East Valley Tribune - Metro Phoenix's East Valley region

Metro Phoenix's East Valley region

Sunday, Nov 22, 2009| 6:32 pm

Search:

Publish your Stuff

Log in| Become a member| Help

Cop Shop| Chandler| Gilbert| Mesa| Queen Creek| VarsityXtra| Education| Dining| Valley| Nation & World| Get Out| Multimedia| Special Reports| Coupons Veterans Day| Senior Life| Celebrities| Games| Weather| Traffic| Info Center| Crosswords| Comics| Weird| Find a rack location| Send feedback| Help Desk

D-Backs finally acting their age?

Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist

October 13, 2007 - 1:08AM

Digg| Save| License| Print| E-mail| Decrease text size Reset text size Increase text size

The Diamondbacks wore their black uniforms for Game 2 Friday. Nice choice. It matches their fans’ mood today.

Arizona’s chances of winning the National League championship series went from slim after Brandon Webb lost Game 1 to ...

OK, none isn’t factually correct.

The Diamondbacks can still go to the World Series. They may just need an act of God to do it.

It’s hard to imagine a good-news scenario for Arizona, what with Colorado taking a 2-0 series lead after its 3-2, 11-inning victory Friday and the next three games in Denver.

Consider what the Diamondbacks must do: Win two out of three games on the road against a team that’s lost only one game since Sept. 15.

Other than that, it’s a piece of cake.

“We’ll take solace in the fact that one was us,” Arizona manager Bob Melvin said, referring to the Diamondbacks’ 4-2 win behind Brandon Webb on Sept. 28. “So we’ve got that going for us.”

Blind faith is about all the Diamondbacks have going for them.

For two straight nights Arizona has been unable to get a key hit.

For two straight nights it’s played shoddy defense.

For two straight nights it’s committed key blunders on the base paths.

On the bright side, fans didn’t throw any objects onto the field Friday.

Arizona’s fashion choice was a bit of gamesmanship. The Diamondbacks always wear black on Saturdays but moved their wardrobe up a day to try to put the hex on the Rockies, who have been decked out in black ever since Webb beat them.

Unfortunately for Arizona, it’s not the uniform that matters but the guys inside them. And the Diamondbacks have stunk it up the first two games.

Maybe Arizona is finally acting its age. The D-Backs’ young players are immensely talented, but it’s hard to climb Mount Everest on the first try.

To be fair, Colorado has helped push Arizona to the precipice. The Rockies have gotten superb starts from Jeff Francis and rookie Ubaldo Jimenez, and they’ve made their hits count.

But the smart, productive baseball that the Diamondbacks showed off in the second half of the regular season and in their NL division series win over the Chicago Cubs has been missing in action.

Arizona allowed an unearned run in each of the first two games. It made two key base-running mistakes in Game 1, and Stephen Drew committed another key error on the bases in the ninth inning of Game 2, a brain cramp that might have cost Arizona the win.

And when the D-Backs absolutely, positively needed a hit, they couldn’t get one.

On Thursday, Drew stranded five runners.

On Friday, third baseman Mark Reynolds had a game that Arizona has to hope doesn’t leave a permanent scar.

His error led to an unearned run in the second inning, he failed to move Tony Clark over after Clark led off the bottom half of the second with a double, and he struck out on a check swing with the bases loaded in the fifth.

Reynolds slammed his helmet and bat to the ground in frustration. The moment summed up the Diamondbacks’ frustrations quite nicely.

Maybe the D-Backs will get a whiff of the mountain air in Colorado and feel rejuvenated. They’ve surprised us before with their resilience.

But right now, this is a nightmare for Arizona.

And you know Colorado is having sweep dreams.

Listen to Scott Bordow every Monday at 3:25 p.m. on The Fan AM 1060 with Bob Kemp.

Comments

Reader comments: This site does not necessarily agree with comments posted below. Responsibility lies solely with the comment author.

Please add your comments, but follow these guidelines to keep this a safe, credible place for discussing the news:

  • Stay on topic.
  • No personal attacks, racial slurs or insults; no vulgar, lewd or threatening comments.
  • Report abusive comments.


More blogs

Publish your photos

Phoenix Light Rail Debut Phoenix Light Rail Debut
By Desertdawg from Ahwatukee

Vigilantes Kill 5 Vigilantes Kill 5
By BigAve from Gilbert AZ

Dinosaur Tracks Dinosaur Tracks
By BigAve from Gilbert AZ

Abby comes home Abby comes home
By Desertdawg from Ahwatukee

Publish your videos

More forums

Here's your chance to brag about an achievement for you or someone you know.

Publish your honors

Read the latest print edition

The e-Trib is an interactive online representation of the printed paper. Editions can be searched back to 2002.

Launch the e-Trib viewer

Already a member? Sign in here
Publish your stuff
Welcome, Please Log In
To login please enter your username and password in the form below and click on the login button.
Remember me
Retrieve Password
Resend Email
Enter the username and email address for your account to resend you your confirmation email: