Arizona Diamondbacks

I'm not sure it's possible to maintain a full time baseball position job and hit any worse than SS prospect Nick Ahmed did in April and May to start the season. In both months he posted an OPS of less than .400 which is hard to do playing every day. His batting average for April was .163 and it was even worse in May at .113. He had a grand total of 2 extra base hits in the first 2 months. We could try and blame some of it on an alarmingly low BABIP of .206 in April and an unheard of .127 in May. But his line drive rates were extremely low and his K rate was in the high 20s. So that only explains some it. In any case, putting all that aside, as Ahmed himself has obviously done, he's got his bat back on track and is having a very good June. He's hitting .305 with 9 extra base hits out of 18, 11 RBI and an OPS of .852. As one of the pieces in the Justin Upton trade it was thought that Ahmed was a nice middle infield prospect who had a chance to reach the majors in a couple of years. But after that ugly start to the year the shine is off and Ahmed will have to earn his way back into the hearts of the Dbacks faithful. He's at least made a good step in that direction this month. Snake Stars3 Stars: Chris Owings, Reno 4 for 5, 3 R, 2 DBL, 3 RBI2 Stars: Nick Ahmed, Mobile 3 for 5, 2 R, 1 TPL, 1 HR (2), 4 RBI1 Star: Tyler Skaggs, Reno 6 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 8 K, 1 ER, W (5-5)0 Stars: Wagner Mateo, Hillsboro 0 for 4, 2 K (3 for 21 this season) Triple A: Reno 11 San Jose 5. J.J. Putz started the game in his first rehab stint and allowed 1 run on 2 hits. Tyler Skaggs followed and was very good going 6 innings allowing just 1 run on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8 to even his record at 5-5. He did take 110 pitches to get through those 6 innings. Once again the star of the show was Chris Owings who went a cool 4 for 5 with 2 doubles, 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. His average is up to .357 and climbing. Aaron Hill is also rehabbing and went 1 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI. Mike Jacobs continues to rake going 2 for 3 and hitting his 8th homer, a 3-run shot in the 7th. Double A: Mobile 8 Jackson 6. The BayBears offense got it done late with 4 runs in the last 2 innings to eke out an 8-6 win. The big blow came on a 2-RBI triple by Nick Ahmed who went 3 for 5 and also hit his 2nd homer of the year. Bradin Hagens started and was cruising until the 5th inning when he allowed a single, 2 doubles, another single and a home run all with 2 outs. The bullpen tossed three scoreless innings to give the offense a chance which they took full advantage of. Garrett Webber went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored. Kevin Munson pitched a perfect 9th with a strikeout to earn his 13th save. High A: Visalia - All Star Break Low A: South Bend - All Star Break Short Season A: Hillsboro 2 Eugene 1. Ben Eckels was effectively wild in his 2nd start allowing just one run on a solo home run over 5+ innings. He did walk 5 but surrendered just 2 hits and struck out 5 to earn the victory. Karl Triana added 2.2 scoreless innings while striking out 3. Yoimer Camacho pitched a nervous but scoreless 9th for his 1st save. The offense was fairly anemic again with just 6 hits. Randy McCurry had 2 of those hits including a double and 2 RBI.

It was another day -- and another series, really -- in which a lot of things did not go the Diamondbacks' way. Their starter left the game in the second inning. Their offense registered just four hits. And yet the Diamondbacks won Wednesday, giving them a three-game series victory against the Miami Marlins this week at Chase Field. It could be just a good team eking out wins over an inferior one, but their 3-1 victory on Wednesday had the feel of so many others before it this season. The Diamondbacks have had stretches in which their starters have struggled and others in which their relievers have faltered. Currently it's their hitters who are in the throes of a slump.

Until two detrimental walks in the eighth inning, Marlins starter Jose Fernandez had shut down the Diamondbacks. Fernandez powered through the lineup in 7 1/3 innings of work, facing at most four batters in any given inning. He allowed only three hits before outfielder Jason Kubel battled him for a walk, the first baserunner the Diamondbacks had since the third inning of their 3-1 matinee win at Chase Field on Wednesday.

