Eric Sorenson
Lost amidst the bench-clearing brawls Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium was another shaky performance by an Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher which is becoming more and more of an ugly trend in recent days.
This time it was setup man David Hernandez who failed to hold an eighth-inning lead walking three hitters who all came around to score in LA’s 5-3 comeback win.
Although the Dbacks (36-29) still hold a slim one-game lead over the Rockies in the National League West heading into Wednesday’s play you can bet general manager Kevin Towers’ mind is racing and cell phone buzzing as he looks to add stability to an injury-riddled rotation and at times inconsistent bullpen as witnessed Tuesday.
“They really, really need some help,” ESPN baseball insider Pedro Gomez told Brad Cesmat describing Arizona’s starters Tuesday afternoon on ‘Big Guy on Sports.’ “Barring a trade it’s going to be difficult for the Diamondbacks to stay in first-place and stay in contention unless they get some re-enforcements in that rotation.”
As has been the case for several years in Major League Baseball you often must “give something to get something,” especially for a top of the rotation centerpiece as the Snakes may be seeking. Teams will likely inquire about some of Arizona’s top young arms in their system in return like Tyler Skaggs or fast-tracking Archie Bradley.
“That’s usually the price,” Gomez explained to Cesmat. “I’ve had general managers tell me that one of the prices of being in contention and wanting to go all the way that year is you basically need to get in bed with the devil sometimes. You have to deal and give away something you believe is going to be a valuable commodity down the road but you do it because you think you can win it all that year.”
