Sellers, buyers, or watchers?

[82CardsGrad]

I'm stunned they didn't bring up Cody Ransom today. Kid is killing Triple A. I guess when you're veteran you're expected to in that league, but he has franchise-record 25 home runs so far and he's a short stop. With Drew out, I don't think you go into August with a hole like that. Although I do like Bloomquist there against certain matchups.

I think the D-Backs are considered buyers still by most people who cover the game, but they're buyers on a budget. They're looking for bullpen bargains. They won't be going after, say, Heath Bell or some of the other bigger names that might be on the market for a hefty price.

I think the D-backs are definitely trying to get by on a shoe-string budget. IMHO, as I've been saying for far too long now, their biggest issue isn't pitching. Yes, they need help there too. But, their offense is simply not enough to sustain winning, period. The pressure their offense places on the pitching staff is far more than it should be. Last night is a perfect example. They had zero runs and 4/5 hits thru the 6th inning. Left a runner stranded on second base with no outs and a runner on 3rd base with no outs.
They need to somehow find professional, legit offensive production at first base, 2nd base, 3rd base and/or left field. Hell, CY doesn't even fit this category IMHO.
Upton is the leading hitter for average & OPS. After that, our catcher is the next highest average @ .270. And CY has the next highest OPS @ .805 - which comes with a .260 average and a .329 OBP.

This, in a word is putrid. We have Kennedy, Hudson and Colmenter who are incredibly solid. And a pen with Demel, Castillo, Owings, Hernandez, Putz and Paterson is a good enough base. Not great (although I think Hernandez can become great), but not nearly as terrible as is our offense.

The pitching always gets called out because of games like last night. However, the elephant in the room is without a doubt our offense. I don't care who we grab to fill out our pitching staff, if we don't improve our offense, it just won't matter...

 

[Brian]

I'm stunned they didn't bring up Cody Ransom today. Kid is killing Triple A. I guess when you're veteran you're expected to in that league, but he has franchise-record 25 home runs so far and he's a short stop. With Drew out, I don't think you go into August with a hole like that. Although I do like Bloomquist there against certain matchups.

I think the D-Backs are considered buyers still by most people who cover the game, but they're buyers on a budget. They're looking for bullpen bargains. They won't be going after, say, Heath Bell or some of the other bigger names that might be on the market for a hefty price.

They did bring him up. They pulled him from the game in the 6th last night.

Ransom's problem (I believe) is that the guy has proven he can't hit in the majors. The guy is 35 years old.

 

[azsportsfan01]

Dbacks roster moves:
Sent RHP Yhency Brazoban outright to Reno. Optioned RHP Barry Enright to Reno
Selected the contract of RHP Ryan Cook from Mobile (SL). Recalled RHP Bryan Shaw from Reno (PCL).

Whats the difference between "outright to Reno" and "Optioned to Reno"?

When someone is optioned they are on the minor league roster. They have options left on their contract. When someone is outright they have to pass through waivers because they are out of options. I believe the outright waivers only lasts for 2 days.

 

[Gaddabout]

They did bring him up. They pulled him from the game in the 6th last night.

Ransom's problem (I believe) is that the guy has proven he can't hit in the majors. The guy is 35 years old.

Ah. That's what I get for letting the GF talking me into seeing a movie on game night ...

 

[DutchmanAZ]

Maybe, but it doesn't appear he's had a whole lot of AB's at the pro level.
As much as I like Drew, it wasn't as if he was tearing the cover off the ball.

Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky

http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=285068

They did bring him up. They pulled him from the game in the 6th last night.

Ransom's problem (I believe) is that the guy has proven he can't hit in the majors. The guy is 35 years old.

 

[Gaddabout]

Maybe, but it doesn't appear he's had a whole lot of AB's at the pro level.
As much as I like Drew, it wasn't as if he was tearing the cover off the ball.

Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky

http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=285068

Well, the thing with Ransom is he is a guy who's more likely to hit .220 than .280, and with that you get a guy who makes the everyday play at SS but below-average range. But he's capable of going on hot streaks -- even at the MLB level -- and you're fine with his glove while he's riding one of them. When his bat goes cold, you get a front office thinking AAA was his max and they cut him loose. Story of his career. He's probably a guy that should have been converted to LF early in his career because he does have some really good pop in his bat when he's making contact.