Hark? Is that the sound of foulpole's head exploding in the distance? Could be, when he sees the news that Conor Jackson was indeed the popular choice as winner of the Unsung Hero 'Pittie, just pipping Chris Snyder by five percent, an overall margin of 42%-37%. We now move on to the Cy Young for the Diamondbacks, an award which was basically a foregone conclusion last two years, with Brandon Webb notching himself no less than eighty percent of the votes, more than nine times as much as the next man.

Of course, last season, no other pitcher with more than ten starts had an ERA better than 4.25 - Webb's in 2007 was 3.01, so he was clearly our best pitcher. Not quite the same here, as we had three such arms, including Brandon, in our rotation this year. Will that make any difference to the final voting? And your nominees - foulpole will be relieved to hear that Jackson is not among them - are...

Juan Cruz. 4-0, 2.61 ERA. Was the only National League pitcher (min 15 IP) to strike out twelve batters per nine innings of work. Over the past two seasons, working largely in Arizona's hitter-friendly park, Cruz has a 10-1 record with a 2.88 ERA and K/9 rate of 12.62, the best in the majors (again, min 15 IP). In 2008, he held all batters to a line of .192/.319/.339 - basically, turning opposing hitters into a series of Chris Burkes. He was particularly brutal on lefties, who batted only .159 against Cruz, and against the first man in an inning, with those going 3-for-40.

Dan Haren. 16-8, 3.33 ERA. Led the team in strikeouts (206) and also posted the best WHIP (1.130) of any Arizona starter since the Big Unit's 0.900 in 2004 [itself a number only Maddux has surpassed in the NL since the mound was lowered]. His record deserved to be better than it was, as in his nine no-decisions combined, Haren allowed only eighteen earned runs, for an ERA in those games of just 2.79. His best stretch came from June 1-July 19, during which time his ERA was 1.29. With just 40 walks in 216 innings, his K:BB ratio was better than 5:1 for the whole season, the first NL pitcher to do that in four years.

Randy Johnson. 11-10, 3.91 ERA. Johnson missed his first couple of starts of the season, and a 5.40 ERA in the first six appearances suggests that he was probably not fully fit, even when he returned. But after his first outing of July, he was a a totally different pitcher, and arguably, was among the best starters in the major leagues from then on in the season. Over those fifteen starts, Johnson's ERA was a mere 2.56, culminating in a complete-game two-hitter of the Rockies, the final game of the season. If, as it appears likely, that was indeed the last hurrah for the future Hall of Famer, there was no better way to go out.

Chad Qualls. 4-8, 2.81 ERA. Our E-Qualls-izer pitched better than his record would appear to indicate: on May 7, he was 0-3, despite having only a 0.93 ERA - that was thanks to six of the first eight runs he allowed, being unearned. He didn't give up an earned one in the opening or final month of the season, two scoreless streaks which totalled 31.1 innings. Admittedly, he had his issues in the middle, especially with inherited runners ['Skins has a diagram to prove it], but bounced back, nailing down seven consecutive saves after replacing Lyon in the closer's role at the end of the season. It's a role he will reprise from Opening Day 2008.

Brandon Webb. 22-7, 3.30 ERA. Webb merely posted more wins than any pitcher in Arizona - or, indeed, the National League - since the glory days of the Johnson-Schilling tandem. He was the engine which powered the Diamondbacks' blistering start, winning his first nine starts, flummoxing hitters to the tune of .198 over that time. However, possibly even more impressive were his nine appearances from July 8-August 21, where he went 7-0 with a 1.50 ERA. In 28 of his 34 starts, Webb went six innings or more, and he pitched seven-plus in twenty games. Three bad starts in late August and early September cost him the Cy Young.

Even though the Cardinals didn't make it to the playoffs, it is probably no surprise that Albert Pujols won the National League Most Valuable Player award, as the league seems more open to this possibility than the American League. In the NL, half of the last eight MVPs are now from teams that didn't reach the postseason [the other three being Ryan Howard in 2006, plus Barry Bonds in 2004 and 2001]. In contrast, this hasn't happened in the American League since 1991, when Cal Ripken won the MVP for the Orioles, who went 67-95 that season. Doesn't bode well for Joe Mauer chances of upsetting Dustin Pedroia for the junior circuit award.

