Diary of a Diehard

Let me start off by saying I am not a big fan of Interleague play. Call me a traditionalist or a purist if you will but it just seems unnatural to see the National League teams playing in American League cities and utilizing the designated hitter. I can appreciate the argument that it gives the fans an opportunity to see players from the American League that they may not otherwise be able to see but honestly, how many people in the American League really want to see the Washington Nationals or the Cleveland Indians this year?

Continue reading ‘Interleague Mayhem’ »

I’ve sat down to write this entry several times and each time I do I have to step away from the keyboard. It is not that I am distracted; it is just that this is one of the most difficult things I have ever written on this blog. As a diehard baseball fan, there are days when I think there is nothing more important than how your team is performing. I have been accused on numerous occasions to have my priorities off-track and that my entire existence revolves around baseball. This is mostly said in jest but still I wonder how many people believe that to be true? Every so often something comes along though that helps us all put baseball and life into perspective.

Continue reading ‘Tragedy At Home’ »

I have been following the Arizona Diamondbacks since March 9, 1995 when then acting- commissioner Bud Selig announced at a meeting in West Palm Beach that baseball owners had voted 28-0 to expand Major League Baseball and awarded franchises to Tampa Bay Florida and Phoenix Arizona. Since that day I have been an Arizona Diamondbacks fan. Over the years I have seen or done pretty much everything imaginable with the Diamondbacks but there is one thing I haven’t accomplished as a fan.

Continue reading ‘Let’s Play Two’ »

The Arizona Diamondbacks season schedule for 2009 has been very strange to say the least. It began with the world’s longest home stand that seemed to stretch through the entire month of April with the Diamondbacks having only 4 games away from Chase Field in the entire month. Now the team has embarked on a stretch where they have exactly one off day over 40 games. That amount of games in a short period of time can have a brutal effect on your team especially from a pitching perspective. Just one or two games where a starter doesn’t last long can have a ripple effect that will take a month to recover from.

Continue reading ‘Swimming with the Fishes’ »

Gerardo Parra has been identified as an up and coming prospect in the Arizona Diamondbacks minor league organization for quite some time. He has caught the eye not only of the Diamondbacks staff but all of baseball. Whenever the team attempted to broker a trade the other team invariably asked about Parra’s availability. To their credit the Diamondbacks have made Gerardo nearly untouchable instead allowing him to work his way through the various levels of minor league baseball. Parra has been a tireless worker at each level he has played. He has taken to heart the suggestions that coaches have given him and worked on the various aspects of his game. While he had always been a good hitter, sometime in the last year or so everything started to click for him.

Continue reading ‘A Parra Nines’ »

When the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted Max Scherzer with their number one pick in the 2006 Amateur First Year Draft there were high expectations for the power pitcher; there were also more than a fair share of concerns. Max came highly regarded with the potential to become one of the game’s most dominating pitchers. Those positives were offset by the concern that Scherzer may not be able to shoulder the load over the course of an entire season. During his first professional season the questions remained and the Diamondbacks organization were unclear whether Max would be groomed to be a starting pitcher or if he would become a dominating closer. To their credit Arizona maintained a disciplined workload for Scherzer and tried to build up arm strength and conditioning to try and curtail potential injury.

Continue reading ‘Winning to the Max’ »

When the Arizona Diamondbacks introduced AJ Hinch as their new manager replacing Bob Melvin much was made about the lack of coaching experience that Hinch had. By lack of coaching I mean that he had never coached a day in either the major or minor leagues. There was some question as to how Hinch would handle this. General Manager Josh Byrnes sidestepped the question with curt answers that described terms such as “organizational advocacy” and “quiet leadership”. He then simply stated that AJ would just learn each day and that everything would be fine. Given that the team has been in a state of turmoil, Byrnes confidence seemed out of place.

Continue reading ‘Double-D in Dutch’ »

The Arizona Diamondbacks just completed a six-game home stand; one filled with changes and new beginnings but unfortunately with the same tired results. After a rare off-day yesterday, the only off day the team has in the month of May, the Diamondbacks are off to a ten-game road trip that will carry them from the not so friendly confines to Chase Field to Atlanta Georgia for a three game series against the Atlanta Braves. After the weekend series concludes Arizona will fly to Miami to take on the Florida Marlins for four games. The Diamondbacks always have problems with the Marlins so this series could be just what the doctor ordered if they can somehow come away with a series win in south Florida. At the conclusion of the Marlins series the Diamondbacks will travel cross country to Oakland California for their first Interleague series of 2009 against the Oakland Athletics. With a suitcase full of frequent flier miles and hopefully a few wins the team will return to Arizona on May 25 to open a series with the San Diego Padres. So with the Diamondbacks now on the road it is time once again for another installment of State of the Home Stand Address where I will recount my views of the last home stand at Chase Field. As a reminder, the viewpoints and opinions expressed here are my own and in no way are they indicative of how others might view the team or Chase Field. This entry covers the three game series against the Washington Nationals and the three game series with the Cincinnati Reds.

Continue reading ‘State of the Home Stand Address – May 8 – May 13’ »

When Derrick Hall took over as president of the Arizona Diamondbacks at the conclusion of the 2006 season it ushered in a new chapter in team history and opened the door to an unprecedented level of communications between the team and its fan base. I always found former president Rich Dozier very open and willing to listen to the fans but compared to the policies and lines of communications implemented by Derrick the difference is night and day. I have had the opportunity to test the openness and willingness the front office to communicate on many occasions. Whether it is a letter, phone call, or email I can always rest assured that I will receive a timely response to my question no matter how trivial it may be. This open communication has been very important to me and is one of the reasons why I am so loyal to this team. The way Derrick and his staff always put the fan experience first lets me know that the Arizona Diamondbacks are indeed the most fan-friendly team in baseball.

Continue reading ‘Chatting with the Prez’ »