Diamondback Journal

A rumor has come out that the Diamondbacks are pursuing Japanese hurley Hiroki Kuroda in an attempt to short up their rotation.  Kuroda is looking for around $10 million a year and while that’s a hefty price, it could be worth it if he’s the real deal.  With Brandon Webb and Doug Davis already in the fold and hopefully a full season from Randy Johnson, adding Kuroda as a fourth starter would go a long way towards the Diamondbacks repeating as the National League West champs.

Even better, the Diamondbacks don’t have to pay a posting fee like the Red Sox did for Dice-K so there won’t be the large upfront expense just to talk to the pitcher.  I’m hoping this works out because he definitely sounds like he has the arm to pitch in the big leagues.

While the Diamondbacks success by itself wasn’t that surprising, the fact that they did it without Randy Johnson turned it into a surprise.  And because the Diamondbacks won a National League leading 90 wins with a very young team, Bob Melvin walked away with the National League Manager of the Year.  He was first place on 19 of the 32 ballots and no other manager had as many seven.  Charlie Manuel came in second place but he was a distant 43 points behind Melvin.

Now of course, we need a follow up in 2008.  The young talent on this team should make the Diamondbacks a solid contender for the next few years and Melvin will have to make sure that talent turns into playoff appearances.