The weather is gorgeous and perfect for an afternoon game with the roof open. The Diamondbacks have said that they are planning to play as many games with the roof open this season as they can. That is perfectly fine with me; it just feels more like baseball when you are playing it under blue skies. But then I am sitting on the third base side which moves into the shade during the first inning. Those sitting on the first base side have to deal with the sun all game long. In late March that is not too much of an issue but that probably won’t be the case in May or June when temperatures are nearing the century mark.

Most of the Diamondbacks starters begin the game giving us a glimpse of what the team will look like when the season starts. The lone exception is that Carlos Quentin is still not in the line-up. His diagnosis of a partially torn labrum has set him behind as he works with the training staff to strengthen the muscles around the injury. Having been through a couple of labrum operations and knowing the pain I felt before surgery I am very sympathetic to Carlos and what he is going through. The positive side of this is it will give the Diamondbacks an opportunity to assess Scott Hairston as an everyday player to determine whether he will fit with the Diamondbacks long term plans or if he will become a future bargaining chip to acquire the pieces they need to make a title run. I love Hairston’s bat in the line-up as evidenced today with his home run high off the left field foul pole. His defense leaves me reminiscent of the years Luis Gonzalez patrolled left field. The arm and range seem to be more limited than when Eric Byrnes is playing that position.

The Diamondbacks appeared to cruise through much of the first half of the game building a 7-1 lead. Newly acquired Yusmeiro Petit looked very sharp in his Diamondbacks debut. He appears to be a good candidate for a rotation position should the Diamondbacks find themselves with injuries to their top 5 starters. Following Petit were Jose Valverde and Tony Pena. Both looked ready for the season with neither allowing a run in the 1.2 innings of combined work. The game became much more interesting when Diamondbacks reliever Bill Murphy allowed 5 runs during his 1/3 inning outing. The Padres came back to take a 8-7 lead in the ninth inning and it looked as though the Diamondbacks may end their spring on a losing note. The snakes showed their resiliency though coming back in the ninth tying the game before the Padres pitchers loaded the bases with no outs. After retiring Chris Carter it looked as though the game may go into extra innings. Walking from the on-deck circle was 19 year-old Diamondbacks prospect Justin Upton. Upton who was the first overall pick in the 2005 amateur draft is scheduled to start the year for advanced Class-A Versalia Oaks in the California League. After missing badly in his first two swings against Aaron Rakers, Upton was able to foul off the next two pitches. With the game on the line, Upton launched the next pitch into the left field stands in his first career walk-off grand slam at Chase Field. If coaches, players, and fans were not impressed with Upton before they definitely came away with a much better understanding of what made Justin the best player in the draft and why the minor league staff at the Diamondbacks are so high on his potential. It’s funny, in a year where we are anticipating great things from the strong core of young players the Diamondbacks have on their team; it is the class behind this first wave that may actually hold the future of the Diamondbacks.

Today is March 30 meaning yesterday was March 29. Based on every calendar I have in the house that meant that we were still in the season of spring. The season of regular season doesn’t start until the baseball equinox which this year falls on April 1 in St. Louis and April 2 in other parts of the country. I blame global warming for the discrepancy. Since we are still in the season of spring; that meant that the Diamondbacks had not officially entered into the Sedona Red era. Oh sure the Diamondbacks did have the Sedona Red batting practice/Spring Training jersey and hat but I don’t classify those as official since the results of the games don’t count when they are wearing those. And since I don’t own the batting practice jersey or hat I couldn’t wear them if I wanted to. Basically I was caught in a fashion loophole. I couldn’t very well show up to the game wearing the regular season uniforms that have not officially been in a game yet. That could cause a tear in the whole time space continuum and I could not be held accountable for that. I had no other choice but to wear the tried and true purple and teal. Besides, I have seen enough episodes of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” to know that you never want your apparel to clash with your seat cushion. That is just wrong.

Whitney and I went down to Chase Field. I had on last seasons fashions while Whitney doesn’t even own a piece of Diamondbacks gear. When we entered the stadium and I saw how much Sedona Red there was around the ballpark I began to feel slightly self-conscious. I should note that I have never been accused of being a clothes horse nor am I typically on speaking terms with the fashion police so when I say I was feeling self-conscious I mean I felt really out of place. As we walked around the concourse I tried to gauge how many of the fans came to the game wearing the traditional purple and teal. It was not many. If the crowd at Chase Field is any indication then the color change is a profound success since the Sedona Red crowd seriously outnumbered the purple crowd. We completed our loop of the stadium and were walking back towards the main team shop. Above the team shop is the office of Derrick Hall, President of the Arizona Diamondbacks. I have had an opportunity to meet Mr. Hall and we exchange email messages quite often (this is code for I bombard him and his staff with questions on about anything that comes to mind. I do want to emphasize that he is very generous with his time in answering what to him probably seem like insane questions and information requests) so we do know each other by sight. As I was walking the concourse I happened to look up and Mr. Hall was in a meeting in his office with several gentlemen. We just happened to both look up at the same time and he smiled and waved. I waved in return. He then pointed at my hat and jersey and shook his head then shrugged his shoulders. I wondered whether Trina has sent him a message telling him to give me grief about what I was wearing. I am sure that probably was not the case and that I was now suffering from a case of purple paranoia. Still I thought it might be best if I limited my interaction with the Sedona Red people in case I may be contagious.

