November 2007 Archives

Salary arbitration is always a weird subject. It is one of those things that is rarely understood by the average baseball fan and one of those quirky things that always seems to be part of the collective bargaining agreement each time it is signed. The origin of salary arbitration started out simple enough. Owners were becoming frustrated when players would hold out at Spring Training because they felt they were being undervalued. The players on the other hand were frustrated that their only leverage for demanding fair compensation was their failure to show up for work. A compromise was therefore necessary that would allow players an opportunity to escalate their earnings especially following a break-out season. Owners would have the opportunity to counter with an offer that made fiscal sense while ensuring that the player would continue coming to work. From these beginnings stemmed other nuances that would have many implications in the game.

Prior to the 2007 season the Arizona Diamondbacks were marketing and showcasing their plethora of young talent that would make up their team. The future looked so bright with a core of young players who had come up through the minor leagues together and were now ready to show their stuff at the Major League level. The Diamondbacks web site echoed this by featuring several players in the heading. There was Cy Young award winner Brandon Webb and first baseman Conor Jackson. There were photos of Rookie of the Year candidate Chris Young and shortstop Stephen Drew. And there was Right Fielder Carlos Quentin who had been branded with someone who possessed unlimited potential.

The latest name to be pursing the lips of eager Arizona Diamondbacks fans is Hiroki Kuroda. Wait what was that name again? Hiroki Kuroda. Like most Americans I tied my tongue in a knot that would have made many a Boy Scout proud as I attempted to pronounce his name. And as like many people from the United States, if I can’t speak a foreign language and can’t seem to get the pronunciation correct; I just speak louder. THE ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS ARE INTERESTED IN SIGNING HIROKI KURODA. There now I am sure I got it right. If you are like most fans I have talked to in the last couple of days you are sitting there scratching your head wondering what the heck a Hiroki Kuroda is and how he fits into the plans of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“You should look into this.” Whenever I get an email that starts with that sentence; I know I am about to get involved in something that probably will result in no good. Emails like this come into my in-box more often than I care to remember. Some of them are from friends that really would love to hear my take on a story; others are from people who are just trying to get me in trouble with my wife which is something I seem to be completely capable of doing without anyone’s help. In this particular case the email contained a link to a URL. I know I am not supposed to click on links within email messages; my antivirus software constantly reminds me of that fact. I swear Norton nags me more than my wife and my mother combined. Oh wait I didn’t mean nag I meant gently remind me in a loving manner (you never know when your wife or your mother may be reading your blog). Like any small child I believe I know more than my parent/wife/antivirus vendor so I gleefully click on the links within email messages. It’s a lot like Christmas. You never know whether the package contains a Nintendo Wii or the street address of that homeless guy who stole the only good shopping cart at the grocery store.

For the past few weeks we have all begun to hear more and more about the upcoming election. The candidates are beginning to line up their supporters and while the mudslinging has not been too painful to endure yet it is bound to get more and more fierce as the election draws near. There will be questions of whether a particular candidate can handle the stress of the election trail. And while the voters would love to deal with nothing but the issues we are all guaranteed that each candidate’s character will be brought up and any skeletons will be shaken from the closets and closely examined. I guess when an election is as important and historical as this we should be appreciative that people are taking these things so seriously. Still, I am not quite sure I am ready to be engulfed in another election. I’m still reeling from the outcome of the last election just a little upset because my candidate did not win. I know I should not take these things personally but it’s hard to do when you are devoted to the issues the way I am.

The last time we saw Chad Tracy it was during the player introductions of the 2007 divisional play-offs. He was introduced and made his way out to the third base line to take his place with his teammates. Tracy had just recently undergone microfracture surgery on his right knee and he was on crutches as he hobbled towards the base path amid the cheers of the fans. The prognosis for Tracy’s return is Opening Day as the best case scenario. Going into the off-season this news puts the Diamondbacks in a difficult situation.

