Hello, loyal readers! Once again, I am blogging to you from Tucson, Arizona in preparation for my Preservation summer class, which begins tomorrow. It should be a long week; those of you who've read this blog for a while know I was down here for another class in January to kick off my Master's degree in Information Resources and Library Science. Since that time, I've finished one full semester (two courses) and maintained my 4.0 GPA, which even earned me a $1,500 scholarship from the school for each of the next two semesters.
This summer, I've been doing work for my Ethics class (really, more like an overview of ethical theories... maybe they should change the title...) and gearing up for this 5-day intensive course on preservation of books, papers, photographs, film, etc. It starts tomorrow from 8am to 5pm, and should be pretty hardcore. But I'm definitely looking forward to it. We get a field trip to a different preservation department around the city of Tucson each day, and on Wednesday we get to make our own books! Our field trips shake out like this:
Monday: University of Arizona Library Special Collections (I got to tour the Special Collections Dept. in January when I was here, but this should be more in-depth)
Tuesday: Arizona Historical Society Library, Archives and History Museum (I also toured this in January)
Wednesday: Center for Creative Photography
Thursday: University of Arizona State Museum Conservation Section
Friday: Photographic Works
In addition, I have to come up with one Ethics assignment by Sunday, a topic for my code of ethics project by Friday, and a topic for my final preservation paper by the end of the week. So yeah, I'll be mildly busy. My professor should be pretty cool, though. He is the head of the Preservation Department at the University of Utah, and I've heard tell that he is a master bookbinder. Part of his introduction to class was to ask us to bring some of our old damaged books for us to look at and discuss the preservation aspects of maintaining them. I've got several, including a 1909 Kansas Manual of Patriotic Instruction (which is like a lesson plan book for teachers back then in how to promote patriotism in the classroom), a 1915 copy of Robert's Rules of Order, and a set of Bibles which are family heirlooms, the oldest of which is a 1792 Latin Bible owned by my great-great-great grandfather (or so I have been able to figure out) which is in very poor condition. Hopefully I can get some advice on keeping it from deteriorating further.
One of the other cool things about being in Tucson this week, is that there are thunderstorms and rain forecast for my entire stay here, with temperatures in the mid-to-high 90s! Cloudy and cooler? Yes, please! As I type, I can hear the thunder rolling outside my hotel room.
If I'm not horrifyingly busy later in the week, I'll update how class is going, but don't get your hopes up. That might not be until after I get back home on Friday.
24 July 2011
11 July 2011
2011 All-Star Sunday
Owing to the fact that the Major League Baseball All-Star Game is being played in Phoenix at my home park, Chase Field, this year, of course I couldn't pass up the chance to attend at least part of the festivities. And thanks to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Fry's Food Stores, I got my tickets to the XM All-Star Futures Game and the Celebrity Legends Softball Game for free when I won them last month as the Fry's VIP Rewards winner during a Diamondbacks home game.
I was really expecting a lot of people to attend the event, so I started my day early, and I arrived at the ballpark at 9:30am (paying the $20 parking fee) to be among the first in line. Well, apparently everyone else did NOT have the same idea. I was first in line without any problems, and the second fan overall to be in line (the first being another season ticket holder who'd been there about 30 minutes before me). And thus began the waiting. The gates were supposed to open at 1:00pm according to the time on the ticket, but we got a lot of conflicting information. Some people said 11am, some said noon, and one guy insisted it was 2pm. I was just glad I brought a book to read (James Rollins' "Deep Fathom").
Eventually, around noon, the lines started to fill in, and by 1:00pm, there were hundreds of people waiting to get in. In each line, a security guard waited to check everyone's bags. I chatted with my line's guard, Jeffery, for the final 20 minutes of waiting, and he responded by checking my bag early so I could run right in and try to catch a Futures Game commemorative baseball. Thanks to him, I was indeed the very first fan allowed into Chase Field. I slowed long enough to grab a Taco Bell lanyard/ticket holder giveaway, and then ran (literally) to left field in the hopes of finding an Easter Egg or two (baseballs that are waiting to be picked up).
There were a few people milling around down there already who had early entry - family of the kids who got to snag balls on the field, I assume - and there were no baseballs to be found. I knew my best chance would be to try to out-reach people for long fly balls or toss-ups, so I stood in the left-field power alley right up in the first row. A couple home runs went out of the park as the left-field stands quickly filled up, but nothing came toward me. Eventually, though, a ground rule double bounced just over the cut of the grass on the warning track and right at me. I stretched out... and some guy on my left whacked my arm and made me botch the catch. There was no way HE was going to snag the ball, but in his haste to try, he screwed me up. I turned to him and mock-angry said "Really?!" He just smiled and said sorry, and it was all good.
