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2009 Arizona Diamondbacks Predictions

Written March 2, 2009 by Jason Lowry

Diamondbacks Baseball The Arizona Diamondbacks had a great start to the 2008 season, and pretty much had the NL West in their hands with just 28 games remaining, but they blew a 4.5 game lead, and the Los Angeles Dodgers went on to win the division and take part in the playoffs. The Diamondbacks definitely have the talent coming back in 2009 to make another strong push at the NL West division title, and the addition of Jon Garland to fill the void left by Randy Johnson is going to be a big lift to the pitching staff. The Diamondbacks did lost a big part of their offense when 2B Orlando Hudson signed with the Dodgers, but they went out and sign Felipe Lopez to a 1-year deal to fill the hole in the middle of the infield. Here is a closer look at the 2009 Arizona Diamondbacks with my prediction of where they will finish in the NL West. Bet Diamondbacks +2000 to win World Series at Sportsbook.com

Offense:

The Diamondbacks offense lacked some power for most of the 2008 season, and the team even tried to address the need by adding Adam Dunn during the middle of the season. Dunn has left to join the Nationals, and that means the Diamondbacks need a couple guys to pick it up to increase their numbers from a year ago. Their are a number of guys primed to do just that. We could see both 3B Mark Reynolds and SS Stephen Drew adding to their numbers from the infield, while all 3 outfielders in Connor Jackson, Justin Upton, and Chris Young are all young and full of potential. All of these guys figure to get better, but can they carry this team to a postseason run? The team will have veteran Tony Clark holding down first base, as Jackson is expected to make a full time move to the outfield. Catcher Chris Snyder might not have the best bat, but has some power, and is great with the pitching staff. This offense has a lot of potential, but can they do it without a big time bat and little veteran help? Bet Diamondbacks +700 to win NL Pennant at Sportsbook.com

Pitching:

Diamondback fans will tell you, this team can win it all, even without a big bat, as they have one of the best 1-2 pitching combos of any team in baseball with Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. Webb was outstanding once again in 2008, and put up Cy Young-like numbers with a 22-7 record, while Haren was also impressive, winning 16 games in his first season with the Diamondbacks. Behind the top two starters is newly-acquired Jon Garland, who went 14-8 with the Angles last season. Next in line is Doug Davis, and the highly regarded prospect Max Scherzer, who went 0-4 in 7 starts, but had a 3.05 ERA. Heading the bullpen will be closer Chad Qualls, who will try and replace the effective Brandon Lyon, who was lost during free agency. Qualls has just 15 saves in 34 career opportunities, but they feel he has the stuff to be good on a permanent bases. The main set-up men will be Tony Pena, Jon Rauch, and veteran free agent pick up Tom Gordon. If Qualls can fill the closer role, the Diamonbacks will have one of the top overall pitching staffs in baseball. Bet Diamondbacks + 160 to win NL West at Sportsbook.com

Prediction: 2nd in NL West

It was a tough choice between the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks for the top spot in this division. With Webb and Haren there is a good shot that this team could fight with a number of teams for the NL wild card spot, and also this team would jump to the top spot in this division if Manny Rameriz does not end up resigning with the Dodgers.

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