SB Nation - Tony Clark

2010 in Arizona: First-base

Jim McLennan — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:52:11 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

The Panda dives back to first, as a pick-off throw "bamboo-zles" Tracy and "shoots" past him during an April game in Phoenix.

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I'm pleased to report my digestive system is no longer participating in a Michael Bay remake of Krakatoa, East of Java. That's probably for the best, since our first-base situation is enough by itself to make me feel queasy. The past season was like the noted Abbott and Costello sketch for Diamondbacks fans: don't like who's starting first-base today? Come back tomorrow, you'll probably be happier. While we didn't quite have the most number of players at the position in the majors [the Cardinals used nine, though that was mostly LaRussa's late-inning shuffling: Phat Albert started at 1B 157 times], it certainly was the most unstable position on the field for Arizona, with seven different names appearing in the starting line-up.

This continues a decade-long trend: not since our inaugural season in 1998, has the same player started even 130 games at first-base, and in the past two seasons, the highs have been just 67 and 57 starts, by Conor Jackson and Chad Tracy respectively. [Today's trivia: name the most-frequent 1B for Arizona each season. Answer at the end of the article] After the jump, we'll take a look at what happened in 2010, and see whether there's hope for things to be any more stable in the upcoming season.

2009 Performance
1. Chad Tracy - 56 starts .237/.306/.389
2. Brandon Allen - 29 starts .202/.284/.385
3. Josh Whitesell - 28 starts .194/.346/.287
4. Mark Reynolds - 24 starts .260/.349/.543
5. Tony Clark - 14 starts .182/.295/.424

It's hard to say how much the numbers above are skewed by the absence of Conor Jackson. He had been a regular there in the previous three seasons, but his shift to left-field would likely have continued last season, given the ongoing failings of Eric Byrnes. However, his absence for the bulk of the season made the dearth of alternatives for Arizona at the position all the more apparent. Overall, first-base produced a line of .228/.321/.396, an OPS of just .717, dead-last in the National League.

Initially, it was Tony Clark and Chad Tracy who split time at the position, but Josh Whitesell was called up just before the managerial switch in early May. Much was expected of him, having hit .328 with 26 homers the previous year in Tucson, but he proved to be a damp squib. Though not helped by a freakishly-low BABIP, he hit only .107 in May and struggled to get his BA above the Uecker line the rest of the way. Some attempts to play Reynolds at first were made: though effective offensively (he hit .323 there), his defense was poor, and the experiment was all but abandoned after the All-Star break

Brandon Allen, acquired from the White Sox in the Tony Peña trade, was the final great hope, getting the bulk of the starts after the middle of August. However, despite similarly-impressive numbers at Triple-A to Whitesell, he struggled equally as much against major-league pitching - left-handers, in particular, gave both prospects fits. This, and a poor performance by Allen in the Arizona Fall League, meant that the Diamondbacks ended the season with just as big a question-mark at first-base as they'd had at any point in the year.

Top Free Agents
Name	Age	2009 Sal.	2009 OPS+
Russell Branyan	34	$1.4m	128
Nick Johnson	32	$5.5m	122
Adam LaRoche	30	$7.05m	122
Hank Blalock	29	$6.2m	86
Carlos Delgado	37	$12m	141
Chance of AZ free-agent activity: high.

2010 Depth-chart and Projections

Brandon Allen - .247/.309/.427
Conor Jackson - .266/.342/.425
~~Josh Whitesell - .238/.341/.385~~

We've already seen, courtesy of the Snyder-Overbay talks, that Arizona are not happy with the current candidates for first-base next season. As a result, it seems likely that they will spend some, albeit a minority, of their war-chest (currently estimated at between $10-14 million) on acquiring a more experienced bat at this position - probably one that can deal with left-handed pitching better than Allen or Whitesell have shown themselves to date. Fernando Tatis is an interesting name recently suggested there by Reynolds rapper, who could offer some position flexibility. The alternative at the moment would be to bring Jackson back from left-field to play the position against LHP - I note that he split his time in the Dominican Winter League between the two positions.

However, this decision would pose a couple of problems in turn. Jackson's defense at 1B is notably worse than in RF, and we'd then also be faced with the job of replacing CoJack in left. The most likely candidates there are Gerardo Parra, who is simlarly vexed by left-handers, and Eric Byrnes, who may not even be with the club. I would rather see Jackson left in left (as it were...) and the team go after someone who can platoon with Allen at 1B. That said, the names available as free agents all have issues of one kind or another e.g. Johnson's injury issues, Branyan would be another left-hander, and my assessment of likely activity as "high" also includes the chances of activitiy not directly involving the signing of a free-agent.

The major trading-chip in this area remains Chris Snyder, and I still think the team will look to move him between now and Opening Day. Even if this is not directly for a first-baseman, the salary relief we'd obtain as a result means we can perhaps then take on a player earning more than we could perhaps otherwise afford (whether at first or another spot, such as in the rotation). As a starting point, the six teams to get the lowest 2009 OPS from their catchers were (in descending order): Milwaukee, Houston, Seattle, Toronto, Tampa, Detroit. Might be a good starting point for shopping Snyder.

We will be interested to follow the development of Allen and Whitesell in 2010 - particularly the former, since it's worth remembering, despite his struggles, that he will still be 23 until February. Only 16 position players in the National League that age or younger got 100 PAs last season [three in AZ, who also had Justin Upton and Gerardo Parra], so there should be no rush to judgement. Allen's playing time will likely be determined both by subsequent moves, and how his own splits develop. If he can learn to hit left-handed pitching, and his overall numbers approach those he posted in the minors, he should be primed for the starting spot in 2011. Those are both mighty-big "ifs", however.

[Update] Josh Whitesell was non-tendered and as a result became a free-agent. The Diamondbacks apparently even tried to sell Whitesell to Japan, but had no luck there; it's clear that Arizona saw no potential of him helping the team in the foreseeable future.

[Trivia answer. Here are the most-frequent starters at 1B each season for Arizona. 1998-99, Travis Lee; 2000, Greg Colbrunn; 2001-02, Mark Grace; 2003, Lyle Overbay; 2004, Shea Hillenbrand; 2005, Chad Tracy; 2006-08, Conor Jackson; 2009, Tracy]

The Future Is Now: Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Showcase Preview, Saturday 11/7, 7:15 CT

Al — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:00:30 -0000

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The 2009 baseball season has just ended, and in a way, you could say that tonight, the 2010 season begins.

