2007 Regular Season: June 2007 Archives

This marks the latest in a continuing series of posts where I review the state of Chase Field from a fans perspective. I try to do this at the end of each home stand to describe how things are going as seen from the viewpoint of a guy in section 132. This home stand saw a continuation of Interleague Play with a three game series against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Baltimore Orioles and ended with a four game series against National League West rival Los Angeles Dodgers. This home stand marked the midway point of the 2007 season for home games at Chase Field. We should no longer expect things to be ramping up at the stadium but rather be executing according to plan. Anything out of the ordinary probably means something is amiss.

At some point in the season this is bound to happen, the Diamondbacks will leave for a road trip. Usually this means that I will not be going to Chase Field for a few days. This time the road trip is a little more extensive. After an abysmal series where the Dodgers took three of four leaving the Diamondbacks looking up at both the Dodgers and the Padres in the standings; the team is now out of town until after the All-Star break. The mere typing of that makes my blood run cold and causes me to break out in a cold sweat. It is not just the thought of no home games that leaves me breathless; it is the fear of what Trina may have me do with this many days between home games. I’ve seen the way she wields a honey-do list. No good can possibly come from nearly two weeks without going to a Diamondbacks game.

For the second time in eight days the Arizona Diamondbacks played host to an afternoon game at Chase Field. Most of the time games begin at 6:40 PM allowing fans a chance to get home from work before traveling to downtown Phoenix to attend a game. Sometimes we find ourselves with an afternoon game when it is “getaway day” and teams are flying out for the east coast. This is the first time that I can remember when that has occurred in just over a week. I had to check my surroundings and make sure I had not somehow been teleported into an alternate universe where the Diamondbacks were now playing in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.

The first two games against the Los Angeles Dodgers have been less than stellar if you are an Arizona Diamondbacks fan. In game one we saw Brad Penny continue his domination over the D-backs beating the home team 7-1. Each time Penny beats the Diamondbacks it acts as a reminder that we traded him away in 1999 to the Florida Marlins along with Vladimir Nunez and a player to be named later (outfielder Abraham Nunez) for oft-injured closer Matt Mantei. I completely understand the trade as we were suffering with Gregg Olson as the closer which was prematurely aging everyone in attendance at what was then Bank One Ballpark.

I have a ritual that I follow before I leave for every game where I collect the seat cushions that Trina made and pack them for the upcoming game. This includes retrieving the frozen bottles of water that we’ll take to drink; and filling the seat cushion pockets with whatever treats that Trina has bought to keep us entertained and satisfied for the next 5 hours. I’ll then open my scorebook and make sure that I have at least one more page to record the game. Finally I will go to the counter where I keep the ticket books which contain my season tickets and I will tear out the game tickets for today’s date and place them in an envelope. Sometimes Trina and the kids will complete this ritual packing the bags but the last step of gathering the tickets they will leave for me to do. That way I will have peace of mind knowing that when I grab the seat cushions and head out the door I know for sure that I have the correct tickets. It also gives them plausible deniability since they can plead ignorance if we get to Chase Field and find that we don’t have tickets for the right game (which has happened on a few occasions over the years).

At the end of yesterday’s game I was making my way back up the walkway towards the exit. The Diamondbacks had just beaten the Baltimore Orioles and in the process they scored eight runs meaning all fans in attendance would receive a coupon for a free chalupa at Taco Bell. Life was good and so were the Diamondbacks. A third of the way up in section 133 stood two fans wearing Los Angeles Dodgers jerseys and hats. They were standing there pointing at the Diamondbacks fans and heckling them about how the Dodgers were going to crush Arizona during the next series. Uh, hello, that series hasn’t started yet. In the back of my mind I had to wonder, were these guys so anxious for the series with the Dodgers to begin that they came a day early or were they so stupid that they didn’t realize that the National League West series didn’t start for another 24 hours? From the sounds of these two, I was guessing it was the latter. This did act as a reminder of what I should expect over the course of the next four games.