At the conclusion of Whitney’s participation in the hot dog races, I decided to reward her with something from the team shop. We went up to see what they may have that she would like. As we were browsing I happened to find a black hooded sweatshirt with the Sedona Red and Sonoran Sand “d-backs” logo across the front. They only had one in size large and I wondered whether I should get it. Whitney reminded me that the Weather Channel web page said that it was to be 40 and snowing in Denver today and that Monday’s forecast was still for highs in the low 60’s. That was a good point, the last thing I needed was to show up to Opening Day at Coors Field finally wearing my Sedona Red gear only to have my hands and head turn purple and teal from the cold. That would be bad. I picked up the sweatshirt along with a Sedona Red T-shirt for Whitney and we went to the cashier. I handed him the merchandise and he rang it up. While I was retrieving my credit card the cashier looked at my purple and teal hat and jersey and asked if I would like him to cut off the tags from the sweat shirt to wear right now. I thanked him but said no he could just put it in a bag. Since this sweatshirt was for my Colorado trip I didn’t see a need. He again looked at my purple and teal apparel and almost pleaded that I let him cut out the tags so that I could wear it right then. Was this just coincidence or was this yet another outbreak of purple paranoia? One thing was certain, before the next Spring Training game on Saturday March 31 I was definitely going to need something black and Sedona Red if I was going to get over this. I’ll just tell Trina that I HAD to buy another shirt before I was ostracized from the Diamondbacks community. Yeah, I think the next trip to the team shop can definitely be blamed on peer pressure. That just might work.

The first Spring Training game at Chase Field is usually a momentous occasion best experienced for the most ardent fan. That typically means that I have with me either my daughter Tiffany or my son Dakota. Both of them are quickly becoming diehard baseball fans and each log more than 30 games per season. Tonight though in an odd series of events it was my daughter Whitney who would accompany me. Some of you may remember Whitney is the one I refer to as the ”book worm” due to her intellectual personality. I have to admit I was initially in a state of shock when Whitney chose to go to the first game of the season. This is the same girl who complained about the amount of baseball she had to endure last season when she attended 3 games. I’m never one to complain when one of the kids shows an interest in baseball so I gladly accepted her company. We arrived at the field parking at the Arizona Science Center as we normally to. I was again shocked to find that they had raised prices on parking and it was now $8. I shouldn’t really complain. It is 2 ½ blocks from the stadium and it is covered parking so realistically it is probably a great value. Nonetheless, this is the third parking increase I have had to endure in just over a season. I mumbled about it but in the end paid the parking attendant and parked my car into its familiar parking spot. Given the amount of money I have given to this parking garage over the years and the fact that I always park in the same place, you would think they would honor me with a plaque commemorating the parking spot as a historical landmark or put my name on the concrete curb but as of today neither of those events occurred.

We got to Chase Field and quickly made our way through security. The exterior of the stadium has had a lot of work done to it with all of the purple and teal signage replaced with Sedona Red and Black. Even the marquee of the stadium itself which is not owned by the Diamondbacks has been updated to show the team’s new colors. The gate letters are now all Sedona Red which I have to admit really makes them stand out. The ticket turnstiles all have new Sedona Red covers replacing the purple ones from years past. The turnstile is computerized and reads the bar code on the ticket when the end is partially inserted into the slot. An LCD screen shows whether the ticket is valid or not. The LCD still has the old logos and color scheme which really stands out when compared to all of the new Sedona Red adorning the other areas of the ballpark. Once inside the rotunda it was evident that a lot of work had been done to the stadium trying to update it cosmetically to be aligned with the new Diamondbacks color scheme. Walking through the doors from the rotunda to the concourse the first thing you notice is that many of the vendors have been removed giving the fan an unobstructed view of the field rather than seeing booths of carnies hocking their wares. The view of the green grass of the playing field coupled with a large sign above the concourse welcoming you to Chase Field brings instant excitement and is a huge improvement from years past. The Diamond Town boards above the concourse level used to show the history of baseball but now are more Diamondbacks oriented which is appropriate since the team has 9 years of history behind it to draw from.

