This month we have been writing pieces on why we “hate” each team in baseball, but for today, and only today, we are doing a love piece. The team? The Arizona Diamondbacks.
We could just say that it’s because the Diamondbacks have added Tony La Russa (chief baseball officer), Dave Stewart (general manager) and Chip Hale (manager) in recent months, that it’s difficult to muster any ill-will towards some former A’s greats and one of the best baseball minds in the business.
The Arizona Diamondbacks haven’t had a winning season since 2011, but they are looking to become competitive again come 2015. They’ve added Jeremy Hellickson from Tampa, Rubby De La Rosa from Boston, and signed Yasmany Tomas to a six-year deal this offseason. They’ve been busy, but some of the other talent they’ve acquired could take some time to make an impact. These three players will be on their roster opening day.
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Back to the love! The A’s have been frequent trade partners with Arizona, and let’s just say this, “thank you.” In 2007, the DBacks traded Brett Anderson, Chris Carter and Carlos Gonzalez (among others) to Oakland for Dan Haren and Connor Robertson.
Four years later, Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow were sent to Arizona for Jarrod Parker, Ryan Cook and Collin Cowgill. In two seasons, Parker has 25 wins and a 3.73 ERA, compared to Cahill’s 24 with a 4.29, spanning three seasons. Say what you will about Cook, but he has had his moments in the green and gold, especially as part of the Sean Doolittle, Cook, Grant Balfour ‘pen in 2012.
The Diamondbacks have been good to us A’s fans, and have plenty of former Athletics on their roster, including Cliff Pennington, Nick Punto, Cahill, and Brad Ziegler. Throw in one of Oakland’s fan favorites in Eric Chavez, who played his final two seasons in the big leagues with Arizona, and there is a lot of love to go around.
Playing in the NL West, the Arizona Diamondbacks will have their work cut out for them. The Dodgers will spend their way into contention and the Padres have revamped their offense heading into 2015. The Giants (odd year) and Rockies (injuries) could factor into the NL West race as well, but with some luck, our friends in Arizona can stay in contention late into the 2015 season.