SB Nation - Travis Blackley

Jeff Salazar, Bryan Bullington Become Free Agents

Charlie — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:16:22 -0000

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

8 months ago: Pittsburgh Pirates' Jeff Salazar, right, steals second before the tag of Cincinnati Reds' shortstop Adam Rosales in the bottom of the ninth inning of the spring training baseball game in Bradenton, Fla., Monday, March 30, 2009. Salazar went on to score the game winning run on a hit bit Jason Jaramillo in the Pirates 3-2 win. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

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Since we're at the point in the year where there's nothing to care about except little things, here's some news: a bunch of guys just became minor league free agents. The only Pirate on the list is Jeff Salazar, who went 1-for-23 for the Bucs this year. Salazar probably needed to hit better this season to have much of a shot at a real major-league career, which is too bad; he has an .826 career minor league OPS (albeit in some pretty hospitable hitting environments, like Tucson and Colorado Springs), and it's a shame he never got more of a shot. Most guys who stick as fourth outfielders begin their careers as starters, like Brandon Moss this year; guys like Salazar who have the skillset but are never lucky enough to be confused for starters usually don't make it.

Also on the list of minor league free agents are former Pirate #1-overall picks Kris Benson and Bryan Bullington. Bullington actually pitched very well for the Jays' Class AAA affiliate in Las Vegas, but he didn't make an appearance there after June. The list also includes Chris Duffy, Chris Shelton, and Craig Stansberry.

Other vaguely interesting names on the list: Phil Humber (third overall pick by the Mets in 2004, acquired by Twins in the Johan Santana trade, stalled in the high minors), IF Wilson Betemit (former top Braves prospect, still not that old, bad season in the White Sox organization but versatile and potentially still useful), RP Javier Lopez (again, a terrible season, but he's one year removed from being one of the majors' more effective relievers), RP Greg Aquino (consistently good minor league numbers; certainly a better option than the Denny Bautistas of the world), RP Vinnie Chulk (ditto), RP Jon Switzer (same), RP Joe Nelson (actually a totally decent MLB pitcher for the Rays last year, and a terrific one for the Marlins in 2008), and lefty SP Travis Blackley (former top Mariners prospect finally seems to be pitching with better control in his late 20s and still hasn't been used exclusively as a reliever, where he might find his niche).

Nothing big here, but I'd be mildly psyched to see the Bucs sign Blackley, in particular.

Thanks to WTM.

D-backs to the Future: week ending May 27th

Jim McLennan — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:00:16 -0000

They say that which doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger. Well in that case our bullpen must be stronger than ever right now. I don’t know how you survived the last two games, but overall it’s been a great week for the big league club, and as you’re about to see, a good week for our minor league affiliates. Since I’ll be out of town tomorrow, I’m writing this on Wednesday and I’ll ask Jim to post it tomorrow. So, on to another minor league report! Leave a comment if you like it, I hate to think I’m wasting my time writing these if no one’s reading.
-- Paqs

Reno Aces

The Aces have been ace-like this week, losing on Thursday before winning five straight behind strong pitching and the return of Josh Whitesell. Their record is 20-25 and they are out of the cellar in their division, 7.5 games back of Sacramento.

At the plate:

Whitesell picked up where he left off, hitting 9-22 with 4 walks and only three strikeouts since he got back. His line for the year now is .367/.478/.523 (wOBA+ 127) and he’s on a four game multi hit streak.
Alex Romero has put together a 7 game hitting streak, improving his line to .324/.393/.459 with 19 walks and only 17 strikeouts.

On the mound:

Bryan Augenstein got his first career AAA start and allowed four runs in six innings, striking out five and walking just one.
Cesar Valdez worked his third consecutive great start, allowing two runs in six innings with five strikeouts and two walks. He allowed four runs in his last three starts combined (17.1 IP). His ERA is now down to 5.08 after being in double digits a few weeks ago.
After a rocky start to his AAA career, Hector Ambriz had his second consecutive great start, going seven innings, allowing two runs with seven strikeouts and a walk. His ERA is down to 4.84.
Travis Blackley continues to impress out of the bullpen, tossing five scoreless innings with six strikeouts and no walks this week. Observe this split: 5 starts, 21.2 innings, 20 runs, 8.31 ERA versus 6 relief appearances, 17 innings, 4 runs, 18:2 strikeout to walk ratio! I think Blackley found his niche.

Mobile Baybears

The Bears (I can’t even type this without thinking of the SNL skit :) are rolling as well, losing two games before going on a four game winning streak to up their record to 26-20, 5.5 games out of the division lead. They did it mostly with pitching, allowing only four runs total in their four wins.

At the plate:

Cyle Hankerd is showing no signs of slowing down, with two three-hit games last week to improve his line to .360/.419/.525. Ideally, you’d want more than 10 walks from him, but I guess there’s nothing wrong with his eye if his OPS is .944
Orlando Mercado keeps hitting well, slugging his first homer of the year last night and going 6-14 on the week to improve his line to .312/.389/.462
James Skelton is steadily turning his season around, going 6-14 with five walks and two doubles to improve to .225/.384/.283. His batting average isn’t much, but it will rise with his BABIP which is currently some 100 points below his career line. On the plus side, he leads the system with 31 walks and he cut his strikeout rate by half this season. I like the guy!

On the mound:

The good news about Jarrod Parker is that he allowed 1 run in each of his last three starts to lower his ERA to 2.52. The bad news is he walked 11 batters in 14.2 innings and couldn’t go past the fifth inning in any of the games. Still, if he’s struggling by allowing one run in games, I’ll take that.
Barry Enright has been remarkably consistent this year, not allowing more than three earned runs in any of his nine starts. He had his best start of the year on Monday, throwing 5.1 shutout innings to lower his ERA to 3.49.
Dan Schlereth showed improved control this week, throwing 2.2 innings while walking just one and striking out three. He has 19 strikeouts and 11 walks in 18 innings, with an ERA of 1.50

Visalia Rawhide

Visalia went 2-3 this week, keeping their division lead at 2 games with a 28-17 record. They had a slow week at the plate, scoring just two runs in their three losses.

At the plate:

Kyle Greene belted two homers last week, and he leads the team with 6 on the season. His line is .272/.339/.450

On the mound:

Josh Collmenter threw 7 shutout innings on Thursday to lower his ERA to 3.86 on the season, after allowing three or more runs in five straight starts.
Trevor Harden had his best start since getting promoted to Visalia, throwing 7 innings of one run ball, with three strikeouts and one walk. His ERA is 3.26 in 19.1 innings.

