Augie Ojeda
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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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Game Report: Snakes v. Rockies, April 20, 2009
Winning a pitcher's duel, like the Diamondbacks did on Saturday, is great. To rally from behind on three-run bombs is a blast. Losing just sucks. There's drama in each, but we've had enough drama for awhile.
For a change, we wished for the Snakes to take control of a game and hold it through the final out. Back home on Monday night, they did just that.
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Jon Garland did his part and got his deserved second win. Six and two-thirds innings pitched, with six hits, a pair of walks, just one earned run and five strikeouts. If Arizona gets innings like that from the back of the rotation, much else will fall into place.
Garland got help, too. Diamondbacks bats were silenced in San Francisco. Two home run calls announced their return tonight.
Mark Reynolds and Miguel Montero connected loudly on balls that cleared the outfield fence. Reynolds' lashed his into the left field stands for an early 1-0 lead. We dig the long-ball, if you’re offering.
More than that, though, we’re down...
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Game Report: Snakes v. Cards, April 14, 2009
No Arizona player would have been better to come to the plate in the situation. Down by a 4-3 score in the eighth, runners on first and second bases, Arizona on a nasty grip of play. With two outs and the pitcher's spot up, Conor Jackson was called on to pinch hit.
The tension in the team had built in the months since Manny joined the Dodgers, through the end of 2008, over a frustrating off-season, during a loser of a spring, and well into the second week of the 2009 campaign. Hands, jaws and bellies all clenched.
How tightly wound were the Snakes, at three games below .500 despite playing their third consecutive home series? They were coiled, but not like Diamondbacks ready to strike. No, they were in a box, getting poked with a stick for their eighth game in a row.
LOVE DON'T GRIP.
Good thing Jackson is a flow player. There is a fluidity to his stance and the path of his bat that defies the paralyzing effects of pressure. He stands tall in the batter's box and swings his hips...
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Major Chords: Take a Bow, Craig Counsell
The first casting call was answered by Andy Fox. More recently, Augie Ojeda and David Eckstein have reprised the role. In Arizona franchise history, however, no one has played the part of scrappy utility infielder quite as famously as Craig Counsell.
Like fellow underdog Rudy Ruettiger, Counsell played his college ball at Notre Dame. Drafted in 1992 by the Rockies, he made his ML debut in 1995, but Counsell's Colorado career amounted to a total of one hitless at-bat in three games. A 1997 trade to Florida gave Counsell his first big break; in the post-season, he demonstrated his flair as a supporting actor by scoring a run in extra innings to win Game 7 of the World Series. The Fish sent Counsell to Hollywood midway through the 1999 season, but his spell with the Dodgers was panned by the critics.
Los Angeles released Counsell in the spring of 2000, and he soon thereafter signed with Arizona. He performed well in his first year with the Snakes, playing quality infield defense and...
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Lost Dog: Hudson Gone for Season, Maybe for Good
With the news that Orlando Hudson underwent surgery late Saturday night on his dislocated wrist, the Diamondbacks again find themselves missing their star 2B for the stretch run of the season. His is a critical loss during what Arizona hopes will be a second straight NL West championship campaign.
The club will still benefit from his leadership in the clubhouse, but the ODog's presence on the field cannot be easily replaced. He is an absolute witch with the leather, invaluable for a team whose leading pitcher is a groundball specialist. And while his modest power makes him an unlikely No. 3 hitter, Hudson played that role for the Diamondbacks. That a guy who has never surpassed 15 HR or 67 RBI in a season batted third in the order 97 times says a lot about Arizona's 2008 offense.
The Diamondbacks will be hard pressed to replace Hudson's glove or his .305 / .367 / .450 line. As they have no choice but to try, let's consider some of the options on the table.
Reports...
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