Sneak Attacks on Diamondbacks

I will admit right here, right now, and for the time being quite freely, that I may have underestimated the acquisition of Randy Johnson.

Is he older? Yes. Do we have an extremely improved farm system? Yes. Do we have a stellar pitching staff already? Yes. But what we have not had is veteran leadership on that staff. And what we would like to do is continue our sneaky success against the D-Backs. Johnson provides both, and rather directly. He chided our batting practice, has multiple successful (even dominant) seasons, has been championship-proven, and comes from an in-division rival.

Today, against that in-division rival, he was perfect through his first three innings, striking out seven. Pain-free and effective; how could I ask for more?

What I could have asked for, I seemed to receive. Sandoval did get his first HR in the 5th. Frandsen and eight others went to the plate in the 6th (including Rohlinger, whom I had almost forgotten about since last year--even though he has done well), scoring an additional four times. Tying the game at 5 looked promising.

In the 7th, Rohlinger advanced to 2B and the threat was on. But Downs was held at home plate after being hit on the forearm during a check-swing, and despite a good battle he grounded out.

Can you blame me, then, for feeling a sense of justice when we took a two-run lead in the next inning because of Eugenio Velez? Velez's "need of the moment" playing not only yielded an RBI single, starting the 6th inning rally; but he also homered to give us the lead in the 8th, and finally made a stunning diving catch to end the game, single-handedly preserving a 7-6 lead with a runner at 2B. Winner; Comeback Winner. There's no question that he will be staying on in the "Uber-Utility" role this year, so far.

While I was happy for the win, the other (as-usual) news left me a bit wary for Johnson: a shaky patch of bullpen testing and more errors kept Johnson from getting the win... Please don't leave, Randy.

FINAL
ARZ - 6
S.F. - 7

The Boys Who Showed Up: Johnson, Velez, Rohlinger, Sandoval, Medders