SB Nation Boston: All Posts by Bryan Kilpatrick

First place Diamondbacks not impressed with your mockery

2013-05-20T18:00:07Z

It's amazing what a fast start can do.

Prior to the start of the season, the Arizona Diamondbacks were being widely ridiculed for their decision to trade star outfielder Justin Upton, a guy who had hit .278/.357/.475 and blasted 108 home runs before reaching the age of 25. Some, including myself, laughed at the Diamondbacks for giving up talent -- Upton and Trevor Bauer -- for intangibles. Getting guys like Martin Prado and Didi Gregorius but not much else in return for those two players had just about everyone questioning the motives of Kevin Towers, Kirk Gibson and others within the organization.

But now, after jumping out to a 25-18 start after a quarter-season of play, the Diamondbacks simply ask: Who's laughing now?

Need Rockies tickets? Check out TiqIQ!

The tone of the Upton deal, in particular, changed from "HAHAHAHA IDIOTS" to "well, they could have at least got more in return" after the likes of Gregorius, Paul Goldschmidt, Gerardo Parra, Eric Chavez and Patrick Corbin helped the D-Backs to the National League West lead.

Gregorius, a guy previously considered as a mostly-glove shortstop, was acquired in the Trevor Bauer deal and owns a .354/.414/.582 line, good for a 167 OPS+.

Parra, who took over in Upton's stead in right field, is hitting .320/.385/.494, yet remains one of baseball's most underrated players. Parra is tied with another vastly underrated Diamondback in rWAR among position players in NL, making it very hard to continue to ignore the duo.

Paul Goldschmidt

#44 / First Base / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 245

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 10, 1987

	AVG	OBP	SLG
2013 - Paul Goldschmidt	.333	.414	.635

Goldschmidt boasts that tremendous slash line shown above and leads the NL in slugging, OPS, OPS+ and total bases. He's also tied for the league lead in games played, a simple-but-important statistic that is often overlooked, as Rockies fans know very well. Goldschmidt has belted 12 home runs -- more than double the amount of any of his teammates -- and has knocked in team-leading 35 runs.

Arguably the most surprising player in terms of offensive production on Arizona's roster is Eric Chavez, the 35-year-old lefty who resurrected his career with the New York Yankees a year ago and has continued the trend in the desert. Chavez is hitting .330/.388/.564, good for a 155 OPS+, while gradually receiving more playing time as the season wears on.

As we learned from this past offseason, Arizona is certainly not shy about making trades in recent years; a few years back, the team dealt Dan Haren when he was in the middle of his prime. Haren was coming off of two straight All-Star campaigns for the D-Backs in which he posted league-leading K/BB numbers and was striking out batters at a career-best rate. Among the players the Los Angeles Angels sent to Arizona in return was young starting pitcher Patrick Corbin.

Corbin had a promising debut as a 22-year-old in 2012, finishing with a 4.54 ERA/91 ERA+ but walking just 2.1 batters per nine innings while punching out more than seven. Despite slightly worse K/BB numbers this year, Corbin has improved to the tune of a 1.52 ERA/263 ERA+ by getting more groundball outs and keeping the ball in the park. While he is certainly due for some regression, Corbin possesses very good command which will help him continue to be successful in the big leagues.

*****

Probable pitchers

Game 1: Monday, May 20 at 6:40 p.m. MT (ROOT Sports)

Patrick Corbin (6-0, 1.52 ERA) vs. Jon Garland (3-4, 4.89 ERA)

Game 2: Tuesday, May 21 at 6:40 p.m. MT (ROOT Sports)

Ian Kennedy (2-3, 4.88) vs. Jhoulys Chacin (3-3, 4.07)

Game 3: Wednesday, May 22 at 1:10 p.m. MT (no TV)

Trevor Cahill (3-4, 2.48) vs. Jorge De La Rosa (5-3, 3.58)

