SB Nation - Brooks Brown

Know Your Foe: Rockies face '07 Rocktober victims in season's first week

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:30:08 -0000

More photos » by Rick Scuteri - AP

Brandon Webb will be the first to take on the new-look Rockies line-up.

The regular season has arrived, and that means new things from Know Your Foe. I'll still profile what you need to know in the NL West, but this space will now also be used to look forward at who the Rockies will face in the upcoming week.

The Rockies epic Rocktober run in 2007 was truly reminiscent of a classic sports movie. If a writer was charged with the task of writing a sequel, an ideal start to the 2008 script would have been back-to-back series against the very teams the Rockies shockingly swept out of the playoffs on the way to the World Series.

The schedule-makers failed to provide that sequel last year, but the Rockies do open against Arizona and Philadelphia this season.

Arizona (82-80, no playoffs)

Monday-Wednesday : 3-game series at Arizona

After reaching the NLCS in 2007, the Diamondbacks failed to make the playoffs after fading to a disappointing 82-80 finish in 2008. Arizona is anchored by a strong rotation and hopes of success hinge on the growth of their young line-up.

However, if Spring Training is any indication, "success" won't be a word associated with the Diamondbacks this year. Our desert-dwelling division-rivals stumbled to MLB's worst Spring Training record at 11-23.

Probable Pitchers:

The marquee match-up of the series will no doubt be the earthworm genocide that will unfold this afternoon.

Monday, April 6:	Aaron Cook (2-2, 3.25)	vs.	Brandon Webb (1-2, 5.82)
Thursday, April 7:	Ubaldo Jimenez (1-0, 7.32)	vs.	Dan Haren (2-2, 4.40)
Wednesday, April 8:	Franklin Morales (3-3, 4.50)	vs.	Doug Davis (0-1, 6.23)

Lineup:

Nothing has changed in the past week. The Diamondbacks' starting lineup is worth about 4.924 runs. It's a solid lineup with some significant upside. The Rockies have had trouble handling Chad Tracy and Justin Upton in the past. Note that Bob Melvin altering the Opening Day lineup, replacing Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton with Eric Byrnes and Tony Clark just because Aaron Cook scares Melvin so much.

Order	Player	Position	AB	BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA
1	Felipe Lopez	2B	552	.274	11	56	.349	.400	.335
2	Chris B. Young	CF	527	.260	25	77	.336	.482	.358
3	Stephen Drew	SS	532	.276	16	66	.340	.451	.346
4	Conor Jackson	LF	469	.296	14	75	.384	.465	.375
5	Justin Upton	RF	435	.257	16	60	.349	.444	.348
6	Chad Tracy	1B	445	.276	16	60	.339	.452	.346
7	Mark Reynolds	3B	468	.254	22	81	.333	.462	.347
8	Chris Snyder	C	332	.241	13	51	.344	.419	.340

Chad Tracy (.367/.424/.567), Chris Snyder (.317/.417/.610) and Mark Reynolds (.323/.377/.516) didn't wait until April for their bats to heat up. Chad Qualls was one of the few Diamondbacks hurlers to have a thoroughly impressive spring - Qualls posted a 2.70 ERA through ten spring innings that included eight strikeouts and no walks.

Spring Training couldn't end fast enough for Justin Upton (.197/.333/.328) and Conor Jackson (.200/.280/.246), who had abysmal showings in Spring Training. Brandon Webb had a sub-par spring as well (5.82 ERA, 1.59 WHIP), as did two pivotal bullpen arms, Scott Schoeneweis (11.00, 2.44) and Tony Pena (9.00, 2.44)

Philadelphia (92-70, NL East and World Series champions)

Friday-Sunday : 3-game series at Colorado

Rockies fans don't have to wait long to see the World Series Champs at Coors Field. The Rockies' first home series will be against the Phils...and it will be the last time Philadeplhia will visit in 2009.

It won't be easy for the Phillies to repeat. Since the Yankees repeated in 2000, there have been eight different champions in nine seasons. The Red Sox have won twice but failed to repeat both times. Still, Philly Phans remain morbidly optimistic. Philadelphia returns virtually the same team, although Pat Burrell has been replaced by the underrated Raul Ibanez.

Probable Pitchers:

World Series MVP Cole Hamels missed Sunday's Season Opener due to an inflamed elbow. Hamels was pushed back and will be making his season debut at Coors Field for the Rockies home opener. Brett Myers, who got rocked on Opening Day Sunday, will pitch Saturday. Chan Ho Park beat out J.A. Happ for the #5 spot in the rotation and could pitch Sunday, but Charlie Manuel might go with Jamie Moyer, who will have had five days' rest.

