What is the future for Chad Tracy?

[Lefty]

I have been very impressed with Chad but let's be honest, unless the Diamondbacks move Jackson back to the outfield, Conor's the future at first, Where does that leave Chad? Do the Diamondbacks trade Tracy in the offseason? Maybe they can trade Green in the offseason, put Carlos in right and Conor in left. It will be interesting.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

If Tony Clark keeps hitting then Tracy will become trade fodder this summer. There's really nowhere to put him come 2006 and we have some needs in the bullpen.

 

[BC867]

If Tony Clark keeps hitting then Tracy will become trade fodder this summer. There's really nowhere to put him come 2006 and we have some needs in the bullpen.

I went on record, a few weeks into the season, as saying that Tony Clark is my favorite Diamondback. (Craig Counsell was always my favorite before being traded. Now that he's back, he's sort of in my D'back "Hall of Fame" category.)

But Tony's best performances have been coming off the bench as pinch hitter. In games in which he's started (against LH pitchers), he's been mediocre.

Perhaps that would change if he started all games at 1B, which would be mostly batting lefty.

But I have no doubt that Jackson will be our 1B next year.

Chad Tracy is in the Mark Grace, Will Clark, JT Snow mold. A good hitting 1B, but you'd better be strong with power hitters at your three other corner positions.

Ironically, we are this year, with the G-Force covering the three other power positions. But who knows how long that combination will be together.

Unless Chad Tracy hits .330 on a consistent basis (which he isn't), it doesn't look good for him as our 1B in the future.

 

[AZZenny]

I get the sense they are much happier with Conor at 1st than OF, though he does have 4 Errors as he acclimates - but My God is he tearing things up in AAA ball. He's back to hitting his trademark doubles, and 3.5 walks for every K!!!! (That sounds more like one of last years' pitchers!)

Conor Jackson: Individual Stats (Batting)
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS
43 153 33 61 19 1 3 39 91 32 9 1 1

OBP SLG AVG OPS
.495 .595 .399 1.090

So I agree Chad may be packaged into a deal at some point, either near the deadline, or off-season. I don't think we desperately need BP help or a closer - if Aquino and Lyons don't get healthy, of course, we will, but if they come back in the next month and the rest stay healthy, we won't have a bad BP at all.

Hmmm...maybe we package Chad with Green (to counteract the big salary) and thus make room for Carlos and Conor. (Anybody know - did we give Green a no trade clause? If so, we should be shot.)

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

I get the sense they are much happier with Conor at 1st than OF, though he does have 4 Errors as he acclimates - but My God is he tearing things up in AAA ball. He's back to hitting his trademark doubles, and 3.5 walks for every K!!!! (That sounds more like one of last years' pitchers!)

Conor Jackson: Individual Stats (Batting)
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS
43 153 33 61 19 1 3 39 91 32 9 1 1

OBP SLG AVG OPS
.495 .595 .399 1.090

So I agree Chad may be packaged into a deal at some point, either near the deadline, or off-season. I don't think we desperately need BP help or a closer - if Aquino and Lyons don't get healthy, of course, we will, but if they come back in the next month and the rest stay healthy, we won't have a bad BP at all.

Hmmm...maybe we package Chad with Green (to counteract the big salary) and thus make room for Carlos and Conor. (Anybody know - did we give Green a no trade clause? If so, we should be shot.)

Green has a partial no trade clause. I think it is more likely Gonzalez will be traded if somebody is moved along with Tracy to make way for Jackson and Quentin.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I'm not as content witht he bullpen as everyone else seems to be. Outside of Cormier (one of the biggest surprises of the season) and Lyon we have Koplove, Bruney, Javier Lopez, and Valverde who when they haven't sucked have been extremely inconsistent. Aquino and Villareal haven't pitched well in months and are coming off injuries. There's definitely a lot room to upgrade, especially with LH relief (insert Billy Wagner pipe dream).

 

[Lefty]

Green has a partial no trade clause. I think it is more likely Gonzalez will be traded if somebody is moved along with Tracy to make way for Jackson and Quentin.

