Phoenix.BloggersPub

Missed the first half of the camp today darnit. But was really lucky to spend a few minutes talking to Mr. and Mrs. Turris about their trip out the Phoenix with KT. And with Panger about having KT live w/ him. The T’s are really loving the weather (lol newbies!) but of course they left a very soggy and overcast homebase so they are indulging themselves in our heat and sunshine. They encountered their first wind devils on the way here. Which was a shocker when the truck started rocking around the lane. But safe and sound they delivered our KT into the hands of his prroud ‘adoptive’ dad, Panger.

So anyway only got to see the scrimmages part of the camp, no drills or skating preps. But interesting to watch the team players shake out. Some nice chemistry developing between the guys. Lots of smiles (they are either really happy to be back on the ice or really glad to be out of the heat) lots of pointers being passed around to the new kids, its fun to watch the fist pumps and yells when they score (wish we got more of those elaborate celebrations in games).

So I apparently missed our Sjostrom, as well as Dan Cleary and DMo yesterday. Fast Freddie and the others participated in the drills and conditioning part but did not return to the ice for the scrimmaging half. But there were plenty of other lethal suspects out there:

Players I knew on sight that were participating:

Sauer
Ahnelov
Winnik
Lisin
Yandle
Jovanovski
Turris
Telly
Mclean
Doan
Jokinen
Boynton
Nash
Morris
Mueller
Spina
Boedker
Thomas

Players from other places:
Collins (sundogs)
Flynn (sundogs)
Khabibulin (blackhawks)
Heath (tricity storm)
Federico (western michigan)
Taffe (penguins)
Spiller (not sure where he’s at now…?)
Nash (hopefully lightning)
Cleary (redwings)
Sjostrom (rangers)

Record: 68-64. Pace: 83-79. Change on last season: -7
Magic number: 28. Playoff odds: TBA.

I generally avoid the first person in most of these recaps, as in most journalistic writing, but you'll have to spare me a few faux pas this morning. I say this morning because I've spent the past 15 hours in the office getting the paper to press, and being blissfully unaware of what was happening in Brandon Webb's quest to pick up win #20 on the season. Needless to say, I'm not particularly thrilled with any of the night's events.

Webb struggled to control his curve and changeup, and without a great sinker to rely on, the results were a disaster. His shortest start since June. His winning streak snapped. His Cy Young chances diminished (but still strong). Early, things didn't look so bad. Webb retired the first four hitters he faced via the ground ball, and all was right with the world. Come the third inning, however, the Padres batted around and battered Brandon. A three-run homer by Giles and a two-run double by Kouzmanoff were the cannonizing blows, and suddenly Webb found himself in a 5-0 hole.

Arizona struck back quickly, doing all of its damage (in the inning, and as it turned out, the game) with two outs in the top of the fourth. Adam Dunn flipped a base hit into right, and Mark Reynolds followed it up by smacking a pitch into left center for his 25th homer of the season. The lead was down to three, and the hope was that perhaps Webb could settle in long enough for the offense to put a few more runs together.

Unfortunately, neither of those materialized. Webb got into trouble again in the fifth and was chased after giving up a sixth run. The bullpen didn't fare much better, with Rosales giving up a pair of runs in the eighth and Rauch once again giving up a run in the ninth (although this was at least in an inconsequential situation). Meanwhile, the offense wasted a couple of base runners in the fifth while the game was still in reach, and left the bases loaded in the eighth when a grand slam would have at least reduced the lead to two. With only three hits, opportunities were few and far between, and those two going to waste were the final nails in the coffin.

Master of his Domain: Mark Reynolds, +9.4%
God-Emperor of Suck: Brandon Webb, -28.5%

The lineup can be summarized with two-faced effectiveness: Reynolds broke out of his homerless streak and drove in the only runs, Dunn reached base all four times (three walks and a base hit), and Jeff Salazer was 1 for 1. No one else is deserving of mention, particularly not Chris Young (0-4, 2 K) or Tony Clark (0-4, 3 K). Except I just mentioned them. A similar result for the pitchers: only Juan Cruz managed to escape unscathed. It was a month to the day since the last time Brandon was the GEoS, and I'm sure we're all hoping that much time will pass before it happens again.

There isn't a ton else to add here. Other than the homer to Reynolds, Reineke shut us down. Really, the Padres were dominating in pretty much every facet, and now have the Diamondbacks facing a sweep tomorrow with Johnson on the mound against Cha Seung Baek.

