Diamondbacks Ups and Downs: Division Series

by Jim McLennan on Oct 9, 2011 12:00 PM EDT in Diamondbacks Trends

Fans cheer as relief pitcher J.J. Putz celebrates with Miguel Montero after defeating the Milwaukee Brewers in Game Four

First things first. A huge collective up-arrow for the team, who defied pre-series predictions that they were the worst team in the post-season, to come within a sacrifice-fly of defeating the Brewers in a decisive Game 5. They showed immense heart and determination in coming back to win consecutive elimination games, and only five major-league teams played deeper into October. Not bad for a team almost universally picked by the pundits to finish dead last in their division.

After the jump, we'll look at who got us to extra innings in Game 5.

Rotation	Trend	Notes
Ian Kennedy		Fought really hard in both his starts, but largely suffered death by a thousand cute, with the Brewers blooping, bleeding and shallow sac-flying their way past him. Went toe-to-toe with Gallardo in Game 5, and kept the Diamondbacks in the game.
Daniel Hudson		Sure his Game Two performance will burn in Hudson's mind over the winter, as he was tagged for nine hits in 5.2 innings. That's a mark reached only twice in his last 21 regular-season starts. But he did give us the Tweet of the Season!
Joe Saunders		If this was Joe's last start for Arizona - a topic sure to be discussed over the winter - it was a disappointing way to go. He scattered five hits and two walks in three frames, and was quickly hooked by Cap'n Kirk, after teetering on the edge of a big inning.
Josh Collmenter		Easily the best performance of our post-season pitchers, holding a powerful Milwaukee offense to two hits in seven, with just one run allowed. Really stepped up and delivered, when the team needed it most, teetering on the edge of being swept.

Bullpen
J.J. Putz		Took the L in the decider, and just didn't seem at his sharpest. Was pitching for the third time in four days there though - and none of them were in save situations.
David Hernandez		As in the regular season, an absolute work-horse: Appeared in all but one games, giving him 78 in total. Gave up a two-run homer, but had a K:BB ratio of 6:0 in 5.1 innings.
Bryan Shaw		For a 23-year old who made his major-league debut less than four months ago, he pitched really well. Four scoreless innings, and struck out the Milwaukee side in Game 5.
Micah Owings		When Saunders faltered in Game 3, it was to Owings that Gibson turned, and he steadied the ship, putting up a pair of crucial zeroes, with another in Game 2.
Joe Paterson		Struck out Prince Fielder, the only batter he saw. Still, that's enough for me!
Brad Ziegler		A post-season ERA this year of 108.00 for Ziegler. Ouch. Obviously Game 2 will have him waking up screaming for some time, thanks to its perfect storm of tragedy.
Jarrod Parker		Not quite the entry in to the play-offs he hoped for either, retiring one batter and being lifted with the bases loaded. Had his share of bad luck, and I'm sure better is in his future.

Starters
Miguel Montero		After a poor couple of games in Milwaukee, Montero really came through for Arizona, having good at-bats and ending the series batting .300 (6-for-20). And he gave us The Snake, which I look forward to seeing in 2012.
Paul Goldschmidt		MVP for the series? You can certainly make that case, as Goldschmift truly did happen. He went 7-for-16 with two homers and six driven in. Shame he missed Game 1...
Aaron Hill		Hit .278 but got on base at a .435 clip, thanks to five walks, compared to only three K's. Unfortunately, one of those was in the ninth inning of Game 5.
Willie Bloomquist		Say what you like about Bloomquist - and heaven knows, we've said a lot here - he went 7-for-22 (.318) in the lead-off spot and stole three bases without being caught. Hard to pick fault.
Ryan Roberts		Hit .350 with, like Goldchmidt, two home-runs and six RBI, so another possible MVP of the team. Remarkable to remind ourselves, again, he barely made the team out of Spring Training.
Gerardo Parra		Finally broke his goose-egg with a ninth-inning double, but matched Rickie Weeks by going 1-for-18 in the division series. One walk and seven strikeouts too: forgettable.
Chris Young		And another MVP candidate here, going 7-for-18 with three home-runs, a 1.394 OPS that led the starters, and some highlight reel defense that helped keep Game 5 in check.
Justin Upton		While he didn't have the most hits, Upton still ended with an .804 OPS, and his two homers were potentially crucial, tying up Game 2 and giving us the lead in Game 5.

Bench
John McDonald		Two appearances as a late-inning defensive replacement, never got to the plate.
Collin Cowgill		Only got one at-bat, but took full advantage, rifling a very important two-run single as a pinch-hitter for Saunders in Game Four.
Sean Burroughs		2009: "I was running from people who weren't real. I was talking to light poles. I would sit in the bathrooms of Starbucks for six, eight hours afraid to get out. I would hear police helicopters above me and there wasn't any.'' 2011: the MLB playoffs.
Lyle Overbay		It would have been a nice story if a survivor from the 2001 Diamondbacks had got back to the World Series a decade later. But Overbay's 0-for-4 with two K's didn't help.
Henry Blanco		Finally got to bat in the ninth inning of Game 5, but there would be no Henry-oics this time as he stranded the go-ahead run in scoring position.
Geoff Blum		0-for-2 with two K's. See you in 2012...

