MLB Tickets Around the N.L.

View from the Dugout:
"This is a team in turmoil. It's not a very good team and they don't seem to know for sure what they are doing. One day they are pleading poverty and trying to dump Randy Johnson. The next day they are spending money like a drunken sailor, signing Russ Ortiz and Troy Glaus. They give four-year deals to both and neither one is a physical sure thing for one year. Maybe they are smarter than everybody else. I guess they are trying to make a statement. I'm not sure what they are trying to say."

And they added more questions than they found answers, beginning with the expensive signings of Glaus and Ortiz, which cost the Diamond-backs their second and third-round choices in the June draft, a distressing trend for a franchise with questionable depth in its farm system.
The bottom line, however, is Kendrick and his partners, who in 2002 pledged $160 million over 10 years in exchange for control of the team, want to win now and could care less about the future. They are gambling that the high-ticket free-agent sign-ings and trade acquisitions will fuel interest in season tickets enough to offset the budget excesses and rebuild the fan base.

That, however, isn't going to be easy. Arizona needs Ortiz to regain the workhorse form of his days in San Francisco and provide an anchor for an inexperienced rotation. But the fact Atlanta didn't make a token effort to re-sign him is seen as a clue that the 30-year-old may finally be wearing down. Javier Vazquez, the key player for Arizona in the three-for-one Johnson deal, likely welcomes a return to the National League, where he enjoyed six good seasons in Montreal. His fortune wasn't so good last year in New York, where he struggled with the Yankees, going 14-10 with a 4.91 ERA. Two years ago with the Expos, however, he was 13-12,3.24.

Brandon Webb, who was proclaimed a hard-luck 7-16 in 2004, needs to regain his form of 2003 when the Diamond-backs thought he was robbed of N.L. Rookie of the Year. His resurgence could provide Arizona a quality trio at the top of the rotation. Shawn Estes was signed after he resurrected his career by winning 15 games in Colorado last season, and unproven but promising lefty Mike Gosling and right-hander Ramon Antonio Perez will get shots at the fifth spot in the rotation.

The bullpen is a bigger crapshoot than the rotation. The Diamondbacks finally got out from under the contract of Mantei, but they are taking a gamble that Greg Aquino can fill the closer's role. He allowed only 24 hits in 35-plus big-league innings last year, but he also issued 17 walks. The other option would be Oscar Villarreal, who was limited to 17 relief appearances in 2004 because of arm ailments. Journeyman Randy Choate is being asked to handle the left-handed specialist role, and Casey Possum, a failed starter, can do long work from the left side. Right-handers Jose Valverde, Brandon Lyon, Mike Koplove and Brian Bruney have shown potential despite battling injuries.

Injuries leave the Arizona offense in limbo, too. Not only did their major offseason signing, Glaus, undergo season-ending surgery on his shoulder, but Luis Gonzalez, who has been the heart and soul of Arizona's offense ever since the Diamondbacks fleeced Detroit to acquire him, missed the final two months last year after undergoing surgery for a torn left labrum. Arizona must have those two bats in the lineup along with Green's to contend.

Glaus, Gonzalez and Green are the three proven run producers in a lineup that will also benefit from the veteran free-agent additions of second baseman Craig Counsell (Milwaukee) and shortstop Royce Clayton (Colorado). The two of them will bring a professional approach to the clubhouse. Their playing time, however, will come at the expense of Alex Cintron and Matt Kata, who a year ago were proclaimed keys to a long-term building plan, but now find themselves nothing more than spare parts.

So, Arizona has a projected new-look infield, with Chad Tracy, last year's third baseman, moving over to first base to accommodate the addition of Glaus. Shea Hillenbrand, last year's starting first baseman, was traded to Toronto for pitching prospect Adam Peterson. Gonzalez is being counted on to rebound from his surgery and give the outfield a veteran presence. Luis Terrero will likely get a shot to fill the void in center field created by last July's trade of Finley. Green, who played first last year in L.A., gets to be a right fielder again