South Bend Silver Hawks

The Hawks also went 2-3 for the week, playing a number of rain shortened games. Their record is 21-22, good for fourth place in the division, 7.5 games back of the lead.

At the plate:

Brendan Duffy hit 6-17 with 2 triples and 2 walks last week and he leads the team in all the triple slash stats with .333/.427/.440. At 24 he is way too old for this level though.
After a very slow start to the season, Alfredo Marte is starting to turn his season around. He is on a 6 game hitting streaking, hitting 7-22 with a homer and four walks on the week to improve his line to .275/.326/.413. He is very athletic but needs to become more selective at the plate.

On the mound:

Wade Miley had a good start last night, allowing one run in six innings with seven strikeouts and a walk. He has a 3.61 ERA on the year, with 38 strikeouts and only 8 walks in 47.1 innings pitched.
Brett Moorehouse has been quietly impressive this year, not allowing more than three earned runs in a start. He had his best start on Friday, allowing 2 runs in a career-high eight innings, with four strikeouts and a walk. His ERA on the year is 3.46

That’s all for this week!

DBack To The Future - The Weekly Minor League Report

paqs — Tue, 05 May 2009 11:24:13 -0000

More photos » by Ed Andrieski - AP

Josh Whitesell is wondering what needs to happen for him to get called up.

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Since we can agree a bit of a break from the exploits of our DBacks would do us a great deal of good, I'm pleased to bring you this week's minor league report. Jim and I agreed it should be a weekly thing where I recap the week for all the levels, and focus on one level each week, starting with AAA. It will probably be a Thursday fixture going forward, but since I wrote it yesterday, we figured I'll put it up and plan the next one for the following Thursday.

First of all, though, a small recap of the minor league moves made last week. Somewhat strangely, all of them are related to pitching.

RHP Leo Rosales was promoted to the majors in place of the injured Tom Gordon. He had a good 0.90 ERA in 10 IP in Reno, but he can't strike anyone out and will pretty much get smoked in the majors. Fine, this was written after the game last night, but his performance wasn't a shock by any means.
AAA LHP Evan MacLane was dealt to St. Louis for future considerations. He came over in 2006 in the Shawn Green trade and hasn't really impressed, with an ERA of 7.70 in 2007 and 4.96 last year. Unbelievably, I couldn't find any mention of this on milb.com or by Piecoro.
In his place, RHP Hector Ambriz was called up from AA. He had an ERA of 2.17 after 5 starts, with 32 strikeouts and 6 walks in 29 innings. Piecoro says it's not clear whether he'll start or pitch from the bullpen. Reno already has 5 starters, in Barnette, Blackley, Buckner, Etherton and Valdez, but if Ambriz has a shot at starting in the majors, it makes sense to start him in AAA. It's not as if any of the starters is doing well.
Ambriz vacated a spot for our No. 1 prospect, Jarrod Parker, who was promoted to AA after 4 starts in Visalia (19 IP, 0.95 ERA, 21 K, 4 BB). He wasn't dominant in his first start for Mobile (4.1 IP, 8H, 3ER) but he allowed only one extra base hit, with 5 strikeouts and a walk.
RHP Reid Mahon made his season debut for AA, after staying in extended spring training to get his mechanics straightened out after a rough spring training.
In Parker's place, RHP Cristian Beltre, who was delayed by shoulder fatigue in spring training, made his first start for Visalia last night. He allowed 1 earned run in 3 innings. He showed promise in South Bend last year, going 13-8 in 26 starts, with a K/BB of 4.5 in 155.1 innings.

A full recap of the four levels follows after the jump.

AAA Reno Aces

The Aces played 6 games last week, dropping 2 against Fresno, and taking 3 out of 4 against Portland. The PCL is a very batter friendly league, but the Aces take it to the extreme. Only one player has an OBP below .350 and only one starter has an ERA below 6.40

At the plate:

At some point, I will grow tired of touting Josh Whitesell. But not just yet. He had a good week (his 305th good week in a row), going 9-19 with 6 walks, 2 doubles and a homer to get his overall line to .368/.500/.592. His work this week included a 4-5 night and a 2-2 night with 4 walks. In his spare time, he comes up with catchy slogans and nicknames for teammates, as well as dying his hair gray and growing a beard.
Alex Romero is 10-19 in his last four games, to improve to a line of .314/.404/.477 on the season.
Trent Oeltjen was on fire last week, going 10-21 with 8 extra base hits and 3 walks. His line for the season is .297/.381/.486
Agustin Murillo cooled off somewhat, going 5-16 this week and .309/.380/.485 on the year.
Rusty Ryal batted 8-22 with 3 walks and a homer to bring his line up to .324/.367/.473
Luke Carlin went 4-12 with 2 walks. His line stands at .325/.413/.450
Brandon Watson went 7-18 with 2 walks and a homer to improve to .351/.370/.392
Chris Roberson is the player mentioned above as the only one with an OBP below .350. He went 2-14 last week to lower his line to .232/.306/.429

On the mound:

Seth Etherton had a good start on Friday, going 7 innings and allowing 3 runs on 4 hits, with a walk and 5 strikeouts. His ERA after 5 starts is a tidy 3.41 but there isn't much to like here. His K:BB numbers are 14:9 in 29 IP. Add the fact he is an extreme fly ball pitcher, and that he allowed 7 (!!) homers already, we're unlikely to see him put on a big league uniform.
After two terrible starts last week (8.1 IP, 12 ER), Tony Barnette had a good one on Thursday, going 6.2 innings and allowing 1 earned run on 5 hits, 2 walks and 4 strikeouts to get his first win of the year. His ERA is now 6.46 in 23.2 innings, but he has been let down by his defense, as his FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) is a much better 4.43.
Travis Blackley made 2 starts last week, and the results were not pretty: 9 IP, 15 H, 10 ER to bring his ERA all the way up to 8.31 in 21.2 IP. His K:BB is at a very good 20:5 but he's way too hittable, allowing 34 hits (4 HR).
Billy Buckner also made his first two starts of the season last week, after pitching out of the bullpen, with equally disappointing results (8 IP, 7 ER). His ERA on the season is 6.75.
Bobby Korecky pitched 4.1 IP last week, allowing one run to lower his ERA to 3.38 in 5.1 innings since being sent down.
Doug Slaten struck out 3 batters in 1.1 innings of work, allowing just one hit.

AA Mobile BayBears

The Bears went 4-3 this week, dropping 2 of 3 to Birmingham, but winning 3 of 4 against Jacksonville.

