“Who hits the ball and makes it go? Dominic DiMaggio./ Who runs the bases fast, not slow? Dominic DiMaggio./ Who’s better than his brother Joe? Dominic DiMaggio./ But when it comes to gettin’ dough, they give it all to brother Joe.”

Growing up, my older brother Griff was always the baseball player of the family.  He was a badass while I pretty much sucked.  Luckily, I realized this from a young age and chose to pursue other interests.  And even if my parents had high hopes naming me after the great George Brett, they obviously recognized the vast talent discrepancy between us and never pressured me to play, either.  Things worked out alright, I found plenty of activities, sports and otherwise, to excel at in my own right and never had to live in the enormous shadow my brother cast across Farmington baseball. Never jealous of his talents or recognition, I’ve always had nothing but respect and admiration for what Griff did on diamond; I even found my own niche in the baseball community as a respected umpire.  The point is I know how it feels to be in the stands cheering for your older brother, listening to everyone talk about how great he is.

Continue Reading »

After watching the USA claw back into a draw with some tiny Eastern European country this morning, I’m feeling a little proud to be an American.  With the College World Series set to begin tomorrow and Ron Ron’s single apparently dropping sometime in the near future, it’s a pretty fun time in sports.  The best part about this time of year for me, though, is that the sports world only has baseball to follow (and US soccer every 4 years) until the damn NFL season starts.  I personally hate football and don’t really care for basketball either.  Hockey is not a sport in New Mexico, but from what I gather, other places unfortunately seem to care about it.  To me, these other sports are simply a massive distraction to the public and divert conversation and concentration away from the one game that actually deserves to be followed.  What I am getting at here is that for folks who primarily/only care about baseball, get ready for the best 2 months of the year.

Continue Reading »

Strasburg will make his 3rd major league start tonight vs. the White Sox

Grips seams tight in glove

Lets loose a blazing fastball

Circle K – sit down

Chad Qualls

It’s really a shame that the Diamondbacks’ season has gone the way that it has thus far because I actually enjoy watching them on tv and listening to Mark Grace’s drunken tangents.  Luckily I haven’t caught too many games over the past week, but based upon both the highlights I’ve seen and articles I’ve read, I’m sure that Gracie has been getting a little extra sauced.  I don’t blame him.  I know that I would be too if I were watching a bunch of asshole, “relief pitchers,” continue to blow leads.  Headed by the once-reliable-turned-atrocious Chad Qualls(4 BS, 8.46 ERA), the D’backs bullpen is currently leading the National League in appearances…appearances by assholes.  Entering Thursday, the bullpen had recorded only 13 saves while blowing 12– that’s right, they almost have as many blown saves as they do saves.  What assholes.

Continue Reading »

Eric Davis

May 25, 1987

Photograph by John Hanlon