While we are not going to see the most-hyped prospect, Stephen Strasburg -- he was scratched due to a strained neck muscle -- or Cubs prospect Josh Vitters, also scratched with a minor injury, there will be plenty of players in tonight's game who you'll see in the major leagues next season.

Among them are Giants prospect catcher Buster Posey, who played in two games against the Cubs last September; Hank Conger, who may be the Angels' next catcher; and, of course, the Cubs' own Starlin Castro, who we have been talking about here all throughout the AFL season. Castro enters tonight's game leading the AFL in batting average (.424). Castro probably isn't quite ready for the major leagues -- he won't turn 20 until March and has played only 31 games above A ball -- but he'll likely get into some spring training games next March and could get a September callup in 2010.

Andrew Cashner, also in the AFL, won't play tonight either, so the only other Cubs prospect who might participate will be Blake Parker, who had 22 saves for Iowa last year and who might have a shot at the major league bullpen in 2010.

There were a number of players from the 2008 AFL who made significant impacts on the 2009 major league season, including Tommy Hanson, Gordon Beckham, Matt Wieters, Bud Norris and Phil Hughes. I figure enough of you are interested in, and will be watching, this game, that it deserved its own game thread.

Broadcast and other detailed information after the jump.

MLB.com article about tonight's game, which will begin at 7:15 CST.

MLB Network will carry a live broadcast of the Rising Stars Game with Diamondbacks announcer Daron Sutton and MLB Network's Tony Clark in the broadcast booth. A live video feed will also be available on MLB.com.

NL West exceeds expectations as a whole in 2009's first half

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:00:14 -0000

So we have reached the All-Star Break. The mid-way point. I guess it's a good time to reflect on how the season has played out in the NL West. The Rockies have the most wins in franchise history by the All-Star Break and are the most games over .500 since 1995. So how does this bipolar Rockies season stack up in the NL West?

NL West Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
Los Angeles	56	32	.636	0	Won 1
San Francisco	49	39	.556	7	Lost 1
Colorado	47	41	.534	9	Won 1
Arizona	38	51	.426	18.5	Lost 1
San Diego	36	52	.409	20	Won 1

(updated 7.12.2009 at 6:49 PM MDT)

Of course, those standings hardly surprise you I'm sure, given you probably keep good track of this daily. Besides, the order of the teams placed in the division are pretty well in line with popular opinion prior to Opening Day. In fact, they fall perfectly in line with Baseball Prospectus' pre-season projections. Yawn. We knew the Dodgers would be good and that the Padres would be terrible.

What might be more interesting is measuring the teams' record against what was expected. Which team is overachieving their expectations? Which team is performing far worse than anyone thought? And how has that changed over the course of the season?

This is why graphs are cool. I put together the graph below that depicts the number of games over (or under) the projected win percentage for each NL West team, after every game of the season. Each individual team's graph will mirror their win percentage graph, but this is normalized to each team's expected playing level. So any team above zero is exceeding projections - any team below is disappointing.

Blue denotes the Dodgers, green the Padres, orange the Giants, purple the Rockies, and red the Diamondbacks. Click wide view to see the graph in all its primitive glory.

A couple things to take from this, most of which you already know:

The Dodgers have been playing at a high level since mid-April, lost very little during Manny Ramirez' suspension, and are currently outperforming projections more than any current team. In fact, this is their best record at the All-Star Break since 1977.
The Padres have spent less than five days in the black. Despite their abysmal record, they've been above BP's expectations practically the entire year. That means two things: 1) We all knew the Friars would be terrible, and 2) Bud Black has done a fantastic job despite losing 60% of his games. In fact, if this was your criteria, Black could be Jim Tracy's best competition for Manager of the Division.
The Rockies' start to the season was BAAAAD, but winning streaks do serious damage in the standings no matter how you look at it.
The Diamondbacks have underperformed the entire season, but the Rockies were the team to hit rock bottom, a full seven games below their expected record, six games after Jim Tracy took over.
AJ Hinch initially recovered after a lull, but Arizona is worse off now than they ever were with Bob Melvin.
Other than the Diamondbacks, the NL West has been surprisingly successful to date. The other four divisional teams sit at least a win better than their expected record at the All-Star Break.

So we've covered the present and the past. Might as well complete the trifecta by looking at the future. How about Baseball Prospectus' projected final standings, which takes the first half's games into account.

NL West PROJECTED Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	PLAYOFF ODDS
Los Angeles	100	62	.617	0	98.94%
Colorado	87	75	.537	13	42.60%
San Francisco	86	76	.531	14	35.43%
Arizona	73	89	.451	27	0.34%
San Diego	67	95	.414	33	0.01%

(updated 7.12.2009 at 6:49 PM MDT)

So there you go. The Giants and Rockies are given 32.34% and 39.04% chances of winning the wild card, while no other NL team has more than a 3.65% chance. Compare that to the Rockies' 3.56% chance of winning the NL West. Mr. Kruk, BP says the Rockies have twice the chance to win the NL West than the Mets making the playoffs...Hmm...

For a smaller timescale, check the week in review of the NL West after the jump.

NL West Report

Arizona (38-51, 4th, L1, 18.5 GB)

Last Week: 5-2. 3-0 vs Padres, 2-2 vs Marlins. In spite of a strong 5-2 week, Arizona gained just a half game on Los Angeles and gained no ground on Colorado or San Francisco.

This Week: ASB, 3 game road series @ Cardinals.

News: Arizona finally cut the cord and released the ineffective Tony Clark. The big pinch-hitter has looked completely overmatched this season, except for Opening Day of course. AZ SnakePit reacts.

Tony Clark

#31 / First Base / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-7

Weight: 245

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: Jun 15, 1972

	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Tony Clark	.182	.295	.424

(Note: As bad as that stat line is, it's still better than Chris Young)

Jon Heyman of SI says offers for Chad Qualls may be "too tempting to ignore." However, Arizona might lean towards keeping Doug Davis, as they won't get the 1st to 2nd round talent they desire in a trade and would gain from a compensatory pick should Davis leave in free agency.

The Diamondbacks traded reliever Tony Pena to the White Sox for power hitting first baseman Brandon Allen. Allen will DH or play 1B in AAA, especially now that Josh Whitesell can play with the big club with the Clark transaction.

