Diary of a Diehard

For nearly a year I have been dogging the “great Troy Tulowitzki” for comments he made during the National League Championship Series. As someone in his first year of Major League Baseball he had no business opening his mouth let alone passing judgment on a fellow rookie. He doesn’t know Justin Upton or the type of person he is. He just used that event to try and vault himself as an elite player and baseball leader. Yeah, we don’t need leaders like that. That event was just the beginning of my disdain for the Colorado Rockies shortstop. Watching him as he went about his business before, during, and after the game it was clear that the “great Troy Tulowitzki” needed to be humbled so that he didn’t forget that he was not bigger than the game. So when he got hurt earlier this year I did not bemoan his plight nor was I sympathetic to what he was going through. Quite the contrary, I am hopeful that this time away from the game will give him a new perspective and a quieter demeanor when he does return. The one bad thing about the “great Troy Tulowitzki” being hurt is the fact that we as Diamondbacks fans are left without a villain. You have to have a villain, without one who do you have left to vilify? Luckily for us, just when we need a nemesis most, one appears in the most unlikely place.

Continue reading ‘How Much is That Idiot in the Window?’ »

This has been the longest freaking 10 days of my life. I have not been to Chase Field in a week and a half. I have no idea how I am supposed to survive another three days until the Diamondbacks get back into town. It is not just the baseball I miss, I also miss the stadium. I miss the guys taking tickets. I miss the customer service representatives saying hello and asking me if I need any help. I miss Katie the usher meeting me at the top of the section. I miss Bobby Freeman and his organ. I miss hearing the roof opening music and wondering whether we will play the game with the panels opened or closed. I even miss seeing Baxter throwing things from the top of the dugout. I don’t miss Rally Sally just in case anyone wondered. There is so much that I miss when the Diamondbacks are out of town. I’ve started looking for excuses to go on the freeway just so that I can see whether the roof is open or closed. So when my friend Andre asked me if I would be interested in going down to Chase Field with him today so that he could pick up tickets to an upcoming day I jumped at the chance.

Continue reading ‘Navigation Versus the Fan’ »

It was just over a month ago that we last saw the New York Mets who rode into Chase Field as one of the favorites to win the National League East. During that three game weekend series the Mets as usual beat up pretty good on the Diamondbacks winning 2 of the 3 games and outscoring Arizona 17-14. The overall score is skewed by the fact that Arizona scored 10 runs in their 1 win. The other two games they were only able to squeak out 2 runs per game. Basically, the Mets owned the Diamondbacks as they have for several years. I remember thinking at the time that I wished the Diamondbacks were done with the Mets this season as I just could not deal with much more of a beating. Here we are now with the snakes limping into town on a 2-5 road trip so far. Micah Owings scheduled to pitch game 1 of the final regular season series they will ever play at Shea Stadium. I had my fingers crossed that their luck might have changed.

Continue reading ‘Shea It Ain’t So’ »

Monday is probably one of the least appreciated days of the week. No one looks forward to Monday. Well I can’t say that, I think barbers like it. They must like Monday since they are closed every week on that day. Then again maybe the opposite is true. Maybe barbers hate Monday so bad that they refuse to even acknowledge its existence. That is an interesting question and one that will probably plague me until my next hair cut. It’s funny and slightly scary how quickly I can derail a post. This has to be a record; I was able to completely lose my train of thought in just 3 short sentences. Hold on; let me try to get back to where I was going with this. Oh yeah; I remember now. Monday is typically not a day that I look forward to. It usually signifies the end of the weekend and the beginning of yet another week of working for the man. There is very little to look forward to on Monday; especially this Monday. The Diamondbacks are still out of town so there isn’t even a game to go to. This Monday was looking to be one of the bleakest ones on record. Then I came to a realization.

Continue reading ‘Diamondbacks Baseball, the Breakfast of Champions’ »

Today I am feeling a little like Al Pacino’s character Michael Corleone in the Godfather Part III when he uttered this classic movie line, “Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in”. I thought when the BALCO firestorm hit it would put an end to the steroids story. That instead fueled even more stories. I thought when Jose Canseco came out with his book Juiced that we had heard the last we would about steroid use in professional sports. That of course didn’t happen and the rumors and innuendo continued. Then I thought when George Mitchell released the infamous Mitchell Report that we would finally be able to put the steroids storyline to rest but again that has not happened. Now today I find myself staring at the local sports page and again find the bold headlines of steroids usage and how it may have influenced the outcome of a sporting event. Is this ever going to go away?

