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Well, let's see how Haren is treated by home-plate umpire Jerry 'Napoleon' Crawford today, shall we? After last night's little encounter between the two, I am curious to see whether anything is carried forward. I trust that won't be the case - but it might well make things a great deal more interesting if they were. We could see Haren and his catcher 'accidentally' get crossed up, with a 95-mph Haren fastball pinging off some part of Crawford. Not off his head, however: his skull appears to be by far the thickest and least-used part of Jerry's anatomy.
If Mock's name is familiar, it's because he was once a Diamondbacks prospect, who was sent to the Nationals as part of the Livan Hernandez deal in 2006, going there along with Matt Chico. The prospects we lost haven't exactly set the world: in seven career starts, Mock is 0-5 with 6.89 ERA, while Chico went 7-15 with a 4.98 ERA as a starter, before having elbow surgery in July last year, from which he is slowly making a return. I might be pushing the boat out here, but I wouldn't be surprised if Taco Bell ends up on the receiving end of another rush tomorrow afternoon.
Elsewhere, I note Jason Giambi was released by the A's. This is notable from an Arizonan point of view, because it leaves Chris Young as the only player in the majors with 300+ PAs, who is batting below the Uecker Line. Though, to be fair to Chris, nine of the 198 qualifying hitters have a worse OPS+ than his 70, including ex-Diamondback Emilio Bonifacio (61). Is he back in the line-up today? Let's see, shall we?
Line-up
- Stephen Drew SS
- Alex Romero LF
- Gerardo Parra RF
- Mark Reynolds 3B
- Miguel Montero C
- Josh Whitesell 1B
- Chris Young CF
- Augie Ojeda 2B
- Dan Haren P
Ah, yes - there he is. Still no Ryan Roberts, even though he was expected back with the team today, his wife having given birth to baby girl Hudsyn [a somewhat odd, but kinda cute, spellling] on Thursday. Maybe tomorrow...