December 23, 2003
DBacks Rotation
Don Ketchum of the Arizona Republic is reporting that the DBacks will fill out their rotation with knuckleballer Steve Sparks and former Astro Shane Reynolds. These are the pitcher replacing Schilling and Batista.
Sparks has not had a stellar career. He did have a good year in 2001 for the Tigers, going 14-9 with a 3.65 ERA, but he's never come close to that before or since. I did find this interesting, however:
Sparks, whose one-year contract likely will be in the $625,000 range, said he doesn't believe his knuckleball will be affected by dry conditions in Phoenix in his first National League season.
"I've spent some springs there (with Milwaukee and Anaheim) and had no problem with the climate," he said.
He was impressed with the way Diamondbacks General Manager Joe Garagiola Jr. "did his homework" on knuckleballers having success the first season after changing leagues.
If anyone has a link to research on the subject, I'd love to post it.
Reynolds hasn't had a good year since 1999. Through the 1999 season, he had struck out 7.8 per 9 innings; since then, 5.5. Looks like in reducing salary, the DBacks are getting what they pay for. However, I've learned over the seasons not to dismiss moves by Garagiola. He seems to have a certain touch that I tend to think is luck, but I'm also willing to believe he has a way of recognizing a player's strengths and taking advantage of same.