Name: Joe Saunders
Known Aliases: Bazooka Joe, Colonel Saunders, Abrananaham Lincoln (aka The Great Potassiumancipator)
Age on opening day: 29
Salary: $5,500,000
2011 stats: 33 games, 212.0 IP, 3.69 ERA, 12-13, 108:67 K:BB
2010 stats (total: 33 games, 203.1 IP, 4.47 ERA, 9-17, 114:64 K:BB

Is there any player on the Diamondbacks roster who split the fans quite so much as Joe Saunders did? 2011 was Saunders's first full season in an Arizona uniform, and the reactions to his arrival- and the subsequent expectations- were probably heavily influenced by the memory of Dan Haren's dreamy blue eyes and crafty delivery, and echoing recollections of being told that Joe knew how to win. A rough situation for a pitcher, no doubt, especially given a fanbase that was looking forward to the season with a healthy dose of cynicism and just perhaps a tinge of fear.

But we all know how the 2011 season turned out for the Diamondbacks- would Joe be that lucky? He was a constant source of debate through the whole season, but Joe Saunders didn't seem to know it was going on. He just kept his head down, pitched his game, and did his part to help the team with the division.

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Name: Ryan Roberts
Age on Opening Day: 30
Salary: $426,000
2011 Stats: 143 games, 555 PAs, .249/.341/.427, 19 HR, 65 RBI
2010 Stats: 36 games, 71 PAs, .197/.229/.348, 2 HR, 9 RBI

What can you say about Ryan Roberts's 2011 season? He was a player most of us really didn't expect much out of, who was better known for his tattoos and living arrangements in AAA in 2010 than he was for his play on the field. A utility player who barely made the roster out of Spring Training, at the venerable age of 30, playing backup to the likes of Melvin Mora. That's not a formula for a big season.

But like the team itself, Ryan Roberts exceeded pretty much everyone's expectations. Is there any player that might better represent the 2011 Diamondbacks than the Dread Pirate? Low expectations, perhaps not as much talent as the situation called for, but playing with grit and guts, and doing enough to get the job done. It may not have been pretty, it may not be repeatable, but Ryan Roberts was a nice surprise this year and did his part to help the Diamondbacks succeed.

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Name: Gerardo Parra
Age on Opening Day: 23
Salary: $426,000
2011 Stats: 141 games, 493 PAs, .292/.357/.427, 8 HR, 46 RBI
2010 Stats: 133 games, 393 PAs, .261/.308/.371, 3 HR, 30 RBI

The 2011 Diamondbacks were not exactly the team that, back in March, most of us expected to see out on the field. There are a lot of players that really exceeded the expectations that many of us had for them- Ryan Roberts, Micah Owings, Josh Collmenter. But Gerardo Parra definitely deserves a mention on that list, too. After last year, most of us weren't looking for too much from Parra. Sure, he'd shown some decent defense, but his bat... Well, we didn't have much hope. We had some pretty harsh words to say about him, to be quite honest.

But did that stop Gerardo Parra? Oh, no. Ears wasn't listening.

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When the Diamondbacks left Phoenix last week, we had a 2-0 lead in the series and confidence in our hearts. Then we suffered through three consecutive one-run losses in New York, including seeing our (previously reliable) closer give up a game tying home run with two outs in the ninth- twice. With post-season baseball being played in November for the first time in major league history, the Diamondbacks came back home, down 3-2. As the broadcast was so kind to tell us, the Yankees have been here before, and seen success- they're 10-2 in the World Series when they hold a 3-2 lead. Would the Diamondbacks falter? Should we be concerned?

Nah, no problem. See, this may just be our first World Series trip, but that means we're undefeated when we're down 3-2. Randy Johnson was on the mound to make sure we continued that trend.

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The Diamondbacks started their first World Series out well, thanks to Curt Schilling putting up a dominating outing on the mound- our pitchers held the Yankees to only three hits in Game One. But while we might have had our co-aces at the head of our rotation this year, let's be fair. No one looks at the lineup and says Schilling is our #1A starter- nope, there's a pretty good reason why the big gun has been the Big Unit. And he certainly reminded us why tonight.

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You know what's going on. Must-win game, but, hey, the DBacks have been facing that for a while now, and they seem to thrive on it.

