Arizona Diamondbacks

So I'm sitting here at work with a slate full of projects that need work done on them. In an effort to improve my own moral I've decided to discard them for an hour while I type up an absolutely futile article very few people will likely read and would probably throw spitballs at me if they found me at a Diamondbacks game for writing it. (Look for me on the 21st row. Come at me bro.) First and foremost.... I suck as a prognosticator. I fully concede that McCarthy is doing much better. I hope he continues his current level of pitching filthiness. Maybe he found a better brand than bullfrog for keeping his skin tanned. That's not an inside joke. You people should be posting all sorts of LOL's and ROFL's, and OMGTGISFHITIMSMP (oh my God this guy is so friggen hilarious I think I might soil my pants) in the comments. McCarthy's last two outings have been stellar and I'm glad to see Gibby learned from his first mistake. Although knowing Gibson to be a man of grittiousness (yes I made that word up.. shut up) he would likely say he did the right thing both times. Maybe if he says it in soft tones between chews of his bubble gum we'll all just assume he knows what's best. There is really nothing to say about Corbin. We all know he's pitching out of his mind. Lets hope it continues. IPK is starting to look like the Yankee's pitcher that was traded, not the All Star who took us to within a couple of games of the World Series. Will he be replaced by Hudson when he comes back? I kinda doubt it, but he is looking like the weakest link this month. Who knows who it will be when June or July come around and Huddy is ready to go. Cahill is still having a decent season. I'll stick by my statement previously that I think he'll have his best season yet. He looks impossible to hit and despite losing yesterday, I don't think he's going to give up big innings. He's just too hard to hit consistently. Miley is a bit of an unknown right now. His last few outings have not been the Wade Miley we remember from last year. A 5.32 ERA over the month of May in 4 games is not what we want from our duck dynasty lefty. I think tonight we should all show up with duck callers and quack each time he takes the mound. Make him feel at home in the bushes. Maybe they should put up a camo blind over the bullpen fence between the field and the bullpen. Make him feel like he's hunting wabbits. Goldschmidt cannot continue to hold this ballclub up. He's the only one who has been able to hit with RISP and we're starting to see a decline in his numbers. Right now he's has a .400 BA with RISP. While the team is a miserable .227. I don't know what the team's BA would be without him but I'm willing to bet it would be dead last in the game. Someone else needs to step up, and so far that's only been Chavez when he's available. Hill is out, Kubel is hit and miss, Ross has decent overall numbers but only %15 of base-runners score when he's at the plate. I don't even need to look up the numbers on Prado to know he's been struggling to find some RBI's. So there are two ways to look at this. Either we need some sort of shake up in the lineup to fix the problem (maybe even a trade.... I know, I'm going to hell just for suggesting it), or we say "Well, as poorly as these numbers are we're still in 1st place... just wait til Hill and Eaton get back, then we'll really rake!". Personally, I go to the dance with the person who brought me... but then I like to find the hottest woman on the floor and give her a big wet one right in front of her roided up boyfriend. Both times I've lived and won a hell of a settlement. Ok so this is becoming a terrible analogy. I guess what I mean to say is I'd stick with what ya got unless Godzilla with a bat says he wants to play left field. Then we'd have our own green monster in left. I have no idea what to do about our minor league guys. Seriously Skaggs is dealing again, Archie Bradly is tearing it up, Kila Ka

Outfielder Adam Eaton does not have structural damage in his elbow according to the results of an MRI exam, the Diamondbacks announced Thursday.Eaton was diagnosed with a small tear in the ulnar-collateral ligament of his throwing elbow in March. He left a rehabilitation assignment this week after experiencing soreness. Read more Adam Eaton news

Outfielder Adam Eaton does not have structural damage in his elbow according to the results of an MRI exam, the Diamondbacks announced Thursday. Eaton was diagnosed with a small tear in the ulnar-collateral ligament of his throwing elbow in March. He left a rehabilitation assignment this week after experiencing soreness.

