The State Of Arizona Sports As Of January 4th, 2011.
Well sports fans, welcome to 2011 and has anything changed? Well...not really, but here is what the four Arizona professional sports franchises stand as of today. Let's start with the teams that are underway with their seasons. First...The Phoenix Suns.
The Suns are mired in a rebuilding/refocusing/retooling, or whatever "re" you want to call it. But you can also call it a mess. It all started with owner Robert Sarver getting rid of then general manager Steve Kerr. Granted he said he was resigning, but Sarver wanted a new focus. He then took his time in hiring basketball people. First, they decided to not resign Amar'e Stoudemire. Amar'e wanted all of the years on his new deal guaranteed, but the Suns were only willing to give him three-years of the deal as a guarantee and if he was healthy after that, other years would kick in. Amar'e didn't like that idea and took his talents to New York and the Knicks. This left the Suns with a hole down the middle. So, they turned their attention to others. The resigning of Channing Frye for three-years, $30-million was down right stupid. He is not a ten-million dollar a year player and has become a one-trick Sun, which is just coming off the bench and launching three-pointers. Then there was the trade for Hedo Turkoglu. Gone was Leandro Barbosa and the big Turk comes in. Yep, that worked. After 20-plus games Hedo was sent to Orlando with Earl Clark and sharpshooter Jason Richardson for guard Vince Carter, guard Michael Pietrus and center Marcin Gortat. This latest experiment has only led to the Suns losing to the Clippers, Kings and 76ers, teams the Suns used to mop of the floor with. Not anymore. Don't be surprised Suns fans if the team sends Steve Nash away in a trade. Actually, get ready for it. This team is far from being a playoff team and I personally don't see hope for the rest of the season. Funnier things have happened though.
The Coyotes: The one team in Phoenix that I think will make the playoffs. They have had some rocky edges but as of January 4th, they are five points out of fourth place in the Western Conference with a lot of season left. They need to add a defensive piece and a centerman sometime this season. GM Don Maloney has worked magic in the past two years and there is no doubt that it will happen again. The biggest news for this franchise that it will be around for a while. The Glendale City Council approved a plan to keep the Coyotes in Glendale for the remaining time of the lease. Self-made investor Michael Hulzinger is in the final processes of buying the team and turning empty seats into people. Big task from a marketing standpoint, but the future looks good.
The Cardinals: It was a bad year, no question. This year you can chalk up the 5-11 record to bringing in the wrong pieces into a puzzle that needed players to step up. Obviously the quarterback position was the biggest position of miscues. Four different QBs saw the field and saw some time this season, which is not a recipe for success. That position will be addressed in the offseason. The offensive line needs some work and definately the defense. The Cardinals need a pass rusher, either by ways of the draft or free agency. It will be addressed and it is near the top of Ken Whisenhunt's honey-do list. The Cardinals need a bounce-back season in 2011 or they may drift back into obscurity and empty seats.
The Diamondbacks: The jury is out on them, but I like what they have done in the offseason so far. The biggest change is at general manager. The ownership hired former San Diego Padres GM Kevin Towers to take over the reigns. He has rebuilt the bullpen, which can't get any worse than last year..it can't..they set records for how bad they were. I like the addition of J.J. Putz as a closer. This team hasn't had a bonifide closer since Jose Valverde, now they have one. I'm not sure about the platooning of Geoff Blum and Melvin Mora at 3B and Xavier Nady at 1B. They traded third baseman Mark Reynolds to Baltimore and got bullpen help in return. Gone are a LOAD of strikeouts as Adam LaRoche is gone as well. Again, on paper it's easy to be picky, but one thing is for sure, this is the year Justin Upton has to become the man in the lineup. If not, look for the D'backs to follow through with the rumor of shopping him early in the offseason. I think the D'backs will have a better record than last year, but I definately don't expect a NL West title or wildcard spot. It's going to be a rebuilding process D'backs fans and patience will be needed here.
So, things don't look very good in regards of the four Arizona pro teams right now. Maybe things will look up in 2011. But, going though the bad times is a big part of being a fan in the first place. If you go through the bad, the good will feel that much better when it happens. Ask Giants fans what that feels like, or Saints fans. Long suffering fans who finally get a taste of victory remember that forever. I remember ASU winning the Rose Bowl in 1986. I was there, watching Eric Allen, Shawn Patterson and others shut down Jim Harbaugh and Michigan..yes that Jim Harbaugh. I remember I didn't lose that smile for weeks. So hang in there fans, good things will come soon.
DZ
P.S. Catch me on SportsRadio66 WFAN in New York City this Friday night January 7th as I will be doing in-game updates during the Suns-Knicks game. If you are in the NYC area, it's AM 660 on your dial, or you can listen online at WFAN.com
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