Observations from Chase Field
1. Chase Field is an absolute morgue. Only about a quarter of the crowd gets up for home runs. Terrific defensive plays are rewarded with litte more than a loud golf clap.
2. Webb is beginning to show me why he's not a true #1 starter. Let me explain, Webb doesn't have that stopper mentality. When the team struggles, he struggles. When the team is going good, Webb goes good. Part of this is because Webb is so dependant on his teammates due to a lack of strikeouts but I also think it could be in his makeup.
3. Melvin of course needs to go. The DBacks play dumb, and that goes on the manager. Hudson's decision to throw to 3B, Easley and Counsell getting called out on strikes with a guy on third and less than two outs, and miscalculations of fly balls in the outfield (most notably Eric Byrnes) were just a few of the mental blunders I caught at the game last night.
4. Nice display of power by Green and Gonzo. It's likely they found a new dealer who can get them the newest batch of undetectable substances or it is just a fluke. Whatever it is, let's hope it keeps up for the next month so we can turn them into pitching prospects or steady relief guys at the deadline.
5. I know the front office keeps hoping they can salvage something out of the Schilling robbery, but Lyon has been terrible and is getting worse.
6. Sorry to rain on eveyone's parade here, but Craig Counsell is not very good player. While he catches nearly everything that hits his glove, his range is marginal and his bat gets worse as the year goes on. Of course this all probably means the DBacks will give him a new contract as they did another one year wonder in Tony Clark, but I'm certainly ready for the Stephen Drew era to begin.
7. I never, never again want to hear about Gonzo, Counsell, or Clark's leadership attributes or them being "good clubhouse guys" or any more of that nonsense ever again. In two consecutive years, these supposed leaders have led a team in a horrible NL West to the cellar of that division. Might be time to start looking for leadership elsewhere as these guys are not providing it.
8. Never thought I'd say this - but the thought of Mark Grace as manager is gaining some steam. In the post-game telecasts you can tell he's genuinely pissed off about the play of the team, and knowing Grace he does not seem afraid to call specific people out. Unlike Melvin, a tirade by Grace might actually inspire a team. When I see Melvin throwing his tantrums on the field, I can't help but think of the type of person we all know who is so laid-back, that when they finally did blow up nobody took them seriously.
