Snake Bytes 1/6: Locked In

Diamondbacks News:

Diamondbacks manger, Torey Lovullo, says he’s changing for the better

From the article: The core of this transformation centers around Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo. As his initial 5-year contract as Arizona’s manager was about to expire, decision-makers, with the ties, jackets, and the checkbook, extended Lovullo for the 2022 season. That decision was made during the closing days of the 2021 season and Lovullo immediately took stock of his responsibility.

Curt Schilling baseball HOF team preference ? D-backs over Phillies, Red Sox

From the Schilling: “If you take Boston out of the picture, you look at where I probably made the ascension if you believe I’m a Hall of Famer, it was in Arizona,” he said, via FanSided. “I grew up there … I spent most of my life there … and I think that for two years, what Randy [Johnson] and I were and did has never, ever been equaled in the game. So that was home. It was obviously Philadelphia or Arizona, if Boston is out. I don’t think I was nearly as good in Philadelphia consistently — I was hurt a lot. The fans in Philadelphia were sooo good to me, and so good to my family. I’ll be forever indebted to them. But Arizona just felt like the right thing.”

MLBTR poll: Should the D-backs trade Ketel Marte?

From the article: There may be no bigger question for the Diamondbacks this winter than whether to trade Ketel Marte. A fourth-place finisher in 2019 NL MVP voting, Marte looked to be emerging as one of the game’s best position players. An average showing in the 2020 truncated schedule registered as a disappointment, but the switch-hitter returned to his 2019 form last year.

Arizona Diamondbacks job opening

The Diamondbacks are looking for a Bullpen Catcher. Must be able to squat/crouch for long periods of time without hurting yourself. You can apply by clicking the link above.

Sod used for Phoenix bowl game (at Chase Field) donated for Fort Mohave youth field

From the article: Long before the game was played Tuesday night, bowl officials decided the sod temporarily installed at Chase Field in Phoenix would be donated for use as a sports field at a new Boys & Girls Clubs of the Colorado River facility.

Baseball News:

MLB network cuts ties with Ken Rosenthal, reportedly over criticism of Rob Manfred

From the article: The league-owned network has cut ties with Ken Rosenthal, and it is believed that Rosenthal’s past criticism of MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in columns written for The Athletic played a part in the decision, according to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.

Predicting contracts of top 10 remaining MLB free agents

From the article: Although it may prove to be some time before those players put their pens to paper, that doesn’t mean we have to abstain from taking wild guesses at their eventual contracts. Indeed, below you can find our best stabs at the pacts each of the top 10 remaining free agents will sign once the lockout is lifted and business resumes. (Do keep in mind that this exercise is for entertainment purposes only, and as such should not be used to shame us when the estimates prove to be wholly inaccurate.)

MiLB team owners split 600k among employees after sale

From the article: The 83-year-old (Gartner) thought of the idea to surprise Cubs’ employees before the team was sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings, which is part of the sports and entertainment company, Endeavor.

Gartner pitched the gesture to the club’s four other co-owners, who all were on board with the idea.

Snek Byte:

Tucson shovel-nosed snake needs Endangered Species Act protection, group argues

For my Tucson peeps: Noah Greenwald at The Center for Biological Diversity said the speed of commercial development across its small habitat means there is not much time.

“The bulk of its range and habitat is in between Tucson and Phoenix, a heavily developing area making this snake quite threatened,” he said.