Ok, now it's really over. The dark clouds that have been gathering since Paul Goldschmidt's season ended have finally descended on Chase Field, now nothing but reality is raining down on the Diamondbacks. Once in a close fight with Atlanta for that 5th playoff spot, the Diamondbacks are now looking up at the Braves and the Marlins are right behind. They also probably need to start worrying about the Cubs. Still the 9th best team in baseball (82-68) they are suffering from the extreme depth in the NL, with a whopping 7 teams in the Top 10 and the Cubs just about ready to kick Arizona out. Rough year in a rough division, it's all over now.
Injuries. Who doesn't like injuries? The Diamondbacks have been ravaged by injuries recently, and it doesn't look like they will be able to recover before the end of the season. David Peralta, Domonic Brown, Jake Lamb, and JJ Hardy are all missing significant time with various bumps and bruises. It's so bad that Didi Gregorious is the DH at the moment, if Diamondbacks fans weren't already avoiding home games the sight of Gregorious getting regular playing time might send them running.
The rotation is a little better off, but at this point Gibson just seems to be throwing warm bodies out there until the game is over. The staff is good, but if they had any chance of getting back into the Wild Card they would all have to be Clayton Kershaw for the rest of the month. The probability of that happening is low at best. Joakim Soria seems to be fully healthy, but it's doubtful that he will contribute all that much through the end of the season.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Saturday, September 6, 2014
2014 Season Report (140 Games)
It's been a wild month leading up to September, and it might not get much better. The loss of Paul Goldschmidt left fans feeling hopeless, but the team has yet to fall off a cliff. At one point they suffered a losing streak that left them well behind the Braves for the final Wild Card spot, but they managed to jump a little ahead only to fall a little behind. The Diamondbacks are still running on fumes but continue to be 9th in the majors (76-64) and a solid 2nd in the NL West which is faint praise considering that the Dodgers (20th), Rockies (23rd), and Padres (27th) are all rebuilding and some of the worst teams in baseball.
The loss of Goldschmidt seemed fatal, but it just happened to coincide with a little boost from some of Arizona's lesser known players. David Peralta continues to be a good OF option, and Ender Inciarte has exploded recently to give the team a real boost of speed. Inciarte, who rarely got the nod over Dom Brown for most of the season, now has 14SB and a respectable BA (.268) after starting the season very slowly. The return of Chris Owings has also helped boost the offense, knocking Didi Gregorious back to the bench, and Carlos Santana continues to mash (24HR) and do little else (.228BA).
Fans are getting to see a glimpse of the future with 3B Jake Lamb rushing through AAA Reno and getting some at-bats when Lonnie Chisenhall sits. Lamb isn't doing much to impress at the moment (.185, 2HR, 9RBI, and a brutal 26:6 SO:BB ratio), but the fact he is playing at all is a testament to his ability. Lamb, a University of Washington product, is still just 23 so he has time to improve.
The pitching staff, surprisingly, has really come around and the starting rotation is doing quite well. Most expected the staff to be a serious weak spot, but some trades and call ups have really filled out this rotation that is on pace to finish with the 6th most strikeouts in the majors. September roster expansion has brought up David Holmberg and Kyle Lobstein, once dangled as trade bait, but neither has done much so far. The starters are rolling, but injuries are devastating a once promising bullpen. Jim Johnson has practically been run out of Phoenix, and Joakim Soria is just now starting to throw again, while Henderson Alvarez is constantly bothered by an oblique injury. Pat Neshek has taken over closing duties for now while future-closer-in-waiting Matt Stites looks more like Jim Johnson than a future closer.
The loss of Goldschmidt seemed fatal, but it just happened to coincide with a little boost from some of Arizona's lesser known players. David Peralta continues to be a good OF option, and Ender Inciarte has exploded recently to give the team a real boost of speed. Inciarte, who rarely got the nod over Dom Brown for most of the season, now has 14SB and a respectable BA (.268) after starting the season very slowly. The return of Chris Owings has also helped boost the offense, knocking Didi Gregorious back to the bench, and Carlos Santana continues to mash (24HR) and do little else (.228BA).
Is Lamb the future at 3B?
Fans are getting to see a glimpse of the future with 3B Jake Lamb rushing through AAA Reno and getting some at-bats when Lonnie Chisenhall sits. Lamb isn't doing much to impress at the moment (.185, 2HR, 9RBI, and a brutal 26:6 SO:BB ratio), but the fact he is playing at all is a testament to his ability. Lamb, a University of Washington product, is still just 23 so he has time to improve.
The pitching staff, surprisingly, has really come around and the starting rotation is doing quite well. Most expected the staff to be a serious weak spot, but some trades and call ups have really filled out this rotation that is on pace to finish with the 6th most strikeouts in the majors. September roster expansion has brought up David Holmberg and Kyle Lobstein, once dangled as trade bait, but neither has done much so far. The starters are rolling, but injuries are devastating a once promising bullpen. Jim Johnson has practically been run out of Phoenix, and Joakim Soria is just now starting to throw again, while Henderson Alvarez is constantly bothered by an oblique injury. Pat Neshek has taken over closing duties for now while future-closer-in-waiting Matt Stites looks more like Jim Johnson than a future closer.
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