2006 Off Season: November 2006 Archives

Yesterday Major League Baseball announced that the Milwaukee Brewers had agreed to a contract with former Arizona Diamondback Craig Counsell. This marks the second trip to Milwaukee for Counsell. He was dealt from the Diamondbacks to the Brewers in the 2003 off-season as part of the ill-advised trade that brought Richie Sexon to the Diamondbacks for his 3 week vacation. Counsell is originally from the Milwaukee area having gone to high school there. He should feel right at home as a Brewer since several of his teammates from Arizona have become Brewers including catcher Johnny Estrada and pitchers Greg Aquino and Claudio Vargas. The contract terms have Counsell earning $2.8 million in 2007 and 2008. The Brewers hold an option for 2009 valued at $3.4 million with a $400,000 buy-out.

It was just two short weeks ago that I received “the envelope” from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Of course I am talking about the Season Ticket Renewal package. Since that time I have been consumed with thoughts of the 2007 season and more importantly where I am going to sit. There was the open house where I had the opportunity to check the vantage points and sight lines followed by the trip to Best Buy to have copies of the digital pictures made. For the next 11 days I had Excel Spreadsheets, Adobe Photoshop files, Mozilla FireFox Browser windows, and scorebooks laid out around the house to analyze things like vendor traffic patterns, number and frequency of foul balls, views of various parts of the field, and potential for future upgrade paths. All of these artifacts would form the basis of my decision and according to the timeline today was the day to make that decision final.

As expected, Diamondbacks infielder Andy Green requested a release from his contract so that he could sign a deal in Japan. The Arizona Diamondbacks have been working with the Nippon Ham Fighters to negotiate the rights for Green to sign a contact. While not finalized, it is a foregone conclusion that the deal will get done. Sources close to the negotiations have stated that Green will sign a 2 year contract with the Ham Fighters that will pay him $660,000 for 2007 and $850,000 for 2008. The 2008 contract may be at the team’s option at which case Green would be compensated if the Ham Fighters decline the option. Incentives built into the deal could bring the total compensation to approximately $2 million over the two year period. The Ham Fighters won the Japanese League championship last season and are coached by Trey Hillman who was interviewed for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, and San Diego Padres manager openings this off season.

To a lot of people, talk of voting ended nearly 3 weeks ago with the mid-term elections held on November 7 but what they didn’t understand was that was just a precursor to the important vote. Today Major League Baseball announced that the Hall of Fame ballots were officially sent out to the baseball writers. This is an important day to a lot of players as they attempt to be selected to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown New York. It will be a banner year for candidates but also marks the first vote affecting players whose careers included the steroids scandals. It will be interesting to see how that impacts the voters and whether a player’s chances are impacted by implications of performance enhancement drugs. Regardless of the controversy, there are some very deserving players who are eligible for the first time this year.

It has been 56 days since the last home game for the Arizona Diamondbacks which is almost 2 months without baseball. The Diamondbacks are more than likely not going to be factors in the free agent market and other than the trade with the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday, they are probably not going to make many deals this off season. All of this adds up to a very long winter without much to get excited about. All that changed with the announcement that the Cactus League schedule was being released. Finally something to look forward to! I rushed out to the www.cactusleague.com to begin planning my spring training trip to see the Diamondbacks.

After the 2003 season the Arizona Diamondbacks were looking to rebuild by bringing in a middle of the order hitter. They went to the Milwaukee to attempt to trade for first baseman Richie Sexon. The Brewers were more than willing to deal given that Sexon would be a free agent at the end of 2004. The two teams agreed to a blockbuster deal involving 9 players. The Diamondbacks would receive Sexon, relief pitcher Shane Nance and a player to be named later. The Milwaukee Brewers would receive infielders Craig Counsell, Junior Spivey, and Lyle Overbay; catcher Chad Moeller; and pitchers Chris Capuano and Jorge De La Rosa. This deal had major implications but the fans were assured that the Diamondbacks were working hard to sign Sexon to a long-term contract that would keep him a Diamondback for the foreseeable future. Instead, Sexon lasted 23 games before going down to a season ending injury in late April. He would leave the Diamondbacks to sign a lucrative contract with the Seattle Mariners. Today the Diamondbacks announced they had made a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers involving six players. You’ll have to excuse the Diamondbacks fans if they cringe a little; it is an involuntary reflex based on past experience.

