Diary of a Diehard

Yesterday I alluded to the fact that I thought perhaps the Diamondbacks fans may be outnumbered and overrun by Cubs fans. Today I am feeling a little bit like Nostradamus as that prediction was definitely true. When I arrived at Chase Field I was greeted by a sea of Cubbie blue sprinkled with the Sedona Red of the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a really strange experience for me as I am a recovering Cubs fan myself. Throughout my childhood I grew up on Cubs baseball which probably explains a lot of my abnormal behavioral tendencies. I remember watching Ferguson Jenkins on the mound and lived for the sound of Harry Carey’s voice. My first baseball game in person was a Cubs game and I’ll never forget the sights and smells of Wrigley Field. But since the inception of the Arizona Diamondbacks I have learned the error of my ways. I stowed away my Cubs gear and adopted the D-Backs. So I was not necessarily as uncomfortable being surrounded by Cubs fans as I would have been if it were say the Yankees or the Mets.

Continue reading ‘Our Johnson is Bigger Than Yours’ »

When I was a kid we always looked forward to Friday nights especially if we happened to be going to a sleep over. On Friday night one of the local television stations (there were only 2 stations and those covered pretty much most of the south eastern portion of the state) had something they called Creature Features. This was a program where they would show classic science fiction and horror movies. Creature Features came on relatively late so that small children would be in bed and not subjected to nightmares after watching these films. One of the earliest movies I remember seeing on Creature Features was Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Not the remakes but the classic 1956 version starring Kevin McCarthy, Carolyn Jones, and Dana Wynter. For those of you who haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it although it may leave you mentally scarred.

Continue reading ‘This Has Bad News Written All Over It’ »

Sometimes the planets just seem to align against you and you can’t seem to buy a break. This was especially the case for me and the Arizona Diamondbacks today. My dilemma and problems began Friday which coincidentally was also the first day that D-Backs also saw the weirdness begin. I had been on vacation and I wasn’t exactly sure whether I was going to be able to attend this weekend’s games. Well that’s not entirely true, I was confident I would make it back but still you have to plan for contingencies. I had therefore arranged for replacement fans to be in my seats just in case I somehow wasn’t in town. This of course leads to a small problem. When you get back into town, these replacement fans are sometimes less than willing to give back the tickets. I can’t really blame them so I decided to make alternative arrangements and get extra tickets rather than ask. For Friday and Saturday this was not a problem. I was able to find appropriate seats and the replacement fans willingly traded with me so that I was sitting in my regular seats. For Sunday’s game I went to the ticket booth fully expecting to do something similar and get a couple of extra lower deck seats. Much to my surprise I was told that the lower deck was completely sold out and there were very few seats available in the Diamond Level. This left me with the only option being the upper deck.

Continue reading ‘Carne Asada Sunday?’ »

Before the season started the Arizona Diamondbacks announced their promotional schedule. This is always a big thing around our house as it usually determines which games each of my kids choose to attend. It never ceases to amaze me that free stuff given away at the gates will actually factor into whether you go to a baseball game or not. I just figured that you always go to the game and the free stuff was just a bonus. Looking around the stands though that is obviously not the case. On days of cool giveaways there are always larger crowds. There are times where the giveaways just jump off the page with all the subtlety of a Las Vegas neon sign. Bobble head dolls are one of those items that just demand you go to the game. Sometimes these great giveaways have a hidden cost that you don’t realize until you get to the game. This was one of those nights.

