Daylight Fading - Padres 4, Diamondbacks 2

Daylight fading
Come and waste another year
All the the anger and the eloquence are bleeding into fear
Moonlight creeping around the corners of our lawn
When we see the early signs that daylights fading
We leave just before its gone*

Can you picture this team without Orlando Hudson? Close your eyes and think about it. That's next year's team you see.

*Daylight Fading by Counting Crows

July 4th - THE GAME (Time To Pray)

I have so many thoughts about yesterday's game that I'm going to start with the one that will be the quickest to write and shortest to read.

After making a brief appearance in the 9th inning Thursday, the Arizona offense took another night off as the D*Backs fell to the Padres 5-1. San Diego pitcher Cha Seung Baek started the game with a 1-4 record and an ERA over 5.00, but held the Snakes hitless through 5 2/3 innings to get the win over June pitcher of the month Dan Haren. Haren pitched another strong game going 7 and giving up 2 runs. Somebody somewhere must have said this is a game that on paper favored the Diamondbacks and jinxed us. Baek had given up 10 earned runs in his previous two starts and was winless in his last five. As usual, Arizona bats have a way of making even pitchers like Baek look like Cy Young.

The rest of the game was rather typical:

*Chad Tracy, who had doubled home the first Arizona run in the bottom of the 7th with two out was lifted for a pinch runner who failed to score. Connor Jackson was moved from left to first and promptly made a throwing error the very next inning. This led to another run given up by....

*Reliever Chad Qualls who was sent into the game in the top of the 8th and was not able to keep the runner from crossing the plate, extending the Padres lead to 3-1.

*The bullpen, in two innings, managed to give up more runs than the starter had allowed in the first seven.

The Diamondbacks are in first place ( by just 1/2 game over the Dodgers) by virtue of their dominance over division rivals this year. If teams like the Padres start looking forward to coming to Chase Field then it's going to be a very long second half of the season.

Photo by Nick Oza/The Arizona Republic

Happy Independence Day!

Now THAT Was Fun!

The good thing about working from home is I get to watch the Diamondbacks game today. The bad thing about working from home is I get to watch the Diamondbacks game today.

With a record of 2-34 when trailing after the 8th inning this season, the D*Backs scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 9th today to beat the Brewers 6-5. I had almost forgotten what it felt like to win a game like that.

Let's hear it for Tracy! Well, thank you, but I meant Chad Tracy. Chad has been involved in both walk-off wins for the D*Backs this year, hitting a homer in the 10th on June 13th to beat the Royals and ripping a bases loaded double to bring the Snakes to within 2 in the bottom of the 9th today.

As Orlando Hudson said after the game, "Hopefully this will start something."

With the Padres coming into town tomorrow, maybe we have a chance to string a couple of wins together.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Also known as Better Late Than Never. Rest peacefully.

Start A Fire

Start with manager Bob Melvin, who looks like he has no clue how to make this team win. Bunting your BEST hitter with the game tied and 2 on and nobody out in the late innings? Putting your error prone 3rd baseman at first - a position he has never played in the majors - after pinch hitting in the 7th? Where was Robby Hammock? It looks like poor bench management and DESPERATION to me.

Continue with 3rd base coach Chip Hale. I have seen far too many base running mistakes between 2nd base and home this year to think he should be spared.

Yes, I know there were a lot of wasted chances last night, and yes, I know many of them were precipitated by poor decision making on AND off the field. Yes, I know the coaches don't play the games on the field, but this team and it's fans have come to expect games like the one last night and that's not a good thing. Did anyone seriously think we might win that game when Chad Qualls came trotting out of the bullpen?

I'm going to the game on July 4th, and not even looking forward to it. Hell, they're not even fun to watch on TV. I'll almost be relieved when we finally slip out of first place. This freefall has been too long and too painful to watch.

Ouch, %^&*ing Ouch!

Catcher Chris Snyder was placed on the DL today with a left testicular fracture. Snyder was hit in the groin by a foul ball off the bat of JJ Hardy yesterday.

Man, that even makes ME wince in pain. I didn't even know you could fracture one of those. I looked it up:

The condition is observed only in men.

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Randy, we hardly knew ye. I think now I understand why Clemens never started pitching until July even with all the meds.