Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB 08: The Show)

[Psyblast]

-Skyboxer's All-Star sliders
-Roster Control ON (sort of sucks, no injuries, but otherwise there's all those absolutely insane trades)
-Rosters as updated as they can possibly be (with the major injuries in real life NOT being factored in)

All that good stuff coming up soon. Hooray baseball.

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Baby D'Backs hope to grow up a bit in 2008
A year after winning the West but getting rocked by Colorado in NLCS, Snakes believe their time is now

TUCSON, AZ - There's definitely a buzz around spring training. Some might call it a hiss.

Like the sound a rattlesnake makes.

In this case, those rattlesnakes are the Arizona Diamondbacks, the defending champions of the National League West. Looking just at stats, you wouldn't believe that the D'Backs won the West last year. Somehow, despite giving up 20 more runs than they scored (and they ranked 14th out of 16 NL teams in runs scored), Arizona finished 2007 with a 90-72 record, half a game ahead of Colorado and a game and a half ahead of San Diego. They didn't have a single player hit over .300. Eric Byrnes led the team with 87 RBI.

The offensive deficiencies of the Diamondbacks weren't evident in the NLDS against Chicago, as they mowed the Cubs down in a quick three games, outscoring the North Siders 16-6. The luck ran out there though, as divisional rival Colorado, riding a white-hot wave of momentum, quickly disposed of the favored Diamondbacks in four straight games.

This year, Arizona hopes to up the ante on offense. Manager Bob Melvin feels confident in his scrappy lineup, which doesn't feature any sort of superstar. Eric Byrnes is the face of the team, moreso because of his quirky personality than any eye-popping stats. Orlando Hudson bats in a spot usually reserved for 40-HR sluggers; Hudson is known more for his Gold Glove caliber defense at 2nd base. But this is the NL after all, and the D'Backs are prepared to play small ball to a fault.

As usual for any contender though, it comes down to the pitching, and in the NL West, that's what it's all about. Every team in the division can trot out aces: Chris Young and reigning Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy in San Diego, Barry Zito, Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum in San Francisco, Jeff Francis in Colorado, Brad Penny and Derek Lowe in Los Angeles, and a three-headed monster in Arizona if all goes well in the form of 2006 Cy Young Award Winner Brandon Webb, newly acquired Dan Haren, and the grisled vet Randy Johnson. Johnson missed much of last season with nagging back issues, but he struck out 72 batters in 56.2 innings, along with posting a 3.81 ERA. If he can stay healthy, he can still show flashes of the same Big Unit that won four Cy Youngs in the desert from 1999-2002.

The backend of the Diamondbacks' rotation is slightly murkier. General Manager Josh Byrnes has confirmed that the team is in talks with free agent Freddy Garcia, and a deal could be in the works. If Garcia joins the fold, he would be the 4th starter, with Micah Owings and Doug Davis battling it out for the final slot.

The bullpen for the Snakes was a major asset a year ago, with closer Jose Valverde, Tony Pena, Brandon Lyon, Doug Slaten and Juan Cruz posting ERAs of 2.66, 3.27, 2.68, 2.72 and 3.10, respectively. In a move that stumped many Diamondbacks' fans, the team traded Valverde in the offseason to Houston. The trade brought reliever Chad Qualls to the desert, who posted a 3.06 ERA in 79 appearences for the Astros last season. With Valverde gone, the closer spot is now a question mark for Arizona. It is expected that Lyon will get the first shot at it, but things are very much up in the air right now.

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D'Backs confirm signing of Garcia
31 year old righty solidifies starting rotation

February 28, 2008

TUCSON, AZ - On the eve of their first spring training game in Tucson against the Chicago White Sox, the Diamondbacks concluded their negotiations with right-handed Venezuelan pitcher Freddy Garcia, agreeing to a 1 year deal with a club option for a second year. Garcia will make approximately 9.2 million dollars in 2008, and roughly 9.8 in 2009, if the Diamondbacks exercise their option on him.

Garcia is tenatively slated to be the #4 starter in the rotation, behind Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, and Randy Johnson.

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Final 2008 Spring Training Stats
D'Backs finish the spring 18-10

Batting

C: R. Hammock: .281, 0 HR, 10 RBI
C: C. Snyder: .206, 1 HR, 8 RBI

1B: C. Jackson: .215, 0 HR, 7 RBI

2B: O. Hudson: .250, 2 HR, 11 RBI
2B: C. Burke: .200, 0 HR, 1 RBI

3B: M. Reynolds: .402, 3 HR, 21 RBI

SS: S. Drew: .285, 1 HR, 14 RBI
SS: A. Ojeda: .340, 0 HR, 5 RBI

LF: E. Byrnes: .365, 3 HR, 15 RBI

CF: C. Young: .210, 1 HR, 9 RBI

RF: J. Upton: .230, 1 HR, 9 RBI
RF: J. Salazar: .241, 0 HR, 9 RBI

Pitching

B. Webb: 4-1, 1.63 ERA, 33.0 IP, 26 K, 11 BB
D. Haren: 3-1, 3.45 ERA, 28.2 IP, 19 K, 10 BB
R. Johnson: 3-2, 2.25 ERA, 28.0 IP, 42 K, 12 BB
F. Garcia: 1-1, 1.79 ERA, 25.0 IP, 17 K, 3 BB
M. Owings: 1-1, 4.71 ERA, 21.0 IP, 23 K, 10 BB
D. Davis: 0-1, 5.21 ERA, 19.0 IP, 15 K, 8 BB

