Seriously, what else can we say? Games we should win, teams that we should trounce, and yet...

Recaps:

• [DBacks.com] Hudson hit hard as D-backs drop opener - Daniel Hudson: "They came out, swung at everything and hit everything." Ugh.

• [FS Arizona] Gibson cautioned D-backs about young Astros - Chris Young: "This was just one of those days we just got beat up. We didn’t hit. We didn’t pitch."

• [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks' Daniel Hudson roughed up in loss to Houston Astros - Kirk Gibson: "We can't take these guys lightly. They've been swinging the bats like this, they're very aggressive, but they're finding plenty of holes and hit the ball very hard."

• [Houston Chronicle] Astros 9, Diamondbacks 1: Rookie-filled lineup lights up desert sky with seven runs in first two innings - The best game of the Astros season? Great.

If we're going to hear a lot about how Gibby can motivate and keep this team focused, now would be a great time to see that happen.

• [AZ Central] Nick Piecoro - Looking back on the Upton talks; slumping sluggers; Gibby’s back; farm report; & other stuff - Considering the way Justin Upton has played this year, I sure am glad no team made enough of an offer to get him in the off season.

• [Venom Strikes] No One Wants to Win the West - With both the DBacks and the Giants scuffling their way through the past week or two...

• [DBacks.com] Arizona Diamondbacks put losing ways in past to contend for NL West title - Now if we can just get past this recent skid...

• [The D-blog] Ziegler adjusting to life in Arizona - Brad Ziegler's first few outings for the DBacks were a little rough, but hopefully he'll get into the swing of things.

Around Baseball:

• [Baseball Nation] Dan Uggla's Unlikely Redemption - On July 4th, Dan Uggla was hitting .170. He's hit in every game he's played in since then, though.

• [Big League Stew] Are they up to it? Giants pitchers must again carry team to finish - The Giants offense may be in a slump right now, but the DBacks offense hasn't been much better lately...

• [HardballTalk] With six days to go before deadline, 14 of top 16 draft picks still unsigned - Well, at least we've locked down one of our top picks.

• [SI.com] Phillies, Red Sox and Yankees cement status as game's titans - Great.