AZ Snake Pit

This Day In Diamondbacks History: May 16

2012-05-17T06:30:02Z

Overall: 5-9 - Home: 3-5 - Road: 2-4

1978: Nick Bierbrodt born. Bierfbrodt was the first ever player picked by the Diamondbacks in the June draft, being our opening round pick - 30th overall - the first time we got to take part, in 1996. It didn't really pan out, with only Dee Brown of the first-rounders that year producing less fWAR than Bierbrodt in their careers to date. We could have taken Jimmie Rollins, Nick Johnson or, er. Milton Bradley instead, all of whom were selected in the second or third rounds, and thus after Bierbrodt.

2007: The D-backs selected Jason Smith off waivers from the Blue Jays. Smith wasn't quite the least significant member of our team, but his four trips to the dish isn't far behind. He was designated for assignment on May 19th, due to the return of Alberto Callaspo. However, an odd turn of events meant it was almost two months before he left. He suffered a burst appendix before the paperwork was processed and as a result, was put on the Disabled List instead until well enough to come off in July.
2009: Max Scherzer finally earned his first win with a 12-0 blanking of the Brave in Atlanta. It took long enough, the victory coming in Scherzer's 23rd career game and his 14th start, snapping a personal seven-game losing streak. Since the franchise came into existence, only three pitchers (Angel Guzman and Jason Bergmann, 14 + Jason Hammel, 17) have had more starts at the beginning of their careers without getting a W by their name. Chris Snyder drove in five runs, including a grand-slam.
2011: The Diamondbacks sank into fifth place as a result of an 8-4 defeat at the hands of the San Diego Padres at Petco. They jumped on Armando Galarraga early, scoring five over the first two innings, though three were unearned. He ended up allowing five earned runs in five, and it would turn out to be his last start for the Diamondbacks - and, to this point, in the majors. Justin Upton and Henry Blanco had two hits, Blanco homering twice off Padres' starter Clayton Richard.

Diamondbacks 1, Rockies 6: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

2012-05-17T04:29:00Z

Record: 16-22. Pace: 68-94. Change on last season: 0

Jamie Moyer became the oldest starting pitcher to win a game in baseball history, for the second time this season, as his wily left-handed off-speed stuff succeeded in keeping the D-backs monumentally off balance. All we mustered off Moyer was a Cody Ransom RBI double, and with the aid of some spectacularly inept defense - how does the pitcher managed to drive in two runs with an infield squibber? - Patrick Corbin succumbed to defeat. Dan will be along with the recap in a bit, but just stare at the box-score in the meantime. Try to avoid sobbing gently.

Thanks, Jim. I'm (Dan) here. Hey, Jim said to avoid the sobbing.

Final - 5.16.2012	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Arizona Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	6	0
Colorado Rockies	0	3	0	2	1	0	0	0	X	6	9	1
WP: Jamie Moyer (2 - 3) LP: Patrick Corbin (2 - 2)

Complete Coverage >

Back in 2009, Jamie Moyer faced the Arizona Diamondbacks twice in the span of a month, taking the hill against the D-backs on July 27, 2009 at Chase Field and on August 18, 2009 at Citizens Bank Park. In the first of those two outings, Moyer started the contest and threw 6.2 scoreless innings, striking out five with four walks and six hits allowed. In the second of those two outings, Moyer came on in relief of Pedro Martinez and worked six dominant innings, allowing just two hits while striking out five with zero walks. Many things have changed since Moyer squared off against Arizona in those two contests. Here are a few notable differences:

- Arizona was managed by A.J. Hinch for those contests, and under the watch of GM Josh Byrnes. Now, they have Kirk Gibson on the top step of the dugout and Kevin Towers watching from the GM's booth.

- Moyer still had his original Ulnar Collateral Ligament.

- While Justin Upton, Ryan Roberts, Gerardo Parra, Chris Young, Miguel Montero, and Stephen Drew remain with the D-backs from those 2009 clubs, here is a list of position players who no longer remain with Arizona, yet faced off against Moyer in Sedona Red: Mark Reynolds, Josh Whitesell, Augie Ojeda, Chad Tracy, Chris Snyder, Rusty Ryal, and Alex Romero. Not exactly a crowd of players we'd like to see make a comeback anytime soon (perhaps except for Ojeda, as I imagine that April would be delighted by a comeback from the infielder).