Friday, April 10:	Cole Hamels (0-1, 9.39)	vs.	Jason Marquis (1-3, 10.08)
Saturday, April 11:	Brett Myers (2-2, 3.52)	vs.	Jorge de la Rosa (2-2, 6.86)
Sunday, April 12:	Chan Ho Park (2-0, 2.53)	vs.	Aaron Cook (2-2, 3.25)

Lineup:

The Phillies return their entire World Series-winning offense except for Pat Burrell. Chase Utley, who seems to have recovered from his offseason hip surgery, remains as the only head of the Rollins/Utley/Howard monster not to earn an MVP. The Philly starting line-up is indeed fierce, as it projects to score 5.202 runs/game.

But don't get too scared. That would only rank third in the "barren" NL West behind Los Angeles and Colorado.

Order	Player	Position	AB	BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA
1	Jimmy Rollins	SS	633	.281	18	67	.342	.452	.356
2	Jayson Werth	RF	364	.264	15	57	.365	.445	.363
3	Chase Utley	2B	571	.296	27	96	.381	.513	.391
4	Ryan Howard	1B	547	.271	46	128	.379	.576	.409
5	Raul Ibanez	LF	557	.287	26	99	.359	.488	.368
6	Shane Victorino	CF	500	.288	13	56	.350	.444	.353
7	Pedro Feliz	3B	517	.257	21	78	.303	.441	.323
8	Carlos Ruiz	C	371	.256	9	48	.338	.396	.328

The bench is quite strong as well, and we'll likely see plenty of Chris Coste, Matt Stairs and Greg Dobbs.

In past years, it has been difficult for the big Ryan Howard to gain momentum at the beginning of the season, but in 2009, there's nobody who has had a better spring. The 2006 NL MVP blasted a ridiculous 10 home runs while posting impressive slash stats (.333/.420/.760). Jayson Werth (.333/.368/.696), Jimmy Rollins (.351/.415/.541) and Carlos Ruiz (.326/.380/.558) hope their Spring fever lasts a bit longer also, and Chan Ho Park (2.53 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 10.5 K9) ran away with the #5 SP slot.

The "Flying Hawaiian" has yet to get off the ground. Shane Victorino (.180/.226/.260) posted pitcher-like numbers in Spring Training. Fellow southpaw starters Jamie Moyer (8.27 ERA, 1.94 WHIP) and Cole Hamels (9.39, 1.17) have also had their struggles.

Other things to know: Prospect J.A. Happ lost the race to be the #5 starter but remains on the roster in the bullpen...Two big names are trying to return from injury. Chase Utley had hip surgery and Cole Hamels is recovering from a sore elbow. Both figure to be healthy enough to start Friday....LHP Cedrick Bowers is now on the Philly roster...Ryan Howard lost 25 pounds from last season. Judging by his Spring Training, it has helped him.

NL West Report after the jump.

NL West Report

Arizona (11-23)

Ryan Roberts won the race for the 25th spot on the roster over James Skelton, Josh Whitesell, and Josh Wilson. Skelton had been favored due to his status as a Rule 5 draft choice from Detroit. He was waived, but Arizona retained Skelton's services by trading pitcher Brooks Brown to Detroit. Or maybe he's going to be a Colorado State linebacker.

Ryan Roberts

#14 / Third Base / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 5-11

Weight: 190

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 19, 1980

Otherwise, Arizona filled out their roster exactly as predicted last week. However, with Max Scherzer on the DL, Juan Gutierrez snuck into the bullpen.

Tim Dierkes at MLBTradeRumors talked with Arizona GM Josh Byrnes, and asked about his K-happy hitters, to which Byrnes responded:

To some extent, strikeouts are like other outs.

Those are some nice sedona red shades you have there Josh. Strikeouts have been and could continue to be the Diamondbacks' undoing, but as he pointed out later in the quote "If enough walks and homers accompany the strikeouts, the tradeoff can work".

This Week: 3 game home series vs. Rockies, 3 game home series vs. Dodgers

Los Angeles (15-22)

Those sneaky Dodgers. The 25-man roster had to be set by noon Sunday, but Los Angeles still hadn't decided its final spots. They submitted a 24-man roster through a loophole and added Claudio Vargas and Delwyn Young to the roster. However, Young and Vargas will be going on the disabled list, so the Dodgers will be adding three more to the 25-man roster before their opening game at 5:05. Will Ohman and Doug Mientkiewicz are expected to be two, and two relievers will be chosen between Ramon Troncoso, Josh Lindblom, Eric Threets, and Ronald Belisario.

