Recent media reports claimed that the Winter Baseball Meetings would be pretty quiet for the Diamondbacks, who were not expected to make much of a splash this year. To our surprise there has been some interesting revelations as the team makes moves to fill some gaps and strengthen other roles. For the team, overall, money issues has been a recurring theme for the ball club as they opted not to make any arrangements with the Big Unit to return to Arizona for his next season. In a move that we all welcome, Augie Ojeda was signed to a one year 700k plus contract that would ensure his return for next year. Augie played in 105 games last year with some solid defense in the second base spot. Although his offensive performance has room for improvement, he seemed to deliver in the clutch towards the end of the year, earning him a spot as one of the fan favorites. We are looking forward to our favorite chant, “Augie, Augie, Augie… Oye, Oye Oye!” Still at the second base spot, the D-Backs secured the services of former Washington National and 2005 Reds All-Star Felipe Lopez. With the departure of Orlando Hudson and David Eckstein, Arizona looked to fill the hole at second base and have some depth in that position. Lopez, 28, is excited about the opportunity to come to Phoenix and to play for Arizona and we are equally excited to have him. The unfortunate twist to this transaction was the price tag. The Diamondbacks opted to pay more for Lopez than they were willing to pay for the return of Randy Johnson. Putting things in perspective, we agree that it might be in the best interest if the team to solidify the infield before only, possibly, receiving publicity for being part of a future hall of famer’s milestone.

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December 12th, 2008 6:23 PM

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