SB Nation User Blog: Wimb

A little help from my friends... (D-Backs Fancast)

Wimb — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:48:28 -0000

*A Quick Update*

Hello guys!

Long time no see :) I just wanted to say sorry to everyone here for not being able to produce any fancasts recently. As some of you know I moved back home (and as a result five hours from most of my recording/editing equipment used for the fancast) and so finding time/a regular routine has been a work in process.

So at the moment I have little time to even watch a game, yet alone record a fancast and I don't want to be publishing them unless im 100% focussed and committed.

I'm hopeful that one day (this season!) I'll be able to get the show back on the air but for now all I can do is say sorry and thanks for the support and the patience.

With all that being said I think if you listened to most of the published podcasts so far and just changed a few names it would relate to our form recently ;)

Hope everyone is well and go D-Backs!

Dan

Hello guys!

For those who don't know I've been producing a weekly Diamondbacks podcast called D-Backs Fancast for the last three weeks now.

I'll have episode four out on Friday but If you haven't heard the 'cast so far please feel free to check it out either here or you can subscribe in I-Tunes

Thanks to everyone who has listened to the D-Backs fancast so far and to Jim for posting it here on the 'pit and moreso for being my star guest every week ;)

I'm looking at ways to try and make the podcast more interactive and involve as many fans as possible.

At the start of each show I give a quick recap on how the D-Backs have got on over the past seven days, which usually means a lot of my voice which can get a little bit dull.

'Charmer came up with the idea of having a guest 'recapper' every week who could put their own spin and take on the results.

So, if anybody has audio recording equipment, and by that I mean a computer mic! and basic editing software (by basic I mean anything that can get audio into MP3 or WAV format) and fancies giving it a go then I'd love to get you involved!

Similarly anybody who has any suggestions or thoughts about features they'd like to have included please email me at azfancast@googlemail.com or wimby86@gmail.com

Thanks again for all the support and go D-Backs!

Dan

The Official "So What Do We Do Now" fanpost...

Wimb — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:27:23 -0000

Ok, so reading around the 'pit it's becoming a little bit depressing and accusations of who and what's wrong are flying around left right and centre.

So lets all just slug it out in this fanpost shall we?

Rules are simple, if you have an argument or a gripe, back it up and don't just say "x sucks"

So I'll start it all rolling. For me the problem is simple. 2007.

2007 saw a bunch of young hitters with lots of potential somehow make it to the playoffs. A combination of fantastic pitching, clutch hitting and winning tight games took us to the NLCS where we lost to the Rockies.

As everyone pointed out at the time out run differential was -20 which suggested we should have lost more then we won. But for some reason the teams management (front office and the bench) seem to want to recapture that fluke by whatever means possible rather then trying to win the old fashioned way.

What strikes me as somewhat amazing is that with the knowledge that our offence was weak in mind we commited to spending payroll and prospects on replacing Livan Hernandez with Dan Haren. Now this is an obvious upgrade on 1 day out of every 5 and Haren has been a great asset to this ballclub (and long may he continue to be) but that off season the best bat we got was errrr Chris Burke, who even at the time we got him was a 'decent' but not an every day impact player.

The general theory seemed to be that our young players would get better in their 2nd and 3rd seasons and lead us to victory. Sadly after a glorious spring we once again stumbled and fell away in quite pathetic circumstances over the next few months. Despite some improvements (see Drew, Stephen) by and large our young group of hitters looked out of sorts and incapable of hitting on a regular basis

The front office then pulled off a good trade in picking up Adam Dunn who at least got on base a fair amount, but sadly it was too little too late and coupled with Hudson hitting the DL, the season couldn't be salvaged.

So then we go into the 2009 offseason and once again our motto is, "well our young players will learn from last season" and here we are 12 games into the year and we're sat in the same place. Our pitching is fairly solid/good and our offence just sucks the big one. I realise that the economic climate means we couldn't have kept Dunn or Hudson (at least until the bottom fell out of the market) so I'm not lamenting the fact that Josh Byrnes didn't do a Brian Cashman. What I am concerned with is that we were never even seriously linked with a consistent and reliable bat to bolster an offence that struggled for two seasons.

What stuns me the most is that over two years removed from a season of poor offence we're still left with the same core players. Snyder, Jackson, Drew, Byrnes, Young, Montero, Clark, Reynolds, Upton are all names that have been on team sheets for the majority of games the last three seasons and none of them have been consistent or dependable. Is it not time to be ruthless and cut or trade some of them away. Perhaps this is the only way to motivate those who survive as right now what do they have to fear? Name me one high profile bat who has been traded/released/sent down due to just not being good enough.

Whilst the POTENTIAL is clearly there for some players, I can't see the logic in basing two thirds of your lineup on potential.

I'm not so stupid as to think this team has the payroll flexibility to just go out and get 3 or 4 top players, but i have to imagine that we could do something along the lines of trading Brandon Webb or Dan Haren for a decent position player or two, plus prospects.

Or perhaps the time has come to trade Justin Upton while his 'potential' is still high enough to get a decent player in return.