At the plate:

After a slow start to the season, OF Cyle Hankerd had an unreal week, going on a 5 game multi hit streak, 15-24 with 5 doubles, 3 taters and 4 walks. His line for the season now stands at .377/.459/.609 in 76 PA.
Gerardo Parra went 3-5 with a homer last night, and 10-27 with 3 walks on the week, to get his line to .375/.476/.489. Also of note, in a small sample size, he hits lefties just as well as righties.
Orlando Mercado made a good start to the season, hitting .353/.405/.529 while splitting time behind the dish with Skelton.
James Skelton (3-17), Evan Frey (2-27), Yunesky Sanchez (2-19) and Pedro Ciriaco (3-21) have been ice cold last week.

On the mound:

Hector Ambriz bid farewell to AA with a dominant start on Friday. He struck out 6 and scattered 3 hits with no walks in 7 innings.
Brian Augenstein is a candidate to step into the big league rotation, according to Piecoro. He wrote that should Petit struggle again on Sunday (yesterday), we could see Brian take his place. He certainly did his chances no harm with his two starts last week, a combined 12.2 innings with 12 strikeouts, 9 hits and 4 walks. He is 5-0 after 5 starts with a 0.95 ERA in 31.2 IP.
Matt Torra had his third good start in a row on Thursday, allowing 1 run in 6 innings with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts to lower his ERA to 4.
Jason Urquidez (1 ER, 6 K in 6 IP), Scott Maine (0 ER, 5K in 4.1 IP) and Dan Schlereth (1ER, 4K in 3.2 IP) had good weeks out of the pen.

A+ Visalia Rawhide

Visalia went 5-1 last week to cement their spot at the top of the division.

At the plate:

Ollie Linton is on a 14 game hitting streak, hitting 10-20 with 2 walks during the last week. His overall line is .354/.485/.443
Ryne White batted 8-16 with 4 walks last week to bring his line to .329/.440/.408
Catcher Konrad Schmidt hit 9-19 with 2 walks to up his line to .292/.370/.361

On the mound:

Pat McAnaney had a two good starts on the week, for a total of 11 shutout innings with 15 strikeouts, to lower his ERA to 2.08 in 26 innings.
Wes Roemer went 5 shutout innings on Saturday, allowing 2 hits and 4 walks with 2 strikeouts, while keeping the ball on the ground. His ERA is 1.46 in 24.2 innings.
Jordan Norberto (3.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 K) and Bryan Henry (8.1 IP, 0 ER, 4 K) had good weeks out of the pen.

A South Bend Silver Hawks

The Hawks went 4-3 last week, going on a three game losing streak followed by a three game winning streak over the weekend.

At the plate:

Catcher Rossmel Perez only started his season last Sunday, but he's off to a scorching start (.444/.545/.500 in 22 PA).

On the mound:

Trevor Harden made two starts last week, throwing 7 shutout innings for the win on Tuesday (3 H, 1 BB, 3 K) and 6.2 innings for another win yesterday (3 ER on 4 H, 2 BB and 5 K). He is 4-1 with an ERA of 2.64 in 30.2 IP.
Ryan Cook improved to 3-0 on Friday, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings, with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. He has an ERA of 2.16 in 25 IP, with a K:BB of 14:4.
Terry Hose (3 perfect innings with 5 strikeouts) and Bryan Woodall (4.1 IP, 1 ER, 8K, 0 BB) had good weeks in relief.

I apologize if this turned out too long, but there's really no short way to recap a week's worth of games for four team, and I didn't want to leave any important stuff out. If you have any questions or suggestions please let me know. Sorry about the title as well, it's all I could think of :)

Diamondbacks 3, Rockies 10: A Petit Problem

Jim McLennan — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 03:39:03 -0000

Ugh. Let's hope that's the last time we lose to the Rockies in 2009 - though we do play them again on Thursday, so they're welcome to have that one if they want. But this wasn't even one that got away. It was ugly, from the four runs Yusmeiro Petit allowed in the first inning - mostly thanks, inevitably, to a homer, of the three-run variety here, served up to Brad Hawpe. And the game didn't exactly go through a swan-like transformation thereafter, with the Rockies unloading on our pitching staff at a rate of better than two hits per inning. Tony Peña was the worst offender, giving up six consecutive knocks, after retiring the first two Colorado batters he faced. When you need to be bailed out by Doug Slaten, it's never a good sign, but our crypto-LOOGY actually didn't suck, with 1.1 scoreless innings of work.

He and Chad Qualls, who pitched a scoreless fifth, were the only pitchers to escape damage. Though I suppose Scott Schoeneweis 'only' allowing one run in his inning could be classed as a small victory, reducing as it did his ERA from 10.29 to 10.13. Hey, take your silver linings where you can find them on a day like today. The Petit Unit avoided further damage, but only lasted three innings, giving up six hits and a walk in that time. He said, “I missed a couple of pitches and I paid for it. I was able to make the adjustments later.” Juan Gutierrez pitched the ninth inning, and allowed a run on two walks and a hit, but his chances of making the roster took a big step forward with the news that Travis Blackley - like Gutierrez, out of options, and so one of the big contenders for a bullpen spot - was told he won't be on the roster. [Gerardo Parra and Chris Roberson were also re-assigned]

Hard to say what will happen to Blackley now, as Josh Byrnes wouldn't saw whether or not Blackley was going through waivers or not. If he does, his contract gives him the option of becoming a free-agent, rather than accepting an assignment to the minor-leagues. Byrnes also said the team is leaning towards carrying an extra reliever for the first week until we need the roster spot for Max Scherzer's first start. With Blackley gone, the Opening Day bullpen, at the moment, now looks like it will consist of Chad Qualls, Scott Schoeneweis; Jon Rauch; Tony Peña; Yusmeiro Petit; Billy Buckner; Juan Gutierrez; and Doug Slaten.

Going back to today's game. 'Must we?" I hear you sigh - yes, but it'll be pretty brief, if only because there wasn't much more to talk about on a day with only six hits and two walks for the Diamondbacks. Josh Whitesell was the only hitter to reach base safely twice, getting one of those walks and adding a two-run homer in the top of the fourth inning. Justin Upton drove in the last Arizona run in the eighth, scoring Josh Wilson with a single. No errors for the Diamondbacks, though that was hardly much of a help, given the rate at which balls were whizzing past them. Oh, look: the Diamondbacks announced details of their all-you-can-eat section. You can get a season ticket there for $25 per game, which must be the scariest concept I've heard of in quite some time....

Spring Things: Roster and bullpen spots

Jim McLennan — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:14:51 -0000

I don't know about you, but I've pretty much had my fill of spring training already. We've been playing these games for more than four weeks now - our first game was February 25 - and I'm itching for something more meaningful. But this year, spring has been extended because of the World Baseball Classic: much as I'm entirely in favor of this event, it is simply extending the pre-season agony. Enough with the foreplay, already: let's get on to the juicy stuff! Still, nothing we can do except wait it out; more than two weeks to go, before the phrase "Of course, spring numbers are meaningless" will no longer need to roll off our lips.

