You've probably noticed the Top 50 moments in franchise history that Fox Sports AZ have been running during the Diamondbacks games of late. I just got the list of the top ten - the order will be selected by viewer vote, through the D-backs site, beginning August 1st and running through that month.

• D-backs named expansion team (March 9, 1995)
• First Regular Season game in Franchise History (March 31, 1998)
• D-backs clinch NL West with win over Giants (Sept. 24, 1999)
• Randy Johnson strikes out 20 vs. Reds (May 8, 2001)
• Tony Womack singles home Danny Bautista to win NLDS vs. Cardinals (Oct. 14, 2001)
• Tony Womack’s double to tie Game 7 in ninth inning vs. Yankees (Nov. 4, 2001)
• Luis Gonzalez singles to win World Series vs. Yankees (Nov. 4, 2001)
• Randy Johnson Perfect Game at Atlanta (May 18, 2004)
• Brandon Webb’s 42-inning scoreless streak (2007)
• D-backs clinch postseason with win over Colorado (Sept. 28, 2007)

Even the press release admits, "The number-one moment is undoubtedly a no-brainer," but how would you rank the others? And have they missed out any you'd think were worthy of mention?

Record: 50-50. Pace: 81-81. Change on last season: -2

That was, all told, a damn fine evening. Dinner, followed by two and a half hours exploring the surreal universe which springs from the mind of Eddie Izzard - he spent the first 30 minutes alone riffing on Phoenix and its Wikipedia entry, which he pulled up on his iPhone. The city is, of course, named after the mythical bird which came here, died in flames, and was resurrected - only to discover it was still actually on fire. Anyone who can slide seamlessly from giraffes to the noises made by tennis players inside five minutes is...someone who shares my mental wiring.

And then I come home to find out that the Dodgers lost (Kershaw got slapped about something awful) - and, more importantly, that the D-backs were doing their best Davey Crockett impression, and hunting bear at Chase. I did manage to catch a little bit of the game at dinner, as Yusmeiro Petit got Ramirez to fly out to the warning track, ending the third inning. It looked like the batter thought that one was out of here, as he trotted out of the box casually. Nothing better than seeing the shock on an opposing hitter's face as his home-run trot has to take a sharp right-turn towards his dugout. At that stage, we were only 1-0 up, thanks to Jackson's tenth homer of the year, so this was by no means over.

Jackson also scored our second run in the bottom of third, sliding home from second after a single by Reynolds. The Cubs got a run back in the next frame, after their #8 hitter tripled, but that was the only damage they managed off Petit, despite a few hard-hit balls and four free passes. Still, as far as spot-starts go, on less than 24 hours notice, we'll be more than happy with five innings of one-run ball, on three hits and with four strikeouts. Melvin after the game said that Petit may get another start, with Owings going full-time to the pen, presumably tiding us over until Max Scherzer is ready to return to the rotation. Said Petit, "This year I feel a little more comfortable. It's easier to make adjustments, and so far I've been feeling good about what I've done."

The game stayed close until the bottom of the seventh, when Hudson got his eighth homer of the year, a shot that made it a 5-1 game, after Drew scored on one of three Cubs wild pitches [they were also charged with three errors - so it is not just us!]. While the Cubs pulled one back immediately, Arizona poured it on in the eighth. They sent ten men to the plate on four hits and three walks, with the key blow a two-run double by Clark - after the Cubs had intentionally loaded the bases by giving Drew a free pass, in order to get to Jackson. CoJack continues to be on fire, with three hits and three RBI this evening: Drew, Hudson, Tracy and Reynolds all reached safely twice with a hit and a walk. We had five walks and only four strikeouts, a good ratio

After Petit left the game, he was followed by Rosales, Qualls, Peña and Rauch, with the only tally a solo HR off Peña. Rauch was one of two debuts for the Diamondbacks in tonight's game, and both proved to be successful. Jon Rauch, acquired from the Nationals in exchange for Emilio Bonifacio, pitched a scoreless ninth inning, though by that point, it was no longer a save situation, thanks to the four we scored in the eighth. He struck out the first two batters he faced, and though a single and wild pitch followed, he got Fukudome to ground out, clinching the game. connor Robertson was sent down to Tucson to make room for Rauch in the pen, and the departure of Bonifacio meant Jamie D'Antona made his debut, pinch-hitting for Qualls in the seventh. He promptly singled to left-field, in his first ever major-league at-bat. Here's to many more.

