First of all, Thank You.

Thank You for even finding me. There is not an ounce of sarcasm in my voice when I say that I'm impressed with your tenacity. I'll just leave it at that

I've decided to blog here for the time being instead, at least until MLBlogs gets it's act together. It's Opening weekend, and I've got better things to do than wade through this sea of eleventh hour impositions. I imagine everyone who cares about their own dog blog has a lot fret over right now, but if you could take a moment and bookmark my alt site, I'd really appreciate it.

And since MLBlogs is evidently unable to link to any of my favorite MLBlogs (either thru my site links or on their own home page), some are linked below for our mutual convenience.  

GENERAL  

Some Clubhouse

Prince of New York

Red State Blue State

DIAMONDBACKS

Arizona Via Slough

Down The Left Field Line (ex MLBlogger)

Chicks Dig The Long Ball

AZ Republic Dbacks Page

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Update March 31 -- Comment from Sox Angst on MLBlogosphere site:

 Personally, I like to browse other blogs every now and then just to see what people are saying. Compound the loss of that feature with the loss of my links, I really don't have anything to work with.

Ha! You sound high maintenance, angst. Look, you wanna be a baseball writer? This is how it works ;- ) 

This week's hacks are dwarfed by sobering revelations about Doug Davis. Obviously, we wish the 32 year old the best. Less obviously, we hope team broadcasters dignify Doug's lowkey approach by showing more than their usual restraint in the booth, and honoring the veteran's request to focus on the team rather than his condition.   

Our brick red boyz play a real game for a change on Monday morning, against the Reds. For fans unable to readily distinguish one red from another, the Diamondbacks will bat first. They may not hit first, but they will bat first. Webb v Harang.

Dback's Director of Player Development A.J. Hinch  apparently didnt get the memo about big league personnel not commenting on their own MLBlogs. I think it's great, but still quite a shock to any of us familiar with MLBlogs. So, during this difficult "transition period", please excuse me for thinking the refreshingly responsive Hinch is really just another unworthy outsider, typing away in my some basement.  

Here's some pictures & commentary from Diamondhacks' last spring game attended, courtesy of Down The Left Field Line, and my writeup of ASU / USC clashes at Packard Stadium, past and present. 

Sorry, but that's all I can muster today on MLBlogs new and improved network. 

It's just my opinion, of course, but I thank God for baseball. I thank God for peanuts and for crackerjacks. I thank God for an honest to goodness $5 coke when the NBA coke down the street is $5.75.

I thank God for the safe, secure stadiums MLB provides for my family's entertainment and for their outstanding charity work helping people I've never seen.

Man didnt invent baseball. God showered the people with baseball, to show them the way that He feels. There is nothing like the smell of freshly cut grass on Opening Day and the crack of the bat, thank you very much.

Opening Day is almost upon us and I feel renewed, like a magazine.

Here's my commentary on what Derrick Hall and I discussed last week. Contrary to the knock down affair I joked about, Hall set a very relaxed, friendly tone - and as his guest I felt it appropriate to follow that lead. He did most of the talking, which I've tried to accurately highlight here, but I've also fleshed out the discussion by adding after the fact perspective (ie vitriolic, blindsided  "potshots"), characteristic of Diamondhacks. Seriously, if I've mischaracterized any of Derrick's thoughts, it's unintentional and I trust he (or his highly trained force of musclebound henchmen), will let me know.

TICKET PRICES

I first asked the Team President why his pricing model is so distinct from the other 29 MLB teams, ie Arizona's largest price gaps (by far) are between season tickets and the 64 individual (non premier) games, whereas the rest of MLB positions its largest hikes between individual and premier games.

We agreed it partly stems from Arizona's ST rates themselves, among the lowest in the game, but Hall also divulged that single games were priced so that "visiting" fans (ie Cubs, LA, Giants) would pay closer to what they're accustomed to in their home ballparks when they "invade" Chase Field. Wow. This is as close as I'd ever expect a club offical to extol local ticket suppression without actually uttering the word - and seems predicated on the view that low income Phoenix (apart from season ticket holders) doesnt represent enough of a market to seriously meet half way on price. Perhaps elasticity data supports this unique strategy (we didnt get into that), but as a local supporter who often feels gouged trying to purchase decent single game seats in a half empty stadium, I remain unconvinced that inflating single game prices with an eye towards sticking it to free spending Cub or Dodger faithful best maximizes short term revenue (tickets plus concessions). And it sure doesnt foster a lasting bond with local fans.

Derrick also repeated his mantra that single game prices were among MLB's "most affordable", whereas my best guess is they're nowhere near that and closer to league average.  Readers are encouraged to check out individual game prices in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Colorado, Florida, Oakland, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Texas, KC, Minnesota and the LA Angels and make their own judgement.

