More photos » by Matt York - AP

Webb will return to the mound at Chase Field in 2010 as a Diamondback.

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As predicted by 5 out of 5 Snake Pit moderators, the Diamondbacks have indeed picked up Brandon Webb's option for the 2010 season! This comes via the FoxSportsArizona twitter feed, and should be confirmed by an actual story soon. [Update: Now confirmed on the AP wire, which adds, "General manager Josh Byrnes says Webb has recovered well from an Aug. 4 arthroscopic surgery on his pitching shoulder."]

Brandon Webb missed nearly all of the 2009 season due to shoulder injury and surgery, making this decision a tough one for the front office. He is due to make $8.5 million next season, the final year of his contract. The Diamondbacks could have bought him out for $2 million, and had until 5 days after the World Series to decide.

Welcome back, Webb!!

Just a quick note or two to add - I'll talk more about it in tomorrow's weekly recap. I liked Nick Piecoro's way of describing it: "The worst-case scenario of exercising it was way better than the worst-case scenario of declining it. Same with the best-case scenario. They might not feel 100 percent confident that he’ll return to form, but it’s a risk that’s worth taking." And speaking of risk, here's a quote from Josh Byrnes that expands a bit on the team's reasoning

There's risk in everything. With the last three months I think some of the risk has been reduced because the surgery went well and Webby's really responded well. I think there's a lot of reward. I mean, you're talking about one of the best pitchers in baseball, so as we made that decision, in our mind, the reward was greater than the risk

I was very fortunate last week in San Francisco to get a chance to talk with Fox Sports and Diamondbacks television broadcaster Daron Sutton. I emailed some of the same questions to KTAR radio broadcaster Greg Schulte and MLB.com beat writer Steve Gilbert. This is Part 2 of my review of the season from the eyes of these members of the press. Part 1 of my 2009 retrospective with Daron Sutton and Greg Schulte began in Spring Training. The Diamondbacks got off to a difficult start to the season and would never fully turn their season around. Brandon Webb's injury, Chris Young's season-long slump, and 120 8th-inning runs allowed were some of the many disappointments. Daron Sutton discussed the great communication gap between new manager A.J. Hinch and the players, and Steve Gilbert pointed out that many of the players were less thrilled with the replacement, which got in the way of their performance.

But the Diamondbacks’ 2009 season was not all for naught. 2009 saw the emergence of a lot of rookies, guys who were further down on the depth charts to start the year, yet have shown they are here to stay. "I remember Matt Williams approaching me in Spring Training," Daron Sutton retold, "saying, boy, this guy could be and should be some day a center fielder every day for the Diamondbacks. Matt turned out to be really prophetic. To be in the top two or three all year long in RBI when you get here in May, I think he’s the one guy that jumps out to me." Greg Schulte agrees. "[Parra’s] rookie numbers were impressive, among the best in the National League. He should receive Rookie of the Year votes. And Ryan Roberts made the club out of Spring Training and put together a good rookie year."

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As fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks, 2009 was – overall – a miserable year. After a disappointing end to 2008, we all had hopes going into Opening Day that this year’s team would do better – it had to do better. The core of the team had returned, the new additions looked promising, and we could only hope that the young players would improve in their second or third years. Unfortunately, it became clear early on that this year’s Arizona Diamondbacks were in for a long and arduous season. The Diamondbacks didn’t win their 10th game until May 1st, and they would never climb out of the hole they had dug for themselves.

In the grand scheme of things, we fans are very lucky. We’re not out on that field struggling, we’re not spending our money trying to improve the team, and we can turn off the television or radio if we so choose. But the press corps that covers the Diamondbacks day in and day out has no such sanctuary. Daron Sutton and Greg Schulte are there for every minute of every game, describing every play, good or bad, for their viewers. Steve Gilbert and Nick Piecoro not only write about every win or loss, but they also go down to the trenches and talk to reluctant players, trying to squeeze out something new and interesting to pass along to the rest of us. They see everything, more than they’re ever able to tell. How do they really feel about the Diamondbacks’ performance this season?

I was very fortunate last week in San Francisco to get a chance to talk with Fox Sports and Diamondbacks television broadcaster Daron Sutton. I emailed some of the same questions to KTAR radio broadcaster Greg Schulte and Arizona Republic beat writer Nick Piecoro for their thoughts as well. (Note: as of this publication, I had not heard back from Piecoro; I hope he will respond in time for Part 2 tomorrow.) What follows is a review of the season from the eyes of these members of the press. This is Part 1 of 2, so be sure to check back tomorrow the remaining half of this story.

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Billy Buckner RHP, 3-6, 6.58

Tom Gorzelanny LHP, 7-2, 4.70

Games till the end of the season: 3

Surprise! Good morning, everybody, and guess what, there's a day game, and the Diamondbacks managed to score 3 runs while nobody noticed.

This is the beginning of the end for these 2009 Arizona Diamondbacks, as they end the season on the road against Chicago. As mentioned yesterday, they have to take 2 of 3 to get to 70 wins this season. Not much  to say at this point - let's just hope the team ends the season on a high note.

There were a few things I was very fortunate to be able to do at the three Diamondbacks/Giants games this week. (Aside from find really great seats at not-horribly-marked-up prices!) One of those fun things was, I found out from a Diamondback player that Rookie Hazing was going to be on Thursday!!! When this was confirmed by two other sources, I made plans to come to Thursday's game. Aside from the pitching match-up and the nice seats I saw available, which was tempting enough originally, this sealed it for me.

Details and photos behind the jump.

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More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

Miguel Montero tells Andres Torres, "Hey kid, my home run went into the cove, so scat!"

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Record: 68-91. Pace: 69-93. Change on last season: -11

"If this series was a sick pet, it would have been euthanized already." Thus spoke piratedan7 in the Gameday Thread this afternoon, and it's hard to argue with that assessment - the Fox Sports Arizona decision not to televise this must've felt more like an act of charitable relief than any kind of punishment. Since I was probably one of the few SnakePitters who could see the game - since I was, well, at the game - I emailed Jim and offered to recap this one. (Thanks for starting it!) Of course, I think I offered in the 3rd or 4th inning, when the score was still somewhat decent!

Dan Haren finished the season on a down note, as he was tagged with five runs for his third consecutive start. Meanwhile Tim Lincecum took a one-hitter into the eighth inning, and only a late flurry by Arizona against the Giants bullpen made the score semi-respectable. However, they couldn't prevent the sweep and the Diamondbacks head to Chicago needing to take two of there three to reach the 70-win plateau.

Discussion of poor defense, few base runners, and missed opportunities to follow. Or, business as usual for your 2009 Diamondbacks. (Now with photos from the game.)

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More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

Stephen Drew and Ryan Roberts nearly collided on a simple pop-up at second base. It was that kind of day.

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While many of the local SnakePitters gathered at Chez Soco for the Second Annual Socofest, the rest of us... had to watch the Diamondbacks lose. Again. At least they all got to hang out with each other, the rest of us just had to suffer on our own.

The game featured a pair of aces, Dan Haren against Ubaldo Jimenez, and both lived up to their hype through the first 6 innings. Jimenez's fastball was wildly effective, and Haren was working the slider for 7 strikeouts. But Haren couldn't hold a tenuous 1-0 lead, and the Rockies came from behind to win the game and the weekend series. (And no, there's nobody named Jack on either team, but I wanted the card theme, so Jason Giambi's nickname is now Jack.)

More details after the jump.

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