Last week we did the caption thing. Here are the people who won First Place - kishi - 6 Recs He's a maniac, maaaaaniac on the floor And he’s dancing like he’s never danced before. Even if you're right, that would be one plus one plus two plus one, not "one plus two plus one plus one." by kishi on Jun 12, 2013 | 1:32 PM reply rec (6) actions Second Place - preston.salisbury - 5 Recs I nearly stepped in the biggest wad of gum I've ever seen! by preston.salisbury on Jun 12, 2013 | 12:03 PM reply rec (5) flag actions Third Place - piratedan7 - 4 Recs MLB Umpires Union struggles with new Interpretive Dance criteria for rating umpires I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused.... by piratedan7 on Jun 12, 2013 | 1:42 PM reply rec (4) actions The leaderboard is as follows: imstillhungry95 21 Diamondhacks 16 Zavada's Moutstache 15 Jim McLennan 12 blank_38 8 AJV19 7 soco 6 SenSurround 6 kishi 6 Dirtdawg90 4 preston.salisbury 3 piratedan7 3 rd33 2 TylerO 1 TimInTucson 1 You open up your mailbox. There is a letter from Heath Bell within. He's inviting you to a party held at what is usually a vacant lot. Your challenge is to tell me three things that are at this party, and whether or not you'd attend. Rec the others ones you like, etc. You know how this works.

Cody Ross can see clearly now, so he must have had a nice view as his decisive pinch-hit home run sailed into the left-field seats. Ross' three-run shot in the eighth inning spoiled an outstanding outing by Miami's young Jose Fernandez, and the Arizona Diamondbacks held off the Marlins 3-1 on Wednesday to take two of three in the series.

Record: 39-33. Pace: 88-74. Change on 2012: +2. Wednesday's game didn't start off on the best foot for the Diamondbacks- well, the foot wasn't even the part of the leg that we were most worried about. The final out of the top of the first was scored as a 1-5-3 ground out, but Trevor Cahill got involved in less than ideal circumstances, with the ball lined off his upper thigh. He went to the dugout and spent the bottom of the inning pacing the dugout. As little league coaches everywhere applauded his attempt to walk it off, he took the mound in the second, but after getting a 2-1 count on Derek Dietrich, Cahill called the trainer out and headed for clubhouse. Word from the Diamondbacks gave it as a right hip contusion, so hopefully just a bruise and he'll be okay for his next start in Washington. Looking to the bullpen, the Diamondbacks breathed a sigh of relief that they sent Randall Delgado out to start yesterday, and called on Josh Collmenter. And Josh Collmenter did what he's done so often this season, putting up some good, solid innings out of the bullpen. Unfortunately for Josh, the Diamondbacks offense was being thwarted by the mystery that is Jose Fernandez. Fernandez, who finished last season pitching for the High-A Jupiter Hammerheads and will legally be able to buy beer when he turns 21 at the end of next month, was doing his best to keep the Diamondbacks bats quiet. He gave up a single in each of the first three innings, but the Diamondbacks couldn't get a runner any further than first base. Including in the third inning, where Gerardo Parra tried to steal second after grounding into a fielder's choice, and was thrown down. That puts Parra at 6 for 15 in his stolen base attempts, which really makes one wonder why anyone ever gives him a green light. Meanwhile, on the mound, Collmenter was dealing. And I mean dealing. After a two out walk in the second, Collmenter locked in. The Tomahawk went through the Marlins 1-2-3 in the third, and then decided he could do better than that by striking out the side in the fourth. It wasn't until Collmenter gave up a single to lead off the seventh inning that he allowed his first hit, and he finished the day with six innings of one hit ball. Out of the bullpen. If anyone wants to argue with me that wins are a valid way to judge a pitcher's performance, I'll just point them at the no-decision Collmenter earned today. That's quality work. The problem is that Fernandez was just as good out there. He matched Collmenter in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings by going 1-2-3 on his own, and then added in another one in the seventh to keep the game tied at zero. David Hernandez came in for the eighth inning, giving up a lead off single that he erased with a double play, but Fernandez took the mound again in the bottom of the inning. Arizona's luck turned, though, as Fernandez's control slipped. He lead off the inning by walking Jason Kubel, who was replaced by Josh Wilson as pinch runner. A.J. Pollock's sacrifice bunt attempt went horribly wrong as he popped out, but Fernandez gave us another walk, putting Didi Gregorius on. Eric Hinske came out to pinch hit for Hernandez, but as the Marlins went to the bullpen for Mike Dunn, Hinske was replaced by Cody Ross. A moment of nervous silence settled over the 'Pit, and onedotfive spoke for all of us: Ross will save us.... right?…. The universe tends to unfold as it should. by onedotfive on Jun 19, 2013 | 2:57 PM reply rec (9) Good news, everyone, as the Dark Lord heard our plaintive cries, and hammered a pitch to left field to the echoing cheers of the assembled throngs and give Arizona a 3-0 lead. Now, all we had to do was rely on Heath Bell. Now, Heath's definitely had his struggles lately, but he'll get it together, right? We don't have to always worry about... Damn. Bell started off the inning in his own unholy, inimitable style, allowing a lead off home run to Justin Ruggiano. Then Bell let Ed Lucas si

