SnakeBytes, 6/15: Offensive Rebounding Edition

Well, that was better, wasn't it?

Recaps

• [MLB] D-backs erupt to back Hudson in Texas - "You can just get into a groove and get momentum, especially when you're getting a lot of guys in a row out," Hudson said. "When you're pitching out of the windup a lot, you get into this rhythm where your mechanics are the same every single time. That's what you strive for."
• [AZCentral] Diamondbacks avoid sweep, pound Rangers - "They've got very small safe zones," Gibson said of the Rangers' hitters. "We just kind of went to different areas, and it worked out well. We don't play these guys a lot, so we don't know them that much. Sometimes it takes time to make adjustments."
• [AP] Diamondbacks' 11-3 win at Texas first since 2000 - Gibson missed his son's high school graduation in Michigan on Thursday night. ''You're supposed to graduate,'' Gibson said.

Team news

• [AZCentral] Haren eager to face former club - "I couldn't explain it myself," he said. "Looking back now, the year before I got there they went to the playoffs and the year after I leave they went to the playoffs. I didn't think I was a part of the problem. I think I was part of the solution. But it worked out otherwise."
• [dbacks.com] Putz photo with Bieber card goes viral - Whether Putz is actually a Bieber fan is apparently in dispute. "I'm not," Putz said with a stare usually reserved for opposing hitters he faces in the ninth inning. "Huge Bieber fan, absolutely," Ziegler said. "If he tells you otherwise, he's lying."
• And also now going viral, Mark Grace's "called shot" for Jason Kubel. I guess people are unaware that Grace and Sutton call about nine hundred things per game! Still, it's a fun call, not least for Sutton's deadpan reaction.
  
• [Nick P] D-Backs facing tough questions - "There are still indications that they’d be willing to trade left-hander Joe Saunders if the right deal came along. There is said to be interest from Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston and, somewhat surprisingly, Pittsburgh. They could probably get a decent piece back for Saunders, who is making a reasonable $6 million this season."

Minors

• [MLB] Bauer managing things his way - "It's all execution. My plan is solid. I have a really good plan. I'm prepared when I go out there and I try to execute. Some nights I can and some nights I can't. It's not like I don't know how to manage a game. I think I manage games pretty darn well. I don't give up a lot of runs. I don't give up a lot of hits. I get a lot of wins for the team."
• [AZCentral] A closer look at Diamondbacks prospect Bobby Borchering - Farm director Mike Bell said. "I think his balance has gotten a little bit better. He's staying balanced on his legs a little better and that's allowed him to recognize and lay off some pitches and foul off some tough ones to give him a chance to get a good pitch to hit."
• [Sports Yakima] Fifth-round pick Ronnie Freeman gets pro start with Yakima Bears - He had not heard of his first professional baseball destination before being assigned here. "Can’t say that I had," Freeman said, "but there were actually a couple of teammates on my college team that are from this state. So they told me where it was, and what the landscape was like." The Bears season starts tonight.
• [Missoulian] Ex-Husky standout among 11 added to Osprey roster - "Eleven more ballplayers were added to the 2012 Missoula Osprey roster... The O’s open the Pioneer League season Monday on the road against the Billings Mustangs before playing their home opener at Ogren-Allegiance Park on Friday against the Great Falls Voyagers."

Around baseball

• [ESPN] A plan to save the save and make relief pitchers meaningful again - "Is there any way to end this herd mentality after it has been ingrained for so many years? Can we convert closers back to firemen, who were more valuable and possibly healthier? Yes. If managers can't change their strategy to adapt to the realities of the save, then we must change the save rule."
• [MLB.com] Early signs point to new Draft system's success - "I think [it's working]," said Diamondbacks scouting director Ray Montgomery, whose organization had signed nine of its 10 picks made in the first 10 rounds (the only unsigned player being one still playing in the College World Series). "I think it was a function of educating, and understanding the new system. It was a mutual explanation. We explained it to [the players], the advisors helped in that process. It was fairly straightforward and comfortable, but we spent a lot of time doing it."
• [AP] Aubrey Huff sprains knee joining perfect game celebration - "Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff sprained his right knee while trying to jump over the dugout railing and join the postgame celebration of Matt Cain's perfect game."
• [SI] South Carolina is tying to win its third straight College World Series - "A lot of intriguing storylines are in play as the 66th College World Series gets underway Friday in Omaha, Neb. Among them... Arizona could become just the seventh school to win at least four national championships."