A quick glimpse at the standings is not exactly good reading for local fans, with a record thus far of 7-13. Through Friday, the Diamondbacks had shown a startling lack of power, with only 12 homers in 21 games, tied with the Angels for the least in the Cactus League. The team's .275 batting average was also well below average, ahead only of the Rockies (.274) and Dodgers (.273) in Arizona. Even the much-vaunted attention to the running game hasn't shown much fruit. The D-backs have a dozen stolen-bases - less than half as many as Colorado and Los Angeles - and that's in 20 attempts, so the 60% success-rate is nothing much to write home about either.

However, it's really only down the stretch, that numbers will start to become anything like important. With the departures of John Hester, Trent Oeltjen and Brandon Watson today, the Diamondbacks have now reduced the numbers in camp to 38 - 17 pitchers, four catchers, nine infielders and eight outfielders. So those given a courtesy invite to Tucson Electric Park will no longer be cluttering up the box-score with their ohfers. It might not be a bad idea to throw out all the stats until now, and start paying attention purely to what happens going forward from this point. Before doing that, let's take a look at thing so far, and whether they shine a light on the roster decisions remaining. All stats exclude today's game, except where noted.

The 25th spot. There's really only one slot open for a position player on the roster. Beyond the eight starters, the bench looks set with Tony Clark, Augie Ojeda, Eric Byrnes and Miguel Montero. However, that would still leave one slot, probably likely to go to an infielder, since otherwise Augie will be the sole backup to Felipe Lopez, Stephen Drew and Mark Reynolds. James Skelton is still most likely to keep the spot, since his position as a Rule 5 pick means he has to stay on the 25-man roster or be offered back to Detroit. He hasn't exactly set the plate afire, going just 5-for-31, but his discipline has been as advertised, with five walks and only 3 K's. While drafted as a catcher, he has seen significant time in the infield, and that would certainly help his chances of sticking around.

His main rival appears to be Ryan Roberts, who has had a solid Cactus League, batting .310 (13-for-42), leading the team in hits, SB and total bases. In Bob Melvin's view: "He can play any position on the field and so he can give you that versatility with the 25th guy on a NL team that you're looking for, He's played second, third and left field, but we'll start looking at him in more spots, too, like shortstop, centerfield and left, just to see how he fits into those spots as well." Josh Wilson (10-for-37) is a fringe candidate, and it'll probably be Roberts or Skelton. Note, however, that some roster juggling is possible, with fifth starter Max Scherzer not needed until the 14th. His spot may be used elsewhere for the first week.

The bullpen spots. Chad Qualls, Jon Rauch, Tony Pena and Scott Schoeneweis have all inked their names in, but with Tom Gordon starting the season on the disabled list, there will be three spots open, at least initially. On Tuesday, Bob Melvin said "I couldn't even handicap it right now. I think we have enough going on to where it's still up for grabs, and I think the deeper you get into spring, the longer you see the first units out there/ I think you can get a better read on those guys when you're seeing a lot of the first units and facing a lot of big leaguers throughout the game." However, Yusmeiro Petit has done nothing this spring to suggest he won't be the long-relief guy, allowing only one run on six hits over eight innings of work.

Beyond him, things get murkier. Travis Blackley and Juan Gutierrez are both out of options, so if they don't make the roster, will need to be exposed to waivers before they can be sent to Triple-A Reno. However, neither man has done a great deal to stake a claim to remaining in the bullpen. Blackley pitched well enough for Australia in the WBC, but got slapped around for eight hits in the game today, jacking his ERA up to 7.88 in eight innings, on 13 hits and six walks. The results from Gutierrez have been no better, with 12 hits, three walks and nine earned runs in 9.1 innings. With those kinds of performances, waivers may not be an issue.

Better numbers by far have come from Billy Buckner (nine hits, three walks, four runs in 10.2 innings), and at the moment, he seems likely to get the other 'permanent' spot in the pen. I think Melvin would like to include Doug Slaten if possible, to give us a second left-handed option behind Schoeneweis. However, Doug isn't co-operating, having allowed nine hits and four walks in just 5.1 innings. You'd think he, and also Bobby Korecky (a 10.29 ERA) must have shares in a Reno timeshare, going by their apparent mutual intent on finding themselves there in the next couple of weeks. The date of Gordon's return is still highly uncertain, incidentally. It's been reported he has been throwing fine on flat ground, and his first bullpen session is scheduled for Monday. May looks more likely than April, I'd say.

I just looked at the box-score for today's game, and I think I'll quietly forget about writing it up tonight. Twenty-two hits allowed by the Diamondbacks' pitchers in total, including seven off Brandon Webb. No, I think tomorrow will do very well for that one.

Diamondbacks 3, Rockies 8: A hex on Valdez

Jim McLennan — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:55:32 -0000

And, hey, it was twenty years ago this month that the headline would have been topical, after the similarly-named oil-tanker dumped ten million gallons of crude into Prince William Sound. This afternoon's outing was not quite as disastrous - no sea-otters were harmed, for example - but who am I, to let facts get in the way of my headline-writing?

Valdez ran onto the rocks early, surrendering a two-run homer to Todd Helton with only one Rockies hitter retired, and then allowed another run in the second inning, to make the score 3-0 for Colorado. He did finish strong, with a perfect third - still, three earned runs in three innings is probably not the note on which prospect Cesar Valdez wanted to end things. He was assigned to minor-league camp after the game, but more on that later. Makes sense to trim down the pitching staff, since there's only one split-squad game remaining (tomorrow). Plus all our rotation are now ready for regular action from there, with the return of Max Scherzer. Looking forward to that: only three weeks left until Opening Day!

Valdez was followed by Travis Blackley, who had shone for the Australians in the World Baseball Classic, allowing one run in 5.2 innings of work. Not so much back with Arizona, his control being as much an issue as the Colorado bats. Blackley allowed four walks over his three innings, but the only damage in his three innings, came in the form of another two-run homer, this one coming off the bat of former D-back, Carlos Gonzalez. Daniel Schlereth and Bobby Korecky pitched scoreless frames, though the former walked two, but another homer, this one a three-run shot in the ninth, wrecked Jon Coutlangus's afternoon.

