SB Nation - Chris Snyder

2010 in Arizona: Catcher

Jim McLennan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:00:13 -0000

by David Zalubowski - AP

Montero gets up-close and personal with Todd Helton at home plate in Denver on July 4.

Having completed the review of last season, it's time to turn the spotlight forward and look at what 2010 might bring for the Arizona Diamondbacks. I'll be doing this on a position-by-position basis, each Monday, and hope to keep them updated as we move through the winter, hence the imminent presence of a handy reference list on the sidebar. I'll be taking a look at what we got out of the spot in 2009, whether we might be looking to strengthen ourselves at the spot during the winter, and coming up with our depth-chart at the position for 2010.

We start off by going behind the plate, a spot which saw a definite shift in focus last season. Chris Snyder, with a solid contract extension, was the everyday starter, and there had even been discussion of shifting backup Miguel Montero to third-base during the preceding off-season. Circumstances, however, would end up driving the team in an entirely different direction, one that will likely persist into 2010. After the jump, we'll go into more detail about who'll be catching for the Diamondbacks next year.

2009 Performance
1. Miguel Montero - 101 starts .294/.355/.478
2. Chris Snyder - 51 starts, .200/.333/.352

Randy Johnson might have been right. Back during spring training, he said of Montero, "I really like him... I think if he was to play every day, he'd probably hit 25 home runs, bat .265 to .270 and probably have 65 to 70 RBIs. He's that good of a hitter." At that time, it seemed an empty projection with Snyder cemented as our everyday starter behind the plate. However, in 2009, Montero got the chance, thanks to Snyder's back, and took full advantage. Starting less than two out of three games, he smacked 16 homers, drove in 59 runs and came within three hits of batting .300 on the season. Indeed, after becoming the #1 in late June, Montero was even better, posting a line of .318/.363/.520.

Poor Chris Snyder. If there's one thing you wouldn't wish on a catcher, it's back problems [well, that and a badly-bruised testicle, but I wouldn't wish that on anyone...]. However, he struggled with a spinal disk from May, hampering his production all year, and eventually forcing him out of the line-up on June 21st. Snyder managed only 37 PAs the rest of the season, and underwent surgery to relieve pressure on a nerve in late September. He should be fine for spring training, but appears to have lost his position as the Diamondbacks' everyday catcher.

Top Free Agents
Name	Age	2009 Sal.	2009 OPS+
Bengie Molina	35	$6.25m	86
Miguel Olivo	31	$2.7m	103
Yorvit Torrealba	31	$3.75m	87
Gregg Zaun	38	$1.5m	99
Ivan Rodriguez	38	$1.5m	73
Chance of AZ free-agent activity: none at all.

2010 Depth-chart and Projections

Miguel Montero (.266/.333/.435)
Chris Snyder (.233/.333/.410)
John Hester (.242/.285/.388)

We've already seen the team plan, with the trade discussions involving Chris Snyder between Arizona and Toronto. The problem is not so much Snyder, as Snyder's contract. The extension signed in December 2008 means that he is due to be paid $4.75 million in 2010 and $5.75 million in 2011. While not bad for an everyday starter behind the plate, it's far above what you would want to pay for a back-up at the position. The combination of that deal and his back surgery will also hamper any attempts to trade Snyder. The team don't "need" to trade him (though the salary relief would be welcome), and if nothing acceptable can be worked out, we'll likely keep Chris and he'll be a more-than acceptable second-string catcher.

It does seem another premature contract extension offered to Diamondbacks, on the basis of a single good season - see also Chris Young, Chad Tracy and Eric Byrnes - and implies a dismissal of any possibility Montero would prove better long-term. I can see the purpose of these moves, at least for the young players: provide cost certainty and lock them in at a rate that works for the team. However, the results so far of this tactic have been mixed, to put it mildly, and one wonders whether somewhat more caution will be exercised going forward. I note there has been little public discussion of extending Mark Reynolds, who already has almost 1,700 PAs under his belt, more than Young, Tracy or Snyder when they were inked.

Montero enters 2010 anointed as the #1 for the first time in his career, with all talk of moving him to third-base completely silenced. One very encouraging thing about last season was how Miggy hit LHP and RHP with almost equal ability - his OPS against left-handers was actually 14 points better, albeit in only 88 PAs. Any scheduled days off will still likely come when we face southpaws, but it doesn't appear Montero will be an automatic out if he has to see one due to the game situation.

It'll be interesting to see how Montero's defense evolves. This was originally a major knock against him, and it was a nerve-wracking experience when he threw down to second. However, he increased his caught stealing percentage from 21% in 2008 to 26% this season, not far below the National League average (29%). He also seemed to get more comfortable with calling games, as he became more familiar with the pitching staff, and one would expect this aspect of his game to continue improving next season, with additional experience. He came in to 2009 with only 106 career starts at the major-league level - he has now almost doubled that.

Unless Snyder is traded, John Hester will likely be stashed down in Reno, inside a case stating "In case of emergency, break glass." At the present time, he won't be expected to see playing time otherwise, but didn't disgrace himself in his brief major-league stint last season, and seems like a credible enough third option, or even an occasional back-up should Snyder depart. I doubt he'd be much worse offensively than Luke Carlin, who occupied the same slot at the start of 2009.

NL West in Review: Catchers

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:00:13 -0000

More photos » by Jack Dempsey - AP

Only two NL West catchers were above league average with the bat in 2009 (by wOBA). Neither played on the Pacific coast.

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Each of the past three years, the NL West has been home to an emerging and promising young catcher. In 2007, it was Russell Martin. In 2008 - it was Chris Iannetta's time to shine, and this season brought the surprising leap to prominence for Miguel Montero.

With Bengie Molina leaving in free agency, youth is served. Montero, Iannetta, Martin and Nick Hundley were all born the year before George Orwell's nightmare, and 22yo Buster Posey is waiting in the wings to take over soon. Of course, this article is meant to focus on 2009 though.

In past installments, the limitations of UZR have been illuminated, casting doubt on these numbers. So what could be worse than an inconsistent/inaccurate defensive metric? How about eliminating defense from consideration altogether. Fangraphs' WAR does just that for catchers, and given that I have been using their methodology, I was forced to as well. THT's Jeremy Greenhouse warns:

Do not place undue trust in WAR for catchers. How much of a catcher's value do you think is in his defense? I'll give you a hint: it's a lot. FanGraphs has unfortunately yet to give an effort to quantifying this vital aspect of the game, other than with the positional adjustment. In fact, catchers should possibly be considered a separate group of players with a separate replacement level and therefore be treated as different from all other position players.

Now, given that I have ruined the legitimacy of all ensuing data, let's look at the numbers.


Teams	Players	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA*	WAR
1. Arizona	4	.266	22	79	.352	.437	.342	4.09
2. Colorado	4	.255	18	89	.343	.415	.329	3.28
3. Los Angeles	3	.259	8	69	.342	.338	.314	2.46
4. San Francisco	5	.257	21	89	.280	.409	.301	1.72
5. San Diego	4	.225	16	52	.293	.367	.299	1.56

The Diamondbacks rode the transformation of Montero from backup to cleanup hitter to the top of the division behind the dish. As noted above, defense is ignored in catcher WAR. With team replacement values and positional value essentially equivalent, offense is the only determining factor:

For the full rankings and team rundowns, click the words below.

