Arizona Diamondbacks Ongoing Thread

[Jonas_steven]

Are there any AZ fans around to discuss off season moves, coaching changes, etc?

Talk away, champ. We have had one of the most active boards since the ESPN migration. We all check in on a daily/regular basis.

 

[CatsTopPac]

Talk away, champ. We have had one of the most active boards since the ESPN migration. We all check in on a daily/regular basis.

Hahahaha, since the great migration. Reminds me of the Land before Time! I can't believe ESPN fucked that up so badly. They had the most sports traffic by a long shot, and now they completely killed it. Don't get me wrong, ESPN will obviously be fine. But the had the market cornered, and the gave it all away. Why, because they didn't want to pay mods, or they were tired of trolls? I just don't get it. Seriously, does anyone know why they switched the account system, and the posting format? They fucking killed me with that.

 

[Orange602]

Hahahaha, since the great migration. Reminds me of the Land before Time! I can't believe ESPN fucked that up so badly. They had the most sports traffic by a long shot, and now they completely killed it. Don't get me wrong, ESPN will obviously be fine. But the had the market cornered, and the gave it all away. Why, because they didn't want to pay mods, or they were tired of trolls? I just don't get it. Seriously, does anyone know why they switched the account system, and the posting format? They fucking killed me with that.

I just assumed that Facebook offered them money to switch posting systems or that ESPN got tired of paying moderators for the forums.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

Are there any AZ fans around to discuss off season moves, coaching changes, etc?

yessir... I'm trying to get this thread back on track.

 

[AZ Sun]

FIRE KEVIN TOWERS FREE ARCHIE BRADLEY

 

[Arizona_Sting]

Who you guys rooting for in the WS? I think I'll go with the Cardinals just because I hate when Boston/NY teams win a title... you'll never hear the end of it from the media. Gotta go for the NL team too, right? Most Cards fans from ESPN were pretty chill too.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

FIRE KEVIN TOWERS FREE ARCHIE BRADLEY

Yes

 

[JahiiCarson_SqodGeneral]

I also wanna get rid of Gibby. Time for a coach that is young but at the same time has experienced and can motivate players and can relate to everyone, and give them confidence to many hitting streaks and inconsistent players like Parra, Prado, and Eaton. I know who we should hire Bob Melvin oh wait we fired him.......... Easily a top 5 manager in the MLB and players love to play under him. To bad we let him go we probably would be in the playoffs and Upton might be hitting behind Goldy right now.......... And doing there impression of Miguel and Fielder.

 

[JahiiCarson_SqodGeneral]

Gibby had a lucky year because of a solid bull pen and solid starting pitching in 2011, along with good veterans and a team that had chemistry all around, along with players having career seasons, and getting lucky putting in old pinch hitters that would some how get a base hit, we had such clutch hitting and could come back at any time with the speed and power we had. Towers also needs to go he's arrogant, he tinkers to much with trades, players don't feel comfortable because he tinkers so much everyone's job seems in jeopardy, and he also pulls the trigger on trades without thinking things through because he's so arrogant.

 

[The Derski]

Apparently Kirk Gibson is rumored to be on the list of potential Tigers managers.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

It's time for Gibby to go

 

[AZ Sun]

I like Gibson's mentality but that's about it. He had no idea when to pull his pitchers and was way too inconsistent with lineups, the players like him, but there are no results. Firing Melvin was stupid, he was a great manager he just had no talent to work with whereas Gibson has a very talented roster full of underachievers. But the underachieving should be blamed on Baylor and Nagy who are both gone. Towers doesn't get enough blame.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

I'm still trying to figure out what the hell KT is planning on doing this offseason. I've read like 4 or 5 different articles and listened to a couple interviews and none of them go together at all and he contradicts himself at least twice. Once again this guy has no clue what in the hell he is doing.

 

[Orange602]

I'm still trying to figure out what the hell KT is planning on doing this offseason. I've read like 4 or 5 different articles and listened to a couple interviews and none of them go together at all and he contradicts himself at least twice. Once again this guy has no clue what in the hell he is doing.

Yep. One day he's quoted as saying that the lineup is weak and in need of a power hitter, the next he's saying that the lineup is fine and all that the team needs is pitching. Fucking confusing.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

Yep. One day he's quoted as saying that the lineup is weak and in need of a power hitter, the next he's saying that the lineup is fine and all that the team needs is pitching. Fucking confusing.

Exactly. I really don't think he has a plan, and if he does it changes every 2 weeks. What a joke.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

At least we have Goldy and Bradley to look forward to.

 

[CatsTopPac]

Sting, the thing that I love about baseball, as opposed to the NBA (as we've covered in the past) is the variety of champions. And with the certainty that either StL or Boston is going to win, I'm just disappointed that those two each have two rings in the last decade. Add to that the SF also has a couple rings, and it's just discouraging that the same teams keep winning. As a baseball fan, I wanted LA and Detroit to go at it, so that at least a team that hasn't won since the 80's was going to get a ring. Now, it just seems like old news that these two teams are playing for yet another ring. I know, the answer is that someone else has to win, or the same teams will keep on dominating. And it's still not even near as lopsided as the NBA, but it's still disappointing. I guess I'll root for Boston, just because they haven't even made the playoffs since '09. I know that StL is in the NL, but it'll be their 2nd ring in 3 years, and their 3rd in 7. I just can't root for them.