Offensively, nothing much doing for Arizona, outside a three-run third that tied the score up. Evan Frey had a two-run triple, then came home himself on a single by Stephen Drew. James Skelton had a pair of hits, and after going 2-for-19 to start spring, has got his average up to the Uecker line. He probably still has the best shot at the 25th roster spot, despite the better showing at the plate by The Tattooed Man, Ryan Roberts, currently hitting .297 (11-for-37) in spring. Drew and Josh Whitesell each had a hit and a walk.

Finally, as noted above, there'll be eight fewer people in camp tomorrow morning, the result of multiple re-assignments. Those affected were infielders Pedro Ciriaco and Rusty Ryal, along with pitchers Jose Marte, Kyler Newby, Leyson Septimo and Clay Zavada, plus Valdez and Schlereth from this afternoon's outing. Steve Gilbert has a nice recap of Melvin's thoughts on the eight departees. Though even he couldn't find much to say about Rusty Ryal, who managed just 17 at-bats, despite both the extended spring and the departure of multiple Diamondbacks for the WBC. Still, thanks for showing up.

Okay, Community Projections for our rotation to follow very shortly. I'm then off to catch up with last night's Breaking Bad and tonight's 24.

Let me introduce you to some kids that you ain't used to...

Jim McLennan — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:02:26 -0000

If there's one word which sums up the reaction on looking at the box-scores from the first week of spring-training, it's probably "Who?" For there are a lot of less well-known names that get an invite to camp as well, either to work on specific aspects of their game, or simply to experience the 'big-league' atmosphere. This is the first in a couple of articles which will cover the players with whom you may not be as familiar. Today, we start with the back end of the 40-man roster; the second part will cover the non-roster invitees.

We will not generally be covering those with major-league experience in Arizona, though I've stretched the point to include Josh Whitesell and his seven at-bats. I'ts interesting to note, even after bringing him in, that the vast bulk of the remainder on the 40-man roster are pitchers. Very few of them have any realistic chance at making the roster on Opening Day - Blackley, Gutierrez and Skelton appear the only three. But you will be able to get cool points with the spectators around you at the game, if you are at least somewhat aware of their histories and potential. Not all of these will necessarily be down in Tucson, but it should cover a good chunk of the 2009 contenders. Here's a quick listing: details of each are after the jump.

#	Pitchers	B/T	Ht	Wt	DOB
37	Travis Blackley	L/L	6-3	200	11/04/82
40	Jonathan Coutlangus	L/L	6-1	185	10/21/80
58	Juan Gutierrez	R/R	6-2	210	07/14/83
44	Jose Marte	R/R	6-5	185	09/04/83
61	Kyler Newby	R/R	6-4	225	02/22/85
62	Leyson Septimo	L/L	6-0	150	07/08/85
43	Cesar Valdez	R/R	6-2	200	03/17/85
65	Esmerling Vasquez	R/R	6-1	175	11/07/83
64	Clay Zavada	L/L	6-1	195	06/28/84
#	Catchers	B/T	Ht	Wt	DOB
25	James Skelton	L/R	5-11	165	10/28/85
#	Infielders	B/T	Ht	Wt	DOB
63	Pedro Ciriaco	R/R	6-0	160	09/27/85
29	Josh Whitesell	L/L	6-1	225	04/14/82

Travis Blackley. This Australian left-hander has bounced around a few teams, after initially signing with the Mariners in 2000. He was rated the 6th-best minor-league player in all baseball in 2004, but was sidelined for all of 2005 thanks to shoulder surgery, and has been making his way back since. A Rule 5 pick for the Phillies in December 2007, he didn't stick and became a free-agent at the end of the year, where Arizona picked him up. Nick Piecoro reported his velocity was back to the old level this winter, pitching in Mexico, where he had a 4.24 ERA over 63.2 IP.

Jonathon Coutlangus. First things first. It's pronounced COOT-langus. Certain commentators have already mentioned this. See the Mets' guys and their reaction in 2007:

Gary Cohen: The new Reds pitcher is Jon Coutlangus.
Keith Hernandez: Oh, oh, yeah. We mean it with that name.
Gary: Yes, it's very carefully pronounced.
Keith: That's a tongue twister, isn't it?
(10 seconds of silence)

I'm sure he had fun in high-school. He was a regular in the Reds 'pen that year, but was traded to the Diamondbacks last April for minor-leaguer Daniel Perales and immediately optioned to Tucson. He seems to have had elbow issues and vanished from the radar within a couple of weeks, having only thown 5.1 innings for the Sidewinders. But specifics of exactly what ailed him are hard to come by.

Juan Gutierrez. Part of the haul we got from the Astros for Jose Valverde, Gutierrez is out of options so will need to be found a slot or exposed to waivers. He didn't exactly impress in Triple-A last season, making 22 starts with a resulting ERA north of six - bad even by PCL standards. However, he had a very successful winter league campaign in Venezuela, starting 13 games with a 2.63 ERA, holding opponents to a .218 average, including tossing a one-hitter.

Jose Marte. This tall, lanky right-hander came from the Rangers in exchange for Dustin Nippert, which gives you some kind of idea about his potential - especially as neutral opinion had Texas getting the best of the deal. He started the year in Visalia, but won promotion to Double-A after 14 innings, 15 K's and a 1.93 ERA there. Not quite as successful in Mobile (49.1 IP, 37 K, 4.38 ERA), and his control needs work, with a walk-rate of almost five per nine IP since his arrival.

Kyler Newby. After a delayed 2007, caused by an injury in the Hawaiian Winter League,. Newby spent the year in the High-A Visalia bullpen. The 23-year old had a very successful season, allowing only 49 hits in 67 innings, while fanning 86. Not bad for someone picked in the 50th round of the 2004 draft - and he's a local boy, out of Mesa Community College. With success at every level (a cumulative ERA over four minor-league seasons of 2.30) he has an outside chance of a September call-up, but 2010 probably beckons. Here's an interview with Kyler from last month.

Leyson Septimo. Drafted as an position player, Septimo was switched to a pitcher after three less-than stellar seasons in the outfield [an OPS of only .561]. Described before the season by farm director AJ Hinch as "A left-hander with plus arm speed and velocity," his fastball can reach the upper-90's, but he's clearly a work in progress. That could be seen in his 2008 stats with Visalia, where although he struck out more than a batter per inning, Septimo also walked 33 in only 41 IP.

Cesar Valdez. Well, you probably should know about him now, after he was nominated by GM Josh Byrnes as his 'under the radar' prospect. He had startling success for Visalia, with a K:BB ratio of 80:16, and a 2.53 ERA in 96 innings, results which garnered him a promotion to Double-A. He was named to the California League All-Star team while in Visalia and the 23-year old Valdez was awarded the D-back organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Year for his performances.

Esmerling Vasquez. He preceded Valdez as AZ's Pitcher of the Year, in 2007 but almost immediately after, injured his shoulder diving for a bunt in the Fall League. While he avoided surgery, it did seem to have a negative impact, and he got lit up pitching for the Sidewinders in Tucson. He was dropped from the rotation, finishing the season off as a reliver, and overall, had a 6.72 ERA. His walk-rate was particularly affected, shooting up from 3.27/9 IP in 2007, to a monstrous 7.92 last year. That needs to be corrected if he's to be of any use to the team.

Clay Zavada. Probably the only player ever with a middle name of 'Pflibson', Zavada may be the most intriguing prospect of all, whom we already highlighted when the NY Times wrote a story on this lunch-pail prospect. But he can pitch too: after re-entering our system in June, he allowed six hits over 35.1 IP for the South Bend Silver Hawks - a .056 BAA - for an 0.51 ERA, including 30.2 consecutive scoreless innings to end the year. He says, "I just don't want to be an old man, throwing another log on the fire, feeling sorry for myself and talking about what I could have done when I was young. All I want to be able to say is 'Hey, I gave it my best shot.'"

James Skelton. It looks like we're gravitating towards the nickname 'Jack' for him, based largely on his lightweight appearance - I can't wait to see him standing beside Chris Snyder. It's going to be a stern test, leaping all the way from Double-A to the majors, after being snatched from Detroit in the Rule 5 pick. He has to give some indication he can handle major-league pitching, though as a third catcher and second backup infielder, to some extent he can be hidden on the roster. If he can keep his OBP anywhere near the startling .416 he's posted in the minor-leagues, he should be fine.

Pedro Ciriaco. While he repeated High-A ball, the then 22-year old made obvious steps forward, adding 133 points to his OPS, and stealing an organization-leading forty bases. Even lighter then Skelton, Ciriaco also made his first starts at 2B, and got his SS errors down significantly [though after making forty-five in 128 games his rookie year, it could hardly be otherwise!]. Scout.com reckoned, "It's highly unlikely that [he] will fix all of the fundamental flaws in his game to reach his ceiling and become a star shortstop. But if he can, that ceiling is awfully high." For amusement, he's a video of Ciriaco running the bases, which showcases both his flaws and his skills:

Josh Whitesell. He won the team's Player of the Year award, batting .326 with 26 HR and 110 RBI for Tucson, but it's hard to see how he will fit onto the current roster, with Jackson, Tracy and Clark all ahead of him at first-base. It'll probably take an injury for him to see playing time before September, but no harm in having some backup there. Next year - with Clark presumably gone (though I said that after 2007!) and Tracy at the mercy of the team and his $7m option - may prove to be Josh's coming-out party.

Sunday Rockpile: NL West Rotation Rundown

Rox Girl — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:59:07 -0000

With the Dodgers acquisition of Randy Wolf this week, the teams in the NL West have seemingly decided on the rotation parts they will be relying on for at least the beginning of the year. I'm going to look at the state of the rotations be cataloging starters into four categories. Starters who have pitched at least one full season in the majors and don't have current injury concerns will primarily be put in either the top middle or bottom. The fourth category will be wildcards, these will include young starters with the ability to overshoot their projections, prospects and veterans with injury or other question marks.

I hope to make it clear that this exercise doesn't predict anything, just illustrates where each team is placing their bets. Any team could lose the division by having one or more of their so-called stable pitchers go down, or win it by having their wildcards perform better than expected. If Clayton Kershaw becomes another ace and James McDonald performs like a mid-rotation starter, the Dodgers likely win the division. If Brandon Webb goes Tim Hudson for the Diamondbacks this year, Arizona can pretty much kiss their chances goodbye. Anybody could build a scenario to fit their personal NL West projection. Once again, San Diego's ignored for irrelevance in 2009 (if you're dying for a Rockies fan perspective of the Padres, you could read Travis Lay's projection at Colorado Rockies Examiner)

Arizona:

Stable top: Brandon Webb, Dan Haren

Stable middle:

Stable bottom: Doug Davis, Yusmeiro Petit, Jon Garland

Wildcards: Max Scherzer, Travis Blackley, Jarrod Parker

Ability to pick up significant help midseason via trade: Lacking

The Diamondbacks remain pretty shallow relative to the other three teams in the rotation, but they're deadly as long as they remain healthy. Scherzer has as potent an arm as any young right hander in the division, including Lincecum, Billingsley and Jimenez. Blackley's performance in Mexico drew many raves, and the D-backs are hoping they found a gem with him, but right now it's looking like he might be slotted for the bullpen/swing duty. Picking up Garland was a big help to insure against some let down by either of those two.

Without a lot of minor league depth, the Snakes will have to rely on development by Parker if their big league rotation has gone south. Catcher Miguel Montero is the piece they've been using as bait for pitching over the winter, he should help them get some arm, but don't expect Arizona to acquire another frontline starter this summer.

San Francisco:

Stable Top: Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain

Stable middle: Jonathan Sanchez, Barry Zito

Wildcards: Randy Johnson, Noah Lowry, Kevin Pucetas, Henry Sosa, Tim Alderson, Madison Bumgarner

Ability to pick up help midseason via trade: Good, but they shouldn't need it in the rotation.

It's becoming clear that the Giants will have the division's rotation to fear in the early part of next decade. I'm hoping that a few of these arms go Jerome Williams or Jesse Foppert on them before that happens. For 2009, the rotation's solid, but the lineup is still deficient.

I would expect the Giants to use some of their minor league depth to acquire a young bat if they are serious contenders Midsummer, but not another ace pitcher.

Los Angeles:

Stable top: Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda

Stable middle: Randy Wolf (semi-stable, I still wonder about the IP)

Stable bottom: Eric Stults

Wildcards: Clayton Kershaw, James McDonald, Jason Schmidt, Ramon Troncoso,

Ability to pick up help midseason via trade: Not great right now

Wolf was as good a pickup as the Dodgers could have made via free-agency at this point in the offseason, and unfortunately he came at a bargain. In relying so heavily on Billingsley and Kershaw for 2009, the Dodgers are rolling the dice on a couple of talented young starters. This could either pay off in a big way (think about the 2003 Marlins or the mid-80's Mets and Royals teams) or bring disappointment.

The Dodgers could have the potential to put a significant trade package together by midseason if prospects like Andrew Lambo, Ivan DeJesus Jr. and Ethan Martin take off in early 2009. Right now, however, it's hard to see a package that draws frontline rotation talent.