As noted in the photo caption, only two of the 20 catchers (with 10+ PA) hit above the major league average wOBA.

Rank	Player	Team	PA	GS	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA*	WAR
1	Miguel Montero	AZ	441	101	.295	16	55	.353	.483	.361	3.12
2	Russell Martin	LAD	568	133	.252	7	43	.349	.333	.318	2.42
3	Bengie Molina	SFG	505	120	.268	19	74	.287	.441	.313	1.98
4	Chris Iannetta	COL	345	87	.225	15	50	.340	.449	.333	1.85
5	Yorvit Torrealba	COL	242	61	.290	2	31	.351	.379	.328	1.22
~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~
14	Buster Posey	SFG	16	4	.125	0	0	.125	.125	.226	-0.03
15	Luke Carlin	AZ	15	4	.200	0	1	.200	.200	.179	-0.07
16	A.J. Ellis	LAD	9	2	.111	0	1	.111	.111	.103	-0.09
17	Jose Lobaton	SDP	17	5	.176	0	0	.176	.176	.160	-0.10
18	Eliezer Alfonzo	SDP	110	28	.178	2	8	.200	.262	.201	-0.37

The franchise hasn't been shy about suggesting the Buster Posey might start the season at AAA. With Bengie Molina expected to leave in free agency, San Francisco will have to add a catcher in free agency if they want to keep Posey's seat warm. Troy Renck wrote last night to keep an eye on Yorvit Torrealba for that role. It makes a lot of sense from both sides. However, even starting Posey Opening Day might not be a bad idea. CHONE projects him to post a .325 wOBA next season, compared to Molina's .308 performance in 2009.

Poll

Considering all we know financially, who should be the Rockies' backup catcher to start the 2010 season?

Yorvit Torrealba

32 votes

Paul Phillips

107 votes

Michael McKenry

39 votes

Brian Schneider

10 votes

A different low level free agent

7 votes

A different non-roster invitee

4 votes

Chris Iannetta

25 votes

224 votes | Poll has closed

Diamondbacks Chris Snyder to Toronto?

Eli Greenspan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:04:02 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

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The Arizona Republic is reporting that the Diamondbacks are discussing a trade that would send catcher Chris Snyder to the Blue Jays for first baseman Lyle Overbay.

Snyder has two years and 11.25 million dollars left on his contract, but backup catcher Miguel Montero put up solid numbers this past season and has a organization friendly contract.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Miguel Montero	128	425	61	125	30	0	16	59	38	78	1	2	.294	.355	.478

AZ Snakepit likes the concept of the trade, which would save the Diamondbacks a little over 2 million dollars while giving first base prospect Brandon Allen more time to develop in the minor leagues.

Overbay hit .265 with 16 home runs this past season, but cut his strike outs down by 21 from 2008 to 2009. However, Overbay was atrocious versus lefties, hitting just .190 in 79 at-bats.

Either way, the move gives the Diamondbacks a better idea of their future. Montero will be playing everyday, and if Brandon Allen proves he is ready for the major leagues, than the Diamondbacks can let Overbay walk and hopefully collect a draft pick or two, depending on the year he has.

Chris Snyder for Lyle Overbay? Apparently not

Jim McLennan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:26:57 -0000

More photos » by Darren Calabrese - AP

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An interesting report by Nick Piecoro regarding a possible trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. This would see prodigal first-baseman Lyle Overbay return to the Diamondbacks. He was traded to the Brewers as part of the Richie Sexson trade in December 2003, and has been with the Blue Jays since the end of 2005. The deal is reported to involve Chris Snyder, now deemed expendable because of the blossoming of Miguel Montero. While Snyder is generally seen of as a superior defensive catcher, the output from Montero's bat is just too great to be ignored, and he will also be a lot cheaper than Snyder in the coming seasons.

After the jump, we'll take a look at the possibilities this might present, and what the trade could mean for Arizona next season - both at catcher and first-base.

[Update]. Per Nick Piecoro, "Concerns about catcher Chris Snyder’s surgically repaired back caused the Toronto Blue Jays to nix a trade that would have brought first baseman Lyle Overbay to the Diamondbacks. Not sure if Snyder "failed" the physical exam he was scheduled to undergo today or what the exact terminology is here, but we know that his condition was the reason Toronto called it off." So it seems the two teams were pretty close to a trade, before it fell through. I suspect the news will make other teams think twice about Snyder too, so it may be hard for Josh Byrnes to trade him this winter.

From a salary point of view at least, I like the basic concept of the deal, though my feelings will depend on the specifics of any trade - for example, do any money or other prospects change hands as a result Assuming, for the moment, that it's a straight-up swap, Overbay will earn $7 million next year, and then become a free-agent. Snyder is scheduled to receive $4.75m in 2010, $5.75m the season after that, with a $6.75m team option in 2012 (the buyout for that is $750K). So, it will lead to Arizona taking on about $2.25 million in additional salary - however, first-base was definitely one of the areas the team was looking to solidify, and doing so for that amount seems fairly cheap at the price. By the end of next season, we might have a better idea whether Brandon Allen is the 1B of the future.

Overbay had a very solid 2009, posting a line of .265/.372/.466 for an OPS+ of 120, including sixteen homers. It would initially seem he'd be a defensive upgrade too, having committed only two errors in 117 starts at the position last season. However, UZR is less impressed, scoring him at -0.6 in 2009, though his three-year average at the position is better, at +2.1. I also wonder how long it'll take him to adjust from the artificial surface on which they play in Toronto, back to 'real' grass in Phoenix? Looking at the UZR for Orlando Hudson, when he made the same transition, it's not good, as O-Dawg went from +8.2 to -1.3 his first season here. Hard to be sure if that's due to the change in conditions, aging, or something else.

One aspect which does surprise me is that Overbay is a left-handed bat. I would have been expecting us to look for a right-hander, someone with whom Allen (also a LHB) could team up. However, Overbay's career splits against left-handed pitching are mediocre: an OPS of .711, compared to .847 versus right-handers. And he's been even worse the past couple of seasons - over 228 at-bats against LHP in 2008-09, Overbay is hitting only .206 with one home-run. If he does arrive, it does nothing to address that gap in our line-up. One wonders if the plan would be to play Jackson at 1B against southpaw starters, with Eric Byrnes in LF for those games? [Assuming he's still about - if not, it'd be Gerardo Parra, and that's another guy who CHLFS.]

The departure of Chris Snyder would probably leave John Hester as the backup to Miguel Montero. The 26-year old catcher was 7-for-28 in fifteen appearances at the end of last season, replacing Snyder after Chris returned to the DL with back issues. Hester batted very well down in Reno - in 92 games, he was .328/.375/.535, an OPS of .910 - though as we all know, hitting there is like getting laid at the Bunny Ranch. No-one is very impressed and it doesn't exactly prove much. Still, Montero will be seeing the vast bulk of the starts; I hope his defense and game-calling continue to improve, as they seemed somewhat to do after he became the regular starter last year.

The 2009 'Pitties: Game of the Year

Jim McLennan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:00:35 -0000

by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Gerardo Parra tried to dodge a pounding after a walk-off hit in the 10th inning against the Dodgers on August 15th.

View full size photo »

Not quite as close a poll for the second of the 2009 'Pitties. The B-bullpen of Jon Rauch, Esmerling Vasquez, Clay Zavada and Leo Rosales swept majestically to a collective victory, for their nine innings of no-hit ball in the marathon against the Padres. The same game is also nominated in this week's category.

