Snake Bytes 4/9: Walker vs. Rangers

Arizona Diamondbacks News

[D’backs.com] Inbox: What’s D-backs’ plan for Duplantier? - How long can we expect Jon Duplantier to hang around? When will Jake Lamb be back? Will Mike Hazen look outside the organization for a replacement while Lamb and Steven Souza Jr. are out of commission? Why wasn’t Adam Jones credited with a double on Saturday when his foot came off the bag? Steve Gilbert has the answers you want!

[AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks’ Adam Jones escaped free agency perils; others weren’t so lucky - Here we are now roughly ten games into the regular season, yet Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel remain unsigned. Just what exactly is to blame for this still debated. Players argue team owners are not fielding competitive teams and are hoarding revenues. Like minded general managers may be reluctant to give a nine figure contract to a player who just turned thirty for fear of being strapped with an albatross contract. Another factor to consider is the qualifying offer system and the penalties teams face for signing free agents who rejected a QO. I’d be shocked if there aren’t significant changes made to the Collective Bargaining Agreement the next time it is negotiated.

“It’s very easy to just ask for five years at 100 and it’s public,” [Adam] Jones said. “But it’s not public what the teams are offering. What if a team offered two years at 45 and Keuchel said no? The public should know about that, too. He’s just looked at as a greedy a--hole who’s counting his money, but that’s not the case at all. It all should be transparent. These are useful players. These are winners. It’s frustrating as a player. And obviously every team can afford what they can afford. The market determines that and I completely understand that part of it. But there are certain guys where, if you’re trying to win, you need them.”

[Arizona Sports] By the numbers: D-backs enjoy strong week at the plate, on the mound - The Arizona Diamondbacks are 4th in MLB for runs scored at 61, but have also allowed the 3rd most amount of runs at 67. Not hardly what most of us would have assumed the split to be at the beginning of the season. Arizona at the plate has been a pleasant surprise, but hopefully Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the Red Sox is not a forecast of offensive struggles. Will the real Arizona Diamondbacks please stand up?

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[ESPN] Power Rankings: Who has made best (and worst) first impressions? - Still some love left to be desired for the D’backs. ESPN lists them at #20. They had the most ground to cover in the Yahoo Sports poll climbing up ten spots to #20. Definitely an overreaction on their part week 1. Still not even in the top 20 on MLB.com. CBS Sports places the snakes at #21. Their best finish is #19 per The Athletic.

[Bleacher Report] Donald Trump Cancels Deal Allowing MLB Teams to Sign Cuban Players - Leaving politics out of this discussion and strictly posting this to inform our readers. Seriously, just trust me. The deal would have allowed MLB teams to sign Cuban players under rules similar to signing players from Japan and South Korea. It was seen as a step in a positive direction in ending the well documented human smuggling of players from Cuba just to play in the United States. The current administration has informed the league that any payment to the Cuban Baseball Federation [MLB teams would be required to post for a player] would be considered a payment to the Cuban government, and therefore would not be allowed.

[CBS Sports] Orioles’ Chris Davis, with 47 consecutive hitless at-bats, breaks MLB record for ineffectiveness at the plate - This would now be the third day in a row we’ve covered Orioles first baseman Chris Davis, but golly he did it. He has now gone hitless in 47 straight at bats, a new MLB record for a position player. He shouldn’t hang his head low, though. Craig Counsell is 5th on the list with 0-for-45 stretch in 2011 and seems to be doing just fine now.

[The Athletic] ‘It’s almost like a part of you dies’: Retired players on hard choices and life after baseball - Hands down the best article I’ve ever read on The Athletic. I wish that somehow Brittany Ghiroli would have reached Brandon Webb for this story [not assuming that she didn’t try]. Baseball romanticizes the long, drawn out retirement tours of the Derek Jeters, Trevor Hoffmans, and Ichiro Suzukis. But what about those guys who just seem to fall off the map until you read years later on MLB Trade Rumors they’ve finally retired? Nobody ever cares to document those stories. For every David Peralta who was able to reinvent himself in independent ball there is a thousand other players who never made it back.

“The injuries further complicate the what-if scenario,” [Fernando] Perez said. “One of my largest regrets on some days is that I didn’t take steroids after my injury. I know players who took them, whether to get back or just get to the big leagues, who I was categorically better than. And I’ve seen some of them go on to make lots and lots and lots of money. Do I think that every day? No. But I was over there trying to come back eating blueberries. If I had taken steroids, I probably could have come back and been better. Who knows? I may still be playing.