SB Nation User Blog: soco

Where do the Diamondbacks rank in the 2000's?

soco — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:59:12 -0000

With the decade coming to a close, it’s inevitable that fans will attempt to categorize, rank, and analyze the Decade That Was. The behavior isn’t unique to baseball fans, but we perhaps take (and talk) it to a different level. The first and most immediate debate is: “Who is the Team of the Decade?” Since there can be, by definition, only one Team of the Decade, that leaves the other 29 fan-bases to wonder: “now, just where the hell does my team rank?”

So that’s what I’m going to attempt to do. First, I’m focusing only team achievements. Individual awards are nice, but quite frankly don’t mean a hill of beans in this discussion. You can collect all the foil Charzards you want, and it’ll cost you some serious coin, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get beat by pure luck or a better strategy. That’s just how games like this are played.

The first decade of the 2000’s was a time marked by a certain level of parity, at least on the World Series level. Fourteen different teams won pennants and the chance to represent their league in the Fall Classic. As most of us remember, or at least have heard, the Diamondbacks were one of these teams.

For the sake of argument, I’m going to disregard any team that didn’t make the World Series for “Who’s Better, Who’s Best.“ The Atlanta Braves probably had a better overall decade than the Florida Marlins, since the latter only made it to the playoffs once in the decade. A more complete argument might be made if we start including team winning percentages or other deeper statistics, but for the sake of length I’m going to limit this to only championship teams.

Like nearly any ranking, there are two extremes: those that have won multiple titles, and those that didn’t win any. At this point the teams can be divided into three categories: multiple titles, one title, no titles. From there, we should be able to rank the teams by category, creating an overall ranking.

The top tier is a small group of two: the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Both won two titles, so they’re effectively “tied” in that regard, but the Yankees begin to separate themselves when we consider other things. The Yankees won 8 AL East titles in the 00’s, to the Red Sox 2. The Yankees also won four AL Pennants, going 2 out of 4 in the World Series for the 00’s. The Red Sox have a better average, but only appeared twice. That essentially brings the list to:

1. Yankees
2. Red Sox

The other group that should be fairly easy to separate out is those that didn’t win a title: the Mets, the Giants, the Astros, the Tigers, the Rockies, and the Rays. At the bottom of the list will be a battle between two woeful franchises: the Tigers and the Rays. Both were only in the playoffs once in the 00’s, made a run to the World Series, and then promptly lost. The Rays, however, did win one AL East title to put them a hair ahead of the Tigers. You could argue that the Tigers should be slightly ahead, though, given that the Tigers were in the race right down to the wire twice (2006 and 2009, where they lost a playoff to the Twins).

13. Rays
14. Tigers

Next up has to be the Rockies. They made the playoffs twice in the 00’s, but both times were as a Wild Card. Just hovering above them, however, would be the Mets, who also made the playoffs only twice but at least won a NL East title once. Both the Giants and the Astros were in the playoffs 3 times, but the Giants get the edge with their two NL West championships.

9. Giants
10. Astros
11. Mets
12. Rockies

Now we get in the meat of things. The remaining six teams all won one World Series in the 00’s, true, but then had varying degrees of success after this. At the bottom of this pile should be the Marlins, who are the winning versions of the Rays and the Tigers in that they only made the playoffs once but went all the way. It’s a tough pick between the White Sox and Diamondbacks, who both made the playoffs three times, all by winning their division. I would give the Diamondbacks a slight edge with their two League Championship appearances, but the White Sox also have one more winning season (7) than the D’backs.

The Angels might have more overall playoff appearances than the Phillies (6 to 3), but the latter has the advantage of winning two NL Pennants. Still, the Angels have a impressive record with 5 AL West titles, 1 AL Pennant, and 1 World Series win. So it comes down to the Phillies and Cardinals, who have both appeared in 2 World Series during the 00’s, and both went 1-1. Oddly enough, both lost their Series against one of the two teams that had 2 World Series titles for the decade (Cardinals to the Red Sox, and Phillies to the Yankees). The Cardinals clearly had the better decade, however. The Red Birds tallied up 6 NL Central titles and a Wild Card, to the Phillies’ 3 NL East wins.

