October 2001 Archives

Leading up to game 1 of the World Series, I listened to the radio, television, and print as Sportswriters and broadcasters touted their baseball knowledge of what to expect from the series opener.
"A classic pitching duel"
"An even match-up that would go extra innings to be decided"
"The Yankees will prove why they are the World Champions"
So with all of the hype being mounted upon this series and this game, it was time for all of the talk to cease and baseball to begin. Being a National League fan and specifically a Diamondbacks fan, I was not quite sure what to think. Everyone talked about the Yankees in hushed respectful tones. I had to keep reminding myself that they were discussing a baseball team and not some type religious figure. The way in which they spoke of this team almost had me buying into the fact that they Yankees were destined to be in this place and to repeat as champions. How else could you describe the fact that two much more talented opponents in the Oakland A's and the Seattle Mariners were able to lose against them?

With game one of the World Series only a day away, I find myself pacing back and forth like a caged animal. I have no idea why. It is not like it is me that is facing Mike Mussina or chasing down a Bernie Williams fly ball in the outfield. Regardless, I am on edge.

As this week has progressed, baseball fever has become contagious around Arizona. You literally cannot walk around Phoenix without seeing someone with some type of Diamondbacks item displayed. Whether it be a hat, shirt, flag or tattoo; these people are genuinely getting into the notion of their team being in the World Series.

With the Diamondbacks clinching the National League Pennant so early, manager Bob Brenly has the advantage of setting his pitching rotation to how it will best fit the opposition. I am sure that Bob took a lot of time and effort in coming up with this rotation after carefully weighing all the options with Bob Welch the Diamondbacks pitching coach.

I have to give the Arizona Diamondbacks credit. They are very fan oriented. Today was a great case in point. After clinching the National League pennant on the road, the Diamondbacks wanted to share their experiences with the fans. It was decided that perhaps the team would allow the fans into Bank One Ballpark to watch practice. I am not sure exactly how many people team officials thought would come down to watch the players take infield practice but I am sure it was not that many. Instead, there were over 15,000 screaming fans piling into the BOB to get a glimpse at their favorite players and to let the team know how they felt about going to the World Series. It soon became evident that this was less a baseball practice than it was a pep rally. Fans dressed in Diamondbacks gear and carrying signs lined the stadium fences, as victory chants were the norm. Before long, it became just a great big party.

Now that the Arizona Diamondbacks are in the World Series, it is time to find them an appropriate opponent. I found that I had renewed interest in the American League Championship Series now that the Diamondbacks have clinched the National League pennant. I am really torn on who I would like to see the Diamondbacks face in the World Series.

It seems like only yesterday that I was attending the Major League Baseball Expansion Draft that was held in Phoenix Arizona on November 18, 1997. On that date, the Arizona Diamondbacks were officially born. Oh sure, the team was awarded on March 9, 1995 but it really wasn't official to baseball fans until the team had players. I remember sitting there listening as each draft pick was made digging through baseball reference books as I tried to find out who most of these guys were. I thought that was the most incredible baseball experience I would ever have.

Sometime before game four of the National League Championship Series, the Atlanta Braves decided that instead of playing the baseball game, they would present a tribute to one of the outstanding baseball movies ever made, the Bad News Bears. This was an interesting idea considering the Arizona Diamondbacks had decided to pitch Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Lopez for this game against the Braves ace. But who am I to argue? So instead of a baseball review, let me change hats and give you my best Roger Ebert impression.

I am sure that Atlanta Braves fans everywhere were excited to return home to Turner Field with the National League Championship Series tied 1-1. I am sure that they were encouraged at the thoughts of an 8-1 whooping of the Diamondbacks. After all, the Diamondbacks have scored only 3 runs this entire series. Obviously, Arizona was going to be in a world of hurt now that they would be playing the next three games at the TED.

There are times when a box score does not necessarily tell the entire story about how a game went. This was definitely the case in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. At first glance, it appears the Braves crushed the Diamondbacks in route to tying the series up at one game apiece.

Going into Tuesday afternoon's game, all we ever heard about was the inadequacies of Randy Johnson and how he was not a big game pitcher. Johnson was identified as a choker who just rolled over during a big game. There were even some that said Johnson was cursed since he had not won a post-season game since 1995.