There is no new injury news to report. Arizona did option Ryan Roberts to AAA and recall Leo Rosales

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Eric Byrnes	hand	06/26/2009
Chris Snyder	lower-back	06/21/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tom Gordon	hamstring	05/04/2009
Conor Jackson	pneumonia	05/12/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

Los Angeles (56-32, 1st, W2)

Last Week: 4-2. 2-1 @ Mets, 2-1 @ Brewers. An impressive road trip helped close out the Dodgers' best start in 32 years.

This Week: ASB. 4 game home series vs Astros. Houston has quietly climbed to .500 and sits just one game below .500 on the road, so this series isn't necessarily as cupcakey as one might think.

News: All-Star closer Jonathan Broxton will miss the All-Star Game with a toe injury. There's no word on how long he'll be out, but with Ronald Belisario injured as well, two of the Dodgers' top three relievers are on the shelf with injuries.

Jonathan Broxton

#51 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-4

Weight: 290

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jun 16, 1984

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jonathan Broxton	6-0	3.10	0.93	65	17

Bill Shaikin of the LA Times suggests a package of Russell Martin, Josh Lindblom and Devaris Gordon to land Roy Halladay, then suggests LA wouldn't even do that deal because Gordon is "untouchable" and "the coaching staff would be reluctant to lose Martin." Yeah okay.

Apparently, there were two LA scouts at a Toronto game, but not for Halladay. For Scott Rolen.

LA is still interested in Mark Mulder.

Manny Ramirez tied Mickey Mantle for 15th on the career HR list with 536 Friday.

Brendan Scolari at TrueBlueLA has exceprts from a Ned Colletti radio interview regarding the Dodgers and the trade market.

TrueBlueLA's Week in Review.

Eric Milton's 15-day DL stint will expire over the All-Star Break, but the Dodgers have yet to make a roster move accordingly that I can see. Integral rookie reliever Ronald Belisario landed on the 15-day DL with an elbow injury last Monday. Cory Wade was called up to replace him in the bullpen, and has since thrown 1.2 scoreless innings. Scott Elbert also joined the pen.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Will Ohman	shoulder	05/28/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	03/30/2009
Xavier Paul	knee	05/21/2009
Ronald Belisario	elbow	07/06/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Hong-Chih Kuo	elbow	04/30/2009

San Diego (36-52, 5th, W1, 20 GB)

Last Week: 1-6. 0-3 @ Diamondbacks. 1-3 @ Giants. San Diego has won just 3 of their last 14 and is falling fast in the division, as no other NL West team won less than 4 games last week. They now have the worst run differential in MLB.

This Week: ASB, 4 game home series vs Rockies.

News: Susan Slusser of SFGate reports that the PTBNL in the Scott Hairston deal is Sean Gallagher, the same pitcher that was regarded as the centerpiece of the Rich Harden trade last year. Gallagher has upside but his stock has fallen due to injury. He will switch to San Diego's disabled list with a knee injury. Reaction from A's fans, and the reaction from Padres fans.

Sean Gallagher

#39 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-2

Weight: 235

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Dec 30, 1985

Former 2002 Blue Jay first round pick Russ Adams has signed a minor league deal with the Padres. The infielder was DFA'd July 3rd by Toronto and has reported to San Diego's AAA affiliate. Also signed and assigned to AAA was catcher Yamid Haad.

GasLampBall apparently has video of Matt Bush being arrested.

Adrian Gonzalez is a good dude. The Padres' 1B will be in the Home Run Derby tonight and will donate $200 to charity for ever home run hit. His NL compadres are all first basemen - Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols.

In a Ken Rosenthal piece, Kevin Towers compares Everth Cabrera to Rafael Furcal.

Cliff Floyd is still on the 60day DL - I'm not sure why the widget lost him. Luke Gregerson was activated from the 15day DL Tuesday setting off a flurry of other roster moves. San Diego recalled Mike Ekstrom, placed David Eckstein on the 15day DL with a hamstring injury, optioned Joe Thatcher to AAA, added Ryan Webb (he of the Hairston trade) to the roster, DFA'd Walter Silva and called up RH SP Tim Stauffer.

San Diego Padres Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jake Peavy	ankle	06/09/2009
Chris Young	shoulder	06/15/2009
Nick Hundley	forearm	06/18/2009
Brian Giles	knee	06/19/2009
Henry Blanco	hamstring	07/05/2009
David Eckstein	hamstring	07/06/2009

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

San Francisco (49-39, 2nd, L1, 7 GB)

Last Week: 2-1 vs Marlins, 3-1 vs Padres. The only thing to complain about the Giants lately has been their inability to slam the door. They have lost the final game of their last four series.

This Week: ASB, 3 game road series @ Pirates. IT doesn't look like it, but this could be a good place to make up ground on SF. The Rockies draw the paltry Padres for four games while the Giants take their 18-24 road record to PNC Park, where the Pirates are 22-17.

News: You have surely heard it by now, but if not, Jonathan Sanchez threw a no-hitter Friday. If it hadn't been for an 8th inning error on Juan Uribe, it would have been a perfect game. It was just the 6th time in MLB history a pitcher got 11+ K's, zero walks and zero hits. Sanchez' start was the only non-perfect game of the bunch. Not bad for a guy who was 2-8 with a 5.30 ERA coming in. He had been banished to the bullpen and only got the start due to a Randy Johnson injury.

Jonathan Sanchez

#57 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-2

Weight: 190

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Nov 19, 1982

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jonathan Sanchez	3-8	4.69	1.50	79	46

The no-hitter is a boon for Sanchez' trade value (maybe), and Henry Schuman at SFGate suggests he could be part of a trade bringing back Freddy Sanchez and perhaps All-Star Zach Duke.

Tim Lincecum will start the All-Star Game. He was the only NL All-Star not to appear in 2008 due to illness, so this is a nice way for the Cy Young winner to jump in.

Dave Allen at Fangraphs has a great read on former Rockie Jeremy Affeldt and his newfound propensity for getting ground balls with the best in the league.

Not enough people voted from the West coast. Shane Victorino beat out the Kung Fu Panda for the last slot on the All-Star Team. Jayson Werth replaced Carlos Beltran on the roster, so Philadelphia now has five of their eight hitters on the All-Star squad. That is disgusting. Only Jimmy Rollins, Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz were left out. Sick.

Two of the Giants top three starters in their rotation are injured. Randy Johnson's shoulder injury has landed him on the 15day DL, while Matt Cain is being monitored after taking a line drive off the elbow. X-rays are negative. He hasn't been put on the DL - watch this. Kevin Frandsen was called up. The Giants won't need a fifth starter until July 20, so they optioned Ryan Sadowski to Single-A and recalled John Bowker.

