January 2008 Archives

It is amazing what a difference a couple of years makes. Going into the 2006 season Luis Gonzalez was the longest tenured Arizona Diamondbacks player on the roster. He was one of the few players left from the 2001 World Championship team that defeated the New York Yankees. For all intents and purposes Gonzalez was the face of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was by far the most popular player in the history of the franchise. Many casual fans would have believed that Gonzalez would finish his career clad in the purple and teal of the Diamondbacks. They would have of course been wrong on two levels. First the team would bid farewell to their left field mainstay in what some thought was an unceremonious bon voyage where Gonzo was told over breakfast that his services would not be required past the end of the season. Secondly the Diamondbacks would break with the past and eliminate the purple and teal color scheme replacing it with Sedona Red, Sonoran Sand, and Black (notice that once a color reaches team association it rises to a capitalized format. That is something not even Crayola does so in that sense I think my treatment of color is more friendly than the crayon company).

I thought after last season when the Arizona Diamondbacks fielded one of the youngest teams in Major League Baseball that we had finally seen an end to the youth movement. As is normally the case, I thought wrong. The team announced through a press release that they had signed on with yet another rookie. With as much fanfare as can be mustered in a press clipping the Diamondbacks announced an agreement with Chez Reavie. Wait, who did you say? Let me repeat, the Diamondbacks announced they had reached an agreement with rookie Chez Reavie. With that news I stopped reading the press release and immediately leapt to a browser window and surfed over to Baseball Reference since I had no idea who Chez Reavie was or what position he may be vying for.

Ever since the 2007 regular season ended there has been rumors that the Minnesota Twins would attempt to trade two-time American League Cy Young award winner Johan Santana. The 2008 season would mark the final year of Santana's current contract and the Twins did not appear willing or able to absorb the type of contract necessary to retain the services of their ace pitcher. This meant that the time was probably appropriate for a trade to take place. One major sticking point was the fact that Santana owned a full non-trade clause meaning he would have to agree to whatever deal necessarily in order to waive his rights to block the trade. This of course put the Twins at a disadvantage because if Santana didn't want to go he could nix any trade. Not exactly a position of power to be in from a negotiating perspective. For the longest time it appeared that Santana would be headed for one of the two teams that probably needed his services the least, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The Twins asking price seemed a bit steep and trade talks slowed to a crawl. Santana's representatives stepped in and added further pressure to the situation by announcing that once Spring Training started the window would be closed meaning that his client would not accept any trade during the season putting a very hard deadline on the negotiations. In the end, one team blinked and another opened its checkbook and a deal was done.

I tend to enjoy the everyday advantages of living in the United States. I like the idea that I have fast food available at every corner and in many cases multiple fast food options on every corner. I like the idea of having inexpensive and what to me at least looks like unlimited energy. After all when did any of us really question whether a light would actually go on if we flipped the switch? We just take for granted that if we need electricity, gas, or any other energy source it will just be available and for less than many portions of the world pay for that same energy. The types and quantities of entertainment available to us on any given day also seems limitless. If I want to go to a movie I can probably find that movie playing on any number of theater screens around the valley. You have to admit we have things pretty well and you would be hard pressed to find something complain about with one noted exception.

I am definitely not a slave to fashion. Trina refers to my tastes in clothing as "Team Shop Chic". I once asked her what that meant and her response was that basically my clothing choices came down to whatever was new at the team shop at a given home stand. I once tried to argue that wasn't the case but I was quickly confronted by 10 Diamondbacks T-Shirts, 4 personalized Diamondbacks jerseys, and 15 Diamondbacks hats. I tried to justify that by stating that I had to get new clothes because the team changed their colors. That statement led to a fairly large box in the garage that contained a treasure chest of Diamondbacks Classic apparel of purple and teal. About the only portion of my wardrobe that is not dictated by the team shop merchandise is my dress clothes. At least that is what we thought until recently.

One of my worst nightmares came a couple of weeks ago when I went into my beloved Chase Field and found that the green well manicured outfield and perfectly groomed base paths had been replaced by large berms of dirt piled up by front loaders that were parked in the Diamondbacks bullpen. You may as well painted a graffiti moustache on the Statue of Liberty to look like my aunt Ethel before the waxing. This was one of those sights that leaves you speechless and in serious need of psychotherapy sessions by professions. I'm talking about the dirt berms on Chase Field not the thoughts of Aunt Ethel's moustache or waxing techniques although either one of those will wake you from a dead sleep screaming in fear. I seriously thought there was nothing more frightening that what I had seen that night but I now stand corrected.

