Ouch! Hopefully they rebound, but losing with Haren on the mound wasn't what I foresaw...
Nice bounce-back win! With Gonzalez on the mound, it wasn't going to be easy, but the offense stepped up and the pitching was better than I anticipated. Save for the length of his outings, three of his four starts have been pretty good starts for Edgar. Not all were "Quality" starts by definition, but in reality, all three kept his team in the game. That's all you can ask from a fill-in fifth starter.
Yeah, I know, me neither. Really cool. We are playing great, this team is a blast to watch.
The Rockies will finish with the better record for the division, and they will lose out to the Phils for the wild card. Too many hitters hitting over their heads right now.
Why would you say that? You act as if the Diamondbacks' players are just coming out of nowhere. Jackson, Drew, Young, Upton were all top-30 prospects. Reynolds wasn't, but he never spent much time in the minors to be ranked. He's really the only hitter who's playing above his ranking. Drew's playing under it, and Byrnes and Hudson are professional hitters.
For my money, I don't think they'll continue to lead the League in runs scored, but they have so many players with 25-plus homer potential (Young, Upton, Reynolds, Byrnes) and two others with 20-homer potential (Drew and Jackson) that they'll always have the power to knock in runs, and, even dating back to last season, they got on base at a high clip. They just didn't get the timely hits. Thus far, players like Jackson (top-30 prospect in AAA), Upton (top-5 prospect AA) and Reynolds (who's hit .300 or better in like four of his first six months in the bigs) have been.
Plus, the Rockies pitching is nowhere near as good as the Diamondbacks, and the Diamondbacks aren't even healthy yet. When they get Johnson on track (despite his struggles, in two starts his ERA is sub-4) and get Davis back (his career ERA is better than the MLB average), they'll be loaded.
They won't need an average of 7 runs per (like they are averaging. Once the pitching is ready to shine, they'll only need 4-or-5.
I'm not saying the Rockies aren't good, or that they won't compete, but the Diamondbacks have thoroughly owned this division thus far, and have lost just one series the entire season, doing so by a combined run differential of two runs.
In my opinion, Upton and Reynolds will come back down, but I think this is the real Jackson, and Young and Drew are merely scratching their potential, and Byrnes and Hudson have yet to fully get going like last year.
The Rockies are not only going to have to go on a serious tear, but they're going to have to crush the Diamondbacks as badly has the Diamondbacks have crushed them early on.
Just my opinion...
Just to get you riled up. I love the Diamondbacks. They are scary good.
I have concerns, and the Rockies are near the top of the list - if not tops - so I'm not saying they'll waltz to a Division le or through the playoffs and into a World Series.
But after a month now, I think we can determine that this team has enough pitching to whether a few offensive droughts, enough bullpen depth to whether a few injuries, and a lineup so full of potential that if just three or four players are hitting well, 5-8 runs can be scored any given night.
I'm very anxious for this weekend's series. That'll be a good measuring stick for how good this team really is, because they aren't on fire offensively, and they are starting two of their three starting unknowns in the series. If they can take two-of-three, I'll be very, very happy.
Good win for Randy! First win of the year. Went six strong innings, giving up three hits, two walks and an earned run while striking out seven. I'll take that every start!
Again, for all his struggles, his ERA on the year is now 2.70.
Blah, Blah, Blah... talking to myself...
Not a good day in SD yesterday. Taking the extra inning loss coupled with both Owings and Upton getting hurt. The good news is the DBacks seem to own Peavy, so let's hope things get turned around quick today.
Upton had a cramp. Nothing serious. They were saying Owings stepped wrong on the base and jammed/strained his foot. Probably nothing series, but he may miss a start depending on which foot it is.
The loss sucked. I was really hoping to go for the sweep vs. Peavy, instead of a series win. I think it would have put more pressure on Peavy, taken some off of Webb and allowed for a better situation for the Diamondbacks today.
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/NickPiecoro/
Diamondbacks promote top prospect Scherzer
What is it with the Diamondbacks bringing up top prospects in San Diego? First Chris Young, then Justin Upton, and today, Max Scherzer.