A few short moments later, wunderkind prospect Bryce Harper stepped up to bat and let loose a long, high fly ball right at me and I just knew I was the only one capable of catching it. The ball was going to hit a couple feet below the top of the wall, and both guys on my left and right were too short to stretch for it. I got in position, stetched WAYYY down the wall, and the ball landed in the webbing of my glove and sno-coned in there. I had it! I pulled my arm up.... and the dude to my left decided to fight me for it, and he knocked it out of my glove with his!
For some reason, I wasn't angry. I just smirked at the guy, and I knew he was excited, trying to go for a souvenier, same as me. Jarred Cosart, the Phillies prospect starting pitcher, saw me get robbed of both balls, and I held up my hands to him in a gesture of "how about a little help?" He gave me the slightest shake of the head, pointed at me, and threw me that ball that had jostled free of my glove. The guy on my left tried for it again, but this time I boxed him out, out-stretched him, and made the catch! It was a really nice baseball with a great commemorative logo. So thanks for the help, Jarred!
A few more balls came my way, none over the wall, and several of them were thrown into the crowd. I didn't ask for any of them because I didn't want to take any away from the other fans who wanted to catch a souvenier. I resolved to only try for one if it was hit to me. About five minutes after my Bryce Harper ball, a line-drive home run came my way off the bat of Diamondbacks phenom Paul Goldschmidt. Again, I knew I could outstretch the people near me for the catch, and I did just that! The two biggest names at the Futures game, and I caught baseballs from each of them (with some assistance... heh)!
After that, I got the feeling that my luck had run out. I abandoned my spot to head out and see if I could get an autograph from Harper, Cubs' prospect Matt Szczur, or Goldschmidt. I don't think any other baseballs went to my spot, but I can't be sure. Eventually, BP ended, and I tried to get an autograph, but I got totally snubbed by Goldschmidt, and there was no possibility of my getting near Harper. Szczur was equally hard to get to. I gave it a good shot, but I just couldn't get close enough, so I abandoned trying. I was kind of dehydrated and hungry (five hours of sitting in the heat and trying to catch baseballs will do that to you), so I roamed around to left field again and got a gigantic DBacks' Double Fatburger and Fries. If you haven't tried one of these amazing creations of beef and cheese and toppings and wedge-cut fries, you must simply fly out to Chase Field and do so!
I took my dinner to my seat in the lower level down the left-field line under the awnings (and right in the path of a big A/C unit!) and ate, cooled down, and rehydrated. It was fun watching the autograph hounds crush one another in their quests to get resellable autographs of the biggest prospects, and I was glad I didn't push my luck by becoming one of them. (Really, I only wanted the Goldschmidt autograph for my collection; the others were for friends that I said I'd get if the possibility presented itself.)
At about 2:45pm, all the announcements started welcoming fans to Chase Field, announcing the lineups and coaches, the first pitch, the National Anthem, etc. I was rehydrating and trying to stave off a headache at that moment (which I get when I need water), so I was kind of lightheaded. When the game started, though, I was fully in the moment. Bryce Harper started off in left field, and went 0-for-4...
(((As I type this, I'm watching the Home Run Derby, where it's Robinson Cano versus Adrian Gonzalez for the title, and I just watched Zack Hample, the man who's caught over 5,000 baseballs at major league stadiums across the country, and whose blog I follow daily - http://snaggingbaseballs.mlblogs.com/ - catch a Robinson Cano home run in pursuit of winning the Derby!)))
... Paul Goldschmidt also went 0-for-4 with a strikeout, but a pair of doubles by A's prospect Grant Green and a homer by Jason Kipnis sealed the 4-to-6 USA victory over the World team. Tyler Skaggs, the DBacks' pitcher started the game with a one-hit, no run inning, and my new favorite non-Diamondback prospect Jarred Cosart picked up the victory for Team USA!
