino/Jacoby Ellsbury in round 5 though. To me, Brian Roberts is Ichiro Suzuki at 2b, so Roberts is much more valuable to me. Some people still think Carl Crawford can approach 20hr in a season, and depending on his lineup spot he could knock in 85rbi, but in the 2-whole it looks like he should have a line of 90runs;10-12hr;70-75rbi;30-40sb;283-287avg, which will still justify this rank or even a little higher. I think by now he can be considered injury prone. I honestly think he has top third round potential, but every guy I have in round 3 just knocks him down to round 4. Brandon Phillips is great at 2b, and he’s a solid 4 stat contributor with a nice young lineup, but his average keeps him in round 4 to me. I like Cole Hamels and Brandon Webb here so long as they’re healthy because they symbolize the end of the 4 category top-notch fantasy aces (w,era,whip,k). Josh Beckett, Roy Oswalt, and Chad Billingsley are great, but Beckett’s era could be somewhat high as can Billingsley’s whip, and Oswalt looks to be slowing down a bit and striking out less batters although he was fantastic in the 2^nd half of last year. I like the 3 catchers: Victor Martinez, Brian McCann, and Russell Martin here. McCann’s eye is a worry and Martin’s starting off somewhat slow, but by season’s end I think they’ll be worth it here. If the latter 2 slip into round 5, fine.

Round 5/Players 49-60:

I usually have top power guys (David Ortiz/Carlos Pena), top speed guys (Rafael Furcal/Shane Victorino/Jacoby Ellsbury), or power-speed combos (Nate McLouth/Bobby Abreu/Corey Hart/ Carlos Granderson) as well as position scarcity (Geovany Soto/c; Rafael Furcal/ss; Alexei Ramirez/2b-ss) all in round 5. Soto is just too good to let drop for a catcher. I could see him being a 4^th rounder next year with another consistent year – similar to where McCann, Martin, and a healthy Victor Martinez are. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Victor Martinez, Brian McCann, Geovany Soto, Russell Martin, Joe Mauer, and Matt Wieters all go in round 4 next year. 12 players-6 catchers-1 round…Mark it (round 5 the latest).

Round 6/Players 61-72:

I love Joey Votto for his 7-10 sb and .290-300avg in addition to 24-28hr and 90-100rbi. I wouldn’t mind going with Robinson Cano here either at 2b in the Yankees lineup either. I love Cano slipping to round 7/8 because I think he can perform to the line of 90-95r;18-20hr;90-95rbi;4-5sb;.292-.302avg. Here, I like the 4 closers too: Mariano Rivera, Joe Nathan, Joakim Soria, and Francisco Rodriguez – all great 3 category pitchers with a good amount of k’s for relievers as well, however, personally I wait to draft closers and may look to draft 3 in a row, come round 13/14. Chad Billingsley is already showing why I have him ranked here with 4 wins and a 26:9 k:bb ratio, and a Dodger team that should be just as good for years to come. [Dodgers Lineup: Furcal-Hudson-Manny-Ethier-Loney-Kemp-Martin-Blake] – wow! If Billingsley keeps the whip down, he’ll jump to round 4/5 prior to Beckett and Oswalt. I don’t love Chone Figgins at 3b or Dan Uggla’s avg, but you can’t go wrong with Figgins’ sb’s and Uggla at 2b. Ryan Ludwick (already at 5hr and 16rbi, 1sb, and batting .370), after a great year last year, was way too underrated in this year’s drafts – the power and rbi’s should be there.

Round 7/Players 73-84:

Chipper Jones gets drafted much earlier, and at 3b, he’s so good, but he just doesn’t stay healthy enough for me to rank him higher. We should all know about Chris Davis’ potential by now (and flaws). Carlos Delgado could be Delgado of 2008-2^nd half or 2008-1^st half. I think he’ll go 33-35hr; 110-115rbi. Aubrey Huff was great again last year, and at 3b & 1b, I like him a lot with Brian Roberts, Adam Jones, and Nick Markakis in front of him. I like Garret Atkins enough to rank him in round 6 at 3b, but to me everyone above him as a little more potential/better power/better position scarcity ala Michael Young (ss;3b). Adam Dunn, Joe Mauer (c), and Andre Ethier are all solid options here as well. Dunn looks to be on a mission; I love Ethier batting clean-up in that Dodger’s lineup (and he should get you some sb’s with a nice avg.) I like James Shields and Zack Greinke (round 8 ) b/c each will have both good era’s and whip’s, where as the next few sp’s could have a high whip or era.

