The fans and the team have been building up to this day for the past few weeks ever since news leaked out that left fielder Luis Gonzalez and shortstop Craig Counsell would not be back next season. It has become a love fest at Chase Field as everyone tries to say their good byes to these two fan favorites. Television camera crews have been set up around the stadium both inside and outside to capture the remarks of well wishers wanting to say farewell and tell what these players meant to them and to the city. The Diamondbacks found themselves caught up in this as well and wanted to make the game and the day special. As we entered the stadium and looked onto the field you were immediately aware of how important these two players were. In left field was a giant number 20 painted where Luis always stands. Behind second base was a large number 4 identifying that Craig played both second and short during his tenure with the team.

There was a feeling of electricity and anticipation in the crowd as they milled around the concourse making their way to their seats. It was amazing to see this many people at Chase Field. The paid attendance was listed at 48,946 making it not just the largest crowd of the season but the largest crowd in Arizona Diamondbacks history for a regular season game. Before the game even started the fans were in rare force letting their voices be heard. As Luis Gonzalez and Craig Counsell came out of the dugout to begin warming up before the national anthem, everyone rose to their feet to cheer for these two players. Both of them showed a lot of class waving to the fans and acknowledging the people for their support. When the game finally began, Craig Counsell batted lead-off and came to the plate to a roaring ovation. This occurred each time he came up and it was obvious he was very touched by the ovation. He gave a little something back when he hit a Woody Williams pitch into the right field stands during the fourth inning breaking up a no-hitter and shutout.

While the fans were loud for Counsell, they stepped up the noise level when Gonzalez came to the plate. In what has to be one of the classiest things I have ever seen, Gonzalez entered the batter’s box in the first inning then before the first pitch he called time-out and went to the first base side of the backstop and called down former Diamondbacks general partner Jerry Colangelo and shook his hand and thanked him for bringing him to Arizona. He then went to the third base side of the backstop and called down outgoing Diamondbacks president Rich Dozer and former general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. and likewise thanked them. Luis then returned to the batter’s box to allow the game to continue. To acknowledge the people who brought him to Arizona and allowed him to blossom into the most prolific hitter in Diamondbacks history was a great gesture by one of the best people in the game. I’m sure that Gonzalez had played his last game in his mind over and over and I am sure none of them ever went 0-4 without reaching base but sometime fairy tails don’t end with happily ever after. In the end, manager Bob Melvin lifted Luis Gonzalez in the ninth inning with the game outcome decided so that Gonzo could have one last ovation by the fans who adore him. It was touching to see him hug his replacement Scott Hairston and share a few words with the rookie before running to the dugout and his well deserved curtain call.

While the game had been billed as the final audition for Brandon Webb to solidify his Cy Young credentials, it ended up being a party for the San Diego Padres. Webb allowed 7 runs all earned in 4 innings of work and left trailing the game 7-1. The Diamondbacks would slowly chip away at the lead inching closer and closer until the score was 7-4 in the ninth. This meant that Webb’s main competition for the Cy Young award would enter the game. Trevor Hoffman too has had a great year capped by breaking Lee Smith’s all-time saves record. He came into the game with a 3 run lead and everyone thought the last inning was a mere formality. Instead Hoffman decided to make it exciting for the home fans. After getting Eric Byrnes to fly out to the shortstop, he gave up back-to-back home runs to Chad Tracy and Conor Jackson. He then walked Carlos Quentin putting the tying run on first. Catcher Chris Snyder hit a ground ball to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez who forced out Quentin at second. Chris Young came in to run for Snyder and Diamondbacks minor league player of the year Alberto Callaspo pinch hit for Jose Valverde. Callaspo hit a ball to the hole between first and second which nearly hit Young who fell to the ground. Second baseman Josh Barfield miraculously got to the ball and threw to first but the throw was not in time and Callaspo was safe. Young struggled to regain his feet allowing Adrian Gonzalez to attempt a throw to second. Young slid and second base umpire Larry Poncino called Young safe which from the replays appeared to be the right call. Padres manager Bruce Bochy came out and argued and Poncino reversed his decision calling Young out ending the game. Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin came out to argue in vain. Chris Young remained standing on second while the Padres celebrated at the pitcher’s mound as they clinched the National League West title. After a 162 game season you think you have seen just about everything then on the last play of the season the baseball gods remind you that you haven’t seen anything yet. It’s a call that will be lost in a week but will remain etched in my mind as the winter months stretch forth.

