Now the work begins to put together a team for 2010.  You will see a lot of familiar faces and a lot of fresh ones as well.  The changes have already started.  The Diamondbacks released first base coach Lorenzo Bundy and third base coach Chip Hale a couple of days ago.  To me, not real surprising given the base running blunders that took place throughout the season.

Here is my prediction of the opening day lineup in 2010:

1st Base – Brandon Allen.  No he’s not a cousin I’m rooting for, however even though general manager Josh Byrnes wouldn’t commit to him the other day, saying that they liked some things he did, however left an impression that they were expecting a lot more out of him at the end of the season.  If Allen can’t get it done in Spring Training, it will be interesting to see if Conor Jackson is put back at first with the logjam in the outfield.

2nd Base – Sounds like it may be a platoon situation with Ryan Roberts, Augie Ojeda and possibly Rusty Ryal.  Manager A.J. Hinch hinted on his weekly show on KTAR yesterday that Ryal could be destined for the bench, at least at first.  That actually might not be a bad idea.  Roberts is a competitor and I like his fire.  I hope he catches some next season.

Shortstop – It’s all Stephen Drew.  I hope he can manage to stay healthy and hit lead-off all season.  That’s where he seemed to be most comfortable.

3rd Base – Mark Reynolds.  He improved his overall defense in 2009, although he still had lapses of “what the heck was he doing there?” moments.  Certainly hitting 44 HR’s and over 100 RBI’s will keep you in the lineup.

Outfield – Justin Upton, Chris Young, Gerardo Parra.  Those will be your starters.  I don’t think the Chris Young experiment is over yet.  He caught some fire at the end of the year and hopefully he can carry that into next season.  I guarantee you the Dbacks won’t wait until August again to see if he gets going before sending him down.  If he isn’t hitting .250 by mid-May, he’s gone – for good.

Catcher – Miguel Montero.  If there was one guy I thought gave the most to the team and did the most for himself in 2009, it was Montero.  Most definitely the most improved player on the team.  Will the Dbacks give up on Chris Snyder?  If Montero keeps hitting the way he does, Snyder will be hard pressed to get into the lineup every 3-4 days.  Sure Montero will need a backup, but will Snyder sit on the bench more often instead of maybe someone like Jon Hester?  I don’t think so.

Pitching rotation – Dan Haren, Brandon Webb, TBA, TBA, TBA.  Maybe the most uncertain area of the team going into next season.  Max Scherzer has left some with doubts he can last more than 5 innings in a game on a consistent basis.  He may be destined for the bullpen.  Doug Davis is all but gone in free agency.  Yusmeiro Petit showed a little promise, but nothing to write home about.  Billy Buckner might compete for a spot, however I guarantee you if there is a better pitcher on the market or available in a trade spot, the Dbacks will most likely go that direction first.

Bullpen – Your guess is as good as mine.  Who knows?  From the sounds of it Chad Qualls and Juan Gutierrez have spots for next season.  Probably Clay Zavada and maybe Daniel Schlereth.

Say goodbye to for sure:  Chad Tracy, Eric Byrnes, Doug Davis, Yusmeiro Petit

May be a mid-season replacement:  Trent Oeltjen, Jerrod Parker

Go Dbacks in 2010!!!

Scott Allen

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