SnakeBytes 7/16: A Bit Short Edition

Not quite the start we were hoping for on the second half of the season.

Recaps:

• [DBacks.com] D-backs come up short against Dodgers - Gibby on Willie Bloomquist being thrown at at home: "We're aggressive and sometimes people make plays on us."

• [FS Arizona] D-backs open second half with loss to Dodgers - Only five hits allowed for Joe Saunders, but two of them were home runs, so it wasn't enough.

• [AZ Central] Diamondbacks can't finish late rally, lose to Dodgers to open second half - Again, we threatened late, with the tying run on base in the ninth, but just couldn't get the hits we needed.

• [LA Times] Dodgers defeat Arizona Diamondback, 6-4 - 4 RBIs for Matt Kemp, and a good throw that turned a sacrifice fly into a double play. Ugh.

• [DBacks.com] Putz throws 'pen session, closing in on return - He's expected to have a rehab assignment in the minors before he returns.

• [AZ Central] Scout day: Their takes on their players - A good look at our picks from the first ten rounds of the draft.

• [The D-blog] Hernandez excelling as D-backs closer - He'll probably get moved back to the eighth inning once Putz returns, but he's filled the role nicely.

• [FS Arizona] Despair not in D-backs' vocabulary - Xavier Nady: "This group is willing to commit to playing hard every night. Comeback wins. Timely hits late in games. I don't think, obviously, anyone throws in the towel when you have a guy with Kershaw's stuff out there. You still have to play nine innings. I this group will be fine."

Around Baseball:

• [Big League Stew] That’s a 10! Twins’ Ben Revere somersaults his way to triple - And he's still in well before the tag. That guy has some speed.

• [SI.com] Angels and A's revive traditional doubleheader if only for a day - I love the idea of doubleheaders, I wish teams would play them more often. Though it's probably rough on the team.

• [HardballTalk] MLB splits up agitator umps Joe West and Angel Hernandez - Finally.

• [LA Times] The sad demise of Dodgertown continues - The long tradition of Spring Training in Vero Beach was pretty much the first thing to be sacrificed by Frank McCourt.