Another happy byproduct of being in first place in the division on the first of June is early MLB Trade Rumor discussion for the Arizona Diamondbacks is about adding players to make a run and not dumping contracts to save money. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, that’s exactly the scenario we are looking at. That Charlie Sheen guy got one thing right, winning.

Twitter / @Buster Olney: A team that is going to be …
A team that is going to be aggressive before the deadline, with money to spend — the Arizona Diamondbacks. Poised to spend.

What exactly could the D-backs look to add to a team that’s obviously so well put together? Starting pitching would be a good start. While Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson look to be solid in the rotation and Joe Saunders is a decent back of the order guy, from there it gets a lot more dicey. 

The bullpen has been much improved but one more solid arm would do wonders. Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez could be an option but he reportedly doesn’t want to be a setup man without and extension. In the lineup the team has been solid both defensively and offensively. Another Met to consider would be third baseman Carlos Beltran. He’d be a fairly expensive rental at a pro-rated portion of his $20 million 2011 salary, but his .833 OPS would sure be a nice upgrade over Melvin Mora. 

While we’re shopping, it looks like the Minnesota Twins have some good deals to be had.

Read More: Anibal Sanchez (P – FLA), Ian Kennedy (P – ARI), Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants

Looks at those Arizona Diamondbacks getting love on Sports Center and up to fifth place in the power rankings on MLB.com. Winning seven-straight and 15 of 17 has that effect on people. The D-backs, however, are always just a couple of losses away from people jumping right off the bandwagon and throwing down the “they are who we thought they were” line. 

Tuesday will be an interesting test (at this point they all are) with staff ace Ian Kennedy (6-1, 3.01) taking on another NL West stud, Anibal Sanchez (4-1, 2.60). Sanchez threw a shut out against the Giants in his last outing and which only continues his dominance in the month of May. We know how good Kennedy’s been (eight innings, one run in his last start).

The game Tuesday starts at 6:40 p.m. at Chase Field with the TV broadcast on Fox Sports Arizona and the live game thread at AZ Snake Pit.

 

Fan Confidence: We – AZ Snake Pit
Fans of the Diamondbacks haven’t had much to cheer for the past couple years.  Two years in the cellar, with regime upheavals and the dismissal of popular players.  But the Diamondbacks are back on top after nearly 1000 days in the wilderness. But it’s not the end.  Three long months remain in a season that could bury the Diamondbacks with all the other teams that peaked too early. 

By Rob Neyer

– National Baseball Editor

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May 31, 2011 – Ladies and germs, presenting for your entertainment and approval … the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks!

After losing 92 games in 2009 and 97 in 2010 and doing nothing over the winter to (obviously) improve the team in some meaningful way, the Diamondbacks were roundly considered a good bet for last place in 2011. At best, they might challenge the Padres for fourth place. Yes, there was some loose talk about Kirk Gibson improving the club’s chemistry … but Gibson took over as manager in the middle of last season, and the Diamondbacks played little better for him than they’d played for A.J. Hinch.

Yet here the D’backs are, in first place and with the best run differential in the National League West.

Broadly speaking, they’ve done it by going from mediocre to good offensively, and terrible to mediocre defensively (including pitching). That is simplistic, because the Diamondbacks’ ballpark significantly favors hitters, so the hitting’s never as good as it looks, the pitching never as bad.

Let’s first look at the hitters, though. Since last season, the Diamondbacks have installed Juan Miranda at first base and Ryan Roberts at third, and both have been excellent. Those two replaced Adam LaRoche and Mark Reynolds, both of whom were adequate, at best. So that’s two significant upgrades.

And otherwise the lineup is almost exactly the same. Catcher Miguel Montero is doing significantly better this season, but second baseman Kelly Johnson is doing significantly worse.

On the pitching side, Arizona’s only effective starters have been Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson. Which isn’t all that different from last season, after Hudson came over in a trade with the White Sox. So nothing particularly new there. Rookie tomahawker Josh Collmenter has been good, but he’s started only four games so can’t really be used to explain the turnaround.

Here’s a thing, though: the bullpen. Last year the Arizona bullpen racked up a 5.74 ERA, the absolute worst in the majors by a LOT (the Cubs were second-worse, at 4.72). This year Arizona’s relievers have a 3.27 ERA, sixth best in the National League. The Diamondbacks’ top five relievers have combined for a 1.90 ERA in 95 innings, allowing only five home runs.

What’s more spectacular than the numbers, I think, are the identities of these five relievers. The Diamondbacks’ closer isn’t exactly a Mystery Man: J.J. Putz was one of the game’s best closers in 2006 and ’7 before dropping from the radar in ’08 and ’9. He did pitch well for the White Sox in a setup role last season, and leaving aside his 1.57 ERA with the Diamondbacks he’s not pitching any better this season.

