Back in spring training, Diamondbacks legend Randy Johnson talked about how he wanted to counsel the team’s young pitchers to dig deep. To refuse to give up the ball, to get that one extra out and pitch that one extra inning.
That didn’t happen in 2015. This year, the Diamondbacks rotation was short on long performances, and it’s one thing Arizona knows needs to be fixed next year.
“It’s paramount,” manager Chip Hale said. “Because that’s what we’re going to need. As we’ve seen, the bullpen is taxed heavily when they don’t go deep. When you have two or three or four in a row that don’t go deep, we’re in deep trouble.