MLB Opening Day 2011: The Roster Is Set for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Almost

Today marks the first part of a now diluted Opening Day, with six of a possible fifteen games taking place. 

Unfortunately, those cheering the Sedona red will have to wait until Friday, as the Diamondbacks will be involved in Opening Day part deux tomorrow at Coors Field.

Nonetheless, baseball is here and that’s always a good thing.

It was a rough spring for the Diamondbacks.

There were a lot of issues over the past four weeks. Problems with errors, an awful back end of the rotation and an inconsistent bullpen might have been enough to turn manager Kirk Gibson’s hair gray, if he had any.

The roster is set and outside of a few exceptions, there aren’t many surprises. 

Kam Mickolio will take a spot in the bullpen and it was nice to see Ryan Roberts make the team. Roberts had a successful year in 2009, but struggled last season; however, his .500 batting average this spring probably made Gibson’s decision easier, not to mention he plays three different positions.   

The rotation will be Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Joe Saunders, Barry Enright and Armando Galarraga for at least the first few months of the season. Zach Duke will return after the first month and will likely replace Galarraga, should Galarraga continue to struggle.

The more interesting scenario will be at the end of June, when Diamondbacks’ fans could get their first look at farm system jewel Jarrod Parker at the MLB level. 

Most likely, the team will not be contending for anything by that time, as dispiriting as that sounds; giving Parker time to pitch at a MLB level without the pressure associated with a contending team could help in his development.

The positive take away for the Diamondbacks from this spring is that the offense wasn’t terrible, somewhat like a dinner at Chili’s: Not great, but it’s alright and probably won’t cause you to get ill.

The offense from 2010 was more of a street taco from Tijuana, most nights you were puking in an alley.

Any positive take aways from this spring have not been enough to sway the general consensus that the Diamondbacks are not a good team. 

But any organization that has lost 189 games the past two seasons will most likely give that impression, especially after a poor spring and especially one that has a roster with unproven names and veteran question marks. 

But this perception allows the Diamondbacks to enter this season without something that they’ve had the past two Opening Days, the expectation from the fans that they will compete for the NL West. 

Perhaps this absence of pressure will allow the team to play freely and after Game 162, we may say they were better than we thought.

I’d say that’s a pretty good bet, because after 2010 it’s tough to be worse and for at least this morning, the Arizona Diamondbacks are in first place in the NL West.

Thanks alphabet.