2008 Arizona Diamondbacks season

2008 Arizona Diamondbacks
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
Owner(s) Ken Kendrick
Jeff Moorad
General manager(s) Josh Byrnes
Manager(s) Bob Melvin
Local television FSN Arizona
(Daron Sutton, Mark Grace, Greg Schulte, Joe Garagiola, Matt Williams)
Local radio KTAR (620 AM)
(Greg Schulte, Jeff Munn, Tom Candiotti)
KSUN (Spanish)
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The Arizona Diamondbacks' 2008 season was the 11th season of the franchise in Major League Baseball. Arizona tried to defend their NL West title after winning the division the previous year. But despite a franchise-best 20-8 start in the months of March & April, they couldn't maintain the division lead late in the season and collapsed with many losing streaks and stumbled to an 82-80 record, good enough for a second-place finish, only two games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Regular season

The 2008 season saw the best start in Diamondbacks history, going 20-8 in March/April and end up being way ahead in first place in the NL West. During the great start, Brandon Webb had his best career start by winning his first 9 decisions. The only low point was that starting pitcher Doug Davis was being diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer, before he could get his first start. Characteristically, Davis made his first two scheduled starts before undergoing surgery on April 8. Fortunately, his surgery was a success and was able to get back on the mound just 6 weeks later.

One of the more shining moments of April was when rookie pitcher Max Scherzer made his major league debut by pitching 4.1 perfect innings of relief, where he struck out 7 Astros. While doing this, Max passed Pete Richert of the 1962 Dodgers for the record for the number of consecutive batters retired (13) for a pitcher making his MLB debut as a reliever. Consequently, Scherzer was immediately promoted to the starting rotation, in the absence of Davis; he was relatively effective; in his four major-league outings (the aforementioned relief role against the Astros as well as three starts in Doug Davis' spot in the rotation), Scherzer had a 2.33 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 19 1⁄3 innings.

(Upon Davis' return, Scherzer was returned to the bullpen and optioned back to AAA Tucson in early June, and he eventually spent about a month on the Sidewinders' DL with shoulder inflammation. Davis, for his part, has had a less-than-stellar 2008 season, he is 4-7 with a 4.75 ERA as of late August.)

May was a much different month for the D-backs. The team saw a sharp decline in hitting and run production compared to April, and was their first losing month (11-17) since September 2006. The biggest disappointment had to have been the month-long slump right fielder Eric Byrnes fell into, where he hit .195 and had only 8 RBIs. Much speculation about his strained hamstring causing him to not perform well eventually led to him being put on the 15-day DL on May 27. He came back to action only to tear the left hamstring in late June, and was placed on the 60-day DL at that time.

The Diamondbacks continued to lead the NL west despite only being 47-48 at the All-Star break.

On July 17, 2008, Tony Clark was traded back to the D-backs from the San Diego Padres for a minor league pitcher, Evan Scribner.

On August 5, Dan Haren signed a four-year, $44.75 million deal with the Diamondbacks worth a guaranteed $41.25 million through 2012 and includes a $15.5 million club option for 2013 with a $3.5 million buyout.[1]

Orlando Hudson, one of the more consistent offensive D-backs players in 2008, underwent season-ending surgery on his left wrist August 9 in the wake of a collision with catcher Brian McCann of the Atlanta Braves. Hudson became a free agent in the offseason and signed with the division rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

LF Eric Byrnes has been on the 60-day disabled list since late June, with a torn left hamstring, and was not expected to return to the lineup this season.

On August 11, 2008, Dallas Buck, RHP Micah Owings (pending clearing of waivers), and one other prospect were traded to the Reds (in last place in the NL Central at the time) in exchange for OF Adam Dunn. Dunn, who was tied for the major league lead with 32 home runs, was expected to provide a significant boost to an offense that has struggled to score runs for most of the season. Dunn seemed quite positive about being traded to a ballclub in first place in its division in August.[2] The move was seen by some fans as a belated attempt by the D-backs to counter the trade by their division rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers, for Boston Red Sox power-hitting OF Manny Ramirez on July 31; and also to compensate for the injuries to Hudson and Byrnes, generally considered two of the more "power-hitting" Diamondbacks on a team which has relied heavily on pitching and defense in recent years.

