Is anyone worried about the ENTIRE TEAM?

[JS22]

Hitting is terrible. Pitching is terrible. Fielding is terrible. Not a good combination. The entire lineup is in a ridiculous funk. Before we know it they'll be hovering around .500

What in the hell happened?

And if I see Qualls give up one more home run to lose the lead I might go insane.

 

[Dback Jon]

Yes

 

[Mrh182]

And if I see Qualls give up one more home run to lose the lead I might go insane.

 

[BC867]

Sloppiness is contageous.

Such as Jackson's lackadaisical fielding at 1B. And Byrnes' wild one-handed upper-cut swings. And three of our young players among the worst five in the NL for strikeouts, swinging for the fences.

And no hit-and-run plays being run, or sacrifice squeezes or stolen base attempts.

It affects our starting and relief pitchers, because they know they are not going to get hitting or fielding support. They get uptight and abandon their natural skills.

I wonder how intelligent and aggressive coaches like Chip Hale and Kirk Gibson can listen to Manager Elmer Fudd blame every one else day after day, and tell the Press that he hopes that things get better.

As he proved while managing Tucson, with even more challenges, Chip Hale is championship caliber. He should be managing the Diamondbacks, not sending runners around 3rd base.

 

[TJ]

yea this is ridiculous. LA just snapped their skid and our lead has diminished to 2.5 games. This team needs to get their act together. Talent wise, they are better than this

 

[Skkorpion]

Yup, me worried. Not ready to dump Melvin but pleased that Chip Hale is available.

Blaming everything on "Elmer Fudd" may feel good and sound funny but it's supreme excuse making and blame shifting for a bunch of professionals who are underperforming.

And claiming it's normal for quality starting pitchers to be psychologically soft and just giving up because of lack of run support sounds self-serving in support of a personal vendetta.

BC, you know a lot more about baseball than I do but your packaging is a little sour and lessons the impact of good points you make.

If this gets worse, I may become convinced you are correct.

 

[FArting]

I'm not worried.

 

[BC867]

Skkorpion, the thing that gets me frustrated is seeing the same problems go on game after game, week after week . . . but the approach is pretty much the same ol' same ol'.

Y'know. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?

Or hoping that they will straighten themselves out. That's my major gripe with Melvin.

At least Justin Upton has stolen his first base. If Young is not going to steal bases, with all of his strikeouts and sub-par batting average, why does he continue to hit leadoff?

Melvin tried him lower in the batting order briefly, but gave up on it before it had a chance to gel. That's another gripe I have about him.

Those missed RBI's every time Young hits a leadoff bases-empty homerun.

 

[AZZenny]

I've eaten a good bit of crow (I believe we once concluded crow pie was the best way to get it down, but a poached crow salad would work) but I was right about Joe G (alias voldemort, alias ) earlier than most people, and I am confident us naysayers will be proven right about BoMel (and what I call him is way harsher than Elmer Fudd.)


And it's not a pitcher's psychological softness -- it's the pitcher trying too hard because he can't trust his defense, or because you know lately if the other team gets even two or three runs, you've let a struggling offense get in too deep a hole to climb out. When you think about the nano-differences between throwing a strike and serving up a fat one, just the tiniest extra tension on the grip or in the motion really can cause mechanics to go off.

And a hitter has less than 150 milliseconds from the instant the pitcher releases the ball to instinctively know whether to swing or lay off -- that's faster than some human reflexes, faster than any conscious human thought. So if you're feeling pressure to not piss off or disappoint your pitcher, or (more usually with kids) you start feeling like 'nobody else is going to do this -- it's all on me to turn this game around' -- you let thinking impede that instinctive pitch recognition.

It is totally a team game, and it is also a solo face off between the pitcher and the batter, every pitch.

 

[Lefty]

I will be more worried if CoJack is out for a long period of time. Anyone know what his status is?

Now that we know Byrnes was hurt, maybe when he comes back 100%, he'll be able to hit around 270-280 and steal some bases like last year. I think this team needs to let Upton and Young try and steal more bases. I also agree with BC that Young should not be leading off.

Have you guys noticed since Tracy was called up, Reynolds has been hitting better. Do you see that as a coincidence? I would like to see Melvin try Reynolds or even Tracy with a bad knee in left instead of Burke. If Gonzo with no arm could play left, one of those two could also.

Finally, I read where Burke has options to the minors. If this is true, why not send him down and bring up Nixon?

 

[Nash2Amare]

2-0 since this thread started. Nice.

Upton thread 2.0 ?

 

[Nash2Amare]

Finally, I read where Burke has options to the minors. If this is true, why not send him down and bring up Nixon?

Burke is versatile. Yes, I know, he flat out sucks, but I doubt he's going anywhere with Hudson coming off an injury, Augie battling an injury, and Tracy with a surgically repaired knee. Getting rid of Burke would mean we have no one completely healthy that could fill in at any of those positions.

 

[Ryanwb]

Trot Nixon is not the answer to this team, there is a reason he toils in the minor leagues and isn't on a major league roster, he's done. Give Romero a shot or make a trade. Half the guys in AAA are too old to reach their potential.

Besides, Trot Nixon isn't on the 40 man roster, are you willing to expose a younger player to see someone strike out multiple times a game? We see plenty of that with Reynolds and Upton

 

[PoolBoy]

im not worried, a small slump. we are still in first, and the offense is starting to click again. we can't get chalupas every night.

 

[Desert Rat]

Just a bump in the road, folks. I'm not ready to push the panic button, although some of the defeats were head-scratchers.

 

[Lefty]

Right now I am not too worried. I think the offense is starting to come out of its slump and as long as the pitchers stay healthy, I think they will be okay.

Every team goes thru their highs and lows and I think the Diamondbacks can get a winning streak going again. When Byrnes gets back, hopefuly at 100%, maybe he can provide a spark like he did last year when they made their run.

It should be a fun season because I don't really see anyone in the NL West running away with the lead.

 

[AZCB34]

2-0 since this thread started. Nice.

Upton thread 2.0 ?

And then what happened??

 

[devilalum]

I'm sorry, when an entire team seems unfocused and uninspired you have to look at the MANAGER.

These kids need someone to kick their *&%$.

 

[Nash2Amare]

And then what happened??

We suck.

 

[Desert Rat]

After the atrocious series in Milwaukee, I must say that this team needs to stop the bleeding NOW. They can't hit their way out of a paper bag lately (five runs in three games, WTF?) and too many pitchers have been getting roughed up. They'll go to Pittsburgh and first face Ian Snell, who is having a brutal stretch. Anything less than three wins in the Steel City is unacceptable.

 

[BC867]

I'm sorry, when an entire team seems unfocused and uninspired you have to look at the MANAGER.

Uninspired? When their Manager's pep-talk is, ""Probably the off day is coming at a good time for us. Then we can move on to Pittsburgh where we've played a little better."

"Probably" . . . "little better". Who the hell is that supposed to inspire?

No wonder the team is in a collective coma.

As I remembered recently, Bob Melvin was initially rejected as Manager. He got the job only because D'backs brass didn't do their homework and realize that Wally Backman was an abusive alcoholic.

So they went from one extreme to the other. From a madman to a zombie.

How about a reasonable choice? Chip Hale is wasting his Championship-winning talents waving runners around 3B.

Absorb the monetary loss (it serves them right) and give Melvin his walking papers before it gets much worse.

Turn the team over to Hale and watch what happens.