Will a change of coaches help?
A few days of calm since our elimination. How are you feeling now?
Sam: Admittedly still a bit ticked off at how the season ended, particularly seeing how the Braves just collapsed against the Padres. The Braves had no right to win the last game of that doubleheader, and only got in because the Mets’ batters only put up a token effort. It really should have been Mets-Padres, Dbacks-Brewers… but alas, MLB messed up big-time.
Spencer: I remain disappointed. But I’ve caught up on The Rings of Power.
Makakilo: After watching daily episodes of The Lone Ranger, I’m feeling ready to win next season. I’m excited to see a new pitching coach make a positive impact.
DBacksEurope: Nice, Spencer, I’ve caught up on it as well. Other than that, my focus has shifted a bit to soccer and I am able to conversate a bit better with my friends over here now. I’m not bitter about missing out on the playoffs. It’s a disappointment but the team tried hard until the end. Until late June the Diamondbacks looked dead. It was some exciting months after that but the terrific offence couldn’t hide that we had bad pitching. Despite the lack of quality pitching we almost made the playoffs, that is remarkable and that is the taste that I have in my mouth now despite eating a terrific lamb skewer yesterday near Valladolid.
1AZfan1: I’ve leveled off and can at least watch playoff baseball now. Rings of Power is on our watchlist, too, but my wife isn’t ready to start back up yet.
Spencer: A season 1 rewatch would be a good idea. I found myself confused at times.
DBacksEurope: I think the summaries at the beginning of each episode are actually rather good, guys. Dune, on the other hand, I have to watch the first movie again.
What do you think of the firing of our entire staff of pitching coaches?
Sam: I’m fine with it. I mean, the pitching was the problem, right? We scored the most runs in the league by far and missed the playoffs. I know we all probably have a soft spot for Strom after seeing the 2021-2022 turnaround in the pitching staff, but the decay from 2022 to 2023, then from 2023 to 2024, was simply negative evidence in the opposite direction.
Spencer: I think it was a little drastic, but I’m shocked Fetters lasted as long as he did. Strom put a new system in place for the organization which I expect to be taken over by the new hire. My dream team right now would be Zack Greinke as MLB pitching coach and Stottlemyre of the Marlins (recently fired) in charge of all the farm pitching.
Makakilo: I like Spencer’s dream team! By firing the entire staff, the Diamondbacks may attract a top pitching coach who relishes the opportunity to personally pick his staff.
DBacksEurope: I was never excited or disappointed about these kinds of changes in the past and nor am I now. I don’t wish to overestimate the importance of coaches. Strom couldn’t fix Bumgarner nor Montgomery but I don’t think he can be held responsible for that. A questionable bullpen that hasn’t gotten much love from Hazen over the past few years can’t be expected to be elite. On the other hand, Gallen has lost his shine which is something I find hard to understand. So, I don’t think that Strom and co. are responsible for the failure of this year’s pitching but they couldn’t fix it either. All in all, a bit of a shrug here. I can understand that Kendrick, in his utter disappointment, demanded a few heads and the most reasonable after this season were Strom’s and company.
1AZfan1: Thought maybe they’d let Strom ‘resign’ before letting the other coaches go, but I was hoping they did something to shake up the pitching staff. Dan Haren is still with the team, I wonder if he is under consideration for promotion to the top job?
What should the team be looking for in their replacements?
Sam: I admit that I have no idea what goes into a good coach, beyond generic stuff like meshing well with the rest of the organization and having a proven track record of success.
Spencer: I want a mix of excellent development and ability to work with the egos that come with MLB pitchers.
Makakilo: I’d look for replacements with two things:
- He has developed pitchers to their highest level and beyond.
- He has guided pitchers back from injuries, at a good pace and without reinjury.
DBacksEurope: I don’t know who is available and might be a better option than the ones the Diamondbacks have relieved of their duties. To have a better track record than Strom before he came to Arizona might be a tough find.
1AZfan1: Someone who can work with young pitching. ERod is the only veteran pitcher we have under contract beyond this upcoming season; that may change over the next five months, but whoever comes in will need to be able to keep Pfaadt and Nelson progressing and hopefully turn at least of one of Diaz/Mena/Lin into a viable member of a playoff rotation by 2026. I don’t know anything about the Pitching Coach market, so have no idea who fits that bill, but I’m convinced it needs to be someone that can develop our youngsters.
Arizona Fall League rosters were announced. Anyone you’re following?
Sam: “Following” is probably too strong a word, but I can say I’ve heard of Lin, Groover, Troy and Robinson before, and hope to hear they are continuing to progress.
