Venom Strikes » Doug Slaten

Less Than Three Weeks Until Spring Starts

Scott Allen — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:59:09 +0000

The Arizona Diamondbacks, coming off a disappointing 2009 season, to say the least, is about to embark on a new season. Pitchers and catchers report in less than three weeks, for their last spring training in Tucson.

The Dbacks have their roster set for the month-long event.

Some exciting things to be on the lookout for:

The return of OF Conor Jackson
1B Adam LaRoche will make his Dbacks debut
The return of Brandon Webb, in what may be his last season in Arizona
Eric Byrnes is gone
So is Doug Slaten!!

Stay tuned, a lot more to come soon with the start of a new season. Can’t wait!

Scott Allen

Proposed Three-Way Deal Not Good For Dbacks

Scott Allen — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:27:20 +0000

By now you’ve heard about the proposed on again off again deal involving the Diamondbacks, Tigers, and Yankees. In the deal, the Diamondbacks would get pitchers Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy. In return, the Dbacks send pitcher Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth. Please say it ain’t so Josh Byrnes!!!

Don’t get me wrong, I like Jackson. I don’t like the money situation. If the Dbacks get Jackson, they are on the hook for some serious money. So much so, it probably leaves them out of the running for any more free agents in this off-season. What is also does is it rids the Dbacks of Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth, two young promising arms. I realize we still don’t know what the right role for Scherzer is, whether it is as a starter or reliever. However, thius team over the past few years has been known to give up on promising talent early. Brad Penny, Lyle Overbay, Dan Uggla, I could go on forever. I worry the Dbacks hit the panic mode before they know what they have. On the flip side, they tend to hang on to veterans a little too long. You know them too, names like Eric Byrnes, Tony Clark, Doug Slaten, again just to name a few. I will never understand Josh Byrnes and this current organization. At least win or lose, you knew what you were getting when Jerry Colangelo and Steve Garagiola were running the show.

I know what we will get if this deal is pulled off. A couple of decent arms that are going to cost some money that will not be around as long as Scherzer and Schlereth. Ughhh….do I really want Spring Training to come along?

Scott Allen

Diamondbacks Quick Hits

Scott Allen — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:06:06 +0000

Now that the World Series is over, free agency has begun. The Arizona Diamondbacks have started to make their off-season roster moves.

Pitcher Brandon Webb had his option picked up. As well as it should have been. Webb has done the most for this franchise since the 2001 World Series. It’s just a shame it took this long for the Dbacks to say they’ll give him another shot.

Infielder Chad Tracy is no more. Also no more is pitcher Yusmeiro Petit and Doug Slaten. None of these three were surprises. Tracy was more a victim of circumstance and injury. Petit and Slaten just weren’t that good. Petit looked good for two or three weeks in August, but other than that they were basically a waste of space on the field.

Catcher Chris Snyder was almost traded to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. The his bad back came to light and the Blue Jays decided against. We almost had Lyle Overbay back. Color me the most excited that this trade did not happen. Snyder will be gone at some point no doubt, but why Overbay? Makes no sense.

Rumor is that the Dbacks are looking to get Livan Hernandez back. Again, why? I guess the Dbacks missed diarrhea boy. Don’t foget, this was the guy a couple of seasons ago said he would play through anything, including a bout of diarrhea. No, really, he said that.

Oh the fun is just starting….

Scott Allen