Their ace, Randy Johnson, is 1-2 with a 6.94 ERA. Their No. 2 starter, Curt Schilling, is 1-2 with a 4.28 -- and coming off an appendectomy. Another pitcher, Miguel Batista, faces a 10-game suspension for fighting.
Only four major league teams have scored fewer runs than the D'backs' 90 this spring, and Brenly has used nearly two dozen different lineups in their first 25 games in an effort to get things going.
The result? One month into the season, the 2001 World Series champs are tied with the San Diego Padres for last place in the National League West, a hefty 8 ½ games behind the first-place San Francisco Giants. They also stand No. 25 in SI.com's latest Power Rankings.
All of that means the Diamondbacks may have the Giants -- and the rest of the West -- exactly where they want them. After a shocking 3-11 start, Arizona has won eight of its past 12 and went 5-4 on a just-completed road trip.
Johnson, returning from his first stint on the DL in nearly seven years, struck out 12 Sunday in a 7-3 victory over the New York Mets, and Schilling is scheduled to make his first post-surgery start later this week. With 13 runs in Sunday's doubleheader sweep of the Mets, the offense also is showing signs of life.
But time may be the biggest thing on Brenly and Co.'s side. They still have 19 games left with the Giants, beginning May 19 at Bank One Ballpark. Mark your calendar.
SI.com's Power Rankings
Rank
LW
Team
1
2
New York Yankees Until the Angels beat Andy Pettitte last week, Joe Torre's starters were 16-0 this season. The previous Yankee starter to lose in the regular season was Orlando Hernandez, and we all know what happened to him.
2
3
Kansas City Royals Did worries about SARS help them drop two of three in Toronto, their first series loss of the season? Nah, says Mike Sweeney. "There are only two worry warts on this team," he said. "Joe Randa and Raul Ibanez think they are going to meet St. Peter as soon as we leave Toronto."
3
1
San Francisco Giants A tough week, despite their 18-6 start. Both Jason Schmidt's mother and GM Brian Sabean's father died, and Barry Bonds' father, Bobby, underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor. "Baseball, right now, I can't even think about it," Bonds said. "The desire isn't the same right now."
4
10
Seattle Mariners If they aren't worried about Kaz Sasaki, they probably should be. After having elbow surgery in the winter, the 35-year-old closer went on the DL last week with a bad back. He's 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA this season, after blowing four of eight save opportunities.
5
7
Montreal Expos Back to the real world for Les Expos. After drawing 142,821 fans for 10 games in Puerto Rico, they had 36,879 for their home opener in Montreal -- followed by crowds of 6,380, 5,954 and 6,836.
6
4
Boston Red Sox We know Pedro Martinez doesn't care for the media, but perhaps he should save his disdain for the Boston bullpen. Three of the Red Sox's four blown saves this season have cost him victories.
7
16
Atlanta Braves Gary Sheffield says he spent last year's NL playoffs worrying about friend Barry Bonds' poor postseason history. "I still went out there playing hard, but I kept focusing on him," Sheffield said. "It didn't help that he was at my house during the playoffs." Sheffield went 1-for-16 as Bonds' Giants beat the Braves in five games.
8
9
Oakland Athletics Starter Tim Hudson was peeved when the Tigers' Dmitri Young celebrated after touching him for a 335-foot home run. "He acted like it was a game-winner," said Hudson. "He's hitting, what, .067? He needs to get a couple more hits before he does that."
9
5
Chicago Cubs Sammy Sosa has no interest in bidding for his 500th home run ball. But try separating him from the shattered batting helmet he was wearing when Salomon Torres beaned him. "That's the helmet that saved my life, so I'm going to put it out as a trophy," he said. "I'm going to carry that one around like my baby."
10
11
Philadelphia Phillies How tough are these fans? They booed a 19-year-old Rockies batboy after he faked throwing a ball into the crowd –- and kept it up till the seventh inning, when he finally tossed three balls into the stands. They cheered -- and he tipped his cap.
11
6
Chicago White Sox Esteban Loaiza is 5-0 with a 1.25 ERA. Yes, the same Esteban Loaiza who entered the season with a 69-73 record and 4.88 ERA and once was traded by the Rangers because manager Johnny Oates couldn't stand his habitual tardiness.
12
8
Colorado Rockies Shawn Chacon is the 26th player in team history to win the NL Player of the Week award, but -- and this is a shocker -- the first pitcher. Chacon is 4-0 in five starts with a 1.04 ERA (3-0, 1.30 at Coors Field).