Late last season after the trading deadline the Arizona Diamondbacks put in a waiver request on pitcher Joe Kennedy. At the time the move was partially one to keep one of the other National League Western Division teams from picking up Kennedy from the Oakland Athletics and partially because General Manager Josh Byrnes thought Kennedy could help the Diamondbacks in their push to the post season. Kennedy joined the Diamondbacks on August 4 and pitched out of the bullpen for Arizona. He made three appearances for the Diamondbacks pitching a total of 2.2 innings where he allowed 7 runs on 4 hits. On August 15 Arizona parted ways with Kennedy designating the left-hander for assignment thereby ending one of the shortest tenures of any player in franchise history. Kennedy would end up catching on with the Toronto Blue Jays where he would play the remainder of the season. That in itself would not be very noteworthy.

The day after Thanksgiving is typically referred to as Black Friday. This designation is in reference to the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Historically it is one of the most profitable days of the year for most merchants as people begin to purchase their gifts. In our household it is about as close to a national holiday as there is. Beginning on Thanksgiving night Trina will sit down begin to map out a plan of action. She will retrieve the newspaper and begin categorizing each advertisement. One stack will contain all of the “door buster specials”. These are the items that are on extreme sale and are usually time sensitive. One stack will be based upon type of gift. These are made up of merchandise categories such as electronics or clothing. Clothing is a special category because these are stores that may require trying something on which in turn reduces shopping time efficiency. The final list of ads are made up of items that might be gift related but also could just be something fun to have. These shopping stops are more fact finding than anything else. Trina may see something that she would like to use as a future gift and therefore we should check it out to see how feasible it would be.

Today in the United States we celebrate Thanksgiving. From what I remember from my days in elementary school, the holiday commemorates a feast between the pilgrims and the Native American Indians to celebrate the bountiful harvest and new found friendship found in the new world. This of course all happened before the settlers began stealing the land from the Native Americans who in turn would gain gambling rights on their reservations whereby they would take back all the money that the settlers had taken plus interest at their casinos. It just goes to show that what goes around comes around. According to the Butterball company, this is the time of year when we all partake of the goodness of turkey and feast ourselves on such delicacies as green beans with mushroom soup poured over fried onion crunchy sticks and countless helpings of multi-colored Jell-O in fancy glasses topped with Cool Whip and other man-made dairy cream products. But this holiday is not only just about food; it is also about sports and in particular football.

It’s always an interesting time of year after the season and post season have ended and the free agent feeding frenzy has begun. This brief period of time just before the Winter Meetings are held is when teams must finalize their 40-man roster. A lot of people may wonder why that is so important since there are not that many transactions happening during the off-season. While that may be true that a team might not make a lot of changes there are some things that play into the 40-man roster that need to be taken into consideration.

There are times that I am left scratching my head trying to understand what the Baseball Writers of America define as the Most Valuable Player. Should the definition be the Most Valuable Player who puts up the best combination of offensive and defensive statistics thereby defining themselves as the best overall baseball player in each specific league? Or should the award describe which one player meant more to the success of his team? This could include statistical categories but really relies more on intangibles such as clubhouse presence, mentoring and leadership ability, and who motivates their team to greatness? The latter category would somehow take into consideration the individual’s role and importance in a team game. How for example do you quantify the importance of the leadership skills of someone like Tony Clark to a young Arizona Diamondbacks roster? How much significance does a team’s success have on the deciding the value of an individual player? Are you judging a player’s value to their specific team or are you judging their value to the league and the betterment of baseball? These are the ponder able questions that arise around this time of year when baseball awards begin to be handed out.

Although few people may realize it there is a Baseball World Cup tournament which has been held roughly every two years since 1938. The World Cup is an international tournament made up of teams representing different countries. In 1938 the tournament featured 2 teams but has expanded to feature 16 teams. [Blog trivia, can you name the 2 teams in the inaugural World Cup in 1938 and who won the championship? The answer will be given at the end of this article.] The 2007 World Cup had representation by teams from the United States, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Italy, Spain, and South Africa which made up Pool A and Cuba, Australia, Netherlands, Korea, Canada, Venezuela, Germany, and Thailand which made up Pool B. The tournament was held November 6 – November 18 in Taiwan. The rosters from these teams are made up mostly of amateurs and/or minor league baseball players. The World Cup should not be confused with the World Baseball Classic which began in 2006 and whose teams were made up of professional players playing for their native countries.

