Snake Bytes, 8/23: Olympic Goldschmidt laps the bases

Recaps

As an aside, it's kind of a sad day when, even though it was a home game, AZCentral uses an utterly generic AP recap for their coverage of the contest.

[Arizona Sports] Paul Goldschmidt walks off D-backs against Braves - The two worst teams in the National League attracted the third-smallest crowd to Chase Field this season. Those that were in attendance Monday night were treated to 17 runs on 28 hits with 14 runners left on base and eight pitching changes all wrapped together in a tight three-hour, 18-minute package of a game. In the end, many of the 15,789 fans left happy as the Arizona Diamondbacks won, 9-8. The difference: Paul Goldschmidt’s leadoff home run in the ninth inning, sending the D-backs to a walk-off victory to open the homestand and four-games series with the Atlanta Braves.

[FOX Sports Goldschmidt caps Diamondbacks comeback with walk-off HR to beat Braves - This was Goldschmidt's fourth career walkoff homer and sixth game-ending hit. "The tendency in a tie game or extra innings is try to hit home runs. We have played some extra inning games and that has just not worked out for me and I'm sure for most guys," Goldschmidt said. "It's nice not to have to take home a moral victory, get an actual one."

[dbacks.com] Chip Hale impressed by D-backs' determination - "I've said it all year: They've battled," Hale said. "We've gone through some tough times, we've fallen behind, I've never thought they've given up. I always tip my hat to them. When you come back and win a game, it means a lot. It gives you confidence that you can do it. We have battled back, but we haven't battled back to win a lot of these games. We've kept it respectable or got it close, so it's nice to get a win out of this."

Team news

[Today's Knuckleball] D-backs Mulling Changes As If That's The Answer - It is not win or else around here. It is win and else. The D-backs have a nice nucleus around rotation arms Greinke, Miller (he will be better) and Robbie Ray, infielders Paul Goldschmidt, Jake Lamb and Jean Segura, and outfielders Pollock and Yasmany Tomas, even if his best position is probably DH. They will be better next year. The front office deserves a chance to take that step with them. Constant change does not demonstrate a commitment to win. It demonstrates a rashness that inevitably leads in the opposite direction.

[HardballTalk] Tony La Russa’s last stand - Or, on the other hand... "I do know, though, that the Diamondbacks are in a worse place now than they were a year or two ago. And that someone will ultimately be held responsible for that. I suspect it will be La Russa and his underlings. I wonder if he’ll respect or acknowledge his dismissal if and when it comes. I suppose it depends on who communicates it to him."

[AZ Central] Pollock nearing return from disabled list - Pollock is at Triple-A Reno, the third stop on a minor-league rehab assignment that began on Aug. 5. In 10 games in rookie ball, High-A and Triple-A, Pollock is a combined 13 for 30 (.433) with three doubles, two homers, seven walks and one strikeout. He had a scheduled day off on Monday. "He just looks free and easy," said Hale, who has watched Pollock play on video. "I saw him steal a base, run a ball down in the gap. Swinging, he’s been fine the whole time."

[Dbacks.com] Herrmann's rehab set to restart - Catcher/outfielder Chris Herrmann (right hamstring strain) said he is scheduled to resume his rehab assignment on Thursday. He played just one game in the Arizona Rookie League on Aug. 15 before he felt some discomfort, which paused his rehab. Herrmann is unsure whether he will go back to the AZL or play for Reno. "It's feeling a lot better now, so hopefully this time around it'll be ready to go," Herrmann said. "Hopefully I'll be ready to go in September. That's when they really want me to start playing again."

[AZ Central] Miller looking like ‘Shelby of old’ - In seven starts since his demotion, he has a 3.52 ERA with 51 strikeouts and eight walks in 46 innings. The numbers look even better when looking at his past four outings: 2.54 ERA, 31 strikeouts and three walks in 28 1/3 innings. "(General Manager Dave Stewart) and I have had many conversations about it," Nevin said. "It’s going to happen when we all feel it’s the exact right time for it. It doesn’t mean it has to be five days from now. I think the more confidence he gets here, the better he throws here. I would have no problem sending him back there."

[Inside the 'Zona] A Game of Adjustments for Brandon Drury (and Everyone Else) - Brandon Drury is finding his way in that game right before our eyes, and whether he ultimately succeeds or not is unclear. What we can take solace in for now is that he’s willing to adapt and adjust. Should he figure out a strategy that pays consistent dividends for him, it won’t last long before pitchers switch it up again and the whole cycle repeats. The only constant is change, it seems, and while that has to be frustrating for players, it makes baseball the sport we all love.

[Fox Sports Arizona] Fourteen months after he was the Arizona Diamondbacks No. 1 pick, Dansby Swanson returns to Chase Field ... as a member of the Atlants Braves.

And, elsewhere...

[providencejournal] For Brad Ziegler, collecting baseball cards a serious passion - Any lingering doubts you may have about the sincerity of his hobby and the seriousness with which he pursues his collection will disappear when you find out where he stores it. "I can't tell you — seriously," Ziegler said, disclosing only that it resides in a "very secure" location. "Only our close friends get to see it... Now I'm very specific: I only collect Hall of Famers. That way, there's no conflict of interest ever on the field or anything like that."

[StarTribune] Is there a place to set the pace of a baseball game? - Through Sunday, the average game time in the majors was 3 hours, 12 seconds. Last year, the average game lasted 2:54:0. The increase of some six minutes per game has set off alarms at MLB headquarters in New York, since the league has implemented pace-of-play rules in recent years. So Manfred wants a pitch clock. "I would," he said, "because there’s no temporal assigned to that."

[Deadspin] How To Get By In The Minors On $1,500 A Month - Matt Paré, a 26th-round pick in the 2009 draft who’s currently catching for the Augusta GreenJackets, tracked his spending for one week recently. It was a representative one, during which he played three days at home and three days on the road, and had one off day. Here’s what we learned.