I’m a bit too tired just now to give you the full update on the SWEEP of the Giants that the Diamondbacks pulled off this weekend. But I’ll tell you this:

I met up with Byrnesie outside AT&T Park on Saturday. Except for a slight limp, nothing as bad as the day he tore his hamstring–he looked great. He was also in an upbeat mood and is being philosophical about the injury. He called it a blessing in disguise. He is using this off time to study videos of his hitting, and some other players, to look for flaws in his swing. Expect him to tinker with the way he holds his bat next spring training.

Later in the afternoon, I saw him engaging in a light catch for about 10 minutes. The ball was always thrown to him high, so that he didn’t have to bend over. I could see that he wasn’t putting his full body into the throw and he wasn’t as far back as he can get before a game when he’s stretching out his arm. But it was good to see him engaged in some light throwing to keep his upper body in shape.

He knows he’s got his work cut out for him. The competition is getting thick out there, so he has to prove his hammys are fully healed and his hitting is at least as good, if not better than it was in 2007, to be a regular, if the Diamondbacks want to keep the bats of Tracy, Jackson and Reynolds in the lineup all at once.

My sense of Byrnesie’s demeanor Saturday is that he has his head on straight. He knows what he has to do and has set about doing it.

I am not given to much prediction, but I will predict now that if Eric Byrnes’ physical rehabilitation is successful, he will be the 2009 NL Comeback Player of the Year.

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