Ahhh, the National League -- where pitchers can play out their golden years without a care in the world.
Think of the NL as baseball's rest home.
Just in the past few weeks, Brad Penny and John Smoltz have reached the legendary fountain of youth that Ponce de Sabathia discovered last year in the wilds of Wisconsin.
"In reality, it's a little tougher to pitch in the American League than it is the National League," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who formerly managed in Seattle and Tampa Bay.
When Luis Gonzalez hit a bloop single off of Mariano Rivera in game seven of the 2001 World Series to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a title, he reached a hero status in Arizona that will likely never dissolve. Eight years later with Gonzalez's professional baseball career over, he may not be cashing in on that affection in Arizona.
As we near the halfway point of the 2009 season, the Arizona Diamondbacks desperately need something. Some expected them to contend in the NL West this year, but they're in dead last, 15 games behind the Dodgers and seven behind the Cardinals in the wild-card race. In fact, only the Nationals have a worse record in the National League right now.
They had hoped that that "something" that would kick start their season would be the return of Brandon Webb. Every team would miss a guy that's finished in the top two in NL Cy Young voting in each of the past three seasons. Unfortunately, Webb's Thursday bullpen session was canceled and he's left the team on their interleague trip to Kansas City to return to Phoenix.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. – The cleanup hitters in Thursday's game were Preston Wilson and Carl Everett. They have combined to play in more than 2,500 major-league games, hit 391 homers and make more than $80 million.
Wilson and Everett were on opposite sides in the 2003 All-Star Game in Chicago, but this night they were far, far away from U.S. Cellular Field. They were the DHs for the Long Island Ducks and Newark Bears of the Atlantic League, respectively.
And they weren't the only former big-leaguers on the field.
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While it's entirely possible the Blue Jays do hit a snag, isn't it about time columnists across the internet stopped doing Can the Blue Jays Really Keep This Up? pieces by now? I've seen at least 10 in the past three weeks. There are almost as many The Rangers Are For Real posts. The discrepancy in the media's faith in those two is likely due to the divisions in which the teams reside, but seven weeks isn't a small sample. At some point, you have to start giving credit where it's due.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... This A.J. Hinch thing has not yet worked for the Diamondbacks.
Hinch, who moved from the front office to the dugout to replace the fired Bob Melvin, is 1-3 as Arizona's manager. And the D'backs have allowed 28 runs in the four games.
Almost half of those came in Monday's 13-5 loss to the Reds, a game that got so out of hand that infielder Josh Wilson pitched the top of the ninth. Cincinnati set season highs in runs and hits (18).
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
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As we near the halfway point of the 2009 season, the Arizona Diamondbacks desperately need something. Some expected them to contend in the NL West this year, but they're in dead last, 15 games behind the Dodgers and seven behind the Cardinals in the wild-card race. In fact, only the Nationals have a worse record in the National League right now. 
Starting Five
