PHOENIX (AP) -The Arizona Diamondbacks bolted out of the gate like a thoroughbred running away with the NL West title.
Instead, the team that spent five months in first place staggered down the stretch to finish as an also-ran in baseball’s worst division.
The Diamondbacks led or were tied for the lead in the division from April 6 to Sept. 9, when they lost the second of what became a three-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
“It’s kind of frustrating that you lead the whole year,” Arizona ace Brandon Webb said, “and a two-week span or something kills you.”
The Diamondbacks went on to lose eight of nine and fall 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Dodgers.
Arizona regrouped to win seven of its next eight to cut the lead to two games with five to play, but a 7-4 loss in St. Louis on Tuesday was the beginning of the end.
than three and we had a lot of confidence going into the next game,” Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb said, “and losing that one kind of deflated us, especially when (the Dodgers) won.”
A 12-3 rout by the Cardinals on Thursday sealed Arizona’s downfall.
“It stinks,” manager Bob Melvin said Friday before the Diamondbacks played Colorado in the opener of a season-ending three-game series against Colorado. “We really thought we were right in prime position to put the pressure back on them.”
Melvin traced the turnaround to a three-game series against the Dodgers Aug. 29-31 in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks won the opener, handing Los Angeles its eighth consecutive loss. But the Dodgers went on to beat Arizona’s two best pitchers – Dan Haren and Webb – and slice Arizona’s lead to 2 1/2 games.
Then came the 0-6 trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Diamondbacks were 4-15 from Aug. 24 to Sept. 15.
There were problems in all aspects of their game, most notably in the bullpen and at the plate.
“We had planned to be there this year,” center fielder Chris Young said. “We started off good and we didn’t stay consistent.”
After winning an NL-best 90 games and advancing to the division series in 2007, the Diamondbacks were 20-8 at the end of April.
rd victory on Saturday night, “and we’re like ‘We’ll be in the World Series for sure.”’
Reality crept in to that desert fantasy, a lesson not lost on a young team.
“We had it set up perfectly. It almost was like it was going to be handed to us,” Webb said. “You’ve got to play it all the way through, because there are crazy things that can happen.”
Melvin was encouraged, at least, by the strong seasons of shortstop Stephen Drew and first baseman-turned-outfielder Conor Jackson. The manager tried to look at the franchise’s bigger picture.
“I like to look at it, now that I’m semi-reflecting on this, as maybe a half-a-step back this year to take a bigger step forward next year,” he said. “We’re still a young group. We’re still encouraged about where we’re going. It’s just disappointing to be in the position that we’re in right now.”
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