This is a pretty interesting story on the Diamondbacks starting rotation. I guess anytime you can make Brandon Webb happy, it’s a good thing even though his talk of protection in the rotation doesn’t make much sense. It also goes into how while the pitching has been good, the hitting hasn’t and that’s cost us some games. It’s a really good read on the start of the Diamondbacks.
The three game winning streak ended yesterday but the Diamondbacks made up some ground and they now sit just two games back of the Dodgers and the Padres in the loss column. That’s the good news. The bad news is, the Giants are right on our tail and even the Rockies, at seven games back, are hardly out of it. It’s still anyone’s race at this point.
It’s kind of bad when Tony Clark is your homerun leader but it is what it is. Clark has been solid for the Diamondbacks this year and while the batting average isn’t there, the power is. A .580 slugging percentage is nothing to scoff at.
Orlando Hudson has struggled of late and he hasn’t driven in a run in over a week. He’s also seen his batting average drop from a healthy .310+ to .282 and his OPS has been shaved by over 50 points. What’s most surprising is that, at least so far, Hudson’s defense hasn’t been that great and he posts a -1 fielding runs above average. And this is after four straight season where he exceeded 15 in FRAA. He has a long way to go to get back to that point for a fifth year.
Randy Johnson had another nice start Sunday. The 10/0 strikeout to walk ratio says it all and you hope that the old Randy Johnson, at least in some form, is back for good. It’s his third straight solid start and while he’s only pitched into the seventh once, you’re getting some solid production for around 2/3 of the game, which is all we can ask.
Jose Valverde is tied for the National League lead in saves with seventeen. He’s lost two and those were both pretty ugly, but that’s a fair percentage. I guess I could live with a loss a month if he does his job other 12-15 times he comes out and pitches.
The Diamondbacks finale against the Rockies is tonight. Then the Astros roll into town for a four game set. If the Diamondbacks just win, the rest will take care of itself. Doug Davis gets the start tonight.