Wow it seems like only yesterday that I was taking a vacation day and leaving work early to go down to the Phoenix Civic Plaza. It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky. It was one of those days that made you forget about the triple-digit brutal heat of the summer and reminds you of why you chose to live in Arizona. This was not an average November day though. This was a date that I had been anticipating to for 986 days. And while I would only be a spectator that day, I still found myself extremely nervous about what was going to transpire over the next several hours.

After the four game sweep in the National League Championship Series it took me a little while to recover from the pain and the shock of the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball season actually being over. After 169 games watching and following the Diamondbacks on a daily basis my system had gone into shock at the notion of not seeing box scores in the news paper or making plans to drive down to Chase Field for the next home stand. Although I have never smoked, I have to imagine that what I was now dealing with had to be the equivalent to when a smoker decides to quit. The only difference was that there doesn’t appear to be a patch that has been produced to help ease a baseball fan back into normal society after the season is complete. I feel as though the medical profession has seriously lapsed at this oversight and I decided to do something about it.

Like many baseball fans outside the city of San Francisco I am not much of a Barry Bonds fan. It’s probably a combination of things that made me disenfranchised with possibly the best baseball player of the 20th century. First and foremost it would be his attitude and perceived disdain for the fans and the game. From the beginning of his career Barry Bonds has given the impression that he is above having to deal with the common baseball fans. Bonds has never attempted to hide this arrogance and in fact seems relatively proud of it. It is Bonds assertion that it really doesn’t matter what the fans think of him. He is not playing for their benefit. He is playing for his own. It seems as though every accomplishment he acquires causes him to alienate himself further from the fans that pay to see him. This of course reached its crescendo this past season as Bonds chased and passed Hank Aaron to become the all-time home run leader.

A year ago we were all eagerly pacing back and forth waiting for the National League Cy Young award to be announced. Brandon Webb had pitched an unbelievable year and was the odds on favorite to take the prize. This of course came to pass and for the fifth time in the team’s existence an Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher was touted as the best pitcher in the National League. Of course when you win a prestigious award such as the Cy Young there comes with that a tremendous amount of expectations from fans, teammates, and from yourself. With that respect it was difficult to imagine that Brandon Young could match what people thought he should do this season. Opening Day was a prime example. Before the game everyone expected Webb to dominate the Colorado Rockies. By the time the Diamondbacks had secured the win Brandon was long gone from the game.

At the beginning of the 2007 season the expectations for the Arizona Diamondbacks were to continue their youth movement and get the young players some experience to set them up for success and hopefully a play-off run in 2008 or 2009. Manager Bob Melvin felt that the level of talent that the Diamondbacks had on their roster may provide them with an opportunity to improve on the team’s 2006 record of 76-86. Melvin also realized that his managing ability would be challenged this season as he moved from a veteran team to one filled with players having minimal major league experience. The 2007 season would be a telling sign of how adaptable Bob Melvin could be as a major league manager. Bo-Mel’s management style has always focused on open communications with his coaches and his players. He believes that roles should be properly defined and each member of his staff and team should know their responsibilities within those roles. This style makes Melvin an easy guy to work for. You know what is expected of you and you know you will be held accountable for how you go about your business. But how would that style work with an inexperienced team?

Have you ever wandered into one of those all-you-can-eat buffets at around 3 PM in the afternoon? It was a little late for a lunch hour and way too early for dinner and so I erroneously thought I would have the place to myself. Instead I reach the parking lot to see that there are no spaces available and the line stretches out the door and part way around the building. As I approached the end of the line I also realized I was way out of my element. Although I am no kid, I was nearly half the age of most of the people standing in front of me. I rarely go to all-you-can-eat buffets so I was extremely out of my element. I obviously didn’t know the routine and the other patrons were quick to let me know that with each mis-step I made. By the time I finally reached the serving line the room was already in a frenzy with arms and legs and a few canes waving around as people staked out their claim on one dish or another. The closest thing I could equate the experience to was a program I once saw on the Discovery Channel during Shark Week. That is until today.