“Dad, it’s for you!” I am not sure why they think that if the display says Arizona Diamondbacks it necessarily means that they are calling for me. Having your phone ring and the Caller ID saying it is a Major League Baseball team is probably the closest thing I will ever have to a Bat Phone. I always envision answering the call and having it be manager Bob Melvin or general manager Josh Byrnes on the other end saying they heard about my first pitch and were wondering if I would be available to sign a contract. That never seems to happen but it is always great to dream between the second and third rings. Coming out of my alternative reality, I picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hi, may I speak to Jeff Summers?”

“This is he.”

“Hi Jeff this is the Diamondbacks MVP Rewards department and we have identified that you are one of our most active members and we would like to invite you to an event.”

One of their most active members? I am not sure what to think about that. Does that mean that they see me scanning my card at every game or that I have started to rack up points buying concessions or is this about the 3 jerseys I bought because I had not gotten a new jersey this century? None of these sounds like a good thing. I thought maybe this was one of those profiling things and the next thing I know a mug shot would be shown on the evening news and my neighbor would be saying stuff like, “He seemed fairly normal from October through March but then he got really strange from April through September. He’d be gone 83 nights always at 4:30 returning around 10:30. He may be a serial killer or terrorist for all I know.”

“Wow, thanks!” I said.

“We would like to invite you to the Saturday game against the San Diego Padres as our way of saying thanks. Would you like to go to the game this weekend?”

“Uh, well yeah I had thought maybe I would go to the game.” I was trying to play it cool while all the time I was dancing around like the midget on the Gieco commercial singing, “It’s my birthday, fixed my bumper, it’s my birthday, got new taillights.”

“Great, you and a guest are invited to watch the game from the owner’s suite. I’ll have the tickets at will call for you to pick up and we’ll see you at the game.”

Well how sweet is this? I get to go to a baseball game. Oh wait, I was already going to the game. My wife and kids though thought this was outstanding since they would use me to get them in the door and they would hang out in the suite while I go back down to Section 108 and sit in our seats since I am going to want to keep score and sit on my own seat cushion. They did have a point, I do like my seat cushion and I am close to the action in our seats. And I am not sure whether they even allow scorebooks in the suites. I’ve never seen anyone in a suite keep score. For that matter I have never seen anyone in a suite actually watch a whole game. So I packed the bags like usual and made sure I had the tickets to our seats and we headed down to the ballpark. Since it is the last Saturday home game, I wanted to be there as the gates opened.

It is Fandemonium so the Diamondbacks are holding giveaways throughout the game. These included autographed memorabilia and I was really hoping to score a bat or jersey or something. Dakota had his ball with him that he started in April and now has about 15 of the players signatures on it. He is hoping that the Diamondbacks will sign autographs. We got Conor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, Miguel Montero, Brandon Lyon, Chad Tracy, and Randy Choate yesterday so he’s really hoping some more of the players will sign today. It’s just fun hanging out with him and seeing his eyes light up as the players talk to him.

I had decided even before we got there that I would give the suite tickets to Trina and to Whitney. After all, they kind of keep the family together during the season. Dakota and I would sit in our seats. If possible, Whitney and Dakota could trade and Whitney would sit with me in Section 108 for the second half of the game. When we arrived at the ballpark we went right to will call to pick up tickets. While I was waiting at the window, I sent Trina to sales to get two more tickets for tomorrow’s season finale. I thought a couple of bleacher seats so Tiffany and Dakota would be close to us and maybe even get some action. Trina ended up with upper deck tickets as the game had completely sold out the lower level and only upper level above row 26 were available. That’s amazing as it will mean that there will be well over 40,000 people in attendance. Farewell to Gonzo is likely to result in a larger crowd than Opening Day. That is a tribute to what he meant to the fans and the city.

