Venom Vision: Road woes not a good sign

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ recent 10-game road trip really served as a microcosm for how the entire 2013 season has gone.

They were within striking distance on multiple occasions to gain ground in the standings, but managed to squander opportunity after opportunity. They received key offensive contributions from Aaron Hill, Martin Prado and Paul Goldschmidt, but once again were let down by their pitching. There were marathon victories, key injuries, blown leads, tremendous long relief appearances and, at the end of it, a 4-6 record.

And that’s the way of the world as far Kirk Gibson’s squad is concerned this time of year. Momentum is fleeting for the D-backs, and with the race turning into a sprint, that’s bad news.

The white flag isn’t going up because teams in deeper holes have come back with fewer games to play, but it’s clear — and this road trip was the latest sign — that something is missing with this team. They’re good at times and bad at times, but never seem to go too far past either of those points.

Competitive? Sure.

Exciting to watch? If you like seven hours of baseball on a Saturday night, then yes.

Bound for the postseason? Not likely.