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2011 End Of The Year Awards From SB Arizona: Coach… |
By Ryan Bafaloukos – Intern
SB Arizona is awarding the best of the best from Arizona Sports in 2011. Starting with Coach of the Year and ending with Team of the Year on New Years Day. Follow , and Like SB Nation Arizona on Facebook. Dec 29, 2011 – With 2011 quickly coming to an end SB Nation Arizona has decided to give out its first ever 2011 End of the year Awards or EOYAFSBNA’s for short. Over the next four days we will be giving out awards for the best of the best in Arizona Sports in the year 20111. First up is Arizona Coach of the Year. The Choice: Kirk Gibson: Manager, Arizona Diamondbacks- Although there were plenty of outstanding coaching jobs done all over the state of Arizona in 2011, Gibby takes the cake. In his first full season as the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Gibson went 94-68 and led the Diamondbacks to the NL West Division Title. Gibson led the snakes back to the postseason for the first time since 2007 and Arizona was one win away from advancing to the NLCS. Gibson took a team that had been underachieving the past three years and got the best out of them. When their shortstop, Stephen Drew, was lost for the season, Gibson and his team did not miss a beat. Gibson knew when to be agressive this season, and he knew when to lay back and let his team play baseball. The most impressive trait that Gibson showed in 2011 was the ability to get the best out of his players. Most would say the D-Backs did not have the most talent in the NL West. However, Gibson took what he had and got the most out of it. Guys like Ryan Roberts, Gerardo Parra and Ian Kennedy all had career years under Gibson. Even Aaron Hill put up major numbers after he was acquired from the Blue Jays. It looks like Kirk Gibson will be with the Diamondbacks for many years to come which is a good thing for Diamondback fans. Right now, Kirk Gibson is the 2011 Arizona Coach of the year from SB Arizona. Honorable Mention: Sean Miller, U of A Head Basketball Coach- Miller was a very close second. In his second season at the helm of the Wildcats Miller led the team to a 30-8 regular season record and was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year. Miller brought U of A back to basketball reverence in 2011 leading them to the Elite Eight, a loss against eventual national champion Connecticut 65-63. Miller is set up for years at U of A as he has the number one ranked recruiting class ranked by ESPN for 2012. Who do you think is the 2011 Arizona Coach of the Year? For all the latest AZ sports news, follow us on Twitter @SBNArizona and “Like” us on Facebook. Read More: 2011 end of year awards, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks Follow , and Like SB Nation Arizona on Facebook. Do you like this story?
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Arizona Diamondbacks’ Kirk Gibson receives praise… |
by Nick Piecoro – Nov. 15, 2011 06:48 PM MILWAUKEE – When the topic of his candidacy for the National League Manager of the Year award was broached by a reporter in September, Kirk Gibson bristled and got angry, perhaps the first time in sports history that an interview subject was upset by a positive question.
Gibson might have to grudgingly accept some praise Wednesday.
The Baseball Writers Association of America will announce its Managers of the Year at noon (Arizona time) Wednesday, and it is widely expected that Gibson will take home some hardware. Already last month he was named the Sporting News Manager of the Year. Gibson, attempting to keep the focus on the team and on winning, was reluctant to endorse any of his players for national awards and took the same approach when anyone suggested he were a candidate. But now that the season is over – a season in which the Diamondbacks won 94 games, captured a division title and reached the playoffs for the first time in four years – perhaps Gibson will be a little more willing to reflect on what most consider a job well done. “He was very important for us,” right-hander Ian Kennedy said. “His tenacity and fire for the game – the entire coaching staff had the same makeup. . . . I think that’s why we won so many games late in games. “That never-give-in type of attitude. When your manager is harping on it all the time and he’s just as fiery late in games, it kind of rubs off on you as a player.” In most years, the award goes to a manager whose club vastly exceeded expectations. The 2011 Diamondbacks fit those criteria. Almost no one picked them to win the division, and even some Diamondbacks players admitted to skepticism early in the season. Gibson, meanwhile, remains “Steady Eddie,” in the words of Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers. “He kind of stayed the course,” Towers said. “He kept us on line, kept us focused and when we were winning he kept us humble. When we were losing some games, he kept us from panicking. To me, your great leaders kind of emerge during difficult times. That’s when they really need to lead. I thought he was at his best when we were at our worst, at times.” Towers thought Gibson, who was in his first full season as a manager, looked the part of someone who had been preparing for this opportunity for years and who had learned from managers he had during his playing days, naming Jim Leyland and Sparky Anderson as influences. Gibson was rewarded by ownership with a contract extension that runs through 2014 and includes a club option for two additional years. His veteran coaching staff, which Gibson constantly credited for helping to implement and execute his vision, also received extensions; they are under contract through 2013. “You know how I feel about them,” Gibson said last month. “Those guys show great leadership and direction. They didn’t waver the whole year. They’re baseball rats, and I think the guys look up to them.” That’s all for today. Posted in dbacks-news | Comments Off
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Arizona Diamondbacks agree to terms with John… |
by Nick Piecoro – Nov. 2, 2011 07:10 PM The Diamondbacks purchased an insurance policy at shortstop Wednesday, agreeing to terms with defensive specialist John McDonald on a two-year deal. McDonald, whom the team acquired from Toronto in August along with second baseman Aaron Hill, had filed for free agency earlier this week. Shortstop Stephen Drew still is rehabbing from the season-ending ankle injury he suffered in July, and his status for Opening Day remains up in the air. Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers said last month that he wanted to prepare for the possibility that Drew wouldn’t be ready to start the season on time.
