AS THE ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS began a recent meeting signaling the start of a new series, one of the few veterans in a clubhouse filled with young players came forward to address his teammates getting their first taste of playoff race baseball.
"Don't take this for granted," third baseman Evan Longoria told the team. "Playing in September, with something to play for, is why you show up in February and March."
The Diamondbacks team that is taking the field this September has a far different feel than the one that showed up at spring training with hopes that the future would soon be brighter coming out of a three-year rebuild, but questions about whether they were ready to compete in a loaded National League West.