Gonzo is a free agent after this year.

 

[BOB_Man24]

I'm not as content witht he bullpen as everyone else seems to be. Outside of Cormier (one of the biggest surprises of the season) and Lyon we have Koplove, Bruney, Javier Lopez, and Valverde who when they haven't sucked have been extremely inconsistent. Aquino and Villareal haven't pitched well in months and are coming off injuries. There's definitely a lot room to upgrade, especially with LH relief (insert Billy Wagner pipe dream).

I completly agree with you. From the begining i knew we needed help with the bullpen, and now with Lyon's injury, who knows if he will be able to return to form. We definitely need to upgrade....

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Gonzo is a free agent after this year.

Thats odd, this says 2006.
03/19/03 - Signed Luis Gonzalez to a three-year contract extension through the 2006 season.
http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ari/history/timeline6.jsp

Edit: However, if he signed a three year extension before the 03 season, that would mean that this is his last year. Unless by "extension" it means that it extended his deal by three years past what his deal was at the time, meaning 2006.

Edit Edit: 2006
http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/6261349

 

[Lefty]

Thats odd, this says 2006.
03/19/03 - Signed Luis Gonzalez to a three-year contract extension through the 2006 season.
http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ari/history/timeline6.jsp

Edit: However, if he signed a three year extension before the 03 season, that would mean that this is his last year. Unless by "extension" it means that it extended his deal by three years past what his deal was at the time, meaning 2006.

Edit Edit: 2006
http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/6261349

I hope that is wrong because I want to see Carlos in the outfield next year.

 

[BOB_Man24]

Well did we sign Cruz to a 1 or 2 year deal eh?

 

[UncleChris]

Gonzo ain't gone nowhere (colloquially). He's the franchise player, and for all intents and purposes, he's here through 2007.

 

[Lefty]

Gonzo ain't gone nowhere (colloquially). He's the franchise player, and for all intents and purposes, he's here through 2007.

If Gonzo is here for that long than Carlos will be playing center because they are not going to keep him in Tucson next year. I have read that Gonzo could be traded to an AL team because he would make a great DH.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Well did we sign Cruz to a 1 or 2 year deal eh?

He was traded here from Tampa and will be a free agent at the end of this season. I dont see what relevance this has though on this particular subject, as his departure would open a hole in CF, which neither Gonzo, Green, nor Quentin can really fill.

 

[Stan C]

I don't mean to rain on the parade, but didn't Tracey, Terrero, Lyle Overbay, Junior Spivey, and even Cintron all tear it up like our 2 prospects are now in Tucson? I'm sure Zenny will point our my errors, but my point it although they look great, they are still only prospects. Not facing the best pitching in the world quite yet.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

I don't mean to rain on the parade, but didn't Tracey, Terrero, Lyle Overbay, Junior Spivey, and even Cintron all tear it up like our 2 prospects are now in Tucson? I'm sure Zenny will point our my errors, but my point it although they look great, they are still only prospects. Not facing the best pitching in the world quite yet.

Most of those guys werent Top 20 or 30 prospects in all of baseball at any point like Jackson and Quentin.

 

[BC867]

I don't mean to rain on the parade, but didn't Tracy, Terrero, Lyle Overbay, Junior Spivey, and even Cintron all tear it up like our 2 prospects are now in Tucson?

Bob Brenly and Bob Melvin are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to communicating with their players -- particularly young players.

Brenly threw them into spots they weren't ready for (batting 3rd, batting 5th), into his hit-the-ball-in-the-air mentality, and didn't nurture them.

Bob Melvin is outstanding at working closely with his young players.

And although Melvin was here for awhile as Bench Coach to cover for Brenly's communications weakness, he wasn't the Manager.

He is now. We can expect better results from our young players promoted to starting spots with the D'backs.

 

[AZZenny]

I'm sure Zenny will point our my errors, but my point it although they look great, they are still only prospects. Not facing the best pitching in the world quite yet.