The chance for that might come sooner rather than later, thanks to a scary moment in the eighth, as our hottest hitter this month, Hudson, was hit on the ankle by Hart, dropping O-Dawg like a sack of potatoes. The fortunate thing is, there appears to be no permanent damage, with X-rays proving negative. I wouldn't be surprised to see him sitting out tomorrow, so he'll have a couple of days to rest thanks to the off-day on Thursday. Much discussion at BCB at to whether someone - possibly Micah 'Up & In' Owings, second in the majors for hit batters - will exact retribution tomorrow at some point. Romero was also plunked earlier in the game, though as noted, given the general wildness of the Cubs' pitchers, maybe they just sucked. :-) Sweeping them out of Arizona would, however, be far sweeter than engaging in pseudo-macho nonsense, much as I really want to see Chris Snyder in a brawl some day!

[Click to enlarge, in new window]
Master of his domain: Yusmeiro Petit, +18.0%
God-Emperor of suck: Miguel Montero, -6.1%

Very busy Gameday Thread(s), with over 900 comments, even with the Chat Room operating [how did that go? I popped in when I came home, but there was just Emily and Phil left at that stage]. Present in the "formal" thread were DbacksSkins, soco, Scrbl, snakecharmer, Zephon, mrssoco, emilylovesthedbacks, TwinnerA, 4 Corners Fan, foulpole, AF DBacks Fanatic, Muu, kishi, hotclaws, DiamondbacksWIn, dahlian, AJforAZ and unnamedDBacksfan.

These have been a pair of very impressive performances, shutting down the most productive offense in the National League to only two runs in eighteen innings - games started by our #4 pitcher and a spot-replacement, to boot. Now, let's go for the jugular tomorrow and finish off the reeling and demoralized Cubs: they swept us at Wrigley earlier in the season, so turnabout will be very fair play.

Dbacks 5, Cubs 1. Going into the 8th inning. 'Nuff said. Close this one out, boys!!

Jason Marquis RHP, 6-5, 4.44

Yusmeiro Petit RHP, 0-1, 3.06

Baseball-Reference.com preview [opens in new window]

Huge win yesterday, as our number four starter shut out the Cubs, and combined with a converted starter and previously-wobbly reliever on a two-hitter. As measured by Game Score, Johnson's six innings of one-hit ball against Colorado, back in May 2007 passed it during his second term here. Curiously, over the four games since the All-Star break, we appear to have slid through a black hole and entered Bizarro World: we lose when we score four runs or more, and win only if we score three runs or less.

Today. we send the Petit Unit to the mound instead, with the decision that he will be replacing Micah Owings for today's start. Pwnings pitched yesterday in relief - though it seemed odd to burn him there [even pinch-hitting for him with Tony Clark] for one inning of work. One wonders if this is intended to be a semi-permanent move: Petit's only previous start also came as a spot one, in place of Owings, and he pitched very well, allowing one run in six innings against the Brewers.

Marquis is pitching on very long rest again - it's been eleven days since his last appearance, which came ten days after the one preceding that. It didn't seem to affect him last time, as he pitched seven shutout innings against the Giants. He faced us twice in 2007, getting one win and one loss, though the only D-backs with 10+ PA's against him haven't done too well. Tracy is 1-for-14, Hudson 1-for-10 and Burke 5-for-28. Chris Young, however, is 3-for-6 with three homers.

Somewhat prodded by the monumental off-topicness of recent Gameday Threads, we have introduced the SnakePit Chatroom, [no password needed] which will be running in parallel with the Thread. The aim it to offer a more "random" forum for the chit-chat, but it is not intended to divert people from the threads here [and if that ends up happening, we'll pursue another route]. There won't be any particularly  enforcement, but threads that drift too far from the game will be gently shepherded towards the chat room, where they can continue unfettered.

