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Quotes of the Day
“That was as well as I’ve thrown a baseball in my professional career without a doubt. I absolutely felt like I was able to do anything I wanted to do.”
- Brandon McCarthy on his most recent start, presumably without irony.
"The way I throw strikes, there are so many guys running 0-2, 1-2 counts, and if those turn into hits and they're not guaranteed outs -- or at least a high percentage of strikeouts -- it just kind of invalidates the pitches I threw before. They just become a waste of time. A lot of it is just me trying to not throw such a good strike with two strikes and expanding the zone and wasting something."
- Brandon McCarthy on his pitching philosophy
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Sadly, modern Don Draper probably says stuff like "we need to crush a sick new hash tag!" before rollerblading to his co-ed kickball game.</p>— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) <a href="https://twitter.com/BMcCarthy32/status/321151934595751937">April 8, 2013</a></blockquote>
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- Brandon McCarthy on Mad Men
Diamondbacks Links
Arizona Diamondbacks’ Brandon McCarthy rocked again as Pittsburgh Pirates get another win - AZ Central
The Diamondbacks made another comeback bid, but once again came up short falling to the Pirates 6-5. The starting pitching was less than great for the second game in a row. McCarthy pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up 6 runs, 4 of which were earned, on 10 hits.
Pittsburgh Pirates at Arizona Diamondbacks - MLB
Just a friendly reminder that it's a matinee game today. Wade Miley will be on the bump promptly at 12:40. If you're lucky enough to attend, please don't rub it in.
Q&A: Wade Miley, Deceptively Dominant D-Back | FanGraphs Baseball
Speaking of Wade, David Laurila of Fangraphs caught up with the young lefty and asked him a few questions. There is a certain simple genius to all of Wade's answers, and the interview offers good insight into Wade's pitching philosophy. When asked why he throws so many fastballs for a guy who doesn't throw very hard, Miley replied that "it would be good to be able to throw 95 mph, but there are guys… Greg Maddux was pretty successful throwing 86. I don’t know why velocity is such a big deal anymore. I just throw it in the location — the vicinity — where I want it and try to keep it down. Then I hope for the best." Seems to be working.
Closer chaos! Ranking the closers - ESPN
Nothing is worse than a one-year-wonder closer. Hypothetically, a guy named Shon Shmaxford could have 40 saves one year and then start throwing crystallized dog turds the next year to the tune of a 20.25 ERA. Anyways, J.J. Putz has proven himself consistent over the years, and as such, checks in at number nine on the list.
New D-backs reliever Reynolds acclimating well - dbacks.com
Matt Reynolds is liking his new digs. Daniel Hudson will throw live BP for the first time since his injury. Cody Ross is not hitting high-A pitching well.
Around the League
Time has come to make runners plowing over catchers illegal - SI.com
Tom Verducci would eliminate the home plate collision. That's certainly a reasonable proposition - a runner can't tackle the first baseman, why should he be able to slam into the catcher? There are cogent arguments to ban home plate collisions and there are reasons to keep the status quo -
Point: Catchers are being subjected to needless injury for no other reason than tradishun.
Counterpoint:
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Dodgers rumors: Clayton Kershaw extension talks at over $200 million? - Si.com
The Dodgers must be negotiating their contracts in Zimbabwe Dollars. Do loaves of bread cost $10,000,000 in Dodgerland?
Marginalia
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This video made the rounds after I posted the last Snakebytes, and I'm sure most of you have seen it, but here it is in case you missed it. The world's best umpire.