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I remember when A.J. Hinch was hired I was assuming he was just an intern replacement while the organization looked for a manager. I couldn’t believe they gave him the job. The team has struggled under his lack of leadership. Hinch was responsible for player development before becoming the Arizona Diamondbacks skipper so I was hoping younger players like Justin Upton would flourish under his system. Not the case. Upton has been inconsistent at best. He has never been able to get this team on the same page. A.J Hinch has not been able to get the respect from his players or inspire them to win. Compare that to the effectiveness of Alvin Gentry or Ken Whisenhunt. From usatoday.com:

The Arizona Air National Guard is going to be flying around with a Diamondbacks Logo on their planes. I don’t know if I want to fly around in a plane sport’n a Dbacks logo these days. In World War II nose art was seen as good luck and a way to keep up morale. I don’t think either of those things apply to the Dbacks. Edwin Jackson’s no hitter has been the lone bright spot in what has been a disaster of a season. As for tonight, the Diamondbacks did’nt even show up. From azsnakepit.com:

Last night, Arizona might have felt more than a little aggrieved at having contrived a way to lose that one – if manager AJ Hinch has been losing sleep this season, that contest will have been one to keep him awake. He should sleep pretty well tonight, however, for his team were comprehensively outplayed in every department of the game. The Cardinals #2 and #3 hitters combined for more hits than the entire Diamondbacks line-up, and Dontrelle Willis handed out more free passes by the time he got his fifth out, than the St. Louis pitching staff would allow all night.

This season has become like the heat, unbearable. We need some excitement in this town!

Yep, that will be on Sports Center. It means you are going to see this play repeated about fidy times tomorrow which is great for a Dbacks fan, sucks if your a Braves fan because it cost them a 2-1 loss. From azcentral.com:

That’s how they won Wednesday night, as Gerardo Parra’s should-have-been flyout became an inside-the-park, two-run home run in a 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves at Chase Field. Braves rookie right fielder Jason Heyward crashed into center fielder Nate McLouth in the eighth inning, the ball squirted free, and as Parra raced around the bases, his teammate, Augie Ojeda, popped out of the third-base dugout and joyfully waved him home. “Our pitching kept us in it, allowed us to stay along for the ride long enough,” Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch said. “We left a ton of runners on base, and we didn’t get a clutch hit until Parra’s tweener there, and that was the difference in the game.”

It was a pitchers duel with Ian Kennedy holding up his end of the bargain. From  arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com:

Kennedy allowed three hits and fanned six in seven shutout innings. The Braves made him work, though, running up his pitch count early while drawing five walks. Atlanta left the bases loaded in the second inning and stranded two in the fourth. Kennedy used his changeup to get some key outs in the game. “If I throw it like my fastball and you just miss the barrel by a little bit it’s an effective pitch and that’s all I try to do with it,” Kennedy said. As for working out of the early jams, Kennedy credited catcher Chris Snyder. “Snyder always gets me through those tough spots,” he said. “I really take pride in going seven innings. That’s my goal, to go six, seven or eight innings and keep the game within reach. I didn’t want to give in.”

Outfielders colliding won it for us. Maybe we could put some landmines out there. What ever it takes baby. we are playing for pride.

It was nice breaking that nine game losing steak. And Dontrelle Willis wins in his debut. Is Willis going to save us with his pitching? I don’t know but his base running might. From azcentral.com:

There were other key moments – and also some shaky – but this was a night that belonged to Willis, highlighted by his dash to home plate. “I was hoping the plate would end up moving backwards as I got closer to it,” he said. “Refrigerator got on my back toward the end, but whatever you got to do to win ballgames, you got to do it.” Willis said he has slid head-first many times during his career. “I don’t know how to slide feet first; I have to work on that,” he said. “You do what you have to do, enjoy the game and have fun, battle. . . . I think it was one of those things that you don’t ideally as a manager want to see, your starting pitcher slide with his left arm, but you do what you can to . . . get a victory.”

