I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this movie. Team underachieves, manager or head coach gets fired. It happens all the time and often it’s not justified. Bob Melvin does not deserve to be out of work this morning, but I understand it and no doubt so does he. He was the manager of year 2 seasons ago when he guided the young Diamondbacks to the NLCS. Nothing much has worked since….but he’s done the same job. He’s not at fault at all in my opinion. Here’s the team he was dealt this season. Let’s begin with the good part…the pitching staff. His ace, Brandon Webb has made one start (a very bad one) because he’s hurt. Dan Haren has been very good but hasn’t gotten any run support. Doug Davis is what he is…a somewhat effective lefty starter. Yusmeiro Petit?….c’mon. Max Scherzer has a lot of potential but has yet to win a major league game. There is really nobody in the bullpen that you can count on in middle relief and how comfortable do you feel handing the ball to Chad Qualls in the 9th inning with a one run lead?
Now the most ridiculous part of what Melvin was given this year. The offense. As a team, the Diamondbacks are hitting .222. That’s the worst average in the major leagues. If you want to fire somebody, fire hitting coach Rick Schu (which they did)….but not Bob Melvin. Leadoff hitter Felipe Lopez has been getting on base, but nobody has been driving him in. Pick out anybody else in this lineup and you can say the very same thing: They are under-performing.
Stephen Drew is the team’s best hitter and he’s been hurt for a good chunk of the year. Mark Reynolds continues to strike out at an ALARMING RATE!!!!! He’s on pace to hit whiff 200 times again this year. I know he’ll probably hit 25-30 home runs, but if you strike out as much as he does, you better hit 50 homers!!! Chris Young is absolutely overmatched right now. Eric Byrnes has completely forgotten how to hit. Conor Jackson is streaky and provides little power. Same exact deal with Chad Tracy. Chris Snyder has way too many holes in his bat this season. I could go on and on. Justin Upton started very poorly but has since performed very well at the plate so credit Melvin for sticking with the young phenom. Offensively, the only thing I can blame Melvin for this year is not making Augie Ojeda an everyday player. Put him anywhere because he knows how to hit. He does the little things very well and is always in the middle of a rare Dback rally.
Can the young Diamondbacks be inspired by this managerial change and make a run in the NL West this season? The answer is a very loud….”NOT LIKELY”. This just isn’t a good baseball team and Bob Melvin has taken the hit for it. It comes with the territory of being a major league manager but it still doesn’t make it right. He is a classy man who deserves better. If not for him, the Diamondbacks may not have ever won the world series in 2001. He played a major role that year as Bob Brenly’s bench coach. GM Josh Byrnes….the man who constructed this team, is now solely on the hot seat. The new manager, AJ Hinch, has no managerial experience and is being thrown into this situation by Byrnes. Some would say it’s risky…….some would say desperate. Either way, Byrnes has no one else to blame now.
Good luck Bob…..we’ll miss you.
