Am I the only one that doesn't think we're far away

[sundevil04]

Am I the only one that doesn't think we're THAT far away from being a very good team next year and for YEARS to come???

1b- Tracy/ Whitesell - 29 & 27 years old, I just don't see it here, Tracy can't stay healthy and Whitesell doesn't do it for me. We need a power bat at 1b. (3/10)

2b-Lopez -28 years old, good not great defensively and hitting .306 - not bad. (7/10)

3b- Reynolds -25 years old .283 BA on pace for 44 HR 116 RBI 108 R and 34 SB (9/10)

ss- Drew - 26 years old tons of talent plays a very good SS, will be a career .300 hitter with 20 HR and 80 RBI (9/10)

c- Snyder - good defensively good with RISP good power #'s good eye (.370 OBP with .222 BA) but needs to get the BA up (6/10)

lf- Jackson -27 years old. When he's healthy he'll be what we saw last year and consistantly be a .290 hitter with 15-20 HR and 85 RBI (8/10)

cf- Young/Parra - 25 and 22 years old, too much talent between the two for at least one of them not to pan out. Young has proven he can/could be a 30/30 guy and is good in CF just needs to get the BA WAY up. Parra just turned 22 and is batting .296 and on pace for nearly 100 RBI in a full season (??/10)

rf- Upton - 21 year old STUD...enough said (10/10)


sp - Haren - 28 years old 2.20 era .81 WHIP 7/1 SO/BB- stud (11/10)
sp - Webb - Just turned 30, 3.27 career ERA. stud enough said (11/10)
sp - Scherzer - 24 years old 3.37 career ERA in 124 IP with 135 SO - stud to be (9/10)
sp - Davis - 33 years old 3.65 ERA good #4 but won't be back next year will be a FA in 2010. Deal for prospects.
sp -Garland - 29 years old and already 110 wins, mutual option in 2010, he's a good #5. Not sure if he'll be back though.

Bullpen - trash it. (2/10)


I see 4 of our 8 position players (Upton, Jackson, Drew and Reynolds) as set in stone, sign 'em long term and don't look back players. Not to mention they have an average age of 24.5 years old! That leaves 4 positions up in the air. I see at least one of Young or Parra panning out in CF, especially considering Parra just turned 22. I'm okay with Lopez at 2b as long as it's a decent contract after this season. I'm also okay with Snyder at C, Id rather have a defensice C anyway. What we NEED is a power hitting 1b to clear the bases, which I think we could get with Davis and Tracy in a deal.

As far as starting pitching when Webb get's healthy I think we have one of thebest 1,2,3 punches in all of MLB. We'll likely need to replace Davis as our 4 and I'm okay with bringing Garland back as #5.

The bullpen...trash it and start over.

To sum it all up I think if we can #1 get and stay healthy. Then deal Davis, Tracy for a power 1b, replace Davis and put together a bullpen I think we win 90+ for years to come.

 

[overseascardfan]

Were not far off as the players you bolded are basically the untouchables. But Chris Young, timely hitting, mental errors and the bullpen as a whole are killing us. Those are very key elements that are hurting this team and if they don't get addressed are going to keep us from reaching our potential.

 

[Ryanwb]

I don't they are too far off. In fact I think they can put together a run to make the division interesting....

A 2 - 5 lineup of:
Drew
Upton
Reynolds
Young

....should be one of the most productive in the lead. Too many stikeouts and too much over aggression has done these guys in.

 

[HooverDam]

Brandon Webb and Dan Haren go all the way to 11, I like it.

 

[TJ]

They are a sum of parts that need to come to a whole and it's going to take at least a season for it to happen. Lots of talent out already there, we are a good bullpen away from being competitive once again.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Totally agree. This will sound crazy but I think we are alot closer to a World series run then about 15-20 other teams. Its just not going to happen this year.

We have two young studs to build around offensively in Upton and Drew. I like the way Reynolds has been trending lately and anything we get out of Parra, Roberts, and Whitesell is a bonus. Hopefully Jackson can regain last years form too.

What really excited me though is next years potential starting staff. With Webb, Haren, Scherzer and Parker I like our staff quite a bit.

The bullpen needs to be done away with although Schlereth and Zavada are keepers.

If we can get a vet bat at 3B and get a power arm for the bully I think we should be on our way. I like Hinch too and think after this year he will have cut his teeth enough to have us ready in 2010.

My only wish is that we would have let BoMel play out his contract and made a run at Joe Maddon. He has no contract next year and would be the BEST guy to develop our youngins.

PLus he has good taste in football teams so thats a plus

 

[az240zz]

Lopez has to go. I don't think I have ever seen a non hustle player as bad as he is. And the 11 or 12 rbi's are a joke.

 

[TJ]

Lopez has to go. I don't think I have ever seen a non hustle player as bad as he is. And the 11 or 12 rbi's are a joke.

I agree about the hustle part, but typically, your lead off hitter doesn't need to have a bunch of RBIs. The one thing Lopez has going for him is that he is hitting around .300, so at least he is getting on base. The problem is the inconsistent hitting and the inability to hit with RISP on the entire team.