Nice. Then on Sunday we faced like the best pitcher in baseball. Gave  good game of it but it wasn’t enough. From arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com:

We were a foot away from not only scoring first but making Jimenez get to maybe 40 pitches in the first inning,” manager A.J. Hinch said, “which changes the entire complexion of the game.” With runners in scoring position, Arizona batted 1-for-6 and left eight on base, smallish numbers that are magnified against the game’s best hurler. And Jimenez had his best stuff; he struck out slugger Mark Reynolds on three pitches — twice. “He’s probably the nastiest guy in the league,” added Jackson, whose lone base knock was one of six hits allowed. “We had some opportunities early in the game, and we didn’t capitalize. Once you give that guy some momentum, he’s pretty lights out. I mean, he’s throwing 99 [mph]. … He’s as tough as they come.” Jimenez (11-1) ended his scoreless-inning streak at a franchise-best 33 and, in the process, his ERA ticked up from 0.78 to 0.93. “We made him work,” Hinch added. “Just when you think you have him on the ropes, though, you look up and it’s still a zero. That’s what an ace does.”

Let see, that was a long weekend for the Dbacks. Got swept by the Giants and lost first two to the Dodgers. Its bad. The bullpen shit the bed again Tuesday. After Dan Haren, who has been having problems of his own, pitched a solid eight innings, the Dbacks bullpen did what they do best. Completely blow it. From arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com:

Dan Haren looked like the ace he’s been the past two years as he held the Dodgers scoreless for eight innings before finally giving way to the bullpen. Aaron Heilman managed to get out of the ninth unscathed, but the same could not be said for Gutierrez in the 10th. The right-hander, whose ERA stands at 10.31, retired the first batter he faced before grooving a 2-2 fastball that Matt Kemp deposited in the left-field bleachers. Game over.

The pitching is abysmal. Got to be the worst in the Majors. I don’t know whats worse this oil spill in the gulf or this pitching staff? OK, That was maybe going to far, dead sea turtles and pelicans are horrible images but have you been able to sit through a Dbacks game and not thrown your remote to the ground in disgust? From azcentral.com:

Entering Saturday, Diamondbacks pitching had allowed 83 home runs in 49 games, putting them on pace to give up 274 long balls this season, a total that would shatter the major-league record of 241 set by the Detroit Tigers in 1996. “We’re on a horrible pace, and we’re blowing the rest of the league out of the water,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “Pitch execution, changing eye levels, making hitters a little more uncomfortable, I think it all needs to improve in order for us to keep the ball in the ballpark.” “This isn’t a staff that I would have expected to give up as many home runs as we have,” Hinch said. “It’s a reality. The numbers don’t lie. It’s definitely something we’re concerned about and have been talking about quite a bit.”

Yeah this season is gone. Already talking about dealing players away to save money. Feel like these players have been under performing all season. If we are going to make changes we need to start with the skipper.

This Arizona Diamondbacks team is on pace to do worse than last year. And last year was a dumpster fire. I can’t think of anything about this team that has been consistently good. The bullpen has always been in question and now the offense has disappeared. Its going to be a long summer. azcentral.com:

For the first four weeks of the season, the Diamondbacks possessed one of baseball’s better offenses, a unit that seemed to have at least two or three hot hitters on any given day. Lately, they would settle for two or three tepid hitters. they are hitting just .234 with an average of 4.1 runs per game. In this stretch, they have scored three runs or fewer 14 times. They have lost 13 of those games. Overall, they are 1-22 in games in which they have scored three runs or fewer.

I don’t know what to expect for the rest of this season. It funny, because it really doesn’t take much to better than last season. Our pitching really has to improve, the hitting will come around, I hope. From azsnakepit.com:

Nearly two months into the 2010 campaign, and the Arizona ball club is already behind last year’s disaster.  It’s Memorial Day weekend and is tied for fourth in games behind first place (8.5).  Do things get better from here, is it all just bad luck?  Or is the team performing about as well as we can expect, which means the next 4 months will be an exercise in frustration? They certainly could get better, but I’m not sure if that’s likely anymore.  As much as we might have mocked pythag as the D’backs dodged a bullet in 2007 to get to the playoffs, reality isn’t just knocking on the window anymore, asking to be let in.  It’s planted a pipe bomb and blown its way.  The Diamondbacks’ winning percentage is .417; pythag predicts (based on runs scored and allowed) that the winning percentage should be .415.

