Snake Bytes, 9/8: Reasons to be un-grumpy

Recaps

[dbacks.com] Patrick Corbin quiets Giants' bats in opener - Corbin showed good command of his pitches, striking out six in his 12th start since Tommy John surgery in March 2014. He did not walk a batter in the 85-pitch outing. "I think the biggest thing is trying to recover and make sure the arm is feeling good for the next start," Corbin said. "Stay on top of that. It feels like I've thrown 200 innings already this year. Just being out for 16 months and now getting into it with about 60 innings this year."

[Arizona Sports] Corbin impressive again as Diamondbacks topple Giants - "[Corbin] usually has that one inning where he struggles and they get a couple off of him. But it seemed like today, he had a little trouble each inning but it wasn’t as much of a struggle and he kept his pitch count in check. Went through six – which was great, and had enough pitches probably to start the seventh. But, at this point, after all these starts… just like to get him out of there with the shut out. He did a nice job." – Chip Hale

[AZ Central] Patrick Corbin solid as Diamondbacks crush Giants - "He wasn’t as smooth as we’ve seen him in some games where he’s mowed through them," manager Chip Hale said. "The Giants gave him a battle and had some real good at-bats, but he was able to avoid real trouble." Corbin was particularly careful with his slider, often burying it in the dirt rather than serve it up over the plate. Many times it worked – he threw 29 sliders, generating a whiff 27.6 percent of the time. "The last game I gave up two homers on sliders," Corbin said. "That was something I wasn’t going to do today."

Team news

[AZ Central] Oft-overlooked infielder Phil Gosselin powers Diamondbacks to win - "I didn’t know how much I was going to play when I came back, how I was going to do," Gosselin said. "There’s just a lot up in the air." Gosselin joins quite the crowded infield, where the Diamondbacks are trying to find time for not only him but also regulars Chris Owings, Nick Ahmed and Jake Lamb, as well as prospect Brandon Drury and veteran Aaron Hill. All six could be in the mix for time in 2016, although the team could seek to move Hill. "I think we all want to show what we can do going into the offseason," Gosselin said. "This is the last impression. First impression for me."

[dbacks.com] Phil Gosselin's home debut one to remember - "I'm not a real flashy or toolsy guy so nobody ever thought I'd play in the big leagues," Gosselin said. "I felt like whenever I played against guys that were really good, I did well. I'm not the fastest guy or have the most power so nobody is going to give me a lot of credit, but at the end of the day, I'm good enough to be here and help a Major League team win." How Gosselin fits into the club's bigger picture is to be determined. One thing is certain: He is giving the front office something to think about with his recent play.

[AZ Central] Hale urges players to finish strong - He said he’ll remind his players that the way they finish can go a long way toward how they are viewed heading into the off-season. "It’s the way people think and how we act that we’re going to remember what you did last," Hale said. "It doesn’t matter how well your minor league season went or even your big league season. If you finish poorly in September, that’s the last thing we remember as evaluators. "You have to look back at the whole season and be fair, but that impression is huge. Not just the performance but the effort level."

[dbacks.com] Grumpy Cat 'threw' out the first pitch before a D-backs game - it's not really a leap of the imagination to assume that one day every single experience will involve more cats, including baseball. Bowing to the inevitable, the D-backs invited Arizona native and celebrity feline Grumpy Cat (you know, the one that kind of looks like Ron Swanson) to throw out the first pitch before Monday's game against the Giants:

[AZ Central] Attendance, season ticket renewal slightly up over 2014 for Diamondbacks - Season-ticket renewals are being renewed at about a 68% rate, Derrick Hall said, up a tad from the 63% rate at this point last season. "If we take off next year, it’ll take off in August, September and hopefully October and then it spills over into the next year with new ticket sales and renewals," he said. Hall did say the team is in much better shape in terms of revenue, thanks to a dynamic pricing model when it comes to single-game tickets. Instead of keeping flat ticket prices, the Diamondbacks analyze several factors, including game date and opponent, and adjust ticket prices accordingly.

And, elsewhere...

[Washington Post] It’s time to get chewing tobacco out of baseball - According to the CDC, combustible tobacco use among all high school students dropped from 31.5 percent in 2001 to 19.5 percent in 2013. But use of smokeless tobacco — chewing tobacco, snuff or dip — stayed flat at 5.9 percent among non-athletes during that period and rose from 10 percent to 11.1 percent among athletes. Moreover, the researchers found, students who participated in many sports teams used smokeless tobacco at higher rates than those who played fewer sports.

[LA Times] Baseball roster expansion remains a hot topic of debate - Some teams will use those extra spots for specialists such as pinch-runners, as the Kansas City Royals did last season with Terrance Gore. In 2014, Gore batted .221 and drove in only 15 runs in 106 games at two minor league levels. But he can run like the wind, so the Royals called him up in September and he stole five bases and scored five important runs, helping the Royals sneak into the playoffs as a wild-card team. They finished the fall in the World Series for the first time in three decades.

And finally, no how bad things may be, at least we are not the Braves?

Braves last 20 G: 1-19 with a -100 run diff...1939 A's are the only other team since 1900 to be outscored by 100 or more over a 20-game span

— Keith Costas (@keithcostas) September 7, 2015

They did win again yesterday. So, woo!