Diary of a Diehard

With tonight’s game, I have now attended 217 consecutive games at Bank One Ballpark dating back to 1998. That equates to 5 Spring Training games (Chicago White Sox (2), Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox (2)), 2 Divisional Play-off games (New York Mets), and 210 regular season games. Over the course of this time, I have learned a little about this stadium. I have also become good friends with many of the people who work at the ballpark. I am on first name basis with several of the ushers, guest services, ticket takers, and concessionaires. The people who work at Bank One Ballpark are some of the best people I have ever been acquainted with. Even with all of these knowledgeable people around and quite visible, I am still mistaken for one of the ballpark personnel. I find myself being asked questions about the various aspects of the stadium at least once per series. Whether it be from someone visiting and sitting next to me during the game or someone walking around the park with a few questions, I am quizzed about some aspect of Bank One Ballpark. I am always eager to share the few tidbits I have found during my exploration of the stadium. Even after 217 visits, I still find something new each time I come to the game. Since I have such a hard time dealing with the off-season and being away from the ballpark, I have even considered applying for a job at Bank One Ballpark during the winter as a tour guide. It would allow me to spend more time at the park and give me access to most of the public areas to check out where I would like to sit for the upcoming season. I’m sure Trina wouldn’t mind if I spend a little extra time at Bank One Ballpark.

Armed with a video camera and three 35mm still cameras, we packed the family up and headed for a most excellent adventure at Bank One Ballpark. There we would receive tickets to tonight’s game against the Texas Rangers. More importantly to the kids, they would get an opportunity to meet D. Baxter, the Arizona Diamondbacks mascot. This was all part of the prize package Trina had won as part of the “guess the mascot” contest. The children could hardly wait to get to the ballpark. Come to think of it, neither could I. Of course my excitement had little or nothing to do with the mascot. I was just glad to be back at the ballpark and sitting in my seats to watch a game. As always, we were at the game early so that we could watch batting practice. The kids all lined up against the wall in left field and hoped to catch a ball. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous having to manage all five kids and protect them from an errant fly ball. We came out without a problem and were even able to get three balls while watching the Diamondbacks warm up. Before the game began, Trina and I divvied up the kids for seating arrangements. As we were deciding who would sit with whom, I had a sense of deja vu. This was the exact exercise I went through on the playground as a kid when we picked teams for baseball. And as always, I ended up with the last pick and chose the girl. Fortunately, my kids are better baseball players or fans than then girls we were stuck with on the playground. Trina sat on the first base side in section 112 row 10 while I was in section 133 row 16. We were almost exactly across from each other and spent half the game passing hand signals back and forth. I have determined we have much more complex signals than Brian Butterfield, the Diamondbacks third base coach. In the third inning, Baxter came down and hung with the kids and Trina. They were able to get several pictures and had a wonderful time. Dakota managed to stay awake the whole game and told me over and over about his visit with Baxter all the way home. Ok, maybe this mascot thing won’t be so bad. Just don’t make me do the wave.

I typically refer to today as Black Wednesday. It is the longest day of the year, as near as I can tell. The All-Star game is over and the second half of the season does not start until tomorrow. This means that there is no Major League baseball anywhere in the country. I am left to try and fill my day while eagerly awaiting the start of the season tomorrow. At first I tried to watch a movie to kill some time. I went through Bull Durham, Major League, Rookie of the Year, Sandlot, and Field of Dreams. Although they did kill a lot of time (and a lot of potato chips), I still was not satisified. I then tried to find a game on ESPN Classic. Even a re-run of an old game was at least baseball. Unfortunately, there were no games on tonight. I was left watching two guys with massive chain-saws speed cutting some piece of wood while 200 screaming fans in plaid flannal shirts cheered from the side. I did catch the last inning of the Double-A all-star game. At this point, even minor league baseball would fill a hole in my life. Trina of course had plans for me for this last off-day before the second half began. Try as I might, I could not ignore her demands. I reluctantly turned off the television and made my way to the bathroom to fix the leaky faucet. I really hate plumbing. I’ll bet Matt Williams doesn’t have to fix his faucet on his day off.