'Skins and 'Charmer will be about tonight, so hit them up with any questions. I won't be here, as we are off to see Eddie Izzard at the Orpheum Theater. I will therefore be relying on the thread for insightful commentary, beyond the box-score, which I can steal incorporate into the postgame recap. Let's hope Petit can be as effective as Johnson, and we can proceed to take the series, setting up a potential sweep tomorrow. That would be very nice.

The D'backs just traded Bonifacio to the Nats for P Jon Rauch. I just got the text from KTAR.

Link

Rauch, who took over as the Nats closer when Chad Cordero injured his shoulder in April, was 4-2 with a 2.98 ERA. The 29-year-old covered 17 of his 22 save opportunities. Rauch, who made $1.2 million this year, is set to make $2 million next season and there is a club option for 2010 at $2.9 million.

[Tidied up and promoted to the front page. Here are my thoughts on the deal. Jim]

This looks to me like we just got Qualls v2.0. Before you cringe, let me point out that by this, I mean Rauch is a decent quality [ERA+ of 127, 117 and 144 over the past three years]  reliever, who throws a lot of innings and will be under our control for a relatively-long term.

In fact, he has the most innings in the majors of any "pure" reliever [90% or more of appearances in relief] since the start of 2006, and gives Arizona two of the top five:

1. Jon Rauch: 227
2. Aaron Heilman: 225.1
3. Scott Proctor: 220.1
4. Chad Qualls: 216.1
5. Saul Rivera: 210

The trade also means Randy Johnson is no longer the tallest player on the roster: if you remember the recent Washington series, you'll likely recall Rauch, who is listed at 6'11" and 291 lbs...

Losing Bonifacio does remove one of the major possibilities as far as replacing Hudson goes. If we don't re-sign the O-Dawg, we are going to have either to trade for someone or make a major shift in position for someone currently occupying another spot. But, for the moment, it certainly strengthens our pen, at the cost of someone who was only a fringe player on the current roster.

I got a couple of press releases today, announcing contests that might be of interest to folk here. Firstly:

See's Candies is providing one lucky Diamondbacks fan the chance to throw out the first pitch at a game this summer! Starting this Friday, July 25, through Aug. 23, fans can visit the local See's Candies to fill out a sweepstakes entry form for a chance to win. One lucky winner in each city will be selected on August 26, and will receive four tickets to the game vs. St. Louis on September 2nd.  where they’ll be escorted onto the field to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. No purchase necessary.

Hey,  if you put on a good performance, you could find yourself in the bullpen by the end of the night. It goes on to say,  "Also available, for a limited time, is the See’s Summer Variety Box (1 lb. for $15.00) that includes Key Lime Truffle, Apple Pie Truffle, Cashew Brittle and more. This summer assortment will be a home run for summer hostess gifts or the ultimate sweet treat for tailgate parties." I can only presume this is intended for cooler climes than Phoenix: here, you would rapidly end up with a one-pound Variety Box of Key Lime, Apple Pie and Cashew flavored, sticky soup... :-) Chocolate and Arizona summers - not good for each other...

Also on the competition front, MLB.com is looking for a fan to guest host their The Dish program. Might be nice to get a Diamondbacks supporter on there - though I have a feeling we are probably relative long-shots, and it'll end up being a fan of the usual suspects, either the Evil Empire or the New England Yankees. Still, if you don't enter, you can't complain. Here is the info.

Record: 49-50. Pace: 80-82. Change on last season: -2.

While there was no wi-fi access for me tonight, I did have the laptop, and so was able to scribble down a few notes while watching the game: I could just about see the game, but there was no audio, so any insights are entirely based on what I coukd see. Here's the game as I saw it.

1st inning. Arrive at the Grand Tavern just in time to see the D-backs go down in order, with little fuss. Drew strikes out, then Jackson swings at the first pitch he sees. Hudson has a bit of a better at-bat, but the net result is an easy fly-ball to the outfield.

2nd inning. Johnson is looking pretty good. His slider is moving very nicely, and his mechanics look pretty good. Radar is showing low-90's for his pitches, right where we'd hope. He retires the Cubs in order, getting a nice strikeout looking to end the inning. The Chicago hitter seemed less than impressed, and the pitch did look a bit inside. Arizona's turn starts with Tracy lifting the ball to the outfield, and he is followed by Reynolds, who does take a couple of pitches, to get ahead at 2-1, before going down swinging at a pitch around his ankles. Young goes one further, working the count full before he takes strike three at the bottom of the zone.