Ah, there is nothing quite like an afternoon of Major League Baseball in October, especially if your team is playing in its first ever National League Championship Series. The grass is greener, the sun is brighter and the hot dogs smell good enough to eat.

Play-off baseball is a fascinating phenomenon. It has a way to bring out the best and the worst in people depending upon the circumstances. The events of the St. Louis and Arizona series bears witness to this fact. With their season on the line and in one of the most important games in the history of this franchise, the Diamondbacks found two unlikely heroes.

Loyalty is an interesting concept, especially as it pertains to sports. If you ask anyone what one of the biggest changes in sports today, a large number of those questioned would exclaim free agency. With the advent of the free agent, Major League Baseball changed forever. Gone were the days when a player would break into the big leagues as a rookie and play their entire career for one franchise. With the retirement of Tony Gwynn we may have seen the final player of our generation begin and end with the same National League team. Fans everywhere are becoming accustomed to seeing their favorite player move from the hometown team to a rival. When these moves occur, the fans are in an uproar as the player is admonished for their lack of loyalty. "Where is their sense of community?" they ask. "How could they abandon the fans like this?" or "The players are nothing more than a bunch of pampered millionaires looking for money." These comments are often heard on sports talk radio or read in print. Soon, that player that was the cornerstone of the local team is now publicly ridiculed and derogatory remarks are made that he didn't care about the fans or didn't care about the game.

It has been interesting to watch the intensity of the play-offs and what effect it has had on the players as well as the fans. For the past week, all anyone has heard is how much different play-off baseball is versus the regular season. How every play and every pitch has so much more meaning. That always sounded like such a cliché. I really questioned whether the media was being overly dramatic in order to promote interest or if there was indeed a difference. All of my doubts about this being just another baseball series have been erased with the past two games of the Arizona and St. Louis series. The divisional play-offs have been an emotional roller coaster ride that is not even half over.

As Bob Brenly announced the starting pitching rotation for the Arizona Diamondbacks series against the St. Louis Cardinals, hundreds if not thousands of Diamondbacks fans questioned what he was doing. After all, it was a forgone conclusion that Randy Johnson was the number one starter on this ball club. Granted, both of these pitchers have earned the right to be the game one starter with the performance they have shown during this season and I am sure that there are 29 other clubs in Major League Baseball that would love to have the problem Brenly was facing. What a quandary, does he go with the 22 game winner with 273 strikeouts for the year or does he go with the 21 game winner who has 372 strikeouts?

Nothing quite like October baseball to get a fan's heart to race. The air at Bank One Ballpark is electric with excitement as anticipation grows towards Game 1 of the National League Divisional Play-offs. I can still remember the atmosphere back in 1999 when the Diamondbacks made their first trip to the post season. Everything was so magnified compared to the regular season. It was like Christmas morning and I was a kid again. I fully expected to see Santa Claus descend from the JumboTron and deliver special baseball bats to the players. The Diamondbacks even dressed the stands around the stadium with red, white and blue bunting giving it a look of baseball tinsel. Everything seemed larger than life. From the increased sound system to the screaming of 48,000 fans, the stadium seemed so alive. The grass seemed greener and the hot dogs tasted better. There is nothing that can compare to the sights and sounds of Major League Baseball play-offs.

With no baseball being played today as the teams all travel to their games and put in a short workout, I am left to ponder the meaning of life. No good can ever come of that as my mind tends to wander to areas it should never be allowed. As I looked at the calendar, I noticed that it is Columbus Day.

It seems Father Time is a baseball fan as the Diamondbacks and their Olden Gloves hang on to win the National League Western Division by 2 games over Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants. It seems like sweet vindication to the aging stars of the Arizona Diamondbacks to show that hey maybe they weren't so old after all.