Poll

Who was Arizona's MVP in the Division Series?

Josh Collmenter

22 votes

Paul Goldschmidt

152 votes

Ryan Roberts

35 votes

Chris Young

75 votes

284 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 36 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

minor note

Cowgill hit a two-run single, not double, in his pinch hit appearance

lots of up arrows for the position players. it’s really too bad we couldn’t get some better pitching performances….but i guess that’s what happens when you face one of the two best hitters in the NL and he’s on a hot streak……

by blue bulldog on Oct 9, 2011 12:40 PM EDT reply actions

Fixed

Saw his OPS was 2.000 and went from there…

"We have to resist it. Do whatever you have to. Cross your fingers. Say a prayer. Think of a basket of kittens. But do not give in to the fear..."

by Jim McLennan on Oct 9, 2011 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions

When does

spring training start again? This no Dbacks Baseball is for the birds!

After 94 wins, and a trip to the NLDS, #InGibbyWeTrust!

by imstillhungry95 on Oct 9, 2011 12:50 PM EDT reply actions

See my sig...

also, there’s a pretty good chance we’ll be meeting up to watch at least one Arizona Fall League game, which is actually very high competition. Stay tuned!

Is it mid-February yet?

by NASCARbernet on Oct 9, 2011 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions

And that

post is now on the front page!

After 94 wins, and a trip to the NLDS, #InGibbyWeTrust!

by imstillhungry95 on Oct 10, 2011 12:00 AM EDT up reply actions

I voted CY

Is it mid-February yet?

by NASCARbernet on Oct 9, 2011 1:35 PM EDT reply actions

I did too

Three very similar offensive peformances from Goldschmidt, Roberts, and Young, but when Young broke Jerry Hairston’s heart in Game 5, I think he won the MVP.

The Crolian Progressive: as great an adventure as ever I heard of...

by Nonpartisan on Oct 9, 2011 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

That was a play for the ages.

Is it mid-February yet?

by NASCARbernet on Oct 9, 2011 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

His defense was utterly phenomenal. It was between CY and Collmenter for me – as good as Roberts and Goldy were, their positions don’t offer the same value that CY’s does, and the bats were awfully similar among the three of ’em.

Founder and Chairman of the Send Dan Some Pizzeria Bianco Commission. A totally, definitely for-profit organization.

Today, our Executive Chef Josh Collmenter is featuring a special of delicately braised crow served over-the-top (get it?!?!) of a side of lightly roasted NLDS victory and topped with a delicious starting rotation cream sauce.

by Dan Strittmatter on Oct 9, 2011 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions

CY all the way

Between his offense and his defense, there was no one more important to this team’s success. Collmenter was a close second to me, since he was someone who “shouldn’t” be the hero, but he was. I just have a hard time voting for a guy who only played in one game out of the five. CY was money. I’m incredibly happy for him. For all the grief he takes, it was awesome to see him get up there and just kill it.

by azshadowwalker on Oct 9, 2011 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions

I did too

I think that if it wasn’t for his bat and glove, we probably would have been eliminated much, much soon.

After 94 wins, and a trip to the NLDS, #InGibbyWeTrust!

by imstillhungry95 on Oct 10, 2011 12:00 AM EDT up reply actions

Does anyone recall

Earlier this year when Mike Cameron said he wanted to stay with the Red Sox because he didn’t want to get traded to a team like Diamondbacks? LOL….

"If you find a man or woman who sticks around after you tell them "I may be a demented horse, but I know CPR," you marry them. No questions asked." - kishi

by CaptainCanuck on Oct 9, 2011 2:32 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

Maybe he meant

that he already had other things to do in October…

Riding the Gibbytrain since 2011!

by TylerO on Oct 9, 2011 2:39 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs

Yeah, that really worked out for him

otherwise he’d have been stuck on the bench sitting behind CY in the playoffs…

Is it mid-February yet?

by NASCARbernet on Oct 9, 2011 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

At least he could have PH'd for us instead of Blum, perchance?

Founder and Chairman of the Send Dan Some Pizzeria Bianco Commission. A totally, definitely for-profit organization.

by Dan Strittmatter on Oct 9, 2011 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions

That's a point

Is it mid-February yet?

by NASCARbernet on Oct 9, 2011 2:54 PM EDT up reply actions

I think Sean Burroughs deserves an up arrow

After seeing pinch-hit fail after pinch-hit fail throughout the series, the PA he had in the top of the ninth in Game Five at Milwaukee was a great bit of hitting. Took it the other way, looped it past the SS in front of Braun. Moved Parra up to third with nobody out where Willie could squeeze him home. If Arizona pulls out that game, the Parra, Burroughs, and Bloomquist PA’s are remembered for the ages.

