| Power Rankings |
| Date | Ranking | Previous |
| 09/30/2008 | 17 | 16 |
| Baseball's most disappointing team in 2008, hands down. At least the Indians can blame their fate on a wave of injuries. The Diamondbacks have no excuse except underperformance ... Somebody's going to overpay Orlando Hudson by $15 million, owing to his defensive rep and his good-guy clubhouse demeanor ... "Hope that the kids improve" isn't much of an organizational game plan, but it's the only rational one for the D-Backs heading into 2009. They're too smart to deal guys like Chris Young when their value is at its lowest. |
| 09/23/2008 | 16 | 18 |
| They've won seven of eight to shave the Dodgers' lead to two games. Whoop-dee-doo. They should've thought of this when punting series against the Giants earlier this month ... Stephen Drew joined the ranks of the exclusive statistically cherry-picked 40 doubles/10 triples/20 homers club, which would be more of an accomplishment if he were getting on base at better than a .328 clip. |
| 09/16/2008 | 18 | 17 |
| They left 17 runners on base during Sunday's extra-inning loss and went 2-for-35 with runners in scoring position during the series against the Reds. ... Dan Haren might've been undermined by the fielders behind him last week -- including one play in which Adam Dunn did a passable impression of a malfunctioning wind-up doll -- but back-to-back four-inning starts haven't helped his team's cause. ... They're 5-14 in their last 19, having been outscored 83-34. |
| 09/09/2008 | 17 | 14 |
| I give up. They're not any good, my wishcasting about their on-paper talent notwithstanding. ... It's tough to win when your aces are inflicting damage rather than stemming it. Dan Haren has allowed 10 runs in his past 10 innings, while Brandon Webb has posted an 0-3 mark with a 12.51 ERA and uncharacteristically spotty control in his past three starts. |
| 09/02/2008 | 14 | 13 |
| They're 3-7 in their past 10, including a sweep at the hands of the barely-conscious Padres, yet they've maintained their 2.5-game division lead during that time ... If the Big Guy/Gal upstairs is as merciful as we've been led to believe, He/She will end the NL West war of attrition this weekend in Los Angeles. A D-Backs sweep -- they have Webb and Haren cued up, just as they did last weekend -- could ice it, sparing us the indignity of having to pay further attention to either of these unworthy possible playoff participants ... David Eckstein can't hit, field, run or grab the pickles from the pantry without a step ladder, but pairing him with the similarly-of-limited-value Tony Clark gives the D-Backs baseball's best intangibles-first twofer. And wouldn't you know it, "intangibles" is the fourth tiebreaker for home field in the playoffs, ahead of a coin toss but behind record in interleague play. |
| 08/26/2008 | 13 | 12 |
| They're 2-7 against the Marlins this season. Whaaaa? ... Lacking for gambling opportunities in the days before college football kicks back in? Wager a few dollars on which D-Backs reliever will surrender the next game-blowing blast. Jon Rauch and Brandon Lyon both came up small within the last week, meaning that Tony "the one who pitches, not the one who can't hit" Pena is likely next. |
| 08/19/2008 | 12 | 13 |
| Admittedly it's a way-small sample size, but the D-Backs have scored 38 runs in the six games since Adam Dunn joined their lineup. ... With Randy Johnson pitching so well recently, the Diamondbacks have passed the Brewers in the team-you-least-want-to-play-in-a-five-game-series derby. It's Webb/Haren/Unit over Sabathia/Sheets/Parra in a walk. |
| 08/12/2008 | 13 | 15 |
| Adam Dunn! Finally, a team that wants to win and seems to have some idea how to go about doing so. ... Orlando Hudson's season-ending wrist injury is a killer, because he's one of the rare energy/enthusiasm/intangibles guys whose value can be quantified, both offensively (.817 OPS) and defensively. Maybe the D-Backs will give the A's a call about Mark Ellis. ... They're 27-42 when somebody not surnamed Haren or Webb starts. ... In fewer plate appearances, Mark Reynolds has struck out nearly as many times (147) as Ryan Howard (149) and 27 more times than Dunn (120). ... Six on the road this week against the Astros and Rockies should mean a hardy aerobic workout for the relief staff. |
| 08/05/2008 | 15 | 17 |
| They split a series with L.A. over the weekend, so we're no closer to identifying an NL West alpha dog than we were before it. ... From the who-knew department: Randy Johnson has apparently been feuding with Doug Mientkiewicz. They meet again Wednesday, months after Mientzzzvmlllsz threw the following verbal haymaker: "He's been out of the game for three years in my mind. ... That just shows how mentally weak he is: New York beat him down." Them's fightin' words! |
| 07/29/2008 | 17 | 17 |
| They're the prohibitive favorite in the Teixeira derby because they match up best with the Braves, but they're OK at the corners right now with Conor Jackson, Chad Tracy and Mark Reynolds. And for what it's worth, Jackson has a higher OPS (.914) than guys like Teixeira and David Wright. ... Randy Johnson has quietly been throwing really well. ... Aside from this weekend's series against the Dodgers, the schedule isn't intimidating for the next few weeks (San Diego/Pittsburgh/Atlanta). |
