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Aug. 10, 2011; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero against the Houston Astros at Chase Field. The Diamondbacks defeated the Astros 8-5 in 10 innings. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Throughout much of this offseason and now into the early days of Spring Training, the chatter has been centered on a selected list of topics. The Miami Marlins  garnered early headlines with their signings of Jose Reyes, Heath Bell  and Mark Buehrle.  There was the Los Angeles Angels  double barrel signing of Albert Pujols  and C.J. Wilson.   Who could forget the two month “Where will Prince Fielder  go”  saga before he finally landed with the Detroit Tigers?  People are excited about the foundations (with good reason) being built by the Kansas City Royals  and Washington Nationals.   Absent in all of the hoopla, save for a trade, was coverage for the team that won 94 games and the National League West,  the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Maybe manager Kirk Gibson  and players such as Justin Upton  prefer to fly under the radar.    However, for a team with such a young nucleus, a proven General Manager in Kevin Towers and a rising manager in Gibson, you would think there would be some more talk about the D-Backs.  They did bolster their rotation by acquiring Trevor Cahill  from the Oakland Athletics  but the bigger story was not about the Arizona acquiring Cahill but why Oakland traded him in the first place.  Other divisional foes have received more ink than the Diamondbacks.  Buster Posey’s  return to the San Francisco Giants  will be watched closely.   Just how good are Matt Kemp  and Clayton Kershaw of  the Los Angeles Dodgers?  One gets the feeling that (A)-many people still question the legitimacy of Arizona and/or (B)-the Phoenix market impedes more coverage of the team.  By that I mean, if this were Chicago or New York, there would be more buzz around them.

That’s OK, with the exception of the 2009 New York Yankees, the teams that make the biggest splash in the offseason usually don’t reach the World Series that year.  How many people last year at this time had the Boston Red Sox  and Philadelphia Phillies  playing in the World Series?  Let’s look at the Phillies.  They made the World Series in 2009 and traded for Roy Halladay.  They reached the National League Championship Series  in 2010 then signed Cliff Lee.   Last season, they were eliminated in the Divisional round.   In November, they signed Jonathan Papelbon.    Perhaps they miss the playoffs?  Now look at the Texas Rangers.   They reached the 2010 World Series and lost Cliff Lee.  Who would have thought they would be a strike away from a World Series Championship after that happened?

People will fall asleep again on the Arizona Diamondbacks because of all the news generated this Winter by other teams.  However when the calendar turns to October, don’t be surprised if all of the teams that made the biggest noise from November through February are home watching the D–Backs pouring champagne after wrapping up the National League pennant.

Oct 7, 2011; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Ian Kennedy throws a pitch in the second inning of game five of the 2011 NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

Each year the MLB Network ranks the top ten players at each position in all of baseball with the addition of managers. Over the next several weeks, I will list those rankings here and show why many of them are ridiculous including some D-backs snubs.

MLB Networks Starting Pitchers  

1. Roy Halladay
2. Justin Verlander
3. Cliff Lee
4. Felix Hernandez
5. Clayton Kershaw
6. Jered Weaver
7. Tim Lincecum
8. Dan Haren
9. C.C Sabathia
10. Zack Greinke

The whole “year of the pitcher” idea has been done to death a bit over the last couple of years but does not mean it’s not accurate. It seems that there is 12-20 pitchers that could be considered aces which makes a top ten list very hard to create.  I don’t have much of a problem with these selections except for one giant mistake at the very end. I am not sure how Greinke could be considered in the top 20 right now, let alone the top ten. To be an ace, you have to be trusted in the playoffs and it was obvious the Brewers were hiding Greinke last year in the playoffs, not featuring him. Ian Kennedy could take that place if he has another season similar to last year but for now, Cole Hamels, James Shields or Matt Cain would all be suitable replacements for Greinke.

My Rankings:

1. Roy Halladay
2. Justin Verlander
3. Felix Hernandez
4. Clayton Kershaw
5. Cliff Lee
6. Jered Weaver
7. Tim Lincecum
8. Dan Haren
9. James Shields
10. C.C. Sabathia