Baseball is officially back today as the Diamondbacks opened Cactus League play against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium. The Giants are playing their first competitive match since the end of last year’s World Series against the Rangers. The Diamondbacks, on the other hand, are playing their first game since the last day of regular season play in 2010.

Of course, that means that the Diamondbacks didn’t make the playoffs. That hope is refreshed this year with the roster of the Diamondbacks looking dramatically different. Changes have been made to make this club do the exact opposite of what they did last year.

So here today and beyond we take a look at what exactly has changed about the team and what to expect out of those changes. Today we look at the battery. Pitching and Catching is the name of the game, so lets look at what has changed. Starting with the rotation, here is a side-by-side comparison of last year compared to this year.

2010 Opening Day Rotation*                                  2011 Projected Rotation
1. Dan Haren                                                           1. Joe Saunders (Lefty)
2. Edwin Jackson                                                     2. Barry Enright
3. Billy Buckner                                                       3. Ian Kennedy
4. Ian Kennedy                                                         4. Daniel Hudson
5. Rodrigo Lopez                                                      5. Galarraga/Duke

*Note that the 2010 starting rotation changed throughout the year (Dan Haren, Edwin Jackson, and Billy Buckner were traded, leaving Joe Saunders, Daniel Hudson, and Dontrelle Willis to take their places respectively).

Notice that the only similarity in the two rotations is Ian Kennedy who has moved up a spot in the rotation. The Bullpen, however, was the true cause of the Diamondbacks’ pitching problems. The team has added several arms that look to help improve the pen and compete for spots during the Spring (which, in case you have short term memory loss, started today).
Here is a look at some of the new arms.

New Non-Starting Pitchers           L/R               2010 ERA
David Hernandez                              R                   4.31
Juan Jaime                                      R                   DNP (2009 ERA: 2.31)*
Kam Mickolio                                   R                   7.36 **
JJ Putz                                            R                   2.83
Mike Hampton                                 L                    0.00*** †
Micah Owings                                  R                   5.40***
Brian Sweeney                                 R                   3.16***

*Juan Jaime’s 2009 2.31 ERA was produced in the Minor Leagues.
**Kam Mickolio only pitched 3 games with Baltimore in 2010
***Non Roster Invitee
† Mike Hampton was acquired late last year, pitching 10 games for the Dbacks without allowing a run.

David Hernandez is a 6’2″ right-handed pitcher who was acquired this offseason in exchange for Mark Reynolds. He appeared today in the opener against San Francisco and pitched a scoreless inning, striking out one and only allowing a walk.

Juan Jaime did have surgery last year which is mostly why he didn’t play a single game. Nobody is sure what to expect from him post surgery, but we do know that the 2.31 ERA from 2009 is an impressive one.

Kam Mickolio is the other pitcher who was acquired by the Dbacks in the Mark Reynolds trade. The tall 6’9″ righty looks to be a new young arm in the pen for Arizona this year. This big guy hurled a perfect sixth inning today in the opener.

JJ Putz is a name most baseball fans will recognize when they see it. The Dbacks picked him up to close out ballgames this year for Arizona, signing him to a 2 year, $10 Million dollar contract. JJ Putz spent 2010 with the White Sox with three saves, but his best closing year came in 2007 with the Mariners in which he recorded 40 saves.

Mike Hampton is certainly the most “veteran-presencey” reliever in Arizona. In 2010, the lefty was acquired off waivers by the Diamondbacks, pitching in 10 games allowing 3 hits and not a single run. His 2010 WHIP was .923 across 4.1 innings pitched.

Micah Owings isn’t a new name to Diamondbacks fans; the good-hitting pitcher spent ’07 and ’08 with the club, pitching 257 innings over the two years and posting a
5.11 ERA over the timeframe. But more impressively is his ability to hit… over the two years, he hit 16 extra-base hits, 4 of those being homeruns, and 2 of THOSE homeruns coming in the same game. In his four-year career, he has 34 RBI and a .538 slugging percentage. Not bad for a pitcher. Owings should get time at first as well as on the mound in an attempt to get him more at bats.

Brian Sweeney appeared in 24 games last year for the Seattle Mariners and posted a 3.16 ERA while doing so. His BB/9 ratio was a respectable 1.9 and his K/9 ratio was 4.2. This non-roster invitee while likely compete for a spot as an early reliever.

Catching is an interesting subject for the Diamondbacks this year because it highlights a second Diamondbacks who is beginning his second stint with the club: Robby Hammock. Hammock caught Randy Johnson’s perfect game for the Dbacks in ’04 (which was the Diamondbacks franchise all-time worst year) and stayed with the team through 2008. Arizona is the only team Hammock has played for in his career (180 games) and had a .255 AVG while doing so. Hammock doesn’t have the best odds for making the team, however, having to compete with Miguel Montero and Henry Blanco.

Another catcher joining the team this spring is Konrad Schmidt who had a brief cup of coffee with the major league club as a September call-up in 2010. In his four-year minor league career, Schmidt has caught a mere 30% of runners stealing, with a .981 FP. His batting average is a respectable .298 and he’s produced 590 total bases (averaging roughly 150 a year). However, for the same reason as Robby Hammock, Schmidt has very minimal chance of making the Opening Day roster.

That does it for today. Keep checking the blog because coming soon is “Cleaning Up”; the second edition of the offseason report series and the countdown to Opening Day.