Diary of a Diehard

After a game 1 collapse by the the New York Mets bullpen, today’s game was a must win for the Mets. Without it, this series would be a short and sweet ride for the Yankees to repeat as World Series champions. It was a pitching match made in heaven with Mike Hampton facing Roger Clemens in a game that was full of emotion. The tone of the game became apparent in the first inning when Mike Piazza broke his bat and the barrel traveled towards the pitcher’s mound. Clemens took offense to this some how and threw the broken bat at a running Piazza. This of course erupted into a bench clearing incident although no punches were thrown there were some heated words being bantered about. I have never seen anything quite like this episode and it almost made the game an afterthought. The Yankees played masterfully and staked claim to a 6-0 lead after the first eight innings. The Mets though were not quite through and staged a comeback in the ninth inning scoring 5 runs before Rivera struck out Kurt Abbott to end the game. It was an exciting contest and one that will undoubtedly be talked about for some time. It’s to bad that people will not be talking about the game as much as they will be talking about the bat throwing incident between Clemens and Piazza.

Tonight was the first game of the 2000 World Series. Obviously, things turned out a little different than I had anticipated this season. I really had hoped that at this time I would be watching this game knowing that the Series would be coming to Arizona for game 3. I had further hoped that the Diamondbacks would be playing the Cleveland Indians for the world championship but I guess that is why they play out the season since what looks good on paper never seems to materialize. Instead of a dream match-up, we are stuck with a Subway Series between two New York teams. I can think of nothing I would like to watch less except maybe a WNBA game. The only consolation might be that the Yankees would lose thereby eliminating all of the talk we are now hearing about how this team may be the greatest team in the history of baseball. So here I sit, watching the game and the Mets are actually playing well. The have taken a 3-2 lead into the ninth inning and have brought on Armando Benitez to close out game 1 giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. After recording the first out of the ninth inning, Benitez began to fall apart giving up hits and walks until the bases were loaded. Then to top things off he allowed Chuck Knoblauch to hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game. At that point, this contest became the longest game in the history of the World Series. It was as if there were no way to end this game. Inning after inning drug on like a bad foreign film. You began to beg someone, anyone to get a run just to put us out of our misery. Finally in the bottom of the twelfth inning Jose Vizcaino hits a single off Turk Wendell to score Tino Martinez on the 396th pitch of the evening. The game lasted 4 hours 51 minutes, it just seemed like it lasted longer.

After receiving the package from the Diamondbacks yesterday, I have plenty of work to do. The first item of business of course is to check out the new pricing structure for season ticket prices in 2001. Once I have identified the maximum price point I can afford, it is off to the stadium seating chart to review which seats fit within my price range. This exercise is good for at least 4 hours as I try to remind myself what each seat location looks like at Bank One Ballpark. After exhausting my memory remembering sight lines from the stadium, I turned my attention to the most important part of this exercise, reviewing the 2001 Diamondbacks schedule. Before getting this package in the mail, I had been doing a lot of praying to the baseball Gods. There are several events coming up in my life during the upcoming year that I HAVE to attend. Well, at least that is what Trina told me. Ashley is graduating from high school next May and Trina seems to think that I need to be in attendance. I keep explaining that it is not me who is graduating and therefore I am not really required to be there but I am quickly losing that argument. So of course the first date I look for is May 24, 2001. Bingo! The Diamondbacks are out of town that day. Looks like the streak will remain alive and I will be able to attend every game next season. Trina then informed me that her parents 50th Anniversary is in August next year and we will need to make a trip to Idaho the week of August 6-10. Holding my breath, I look to the schedule. Excellent! They are out of town that week too. So far, things are looking pretty good. As long as our schedule and the Diamondbacks schedule stay synchronized, my life will be great.

As I pulled into the drive way after work, there sat Dakota on the front steps. In his little hands he held a plastic ball and bat. He spotted me and jumped to his feet and to meet my car. I opened the door to get out and the first words out of his mouth were, “Dad, will you play ball with me?” Looking down at his angelic face, how could I help but agree. I set my briefcase down and went out into the yard. He threw me the ball and immediately took his batting stance. Two taps of the plate with his bat and he was ready for a pitch. I wound up and gently tossed the ball in his general direction. In the blink of an eye, he smacked the ball across the street and began to run around the bases. I stood like a deer in headlights looking across the street to where the ball had landed. I must have stood there to long since Dakota had finished his home run trot and was again awaiting another pitch. I was severely chastised by my son for not going to get the ball. I quickly retrieved the home run ball and set up for another pitch. The ball again went in about belt high and again, the kid smacked the cover off the ball, this one going to right field or in this case, the front door. At just that moment, Trina came out to check on why I had not come into the house after arriving home from work. Trina’s timing could not have been worse as she opened the door, a baseball came whizzing by her head nearly getting her between the eyes. Dog Dot Com was not so lucky as the ball came down directly at her smacking her directly on the butt. She immediately yelped and scampered away to hide. The whole sight was almost surreal as I watched the dog howling and running for cover while Dakota was doing his home run trot around the bases. For the next 45 minutes, he and I stood out on the lawn taking turns hitting and pitching to each other. It was an experience I will treasure forever and one I will never forget. Neither will Dog Dot Com. She spent the evening down in the family room away from all doors and windows. Keeping her distance from Dakota all evening.

There are few constants in the universe but among them are the sun rises in the east, the days are longer in the summer than in the winter, and everybody hates the Mets. The first two axioms are questionable in my mind but the last is a given. There is something about that team that just screams for you to root for the other team. Some of this may stem from the fact that the Mets eliminated the Diamondbacks from the playoffs last season. The New York attitude is one that most people from the west just don’t understand. Maybe I would have a better appreciation of it if I were forced to live with 20 million of my closest friends in a confined area. It is not just the team that has this attitude but also the fans. Throughout the last three seasons, I have watched fans of the opposing teams come and go and for the most part it has been enjoyable to talk with them and listen to their passion about their team. All that is except the Mets. Whenever they come to town, it is inevitable that there is at least 5 fights in the stands. So when the San Francisco Giants went up against the Mets in the playoffs, I had to immediately root for the Giants even though they beat the Diamondbacks. Tonight’s game was as exciting as any I have seen this year. With the Mets leading 2-1, Edgardo Alfonzo hit a 2 run home run. It was like deja vu for all Diamondbacks fans as Alfonzo hit a grand slam last year to beat Randy Johnson in game one of the playoffs and led to the Mets winning the series. With the Mets up 4-1, I was not feeling very good about the outcome of this game and this series. Then in the bottom of the ninth, J.T. Snow hit a three-run home run to tie the game and send it into extra innings. Now the momentum had changed and I really thought the Giants would pull this one out and send the Mets one game away from extinction. Then in the tenth inning, Jay Payton came to the plate and hit a single that scored Darryl Hamilton. Just like that, the Giants fell to the Mets and the series was tied at one game a piece. I sat there stunned as the teams left the field. In shock, I could think of only one thing to do, I put a curse on Jay Payton’s dog.