Kuzul

The Arizona Diamondbacks have set a new record in a category to be embarrassed about, meanwhile introducing a new general manager.

The 2001 Milwaukee Brewers had set a record to forget about. They set the season strikeout record the year the Arizona Diamondbacks won the World Series.

Now, the Arizona Diamondbacks have broken the 1,399 strikeouts carried for several years with a standing season total of 1,403.

Adam LaRoche was the record-passing strikeout, making it number 1,400.

The Diamondbacks’ leaders in strikeouts are Mark Reynolds (202), LaRoche (157), Justin Upton (152), Chris Young (134), and Kelly Johnson (133).

D-Backs hire new GM

The looming Arizona Diamondbacks fired their manager, A.J. Hinch, and general manager, Josh Byrnes, midseason when they were playing ball below their projected season outcome. Arizona looked to Kirk Gibson and Jerry DiPoto as their interim manager and GM.

Now, the Arizona Diamondbacks have introduced a new GM in Kevin Towers.

Towers led the Padres into this season before being fired in favor of Jed Hoyer. Towers had constructed the in-and-out first place team.

Towers looks to bring the organization back to life, building their structure around young star Justin Upton, power-hitting Mark Reynolds, and young pitcher Daniel Hudson.

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Chances are that if you were around, you remember the 1986 baseball season.

A season capped by an exciting World Series that was best known for being the launching pad for several successful major league careers, including those of Barry Bonds, Greg Maddux, Mark McGwire, Fred McGriff, Barry Larkin, David Cone, Bo Jackson, Jamie Moyer, Steve Finley, Will Clark, and Rafael Palmeiro.

There were some impressive debuts that year, too. Will Clark hit a home run in his first at-bat, off of Nolan Ryan. Jimmy Jones pitched a one-hitter in his first major league appearance for San Diego. Greg Maddux had a shutout in his second career appearance.

Much like 1986, this season has been big on rookies.

You may be getting tired of reading the stories about how the likes of Jaime Garica, Jason Heyward, Neftali Feliz, Buster Posey, Aroldis Chapman, Starlin Castro, Adalberto Mendez, Logan Morrison, Mike Leake, Travis Wood, Danny Valencia, Danny Espinosa, Daniel Nava, Mike Stanton, and Chris Sale are forming the best rookie class since that magical ’86 season.

You may be tired of the stories of the amazing debuts of Starlin Castro, Aroldis Chapman, Daniel Nava, and recently, Adalberto Melendez.

Hold on one second longer, because one rookie still doesn’t get his due when this amazing season is spoken about.

That man is Barry Enright.

Don’t be surprised if this is the first you’ve heard of Enright, who, at the tender age of 24, has been the Diamondbacks’ most consistent starter this year.

A quick sweep of Google will give you about 448,000 results for the phrase “Barry Enright”, but over 1.8 million for “Stephen Strasburg”.

He’s flown largely under the radar, despite one of the best rookie seasons in Arizona’s relatively short history.

All season, Enright has mowed down hitters with quiet precision, posting an ERA of 2.45, second among rookies to only Jaime Garcia. He has shown remarkable success in pitching to contact. Despite only averaging only five strikeouts per nine innings, Enright’s WHIP is lower than that of Garcia’s, and several major league stalwarts, like CC Sabathia and Danny Haren.

He’s done all of this despite pitching in an extreme hitters’ park, where a lack of strikeouts usually points to a tendency for the long ball.

And you’d be right. Enright has given up one homer per nine innings, but has been able to minimize mistakes otherwise. He holds opponents to a .191 average and posting a 5.5 K/BB ratio in 51 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.

Enright seems to know what’s going on, saying, “The tough times are the ones that truly show you who you are.”

By buckling down with runners on, he has shown tenacity and mental ability usually reserved for veterans.

Am I saying Barry Enright is my choice for Rookie of the Year? Not quite. His BAbip of .259 and xFIP of 4.84 show that his numbers can’t be held up for much longer. But with just one month left on the schedule, do they really need to?

For now, let’s just sit back and watch one of the most under-reported rookie seasons in years.

When people look back and talk about the stunning rookies that debuted this season, don’t be surprised if Enright’s name comes to the forefront of the discussion. Smart young pitchers are hard to find in this league.

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A.J. Hinch had no business being an MLB manager.

He would have driven the 1927 Yankees into the cellar (okay, maybe not).

But a 31-47 record in 2010 with a team that didn’t respect him as far as they could throw him marked the end of his tenure in Arizona.

Now the D-Backs are left with three possible options for the team’s next skipper: hire a coaching veteran, a former player, or an in-house assistant.

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The first somewhat significant trade of the 2010 season took place yesterday between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Oakland A’s.

I say somewhat because no major names were involved, but I think it was a trade that could help both teams.

Yesterday, the Diamondbacks traded OF/1B Conor Jackson to the A’s for minor league RHP Sam Demel. Here is what both teams got.

As you probably have heard me say throughout the years here, Conor Jackson sounds and looks like a guy who should hit .300 with 30 HRs and 110 RBI every year. Unfortunately, he was never that guy and more so now after suffering from valley fever last year.

In his first three full years in the majors, Jackson averaged .292/.371/.451 with 14 home runs, which is pretty respectable. However, last year Jackson suffered from a rare case of valley fever and saw his hitting line dip to .182/.264/.253 with one HR in 30 games.

Things haven’t been that much better for Jackson in 2010, as he has gotten off to a .238/.326/.331 with one HR start. Jackson has done well against lefties, however, as he has hit .300 with an .833 OPS against southpaws this year.

Jackson does represent an upgrade for the A’s over Eric Patterson in left. Patterson was hitting only .210 with a .262 OBP in 42 games. The A’s could use any upgrade they can find on offense, as they rank 12th in the American League in runs scored and 11th in OPS.

As for the Diamondbacks, I believe this is the first of many moves to come. It wouldn’t shock me to see them unload Kelly Johnson or Adam LaRoche in the near future.

What they get in this trade is a 24-year-old right-handed reliever who posted a 1.26 ERA and 28 K’s in 28.2 IP for Triple-A Sacramento this year. The Diamondbacks’ bullpen is the worst in baseball this year, so any sort of fresh arm is greatly welcomed. If Demel proves himself at the major league level, he could find himself as the Diamondbacks’ closer of the future.

Good trade for both teams.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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The Arizona Diamondbacks faced the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field with demonstrators in favor of and against the new immigration laws signed by Jan Brewer (the governor Of Arizona).

I refuse to use this article to express an opinion unrelated to sports. What I will write about (from the heart) is the interference of politics in America’s national game from both sides of the controversial issue.

While the USA allows for peaceful demonstrations as a form of freedom of speech, doing so in front of a baseball stadium is reprehensible. People who go to sporting events of any kind go to relax and escape from the routines and tensions of everyday life.

It appears that one cannot relax in a sporting event with political demonstrations. I call on the spectators to ignore the political demonstrations from both sides of the immigration issue in front of any baseball or sporting events by saying yes in mind, heart, and soul to sports without politics.

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