Diamondbacks Bullpen

[AZMoosie]

Dear 'New' Arizona Diamondback Ownership Group,

This season started with great promise, yet no one seriously expected a second World Series run. Rather, we expected to see a team play good baseball, a team that had fun playing together, and a team that deserved to be better than just a .500 ball club - we didn't get it. Yes, I know a lot transpired; the Grimsley thing really took a toll, and we probably don't know the half of it. One only had to watch the team after that to see the impact, it was palpable. There were also the usual bumps and bruises, the highs and lows, and the slumps - that's baseball.

But you let us down in other ways that you more directly control. You didn't invest in viable pitching. Brandon Webb can't carry the team regardless how hard he tries or how well he pitches; there are four other guys that have to pull their weight in the starting role and quite frankly, you didn't help the team or the fans in that regard. Then we have the bullpen, a very accurate name in our case. Jose was great, for a short while, but then he hit several big bumps. So what did you do about a serious closer? Please don't say Julio. And where is a lefty to keep other teams honest? You made no real effort to bolster our pitching, period.

Leadership. Much is said on this subject, yet little is done. By all appearances you have let Gonzo swing in the breeze, a fate he surely does not deserve given his contribution to the team over the years. Sure, he may not be the player he once was but are any of us? He is still a contributor on the field and in the clubhouse. Do us all a big favor and work out an honorable, respectful agreement for next year. The other end of the leadership discussion is management, or lack thereof. Bob Melvin may be a really nice guy, he may bow respectfully to the management group, and he may even be liked by many of the players - none of which makes him a great major league baseball manager. In my humble opinion [that is what this note is all about anyway, you are thinking], Bob does not possess a winner's instinct. He has not demonstrated decisiveness, he has not projected a serious winning attitude, and he does not seem to grasp the concept that every game is important. Just watch him on the dugout steps as he wrestles with pitching change decisions; watch his post game press sessions as he eloquently describes how the other team outplayed us today. You rewarded mediocrity by extending his contract without regard to true performance. Have you ever watched Joe Torre during a game when Yankee pitching is faltering? He doesn't ever wait for the third straight walk to yank his guys, he doesn't even wait for two - and he doesn't make it personal. It is about playing the game well and about the desire to win. The pitching staff knows that if they perform poorly, they are out. That is a concept that would be useful in Arizona. I can go on to explore the role of a hitting coach or the role of the coaches and the manager in general when it comes to making clear what is expected from everyone, up and down the line, but I won't make this longer than necessary. The young players have been fun to watch, but they too have fallen into the rut of frustration, which is evident in their batting stats and facial expressions the past few weeks.

Last year my wife and I, along with several friends, started the 'Beat LA' chant from field level near the visitors on-deck circle. After a few LA games it started to catch on, slowly. When we arrived here from NYC in 2000, I have to tell you we were stunned to discover AZ fans were so stonily quiet during games that they needed constant audio/video queuing to react. Of course, 2001 was a bit different - it seemed to be magical. The BOB rocked that fall despite our national tragedy. I want to win, and I certainly want to beat LA, SF, SD, and others. This should have been our home stand to shine. Friday's [08/25/06] extra-inning victory was a great start. Saturday evening we attended the disappointing 4 - 3 loss. I must say that I have been impressed with your willingness this season to whip up the crowd with the visual 'BEAT LA' scoreboard prompts. As the crowd got into the 'BEAT LA' swing last evening, we decided to ratchet things up and started our own 'SWEEP LA' chant - it seemed like an uplifting course of action [down 3 -1] and for a time it appeared to work. I chanted without the prompts, I chanted as the LA pitchers went into their set, and I KNOW they heard me; when Tomko left the game he shot me daggers, but by the top of the 9th we were finally tied up. Others around us had begun to chant 'SWEEP LA' along with us, although my wife had to explain to a few that I really did understand that there was still one more game to play today. Even Nomar's dad had to smile [ I believe he was sitting just to my right across the aisle]. Well, we lost thanks to the skill of Jeff Kent and perhaps a manager's poor choice from the bullpen. Yes, one can always second guess. If you were there, and I did see a few of you, you could feel the life drain from the team as well as from the fans when Kent hit that ball. Right then, everyone knew.

That Sunday's game simply reinforced the general sense of disappointment and frustration, in my case, evidenced by this letter. The total pitching collapse was again obvious in the double-header loss to the Washington Nationals [of all teams] on 09/02/06 - an absolute disgrace. You have let us, the fans, down; you have eroded the enjoyment, the enthusiasm, and the pure fun of attending major league baseball games. It may be too late to recover in 2006 , but you can still make a big difference by the things you do. Look at the faces of your players, young and old, then look inside yourselves to gage your own performance. Are you pleased with what you see, or could you do better?

Respectfully from, Carefree, AZ
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Nothing is ever the same tomorrow...

[Dangerfield]

I respectfully disagree with half your post.
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My wife is always trying to get rid of me. The other day she told me to put the garbage out. I said to her I already did. She told me to go and keep an eye on it

[Counsell]

Luis Gonzales needs to go. He's a .275 hitter who can't field and will gripe when he loses playing time next year - an inevitability.

Young in CF, Quintin in RF and Hairston and/or Byrnes in LF. Use Gonzo's money for pitching, which is what we obvioiusly need.

Need to play Quintin FULL TIME the rest of this season. We went through the exact same thing with Jackson last year. Bring him up when he's hot, so he starts out well. Then Melvin sits him a lot - so he loses his timing and rhythm and stops hitting. Duh.

[Guitar Salad]

Here's to another tear in your beer, Moosie.
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Ha ha! Charade you are...