3. Cardinals
4. Phillies
5. Angels
6. Diamondbacks
7. White Sox
8. Marlins

So overall, the Diamondback’s didn’t fare so bad. Three NL West crowns, two LCS appearances, 1 NL Pennant, 1 World Series win, and 6 winning seasons. By my oh-so-scientific ranking, I’m putting them at #6 for the Decade, which is pretty darn good.

Where do you think the Diamondbacks rank?

The LIST:
1. Yankees
2. Red Sox
3. Cardinals
4. Phillies
5. Angels
6. Diamondbacks
7. White Sox
8. Marlins
9. Giants
10. Astros
11. Mets
12. Rockies
13. Rays
14. Tigers

As an aside, the Diamondbacks are about the middle of the pack if you rank the decade by wins overall. It should be also noted that the top three teams in wins also were the top three in my ranking.

Iwamura dealt to Pirates

soco — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:51:26 -0000

Iwamura dealt to Pirates

Thought I'd throw this out there since I know there was at least some minor discussion of the possibility he would be traded to the Diamondbacks.

YANKEES ETERNAL DOMINANCE THREAD: WHERE ARE YOUR FREE AGENTS

soco — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:18:26 -0000

Congrats, New York Yankees on your 27th Championship. Haters gonna hate. Arguably the Team of the Decade.

And if you're all "ah bloo bloo bloo" about the thought of another Yankees championship, then why not get out your anger (within reason) in this thread? Just remember, though: we only hate the Yankees because we wish we could be them.

Diamondbacks 5, Cubs 2: There never is any end to summer

soco — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:00:19 -0000

It's the end for the 2009 Arizona Diamondbacks.

View full size photo »

Well, it's a win.

Our Arizona Diamondbacks end the season by winning the final game and the series, but the Cubs never really put up much during the afternoon. It wasn't a game that was anything but an expression of pride, with neither team going to the playoffs, and everyone on the field seemed ready to be getting on with things.

It was a display of the Three True Outcomes, with the two squads combining for 22 strike outs and each scoring at least half their runs by the long ball. Some of the calls may have been questionable at the plate, but who can blame the umps for wanting to head home, too? Not that the players argued much; it's the last day before summer vacation, and no one cares what the teacher assigns.

The first couple innings were largely quiet, with the two teams trading scoreless innings. The Cubs were the first to get a base runner with Derrek Lee getting a single in the bottom of the first with two outs. Jake Fox promptly struck out on four pitches. He might have been inspired by the D’backs’ top of the first effort: both Stephen Drew and Justin Upton struck out, the latter on his way to four strike out day.

The second inning featured more of the same, with the Diamondbacks looking inept and the Cubs stranding a single from Jeff Baker. The third inning, however, the boys in Sedona Red would strike. Chad Tracy, in perhaps his last game with the Diamondbacks, doubled to fairly shallow left. So Taguchi appeared at first to have made the catch, and that was the way it was called. Perhaps it was luck, but he didn't attempt to pretend he caught the ball and rifled it to second, where Tracy had huffed his way. After a short deliberation, the call was reversed and Tracy had a double, if perhaps a slightly unorthodox one. It didn't seem that he would be advanced, however, with Augie Ojeda, also perhaps in his last game for Arizona, flying out to center and Doug Davis striking out on a pitiful bunt attempt. Stephen Drew, however, would not be denied, and scorched a ball to left. Tracy scored easily, and Taguchi’s errant throw allowed Drew to advance to second.

It looked like so much fun Gerardo Parra decided to join in, who fouled off a couple pitches before driving Drew in with a single to center. Upton would then add to his collection of strike outs for the afternoon, but the Diamondbacks were up 2-0.

