Diamondbacks starting pitcher Wade Miley (36) throws during the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Chase Field. Image: Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

Go ahead, D-Back  fans, think about this for a moment.   If I had told you April 1^st that on June 26^th, (A) Justin Upton would be the fourth-best home run hitter on the team, (B) Daniel Hudson would have three whole wins and (C) Ian Kennedy’s  ERA would be two runs higher than last year’s, do you think the club would be in shouting distance of first place?  You probably would think it was a rotten April Fool’s joke.  Well the joke will soon be on the rest of baseball as Arizona is starting to heat up and will zoom right into the All-Star break as the hottest team in baseball.

The Dodgers are playing the Giants this week so you know much of the baseball world will be focused on that series.  Then we will hear about how every team in the American League East is at least three games over .500.  Fine.   Thursday night, however there better be a big shining light in Atlanta as the highly anticipated debut of  Trevor Bauer  is set to take place.   As of this morning, MLB Network is advertising Yankees-White Sox  and Tigers-Rays as their two marquee games.  Detroit is already being featured tonight against the Rangers.   Yawn.   If the network doesn’t switch and make D-Backs-Braves the big game that night, we will know where Arizona stands in the MLB pecking order.   But that’s a story for a different day.

At 37-35, the D-Backs haven’t even played their best ball yet.  Sure, they have won four in a row and are 7-3 in their last 10 but do you really think they can’t get better?  Watch as Upton hits about .350 from now until the rest of the season and Paul Goldschmidt  gets some consistency and launches about 20 more balls out of the yard.  Maybe when one of those dingers hits an unsuspecting fan in the pool over the right-center field wall will Arizona get the love they deserve.

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Mar 6, 2012; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks left fielder Gerardo Parra (8) makes a sliding catch on a ball off the bat of Texas Rangers first baseman Conor Jackson (not pictured) during the fifth inning at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

The 30 Clubs in 30 Days series shown on MLB Network ranks as one of my favorite annual rites of Spring.  On Thursday evening March 15th at 8 PM EST, the Arizona Diamondbacks will be put under the microscope.  We will get the chance to see some of our favorite analysts such as Mitch Williams discuss the D-Backs and their upcoming 2012 season for 60 minutes.   By the way, “Wild Thing”  likes Arizona to repeat in the National League West.

For those who don’t follow Arizona on a daily basis, it will be their chance to get to know the team a little better and why all of us here at Venomstrikes are high on the Diamondbacks’ fortunes for this season.   Actually, one of the reasons why I like 30 Clubs so much is that it allows me to become familiar with players and teams that I may not get a chance to see regularly.  When I was a kid, I would get to know all players in baseball by collecting baseball cards and spend hours memorizing their stats.   Today, we have the Internet where we can pull up stats and footage of all players, even prospects we have not seen but have heard their names as future stars. 

I hope all fans can tune in Thursday night to see not only the present D-Backs but also to get a glimpse of their future when John Hart evaluates some of their top prospects.   Arizona is probably still not much of a household team to the casual fan.  What better way for those fans to be introduced to one of baseball’s up and coming franchises than to have respected broadcasters have an entertaining chat for one whole hour.

Follow me on Twitter @ltj41 and at http://clearthebases.net

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