Pujols got eighteen of the possible thirty-two first-place votes; Ryan Howard got most of the rest, which echoes the result of the SB Nation MVP award. Though there, Howard only finished in sixth, despite being the only player beside Pujols to get more than one first-place vote, since he was left off the ballot entirely by a significant number of voters. Not the case in the BBWAA poll, where only one voter opted to ignore him. The sole man to put Pujols outside the top four was Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Let the flaming commence...

A solid showing for Mandy, the 'official' fourth-place being much better than the tenth he managed in the SB Nation voting. But I think Ramirez's performance illustrates perfectly the perceived difference between "Most Valuable" and "Best." On the same theme, I also note that Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, was only the fifth-ranked pitcher in the 'Most Valuable' rankings, coming behind Sabathia, Lidge, Santana and Webb. Certainly, without Sabathia, the Brewers don't make the playoffs; without Lincecum, the Giants... are likely still exactly where they were, fourth in the NL West, just a few games closer to the Rockies.

Pleased to see Brandon Webb and Stephen Drew appearing in the table of results. Webb finished seventeenth, getting 14 points, including two fifth-place votes, while Drew got a ninth-place vote, for two points and 26th place. The Most Valuable Player award has not been a happy hunting ground for the D-backs, with only two position players reaching the top ten - none since 2001 - and nobody finishing above third. Contrast our record in the Cy Young, where the team's pitchers have come first or second eleven times in eleven years [five wins and six runners-up]. Here are all the MVP vote recipients for the Diamondbacks in franchise history:

• 2008
  17th Brandon Webb (14 points)
  26th Stephen Drew (2)
• 2007
  11th Eric Byrnes (43)
  14th Jose Valverde (19)
  17th Brandon Webb (15)
• 2004
  19th Randy Johnson (7)
• 2003
  25th Luis Gonzalez (4)
• 2002
  7th Randy Johnson (127)
  10th Curt Schilling (53)
  14th Junior Spivey (8)
• 2001
  3rd Luis Gonzalez (261)
  10th Curt Schilling (24)
  11th Randy Johnson (23)
• 2000
  17th Randy Johnson (5)
• 1999
  3rd Matt Williams (269)
  13th Jay Bell (31)
  15th Randy Johnson (21)
  18th Luis Gonzalez (12)

One of those names is not like the others: yes, the words "Junior Spivey" and "Most Valuable Player" don't quite seem to gel, do they? But that was the year he hit .301/.389/.476, impressive numbers for a second-baseman. He was last seen getting cut by the Red Sox in spring training this year, though he apparently still lives in Arizona, and is also part owner of proathletesonly.com. Anyway, the question is, what Diamondback position player do you think will be the next to crack the top ten in MVP voting, when do you think it'll happen, and what are the reasons for your choice? For bonus credit, who'll be the first to make the top three, and do you think any of them have a chance to win it? Oh, look: it's a poll.

This is the time of year where it is no longer a chore to live in this state: while the rest of the country buckles down and prepares for winter and the shoveling of snow it will entail, we Arizonans are finally emerging from our aestivation [look it up]. Mid-November? You might want to put on a long-sleeved T-shirt if you're going out tonight, it could get a bit chilly after 9pm. Part of the joy involved is two months of bonus professional baseball: as well as the well-known delights of spring training, we also get to enjoy the game live in October, regardless of whether or not our team makes it to the post-season. I think that makes us unique in the continental US [Hawaii also has a winter league - as if living in Hawaii needed any additional bonuses].

The Arizona Fall League started in the early 1990's as a chance for major-league teams to get some of their up-and-coming players, thought of as needing more polish, some additional at-bats or innings. A lot of famous names have played here at one time or another - Jeter, Pujols, Webb, Braun, and it was even the first stop on Michael Jordan's ill-fated attempt to make it to the big-leagues. This year, 36 of the 60 players in the All-Star Game, had passed through the AFL earlier in their career. Team managers, and even umpires, may also go on to greater things: Dusty Baker managed for the first time in the AFL, while the men in blue come from MLB's Umpire Development Program.