- Arizona was fortunate enough to have the much-adored Jon Garland start both of those contests, with Garland combining to allow 11 runs (8 earned) in 11.1 innings of "work" in those starts. Relievers to appear for Arizona in those games: Daniel Schlereth, Leo Rosales, Jon Rauch, Esmerling Vasquez, and Clay Zavada. None remain with the organization, but again, not exactly a list of superstars.

- Moyer wasn't in the record books for the oldest player to ever start an MLB game, although "Jamie Moyer is old" jokes were very much in circulation.

Unfortunately for us, though, Moyer's ability to shut down the D-backs offense, regardless of which players happened to comprise it, remains untarnished with time (and the new UCL). This recap can basically be summarized by Moyer's final pitching line: 6.1 innings, 6 hits, 1 run (1 earned run), 5 strikeouts, and 2 walks. The only damage done by Arizona off of Moyer was in the top of the seventh with Ransom's double, at which point Arizona had already dug itself a six-run deficit, which it was unable to overcome.

Speaking of which, it was a rough start for left-hander Patrick Corbin. Yes, Corbin received a couple of poor twists of luck, particularly on the fourth-inning two-run infield single from Moyer on which - according to the radio crew - Paul Goldschmidt managed to tag out Moyer on the play but was not given credit for it from the first base umpire. (Somewhere, Brett Lawrie was watching that play and commiserating with Corbin, probably before going off on a tantrum about the latest sparkly vampire movie or whatever it is that people who act like 12-year-olds do. Sorry, couldn't resist this joke.)

That said, Corbin did plenty of self-destruction, giving up nine hits and two walks on the night, including a double and a pair of triples. He first got into trouble in the second, with a lead-off walk to Troy Tulowitzki and a one-out walk to Wilin Rosario putting runners on first and second for Jordan Pacheco. Pacheco delivered with a single to left, scoring Tulowitzki. The next hitter, Dexter Fowler - one of my personal top choices for most underrated player in the game - delivered the first major blow to Corbin on the night, crushing a triple over center fielder A.J. Pollock to plate both Rosario and Pacheco.

Corbin at first seemed to settle down at that point, with a scoreless third inning and two quick outs in the fourth. However, the Rockies started a two-out rally, beginning with a Pacheco single and quickly followed by a double from Fowler to put runners on second and third, but bringing Moyer to the dish. Moyer dribbled a soft grounder towards first base, which Paul Goldschmidt fielded and could have easily flipped to Corbin, who was covering first, to end the inning. It would have been a close play with Moyer running hard, but... well, Moyer is 49, and "running hard" is a relative term.

Instead, Goldy opted to try to make the play himself, attempting to make a diving tag on Moyer and giving the first base umpire an extremely close call to make. While the slow-mo replay apparently seemed to indicate that Goldschmidt got the tag down on Moyer, it's hard to blast the first-base umpire for missing the call, especially when Goldschmidt had an option readily available that would have made the umpire's job a lot easier. Pacheco scored easily, and Fowler was hustling around from second on the play, so the infield dribbler from Moyer became a two-RBI single.

The Colorado scoring would finish in the fifth, with Tyler Colvin leading off the inning with a triple and scoring on Carlos Gonzalez's single. The outing raised Corbin's ERA to an unsightly 5.73 across four starts, with one great outing (7 IP, 1 ER vs. SF), one acceptable outing (5.2 IP, 3 ER vs. MIA), and two poor outings (3.1 IP, 4 ER vs. NYM, & vs. COL). Does Arizona consider making a personnel move and replacing Corbin in the rotation prior to the return of Daniel Hudson, or do they give Pat until Huddy's return to make a name for himself? It's certainly yet another interesting wrinkle in the metaphorical prune of this year's D-backs season.

Did Good: Aaron Hill (+6.6%)
Didn't Do Good: Patrick Corbin (-22.3%)
Also Didn't Do Good: Jason Kubel (-13.0%), Henry Blanco (-9.0%)

Arizona looks to even up the series at one game apiece tomorrow, turning to right-hander Trevor Cahill, who is as good a bet as any to manage Coors Field's confines effectively. Early game, with a 12:10 p.m. start, so set your alarms good and early.

imstillhungry95 ruled in the GDT, with Rockkstarr12 and Clefo providing support. Also present: dbacks79, snakecharmer, rfffr, Jim McLennan, asteroid, BattleMoses, Augdogs, Ridster09, AzDbackfanInDc, hotclaws, Bryn21, JoeCB1991, blank_38, shoewizard, GuruB, blue bulldog, luckycc, duckthenchuck, piratedan7, Joel Preston, Backin'the'Backs, Dallas D'Back Fan and Marc Fournier. Only one green comment, and it's kinda fitting:

I don't know why

I dislike the Giants a lot. The Dodgers I don’t like. The Padres I don’t like, but in a bemused fashion.