There was a lot to look forward to at today’s game. It was the culmination of Interleague play for 2007 which just can’t come soon enough for my tastes. It is an opportunity for the Diamondbacks to make up some ground on their National League Western Division opponents who all had tough series finales. With the Diamondbacks having a share of the division lead, this was extremely exciting. And finally, it was an opportunity to celebrate a very special birthday. My daughter Tiffany would like to believe that it is her birthday that has everyone excited but unfortunately she is mistaken. The stadium is a buzz with the celebration of D. Baxter the Bobcat who is celebrating his 7th birthday during the game today. With all of these activities going on, it sometimes gets lost that there is actually a game being played on the field. One of the more common questions I get asked by people attending a game for the first time is, “what is up with having a cat as the mascot, how did that happen?”

Today marked game two of the three game Interleague series against the Baltimore Orioles. After the fiasco of last night’s game I had no idea what to expect. Going into this series I felt pretty good about our chances especially for game one which featured Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb. Never would I have anticipated that the Diamondbacks would commit 3 errors in one inning and give the lowly Baltimore Orioles a four-run lead. To a certain extent this 2007 Diamondbacks team remains a mystery to me. I cannot find a valid explanation for the rash of errors that have occurred during the first half of the season. Last year the Diamondbacks looked like one of the best defensive teams in the National League led by slick-fielding second baseman Orlando Hudson. This season the Diamondbacks have committed 55 errors again led by Hudson who has 9 himself. The Diamondbacks have the second highest error total in the league behind the Florida Marlins. While the defense was better in today’s game with the Diamondbacks going errorless; the starting pitching continued its woes for this series.

After my well deserved day off yesterday I was ready for the Diamondbacks season to begin again. Twenty-four hours without Diamondbacks baseball is just about 23 hours more than I can stand. Today marks the beginning of the end of Interleague play for 2007 with a three game series against the visiting Baltimore Orioles. The series is a repeat from last weekend when the Diamondbacks visited Camden Yard. During that season the Diamondbacks had their way with the Orioles beating them three straight games to salvage a 3-3 road trip. The Arizona hitters seemed to enjoy their visit to Baltimore putting up 21 runs during the three game set. The pitchers likewise liked the environment or the lack of production by the Orioles bats. I don’t think this weekend’s series will be quite as easy. A lot has changed in the past 5 days since these two teams last met.

The summer solstice (when described from a Northern Hemisphere perspective) describes the date and time when the Earth’s axis tilts the most towards the Sun and marks the farthest north that the Sun’s arc will make. In less technical terms this equinox marks the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere which is also the longest day of the year. That doesn’t mean there are more hours in the day, just more daylight hours. In another Major League Baseball scheduling quirk, the Arizona Diamondbacks have an off day today so as far as I am concerned it is definitely the longest day of the year since I don’t have a game to attend tonight. Trina continually reminds me that just because the Diamondbacks do not have to work does not mean that I get the day off too. That seems kind of messed up. I was pretty sure that I had explained this to her 10 years ago when the Diamondbacks first began play.

At the conclusion of last night’s game I stopped before getting into my car to glance at the night sky. I fully expected some sort of astrological phenomena to appear in the heavens. At the very least I thought I would see all of the planets had aligned and that the moon had turned Sedona Red. There was no other explanation for what I had witnessed. Outside forces beyond the skills of mortal man must have influenced the outcome of tonight’s contest between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. How else would it be possible for the Diamondbacks to stake their opponent to a 6 run lead twice then come back to win the game in extra innings? This of course happens just hours after I lament that I cannot comprehend how the Diamondbacks had never beaten their expansion brethren in 7 previous meetings. While everyone still remaining at the end of the game (which approximately was the same number of people who attend a spring training game) were absolutely giddy at the long ball heroics of Tony Clark in the ninth inning and Chris Young in the tenth inning; I was more impressed with the accomplishment of Doug Davis. No I am not talking about his ability to last only 4 innings while giving up 7 runs on 9 hits including 2 home runs. While that was impressive from a Tampa Bay perspective, it is something that most Diamondbacks fans would prefer to forget. No I am talking about his one plate appearance in the second inning when he hit a full-count pitch up the middle out of reach of the fielders for his first hit since July 4, 2006. That’s the kind of history that comes around maybe once a lifetime so you better savor the feeling. After that much excitement you just had to wonder how the series finale could possibly compete.

I consider myself fairly intelligent. I am capable of tying my own shoes. I can walk and chew gum nearly simultaneously. I was educated in the scientific method. I even worked for a brief time as a rocket scientist at a nuclear plant (and no the reactor operators are nothing like Homer Simpson). Given this background I always attempt to look at a problem and break it down to logical steps to understand the issue and to hopefully find a resolution that will restore balance to the universe. Scientists are really into balance. I think deep down they all wanted to be circus performers but then who wouldn’t? Where else can you test the boundaries of spatial geometry by placing an infinite number of clowns into a small car? As usual, I digress. The problem that I find myself currently contemplating is the inconceivable notion that the Diamondbacks cannot beat their expansion mates the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Twenty-six years ago today I married the woman of my dreams. We had dated throughout high school and into our college years. She was not only the woman I loved but also my best friend. We could share anything and had many of the same interests and hobbies. Sure there were differences like I could never understand what she saw in shopping for material or how she got so excited when she developed a new scrapbooking layout and I am not quite sure whether she fully understood my passion for baseball. But those differences made us appreciate each other all the more. Last year was a milestone year of sorts as it marked a quarter of a century that we had been married. Funny, it seems like a lot longer than that but I would never dare say that out loud where Trina could hear that. To commemorate the accomplishment of surviving 25 years Trina and the kids planned a trip to Orlando Florida for an extended stay at Walt Disney World. Normally I am excited about the fact that I would be staying at a nice resort without a care in the world and have free reign to the second happiest place on earth (they claim to be the Happiest Place on Earth but they obviously have never been to Chase Field). This trip though left me in a conundrum. The trip was planned before the 2006 Diamondbacks schedule had been released and it overlapped a home stand by 2 days. I had a serious dilemma on my hands. Do I go with my wife and celebrate 25 years together or do I stay here and go to a couple of Interleague games against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim? Sure it may seem like a no-brainer but how was I going to explain to my wife why I wanted to stay here?

Earlier this week Trina had asked me what I wanted for Father’s Day. She and the kids were having a difficult time coming up with ideas and were therefore asking if I could make a list. Trina alluded to the fact that I am difficult to buy for. How in the world could she ever say that? I am about the easiest guy to buy for. All it really takes is going into my closet and reviewing my selection of Sedona Red merchandise then going to the Team Shop and comparing what they have on the racks against what I have in my closet. Any gaps between these two locations would equal gift ideas. A similar exercise could be done for any other merchandise that the team shop sells. If she wanted to shop online all she really needed to know was first look at diamondbacks.com under the shop heading and if she could not find what she was looking for go to Google and search for “Diamondbacks merchandise” and let the surfing begin. These answers did not seem to meet her needs and she insisted on me making a list.

Ever since it was announced that there would be an Arizona Diamondbacks license plate I have been eager to order one to show my support for the team. When our annual renewal period for our right-wing, gas-guzzling, environmentally-irresponsible Chevrolet Suburban came due the Diamondbacks plates were still not available. Within 2 weeks after that the state of Arizona announced their availability. This happened to align very well with my more left-wing, gas-miser, eco-friendly Honda license renewal. Given the fact that I have named my car “Chase” (since that is primarily where it goes), it seemed appropriate that I would have a Diamondbacks license plate attached to that car. I braved a visit to the Department of Motor Vehicles and ordered my plate. All that was left now was to wait.

Over the last few years the Arizona Diamondbacks have begun to reap the benefits of building a strong farm system. Their amateur drafts have been receiving accolades as they selected the best available athlete regardless of sign-ability concerns. As these young ball players have matured it became evident that they were ready for the next step in proving that they could play at the major league level. This left the Diamondbacks in a situation where they had to decide if they would remain committed to a veteran ball club or go with a youth movement and allow the youngsters to earn their way in the Major Leagues. The Diamondbacks choose the latter and executed a plan whereby they would become one of the youngest teams in the National League West. This decision did not come without some angst. It would mean that the team would have to part ways with some of its more popular players. The epitome of this example was when the Arizona Diamondbacks met with long-time outfielder and fan favorite Luis Gonzalez. Gonzalez expected to discuss whether the team planned to pick up his option and if not they could begin discussions of contract parameters for a new deal. Instead the team came to the meeting to express their gratitude for his service but it would not be needed after the 2006 season. While the decision was warranted and the team handled it in a very professional manner it did not go over well with the fans who felt betrayed that their favorite player was being shown the door. I believe the team made the right decision in this case as Gonzo’s skills had begun to deteriorate and the young outfielders in Tucson had nothing else to prove at the minor league level. This whole experience made me begin to think about when do you give up on a player who may be past his prime?

