Phoenix.BloggersPub

When the Arizona Diamondbacks traded closer Jose Valverde to the Houston Astros last month it left what many think is a gaping hole in the bullpen and questions around who will close games for the snakes in 2008. It is not as though Arizona is without any options, they currently have three individuals on their roster who is more than capable of filling the role as closer. For the past year I have been a proponent for Tony Pena to be given an opportunity to become the closer. His blazing fastball with late movement as well as his mental make-up seems to suggest he is the prototypical closer. Others have suggested that Chad Qualls whom the Diamondbacks received in the deal for Jose Valverde be given an opportunity to become the closer. Qualls has been very durable and consistent over the past few seasons and would seem to be a very good candidate. Another possibility and one that is looking more and more as the favorite; is to move current set-up man Brandon Lyon from his eighth inning role to become the closer.

For the past five years Phoenix has held the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon that begins in Phoenix and ends in Tempe. Each year the event has gotten larger and larger. This year saw over 34,000 people enter to run either the 26.2 mile marathon or the 13.1 mile half-marathon. The event is part race and part party. There are musical bands along the route to serenade the participants as they run. This year bands such as One Foot in the Grave and the Screamin’ Javelinas rocked the runners on the marathon route. From all accounts this is one of the best organized marathons in the country.

The off-season is a crazy time of year. You would think that it would be a time of rest and relaxation. After all there is no baseball at least not in most English-speaking countries. The players are taking some much deserved time off and it feels like an eternity until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training (actually it is only 32 days 1 hour and 5 minutes but who is counting?) when baseball gets back into full swing (pun intended). But if you are a Major League Baseball venue, there is no time to rest on your laurels. Such is the case with Chase Field, the home if the Arizona Diamondbacks.

It should come as no surprise that my cell phone has “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” as its ringer. This is in large part due to the fact that I cannot find anyone who offers a ringer based upon the Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers song D-Backs Swing. It’s probably just as well though because I would probably not answer my phone at all if D-Backs Swing was playing just so that I could hear the full song. Anyway, I digress. When my cell phone rang I absent mindedly retrieved it from my pocket and glanced at the display to see who was calling. The displayed number immediately got my attention. I know that number, that is the phone number to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Two things immediately should be noted here. First, it is just sad that I have memorized the prefix and many of the extensions of the phone numbers to the Arizona Diamondbacks. That doesn’t seem to be a normal thing regardless of how big a fan you are of the team. The second point and in my opinion the more important thing is that you need to understand what it means when I get a phone call from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Probably the closest thing I can compare this to would be how Bruce Wayne must feel when he gets a call on the Bat Phone. Visions of secret identities, crime fighting, hidden caves, and really cool technology fill my head as each note emanates from the phone’s speaker. I have no idea why, it is not like I have ever run out into the streets and looked up at the sky towards Chase Field to see if there is a signal shining on the clouds. Ok I have to admit I have actually done that only to feel kind of stupid as I tried to explain to Trina why I somehow thought that there actually would be a signal appearing above the stadium. Anyway, the important thing here was that my phone was ringing and it was the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Each month the Arizona Diamondbacks host an online chat on the first Thursday. Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall takes 30 minutes out of his day to meet with fans and answer any questions they may have. It has become an important communications device where the fans can perhaps find out information that they may not otherwise have an opportunity to ask. I for one love to attend these not just for the chance to pester the Diamondbacks with questions but also to help me keep my finger on the pulse of what is important to the team’s fan base. Besides, who doesn’t love hanging out in a Java-based chat room for 30 minutes with other Diamondbacks fans? As is normally the case I came prepared with my list of questions. I had eight this month (sorry the holidays took their toll on me).

