The five-run barrage in the first inning started with a solo homer by Stephen Drew, batting second. They got another homer later in the inning-a two-run shot by Eric Byrnes, batting seventh, for the 100th of his career. If he managed not to hurt himself today, let's hope that this gets Byrnesie going; sometimes hitters slow up as they approach a milestone. Next time up, he singled and eventually scored from third on a single by Chris Young. So Byrnesie had two hits, two RBI and he also scored two runs.

Homers were the name of this game for the D'Backs. In addition to Drew and Byrnes, Conor Jackson, Chris Young, and Mark Reynolds went yard. Chris Snyder had a 2-run double.

Welcome back, DD!

___________________

It's been a long time coming. And it barely made it, hitting the top of the wall in left field and bouncing in the good direction. But there it was in the fifth inning, Eric Byrnes' first grand slam. And it came off of Tom Glavine, of all people. Only the second grand slam the future Hall of Famer has given up in his long and illustrious career. It changed the score from 3-2 Braves to 6-3 Diamondbacks, and the Snakes never looked back. The final score was 9-3, giving Micah Owings his 6th W of the year.

True Elation? More than that really. But if I call it something else, it will ruin my numbering system. More than redemption for the pop-up with the bases loaded in his previous at-bat and the 5 LOB on the day. Two homers in 3 days! Maybe he is coming out of his slump. Or maybe there is something extra he reaches back for every time people start asking again if he should be on the DL.

Eric Byrnes has been on a very steep roller coaster ride this year. And he's still got a long way to go to get the batting average back into respectable territory. It will be interesting to see what happens now with the bases loaded. He finally cleared them. Now he should approach a sacks-full situation in a different way. It has often looked like he was trying to be too careful, trying not to make an out, instead of trying to get a hit. Or he was being desperate, swinging at anything, like the junk off the plate that Glavine threw him the time before. This time Glavine threw it in Byrnesie's wheelhouse and Byrnesie sent it out. And I hope that any and all anxiety and self-doubt he's had with the bases loaded in the past went with it. Of course, not every time up with the bases loaded will have this glorious result. But now, Byrnesie knows he can do it because he HAS done it. And I look forward to him doing it again.

Four beautiful RBI. The game-winner.  (And let's not forget two walks after the grand slam, one of which resulted in his second run scored. He needs better plate discipline to get out of the slump, and walks are indicative of better discipline).

Beyond True Elation. A new level of achievement for Eric Byrnes.

Congratulations!

ByrnesBlogger1

I am a novice at using Windows Media Player. And my experience with it last night and this morning have made me long for the days when you just opened a file in Real Player and it played. Now there are libraries, and playlists, and all sorts of complications.

One such complication is Digital Rights Management (DRM). When I first tried to play the file, my computer went out and searched for a license. I was not surprised by this. I assumed that somebody somewhere would want assurance that I had a legal copy of the documentary. But I was surprised that the computer retrieved a new license every time I tried to get the documentary to play. This morning, after I tried, unsuccessfully, to turn the documentary on twice, I got a message saying that I had maxed out on the number of licenses for this download and I should call customer support or email them.

So you basically get 5 or 6 opportunities to view a download. (Opportunities only, the license count is triggered before the documentary actually plays so if it fails to play, you are out of luck).

F**K DRM. When I buy something, I expect to be able to use it whenever and how many times ever, I want. And F**K MLB for not making it clear that you are only renting a limited number of licenses.

Frankly, it isn’t worth my time to call or email customer support and I am certainly not going to pay any more money; I have received no value for the money I have already paid. Now I didn’t pay a whole lot ($3.99) but that shouldn’t limit the number of times I can watch what I paid for. I figured that the low price was a function of both the fact that the documentary was a download, and therefore much cheaper to produce than a DVD, and the fact that MLB.com boasts huge traffic stats, meaning that MLB could go for volume sales. But no, they went further, using DRM to turn downloads into de facto rentals.

I will never buy another download from MLB and I hope that this post spreads far and wide and other people decide to boycott also. The fascist DRM regime has got to end! The only way it will end is if enough consumers reject it so that rights-holders realize that there is more money to be made from selling a product than from withholding it.

The purpose of copyright was to allow creators a chance to control distribution of their work. But nowadays, a creator typically makes things on a “work for hire” basis for a large corporation, like MLB, or any of the Hollywood studios the Writers Guild is currently striking, and the big corporation reaps the benefits while most creators get next to nothing. With Digital Rights Management, the big corporations have found a way to give the consumer next to nothing also.

ByrnesBlogger1

cnaylor62: Just read the Q&A regarding Tony Clark. Can we be optimistic by saying the D-backs will re-sign him for two more years?

Hall: Tony is wonderful and he is our leader. I certainly hope we come to an agreement with him. We have been working on it. We have to keep "Anybody. Anytime," alive -- he's the author.

D-BACXRULE: When you say that we just need to tweak our pitching staff, how are you planing on doing that?

Hall: By adding an arm or two. Our staff was fantastic, and we have only lost Livan Hernandez. Dustin Nippert continues to strengthen, and we have options from Triple-A. It is always a luxury to have extra arms for the bullpen, so perhaps a deal or two will work to our advantage in landing a reliever.

odogfan1: Can you give us an update on Randy Johnson?

  Hall: Randy had successful surgery near the end of the season and began rehab in September. We are expecting him to be back and ready to go for Spring Training. He was so valuable to us for that five-game stretch before his season-ending injury.

cherw: Is there any chance that Orlando Hudson will be returning?

Hall: He is a D-back. His surgery went real well and he will back. He had a great season for us and was a major reason for our success. It was unfortunate that he could not play in the postseason.

admin1013: What kind of improvements can fans expect at Chase Field next year?

Hall: We will have our new video board up by Opening Day, which will be the largest and nicest in all of baseball. We also hope to have Baxter's Den and the Peter Piper Playhouse moved up to our new kids' section, and a museum built out in center field where those two are now. We may also be introducing a new candy shop in the ballpark with D-backs branded candies.

krodversion2: What is the status of Chad Tracy and will third base present a problem when he's healthy?  

Hall: Chad is still recovering from his knee surgery and we look forward to his return. When he does, he can play either first or third, which is a luxury. With Mark Reynolds at third and Conor Jackson and possibly Tony at first, we again have some great options. It is always nice to have his left-handed bat and lifetime .300 average in the lineup.

The next chat is Dec 6.

ByrnesBlogger1