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Finally, the stars align, and I get to watch a game when I'm doing the recap. So far this week, we had one day where I couldn't watch, but did the recao anyway (Monday's afternoon game); one where I couldn't watch and didn't recap (Tuesday at IZW); one where I did watch but didn't recap (Wednesday, Azreous's scheduled day); and one where there wasn't a game to be written about. (Thursday's off-day). However, we still had almost 700 comments on the day, thanks to the Toros thread...though interest in that game there evaporated as the home team got crushed.
Hopefully, Arizona baseball will make a better show of it this evening, as the Brewers come to town. They're out of the running for a play-off spot, and probably will end with a losing record this year, at the moment being on pace to drop 13 wins from last season's total, despite a potent offense led by the Fielder (OPS+ 161) and the Braun (141) - heck, even Craig Counsell is enjoying his best hitting year since 2000. The reason is simple: bad pitching. Their team ERA+ is only 88, thirteenth in the National League, and only one of the eight starters they've used this season has an ERA+ any higher than that - Yovani Gallardo, whom we won't see this series.
Doug Davis should be fuming at the unfairness of it all, as his opponent has an ERA+ 30 points worse, yet Looper enjoyes a W-L record as positive as DD's is negative. Looper's issue is inconsistency: when he doesn't get a W, his ERA is 6.23, compared to Doug's 4.79 [In the 47.2 innings covering his seven wins, Davis has an ERA of just 1.14!] However, of late, Looper has been the better pitcher, with an ERA of 4.01 in his last seven starts, compared to our man's 4.03. The Brewers' pitcher did take the loss when we faced him in Milwaukee at the start of May.
Line-up
- Ryan Roberts, 2B .284
- Stephen Drew, SS .259
- Justin Upton, RF .304
- Mark Reynolds, 3B .273
- Miguel Montero, C .304
- Chris Young, CF .198
- Gerardo Parra, LF .291
- Brandon Allen, 1B .204
- Doug Davis, P .137
Ok, who had Miguel Montero in the 'best batting average on the 2009 Diamondbacks' sweepstake? Don't all rush... But if he outhits Upton tonight, that's exactly where he'll be.