Just a guy from Section 132 Row 9 Seat 9
Today is another day and I survived another 24-hour period without baseball meaning Spring Training is one day closer. These are the kinds of thoughts that go through a baseball fan’s head during the dead of winter.
As had been rumored for some time, the Arizona Diamondbacks have secured the services of second baseman Kelly Johnson. Johnson had been the starting second baseman for the Atlanta Braves but after a rocky 2009 campaign found himself a free agent as a result of the Braves not tendering him a contract.
For the past two years the Diamondbacks had attempted to make a trade with the Braves for Johnson at one time offering first baseman Conor Jackson as part of the deal. Now General Manager Josh Byrnes has finally gotten his man.
With Christmas now behind us, Trina announced that the time had come to take down all of the decorations and return them to their boxes in the garage. One look around the house and I knew I had to come up with a plan quickly or I would be spending the rest of the year cleaning the house.
Initially I thought about faking an injury. Surely I could not be expected to take down the Christmas tree if I had a pulled hamstring. Of course if I picked the wrong injury I could find myself at a doctor’s office which would be worse than washing the windows or removing lights from the house eves.
With 2009 just a few short days away the number of trades and free agent signings has slowed tremendously. Most teams are relatively set from a roster perspective. There will still be some movement as the free agent pool is still quite deep.
The Diamondbacks have made the bulk of the moves they are going to make this off-season. They have a couple of offers out to players but overall the roster is beginning to solidify at least until the beginning of Spring Training.
Today is my wife Trina’s birthday. Having your birthday arrive just two days after Christmas would definitely be a bummer. She tells of stories where she would receive a pajama top for Christmas and then get the bottoms for her birthday.
With her birthday in the midst of Christmas vacation for the schools she never had the opportunity to have her mom bring cupcakes to class to celebrate her birthday. For this same reason she rarely had a birthday party as people were gone for the holidays.
There were several areas of the Arizona Diamondbacks roster that struggled during the 2009 season but perhaps none more so than the bullpen. What was once a strong bullpen during the 2007 season was now a weakness.
There are very few things that can compare to the feelings you have on Christmas morning. There is something magical about coming down the stairs and seeing the Christmas tree sparkling in the early morning hours. Beneath its branches are the wrapped gifts awaiting to be opened and enjoyed.
The children and the children at heart are bouncing from present to present seeking one with their name on the top and wondering what the wrapped gift contains. While there may be some gifts that disappoint, the majority of the gifts are sincerely selected or thought provoking.
Today is Christmas Eve. Everywhere on the planet there are children watching the clock willing it to move faster so that Santa Claus will visit their house and bestow his holiday generosity under the Christmas tree.
Our house is no exception. Although our kids are now older it does not diminish the excitement they feel about Christmas. Some of that might be because I have never really grown up. I still write a letter to Santa every year and eagerly watch the mailbox to see if he might reply.
I really questioned my daughter’s sanity as well as my own when she decided to attend her college graduation ceremony in Idaho in December. Seriously what was she thinking when she suggested a family from Arizona go to the frozen tundra of Idaho for a weekend of festivities where everyone dressed like Eskimos in robes?