Unlike other winter leagues, it's very much developmental, rather than competitive; players can be sent here to work on a specific aspect of their play, and if that does improve, the AFL's job is done, regardless of their ERA or BA. Each franchise can send up to six players, typically Double-A or Triple-A, though players with less than one year's service time in the majors can participate, which is how Max Scherzer saw some action in the early part of the AFL this season. Five major-league teams combine to fill up the 30-man roster of each of the half-dozen sides in the league. This year, the Diamondbacks players were part of the Phoenix Desert Dogs.

Because of the group outing we organized to Chase earlier in the season, we got complimentary tickets to Saturday's game against the Mesa Solar Sox. [Admittedly, general admission seats are only $6, but hey, free baseball is free baseball] It looks like the Diamondbacks are trying to encourage attendance by providing these tickets to groups. It seems to be working, as our game was watched by a healthy crowd of 1,576 - as a yardstick, the other two AFL games that day, had official attendances of 289 and 474, and some of the weekday games are seen by less than two hundred.

It took place at Hohokam Stadium, and was the first time I'd been to that venue - in spring, it's the home of the Cubs, so my head spins round and I projectile vomit if I go within half a mile of the place. Amusingly, it's located opposite a cemetery, which is presumably where the last hundred seasons of North Side futility go to die. The attendees met up in the parking-lot for a spot of tailgating [thank you, Mrs. SnakePit!] before the game, with faces both old and new - apologies if I didn't get a chance to speak to everyone. You should have got there earlier. ;-) We were there from 5pm, and it was a very pleasant couple of hours as the sun went down.

We were tidying up, and lost contact with most of the rest of the group by the time we got inside, inside the surprisingly-large crowd [we were not the only group in attendance, it appeared - though the others got their names mentioned on the PA, we apparently didn't. Though I may have fallen asleep and missed it, but more on that later!] One of the perils and pleasures of general admission tickets, is that you can sit wherever you want, whether it's to chase foul balls, watch from immediately behind home-plate, or close to one of the dugouts [Ryne Sandberg seemed to be running things for the Solar Sox on this night] You could even move around, though save for a little photo-taking, that was too much like hard work for me. We did eventually locate some of our party, a little up and to the right of home-plate, and settled in with them to watch the game.

It wasn't a brilliant night for the Diamondbacks' prospects who took part in the game. Brooks Brown got the start for the Desert Dogs, and was tagged with the loss, thanks entirely to one poor inning. the third. He loaded the bases with one out, then allowed a two-run single, and a run-scoring ground-out. However, that was the only damage in his five innings, and two hits and two walks are not disastrous. Another Diamondbacks' farm member, Tony Barnette, followed Brown to the mound, and unfortunately also allowed three runs, in only one inning of work: the key blow was a three-run homer by the Marlins' Scott Cousins.

Things started brightly enough for the Arizona hitters, leadoff hitter and Phoenix center-fielder Evan Frey smacking a first-inning double over the head of the left-fielder, and coming home to score on a groundout, giving the Desert Dogs an early lead. However, between there and the ninth inning, the team managed only one more hit. Though both the other Diamondbacks' players on the Dogs' roster started - John Hester at catcher and Rusty Ryal at shortstop - neither of them got a hit, to leave the Arizona trio at 1-for-9 on the night, though Hester got a walk. Still, it was nice to see five of our six in action, the only exception being pitcher Hector Ambriz.

The game move along at a brisk page, ending just before 9:30pm. This was probably no bad thing since, even with Mrs. SnakePit's wise decision to bring along a blanket, it was getting distinctly chilly by that point. As we walked back towards the car, the realization hit that this would likely be the last live baseball we would get the chance to see, until 2009 spring training starts up again in late February next year. We have Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and Valentine's Day to get through first: maybe hibernation isn't such a bad idea after all...

Game Notes

• Each player wears the jersey of his parent team, rather than that of his Arizona Fall League outfit. Makes it easier to pick out the Diamondbacks!
• As shown above, the bullpens at Hohokam are right next to each, rather than in opposite corners of the outfield, a curious arrangement. No secrets can be kept from the other team there.
  
• We were almost sent into unconsciousness by the announcer, a lady who managed to recite everything - lineups, pitching changes or sponsor adverts - in an astonishingly dull monotone, without a trace of enthusiasm. We joked that the advertising sales pitch was, "Give us fifty bucks, or else we'll announce your business."
• The crowd appeared to catch the concession operations at Hohokam unaware, with the queue for soda and hot-dogs lengthy. I think there may have been only one stand open.
• On a similar line, I dread to think what the parking situation is like at Hohokam when the Cubs are in town, and the stadium is filled to its 12,000-plus capacity.