Round 8/9; Players 85-104:

Here, as you can see, I favor sp’s. I actually get my first ace in round 7 or 8 and then attempt to draft 3 or 4 in a row. Felix Hernandez and Scott Kazmir can have fairly high whips, while AJ Burnett can have a fairly high ERA, and as good as the next wave of SP’s are (Harden; Joba; Wainwright; EBedard; JJohnson; Gallardo), they all have question marks in some way (inning concerns, injury concerns, or not enough of a sample size). Derek Lee is in a solid lineup, but hit only 22 and 20 hr in the past 2 years. Without pop, and slowing down in sb as well, I can see him falling out of the top 9 rounds next year.

As I said in my notes section, I group players based on positioning/potential/and your statistical needs. I probably won’t rank the next 15 rounds only because I over/under-rate some players based on position, stats, and potential, and then I’d give away all my strategy.Feel free to question/criticize/comment.

The latest advertising campaign up on dbacks.com states: “Make sure D-backs start Midsummer Classic.”

Are you kidding me? I know that every team is going to have advertising like this from now until July, but how in the heck can we get anyone starting, let alone on the bench, with poor play? Arizona finally won their first series of the year against the Rockies! That doesn’t mean we have all-stars ready to go! Outside of the Diamondbacks’ community, many people don’t think of our players (excluding pitchers) as big time players. My friends refer to Mark Reynolds as “Mr. Whiff” and Justin Upton as being “never has been,” meaning he’s been talked up so much but will never come through. Otherwise, Stephen Drew is often only referred to as JD’s brother, Conor Jackson is the big man that can’t hit home runs, and Eric Byrnes is that goofy guy that looks like Steve Prefontaine. Perhaps the best bet would be Felipe Lopez; he played for St Louis (a larger market team) and had a decent career there. Who knows: maybe we’ll get a boost of votes from the St. Louis fans?

Anyway, looking forward to the next series against the Giants, I’m looking forward to the rematch between Doug Davis and Tim Lincecum. Last time, it was an awesome pitcher’s duel and the only runs that were given up was due it part to the Giants bullpen. Can I get any “Beat Lincecum” cheers here?

Woo hoo! A win! After the bats were silent with a stellar outing from Dan Haren, they came alive in game two against the San Francisco Giants. It was only two runs but hey, it proved to be enough.

Did you see the box score for this game? If you didn’t, take a gander at the pitching totals. Both Lincecum and Davis pitched 8 solid innings, giving up 0 earned runs. On top of that, “The Freak” struck out 13, while Big D only shot down 6. The only flaw in the game seemed to be the Giants bullpen, surrendering the 2 wins that ultimately lead to a DBacks victory.

Looking forward, tomorrow’s game is going to be a hard one to watch: Randy Johnson takes the mound for the Giants against the multi-eye colored

Randy's Grin: You see the excitment on his face? Bring him back. He's going to be our first hall of famer.

phenom Max Scherzer. I want Arizona to win but I don’t want Randy to do bad. Why, Arizona, why?! If it wasn’t to win ball games, you should have kept Randy Johnson on board to sell tickets! Look what happened with Seattle and Ken Griffey Jr: Higher ticket sales and they’re WINNING. Don’t make me cheer against the guy that won four Cy Young awards with the team! Make a trade or something; you guys got Tony Clark back last year, why can’t you get Randy back? He needs to win his 300th game as a DBacks, as well as help guide Max Scherzer: the guy he’s dueling against tomorrow.

Time to put up or shut up, Josh Byrnes!