2014 season predictions

[Phrazbit]

A long and... active... off season is over, time to play ball. I know the opinions on here are very polarized but we're all fans of the same team. Hope we do well, hope this team gels like the 2007 or 2011 teams did and makes an underdog run.

Before the Corbin injury I would have pegged us for another 81 win campaign and a 3rd place finish behind the Duds and Giants. We have power in our batting order but outside of Goldy not many guys who will reliably get on base, so I think we will have a feast or famine offense, probably score well enough at home and look really bad on the road. Our starters (pre-Corbin) looked decidedly average but the pen seems improved. Without Corbin though I think there will be a snowballing effect. I expect that unless Bradley is brought up and is a stud from day one our pitching staff is going to get worked pretty bad, which will in turn tax and demoralize the bullpen.

If the front office stubbornly holds onto this roster I think we will win about 75 games, but I think a late July fire sale is a real possibility and would obviously throw the win projection pretty low.

 

[az240zz]

Hmmm I think 81 wins is generous. More like 70.

 

[HooverDam]

It's going to be a long, hot summer.

81 wins would be a minor miracle.

 

[AZ Native]

My heart says 82, my head says 72.

 

[UncleChris]

We could lose 100 this year. Probably not, but I could see it happening.....

 

[FArting]

Giants won the west in 2010 won the world series

Same thing happened in 2012

Dbacks win the west and the world series

 

[BC867]

Dbacks win the west and the world series

Not unless Gibby proves that he can make decisions and give them a chance. Seriously! It is the foundation of good management, no matter what the product.

As long as Gibby treats every day of the season as spring training, we are not going to rise to the level of the big boys.

As long as Gibby makes an announcement to the Press one day and does the opposite the next, we are not going to rise to the level of the big boys.

As long as our manager has what appears to be attention deficit disorder, we are not going to rise to the level of the big boys.

For our past two seasons, it is what it is. If you are not moving ahead, you are falling behind.

Perhaps it is not fair to judge Kirk Gibson the manager by the injuries that are decimating us this season. But it is fair to judge the past two .500 seasons.

We're a live-by-the-homerun-die-by-the-homerun team. Then we're a gritty team. Then we're a live-by-the-homerun-die-by-the-homerun team.

Attention deficit disorder. Our front office, coaching staff, 25-man roster and 40-man roster may not have it. But if the MANAGER does, if affects everyone.

Including the fans.

 

[Lefty]

We could lose 100 this year. Probably not, but I could see it happening.....

It that happens I hope Towers is gone.

 

[Matt L]

my guess is under 81 wins

 

[Phrazbit]

It that happens I hope Towers is gone.

Assuming we're going to have a losing season anyway... whatever the cutoff point for Towers to get fired it would probably be in the franchise's best interest to hit that mark.

When recalling where the team was a few short years ago its hard to fathom how we've reached the point of probably requiring a fire-sale. Very depressing.

 

[Matt L]

Assuming we're going to have a losing season anyway... whatever the cutoff point for Towers to get fired it would probably be in the franchise's best interest to hit that mark.

When recalling where the team was a few short years ago its hard to fathom how we've reached the point of probably requiring a fire-sale. Very depressing.

I am not sure we will really need a fire sale to rebuild. If Trumbo bats 4th or 5th and hits over 30 home runs, he will definitely have over 100 RBIs. He is under team control for 2 more seasons after this year and will definitely have interest for a team that needs a power right handed hitter. Aaron Hill also has a pretty reasonable contract and could probably be traded for some youth. Add in the fact that we have some solid young pitching and I think that the right GM could make this a team to compete for a wild card spot within a year.

 

[Phrazbit]

I am not sure we will really need a fire sale to rebuild. If Trumbo bats 4th or 5th and hits over 30 home runs, he will definitely have over 100 RBIs. He is under team control for 2 more seasons after this year and will definitely have interest for a team that needs a power right handed hitter. Aaron Hill also has a pretty reasonable contract and could probably be traded for some youth. Add in the fact that we have some solid young pitching and I think that the right GM could make this a team to compete for a wild card spot.

Is that not a fire sale? Trading away a large amount of our vets and payroll? I agree that if this season goes into the tubes that Trumbo, Hill, Prado and virtually all of our veteran pitchers will go on the market.