After the game, Grant Green was named MVP, going 2-for-2 with two doubles, a run scored, and an RBI. He did a great job... both of his doubles were line shots into the gaps. He definitely didn't get cheated. When the presentation of the MVP award was completed, there was about a thirty-minute intermission while the grounds crew set up the field for the Celebrity Legends Softball Game, headlined by Luis Gonzalez, Mark Grace, Rollie Fingers (God, I love that moustache!), Mike Piazza, Jennie Finch, Jordin Sparks, Nick Jonas, Fred Lynn, Steve Garvey, Chord Overstreet, Erin Andrews, and other celebrity names from all over the place. Gonzo made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Rollie Fingers of a homer, and Rickey Henderson did homer over the shortened outfield wall to start the game. A late addition to the game saw Matt Williams get to hit, and when soccer star Carlos Bocanegra stepped up to bat, everyone on the National League side crowded in front of the plate soccer wall style, covering their crotches. If you're a soccer fan, you get the reference. I thought it was hilarious! At one point, despite it being a slow-pitch game, Finch threw a wide fast pitch which went to the backstop. There was a little mock shouting (this was scripted, I'm sure), and the umpire "warned" both benches. The game was all for the fans' enjoyment, and they totally succeeded. I was laughing the whole time!
The National League ended up winning 5-3. Frankly, the Celebrity game was more fun for me than the Futures Game. It was awesome. When all was over, I hung around a few minutes, then left. I snagged an official All-Star Game program for $15 on the way out as my one souvenier (well, aside from the baseballs, I guess), and made my way back to my car, then home. It was awesome. I haven't had as much fun at a baseball game since the Yankees-DBacks game last season!
I was really expecting a lot of people to attend the event, so I started my day early, and I arrived at the ballpark at 9:30am (paying the $20 parking fee) to be among the first in line. Well, apparently everyone else did NOT have the same idea. I was first in line without any problems, and the second fan overall to be in line (the first being another season ticket holder who'd been there about 30 minutes before me). And thus began the waiting. The gates were supposed to open at 1:00pm according to the time on the ticket, but we got a lot of conflicting information. Some people said 11am, some said noon, and one guy insisted it was 2pm. I was just glad I brought a book to read (James Rollins' "Deep Fathom").
Eventually, around noon, the lines started to fill in, and by 1:00pm, there were hundreds of people waiting to get in. In each line, a security guard waited to check everyone's bags. I chatted with my line's guard, Jeffery, for the final 20 minutes of waiting, and he responded by checking my bag early so I could run right in and try to catch a Futures Game commemorative baseball. Thanks to him, I was indeed the very first fan allowed into Chase Field. I slowed long enough to grab a Taco Bell lanyard/ticket holder giveaway, and then ran (literally) to left field in the hopes of finding an Easter Egg or two (baseballs that are waiting to be picked up).
There were a few people milling around down there already who had early entry - family of the kids who got to snag balls on the field, I assume - and there were no baseballs to be found. I knew my best chance would be to try to out-reach people for long fly balls or toss-ups, so I stood in the left-field power alley right up in the first row. A couple home runs went out of the park as the left-field stands quickly filled up, but nothing came toward me. Eventually, though, a ground rule double bounced just over the cut of the grass on the warning track and right at me. I stretched out... and some guy on my left whacked my arm and made me botch the catch. There was no way HE was going to snag the ball, but in his haste to try, he screwed me up. I turned to him and mock-angry said "Really?!" He just smiled and said sorry, and it was all good.
A few short moments later, wunderkind prospect Bryce Harper stepped up to bat and let loose a long, high fly ball right at me and I just knew I was the only one capable of catching it. The ball was going to hit a couple feet below the top of the wall, and both guys on my left and right were too short to stretch for it. I got in position, stetched WAYYY down the wall, and the ball landed in the webbing of my glove and sno-coned in there. I had it! I pulled my arm up.... and the dude to my left decided to fight me for it, and he knocked it out of my glove with his!
For some reason, I wasn't angry. I just smirked at the guy, and I knew he was excited, trying to go for a souvenier, same as me. Jarred Cosart, the Phillies prospect starting pitcher, saw me get robbed of both balls, and I held up my hands to him in a gesture of "how about a little help?" He gave me the slightest shake of the head, pointed at me, and threw me that ball that had jostled free of my glove. The guy on my left tried for it again, but this time I boxed him out, out-stretched him, and made the catch! It was a really nice baseball with a great commemorative logo. So thanks for the help, Jarred!
