SCOTTSDALE − The Arizona Diamondbacks don’t hate them.
They don’t begrudge them.
They insist they’re not even jealous of them.
While the Los Angeles Dodgers call themselves the “epicenter of the baseball universe,’’ the D-backs have no problem with their loud, brash neighbors down the block.
They aren’t mad, they aren’t scared, and they aren’t going to back away.
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“Obviously, everybody makes a big deal about what the Dodgers are doing,’’ Diamondbacks veteran starter Merrill Kelly said, “as they should. They’re signing a lot of really, really good players and they’re using the resources that they have available to them.
“That’s kind of the nature of the beast. You can’t hate on them for trying. We’ve just got to control what goes on in this clubhouse. If you get wrapped up on who’s across the field, or what they’re doing, we’re going to lose sight on trying to do to beat them.’’
So go ahead, let the Dodgers have 100 reporters and camera crews following them around from the moment they arrive in the morning until the last one leaves. Let them have the paparazzi, the fanfare, the endorsements and a permanent invitation to the late-night talk shows.
The Diamondbacks, with only a handful of reporters in their clubhouse Sunday, are perfectly fine being the lonely team in the desert with no outside expectations, no pressure, and not a Hollywood star in sight.
“The Dodgers deserve all of that attention,’’ D-backs manager Torey Lovullo says. “They have an All-Star lineup, an All-Star rotation and an All-Star bullpen. A credit to them and the team they built. We have to play our game. I reinforced that.
“Hey, it’s our team, our way, our dugout, our situation. Let’s not be so concerned about what’s going on across the way.’’
The Diamondbacks could have easily folded their hand when the Dodgers kept pushing in their chips. Instead, they held onto their cards and went all-in signing ace Corbin Burnes to a franchise-record six-year, $210 million contract and raising their payroll to a club-record $195 million. Sure, it’s still almost $200 million less than the Dodgers’ $389 million payroll, but at least they’re still in the game.
“It’s exciting, you got teams going out and spending money like that, the Dodgers, the Mets,’’ Burnes told USA TODAY Sports. “We spent some money this year. It’s good for the game. It’s good for the players. The owners talk about it all of the time that they don’t like it. But spend some money and compete. That’s where my head is.
“You win a World Series, you got some extra money, now go spend it.’’
The Dodgers did just that by doling out $465 million this off-season in free-agent signings and contract extensions after spending $1.18 billion the previous winter. Yet, even with the Dodgers’ five Cy Young awards, a future Hall of Famer and three of the greatest pitchers in Japan history, the D-backs believe their starting rotation can go toe-to-toe with the Dodgers or any team in the game.
“Absolutely,’’ Lovullo said. “I don’t want to sound arrogant or downplay what other organizations have. I couldn’t think of a better starting standpoint than the five or seven names we have that can go that deep.’
There’s Burnes, the 2021 Cy Young winner who has finished among the top eight in Cy Young voting for five consecutive seasons. There’s Zac Gallen, who finished third in the Cy Young balloting two years ago. There’s Kelly, who’s 30-17 the last three years. There’s Eduardo Rodriguez, the former 19-game winner who helped lead the Boston Red Sox to the 2018 World Series title. There’s Jordan Montgomery, who helped lead the Texas Rangers to the 2023 World Series title. And there’s Brandon Pfadt, their prized young pitcher who led the team with 185 strikeouts last year.
The Diamondbacks have $369.8 million invested into their starting rotation. It may not be the Who’s Who of pitching like the Dodgers, but in a short series, who wants to go up against Burnes, Gallen, Kelly and Rodriguez?
“Obviously they’ve done what they’ve done, they signed who they signed,’’ Gallen said. “But look at this team. Fully healthy, you could easily put our rotation in the top 10 easily last year and now we add someone like Corbin.
“For ownership and management to go out and spend the money and put a commitment to us, as a player it just reinforced what you’re doing. We needed maybe another piece to get us over the hump, and then you get a guy with his caliber. Pretty cool.’’
The D-backs don’t need to beat the Dodgers 162 times. They just need to beat them in a short series. And with their talented starting rotation, why not? The last time the D-backs faced the Dodgers in a short series, they swept them in the best-of-five division series in 2023 enroute to their World Series run.
“Don’t get me wrong, we respect them,’’ D-backs reliever Scott Gough said, “but I’ll match this staff up against anybody. It gives you a lot of confidence knowing that a lot of these guys have done it in the playoffs. They went toe-to-toe with those big teams and out-pitched them.’’
The Diamondbacks have perhaps their finest 1-2 punch since the days of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, who led the D-backs to the 2001 World Series championship. Burnes is a four-time All-Star who went 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA last for the Baltimore Orioles, and Gallen was the finest pitcher in the NL West two years ago.
“Look, top to bottom, as far as the rotation and the bullpen, we can compete with any club,’’ Burnes said. “We can run out there right now with seven starters that would arguably be in the top two or three of any rotation. We got depth and a young, talented bullpen. I don’t think many organizations can match that depth as far as starting talent.
“I think pitching-wise we can compete with any team, whether it’s the Dodgers or the Mets. This was a team that was in the World Series two years ago, and we’re well positioned to make another good run.’’
The D-backs had the most explosive offense in the major leagues last season, leading MLB with 886 runs and averaging 6.2 runs a game after the All-Star break. They won 89 games last year − five more than the previous season when they went to the World Series. Yet, they wound up sitting home after losing the tiebreaker to Atlanta and the Mets.
“We got everybody back pretty much healthy, and the offense was on a historic pace,’’ Gallen said. “I think from a whole, I would venture to say the teams probably didn’t want to see us. But we did ourselves a disservice (losing five of the last seven games), and we didn’t get it done.
“It’s crazy, we win 89 games and don’t get in, and the year before we win 84 and get to the World Series. That’s baseball, right?’’
It’s also why the D-backs believe that they’re more than capable of knocking off the mighty Dodgers. They don’t have to win the NL West over a 162-game season. They just need an invitation to the dance, and you could be the last one partying into the night.
Who cares if you’re on the red carpet or sneak through the kitchen, as long as you’re in the party?
“It’s not just the Dodgers,’’ Lovullo said, “there are a lot of baseball teams just grouping some unbelievable talent. Its right in front of us. We know the landscape. As long as we know the landscape, we’re going to go out there and compete. We’re going to be ready to go.’’
And, who knows, maybe even shock the world while they’re at it.
“Every time we play those guys I feel like they can be beat,’’ D-backs veteran reliever Kevin Ginkel says. “They’re deep, but with the guys we have and our pedigree, just get us into the postseason, play those guys in a best-of-seven, and I’ll take our chances.’’
Said Burnes: “I kind of like that underdog mentality of a team that’s counted out. It’s a team that’s full of really talented players that are going to shock some people. Let us do our thing. Let us slide under the radar. And we’ll talk to you guys in October.’’
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