April 2008 Archives

Yesterday was a complete aberration at Chase Field. It felt as though I had somehow escaped reality as we know it and was instead transported into another dimension where nothing seemed to follow logic. It started when I began reading the local newspaper. By reading the newspaper I mean the sports page since that is about the only section I read from April through October and even then I limit my reading preferences to only baseball specific stories. And just for the record I don't classify Roger Clemens dating 15-year-old girls as baseball specific. That's more Jerry Springer with cleats which I understand is very popular with the Country-singing, trailer-park living, tequila-drinking demographic that still believes Clemens did not use any performance enhancing substances. Perusing the newspaper I was not prepared that the front page would contain a picture of Astros closer and former Diamondbacks pitcher Jose Valverde hugging a Diamondbacks fan accompanied by a story talking about how surprised Valverde was that he was traded. Did I somehow mistakenly pick up a Houston newspaper? No, it said Arizona Republic at the top. I chalked the story up to poor editorial decision making by the paper and let it go. If that had been the only thing strange I probably would have just dismissed it but it just kept getting more bizarre.

I am totally exhausted today. No it is not a result of partying all night after the Diamondbacks beat the Houston Astros nor was it an all-night celebration commemorating the Diamondbacks being back in town. The blame for my exhaustion lies squarely with A&E Home Video. From April through October I am consumed with baseball. I spend nearly every waking moment either at Chase Field watching a Diamondbacks game or catching a game via satellite or on XM Radio. My kids constantly explain to their friends, "During baseball season, if it doesn't appear on the JumboTron then dad doesn't know it exists." That's not completely true, I do try to remain abreast of current events by catching Baseball Tonight on ESPN whenever my schedule allows. So last week when I was approached and asked if I would like to review a video DVD my first reaction was to decline. The earliest I could possibly commit to sitting down and watching a movie would be 3 days after the World Series parade celebrating the 2008 baseball champion. But as I heard more and more about the video I was being asked to review I knew I would have to make an exception.

The past five days have been pure torture as I have had to resort to watching the Arizona Diamondbacks on television. It's not that I have anything against television; in fact I spent the better part of my childhood in front of one (at least that is the story my mother continues to tell me even to this day). The problem is baseball on television. Fox Sports does an awesome job especially with their high definition broadcasts but it is just not the same. There is something about being at the ballpark in person that makes baseball special. So when the Diamondbacks returned to Phoenix I was eager to get down to the ballpark as soon as the gates opened. Tonight was my daughter Tiffany's turn to go to the game so as soon as she got home from school we left for Chase Field. Typically something as mundane as me driving to the ballpark would not warrant inclusion in an entry but I'm including it here just to give you a little background on timing. While we were on the road to the ballpark my cell phone rang. Being the safe driver that I am, I pulled over and answered the phone thereby maintaining my concentration on driving. Ok, I couldn't even type that with a straight face. Whenever I am driving to Chase Field and my cell phone rings I somehow imagine it is the Arizona Diamondbacks calling to see if I am almost to the stadium because they forgot to get someone to throw out the ceremonial first pitch or something. That of course has never happened but a guy can dream can't he? So as the phone began to ring I answered it as I always do.

After Micah Owings left the game yesterday he was followed by right fielder Justin Upton who was bothered by a hamstring problem. The Diamondbacks would erase the deficit and battled with the Padres to a 7-7 tie at the end of nine. The game would continue to the 13th inning when Yusmeiro Petit gave up a home run to Padres second baseman Tadahito Iguchi losing the game 8-7. After the game Petit was optioned to Triple-A Tucson and 2006 first round draft pick Max Scherzer was called up. Scherzer had a very good Spring Training before being sent to Tucson to begin the year with the Sidewinders. During his stint in Tucson Scherzer allowed just 38 hits over 23 innings while posting a 1.17 ERA. He also showed why he was the eleventh player overall selected in the 2006 amateur draft by striking out 38 batters.

Micah Owings is unbelievable. During Spring Training he looked like a boy who had lost his puppy. No matter what he seemed to throw it was getting pounded. At the plate he looked like a pitcher standing in the batter's box. There were more than a few people who expressed concern at how this was playing out. With Randy Johnson scheduled to start the season on the disabled list everyone was nervous including me. I know we are always told that Spring Training is meaningless and that we should never read anything into those statistics but still when someone struggles to the extent that Owings did you just have to wonder what is going on. So when the season started and Owings came out throwing lights out and hitting like an all-star you had to just shake your head in amazement.

