The Diamondbacks have nine potential free agents after the World Series. Here is who I think will be staying and leaving out of this bunch:

Henry Blanco: 40-year old righty swinging catcher Henry Blanco had a pretty solid year for the D-Backs. He played in 37 games for the D-Backs in 2011 and he was 25 for 100 (.250 avg, .870 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 8 homers and 12 RBIs. PREDICTION: STAYING

Lyle Overbay: 34-year old lefty swinging 1B Lyle Overbay played in 18 games for the D-Backs and he was 12 for 42 (.286 avg, .840 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer, 10 RBIs and 1 stolen base. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Xavier Nady: 32-year old righty swinging LF/1B Xavier Nady played in 82 games for the Diamondbacks this year and he was 51 for 206 (.248 avg, .646 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 4 homers, 35 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Aaron Hill: 29-year old righty swinging 2B Aaron Hill played in 33 games for the Diamondbacks last year and he was 39 for 124 (.315 avg, .878 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 2 homers, 16 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He played in 137 games overall last year for the Blue Jays & D-Backs in 2011 and he was 128 for 520 (.246 avg, .655 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 8 homers, 61 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. The Diamondbacks have a $8 million dollar option on Hill for 2012. PREDICTION: STAYING BUT FOR LESS MONEY THAN HIS OPTION

Willie Bloomquist: 33-year old righty swinging IF/OF Willie Bloomquist played in 97 games for the Diamondbacks last year and he was 93 for 350 (.266 avg, .657 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 4 homers, 26 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Bloomquist has a mutual option worth $1.1 million bucks for 2012 with a buyout of $150,000. I see Bloomquist declining his part of the option and looking for a raise. PREDICTION: STAYING

John McDonald: 37-year old righty swinging infielder John McDonald played in 19 games for the Diamondbacks last year and he was 10 for 59 (.169 avg, .426 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs. He played in 84 games overall with the Blue Jays and D-Backs and he was 52 for 227 (.229 avg, .577 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 2 homers, 22 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Jason Marquis: 33-year old righty starting pitcher Jason Marquis pitched in 3 games (all starts) for the D-Backs last year and he was 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA and a 2.29 WHIP. He pitched in 23 games (all starts) for the Nationals & Diamondbacks last year and he was 8-6 with a 4.43 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Zach Duke: 28-year old lefty starter/reliever Zach Duke pitched in 21 games (9 starts) for the D-Backs last year and he was 3-4 with 1 save, a 4.93 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. The D-Backs have a $5.5 million dollar club option on Duke, but he’s going to get the $750,000 buyout instead. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Micah Owings: 29-year old righty reliever/starter Micah Owings pitched in 33 games (4 starts) for the D-Backs last year and he was 8-0 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. PREDICTION: STAYING

35-year old righty swinging infielder Cody Ransom has elected to become a free agent rather than accepting an outright assignment to the minors. Ransom played in 12 games for the D-Backs in 2011 and he was 5 for 33 (.152 avg, .546 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 231 games in his first nine years in the majors and he is 74 for 337 (.220 avg, .687 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 10 homers, 43 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The D-Backs won’t miss Ransom at all in 2012 or down the road.

The Arizona Diamondbacks went from last (in 2010) to first (this year) in the N.L. West in Kirk Gibson’s first full year as the manager. They beat the Giants by 8 games. So they lost a tough series in the playoffs to the Brewers, they still had an outstanding season. Here is what stood out the most to me in 2011:

TEAM MVP: 24-year old righty swinging RF Justin Upton was rumored to be on the trade block last winter. The D-Backs were smart to keep him as he turned in his best year to date. Upton played in 159 games for the D-Backs last year and he was 171 for 592 (.289 avg, .898 OPS) with 105 runs scored, 31 homers, 88 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. He seems to be getting better and the D-Backs hope that trend continues in 2012 and beyond.

BEST PITCHER: 26-year old righty starting pitcher Ian Kennedy was simply incredible this year for the D-Backs. He pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Diamondbacks in 2011 and he was 21-4 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Kennedy might just win the Cy Young Award in the N.L. this year.

PLEASANT SURPRISE: 31-year old righty swinging Ryan Roberts came out of nowhere to win the starting 3B for the Diamondbacks early in 2011 and he ran with it. Roberts played in 143 games for the Diamondbacks in 2011 and he was 120 for 482 (.249 avg, .768 OPS) with 86 runs scored, 19 homers, 65 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. It looks like Roberts might have found a home at the hot corner for the D-Backs.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: 28-year old lefty Zach Duke was supposed to be the #4 or #5 starter for the D-Backs. He got hurt early in the year and was ineffective when he did pitch. Duke pitched in 21 games (9 starts) for the Diamondbacks in 2011 and he was 3-4 with 1 save, a 4.93 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP.

The Diamondbacks left everything they had on the field tonight, but it just wasn’t good enough to win. Gerardo Parra whacked a double in the bottom of the 9th and Willie Bloomquist knocked him in with a safety squeeze bunt to tie the game and send it into extra frames. J.J. Putz brought in the gas can though and it cost them this game! Justin Upton had another solid game as he was 1 for 4 with a walk and a solo homer. Willie Bloomquist (1 for 5 with 1 RBI), Gerardo Parra (1 for 3 with 1 walk and a run scored) and Sean Burroughs (1 for 1) were the key guys in the rally to tie up the Brewers in the top of the 9th inning. Paul Goldschmidt kicked in with another good game as he was 2 for 5. Ian Kennedy had a rough time in is first start in this series, but he was much better this time around. He worked the first six innings in which he gave up 5 hits, 2 runs (both earned), 2 walks and he whiffed 5 batters. Bryan Shaw and David Hernandez combined to throw three shutout innings in which he whiffed 5 batters. J.J. Putz, who has been outstanding all year long, took the loss in this game as he only worked 1/3 of an inning allowing 2 hits and 1 earned run. The Diamondbacks have lost this series 3-2 to the Brewers.

3B Ryan Roberts set the tone for this game when he cranked a first inning Grand Slam off of Randy Wolf. It was his only hit of the game. Chris Young also had a HUGE game for the D-Backs last night as he was 2 for 3 with 3 runs scored, 2 homers and 3 RBIs. Aaron Hill (2 for 5 with a solo homer), Miguel Montero (3 for 5 with a double and a run scored) and Paul Goldshmidt (2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and a stolen base) also brought out the whopping sticks for the D-Backs last night. Rookie outfielder Collin Cowgill was 1 for 1 with 2 RBIs last night as he got a key pinch hit in this game. Joe Saunders had a rough night for the D-Backs last night. He worked 3 innings in which he allowed 5 hits, walked 2 batters and he gave up 3 earned runs. Kirk Gibson had a quick hook with Saunders last night. Micah Owings worked 2 scoreless innings allowing on 2 hits as he earned the win for the D-Backs. Rookie Jarrod Parker appeared to have some stage fright as he only to 1 hitter out while giving up 2 hits, walking 1 batter and giving up an earned run. Bryan Shaw was up next and he was excellent as he got all five batters out that he faced. David Hernandez worked the 8th inning and he wasn’t good. He gave up 2 hits and 2 earned runs. J.J. Putz worked a scoreless, hitless 9th inning for the D-Backs. The Diamondbacks have tied up this series at 2 games apiece to set up a winner take all Game #5 tomorrow night in Milwaukee.