Diary of a Diehard

Looking at the schedule I am sure the Diamondbacks had hoped that a three game series against the San Francisco Giants would be an opportunity to pencil in three victories and hopefully allow them to increase their lead in the National League Western Division standings. After the first game on Monday it looked like that hope may just be realized. The Diamondbacks took the first game 5-3 on a strong pitching performance by the bullpen after Livan Hernandez struggled early. Struggle in this case is a relative term since Livan gave up only 3 runs in 6 innings. The problem was that the Diamondbacks were facing Giant uber-phenom Todd Lincecum who has been trouble for Arizona this season. All of that was mute though with pinch hitter Jeff Salazar launched a Brian Hennessey pitch into the stands for a 3 run home run and the victory. This was a great start to the series and a definite momentum builder. That momentum somewhat faded in game 2 of the series when the Diamondbacks bats went silent in a 1-2 loss on a sacrifice fly by Giant Pedro Feliz in the eighth inning. It’s funny how a series will ebb and flow like the tides of the ocean. Just when you think things are going your way and the waves of momentum are swinging your direction they come crashing down being carried out to sea. This made today’s game extremely important and fortunately for the Diamondbacks they had their Giant killer on the mound.

Continue reading ‘A Giant Pain’ »

It’s hard to believe that it has been 6 years since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and hence 6 years since baseball suspended games for a brief period of time while the country mourned the loss of loved ones and devastation of property. For most of the country this seems like a distant memory but for those who lost someone or who lives in the area impacted by the attack there are still constant reminders of the horror of that day.

Continue reading ‘Memories of the Madness’ »

The recent home stand by the Arizona Diamondbacks was especially rewarding. Not only were there 6 exciting games to watch but the games were all meaningful having play-off implications. The first three game series was against National League Western Division rivals the San Diego Padres. The teams entered the series tied and after a couple of hard earned victories the Diamondbacks left the series with a one game lead in the west. After a well deserved off day the Diamondbacks started a three game series against the charging St. Louis Cardinals. I had expected at least a split and potentially for the Diamondbacks to lose that series but the team is now starting to hit their stride in yet another winning streak and swept the Cardinals and in the process extending their lead over the other teams in the NL West. Arizona now leaves on a six game road trip to the West Coast against divisional rivals San Francisco and Los Angeles. These next six games will be crucial to their play-off hopes. For now though let’s concentrate on the past home stand with the latest state of the home stand address.

Continue reading ‘State of the Home Stand Address – August 31 – September 9’ »

In a game earlier this week with the San Diego Padres; Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Orlando Hudson raced around second base and headed for third. In a relatively close play O-Dog slid into the bag and was called safe. The Diamondbacks fans in attendance cheered at the aggressive base running. When Hudson got to his feet he called time out and walked around the base. I turned to Trina and commented that it appeared Orlando Hudson was hurt. He wasn’t limping and stayed in the game but something about the way he got up from that play made me think something was not quite right. A couple of innings later Hudson was removed from the line-up. The game was going well for the Diamondbacks so it could have been a precautionary measure to give him some rest but again something didn’t seem right. After the game manager Bob Melvin in his post-game press conference announced that Hudson had injured his thumb and would go in for tests to determine the extent of the injury. Diamondbacks fans everywhere held their collective breath wondering whether the injury was serious or not.

Continue reading ‘Thumbs Down for O-Dog’ »

Since March when the promotion schedule was released for the Arizona Diamondbacks this has been one of those Sedona Red letter days that have been circled on the calendar. It is the fifth and final bobble head giveaway for the 2007 regular season. Like for the previous four bobble head days I had purchased extra tickets to allow more of the kids to attend the game. So how did this bobble head day compare to the others?

Continue reading ‘Bobble Heads, the Final Chapter’ »

After surviving another never-ending day off where the Arizona Diamondbacks did not have a game (does Major League Baseball not understand how painful this is for the fans?) I was ready for another series to begin. This weekend the Arizona Diamondbacks host the defending World Champion St. Louis Cardinals in a critical three-game series. The Cardinals have struggled this season battling injuries and tragedy but have come on lately to be competitive in the mediocre National League Central Division. This series therefore has play-off implications as the Diamondbacks continue to push for the NL West crown or at a minimum for a wild card berth. The Cardinals hopes for the post season hinge on putting together a series of wins to overtake the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers. Even a month ago no one would have ever expected to use the words “Cardinals” and “play-offs” in the same sentence. It is yet another example of how quickly things can change in the standings and how closely teams are grouped in the divisions.

Continue reading ‘Fast Balls and Smash Mouth’ »

Since his selection during the 2005 amateur draft; Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton has been a marked man. Upon signing his first contract the expectations for Upton began. As the number one overall pick in the draft he may as well have been playing with a target around his neck. No matter where he went or what team he played on; he was the center of a lot of attention. That is a substantial amount of pressure to place on a kid who just months before was worrying whether he had gotten a passing grade on his high school math exam or who he would be taking to his Senior Prom. The pressure did not seem to affect him much though as he set about learning a new position and adjusting to wooden bats.

Continue reading ‘Our Minor is a Major’ »

“Hello?” I said as I answered the phone.

“Did you buy something from the Arizona Diamondbacks?” Trina replied without even giving my hello a response.

“Who is this?” I asked. The silence on the other end made me realize that she might still be a little ticked off about yesterday and that I probably need to quit messing around. “No, I didn’t order anything from the Diamondbacks that I can remember. Why do you ask?”

“A large envelope came for you today and the return address says it is from the Arizona Diamondbacks.” Trina said. I racked my brain trying to remember if I had ordered anything lately from the team without Trina knowing about it.

“No, I don’t think I ordered anything from the Diamondbacks.” I replied. Not that I haven’t ordered something from the team without Trina knowing it; I just didn’t remember doing that this time.

“Can I open it?” Trina asked.

“No, it is a federal offense for you to open mail when it is not addressed to you.” I answered. There are two things you don’t mess with. You never open someone else’s mail and you don’t remove those tags off your mattress. Breaking either of these rules is sure to result in chaos and anarchy and I don’t want to be blamed for that. Dejected Trina hung up the phone. I knew what would happen next. I would be getting calls every hour asking when I was going to be home and whether she could open the package. I’ve played this game before.

Continue reading ‘Another Reason Why I’m a Fan’ »

Sometimes I just have to wonder how in the world Trina and I ever got married in the first place. I am not questioning whether I love my wife; I am questioning whether she has lost her mind. We agree on certain things like Rally Sally being insane and that Derek Jeter may very well be the reincarnation of Satan but then there are other things where I just have no idea where she is coming from. Some of these differences are subtle like how we differ in shopping for gifts for each other. She seems to think there are places besides the Team Shop and I don’t. There are also differences in our food tastes. I like the Italian Sausage with sauerkraut from Hungry Hill while she likes the Polish Sausage with grilled peppers, onions and sauerkraut. These are the kinds of things that you can deal with. After all, every marriage is made up of some compromise isn’t it? But sometimes the differences between her and I are gaping holes which in one particular case seems to be wider and deeper than the Grand Canyon.

Continue reading ‘Tough Decisions’ »