For me, such suggestions seem the only realistic or logical solution for a team who desperately needs offence.

Has the time come to balance the money we commit to proven starting pitching between proven hitting?

Sacking the manager/hitting coach might create a spark, but what's the point in hoping one spark ignites a bunch of wet leaves?

Im sorry if this fanpost seems bitter and depressive but that's honestly how I see the situation right now :(

Twitter and Baseball

Wimb — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:25:22 -0000

Hello chaps!

I'm sorry if this isn't the right place to post this :(

But, one thing that I can't seem to escape being a broadcast journalism student is the emergence of Twitter.

For those who don't know it's a microblogging site where you're allowed to post 'tweets' of no more then 140 characters. You can then follow other people and read their tweets. It's kind of like facebook's status updates but filtered to people and organisations that you may want to keep up with etc etc.

I just wondered if anybody had good twitter feeds for baseball news and scores, and if there was anyway to get a twitter feed going for the 'pit?

With the new content we are getting from KTAR and the number of posters and editors we have, it would be nice to get a few strong feeds for D-Backs news.

oh and I'm @wimby

Thanks guys and sorry if this is in the wrong place Jim!

Thames Valley Bisons Baseball 2008

Wimb — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 06:52:29 -0000

Howdy folks,

Jim said a while ago it might be an idea for a diary and as there's few people this side of the pond to share (or relate) to baseball I hope none of you all mind if I chronicle my first year as a baseball player, here on the 'Pit.

I won't bother writing alot of personal background here, (that's already been done in the Hello my name is thread) but in a nutshell im a 21 year old guy from the UK living in the south of England who has never played baseball before in my life. However after 7 years of following the Diamondbacks and having returned from University I finally decided to take the plunge and seek out a local side to play for. Fortunately for myself the nearest time was only 10 miles away, the Thames Valley Bisons, who i'd learned of after doing some research on UK baseball for some work experience I did with my local BBC radio station back in the fall.

Despite my enthusiasm I still didn't really fancy joining a new team by myself so dragged my mate Steve along for the ride. Even though Steve had never watched yet alone played the game before he soon took a liking to the game and so we began to play some basic catch and took a few swings with the bat down our local field. With a view to joining the Bisons for their first practise session at the end of February.

When we got to the Bisons field it wasn't exactly Chase. The diamond was at the back of two football (I will not call it soccer dammit ;) ) pitches, and all that was there to show that it was ever a baseball diamond was a mound and some rough patches where the bases had been. When our hopefully future team mates arrived It turned out that 7 of the 8 or guys there were Polish (there's a heavy and growing Polish population in Reading) of which only one or two could speak English. Still the guys were very friendly and welcoming and made us feel part of the team straight away, but we weren't just there to make friends we were there to play ball (insert dramatic music here)

The first thing I'll say as someone who has never played before Now neither of us really expected to be the next A-Rod (Steve doesn't even know who A-Rod is..) but we didnt expect to be so far behind our team mates when we turned up to our first practise session. What we saw wasn't Major League caliber by a long shot but it still made us look like little leaguers. The biggest thing I took away from my first proper game of catch Is that you never really appreciate the intricasies and techniques required to do the simplist of things such as throwing a ball. Our captain Tomasz and coach Peter took us aside for 90% of that first session and literally taught us the very basics of how to throw and grip a baseball. On the surface being taught such remedial things was enough to make me think "what the heck am I doing here?!" and such feelings only grew stronger as most of my throws barely made 10 yards, flew over Steve's head or into the dirt, yet slowly and surely it began to come together.

Sadly for us just as we thought "ok this might work out ok..." we were called over to the main field where the other guys were practising to practise catching fly balls. Having played cricket before i was no stranger to catching a ball (bare handed at that ;) ) but even so there's no words to descrive the feelings you go through when you see that ball sail into the sky off the bat knowing you have to make the catch. As I stood there waiting for what seemed like an eternity I couldn't help but think how much I take for granted a routine flyball out when I watch a game on the TV, but now standing waiting for the ball to (hopefully) hit my glove all I could think was please don't let me make a fool of myself. Fortunately it did nestle into the webbing of my glove and I made the catch sadly for me though it was one of about 3 i caught out of 6 or so.

That first session we didn't even get to bat but we'd both enjoyed ourselves enough to make a return visit the following week….

That second week felt a lot better then the first as even though neither of us could throw worth a damn we were better then the week before and getting somewhere. It was with this growing confidence that we headed over to the diamond to have our first fielding practise and I was planted at 2nd base with Steve (being left handed) in right field. As I stood there waiting I had dreams of making Orlando Hudson type plays and turning double plays for fun, but sadly I ended up making Orlando Hudson plays of the wrong kind, you know the simple ones you just mess up… The hardest bit was learning where the hell I should be when the ball went where, when to stand on the base, when to be a relay guy etc etc and half the time I felt like a kid lost in the middle of the supermarket unsure of which way or where to go. Still my team mates took it in good spirits and helped me whenever they could which admittedly wasn’t easy in mostly broken English. After dusting myself down I finally got a chance to hit a baseball as we were shown how to stand and swing the bat before being let loose on a few soft throws. This is the one thing I can seemingly do alright in as I was able to make good contact with a fair few..