Bloomquist (and the power of BABIP) earned every cent of the $900k he made this year in this series alone. Also, his cousin apparently goes to Notre Dame and lives in my dorm section. I’m room 325, he’s in like room ~306 or something in that vicinity. Another year of Willie for $950k as a backup to Drew, Hill(/2B-to-be), and Roberts sounds good to me (just please not as a backup to Parra and Upton…).

If Geoff Blum sucks and/or can’t stay healthy in Spring Training, I think he’ll get a short leash. After all, he no longer has a two-year deal to give us reason to keep him around. Just one year and $1.35MM left, and KT has shown the impressive ability to cut the cord with guys he picked up who don’t play the way he expects them to. Frankly, I think Burroughs beats out Blum in Spring Training for a pinch-hit spot, and Blum gets let go. I have much more confidence in Sean off the bench, as crazy as that sounds. Heck, Burroughs had a pair of pretty freaking good years with the Padres back in the day, and I think there’s a chance he could shake off some more of the leftover rust with a good off-season of training. Of course, I wouldn’t count Blum out just yet, as heaven forbid Burroughs falls off the wagon somehow (I desperately hope he doesn’t, but we do have to have a sense of reality, no?).

Way-too-soon-to-have-any-real-idea Opening Day Roster prediction:
SP: Kennedy, Hudson, Collmenter, Parker, Miley
RP: Putz, Hernandez, Shaw, Paterson, Ziegler, Cook, LH
POS: Montero, Goldschmidt, MIF, Drew, Roberts, Parra, Upton, Young
BN: Cowgill, Blanco, Bloomquist, Burroughs, BN

LH: Mike Zagurski, Darren Oliver, Hideki Okajima, George Sherrill.
MIF: Aaron Hill, Jerry Hairston Jr., Jamey Carroll (caveat emptor, IMO), Marco Scutaro, Clint Barmes.
BN: Geoff Blum, Hairston Jr., Eric Hinske, Jason Giambi, Vladimir Guerrero, Scott Hairston, Conor Jackson, Ryan Ludwick, Laynce Nix, Juan Rivera, Jason Kubel.

That’s an awfully-good roster to me.

Founder and Chairman of the Send Dan Some Pizzeria Bianco Commission. A totally, definitely for-profit organization.

by Dan Strittmatter on Oct 9, 2011 2:51 PM EDT reply actions

I was thinking the same thing about SB

Is it mid-February yet?

by NASCARbernet on Oct 9, 2011 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Go Cardinals (Saint Louis variety)

I am boycotting anything having to do with the city of milwaukee, or is it wilmawkey?

Will never buy a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Will never buy one of their beers. Will never watch LaVern and Shirley or Happy Days.

Is it mid-February yet?

by NASCARbernet on Oct 9, 2011 4:31 PM EDT reply actions

Leinenkugel's is pretty good...

Owned by Miller-Coors I believe but brewed in Chippewa Falls. Not sure where that leaves you…

Founder and Chairman of the Send Dan Some Pizzeria Bianco Commission. A totally, definitely for-profit organization.

by Dan Strittmatter on Oct 9, 2011 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Two words...

Anchor Steam.

Is it mid-February yet?

by NASCARbernet on Oct 9, 2011 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Go Cardinals, regardless...

Since it’s not Arizona, I am completely behind St. Louis. Classy organization. Classy players. Classy fans. Cinderella story all the way. I hated them back in the day of the Easter brawl between Arizona and St. Louis, but I’ve come to really like them. Of all the fans I’ve dealt with on the Internet, theirs are the best. Seeing them pull it out against Philadelphia was awesome. (Wonder how Philly fans will spin this one. After a year of calling the Giants “flukes,” how will they explain their second collapse against a “lesser” team in as many years?)

by azshadowwalker on Oct 9, 2011 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions

VEB is a great site,

If I say so myself.

Founder and Chairman of the Send Dan Some Pizzeria Bianco Commission. A totally, definitely for-profit organization.

by Dan Strittmatter on Oct 9, 2011 5:49 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 1 recs

...

FIRE EVERYONE

by Notorious PSC on Oct 24, 2011 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions

I really wanted

To root for Milwaukee, since I like teams that don’t make the playoffs that often. I made it until the bottom of the first, and then I thought about Nyjer Morgan (even though he isn’t playing) and…and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. So, GO CARDINALS!

And to echo Dan’s point, VEB is fantastic.

What's one more comeback, anyway?

by Zavada's Moustache on Oct 9, 2011 6:11 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Boycotting Milwaukee

I think I’ll just do it until the Brewers lose or the season ends, whichever comes first (please let the Brewers lose first). But I definitely get your point.

by VouxCroux on Oct 9, 2011 8:44 PM EDT up reply actions