Emily and I are sitting down at Epic Cafe, having just enjoyed some delicious coffee, a blueberry bagel, a blackberry muffin, and this tasty fruit, granola, and yogurt parfait. And now that Emily is done with her final, I can do Snakebytes for her since I'm so nice. Anyway, today's round of links brings recaps, previews, and a lot of random news from around the league.
Recaps and Previews
- [Associated Press] Andre Ethier leads Dodgers past Diamondbacks 7-3
- [Azcentral.com] Arizona Diamondbacks offense stays dormant in loss to Los Angeles Dodgers
"We're not getting enough run support for our pitchers, and then they feel they have to go out there and do perfect," Reynolds said. "We've hit a cold spell these last couple days, but we've got the talent to come back, put some runs up and take a little pressure off our pitchers." -
[FoxSportsArizona.com] D-backs' offense struggles
“When you get into these ruts where it seems like everything is going wrong, certainly on the offensive side, you get out of sorts – swinging at ball four, swinging at ball five,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “It is a tough cycle to get out of. Much of our identity, at least early on, has been the quality of at-bats. They are few and far between. - [Abc15.com] Diamondbacks send Haren to the hill versus Dodgers
Haren is 3-0 with a 4.08 earned run average over his last five starts and is coming off his most productive outing of the season. He's 4-1 overall with a 4.04 era in seven overall trips to the mound this season. - [MLB.com] Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks preview
"we need to rectify the roller coaster we've been on," D-backs manager A.J. Hinch said. "We've played good series, bad series, good series, bad series for about two or three weeks now and that's not good enough. We can find some consistency and play to our capabilities."
After the jump, more links.
Team and Player News
- [Milb.com] Dbacks Farmhand Marc Krauss falls a homer short of the cycle
On the year, Krauss is hitting .361/.430/620 with 7 doubles, 3 triples, 5 HRS, and a 13:29 BB:K ratio. He's currently assigned to the Diamondbacks Hi-A Affiliate, Visalia. - [Dbacks.com] Injured Montero starts taking swings
In addition to the news that Montero has been doing soft toss and batting off a tee, there's some stories on Hinch having faith in the bullpen, the offense looking to turn the page, and Socrates Brito. - [Milb.com] Chase Anderson Named MWL Pitcher of the Week
South Bend Silverhawks pitcher Chase Anderson has been named the Midwest League Pitcher of the week. Anderson becomes the second straight Silver hawks player to win a weekly award, joining Bobby Borchering who won Hitter of the Week last Monday. Anderson, the Diamondbacks ninth round selection in 2009 from the University of Oklahoma, is now 2-3 with a 2.51 ERA this season. Despite the three losses, he has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his six starts. - [azcentral.com blogs]- NickPiecoro - Bullpen testing the limits of patience
When speaking about his bullpen midway through last week, GM Josh Byrnes, reiterated that patience is a sometimes the best way to survive tough times. But with Saturday's disaster ringing in our ears we have to wonder: How much longer can he remain patient? - [azcentral.com blogs] NickPiecoro - Progress report: 2009 draftees
It was true before they made the picks and it's still true today: The 2009 Draft will be a make or break for the Diamondbacks. They had a boatload of extra selections and a barren minor league system, so last June was a perfect opportunity to restock. they really couldn't afford to mess it up. Thus far, it appears they haven't. -
[FoxSportsArizona.com] Gone but not forgotten
"It's part of baseball fandom to keep an eye on former players for your team, who are now playing somewhere else. Here's a rundown on all the 2009 Diamondbacks that are with other outfits this season." Who is this guy? :-)
Randomness from Around the League
- [ESPN NY] Mets calling up "The Animal" from Buffalo
The Mets called up former Dbacks prospect Chris Carter (the white one). He was hitting .336 with six homers and 22 RBIs for Triple-A Buffalo. Manuel dubbed him "The Animal" because of his intensity and work ethic. - [MSN.FOXSports.com] Perfect game takes Athletics GM by surprise
Until the ninth inning, Oakland's GM Billy Beane had no idea Dallas Braden was throwing a perfect game. - [Yahoo Sports] MLB teams take scouting to new level, track umps
Teams have now taken scouting the opposition to a new level, by scouting the umpires- compiling information on how consistently they call balls and strikes, how quick they are to eject someone argueing a call, where the crew comes from, and the next time they're in town. - [MLBTraderumors.com] Rangers Seek Catching Help
Ken Rosenthal says that the Rangers are looking for catching help. In addition, Rosenthal notes that Astros, Brewers, Rays, and Red Sox could use reinforcements behind the plate. My take is that it looks like there could be a strong market for Chris Snyder this summer. - [WSJ.com] A-Rod May Not Be a Lock to Set Home-Run Record
Alex Rodriguez is now seventh on the all time home-run list, having caught Frank Robinson on Sunday. Up next is Sammy Sosa, 23 homers away, whom he could chase down by season's end. Which begs the question: Just how high on that list is A-Rod going to go? - BaseballAmerica.com: Prospects: Ask BA
Jim Callis ranks his top 20 prospects of the last 20 years. - [MLBTraderumors.com] Players Who Were Once Designated For Assignment:
An interesting list of players who were once DFA'd, some of whom are pretty good. - [hardballtimes.com] THT Awards for Week of May 4th through Sunday, May 9th
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[SB Nation] MLB Power Rankings: It's Early May, So Let's Talk About The Playoffs
"We're to the point in the season where, by any measure, the Boston Red Sox have a lesser chance at the playoffs than the Padres and the Nationals. Who cares how it's happened? It's happened, and I don't care who you are: that tickles you."
And that does it for this morning's round of links.