After a week off to go skiing we returned ready for my BP and fielding drills. This time I played centre field probably catching about 75% of the fly balls my way and during BP I once again seemed to do alright. But at the end of the session I had to face a pitcher for the first time, with a catcher behind me. The experience was quite surreal as I stood staring down the pitcher, our captain Tomasz. Sadly Tomasz was more huge manatee then Webby and he struggled with his control meaning I got around 10 balls and about 4 strikes. Our coach Peter then took over and gave me 5 or 6 strikes so that I had something to hit and I did make contact on a couple though without a base hit!

So that’s about where I am right now heading into my final before our spring training opener against Guilford on Sunday. I still have no idea where I’ll field or if I’ll even make the team, but with numbers at around 12 I stand a good chance of being involved. I think I’d like to field first or left field to be honest, at least to start with as there is no DH ;)

Anyways hope that this isn’t too long/boring and I’ll try and update later after practise. For anyone that’s interested our website is http://www.thamesvalleybaseball.co.uk/ which has some background info on the club and last season. I should have mentioned last year was the teams first and the results page reflects this!

Still, Go Bisons! ;)

I apologise for the sudden ending to this blog, but it honestly reflected the rather sudden ending to my time as a Bisons player, for this season at least.

As I mentioned in my last entry way back on August 4th I had no scheduled games for two weeks due to bad weather and work but little did I know I wouldn't play again that season. A combination of working commitments, postponed games, the weather and my departure to University meant that I didn't get a chance to play again for the rest of the year. I did manage to make a few practise sessions but with the light getting worse and worse even those became few and far between.

Never the less the Bisons did play on. Even though the season had 'ended' officially on the first weekend of September we still had a few games left to play and actually ended up finishing second in our division, a remarkable achievement given our sluggish start to the season. Below are the results of our final games.

SUNDAY 10th AUGUST @ SOUTHAMPTON: WON 27 - 5.
SUNDAY 7th SEPTEMBER @ GUILDFORD: WON 9- 0 (F).
SUNDAY 14th SEPTEMBER vs BRAINTREE - WON 14 - 4.
SUNDAY 21st SEPTEMBER @ OLD TIMERS - WON 13 - 3.
SUNDAY 12th OCTOBER vs OLD TIMERS - WON 12 - 9.
SUNDAY 19th OCTOBER @ ESSEX ARROWS II - WON 19 - 5.

So the Bisons ended the season well but I have found it difficult to stay in touch with people from the team as I haven't played for so long.

In spite of the anti climactic end I truly loved the time I spent out on the diamond with the team. Having been a follower of baseball for so long it was great to finally get out onto the field and actually gain an appreciation of how tough a sport baseball really is. My best moment was probably my debut, getting a hit in my first at bat was something I'd hoped for but never expected and sliding into first felt awesome (even if I later learned was quite unsporting...) Sadly as I've mentioned before the organisation of the side and some of the management decisions taken over the year caused some friction which was something that wasn't quite so great. Even so I'd like to thank the guys who ran the team and helped keep it going.

From a performance point of view I think I did alright, whilst I would have liked to get some more hits I got on base at a good rate and my fielding was improving game on game. Next year if I do play I'd like to try and be a bit more aggressive but in a non Special K kind of way ;)

Final Line:
DW: 16AB 5H 4R 6RBI 7BB 2HBP .313 Avg .560 OBP 3SB

In September I moved down to Falmouth to go to University to study for an MA in Sports Broadcast Journalism and I'll be here until June at least. Falmouth is in Cornwall in the South West of the UK and so I'm about five hours from home, meaning getting to practise/games will be near impossible at the start of next year. So I may well have thrown my last ball in anger with the Bisons, whether I'll be able to get back into the team next year, or have the time to play is something that I can't predict right now but watch this space :)

Finally thanks to everyone who read and commented over the year, and to Jim for letting me post this on the 'Pit. For anyone that's interested I'm writing a blog on my experiences/thoughts as a journalism student here and the link is http://www.wimbles.wordpress.com

Off Season Moves 2007/2008 Reviewed. V2.0

Wimb — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:37:04 -0000

On May 22nd I posted a quick review of our off season moves from 2007/2008 Linky and now nearly 3 months later I thought I would revisit and review again. Once more sorry for the lack of in depth knowledge/scouting, I'm restricted to stats I'm afraid but if anyone wants to chip in please feel free

Players In

Dan Haren: SP (Ari)

24 GS 159 IP 12-6 SO 147 BB 27 3.00 ERA 1.025 WHIP

I don't think this needs much comment really. Haren has been awesome in the process of recording a 12-6 record and an ERA of 3.00. Had it not been for the general offensive woes of the late spring and early summer, Mr Haren could well be on 15 wins by now. Still Haren has been a co-ace of the staff this year and his recent contract extension is well deserved in my opinion.

