162 games later, what started out as a very promising and very dominant season has turned into one of regret.  The players have failed, the management has failed, the front office has failed and really, so too have the fans.  The 2008 Dbacks season will be remembered as much more a turning point than as a stepping stone.  It will be the moment when historians look back and identify when, why, and how things went wrong in the desert.

As spring was coming to a close, there was much to be said for the Dbacks.  Chris Snyder and Connor Jackson had shown great progress at the plate.  The newly promoted closer, Brandon Lyon, appeared solid and ready to handle the pressure.  Eric Byrnes showed power and speed.  Orlando Hudson was in a contract year.  The future stood in right, center, third base, and second base and every point looked bright.  Chris Young was poised to become a perennial 30-30 player.  Justin Upton was to follow his lead.  Mark Reynolds would crush 40 home runs and Stephen Drew would draw more comparisons with his brother JD and less with other brother.  Josh Byrnes had moved some mid-level pitchers and a top of the line outfielder to secure a 200-inning ace in Danny Haren.  He had also sent volatile yet successful Jose Valverde to Houston when is value was at its highest.  Spring was as bright as the Arizona sun.

April proved everyone right as the Dbacks steamrolled over the rest of the NL West.  Sweeping both the Rockies and Dodgers to start the season and then failing to lose a series to any NL West rival until May 27th put them well ahead of the pack.  Dodgers dealt with injuries, the Rockies lacked pitching, Giants and Padres rebuilt and meanwhile, the Dbacks surged.  Even a back injury to Randy Johnson and cancer afflicting Doug Davis failed to slow the team as rookies stepped up to fill the gaps. 

Eric Byrnes, the team's leader and backbone, found himself in a major slump that began to pull the team down as May wore on.  His strikeout totals rose, he failed to get the ball on the ground, and his power was lacking.  When he finally went down, it spelled trouble in Arizona.

Hoping to fill the gap, as they had done before, the Dbacks used a revolving door of outfielders in Byrnes' place.  Jeff Salazar, Chris Burke, Alex Romero, and Emilio Bonifacio all had a hand in left at some point during Byrnes' absence and none were able to revitalize the team. 

Byrnes made an attempt to return to the Dbacks in June and actually helped them beat the Red Sox during this first game back.  For a brief moment, the tide had appeared to change.  Byrnes went back on the DL a few games later and the Dbacks staggered into the All-Star break.  At this point it was clear that the offense was still the problem.  After spending all of 2007 with great pitching and no hitting, the front office decided that things needed to change. 

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?