The Arizona Diamondbacks were the talk of the league early on in the 2023 season. The Diamondbacks were surging and cruising right along with first place in the National League West. This was a first place ahead of teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Diego Padres, and the San Francisco Giants.
The second half of the season has been absolutely dreadful for the Diamondbacks. Arizona has won just five out of 22 games to start the season half of the season. And if that is not enough, Arizona lost 14 of their final 25 games in the first half. For those doing the math at home, that’s a 16-31 record over their last 47 games. That’s not going to get the job done.
Fast forward to Monday, August 7th, and the Diamondbacks are now 57-56 and sit 8.5 games back. The Diamondbacks are now behind the eight-ball to make the postseason as a wildcard team.
NL West Picture
Arizona was right at even money to win the National League West in June. Odds started to slip as the Diamondbacks started to fall, but now, you are looking at 65/1 odds to win the National League West. Arizona does not see its schedule soften up as they prepare for five in a row against the Dodgers and Padres.
In fact, the Diamondbacks play against a team fighting for their postseason lives in 21 out of their next 24 games. The lone exception is the trip to Colorado coming up next month.
Playoffs?
The old Jim Mora saying, “Playoffs? Playoffs!? We are just trying to win a MLB game that holds true for the current Arizona Diamondbacks. Torey Lovullo is doing the best he can to find ways to win games. Lovullo does not have to worry about his status, as he was extended through the 2024 season earlier this season.
But seeing a massive free fall certainly will not help his cause with the fair share of critics watching the Diamondbacks skipper. Arizona has fallen all the way to +275 to make the playoffs, YES, and -330, NO.
This means oddsmakers are banking on the fact Arizona is going to miss out after such a great start to the season.
Far Fetched Dreams
At one point, folks around the Arizona Diamondbacks camp were talking about winning the National League and possibly going back to the World Series for the first time since the 2001 season. Now, that basically seems out of the question.
Arizona is down to the 10th-best odds in a 15-team National League. The lone teams with worse odds of winning the NL are the Mets, Cardinals, Pirates, Nationals, and Rockies. Those five teams could basically already be eliminated. So, are the Diamondbacks next?
When discussing Far Fetched Dreams – let’s discuss the World Series. Once in position with great odds at +4500 to win the whole thing, the free fall has sent the Diamondbacks to +10000 odds to win it all. Bet $1 and win $1000.
Now would be the time to do so if you are a crazy Diamondbacks lover that thinks everything is going to come up roses.
Why the Free Fall?
So this begs the question: Why are the Arizona Diamondbacks in such a free fall? Lately, it has been because they simply cannot score. Over their last eight losses, they have scored a total of just 13 runs.
But, overall, their pitching has gone from good to poor. The Diamondbacks have given up seven or more runs in 9 games since the All-Star Break already.
Arizona has dipped all the way to 25th in Major League Baseball in earned run average at 4.66. The starting pitching still remains average at best and even worse behind Zac Gallen in the rotation. The Diamondbacks do have 43 quality starts.
Hitting the Wall
While it’s impossible to put the 2023 free fall on the likely National League Rookie of the Year, the struggles of Corbin Carroll have not helped the cause. Carroll remains steady at -3000 to win the award, as he sits ahead of a pair of Cincinnati Reds sluggers.
Matt McLain is at +2000, and Elly De La Cruz is listed at +2200. But the rookie slugger could use a hot streak or two to help his cause. The rookie is just four for 20 this month and only walked three times during that span.
His batting average was up to .288 on July 26th and has dipped down to .277 on the season. Carroll has gone 13 games without a home run and has hit just two since the All-Star Break.
What Can Be Done?
At this point, the Diamondbacks are going to have to get hot and get hot quickly. Arizona, once in a prime position to be the darling of the postseason, looks like they may have to chalk 2023 up to be a learning year and come back with a vengeance in 2024.
That’s a shame, too, because this club was the talk of the town, and it’s not like the National Football League is going to make the pain quickly go away.
