The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 3- Arizona Diamondbacks

We're heading down to the desert for day three of our report cards, as we check up on what went down with Kirk Gibson's boys in Arizona.

Arizona Diamondbacks:
Record: 65-97 (Last place in NL West, 27 games behind San Francisco)

Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Kelly Johnson (.284)
Home Runs: Mark Reynolds (32)
RBIs: Adam LaRoche (100)
On-base Percentage: Kelly Johnson (.370)

Pitching Leaders
Wins: Ian Kennedy (9)
Strikeouts: Ian Kennedy (168)
Innings Pitched: Rodrigo Lopez (200)
ERA: Ian Kennedy (3.80). Bullpen- Blaine Boyer (4.26)
WHIP: Ian Kennedy (1.20)
Saves: Juan Gutierrez (15)

Highlight of the Season: On June 25, Edwin Jackson tossed the second no-hitter in franchise history, blanking the Rays 1-0.

Lowlight of the Season: A ten-game losing streak from May 23 through June 2. Making matters worse, Arizona lost the final two games of that streak in 1-0 extra inning games.

The Lowdown:
Where did the promise go? Just three years ago, they were the young, fresh surprise of baseball, winning the NL West with a youthful, yet talented roster. Even though they fell to division rival Colorado in the NLCS, many people believed that 2007 would be the first step toward greatness for this team. That promise has been left unfulfilled in the three years since, and now the team is left wondering what to do with a below-average roster and a below-average minor league system. Their lineup is an all-or-nothing one in which they strike out way too many times, and the pitching (especially the bullpen) is absolutely dreadful. Manager Bob Melvin was canned in favor of former World Series-hero Kirk Gibson during the season, and even though a change in leadership was probably necessary, it didn’t translate into on-field results, as the team’s 97 losses were their most in six years.

Offense:
While they can’t connect for base hits consistently (their .250 team average was 21st in the majors), they make the most of it when they do. Their team slugging percentage ranked 10th in baseball this year at a clip of .416, and their 180 home runs ranked sixth. Their “swing for the fences” mentality is embodied in their slugger Mark Reynolds, who paced the team in homers with 32, in spite of his disappointing .198 average. He wasn’t alone either, as Chris Young, Kelly Johnson and Adam LaRoche each hit at least 25 homers without hitting above .290 (Johnson had the highest team average at .284). Their all-or-nothing approach at the plate resulted in the team recording an incredible 1,529 strikeouts, setting an all-time major league record.

With such a low batting average and an insanely high amount of strikeouts, you would think the Diamondbacks could learn a thing or two about taking some pitches and exhibiting more plate discipline. However, Arizona drew the fourth-most walks of any big-league team in 2010 with 589. The D’backs feature just enough power in their lineup to make opposing pitchers pick their spots with them. Despite this, a team with this many hitters with the potential to be better should be a lot better at the plate.
Final Grade: C-

Pitching:
Here lies the reason why Arizona lost as many games as it did in 2010. Their pitching was downright awful this season, as their ghastly 4.81 team ERA was 28th in the majors. Even Dan Haren and Edwin Jackson (who were both traded mid-season to contenders) did not fare well in the desert, as each of them recorded ERAs over 4.5. While Ian Kennedy was serviceable in the rotation with a 3.80 ERA in 194 innings, their other top starter, Rodrigo Lopez, was awful (a 5.00 ERA and a WHIP of 1.42 in 200 innings).

Once the starters gave way to the bullpen, a bad situation usually got worse. Their 5.74 bullpen ERA was by far and away the worst in the majors, over a full run higher than the next worst team. All of their relievers who pitched in at least 40 or more games had an ERA over four, with Chad Qualls topping out the quartet of doom with an 8.29 ERA in 43 appearances. Just on the merits of the bullpen alone, Arizona will receive the grade they deserve for their awful year on the mound.
Final Grade: F

Wild Card: Daniel Hudson
Starting pitcher Daniel Hudson came over from the White Sox in a trade that sent aforementioned starter Edwin Jackson to the South Side back on July 30, and the trade would pay huge dividends for a beleaguered pitching rotation. In just 11 starts with the team, Hudson went 7-1, with a 1.69 ERA and a WHIP of 0.84 in just 79.2 innings. The 23-year-old has shown a considerable amount of promise since joining the Diamondbacks, and he’ll likely be near the front of the rotation next year, if not at the top. This move could not have come at a better time for them.
Final Grade: A

Overall:
Arizona is a classic “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” kind of team. They can slug it out and hit home runs with the best of them, but their inability to manufacture runs by shortening up and getting base hits has to kill a ton of would-be rallies. Compounding matters is the fact that if they do get a sizable lead, the bullpen would always there cough it back up. If they could get some more pitching (especially in the bullpen), and teach the lineup that it’s okay to not swing for the fences in every at-bat, they could return back to respectability.
Final Grade: D-

Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Baltimore Orioles!