The day after Thanksgiving has long been referred to as Black Friday as it marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. The term began as a way to mark the day where sales outdistanced costs meaning the merchant at least for the day was in the black. To me, Black Friday refers to the fact that the sky is still black when I get drug out of bed to go shopping with my wife. I don’t know if this is true or not but it feels like every year it gets to be earlier. This year most of the stores where Trina wanted to go opened at 5 AM which meant that we would be leaving the house at 4:30 AM at the latest. I would prefer to still be in bed sleeping off the effects of that late night turkey sandwich but I know that is not an option. Trina’s theory is that if she has to endure 81 home games at Chase Field and being a single parent from April through September then I should be willing to get up early one day a year and go shopping. She never mentions the fact that we will be shopping with the equivalent of the entire annual attendance for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Thanksgiving has as many meanings as people who celebrate the holiday. As a child in elementary school Thanksgiving meant the traditional story of the pilgrims coming to the new world to establish a colony and the friendship they created with the native American Indians. As I grew older, Thanksgiving became a metaphor for leaving that which we know for an unknown destination. The pilgrims represented youth searching to find their own way. The American Indian represented those we come in contact with who are willing to assist us in our path giving us sustenance when we need it the most helping us to survive the difficult times of our lives. Now as I have gotten older Thanksgiving gives me an opportunity to reflect on the bounty that I have received and to show my appreciation for what I have in my life. It is no longer a holiday of feasting on good food but instead is one where I can take a retrospective view of my life to understand the results of the decisions I have made. Having a roast turkey and all the trimmings just gives me another reason to be thankful. We have a tradition in our house that Trina and I started after we were married. Before blessing the food for Thanksgiving, we go around the table and allow each person to state what they are thankful for. It is a tradition that has become an important part of our holiday as it gives each of us time to express our gratitude for what we have.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have become known for their strong farm system. They have accumulated many top-tier prospects that are reaching the point where their impact will be felt at the Major League level. This is great news for Diamondbacks fans as it means that the team will be competitive for many years while maintaining a small amount of fiscal constraint using younger players rather than more expensive free agents. There is of course a downside to having a deep farm system. Each year the Diamondbacks need to identify which of their prospects and players will be added to the 40 man roster thereby protecting their investment. Of course it is not possible to protect every prospect which means that there is a possibility of losing some to the rule 5 draft. The 2006 season was a prime example. Due to the number of players already on the Major League roster, the Diamondbacks were forced to leave Dan Uggla unprotected. The Florida Marlins made the Diamondbacks pay for this decision by selecting him during the Rule 5 draft. Uggla went on to have a banner year for Florida garnering a lot of recognition and consideration for rookie of the year honors. So with the owner’s meetings a couple of weeks away it is now time when the player development personnel get together to determine who will be added to the roster and who will not.

One of the more interesting promotions that Major League Baseball did for the 2006 season was one they called Hometown Heroes. In a vote similar to that of all-star balloting, fans were asked to choose a player they felt best represented the franchise. For teams such as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays or the Arizona Diamondbacks, they had a relatively short historical period from which to choose. The promotion was further complicated by the fact that it was unclear how these players were nominated. Some teams took it upon themselves to nominate players to recognize their accomplishments. Other teams decided to pass and allow Major League Baseball to choose the nominees. The Arizona Diamondbacks did not publicly acknowledge how their nominees were chosen so we have no way of knowing how the players were selected. I wrote about the five candidates in the Hometown Heroes entry posted in late August. The votes were all tabulated and in September the 30 winners were announced during a three part series produced and broadcast on the ESPN network.

Today the Chicago Cubs announced that they had signed former Washington Nationals outfielder Alfonzo Soriano to a reported 8 year contract with a value of $136 million dollars. This contract is the sixth largest in Major League Baseball history and the largest contract ever offered by the Chicago Cubs. Soriano’s signing marked the sixth free agent signing by the Cubs this month following Aramis Ramirez, Kerry Wood, Henry Blanco, Wade Miller, and Mark DeRosa. The team also traded for left-hander Neal Cotts making their roster look like a revolving door. Club officials stated that they are not through yet and anticipate signing a center fielder and at least two starting pitchers.