San Francisco Giants Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Matt Cain	elbow	07/12/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Randy Johnson	shoulder	07/06/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Noah Lowry	ribs	03/27/2009
Kelvin Pichardo	shoulder	06/28/2009
Joe Martinez	concussion	04/10/2009

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:20:17 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

5 months ago: Milwaukee Brewers' Ryan Braun fails to make the catch on a home run by the Los Angeles Dodgers' Orlando Hudson during the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 12, 2009, in Milwaukee. The Dodgers defeated the Brewers 7-4. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching)

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Some things to read while walking your kangaroo.

While most of the Brewers settled in early for a few days of rest, Trevor Hoffman was making last minute reservations for St. Louis yesterday. Hoffman was a late addition to the NL All Star squad, replacing Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton, who will sit out with an injured toe. Hoffman called the invite "a big surprise" and "a big honor." Hopefully he won't give up a big inning.

If you were thinking of skipping tonight's Home Run Derby, I can't say I blame you. If you're watching, though, there's another reason to cheer for Prince Fielder: The Brewers are taking $1 off the price of loge outfield seats for the August 11-13 Padres series for each home run Fielder hits tonight. And if you need a drink in your hand to enjoy the derby, Chuckie Hacks has a drinking game that will give you a long day at work tomorrow and Home Run Derby has one that almost assures you won't make it to the second round.

Players will tell you that making the All Star Game is "a big honor," but for most it's also an extra paycheck. The Biz of Baseball has a list of players receiving a bonus for playing in the game this season. Ryan Braun is pocketing an extra $50,000 and Prince Fielder is getting $25k. The list was compiled before Trevor Hoffman was added to the team, so I don't know what he's getting.

J.J. Hardy, meanwhile, is just happy to take a break. Hardy has typically been a better hitter in the second half, and if he doesn't turn it around soon this season he'll likely have Alcides Escobar nipping on his heels for playing time down the stretch.

Escobar and Brett Lawrie represented the Brewers well in yesterday's Futures Game. Escobar started the game at shortstop for the World team and went 2-for-4 with a pair of infield singles. Lawrie started at DH for the World (a pretty nice honor for a guy who's never played above Low A) and went 1-for-3 with a seventh inning double that sparked a rally in the seventh inning. Some notes from the game:

Ryan Fagan of The Sporting News listed Escobar as one of his six "Stars in Waiting" in yesterday's game, and tweeted that Lawrie had one of the most impressive BP sessions.
Tom H. profiled Escobar, who says he's ready to be called up.
Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated listed Escobar as one of eight prospects who are "close to untouchable" in trade talks.

Elsewhere in the minors:

Dave Bush pitched well for the Timber Rattlers on Friday, allowing just four hits and an unearned run while throwing 53 pitches over 4.2 innings. He's still expected to return on July 20, when the Brewers open a series with the Pirates.
John Sickels of Minor League Ball spent three days last week watching the Rattlers play in Burlington, and has scouting reports on sixteen players, including top ten prospects Brett Lawrie and Lorenzo Cain.
Wily Peralta and Evan Anundsen checked in at #12 and #22 on Project Prospect's list of the top 25 prospects who didn't make the Top 100. I guess that makes them #112 and #122 overall.

Manny Parra pitched well in his return from Nashville and many are crediting Sounds pitching coach Chris Bosio for helping him turn things around. Maybe there's another explanation, though: Miller Park Drunk tells the tale of Parra's meeting with Billy Ray Cyrus.

Maybe Billy Ray has some time for Chris Narveson, too. Narveson is expected to accept an assignment to Nashville today, when he officially clears waivers.

Mike Cameron is quietly getting hot again, hitting .394/.488/.667 in ten games in July (after posting a .536 OPS in June). Padres GM Kevin Towers says he regrets letting Cameron go after the 2007 season, crediting his leadership abilities. Cameron, along with Braden Looper (option) and Jason Kendall is one of three Brewers who would be Type B free agents if the season ended today. Trevor Hoffman would be a Type A. (h/t Pro Ball NW)

This morning's Mug is going to be late enough, so I'll lump these notes into one group:

Jayson Stark listed Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun among his candidates for first half NL MVP, Bill Hall among his candidates for LVP, Casey McGehee among his candidates for Rookie of the Year and Ken Macha for manager of the year, but did not select a Brewer for any of those awards.
Rob Neyer selected Robin Yount as the Brewers' representative in his All Time AL All Star Team.
The Ghost of Moonlight Graham ranked the Brewers outfield fourth in all of baseball in his midseason rankings.
The Hardball Times' Dartboard ranked the Brewers #16.

Another homestand, another story about a player scared to stay at the Pfister Hotel. This week, it's Twins OF Carlos Gomez and another unnamed player.

Around baseball:

Angels: Placed Torii Hunter (hip abductor strain) and Vlad Guerrero (calf strain) on the DL.
Astros: Claimed catcher Chris Coste off the DL from the Phillies.
Braves: Acquired Ryan Church from the Mets for Jeff Francoeur and cash.
Cubs: Placed Geovany Soto on the DL with a strained oblique.
D-Backs: Released Tony Clark.
Mariners: Acquired Jack Hannahan from the A's for a minor league pitcher.
Mets: Signed Angel Berroa to a minor league deal.
Nationals: Fired manager Manny Acta and will replace him with Jim Riggleman.
Pirates: Released outfielder Chris Snelling.
Padres: Acquired Sean Gallagher as the PTBNL in the Scott Hairston deal with the A's and signed Russ Adams to a minor league deal.
Reds: Jay Bruce has a broken wrist and will be placed on the DL.

If you're hanging out in St. Louis this week and you're not interested in the Hone Run Derby, perhaps you should be a part of the All Star Treasure Hunt Reebok is putting on. Also, if you're the guy wandering around St. Louis wearing a Tyler Houston Brewers jersey, keep up the good work.

Here's a strategic move to debate: Lou Piniella, who needed a lefty to face two out of three Cardinal batters in last night's game, moved lefty Sean Marshall into left field for one batter, then brought him back to the mound. Good idea? Would you lose your mind if Ken Macha did it with Mitch Stetter? Discuss.

This makes sense in concept, but now a study has proven it: Dr. Ian Byram of Vanderbilt Medical Center says pitchers who come to camp with weakness around their rotator cuff are more likely to get injured during the season.

