Season thread-the road to the playoffs

[Evil Ash]

Spivey with a bloop shot and Brewers now lead 6-4.

All of this damage coming with 2 out. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

 

[Evil Ash]

Jenkins with a 2 run double 8-4 MIL.

Excuse me while I go outside and vomit

 

[Evil Ash]

2 run homer by the Brewers and our bullpen has yet to get a single out

Game Over!!

 

[Lefty]

This game is over. 10-4 Brewers. I still will not give up on this team. Luckily they play in the NL West. Changes do need to happen and I wonder if Brenly has the guts to bench some of the veterans?

 

[KingLouieLouie]

It is clearly evident that Oscar didnt have his "best stuff" tonight, however, for whatever reason Brenly insists on "hanging him out to dry".... I wonder if Brenly's job is now in jeopardy? They're the "walking wounded" out there... Sorry for all these cliches, but this is just getting beyond pathetic....

And Randy Choate? They already had some "LH specialist" such as Randolph and Jim Parque....That trade was just absurd!

 

[devilalum]

This team is a joke!

I don't know what sickens me the most.

The Bullpen, the errors, the apparent lack of interest....

I read today that Sexson hasn't sold his house in Mil. No way he's here past this year and I don't think the Dbacks ever intended to keep him past this year anyway.

At least I didn't fall for the Colangelo spin machine bad enough to buy season tickets.

Wayne Heizinga got a lot of criticism for having a fire sale right after winning a ring but at least he didn't try to decieve his fans. The Dbacks dumped Schilling, Batista and a half doxen young prospects and managed to convince a lot of people that they would still be competitive.

The truth is that they're just looking out for their bottom line. We all know they're dumping another $20 mil before next year.

The reason I'm so mad is I fell for the big off season scam. I feel like the target of a big consting must feel after they've been taken for a bundle and they can't even go to the cops.

I will be more than happy to post an apology if the Dbacks get back to .500 but then again I think it's more likely that monkeys will fly out of my butt!

 

[Lefty]

I think Joe Jr. just likes to make trades, no matter who it is. Shea knocked in 2 but it's 10-6 going into the bottom of the 8th.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

I think Joe Jr. just likes to make trades, no matter who it is.

That's the major conflict Joe Jr. and Co. face at this time (and I was about to post a thread on this matter)...

Do the Dbacks suddenly trade away their "2nd generation prospects" to win now and obviously risk any long-tem development for the sake of winning now or do they trade a few players who might have some redeemable value like Hairston?

Noone would want Finley, Mantei, Gonzo, Koplove, Good, Gosling...etc..... And the Dbacks dont want to part with the likes of Valverde, Tracy, Cintron, Oscar, and a couple other players.....

What's really affecting the Dbacks is that they never built a solid foundation of OFers at the ML level and may finally have the prospects like Tracy, Terrero, Hall, Conor Jackson, and Quentin.... If they sacrifice any of those players out ofd desperation for short-term gain, then Joe Jr. and Co should be all lynched....

 

[Lefty]

Game over. Tomorrow's game starts at 10:00 so I'll be at work watching the ticker. I'll post some while I can tomorrow.

 

[Lefty]

That's the major conflict Joe Jr. and Co. face at this time (and I was about to post a thread on this matter)...

Do the Dbacks suddenly trade away their "2nd generation prospects" to win now and obviously risk any long-tem development for the sake of winning now or do they trade a few players who might have some redeemable value like Hairston?

Noone would want Finley, Mantei, Gonzo, Koplove, Good, Gosling...etc..... And the Dbacks dont want to part with the likes of Valverde, Tracy, Cintron, Oscar, and a couple other players.....

What's really affecting the Dbacks is that they never built a solid foundation of OFers at the ML level and may finally have the prospects like Tracy, Terrero, Hall, Conor Jackson, and Quentin.... If they sacrifice any of those players out ofd desperation for short-term gain, then Joe Jr. and Co should be all lynched....

I think if the Diamondbacks are out of it by July, Mantei, Shea and Randy would be the most likely to go. RJ of course would have to okay it and I wonder if he would want a chance at winning a title one more time? I also wonder if any teams would try and trade for Finley? When it comes close to the trading deadline teams get desperate to make a trade because their competitors have.

 

[Ryanwb]

Great thread....way to jinx

 

[KingLouieLouie]

I think if the Diamondbacks are out of it by July, Mantei, Shea and Randy would be the most likely to go. RJ of course would have to okay it and I wonder if he would want a chance at winning a title one more time? I also wonder if any teams would try and trade for Finley? When it comes close to the trading deadline teams get desperate to make a trade because their competitors have.

The obvious player to trade might be Sexson....

Let's face it, if the Dbacks havent negotiated a long-term contract with Sexson before the All-Star break, it's clearly marks that they won't be able to sign him...so..why let him walk?

If Mantei continues to struggle, noone will be interested in him and his lucrative contract.... Finley, it's too hard to judge since he's too streaky and don't know if the Dbacks would get much in return for a player that is on the verge of retirement.... Johnson, if they do elect to deal him, they better not be impulsive like they were with the Schilling trade.. Shea? Well, a lot of teams wont risk players for someone who will demand a contract beyond what he's actually worth.....

Oh well, perhaps it's somewhat premature to speculate about all of this, but something must be done to cease the bleeding or else...

 

[Lefty]

I agree about Sexson. If they can't sign him before the deadline, trade him. Shea has two more years left on his contract before he is eligible for arbitration. There will be teams after him. Teams that are in contention that need a closer will want mantei, even if it's just for this year. They'll only have to pay him for 2.5 months.

