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First, the big news today.
#Dbacks mgr Torey Lovullo says he will matchup to close out games rather than have a designated closer.
— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) September 10, 2018
#AnyoneButBoxberger? Probably a couple of weeks too late, but we’ll take what we can get. I blame the Curse of the Emojis. He has basically sucked since he had them on the back of his Players’ Weekend jersey...
By this time next week, it’s probably most likely we’ll be coming to terms with the effective end of the 2018 season for the D-backs. To avoid this, they realistically need to take three of four against these Rockies in Coors: even a split would leave their position unchanged in the standings. Things don’t then exactly get any easier, Arizona continuing on the road against the reigning World Series champion Houston Astros, and not losing that series is going to be... Well, let’s just see what happens here in Colorado and worry about Houston when we get there. Indeed, I’m probably going to take things one game at a time for the rest of the way.
Though there’s a cynical, cold-hearted part of me wondering if it might be “best” for the D-backs simply to roll over for the Rockies. Is that wrong? The logic for that would bem Colorado now represent the best bet of someone stopping Los Angeles from winning the division. If the D-backs can’t do it, then it’s better they throw themselves on a grenade and take one for the rest of the division. The Dodgers would seem to have a much easier series, facing the Reds in Cincinnati. Though the Reds did sweep the Dodgers over a four-game set earlier this year in Los Angeles, holding them to a total of nine runs. And Cincinnati just dropped a four-spot on LA in the first inning today. #YCPB
Of course, I’d rather the D-backs win the division. But it’d suck if the victories we extract from the Rockies this series end up being the margin by which the Dodgers take the West. I still won’t be watching though, holding firm to my self-imposed exile until the D-backs win two in a row. I will thus be phone only until at least Wednesday. I might be in line for an extended absence, since consecutive victories have been rare of late: only once since August 22, so over the last 16 contests, has Arizona strung together a winning streak that didn’t stop at one (Aug 29-30, in SF and LA). If they can do so this week, I’ll be impressed.