And a familiar former starter, getting a shot at a spot in the bullpen. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, while the big news is the trade for Armando Galarraga, you can also be glad to know that the team is bringing back Micah Owings to a minor league contract and a Spring Training invite. Well, I don't know about you, but I feel better about the loss of power this off-season.
DBacks News:
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[Fox Sports Arizona] D-Backs acquire Galarraga from Tigers - The Diamondbacks are sending Kevin Eichhorn (#30 on IHSB's prospects ranking) and Ryan Robowski (possibly the sworn enemy of Sonic the Hedgehog) to Detroit in return for the man who nearly had a perfect game last year. According John Gambadoro at KTAR 620, the DBacks have signed Galarraga to a one year, $2.3 million contract.
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[DBacks.com] D-backs legend Luis Gonzalez to serve as All-Star Game ambassador - The article is a little bit vague on what, exactly, an ambassador does- I don't think he'll be negotiating any treaties with the NHL All-Star Game- but it generally seems like he'll be the spokesman during all the proceedings. Maybe we should give that poll another shot- is Luis Gonzalez still the face of the Arizona Diamondbacks?
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[Dodger Thoughts] The 2011 National League West: A first look - Not too terribly optimistic about our chances to turn around from last season, which is probably where most of us sit on the topic, too.
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[FanGraphs] Players Who Out-WARred Their Entire Teams - Wow, this is a little painful to consider. The 2004 Diamondbacks make an appearance as one of the teams to combine to put up a negative batting/fielding WAR- possibly the worst performance ever?
According to Jack Magruder (on Twitter), we'll also see Micah Owings at first base this spring. So how many potential first basemen does that give us? Someone call Brandon Allen and see if he wants to switch over to playing third.
Around Baseball:
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[Yahoo] GM's maverick mentality pays off for Brewers - Seems a little early to declare victory on the season, isn't it? I mean, it's not like trading for Haren meant we automatically got a berth in the playoffs. Maybe we should wait until some games are actually played, first.
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[ESPN] Baseball's All Underrated Team - Some players I can understand- Josh Johnson, Michael Cuddyer, and really anyone who is a setup pitcher or plays in Pittsburgh or Kansas City is likely to be underrated. But Adam Dunn? Ryan Zimmerman? Trevor Hoffman was on the list until he retired? Some of these players seem to be rated just fine.
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[USA Today] Organizational report: Padres' big trade not ominous sign - In other news, I suspect USA Today may be flat-out lying to Padres fans.
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[Seattle Times] Gophers move Metrodome tournament to Arizona - Seems like a pretty huge distance to move a tournament from Minnesota to Arizona, but at least the Kino Sports Complex will see some baseball come March.
So, how do you feel about the trade? We now have seven pitchers for five spots in the rotation- or, more realistically, four competing for the last two spots. Hopefully the competition brings out something good in the team come March.