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And, to be perfectly honest, I did. Mind you, I had last week off work, and so wasn’t doing much of anything, SnakePit related. The Netflix queue was worked on. Leftover food was consumed. But the SnakePit Awards? Not a priority. However, normal service has been resumed, and so we return to the process, now moving on to the Game of the Year. For several reasons, nominations in this category are harder to come by than normal. Firstly, the reduced schedule. Secondly, the disappointing form of the Diamondbacks. These combine to give us a total of only twenty-five Arizona victories in the pool, compared to the eighty-five wins from which we could select last year.
We also lost one entire category which was usually good for a nominee. The marathon contest, in which the D-backs finally prevail after 14-18 innings, just didn’t happen this year, due to the new rules about starting extra innings with a runner on second-base. No game lasted longer than ten innings - and all three that went that long, ended in Diamondbacks’ defeats. So, nothing at all to be found in extra innings this season. But I’ve trawled the 25 victories, and come up with a list of potential candidates. Here they are, in chronological order, with the link going to the SnakePit recap for the game, to jog your memory.
- August 5: 14-run outburst against Astros
- August 6: 5-4 walk-off win over Astros
- August 8: Only win scoring fewer than 4 runs, vs. Padres
- August 12: 18-hit pounding of Rockies, eight-run inning
- August 17: 4-3 walk-off win over Athletics
- August 18: Biggest margin of season versus Athletics
- September 4: Most exciting win by leverage, 6-5 over Giants
- September 15: Blow 8-1 lead, win 9-8 against Angels
- September 22: 7-0 thumping of Rangers
- September 25: Shutout win in first 7-inning game against Rockies
That’s 40% of the team’s wins this year, so I think it should cover most of the potential candidates. But as usual, votes for which should make the five(ish) candidates on the final ballot, as well as suggestions of any entries which were missed, are welcome and should be submitted and/or rec’d in the comments. The ballot will - providing I don’t get bored and drift away or something - be out on Thursday, with the winner announced on Sunday.