2014 Season Report (20 Games)

If the first 10 games of the season were rough for the Diamondbacks, the next 10 were brutal. It's easy to shake off the first few series of the season, sometimes good teams start 5-5 or 3-7 based on the way things break, but after 20 games a clearer picture starts to form. Teams who still look bad might just be bad, and Arizona is starting to look that way.

The highway from Scottsdale to Reno is already well worn, and it won't get any easier. Pitching continues to be an issue for the Diamondbacks as RP Will Harris was optioned to AAA and RHP Michael Bolsinger was called up. Bolsinger first appeared in a relief effort but was scheduled to start in place of the floundering Trevor Cahill. Cahill has been moved to the pen after getting hammered for 6ER in only 4IP, he will have to work his way back into the rotation. The Diamondbacks also optioned RP Nick Mardonde, and the putrid Lucas Harrell, making the pen even thinner.

Cahill has been horrible, can he work his way back to the rotation?

Gio Gonzalez continues to be solid, posting a 3-1 record with 24K and a 2.88ERA. One small ray of sunshine in the desert is the looming return of Jake Arrieta. Arrieta has completed a number of rehab starts and will slot right into the starting rotation when ready. The only other options available to Arizona are to make a trade or make call ups, neither will do much to help this season.

The offense has looked a little better as Paul Goldschmidt has come alive, Matt Adams and Domonic Brown both hit their first HRs of the season, but the good news ends there. Carlos Santana, Peter Bourjos, and Aaron Hill continue to be ice cold at the plate. If only to make things worse 2B Brian Roberts and SS JJ Hardy have already been hit with the "questionable" tag, not a good sign for the remainder of the season. Chris Owings has played well with Hardy ailing, but Hardy's power is more valuable than Owings' glove and speed.

2014 Season Report (10 Games)

After 10 games played, things are not looking good for the Diamondbacks. They have played well enough to be 2nd in the NL West, but right now that isn't much to write home about. The Padres are currently the worst team in baseball (2-8), and the Dodgers aren't much better at 4th worst in baseball (tied with St. Louis). For the most part it's hard to read too much into the early results with such a small sample size, but things need to get better fast or the fans are going to start booing.

As expected the Giants are the best team in baseball (8-2) and hold a healthy lead over the sluggish Diamondbacks (4-6) who are in desperate need of a hot streak. The offense and pitching has been disappointing to say the least, with few bright spots (Chris Owings) early in the season.

Owings' play has banished Gregorious to the minors.

Offensive Struggles

The Diamondbacks bats are definitely asleep. The entire roster has managed to muster a single HR, by 1B Paul Goldschmidt, and "slugger" Marc Krauss hasn't managed a single hit in 10 games played. The offense has managed to score runs, and most fans will be shocked to know that Goldschmidt (2) and SS Chris Owings (3) have combined for 5 of the team's 7 stolen bases. Many expect Owings to steal 20 bases, but the team cannot count on Goldschmidt to handle the rest. The biggest offensive disappointment has been CF Peter Bourjos, hitting a soft .227 with 4 runs scored and no stolen bases. Hopefully the trip to Australia is to blame, and the team will settle in as we approach the half-way point of April.

Pitching Disaster

Aside from the stellar Gio Gonzalez (2-0, 11K, 0.75ERA) the pitching staff has been closer to a dumpster fire than a professional rotation. Trevor Cahill lost a close game in his season opener, pitching well but getting no run support, and then followed it up with a real stinker. Cahill managed 3.2 innings while allowing 5ER despite striking out 5 and only walking one batter. The 26 year old is in a contract year and will need to do better if he expects a lengthy deal. Ian Kennedy has rewarded management for bringing him back so far (1-1, 9K, 3.27ERA), if he can keep this up over 200 innings the Diamondbacks can hope for a return to the playoffs. Henderson Alvarez and Lucas Harrell have been bad, and bad is a generous term for what Harrell has done. Harrell opening the season with a 5 run beating in only 3IP, he did strike out 3 but he also walked just as many. If Harrell and Alvarez don't picks things up this team is dead in the water.

The bullpen has been a real mixed bag, but overall it hasn't been a playoff caliber group. CL Jim Johnson has already blown a save, but put things together in his next two outings to record his first save of the season. Joakim Soria has also struggled, giving up 3 runs after briefly taking over the closer duties for one game. The ultimate head-scratcher has been RP Will Harris, who was incredibly solid through two games (3IP, 5K, 0ER), then completely imploded over the next two (1.2IP, 3K, 7ER). If this staff doesn't come together, or suffers another injury, winning games is going to be incredibly difficult.

2014 Topps Heritage - Arizona Diamondbacks

Roster Churns As Season Starts

The season is barely two days old and the Diamondbacks continue to suffer injures. The newest injury came for important RP David Hernandez, who will likely undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2014 season. Hernandez is an important part of the Diamondbacks bullpen, tossing 60+ inning the last three years. Hernandez's trip to the DL marks Arizona's third Tommy John of the year with Patrick Corbin and Matt Reynolds already out.

Losing Hernandez is a major blow to the Diamondbacks

The opening in the bullpen was quickly filled by LHP Nick Maronde, a 24-year old hurler with a scant 11.1 innings of major league experience.

Arizona also optioned SS Didi Gregorious, the loser in the 2B/SS back-up competition, and 2B Grant Green to the AAA Reno Aces. The combination of Aaron Hill, JJ Hardy, Chris Owings, and Brian Roberts figure to take up all of the slots for middle infielders, perhaps a good showing in AAA will earn Green and Gregorious a roster spot in 2014 when Hardy and Roberts depart.