ESPN analyst Kurkjian: Arizona Diamondbacks ‘not doing anything right’
Apr 17, 2014, 11:12 PM | Updated: 11:35 pm
The Arizona Diamondbacks are not 4-14 because of any one thing.
Pitching, defense, hitting — it’s all been pretty bad.
“This team should not be going through this,” ESPN MLB analyst Tim Kurkjian told Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Thursday. “And yet it seems across the board they’re not doing anything right.
“Bullpen, rotation, they’re not swinging the bat, they’re not running the bases very well. This is a collaborative effort.”
Entering play Thursday, the D-backs ranked 24th in baseball in on-base percentage and 30th in ERA. Their batters have struck out 139 times, which is third most in MLB, and their 15 errors are tied for second most.
Outside of Paul Goldschmidt, Chris Owings and maybe Mark Trumbo, it’s tough to find a real bright spot.
And while Kurkjian was not ready to declare the D-backs officially dead, he said “it doesn’t look good at all right now.”
Ain’t that the truth.
Unless things turn around — and soon — the focus will likely turn to whether or not the front office will hold anyone accountable for what is happening on the field.
Generally speaking, the finger would likely be pointed at manager Kirk Gibson and general manager Kevin Towers, though up to this point parting with either does not seem to be an option the team is considering.
But as Kurkjian said, the team cannot afford to let things spiral out of control much longer without making a move.
“This can’t go on for another month,” he said. “In other words, if they keep losing at this pace and playing like this, something is going to have to happen.”