And Trumbo is going to need to hit a lot better with men on than he did last year to reach 100 RBI. He got that mark with Anaheim because of a wealth of opportunity, not because he was particularly good at it. To put it in perspective... Miguel Montero hit BETTER than Trumbo last year with runners in scoring position.

Yikes.

 

[Iceman]

The pitching is going to be a problem this year. Especially with Corbin going out. I am predicting a 71-91 season. Hope I am wrong, but not expecting too much!

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

70 wins. I just have a really bad feeling about this year.

 

[devilalum]

If Archie comes up and pitches at least as well as Corbin did last year why are we worse?

We added a HUGE bat and upgraded our bullpen. I say the Dbacks win at least 90 and are in the hunt for a WC spot into September.

 

[Phrazbit]

If Archie comes up and pitches at least as well as Corbin did last year why are we worse?

We added a HUGE bat and upgraded our bullpen. I say the Dbacks win at least 90 and are in the hunt for a WC spot into September.

Archie probably isnt getting called up until June or later because of arbitration reasons, our current starters look like one of the worst rotations in the league. We did bring in a new closer, which is nice, but the rest of the pen looks as shaky as ever.

And I'm not sold on the offense. Trumbo in Anaheim was Mark Reynolds 2.0 (and have you seen in the field? Yikes), we dont have a legit lead off hitter, we have very little speed on the base paths, we desperately need Montero to not suck. Its a feast or famine offense that will rely on big hits and have a really hard time grinding out runs.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

Miley can replicate even a portion of his numbers that he's put up in the first two full seasons of his career (3.44 ERA, 1.284 WHIP), Arroyo can give his typical 200 innings with the 1.181 WHIP (and he pitched in an even more hitter friendly ballpark in Cincy than he will be here, so I'm not too worried about him being a flyball pitcher) and McCarthy can give even a portion of what he was doing before he got hit in the face, I don't really feel too uncomfortable about the team's chances of at least being above .500. While his OBP sucks, Trumbo's power will be a big asset and I can see it going up just by virtue of seeing more pitches from teams wanting to pitch around Goldschmidt (if Gibby does it right in the lineup).

 

[Diamondback Jay]

http://espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball...on-featuring-best-fantasy-baseball-team-names

From Matthew Berry:

"Arizona Diamondbacks: A.J. Pollock goes 20/20. My thinking: He has the pop and speed, he just needs full-time at-bats. If he can learn to hit righties a little better and Cody Ross can't get healthy (both entirely possible), Pollock will get his PT."

 

[DWKB]

While his OBP sucks, Trumbo's power will be a big asset and I can see it going up just by virtue of seeing more pitches from teams wanting to pitch around Goldschmidt (if Gibby does it right in the lineup).

I don't follow how you get to Goldy helping Trumbo "see more pitches". The theory of protection, while horribly suspect, works such that the player following the hitter is the protection, not the player hitting in front. Goldy getting walked won't prevent Trumbo from chasing bad pitches, and Trumbo won't be hitting in front of Goldy in any rational lineup. Not with that career OBP hopefully.

 

[devilalum]

Archie probably isnt getting called up until June or later because of arbitration reasons,.

Isn't the date June 1? That's only 30 games from now.

 

[BC867]

I don't follow how you get to Goldy helping Trumbo "see more pitches". The theory of protection, while horribly suspect, works such that the player following the hitter is the protection, not the player hitting in front. Goldy getting walked won't prevent Trumbo from chasing bad pitches, and Trumbo won't be hitting in front of Goldy in any rational lineup. Not with that career OBP hopefully.

And Gibby has said more than once that he intends to separate his two RBi men in the lineup so they each come up with runners on base.

That, in itself makes sense. But it doesn't help Goldy being pitched around.

I love everything Goldy has done, but he never, ever, ever, ever, ever swings at the first pitch.

Opposing pitchers and their coaches must certainly be aware of this because Goldy watches called strikes on almost every first pitch. He limits himself to two good swings instead of three.

I wish someone would suggest to him to change his routine until they start throwing outside the strike zone on the first pitch.

 

[JS22]

I don't think I've ever been less excited for a baseball season.

 

[TJ]

70 to 75 wins tops. I'm less than excited for this season. Is it football season, yet?

 

[Phrazbit]

Isn't the date June 1? That's only 30 games from now.

60 games, and I think we'll be well out of playoff positioning by then.

 

[Dback Jon]

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