In one of the most bizarre coincidences in recent history Major League Baseball chose Veteran’s Day as the day they would announce the Rookie of the Year awards. In the National League the Arizona Diamondbacks find themselves with a legitimate candidate in center fielder Chris Young. Legitimate candidate should not be confused with favorite. It has long been speculated that the winner would come from either the Colorado Rockies or the Milwaukee Brewers for the Jackie Robinson National League Rookie of the Year. Wow, that award title is a mouthful. About the only thing longer than that is the team name for the Angels.

With baseball season now over the amount of Diamondbacks press coverage has dwindled to a trickle. The local newspaper barely even acknowledges the team’s existence. They are busy building up the Phoenix Suns establishing Planet Orange as the place to be. They also dedicate large amounts of print space to the Arizona Cardinals as they try to explain how this year’s team implosion is different than all those that occurred previously since the team moved here. This weekend though I found a few stories surrounding the Arizona Diamondbacks and in the most peculiar place.

November 8, 2006 was a day that I will never forget. In my life it was the equivalent to asking where I was when Kennedy was shot or what was I doing when man first landed on the moon. It was an historic day to day the least. On that day much of my life changed and I have yet to figure out whether it was for the better or the worse. The evening of November 8 at the Valley Ho resort in Phoenix the Arizona Diamondbacks unveiled their new color scheme during a fashion show. Gone were the comfortable and unique purple, turquoise, and copper replaced with Sedona Red, Sonoran Sand, and Black. This led to a dramatic change in my life as I went about replacing all of my old team memorabilia with ones that fit the new color scheme. I wondered how in the world a team could turn its back on 12 years of history and start over. I’m sure a lot of my family and friends thought I was crazy for getting so worked up over something as trivial as a team changing its colors. But to a fan there is nothing more sacrilegious as messing with your favorite team’s colors; unless perhaps a franchise goes one step further and changes its name.

Coming out of Spring Training this year the Arizona Diamondbacks were hoping that pitcher Micah Owings would be able to make an impact for the team. Given the tremendous year he had in the minor leagues this season the team was hoping he could make the transition to the major leagues and offer some relief as starter Randy Johnson began the season on the disabled list. I’m sure the front office was hopeful that Micah could become the fifth starter at least temporarily and perhaps grow into a valuable member of the pitching staff. I am not sure anyone fully expected that he would have the kind of year he did especially at the plate.

On July 22, 2007 it was supposed to be just another game in the Texas League between the Arkansas Travelers and the Tulsa Drillers. The Drillers are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies and were on the road to face the Travelers. In the ninth inning with the Drillers down 7-3 first baseman Tino Sanchez came to the plate. He hit a line drive foul down the first base line which struck first base coach Mike Coolbaugh in the head. The couch fell to the ground unconscious and stopped breathing. He was shortly pronounced dead. The accident devastated major league and minor league players and officials. The Colorado Rockies players went as far as to vote the Coolbaugh family a full player’s share of their post season winnings. Coolbaugh, 35, was survived by his two sons Jacob and Joseph as well as his wife Amanda who gave birth last month to the couple’s first daughter Anne Michel Coolbaugh. It was a tragic story that brought to light a very serious danger.

With the General Managers meeting this week in Orlando I fully expected to see some baseball news in the paper and on the wire services. Teams have until November 12 to exclusively negotiate with their free agent players. I had hoped that there would be news on the Diamondbacks front saying they had signed Tony Clark to a two-year contract or that Livan Hernandez was open to coming back to the team for another year. I was right in a sense, the Diamondbacks were a lead story not only on the sports page but in the news section as well.