One of the good things about baseball having a 162-game schedule is that, even in a disappointing year like the Diamondbacks experienced in 2009, there will still be contests which we remember with great fondness [contrast any 'Game of the Year' poll for the Detroit Lions last season, which I imagine made kinda wretched reading...] Arizona still won 70 games, and included among them were blowouts, squeakers, comebacks, slugfests, pitching duels and marathons.

After the jump, you'll find our selection of the five best games of the 2009 season described in detail - the link goes to the recap of the contest in question.

May 16th: Max finally tastes victory, vs. ATL

Only twice since 2002 has the team scored a dozen or more and shutout the opposition - oddly, both times were against the Braves. Here, a 12-0 victory was important, not just for the offensive outburst, but because it gave Max Scherzer his first career win, in his fourteenth start. However, it was only late on that it became a sure thing: when he was lifted for a PH in the seventh, after six innings of four-hit ball, it was only 3-0 to Arizona. However, the offense then piled onto the Atlanta bullpen, tagging them fror nine earned runs over the final seven outs, capped by Chris Snyder's grand-slam in the ninth. This was the largest winning margin for the Diamondbacks since 2006.
May 23rd: biggest comeback of the year, vs. OAK

Arizona had more than their fair share of opposition recoveries inflicted on them in 2009 (44 blown leads in all, ahead only of Washington in the NL), but this was our biggest comeback of the year. We trailed the A's 5-1 going into the eighth, having been stifled by, of all people, former D-back Edgar Gonzalez. However, another ex-Arizonan, veteran Russ Springer, was tagged for three runs without retiring a batter, and we tied things up on a two-run Chad Tracy double. We scored three times in the 11th, but Chad Qualls made it interesting, allowing two runs to score and putting the tying run on third with one out. A ground-ball double-play allowed him and Arizona to escape, 8-7.
June 7th: the game without end, vs SDP

I think the fangraph is all we need here, as we blew a 6-0 lead, allowing five runs in the ninth, then traded zeroes with San Diego until the 18th, where Mark Reynolds' three-run shot off a utility infielder won it for the Diamondbacks, five hours and 45 minutes after the first pitch. Madness? This is Petco!
August 15th: the late, late show, vs. LAD

Jonathan Broxton came into the ninth with 25 saves in 29 opportunities, and having allowed just two home runs in his previous 97 innings, going all the way back to June 2008. With a 3-1 lead - Hiroki Kuroda having out-duelled Doug Davis - things looked bleak for the home outfit, especially after Gerardo Parra's K reduced our WP to 5%. However, Mark Reynolds then deposited the first delivery he saw into the bleachers, and three pitches later, Miguel Montero followed suit, tying the game up. Parra then redeemed himself, driving in the winning run with one down in the bottom of the tenth, sealing the Diamondbacks' first series victory over the Dodgers for more than a year.
August 29th: Garland and Upton and Reynolds, oh my! vs. HOU

Seven shutout innings from Jon Garland - not just his best start in a Diamondbacks' jersey, but also his last before getting traded to LA. Mark Reynolds became the first Arizona batter since 2001 to hit forty home-runs in a season. And Justin Upton hit his 21st blast, four days after no longer being 21 himself. On Luis Gonzalez Appreciation Day and in front of the fourth-biggest home crowd of the year to that point, the D-backs rolled to a 9-0 win over the Astros. This was SnakePitFest 2: Clay Zavada pitched a scoreless eighth in front of the mustached ranks of the Zavada Brigade and team president Derrick Hall stopped by to say hello. Yeah, not too bad a day, all told...

Poll

What was the Game of the Year for the Diamondbacks in 2009?

May 16th: Max finally tastes victory, vs. ATL

5 votes

May 23rd: biggest comeback of the year, vs. OAK

13 votes

June 7th: the game without end, vs SDP

25 votes

August 15th: the late, late show, vs. LAD

14 votes

August 29th: Garland and Upton and Reynolds, oh my! vs. HOU

10 votes

67 votes | Poll has closed

D-backs' Bits and Pieces: Webb's contract, surgery for Snyder and Byrnes' impending doom?

Jim McLennan — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:15:20 -0000

Here's a collection of semi-random stuff from the past few days, that I never quite got round to posting, what with one thing or another. Given it's an off day on Thursday, might as well have something to talk about. We discuss the rumblings concerning the future - or otherwise - of Eric Byrnes,;the latest word from Brandon Webb on what he wants from the Diamondbacks [a clue: it's green and has pictures of American presidents on it]; we look at the latest Diamondback to go under the knife; and we hear the latest from manager AJ Hinch, courtesy of KTAR. All that and more (if I can find it!), after the jump.

D-Backs could cut ties with Eric Byrnes - Scott Bordow of the Tribune says, "Don’t be surprised if the Arizona Diamondbacks eat the final year of Eric Byrnes’ three-year, $30 million deal and release him in the offseason... The Diamondbacks will take a lot of grief if they release Byrnes. But it would be the right thing to do." A lot of grief? From who, exactly? Fans of The Eric Byrnes Show? Mrs. Byrnes? I think even Eric would probably have to admit that, at this point, the justification for keeping him on the roster in 2010 is hard to find, even for the most ardent supporter.

Rob Neyer also covers the topic of Byrnes, saying "While $30 million might have been a bit much, considering Byrnes' age, it was not outrageous. The Diamondbacks might reasonably have expected $25 million of performance, and another $5 million of goodwill." Just for the record, fangraphs.com has Byrnes at a value of $12.4m in 2006 and $16.7m, so on that basis, $30m for three years indeed doesn't seem exorbitant. Just a shame that his total value since is minus $3.2 million.

Webb not interested in taking pay cut - The Republic reports that Brandon Webb is not interested in restructuring a deal or reducing his team option for 2010. "I'm not interested in doing that. If it comes down to that and they ask me to do something like that, I would have to - just for myself - see what else is out there and see if there's something better." So much for Nick Piecoro's carefully-crafted alternative, involving innings-based incentives. It looks like we will either have to pay or watch him walk. The timing is unfortunate: we have to pay him $2m anyway, and have no chance to see him pitch before we have to decide. I've a feeling we will end up biting, and 2010 will be his free-agency audition.

Chris Snyder had surgery on his back yesterday. The process, known as microdisectom, is to relieve pressure caused by a bulging disk in his spine on a nerve, and involves the removal of a small portion of bone over the nerve root. It's regarded as a fairly simple procedure. "The success rate for a microdiscectomy spine surgery is approximately 90% to 95%, although 5% to 10% of patients will develop a recurrent disc herniation at some point in the future." It also says, "Post-operatively, patients may return to a normal level of daily activity quickly." but I doubt that applies to major-league catchers to quite the same extent!

As Piecoro points out, this probably does put the end to any chance of trading Snyder over the winter; no-one will give us much for a catcher with a poor 2009 season, coming off back surgery, even of the most trivial kind. Looks like it'll be Snyder and Miguel Montero on Opening Day 2010, which has got to be annoying for John Hester - he has looked not bad at all, albeit in very limited playing time. He's gone 7-for-20 with three extra-base hits. I think we could do much worse as a backup next season. However, he only just turned 26 last week, so it's not like this will be his last opportunity.