The other guys, though? Raise your hand if you could have offered one solid fact, before the season, about more than one of the following pitchers:

David Hernandez
Esmerling Vasquez
Sam Demel
Joe Paterson

Granted, defining characteristics of non-closing relief pitchers have long been a weak area for me. But these guys? Demel reminds me of a power tool, and when Hernandez pitched for the Orioles I thought he might have a pretty solid future as a starter. But otherwise I’ve got nothing. For all I know, Paterson’s got three ears and his best pitch is a screwball-knuckle-changeup.*

* If you’re actually interested, Paterson doesn’t throw hard. At all. He throws mostly fastballs and sliders, but his fastball averages just 85 miles an hour, which explains why the rookie is already a LOOGY.

So are the Diamondbacks really this good, or close to this good?

I don’t see a great deal of evidence that argues yea or nay. I don’t think Juan Miranda’s quite this good, and I’m sure that Ryan Roberts isn’t.

I don’t think Collmenter or Micah Owings are show-stoppers, but I’m also fairly sure they’re better than Armando Galarraga and Barry Enright (who they’ve replaced in the rotation).

My head’s telling me the Diamondbacks just aren’t a first-place team. But my same head told me they’d be out of contention by Memorial Day, so why should I listen to my head?

For the moment, I think I’m just going to get on the ride and see where it goes. Because it might be a pretty good one.

Read More: Ryan Roberts (2B – ARI), Juan Miranda (1B – ARI), Josh Collmenter (P – ARI), Joe Paterson (P – ARI), Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox

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By Grant Brisbee

– Editor

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May 31, 2011 – There was a time when the Arizona Diamondbacks were so flush with prospects, they could afford to trade Brett Anderson and Carlos Gonzalez in the same deal. They were lighting cigars with prospects, forging a talented, young lineup that was ready to win immediately while solidifying the future at the same time. The season after they went to the NLCS, they traded a sackful of prospects for Dan Haren. They were going to be a powerhouse forever and ever and ever and …

Not sure what happened, really, but it wasn’t pretty. After flirting with .500, the Diamondbacks had two years of 90+ losses, and they were rebuilding on the fly. The fabled prospects of yore were suddenly players entering their arbitration years, and the team would need to figure out which ones were going to be a part of the next good Arizona team.

Turns out, this is the next good Arizona team. By turning Max Scherzer into Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson, holding on to core players like Miguel Montero, Justin Upton, and Stephen Drew, and not having the worst bullpen to ever sit around spitting sunflower seeds, the Diamondbacks have arrived a year ahead of schedule. They whomped the Florida Marlins on Monday at Chase Field, winning their seventh straight game, 15-4.

Marlins starter Chris Volstad sailed through the first two innings, and the Marlins actually struck first. Gaby Sanchez hit an RBI single in the third inning, followed by a Mike Stanton RBI grounder to put the score at 2-0.

The Diamondbacks struck back quickly, though, putting up a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the third. Gerardo Parra and Kelly Johnson homered, and Chris Young and Miguel Montero contributed RBI singles in the frame.

Each team tacked on a pair of runs before the bottom of the sixth, when the Diamondbacks went goofy. Johnson homered for the second time in the game, and Upton later scored on a stolen base when Marlins reliever Ryan Webb threw a pickoff attempt into left field. Upton was 5-for-5 on the night.

After Upton scampered around the bases, Chris Young walked, setting up a three-run Miguel Montero home run to give the D-backs an 11-4 lead.

Johnson tripled in the seventh for another RBI, his third of the night, and Upton continued his amazing night by hitting an absolute bomb into left field, capping the scoring at 15-4.

Joe Saunders pitched six innings, giving up four runs while striking out seven and walking two. Esmerling Vasquez, Micah Owings, and Zach Kroenke each pitched an inning of shutout relief, which is about three more shutout innings than the bullpen had in 2010 — one of the reasons the 2011 Diamondbacks have a reason to be optimistic.

The series continues tomorrow with Anibal Sanchez going for the Marlins, and Ian Kennedy pitching for Arizona.

For more on the Marlins and Diamondbacks, please visit team blogs Fish Stripes and AZ Snakepit

Read More: Dan Haren (P – ANA), Miguel Montero (C – ARI), Kelly Johnson (2B – ARI), Justin Upton (RF – ARI), Ian Kennedy (P – ARI), Carlos Gonzalez (LF – COL), Arizona Diamondbacks, Florida Marlins

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PHOENIX – Kelly Johnson homered twice and fell a single shy of the cycle and the steamrolling, first-place Arizona Diamondbacks won their seventh straight, a 15-4 rout of the Florida Marlins on Monday night.