J. Cruz: 1-1, 0.41 ERA, 21.2 IP, 5 holds, 1 blown save, 10 K, 16 BB
D. Slaten: 1-1, 2.36 ERA, 19.0 IP, 7 holds, 14 K, 6 BB
Y. Petit: 2-1, 3.63 ERA, 17.1 IP, 9 holds, 1 blown save, 13 K, 6 BB
C. Qualls: 0-0, 2.93 ERA, 15.1 IP, 6 holds, 19 K, 6 BB
B. Medders: 0-0, 3.17 ERA, 11.1 IP, 1 hold, 12 K, 5 BB
T. Pena: 1-0, 1.50 ERA, 6.0 IP, 1 hold, 5 K, 1 BB

B. Lyon: 1-0, 0.93 ERA, 9.2 IP, 9 saves, 7 K, 3 BB

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2007 Opening Day Roster

Batting Order

	Chris Young, #24 Center Field 2007 Stats: .237, 32 HR, 68 RBI, 27 SB 2008 Salary: $408K
	Eric Byrnes, #22 Left Field 2007 Stats: .286, 21 HR, 83 RBI, 50 SB 2008 Salary: $5.6M
	Orlando Hudson, #1 Second Base 2007 Stats: .294, 10 HR, 63 RBI, 10 SB 2008 Salary: $6.7M
	Conor Jackson, #35 First Base 2007 Stats: .284, 15 HR, 60 RBI 2008 Salary: $1.3M
	Mark Reynolds, #27 Third Base 2007 Stats: .278, 17 HR, 62 RBI 2008 Salary: $400K
	Justin Upton, #10 Right Field 2007 Stats: .221, 2 HR, 11 RBI 2008 Salary: $50K
	Stephen Drew, #6 Shortstop 2007 Stats: .237, 12 HR, 60 RBI 2008 Salary: $900K
	Chris Snyder, #19 Catcher 2007 Stats: .251, 13 HR, 47 RBI 2008 Salary: $923K

Starting Rotation

Brandon Webb, #17 Right-Handed 2007: 18-10, 3.00, 194 K 2008: $18.5M	Dan Haren, #15 Right-Handed 2007: 15-9, 3.07, 192 K 2008: $14.3M	Randy Johnson, #51 Left-Handed 2007: 4-3, 3.81, 72 K 2008: $7.8M	Freddy Garcia, #34 Right-Handed 2007: 1-5, 5.89, 50 K 2008: $9.2M	Micah Owings, #44 Right-Handed 2007: 8-8, 4.31, 106 K 2008: $437K

Bullpen

Yusmeiro Petit Right-Handed 2007: 3-4, 4.57, 40 K 2008: $321K	Doug Davis, #49 Left-Handed 2007: 13-12, 4.25, 144 K 2008: $4.6M	Juan Cruz, #37 Right-Handed 2007: 6-1, 3.09, 87 K 2008: $1.1M	Brandon Medders, #52 Right-Handed 2007: 1-2, 4.29, 23 K 2008: $390K	Doug Slaten, #45 Left-Handed 2007: 3-2, 2.75, 28 K 2008: $380K	Tony Pena, #56 Right-Handed 2007: 5-4, 3.28, 63 K 2008: $400K	Chad Qualls, #50 Right-Handed 2007: 6-5, 3.06, 78 K 2008: $1.9M	Brandon Lyon, #38 Right-Handed 2007: 6-4, 2.67, 40 K 2008: $692K

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(road games shaded)

[Millennium]

8 pitchers in the pen? I sure hope those bench guys are "strong like bull"

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D'Backs start '08 with a bang
Webb is underwhelming, but bats play long ball in Cincy


Eric Byrnes started 2008 the right way, putting Aaron Harang's 4th pitch of the season in the seats

Great American Ballpark 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Extras R H E 2 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 7 10 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 11 1 W: B. Webb (1-0) | L: A. Harang (0-1)

Arizona Diamondbacks
C. Young, CF: 1-5, R, K
E. Byrnes, LF: 1-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, K
O. Hudson, 2B: 1-4, HR (1), BB
C. Jackson, 1B: 2-5, RBI, 3 K
M. Reynolds, 3B: 0-5, 2 K
J. Upton, RF: 1-4, BB, K
S. Drew, SS: 1-3, HR (1), 2 RBI, BB
C. Snyder, C: 2-3, 2B, R, HBP
B. Webb, P: 1-3, RBI, 2B, K
-J. Salazar, PH-RF: 0-2

B. Webb (W, 1-0): 6.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K
D. Slaten: 1.0 IP, H, ER
J. Cruz: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R
B. Medders: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R

Cincinnati Reds
C. Patterson, CF: 1-5
J. Keppinger, SS: 2-4, R, BB
K. Griffey, Jr, RF: 3-5, HR (1), K
B. Phillips, 2B: 1-3, RBI, SF
A. Dunn, LF: 0-4, K
E. Encarnacion, 3B: 2-4, HR (1)
S. Hatteberg, 1B: 1-4
J. Valentin, C: 1-4
A. Harang, P: 0-2
-J. Votto, PH: 0-1
J. Burton, P: 0-0
-R. Freel, PH: 0-1

A. Harang (L, 0-1): 4.0 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
J. Affeldt: 2.0 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, K
J. Burton: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 K

Record: 1-0
Next Game: @ Cincinnati
Pitching Matchup: Dan Haren vs. Bronson Arroyo