Rookie of the Year:

Gerardo Parra – clear winner here.  He hit a home run in his first at bat against Cincinnati in May and has hovered around .300 all season.  Look for even better things in 2010.  Wait, didn’t we say that about Chris Young in 2007?  Oh, and 2008?

Apologies to:  No one, although Trent Oeltjen and Rusty Ryal might have competed had they had more of an opportunity to play.

Offensive Player of the Year:

Miguel Montero – Imagine if he had hit from the start of the season like he has been since June?  He’d probably be in the leaders of most offensive categories.  He is hitting for average and power.  A rarity for a catcher these days.

Apologies to:  Mark Reynolds, Justin Upton.  Reynolds had the power numbers, but he has seen his batting average slip in late August/ early September.  Upton started off poorly, came on strong to be the talk of the town in May and June, and has had few memorable offensive moments since.  He’s had more memorable negative moments lately.

MVP Pitcher:

Dan Haren. Even with his poor second half of the season, he gets it hands down.

Apologies to:  Are you kidding?  The pitchers should be apologizing to me for making me pay to watch their crap.

Best Home Game:

Hmmm…tough one.  I’ll go with opening day.  It was the only time the Dbacks were over .500 all season.  They defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-8 on Brandon Webb’s only start of the year.

Worst Home Game:

Take your pick.  I went to several bad games.  They went 1-5 in games I attended this season.  Take either one of the losses at home to Washington in May.  No one should lose to that team.  No one.  A bunch of circus clowns should be able to beat them.  Then again, this season has been nothing short of a circus.

Worst personnel move:

Hiring AJ Hinch as manager.  He’s a nice guy, but let’s be honest, the Dbacks were drawing at straws.  Bob Melvin needed to go, but he wasn’t the only reason the Dbacks couldn’t win.  You could throw Joe Torre on the bench and this team would still under achieve.

Best mustache:

Clay Zavada.  At least we got some entertainment out of that.  Besides, he was a great story coming out of the Independent League and ready to quit baseball to run the family farm.  Gotta love the stache!

Love the stache! (Courtesy spikesnstars.com)

The “Closing the Barn Door After the Horse Has Left” Award:

Take your pick of the Tony’s : The trade of Tony Pena or the release of Tony Clark. Pena was awful, blew several games, but yet it took till mid-summer to move him.  Clark is a great mentor and motivator, but his best playing days were clearly behind him.  He did nothing as a bench player.  Why did it take so long for General Manager Josh Byrnes so long to move him.  It was just before the All-Star break.  The Dbacks were already clearly out of it by then.  It would have been nice to see Brandon Allen get an opportunity earlier in the season.

So…that’s what I got.  This is the most time I’ve paid attention to the Dbacks in quite sometime.  By the way, anyone know the score of the Padres-Dbacks game?  I’m involved in the Chargers-Raiders football game!

Scott Allen

Last night the Arizona Diamondbacks traded starter Jon Garland to the Los Angeles Dodgers, while they were playing – the Los Angeles Dodgers.  He didn’t have to walk far, going from one clubhouse to the other.

I love how the Dbacks have just given up on this season, and I’m not just talking about the players.  The moves the Dbacks have made this season has been mind bottling.  Yeah, I said mind bottling.

They traded Tony Pena. Two months too late.

They waived Tony Clark. Three months too late.

They sent Chris Young to the minors.  That should have been done in April.  Then they called him back up in favor of the .250 hitting Trent Oeltjen.  Go figure.

They traded Jon Rausch.  They should have cut him in April, but they carried him and his 15 plus ERA into May and after May 22nd, actually became this team’s best reliever hands down.  Then they traded him in August – to the Minnesota Twins, a team not destined for the playoffs.

I do like some of the young talent that has arrived this season.  Gerardo Parra, Oeltjen, John Hester, Rusty Ryal, and Ryan Roberts, they are all destined for something great in 2010 I believe.

I just hope Dan Haren isn’t traded to the Colorado Rockies for some bottled up Denver air and a mascot to be named later.  Come to think of it, it is September 1st, I think we’re good – until March.  Aye!

Scott Allen

Tony Clark.  Gone.

Felipe Lopez.  Gone.

Those three guys have either been traded or released in lieu of minor league prospects over the past two weeks.  Before you get all up in arms, yes, Josh Whitesell is still considered a prospect to me.  He is hitting .206 through Monday’s game.  You’ve got issues when the percentage of hits you are getting is less than the legal drinking age.  Paying attention Chris Young?

Although general manager Josh Byrnes is reluctant to confirm the team is looking more moves before the trade deadline, it is clear he is listening to offers due to the lack of straight denials.  The problem with trying to get younger is you have to move all the older dead weight in front of that young talent.

If you asked me two weeks ago, I would have told you starting pitcher Doug Davis is a great candidate to be moved, even with a 4-8 record, now 4-9 after his worst outing of the year last night in Colorado.  Now I’m not so sure.  He has looked like his old self the last couple of times out.  Right now Yusmeiro Petit is pitching better and I never thought I’d be able to say he is a better pitcher than even Howard Stern producer Gary Dell’Abate, who as some know, threw a ceremonial first pitch earlier this season before a New York Mets game and was about as close to home plate as New York is to Los Angeles.

At this point, I might even want Dell’Abate pitching for the Dbacks as bad as they are.  Maybe they can give him a tryout when the Dbacks visit New York the weekend after next.  Can’t be any worse than Blaine Boyer, who’s been about as impressive as Joe Buck trying to reign in Artie Lange on The Joe Buck Show.

One thing is for sure.  This season is a lost cause.  At 39-54 going into this evening’s showdown at Coors Field, I’d rather watch the 2008 World Series of Poker on ESPN than watch Max Scherzer get lit up in the thin air of Denver.

Next in line to leave the desert if not Davis, should be Chad Tracy.  Problem is no one wants him.  Young needs to go back to the minors – for the rest of the season.  Maybe they can trade Chad Tracy for a bag of marbles.  Byrnes will need his marbles if they consider getting rid of Brandon Webb in the off-season.

There is one thing to look forward to this week when it comes to the Dbacks.  They do come home to face the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend.  No, I have no interest in watching the AAA Pirates play the AAA Dbacks.  I have more interest in going and watching a Los Angeles Lakers summer game in Las Vegas.  You gotta know things are bad when it comes down to that.

You see, my wife is singing the national anthem with a church choir group on Friday at Chase Field.  That will be the best part of the game.  I look forward to getting my hot dogs, watching the anthem, and being gone by the third inning.

Go get ‘em ‘Drea!