Philly Sports Post - Home of the PSP Podcast

We've gone deep into the desert, and returned with all the news and views you'll need about those Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Arizona Diamondbacks

Last Season’s Result: 82-80, 2nd place in the NL West.

Major Offseason Changes

• Added SP Jon Garland (Signed from LA Angels)
• Added RP Tom Gordon (Signed from Philadelphia)
• Added SS Felipe Lopez (Signed from St. Louis)
• Added RP Scott Schoeneweis (Trade with NY Mets)
• Lost LF Adam Dunn (Signed with Washington)
• Lost 2B Orlando Hudson (Signed with LA Dodgers)
• Lost RP Juan Cruz (Signed with Kansas City)
• Lost 2B David Eckstein (Signed with San Diego)
• Lost SP Randy Johnson (Signed with San Francisco)
• Lost RP Brandon Lyon (Signed with Detroit)

Letter Grades

• Offseason Moves: D Adam Dunn was allowed to walk away, making last season’s trade deadline deal complete failure. They are left with a power shortage in their lineup, and they are unlikely to get 30 homers from anyone in their lineup. All of their additions merely even out a loss, so although I like Jon Garland move, this offseason was still a step backwards.

• Rotation Grade: A- I love this group, Max Scherzer will get first crack at the 5th spot in the rotation, and if he pitches as well as he did last September then the Diamondbacks will win the West. Webb and Haren are the best 1-2 in the NL, and Davis and Garland are fantastic compared to the rest of the 3’s and 4’s in the NL.

• Bullpen Grade: B Chad Qualls starts the year as closer, with Jon Rauch nearby in case Qualls struggles. This group was solid in 2008, and they appear to be just as good this year.

• Lineup Grade: C There is some nice talent on this team, but there is a lack of power. If Drew and Upton play well this team will win enough to be a threat in the West.


Player most closely linked to team’s 2009 hopes: Justin Upton. This may be the easiest answer in the entire league to this question. The better Upton plays the better this team will be. If he plays at an all-star level, which is unlikely this soon, then they win the division by 10 games. If he plays well, they’ll be in it to the wire. If Upton struggles, I’m not sure they have the offense to compete. Projections on Upton range from .257 13 HRs and 45 RBIs, to .282 28 HRs and 75 RBIs.

Biggest Breakout Star Potential: Stephen Drew. Drew should be ineligible for this question, because a player this good should be renowned around the league. The problem is that the NL features Rollins, Reyes, and Hanley Ramirez taking up the all-star spots. Not to mention that the 3 R’s all play on the east coast, while Drew produces his stats as many major media markets are asleep.

Best Case Scenario: Arizona coasts wire to wire and wins the NL West easily. Upton, Drew, and Reynolds form a potent middle of the order, and Chad Qualls locks down the bullpen.

Worst Case Scenario: Upton and Reynolds strike out too often, and the back end of the rotation doesn’t work out. Also, the Dodgers’ young starters pitch up to potential and the Diamondbacks end up finishing just short again.

Prediction for 2009: 89-73. 1st place in the NL West.

Local Thoughts

By: Jim McLennan of The AZ SnakePit

• Letter Grade for Offseason Moves: I'd give them a B. They addressed the major holes left by departing free agents such as Orlando Hudson, Randy Johnson and Juan Cruz, though in almost all the cases, there are questions as to what extent the replacements will be able to match previous production. Still, they probably did the best they could with relatively limited resources: there's no way the team was going to be able to bid for the big free-agents like Sabathia or Teixeira.

• Most Essential: There are a few pivotal ones (Jon Garland in the rotation, Conor Jackson on offense), but I am going to go with Chad Qualls, our new closer. He had only eight career saves before replacing Brandon Lyon late last season, but is now being relied upon to anchor the bullpen, a major weakness in 2008. They had a 17-28 record and the Diamondbacks lost fifteen games which we were winning after six innings, so the ability to hold on to leads is going to prove critical if the team is going to succeed.

• Breakout Potential: Got to go with Justin Upton. There aren't many 20-year olds who can hold down a starting job in the major-leagues, but J-Up did it, and did it well. The last under-21 to appear in 100 games and have an OBP as good as Upton's .353, was back in 1996, when some guy called Alex Rodriguez did it. [Whatever happened to him? :-)] An injury did take Justin out mid-season, but over the 36 games left when he returned, he was incendiary, with a .922 OPS - 12 of his last 16 hits were for extra-bases. All-Star games and perhaps even an MVP are in his future: the only question is, when.


• Prediction for 2009: The team doesn't have a great deal of depth at most positions, so any predictions are somewhat fragile and dependent on the team remaining healthy - if Brandon Webb or Dan Haren go down, then you can probably stick a fork in the season and call it done. All being well, however, I'm going for a win total in the high eighties: 88 or thereabouts. That should be enough to put them in serious contention, with the Dodgers being the most significant rivals for the title. Whether we finish first or second probably depends largely on whether the Dodgers get Manny or ManDy for their $20 million this season.