is cheaper than firing BoMel and hiring another manager.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3493542

Anyone know what the D-Backs are giving up?

Tony is a good guy but we need a guy that can hit the baseball. This seems like yet another attempt to make the fans feel good.

The whole “We’re trying see? We got Tony Clark! We really, really wanna win the West!”“

or does Romero go down?

Right alongside this is the report that the Yanks just signed Sexson for $390K (the prorated minimum of his salary) AND they don’t have to give up anything for him. This would have been a much smarter move. Sexson has more power, hits lefties, and is a second half player. I’m not saying he would have been the Sexson of his Mariner years or anything… but TC???? Sheesh. I’m really irritated with management right now.

In the departure of Burke, Romero or Bonifacio from the roster, it will be addition by subtraction.

does anyone think this move was done ‘for the fans’ again?

I don’t mind this trade, but am thinking we need some bullpen help too.

That people will boycott the team when making a great move (talking about signing Bonds) and not get as worked up when they make a terrible move like this one.

Seriously, I have never been so let down by this front office, there were plenty of other options out their to help us improve this offense and we chose one of the dumbest.

I guess this will bring back the leadership that was much needed in the club house.  I mean a lot of the other guys look up to him and somehow that will improve their on base percentage because we all know that worked out so well last year.[/sarcasm]

Yeah we actually have a higher team OBP this year then last. The need for veteran leadership is a cop out (a false one as well) for shitty players.

will be the fix we need to win the West. Not with Young and Upton batting as bad as they are. I think Young is the most frustrating to me because he is suppose to have so much talent but is hitting .220. Upton is still very young and really shouldn’t be here at this point in his career. Someone needs to show Young some film of his swing and help him change his approach at the plate.

Paul DePodesta just posted the Padre’s perspective on this trade here.

is extremely knee jerk.

This has the potential to be good or bad depending on how Clark is used. One of the biggest needs for this team is a late bat of the bench and Clark still can provide that. There just aren’t that many ways to improve this team without giving up a core player. Clark can provide improvement around the margins while also being a good clubhouse presence. I know that it’s easy to mock that last aspect, but when it comes down to the last guy on the bench there’s no reason not to factor it in.

Is this going to single-handedly turn around the Diamondbacks season? Of course not, but it’s better the continually running Burke out there as a pinch hitter and it also improves the team without doing anything dramatic and long-term damaging like trading for Bay.

Do I wish the team would sign Bonds, yes, but that collusive ship has sailed. And as for Sexson, are you guys smoking crack? Not only is his bat slower than Clark’s but he’s going to bring just about as much negative baggage with him to this team as Bonds is only without the talent to make up for it. And do you think he would even want to sign with us? It would take his agent about five minutes of googling to realize how much Arizona fans hate him. After his first 0-4 night he’ll be (unfairly) booed mercilessly. You may not like it, or think it rational, but unless Richie has a Fukudome-like first week the boo-birds and the countdown to Sexson’s release would definitely become a story.

Obviously, those are all hypotheticals, but in my experience with the local fans and media, likely ones. They also make you wonder why the hell Sexson would sign for this under .500 team with bad history when the Yankees are also after you?

I don’t think this affects the Diamondbacks for good or bad. I would hope that the FO can pull of something more than merely get back Tony Clark, which feels more like a stunt to appease people than to actually do any good.

One thing I think they should consider (and I apologize to who ever first suggested this) putting Mark Reynolds in right field a little and see how he does. He’s too potent of a hitter to sit out, and Upton could use some more seasoning, so it could give us a better lineup than bringing out Barf, err I mean Burke.

I explored my thinking in the other thread but for the record here I don’t have any problems with this deal, we haven’t given up anything (in the short to middle term) and we have someone who can hopefully act as a slump stomper in the short term and a role model that has a positive impact in the long term.

Obviously I’ve been quite busy as I haven’t had a chance to really respond to this move. The subject of my comment is my reaction to the move, pretty much. I think every thing that was said about Clark when we let him go during the off season still applies, perhaps to a great extent. He’s old. He’s limited to one position defensively. His left handed swing has been pretty bad since his injury IIRC in 06. He can still hit LHP at a decent clip, which is hopefully all he’ll see as part of a platoon with Chad Tracy. I think this move was obviously made as an attempt to help the club house chemistry – something that I normally don’t buy in to. However, I think the chemistry of the clubhouse does affect the development of young players. Yeah, we do have some legitimate HOF veteran presence in Randy Johnson, but I don’t think that does much for the position players. I would think it’d be much easier for a guy like Justin Upton to find a mentor in a position player like Tony Clark rather than an intimidating hall of fame pitcher like Randy.

Now, to look at what we gave up: 123 strike outs to just 24 walks in 91.1 IP, with a 2.27 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. For a 22 year old pitcher splitting time between Rookie, A, and A+ ball. Of course, I have no idea what kind of stuff the guy has, but i wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes a quality middle reliever or closer

I know, it isn’t about the cubbies, so can he really write a decent piece about the dbacks?

Bickley Online
Desperate Diamondbacks

Many believe the Diamondbacks’ acquisition of Tony Clark is also an admission of guilt. As in, they messed up in letting the Zen master of the 2007 clubhouse leave for San Diego in the first place.

Not true. Clark was hitting .239 with one home run and 11 RBI with the Padres. That’s nothing to be missed.

What is true is that the Diamondbacks front office may have miscalculated the growth curve of some of their young players. Their belief that the core of this team would mature and ripen was the main reason they didn’t pursue a big bat to anchor the lineup in the offseason. It was how they rationalized that quirky statistic from last year, how the Diamondbacks won their division while getting outscored by their opponents.

At the beginning of the year, when the Diamondbacks were a tour de force, it appeared the judgment of General Manager Josh Byrnes was nothing short of brilliant. Now that the team is struggling to stay over. 500, dealing with injuries and grasping for an identity, it’s beginning to look like a bad mistake.

Either way, credit the Diamondbacks for soothing over a relationship gone sour (remember how Clark was incensed with the organization’s negotiating tactics following last season?). And credit Byrnes for swallowing his pride and addressing a big need.

Maybe the heavy role and the familiar surroundings of Chase Field will rekindle the Tony Clark magic, and ignite a fire under this sagging team.

or a starter for that matter