Continue reading ‘Polyester Pandemonium!’ »

Today marks the first day of the second half of the season for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Technically it is not really the first game of the second half as the Diamondbacks have already played 95 games before tonight which is 14 more than half but the all-star break is what most people equate to the first and second half so we’ll just go with that. The team was last at Chase Field on Sunday July 6 so it has been nearly 2 weeks since I have been to a baseball game. You may as well have cut off one of my legs and asked me to run a marathon it has been that painful. I am not well equipped to handle this kind of lay-off especially going cold turkey. The pharmaceutical industry really needs to put their heads together and come up with a patch to help those of us going through baseball withdrawals. To say I was excited for this game would have been an understatement. When the day started I was in Page Arizona travelling home from vacation. Considering that was roughly 5 hours away from Chase Field I was just a little stressed out. What if traffic was so bad that I couldn’t make it? What if the game time was changed while I was in the car? What if a water main broke and flooded the field and I had the Diamondbacks beach towel in my car that could have saved the game? These were just some of the things racing through my mind. So while Trina and the kids wanted to sleep in and have a relaxing day on our last leg of our vacation journey. I wanted nothing to do with it. We were up by 5 AM and packed ready to leave. I waited impatiently at the McDonalds drive-thru window to pick up breakfast for the kids before driving like a madman towards Phoenix.

Continue reading ‘Fido, Sick Dodger!’ »

Today the Arizona Diamondbacks announced that they had completed a trade with the San Diego Padres that will bring first baseman Tony Clark back to Arizona in exchange for minor league pitcher Evan Scribner. This is an interesting transaction on many levels. Clark became a free agent after the 2007 season and all indications made it seem probable that he would resign with Arizona. Clark’s agent though thought the Diamondbacks were undervaluing his client and suggested to Tony that he wait before signing. That wait ended up costing Clark as the Diamondbacks moved on and after the Jose Valverde trade that brought Chris Burke to the desert there was no room for Clark and the offer was rescinded. Subsequently Clark signed a one-year contract with NL West rival San Diego.

Continue reading ‘Is It Time For a Clark Bar?’ »

This is indeed one of the darkest days in baseball. Some of that may be attributed to the fact that the final all-star game ever to be played in Yankee Stadium saw a Boston Red Sox player standing on the field receiving the game’s most valuable player award. Some of that may be attributed to the comments made by Bud Selig after the game where he publicly stated that this game would have gone on forever if necessary and that a tie would not have been an acceptable outcome. I wonder how well the Commissioner’s words would echo today in Tampa Bay or Philadelphia if the game had gone 4 or 5 more innings and their teams best pitching chances for making the playoffs were used to the point past exhaustion or lost due to injury? Selig of course would say it was the managers’ fault for not properly using their pitching staff or some such nonsense. He will also point to the fact that all the worrying was for naught since the game ended before any of these scenarios played out.

Continue reading ‘Black Wednesday’ »

The Major League Baseball All-Star game has lost its luster. It is a game that faces a huge dilemma. It is an exhibition played in the middle of the season. The starters representing each league are chosen by the fans in what is basically a popularity contest. Spots are rewarded more by home town affiliation than actual merit. Rosters are further complicated by the rule that every franchise be represented so valuable roster spots are taken up by lesser players whose only criteria for selection was that they sucked less than any of their other teammates. Further stipulations are placed on each all-star manager by the clubs stating how they want their stars to be used for this more or less meaningless game. The fans just want to see their favorite players play together on the field and enjoy a celebration that marks the midpoint of the baseball season. Commissioner Bud Selig during his tenure saw interest and ratings deteriorating for this game especially after the debacle in 2002 when the game ended in a tie after both managers used all of their players. Selig irresponsibly decided that he winner of an exhibition game would determine home field advantage to the World Series.

Continue reading ‘Big Apple and Big Game’ »

Another popular All-Star festivity is the Home Run Derby. For whatever reason; fans are drawn to the long ball and will pack the stadium to see the most prolific hitters stand in the box and drive balls into the deepest confines of the stadium. The Home Run Derby is not open to everyone. A select few are invited to participate in this event. Leading up to the All-Star game it is hotly debated who should be in this contest and who should be passed over. Major League Baseball for the most part does a very good job in deciding who should be a part of this activity. MLB always tries to invite a member of the hosting team to participate to give the home fans someone to cheer for.

Continue reading ‘Chicks Dig the Long Ball’ »