As the calendar rolls over to 2012, everyone takes time to list out some New Year’s resolutions.

As a fan of the Arizona Diamondbacks, here is what I hope GM Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson can resolve in the 2012 season.

Chris Young and Justin Upton

Center fielder Chris Young and right-fielder Justin Upton have both been All-stars—Young in 2010, and Upton in 2009 and 2011.

However, I would hope in 2012 that both Young and Upton decide to become All-stars together by hitting like they have before in the past.

Young’s most productive year was 2010 when he hit .257 while Upton’s best year was 2009 when he averaged .300.

If these two can get the power going like their All-star years, the Diamondbacks offense will certainly gain more power.

If not, Gibson has two left-handed batters, Jason Kubel and Geradro Parra, to use in the outfield.

Starting Pitching

Last years top two starters, Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson were 37-16. The rest of the staff was at or under .500 —Josh Collmenter, 10-10; Joe Saunders, 12-13; and a few others who made some starts, but never pitched well to get through the season.

Towers brought in Trevor Cahill from the Oakland Athletics to shore up the number three slot. Cahill was 12-14 in 2011, but pitched on one of the worst AL offensive teams. In 2010, Cahill was 18-8 and an All-star. In three years, Cahill has an ERA of 3.91 compared to Saunder’s 4.16.

According the Diamondbacks depth chart, as of December 28, the rotation will be Kennedy, Hudson, Cahill, and Collmenter.

Early offense

Granted, a win is a win, but come on, let’s not wait until the end of a game to put someone away.

In 2010, the Diamondbacks led the league with 48 come from behind wins. I know they’re exciting to watch as fans especially when the Diamondbacks came from behind to beat the Houston Astros not once, but twice on May 27 and August 9, and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers with a come from behind extra inning grand slam on September 27.

With key additions like Kubel and Aaron Hill and the return of injured short stop Stephen Drew along with Young and Upton maturing together, the Diamondbacks should have more pop in the bat.

In 2012, the Diamondbacks are defending NL Champions and look to make more headway in the playoffs.

I’ll check my resolutions in October, 2012.

Phillip Jackson, a long time baseball fan, has been living in Phoenix since 1981 and a fan of the Arizona Diamondbacks since the team was awarded circa 1996. Follow him on Twitter @Pjacksonaz

Read all of Phillip Jackson’s Diamondbacks articles here

Sources

Arizona Diamondbacks website

Baseball referene.com

Arizona Diamondbacks defined by come-from-behind wins

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PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Jonathan Albaladejo and added him to their 40-man roster.

Albaladejo pitched in Japan last season after appearing in 10 games for the New York Yankees in 2010.

The 29-year-old right-hander is 6-3 with a 4.15 ERA in four major league seasons with the Yankees and Washington Nationals.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

(Reuters) – List of National League Cy Young Award winners following the naming of Los Angeles Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw as the 2011 winner.

2011 – Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

2010 – Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies

2009 – Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

2008 – Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

2007 – Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres

2006 – Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks

2005 – Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals

2004 – Roger Clemens, Houston Astros

2003 – Eric Gagne, Los Angeles Dodgers

2002 – Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks

2001 – Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks

2000 – Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks

1999 – Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks

1998 – Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves

1997 – Pedro Martinez, Montreal Expos

1996 – John Smoltz, Atlanta Braves

1995 – Greg Maddux, Atlanta Braves

1994 – Greg Maddux, Atlanta Braves

1993 – Greg Maddux, Atlanta Braves

1992 – Greg Maddux, Chicago Cubs

1991 – Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves

1990 – Doug Drabek, Pittsburgh Pirates

1989 – Mark Davis, San Diego Padres

1988 – Orel Hershiser, Los Angeles Dodgers

1987 – Steve Bedrosian, Philadelphia Phillies

1986 – Mike Scott, Houston Astros

1985 – Dwight Gooden, New York Mets

1984 – Rick Sutcliffe, Chicago Cubs

1983 – John Denny, Philadelphia Phillies

1982 – Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies

1981 – Fernando Valenzuela, Los Angeles Dodgers

1980 – Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies

1979 – Bruce Sutter, Chicago Cubs

1978 – Gaylord Perry, San Diego Padres

1977 – Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies

1976 – Randy Jones, San Diego Padres

1975 – Tom Seaver, New York Mets

1974 – Mike Marshall, Los Angeles Dodgers

1973 – Tom Seaver, New York Mets

1972 – Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies

1971 – Ferguson Jenkins, Chicago Cubs

1970 – Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals

1969 – Tom Seaver, New York Mets

1968 – Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals

1967 – Mike McCormick, San Francisco Giants

(Compiled by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Julian Linden)