Quick Quotes "That's baseball," Ross said. "One day you can score 10 runs, and the next day you can get shut out. That's the way this game is. That's why it's so beautiful. You can never explain why certain things happen like that. You just have to learn from them and learn the reasons why we're not scoring runs and getting a lot of hits." Cody Ross on the Diamondbacks up and down offense "They made me work a lot, the whole game," De La Rosa said. "They made me pitch. But when I had to throw good pitches, I did." Jorge de la Rosa on being able to pitch out of trouble to keep the D’backs off the board "They out-executed us offensively," Gibson said. "You look at it -- they got guys in, we didn't." Kirk Gibson summing up the game in one sentence Daily Diamondback Digest Diamondback Bats Quiet as Rockies Take Rubber Game For the second series in a row, the Diamondbacks had trouble getting the bats going after a prolific offense showed up for the series opener. This time, the boys in Sedona red were held to only one run in Coors Field. As of the writing of this article, there is still no word about MLB’s response to the egregious disregard for the rules involving replay by (once again) Angel Hernandez and his crew of merry umpires who had a horrible series when it came to blown calls and violating the collective bargaining agreement on when replay can be used. Chavez Getting Noticed It didn’t take long for the former all-star third baseman to start making waves. Eric Chavez is on a torrid pace, thanks in large part to his healthy body and the trainers that take care of it. Corbin Gets High Praise When a guy is in his 17th year in MLB, has just under 2,500 hits (a number he will fly past this season, health permitting), and holds a career lifetime batting average of .319, it’s a fair bet to say he might just know something about evaluating different pitchers on their nastiness. So when Todd Helton, former batting champion and four time Silver Slugger winner, says that Patrick Corbin has the filthiest slider he has ever seen, that says something. More Praise for Corbin It’s not just the opposition that is taking notice of Corbin either. The folks over at the azcentral put together a slideshow taking a look at how Corbin has, according to Kevin towers, become the ace of the team’s staff. Memorial Day Tribute This Monday is Memorial Day. In honour of the occasion, the Diamondbacks will be wearing special commemorative uniforms. Goldschmidt, the Diamond(back) in the Rough As Godzilla continues to put up spectacular number, more and more folks are looking at how he ever managed to fall to the eighth round in the 2009 draft. Thankfully the team had Tom Allison around to make the case for drafting him. Bradley Continues to Impress Diamondback prospect Archie Bradley has continued to impress as he makes his way through the minors. After four starts in the "tougher" AA Mobile, the right-handed phenom has a sparkling 0.90 ERA. While indications seem to be that he will not make a MLB appearance this season, if he keeps up this sort of dominance, who knows what could happen come September. Brenly Wants Robo-Umps Generally one of the biggest supporters to be found of umpires, even Bob Brenly is getting tired of the boys in blue interjecting themselves into a game. So, after a particularly bad strike three call against Pennington on Tuesday, the former Diamondback skipper aired his frustration while doing colour analysis. Around MLB Whoops! When the Cleveland Indians signed Michael Bourn this off season, they weren’t just after a good leadoff hitter, they wanted his stellar defense. I don’t think this is quite what they had in mind, although Miguel Cabrera will take it, it's not that he needs any additional help this year. Pie in t

Friday June 7th V SF 640pm At this point 8 of us (some SnakePitters and some not) are going and the tickets I have are free for you to join us. Upperlevel but whatever, it's free. We plan on meeting up at Legends or Cooperstown pre game for drinks and to dish out tickets. We currently have 8 extra tickets and maybe more to come..... Reply here if interested or email me edbigghead19@yahoo.com Friday June 7th V SF 640pm At this point 8 of us (some SnakePitters and some not) are going and the tickets I have are free for you to join us. Upperlevel but whatever, it's free. We plan on meeting up at Legends or Cooperstown pre game for drinks and to dish out tickets. We currently have 8 extra tickets and maybe more to come..... Reply here if interested or email me edbigghead19@yahoo.com