"But hey, at least the Dodgers lost." Their staggering ineptitude (pot, kettle?) continued with a loss to the lowly Nationals, scoring three runs or less for the eighth consecutive game. It pains the heart to think of the lead that could be with just a couple more wins this month. Six or seven games certainly would not have seemed out of the question. As it is, we lick our wounds and can at least take solace in the three-game lead we still have.

The Skinny: The San Diego Padres, a team not known for their offensive firepower, flexed their muscles Tuesday night against the frontrunner for the National League Cy Young Award. Highlighted by Brian Giles 3-run homer, the Padres scored 5 runs in the 3rd inning against Diamondbacks starter Brandon Webb in a 9-2 win at Petco Park. Kevin Kouzmanoff added a 2-run double in the decisive 3rd inning, and later tacked on another rbi double in the 6th inning that helped put the game out of reach for San Diego.

What happened?: Brandon Webb, who was trying to become the first 20-game winner in the National League since Dontrelle Willis of Florida did it in 2005, didn’t have his stuff. Webb allowed 9 hits and 6 runs in 4 2/3 innings and saw his record fall to 19-5 on the season. It was Webb’s first loss since June 22nd, when he lost to Minnesota.

Numbers: The Diamondbacks offense has been abysmal during this current 3-game losing streak. They have scored 6 runs and have totaled just 12 hits and have struck out a total of 28 times…the Diamondbacks’ bullpen continues to give up runs as Leo Rosales gave up 2 in the 7th and Jon Rauch allowed one in the eighth.

Repercussions: The Diamondbacks must be breathing easy that it is the Dodgers that are chasing them, because L.A. can’t get out of their own way. The Dodgers lost to Washington, of all teams, 2-1, and the Diamondbacks lead remains 3 games in the West. The Diamondbacks had to feel good about starting a series against a team that’s 30 games under .500 and with their two best pitchers throwing in the first two games. Well, they’ve lost both, and have squandered a huge opportunity to build their lead to 5 or 6 games.

MLB.com : Recap | Boxscore

Here’s what others are saying about the Diamondbacks’ 2nd straight loss to the Padres…

The 3-game series concludes Wednesday and the Diamondbacks will try to avoid the sweep sending left hander Randy Johnson to the mound in search of his 295th career victory. The Padres counter with Cha Seung Baek. First pitch is at 12:35 PM Arizona time.

Well, apparently Ken Whisenhunt didn’t say Warner was the starter for opening day.  At least that’s the spin he’s putting on it now.  He said he doesn’t know where ESPN got their information.  He stated the reports were erroneous.  Ok, I guess ESPN is now a bunch of liars?  I love the spin coaches put on media reports.

I’m fairly sure the information was valid and came from someone within the Cardinals organization.  Last time I checked, ESPN wasn’t in the business of making stories up.  That I am sure of.

I’m still convinced Kurt Warner is the starter for week one.  The Matt Leinart project still needs work.  I guess we will all see, so stay tuned.

Go Cards!

Scott Allen

AZScott

If there’s such a thing as a big preseason game in the NFL, Saturday was it for Matt Leinart. With a chance to firmly grasp the starting quarterback job for the Arizona Cardinals, Leinart didn’t deliver.

He completed just four of 12 passes, threw three interceptions, and registered a quarterback rating of 2.8. Reports started flying almost immediately after the game that Cards’ coach Ken Whisenhunt would announce that Kurt Warner would be the starter for Arizona’s season opener against San Francisco on September 7th. That announcement hasn’t come yet.

The criticism of Leinart has been thick and widespread. Coming into his third year in the league, he was supposed to be the starter, and was considered by many the savior of the franchise thanks to his impressive college resume’. Cliff Brown of Sporting News Today wrote a piece on Monday entitled “What if Leinart simply isn’t good enough?”. On their afternoon talk show on KTAR-AM, John Gambadoro and Mark Asher discussed with callers if the Cardinals are writing Matt Leinart off. It seems everyone is tip-toeing around calling Matt that ugly word bestowed upon draft picks that don’t pan out…bust.

What constitutes being a bust? How long does it take before you can label a highly-drafted QB a bust? I’ll use my own definition. A bust is a quarterback who has not taken a firm grasp of his team’s offense, entrenched himself as the starter, or become a leader on and off the football field after 3 full seasons in the NFL. How’s that?