To the third. Doug Davis, yet another player that might not be here next year and who had had up to that point a solid game, began to come unglued. Sam Fuld, perhaps the poster child for the disconnect between individual offensive production and the worth of RBIs, would take one strike before hustling to second for a double to lead off the inning. He was then subsequently moved to third by a sacrifice by Ryan Dempster, who was trying to help his own cause for the day. With one out, it seemed certain he would score, and Ryan Theriot tried his best. As a napkin lazily rolled across the infield, he would peck a ball to Davis’ right, who promptly picked it up and caught Fuld in a pickle between home and third. Theriot would sneak to second during the excitement, and although he would get advanced to third on a Davis wild pitch, there he would stay as Davis Houdini shed his shackles by forcing Lee into a grounder. The Diamondbacks were out of the jam.

Miguel Montero would start things off in the top of the fourth with a single, and then be quickly moved to third with a Mark Reynolds double. The stage was set for the suddenly resurgent Chris Young, who picked out a three wood and drove a shot to left center, which would effectively be all the Diamondbacks would need for the day to be triumphant.

At this point it was strike outs and a halfhearted attempt by the Cubs to salvage the last game of 2009. They would cut the lead to 5-1 with a solo home run by Fuld, who, as noted by Jim, who has dubious distinction of going the most career plate appearances without an RBI by a non-pitcher. He trails only Gene Good, who had 135 without an RBI for the 1906 Boston Beaneaters. The second RBI was considerably easier to come by as he sacrificed Reed Johnson in to score in the bottom of the seventh. 5-2 was the score, and 5-2 it would remain.

A few notes on the remaining three innings: the Diamondbacks had no trouble with the eighth, perhaps an attempt to deny there ever was a problem this season with that inning. Eric Byrnes, one of a half a dozen or more players to be looking at the search for a new team, popped out. In perhaps the most “fuzzy feeling” moment, however, came to end the Diamondbacks’ ninth inning. Upton came to the plate with two outs and Parra standing at second., batting average sitting at .300 square. An out would bring it down to .2998, technically a .300, and the record books might never notice the difference. Parra, however, was looking out for his outfield comrade. As Upton took a ball, he would take off for first, daring the catcher to throw him out. Geovany Soto obliged, and .300, true .300, non-qualified .300 was saved. AJ Hinch may have had the bitter beer face for the act, but Upton obviously appreciated it, giving Parra a hug as the game ended.

And really, it's this type of moment that reaffirms what's great about sports. Sure, who doesn't want to be a winner? But this human element, where a friend did a selfless act for a friend, transcends home runs or stolen bases. This completely unscripted moment is free of the framing that often makes equal scenes in fiction seem saccharine and hollow. It won't be recorded in books, or compiled in any highlight reel. Many of us might forget it as the years drive forward, or never pass it on. But it will remain.

So maybe 2009 wasn't a successful season. They often aren't. The Diamondbacks built something here today, this year. We, as fans, built something here. We won't know what it is, not until long after the winter comes. But the summer will keep rolling on, long green meadows with dusty infields where heroes hit long, long home runs, make diving catches, come back to the game after seeming to lose everything, and help each other to .300.

[Click to see full graph at fangraphs.com]

Master of his domain: Doug Davis +27.9

Also present: Gerardo Parra +10.7

Well, not everyone is Babe Ruth: Doug Davis (batting) -5.6

Mr. Golden Sombrero: Justin Upton -4.7

A fairly serene and talkative GDT, with 14 users generating 500 comments. Only one broke the century mark, and I hear he's pretty much the most awesome dude ever. Also present: Azreous, unnamedDBacksfan, snakecharmer, Fiona, hotclaws, Jim McLennan, pygalgia, kishi, NASCARbernet, Wailord, 4 Corners Fan, Giannaros, Wimb.

