SnakeBytes 9/8: Throwback Weekend Edition

by kishi on Sep 8, 2011 5:33 PM EDT in Snake Bytes

Nice win, and now the team is home to celebrate the tenth anniversary of our World Series win. It's a pretty good time to be a DBacks fan.

Recaps:

[DBacks.com] D-backs close in on goal with win over Rockies - A 4-2 road trip? I'll definitely take that.
[AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks bounce back to take series against Colorado Rockies - Saunders may have gotten into some trouble early on, but he did a great job working out of it.
[NRtoday.com] Saunders helps Arizona beat Colorado 5-3. - Remember when Gibby went to see Saunders on the mound? "I figured he was either going to chew me out or light a spark," Saunders said. "It was nice to see Gibby come out there and say, 'I've got faith in you, let's make some pitches and get out of this mess here.'"
[Denver Post] Colorado Rockies waste three solo home runs in 5-3 loss to Arizona Diamondbacks - The Rockies looked ready for the Diamondbacks to be out of town. See you in February!

Series Previews:

[FS Arizona] Today on FOX Sports Arizona: D-backs vs. Padres, 6 p.m. - Man, a pretty big change from around this time last season, isn't it?
[DBacks.com] D-backs, Padres about to get very familiar - Poor Padres. Two straight weeks of playing the only two teams above .500 in the NL West.
[CBS Sports] Padres-Diamondbacks Preview - You guys, this whole season just seems so strange to me right now. I feel like I'm still in denial.
[Sign On San Diego] On Deck: Eliminated Padres return to Arizona Thursday - We officially knocked the Padres out of the race yesterday- so they're free to relax for the rest of the season! Take the next few games off, just mail it in!

DBacks News:

[Sports Radio Interviews] Kirk Gibson Still Doesn’t Think It’s Appropriate to Talk About the Playoffs, Quotes Old School ("Earmuffs") - I'm not surprised. But at this point, whatever Gibby wants to do to keep the team focused, I'm aboard.
[DBacks.com] Kennedy shares success with teammates - IPK says he'd see 20 wins as more of a team accomplishment. "It doesn't happen when you're on a bad team."
[The D-blog] Farm Report: Patrick Corbin - It's almost easy to lose track of some of our pitching prospects this year, but Patrick Corbin has been making some good outings for Mobile.
[AZ Central] Baylor on Hill, Young; Parra at the top; Collmenter rolls on; Klaw on Goldy; & other stuff - Notes from Nick Piecoro on the team.
[Through the Fence Baseball] What’s the deal with Arizona GM Kevin Towers? - There's plenty of credit to go around with the Diamondbacks success. But who deserves the lion's share? Gibby? Towers? My Little Ponies?

Around Baseball:

[Big League Stew] Rare! Jeff Francoeur gets A’s rookie with the ol’ 9-3 putout
- Frenchy! He may not be the Parrazooka, but do not challenge his cannon.
[LA Times] Judge says Clemens' defense team violated orders - He was also found in contempt of court for bringing a humorously large nameplate to the proceedings. Okay, maybe I just wish he was.
[AMOG.com] Is Joe West the Worst Umpire in Baseball? - I think a better question is this- is he the worst official in all of professional sports?
[Houston Chronicle] AL issue won't decide Crane's fate - The good news is that it seems like the DBacks are safe in the NL West. Whew.

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This article on Baseball Nation

celebrates The Fenway Park Field-Stormer, Or, The Proud Recipient of the Tackle of the Year It happend back in May, but still, it’s a great video

Reading: It's highly overrated!
I <3 Vuvuzelas!!!

by imstillhungry95 on Sep 8, 2011 5:40 PM EDT reply actions

It should be interesting how the Padres play

since now they have nothing to lose. Dbacks need to stay focused to win the 4-game series

Trevor Bauer: 14-4, 2.00 ERA, 162 IP, 246 K in UCLA, Visalia (Hi-A), and Mobile (AA)

by freeland1787 on Sep 8, 2011 5:50 PM EDT reply actions

Interesting

that, even with the park differences, the Dbacks’ starters have the ERA edge in all 4 matchups.

Also, distressing to read Keith Law’s certainty that Goldschmidt can’t make it as an everyday regular.

Goldschmidt happens.

by DbacksSkins on Sep 8, 2011 5:56 PM EDT reply actions

i read this too.....

maybe i’m missing something but doesn’t it take significant bat speed to hit the shots that Goldschmidt is capable of hitting? Overall, some scouts are high and some low on him, only time will tell.

by bradley281 on Sep 8, 2011 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Most scouts

aren’t high on him, think his performance is a lagging indicator of greater swing problems, and think he’s like a tree at 1B.