LOL - you are quite right. PLUS both need more time on defense and running bases and just game-brain training. I would hate to rush them, which is why I'm heading to Tucson this weekend for a game, to get my little prospect fix.

On the other hand, try this week's BA Hot Prospect Sheet:

5. Conor Jackson, 1b, Diamondbacks (Triple-A Tucson)
Creeping towards .400, Jackson has raised his average to .399 by going 10-for-15 in his last five games. Despite nearly four times as many walks (32) as strikeouts (9), Jackson's .495 on-base percentage doesn't even lead his own team because his teammate is . . .
6. Carlos Quentin, of, Diamondbacks (Triple-A Tucson)
. . . This guy. When your on-base percentage is .500, you sit pretty high on the hot sheet. In 42 games, Quentin has 61 hits, 31 walks and has been hit by nine pitches.
These young guys have something we have never ever seen in a prospect - superb plate discipline. Now it appears at each level (and early each season) Carlos has a little longer making the adjustment - as I have said for over a year, Conor has Terminator-like instant mapping of ball and strike zone and seems to adjust to each new level in a handful of at bats. Once he gets it, though, Carlos has more power and almost equal patience. Conor, IMO, is already bored by Triple-A pitching, but he just got assigned 1st base and needs to learn to field it confidently. Finding the balance to challenge them while they still learn the nuances of the whole game may prove tricky.

Simple reality is, no one who studied minor league stats was especially inspired by Terrero - 5 tools, no brains; Cintron never showed discipline at the plate or sound defense in the field, so he was regarded as a transient blip when he started doing well, Spivey was never a top prospect and is ending up about where he was expected to, Overbay and Tracy had discipline in the sense of patience, but neither of them remotely approached Carlos and Conor in overall potential. Will these two translate into stars? who knows - but I'd personally bet a bundle that they will both be legit All-star players within five years of hitting the bigs.

 

[Kolo]

Zenny, Jackson left Tuesday's game after 1 ab and didn't play yesterday. Any news on why?

 

[BC867]

I went on record, a few weeks into the season, as saying that Tony Clark is my favorite Diamondback. (Craig Counsell was always my favorite before being traded. Now that he's back, he's sort of in my D'back "Hall of Fame" category.)

But Tony's best performances have been coming off the bench as pinch hitter. In games in which he's started (against LH pitchers), he's been mediocre.

Perhaps that would change if he started all games at 1B, which would be mostly batting lefty.

And in his last start, Tony goes 3-4 with a single, double, and homerun. And did hit both righty and lefty.

Nothing mediocre there. I love having to swallow that one. :notworthy

 

[schillingfan]

If Tony Clark keeps hitting then Tracy will become trade fodder this summer. There's really nowhere to put him come 2006 and we have some needs in the bullpen.

You don't want to trade a young corner infielder for bullpen help. Argh.

Tracy doesn't really have enough home runs to play first. Third is better if he can play it.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

You don't want to trade a young corner infielder for bullpen help. Argh.

Tracy doesn't really have enough home runs to play first. Third is better if he can play it.

A mediocre defensive non-power hitting corner infielder who's going to have nowhere to play in 2006? Absolutely I'd trade him for good BP help, obviously not for some scrub like Mike Fetters. That's why I mentioned Billy Wagner even though I'm unsure of his contract status.

If Lyon and Aquino come back healthy, I'd keep Tracy and trade a couple average prospects for a healthy Jeremy Affeldt.

 

[AZZenny]

Zenny, Jackson left Tuesday's game after 1 ab and didn't play yesterday. Any news on why?

'Winder game notes for Thursday, May 26 : The offense was led by 2B Brian Barden and 1B Conor Jackson. Barden went 3-for-5 with a run, a double and an RBI. Jackson went 2-for-4 with a run, a homerun, an RBI, and a walk. With the two hits Jackson raised his batting average to .399 for the year.

You trying to give me a stroke?! Heck, I'm supposed to be heading down for Sunday's game, if a couple things work out.