According to my Hallmark calendar June 14 commemorates Flag Day. Did we run out of famous people so we had to start naming holidays after inanimate objects? And why did we start with a flag? Why isn’t there a pop-top can day or screw-top beer bottle day? Those inventions have done a lot more good than a flag has. One look at the stands at a baseball game will show many more people enjoying the benefits of twisting the top off a beer bottle than waving flags. Sure there will always be exceptions to that rule; Rally Sally is a perfect example of that. Any holiday that supports the notion of a crazy lady waving a flag in front of my face during a ballgame is not something I can get behind. For all I know this is a subversive ploy by terrorists to destroy our national pastime by providing a holiday to recognize insane dancing women in the upper deck who make their own flags. That is just wrong. Still, my Hallmark calendar has never led me astray before so I did have to respect that. I decided that maybe I just didn’t understand Flag Day so I decided to do a little research on the subject and what better place than Wikipedia?

Yesterday I spoke a little bit about my interaction with the psychologist and his obsession with baseball. I wasn’t completely accurate with my description. Not all of the answers came back “baseball”, there was one question that was different. When the psychologist said “Satan” my answer was “Derek Jeter”. The psychologist was taken aback by my answer. It was unclear whether he was surprised to find a question that did not result in the answer “baseball” or that I mentioned the Yankees shortstop. But after a brief discussion he completely understood my reasoning and nodded in agreement. I am not saying that Derek Jeter is in fact the actual Satan, he might be his son. It is not that I hate Derek Jeter; it is just that I think he is highly over-rated and over-saturated from a marketing standpoint. The marketing perspective was expanded when Major League Baseball and XM Radio came up with their latest promotion.

It’s funny how the human mind works. We seem to be wired by association. If a new thought or concept is brought up we immediately attempt to associate this new piece of data with something we are already familiar with. This is probably our brain trying to put context around the unknown. Psychologists use association in their treatment programs to help patients deal with their thoughts and underlying issues by associating them with something that is known. A few years back I had an opportunity to visit with a psychologist during one of my college classes. Everyone had always said I needed my head examined so I figured this would be a great way to have the doc check under the hood and maybe have my cerebral oil changed. The psychologist used word association to attempt to better understand what thoughts or words I would connect. He would give me a word and I was to respond with the first thing that came into my head. For example, he would say “happy” and I would respond “baseball”. He would say “home” and I would say “baseball”. He would say “heaven” and I would say “baseball”. After several minutes of this exercise all with the same result the psychologist suggested perhaps I should schedule some appointments with him. As much as I liked talking about baseball, I didn’t think I had the time to devote several hours each week to go to his office so we could talk about it. I appreciate that he might be a fan but he seemed to be obsessed to me since all he ever talked about were baseball related terms.

Another home stand is in the books and the Diamondbacks have packed up for an east coast Interleague road trip through New York and Baltimore. With today being an off-day with no Diamondbacks game whatsoever; I am somewhat at a loss of what to do with all of my “spare time”. Trina of course has a lot of solutions for my time management dilemma but I am trying hard to ignore her promptings. I just finished dealing with 3 days of Boston Red Sox fans; the last thing I want to deal with is a crack-carrying plumber under my bathroom sink. A guy can deal with just so much ugliness before he has to draw the line. If I have to see that hanging out I’ll be spending next year’s season ticket money on mental therapy. I think today is best reserved for reflecting upon what was the most recent home stand which included 3 games against the San Francisco Giants and the first 3 Interleague games of the 2007 season with the Boston Red Sox. So without further adieu I give you my State of the Home Stand address for June 5 through June 10.

