SnakeBytes: April 25, 2010

Kinda glad I missed last night's meltdown, but because of it, there's more bullpen woes in the links today.

Links after the jump.

Recaps and Previews

• [Yahoo!] Werth's 2 homers lift Phils over Diamondbacks 3-2 - "Ian was exceptional," A.J. Hinch said. "I loved his aggressiveness. I thought he pounded the zone early and often and was able to locate all his pitches."
• [dbacks.com] Kennedy's big night goes for naught - "I'm not much on moral victories. I want real victories," manager A.J. Hinch said "The loss takes away a lot of good feelings. Ian showed us a lot and battled throughout ... but that's as far as I'll take it."

• [AZCentral.com] Diamondbacks fall to Phillies to spoil Ian Kennedy's strong start - "It will go down as another gut-wrenching loss to hang on the already-sagging shoulders of the Diamondbacks bullpen, but Saturday night's 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies wasn't the standard, boiler-plate late-inning meltdown. This was more a case of one team making the plays to win rather than the Diamondbacks doing all they could to lose."

• [The Good Phight] Strange Victory: Phillies 3, Diamondbacks 2 - "I'll admit it up front: I didn't watch all of this one... What I did see was Arizona starter Ian Kennedy, he of the 5.96 career ERA going into Saturday's game, retire twelve straight Phillies hitters on something like 26 pitches. Seriously, these were some of the worst at-bats imaginable. This was totally a rational choice. Stop looking at me like that!"

• Phillies-Diamondbacks Preview - STATS Writer - MLB - Sporting News

• Philadelphia Phillies (11-6) at Arizona Diamondbacks (7-10), 4:10 p.m.

• Arizona Diamondbacks go for series win against Philadelphia Phillies
  And, once again, we try to win another series. Let's hope this one goes a bit better.

• Philadelphia Phillies at Arizona Diamondbacks - April 25, 2010 | MLB.com Preview

Diamondbacks News and Notes

• [AZCentral.com] Arizona Diamondbacks' bullpen roles being redefined - "In an ideal world, roles will develop," Hinch said Saturday. "We had a few set early on that we're not going to sustain at this point. It doesn't mean we won't return to that. Guys can step up and grab the opportunity to pitch in critical moments of the game."

• [dbacks.com] Homers coming easily early for Johnson - "Kelly Johnson is not going to apologize for his position among the National League leaders, courtesy of his six home runs. But neither will the second baseman promise to maintain the torrid pace."
• [dbacks.com] Benson proving he's back where he belongs - "He's on a great track," said the man who caught him, batterymate Chris Snyder. "I don't think I ever faced him [before injuries derailed him], but considering how far he's come back and where he is, you couldn't ask for any more."

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