Saturday Seven is a weekly lightning-round of questions delving into the personalities of major leaguers.
Eric Byrnes is more than a player for the Diamondbacks. He's an institution. He is such an outgoing, lively character that his show, "The Eric Byrnes Show," has become one of the most popular programs on the local Fox Sports affiliate. Byrnes was an MVP candidate as recently as 2007, but he suffered through a disappointing 2008 because of hamstring injuries. He's back, healthy this year. "I'm really enjoying baseball a lot more than I have in a long time."
MLB Power Rankings:Where we care what you've done for us lately when we break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world each week.
Baseball is here. Only for three days so far, but that's enough for knee-jerk reactions and our collective excitement, certainly. Are the Yankees in trouble? Will Ken Griffey, Jr. lead the Mariners back to glory? Are the Orioles for real? Are the Braves bound for the playoffs again? Will the Marlins manage to save baseball and win the National League East? What happens when Jim Thome and Kyle Farnsworth meet in a hadron collider?
Find out the answers to these questions -- and more! -- after the jump.
Everyone can have a good day every once in a while, right? I think the most repeated cliche to represent this is "Every dog has his day".
Well, let me give you another cliche, "A river begins with one drop of water". To slant that one into fantasy baseball speak I'll say that even though it's just one game, players who shined on day one of the Major League baseball season might just be starting a trend that will last a long time. Joe DiMaggio had to start his 56-game hitting streak with the first hit, right?
A lot of players shined yesterday in baseball's Opening Day. Here are ten players who are available in many of your fantasy leagues, ranked from highest percentage of ownership to lowest.
1. Hank Blalock, Rangers - Blalock went 2-4 yesterday with a home run and three RBI. Most people are waiting for some part of his body to fall off or spontaneously combust, which is why he's only owned in 52% of Yahoo leagues. Until that expected injury occurs, Blalock isn't a bad fantasy option. He does hit in the heart of a somewhat potent lineup in a great hitters park.
The Diamondbacks and Rockies staged their tribute to the Steroid Era today. Home runs were flying out of Chase Field like it was batting practice. The teams combined for eight homers -- equaling the Opening Day record -- in Arizona's 9-8 victory.
The really cool thing was that Tony Clark and Felipe Lopez (right) each homered from both sides of the plate.
It was only the second time in history that teammates have homered from both sides of the plate in the same game. On April 23, 2000, Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada did it for the Yankees.
Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.
The Diamondbacks made one of the biggest splashes of the 2007 Hot Stove season, landing ace Dan Haren in a trade with the A's. In the end, though, their offense, which is stocked with youngsters, didn't improve even close to enough for them to repeat as NL West champs.
The good news is that Haren and NL Cy Young runner-up Brandon Webb will be back in 2009, along with a cast of talented hitters who have their best years ahead of them. Furthermore, the NL West is wide open with the reigning champion Dodgers headed for a winter of major turnover.
Of course, Arizona has a few notable holes to fill before Spring Training, but it is the closest thing to a favorite the West has at this point. The D'backs simply have to make a few tweaks to return to the top of the division and the postseason.
First things first: I have all the respect in the world for Tony Clark. He's a talented veteran who re-made himself from a disappointing full-time player early in his career to an extremely valuable reserve the past few years. Seriously, just about any team in the majors could use a guy who hits 17 home runs in just 221 at-bats.
But when D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes says he wants him back, I'm confused. Why? Because Arizona's corner infield situation is already crowded, as Conor Jackson, Chad Tracy and Mark Reynolds are all deserving starters. Adding Clark to the mix simply complicates things, forcing a guy like Jackson to look over his back despite the fact that he's produced against both righties and lefties.
I can understand the team wanting depth, but I don't know why Clark would want to return, unless he values his role as a clubhouse leader over a chance to actually play. I don't know if any team would roll the dice with him as a full-time starter, but if he went to the American League, he'd at least get a chance to fill in at two positions: first base and DH. Staying in Arizona just limits his playing time and takes the bat out of younger players who need to develop.
A lot (okay, some) has been made about the Rockies' spiritual side, but the Diamondbacks aren't exactly a bunch of heathens, either. Tony Clark coined the phrase "Anybody, Anytime" earlier this year to describe his team's attitude toward winning games, and apparently the catch-phrase has become quite popular in Arizona. So what did he decide to do? Copyright the phrase, in the name of the Lord, of course. From the Arizona Republic:
"The only reason I even copyrighted it or patented it was because I have a Christian clothing line myself and that thought process or slogan would fit well with what I was trying to piece together," he said. "That was the only reason I did it, just to make sure I had access to it if I needed it."
