Spring is in the air and Cactus league baseball is in full swing. Every year spring training leaves my mouth watering for the season to begin and fills my head with questions. Number one this year has to be is Randy Johnson going to make it back? Having seen the better side of 40 AND having survived similar back surgery I know firsthand he has a tough road ahead of him. He definitely won’t be ready for opening day but will he make it back and will he be as dominant as in years past? Good Luck Randy, I’m pulling for you! Brandon Webb and Doug Davis give us a good anchor to the rotation, if they can both stay healthy and put down solid seasons we will be in the hunt this year. Micah Owings is looking good and I believe he will be a solid pitcher for year to come. As he matures he should be quite exciting to watch. I hope the off season trades work out to help solidify our starting rotation. Bob Melvin seems happy with the addition of Dan Heron and he did a good job in Sunday’s rainy game. As always the bullpen makes me nervous, it seems like a roller coaster ride, sometimes they’re hot sometimes they’re not. Would it be too much to ask for a group of guys who can put down solid innings and keep us in the game? It would appear that the bats are warming up this spring, no real tremendous homers but a lot of good solid base hits. And yes championships can be won playing small ball, if you are consistent through the year and make every game count. Only 2 weeks left before we find out who made the cut this year and we get to see our beloved Diamondbacks in action again. Here’s to high hopes of another championship in the valley of the sun!!www.kentparker.info
Allow me to introduce myself my name is Kent Parker and I am a Diamondbacks fan. Let’s be perfectly clear about this, I am not a baseball fan, I am a Diamondbacks Fan. I had never watched a baseball game on TV in my life until that fateful day in April of 1998 I will always remember as the median of time. For me it’s BD (Before Diamondbacks) and AD (After Diamondbacks) and I am looking forward to the second decade. I was always too busy working to sit and watch a baseball game; sure I would go to a firebirds game when I could get free tickets, but not a big fan. I was terribly upset when I had to pay an extra tax to build a baseball stadium, seemed like a waste to me. Little did I know they were actually building a house of worship, a place I would come to Love. On opening day I made my wife and kids watch the game with me, I wanted to see what $300,000,000 had paid for. I was hooked with the first pitch Andy Benes threw that night, I AM A DIAMONDBACKS FAN!!!! Yes I still have my Andy Benes Jersey and my McDonalds commemorative baseball collection (I had to buy 9 Big Macs to get them). I am not a fair-weather fan I have bought tickets to games in every season. I was there cheering on our boys during the losing seasons and celebrating our road to that glorious heart stopping world championship. I gladly endured the mocking of my brother in Colorado last year the day the season ended (for me anyway). I have been with the D-Backs through it all. And I can’t wait for the 2008 season to start. We had such a talented young team last year that proved heart plays the game well. All of our young superstars are back this year with one big advantage over last year, Experience!! I am on the edge of my seat to see how the young talent we so enjoyed last year develop through spring training and into the 2008 season. Building on the lessons learned under fire, will they become the champions we all want so badly in the valley. I for one have high hopes. This young team knows how to work together and they have a lot of heart. They seem to be enjoying themselves tremendously and teams who are having fun, seem to thrive in this game. They also have one very valuable weapon; Speed, these guys are fast!! Last year we led the league in stolen bases; will this year be even better?
My future blogs will be less about myself and more about our favorite valley sports team, the Diamondbacks. I for one am waiting for that first pitch of the 2008 season. Spring Training is such a tease!
www.kentparker.info