*****

Batting

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
Didi Gregorius	21	79	14	28	7	1	3	6	7	13	0	1	.354	.414	.582
Paul Goldschmidt	44	159	29	53	12	0	12	35	23	43	4	1	.333	.414	.635
Eric Chavez	32	94	14	31	7	0	5	18	8	17	1	0	.330	.388	.564
Gerardo Parra	43	172	28	55	14	2	4	12	18	30	4	6	.320	.385	.494
Aaron Hill	10	36	5	11	3	0	2	6	5	1	0	1	.306	.405	.556
Cody Ross	32	108	8	31	5	1	1	13	8	15	0	0	.287	.333	.380
Wil Nieves	11	25	2	7	0	0	0	3	2	3	0	0	.280	.321	.280
Jason Kubel	21	63	8	15	2	0	3	10	6	18	0	0	.238	.300	.413
Martin Prado	43	177	20	42	6	0	4	10	13	22	1	3	.237	.292	.339
A.J. Pollock	39	136	18	32	14	0	4	15	5	28	5	2	.235	.261	.426
Josh Wilson	20	47	6	10	1	1	1	4	4	12	0	0	.213	.275	.340
Cliff Pennington	37	108	7	22	5	0	1	9	12	29	0	0	.204	.281	.278
Eric Hinske	30	32	1	6	1	0	1	4	2	8	0	0	.188	.235	.313
Alfredo Marte	22	43	4	8	3	0	0	4	4	12	0	0	.186	.271	.256
Miguel Montero	40	139	13	25	2	0	3	13	20	32	0	0	.180	.280	.259
Wade Miley	9	14	1	1	0	0	1	2	1	5	0	0	.071	.133	.286
Patrick Corbin	8	17	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	6	0	0	.059	.059	.118
Ian Kennedy	10	17	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	8	0	0	.059	.111	.118
Trevor Cahill	9	19	1	1	0	1	0	2	0	9	0	0	.053	.053	.158
Brandon McCarthy	9	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	0	0	.000	.056	.000
Josh Collmenter	12	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.000	.000
Brad Ziegler	24	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000
J.J. Putz	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000
Tony Sipp	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000
Heath Bell	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000
Matt Reynolds	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000
David Hernandez	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000
Will Harris	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000

Pitching

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Matt Reynolds	0-1	21	0	0	0	2	0	19.2	16	2	2	0	1	19	0.92	.86
Patrick Corbin	6-0	8	8	0	0	0	0	53.1	40	9	9	2	17	41	1.52	1.07
Josh Collmenter	1-0	12	0	0	0	0	0	22.0	16	6	6	1	5	23	2.45	.95
Trevor Cahill	3-4	9	9	0	0	0	0	58.0	44	17	16	3	24	43	2.48	1.17
Brad Ziegler	1-1	24	0	0	0	0	0	20.2	16	6	6	2	6	16	2.61	1.06
David Hernandez	2-2	19	0	0	0	1	3	19.2	18	7	7	4	8	21	3.20	1.32
Wade Miley	3-3	9	9	0	0	0	0	54.0	52	23	22	4	20	41	3.67	1.33
Tony Sipp	2-1	18	0	0	0	0	2	12.0	11	5	5	1	8	11	3.75	1.58
J.J. Putz	2-1	14	0	0	0	5	4	12.2	12	6	6	3	8	17	4.26	1.58
Heath Bell	2-0	19	0	0	0	6	2	18.0	23	9	9	2	3	23	4.50	1.44
Brandon McCarthy	1-3	9	9	1	1	0	0	57.0	71	32	30	6	8	37	4.74	1.39
Ian Kennedy	2-3	10	9	0	0	0	0	55.1	52	30	30	7	23	44	4.88	1.36
Will Harris	0-0	4	0	0	0	0	0	3.0	6	3	3	0	0	4	9.00	2.00