But the Rockies just make me apeshit for some reason. Why is it? Is it because Tulo’s mere existence defies all the laws of man and nature, as well as the divine laws laid out in every religious writing throughout history? Is it because selective humidor? Is it because I had to be in Denver for a funeral during the 2007 NLCS? Is it because I went to a game in 1995 and Vinny Castilla looked at me funny?

This is some deep stuff I have to work through

Founder of the 'Foundation for the Advancement of Clefoing' a 501C3.
Owes Ian Kennedy a T-Shirt.

by Clefo on May 16, 2012 8:17 PM MST reply actions 4 recs

Gameday Thread, #38: 5/16 vs. Rockies

2012-05-17T00:00:23Z

Patrick Corbin
LHP, 2-1, 4.50

Jamie Moyer
LHP, 1-3, 4.66

Jamie Moyer made his debut on June 16, 1986, beating the Phillies.The pitcher who opposed Moyer and lost to him on that day, Steve Carlton, is now aged 67. That more or less sums up the amazing longevity on display tonight, who continues to defy Father Time in a way that can only be explained by a very geriatric painting, hanging in a corner of Chez Moyer. Either that, or he's a vampire: anyone checked to see if he has appeared in any day games this season? Still, if he were to crumble into a pile of pitching dust this evening, impaled on a shard of maple, we wouldn't necessarily mind.

Line-uo and where the Diamondbacks were on the day Moyer reached the big leagues, after the jump.

Not born for another eighteen months CF
In kindergarten 2B
Five months pre-conception RF
Playing in a sand-pit LF
A speck in his father's eye 1B
Second-grade 3B
Preparing for middle school SS
Too young to buy cigarettes C
Aged negative three P

Yes: by the time Arizona's starter tonight arrived in the world, his opponent had already made 89 major-league starts. As Nick Piecoro (I think it was) Tweeted the other day, Kirk Gibson might want to consider putting himself in the line-up, since he's 4-for-10 lifetime against Moyer. It's impressive on so many ways, but let's not treat this like it's a certain Japanese holiday. I hope instead to hear Moyer yelling at Pollock, Upton, etc. to get off his damn bases.

SnakeBytes, 5/16: High Five Edition

2012-05-16T23:00:21Z

The Diamondbacks' last four wins have all come when scoring exactly five runs,. Indeed, we are 9-1 this season when putting up a five-spot. Which is odd, because we are only 5-3 when scoring more than five times. Guess that lulls our pitchers into a false sense of security or something. Suspect five runs might not be enough in the next couple of games, this being Coors Field...

Recaps

[AZ Central] Diamondbacks offense comes alive in win over Dodgers - "For weeks, their lineup has been filled with hitters trying to make up for a bad month and a half with one big swing. But, on this night, at least, they seemed to realize that less is more."
[MLB] Miley slows Dodgers as D-backs end slide - "I was trying to stick with Miggy and keep challenging guys and throwing strikes, quality pitches and let the defense play," Miley said. "I was commanding the fastball early in the count and I was able to work off of that. He called a great game tonight. We didn't get away from the plan. Everything he put down we went with and it was fortunate that it worked out."
[AP] Diamondbacks top Dodgers 5-1 - ''The biggest thing was getting the bases loaded, and guys came through with big hits,'' Bloomquist said. 'If you were trying to be picky, we left a lot of guys on base. The positive is, we had a lot of guys on base.''
[True Blue LA] Billingsley, Dodgers Comfortable With Progress, But Not Results In Loss - "The Dodgers hope that the results come soon for Billingsley, who has allowed 20 runs (16 earned) in 24 1/3 innings over his last five starts, with 15 walks and 20 strikeouts. That beginning of the season for Billingsley, with featured a 1.33 ERA through three starts with just one walk and 17 strikeouts, is starting to seem like a long time ago."