Will Ohman

#0 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-2

Weight: 210

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Aug 13, 1977

The signing of Will Ohman meant Scott Elbert was not needed in the bullpen. Other changes from the forecast of a fortnight past include James McDonald becoming the fifth starter and Jeff Weaver being sent to AAA.

Ned Colletti shaved off 24% of his team's payroll in the offseason by remains the sexy pick to repeat as NL West Champions. Ramona Shelburne at the LA Daily News evaluates Colletti's offseason.

This Week: 4 game road series @ Padres, 3 game road series @ Diamonbacks

San Diego (10-21-3)

The Friars traded for Edward Mujica from the Indians and Eulogio de la Cruz to fill in the bullpen. Luke Gregorson and Edwin Moreno also won bullpen spots while Mark Worrell and Mike Adams were transferred to the 60-day disabled list. The bullpen was a mess a week ago, but a lot has changed in just a week. Shawn Hill will be the fifth starter, and their #3 starter, Walter Silva, is so obscure he does not have a picture or number in our system yet.

Walter Silva

#0 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-1

Weight: 190

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jan 04, 1977

I fail to see how this pitching staff can compete with the Rockies', let alone the complete product. Another look at the bullpen plight.

Buster Olney reported that Jake Peavy was a lot closer to being a Cub than people realize. As Peavy said in a Corey Brock article:

"I prepared myself that I was going to be traded. Everyone in their right mind thought I would be somewhere else"

The former first overall pick by the Padres, Matt Bush, was released by Toronto. The details are sadly and absurdly comical.

This Week: 4 game home series vs. Dodgers, 3 game home series vs. Giants

San Francisco (21-19)

The Giants ended up with a different 25-man roster than it appeared two weeks ago as well. Eugenio Velez beat out Kevin Frandsen as a backup middle infielder, and the front office decided Pablo Sandoval would do fine as a back-up catcher, so Steve Holm was optioned in favor of Juan Uribe.

Juan Uribe

#0 / Third Base / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-0

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Mar 22, 1979

Brandon Medders got the surprise nod over Rule 5 pick Luis Perdomo. Rookie Joe Martinez came out of nowhere to win the long reliever gig. The full-break-down is here.

Jack Taschner was also traded to the Phillies for C Ronny Paulino, who was then flipped to Florida for RHP Hector Correa. The move opened up a spot for Alex Hinshaw to be the primary lefty out of the pen.

This Week: 3 game home series vs. Brewers, 3 game road series @ Padres

Skelton Remains with Arizona

Ian Casselberry — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:03:00 -0000

Minor leaguer James Skelton will not be returning to the Detroit Tigers, after all. The Arizona Diamondbacks will keep him in their system after working out a deal to send pitcher Brooks Brown to Detroit.

Last year with Double-A Mobile, Brown posted a 6-15 record in 26 starts (totaling 144.1 innings), with a 4.18 ERA. He struck out 112 batters, while walking 67. As TigerBlog notes, Brown was named to the Southern League All-Star team last season, and also pitched well in the Arizona Fall League, notching 19 strikeouts in 25.2 innings.

The Detroit Tigers Weblog has more on Brown, including some analysis from Baseball America.

Brown was assigned to Double-A Erie. (Nick Piecoro reports that Brown would've also pitched at that level this season had he remained in the Arizona organization, noting that his stock seemed to have fallen. In that same article, he speaks with Skelton about his performance this spring.) Skelton, meanwhile, will report to Mobile.

Diamondbacks 9, A's 7: Beer, sunburn and good times

Jim McLennan — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 04:24:15 -0000

"Is there a heaven?"

"Oh, yeah. It's the place where dreams come true."

"Maybe this is heaven."
Field of Dreams

If the above picture is not an affirmation of all that is good and true about the sport, its players and those who follow the game... It's close. I've little doubt the children don't have the slightest clue who Cesar Valdez is; but he plays baseball and that's enough to make him a star in their eyes. The look on their faces as they ran back to their father with the autographed ball was a reminder of why I love the game so much. In an era where the latest steroid revelations seem to rock baseball on an almost daily basis, it's good to get back to the basics. The grass is green, the breeze is warm and the drinks cold: let's play ball!

