Image: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

But that can also be a perk. If I was a fan of another team with a long history, there would be specific teams I wouldn’t remember, players I didn’t know and managers I was ambivalent about. With the Diamondbacks though, I can remember something about every year since their inception. I can remember the highest of highs, a cutter to the hands fought off and deposited behind Derek Jeter in 2001, and the lowest of the lows, which brings me to something I saw earlier this week.For those that follow the ultra-funny “Diamondbacks Memes” on Facebook or Twitter, you might have seen the discussion on the best managers in Diamondbacks’ history.

There has been six managers in the 15 year history of the Snakes. Well, actually seven if you count Wally Backman‘s four-day stint in 2004.

Diamondbacks Memes ranked the managers in the following order:

1. Bob Melvin, 2. Bob Brenly, 3. Kirk Gibson, 4. Buck Showalter, 5. A.J. Hinch, 6. Al Pedrique.

This led to a pretty spirited discussion on the correct order, but one thing that stood out among many was the Brenly should be ranked #1 for winning the World Series.

And that’s where I vehimently disagree. Here’s my order:

1. Buck Showalter – Showalter was the D’backs first ever manager as he manned the helm of an expansion franchise and almost immediately turned the team into a contender. The Diamondbacks won the NL West in 1999 with a team-record 100 wins and Showalter held a 250-236 record over three seasons before being fired.

2. Bob Melvin – Melvin oversaw my second-favorite D’backs’ team of all time in 2007 as he led the Diamondbacks to 90 wins, a NL West pennant and an appearance in the NLCS. He had his struggles at the end of 2008 as the D’backs faltered down the stretch and was let go early in 2009 after a 12-17 start but he was a tactically smart manager and one that let his players shine.

3. Kirk Gibson – This is where the list gets difficult in my mind. I fought over whether this should be Brenly or Gibson here. Yes, Brenly is a World Series champion manager but realistically, the 2001 team won despite Brenly instead of because of him. It is really early to place Gibson really anywhere on this list. He helped the Diamondbacks go from last to first in 2011 as he established a well respected and experience-ridden coaching staff. But in 2012, there were several instances that he handled poorly and his insistence on keeping the green light on the basepaths, where runners were constantly running into outs, was questionable at best.

4. Bob Brenly – Brenly really goes here by default because of the managers behind him. Yes, I have great memories from the Brenly era, but it was really almost all because of the players he had on the field instead of Brenly’s managerial style. Brenly nearly cost the Diamondbacks’ the 2001 World Series, in which they were clearly the better team. One of the biggest mistakes Brenly kept making was putting light-hitting Tony Womack in the leadoff spot with his .308 OBP in 2001. Counsell hit behind Womack, which was a smart choice with his .350 OBP, but when Womack did reach base, Brenly would have Counsell bunt Womack over to second with Luis Gonzalez, a 57-home run hitter, on deck. And don’t get me started on how badly Brenly messed up the Byung-Hyun Kim situation in game 5. Long story short, Brenly had the best players on the field and almost messed it up.

5. Al Pedrique – He was only an interim manager for 83 games in 2004. However, he managed an awful .265 winning percentage with a 22-61 record.

6. Wally Backman – Yup, I’m including Backman. He was a manager for a total of four days and still was able to get fired. “How you gonna get fired on your day off?”

7. A.J. Hinch – This is how bad Hinch was. He was awful tactically, he never gained the respect of his players and couldn’t last even 1.5 years with the club. He was fired with a 89-123 record and a bad taste in every fans’ mouth.

I know this list is very different than many will be, what would you change and why?

Can Tyler Skaggs help make the Dan Haren acquisition of 2007 an overall success for the D’Backs? (US Presswire: Matt Kartozian)

There has been plenty of buzz around the Arizona Diamondbacks with trade rumors about multiple players involving multiple teams. Aside from a few free agent signings and the initial flurry of moves that landed the team a new shortstop in Cliff Pennington and another bullpen arm in Heath Bell, there hasn’t been the blockbuster trade that many thought would involve the D’Backs this offseason. In the wake of the recent MLB Winter Meetings in Nashville, and with the moves that the Diamondbacks made and didn’t make, it’s a good time to reflect upon some of the deals the organization has made since it’s inception in 1998.

Before we get into the meat of this article, allow me to share the two qualifying criteria. 1) The trade had to be made outside of the regular season, not during. 2) The acquisitions we’re recognizing are trades with other teams, not free agent signings.

