Well, obviously now Kirk Gibson has set the standards we'll expect for the rest of his tenure. We'll score three runs an inning in half the innings our offense goes out there. Our bullpen will be solid. And we won't ever lose. Not too much to ask, I think. Keep it up, guys.
Recaps:
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[nytimes.com] After Jackson’s 149-Pitch No-Hitter, an 88-Pitch Win - "Our game plan going in was to be very lenient on his workload." I was a little surprised to see Jackson leave so early, but it was for the best.
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[latimes.com] The improbable happens in Kirk Gibson's managerial debut as Arizona routs Dodgers, 12-5 - "Kirk Gibson performed another miracle Friday night. He got the Arizona Diamondbacks to win a game." Shut up, LA Times. I'd like to see a copy of this pinned up in the DBacks locker room.
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[venomstrikes.com] Changes Noticeable In Gibson’s First Game as Manager - The aggressiveness was an obvious change. It may not work out every night, but for last night it was good to see.
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[azcentral.com] Diamondbacks throttle Dodgers in Gibson's managerial debut - "You just have to learn to control things and keep the game slow, and the guys did a great job tonight." But, Kirk, I just thought you needed to be fiery?
DBacks News:
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[SBNation Arizona] Watching Kirk Gibson Hand It To His Former Team - This could probably go under recaps, too, but here's a view from the stands on KGib's first win.
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[msnbc.com] D'backs called Red Sox about Chris Snyder - With two big name catchers on the DL, the Red Sox could be looking for a backup, and Peter Gammons says the DBacks are offering Snyder.
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[latimes.com] Trouble brews in Arizona for Dodgers, and it has nothing to do with team on field - The LA Times is worried the Diamondbacks will steal one of the Dodger's two assistant GMs. Well, annoying LA would be just another reason to hire either Logan White or Kim Ng.
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[mlb.com] Gibson brings passion, energy to D-backs - "Gibson was a very serious player when he joined the Dodgers, describing himself and his attitude on Friday as a significant part of the male anatomy." Possibly one of the funniest lines I've ever seen written at MLB.com. But an interesting piece about Gibson with a good look at his time with the Dodgers. Very forward and honest, I like that.
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[fangraphs.com] These First Sackers Deserve a Shot - FanGraphs looks at three first basemen in AAA who deserve time in the majors. First mentioned, our own Brandon Allen. (I also want to see their third player up, so announcers can stumble over pronouncing Kila Ka’aihue.)
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[dbacks.com] Hinch exits D-backs' organization with class - "[It] will certainly be a memory that lasts for me, because it was [pitcher] Barry Enright's debut. Someone that I saw come through the Minor Leagues, had a lot of interaction with and was able to hand the ball to him for his first Major League start." Good luck in the future, AJ.
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[azcentral.com] Diamondbacks losses, depleted farm system led to firings, Kendrick says - "A key revelation, [Kendrick] said, was just how devoid of top-shelf talent the Diamondbacks farm system is, particularly in the upper levels." Interesting.
Around Sports:
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[beyondtheboxscore.com] Johnson vs. Jimenez, and other thoughts - With Ubaldo's less than super-lights-out appearances of late, who is performing better now- Jimenez or Josh Johnson?
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[bostonherald.com] Time to stop mandating All-Star rep for each team - "A lot of people don’t like using it to determine home-field advantage in the World Series, but it’s a better alternative than merely rotating home fields on a yearly basis." You mean you prefer sending out big names and telling them to play hard and risk injury in a game that will only mean anything to two out of thirty teams is better than a fair system of rotating home field advantage?
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[mlb.com] Braves overcome miscue, drop Fish in 11 - I saw the highlights of this on MLB last night and knew I had to include it. The Marlins run in the top of the 11th was two teams fighting to see who could botch the play worse- check the video for "Helms scores on error" to watch it.
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[espn.com] Being a manager in today's game a difficult job - "There's no doubt it's much harder now. It wasn't like this 40 years ago." A very interesting look at managing and how it has changed in recent years.
Your Daily Strasburg:
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[nydailynews.com] Bring on Stephen Strasburg - "As I said last week, Bud Selig should send a message to Dickey and Strasburg before the game stating that the winning pitcher goes ot the All-Star game." Well, that's a fair way to handle it- "We'll let your offenses decide if you go." Oh, wait, that's how it usually works.
And that's it for me today. Have a great holiday, and go DBacks!