The 1st Diamondback “Snakes” Awards
By Scott Allen
I figured I should do something interesting to generate at least some interest in a team that clearly has very little interest in finishing on a strong note in 2009. So, I present to you, yes with just under three weeks still remaining, the 2009 “Snakes”. I get to make the categories. You can agree or disagree.
Rookie of the Year:
Gerardo Parra – clear winner here. He hit a home run in his first at bat against Cincinnati in May and has hovered around .300 all season. Look for even better things in 2010. Wait, didn’t we say that about Chris Young in 2007? Oh, and 2008?
Apologies to: No one, although Trent Oeltjen and Rusty Ryal might have competed had they had more of an opportunity to play.
Offensive Player of the Year:
Miguel Montero – Imagine if he had hit from the start of the season like he has been since June? He’d probably be in the leaders of most offensive categories. He is hitting for average and power. A rarity for a catcher these days.
Apologies to: Mark Reynolds, Justin Upton. Reynolds had the power numbers, but he has seen his batting average slip in late August/ early September. Upton started off poorly, came on strong to be the talk of the town in May and June, and has had few memorable offensive moments since. He’s had more memorable negative moments lately.
MVP Pitcher:
Dan Haren. Even with his poor second half of the season, he gets it hands down.
Apologies to: Are you kidding? The pitchers should be apologizing to me for making me pay to watch their crap.
Best Home Game:
Hmmm…tough one. I’ll go with opening day. It was the only time the Dbacks were over .500 all season. They defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-8 on Brandon Webb’s only start of the year.
Worst Home Game:
Take your pick. I went to several bad games. They went 1-5 in games I attended this season. Take either one of the losses at home to Washington in May. No one should lose to that team. No one. A bunch of circus clowns should be able to beat them. Then again, this season has been nothing short of a circus.
Worst personnel move:
Hiring AJ Hinch as manager. He’s a nice guy, but let’s be honest, the Dbacks were drawing at straws. Bob Melvin needed to go, but he wasn’t the only reason the Dbacks couldn’t win. You could throw Joe Torre on the bench and this team would still under achieve.
Best mustache:
Clay Zavada. At least we got some entertainment out of that. Besides, he was a great story coming out of the Independent League and ready to quit baseball to run the family farm. Gotta love the stache!
The “Closing the Barn Door After the Horse Has Left” Award:
Take your pick of the Tony’s : The trade of Tony Pena or the release of Tony Clark. Pena was awful, blew several games, but yet it took till mid-summer to move him. Clark is a great mentor and motivator, but his best playing days were clearly behind him. He did nothing as a bench player. Why did it take so long for General Manager Josh Byrnes so long to move him. It was just before the All-Star break. The Dbacks were already clearly out of it by then. It would have been nice to see Brandon Allen get an opportunity earlier in the season.
So…that’s what I got. This is the most time I’ve paid attention to the Dbacks in quite sometime. By the way, anyone know the score of the Padres-Dbacks game? I’m involved in the Chargers-Raiders football game!
Scott Allen