They say that everyone has a price it is just a matter of finding out what that price is. For the longest time I took the ethical high road told myself that the quote was a fallacy. It was possible to maintain your value system and not deviate from it no matter what the consequences. Sure there have been times when I have thought that I may be willing to sacrifice my beliefs for the right price but then after moments of contemplation I would evaluate myself and realize that the level of guilt that I would feel as a result of selling out was too much of a price to pay. After all there is nothing in my life that I want enough to justify trading in my values and my conscious for it. And then in just one 24-hour period I did the unthinkable, I sold out and all in the name of Arizona Diamondbacks fantasy camp.

The Arizona Diamondbacks will begin their 2008 campaign when pitchers and catchers report to the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson on February 15. This is one day later than many teams who begin their Spring Training on Valentine’s Day. It just seems so appropriate to spend a day dedicated to love on the baseball field. Besides, with the Diamondbacks now sporting Sedona Red as their primary color they would fit right in with all the lacy hearts and archery toting winged midgets. The team missed out on a golden opportunity there but I guess it won’t kill me if they start a day later. Well maybe the wait will kill me; February 15 is still three weeks and one day away. The first organized workout for pitchers and catchers will occur a day later on February 16. So technically I am going to have to wait two days before actual baseball starts for the Diamondbacks. The odds of the wait killing me just went up 33 percent. Position players are scheduled to report on February 20 with the first full team workout scheduled for the morning of February 21. That is six days after pitchers and catchers report so technically baseball doesn’t really begin for the team until February 21 increasing my death by waiting quotient by another level. I am not sure the team understands the gravity that this delay may cause. But rather than stress about future events I decided to focus my anxiety on the here and now.

After keeping Trina awake for the past eight to ten nights with my constant coughing and hacking she finally just could not stand it any longer. When I got up she announced that she had made a doctor’s appointment. I immediately began to protest between fits of coughing which did nothing to lead credibility to my case that I didn’t need a doctor. Trina of course decided to take this opportunity to twist the knife in my back just a little more when she said, “this is why you didn’t get to go to Fantasy Camp, I knew you would be sick.” That is just about the meanest thing she has ever said to me. For a brief moment I thought about running up to her and coughing all over her letting my legion of germs do the voodoo they do so well. But I didn’t want to stoop to her level. Besides, if I stopped to think about it I probably did need to see a doctor since this cold just seems to be sticking with me. So I resigned myself to the fact that I was indeed sick. I hate admitting that, it just seems like such a defeatist attitude. And hey, not all doctors want to immediately schedule you for surgery right?

“How come I haven’t seen a blog entry on this story?” It’s funny how an email with a single line of text enclosed can ruin your day. I am pretty sure that when Andre sent me that email he knew full well that this story would make my blood pressure shoot up like Old Faithful. I count this as one of the signs of the impending apocalypse when someone like “the great Troy Tulowitzki” is rewarded with a six year extension after one year of Major League service. Perhaps the rarefied air in Colorado has finally resulted in casualties. It is obvious that general manager Dan O’Dowd has suffered some kind of brain oxygen starvation to hand this kind of money to someone like “the great Troy Tulowitzki” after only one season. To hear the Denver press talk about this guy you would think that Chicago Cubs shortstop Joe Tinker had been reincarnated. For those who may not know the name of Joe Tinker let me give you a little background. Joe Tinker played for the Cubs back when they were good. Not good like “hey what happened we made the play-offs”; no good like “hey we won the World Series and we like goats”.

In one of my more irreverent times I thought it might be interesting to take Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speeches and see if I could replace key words in the text to make it baseball specific. That entry "I have a dream" was one of the more popular entries I ever had on the blog. In a fit of laziness I briefly considered plagiarizing myself and just repeating that column. After all it is Monday and for many a holiday. Wouldn't I much rather be hanging out with my family or playing with my motorcycle instead of writing another column? I then realized I could not possibly do that since I have no life outside of the Internet or baseball so while the kids are outside playing I sit at the computer penning yet another entry.

When Juan Cruz signed a one-year contract that left five Diamondbacks players left unsigned from the current roster. Friday January 18 was the deadline for teams and players to exchange arbitration figures and it appeared as though the Diamondbacks may actually be involved in an arbitration hearing. This is of course not something they wanted to do. Over the first ten years of this organization they have diligently tried to avoid arbitration. It’s a weird process that is a no win proposition for the team or the player. If the team wins an arbitration hearing the player somehow feels undervalued and if the player should win the hearing then it could have huge financial implications to the team. It is obviously much better to try and avoid that whole process if you can. So when the Diamondbacks issued a press release on Friday I fully expected it to say that the team had provided the five with salary proposals and would be awaiting the upcoming hearings. It was instead an announcement where the team had come to terms with all players on contracts.