I arrived at the 3-year threshold by judging what’s going on in San Francisco. Alex Smith, drafted #1 overall in 2005, was beaten out for the 49ers’ starting job by a guy whose name sounds like a suburban sports bar, J.T. O’Sullivan. (I borrowed that line, but hey, it’s funny.)

Using my own criteria, Matt Leinart has not taken a firm grasp of his team’s offense, he has not entrenched himself as the starter, or become a leader on or off the field. The only thing Leinart’s got going for him on that scale is that he’s got a full season left to improve before he packs up the truck and moves full time to Bustville.

In the last 11 NFL Drafts, 21 quarterbacks have been taken in the top 12 selections, and using the above stipulations, nine of them are unmitigated busts, and others are flirting with the idea of joining the club.

The Busts:

After seeing these guys, there’s no way Leinart is a bust, yet. But if you listen really closely, you can hear the clock ticking. Quiet down Vince Young, it’s ticking for you too.

If you disagree, please vote on our weekly poll on the front page of AZSportshub.com.

Brandon Webb RHP, 19-4, 2.74

Chad Reineke RHP, 1-1, 4.91

Baseball-Reference.com preview [opens in new window]

Welcome to the big leagues, Chad Reineke. Not only is your second-ever appearance against the man who won the 2006 Cy Young, was second last year, and is the favorite this season...but your third appearance sees you facing the same guy. For your next start, I believe the cloning of an entire line-up of Babe Ruths for you to face, should be just about completed. Have fun.

Reineke didn't acquit himself badly last time, with a quality start and three runs over six innings. However, he might as well have been spitting at a supernova, because he was facing Brandon Webb, who delivered seven shutout innings of three-hit ball, on the way to his sixth straight victory. If he makes it seven tonight, he'll become only the second National League pitcher this year to reel off some many W's in a row. The first was also Brandon Webb - nine wins to start the year [as well as two at the end of 2007].

So, I feel pretty confident, as long as a) our offense doesn't totally suck, and b) the bullpen are willing to hold off extending their seven-week losing streak for another game. Neither are, admittedly, certain. I'm at IZW, so will be able to comment during the game, just not watch it. Azreous is on the recap, unless something totally heinous takes place, causing me to forget and write a blistering screed of criticism. Chip Hale, you have been warned. Dodgers have just started playing in Washington, so let's get this up early and hope they continue to suck, every bit as much as they did in Philadelphia.

Brandon Webb for President?

Sorry I was gone so long. In between much Yote talking w/ the gang and picture taking , here is what I saw at yesterday’s camp…

Ollie Coyote did indeed sport a huge Joker-esque grin most of the practice, even during the drills. Serious indicator that the Joker may have found himself a home with these guys. The guy moves like a ghost, fluid, strong and barely even affected by speed runs and touch ups. When Donor arrived at 11:30 the 2 of them treated us to a fantasmic show. (they play like they grew up together and never stopped playing together) we are in for a awesome spectacle watching these magnificent athletes take each other to new levels. Honestly… simply magnifico

Winnick is back from completing his degree in summer school!!! woo hoo niiice job Dwin! Looks healthy, lean and fast and … well, good to defend his spot on the offence. (wish he’d find a good barber tho)

Lisin is still the benchmark of speed… the kid was barely costing and pretty much keeping up with the pack on all the skating conditioning runs. He appears to have added a couple of tricks to his arsenal as he tipped in a couple of shots from the defensemen.

Speaking of defensemen… Got my first look at Kurt Sauer today… and boy howdy is he ever an eye full. That is one big boy.

Much like the pistols that bear his name, Sig is going to be a very powerful weapon back there on the blue line. He skates very fluidly and has some superior passing skills (can’t wait to see some of those first outlet passes stun our opponents). Like many defensive types his shot could use some serious work as many of them went wide… Lisin was able to tip a couple of those bad boys in with very little effort though… so Sig may find himself w/ a few more points than usual if Lisin makes the team and they work on the same line.

PS ladies… that big blonde from St. Paul is very, very easy on the eyes… just sayin…

Jovo was havin a blast too, but that hair cut has to go. Buzzed down almost Jokinen short (picture razor stubble on crack), healthy and lean but definitely a bit rusty (JV was either practicing diving accross the ice or falling alot) but was fast *hey… he can move when he wants to*, lean and definitelyin top shape.

Telly looked even better than last year. Any body trying to take his spot from him is in for a serious battle. They better bring an invisible shield and a portable wall to get ahead of the Swedish Wolf this time. Nearly unstoppable down low, Telly was stonin folks during the scrimmage like they were shooting beach balls.

