SnakeBytes, 3/31: March goes out like a Jake Lamb?

The rotation is set

[AZ Central] Cahill fills out rotation - Cahill won the final spot after the team determined the bullpen to be a better fit for Hudson and thanks to strong enough results to separate himself from a host of prospects, including righty Archie Bradley and lefty Robbie Ray, who remain in big-league camp. "Experience is a big part of it," Hale said of Cahill, who is entering his seventh year in the majors. "We know he can get major league hitters out. We know he's had some struggles here, but with his delivery being intact we know he can compete and be a part of that."

[FOX Sports] D-backs' pitching rotation will include Trevor Cahill, Chase Anderson - Hale on Monday mentioned the team has a need for relievers who can pitch multiple innings. "If the situation arises where our starters are going seven, eight innings every night and that spot is not being used, then (Ray or Bradley) probably have to go back (to the minors)," Hale said. "We still have Chafin, Nuno, ... Burgos. There's other guys in the mix."

[dbacks.com] Cahill, Anderson fill out rotation; Hudson headed to 'pen - "It's come down to the last week and any of the guys in this room who were pitchers could have made the rotation," Anderson said. "I'm just very thankful they put their belief in me. Honestly, I'm just grateful. I've been blessed beyond belief in my life. Just being on the Opening Day roster and getting a rotation spot has been my goal this whole spring. I just want to stay humble."

Other team news

[FOX Sports] Lopez sent to minors after start against Dodgers - "I know I need to work a little bit more to get better, to get back," Lopez said through coach and interpreter Ariel Prieto. Lopez's fastball velocity sat in the low-to-mid 90s this spring, but combining that with his solid secondary pitches is a learning curve that can best be addressed in the minors. "The breaking ball is good, but I'm still working how to mix it up in the right way to get a good location," Lopez said through Prieto.

[dbacks.com] Back on solid footing, Trumbo sets D-backs' path - Trumbo developed plantar fasciitis in his left foot, hampering his movement, particularly in the field. "I just never was able to shake it," Trumbo said. "There were a couple of times that I thought we could be out of the woods, and then you take one hard step down the baseline, and, 'Whoa.' But it was what it was. You can't go back and change it. Some days were better than others," Trumbo said. "Some days were kind of exceptionally bad. Unless someone has had the plantar type issue, you really don't know. It's just about hard enough to where you can play, but it's very annoying."

[AZ Central] Tomas needs work to maintain value at third - There literally might not be a single scout with a competing team who has come away from watching Tomas believing he can play the position on Opening Day. So why was Tomas back out at third base again on Monday afternoon at Salt River Fields?.... The more likely scenario is this: The Diamondbacks have already decided Tomas is opening the season in Triple-A Reno and will give him a chance to continue to play the position down there.

[Arizona Sports] D-backs recall their fondest moments in baseball - For pitcher David Hernandez, you have to go all the way back to Little League. "The very first highlight for me was winning the Little League World Series regionals in Southern California," Hernandez said. "It was my first memory of how fun it is."

[USA Today] Even after paralysis, Cory Hahn finds purpose in baseball - "I still think about it daily," Hahn tells USA TODAY Sports. "Really, I think about it all of the time, because there's so many reminders. A lot of it is, 'If I never got hurt, where would I be at this moment? What would I be doing? How good would I be?' But I try not to dwell on it too much, because I realize it distracts me from what's really happening in life. You just lose focus."

[SaukValley.com] Kane County Cougars get special craft beer for 25th season - "Raging Cougar Ale" will be on tap at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark starting at the Class A minor league team’s opening game April 9. The team’s Major League Baseball affiliate, the Arizona Diamondbacks, also will have the beer at Chase Field in Phoenix. Though let's be honest, Raging Cougar Ale seems more like a drink served in Scottsdale nightclubs...

And, elsewhere...

[FOX Sports] Chicago Cubs send Kris Bryant down to Triple-A - He may have clubbed nine home-runs or whatever, but he's still going down to AAA. The player's union isn't happy, but Jon Morosi explains why they probably won't make too much of a fuss about it.

[Consumerist] How Baseball Became America’s Favorite Monopoly - Major League Baseball has the dubious distinction not only of being entirely exempt from antitrust law, but also being the only major league sport with such a privilege. With the start of the 2015 season still some days away, we have time to take a look at the history, and the possible future, of this quirk.

[San Jose Mercury News] Is baseball battling a Tommy John epidemic? - [In a Little League] 2012 study, only 73 percent of coaches reported that they followed the pitching rules, and only half (53 percent) felt that other coaches generally followed the rules. In the South Bay alone, there are plenty of examples of fudging the workload. Cases include a 12-year-old throwing 110 pitches over five innings last month; a 10-year-old pitcher throwing an estimated 130 pitches in a no-hitter in 2012; a 10-year-old in 2014 throwing three days in a row and totaling 156 pitches.

Finally: yeah, I think our next car might just have to be a Toyota... [H/T Mrs. SnakePit]