Be honest, people. If I had told you, a year ago, "Don't worry- we'll go out, sign Armando Galarraga and Melvin Mora over the off-season, and we'll be up six games on the first of September," you wouldn't have laughed. You wouldn't have told me I was wrong. No, you probably would have backed away slowly, wondering if I was on drugs, or if I'd just had a complete psychotic break.

And that would have been fair. But here we are.

Recaps:

• [DBacks.com] Desert heat: D-backs swirl to ninth straight - Another HBP for J-Up. Another time that his team stepped up to protect him. Everything seems to be going right for this team right now.

• [FS Arizona] D-backs extend hair-razing winning streak - One more win- that's the only thing between the sun and Kevin Towers and Derrick Hall's scalps.

• [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks sweep Colorado Rockies for 9th straight win, 12th straight win at home - 12 straight wins at home is a pretty nice stretch of games, especially in front of the local fans.

• [Denver Post] Rockies lose again, swept by Arizona - The DBacks are 11-4 against Colorado this season. Only three more games next week, and then I'm sure the Rockies will be glad to not have to see us again until they report for Spring Training in February.

• [Snakes on Jefferson] Almost time for haircuts: D-backs rolling into San Francisco
   - An excellent point here- the advantage of this homestand means that all of the pressure goes to the Giants. The Diamondbacks are in control of this race, and it's up to San Francisco to catch up.

Also, Derrick Hall and Kevin Towers aren't the only people putting their hair on the line for a win. AZDBACKR says that Grace's sign after the race said he (and Sutton) will shave their heads if Mark's racer wins. Well, Mark, it's not like you've got so much to give there. And did you clear it with Daron first?

• [AZ Central] Dbacks: Arizona Diamondbacks' Justin Upton, Chris Young, Miguel Montero grow into leaders - We've seen a lot of maturity develop on the team this year. Where last year or the year before, we might have wondered who our on-field leaders were, this year, I don't think we have that concern anymore. Now, we know the people who are leading, and we know that most of the rest of the team can step up in a pinch, too.

• [AZ Family] Diamondbacks spend $6,000 per game to keep fans cool - Ever wonder how the team keeps the stadium cool during the games? Well, let's just say it takes a lot of work- and a lot of hot dog sales to pay for it, I'm sure.

• [SB Nation Arizona] Brad Ziegler Improves After Resolving Issues With Arizona Diamondbacks Coaching Staff
   - A new situation obviously means some adjustments- that's why I'm always a little wary of players moving teams in mid-season. But Ziegler is working to fit in.

• [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks' Charles Nagy talks starting pitching, series with San Francisco Giants  - "Charles Nagy talked about the streaking staff and the upcoming series against the Giants." I hope he's referring to their recent run of success, and not some sort of off-field shenanigans we haven't heard about.

• [FS Arizona] Hernandez: D-backs' under-the-radar MVP - Hernandez has been an incredibly important part of making this bullpen succeed, as much as J.J. Putz. While we may look at some of Kevin Towers's trades and wonder, this one turned out brilliantly.

• [Phoenix New Times] Are the Arizona Diamondbacks a World Series Team? - Oh, man, I can't even pretend to think about something like that, yet. One step at a time. First the division. Then we look at the NLDS.

• [Denver Post] NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks are hitting on all cylinders - The Denver Post
  You know your team is playing well when even other team's newspapers are writing about you. And Kirk Gibson's explanation of the season's turning point it pretty classic Gibby: "The first day of spring training."

• [FanGraphs] The Diamondbacks Can Do No Wrong - Again, I don't know if I'd go that far... But it's nice to see other people say it.

Around Baseball:

• [HardballTalk] Frank McCourt offered $1.2 billion to sell the Dodgers - It seems like other sales take forever to go through, but if McCourt wanted to go through with this, I imagine that MLB will cooperate to bring this through quicker.

• [Big League Stew] Mothball! Yankees’ Hughes blames Fenway moth for key walk - A moth. Uh-huh. Sure.

• [NECN.com] Red Sox trade for A's OF Jackson - Conor Jackson, headed across the country to Boston. Man, no matter how long ago he left the DBacks, CoJack is just one of those players I always want to succeed.

• [Philly.com] NL Playoffs from a Phillies perspective: Down the stretch they go in the National League - We're not the only team looking at the playoffs. Would the Phillies prefer to play Arizona? Philadelphia doesn't really have overwhelming numbers against any of the playoff contenders this year....