Tonight the Arizona Diamondbacks opened a series against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. After taking 2 of 3 from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona hopes to continue their winning ways in San Diego. This game features Randy Johnson in his third start of the season. The first two did not turn out quite like the Big Unit had wanted. In his first outing he got no decision but struggled with his command. The second start was at Chase Field against these same Padres and Johnson was tagged for 6 runs 4 of which were earned. This led to a 9-4 loss, Randy's first of the season. The match-up for tonight's game was the same as last Sunday with San Diego sending Randy Wolf to the mound. I was definitely looking forward to seeing this game. Unfortunately I almost missed it.

A few games back my son Dakota had the opportunity to take the field with Orlando Hudson. When he was selected for this honor we were told that the Diamondbacks would provide a baseball to each of the kids so that they could obtain an autograph from the player to commemorate their experience. Dakota took a pen since he wasn't sure whether O-Dog would be carrying one. He went down onto the field level while I stayed in the stands to take pictures. When he lined up with the other kids they found out that the team had only 3 baseballs to split among 8 kids. I'm no math wizard but even I could see this was not going to go well. Three of the kids were given baseballs and the other 5 were given nothing. Dakota happened to be one of the ones without a ball. Being the resourceful kid that he was he took his pen and after the National Anthem he asked Orlando if he would sign the back of his Diamondbacks jersey. Hudson graciously accepted and Dakota came away with a priceless memento he will cherish that for the rest of his life. This experience was not without its drawbacks. Dakota is not the cleanest kid in the world and so there was a tremendous amount of pressure by Trina to let her wash the jersey. This of course hearkened back to the tragedy of 1999.

As part of the continuing segment State of the Home Stand Address this entry will cover the Arizona Diamondbacks home stand from April 18 through April 22. After a brief three game road trip the Diamondbacks returned to Chase Field for five games consisting of a three game series followed by a two game series. What is the deal with two game series? They just seem too short to be meaningful. Just when you get used to seeing an opponent they are heading out of town. The first three games of this home stand saw the return of the San Diego Padres who made their 2008 Chase Field debut.

Happy Earth Day everyone! I am not exactly sure why Earth gets its own holiday. None of the other planets get their own holiday. I mean when was the last time that you celebrated Mercury Day or the ever popular Uranus Day? Fact of the matter is that Pluto not only didn't get its own day but they voted it off the planet island. That's completely messed up if you ask me. So I am not so sure I want earth feeling all that special. If lawmakers were so hip on creating another holiday my vote still goes for Opening Day. My arguments for Opening Day being a national holiday are well documented so I won't go through them again. Suffice it to say that baseball is a lot more important than celebrating the birth of a planet. Oh sure there will be some environmentalist that will argue that without a planet there could be no baseball but I would have to counter that without baseball what would be the point of having a planet. Take Saturn for example. Oh sure it has cool rings and everything but exactly how many people do you know that want to go to Saturn? A quick poll of my neighborhood found zero people planned a trip to Saturn this year. I then asked how many people planned on going to a baseball game. I had one family that anticipated going to 72 regular season games and 2 spring training games which is substantially more than those planning to go to Saturn. Ok, I'll admit it that was my family but there were other people in the neighborhood that we considering going to a game so the argument is still valid.

For several days I have lamented the fact that Trina had coerced me into giving up my Sunday Diamondbacks tickets. Yesterday I felt like a child standing in front of the candy store. On the other side of the glass were all the sugary wonders and I was standing outside with a hole in my pocket and not a penny to my name. I was forced instead to watch the game on television where I was continually taunted by the sites of happy people enjoying the Chase Field experience. Although the Diamondbacks ended up losing, I would still have given about anything to be there in person. But I committed to Trina that I would go to church with her and the kids and I am a man of my word so I had to live with my decision. Andre for his part was trying to be helpful and sent me text messages from the game letting me know what I was missing and expressing how awesome the seats are in Section 112 Row 8. There was also a lengthy discussion on Ketchup after he pulled off a miraculous win for the second time since I called him out. Trina was not particularly thrilled that I was texting at church but technically she couldn't say anything because I was there and not at the game. Nowhere in our agreement did it say that I couldn't get game updates from church. Based upon the number of people who approached me, game updates at church seem to be a good thing. I was happy to provide this service and briefly considered contacting the Diamondbacks to see if they would be interested in some kind of ticker tape service to all major religions so that people could continue to follow the Diamondbacks even when their families forced them to miss a Sunday game. Still it was painful not being at the game. My friend Mitch tried to console me by saying that "God will bless you for giving up your Sunday tickets." At the time I was a little less confident. In my mind God was a Yankees fan and was doing this just to drive me crazy. I mean if God really was in my corner then Rally Sally would suffer a career ending flag injury and be confined to her seat with a case of laryngitis. Little did I realize how prophetic the words of Mitch would be.