If there were ever a temptation to become a gambler and bet on baseball, today would be the day. Well, either a gambler or a convenience store patron, I am not sure which. It is 7-11 and the All-Star game is tonight. Usually, I look forward to watching the game and seeing the stars of baseball play in a contest that is more of an event than a game. This year though, I am less than thrilled with the All-Star game. First off, I was very disappointed that Bobby Cox of the Atlanta Braves dissed the Arizona Diamondbacks by selecting only one player to the National League team. Granted, I believed that Randy Johnson is deserving of this honor but I also felt that Steve Finley and Byung-Hyun Kim should also represent the Diamondbacks at the mid-summer classic. Kim has been lights out the way he has pitched this year and to ignore his accomplishments was a travesty. With all of the injuries that the Diamondbacks have had, Fins has carried this team on his shoulders and should be recognized for his valuable contribution. I am a little less ticked off now that Finley has been added to the roster after Ken Griffey Junior bailed. I am disappointed at the number of stars that have backed out of the game. Given that attendance has been down this year across most of baseball, I would have thought that wild horses couldn’t keep the players away but I was wrong. Granted, some of the players genuinely are injured and cannot participate but some are VERY questionable. I wonder how hurt Griffey is that he can participate in the Home Run Derby but he is to hurt to play the outfield for one inning or at least pinch hit late in the game? Looks pretty strange to me. On the other hand, you have to admire someone like Randy Johnson who will start the game after pitching 120 pitches on Sunday. This guy recognizes that this game is for the fans and is going out to perform his best for the crowds in Atlanta. Good luck Randy and Steve. We’re pulling for you here in Phoenix.

Although I enjoy the All-Star game and all of the cursory activities associated with it, the fact remains that there is only one game over the course of three days. Sure, I understand that the players need a break and that we should let the All-Star game shine in its own limelight. But I am still frustrated that I don’t have anything to watch at the ballpark. I find myself resorting to scouring the Internet to find a minor league baseball game to listen to. I even tuned my satellite dish to the Japanese channel in hopes of finding a Japanese league baseball game to watch. Unfortunately, all I found was a 24-hour Sumo marathon. I’m afraid I am now emotionally scarred for life after watching overweight men with towel wedgies bounce each other from a small ring surrounded by cheering fans eating raw fish. To try and remove these mental images from my subconscious, I decided to go out and pick up a couple of DVD movies. Maybe Bull Durham and Field of Dreams can get my mind back on track. On the bright side, there are only 3 days, 4 hours and 49 minutes until the All-star break is over and the Diamondbacks start the second half of the season.

Here I sit, reflecting on the first half of the season. It is hard to believe that the All-Star break is now upon us. It seems like yesterday that I was on my way down to Bank One Ballpark to watch opening day. Now, the World Series is closer than Opening Day. As the day ended, the Arizona Diamondbacks are in first place 3.5 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants, 4.5 games ahead of the Colorado Rockies, 6 games in front of the Los Angeles Dodgers and 12.5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres. Given the fact that Matt Williams has played in only 25 games this season and has only 93 at bats and Erubiel Durazo has missed 41 games, it is amazing that the Diamondbacks are anywhere near first place. It is a testament to the character of this club to battle adversity and continue their quest to repeat as National League West champions. To be quite honest, I did not anticipate they would be in first at this junction of the season. I would have been happy if they were in third place 5 games back. I am still uneasy about the Diamondbacks chances and feel they need to make a deal for some starting pitching to overcome the loss of Todd Stottlemyre until September. Granted, Geraldo Guzman’s first Major League start was encouraging, I am uncertain whether the Diamondbacks can afford to rely on the rookie’s arm going into a play-off run. Congratulations Diamondbacks, I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you will be able to overcome these injuries in the second half of the season.

