Brandon Webb

While the playoffs are now on the front burner, in the back of every baseball fan's mind, or the front if your team has been eliminated from contention, is what moves the team will make this offseason.

Free agency is always a hot bed for debate, and every year there will be a fair share of diamonds in the rough as well as big time busts. Often times, contracts are a sign of the free agent class as a whole and not necessarily what the player is worth. Once the top tier guys start to get signed, teams that missed out often overpay for second tier guys, and so on.

Brandon Webb and the Diamondbacks finally have something to look forward to.

Webb is expected to make a September return and pitch for the bullpen.

Brandon Webb hasn't pitched since April of 2009. Since then, he has been making a push to return from shoulder surgery performed in October of last year.

On Saturday, the 2006 NL Cy Young award winner was ecstatic after throwing a simulated game that "went so well."

No, this is not about a pitcher that gets better with age. This is simply about how a fan favorite and team ace can, in just a couple of years, become forgotten and seemingly disappear.

Brandon Webb’s career started with a bang, debuting in New York in 2003 and out-dueling Tom Glavine with seven scoreless innings and ten strikeouts. He finished his rookie season 10-9 with an ERA of 2.84. He was spectacular.

As we all know, the first half of the baseball season has been nothing short of a disaster for those of us who claim the Diamondbacks as our team.

As painful and embarrassing it is to admit it now, I am one of those poor fans.

Even with the shame and disappointment of the season, this second half still holds value for me as a fan.

Now, since the team is completely out of contention, the priorities change.

There is no way that they can win the division or even get close, but there are some things I wish to see in the final 73 games of the season.

What I’m Reading

• The Rays might be built for 2010, but what about beyond that? Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford might be skipping town after the season is over.

What I’m Reading

• Uh-oh. Looks like “Broken” Brandon Webb might be starting the year on the DL. Yes, even after spending the past year on the DL.

• And how about Joe Nathan? Might be too early to tell, but this isn’t a good sign for the hopeful Twins.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have a fascinating history, however short it may be.

When they played their inaugural season in 1998, owner Jerry Colangelo had a sole purpose, to win the World Series, and he wanted it soon.

Unlike their fellow expansion team, the Tampa Bay Rays, who were owned by Vince Naimoli and struggled for most of their existence, Colangelo financially supported the team from the beginning and his dedication led them to their eventual championship in the 2001 season.

Just a few weeks after throwing off a mound for the first time, Brandon Webb threw 45 pitches yesterday in a bullpen session, according to MLB.com:

It was only a bullpen session, but the 45 pitches Brandon Webb threw on Thursday morning had the D-backs feeling good.

It is only late December, and already the offseason for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim feels like it's winding down.

Most of the big fish that dominated the post-Word Series headlines have already been caught and what remains is little more than bait for future trade hooks.

Two monsters still lurk the depths, but each appears to be circling one lone lure, searching for another to compare it with.

Matt Holliday and Jason Bay have received sizable offers from the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets respectively, and no team has been reported to match either.

As I was sitting at the Diamondbacks game last night against the Nationals, I was growing more and more agitated as the D-backs left more and more men on base. 

So, I found even the little things were agitating me.  Besides I had the time since the game was entering boredomville.

Don’t get me wrong, most people that show up at a baseball game are true and genuine fans, however there are people I can do without at the baseball game…