Record: 49-52. Change on last season: +16
Welcome to the special, "one size fits all" game report edition of AZ Snake Pit! Just fill in the blanks for an quick, easy and accurate report of about, oh, half our games this season...
Yesterday, the Diamondbacks once again wasted a golden opportunity to gain ground on the Padres, losing [4-2] to the [Brewers]. Arizona had a solid outing from starter [Mike Gosling], who left the game with [the score tied], but the bullpen were unable to hold on, [Worrell] surrendering the go-ahead run in the [seventh] innings. He said, "It was a mistake. You can't get away with those mistakes. I'm not happy with the execution of the pitch."
Offensively, the Diamondbacks had their chances, leaving [9] men on base, and going 1-for-[12] with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile, the G-Force collectively failed to hit a homer for the [ninth] straight game. However, manager Bob Melvin wasn't concerned, and expressed his belief the Diamondbacks were still in good shape, and set to make a run at the playoffs.
There, this blogging lark's a piece of cake, isn't it? But with a team as predictable as the Diamondbacks - or "SS, DD" as englishdback pithily put it in the comments - it's kinda hard to come up with new ways to say the same old stuff. So, I figure, I might as well save a bit of time, before going onto the things in the game that stand out from the same old, same-old.
Such as finally spotting a suicide squeeze: with the bases loaded, one out, and Sheets at the plate for the Brewers. Said Gosling, "I wouldn't have been able to tell you exactly what was happening but I just knew there was more going on so I was able to elevate the ball. (Sheets) still went after it and he popped it up. It was just a matter of making sure I caught it." Gosling went six innings, and settled down after allowing two runs in the first, including a lead-off home run, after an at-bat that lasted ten pitches.
Glaus was pulled from the starting line-up due to back spasms caused, apparently, by a lumpy hotel bed. I can relate to that - our bed is just so much nicer than any in a hotel, with plenty of fluffy pillows - and he's got the best part of a foot on me. I trust this has been sorted out overnight, and he'll be back in the line-up today.
Meanwhile, on the offensive front, here are our stats for the season in various positions: [BA/OBP/SLG]
No-one on: .262/.334/.435
Runners on: .256/.334/.398
Runners in scoring position: .242/.333/.379
Before anyone breaks out the "small sample size" argument, that's now 883 at-bats with RISP - more than anyone in the NL bar Philadelphia and Florida. And we've scored fewer runs off them than anyone save Washington and Colorado. Given about 3/4 of runs come from RISP situations, the importance is magnified. It's odd how we still get on base at almost exactly the same rate; we hit less, but walk more. This may be pitchers tip-toeing around the G-Force. Though recently, I'm not sure why they bother...
G-Force Homer Watch
[At-bats by the G-Force since their last home run]
- Collectively: 103 [Glaus, 6th innings, 15th July]
- Troy Glaus: 33 [6th innings, 15th July]
- Shawn Green: 33 [6th innings, 15th July]
- Luis Gonzalez: 48 [9th innings, 7th July]
The above was suggested by Otacon in yesterday's comments (thanks also to Devin for pointing out we still actually have the fourth-best road record in the NL, behind St. Louis, Chicago and Florida) - I'm going to keep this up until all three have hit a home run.
That might be a while. For July as a whole, the trio at the heart of our line-up have just seven home runs in 226 at-bats. In particular, in 11 games since the All-Star Break, Gonzalez has no homers, two extra-base hits and two RBIs, He's hitting .182 for the month, though at least that is up from the .123 (7-for-57) it was a week ago.
And finally, weird things that bring people here. We are #20 on Yahoo when you search for getting busted for drugs in AZ. I'd like to welcome any other convicted felons who may be reading this column. ;-)