I’ll be the first to admit I am not up on the latest fashion. To me, the closest thing to hip would be wearing an Eric Byrnes dirty t-shirt from the game. I don’t read the fashion section of the newspaper. In fact, if the Diamondbacks unveiling of their new color scheme had not appeared in the sports page I may not even have heard about it until I went to the team shop. So with my complete lack of fashion sense it should not come as a surprise to hear that I own two pair of shoes. I have my sneakers that I wear pretty much full time and then I have a pair of dress shoes. If I thought Trina would let me get away with wearing my sneakers with dress pants when we go to church or out for a nice night on the town I would probably only have one pair. By the way, a nice night on the town is defined as going anywhere there is not a retractable roof and where dinner does not consist of an Italian sausage from the Hungry Hill stand near section 112 (this obviously is not my definition).

I have been eagerly awaiting today all week. After a horrendous five days of work I definitely was looking forward to the weekend. But this was not going to be just any weekend, this was the mother of all weekends this month. Oh sure, most people would say the weekend after Thanksgiving is filled with activities and the traditional opening weekend of Christmas shopping but that lacks the importance associated with this weekend. Yeah I bet you are thinking I was looking forward to today because it marked the ninth anniversary of the expansion draft where the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks finally filled out their roster with major league caliber players. Granted, that was a pretty cool day and I do have November 18 listed as Expansion Draft day on my calendar but that was not the reason for my excitement. No the reason I found it hard to sleep last night was that today is Chase Field open house day.

The General Managers meeting concluded yesterday in Naples Florida. Each year shortly after the World Series, the General Managers from each of the 30 Major League Baseball franchises get together to discuss several topics and receive guidance from the commissioner’s office. This meeting also marks the official beginning of the free agent feeding frenzy as agents and player representatives show up to sell the services of their clients to the highest bidders. There are also assorted trades that are made but normally the blockbuster variety are saved until the owner’s meetings in December. I was interested to see what if anything the Diamondbacks would do at the meetings. They are in desparate need of starting pitching but so are the other 29 clubs so with demand greatly out distancing supply the cost of pitchers will climb faster than Barry Bond’s hat size after a dose of the “cream”. Arizona has roughly $10 million to sign a free agent if they wish to maintain the stated payroll that management has given. With the market going the way it is, that may not even buy a case of rosen bags for the pitcher’s mound. I would therefore anticipate that any changes that are going to be made will be first through the trade market with likely candidates being some of the young talent that labored in Tucson and Tennessee last season and Johnny Estrada the disgruntled starting catcher who made his feelings known on his way out of town that he didn’t want to be here. The meetings were not just about player movement though.

Spring Training in Arizona is always a lot of fun. The stadiums are much smaller than a Major League Baseball venue and the stands are much closer to the playing field. Nearly all of the games are afternoon contests so the crowds are generally laid back and relaxed. It is not usually too hot so it’s a great chance to get a tan and catch some baseball. Not long ago, everyone wondered whether spring training would continue in Arizona. Many of the facilities were old and dated and teams were looking for more state-of-the-art complexes that would house the major league and minor league players. Teams were leaving Arizona heading for new spring training headquarters in the Grapefruit League in Florida. Forward thinking civic leaders in the various Arizona municipalities along with state officials developed a plan to try and save what remaining teams were left training in Arizona. They began to remodel existing complexes and build brand new ones. With each field came new hope as teams began migrating back from Florida to Arizona. Recently the Cleveland Indians became yet another team to choose the Cactus League. A new stadium and training facility is being built in Goodyear on the west side of Phoenix for the Indians to train in. Cleveland was a long time Arizona based ball club but headed to Florida to greener pastures only to find that the facilities and proximity to other teams in Arizona was much better for them so now they will be back in 2009. Today marks another milestone in Cactus League history.

Each day it is the same routine. A little white minivan comes into our subdivision and parks down the street in front of a metal box. A sweet little old lady gets out of the car carrying a tub of envelopes and she proceeds to move the envelopes from the tub to the metal box. Approximately half way through her daily exercise I will begin walking from my house down to the metal box. When I get half way she begins to frantically move envelopes from the tub to the slots. She almost gets finished when I arrive and ask her the same question, “Did I get anything from the Arizona Diamondbacks?” Everyday I hear the same answer, “I’m sorry Mr. Summers but still nothing from the team. I’m sure that it is coming; you just need to be patient. With that I retrieve what other items may be in our mail slot and trudge home dejected again. Today was different. Today when I began walking she saw me and didn’t rush to try and beat me thereby eliminating the need to give me the bad news. Today she started approaching me and in her hand was a gift from the baseball gods.