That's it for the Diamondbacks officially. From this point on we shoot without a script, make for uncharted territory, and yada yada yada. Stay tuned for lots of off-season coverage, ranging from analysis of players or team statistical subsets, to a report from the year 1860, investigative reporting about the new Spring Training site, a lament against the worship of amateur sport, and more! Until then, I'm your host, soco, saying goodnight.

Only 133 days until pitchers report.

Is Ryan Roberts the next starting 2B, or the next Byrnes?

soco — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:03:34 -0000

With the season coming to a close, we can start the process of wading through the stats and destruction of 2009 and attempt to find what, if any, solace there might remain for the following season. Some players we don't need to worry about; Mark Reynolds is obviously going to have a place on this team for some time, Justin Upton will roam the outfield, Miguel Montero will be behind the dish, and Dan Haren is still an ace. At the same time, some players continue to disappoint. Eric Byrnes won't likely have a spot on the team next year, Stephen Drew shows flashes of the potential but for the most part remains merely serviceable, Chris Young needs to find out if his September can be sustained over a season.

Ryan Roberts, on the other hand, seems to be largely flying under the radar. Now, none of his numbers are particularly impressive, we won't be mistaking him for Dustin Pedroia anytime soon. I argue that, assuming he doesn't have a huge drop-off in production, this is just fine for him and the team. In fact, his profile in many ways mirrors the previous two starting second basemen the Diamondbacks have employed.

Felipe Lopez, of course, started the season for the Diamondbacks and was more than fine for us. His supposed attitude problems were nonexistent, and at the time of his trade he was one of our better hitters. His defense is also solid, and didn't make a whole lot of errors. He replaced Orlando Hudson, now of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who was one of the team leaders in offensive production in his time here, as well as being a solid or above-average defender. Ryan Roberts certainly had some big shoes to fill, especially for a career minor leaguer that had never been on an Opening Day lineup until this year. So when Lopez was traded, I personally felt some apprehension that what had been a solid position for the Diamondbacks the past few years would quickly become a black hole between Roberts and Augie Ojeda.

Yet Roberts was able to perform the job admirably. More than that, his numbers for the most part match what Lopez and Hudson did while in Arizona. For instance:

Hitting

Roberts: .279/.367/.416/.783 7 HR OPS+ 101 in 305 AB

Lopez: .301/.364/.412/.775 6 HR OPS+ 99 in 345 AB

Hudson (3 years): .294/.365/.448/.814 with never more than 10 HR OPS+ 105

So Roberts had a little less average this season, but he also was the fourth highest in OPS+ this season with at least 100 AB's and one of only four (with 100 AB) to get above 100.

Fielding

Roberts: Fld %: .991, 2 errors, RF/9 4.77, started 45 games at the position

Lopez: Fld %: .977, 9 errors, RF/9 4.79, played 82 games at the position

Hudson (3 years): Fld %: .984, at least 9 errors a year (no more than 13), RF/9 5.07, played at least 100 games a season

Again, Roberts' numbers seem very similar. Now I won't claim to understand more advanced defensive statistics, so perhaps there are numbers that show a different story, but even Hudson, who is certainly a better defender, was not considerably better in his three years than Roberts was this year. In fact, Roberts seemed to have the most trouble playing third base, where he committed 3 errors in 15 games, had a Fld % of .927 and RF/9 of 2.59. Even then, those numbers are not that much worse than Reynolds at third.

Now, these numbers don't give us the answer to whether he should be given a starting job. His profile is similar enough, however, that the question should be raised regardless. He made $400,000 this year, which is less than those that he replaced, which is a nice price for the bench, and even better for starting.

Of course, his production could drop off next season. It would be nice if second base was one area in the off-season where the Diamondbacks don't have to spend time or money fixing. Roberts might never be mentioned on ESPN, but if he continues playing the way he did this season, that's fine all the same.