Previews:

• [DBacks.com] D-backs, Crew set for Game 5 in Milwaukee - "But it was high time that people stopped underestimating the D-backs." Hey, if they want to keep underestimating the DBacks, that's fine by me. So long as we keep surprising them.

• [FS Arizona] D-backs have business to finish in Milwaukee - No National League team has ever come back from 0-2 in the NLDS. First time for everything, right?

• [AZ Central] It all comes down to this for Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers - Miguel Montero: "We're rolling. Hopefully we can keep it going. We feel great about ourselves, and we've got to keep fighting."

• [The D-blog] D-backs Carry Momentum into Decisive Game 5 - Averaging nine runs a game at home has to help the offense get more confident. I'm not entirely convinced Yovani Gallardo is as good a pitcher as we made him look in Game 1.

• [Yahoo! Sports] Brewers, Diamondbacks a win away from NLCS - Willie Bloomquist, on the Snake: "That’s Miggy keeping us loose and doing what he does best. It seems to help out because when guys kind of relax and just kind of do their thing when he’s being himself."

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Couldn't have asked for much better in those games. The Diamondbacks came up when we needed them, defended their home turf, and, well, they're on their way to Milwaukee for Game 5...

Recaps:

• [Dbacks.com] D-backs' thunder sends series to Game 5 - And, once again, Micah Owings with the W. The guy's a freaking wizard.

• [FS Arizona] D-backs force Game 5 with power-filled win - Man, who would have ever thought the DBacks might mount a comeback? Oh, right, people who watched them play this season.

• [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks use home-run power to tie NLDS, force deciding Game 5 vs. Milwaukee Brewers - Miguel Montero: "Everybody's been doing a little something." That's been the team's strength all year, great to see them pick it up in the postseason.

• [ESPN] D-backs slug their way back to Milwaukee - Fun fact: Rickie Weeks is hitting .067 this series. Let's keep that going.

• [Fox News Latino] Miguel Montero and the Diamondbacks Create "The Snake," Force Game 5 - I do kind of love the Snake. Especially after it looked like Prince Fielder started to do "beast mode" after drawing a freaking walk in the first. Really, Prince?

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The DBacks were lights out against the Brewers yesterday, while Milwaukee ran into a power outage of their own. Let's see if we can't keep that going with the blackout today...

Recaps:

• [AZCentral] Goldschmidt's grand slam leads Diamondbacks - Montero suggested the Diamondbacks' new thing might be have enough power to put "Beast Mode" - which sprung from a "Monsters, Inc." imitation - out of commission. Could "The Snake" kill a beast? "Probably," Montero said. "Probably has got to bite it a couple of more times."

• [The D-blog] Collmenter dominates Brewers in Game 3 win - Easy to forget in the excitement of Goldschmidt's home run is the great outing Collmenter put up. Maybe we should just call him Miller, because he just owned the Brewers this year.

• [FS Arizona] Goldschmidt leads the way in Game 3 rout - Five RBIs ties the Diamondbacks post-season record, and he becomes the second rookie to homer in his first two post-season games. Not bad, Goldy.

• [ESPN] Gibson's D-backs win Game 3 their way - " According to Elias, Collmenter is just the second rookie starter in postseason history to go at least seven innings while allowing two hits or less. As ESPN researcher Mark Simon noted, from 1903-2010, no rookies did it, but in less than a week, we got to see it done twice."

• [SI.com] Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks beat Milwaukee Brewers - "I've been in that situation plenty of times and failed more than I've succeeded," Goldschmidt said of having the preceding hitter intentionally walked. "And luckily tonight was a good night to come through."

• [Yahoo!] Goldschmidt's 5 RBIs help Diamondbacks stay alive - "The Arizona Diamondbacks put one rookie on the mound and another in the No. 5 spot in the batting order in a game they had to win. Both seemed oblivious to the pressure. Both came through brilliantly."

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Okay, so no play-in games. We know where we're headed- I'm sure the team's probably already in Milwaukee right now, getting ready for the game on Saturday...

Recaps:

• [Dbacks.com] D-backs headed to Milwaukee to open NLDS - Sorry, Dodgers, you're pretty much a footnote on the game here. But you're probably just glad to have the season done with.

