Well, that was a series…
So how we feeling?
James: Allergy season really sucks, but I suspect the question is about the team. With regard to the team, so far, we have seen both the good and the bad that can be expected from the team this year. So long as the good ends up outweighing the bad, this could be an interesting season for Arizona.
Spencer: Been sick for a week since I got back from a work conference. But it’s the beginning of baseball season, so all in all, pretty great!
Makakilo: I’m feeling positive and optimistic about pickleball (preparing for a tournament on 10 April) and about the Diamondbacks!
I feel especially great about how well Alek Thomas and Eugenio Suarez are batting! I am happy that Jalen Beeks pitched well; my article about why I liked signing him will post Tuesday.
Honorable mention to the excellent batting of Smith, Grichuk, Moreno, and Marte.
DBacksEurope: The loss on Opening Day was disappointing but the Diamondbacks had a nice rebound the day after. At this moment there are still two more games to play but the offence so far has been a lot better than I anticipated. Having Walker for quite some years at first base did make it a huge shock to see Naylor move there though.
Wesley: Not good. Clearly they’re going to go 1-161.
Jim: A damn sight better than in the middle of the eighth this afternoon. But as I mentioned, 2-2 is fine given the clear room for improvement. The pitching in general has not been as hoped, with 23 runs allowed over four games. The B-bullpen has struggled. But keep averaging seven runs per game and we’ll be fine.
Ben: Mostly fine with where the team is. I have to hope the sloppiness is more a function of early season rust than a lack of discipline. I’m less bothered by the physical errors (McCarthy’s dropped third out) than the mental ones (Perdomo inexplicably going to second rather than first on the groundout).
Dano: I’m feeling great. Having actual baseball season underway again is going to be very good for my mental health, and after us throwing up a snowman on the line score this afternoon (and in the eighth inning, no less!), I’m going to be smiling for the rest of the day.
How we feeling about the rest of the teams, and how ‘bout them A’s?
James: I will not be even a little surprised if this season ends up having the biggest spread of outcomes between the haves and the have-nots, to be seen in a very long time, if ever. The bad teams are going to be very bad and the good teams may have already essentially locked up October baseball by the break.
Spencer: I wish ABS was in the regular season, but oh well. I’m looking forward to which teams defy the odds and compete this year. Yes I’m thinking of the A’s.
Makakilo: I’m hoping the Diamondbacks can sweep the Marlins and the Rockies in their first series against each of them!
The A’s this season?
- They are better than expected. On 27 November, ZiPS wrote “…are likely to win between 65 and 72 games…” Four months later (29 March) the FanGraphs Depth Chart projection was 77 wins. With a little luck, they could reach 81 wins.
- They play in a AAA venue. The A’s home stadium is Sutter Health park (a AAA venue where fans are generally closer to the field).
- All things considered, watching the A’s in person could be an enjoyable fan experience.
After no contracts beyond the current season, the A’s are starting to prepare for future seasons (data from Spotrac):
- Brent Rooker (RF) extension through 2030
- Lawrence Butler (DH) extension through 2031 or 2032
- Luis Severino (SP) signed free agent with control through 2027
- Jeffrey Springs (SP) trade, with control through 2027
DBacksEurope: I saw the Padres winning some tough games against the Braves and the Dodgers had to crack a hard nut in Detroit. Gore pitched a gem for the Nationals and I haven’t seen much more. What about em A’s?
Jim: Oh, look. We’re not a week in, and the Dodgers are running away with the division. Who could possibly have foreseen such an occurrence?
Wesley: I’m also disappointed that the ABS challenge system wasn’t implemented for the regular season. The Dodgers getting off to a hot start is like the least surprising thing ever. The As looked much improved down the stretch last season and made improvements in the offseason, so I actually expect them to beat the projections. Can we get some of those new bats the Yankees are using??