Yup, the Diamondbacks’ called up their top pitching prospect today and have him on the lineup card as being in the bullpen.
Yusmeiro Pe was apparently the one optioned to Triple-A Tucson. He wasn’t on the lineup card.
Scherzer, who was scheduled to start Sunday in Tucson, posted ridiculous numbers in the Pacific Coast League. He had a 1.17 ERA in four starts, striking out 38 and walking three in 23 innings.
Not sure I understand this move entirely if they’re going to leave him in their bullpen long-term, especially after he was starting to show that he just might be a good starter in the long run.
It appears the move was done in reaction to Micah Owings’ injury. Perhaps Scherzer is insurance in case Owings can’t start Friday? But if that was the case, why not let him start Sunday in Tucson? Did they not want to risk injury down there?
Maybe they need some coverage in the bullpen after 13 innings yesterday? I doubt that, since Juan Cruz, Brandon Lyon and Tony Pena all had yesterday off.
Maybe they’re going to move him into the rotation and bump Edgar Gonzalez back to that swing role in the bullpen? That, to me, would seem like the most likely move.
Regardless of the reason, this seems to make their pitching staff better; they really needed to find a way to get him into the majors considering the numbers he was putting up.
But I think it’s important that he continues to develop as a starter. They might need him in the rotation next year or maybe even later this year. Having him throw inconsistent innings out of the pen isn’t going to allow him to further develop his change-up and slider. It’s not going to get his innings total up to the point where he could throw 180 innings if he’s in the rotation next year.
We’ll let you know what they say when the move is officially announced in about an hour.
I'm not crazy about the move's timing. I would have liked to leave him in Triple-A until the All-Star break. Let him work through some rough spots, develop a mentality necessary to pitch with men on base and just practice his non-fastball pitches some more.
Can't really argue witht he move as the kid has been a monster, and not only that, but the Diamondbacks have made many a right move whether public opinion differed.
I just think they are rushing him a bit.
maybe move Edgar back to the pen?
I just worry that for all his recent dominance, that he hasn't faced enough true compe ion to know just what to do when he can't simply overpower upon the strength of his fastball. He's a 1-1/2 pitch pitcher. He has a great fastball, and then three other pitches that he's pretty inconsistent with.
Webb beat Peavy to improve to 6-0
Watched most of the game. Couldn't tell if Webb was just a bit off today, or if the Padres were just a better team than previous, but they were getting him in trouble. Again, like last time, what's great is even when things aren't the best they can be, he still gets it done.
looks like Max will be in the pen
He needs to start being groomed for Lyon's role next year. Lyon, if he keeps this up, will become a type-A free agent, and will likely command more money than the Diamondbacks are willing to pay. Especially with Qualls, Pena and Scherzer. He'll probably be worth more to them for his compensation 1st-rounder than as the actual closer.
I think Max will start next year
He shouldn't start until he has a dominant second pitch. You can't be a one-pitch chucker for more than one trip through the lineup. You NEED that second strong pitch. So long as you have two, then the third and beyond can be effective as they give different looks, but if you don't have the second pitch, then any pitch that doesn't appear fastball isn't going to get the batter's to consistently swing.
You can get away with it in one or two innings. Beyond that, you're asking for trouble.
I think he should set-up or close until his second pitch is a plus pitch. Idealy, until his second and third pitches are plus pitches.
I was reading somewhere that Peavy is calling on the Pads' mgt to get Kenny Lofton, saying their team has no speed and no "buzz." That was on the heels of losing again to AZ.
If this all keeps up, Arizona is going to steamroll the NL!
Colorado will get it together, San Diego is still San Diego and their staff is SICK, and the Dodgers will be better than they have been. Arizona has steamrolled them thus far, but they need to keep up the intensity and urgency vs. non-NL West clubs. In a matter of a week this six game lead could be halved.
d'backs got a great club this year.
what do you guys think is their biggest weakness? (asking the folks that watch em regularly)
ducks will not go to any more diamondback games they always lose
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