A few more balls came my way, none over the wall, and several of them were thrown into the crowd. I didn't ask for any of them because I didn't want to take any away from the other fans who wanted to catch a souvenier. I resolved to only try for one if it was hit to me. About five minutes after my Bryce Harper ball, a line-drive home run came my way off the bat of Diamondbacks phenom Paul Goldschmidt. Again, I knew I could outstretch the people near me for the catch, and I did just that! The two biggest names at the Futures game, and I caught baseballs from each of them (with some assistance... heh)!
After that, I got the feeling that my luck had run out. I abandoned my spot to head out and see if I could get an autograph from Harper, Cubs' prospect Matt Szczur, or Goldschmidt. I don't think any other baseballs went to my spot, but I can't be sure. Eventually, BP ended, and I tried to get an autograph, but I got totally snubbed by Goldschmidt, and there was no possibility of my getting near Harper. Szczur was equally hard to get to. I gave it a good shot, but I just couldn't get close enough, so I abandoned trying. I was kind of dehydrated and hungry (five hours of sitting in the heat and trying to catch baseballs will do that to you), so I roamed around to left field again and got a gigantic DBacks' Double Fatburger and Fries. If you haven't tried one of these amazing creations of beef and cheese and toppings and wedge-cut fries, you must simply fly out to Chase Field and do so!
I took my dinner to my seat in the lower level down the left-field line under the awnings (and right in the path of a big A/C unit!) and ate, cooled down, and rehydrated. It was fun watching the autograph hounds crush one another in their quests to get resellable autographs of the biggest prospects, and I was glad I didn't push my luck by becoming one of them. (Really, I only wanted the Goldschmidt autograph for my collection; the others were for friends that I said I'd get if the possibility presented itself.)
At about 2:45pm, all the announcements started welcoming fans to Chase Field, announcing the lineups and coaches, the first pitch, the National Anthem, etc. I was rehydrating and trying to stave off a headache at that moment (which I get when I need water), so I was kind of lightheaded. When the game started, though, I was fully in the moment. Bryce Harper started off in left field, and went 0-for-4...
(((As I type this, I'm watching the Home Run Derby, where it's Robinson Cano versus Adrian Gonzalez for the title, and I just watched Zack Hample, the man who's caught over 5,000 baseballs at major league stadiums across the country, and whose blog I follow daily - http://snaggingbaseballs.mlblogs.com/ - catch a Robinson Cano home run in pursuit of winning the Derby!)))
... Paul Goldschmidt also went 0-for-4 with a strikeout, but a pair of doubles by A's prospect Grant Green and a homer by Jason Kipnis sealed the 4-to-6 USA victory over the World team. Tyler Skaggs, the DBacks' pitcher started the game with a one-hit, no run inning, and my new favorite non-Diamondback prospect Jarred Cosart picked up the victory for Team USA!
After the game, Grant Green was named MVP, going 2-for-2 with two doubles, a run scored, and an RBI. He did a great job... both of his doubles were line shots into the gaps. He definitely didn't get cheated. When the presentation of the MVP award was completed, there was about a thirty-minute intermission while the grounds crew set up the field for the Celebrity Legends Softball Game, headlined by Luis Gonzalez, Mark Grace, Rollie Fingers (God, I love that moustache!), Mike Piazza, Jennie Finch, Jordin Sparks, Nick Jonas, Fred Lynn, Steve Garvey, Chord Overstreet, Erin Andrews, and other celebrity names from all over the place. Gonzo made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Rollie Fingers of a homer, and Rickey Henderson did homer over the shortened outfield wall to start the game. A late addition to the game saw Matt Williams get to hit, and when soccer star Carlos Bocanegra stepped up to bat, everyone on the National League side crowded in front of the plate soccer wall style, covering their crotches. If you're a soccer fan, you get the reference. I thought it was hilarious! At one point, despite it being a slow-pitch game, Finch threw a wide fast pitch which went to the backstop. There was a little mock shouting (this was scripted, I'm sure), and the umpire "warned" both benches. The game was all for the fans' enjoyment, and they totally succeeded. I was laughing the whole time!
The National League ended up winning 5-3. Frankly, the Celebrity game was more fun for me than the Futures Game. It was awesome. When all was over, I hung around a few minutes, then left. I snagged an official All-Star Game program for $15 on the way out as my one souvenier (well, aside from the baseballs, I guess), and made my way back to my car, then home. It was awesome. I haven't had as much fun at a baseball game since the Yankees-DBacks game last season!
