Well lets just say they have not met expectations to start this 2009 campaign. The D-backs were supposed to contend for the NL West and NL Wildcard this year and so far they have certainly not looked anything like a playoff team. First and for most I would like to discuss the recent firing of Bob Melvin. I have felt for a long time that Bob Melvin needed to go. He was just not reaching the players. I worked for the Tucson Sidewinders and got to watch a lot of these guys in triple A and they looked great. They all played with a swagger and looked like a future world series team. That Tucson Sidewinders team did actually win the Pacific Coast League Championship that year. The kids were great when they were first brought up due to teams not having full scouting reports yet and getting by with mostly effort. Once other teams began creating in depth scouting reports, the D-backs just went south. And the voice of the team was just not getting it done. His lineups were always shaky and never let the players develop a sense of security and confidence. The way Melvin handled Justin Upton really bothered me especially. To start the season he only played Upton every other day, so he could start over paid outfielder (OF) Eric Byrnes. How can a young star in the making gain confidence when he consistently has to look over his shoulders? And when Melvin did play Upton he set him up for failure by always hitting him 8th in the lineup, which is notoriously a very difficult spot to hit in. The day Melvin played Upton 2 games in a row is the day he played great and made a difference in a victory over the Cardinals. This shows me that he does not understand how to develop players and he should stick with more veteran players. This flaw showed with the Mariners when he took over for coach Lou Piniella. He had great success with a 93 win, veteran team and won 93 games the very next year. After his 93 win season with the Mariners he only won 63 games and got fired. So I am not surprised or angry at all by the firing. What am I a little more surprised about is the hiring of A.J. Hinch as the manager. I respect Hinchs' ability when it comes to evaluating talent and bringing players through the minor league system. He has drafted very well and has a great eye for talent. Josh Byrnes made the unconventional hire of Hinch, because it was an unconventional hire. He figured if a traditional manager wasn't working he might as well hire someone different. Hopefully his intuition serves him well and Hinch becomes a fine manager, but I do disagree with the hire none the less. I feel Chip Hale would've been the better hire for this team. He just so happened to be the coach of that Tucson Sidewinder championship team. On that team was Stephen Drew, Chris Young, Miguel Montero, Carlos Quentin and Micah Owings. That team was loose and seemed comfortable with Hale at the helm. Now Hale is the third base coach and could have easily been promoted or at least given the interim tag and not commit 4 years to a first time MLB manager. Hopefully Byrnes knows something that we don't know.
Other news around the D-backs are the exciting arrivals of Gerardo Parra and Bryan Augenstein. These 2 youngsters hopefully can provide a spark to some of the struggling veterans, I.E. Chris Young. Parra certainly has a lot of life in his swing and has the looks of a very good major leaguer. He also has shown a surprising arm and moderate range. Augenstein looks to be a real keeper as well. His awkward delivery and height makes it very difficult for opposing hitters to pick up the ball. He seems to have decent control, which will only improve with experience. He has the looks of a future Brandon Webb with his sharp sinker ball and solid change up. Hopefully Webb can give him numerous tips on locating that sinker. I would also like to congratulate Max Scherzer on getting his first Major League victory. This was long overdue, but Max delivered another fine performance and picked up the victory. Lets hope Augenstein can pick up his first win sooner than Max did.
Well lets just say they have not met expectations to start this 2009 campaign. The D-backs were supposed to contend for the NL West and NL Wildcard this year and so far they have certainly not looked anything like a playoff team. First and for most I would like to discuss the recent firing of Bob Melvin. I have felt for a long time that Bob Melvin needed to go. He was just not reaching the players. I worked for the Tucson Sidewinders and got to watch a lot of these guys in triple A and they looked great. They all played with a swagger and looked like a future world series team. That Tucson Sidewinders team did actually win the Pacific Coast League Championship that year. The kids were great when they were first brought up due to teams not having full scouting reports yet and getting by with mostly effort. Once other teams began creating in depth scouting reports, the D-backs just went south. And the voice of the team was just not getting it done. His lineups were always shaky and never let the players develop a sense of security and confidence. The way Melvin handled Justin Upton really bothered me especially. To start the season he only played Upton every other day, so he could start over paid outfielder (OF) Eric Byrnes. How can a young star in the making gain confidence when he consistently has to look over his shoulders? And when Melvin did play Upton he set him up for failure by always hitting him 8th in the lineup, which is notoriously a very difficult spot to hit in. The day Melvin played Upton 2 games in a row is the day he played great and made a difference in a victory over the Cardinals. This shows me that he does not understand how to develop players and he should stick with more veteran players. This flaw showed with the Mariners when he took over for coach Lou Piniella. He had great success with a 93 win, veteran team and won 93 games the very next year. After his 93 win season with the Mariners he only won 63 games and got fired. So I am not surprised or angry at all by the firing. What am I a little more surprised about is the hiring of A.J. Hinch as the manager. I respect Hinchs' ability when it comes to evaluating talent and bringing players through the minor league system. He has drafted very well and has a great eye for talent. Josh Byrnes made the unconventional hire of Hinch, because it was an unconventional hire. He figured if a traditional manager wasn't working he might as well hire someone different. Hopefully his intuition serves him well and Hinch becomes a fine manager, but I do disagree with the hire none the less. I feel Chip Hale would've been the better hire for this team. He just so happened to be the coach of that Tucson Sidewinder championship team. On that team was Stephen Drew, Chris Young, Miguel Montero, Carlos Quentin and Micah Owings. That team was loose and seemed comfortable with Hale at the helm. Now Hale is the third base coach and could have easily been promoted or at least given the interim tag and not commit 4 years to a first time MLB manager. Hopefully Byrnes knows something that we don't know.
1 comments:
Great insight!! Loved the part about Melville. I agree...Chip Hale should have been the manager. We shall see....Go DBacks!!
Post a Comment