We got the tickets and made our way through the gates. In the rotunda there is a glass case where they have a World Series ring and the World Series trophy. Today, these artifacts had been removed and were on a table for display. Not only could you get up-close to them, you could actually stand next to the World Series trophy and wear a World Series ring. Are you kidding me? You can wear the ring? I must have looked like a child on Christmas morning when I heard that news. Trina sensing my excitement walked me over to the line then waited patiently as I inched closer to the front. When it got to be my turn I stood behind the table, put the ring on and smiled as the sun bounced off the trophy and ring. It was simply amazing and if nothing else happened, my day and month was complete. We stopped by the Team Shop and I dropped off a 2001 World Series jersey to be personalized with my name and number (9) on it. The Team Shop is doing personalization for half off until they run out of purple letters and numbers then it’s done. Fortunately for me they still had all the letters for my name. I was afraid it would end up like a bad Wheel of Fortune episode where I would be running around trying to buy a vowel before I went bankrupt but it all worked out.

After the team shop I found the elevator that went to the suite level and sent Trina and Whitney on their way. Dakota and I went down to Section 108 so I could fill out the scorebook and get ready for the game. My phone rang and it was Trina. She was in the owner’s suite and was waving. That was pretty cool to see your wife waving from the Diamond Infinity level sitting in the front row of seats in the owner’s box. She suggested I come up but I told her to just enjoy the game and I would talk to her afterwards as they were getting ready to announce the line-ups. I hung up the phone and a minute later it rang again. It was Trina this time insisting that I come up as there were people there who wanted to talk to me. See that phrase, “people wanting to talk to you” never goes well with me. That is the same phrase I heard in elementary school just before the teacher and the principal pulled me out of recess. Trina had gotten two additional tickets so we could all sit together in the suite. I have no idea how she does that. This is the same woman who chased down Rich Dozer on the concourse of Bank One Ballpark to recommend that I throw out a first pitch. She’s also the same woman who brought Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins to our seats in Maryvale because she told him I was a big Cubs fan growing up as a child watching him on MLB Game of the Week. She is totally amazing. Anyway, she got two more tickets so Dakota and I could be there with them in the suite. The whole way to the elevator all Dakota could talk about was how cool it would be to get free food. I swear, to listen to him talk you would think I never feed him.

We arrived at the suite and Trina introduced us around to her newly found friends. Jamie from the MVP Rewards program was there. We had spoken on the phone and it was great to meet her in person. She had a lot of questions about what I thought about the MVP Rewards program and oddly enough about my blog and web site. My blog and web site? It seems that during a Google search Diary of a Diehard came up and they read a few of my entries. There is nothing that will stop a guy’s heart quicker than to find out that someone is actually reading my entries and worse that my wife (who doesn’t even know what a blog is) is suddenly finding out that perhaps things are not quite what they seem (such as the discussion about Dean & Deluca I spoke about in the MVP Rewards post.) It was great talking to everyone and awesome that the Diamondbacks are so interested in gaining the fan’s perspective on things. While I was talking, Dakota was sampling all of the food making sure he tried a little bit of everything. It was an amazing experience and I got to meet some great baseball fans and wonderful Diamondbacks personnel. I’m sure they probably didn’t want to hear about my thoughts on Sedona Red, Black, and Sand but they were very professional listening to my comments.