Once inside the stadium I immediately wanted to find our seat just to see for myself where I would be spending 83 days of my life. I was extremely excited to see that section 132 is directly down from the welcome sign as you come in the front door. This will make it really easy for Trina and the kids to find their seats when they get up to go get food or head out to Peter Piper’s Playhouse beyond center field. I was warmly greeted by the usher stationed at the top of the section and asked if I needed help finding my seat. I introduced myself since I thought it was only appropriate that we get to know each other because we would be seeing a lot of one another this season. He seemed genuinely thrilled with his job and made me feel at ease. That outlook and commitment was not confined to a single usher but was expressed by most of the Diamondbacks employees I met tonight. Each month during his on-line chat on the Diamondbacks web site President Derrick Hall expresses his desire to have his employees exude a warm and friendly attitude and at least for this first game I would say those working this game did just that. Whitney and I made our way down section 132 finding row 15. Before entering the row I looked down to make sure that I was at the right place. I immediately noticed that the purple and teal Diamondbacks “A” logo which was carved into the end of each row of seats had been painted. I had expected the paint to be Sedona Red and Black but instead found they had all been painted the same green color as the seats. It wasn’t quite the impact I was looking for and I was a little disappointed. Whitney’s theory is that they were painted green so that if the Diamondbacks decided this Sedona Red experiment didn’t work out at least they didn’t have to change the seats. She has a good point I guess. I had initially worried that row 15 may be a little high and that I would not feel connected to the game but I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised to find out how close that row really is to the action. We made our way to seats 13 and 14. One of my criteria when selecting these seats was that I wanted two in the middle of the row. Once I sit down to watch the game I rarely get up except for the National Anthem and the seventh inning stretch. Last year we had aisle seats meaning that everyone who did get up during the game, came late, or left early required us to stand up and move. With our seats in the center of the row it should mean that I will be able to eliminate a lot of that distraction.

One of the aspects of the Diamondbacks game that my kids have always enjoyed is the hot dog condiment races that occur around the third inning. During the condiment races three animated hot dogs appear on the JumboTron and they bounce around the bases racing to see who can cross home plate first. The fans cheer on each hot dog hoping their favorite wins. Three fans, usually children, represent each of the hot dogs and they in turn represent a seating section in the stadium. If that hot dog wins, the fans sitting in the represented section all receive coupons for a free a Diamondbacks Dog at Circle K. This has been a tradition at Chase Field since the inaugural season and one that my kids always look forward to. It became so important that it led to a change in the way I keep score at the games. Since I go to every game and take one of the kids with me, there could be a gap of several games from the last time that particular child was last at the stadium. They always like to try and predict which condiment – Ketchup, Mustard, or Relish will win the race. They would therefore ask me who had won the previous races since the last time they were in attendance. This required me to begin recording the outcome of the hot dog races in my score book so that I could relay that data to the kids so they could attempt to determine what the pattern was and successfully prognosticate the answer. It’s funny, in nine years we have never been selected to be contestants for the hot dog races. That is the one Diamondbacks experience I was lacking in my career as a Diehard Diamondbacks fan. That though was about to change.

Whitney and I stood in section 132 row 15 assessing the status of the field and taking in the number of color changes that could be seen from our seats. During this time the Diamondbacks were taking batting practice so I was busy trying to identify the various players on the field and in the new Sedona Red batting cage. As we stood there assessing the stadium and the team, two members of the Diamondbacks staff approached us. They introduced themselves and asked if Whitney or I would be interested in assisting them by being a contestant in the hot dog races in the top of the third inning. I was immediately overcome by a rush of adrenaline thinking what it would be like standing on top of the Diamondbacks dug out running in place with two other contestants hoping I had the stamina to propel my hot dog across the finish line to victory. Since this contest is usually designed for kids and not middle-aged adults I relinquished my dream of hot dog stardom to allow my daughter to have this experience. I turned to Whitney and asked if she would like to participate. She declined. “What was that? Did you say no?” I asked incredulously. How in the world could someone turn down the rare opportunity to be immortalized on the JumboTron representing a processed food? I immediately asked why she would pass up such an honor. “I don’t like mustard and relish on hot dogs” was her answer. I shook my head in bewilderment. I tried to explain that she didn’t actually have to be a condiment, she just represented one. Still, she did not feel right portraying a condiment that she didn’t believe in. I could not believe my ears. The two Diamondbacks employees looked at me and at each other. This was obviously a situation they were not prepared to handle and as a parent neither was I. In all my years of parenting I have never been faced with the fact that one of my kids was anti-condiment. Quickly I began to expound on the values of condiments giving Whitney a brief history of Ketchup, Mustard, and Relish. I may have taken a few liberties in my diatribe especially the part where I discussed the importance of Mustard in securing victory for the American Revolutionaries and gaining freedom for our country. In the end my powers of persuasion won her over. I am not sure who was more shocked, me that I was able to get Whitney to agree to be a condiment representative or the Diamondbacks employees who had just listened to what on the outside appeared to be a normal fan tell his child that Ketchup had assisted Abraham Lincoln in writing the Gettysburg address. Nonetheless, we were in.