On December 27, 2005 the Arizona Diamondbacks sent third baseman Troy Glaus and shortstop Sergio Santos to the Toronto Blue Jays. In return they received starting pitcher Miguel Batista and second baseman Orlando Hudson. Hudson had just won the 2005 Gold Glove for his outstanding defense for the Blue Jays. The Diamondbacks hoped that this move would shore up the middle of the infield which had been rather porous the previous season. It did just that. In 2006 Orlando Hudson showed why the Diamondbacks had been so intent on getting him. He got to grounders that seemed impossible. As a result of the improved defense pitchers such as Brandon Webb recorded a lot more outs and had outstanding seasons including the Cy Young for Webb. At the conclusion of the 2006 season Orlando Hudson was awarded his second consecutive Gold Glove this one in the National League. Expectations were high that the O-Dog would deliver in 2007.

In July 2005 baseball commissioner attended an Internet chat session carried live by MLB.com. During the session a fan asked the commissioner what his stance was on the use of instant replay within baseball. The commissioner reiterated his stance in October 2005 when a disputed call cost the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim game 2 of the American League Championship Season. Since that time Bud Selig has maintained his negative stance that he first gave in 2005 when he said:

As a kid in school we were always taught that the longest day of the year was the Summer Solstice. I always thought that was funny since I thought every day was the same length. The teacher would then chastise me for being a smart aleck and explain that what she meant was the day that had the greatest amount of daylight. While scientists may say that the first day of summer contains the most amount of daylight in the northern hemisphere; any kid in the United States will tell you that is not necessarily accurate.

In many ways the 2007 Arizona Diamondbacks could be termed a team overachiever. That is to say that while individual players may not have had the type of years that either they or management expected; as a collective whole they achieved more than was expected of them. Going into opening day the Diamondbacks had one of the youngest teams in the major leagues. With the insertion of Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds and the injuries to Chad Tracy, Orlando Hudson, and Randy Johnson the team got even younger by season’s end. With that much youth the philosophy of the clubhouse and the coaching staff had to change. Managing a team of seasoned veterans is substantially different than trying to bring along a roster filled with players who have limited major league experience. I believe the success of this ball club was a direct result of the quality of coaching the Diamondbacks players received in the minor leagues prior to their call-up and at the major league level once they reached Phoenix. When a season ends there are always questions of whether a manager will bring back his coaching staff.

Wherever he has played Eric Byrnes has become a fan favorite. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that he seems to give everything he has on every play. What he lacks in ability he makes up for with intensity. A lot of players hide behind a stoic façade and fans never really know what they may be feeling. Eric Byrnes is the diametric opposite of that definition. If he has a bad plate appearance you immediately know about it. He smacks himself on the head, kicks the dirt or somehow demonstrates his emotions. It is never in a way that demeans his teammates or the game. It appears to be just raw emotion. Since coming to the Arizona Diamondbacks Byrnes has endured himself to the fans at Chase Field. He is always good for an exciting play or a funny remark. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, in a game filled with millionaires and self-centered personalities Eric Byrnes is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

While the World Series may be over in the United States that doesn’t mean that baseball has stopped around the rest of the world. Today was game 5 of the Japan Series which is the equivalent of the World Series there. The Nippon Ham Fighters are facing off against the Chunichi Dragons. At first I wondered what exactly a Ham Fighter was. I envisioned it being some kind of attack pig with Samurai armor; kind of like a swine Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. It turns out that the team is not the Ham Fighters but rather Nippon Ham is the sponsor. In Japan a company can sponsor a team and have their name become part of the team name. I see this as the next logical step after stadium naming rights. Last season the Fighters won the Japan Series for the first time in 44 years which I guess is the equivalent of the Cleveland Indians here. The Dragons who made it to the finals last year too hope to break their 0-6 mark in the finals dating back 53 years. The last time the Dragons were the Japan champions was 1954. This sounds like quite a heated rivalry. The Fighters took the first game of the series and the Dragons took the next three setting up game 5 which would be do or die for the Fighters.