The notion that any two random words can be trademarked kind of boggles my mind -- at least Pat Riley more or less made up a brand new word when he claimed "Threepeat." That said, if all Clark wants to do is make sure no one hassles him when he prints up a bunch of T-shirts later this year, more power to him. If the D'Backs make it to the World Series, who knows, maybe "Anytime, Anywhere" will become as ubiquitous as "Cowboy Up" was for the Red Sox a few years back.
Making history, or falling prey to it? Fall Down or Fall Classic looks at the reasons each playoff team could win it all -- or could become a mere footnote in 2007's MLB yearbook.
Opponents outscored them by 20 runs this year. They should have been 79-83 based on their Pythagorean win total. They lost a five-time Cy Young Award winner and staff ace to injury, and an All-Star second baseman down the stretch. They had the lowest batting average in the National League at .250. Their star player is a journeyman fan favorite best known for his on-field hustle. Their starting pitcher leads the team in batting average and slugging percentage. Yet despite all this, the Arizona Diamondbacks managed to win more games than any other team in the National League.
Despite having a team full of youngsters, the Diamondbacks did not buckle in the last month of the season when teams with more experience were breathing down their necks. When their lead diminished and a collapse appeared imminent, they left failure in the rear view mirror and persevered. They clinched the division with games to spare, and were able to set up their rotation for their ace to toss game one of the playoffs, Wednesday against the Cubs.
Brandon Webb will throw the playoff opener at Chase Field for Arizona, and will be available to start twice in the series if necessary. Webb has already proven this year that he can get hot and dominate for several outings in a row. If he has another one of his 42 consecutive scoreless inning streaks in him, you can pretty much pencil the D-Backs in for a World Series berth.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the days most intriguing baseball matchups
Arizona Diamondbacks (58-48) vs. Atlanta Braves (54-41)-4:40PM Est.
The only thing more impressive than the Diamondbacks current 8-game win streak is the fact that they've won their last three in walk-off fashion. Eric Byrnes hit a walk-off home run on Thursday, Tony Clark followed him up on Friday night, and Conor Jackson singled home the winning run in the 10th inning last night. Now Arizona finds itself tied with the Dodgers for first in the NL West, trailing only by a few percentage points. A win today against the Braves would not only bump the win streak to nine games, but also give the Diamonbacks their first home sweep of the Braves in franchise history. Livan Hernandez starts for Arizona, and in his last start he picked up his first victory in his last ten starts. Tim Hudson gets the ball for the Braves, and not only is he pitching well lately, but he's dominated Arizona in his career. In five starts against Arizona, Hudson is 3-0 with a 1.91 ERA.
Tonight the Diamondbacks will welcome the franchise's all-time leader in games played, home runs, RBIs, batting average, and several other categories, back to the city he called home from 1999-2006. Luis Gonzalez is not only a franchise icon, but he's also the same guy who blooped in the game-winning run giving the Diamondbacks their only championship, back in 2001 over the Yankees. Gonzo was pretty hurt in the offseason when the Diamondbacks elected to go with the youth movement in favor of the veteran, not picking up his option nor attempting to re-sign him. Apparently it's no matter for Gonzo who signed with the Dodgers instead
"I spent a lot of years there, fun years, but to be honest, I'm very happy here," said Gonzalez, "I was disappointed I wasn't in their plans to stay there, but that's part of the game. I had a great sendoff."
Gonzo had a great sendoff, and make no mistake, it's more than just the fans who miss Luis; apparently, so does current Diamondback first baseman Tony Clark's son
"He said, 'Daddy, I don't like him in blue,' " Clark recounted Sunday. "It's going to be a lot of fun to see him, but not a whole lot of fun to see him in that Dodger blue."
Awww, how cuuute. Most likely Gonzo's happy in LA because he's hitting the ball well for the Dodgers, leading the team with three home runs, while batting .313. I have already apologized for calling Gonzo the $7.5 million mistake, but hey, a fire was necessary to get him off his keister. Then again, I'm not sure what's worse, being called a mistake, or being told you throw like a girl.
Saturday Seven is a weekly lightning-round of questions delving into the personalities of major leaguers.
The Diamondbacks and Rockies staged their tribute to the Steroid Era today. Home runs were flying out of Chase Field like it was batting practice. The teams combined for eight homers -- equaling the Opening Day record -- in Arizona's 9-8 victory.
Footprints in the Snow
First things first: I have all the respect in the world for 
A lot (
Tonight the 