Team News

[Yahoo!] Kirk Gibson and the Diamondbacks are where they were a year ago, but it's not a happy place - "Approaching the quarter mark of 2012, Gibson and his Arizona Diamondbacks are strapped for anything resembling the level of play that last season made them surprise champions of the National League West. " No kidding.
[Nick Piecoro] Catching up with Trevor Bauer - Bauer on what sometimes goes through his head when he's pitching. "I’ll be thinking about some science article that I read the night before. I don’t know, ‘Flying cars are pretty awesome.’" Which I just realized was also mentioned in Nonpartisan's fanpost.
[AZ Central] Young has 'outside shot' of joining team this weekend - "It's a different game when he comes to play here," Gibson said. "We'd like him to play most of the time or every day. He's just not 100 percent yet."
[FZAZ] Minor league report: Bradley overpowering - "When he is commanding his fastball, his stuff is dominating that league," said Mike Bell, D-backs director of minor league development Mike Bell said. "I haven’t seen anybody square him or hit him real hard. He is definitely ahead of the curve at that level."
[Arizona Sports] Justin Upton's responsibility - Ron Wolfley discusses J-Up. "This team will go as their weakest link goes. And that's where Justin Upton's greatness needs to show up; he needs to carry this team in producing runs. It's his responsibility."

Randomness

[FSAZ] 'First-date couple' gets 2nd date in Big Apple - Hey, it's the Ridster and his lady! And they're on TV! Watch the video footage at this link.
[MLB Daily Dish] Brewers Sign Claudio Vargas to Minor League Deal - There's a name from the past. Didn't even realize he was still playing...
[Columbia Daily Tribune] Strasburg gives new meaning to 'feeling the heat' - How about this as an excuse for a poor start? Nationals Manager Davey Johnson said some Hot Stuff penetrating ointment accidentally "got to the wrong place." "It was on his shoulder, and evidently — I don't know how it got to where it got, but it was uncomfortable, to say the least," Johnson said with a chuckle.

Diamondbacks Ups and Downs: May 9th - May 16th

2012-05-16T21:30:04Z

The pitching and offense both struggled on the home stand last week, so don't expect much out of a 2-5 week. However, some players seem to be turning their ships around. We just need this flotilla to all go the same direction.

Read on to see how all the Diamondbacks have done this past week.