Chad Qualls: RP (Ari)

57G 54IP 2-7 2 SV 51SO 17BB 3.50 ERA 1.24 WHIP

There is a certain hand drawn graphic that demonstrates just how much Qualls (or rather Melvin's use of Qualls) has frustrated the fans at times this season. Despite several implosions which have helped contributed to 7 losses Qualls has by and large been a decent aquisition for the Diamondbacks, posting a respectible ERA and K/BB ratio. Used in a variety of roles by BoMel Chad has settled into the bullpen and whilst his meltdowns do frustrate, such troubles a bullpen wide issue and not just one for Mr Qualls to worry about.

Billy Buckner: SP

(ARI) 6G 9 IP 1-0 SO 7 BB 2 4.00 ERA 1.56 WHIP

(TUS) 19 GS 110.1 IP 5-8 SO 63 BB 39 5.30 ERA 1.53 WHIP

After being aquired for Alberto Callaspo in the off season Buckner was sent down to AAA where he and his felow Tuscon starters not named Sherzer all found themselves getting shelled in a team wide struggle. That being said Buckner has made it to 'the show' this season and performed admirably in his few appearences out of the 'pen.

Connor Robertson: RP

(Ari) 6G 7 IP 0-1 2 SO 2 BB 5.14 ERA 1.429 WHIP

(Tus) 40 G 66IP 7-3 63SO 25BB 4.23 ERA 1.21 WHIP

Part of the Haren deal, Robertson has settled in well in a relief role with Tuscon. His ERA has dropped by around a run at AAA since I last reviewed and like Bucknor he has been up and down with the D-Backs and pitched a handful of largely average innings. The jury is still out on this one but he doesn't look too out of his depth so far.

Juan Gutierrez: SP (Tus)

21G 18GS 91.2 IP 3-10 74SO 35 BB 6.68 ERA 1.79 WHIP

Fighting it out with Chris Burke to be crowned worst piece of the Valverde trade is Juan Gutierrez who is sucking the big one down in Tuscon, An ERA closer to 7 then 6 and a WHIP nudging towards 2 says it all. Certainly not someone who we'll be expecting up at the big league level when the rosters expand.

Jose Marte: RP (Vis/Mob)

(Vis A+) 9G 14 IP 1-0 3SV 15 SO 4 BB 1.93 ERA 1.21 WHIP

(Mob AA) 31G 42.1 IP 4-2 6 SV 33 SO 22BB 4.68 ERA 1.56 WHIP

Our return for Dustin Nippert was relief pitcher Jose Marte who impressed early on with high A ball for Visalia and was promoted to Mobile early on in the season. However the jump to AA proved challenging for Jose and whilst not being terrible he looks set to at least repeat AA.

Chris Burke: OF/INF (Ari)

67 G 137 AB 26 H 14 R 0 HR 7RBI .190 AVG .536 OPS

Chris Burke has managed to cross the plate a whopping 7 times since I wrote this original article, very impressive stuff from the Chocolate Teapot! The man who has one less home run then a pitcher sitting in Tuscon and as many RBI's as Brandon Webb has at least been useful defence wise this season but at the plate....well. I made this comment back in May.

Burke should heat up and when that happens he's a guy you want on your bench.

What a fool I am :(

Trot Nixon: OF/1B (Tus/NYM)

(TUS) 58G 181AB 56H 39R 10 HR 31RBI .309 AVG .995 OPS

(NYM) 11G 35AB 6H 2R 1HR 1RBI .171 AVG 579 OPS

Despite the injuries to several outfielders and infielders during the early part of this season, Trot Nixon never made it onto the Diamondbacks roster and eventually found his way to the Mets where he has largely been sidelined by injury.

Josh Whitesell: 1B (Tus)

114G 421 AB 139H 77R 23 HR 95 RBI .330AVG .996 OPS

This waiver claim from Washington is quietly having a great season down is Tuscon hitting for a decent average and slugging well. Sadly his progress is blocked by a number of players who can play 1st and might well end up like Chris Carter V1.0.

Players Out

Livan Hernandez: SP (Min/)

(MIN) 23GS 139.7 IP 10-8 5.48 ERA 54 SO 29BB

(COL) 1GS 2.7 IP 0-1 30.38 ERA 1 SO 4 BB

Livan left us as a free agent in the hope of snagging a mega bucks multi year deal but ended up signing for a year with the Twins. After a great start he fell off a cliff around the same time our offence did and after 2 months of sucktitude was DFA and picked up by the Rockies. In his lone start so far he managed to give up 9 earned runs in only 2 2/3 innings, so thanks Livan ;)

Dana Eveland: SP (Oak)

22 GS 125.0 IP 7-8 85 SO 64 BB 4.46 ERA 1.52 WHIP

After a bright start Eveland has faded fast due in a large part to a sharp drop in his K/BB ratio as the season has progressed. His stock has fallen so low as of late that he's not even on the roster for the A's right now and has been DFA

Gregg Smith: SP (Oak)

23 GS 137.7 IP 5-11 90 SO 65 BB 3.92 ERA

Like Eveland, Smith found himself in the A's starting rotation at the start of the season and like his former D-Back he made an immediate impression winning many plaudits for his role in keeping the A's as contenders in a rebuilding year. Sadly much like Eveland his stock has fallen recently but he still has decent numbers on the year.

