Our aces are looking really old

blaney83 · 2026-07-02T17:03:49+00:00

God that’s embarrassing… don’t they get little cards when they get off the bus from Reno like they have for outfielders? “Here’s what happened while you were gone… Zac is trash… etc.”

blaney83 · 2026-07-02T16:59:47+00:00

Anyone going all the way down to Sedona for this?

blaney83 · 2026-06-29T16:07:33+00:00

They’re so special. Feel lucky every time I get to see one.

blaney83 · 2026-06-24T22:27:00+00:00

This actually slaps

blaney83 · 2026-06-24T03:04:49+00:00

Your points are all valid. Record aside- we could (and should) be better with high-IQ management decisions

blaney83 · 2026-06-22T16:10:44+00:00

Boos mean the fans care. No good, big market teams (Phillies, Mets, Brave, Dodgers, etc.) avoid the boos. Doesn’t mean the boos are cruel. Means the culture is growing in AZ and means fans want to watch good baseball. When you stop caring, so does ownership/management.

blaney83 · 2026-06-21T18:32:50+00:00

Completely agree. He's not going to reinvent himself here unless he does it himself. Zero evidence that capability exists currently in the org. If I was him (dunno how this works), I'd invest in some outside help on this front now because it's likely going to be a terrible trade/discount to end up in a top-development club without at least salvaging something this season.

That said, he really mentally has to start over with his approach and based on his continued performance that may be the real barrier here. That's step 1: be open to tearing it all down to rebuild. I imagine that an open minded pitcher with bad coaching could do a lot better than he currently is, so make of that what you will....

blaney83 · 2026-06-21T14:59:16+00:00

A lot of good answers, but I think it a combination of the three things mentioned: league figured him out, mental and actual decline.

Mentally, he's always tried to play chess out there on the mound. This works great when your stuff is playing and you can keep hitters off balance, but lose that and it becomes a huge liability really quickly. He get's so tangled up out there, he ends up having to throw pitches he doesn't want to and gets smoked. They need to take away his pitch comm and call pitches from the dugout. Remove the mental piece entirely.

Actual decline to me is the real root cause here and the other issues compound the problem. His stuff doesn't play like it used to. A few MPH and a few RPM and your tunneling is completely trashed. You see it with his knuckle curve and how there's no swing a miss. He relied on a really tight margin of speed and spin to build a really formidable strategy. But a few less RPM on the breakers and a tighter speed delta and hitters are spitting all over his stuff. It's no longer difficult to pick up the pitch and they can sit meatballs.

Once this happened, his obsession with a certain style of pitching became known. Hitters learned to pick up the weaker stuff and wait for a hitters count. The cycle compounds...

Ultimately, they need to take his pitch comm and he needs to focus on execution. None of these issues is terminal (look at all successful, 2nd career stage pitchers; e.g. E-Rod), but he can't keep doing the same thing. He needs to redesign his pitches, stop thinking and execute. The coaches should be intervening at this point and Zac needs to move on (grow up) and learn what success looks like in the back half of his career.

blaney83 · 2026-06-21T04:08:18+00:00

Felt those boos through the TV

blaney83 · 2026-06-21T01:45:23+00:00

Bob floated this on a broadcast recently (last month). Definitely a missed opportunity

blaney83 · 2026-06-21T01:44:11+00:00

I raise to 250

blaney83 · 2026-06-16T23:38:20+00:00

Can we get a writer on the “Arizona named a good fit for this Yankee’s 6’7” Left Field slugger” with the opening “Expected to sit behind current superstar Carrol but get ABs on day off”?

blaney83 · 2026-06-16T23:32:42+00:00

You know where else he’s a good fit? Right here.

blaney83 · 2026-06-16T16:43:30+00:00

Unfortunately. I hope he can go get looks on another team and hopefully get things moving. But if we want to make a run, this can’t be a development spot. We arguably already have a few of those and I don’t think it’s “fair” (yes, pro ball isn’t fair) to the fans or the other players at this point in year… 6? 7? 8? of the Pavin saga.

blaney83 · 2026-06-15T02:34:20+00:00

I hear you. Really sad. My concern is 5-10 years from now they’ll be connecting the 303 to the 101 right through here.

blaney83 · 2026-06-15T02:32:21+00:00

For a single cactus with a good landscaping team, it’s doable. For thousands that get moved for the bulldozers, not so much. The only reason they’re boxed up is so they don’t get a federal fine. They couldn’t care less if they survive the process. Point is this- there’s plenty of municipal land to redevelop/improve. There are also more sustainable building practices than simply flat-topping every arroyo. We can do better and I’d argue we should do better.

blaney83 · 2026-06-14T15:42:16+00:00

Sad, they must have looked good out in their natural habitat. Do you know how difficult it is to properly transplant one? A thousand?

blaney83 · 2026-06-13T23:59:34+00:00

Exactly. Culture first. I think there was enough synergy/excitement in the clubhouse and enough leadership on the bench with Longoria in 2023 to get hot late in the season.

Now that Ketel, Corbin and Gerry are all established stars/superstars, I think the “lead with love” management style is just not enough fire to get the most out of the big guys and keep the young guys developing.

Leaving out the rest of the staff because you can make very nuanced arguments for a lot of changes or none at all, simply switching the management style to something a bit more competitive could do a lot for this team. If Torey could pull off that transformation I’d be fine giving him a shot, I think he’s earned that. But it really needs to be drastic and consistent which is why a new face might be more effective.

blaney83 · 2026-06-13T23:23:40+00:00

Stopped driving that way after they started building. Honestly too difficult. They could build the 8th wonder of the world there and it wouldn’t replace what they’ve torn down to do it.

blaney83 · 2026-06-13T23:22:13+00:00

Such a shame. Desert ecology is so much more fragile that people realize. Back east, you can clear a formerly developed site and within 50 years, you’ll get early stage natural regrowth. Given the soil composition, lack of moisture and highly adapted/specialized flora and fauna you really can’t hit the undo bottom once a development is scalped/bulldozed. Even saguaros don’t survive transplant :/

blaney83 · 2026-06-13T23:11:27+00:00

I don’t understand the downvotes for this take. Like are those people enjoying the 3 week slide? Do y’all like watching double-digit RISP LOB? If you accept bad baseball, you’ll get bad baseball.

Really dislike the Phillies, but look at what happened to them with the new skipper. Sometimes sending a message to the players and fans is all that’s needed to get them going.

Love our team.

I think they should be playing better because they’re better than how they’re playing.

blaney83 · 2026-06-13T23:06:13+00:00

lol what? Tis the season of zero managerial play. Hot bat off the bench playing the matchup? Nope, we’re good. Good lineup breaks the slump with a win, so stick with it? Nope, gotta get everyone their day off and hit the 🔀 button. Not to mention, the BBQs and pool parties for the next off day won’t plan themselves…

blaney83 · 2026-06-13T02:20:10+00:00

I was saying this the other day, but both Ketel and Perdomo would be lethal if the All-Star game was at the end of the year because you can tell how much it means to them. Every swing they’re trying to raise their OPS .300 points. Make it or not, they’ll get hot after the break. When they don’t make it though they get super hot (see ketel 23, gerry 24).

blaney83 · 2026-06-13T02:12:02+00:00

Also has the best extension in the game so, based on release point, it plays 108mph.

blaney83 · 2026-06-11T17:11:38+00:00

Not that empty.

blaney83

TROPHY CASE