The diamondback suck. They play worse then there 2004 version. This season have been a embarrassment.

Oh I’m sorry, were those sentences hard to read? I just wanted to write with the same effort the D-Backs have been playing with this season. As you can imagine it didn’t turn out too well. The last article I wrote was about two weeks ago and it was entitled “What’s Left to Say?“. I wasn’t sure how else to write about this 2009 D-Backs season. I, like a lot of D-Backs writers on the internet , have been struggling to come up with anything new to say in a season that has been the same story over and over again. I haven’t even managed to watch many games lately, partly because of my vacation and partly because they have become hard to watch. After a long day of work do you want to come home and watch the D-Backs or a rerun of Seinfeld? The latter would surely be more entertaining. When fans are debating whether they should watch the Bachelorette or the D-Backs game, what does that say about the 2009 season?

Is this 2009 season worse than 2004? That 2004 team consisted of over the hill veterans and young players that never should have played in the majors. The dearth of minor league talent led to a team that was woefully unprepared to play competitive baseball. The 2009 team seems to have talent, three probable all-stars, yet they are losing games at a clip similar to the 2004 team. What is the difference? Effort. The effort on this 2009 team is awful. It is a complete embarrassment to the fans of this team. It is hard to swallow when players like Felipe Lopez, Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton play with a complete lack of focus on the defensive end then refuse to talk to the media or, in Upton’s case, mock the fans. Justin Upton rightly apologized for his fake toss of a baseball into the stands but it shouldn’t excuse what he did. The fans have had to put up with a ridiculous amount of crap this year, there is no excuse for him to mock the fans. Upton should just be happy they are there. Perhaps we should cut him some slack because he is 21, but it was still an awful move on his part. As for other players refusing to talk to the media after their bad games, they need to suck it up and talk to the media. It is not like the Arizona media is a tough media, like New York. It is not like they are looking for any story to jump on and report negatively. If players are so unfocused they are blowing routine defensive plays and then ducking the media it displays a complete lack of class and courage on their part.

No one on this team is being held accountable. AJ Hinch isn’t the sole problem but he sure isn’t the solution. His credibility in the clubhouse has to be called into question, again. He has held multiple team meetings that have had no lasting effect. Players are still making stupid plays, the bullpen is still blowing leads and the hitters are still coming up empty. The frustration level is at an all time high. I, like most fans, would like to know why the D-Backs are playing as bad as they are but no one will talk to the media.

Somewhere along the road this became a team of losers. There is no clubhouse leadership. Tony Clark doesn’t play enough or effectively to demand a leadership role anymore. Eric Byrnes is still leading by example, that example being piss poor defense and a low batting average. There is no veteran player on this team to whip anyone in gear. Even the manager is a rookie! It is clear the D-Backs sorely miss the leadership and bat of Orlando Hudson. His replacement, Felipe Lopez, may have a good batting average but he can’t get traded from this team fast enough. This 2009 D-Backs team sorely needs players like Orlando Hudson and coaches like Bob Melvin to instill some leadership. They would have even benefited greatly from signing Luis Gonzalez this off-season for his clubhouse effect, and his bat would probably be light years better than most of the players on this team.

I don’t know if this 2009 team will lose 110 games like that 2004 team. At least that 2004 team had the excuse of being over-matched. This 2009 team has players that have succeeded before, they just completely lack the effort or wherewithal to keep competing. The D-Backs hit rock bottom in 2004 and are right back there in 2009, only this time they gave their in-over-his-head interim manager a three year deal. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, right now it’s all dark.

July 3rd, 2009 2:53 PM