Here's a somewhat-poorly AJ Hinch, chatting with Gambo and Ash on Tuesday. It's okay, we have checked the sound file does not have any nasty viruses... He discusses the recent malaise as the team goes through the last few weeks of the year, the defensive miscues and how fixing them is one of his (many) top priorities during the upcoming off-season.

Audio courtesy of KTAR 620

Wednesday was team photo day at Chase [pic via Dbacksinsider]

That's not a rattler - it's just a little garter snake

Poseidon's Fist — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:00:20 -0000

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

Perhaps a bigger surprise than the Rockies' resurgence in the NL West this season has been that the Diamondbacks have allowed the Padres to beat them into the divisional cellar.

Browse more photos »

This has truly been a miserable season for the Diamondbacks. I didn't truly realize just how miserable until today.

Arizona is on pace to go 71-91 this season, their third worst season in franchise history. Only their inaugural season in 1998 (65-97) and that sorry 2004 team (51-111) has finished below 76 wins. Just for your comparison, the Rockies have 91 losses just thrice - 1993, 2004 and 2005. And this Arizona team was almost universally expected to finish in the top three in the NL West, with several projections placing them atop the division.

Losing their ace and cleanup hitter from 2008 for the season sure doesn't help, but the futility doesn't just come from those two players' absences. Anyone that had Arizona 24 games out at this point needs their own TV show.

Naturally, in all things sensical, it is the D-Backs that are just coming off a near sweep of the Padres, breaking San Diego's six-series win streak in the process. This after losing 9 of their last 10 games. After winning their last five games in August, Arizona is 4-11 in September. Baseball can be so random at times.

With one win in the series, Colorado will clinch the season series from Arizona, quite the rebound from the 3-15 mark they put up last season. Arizona's pitiful 32-40 home record bests only Washington, Cleveland and Kansas City for the worst home marks in the league, and given the Rockies are 38-37 on the road, the home field advantage for the series is flat non-existent.

Go hang out at AZ Snakepit. They are good people.

Scoreboard Watch

San Francisco (3.5 game lead) @ Los Angeles (5GB). Vicente Padilla vs Jonathan Sanchez. Jon Garland vs. Brad Penny. Randy Wolf vs. Tim Lincecum.

Atlanta (4.5) vs. Philadelphia. Tim Hudson vs. J.A, Happ. Javier Vazquez vs. Pedro Martinez. Tommy Hanson vs. Cliff Lee.

Florida (5) @ Cincinnati. Rick VandenHurk vs. Homer Bailey. Ricky Nolasco vs. Bronson Arroyo. Sean West vs. Kip Wells.

Arizona Diamondbacks (64-83, L1, 5th, 24 GB)

Friday-Sunday: 3-game series at Chase Field

The Bats: C

As Rockies fans know, it is hard to have a functioning offense with automatic outs in the lineup. All season, Arizona has suffered with whoever was playing in CF or 1B (and in LF before Conor Jackson left). With Brandon Allen showing signs of life and Chris Young heating up finally like D-Back fans prayed for all season, the easy outs are harder to come by. They still have terrible OBP at the top of the lineup, but there's a considerable power threat from the top five in the batting order.

For the season, they have the 4th worst batting average in the NL and MLB in spite of enjoying the benefits of Chase Field. Their 158 HR are 4th in the NL, easing them up to 10th in the NL in wOBA. They are middle of the pack in runs scored with 652, 8th in the NL. But with Chris Young starting to hit, the lineup is more dangerous than has been this season thus far.

LINEUP	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA	OPS+
Chris Young - CF	.206	13	38	.307	.399	.312	80
Stephen Drew - SS	.257	12	58	.321	.432	.323	91
Justin Upton - RF	.308	24	76	.377	.550	.399	134
Miguel Montero - C	.300	14	53	.361	.487	.362	115
Mark Reynolds - 3B	.272	42	97	.363	.571	.398	135
Gerardo Parra - LF	.293	5	54	.324	.408	.315	87
Ryan Roberts - 2B	.271	6	21	.362	.401	.341	96
Brandon Allen - 1B	.224	3	24	.306	.421	.309	84

AJ Hinch has juggled his lineup in response to hot streaks (Young/Upton) and cold streaks (Drew/Reynolds/Roberts), also optimizing the left/right combo to the full extent. However, to do so, he had to put Chris Young back at the leadoff spot, drop Ryan Roberts - who has hit just as well as Felipe Lopez did - to 7th, and drop their best hitter and MLB's 2nd leading home run hitter to 5th. Even considering the streaks involved, It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

Via OPS+, Upton and Reynolds are strong All-Star caliber hitters and Montero is solidly above average. Roberts is about average, Drew is a slightly below, Parra is moderately below while Allen and Young have been relative deadweights.

Chad Tracy (.227, 6, 34), Rusty Ryal (.262, 2, 3) and Augie Ojeda (.235, 1, 13) are Hinch's backup infielders. Alex Romero (.259, 1, 18), Eric Byrnes (.216, 6, 26) and Trent Oeltjen (.246, 3, 4) are on the bench as OFers while Luke Carlin (3-for-17) and John Hester (5-for-15, 1 HR) are the reserve backstops.

Hop after the jump for the scouting report on the arms, the D, the pitching matchups and the hot/cold players.

The Arms: B-

The Diamondbacks will throw out their top two starts for the series, including rejuvinated OMGace Dan Haren. Scherzer and Haren have faced the Rockies in the same series once this season, with Arizona taking that series in Coors Field (although Scherzer actually lost his game). Kevin Mulvey is no better than any of the pitchers we feasted on against the Mets or Reds.

Juan Gutierrez has arguably been the best reliever for Arizona this season and has taken a strangehold on the closer's role after Chad Qualls went down.

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Juan Gutierrez	4-3	60	0	0	0	5	1	65.0	60	29	28	2	29	60	3.88	1.37

Gutierrez is joined in the pen by lefties Daniel Schlereth, Scott Schoeneweis and Clay Zavada as well as right handers Blaine Boyer, Bryan Augenstein, Daniel Cabrera, Leo Rosales, Yusmeiro Petit and Esmerling Vasquez.

The D: C+

Arizona has been 2nd in MLB in errors for most of the season, and they sit eight behind Washington's league high 124. UZR-wise, their season-long range marks grade out above average, as they are 9th in the league. Parra, Reynolds, Allen and Young are graded as weak by UZR, while the rest of the lineup is solid, led by Upton's 8.0 UZR/150.

The Ballpark: VERY STRONG hitter's park

Chase Field has officially taken the torch from Coors Field as the NL's best hitters park. This year, Chase is playing at a Baseball-Reference park factor of 108, clearly stronger even than Coors Field's 105/106 (both have multi-year factors of 107). The park is extremely friendly to home runs and triples, giving a good shot in the arm for doubles as well.