I'll admit my interest in the Moneyball movie was fading, but they did exactly what they needed to do to bring me back: asked Aaron Sorkin to redraft it. Now I'll go see it. (h/t C. Trent Rosecrans)

One year ago today, CC Sabathia pitched a complete game, 3-2 victory over the Reds, and hit a home run. For whatever it's worth.

Oh, and if you're going to haul your suitcase on the subway, you should zip up the pocket with your dirty underwear first.

Drink up.

Diamondbacks Release Tony Clark

snakecharmer — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:12:18 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

Veteran Tony Clark's second stint with Arizona came to a close Sunday night, as he was let go by the Diamondbacks. No word yet on his future plans.

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Breaking news from Nick Piecoro's blog - Tony Clark has been let go.

In another move made in part with an eye on 2010, the Diamondbacks on Sunday released veteran first baseman Tony Clark.

Clark, 37 and in his 15th season in the majors, was hitting just .182 with four home runs in 66 at-bats.

...

In parts of five seasons with the Diamondbacks, Clark hit .255 with 59 home runs in 831 at-bats, time mostly spent as the club’s primary pinch-hitter off the bench and as a leader in the clubhouse.

Clearly, this move has been much awaited and will now be much celebrated (at least, here). Piecoro notes that Chad Tracy is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, so the club will likely call up (yet again) Josh Whitesell to get more of a look to see who the first baseman of the future will be. While I'm sure Tony Clark will be missed in the clubhouse, Mark Reynolds has shown that he can step up and be a leader of this team. It's time for the next generation of leaders to come forth.

There is no word yet on whether Clark will retire, seek employment with another team, or head into a front office position. Should this have been his final stint in uniform as a player, Clark will end with a .262 batting average and 251 home runs in 15 seasons with six teams. He was 3rd in Rookie of the Year voting in 1996 and was an All-Star in 2001.

This is breaking news. Surely more details will be coming out during the All-Star break.

[Edited Monday morning] A story from Steve Gilbert at MLB.com has some quotes from Clark on the move. It was not a surprise, but certainly it's never easy hearing that you are no longer useful to an MLB team...

"I'm thankful to the organization for giving me an opportunity to realize the dream of being a part of my hometown team," Clark, a Glendale, Ariz., resident, told MLB.com late Sunday night. "I'm disappointed I was not able to do my part to get them to a World Series."

...

In recent weeks, the team had let Clark know that this day could be coming. He said he was also told that the team would like to have him remain a part of the organization in some capacity when his playing career ends.

"We both remain hopeful that there will be an opportunity in the future to be a part of the organization in one facet or another," Clark said.

Clark will certainly have options. He has been sought after in the past for baseball broadcasting and has been viewed in the game as someone who would make a good manager at some point.

"Going forward I'll continue to work out and exhaust the possibility of continuing to play," Clark said. "If over the course of the next couple of weeks there are not any, I will wholeheartedly look to transition into something else."

No matter what, he and his family will continue their local charitable endeavors. It sounds like he'd like to play, but he also says he told his wife that this may be the end, and he wants to "get it right" whatever his next move will be.

Thanks to Counsellmember for reporting the news in the recap.

Marlins 8, Diamondbacks 1: Davis Gets Phished

DbacksSkins — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:28:29 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

Don't worry, Doug. We feel it too.

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Record: 38-51 Pace: 69-93 Change on last season: -6

Ho hum. Just in case we were getting a collective big head from winning 7 of 8 going into the All-Star Break, the baseball gods knocked us down a rung today. The Arizona Diamondbacks, in fairly ignominious fashion, completed the official first half of the season today, dropping the series finale versus the Marlins 8-1. 1 run? 1?? Really?? After we scored 20 runs in the previous games in the series? Yep. Most notably, the offense and defense regressed to April 2009 levels, rather than the improved edition we've been seeing lately.

Follow me after the jump for all the ~~exciting~~ gory details!

This one was as good as over almost before it started. Doug Davis, who came into the game with a sparkling 3.13 ERA, gave up 5 runs in only 4 innings, including 3 in the top of the 1st, putting the Marlins squarely in the driver's seat. To be fair, he was also let down by his defense, although no errors were given. Several balls rolled into the outfield that probably could have been fielded and turned into outs in a regression to the sloppy style of baseball that we sorta thought we had gotten over, at least since Reynolds' rant. It took Doug a whopping 99 pitches to get through only 4 innings, although he did hold the Marlins scoreless in the 2nd and 3rd, before giving up a two run blast to Jeremy Hermida in the 4th off the right field foul pole. 3 walks in 4 innings didn't help, either, despite an umpire with a strike zone roughly the size and shape of Nevada -- at least for the Marlins' pitchers, for whom everything low and inside was called a strike. To be fair, Marlins All Star Josh Johnson DID have a fairly impressive game, alternating between the inside and outside corners of the plate and showing why he's their ace. Perhaps today's game was just an example of what might have happened last night to Jon Garland, had the Dbacks not rolled up three double plays behind him. Neither Chad Tracy nor Davis were assessed an error later, when Tracy fielded a routine grounder and tossed to Davis, slightly down the line, who flat-out missed the bag with the side of his foot. Although it went as a hit, it's a perfect example of the kind of shoddy plays made by the infielders today.

After getting 13 extra-base hits during the previous 3 games, the offense looked punchless once again as it was held to 9 scattered one-baggers. The team went a woeful 1-for-6 w/ RISP, scoring their 1 run in the 7th. Until that point, no Dbacks hitter had even reached 3rd base. But, it didn't HAVE to be like that. Felipe Lopez led off the bottom of the first with a single, but was caught stealing second by about 5 feet, on an 0-2 pitch. As Grace noted, pitchers often toss a throwaway fastball on 0-2, so it was almost like a pitchout. Naturally, on the very next pitch, Stephen Drew drove a single into right field that very well might have scored Flip, had he been on second. In the 7th, Augie Ojeda reached on a fielder's choice, before going to 2nd on a Lopez groundout and finally scoring to break up the shutout on Drew's RBI single. For the game, Drew went 3-5, while Lopez was on base four times on two hits and two walks. Chad Tracy also had two hits, while Gerardo Parra reached once on a walk and Alex Romero had a pinch single. Tony Clark, who has apparently played his last game as a Diamondback, saw his last AB w/ the Dbacks: naturally, it was a pinch strikeout for Leo Rosales in the 5th. Our 3 and 4 hitters struggled again; Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton combining to go 1-8 with 6 strikeouts and 8 men left on base. Upton smacked a single into left field in his last game before his first All Star Game.