[wedge]

the ownership made it very clear that their top priority isn't to make the postseason, but to get the team in a shape to improve the team financially and in quality for the long term, as they wanted to take a deliberate rebuilding effort, which is what they have done. According to Josh Byrnes before spring training, if the team makes a run at the postseason, it would be greatly welcomed, but that this season might be a bit of burden to watch for the fans because things might not go so well.

In short, the management is doing exactly what they set out to do, and I think they have done a great job in getting there. They are now beginning to get into a situation where it's not quite so clouded by obligations to big contracts and what they need to address to make this team better.

[Robert S.]

There is no faster way to tank a franchise than to make baseball decisions for non-baseball reasons.

Fake Contention™ doesn't work.

Right now, I would love to see the Marlins make the playoffs this year to hammer home what the FO lost this season with their placation-heavy strategy. Byrnes, on balance, has been a very good to great GM, but he has made big, expensive, obvious, and easily avoided mistakes.

I hope the team has finally figured out that they need to make a complete commitment to rebuilding the team. Clean house, and reload for 2008 and beyond.

[AZMoosie]

Let's not try to win; let's just try to lose less than last year. So what percentage below .500 is okay with you?

Rebuilding is a noble cause, but how can the owners hope to rebuild a team, with competent young talent [as discussed in posted replies] without making any reasonable effort to provide a competent pitching staff? How long do you think you can motivate young talent when the pitching staff gives away the wins? No, its not just money.

Financial improvement of the team also requires putting fannies in the seats; how much lower must attendance fall before someone realizes that it is winners people want to see? "Com’on hon, let’s take the kids to the ball game, spend a couple of hundred bucks, and see a group of guys with future potential lose again".

As Yoda [not Yogi] so eloquently stated, Do, or do not; there is no try.
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Nothing is ever the same tomorrow...

[Robert S.]

[wedge]

[moviegeekjn]

[charlie]

<And pitching is only part of the problem with this team, not the overall answer.>

True. However, even though few here thought the D'backs would be more than about a .500 team, I doubt that most of us thought we'd be watching games play out where the players appear so undisciplined in their play and the manager did little or nothing to help the team win games they very likely SHOULD have won. When is the last time we saw even an ATTEMPT at a squeeze play late in a close or tie ballgame where runs were hard to come by? How many hit/run plays do we see, especially since we aren't a high scoring team and must play it close to the vest most of the time? How many times do our speedier hitters attempt a bunt to get on base at the start of an inning in low-hit ballgames?

I doubt that we thought our manager couldn't put a better batting order together, recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of his players. I doubt that even Mortimer Snerd could have botched up the use of our bullpen game after game as Melvin seems to do. Where the hell has Valverde been since the middle of last week while we kept throwing ballgames away in Washington, for instance?

We've seen Conor Jackson go from a player who wouldn't swing at a pitch out of the strike zone to one who will swing at two of them per AB. We've seen Tracy struggle mightily by trying to position himself to pull the ball all the time with no evidence that the coaching staff is helping him overcome it. We've seen AB after AB after AB where the batter has no conception of game situation, no recognition of the strike zone, and no ability to hit to the opposite field or bunt. We've seen poor baserunning, poor throwing choices from the outfield, poor ability to hit the cutoff man.....well, you get the idea.

Personally, I didn't expect the D'backs to make the playoffs this year but I sure as hell expected them to play like dedicated professionals. I expected them to be able to do the small things which must be accomplished in order to win, even though I didn't expect them to win more than half the time. To be frank, we still have quite a number of "holes" to fill and have had to rely on players not much above average, if that, but that doesn't excuse consistant poor basics. The fault for that lies with the manager and coaching staff, IMO. If Melvin isn't going to demand 100% and teach/drive/encourage his players to learn and do the correct things on the field, why should he be retained?

I don't need to have a dominant team to cheer for but I DO demand a competent team as a fan. There is no good reason why EVERY player cannot learn and execute these basics. Some will be much better at it than others, which is what we hope to see with the young players coming up, maybe in 2007, more likely in 2008. But how in hell are they going to reach that potential if they (and we) are saddled with an incompetent on-the-field manager like Melvin?

Josh should recognize that extending his contract was a mistake and dump him once the season ends. Bring up the Tuscon manager and coaches if nothing else. How could they do worse?
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formerly ROF

[B. O. N. D.]

I'd like to hear what other managers see of Bob Melvin's capabilities. Specifically, I'd like to hear Chip Hale's thoughts on these last three games. Especially in relation to what Charlie pointed out.

I'd also like to hear the player's thoughts:

Gonzo: knowing his arm is a free ticket around the basepaths

Estrada: playing for a team that doesn't know how to win

Byrnes: just for the expletives

pitchers: have you been manhandled?
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Oops in the 2 hole!

[TAP]

[EvilJuan]

[The Goat]

I too would like to see the Marlins make it. Though I think Marlins have a couple of pieces that we don't have. One they have 3-4 starting pitchers who are hammering out innings and pitching very well. Second they have the best young hitter this side of Andre Ethier in Miguel Cabrera. (sarcasm) I probably would trade a piece of the farm to slot that kid in the 3 or 4 hole for the next 10 years and just roll out .330/ 40/ 130 seasons.

[Hock]

I disagree with the opening letter for the most part.

The team's record isn't far off from where most people expected it to be. The bullpen is about the level that most of us expected it to be. Webb outperformed my expectations, but matched or exceeded most poster's expectations.

I think it is to be expected that a team inthe the DB's position will have some lack of enthusiasm. Players have one career, and they don't want to spend it on a team expecting to be .500. A reason why young players should be given playing time to prove their future worth, not hold on to aging players that will not change the end result. (Yes, Gonzo should go)

Just my opinion.