It has been a restless 24 hours. Sleep was the farthest thing from my mind. How could anyone lie in bed and sleep when Diamondbacks Spring Training tickets go on sale in less than a day? Sometimes I just do not understand what makes people tick. So while the rest of the state of Arizona was curled up under their Arizona Diamondbacks blankets dreaming of Chase Field I was up pacing the floor checking the clock and testing its batteries to make sure that the time was correct. I must have called the number for time about every 30 seconds and I even bookmarked the web site for the atomic clock in Colorado. Sometime around 3 AM I made a note to myself to shop for a new clock as it was obvious that the one hanging on our wall did not have an atomic mechanism since time was drifting by a few seconds. I briefly considered calling the Diamondbacks ticket office at midnight and feign ignorance saying I thought 12:00 meant midnight not noon. That might have worked but I was pretty sure that no one would actually answer the phone at midnight probably because they knew some fan like me would try that stunt.

According to my email, my calendar, and the postal mail I have received tomorrow Spring Training tickets for the Arizona Diamondbacks go on sale. Just the idea that within 24 hours I will be able to buy tickets to see the Diamondbacks in the Cactus League has my heart racing. Finally after what seems like an eternity I can finally see the end of the dark tunnel of the off-season. After all, if tickets are on sale then spring can’t be far behind right? According to my calculations, tomorrow when the ticket office opens it will be only 25 days until pitchers and catchers report and 39 more days until Spring Training games actually start. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, first we need to get some tickets and in order to do that I need a game plan; literally.

Three years ago the Arizona Diamondbacks held their inaugural fantasy camp allowing fans to take the field with some of the teams greatest former players. At the time I was recovering from my third shoulder surgery and for a solid week I moped around the house lamenting the fact that I was sitting with my arm in a sling when I should be in Tucson playing baseball with the players I had been watching for the previous seven seasons. I am sure Trina and the kids were exceedingly grateful when fantasy camp was finally over so I would quit whining about not being able to participate. I vowed that I would return from this injury and be rehabilitated to the point where I would be able to participate the following year.

For the past two seasons a case could be made that one of the most valuable members of the Arizona Diamondbacks bullpen was Juan Cruz. During the 2006 season Cruz began the season as a reliever but soon found himself forced into the starting rotation. His starts were somewhat inconsistent but he did provide a solid 5 or 6 innings where in most cases the Diamondbacks were in a position to win. Last season Juan was moved back into the bullpen where he flourished as both a long reliever and as someone who could get the team to that all important seventh inning when the game could be handed over to the trio of Tony Pena, Brandon Lyon, and Jose Valverde. Cruz who is eligible for salary arbitration avoided that process when he signed a one-year contract with the Diamondbacks today.

You know you are going to have a strange day when you turn on the television and flip to ESPN then have to recheck the channel because you are positive that you fat-fingered the remote and were now watching CSPAN. For the second time in three years Major League Baseball finds itself visiting Capitol Hill to speak with Representatives and Senators about performance enhancing substances. Shortly after former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell released the Mitchell Report Congress decided it would be in the public’s best interests to bring some of baseball’s decision makers to Washington DC to discuss the report and what the next steps would be. Today was the first day of these hearings and would include guest appearances by commissioner Bud Selig, player’s union head Donald Fehr, and of course former Senator George Mitchell. This had all the makings of must-see television especially considering that this was about as close as we were going to get to seeing baseball in January. I popped a bag of popcorn and settled down into an easy chair to catch a few minutes of the proceedings.

When the Arizona Diamondbacks traded closer Jose Valverde to the Houston Astros last month it left what many think is a gaping hole in the bullpen and questions around who will close games for the snakes in 2008. It is not as though Arizona is without any options, they currently have three individuals on their roster who is more than capable of filling the role as closer. For the past year I have been a proponent for Tony Pena to be given an opportunity to become the closer. His blazing fastball with late movement as well as his mental make-up seems to suggest he is the prototypical closer. Others have suggested that Chad Qualls whom the Diamondbacks received in the deal for Jose Valverde be given an opportunity to become the closer. Qualls has been very durable and consistent over the past few seasons and would seem to be a very good candidate. Another possibility and one that is looking more and more as the favorite; is to move current set-up man Brandon Lyon from his eighth inning role to become the closer.

