SnakeBytes 4/1: Opening Day Edition

It's opening day! I'm almost disappointed that the big day falls on April Fools Day for the DBacks, because I'm sure there'll be a whole slew of bad jokes and we'll have to sort through them. But you know what? I don't care. I don't even care that my rational mind knows that we're looking at another season sitting well below .500. Because it's opening day. And no matter how bad our team looks, you have to admit- you're still looking forward to this. You have been for months.

It's the best day of baseball.

Series Previews:

• [CBS Sports] Diamondbacks-Rockies Preview - "I want to be one of the best pitchers in the league," Kennedy told the Diamondbacks' official website. "I want to be one of the guys where, when you say my name, you think reliable and consistent pitcher, not a guy that's up and down. I feel like that's what really good pitchers do." And we want to see it from you, IPK. Now go out there and do it.

• [SB Nation Denver] Colorado Rockies Opening Day Starts With The Arizona Diamondbacks - Hey, the Diamondbacks may have had a terrible season in 2010, but at least we didn't go 1-12 to end the season. Okay, that's small comfort.

• [DBacks Venom] No April Fools - Willie Bloomquist is the Starting Opening Day SS - Just think, at the end of last season, did you look at the team and imagine Willie Bloomquist, Juan Miranda, and Melvin Mora in our opening day lineup? If you did, you should probably stop drinking whatever you were drinking, because that stuff will kill you. I'm sure the bottle says "Not for human consumption" somewhere.

• [Miami Herald] Arizona Diamondbacks (0-0) at Colorado Rockies (0-0), 4:10 p.m. - "The Diamondbacks' playoff chances don't appear as realistic as their opponent's this afternoon[.]" That's a reporter that doesn't want to just come up and admit we're going to lose.

Hey! We're a half game up on the Giants right now! Take that, defending champions!

DBacks News

• [AZ Central] Q&A: Arizona Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall - The Diamondbacks' president answers some questions about the franchise. Nothing too groundbreaking, but an interesting mention that they've had discussions with Randy Johnson about bringing him back to the franchise. "It's on his timeline, his calendar, not ours." While one half of me think that sounds like a great idea, the other half wonders- at what point do we run the risk of the team being too caught up in one moment of its history?

• [Scout.com] D-backs Finish "Disappointing" March - "Gibson has said the process of redefining the D-Backs could take years -- he mentioned five years on Monday[...]" Five years? Five years? We've already almost completely rolled over our roster in the past three and that was without trying, what's with five years?

• [Chicago Breaking Sports] Krause leaving Sox scouting post for Arizona job - Okay, I'll admit I had to take a minute to do some Googling to make sure this wasn't an April Fool's Day joke. You'll understand if I'm a bit skeptical that a name I associate with the Michael Jordan-era Chicago Bulls doesn't seem like a natural fit in baseball, but apparently Krause has spent quite a while as a baseball scout. He'll be joining the Diamondbacks as an assistant to Jerry DiPoto.

• [AZ Starnet] Diamondbacks: D-backs better on paper; real test starts today - "Here's my biggest concern - that we stay healthy and we stay committed together[.]" No confirmation if Gibson then followed that up with his concern that, with the season at 162 games, they may lose a number of fans to distraction from other sports, attrition due to a poor record, and alcohol poisoning.

Around Baseball:

• [AZ Central] Opening Day: Best baseball movie scenes - They include favorite baseball scene in any movie, ever- Enrico Palazzo Frank Drebin at umpire for a Mariners-Angels game. If any SnakeBytes ever merited a Leslie Neilsen clip, it'd be today's, I'm sure.

• [ESPN] Randy Winn retires after 13 seasons in MLB - Randy "The Root of All Evil" Winn finally leaves baseball. Now free from the restraints of a 162 game season, he will stalk the earth, spreading ruin and misfortune wherever he treads. I mean, that's what I'd guess his plans are, or else he might try to get into coaching.

• [The Onion Sports Network] Chicago Cubs Can't Believe They're Doing This Again - The Onion is always hilarious, but in this particular article, I think it's Aramais Ramirez's tirade, asking his teammates just why they're even there. Also: "Quade added that even if the Cubs were to somehow make the World Series, they would inevitably lose in a devastating fashion that would physically and emotionally destroy anyone associated with the team in any way for decades to come."

• [Baseball Nation] Embracing the Beauty of the Unlikely - On opening day, the Royals ran out three pitchers from their bullpen, each making their major league debut. It's not a huge deal, and they still lost, but it's still a nice moment for those players, and I think there's something DBacks fans should keep in mind. Win or lose, there's almost always something to watch and enjoy in the game.

And finally, I'd like to take the chance to unveil our newest feature. With Strasburg on the DL, there's been a scarcity of links about him. But we'll step up and fill the gap with:

Your Daily Frenchy!:

• [MLB] Must C: Cannon - Unleash the Frenchy artillery! Our beloved right fielder guns down a runner at the plate.

• [MLB] Francoeur launches a solo shot off Takahashi - Oh, and that isn't the only firepower Frenchy showed off yesterday. That's right, he's launching bombs and giving you tickets to the gun show.

Go Frenchy! Oh, and go DBacks!