81 games in, 81 games to go. Fair to say, I think, that the 2009 Diamondbacks season has been one of the most disappointing on record, with expectation far outweighing actuality. That said, however, let's take a look at the best individual performances and some team totals - using the complex and arcane "doubling what they have now" method, see what we could be getting by the end of the year...
Mark Reynolds: 46 HR, 116 RBI, 26 SB
Very impressive numbers. The HR and RBI totals would be the best for any Diamondback since Luis Gonzalez's season in 2001; even if he doesn't get quite that far, he looks to have an excellent chance of becoming the first Arizona player since Gonzo in 2003 to drive in a hundred runs. However, if Reynolds can keep up that pace, there have been only five 45/25 seasons in baseball history.
Justin Upton: 28 HR, 90 RBI, .922 OPS
Ok, it's far too early to start discussing J-Up's Cooperstown credentials, but here's something to think about. In baseball history, only thirteen players of his age or younger have had a better OPS than he's produced this year. Three (A-Rod, Pujols, Griffey) are still active. Of the remaining ten, eight are now in the Hall of Fame and Shoeless Joe should be. [In case you're wondering, #10 is Hal Trosky]
Dan Haren: 14-10, 2.19 ERA, 226 K, 0.809 WHIP
Cy Young worthy, though a few more wins in the second-half would certainly help. That WHIP is simply insane, and would be the lowest ever in the NL if maintained for a full year, surpassing Greg Maddux's .811 in 1995 - no other NL pitcher has been below .840 over the past century. His K:BB ratio (7.53) would also be league top ten all-time. Almost as impressive, Haren has an OPS of.771 at the plate.
Team numbers
The Diamondbacks are on pace for 148 errors, leading to 72 unearned runs. The former would blow away the total from 2008 (113), though the actual impact, in terms of unearned runs, wouldn't be that much different, as we allowed 70 last season. On the other hand, we've returned to our thieving ways, on target to steal 128 bases at a 75% success-rate - at the half-way point, we're past 2008's total of 58 bases, at a 72% clip. All told, however, the offense will fall 12 runs short of last year's number, though that would require us to repeat the wretched April, when we hit .231 and scored 3.8 per game.
The biggest difference, however, is on the pitching side, where the projected total is 796 runs allowed, an increase of ninety over the 2008 number. Most of the reason for this is the difference between Brandon Webb and the Triple-Headed Beast of Replacement Suck. Brandon made 34 starts in 2008, worked 226.2 IP and allowed 95 runs; Bryan Augenstein, Yusmeiro Petit and Billy Buckner are on pace in 2009 to make thirty starts, throw only 147.1 innings and yet allow 134 runs. So that's 39 runs more, plus almost eighty fewer innings - which will now need to be pitched by the bullpen rather than our ace. This may be why we have already used 22 pitchers; two more than all last year, though that 2009 number does include Josh Wilson.
Ok, I've dug around long enough. Better get on with the Gameday Thread before the natives start to get restless. ;-)