Record: 23-29. Pace: 72-90. Change on last year: -5.

With MLB.tv absoultely refusing to work for me tonight, I had to treat this game as if I were from the olden days, days when Warren G. Harding occupied the White House. See, it's funny because I was born when Clinton was in office, so the idea of only listening to a game of baseball bothers me (although I did it a few times last season). Call me spoiled. Anyway, a game with the Padres is not one I'm particularly interested in, for a few reasons. They don't bring the intrigue of seeing another team's lineup that we'll only play a handful of times this season, there's no intense rivalry like the ones with San Francisco or Los Angeles, and they're not competent like the Rockies. They're just... the Padres. The San Diego "Only Team in Major League Baseball Without a No-Hitter"...s. So, if you didn't watch this one either, click through, hit the jump, and see how things played out.

- Wailord, before the eighth inning on Friday night

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Oh, dear. Had BattleMoses not reminded me over Skype that the recappers were doing their best Dan impressions and taking over for the Minor League recaps, you may very well have never been able to read this. Wouldn't that have been tragic? A world without your morning Minors lines - is it really a world worth living in?

Snakelet of the Day:
Tyler Skaggs (Double-A)- 6IP, 2H, 0ER, 1BB, 4SO

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Record: 21-26. Pace: 72-90. Change on last year: -2.

Well, we did it, guys. I had to recap a game, and we won it. It wasn't the standard, slow-paced, three-run affair that one might expect from a Major League Baseball game. It wasn't the sparkling Zack Greinke start that many may have looked for; however, it wasn't a continuation of awesomeness from Wade Miley. Both starters entered the game 5-1, and the pitcher's duel was a duel in the sense that the two "dueled" to see who could suck less and stop hemorrhaging runs quicker. Wade Miley won the affair, and the Diamondbacks won the game, marking just the second home Saturday game that we've actually taken, the first being the second game of the season; we beat San Francisco 5-4. Hit the jump to see how this one played out - and, for once, I'm excited to hit the jump to type out the rest.

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Record: 18-23. Pace: 71-91. Change on 2011: 0.

7-8. 2-3. 2-3. 3-4. 2-5. 3-7. No, those aren't the Vegas odds of Willie Bloomquist leading off a baseball game with an out (in fairness, he led off with a single today). Those are the scores of the last six Saturday games for the Arizona Diamondbacks, the six games that I've recapped here on the SnakePit. All of them were losses, contests we dropped to teams like the Rockies, Braves, Marlins, Mets, Giants, and Royals. At least there's some nice variety in there, right? I figured that going into a game against Kansas City -- especially one with Ian Kennedy on the hill, regardless of whether or not it was the 2011 or 2012 edition - would result in a win, and I'd have to start thinking up creative introductions. Nope, we lost once again, and I can use this space to convey my confusion and disappointment. I've recapped over 25% of the team's losses this season. Bam.

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So, I swears it, I'm writing this intro before watching this game. I've got Notepad opened and I'm tap-tap-tapping away, being diligent and getting ahead on the recap so I can publish it quicker. "But wait, Wailord, one cannot recap a game that one has not seen!" Yeah, sure, but it's Saturday, which means I can name a few things that will happen. We'll probably lose, and it'll probably be by one run. I'm beginning to think it's a curse. Maybe next week I'll swap for a different day to avoid this unfortunate outcome. Hit the jump to see what actually transpired, and pretend you didn't read the title that'll probably have the score. (Note from the future: title credit to BattleMoses)

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Record: 14-14. Pace: 81-81. Change on 2011: +1.

Ah, Saturday, my fine day of recapping. The day on which, as with every game I've covered, the Diamondbacks have failed to capture a victory. Actually, every Saturday game has been decided by a run, with the only win coming from a 5-4 victory on May the 7th over San Francisco. I happened to be at a video game tournament that day (priorities), so I've failed to write about a Diamondbacks win since... actually, September 24, 2011, where we clobbered San Francisco by a score of 15-2, clinching our spot atop the division. I've had to pay back the baseball gods ever since. Hit the jump to see how this one played out.

(Note: my writing may become increasingly cynical as these one-run Saturday losses continue).

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Ouch. For the second consecutive Saturday (yes, my baseball world revolves the days on which I recap), the Diamondbacks were delivered a very swift punch to the stomach. As with last Saturday, we entered the bottom of the ninth with hopes of winning and left the ninth with a heartbreaking loss. There was a pretty poorly played start to the game, there were questionable managerial decisions, and there was a very disappointing end. What's not to want to read about? Hit the jump, once again, and relive some Saturday sadness. Hey, at least we get to see Patrick Corbin pitch in less than 48 hours.