McDonald, 37, isn’t much of an offensive threat — a career .238 hitter, he hit a combined .229 in 227 at-bats for 2011 with the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks — but he is one of the more sure-handed defensive shortstops in baseball. A club source said McDonald’s signing doesn’t shut the door on a possible return for utility man Willie Bloomquist, who on Monday declined his end of a mutual option for 2012, thus becoming a free agent. Unexpectedly, backup catcher Henry Blanco also declined his mutual option and became a free agent this week. Neither Towers nor CEO Derrick Hall immediately returned calls seeking comment, but it is expected the Diamondbacks will try to bring back Blanco, who could be looking for a raise on the $1.15million option after a season in which he posted a career-best .870 OPS (on-base plus slugging) in limited action. There is the quick update of the day. Posted in dbacks-news | Comments Off
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Diamondbacks decline Hill’s 2012, ’13 contract… |
The Arizona Diamondbacks have declined second baseman Aaron Hill’s $8 million US contract options for 2012 and 2012, but still hope to re-sign the former Toronto Blue Jays second baseman. The 29-year-old fared well after an Aug. 23 trade, posting a .315 batting average and .386 on-base percentage in 33 games. That performance dwarfed his .225, .270 totals in 104 contests with Toronto earlier this season, so Hill finished with a combined .246 average, .299 OBP and .356 on-base plus slugging percentage. His OPS with Arizona was .878. Hill’s turnaround at the plate be directed at a change of scenery? “I do agree with what [Blue Jays bench coach] Don Wakamatsu said to me earlier in the year,” Hill said. “He said you create your own environment. It makes a lot of sense. “You could definitely look at my situation and say a change of scenery has worked out great. Diamondbacks first baseman Lyle Overbay, another one-time Blue Jay, opted for free agency over the weekend. Thanks for visiting our blog =). Posted in dbacks-news | Comments Off
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Arizona Diamondbacks rookies savor the experience |
by Paul Coro – Oct. 8, 2011 06:44 PM If the Diamondbacks were going to go from 65 wins to National League West champions, it was not going to be with just who they had in the majors. The Diamondbacks developed their young players on the fly to transform the team as the season went. Even with late-season rookie starter Wade Miley off the postseason roster, the Diamondbacks carried six rookies in the National League Division Series. At times, the rookies carried them. Josh Collmenter went from spending 2010 at three minor-league levels and starting the 2011 season with Triple-A Reno to being a Game 3 winner, giving up two hits over seven innings. Paul Goldschmidt was a Double-A player until August but will be remembered for his decisive triple in a division title-clinching game and grand slam in Game 3 of the NLDS.