3rd inning. Harden looks as advertised - without wishing him ill, I hope we don't have to face him again this season. Bottom of the order up for Chicago. Edmonds becomes the first base-runner with a blooped single back up the middle. Cedeno goes after the first pitch and sends it deep to center, but Young tracks it down at the warning track. Harden's first two bunts yell "AL pitcher!" but he gets the third one down, advancing the runner. Theriot also goes after the first pitch, and the result is the same: Young makes the third out in deep center. Snyder is carved up by Harden, with some ugly swings; Romero pops up weakly on the infield; Johnson probably has the best at-bat, running the count full without taking the bat off his shoulder, then foul tips one to end the inning.

4th inning. Another Cubs base-runner, Johnson on a swinging bunt that trickles about 30 feet, leaving Reynolds without a chance. However, Lee pops out to shallow right, Ramirez K's, and Soto pops out to end the threat. Be nice if we could get our leadoff man aboard... Drew, however, strikes out, and Harden remains perfect through four innings. If only I could post in the Gameday Thread about now: I would be readying the pics of St. Penelope. On the other hand, Johnson hasn't exactly given up hard hits, just a bloop and a swinging bunt.

5th inning. That said, Young is being kept busy, running down another ball in center-field, . Phew. I miss the rest of the inning, as our comics and the host are arriving, so get distracted by discussing the merits of The Dark Knight. However, I get back to the game just in time to see Chad Tracy take a walk. Score one for St. Penelope, even in hypothetical form. Now, can we make it count? Mark Reynolds can't, going down swinging at something 96 mph-shaped. Something really wild from Harden moves Tracy into scoring position, but Young pops out and Snyder is also retired, to end our first threat. We're still being no hit through five. Time for some more St. Penelope pics?

6th inning. Looks that the first run will go to the winning team: okay, that's true most of the time anyway, but all the more so as the zeros stack up. Johnson strikes out Harden to open the sixth, and another fine catch by Young gets the second out. The next batter does reach, and Snyder is out to talk to Johnson. The Unit looks a bit gassed, and with his spot up in the bottom half, I wonder if he's done. But he gets out of the inning. Now, let's get some ru...well, can we start with hits, and work up to the complex stuff?

Romero decides to combine the two, breaking up the no-hitter with the first homer of his major-league career: while it will doubtless be classified by HitTracker as a "Just Enough", it looks might good on the scoreboard. Johnson is batting for himself, so seems he'll be going out for another frame. He actually gets decent wood on the ball, flying out to fairly-deep center. Drew puts the ball in play - first time today - but is still retired. and Jackson goes down swinging. We have one hit. Two base-runners. And the lead. Now, can we keep it?

7th inning. Wish I knew what Johnson's pitch-count was at. That would make me feel a bit more comfortable. Another deep fly, this time to the warning-track in left. Phew. Eight outs to get. I'm beginning to think about who'll pitch the last two innings. Tracy makes a nice catch in foul territory for the second out. I am almost certain that we won't see Lyon in the ninth: I presume it will be Pena. But who'll be up in the eighth? A 1-2-3 inning for Randy. Maybe they'll send him out there again? Wish I knew what Johnson's pitch-count was at... I'd also feel better if we can add on a run or two. If Romero can hit the ball out of the park, then anyone can. Doesn't happen in our half, despite a two-out walk to Reynolds. I think Harden is done.

8th inning. Johnson has gone, his unbeaten record against the Cubs secure. Interestingly, we bring in Micah Owings to relieve the Big Unit. It all gets a little confusing at this point: I am trying to listen to a comedian friend who just got out of jail, and is having a big welcome home party on Saturday. However, over his shoulder I see Owings get a big double-play to end the eighth. I am perhaps more excited by that than the party. Three outs to get. Bottom of the inning. Leadoff walk to Snyder. Tony Clark pinch-hits and is now 0-for-6 since joining the team. Still, Drew delivers a clutch two-out triple to make it 2-0 before the end of the eighth. Is that Chad Qualls warming in the bullpen?