Continue reading ‘Steroids, More Steroids, and Did I Say Steroids?’ »

One of the great travesties of baseball is the fact that for so many years it remained segregated. It was not until Branch Rickey brought up Jackie Robinson that the color barrier was finally broken. In this day and age it seems impossible to imagine baseball without color boundaries. It’s even more difficult for some fans to imagine that there was a time when baseball actually included a league devoted to African American players. That league was the Negro League and prior to 1947 it included some of the greatest players to ever play the game. For the longest time; the dedication of the players from the Negro Leagues has been underappreciated. Hall of Famer Dave Winfield felt that the time had come to make amends for that. He approached Commissioner Bud Selig and suggested that a special draft be conducted prior to the beginning of the 2008 First Year Player draft whereby each franchise would call out the name of a living representative who played in the Negro Leagues. The commissioner eagerly agreed and this commemorative draft was held earlier this week.

Continue reading ‘The Diamondbacks Select…Bob Mitchell’ »

Today was day two of the 2008 First Year Player Draft. Yesterday the draft completed the first 12 rounds. Today they plan to complete the remaining 38 rounds. Yes you heard me right, the remaining 38 rounds. It seems somewhat appropriate that the MLB draft is being held at Disney’s Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World since it lasts longer than standing in line for Test Track at Epcot. Perhaps Bud Selig should introduce Fast Pass into the draft sequence to allow teams who know who they want to draft to get to the front of the line quicker. Day one was brutal as each team was given 10-15 minutes per selection for the first round. There is just so much drama you can build into a draft pick and baseball as usual went well beyond that line.

Continue reading ‘Pick Me! Pick Me!’ »

It’s that time of year when there will be literally thousands of amateur baseball players glued to their houses and their cell phones hoping that their lifelong dreams will become a reality. So many kids grow up playing baseball and at an early age they dream of being a professional ballplayer. Today at the Wide World of Sports on the Walt Disney World properties representatives from all 30 major league franchises will gather and fulfill the dreams of some 3,000 kids. Today of course is draft day and the festivities will begin at 10 AM Arizona time with each of the major league clubs drafting a living member of the Negro Leagues to represent all those players who through segregation were never given an opportunity to play Major League Baseball. In the past it has been painfully difficult to try and follow the draft. Unlike their football brethren, baseball has kept the draft relatively closed off and low key. The past few years have seen baseball open up and try to create the type of media buzz that goes along with selecting the stars of tomorrow.

Continue reading ‘Do You Feel a Draft?’ »

As I had previously reported, Sunday has been defined as kids’ day at Chase Field. Obviously the Arizona Diamondbacks have never met my mother. Throughout my childhood I lamented that we celebrated a Father’s Day and a Mother’s Day and there was even a Grandparents’ Day; but nowhere on the calendar could I find Kid’s Day. When I approached my mother with this obvious calendar oversight I was told, “Every day is kids’ day.” I’d never known my mother to lie before so I had to believe that what she was telling me was the truth so I went through the first 17 years of my life believing that every day was Kid’s Day. I don’t know about you but where I come from I found that my mom’s assertion was either totally bogus or the civic leaders of our town missed the memo. I tend to believe it was the latter rather than the former. I once approached the ticket counter of the local theater and asked for a free “Kid’s Day ticket” to see Star Wars. The woman stared at me incredulously and stated, “There’s no such thing as Kid’s Day; that will be $6.50.” I couldn’t believe it. This lady was calling my mother a liar! It’s a good thing she was trapped in that glass ticket box or I might have had to mess her up a little bit. Nobody calls my mom a liar, well except maybe my little brother but he got that beat out of him pretty good. So now for the Diamondbacks to assert that only Sunday is Kid’s Day, that didn’t sit well with me.

Continue reading ‘Battle of the Baxter Bobble Head Toothbrush Holder’ »