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I never thought I'd find myself saying this, but I am genuinely pleased to see the evil Chris Young on the mound. Not necessarily against us, true - but just to see him back at all, after he was hit in the face by a Pujols liner more than two months ago. That led to multiple fractures in his nasal bone, a deviated septum and a small crack in the bone of the skull: he needed surgery in order to let him breathe through his nose, and still basically can't smell or taste anything. Hence, it's a relief to see him apparently on the road to a full recovery. Ironic that he'll be going up against our own survivor, in Doug Davis: maybe they can get together and compare surgical scars, like in Jaws.
That said, all sympathy will be off come first pitch, because Arizona will be keen to get back onto the winning track after last night's disappointing performance from Owings. Davis hasn't won in a while himself - 0-2 over his last four starts, with an ERA of 5.25 in those 24 innings. He's generally been pitching deep enough, going 6+ in six of his last eight, but lately has been vulnerable to the long ball, with five in July, responsible for half the earned runs Davis has allowed. PetCo should help there, though it didn't seem too much of a godsend for Owings.
In case you hadn't noticed, Teixeira was traded to the Angels, so the possibility of him coming to Arizona has been removed by this move. And, perhaps as importantly, the odds of Jackson, Tracy, etc. leaving have been reduced. That's a relief: Teixiera would likely have been only a minor boost to production and even taking into account the draft picks, it's hard to see how it would have been an overall gain for the Diamondbacks, particularly short-term.
In a reverse of last night, I won't be able to see much of the game, though I should be able to comment, as we're at the IZW show at The Sets tonight. This might mean azreous is doing the recap - hopefully maintaining his winning streak in this area! - but I'll await confirmation on that in the comments. As always, we'll also be keeping an eye on the Dodgers and Rockies, to see how they are doing [and Colorado are already three up on Pittsburgh].