I'm On The Chris Snyder Bandwagon

[KingLouieLouie]

I know it's the worst to sometimes judge a player by "small sample sizes", but Chris Snyder is really impressing me thus far...It seems that he has very aggressive swings at the plate in each and every AB, plays sound defense, and handles the pitchers were...Let's not forget he's merely 23 and will continue to improve with age.....

I also like Koyie Hill and perhaps him and Snyder will platoon next year....or if Sexson doesnt return next season...I would consider converting Snyder to a 1B and have him and Hammock split duties there......

Even though Brito has an impressive arm, they obviously not bring him back since he's horrid offensively.....

 

[Ryanwb]

Dude....

Your signature just screams to the people behind me, "Fire me.... Fire me... I am not working"

 

[KingLouieLouie]

Dude....

Your signature just screams to the people behind me, "Fire me.... Fire me... I am not working"

Yeah, honestly forgot to take that into account, so I immediately changed it....

Anyways, back to the original topic...... I've enjoyed watching Terrero, Hairston, Tracy, Snyder, and Hill (prior to his injury)..... That just makes me even more excited about C. Jackson, C. Quentin, J. D'Antona, and S. Santos..

Only if the Dbacks obviously had some quality pitchers in their farm system, which makes it even more necessary to trade Randy and not re-sign Sexson (only if he's willing to accept a 1-yr deal and then could be traded for prospects by next year's trading deadline, which would never happen)....

 

[NJYAJ09]

Yeah, honestly forgot to take that into account, so I immediately changed it....

Anyways, back to the original topic...... I've enjoyed watching Terrero, Hairston, Tracy, Snyder, and Hill (prior to his injury)..... That just makes me even more excited about C. Jackson, C. Quentin, J. D'Antonia, and S. Santos..

Only if the Dbacks obviously had some quality pitchers in their farm system, which makes it even more necessary to trade Randy and not re-sign Sexson (only if he's willing to accept a 1-yr deal and then could be traded for prospects by next year's trading deadline, which would never happen)....

Jamie D'Antona.

 

[Ryanwb]

I think the D'backs get a bad rap about their farm team....they actually have a pretty deep system and hopefully some of these guys will develop

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

And somewhere Phil is crying because Ansman and Hammock will not be the cathcers of the future. Let's not go overboard though, remember Kata and Hammock were actually decent when they first came up also.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

I think the D'backs get a bad rap about their farm team....they actually have a pretty deep system and hopefully some of these guys will develop

I think though the "bad rap" mostly applied to their lack of over-all speed and pitching prospects....

They did manage to add some "speedsters" in June's draft, and also when they acquired Reggie Abercrombie and Jereme Milons.... Also, Noochie Varner, Marland Williams, and Victor Hill are explosive on the base-paths....

Pitching though....I believe Bill Murphy will make the starting pitching out of Spring Training (they better call him up in a cpl wks, which is definitely better than whoever they have now)..... Villarreal may be asked to start next season, but they better make sure that he's completely has overcome his arm troubles..... The jury is still out on Fossum since he's not yet back to full-strength.....

This is why it's essential to deal Randy during the offseason....This FA crop is obviously deep (IE starting pitchers), and the Dbacks could easily sign 2 of the mid-upper tier ones for what Randy is earmarked for '05...... Also..signing Sexson and Bautista would be major errors for the same reason... Factor in who they could in exchange for Randy makes it even more the best case scenario because they could easily add a Major League 1B to replace Sexson and Hillenbrand, along with a highly regarded AAA pitching prospect...

I'm impressed with Aquino as a closer and Nance doesnt seem to be bad thus far as the LH specialist... Brandon Lyons has some closing experience as well, so if the BP can actually remain healthy for once, they have lots of depth....

I also wonder who they will receive in the Alomar trade....never know...that could amount to a "steal" right there.....

It will be interesting to see what direction Moorad will take, but it's about time they become "NL team" and learn some "small-ball"......

 

[Ryanwb]

Make no mistake, this team is in dire need of pitching. With or without Randy Johnson this team cannot win. They need to sign some quality pitchers who didn't have one fluke year (like Dessens)

I agree, trade Randy and do a quick pitching rebuilt, the talent is available.

I think a huge indicator as to what direction this team is heading is if they sign Drew soon. If he is in the fold they are on track for next year to make another run

 

[Brandon_Webb]

I still think they should just let most there FA walk and stock pile draft picks.

 

[AZZenny]

Let's not go overboard though, remember Kata and Hammock were actually decent when they first came up also.


