AZ Snake Pit - Game #18: Diamondbacks 2, Mets 5An unofficial Arizona Diamondbacks community and bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47033/azsnakepit_f.png2014-04-16T20:00:24-04:00http://www.azsnakepit.com/rss/stream/53852612014-04-16T20:00:24-04:002014-04-16T20:00:24-04:00Diamonds 2, Mets 5: Swept at home
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<figcaption>Christian Petersen</figcaption>
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<p>Another day, another loss, another sweep. Uh, these guys don't seem to be doing too well at their jobs.</p> <p>Record: 4-14 Pace: 36-126<br>Change on 2013: -6 <br>Change on 2004: -3</p>
<p>Look, everyone. This baseball thing? I know, I know. It's America's national pastime. But so is invading other countries on a flimsy pretext, and let's be honest, neither of those has worked out so well for us lately. So, I've got a new plan. Not for the invasion thing, but for the <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Diamondbacks</a>.</p>
<p>Quidditch.</p>
<p>Look, I know what you're saying. "That's a pretend sport, there's no professional quidditch league out there." Well, I say to you, if Harry Potter and quidditch are made up, how did I just enroll to take classes at Hogwarts online today? Checkmate, non-nerds.</p>
<p>I really think we've got the makings of a good team here. <span>Tony Campana</span> seems like an obvious choice to our seeker- guy's got speed, and that's what we need. <span>Paul Goldschmidt</span> may seem like a natural fit at beater- paired with <span>Mark Trumbo</span>, naturally- but I might actually slot him in at keeper. He's shown us he can play good defense, and I think his humble, 'all for the team' attitude would make him perfect. I'd go with <span>Cody Ross</span> for our second beater. With those beady, evil eyes, he's probably already got contacts in the wizarding world, thanks to his demonic pact.</p>
<p>For our chasers, I think <span>Aaron Hill</span> is a good fit here. I see him as the team captain sort, directing traffic for the rest of the players. <span>Gerardo Parra</span> would be a great choice, too- with that cannon of an arm, he's going to be able to catch opposing keeper's off guard, firing the quaffle in from further away than they expect. And I'd go with <span>Josh Collmenter</span> as our third chaser. His over the top throwing angle will play well, and I think he'll be able to shake off the bludger, should it slip past our beaters.</p>
<p>Yup, I think we've got the makings of a good team here. Someone get some broomsticks, redecorate Chase Field, and we're in business.</p>
<p>Until then, he typed with a heavy sigh, I guess we should still talk about baseball, 'cause Jim won't let me cast obliviate on myself after this game.</p>
<p>It didn't start well, with Brandon McCarthy walking the first batter of the game to put <span>Eric Young</span> on first. Young then helped himself to second, since the Diamondbacks have been somewhat less than optimal lately. Fortunately, the <a href="https://www.amazinavenue.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Mets</a> couldn't do much with it, stranding Young on third without bringing in the run. Whew.</p>
<p>That was kind of the high point of the game.</p>
<p>After watching the DBacks offense go down 1-2-3 to <span>Dillon Gee</span> in the bottom of the first, McCarthy went back out in the second and got two quick outs... Before giving up a solo home run to Anthony Recker. Another K ended the Mets second, but the DBacks flailed at Gee again, going down in order.</p>
<p>The third inning gave <span>Eric Young</span> another stolen base, and left him stranded before another 1-2-3 inning for Gee. In the top of the fourth, though, New York broke out the bats again. <span>Ike Davis</span> led off with a single and then a double from <span>Andrew Brown</span> put two on with nobody out. <span>Kirk Nieuwenhuis</span> put up a sac fly to score Davis, McCarthy got Recker to strike out swinging, and after intentionally walking <span>Ruben Tejada</span> to load the bases, Dillon Gee lined out to center to end the inning. 2-0, Mets.</p>
<p>And then the DBacks went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.</p>
<p>Yeah, Gee had four perfect innings against us, and got the first two outs in the fifth before a <span>Martin Prado</span> doubled in the fifth to break it up. But he couldn't move any further, and Brandon McCarthy entered the sixth to run into some more trouble. A lead-off single to <span>Andrew Brown</span> was followed by a one-out double from Anthony Recker. Tejada was intentionally walked again to load the bases and set up the double play, but no luck. Dillon Gee grounded to first on a ball that deflected off Goldy's glove, and we could only get one out with Brown scoring from third for a 3-0 lead. <span>Joe Thatcher</span> came in to finish the inning, ending <span>Brandon McCarthy's</span> outing, and got a backwards K against Eric Young.</p>