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I'm not saying it's time to panic yet, but after the Diamondbacks lost their fourth fifth straight game tonight, it's safe to say fans are concerned. Last night's 10-2 9-1 loss to the Braves was only the Diamondbacks' first second loss of the season by more than one run, and the team was so sorry that they chose to lose by 8 runs felt so out of place that they reverted to their one-run losing ways again tonight. Before I even get to the rest of the game, let me say that they should feel free to lose by fewer than 8 runs win tomorrow. Winning a few more after that would be great too.

- snakecharmer in yesterday's recap, my edits in bold

Lazy recap intro, or resourceful? Hit the jump to see how it all played out tonight. That is, assuming that you're cool with reliving losses or optionally experiencing them for the first time. At least Saunders was good. And we aren't the Red Sox.

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Record: 5-3. Pace: 101-61. Change on last season: +1.

With this being my first recap of the 2012 campaign, I went in hoping that Josh Collmenter would deliver his first solid start of his 2012 season. This, of course, being his second of the year, after his six-run (five earned), three-inning no-decision against the Giants last Friday. We weren't sure if the game would start at all initially, with rain pouring down in Denver, but after a quick fifteen minute delay, the game was underway. Would Collmenter quiet the haters, and prove that his first start was an off-game, solidifying his spot in the Arizona rotation? We found out pretty quickly that the answer to those questions is no, by the way. It may not have been bad enough to remove any chance of the Tomahawk starting again, but it certainly didn't improve his chances. Luckily, nature happened and forced a 70-minute delay to make the game far more interesting - hit the jump and see how we fared.

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So we've come to the end of the regular season. More importantly, though, we've come to the end of Season 2 of 'Pit Your Wits, bringing us to the final leaderboard. I'll quickly knock out the winners of last week to save the meat of the post for the winners: last week, blank_38, piratedan7, freeland1787, Nonpartisan, BulldogsNotZags, DeDxDbacKxJroK, CaptainCanuck, Swag11, and frienetic received bonus points for participating (one each), with frienetic taking home the gold, correctly predicting three of the scores. Nonpartisan took the lone silver, guessing two scores correctly, with JroK, blank, and Swag all guessing one. The 3/2/1 points were awarded accordingly, and after being added to the leaderboard, I've produced the below. Hit the jump to see who's taken Season 2 - and, remember, the winner of the season will get something from Jim's grab-bag of "Dbacksmabilia". Gogogo!

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A few days ago on Twitter I was mulling over whether or not I'd want to recap the game in which we clinched the NL West. On one hand, I'd get to recap a pretty important moment, but there'd be a tiny bit of pressure to make it not terrible. After we took it last night (woot!), I wondered what it'd be like to recap a game that didn't matter a whole lot (like 2010, Wailord...). Well, after witnessing tonight's "game", maybe semi-meaningless games can be entertaining. Milwaukee won today, so we gained no ground in the race for home field, but that's more of a footnote at the bottom of tonight's stomping of San Francisco. In case their hearts weren't thoroughly torn apart yesterday, Ian Kennedy and the offense made sure to get the job done today. The short description of the game: the Giants got owned. The more drawn out version can be found below.

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Edit: Jim's replied saying that a random prize goes to first place of the season, so if you're in contention, click through and see if you're eligible! Tie-breaker will be based on most golds, then most silvers, bronzes, and finally bonus points.

Ah, the penultimate 'Pit Your Wits. Penultimate's one of those words I learned a while ago and I try to use whenever possible, so I'm semi-pleased with the current situation, even if it means my li'l old column is growing up and moving out for the rest of the year in just a week. Until then, though, I'll savor the moment. Hit the jump to see the results for last week's challenge (with the stats for each pitcher, too, at no added cost!) and the new leaderboard. Someone who'd chilled in the middle rungs of the 'PYW ladder now sits in first, so it appears that we may have an interesting final week. Also, if you aprticipate this week, you get a point just for being awesome, so click through, dangit. See you there, homes.

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Record: 87-65. Pace: 93-69. Magic Number: 6.

Hmm. My initial thought heading into this game was that we had a solid chance, mostly because a) we played the Padres, b) the games are becoming increasingly important with each Arizona loss and San Francisco win, and c) we played the Padres. In my mind, the only thing to really worry about was whether or not the awesome Josh Collmenter would show up. Turns out I should have been more concerned with whether or not the offense paid a visit to Petco tonight, as the answer became readily apparent. Wade LeBlanc, he of the 5+ ERA, held Arizona's offense to just a single run and four hits over six innings. The only run was a one-out solo shot from Aaron Hill (which, granted, was nice to see) in the first inning. Taking that into consideration, LeBlanc threw nearly six shutout innings against us throughout the rest of his night. This... should definitely not become a thing. Neither should the losing. San Francisco and Milwaukee won today, by the way. Hit the jump for a more expanded version of the sadness.

