All Hail The Unit Early on, the divisional race looks to be between the Diamondbacks (21-10 as this is written) and the Dodgers (17-13, 3 1/2 games back). If there’s a dominant force that created this situation, his name is Randy Johnson, who is 7-0 with an ERA lower than Mickey Mantle‘s blood alcohol count….
It’s tough for me to believe that there will be a runaway winner in the division this year. The Diamondbacks, so good last season, still feature an old offense that may not play up to last year’s standards. The Dodgers, despite quite a bit of individual talent, sport the worst pitching staff I’ve seen in…
Late in 1999, we asked our readers to give us their picks for baseball’s Team of the 1990s. More than 1,000 people voted in the poll, held over three months, and the results have been tabulated. The outfielders and designated hitter for the Team of the 1990s are: Left Field Very little surprise here, as…
Arizona Diamondbacks The reigning division champion’s lineup is largely set. The one competition is in right field, vacated by leadoff hitter Tony Womack‘s move to shortstop. Former halo-wearer Travis Lee has to be considered the front-runner for the position, but David Dellucci and Bernard Gilkey are being given looks as well. If either Lee or…
Late in 1999, we asked our readers to give us their picks for baseball’s Team of the 1990s. More than 1,000 people voted in the poll, held over three months, and the results have been tabulated. Over the next two weeks, we’ll present to you the Baseball Prospectus Team of the 1990s. First, the infielders:…
Note: I originally wrote that Kurt Manwaring was still a Rockies property. Thanks to reader Ed Skibbe for pointing out that the team actually bought out his contract, rather than resigning him, so he’s not their problem anymore. -DP Colorado in Transition When Colorado hired Dan O’Dowd as their new general manager, some organizational change…
The Arizona Diamondbacks are the new kids on the block: the quickest to 100 wins–and the playoffs–of any team in history. The New York Mets were the popular choice for the wild card, but it took a playoff with the upstart Cincinnati Reds to get them to the postseason. The D’Backs owned the Mets in…
I’m not one that worries about a lot of the fluff that goes on around baseball in specific, or sports in general. Organizations like ESPN are so desperate for broadcast material that they have no choice but to spend a lot of time and effort blowing things out of proportion. Minor fluctuations in performance become…
Second-Half Prospectus San Francisco Giants (50-38, division leader) With the return of both Bill Mueller and Barry Bonds from long injury-related layoffs, everything is falling into place for the division-leading Giants. As with most of Dusty Baker’s squads, the offense is paving the way for success–the team’s 495 runs scored are good for third in…
Game Report: San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres, July 7, 1999: Shawn Estes vs. Matt Clement For much of the season, the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks have been giving the San Francisco Giants everything they could handle in the race for the division’s top spot. The Snake offense has been more poisonous than expected, and…
Gesundheit Put bluntly, former Expo Mike Lansing hasn’t been all the Rockies had hoped for since they traded several pitching prospects for him during the 1996 offseason. He’s had some major back troubles, isn’t the defensive player he once was, and really didn’t hit at all last year (.276/.325/.411 playing half his games on Planet…
Getting a Grip As the first quarter of the season draws to a close, the biggest, baddest offense in the NL West belongs to the Arizona Diamondbacks. That’s got to be one of the most surprising developments in baseball thus far, especially when you consider that Travis Lee and Tony Batista, arguably the best offensive…
The Johnson Effect? There has been a lot of talk about Raul Mondesi’s hot start this season, especially the fact that he’s finally taking bad pitches. After walking only 30 times in 148 games in 1998, he’s already accepted 15 free passes in the season’s first 19 games. And he’s not the only story so…
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (1998: 812 runs allowed, T-13th in NL) Rotation Randy Johnson, L Todd Stottlemyre, R Andy Benes, R Omar Daal, L Armando Reynoso, R Bullpen Gregg Olson, R Amaury Telemaco, R (DL) John Frascatore, R Brian Anderson, L Greg Swindell, L Darren Holmes, R Alternatives Vlad Nunez, R Here’s where all the money went…
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (1998: 665 runs, .245 Equivalent Average) Lineup (with projected Equivalent Average) LF Tony Womack .251 CF Steve Finley .267 1B Travis Lee .307 3B Matt Williams .268 RF Luis Gonzalez .269 2B Jay Bell .276 SS Tony Batista .273 C Kelly Stinnett .273 There’s nothing rosy about this team’s future offensively; they’ll be…
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS This is a very old team with few openings for rookies. At the top of management’s list is infielder Danny Klassen, who has a shot at the utility spot for 1999. A considerably more interesting player to anyone who paying attention is 2B Jackie Rexrode, whose skill set reminds one of vintage Lance…