Player	Trend	Notes
Starting Rotation
Ian Kennedy		Six innings and two earned runs in L.A. is much better than seven innings and six earned runs against the Cardinals. He was still tagged with the loss, but that was a product of lack of offense.
Wade Miley		Miley has thrown the ball really well since being promoted from the bullpen to take Daniel Hudson's spot. His outing against New York two weeks ago was his worst of the season. He took an unfortunate loss against St. Louis, but beat the Dodgers last night in a great game. His only mistake was allowing the solo homer to Mark Ellis in the 6th.
Trevor Cahill		Cahill's sinker was in fine form against the Nationals, but sadly, Cahill hasn't been able to duplicate that kind of performance. He struggled against the Giants, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks, and he was unable to get out of the 6th inning.
Patrick Corbin		Corbin had a fabulous home start against the Giants on Friday. He only allowed one run (a solo home run) on three hits, and set down 12 batters in a row in the middle innings. A really good, promising start from the youngster, and way to bounce back after the Mets game.
Joe Saunders		Well we all knew Joe wouldn't sustain his sub-1 ERA forever, but did he have to regress that far? Joe's start against the Giants was his second straight of allowing 6 earned runs, though at least this time he pitched five full innings. Still, his ERA jumped nearly a full point this last week.
Bullpen
Player	Trend	Notes
Craig Breslow		Well, at least the former Oakland A's relievers are doing well! Like Ziegler, Breslow is up to 7.1 scoreless innings pitched, encompassing the month of May. Last week he threw 3.2 innings and didn't allow either of his two inherited runners to score. Two of those innings were against the Dodgers, where he struck out three, to close out the loss on Monday night.
Josh Collmenter		Collmenter came in in relief of Saunders against the Giants. He only allowed three hits and one run, striking out two. He's done well in his two relief appearances thus far.
David Hernandez		Hernandez was solid in three appearances last week, allowing only two hits and striking out four. There's the D-Hern we know and love.
J.J. Putz		J.J. didn't have such a great week. He came in a tie game against the Cardinals and gave up four runs in 0.2 innings. Ouch. However, he did come in for the non-save save last night in L.A. and only allowed one hit.
Bryan Shaw		Shaw had one rough inning against the Cardinals last Monday, and though he hasn't pitched much since then, he's done well. He threw a scoreless inning against the Giants, and earned a hold for his work in the 7th inning of last night's win in L.A.
Mike Zagurski		Zagurski threw two innings against the Giants, allowing one run and striking out three. His awful outing in Miami last month appears to have been just an aberration. Good work from the "Who's he again?" guy in the 'pen.
Brad Ziegler		Ziegler's own scoreless innings streak is up to 7, though he did allow one inherited runner to score against the Giants. Ziegler seems to be getting back to form, and his ERA is down close to 1.
Starting Lineup
Player	Trend	Notes
Willie Bloomquist		Willie being Willie. Willie's highlights include going 2-for-5 in the first game against the Giants, and 3-for-5 last night against the Dodgers. Of course, he was also caught stealing twice. (Believe it or not, he's only been caught stealing two other times this season.) Still, Willie's offense is keeping him in the lineup at this point.
Gerardo Parra		Parra averaged one hit a night in games he played this past week, which isn't too bad, but he's not taking any walks. He had a better road trip the week before, though, hence the minus sign.
Justin Upton		Upton's struggles at the plate continue with a sub-.200 week. He probably just pressing and being overly anxious trying to carry the team on his back, but when the supposed best hitter in your lineup is hitting barely .225, it hasn't been a good week. However, his energy last night in the dugout was great to see, and maybe he's turning it around.
Miguel Montero		Miggy was in line for a sub-Ueker line week, but played a big role in the win last night. However, it still seems like he's swinging for the fences and his pitch selection has to improve.
Jason Kubel		Kubel seems to be the one bright spot offensively for Arizona, and who would've thought we'd hear ourselves say that? He had a great series against the Giants over the weekend, going 5-for-8 with 3 doubles, and had a run and an RBI last night in LA. His average is over .300 on the season.
Paul Goldschmidt		Goldschmidt has dropped in the batting order and has been platooning regularly with Lyle Overbay. Goldy too had a great game against Madison Bumgarner - 3-for-4 with a home run - but outside of that, he's still struggling.
Aaron Hill		Normally, it seems like Hill rarely ends the day with an 0-fer, but he did it three times this past week. His outs seem to be less hard hit and more of the pop-up or strike-out variety. Yet another struggling Diamondback.
Ryan Roberts		He too has been platooning, with Cody Ransom, though Ryan got most of the playing time this past week. Ryan had a solid game last week to end the St. Louis series and he has seemed to be having fewer 0-fer nights. His season batting average still hovers around .200, and he had two strikeouts and a key GIDP last night, but he does seem to be improving.
Bench
Player	Trend	Notes
Henry Blanco		Poor Henry, the one guy Kirk Gibson doesn't seem to throw into his lineup at seemingly random spots. Blanco has only played in six games this season, and didn't play at all last week. Sounds like Montero's due for a break soon!
John McDonald		As much as we all love John McDonald's defense, his offense is less present than Willie's right now. John hasn't had a hit in a week and a half, since May 5th in New York. Before that, he was doing well and getting a lot of playing time.
Lyle Overbay		Overbay has been seeing more starting time at first base with Goldschmidt struggling, and he's made the most of it. He went 3-for-4 in a losing effort against St. Louis, and 1-for-3 last night with two walks. A .444 average last week is pretty darn good for a part-timer! Overbay may not be Arizona's best offensive threat, but I think he has good plate discipline. And, of course, veteraniness.
Cody Ransom		Ransom is having a career season, despite it being only mid-May. Hard to give him a minus sign toay, but that's what happens when you hit .333 with two home runs the week before! Ransom only started one game in the SF series and went 0-for-3.
A.J. Pollock		Pollock is rewarding his manager for giving him regular playing time. Pollock went 5-for-10 in three starts and two pinch-hit appearances last week. He also smacked his first home run, a solo shot, in Friday's win against the Giants.
Disabled List
Player	Trend	Notes
Geoff Blum		He was moved to the 60-day DL with his strained oblique, and wouldn't be due to be activated for another month. He is on a limited workout program, but has not yet begun baseball activities.
Stephen Drew		Drew is still playing in Extended Spring Training games. He has graduated from a few innings to playing full nine inning-games. He went 2-for-4 with a double yesterday, and will start again Thursday. He could begin a rehab assignment this weekend.
Daniel Hudson		He faced live batters at Chase Field last week, and played in his first XST game this morning. Next up: a bullpen session on Saturday.
Takashi Saito		After a setback last month, Saito has started throwing again. No word on when he might throw in XST.
Chris Young		CY went 3-for-9 with three doubles in his first two rehab games with the High-A Visalia Rawhide, and hit a grand slam in today's game. He is supposed to go to AAA Reno this weekend; might he instead fly out to Kansas City?

Stats run from 5/9-5/15.

Fan Confidence: Roulette Offensive

2012-05-16T16:36:39Z

It doesn't seem that long ago that the Diamondbacks had a dangerous offense. Sure, there was tremendous strikeout potential, but with that also came power and runs. Even if no one guy was mashing 40 or 50 home runs, nearly every regular player seeming was hitting 15 or 20. If they did anything wrong it wasn't striking out, it was playing on teams that had tremendously awful or inconsistent pitching.