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Another Thursday, another week of 'Pit Your Wits. I'm still not entirely sure if this "column" will continue into the playoffs. I'd wager not, as there should be a large amount of content, but I'll need to double check and see if there's still an open slot on Thursdays. I'd be down for ending the season at the end of the regular season if it means we'll get some playoff baseball in Arizona. Perfectly content. Anywho (I hate that word, mostly because it doesn't exist), go ahead and hit the jump. You can see the three winners of last week's reccing contest (and someone who earned a bonus point...) and check out the challenge.... as always. Gogo.

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Record: 85-61. Pace: 94-68. Magic Number: 8.

Continuing with the 2001 World Series theme, the Diamondbacks again sported the purple-and-teal on Saturday night, a night that filled Chase Field with promises of a replica ring. The 48,017 in attendance looked to see their team take its fifteenth consecutive home contest on the arm of Wade Miley, and while Miley's pitching wasn't solid, it was good enough. The Padres led most of the way. The Diamondbacks were in a tough spot heading into the ninth inning. Then again, these are the 2011 Diamondbacks.

The players took the anniversary thing a little bit further. Facing one of the best most well-known closers in baseball, the Diamondbacks lit some ninth inning fireworks to force extras and ultimately downed the Padres 6-5. You can blame Bud Black for not being incredibly bright. If you're a Padres fan, you can also comfort yourself by realizing the season's over anyway. Though, at the SnakePit, we're now following a team vying for the World Series. This whole winning thing is pretty cool. Getting used to it. The Magic Number stands at eight, meaning we could conceivably own our spot in the playoffs on Wednesday night. It would require a Giants loss tomorrow against the Dodgers and a Padre sweep over San Francisco, but the fact itself is awesome. We're nearing October and there's plenty of baseball to be played.

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Egads, almost forgot to put the finishing touches on this week's post. It sat near-completed in a tab all by its lonesome for most of today, all challenge-less and pathetic. Not too much of a write-up for the results of last week, but it's there. The standings are also updated and it appears there's been a bit of a shakeup at the top, with someone dethroning the user that's spent much of this season atop (if not the entire season... not entirely sure). Exciting, isn't it? I thought so. We're getting towards the latter half of this season of 'PYW, so it's interesting to see the top still not solidified. Is that enough incentive to participate this week?

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Record: 79-60. Pace: 92-70. Magic Number: 18.

It's really nice being in the driver's seat. We're done with the whole "well, yeah, but they won, too". It's all on us right now, and we've been given a three-game set against San Francisco to close this season out. That phrase still weirds me out - how are we the ones closing the season out on top? I'm not going to get ahead of myself, so I'll simply state the situation that we're looking at: before tonight's game, we were up five games with two more against San Francisco (in their own place) and just 24 games left in total. San Francisco and its fans know that a sweep of this three-game set is a must if they wish to contend. After taking one last night off of Joe Saunders, the collective hope of Giants Nation probable went up ever-so-slightly; after all, they were two games away from "getting back into it". They'd have Tim Lincecum on the mound the next night, and the magic could be there again.

Well, it wasn't. Ian Kennedy and Paul Goldschmidt showed the city San Francisco who exactly leads the NL West and why. It's the team that was supposed to be in the cellar in 2011. Now it's the team that's six games up.

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I always save these introductions for last when writing these posts, and by the time I get here, I end up running out of ideas. It's especially bad, too, because the introduction is what needs the most "fluff", as it looks sorta lame with a massive banner and about three lines of text beneath it. It's even worse when I'm in a crunch for time, so I'll go ahead and wrap this up. This week's challenge is a wee bit simple, but you can find it after the break nonetheless. Of course, the results for last week (one of you guys nailed all six!) and the leaderboard reflecting the challenge can be found after the jump as well. That's about all the fluff I can think of. Also, go Aaron Hill. Woot. 

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Record: 74-59. Pace: 90-72. Magic Number: 27.

We headed into this game three games up on the Giants, looking to take our fifth consecutive contest. It was against the Padres, which is always nice for a team in the playoff hunt. We took care of the Nationals, and we took care of the Friars pretty handily the night previous -- could we lower our magic number and take another one from San Diego, even with Joe Saunders on the mound? After all, Aaron Harang is just a *winner*, holding a totally zomgawesome 12-3 record (with an ERA nearly identical to Joe's). Well, you should have stopped me at Padres, 'cause our Magic Number's down to 27 (as of writing). Hit the jump to see how tonight's events unfolded, this time with a couple of pictures for some added clarity. It's a deal you can't pass up, folks.