The bullpen performed... credibly, I suppose, going 5 innings and allowing only a single earned run, by Esmerling Vasquez. Clay Zavada allowed two unearned runs in the Dreaded Eighth Inning© after a sharp grounder bounced about 20 feet straight up off of Reynolds' glove and into left field. Zavada's ERA dropped to 1.69. Jon Rauch, Juan Gutierrez and Leo Rosales all pitched scoreless innings; Rauch continues to be essentially our best reliever lately. Gutierrez helped himself out with an impressively fast move to first, picking off former Dback Emilio Bonifacio.

Badass of the day: Stephen Drew, +2.3%

Boarding the bus to Reno: Doug Davis, -25.9%

It's a testament to how quickly the game got out of hand that Drew led all players with a scant 2.3 WPA. Chad Tracy, Gerardo Parra, Juan Gutierrez and Leo Rosales were also in the black, while Alex Romero and Jon Rauch managed to add exactly nothing either way (0.0%). Everyone else was in the red as far as WPA is concerned.

20 posters in the Gameday thread today, adding up to 366 total comments. I led, and was the only poster in triple digits, with unnamedDBacksfan narrowly catching marionette for second place. Posters included sayheyupton, DyeLongJustice, (in his first Gameday thread since joining the 'Pit) snakecharmer, Giannaros, DbacksSkins, hotclaws, unnamedDBacksfan, marionette, emilylovesthedbacks, NotGuilty, 4 Corners Fan, Wailord, Muu, pierzynskirules, Turambar, BattleMoses, Jim McLennan, Tim Weiss, katers, and soco.

No game tomorrow, for obvious reasons. I'm assuming Jim will have a Gameday Thread posted for the All Star Game, so I'll see you there. The Dbacks head next to St. Louis -- Dan Haren and Justin Upton will be there first, as All Stars, and the rest of the team will join them for a series against the Cardinals to start the official second half of the season.

Let's hope it goes a little better than the first half.

Reds don't lose!

Brendanukkah — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:49:03 -0000

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

"Hey baby, I'm just gonna throw out this runner, then you and me can get to makin' a Jerry Hairston III." Seriously, what's up with the belt? (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

The pitching staff. Johnny Cueto, Arthur Rhodes, David Weathers, and Francisco Cordero combined for nine scoreless innings, only two hits allowed, and eleven strikeouts. There was the ugly matter of six walks, but hey, a two-hit shutout!

Key Plays

Cueto walked three men in the second inning, but was not haunted by them. Gerardo Parra was caught stealing, and Cueto struck out Chris Young and Jon Garland to escape the danger.
In the third inning, Danny Richar led off with a single, then Chris Dickerson hit a double. It would have been ambitious to have Richar try to score from first, but Mark Berry waved him around anyway, and he was out.
The only offense of note came in the sixth inning. Chris Dickerson singled to lead off, went to second on a ground out by Hairston, then was off and running on a single by Votto and beat the throw home. You can't spell "Canada Day" without "R-B-I" (if you're Quebecois).
The Diamondbacks threatened in the seventh inning when Arthur Rhodes came in. Gerardo Parra bunted his way on to lead off the inning, and Chris Young walked. Miguel Montero sac bunted them over, so there were runners on second and third with one out. Then Rhodes went to work. He struck out pinch-hitter Ryan Roberts, walked Tony Clark to load the bases, then got Felipe Lopez to fly out to right, ending the threat.

FanGraphs

Other Notes

Johnny Cueto has no losses against the Diamondbacks.
This shutout was the Reds seventh of the year. Only San Francisco and their rotation of Cy Young winners has more in the NL.
The Reds have not won a game 1-0 since August 8, 2007, but there were three other games tonight that ended with that score.
The Diamondbacks have lost 9 of 11. Never forget.
The Reds are .500 again (38-38). They're .500 at home (18-18) and .500 on the road (20-20). Still only three games out of first place though. One senses that one NL Central team will get hot for a ten day stretch, and at the end of the year it will have been the difference maker.

Final - 7.1.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Arizona Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Cincinnati Reds	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	X	1	9	0
WP: Johnny Cueto (8 - 4) SV: Francisco Cordero (19) LP: Jon Garland (4 - 8)

Complete Coverage >

Reds see "Har-" is pitching, instinctively don't score runs. D'backs win, 6-2.

Brendanukkah — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:51:19 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

Dan Haren looked like Joe Jackson tonight, the way he beat us with his bat. (AP Photo/Matt York)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Player of the Game

Dan Haren. Not only did he throw seven innings of one run ball, not only did he strike out nine batters, he also went 2-2 with a double and a home run.

Key Plays

In the second inning with two outs and two on, Miguel Montero singled to right field. Chris Young tried to score from second, but Jay nailed him at the plate. All those who complain that Jay is just a younger Adam Dunn are invited to cram it.
It spiraled out of control from there. Dan Haren doubled to lead off the third inning, but was erased on a throw to the plate from Jerry Hairston. There was one on, two outs, and the ground ball to Brandon Phillips should have ended things. Instead, he threw it away and there were runners on second and third. Singles by Gerardo Parra and Mark Reynolds put us down 3-0. And since Dan Haren hasn't surrendered more than three runs in a game all year, that was it.
Three innings later, Arroyo walked Tony Clark, then gave up back to back jacks to Miguel Montero and Dan Haren. The 8th hitter and the pitcher. And that's when you know it's not your night.
The Reds did break the goose egg in the seventh with doubles from Laynce Nix and Ramon Hernandez.
In the 8th, Danny Richar walked, Willy Taveras singled, and Votto got his hit. The bases were loaded with one out. If the Reds were going to mount any kind of threat, this was the time. Brandon Phillips flew out (Richar tagged and scored) and Nix flied out. That was that.

Fangraphs looks like the elevation map from Denver to Lawrence.

Other Notes

It was Dan Haren's first career home run.
The Diamondbacks had lost five in a row and eight of nine. Remember when we said that playoff teams should beat up on bad teams?
The Reds run in the seventh was only the eighth run that Haren has given up in six June starts.
The NIH says that symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome include fingers that "feel useless or swollen," and "[d]ecreased grip strength may make it difficult to form a fist, grasp small objects, or perform other manual tasks." Women are three times likelier than men to develop carpal tunnel. Get a haircut, Bronson!