At times it appeared this season would never end. After losing a week of the regular season as the country mourned at the loss of life in New York City and Washington D.C., baseball's postponed regular season was now over. The Diamondbacks ended the season in Milwaukee on a sour note as the rookies and bench players let the game get out of hand in route to a 15-5 loss. One bright spot in the loss was the play of Luis Gonzalez who hit his 57th home run of the season. This home run was also Gonzalez's 100th extra base hit of the season making him the 15th player in MLB history to accomplish this feat. Gonzo had 198 hits on the season giving him an extra base hit for every two hits he had this season. Upon completion of the game in Milwaukee, the Diamondbacks returned home to Bank One Ballpark where they were met by a large crowd. Diamondback players took turns speaking to the crowd thanking them for the support given them this season. It was an energy charged gathering that helped set the stage for what is coming up this week as the play-offs begin. 2001 is indeed a Baseball Odyssey.

With the Arizona Diamondbacks now confirmed as the National League Western Division champion, there was only one thing left to do, go shopping. After all, what diehard fan would dare be caught without their official Division Championship T-Shirt? Grabbing my wallet, my keys and my Diamondbacks hat I kissed my wife good-bye and ran out the door before she had a chance to question where I was going. After all, there is nothing worse than trying to explain why you just have to have one more piece of clothing with the Arizona Diamondbacks logo on it.

With the Diamondbacks now playing the final three games of the regular season in Milwaukee rather than Bank One Ballpark, I find myself restless not having a game to attend. This is the first season in the Diamondbacks existence that they have not ended the season at home. I am not quite sure what to do with myself although Trina doesn't seem to have any trouble finding things for me to do. Even though the Diamondbacks magic number was 2 with 3 games remaining, she insisted that instead of watching a silly baseball game we go shopping.

There are things that are unique to our national pastime that are near and dear to my heart. The aroma of a hot dog as it has been roasting since Opening Day, the smell of fresh cut grass on an immaculate playing field, the sounds of an organ playing Take Me Out to the Ballgame. But the thing that most epitomizes baseball to me is an afternoon game played in the sun. Before the tragedy of September 11th, today's game was scheduled as an evening affair between the Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks. There would have been two weeks remaining in the season and would have been just another game. Today though, it is an afternoon of baseball and the final home game of the 2001 regular season.

My daughter Tiffany is an autograph magnet. During spring training, I bought her a baseball so that she could try to get some autographs. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. That kid was relentless in trying to have the entire team autograph her ball. During the season, she could be found lining the wall in left field or by the bullpen as she scoped out the players to see who was not yet immortalized on the ball. For the most part, she was very successful. As rookies were called up, she immediately went to work on them to try and get their signature. This is not so say she hounded them, she merely asked them politely to sign her ball. She took each opportunity to talk with the player about the season they were having, the chances for the team, and to learn a little about them. Instead of autographs, I realized she was collecting friendships. It was wonderful watching as the players took time out of their schedule to stop and see this cute 11 year old girl as she tried to talk baseball with them.

The Diamondbacks are beginning the final three regular season games. These are the make up games from when Major League Baseball postponed the season in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington D.C. I of course was excited to get three more games in this season and regardless of whether the Diamondbacks made the play-offs I could at least say I saw October baseball at Bank One Ballpark. As game time approached, I put my Diamondbacks black jersey on and my new Diamondbacks hat with the American flag emblazoned on the side and packed the seat cushions to go to the game.

Ah, autumn is definitely in the air. This has a whole different meaning in Arizona than in other parts of the country. To us, it means that eggs will no longer fry on the pavement. Now our cooking must all be done on top of an engine block rather than the driveway. October means more though than just a difference in culinary tools. It means that the baseball play-offs are here. Well, it usually means that but because of the tragedy of September 11, 2001, we still have one more week of the regular season and the Diamondbacks have still not clinched a play-off spot. They open a crucial home stand tomorrow against the Colorado Rockies that will go along way towards determining whether they continue playing in the post season. In the mean time, I have plenty of work to do around the house. The Diamondbacks flag out front has become tangled and I need to straighten it. My scorebook is full and I need to break out a new one. The seat cushions need to be cleaned out since the last game I found ticket stubs from a Spring Training game. And most importantly, I need to work on my new Diamondbacks hat with the embroidered flag on the side. I had bought it during the last home stand and now the brim needs to be worked so that it doesn't have that "Beat me up and take my lunch money" look to it. Yes, I have a full day of work ahead of me if I am going to be ready for tomorrow night's game.