For the second time in three days Ketchup has mocked my assessment that he is over-the-hill. I am not about to change my mind after a couple of lucky race results. I've seen condiments get hot before then fade away like mold on Jell-O. I'm only going to be impressed when Ketchup is able to continue his success over the course of several weeks or months. It is a long season and you can't get too excited this early at the success a few players are having. It did seem somewhat appropriate that Ketchup picked today to pull out a victory. I've written on numerous occasions how I felt that Ketchup was too old to be an everyday condiment. His best days are over and he is now in the waning moments of his career. Ketchup may be able to hang on for a few more seasons but only if he moves over to the American League where he doesn't have to play the field. The question is, what AL teams are looking for a Designated Condiment? Chances are Ketchup will have to adjust his expectations and come to grips that he is no longer the condiment ace. That is not to say that he shouldn't be playing, just that Ketchup may not be suited to going the whole distance in a condiment race. He is obviously a liability on the base paths and it is sad to see that happen to someone you admired for so long. So why did I say that it was appropriate for Ketchup to get the win today?

Before I get started, I just wanted to comment on last night's game. I had a suspicion that once I wrote about Ketchup he would somehow find a way to pull out a victory. This goes to the root of the problem. Just because Ketchup came out ahead in one race does not mean I am not going to continue to ride him all season. I think it is clear that he is just mailing in these condiment races and I think he is making a mockery of being a professional condiment racer. I think the fans pay good money to be at the game and they should expect each and every condiment to do their very best regardless of how they feel. I have a hard time faulting the little children who are dressed up as their favorite hot dog; they are doing their best to cheer on their favorite condiments. I just think it is wrong that a condiment roster spot is being taken up by a non-competitive hot dog topping. I don't want to dwell on this though, not when there are so many other more positive things to be written about.

After all the drama yesterday I was really hoping for a nice and quiet day. I survived a day without Diamondbacks baseball and I even managed not to get myself killed so that's a good thing. The San Diego Padres make their 2008 debut at Chase Field tonight in a continuation of NL West Month for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Padres are always tough. Their pitching staff is amazing and I am always worried that a game with San Diego will result in a no-hitter and not necessarily for the good guys. My heart was warmed when the Padres locked up with the Colorado Rockies for a 22-inning marathon that ended with the Rockies winning. The only think that tempered my joy was the fact that it was the "great Troy Tulowitzki" who won the game. That's like applauding global warming because it helps you get a great tan. At some point global warming and the "great Troy Tulowitzki" will cause all life on the planet to become extinct unless we do something about it. After a day without baseball even the "great Troy Tulowitzki" could not dampen my spirits. Before you think everything is perfect, there is one subject that we probably need to broach.

Today has been a very traumatic day for me and one I hope that no one should ever have to face. They say that bad things happen in threes and today I would have to agree. It started off poorly and went downhill from there. There is nothing worse for an Arizona Diamondbacks fan than to wake up in the morning, leap out of bed and check the schedule only to find that the Diamondbacks have an off-day. It makes you want to crawl back into bed and pull the Sedona Red sheets up over your head and just hibernate for 24 hours until this nightmare is over. But I promised myself that I was not going to brood over there not being Diamondbacks baseball today. I was going to look for the positive side of this. The 162-game season is a long trek and there must be some days off; well that's what they tell me anyway. Personally I don't think 162 games are near enough since that means that there are 203 days a year without baseball; 204 if it is a leap year. That means that over half the year is sans-baseball and no good can come from that. I personally think that we could eliminate all war and solve world hunger and global warming if we would just extend baseball to be year round. That theory has not yet gotten a lot of traction but I am hoping that it will soon. So until the planets align and we reach baseball nirvana I will have to be content dealing with days like today.

