1/9/10 Breakin’ It Down

This is, in a way, like a continuation of “Small Talk” from the seventh. The fact of the matter is, the Diamondbacks have been called “The Baby-Backs” since 2007, when their run for the playoffs included youngsters like Mark Reynolds. Now, the new wave of guys like them has come up, and fans are having a hard time depicting whether or not the new players will be the next Mark Reynolds’. There are a lot of concerns with players, so allow me to break down the info and determine if they truly are Major League quality.

Dan Haren, one of 2009’s best pitchers, having the league’s best ERA, lowest opposing AVG, and lowest WHIP for a good chunk of the season, and a guy with playoff experience, had an ERA of 5.08 with a 3 and 7 record in 2003, his debut season with the Cardinals in 14 appearances. However, one guy who has been criticized is Diamondbacks prospect Bryan Augenstein, who in 7 games in the big league club in his debut season in 2009 that included 2 starts, had an 0-1 record and a ******** 7.94 ERA in 17 IP. Don’t be too quick to criticize, fans.

How about the ever-so underestimated Dbacks 2B prospect Rusty Ryal? I don’t think he’s ready for the bigs either, along with many Dbacks fans, but what about his stat comparison? Well, I’m sure you’ve heard of 4-time All-Star Philidelphia 2B Chase Utley. Utley, in 43 games for PHI in 2003 (debut season) had a .239 AVG and 2 HR. Ryal, in his debut season of 2009, in 30 games, have a .271 AVG, and 3 HR. How about that?

There are many other guys I could do, but I’ll just finish with outfielder Gerrardo Parra. Let me compare him to Andre Ethier’s debut season of 2006. Parra, in 120 games for Arizona in his debut season of 2009, had 10 more hits in 6 less games, and 5 more RBI. You never know, Gerrardo Parra might be the next Andre Ethier.

Mainly, when you break it down, players are better than you think…or…maybe stars are worse than you think…either way, don’t judge a book by it’s cover, and don’t judge a player by his debut season. Thanks for reading!

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