Colorado:

Stable top: Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook

Stable middle: Jeff Francis

Stable bottom: Greg Smith, Jason Marquis

Wildcards: Jorge De La Rosa, Franklin Morales, Francis, Greg Reynolds, Jason Hirsh, Jhoulys Chacin

Ability to pick up help midseason via trade: Decent

Francis' potential loss significantly raises the unknown quotient in the Rockies rotation, and focuses attention on the need for two of the trio of other LHP starters (JDLR, Smith or Morales) to prove themselves reliable in 2009. The Rockies could win the division if they get two mid-rotation caliber performances to back Jimenez and Cook, but the Francis loss definitely impacts their likelihood of doing so.

The Rockies are sort of a hybrid between the Dodgers and Giants when it comes to trade-worthy talent. They have more upper level prospects than Los Angeles, but at the same time they are needing some solid early season performances to really make a trade package work. If you look at the Sabathia and Harden trades of last summer, you can see where the Rockies will need a positional talent like Hector Gomez or Chris Nelson to impress early to add a near ready bat to the pot.

Winter Wonderland

Jim McLennan — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:52:03 -0000

The pro baseball season may have finished, even here in Arizona, but it's been going strong in South and Central America, with a large number of Diamondbacks prospects (and some current players), both pitchers and hitters, seeing action. Leagues have been going on in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Hawaii, so with most of the seasons now over or winding-down, let's take a look and see what the results have been like so far.

We'll start in Hawaii where, as noted elsewhere, Hawaiian Winter Ball looks unlikely to continue, having not extended its contract with MLB, meaning this could therefore be its final year. Three Diamondbacks were members of the West Oahu CaneFires this season, with Mark Hallberg perhaps the most impressive. The infielder, who turned 23 last month, had been nothing special at High-A Visalia, batting .283, but enjoyed his time in the 49th state, batting .362 with a .906 OPS. The best raw numbers went to Cyle Hankerd, however, with a line of .318/.392/.545, leading the team in HR and RBI (5 and 33 respectively, in 25 games). That's the same number of homers as he had in 125 games for Double-A Mobile. Finally, our new catcher, James 'Jack' Skelton also took part, and continued his habitual on-base tear, with an impressive .405 OBP.

The Mexican Winter League had two Arizona starting pitchers - though one, Edgar Gonzalez, may or may not make it back to the team in 2009, having been released by the club. He went 4-1 for Hermosillo in seven starts, posting a 4.46 ERA. New Australian left-hander Travis Blackley made ten starts for Mexicali, including a complete game, and went 2-3 with a decent 3.88 ERA in those games [a couple of bad bullpen outings inflated his overall figure to 4.24]. Of particular note was a good K:BB ratio of 3:1 as a starter. No Arizona hitter has appeared in more than six games so far, and the regular season is now in its last week, so we'll move rapidly on.

The Dominican League saw our players appear for Estrellas de Oriente, and was similarly pitcher-heavy. Evan MacLane pulled double duty, appearing both here and Venezuela: between the two, he had twelve starts and a 4.00 ERA. He struggled a bit more in the DWL, being winless in nine outings there, though showed excelled control, allowing eight walks in 41 innings and just nine in 63 overall, compared to 52 strikeouts. Jailen Peguero made 18 apperances out of the 'pen and had a 3.00 ERA, with three saves in five changes. However, he did walk too many people - fourteen in only eighteen innings, along with three wild pitches. On the plus side, opposing hitters batted only .190 off Peguero, but Estrellas still missed the playoffs, winning only 16 of 50 games, so their season is over.

The same issues plagued young southpaw Jordan Norberto, with 14 walks in 17.2 innings of work, but a .212 average against. He only just had his 22nd birthday on December 8th, so is still young enough. He spent both 2007 and 2008 at Class-A South Bend, and having had an ERA above five both times, needs to step things up this year. The other Diamondback to pitch a significant (ten-plus) number of innings in the DWL was Esmerling Vasquez, who made six appearances all told, totaling 13.1 IP, with a 3.38 ERA. He began as a starter, but was shifted to a relief role after walking five batters in his first six innings. That seemed to help, as his K:BB ratio was 6:2 in the remaining 7.1 frames, with only one earned run allowed. He was our minor-league Pitcher of the Year in 2007, but struggled in Tucson last season, where his ERA was 6.82 in 83 innings.

Finally, we move to the Venezuelan Winter League, with a number of fine performances by AZ players. Leading hitter is probably Jesus Merchan, shortstop for the Sidewinders last season. His success is not unexpected, since he batted .339 for Tucson, but his on-base skills were notable. Merchan has given his team a .423 OBP, and decent wheels [4 triples in 79 at-bats], help his OPS reach .980. My first thought was, move to 2B this year in Reno, with the aim to replace Lopez in 2010. However, he'd then be 29, and his defense seems poor [21 errors in 107 games at SS last year]. Miguel Montero had an interesting winter. He started off very poorly, going just .185 (5-for-27) at the beginning of the year, with Bravos de Margarita. However, after a trade took him to Caribes, Miggy has been en fuego, giving his new team a line of .302/.358/.530, with eight homers in just 149 at-bats. Could probably do with some more walks, and he's K'd more than three times as often, worse than in the majors last season.

Gerardo Parra (above) also impressed observers; he is only 21 but batted .329 for Aguilas de Zulia, leading the team with 124 total bases and 15 SB, on his way to a .908 OPS. He had almost as many walks as strikeouts (31:36), giving him an OBP above .400, and is seen by some as the most likely internal prospect to replace Byrnes [if EB stays his contract]. Our well-known 2008 outfielder, Alex Romero, went one better, getting more walks than strikeouts (19:18), to tack onto a .311 average. However, his familiar lack of power - five extra-base hits in 44 games - means his SLG is lower than his OBP, and the overall OPS of .754 is disappointing.

Moving on to the pitchers, we've already covered Evan MacLane, but the one who stands out was Juan Gutierrez. As noted previously, he had a one-hitter among his 13 starts, for a 5-2 record and 2.63 ERA; even that's after a bad outing last time, before which it was 2.30. His K-rate is good - 56 in 65 innings, compared to 20 walks - and he is keeping the ball in the park. Gutierrez has allowed only a pair of home-runs, one in that most recent start, to franchise-mate Javier Brito. That can't be said for Yusmeiro Petit, who continues to be plagued by the long-ball, to the tune of seven in just 39 innings. Hitters overall are enjoying the Petit Unit, to the tune of .316, and he is still winless after eight starts. His last three outings have resulted in a total of 23 hits and 11 earned runs over 13.1 innings of work. Maybe picking up another starter is a wise idea...