The employees provided me with forms to fill out giving the team permission to use the likeness of my daughter on the JumboTron and releasing the team from liability in case of bodily injury or death resulting from out of control frankfurters. This last part made me wonder for a second. If something did happen (and for the life of me I couldn’t think of what that something may be) and Whitney was killed in a freak hot dog accident how exactly would I break the news to Trina? “I’m sorry honey there was nothing I could do. We never saw that relish spill coming and Whitney just could not avoid it. I begged her to wear her seat belt while hot dog racing but you know how kids these days think they are invincible. We can only hope that she suffered no pain when she was hit by little shredded bits of pickles.” I mean Trina couldn’t actually blame me for this could she? In my opinion she was just as much at fault since not once had I seen Trina take time to educate our kids on what to do during a condiment emergency. I made a note to myself to take each of the kids aside and explain the dangers of reckless hot dog racing and how safety equipment should always be worn when they are racing. I completed the forms and returned them. We were now officially in the race. We were given instructions to meet at Guest Relations in the middle of the second inning and Whitney would be led down to the dugout to begin her race.

At this moment the game seemed so trivial compared to the task at hand. There were so many things that needed to be done. We needed to pick a condiment preference in case we were asked which one of the three Whitney wanted to be. We needed to stretch and get warmed up. The last thing I wanted to see was Whitney pulling up lame between second and third because she pulled a hamstring thereby disappointing the section and eliminating any chances they may have had to hot dog coupons. I needed to work on giving Whitney some pointers on intimidation and the mental aspects of condiment racing. I think I once read somewhere that condiment racing is 70 percent mental. Given Whitney’s intellectual abilities, I figured we had an advantage in that area, all I needed her to do was to focus. So while the rest of the fans watched the pre-game festivities, I took Whitney up to the concourse to work on her condiment racing technique. I started off going to one of the condiment stands near the concession stands and introducing her to each of the condiments. We talked about consistency, flavor, and what to do if she began to hydroplane during the race. (I’ve always wanted to use the word hydroplane and never thought I would get the opportunity. Who knew I could slide that in the context of baseball and hot dog racing and it wouldn’t seem too out of place?) By the beginning of the second inning I began to have butterflies wondering if I had done everything I could to prepare her for her race. Finally I came to the realization that you can teach them everything you know about racing processed food but in the end it is up to the athlete to take those teachings and put them into practical usage in a game situation.

We made our way to Guest Relations where we came face-to-face with the competition. I tried giving them the evil eye in an attempt at mental intimidation. I pulled an eyelid muscle though and it ended up that I scared one of the boys who thought I was winking at him. I decided maybe it would be best to let Whitney handle this her own way. Sometimes as a parent you just have to let your kids fight their own condiment battles and not get involved. The game host came in and laid down the ground rules for the hot dog races and set everyone’s expectations. She asked if there were any questions and of course I had several but after my initial question of whether this race was officially sanctioned by the international condiment racing association and would there be drug screening of the winner they completely ignored any other question I may have had. I knew I should have read that permission form more thoroughly. The kids were led from Guest Relations down to the Diamondbacks dugout. I was invited along to get a better close-up of the race. Wow, who could have imagined that I would actually have a pit pass to a condiment race? I know there was no way that I would have ever imagined it when I got up this morning.

