Back with the D-Backs
Arizona is the choice -- again -- in the National League
Nobody has a better 1-2 pitching combo in the National League than the Arizona Diamondbacks. Nobody has a more solid bullpen. Nobody has a deeper overall pitching staff.
And no one has a more balanced lineup than the Diamondbacks. That's one through eight -- and one through nine on days when hard-hitting Micah Owings is pitching.
I picked the Diamondbacks to win the National League pennant last season, and they came through (sort of -- they won the league's best division and could easily have won the pennant). So why wouldn't I repeat my choice?
If I liked them last year when they were a completely unproven band of kids, why wouldn't I like them this year as a somewhat proven band of kids? The answer, of course, is that I have to like the Diamondbacks even more this year. And I do.
The 2007 D-Backs were the surprise champions of the NL West and got all the way to the NLCS, where they were swept by the Rockies, and even more important, made me look like a genius to the two or three people who noticed (or at least made them forget I picked the Reds, Mets and Cardinals as the NL's other playoff entrants).
The knock on the D-Backs a year ago was that they won despite themselves, that because they were outscored by 20 runs, they got lucky to win 90 games. I think that's a reasonable point to raise, but they also went 32-20 in one-run games, and their deep stash of pitchers probably helped them win the close ones. It's also true that over the last 40 games their run differential was a plus 20.
And it's true, too, that they didn't have a losing month.
As the great philosopher Bill Parcells once said, you are what your record says you are. He didn't say that you are what your run differential is.
With a year of seasoning and a notable offseason addition, they have to be better this year.
General manager Josh Byrnes' aggressive play to land a second top-of-the-rotation starter in Dan Haren was exactly the right move. He joins Brandon Webb, the most underrated star in the sport, to form a formidable top tandem. The D-Backs are, in fact, now one of three teams that can claim two No. 1 starters (the Indians and Mariners being the others). Randy Johnson doesn't qualify as a No. 1 anymore, but he did string six superb weeks together at one point last year, before being shelved by a bad back. He also threw 75 pain-free pitches in a spring game Wednesday.
Doug Davis and Owings round out the strong rotation. But that's just the beginning. Scouts say the Diamondbacks are maybe 18-to-20 deep in viable big-league pitchers, so even though the bullpen lacks a proven closer after the trade of last year's big-league saves leader, Jose Valverde, to Houston. Brandon Lyon, Juan Cruz and Tony Pena all are capable fill-ins.
There are a few holes. The batting order still lacks a true No. 3 or No. 4 hitter (Conor Jackson and Eric Byrnes will man those spots to start).
Yet, the lineup is as deep as any team's in the game. Anyone in it could hit 20 home runs, or steal 15 bases.
Mark Reynolds is a perfect prototype third baseman, providing power and defense. Catcher Chris Snyder is on the upswing. Orlando Hudson is healthy.
The bottom two hitters in the season's starting lineup, Stephen Drew and Justin Upton, are talented enough that they could wind up being the Nos. 2 and 3 hitters by midseason. Drew is due to show his true hitting prowess. He fielded brilliantly last year but waited until October to start hitting. That won't happen again.
Upton is ready to show he's a star.
Leadoff man Chris Young is ready to move from stardom to superstardom.
The D-Backs are ready to move to the next level, right on time. Their clock, not mine.
