Gerardo Parra and Jason Kubel and the Position Battle that Isn’t

A lot has been said on Venom Stikes about the lack of stories surrounding the solid Diamonbacks and the neglect inflicted upon the organization by the national media.  I wrote a piece addressing this last week, and it seems that my beliefs have been validated further.

The one possible pre-season storyline–the starting left fielder–is quickly becoming a non-story.  Barring anything unforseen, it appears that my prediction is wrong and Gerardo Parra won’t hold off Jason Kubel for the starting left field spot.  Gibby indirectly says so, and apparently Parra is saying it himself.  What else Parra is saying is what will likely further endear him to fans.  Being the conumate teammate, Parra holds not ill-will toward the Arizona Diamondbacks front office or Kubel.

Citing a quote from a Sporting News Article by Anthony Witrado, when asked if he was surprised by the Kubel signing, Parra says “No. That’s baseball.  You have to stay ready for everything, you don’t know when you’ll  be surprised. One day you’re here, the next day you’re on another team. I’m  ready and I’m happy. I’m happy with this team.”

So while it’s slowly appearing that Parra won’t retain his starting left field spot–at least to being the season–manager Kirk Gibson still has important plans for Parra.  In the same article Gibson says “I’d like to see (Parra) work on center field and be able to play all the  positions.  He’s very good on each corner. He isn’t  as good as we think he can be in center field.”

Perhaps we’ve misread the Kubel signing.  Rather than an attempt to replace Parra in left, maybe it’s a veiled attempt to push Chris Young in center–an up and down talent who hasn’t fully lived up to his expectations.

In any capacity, the Diamondbacks have 4 talented outfielders and 3 openings.  Something’s gotta give.

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