Snake Bytes. 8/2: That'll leave a mark

Recaps

[dbacks.com] Bradley knocked around by Nationals - Archie Bradley didn't possess any of the necessary traits the D-backs want their starters to have in Monday night's 14-1 loss to the Nationals. "He just didn't have it tonight -- location, getting ahead in the count, all the things that we teach," Arizona manager Chip Hale said. Washington knocked around Bradley for 3 1/3 innings, saddling the D-backs right-hander with his shortest outing of the season. He set career-highs in runs (eight), earned runs (seven) and hits (12) allowed. Every starter in the Nationals' lineup got a hit off Bradley before he exited the game -- even opposing starter Stephen Strasburg.

[AZ Central] Diamondbacks' starter Archie Bradley 'just didn't have it tonight' - "I think it was one of those outings you could get too deep into overthinking it and just trying to figure out what went wrong and why, and just kinda lose your mind," Bradley said. "I threw the ball, they hit the ball and they hit it where guys weren’t. That’s really all I have. Facing (Stephen) Strasburg, you’re gonna have to be on your ‘A’ game and I just didn’t have it tonight. So it was frustrating to go out there and give our team a performance like that."

[FOX Sports] Diamondbacks suffer worst loss of lost season, 14-1 to Nationals - "There's nothing wrong with the talent in our starting rotation. Or nothing wrong with our young relievers except they need seasoning. ... I think our guys, talent-wise, are closer to what our record was last year than what our record is now... We cannot allow this club to settle in and say, 'Hey, what's one more loss?'" La Russa said. "It's unacceptable."

[Arizona Sports] D-backs fall to Nationals in second consecutive blowout - Go ahead and add Randall Delgado’s name to the ever-growing list of bullpen woes. Called upon to pitch the eighth inning, Delgado recorded just one out, and that was the leadoff batter. From there, the next five batters reached base and scored. Pinch-hitter Wilmer Difo doubled home two while Turner tripled home two and Chris Heisey plated one with a sacrifice fly to make it a 14-1 ballgame. The five runs allowed were a season-high for Delgado, who entered the day having held the opposition scoreless in six of his last seven outings.

Team news

[AZ Central] La Russa still believes in Arizona Diamondbacks’ talent - "I think our guys, talent-wise, are closer to what our record was last year (79-83) than what our record is now," he said. "There’s nothing wrong with the talent in our starting rotation. Or nothing wrong with our young relievers except they need seasoning." [In probably related news, Arizona can be described as "unsure" whether it still believes in La Russa's talent.]

[Arizona Sports] La Russa on D-backs' quiet trade deadline: 'The ones they liked, we liked' - "The (teams) that feel like they’re in contention do most of the casting of the lines," La Russa told media at the Diamondbacks’ game against the Nationals. "There was a lot of people who contacted us with some interest, a lot of interest. The problem was that everybody they had a lot of interest (in) was everybody we want to keep. Wasn’t anything that was close to making sense based on how we evaluate our club."

[AZ Central] De La Rosa to throw batting practice - Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale estimated De La Rosa would need about four rehab starts after Tuesday before he could come back to the big-league roster — where he would return to his starting role."It has been discussed whether or not to bring him back earlier as a reliever," Hale said. "He just was so good as a starter for us that, we have to see obviously how he is through the rehab, but we feel like he can come back and build back up to 100 pitches and help us."

[Arizona Sports] Zack Greinke close to rejoining Diamondbacks - He is scheduled to make a rehab start Wednesday with the Triple-A Reno Aces and if it goes without a hitch, Greinke could be in line for a return to the majors. He is expected to rejoin the D-backs for an Aug. 9 start when they head east to face the New York Mets. He is expected to go 80 pitches with Reno, D-backs manager Chip Hale told the media on Monday.

[Inside the 'Zona] A Fistful of Dollars: Arizona Saves Some Cash and Stays the Course - The plan for 2016 failed and in rather spectacular fashion. Arizona is on pace for 66 wins and slated to pick fifth in next year’s draft. It’s rather incredible, the amount of faith this front office is showing in the course they’ve charted. Maybe they have something up their sleeves this offseason. Maybe they weren’t getting palatable offers on the players they were willing to entertain offers for. Given the hubris the front office has repeatedly shown, it’s far from surprising that things weren’t torn down and the plan modified.

[UPI.com] Mariners claim Mike Freeman off waivers from Diamondbacks - The Seattle Mariners claimed infielder Michael Freeman off waivers Monday from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Freeman, who turns 29 on Thursday, was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. Freeman hit .317 with six triples, one home run and 24 RBIs in 88 games with Triple-A Reno this season. In eight games with the Diamondbacks this season, Freeman was 0-for-9 with two walks. In parts of seven minor league seasons with the Diamondbacks, Freeman hit .290 with 15 home runs and 255 RBIs in 716 games.

And, elsewhere...

[LA Times] Puig's time with Dodgers always seemed destined to end badly - Puig was always a step ahead of management, which didn’t know what to make of him. The Dodgers scolded him for his immaturity but also understood he was adapting to an alien culture after surviving a frightening ordeal to escape his native Cuba. He was intelligent and manipulative enough to say what his supposed superiors wanted to hear... only for his concentration to lapse once he was certain they were appeased. The lack of discipline slowly started to affect his once-unmatched athleticism, transforming him from an All-Star to the .260 hitter he was this season.

[CBSSports] Picking the winners and the losers of the 2016 MLB trade deadline - The 2016 non-waiver trade deadline is freshly behind us, and now it's time for board-certified initial reactions. Obviously, you can judge trades only on a superficial basis at this early hour, and none of us really has any idea how the veteran contributors will perform over the short run. That said, we can assess who took advantage of or failed to take advantage of deadline market conditions.

[FiveThirtyEight] MLB Teams Should Go For Talent, Not Balance, At The Trade Deadline - One school of thinking is that teams should address their weaknesses and become more balanced in preparation for the stretch run. The notion, which we’ve taken as a given around these parts in the past, is that sacrificing in some area of strength (whether on offense, pitching or defense) to plug a weakness makes a team less vulnerable in the postseason. But is that true? Certainly teams should patch up their weaknesses if it doesn’t mean taking away from their strengths, but all else being equal, balance for its own sake may not necessarily help improve a team’s chances.