Baseball is filled with all kinds of interesting stories and sidelines that could keep someone busy for months if they are willing to just look around. Minor league baseball is especially fruitful for stories that border on the bizarre. The Diamondbacks have had their fair share of interesting tales during their brief 10 year history. There is the story of Alex Cabrera who came of seemingly nowhere to burst onto the scene in 2000. With his first at-bat at then Bank One Ballpark Cabrera hit a monster shot to left field for a home run. Cabrera looked like a body builder and played sparingly for the Diamondbacks that season before having his contract sold to Japan after the season. Alex would once again make headlines in 2007 when his name appeared prominently in the Mitchell Report on performance enhancing drugs. There is also the story of first round draft pick Nick Bierbrodt who struggled as a rookie in 2001 and was dealt to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in exchange for pitcher Albie Lopez. Bierbrodt would see his career derailed when he was shot in the back of a cab while waiting at the drive-thru window to a fast food restaurant. The reason for the shooting was that Nick had told a passerby to turn down his boom box because it was too loud. But all of these stories pale to the bizarre episodes of Adriano Rosario.

For twenty-five previous Major League Baseball players today was a day where they would sit by the phone in hopes of getting a phone call from the Hall of Fame welcoming them to an exclusive club and validating their playing career. Each of the candidates had a unique story that validated them being included on the ballot. It must be very frustrating for these players though. For perhaps the first time in their career they are not in control of the outcome. When on the field their hard work and talent was something they could manage and hopefully impress the manager and coaching staff that they deserved an opportunity to play. Now their playing days are over and their fate of entering the Hall of Fame is in the hands of the baseball writers. This year another former Arizona Diamondback player was included on the ballot. Todd Stottlemyre who played in Arizona from 1999 – 2001 was placed on the ballot. Todd was the first Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher to win a play-off game when he beat the New York Mets during the 1999 Divisional play-offs in game 2 at Bank One Ballpark. That of course was not the crowning jewel of his career just an interesting piece of Diamondbacks trivia. Stottlemyre unfortunately did not garner the support necessary to be elected being named on only one ballot by the writers. To be honest the writers were relatively sparse with their support naming only one player to the Hall of Fame this year.

You know time is a funny thing. When you are young it seems as though you have a surplus of time. There always seemed to be enough of it to do whatever you wanted to do with time left over for something else as well. As a child it seemed as though time almost stood or at the very least crept along at a snail’s pace. As we got older time appeared to speed up. In high school and college time fluctuated. Part of the semester it seemed as though time did not pass at all but come finals week time took a trip on the autobahn going well over the posted speed limit. As I graduated and started a family of my own I suddenly found that time was no longer my ally. Time began playing games with me, games I was obviously not good at. Time is especially adept at playing hide-and-seek. It seems as though whenever I look for time I cannot find it but when I don’t want time around it is always there tripping me up. This wouldn’t bother me that much if it were not for the ramifications and the effects of time.

Trina and I quite often get into long and deep philosophical discussions about child rearing practices and how to best nurture and teach children. Her being an educator she has a vested interest in this and much more practical experience than I have. Inevitably these discussions turn to baseball. That in and of itself should not be all that surprising. Pretty much every discussion that goes on in our house ends up at one point or another including the subject of baseball. What I had not considered was what all of this baseball had done to the children. That suddenly came to light on Christmas morning when I opened a gift from my oldest daughter Ashley.

There are only a few things that I would consider inevitable. The sun will rise in the east and set in the west. The Tampa Bay Rays will have a losing season guaranteeing them yet another top 10 pick in the amateur draft. And I will get sick right after the holidays. For as long as I can remember, right after New Years I have come down with a cold. It doesn’t seem to matter what I do to try and break this cycle, it always seems to happen. I remember when my daughter Whitney was born I was so sick that the doctor and the nurses thought they were going to need a gurney for me in the delivery room. In a last moment decision they just propped me in a corner and put a gown and mask on me. A few days after Whitney’s birth; I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia. I am not sure how I got that since I was definitely not doing any walking at that time and I’d never even met pneumonia. All I knew about pneumonia was that my grandmother planted them around her house every spring. They had the prettiest pinks and purple blooms on them during the summer. Well anyways, it is January 5 and I am once again sick.