The Diamondbacks bullpen can't do any damage on Thursday. It's an off day. "We definitely need a break," Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch said. "I'm glad it's here." -- AZ Republic
You and us both, AJ. After another deeply-depressing outing by the bullpen sent the Diamondbacks to their seventh defeat in nine game, our relievers picking up their fifth loss in only 15 games. But they're not the only ones struggling. Justin Upton is hitting .186 and tied for the league lead in strikeouts. Chris Young is right back to where he was (OPS+ of 83). And Dan Haren has an ERA of 5.19 after four starts.
More gloom and doom after the jump, if you can handle it.
Recaps- [AZCentral] Poor 9th inning sinks Arizona Diamondbacks in loss to St. Louis Cardinals - "It's getting pretty ridiculous, to be honest, and it's no fun to lose these games," Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch said. "It's hard. It's hard to find new ways to describe late-inning failures where they scratch out not one, not two, but multiple runs to take us out of games."
- [dbacks.com] Ninth-inning struggles hurt D-backs at home - "I had him 1-2, I made three great pitches to get to that count and just make a terrible pitch 1-2, made a mistake and he hit a homer," Qualls said. "It's just a bad pitch and I let the home run kind of deflate me out there. I've got to make a better pitch obviously in that situation and then on top of that I've got to keep it to at least a one run game."
- [Yahoo!] Rasmus hits 2 HRs, connects in 9th to lead Cards - "I worked my butt off to get healthy this year and it’s just not paying of right now," Qualls said. "That’s just the way baseball goes and I have to keep grinding it out and keep doing what I do everyday and I know it’s going to turn around."
- [dbacks.com] Benches clear after D-backs hit Carpenter - Said Carpenter of his attempted take-out of Kelly Johnson, "It was an unprofessional move. I shouldn't have done it. I told Matt Williams at first to tell Kelly that it was unprofessional and I shouldn't have done that. I was in a position where I didn't control my emotions."
- [FoxSportsArizona.com] Post-Game Report (April 21): Qualls struggles again - Asked if Qualls would benefit from pitching in different situations, Hinch said, "There aren’t a lot of non-competitive situations in this league. I don’t know that those are always available. I do know he had the weapons to get out. Didn’t particularly care for the pitch selection to Rasmus. And you make one mistake when you are in the middle of these valleys, singles and doubles end up leaving the ballpark."
- [Viva El Birdos] Two Aces - "Colby Rasmus is slugging .705. I am happy in this alternate universe."
News and Notes
- [AZCentral.com] Diamondbacks crowds are smaller - "It's early, but attendance has not been robust so far at Chase Field, where there has been a 17.4 percent drop compared with the first eight games of last season." I suspect the Suns and Coyotes being in the playoffs simultaneously might be having an impact
- [Forbes.com] #20 Arizona Diamondbacks - Forbes carried out their annual survey of team finances. The Diamondbacks were one of only two teams - the other being the Tigers - to show an operating income deficit last season.
- [AZCentral.com] How Gillespie got the news of his call-up - "They sit me down and asked me if I had a drug test with the guys in spring training. I said, well, yeah, of course I did. They said, well is there anything you need to tell us? I said, I’ve got nothing to tell you guys, you guys could probably tell me something. They drag it out for a while or whatever and before I know it they pull out some balloons from behind the curtains and tell me I’m going up to the big leagues."
- [dbacks.com] Reynolds sits with bad quad - "Hitting and fielding is all fine. It's just when I overextend and run, it's pretty sore."
- [Diary of a Diehard] D-Backs Fan Loyalty Programs - "I have to be honest, the Kid’s Club prizes are better than those for the adults. Attending just one game will get the kids D-Backs Eye Black Stickers something I have always wanted. For three games they get D-Backs shoelaces, what fan would not want those?"