Final - 6.30.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Arizona Diamondbacks	0	0	3	0	0	3	0	0	0	6	12	0
Cincinnati Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	6	2
WP: Dan Haren (7 - 5) LP: Bronson Arroyo (8 - 7)

Complete Coverage >

Diamondbacks 3, Angels 12: Buckner puts AZ behind the eight-ball

Jim McLennan — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 06:36:13 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Just look at that face... I had a viciously sarcastic comment all lined up for Buckner, but now, haven't got the heart to use it. He resembles Frodo, just after losing the One Ring.

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Record: 30-44. Pace: 66-96. Change on last season: -9. Change on 2004: +3.

This is not the game I wanted to see after my long, Cox-enforced absence from watching my beloved Arizona Diamondbacks. This was not the game for which we upgraded the living-room to high-definition. No: this was the game which had me contemplating an emergency call to Cox, requesting the immediate removal of cable, Internet, so we could return to our splendid isolation. All previous bad innings this year were blown out of the water, as we allowed eight runs in the second, to basically end this when it had barely got started. It was the worst frame for us since Juan Cruz got tagged for nine runs by the Padres, in the opening frame on May 17, 2006. That's a total of 520 games, and 4,657.1 innings of pitching, without such a wretched result.

Billy Buckner. Billy Buckner. Billy, Billy, Billy. What can I say? Before the game I was speculating if any pitcher had a home ERA five times that of his road one. I need to revise that now. Here is Buckner's home line:
Buckner at Chase: 21.1 IP, 39 H, 9 BB, 8 HR, 34 ER, ERA 14.34
That's more than six times his road ERA, which remains at a very acceptable 2.33. However, overall, his season ERA is a wretched 8.63 and if he starts another game - in Phoenix especially - I expect to see a mob with torches descending on the stadium, demanding severed heads. Anyone would be an improvement. If Petit isn't ready, bring back Augenstein. Or Casey Daigle. Anyone but Buckner. [The above words, written roughly during the third inning, proved prophetic, as Buckner was optioned after the game to Reno: I think he was likely whisked directly from the dugout to the Greyhound bus station]

And it was all going so well, too, for at least the opening, oh, four outs. He retired the Angels in order , and it looked like Arizona would get out of the gate first. Felipe Lopez singled on the opening pitch, and then stole second, though this was rendered less significant by Stephen Drew walking on four pitches. Weaver was all over the place, falling behind Justin Upton, but getting him to fly out, and then walking Mark Reynolds to load the bases with only one out. However, Gerardo Parra and Chris Young both struck out swinging, to leave the score at zero: however, almost the entire Angels line-up would get to cross home plate before the next Diamondback would even stand there.

Torii Hunter grounded out to start things off. However, the only out to be made before he'd come up to bat again was the Angels pitcher grounding to second, and even that drove in a run. Hunter avoided the shame of making both the first and last out by homering, a two-run shot that marked the last batter faced by Billy Buckner as a current member of the Arizona rotation. Those two plate appearances in the same inning bookended a spell where the Angels were 7-for-9 with a walk against BB, getting almost as many hits with runners in scoring position (five), as Arizona had in the entire Texas series (six).

Needless to say, it's hard to for anyone, players or fans, to sustain much enthuasiasm when you come to bat in the second, and the cold, hard numbers show you a Win Probabiity that has already shrunk, with the rapidity of testicles dipped in ice-water, to a mere 3.8%. The seven and a half innings which followed were basically a mere formality, but let's pick through some of the finer moments and see if any cause for pleasure could be found - in other words, much the same as we've already done far too often this season.

Felipe Lopez had a couple of hits and a walk. Stephen Drew had a couple of walks, but also homered, a two-run shot which was his fifth of the season, and Tony Clark drove in the other run, He followed up last night's shot with another long-ball of his own. That's the first time he has gone deep on consecutive nights since September 16-17, 2005 against Colorado, when he had a pair of two-homer games. The bullpen weren't bad, though after playing twelve last night, must really have been hoping tonight's starter might last more than 1.2 innings.

They combined to allow three earned runs in the remaining 7.1. Clay Zavada pitched 1.2 shutout innings, even stranding a couple of runners inherited from Blaine Boyer in the fifth. That extended his career-opening streak of games without an earned run to fifteen, covering 14.1 innings - the games, as noted by 'charmer yesterday, are now the sixth-best streak of all time. #5 is Joe Smith of the 2007 Mets, who went seventeen games before allowing his first eaened run. Boyer, incidentally, almost matched his previous total career at-bats (three), in mopping up after Buckner - one BB following another. He added two ABs, striking out twice, though took a total of 11 pitches for him to do so.

[Click to enlarge, in new window]
Master of his domain: Stephen Drew, +7.1%
God-emperor of suck: Billy Buckner, 41.5%

The second inning fell apart so quickly, that there really wasn't very much negative territory left for anyone else to fight over. That frame also turned off interest in the Gameday Thread like Cox disconnecting a long-standing customer: I think about 150 of the 200 comments were before things fell apart.. soco led the way, while I celebrated my return to the 21st century in second place. Also present: kishi, 4 Corners Fan, DBacksCynthia, hotclaws, gasgarza, Wailord, TwinnerA, NewJackCity, jazzbo13, Diamondhacks, unnamedDBacksfan, acidtongue, terps721, Sprankton, Snake Bitten and snakecharmer.

It's the kind of game that makes it hard to sustain enthusiasm, because the difference between the two teams was so painfully obvious. But again, it's worth pointing out that tonight's contest would likely have been a damn sight more even if Brandon Webb has been starting, rather than Billy Buckner. I'm thinking of revamping the D-backs Watch, and a possible candidate (along with the Scherzer/Kershaw one) would be Webb vs. the Triple-Headed Beast of Suck who have replaced him. Until I get that updated, in fourteen starts, the latter are now 2-9, with an ERA of 7.77, while after 74 games last season, Webb was 11-3 with a 3.04 ERA.

More on Webb - or, to be specific, Webb's shoulder - tomorrow, as I've been spending my idle time looking into the subject of labrums. Or should that be labra? Or labrii? Whatever...

Diamondbacks 1, Rangers 2: They're No Rangers to Love

Azreous — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:37:49 -0000

More photos » by Rick Scuteri - AP

I know, you see this photo opportunity and want me to do something witty with the caption. Something like "that new batting stance isn't working either, Eric." But the hell with him.

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Record: 30-42. Pace: 68-94. Change on last season: -9. Change on 2004: +3.

