Jim McLennan
Mar 29, 2008 Nov 10, 2009 2916 21552
Jim McLennan was born in Scotland, but has been a Diamondbacks fan since before there was a team, having stared into the hole that would become their stadium, on his first trip to Phoenix in 1997. He moved to Arizona in 2000 and married Chris, a.k.a. Mrs. SnakePit in 2002, proposing to her immediately after the team won the World Series the previous year. He had to do it twice, because she didn't hear him the first time. They live in Scottsdale with SnakePit Jr, their other child, the SnakePitette having now moved out. Again. :-)
Jim started blogging in 2003, his first venture [now long evaporated from the tubes of the Internet] being called "But It's a DRY Heat..." He was asked by Blez to join the SB Nation in 2005, and his first post here followed on March 15. He would like to point out that the picture above does not reflect his regular appearance - he wears contact lenses for a start - but is probably a fairly accurate representation of what he usually looks like when he's sitting at his computer, writing for the site. He also started DiamondbacksBullpen.org, a forum devoted to the team, though leaves the day-to-day running of that site to others.
He works for a web hosting company, two blocks from Chase Field, and when not cheering for the Diamondbacks, watches more films than is probably good for him. His specialties are horror, action and SF; some idea of his tastes can be found at his other sites, trashcity.org and girlswithguns.org. Readers of a nervous disposition might do best to stay clear. He also enjoys reading, but wishes he had more time for that, travel and sarcasm.
website: Trash City
email:
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Livan Hernandez? Livan Hernandez?
Per Nick Piecoro, "The only thing we can give you at this point in the day is a fifth-starter possibility: familiar face Livan Hernandez. We’ve heard the Diamondbacks are considering bringing him back, most likely more for his role in the clubhouse and how he can help young players than for his potential performance."
"it’s clear the club needs more starting pitching depth beyond just Billy Buckner, Bryan Augenstein and Kevin Mulvey. Hernandez probably would be about as effective as those guys, perhaps providing roughly league-average production for a fifth-starter. There are a lot of other options for fifth starters -- another Cuban, Jose Contreras, is one that would make sense -- but the Diamondbacks always have been appreciative of the intangibles Hernandez brings to the clubhouse."
I'd rather see Billy Buckner in the role of #5 starter than Livan. We don't really have any shortage of potential #5's - it's the gaping hole left by the departures of Davis and Garland that needs to be filled. And Livan is certainly not up to that these days.
Elsewhere, the Mets are interested in Chris Snyder - apparently they wanted some kind of swap for their second-baseman Luis Castillo. "That initial foray proved unsuccessful. But the Mets do remain interested in Snyder."
SB Nation Awards: Rookie of the Year
by Jim McLennan on Nov 10, 2009 10:55 AM EST
9 comments
Moving on to the next in the series of SB Nation awards, we have the voting for Rookie of the Year. In contrast to the Manager of the Year award yesterday, which was a landslide for Jim Tracy, this was a great deal closer. The top four contenders all received between six and nine first place votes and it was largely the distinctions further down the rankings which decided the final victory. One thing, however, remained unchanged: the word "Diamondbacks" was not to be heard on any voter's lips, despite the decent performance by the like of Gerardo Parra in this area.
After the jump, we'll go through the ballot in detail, and throw a few reminders at you, in case you're not quite able to put a face to the name.
9 comments | 0 recs |
SB Nation Awards: Manager of the Year
by Jim McLennan on Nov 9, 2009 11:25 AM EST
18 comments
As well as the ongoing 'Pitties, we also have an SB Nation-wide set of awards, voted upon by two contributors from each site - in the case of the SnakePit, it's myself and 'Charmer. This week, those awards will be handed out: we start with the Manager of the Year today, and then tomorrow we have the Rookie of the Year; Wednesday is the Cy Young, and Thursday will be the MVP. As with the BBWAA awards, there's one for each league; for obvious reasons, we'll be concentrating on the National League awards, though will also mention the top few finishers in the American League, for completeness.
Follow us after the jump, where we'll start with the National League and American League Managers of the Year.
18 comments | 0 recs |
This week in AZ baseball: Webb returns, the 2010 roster takes shape, and an AFL Gameday Thread
by Jim McLennan on Nov 7, 2009 6:30 PM EST
26 comments
Didn't bother doing one of these last weekend, as there really wasn't enough to justify it. Not the case at all today, with a lot of contract news following the end of the World Series, and as a result we can see the first signs of the roster for next season taking place. Or, at least, cross some names off the potential candidates' list, anyway. Today is also the Arizona Fall League All-Star game out in Surprise, with first pitch at 6:15 pm. It's going to be televised, both on the MLB Network and free at mlb.com, so this post will also be the Gameday Thread for that event.
Details of that, analysis of the roster moves, an update on the latest numbers by Diamondbacks in winter ball and more, after the jump.