The Diamondbacks begin a three-game slate with the Padres today and those Padres are currently 4.5 games out of first. Despite the record, they’ve been able to put together streaks from time to time and can really be a headache when everything clicks. To talk about the team, I spoke with Dallas McLaughlin of Chicken Friars, the FanSided site that covers everything Padres. He had a series of questions for me as well, and here’s how things transpired when we hooked up to talk Dbacks and Padres. Jeff Wiser: Who is the Padres’ MVP thus far? San Diego Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso. IMAGE: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports Dallas McLaughlin: Well, that’s a loaded question. Most people will just assume it’s Chase Headley, which a case could be made for, but I think is ultimately wrong. I think Yonder Alonso is the numbers MVP. He’s finding his power stroke, his defense gets better with every game, and he’s becoming a fan favorite. I think he’ll finish with at least 20 homeruns and an average hovering around .300. I’ll take that any day of the week. But, the real MVP is Carlos Quentin. He literally messed the Dodgers up so badly mentally, that it’s costing them $214 million dollars to be in last place. That’s something I think everyone can get behind. DM: Same question to you, but you can’t say Paul Goldschmidt. Ha! JW: Obviously, Goldy has been incredible thus far and while most people would say it’s been him, I’m going with my bro-crush: Gerardo Parra. Goldschmidt was expected to rake and provide a big part of the offensive punch for the team long before the season began. That comes with the territory when you play first base and are known as a bat-first player. What Parra has done, however, has both been unexpected (by some) and stabilizing. First, a lot of folks never bought into his game at the plate and I’d say he overachieving to a degree right now, but he can spray the ball, take a walk and provide a little bit of pop in the leadoff spot. With Jason Kubel, Cody Ross and Adam Eaton, the supposed starting outfield, all missing time this year, Parra has filled in all over the place magnificently. You couldn’t ask for more out of this guy (except a better SB%). JW: Dallas, how underrated is Chris Denorfia? DM: I was actually at the game last night talking about that same thing. He’s a curious case. He’s not young; he’s had a couple chances to stick with the Reds in 2006 and the A’s in 2008. Both times he played well and hit over .280. He’s played well for the Padres, but he’s always looked at as the 4th outfielder, and I wonder why that is. When it appears that Venable and Maybin are having a personal competition to see who could hit under .200, I can’t figure out why Denorfia doesn’t get the everyday nod. Maybe there’s something we don’t know, but I feel like this is definitely the season to figure it out. No use in keeping out of the lineup when it seems like he’s productive every time he’s in it. DM: to the contrary, how overrated is Martin Prado? JW: This really saddens me. I have been a big Prado guy for a few years and always tried to own him in fantasy leagues since he provided decent offense and a ton of positional flexibility. Right now, he’s only giving us one of those things. Looking at the numbers, he’s got a career-low BABIP going right now and it’s currently almost 100-points below his career average. That won’t last and he’ll pick it up, but it’s definitely concerning. I thought the 4/$40 extension was a good idea at the time and it likely still is, but the production hasn’t matched the hype thus far. Despite the struggles, he seems to be pretty upbeat and I think he’ll turn it around to a degree. JW: What are your thoughts of Jedd Gyorko? San Diego Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko. IMAGE: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports DM: I like him. He’ll be a great replacement for Chase Headley. Which, by the way is completely happening. Chase will leave; the real question is how well will Gyor

Ranking players on what they have done so far isn’t too much help for fantasy owners, is it? While it’s great to know what someone has done, what we care about more is where we think they are heading. While these rankings do take a players performance to date into account, where we think they are going is weighted much more into the equation. With that in mind, let’s take a look at our current Top 15 catchers (number in parenthesis is their final preseason ranking): 1) Paul Goldschmidt – Arizona Diamondbacks (7) Can he maintain his current 25.5% HR/FB? Probably not, though we all knew he had significantly more power than he showed last season (20 HR). With that coming out, coupled with his ability to ht .300 and steal bases (18 in 2012, 4 thus far in 2013) he is a complete player in the mold of Albert Pujols in his prime. Is anyone going to complain about that? He’s entrenching himself as one of the elite players in the game, let alone first baseman. 2) Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds (1) We all know he can hit, the question had been if his power would come back.  After hitting his final 2012 HR on June 24 (he was out from 7/15 through 9/5) it was a fair concern.  He now has 7 HR on the season, however, to go along with 10 doubles and a triple.  It’s not quite as much power as we’d like to see, the problem is that he just isn’t putting the ball in the air enough (26.1% fly ball rate).  The HR/FB is there (19.4%) and there is a good chance that the power improves.  However, there is enough concern to keep him out of the top spot for now (but barely).  3) Prince Fielder – Detroit Tigers (3) It’s not a lock that he improves his average (.276 based on a 18.4% line drive rate), but he is on pace to one again hit over 30 HR and drive in well over 100 RBI. As teams try to avoid Letting Miguel Cabrera beating them, the opportunities for Fielder to produce are just going to continue to grow. 4) Albert Pujols – Los Angeles Angels (2) He’s off to another poor start, but it is hard to imagine things not getting better. While his strikeout rate is the highest it has been since 2001, it’s still just 13.9%. He’s had poor luck with a .259 BABIP. His power has been decent, but he should improve on a 12.3% HR/FB (19.0% for his career, 14.0% in 2012). Is he the same player he once was? Absolutely not, but he still has the ability to be a Top 5 option the rest of the way. 5) Anthony Rizzo – Chicago Cubs (8) The biggest concern with Rizzo was whether he was going to be able to maintain last seasons’s power (15 HR over 337 AB). Not only has he maintained it, but he has actually improved upon it with 10 HR over 176 AB. Even if his 20.0% HR/FB regresses a bit, he is proving that he can hit 30+ HR to go along with a solid average. Throw in his 4 SB (in 7 attempts, showing the Cubs will let him run) and he is quickly becoming one of the better options in the league. 6) Edwin Encarnacion – Toronto Blue Jays (10) The preseason concern was that he was going to start trying to swing for the fences, making him susceptible to a low batting average. He’s hitting .250, but it’s not due to his approach. His fly ball rate is actually down (49.5% to 44.1%) and his strikeout rate is similar (14.6% vs. 14.8%). The problem has been luck, with a .233 BABIP despite a 21.4% line drive rate. The average should rise and, with the power still being there, he is proving to be a very good option for, here on out. 7) Freddie Freeman – Atlanta Braves (9) Granted, he did miss time due to injury, but when he has played he has not taken the step many thought he would, at least on the surface. He is hitting the ball extremely hard (28.7% line drive rate) and has his strikeouts down (18.3% vs. 21.4% for his career). He’s also driving in plenty of runs (26 RBI in 127 AB). The problem? He hasn’t been hitting for enough power, with 2 HR courtesy of a 5.7% HR/FB. Since

