2014 Season Report (30 Games)

Things are looking up in Phoenix, but the Diamondbacks are still stuck in the standings. Technically they are on the right half of the overall standing (15th), but the 9th best in the NL and well out of the playoffs. The only bright side is they are still the 2nd best in the NL West, with the Rockies (13th) and the Padres (14th) some of the NL's worst teams.

The Diamondbacks have been able to drag themselves to .500 (15-15) thanks to the sudden burst in hitting. Paul Goldschmidt leads the offensive, as expected, with 4HR 18RBI and a solid .322BA. At this pace Goldschmidt will certainly finish the season as one of the best players in baseball, but a hot streak to balance out his slow start could push him into the MVP conversation. Carlos Santana has found his power, now with 3HR, but he continues to hit a disturbing .150 which is going to keep killing the offense. Matt Adams has also found a groove lately, despite already hitting .320, he has finally started hitting HRs (2) and will need to keep it up. So far most of the moves have been to the bench or to the minors, as Peter Bourjos finds himself behind the speedy Tony Campana at CF and stand-in Luis Sardinas as been sent back to AAA Reno.

Will Goldschmidt have to carry the offense all season?

The pitching staff continues to be a massive wreck, it's so bad that rumors are floating around that Arizona is in negotiations with free agent SP Kevin Slowey. Joakim Soria has taken over the closer role, recording 6SV for the season, and Nick Maronde has resumed his role in the pen for now. The only thing to be happy about is Gio Gonzalez (3-1) and Ian Kennedy (2-3) propping up the rotation. Outside of those two, it's been ugly, so ugly that the addition of Slowey and the return of Arrieta might boost the Diamondbacks into the Top 10 and possibly within striking distance of a playoff slot.

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.

Early Season Pitching Woes Mount

The Diamondbacks continued to shuffle their roster today in order to make up for early season changes. Arizona has called up RP Will Harris, who pitched well last season, to fill a growing need in their bullpen.

Kevin Gregg has failed to impress anyone, and he may not pitch at all this season. Jordan Norberto was expected to contribute from the bullpen, but he has struggled early and often and Arizona has been forced to look for relief innings elsewhere. Jose Ceda has been very disappointing and was optioned to AAA Reno this week.

The biggest news of the week came from Reno as the Diamondbacks announced the suspension of RHP Alex Colome. Colome has tested positive for a banned substance (Boldenone) and will face a 50-game suspension to start the season. Colome came to Arizona in a trade with the Brewers for Phil Hughes, and management had hoped he would see the starting rotation at some point in 2014. The suspension probably pushes Colome out of the picture for this season.

Can Colome's career recover?

In other news the Diamondbacks have moved former Astros slugger Marc Krauss to their 40-man roster with the hope that he can bolster their OF depth. Krauss also adds some left handed power to the lineup which may compliment the defense and speed of Tony Campana.

2014 NL West Preview

With Spring Training over and the season already started, the NL West picture has become much clearer. Two NL West teams, the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, have started their season in Australia and Arizona can't wait to get home after getting drubbed twice.

The NL West sent two teams to the playoffs in 2013, and both teams figure to return. The Giants, division and league champions, look poised for another run at the World Series. The Arizona Diamondbacks got into the playoffs as a wild-card, but they hope to take the division if the Giants falter.

NL Projected Finish

#1 San Francisco Giants (102-60) : The Giants are simply loaded, and barring any injuries will be one of the favorites to win the league and the World Series. The Giants have done an excellent job of developing and maintaining in-organization talent. The likes of Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner, Chris Davis, Julio Tehran, and Pablo Sandoval form a solid core. The Giants lost Adam Jones, a serious blow, but quickly replaced him with Matt Holliday on a four-year $40.8 million contract. The Giants lost the heart of their bullpen when Mariano Rivera retired, but they made trades to restock their pen with Dave Robertson, John Axford, and Neftali Feliz. Giants management also brought in David Price, and recently traded for Scott Kazmir and  Brian Matusz to soften the blow if Mike Minor's should problems are more serious. Unless disaster strikes the Bay Area, the Giants are the cream of the crop in the NL West and possible the National League.

Could there be an MVP and Cy Young winner in San Francisco?

#2 Arizona Diamondbacks (85-77) : After a disappointing year the Diamondbacks are back to take one more shot at the NL West. Management retained the strength of their team by resisting the urge to trade away Paul Goldschmidt, Carlos Santana, Gio Gonzalez, and Domonic Brown. They added developing slugger Matt Adams in a deal with Houston, and made small free agency moves like re-signing closer Jim Johnson and Ian Kennedy. With their current roster and contract situation, this is probably it for the Diamondbacks before they will need to rebuild. They took a major hit during the spring when Patrick Corbin tore his UCL and ended his season. They might make the playoffs, but if they drag behind the pack look for management to be busy during the trade deadline.

Can Arizona's big three make it back to the playoffs?

#3 Los Angeles Dodgers (81-81) : The Dodgers have moved a few big names out of Los Angeles, mainly Josh Hamilton, but big-money slugger Prince Fielder came back to fill the void. There isn't a whole lot beyond Fielder, but the Dodgers do have a number of high-upside players. Danny Espinosa should be able to bounce back after a terrible 2013 season, and 2B Alexander Guerrero has 20+HR upside even though he may start the season in the minors. The rotation is headlined by Ervin Santana, but beyond him things could be bleak before the 9th inning where the resurgent Fernando Rodney reigns. The Padres could easily pass the Dodgers if they aren't stricken with injuries, but neither team is really built to challenge for the NL West title.

Fielder and Rodney may be the only stars in LA this season.

#4 San Diego Padres (75-87) : At one point during the winter the Padres looked poised to push the Diamondbacks aside and make a run for the wild card, but management went another way and began dismantling the team. What's left is an aging veteran heavy squad with guys like Paul Konerko (38), Bobby Abreu (40), Rafael Furcal (36), and Aramis Ramirez (35). These vets all seem to have just enough in the tank for another go, but it's hard to tell if that 'go' is 162 games or closer to 120. The Padres biggest weakness will be it's pitching staff, outside of the reliable Joe Nathan at closer their rotation is full of high priced reclamation projects. Yovani Gallardo was traded away, Josh Beckett has lost his shine, Johan Santana and Dontrelle Willis are basically on their way out. This roster, nearly maxing the Padres salary, is practically all but gone after 2015 so the Padres should be a huge player in free agency. This season they should put up a fight, but the second half will probably feature a number of minor league call-ups and missed games.

If the Padres can hold a lead into the 9th they should be fine.

#5 Colorado Rockies (70-92) : The Rockies are not in a good place, and don't have many stars to anchor their lineup. The team features depth at every position, but bad contracts are weighing this team down and limited their free agency moves. Troy Tulowitzki and Allen Craig headline this roster, with Tulowitzki making $11.9 million a year, but the contracts of Bronson Arroyo ($14.0 million), Heath Bell ($14.0 million), and Matt Garza ($10.0 million) have sunk their payroll. Luckily for the Rockies all three of those contracts will be gone by 2015, so they should be in better shape soon. Beyond Arroyo and Garza the pitching staff is very thin, with the only bright spot being the hard tossing Rex Brothers who should be their closer of the future.

It could be a long season for the Rockies' stars.