With the MLB playoffs set to begin, there is a subtle difference in the air compared to start of any other postseason. In the NHL, fans can potentially look forward to a great Canadians/Bruins series that is not only exciting, but has a historical kick to it. Likewise basketball fans always have the chance to see if the Suns can finally get past the Spurs and football fans love seeing the rivalry of the Eagles Vs the City of Philadelphia when the Eagles so much as get tackled for a loss.
Arizona Diamondbacks
30 September 2008
2 September 2008
Been a while since I posted, in part because I was out of town last week at a trade show in San Diego. Not a bad place to go for a working vacation, and a week ago we got to take in a game between the Padres and the D-backs. My dad's a rabid D-backs fan, beside which my fandom (or fanhood, as the ESPN ads call it) seems rather small. He brought his own logo-coordinated Arizona hat and shirt, having overcome his anger at their change in colors and logo, which seemed to him (correctly) to be an effort to boost merchandising sales.
Posted by Street Reporter | No comments yet
26 August 2008
Earlier today I said that if you were to bet on the Dodgers, take them SU ( straight up ). For those of you who read this a listened I apologize. I figured the Dodgers wouldn't give up a game to a team doing far worse then them. With Derek Lowe pitching and the hits the Dodgers have been getting recently you would figure they would put some runs on the board. Wrong again, in the last 23 innings the Dodgers have scored 1 run while producing 34 hits. Thats ridiculous!
Posted by Robbie Jensen | No comments yet
11 August 2008
Arizona has just traded for Adam Dunn, reports Baseball Digest Daily, bolstering their outfield to offset injuries to Eric Byrnes and Justin Upton, as well as to counteract the Dodgers' recent acquisition of Manny Ramirez. That Dunn passed through waivers is both an indication of his big salary for the year, as well as his undervalued status among GMs.
Posted by Street Reporter | No comments yet
26 July 2008
efore that big project hits your desk.
One of the potential destinations of Teixeira has been the Arizona Diamondbacks, in return for Conor Jackson or Chad Tracy, both fan favorites, but this seems unlikely, unless Arizona thinks it can sign Tex to a long-term deal. They could certainly use another bat, but why make a move for Tex, so soon after snatching up the venerable Tony Clark from San Diego?
Posted by Street Reporter | No comments yet
18 July 2008
;ll try and puzzle this out.
Tony Clark, who experienced a career resurgence the day he put on an Arizona Diamondbacks uniform back in 2005, hs returned to the cozy confines of Chase Field. Petco, where hitting a homer is as hard as hitting the lottery, wasn’t as kind to the aging Clark as Chase has been, so he’ll certainly improve on his 2008 line of .239/.374/.307. His 32:19 K:BB ratio, as well as hs 165-point difference between BA and OBP, will tell you his batting eye is fine, and some power should follow.
Posted by Street Reporter | 2 comments
15 July 2008
One of the All-Star Break traditions: Reassessing our predictions from the first half of the season. Some of mine have changed, some have stayed the same—and some were just damn wrong. Living in the West, I will take the contrarian position and roll from west to east in my choices.
Posted by Street Reporter | 3 comments
2 July 2008
Before Wednesday’s game the Dodgers sent rookie pitcher Clayton Kershaw to Triple-A Las Vegas to make room for Hiroki Kuroda, who was coming off the disabled list. While Kershaw has been inconsistent throughout his first major-league stint, Kuroda has been even more so in his first season in the America. Kuroda has had brilliant games, such as his start in May against the Astros, and some horrific outings, such as his last start before the injury, when he gave up six runs in less than three innings in San Diego.
Posted by Yoni Bain | No comments yet
After coughing up a five-run lead and heading for extra innings, you’d think the Dodger offense would just roll over and die, and drop their fifth straight game to Houston.
