SnakeBytes: The Post-Upton Era Begins

Post-Upton Thoughts

• [NBC Sports] Pressure on Gibson, GM after Upton deal - "With a roster reconstruction capped by the long-in-the-works departure of Justin Upton, Towers has placed the pressure squarely on himself — and in turn, manager Kirk Gibson. The Diamondbacks have been built in their old-school, tough-guy images, and both are under contract through 2014, with two potential option years. But if this thing blows up in their faces, one or both might not survive that long."
• [ArizonaSports.com] Luis Gonzalez: 'There were times' where Justin Upton didn't provide leadership - "While Gonzalez said the team will miss Upton's skill set both in the field and at the plate, the former D-back was rather candid in suggesting that at times the star outfielder was his own worst enemy. "There were times when Justin was on, he was a superstar," said Gonzalez. "But when he was off, he would get in his shell and would have those slumps and those streaks. When you're in the middle of that lineup you have to be that rock every day when you're going good and when you're going bad. You have to provide that leadership for your teammates... Personally for me, there were times where (Justin) didn't have that."
• [Call to the Pen] Fawlty Towers, Gritty Gibby and the Justin Upton Trade - "Sometimes general managers like Kevin Towers and organizations lose sight of simple truths that have been consistent over decades. Quirky and eccentric is good if it throws 98 m.p.h., and grit is a great trait…for a backup catcher. Talent is the basic building block of successful organizations; the Diamondbacks received a complementary part in exchange for the type of talent winning teams are built upon."
• [CBSSports.com] Core Values: Arizona Diamondbacks - "Grading the Diamondbacks' Core: C+. Montero is on the short-list of top catchers in the game. The rotation, while it should be the envy of many a team, has plenty of unknown quantities, and Goldschmidt and Skaggs lack the true ceiling of ideal future cornerstones. The core is solid but not top tier. To put a finer point on it, the Arizona core very much misses Justin Upton."

Non-Upton Thoughts

• [AZStarNet] Dodgers, Cubs, D-backs, Padres will play spring training games in Tucson - "The Chicago Cubs will play the Los Angeles Dodgers March 21 at Kino Stadium, with proceeds benefiting the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Foundation. The date and 1:05 p.m. first pitch time were announced during a news conference today at the stadium. In addition, the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres have agreed to play a spring training game in Tucson, with proceeds benefiting the foundation. The date and start time for that game will be announced sometime in the next week."
• [dbacks.com] Luis Gonzalez To Accept Bobby Murcer Award - Arizona Diamondbacks legend Luis Gonzalez accepted the 2012 National League Bobby Murcer Award, presented by the Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.), on behalf of D-backs players. The award is presented to the team in both the American League and National League whose players commit the most amount of money to B.A.T. during the Spring Training Fundraising Tour. This is the first time the D-backs have received the award.
• [Portland Business Journal] Former Cy Young winner headlines Hillsboro Hops' coaching staff - "The Hillsboro Hops on Thursday said former Cy Young Award winner Doug Drabek will be the team's pitching coach, giving the minor league baseball club some major league appeal in its first year in Washington County. The Hops, which begin play in June as the short-season Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, announced its coaching staff for the upcoming season, led by Manager Audo Vicente."
• [MLB Daily Dish] Milwaukee Brewers sign Bobby Crosby - Bet you forgot he had ever played for us, but "The Diamondbacks acquired Crosby from the Pirates along with D.J. Carrasco and Ryan Church in exchange for Pedro Ciriaco and Chris Snyder in July of 2010. Arizona went on to release him less than a month later."

Elsewhere in baseball

• [FS Florida] Baseball in Tampa Bay could be in trouble - "Could baseball be at risk in the Tampa Bay region? It's uncertain. But the message delivered by Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg on Thursday during a one-hour talk at a Hillsborough County Commission meeting was strong. Sternberg, who became the club's principal owner in 2005, told commissioners, "MLB, at this point, doesn't believe any more in the Tampa Bay area.""
• [Forbes] Miami Marlins Have Become Baseball's Most Expensive Stadium Disaster Doesn't seem the other Florida team are much better. - "The stadium’s financing scheme means there will be some $3 billion in interest expenses on the construction loans that will be paid by city and county taxpayers. Worse for taxpayers there is no incentive for Loria to put a good team on the field because the city and county must pay the bondholders regardless of how the team performs. Moreover, a small but quirky part of the bond financing has turned a $91 million loan into a $1.2 billion liability for taxpayers. And to add insult to injury the Marlins are nickel-and-diming taxpayers over capital repair costs."
• [Archive.org] Old Time Radio Programs, Baseball games - This is a collection of 14 radio broadcasts of old-time games, from the 1948 World Series through to 1967. It includes the 1956 All-Star Game and the very first Mets game from 1962.
• [Yahoo!] Babe Ruth and Al Capone: Pals’ autographed baseball is up for auction - "Pete Collins — a grandson of another Hall of Famer, Eddie Collins — has put the ball up for auction via the Mile High Card Company. It could fetch $200,000 seven days from now. Not an unreasonable sum, when you consider what other autographed memorabilia goes for, and the backstory of how Ruth and Capone knew each other. And that Capone schemed to buy the Chicago Cubs from the Wrigley Family — off the record, using blackmail — and to later purchase Ruth from Colonel Jacob Ruppert and the Yankees and make him player-manager of the Cubs."