Starting 9 - Players who've prospered in losing situations

soco — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:38:06 -0000

Starting 9 - Players who've prospered in losing situations

A piece over on ESPN detailing the players that largely get ignore because of their losing teams. Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton are highlighted in the 6th spot.

The grown-up pressures of a little-boy’s game.

soco — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:52:13 -0000

The grown-up pressures of a little-boy’s game.

A great article from the New York magazine about baseball. I don't have any kids yet, but if I have any someday that are interested in baseball I'll have to wonder: how much is too much?

Opinions from anyone with children in the Little League or baseball systems?

Diamondbacks 2, Giant Pandas 5: Alright that's the season

soco — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:09:05 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

The very rare Wushu form, Da Xiong Mao or Giant Panda Rush, is exhibited here. Fortunately for the Diamondbacks, Roberts' kung fu is very strong indeed.

Browse more photos »

Record: 66-87. Pace: 70-94. Change on last season: -10

You’d be forgiven if after looked at the box score for tonight’s game you believed it had been a good game, one featuring excellent pitching and timely hitting. Sadly, with Johnathan Sanchez squaring off against Kevin Mulvey, this probably is not be the case.

The two front runners for the NL Cy Young traded empty frames to start the game, but the Diamondbacks were first on base with ChrisYoung and Ryan Roberts drawing early walks. A Justin Upton strikeout, a fielder’s choice from Miguel Montero, starring a slide and roll straight from Slip-n-Slide by Roberts, and a Mark Reynolds strikeout quickly extinguished any threat.

Mulvey refused to be outdone by his counterpart in black and orange. After issuing a walk to Pablo “Panda Express” Sandoval, Juan Uribe cracked a crippling blow of a double in between Eric Byrnes and Young that allowed the Express to huff and puff his way home. Not quite on an egg roll, but it would be enough offense to keep the Diamondbacks at bay.

For a time, it would seem Sandoval’s gasping run would be the only run. The next three innings would fly by with only the occasional base runner to spice up the night. The best chance came in the fourth when the Diamondbacks managed to Reynolds and Byrnes singled to get two on with one out. Augie Ojeda would promptly pop-out after looking a couple strikes, and Mulvey attempted a battle before striking out with a tepid swing.

The sixth inning would provide the most offense between the two sides all night, as Sandoval walked again to set-up Uribe. The former White Sock took one ball and then hammered a home run to left. 3-0, Giants. Mulvey would get the last two batters of the inning fairly easy, but that would be it for the young man.

The Diamondbacks, or more specifically Montero, would mount a response in the bottom of the sixth, however. Montero led off with a single, waiting for a partner to bring him home. Reynolds would battle hard, but after five strikes he would go down with another K to add to his baking sheet. Rusty Ryal luckily was up to the challenge, and he would scorch a ball to center, scoring Montero and ending up with a triple. Facing an opportunity to reduce the lead further, AJ Hinch wisely chose to pinch-hit the woeful Byrnes with Gerardo Parra, who played the part of a big-leaguer and sac-flied Ryal in.

With the score now 3-2 going into the top of the seventh, a comeback seemed attainable. The Giants, Blaine Boyer, and Ryal all had different plans, however. Boyer would trade two outs with a single to Fred Lewis, and a single to Andres Torres, putting men on the corners for the Dreaded Randy Winn. Arizona’s least favorite nemesis got a little help from his “friend,” Rusty Ryal, who booted a more than routine dribbler to first base and run would score to bring the game to 4-2. The Panda Express would be next, and he quickly snapped the first pitch he saw into a single, scoring Torres. Although he would be caught in a run-down after trying to sneak to second during the confusion, the damage was done.

It would be disingenuous to suggest that the Diamondbacks were close to winning after this point; in fact, they never probably threatened, only getting a single base runner on in the seventh and ninth. Daniel Schlereth looked good in his inning of work, however, making an appearance that started with a walk but ended with three quick outs including a strikeout.