9th inning. Deep breath. Three outs. Qualls is in. We so need to hold on to this one, after the disaster which was Sunday. Qualls, however, walks the leadoff hitter to bring the tying run to the plate. Then Tracy drops a potential double-play ball, and everyone is safe. Tying run on base. Still no-one out. I have a massive, impending sense of doom. But Qualls gets the next batter to hit another ground-ball, and this one gets executed impeccably. Two out, the tying run no longer on base. Two pitches later, a soft grounder ends the game, and Arizona has beaten the Cubs for the first time this year, giving Rich Harden his first loss in blue. Halle-bloody-lujah, and I am saved from having to wear a Cubs cap on Thursday.

[Click graph to enlarge, in new window]
Master of his domain: Randy Johnson, +46.1%
Honorable mentions: Owings, +12.4%; Romero,+12.4%
God-emperor of suck: Conor Jackson, -6.0%

We drove past Chase after work tonight, and saw all the Cubs fans heading towards the park: very happy to send them home disappointed! In what is probably his last regular-season outing against the Cubs, Johnson ran his career record against them to 13-0, with an ERA of 1.84. I know the W-L record is the best among any active pitchers with ten starts against one team: I wonder where that ERA ranks. It's also the first time ever Arizona has won a game on two hits: we'd won six times on three hits, most recently in May 2005 against the Nationals. Credit some very solid defense, with Young a gurgling vortex - in a good way - in center, sucking up everything hit to him.

Monstrous thread, testing the technological boundaries of SB Nation v2.0: 845 comments in one thread? Some of them were even actually about the game, though I had a lot of skimming over the irrelevancies to do once I got home... Focus, people! :-) Thanks to those who took part: mikeb, kennythered (welcome!), soco, DbacksSkins, kishi, Zephon, TwinnerA, mrssoco, snakecharmer, AF DBacks Fanatic, AZWILDCATS, unnamedDBacksfan, DiamondbacksWIn, singaporedbacksfan, NewJackCity, dstorm, emilylovesthedbacks, friendly visiting fan JoeCoolMan24, njjohn, Scrbl, srdmad, seton hall snake pit and 4 Corners Fan

Elsewhere, the Rockies and Dodgers got together for a 26-run game of pinball at Coors, with the Dodgers coming out on top to stay level with Arizona. And Jose Valverde out-Lyoned Lyon, allowing six earned runs in one-third of an inning of work for Houston, as they coughed up a late lead. His ERA is now 4.86: with Qualls getting the save for us, that trade is now looking nowhere near as bad as it was 24 hours ago!

Tomorrow brings the Petit Unit to the mound, replacing Owings, who appears to have been slid into the bullpen: I am wondering if this is going to be a permanent move? And is Petit just a place-holder until Scherzer gets his arm strength up to 100% and can rejoin the rotation? It promises to be an interesting encounter: I will not be about at all for that one, so as noted, if anyone wants to take over recap duties, please let me know...

Rich Harden RHP, 5-1, 2.19

Randy Johnson LHP, 6-7, 5.23

Baseball-Reference.com preview [opens in new window]

There's a point at which the Diamondbacks need to say "Wait until next year!" It seems to me that we are teetering precariously close to that moment. Not so much because of our record, but because of the way we're playing, and specifically, our offense which is basically dead in the water right now. In the past six games, we've scored only ten runs - 30% of those coming on one swing from Mark Reynolds, and are batting just .177. Hell, crank it back to cover the 22 games we've played since June 25: barely three runs per game and .226. That's why we're 6-16 in that time. So, today's discussion (and associated poll): is the season over?

One year ago today, I wrote the words above, as a discouraging loss sunk the Diamondbacks record to only 50-48. While a couple above this year's mark, the team were, in many ways, worse off, since they were 4.5 games back in the division at that point - Baseball Prospectus gave us only a 2.3% chance of making the playoffs. Oddly, extending the simlarities, the defeat came after the villain yesterday, Brandon Lyon, allowed three runs in a game for the first time in over a year, in a contest that was also started by Webb.

