Diamondbacks are in trouble, but ‘there is still time,’ says Kurkjian
Aug 3, 2020, 10:02 AM
Arizona Diamondbacks' Christian Walker (53) celebrates with Nick Ahmed (13) after scoring against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning of the Diamondbacks' home-opener baseball game Thursday, July 30, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Arizona Diamondbacks’ 2020 season has not gone well.
The abbreviated 60-game campaign is off to a sluggish start, with Arizona (3-7) sitting 28th in MLB in team batting average, dead last in home runs, fifth-worst in team ERA and fifth-worst in WHIP. The D-backs are struggling, no matter how you slice it.
ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian, whose employer was nice enough to only rank the D-backs 20th in its latest power rankings, said that while the D-backs clearly are in trouble, all hope is not lost.
“It’s a 60-game season and 10 games is a sixth of your season, and it hasn’t gone well,” Kurkjian told Arizona Sports’ Doug & Wolf. “But there is still time. The Rockies (6-2) can’t be this good. I’ve loved the Padres (6-4), but I’m not sure they’re this good. But the Dodgers (7-3) are better than they’ve played to this point. So the Diamondbacks are already in a little bit of trouble after a sixth of the season.”
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And while the Diamondbacks have fewer games than usual to turn things around, the context around Major League Baseball gets even more messy. The Miami Marlins have only played three games after a coronavirus outbreak in their clubhouse caused their season to get paused.
“I have to do the power rankings every week for ESPN.com,” Kurkjian said. “Try doing the power rankings after the first 10 days of the season when some teams have played three games and other teams have played 10 games. The Marlins (2-1) would be in the playoffs if it opened tomorrow. The Orioles (5-3) have somehow won five games and just swept the Rays. The Tigers (5-5) have won a bunch of games. And all of those teams are way worse than the Diamondbacks.
“Baseball is the greatest game because it cannot be predicted. And strange things happen all the time. The Nationals went from 19-31 to the World Series last year. And I’m not suggesting for a second that the Diamondbacks are good enough to win the World Series. But strange things happen in 10 games. Teams go 3-7 and then turn around and go 8-2. You go 8-2 and you’re right back in it.”
The Diamondbacks’ next 10 games are against the Astros (three at home), Padres (three on the road), Rockies (three on the road) and Padres (three at home).
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