As the game got ready to start, I settled down in a seat along the left side of the suite and began to keep score. The first batter was Dave Roberts and the first pitch he fouls back right to where Trina was sitting (a seat to my left). I jumped up to shield her from the ball (I always do that as I know how hard those travel and I would feel really bad it they got hit attending a game with me.) The ball hit the top of the scoreboard right in front of us and bounced nearly back to the field of play. I was ticked that I didn’t reach down and field that ball but then Trina looked at the scoreboard and it had a big freaking dent in it where the ball had hit. Chances are if I would have tried to catch that I would have either broken a finger or hand. I guess I shouldn’t feel too bad about not getting to that one. I stayed in the suite to watch the game but I continued to worry about leaving my seats empty. They have not been empty for any game this season and somehow I felt like I was letting the team down by not being there. I got the binoculars out to check on my seat and I found someone was sitting in it! I now knew exactly what the three bears felt like when they came home and caught Goldilocks breaking and entering. What was worse was that the guy looked like same homeless guy that asks me for money outside the stadium after every game. How the heck does a homeless guy get into the stadium and who does he think he is sitting in my seat? This is obviously going to bug me the whole game.

The game was pretty even until Mike Cameron hit a shot into left field that nearly made it to Friday’s Front Row Grill to put the Padres up 2-0. Carlos Quentin robbed the Padres of a home run making an outstanding leaping catch near the pool. Stephen Drew hit a bomb into the pool throwing water 5 feet at splash down cutting the deficit to 3-1. Then the game started to get weird. Two obviously drunk fans jumped onto the field along the left field line and sprinted towards the pool. Security guards came out of no where giving chase to these two idiots. The one guy tried to throw them off by tossing a ball onto the playing field. I guess his theory was that the security guys would stop to pick up the ball and forget about the fans on the field. The first guy was tiring fast and by the time he got to the pool he didn’t have enough energy to climb the fence. The security guards slammed him down onto the warning track face first. The second guy was in better shape and he actually made it to the pool fence and climbed over. What he didn’t anticipate was that the fans there were siding with security and they tagged him and pushed him back towards the playing field. While the idiot was struggling with the pool fans, security grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him back onto the warning track where he landed head first. They cuffed both of these morons and took them away to the holding cell under the right field stands. That definitely brings new meaning to the word Fandemonium.

The game ended with a save by Trevor Hoffman that allowed the San Diego Padres to clinch a play-off spot. It is still to be determined whether they will be the wild card team or the National League Western Division champion. That will be decided at tomorrow’s game. So today was amazing and I cannot thank the Arizona Diamondbacks enough for everything. They have made this a magical season regardless of the outcome on the field. Me and from what I could see in my binoculars, the homeless guy, had a great time today.

Tonight marks the beginning of the weekend festivities. The Diamondbacks have reporters and camera crews positioned throughout the stadium allowing fans to wish Gonzalez and Counsell good luck and to thank them for their service to the team. Prizes will be given away throughout the series and fans will have an opportunity to purchase raffle tickets to win the shirts off our D’backs. This series marks the end of baseball season meaning there is a blowout sale at the team shop with merchandise at 50 percent off. Additionally, if you purchase $400 worth of merchandise you will receive a game used base. I’ve always dreamed of having first base at my house so I really wanted to get the base but I realized I would need to find $800 worth of Diamondbacks gear to meet the $400 threshold due to the 50 percent off sale. After an exhaustive search of the Team Shop, I realized that I couldn’t find that much stuff that I didn’t already have. I was pretty depressed at that thought but I think Trina was even more depressed than I was. I was surprised to think that she wanted the base too but she later explained that she just found it sad that our house has turned into an outlet store for the Arizona Diamondbacks if we have that much merchandise. Sometimes I really don’t get her.

While the merchandise sale and prize giveaway are both exciting, I am still in a sober mood at the thoughts that I only have three more games to attend. I only have one more parking game which is tonight (we park at the Arizona Science Center during weekday games but on weekends we take advantage of free parking on the street). There will only be three more meals at Chase Field meaning only a few more opportunities for a Hungry Hill sausage or a RIBBIE’S pulled chicken sandwich. Only three more times to ridicule the US Airways Catch a Ball Fly with Us contestants. Only three more games of swiping my Diamondbacks MVP rewards card to accumulate points towards a Diamondbacks experience. Only three more pages in my scorebook to record the plays of the game. Man, just thinking about that is making me depressed.