Also got my first look at Feds Flintstone… no really, the guy looks like a caveman. All burly and menacing.

But the guy can skate (contrary to popular opinion) this may also be a sleeper pick up.

GMDM has not been wrong much and if Feds can protect while serving the opposition goal keepers a couple of those wicked wristers I saw today… well, my belief in the DM will certainly be boosted to a whole nother level.

Players I knew on sight that were participating:
Fedoruk
Sauer
Ahnelov
Winnik
Lisin
Yandle
Jovanovski
Turris
Telly
Mclean
Doan
Jokinen

Players from other places:
Collins (sundogs)
Flynn (sundogs)
Khabibulin (blackhawks)

Players I’m not too sure were really them:

Federico, Matthew G 6-0 190 So. Scottsdale, AZ (PF Chang’s/Midget Major AAA)

MIA:
Boynton
Nash
Morris
Mueller
Boedker

Happy Birthday DMO!!!!

This is slightly delayed, due to the scheduled SB Nation maintenances from last night - well-spotted by Charmer, so I was at least able to pop a warning into the Gameday Thread. Here's the diary of my thoughts, as the game unfolded last night.

Settling in, ready for our last comedy show of the summer at the Grand Comedy Tavern. Listening to the radio on our way here: it sounds like the Dodgers were losing to the Phillies, but I'm awaiting confirmation on that. It'd be helpful.

1st inning. Drew pops up foul, on a full count, but Young walks: a good start, it doesn't seem like Peavy is blowing anybody away. Looks like a hit-and-run with Jackson, which avoids the double-play. Dunn works the count full, and I'd have said he got hosed by the umpire on strike three. Ah, the out of town scoreboard shows the Dodgers did lose, 5-0. Interesting inning for Haren. There's a one out double, and the runner advances to third on a ground-out. He then gets Adrian Gonzalez on three strikes: looked like they were all fastballs, respectively high, higher and a threat to passing aircraft.

2nd inning. 1-2-3 go the Diamondbacks, with Reynolds staring at strike three, which looked largely down the pipe to me.  He seems to have been K-ing even more than usual of late, and I don't recall many homers recently, but I'd have to check that. [Confirmed: he's homerless in 59 at-bats since August 7, with 22 K's] Haren struggles a bit in the second, allowing two hits: he doesn't seem to be getting the call on balls down in the zone, though the umpire has a more generous zone inside to left-handers. He gets Peavy to ground out, and the threat is averted. So far, advantage Peavy: despite the scoreless game, he has looked better.

3rd inning. Haren tries to help his own cause with a single: he handles the bat better than any other pitcher we have and, personally, I like seeing his at-bats. He hardly ever gives his out away. I didn't seem much else of the inning, thanks to my weekly comics discussion with our comedy host: this week, the multi-threaded narrative which is The Watchmen. Nothing else happens for the Diamondbacks, and the Padres threaten again with a leadoff base-runner in the bottom of the third. Haren is falling behind a lot of the hitters, and this eventually bites him, a double to the outfield giving San Diego the lead. But the following hitters help out by swinging at balls in the dirt, and the damage is stopped there.

4th inning. Need to get the offense going. Jackson starts things off well, with a single to right. He takes second as Dunn fans on a full-count, and is in scoring position with one out for the D-backs. Tracy strikes out - the middle of the line-up is something of a K-hasm of late. Reynolds legs out an infield hit, and leaves it up to Snyder. He puts a long at-bat on Peavy - if nothing else, we're running his pitch-count up very nicely - and finally sends a 2-2 pitch back up the middle, scoring both men, Reynolds having stolen second earlier in the at-bat. Hard pounding, but we finish our half of the inning with a 2-1 lead. We need Haren to post a zero, but with two out and a man on first, another bloop single drops down the right-field line, moving the runner to third, and a hit ties the game.

5th inning. Nothing for Arizona. Absolutely nothing. Not much for San Diego either: he faces three batters, but doesn't quite manage a 1-2-3 inning, with another hit. A double-play ends that, and we rapidly move on to the...

6th inning. Jackson strikes out, but replays confirms that Peavy gets a very generous strike zone. That isn't enough to help him against The Treadmill, who does what he does and gets on base with a free pass. Tracy pops up, so nothing doing there and while Reynolds works the count full, he grounds out and the score remains tied. Four runs over a total of eleven innings for these pitchers: rather different from last week's encounter. Haren then makes it 12, and looks impressive in doing so, with his first 1-2-3 inning of the night.

