Venom Strikes

Matt Kemp’s Injury, Soft Schedule, Gives the D-Backs a Chance to Make Up Some Ground

Christopher Czar — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:10:46 +0000

The D-Backs had a good start in their return to contention in the NL West yesterday by beating the first place Dodgers 5-1 yesterday to avoid a sweep–and a double digit deficit in the division. Instead of 10.5 games out, the D-Backs find themselves 8.5 behind the Dodgers who just lost the NL’s best player for two weeks to a hamstring injury.

May 15, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp (27) before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Coinciding with the the loss of Matt Kemp by the Dodgers is a run in the D-Backs schedule against teams that have been underperforming. 17 of the Diamondbacks next 20 games come against teams with records of .500 or worse including the Padres, Royals, Brewers, Rockies and a series against the rival Giants. The D-Backs also get a chance to make up ground on the Dodgers with a May 21st – 23rd home series that will likely see them miss ace Clayton Kershaw.

Kemp is the catalyst that drives the Dodgers offense. While it’s never good to see a superstar injured, it comes at an opportune time for the D-backs. The injury and their soft schedule perhaps allows the Diamondbacks to remain within striking distance as they’re currently perilously close to falling out of the NL West chase early should they fail to turn around their recent skid.

If you’re looking for reason to believe that the Dodgers will struggle without Kemp, look no further than yesterday’s game. The Dodgers one run–on a solo home run–matched their lowest output for the season. If the Diamondbacks are going to make a run, now is as good a time as any.

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D-Backs Starters Need to Anchor Struggling Squad

Noah Dougherty — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:54:00 +0000

There’s no question the offense is struggling-mightily at times- scoring 3 runs or less in 16 of their 36 games. They are a woeful 1-15 in games where the offense was only able to plate 3 or less runs. Our number 3 hitter is in a season long slump and has barely been more productive than the putrid Pujols out in L.A.

: May 14, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Ian Kennedy (31) reacts after giving up a solo home run in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Image: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

There are stats upon stats proving these points but what the offense really needs is stability from the starting pitchers. As an offense struggling to plate runs on a daily basis- even worse with runners in scoring position- it creates quite the daunting task for the 1-9 hitters to dig themselves out of four, six or even seven run deficits early on.

May has proven to be tough ground for the Diamondback starters posting a 2-9 record lasting 7 complete innings only four of their 13 starts in the month. Their ERA for the year has jumped to 4.31 with only three National League teams fairing worse. N.L. teams are hitting .261 vs. the Diamondback starters and they’ve surrendered the fourth most homeruns at 24. These numbers are coming from an area that the organization felt pretty comfortable with heading into Opening Day just six weeks ago.

If the starting pitchers can do their job minimizing damage early on and provide a quality start hurling an average of six innings while throwing into the seventh (or eighth?!) to help save some of the bullpen arms, the offense can gain some confidence by just chipping away at a deficit of one or two runs rather than seeing 6-0 holes through three or four innings. While the bullpen had shown some vulnerability early on, it seems to have stabilized lately and can be counted on to relieve a starter in the final innings as needed.

We know the offense can get going, it’s just a matter of when and what exactly that spark will be. The starting pitchers can play a big role in that spark by just doing their job every fifth day and pitching effectively later into games on a more regular basis.

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Former D-Backs Jarrod Parker and Ryan Cook Shining for the Oakland A’s

Christopher Czar — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:00:23 +0000

Before the current Trevor Bauer, Jarrod Parker was the Diamondbacks Trevor Bauer. After Tommy John surgery and as crowed bevy of minor starters emerged– included Bauer, Barry Enright, Tyler Skaggs and Patrick Corbin–Parker became expendable.

May 13, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jarrod Parker (11) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Detroit Tigers at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

The D-Backs dealt Cahill to the Oakland A’s in exchange for their ace, Trevor Cahill this past offseason. The A’s also received outfielder Collin Cowgill and reliever Ryan Cook in the deal. It seemed like a can’t miss deal for the D-Backs, however a quarter of the way into the season there’s legitimate reason to think that it was a miss for Arizona.

Cahill struggled in 2011, making him expendable in the A’s minds so they quietly dealt him to the D-Backs. Cahill has improved a bit this season with a good, not great, start Arizona. He’s posted just a 2-4 record, but has an adequate 3.65 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. His walks are elevated and his strikeouts are down, but he’s basically doing what a number-3 starter should be expected to do. However, early returns on what the D-Backs gave up don’t show that it’s enough.

On Sunday, Jarrod Parker made his 4^th career start. While he got the loss in a 3-1 game, he for the most part went toe-to-toe with defending AL Cy Young and AL MVP Justin Verlander of the Tigers—not bad for a rookie a couple years removed from surgery. Parker allowed 2 runs in 5.1 innings while striking out 5 batters against a potent—but struggling—Detroit offense. In each of Parker’s four starts he’s gone at least five innings and allowed two runs or less. The budget minded A’s could have a much less expensive version of Cahill in their rotation for years.

While Cowgill has struggled, the other piece of the deal might be the biggest story. Ryan Cook has been among the best relievers in the AL. Cook has been nasty for the A’s, allowing no runs and just four hits while striking out 17 in 17.1 innings, continuing a trend that saw him save 19 games in 2011 at Double-A and Triple-A.

The jury is still out on the deal, but the Athletics are definitely getting major contributions for the pieces they acquired from the D-Backs.

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Former D-Backs Jarrod Parker and Ryan Cook Shining for the Oakland A’s - Venom Strikes - Venom Strikes - An Arizona Diamondbacks Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More