Loss n’ Passion

The Diamondbacks may have just finished their most exciting series of the year thus far. The fact that the series was against the Yankees sure didn’t hurt the excitement factor either. Unfortunately for D-Backs’ fans, the most exciting series of the year was also a series loss. Game three is in the books and the Diamondbacks lost the rubber match. I attended this game, which was my first of the year, and came away a little put off, mostly because of the energy of the team (except for Kelly Johnson who apparently has narcolepsy, which is the only explanation for stopping 10 feet from home plate in the first inning, and not budging at first base as the ball rolled away from the catcher). Now that may be confusing to many who watched the series. That’s just it; the energy for the entire series was great. Why? Was it because the Yankees were in town and nearly half of the crowd were Yankee fans? Was it because the game one was nationally televised? The answer: probably, but that should NOT be the case. I understand that with 182 games in a season that it might be too much to ask to have every player running onto the field like Ray Lewis, but can we get a little more energy? Maybe we could appeal Commissioner Selig to let this team have some of that special “coffee” that they used to brew in the 70’s. Just kidding everyone, it’s just a joke. I’m not really condoning amphetamines. But seriously, they couldn’t hurt.

And another thing, when does somebody do something about Mark Reynolds? It was a little cute the last couple of years when Reynolds set the major league record for strikeouts. He came up with timely hits and had lots of home runs. Heck, it was even a little cool to get a little extra exposure from the national media when he got mentioned. But this is just getting ridiculous. We have seen his strikeouts increase, and his production decrease…drastically. Sure, he’s still on pace to hit 35-40 bombs, but he’s only hitting .215. That’s dreadful! When is someone going to get this guy to change his approach with two strikes? Again, I know that home runs are the driving force behind high salaries, but there has to be some threshold where poor batting average and strikeouts start to bring down the effect of home runs. I think it’s time to change Mark Reynold’s nickname from “The Sheriff” to “K-9.”

And one more thing, it’s time to start putting some of this blame on the manager. Why hasn’t A.J. Hinch sat down with Mark Reynolds and talked about shortening up the swing with two strikes? And if he already has, it’s an even worse indictment on his leadership skills if Reynolds refuses to change. The energy of this ballclub is the same thing. It’s time to put the onus on the manager, and don’t even get me started on this horrendous bullpen. My hopes for the year: if things are not turned around by the All-Star break management fires A.J. Hinch and brings down Mark Grace from the broadcast booth. Please Josh Byrnes, follow Steve Kerr and recognize your mistake. This team showed this series that they have the talent to compete, but they need some leadership. It’s time.