As far as Gibby, I think that in 5-10 years, you guys will be saying the same thing about Gibby that you are saying now about Melvin. And honestly, you can say the same about Brenly and Showalter. The point is, they were all great managers. Showalter and Melvin are now coaching teams with the same payroll and less to better results, year in and year out. There is a reason why Detroit (who has the 5th best payroll in baseball) is looking at Gibby. Sure it has to do with their history together, but Detroit can get almost anyone they want, and they are going for Gibby.

Look, to be honest, I give you guys shit for not having but one winning record in the last 5 years. But I'll also admit that AZ hasn't had a losing record since Gibby has been the skipper. Any way you want to cut it, that's impressive. He took them from 65-97 in 2010, to 94-68 in 2011. That's a complete turnaround. That's slightly better than what Francona did with Cleveland this year. Since being the skipper, he has led them to a record of 256-230 .526, and that's better than Melvin or Showalter. And you can say that he's has a very talented roster of underachievers, but he had AZ neck in neck in both the last two years, with the eventual champs in SF, and had them leading the division all year this year. All of that being said, AZ has good personnel, but Gibby basically got everything he could out of these guys. Goldy had his best year, and Corbin did better than anyone expected. Pollock, Eaton, and Didi are all brand new (and did well). Hill was hurt and still had a good year, same with Bloomquist. And Parra had a solid year. His BA wasn't great but wasn't bad, and bottom line is that he had the 7th best WAR in the NL. Prado also did well for his first year with the team. I would definitely blame the bench coaches more than Gibby. He struggled with taking pitchers out and keeping pitchers in because he was completely handcuffed. It's not his fault that Kennedy tanked, and that was his ACE!!! Besides the pitchers (for whom I would blame Nagy), Miggy was really the only player that I would say noticeable regressed.

The problem was KT and the bench coaches. Gibby was working against them all year. Other than the pitchers, Gibby had to deal with Hill and Bloomquist being injured, Pollock, Eaton, and Didi all being rookies, Prado being brand new to the team, and handling a rookie taking the reins from Kennedy as the ace. Other than that, his most solid players (Goldy, Parra, and Montero), two were in the top 6 in the league in WAR, and the other took a step back. Otherwise, there wasn't a superstar on the team. It's really difficult to build up a team, when the two biggest standouts were a rookie pitcher, and Goldy, who came out of nowhere in really only his second year. The guy's still making league minimum!

I think if you really take a step back and look at it, Gibby has done a great job with an extremely fresh team. They had the division lead all year, and I really think that they just ran out of gas, being so new to having to pace themselves all the way through a major-league season. Corbin is a clear indication.

I really think that if you had better bench coaches, and FAR MORE IMPORTANTLY, a GM who could get you the arms and couple bats you need, you guys would be a consistent contender. Seriously, Gibby's a very good coach. I just don't think that anyone would have been able to do what he did this year. Next year, all the new guys have a full understanding of what needs to happen throughout an entire season, Prado will settle in. Goldy and Prada will lead. Corbin, Bradley, and maybe another young arm will anchor the rotation, and if Hill and Bloomquist are healthy, you can decide if they are worth keeping, or sell high (along with Chavez, Pennington, Miggy, and Bell) and maybe get a catcher, a bat, and some BP help. Other than that, I like Goldy, Eaton, Pollock, and Didi, to grow with the rest of the farm to help you guys for years to come.

But you gotta keep Gibby. I'm tellin ya, you'll regret getting rid of him.

 

[AZ Sun]

The problem with Towers is that he wants to win but brings in the wrong pieces. The Ross signing wasn't bad because he contributed and can be one of the voices if the team next year.The McCarthy signing was god awful and he has made a lot of awful choices. We certainly needed new coaches though and hopefully he brings in the right guys next year. I wish he would swallow his pride and admit he fucked up on a lot of deals. We should not be starting Cahill ajd McCarthy,Skaggs could have done as bad as them but he has a higher ceiling. Shipley should be up soon too, look at Michael Wacha. He might not be as good but its worth a shot. Our lineup is set as I have said before. He just needs to
improve the terrible bullpen and bring up the prospects who could do a much better job than the bum pitchers we have now.

 

[AZ Sun]

Parra had a 6.1 WAR which is all star level. Granted, 4 wins were defensively which is pretty goddamn good (best out of all corner OFs) and he is only 26. We need to give him a long term deal. He proved what he can do in a full year. He slowed down offensively but he gives 110% and was just gassed.

 

[CatsTopPac]

The problem with Towers is that he wants to win but brings in the wrong pieces. The Ross signing wasn't bad because he contributed and can be one of the voices if the team next year.The McCarthy signing was god awful and he has made a lot of awful choices. We certainly needed new coaches though and hopefully he brings in the right guys next year. I wish he would swallow his pride and admit he fucked up on a lot of deals. We should not be starting Cahill ajd McCarthy,Skaggs could have done as bad as them but he has a higher ceiling. Shipley should be up soon too, look at Michael Wacha. He might not be as good but its worth a shot. Our lineup is set as I have said before. He just needs to
improve the terrible bullpen and bring up the prospects who could do a much better job than the bum pitchers we have now.

I agree with all of that, I'm just not sure KT's the guy to get you guy's out of a hole he put you in. All you need to do is trim some fat, and replace it with some guys who have room to grow. KT's a cancer.