I acknowledged this spring's 10 pack promotional upgrades as reasonably attractive, flexible alternatives for those uninterested in seasonal commitments who may also feel priced out of individual games, and complimented Hall's 2008 ST structure, which better reflects market demand than it did in 2006 and 2007. He acknowledged prices in the middle deck had been too high.

SEASON TICKET BASE

Hall claimed that the ST base has grown from approx 12K to 15K, presumably due to last year's exciting playoff run and the highest retention rate (94%) in franchise history. This implies 25% growth, however less than a year ago Hall repeatedly presented the base as 14K, which is troubling because 94% of 14K is nowhere near 12 thousand - it's more like 13,160. If he's talking apples to apples, then at least one of the following must be true: Either the 2007 base figure(14K) was overstated, retention (94%) was overstated (which I doubt), or the extent of "new" sales (15k-12k=3k) has been overstated.

A potential net ST sales increase from roughly 14K to 15K would be disappointing, given several circumstances conducive to sales spikes: 1) a small originating ST base, affording more room for growth, saturation, 2) the 2007 squad held first place for several months and swept the Cubs in the NLDS, 3) the 2008 team is more talented than last year, by virtually all accounts , 4) 2007 ST prices were already considered MLB's lowest by the leading industry publication, and 5) many ST pricepoints were slashed even further in the face of that on field success.

If one already offers baseball's lowest ST prices, with your team clearly on the rise, and you're still lagging behind ST sales targets (Hall's shooting for 20K in 3-5 years), what lessons can be learned from that? One lesson might be to reduce ST prices even further, although I'd argue they're already giving them away in some sections.  Another strategy might be to abandon MLB's most imbalanced pricing model in favor of attracting more of whom constitute the vast majority of baseball fans (that is to say single game purchasers) with market driven pricing tied to MLB's lowest per capita income market.

For example, three clubs (Cincinnati, Toronto and Atlanta) with more traditional pricing models drew more fans ( and presumably more concession revenue) than the Diamondbacks while equaling Arizona's $43M in gate revenues*.  The Braves charged higher ST prices and lower single game prices than Arizona - and drew almost half a million more fans - many of whom presumably solidified visceral connections with the franchise.

* according to Forbes magazine, based on 2006 figures

TEAM IDENTITY

Derrrick hinted, as he has elsewhere, that the franchise is trying to establish an identity that it lacked for five years prior to 2007. This is where I picked up the baseball bat. No, seriously, I reflexively bristle when an FO that unilaterally chose to aggressively rebrand the franchise and has yet to attract as many fans as it's predecessor (even in a 111 loss season), complains of inheriting a longstanding "identity problem". Five years prior to 2007 is 2002 - how can the roots of an "identity problem" be in a team still glowing from a cathartic World Series triumph and drawing like mad?!

Derrick made some pertinent clarifications. First, he emphasized the roster continuity and fan recognition inherent in building from within. That's especially fair given he's just starting to realize benefits of that strategy. And he cited the 2005 revolving door of Glaus, Green and Ortiz in terms of how not to build an identity. I agree on both points.

Second, we had fun debating the colors. While I dont think it trumps other considerations, I volunteered that divisional differentiation from the purple and suddenly relevant Rockies was the strongest argument for rebranding, and Derrick volunteered that vendors have actually struggled to match up the new red consistently. I really appreciated that he shared that, because a) he didnt have to and b) it's significant, given the historical justification of shifting from purple to red.

In terms of time frame, we agreed to split the difference and say 2004 was when a significant loss of identification with the team began in earnest.

CONCESSIONS

Unlike ticket prices, which I view as more of a Diamondbacks problem, I see concession prices as an MLB issue, where each park's prices are set by contract rather than true competition. Any vendor could blow the doors off "the competition" if allowed to independently compete on price, but this has never been about providing fans with value - it's about businesses maximizing profit in a captive market, via consistently enforced price floors.

At any rate, concessions are a big dissatisfier, so we talked about it. Hall  portrayed the Diamondbacks as victims of what he called the "worst" concession deal in history - with Levy's - that runs through 2020. I wasnt clear if he meant the Dbacks, or all MLB teams, were victims, but if you're looking for significantly cheaper Red Ropes in the next decade, you might as well hang yourself now.

Derrick assured me that $1.50 kids items (hot dog, corn dog, milk, popcorn,etc) he's been touting for a year will actually be displayed on menu boards this spring, after I mentioned I'd never actually seen the discounted prices. Let's hope there's no secret password or access code for parents hoping to save a couple bucks on junior's corn dog and milk ;-)

For anyone interested in the discontinued McDonalds contract, Hall briefly touched on it but asked that his comments remain off the record.

