Diary of a Diehard

One of the unheralded benefits of being an Arizona Diamondbacks season ticket holder is the fact that you are allowed to get into the stadium 30 minutes before the general public for Saturday home games. You wouldn’t think that would be a big deal but on days like today it is a godsend.

Today was supposed to be Tony Pena bobble head day according to the Arizona Diamondbacks promotional schedule that was released before the season began. That of course all changed when the Diamondbacks traded Pena to the Chicago White Sox for first base prospect Brandon Allen.

Continue reading ‘Augie, Augie, Augie’ »

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they have to come to grips with their own mortality. When we are young we think we are invincible and that we will live forever. As we get older we realize that we aren’t nearly as indestructible as we thought we were and by middle age we are paying the price for the follies of our youth.

We still try to hold on to the notion that we are not old and we have years and years to live. Then there comes an event or experience that causes you to stop and ponder, “Is the end near? Am I really going to die?”

Continue reading ‘Am I Dying?’ »

As a diehard Arizona Diamondbacks fan I go to a lot of games. According to my wife that may be the largest understatement she has heard this century. Ok let me rephrase that, I go to a whole lot of games. Having gone to so many games over the 12 year history of the Arizona Diamondbacks there are times that I think I have probably seen just about everything there is to see at a baseball game.

I have watched a no-hitter, I have seen a perfect game. I have watched a pitcher strike out 20 batters in a game and I have endured a 16-inning marathon. Just as I am about to proclaim there is nothing new left to see, something strange and unusual happens and I am reminded that you can never see everything.

Continue reading ‘Officer, I Saw the Whole Thing’ »

Baseball will forever be connected with the number nine. From the fact that there are nine positions on the field to there being 27 outs in a game to the bases being spaced 90 feet apart there is always a number nine involved when you are talking about baseball.

To celebrate the numerology equivalent of a perfect game, Major League Baseball is introducing something they are calling the All-Time Nine for each team. The All-Time Nine allows fans to vote on who would make up the best hitters by position for each franchise. Voting begins September 9 (09/09/09) on mlb.com as well as on each team’s web site and will continue all day.

Continue reading ‘Diamondbacks All-Time Nine’ »

Last Monday the Arizona Diamondbacks sent right-handed pitcher Jon Garland to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named later. This situation became more bizarre when Jon Garland faced the Arizona Diamondbacks. Garland pitched well and beat the Diamondbacks in the last game of the series.

Tomorrow Garland takes the mound for the second time as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers and will face right-hander Dan Haren.

Continue reading ‘Hanging the Garland’ »

If there were ever a holiday that summed up the season the Arizona Diamondbacks have endured; it would have to be Labor Day. This team has battled and struggled for five months trying to find a way to win a ball game. Each night they seem as though they are looking for a new way to lose rather than win.

This season gives Diamondbacks fans a glimpse into the life of a Chicago Cubs fan. I am not yet ready to throw in the towel and begin referring to the Diamondbacks as “lovable losers” but a few more seasons like this one is going to make me start looking for possible curses and try to find radical solutions to try to reverse the team’s outcome.

Continue reading ‘Today is Definitely a Labor Day’ »

As I sat and watched the Colorado Rockies dismantle the Arizona Diamondbacks in the finale of the series at Coors Field I was grasping to find a positive spin I could write about. It would be so easy to write about the Diamondbacks pitching woes especially the Diamondbacks debut of Daniel Cabrera who gave up five earned runs on two hits, two walks, and a hit batsman without recording a single out.

It would likewise have been easy to write an entire column on the Diamondbacks struggles to score runs or the dismal way they hit with runners in scoring position during this road trip. The problem with each of those scenarios is that they really don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.

Continue reading ‘To Be Young Again’ »

Given their struggles during the 2009 season, it was clear at the all-star break that the Arizona Diamondbacks would be playing the role of “spoiler” as the season progressed. Arizona has long been out of the race for the play-offs and are now playing for pride and perhaps auditioning to the coaching staff for a spot on the 2010 roster.

The Rockies on the other hand are battling for the play-offs by maintaining their lead over the San Francisco Giants in the National League wild card and chasing the front-running Los Angeles Dodgers.

Continue reading ‘Mile Low Series’ »

In 2007 the Arizona Diamondbacks were involved in one of the great runs in franchise history. While their offense was somewhat pedestrian and their run differential was negative, the team found a way to win close games and as September rolled around they found themselves in the midst of a pennant race.

The Colorado Rockies struggled through most of the 2007 season but during the last month of the season they became the hottest team in baseball literally sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers play-off hopes under the rug in route to a wildcard berth.

Continue reading ‘What a Difference Two Years Makes’ »