MLB analyst: D-backs are still NL West underdogs
Mar 8, 2013, 9:13 PM | Updated: Mar 9, 2013, 12:24 am
The Arizona Diamondbacks entered Spring Training as underdogs in the National League West.
The D-backs made a lot of roster moves, acquiring players many deem as “gritty”.
MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds told Arizona Sports 620’s Burns and Gambo that the D-backs shouldn’t be satisfied with that title describing their roster.
“I think the gritty term is a terrible term in baseball,” Reynolds said. “Most guys should be gritty anyway.”
With the competition in the NL West, Reynolds said the D-backs will need to be much more than gritty to win this division.
“I think the Giants and the Dodgers are the class of the NL West and maybe in the NL,” Reynolds said. “It’s going to come down to the pitching with the Diamondbacks, which I think is really the strong suit of that club. That pitching is going to carry them more than the offense.”
Reynolds isn’t ruling out the D-backs in the divisional hunt, but he did say they are not without question marks.
“They’re going to compete, (but) the roster is young,” Reynolds said. “I don’t think the offense is going to be as prolific as most people think.”