Read More: Geoff Blum (1B – ARI), Xavier Nady (1B – ARI), Stephen Drew (SS – ARI), Lyle Overbay (1B – ARI), Aaron Hill (2B – ARI), John McDonald (SS – ARI), Ryan Roberts (2B – ARI), Willie Bloomquist (LF – ARI), Paul Goldschmidt (1B – ARI), Arizona Diamondbacks

According to beat writer Nick Piecoro, the Arizona Diamondbacks have come to terms with second baseman Aaron Hill.

The deal is reportedly worth just over $10 million for two years and shores up the D-backs infield for 2012. As Arizona GM Kevin Towers mentioned on Friday, the offer to Hill would have expired shortly after the weekend. Now that Hill will return, the offseason focus will move on to looking at veteran free agent pitchers.

The Diamondbacks will see their 2011 infield return. Along with Hill manning second base, they will have Paul Goldschmidt at first, Ryan Roberts at third and Stephen Drew returning from injury to be the everyday shortstop. If Drew manages to come back completely healthy, the D-backs will have a lot of depth in the infield with Geoff Blum able to back up Roberts at 3B, John McDonald as the backup shortstop, Willie Bloomquist as the utility infielder and the very likely possibility of either Xavier Nady or Lyle Overbay returning to back up Goldschmidt.

The 2012 Diamondbacks are shaping up to look very much like the 2011 model, which should be good news for Arizona fans hoping for another run at the postseason.

For more news and information about the Arizona Diamondbacks, please visit AZ Snake Pit.

Since 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks have been my team to follow.

In fact, they have been my team since Bank One Ball Park (now Chase Field) started construction circa 1996. I remember a petitioner wanted me to sign a petition to stop BOB from being constructed.

I said, “No.”

The petitioner’s face appeared shocked, and I think the person was wondering why I wanted to pay sales tax for a bunch of professional baseball players.

Well, after 13 seasons, it’s easy to see with five NL West division titles, one NL pennant and one World Series championship.

It’s these all-time Diamondbacks players I’m thankful for:

Randy Johnson(notes)

Future Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson came to Phoenix in 1999 during the second year of existence. During the first year, Johnson won 17 games and helped turn the Diamondbacks from last to first. Johnson won his first of four Cy Young Awards in 1999. For me, I remember two games as Johnson’s best in a Diamondbacks uniform—winning Game 7 of the 2001 World Series in relief of Curt Schilling, and his perfect game in May 2004.

Johnson leads the Diamondbacks with a record of 118-62, 2077 Ks, and an ERA of 2.83. Johnson’s figure is part of the Legends Race at Chase Field, and his #51 will hang above right field soon after he is enshrined into the Hall of Fame.

Curt Schilling

Even though Schilling was behind Johnson statistically, Schilling was a cornerstone in the 2001 campaign. In fact, Schilling pitched to perfection in the playoffs when he went 4-0 in six starts with a 1.12 ERA. Along with Johnson, Schilling was the 2001 World Series co-MVP. Schilling is third all-time in Diamondbacks history with an ERA of 3.14 and third in strikeouts with 875. Schilling may never be considered a Diamondbacks legend, however, if it was not for him, the New York Yankees would have won the 2001 Series.

