Today’s Lineups
Getting this thread up an hour earlier than normal, so we can use it follow along the Rays-Phillies game which, of course, is key to proceedings here. The Philadelphia magic number is two, meaning that if the Rays sweep them, we can afford one loss. Or if we sweep San Diego, we can afford the Phillies to win one. I think I’ve got that right. Card subject to change, as they say. Right now, that game is in the fifth inning, and the Rays are 2-0 up, which is good. There’s no doubt the pressure will currently all be on the Phillies, and if results today go as we hope, that is only going to increase over the remainder of the weekend.
Roster moves
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ active roster is at 28 and the 40-man roster is at 40.
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Recalled from Triple-A Reno: RHP José Cabrera
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Placed on the 15-day injured list: RHP Corbin Burnes (right shoulder inflammation; retro to Sept. 22)
There’s no doubt that Burnes’s results since coming off the IL had not been what we hoped to see. The bar for an improvement was quite low, but a 7.84 ERA across 10.1 innings was below even that. While I’m sure there is enough legitimate cause for concern to pass the scrutiny of MLB’s physicians, it’s certainly true that the D-backs could not afford any implosions with their post-season hopes so slim. Though they had won all three of Corbin’s outings, it was very much a case of “despite” not “because”, the offense averaging seven runs per game. It looks likely to be a bullpen game tomorrow, so hope Brandon Pfaadt can give us six frames or more tonight.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it, even though it causes Twidiots’ heads to explode. The current landscape is so utterly skewed towards the Dodgers, with revenue 50% more than any other team in the division, and 129% more than the D-backs. This is “competitive balance”, according to Manfred. In reality, it’s no surprise they’ll have won the last five divisions in a row, by an average of eleven games, if the current standings hold. Under those circumstances, all the D-backs can realistically hope for, is to compete for a wild-card spot. And here we are, 160 games in and still competing for a wild-card spot. Can’t ask for more than that.
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