On a game related note about last night’s contest, Carlos Quentin was again robbed of a hit by home plate umpire Ed Hickox. With an 0-1 count, Padres pitcher Jake Peavy threw an inside pitch that hit Quentin on the forearm. Hickox claimed that the ball did not hit Carlos but rather it hit the bat making it a foul ball strike. Quentin pleaded his case as did Arizona manager Bob Melvin but to no avail. Carlos would later strike out in that at bat stranding a runner at first. This is the second time that the umpires have blown a hit by pitch call against Quentin. Perhaps the umpires association should offer training classes to help their crews identify the difference between a bat and an arm. Because of this error, Quentin remains stuck at 8 hit by pitch for the 2006 season. Craig Counsell was struck in the first inning giving him 9 hit by pitch tying him for the team lead with Conor Jackson. So due to the errors by Ed Hickox and Paul Emmel, Carlos may not win the title of “Most often hit Diamondback” which would really be a shame.

As much as I hate to admit it, the season is almost over. I have but four games remaining to what has been a magical year. Sure I would have loved to be dreaming of pitching match-ups in the National League Divisional Series and worrying which player may not make the post season roster but overall it has been great. Not because the Diamondbacks will finish with a losing record but great because it has given me an opportunity to spend 83 games with my wife and my kids taking each of them to a game each night and sharing the thoughts and sounds of baseball.

When the gates open at 4:30 PM I plan on being there with my daughter making our way to our seats watching batting practice and soaking up all of the atmosphere of the ballpark. In four short days all we will have from the 2006 season are memories and I want to cherish each and every one. I have my seat cushion packed with a water bottle, my score book, and a bag of peanuts. I’ll also take my camera so I can document everything around me. In the deep of winter I can retrieve these images and match them to the memories I have tucked away in my mind. I can also compare the pictures with those take in years past to remind me of how baseball and the team has evolved.

I’m also looking forward to the team being back in town so that I can begin my own personal seat relocation process. Over the next four days I plan on visiting several sections within the ballpark and checking on seat locations so that when November 1, 2006 rolls around I have the necessary information to make a decision of where I want to spend 83 days of my life next year. Trina of course hates this as it means I will drag her or one of the kids with me and make them sit in countless seats and ask them about site lines, foul ball potential, and the probability that vendors or other fans may block our view of the field of play. But my theory this is a much more important decision than buying a car or a house. After all, we are talking about baseball here.

Finally I’ll be venturing into the team shop over the next four days buying things that will remind me of not just the 2006 season but also of the purple, turquoise, and copper era in Diamondbacks history. I think I am going to miss purple. I just can’t see myself in Sedona red. With all the excitement of the next four games, I am afraid that the actual games are going to get lost in the commotion. Thankfully I’ll have my scorebook to remind me that the season isn’t over just yet.

Today’s game marked the final road game of the 2006 season for the Arizona Diamondbacks. It is kind of sad to think that this is the last of anything for any season so my mood was less than stellar as it was. Then I found out that the game was not going to be televised as it was an afternoon game which meant I would be listening to the game via the radio and that I would follow along using Gameday on MLB.com.

Before the game started I looked over the starting line-up for each team. Arizona manager Bob Melvin was giving Luis Gonzalez the day off so that he is rested for what will be a very emotional four game series in Arizona when he says good bye to the fans. Gonzalez is a very special player and is important both on and off the field as he has been a model citizen in every clubhouse he has been in. After checking the line-up for the Diamondbacks I moved over to see who they would be facing. Just as I suspected, Barry Bonds is again taking the day off. I had read earlier that he wants to come back and play another season so he can break Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record and he would prefer to do that in San Francisco. The Giants on the other hand were hoping to go younger and more athletic to try and compete in a division that sees many of the teams with a core of young players that they are building upon. For the Giants to bring back a player that is 43 who has not played a full season in over two years who is also under suspicion of taking steroids and is being accused of tax evasion has San Francisco management more than a little concerned.

