Disturbing trend: D-backs struggle against soft-throwing lefties
May 22, 2012, 3:57 PM | Updated: 5:32 pm
Whether it’s due to being over-aggressive, a few bad days
or something else, one thing has proven true about the
Arizona Diamondbacks this season:
They stink against soft-throwing lefties.
Over the last week Arizona has faced Jamie Moyer, Bruce
Chen and Chris Capuano, losing to all three, and looking
bad while doing so.
Moyer, who is just a few months shy of having been on this
earth for a half-century, held Arizona to just one run on
six hits in 6.1 innings of work. He walked two and struck
out five in the Rockies’ 6-1 win.
Then, just a few days later, the well-traveled Chen (he’s
played for nine teams in his 13-year career) limited the
D-backs to just two runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings of
work. He walked two and struck out four, leading the
Royals to a 7-3 win and the D-backs to more shame.
Then, to add insult to insult, the D-backs were held in
check by Dodgers lefty Chris Capuano Monday night, as a
pitcher who has not been relevant since 2005 (but has been
good this year) allowed just one run on four hits in six
innings of work. He walked one and struck out five as the
Dodgers cruised to a 6-1 victory.
“They feed off guys being over-aggressive and guessing
they’re going to get a fastball and then they don’t get
it,” veteran utility-man Willie Bloomquist said after the
game Monday.
“They play with your mind, and that’s what makes them
good,” he added. “So you just have to get an approach and
stick with it, no matter what the count, no matter what
the situation.”
Bloomquist is one of the few D-backs who has been OK
against the three, as he collected five hits over the
three games. But the rest of the team has struggled, and
if it was simply a question of changing the team’s
approach then you have to wonder why it hasn’t happened
yet.
“We’re trying to do too much,” catcher Miguel Montero
said. “Probably seeing it too good and can’t put the
barrel on it.”
On the season the D-backs are hitting just .248 against
lefties compared to .249 against right-handers, so it’s
not like there is a huge discrepancy either way.
However, be it against guys like Moyer, Chen, Capuano
or any other pitcher, the bats really need to get going
soon, because the D-backs are already 10.5 games back of
the NL West-leading Dodgers and slowly running out of time
to turn their season around.