For the second consecutive year Major League Baseball recognized April 15 as Jackie Robinson Day. As part of this celebration commissioner Bud Selig "un-retired" Jackie Robinson's number 42 and allowed any player or coach to don this uniform to pay tribute to this civil rights leader. Last year the Arizona Diamondbacks played at home and several players gladly elected to wear number 42. Those players included Tony Clark, Orlando Hudson, Chris Young, and Eric Byrnes. First base coach Lee Tinsley also wore the number to pay tribute to Robinson. I happened to be at that game and can truthfully say that it was awe inspiring to see these players wearing that number. Robinson was such an amazing person and the event of him playing in the major leagues was both historic and in ways frightening. To read accounts of what he had to endure just to play baseball is heart wrenching. After my experience last year I was eagerly awaiting Jackie Robinson Day to once again see how baseball would pay tribute to probably the most important event in the history of organized sports.

Happy Tax Day! That's a greeting that is likely to get you punched in the face. You may as well say "Hey I'm an obnoxious Red Sox fan and I am here to dance on your grave!" It just seems somehow fitting that today is the day all American tax payers dread after the day we have just had to endure. Yesterday seemed like such a bright spot to this early season. The Arizona Diamondbacks were out of town but they were headed to San Francisco home of the last place Giants. There is nothing like a first place team visiting a last place team to make you burst in to songs of joy. Well unless you are a fan of the last place team then you're more apt to burst into flames. To top it off it was the return of Randy Johnson after nearly a year away we were going to witness the wrath of the Big Unit. Yes, this was indeed going to be a great day. At least that is what I thought.

Last season I instituted a State of the Home Stand Address where I attempted to give my take on how the season was going both from a team perspective as well as from a Chase Field point of view. I got a lot of comments (mostly email) with suggestions or points to take into consideration so I thought perhaps I would continue this thread of thinking for the 2008 season. As always, these views are my own and in no way represent the thoughts of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Bud Selig, Major League Baseball, or any other sane fan for that matter. Your mileage may vary, objects in the rearview may be closer than they appear, and this offer not valid in the states of Texas or Arkansas. There, I think I covered all the standard disclaimers. With that let's get down to the business at hand, describing the state of the first home stand.

Today was to be the final game of the Tenth Anniversary celebration that began on Friday. The first game featured a return of players from the inaugural season. Game two featured a look back at the great players who have played for the Diamondbacks over the years with the unveiling of the Diamondbacks 10th Anniversary Team. Now today it was time to recognize those who contributed to the success of the franchise who were not players. This included a pregame ceremony that introduced the Arizona Diamondbacks employees who had been with the team for all 10 years. These longtime employees were lined up along the third base line and Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall came by and congratulated each one for the many accomplishments they have made over the first decade. The next groups to be recognized were the partners and sponsors who have been with the Diamondbacks for 10 years. Their names were displayed on dbTV and many were called out and recognized. The final group was the season ticket holders who have had tickets since the inaugural season. These fans were recognized via dbTV but are also featured on a new display beyond the centerfield wall behind the batter's eye. It was a fitting tribute and very well done. A representative from each group was chosen to throw out a ceremonial first pitch before the game. This was a great tribute and would have made a perfect entry to the blog except something much cooler happened to us.

Game two of the Arizona Diamondbacks Tenth Anniversary Celebration came today against the Colorado Rockies. Today's game was nationally televised as the Fox baseball game of the week. This meant the game time was moved from 5:10 PM local time to 12:55 PM. With outside temperatures registering in the mid-80's with not a cloud in the sky that also meant that the game would be played with the roof open. There is nothing quite like a Saturday afternoon game to make you appreciate living in this great country. The smells of cut grass and roasting hot dogs while sitting in a wide open stadium remind us of why we love this game so much. It takes us back to a time of our youth when it was us playing between the foul lines imagining what it would be like to be a Major League Baseball player. Add to the fact that your team is playing their heated rivals after having beaten them four consecutive times to begin the season and it just doesn't get much better than this. But today wasn't just about an early April regular season game. This one had special meaning as it was a continuation of the celebration marking the first decade of Diamondbacks baseball.

When I was a kid I used to live in front of the television on Saturdays. It would begin early in the morning when I would get up, make myself a bowl of cereal and turn on the television to watch cartoons. One of my favorites was the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. There is just something about a flying squirrel and a talking moose that intrigued me. And don't get me started on Boris and Natasha and the evil Fearless Leader. But it wasn't just "moose and squirrel" that kept me entertained. There was also Sherman and Peabody and the whole Peabody's Improbably History segment. Who doesn't love a genius dog and his pet boy who has a time machine aptly named WABAC which was pronounced "way back". For those of you who somehow missed this animated classic let me explain the premise. Mr. Peabody and Sherman would travel back in time to important events only to find out that things were not going as planned. The boy and dog would then assist historical figures to get it right finally saving the day. Before returning to their own time each episode would end in a very bad pun that would cause the characters and the audience to groan. It was classic television and the perfect way to bridge the span of time until the Baseball Game of the Week with announcer Joe Garagiola making the calls. So why exactly did I just take that trip down memory lane?

