Last night, I froze at "Whatever They’re Calling It This Year" Park in San Francisco in the hopes of getting an opportunity to see Eric Byrnes, even just as a pinch hitter. As my regular readers know, I don’t like the idea of Byrnesie being a pinch-hitter, but I figured the likelihood of his getting the start against Jason Schmidt rested somewhere between slim chance and fat chance. So I brought my binder of Eric Byrnes Pitch Count Reports along, in the hopes of being able to fill in at least one PA when Schmidt was done for the night.

But it was not to be. I got to see Jeff DaVanon strike out looking, strike out swinging, ground out to short, hit into a 4-6-3 double play and let an Omar Vizquel flair to center drop in front of him for a single. I know the faster, more aggressive Byrnesie would have grabbed it off his shoe tops. BTW, in his last two dozen plate appearances, DaVanon’s now 3 for his last 23 AB’s, (one hit was a double) plus a walk, 2 K’s, 2 runs scored and no RBIs. If I’ve got the math right, that’s a .130 BA, .167 OBP and .174 SLG. Can we say this hot hitter is not so hot anymore?

I got to see right-handed pinch-hitter Andy Green strike out on behalf of Jason Grimsley in the 7th. And yes, I did catch a glimpse of Byrnesie; he was sent to the on-deck circle for Johnny Estrada while Shawn Green was batting with two out in the 9th and the game already 10-2 Giants. (Can you say "out of reach"? I know you can!) I figure "Mechanical Mel" might have been throwing a sop to Byrnesie’s local posse.  Green struck out and that was that. But if your eyes were pointed at the right place at the right time, you could see that Byrnesie looks good in the black uni. Too bad he doesn’t get to get it dirty more often these days.

Instead of Byrnesie, I got to see plenty of Barry Bonds. And one thing I saw was him not being able to run well. He hit a double that might have been a triple if hit by a faster runner.

Today Bonds didn’t play. It being the day game after a night game, and him being an injury-weakened veteran and all. But Byrnesie got the start and got an RBI single off a right-handed pitcher in the 4th. (Did you notice that, Mechanical Mel? An RBI Single off a righty?!)

In the 9th inning, the score was tied 2-2. And Randy Winn, who was playing LF instead of Barry, robbed Shawn Green of a double in left center with a great sliding catch that I listened to while walking the last way to work. Then up came Eric Byrnes, who entered this game batting .410 with 3 HRs and 9 RBI lifetime in "Whatever They’re Calling It This Year" Park, and he earlier had that RBI single. True Elation, which I define as a Byrnes multi-hit day with at least one RBI, was just a measly single away.

Eric sent the first pitch he saw from Giants closer Armando Benitez, another RIGHTY, screaming towards the left field bleachers. But Randy Winn, a former basketball player, made a great leaping catch, like he was crashing the boards. Winn later called it the best catch of his career. Hey Winn, didn’t someone tell you that the NBA playoffs are on another channel?

That was out number three. And right after the commercial break, Mo Alou hit the walk-off homer. I was still a block away from work when my hopes for an extra-innings Byrnes AB were dashed.

Winn robbed Byrnesie of a homer he really needed. His stats needed it; his ego needed it. Heck, I needed it. I’m still thawing out from last night.

If Barry had been playing left, chances are good he couldn’t have made the two great catches the fleeter-footed Winn did. A Byrnes 2-run homer would have made the score 4-2 and Alou’s solo shot would not have been the gamer.

Even without Green aboard, I’m thinking that Byrnesie needed that homer. Mechanical Mel is under some delusion that Byrnesie can’t hit righties.

Where’s Barry Bonds when you really need him?

Kellia " Winn, you stole a homer from Byrnes and True Elation from me." Ramares
Oakland, CA

Claudio Vargas, the Diamondbacks’ No. 5 pitcher, threw 7 shutout innings as the D’Backs finally solved the riddle of Jake Peavy, who had been their nemesis for the past year and a half. Vargas did not do well his last two times out, but he’s been working on some things with Arizona pitching coach Brian Price, and tonight he looked like an ace. He walked no one while striking out four. Brandon Medders pitched a scoreless eighth and Greg Aquino blanked the Padres in the ninth. Diamondbacks 7 – Padres 0.

The offense was led by first baseman Conor Jackson, who had 4 RBI in a 3-5 night. Luis Gonzalez went 2-4 and batted in two runs. The other RBI went to Johnny Estrada, who hit a sac fly.

