Archive for June, 2006
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Vargas has been our most consistent pitcher this month, allowing more than two earned runs only once in five starts. However, he only has one win to his name, going 0-2 over the course of the current losing streak, partly because he’s got only 3.5 runs per game in support during this time. In June as a whole, he’s allowed 30 hits and six walks over 30 innings, which is credible stuff. His ERA for the month (3.90) is the best in the rotation, so hopefully he’ll keep us in the game.
Saarloos had been pretty tough this month (allowing more than two earned runs only once), and the A’s have as well, going 18-7 including a streak of ten in a row. They did drop two of three in San Diego, scoring only seven runs in the series, so will be looking forward to coming home again. You should, as ever, go check out Athletics Nation, which is what I hope the SnakePit becomes when we grow up. 
Their last GameDay thread had almost 1400 comments, split over four separate posts. Some day…some day… Of course, whether they’d have adequately amused suitsmetoATandT, is an entirely different matter altogether… 
AZ 2, Mariners 3 - Sheepish vs. Seattle
Closed Published by Jim McLennan June 30th, 2006 on AZ SnakepitRecord: 37-42. Change on last season: -2
“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”
– Michael Corleone, The Godfather III
So it was last night. In the first game of the series, we outplayed the Mariners for seven innings (excluding the first and last); in the second game, we fought them almost to a tie over seven, then blew up in the final two; and going into the ninth yesterday, we were leading, with a real chance to win. Sure, we’d still have lost the series, but our performances overall have been as credible as we’ve managed in a while, and a win would, it seemed, have been fair compensation for this.
However, it was not to be: closer Jorge Julio allowed a lead-off home-run: kiss the lead goodbye. Then Julio followed that up by allowing a triple to Mariners’ catcher Johjima - which gives you some idea how badly Green misplayed the ball in right field. That baserunner came home on another hit, and after fighting the Mariners and coming out on top for eight innings, we let this one go. I think losses like this sting, that’s for sure - but we can argue, to a certain degree, that we were a little bit unlucky. I’d rather have a defeat like this, than a comprehensively-outplayed thrashing, which we’ve been seeing too much of lately.
On the other hand, the offense left a great deal to be desired. Two runs won’t win many games; especially when you have to rely on a) the opposition defense, the runs being unearned, and b) your starting pitcher, Edgar Gonzalez scoring both of them, for your tallies. Gonzalez had a hit to lead off the third; Counsell singled, but was erased on a double-play by Byrnes that sent Gonzalez to third. However, Meche then balked, bringing Gonzalez home. EdGon also reached in the fifth on an error, then scored from second on a single by Byrnes. As noted last night, starting pitchers named Gonzalez had more hits and scored more runs this series, than left-fielders named Gonzalez…
Edgar also delivered a fine outing on the mound, as well as at the plate. Seven innings, only three hits and two walks, with four strikeouts and only one earned run. He deserved much better, and would have got the win, if only he’d had a little run support, or better help from his closer. It does bode well for the future, however, and the return of Jose Cruz - which might be early next week, if all goes well - will hopefully get the rotation going again.
June has not been a kind month to our pitchers: we have an overall ERA of 6.00 for the month, 15th in the NL [the Cardinals, amazingly, are worse at 6.08]. Our hitters haven’t been doing much better: the .248 average is 13th best, and our OPS of .706 beats only the Braves’ .684. This explain why, wretched as our June has been (7-20), we’re still a game and a half better than Atlanta during the month: they are 5-21. The best team in the league? Surprisingly, the Florida Marlins at 17-7, despite a payroll which could be funded from inside A-Rod’s sofa. They’re powered by a 2.79 ERA from their pitching staff in June - that’s less than half Arizona’s.
Not much to talk about on the hitting front. Byrnes and Green each had a pair of hits, but the former also GIDP’d, and Green was thrown out stealing second. We had plenty of opportunities to score - we had runners in scoring position the first three innings, most notably the first, where Byrnes had a one-out triple. However, after initially conceding the run, the Mariners moved their infield up with two strikes, and Tracy grounded out to Sexson, hard enough that Byrnes couldn’t score. We were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, but Tracy did at least avoid fanning, for the first time in a good while.
Thanks to William K, suitsmetoATnT, VIII, Devin, 4CornersFan and trevjohnson - though suits described the thread as “boring as hell”. Hey, even we can’t compete with the delight which is The Incredibles. [Anyone seen Cars yet? I kinda want to; have loved all the Pixar movies so far, but this one just doesn’t grab me like Finding Nemo or Monsters, Inc.. It probably doesn’t help that I find NASCAR about as exciting as, oh, watching cars turn left for four hours.]
