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So, what's it going to be today? How will the Diamondbacks manage to lose this contest? Hitting into nine consecutive triple-plays? A line-drive ricocheting off Upton's knee and up, over the fence for a grand-slam? AJ Hinch punches the umpire in a desperate attempt to get throw out, triggering a forfeit? Let's face it, after the weekend and the spectacular ways we found to achieve defeat, none of the above would surprise me in the slightest.
Still, it's a Dan Haren start, so the kind of meltdown which we saw from Buckner in the opener of the Angels series seems less likely - he allowed more runs in one frame, than Haren has given up in the entire month of June to date, covering 37 innings of work, posting a 1.70 ERA this month. Needless to say, extending him rather than Webb seems, at the time of writing, one of the front office's better moves. I therefore expect it'll be offensive futility which triggers the loss tonight: Arroyo for a complete-game shutout, anyone?
Yep, it's nice to keep those expectations right down in the basement - that way, if anything other than dismal failure happens, it's a pleasant surprise, and if we do fail miserably, then you can say, "I told you so." Though it won't actually be me telling you so, since we're promoting Sprankton from Double-A, to take over every second Tuesday's recaps, while I'm at IZW. It'll be another voice, and I look forward to hearing what he says. I'm sure he already has his thesaurus open to the page for 'incompetence'...
And here's AJ Hinch's interview with Gambo and Ash on KTAR this afternoon. Haven't had a chance to listen to it myself yet, but I'm sure it was not an experience to which our manager was eagerly looking forward...
Audio courtesy of KTAR 620
Line-up
- Felipe Lopez 2B
- Stephen Drew SS
- Justin Upton RF
- Mark Reynolds 3B
- Gerardo Parra LF
- Chris Young CF
- Tony Clark 1B
- Miguel Montero C
- Dan Haren P
As noted by 'Charmer, Chad Tracy is back on the roster, with Leo Rosales sent back down to the minors to make room. However, we still get Tony Clark at 1B. Chris Young back in CF, but I'll wait until I see him run full-speed before passing comment on his return...