​Last dances matter. So do last stands, especially for a baseball team, an era and a long-tenured manager who keeps defying the odds.The Diamondbacks are not done yet.In an alternative universe, the Diamondbacks might be reeling and tumbling into the All-Star Break, a broken team with no hope, swept by the Dodgers in Los Angeles. In that world, Torey Lovullo might’ve been fired any day now, if only to give a new boss and new voice to a team that is too often lifeless and sloppy.Few regular-season series carry as much emotional weight for the D-backs as a trip to Los Angeles. Taking down a division rival brings momentum, but sweeping them on their home field just before the All-Star break is something entirely different.For Diamondbacks fans, the series represented more than a rivalry victory. It felt like confirmation that the team is still capable of playing the brand of baseball that made it one of the National League’s most dangerous clubs. Energy returned to the dugout, confidence showed throughout the lineup, and every victory reinforced the belief that Arizona has not reached its ceiling.Diamondbacks BullpenGrade: A-The Diamondbacks’ bullpen has been anything but perfect. In fact, they have a 4.00 collective ERA and rank just a single point above league average, ranking 14th out of 30 clubs.But this group has to be graded on a curve. If the 2024 Diamondbacks had the 14th-ranked bullpen in baseball, they might have won 100 games and the World Series. This group has performed so far beyond expectations it’s hardly conceivable to be celebrating an average group this much, but they deserve it.As Chris Sale rode to Citizens Bank Park on the National League All-Star team’s bus Monday morning, he took a minute to make sure a longtime rotation mate was recognized for his first career All-Star nod.Sale, an All-Star in all three of his seasons with the Braves, was sitting with Atlanta catcher Drake Baldwin when Eduardo Rodríguez boarded the bus.“When I was on the bus today, I was sitting next to Drake and I said, ‘There he is!’ and he asked who I was talking about,” Sale said. “I said, ‘That’s Eddie Rodríguez making his first All-Star Game.’ That guy was like my little brother for seven years. I’m proud of him and happy for him.”Jordan Walker silenced the Philadelphia faithful with an absolutely electric final round, defeating Kyle Schwarber by homering on each of his final four do-or-die swings to take the Home Run Derby title on Monday night.As teenagers, CJ Abrams, Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Riley Greene and Bobby Witt Jr. helped take the baseball world by storm. As adults, they are sharing the honor of being recognized as Major League Baseball’s top talents.Before they were MLB All-Stars this season, they were members of the storied Team USA squad that captured gold in the 2018 COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championship.“There are conversations that occurred on that team where you talk about m