D-Backs Proving that With Talent Comes Lack of Headlines

As Tom Lynch noted, the D-Backs appear to have become the Rodney Dangerfields of MLB. No respect.

However, to me it seems that the lack of publicity surrounding the D-Backs at this point is due to the lack of headlines that followed the team

and of the apparent growing disparity in the division between the have and the have nots. While they acquired Trevor Cahill from the A’s, acquiring an ace from Oakland is like winning a $1 on an instant lottery card. Mildly impressive but it happens all the time. The story will continue to be why do the A’s continue to deal away their best talent when they appear to be ready to start contending. I really think there’s something behind my Moneyball 2 theory that I’ve been spreading. So as an editor of a Diamondbacks website, I can tell you it’s difficult to find a story with the D-Backs these days. There’s little wrong with this club. The team’s biggest headline seems to whether Stephen Drew will come back April 1st or April 15th and if Jason Kubel or Gerardo Parra will start in left field—either being an above average option. Other than that, the next biggest issue is likely why they switched from white to whole wheat bread for the lunch buffet. So I try to tell myself that the D-Backs excitement will come during the regular season, however I’m even finding it hard to expect an exciting NL West Chase this season. In 2011, the NL West stayed relatively close between the D-Backs and the San Francisco Giants before the D-Backs pulled away late as the talent gap widened. I expect that gap to continue to broaden this year as the young, up and coming Diamondbacks will clearly establish themselves as the class of the division. The Padres are an Astros organization away from being the laughingstock of baseball—they’ve dealt their best pitcher and hitter the last two offseasons and to expect anything more than 70 wins in ludicrous. The Rockies are struggling to find an identity—any identity. Right now they’re in the “All-Hit, No-Pitch” phase. The Dodgers are in front office turmoil and the team resembles a AAA squad with a couple of superstars on it. Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw are among the game’s best, but the supporting squad needs a lot of work. Maybe I’m overlooking the Giants, but I still see a team that AGAIN will be able to pitch but not score. Melky Cabrera is not the answer to all their run producing woes. Maybe Buster Posey becomes the 40 HR, 120 RBI MVP that every Giants fan fully expects him to be, but I doubt it. I look at that lineup and say “Huh, Aubrey Huff and Freddie Sanchez are still playing…for real?” So while I can’t say that I’m completely ecstatic about the 2012 Diamondbacks, it’s simply because I see where they’re at. Clearly the favorites in the NL West. They continued to follow the hard-nosed example of their manager, acquiring a couple of underrated pieces to match their underrated team. I’m hoping for some drama, any drama, to make my job more interesting, but short of that I’ll settle for wins.