Diary of a Diehard

While the Arizona Diamondbacks have only been gone a week it seems a lot longer than that. Part of the reason might be the fact that the Diamondbacks went 1-3 against the Milwaukee Brewers and 2-1 against the Chicago Cubs making the trip 3-4. Even the two wins against the Cubs yesterday and today seemed brutal. The Diamondbacks offense still seems to be dragging in the mud with hits being more valuable than a Todd McFarlane mini-figurine stadium giveaway. The one positive seems to be that whenever the Diamondbacks lost so did the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. Of course whenever the Diamondbacks won so did their divisional rivals meaning that the team remains 3.5 games back in third place in the National League Western Division and they have 7 fewer games to catch the leaders.

Continue reading ‘Sixty is a Magic Number’ »

Ok, I admit it. I completely got sucked into the whole Harry Potter thing. As much as I tried to dismiss the idea of going out in public and possibly standing in line in order to buy a children’s book I just could not pull it off. Curiosity just got the best of me. Let me start by saying I am really not much of a Harry Potter fan. I have nothing against people who have lightning bolt scars on their forehead; I just don’t have a lot in common with a hormonally imbalanced British teen-ager who happens to be a wizard. We seem to have very little in common. I’ve never played Quidditch and I really don’t follow that sport. I couldn’t even tell you who played seeker at the last all-star game. I’m not pursuing an educational degree in magic and I’ve never even seen an Antipodean Opaleye (which according to my daughter is a dragon native to New Zealand whose favorite food is sheep which it only kills when it is hungry). About the only thing we do have in common is a hatred of evil wizards. In Harry’s case it is Voldemort where my loathing is directed to Derek Jeter. Given these differences it is hard to believe that I am getting ready to leave the house at 10 PM to brave the elements (hey it is still 105 degrees out there) to rub elbows (or some other magical body part) with the Potter-ites.

Continue reading ‘What Position Does Harry Potter Play?’ »

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Eric Byrnes continued to make news this week. For the past several days news reports have been surfacing that the colorful outfielder is looking to sign a contract extension and is hoping that he can work out a deal with the team to keep him in Sedona Red for the foreseeable future. This is a very interesting circumstance as Byrnes has shown that last season was no fluke where he was listed among team leaders in most categories. This season Byrnes picked up where he left off and is again leading the team in batting average, RBI, and stolen bases. Byrnes has made it known his desire to stay a Diamondback and has offered to give the team a “hometown discount”.

Continue reading ‘Another Year, Another Left Fielder’ »

In his brief two years with the Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Eric Byrnes is quickly becoming a fan favorite. His all-out style and eccentric personality makes him a natural attraction for the everyday fan. We all know someone in our own life that is just a little bit different and stands out from the crowd. This coupled with his blue-collar attitude and work ethic makes him the talk of the ballpark. Many of us remember as a kid how we played the game just for the love of it. We would come home from the ballpark tattered and torn with grass stains from head to toe. Usually our mothers would meet us at the door and lament of the work ahead of her as she tried to get our clothes clean and presentable again. Most kids wore those grass stains as a badge of honor as it showed everyone that you were a player and in the game. Each spot of dirt and stain held a story of some conquest during the game and we wanted everyone to know about it. Byrnes seems to be of the same mindset. He represents that kid in all of us who just played because it was fun.

Continue reading ‘I Look Like Who?’ »

The convoluted outfield of the Arizona Diamondbacks just got a little more difficult to decipher. Last season when the Diamondbacks traded Shawn Green to the New York Mets and declined to renew Luis Gonzalez’s contract I thought they finally had a plan for their outfield going forward. That has not necessarily been the case though. Through injury and lack of offensive production the outfield has been in a constant state of flux for most of the season. The trouble began in spring training when anticipated starter Carlos Quentin suffered an injury to his shoulder. This problem led to him being placed on the disabled list to begin the season. Once he finally returned Quentin has not been able to find his groove hitting a mere .210 for the season. The lack of success paid a heavy toll on Quentin’s confidence and finally on July 6 the Diamondbacks sent the beleaguered outfielder to Tucson to work out the kinks in his swing and regain his self-confidence. Since that time the landscape in the Arizona outfield has become even more clouded.

Continue reading ‘The Outfield Shuffle’ »

In all of the commotion of our vacation I completely forgot to acknowledge one of the great milestones in Arizona Diamondbacks history and to fill you in on my side of the story. On July 11, 1999 in just their second season of existence the Diamondbacks found themselves 7 games over .500 with a record of 48-41. This record was enough to keep Arizona in second place in the National League West just 2.5 games behind the division leading San Francisco Giants. The Diamondbacks were in the midst of a three game Interleague series with the Oakland Athletics. Arizona had already lost the first two games of the series and were desperately trying to avoid being swept at home. Nationally everyone was talking about the Diamondbacks and their dramatic turnaround from the previous season. Much of this was due to the addition of several key veteran free agents including center fielder Steve Finley, infielder Greg Colbrunn, relief pitcher Greg Swindell, and starting pitchers Armando Reynoso, Todd Stottlemyre, and of course Randy Johnson. For the July 11, 1999 game Omar Daal was on the mound to face A’s pitcher Jimmy Haynes. The 36,632 fans at Bank One Ballpark came to see if the Diamondbacks could stave off a sweep but what they saw was something they may never see again. As for me, it was a day I will never forget. Trina won’t let me.

Continue reading ‘Commemorating a Milestone’ »

In the latest installment of my State of the Home Stand I’ll discuss what’s new and my observations for the current home games of the Arizona Diamondbacks. This is a series that I have been running all season to give a fan’s perspective to how the 2007 regular season is progressing for the Arizona Diamondbacks. This home stand marks the first of the second half of the season and is a brief three games against National League Western Division foe San Diego Padres. Coming into the series the Diamondbacks had lost 5 games in a row and were in third place 3.5 games behind the league leading Padres. San Diego was not doing much better having won only 3 games in July while losing 5. This was an important series for the Diamondbacks if they hoped to keep their play-off hopes alive.

Continue reading ‘State of the Home Stand – July 13-15’ »

Over the course of the past nine plus years I have gone to my share of baseball games. Ok if you ask Trina then over the course of the past nine plus years I have gone to enough games to cover my share and the shares of three entire villages in Zimbabwe. The number of games I have gone to are not important (unless you are in a discussion with an unnamed wife who is trying to justify why she deserves jewelry as a result of being abandoned from mid-February through the end of October each year since 1998). For the sake of argument let’s just say that I have been to a few games. I have always had two season tickets to the Diamondbacks meaning that I was rarely at these games alone. For much of the time I take one of my children or Trina to the game where we can spend quality one-on-one time with each other. At times when one of the family cannot go to the game I then take one of my friends. There has been one friend that has always been with me and supported me and my dedication to the Diamondbacks. This friend never questions my devotion and is always understanding of my feelings for the team. Not a game goes by that this friend is not there for me. So when I found out that today’s game marked the final game that he would be going to my heart sank.

Continue reading ‘Farewell to an Old Friend’ »

For the past couple of months I have been lamenting the fact that I have gained a few pounds and I am now heavier than I was when I was playing ball. Some of the weight gain has been as a result of getting old (by the way Trina is older than me so at least I have that going for me) and some of the weight gain is due to the fact that I am not as physically active as I once was. After sitting and complaining I finally decided that I would try and do something about it. Given my lifestyle where I spend nearly every waking hour in front of a computer monitor or parked at the ballpark I decided that I needed to make some changes and see if I could get back to a weight level I felt comfortable with.

Continue reading ‘One Step At a Time’ »