Not a good day at the office for the Diamondback’s Dan Haren. Haren was our ace, the guy that rights the ship and gets a W. Not lately, not against the Rockies Thursday. Haren got the Loss and the Dbacks got swept. From arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com:

D-backs manager A.J. Hinch didn’t want to pin the entire blame on Haren, but his continued struggles no doubt must concern the team. Haren, who gave up eight runs in 6 1/3 innings, is now 5-4 with a 5.35 ERA and has allowed 16 home runs already this season, including four in each of his last two starts. He gave up 27 all of last year and just 19 in 2008. “I’m struggling, obviously pretty bad,” Haren said. “Obviously I’ve had a lot of trouble keeping the ball in the yard. It’s obviously frustrating. It’s tough to deal with. I’ve never dealt with anything like this in my career. Hopefully I’ll come out of all this a better pitcher.”

This has been a tough year for Dan Haren performance wise. He has been very inconsistent, maybe he can pull it together for the second half of the season. From azcentral.com:

Though he was articulate as usual, Haren seemed somewhat subdued when speaking with reporters. “Obviously, I’ve had a lot of trouble keeping balls in the yard,” he said. “It’s obviously frustrating it’s tough to deal with. I’ve never dealt with anything like this in my career. Hopefully I come out of all this a better pitcher.”

This is going to be a fun Memorial Day weekend, lots of drinking, lots of pool time. Everybody be safe out there!

If it ain’t one thing, it’s another. The Dbacks offense hit a dry spell against the Rockies, 4 hits off of 5 pitchers. From azsnakepit.com:

“The first five innings for the Arizona offense could be described as “down in order, or waste a chance.” It’s like a carnival game where the only prizes are arsenic and mix tapes featuring Troy Tulowitzki walk-up songs. The first and third innings were the wasted variety — a runner in scoring position with the middle of the lineup given a chance, only to come up woefully short (Upton and Jackson were the culprits there). The second and fourth were the “ho-hum, let’s make Jhoulsysdcjusdocaoisjc Chacin look like a Cy Young winner” type, with some pretty bad at-bats leading to the side being set down in order on less than 10 pitches.”

The bullpen did well enough to give us a chance. I guess thats the silver lining right? Right. From azcentral.com:

“For a change, there were no hiccups from the Diamondbacks bullpen, which got scoreless appearances from Esmerling Vasquez (two innings) and Aaron Heilman (one inning) to keep the game at 3-2 heading into the ninth. “That’s the adjustment we need to make,” Hinch said. “When we’re close like that, our pitching staff gave us every opportunity to score a couple of runs, but we just couldn’t do it.”

I can gloat if I want! Its been a shaky season to say the least. I am beginning to like this “winning” its fun. After smacking Tim Lincecum around and beating the Giants 8-7 Thursday the Dbacks set their sights on the Blue Jays. This Diamondbacks team has got some fight in it. The pitching has been consistent and the offense is really swinging the bats well. From azcentral.com:

“They had to overcome six home runs from the Blue Jays, the most homer-happy team in the majors. The saving grace for the Diamondbacks? All six were solo shots. “If I gave up a couple of three-run home runs, it wouldn’t have been pretty,” said Haren, who matched his career high with four homers allowed. “Every guy can hit it out, and it looks like they have one thing in mind – to let loose and try to hit homers. I’ve never seen anything like it, really.” “They say solo home runs can’t beat you,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We tested that one (Friday night).”

The hitting has been outstanding, our pitcher (Dan Haren) is hitting .414!!! Adam LaRoche has had 8 hits in his last four games. And the Pitching is improving, especially when it comes to giving up walks. From azsnakepit.com:

“However, the key, once again, was no walks issued tonight by Diamondbacks pitchers. I don’t think it’s coincidence that, over the winning streak, we have handed out only seven free passes in 36 innings, while Arizona has fanned 36 opposing batters over the same time-frame. It’s the first time since August 2008, we’ve had back-to-back games with zero walks. Of course, it probably helps that Toronto are such free-swingers: I think they swung a couple of times in this series when our pitcher was just trying to get a new ball from the umpire. They now have 74 homers: only the Red So (59) have even got ore than fifty in the AL.”

That felt good. Really needed that win to begin this 5 game home stand. This was a solid game for everybody, the pitching and hitting came together for a pounding. Ian Kennedy is becoming our ace, he pitched 8 innings with a season high 9 strikeouts. And the 6 homers ties a franchise record! From azcentral.com:

“Ask manager A.J. Hinch what he liked best as the Diamondbacks began a five-game homestand, and he found something different. “Just the win. A win at home. It’s been awhile for that,” Hinch said, noting his team lost all six games in its previous stand at Chase Field. “But this was a pretty good all-around game for us. That was some explosive offense and a really, really good pitching performance out of Kennedy. That’s about as much as we can ask out of him and our team. That was pretty flawless baseball and a long time coming.”

