Game of the Week: May 30: ARI @ COL

[Zigmo-Whitesox]

Arizona Diamondbacks (24-29) @ Colorado Rockies (32-21)


ARI: Eddie Sherk (4-3, 3.33)
COL: Nate Vance (5-1, 2.43)


This is a fun matchup of NL East squads both having themselves nice seasons.  Arizona record is a bit deceiving they come in to this game ranked 16th in runs scored and 11th in ERA.  If you can finish in the top half of both of these metrics you usually would expect to have a record at .500 or better.  The pythagorean record has them at 26-27 which supports this narrative.  Both teams play their games in hitters parks but Arizona in particular has really done well limiting opposing hitters ranking 11th in ERA while playing your games at chase field is quite good.  You expect the great pitching from guys like Baz and Cadena however Eddie Sherk gets the ball tonight and he has been fantastic as a number 5 starter.  A look closer at his stats say he has been a bit lucky this year however.  He owns a 4.40 FIP and a 5.03 SIERA however if he can continue to generate a 57% groundball rate good results could continue to pile up.  

Colorado has started off the season extremely hot. The Colorado offense is really hitting on all cylinders.  You expect good offensive production from them however they are taking things to a new level this season with guys like Alec Sanchez on pace for 101 runs, 110 RBI, 34 bombs and 31 steals.  Both Danny Davis and Greg Jacks are on a 9 WAR pace.  Jacks is especially surprising as his .286 BABIP says he hasn't really even been particularly lucky.  To go with the high powered offense the pitching has been solid.  They rank 15th in ERA which is pretty good considering their park.  Like his opponent tonight Nat Vance has been a very welcome surprise for the Rockies and like his counterpart he appears to be getting a bit lucky with a 4.19 FIP and a 4.69 SIERA.  Opponents are just hitting for a .229 BABIP against him he doesn't generate a ton of groundballs like Sherk either.  Some regression should be expected but we will see if that comes to fruition tonight.

Arizona has not been good on the road thusfar this season going just 11-18 they will need to get that corrected and tonight is a great opportunity.  The story of this game really is which if either starter can continue their hot start.  


Questions for the GMs:


For Jack Moeser, Did you expect to be as competitive as you have been this year?

The farm looks amazing what are your thoughts on when we get to see guys like Moore, Rojas, Kahn in the bigs?

The draft just concluded which prospects are you most excited about outside of maybe the top round or two?  Any diamond in the rough type picks?


For Erick Blasco, Vinny Escudero looks to be back from injury will he be in the lineup tonight?

Your corner outfielders not named Davis are really struggling with Porter, Tammaro and Martelo all posting negative WAR values but also have been wildly unlucky with miniscule BABIPs.  Are you concerned or just a case of bad luck? 

What's going to be the biggest key for your squad going forward this year to perhaps make a run at the playoffs?


TRIVIA: Who are the three currently active players with over 500 homeruns in their career?

[dbacksjack]

1. I wouldn’t say I’m too surprised with how competitive we’ve been thus far. The goal of the offseason was to raise our floor to a level where we can compete with anybody night in and night out, and I think our record reflects that.

2. It’s tough to answer definitively - if we’re fully out of the playoff picture by September, Rojas and Moore should get called up but if we have an outside shot of contending, we might opt to fill the roster out with more developed players for bench depth. Of course, if any of our top prospects takes a big leap before then, they might be called up sooner.

3. I was pleased to get SP Kevin Mason in the fourth round - he’s a 23 year old who has 3 plus-pitches and keeps the ball on the ground. If all goes well he could be on the MLB team this year.

[Commissioner Erick]

For Erick Blasco, Vinny Escudero looks to be back from injury will he be in the lineup tonight?

Yep, it wasn't too serious an injury so he's good to go. Greg Jacks needs some rest, so Escudero will be in Center Field batting ninth with Alec Sanchez leading off and Emmanuel Tapia and Brian Hampton moving up a bit in the lineup. We're in a stretch of 13 straight games so Escudero is penciled in for starts at Third Base and Second Base later in the series as well. Our defense may be a little rough in the outfield today as a result, but Escudero won't humiliate himself out there and we need to get Jacks a rest.

Your corner outfielders not named Davis are really struggling with Porter, Tammaro and Martelo all posting negative WAR values but also have been wildly unlucky with miniscule BABIPs. Are you concerned or just a case of bad luck?

We're definitely concerned. Porter has really declined since the second half of last year. He's never been a high BABIP guy, but his strikeout rate is the worst of his career, he only has one double, and he hasn't shown the power to make up for things. He's still doing okay on defense, but we don't have a ton of confidence in him right now.