28 June 2011
Financial Aid - Done and Done
I suppose I could make this post into another epic story, but I won't. The last couple months I have had some real issues getting my financial aid taken care of for my summer classes. Apparently, my financial aid form got misfiled or something, and so I wound up with $3400 in past due tuition balances and no financial aid to cover it all. After a very long, drawn out battle with U of A's financial aid department (think the 6-race battle from "The Hobbit"), I finally can announce that it's all sorted out. (Yay!)
That means that I'll be getting a $2600 loan refund after the amount that I've accepted to pay for tuition, which will help pay for my 5-day course in Tucson next month for my Preservation class. I'm looking forward to that course, which will explore the history of bookmaking and some of the techniques and issues involved with trying to preserve information for future generations. I checked into the syllabus, and it looks like it'll really be a fun class, if not work-intensive.
Right now, I'm enrolled in (and about halfway through) my Ethic for Information Professionals class which is examining ethical theories and applying them to LIS (library and information science) issues, like porn in libraries, fines and fees, PATRIOT Act requirements, etc. It's all kind of stuff I have heard of before, but a more in-depth study. Not uninteresting, but so far I'm not seeing how the class is beneficial to my studies. At least the professor is much more organized than my last one, which is very nice.
Also, aside from school, I have a couple fun updates: Dad, Scott, Scott's dad, and I all had a great time at the Father's Day game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox at Chase Field! We sat one row behind the D-backs' dugout, and though there were no foul balls and the D-backs lost the game, we enjoyed the time spent and I even got the warm-up ball from the first three innings from 1st base coach Eric Young after the top of the third! I'll post some photos from the game soon.
No word back from Iron Mountain, Inc. yet. Still job hunting.
Tonight one of my favorite authors, James Rollins, who wrote Subterranean, Deep Fathom, Map of Bones, and a whole host of other awesome suspense/action novels is coming to The Poisoned Pen bookstore in Scottsdale, AZ tonight to sign copies of his newest novel, The Devil Colony. It came out a week or so ago, and Rollins is on a book tour to promote it! I am so happy I found out about it in time to go tonight! If you're also going to be there, and want to meet me, the fabulous author of this blog, say hi! (I'm kidding... my ego's not THAT big!)
That means that I'll be getting a $2600 loan refund after the amount that I've accepted to pay for tuition, which will help pay for my 5-day course in Tucson next month for my Preservation class. I'm looking forward to that course, which will explore the history of bookmaking and some of the techniques and issues involved with trying to preserve information for future generations. I checked into the syllabus, and it looks like it'll really be a fun class, if not work-intensive.
Right now, I'm enrolled in (and about halfway through) my Ethic for Information Professionals class which is examining ethical theories and applying them to LIS (library and information science) issues, like porn in libraries, fines and fees, PATRIOT Act requirements, etc. It's all kind of stuff I have heard of before, but a more in-depth study. Not uninteresting, but so far I'm not seeing how the class is beneficial to my studies. At least the professor is much more organized than my last one, which is very nice.
Also, aside from school, I have a couple fun updates: Dad, Scott, Scott's dad, and I all had a great time at the Father's Day game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox at Chase Field! We sat one row behind the D-backs' dugout, and though there were no foul balls and the D-backs lost the game, we enjoyed the time spent and I even got the warm-up ball from the first three innings from 1st base coach Eric Young after the top of the third! I'll post some photos from the game soon.
No word back from Iron Mountain, Inc. yet. Still job hunting.
Tonight one of my favorite authors, James Rollins, who wrote Subterranean, Deep Fathom, Map of Bones, and a whole host of other awesome suspense/action novels is coming to The Poisoned Pen bookstore in Scottsdale, AZ tonight to sign copies of his newest novel, The Devil Colony. It came out a week or so ago, and Rollins is on a book tour to promote it! I am so happy I found out about it in time to go tonight! If you're also going to be there, and want to meet me, the fabulous author of this blog, say hi! (I'm kidding... my ego's not THAT big!)
26 June 2011
Anonymous Help
Hey out there in Bloggerland... Been a while since my last post, and I have NEWS! Earlier today, some anonymous baseball fan posted a comment on my post from February 16, 2010 about the four autographs I could not figure out on this Team USA-signed baseball from the 1998 Japan All-Star Series:
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Remember? I had four signatures on that ball I simply could not figure out, and my not-too-awful research skills were fruitless in providing me with any help. I wrote to Major League Baseball, Japan professional baseball, baseball research groups, and got no help with that year's team rosters or information on that series of games AT ALL. But now, thanks to my anonymous friend, I can announce that I know who three of those four signatures are from!