After the record crowds from last night I was slightly worried about what to expect at today’s game. There was again a “perfect storm” of events that made me expect a near capacity crowd. First the Boston Red Sox were in town meaning there were be rabid Red Sox Nation fans in attendance equally chanting “Let’s Go Red Sox” and “Yankees Suck”. With the Red Sox winning the first two games setting up a potential sweep; this would be an exciting game. There was of course the pitching match-up of Daisuke Matsuzaka versus Randy Johnson which was a dream come true. The only thing that may have been better would have been Curt Schilling versus Randy Johnson but the Big Unit versus Dice-K is a pretty compelling reason to go to the ballpark. Finally there is the giveaway. From a kid’s perspective today’s stadium giveaway ranks right up there with bobble heads. The Diamondbacks would be giving out 10,000 Todd McFarlane figurines featuring Brandon Webb in action on the mound to children 12 years and younger. Not only would the figurines be available but the Diamondbacks had also scheduled McFarlane himself to attend the game to allow fans to have their figurines autographed. Yeah this had all the makings of another busy day at the ballpark.

As if dealing with an invasion was not enough; the Arizona Diamondbacks decided to through a little gasoline on the fire. Today was the second game of a three game interleague series with the Boston Red Sox. After being humiliated by Josh Beckett and the Red Sox last night the Diamondbacks were hoping to extract some revenge on Willie Taverez and his Boston teammates. That in itself would probably have been enough to see near record crowds arrive at Chase Field. But to sound like a really bad infomercial we have to add, “But wait, that’s not all!” If you are one of the first 35,000 fans arriving at Chase Field you will receive a Randy Johnson bobble head doll which is the third of a six game promotional series that has already produced a Brandon Webb Cy Young Award bobble head and an Orlando Hudson Gold Glove Award bobble head. I can already hear the oh’s and ah’s from the studio audience. So come on down to the stadium as supplies are limited. Operators are standing by to assist you with your order. This could very well be a repeat of the dreaded 1998 Beanie Baby fiasco which saw grown women attacking small children to get their hands on a stuffed snake complete with the all important hang tag and stadium giveaway certificate. Yeah this was definitely going to be bad.

When the Major League Baseball schedule was released I quickly looked for where and when the Arizona Diamondbacks would be playing. This would give me and more importantly my family an understanding of when they could expect me to be home and when I would be away. As I scanned the proposed schedule I looked at the series at Chase Field from June 8 through June 10 with equal amounts of anticipation and fear. This series had the Boston Red Sox visiting Chase Field for the first time during the regular season. The schedule was released well before the media frenzy surrounding Dice-K and before the Boston Red Sox would go on to post the best record in Major League Baseball over the first 2 months of the season; so why the feelings of fear?

Well it is that time of year again when the scouting departments for all 30 franchises meet and hold the annual first-year player draft. This year is slightly different as the rules have changed as a result of the collective bargaining agreement. This also marked the first time that the draft would be televised on ESPN2 and also on MLB.TV via the Internet. I have said for a long time that baseball was missing a golden opportunity to market the game. The NFL has made their annual draft almost as large a media event as the Super Bowl yet baseball insisted on keeping their draft behind closed doors and out of the public spotlight. It always takes nearly an act of Congress to get a listing of the draft choices and information about the players. But today we had baseball commissioner Bud Selig welcoming fans and viewers to the draft then acting as master of ceremonies for each and every pitch. It was sometimes hard to get caught up in the drama that the announcers were attempting to build with each pitch. Still, it was kind of exciting to watch the draft unfold. I was slightly disappointed, each team sent representatives to the draft to man the phones or act in some sort of official capacity. I waited by the phone all week and diligently checked my email but the Diamondbacks never called. I was really disappointed as I thought I would be perfect sitting there at the table looking important while doodling on a notepad.

There are days when I just have to shake my head and wonder what in the world is going on. We are in the midst of a home stand meaning that the Arizona Diamondbacks are at Chase Field playing a three-game series against their divisional rival the San Francisco Giants and then will host an interleague series against the Boston Red Sox. Fresh from a road trip where the Diamondbacks went 5-1 against the National League East and a win in last night's first game against the Giants; I was in great spirits and didn't think anything could disrupt that. Boy was I wrong.

