Game #109 Preview: 8/8, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Cincinnati Reds

Keyvius Sampson RHP, 0-1, 4.50

Robbie Ray LHP, 3-6, 3.01

Billy Hamilton - CF	Ender Inciarte - RF
Brandon Phillips - 2B	A.J. Pollock - CF
Joey Votto - 1B	Paul Goldschmidt - 1B
Todd Frazier - 3B	David Peralta - LF
Jay Bruce - RF	Welington Castillo - C
Marlon Byrd - LF	Jake Lamb - 3B
Eugenio Suarez - SS	Aaron Hill - 2B
Tucker Barnhart - C	Nick Ahmed - SS
Keyvius Sampson - RHP	Robbie Ray - LHP

It's hard, at this point, to find anything to say about the Big Unit that has not been said before, especially over the past few months, from the news of his election to the Hall of Fame, through the induction ceremony in Cooperstown a couple of weeks ago. He was, put simply, the greatest pitcher I have ever had the privilege to watch on any regular basis, even if my knowledge of baseball at the time he was at his peak was not sufficient to fully appreciate the majesty of what I was witnessing. I mean, like, is 20 strikeouts in a game good, or what?  Catching some of his work today on FSAZ, it remains true art, like watching any master at the top of their game.

This will be the second retirement ceremony I've been to at Chase, as we were there when Luis Gonzalez's #20 was retired a few seasons ago. Sadly, Mrs. SnakePit can't make it today, but I'm hoping to see a few people up in the Draft Room at Chase before the game. I will, as usual, be wearing the white AZ SNAKEPIT.COM shirt, #17. No opportunity for shameless self-promotion left unspurned. I'm sure it's going to be packed, but fingers crossed, we can find a small corner and chew over the state of the D-backs, the recent flurry of trades, and any other questions that come to mind.

Here's one for the preview, which is going up ultra early, since I want to be sure we have everything lined up nicely before leaving for the park! Who do you think will be the next Diamondback to get their number retired, and what year will that be? Goldie would seem the obvious choice, but any other thoughts? And if you do go with Mr. Goldschmidt, we could be talking 2030 or later, since he is still only 27 at the time of writing Yes, this afternoon will likely be the last chance we get to see a number being retired at Chase Field for the best part of a generation...