Today marks day eleven of the 2008 Major League Baseball regular season. Today also marks the second off day for the Arizona Diamondbacks this season. I'm still scratching my head over that one. I could definitely see this being the first off day of the season but the second? Especially when you consider that their first day without games occurred on April 1 a whole day after the season began. I guess the scheduling geniuses at Major League Baseball don't put too much credence in the strength and stamina regimes that most franchises utilize during Spring Training. No need tiring the players out. Two days off in the first week and a half of the season coupled with an afternoon getaway game between two teams that have the next day off and are only 90 minutes away via air travel makes you wonder if perhaps the Commissioner's office needs to extend the drug testing to include employees responsible for developing the schedules. I recognize that over the course of 162 games it is necessary for teams to have a day off periodically but the schedulers need to understand that as a fan I have been waiting since October 15 for baseball to resume for the Arizona Diamondbacks so taking 2 days off this early is not exactly what I was hoping for out of the 2008 season. If anything I was hoping that we would get a doubleheader in the first couple of weeks of the season to make up for being without baseball for 167 days 13 hours and 48 minutes. But that isn't going to happen so for the second time in this young season I am left to ponder, "What am I supposed to do on a day without Diamondbacks baseball?"

As I expected, the game last evening was an emotionally charged affair. The Chase Field crowd gave starter Doug Davis a resounding ovation from the moment that he emerged from the dugout to begin warming up. The cheers continued through throughout the game as Davis seemed to do it all. He had his best start of the season (which sounds much more impressive than saying that he looked better this start than he did in his first start). Davis did seem to have all of his pitches working. He was ahead in the count for most hitters which allowed him more flexibility in his pitch count. Walks were down and strikeouts were up which is always a good sign. It wasn't just his pitching though that made this night unforgettable. Doug also picked-off a runner from first and collected two hits at the plates including his first RBI of the season. For a moment you had to wonder if you were watching Doug Davis or Micah Owings. As Doug made his way back to the dugout after pitching 6 innings the crowd cheered partly for the gutsy outing and partly to wish Doug well in his surgery and recovery. Davis responded by making a curtain call which brought even more cheers. This game could very well be one of the highlights of the 2008 season.

Today's post is going to cover a gambit of subjects and emotions. I want to talk a little bit about the Diamondbacks Opening Day Part III that occurred last night, some of the transactions that have occurred over the past couple of days, and I also want to touch a little on tonight's game. Since this is being written 6 hours prior to first pitch, the latter subject will be covered from an anticipation perspective rather than after the fact. If I get time I will augment the entry after the game but once I finish updating Now Hitting with box scores, transactions, and the all important results to the Circle K Hot Dog Derby, I might just have to wait and write a follow-up to tonight's game tomorrow.

You know its funny how Major League Baseball scheduling works; especially during the first week or so of the season. This year in particular has been extremely odd. Usually you can bank on the Major League Baseball season opening the first week in April and running through the last week of September. Opening Day always lands on a Monday and in my opinion should be a national holiday celebrated by everyone. But instead of consolidating and concentrating baseball into one enormous holiday that gets the general public enthused, Major League Baseball did quite the opposite in 2008. The season started with the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox travelling to Japan to take on the Oakland Athletics to open the season. While most clubs were just entering their third week of Spring Training the Red Sox and Athletics travelled half-way around the globe for the first two games of a 3-game series. It was really hard to get your hands around an Opening Day game that started at 4 or 5 AM. And how exactly did that affect season ticket holders? As a Diamondbacks season ticket holder I have tickets to 81 regular season games and 2 exhibition games to end Spring Training. I would be livid if MLB came to me and said that the number of games I would be able to attend has been reduced by 2 to allow people in Japan an opportunity to watch Opening Day. There would be a sudden increase in the purchase of Bud Selig voo-doo dolls as fans tried to inflict pain on the commissioner equivalent to what he had just introduced to the American fan.

When the Diamondbacks arrived in Denver on Thursday they were well aware that they would be facing the Colorado Rockies in their home opener. I'm sure they also expected that there would be some recognition for the Rockies accomplishments from last season. I am not sure anyone expected that the Rockies would plan a celebration before every game during this series. It's one thing to commemorate the 2007 and their first trip to the World Series but it is something else completely to drag that celebration on over the course of three days. Even in 2002 after the Diamondbacks had won the World Series they had Opening Day with the unveiling of the World Series banner and the day after when the players received their World Championship rings.

