SnakeBytes, 4/22: Wood you believe it Edition

Recaps

[dbacks.com] Arroyo unable to slow down Cubs offense - "I think everyone is pressing," Gibson said. "Everybody is trying to be the guy. When you get runners in scoring position and you get ahead in the count, you have to look and see a pitch that you can hit and you can drive instead of swinging at a pitcher's pitch, which may be marginal or down in the zone. You want to elevate, but overall we have not done a good job of that and I think the numbers speak to that."

[AP] Wood homers, allows 1 run in Cubs' win - Gerardo Parra was given the day off Monday. Parra is hitting .160 in his last six games. "He's played every game and you see certain things in his game, he's just grinding down a little bit," Gibson said. "Everything we've been going through, it's been tough on everybody and you just try and rotate the guys in and give guys a break."

[AZ Central] Montero perplexed by pitch - "Well, obviously two outs, nobody on, down by four and he throws it like that to me?" Montero said. "It's a little shady, you know. Don't you agree? I don't know what it's all about... "I don't remember anything, to be honest. I guess you guys should ask him if we have history. It'll probably remind me if we do. But I really don't know." Strop had already left the Cubs clubhouse by the time an Arizona reporter tried to seek him out for comment postgame.

[ArizonaSports] Wood, Cubs roll past D-backs: By The Numbers - It has been 12 days since a D-backs starting pitcher last earned a win, when Arroyo lasted five innings and allowed three runs in a 7-3 win over the San Francisco Giants on April 9.

Team news

[AZ Central] The Diamondbacks can't be this bad ... can they? - "It is a little baffling," Brenly said. "They'll play one good game, and you'll think, 'OK, that's what we're looking for,' and then the next day they'll come out and struggle again. It's one thing to break a losing streak, but it's another thing to put together a winning streak, and that's what they need to do." Common sense tells you that will happen at some point. Talent usually shines through. The Diamondbacks don't have the most talented roster in the league, but it's not this bad, either. But until they prove it, we're left to wonder: Maybe they really are this bad.

[dbacks.com] Owings excited for first game as leadoff hitter - "Surprised when I came to the field today, but I'm just going to take it and have good at-bats up there," Owings said. "Obviously, a little different being the first guy up there, but not going to change anything from my perspective too much. Definitely get some more pitches to hit rather than hitting in the eight-hole. I'm excited about it. It's a good sign for sure."

[ArizonaSports] Ryan Rowland-Smith clears waivers, elects free agency - Ryan Rowland-Smith, who was designated for assignment by the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday to make room for Cody Ross, cleared waivers Monday and has elected to become a free agent. We thank him for his service - not least as a tour guide in Australia - and wish him all the best.

Patrick Corbin interviews fans about Patrick Corbin

And, elsewhere...

[SI.com] Overuse of young pitchers fueling MLB's Tommy John surgery problem - With Ivan Nova the latest now looking at TJ, Tom Verducci discusses the recent surge in the, ah, surgery. The greatest threat facing pitching in the major leagues is the American system of treating teenage pitchers, with its emphasis on velocity, travel tournaments and showcases. "Major League Baseball gets the blame for pitchers getting injured," said Glenn Fleisig, research director at the prestigious American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Ala. "But the fact is these pitchers definitely have some damage in their arm when they get them."

[ESPN In defense of MLB's new replay system - Doug Kern has found four games in which we can pretty much absolutely, positively say that the outcome was changed -- correctly -- because replay came to the rescue and reversed a play that was originally called wrong. There are undoubtedly others. A study by MLB's analytics group says there have been 11 games where the winning team drew a direct "benefit" from a review. In truth, there are too many what-ifs attached for anyone to say for sure. But either way, that's somewhere between four and 11 more games that turned out right, which would have allowed the wrong team to win in the archaic, pre-replay era.

[Best Tickets] Who is the Most Popular Athlete in your State? - Interesting study, which analyzed Google searches to figure out the relative popularity of sports and players. Even though it's not football season (data was gathered over a 2-3 day period last week), the NFL was far and away the most popular league in Arizona, though the most popular single athlete was basketball's LeBron James. Nationwide, the D-backs ranked 29th among the 30 MLB teams, ahead of the Padres. The way they've been playing of late, I'm surprised it's that high...

[SI.com] Marichal, Roseboro and the inside story of baseball's nastiest brawl - "Marichal raised his bat over his helmet and brought it down toward Roseboro's head like he was splitting firewood. The blow did not strike squarely but did open a two-inch gash above Roseboro's left eye.. The two ended up between home plate and the mound. Roseboro flailed at Marichal with punches. Marichal chopped at him with his bat. He pried Roseboro's mask loose. Roseboro knocked off Marichal's helmet, which flew toward first base and bounced on the grass. Marichal nicked him again with the bat, and Roseboro landed a single right hand to Marichal's face..."