This dilemma began to give me an idea. Since San Francisco is looking to get a lot younger and more athletic and they would like to find someone who could play a whole season in left field without having to take multiple days off; maybe they should consider signing Luis Gonzalez. He is 4 years younger than Bonds and in much better shape. If you don’t think 4 years is very much, try suggesting to your wife that maybe your 12-year-old daughter should start dating a 16-year-old boy and see what kind of reaction you get. Of course you will end up spending the rest of the night explaining you were trying to make a baseball point and that you really had not lost your mind making that suggestion but you get my point. I mean this would be the perfect situation (Gonzalez going to San Francisco not having hormonally unbalanced teenage boys come to my house asking to see my daughter). Gonzo is a team player, a mentor, and an all-around good guy. Barry Bonds is well, Barry Bonds. Gonzalez is dependable and wants to play. Barry Bonds is well, Barry Bonds. Granted, Barry does have some things that Gonzo doesn’t like a head the size of the Bay Bridge, an unlimited supply of flaxseed oil, his own Paula Abdul wig and dress, and Gary Sheffield’s chef. But Gonzo has something Barry may never have, a World Championship ring and the gratitude that it took to get it. San Francisco could do a lot worse than signing Luis Gonzalez. They would be trading one Hall of Fame player for one who should be considered Hall of Fame worthy and this would give them a way to needle the Diamondbacks just a little each time the teams play and Gonzalez hits another double climbing the ladder of immortals. There really may be something to this youth movement and San Francisco should not be left out.

While we talked on the phone, Trina could sense something was on my mind and asked if I wanted to talk about it. I said it was ok and not to worry but she insisted. She said she thought the family emergency was weighing on my mind and maybe I should just talk through it. I agreed that it probably wasn’t healthy for me to keep my emotions bottled up so I opened up bearing my soul of things that were troubling me. This whole Sedona Red thing was really bugging me and seeing the new logos didn’t do much to make me feel any better. To top it off I have been looking for a Classic purple Diamondbacks hat and no one in Phoenix has one as they are not reordering due to the upcoming announcement of new colors. This has left me without an authentic purple hat that doesn’t have an Opening Day, American Flag, World Series, or All-Star game logo attached to the side. That’s just not right. I pleaded with her to please go to a mall where she was at and see if anyone had an authentic purple Diamondbacks hat. I am not sure whether it was the desperation in my voice or the fact that she knew I would continue to call her about the hat thing unless she went and looked but she agreed that before she left to come home she would go and look.

This morning I knew she was planning to leave early so I called and said maybe it might be better for her to get some rest before the long trip and besides that I did some checking and the sporting goods stores do not open until 10 AM at the earliest. Frustrated she agreed and again promised to go and look for a hat. At 10:15 local time I got a call from Trina. She was at the sporting goods store and they did have purple Diamondbacks hats. I made her describe them in detail including the manufacturer name in the band and whether they were fitted or not. She took all of my questions and asked the salesman and relayed the answers back to me. Once it was agreed that this was indeed the hat I was looking for the all important question came up, “do you have a size 7¼?” This was critical as without an affirmative answer here it would mean yet another trip to another store and we would start over. The salesman went through all of his hats and found that he did indeed have that size in stock. I suggested to Trina that she shape her hands to the size of my head and have the salesman put the hat on her hands to see if it would fit. Initially she refused but after I insisted she relented. It appears that it would fit and she went to the cashier to buy it. We were still talking on the phone and I thought of something. “Ask the salesman if you get a discount because the Diamondbacks are changing colors and this is going to be the old style.” She asked him if he was even aware that the Diamondbacks were changing their logo and colors and he said that he knew they were but didn’t know what it would be. He did say he could give her a 5 percent discount on the price of the hat. This is awesome! I found a hat, it appears to fit my wife’s hands and I got a discount! Life doesn’t get much better than that.

I started doing the happy dance around the living room at my good fortune singing “we are the champions”. Trina was forced to listen to this while trying to muffle the sound on her end so the cashier didn’t think she was married to a madman. In the end I thanked Trina and suggested that maybe she should give the sales guy a kiss (which she declined). After the transaction she said they were getting ready to make the trip home. She said she couldn’t wait to get home and I agreed I can’t wait for her to get home either. I have to see if that hat fits before Thursday’s game.

