Tight-knit youngsters delivered
Youth and inexperience served the Arizona Diamondbacks in their division series sweep.
Five of the Diamondbacks' regulars are rookies, with four having come through their farm system and the fifth, Chris Young, a White Sox prospect who was traded to Arizona in 2005 for pitcher Javier Vazquez.
Playing together in the minors and having success there, then coming to the majors together, was a help to them this season, manager Bob Melvin said.
''I think last year in Class AAA [Tucson], winning a [Pacific Coast League] championship, you know Chris Young wasn't homegrown, but he was with that team last year,'' Melvin said. ''I think the fact that a group of them did win a championship in Class AAA last year, and did it in decided fashion, probably goes a long way in that type of camaraderie that eases that transition coming into the big leagues as a group.''
The youthful West Division winners came through in every clutch hitting situation, and their pitching managed to keep the Cubs swinging in futility.
Young was 3-for-11 with two homers and three RBI in the three games. Second-year player Stephen Drew, the youngest of three brothers in the majors -- including J.D. and Tim -- was 7-for-14 with two homers, a triple, a double and four RBI. Justin Upton was 3-for-5 in the series with an RBI and two runs scored via walks.
''We have our veteran influence, but our young guys are taking us where we've gotten,'' said Melvin, who lauded a ''mature'' performance by young players. ''We don't do it without a concerted effort from everybody on our team. We can't rely on three or four guys to shoulder the load. We have to get it from multiple guys every day, and our younger guys showed up big.''