:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/19968829/2013_rookie_hazing.0.jpg)
|
|
Diamondbacks line-up
- Adam Eaton, LF
- A.J. Pollock, CF
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
- Aaron Hill, 2B
- Miguel Montero, C
-
Matt Davidson, 3B
- Gerardo Parra, RF
- Chris Owings, SS
- Patrick Corbin, P
Admittedly,, that feeling of loss is probably less for the Rockies specifically, than the realization that a week from today, it'll be the last game of the season, and there will be no more, even slightly meaningful, Diamondbacks baseball, for five months. No matter how bad the season has been, or how much of a blessed relief it might be for it to be eventually over, it's still better than no baseball at all. Much though it'll be nice to be able to get back to other things during the winter, like reviewing the complete cinematic output of Klaus Kinski... Well, at the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious, it's not Diamondbacks baseball.
If you hadn't already figured out from the picture on top of this piece, it's also rookie hazing day, in which all the youngsters are subject to the whims of their elders, even more than usual. This year, there does appear to be a theme of superheros, and if tradition holds true, they will be required to walk slightly further than usual today: probably being required to parade around downtown Denver before the game. Based on his "#YouAreWelcomeDenver" comment on Twitter, one wonder if Mr. B. Ziegler perhaps had something of a hand in selecting this year's topic?
This afternoon, Corbin starts. and it has been a rough month for him: in those five appearances, he is 1-4 with a 7.76 ERA, that has seen his season ERA balloon from 2.45 to 3.17. However, it has still been among the best seasons ever by a young Diamondbacks pitcher. The 3.2 bWAR for Corbin, has been exceeded by those in their age 23 season only twice: Daniel Hudson put up 3.8 bWAR in 2010 and Byung-Hyun Kim managed 4.1 bWAR in 2002. That's frankly astonishing, considering he was a reliever. By bWAR, it is the second-best season by a "pure" reliever in NL history, trailing only Bruce Sutter's 6.5 bWAR for the 1977 Cubs.
I'd certainly like to see Corbin reach 15 wins and, it's almost a foregone certainty, pitch 200 innings [he has 199 coming into today]; that would be a huge success, and far in excess of expectations. With his last start being against the Nationals, probably best if he gets #15 taken care of this afternoon, just to be safe. Amazing to think that he came in to this season having to compete for the #5 spot in the rotation. Now, he would seem a credible candidate to be our Opening Day starter in 2014, though I've a feeling it'll go to one of the more-experienced pitchers. Hopefully, Corbin can finish strong, and win us both the game and the series.
The guest recap for this afternoon's game will hopefully be some kind of collective affair, but I'm still working out the details. Which basically means, I haven't asked anyone yet. So, probably best if it remains vague for now!