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Adam Eaton	elbow	03/22/2013
Aaron Hill	wrist	04/15/2013
Willie Bloomquist	oblique	03/27/2013
J.J. Putz	elbow	05/08/2013

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Daniel Hudson	elbow	02/18/2013

Giants vs. Rockies final score: Tulowitzki, Rosario power Colorado to 10-2 win

2013-05-19T03:18:29Z

After Thursday's gut-wrenching loss, the Colorado Rockies fell to 2-15 in their last 17 games against the San Francisco Giants. Two days later, the Rockies must be on cloud nine after taking consecutive games from the defending-champion Giants, who entered the series with 30 victories in their last 39 games against the guys in purple.

Colorado received a balanced effort from its offense and pitching staff for a full nine innings en route to a 10-2 victory over first-place San Francisco on Saturday. The back-to-back wins marks the first such occurrence for the Rockies against the Giants since this time two years ago.

It's also the first time the Rox have won consecutive games of any sort since beating the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 20 to cap off an eight-game winning streak.

Troy Tulowitzki had four hits and a pair of runs batted in and Wilin Rosario hit a two-run home run as part of a 2-for-4, three-RBI night to pace Colorado's offense, which banged out 10 hits -- seven of which came against Giants starter Tim Lincecum. Lincecum had a rough evening; he took a tumble on the mound while attempting to throw a pitch which resulted in a balk and made a head-scratching throwing error which kickstarted Colorado's offensive onslaught.

Dexter Fowler continued to heat up, finishing 3-for-5 with an opposite-field double -- a promising sign from a guy who has been eye-poppingly pull-happy as of late.

Tyler Chatwood prevented damage to the tune of one run on seven hits and four walks in 5.2 innings. He struck out four. Josh Outman performed admirably in relief of Chatwood, giving up a run on three hits in two innings.

Wilton Lopez notched a strikeout to close out the eighth inning and kept the Giants off the board in the ninth to preserve the blowout victory.

23 - 20

Games Back: 1.5

Streak: Won 2

Games Left: 119

*****

Source: FanGraphs

Roll Call Info
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2013 Colorado Rockies Game No. 43: Tim Lincecum vs. Tyler Chatwood

2013-05-18T23:26:35Z

Current Series

4 game series vs Giants @ Coors Field

Thu 05/16	WP: Matt Cain (3 - 2) SV: Sergio Romo LP: Jhoulys Chacin (3 - 3)	6 - 8 loss
Fri 05/17	WP: Jorge De La Rosa (5 - 3) SV: Rafael Betancourt LP: Madison Bumgarner (4 - 2)	10 - 9 win
San Francisco Giants McCovey Chronicles @ Colorado Rockies Purple Row Saturday, May 18, 2013, 6:10 PM MDT Coors Field Tim Lincecum vs Tyler Chatwood Mostly cloudy. Winds blowing from left to right field at 10-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 70. Giants showing new dimension heading into series at Coors Field posted by Bryan Kilpatrick 2 days ago 5 comments \| 0 recs Complete Coverage >
Sun 05/19		2:10 PM MDT

Now that the Rockies' first victory over the Giants in 2013 is out of the way, how about another? Tim Lincecum isn't what he once was, and he's had a whale of a time trying to get batters out at Coors Field over the course of the last few years anyway. If Colorado can continue the offensive momentum it built during the first two games of this series, a much-needed split against San Francisco may be in hand before Saturday is over.