And that’s the way it was. A game certainly winnable for the home team, but as is often the case this season there was very rarely anything prolific strung together. The Diamondbacks out-hit the Giants 8-4, but a defensive blunder by Ryal and a timely home run is truly the difference. The starting defensive eight for the Diamondbacks would all get hits except for Young and Upton, but they were doing it at all the wrong times.

So if you were deceived and thought you missed a pitcher’s duel, you’d be half right. One can’t help but wonder, though, if it wasn’t just two inept offenses clashing instead.

Click Here for fangraphs.com

Master of His Domain: Roberts, +7.3

Also Present: Ryal, +7.2

First Bus to Reno: Boyer, -17.9

Bit of a scary game for the home plate umpire Marty Foster. He took a couple baseballs to the forearm and one to the facemask and was a little shook-up. Hopefully everything is fine for him, and nothing more than a little bruising to nurse in the morning.

I suppose you qualify the game thread as "interesting." With revelations about Wailord's schoolmates, the apparent Soco-demic taking Azreous (whose dying breath was for me to take tonight's recap), kishi, katers, and 'Skins all hostage, there was never a dull moment and clocking in at a very Pablo Sandoval like 697. I led the way somehow with 164, holding of a sick DbacksSkins and a late Wailord, both with triple digits as well. Also included: kishi, AcucracK, NASCARbernet, Our Holy Jim-ship, hotclaws, piratedan7, pygalgia, victor frankenstein, Azreous, SaveUsY2J, katers, and pierzynskirules.

Soco-Fest 2009: Once Upon A Time In AZSnakepit

soco — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 01:51:59 -0000

The Esteemed Members of the Soco Society, a Club of Wine and Cheese:

Kishi and Mrs. Kishi: Iccccccccccccccce Cream!
Azreous: Snide remarks, pine cones
DbacksSkins: Minimum height requirement, Energy!
katers: Phil Slappin'
Jim McLennan and Mrs. Snakepit: A certain Brownie Dish shall be returned
luckycc: Lucky Charms?
BattleMoses: Borscht Pie
edbigghead: Bad Ass Mother F_ing Crockpot of Gangsta Ass Meatballs

When: September 20th, 2009. The game starts at 1:10 but feel free to show up by 11 at the earliest.

Where: My House, In The Middle Of My Street AKA Please leave me your email address so I can send out the specific info.

Poll

How Awesome Is Soco-fest?

Awesome

1 votes

Totally Awesome

1 votes

The Awesomest

7 votes

This Poll Is Awesome, Too

8 votes

17 votes | Poll has closed

Society of American Baseball Research - ?

soco — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 06:11:51 -0000

So I was reading through the New York Times tonight, and there was an article about the annual convention for the Society of American Baseball Research, specifically about their World Series of Baseball Trivia. Now, this isn't the first time I've heard of SABR, but it got me thinking again about the organization. The average age, according to the NYT article, in SABR is somewhere in the mid-50's, which is understandable but at the same time a little odd.

We, the people dedicated enough to a team or a sport to not only go the internet to talk about our passion, but to talk about it passionately, are effectively the prime examples of the person who would be willing join. I suppose what I wonder is how many, if any, of us are in SABR?

Another thing I noticed after poking around SABR's website is that there is a local Phoenix chapter, but if it's active in any capacity, then they don't spend any time updating their website.

Now, I'm not trying to get everyone join up, though I'm seriously considering it, but I thought I'd throw out the information in case people are interested in the organization. If anyone is already in SABR, it would be nice to hear from you about what is like.

What: A national organization dedicated to baseball research and history

Cost: $45 Under 30/$65 "Standard"/$45 Senior

Okay so what do I get: Free copy of the two publications of SABR, Baseball Research Journal, The National Pastime; eligible to take part in research committees, SABR lending library, access to SABR online encyclopedia, discount on annual convention, and other fun things!