Skid at a halt?
The Diamondbacks made me proud this weekend with two shut out games. True, both were at home and both were against the hapless Nationals (now at 24-34, .414), but hopefully it’s the ticket out of the skid they started. They’re going to Milwaukee now, and although the Brewers aren’t baseball’s top team at the moment, they are sitting just above 500 and certainly have their moments. If the DBacks can pull it together and bag this series, it will be a good omen that the troubles of May just might be behind them.
Of course, what do I know?
Here’s what is sure: Mark “The Teflon Kid” Reynolds put in two very solid games over the weekend, hitting and fielding with the gusto we like to see. How about that diving catch in the 9th on Saturday? Hence the nickname. Nothing seems to hurt him, even if it should. The kid can wear his bruises. You have to respect that. And unlike some players, his drama can’t be mistaken for theatrics; in the end, Mark Reynold plays every game like that Double-A kid who randomly appeared on the field one day with the single goal of proving he belonged there, and he does so hot or cold.
It was nice to see Webbie complete a game — nay, a shutout. It should help him shake off the last two starts and hopefully, will be a positive influence on him in the next few.
One of the reasons I enjoy the Diamondbacks is that their players are just a bunch of goofy guys who enjoy being goofy guys. Such things were demonstrated last week during the nationally televised (wohoo!) game again Atlanta when Web and Snyder did the line-up. It was also demonstrated again this weekend by the 1970s cop spoof that Byrnesie and Co’Jack made (to make the point that big $$ don’t necessarily equal big stats as far as the teams go) and showed at the start of the Fox Saturday baseball show (we’ll ignore the EB’s $30 mil contract at the moment). Sadly, I couldn’t find it on youtube, though I’ll confess I didn’t look particularly hard. Instead, I found this, which demonstrates similar points.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRN8g1D8L2o
In a similar note, I’m glad the Randy Johnson will be surpassing Clemens on Tuesday to for the number 2 spot on the all time strike outs record. No one’s catching Ryan, so in this case #2 is as good as #1, and also, so what you want about RJ, you know the Unit isn’t tainted by the crap that Rocket is. It’s made better by the fact that Johnson is finally becoming a human being. He’s opening up, talking civilly to the press, and being a real part of the DBacks pitching staff, contributing to the growth of the junior players, etc. It’s nice to see. I think going to New York was actually a good thing in that it put things into perspective for him. He’s never been my favorite and never will be — I have to say, I was even angry when we took him back before last season — but I think he may actually be growing on me a little bit. I no longer actively dislike him and may actually start watching his games again.