Luis Gonzalez

Moving from the Detroit Tigers in 1999, Gonzalez became a solid part of the Diamondbacks and the Arizona community until he left after the 2006 season. Fans in Arizona will always remember Gonzo’s game-winning hit in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, but that is one of his many Diamondbacks moments. He won the 2001 Home Run Derby, became a five-time All-Star while in Arizona, and earned a Silver Slugger in 2001. Gonzo returned to the Diamondbacks and served as the 2011 All-Star Ambassador held in Phoenix when his #20 was the first Diamondbacks number to be retired.

Justin Upton(notes)

Upton is the current face of the franchise. Since he was drafted No. 1 in 2005, Upton has steadily become a power threat and leader of the Diamondbacks. In 2011, Upton took the team on his shoulders as he slugged through June and the rest of the season to end up with a career-best 31 home runs and 88 RBIs. Upton also won the NL Player of the Week twice during 2011, played in his second All-Star game, and ended up earning his first Silver Slugger Award. If Upton continues his power, the Diamondbacks’ right fielder will have many opportunities to earn more All-Star appearances and a possible MVP Award.

Gerardo Parra(notes)

Parra is the up-and-coming future of the Diamondbacks who will play left field for years to come. Parra brought energy to the team in 2011 and channeled his energy into his arm as he recorded 12 outfield assists to earn his first Gold Glove Award. In 2011, Parra hit .292 to anchor the outfield. With Upton and center fielder Chris Young, the Diamondbacks will have lots of production coming from the outfield in 2012.

Brandon Webb(notes)

Sinker ball pitcher Brandon Webb led the Diamondbacks rotation after Johnson left and pitched his way into three straight All-Star games from 2006-2008. He won the Cy Young Award in 2006 when he went 16-8 with a 3.01 ERA. Webb is second in franchise history with 87 wins and 1,065 Ks. Webb was making a fabulous career when a shoulder injury ended his pitching after one start in 2009.

Honorable Mention

Pitcher Andy Benes threw the first pitch on March 31, 1998, and Travis Lee had the first hit and the first home run.

From then until now, I’ve been thankful for the Diamondbacks being 15 minutes from my front door.

Phillip Jackson, a long time baseball fan, has been living in Phoenix since 1981 and a fan of the Arizona Diamondbacks since the team was awarded circa 1996. Follow him on Twitter @Pjacksonaz.

Read all of Phillip Jackson’s Diamondbacks articles here.

Sources:

Arizona Diamondbacks All-time Stats page on Dbacks.com

Baseball-Reference.com Arizona Diamondbacks team enclyopedia

Luis Gonzalez Named All-Star Ambassador by Arizona Diamondbacks

Why is Curt Schilling the forgotten Arizona Diamondbacks legend?

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By Seth Pollack

– Regional Sports Editor

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Sep 26, 2011 – Here we are folks, after a long summer of baseball fun the 2011 Major League Baseball is almost over. Just one more series and it’s on to the offseason with winter meetings, trades, free agency and then….wait! The season is NOT OVER for the Arizona Diamondbacks! This team will be playing baseball into October!!! The Los Angeles Dodgers, however, will not.

As meaningless as this final series must feel for the Dodgers players who are anxious to get on to their vacations, it is still very much an important three-game set for the D-backs. Arizona is one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers for home field advantage in the first round. The Brew Crew opens their final series against the Pirates.

Helping the chase for home field advantage is the convenient luck of the draw that had Clayton Kershaw pitching on Sunday and thereby avoiding his Cy Young presence on the mound at Chase Field. Here’s how the pitching match ups play out. Don’t skip on watching Tuesday’s ML debut for young Jarrod Parker!

Don’t be shocked if Wade Miley ends up pitching that last game of the season so Saunders can get a little extra rest before the playoffs. Depending on where things stand with the race for home field, a lot of guys could get a rest that day.

Final series preview from  AZ Snake Pit:

Series Preview #52: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers 
Seriously though, this Diamondback team.  I pegged them for 74 wins at the beginning of the season and, quite frankly, I felt like I was being pretty generous with that prediction.  The offense was roughly league-average in 2010, and even that was based largely on unsustainable BABIP seasons from Chris Young and Kelly Johnson, not to mention 57 home runs from corner infielders who were going to be replaced with a veteran-flavored wad of chewing gum. 

Read More: Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers

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