Absolutely brutal bullpen woes

As unbelievable as Dan Haren was tonight...and I mean spectacular...from both the bump and at the plate...for him to go out without a win was an absolute disaster. I really feel for Haren - the guy does everything possible, and that corps of guys out in that pen are a complete disaster. Tony Pena looked worse tonight than last night...loading the bases up before handing the ball over to newcomer Daniel Schlereth - which in my mind was inexcusable to put him in that situation. Hinch doesn't have many options out there, but for a guy just called up last Friday, it's not the right call in that big of a stage. Sure hope that doesn't hurt his confidence down the road.

This was one of the most disappointing losses I can recall in the last 10 years. Just when you think they're coming together...they fall right back apart.

Well....let the Hinching begin

I'm a bit skeptical as the A.J. Hinch era officially began tonight at Chase Field. I think Hinch may end up getting the job done, but signing him to a contract through 2012 seems absolutely absurd. I mean...based on what? Sounds like a whole lot of wishful thinking going on in the upstairs of Chase.

While I certainly agree that this team has underperformed tremendously over the past year, I'm still not sold on the fact that sacking BoMel was the right call here. A change was certainly necessary here as the team has clearly stagnated since the start of the year.

But could effective change have been accomplished with Melvin still at the helm?

Yes, and here's how it could have happened:

1.) Fire the hitting coach, Rick Schu.

2.) Send Chris Young and Conor Jackson down to Reno for a couple of weeks, minimum. It would clearly send a message to the rest of the team that it's time to put up or realize that your major league career is in serious jeopardy.

3.) Hope and pray.

For the sake of this team and the fans, let's hope the Josh Byrnes/A.J. Hinch marriage works out. I'll evaluate after a month and see where we are.

Bob Melvin was an incredibly classy guy and will be missed by many, including myself. Good luck BoMel.

Some impressive looks in Spring

The one guy that I have been impressed with thus far this spring is Ryan Roberts. The 29-year old journeyman second baseman has put up some pretty good numbers. Hitting .344 with 3 stolen bases, and leads the team with 32 ABs. I got to see him for the first time yesterday in game action, and while the tatted up Roberts is not likely destined for the 40-man roster, a good spring will give the D-backs some options with him.

Conor Jackson continues to rake....and made more than a few excellent catches in the outfield. A couple against the wall....a shoestring catch on a ball in shallow left. It's going to be very difficult for Mr. Eric Byrnes to make a case for playing time in left. He will need to hope that Conor ends up playing a lot more first than Jackson would like.

D-backs Spring '09 Report - Part 2

Talk about a hitting clinic. The Sunday edition of the spring workouts at TEP brought a trio guys together that just smoked the ball for a good 20 minutes or so. The three guys: Conor Jackson, Eric Byrnes, and Chad Tracy. I haven't seen a dinger barrage like that in quite some time.

Even Bo Mel was quite impressed. He came over in the middle of it all, and it was obvious he was happy with what he saw. He was congratulating the BP coach when the rare ground ball would find it's way off of a bat. For the most part, all that was seen were either screaming line drives, or towering home runs. And of course Susan the super fan was right there giving her hoopla to the festivities. It was good stuff.

I think there really is something to make of the Jackson and Byrnsie competition. I'm just a guy on the outside looking in, but there seems to be a little fight there...and who could blame either guy. Nobody wants to lose their job. Not that last year wasn't a good year for Jackson, but I really believe this will be a breakout season for him.

First game is on Wednesday, and I will certainly miss the workouts. It's the one time of year where getting so close to the action truly gives you the inside perspective on how the team operates, both from the standpoint of strategy and the relationships that can be seen and developed.

D-backs Spring '09 Report

There's nothing quite like spending an hour or two watching Spring Training workouts. To get insight into their workouts and seeing what the coaching staff is stressing in practice is really quite interesting.

One of the things that bench coach Kirk Gibson and Brett Butler have been emphasizing is smarter base running. In a workout on Friday, Gibson was emphatic to the young players in his approach to taking the correct angles on the bag, accelerating into the turn, and pushing off in order to maximize the chances of taking the next base. While this team does have decent home run power, running the bases properly is easily worth a few wins a year. Given the competition they will face with the Dodgers this year, that can't be understated.

As for batting practice, the guys that jumped out to me were Justin Upton and Conor Jackson. Both guys were smoking the ball. Not so much out of the park, although Upton did hit a couple of monster shots, but more the bat speed and ferocity that both were taking to the plate. Eric Byrnes didn't look too bad either, as he will certainly have his hands full getting playing time this year. But knowing Byrnsie, he'll be in there more than he's not.

As for the up and comers, Gerardo Parra has always impressed me, and continues to do so. He and fellow outfielder Trent Oeltjen will both be participating in the World Baseball Classic in early March (Parra with Venezuela and Oeltjen with Australia), so will miss a chunk of the early games, but I think both will make a good impression in limited action. Oeltjen is a fun guy to watch. Always smiling and kidding around with the guys. They all seem to get a kick out of his funky Aussie accent.

More updates to come....

A-Rod story is sad for the kids...

For all of you out there in the 30+ age bracket like myself, yesterday's revelation that Alex Rodriguez used steroids in 2003 is the nail in the coffin for a complete era in baseball.

Sad....so sad.

When I was growing up, major league baseball players were viewed in such high regard and esteem by us Little Leaguers. Certainly the players of the 70's and 80's were not perfect, not by any stretch. But they were truly my heroes. My friends and I all looked up to them; wished we could be just like them; dreamed of someday playing like them.

Unfortunately, today's kids don't have that luxury. Sure, they have the PlayStation and Wii that we never had. But they've been stripped of their imagination to dream of becoming someone that they really believe in. They can't believe in these players today...and it's sad.