26 comments | 0 recs |
Chris Snyder for Lyle Overbay? Apparently not
by Jim McLennan on Nov 7, 2009 3:26 PM EST
20 comments
An interesting report by Nick Piecoro regarding a possible trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. This would see prodigal first-baseman Lyle Overbay return to the Diamondbacks. He was traded to the Brewers as part of the Richie Sexson trade in December 2003, and has been with the Blue Jays since the end of 2005. The deal is reported to involve Chris Snyder, now deemed expendable because of the blossoming of Miguel Montero. While Snyder is generally seen of as a superior defensive catcher, the output from Montero's bat is just too great to be ignored, and he will also be a lot cheaper than Snyder in the coming seasons.
After the jump, we'll take a look at the possibilities this might present, and what the trade could mean for Arizona next season - both at catcher and first-base.
[Update]. Per Nick Piecoro, "Concerns about catcher Chris Snyder’s surgically repaired back caused the Toronto Blue Jays to nix a trade that would have brought first baseman
20 comments | 0 recs |
The 2009 'Pitties: Game of the Year
by Jim McLennan on Nov 6, 2009 10:00 AM EST
1 comment
Not quite as close a poll for the second of the 2009 'Pitties. The B-bullpen of Jon Rauch, Esmerling Vasquez, Clay Zavada and Leo Rosales swept majestically to a collective victory, for their nine innings of no-hit ball in the marathon against the Padres. The same game is also nominated in this week's category.
One of the good things about baseball having a 162-game schedule is that, even in a disappointing year like the Diamondbacks experienced in 2009, there will still be contests which we remember with great fondness [contrast any 'Game of the Year' poll for the Detroit Lions last season, which I imagine made kinda wretched reading...] Arizona still won 70 games, and included among them were blowouts, squeakers, comebacks, slugfests, pitching duels and marathons.
After the jump, you'll find our selection of the five best games of the 2009 season described in detail - the link goes to the recap of the contest in question.
1 comment | 0 recs |
Farewell: Chad Tracy, Yusmeiro Petit, Doug Slaten, Daniel Cabrera (and maybe Alex Romero and Trent Oeltjen)
by Jim McLennan on Nov 5, 2009 4:05 PM EST
33 comments
With a hat-tip to Amit for the first news, a flurry of roster moves for the Diamondbacks the morning after the World Series - albeit most of them not entirely unexpected. Chad Tracy had his buyout exercised, while Daniel Cabrera, Trent Oeltjen and Alex Romero were outrighted to Reno. Cabrera has also elected to become a free agent instead, and it's possible Oeltjen and Romero may follow - ladylike weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth to follow. Yusmeiro Petit was picked up off waivers by the Mariners, and Doug Slaten went similarly to the Nationals. The 40-man roster now has five vacant spots left on it, after the moves.
Not really any surprises here. However, I'll write a bit more about these decisions in Saturday's round-up.
33 comments | 0 recs |
Brandon Webb: Should he stay or should he go?
by Jim McLennan on Nov 4, 2009 11:53 PM EST
14 comments
The end of the World Series - about which, the less said the better - means that Arizona now have five days to decide whether or not to exercise their option on Brandon Webb for 2010. It's a choice that, depending on how he pitches, could define the entire season - we saw how much the rotation struggled to replace him this year, with the Diamondbacks dropping to their worst record since 2004. On the other hand, with a below-average payroll, the team can hardly afford to take on another bust of a contract.
I asked the team here at the Pit to write about the choice that will shortly have to be made by Josh Byrnes and his front-office staff. They had no requirement on length or position, and the only requirement was that they write their piece independently, to avoid the potential of influencing each other. After the jump, you'll find all the posts I received in response - obviously, there's going to be some overlap of points, but I think these just emphasize the importance of these angles.
14 comments | 0 recs |
Dodgers' pitcher shoots self in leg
"Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Vicente Padilla (FSY) has accidentally shot himself in the leg at a target range in Nicaragua. Dr. Eduardo Reguera says Padilla has left Managua's Metropolitan Hospital and didn't need surgery.
Police spokesman Vilma Reyes said Wednesday that Reyes' pistol apparently jammed during a target shooting session late Tuesday. The Nicaraguan was reportedly trying to clear a round from the chamber when the pistol went off."
I think this sums up the difference between baseball and gridiron players perfectly. Baseball players shoot themselves in the leg when performing maintenance during a target-shooting session. Gridiron players shoot themselves in the leg when trying to catch a gun stuffed into their pants at a night-club...
6 days ago
Jim McLennan
5 comments
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Yes, it IS supposed to look this way...
What this IS
* A refresh of the current visual design across all blogs
* An effort to make posts more readable, and push text higher above
the fold
* A first step in a project to improve load time
* A first step towards a larger redesign
What this ISN'T
* SB Nation 3.0
* New features or functionality
* A comprehensive visual redesign
* Magical medical elixir to cure all visual or design issues
The techgods are aware of the fact that paragraphs are no longer thrown between comments, and this is being worked on. Please let us know any other comments, bugs, etc.
7 days ago
Jim McLennan
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