However, the team chose the following day to begin a streak of eight consecutive wins, which propelled Arizona into a lead that they never relinquished, as they went 40-24 the rest of the way. And who did that streak start against? The Chicago Cubs, whom we face again today. This is both encouraging and discouraging. It's clear that the season is still very much up for grabs. But do you feel there is a realistic chance of us posting a .625 win percentage the rest of the way? Don't all rush.

So, the Cubs come to town - with all that means. Having gone to all three games against them at Chase last year, I am taking a sabbatical, having had more than my fill over that weekend. [While I know from personal experience that Cubs supporters include some of the most articulate and well-informed baseball fans out there... those aren't the ones who showed up at Chase. Let's say no more than that] It's going to be a battle of the back-ends as far as the rotation goes - today at least, the advantage definitely appears to be with Chicago.

Harden was very solid in his first outing for the Cubs, going 5.1 scoreless innings, and striking out ten - it did take him almost 100 pitches to get that far. In contrast, Johnson has been through a rough patch, though has won back-to-back starts for the first time since May 18 - albeit mostly thanks to an eight-run inning posted in support of him against the Phillies. However, Johnson has never lost to the Cubs, going 12-0 with a 1.98 ERA in 13 starts: Of course, the last time he faced them was back in April 2004, and it's safe to say he is not quite the same pitcher he was then. Still... 13-0 looks so much better...

I'm having a bet with my lead here at work, who is a Cubs fan: if the D-backs sweep the Cubs, he has to wear an AZ cap for a day, or the other way around. If I'm not really very optimistic that he will be seen wearing Diamondbacks headgear on Thursday, I will be more than happy if we can somehow find a way to take two out of three. We have comedy tonight, so won't be able to take part in the thread; will hopefully be able to see it at the Grand Tavern, where we are comedy-ing. The post-game recap will therefore be a) late, and b) brief - and, indeed it will be tomorrow, since we're going to see Eddie Izzard. Therefore, if anyone fancies recapping either game, let me know, or work it out yourselves in the comments.

Week 16 Results

AZ SnakePit 5, Arizona Muugens 4
SnakePit were hurt by Bell (2 IP, 7 ER), but held on to win in the shortened week, and moved into a playoff spot for the first time. Crede drove in five for them, while Huff scored five for Muugens. Dempster also had a W and 7 K's for them, but strikeouts were tied.

Douchebaggery 3, Desert Storm BC 4
Storm had a 1.82 ERA and piled up 21 K's - Rodriguez had seven of those, as well as a victory. But Douche got two HR each from Youkilis and Fielder, though they only hit .178 as a team. Anderson had five RBI for Storm, though that category, along with R and SB, ended level.

dbacktom 4, Desert Dingleberries 5
Eight K's from Sanchez and two saves by Franklin were instrumental in Dingle pipping tom, despite the loser getting two HR and six RBI from Ankiel. Holliday homered twice for Dingle, though neither side pitched well, Desert's 5.82 ERA being sufficient for victory.

The Fighting Amish 3, Ignatius J. Rallies 6
Rallies had an excellent week on the mound, with a 2.70 ERA and 0.73 WHIP: Hernandez struck out eight for them, while Torres got a pair of scoreless saves. They also got two homers from Teixeira, a figure matched for Amish by both Thames and Guerrero.

Tucson Myth 6, GregSchulteOverdrive 2
Myth continued their good recent run, with solid weeks from Glaus (6 R, 3 HR) and Scott (3 HR, 6 RBI), anchoring their offense to ten homers and a .404 average. Guthrie (Greg) had a Win and five strikeouts, but Myth took both ERA and WHIP, and are 3-1-2 in the past six rounds.

7-2 Offsuiters 4, warlords 4
These two couldn't be split, with HR ending tied at three, and neither side managing to return a save. Pettitte (war) and Parra (7-2) each had a Win and nine K's, while Hermida (war) homered twice, and Cabrera (7-2) led all players in this game, driving in four runs.

Adriano Rosario's 5, last place 4
Longoria had two homers and five RBI for Adriano, but it was Wheeler's save - the only one managed by either team - that clinched victory for them. Gallagher struck out seven for last, and Morneau drove in five; Hamels and Braun matched those figures for Adriano.