 

[AZCB34]

I think if the Diamondbacks are out of it by July

I think first thing you do if it is early July and the Dbacks are this pitiful is you shut down Gonzo and get his arm worked on.

Mantei may be the most logical choice to trade immediately (hopefully he is producing again and not blowing 3 run leads all the time.

There is no way I see Randy accepting a trade...I mean no way. The Dbacks are probably his last team I believe.

Trading Hillenbrand is tricky. I suppose it makes sense to try and trade him but what if Tracy really cannot make the jump to ML pitching? I mean there is that possibility. By July, it would be very apparent if he could and if he is tagging the ball then I am all for trading Shea. If Tracy is struggling I hang onto to Hillenbrand.

I almost wonder if you wouldn't trade away Sexson if isn;t signed to an extension by then. The Dbacks will get toasted if they are unable to re-sign the guy and he leaves with the Dbacks getting nothing in return.

You do not, under any circumstances, start trading away youth in order to make a desperate grab at this season. You have to have something for the future.

 

[AZZenny]

What's really affecting the Dbacks is that they never built a solid foundation of OFers at the ML level and may finally have the prospects like Tracy, Terrero, Hall, Conor Jackson, and Quentin.... If they sacrifice any of those players out ofd desperation for short-term gain, then Joe Jr. and Co should be all lynched....

I will personally bring the noose.

Talk of trading RJ presumes a couple things - that he pitches well enough this season that some other team wants to take on his extremely hefty contract, first and foremost, which runs through next year, right? That's no sure thing. Then there's the no-trade part. for myself, I would certainly rather see him retire as a Diamondback.

I agree that someone might take on a couple months of Mantei, if he actually earns some saves. If we can give Hillenbrand away, jump at it. Sadly, what you are saying about Sexson rings true, too.

Gonzo - well, if we're screwing the pooch by midseason, I hope he has the elbow surgery then - otherwise, if people are willing to talk of trading RJ, why the heck not trade Gonzo to the AL as a DH?

But most important of all...please, can we trade Joe Garagiola Jr before we consider any of these other moves?

 

[KingLouieLouie]

Regarding Sexson...I wonder if he has a no-trade clause? That certainly will factor in.....


I'll never forget when the Tigers traded away several players in '00 for Juan Gonzalez and of course Juan is gone w/the Tigers not netting anything in return.. I just hope the Dbacks can avoid that fate...

 

[Ryanwb]

Regarding Sexson...I wonder if he has a no-trade clause? That certainly will factor in.....


I'll never forget when the Tigers traded away several players in '00 for Juan Gonzalez and of course Juan is gone w/the Tigers not netting anything in return.. I just hope the Dbacks can avoid that fate...

There is no doubt in my mind they pretty much asked before they traded whether or not Sexson would resign and how much he was looking for. Remember the Suns got burned with Antonio McDyess, you know Jerry said something to someone

 

[sly fly]

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Trade everybody! Danny Bautista is the Devil! Sexson is gone. RJ will be traded!

Relax, guys and girls. It sucks right now, yes.

Let's see what happens with Kata entrenched at 2nd. And, Tracey settling in off the bench.

There is a lot of ball to be played, and no one is going to run away in this division.

Mantei, Valverde, Koplove, and Villareal are quality pitchers who will find their groove.

If Brenly doesn't stroke out before game 40, consider that an accomplishment.

 

[Ryanwb]

The name Yorvit Torrealba just pisses me off for some reason

 

[AZZenny]

That's IT!! You're a genius! This season is all a plot to keep Sexson's numbers down so we can afford to resign him!!

 

[IndyDevil]

I spent Game 2 in the lower RF bleachers, which I guess is the business section, since most of the Brewers fans sitting there wouldn't shut up about work the entire game! Anyway, I'm not quite sure what pissed me off more - Finley getting picked off in the first, Finley getting tossed for missing an obvious strike....notice a pattern here? The home plate ump called low strikes all night long, and Finley had no business getting upset about the strike call - BB couldn't even muster up much of an argument after Fins got tossed. RJ was great until the 7th inning; I thought BB left him in too long, but our stellar bullpen made that a moot point anyway!

BTW, Kata in the leadoff spot sounds pretty good, followed by Cintron, Gonzo, Sexson, then Fins, Tracy....er, Shea (nice RBI hit in the 8th last night), Bautista, Hammock/Mayne. BB said in yesterday's Republic that a shakeup is in order if the losses keep piling up, and this current string might qualify. It may be early in the season, but 4-10, 6 GB means something isn't working right. We still refuse to make the opposing pitcher work for a living (i.e. RJ - 73 pitches through 5 IP, Davis - 49), which also has the effect of reducing rest time for our pitcher between innings.

Noon starting time in Milwaukee today (breakfast ball in AZ??), and I am back in the LF stands; I hope Webb can pull us out of our funk!!

 

[AZZenny]

Last year I thought Fins squinted a lot more than he used to when up at the plate. Needs his eyes checked? Is he 'adjusting' himself as much as usual? If not, that could throw off his mechanics.

 

[Lefty]

If there is a game they should win it's today. Webb is pitching against Obermueller, who has a record of 1-1, with an era of 6.43. The bats should come alive today.

A win to end the road trip and back at BOB might do wonders. The key to the weekend series will be how our #3, #4 and #5 pitchers perform.

 

[Lefty]

Watching the ticker and Danny just went deep. This guy is producing. 1-0!

 

[Lefty]

Webb is doing his part. Need a lot of insurance runs.