The Arizona Diamondbacks just completed their ninth season as a franchise. During the first eight from 1998 – 2005 the team had won an unprecedented four Cy Young awards. These four were won consecutively from 1999 – 2002 by Randy Johnson. You could make a strong case that if he had received better run support during the abysmal 2004 season that he would have won an additional Cy Young award. I’m not bitter, just extremely annoyed that wins play such an important part of the Cy Young balloting system. It is a bogus stat in my opinion since the pitcher rarely has control over how much run support they receive unless the baseball writers of America are awarding the Cy Young based upon a pitcher’s hitting prowess. If that is the case then there should be no Cy Young award winners in the American League. But I digress just a bit. My point is that in the brief history of the Diamondbacks, strong pitching has always been a part of the plan. With the departure of Randy Johnson to New York, everyone assumed that dominating pitching would depart with him. In the 2004 and 2005 seasons I would have had to agree. But this year was slightly different.

I remember as a kid we would celebrate Mother’s Day the second Sunday in May and then we would celebrate Father’s Day the third Sunday in June. These were always big events where my brothers and I were expected to have gifts and show appreciation for everything that mom and dad did for us. This wasn’t hard as my parents did a lot for us. They both volunteered a lot of time with the Little League while we played and were always involved in our lives making sure we could play ball. But still, as every other kid with a calendar has noticed, there is no Kid’s day listed for any month. So I had to ask my mom why that was. She gave the patented answer that ever mother always give, “Every day is kid’s day.” Every kid I ever met was given that same answer when the question was asked. I am beginning to think that when a child is born the mother is given a book of answers to kids’ questions and this one is in chapter 1 right after “There are starving children in China that would love to have the food you are wasting.” The same question probably pertains to baseball rookies as well. We have a day where we recognize veterans so why isn’t there a Rookie’s Day?

The General Managers meetings begin in Naples Florida tomorrow. It is a chance for all 30 teams to come together and it officially signals the beginning of the off season trading period. From now until February baseball fans everywhere will surf the internet, scan the sports pages, and spend countless hours digging through any communications they can find from their favorite team to try to try and understand what they are doing to be better than last season. But it’s not all parties and talking to players agents at the GM meetings, there is some serious business to be conducted by groups within the commissioner’s office. One such item is being led by former Diamondbacks general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. Joe Jr. is to address all of the clubs to discuss the potential addition of a humidor in each stadium.

Each November a day is set aside to recognize the valuable service that veterans have sacrificed for our benefit. On this day the citizens of the United States take a moment to recognize all that they have and to show their appreciation for the freedoms they have. Veterans come in many different forms, shapes and sizes. They all have one thing in common, their love and dedication for their service. Recognizing veterans is nothing new; it has been going on for as long as anyone can remember. Baseball seems to have a special place in their hearts for veterans. You cannot go to a stadium within Major League Baseball and not hear someone talk about the sacrifices that veterans have made to make the team and sport a better place to be. This has never hit home quite as hard as it did this year.

I’ve been pretty nervous all week. First there was the whole color thing then there is the fact that I still do not have my season ticket renewal and relocation package. I’ve written about the timeline before in What’s Taking So Long? when the Arizona Diamondbacks had stated that the renewal process would begin on October 13 which just so happened was a Friday. Personally I am just grateful that they changed their minds on that one. I am not sure how much success I would have had picking new seat locations on Friday the 13th. I would have ended up in the upper deck right behind Rally Sally and I would have been forced to push her and her flags over the edge and no good could come from that. According to the initial timeline, fans had until November 1 to complete their relocation package and mail it back to the Diamondbacks. When I had not gotten my relocation forms I called the Diamondbacks and I was told that there was a delay and that the forms would actually be mailed out on November 1. The day after Halloween seemed like a good day so I patiently waited.