CHARITY

When I characterized last September's $5 United Way donations as a "marketing ploy" to sell tickets, Derrick acknowledged the campaign was designed to enhance corporate image (in addition to helping those in need, of course), but he seemed genuinely taken aback that I suggested it was designed to generate sales. When I then asked, "Why were the donations tied to ticket sales?  Why couldn't Mr Kendrick have just written a check, no strings attached?", Hall flashed his winning smile and confirmed "Well, I'd be for that, too!"

SUMMARY

Hall and I have both expressed disappointment over ticket sales generally and we'd both like to see this franchise remarried to the valley. So there's common ground.  We both want the same thing, but like uneasy second engagements, we're kinda stuck on the terms. Ticket prices (ie "Money"). Defining "loyalty". Being refreshingly forthright with one another.  Despite Mr Hall's outstanding customer service skills and personal warmth, nothing about our meeting specifically changed those overarching policy disconnects.

And yet, there are changes; positive changes. The dramatic reduction of many ST prices after such a successful season will draw additional fans. Single tickets in the less attractive Diamond Level areas have finally been reduced, at least in spirit. The franchise's still popular patriarch was cajoled into throwing out the first ball of the NLDS, and the 10th anniversary of the inaugural purple team will be celebrated in a couple weeks, with a big song and dance.  Good stuff.

If I were king, however, fielding a competitive team, I could draw 33K each night to Chase Field in my sleep. Colangelo did. It's hardly the hand-wringing challenge this FO has made it out to be for three years running. Field competitive teams, charge reasonable prices for the best available empty seats, and re-establish ties to franchise heritage damaged by Mr Kendrick. That's all people want. People who enjoy baseball and are serious about attending games.

The baseball side of things appears to be ahead of schedule, thanks to intelligent, methodical planning concurrent with the incredibly fortuitous, dual self destruction (to date) of the division's 800 lb resource "gorillas". Pricing and culture have been slower to come along, but markets are inexorably shifting corporate policy, and fans will ultimately dictate the terms of this marriage. It's just too bad the terms are taking so long to iron out, when the valley is an eager bride and her biological clock is ticking.

• Had fun meeting Derrick Hall, the Dbacks' very gracious Team President, on Monday. Still working on a more substantitive writeup covering our discussion. Nothing earth shattering, but we had points of agreement and made "concessions" that might interest some Diamondback fans. Sorry about the delay on this, as I've been pulled away recently by an almost biological lure to post Alicia Silverstone pictures.   

• My first hand sights and sounds from Tuesday's David v Goliath NIT opener, across the pond in Tempe.   

• I only fill out one NCAA bracket each year, and when I went to bed last night, was tied for third (out of 245 competitors).  Today, however, has not been a Good Friday.
  Quite apart fom my plummeting bracket, some Arabic Muslims consider today Sad Friday - still a fine time for oblivious crusaders to whip up a batch of delicious hot cross buns.

• Me mum and I are mad keen for Fresh & Easy, Britain's foray into the US grocery market, um, market. So far, it's more fresh than easy, but if their clarks keep spitting up 2 quid 50p coupons at us like Prince Fielder spits sunflower seeds, then blimey, we'll put petrol in the Jag and pay these blokes a call most every fortnight!

• Decent folk fatigued by my stridently finicky Cactus League reviews may find this balanced critique from Tracy @ Chicks Dig The Long Ball welcome relief.

• Speaking of Tracy, Chad isnt coming back anytime soon.

• And thanks to Paul for recommending The Mind of Bill James by Scott Gray. Not sure it debunks Moneyball convincingly, or even intends to, but old time James disciples like me appreciate the copious quotes from our crisp thinking, contrarian hero stuffed throughout the book.

• Just started The Sportswriter, by Pulitzer Prize winner, Richard Ford. Snoozer of a title, but can tell from the first chapter, it's gonna be a good one.

Every year, I get dragged to at least one spring training game. Last year, it was Tucson. Today was my lucky day again - Phoenix Muni. Most Angels showed up to practice against some of the purported A's. Vladdy hit a grand slam and several hundred people noticed, at least by the time he rounded third base.

Come join Diamondhacks for the remaining highlights, wont you?    

This is a cool concept. Pay alot for a seat, then trudge on over to this crowded, incredibly poor viewing area abutting the foul pole, to eat overpriced food standing up. How cool is that?

How does six smackers for a lemonade grab ya? When MLB gives you lemons...dont take lemonade. Run the other way to a public water fountain.

