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Ok. Hopefully, we should be back in full effect tonight. The last I heard from Mrs. SnakePit, there was a grumpy Cox employee traipsing round the house, muttering about the outmoded technology currently in place - the phone line was apparently installed by Alexander Graham Bell, or something. However, the hope is that the cable will be back on, so I can see the game, and even if I have to hijack SnakePit Jr's computer [the one to which the Internet is directly attached], I should be good for a recap of some sort tonight. Expect confirmation, once I get home, in the GDT, however - until that arrives, hopefully someone can take over [I think soco or kishi are next up in the rotation?]
After a disappointing comeback and extra-inning loss last night, another American League club comes to town, in the shape of the Angels. Their 38-32 record, means they are ferociously fighting with the Rangers for the lead in the West, which is weird, since neither their hitting [OPS+ 98] nor their pitching [ERA+ 96] are better than average. Most of the difference is because they are very good in one-run games, where they are 14-9 - their Pythagorean expected W-L record is dead even.
Billy Buckner goes for the Diamondbacks, back in the unhappy hunting ground which has been Chase Field for him. Is there anyone who has pitched as many innings [almost 40] and has a home ERA more than five times that of his road ERA? That's the case for Buckner, who is at 2.33 away from Chase, and 11.90 here. The long-ball has killed him, with seven allowed in Phoenix, over just 19.2 frames of work: keeping the ball in the park tonight should therefore be his first order of business.
Lineup
- Felipe Lopez 2B
- Stephen Drew SS
- Justin Upton RF
- Mark Reynolds 3B
- Gerardo Parra LF
- Chris Young CF
- Tony Clark 1B
- Luke Carlin C
- Billy Buckner P
Some interesting changes in the line-up. With Byrnes off to the DL [not heard yet who'll replace him], we do get Young back, and I think the young outfield trio will be the default for a while. We also get the first Arizona start for catcher Luke Carlin, called up to replace Chris Snyder.
Stay tuned for confirmation regarding my Internet status...