A 13-game AND an 11-game losing streak in the same year?
To misquote Oscar Wilde, “To lose 11 games in a row once may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose 11 twice in s season looks like carelessness.” With last night’s loss in San Francisco, Arizona joined a fairly “elite” club of teams with a pair of 11+ game losing streaks in the same year. The last such was the 2006 Kansas City Royals, who lost 11 straight in April and then 13 straight in May. The last National League team, of course, were the 2004 D-backs with their losing streaks of 14 and 11 games. Before that, there’s the 1996 Tigers, and you then have to go back to the particularly hapless expansion Mets, who had five such streaks over the 1962-63 seasons. Here’s the full list since 1901:
- STL 1903: 11 + 11 games
- BSN 1909: 15 + 13 + 11
- BSN 1911: 16 + 14
- PHA 1916: 20 + 12 + 11
- PHI 1919: 13 + 13
- PHI 1928: 12 + 12
- BOS 1930: 14 + 11
- BSN 1935: 14 + 15
- WSH 1949: 11 + 11
- NYM 1962: 17 + 13 + 11
- NYM 1963: 15 + 11
- DET 1996: 12 + 12
- ARI 2004: 14 + 11
- KCR 2006: 13 + 11
- ARI 2021: 13 + 11
We’ll see how much further the team goes. A loss tonight would make the D-back the first team with a pair of 12-game losing streaks in one National League season for sixty years, with the last being the 1962 Mets. At this point, going by comments on the site, I get the sense a significant number of fans are almost rooting for that. I guess it’s like the Braves’ fans who were cheering for Randy Johnson’s perfect game. To quote Wilde again – this time accurately – “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” Being part of history, even in a bad way, is perhaps better than another mediocre season. Say what you want about 2021, I think we will remember it.
Torey Lovullo notes
- Alex Young starts tonight. He has been throwing the ball well, and feel like he gives us the best opportunity to win. What happens after him will be determined. He can throw 55-60 pitches, he has been stretched out a little bit.
- MLB’s pitching substances memo. “We knew from conversations as far back as spring training that this was coming… I just know what we’ve talked about with out pitchers.It’s going to level the playing field, and that’s all I’ve ever asked for.” The team has continued to hammer down on the rules throughout the season. “Our guys have heard it.” He doesn’t know whether there will eventually be exceptions for some legitimate substances. Definitely worth a listen to her all his thoughts on the topic, and how the team believes, to use Jack’s phrase, in “coloring within the lines.”
- Striking a balance between guys pressing too hard and keeping them loose. “I believe in natural reactions… when you thrown in those extra layers of pressure, that’s when the game can get dangerous. I want these guys to have pride in what they do, but balance is everything to me in life.” The coaches have been “coaching their butts off.” Everyone relies on one another.
- The plan with Corbin Martin, at this point, is to give us some length out of the bullpen and help try to avoid over-using some relievers. He’s “fully gassed up for tonight.”
Torey Lovullo audio [or link]