It was "Welcome Back" night for leadoff hitter Craig Counsell, who has been nursing a sore hamstring of late. He went 3-5 with three runs scored.

Two guys in the lineup contributed nothing to the thirteen hit and 1 sac fly attack: Chad Tracy and Eric Byrnes. Yup, much to my surprise, Eric started tonight, despite the fact that we’d been hearing that Jeff DaVanon would spell him against "tough righties." Peavy is one of the toughest righties in the league. And Byrnesie hit like the start might have surprised him, too. He went 0-4 with a strikeout (caught looking his first time up) and an intentional walk.

The worst of it came in the 6th inning, when Estrada was IBB’d to load the bases for Byrnesie. He popped to shallow right on the third pitch, which I thought was a ball. It’s a situation I have seen before. When Byrnesie comes back from getting benched–and he started only 4 of the 10 games prior to this one, did not play yesterday, pinch-ran the day before, and pinch-hit the day before that–he presses, trying to prove himself. And when he does that, ugly things happen.

The first ugly thing that happens is that he loses his patience. Peavy was not exceptionally sharp tonight. Byrnesie needed to wait him out a little, especially with the bases loaded. His overall P/PA tonight was 3.20 (And that’s that one of the PA’s was the IBB in the 7th). The popouts to the first baseman down the right field line, and the second baseman in shallow right came on the third pitch each time, and off the end of the bat. I thought the pitch on which he popped up with the bases loaded was a ball.

The second ugly thing that happens is that he forgets his level swing. That was especially evident to me in the 9th inning, when he flied out to right. An early uppercut, with what looks to me like a flick of the wrists, does not send the ball far enough. The same pitch, thrown by the right-handed reliever Cassidy, would have gone for a double with a level swing.

The only thing I can say for the IBB in the seventh is that it offset the K in the second. I really don’t like Byrnesie batting eighth. With one out in the sixth, the Padres walked Estrada to get to Byrnes to set up the righty-righty matchup. In the seventh, the righty reliever Brazelton IBB’d Byrnes. Eric has a homer off Brazelton, there were two out and the pitcher was next. This is now the second time I have seen it recently. The first time, Byrnesie was not officially IBB’d, but he walked. Whenever there are two out, Byrnes batting eighth and the pitcher due up, you are going to see Byrnesie get a free pass unless the bases are already loaded. Why risk pitching to a guy with pop in his bat when the pitcher can make the third out? Such walks would help Eric’s K/BB ratio and his OBP, but they won’t help his batting average, his RBI totals or his runs scored totals.

Byrnes is now 1-10 with runners in scoring position. Shawn Green is now 1-15 in that situation, leaving four men on base today, as Byrnes also did. But Green went 2-5 and now has a higher batting average than Byrnes: .239 to .235. It’s taking a lot of multi-hit days for Green to get his batting average up but he’s doing it. Byrnes now must do likewise.

If Byrnesie is not to be forgotten, he needs to relax, be patient at the plate, and take level swings.

Todd Helton has been diagnosed with an inflammation at the end of his small intestines. He has to rest and no date has been picked for his return to the Rockies. But at least he doesn’t have to have surgery.

Juan Encarnacion of the St.Louis Cardinals has had a bad early season, but tonight was a special night: He went 3-4 with 4 RBI. All three hits were XBH: a double, a homer, and a triple. Plus, he made a great diving catch in the outfield. Our Cardinals-fan bloggers are thrilled no doubt. You’ll have to peel me off the ceiling when Eric Byrnes has a day like that. Felicitationes, Juan!

The Cleveland Indians walked David Ortiz to pitch to Manny Ramirez and the former Tribe member made them pay with a homer. As Red Sox Chick said when she posted on the subject: Do NOT disrespect the Ramirez!

I think they are the most devastating duo in the majors, though I know some Cardinals fans would reasonably vote for Pujols-Rolen.  Re: having to pitch to Ortiz or Ramirez, I have heard several broadcasters say "Pick your poison." So, Manny, now that David has signed his extension, don’t talk about leaving Boston any more! Being Big Papi’s protection is one of the best gigs in the game!

And speaking of the Cardinals, being Albert Pujols is another great gig. He has hit his 12th homer and April still has almost a week to go! I was watching ESPN at the gym yesterday afternoon and the big baseball question was: "Why are teams still pitching to Albert Pujols?" Good question. Cards fans, would you care to answer that one?

