Diary of a Diehard

Over the course of the past 8 months Arizona Diamondbacks General Manager Josh Byrnes has shown a propensity for dealing away young unknown talent in exchange for veterans who have had Major League experience and are under contract beyond the current season. This philosophy was apparent in December when he dealt several prospects to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for staff co-ace Dan Haren. That trade has so far paid substantial dividends and I briefly considered calling Josh and asking him what I should do with my 401K since it seems like he is on a roll and everything he does turns to gold. With his recent success, it is hard to stand here and question any of the deals that he has made but still there are a couple that at least today are making me scratch my head and wonder.

Continue reading ‘Problems with Summer Rentals?’ »

The Arizona Diamondbacks left Chase Field after Sunday’s final game with the Atlanta Braves. They travelled north to the Rocky Mountains to Denver Colorado. They begin their road trip today after having the day off yesterday. There are three games scheduled with the Colorado Rockies followed by a three game series with the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. They will then return home to host the San Diego Padres and the Florida Marlins. It looks to be a very busy week for the Diamondbacks as they welcome slugger Adam Dunn to the team when they reach Coors Field today. With the Diamondbacks being out of town it is time once again for the next episode of the “State of the Home Stand Address” where I attempt to give a fan’s perspective on how the games went during the recent home stand. This entry will cover the three game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the four game series with the Atlanta Braves. As is always the case I’ll start with my standard disclaimer that the opinions expressed within this post and this blog are my own and in no way are indicative of how others see the games or the series.

Continue reading ‘State of the Home Stand Address – August 4 – 10’ »

With the loss of Orlando Hudson for the rest of the season everyone was curious what the Arizona Diamondbacks might do. Losing a team leader is hard enough but when that leader also is a gold glove fielder and one of the most consistent hitters on the team that loss is magnified. Things are further complicated by the fact that the Arizona Diamondbacks traded away Emilio Bonifacio who had been designated as their second baseman of the future. Bonifacio was the primary chip used in the trade that brought Jon Rauch to the Diamondbacks. Many of the media outlets have wondered whether the Diamondbacks are second-guessing that deal now that they are without an everyday second baseman. Personally I think the deal still made sense. While Bonifacio was indeed one of the fastest players I have ever seen, his plate discipline was lacking and I have doubts that he can have a high enough on-base percentage to take advantage of that speed. I also question whether he has the mental focus to become a premier defender up the middle. Rauch on the other hand has had very good success in the bullpen and provides the Diamondbacks with an option as closer should they be unable to come to terms with Brandon Lyon when he becomes a free agent after this season. Debating the merits of that trade does little to solve the current issue the Diamondbacks are facing. So what would Arizona’s response be?

Continue reading ‘Are We Dunn Yet?’ »

When this home stand began I thought there was a very real possibility that the Diamondbacks could end it with a 5-2 record or perhaps 6-1. They had just finished a road trip through the National League West where they went 7-3 and would be facing two teams in the Pirates and Braves who had both been struggling. After taking the first two games of the Pittsburgh series I was feeling very confident in my prediction. Even the near perfect final game with the Pirates didn’t dissuade my confidence. But when the Diamondbacks dropped the first two games with Atlanta I had to begin questioning whether this team had what it would take to be competitive down the home stretch of the season; still I had faith that the ship would right itself with Dan Haren on the mound. But after the events of last night my confidence was extremely shaken.

Continue reading ‘A Webb of Deception’ »

The last two games with the Atlanta Braves have been a complete disaster. Before the season began everyone pointed to the Arizona Diamondbacks pitching staff as the strength of the team. In particular the starting rotation was expected to be one of the best in all of baseball. The bullpen returned roughly intact from last year where they were very good at maintaining a lead late in the game. In the past week that strength has shown a very real weakness. But if the 2008 season has taught us anything it is that the Diamondbacks are resilient enough to not panic. After all, with staff co-aces Brandon Webb and Dan Haren at the front end of the rotation it is doubtful that there will be an extended losing streak. So when Dan Haren was listed as the starting pitcher for tonight and Webb going tomorrow it looked like the Diamondbacks would at least earn a split with the Braves. Well at least that is how it looked on paper; unfortunately I don’t take that paper.

Continue reading ‘A Freaking Nightmare’ »

After the painful final game against the Pirates I was really looking forward to the upcoming series against the Atlanta Braves. It still seems funny to say. For so many years teams have dreaded seeing the Braves and their potent pitching staff and strong hitters. These days the Braves have come back to earth and are in the midst of a mini-rebuilding phase. Tom Glavine and John Smoltz are both injured as is Tim Hudson meaning that the one-time strength of the team had suddenly become an unknown and unproven commodity. The Braves had just come off two series where they had lost 4 of their last 6. This was just what the Diamondbacks needed to erase the bad memories of that near perfect game.

Continue reading ‘A Brave New World’ »

There are not many things that make a baseball fan’s heart race quite like a perfect game. I remember as though it were yesterday the events of May 18, 2004 when Randy Johnson took the mound for the Arizona Diamondbacks and threw the 17th and last perfect game in baseball. Each pitch seemed to build upon the last one as Johnson completely baffled the Atlanta Braves hitters. It started with the Braves shortstop Jesse Garcia and ended 27 hitters later when Johnson retired pinch hitter Eddie Perez. Catcher Robby Hammock had the pleasure of seeing each and every pitch and when the final out was recorded he rushed to the mound to celebrate with the Big Unit. It was a sight that was second only to scoring the winning run in the 2001 World Series in Diamondbacks history. I remember turning to my wife as we watched the game and saying how I would love to see a perfect game in person sometime in my life. Little did I realize what I was saying.

Continue reading ‘Flirting with Perfection, Not in a Good Way’ »

I’m not much into astrology, I can barely keep track of the planet I am on let alone trying to figure out where all the other planets are at. I’m still just a little freaked out that Pluto has been kicked off the planet island relegated to the status of just a weird freaking rock a long ways away. So you’ll excuse me if I am not completely current on what is going on with the stars and planets. But after the first three games of this home stand I may have to make an exception and check in with the Discovery Channel and see if there is some astronomical event that is occurring. It is the only explanation I can think of as to why I am having such a strange week at the ballpark.

Continue reading ‘The Weird and Wacky’ »

Going into this season everyone agreed that the Arizona Diamondbacks strength would be their starting pitching. With the addition of Dan Haren to the rotation the D-backs would have what many were describing as the best 1-2 punch in all of baseball. Add to that the improving Micah Owings and the workhorse Doug Davis and the snakes were pretty solid. At the beginning of the season everyone questioned whether Randy Johnson would even be able to pitch let alone be successful. As the season has worn on the Big Unit has shown that he is deserving of the moniker of number 3 starter. While Micah Owings has struggled as of late and was sent to Tucson to try and work through the mental block he seems to have in trusting his mechanics; the team as a whole has proven everyone right who proclaimed they had one of the best pitching staffs in the National League.

Continue reading ‘Stacking the Deck’ »