Seven simoleans for a single slice? This provided comic relief, after stopping in our favorite pizzeria Monday and downing four big cheese slices and two medium drinks - for $6 plus tax. Total. We couldnt judge the Munificent A's slice size, since we didnt see anyone buy one all day - but who knows, maybe they're as big as Jose Canseco's head.

This was shot near the ballpark entrance, at 12:05PM - first pitch. Can you make out the yellow truck waaay in the distance (just to the left of the most prominent lightpole) and the huge line of traffic behind it? Those folks, ticketed or not, could eye the stadium 15-20 mins prior to gametime, but likely didnt reach turnstiles til the third inning.

Another photo from Priest Ave bridge, looking north. Again, it's gametime. Imagine the delays if this relatively small potatoes event, scheduled a dozen times each spring for thirty years, managed to attract *gasp* ten thousand people!

The Incredible Hulk said sunscreen was for fairies. Dumbass.

Unless you arrive an hour early to watch batting practice prior to a weekday split squad spring training game, this is where you get to park at an A's game. They dont call them the Athletics for nothing.

Waiting in line to buy tickets turned out to be the day's highlight. First, it was partially shaded. Second, lines were sufficiently long to engage one another in thoughtful discussion about how far Cactus ball has degraded in our lifetimes.

Code Blue, people. I'm all over our little friend in the hijab, so everybody just relax. -- Barney "Fred" Miller

Hmmm? Was this "suspiciously cloaked" onlooker simply warding off the sun? Or the carnal leers of subhuman, pork gobbling infidels?

This was the youngest, most fit beer vendor we saw in our section of the park. Pot bellied guys in their sixties, maybe older, were lugging similar buckets around all day, up and down the stands in the hot sun. Oh, well, I'm sure with six billion in revenues, MLB affords them super medical coverage.

After yesterday's knock down, drag out summit meeting (more on that later), Prez Derrick Hall was kind enough to personally show us many of Chase Field's cronyish crannies - like a second floor White House tour with Dubya - only our guide had a higher approval rating. And, unlike 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, no one else here was outside waiting to get in.

Impressions?

1. It's a big complex under the stands! I had envisioned a clubhouse, some bathrooms, a couple meeting rooms and a cage, but it's quite the little city down there, with a maze of corridors lined with snack bars, video rooms, lounges - in addition to the massive locker room and weight training facility.

What? No Starbucks!?!?

The kid insists this is Bob Melvin's office. Then the "C" on the cap must be for Cal - or communicator.

2. Lots of construction. On the Diamond level, they tore out a couple prime suites off home plate in favor of a glass plated common area where, if I understood Derrick correctly, anyone with a Diamond level ticket can eat while watching the game. Not sure how that'll work exactly, but if it's truly free access, it should be very popular.

Locker room's attractive, in a circular, commercial kind of way. Almost expected a US Airways Vegas rep to announce that my return flight to Phoenix had been delayed.

Not much activity in the locker room. We saw these folks hanging around Chris Young's locker for some reason. Relatives, perhaps. 

Who knew that a) coaches have a separate locker room, and b) Bryan Price was such a clothes horse? 

This pic doesnt show the row of whirlpools beyond this therapy pool, but the Sea World scale decking should convey how large an area it is. It's rumored the hook and life preserver were added in 2005, shortly after the Russ Ortiz acquisition.

Not much taste in drapes, but this is a back office.

"Randy's tire" according to Hall, located in the hallway leading from the home dugout. Intended to supplant water cooler as primary object of players' "affection".

Finally, here's a couple of about a dozen plaques acknowledging franchise history. Derrick said he'd like to eventually relocate these to his proposed centerfield museum, where all the fans can take a moment and reminisce. Splendid idea.

Many dont know it, but the cherubic Hall actually has four babies - two boys, a girl...and this colossal scoreboard of his. It's not quite as huge as I had imagined (feared). Still plenty big, but there's a green "frame" around the visual screen. It seemed more ominous looking up from the dugout than it did from the Diamond level. Like most boys, we agreed that while size matters, the value of a scoreboard, like any tool, is more in how you use it. Hall sounded excited about it's multiple functionality and assured me "its not gonna be advertisements". The board displayed the world's largest test pattern while we were there, so at this point, I'm neither fer nor agin it. I like the new sign arcing over the scoreboard though:

                                         CHASE FIELD

                             Home of the Arizona Diamondbacks

Yes, it's corporate, yes it's the "wrong" colors from where I sit, but it's big 'n proud and gives one a clearer sense of place than the old AZ Republic piecemeal signage.

