Familiar heartbreak: Questionable strategy dooms Diamondbacks’ playoff hopes once again
Bullpen blunders dashed the Diamondbacks' playoff hopes, capping a heartbreaking season and raising tough questions.
Manager Torey Lovullo #17 of the Arizona Diamondbacks takes the ball from Michael Soroka #34 during a pitching change in the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on September 27, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
(Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
The Never Say Diamondbacks are dead. All that’s left is a eulogy and some very big decisions.
This much is certain: the team that reached the World Series in 2023 is officially a one-hit wonder. And the Diamondbacks are diabolical when it comes to unhappy endings.
Before the conclusion of a torturous season, the Diamondbacks put their fan base through the ringer one final time. After pulling us back in with a six-game winning streak over the last week of the season, they barfed up a bullpen game on Saturday. A game that felt completely mismanaged from start to finish, from the choice of starting pitcher to deploying rookie Jose Cabrera in a situation for which he was not prepared.
This is not just the clarity of hindsight. Cabrera was blown up by the heart of the Padres order, and it seemed like a very predictable conclusion. It felt like most of the Valley groaned the moment he entered the game. And afterward, they were livid with the manager’s reasoning, and why he didn’t choose Ryne Nelson, whom Lovullo said was available.
“I just felt like I wanted to see what Cabrera could do,” Lovullo said.
Lovullo amended his answer on Sunday morning, stating that Nelson was only available for extra innings. But the bottom line remains the same: For the third time in four years, the Diamondbacks attempted a bullpen game on a day with serious playoff ramifications. All three times we’ve been burned.
Did they have to use Nelson to face two batters in a blowout win on Friday? Wouldn’t he have been a perfect starting candidate?
Compounding the recurring nightmare: The Phillies did all they could to open the door, a team that was getting decimated by the time Saturday’s game began in San Diego. Had the Diamondbacks prevailed, they could’ve clinched a playoff berth with a victory on Sunday. And the questionable strategies muddy the waters regarding the future of Lovullo, who received a strong vote of confidence from President and CEO Derrick Hall before the series started.
“This year is probably his best year,” Hall said.
Elimination is never easy. But since losing the 2023 World Series partly due to an embarrassing bullpen game, the Diamondbacks have been eliminated the Monday after Game No. 162, Game No. 160 and Game No. 162. Brutal stuff for a fan base to digest.
At the beginning of the season, many correctly noted that the final series in San Diego was going to be pivotal, the gateway to the postseason. Given their recent history, we should’ve known it would end with heartbreak.
Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7.
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Comments
9 Comments
TL said a few times after the game today that "he has some things to think over" and that he wants to be wanted....well hopefully he chooses to go elsewhere and that decision will be made for us fans.
After 162 games, finally a story questioning the questionable strategy of TL. It is too late! We know that Arizona Sports is the mouth piece for the Dbacks but it is okay to criticize the decisions of TL, Hazen, etc. and still be a homer and carry their water for them. The Dbacks won't improve until they know their issues and weaknesses.
In my humble opinion, the Dbacks could have easily won five extra games this season...in other words, they lost five games due to TL's poor strategy/decisions.
And, there it is; the familiar excuse. Someone wasn’t available. Somebody was injured. Someone wasn’t ready.
Curt Schilling. October 19, 2004. The Bloody Sock Game. Suffering a torn sheath in his right peroneal tendon and a damned day after a medical procedure, Schilling is ON THE MOUND IN A PIVOTAL GAME SIX. He went 7 INNINGS, en route to a 4-2 victory and propelling the Red Sox to an improbable and incredible World Series win against the Yankees.
Terry Francona, didn’t make excuses. He didn’t dredge up contrived, heartwarming stories for not playing someone. He knew the score and knew the moment. Things, you know nothing of, Lovullo.
That’s why Francona’s got a World Series win, and a ticket punched to Cooperstown.
And you, Torey, will be a footnote.