We abandoned the original plan to drive down the night before, so headed off early Sunday morning. We managed to negotiate the roadworks in the middle of town, which must be due for completion any millennium soon, I'm sure, and rolled into Tucson Electric Park around eleven. A few minutes later, our tailgating partners - shoe, TAP and Tmar - showed up, and with the arrival of The Shadow, bearing Diamond Dogs for all, from the nearest Circle K, we were all set. The discussion was free, wide-ranging and interrupted only by consumption of Mrs. SnakePit's tortilla wraps. :-)

Of particular note, I was talking to shoe about spring training stats: he thinks it might be interesting to break the actual results by inning: say, see who was leading the game after five innings in the first two weeks, maybe the sixth inning in week three, and so on, because after that point, it's usually the B-roster who are out there. There might then be a better correlation between that and regular season records. He also reckons Chris Burke was 'cheating' in spring training, sitting on the fastball, which is all pitchers tend to throw early on. As soon as they started to mix in the breaking stuff, his effectiveness vanished. Something to keep an eye on, though I haven't seen him in a Padres lineup yet.

[Jackson and Reynolds warm up]

Around 12:30, we made our way inside: our seats were down the first-base line, and I bumped into Driaz as I swung back, after taking the above pics of the team warming up. Not actually as big a crowd as I thought there might be, for a Sunday game; it's probably another reason why the Diamondbacks are looking to leave Tucson. Here are the attendance numbers for all the Cactus League games this afternoon:

White Sox at Dodgers (Glendale): 11,280
Brewers at Giants (Scottsdale): 7.614
Cubs at Padres (Peoria): 7,072
Rockies at Indians (Goodyear): 5,000
A's at Diamondbacks (Tucson Electric Park): 4,922
Mariners at Texas (Surprise): 4,772
Royals at Angels (Tempe Diablo): 4,097

On a glorious spring day, the home-state Diamondbacks managed to outdraw only two American League match-ups, including one contest which was basically taking place in the middle of nowhere - no offense, Surprise. You'd think with the team threatening to leave, people would be showing up in droves to prove the viability of Tucson as a spring training location. But when you can't even get five thousand to the park, you have to wonder whether the town has simply given up the fight

Starting the game for the Diamondbacks this afternoon was Yusmeiro Petit, and he was in midseason form already, performing feats of escapology previously only performed by Houdini. And Orlando Hernandez. Take the first inning, where he walked the leadoff batter, allowed a single to left to the next man, and then uncorked a wild pitch, to put men on second and third with no outs. I expected a call from shoe, saying something along the lines of "Told you so." But Petit - as he did much of last year - defied expectation. A shallow pop-up to our heavily-tattooed second-baseman, Ryan Roberts, a strikeout and a groundout kept the A's off the board.

Second verse...same as the first. Leadoff walk and another single put men on the corners with nobody out, but again, the A's couldn't even squeeze one run over - a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double-play proved key in the second. Petit left with two scoreless innings, despite two hits and two walks, and got the W. I can't say he looked particularly convincing, but there's no arguing with the box-score this afternoon, and Bob Melvin took it: "Early on, he really had trouble getting the ball down, and typically that's when he has his share of troubles. End result is what you're looking for, and he didn't give anything up." Whether Petit is capable of producing the same in the regular season, I'm not so certain. Here's the wild-pitch and the ground-out which started the comeback.

Interestingly, pitching for the A's was a former master of the long-ball for the Diamondbacks, Edgar Gonzalez. It was clear from the first batter he faced that he would not be so lucky, Roberts flipping a dying quail into the Bermuda Triangle beyond the infield. One out later, Stephen Drew ripped a double over the head of the left-fielder to give Arizona the lead, and with two outs, Chad Tracy singled to bring Drew home and make the score 2-0 for the Diamondbacks. Our boys certainly had their share of luck today, with at least three hits, like Roberts', dropping with perfect precision among converging A's fielders, and they got help from two Oakland errors.

While technically there were no errors ascribed to Arizona today, we seemed to have extraordinary trouble turning the double-play. Before we finally got one to end the game, there were at least three which should have been converted: as they all resulted in one out, no errors were allocated, but the last was particularly painful. A fine pivot and a solid throw to first in plenty of time, was followed by the ball clanking off Josh Whitesell's glove with a resounding 'BONK!' Someone - who might have been me - yelled, "If we need that kind of thing, we've got Tony Clark." Speaking of whom, he looked totally adrift at the plate today, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Glove notwithstanding, I expect him to be replaced by Josh Whitesell before the All-Star break.