• [FS Arizona] D-backs' rally falls short in loss to Dodgers - They gave it a try for another late-game rally, but didn't quite get it.

• [AZ Central] Diamondbacks to play Brewers in NLDS after loss to Dodgers - Who had "Cole Gillespie hits a grand slam in the last game of the regular season" in the pool?

• [LA Times] Dodgers' Matt Kemp has one final blast in 7-5 victory - Well, almost going 40-40 isn't that impressive, Kemp, geez... No, it's actually still pretty cool.

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Okay, yeah, final day, wild card excitement, whatever. But man... Ryan Roberts.

Recaps:

• [AZ Central] Diamondbacks pull miracle win in 10th vs. Dodgers - No better way to describe it than that.

• [DBacks.com] Walk-off slam keeps D-backs in home-field race - I mean, I like to think I'm not a bad writer. But I can't even imagine putting the excitement of last night's win into words. Just unreal.

• [FS Arizona] Roberts does the fist pump, pump, pump... - The Dread Pirate has apparently been saving that fist pump up all season. Hey, you picked a good time to deploy it.

• [LA Times] Triple crown a very tall order for Matt Kemp - Seriously, I understand that they want to focus on their team's achievements here, but several paragraphs on Matt Kemp, followed by the sub-header "Dodgers lose late" barely seems to encompass it.

• [Phoenix New Times] Dbacks 2011 Highlights Countdown Starts Here With Last Night's `Miracle' Win Over Dodgers - A lot more highlights this year than last, or even the past two combined, it seems. It's been a great season, and now let's see some more in the postseason.

• [The Washington Post] Failure to cover first base haunts Dodgers in stunning 10-inning loss to Diamondbacks - We should send him a thank you note.

• [ESPN LA] Arizona's two-out, none-on, six-run 10th unprecedented - I still can't quite even process how that happened. Amazing.

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I'll do what I can to post this- I think this wifi is transmitting via telegraph. Which is appropriate for a day having spent practicing for vintage base ball, but it is seriously hampering my 21st century lifestyle...

Recaps:

• [DBacks.com] D-backs miss chance to gain on Brewers - One bad inning from Hudson was enough to doom the team, unfortunately.

• [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks fall to Los Angeles Dodgers - Missed out on a chance to take home field advantage from the Brewers, unfortunately. Two games left, we'll have to see if we can make a move.

• [LA Times] Matt Kemp gets a bit closer to 40-40 in 4-2 win - Pfft, Matt Kemp. That dude is no Andre Ethier, am I right?

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Last series of the regular season, folks.

Recaps:

• [DBacks.com] Minus Upton, D-backs keep pace with Brewers - Even a day later, I flinch at the memory of seeing Justin Upton take that pitch. Scary moment, and hopefully he'll be okay.

• [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks complete sweep of San Francisco Giants - A sweep is always great. But sweeping the defending champs? Even better.

• [FS Arizona] Diamondbacks complete sweep of Giants - Josh Collmenter will end his rookie season with a 3.38 ERA- not bad.

• [SF Gate] Tim Lincecum loses a timid finale - And Josh will end with a .500 record, which is better than Tim Lincecum can say.

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Okay. Giants are here. We know what needs to happen. I don't think it needs any elaboration.

Series Preview:

• [FS Arizona] Today on FOX Sports Arizona: D-backs vs. Giants, 6 p.m.
• [DBacks.com] D-backs ready to seize torch from Giants

• [CBS Sports] Giants-Diamondbacks Preview

• [MLB.com] Giants likely to shift rotation for D-backs series

• [USA Today] San Francisco at Arizona

• [SF Chronicle] Giants lose 8-2 in L.A., limp into Arizona

Let's do this.

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Magic number to two. And a cruelly placed off-day. So, we wait.

The waiting is a little rough, I'll admit. Someone should write a fan confidence article on it or something.

Recaps:

• [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks jump on Pittsburgh Pirates early, hold on to take series - Just keep winning games. That's what matters.

• [FS Arizona] D-backs open the tool box to beat Pittsburgh - It may not have been a pretty win, but the DBacks got contributions from every side of the field.

• [DBacks.com] D-backs tee up potential NL West title clincher - A little hard to be focused on the win against the Pirates here, since it puts us on the edge- one win this weekend and we're in.