Collin Gowgill had a clutch pinch-hit in Game 4 after 92 big-league at-bats. Reliever Bryan Shaw was at his best in the series, making four appearances without giving up a hit. Joe Paterson struck out Prince Fielder. Jarrod Parker, a top prospect with 2012 rotation potential, made a playoff appearance after just one regular-season outing. “When you get a group like this that can win so many games, go to the playoffs and be so close to reaching our ultimate goal, you can’t help but think, ‘If we keep these guys together, what could we do?’” Goldschmidt said, taking a break from packing his locker after the team returned from Friday’s Game 5 in Milwaukee. “But there are so many things that change in the future. Every team is going to be making moves.” Diamondbacks Manager Kirk Gibson said during the series that the staff wanted to make each rookie understand the team’s aspirations and approach when they came up. “You try and put people in situations and try to motivate them to believe in themselves and fight through some of the negative things and maybe some of the labels or stereotypes,” Gibson said. “The sky’s the limit.” Collmenter began the season in the minors and moved to the Diamondbacks’ bullpen before his deceptive delivery and pitch command earned him a rotation spot for 24 starts. He went 10-10 with a 3.38 ERA, saying he learned from the staff how to prepare for games and force the issue on the mound with an aggressive style. “Knowing I didn’t have to change anything to have success here,” Collmenter said of his best lesson. “That’s one thing that I wanted to make sure I didn’t do, to try to pitch outside what I was capable of or what I had done to get me to this point.” He said it was a point of pride to see friends that had come through in the minors rise through the organization and to the occasion. Shaw, Collmenter’s teammate last year in Double-A Mobile, was sent back to Triple-A Reno at one point this season, where he said he captured his fastball command and stopped overthrowing. His slider remained his go-to pitch and he struck out the side in Game 5 on Saturday with each batter going down on a slider. He faced 13 batters in the postseason, getting 12 outs and walking one. “We had an extreme amount of rookies this year that contributed very well to the team and the success that we had,” Shaw said. “It’s just great to contribute to the farm system and all the guys we have coming up. Obviously we were doing something right to get as many guys up here as we are.” What do you guys think about this. Posted in dbacks-news | Comments Off
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Arizona Diamondbacks strand 11 runners in Game 5… |
by Nick Piecoro – Oct. 7, 2011 10:07 PM MILWAUKEE – The Brewers scored the winning run against Diamondbacks closer J.J. Putz in the bottom of the 10th, but there were other moments that stood out to teammates that cost them in a 3-2, 10-inning loss in Game 5 of their division series Friday. Most of them came with a Diamondbacks baserunner standing on second or third. “We had a lot of chances,” Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero said. “A lot. Way too many. But we couldn’t capitalize.”
They seemed to have Brewers right-hander Yovani Gallardo on the ropes on a couple occasions, and they had opportunities against relievers Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford, but they fell at least one big hit shy of extending their season. They had a runner on second in the first, two men on in the second, two more in the sixth against Gallardo, but the only run they had off him came on a Justin Upton solo home run in the third. Against Rodriguez in the eighth, they had first and second with one out and loaded the bases with two away but failed to score. And even after tying the score against Axford in the ninth, they were unable to get the go-ahead run home from second with nobody out. “How many guys did we leave on base?” Montero asked. The answer? Eleven. The Diamondbacks went just 2 for 11 with men in scoring position, and only one of those hits – Willie Bloomquist’s safety-squeeze bunt – drove home a run. “But they pitched great in tough situations,” he said. “You’ve got to tip your hat to those guys.” Can’t stop ‘emThe Diamondbacks have prided themselves this season on being able to shut down the opponents’ running game, but they couldn’t keep the Brewers’ Carlos Gomez, perhaps the fastest player in the league, from stealing second in the 10th inning. Gomez took off on a 1-0 fastball from Putz, a pitch that catcher Henry Blanco couldn’t come up with cleanly. Blanco said he saw that Gomez had a good jump and tried to hurry. “I was just trying to be too quick, and the ball came out of my glove,” he said. “I don’t think we were going to get him, anyway. In that situation, I was trying to do the impossible. You never know what can happen, but it didn’t come out right.” Rally starterNo one seemed surprised it was Gerardo Parra who started the ninth-inning rally, even if Parra had come to the plate hitless in 17 at-bats in the series. “He just has that fight in him, as the entire team does,” center fielder Chris Young said. “Watching him walk to the plate that at-bat you wouldn’t have known he was (hitless). He went up there confident. He went up there aggressive. And he came up huge for us. It could have been a game changer.” Said Upton: “We went over to ‘G’ and patted him on the butt and told him this was a big at-bat for us. He went out and stepped up for us.” Short hopsThough it was a perfect autumn day in Milwaukee, officials from Major League Baseball opted to have the Miller Park roof closed, saying that they wanted conditions to be the same for Game 5 as they were for the first two games of the series. Many wondered if shadows would play a factor in the late-afternoon start time, but it didn’t appear to be the case. - The Diamondbacks, who lost all three games at Miller Park, scored just seven runs here. They scored 18 in two games at Chase Field. Of their 25 runs, 18 came via home runs. That’s all the news for today. Posted in dbacks-news | Comments Off
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Profile: Kirk Gibson