Owings, once considered an excellent pitching prospect for the Diamondbacks, has struggled in the 2008 campaign with a 7.09 ERA since April 21.[3] Owings must clear waivers before being able to join the Reds, otherwise he will remain a member of the Diamondbacks through the remainder of the season.

On August 31, the Diamondbacks acquired former World Series MVP David Eckstein to fill the hole at secondbase which was opened after Orlando Hudson was placed on the disabled list. Eckstein was traded from the Toronto Blue Jays for Minor League pitcher Chad Beck.[4]

As of September 25, the D-Backs fell out of playoff contention with a 12-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Season standings

National League West

NL West W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 84 78 0.519 — 48–33 36–45
Arizona Diamondbacks 82 80 0.506 2 48–33 34–47
Colorado Rockies 74 88 0.457 10 43–38 31–50
San Francisco Giants 72 90 0.444 12 37–44 35–46
San Diego Padres 63 99 0.389 21 35–46 28–53

Record vs. opponents

2008 National League Records

Source:
Team ARI ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LAD MIL NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL WSH AL
Arizona – 3–5 2–4 2–4 15–3 2–7 4–2 8–10 2–5 3–3 3–4 4–3 10–8 11–7 3–4 4–2 6–9
Atlanta 5–3 – 0–6 3–3 4–3 10–8 3–3 4–2 3–6 11–7 4–14 2–5 5–1 2–5 2–5 6–12 8–7
Chicago 4–2 6–0 – 8–7 5–1 4–3 8–9 5–2 9–7 4–2 3–4 14–4 5–2 4–3 9–6 3–3 6–9
Cincinnati 4–2 3–3 7–8 – 1–5 6–2 3–12 1–7 10–8 3–4 3–5 6–9 4–3 5–1 5–10 4–3 9–6
Colorado 3–15 3–4 1–5 5–1 – 5–3 3–3 8–10 4–3 3–6 0–5 5–2 9–9 11–7 3–4 4–3 7–8
Florida 7–2 8–10 3–4 2–6 3–5 – 4–2 3–4 5–1 8–10 10–8 3–2 4–2 3–3 2–5 14–3 5–10
Houston 2–4 3–3 9–8 12–3 3–3 2–4 – 4–3 7–8 5–2 3–4 8–8 3–3 7–1 7–8 4–2 7–11
Los Angeles 10–8 2–4 2–5 7–1 10–8 4–3 3–4 – 4–2 3–4 4–4 5–2 11–7 9–9 2–4 3–3 5–10
Milwaukee 5–2 6–3 7–9 8–10 3–4 1–5 8–7 2–4 – 2–4 1–5 14–1 4–3 6–0 10–5 6–2 7–8
New York 3–3 7–11 2–4 4–3 6–3 10–8 2–5 4–3 4–2 – 11–7 4–3 2–5 5–1 4–3 12–6 9–6
Philadelphia 4–3 14–4 4–3 5–3 5–0 8–10 4–3 4–4 5–1 7–11 – 4–2 4–2 3–3 5–4 12–6 4–11
Pittsburgh 3–4 5–2 4–14 9–6 2–5 2–3 8–8 2–5 1–14 3–4 2–4 – 3–4 4–2 10–7 3–4 6–9
San Diego 8–10 1–5 2–5 3–4 9–9 2–4 3–3 7–11 3–4 5–2 2–4 4–3 – 5–13 1–6 5–1 3–15
San Francisco 7–11 5–2 3–4 1–5 7–11 3–3 1–7 9–9 0–6 1–5 3–3 2–4 13–5 – 4–3 7–0 6–12
St. Louis 4–3 5–2 6–9 10–5 4–3 5–2 8–7 4–2 5–10 3–4 4–5 7–10 6–1 3–4 – 5–1 7–8
Washington 2–4 12–6 3–3 3–4 3–4 3–14 2–4 3–3 2–6 6–12 6–12 4–3 1–5 0–7 1–5 – 8–10

Game log

Legend
Diamondbacks Win Diamondbacks Loss Game Postponed
2008 Game Log (82-80)