On the dugout the racers were introduced to the fans and told which condiment and which section they would represent. Whitney was chosen to be Mustard which of course put a chill down my spine since I still remembered her comment that she did not care for mustard. I was hoping that she could put that behind her and that during the competition the adrenaline would take over. After introductions the gun sounded and the race was on. Like many in the stands I cheered and offered encouragement. I warned Whitney not to start out too quickly and to pace herself leaving something for a kick at the end of the race. I intently watched as the three kids ran in place on the dugout while the animated hot dogs on the JumboTron hopped around the base paths. The race was close and all three condiments were easily within reach of the victory. In the homestretch there was minor bumping but nothing that I felt would interfere with a clean race. With just inches before the finish line mustard made a bold and risky move of sliding into home plate. I am not usually a proponent of sliding condiments as I feel that if they run through the base they have a better chance of being safe. It as a huge gamble to take given the competition but that risk paid off and Whitney was declared the winner. What always struck me as strange was the fact that the winning animated hot dog will jump around the JumboTron like a fish landing on the deck of a boat and will make a sound that is a dead ringer for the noises that Dino on the Flintstones makes when Fred comes home from work. That though meant little to me at this moment. I had just witnessed my daughter’s first condiment race and she was victorious. The crowd cheered especially those in section 132 who just won coupons for free Diamondback Dogs at Circle K. A tear came to my eye as I proudly watched Whitney make her way to the winners circle. Ok, there is no winners circle, she just took a step to her left where she was awarded a prize pack consisting of a Diamondbacks t-shirt, an “I was Mustard” t-shirt, and a Circle K backpack. I always knew deep down that Whitney was an athlete. She is the only child that has taken on the brutal training regime of condiment racing and her hard work and talent has rewarded her with an undefeated record as a hot dog racer. At this point I expected the sound system at Chase Field to break out a rendition of “We Are the Champions” but that didn’t happen. The kids were taken off the dugout and brought back to the concourse to rounds of applause. I wondered where the post race press conference was to be held but no one seemed to be able to answer that question. I wanted to take that opportunity to announce that Whitney would be retiring from active competition. The gruel of a full condiment racing schedule was just too much for me and I think she should probably finish middle school before making any decisions on whether to turn pro.

So here we are at the cusp of the beginning of another baseball season. I have safely returned to Chase Field and found my new home at Section 132 Row 15 Seat 14. I’ve endured the mental anguish that comes from being a condiment racing parent. I’ve initially assessed the readiness of Chase Field. And I saw a baseball game. It has been a historic day for me. I am mentally and physically drained. But even in my exhaustion I probably won’t sleep tonight. I am too excited for baseball to begin.

Looking back over the past 5 weeks I began to ponder what if anything we learned. Well for one I learned that free does not necessarily mean free when it comes to a jersey. I learned that seat cushions can sometimes become more expensive than first anticipated. And I found that mail men get really nervous when you dance around their car in your pajamas. None of those important life lessons told me much about the Diamondbacks though. From the team’s perspective it appears evident that the players are eager and receptive to making their game better. I’ve been monitoring the batting averages and listening to descriptions of the hitters and I must say I am impressed with the early work that hitting coach Kevin Seitzer has done. The Diamondbacks hitters seem to be more patient at the plate looking for the right situation rather than hacking like they did on several occasions last season. My confidence in the offense is guardedly optimistic. While I don’t think the Diamondbacks will have anyone with over 30 home runs, I do believe they will have 3-4 who have more than 20 home runs making the attack a bit more balanced than they have had in years past. I expect to see the Diamondbacks be a little more aggressive on the base paths challenging the arms of opposing outfielders. I am disappointed that it doesn’t seem like base stealing and overall speed is going to be a weapon in the Diamondbacks arsenal. If Randy Johnson comes off the disabled list and is able to remain healthy then I have high hopes for the starting pitching that Josh Byrnes has assembled. If there are lingering injuries requiring the Diamondbacks to look to their bullpen or to Tucson for help I am going to start to get nervous. Enrique Gonzalez still seems too inconsistent to give the ball to every 5 days and Dana Eveland has seemed to falter down the stretch as competition gets stronger and outings get longer. I think Dustin Nippert needs a little bit more polish before he is quite ready and while Micah Owings has been a surprise at how well he has played when given the opportunity, I still think he would be better served with another year at Tucson. Five weeks is not a lot of time to try and assess the full nature of this club so I do not envy Bob Melvin or his staff at the task they have ahead of them to try and whittle this team down to a 25-man roster. My biggest hope is that time slows down just a little from April 2 – September 30 to allow us to enjoy all 162 games of the 2007 season.

To say Hairston was excited would be an understatement. Through the joy though you could also tell this was just a first step for Scott Hairston. He would not and should not be content in being just a member of the team. He will want to be a starter and contributing. It is that desire and his work ethic that will pay dividends to Scott Hairston and make him a fixture at the Major League level. Proof of that would come just a few short hours later when Hairston took the field against the Colorado Rockies in a perfect game for hitters with the wind blowing out. Scott took full advantage of those circumstances and continued his hot hitting that he has enjoyed all spring. Hairston hit three home runs in three consecutive innings to lead the Diamondbacks over the Colorado Rockies.

If I had known Scotty Hairston would have responded like that I would have waited until Opening Day to tell him he was on the club. That was pretty impressive wind blowing out or not. Smokes a ball to right-center field, left, the second one the wind helped it, but the third one goes out of Yellowstone.
Manager Bob Melvin

Of all the days that Scott Hairston has had as a professional baseball player, today probably marked very highly as being one of his best. He has toiled in the minor leagues and paid his dues to get to this point. He’ll savor the news of making the team and his accomplishments in the game today but shortly thereafter they will become distant memories as he looks forward to what he has to do now that he is a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hopefully this new chapter in his life includes staying healthy during the season and putting up the numbers that everyone is confident that he can.

