Continuing (at greater speed, if not value) our Phillies vs. opponents posts, read on to learn how the Phillies might fare against the Arizona Diamondbacks this year. The biggest thing involving the Diamondbacks this offseason was the reacquisition of former monster pitcher and future hall of famer Randy Johnston. The question is whether or not this ole lefty can shake a couple of so-so seasons with the Yankees and be the dominant force he was in Arizona, among other places. Philadelphia dominated the DBacks last year, going 5-1 against them. Can they repeat this magic? Let’s find out. Click here to take a look at the changes in Philadelphia, or for a really in-depth look at the team, check this out.
Diamondbacks’ offseason:
Traded pitchers Luis Vizcaino, Ross Ohlendorf, Steven Jackson, and SS Alberto Gonzalez for SP Randy Johnson
Signed Doug Davis for three-year extension, $22 million
DBacks Starting Rotation:
Brandon Webb
Randy Johnson
Livan Hernandez
Doug Davis
Edgar Gonzalez
Closer: Jose Valverde
DBacks Lineup:
1B Conor Jackson
2B Orlando Hudson
SS Stephen Drew
3B Chad Tracy
LF Eric Byrnes
CF Chris Young
RF Carlos Quentin
C Chris Snyder/Miquel Montero
Starting Rotation:
Amidst a number of decent contenders, Brandon Webb won the NL Cy Young last season with his sick sinker, as is described here. Webb is a stud on the mound, and if Randy Johnson can reclaim some of his former magic, the one-two punch of the Diamondbacks’ top starters is as good as any in baseball. Unfortunately, that’s a big if. First of all, the Big Unit (Unit, by the way, is a funny word that will likely make its way into the Stain Club vernacular sometime relatively soon) is recovering from back surgery, and secondly, he was just plain average with the Yankees. So what about the other guys the DBacks will be trotting out to the mound? Livan Hernandez, as usual, pitched a lot last season, but he wasn’t exactly his usual self, although he was certainly better with the Diamondbacks than he was with the Nationals. His DIPS (4.71) came pretty close to his 4.83 ERA, so last year’s results seem pretty accurate. With the addition of Johnson, I think the Diamondbacks have the makings of a solid staff, but questions about how much gas he and Hernandez have left in the tank limits me from thinking they can really compete with the Phillies.
Edge: Phillies, albeit barely
Bullpen:
In 49 1/3 innings pitched last season, Jose Valverde posted a 5.84 ERA in recording his 18 saves. And this is the kid Arizona expects to close out their games? Jorge Julio wasn’t exceptionally better with a 4.23 ERA in his 66 IP, (good for sixteen saves). I haven’t looked at the breakdowns, but I’m assuming one of the reasons the Padres have come up big in the wild card/division title hunt for the past couple seasons and the DBacks have fallen short is due to bullpen failure. This has to be a huge issue for this team. Hernandez is an innings eater, but Johnson sure aint’ what he used to be. I don’t see who is going to working the 7th-9th for these guys effectively. Brandon Lyon? Of course, the Phillies bullpen isn’t in amazing shape either, but we at least have the effective Geary and Gordon.
Edge: Phillies, although once again not by much
Batting Lineup:
Chad Tracy, despite being healthy, is off to a slow start this spring, and that can’t be good news for an already weak Arizona batting lineup, already very different looking. While Tracy and Orlando Hudson are fairly reliable, this is a very young team, with many of its starters without a full year’s worth of experience in the major leagues. We’ve seen the success of youth in the likes of the Marlins hitters last year, but even there, a star like Miguel Cabrera could be relied upon. With this team, there is no single player you can call a threat each time they come to bat, especially with Luis Gonzalez now gone. Eric Byrnes will certainly not be a top leadoff hitter (good work losing Craig Counsell, a true gamer and one of the more enjoyable players to watch on this team), and Chad Tracy cannot be the threat the team needs. The team ranked just about average in every offensive category last year, which is not too terrible given the way this club will need to lean on its starting pitching. However, the teams batting average with RISP (.263, 10th, and only slightly better than the Phillies) does not bode well, especially given the team’s significantly lower number of baserunners, as evidenced by their .341 on-base percentage (15th in the National League last year).
Edge: Phillies, this time by a lot
Defense:
The Diamondbacks fielded rather well last year with the exception of the weak defensive play of Tracy at third base. They looked especially sharp in the outfield, although this is rather useless when Webb is looking sharp with that nasty sinker of his. The team certainly fielded better than the Phillies, with their poor defense last year, and I would hope for more of the same, as Johnson is no longer the dominant strikeout pitcher he once was.
Edge: Diamondbacks
Final Verdict:
The Phillies pounded the Diamondbacks last year, and I see no reason for this to change. Facing Brandon Webb twice would certainly not be enjoyable, and if Johnson looks sharp, that could prose problems as well. Also, we play the Diamondbacks in May, when starting pitching should be sharp enough to go deeper in ballgames. However, I think our own starting pitching more than competes with that of Arizona, and the Phillies should simply get more runners on and will win these games with a vastly superior offense.
Bottom Line: Phillies take four, Diamondbacks take two. Next time, which will be very soon, we’ll take a look at the Phillies matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers. If you’re interested in any of my other matchups, check these out below.
NL East:
Atlanta
Florida
NY Mets
Washington
NL Central:
Houston
Chicago Cubs
NL West:
San FranciscoSan Diego