Posted by Yoni Bain | No comments yet
29 June 2008
Although baseball has a long and cherished history, the thrill of going to a baseball game is the chance of seeing something unique and unexpected. Last night the sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium saw the Dodgers win despite recording no hits, and broadcaster Vin Scully claims that in his fifty-plus years calling baseball games he’s never seen such an occurrence (though with the way his memory is aging these days, he might’ve years and years ago). However, seeing such unusual history only takes on meaning when contrasted with the everyday normality that is the slog of a six-month baseball season. The extraordinary only becomes noticed when compared to the ordinary.
Posted by Yoni Bain | No comments yet
22 June 2008
A bullpen is all about trust, both for the team and for the fans. A manager needs to be able to trust a reliever to put the game away, and the fan needs to trust that the reliever won’t cause more headaches with a late-inning meltdown. An Indians fan spending the ninth inning with Joe Borowski is going skydiving without knowing whether you grabbed a parachute or a parakeet until it’s too late; a Yankees fan spending the ninth inning with Mariano Rivera is awaiting the everyday beauty of watching a simple yet majestic sunset.
Continue reading "Fantastic Four Help Dodgers Avert Cleveland Sweep"
Posted by Yoni Bain | No comments yet
17 June 2008
You can’t say there are many teams the Dodgers have enjoyed playing this season. The team is inconsistent to the point that consecutive wins are hard to come by, and winning streaks , other than an eight-game stretch B.F.I. (Before Furcal’s Injury), are few and far between.
Posted by Yoni Bain | 1 comment
In news obscured by the thrilling conclusion to the U.S. Open and sandwiched between the hype that is the NBA Finals, Bill Bavasi got fired for his failure to produce winners as the general manager of the Seattle Mariners. Bavasi assembled a Mariners team that is falling well short of expectations, as many picked Seattle to win the AL West, and is underperforming in many facets of the game. This shouldn’t really come as a surprise; since becoming GM in 2004, Bavasi has produced one team over .500, last year’s 88-74, and no playoff berths.
Posted by Yoni Bain | No comments yet
4 June 2008
Facing the second batter in last night's game against the Giants, Randy Johnson tied Roger Clemens at #2 on the all-time strikeouts list. With the third batter, he gained sole possession of the second spot, a place he should hold for a very, very long time.
Posted by Street Reporter | 2 comments
6 May 2008
After another game where stranding base-runners has become a common theme, what Lou Piniella had the right words to sum up the Cubs recent slide, "Like I told my guys after the ballgame, make the other team beat you, don't just give it to them," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "You play like that and you're going to lose quite a few of them, or most of them. Anyway, it's over with. Done."
Continue reading "Cubs lose 5-3 after having bases-loaded with 1 out"
Posted by Ryan Neiman | No comments yet
1 May 2008
For many baseball fans, last night wasn't a great night to watch baseball, as blowouts predominated early on. But, because of the beautiful game that is baseball, only three of them continued in their lopsided fashion, with the best of them highlighted by a homer from Micah Owings, the best-hitting pitcher in baseball, whom teammate Conor Jackson said had the "best pop" of anyone on the team. And all of them showed something about the winning and losing teams, proving that any baseball game is worth watching, even when it doesn't seem exciting.
Posted by Street Reporter | No comments yet
10 March 2008
First up is the National League West.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Will Brandon Lyon be able to replace Jose Valverde as closer?
Arizona finished with the best record in the National League last season despite giving up 20 more runs than they scored, thanks in large part to their outstanding 32-20 record in one run games. The key factor in this was a bullpen that did not relinquish leads, no mater how small, that was anchored by Jose Valverde and his 47 saves. Valverde took off in free agency and now Brandon Lyon will move into the closer’s role for 2008. With no significant changes on offense, it seems likely the Diamondbacks will have to rely heavily on their pitching again and need their bullpen to nail down save opportunities.
Continue reading "MLB 2008 Preview Part One: National League West"
Posted by Joe Sauer | No comments yet
18 February 2008
ere are bunch of teams this team can not compete with. Look at how the Cubs got embarassed by Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS last year. It showed which division was far superior even with the lack of hitting Diamondbacks had. All I got to say is the New York Mets are out for blood after their historic fall from grace with their new top gun Johan Santana. No way is any team going to march pass them.
Posted by Ryan Neiman | No comments yet