We got the seat cushions out and began analyzing their design and taking measurements. From there we started making a list of materials we would need to start this project. The list became longer and longer as features of the cushions was uncovered. Before I knew it the list of materials had grown beyond a single page. It was taking on a life of its own. There was the seat cushion material, zippers, Velcro, buckles, hooks, loops, elastic, thread and other assorted notions. I had no idea what kind of store to even look at for many of these items. But armed with the list and the Phoenix area yellow pages I started off to find the raw materials. As I would return home with odds and ends I would be given an updated list from which to work with that included new challenges and obscure items. I was quickly coming to the realization that I was being sent on a wild goose chase in hopes that I would become frustrated to the point of suggesting that perhaps new seat cushions were not such a great idea after all. Trina had underestimated my resolve on this though. I just couldn’t show up to Opening Day sporting a Sedona Red jersey while sitting on purple and teal seat cushions. Real fans just didn’t do that. I had to let Trina know how important these seat cushions were and that they were about to become a high priority in everyone’s life. That was probably the biggest mistake that I could have made. Once Trina realized that when it came to seat cushions time and money didn’t appear to be an obstacle she immediately turned that to her advantage. The list suddenly got a lot larger and a lot more expensive. I started seeing things such as top-of-the-line Fiskars scissors, craft cutting boards, and other items that I seemed to remember from her Christmas list last December. The coup de grâce though was when she added a brand new surger to the list. In the name of seat cushions she was getting a new sewing machine. When I questioned that item I was asked how important it was to me that the edges of the seams not fray. The thoughts of sitting on a seat cushion with threads wrapping around me like the loops of Wonder Woman’s golden lasso wasn’t something I was prepared for so needless to say, Trina is getting a new machine. When this project started I thought to myself, “how expensive could a couple of Sedona Red and Black seat cushions be?” Well based on my rough figures the raw materials alone are about the same price as a season ticket in the upper deck at Chase Field. My butt better appreciate the sacrifice my wallet made for its comfort.

I immediately went to Google and to MapQuest and started looking for anything that was within walking distance to Coors Field. Never having been to Coors Field before; I am not sure whether being within walking distance puts us in a good part of town or a bad part of town. My theory is that if you own property around a Major League Baseball stadium you’re my kind of people regardless of what demographic society puts you in. My theory for being within walking distance is two-fold. One it gives you an opportunity to experience the neighborhood ambiance of the city and stadium. Two it means that I don’t have to worry about finding parking to go to the game. I went to a game at Wrigley Field once and thought it would be cool to drive to the stadium only to find that Wrigley was built before cars so there isn’t any parking. You end up driving into a vacant lot and everyone but the driver gets out of his car. The driver then pulls within 2 inches of the car to his left then exits the car on the passenger side. The next car parks within 2 inches of your car and so on. The bad part is that after the game you have to wait until all the cars to the right of yours leave before you can get into your car to leave. It was the longest 4 hours I ever spent waiting for the guy that stopped by the bar to have a few beers after the game while the 120 people who were parked to the left of him waited impatiently for his return. I’ve never seen a public lynching before and I have to admit I felt like I was back in the old west for a second. Since that time I try to find alternatives to parking at visiting teams stadiums.

After an exhaustive search and spending 3 hours playing with Google Earth to see if there was a picture of the top of my head in my backyard, I finally found a hotel that met the criteria that I desired. It is within a quarter mile from the stadium and even had good reviews by travel agencies. I went to the web site to reserve the room and found they had an Internet special where you saved $50 a night if you were willing to pay in advance with no chance of cancelling the reservation. I could not think of any event other than my death that would cause me to miss Opening Day so the no cancellation thing didn’t seem like a problem. I booked the room and shortly there after received a confirmation. So plans are nearly complete. I have tickets to the game, a place to stay, MapQuest directions from my house to Coors Field, a personalized Authentic Diamondbacks Road Jersey, the perfect jacket, a Sedona Red Diamondbacks hat, and a bag of peanuts. As far as I can tell, I am ready to go. All I need now is for this week to fly by and I’ll be on my way to Opening Day.

