A terrible thing happened in the last week here in the Valley of the Sun, and I am not talking about Steve Nash joining the hated Lakers.  That’s the NBA, and I will comment on the Suns/Lakers trade and my feelings about it later in this post.  The terrible circumstance in the forefront involves the Arizona Diamondbacks and the horrible week that they have just gone through.  After putting together a very solid month of June, the team has hit rock bottom this month and gone from having pulled themselves to a respectable two games over .500  to 4 games under in just a week.  That amounts to six straight losses, and there appears no end in sight.  The hopes and dreams for a successful season seem to have vanished, and I believe that the Diamondbacks will be sellers at the trade deadline.  I think that the face of the franchise, Justin Upton, is already gone in a trade.  Of course it has not happened yet, but I would think that Kevin Towers is actively pursuing to trade the Diamondbacks’ star player. 

The Arizona pitching staff seems to have self-destructed, and the timely hitting that was a trademark of last season’s NL West Champions has all but vanished.  This is despite the fact that Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Hill, and especially Jason Kubel are having very good seasons at the plate and in the field.  Upton, on the other hand, has been mired in a slump since the season began.  His power numbers are way down and, even though manager Kirk Gibson has had Upton batting third all season, Justin has not done the job of driving in his teammates.  Early in the season he had a thumb injury, but I think now he is just pressing.

Would I trade Upton if I were the General Manager?  No I would wait another year to see if he begins to live up to his tremendous potential.  Justin is still only 24 years old, and he is a past #1 pick in the draft.  However Kevin Towers is a much more talented baseball man than I, and Kevin knows that Upton’s trade value is at an all-time high right now.  After all Upton is a two time All Star who has five tool talents, and he did hit 31 home runs last season.  Upton is my favorite player but, when he is traded, my favorite Diamondback will become Paul Goldschmidt who also shows unlimited potential.  I will continue to follow the career of Upton, who will remain my favorite player.  If he is traded, I hope that he goes to the San Francisco Giants and not the Los Angeles Dodgers.  I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the Giants.

Which brings me to the reality of the Phoenix Suns star player Steve Nash being traded to the hated LA Lakers, let me assure my readers, I HATE Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.  If you are a passionate sports fan, for every team that you love, you must have a corresponding team that you hate.  It is a Yin and a Yang thing; there must be balance to your sports teams.  The Lakers are my Yang to the Suns’ Yin.  Most the fans here think that Steve put a knife to their hearts, Yet I have a peaceful, easy feeling about the trade.  For the Suns to compete again with the likes of the Lakers, they must blow up their team and rebuilt it from the ashes.  Nash was such a great player for the Suns that he deserved to go where he wanted to chase his elusive NBA Title.  I hope that Nash leads Showtime to three straight NBA Titles, and denies LeBron James and the Miami Heat.  Then I hope that the Suns return to their former prominence again and put the hated Lakers back in their place.  Let me assure you, the Lakers will be Showtime again with Nash at the controls for the next three seasons.