Oh Jim, you slay me. It has nothing to do with "today's disaster" and you know it. Even Nick Piecoro, who I think we all respect, describes the team as "freefalling". What is it, 13 of 17 now?  

Comfortably above .500?

Isnt this about as uncomfortable and tenuous a .500 team as can possibly be? By almost any conceivable measure: the ridiculously bad pythag (worse than the Royals, Reds or beloved Giants), recent cracks in the rotation and pen, 2nd half schedule, 2nd half history of EByrnes, 2nd half history of BoMel,  the kids 3.25 rpg under Rick Schu...?

Sure, the W/L record "counts", but to assert they're "on pace" for more than another season of unrealized expectations - at this juncture - seems like wishful, rather than robust, thinking.  

"Shitty" was skins word. I dont recall calling the DBacks that, specifically, despite his generalization regarding my posts. I've used 'paper tiger' - I suspect we'll be hauling  out 'non-competitive' any day now :-)

I thought I was preaching to the choir on this, but maybe not. Let's see what unfolds in the second half. I could be wrong.

good response. from the top:

I didnt ignore your point about L.A. spending, I acknowledged it and made a counterpoint about Moorad & Hall's LA sensibilities, which are manifested in everything from ticket prices, erasure of the team colors,etc. (subject for a different thread?)

Your characterization of Jerry's ownership performance and legacy is, IMO, "cynical" to the max, but that doesnt make me question your fandom. Championships dont grow on trees, and there are broader - and frankly better - measures of success, by which Jerry was an unequivocal winner. He hardly 'left the cupboard bare'- that's another Kendrick myth. And Jerry's albatross, that boilerplate $250M figure, is sourced to Kendrick and subject to scrutiny. (Even the US congress couldnt get a straight answer about MLB club finances.) Please dont take this to mean I dont think Jerry overspent or there wasnt a significant problem. There was. As to how significantly this burdened the new regime, however, relative to their self imposed restrictions, is debatable. My position on his legacy here

I dont have an issue with your poem. I have an issue with your claim that mine is cynical, or hyperbole, and yours somehow less so because Barry's hated or a rival,etc. Your claim that his fearsomeness is primarily a function of PEDs is more fantasy than anything I rhymed. Yet you insist yours is "based in fact" while I " essentially just wrote a poem talking entirely subjectively about how lousy our team is", when I did nothing of the sort.  

I very specifically made fun of the so called CI "logjam", which I see as an FO euphemism for, "We're too cheap or lazy to get a good first baseman". (subject for a different thread). It's funny because its TRUE (with the iffy exception of Reynolds that you noted). We have lousy first basemen - three of em. Get used to it :-)

I'm honestly perplexed how you think my poem is  incompatible with being a Diamondbacks fan. I'm a critical fan. I just dont see how that makes me less of one. It's true I despise the current front office. From my vantage point, they've made unbelievable blunders, especially off the field. They're clearly more committed to, and adept at, making money than to winning, despite protests to the contrary. I find Hall, Moorad and Kendrick to be consistently disingenuous in their public statements. I do like Josh Byrnes and basically think he works for a bunch of jerks and phonies. I like the open roof. I like the fireworks. I like Carlos Quentin. I like that they didnt sign Barry Zito. I like that they gave away 6000 tickets on Opening Day. But there's easily a hundred things I dislike about this FO. It's not just the losing or "rebuilding", it goes much deeper than that for me.(subject for another thread).  

But this is a growing team, a team playing for the future.

That explains it. They dont appear to be playing for the present ;-)

To call it just shitty is to express an extreme impatience to traditional team-building.

Let's review. They started with an overdrawn, injured, very bad team with a rich farm system and huge trade bait in Randy Johnson, and in three short years they've put their heads together, made some trades, committed hundreds of millions of dollars to their players, and parlayed all of that into... the worst hitting team within the sorriest NL in memory, including two or three markets that are little more than minor league affiliates.

How patient do you want me to be?    

Oh, and for what it's worth, I had a grin, not a scowl, on my face, when I wrote "Cynical, as always."

ok, ok. maybe I misinterpreted your intent. no hard feelings.

how 'bout them Diamondbacks?