Kirk Gibson doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for Arizona Diamondbacks
Jul 8, 2014, 11:28 PM | Updated: 11:29 pm
Murphy’s Law is an old adage that basically states ‘whatever can go wrong will go wrong.’
Baseball fans in the Valley may as well call it ‘Gibson’s Law,’ because it seems like everything that could go wrong for the 2014 Arizona Diamondbacks has gone wrong.
Heading into Tuesday night’s game with the Miami Marlins, the Diamondbacks own the third-worst record in baseball at 38-53. They’ve spent three days not in last place in the National League West. They have 11 players on the disabled list and only one of the pitchers that started the year in the starting rotation, Wade Miley, still has his position.
Yeah, it’s been a tough season, but manager Kirk Gibson isn’t playing a tiny violin for himself or the ball club.
“It’s not a pity game, you can’t feel sorry for yourself,” Gibson told Burns and Gambo Tuesday on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “You have to continue to battle through it and continue to try and get better regardless of what your situation is.
“Next year, we could be in the opposite situation and that’s what you strive to be prepared for. You continue to put yourself in the various game situations and try and handle them better.”
The Arizona roster currently features ten players who started the year in the minor leagues — certainly not an enviable situation for any team. But Gibson is pleased with what he’s seen from the bunch as a whole.
“They’ve got a lot to learn, but they have a lot of ability and a lot of energy,” Gibson said. “They’re doing well, to be honest with you. They’re very open-minded.”
One of the pleasant surprises in a down year for the organization has been the play of outfielder David Peralta. The 26-year-old Venezuelan started the season at Double-A Mobile, but has been red-hot offensively since his call-up in early June.
Peralta is hitting .331 (40-for-126) with three home runs and 15 RBI in his first taste of the Majors.
“His motor is always running, he’s always sweating, he’s got a lot of energy,” Gibson said. “He’s very grateful — a couple of years ago, he was a pitcher. He’s a very, very good natural hitter, he’s got a great swing path to the ball. He’s aggressive, he recognizes pitches well and he hits lefties good.
“The thing that I see that he’s behind in a little bit is his outfield play. Some mechanical things, some fundamental things. Even running the bases, you take that for granted, but he’s been a pitcher all those years so he hasn’t been working on those things. But we work on it with him every day and watch film with him. He’s very open minded and you don’t have to tell him twice on these things.”
