Once upon a time, I was the editor of Venom Strikes, a blog dedicated to the Arizona Diamondbacks. It’s true. Just Google, “Tom Lynch Venom Strikes” and you can link to one of my articles like this. When I tell people that I am a huge baseball fan and that I once blogged about the Diamondbacks, inevitably they want to know how a Yankees fan in New York became a writer for the Snakes. The answer is I was asked and so I obliged. That makes me one of the only people in the tristate area that has a rooting interest in the Arizona Diamondbacks.
But that’s not what this entry is about.
The D’backs are the defending National League champions yet have had an uneven start to this season, to say the least. They sit at 20-22, too early to panic but fair to wonder if they can make the playoffs. It has been one of the those seasons where pieces have been missing or underperforming. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. started off on fire while Corbin Carroll was in a major slump. Now, Carroll has seemingly turned the corner and Gurriel is batting .235. Jordan Montgomery arrived just as Merrill Kelly got hurt. Eduardo Rodriguez hasn’t pitched yet. Paul Sewald recently returned and Kevin Ginkel has not been the playoff Kevin Ginkel. On the bright side, Joc Pederson has been a solid addition and Ketel Marte is looking like Top 5 MVP Ketel Marte.
Remember, Arizona finished the 2023 season with an 84-78 record. It won’t take much effort to reach that number this season but it may not be good enough for the playoffs in 2024. In order to reach their full potential of being a 90 win, postseason team, the yo-yoing needs to stop and the killer instinct that was on display during that October series in Philadelphia needs to return by the end of the month.
Threeunassisted 