Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field (formerly Bank One Ballpark).


2007 season: A new look and a return to the playoffs - Refurbished
Further information: 2007 Arizona Diamondbacks season
Uniform and color change: Sedona Red
The Diamondbacks announced in early September 2006 that their uniforms, which remained largely unchanged since the team's first season, would be completely redesigned for the 2007 season. Details were supposed to be kept from the public until after the 2006 postseason as per MLB rules, but the Diamondback page from the 2007 MLB Official Style Guide was somehow leaked around September 25, and local media broadcast printed the new design for all to see.
While some fans applauded the redesign, most of the reaction to the new color scheme, which included dropping the historical purple and traditional Arizonan colors of copper and turquoise for a reddish color known as "Sedona Red", has been pointedly negative. Many fans went so far as to call the 2007 D-backs a new and completely different team, calling the 2007 season a "re-inaugural year"; some fans in Tucson had banners reading; "Arizona Diamondbacks 1998-2006 - Arizona D-Backs 2007- " or "Exit Diamondbacks Enter D-Backs" and "Exit Purple Enter Sedona."
The official unveiling of the uniforms came at a charity event on November 8th in nearby Scottsdale, where several of the players modeled the uniforms on a runway, and posed for publicity photos.
The distinctive "A" design remained unchanged save for the colors. The stylized snake-like "D" logo, also used since the early days for the road uniforms, was slightly redesigned and a completely new shoulder patch introduced. The lettering on the jerseys was completely redesigned.
Changing faces and a successful season
Not only did the Diamondbacks uniforms change, but many faces of the organization changed as well. In addition to the trades detailed above:
Fan favorite and Diamondbacks stalwart Luis Gonzalez did not return as the left fielder for the Diamondbacks. The most popular player in franchise history, "Gonzo" signed a one-year contract worth just under $7 million on December 7 to play for the rival Los Angeles Dodgers for the 2007 season.
Craig Counsell, another popular player, signed a two-year contract with his hometown Milwaukee Brewers and did not return to the Diamondbacks in 2007.
Pitcher Miguel Batista did not return in an Arizona uniform (he signed a three-year contract with the Mariners in December 2006).
Jay Bell, a longtime Diamondback as both a player and coach, relinquished his duties as bench coach to spend more time with family; he remained in the organization as an adviser to Bob Melvin.
The original Diamondbacks play-by-play man Thom Brennaman moved on to the Cincinnati Reds organization to work with his father Marty Brennaman in the booth.
In the 2007 regular season, the Diamondbacks enjoyed a relatively high degree of success with a young team including Brandon Webb, Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew, Carlos Quentin, Chad Tracy, Chris Young, Miguel Montero, Mark Reynolds (baseball) (called up from Double-A in May) and Justin Upton (called up from Double-A in August). The Diamondbacks in the regular season posted the best record in the NL with 90 wins and 72 losses.
2007 postseason
On September 28, the Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies to secure a position in the 2007 playoffs. After the Padres' defeat at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers on September 29, the Diamondbacks secured both the NL West title and home field throughout the NL playoffs.
After taking the first two games at home against the Cubs, in the National League Division Series, they took the series to Wrigley Field, where they completed their sweep, earning their first berth in the National League Championship Series since 2001.
In the NLCS (where, ironically, they faced the Rockies), however, the D-backs' bats - and any sort of luck they had - fell silent. Though the D-backs' pitchers kept it close, they just didn't seem to get any kind of situational hitting. Plays in key situations- Upton's slide in Game 1, Stephen Drew's baserunning mistake and Valverde's 3 walks in a row, including a bases-loaded walk in the 10th in Game 2, Yorvit Torrealba's homer in Game 3, Conor Jackson booting the ball in Game 4, and even into the 8th and 9th innings of the final game, with the D-backs trailing by two, Tony Clark struck out leaving Upton at third base in the 8th, and in the 9th, Chris Young's leadoff double was wasted...The D-backs ran out of momentum against a Colorado team who just couldn't lose and were swept by the Rockies.
The 2007 season overall was a great success, with many of the young players showing their potential and proving that the team would be a force in the National League for years to come.

2007 offseason
Reloading for 2008 with Dan Haren
On December 3, 2007 the Diamondbacks traded Carlos Quentin to the Chicago White Sox for first base prospect Chris Carter.
On December 14, in a blockbuster trade, the Diamondbacks acquired starting RHP Dan Haren from the Oakland Athletics for six players: LHP Brett Anderson, LHP Dana Eveland and LHP Greg Smith; the above-mentioned just-acquired infielder Chris Carter; and outfielders Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez. The team also traded relief pitcher Jose Valverde, who led the major leagues in saves in 2007 with 47, to the Houston Astros for reliever Chad Qualls, RHP Juan Gutiérrez and IF/OF Chris Burke. (Valverde was expected to immediately become the Astros' closer.)
Haren was expected to immediately join the Diamondbacks starting rotation which will include Webb and hopefully Randy Johnson if he rehabilitates successfully from his season-ending back injuries (Johnson was acquired from the Yankees in January 2007 and had a strong start to the 2007 season before back problems forced him out in August).
Haren was 15-9 with a 3.07 ERA for Oakland in 2007. This move was expected to make the D-backs favored to win the NL West in 2008 provided the offensive production is good.


**WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG