SnakeBytes: Soggy edition

D-backs News

• [SI] Diamondbacks hire ex-Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan as consultant - Officially confirmed, what we already knew. He'll have the ability to work with and evaluate players at all levels of the organization, so possibly even better to have him in this role rather than merely "coach."
• [Courier-Mail] Australia to play exhibition games against Dodgers and D-backs in Sydney - An Australian All Stars team will now take on the LA Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday March 25 and Friday March 26 also at the Sidney Cricket Ground. Tickets for the season opening games are also almost sold out, with about two thousand left.
• [Herald Sun] Blue Sox manager says MLB Opening Day game will raise sport's profile - More from Australia, and the SnakePit Laideez will be pleased to hear this update. "Trent has brought a presence to the Blue Sox," Pospishil said. "It is fantastic to see him play in his home state. He is a fantastic ambassador for baseball! Having someone who has played in the Major Leagues and still wants to come back and play here with us. Overall he gives the team a better vibe."
• [FanGraphs] 2014 Top 10 Prospects: Arizona Diamondbacks - "Arizona features a solid system that could quickly become elite if the 2013 draftees develop as I expect them to after a very strong draft class. There is also upper level talent to consider. As many as eight of the 10 top prospects could see time in the Majors in the coming season." They also have a Q+A with their #2 pick, Braden Shipley.
  

Former D-back News

• [SI] Mets reportedly sign Chris Young to 1-year, $7.25 million deal - Wow. Surprised he got so much, after hitting the Uecker Line in Oakland last season.
• [MLB.com] Mets sign Brandon Allen - Free Brandon Allen! Well, a free invitation to Spring Training, anyway...
• [CardinalsFarm] Cardinals minors moves: Easley in, Romak and Additon out - Catcher Ed Easley, after seven years in the D-backs organization, without reaching the majors, is now going to try his luck in St. Louis.
• [MASN] Nats sign right-hander Daniel Stange to minor league deal - Mike Rizzo has reunited with another former Diamondbacks connection, as the Nationals have signed right-handed reliever Stange to a minor league contract. He was a seventh round pick who played in four games for us during 2010.
• [ThePostGame] 7-Foot-1 Pitcher Released By D-backs Becomes Next Big Thing In Beach Volleyball - "At 25 years old, Ryan Doherty had spontaneously decided he was going to pack everything he owned into his car and drive to Huntington Beach, Calif., to pursue a professional beach volleyball career. He had $5,000 left to his name, no job lined up in California, nowhere to stay, and a failed professional baseball career in his rearview mirror."

Baseball news

• [ESPN] MLB players' union leader Michael Weiner dies at 51 - Baseball players' union head Michael Weiner has died 15 months after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. He was 51.
• [Tampa Bay Times] Mayor Foster: Major League Baseball wants out - St. Petersburg mayor Bill Foster is pessimistic: "I don't think there's anything in the equation that causes Major League Baseball to want to stay in Pinellas County... I'm not convinced that Major League Baseball sees the Tampa Bay market as one that is sustainable for Major League Baseball."
• [Field of Teams] Manny Ramirez signs with University of San Francisco - My, he's really desperate to play anywh... Oh, hang on. It's his son.... Never mind.
• [Deadspin] Who Is John Allen, The Baseball Reporter Revealed As A Twitter Hoax? - "Winter is baseball's silly season, filled with silly trade and free agent rumors even from reputable sources. But sometimes those sources are not-so-reputable. Sometimes they don't even exist. Like KCNBC's own John Allen." Let the Twitterer beware....

Today's poll question: it's the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas. Do you, like Bull Durham's famous speech, "believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone"? Or do you think there was more the infamous murder than officially acknowledged by the Warren Commission?