The National League West may not be the worst division in baseball but it is not the most difficult either. All five teams in the division could easily find themselves in the post season with just a couple of breaks and a healthy team. As a hometown fan of the Arizona Diamondbacks I would like nothing better than to see my favorite team in the play-offs. I just find myself hesitant to crown the 2007 Diamondbacks as play-off ready. With the amount of youth this team will have in the starting line-up day-in and day-out it will most likely be a very streaky year. There will be series where they look like a veteran team and could very well string together 8-10 victories in a row. Then there will be times as the young hitters will need to make adjustments to changes in the way they are pitched which could very well lead to 6-8 losses in a row. Diamondbacks fans will most likely suffer a Jeckle and Hyde type of season as the youngsters try to get comfortable and consistent. I think the top of the pitching rotation will be pretty good with Brandon Webb and Randy Johnson challenging each other and reminding more than a few people of the Schilling and Johnson tandem. While Doug Davis’ stats mirror those of Barry Zito, I am concerned at the number of walks he issued last year and this spring. I want to believe him when he says he is pitching better than the stats show, I just am not quite convinced yet. Livan Hernandez seems timeless but I have to wonder whether the sheer number of innings he has thrown is starting to catch up to him. I hope he is good for 190-200 innings but I just don’t know if there is that much left. Edgar Gonzalez this spring looks like he did late last season which is promising. I hope he finally has put it together otherwise the bullpen is going to be very busy every 5 days. The closer situation is pretty scary. Jose Valverde himself is pretty Jeckle and Hyde so he should fit right into the theme of 2007. That isn’t going to endure him to either his teammates or the coaches so I’m already starting to worry about what happens in the 8th and 9th innings. Jorge Julio is not much more consistent than Valverde so that option doesn’t seem too attractive. Of all the guys in the bullpen I probably feel most confident in Tony Pena but last year he showed signs of vulnerability. There are just too many unknowns for me to confidently say the Diamondbacks are the team to beat. The Padres and Dodgers both filled several holes this season and I think in the end the Diamondbacks will be competitive but will find themselves in third place with an 83-81 record and high hopes for 2008. I just pray that I will look back on this entry in October and proclaim what an idiot I was in doubting this team this year.

When I renewed my season tickets for the 2007 season I was offered an opportunity to get a free authentic jersey if I would pay for my tickets in full by a certain date. Knowing I was going to be needing one of the new jerseys that were coming out I jumped at this opportunity. The coupon arrived a couple of weeks ago and since that time I made several attempts to get down and pick up the jersey. The Diamondbacks had also included a coupon for an adjustable hat so I figured I would pick that up for Trina since I only wear fitted hats. Since I had gotten the white home jersey for Christmas and the Sedona Red and the Black jerseys yesterday as part of a belated birthday gift I had set my eyes on the gray road jersey to complete my set. I went over my checklist one last time before leaving the house. Authentic Jersey Coupon – check, Adjustable Hat Coupon – check, Diamondbacks hat on my head (in case it was fans wearing Diamondbacks hats get 10% off day at the team shop) – check, notebook to make notes of how the grass looked – check, Sunglasses – check, Car filled with gas – check. Cell phone (in case I had to call the suicide hotline because the team shop was closed) – check. I was definitely ready. The drive was fairly uneventful. Around the airport I began to sense a disturbance in the traffic force and exited making my way down the back roads. I pulled up to the stadium 52 minutes before the team shop would close. I inserted $0.55 into the parking meter providing me with adequate time to complete my shopping experience with 3 minutes to spare. We walked to the front of Chase Field admiring how much work had been done changing from purple to Sedona Red. The doors to the stadium were opened to allow access to the team shop and even from a distance I could see the cornucopia of Sedona Red and Black splendor that stood behind the glass doors. I half expected to hear the theme song to Willie Wonka playing as we entered but that was not the case.

Every direction I turned there was new items to look at. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning bouncing from rack to rack to admire the new merchandise. At the second rack I looked up spotting the Authentic Diamondbacks Road Jersey and rushed over to search through the rack to find a size 44. Second from the last there it was. My quest was over. I now held in my hand the treasure I had searched for. Trina was looking less than impressed so I led her to the rack and waved my hand proclaiming, “Pick any adjustable hat you desire my dear and I shall make sure it is yours!” If someone had said that to me I would have been all over it. Instead Trina just looked at me and shook her head. While she was taking her time to select a hat I wandered the store. There towards the back near the fitted hats was an item that stopped me dead in my tracks. I had come face-to-face with the ultimate Diamondbacks jacket. It was the same jacket I had seen Bob Melvin arrive at Spring Training wearing last month. It was love at first sight seeing that black jacket with the Sedona Red and Sonoran Sand d-backs written across the chest. I knew I just had to have that jacket. I slid it off the rack and gently carried it back to show Trina. She would just have to let me get this, it was just perfect. Maybe it was my generous offer to get her an adjustable hat or maybe it was the sad puppy dog eyes I gave her but her heart melted and she nodded her approval after I modeled the jacket complete with third base signs to show how authentic it would look on the field. So with my arms filled with an authentic road jersey, the perfect d-backs jacket, a Sedona Red adjustable hat for Trina and a Chase Field pin that somehow ended up in my hand (that’s my story and I am sticking to it), I made my way to the cashier. Along the way one of the team shop personnel asked if I needed help. I stated that I thought I had it covered. After a brief discussion I explained that I was here to pick up my coupon jersey and hat. The girl stated that those were actually being held in the back and not on the floor so she would go back and get my jersey. That sounded odd but I was so psyched that I didn’t stop to question it. I just put the hat and jersey I had back and waited for the girl to return with my authentic gray road jersey and adjustable hat. She reappeared carrying a wrapped jersey on a hanger and a hat. She handed them to me. I must have looked completely dumbfounded just staring at the jersey not saying a thing. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