[Tracy takes off for second-base]

Arizona tacked on three more runs in the fourth, thanks in part to those Oakland errors, and were looking set to cruise to an easy victory. Cesar Valdez, seemed a little shaky immediately after relieving Billy Buckner, giving up a solo home-run to lead off the A's fifth. However, he settled down, fanning three in his two innings of work, and the Diamondbacks - now running their B-roster out there - added on in the bottom of the sixth, making the score at that point 9-2 to Arizona. We looked forward to a quick exit from TEP. Some more slices of tortilla wrap? Don't mind if I do. However, Brooks Brown had other ideas...

In his defense, he was the victim of some bad luck. A bad-hop took the ball over the third-baseman's glove and put the leadoff hitter on base for Oakland. Browns should have taken the hint and feigned some kind of injury because that was the shape of things to come for him. He ended up with a line of five hits, one walk, five runs, all earned, in one-third of an inning of work. Ouch. That'll sting. Perhaps the most painful was the bases-loaded squibber that trickled about ten feet in front of the plate, leaving catcher John Hester floundering and unable to get anyone out.

[Jose Valv...er, Marte goes into action]

Brooks was eventually rescued by Jose Marte, of whom Nick Piecoro said last week, "An excellent, if unintentional, impression of former Diamondbacks closer Jose Valverde. From his pulled-up socks to his mannerisms on the mound to his skyward point after recording the final out of Thursday's win in Goodyear, all was Valverde-esque... The only thing Marte lacks is Valverde's waistline." Having now seen Marte in action, I concur: there is a strong resemblance, and his performance this afternoon was very solid. Coming in with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, he allowed only a run-scoring groundout, and then added a scoreless eighth for good measure.

Leo Rosales pitched the ninth and we finally turned a double-play, which ended things and sent the Diamondbacks fans home happy. On the offensive side, Brandon Watson, getting the start in center, had three hits, including a delightful little bunt which took the Oakland pitcher by surprise. Roberts had two hits, while Tracy and Reynolds each had a hit and a walk. Eight separate Arizona players had runs batted in, which is probably an accurate assessment of how our offense is going to be looking to get things done this season.

[Miguel Montero warms up]

We headed back to the parking-lot, and The Shadow invited us to a BBQ at his house in Tucson. We had to decline, because I wanted to get this report up and posted as soon as possible, and we still had a two-hour drive back to North Phoenix. You see the sacrifices I make for you people? :-) But it was a very pleasant day; having seen actual, live baseball we now truly feel that the winter is over, and the real season can't start soon enough. Might be a while until I can see a tortilla wrap, however...

In other news, Brandon Webb's bullpen session went fine, a huge relief to all. "I felt real good today. I felt great. Almost 100 percent, I’d say. I had no problems warming up. I threw every pitch, fastball, change-up, curveball... I wasn’t too concerned about it from the start. But today was encouraging. I felt real good about it. I’m ready to go." He'll therefore be making his next start on Wednesday, as scheduled, against Team Mexico, though he probably won't throw more than about 30 pitches or a couple of innings, whichever comes first. Before then, however: guess who'll be starting for the Giants when we face them in Scottsdale on Tuesday? Yep. Randy Johnson. Might be worth taking the afternoon off for that one...

[Snakes on the grass... Click to enlarge
All photos by AZ SnakePit]

Some more kids that you ain't used to: the Diamondbacks non-roster invitees

Jim McLennan — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 03:25:47 -0000

Here we go with phase two of a look at the lesser known Diamondbacks who you may see in spring-training. Having filled out the back end of the 40-man roster in the previous installment, this time we look at the seventeen non-roster invitees who got an invite to enjoy spring in Tucson - at least for the next couple of weeks. These are a combination of players from the low minors, who didn't yet need to be added to the 40-man roster, and independent free agents. Odds against anyone here making the Opening Day squad, we're mostly looking at the free agents with the intent of using them to fill out the ~~Sidewinders~~, oops, make that the Reno Aces Triple-A roster.

I note one name not on the list. Jarrod Parker, one of only two from Arizona to make Kevin Goldstein's top hundred prospects at Baseball Prospectus last week [Parker was #32 and Daniel Schlereth #89. MLB.com rated him even higher, at #18 in their recent survey] He was our first-round pick, ninth overall, in 2007 and posted a 3.44 ERA at South Bend in his first full pro season - and that figure was after the pitching staff forced Parker to work on his secondary pitches, in particular, his change-up. With a 97 mph fastball and control of four pitches [he walked only 2.52/9 IP, while striking out almost a batter per inning], it's a little surprising he didn't get an invite, especially since he was there last year. Some reckon he'll be in the majors as soon as 2010, and he has drawn comparisons to a young Lincecum. We can but hope. Anyway, here are the rest: no numbers for these guys as yet, details after the jump.

