Welcome to The Opener, where every weekday morning you’ll get a fresh, topical column to start your day from one of SI.com’s MLB writers.
If you had to pick an individual play to define the current moment for the Arizona Diamondbacks, you could do worse than this one, from the second inning of Wednesday’s 4-0 loss to the A’s:
It fits perfectly—disappointment, sprinkled with confusion, capped with a tedious review, ultimately resulting in the opponent taking a lead. This is not just failing to make a catch. (That can be disappointing, yes, but it’s ordinary; it’s straightforward.