The Diamondbacks unveiled their new color scheme and merchandise last night at an invitation only event at the Valley Ho Hotel and resort. You were able to buy merchandise on-line last night or beginning this morning it would be available at team shop valley locations. I had contemplated buying a new hat online. Trina questioned the need for yet another Diamondbacks hat so I had to explain to her that this was strictly for evaluation purposes. That and I wanted to conduct my own market research by seeing how many people would comment on the new colors if a fan were to wear the merchandise around town. By now she has learned that I seem to be able to justify just about anything. In the end all she asked was that I try to contain myself since Christmas was coming and the kids needed something to get me. After all, my Christmas wish list consisted pretty much entirely of items that began with “Arizona Diamondbacks –“, followed by some type of merchandise description. So, given the green light to go and check out the new Sedona red gear I headed down to the team shop.

Today is a red letter day in Arizona Diamondbacks history, literally. After 12 years, 3 National League West Division titles, a National League Pennant, and a World Series championship the Diamondbacks have decided to change their color scheme. The change is not coming completely unannounced. It was leaked on the Internet a couple of months ago and has been discussed here in an entry entitled How Could They Do This? and then again in I Wish I Were Color Blind. When news was first leaked, it came with a color chart that showed some of the proposed changes that we could expect. The graphics were small and the quality was poor so we were forced to wait until the actual unveiling of the new color scheme and that was scheduled for November 8. Well looking at the calendar that would be today so I was eagerly waiting for the unveiling.

Ah Election Day, what a great American tradition. Adults throughout the country are showing their identification to complete strangers who will in turn hand them a piece of paper and direct them to a telephone booth sized space where they will enter closing the cute little curtain behind them then spend the next several minutes coloring the piece of paper before turning it in to be graded by a machine. I for one will be glad when Election Day is over as my phone will finally quit ringing. For the past two weeks I have received countless calls from every candidate or special interest group that has ever set foot in Arizona. As time has run down on the election the message frequency has increased as has the negative aspects of the content. This has especially been the case between candidates Harry Mitchell and JD Hayworth. Both of them call me multiple times per day to let me know how bad their opponent is. “Harry Mitchell hates babies, vote JD Hayworth!” or “JD Hayworth kicks puppies, vote Harry Mitchell!” It makes you want to take both of them by the ear and put them in a room together and make them hug each other until they say they are sorry. Sorry, I digressed to my childhood for a second there. Election Day is an important premise in our form of government and it is one that I take very seriously.

Some times you have to wonder where to draw the line. Well it’s not so much that I wonder where lines are drawn; I am usually the one erasing the existing line. It is Trina who normally wonders where the old line was at and why I thought it was a good idea to get rid of a perfectly good line. My life has been one that has a well defined precedence and pattern of being just slightly to the left of normal. It’s not that there is anything wrong with middle of the road kind of people, I just tend to be more interested in the strange things you find on the shoulder of the road. My passion for the Diamondbacks is a perfect example. I could have easily been one of those guys who found 5 or 6 friends and got together to purchase season tickets. We could have met and divvied up the tickets and each gone to 16 games a year. Spread over the course of a six month season that would be 2-3 games a month. Instead I chose the more obscure path and bought season tickets and attended every home game and then tried to talk my family into exotic vacation spots such as Wrigley Field or Joe Robbe Stadium just to get in a few extra games on the road. So when I began this blog I let my family help me come up with the title. They had no trouble settling on Diary of a Diehard as it seemed to best fit my personality. But exactly where should the line be drawn for team loyalty?

The first couple of weeks after the season and post season have ended; Major League Baseball tries to let the fans down gently. There is all-star traveling road show to Japan where several players go to Japan to play against their Japanese counterparts in exhibition games. Given the time differences and lack of media coverage these tend to be minor stories on the back pages of the sports page. The tour is followed by the annual awards season where baseball hands out various accolades for players or plays of the year. It starts with the comeback player of the year that is awarded during the World Series and culminates with the Hall of Fame ballot results after the first of the year. Catcher Johnny Estrada was a candidate for comeback player of the year but did not even make the finals. The awards this year went to Jim Thome in the American League and Nomar Garciaparra in the National League. It is hard to argue with those choices as both players had great years.

