Can the 2017 D-backs change the direction of the franchise?
Apr 6, 2017, 11:19 PM | Updated: Apr 7, 2017, 11:37 am
Arizona Diamondbacks' Chris Owings, front, celebrates his walk-off single against the San Francisco Giants with Jake Lamb (22), Paul Goldschmidt, second from left, Brandon Drury, second from right, and Robbie Ray, right, in an opening-day baseball game Sunday, April 2, 2017, in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks defeated the Giants 6-5. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX — Ever since the Arizona Diamondbacks’ magical 2011 season that led to a National League West Division title, there has been a lack of success surrounding the team like a haboob terrorizing downtown Phoenix in the middle of the summer. And much like a haboob, it can leave you confused about how it happened.
And sad.
And with a mouth full of sand.
Since that year, the D-backs have ended five straight seasons with a record of .500 or below, and please don’t even get me started on how that record has been at home. In 2016 for instance, the team didn’t get their first home series win until mid-May.
The series win against the Giants on Thursday resulted in the first 3-1 start for the D-backs since their 2013 season. Now that may not be a surprising fact to some, but there are two more startling facts accompanying the win that demonstrates the lack of success this team has had over the past five seasons.
First, the last time the D-backs beat San Francisco in a four-game series at Chase Field was when they won three out of four against the Giants in April 2008. That is another level of intradivision domination.
But not to be outdone by just a series, the current 3-1 start for the D-backs is the first time the team has been two games or more over .500 since September 25, 2013.
Yes, you read that right. And yes, Tim Tebow was still playing football for the Jets.
The D-backs have spent three seasons of being one game over .500 at their best, which can answer the question for many fans about why the losing has felt so overwhelming at times.
That statistic is hard to wrap your mind around considering how many games are played over the course of a season, but it also shows what an uphill battle it has been for this team and its fan base during that time frame.
Say what you will about team loyalty, but in reality, it can be hard to back a team for 162 games when they are no longer competitive two weeks into the season. Success in some form at this point is critical.
The good news is this year’s version of the D-backs has felt different, already generating more excitement than most fans have felt in three-plus seasons. Obviously, it is still early and this was only one series but hope is alive within D-back Nation for what feels like the first time in ages.
The new, offensively-minded direction for this team led by first-year manager Torey Lovullo mixed with star players staying healthy may be the key to 2017, in fact, being #OurSeason. But for now, a competitive team with a winning record that beat one of their biggest rivals in a four-game series at home for the first time in nine years is a great start.