Weekend Update

Jim McLennan — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:39:48 -0000

As noted by 'skins, Arizona signed Travis Blackley, though I think it's a bit of a stretch - to put it mildly - to claim that he is the replacement for Randy Johnson mentioned by Jeff Moorad in his chat. No-one would have thought Blackley a replacement for Johnson two days before Moorad's comments, so I tend to think any such opinion is almost entirely the result of unfortunate timing. Nick Piecoro reports it's a minimum-salary deal, even if he reaches the majors, which reinforces my belief this is just taking a flier on someone with potential. Blackley is out of options too, which suggests he'll probably be a candidate for one of the three remaining bullpen spots on Opening Day.

if you didn't see kishi's fanshot [and judging by the lack of reaction, most of you didn't], the Diamondbacks announced their tentative spring-training schedule, starting with a February 25th game against the Rockies at Hi Corbett, and ending with two games against the White Sox at Chase on April 3rd and 4th - so we'll get to see Carlos Quentin patrolling the outfield once again. They also play the Mexican national side twice, on March 4th and 6th, as a warm-up for the WBC. Other dates to note include a trip to Mesa to face the Cubs on March 2nd; a game against the Giants on March 3rd; and their first game in Glendale against the Dodgers, on March 10th.

Those of us in the Valley who work regular hours are short on chances to see the team cheaply, as the majority of the weekend games are down in Tucson [albeit not for much longer...] The exceptions are Sunday games on March 8th/22nd at Peoria, against Seattle and Oakland; and Saturday March 14th, but that's out in Surprise against Kansas City. It'd almost be quicker for us to drive down to Tucson Electric Park. Tickets to all the TEP games go on sale January 24th, but other teams have their own release dates: the Mariners open January 10th, and the A's are already selling theirs. Curiously, however, they say they are playing the White Sox, not the D-backs, on the 22nd, but the White Sox don't think so, according to their schedule.

Not quite sure how I missed this story, which slid into the media a couple of weeks ago: D-backs overtaking Suns as local favorite.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are within striking distance of overtaking the Phoenix Suns to become the fans’ top team in this market. The Suns ranked No. 37 among all professional sports teams in the country, with the D-backs closing in at No. 39, according to a study to be released next week by New Jersey-based Turnkey Sports and Entertainment. Turnkey assesses the strength of pro sports brands among hometown fans. In last year’s inaugural Turnkey Team Brand Index, the Suns ranked No. 26 and the D-backs were No. 52.

It'd be fascinating to see full details of the study, but Turnkey Brands want a cool $1,500 for the Phoenix chapter alone, so I won't be seeing that. The site did tell me, "The 2008 results derive from a scientific survey of 12,000 sports fans in 47 U.S. and Canadian markets. TTBI measures and maps a team’s brand in its own home town." Very interesting to note a neutral survey showing the public perception of and brand loyalty to the Diamondbacks as improving over the past year, despite the lack of a title. This would seem to run counter to the views of certain critics, shall we say. In case you're curious, the Packers were top among the 122 pro sports franchises, followed by the Red Sox, Steelers and Patriots.

The Diamondbacks have announced the results of their 2009 season-ticket scholarship program, and have more than doubled the number of recipients, going from seven last year to 18 families this season. That's a total of 41 lower-level season tickets valued at nearly $100,000; they had over 100 nominations, and those who did not receive season tickets will get tickets to games throughout the 2009 season. I think it's more evidence that the economy is significantly hurting a lot of families around the Valley [we are certainly not immune there]. Discretionary dollars for entertainment look like they're going to be tight in 2009, which could affect everything from sports teams to cinemas.

Brandon Webb won't be playing for the US in the World Baseball Classic. He must truly hate freedom. :-) "I want to fully prepare for the 2009 Major League season and hopefully bring the playoffs back to Arizona," his statement said: the story also says that Dan Haren is "leaning toward not participating." Particularly for our starting pitchers, I am fully behind this decision: though they'd be pitching anyway, in spring training, the increased effort resulting from playing for your country, would seem to increase the potential risk of injury. That's something this team absolutely wants to avoid - given our severe lack of depth, I don't think it's any exaggeration to say losing Webb would be the end of our playoff aspirations.

Looks like the team has, for the moment, given up on trading Miguel Montero or Chris Snyder, Josh Byrnes now saying, "I think the odds have shifted. We've spent a lot of the off-season assessing and nothing has motivated us to this point. At some point, you have to say, 'OK, we kicked the tires and nothing in trade exceeds the value of keeping both, so we'll keep them both.'" No rush on this front, though it'll be interesting to see if the mooted long-term deal for Snyder gets completed; if so, then we will probably be looking to turn Montero into something else. Of course, it may also depend on how new third catcher 'Jack' Skelton shapes up.

Misguided and Sloppy Analysis of the Week award goes to Patrick Sullivan of the Baseball Analysts, who wrote:

A lineup that was supposed to all rise up as one and become Major League standouts in 2008 decided to put it off a year. Stephen Drew, Chris Young, Conor Jackson and Justin Upton - potential superstars all - did not hit the way the D-Backs needed them to in 2008 in order for them to repeat as division champs.

I guess he missed the parts where Stephen Drew (OPS+ 110) was the second-best hitting shortstop in all of baseball, Conor Jackson (OPS+ 110) batted .300, Upton (OPS+ 107) had the best OPS of any 20-year old since A-Rod [and before him, Ken Griffey Jr], and the team as a whole scored more runs than they did in their division-winning year of 2007. No: whatever the team's problems were, blaming those four is almost entirely incorrect, and seems like extremely lazy writing to me. More useful, though perhaps just confirming what we knew to some extent, is a Beyond the Box-Score Fanpost on Effects of Blowouts and 1-run Games on Pythag record, inspired largely by Arizona's over-performance in 2007. Turns out we were good in one-run games, not so good in blowouts, but even allowing for those, still outperformed Pythagoras by about five games.

Couple of pieces of information outside Chase, but still related to the Diamondbacks. Matt Blake of fanster.com wrote a piece reviewing the eating and drinking options around Chase Field. Which might just get me to knock the dust off an article I've had almost completed for months, looking at the reports of health inspectors on the various establishments in the area of the ballpark... And if you're used to parking for free at the downtown meters on your way to games, watch out - because you won't be able to do that in 2009. Phoenix are extending the hours of meter operation from 5pm to 8pm, every day bar Sunday. They're also hiking the cost from 60 cents to $1.50 per hour, presumably also an effort to cut into the city's $250m budget shortfall. At that rate, there's previous little saving on the event parking prices at the private garages.

Finally, if you're a programmer looking for a job opportunity and know Ruby on Rails, the SB Nation are looking for a developer. It would be nice if it were someone from the 'Pit, so I have a direct line to you any time I need something done. :-)