Johnson, with a double and triple, tied a franchise record with four extra-base hits.

Justin Upton tied his career best by going 5 for 5 – including a two-run homer into the upper deck – and Miguel Montero matched his career high with five RBIs, including a three-run homer, as the Diamondbacks won for the 13th time in 14 games and 15th in their last 17.

Arizona had 19 hits, one shy of the franchise record for a nine-inning game.

Joe Saunders (2-5) got his second straight win after opening the season 0-5. Chris Volstad (2-4) took the loss in the Marlins’ most one-sided defeat of the season.

The Diamondbacks, in the opener of a seven-game home stand after a 6-1 road trip, stayed one-half game ahead of San Francisco in the NL West after two seasons deep in the division basement.

Gerardo Parra hit the other of Arizona’s five home runs.

Johnson, batting .429 in his last eight games after an awful start to the season, became the second player in the majors this year to have four extra-base hits in a game. He hit solo home runs in the third and sixth, doubled in the fourth and tripled in the seventh. He came up in the eighth with a chance to hit for the cycle and struck out.

The Marlins, coming off what had been their most one-sided loss of the season – 8-0 to the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Sunday – have given up 23 runs and 36 hits in their last two games. They have lost three of four.

Florida was without three-time All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who left Sunday’s game at Los Angeles with stiffness in his lower back.

Saunders allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking two. Volstad gave up five runs and eight hits in 3 1-3 innings with two strikeouts and one walk.

The Diamondbacks scored 10 straight runs after Gaby Sanchez’s two-run homer cut the Diamondbacks’ lead to 5-4 in the fifth.

Arizona got a run in the fifth when Stephen Drew walked, took third on Chris Young’s hit-and-run single and scored when Montero grounded into a fielder’s choice.

The Diamondbacks broke it open with a five-run sixth. After Johnson’s home run, Melvin Mora grounded to shortstop for the second out. Upton and Drew singled, then on a double steal, reliever Ryan Webb threw wild to third allowing a run to score. Young walked, then Montero’s opposite-field homer made it 11-4.

Upton’s towering home run into the tables in front of the Friday’s Front Row Sports Grill came off Mike Dunn in Arizona’s four-run seventh.

The Diamondbacks fell behind 2-0 in the third, then scored four times in their half of the inning. Parra and Johnson hit solo home runs to tie it. With two outs, consecutive singles by Upton, Drew, Young and Montero made it 4-2.

Notes: Arizona’s 15-2 stretch ties a franchise mark. … Ramirez missed Thursday’s game at San Francisco because of a bruised right foot after he was hit by a pitch. … On last June 1, Arizona was 20-33, 11 1/2 games out of first place. … Florida’s Logan Morrison walked and singled and has reached base in all 31 games he’s played this season, the longest active streak in the majors.

Read More: Melvin Mora (3B – ARI), Greg Dobbs (3B – FLA), John Buck (C – FLA), Omar Infante (2B – FLA), Joe Saunders (P – ARI), Stephen Drew (SS – ARI), Miguel Montero (C – ARI), Kelly Johnson (2B – ARI), Justin Upton (RF – ARI), Emilio Bonifacio (CF – FLA), Juan Miranda (1B – ARI), Chris Volstad (P – FLA), Chris Coghlan (CF – FLA), Gerardo Parra (LF – ARI), Logan Morrison (LF – FLA), Washington Nationals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Florida Marlins, Florida Marlins at Arizona Diamondbacks, May 30, 2011 5:10 PM MST

After winning 14 of their last 16 games, the Diamondbacks are back in Phoenix to open up a seven game homestand against the Florida Marlins and the Washington Nationals.

Now that the Diamondbacks are in first place in the NL West with a 29-24 record, we fully expect the fans to show up in droves. Winning sports teams always do well in the valley, proof that this town is full of discerning sports fans who won’t settle for mediocrity.

Starting pitcher Joe Saunders takes the mound for the D-backs against Chris Volstad and the Marlins.

Starting lineup for your Arizona Diamondbacks:

Kelly Johnson, 2B
Melvin Mora, 3B
Justin Upton, RF
Stephen Drew, SS
Chris Young, CF
Miguel Montero, C
Juan Miranda, 1B
Gerardo Parra, LF
Joe Saunders, SP

Starting lineup for the Florida Marlins (30-21):

Emilio Bonifacio, SS
Omar Infante, 2B
Logan Morrison, LF
Gaby Sanchez, 1B
Mike Stanton, RF
Greg Dobbs, 3B
John Buck, C
Chris Coghlan, CF
Chris Volstad, SP

The game is set to begin at 5:10 PM.