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September Baseball is an odd mish-mash of playoff races for some teams, playing out the schneid for others, and a 40-man roster to play with for all. Some people abuse the last privilege. I distinctly remember wishing genuine physical harm on Bruce Bochy in a September game in 2013 that was meaningless for both teams in their own way for making a billion pitching changes on a game I had to recap. This has nothing to do with the thesis of this article, but I needed to vent that.
But for a team like the Diamondbacks, stuck in the purgatory of non-contention, September is a time to get the bulk of your 40-man roster on to the major league team, partially because you want to use the chance to evaluate some young players against Major League opponents going forward, and mostly because you can. Of course, the majority of those 40-man call ups might be facing other team's 40-man call ups on the mound/at the plate, so who knows what you can really glean from it.
This September is kinda special to me, because of Socrates Brito. Now, I don't know if he has a viable Major League future, or if it is it's with the Diamondbacks, I'm just glad because we have a clear winner for the best All Time Diamondback (Name Category) It's fun because the name is "Socrates.", and he will take the world by storm. So much so that the Dodgers will try to copy this and find a player named Plato Sanchez.
I've been vaguely aware of Brito for awhile, and when I saw him on the 40-man roster at the start of the season, I salivated with anticipation, and here it comes to fruition, and I hope the Socratic Method(Nickname TM me 2015) becomes a piece for a contending Diamondbacks team in the future.
Also Peter O'Brien is kinda interesting.
But, there is a chance that these call ups become synonymous with names like Ernie Young and Tyler Graham, players who were September call ups just for the hell of it, and were never really heard from again. They could be like Matt Davidson, called up with a lot of promise, then traded for an overrated reliever and then flounder with their new team. Who knows? Not me, otherwise I'd have a cushy MLB Front Office job.
But it is kinda a nice change of pace to see different faces than the ones you've seen all year sprinkled in at times with your regulars. It's like when a sitcom adds in new characters in the middle of its run. Now, whether this crop of players is Ben Wyatt/Chris Treager or Cousin Oliver remains to be seen, but it's September, and you're regularly watching a non-contending team, you're already in too deep.
But mostly, I'm here for Socrates, trying to put that Philosophy 101 textbook I kinda glossed over when I took it to good use. You all are screwed. Socrates Brito is forever.