Jose Valverde: RP (Hou)

55 G 54.3 IP 5-3 29 SV 4.31 ERA 62 SO 19BB

The Valverde deal seems to fluctuate almost weekly between good/bad for the D-Backs. At times Valverde has been dominant bt at other times he's looked lost, so in a way him and Qualls really aren't so different. Still, Jose is on course for around 40 saves and few in Houston will look at an ERA some 1.5 runs higher then last year.

Dustin Nippert: RP (Tex)

13 G 35.7 IP 1-2 24 SO 23 BB 7.82 ERA 2.13 WHIP

After a nightmare start at Texas and injury to boot, Dustin has somewhat settle down and pitched a few innings in the Lone Star State but really nothing spectacular

Brett Anderson: SP (Oak Class A/AA)

(A) 14G 13GS 74 IP 9-4 80 SO 18BB 4.14 ERA 1.16 WHIP

(AA) 5GS 25 IP 2-1 29 SO 8 BB 1.80 ERA 1.04 WHIP

Anderson is progressing nicely so far, already having moved from high A to AA ball and based on early results is settling in well. Again as with all young pitchers its harder to project, especially when you rely on pure numbers but he does seem to have some talent.

Carlos Quentin: OF (CWS)

114 G 423 AB 120 H 82 R 32 HR 90 RBI .284 AVG .947 OPS

For old times sake....

Alberto Callaspo: SS/OF (KAN)

42G 100AB 29H 8R 0 HR 4RBI .290 AVG .679 OPS

Alberto has been blighted by injuries and personal problems this season but in his limited playing time he is showing glimpses of talent.

Tony Clark: 1B (SD/ARI)

(SD) 70G 88AB 21H 5R 1HR 11RBI .239 AVG .684OPS

(ARI) 17G 37AB 8H 4R 2HR 9RBI .216 AVG .698 OPS

Well, we all know how this one worked out... GIDP anyone? Still joking aside Tony came back to the D-Backs after being one of the best examples of a pure pinch hitter around whilst in San Diego. Since coming 'home' to the Diamondbacks Tony has had more playing opportunities but has underwhelmed 2 home runs aside.

Chris Carter: 1B (Oak Single A)

(A+) 118 G 437AB 119H 89R 34HR 97RBI .272AVG .958OPS

So, maybe Byrnes was onto something with 'that trade' after all. It's a small sample size and at A+ level but so far Chris Carter V2.0 is showing some awesome power connecting for 34 Home runs already this season whilst keeping a respectable batting average and OBP to boot. One to watch...

Carlos Gonzalez: OF (Oak/ AAA)

(AAA) 41 G 157 AB 46 H 23 R 4 HR 25 RBI .293 AVG .790 OPS

(OAK) 62 G 234 AB 64 H 25 R 3HR 19 RBI .274 BA .715 OPS

Shortly after I wrote my first review CarGon was called up to join the A's and has held his own in the major leagues. The centrepiece of the Haren deal still has a lot to learn but there is no question about the potential.

Aaron Cunningham: OF (Oak AA/AAA)

(AA) 87 G 347 AB 110H 65R 12 HR 52 RBI .317 AVG .893 OPS

(AAA) 5G 17 AB 7H 7 R 2HR 3RBI .412 AVG 1.506 OPS

Aaron has recently been elevated to AAA and has started brightly after playing well at AA ball for the A's.

I don't have too much to say about these really. I think the interesting bits are the results of the Haren trade. The A's really do look to have received a lot of talent with 3 players making an impact in the big leagues and another at AAA, even below that level Chris Carter seems a genuine power prospect. However from a Diamondbacks perspective we have received a man who is an All Star and a man who is a genuine Cy-Young candidate so we can't be anything but happy. Tony Clark looked to be slowly rocking towards retirement before we granted him a final hurrah, whilst Livan looks a spent force. The trade involving Papa Grande has been a draw so far and we looked to have picked up a decent reserve player/trade bait in Whitesell

So yeah, any fresh feelings/thoughts welcome :)

Owings optioned to Tucson

Wimb — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:46:00 -0000

According to the Diamondbacks website as Peguero gets called up to come into the pen'

Linkage

It's been discussed over a few other threads but this move seems to make sense after yesterdays meltdown :(

Hopefully he can work on his mechanics for a month or so and make it back with the roster expansion, despite his recent struggles I still see alot of potential out there in that guy.

Petit unsurprisingly will make Owings next scheduled start and the guy does deserve it on the basis of recent displays.