A big thanks to Derrick Hall. There's 30 club presidents in the majors, and I daresay there arent three or four who'd take his initiative (he - not his assistant -emailed me twice, after I lost his initial invitation in my spam box) to reconnect with a disgruntled fan; then set aside more time to personally walk us around. Was there a business agenda here? Sure. Am I more a potential nuisance than the average fan? Yeah. Do we still disagree on a number of things. Affirmative. But baseball executives perform their duties, address their agendas in myriad ways, and it's not every day a club president escorts you and your kid around a major league ballpark. All that was his idea, not mine.  Like I say, there may not be three or four others in major league baseball.

There may not be any.

I had had it with the so-called "interview". The talk, talk, talk. Diamondbacks' President Derrick Hall going on and on ( and on ) about his fan friendly "this" and family friendly "that", with that chiseled smile of his.

I guess I just snapped. I dont know what to say to the D*Back faithful , other than Derrick wont be as "accessible" this season.  I didnt mean for it to end like this - in fact, my son initially tagged along to help diffuse the unbearable mix of Hall's oil and Diamondhacks' vinegar, but wound up photographing (and abetting) my regrettable William Ligue Jr moment. 

Hall was right about one thing - he bleeds Sedona Red alright. My regret? Only that I couldnt knock that smile off his face.

Needless to say, we saw ourselves out.                                        

(to be continued)

Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

                                                                -- Chinese warrior-sage, Sun-Tzu

Regardless of what one thinks about Chinese politics, the games there this week were extraordinary. Nothing surprising about why MLB made the trip - that's clear as a bell - but to see the New York game contested by major leaguers, a mere long toss or gunshot from The Gate of Heavenly Peace, is surreal if not downright transcendent. MLB is on it like white on rice, with a phalanx of house "reporters" documenting how delighted everyone is about everything. Gee, how geographically appropriate!

And then there's MLBlahgs, characteristically propping up a pair of moribund player travelogues, to the exclusion of everyone else in the "community". You have to laugh. Not at the inequity of promotion - as I say, China is a huge story and attention must be paid. You just have to laugh at consumer's utter lack of response to the content.

Let's set the stage. There are tens of millions of baseball fans domestically, hundreds of millions worldwide. At this juncture, millions more Americans have visited mainland China and have a special interest in the people and culture.

If a couple major leaguers, including a prominent star like Andruw Jones, shared personal experiences from baseball's inaugural voyage to this fascinating destination, wouldn't you think there'd be significant, if not overwhelming interest inherent in that? Not necessarily deep interest, but widespread, shallow, fanboy or Travel Channel type interest? What was the food like, Andruw? Do they like baseball in China? I've been to Beijing, Heath - what did you do there? Tell us a funny story about your adventures, something we wouldn't read in your mlb bio. Do you have any pictures?

And yet, after all the hoopla and setup ( including direct links from mlb's home page all weekend), as of my posting, the last three entries from Heath Bell and Andruw Jones have elicited a combined total of two reader comments.

Two.

In the whole world!

How could such a buzzworthy event, fueled by mlb's mega-marketing utterly fail to capture any public interest? Surely one thing cannot explain such incredulous results. Here's a few ideas:

1. Sports fans are more into their NCAA brackets. Well, I guess, but if Hockey Ladies of Greatness can draw 10 comments per post here at home, why cant the Padres and Dodgers draw a third that, halfway around the world?

2. Player blogs arent new anymore. By now, fans are familiar with MLBlogs' brand of "player" blogs and have largely tuned them out. Initial posts still generate interest, but most fans quickly realize the dual lure of substantive input from - or genuine interaction with - a major leaguer are false promises.

3. MLB's player/celebrity blogs are boring and fake. Celebrity bloggers' inability or disinterest in conversing with individual commenters is so total on MLBlogs, it makes one wonder if the celebs even have a password to access their own accounts. Contrast that with ordinary bloggers, who are engaged in continuous dialogue with their hard earned readerships. Or with Curt Schilling, who responds to comments and fine tunes positions based on fan input on his enormously popular blog. Whatever one thinks of Curt, the point is there's a real person on the other side. A person who wants to be there. MLB player blogs rarely have much to say - and to assert that their posts are "edited" may be too kind. Maybe there's player input, but it's hidden behind a veneer of editors who appear primarily responsible for the content, generating toothless, circa 1958 copy and even erasing irreverent but innocuous reader comments. Who wants to read a blog like that?  Who, in 2008, would even want to be associated with a blog like that?  Read Andruw Jones' blog and ask yourself, "Does he really want to be blogging?"

4. MLBlogs is driven purely by advertising, not independent content. That's why the best writers have already left.  This isnt a community of ideas. It's a top down public relations arm of MLB, pure and simple. Well, simple, anyway. There's nothing pure about charging people to join what's sold as a marketplace of ideas, then turning that promise into what amounts to a monopoly of tired advertisements. That's why MLBlogs, despite enormous potential, is so disrespected on both sides of it's fortressed walls. Much like it's close friend, China, MLB sees independent thought inside its borders as a threat instead of an opportunity.