So changes were made and the Diamondbacks we used to know went away. There's nothing wrong with change, and there's more than one way to construct a winning team. The dampened offense is only noticeable during losing streaks, when it seems like getting any runs will be an impossible task.

If you look at most of the traditional stats, then the Diamondbacks are just average (even considering the bad couple weeks they've had). Batting average and OPS are just below NL average, and home runs are just above. BABIP is at .300, so it's probably safe to assume that they're not exceptionally unlikely (or even worse, lucky and still terrible).

The more advanced stats tell a different story, and it doesn't look pretty. The weighted on-base average (wOBA) is still about average at .310. In other words, the average offensive output of the Diamondbacks is truly average. When you look at weighted runs created plus (wRC+), which attempts to express how many runs are created by the offensive output and is based on wOBA, the floor falls out. The Diamondbacks have a wRC+ of 87, which is 8th worst in MLB. wRC+ was created to try to have an index with 100 as average, so the Diamondbacks fall well below that.

Using 100 as the average for team production is problematic (because teams are generally composed of both studs and jokers), so we need to look at who exactly sinking the offense on the D-backs. The usual suspects are there, and some surprises. There are three players with over 100 PA and 60 wRC+ on the Diamondbacks: Willie Bloomquist, Paul Goldschmidt, and AJ Pollack. Justin Upton isn't much better, currently sitting at a 81.

There are some bright spots, however, at the top. Chris Young and Cody Ransom both can't expect to continue to post wRC+'s over 160 (both have only about 50 PA). Lyle Overbay has been very good in limited time, getting a 139 in 58 PA, but he's another that probably will decline as he gets more time at the plate. No, the big, consistent contributor has been Jason Kubel.

Kubel has put up a wRC+ of 130, and he's not hiding behind limited time or platooning. Imagine how bad this team would be without him.

Of course, things should get better when Young and Drew get back, replacing Pollack and Bloomquist, but the rest of the team needs to get it going if we're to feel confident for the end result.

Diamondbacks Farm Round-Up 5/15: High Desert "Baseball" Edition

2012-05-16T14:00:55Z

Here's a quote from yesterday's Farm Round-Up:

It seems that the Visalia bats didn't get the memo about playing in perhaps the most hitter-friendly environment in all of professional baseball.

They got the memo before yesterday's game.

Snakelet of the Day:

The Entire Flipping Hi-A Visalia Offense: 31-61 (the entire team hit .508), 7 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 26 R, 6:4 K:BB

Michael Freeman (Hi-A): 7-8, 3 R, 4 RBI; tied Cal League single-game hit record

Jonathan Griffin (Hi-A): 5-7, 3B, 2 HR, 4 R, 5 RBI

Non-Visalia Snakelet of the Day:

Marc Krauss (Double-A): 3-4, 2B, HR, R, RBI

Triple-A: Reno 7, Nashville 9. (20-20) The offense had a solid night, with Ryan Wheeler hitting his sixth home run of the year and Jake Elmore hitting a pair of doubles and a single, but the solid work of the Aces lineup was largely wasted by bad days at the ballpark from Sam Demel and Jonathan Albaladejo. After Zach Kroenke kept the team in it through five innings with four earned runs allowed and the bullpen duo of Bryan Woodall and Jensen Lewis gave up just one run over the following two innings, Demel came on and allowed two hits and hit a batter before departing. Albaladejo inherited a pair of Demel's runners, and would allow both of them to score, along with another run attributed to Albaladejo. Just like that, a two-run lead became a two-run deficit, and the Aces bats couldn't make it up in the ninth.

Double-A: Mobile 4, Chattanooga 9. (24-16) The BayBears bats managed three home runs off of Chattanooga starter Ethan Martin - one apiece from Yazy Arbelo, Marc Krauss, and (of course) Matt Davidson, with Davidson and Krauss going back-to-back. Unfortunately, all three blasts were solo homers, and the BayBears scraped just four runs across the plate while Martin was on the bump. Krauss added a double and a single to his impressive day at the dish. Meanwhile, Brett Lorin had an odd day, allowing seven hits, a walk, and a solo home run in five-plus innings while striking out seven batters, but surrendering seven runs, five of which were earned. Reliever Eric Smith made his Double-A debut after Lorin departed, allowing two inherited runners to score on a hit and two walks, but not allowing any of his own baserunners to cross the plate.

