SnakeBytes: The Umpire Strikes Back Edition

Quotes of the day

• What wasn't said, in this case might be as interesting as what was...

  I believe that's a new Kirk Gibson postgame media session record: One minute, 36 seconds.

  — Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) April 14, 2013

• "I was one pitch away from getting out of that inning. If you want have outings, it makes a difference between having a solid outing or a just an okay one or a really bad one. Just not acceptable when, one pitch away like that, you just got to make your pitches. I left too much of the plate to Kemp. I just wasn't executing."
  -- Ian Kennedy

• "You face a guy a first time, there are a lot of factors coming into the game. We know now that he can spot pitches. We have to make adjustments. That’s the main thing."
  -- Martin Prado

• "[Gibson] asked me if I was OK to hit and I told him if you want me to hit I'll give you what I got. Just had to tape it up a little bit, tight. Obviously had a good AB, but hoped for a few more feet and a win."
  -- Aaron Hill

• "Me and my wife prayed and we just had this strong feeling that the Lord was telling us to change our tax guy, financial guy and our agent. We needed to have people that know the Lord and kind of lead us in the right direction. We wanted to be surrounded with people who were godly men. That’s the reason why."
  -- Heath Bell explains why he changed his agent

Ross in, Kubel out

The Diamondbacks basically swapped outfielders yesterday, Cody Ross coming off the DL, just as Jason Kubel went on it An MRI on Kubel has shown a strain in his right quadricep, apparently suffered when he scored from second on a passed ball in the Milwaukee series. Said Jason, "When I was taking breaks in the outfield, the grass was giving out. I felt like when I came around third I stepped in like an inch or 2-inch deep pothole and it didn’t feel good. Right away, my hips were hurting." It probably means we'll have to find a DH for the Yankees series, and with the right-handed Ross back, Alfredo Marte will likely see less playing time.

Corbin picks up speed

Nick Piecoro notes that Patrick Corbin is throwing harder this season: his fastball average speed is up from 90.9 mph last year, to 92 in this campaign, and he touched 95 mph twice against the Dodgers on Friday night. Corbin is as surprised by the increase as anyone, saying simply, "I don't know" when asked if there was a reason for the higher velociry. "I always feel like I’ve got a little more in me. Maybe it’s just getting a little bigger and stronger is helping. Honestly, I don’t know if it’s just my workout routine and building up my arm strength and stuff like that." It may not be the cause of his solid start, but it probably isn't hurting!

Around baseball

• A low-scoring day in the National League, with three runs being enough to win in most of the games played. Bucking the trend were the Rockies, who pounded out 14 hits and scored nine runs, unaided by altitude, and in fact at Petco Park. Wilin Rosario had four hits with three RBI, and is hitting .361 for the season to date.
  
• Best pitching in the NL went to the Braves, who held the Nationals to four hits in Washington, Tim Hudson allowing one run in seven innings to out-duel Stephen Strasburg, who was tagged for two unearned runs in six, as Atlanta won 3-1.
• Why did it take 40 years after Jackie Robinson's death for Hollywood to make 42? Dorothy Pomeranz of Forbes suggests that the increased importance of overseas box-office makes baseball films a risky proposition.
• However, that didn't stop 42 from cashing in this week, topping the US box-office with a $27.3 million opening weekend, according to estimates. That was about $12m over the weekend's other broad release, Scary Movie 5. Yeah, I apparently missed 2, 3 and 4 of those.
• Baseball and softball have merged. Well, sorta. It's reported that, "The international federations of both sports on Sunday ratified a constitution to form the World Baseball Softball Confederation," with the aim of improving the sports' (or is it now "sport's"?) chances of getting back into the Olympics.