Diary of a Diehard

As I sat and watched the Arizona Diamondbacks be dismantled by the Atlanta Braves in the final game of the series I couldn’t help but wonder why the friendly confines of Chase Field were not so friendly this year to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Over the first 31 games at Chase Field the Diamondbacks have only managed a record of 12-19 and have not won a single series this year.

This is quite different than the past couple of years when Arizona has dominated opponents in the desert. Last season for example the Diamondbacks went a respectable 48-33 at home and during their NL West winning season in 2007 Arizona posted a remarkable 50-31 mark at home.

Continue reading ‘Another Home Stand, Another Loss’ »

After an exciting game at Chase Field, my family and I gathered up our Stephen Drew bobble head dolls and began to make our way to the exit. As we walked past the Diamondbacks dugout I happened to notice a large number of fans who remained seated in those sections. Besides the fans there, others were filtering down from other sections to find an empty seat above the dugout.

After 11 innings I was curious what could be going on that these people were staying in their seats. I asked an usher if he knew what was going on and he replied that there was going to be a town hall meeting for a small number of Diamondbacks season ticket holders where they would be allowed to talk to Diamondbacks CEO/President Derrick Hall and manager AJ Hinch. So while I was not invited I decided I needed to crash this meeting.

Continue reading ‘Town Hall Meeting’ »

There were some questions going into the 2008 off-season with regards to the Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitching. The front of the rotation was set with co-aces Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. The back-end of the rotation was also likely set with Doug Davis and rookie sensation Max Scherzer.

The big question was what Arizona would do with the number 3 spot in the rotation. Would they attempt to re-sign Randy Johnson and allow him to complete his quest for 300 games or would they try to find another option that gave them more flexibility?

Continue reading ‘The Right Decision?’ »

Rarely does a player come along that is the complete package. Usually they arrive with positives and negatives and the manager does the best to accentuate the player’s strengths while mitigating or hiding the weaknesses. That is the sign of a good manager to make the best of the talent that he is given. This is not a new or foreign concept, every manager at every level of baseball has to go through this. Whether that player is a child that can’t figure out which hand his mitt goes on or if he is Manny Ramirez. Wait, that example is redundant. New Diamondbacks manager AJ Hinch faces a similar problem with this team. Not specifically the confusion as to which hand to wear your mitt on but rather how to manage a player’s strengths and weaknesses.

Continue reading ‘Offense vs. Defense’ »

Every season as Spring Training comes to a close the Diamondbacks players all get together and decide on one pitcher that they will withhold all support from whether it be offensively, defensively, or from a bullpen perspective. I’m of course being facetious or at least I think I am. Historically if we look back you could probably make a strong case that my comment was a fact. How else do you explain the lack of support that the team gave to Randy Johnson or before that Brian Anderson? This year’s candidate for most unloved would have to be Max Scherzer.

Continue reading ‘Who’s Your Padre? Mad Max’ »

The first year player draft is quickly approaching. I have already noted my picks participating in various mock drafts that are taking place around the Internet. This is a very important draft for the Arizona Diamondbacks. With the team having seven of the first 64 picks in the draft this is a great opportunity to rebuild the farm system which has become depleted as of late due to the promotion of players and through trades to get much needed pieces at the Major League level. This draft is going to be especially interesting for the Diamondbacks given that they recently completed a major overhaul of the player development staff with AJ Hinch moving from Director of Player Personnel to manager and the subsequent moves of Jack Howell and Mel Stottlemyre Jr. to Hinch’s staff. I’m not sure I can ever remember a time when a Major League franchise made decisions such as these so close to the draft. It will be interesting to see what impact that might have on draft decisions or philosophies.

Continue reading ‘Missed Representation’ »

Today marked the beginning of a six game home stand for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Their first opponent is the red hot San Diego Padres who entered today’s game riding a nine game winning streak. Under the advice of my doctor I am going to restrain from writing about the game today. Neither my nerves nor my blood pressure could take a lengthy diatribe about how the Diamondbacks squandered a six run lead or how once again the team seemed to lack focus both on defense and in the batter’s box. No, I am going to instead focus on the events of the game that have a more positive feel to them. Think of this as my own personal “serenity now” moment.

Continue reading ‘A Fitting Memorial’ »

As I logged in this morning I found an email waiting for me from Evan Brunell at Most Valuable Network (MVN). In the email was a plea for help. My mind immediately thought of the scene from Star Wars when R2D2 replayed the holographic image of Princess Leia to a young Luke Skywalker asking for assistance in delivering the plans of the Death Star to the rebel alliance. I have to be honest; the thoughts of Evan Brunell in a dress with a bun hair-do were extremely frightening and something I am sure I will end up telling to a therapist at some point in my life. Evan and the gang at MVN are running a mock draft and have asked bloggers around the country to weigh in on who their team would select on June 9. In the case of the Arizona Diamondbacks selections they asked our good friends over at AZ Snakepit. Unfortunately schedules could not be aligned. The selections were made but no write-ups were given about the players. Evan was therefore asking if I could step in and give details and information on the two selections at numbers 16 and 17.

Continue reading ‘Making a Draft Mockery’ »

For the entire 2009 season the Arizona Diamondbacks have never won consecutive series and have not had a winning streak that surpassed three games. Now all of a sudden they have split a series with the Braves with one game to be made up; beaten the Florida Marlins three times in four tries, and have taken the first two games of a series with the Oakland Athletics. I have only one question; who are these guys and what have they done with our Diamondbacks?

Continue reading ‘Who Are These Guys?’ »