Barry Enright, the fiery red-headed flame thrower, is tearing it up at the major league level.
OK, he's not exactly fiery (but he is a gamer) and he's no flame-thrower (89 mph fastball), but he is VERY red-headed and he is certainly tearing it up.
In seven games since coming up from Double-A Mobile, Barry the Beard (nickname ideas welcome) has an impressive 2.81 ERA, which is second only to The Savior (2.32) for rookie pitchers and Barry hasn't been to the DL for *cough* arm tightness.
Enright the Ginger (nickname ideas welcome) isn't the only new D-backs hurler doing well.
Joe Saunders in his first two starts is 1-and-0 with a 1.69 ERA and Dan Hudson pitched a beauty of a game in his debut with the Snakes: 8 innings, 1 run and we can't forget his 2 RBI.
Are these three new arms the future of the D-backs rotation that will lead the team back to relevance next season?
Unfortunately, that's not very likely.
As we well know, new pitchers always have an advantage when hitters haven't faced them before, so like with everything else in baseball, we will just have to be patient and see how these fellas pan out over time.
In the meantime, though, it's like a whole new season with a revamped team.
We can be a bit excited about the new guys doing well and it's even OK to enjoy Justin Upton, Kelly Johnson and Adam LaRoche hitting the ball too.
It's like spring time in Arizona and spring means hope.
Hope that the Joe Saunders-led rotation continues to pitch well. Hope that the bullpen improvements over the last month or so continue.
Hope that this collection of talented but very young players can finish the season on a positive note ... they are one full game over .500 for the month of August!!!!
Mostly, though, hope that the D-backs don't sit on all the money they've saved come winter-time. Record-low attendance figures are understandable right now, but will be nothing compared to next season if the team doesn't go out and make the promised moves in the off-season.
Let us all bow our heads in hope.
Arizona fans don't have patience for "lovable losers," but will be right back on the bandwagon if the winning comes.
Kirk Gibson vs. Fastball to Reynolds Head
We, like most right-minded baseball observers, questioned Kirk Gibson's decision to start Mark Reynolds the day after getting beaned in the melon.
Here's Gibby's explanation via the ever-youthful Nick Piecoro:
"He started (lobbying to play) last night in the seventh inning," Gibson said, referring to when Reynolds came back to the dugout late in Tuesday night’s game. "And I think everything went great last night. I talked to (trainer Ken Krenshaw) about 1 p.m. today about it. He said everything looks fine. He’s in the lineup. We’ll make sure he gets a good hard workout and make sure he doesn’t have any effects at all. If he doesn’t in pregame, he’ll play."
This afternoon, Gibson said he didn’t regret having him in the lineup.
"With all the information, he tested out fine," Gibson said. "We didn’t have any way of knowing. If we would have held him out yesterday, we would have played him today. That’s not a regret."
I get it that Mark wanted to play and that the trainer cleared him; we can't expect Gibby to be a mind-reader and master physician.
I still think some common sense could have played a vital role here, but I guess if you are going to be an old school tough guy, you have to make tough guy decisions and put the kid back on the horse.
It is worth noting (because I looked it up) that Mark had managed one or fewer strikeouts in seven of his most recent eight games prior to playing with scrambled brains and punching out three times.
No regrets.