SnakeBytes, 6/22: Big Win Edition

Hey, all that optimism I had yesterday paid off!  No, really, I was optimistic.  Don't go back and read yesterday's SnakeBytes, just trust me on this one.  It was dang near prophetic how optimistic I was.  Just call me Nostrakishi.

Okay, fine, maybe I wasn't that optimistic.  Maybe that was Justin Upton.  But the point is, we won.  A big win, an enjoyable game, and it all turned out for the best.  So that's what matters, right?  Right.

Recaps:

• [azcentral.com] Diamondbacks crush Yankees, steal the spotlight - "We responded well to that energy out there, and there was a ton of it from the beginning, even in batting practice."  Now the key is to be able to respond like that more often.

• [yahoo.com] D-backs whack Burnett, Yankees for 3 homers in 1st - "The last week or so I just told myself to go out there and be Justin Upton and whatever happens, happens."  I think we could all learn an important lesson from that- just go out and be Justin Upton.

• [foxsportsarizona.com] Upton puts the hurt on Yankees - Rodrigo Lopez on the Yankees: "They were hacking. First pitch – boom. Pretty big swings."  Fortunately, it worked in our favor.

• [dbacks.com] Upton homers twice as D-backs storm Yanks - Upton on his second home run: "I was able to put one of my better swings on it." There was really no doubt from the moment he hit it.

More awaits you after the jump.  Assuming I stop being distracted by Ninja Warrior and finish typing this.

• [dbacks.com] Drew provides steady hand on 'D' for D-backs - "Solid, but not flashy" pretty well describes Drew's defense.  That's probably part of why he doesn't get as much attention from the fans, too.

• [foxsports.com] Decisions ahead for Diamondbacks GM - Another look at the players who might be traded, with a mention of what team might have an interest in them.  According to the piece, someone in the organization placed the over/under on players traded at two, not including CoJack, but Morosi feels it's more likely to be higher than that.

• [azcentral.com] Boivin: Diamondbacks need to move past 2001 title - I can only assume that Boivin's inbox is now innundated with rants from the sort of people who can't discuss the Diamondbacks without spending three minutes about how we should go back to the purple jerseys.  But really, in a sport as focused on history as baseball, why should the franchise ignore their finest moment?

• [fanster.com] Confessions of a recovering Yankees fan - A DBacks fan who used to cheer for the Yankees talks about attending yesterday's game.  Many of us had teams we loved before the Diamondbacks started to play, and I'm always interested to hear from people about their experience.

• [azcentral.com] Bittersweet memories of Chase Field for Yankees, Joe Girardi - Forget Girardi. The really gem here is the fact that Game Seven still bothers the Yankees.  (Obviously, Bob McManaman didn't check with Paula Boivin to see if he should talk about 2001.)

Around Baseball:

• [nytimes.com] Leathery Veteran Faces End of Big Career - When you throw a knuckleball, it's your responsibility to provide a special glove that your catchers can use to corral in your throws.  For one glove, belonging to Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey, the time for retirement has arrived.

• [si.com] Best decisions of the past year - SI looks at some of the best trades and signings made recently.  None of them are by the DBacks, but they are mentioned tangentially.

• [deadspin.com] The Summer Of '68, The Best Days Of Our Lives - Scoring down considerably, multiple perfect games in a year- is this the best year for pitchers baseball has ever seen?  Time will tell, but it'll have to take the title from 1968.  Deadspin looks at what some of the best pitchers in the game have been doing this year.

• [mlb.com] Fans get involved with All-Star campaigns - MLB has finally learned the way to get people even more over-involved in All Star voting- award points and make it a competition.

Your Daily Strasburg:

• [bloomberg.com] Autographed Stephen Strasburg Rookie Card Surpasses $30,000 Bid on EBay - Every time I find an article updating the price, I can't help but take that figure and convert it to see how many semesters of tuition it would pay for me.

That's your links for today.  Round two against the Yankees starts tonight, with Haren facing off against Andy Pettitte.  Pettitte hasn't made a start in Chase Field since Game Six of the 2001 World Series, so I'm all in favor of giving him some deja vu.  Go DBacks!