Did you ever have one of those weeks when you wake up and it's as though you are in another dimension? One where everything is opposite of what you have come to rely on as being normal? That's kind of how I feel this week. It just seems like every time I turn around I am dealing with something that would be perfectly natural if we lived in Bizarro World. It started off with our annual Fantasy Baseball draft. This year I decided I was way too busy to devote as much time to Fantasy Baseball as I normally do. I promised myself I would cut back and only play in half as many leagues as I normally do. Therefore I limited myself to four leagues. Trina and I have learned to agree to disagree on a few things in our marriage. I don't attempt to understand her family and she doesn't attempt to understand my obsession with Fantasy Baseball. She does ask that I try to minimize the number of players I select from National League West teams other than the Diamondbacks as she just hates to deal with the moral dilemma I place myself in whenever one of my fantasy players are playing against the Diamondbacks. I can't deal with the fact that I am actually cheering against the Diamondbacks even if it is just for one batter. That subject is probably best left to discussing with a mental health professional.

The Arizona Diamondbacks began the season in Cincinnati Ohio where they were the opponent to the Reds for their home opener. After dropping two of three games to the Reds they now travel to Denver Colorado where they are the opponents to the Colorado Rockies home opener. This has to be a bittersweet homecoming of sorts for the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was on this very field on October 15 when the Snakes watched their magical 2007 season end as the Rockies swept the good guys to advance to the World Series. As if we needed any reminder of that, the Rockies and their fans wanted us to remember which team was better last year. Prior to the game starting the Rockies unveiled their 2007 League Championship banner to the ovation of a sold out Coors Field crowd. I know I should just be grateful for how far the Diamondbacks went last year but it was still hard watching this celebration and still thinking that the best team did not win that series. I don't want to take anything away from the Colorado Rockies, I think they were a good team. I just think that NLCS saw the hotter team and not necessarily the better team win. Of course this is the same kind of thinking that has made Diamondbacks outfielder Eric Byrnes become public enemy number one in Denver Colorado.

The Arizona Diamondbacks winning on Opening Day is always a great way to start out the season. They followed that up with a great performance last night from Dan Haren who made his Diamondbacks debut. And while he struggled a little in the fourth inning there were enough signs that pointed positively that as a Diamondbacks fan you had to feel good about the trade made on December 14, 2007 that brought Haren to the Diamondbacks from Oakland and brought Chris Burke and Chad Qualls from Houston. Were it not for the ninth inning stumble by Brandon Lyon the Diamondbacks would have found themselves 2-0 and atop the National League Western Division. Even with the loss they found themselves just one-half game out of the lead. So as I went to bed last night I was still bummed at losing the game but overall in a pretty good mood.

Yesterday was brutal. It started off badly when my motorcycle would not start and pretty much went downhill from there. When I got to work I arrived to find that the lights in the office didn't work. At first I thought maybe we were celebrating another Earth Hour but then I realized no, the lights just didn't work. The batteries on my wireless keyboard and mouse decided that if the lights didn't have to work then they should not be required to work either. It was like every piece of technology in my life decided to go on strike. At first I didn't understand what was going on but then after looking at the calendar I quickly figured it out. No Diamondbacks game, no high-tech; it was just that simple. Thankfully though all my geek gear got it out of its system and I was back to normal. Well, as normal as can be expected considering that I am a diehard Diamondbacks fan.

April Fool's Day is pretty much one of my favorite holidays. Who doesn't like a day devoted to playing practical jokes and in general messing with people's minds? From an early age I took to this holiday like a duck takes to soup. I remember when I was Kindergarten age I took all the sugar out of the sugar bowl and replaced it with salt then went to school. Who would have thought that would be the day my father would decide to have a bowl of cereal? So instead of getting my younger brother (who always seemed to be my primary target), I instead got my dad. The only bad part was that I was gone to school and so I missed out on payoff. It must have been good though because my mom still laughs about it to this day. As I got older the pranks were pulled on a much grander scale. There was the time I wrapped a co-workers cubicle in police line and drew a dead body outline on the floor using masking tape. You should have seen him trying to explain that to the security guard. Most of my pranks were fairly harmless and always in good fun (at least to me). Even my writing was sprinkled with humor and pranks. I briefly considered posting an entry similar to the one in 2000 but that all changed when this morning I stumbled upon something of real importance.