Ben: So far the biggest surprise has been Atlanta’s struggles out in San Diego. They’ve already lost the first three of the series and are trailing halfway through game four. Otherwise, it’s a lot of teams at .500 or close to it which underscores the parity we might get to see across the league this year.
Dano: I’m really interested to see how the first few weeks play out. More than any year I can recall recently, I really think a lot of the divisions are wide open. There’s no favorite in the NL Central or the NL East (it’s gonna be Braves, Mets, or Phillies, but who knows which one), same with the AL East (Yankees, Red Sox, or Orioles). Who knows with the AL Central, beyond it likely being either the Royals or the Tigers? And the AL West….that one’s gonna be fascinating to watch. No teams really made their rosters appreciably better in the offseason, and in fact most got worse, with the clear exception of Oakland Las Vegas Sacramento. The Angels have maybe gotten better as well, but I honestly think the A’s have a shot at the division this year. Not a great shot, but it’s certainly possible.
Did Torey make the wrong choice in choosing Gallen?
James: Nope.
Spencer: No chance.
DBacksEurope: Did Lovullo make that decision? I think it was a given thing that Gallen would start on Opening Day, but it is not going to have him stay in the desert after this season.
Makakilo: No. It was a coin flip between two aces for the opening day starter.
Jim: I’ll go slightly differently, and say, No – given the circumstances. Of course, the circumstances should never have happened to begin with. It was like buying a Porsche and thinking you could take it off-roading. Read the owner’s manual… But the reality is, over his last 17 starts since the start of July last year, Gallen’s ERA is now 4.48. That’s not ace-like. I’ve almost got to the point where I feel we need to stop pretending he’s an ace.
Wesley: I was actually going to write something similar to what Jim wrote, but he just barely beat me to the punch. Gallen really hasn’t been an ace for the last season. It’s why I had suggested trading him during the offseason. I don’t think he’s going to be an Ace moving forward, and I’m convinced his value has peaked already. They should have gone into Spring Training with Burnes lined up to start Opening Day, but they didn’t. Given the circumstances it was the right choice, but they should have never put themselves in those circumstances.
Ben: No, but I think the choice had more to do with emotions and sentiment than on performance or logic. There’s something to be said about consistency for Opening Day starters and for continuity that Gallen has provided to the team. I’m starting to be more convinced by Wesley’s and Jim’s thoughts about how ace-like Gallen has been recently though.
Dano: No. Gallen sucked in his first start, but I’m glad Burnes is pitching on the day that seems best to him for his schedule and routine. I trust the dude’s judgement.
The big news was Hazen dropping another extension, this time for Pfaadt. First impressions in that, and thoughts in Hazen locking up several pieces of the young core in general?
James: I love that the team got this extension done with Pfaadt. This is yet another major piece of the team’s future locked up early and with a good balance of control and robust early pay. Pfaadt comes out ahead early and has his future secured. The team locks up a key player before there is any chance of his price tag getting out of control. This team’s model over the last two winters has begun to look very much like what the Braves have been doing since 2019 or so. It has worked well for Atlanta. Hopefully, the talent evaluators for Arizona are on top of their game and it works out similarly well (or better) for Arizona.
Spencer: Shocked it took so long honestly. He’s the only young arm they seem adamant not be a reliever so he made the most sense as a long term piece. I’m really liking this new Atlanta-esque leadership group. As my friend Pete joked yesterday, all we’re missing is continually picking over the Athletics’ young players via trade. But I say flip Athletics with Marlins and we’re set.
DBacksEurope: It’s an interesting extension for probably the only good pitcher that has come out of our own minor leagues in … I don’t know … 10 years or so? If Pfaadt’s ERA starts trending towards his FIP this will be good value for money and otherwise it will not hurt the Diamondbacks much. Once Gallen and Kelly leave, and maybe Burnes opting out, you need to have some stability in the rotation and Pfaadt could become that guy.
Makakilo: The Diamondbacks value sustainability.