For the past five years Phoenix has held the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon that begins in Phoenix and ends in Tempe. Each year the event has gotten larger and larger. This year saw over 34,000 people enter to run either the 26.2 mile marathon or the 13.1 mile half-marathon. The event is part race and part party. There are musical bands along the route to serenade the participants as they run. This year bands such as One Foot in the Grave and the Screamin’ Javelinas rocked the runners on the marathon route. From all accounts this is one of the best organized marathons in the country.

The off-season is a crazy time of year. You would think that it would be a time of rest and relaxation. After all there is no baseball at least not in most English-speaking countries. The players are taking some much deserved time off and it feels like an eternity until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training (actually it is only 32 days 1 hour and 5 minutes but who is counting?) when baseball gets back into full swing (pun intended). But if you are a Major League Baseball venue, there is no time to rest on your laurels. Such is the case with Chase Field, the home if the Arizona Diamondbacks.

It should come as no surprise that my cell phone has “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” as its ringer. This is in large part due to the fact that I cannot find anyone who offers a ringer based upon the Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers song D-Backs Swing. It’s probably just as well though because I would probably not answer my phone at all if D-Backs Swing was playing just so that I could hear the full song. Anyway, I digress. When my cell phone rang I absent mindedly retrieved it from my pocket and glanced at the display to see who was calling. The displayed number immediately got my attention. I know that number, that is the phone number to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Two things immediately should be noted here. First, it is just sad that I have memorized the prefix and many of the extensions of the phone numbers to the Arizona Diamondbacks. That doesn’t seem to be a normal thing regardless of how big a fan you are of the team. The second point and in my opinion the more important thing is that you need to understand what it means when I get a phone call from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Probably the closest thing I can compare this to would be how Bruce Wayne must feel when he gets a call on the Bat Phone. Visions of secret identities, crime fighting, hidden caves, and really cool technology fill my head as each note emanates from the phone’s speaker. I have no idea why, it is not like I have ever run out into the streets and looked up at the sky towards Chase Field to see if there is a signal shining on the clouds. Ok I have to admit I have actually done that only to feel kind of stupid as I tried to explain to Trina why I somehow thought that there actually would be a signal appearing above the stadium. Anyway, the important thing here was that my phone was ringing and it was the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Each month the Arizona Diamondbacks host an online chat on the first Thursday. Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall takes 30 minutes out of his day to meet with fans and answer any questions they may have. It has become an important communications device where the fans can perhaps find out information that they may not otherwise have an opportunity to ask. I for one love to attend these not just for the chance to pester the Diamondbacks with questions but also to help me keep my finger on the pulse of what is important to the team’s fan base. Besides, who doesn’t love hanging out in a Java-based chat room for 30 minutes with other Diamondbacks fans? As is normally the case I came prepared with my list of questions. I had eight this month (sorry the holidays took their toll on me).

Baseball is filled with all kinds of interesting stories and sidelines that could keep someone busy for months if they are willing to just look around. Minor league baseball is especially fruitful for stories that border on the bizarre. The Diamondbacks have had their fair share of interesting tales during their brief 10 year history. There is the story of Alex Cabrera who came of seemingly nowhere to burst onto the scene in 2000. With his first at-bat at then Bank One Ballpark Cabrera hit a monster shot to left field for a home run. Cabrera looked like a body builder and played sparingly for the Diamondbacks that season before having his contract sold to Japan after the season. Alex would once again make headlines in 2007 when his name appeared prominently in the Mitchell Report on performance enhancing drugs. There is also the story of first round draft pick Nick Bierbrodt who struggled as a rookie in 2001 and was dealt to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in exchange for pitcher Albie Lopez. Bierbrodt would see his career derailed when he was shot in the back of a cab while waiting at the drive-thru window to a fast food restaurant. The reason for the shooting was that Nick had told a passerby to turn down his boom box because it was too loud. But all of these stories pale to the bizarre episodes of Adriano Rosario.

For twenty-five previous Major League Baseball players today was a day where they would sit by the phone in hopes of getting a phone call from the Hall of Fame welcoming them to an exclusive club and validating their playing career. Each of the candidates had a unique story that validated them being included on the ballot. It must be very frustrating for these players though. For perhaps the first time in their career they are not in control of the outcome. When on the field their hard work and talent was something they could manage and hopefully impress the manager and coaching staff that they deserved an opportunity to play. Now their playing days are over and their fate of entering the Hall of Fame is in the hands of the baseball writers. This year another former Arizona Diamondback player was included on the ballot. Todd Stottlemyre who played in Arizona from 1999 – 2001 was placed on the ballot. Todd was the first Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher to win a play-off game when he beat the New York Mets during the 1999 Divisional play-offs in game 2 at Bank One Ballpark. That of course was not the crowning jewel of his career just an interesting piece of Diamondbacks trivia. Stottlemyre unfortunately did not garner the support necessary to be elected being named on only one ballot by the writers. To be honest the writers were relatively sparse with their support naming only one player to the Hall of Fame this year.

