A week ago the Arizona Diamondbacks sat atop the N.L. west with a game and a half lead on the Los Angeles Dodgers, Brandon Webb was a perfect 8-0 and things seemed to falling into place for the D'backs, then the feds came knocking. Jason Grimsley became MLB's public enemy no.1 and what could have been a dream summer for the Diamondbacks has become a nuclear winter. Since the Grimsley A-Bomb dropped the Diamondbacks have lost their last 5 games and have been outscored 44-12, are no longer in first place and Brandon Webb is no longer perfect.
After a 15-2 spanking at the hands of the New York Mets the Diamondbacks have designated starter Russ Ortiz and his nearly $8 million dollar salary for assignment. Ortiz is 0-5, averaged less than 4 innings a start, has zero trade value and likely won't accept a minor league assignment. leaving the Diamondbacks to pay him unless they can find someone to take him in the next 10 days.
It may be too soon to write the Diamondbacks off, after all they are only 1 game out in a division where 4 games seperate first from last place. But with a team struggling to score runs and being unable to stop anyone else from scoring and a group of players looking over their shoulders wondering if they are among the 10 names Grimsley dropped to the feds last week, 1 game back could become 10 games back very quickly.
So can the Diamondbacks over come the Grimsley debacle and stay in the race or with the admision of guilt by a seemingly no-name player is it over so quickly?.
After a 15-2 spanking at the hands of the New York Mets the Diamondbacks have designated starter Russ Ortiz and his nearly $8 million dollar salary for assignment. Ortiz is 0-5, averaged less than 4 innings a start, has zero trade value and likely won't accept a minor league assignment. leaving the Diamondbacks to pay him unless they can find someone to take him in the next 10 days.
It may be too soon to write the Diamondbacks off, after all they are only 1 game out in a division where 4 games seperate first from last place. But with a team struggling to score runs and being unable to stop anyone else from scoring and a group of players looking over their shoulders wondering if they are among the 10 names Grimsley dropped to the feds last week, 1 game back could become 10 games back very quickly.
So can the Diamondbacks over come the Grimsley debacle and stay in the race or with the admision of guilt by a seemingly no-name player is it over so quickly?.
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