Kéllia Ramares
Oakland, CA

Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb was lights out as the D’Backs beat the Padres 4-1. Jose Valverde got the last three outs. Matt of DiamondHacks did live blogging. You can check it out here.  And no, catcherJohnny Estrada is NOT related to the Estrada who played on CHiPs.

Shawn Green had another multi-hit day, going 2-3 with a walk and two runs scored, bringing his average up to .226. Jeff DaVanon went 1-5 with a run scored, and while he is showing signs of cooling off, he’s still batting .365. The Padres started a righty, Chan Ho Park, who wasn’t exactly chopped liver himself in the first half of the game. The start of a righty meant that Eric Byrnes, alleged everyday CF, did not start again, in fact, he did not enter the game in any capacity.

Here’s what has happened to Byrnesie of late:

4/15 Started. Double and a walk in a game where D’Backs were shut out by the Astros.
4/16 Did not play. (‘Stros).
4/17 Started. 2-run homer and walk against the Giants, a team he does well against. Was pulled in a double switch and did not bat in the 9th. The more I see these double switches, the more I like the DH.
4/18 Did not play. (Giants).
4/19 Started. No hits, but two walks, no K’s and one run scored. (Giants).
4/20 Did not start as Giants were starting a right-handed sinkerballer and Melvin doesn’t want to start Byrnes against sinkerballers. (Byrnes likes the high pitches). Was called on to pinch-hit in the 7th against self-same righthanded sinkerballer. Flied out to center.
4/21 Started. (Dodgers). RBI single in 7th that followed a hard luck, hard-hit line-drive straight to short that did not drive in the runner from third in the fifth. Was pinch hit for in the 9th when the Dodgers put in right handed relievers.
4/22 Did not start. (Dodgers). Hit a pinch-hit single in the 7th but was forced out at second.
4/23 Did not start. (Dodgers). Was inserted as a pinch runner in the 8th but was not put into the outfield for the 9th and did not bat.
4/24 Did not play (Padres).

Eric Byrnes has become the fourth outfielder. Right fielder Shawn Green is going to be given every chance to get going. And he has had several multi-hit days in the past week or so, though with all that, his batting average and RBI total are still anemic. Alleged fourth outfielder Jeff DaVanon is going to have to drop another 100 points off his batting average before there is any serious consideration of returning him to the bench. Even then, the fact that he is a switch hitter means that he’ll get plenty of playing time. I wouldn’t mind that but for the fact that most of his chances are going to come at the expense of Byrnes, even though DaVanon can play all three outfield positions.

I really want to see Byrnes traded A.S.A.P. to a team that really will use him as the everyday center fielder he thought he would be when he signed with the D’Backs. The truth is that if the switch-hitting DaVanon bats anywhere near his career average of .286, Melvin won’t want Byrnes as an everyday player, and Byrnes doesn’t need another platoon situation. If the D’Backs trade Byrnes, then find out they need another backup outfielder, there is always Carlos Quentin, who was sent back to AAA at the end of the spring even though it was admitted that he has nothing more to prove at that level.

Byrnes is 30. A baby by the standards of the Giants’ outfield, but a mature veteran to the rest of MLB. He doesn’t have that many more years to latch on as the everyday player he needs to be if he is to be his best. He had hoped it would happen in Phoenix, but it sure doesn’t look like that now.

The best laid plans of mice and men
Gang aft agley
And leave us naught but grief and pain
For promised joy.
–Robert Burns.

Steve Gilbert, the MLB.com Diamondbacks beat reporter and author of The Tao of Steve, doesn’t agree with me. You can read our discussion in the comment section of his post "Where’s Green?"

Bear in mind we have differing perspectives. Steve looks at the issue in terms of what is best for the team. He likes the depth the team has by having both Byrnes and DaVanon. I look at it in terms of what is best for Byrnesie. He’s gone from being the everyday center fielder, to being "spelled against tough righties" (to use a Steve Gilbert phrase) to not being started against any righties, and the first month of the season isn’t even over yet. I want to see Byrnesie play every day. There’s another commentator who also added his opinion.

Maybe the D’Backs can get a pitcher for Byrnes. Steve’s reporting that Russ Ortiz has been taken out of the starting rotation.

Join in the discussion over there or over here. The question is: Should the D’Backs trade Eric Byrnes, and if so, what should they try to get in such a trade?

Kéllia "It’s deja vu all over again" Ramares
Oakland, CA