Roster

2008 Arizona Diamondbacks
Roster
Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Player G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI AVG SB
Chris Burke
86
165
20
32
5
1
2
12
.194
5
Eric Byrnes
52
206
28
43
13
1
6
23
.209
4
Tony Clark
108
151
12
34
5
0
3
24
.225
0
Jamie D'Antona
18
17
2
3
0
0
0
1
.176
0
Doug Davis
25
42
0
4
0
0
0
3
.095
0
Stephen Drew
152
611
91
178
44
11
21
67
.291
3
Adam Dunn
44
144
21
35
9
0
8
26
.243
1
David Eckstein
18
64
5
14
3
0
1
4
.219
0
Robby Hammock
18
42
4
8
1
0
0
2
.190
0
Dan Haren
33
76
8
16
7
0
0
6
.211
0
Orlando Hudson
107
407
54
124
29
3
8
41
.305
4
Conor Jackson
144
540
87
162
31
6
12
75
.300
10
Randy Johnson
28
50
2
7
1
0
0
5
.140
0
Miguel Montero
70
184
24
47
16
1
5
18
.255
0
Augie Ojeda
105
231
27
56
9
2
0
17
.242
0
Micah Owings
35
52
7
15
2
0
1
3
.288
0
Mark Reynolds
152
539
87
129
28
3
28
97
.239
11
Alex Romero
78
135
13
31
8
2
1
12
.230
4
Jeff Salazar
90
128
17
27
5
3
2
12
.211
0
Max Scherzer
17
13
1
0
0
0
0
0
.000
0
Chris Snyder
115
334
47
79
22
1
16
64
.237
0
Chad Tracy
88
273
25
73
16
0
8
39
.267
0
Justin Upton
108
356
52
89
19
6
15
42
.250
1
Brandon Webb
33
67
2
10
4
0
0
11
.149
0
Chris Young
160
625
85
155
42
7
22
85
.248
14
Totals
118
3967
534
996
229
37
113
506
.251
46

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player W L ERA G GS SV IP R ER BB K
Billy Buckner
1
0
3.21
10
0
0
14.0
5
5
4
11
Juan Cruz
4
0
2.61
57
0
0
51.2
17
15
31
71
Doug Davis
6
8
4.32
26
26
0
146.0
76
70
64
112
Édgar González
1
3
6.00
17
6
0
48.0
34
32
21
32
Dan Haren
16
8
3.33
33
33
0
216.0
86
80
40
206
Randy Johnson
11
10
3.91
30
30
0
184.0
92
80
44
173
Wilfredo Ledezma
0
2
4.17
28
6
0
58.1
29
27
41
53
Brandon Lyon
3
5
4.70
61
0
26
59.1
34
31
13
44
Brandon Medders
1
0
4.58
18
0
0
19.2
11
10
11
8
Micah Owings
6
9
5.93
22
18
0
104.2
73
69
41
87
Jailen Peguero
0
0
4.82
7
0
0
9.1
6
5
4
5
Tony Peña
3
2
4.33
72
0
3
72.2
38
35
17
52
Yusmeiro Petit
3
5
4.31
19
8
0
56.1
29
27
14
42
Chad Qualls
4
8
2.81
77
0
9
73.2
29
23
18
71
Jon Rauch
4
8
4.14
74
0
18
71.2
36
33
16
66
Connor Robertson
0
1
5.14
6
0
0
7.0
4
4
2
2
Leo Rosales
1
1
4.20
27
0
0
30.0
15
14
15
18
Max Scherzer
0
4
3.05
16
7
0
56.0
24
19
21
66
Doug Slaten
0
3
4.73
45
0
0
32.1
20
17
14
20
Brandon Webb
22
7
3.30
34
34
0
226.2
95
83
65
183
Totals
60
58
3.96
118
118
27
1050.0
516
462
326
890

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Tucson Sidewinders Pacific Coast League Bill Plummer
AA Mobile BayBears Southern League Héctor de la Cruz
A Visalia Oaks California League Mike Bell
A South Bend Silver Hawks Midwest League Mark Haley
A-Short Season Yakima Bears Northwest League Bob Didier
Rookie Missoula Osprey Pioneer League Audo Vicente

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ azcentral.com
  3. ↑ azcentral.com
  4. ↑

External links

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