Hello Quentin, Goodbye Gonzo.

Last night made me really wish I had cable right now. The big story of course, was Quentin starting in left field in place of Gonzo, which led to him making quite a fuss to the press... I'll get into that later. Last night was a game won by the home grown players. Brandon Webb had another dominating start, going 8 inning and giving up only 2 runs. On the offensive side, Chad Tracy and Stephen Drew lead the way, both going 2-4 with a double. Carlos Quentin first hit was a towering 2 run 398 foot bomb off of Mark Hendrickson. Overall, it was a great game to watch, and has me salivating for September, when the rest of our top prospects will be brought up.

So, now onto Gonzo being a big cry baby. What more can I say? The man is getting paid way too much, his time is almost up, and every one knows it except Luis. Gonzo has givin us some great memories, especially that magic moment in November 2001. But that was 5 years ago. Those days are long past. I want to focus on the future. Brandon Webb, Conor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, Stephen Drew, Chris Young, Carlos Gonzales, Miguel Montero, Alberto Callaspo... these are the guys that are going to lead us to post season glory. Gonzo should realize that, and try to make the best of his situation, and leave Arizona with class, not with immature temper tantrums.

I don't think we should trade Gonzo, out of respect for what he's done for the franchise and the Arizona community. But I also think that Gonzo should have respect for what this franchise is trying to do: build for the future. If he was the team player he claims to be, he'd accept whatever role the team gives him, support it, and give a 100 percent in that role. And he definately shouldn't be mouthing off to the press, especially when the numbers support him being benched for the night.

I used to be a big Gonzo fan, but over the years I've slowly lost respect for him. Gonzo earned the love of many Arizona fans after 2001, but it's 2006. Gonzo is 38. He's lost his power. He's lost his bat speed. He has no throwing arm to speak of. And his range in the field is steadily declining. He's got a ten million option for next year. Any GM with sound intellect will realize that after all things considered, picking up that option is not only a poor finacial move, but a poor baseball move. Not when you have 3 outfielders that can and will easily match or out perform that production for 1/30th of the price.