Probable Pitchers:

Tonight, 6:40 pm MDT

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jason Marquis	15-11	34	29	2	1	0	0	195.1	193	88	82	13	64	98	3.78	1.32

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Kevin Mulvey	0-1	3	1	0	0	0	0	7.0	12	7	7	2	3	5	9.00	2.14

Frankly, I'm a little worried about Jason Marquis, who has been poor in three of his last four starts. It is the first time all year he has given up 5+ ER three times in four starts, and he was facing three of the most anemic offenses in the league in Sad Diego, San Francisco and New York. The only time he has faced Arizona this season was in his third start of the year, when he allowed 6 ER on 9 hits (2 HR) in 5 IP at Chase Field. Luckily, he's drawing the weakest of starters for Arizona. Kevin Mulvey stepped into the rotation in place of Yusmeiro Petit with no big league starts under his belt. The waiver wire pickup from Minnesota got knocked around in his start Saturday while wearing a "Los DBacks" jersey, allowing 6 ER on 11 hits in 4 IP to Milwaukee. In his appearance before that, he served up a home run to Carlos Gonzalez and walked three Rockies. He utilizes a high-80's fastball, low-80's slider, mid-70's curve and will mix in a changeup now and again. Favors: ROCKIES moderately

Saturday, September 19, 5:10 pm MDT

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jason Hammel	8-8	30	27	1	0	0	0	156.1	184	85	76	13	39	112	4.38	1.43

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Max Scherzer	9-9	29	28	0	0	0	0	160.0	158	87	72	18	55	162	4.05	1.33

Just when I started heaping uninhibited praise on Hammel, he broke his 8-game 3ER or less streak, allowing four to the Giants at AT&T. One very unpublicized part of Hammel's game is his 0.75HR/9, which is absolutely fantastic for a fifth starter for the Rockies. Part of that has been his filthy curveball, which Fangraphs has rated as 7th best in MLB, sandwiched in between Barry Zito and Chris Carpenter. Nice company. He threw two scoreless innings in relief at Chase Field in April and allowed 3 ER in 6 IP Sept 4 at Coors against the D-Backs. After suffering a miserable August, Max Scherzer has rebounded a bit in September, allowing 1 ER in two of his 3 starts. The heterochromic right-hander faced the Rockies twice this year, both times at Coors in July, having success neither night. He allowed 9 runs (7 earned) in 10 innings, serving up home runs to Troy Tulowitzki and Ian Stewart, This is a fairly even pitching matchup. Hammel has the better FIP, but Scherzer has the better tRA. Favors: DRAW

Sunday, September 20, 1:10 MDT

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Ubaldo Jimenez	13-11	30	30	1	0	0	0	198.0	170	81	78	12	75	173	3.55	1.24

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Dan Haren	14-8	34	30	3	1	0	0	209.1	166	68	65	25	32	201	2.79	.95

After being consistent for so long, it's odd to say Ubaldo has not given us what we wanted to see the last two starts. Tuesday at AT&T was the kind of abomination we ought to expect every once in a while, as even aces have bad games. Coming off that hamstring injury, one might think the leg contributed to the poor start. But I didn't see any evidence of that - I saw rust. If he can get Ian Stewart to play third and get back into his routine, we'll see the Ubaldo of old. After four weeks of struggles from mid-July to mid-August, Dan Haren has returned back into a forceful hurler. Since getting lit up in Philly, he has allowed no more than 3 ER in 5 straight starts. He did allow home runs in 9 of his last 10 starts before pitching in the land dingers go to die his last outing, so he could be vulnerable to the heavy hitters at Chase. Combine that with the fact that he walks no one and strikes out plenty, and the Rockies need to be very aggressive to achieve success. Overall, Haren has a slight edge over Jimenez in tRA and FIP. The two locked horns on July 5, with Haren besting Jimenez in the rubber game 4-3. Favors: DIAMONDBACKS slightly

My take: This series isn't absolutely essential in terms of the wild card. The Giants and Dodgers will beat up on each other. The Marlins are probably out of it as is and the Braves will get all they can handle against Philly. Even with a series loss, they'll still be in prime position. Now that I'm done sandbagging, the pitching matchups give the Rockies a solid chance in every game and there's no reason to drop this series. Rox take two,

Chris Young is hitting a stout .302/.373/.698 (.438 wOBA) for the month of September with 6 HR. Starting with the series at Coors Field two weeks ago, the CF has hit safely in 10 of 12 games. His previous best stretch of 10 games with hits was 16 games to start the season. Gerardo Parra is hitting .367 and Miguel Montero .327 this month. Juan Gutierrez has permitted just one run in his last 12.1 IP.

Ryan Roberts is hitting only .152 (7-for-46) in September, while Eric Byrnes, Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds and Brandon Allen are all batting at a .220 clip or worse since the monthly calendar flip. Daniel Schlereth just gave up four runs in his last outing, Daniel Cabrera threw three scoreless innings in his last relief appearance, but in his only other appearance this month, he faced 5 Rockies and all scored in his D-Backs debut.

Chad Qualls is out with a nasty knee injury he sustained August 30 and will not return this season. Conor Jackson (Valley Fever - 5/12) and Brandon Webb (shoulder - 4/7) are also on the 60-day and have essentially provided no value to the team all year. Eric Byrnes (fractured hand - 6/26), Chris Snyder (lower back - 8/23) is on the 15-day. Snyder may still return this year - everyone else has been shut down for the season.

Poll

Good series?

A sweep is always good, yeah.

40 votes

It's a series win on the road vs Haren and Scherzer. That's a yes

104 votes

Losing the series hurts, but we'll still be in good position for the playoffs, and that's all that matters

19 votes

Swept by Arizona. THE SKY IS FALLING!

12 votes

175 votes | Poll has closed

NL West Report: D-Backs, Dodgers not done dealing

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

Jon Garland has already beaten his former team, but it's stil not official who he was traded for.

Browse more photos »

Last Monday, the Diamondbacks traded Jon Garland to Los Angeles for infielder Tony Abreu. Sort of. In a bizarre twist, Arizona is now balking at the deal they originally agreed to, which includes the D-Backs picking up the remainder of Garland's salary this season. But don't worry, it has nothing to do with the fact that Garland promptly beat the Diamondbacks in Dodger duds days after the deal.

The issue is actually with Tony Abreu, who Arizona though would be earning near the league minimum for the next two seasons before having three controlled arbitration eligible seasons. What Arizona didn't realize was that Tony Abreu currently has a grievance filed with the Dodgers stemming from the 2007 season.

On July 18 of that year, Los Angeles optioned Abreu to the minors even though he had suffered an abdominal injury. He was not placed on the disabled list as he believed he should have, robbing him of 47 days of service time in the majors. Remember from Purple Row Academy that a player earns service time while on the disabled list but not if optioned to the minors (obviously).

The significance of that move is that Abreu could be the Diamondbacks' starting second baseman next season. If he were to play the entire season with his current 95 days of service time and that additional 47 days, he would be eligible for "Super Two" status, which certainly changes the economic package Arizona thought they were receiving.

The Diamondbacks believe they had no way of knowing of Abreu's filed grievance; moreover, sources state Arizona believes Los Angeles acted in poor faith by failing to inform them of it. Since the scheme of the trade has changed, Arizona may attempt to get a monetary kickback from the Dodgers to cover the expected difference in salary due to the service time issue. They could also choose a different player from the agreed upon list or ask the Dodgers to amend the list so that they could select a player other than Abreu.

Naturally, Dodger and D-Back fans see the situation a bit differently. Check out True Blue LA's reaction and compare the the reaction at AZ Snakepit. The issue could be resolved this week.

Before we get to the team capsules, I thought I'd mention that Peter Gammons has started to realize the NL West might actually be worth a damn. Of course, now is well past the point of plausible denial.

