D-backs' hitters evolving

Sunday, April 13, 2008 | Feedback | Print Entry

The Diamondbacks' hitters talk about grinding out their at-bats, about controlling their at-bats, about having a plan and executing, about making the opposing starting pitcher throw a lot of pitches and leave the game early and about getting into the soft underbelly of the bullpen.

The young and talented hitters who make up the bulk of the Arizona lineup are executing this plan more and more. The Diamondbacks were outscored by their opponents by 20 runs last season, but so far this season, Arizona has outscored the Rockies alone by 28 runs. The D-backs have hit the most home runs and are the highest-scoring team in the majors. The team just seems to get better and better as the hitters sort out their individual challenges.  
 

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  • Buster Olney Buster Olney

    Buster Olney is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He began covering baseball in 1989, as the Nashville Banner's beat reporter assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Later, he covered the San Diego Padres (1993-94), the Baltimore Orioles ('95-96), the New York Mets ('97) and the Yankees ('98-2001). Olney joined ESPN The Magazine in 2003, after six years at The New York Times, and he's the author of the Times' best-seller "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," a book about the Paul O'Neill-Tino Martinez Yankees dynasty of 1996-01.

    He grew up in central Vermont collecting baseball cards and listening to Red Sox, Expos, Phillies and Pirates radio broadcasts, and was a rabid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He graduated from Vanderbilt University the same year as hoops legend Will Perdue, and ranks among the all-time leading scorers in pickup basketball at Memorial Gym. He claims to have witnessed the Commodores' winning football season in 1982 (although anthropologists have not yet confirmed this).

    Olney also contributes to ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, "SportsCenter" and "Baseball Tonight."

    Follow Buster on Twitter: @Buster_ESPN

    Ask Buster a question: Buster's Mailbag

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