D-backs Notebook: What’s wrong with the D-backs?

What a difference a month makes.

At the end of April, the Arizona Diamondbacks were the toast of the baseball world, storming out to a 20-8 record and soaring to the top of every baseball analyst’s power ranking.

Outside of the season-opening series in Cincinnati, the Diamondbacks came out on top against their nine remaining April foes.

At the time, it appeared as if the D-backs had it all: lights-out starting pitching, a stingy bullpen, timely hitting and young phenoms realizing their potential.

Subtle chinks in the armor started to appear during a seven-game homestand against the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies to open the month of May — a stranded runner in scoring position here, a throwing error there.

Each slip-up wasn’t disastrous in and of itself, but the relentless momentum this squad had generated through its first 28 games had clearly started to subside.

It wasn’t until the D-backs failed their first major test of the season — a three-game sweep in Chicago to the National League-leading Cubs — that these subtle warning signs turned into official causes for concern.

The bats went silent in Game 1 (May 9) as Ted Lilly suddenly transformed into Sandy Koufax. The next two games featured full-fledged bullpen meltdowns.

A three-game sweep over the hapless Colorado Rockies (May 13-15) appeared to be exactly what the doctor ordered, but the D-backs would only win five more times in May.

June hasn’t treated the D-backs much better, either.

Outside of the inspired back-to-back shutouts posted by staff aces Brandon Webb and Dan Haren this past weekend, Arizona can’t quite seem to shake this slump.

Where are the bats?

Since May 17, the D-backs are a woeful 5-13. During that stretch, the squad’s offense is generating a paltry 3.33 runs per contest.

Throw out a couple of average-inflating outburts in Atlanta (11 runs on May 23, nine on May 25 — both wins) and that mark drops to 2.5 runs an outing.

It almost defies logic, but the D-backs have scored 44 fewer runs in May than they did in April.

When the D-backs were riding high, they boasted a team batting average of .272. The slugging percentage sat at a robust .470 and only two everyday players (Chris Young and Chris Snyder) struggled to get things going.

In May, that team batting average took a 28-point slide. Even more alarming, the slugging percentage dropped 68 points, which means there has been a disastrous lack of extra-base hits.

Conor Jackson (.348 in April) and Justin Upton (.340) appeared on track for their first-career All-Star berths after dominant April performances.

However, Co-Jack saw his average dip to .247 in May, with only one home run and 10 RBI for a player who is expected to be a major run producer in the middle of the D-backs’ lineup.

Upton’s slide has been even more dramatic.

The 20-year-old phenom began to justify all of those Griffey/A-Rod comparisons early in 2008, but hit a paltry .216 in May — including a dreadful .188 with runners in scoring position.

Once the rest of the NL acquired some tape on the gifted youngster, the league’s better pitchers found some major holes in his swing and began to exploit them.

Upton had the dubious distinction of leading the NL with 40 strikeouts, tying with infamous Philadelphia whiffer Ryan Howard.

Upton and fellow K-counter Mark Reynolds have amassed more punchouts than any other pair of teammates with 136.

What happened, Byrnsie?

Of course, nobody has struggled quite as badly as Eric Byrnes.

A borderline All-Star and the heart and soul of last year’s division champions, Byrnes has drastically underperformed since signing a 3-year, $30-million contract in the offseason.

His season stats (.219 average, six home runs, 23 RBI, four stolen bases) don’t tell the whole story. His average dips to .193 after the seventh inning.

Typically, when a team struggles to get anything going on offense, the manager will elect to hit and run, steal some bases or do any number of tricks to jump-start his team — especially a team that is hitting a meager .243 against right-handed pitching.

However, Bob Melvin has seemed content to let his sluggish offense continue to flounder.

Last year’s manager of the year took a good number of calculated risks to help compensate for the team’s NL-worst .250 average.

The D-backs stole 109 bases, with Byrnes tallying 50 — tied for fourth in the majors.

This year, the squad has stolen a meager 23 bases (Reynolds leads the way with five). It’s absolutely unfathomable that Upton — one of the fastest players in baseball — has only one steal in three attempts.

Bullpen woes

Of course, it wouldn’t be entirely accurate to blame all of the squad’s troubles on its subpar run production.

The once-unhittable bullpen has proven to be vulnerable in tight contests.

Brandon Lyon was asked to fill the closer’s role after the fiery Jose Valverde was sent to the Houston Astros.

Lyon has filled in admirably for last year’s saves leader (12 saves in 14 chances), but hasn’t had an opportunity to tally save No. 13 for 19 games.

With Lyon moving from set-up man to closer, each reliever has had to take on a new set of responsibilities — to varying degrees of success.

Chad Qualls might have some great statistics (2.89 ERA, .214 batting average against), but he is 0-5 on the year with four blown saves. He’s lights-out most of the time, but his seventh-inning meltdown in Chicago and his struggles last week against the Giants have proven that he’s just erratic enough to keep fans nervous.

Perhaps young flame-thrower Max Scherzer would be best suited for the closer’s role, allowing the rest of the relievers to move into more comfortable positions.

The hard-luck Scherzer has yet to win as a starter, but he’s talented enough to become a dominant closer. Best-case scenario, he could emerge as a Jonathan Papelbon-esque weapon at the end of games, as long as his Tuesday night performance in Milwaukee (two homers, three runs, one inning) is simply an aberration.

Bright spots

Luckily, it’s not all doom and gloom for D-backs fans.

The squad is still 3.5 games ahead of its nearest competitor in the weak NL West. Many baseball experts expected this divsion to be among baseball’s best, but Arizona is currently the only team with a winning record.

Orlando Hudson has made a case for inclusion in this summer’s All-Star game. Unlike his teammates, Hudson has flourished in May, hitting a blistering .379 to boost his average to .302 to go along with his sparkling defense at second base.

The starting pitching has continued to be excellent. Webb is a front-runner for the Cy Young award.

Haren’s record (6-4) might not blow anyone away, but he has made nine quality starts and averages six innings per outing. If he gets even a little bit of run support, he will be a force to be reckoned with.

The squad has also gotten an unexpected boost from a familiar face.

Randy Johnson moved into second place in the all-time strikeout list on Tuesday night, passing Roger Clemens with 4,680. He is 4-2 on the year with a 3.88 ERA.

If Doug Davis continues his inspiring return from thyroid cancer and if Micah Owings can keep his disastrous outings to a minimum, few teams have a starting rotation that can match Arizona’s.

The D-backs lead the NL in quality starts (37) and rank second in batting average against (.242) and third in ERA (3.72).

Arizona returns from a much-needed off day to take on the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

Webb gets the start and will look to tally his league-leading 11th win. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 and will be televised on FSN-AZ.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747