Only two National League relievers since the end of 1983 have thrown six or more innings of one-hit ball - and arguably, neither were "really" relievers. One was the renowned "power outage" game in San Diego back in 2001, when a transformer blew during a Curt Schilling start after two innings, causing play to be suspended for the night. The next day, Randy Johnson took the mound and threw seven shutout innings, allowing one hit, for the most bizarre one-hitter ever in franchise history. Oh, and Johnson struck out sixteen: no other reliever in the live-ball era had ever K'd more than 13, and even that was more than 50 years ago now. So, not a genuine relief outing. The other was on May 4, 2002, and was somewhat more legitimate. Jason Schmidt started for the Giants against the Reds in San Francisco, but could only get two outs in the first inning - seems he was coming off a groin injury. He was replaced by Ryan Jensen, who then shut the Reds down on one hit until the end of the seventh inning, throwing 93 pitches, with one walk. There's a "however" here too, in that Jensen was almost exclusively a starter - 30 of 32 games that season - whose scheduled start a couple of days earlier just happened to fall on an off-day, and had been skipped by the Giants. Collmenter has done nothing but relieve this season. Outside of the Big Unit's outing, only two relievers in Diamondbacks' history have had five-inning appearances. Josh Collmenter this season is both of them. He worked five innings in the opening series against the Cardinals, picking up the W for his one-run effort, on four hits and two walks. But this afternoon was even better. Admittedly, the Marlins offense is one of the most historically awful of all-time - their current wRC+ of 69 is the worst in over 90 years - but they are still, at least in name, a major-league outfit. The fact that the game was scoreless, meaning the go-ahead run was at the plate every single time he took the mound, made it even more impressive. So it's not the first time Collmenter has been an absolute life-saver. Just earlier this month, in St. Louis, he threw four scoreless innings against the Cardinals, picking up the victory as we won in 14 innings. That got him a Win Probability of over +50%, only the fourth time ever an Arizona bullpen arm has reached that level of WP. It looks like his figure for the game today will be over +40%, for the second time this season, putting him alongside Jose Valverde and Byung-Hyun Kim as Arizona relievers with more than one appearance of that importance. His 2013 figure of +144% puts him in the top ten NL relievers for that statistic. That's in part because Collmenter has been particularly good when the game is on the line, with the scores tied. Including today, he has now kept opposing hitters there to a .172 average, allowed just one extra-base hit (a double) in 58 at-bats, and owns a K:BB ratio in such situations of 18:4. Frankly, I have much more current confidence in Josh's ability to put up a zero when it counts, than I do in Heath Bell. But he has also been a massive innings eater: Collmenter is now on pace for 91.5 innings in relief this year, a figure reached only once by a "pure" reliever in this league since 2007 (Matt Belisle threw 92 for the 2010 Rockies). Today was a perfect example why Collmenter is, perhaps, the unsung hero of the team thus far. Trevor Cahill was unable to complete the first at-bat in the second inning after being hit on the hip by a line-drive: even with an off-day tomorrow, it would have been a fraught process to piece together eight innings from "normal" relievers, used to one-inning stints. But Collmenter took care of almost all the heavy lifting, and produced arguably the best relief performance in team history. Indeed, had it been a start, it would have resulted in a Game Score of 76 - tied for third-best of the year by a Diamondback [trailing only Corbin and McCarthy's complete games] Enjoy your off-day, Josh: for you