Pitchers	B/T	Ht	Wt	DoB
Hector Ambriz	L/R	6'1"	220	5/24/84
Tony Barnette	R/R	6'2"	190	11/9/83
Brooks Brown	L/R	6'3"	212	6/20/85
Seth Etherton	R/R	6'1"	195	10/17/76
Reid Mahon	R/R	6'3"	215	6/1/83
Daniel Schlereth	L/L	6'0"	210	6/1/83
Catchers	B/T	Ht	Wt	DoB
Luke Carlin	S/R	5'10"	195	12/20/80
Ed Easley	R/R	6'1"	180	12/21/85
John Hester	R/R	6'4"	210	9/14/83
Infielders	B/T	Ht	Wt	DoB
Ryan Roberts	R/R	5'11"	190	9/19/80
Rusty Ryal	R/R	6'2"	195	3/16/83
Josh Wilson	R/R	6'0"	175	3/26/81
Outfielders	B/T	Ht	Wt	DoB
Evan Frey	L/L	5'11"	166	6/7/86
Trent Oeltjen	L/L	6'1"	190	2/28/83
Gerardo Parra	L/L	6'1"	186	5/6/87
Chris Roberson	S/R	6'2"	180	8/23/79
Brandon Watson	L/R	6'1"	170	9/30/81

Hector Ambriz. One of the starters for Mobile (Double-A) this year, Ambriz had a 5-13 record, and saw his ERA rise to 4.89. His HR rate almost doubled, though that may partly be due to park factors - Mobile rated a monstrous 1.21 for homers, and 14 of the 22 he allowed were at home there. He also allowed eight homers and a .358 BA in the first inning, so seems he needs to warm up more.

Tony Barnette. Another member of the Mobile rotation, Barnette was the only one to have a winning record (11-7) and posted a decent 3.87 ERA, holding opposing hitters to a .246 average. While similarly hurt by the park, allowing only four home-runs on the road, he had a good K:BB ratio, of better than 3:1. Like Dan Schlereth, he was born in Anchorage.

Brooks Brown. Not to be confused with the Columbine killers' pal [Google is not your friend], Brown struggled later on in the season, and on into the Arizona Fall League. He's a sinkerballer - only one home-run on 75.1 road innings in 2008 - though his ground/fly rate has been going the wrong way in recent years. He is only 23, and if he can find a change-up to go with his fastball and slider, he could still make the rotation.

Seth Etherton. A former first-round pick in 1998, he has appeared in the majors in four seasons since 2000, with four different teams, and also in Korea. He missed most of 2008 after Tommy John surgery, and his only work last year was two games in August for the indy Long Beach Armada of the Golden Baseball League. On first glance, would appear to be prime roster filler for the Reno Aces.

Reid Mahon. He started off as the closer in Mobile, being perfect in 18 save chances there, which got him a promotion up to Tucson. He added six more saves there down the stretch, though his ERA ended up at 5.25. Likely he'll start 2009 off in the same role for Reno, and could be one of those in line for a potential call-up if the bullpen needs some fresh arms.

Daniel Schlereth.After being drafted by the Diamondbacks in the first round last June, it took him a month to sign, so there wasn't much time for him to make a mark in the minor-leagues. He threw just three innings in Missoula before getting sent up to South Bend, for another brief stint. "I only threw 12 innings, but they were pretty good innings," he said. Double-A ball is likely in Schlereth's immediate future, and he might find himself stretched out over multiple innings there.

Luke Carlin. Made his major-leage debut last May for San Diego, and it was a memorable one, as he caught Greg Maddux's 350th win. However, he hit only .149 in 36 games for the Padres, and is generally regarded as someone whose strengths are much more on the defensive side. Will probably act as the backup to Russell Martin on the Canadian squad for the WBC.

Ed Easley. Also a non-roster invitee last season, Easley struggled somewhat at Visalia in 2008. He started well enough, hitting .313 in April but ended with an OPS of just .649. Given his offense is generally regarded as being superior to his defense [and, in particular, his arm], that has to be seen as a disappointment, even if he only turned 23 in December.

John Hester. The regular catcher in Mobile, he didn't get as much help from the park there as you'd think - indeed, his OPS was 121 points better on the road, at a very respectable .833. Could do with some more walks though, his K:BB a swingtastic 78:16. He nailed 30% of base-stealers this season.