Edgar Gonzalez has had some success since his latest promotion to the major leagues. In his last start against San Diego he showed a lot of confidence and command which were two things he did not have earlier in the year. Edgar has been very inconsistent until recently so you just never know what you are going to get with him. Gonzalez was challenged early when Bonds came up in the second inning and drove a pitch to the deepest part of center field. Fortunately for the Diamondbacks Chris Young was positioned perfectly and ran down the fly for an out. For Gonzalez though it didn’t end quite so nicely as the next batter Ray Durham hit a home run to right field after Gonzalez got ahead of the batter 0-2.

Schmidt maintained his mastery of the Diamondbacks retiring Arizona in order the first three innings establishing the groundwork for a perfect game. That perfection was stopped in the fourth inning when Eric Byrnes hit a home run to left field. Luis Gonzalez followed with a single to right then Chad Tracy hit another single to right putting runners on first and second. Conor Jackson then hit the second home run of the inning giving the Diamondbacks a 4-1 lead. That was all the team needed as Edgar Gonzalez pitched brilliantly over 7 innings allowing 1 run on 5 hits and striking out 3. Probably his most memorable inning would be the fifth inning when Jason Schmidt hit a double to center after the Diamondbacks had recorded 2 outs in the inning. Randy Winn walked followed by Omar Vizquel who also walked to load the bases. With Barry Bonds on deck and Mark Sweeney at the plate Gonzalez struck out Sweeney leaving everyone to wonder “what if” Barry had gotten up.

At the end of the night when the dust had settled, the streak was over and Jason Schmidt was no longer perfect against the Diamondbacks. Barry Bonds was left to contemplate how a rookie pitcher who had only won 3 games all season had held him 0-4 and eliminated the Giants from the 2006 post season. This road trip was one where the Diamondbacks could define the fortunes of the Padres, Dodgers and the Giants. In the end it was only the Giants who saw their fate decided by the hands of a rookie who is making a case for his inclusion in Arizona’s 2007 plans.

With an ERA of over 4 you fully expected that the Diamondbacks would be patient in their approach and work the pitcher into deep counts. That hasn’t been the Diamondbacks mode of operation though. They have for most of the year been fairly aggressive at the plate and today was no exception. This led to a lot of quick outs swinging at borderline pitches. The game evolved into a pitchers dual between Kuo and Hernandez. The Diamondbacks struck first when Carlos Quentin doubled to center after Stephen Drew walked and Chris Snyder reached base on Betemit’s error. The run came with two outs to give the visiting team the lead. That lead lasted until the fifth inning when pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo doubled to left field and then scored on a single by Kenny Lofton. Both pitching staffs settled down and the game remained tied going into the ninth inning. The Dodgers brought in their closer Takashi Saito who retired Craig Counsell on a fly ball then struck out Stephen Drew and Chris Snyder. The Diamondbacks allowed pitcher Luis Vizcaino to stay in the game after he threw a perfect eighth inning.

The bottom of the ninth started with Marlon Anderson singling in front of Eric Byrnes in center. Russell Martin moved the runner to second on a sacrifice bunt meaning the winning run was now in scoring position with one out. Oscar Robles came up and grounded out to second base and Anderson moved to third. The Diamondbacks were one out away from sending this game into extra innings and the Dodgers had already used their closer so the advantage went to Arizona. Raphael Furcal was intentionally walked to get to Kenny Lofton. Furcal went to second but was not given a stolen base since the Diamondbacks were not holding him on. Vizcaino let the inning get to him and walked Lofton after getting a full count. Arizona was one strike away from extra innings and now they faced the bases loaded with Nomar Garciaparra at the plate. Vizcaino got sloppy and fell behind in the count 2-1. Still, Garciaparra has an injured quadriceps muscle so it looked as though they would get out of this inning without any damage. After all, Nomar was 0-3 in this game. But then Vizcaino did the impossible, he threw a pitch that was way too good to even up the count and Nomar planted the ball in the centerfield seats for a walk-off grand slam. In a single moment the Diamondbacks went from having the advantage to leaving Dodger stadium with yet another late inning loss. If each of the remaining games is a tryout for the pitching staff to make a case for why they should be with the team next season, Luis Vizcaino just put himself squarely on the bubble. The win by Los Angeles also gave them the season series victory beating the Diamondbacks 5 games to 4. The Dodgers had a record of 3-3 at Chase Field and a record of 2-1 at Dodger Stadium. Maybe there’s something to this home field advantage thing.

