Snake Bytes, 4/5: Not the Opening Day I signed up for

Game Recaps

[Arizona Sports] Hype fizzles as Zack Greinke gets knocked around in debut - The game began with as much buzz and anticipation as any season opener in recent D-backs history as new ace Zack Greinke was making his Arizona debut, but the right-hander struggled in allowing seven runs on nine hits in just four innings. Things started off well enough for the pitcher, who signed a six-year contract worth $206.5 million in the offseason, as he allowed just a lone single through the first two innings. Greinke even gave the D-backs a 1-0 lead in the second inning with an RBI single that scored David Peralta. But then the third inning happened, and the wheels fell off.

[FOX Sports] Zack Greinke battered by Rockies in Diamondbacks debut - "You really hyped it up," Chip Hale said. "Every opening day is opening day. It means no more than (Tuesday's) game. Are we happy that we lost? No, we're disappointed that we lost. But it's just one of 162. It's one game. Let's not get too carried away.." Said Greinke, "Occasionally you give up some runs. ... I honestly think the first four were maybe not perfect pitches but good hitting. After that, hopefully I don't make pitches like that very often the rest of the year."

[dbacks.com] Zack Greinke endures rough debut with D-backs - "[Greinke] was just up in the zone. You have to give credit to their hitters," Hale said. "As I said before the game, they are as good as any lineup as you are going to see in this league." Greinke struck out two and walked one. "I know I probably threw too many pitches away early in the game and didn't throw in enough," he said. "And sometimes, I'll let the other team feel more comfortable in the box. But I thought that was more of a possibility than tipping."

[ESPN] Trevor Story, Rockies ruin Zack Greinke's Diamondbacks debut - There was some silver lining for Arizona. Utility man Chris Owings started in center field for injured star A.J. Pollock and scouts clocked Owings’ run times to first base at just less than four seconds. Those are 80-grade run times on the 20-80 scouting scale, clear evidence that Owings has more than enough speed to play center field (which, before Monday night, he hadn’t done since high school) and might be able to provide something approaching Pollock’s Gold Glove season of 2015.

As an aside, it's a sad state of affairs when the Arizona Republic uses a generic AP recap - one that talks more about the Rockies - on Opening Day for the local team.

Team news

[AZ Central] Pollock set for elbow surgery Tuesday - It will mark the second time Pollock has undergone the procedure. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Don Sheridan, who Pollock believes will fix the issue once and for all. Pollock was oddly guarded when discussing the procedure, declining to talk about the specifics of what Sheridan would be doing. "I think I’m comfortable with how we’re going to attack it," he said, "and I’m confident that once we get this thing healed up and start playing it’s going to be behind me for the rest of my career."

[FOX Sports] Shelby Miller ready, excited for Diamondbacks debut - "It's a game of results. But you try to keep everything in perspective," Miller said. "You don't try to do too much or overthink anything. With the big acquisitions they made there's definitely some eyes on this team, trying to see what we're going to do and how we play. I like when eyes are on us. I like pitching in pressure situations. You want people paying attention to what you're doing. I can't wait, man. I'm excited to back in the swing of things when games matter and every single game counts from now on."

[TKB] Jake Lamb Can Pick Up The Slack For The D-backs - Lamb – everyone, really – has to pick up part of the offensive slack left behind with the injury to A.J. Pollock.- He doesn’t necessarily see it that way. "Granted, you don’t want to put too much into spring training, but you just saw what our offense was like in the spring," Lamb said before the game Monday. "It didn’t matter what spot in the order, everyone was stepping up and doing their part. I’m not sitting here and saying we’re not gonna miss A.J. Pollock, but we’re gonna have enough guys step up that it’ll help us do it without him."

[12NEWS.com] Diamondbacks face court fight with fans - Documents obtained by 12 News and conversations with top executives show the Diamondbacks don't want to leave Chase Field -- they want to run Chase Field. Outgoing County Manager Tom Manos said in a statement,. "If accepted, the worst case scenario would be the team doesn't invest enough in the building to keep it safe and viable beyond the original contract and then taxpayers are left with the unfortunate decision on whether they should help build a new stadium."

[FanGraph] The Diamondbacks Are Already Screwed - Their season hasn’t started yet, and the Diamondbacks might well be screwed... The Diamondbacks lost one of the game’s best outfielders. We might not see him all season long. This one injury could alter the course of the year, which could alter the course of the front office’s dealings. This was supposed to be the opening of the Diamondbacks’ window. That window suddenly feels awful stuck.

[Arizona Sports] Report: D-backs considering OF Michael Bourn - Rather than keep the outfielder, the Atlanta Braves decided to cut Bourn Saturday and take on his $14 million salary. Known for his speed, Bourn has stolen at least 40 bases in five of his 10 seasons in MLB. The 33-year-old is hitting .266 for his career with 31 home runs and 323 RBI. Bourn was in the fourth and final year of a $48 million contract from the Cleveland Indians. The Indians signed Bourn and Nick Swisher in the same offseason in 2013, and then traded them both to the Braves in August for former D-back Chris Johnson.

And, elsewhere...

[Gaslamp Ball] Dodgers 15, Padres 0: Let's try to forget this ever happened - "There is absolutely no sugarcoating this. That wasn't just a bad Opening Day. It was the worst Opening Day ever. It's in contention for worst Padres game of all time. Tyson Ross, the gem of the pitching staff, started rough and utterly imploded in the sixth inning. 2011 SB Nation Cy Young Award Co-Winner Clayton Kershaw was nearly untouchable, giving up just a single and a walk in seven innings." #AtLeastWereNotThePadres

[SonsOfSamHorn] Chase Utley And The Illegal Slide. Again - Chase Utley is still playing dirty. "Any deviation from the most direct path to the plate in order to initiate contact with the catcher makes a slide illegal. The catcher, as per the rule, has left a lane for Utley to reach the plate, but Utley moves out of that lane and realigns himself in a way that not only makes contact inevitable, but maximizes it, much in the same way that he maximized the amount of his body that collided with Ruben Tejada."

[Scientific American] Baseball Bats Threatened by Invasive Beetle - Scientists say that if ballplayers want to go back to traditional ash bats, they might not have that chance. The supply of ash in the United States is under threat, and with it, the iconic Louisville Slugger. The culprit: an invasive beetle called the emerald ash borer. “It is the most destructive invasive insect to have ever entered North America,” said Therese Poland, a research entomologist with the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station.