As I have written on numerous occasions, Barry Bonds is the most celebrated and most hated player in the game today. It is interesting to see the reaction of fans when Bonds arrives on the field. Part of those in attendance will stand and cheer and celebrate the fact that they may be seeing one of the greatest players to play in this era. Others in attendance will sand and venomously boo and malign the fact that they may be seeing one of the greatest cheaters to ever play the game. There does not seem to be any middle ground when it comes to Mr. Bonds. His personality seems to alienate all but his strongest supporters and he doesn’t seem to care. You have to give him credit for the apathy that he displays. People screaming at him, booing incessantly and questioning both him and his family heritage and he never even acknowledges the sounds. Now with the San Francisco Giants in town for three games I wondered whether Barry’s presence would result in a larger than normal attendance figure and if so were people interested in the possibility of Barry breaking the record or was this like when motorists have to stop and see the results of a horrible automobile accident.

In one of those rare times when the planets all align and the stars change their orbits; the Arizona Diamondbacks are not playing. It is not just that they are not playing at Chase Field. No, they are not playing period. It is during these types of days that I usually will get someone stop me and ask how I can possibly cope with the fact that my team is not playing. I am not exactly sure what they are expecting to hear. I half wonder whether they think I am some sort of addict who goes through withdrawals and begin violently shaking uncontrollably when my team is not on the field. No, that doesn’t happen. They have medications for that now so I don’t have to worry about those side effects any longer. So I try to cope the best I can with the notion of no baseball with a few activities I have accumulated through the years.

Carlos Quentin has not had the type of campaign he had envisioned before the 2007 season started. Early on in Spring Training he suffered a shoulder injury which ended up being diagnosed as a partial tear in his labrum. This resulted in the Diamondbacks right fielder being shut down from baseball activities while trainers worked with him to build up the muscles around the labrum. Quentin began the season on the disabled list where he stayed for most of the month of April. When he returned to the Diamondbacks line-up he immediately made an impact getting off to a quick start. That hot streak did not last long and soon the struggles began for the big right hander. Quentin’s batting average dipped below the .200 mark and there were some rumblings around him being replaced in the outfield by Eric Byrnes with Scott Hairston playing in left. It was not just Carlos’ hits that were down though; his streak of hit by pitch also took a beating (pun intended). After being plunked officially 8 times in 2006, the total had dropped off. He was actually hit 10 times but on two occasions the umpire did not feel the ball had hit Quentin (Home plate umpires Paul Emmel and Ed Hickox are officially on the list of umpires who need to review their vision benefits). Over the first month of the season Quentin had been hit only twice. The first was by David Wells of San Diego on April 18 and the other by Mike Pelfrey of the New York Mets. Although these two tied him for the team lead, we have come to expect more from the human target.

With the Diamondbacks out of town and in New York this weekend I was shackled to the house by my wife with her endless list of things to do. I attempted to get out of the “honey-do” mode by explaining that the game was televised and started at 10 AM but that argument didn’t get me anywhere. With a single seemingly effortless motion Trina reached for the remote and pressed the Tivo record button all the while explaining the benefits of time-shifting. To argue with her on this point would have been as fruitless as trying to explain to a Boston Red Sox fan why the designated hitter rule was bad for the game. No amount of logic could justify seeing David Ortiz play in the field. Instead I decided it would be best to just let this one lie and pick my battles more carefully. I therefore took the list and began to work my way through it. Midway down the page was a line item, “Get the mail”. Trina will sometimes pad the list with “low hanging fruit” which are items that I can easily accomplish with minimal effort. It is basically a way to motivate me so that I don’t get discouraged at the end of the day seeing how nothing was able to be crossed off the list. It’s a shallow victory but a victory nonetheless. What was even sadder was the fact that I was actually excited that I would be able to cross something off the paper. So I trudged down to the mailbox to retrieve the mail. I had now expectations of getting anything which made what I found even more surprising.

Over the brief 9 year history of the Arizona Diamondbacks, June has not been a month filled with fond memories. The team has had a tendency to how shall we say this delicately, fall apart. The first two months of the season are always filled with hopes that this year will be the year that we’ll get into the play-offs. These hopes are usually based on the fact that the Diamondbacks are at or near the top of their division and in the thick of the wild card race. Then in 30 short days a glance at the standings show the Diamondbacks falling through the standings like a Brandon Webb sinker. There is typically some sort of trigger mechanism that causes the slide and you can totally get why they are suddenly looking up at the divisional leaders. That doesn’t make it less frustrating though.