This has been a real sore spot with me as I really like the purple and turquoise. It also meant that I would have to go on a major spending spree to replenish my wardrobe when the new merchandise is made available. This has of course led to a major discussion in our house as I began inventorying all of the items that will need to be changed or bought.

Trina is even less thrilled than I am especially since I played the “I have not gotten a new jersey this century” three times this season and she just knows that I will have to get a new jersey (or four). So our household definitely falls in the not-in-favor camp for this decision. But I promised to keep an open mind until I actually saw the changes.

The Diamondbacks have scheduled an event on November 11, 2006 to unveil their new logo and uniforms so we’ll have to wait and see. With the advent of the Internet, that wait just got a lot shorter.

The Internet has become such a great way to receive information instantaneously that it should have been expected that word of the new color scheme and logos would leak out prior to the November event. Today on sportslogos.net someone found a copy of the Major League Baseball style guide which showed the new logos and colors for the Diamondbacks.

It has now been viewed by legions of fans and curious bystanders as everyone wanted to see the changes. I obviously made a beeline to the site to check it out for myself. My heart sank as I saw my beloved purple and turquoise “A” logo transformed into red and black. It was like seeing a blood bath.

The famous “D” logo which has adorned batting helmets and road hats is now updated with more curves making it more snake-like. There is a new shirt sleeve logo which is a lower case “d” and “b” which form a snake head. This is one of the better elements but the space between the “d” and “b” needs to be reduced or eliminated to make it work.

Overall I was very depressed to see the hats moving from purple to Sedona red which looks a little pinkish to me. I’m not happy that the word “D’backs” will be strung across the white home uniform. It would have been better to have sand as the primary color and “Arizona” across the front in my opinion. It seems pretty clear that the “A” logo is going to be phased out eventually in favor of the new “D” and the snake head.

I was worried that the new color scheme would make the Diamondbacks look like the Houston Astros but seeing the two colors next to each other, the Houston brick red is more orange and the Diamondbacks Sedona red is pinker. If there were ever a day where I wished I were color blind, this would be it. I somehow can’t see myself wearing a pinkish red hat with a curvy snake on the front.

Maybe this will be like when Coca-Cola tried that new Coke thing and the public was so freaked out that they came out with Coke Classic. I’ll be standing in line for Diamondbacks Classic with the traditional purple, turquoise and copper. If nothing else it gives us something to look forward to, throwback jersey day.

It could be worse I guess, they could be coming out with jerseys that matched those old 1980’s Houston Astros with the horizontal banded stripes and the neon orange hat. Yeah, being color blind definitely would have its advantages.

Tonight happened to be one of Claudio’s better outings as he matched Derek Lowe inning for inning through the first 6 innings. The teams were in a classic Dodger Stadium pitching dual with neither team able to bring home a run. That changed in the seventh inning as JD Drew came up and smoked a Vargas pitch over the center field fence for a home run. Claudio then retired Betemit and Andre Ethier leaving him one out away from getting out of the inning. That plan didn’t quite work out as he allowed Russell Martin to double to centerfield. This was followed by Marlon Anderson doubling to right field which scored Martin making the deficit 2-0. While the Diamondbacks got 8 hits in the game they were never able to score. This meant that Checker Auto Parts will not be donating a car seat as they do when the Diamondbacks score their first run in each game. This means that somewhere in Arizona a Hispanic child is being placed in harms way by not being buckled in. There will be some restless sleeping tonight as the Diamondbacks players worry about that little kid getting into an accident now.