Tyler Skaggs is definitely getting into his groove and has clearly worked out some of the issues that were troubling him this spring and early on in the season. Last night was his best start of the season with one earned run on 5 hits and no walks in 7.2 innings with a whopping 10 strikeouts. He had a shutout through 6 innings, gave up a solo homer in the 7th with 2 outs, and allowed an unearned run on a 2-out error by Matt Davidson. Skaggs is getting himself well positioned to jump into a rotation spot as soon as the need arises, knock on wood. Snake Stars3 Stars: Tyler Skaggs, Reno 7.2 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 10 K, 2 R, 1 ER, W (4-5)2 Stars: Henry Garcia, South Bend 4 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 ER, W (1-0)1 Star: Matt Davidson, Reno 2 for 4, 1 R, 1 DBL, 2 RBI, 1 E (10)0 Stars: Brad Snyder, Reno 0 for 4, 3 K Triple A: Reno 6 @ Round Rock 2. Tyler Skaggs was completely dominating in the win taking a shutout into the 7th when he allowed a solo home run. He left after 7.2 innings following an error by Matt Davidson that let in another run. Skaggs threw 103 pitches and along with his 10 strikeouts induced 8 grounders and just 3 fly ball outs. To make up for his error Davidson went 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI. Tony Campana went 2 for 4 and stole his 14th base. Ed Easley hit a big 3-run homer in the team's 4-run 4th. Chris Owings stole his 9th base. Double A: Mobile - off day High A: Visalia - off day Low A: South Bend 4 @ Fort Wayne 2. Blake Perry started and had his second consecutive good outing, though he only managed to go 4 innings. He allowed 1 earned run on 4 hits and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts. Over his last two starts he's allowed one run on 4 hits and 6 walks with 9 strikeouts over 9 innings. Henry Garcia relieved Perry and was even better throwing 4 shutout innings to earn the win. RJ Hively pitched a scoreless 9th for his 10th save. A 2-run homer by Rudy Flores in the 2nd and a solo shot in the 3rd by Breland Amadova was all the offense that was needed.

Just gonna get down to it: Here's who won last week's challenge where I told you guys to make up ads for people involved with the Diamondbacks. First Place - Jim McLennan. 8 Recs. Matt Williams for Hospice of the Valley "Don’t be like me and send people home to die." "Let there be, let there always be, Never-ending light..." by Jim McLennan on May 16, 2013 | 10:59 AM reply rec (8) actions Second Place -Diamondhacks and imstillhungry95. 6 recs Didi Gregorius, for Dutch Bros. Coffee [run clip of didi web gem] His voice Over: Even a high energy guy like me needs a great tasting pick me up from time to time. That’s when I head to Dutch Bros. Coffee. Take it from a Dutch brutha, it’s Di-Di-licious!!! As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. Lao-Tsu by Diamondhacks on May 15, 2013 | 9:29 PM reply rec (6) actionsMartin Prado for Dos Equis I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, it’s usually after someone talks about the Upton/Prado trade #PrayForBoston You keep using that word 'strikezone'. I do not think it means what you think it means. by imstillhungry95 on May 15, 2013 | 10:14 PM reply rec (6) flag actions Third Place - AJV19. 5 Recs. Are you bored with your normal life? Do you want fame and fortune but you don’t have any tangible talents? Call the devil and tell him Cody Ross’ eyes sent you. UBICARITASETAMORDEUSIBIEST by AJV19 on May 15, 2013 | 10:13 PM reply rec (5) actions Here be the standings and stuff: Zavada's Moustache 12 imstillhungry95 12 Jim McLennan 12 blank_38 7 soco 6 Diamondhacks 6 piratedan7 2 TylerO 1 TimInTucson 1 AJV19 1 This week's challenge: You know how batters have music that plays when they come up to bat? That's called "Walk-Up Music." Sometime relief pitchers have this as well. Imagine, if you will, that you could choose the walk-up music for one current Diamondbacks hitter AND pitcher, (so two players total)what would you pick? Reminder that this is a comedy-based competition we have here, so think along those lines. This may also be a sneaky way of me trying to find new music to listen to, as "Big Country", "Birdhouse in your Soul" and "Short Change Hero" over and over again MAY get old eventually (but I doubt it).Post yours, rec the other ones you like, The top three rec-getters get a prize of some sort, probably points. Go do that thing!