What has happend to Dan Haren.? Haren’s hitting has been amazing, but he has struggled on the mound with 4.85 ERA. You know usually Haren starts out strong but finishes the season weak. So maybe he’ll reverse that trend this season? From azsnakepit.com:

“Still, Haren isn’t going anywhere, and he strikes me as the kind of pitcher who has got the smarts to figure out what’s wrong, and either correct it, or make adjustments so it doesn’t matter as much. He seems to have been doing so already, and while that does seem to remain a work in progress, I tend to think he will figure it out. Maybe – just maybe – this will be the season where Haren finally improves in the second-half of the year!”

I was just thinking that I never watch a complete baseball game until the playoffs. Its weird. I have seen the beginning of one Dbacks game, the middle of another one and I have yet to see the end of one because I switch the channel when they blow it after the 7th. It turns out they are evolving. Learning new ways to lose. I guess there is enough blame to go around, it wasn’t just the bullpen this time! From azcentral.com:

“Not that the Diamondbacks, who managed just two hits, were having any luck against dominant Florida right-hander Josh Johnson, who overpowered them for seven innings. The bullpen didn’t give the club a fighting chance to get to Florida’s relievers, but that’s nothing new. In the sixth through ninth innings this season, the Diamondbacks have been outscored 118-61. They were outscored 6-0 in those innings on Tuesday. They’re 1-15 when trailing after six innings.”

Some more bad news, sorry, Adam LaRoche left the game with a knee injury. From diamondbacks.mlb.com:

“D-backs first baseman Adam LaRoche took a 91 mph cutter from Marlins starter Josh Johnson off the inside part of his left knee on Tuesday, and exited the game a couple of innings later. Manager A.J. Hinch said LaRoche was a bit sore in the area and wasn’t sure if he’d play Wednesday, when the D-backs open a five-game homestand against the Giants. “We’ll see tomorrow,” Hinch said after his club’s 8-0 loss to the Marlins at Sun Life Stadium. “I may or may not give him a day [off] tomorrow.”

Whats up with this “foursquare” nonsense? I don’t know if I want people knowing where I am at 24/7. There are someplaces I don’t want people to know I visit. Like Zorba’s or a Diamondbacks game. How embarrassing is that? Wednesday was another loss, 6-3 to the Dodgers. I guess you don’t throw a fast ball straight down the middle for Manny Ramirez. Lesson learned. From diamondbacks.mlb.com:

“The D-backs starter cruised through six innings but gave up a bases-clearing double in a crucial at-bat to Manny Ramirez in the seventh to blow the game open in a 6-3 loss to the Dodgers. “I feel like I let the team down because we were in a position to get the job done, but I didn’t get the job done,” a stone-faced Jackson said. “It was supposed to be a fastball up.”

You know there are a lot of reasons why the Dbacks are struggling this year. The biggest reason is the bullpen. It is the worst in the Major Leagues. Could it go down as the worst ever? From azcentral.com:

“The Diamondbacks don’t just need a turnaround from one or two relievers to fix their disastrous bullpen. It will take nearly a sea change of effectiveness. Chad Qualls 6.39 ERA (12 2/3 IP). Juan Gutierrez 9.00 ERA (14 IP). Bob Howry 8.16 ERA (14 1/3 IP). Aaron Heilman 3.68 ERA (14 2/3 IP). Blaine Boyer 8.49 ERA (11 2/3 IP). Diamondbacks relievers have an ERA of 7.37 entering Friday’s series opener in Atlanta. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the worst full-season bullpen ERA in the past 25 years was 6.16 by Tampa Bay in 2007.”

Its not all bad news. Our starting pitching has been shakey with the exception of Ian Kennedy. Ian Kennedy has been a bright spot all season. If this guy could get some support..From azsnakepit.com:

“In a season where our pitching staff has, almost without exception, disappointed to some degree, Ian Kennedy has been a very pleasant surprise. He has performed far better than expected, when he was traded to Arizona as part of the three-way deal with Detroit: at that point, he had one win in twelve starts with the Yankees, and a career ERA in the majors above six. But after seven outings for the Diamondbacks, he is the only starting pitcher on the club with an ERA below four (3.48), and it is looking increasingly like New York’s loss is Arizona’s gain.”