Randy is forced to file for free agency and consider all opportunities to further his career. He hopes to find a team where he can continue to pitch at a high level and contribute to another world championship. Randy and his family live in Arizona and he will always be a Diamondback at heart. Most of all, Randy will miss the overwhelming support the fans have shown him throughout the years. He wishes the Diamondbacks great success in 2009 and beyond.

There is now a very real possibility that the future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson will not get to finish his career, or reach the 300-win mark with the Arizona Diamondbacks, with the news today that he has filed for free agency. While this move does not completely rule out the possibility of a return to the desert, it does appear that the sides are some way apart in their opinion of Johnson's worth. The poignant statement from his agents above does not exactly lend itself to much optimism in this matter:

Most estimates put the amount offered by Josh Byrnes at around the $3m mark; it's not quite clear what Johnson wanted, but he said, "I was willing to take a 50 percent pay cut to come back here." What that means, depends on what you take the 50% as being of, exactly. Randy's base salary in 2008 was ten million, but by the time you add in other components - part of the signing bonus, deferred salaries from his previous deal and a "personal services" contract - the total he got from the D-backs was likely north of $15m. One imagines that is likely the number he and his agents are using for their 'half-price' quotes, and hence the figure Johnson wanted was in the $7-8m area.

Though even this much wouldn't seem too much for some who pitched like a #3 starter last season - and better than that after the break - it seemed the risk of a 45-year old with a questionable back was too much for the organization to take. Don't forget, the first year here, he made only ten starts. Tracy Ringolsby reports, "One concern for the Diamondbacks was how committed Johnson would remain after he gets to 300," and that does seem a possible issue. But our siblings over at FakeTeams.com look at the evidence that this could be part of an Arizona fire-sale, perhaps tied in part to the current economic conditions. And it also goes without saying [but dammit, I'm going to say so anyway], that the $11m tied up for 2009 in our fourth outfielder would be very nice about now.

I do totally appreciate JB's position: while there are salaries coming off the books this winter [no more Russ Ortiz!], a good chunk of that is already due to be used on pay increases to existing players. Almost every regular players is scheduled for an increase in 2009, and the huge number of early picks could mean the draft ends up costing as much as $12m. It means Byrnes has only about $10-15 million to spend this winter, and that includes the money needed to find an everyday second baseman.  He said, "In every negotiation, you try to have an understanding of market value and an understanding of the team context. Sometimes that helps get a deal done. Sometimes it doesn’t.” He added, "Something would have to fundamentally change in our position or their position or both in order for us to close the gap." Winning this weekend's Powerball lottery is probably the team's best hope.

In certain quarters, there appears to be anger being directed at Randy - the Republic poll at the moment is running almost 50/50 as to whether the loss of Johnson would be a bad development or not. Personally, I do feel a sense he might 'owe' the team something for taking him back after his time in New York, and his failure to live up to a very expensive contract in 2007. Dan Bickley points out that Johnson has already earned at least $167 million over the course of his career, and it would seem hard to swallow that money is the "real" issue here. If Johnson wanted to finish his career here, he could do so, and would be welcome on his own terms: this is not a Luis Gonzalez-like situation, by any means.

The Tribune speculates on where Johnson might end up, if he does go elsewhere. He probably won't want to go too far, but the Dodgers appear to be aiming their cash at Ramirez, while the Padres are in "sell" mode and neither the AL teams (Angels and A's) nor the Giants appear immediately to have much interest. Still, I imagine San Diego will be particularly happy if the Big Unit leaves the division, since he is 16-5 with a 2.45 ERA against them in his career. [The Cubs, against whom he is 13-0, must be praying he doesn't end up in the Central!]

Here's an interesting thought as a replacement. Curt Schilling? He has expressed a lot of interest in potentially coming back to Arizona for a Clemens-like partial season. He said during an interview on KTAR [MP3, about nine minutes in] on November 4 that, "Arizona is absolutely one of those teams I would consider. I love Josh Byrnes. I’m a huge Bob Melvin fan... I’ll have an opportunity to pick and choose and I will pick and choose a team that is in contention and I fully expect that team to be in contention.” While I am no fan of Schilling, it would be supremely ironic if we lost one half of the dynamic duo that propelled the team to the 2001 World Series, only for the other half to step up and fill the gap.