Record: 26-21. Pace: 90-72. Change on 2012: +5 Wednesday's game wasn't on TV in Arizona or Colorado, meaning that most of us weren't able to see it played. For those of us following along on the radio or through various websites, it seems like we didn't miss a whole lot. Not from the Diamondbacks offense, at least, who started their day off with a 1-2-3 inning to Jorge De La Rosa. And Trevor Cahill didn't seem to be quite ready to start the game on the right foot, either. First inning, he kept pitching up, and the Rockies were more than happy to take advantage of it. Cahill got lucky at first, getting two long, loud outs to start it off. But the third time was the charm for the Rockies, as Carlos Gonzalez started off the scoring with a two-out solo home run for Colorado. Cahill still wasn't out of trouble there, though- back to back doubles by Dexter Fowler and Nolan Arenado gave the Rockies another run, and it was 2-0 after one inning. In the second, the Diamondbacks offense came roaring back and- no, no, wait. They grounded out three times around a walk by Gerardo Parra. More the sort of results we'd like to see with Cahill on the mound. He, at least, managed to settle in a bit for the bottom of the second, going 1-2-3 through the bottom of the Rockies lineup. Cahill kept that hot streak going into the top of the third, too- a one out hit got past Dexter Fowler in the outfield, giving Cahill a stand-up double. After A.J. Pollock struck out, Didi Grigorius walked, but a fielder's choice by Paul Goldschmidt ended the inning. Cahill's luck sputtered in the third. Eric Young grounded out on a bunt to start the inning, but Colorado got their first baserunner of the inning on a DJ LeMahieu single. Carlos Gonzalez came to the plate and lined a ball into the left field corner. The ball rolled past Gerardo Parra along the wall, and by the time it got back in, Gonzalez had an RBI triple. He wasn't on third for long, though- Dexter Fowler lined out sharply to first for the second out, but a wild pitch got away from Will Nieves, and Gonzalez scored. 4-0, Colorado. Nieves made up for it a little in the top of the fourth. Cody Ross put up a lead-off single to start it off, taking second on a ground out from Martin Prado. Nieves came to the plate with two outs, worked his way to a full count, and then slapped the ball to the left-center gap. Ross came around to score and Nieves hustled his way around to slide in to second for the RBI double, but he was stranded there. And.... That's all the scoring we got. The Diamondbacks threatened in the fifth, with Pollock dodging a tag at first to reach with one out and Grigorius singling to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of Paul Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt wasn't up to the kind of power display we might have liked to see, though, and ended the inning by grounding into a double play. The top of the sixth inning gave us another leadoff single from Cody Ross and the end of Jorge De La Rosa's afternoon. But if there was any hope of beating up on the Rockies bullpen, they didn't come true, as the Edgmer Escalona got two ground balls to end the inning. There was also some confusion in the bottom of the inning, on a high, high fly ball by Dexter Fowler. The umpires left the field to head into the review booth before they came back to call it a foul ball- which is strange, since they really only can review whether something is a home run or not. Fowler then singled and stole second before advancing to third on a ground out by Todd Helton, but a bunt pop up to Nieves by Yorvit Torrealba ended the inning. That was the end of Cahill's afternoon, as he was pulled to let Eric Hinske pinch hit in the top of the seventh. Hinske popped out, though Pollock singled and was stranded on first as the inning ended. Tony Sipp came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh, going 1-2-3 with two strikes outs, and then Will Harris repeated the feat in the eighth, with the Diamondbacks looking for one last rally