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The first whisper
Sources: #DBacks pursuing Greinke.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 4, 2015
Needless to say, initial reaction was... skeptical, to put it mildly. In the spirit of our Gameday Threads, let's turn some of these red!
@Ken_Rosenthal pursuing as in chasing him through the hotel lobby in Nashville as he runs away?
— Reality Police (@RealityPolice15) December 4, 2015
@Ken_Rosenthal they say are pursuing the biggest FA every year and they never sign. It's a PR stunt for fans. I don't buy it one bit
— J.D. Francis (@Joedfran) December 5, 2015
.@Ken_Rosenthal is your source @TheOnion
— Kathleen Lee (@kathleenelee) December 4, 2015
[Kathleen did later follow-up, "LOL JOKES ON ME", so credit for that] Even our colleagues over at Fake Teams were raising a sardonic eyebrow.
“@Ken_Rosenthal: Sources: #DBacks pursuing Greinke.” Hahahahaha
— Ray Guilfoyle (@faketeams) December 4, 2015
Atom bomb dropped. Clean-up on Aisle 5
Sources: Greinke in agreement with #DBacks, pending physical.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 5, 2015
Reaction was swift, decisive and at the hysterical level of CAPS LOCK ON over-reaction only Twitter can deliver.
@Ken_Rosenthal NO NO NO NO PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS A JOKE NO FUCKING WAY IN HELL
— syd (@ravioliniall) December 5, 2015
@Ken_Rosenthal I AM LITERALLY SHAKING & MY JAW IS STILL ON THE FLOOR JUST RIP MY FUCKING HEART OUT I'M DONE
— syd (@ravioliniall) December 5, 2015
However, there was some well-considered analysis also to be found.
@Ken_Rosenthal Finally some protection in the order for Goldschmidt
— Tony Zerucha (@TonyZerucha) December 5, 2015
Hey, Greinke DID have more home-runs last year, than Cliff Pennington in his 72 games...
The ripples spread
I was in Safeway, and @truebluela texted me four very, very naughty words. For five seconds, I thought the Giants had him.
— Grant Brisbee (@mccoveychron) December 5, 2015
Greinke gone. LA's lone remaining perfect throwing motion is Alba pic.twitter.com/hgkl5AjiQI
— Batting Stance Guy (@BattingStanceG) December 5, 2015
Best thing about Greinke signing with the @Dbacks, he has multiple chances to hit Carlos Quentin again.
— Jeff Summers (@azjazzyj) December 5, 2015
So much for my planned under-the-radar prediction that the Diamondbacks would be a playoff team in 2016.
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) December 5, 2015
Maybe its the money. Maybe its years. Most likely, its the security of knowin that youll see Paul Goldschmidt in his underwear almost daily.
— Andrew Phillips (@TheRealBigPoop) December 5, 2015
Cry havoc, and let slip the Hudson of war!
The Diamondbacks' social media attack dog didn't hang around.
The uniforms must've sealed the deal. Suck it haters
— Daniel Hudson (@DHuddy41) December 5, 2015
Trying to remember the last time a D-backs' player's Tweet was retweeted over a thousand times!
— Daniel Hudson (@DHuddy41) December 5, 2015
Giants and Dodger fans right now in my mentions https://t.co/jfDH54NsZB
— Daniel Hudson (@DHuddy41) December 5, 2015
Never change, Huddy. Never change.
But, wait! There's more
Sources: #DBacks’ Stewart, La Russa met yesterday with free-agent RHP Mike Leake. Still interested even after reaching deal with Greinke.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 5, 2015
Oh. My. [Read in a George Takei voice] Interesting times, folks. We live in very interesting times. 2020 might suck, f'sure, but right now? I'm as excited to be a D-backs fan as any time since Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS.
I'll leave you with this plaintive little reaction, full of poign.
@Ken_Rosenthal Snakes. Why does it always have to be snakes?
— moxiequz (@moxiequz) December 4, 2015