Ryan Roberts. May be the ultimate utility guy - during 2007, he played eight positions including the DH, for Triple-A Syracuse. Mostly a second-baseman, he produced a home-run for his first major-league at bat in 2006, but has only one more hit in 26 subsequent ABs. He's got over 30 tattoos, so can trade ink tips with Jon Rauch this spring, and had seven RBI in an inning on July 27, homering twice off Josh Towers.

Rusty Ryal. Could he be our second-baseman in 2010? Solid enough performance for Mobile this year, batting .274 with 16 homers. He also had only eight errors over 97 games at 2B, in his first year playing mostly at that position [he was originally a 3B and occasional SS]. Perhaps a little old for his level - he'll be 26 next month - but we don't really have many other internal options at this point.

Josh Wilson. Likely signed to help shore up the infield defense of the Aces, he was a minor part of the trade that sent Manny to the Dodgers, but the D-backs will be his seventh organization. He played 90 games for the Rays in 2007, mostly at shortstop, hitting .251, but also pitched an inning of relief against the Marlins in a blowout loss. A scoreless inning. Mark Grace, eat your heart out...

Evan Frey. Almost as many walks as strikeouts (76:84) for Frey in 2008, who ended up with an OBP for the year of .400. He has virtually no power as yet, with three homers in 784 career at-bats, but is being projected as a potential AZ lead-off hitter for 2011 or sooner, though Chris Young appears to have a solid hold on CF at the moment. Zephon will be pleased to hear that when you Google our prospect's name, his piece is the first hit, so refer to that for more info on Frey.

Trent Oeltjen. A good season for our Australian, who hit .317 in Tucson. He'd be the third Olympic medal on the current AZ roster, a 2004 silver joining Augie Ojeda's 1996 bronze and Jon Rauch's 2000 gold, and is likely to make the Oz roster for his second WBC appearance. Spent the winter at home, playing for the NSW Patriots, who reached the finals of their baseball competition, before losing, Oeltjen-less, as he'd already left for Arizona.

Gerardo Parra. Still only 21, Parra is already at Double-A, having been promoted after batting .301 for Visalia. He took a step back at the higher level, but restored his stock in the Venezuelan Winter League, where he batted .329/.404/.504, including one game where he had four of his team's six hits. He should see Triple-A this season, and then be knocking on the door of the major-leagues in spring 2010.

Chris Roberson. His father, Rick, was an NBA player including a spell alongside Wilt Chamberlain on the Lakers. This year should see his 3,000th minor-league AB, compared to just 69 ML ones for the 29-year old. In shades of The Natural, he got to make his Phillies debut in 2007 after Aaron Rowand crashed into the wall, but never quite lived up to his ranking, two years earlier, among baseball's top 25 prospects.

Brandon Watson. Had a 43-game hitting streak in 2007, and played alongside Travis Blackley on the Lehigh Valley IronPigs last season, where he batted .305, right on his career average in the minors. Not exactly a slugger - only 14 homers in ten seasons there and 4,000+ at-bats - but he does seem to have a MySpace page. Another one who'll likely be stashed down in Reno, in case of severe emergency.

The Boys of non-Summer: a trip to the Arizona Fall League

Jim McLennan — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:42:50 -0000

This is the time of year where it is no longer a chore to live in this state: while the rest of the country buckles down and prepares for winter and the shoveling of snow it will entail, we Arizonans are finally emerging from our aestivation [look it up]. Mid-November? You might want to put on a long-sleeved T-shirt if you're going out tonight, it could get a bit chilly after 9pm. Part of the joy involved is two months of bonus professional baseball: as well as the well-known delights of spring training, we also get to enjoy the game live in October, regardless of whether or not our team makes it to the post-season. I think that makes us unique in the continental US [Hawaii also has a winter league - as if living in Hawaii needed any additional bonuses].

The Arizona Fall League started in the early 1990's as a chance for major-league teams to get some of their up-and-coming players, thought of as needing more polish, some additional at-bats or innings. A lot of famous names have played here at one time or another - Jeter, Pujols, Webb, Braun, and it was even the first stop on Michael Jordan's ill-fated attempt to make it to the big-leagues. This year, 36 of the 60 players in the All-Star Game, had passed through the AFL earlier in their career. Team managers, and even umpires, may also go on to greater things: Dusty Baker managed for the first time in the AFL, while the men in blue come from MLB's Umpire Development Program.