13
17
Florida Marlins The marketing department is at it again, silkscreening 75,000 dimes in teal with an "F" logo for a free-ticket promotion. Uh-uh, said the Secret Service, although the Marlins avoided serious trouble because the paint was not permanent.
14
22
New York Mets Roberto Alomar, leadoff hitter? Looks like it. Alomar had not batted at the top of the order all season, but he went 8-for-25 (.320), with eight walks, six runs and four RBIs in his first seven games in the No. 1 spot. And the Mets went 5-2.
15
19
Baltimore Orioles Their 12-12 start is surprisingly respectable. Now if they can just avoid a repeat of 2002. After reaching .500 on Aug. 23 at 63-63, the O's lost 32 of their final 36 games, the worst finish in the last century.
16
21
Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Jim Tracy has had just about enough of Adrian Beltre, who was benched after hitting .190 with 13 strikeouts. "The word is consistency," Tracy said. "I'm not going to talk anymore about how young he is. This guy is working on five years [in the majors]."
17
15
Anaheim Angels Last fall, starter John Lackey and reliever Francisco Rodriguez were World Series heroes. This season? Opponents are hitting .338 against Lackey (1-2, 8.51 ERA), while Rodriguez (2-1, 5.40) has allowed 16 baserunners in 11 2/3 innings.
18
12
St. Louis Cardinals Tony La Russa is rolling the dice with Albert Pujols. With a sprained collateral ligament in his right elbow, Pujols isn't supposed to throw overhand. But La Russa, desperate for offense, played him at first base and in left field last week.
19
13
Minnesota Twins It took former Twins manager Tom Kelly 15 years to get ejected from five games. Current skipper Ron Gardenhire has accomplished the same feat in less than two seasons.
20
18
Pittsburgh Pirates Looks like PNC Park's novelty has worn off. The team sold 17,000 season tickets in 2001, the year the park opened, but sales slipped to 12,000 last year. Now it's 9,000 -- the same as it was in 2000 at Three Rivers Stadium.
21
14
Houston Astros One reason they're struggling? Last year, the Astros were 40-20 when Roy Oswalt or Wade Miller got the start. This season, Jimy Williams' team is a so-so 4-6 in the same situation.
22
24
Tampa Bay Devil Rays The NFL's Buccaneers aren't the only ones who play badly in cold weather. Dating back to April 28, 2001, the Rays are 0-12 in temperatures below 54 degrees.
23
25
Texas Rangers Another team with a growing number of fans disguised as empty seats. The Rangers have already drawn five crowds of fewer than 20,000 at The Ballpark -- as many as they had from 1996-2002.
24
23
San Diego Padres They're not happy about Tony Gwynn's statement that 50 percent of the team used amphetamines while he was playing, but he's not backing off. "I guess there's a bunch of ticked-off major leaguers at me right now, but so what?" Gwynn said. "I paid my dues. I can say what I want to say."
25
26
Arizona Diamondbacks Broadcaster Victor Rojas, the son of former major leaguer Cookie Rojas, and his wife, Kim, take baseball seriously. Their newborn baby girl is named Mattingly Grace.
26
29
Cincinnati Reds A losing team usually needs at least a year to tarnish the appeal of a new ballpark. "That's how long it took in Detroit, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh before the fans looked around and said, `Nice park, bad team, let's go bowling,'" says the Dayton Daily News' Hal McCoy. "In Cincinnati, it took one day."
27
20
Milwaukee Brewers Richie Sexson homered to left, center and right field Friday night against the Braves. That probably explained why he was finally retired on his last at-bat, said Ned Yost. "Where else was he going to hit it?" asked the Brewers' manager.
28
27
Toronto Blue Jays SARS has cost the Jays 5,000 to 10,000 tickets in group sales, said team President Paul Godfrey. "There are people who are concerned," Godfrey acknowledged. "But Toronto is not quarantined. . . . We're still open for business."
29
28
Cleveland Indians One reason they're where they are? One of the few veterans, Matt Lawton, is hitting a lusty .154 in 78 at-bats. He's in the second year of a four-year, $27 million contract.
30
30
Detroit Tigers You've seen all the stats, but former manager Sparky Anderson's assessment of first-year skipper Alan Trammell sums it up best: "He has to feel like a guy strapped to a chair with ants and honey on him."