NL West Report

Arizona (61-77, t-4th, L4, 20 GB)

Last Week: 2-5. 2-2 vs Dodgers. 0-3 vs Rockies. By being swept in Colorado, Arizona fell into a tie with San Diego for last place in the division. It's hard to imagine their week helping the Rockies more.

Pace: 72-90.

Divisional Change: Lost 1.0 games on LAD.

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

News: Nick Piecoro notes Chris Snyder's health is a concern, though not in the way you might think. The Diamondbacks have not been shy about their desire to deal him, but he has yet to prove he is healthy returning from injury. He will need to come back and have a solid September to improve his trade stock.

Piecoro also notes Josh Byrnes' reaction to the Rauch and Garland deals.

If you watched the Rockies game yesterday, you no doubt witnessed Justin Upton being removed in the third inning after failing to run on a deep fly ball that bounced off the warning track, thinking it was a clear home run.

Punk

#10 / Right Field / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-2

Weight: 205

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 25, 1987

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Justin Upton	115	438	76	136	27	6	23	72	47	113	19	4	.311	.378	.557

Instead, he was stuck at second with a 415-foot single. AJ Hinch wasn't shy about flexing his judicial muscle, which is probably what The Punk needs. He's listed as "probable" for the series opener against the Dodgers, presumably for disciplinary reasons.

Speaking of Hinch, he supposedly takes the spoiler role seriously, choosing to put the best team out every game rather than giving young callups playing time. It didn't help this weekend.

The series at Colorado wasn't special for any Diamondback. Well, actually, it was a pretty special homecoming for Daniel Schlereth, who grew up watching baseball at Coors Field.

What would you do if you were in last place, putting a prized and talented young starter out every fifth day with a history of injury problems? If you said shut him down, consult Hinch's spoiler role philosophy. Instead, the D-backs will keep "close tabs" on Max Scherzer's innings.

Transactions: Called up RHP Bryan Augenstein, Billy Buckner and RHP Daniel Cabrera and acquried RHP Kevin Mulvey from Minnesota to complete the Jon Rauch trade. Traded Jon Garland to Los Angeles.

Injuries: Activated OF Eric Byrnes and RHP Bryan Augenstein from the DL. Placed RHP Chad Qualls on the 60-day DL with a dislocated left kneecap.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Justin Upton	other-excused	09/07/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Chris Snyder	lower-back	08/23/2009
Scott Schoeneweis	other-excused	08/10/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Chad Qualls	knee	08/31/2009
Conor Jackson	pneumonia	05/12/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

Los Angeles (81-57, 1st, L1)

Last Week: 3-4. 2-2 vs Diamondbacks. 1-2 vs Padres. Losing four home games in a week against the worst teams in the division is just a bad week.

Pace: 95-67.

Divisional Change: Lost 2.5 games on COL.

This Week: 3 game road series @ Diamondbacks, 3 game road series @ Giants. This week is dangerous for Los Angeles' divisional lead. The Rockies should be favored to take their series with Cincinnati and that series at AT&T Park will be difficult to win.

News: Check out some reactions from the Jim Thome trade at MLBTradeRumors.

The Nationals took MAA lefty reliever Victor Garate to complete the Belliard deal. Garate has had a strong season in AA, shutting down lefties and righties and being called a "poor man's Brian Fuentes." If he reaches that, or even if he makes the makes, he'll give the Nationals a fair deal on the trade.

Dan Uggla

#6 / Second Base / Los Angeles Dodgers?

Height: 5-11

Weight: 200

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Mar 11, 1980

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Dan Uggla	133	472	68	114	22	1	25	72	81	122	1	1	.242	.357	.451

After Dan Uggla criticized Hanley Ramirez, the LA Times' Bill Shaikin wonders if Los Angeles should pursue him this offseason, noting Frank McCourt won't engage in a bidding war for Orlando Hudson.

Ned Colletti deserves criticism for failing to land Cliff Lee or Roy Halladay, but Peter Gammons notes he is pulling off highway robbery with some of his acquisitions, at least when considering what he's paying them.

Here is Eric Stephen's Week in Review at TrueBlueLA.

Transactions: Called up C AJ Ellis, OF Jason Repko, LHP Scott Elbert and designated OF Jamie Hoffman and RHP Jesus Castillo for assignment. Traded IF Tony Abreu for RHP Jon Garland. Sent LHP Victor Garante to Washington to complete the Ronnie Belliard deal.

Injuries: Activated RHP Hiroki Kuroda and 1B Doug Mientkiewicz from the disabled list. Placed RHP Guillermo Mota on the 15-day DL. Casey Blake is day to day with left hamstring tightness and will be back today or tomorrow. Travis Schlichting is out for the year with back spasms.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Will Ohman	shoulder	05/28/2009
Hiroki Kuroda	concussion	09/06/2009
Guillermo Mota	other-excused	08/30/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Xavier Paul	ankle	05/21/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	08/06/2009

San Diego (60-78, 5th, L2, 22.5 GB)

Last Week: 5-1. 3-0 vs Nationals, 2-1 @ Dodgers.

Pace: 70-94.

Divisonal change: Gained 1.5 games.

This Week: 3 game road series @ Giants, 3 game home series vs Rockies.

News: Adrian Gonzalez was nominated for Clemente Award.

Long-time majority owner John Moores has said he will limit his role with Padres by stepping away from the day-to-day operations of the club and some of his commitments to Major League Baseball.

Mat Latos has been shut down for the season after reaching 123 IP (he had never thrown more than 56.1 in a season before), but he'll continue to work with pitching coach on mechanical issues with his delivery. The 21-year-old just from Low-A ball to the majors this season in just a couple months.

Mat Latos

#38 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-6

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Dec 09, 1987

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Mat Latos	4-5	10	10	0	0	0	0	50.2	43	29	26	7	23	39	4.62	1.30

In case any Rowbots love the Row so much they want a tattoo showing their love, it won't be hard to beat the quality of this Gas Lamp Ball tattoo.

Kevin Towers expects the Padres to be "pretty good" next year.

Transactions: Recalled RHP Adam Russell, LHP Wade LeBlanc, and OF Drew Macias. Optioned RHP Cesar Carillo to AAA Portland.

Injuries: Activated 2B Edgar Gonzalez and C Eliezer Alfonzo from the 15-day DL. OF Kyle Blanks will be evaluated this week but is expected to be out for the season. RHP Mike Adams played catch over the weekend in an effort to return this month.

San Diego Padres Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Brian Giles	knee	06/19/2009
Edgar Gonzalez	concussion	07/19/2009
Kyle Blanks	foot	08/29/2009
Mike Adams	shoulder	08/22/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Shawn Hill	elbow	04/26/2009
Chris Young	shoulder	06/15/2009
Cliff Floyd	shoulder	06/18/2009

San Francisco (75-62, 2nd, L1, 6.5 GB in Div, 2 GB in WC)

Last Week: 3-3. 1-2 @ Phillies. 2-1 @ Brewers. The Giants did what they were supposed to do, treading water on a tough road trip. They remain legitimately in playoff contention despite the two game deficit given the remaining schedule.

Pace: 89-73.

Divisional Change: Gained 0.5 game in NL West (LAD), lost 2 games in WC (COL).

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

News: Keith Law speaks to Brad Penny's impressive debut in his latest ESPN Insider Blog.