Crazy VIII's 4, Shenanigans 2.0 6
Both pitching staffs had games to forget, with ERAs of 8.06 for VIII and 7.43 for Shen. Burrell (Shen) was the only player to homer twice, and also scored four runs. Rodriguez had two saves for VIII, but Shen hit .389, their outfield trio all going .417 or better for the week.

Kapsaicin Kids 10, SHUperMen 0
The first sweep since the Opening Week saw Kids take it to SHU. Most of the categories weren't that close - SB and Sv were each decided by one. Wright (5 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI) was the star on offense for Kids, while Meche (W + 6 K) and Broxton (two saves) led their pitching.

Wimboes Barmy Army 5, Blonde Streaks 4
Streaks hit .379 on the week, but Wimboes took all the other hitting categories, though the teams combined for only 15 RBI. Streaks had a miniscule 0.72 ERA, behind Sabathia (W + 10 K), but Wimb got wins from Lackey, Cook and Mussina to snatch overall victory.

Standings

Week 17 Games

AZ SnakePit vs. Wimboes Barmy Army
Douchebaggery vs. Arizona Muugens
dbacktom vs. Desert Storm BC
The Fighting Amish vs. Desert Dingleberries
Tucson Myth vs. Ignatius J. Rallies
7-2 Offsuiters vs. GregSchulteOverdrive
Adriano Rosario's vs. warlords
Crazy VIII's vs. last place
Kapsaicin Kids vs. Shenanigans 2.0
Blonde Streaks vs. SHUperMen

warlords vs. Adriano Rosario's is the ESPN Game of  the Week, pitting the top two in the table against each other. Adriano have been phenomenally hot, winning eight weeks in a row and 11 of 12: Longoria has seven HR and 23 RBI over the last month, while Verlander has five victories. war also have a five-game unbeaten streak on the line, but have two men on the DL in Castillo and Boone, which may be just too much of a handicap to overcome...

Record: 48-50. Pace: 79-83. Change on last season: -2

Way to ruin our wedding anniversary, Diamondbacks. I should have realized this was going to go pear-shaped when we got to the cinema and due to an apparent scheduling change, were not able to see Wall-E. We saw Wanted instead which, while more than adequate, is hardly the kind of romantic, snuggly movie you want to go and see on your anniversary. Things were not improved subsequently by a) the tilapia at Outback not being very tasty at all, and b) the manager of The Sets not being present to give Mrs. SnakePit the cash she was due. The highpoint of the day was one of our burlesque dancers [who were rehearsing for their show next weekend] admitting she has had a crush on Mark Grace since eighth-grade. All told, the day pretty much went downhill from there.

At that point, Brandon Webb had just finished off the Dodgers in the seventh, and we had a three-run lead with six outs to get. At that point, our Win Probability was 94%, and it would get as high as 97.2% after Webb got a nice ground-ball double-play to end the eighth inning, with the score still 4-1 to Arizona. Then came Lyon. I had been wondering what would happen if the ninth was a save situation. While he has pitched three days in a row before, it's never been after having thrown forty pitches over the first two appearances, as he did Friday and Saturday. Now, obviously, the main alternative candidate, Tony Peña, was little better off, having thrown 37 pitches in those two games. But it was painfully obvious that Lyon was far from sharp yesterday, when he came within 90 feet of blowing all of a three-run lead. Sending him out again today seemed as suicidal as ordering Angelina Jolie's Wanted character, to get back into the kitchen and cook you dinner.

At the very least, someone else should have been ready to go in case of trouble. Instead, it took Bob Melvin seven batters, five hits, four runs and the lead being turned over to LA, before he decided our closer didn't quite have what it took. In mitigation, Lyon wasn't helped by Stephen Drew's inability to turn a double-play in the middle, instead getting only the force at second. However, it was still our fourteenth defeat when leading after six innings - in contrast, we have only five victories, when trailing at the same point. The bullpen, such a strength last year, is now on the verge of absolute implosion: in eleven innings this series, they allowed ten runs. Seven of those came off our closer, on eight hits over just 2.2 innings. That Valverde trade looks like a frickin' disaster about now, doesn't it? Qualls is unable to pitch, Burke is an offensive black-hole and Gutierrez has a 7.18 ERA with Tucson.

