Diamondbacks unexpectedly surging atop NL West, leaving Giants in wake

Justin Upton may win the NL MVP. Ace Ian Kennedy may win the Cy Young. It's been that kind of year for Arizona. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

The 2010 season was a nightmarish one for the Arizona Diamondbacks. They hit their fair share of home-runs, but the offense’s batting average was awful while the pitching staff struggled mightily. The bullpen was particularly troublesome, with a collective 5.74 ERA, the worst mark in the major leagues. No National League bullpen has had a worse ERA in the Divisional Era dating back to 1969.

As a result, the Diamondbacks finished with a 65-97 record, third-worst in baseball. They were in disarray, but had the chance in the offseason to change the environment. They did, and they have reaped the incredible benefits in sitting atop the National League West.

Under first-year head coach Kirk Gibson and a collection of other former players on his staff, Arizona has had a rebirth, relying on their wide-array of talented youth and unexpected, under-the-radar veterans.

The Diamondbacks have not only changed their mentality on the field but also in the dugout. Gibson has transformed from a fiery 17-year major league veteran to the composed manager, and this change in persona has done nothing but help his inexperienced team.

“I used to be really intense and went as hard at things as anybody — and reacted to failure as violently as a person can do it,” he said. “And through this year, I’ve just done a lot of reading over time and tried to understand how people approach different situations, just try to be understanding.”

Gibson’s staff of former accomplished players Don Baylor, Charles Nagy, Eric Young, Matt Williams, and Allan Trammel has given both the offense and pitching staff a breath of fresh air.

They are passing on their knowledge of the game, and it is obvious the Diamondbacks soaking in as much information as they can. Given how decorated the coaching staff is, they have reason to.

As ESPN’s Jim Caple wrote in August:

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“Add up their baseball-reference pages and you have 9,662 career hits, 5,445 runs, 4,910 RBIs, 1,235 home runs, 1,323 stolen bases, 509 times hit by pitches, eight Gold Gloves, 127 wins, 1,242 strikeouts, two MVP awards, two MVP runner-ups, a fourth-place Cy Young finish, 16 All-Star appearances, 11 World Series appearances and an Olympic gold medal.”

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As a result, the players’ approaches have been drastically altered.

Their statistics aren’t altogether pleasing offensively; they are only hitting .249 as a team, with a measly .319 on base percentage. Yet, these numbers are misleading. They are less reliant on the home-run, leading to much-improved situational hitting. They are moving runners over, getting big hits, and stealing more bases. And perhaps most importantly, they are striking out at much lower rate, with 1,091 strikeouts compared to 1,521 last season.

Justin Upton has been their best hitter and is an MVP candidate. He is hitting .296 with a .370 on base percentage, having clubbed 27 homers and driven in 82 runs. He leads the team in these categories, total bases, doubles, slugging percentage, total hits, and runs scored. Talk about most valuable.

He has been the team’s best player, but it is catcher Miguel Montero who is seen as the lineup’s backbone. He is “our captain on the field,” closer J.J. Putz said. “He takes charge on pretty much everything.” Montero, 28, has 73 rbi’s this season, including eight over the past week.

The team has also been lifted by the production of rookie Paul Goldschmidt, recently acquired Aaron Hill, formerly of the Toronto Blue Jays, and third-baseman Ryan Roberts.

They haven’t been scoring much recently, but they find a way to back a solid starting rotation. Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson were expected to excel, but not in their wildest dreams could the Diamondbacks believe they would be this good this soon. The duo atop the rotation has combined to go 32-13 with a 3.28 ERA.

Kennedy, who was acquired in 2009 from the New York Yankees, has 18 of those victories and an ERA just under three. The 26-year-old outperformed San Francisco Giants ace and two-time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum on Saturday, throwing seven innings of one-run ball in a 7-2 win to help Arizona increase their division lead to six games.

“Whenever I hear 18 wins, I think of a good bullpen and a good offensive team, timely hitting, really,” he said after the victory. He is appreciative of his teammates support, but he isn’t giving himself nearly enough credit. He hasn’t allowed more than three runs since July 3rd, a span of 11 starts. He is eating innings, too, consistently lightening the bullpen’s workload by tossing seven or more in 18 of his 29 starts.

It is not surprising, then, that the Kennedy and Hudson led rotation has improved greatly over last season, with an ERA 3.96 compared to 4.39. And the bullpen has had an even greater transformation, having shaved nearly two runs off 2010′s ERA. David Hernandez, a castoff from the Baltimore Orioles, is their primary set-up man, with 20 holds, 11 saves, a 2.82 ERA, and only 39 hits in 60 2/3 innings pitched entering Sunday’s play. Putz, who has bounced back in recent years, is consistently shutting the door as the team’s closer, compiling 35 saves in 39 chances with a 2.61 ERA. Largely due to the performances of these two pitchers, the Diamondbacks are 72-0 when leading after 8 innings.

After the 2010 season, it was difficult not to believe that the Diamondbacks would be years away from contention, given their poor play and reliance on so much youth. All they needed, however, was an offseason. Equipped with a new identity and players in the MVP and Cy Young mix, the Diamondbacks sit comfortably atop the NL West, seven games up as winners of nine of their past 10. It is pretty remarkable what they have accomplished.

The team that has a chance to win as many games as they lost last season has a division title in their sights. If they make the playoffs, they would be the third team to do so a year after losing 97 games. They would also be only the ninth to do so after finishing in last place. And they could join the 1991 Minnesota Twins as the only two to win a World Series the year after such a depressing finish. Their regular season has been incredibly surprisingly, so why can’t their upcoming postseason? Turning their fortunes around this season was certainly a challenge, and they won’t shy from another one.