SnakeBytes, May 10th: Brew-hoo

Published May 10, 2010 at 5:05 p.m.
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...More photos »...Matt York - AP...

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No, I got nuttin'. We get swept by the Brewers at home: the bullpen may have blown chunks, but you won't win many series scoring a total of six runs either. Here's to better things against the Dodgers in the series which starts tonight. Lots of news and analysis this morning: recaps are below, everything else - including the return of one of the best-named players in the franchise - after the jump.

Recaps

• [FoxSportsArizona.com] Kennedy deserves a better fate - "Rickie Weeks, who had a seven-hit series, rubbed it in when he stole second base with no outs in the top of the ninth Sunday. It is an unwritten rule that the team that is ahead does not run if a grand slam home run cannot tie the game. The D-Backs are in Milwaukee from Aug. 9-12."
• [AZCentral] Kennedy's effort unrewarded vs. Milwaukee Brewers - "Ian was very good, very good," Hinch said. "He's putting together a nice string of starts here. I thought he had a great game plan, I thought he executed his pitches, he battled, pitched out of a really, really tough jam without giving up a run."
• [AZCentral] Diamondbacks swept by Brewers - "Calling the series frustrating was not descriptive enough for Hinch, whose team seemed to have momentum after a four-game series victory in Houston last week. "That word probably doesn't do it justice on how these last few games have gone," he said."
• [dbacks.com] Frustrated D-backs drop third straight - "Hinch said third-base coach Bo Porter originally flashed the stop sign for Young, but sent him on to home when Drew rounded second at full speed. Drew, on the other hand, said he dug for third after seeing Young head for home."

Team News and Notes

• [dbacks.com] Pink bats are only the beginning for D-backs - "D-backs third baseman Mark Reynolds had pink shoelaces, a lot of players used pink wrist bands and batting gloves, while others, like manager A.J. Hinch, even wore pink necklaces."
• [AZCentral] Diamondbacks could turn to new faces in bullpen - "Arizona Diamondbacks could turn to new faces in bullpen, If the D-Backs do consider shaking up their bullpen, here are four candidates."
• [dbacks.com] Rosales being patient in recovery - "I have to be patient. Eight weeks means eight weeks and not four because I want it to be. There is a plan in place, and I have to follow it."
• [Twitter] Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated - "Socrates Brito, DR prospect whose contract voided by the Diamondbacks after a positive PED test, has resigned w/ AZ for less money."
• [Detroit Free Press] So who got the better of the Tigers-Yankees-Diamondbacks trade? - "As the Tigers and Yankees greet each other tonight at Comerica Park, here's how the seven players in the trade are doing."
• [D'Backs Venom] Diamondbacks’ Bullpen ERA up to 6.95 - "The Diamondbacks’ bullpen ERA has risen each season since the division winning team of 2007."
• [AZDailySun.com] Going Down Swinging: D-backs need more than luck in 2010 - "There's still plenty of time left in the 2010 season for the Diamondbacks to turn things around. But if they don't, it may be time to reevaluate Byrnes as the GM of this team." Who is this guy? :-)

Around Baseball

• [NBCSports.com] Dallas Braden almost had to school someone else on the unwritten rules - Evan Longoria tried to reach base on a drag bunt during Braden's perfecto yesterday. The piece looks back at another similar case...
• [SI.com] With perfect game, A's Dallas Braden is making us believe in him - "Teams tend not to think all that much about guys taken in the 24th round; it's a good bet that Braden was drafted because he threw a screwball. Hey, nobody throws a screwball anymore."
• [MLB.com] Perfect in pink! Mother's Day A+ for Braden - "Crime, gangs and poverty swarmed his childhood surroundings in Stockton, Calif., where he was raised by a single mother, Jodie Atwood. Heartache topped those already grim circumstances when Jodie died of skin cancer while Braden was a senior in high school. "
• [MLB.com] Mets nearly hampered by Wright's ejection - "David Wright was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the ninth inning Sunday, sparking a chain of events that nearly forced the Mets to use Jonathon Niese in left field and Jason Bay at third base...Wright has now struck out in eight consecutive at-bats"
• [Yahoo] Kershaw, Dodgers pin 1st loss on Jimenez - "Kershaw bounced back from the shortest start of his brief career with eight innings of two-hit ball, leading the Dodgers to a 2-0 victory over Ubaldo Jimenez and the Colorado Rockies on Sunday."
• [ESPN] Major league advice on how best to break in a new baseball glove - "First I'll get it wet. Soak it under a faucet, get the leather wet and let it soak in. Then I'll put it in the microwave for a minute, 10 seconds to soften up the leather and then go out and catch balls off the pitching machine.''

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Poll

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Who was Arizona's Player of the Week, May 3-9?

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• ...Stephen Drew: 6-for-15
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• ...Dan Haren: complete game, 2 ER
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• ...Ian Kennedy: 13.2 IP, 2 ER
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• ...Rodrigo Lopez: 7 IP, 2 ER

  66 votes Results

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