Get out your brooms! Yep, someone got swept today! Aaannd I’m not talking about the Spurs. The Arizona Diamondbacks lost to the Brewers 6-1 for the third straight time. This season is not getting any better, the losses seem to be getting worse. The offense, the bullpen both are struggling. From diamondbacks.mlb.com:

“For the series, the Diamondbacks were outscored 26-6, hit .196 and struck out 29 times as they fell to 14-18, good for last place in the National League West, a half-game worse than the Los Angeles Dodgers, who open a three-game series here Monday night. “We got beat,” Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch said. “They came in and outplayed us, outpitched us, outran us on the bases. They swept us. Whether it’s a good job by them or a poor job by us, the results are the results. We need to pick ourselves up and get back at it.”

It was a 1 run game until the Dbacks bullpen took over. And you know how the rest of the story goes. azsnakepit.com:

“This was the sixteenth time an Arizona starter has thrown a “quality start” this season – that means, six or more innings and three or less earned runs. Last year in the National League, that resulted in a win for your team about two-thirds of the time (66.4% of the time, to be precise). But the Diamondbacks’ record over such games in 2010? After this afternoon, it’s now 6-10. I think it’s safe to say that the starters are really not the problem on this roster: while Kennedy may have got the loss today, our starters’ ERA is 4.82. Not brilliant, but compare it to the bullpen ERA of 6.95, which is the worst in the NL by a run and a half.”

Dan Haren is like our best player right? He does it all. Hits, Pitches, and pitches the distance. Thursday Haren pitched a complete game, this guy has got his stuff going. From diamondbacks.mlb.com:

“The right-hander went the distance in Arizona’s 6-3 win over Houston at Minute Maid Park, striking out nine. Haren struck out the side in the first inning and kept it coming. Through three innings, Haren had struck out seven of the 10 batters he had faced. He was effective with his cutters and split-finger fastballs. “Same thing I always do,” said Haren. “I just had better stuff tonight. I knew early I had good stuff. I had all those strikeouts early.”

Dan Haren had some help, Tony Abreu provided some great hitting and impressive fielding. From azcentral.com:

“A.J. Hinch couldn’t make up his mind on shortstop Tony Abreu’s performance. “I don’t know whether to commend him more for his defense or his offense,” Hinch said. Filling in for Stephen Drew with Houston left-hander Wandy Rodriguez on the mound, Abreu established a career high with four hits and made several tough defensive plays look relatively easy.”

Folks, what the fuck has happened to Eric Byrnes? He is like the “The Dude” of Major League Baseball, or should I say softball. I can relate, sometimes your over it. Don’t want to deal with the BS anymore. Or maybe its that your constantly, high, drunk, what ever it takes to get through life. I think there is a little bit of Eric in all of us.

Lots of ups and downs this season. Hey you can’t win them all. You could probably win more of them if the bullpen gave you a chance. The Dbacks were tied with the Astos going into the 9th inning when it all fell apart. From arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com:

“A leadoff walk and a first-pitch cookie. It was over in a hurry,” said Arizona manager A.J. Hinch. “To start off with a leadoff walk is dangerous, and they reminded us why. The Astros’ Carlos Lee took advantage of the situation as he delighted the Minute Maid Park crowd of 21,030 with a walk-off home run over the railroad tracks in left field. Lee’s first-pitch home run off a Juan Gutierrez fastball sent the D-backs to a 4-2 loss while snapping the Astros’ second eight-game losing streak of the young season.”

The offense had its chances, this has been a long road trip, I don’t think the team had it in them tonight. azcentral.com:

“The Diamondbacks had plenty of chances against Houston’s Brett Myers, most notably in the fifth, when Drew led off with a double. But Myers struck out Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds and Chris Young to escape damage. “Everyone’s going to go through these three-city tours,” Hinch said. “We’re pros. We have to step up and do our jobs. Yes, it’s been long, yes it’s been taxing. We’ve lost some close games. That doesn’t give us an excuse to come out flat or miss our opportunities. You’ve got to bring it every day to be a good team.”

It must be like being on tour in a rock band. Destroyed hotel rooms, crazy sex, nasty hangovers…Amrite? No? Probably not.