April 23, Phoenix – I’m certainly still not following through with my twice a week promise, but hopefully I can get there. Here is an update on the numbers we talked about below and it appears as if the offense is improving, but one thing is crystal clear: at this point last year, hitters were much more comfortable than they are a few weeks into this season.

Through April 22, 2006 (260 total games), the league was hitting .269, with 635 HR (1HR/28AB). Each game played had a combined average of 10.3 runs per game and the league ERA was 4.84.

Through April 22, 2007 (266 total games), the league has hit .254, with 480 HR (1HR/38AB). The combined runs per game have been 8.95 and the league ERA is 4.07.

Maybe it’s just me, but this still appears to be a fairly dramatic difference. Was it the weather? Are pitchers a bit more polished and specialized? Is there more parity than ever and is offense suffering somehow? Or is it nothing?

After the incredible series this past weekend at Fenway Park that over delivered drama, I would imagine that there was one Red Sox fan that had one eye on the action while trying to beat the Padres. Here is part of a recent conversation that I had with Rockies catcher and rookie Chris Iannetta, who hails from Providence, Rhode Island and played his college baseball at North Carolina:

Daron: Did you go to a lot of Tar Heels basketball games in college at UNC?

Chris: It’s tough to get into the games. When you are in school to get tickets you have to go through a lottery and I never got a chance to see a Duke/Carolina game until my last year. It was the double overtime game at Chapel Hill and it was awesome. It was tied for the best sporting event that I’ve ever been to.

Daron: What’s it tied with?

Chris: Red Sox/Yankees ALCS Game 5 at Fenway in 2004. That had to be the best one watching that live.

Daron: I need more of the story, where were you sitting?

Chris: It was fun. I actually was behind the backstop about 30 rows back. I didn’t have tickets. A friend came to my back door and said, ‘Hey we’re going to the game’. Day of the game, I’m not going to say no, I just went for it and it was fun.

Daron: That’s kind of a Good Will Hunting moment?

Chris: A little bit, except I didn’t spend the night in the bar and I didn’t get the girl.

Daron: You look at a guy like Mike Matheny and have a true respect for how a veteran can handle a game and the pitching staff from behind the plate. How difficult is it for a young catcher to have that type of impact? Is it catching first and hitting second?

Chris: Yeah, for me priority number one is to catch and throw, to call a solid game and to handle a pitching staff. In that role I’m dealing with 13 or 14 other guys, not just myself. When I’m hitting, I’m up there by myself and trying to help the team out as much as I can in any situation. When I’m catching, I have a lot of guys relying on me to block balls, throw people out and make the right pitch suggestions. For me all of that is top priority. I learned last year that it is not going to happen over night and that I can’t develop relationships in a day, but this year I’ve been able to develop some and start the process.

See you soon.

April 13, Phoenix – It’s Friday the 13th and all hitters had better beware. The other day Dbacks hitting coach Kevin Seitzer noted as we talked that he had never seen so many broken bats in the duration of a week. A study of the stats shows that those bats are dying painful and unhappy deaths.

On April 13, 2006 of last season, the MLB had played a similar number of games (274 team games in 06’, 264 in 07’) and the hitters were enjoying an early season celebration. At this point last year, the league ERA was 5.09 (and you thought Jason Voorhees was scary). The league’s hitters were swinging at a clip of .273 and had slugged 359 home runs, or 1HR/26AB.

In 2007, the league’s pitchers have emerged as Freddy Krueger and are collectively posting a 3.72 ERA (note at this point last season only two teams has an ERA lower than this, the Mets and Diamondbacks). The hitters have banded together to hit .249 as a group and swat 219 home runs, or 1HR/41AB.

Is it weather related? Have pitchers evolved in this early season and are using command and movement more than ever? Is it only a week and a half and it doesn’t really matter? Or…is it Friday the 13th and have the ghosts of pitchers past finally emerged and said ENOUGH of the home run derby and the tightly wound baseballs? Look around tonight you might spot one……

It does help with offensive numbers like those to do the little things well.  The Dbacks lead MLB in sac flies with seven, they are a perfect six for six in stolen base attempts, and they are hitting .284 with runners in scoring position, behind only the Pads in the NL. Speaking of the Padres, how about their pen? Want to see fear this Friday the 13th, take a peak at Dodgers hitters tonight when they realize that SD has a pen ERA of 0.00, that’s right 28.1 IP and 0 ER. Will they break out the old "game over" for the visiting team?

What does it all mean?

“We’ve gotten off to good starts before and it’s great for the mind, but we’ve proven nothing. At 50 games, or even 30 games, you can talk about good starts,” skipper Bob Melvin.

Finally, I hope to see you at the Western Skies Golf Club in Gilbert this Saturday morning for the 2nd annual Strokes for the Little Folks Golf Tournament. It benefits the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center and it will make it a very memorable day. Visit http://www.autismcenter.org/newsroom_calendar.aspx for more info. If you can’t make it in the morning, stop by at any point in the day and say hello to some folks who do great work. Just look out for any of my errant drives.

April 9, Phoenix – Thanks for letting me get settled my first week. I will begin updating again in the next day or so and will do so at least twice a week through the season. Have fun at the home opener!