The Arizona Diamondbacks' Three Keys to Success

The Arizona Diamondbacks are coming off a season filled with trials, tribulations, and just downright bad luck.

Key players such as Eric Byrnes, Chris Young, Orlando Hudson, and Justin Upton all struggled mightily with injuries last year. Doug Davis battled back from cancer and pitched heroically but without a lot of effectiveness.

Chris Snyder missed time with a fractured testicle, thus enforcing the image of the Arizona clubhouse as more of a MASH unit than a baseball team’s quarters.

Even with all of these problems, there will still several shining moments. Brandon Webb and Dan Haren established themselves as one of the best one-two combos that any rotation in baseball has to offer, and the D’Backs got a glimpse of their future when promising young stud Max Scherzer came into the locker room and made an impact on the field.

Randy Johnson also had flashes of his old brilliance throughout the season as well, but more often than not he pitched without his usual effectiveness, punctuated by an array of fastballs and sliders.

With the failures of last season in mind, GM Josh Byrnes set to work remaking the team on the field.

He let players like Hudson, Johnson, and Adam Dunn leave via free agency, and he instead built around a nucleus of young players, relying upon Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew, and Mark Reynolds to carry the load the others have left behind.

They did add one veteran free agent to the mix, however, bringing in Jon Garland to provide a bridge between Doug Davis and Max Scherzer in the rotation. Also, this move will keep Yusiermo Petit fresh in case he needs to be called upon later in the season for some spot starts.

Overall, there are three keys to success that the Diamondbacks will need to achieve if they are going to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are loaded for bear with talent like Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Jonathan Broxton.

1. Chad Qualls HAS to be effective as the team’s closer

Last year, the Diamondbacks had a rotating circus of players at closer after the departure via trade of Jose Valverde. Chad Qualls, Brandon Lyon, and Petit all got chances to nail down the closer’s job, and none of them could capitalize on the opportunity.

With Petit moving out of the closer role and Lyon in Detroit, the job of closing has fallen squarely on Qualls.

Qualls was at best a loose cannon in his previous Major League stops, but if the Diamondbacks are going to go anywhere this season, they will need him to be productive and nail down between 25-30 saves.

2. The team’s three outfielders HAVE to come back strong

Byrnes, Young, and Upton comprise one of the youngest outfields in the game. They also comprise the biggest reason that the Diamondbacks were not more successful last year.

Their repeated bouts with injury and inconsistency left the D’Backs with very little potency in their lineup, and also led to a disjointed feel in the outfield that fill-ins like Conor Jackson and Adam Dunn were unable to fix.

This season, it is imperative that these three young guys come back strong both offensively and defensively. If Byrnes can steal bases and score runs, and Young and Upton hit for some power, then the team will be a lot better off. Also, they need to be a little more disciplined at the plate as well.

3. The stud pitchers HAVE to keep up the pace

Yes, it is a tall order for Brandon Webb and Dan Haren to both win between 18-22 games, but that is an absolute must for the team. These two guys, who are both among the higher paid pitchers in the game, have to give some serious bang for their buck in order to pick up the slack if the back-end of the rotation isn’t doing too well.

Another thing that these two have to do (especially Webb) is to mentor to the younger pitchers on the staff. Scherzer especially needs the guidance that these two veterans can provide, and if he can be taken under their wing, he could blossom into a very good pitcher in the near future and become a huge part of the team’s plans.

These keys are a bit of a simplistic way of looking at things, but that does not diminish the importance of any of them. The Diamondbacks are a team who has gone down this road before: rely on a couple of key veterans and try to build around a young nucleus.

Well, that youth movement had better come to fruition pretty soon, because once the free agency bug starts to bite this team, they’ll have to once again look to the minor league system, and another rebuilding job may be on tap. Time is of the essence.