Dbacks Need to Make a Move?

Last night as Stephen Drew was helped off the field after destroying his right ankle on a play at the plate. Watching the injury made me really worried for this Dbacks team. Just two days ago Gracie and Sutton were saying Drew would be key to our second half stretch run and now he won't have a chance to break out of a slump and lead us to the playoffs.

It was an unexpectedly fun first half with the Dbacks battling for first place but since the All-Star break the games haven't had the same lighthearted feeling. Now is when teams begin to separate themselves from their competition and it looks like the Giants are doing just that. Looking at the standings I was surprised to find that the Dbacks have only lost one more game than the Giants post-All-Star break because it feels like AZ should be 10 games behind. The discrepancy between the recent look of the team and their record may be because their weaknesses are becoming glaringly obvious. AZ Snakepit has done a good break down of the roster analyzing whether players are improving or declining but as the trade deadline nears it may be more important to figure out how we can address these problems.

Problem 1 - Back of the Rotation Starting Pitching

Zach Duke had an up and down first half but over the past two months he settled into a precipitous decline. He was assigned to the bullpen and Barry Enright was called up to take his starting rotation spot. 3 innings into his first game back in the bigs Enright was replaced by the man he replaced, Duke was back on the mound giving up more runs. There are rumors the Dbacks may go after the Dodgers Hiroki Kuroda which would be a terrific solution. I had him on my fantasy team last year and he was a reliable options. The other suggestion popping up in Dbacks coverage has been to promote Micah Owings to the starting rotation. Owings has done a good job in the pen and in spot starts but we have been burnt by him before. I would rather see the Dbacks go after a starter via a trade.

Problem 2 - Bullpen...again

David Hernandez hasn't allowed a hit since taking over the closer role from injured J.J. Putz. That is the good news. The bad news is that everyone else in the bullpen has been inconsistent. Thankful we have jettisoned Aaron Heilman (Brazoban you may be next) but we still need better consistency in the pen. I like San Diego's Mike Adams but the Padres claim they are holding on to him, any one got any other suggestions? Maybe the Yankees are done with the Hammer of God? They have had him for a while.

Problem 3 - One more bat

Juan Miranda never really impressed in the first half. Willy Mo Pena got lots of love during interleague play but was never a real candidate to play every day. Brandon Allen hit a huge home run the other day but I remember him being a pretty mediocre player last year. With Drew out would the Dbacks go after Jose Reyes? The Mets claim they won't trade him. Carlos Pena could help at first base but he doesn't give off much of a wow factor anymore.

I am looking forward to seeing how the Dbacks address these three issues in the next 10 days. In the meantime it would be great if the Giants would stop playing the Dodgers and the Padres.