Touch ‘Em All: It’s good to head home

I posed the idea after the last series, but the more I think about it,
the more I think it should happen.

Wondering what I’m talking about?

I’m talking about David Wright in a Diamondbacks jersey.

Sure, there are a lot of things that have to be right (pardon the pun)
for the third baseman to end up in Arizona. He’d have to sign a
long-term deal here, which in itself is the biggest roadblock to this
idea.

But look at the situation, the D-backs’ lineup is struggling, and they
have been all year. The Diamondbacks have a surplus, and I mean a
HUGE surplus of pitchers and young players in the minors. There’s
not even enough space in the majors for all of those prospects. So
what should the D-backs do?

Trade!

Anyway, looking at the series at hand, the only positive, as I
mention below several times, was J.J. Putz’s bounce-back
performance.

I’m hoping to see Chris Young back on the field during this
homestand, but if I were you, I wouldn’t hold my breath…

Series Report Card

Record: C
The Diamondbacks dropped another series on the East coast. I feel
like I repeat myself every time they lose a series, but hey, I’ll say it
until things change. If the D-backs want to contend for the NL
West, they have to turn things around. The hitting, the bullpen,
heck, even the starting pitching, has to improve.

Offense: C
Coming in to each game, I never know if the D-backs lineup will get
shut down, or if it will score a few runs. It seems like more and
more the lineup is getting shut down, and as I have said before, it is
in dire need of the return of Chris Young.

Defense: B+
The defense remained pretty good through this series, it is one of
the only strong points this team has had consistently over the last
few series. Hopefully the D-backs can gain consistency in other
areas of their game soon.

Pitching: B
The D-backs starters, besides Patrick Corbin, looked okay in this
series. Trevor Cahill pitched well on Sunday and most importantly;
J.J. Putz bounced back from his second blown save of the year with
a great performance on Friday.

Managing: A
I liked Kirk Gibson’s move to go to Josh Collmenter early to get
Patrick Corbin out of trouble. Moves like that are the difference
between getting blown out and actually having a chance to win a
game in which the starter didn’t pitch well.

Series Awards

Play of the Series:
The play of this series was the final pitch on Friday, which was a
lineout to end the game, giving J.J. Putz a 1-2-3 inning and a great
bounce back from his struggles. For D-backs fans, Putz’s
bounce back is fantastic (and actually 100% necessary) to see.

Villain of the Series:
This series’ villain award is going to be a bit unorthodox, however I
think it’s very just. The villain is the East Coast. The D-backs went
5-5 on this Eastern swing, and in so doing, lost two series
to two teams that they shouldn’t really be losing to.

Player of the Series:
I’m going to give the POTS award this series to J.J. Putz. I will
reiterate that in order for the D-backs to go anywhere, the back
end of the rotation must be working perfectly. J.J. had a 1-2-3
inning on Friday and here’s hoping that continues for a while.

The “Dikembe Mutombo Finger Wag” Award:
This award goes to the entire team this series. The D-backs have
lost their mojo. I’m not sure if it is just the absence of Chris Young,
or if it is something deeper. Last year the Diamondbacks were a
team that would have a different guy step up each night… But now
it is like everyone is looking at everyone else and wondering who’s
going to step up, but no one actually is.

Best Moment of the Series:
When the D-backs got on the plane and headed back to the desert.
The East coast has not been kind to the Snakes. Simple as that.

The Road Ahead:
The Diamondbacks return home on Monday for a three-game series
with the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals. The next six
games, while tough, are very big for the D-backs. They face the
Giants after the Cardinals on this homestand.

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