Lineups

Giants

Angel Pagan CF
Marco Scutaro 2B
Pablo Sandoval 3B
Buster Posey C
Hunter Pence RF
Brandon Belt 1B
Gregor Blanco LF
Brandon Crawford SS
Tim Lincecum P

Rockies

Dexter Fowler CF
Josh Rutledge 2B
Carlos Gonzalez LF
Troy Tulowitzki SS
Wilin Rosario C
Todd Helton 1B
Nolan Arenado 3B
Charlie Blackmon RF
Tyler Chatwood P

Current Series

4 game series vs Giants @ Coors Field

Thu 05/16	WP: Matt Cain (3 - 2) SV: Sergio Romo LP: Jhoulys Chacin (3 - 3)	6 - 8 loss
Fri 05/17	WP: Jorge De La Rosa (5 - 3) SV: Rafael Betancourt LP: Madison Bumgarner (4 - 2)	10 - 9 win
San Francisco Giants McCovey Chronicles @ Colorado Rockies Purple Row Saturday, May 18, 2013, 6:10 PM MDT Coors Field Tim Lincecum vs Tyler Chatwood Mostly cloudy. Winds blowing from left to right field at 10-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 70. Giants showing new dimension heading into series at Coors Field posted by Bryan Kilpatrick 2 days ago 5 comments \| 0 recs Complete Coverage >
Sun 05/19		2:10 PM MDT

Lineups

Giants

Angel Pagan CF
Marco Scutaro 2B
Pablo Sandoval 3B
Buster Posey C
Hunter Pence RF
Brandon Belt 1B
Gregor Blanco LF
Brandon Crawford SS
Tim Lincecum P

Rockies

Dexter Fowler CF
Josh Rutledge 2B
Carlos Gonzalez LF
Troy Tulowitzki SS
Wilin Rosario C
Todd Helton 1B
Nolan Arenado 3B
Charlie Blackmon RF
Tyler Chatwood P

Steve Alford, New Mexico reach buyout agreement

2013-05-18T18:49:57Z

A buyout between UCLA head coach Steve Alford and his former employer, New Mexico, will net the school approximately $625,000, according to Geoff Grammar of the ABQ Journal.

For more on New Mexico and UCLA, visit Mountain West Connection and Bruins Nation.

Alford and UCLA will pay New Mexico $300,000 of the $1 million initially demanded by the university, which ends up being $100,000 more than what Alford offered. New Mexico will also recuperate roughly $325,000 in incentives that would have been owed to Alford.

Alford bolted for UCLA on March 29, days after agreeing to a 10-year contract extension at New Mexico. Alford guided the Lobos to the Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament championships and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament before losing to Harvard in the second round.

New Mexico went 155-52 under Alford during his six seasons in Albuquerque, winning four conference championships and notching a pair of NCAA Tournament victories against three losses.

C.J. Wilcox injury: Washington G undergoes foot surgery

2013-05-18T17:57:29Z

Washington Huskies guard C.J. Wilcox underwent successful foot surgery on Friday, according to a news release by the school (via The Seattle Times).

For more on the Huskies, head over to UW Dawg Pound.

Wilcox began wearing a protective boot on his left foot in early February after being diagnosed with a stress fracture. He played the remainder of the season, although he sat out the final two months of practice for what head coach Lorenzo Romar called "preventive measures."

Wilcox scored less than 10 points in four of his last 11 games. He averaged 14 points per contest over that stretch, down from the 18 points per game he was averaging prior.

The 6'5, 195-pound senior from Pleasant Grove, Utah, dealt with a fracture in his femur during the 2011-12 season but still managed to score 14.2 points per game. He finished the 2012-13 season with 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest.

Indiana transfer Remy Abell chooses Xavier

2013-05-18T17:28:38Z

Former Indiana shooting guard Remy Abell will transfer to Xavier, according to CBS Sports' Jeff Borzello. Abell announced his decision to leave the Hoosiers more than a month ago and eventually chose the Musketeers over St. Louis and St. Mary's.

For more on Xavier basketball, head over to Banners on the Parkway .

Abell averaged 4.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game as a sophomore for the Hoosiers last season. It was a slight increase over his production as a freshman, when he scored 3.0 points and pulled down 0.9 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per contest.