Hi-A: Visalia 26, High Desert 11. (19-20) Yeah, this game was plain silly. Poor David Holmberg had the misfortune of starting this game, doing just about everything he could to mitigate the damage. He worked 5.1 innings and surrendered 11 hits, nine runs (seven earned), and two homers while striking out two and walking none. The players of the game here might actually be the relief trio of Victor Capellan, Jeremy Erben, and Blake Cooper, who combined to allow just two runs across their 3.2 innings on the mound. That's right, a 4.91 ERA from the relief corps = CELEBRATION!!!

As for the top contributors on offense... well, yeah, it was basically everyone. Jonathan Griffin probably had the best game, collecting 13 total bases, hitting his seventh and eighth "homers" of the year, and adding a triple. A rehabbing Chris Young went 2-5 with a pair of doubles, Michael Freeman tied the Cal League single-game hits record with seven singles in his eight at-bats, and Bobby Borchering was 4-7 with a pair of doubles. Chris Owings was also a big contributor, with a home run, a double, and two singles, while drawing one of Visalia's four walks - the free pass giving me an opportunity to use this lovely image I've created in homage to Owings' free-swinging ways:

Let's see what Twitter had to say about this "baseball game".

Visalia 26, High Desert 11. Weird to see 20 mph winds in High Desert #NotWeird
— Kevin Goldstein (@Kevin_Goldstein) May 16, 2012

Mmmmmm, High Desert. RT @KyleAGlaser: @Kevin_Goldstein It got up to 30 mph by the 5th inning
— Kevin Goldstein (@Kevin_Goldstein) May 16, 2012

D-backs prospect Mike Freeman has tied the California League record with seven hits for #VisaliaRawhide. atmilb.com/K51FKv
— MiLB.com (@MinorLeagues) May 16, 2012

(The following tweet would actually be rendered inaccurate by the end of the game, as every starter wound up with at least one hit in this absurd contest.)

Eighteen starters in the Visalia/High Desert game and only one doesn't have a hit: milb.com/milb/stats/sta…
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) May 16, 2012

In all honesty, it's a shame that Seattle's poor Hi-A pitchers have to work in this environment, and it's telling that they keep any prized pitching prospect as far away from High Desert as possible, preferring to hold them back in Low-A until they're ready to be thrown straight into the Double-A fire. High Desert numbers truly do need to be almost completely factored out of any player evaluation if you want to gain real insights into the player's ultimate value.

Low-A: South Bend 4, Bowling Green 5. (21-18) Infielder Gerson Montilla homered for the second time this season, giving him an extra-base hit in seven of his last ten games for the Silver Hawks. Matt Helm added a double, but the bats fell just a bit short as the Hot Rods roughed up South Bend starter John Pedrotty. Pedrotty worked 5.2 innings for the Hawks, allowing four hits, four runs, five walks, and two homers, striking out five. Willy Paredes allowed a run in his 1.1 innings of relief, which proved to be costly, before D.J. Johnson locked things down with a scoreless eighth.

Diamondbacks 5, Dodgers 1: 3 Minutes With The Buzzsaw

2012-05-16T07:36:48Z

Record: 16-21. Pace: 70-92. Change on last season: +1

Final - 5.15.2012	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Arizona Diamondbacks	0	1	0	0	3	0	1	0	0	5	13	0
Los Angeles Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	10	0
WP: Wade Miley (4 - 1) LP: Chad Billingsley (2 - 3)

Complete Coverage >

Today, The Demolisher Wade Miley goes head-to-head with his arch enemsis The Buzzsaw Chad Billingsley. Will Miley prevail against Billingsley's nefarious schemes will Bloomquist once again be the damsel in distress? Or will Justin Upton go Hulk and destroy Billingsley? Find out in Diamondbacks 2012, Issue #37.

Gerardo Parra led off the game with a pop up; after that Bloomquist comes to the plate and a regular miracle occurs and Willie singles to left field on a ground ball but, just as soon as the magic struck, it left and both Justin Upton and Miguel Montero Popped up to end the first half of the inning. The Dodgers are now up. Dee Gordon strikes out on 3 straight pitches looking. Considering his walk up music is "On To The Next One" that seems quite fitting. Mark Ellis singles, then Scott Van Slyke grounds out and Ethier strikes out on a foul tip to end the inning.

Jason Kubel leads off the second inning by mashing a double to left with authority. Ryan Roberts and Lyle Overbay strike out. Wade Miley reaches base on a dropped third strike and barely beats out the throw and is called safe. I love seeing this kind of hustle out of a pitcher. Now for some strange reason Billingsley proceeds to intentionally walk Aaron Hill which loads the bases after this he walks Parra and Jason Kubel scores on the bases loaded walk. 1-0 Diamondbacks WIllie Bloomquist flies out to center on 3-1 pitch that was inside; in a futile attempt to try and be Josh Hamilton, ending our half of the second inning.

The Dodgers half of the second was pretty uneventful with a strikeout, a single by Jerry Sands and a grounder to second for a double play to end the inning. Pretty quick top of the 3rd too. Justin flew out and Montero and Kubel grounded out in the top half of the inning. Dee Gordon and Mark Ellis get a couple of two out singles. but Scott Van Slyke grounds out to end the inning.

Ryan Roberts singled on a ground ball, which is immediately undone by Lyle Overbay who grounded into a double play. Aaron Hill then struck out on what I think was a really iffy strike 3. Wade Miley hits Andre Ethier in the elbow with the first pitch thrown in the bottom of the fourth. A. J. Ellis grounds into a double play almost immediately and Jerry Sands strikes out on three straight pitches.

Now this is where things get exciting. Wade Miley singled on a line drive to left to lead off the inning. Parra drives a single into center. Willie Bloomquist somehow conjures up another miracle and dumps a single to left, so now the bases are loaded. Justin Upton hits an infield single that drives in Wade Miley and then Miguel Montero drives another single to center field, which sends Parra home, and that will take Billingsley out of the game. Chad Billingsley is replaced by former Dodgers closer Javy Guerra.

Kubel hits what feels like the 80th single to score Willie Bloomquist. It looks like Willie has cast a miracle on most of the party this time. Ryan Roberts crashes the party by grounding into a double play and Aaron Hill grounded into a force out to end this half inning. Still, the Diamondbacks are now up 4-0, and Wade Miley gets 3 quick outs in the bottom of the fifth to end the inning.

Not much goes on here in the top of the 6th. Miley and Parra make two quick outs Bloomquist decides to have a career day and gets his third single. Justin lines out to end the half inning. Not much happens in the bottom half of the 6th either, other than Mark Ellis' solo home run. Miggy leads off the seventh with a single to left. Jason Kubel walks and Ryro singles to center and the bases are loaded. Lyle Overbay sac flies and Montero scores making it 5-1 Dbacks. That's it for this half.

Wade Miley gets two outs but allows a couple of hits too, and is replaced by Bryan Shaw who gets the third out. Willie walks to get on base for an astounding (for him anyways) fourth time this game but, inevitably, gets caught stealing. Justin walks and Miggy grounds out to end the inning. Van Slyke and Ethier quickly make two outs. A.J. Ellis continues to have a good night and singles, before Jerry Sands strikes out.

In the ninth, Kubel flies out and Ryro Strikes out - after Overbay hits a single Hill Strikes out. J.J. Putz replaces David Hernandez, in a non-save situation. James Loney and Justin Sellers quickly fly out. Adam Kennedy doubles and then Dee Gordon pops out to end the game. Diamondbacks win 5-1 and as Dee Gordon likes to say "It's on to the next one." in Colorado where Pat Corbin goes against Jamie Moyer.

Top 3 commenters in order were Imstillhungry95,Clefo and myself. Also joining us: txzona, Jim McLennan, duckthenchuck, luckycc, snakecharmer, dbacks79, hotclaws, Ridster09, 4 Corners Fan, piratedan7, Rockkstarr12, Dan Strittmatter, porty99, Bryn21, rfffr, DbackCardsFan, GuruB, Backin'the'Backs, Joel Preston, SongBird, JoeCB1991, PR151, Zavada's Moustache, jjwaltrip, fandbacks and Red Reign.

AZ Snake Pit

This Day In Diamondbacks History: May 16

Diamondbacks 1, Rockies 6: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

I don't know why

Gameday Thread, #38: 5/16 vs. Rockies

Patrick CorbinLHP, 2-1, 4.50

Jamie MoyerLHP, 1-3, 4.66

SnakeBytes, 5/16: High Five Edition

Diamondbacks Ups and Downs: May 9th - May 16th

Starting Rotation

Bullpen

Starting Lineup

Bench

Disabled List

Fan Confidence: Roulette Offensive

Diamondbacks Farm Round-Up 5/15: High Desert "Baseball" Edition

Diamondbacks 5, Dodgers 1: 3 Minutes With The Buzzsaw

Patrick Corbin
LHP, 2-1, 4.50

Jamie Moyer
LHP, 1-3, 4.66