Penny will face the Dodgers this week, a team he doesn't have a soft spot for anymore, to say the least. He had several suitors including the Marlins, his original team, but he was not interested in returning to Miami because he "wanted to play in front of some fans, to be honest."

Brad Penny

#31 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-4

Weight: 230

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 24, 1978

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Brad Penny	1-0	1	1	0	0	0	0	8.0	5	0	0	0	1	2	0.00	.75

Penny had a great debut for the Giants after shutting down the Phillies on the road. Now Penny is out to prove that last start was no fluke. He gets a much easier foe this time, facing the Padres on regular rest.

Despite cliaming him on waivers, the Giants were never interested in actually acquiring Trevor Hoffman.

Transactions: Called up IF Jesus Guzman, OF John Bowker, C Buster Posey, Daniel Runzler and RHP Waldis Joaquin. Acquired Joel Collins from PIT and assigned him to Augusta. SIgned RHP Brad Penny. DFA'd RHP Ryan Sadowski and LHP Jesse English.

Injuries: Freddy Sanchez hopes to finally return today from a strained left shoulder. Emmanuel Burriss was transferred to the 60-day DL with a broken foot. Activated IF Rich Aurilia and OF Andres Torres from the DL.

San Francisco Giants Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Freddy Sanchez	shoulder	08/18/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Randy Johnson	trapezius	07/06/2009
Noah Lowry	ribs	03/27/2009
Kelvin Pichardo	shoulder	06/28/2009
Henry Sosa	shoulder	08/05/2009

Poll

Did the Dodgers intentionally act in poor faith in the Jon Garland deal, as sources suggest Arizona believes?

Absolutely. The service time issue with Abreu is not a standard issue and directly lowers the value of the asset the sent Arizona.

63 votes

Definitely not. It is the Diamondbacks' responsibility to know the history of players they acquire in a trade.

20 votes

They knew about the Abreu issue, but that doesn't mean the deal was done in "poor faith." It's a GM's version of gamesmanship.

33 votes

I'm not sure.

18 votes

134 votes | Poll has closed

Arizona could be a tricky hurdle for Rox

Poseidon's Fist — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:44:03 -0000

by Danny Moloshok - AP

Jupton is practically a boy, yet still a man among boys.

View full size photo »

Sorry if this one's a bit scatterbrained, Rowbots - I spent the afternoon stranded due to a broken down vehicle. On to the snakes:

Don't underestimate them. I've seen this in numerous comments over the past couple weeks. You people are smart. Arizona dug themselves a huge hole in the standings and lost key contributors early on from injury (Webb), illness (Jackson) and aliens stealing a player's talent a la Space Jam (Young). After falling to the cellar due to those factors, ineffectiveness and just bad luck, Arizona was clearly in a position to play for next year.

Thusly, they sold off a number of prominent players, including Felipe Lopez, Jon Garland, Tony Pena, and Jon Rauch. Granted none of those are scary names and two of them are recent, but the point is after committing to youth, they have actually gotten better. By a lot. In fact, since the Rockies took two of three from them in mid-July, Arizona is 21-19, and that includes a 1-9 stretch on the road. So they've been a .500 team of late despite basically conceding the season. We are left to wonder where Arizona would be had they sustained their early season ineffectiveness and injuries. Most interesting of all to me - their run differential is just four runs worse than it was in 2007.

The Diamondbacks were nice enough to to pull out a 4-game split at Dodger Stadium, allowing the Rockies to gain a half game on Los Angeles. The D-Backs could close the divisional race more by falling flat in this upcoming series before rebounding against the Dodgers at home next week. A boy can dream.

As they all are now, this will be an important series. The Giants have a moderately difficult task playing in Milwaukee against three capable pitchers, but Los Angeles gets three home games against the last place Padres. Atlanta has a home series against the suddenly surging Reds while the Marlins hit the road against the ice-cold Nats. The Rockies are just 6-6 against the Diamondbacks, one of the few below .500 teams the Rockies don't have a winning record against. Time to change that.

Go hang out at AZ Snakepit. They may be rivals, but they're a good bunch all in all.

Arizona Diamondbacks (61-74, L1, 4th, 19 GB)

Friday-Sunday: 3-game series at Coors Field

The Bats: C

The starting lineup looks very different from the beginning of the season. Chris Snyder and Conor Jackson are on the DL, Chad Tracy is on the bench, Felipe Lopez has been traded, and a fringe prospect has taken over the body of Chris Young. However, Reynolds is 2nd MLB in HR and Justin Upton is showing signs of superstardom. They may rank 3rd worst in batting average despite the NL's most offensive park this season, but their team wOBA is right in the middle of the National League, while the majority of the lineup is hitting better of late. AJ Hinch has been shuffling his lineup frequently, but here are the predominant starters:

LINEUP	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA
Stephen Drew - SS	.262	12	58	.326	.449	.331
Ryan Roberts - 2B	.291	6	20	.386	.439	.364
Justin Upton - RF	.314	23	72	.383	.567	.409
Mark Reynolds - 3B	.274	40	91	.362	.577	.399
Miguel Montero - C	.296	13	50	.356	.493	.361
Gerardo Parra - LF	.287	5	52	.324	.408	.315
Brandon Allen - 1B	.220	2	7	.273	.439	.296
Chris Young - CF	.187	7	28	.292	.343	.287

By wOBA metrics, the lineup features two superstar caliber players (Punk and Reynolds), two solidly above average hitters (Montero and Roberts), one average (Drew), one below average (Parra) and two that are struggling (Young and Allen). Brandon Allen came in the trade of Tony Pena and his presence in the starting lineup pretty much signals the end of the Josh Whitesell experiment. Oh, and batting Drew leadoff is stupid.

Chad Tracy (.234, 6, 34), Rusty Ryal (.303, 2, 3) and Augie Ojeda (.240, 1, 12) are Hinch's reserve infielders. Alex Romero (.261, 1, 17) is listed as the lone reserve outfielder and John Hester (4-for-6, 1 HR) was called up a week ago as the backup catcher and hit a home run in his first MLB at-bat.

Hop after the jump for the scouting report on the arms, the D, the pitching matchups and the hot/cold players.

The Arms: C+

Of the two series at Coors, we won the one in which Dan Haren did not pitch and lost the one in which he did. Haren does take the hill this weekend, but Haren is struggling a bit and his supporting cast in the rotation is not as fearsome. Doug Davis had major issues at Coors in his last start, and Yusmeiro Petit serves up home run balls as well as Josh Hamilton's batting practice pitcher. The Diamondbacks as a staff have a 4.25 ERA, tied with the Rockies, but with so many players coming and going, that doesn't mean much.

Four members of the Opening Day bullpen are gone, notably closer Chad Qualls, who is out for the year with a knee injury. His replacement - Juan Gutierrez - has arguably been the best reliever for Arizona this season.

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Juan Gutierrez	3-3	55	0	0	0	3	1	59.1	57	28	27	2	27	55	4.10	1.42

Gutierrez is joined in the pen by lefties Daniel Schlereth and Clay Zavada as well as right handers Blaine Boyer, Bryan Augenstein, Daniel Cabrera, Kevin Mulvey, Leo Rosales and Esmerling Vasquez. Despite the lack of name recognition there, only Vasquez has really been a negative in the pen.