Here's a table of possible free-agent second basemen that may be available for the Diamondbacks this off-season. Not all of these necessarily played the position full-time [or even at all] in 2008, but I've erred on the side of inclusion. An A or B in brackets after their name indicates their type as a free-agent, which would result in us losing draft picks - though giving the number we should be getting, this shouldn't be much of an issue for the Diamondbacks. Ages are for the 2009 season, and there are a number of name heres we can probably cross off, almost immediately, but again, I'm including them, for the purposes of comparison.

Points to ponder

• A lefty or switch-hitter would seem preferable, to counter the heavy right-handed bias shown by the rest of the line-up.
• "Byrnes said the team isn't going to discriminate based on age or experience, noting that either a veteran or a prospect could work." - Link
• Per soco, Josh Byrnes mentioned during the Q&A before SnakepitFest that he was from the school of "offense-first second basemen."

However, it appears the focus may have shifted, with the Tribune now reporting, "The D-Backs now appear more likely to trade for a second baseman to replace free agent Orlando Hudson after sources indicated that veterans such as free agent Mark Loretta or possible trade piece Adam Kennedy are too pricey." Dammit: after I spent all the time on that chart, too. :-) The story, in particular, points at Miguel Montero as the possible focus of a trade on the Diamondbacks end. He does seem somewhat expendable, Montero getting only 184 at-bats last season, thirty less than 2007, even though Chris Snyder missed time on the DL. Of course, Montero wasn't available on Opening Day either, due to slower than expected healing of a finger fractured by a foul-tip in winter ball.

When he did get there, Miggy showed some decent power, with a .765 OPS, and .862 in the second half (albeit in only 89 plate-appearances). He would be cheap too, not even eligible for his first arbitration raise until after this year. This rumbling would tie with another report, which says the Diamondbacks have requested Montero get more time as a catcher in the Venezuelan Winter League, presumably for showcase purposes. There, he has also been playing at first-base and third-base - he was mooted as a possible replacement for Special K, if Reynolds was to go to second.

The story lists Boston, Florida, Cincinnati and Detroit as possible candidates as trade partners, based on their need for catching. Maybe someone like Joe Thurston? He was the Red Sox Triple-A second baseman of choice this year, batting .316 for Pawtucket. He is a left-hander, and with Pedroia at second in Fenway, he isn't going anywhere. However, Thurston is now 29, a bit old to be seeing his rookie season. Maybe we can get Dan Uggla back from the Marlins? Hey, we can dream, and they might be wanting to free up space for Tag Bozied, who had a .951 OPS for them in the minors. Over in Detroit,  Placido Polanco, though their cupboard is fairly bare as far as major-league prospects go.

Down in Venezuelan, Montero was transferred in the league, going from the Bravos de Margarita to the Caribes de Anzoátegui.  He said [in Spanish, translation courtesy of Mrs. SnakePit]:

On that team, there were many catchers and we all wanted to play... I expected a change, and I got it. The welcome here was really good. I recognize many of the players, and truthfully, I'm very happy to be here. Simply speaking. I come here to do my job; the rest is in the hands of the manager... [The Diamondbacks] want to give me an opportunity at third-base, take advantage of my bat and give me more game time.. I'm going to do my best, but I'm not  a third baseman, so I can't guarantee a gold-glove or anything like that!

Got a letter from the Diamondbacks today. Fortunately, it wasn't a cease-and-desist, but an invitation to come to the Fall League. Basically, they're giving us as many tickets as we had for the group outing in August, to go to a Fall League game for free. Since that would be more than 50, thought it might be nice to get together at one of these.

Poll opinions were basically evenly split on this. However, when I brought up the issue to Mrs. SnakePit, and mentioned the two dates, she gave me what could be described as the Look of Death. I'd forgotten that October 25th is actually the SnakePitette's 21st birthday, so that one is clearly a no-go. November 15th it is. We intend to tailgate for a couple of hours before the game, so you're welcome to join us at the park for that.

Now with info in the comments on the pre-game get together, where tickets will be distributed! Though I still have some tickets left if anyone else wants to throw their hat in the ring...