Yeah, but neither Hammock nor Kata were really that highly-regarded as prospects - upper-second-tier guys. Snyder, Terrero, Hairston, Tracy, (Hill) all were top prospect guys. And we have more...

 

[NJYAJ09]

Quentin WILL hit .300 with 40 homers.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Make no mistake, this team is in dire need of pitching. With or without Randy Johnson this team cannot win. They need to sign some quality pitchers who didn't have one fluke year (like Dessens)

I agree, trade Randy and do a quick pitching rebuilt, the talent is available.

I think a huge indicator as to what direction this team is heading is if they sign Drew soon. If he is in the fold they are on track for next year to make another run

Luckily, with $14 million off the books next year from Finley and Mantei alone (plus all the money of Dessens, Mayne, Sparks, Reynolds, Colbrunn, and Alomar adds up to roughly another $10 million ) we should have no problem keeping Randy, resigning Sexson, and going after some mid-upper tier FA pitching if the payroll stays about the same as this year. My only fear for next year is the bullpen.

Edit: Oh, and our pitching prospects arent as bad as everybody thinks.

E. Gonzalez
Rosario
Nippert
Chico
Gosling
Murphy
And plenty more...

 

[cardsunsfan]

Dude....

Your signature just screams to the people behind me, "Fire me.... Fire me... I am not working"

What did it say

 

[KingLouieLouie]

And somewhere Phil is crying because Ansman and Hammock will not be the cathcers of the future. Let's not go overboard though, remember Kata and Hammock were actually decent when they first came up also.

I haven't been to sleep since early yesterday, so I hope I can manage to come across coherently....

Anyways, I'm not anointing Snyder as the "Second Coming" of Johnny Bench (I did emphasize in my initial post that one can't base too much on "small sample sizes"), however, I really enjoy Snyder's aggressive approach thus far...Whether it be offensively or defensively...he just seems to epitomize the "complete Major League" catcher....Contrary to most of the catchers that they Dbacks have tried out since the departure of Miller......

Edit: Oh, and our pitching prospects arent as bad as everybody thinks.

E. Gonzalez
Rosario
Nippert
Chico
Gosling
Murphy
And plenty more...

I'm mainly "down" on the pitchers who are past AA ball......

Edgar Gonzalez must pitch in the Mexican League or wherever this offseason and learn a more effective offspeed hit....it just seems that everyone has figured out how to "tee off" on his fastball, and he just doesnt have the way of countering it....

As far as "Rosario"...Does anyone know of his status? Was he banned? If so, was he reinstated? More than 2 weeks ago I sent KDUS' Bob Kemp an email regarding any info on him...he replied on the air that he was going to find out at the BOB that night and then report back any of his findings the following day.....Unfortunately, I missed his entire program that day and hope to find out something soon....Despite that he's roughly 2-3 years older than what was initially documented...he had one of the best arms of any pitcher in their entire organization.....He's why they were more inclined to trade the likes of Capuano and Patterson.......They figured he'd be Major League ready by '05, and that Sparks and Reynolds would be adequate "stop-gaps" until then, but we all know that experiment failed quite miserably.....

Gosling still has underachieved immensely, and probably wont even be among the call-ups in September.... Chico and Nippert are at least 2-years away, but I do certainly agree that Murphy will play a pivotal way in the Dbacks rotation next year....

They must trade Randy because they'd free that money to sign 2 mid-tier pitchers for 2-3 year contracts....That would prevent them from rushing up any of their pitching prospects, who more than likely would be limited on strict counts anyways....If that happens, beware of a decimated bullpen for years to come.....Plus, I'm getting quite sick of the efforts of Daigle, Cormier, and Steve Randolph as a starter......

As far as the signature that Ryan referred to:

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[coyoteshockeyfan]

They must trade Randy because they'd free that money to sign 2 mid-tier pitchers for 2-3 year contracts....That would prevent them from rushing up any of their pitching prospects, who more than likely would be limited on strict counts anyways....If that happens, beware of a decimated bullpen for years to come.....Plus, I'm getting quite sick of the efforts of Daigle, Cormier, and Steve Randolph as a starter......

Like I said, next year they will have about $24 million to spend on two mid-upper tier FAs (plus give raises to Bautista and Sexson and probably get a bullpen guy or two) if the payroll stays about the same. That $24 million should go a very long way to improving the team if spent wisely. I dont think Johnson needs to be traded in order to sign two pitchers. Not that I would be totally opposed to trading RJ if the right deal came along, but I dont think it is a prerequisite.