The Musketeers, who finished 17-14 last season, were led by freshman Semaj Christon, who scored 15.2 points per game and could be one of the better players in the country by the time Abell takes the floor in 2014-15. Two of Xavier's other top scorers in 2012-13 were sophomores and could play a big role for the team at that point, as well.

NASCAR All-Star Race 2013 lineup: Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch atop starting grid

2013-05-18T16:53:29Z

Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch will be at the front of the starting lineup in the 2013 NASCAR All-Star Race on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

For more on the All-Star Race, head over to SB Nation's NASCAR hub.

Edwards topped the qualifying session, which allowed drivers to take a break from the normal requirements. Dale Earnhardt Jr. originally finished in second place, but was penalized for a loose lug nut, knocking him down to 15th. That allowed Busch to move up to the runner-up spot, securing his place alongside Edwards at the top of the grid.

Nineteen drivers are guaranteed spots and three additional participants will be decided during the 40-lap Sprint Showdown. The Showdown begins at 7:30 p.m. ET with the All-Star Race beginning at 9 p.m.

Complete Sprint All-Star Race Starting Lineup:

1) Carl Edwards

2) Kurt Busch

3) Greg Biffle

4) Kyle Busch

5) Joey Logano

6) Clint Bowyer

7) Denny Hamlin

8) Mark Martin

9) Kasey Kahne

10) Jeff Gordon

11) Ryan Newman

12) Brad Keselowski

13) Tony Stewart

14) David Ragan

15) Dale Earnhardt Jr.

16) Matt Kenseth

17) Marcos Ambrose

18) Jimmie Johnson

19) Kevin Harvick

NASCAR Sprint Showdown 2013 lineup: Martin Truex Jr. tops field

2013-05-18T16:37:10Z

Martin Truex Jr. tops the starting lineup for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Showdown, the 40-lap preliminary to the 2013 NASCAR All-Star Race.

Head over to SB Nation's NASCAR All-Star Race hub for more.

Three spots in the All-Star race will be up for grabs in the Showdown. The top two finishers, as well as one other participant chosen by fans, will compete in the main event. The driver voted in by the fans must finish the Showdown with an operable car, but no other placement requirements are necessary.

Juan Pablo Montoya and Danica Patrick are among the other 22 participants in the Showdown, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on SPEED.

Complete Sprint Showdown starting lineup:

1) Martin Truex Jr.

2) Jamie McMurray

3) Juan Pablo Montoya

4) Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

5) Casey Mears

6) Jeff Burton

7) Danica Patrick

8) Paul Menard

9) JJ Yeley

10) Landon Cassill

11) Bobby Labonte

12) Aric Almirola

13) Scott Riggs

14) David Gilliland

15) Michael McDowell

16) David Reutimann

17) Mike Bliss

18) Travis Kvapil

19) Dave Blaney

20) Timmy Hill

21) Joe Nemechek

22) David Stremme

23) Brian Keselowski

SB Nation Boston: All Posts by Bryan Kilpatrick

First place Diamondbacks not impressed with your mockery

Paul Goldschmidt

#44 / First Base / Arizona Diamondbacks

Probable pitchers

Batting

Pitching

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Giants vs. Rockies final score: Tulowitzki, Rosario power Colorado to 10-2 win

2013 Colorado Rockies Game No. 43: Tim Lincecum vs. Tyler Chatwood

Current Series

4 game series vs Giants @ Coors Field

Giants showing new dimension heading into series at Coors Field

Lineups

Current Series

4 game series vs Giants @ Coors Field

Giants showing new dimension heading into series at Coors Field

Lineups

Steve Alford, New Mexico reach buyout agreement

C.J. Wilcox injury: Washington G undergoes foot surgery

Indiana transfer Remy Abell chooses Xavier

NASCAR All-Star Race 2013 lineup: Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch atop starting grid

Complete Sprint All-Star Race Starting Lineup:

NASCAR Sprint Showdown 2013 lineup: Martin Truex Jr. tops field

Complete Sprint Showdown starting lineup: