Another national sportswriter jumps on the Dbacks' bandwagon: SI's John Donovan has Arizona atop his opening power rankings

John Donovan, a sportswriter whose work I read religiously, released his inaugural Power Rankings for Sports Illustrated yesterday and updated them (since we smacked more home runs) last night after the game. Here's his reasoning for putting the Diamondbacks first:

"The best record in baseball, a seven-game winning streak, a spankdown of their division ... hey, it's been a good start for these desert darlings. The D'backs' problem last year, if you'll remember, was scoring. Not so far in '08; they lead the league with six runs a game. Third baseman Mark Reynolds has five homers already. Newly re-upped center fielder Chris Young has four. Yeah, these guys are for real."

Notice that baseball journalists are finally starting to rank the Dbacks without using the word "fluke".

Thoughts?

almost 4 years ago DbacksSkins 5 comments 0 recs |

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The key

moment, I think, will come when Arizona hits the first bump in the road - how the pundits react will show whether the D'backs have really arrived or not. Will they shrug it off as one of those inevitable rough patches that afflicts every contender? Or will they shrug off Arizona as a team that over-achieved and is now regressing towards its mean?

Donovan straddles the fence artfully, as most writers will this early. "These guys are for real" he says - but he also qualifies that with "it's been a good start" and notes that "so far in '08" scoring hasn't been a problem. (Last year's differential will be with us right through to October.)

Now, please understand, I'm not complaining. Prudence is a major virtue two weeks in (even two months in - just think how the NL eventually shook out in 2007), and I'm delighted to see the team getting so much deserved recognition. But we have to remember that Arizona probably doesn't have the kind of credibility reserve that allows certain bigger-name, bigger-budget teams to survive at the top even when their immediate results might justify a drop. So - let's enjoy our current status, but let's also remember that if we do take a tumble at some point, we shouldn't be surprised or even especially dismayed.

by peachy rex on Apr 12, 2008 6:36 AM EDT reply actions

Case in point,

he has the Royals at #2 so far. It's still early.

"I was tied to a chair and he had a baseball bat. Pissing him off was the smart thing to do."

by DbacksSkins on Apr 12, 2008 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions

#1 on ESPN

as well.

The boys in Sedona Red slugged it out with a pretty pesky poltergeist, then stayed on to dance the night away with some of the lovely ladies who witnessed the disturbance.

by soco on Apr 12, 2008 11:01 AM EDT reply actions

I do wish we weren't getting so much attention

While its all well and good and no doubt deserved, the additional expectations being placed on them is something we could do without.. at least until further into the season anyway.

All the best Brits support the Diamondbacks!

by AZDarkKnight on Apr 12, 2008 1:56 PM EDT reply actions