I don’t know whether someone without bat speed can tear up the Southern League like Goldschmidt did, but I suppose it’s possible. KLaw supposes he’s compensating for bat speed by cheating when he thinks fastball, and we all saw how good short term (spring training) performance can mask that. Chris Burke 2008, anyone?

Goldschmidt happens.

by DbacksSkins on Sep 8, 2011 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions

It's

one of the differences between Goldy and Mark Reynolds, too. Scouts RAVED about Mark’s bat speed.

Goldschmidt happens.

by DbacksSkins on Sep 8, 2011 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions

it wasnt quick enough

goldschmidt’s hitting mechanics are more fundamental than reynolds

Trevor Bauer: 14-4, 2.00 ERA, 162 IP, 246 K in UCLA, Visalia (Hi-A), and Mobile (AA)

by freeland1787 on Sep 8, 2011 6:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Reynolds' problem

wasn’t/isn’t bat speed.

Goldschmidt happens.

by DbacksSkins on Sep 8, 2011 6:40 PM EDT up reply actions

it was the fact he would try to swing at everything

that did him in than skills

Trevor Bauer: 14-4, 2.00 ERA, 162 IP, 246 K in UCLA, Visalia (Hi-A), and Mobile (AA)

by freeland1787 on Sep 8, 2011 7:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Actually,

of the “regular” starters who had at least 250 PAs for the team last year, only Drew, Upton and CY swung at a lower rate at pitches outside the strike zone. He also had the best walk rate of anyone in that group AND the most walks.

Reynolds swung at the highest rate of pitches IN the zone — he just couldn’t make contact, which was his problem. Holes in his swing.

Goldschmidt happens.

by DbacksSkins on Sep 8, 2011 8:45 PM EDT up reply actions

this

people always misunderstand Reynolds. pitcher’s shouldn’t worry about pitching him outside the zone. just throw it in the zone and hope he misses.

his problem was not pitch recognition, or bat speed, or plate discipline. it was contact.

by blue bulldog on Sep 8, 2011 11:07 PM EDT up reply actions

yuuupppp

by AzDbackfanInDc on Sep 8, 2011 7:40 PM EDT up reply actions

disagree with Keith Law

the thing about Keith Law that is bad (aside from being from Harvard), in my opinion, is that he cares too much about upside, stuff, and tools.

Goldy will almost certainly not be a superstar. but he can easily be a 2-3 WAR player. which is still valuable, especially because he’s cheap as hell the next 3-4 years.

people keep getting obsessed over Goldy’s “not elite bat speed.” seriously. who cares? not everyone has elite bat speed. there are only so many Justin Upton’s and Joey Votto’s in the world. just because Goldy will most likely not turn into Votto, that doesn’t mean he can’t be an everyday regular. he’s got the raw power and plate discipline to make it work.

besides, it’s not a consensus at all whether or not Goldy has elite bat speed. we’ll see.

as for Law, I go to him to try to figure out which prospects have the elite stuff and the elite potential. it’s great, because he’s pretty methodical on his rankings and consistent that way. and then i take a look at those guys, and their statistical track record, to try to predict success. that’s why, the fact that Law has Skaggs ranked highly makes me soooooo happy. because that means scouts really like his stuff, and the stats back that up. when both scouts and sabre agrees, the probability that the prospect turns out alright is very high.

by blue bulldog on Sep 8, 2011 11:12 PM EDT up reply actions

If I actually know Joe West's name

That means he is a really bad umpire. I guarantee I don’t know the names of really good umpires.

I saw that highlight of Frenchy’s assist. I cheered for him. LOL.

Oh, and IPK, it is certainly possible to win 20 games on a bad team. It just isn’t probable. See: Steve Carlton, 1972 Phillies.

by SongBird on Sep 8, 2011 8:23 PM EDT reply actions

Pitchers

used to win 20 games a lot more often than they do now, in general. 20 game winners really DON’T happen on poor teams.

Like what you say about the umpires — when I was on the crew team, we used to say the same thing about coxswains. You never notice the cox until he/she screws up.

Goldschmidt happens.

by DbacksSkins on Sep 8, 2011 8:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes, pitchers did use to win 20 games more often back then

Also Clayton Kershaw has around 17 or 18 wins, doesn’t he? And the Dodgers are still slightly under .500

I am pretty sure I know the names of about 3 umpires in all of baseball. And that might be stretching it. I only learned Joe West’s because fans of every team complain about him whenever he is on the crew.

by SongBird on Sep 8, 2011 8:54 PM EDT up reply actions