 

[AZZenny]

Much as I've always liked him, it's very unlikely Bautista will be back. He doesn't deserve a raise for one decent year - that was the mistake a few years back.

 

[NJYAJ09]

put carlos quentin (maybe krouger) in right field next year.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Let's not go overboard though, remember Kata and Hammock were actually decent when they first came up also.


Yeah, but neither Hammock nor Kata were really that highly-regarded as prospects - upper-second-tier guys. Snyder, Terrero, Hairston, Tracy, (Hill) all were top prospect guys. And we have more...

Yeah, I know. But realistically the jump from Double AA to the bigs is quite the leap and while Snyder will most likely get a chance in Spring Training to win the job, realistically he'll end up in Tucson for most of next year getting his ABs in instead of wallowing in platoon duty up here. One thing is for sure, Hammock/Brito will hopefully never again be the everyday catchers for the DBacks, which is a good thing.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

Like I said, next year they will have about $24 million to spend on two mid-upper tier FAs (plus give raises to Bautista and Sexson and probably get a bullpen guy or two) if the payroll stays about the same. That $24 million should go a very long way to improving the team if spent wisely. I dont think Johnson needs to be traded in order to sign two pitchers. Not that I would be totally opposed to trading RJ if the right deal came along, but I dont think it is a prerequisite.

I've read a couple articles that the Dbacks want to slash their '05 payroll down to $65 mil..... Randy is due $16 mil, Gonzo $10 mil, I would project that Sexson would demand an $8 mil contract for next season, and 2 mid-upper tier pitchers would cost about $8 mil combined. Mike Koplove's contract expires, and he'd probably negotiate for one between $1.5-$3 mil.... Out of those who will be returning next season, I believe Webb and Fossum are the only ones signed over the Major League minimum.... Batista would get anywhere between $3-4 mil, and if the Dbacks wanted to add some quality relievers to their much depleted BP, all those figures would exceed that imposed cap......

Bautista has had a history of excelling in his contract year (IE the '01 WS), then suddenly he gets injured once he signs to that deal...People tend to forget that he'll be turning 33 next season, and that he's quite beyond his prime...True he "peaked" this past season, but I must deem that as a fluke....

I still contend that the best case scenario is to let Sexson, Hillenbrand, (who'd probably get a deal of $2-3 mil per season elsewhere) and Bautista walk...Then trade Johnson for a Major League ready 1B, invest highly in revamping their rotation for '05-'08 by investing into this deep FA pitching class by acquiring 2 starters and perhaps someone who has a proven track record of logging several innings out of the BP consistently...If Shane Nance continues to flourish in the role of a LH specialist, then there wouldnt be a need to spend money on another one.... This is my early projection of the '05 Dbacks roster:

1)Luis Terrero-CF
2)Scott Hairston-2B
3)Luis Gonzalez-LF
4)1B in the Johnson trade
5)Chad Tracy-3B
6)Alex Cintron-SS
7)stop-gap RF until either C. Jackson or C. Quentin are ready (could very
well be a platoon situation with Hammock, Kata, and McCracken)
8)Koyie Hill-C

Bench:
1)Matt Kata
2)Robbie Hammock
3)Quinton McCracken
4) either Brito/Snyder?
5)Andy Green/Noochie Varner, a FA?

Rotation:
1)FA starter
2)FA starter
3)Brandon Webb
4)Bill Murphy
5)Fossum/Villarreal?

Bullpen:
1) Jose Valverde
2) Greg Aquino
3) Mike Koplove
4) Shane Nance
5) Brandon Lyon
6) FA veteran reliever
7) The one who doesnt win the Fossum/Villarreal battle for 5th starter

That team obviously wouldnt contend for the post season, but would help solidify them for the long-term, and help complement the elite prospects they have on the horizon....Eventually, some of those players 6-year contracts will expire, so they would want a multi-year year deals that could exceed $1 mil each....They must be fiscally responsible.....

It's just all contingent on if Moorad and the other managing partners are willing to raise the cap by $10 mil, however, since it appears Moorad is a practicioner of "Money Ball", then that is extremely unlikely.....

 

[AZZenny]

Snyder walked in a run, which is my line for showing plate discipline. Good for him.

On the other hand, would someone tell Cintron to get his head out of his....? If he'd hustled out that ball he hit back to the pitcher, who then bobbled and spun in circles, he could have been on first. That guy just has too high an opinion of himself.