[Wimb posted this while I was working on my piece reporting the same, so let's combine the two under one heading. Jim]

Jack Magruder reports so this afternoon. I imagine this doesn't come as too much of a shock - Petit will replace him in the rotation, as of Saturday, with Jailen Peguero getting to step up from Tucson and move into the bullpen. I imagine that will likely be a short-term assignment, with Juan Cruz almost ready to come back. How long Owings stays down with the Sidewinders is harder to say. There has clearly been something very wrong with him over the last couple of months: is it mechanical or mental, and in either case, is it fixable?

I certainly hope so: it's a shame that a season which started with such promise has now turned around so radically. However, he can take comfort from past history - Jose Valverde was similarly optioned down to Tucson after imploding during the 2006 season, and returned in full force, to lead the majors in saves for 2007. Fingers crossed Micah can be similarly "cured", sort out his command, work on his third pitch, and return to the good form he showed for us during April.

Mark Teixeira trade rumors

Wimb — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:49:57 -0000

[Moved to front page and refreshed, since the trade talks appear to be coming to the boil.]

Browsing the baseball globe today the Diamondbacks have been linked by both Fox and ESPN to signing Braves First Baseman Mark Teixeira. Fox's Ken Rosenthal in particular discusses the prospect. linky

Whilst it's been made clear in many places that the deal is unlikely would you be in favour of the move under the right circumstances?

If Rosenthal is to be believed the Braves want CoJack as part of the deal and I know I'm stating the obvious but for me that just makes absolutly no sense. CoJack now has value at both LF and 1B and is tearing up pitching recently helping spark the offence. Also worth noting his defence in left has been more then adequete and his speed has also increased making him at least a nuissance in the eyes of pitchers.

Personally I'd love Tex and I don't think it would be too damaging to commit the roughly $5 million he is owed for the rest of the season, especially considering we would get 2 draft picks when he presumably leaves for free agency.

So really I just thought I'd open it up to what sort of package you'd think it would take to get him over here (if you want him at all) With Rauch added to the bullpen we could presumably move one of our bullpen arms but I'd like to think the Braves would be tempted by dangling Doug Davis or even Micah Owings plus a prospect. With Smoltz not certain to return to the rotation and Glavine likely to retire they Braves have a need for starting pitching and with the Petit and Scherzer showing themselves as capable arms I think we could absorb the loss of either Davis or Owings/Petit.

Bottom line though is I think with the addition of Clark the D-Backs ruled this one right out and barring an injury to Clark or Tracy I don't see it happening

Bring Back Tony Clark?

Wimb — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:16:13 -0000

Steve Gilbert's latest mailbag threw up an interesting response to a question about leadership on the team and speculates on a possible return of Tony Clark to the desert.

linkage

In the summer, not giving Clark a 2 year multi million dollar deal made a lot of sense, but his subsequent failure to get a 2 year deal and that he ended up signing for less then a million with the Padres now makes Clark, at least in my opinion, a great 2nd half rental for the team. Clark stated all along his preference in staying in Arizona and as Gilbert points out, with Gonzalez raking out West I doubt it would take much to bring him over here.

Whilst I don't subscribe to the belief that 'clubhouse presence' will rescue our season, it can't be a bad thing to have a guy in the clubhouse who's been down the stretch in a tight race before and the level of respect he has amongst the young guys here is unquestioned. However if the Eric Byrnes deal has shown us ANYTHING it's that such sentimentality shouldn't factor into the decision so here's a very basic rundown of Clark this year.

If we are talking on a purely statistical basis the return of Clark won't magically fix our slumping/broken offence much. Clark is currently hitting for a .247 over 85 AB's with 11 RBI's and just 1 home run.

What does interest me though is his OBP where his mark of .385 would certainly be welcome given the K heavy nature of our lineup. In roughly half the games as he played in 07, he's walked 19 times already in 08 compared with just 21 in 07. Power wise he seems very much on the 06 side of life, having hit just 1 this season but hitting the longball doesnt seem to be much a problem for us this year.

The argument to bring Clark over here makes increasing sense when you look at who stands 'in his way' The contract to Clark was seemingly pulled after we aquired Chris Burke from Houston. This along with the subsequent signing of Trot Nixon and impending return of Chad Tracy meant that with CoJack and Reynolds set to get the vast majority of playing time, there was no need to carry another backup first baseman with an already overcrowded infield. However as we all know things have changed with Burke a massive dissapointment, Nixon gone and CoJack out in left field we have somewhat of a need at first.

So, the bottom line is do you think it's worth bringing Clark back? and what would it take to get him?

If you were a D-Back.....

Wimb — Sat, 31 May 2008 11:56:06 -0000

Ok screw this depressive run of results, and screw normal convention it's Saturday morning I'm hungover and up for a laugh or two :)

So I'm going to ask the pointless but potentially amusing question of based on life at the 'pit which Diamondback (past or present) would you compare yourself too?

Whilst office life is fast turning me into a Russ Ortiz sized person this is about the 'Pit and based on my posting habits I'd say I'm a bit of an Augie Ojeda.