The D: C+

Arizona has been 2nd in MLB in errors for most of the season, and their 111 is no fluke. However, their range is above average, at least by UZR, and they are listed as the 9th most valuable defense on Fangraphs. Parra, Reynolds and Young are graded as weak by UZR, while the rest of the lineup is solid.

Probable Pitchers:

Tonight, 7:10 pm MDT

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Dan Haren	13-8	31	27	3	1	0	0	188.0	147	61	58	22	29	180	2.78	0.94

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jason Hammel	8-7	27	24	1	0	0	0	137.0	169	75	67	12	34	93	4.40	1.48

One should have expected regression from Haren, whose BABIP against at the ASB was below his playing weight. After allowing more than 3 ER in a start just once in the first half, he allowed 5+ in half of his six August starts, including a game in Philadelphia where he allowed three home runs. So hopefully he's primed to see his numbers fall off against the Rockies, who he's given up just 2 ER in 20 IP this season. Hammel is coming off his best 3-start stretch, allowing 5 ER through those 19 IP. He didn't allow more than 3 ER in his 6 August starts, and the Rockies have won 7 of his last 8 Coors starts. This game could be a lot more competitive than expected. Favors: DIAMONDBACKS moderately

Saturday, September 5, 6:10 pm MDT

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Doug Davis	7-11	28	28	0	0	0	0	169.0	155	79	71	21	87	125	3.78	1.43

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jose Contreras	5-13	21	21	0	0	0	0	114.2	121	83	69	11	45	89	5.42	1.45

Doug Davis has a nice ERA, but his 4.80 FIP and 5.41 tRA suggest that's not quite as true, not surprising with those HR and BB rates. In the eight starts since allowing eight runs at Coors Field while getting just 7 outs, Davis was touched up for more than 3 runs only once. Arizona won his last start, though he allowed three HR at Dodger Stadium. Jose Contreras will make his Rockies debut. He hasn't started since August 19 yet pitched August 29, when he was lit up at Yankee Stadium. As RockiesMagicNumber wrote Tuesday, the Cuban has been more effective than his ERA would suggest. Note his comparable WHIP to Davis with far less HR allowed. Contreras' issue has been making pitches to strand runners. With a talented defense behind him, he should get better results, in theory. I view this game as the swing game of the series, with the teams favored to spilt the bookend games. That makes Contreras' performance all the more critical. Favors: ROCKIES slightly

Sunsday, September 6, 1:10 MDT

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Yusmeiro Petit	3-8	17	16	0	0	0	0	82.1	93	54	50	17	28	66	5.47	1.47

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jorge De La Rosa	13-9	27	26	0	0	0	0	154.2	152	84	79	19	65	158	4.60	1.40

The Petit Unit doesn't even deserve the nickname he earned in jest. He nearly no-hit the Pirates, but that was the only time he's gotten into the seventh inning this season. He's allowed 6 ER in 8.0IP covering two starts against the Rockies this year, though in fairness, he's pitching better of late, having allowed just 3 ER in his last three starts, covering 17.0IP. He's a poor match for the Rockies though, given Colorado's strength in hitting for power. The only pitcher in MLB with a higher HR/9 than Petit is the demoted Josh Geer.

My take: Obviously, the Rockies must take this series. The games start with the most difficult to win and end with the most favorable matchups, so if Colorado doesn't come out like gladiators, there's no cause for alarm. Hammel/Haren is an intriguing matchup that the Rockies could possibly win, which would make winning the series all the more probable. I'll project the Rockies to take two.

Justin Upton is en fuego, rapping 13 hits in the last week, three over the wall. Miguel Montero is 8-for-23 over the last week with a HR, and Juan Gutierrez has back-to-back saves, part of a six outing scoreless streak.

Clhris Young has just one single in his last 17 ABs, which...let me check...yes, it does lower his season batting average. But not by much. Mark Reynolds is just 4-for-29 in his last 7 starts, while Gerardo Parra and Brandon Allen have managed only five hits in their past six starts.

Chad Qualls is out with a nasty knee injury he sustained August 30 and will not return this season. Conor Jackson (Valley Fever - 5/12) and Brandon Webb (shoulder - 4/7) are also on the 60-day and have essentially provided no value to the team all year. Eric Byrnes (fractured hand - 6/26), Chris Snyder (lower back - 8/23) and Scott Schoeneweis (depression - 8/10) are on the 15-day. Of the six, only Schoeneweis and Snyder are likely to return this year.

Poll

Are we going to win this series?

Absolutely. Haren is human. We will beat him and ride the momentum to a sweep

49 votes

Yeah, but we can't sweep. Not while facing Haren, having Street and Fowler injured, and throwing the bottom three in the rotation out there.

81 votes

No. Arizona is going to sneak up on us again and win the series

11 votes

Nope. Colorado is not playing well, and the Mets were bad enough to mask it. Sweep.

4 votes

Yes. I'm a Snake fan skewing your poll

8 votes

153 votes | Poll has closed

Garland Set To Face Old Teammates

Eric Stephen — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:21 -0000

Photo courtesy of Jon SooHoo / LA Dodgers

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Hometown boy Jon Garland makes his Dodger debut tonight, starting against his most recent teammates. I wonder how often signs and signals need to be changed when someone gets traded, especially when he goes directly to the current opponent.

Since the beginning of June, Garland has pitched well, much better than his 4-7 record. He has pitched at least six innings in 16 of his last 17 starts, averaging 6.53 innings per start while putting up a 3.56 ERA and 4.16 FIP during that span.

Garland was originally scheduled to start tonight for Arizona, that is before he was traded to the Dodgers Monday night. Starting in his place for the Diamondbacks is Billy Buckner. Buckner hasn't pitched in the majors since June 26. He was sent to the minors after four bad starts, allowing 26 runs in 18.1 innings, but his last good major league start was at Dodger Stadium on June 1, when Buckner beat the Dodgers with six shutout innings. With Triple A Reno, Buckner was was 7-1 over 11 starts after his demotion, with a 3.15 ERA and 8.44 strikeouts per nine innings.

Buckner told the Arizona Republic a reason for his success in Triple A was the development of a cut fastball. The last time a player got called up to make a start against the Dodgers after raving about a new pitch learned in the minors was Matt Maloney of the Reds, who was battered around on Saturday afternoon.

New Dodger pinch hitter extraordinaire Jim Thome has a balky back, which is why he really can't play first base. However, he's not the only one this series suffering from back issues. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tells the tale of Arizona catcher Chris Snyder, who went on the disabled list over the weekend with a lower back inflammation, and the concerns over a player signed through 2011 after suffering a down year. If Russell Martin himself doesn't provide enough of a cautionary tale of the risks of signing young catchers to a long-term deal, Chris Snyder just might be Exhibit B.

Here are tonight's lineups:

Diamondbacks		Dodgers
2B	Roberts	SS	Furcal
SS	Drew	CF	Kemp
RF	Upton	RF	Ethier
C	Montero	LF	Manny
3B	Reynolds	3B	Blake
1B	Allen	1B	Loney
LF	Parra	2B	Belliard
CF	Young	C	Martin
P	Buckner	P	Garland

**********

Check out Xeifrank's simulation of today's game here.

Don't forget to RSVP for True Blue LA Day at Dodger Stadium, on the next-to-last day of the regular season, October 3 against the Rockies.

Get your guesses in for our today's "One, Two, Three Strikes, You're Out," here.

Game Time: 7:10pm

TV: Prime Ticket

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