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Today: Gazing into the Julio Abyss 
Heroes and Zeroes
Series 26: vs Mariners, at home
En.Gonzalez: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 ER
S.Green: 6-for-11, 3 2B, HR, 3 RBI
Byrnes: 4-for-9, 3B, 2 2B, 3 RBI
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Lyon: 2 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 ER, Loss
Vizcaino: 0.1 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 3 ER
Julio: 1 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, Loss
Welcome to a special, all-bullpen zeroes edition of the show. Much as I’d like to recognise L.Gonzalez (1-for-12) or Hudson (1-for-10), really, what did you expect? Our relief corps allowed an amazing thirteen earned runs, in only six innings of work? That level of futility blows almost any level of poor offense out of the water. Julio: the closer who couldn’t close. Vizcaino: who believes inherited runners should be allowed to run free. Lyon: who managed to take a tied game and turn it into a non-save situation in one inning. We salute you all. Albeit, probably with our middle fingers.
But it wasn’t all gloom and doom. We had two and six-sevenths good performances from our starting pitchers - cross Webb’s first inning off the list, and they allowed six runs in twenty innings of work. Enrique’s performance last night was a definite sign of hope for starts to come - and not just the rest of 2005. Shawn Green, while his fielding left a lot to be desired, was hitting the ball well, with four extra-base hits, and Byrnes, despite being benched for one game, had three - and deserves credit for hustling out the triple last night.
And so it’s onwards to Oakland. I don’t see the slump ending there, but as mentioned in the comments, losing to Oakland is no major issue, since they’re not our rivals - and the rest of the NL West will likely lose similarly. However, the long streak of playing outside our division is almost at an end; once we hit July and begin facing the Dodgers, Rockies, Padres and whatever that other team is called, then the games become of significantly more importance. It would, however, be nice not to have to turn it around immediately; I’d settle for a good showing against the A’s, and three games where we keep it close, more or less regardless of the actual results.
Sushi (Attempt First Not Withholding, My Love)
Closed Published by sharoute June 30th, 2006 on SharouteThere is an interesting article at CNN.com regarding the pastor’s wife in Tennesse who allegedly killed her husband. She been charged with his murder but has recently pled not guilty. Obviously, this is a very sad story but it is also a very interesting look into the dynamics of Christian faith communities in […]
Gameday Thread, #77: 6/27 vs Mariners
Closed Published by Jim McLennan June 29th, 2006 on AZ Snakepit
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The AL West this year has a lot in common with the NL West: coming into today, both divisions were led with a 41-36 record and a 1.5 game lead. Another thing the divisions have in common is, they’re both wide often as we approach the half-way point of the season. Four teams in the NL West and three in the AL are within two games of the top. The Mariners have surged in June (16-7), as the Diamondbacks have fallen (7-19), and the first two games in the series have demonstrated this amply.
Pitching would be nice, to try and stop the Mariners from reaching double digits this evening. Our bullpen showing up would be particularly nice, having allowed eleven runs in four innings of work thus far. EnGon got whipped the last time out, enduring the curse of the first, allowing three runs before we came to bat. Five hits in four innings is okay; adding four walks is bad; when two of them come with the bases-loaded, small pets in SnakePit Towers run for cover.
Interesting article on Sports Illustrated about how the meaning behind the US National Anthem has largely been lost through its overuse at sporting events: as the old joke quoted in the piece goes, what’s the last two words of the anthem? Play ball! I suspect the author might well come in for some flak for his piece; some will claim, if we don’t sing the anthem, then the terrorists will have won. But as a neutral, I agree with his point that it’s weird to sing it before during games played by paid professionals of all nations: this isn’t the World Cup, after all. And it doesn’t help when half the performers appear to treat it like an audition for American Idol.
Last day of voting for the All-Star game today, and so it is for the Diamondbacks All-Star poll found on the right. Though with Webb winless in the past month, and looking increasingly wobbly, maybe his selection is not such a shoo-in as it seemed when the poll was originally started. Since publication on May 29, Webb is winless (0-3) with a mediocre ERA of 4.20. He’s still third in the NL for ERA, but starting the game seems unlikely, and even a roster-spot is no longer guaranteed.
