Monday, August 8, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Marlins? Sure...
Sometime in the next 5-10 years I know I'll be moving to Florida, hopefully. To get a head start, at the beginning of this season, I started following the Marlins. I obviously can't follow the Rays because there rivals with NYY and I love the National League so I went with the Marlins, plus I love their uni's. I started a franchise with them on my baseball video game which is actually a great way to learn the rosters and minor league players. I added them to my Sport Center app and it's been fun following another team beside NYY.
They started really strong, faded hard, and are now back at .500 thanks to McKeon. 16 games behind the Phillies and 8 back from the Braves and the Wild Card, the have had an up and down season but their team is packed with young guys and great pitching. Once they trade that jerk Hanley and Josh Johnson gets healthy they could contend. It's been so fun following them and watching them on TV every once and a while. Especially Mike Stanton who crushes the ball on the reg...22 years old.
The biggest problem is that their fans suck and no one goes to games. Everyone down their is obsessed with the Miami Heat and college sports. I've devised there are a couple reasons why fans don't go along with the distractions of the Heat and Hurricans. With 2 World Series in their first 18 years you'd think they would have great fans but I think the biggest problem is how they dumped their players after both of their great seasons. They always seem to rebuild and get their fans back and then they dump and trade everyone, kind of like the Pirates. They got a new owner, started holding onto players, and now have a great manager so things are looking up.
Another reason their fans suck is their stadium. Its a football stadium, with hardly any good seats and it has no roof. So sitting at a ball game in 95% humidity while its 97 degrees out isn't ideal. Also, their stadium is in the ghetto and their isn't a lot of parking. It works for the Dolphins because they play in the fall when it's paradise and they only play once a week, 8 times a year. The good thing is the Marlins are opening a new park next season opening with 2 games against NYY which will pack their new stadium. The new park is sick. State of the art, roof plan similar to the Dbacks, near the water. Its also the 3rd smallest stadium in MLB so it only takes 30,000 people to show up to sell out haha.
 |
| New stadium opening April 2012 |
Anywho, just wanted to relate to pulling for these small market teams. I hope teams like the Dbacks, Marlins, Pirates, and Royals keep holding on to their young guns and develope a winning team. Idealy, it would be so cool if all the teams in MLB would be around .500 and have crazy pennant races in every division, every year.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Diamondback Nation
It's happening.
Here's an email to my friend Eric I play baseball with from February.
Kind of but not really. $364 for 28 games. Tuesday and
Saturday games so you see a game from every series. Plus it gets you in
for the All Star Package. I went to 14 games last year, not sure I could
do more than that so I’m not doing it. Plus as you mentioned they are
rough to watch but I’m still thinking they will be better (predicting 84
ambitious wins).
Blind faith. It's what sports are all about. With the tough choices they made in getting rid of mainstays in Mark Reynolds and Adam Laroche they've changed the dynamic of this team. They have 61 wins right now and 84 is well within reach. Heck, they could win 90 and probably need at least that to be the Giants this year. Carlos Beltran? That hurts. Nice move. But it hurts seeing that happen to a Division Rival.
Watching Parra-Young-Upton do a three man chest bump after beating the Giants last night with Shaw blowing away the last two guys on 6 fastballs? That's what makes baseball great. The games going head to head for first place, every hit matters, every walk is big and every strikeout is stand up and yell excitement. I've followed every game, watched so much dbacks, read recap, story, website. I feel like this team is made up of all those components that get you somewhere at the end of the season. Upton is taking on the league right now. I feel like he's Griffey in '95 just mashing the ball, diving for balls, going all out. The Kid is incredible. I had my doubts with his regression the last year but this season he has been 100% STUD. He's on a 14 game hit streak, hitting .456 in that stretch.
They finally have a legitimate first baseman in the phenom Paul Goldschmidt. I don't put too much in it that he hit a dinger last night as we all saw Willy Mo and Brandon Allen hit a few shots but hit .145 after a couple weeks. With the team they have now they are all contributing and every night it's someone else knocking in the win. Somehow Kelly Johnson is hitting .215 but seems like he has 2 doubles and a triple every night. Weird.
