Snake Bytes 7/23: Orioles Flounder in the Snake Pit

Arizona Diamondbacks 6, Baltimore Orioles 3

[D’backs.com] Ray in top form vs. O’s as Trade Deadline looms - With a plethora of scouts in the stands, Robbie Ray put on a prime showing against one of the worst teams in the MLB. Robbie struck out ten and walked only one in six innings. He gave up two solo home runs in the top of the fifth. Does Mike Hazen pull the trigger and move the lefty at the deadline?

[AZ Central] Robbie Ray shuts out rumors, beats Orioles in possible final start with Diamondbacks - Eduardo Escobar was 2-for-4 with two triples. He now leads the National League with nine, but Ketel Marte is right behind him with six. Marte had two more singles to increase his league leading hit total.

[Arizona Sports] D-backs jump on Orioles early, upend Baltimore in series opener

Diamondbacks News

[Arizona Sports] Jones focused on stringing together wins with former team in town - An aging Adam Jones burned his former team last night going 3-for-4 at the plate. He’s quietly seen his OBP trending up the past fifteen games with a .373 figure the last two weeks. Jones played for the Baltimore Orioles from 2008 to 2018. For now, he’s focused on the task at hand with his current team.

“We need W’s, man, most important thing,” Jones said when asked about there being a special meaning with the Orioles in town pregame. “You’ve got to handle business first, especially a week before the trade deadline. We’re right in the thick of it so reality, and what’s really at stake and what’s really most important for us is to come out and get some wins.

[AZ Central] Recent play forcing team to ‘consider all options’ - These are the most refreshing comments I’ve heard from the organization in the past month. The goal should always be to win the World Series or be building towards it. Are the Arizona Diamondbacks, as currently constructed, capable of achieving that goal? If not, it is time to make changes to get there.

“The belief that a .500 team is going to win the World Series, get through the wild-card format that we have and win the World Series is – I don’t think, objectively, that’s a position we should be staking ourselves to,” Hazen said. “We need to win more games … When we’re facing the teams we’re in direct competition with, we’re kind of around .500. The last month, we beat the Phillies, we beat the Rockies once, we lost to the Dodgers, we lost to the Cardinals, we lost to the Brewers. It’s not a great recipe to – it’s a recipe that is forcing us to at least consider all options, put it that way.”

Around the League

[ESPN] Power Rankings: Surging Indians, A’s and Nats reignite races - The D’backs are what we’ve seen this season, impressive one series but frustrating the next. They rise one spot to #12 at ESPN. Somehow the San Francisco Giants (#14) are ahead of them at #18 on Bleacher Report which is quite comical and disturbing. Arizona also trails San Francisco by one position at #17 per Sporting News.

[FanGraphs] The Giants Have Played Themselves Into a Pickle - The San Francisco Giants have played themselves into an annoying narrative. Are they going to find their way into a Wild Card position in Bruce Bochy’s final season? Is Madison Bumgarner going to mad dog them into contention? Say it isn’t so.

[Bleacher Report] Miguel Cabrera Is the $248M MVP No One Wants to Trade For - Mostly including this for reference in the offseason when we’re all complaining that free agents remain unsigned. You can look at the issue from Miguel Cabrera’s perspective who is strictly just collecting his payday past dues from prior performance. It also serves as a cautionary tale for those who are interested in the over 30 free agent veterans.

“I don’t know why people get mad at us. They don’t like it when we get money. Why weren’t people mad the first five years when I wasn’t getting paid? People can say I’m not worth this contract. They can say whatever they want, really. But they’re not going to hurt my feelings. I’m not going to apologize. Why should anyone be sorry? I don’t see any teams losing money. They all have it.”