I'm not usually in the Game(day thread) for that long but occasionally when the timezones match I can put in a full performance. I'm never likely to go yard and fill out 200 posts and only rarely post a fanpost in depth but am i am full of single one liners :) and I'm happy to walk into a fanpost at any time

Anyways yes this seems slightly stupid but heck anything to lighten the mood oh and feel free to nominate anyone else for a player, should be worth a chuckle

Off Season Moves 2007/2008: Reviewed

Wimb — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:29:35 -0000

Before you ask, No this post won't need "the picture" Instead I thought I'd take a look at how the off season deals are working out so far for the Diamondbacks, looking at how our departed free agents as well as trades in and out have performed so far this season (I don't have the time to look at the minor league FA signings sadly). I'm not looking to make a point of whether a particular trade was worth it, but more looking from a collective standpoint of how the Diamondbacks moves have played out for both players in and out. The stats I've used are simple ones from MLB.com and some might say overly simplistic but again it's just a light review after just over 1/4 of the season so go easy on me!

Players In

Dan Haren: SP (Ari)

9 GS 57.1 IP 5-2 3.14 ERA SO45 BB 10

Haren has provided us with a much needed Number 2 and arguably co-ace in our rotation and had the bullpen pitched a little better in his starts, might very well be on 6 or 7 wins to date.

Chad Qualls: RP (Ari)

24 G 23 IP 0-4 1 SV 2.74 ERA 24 SO 10 BB

Chad has gone alongway to replacing Jose Valverde and keeping the Diamondbacks with 4 solid "top end relievers" despite an 0-4 record. Part of the Valverde trade, Qualls has been solid particularly early on when Pena and Cruz were struggling. During May he's struggled a little himself with a 8.59 ERA during May but he's shown enough talent to be counted on.

Billy Buckner: SP (Tus)

10 GS 54.1 IP 2-4 5.30 ERA SO 30 BB 23

Our return from trading Callaspo, Bucker is only 24 and still developing whilst playing on an awful Tuscon side that currently stands at a dire 16-31 record. Young pitchers are always hard to project and I can't profess to ever having seen the guy play so the jury is out for the time being.

Connor Robertson: RP (Tus)

19G 32.1 IP 4-2 5.01 ERA 32SO 14BB

Part of the Haren deal, Robertson like seemingly every pitcher, not named Sherzer, has been shelled down at AAA Tuscon but has helped himself to 4 wins in the process it's also worth noting that over his last 10 appearences he's pitched 19 innings for a 2.84 ERA only giving up 6 runs with 3 of those coming in one outing. Robertson seems the type of guy that could fill in the long guy role should we lose Gonzalez or Medders on waivers.

Juan Gutierrez: SP (Tus)

10 GS 51 IP 1-8 5.65 ERA 38 SO 19 BB

I sound like a broken record already but Gutierez joins the collective Tuscon suckage down at AAA. Part of the Valverde deal Gutierez has A pitiful 1-8 record tells the story and in his last 3 starts he's given up 15 ER in 13 1/3 inning of work. Again the guy is only 24 so time will tell.

Jose Marte: RP (Vis/Mob)

15 G 22.1IP 2-1 3SV 3.63 ERA 20 SO 10 BB

25 year old reliever Marte was aquired at the end of March for out of options pitcher Dustin Nippert. Marte pitched well in 9 appearences at single A picking up 3 saves in 9 appearences compiling a 1.93 ERA. Promoted to AA Mobile, Marte has struggled somewhat giving up 6ER in just 8.1 innings.

Chris Burke: OF/INF (Ari)

30 G 59 AB 11 H 7 R 0 HR .186 AVG .526 OPS

Whilst proving versatile and able to play just about anywhere in the field, Burke hasn't converted a successful spring at the plate into regular season production with a dissapointing .526 OPS furthermore his average is well down from its around .250 average. Burke should heat up and when that happens he's a guy you want on your bench.

Trot Nixon: OF/1B (Tus)

42 G 122 AB 37 H 27 R 6 HR 24 RBI .303 AVG 1.013 OPS

The former Red Sox outfielder signed terms after battling it out during spring training for the final spot on the roster before losing out to Alex Romero. Somewhat surprisingly Trot agreed to a minor league assignment and after a slow start has played pretty well batting over .300. With the recent injury concerns of Byrnes and the continuing doubts over Chad Tracy we could well see Trot in the majors again before too long.

Joshn Whitesell: 1B (Tus)

40 G 154 AB 42 H 31 R 9 HR 30 RBI .273 AVG .864 OPS

Whitesell was a waiver claim from the Nationals in mid March and is providing decent numbers at AAA Tuscon. Sadly at 26 he's running out of time to make an impact but given that he's a left handed bat a September callup isn't beyond the realms of possibility given his decent production in a poor Tuscon lineup.

Players Out

Livan Hernandez: SP (Min)

10 GS 65 IP 6-2 3.88 ERA 21 SO 11BB

Livan has had a rollercoaster since he left the NL West champs in November. Originally expected to get a 3-4 year deal in the 30 million range, Livan ended up signing a 1 year $5-7 Million dollar deal with the AL Twins. At the time most of us seemed to think that the AL would eat up Livo' but somewhat surprisngly the veteran right hander has gone 6-2 with a sub 4.00 ERA with an average looking Twins side.