<p>The only notable news from the sixth was Gerardo Parra being thrown out to end the inning, trying to stretch a single into a double. The seventh didn't offer much more, unless you're into <span>David Wright</span> stealing second against us or Paul Goldschmidt doubling. Neither runner made it past second, though. The eighth inning gave us a little hope- Dillon Gee was pulled for a pinch hitter in the top of the inning, and <span>Kyle Farnsworth</span> wasn't quite as effective. Prado led off the inning with a single, and took second on a one-out single from Tony Campana. But nothing else happened, and we went to the ninth, with <span>Addison Reed</span> taking the mound.</p>
<p>It got messy.</p>
<p>Eric Young bounced a ball back to Reed to start the inning, and Reed responded with a terrible throw to first, letting Young not only reach safely, but advance all the way to third. A <span>Daniel Murphy</span> single scored Young, and then when Murphy tried to swipe second, Miguel Montero's throw ended up in center field, putting Murphy on third base. He scored on a David Wright single, and we were suddenly down 5-0 with three outs to go. <span>Jose Valverde</span> came in to shut down the DBacks, and while he may have struggled, giving up solo home runs to Aaron Hill and Paul Goldschmidt, he still had plenty of cushion, and closed out the game easily.</p>
<p>Accio FanGraphs!</p>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2014-04-16&team=Diamondbacks&dh=0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="450" width="450" style="border:1px solid black;"></iframe></div>
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<span>Source: </span><a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2014-04-16&team=Diamondbacks&dh=0&season=2014" style="font-size: 9pt; background-color: #ffffff;">FanGraphs</a>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span><b>Outstanding: Martin Prado (+7.4%)</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span>Exceeds Expectations: Paul Goldschmidt (+4.1%), Joe Thatcher (+2.5%)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span><i>Troll: Chad Pennington (-12.5%)</i></span></div>
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<p>Special mention to Chad Pennington for getting three outs on the first three pitches he saw.</p>
<p>A pretty active thread for an afternoon game that was radio only in Arizona. JoeCB1991 led the comments, coming close to the three digit mark. SenSurround and TolkienBard held second and third respectively. Also dropping by: Airwave, AzRattler, Azreous, Backin'the'Backs, BattleMoses, BulldogsNotZags, Circa4life, Clefo, Craig from Az, Diamondhacks, Fangdango, GODSCHMIDT, GuruB, Jim McLennan, Makakilo, Moranall, PR151, Scott Howard, Shawnwck, Turambar, Xipooo, Zavada's Moustache, asteroid, azcougs, benhat, cheese1213, frienetic, hotclaws, imstillhungry95, kishi, ljones2468, onedotfive, preston.salisbury, and xmet. And while the DBacks offense might have taken their sweet time showing up, that's not the case for JoeCB1991, who took comment of the day for his simple greeting in the first post of the GDT:<span> </span></p>
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<h2 class="title collapse_toggle " style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 17px; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'Gotham SSm A', 'Gotham SSm B', Arial, sans-serif; overflow: hidden; color: #292929;">Greetings fellow masochists!</h2>
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<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 1.5; color: #666666;">Cards/Bears/Suns/D-Backs/Yotes/Sun Devils</p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; line-height: 1.5; color: #666666;">Carson Palmer, <a href="http://i.imgur.com/oMAjo7G.png" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c62030;">he goes long</a></p>
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<div class="meta" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; margin-top: 12px; font-family: 'Gotham Narrow SSm A', 'Gotham Narrow SSm B', Arial, sans-serif;">by <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/JoeCB1991" class="poster" target="_blank" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c62030 !important;">JoeCB1991</a> on <a href="http://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/4/16/5621642/gameday-thread-18-4-16-vs-mets#227570635" class="date" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-right: 8px; color: #c62030 !important;">Apr 16, 2014 | 12:37 PM</a>
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<p>So the team comes home and goes 0-6. And now we're off to LA to face the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Dodgers</a>. At least we don't play tomorrow? Keep your heads up, DBacks fans. We'll survive this.</p>
