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The La Russa Heartbreakometer
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Jhoulys Chacin
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Brett Anderson
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| Ender Inciarte - RF | Carl Crawford - LF |
| Aaron Hill - 2B | Chase Utley - 3B |
| A.J. Pollock - CF | Adrian Gonzalez - 1B |
| Paul Goldschmidt - 1B | Howie Kendrick - 2B |
| Welington Castillo - C | Andre Ethier - RF |
| Yasmany Tomas - LF | Corey Seager - SS |
| Brandon Drury - 3B | Yasmani Grandal - C |
| Nick Ahmed - SS | Joc Pederson - CF |
| Jhoulys Chacin - RHP | Brett Anderson - LHP |
Chacin has been pretty solid through his first three outings as a Diamondback, though has yet to be rewarded with a win: The main issue has been, as with more than one Arizona starter, the long-ball, which has been responsible for two-third of the earned runs he has allowed thus far, with three given up in 18.1 innings of work. What has been good thus far is his control: small sample size, but the five BB would be the lowest rate in his career, and the K-rate is the best Jhoulys has put up since 2011. He certainly wouldn't seem a bad option for the fifth spot in our 2016 rotation, assuming ahead of him are Corbin, Ray, Blair and De La Rosa.
That, however, might depend on what transactions the team makes over the winter. If, as many expect, a front-line free-agent starting pitcher is acquired, there may not be room for Chacin, at least initially. Though, as we've seen this season, the rotation you send out on Opening Day is typically doing well if it gets through April without some degree of change being needed! With options such as Bradley, Godley, Anderson, etc. also possibly in the mix, it would not surprise me if Chacin ends up in Reno, but likely close to the front of the list in the almost certain event that we need a replacement starter.
Meanwhile, Tony La Russa's heart is teetering on extremely dangerous ground: with thirteen games left, we would need to go 11-2 the rest of the way to finish with a record above .500. With four games here against the Dodgers, including both Greinke and Kershaw, and three at the end of the season against the Astros, who could be fighting for their post-season spot at that point, it looks rather unlikely, nice though it would be for us to go on a lengthy winning run at the end of the season. I'll settle for taking this one tonight, which will end any chance of the Dodgers clinching the NL West title against the Diamondbacks this season.