With that, I give you the top 5 all time offseason trades made by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

5. Diamondbacks traded Chris Capuano, Craig Counsell, Chad Moeller, Lyle Overbay, Jorge De La Rosa and Junior Spivey to the Milwaukee Brewers for Shane Nance, Richie Sexson, and Noochie Varner on December 15, 2003.
This was a huge acquisition for Arizona and was an attempt to land a big-name player to be the future and cornerstone of the team moving forward. Richie Sexson was coming off of a 2003 season in which he hit 45 HR and 124 RBI for Milwaukee and was looked at as a future star for years to come. However, his career as a Diamondback was short- lived, as he succumbed to a season-ending shoulder injury limiting him to just 23 games in 2004. Sexson, a free agent following the 2003 season, could not come to terms on a new contract with Arizona. The team decided to give a big contract to Troy Glaus instead of Sexson who went on to sign with Seattle.

4. Diamondbacks traded Travis Fryman, Tom Martin and cash to the Cleveland Indians for Matt Williams on December 1, 1997.
The D’Backs made the biggest move of their young history landing a big-time third baseman Matt Williams. This was the team’s first big move to establish themselves in Major League Baseball as well as adding the first piece to their 2001 World Series Championship squad. Williams is looked at as one of the best players to ever wear a Diamondbacks uniform.

3. Diamondbacks traded Brett Anderson, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham, Dana Eveland, Carlos Gonzalez and Greg Smith to the Oakland Athletics. Received Dan Haren and Connor Robertson on December 14, 2007.
It’s very easy to say that this particular trade backfired on the D’Backs considering the names that were shipped to Oakland in this deal. Carlos Gonzalez and Brett Anderson have had nice careers up to this point. However, the jury is still out on this deal considering the pieces that Arizona was able to acquire in dealing Haren two and a half years later. The acquisition of current pitching prospects Tyler Skaggs and Patrick Corbin help make up the organizational depth that the team is now enjoying. Skaggs and Corbin could eventually make this deal from 2007 a big win for Arizona.

2. As part of a 3-team trade, the Diamondbacks traded Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth to the Detroit Tigers. Arizona received Edwin Jackson from Detroit and Ian Kennedy from the New York Yankees. Additionally, Detroit sent Curtis Granderson to the New York who sent Phil Coke and Austin Jackson to the Detroit on December 8, 2009.
This is one of those rare trades that most would agree, worked out for all parties involved. It’s very rare that a two-team trade works out for both sides much less one involving three teams. All players involved, with the exception of Edwin Jackson, are currently contributing to their respective teams. Kennedy helped lead the D’Backs to an NL West Championship in 2011 and currently sits as the team’s ace heading into the 2013 season.

1. Diamondbacks traded Karim Garcia to the Detroit Tigers for Luis Gonzalez on December 28, 1998.
This is the organization’s biggest coup in franchise history. Arizona traded one-time prospect Karim Garcia for the player that became the face of the Diamondbacks’ franchise, Luis Gonzalez. No one will forget his amazing 2001 season in which he hit 57 HR and drove in 142 RBI leading Arizona to their magical World Series win over the Yankees. Arizona would eventually retire his number 20 at Chase Field in 2010. Gonzalez continues to leave his mark on the organization today as a jack of all trades offering his services as a television analyst as well as special assistant to the organization’s front office.

Sept. 10, 2011; Phoenix AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks former pitcher Curt Schilling before the game against the San Diego Padres at Chase Field. Image: Jennifer Hilderbrand-US PRESSWIRE

Today marks the 68th anniversary of D-Day, one of the most famous days in our great country’s history. This was the day the Allies landed on the beach in Normandy, France to push German forces back across the European continent, one of the most important missions during World War II. Less than a year later, America and her allies were victorious over Germany ending one of the most evil reigns in history. Since I love the date of June 6th, I decided to see how the Arizona Diamondbacks fared on game day 10 years ago today. I found…..nothing. They were off. So I decided to do the next best thing: look up their game from June 6th, 2001.

On that date, the D-Backs defeated the Dodgers 4-1 behind Curt Schilling’s  complete game six-hitter in which he struck out eight and did not walk a batter. Schilling improved to 10-1 and Luis Gonzalez continued his amazing season going 2 for 4. Damien Miller and Jay Bell  contributed solo home runs and Mark Grace added an RBI double. The only Dodger run came courtesy of a Shawn Green home run. Luke Prokopec started and was the losing pitcher with Eric Gagne pitching the final two innings. The win increased Arizona’s lead in the NL West to two games over LA boosting their overall record to 35-24. It also snapped a minuscule two game losing streak. They finished their series against the Dodgers with a 13-9 victory the following afternoon before playing nine games against three American League teams. Click here for a look at the box score and play by play.

I have always enjoyed reading over old box scores and checking out names that and saying, “Oh yeah, I remember him”. Hopefully some of the D-Back names (and Dodger names for that matter) causes you to have one of those moments.

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