<p>I mean, personally. The careers of some of the people involved with the team, I don't know... But forget about baseball! What do you guys think about this quidditch idea?</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/4/16/5622378/diamondbacks-2-mets-5-yeah-I-think-I-will-talk-about-quidditch-today-ravenclaw-for-lifeDevin Jessup2014-04-16T18:30:45-04:002014-04-16T18:30:45-04:00Diamondbacks 2, Mets 5
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<p>Swept at home. Again.</p> <p>More struggles for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a>, as they found themselves swept at home by the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.amazinavenue.com/">Mets</a>, leaving them 0-6 on the home stand they just wrapped up. <span>Dillon Gee</span> proved to be too much for the offense to handle, holding Arizona off the base paths until the fourth inning. The team didn't even score until the ninth inning, as former DBack Jose Valverde gave us a little excitement, allowing back to back home runs from <span>Aaron Hill</span> and <span>Paul Goldschmidt</span>, allowing them to break up the shut-out with some meaningless runs.</p>
<p>Those runs might not have been so meaningless if <span>Addison Reed</span> hadn't struggled in the top of the inning, though. <span>Brandon McCarthy</span> wasn't quite a lights out pitcher, but he at least kept the game relatively close, coming within an out of giving Arizona their first quality start since, roughly, President Nixon was still in office. He left the game in the sixth with a 3-0 deficit, but the bullpen held it up, letting our offense at least have a chance to get back in it, but some poor defense in the ninth, led by Reed's error, let New York stretch the lead to 5-0, meaning the late rally attempt had too big a hill to climb.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/4/16/5622262/diamondbacks-2-mets-5Devin Jessup2014-04-16T15:00:04-04:002014-04-16T15:00:04-04:00Preview: How low can we go?
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<figcaption>Doug Pensinger</figcaption>
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<p>Well, that didn't go too well, did it? At least today's game isn't on television, so we'll be spared that. </p> <p>
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<br><span>Dillon Gee</span><br>RHP, 0-0, 5.03<br>
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<br><span>Brandon McCarthy</span><br>RHP, 0-2, 7.78<br>
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<a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> Lineup</h4>
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<li> <span>Gerardo Parra</span> - RF</li>
<li> <span>Aaron Hill</span> - 2B</li>
<li> <span>Paul Goldschmidt</span> - 1B</li>
<li> <span>Miguel Montero</span> - C</li>
<li> <span>Mark Trumbo</span> - LF </li>
<li> <span>Martin Prado</span> - 3B </li>
<li> <span>Cliff Pennington</span> - SS</li>
<li> <span>Tony Campana</span> - CF</li>
<li>Brandon McCarthy - P </li>
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<p>The Diamondbacks season, already struggling to keep up with the rest of the NL West, has now gone into full-on meltdown, with a five-game losing streak. Arizona has won exactly <u>one</u> contest at Chase Field this year - and that victory, against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">Giants</a>, was significantly helped by a blown call at home-plate, after Bochy had used his challenge earlier in the inning. We've lost seven straight in Phoenix, a streak which has only been surpassed once in team history, the 2004 team losing 11 straigh. While the issue is magnified by happening at the start of the season, it's worth nothing that Arizona haven't had any streak where they have gone 4-13, since May/June 2010.</p>
<p>So, yeah. We suck. The good news? Today's game isn't on television. I believe it was originally scheduled to be shown, but Amnesty International obtained an injunction against it, on the grounds that it should be considered as cruel and unusual punishment. There's also an off-day tomorrow, so we definitely won't lose on Thursday. Well, <i>probably</i> not, at least: if any team can find a way to do that, it'd be the 2014 Diamondbacks. On the other hand, it'll just be another day where our starting pitcher doesn't reach five innings.</p>
<p>McCarthy hits the mound for this one, and we'll see which version appears today. Good McCarthy typically shows up for about three innings, either before imploding or after bad McCarthy has dug the team a deep hole. It must be frustrating for him as well as us, because good McCarthy is actually pretty impressive, seems he just doesn't want to stick around for long enough to do more than generate false optimism.</p>
<p>Oh, well. Whatever...</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/4/16/5621156/diamondbacks-mets-previewJim McLennan