7th inning. Peavy gone: that's a relief, and I think we're happy that he has left the game, and we are still level. No victory for him, but Haren is still in the game, batting for himself with two outs. Another fine at-bat there, and he drills a double to left-center for his second hit of the game. The Padres end up walking Drew intentionally, and Young has the big chance to put Arizona ahead again. However, he flies out, and the chance goes begging. Haren wanders from second to the mound. He is mowing them down and accumulates a season-high 11 strikeouts, around a single by Giles. I think the upcoming inning is probably his last chance of victory.

8th inning. Heath Bell in for the Padres: I am prepared to sacrifice my fantasy team for the good of the Diamondbacks, and let Bell concede a run. However, he refuses to co-operate, retiring Jackson, Dunn and Tracy without any major problems. Doesn't look like either starter will be involved in the decision: and given the last time our bullpen won a game was roughly back in the early Stone Age, I'm not exactly confident. Pena is up and his first pitch is slapped to right for a single, ending his hitless streak.

Drew then bobbles a potential double-play ball, and everyone is safe. Hoffman is warming in the Padres 'pen... We need a K, but instead a deep fly advances the runners to second and third: Reynolds thought he'd applied the tag. An intentional walk loads the bases, and this appears to be the game, right here. Nowhere to put him... Pena falls behind 2-0, but comes back to get a groundball to Drew, who doesn't muff this one and the game remains tied. On into the ninth, with everything to play for.

9th inning. The Padres have outhit us 10-5, which is pretty much how the first couple of games went last series: given the results there, that's not necessarily a problem. Hoffman is in for the ninth, the Padres going for the win at home, and Arizona has no luck against the all-time saves leader, being retired in order. Rauch in for the Diamondbacks: Hairston up as a pinch-hitter for the Padres. Rauch wins. An attempted bunt is thrown away by Reynolds, but the rebound off the fence is fortuitously straight back to Tracy, who gets the runner at second. That's particularly lucky, as the next runner singles, which would have scored the winning run.

However, Jody Gerut, who has killed the Diamondbacks utterly this year [now 12-for-28 with 3 HR and 6 RBI], renders it moot, hammering the first pitch into the bleachers for a walk-off home-run. Rauch gets the loss - apparently time to add him to the list of relievers we can't trust in a close game - our bullpen sinks to 0-7 since July 10, and Haren's solid outing is wasted, thanks to a lack of offense. But we remain three ahead of the Dodgers, one game better than we were on Friday, even though we have won only once since then.

[Click to enlarge, in new window]
Master of his domain: Dan Haren, +20.2%
Honorable mention: Peña, +11.0%; Snyder, +10.4%
God-emperor of suck: Jon Rauch, -35.7%
Dishonorable mentions: Tracy, -13.7%; Ojeda, -11.5%, Young, -10.3%

In 16 games since coming to Arizona, Rauch now has a 6.00 ERA - mostly because he has allowed five home-runs in only 15 innings of work, responsible for seven out of the ten earned runs he has allowed. In particular, in six games since August 13th, with an admittedly small sample-size, his line is:
   Rauch: 5.2 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 4 HR, ERA 12.71, 0-3 record
We've lost three of the six games in which he has appeared: Rauch has taken the L in every one of those. I think I speak for most of us when I say we would rather not see him or Lyon appearing in contests we have any chance of winning at the moment. They should be consigned strictly to mop-up work, with Qualls and Peña being used in high-leverage situations. Particularly when Gerut is at the plate. 

Not had a chance to catch up on the Gameday Thread yet - by the time I got home last night, SB Nation was already down for maintenance. Seemed pretty busy though, so thanks to those who participated: soco, DbacksSkins, kishi, unnamedDBacksfan, emilylovesthedbacks, snakecharmer, Gravity, singaporedbacksfan, utahdbacksfan, Muu, TwinnerA, foulpole, srdmad, Scrbl, 4 Corners Fan, AJforAZ, Stile4aly, mrssoco, jaydubsped [welcome!] and Azreous.

Another quality start lost - I've given up counting how many of those we've had. However, facing Peavy was definitely the game I thought we were most likely to lose in the series, and I think we will still come back today with Webb and get him his 20th win, then take the series behind Johnson on Wednesday.

Using the stink to get pub...