No Job

Two weeks ago, I got an interview with the Arizona Tax Research Association, my first formal interview post-college, and for a group that I liked and actually wanted to work for. The job they were filling was a research analyst position, someone to crunch numbers and produce publications about tax policy in the state of Arizona.

I'll admit, I was nervous going into the interview because I had been jobless for such a long time and didn't really know what to expect. I was interviewed by Kevin McCarthy, ATRA's director, and overall I thought it went pretty well, although I know I could have done a better job selling myself - which I blame on nerves and my lack of confidence. I was told after the interview that Mr. McCarthy and his board of directors would have a decision by mid-July on who they wanted to hire.

I purposely did not tell too many people about the job prospect, primarily because I didn't want to get my hopes up too high for the job. Those of whom I did tell were all very supportive and promised to keep me in their prayers while I waited. I admit, though, I was excited and hopeful at the mere prospect of getting the job and being able to finally get on with MY life, move out of my parents' house, and get a car/apartment of my own. With about 1/3 of my life already over, assuming the average age of a typical male is 75 years old, it sometimes feels as if I'm wasting time without a job or any real leads.

Anyway, this morning I finally found out by email from Mr. McCarthy, who gave me notice of his decision without having to wait on a formal rejection letter, that I was not the person selected for the research analyst position. It was a bit disappointing, of course, but even though I was again not picked for the job, I know I should feel good about making through a pool of several hundred applicants to get to the interview and for being considered. Mr. McCarthy also said he would forward my resume on to some other people with whom I might be a good fit for a couple jobs, so I certainly appreciate his generosity in doing that on my behalf.

I told my close friends about the rejection after I found out this morning, and they were all very nice and supportive, for which I am grateful. Looking on the bright side, as I am always apt to do in situations like this (ha ha), at least I got some feedback on my job search, and to have it culminate in an interview and serious consideration for a good job is certainly rewarding. I only hope now that my good fortune here continues into the next few weeks and months of my job hunt and that something comes along that is an even better fit for me than ATRA.

Thanks for the well-wishes to all who have done so.

The DBacks' Mid-Season Shake-up

Obviously, Manager A.J. Hinch wasn't getting things done. Back in May of last year, I posted about how Bob Melvin was replaced by then-Director of Player Development AJ Hinch, who, in his one year and one month as manager of a big league team posted an 89-123 win-loss record. This prompted the Diamondbacks organization to fire him and General Manager Josh Byrnes late last night. My phone was literally ringing nonstop with Twitter updates and text messages about the rumor mill surrounding the shake-up.

Obviously, right from the get-go, there was a lot of controversy surrounding "the Hinch Era" due in part to his never having managed a baseball game prior to replacing Melvin. Fans across Arizona wrote vile comments on the Facebook pages I read, the MLB news stories, sports web pages, on the radio, and elsewhere. Within the organization, I imagine they believed that Hinch would be a good choice because he had basically brought up our entire team (Reynolds, Upton, Webb, Drew, Conor Jackson, etc.) from the farm system, and knew them all very well. Sadly, the Diamondbacks have consistently failed to do anything right since Hinch began managing them. It was in retrospect a bad decision, and the DBacks are stuck with about $7,000,000 in contractual obligations to the two men over the next few years.

Last night (after the rumor sprouted, was confirmed, then reconfirmed, then triple-double checked to be sure it was confirmed... yes, I got a LOT of text messages) it was annouced that Diamondbacks bench coach and former Los Angeles Dodger Kirk Gibson would become the interim manager while Jerry Dipoto becomes interim GM (I don't know a lot about him, so I'll be trying to find out more in the near future). Gibson has been coaching with the team for the past few seasons, and while he too has never managed, his NL MVP Award in 1987, two World Series rings (1988 being his more well-known), and years of lower-level coaching experience make him an obvious interim, if not permanent, choice.

Just for kicks, here's an idea of how the boys in Sedona Red stack up in the majors this year (statistics are followed by the team's place out of the 30 teams in the major leagues in parentheses):

The Arizona Diamondbacks' batters have scored 362 runs (14th) on 675 singles (23rd), 157 doubles (5th), 13 triples (16th), and 94 home runs (5th) - two of which were inside-the-park HRs. They have garnered 1,140 total bases (7th) and amassed 353 runs batted in (10th). They have walked 295 times (6th) and struck out an incredible 724 times (1st in majors by 102 strikeouts). These totals give them an on-base percentage (times on base divided by times at the plate) of .328 (16th), a slugging percentage (measure of how many bases a batter gets per at-bat) of .424 (7th), and a team batting average of .251 (23rd).

