Diary of a Diehard

There are times when I really wished I would have gone into psychology as a major in college. The inner workings of the mind are something that has always fascinated me. Trina and I have this discussion a lot. After being married as long as we have, Trina believes she has become somewhat of an expert on abnormal behavior and thought processing. It seems like ever day she is analyzing something I have said or done. Normally after her analysis she states, “well that is definitely not normal” but I am not exactly sure what that means. It is not just my non-conventional behavior that she finds odd; she also uses that phrase whenever we start to talk about dreams too.

Continue reading ‘You Must Be Dreaming’ »

With all of the grief that I cause for Trina, there are times that she does get even. Trina and I have a very interesting relationship. I keep her laughing and always keep her on her toes. She attempts to teach me that sometimes you have to be an adult and that as strange as it seems, there are things besides baseball that are important. I have to admit, I think I am more successful with my efforts than she is at hers. Sure I realize the adult thing but I’m still not sure I am buying into the whole “there are things more important than baseball”. We’ll keep working on each other because that is what people do when they love each other. That really has nothing to do with today’s entry but I did want to set the record straight. A lot of people may think that we have a contentious relationship but quite the opposite is the case. I think I was put here to help Trina gain sainthood (at least that is what her friends tell her).

Continue reading ‘What About Me?’ »

Christmas decorations and festivities are in full swing at our house. The tree is now up and although I did finally have to relent and remove the Diamondbacks hat from the top of the Christmas tree, it was still beginning to look an awful lot like Christmas. Each year we begin by decorating the interior of the house followed by the Christmas tree. We then move to the outside adding lights within reason to the house and landscape. The final touch is the placement of the nativity set. The nativity set was hand made by Trina and has extreme sentimental value. It is also one of the most beautiful sets I have seen. The nativity has a special place atop the oak book case in our living room. Once it is set up, we gather the children around and tell the story of the nativity and the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a family tradition that has become very important to us. You would think that something that beautiful and meaningful would be off limits to my warped sense of reality but you would be wrong in that assessment.

Continue reading ‘The Nativity’ »

Like countless other families we send out Christmas cards each year. Trina makes each of us autograph every card so that the recipient knows all of the family had a hand in this tradition. Trina makes sure that the cards each contain a recent family picture. I guess this is to remind everyone who these weird people are that send cards every year that have 6 autographs in it. The picture is always a source of contention in our house. I always argue that our family picture should be in front of Chase Field with a sign that says, “Safe at Home for the Holidays”. Since we spend about as much time there as we do at our Chandler residence I thought that seemed appropriate. Each year Trina puts her foot down arguing that unless we change our names to the Diamondbacks family that is not going to happen. This usually leads to another discussion about what would happen if we DID change our names to the Diamondbacks family. The end result is always the same. Trina mutters under her breath and goes to the medicine cabinet for the bottle of aspirin.

Continue reading ‘The Christmas Newsletter’ »

Every year I vow that I will cut back on the amount of Christmas decorations that we have, especially when it comes to outside lights. And every year I find myself at Home Depot buying more lights and decorations. This year I justified it by saying that I was actually being rewarded with Diamondbacks MVP Rewards points for decorating my house. Looking on line I am not seeing any of the purchases show up so I am beginning to think that is not an accurate statement. Nonetheless, if I can tie Christmas decorating to getting points towards going to Diamondbacks fantasy camp I am going to do it. Trina is not exactly thrilled since she is more practical than I am, she has actually calculated out what it would take for me to accumulate enough points to go to Fantasy Camp.

Continue reading ‘Lighting My Way to Fantasy Camp’ »

When new Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall took over for Rich Dozer, he implemented a program where he would speak to the fans on a monthly basis to allow them to ask questions to the Diamondbacks management team. Last month he brought newly hired announcer Daron Sutton and provided fans with an opportunity to get to know the new play-by-play voice of the team. This month Mr. Hall broadcast from the winter meetings in Orlando Florida.

Continue reading ‘Just Chatting’ »

Oh what a difference a year and a new collective bargaining agreement make. Last year during the winter meetings, the Diamondbacks stood by and watched Dan Uggla be plucked from their farm system. We then had to endure an entire season where he played daily as the starting second baseman for the Florida Marlins making the all-star game as a rookie. Were it not for the fact that the Diamondbacks had themselves acquired a gold glove caliber second baseman that was amazing us on a daily basis, the Uggla incident (which is how it will forever be known) would have been unbearable. Today was the final day of the winter meetings which meant it was Rule 5 day again. For clubs such as the Diamondbacks who have a lot of talent in their minor league system, this day is always stressful as you just may lose a bright star to another team.

Continue reading ‘Rule 5 Celebration’ »

One of the interesting stories at the Winter Meetings has been that of former Diamondback player Luis Gonzalez. The long-time face of the Diamondbacks is an unrestricted free agent after the Diamondbacks declined to offer him arbitration. Gonzo had wanted to remain a Diamondback but during a meeting in September the team stressed that he did not fit within their plans to be younger and more athletic. After an emotional farewell by the fans at the last game of the season, everyone expected Gonzalez to slowly fade into the sunset. That though does not seem to be the script that is being played out. Instead, Luis continues to garner headlines and air time in the valley as the team tries to ready itself for the post Gonzo era. The rumor mill had as many as 9 teams interested in signing Gonzalez but as of today it was down to three finalists. The St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and the Los Angeles Dodgers had been identified as suitors for the 39-year-old outfielder. The question was, which one would he sign with.

Continue reading ‘Gonzo Blues’ »

Day 2 of the Winter Meetings could best be classified as “all quiet on the eastern front” as far as the Diamondbacks are concerned. Looking for quotes and deals from the Diamondbacks is like trying to get a mime to talk. There just isn’t much to say. With a payroll pretty set and the prices of free agents accelerating faster than the space shuttle (I had to get at least one Florida reference in the opening paragraph) no one expected the Diamondbacks to be the communications hub of the meetings. What the fans did expect though was some sort of player movement. Leading up to the meetings all we heard about was how the Diamondbacks were trying to get better through trades and that their minor league system was loaded to the point that other teams were standing in line to get some of the talented prospects in the farm system. So far no deals have been announced by the team.

Continue reading ‘Winter Meetings’ »