- Assuming excellent judgement, extending young players will increase team sustainability.
- Having a consistent core of players can lead to opportunities to build on that core.
- Extending players early often results in team-friendly contracts (but there are exceptions).
For starting pitchers, the Diamondbacks have recently had two free agent signings that did not work out (Bumgarner and Montgomery). It’s likely this extension will work out better than those two free agent signings.
Wesley: I LOVE this deal. Pfaadt doesn’t need to improve all that much for this contract to look like an absolute steal. Even if he’s league average, it’s a good deal. If he actually becomes the guy we think he could be it’ll age like fine wine.
Ben: I’m with Spencer, I’ve loved the Atlanta-esque nature of some of these extensions the team has gotten done recently. Pfaadt’s contract seems more based on promise than on results at the moment, but I trust this front office’s intuition when it comes to extensions more so than for free agents at the moment.
Dano: I’m good with it. I’ll be happy to see all the guys who’ve been extended stick around for awhile longer, at cheaper prices than they might have gotten in arbitration.
What’s one thing you would do to improve the in-person experience for MLB?
James: For me, that’s a very team and stadium specifice sort of question. To answer that with a blanket answer that covers all teams and venues though, bring back day baseball. Seeing a game during the day is just an entirely different experience.
Spencer: I’m with James, each stadium is unique. Personally I enjoy the feeling of a minor league park but that’s not feasible for an MLB team.
DBacksEurope: When I went to see soccer in the stadiums back in the 90s you’d pay around a buck to get some food. Even with inflation those prices are a lot higher than normal and I don’t understand why those concessions need to be that high. Make it fun for people to have a day out so don’t make them pay a fortune for something basic such as food and drinks. You don’t want to tell your kid: no, you can order just one food thing because it is so terribly expensive.
Makakilo: In every in-person experience, I discovered something new to savor and enjoy. What I would do is keep newness and wonder in the fan experience.
Jim: Personally, I suspect that much as with cinema-going, COVID “broke” the in-person MLB experience for me, and I’m not sure it can be repaired. Between ticket prices, an hour on either end to get to/from home, crowds, available concessions, poor wifi, etc. it takes something special to get me off the couch to a game. I’ll be going in a couple of weeks, because Ben’s coming to town, and the social aspect – hanging out with friends at the park – is the only appeal. Especially given the relative unimportance of a single game in the schedule, and the way the division is going to be a procession [sorry, Jack, it’s not even going to be close!]. Yeah, that couch is perfectly fine.
Wesley: The in-game experience is non-existent for me, given that I live two hours away from Chase Field. When I have made the trip up I-10, the prices+quality of food has been so been so bad that I very likely won’t bother the next time I go. Overall, it’s just not worth it to me anymore. I love the MILB experience when I’ve been in Reno, which kinda says everything to me. MLB should be a better experience than a minor league baseball game. ln terms of actual constructive criticism, the Dbacks need to make it actually worth it for people in the Tucson area to make the trip up to Phoenix. Improve the quality of food, lower the prices, and DITCH ARAMARK as a food contractor. They’re literally prison food.
Ben: I do think it’s interesting that nearly everyone brought up the cost of attendance. There does seem to be some attention being paid to that problem as first the Mariners and now the Orioles have introduced a “Value Menu” with drinks and food more closely hewing to more traditional levels. Personally, MLB needs to do more to make the experience unique: more fan interaction, giveaways, something. It’s too easy, convenient, and cheap to watch the game from home and the league needs to make it worthwhile for people to attend.
Dano: It would have to be the price of concessions. It’s fun to go to a game for the atmosphere, and the live-game experience, but honestly, if I can see the action better and have a more comfortable seat and not have to pay $18 for a pint of beer, I’m going to stay home just about every time. Of course, like Wes, it’s a two-hour drive up the 10 for us, so we’re already disincentivized to attend in person. It’s kind of sad, though, how much it costs once you’re inside the park.