My point is...how can you NOT be a Dbacks fan right now? Facebook, in all it's social flaws, is abound with loyal die-hards with so much enthusiasm it's refreshing to see. For so long this city has been a melting pot of team loyalty. It may not have fully converted but I think it's rounding the corner. Nothing will change it more than another playoff appearance and another championship banner.
Jason Marquis on the mound today. Debut trade deadline pickup. Kevin Towers for GM of the Year? He had my vote in May.
Possibly the most interesting thing in all of this is that I grew up a Yankees fan, watched and followed and obsessed over them for years and years yet I couldn't tell you if they are in first place, if Arod is playing or hurt or if Jeter is still being a giant pansy with another pathetic finger injury. (seriously...what's his deal?) Wait..Arod had surgery right? I think I did know that. Anyway, if someone were to ask me what's my favorite team in baseball...hands down. Arizona Diamondbacks. Doesn't mean I don't still root for the Yankees, but they are just not my main focus. My passion is definitely for the Dbacks. I root for the Yankees more now just so the Red Sox and their horrible fans don't have more crap to talk smack about. 2001 was painful but in the ten years I've lived in Arizona...I'm a full convert.
Go Diamondbacks!
Go Dbacks!!!
Viva los dbacks!!
Here's an email to my friend Eric I play baseball with from February.
From: Jeremy Dougherty [mailto:jdougherty@hotelvalleyho.com]
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 3:14 PM
To: Groen, Eric (10300)
Subject: RE: Dbacks Season Tickets
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 3:14 PM
To: Groen, Eric (10300)
Subject: RE: Dbacks Season Tickets
Blind faith. It's what sports are all about. With the tough choices they made in getting rid of mainstays in Mark Reynolds and Adam Laroche they've changed the dynamic of this team. They have 61 wins right now and 84 is well within reach. Heck, they could win 90 and probably need at least that to be the Giants this year. Carlos Beltran? That hurts. Nice move. But it hurts seeing that happen to a Division Rival.
Watching Parra-Young-Upton do a three man chest bump after beating the Giants last night with Shaw blowing away the last two guys on 6 fastballs? That's what makes baseball great. The games going head to head for first place, every hit matters, every walk is big and every strikeout is stand up and yell excitement. I've followed every game, watched so much dbacks, read recap, story, website. I feel like this team is made up of all those components that get you somewhere at the end of the season. Upton is taking on the league right now. I feel like he's Griffey in '95 just mashing the ball, diving for balls, going all out. The Kid is incredible. I had my doubts with his regression the last year but this season he has been 100% STUD. He's on a 14 game hit streak, hitting .456 in that stretch.
They finally have a legitimate first baseman in the phenom Paul Goldschmidt. I don't put too much in it that he hit a dinger last night as we all saw Willy Mo and Brandon Allen hit a few shots but hit .145 after a couple weeks. With the team they have now they are all contributing and every night it's someone else knocking in the win. Somehow Kelly Johnson is hitting .215 but seems like he has 2 doubles and a triple every night. Weird.
My point is...how can you NOT be a Dbacks fan right now? Facebook, in all it's social flaws, is abound with loyal die-hards with so much enthusiasm it's refreshing to see. For so long this city has been a melting pot of team loyalty. It may not have fully converted but I think it's rounding the corner. Nothing will change it more than another playoff appearance and another championship banner.
Jason Marquis on the mound today. Debut trade deadline pickup. Kevin Towers for GM of the Year? He had my vote in May.
Possibly the most interesting thing in all of this is that I grew up a Yankees fan, watched and followed and obsessed over them for years and years yet I couldn't tell you if they are in first place, if Arod is playing or hurt or if Jeter is still being a giant pansy with another pathetic finger injury. (seriously...what's his deal?) Wait..Arod had surgery right? I think I did know that. Anyway, if someone were to ask me what's my favorite team in baseball...hands down. Arizona Diamondbacks. Doesn't mean I don't still root for the Yankees, but they are just not my main focus. My passion is definitely for the Dbacks. I root for the Yankees more now just so the Red Sox and their horrible fans don't have more crap to talk smack about. 2001 was painful but in the ten years I've lived in Arizona...I'm a full convert.
Go Diamondbacks!
Go Dbacks!!!
Viva los dbacks!!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Read This!
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2011-07-28/the-meanest-man-in-college-football-vontaze-burfict
Especially the end of the article.
Especially the end of the article.
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