Sullivan on Dobson (Not literally though)
Closed Published by Zach June 29th, 2006 on Finding RhythmAndrew Sullivan has some good thoughts on his blog in response to the commentary James Dobson’s wrote for CNN.com regarding the proposed Federal Marriage Ammendment. Click here for Dobson’s column if you’re feeling frisky and check out Sullivan’s response here.
AZ 3, Mariners 10 - Are we LA in disguise?
Closed Published by Jim McLennan June 29th, 2006 on AZ SnakepitRecord: 37-41. Change on last season: -2
And Now the Streaming Starts…
For seven innings last night, it was a pretty good game, with no more than one run separating the two teams. Of course, the eighth and the ninth were the disasters we’ve come to expect, and the departures started immediately - the picture above shows the area behind home-plate in the ninth inning - demonstrating clearly what the home crowd thought of their team’s performance. But how did the game stack up generally? It scored 38%: here’s the detailed breakdown.
W for EdGon. MISS He did pitch well: seven innings with only three runs given up, and the only really hard-hit ball was the home-run to tie the game in the fifth. Threw a lot of strikes (70%+), and only walked one hitter; did uncork a couple of wild pitches in the first - I think it was adrenalin. But on the whole, he was unlucky to get tagged with another loss: a little more offense early, or better relief late, and he’d have escaped with his record unscathed.
Multi on-base game for CoJack MISS. He did walk in the eighth, but that was all he managed, in a generally quiet game for our prospect. I was really surprised they pitched to Hudson with the go-ahead run at third, one out in the fourth and the pitcher’s spot up: I’d have walked him, then gone after the pitcher to K or double-play.
RBI for Gonzalez. MISS. Notice, I didn’t say which one. The sad thing is, Edgar had more hits than Luis, with his first knock since August 2004. Seeing Gonzo (L) trying to catch up to a 97 mph fastball from Hernandez was sad. I also suspect that a couple of years ago, his long fly-out in the eighth would have left the park. He only reached when he was hit by a pitch - I suspect Valverde’s 9th inning plunking of Beltre was payback. However, he and Counsell still got easily the biggest cheers at Chase when the lineup was announced.
No first inning runs conceded. HIT We held our own through the game for the first seven, in fact, before things fell apart. I guess it’s a start. During that time, our section really enjoyed tormenting Sexson, who in his first four at-bats had no hits, two K’s and a GIDP. Lots of references to checked swings, though my personal favourite was, “I hope Seattle weren’t paying $100 grand for that at bat, like we did,” after he fanned on three swinging strikes in the sixth. He almost had an ohfer night, but got the last laugh, with an 0-2, bases-clearing double off Valverde in the ninth.
Sexson avoids checking his swing
Estrada: first-pitch hits >= first-pitch outs. HIT One of each. When he came up in the second, I said to Mrs. SnakePit “First pitch hack, just watch.” J-Strada duly obliged, but my cheering after it got through, was met by Chris muttering something about “Fickle fandom”. “Hey, I didn’t say he’d make an out,” was my defense. And, say what you like, he’s batting .307 after his two hits, higher than anyone else on the team. Criticism seems churlish, given this. However, he should definitely have been on second in the sixth; the ball got past the LF, but he was loafing out of the box.
No unearned runs. HIT Mostly solid if unspectacular defense, though Green should have tried much harder on the triple in the eighth. At least through the front seven, the Mariners had largely been relying on bloops. Such as their first run, which reached base on an immaculately-placed floater just out of the reach of Counsell into shallow left-center; I can’t help thinking, again, a couple of years ago, Counsell would have had the wheels to make that play. That might also explain why his SB% is down at 60%, significantly below the break-even point.
Bullpen ERA less than 3.00. TRIPLE PLAY. With the bases loaded. During Game 7 of the World Series. That’s how wrong this was: you could, in fact, have shifted the decimal point, making it 30.00, and still have been wrong, as Vizcaino, Aquino and Valverde combined for seven runs in two innings. Valverde’s ERA is now more than eight; impressive, given it was 2.20 barely six weeks ago (May 16). His line in the past month (since May 28) is, ah, spectacular. In a number of ways:
Valverde: 11.1 IP, 21 H, 8 BB, 19 ER, 21 K
No K’s for Tracy. MISS. I thought this one was going down early, when he went 0-2 first time up, but he muscled the next pitch back up the middle in an impressive style. However, he went down in the third, extending his whiffing streak to a season-high ten consecutive games. Speaking of futility, Tony Clark appeared in the ninth and hit into a double-play. Don’t forget, he’s signed for next season as well…
GAME NOTES
His name’s Roberto, and he dances on the mound…
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When I first heard “Duran to throw out first pitch”, I thought, “Great, I really liked their theme to View to a Kill. Wrong Duran. This was Roberto: ironic that we ask someone to be our honoured guest, who’s best known for throwing in the towel. Duran is also known as “Hands of Stone”. Much like Conor Jackson then.
