Diary of a Diehard

Each year the Arizona Diamondbacks are scheduled to play one home and one away series with every National League team outside of the Western Division. Then there are the Interleague games which rotate each year so that ultimately the Diamondbacks will play every American League team at some point. Because of the quirks of the 162 game schedule there is always one non-NL West team that the Diamondbacks play more than once. Last season it was the Pittsburgh Pirates whom the Diamondbacks visited twice. This season the team is the Florida Marlins. In many cases that would not be bad since the Marlins always seem to be in some sort of rebuilding mode as they wait for the Florida voters to decide the fate of their new stadium. Unfortunately for the Diamondbacks they never match up well with the Marlins and typically get the lunch eaten.

Continue reading ‘The Big One That Got Away’ »

It has been a great year to be an Arizona Diamondbacks fan especially when they are playing the National League Western Division. I have watched nearly every game that the Diamondbacks have played this season (ok that may be an understatement, I have even watched some of them multiple times analyzing footage) and I have no idea how to explain the National League West or why the Diamondbacks seem to be dominating the teams in their division. Through tonight’s game the Diamondbacks are a ridiculous 34-16 against the West which is part of the reason why they have a 2 game lead against the Los Angeles Dodgers despite not playing well since May.

Continue reading ‘Do We Need a Broom?’ »

I love my Chase Field seats. No not the ones I have installed in my house although I do love those. The problem with the seats in my house is that they come with a lot of baggage; namely the eternal fight I have with Trina as to whether these stadium seats are appropriate home furnishings. I know, it is a strange notion that somehow Major League Baseball stadium seats may not be appropriate chairs for your living room. And don’t even think about suggesting that we buy 6 more to serve as dining room chairs. I mean really what would be wrong with that. They are plastic so you could hose them down if they get dirty, the fold up when not in use, they have the Diamondbacks logo integrated into the side of them, and they come with their own cup holders. If you ask me, stadium seats are the perfect home furnishing. The one problem is no one ever asks me.

Continue reading ‘Musical Chairs’ »

After a six game road trip the Arizona Diamondbacks return to Chase Field to play host to their National League West opponent the San Diego Padres. This game will mark the home debut of Adam Dunn. The deal bringing Dunn to Arizona was announced shortly after the Diamondbacks left for Colorado meaning that fans have not gotten an opportunity to see the big man in Sedona Red. I’ve been lukewarm about this trade since it went down. I completely understand Josh Byrnes thinking, I am just not sure I understand how this is going to play out. With the size of the outfields in the ballparks in the NL West, putting someone like Adam Dunn out there will definitely reduce your teams defense. We’ve gotten used to seeing the likes of Chris Young, Eric Byrnes, Justin Upton, and Alex Romero patrol the vast spaces in the outfield. All of this was of course hearsay until we had an opportunity to see for ourselves what Adam Dunn has to offer.

Continue reading ‘Almost Dunn’ »

You would think that going 4-2 on a road trip would be cause for celebration. The goal of every team is to win each series that they play. If you could somehow do that over the course of a season you would end up with right around 108 wins more than enough to get you to the play-offs. Considering how much the Arizona Diamondbacks have been struggling over the last three months fans should be absolutely ecstatic. Instead, all I am hearing lately is doom and gloom surrounding this team.

Continue reading ‘Hanging Onto the Ledge’ »

Over the course of the first two games against the Houston Astros, the Arizona Diamondbacks scored 23 runs from 26 hits including 6 home runs two of which were grand slams. It appeared as though the Diamondbacks bats had come fully loaded to Minute Maid Park. This was especially surprising considering that the Astros were on an eight game winning streak when the Diamondbacks came to town. Finally Arizona was beginning to look like the dominating team that they had been during the first month of the season. After watching this team struggle from May through July; the fans were poised to watch their favorite team complete another dominating road trip. Everything seemed to be lining up right for the Diamondbacks. The final game of the series would send the resurging Randy Johnson to the mound in what looked to be a classic pitcher’s duel.

Continue reading ‘As the Pendulum Swings’ »

Earlier this season Arizona Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall stated; the team would be announcing Season Ticket Renewal for the 2009 season earlier than they had in years past. In the first year of their existence the Diamondbacks announced upcoming ticket prices which included a substantial price increase during Fan Appreciation week. That of course caused all kinds of problems and since that time the Diamondbacks have been very careful in how and when they introduce any price changes. I have been eagerly awaiting the Season Ticket Renewal package. First I wanted to see what changes if any there would be for next year and secondly that ticket renewal package usually contained information on the post season tickets for the current year. It is still relatively early to be thinking of playoffs but with the Diamondbacks having been in first place since April 4, the fans are pretty hopeful that October baseball will return to the valley. Today in the mail I received a large envelope containing invoicing and ticket renewal.

Continue reading ‘Ticket Renewals’ »

Recently I received a post card in the mail. That in itself is pretty much a big deal. In this day and age you rarely find anyone willing to take the time to write a post card let alone go out and get a stamp and try and find a post office to mail the thing. I remember as a kid when my parents would go out of town on a trip, they would always send us a post card. I am sure the sentiment was to tell us that they were thinking of us while they were having fun. Looking back at it, that was kind of mean sending us a card of some exotic destination while we’re stuck at home with an evil babysitter whose whole goal in life is to break our very spirit and will to live. Ok I exaggerated the destinations were not that exotic on the post cards. Given my past experiences with postcards, you would not think I would be excited to get one but I was; especially this one.

Continue reading ‘Dinner and a Movie’ »

With the Arizona Diamondbacks in Colorado to play the Rockies things are a little crazy around here. When the Diamondbacks are in town my life is fairly simple. I go to work, I come home from work, I put on my Diamondbacks jersey, I grab my seat cushion, I go to Chase Field. Like is good. When the team is out of town things get kind of messy. I still go to work, I still come home from work, I still put on my Diamondbacks jersey, then I am completely at a loss. I wander around the house staring at my seat cushion then the calendar then the television then back to the seat cushion. Trina of course is no help whatsoever as she is constantly reminding me that the Diamondbacks are out of town and that I promised I would get to the “Honey-Do” list. This of course makes me even more frantic as I stare at my seat cushion then the calendar then the television then back to the seat cushion. After about 30 minutes of that Trina usually gives up and walks away leaving me in my confused state.

Continue reading ‘Short Hops and the Psychic Hotline’ »