Gameday Thread, #76: 6/28 vs. Angels

Matt Palmer RHP, 6-1, 4.70

Max Scherzer RHP, 5-4, 3.53

The _____ disaster / train wreck / collapse / or whatever you want to call it of a season, has just gone from bad to worse, with our beloved ______ being traded to St. Louis for basically blades of infield grass. INEXCUSABLE [Insert GMs name]! MAKE A MOVE OR RESIGN!

As a quick reality check for Diamondbacks fans out there, I present the above - which does not actually refer to us but comes from Bleed Cubbie Blue, in a fanpost entitled, Jim Hendry Should Resign Immediately. This, from a team which is currently 3.5 games out of first place. It seems fans of some other teams have an even more unrealistic sense of entitlement to success than the nattering nabobs on azcentral.com.

That said, I think I'm suffering from some kind of post-traumatic stress disorder after the past two games in this series. I'm not sure which was worse: the horrific pitching performance of Buckner in the opener, or the appalling way in which the team contrived to lose yesterday's opener. I feel a poll coming on. Today...well, let's just say my hopes for the game are set realistically low: say, if we can get through it without Max Scherzer's rotator cuff being torn out by hyenas, I'll consider myself satisfied.

Random notes. I want to wish a happy birthday to Mark Grace, born on this day in 1964. Did you know his middle name is 'Eugene'? And I just might watch the 10th Inning show after today's game, as they've got a surprise reunion between Jay Bell and the woman who won a million dollars thanks to Bell's grand slam in 1999. Hey, and Billy Mays died [no, this isn't more Twittered nonsense]. Not been a good week for celebrities, has it?

Lineup

1. Felipe Lopez 2B


2. Stephen Drew SS


3. Justin Upton RF


4. Mark Reynolds 1B


5. Gerardo Parra CF


6. Miguel Montero C


7. Alex Romero LF


8. Augie Ojeda 3B


9. Max Scherzer P

'Charmer on the recap, though she will likely have to pried away from the Team USA soccer game first. soco and 'Skins are actually in attendance [so we'll be getting an eye-witness report from them, I trust], so we'll see how many comments we get in the thread. 'Charmer is projecting less than 200, so let's see if we can prove her wrong...of course, the Diamondbacks co-operation - y'know, not sucking? - would also be appreciated...