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With school fast approaching, I fear this is the last 'Pit Your Wits for some time that will be able to be written at 5AM. Well, the only one I can write at five that comes right before sleep. I'll figure out some way to do it during one of my classes at school, 'cause if there's anything I can do in life, it's procrastinate like a true champion. Anyway, I can't put off actually writing this post much longer, so I suppose it's high time to move onto tabulating scores and such. Hit the jump to see the results for last week's Trevor Bauer challenge, the standings, and the next challenge. Then, I can sleep. Gogo.

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Record: 69-57. Pace: 89-73. Change on last year: +20.

This seems to be a recurring theme here at the 'Pit. It's always nice to have the whole "San Francisco's doing terrible" thing to fall back on, but it's not as nice when the same can be said for us. Today most notably marked the first career Major League start for one Wade Miley, and unfortunately, it was, erm, "one to forget". We're now down two games to nil in this three-game series with Josh Collmenter on the hill tomorrow. Deetz on the game after the jump, but if you were looking to read a more uplifting recap of a game, you may find yourself a bit happier over with the McCoven. As an added bonus, the Giants lost to the Astros. Again. And they're a game away from a sweep. Wait, this is a Diamondbacks website? Forgive me if I do what I can to bring some happiness to today...

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Hey, look, a vaguely significant number in the title. This calls for some sort of celebration or something. Or, I can say without permission that SPF4.2 was preemptively celebrating this occasion. I'll go with the latter. Anywho, a lot of points to be had for everyone this week, which is nice for the leaderboard. It's best when there aren't five thousand people with identical scores. Actually, I'm writing this intro before actually scoring it (thanks to BattleMoses for assisting with the scoring, by the way), so there may very well be five thousand with the same score. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Leaderboard, etc, challenge, all that jazz where you'd expect it.

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I guess the whole promptness deal with writing this column the day before is out, as it's approaching 7AM, I'm still up, and as I was about to fall sleep for the "day" (?)  I remembered that there's a contest to be ran. Whoops. Anyway, all that matters is that I'll get this posted today, so you guys can all see this week's challenge, the relatively saddening results of last week's, and of course, an up-to-date leaderboard. See you guys there, post-jump.

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Record: 61-52. Pace: 87-75. Change on last season: +17.

So, we entered today's game knowing that a victory would mean sole possession of the NL West throne, as the Giants fell once again to Philadelphia. Joe Saunders (who's earned, as of late, the right to go without criticism) went toe-to-toe with Los Angeles' AA call-up Nathan Eovaldi. Unfortunately, the baseball gods decided to skew some BABIP numbers in the favor of the Dodgers, and the hits piled up a bit too quickly for our offense to keep up with. It wasn't an especially bad outing from Joe Saunders, but the loss looks all the same on the scoreboard and in the standings. Some poor defense and offense badness were culprits as well -- hit the jump for the details. Hey, we're still just a half-game back.

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Hola, todos! I don't have a ton of time to write an introduction out, so a lot of this is filler so it doesn't look weird underneath the sizable banner above. We have the results for each of the five questions last week, who did well (someone nailed all five, hurrah), who didn't, and how the leaderboard looks. One user's already out to a pretty commanding lead this early on, so read on and see where you stack up. That, and this week's contest. Oops, not enough filler. There, that should do. Almost. 

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Record: 54-47. Pace: 87-75. Change on last season: +17.

It's not every day that you get to thoroughly demolish your opponent in this game, especially when you get to ration it out over the entire game. When it's against a division rival -- let alone one that sits just a handful of games below you in the standings -- it's all the sweeter. Today, however, was one of those days. It was our first win with a margin of victory greater than eight since May 30th against the Marlins, but I'd have to say this one was a little bit better. Josh Collmenter was just fine (though I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop... sometime), but the true highlight of the night was the offense. It's nice to be able to say that, too: Willie Bloomquist, Gerardo Parra, Justin Upton, Miguel Montero, and Collmenter all had multi-hit games, while Upton and Montero combined for eleven RBIs. That's a lot of italics for an introduction, guys. There's even a bold. Hit the jump (pretend a Rockies pitcher threw it, it'll be easier) for the deets. Yes, deets.

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Good afternoon, everyone. It's hard to interject too much happiness in these trying times (ok, maybe that's a little bit dramatic), so I'll keep it short and to the point today. Remember, the leaderboard reset, so we have results for the season-at-a-glance challenge last week as well as a new one for this week. You'll also see I put last season's champ in the banner, marking the quickest turnaround for something I said I'd do. Small victories. Anyway, hit the jump, etc, etc. Only a small bit of sadness, I promise.

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