From the first week in April until the end of October, I typically have no life outside of baseball, at least that is what everyone keeps telling me. I explain to everyone that I keep tabs on world events and what is happening in the community through the news updates that appear on the JumboTron at the game. This usually works out quite well. For example, during the last home stand, I learned that the latest version of the Harry Potter books would be released today. In fact, there are several bookstores that will be holding a book release party at 12:03 AM. Personally, I cannot imagine standing in line at 12:03 AM for anything other than play-off tickets or maybe the all-star game. Mallorie though is a big Harry Potter fan and wanted the book. Like most normal and sane parents, I waited until later in the day before I went out looking for the book. Of course, like all the other normal and sane parents, I found out that the book was sold out everywhere. I did get a really cool rain check though so it wasn’t to bad. I have never read any of the Potter books so I didn’t even know what the story line was about. Mallorie tried to enlighten me. I now understand that Harry is some kind of wizard and has magical powers. Based on the Diamondbacks bullpen blowing their second save in two days, perhaps I can get Harry to put some kind of spell on the opposition hitters so that we can actually get some of these guys out. I’m thinking the first step would be to have a Harry Potter day at BOB. We could ask kids 15 and younger to dress as their favorite character and then we could hold on-field magic shows. Finally, right before game time, we could have someone throw out the first hex. This has a lot of potential.

With the Diamondbacks out of town, I am relegated to watching the game on television and reading the newspaper and Internet for any team information or excitement. Today though there was more excitement than I had anticipated. Trina and I each had doctor’s appointments in Scottsdale. When we returned home, the kids met us at the door with a message that the Arizona Diamondbacks had called. Several things passed through my mind. I wondered if they had seen the Chia heads and if so, was I in trouble. Or was this call a result of me creating the little Nekked Buck? The possibilities were endless. I reached out to take the note from Tiffany and was told, “They want to talk to mom.” Talk to mom?!? A phone call from the Arizona Diamondbacks and they didn’t even want to talk to me? They may has well have kicked my dog and took away my birthday. I was incredibly hurt. Trina didn’t think it was such a big deal and would get around to calling them back in her own sweet time. I couldn’t have that, I bugged her worse than a child before Christmas. Finally, to shut me up, she decided to make the call. She spoke with Steve Gilbert and I could tell it was definitely a one sided conversation with Trina doing the listening. The anticipation and fear was more than I could stand. As soon as she hung up the phone I gave her the third degree. In her most matter-of-fact voice, she stated “It seems I have won the identify the mascot contest. We will be meeting D. Baxter the Bobcat and having our picture taken.” I am not sure who was more excited, me or Dakota. We each did our best “happy jig” around the living room. It looks like the whole family will be attending the game next Thursday. This is going to be great.

For the past three games, the Arizona Diamondbacks have been playing at Enron Field in Houston Texas. Based on the number of runs scored there this year, the field is now being called Ten Run Field. I have been looking forward to this series. For one, the Astros stink this year and the Diamondbacks could use this series to tune up their bats before a tough interleague series in Oakland this weekend. Secondly, I was interested in seeing this field up close to see how it compared to some of the other fields the Diamondbacks have played on. I was encouraged to see that two of the three games of the series were scheduled to be shown on ESPN. I settled down on my Bank One Ballpark chair with my Diamondbacks jersey on and tuned the television to ESPN. As the game started, my screen went black and a message announced that this game had been blacked out in my area. What?!? How could they do this? I called my satellite provider and was told that because the game was being shown locally on FoxAZ, it could not be shown on ESPN. I tried to explain to them that I could not receive FoxAZ at which time they attempted to sell me a new satellite dish. Disgusted, I hung up and went to the radio to listen to the game. The next night, I again readied myself hoping beyond hope that I could see this game. Surely they would not black out the game of the week? Well, I was wrong. Just as the first pitch was to be thrown, the screen went black and I was forced to listen on the radio. I called the Arizona Diamondbacks to let them know my feelings about having an entire series unavailable on regular television. They listened quietly and then offered the consolations. If it made me feel any better, all the games in Oakland would be shown on channel 3. Great, like I want to watch an American League game. Somebody has their priorities way out of whack here. Looks like I am going to have to straighten out my behavior around the house and try to help out more if I am going to get on Santa’s good boy list and get a new dish for Christmas. “Oh Trina, can I help you with dinner tonight?”