You know time is a funny thing. When you are young it seems as though you have a surplus of time. There always seemed to be enough of it to do whatever you wanted to do with time left over for something else as well. As a child it seemed as though time almost stood or at the very least crept along at a snail’s pace. As we got older time appeared to speed up. In high school and college time fluctuated. Part of the semester it seemed as though time did not pass at all but come finals week time took a trip on the autobahn going well over the posted speed limit. As I graduated and started a family of my own I suddenly found that time was no longer my ally. Time began playing games with me, games I was obviously not good at. Time is especially adept at playing hide-and-seek. It seems as though whenever I look for time I cannot find it but when I don’t want time around it is always there tripping me up. This wouldn’t bother me that much if it were not for the ramifications and the effects of time.

Trina and I quite often get into long and deep philosophical discussions about child rearing practices and how to best nurture and teach children. Her being an educator she has a vested interest in this and much more practical experience than I have. Inevitably these discussions turn to baseball. That in and of itself should not be all that surprising. Pretty much every discussion that goes on in our house ends up at one point or another including the subject of baseball. What I had not considered was what all of this baseball had done to the children. That suddenly came to light on Christmas morning when I opened a gift from my oldest daughter Ashley.

There are only a few things that I would consider inevitable. The sun will rise in the east and set in the west. The Tampa Bay Rays will have a losing season guaranteeing them yet another top 10 pick in the amateur draft. And I will get sick right after the holidays. For as long as I can remember, right after New Years I have come down with a cold. It doesn’t seem to matter what I do to try and break this cycle, it always seems to happen. I remember when my daughter Whitney was born I was so sick that the doctor and the nurses thought they were going to need a gurney for me in the delivery room. In a last moment decision they just propped me in a corner and put a gown and mask on me. A few days after Whitney’s birth; I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia. I am not sure how I got that since I was definitely not doing any walking at that time and I’d never even met pneumonia. All I knew about pneumonia was that my grandmother planted them around her house every spring. They had the prettiest pinks and purple blooms on them during the summer. Well anyways, it is January 5 and I am once again sick.

Last month I completed my Season Ticket Relocation forms for the 2008 season. That was last month? It seems like it has been months ago that I turned in those forms but according to my calendar it was just last month. The Arizona Diamondbacks notified me that they had received my request for relocation and the process would begin in early January. I received a follow-up message that the exact date that relocation would begin was January 3. According to my new Arizona Diamondbacks Charities calendar; January 3 was yesterday. That meant another sleepless night for me.

One of the great things about the holidays is the opportunity for families to come together and share in the festivities. I remember coming home from college for Christmas and how special it was to see my family again after being away for several months. After college I got married and we ended up settling down in Arizona where I began raising my own family. Now the kids are starting to be old enough that they too are leaving to go away to school. It’s been an odd transition for me. On the inside I feel the same age as I did when I went away to college yet I have obviously aged and my children are now that age.

Beginning with Thanksgiving, our household seems to be a non-stop series of events and parties. Besides the traditional holiday gatherings such as Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day we also have a few others thrown in just for fun. We have three December birthdays that our family celebrates including my wife Trina’s birthday. The festivities culminate today with my youngest daughter Whitney’s birthday. With that many events going on it feels as though gift shopping goes non-stop for six straight weeks. This birthday is especially difficult for me.

Yesterday I took a moment to reminisce about 2007 and how my expectations were different from reality when it came to the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a fan I was pretty laid back and quite content to watch the young players begin their development adjusting from being minor league players to making a name for themselves at the major league level. I was willing to overlook the errors of youth knowing that these kids could learn some valuable lessons by overcoming the adversity that comes from a lack of experience. The problem came when the Arizona Diamondbacks exceeded everyone’s expectations. No longer were they looked upon as an up-and-coming team who would be a force to be reckoned with in 2-3 years. By October they were the National League’s best team and the one to beat in the post season. Even their unceremonious exit from the National League Championship Series was met with thoughts of an upset rather than being bested by a better team with more experience.