Both might do well, in this rapidly evolving age, to heed Sun-Tzu's advice.

• As promised, projected win totals for the NL West:

Dodge Ball 88

Sedona Vortex 86

God Squad 84

Dog Beach 80

Castro 69

• Baseball season at my son's middle school was cancelled, for the first time in memory. Not enough interest.

• Shawn Green retired the other day, begging the question why he came to Arizona after his playing days with the Dodgers. At least now it's official.

• And please pass along any questions you might have for Diamondbacks brass, as a "high ranking" club official has graciously asked me to lunch. We'll meet Monday, presumably not at MacDonalds.   

The encouraging trend for the Phoenix nine is their unusually young team that led the NL in wins is now a year older, and All Star Game starter Dan Haren has replaced fading Livan Hernandez.  The bad news is that leading a major league in wins while being outscored by one's opponents has happened only once in baseball history for a reason. Teams that are seasonally outscored just arent very good and cant be relied upon to regularly contend.

Here's a macro picture of this year's Diamondback model:

• It will be better (RS/RA) than last year's team, but with a worse won lost record (sub 90 wins)
• The young hitting will almost certainly improve, perhaps significantly. There's no power failure, as the 07 squad hit as many homers (171) as the Rockies, but they need to get on base alot more. Coming off a league low team BA & OBP (in a very favorable park), there's no place for a more seasoned team to go but up. The question is: By how much?
• Pitching, despite the Haren upgrade, should decline.  Expect Danny's ERA to be about a run higher than last year, due to the huge park change (more than compensating for the NL's lack of DH), his propensity for yielding big flies, and a gaudy 2007 first half that outpaced underlying performance. Similar, latent concerns ( based on FIP, etc) linger about the rest of the staff; especially Brandon Lyon, Micah Owings and Doug Davis, whose collectively razor thin successes are largely expected to evaporate. Lyon, one of three "Brandons" pitching on the 40 man, will close in place of exiled All Star Jose Valverde, the NL's reigning seasonal saves leader.

Also:

• The bench should be worse (ie they will not lead the entire majors in pinch hit home runs again, will they?)
• The defense is good ( I think better than most stats suggest) and nobody absconded bags while preventing same quite as efficiently as Bob Melvin's boys. Barring an injury to Snyder, that relative asset shouldn't degrade much, even as the youngsters run more.

What about the competition?   

Apart from the Dan Ortmeier-led Giants (thank you, Brain Sabean!), conventional wisdom anticipates a tight division, with Dodgeball and our Desert Diamonds on the upswing and the Rockies and Padres tougher to gauge, independent of Colorado's fabulous September run. I wont bother with detailed roster analysis here to support that statement - god knows you can find it elsewhere.  Suffice it to say all NL West teams are flawed, most seriously.

LA and SD both appear to be grasping with unlikely fixes to the rear ends of their rotations. Prior, Wolf, Kuroda, Loaiza, Schmidt ? Big names, but I wouldnt start a season depending on any of 'em. Whether Randy Johnson flames out (Edgar Gonzalez) or not (ie Davis, Owings), advantage Diamondbacks.

The surprisingly effective Rockie staff lost no less than four valuable bullpen cogs (Herges, Affeldt, Hawkins and Julio) , lacks a #1 stopper and will rely on talented but fairly green starters to log significant innings. That's a lot of uncertainty to address. Anticipate a regression. The offense is solid (not great). The defense was great with Matsui - and is still excellent.      

The Padres are much better hitters than credited. The hopeful addition of rickety Edmonds and imminent gamebreaker Hairston to a solid infield quintet, might make this Gaslamp Gang the division's best with the bats, however the Pads are also the majors' worst at throwing out base stealers, and with Scotty and Giles flanking an aging Hollywood (or healthy understudy) instead of Mike Cameron, plenty of Padre pitchers will prematurely age, or possibly puke, perceiving pop ups passively plop in panoramic Petco.

Of course, leave it to the real Hollywood to capture maximum buzz, inserting a fresh batch of overrated stars (incl. Torre, Kuroda and Andruw Jones) to augment worn out celebrity "insertees", Tommy LaSorda and Alyssa Milano. That's not to say the Dodgers cant be good. Like a six course Italian feast or a high class call girl, they can be fantastic - in an expensive sort of way. 

It just wont be veterans leading the way. In complete contrast to the Diamondbacks, whose offense (such as it was) was driven by lone veterans Byrnes and Hudson, Dodger fortunes hinge on the youthful trio of Loney, Martin and Kemp. Kent can still hit and Andruw could rebound some, but veterans alone arent going to propel this team. Furcal has declined at the plate and there's a word for Juan Pierre and Nomar. Holes. If the kid trio struggles, these veterans arent collectively good enough to pick up the slack. Not across a long season.

