AZ Snakepit - An unofficial Arizona Diamondbacks community and blog

2010 Preview and projected roster

	Hitters	Pitchers
C	Montero	Webb	SP1
1B	LaRoche	Haren	SP2
2B	Johnson	Jackson	SP3
SS	Drew	Kennedy	SP4
3B	Reynolds	Buckner	SP5
LF	Jackson	Qualls	Close
CF	Young	Heilman	SU1
RF	Upton	Howry	SU2
	Snyder	Kroenke	LH
	Roberts	Boyer	Long
	Parra	Zavada	MR1
	Ojeda	Gutierrez	MR2
	TBA

2010 in Arizona: the bullpen

by Jim McLennan on Feb 8, 2010 1:51 PM EST in Features Comment 1 comment

More photos » J Pat Carter - AP

Here's to more of this restrained fist-pumping from Chad Qualls in 2010.

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The 2010 pitching staff for Arizona is going to look significantly different from the 2009 incarnation. As we saw last week, the starting rotation will be 60% different from what it was last season, and the level of "churn" we'll be seeing in the bullpen seems likely to be higher. Of the seven relievers with the Diamondbacks on Opening Day last season (Buckner, Gutierrez, Peña, Qualls, Rauch, Schoeneweis and Slaten), it looks like only two - Gutierrez and Qualls - will be in the bullpen on Opening Day 2010. Peña and Rauch were traded in the season, Buckner may well be in the rotation, and our two LOOGYs were found wanting, albeit for radically different reasons. All told, only five of the dozen pitchers we had a year ago seem likely to return.

After the jump, we'll focus on the relief corps. What did we get from them last season [sorry if this brings up bad memories], and is there hope for any better in 2010?

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Weekend Round-up: Cubs want to club Cactus fans, extension talk for Reynolds and more fan events

by Jim McLennan on Feb 6, 2010 8:30 PM EST in News Comment 40 comments

"We would love for the Cubs to stay - just not at the expense of our fans. The other 13 teams in the Cactus League feel the same way."
-- Derrick Hall

Been a while since we've done one of these, and there are a good number of things worth mentioning. There's discussion of a contract extension for Mark Reynolds, Webb feeling better, news of a couple of potentially-interesting events as we head towards next weekend's Fan Fest, Derrick Hall's digestive tract, and a disturbing, if Photoshopped picture of Randy Johnson.

Details of all these can be found after the jump. Warning: if you couldn't tell from the logo on the left, it's probably going to get a bit ranty. Get a coffee and a sandwich, there's a lot to read - and not all about the Cubs!

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Here's the video of my chat with the HotStove.com guys this afternoon. I enjoyed it a lot - to the extent that I lost track of time and was late back from lunch! Hey, paid employment... It's vastly over-rated... ;-)

2 days ago Jim McLennan 11 comments 0 recs

Who was the "greatest" single season home-run hitter of all time?

by Jim McLennan on Feb 5, 2010 10:45 AM EST in Randomness Comment 16 comments

Jim O'Rourke - the second-best home-run season of all-time?

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After our previous piece on how many bombs Mark McGwire might have hit without using steroids, there was a good discussion over who should be considered the "greatest" single-season home-run hitter of all time. If we cross McGwire and his druggie buddies off the list, what about the benefits gained by Babe Ruth, who had only to face pitching of his own color? But then, they also did it without access to the training and nutrition methods available to modern hitters. What about expansion? The increased pool of overseas players?

Let's be honest. There is no "apples to apples" comparison possible, as Flo might say. Can't do it. Not at all. No, sirree. Fuhgedaboutit.

After the jump, of course, that's exactly what we'll be trying to do.

Poll

Who do you regard as the single-season home-run record holder?

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The 2010 Interview with Josh Byrnes, Part One

by Jim McLennan on Feb 3, 2010 8:35 AM EST in Features Comment 36 comments

More photos » Paul Connors - AP

Josh Byrnes, left, and Colorado Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd, right, look over the desert view prior to MLB meetings last month in Paradise Valley. Either that, or they were pointing at the Giants' offense, and laughing.

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As promised last week, we are delighted to announce that on Monday, we got to sit down with Arizona General Manager Josh Byrnes for an interview, and the first part of that discussion is published here. The second section will follow here next Wednesday, and I'll have a piece analyzing both parts, a little after that. Why, yes, I am going to get as many stories out of this as possible, thank you for asking...

It was a fascinating discussion, covering a wide range of areas and after the jump, we'll get things started with topics including last season's under-par performance by the Diamondbacks, the firing of Bob Melvin, and some of the signings and trades made by Arizona during the winter.

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Non-roster invitees announced for Diamondbacks spring training

by Jim McLennan on Feb 2, 2010 8:28 PM EST in News Comment 13 comments

More photos » Lenny Ignelzi - AP

Drew Macias tumbles after missing a diving catch when with San Diego. Now he's part of the Arizona spring-training team, along with 16 other non-roster invitees.

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The Diamondbacks announced seventeen non-roster invitees to spring training. They'll join the 40-man roster in Tucson in a couple of weeks.

Pitchers: RHP - T.J. Beam, Josh Ellis, Barry Enright, Kyler Newby, Rodrigo Lopez, Wes Roemer, Bryan Shaw and Matt Torra; LHP - Tommy Layne.
Catchers: Carlos Corporan, Sean Coughlin and Konrad Schmidt.
Infielders: Jeff Bailey and Mark Hallberg.
Outfielders: Collin Cowgill, Evan Frey and Drew Macias.

More details and analysis of the 17 men in question can now be found after the jump - and, no, I didn't read ~~Zephon's~~ I Hate South Bend's comments before writing my report...

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2010 in Arizona: Starting Pitching

by Jim McLennan on Feb 1, 2010 10:45 AM EST in Features Comment 11 comments

More photos » Ross D. Franklin - ASSOCIATED PRESS

As Webb goes, so goes our 2010?

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When Arizona has had success in the past, it has tended to be built on good starting pitching, whether the tandem of Johnson and Schilling in the early 00's, or Webb's Cy Young-worthy performance in 2007. The loss of Brandon proved disastrous for the team in 2009: while Haren stepped up, especially in the first-half of the year, our lack of rotational depth was certainly cruelly exposed. With the loss of Garland and Davis this winter, the front-office made a blockbuster trade which sent Scherzer and reliever Daniel Schlereth to Detroit, and brought in a pair of starters to fill out the middle of the Diamondbacks' rotation.

After the jump, we'll take a look back at what transpired in the year gone by, and see what we might expect in 2010, given that 60% of our rotation will have changed from Opening Day 2009.

Poll

Who will be the DBacks' #5 starter for the beginning of the 2010 season?

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THT's Top 10 prospects for 2010: Arizona Diamondbacks

1. Jarrod Parker / SP / For Parker, everything hinges on a successful recovery from Tommy John surgery. Before the surgery he was one of the more dominant pitchers in the minor leagues. Parker has, of course, been severely downgraded, but he still fits in near the bottom of my top-100 list and at the top of Arizona's top 10.

[Please check out the link for the remainder of the top ten]

10 days ago Zephon 3 comments 0 recs