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Do not hold your Diamondbacks’ tickets in your mouth while fiddling with stuff in your car. The back, particularly the stub, has glue on it, and you will rip off your lips removing the tickets from your mouth.
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You would think somewhere named Chase Field would have ATM’s on every section. Not so. The lower level has two. One of which was out of service. As Chris found out when trying to get ice-cream, a trek which took so long, she could have reached the North Pole and back.
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This game’s apology goes to the woman in front of us. While Mrs. Snakepit was gesturing with her spoon to indicate the remote location of the sole working ATM, she dripped ice-cream on the back of the lady’s shirt in the next row. She didn’t notice, and we agonized over whether to tell her or not, but decided to let sleeping dogs lie. So, sorry.
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God hates the wave. Two pitches after it started up in the left-field bleachers, Seattle took the lead, and never looked back. It was gratifying to see it petering out lamely before it got round to our section. But it should, of course, never have been started at all.
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Jeff DaVanon comes to the plate while Whip It by Devo plays. Is this simply a cheap pun on his name, or is he genuinely a fan of the finest New Wave band ever? Enquiring minds want to know.
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Mariners’ notes: Yuniesky Betancourt may have the best name in the majors. Suzuki is a great leadoff hitter. Before lacing his fifth-inning single, he just kept fouling pitches off from Gonzalez with consumate ease. Let’s hope Chris Young is practicing the same in Tucson, because Counsell now has the worst OBP of anyone on the roster, outside the pitchers and Tony Clark.
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Thanks to William K, in particular, for keeping the fire burning here during my absence. Devin, azdb7, VIII and suitsmetoATnT were also present in the Gameday Thread, which is more than I was.
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Today: Suzuki vs. So Sucky 
“However we may understand the details, there can be no doubt, on the biblical picture of human life, that we were meant to be inhabited by God and to live by a power beyond ourselves. Human problems cannot be solved by human means. Human life can never flourish unless it pulses with the […]
Next week, to celebrate Independence Day, I am going to begin taking classes at a Japanese market in downtown Phoenix on how to make proper sushi. I would love to eat tuna and salmon sashimi, unagi, rainbow rolls, and squid salad everyday to be quite honest, but the prohibitive price of a daily sushi diet […]
Gameday Thread, #78: 6/28 vs Mariners
Closed Published by Jim McLennan June 28th, 2006 on AZ Snakepit
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According to our horoscopes, both Mrs. SnakePit and I are having five-star days today, which can mean only one thing - a Diamondbacks win at the game we’re going to tonight. Put it in your book, the stars have spoken. Looking at the matchup, I’m less convinced: Hernandez may have an ERA north of five, but he has been significantly better in his more recent outings. EdGon, while a little short of EnGon in his first performance, gave up four runs in six innings, and was somewhat unlucky to take the loss.
Things that we’ll be looking for at tonight’s game, in between lustily booing Sexson’s every move.
- W for EdGon. Be nice to see him building on his last outing, and getting the first win by his name for a very long time.
- No first inning runs conceded. We can not be forever playing catch-up; even when you’re going well, that’s an unwanted obstacle. And we are not going well.
- Multi on-base game for CoJack. After a spell where he couldn’t reach first base if he got hit, Jackson is back on track, reaching thirteen times in four games this homestand on seven hits, five walks and a hit by pitch.
- RBI for Gonzalez. With the HR monkey off his back, Luis will hopefully be swinging with more authority - and getting good at-bats with RISP.
- Estrada: first-pitch hits >= first-pitch outs. If you’re going to swing at the first pitch, make it count.
- No unearned runs. Hudson tossing the ball away to third last night was an unbearable gaffe; again, when you’re going well, you can afford the odd slip. We can’t.
- Bullpen ERA less than 3.00. I’m thinking three shutout innings, finishing with a save for Julio, because runs will probably be tight against Hernandez
- No K’s for Tracy. So far this year, in 75 games, he has struck out once 27 times, more than once 22 and not at all in 26. So this is about a one-in-three chance. However, his last no-K appearance was June 17th…