Our hitters have also amassed 14 sacrifice fly balls (tied for 27th - last place), 17 sac bunts (27th), and have grounded into double plays 61 times (15th). We've been hit by pitches a mere 21 times (22nd) and intentionally walked 21 times (10th).

Our fielding skills, while improved upon from last year, still leave a lot to be desired: 750 assists (26th), 48 errors (tie for 18th), 8 passed balls (3rd highest total). We have turned 68 double plays, putting us in 19th place there, and are tied for 12th place with a 98.3% fielding percentage.

Obviously, if you've watched the team at all this year, our biggest weakness has been in our pitching, specifically the bullpen. Here's the numbers: in 697.0 innings pitched we have a 31 win (27th) and 48 loss (3rd highest) record, while pitching 2 complete games (tied for 15th) and 2 shutouts (tie for 23rd). One of each of those was Edwin Jackson's recent no-hitter, one of the only bright spots this year for the team. We've gotten 16 saves of 30 opportunities (tie for 24th) and have a team earned run average of 5.33 (30th, or last, place). Our pitchers have surrendered 767 hits (2nd), 446 runs (1st), 413 earned runs (1st), 105 home runs (1st), 299 walks (4th), and have hit 22 batters (21st) and struck out 542 (19th). We have 6 balks to our credit (tie for 6th), 6 pickoffs (tie for 8th), and 48 wild pitches (1st). With a WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) of 1.53 (tie for last with the Pirates), we won't be improving on our winning percentage of .392 (28th ahead of only Baltimore and Pittsburgh) anytime soon.

Not good... hopefully Kirk Gibson and the team can start to salvage some dignity this year.

Edwin Jackson's No-Hitter

Last night, I got to witness baseball history, and check another milestone off of my scorecard list (see this post about my Scorecard Bucket List). Edwin Jackson pitched only the second no-hitter in Arizona Diamondbacks franchise history against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg Florida at Tropicana Field. The first Arizona no-hitter was Randy Johnson's perfect game in 2004. And what a no-hitter E. Jackson's was, too! Let me throw some random statistics out there:

TARS Candidate Forum

Two nights ago, the East Valley Homeschooled Teenage Republicans (TARS) hosted a meet-the-candidates forum at the home of former Arizona House of Representatives member and 2008 Arizona CD-5 candidate Laura Knaperek. I went in order to volunteer to help Bill Montgomery, candidate for Maricopa County Attorney, but when I arrived, he already had several other people helping, so I mostly listened to the other candidates.
The forum was held in the backyard and home of Mrs. Knaperek, and upon my arrival there at 6:30pm, I was greeted by the Chairman of the state's TARS organization and some of his members in the East Valley group. Since I was a tad early, we chatted for a while, and I enjoyed hearing his perspective on some of Arizona's politics. The TARS were collecting donations for their trip to Washington, DC for the TARS national convention, and I was happy to donate $10 to help. If those kids are the future of the College Republicans in a year or two, and future leaders of the country, I think we'll be in good hands.

After a while, the party picked up steam, and I was able to talk with a few of the candidates. Those in attendance included: CD-5 candidates David Schweikert, Susan Bitter-Smith, Jim Ward, and Chris Salvino; current Secretary of State Ken Bennett seeking re-election; Attorney General candidate Tom Horne; State Treasurer candidates Barbara Leff, Thayer Verschoor, and a representative for Doug Ducey; Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate John Huppenthal; Corporation Commissioner candidates Barry Wong, Gary Pierce, and Brenda Burns; LD-20 House candidates Jeff Dial and Christopher Tolino; and Maricopa County Attorney candidates Bill Montgomery and Rick Romley. (If I missed anyone, campaigns should feel free to correct me by leaving a comment below or emailing me so I can fix my oversight!)

