Out Of Our Misery: The 2008 Dbacks

On July 17th, the Dbacks traded to get Tony Clark from the Padres.  Clark was instrumental in the Dbacks playoff run in 2007 and, some claimed, the missing piece for 2008.  With an extra backup at first base in Clark, it was time for Bob Melvin to try something drastic.  In what started as a sick joke (to me, at least) and turned into a "solution," mediocre fielder-yet-hot-hitting first baseman Connor Jackson was slotted into the  spot in left.  The terrible fielding and throwing of Jackson doomed the team but his hot bat, coupled with Chad Tracy's return from the DL and Tony Clark's platoon, was enough of a stop gap to keep Arizona in first place.  This was, however, the first move that would ultimately topple the Dbacks' tower.

With Brandon Lyon showing signs of struggling, putting pressure on Chad Qualls, Tony Pena, and Juan Cruz, the Dbacks made a play for Jon Rauch on July 22nd.  The Dbacks traded their light-footed AAA second baseman Emilio Bonifacio to the Nationals in return for the 6'11" relief pitcher.  Many in the valley thought this was a great move.  There were a few who questioned the move, however.  Orlando Hudson was not likely to be re-signed by the team and Bonifacio was being groomed as his successor.  This trade left the Dbacks without a starting second baseman in the event Hudson went down and for the foreseeable future.

These moves helped propel the Dbacks back above .500 and into a solid lead over the rest of the NL West.  The rest of July and August went smoothly with the Dbacks making great strides towards the NL West Championship.  August did begat one of the worst moves in Dbacks' history.  In what felt like a flashback to the Richie Sexon trade, the Dbacks made a reactionary move and sold off a large stake of their future to compete with the Dodgers' acquisition of Manny Ramirez.  The team brought on Adam Dunn from the Cincinnati Reds in a deal that would eventually include Wilken Castillo, Dallas Buck, and Silver Slugging pitcher/4-0 in April Micah Owings.  The Dbacks could have sent the Reds anyone on their team but sent their number 5 pitcher.  While not immediately seen, this trade caused a ripple effect that brought down the Dbacks in September.

August also saw the breakdown of Orlando Hudson again.  The over-hyped fielder broke his wrist and ended his season.  This was merely salt in the wound created by trading Bonifacio for Rauch.  Not only was Rauch terrible for the Dbacks but Bonifacio was needed now more than ever.  Augie Ojeda did a decent job filling in for Hudson, however, but was unable to replicate is patch-job of 2007.

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