Great to take one in the Dodgers series yesterday. It wasn't necessarily a "must-win" (as BoMel and Byrnsie keep discussing) but it was certainly crucial. It made the DBacks 3-3 on the 6-game road trip. They need to play better than .500 ball to hold off the other teams, though, if we want to go to It-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named. Well, we could play .500 ball, but with the Padres playing the Pirates for 4 games, I'd like to do better!
That comes from the Republic's recap. I wouldn't call it a recap, though, because it doesn't actually cover any of, say, the game. C'mon, Piecoro, I know you're an expositional writer but I expected better of you. There are, however, some game notes in the side column.
The AP recap and MLB.com recap cover the actual game. For game action, I'd say read the AP. MLB.com has a lot of quotes about the players and how the team is faring.
Everybody's notes today discuss Chad Tracy's return. He's 2 for 9 with a home run off the bench (but I don't know if that includes yesterday's hit), and that's the only role he's going to have the rest of the season. MLB.com discusses the rotation flexibility that comes with having another off day. (I think I'm liking this front-loaded schedule...) Micah Owings threw well when he threw BP to Tracy. Bill Murphy is gaining trust after his first bad outing. He could make the post-season roster, since there are two DL spots we get to fill. Callaspo's hamstring apparently still isn't healthy, to which I say: Dude. If you're going to bring a player off the minor league DL to the major league club, get his service clock started again and pay him a big league salary, make damn sure he's healthy.
Also of note, Barry Bonds' injured toe will likely keep him out of the lineup the entire series down in the desert.
Game time tonight is 6:40pm, Correia vs Webb. Correia was wild on Tuesday and the Diamondbacks couldn't capitalize, let's fix that tonight! First of 6 of the final homestand, first of the last 12 games! It's getting really exciting now..