Coming Soon: Predictions

(photos courtesy of AP/Morry Gash)

McDonalds, the most popular and reasonably priced concessionaire in Bank Two Ballpark history, has been replaced by Gordon Biersch and Fatburger - pretentious niche vendors offering more expensive fare.

Team President Derrick Hall:

"It should be great and will give us some new options."

New options. Yes. Like paying more for a hamburger or imagining what a value priced McFlurry used to taste like on a hot summer evening, instead of actually enjoying one.

We understand Gordon Biersch sells microbrews, supplying casual imbibers and MLB's rich core of alcoholics with desperately needed product differentiation. But why jettison McDonalds, instead of one of the countless, redundant brew stands currently impeding concourse foot traffic? Do we really need more total beer to quench this half empty stadium's thirst - at the expense of, like, ya know, food?

I've been to Fatburger. Menu items are called fat something. Fat fries. Fat meal. Fat burger. Get it? Whether or not the caloric chow is any more engaging than this one dimensional marketing gimmick, everyone agrees Fatburger is considerably more expensive than McDonalds.

To summarize, the famously family friendly Diamondbacks have increased the supply of beer and overpriced hamburgers at the ballpark, while abandoning what a decade's worth of loyal fans consider the ballpark's best value food option. This, as surveys record rising dissatisfaction with concession prices, and with Arizona licking it's wounds after a nationally televised bottle throwing incident.

(Photo courtesy of terragalleria.com and worth1000.com)

My Sunday morning paper has a huge ad touting a D-Backs 10th Anniversay Pack, where the club sells 10 tickets for $110 on dbacks.com.

Sounds interesting.

I scanned the dbacks homepage. There's a snazzy 10th anniversary logo that attracted my attention, but nowhere to order this package. So, I moseyed over to the team's ticket page. Then I searched the group ticket page, the promotions page, all the menu bars.

Nothing. 

Since I'm already on their webpage, I guess I can buy more expensive tickets.

Or just go away.

• The Dbacks are 5 and 5 after today, splitting a split squad (as opposed to split price) doubleheader. Thank you, Jesus.

• In other team news, alumnus Matt Williams did not, repeat DID NOT wiretap his former (and at the time, separated) wife's phone. Just so we're clear. The guy is a Gamer.

• Some Arizona high school games may be truncated by a proposed one hour and forty five minute time limit.  Fortunately, administrators behind the idea already have a time limit. Elections.

• The Phoenix Suns talk some more about playing defense, but it'll never happen. Not enough to counterbalance the easy fast break buckets that flew out the door with Shawn Marion - who Jeff van Gundy calls the NBA's most versatile defender. Not as long as both remaining stars make comfortable livings expending 80% of their energy scoring the ball.  Not as long as Mike D'Antoni is the coach.

• In Arizona news, we have a winner in the most recent www.congress.org "power rankings", where Flagstaff embezzler Rick Renzi ranked dead last - out of four hundred and thirty five members.  Impressive competition, to be sure, so that's quite a coup there, Rick!  Renzi's greatest crime, conceivably, is fathering a dozen children, all of whose names begin with "R". Rico, anyone?

Have a lovely weekend, wherever you are.

The column on the left ranks each MLB team in terms of ave ticket price. The right hand column ranks the corresponding markets (MSA's) in terms of per capita income. Both columns read from highest (top) to lowest (bottom).

Ave Ticket Price         Per Capita Income Rank (MSA)

Boston                               San Francisco/Oakland

Chi Cubs                          San Francisco/Oakland

St Louis                             Washington DC

NY Yankees                     Boston

Philly                                   NYC

Houston                           NYC(2)

Chi WS                              Denver

NY Mets                             Seattle

SF Giants                         Toronto (estimate only)

Seattle                               Minneapolis

Baltimore                          Baltimore

Toronto                              Philadelphia

Oakland                            San Diego

Cleveland                         Houston

Washington                       Chicago

San Diego                         Chicago(2)

Arizona (Phoenix)    Milwaukee

LA Dodgers                       Miami

LA Angels                         Arlington

Detroit                               Los Angeles

Cincinnati                        Los Angeles(2)

Milwaukee                       Pittsburgh

Minnesota                        Detroit

Tampa Bay                       Kansas City

Atlanta                              St Louis

Pittsburgh                        Cleveland

Florida (Miami)                 Cincinnati

Texas (Arlington)              Atlanta

Colorado (Denver)          Tampa Bay

Kansas City                     Phoenix 

The city with ave ticket prices most in excess of its per capita income is St Louis. The next largest gap is Phoenix, followed by Cleveland.

