Poll: 2014 D-backs most regrettable moment

There were a plethora of excellent suggestions in the comments, so I've ended up expanding this category to seven nominees, to make room for them all. Thanks to Diamondhacks, Nonpartisan and Songbird for their additional candidates, though DeadmanG's popular suggestion of "being a Diamondbacks fan" was deemed just a little too broad for inclusion by the judging panel...

March 16: Corbin needs Tommy John

It should have been his last spring start before taking the mound in Sydney. But on that Saturday night, Corbin felt "a small shock" in his elbow while delivering his 91st pitch, and an MRI showed he had a partial tear of his left ulnar collateral ligament. The second opinion was almost a formality, and instead of being our Opening Day starter, Corbin went under the knife for Tommy John surgery: he missed the entire 2014 season, and may not be back in the majors until June of next year.

March 22: Operation Trumbo Drop commences

Immediately we dealt Mark Trumbo for Adam Eaton, concerns were expressed about the impact this would have on our outfield defense, one of the best in the majors during 2013. It didn't take long for these fears to become reality: almost the first play to left field on Opening Day, resulted in the following GIF, as Trumbo's effort to catch the ball came up woefully short. It was a taste of things to come:

April 30: Cody Ross gets into public Twitter spat

It began with an innocuous sounding Tweet from local radio host, John Gambadoro:

Cody Ross has to catch that not a difficult play

— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) May 1, 2014

However, the target of the criticism didn't take it quite that way, opting to return fire:

@Gambo987 how are you gonna ask me for signed gear for your charity events then bury me on twitter? Thats cool.

— Cody Ross (@IamCodyRoss) May 1, 2014

Needless to say, Gambadoro wasn't so easily silenced:

@IamCodyRoss so getting you to sign an item in 2010 for families of fallen firefighter/police officers gets you exclusion from criticism. OK

— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) May 1, 2014

@IamCodyRoss and if you think me saying I think you should have caught a ball is burying you on twitter you are way too sensitive.

— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) May 1, 2014

Apparently, Ross then followed up with a text message to Gambo, saying "I don't play that shit and will get word to the other guys." There are times when the best thing for someone to say, is nothing at all. This was probably one of those occasions.

June 9: Trevor Cahill designated for assignment

When dealt to Arizona in December 2011, Cahill was less than 18 months from being an All-Star at age 22. But he never recaptured that form for the D-backs, and imploded entirely in 2014. He was removed from the rotation after his first four starts resulted in an ERA of 9.17, and languished in the bullpen for two months. The only way to go up, was first to go back down to the minors, and so Cahill accepted a minor-league assignment, spending a month trying to recover his mojo. Did it work? "Don't count on it," says my Magic 8-ball.

July 7: Bronson Arroyo to undergo Tommy John surgery

Last winter was largely spent hunting a top of the rotation pitcher to anchor the team's rotation. Somehow, by Opening Day, that had morphed into a 37-year-old with an ERA+ of 99 over the previous five years, whose main talent was durability. And even that proved worthless, as he made only eight starts before tearing his UCL. He tried to gut through it, but the recovery between outings was too rough, and he eventually had to admit defeat and go on the DL for the first time in his career. He should be back sometime in the middle of next season.

August 1: Goldschmidt is broken

Through the first four months of the season, as the team sank to the bottom of the NL West and pretty much stuck there, we had one diamond in the dungheap: Paul Goldschmidt. At the time his season was ended, he was batting .300, and on pace for close to 30 HR. He even had a shot at becoming the first player since 1936 to reach sixty doubles. But then the Pirates arrived - going into the game, they had hit 61 batters, 13 more than any other team, and had specifically told reliever Ernesto Frieri to pitch inside more. The irony is, Goldschmidt had only come in that night as a pinch-hitter, missing just his second start of the year.

August 2: McCutchen is McPlunked

Was the retaliation that followed the next night, Andrew McCutchen getting pegged in the back by a fastball from Randall Delgado, regrettable? Personally, I'd probably be more inclined to think so, if it hadn't been for the hysterical over-reaction from some media corners - you'd think no batter had ever been hit on purpose before. However, matters weren't helped by McCutchen going on the DL not long afterward, even though the injury appeared likely unrelated. It certainly didn't do anything at all for the public perception of the Diamondbacks, already on thin ice.