Dana Eveland: SP (Oak)

10 GS 62.0 IP 4-3 2.90 ERA 44 SO 24 BB

Part of the Haren deal Eveland has hardly impressed during his brief spells in the bigs with the Diamondbacks but has impressed in a rebuilding A's side and is sporting an impressive 2.90 ERA.

Gregg Smith: SP (Oak)

9 GS 56 2/3 IP 2-4 3.18 ERA 45 SO 22BB

Smith wasn't considered major league ready when traded as part of the Haren deal but has more then held his own in the big leagues with Oakland, keeping his side in games with a 3.18 ERA and logging around 6 innings per start.

Jose Valverde: RP (Hou)

24 G 25 IP 4-1 14 SV 3.60 ERA 31 SO 8BB

After a shaky start Papa Grande has settled down and hasn't given up a run since April 17th compiling 13 saves in that time out of 14 overall.

Dustin Nippert: RP (Tex)

6 G 8 2/3 IP 1-2 16.62 ERA 6 SO 8 BB

Poor Dustin was assumed to have the final spot in the D-Backs bullpen nailed down going into spring training. Sadly a bad spring combined with a good effort by Brandon Medders meant that the out of options Nippert was traded to the Rangers where since, well, Nightmare comes to mind. Dustin has given up 16 ER in just 8.2 innings which is over halfway towards what he gave up in 2007 but in 37 fewer innings. He has since been placed on the DL and I really hope that is the reason for his poor displays this year.

Brett Anderson: SP (Oak Class A)

9GS 44 1/3 IP 5-4 5.68 ERA 45 SO 14BB

The 20 year old was part of the Haren deal and clearly has good stuff based on 45 strikeouts compared with only 14BB. Sadly this is tempered by the fact Anderson has given up 49 hits in only 44 innings which has contributed to a lofty 5.58 ERA.

Carlos Quentin: OF (CWS)

44 G 153 AB 45 H 32 R 12 HR 38 RBI .294 AVG .996 OPS

Alberto Callaspo: SS/OF (KAN)

25G 59AB 17H 2R 0 HR 3RBI .288AVG .703OPS

A Change of scenery was probably needed for Callaspo who had torn up AAA for years but never really done it on the major league level. So far this year Callaspo has been mainly used to spot regular starters but boasts a respectable .288 average.

Tony Clark: 1B (SD)

33G 42AB 10H 1R 0HR 1RBI .238AVG .635OPS

Like Hernandez, Clark probably felt dissapointed when he signing a 1 yar deal for around $1 million with the Padres to fill a place on their bench. Such dissapointment should be felt as he had a perfectly good 2 year deal from the Diamondbacks on the table which he turned down so he could get 400+ bats. Have fun on that bench down in San Diego Tony. Even more dissapointing for the vetern first baseman would be the fact he doesn't have an RBI since March.

Chris Carter: 1B (Oak Single A)

45 G 165AB 38H 33R 11HR 29RBI .230AVG .839OPS

Chris Carter V2.0 was a Diamondback for a couple of weeks, coming over in the Quinten trade before being flipped as part of the Haren deal. Since then Carter has continued to show power potential but at the expense of his batting average.

Carlos Gonzalez: OF (Oak AAA)

33 G 126 AB 37 H 17 R 3 HR 16 RBI .294 AVG .774 OPS

CarGon was deemed surpluss to requirements given the progress of Justin Upon and Chris Young, as well as the performances of Eric Byrnes and so it was little surprise to see him traded in order to get more starting pitching. Touted for a spot on the opening day roster, Gonzalez instead has to settle for more time at AAA where he has done well without setting the world on fire. In particular the fact he has just 3 HR in 126 AB will dissapoint many.

Aaron Cunningham: OF (Oak AA)

18 G 73 AB 22H 10R 2 HR 8 RBI .301 AVG .804 OPS

Good numbers from the final part of the Haren trade. Cunningham is showing decent dicipline and production at the plate so far down at AA Midland Rockhounds.

So that's the major deals covered and I'd have to say I don't think the Diamondbacks can say they particularly wish they had any of the guys lost on the major league level(with one exception who shall not be named) Whilst Bruke isn't Tony Clark v2007 he is just as good as Clark v 2008 and Haren is an upgrade on Livo. Furthermore given how well Lyon is settling into the closers role Qualls seems a good fit for the void left by Valverde. As for the youngsters im surprised at how well Smith and Eveland have pitched for the A's particularly as I only saw Eveland as a throw in. Also I'd have picked Gonzalez to be the biggest performer for Oakland this year but even Greg Smith is outperforming him in terms of immediate value. As for the other kids, both in and out, well only time will tell especially given the car crash that is the Tuscon Sidewinders this year. Again this is a tiny sample size and it's a long season to go but it's nice to see how former guys are performing :)