• [CBS Sports] Diamondbacks beat Bucs, eye NL West title - That home run from Miggy was a nice move early in the game.

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Record: 90-66. Pace: 93-69.
Change on last season: +26. Magic number:2

For a DBacks fan, this game had everything- home runs, timely hitting, double steals- and that was just in the first inning. The DBacks offense didn't bother waiting until the late innings to show up this time, battering former DBacks prospect Russ Ohlendorf early on. But would the pitching, obviously unfamiliar with this role of having an early lead, hold up?

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I just love seeing that number count down.

Recaps:

• [DBacks.com] Kennedy rolls to 20th as D-backs inch closer - There was a moment in the eighth inning where we realized Ian Kennedy had put up 10 Ks already on the game. He was dominating.

• [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks' Ian Kennedy gets 20th win in victory over Pittsburgh Pirates - Why was IPK happy to have his 20th win? "Tired of getting questions about it."

• [Baseball Nation] Ian Kennedy Posts 20th Win; Diamondbacks Move Closer To Unlikely NL West Title
   - I love that home run by Justin Upton. Usually, you almost expect the bat to go further than the ball when it breaks like that.

• [The Washington Post] Ian Kennedy outpitches Jeff Karstens in Pittsburgh’s 1-0 loss to Diamondbacks - Karstens put up a pretty good outing, too, managing the only Pirates hit off of IPK. But Kennedy was better, and that's what matters.

• [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review] Kennedy, Diamondbacks treat Pirates to loss - Also, the look on Karstens's face after J-Up's home run is pretty hilarious.

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Happy birthday to Ryan Roberts, who turns 31 today. As his birthday, in fact, falls on International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I think this should really put an end to any debates over his nickname. All hail the Dread Pirate!

Recaps:

• [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks beat San Diego Padres to cut NL West magic number to 5 - We may not have made much progress on the magic number this weekend, but, hey, every step is a good one.

• [DBacks.com] D-backs shrink magic number to five - Saunders nearly went a complete game. I'll admit that surprised me, but I'm glad to see it out of him.

• Recap [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] Diamondbacks cut NL West magic number to 5 - "We just couldn't get to Joe Saunders," Padres manager Bud Black said. "His assortment of fastballs in, fastballs down and away. We just couldn't get enough balls squared against him."

• [Canoë] - Les Diamondbacks se rachètent - SnakeBytes is now compliant with Canadian language requirements. Pas de quoi.

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Almost autumn? Please? C'mon, nature, give me a break here...

Recaps:

• [AZ Central] Diamondbacks' bats go cold in series-opening loss to Padres - Sorry, Kevin Towers. You won't get to flaunt your playoff spot in front of the Padres team that fired you a couple years back. It's cool. They're still in last place.

• [FS Arizona] D-backs shut down by Padres - Both teams only managed five hits- but the Padres managed to do more with them. It happens.

• [DBacks.com] D-backs shut down by Padres' Stauffer - A pretty good start from Wade Miley and a couple of hitless innings from the bullpen all got wasted by the offense.

• [LA Times] Stauffer helps Padres blank D-Backs - Come on, guys. It's the Padres.

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Twelve games left. That's all we have before the end of the regular season.

Series Previews:

• [DBacks.com] D-backs looking to close in on West title - Poor Padres. Two straight weeks of just playing the DBacks and the Giants. But they just need to lose a few more games to us this weekend, and then they're done for the season.

• [CBS Sports] Diamondbacks-Padres Preview - The Padres are hitting .218 as a team since August 24. Hard to believe they're in last place, isn't it?

• [Sign on San Diego] Arizona visits Petco with chance to clinch West - Well, we'd need some help. And I'd rather clinch it at home.

• [LA Times] Diamondbacks open set in San Diego - The Padres didn't do anything to help us when they were swept by the Giants. We'll just have to ask that they make up for it by getting swept again.

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Well, that was interesting. Who's looking forward to the next time the Dodgers come to visit?

Recaps:

• [DBacks.com] Emotions run high, but D-backs fall flat in LA - Again, the Dodgers only managed a few runs early on, but this time it was enough for the win.

• [AZ Central] Dodgers' bullpen picks up Clayton Kershaw, holds off Diamondbacks - The thing that convinces me that Clayton Kershaw hit Gerardo Parra on purpose is the swagger Kershaw gets walking off the mound before he sees the umpire tosses him. That's not a "whoops" move, that's a "yeah, what are you going to do about it?" walk. Han Solo thinks it's a bit cocky.

• [LA Times] Dodgers-Diamondbacks and the great angry contest - The LA Times wins for best headline on the game, and they remind us that the Dodgers and DBacks end the regular season in Chase Field.

• [Yahoo! Sports] Going inside was the right move for Kershaw  - "Kershaw pleaded. He stomped. He demanded the inside part of the plate." Uh, check where that pitch was again- he apparently demanded the middle of the batter's box.

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Quick! Before my battery dies again!

Recaps:

• [DBacks.com] Magic number at six as D-backs walk to win - If there's one lesson I'm learning this season, it's that one inning is not the game. The first inning was rough for IPK, but he recovered, and the team did enough to win.

• [AZ Central] Diamondbacks inch closer after 10-inning win vs. Dodgers - It may have been the official end of IPK's outside shot at a Cy Young, but the team didn't let it keep them from winning.

• [FS Arizona] Diamondbacks beat Dodgers 5-4 in 10 innings - 44 comeback victories, tops in baseball.

• [Phoenix New Times] D-Backs Ride Gerardo Parra F-You Homer to Sweet Win Over LA  - I just love this headline.

Elias points out that this is our second extra innings bases-loaded walk for the win in four days. Before that? We only had one as a franchise.

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You know, it's hard to feel comfortable about this season just yet. But... I'm getting there.

Recaps:

• [DBacks.com] Magic number now 7, D-backs catch Brewers - It may have taken a little while for the offense to wake up, but when it did, as usual, it did some good work.

• [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks land very decisive knockout with win over Los Angeles Dodgers -The Dodgers have been on a good run lately, but Joe Saunders kept their bats quiet.

• [LA Times] Dodgers can't meet Arizona in the middle in 7-2 loss - Odd to see Ted Lilly be so effective for so long- it always seems like he struggles against the DBacks- but at least it turned out well in the end.

• [Phoenix New Times] Arizona Diamondbacks Stomp Los Angeles Dodgers in 7-2 Win. Magic Number's Now at Only Seven Games - Seven games. Just seven...

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Almost! Almost enough of a comeback, but apparently even a seven run deficit is too much. Well, that time, at least.

Recaps:

• [DBacks.com] D-backs put up fight before home win streak ends - Well, at least they made it a more interesting game than it looked like it would be.

• [FS Arizona] D-backs lose to Padres as historic streak ends - Geez, can't even win sixteen home games in row. Slackers.

• [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks unable to complete comeback against San Diego Padres -  Really, though, good to see them try to fight back. It's all too easy to think back about how this team would have folded last year.

• [Sign on San Diego] Padres hold on, finally beat Diamondbacks at Chase Field - Until next time, Padres...

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So, if you want to get your replica ring, I hope you're reading this from in the park- lines apparently started up early...

Recaps:

• [AZ Sports] Hudson channels his inner Schilling - 15 of our last 17, and tied with the Indians for the longest home winning streak of the season. Shiny.

• [DBacks.com] Overbay delivers in eighth as D-backs rally - Appropriate for the throwback uniform day that our throwback player would get the big hit.

• [AZ Central] Daniel Hudson tosses complete game; Diamondbacks beat Padres on throwback night
  -Great to see a strong outing of Huddy. They may not be the Phillies top starters, but you have to feel pretty happy with the top of our rotation.

• [FS Arizona] On reunion weekend, Overbay reprises 2001 - I had forgotten that Overbay was actually on the team in 2001- though he wasn't on for much of the season, obviously.

• [AHN] Tim Hudson goes the distance vs. Padres; D-backs hike NL West lead - Yeah, that says Tim Hudson. Maybe this team still has some recognition problems among the media...

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Well, one ring so far- we'll celebrate that this weekend, though if you weren't aware of that yet, I hope that you're happy with the rock you've been living under...

Recaps:

• [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks top San Diego Padres, Ian Kennedy wins 19th game of season - 13 straight home wins for the Diamondbacks is a franchise record.

• [FS Arizona] Kennedy shows Cy Young stuff against Padres - I still don't think IPK will win the Cy Young. But he's going out every start and making his argument for it.

• [DBacks.com] Kennedy rolls to NL-best 19th win for D-backs - Even if the Giants seem to have folded, at least we still have a race. 1.5 back of the Brewers for the #2 seed in the NL.

• [Phoenix New Times] Diamondbacks Move Ever Closer to NL West Title, as Ian Kennedy Overpowers San Diego Padres for League-Leading 19th Win - Well, I don't know if I'd call Kirk Gibson "one of the most famous baseball players ever," though he's pretty well known. This team is pretty anonymous to much of baseball, but I think this season is starting to change that.

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Nice win, and now the team is home to celebrate the tenth anniversary of our World Series win. It's a pretty good time to be a DBacks fan.

Recaps:

• [DBacks.com] D-backs close in on goal with win over Rockies - A 4-2 road trip? I'll definitely take that.

• [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks bounce back to take series against Colorado Rockies - Saunders may have gotten into some trouble early on, but he did a great job working out of it.

• [NRtoday.com] Saunders helps Arizona beat Colorado 5-3. - Remember when Gibby went to see Saunders on the mound? "I figured he was either going to chew me out or light a spark," Saunders said. "It was nice to see Gibby come out there and say, 'I've got faith in you, let's make some pitches and get out of this mess here.'"

• [Denver Post] Colorado Rockies waste three solo home runs in 5-3 loss to Arizona Diamondbacks - The Rockies looked ready for the Diamondbacks to be out of town. See you in February!

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Record: 82-61. Pace: 93-69.
Change on last season: +25. Magic number: 13.

You know, by this point in most seasons, I can't wait to be done playing the Rockies. Maybe it's because we play them so often in Spring Training, maybe it's because we hear about them so much, maybe it's because of Troy Tulowitzki's stupid mullet. But this year? I don't know why, I don't mind seeing them so much.... Oh, right, it's because we've completely dominated them this year. But would we end the season series the way we started it? Only time would tell...

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That game? Not so good.

Recaps:

• [DBacks.com] Rough eighth inning costs Collmenter, D-backs - "Rough" doesn't quite cover that inning. Seven runs given up? Ouch.

• [AZ Central] Diamondbacks blow late lead, fall to Rockies - And it had to be a home run to Tulo. Blech.

• [FS Arizona] D-backs looking to bounce back vs. Rockies - Today marks our last outing against the Rockies this year- we won't have to see them again until they playing at Talking Stick next spring. Whew.

• [Denver Post] Rockies rally past Arizona Diamondbacks behind Troy Tulowitzki - The Denver Post
  - "True to baseball tradition, the Rockies are doing what all disappointing teams do in September." What? No magical comeback planned? I'm disappointed, Rockies. (Not really.)

But let's keep some perspective here. Yeah, that was a bad outing. But one inning does not define the season. Our magic number is 15. The Diamondbacks and Giants have 37 games left- twenty apiece, including the three we share. That means we literally need fewer than half of those games to go our way to make it to the playoffs

Don't let one bad game drive you to panic. Even a really bad one.

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Sorry about missing out on some news there, folks, been running into a few computer problems. But, hey, the Diamondbacks didn't miss a beat. Still rolling over other teams, and that magic number keeps ticking down.

Recaps:

• [DBacks.com] Blum's big day helps Miley win third straight - Not bad after his poor showing in his first start.

• [FS Arizona] Upton, Blum homer as D-backs' edge Rockies - Some worries in the ninth inning there, but that's why you can never score too many runs, I suppose. (See also: yesterday's Orioles-Yankees game.)

• [AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks stay hot vs. Colorado Rockies - The Rockies are nearly .500 (62-63) against the rest of the league, and 4-12 against the Diamondbacks. Heheheheheheheh. Sorry.

• [bettor.com] Geoff Blum shines as Arizona Diamondbacks defeat Colorado Rockies 10-7 - Meanwhile, Geoff Blum has been making sure people realized he's back from the DL. After a crucial walk on Sunday, he had a big hit in the sixth inning rally yesterday.

Plus, do you know what today is? Do you know? Bam!

Your Daily Strasburg:

• [Yahoo! Sports] Nationals' Strasburg returns -- weather permitting - Strasburg! No further notes necessary.

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