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Diamondbacks line-up
- Adam Eaton, CF
- Martin Prado, LF
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
- Eric Chavez, 3B
- Aaron Hill, 2B
- Cody Ross, RF
- Wil Nieves, C
- Didi Gregorius, SS
- Patrick Corbin, P
August 9 is a day I've had circled in black for the entire season, and not because it marks the anniversary of the A-bombing of Nagasaki or the Manson murders. No, it's a day on which all sane people bar the windows, bolt their doors, and find a cupboard in which they can cower, because tonight brings the terror which is Ponydome III to the SnakePit. For newcomers, a recap is on order. On this date two years ago, a Gameday Thread against the Astros was mired in gloom, as the D-backs trailed 7-1 after four. However, some deviant "brony" posted a My Little Pony image, the first of many that night, and Arizona came back to win 11-9.
Last year, Ponydome II gave us another equine-powered, come from behind win, in Pittsburgh. So, you know what tonight brings. Me, I can't stand MLP. It's sick, wrong and a symptom of everything wrong with modern life. Ok,slight exaggeration - but only slight. However, it's like Devil's Night in Detroit: I'll grit my teeth and surrender this one, in exchange for the 'Pit remaining pony-free for the other 364 days. Needless to say, I won't be around for the event. I will, actually, be drinking heavily in Tempe, until it's all over and the SnakePit is safe again for right-minded individuals.
As for the game, we haven't won three in a row since the Brewers' series before the break, but have a chance to get there this evening. The Diamondbacks do have a little bit of momentum, after winning consecutive games against a tough Tampa outfit, the second in thrilling fashion. They need to keep that going against a Mets side with little to play for, and take advantage of not seeing Matt Harvey this weekend. Gibson is attempting to keep the mojo going, using exactly the same line-up as for both games against the Rays, which is pretty near unheard of. Hard to argue: no point in changing what has worked well enough this week.
Let's finish, with a random anecdote I heard about earlier today, and which seems appropriate as the Mets come to town for a three-game series. It concerns the indie band Yo La Tengo, and the origins of their name. Over to Wikipedia:
They chose the name "Yo La Tengo" (Spanish for "I have it") in an effort to avoid any connotations in English. The name came from a baseball anecdote. During the 1962 season, New York Mets center fielder Richie Ashburn and Venezuelan shortstop Elio Chacón found themselves colliding in the outfield. When Ashburn went for a catch, he would scream, "I got it! I got it!" only to run into Chacón, who spoke only Spanish. Ashburn learned to yell, "¡Yo la tengo! ¡Yo la tengo!" instead.
In a later game, Ashburn happily saw Chacón backing off. He relaxed, positioned himself to catch the ball, and was instead run over by left fielder Frank Thomas[note, an earlier one than The Big Hurt!], who understood no Spanish and had missed the team meeting that proposed using the words "¡Yo la tengo!" as a way to avoid outfield collisions. After getting up, Thomas asked Ashburn, "What the hell is a Yellow Tango?".