Because with Valverde leaving, they were low on ex-Diamondbacks in the bullpen. Seriously, though? 3 years, $15 million for a guy with a 4.20 career ERA?

MLB has opened voting on the This Year in Baseball awards. hie ye over there and you can vote for Mark Reynolds as the Unsung Star of the Year, over the likes of Jayson "Questionable Facial Hair" Werth, who hardly seems unsung to me. And if you've got a few more spare moments, the Oddities category also has the D-Backs fan catching a foul ball without dropping his toddler. It's a great catch.

So go vote!

(Troy Tulowitzki hitting for the cycle is also up for Best Performance- I can only assume that the true nomination is for the scorekeeper at Coors Field....)

The American Mustache Institute has nominated Clay Zavada for The 2009 Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year. Obviously, he deserves to win.

And the man who once ran the Diamondbacks scouting division will be be replaced by Arizona vice president Jerry DiPoto, the guy who currently runs the Diamondbacks pro scouting?

Really, Nationals, you can feel free to look other places for new executives...

[Update] But the Associated Press now says he will actually be given the permanent GM job. "Rizzo might have been Washington's acting general manager, but he was still technically an assistant GM. Now he will be moved up to GM, the Associated Press reported Wednesday night, citing two people familiar with the negotiations."

In last night's game against the Dodgers, Fielder was hit by a pitch in the ninth by Guillermo Mota. It was apparently intentional, retaliation for Manny getting brushed by one earlier, and Mota was ejected. But that wasn't enough for Fielder, who tried to get into the Dodgers clubhouse after the game to confront Mota. Good call, Prince. I'm sure that's the right way to handle it. Especially when, I don't know, there's a camera crew to capture it.

I'm sure Mota will get a fine and suspension, but I wonder if we'll see anything done to Fielder.

Webb says three specialists all gave him the same answer: don't have surgery. He'll spend four to six weeks strengthening the muscle and not throwing, but he hopes he can be back in time to make a few starts in September.

Mark Reynolds won the award for his impressive week at the plate, batting .417 with a slugging percentage of 1.000 and nine RBIs. He shared the award with Huston Street of the Colorado Rockies.

The Mesa Historical Museum has an exhibit up on the history of baseball in Arizona, including the Cactus League and even before then. Saw an article in a magazine about it and it looked pretty interesting. It's supposed to be running through the end of the years, so I'll have to convince mrskishi to make a cross-town trek. Anyone seen it?

The Mesa Historical Museum is located at 2345 N. Horne Street in Mesa AZ. During the summer, it's open Tuesday through Saturday, 9AM to 1PM, and admission is $5, $3 for children age 3 to 12.