2010 Primary Countdown

This year on August 24th (sooner if you request and return a mail-in ballot) Arizonans will have the chance to choose who will represent them for the next two to four years (depending on the race). To that end, I'm working on breaking down each race and providing information on the candidates from now until primary election day. There are 11 races that everyone will be voting on, plus some that will be exclusive to each local jurisdiction. They are:

1. Governor (10 candidates)
2. Secretary of State (3 candidates)
3. Attorney General (5 candidates)
4. Treasurer (5 candidates)
5. Superintendent of Public Instruction (5 candidates)
6. State Mine Inspector (2 candidates)
7. Corporation Commissioners (6 candidates)
8. State Senator (various candidates depending on district)
9. State Representatives (various candidates depending on district)
10. United States Senator (10 candidates)
11. United States Representative (various candidates depending on district)

We'll whittle down this number of candidates for each race to two or three apiece through the primary process. Then we re-vote for the general election, where 10 ballot propositions are proposed (as of this writing). After examining the elected officers' races, I'll also be taking a look at the ballot propositions, which include real estate measures and legalization of marijuana, among other things.

Look for this "series" of blog posts in the near future.

Jeff Smith - CD-6's Next Congressman?

Wow, it's been a while since I last put up a post - nearly an entire month. Granted, I have been pretty busy the last three weeks helping to clean and organize my mom's classroom and move her library of books back home for the summer. I've also been doing the job search thing and the baseball thing. In a nutshell there, I'm still jobless and my Diamondbacks have the third worst record in all of baseball, so.... At least Mom's books are back home and reorganized.

Anyway, for the past few weeks I've also been in touch with a select number of campaigns here in the east valley working on a project to keep me busy and "network" with some of the campaign staffs. It started out as me thinking about how I could help out even though I can't do a lot of events (no car, no dinero).

Blockin' the Plate

This past Saturday, I got the opportunity to play softball with my friends' church team. It's a C-league team made up of people about my age that I usually go watch and hang out with, but due to a couple injuries, I was given the opportunity to fill in for a game.

Now, bear in mind that I haven't actually played softball or baseball in years. I've wanted to, but I had difficulty finding a team to join and with (in recent days) paying for a roster spot for myself. That said, I watch so much baseball on television or at the stadium that I feel pretty well-versed in how to play most positions and how to position myself on a variety of plays.

Normally, I would play shortstop or first base, given that those are my preferred positions. I try to shy away from the outfield because I have a weak right shoulder (my throwing arm) from an injury back in 10th grade. I can throw, but my shoulder tires very quickly and if I make certain throwing motions with a high degree of torque, I can strain it. For Saturday's game, however, I made my first ever start at catcher.

The Problem of Being an Illegal Alien in Arizona

If you have ever been the victim of a break-in, you know how disheartening it is and how vulnerable it makes you feel. Someone comes to your house, smashes through your security - be that windows, doors, or alarm systems, and makes off with your stuff. If anyone's home, people can be hurt or even killed. But at the very least, some measure of harm is done to the tenants of that residence.

In discussing the immigration debate, it is very important to be as level-headed as possible. Emotions in a debate like this run very high, and it can be easy to assign blame to a person, a group, or even an entire race based on so-called facts and statistics. I have been reading as much news information and digesting various points of view over the past several days since Arizona Senate Bill 1070 was passed last week and signed into law so as to provide a clear perspective on the issue apart from allegations of fearmongering, racial profiling, unfairness to one class of people or another, and the strong emotions that flow through all of it.

Senate Bill 1070 says that officers of the Arizona law enforcement community may,

Photos from Phillies-Diamondbacks 4/24/10

Before the game began, the Diamondbacks unveiled their newest addition to the ballpark - the retired numbers of Jackie Robinson situated above the right field bleachers, with plenty of room for future players to be retired there as well. (Randy Johnson's #51, anyone? Or maybe Mark Grace's #17?)

Here's a close-up view of the new numbers:

The other brand new addition to Chase Field is UPTOWN, the "Mannywood" of the Diamondbacks for right fielder Justin Upton! On Saturday, the DBacks' red-clad fans were there in force:

Also on Saturday, it was the APS Green Series, where the Diamondbacks organization powered the stadium with 100% green energy. In tribute to their super-powered counterparts, the Incredibles, the inflatable Renewables stood guard over right field as well from a perch high above the field:

Out in left field, where I sat, the sporting world's greatest mascot, D. Baxter, came out to visit! You can't tell from this photo, but he was hugging a little kid here. In another photo I have, he's mocking a Phillies fan about four rows away from me.

I was lucky to grab this shot of the moonrise over Chase Field with all the light banks in my way, but luckily, I set the camera's exposure correctly!

GO D'BACKS!

Spring 2010 Hiking Pics

As I mentioned in my prior post, I have photos from my hikes to share. Catch them below the jump break!

Beehive! Glad I'm not allergic!!!

A cactus in bloom: