The Summer's Best Show

The best show of the summer isn’t going to be Robin Hood or Ironman 2. No, no; this summer’s best show is your Arizona Diamondbacks. Now, if you’ve watched any games at all this season, you understand that this year’s version of our team hasn’t performed as well as expected. They have been pretty sub-par actually…correction: the bullpen has been pretty sub-par this season. I’m sure you’ve heard the statistics so far about this bunch of wannabes: worst bullpen ERA at 7.49 (note: second worst is Milwaukee at 5.68), most blown saves in the majors, most home runs, .291 batting average against – worst in majors. This group is on pace to be the single worst collection of relief pitchers in Major League history.

This is just my point. Where else are you going to get this type of drama night after night? This is the best ticket in baseball. You are almost guaranteed a close, late-inning finish. I am not quite certain where Josh Byrnes wrangled up this bunch of rag tag arms, but these guys remind me of the Cleveland Indians in the movie, Major League. I know all of the similarities aren’t there, but really, where did this pitching staff come from? Half of these guys are bargain basement pick-ups that no one really expected to do anything again in the big leagues.

And it’s not just the bullpen that is providing record setting numbers. Mark Reynolds has set a single season major league record for strikeouts in two consecutive seasons. The team is currently leading the majors in strikeouts. These guys are fun to watch. Think about it. Pay for a ticket, and you can watch quality, exciting baseball for about seven innings, granted with a few strikeouts, but with a nice load of homers added in. Whether the home team is cruising, or even if they are getting killed, it doesn’t matter with this bullpen. If they have a big lead, it’s not safe. No lead is safe, and that has never been truer than for this team. They will make things interesting, and there will be some exciting baseball. Even if they are already getting plastered (in other words, Edwin Jackson started) the bullpen can come in, make things exponentially worse and then a position player can come in to pitch. Who doesn’t love seeing a position player pitch? Honestly, who can forget Mark Grace making a relief appearance and giving us the Mike Fetters impersonation?

There are quite a few positives with this team. I know I know the goal is to win a championship. But there was no way this team was winning anything without a healthy Brandon Webb this season anyway. This is the next best alternative. The young guys are continuing to develop. They are getting plenty of late-inning, pressure at-bats. The young starters that are pitching well, namely Ian Kennedy, aren’t going to get the same type of attention and money that they would normally get because wins and losses are still the biggest factor in contract negotiations. Thank you to the old, crusty baseball writers who continue to shun sabermetrics. As long as you know what you’re getting into, this can be a highly entertaining team to watch this summer.