The city with prices most below per capita income is Denver, followed by Wash DC and Oakland.

Sources: Forbes Magazine and US Dept of Commerce

Good interview with Jeff Moorad at bizofbaseball. To find the Q&A, scroll past Jeff's bio, which is slightly longer than Leonardo DaVinci's.

I especially liked Jeff's response to this rather leading query:

Q) When you joined the Diamondbacks in 2004, how would you best describe the state of the organization?

A) "...the franchise had enjoyed tremendous success, and at that time was experiencing significant financial challenges".

Wow. Not even a whisper of the 111 losses?  Nor does he brush aside the broad-based, historic run of expansion franchise triumphs, with "Well, the World Series was nice, but..."  Even though a strong case can be made that several of Colangelo's less heralded squads were superior to the best Red version to date, it's okay Moorad later pats his own group on the back, because unlike many Sedona stylings which mischaracterize the state of the franchise when usurped, at least here Moorad gives Colangelo his due. Jeff called it "tremendous success" - and it was.

Significant financial challenges? That's fair and non pejorative. Not, " the franchise was in complete shambles and we rebuilt it from scratch because we were the only people capable of doing so."  Regardless of who our fractured fan base thinks should be running the franchise - or exactly how - we should all recognize that the large deferred contracts had to be curtailed and the resulting debt incorporated into the club's cost structure.

Biz then asks Jeff about whether increased revenues (ie FSN contract) and most of the deferred money coming off the books will make Arizona more of a player in the free agent market.

Predictably, Moorad says no, suggesting reluctance is more a structural function of being a mid-market club - but that's not what I want to zoom in on. He also said this:

"We do have a unique ownership situation, in that it's a community based ownership group that's not driven by annual profits."

Gee, one might almost think the cabal is running the club as a non-profit or public service.  According to Forbes, this group has realized a profit every year, win or lose, despite suppressing single game ticket purchases. This profit thing isnt a coincidence, folks - that's the model.  I'm not saying profit is the sole endgame, to the exclusion of all other goals, or that it's magnitude or singlemindedness rivals that of Jeffrey Loria - but it's a bit coy for an owner who's turned an operational profit every year to claim his group is "not driven by profit."

In addition, the market value of the franchise is growing by leaps and bounds, apart from annual profit and loss.  According to Forbes, the team Jeff's partners bought for $238M in 2004 was valued at $339M after the dismal 2006 season, and is sure to be worth closer to $400M today. The truth is, these guys are making a mint.

The car drank half a tank, delivering my young teen and his buds to the Arizona Renaissance Festival, somewhere between Apache Junction and Guatemala. Only after dropping the kids off and returning to the rural highway, could I appreciate the festival's tallest structure, the medieval jousting stadium, magically lifting thousands of enthusiasts into the bright, sparsely clouded Sonoran sky, transporting them to an earlier time.

I made the trek back towards Phoenix along impossibly linear State Route 60, accompanied by Joni Mitchell on the radio.

This is spring ball's renaissance. At Diablo, the vermillion crowd is packed like new cherries in a crate, and up the road in Scottsdale, the cheapest seat from which to catch Giants flounder is $13. Well, that's standing room; an actual seat costs extra. Watching Dan Ortmeier ground out, at those prices, drew ten thousand Saturday.

Far more than before television money drove our entertainments, and baseball stands were made of pine. When Scottsdale had no clubhouse, and all the players filed into the one parking lot, postgame, with the entire scarcity of sun baked cognoscenti, separated only by an equipment bag or a young autograph seeker's timidity. At today's secure and "improved" MLB proxy complexes, chances of bumping into a star are as distant as at MLB games - and astronomical compared to hanging around Congress.

Inside the bustling Renaissance Fair, the boy ate a six dollar turkey leg, then ate up the comic stockaded "prisoner" hurling salty insults at passers by. The festival was rife, he told me later, with lonely fellows in their twenties and thirties, many clad like medieval Trekkies, more eager to exit their century than unrequited conversations.

Ballyards also brim with twenty and thirtysomething lonely hearts, instructed largely by television that it's the place to be - and be seen - preferably in pricey clubwear, authentically sewn in China. Wired hounds and gadflys openly courting a bought and sold scene rather than subtle romance with a game many of them never played.

A Renaissance Fair. The teeming Cactus League. Two corporations cashing in on the present, one by unapologetically immersing itself in the past, the other alternately harkening and ignoring it at its calculated convenience. I've looked at crowds from both sides now, and appreciated them best from the highway.


(photos courtesy of danieloates.com)