MLB analyst on D-backs woes: ‘It’s an epidemic right now’
May 14, 2012, 11:45 PM | Updated: May 15, 2012, 1:15 am
Little has gone right for the Arizona Diamondbacks of
late.
They’re struggling at the plate, on the mound, in the
field
and, not surprisingly, on the scoreboard.
Former MLB manager and current MLB Network analyst Larry
Bowa, as a guest on Arizona Sports 620’s Doug and Wolf,
said
while the team is dealing with some tough injuries, a guy
who really needs to step up is Justin Upton.
“This guy is a lot better than he’s shown,” Bowa said.
The Diamondbacks sure hope so, because Justin, who entered
the season as an MVP candidate, is not even the best Upton
in 2012.
The right fielder is hitting just .225 and has homered all
of three times, and his nine RBI are nothing to write home
about. Unless, of course, they came on hits with runners
in
scoring position, because Upton is hitting just .077 in
those situations.
“I don’t think his pitch selection has been very good,”
Bowa said. “I do think — and a lot of guys fall into this
category — when Young went down and Drew’s out, guys take
that responsibility ‘I’ve got to hit three home runs in
one at-bat.'”
And, as far as we know, that isn’t possible.
In the meantime, Upton will have to make due with
traditional baseball rules, trying to come up big in a
lineup that has been struggling around him, too.
While Upton is the face of the team’s offensive woes, he’s
hardly the only one failing to come through at the plate.
“He’s your big guy in the middle of the lineup and he’s
hitting .225, that’s not too good, but there’s other
guys,” Bowa added. “Bloomquist is not hitting, Roberts is
not hitting, Goldschmidt is not hitting.
“It’s an epidemic right now.”