This is the seventh and final entry recounting the 2001 World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees that started with the Five Short Years Ago entry posted on the fifth anniversary of game 1 of that World Series. With the dismantling of the New York Yankees yesterday, hopes were running high among Diamondbacks fans. The state and country was extremely interested to see how this World Series would end. It was already being counted among the top 5 World Series ever played. Tickets to game 7 were suddenly the hottest commodity around and no more so than at our house. We had 2 tickets to the deciding game 7 of the World Series. I knew there was no way anyone would ever pry these out of my fingers but the question was who would be attending with me? Each of the kids made an argument as to why they should get the tickets. Dakota had not been to a game but since he was only 4 years old it was decided that he probably didn’t get included in the ticket lottery. Whitney didn’t really care since she went mostly to play at the playhouse or play video games so she too was quickly eliminated from the drawing. Tiffany was the biggest fan so she was definitely in the drawing even though she had gone just the day before. Mallorie thought she should go since it was her turn because the last game she went to was game 2. Then Trina stepped up and said that she wanted to attend so the discussion was over. It was decided, mom and dad would go to the game and the kids would watch on television. There are certain defining moments in a person’s life and this event had all the earmarks of being one

This is the sixth entry reliving the 2001 World Series run of the Arizona Diamondbacks that started with the Five Short Years Ago entry posted on the fifth anniversary of game 1 of that World Series. After a travel day on November 2, the Arizona Diamondbacks are back home at Bank One Ballpark. When the team left they were up 2 games to 0 and it looked as if they might actually sweep the New York Yankees. But after three heart breaking games at Yankee Stadium, the Diamondbacks arrive to find themselves on the brink of elimination. Manager Bob Brenly would send ace Randy Johnson to the mound to face Andy Pettitte of the New York Yankees. I had attended each of the first two World Series games at Bank One Ballpark. For game 1 I had taken Trina while Mallorie had attended game 2. There was one person at our house who had secretly prayed for the Yankees to win at least two games in New York to force a game 6. That was Tiffany. She was scheduled to attend this game with me and as my most devoted baseball fan she deserved to go.

Since taking over as president of the Arizona Diamondbacks on October 1, Derrick Hall has attempted to institute an open communication channel with the fans. He has provided quotes and comments on the Diamondbacks web site and been available to answer questions whenever possible. This is in addition to his other duties so he has been quite busy. With Thom Brenneman leaving and the turnover associated with normal business operations of the club have made it even more impressive how open Mr. Hall has been in his short tenure. Today was yet another example of his new open communication policy. Coordinating with the Diamondbacks web site, he is holding a monthly chat where fans have an opportunity to ask questions they may have on the direction the Diamondbacks are going. It’s a great way for fans to be heard and for the Diamondbacks to get a feel for what may be important to those who attend the games. The chat was scheduled for mid-afternoon Phoenix time so I thought maybe I would stop by and see what was going on.

This is the fifth entry chronicling the 2001 World Series run of the Arizona Diamondbacks that started with the Five Short Years Ago entry posted on the fifth anniversary of game 1 of that World Series. In a strange scheduling event, two World Series games would be concluded on a single day. With game 4 going extra innings and ending after midnight and game 5 scheduled to start that evening the record books could show 2 games concluded on November 1. This is the first and only World Series ever to be played in November. The timeline was such due to the events of September 11, 2001 and the week delay of the regular season resuming. After handily winning the first two games in Arizona, the Diamondbacks watched the next two games slip from their fingertips. While game 3 could have gone either way, it was the dramatic ending to game 4 that had broken the hearts of Diamondbacks fans and given Yankee fans new life. Thursday November 1, 2001 was especially difficult for me. I endured no end to the pain as I had a steady stream of phone calls and visits to my office. Most of the people came by to talk about the game and ask my opinion on Bob Brenly leaving Kim in too long. Others stopped by to say they had seen me on television the night before and did Fox News really go trick-or-treating with my kids. Then there were a few Yankee fans who had to stop by and remind me that they had won 26 world championships and soon would add another. Finally there was my family who seemed to call almost hourly just to make sure I wasn’t suicidal or to ask me to pick up milk (which may make me suicidal if the lines at the grocery store cause me to miss any of game 5). No matter how badly I felt, I am sure it was nothing compared to what Byung-Hyun Kim felt today. Little did we realize that history has a cruel way of reminding us of past mistakes.