Dan Haren took the mound for the Diamondbacks tonight against the Rangers, looking to get the D-backs their third winning streak of the month. Yes, the previous streaks were just two games apiece; it sounds much better this way. Despite Haren's miniscule ERA and WHIP, he found himself stuck with a 6-4 record going into tonight's matchup, which if nothing else is a testament to how worthless wins and losses are as a measure of a pitcher's value. Consider this very recent example:

Pitcher A: 9-0, 2.56 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 17 BB, 49 K
Pitcher B: 3-4, 2.57 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 9 BB, 63 K

Those are the numbers through the first nine starts of the season. Brandon Webb (A, 2008) certainly pitched very well to start the year and was deserving of his wins (and yes, Webb's inclination to pitch to contact means Haren's K/BB ratio will be better), but Haren (B, 2009) had no business being stuck with a losing record to that point. Or any point.

"But Chris!" you say. "This was Haren's 15th start of the season! Why bring this up now!" I'm glad you asked, Slappy. One, I forgot about a more in-depth analysis a month ago when this was more timely, and two, it's kinda like a microcosm for tonight's results, where Dan Haren was once again stuck with a loss he didn't deserve. When your pitcher runs out another ho-hum 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K line and gets pushed back to just one game over .500, there's a problem.

Let's work our way there, shall we? Haren was dealing in the first, setting down the side in order, but he ran into a bit of trouble in the second. Uncharacteristically, he plunked Marlon Byrd with a pitch and then walked Hank Blalock, putting the first two men aboard with nobody out. Even Danny boy couldn't wiggle his way out of that one, as a Taylor Teagarden double plated the first run of the game. Still, he got out of a second-and-third-with-one-out jam and limited the damage to just that one run.

Meanwhile, the Arizona offense was up to its usual anemic tricks. Felipe Lopez started the first with a single, but Stephen Drew flied out and Justin Upton grounded into a double play. In the second, Mark Reynolds reached on an error, and Gerardo Parra promptly grounded into a double play. Haren tried to help his cause with a double to right in the third, but after a Lopez walk, Drew couldn't extend the inning. Upton led off the fourth with a hit, but three groundouts put any thoughts of a run to rest.

Haren still didn't seem quite settled in when the top of the third came around. Ian Kinsler started things off with a little flare into center field, stole second, and scored on a David Murphy base hit to make it 2-0. Byrd reached with one out to put runners at the corners, but again Haren got out of the inning without putting a crooked number on the scoreboard. From that point on, he was completely locked in, facing only one hitter above the minimum for the next four innings (and that was on a Reynolds error).

Arizona did manage to get a run back in the fifth thanks to some old-school NL ball. Miguel Montero reached on a knock to start the inning, and Haren bunted him over on a 1-2 count to get him in scoring position (it could be argued that he should be swinging, given the ineptitude of this lineup, but that's another topic for another day). Lopez capitalized by slapping a ball into center field to score Montero to cut the lead in half. But Haren had already thrown 95 pitches through five, so time was of the essence.

In the sixth, Haren retired the side quickly on just 10 pitches, keeping his pitch count somewhat respectable. Parra did his best in the bottom half to get Haren off the hook for the decision, smacking a triple with one out. But who was due up for the Diamondbacks? Why, the twin-headed infinite swirling vortex of grotesque suckitude known as Tony Clark and Eric Byrnes, of course! Clark struck out for something like the 48th time in 49 at-bats this season (okay, the percentage isn't THAT high), and Byrnes hit a little 36-hop dribbler to second and the threat was over. One could imagine Haren in the dugout sharpening the edges of one of his bats out of frustration.

Sitting at 105 pitches, Danny lumbered back out for the seventh inning and went through the 8-9-1 spots almost as efficiently as the inning before. Parra made a nice play on a sharply hit ball by Kinsler to end it. Augie Ojeda pinch hit for Haren in the bottom half, but the offense could do absolutely nothing, so once again Haren was in line for a no-decision at best and a loss at worst.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of good stuff to talk about from that point on. Jon Rauch and Chad Qualls were good out of the pen to keep it a one-run game -- Rauch worked around a leadoff walk with a double play and a strikeout, and Qualls had his good hard fastball working, inducing three groundouts in the ninth. You'd think asking the offense to get two measly runs would be reasonable, but such was not the case. Drew doubled to lead off the eighth, yet the middle of the order could do nothing to bring him home. And with the game on the line in the ninth, who'd we have due up? The indomitable law firm of Clark, Byrnes and Young! No bonus points for guessing the level of ineptitude displayed by THAT trio in a clutch situation.

Master of his Lousy Domain: Dan Haren, +13.4%
Honorable Mention: Felipe Lopez, +12.9%
God-Emperor of Suck: Eric Byrnes, -21.7%
Dishonorable Mention: Tony Clark, -19.2%; Justin Upton, -15.6%; Mark Reynolds, -14.4%

Can we please get Tony Clark the hell out of the starting lineup, if not the roster completely? I don't doubt he's a nice guy, but at this point I'm kinda rooting for someone to push him down the dugout stairs so he's mildly injured for another 15 days. There is no reason a team with the second-worst record in baseball should be playing an aging veteran ahead of a youngster (well, relatively) who was showing signs of coming around in his second stint with the big league club. At least with Byrnes we were somewhat convinced he could play baseball sometime in the past two years.

Who showed up for the Diamondbacks today? Well, the pitchers certainly did. Lopez reached base three times, and Parra had an RBI. But that's it. Nobody else reached base more than once. Of course, our arms shut down the Rangers lineup; only David Murphy reached base twice (H/BB), because the team had a total of four hits and two walks. And still we lost this game. Credit goes to Vicente Padilla, who managed to win a start without run support for once by matching Haren pitch for pitch (7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K).

A much quieter GameDay Thread today, although who could be blamed for staying away from this train wreck? Skins led with 77 posts, and there were just over 200 total. Present: snakecharmer, kishi, DbacksSkins, hotclaws, pygalgia, 4 Corners Fan, emilylovesthedbacks, Fiona, venomfan, unnamedDBacksfan, Azreous, soco and jonny-yuma.

Still a chance to win the series tomorrow, but it's Jon Garland at home, which is kinda like having your lineup card look like this: 1) Byrnes, 2) Clark, 3) Byrnes, 4) Clark, 5) Byrnes, 6) Clark, 7) Byrnes, 8) Clark, 9) Stephen Hawking.

Needless to say, I'm excited about our chances.