Another great start by Brandon Webb, yet the result was another no-decision - he's had four this season, and only in one of them has he allowed more than two earned runs. He wasn't perhaps at his very sharpest, allowing six hits and three walks, with four strikeouts, but he proved very capable of bearing down when necessary, getting the big double-plays almost on command. "I worked out of some jams, made some pitches when I had to and came out pretty much unscathed," said our ace afterwards. He threw 109 pitches and only three of the 24 outs he recorded came in the air, which is always a sign that his sinker is working at a high level.

Offensively, Stephen Drew was the star for Arizona, getting four hits for the second time in his career. Since June 30th, he is batting .333 (22-for-66) and is even hotter during his current seven-game hitting streak, having gone 15-for-35. His season average is up to .270, and it's good to see - hopefully it can continue to climb, up towards the .280-.290 range, last seen at the end of May. He almost managed to complete an inside-the-park home-run in the fourth, but was thrown out at home - it wasn't even that close a play, and we have to put the blame for that one at the feet of third-base coach, Chip 'The Windmill' Hale.

Mark Reynolds went 2-for-4, while Chris Young reached safely twice, on a hit and a walk. Tony Clark got the start at first-base, which raised some eyebrows, given his poor track record against Lowe (4-for-27 before today), and the great success currently being enjoyed by Chad Tracy: his July line is merely .404/.415/.577. It certainly didn't work too well today, Clark going hitless in four at-bats, striking out twice and also making an error at first. Still, can't put a value on all that veteran presence, eh? Chris Snyder was duly activated before the game, with Hammock going back to Tucson - he walked in his first at-bat, and also drove in our fourth run with a successful squeeze play in the sixth, as well as nailing Nomah when he tried to steal second. Welcome back, Chris.

[Click to enlarge, in new window]
Master of his domain: Brandon Webb, +33.2%
Honorable mention: Mark Reynolds, +10.4%
God-emperor of suck: Brandon Lyon, -78.9%

I think the above graph is pretty self-explanatory. Present in the Gameday Thread were kishi, hotclaws, Jim McLennan, 4 Corners Fan, TwinnerA, DbacksSkins, njjohn, unnamedDBacksfan, srdmad, DiamondbacksWIn, Scrbl, mrssoco, emilylovesthedbacks, soco, seton hall snake pit, Wimb, Silverblood, nargel and new poster "BS,L"yon - welcome to him. srdmad was nominally present, but his only comment was duly hidden under the new profanity policy, so he's excluded from the roll. Ditto visiting troll hollywood55, who has duly been warned. A little spikiness towards silverblood, which may not have been entirely justified, but is certainly understandable. Her visit was certainly unfortunate timing, at the very least.

A very disappointing series: we had chances to win all three games, and certainly should have taken at least a couple of them. Oddly, the one we did is where we scored least runs, and we lost both the contests where we scored five or more - totally the reverse of the standard pattern this season. Regardless, instead of being four up on the Dodgers - or even two ahead - we find ourselves level with them. And now we just have to face the NL Central-leading Cubs, with the back end of our rotation, in Johnson, Owings and Davis. Anyone feel comfortable about taking two out of three there, which now becomes almost a necessity? No, me neither. About the only plus is the Dodgers have to go to Colorado, where the Rockies have suddenly re-discovered how to win, albeit only by sweeping Pittsburgh.

I think I am gradually coming to terms with the fact that this team is not actually very good. Oh, there are some components of it which can shine on any given day, but the odds appear to be in favor of another component countering this competence by sucking so badly, that we still manage to lose. When we hit [Friday], our starter blows chunks; when our starter is great [Saturday], we get no offense; when our starter is great and we get some offense [Sunday], our closer decides he will spend the day redefining the term, Gurgling Vortex of Suck (TM), with a career-worst appearance. If all three components ever aligned some day, the defense would, no doubt, step up their efforts in the service of a loss.

Still, what can you do? See you tomorrow for the Cubs game...