Diary of a Diehard

We all knew that it was an impossibility for Brandon Webb to go the entire season undefeated but that still did not make it any less of a surprise when his first loss of the season came at the hands of the Florida Marlins when facing a young pitcher who came into the game sporting an ERA well above 4 runs. This was one of those games you just assumed that the Diamondbacks would win; especially after the Diamondbacks lost the first game of this series. Instead, the Arizona offense decided it would be a great day to take off and visit the beaches around Miami.

Continue reading ‘The End of a Streak’ »

Two weeks from today representatives from the 30 Major League Baseball franchises will descend on Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida. No, contrary to some reports MLB is not gathering to announce that Mickey Mouse will be named the new commissioner of baseball. Goofy, I mean Bud Selig, will remain in that capacity for the foreseeable future. So what would bring all the teams together to the second happiest place on earth* during baseball season? Major League Baseball has selected The Milk House at Disney’s Wide World of Sports as the location for the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. It somewhat seems appropriate for this event to be held at Disney World. Each day thousands of people enter the Disney parks wanting to believe in the magic contained within its walls. Likewise every year baseball players everywhere hope and pray that their dream will be realized and they will become professional baseball players.

Continue reading ‘Draft Dignitary’ »

One of the great American pastimes is trying to successfully predict probable pitching match-ups. Fans everywhere love to envision themselves as General Managers in training controlling the roster and purse strings of their favorite franchise. Others see themselves more as the field general skipper of the ball club determining who will be in the starting line-up and who will be riding the pine. Everyone seems to believe they could do at least as good as the current manager and depending on the current win-loss record probably a lot better than those whose job it is to lead the team. As for me, I like trying to look ahead to see who we will be playing beyond the current game and how the Diamondbacks match-up against their opponent. It’s a game I play every day as I try to predict game outcome over a road trip or home stand. One of the primary considerations for these predictions is who will be pitching for each team.

Continue reading ‘What’s the Probability?’ »

Welcome to the latest entry of the continuing State of the Home Stand Address series. This entry covers the home stand beginning May 13 against the Colorado Rockies concluding May 18 with the game against the Detroit Tigers. After a brief three game road trip that saw the Diamondbacks get swept by the Chicago Cubs at a cold and blustery Wrigley Field, the Diamondbacks had a much needed day off before beginning a three game series at home. This entry will chronicle the six game set that made up this home stand with a discussion of on-field performance and the happenings around Chase Field from a fan’s perspective.

Continue reading ‘The State of the Home Stand Address – May 13 – May 18’ »

I’ve often wondered, if you asked an Arizona Diamondbacks what their most memorable moment would be from the first 10 years of the franchise’s existence; what would they answer? I am willing to bet that the majority would list the final play of the 2001 World Series when Luis Gonzalez hit a bloop single over a drawn in Derek Jeter to score Jay Bell winning the first world championship. Others may mention March 31, 1998 when Andy Benes threw the first pitch to Jorge Fabregas as Rockies second baseman Mike Lansing took the pitch as a ball. For Gylene Hoyle I would guess she would respond with the events of July 11, 1999 when Jay Bell made her a millionaire. I’ve pondered this question quite a lot and have come to the conclusion that to me the most memorable point in Diamondbacks occurred on this date back in 2004.

Continue reading ‘Historical Randy’ »

I have been looking forward to this game since April 19. It’s no secret that I am a huge bobble head fan. On my desk I have every bobble head the Diamondbacks have ever given away at a game. This of course drives Trina absolutely crazy as she it takes days to dust the top of my desk now. After a while she suggested that since I insisted to keeps these dust magnets on the top of my desk I would be responsible for dusting. I explained that I was cool with a little dust since baseball was by nature a game filled with dirt and dust. Trina refused to acknowledge that comment and instead insisted that I must dust each of these figures. She handed me a dust rag and went about cleaning the remainder of the house. I looked at all the bobble heads and at the dust cloth in my hand and knew for a fact this was not going to happen. I went to my computer supply closet and pulled out a couple cans of compressed air. I began blowing dirt off each bobble head and within a minute the entire living room had a low level dust cloud hovering over it. Before long my bobble heads were dust free. I was pretty proud of myself but Trina was less than impressed since the rest of the living room that she had just cleaned was now covered in a layer of redistributed dirt.

Continue reading ‘Without a Trace’ »

Let me preface this with the acknowledgment that I take full responsibilities for what I am about to describe. I completely deserved this as it was me yesterday who doubted the greatness that is Brandon Webb. I was jaded into believing that the Colorado Rockies would actually show up to play last night when they put their hottest pitcher on the mound. It was me who questioned the character of the Diamondbacks team and who thought that they did not possess some super power over the National League West. Maybe I read too many articles that claimed the Diamondbacks were not as good as their record. Maybe the three game sweep by the Chicago Cubs somehow channeled thoughts back to 2004 when things looked great in April before the great Richie Sexon experiment derailed an entire season. Or maybe I got purple in my eye and was temporarily blinded. Whatever the reason was, I doubted the Diamondbacks and actually suggested that perhaps last night Brandon Webb would lose a game and therefore I deserved last night.

Continue reading ‘I Take Full Responsibility’ »

Today marks the end of another Rock-tober. With a win last night the Diamondbacks ensured that another series win against a National League Western Division opponent. Micah Owings looked good on the mound although he didn’t necessarily start out that way. I have to admit I was pretty nervous when he threw 23 pitches in the first inning followed by 20 pitches in the second and 20 more in the third. Sitting at 63 pitches after 3 innings there was little reason to believe Micah would be in the game long enough to figure into the decision. I am not sure how much of that was attributed to Micah being wild and how much could be results of an inconsistent strike zone by home plate umpire Adrian Johnson. I’m sure the pitchers and catchers were frustrated and I know the fans were. The strike zone worked to the Diamondbacks favor when a third called strike was instead called a ball on Orlando Hudson who laced the next pitch into the gap for a double scoring two runs. Micah adjusted and the pitch count fell dramatically from the fourth through the sixth inning. Even so, at the end of the sixth he had tossed 100 pitches and definitely looked spent. I figured he would not have faced another batter if he had not gotten Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta to fly out to Eric Byrnes to end the inning. As it was, things worked out and Micah left the game holding a 4-0 lead. The Diamondbacks bullpen bent but didn’t break allowing 3 runs in 3 innings work. Brandon Lyon came in for the ninth and retired the first two hitters then promptly allowed the tying run to reach third base before getting Brad Hawpe to fly out to Mark Reynolds to end the game and preserve the win. Through the first two games of this series the Diamondbacks have once again taken it to the Rockies and now lead the series this year 7-1. It now all hinges on today’s game.

Continue reading ‘What a Webb We Weave’ »

You would have thought that yesterday would have been nearly perfect. Not only did the Diamondbacks win 8-4 ensuring that Diamondbacks fans in attendance would not starve at least for one day thanks to a Taco Bell chalupa but the game also ended a 3-game losing streak and gave Randy Johnson career victory 287 tying him with Bert Blyleven for 26th place all time. But something just was not right. My stomach was definitely not feeling well rolling over like the Rockies offense. I of course chalked this up to the fact that I tried something different at the concession stands rather than my normal Chase Field dining routine. I didn’t think it was the food though, this was something much deeper.

Continue reading ‘Sick and Tired’ »