Just got back from the DBacks Wed (6/19) afternoon game against Miami (Heath Bell sucked again, but that's another post). We went down to the game last minute, and bought cheap tickets from a scalper outside the stadium ($7.50). They were in the upper deck, 36 rows up. But there weren't that many people there, so we sat about 10 rows back from the edge instead. My wife got out her iPAD and started up the "MLB at the Ballpark" app. There was a hot link for "Upgrade my ticket". So we tried that, and there were 1st base, home plate, 3rd base, and loge level upgrades available. We checked out the 1st base upgrade, and it was for section F, row 12, seats 9 and 10. It turns out these seats were 7 rows behind the 1st base dugout, on the home plate edge of the dugout. For a $20 upgrade fee. So we tried it. We gave them our visa card number and got a screen back that said we had upgraded to those seats. It has a hot link that the usher could select to verify we didn't just steal a screen shot. It worked great. We ended up with about the best seats in the house for a total of $27.50 a ticket. I assume these upgrades will be unavailable/more expensive for more crowded games, but if you are going to a weekday game, I recommend trying it.Just got back from the DBacks Wed (6/19) afternoon game against Miami (Heath Bell sucked again, but that's another post). We went down to the game last minute, and bought cheap tickets from a scalper outside the stadium ($7.50). They were in the upper deck, 36 rows up. But there weren't that many people there, so we sat about 10 rows back from the edge instead. My wife got out her iPAD and started up the "MLB at the Ballpark" app. There was a hot link for "Upgrade my ticket". So we tried that, and there were 1st base, home plate, 3rd base, and loge level upgrades available. We checked out the 1st base upgrade, and it was for section F, row 12, seats 9 and 10. It turns out these seats were 7 rows behind the 1st base dugout, on the home plate edge of the dugout. For a $20 upgrade fee. So we tried it. We gave them our visa card number and got a screen back that said we had upgraded to those seats. It has a hot link that the usher could select to verify we didn't just steal a screen shot. It worked great. We ended up with about the best seats in the house for a total of $27.50 a ticket. I assume these upgrades will be unavailable/more expensive for more crowded games, but if you are going to a weekday game, I recommend trying it.

PHOENIX -- Cody Ross hit a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning to spoil an outstanding outing by Miami's young Jose Fernandez, and the Arizona Diamondbacks held off the Marlins 3-1 Wednesday.Fernandez (4-4) retired 14 in a row before walking two of the three batters he faced in the eighth. He was relieved by left-hander Mike Dunn, who gave up the home run to Ross on a 1-2 pitch. Read more Cody Ross news

Those who could see today's game between the Marlins and the Diamondbacks were treated to a pitcher's duel, even if it wasn't the cast we expected at the outset. Trevor Cahill took the mound to start the game for Arizona and worked a quick first inning, though a line drive from Marcell Ozuna hit him in the hip and led to him being pulled in the second inning. Josh Collmenter was called in from the bullpen to relieve Cahill and was very effective, only allowing one walk and one hit over six innings. Unfortunately for the Diamondbacks, Jose Fernandez was just as effective on the mound for the Marlins. He gave up a few singles, but the Diamondbacks weren't able to string any hits together, and weren't helped by a caught-stealing from Gerardo Parra in the third inning. The Diamondbacks luck changed in the eighth inning, when Fernandez finally began to suffer with finding his spot. He started the inning with his first walk of the game, and then ended his outing with another. Fernandez was replaed by Mike Dunn, who went up against Cody Ross, and Ross delivered a pinch hit home run to give Arizona a lead. Heath Bell took the mound for the save in the ninth inning, and immediately made things more interesting than necessary, giving up a leadoff home run to Justin Ruggiano. A single and a walk followed, but Bell settled in, getting the next three outs, and delivering the Diamondbacks a win.