Unlike other winter leagues, it's very much developmental, rather than competitive; players can be sent here to work on a specific aspect of their play, and if that does improve, the AFL's job is done, regardless of their ERA or BA. Each franchise can send up to six players, typically Double-A or Triple-A, though players with less than one year's service time in the majors can participate, which is how Max Scherzer saw some action in the early part of the AFL this season. Five major-league teams combine to fill up the 30-man roster of each of the half-dozen sides in the league. This year, the Diamondbacks players were part of the Phoenix Desert Dogs.

Because of the group outing we organized to Chase earlier in the season, we got complimentary tickets to Saturday's game against the Mesa Solar Sox. [Admittedly, general admission seats are only $6, but hey, free baseball is free baseball] It looks like the Diamondbacks are trying to encourage attendance by providing these tickets to groups. It seems to be working, as our game was watched by a healthy crowd of 1,576 - as a yardstick, the other two AFL games that day, had official attendances of 289 and 474, and some of the weekday games are seen by less than two hundred.

It took place at Hohokam Stadium, and was the first time I'd been to that venue - in spring, it's the home of the Cubs, so my head spins round and I projectile vomit if I go within half a mile of the place. Amusingly, it's located opposite a cemetery, which is presumably where the last hundred seasons of North Side futility go to die. The attendees met up in the parking-lot for a spot of tailgating [thank you, Mrs. SnakePit!] before the game, with faces both old and new - apologies if I didn't get a chance to speak to everyone. You should have got there earlier. ;-) We were there from 5pm, and it was a very pleasant couple of hours as the sun went down.

We were tidying up, and lost contact with most of the rest of the group by the time we got inside, inside the surprisingly-large crowd [we were not the only group in attendance, it appeared - though the others got their names mentioned on the PA, we apparently didn't. Though I may have fallen asleep and missed it, but more on that later!] One of the perils and pleasures of general admission tickets, is that you can sit wherever you want, whether it's to chase foul balls, watch from immediately behind home-plate, or close to one of the dugouts [Ryne Sandberg seemed to be running things for the Solar Sox on this night] You could even move around, though save for a little photo-taking, that was too much like hard work for me. We did eventually locate some of our party, a little up and to the right of home-plate, and settled in with them to watch the game.

It wasn't a brilliant night for the Diamondbacks' prospects who took part in the game. Brooks Brown got the start for the Desert Dogs, and was tagged with the loss, thanks entirely to one poor inning. the third. He loaded the bases with one out, then allowed a two-run single, and a run-scoring ground-out. However, that was the only damage in his five innings, and two hits and two walks are not disastrous. Another Diamondbacks' farm member, Tony Barnette, followed Brown to the mound, and unfortunately also allowed three runs, in only one inning of work: the key blow was a three-run homer by the Marlins' Scott Cousins.

Things started brightly enough for the Arizona hitters, leadoff hitter and Phoenix center-fielder Evan Frey smacking a first-inning double over the head of the left-fielder, and coming home to score on a groundout, giving the Desert Dogs an early lead. However, between there and the ninth inning, the team managed only one more hit. Though both the other Diamondbacks' players on the Dogs' roster started - John Hester at catcher and Rusty Ryal at shortstop - neither of them got a hit, to leave the Arizona trio at 1-for-9 on the night, though Hester got a walk. Still, it was nice to see five of our six in action, the only exception being pitcher Hector Ambriz.

The game move along at a brisk page, ending just before 9:30pm. This was probably no bad thing since, even with Mrs. SnakePit's wise decision to bring along a blanket, it was getting distinctly chilly by that point. As we walked back towards the car, the realization hit that this would likely be the last live baseball we would get the chance to see, until 2009 spring training starts up again in late February next year. We have Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and Valentine's Day to get through first: maybe hibernation isn't such a bad idea after all...

Game Notes

Each player wears the jersey of his parent team, rather than that of his Arizona Fall League outfit. Makes it easier to pick out the Diamondbacks!
As shown above, the bullpens at Hohokam are right next to each, rather than in opposite corners of the outfield, a curious arrangement. No secrets can be kept from the other team there.
We were almost sent into unconsciousness by the announcer, a lady who managed to recite everything - lineups, pitching changes or sponsor adverts - in an astonishingly dull monotone, without a trace of enthusiasm. We joked that the advertising sales pitch was, "Give us fifty bucks, or else we'll announce your business."
The crowd appeared to catch the concession operations at Hohokam unaware, with the queue for soda and hot-dogs lengthy. I think there may have been only one stand open.
On a similar line, I dread to think what the parking situation is like at Hohokam when the Cubs are in town, and the stadium is filled to its 12,000-plus capacity.