Spencer: Honestly I don’t care all that much right now. The fall League is fun and I’d be way more into it if I lived in Arizona. I like that we have mostly “name-brand” participants this year, but I’m not sure if any of them will gain much by the experience.
Makakilo: I wrote about two players of interest (Cristian Mena and Jordan Lawlar). Both made their Major League debut (Mena in 2024 and Lawlar in 2023), but it looks like they will not be playing in the Arizona Fall League.
Yilber Diaz is the only player from my top group of 5 prospects who might be playing in the Arizona Fall League.
DBacksEurope: No. I won’t be following anyone but every time I see the name of Lin appearing I admit I get more interested. The fact that he is a prospect from Asia makes him somewhat of a more exotic exponent of the farm system. Did the Diamondbacks ever have a “homegrown” Asian kid making the majors?
1AZfan1: I don’t follow the Fall League as closely as some on the site, but I do check box scores many days. I’m glad I at least recognize Lin, Groover, Troy, and Robinson as organizational participants. Between them, I most want to see how Lin and Troy do. Lin had a tough season, but I assign most of the blame (correctly or not) to missing all the time early in the year taking a foul ball to the face. I’ve expected a lot of Troy due to his high draft status, but so far there have only been flashes of potential. It looked like he started to warm up toward the end of the season, so hopefully he can keep that momentum rolling and come into Spring Training ready to push upwards in the system.
Who are you rooting for/against in the playoffs, and why?
Sam: In general, apart from the expected grudges as a Dbacks fan, I like teams that haven’t had much playoff success, especially recently. Mainly because of the former, now that the Brewers are out, I’m having difficulty rooting for any NL team, but I’ll always root against the Dodgers. And sort of oppositely, in the AL bracket, now that the Astros and Orioles are out, well, every remaining team missed the playoffs last year. The Yankees are still easy to root against, though, so I’d be good with any of the AL Central teams making it – maybe rooting most heavily for the Guardians, who have the longest active World Series drought (since 1948). However it turns out, I think that in any World Series matchup, I’ll be rooting for the AL.
Spencer: I fell asleep during the Tigers/Guardians game on Saturday. Does that count as watching if I don’t have kids? I’d like to see two AL Central teams in the ALCS. I have no interest at all in the NL side.
Makakilo: Magnum PI was a Tigers fan. As a Hawaiian resident, I send the Tigers a two handed shaka.
DBacksEurope: I am only doing scoreboard watching. Maybe the way the Diamondbacks missed out on the playoffs has diminished my interest. I am signing up for an NLCS of Padres vs Phillies and, though I hardly follow the AL, I am fine with Yankees vs Cleveland. The Mets are an interesting team to follow: if they make it to the NLCS (and beyond) it would be one of the stories of the century, to be honest, especially after Steve Cohen not spending this season. I hope for an NL team to win the World Series or the Yankees but I will cheer for the fans and the team who wins it all: I am sure they will have deserved it.
1AZfan1: My parents grew up as Royals/Tigers fans so they are at the top of my list to root for. Guardians would fall in right behind them due to their long drought noted by Sam. After that, it gets into the ‘at least they’re not the Yankees/Dodgers’ group of Mets/Phils/Padres who I’d root for in that order. If there’s a Yankees/Dodgers World Series, it would be HUGE for MLB, but I won’t enjoy a single second of it.
Is there a habit you picked up in the COVID era that you still maintain?
Sam: My immediate family (parents, siblings) and I started a weekly hour long Zoom call that we’ve kept up ever since. We’re closer relationally than we were pre-pandemic, even though we’re now physically more distant with me, my wife and kids living in Singapore.
Spencer: I have some professional ones that have stuck. My personal life is basically the same though. Perhaps I keep more toilet paper on hand than is strictly necessary for a single man living alone?
Makakilo: Three things:
- Continued vaccinations. About a month ago, I received the latest COVID vaccine.
- I keep a mask in my car just in case. And I wear my mask in crowded places.
- Continued storage of paper towels and toilet paper in the garage.
DBacksEurope: The habit they enforced on me was to work 6 days a week and 14 hours per day, on the seventh I only had to work 4 hours. Maybe the habit of remote working in general is something positive, although companies are trying to force people to go back into the offices again.
1AZfan1: Online grocery order and pickup. We don’t use it every time, but we love the ability to jump on the app while a game or show is on and build the order and schedule a pickup. And as much as my wife and I like the time savings and convenience, I think our kids like it more haha.