“There must be some mistake, I wanted the gray road jersey but you gave me an alternate Sedona Red jersey.” I said.

“No, that is the jersey you get. We do not give you a choice, you just get the Sedona Red jersey.” She stated. For the next several minutes I tried to explain to her that I already had a Sedona Red jersey and it even had my name on it so I definitely didn’t need another one. I wasn’t even sure I needed one to be quite honest and now she was suggesting that I actually would have 2, one with my name and one without. But she didn’t understand, I had a Sedona Red jersey and I didn’t have a gray road jersey. The jerseys were the same price so there should not be any reason why I should not be allowed to choose. And the coupon didn’t say I would receive an Authentic “Sedona Red” jersey. It just said that I would receive an authentic Diamondbacks jersey and from what I could tell there were 4 different ones. The girl was adamant though in stating that it was Sedona Red or nothing. The coupon showed a Sedona Red jersey so I should have known that was the one I would get. The coupon showed Chris Young wearing a Sedona Red jersey from a photo from the fashion show on November 8. If I used her thinking I should have assumed I was getting Chris Young and his Sedona Red jersey. This was messed up, I obviously wasn’t getting anywhere so I asked if I could explain my situation to someone else. A gentleman came over to assist so we went through the whole thing again as I explained my need of a gray road jersey and I would even pay extra for personalization. No deal, they were standing by the Sedona Red thing. I finally gave up figuring there was nothing more I could do. I paid for my pin and my jacket and took my free “Sedona Red Authentic Jersey” and left the store. I was totally bummed out. I am leaving for Denver for Opening Day in a little over a week and I had planned to wear the authentic road jersey to that game since that is what the Diamondbacks would be wearing. Those plans were now shot. I hadn’t felt this bad since the day the Diamondbacks announced that they would no longer wear purple. Trina though wasn’t through. As I went to the car carrying the bags she went back to the shop. She talked to every person who worked at the Team Shop to explain how important it was for us to get the gray jersey but not one person there showed any concern or empathy for our plight. In the end Trina gave up and went to the rack and picked out a size 44 gray jersey and took it to the counter. She bought it and had it personalized because in her mind the $200 was worth it just to save her sanity. She has been married to me long enough to know that I would probably bring up the gray jersey every day for the entire 2007 season and she just couldn’t deal with that. The moral of this story is, the bond between husband and wife continues to grow stronger each day when you care more for your mate than you do for yourself. The other moral is, there is no such thing as a free jersey.

As I got ready for work this morning Trina came to me holding a DHL package. “This came in the mail yesterday. I had forgotten I ordered it for your birthday when it didn’t arrive on time I did something else. So I guess you can just have this since you’ve been working so hard lately.” She said. I opened the package and removed the contents. There in my hands were two of the most beautiful jerseys I had ever seen. I have not been a big proponent of the Sedona Red but my thoughts changed when I saw the alternate Sunday Sedona Red jersey with “D-backs” across the front. It looked amazing. The “db” logo on the sleeve in the shape of a snake head really set it off. This may end up being my new favorite jersey. Underneath the Sedona Red jersey was the alternate Saturday Black jersey with the Sedona Red “A” logo emblazoned on the left breast. It had such a stealth look to it that it just oozed with attitude. It would be the perfect thing to wear when riding my Harley-Davidson motorcycle or on those days when I just don’t want anyone messing with me. Adding the black hat pulled down on my forehead gave it instant toughness. Weekend games in Arizona are going to be awesome. Between the Black and the Sedona Red for Saturday and Sunday, the season is going to be pretty colorful. The only issue was that the backs looked pretty bare. The look of disappointment quickly faded when Trina suggested that we make a trip to downtown Phoenix tomorrow and visit the team shop. There she planned to have the jerseys personalized so that I would feel at home knowing they were mine. That roller coaster just took a big trip on the high track.