Welcome Back, Moises.

It's been a while.

Seems like forever since Spring Training's hernia derailed Moises Alou's Opening Day plans. A month and change later, he's back and ready to make an impact.

“I’m very anxious,” Alou said. “Actually, it seems like it’s been so long, but it’s still April and I’m getting ready to play. I’m happy to be here. I’ve been watching just a few of the games. I hate watching games when I can’t play.”

A swollen ankle during his rehab stint threatened to slow his return, but he appears ready to return to the starting lineup on Friday. Brady Clark figures to be the odd man out on the 25 man active roster with Alou's return.

In Alou's stead, Angel Pagan filled in nicely in left field for the first 13 starts of the year. Over the next 13 of the year, Randolph used Pagan 6 times, Endy Chavez 5 times, and Brady Clark twice. Pagan's first 13 produced a .348 average and had people wondering "Who needs Alou?" But he cooled off, and now stands at .276 as a starter, slugging only .378. Chavez hit .250 in his 5 starts, while Clark only managed 1-5 in his two.

Pagan understands his role with Alou's return, and accepts the bright side of things:

"When I started playing good, they saw that I could be the guy who could back up Moises," Pagan said. "They picked me as their guy, and they gave me the opportunity. There were a lot of guys who were trying to do the job, too, but they picked me."

So what can we expect this early from the 41 year old vet? Realistically, not a whole lot, especially from a defensive point of view. As for his bat, Alou mentioned doing well in 1994 after only nine Spring Training at bats. This sounds like a positive note, but Alou was also 27 at the time, and obviously in a much better position to come back quickly from injury. All that being said, he comes back just in time for the 20-8 Diamondbacks' 1-2-3 punch of Micah Owings, Brandon Wedd, and Dan Haren. Looks like we have the makings of rather pivotal early season series.

So, Moises, let's see some quick hands at the plate, reasonably decent legs in the field and if you get any early season blisters, well, you know what to do.