The Arizona Diamondbacks made two big trades on Friday. Both involved high-profile pitchers.
Prospects for Haren
In the first, they sent a boatload of minor leaguers to Oakland for right-hander Dan Haren and change.
The linked article provides detailed information on the prospects involved. Suffice to say, they aren’t scrubs. Arizona has a very deep farm system and some terrific young talent at the big-league level. When you’re in that position, you can go out and get a guy like Haren.
Outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is the centerpiece of the package headed to the A’s. First baseman Chris Carter, acquired a couple weeks ago from …read more

The Arizona Diamondbacks have traded disappointing outfielder Carlos Quentin to the Chicago White Sox for first-base prospect Chris Carter. The 26-year-old Quentin, a former first-round pick with excellent minor-league credentials (.313/.413/.527 in nearly 1600 PA), never got his career rolling in Phoenix (.230/.316/.425 in about 450 PA), due in part to injuries.

Congratulations to the Colorado Rockies on completing their sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday en route to their first-ever World Series. Colorado’s assault on the National League since mid-September has been nothing short of spectacular:

Rockies Late Domination

 
G
W
L
RS
RA

End of regular season
15
14
1
102
51

NLDS vs Phillies
3
3
0
16
8

NLCS vs D’backs
4
4
0
18
8

Total
22
21
1
136
67

Perhaps the American League will have better luck…

The NLCS begins on Thursday. Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks — TV network executive’s worst nightmare. Reassurances that both places are, in fact, part of the United States. (Quick check of Wikipedia reveals that Colorado entered the union in 1876 as the 38th state, while Arizona checked in 36 years later as #48.)
Game 1 of the series takes place at Chase Field (or as I like to call it, ex-BOB). First pitch is at 5:30 p.m. PT. Jeff Francis and Brandon Webb take the mound. As I note in my series preview at Hardball Times, Arizona needs to win Webb’s …read more

The Arizona Diamondbacks have been getting grief for outperforming their Pythagorean record by 11 games in 2007. Although it’s nice to see that Bill James’ creation has worked its way into the mainstream, it’s amusing (or not) to see the formula itself so poorly understood.
Instead of talking about “should win” and “luck,” we ought to be digging deeper. Perhaps there are reasons for Arizona’s success that aren’t immediately obvious? Wouldn’t be the first time.
In his 1982 Baseball Abstract, James identifies a team that regularly finished with better records than their run differential suggested they should. From 1977 through 1981, the …read more

Wednesday. The middle of the week. Humpday. Halfway between there and here. Eh, you get the point. Some good games on tap today…
American League

Indians at Tigers, 4:05 p.m. PT — Just a half-game separates these AL Central rivals. Paul Byrd vs Justin Verlander looks like a mismatch, and I suppose it is. Byrd, though, is a crafty veteran with freakish control (18 walks in 143 IP). Verlander’s ERA is 4.89 in seven starts since the All-Star break. Detroit’s offense is crazy good — Magglio Ordonez is a legit MVP candidate, Gary Sheffield is having a monster year (including 20 SB …read more

Seems the PCL’s Tucson Sidewinders will be moving to Nevada in the near future. According to the Arizona Daily Star, the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks is expected to relocate to Reno after the 2008 season.
Attendance at Sidewinders games has been lacking. Reno, meanwhile, has a rich minor-league history — most recently in the independent Golden Baseball League and its unconventional methods of discipline.
Reno’s last entrant in affiliated ball was the Silver Sox, a Class-A club for the Oakland A’s whose final year of operation was 1992. Indy ball is great, but dangle a Triple-A team in front of …read more

So much for giving myself the day off. This story about a handwriting analyst profiling the Arizona Diamondbacks is too good to resist. Mark Hopper assesses a few players as well as manager Bob Melvin. I have no idea what to make of this, but if nothing else, it’s a fascinating read. Check out this bit on outfielder Carlos Quentin:
Observe the massive signature size, sharp endings, and his print/cursive mix. Carlos is an extremely overly confident individual who is hard driving, tough and driven. His huge ego fills the room, but he also has intellectual talents in addition to his …read more

The Arizona Diamondbacks have traded right-hander Jorge Julio and cash to the Florida Marlins for right-hander Yusmeiro Petit. The Marlins will use Julio as their closer, a role he filled for the Orioles from 2002 to 2004.
Julio enjoyed a tremendous rookie campaign in ‘02, finishing with a 1.99 ERA and 25 saves, enough to place him third in the American League Rookie of the Year balloting behind Rodrigo Lopez and winner Eric Hinske (talk about a weak crop!). Julio throws extremely hard but has trouble throwing strikes and keeping the ball in the park — a deadly combination. He just …read more