Dany Tammaro had a good April, but has been brutal in May. His strikeout rate is also elevated, but he's shown decent BABIP numbers in the past, so his numbers should regress. He hasn't shown as much power as we hoped, but could survive that if the BABIP turns around. Our biggest issue is that he's kind of a dumb guy, and has run into a lot of basepath outs.

Bryan Martelo can always luck into a homer and we're hoping he does that some more. He's had an extremely small sample of plate appearances, and we expect his numbers to moderate. Right-hand-hitting outfielders are so tough to find, and we don't want to play Porter and Tammaro against lefties too often, so we're kind of stuck with him unless we can make a deal.

What's going to be the biggest key for your squad going forward this year to perhaps make a run at the playoffs?

We have a good staff, but we're going to need to continue having some good luck with our staff. Mike Stangeland has the highest strikeout rate of his career. Nate Vance is somehow not being squared up up all. Travis Johnson has a .387 BABIP against, plus a 16% walk rate, but a 3.27 ERA. We'll need that continued good fortune, and one of Greg Jacks and Alec Sanchez to remain this good all year. I expect our top pitchers will figure things out, and we can absorb Jacks and Sanchez coming back to reality a bit because we expect our pair of All-Star Catchers to not be sub-replacement level in the second half, but our back-roster arms have been very fortunate this year, and we'll need that fortune to continue.

[Commissioner Erick]

TRIVIA: I correctly guessed Andrew Benintendi. Ben correctly guessed Patrick Leonard and Seth Beer.

[Zigmo-Whitesox]

Colorado 8 - Arizona 1

WP: Nate Vance (6-1)
LP: Eddie Sherk (4-4)


The home crowd had a good time watching the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies get after it.

The Colorado Rockies thumped the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-1, at Coors Field. Danny Davis was a big reason his team got the win. Davis was 2-5 with 2 home runs, while adding 4 RBI and scoring twice. Nate Vance was the winner. He's now 6-1. The loser was 34-year old right-handed pitcher Eddie Sherk.

With Colorado leading 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Davis hit a cutter from Keith Nield for a 3-run home run. It was his 17th home run of the season and put the Rockies ahead, 6-0.

"What a lackluster performance," lamented losing manager Jack Moeser.

The win for the Rockies lifted their record to 33-21.


Questions for the GMs:

For Jack Moeser, Cadena is having himself a great year and looks to have a good chance at making the all star team.  Are there any other guys you would like to highlight as the voting approaches as players to consider for a trip?

Will you be active at the deadline this year if things go south or is the plan to keep the guys you have signed up for a run next year?

You definitely have some very solid pitchers on the team this year.  Are you a pitching oriented gm?  Defense first?  Just the best 40 guys you can assemble?


For Erick Blasco, Nate Vance continued his sizzling start with another gem this evening.  I don't see him on the in game all star voting screen however should Vance be an allstar this year?  

Your schedule in June looks to be pretty rough.  Is this month a make or break month for your squad?

Will you look to be active at the deadline this season if things continue to go well?  

[Commissioner Erick]

For Erick Blasco, Nate Vance continued his sizzling start with another gem this evening. I don't see him on the in game all star voting screen however should Vance be an allstar this year?

The way OOTP handles All Star voting is a travesty. Quite frankly, I wish we had a commissioner who would do something about it instead of the lame brain we have now!

I think as of now he probably is. We still have a few weeks to go before I really do a deep dive into voting. There's some luck involved in his success, but the results have been undeniable. He's kept the ball in the park, and kept opponents from hitting the ball hard. Having an ERA of 2.29 now speaks to itself. He has a tough stretch upcoming though that will likely determine whether or not he's an All Star.

Your schedule in June looks to be pretty rough. Is this month a make or break month for your squad?

I would say so. Starting with Toronto, we have about a full month of games against teams that made the playoffs last year, are currently making the playoffs this year, or are the Los Angeles Dodgers. It's possible where we get to the second half and we're exposed as a non-contender. However, if we're still in good shape, we start the second half with an easy slate and we could set ourselves up nicely for a stretch run. Ideally, we'd like to emerge in no lower than second place at the All Star Game to see if we can jump off into the second half.

Will you look to be active at the deadline this season if things continue to go well?

Absolutely, yes. After we see if our draft picks sign, it will let us know how much money we have to play with. Miguel Hiraldo's injury leaves us with a hole in the infield where we neither have an elite bat, nor a second player with great range. We'd like to address that and maybe at a right-handed hitting outfielder if Martelo continues to be a non-factor. We may also want one more left-handed arm. If we fall apart though, we'll likely not be active and look to go in a different direction. This next month will be huge for the future of the franchise.