Cookie Rojas:
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Leo Mazzone:
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Rich Dauer:
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Cookie Rojas:
This signature still eludes me... there is speculation it's from Manny Ramirez or Chan Ho Park, but after I compared it with online exemplars from those two players, I seriously doubt either one of them signed this:
UPDATE: Speculation abounds that this may be Mike Jackson's (Michael Ray "Mike" Jackson) autograph. I have evidence that he did pitch in relief for Team USA in 1998 as the set-up man for Trevor Hoffman, but I cannot find a decent exemplar auto of Jackson to compare this one to. Anyone have a good photo out there?
DOUBLE UPDATE: I have received definitive proof that this autograph is indeed Mike Jackson's:
If you know whose signature this is and can provide proof, I will be greatly in your debt!
All told, this means that the signatures on this baseball are of the following players:
Manager Mike "The Human Rain Delay" Hargrove
Pitching Coach Leo Mazzone
Coach Cookie Rojas
Coach Rich Dauer
Sammy Sosa
Carlos Delgado
Rick Helling
Trevor Hoffman*
Greg Vaughn
Dan Plesac
Javy Lopez
Tom "Flash" Gordon
Kevin Millwood
BJ Surhoff
Billy Wagner
Jason Kendall
Garret Anderson
Nomar Garciaparra*
Jason Giambi
Devon White
Curt Schilling*
Brett Tomko
Damion Easley
Al Leiter
Jamie Moyer
Andruw Jones
UPDATED: and Mike Jackson
Thanks to all who helped me figure this one out! It took 18 months, and it's very satisfying to have a definitive resolution!
09 June 2011
Iron Mountain
There are so many things I could be blogging about today, but that I am not going to. Anthony Weiner's Twitter "scandal," the wildfires burning in my home state of Arizona and devastating the wilderness between Hannigan Meadow and Greer, the recent incredibleness of the Diamondbacks (and their current 3-game losing streak), or my school summer financial aid runaround stupidity would all be poignant topics for this blog. I shall resist those temptations today.
Instead, I want to post an update of my recent job searching experiences. The backstory: my brother's lease on his apartment at his college is up in July, so he needs to find a new place. I want to move into an apartment as his roommate so we can split rent. Win-win situation. All I need is the job so I can pay for an apartment, so on Tuesday I went out to the area around where we want to live to pound the pavement and collect applications.
However, after the first few locations I stopped at all told me that I needed to fill out applications from their websites online, I came up with a new plan. I started from the apartments we'd looked at and went up to a couple miles north, south, east, and west of there and wrote down the name of every business that I would care to work at in order to be able to come home and just fill out a plethora of applications all at once. I found that, among other things, there are six banks, five hotels, a CVS, a Walgreens, a Target, a Fry's, a Costco, a military complex, a public relations firm, a Harkins, a Wal-Mart, an IHOP, an Applebee's, at least 15 lawyer's offices, four CPAs, and a slew of other places I don't remember off the top of my head. Oh yeah, and a little place called "Iron Mountain, Inc."
If you've never heard of Iron Mountain, Inc. before, I wouldn't be surprised. My readers on this blog tend not to be the type of people who would use their services yet. From their website: "Iron Mountain is a world leader in information management services, assisting more than 140,000 organizations in 39 countries on five continents with storing, protecting and managing their information." The company is a Fortune 500 corporation traded on the New York Stock Exchange (and doing pretty well from the start of the company's shares on the NYSE). Here's a short list of services that Iron Mountain offers: document managing solutions, digital archiving, online backup, records management and storage, secure shredding, data backup and recovery, records management compliance, and film/sound archiving.
Sound familiar? My information science master's program is all about preparing us for work "concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information" (from the Wikipedia definition of Information Science). Add in the classes I plan to take in archivism (document storage, care, and preservation and digital information storage and preservation), and this company is something of a match made in Heaven! And within walking distance of these apartments!
So Tuesday night I searched their job listings, and found three positions I feel qualified for in their warehouse (two openings for "Records Center Specialists" and one for a part-time "Operations Service Specialist/Warehouse") which I promptly applied for. I wrote a tailored cover letter and everything! Suffice it to say that I would really love to get a job there... it would be ideal for my degree, for the experience I would get from it, and it would be close to "home" if we got that apartment. Now begins the waiting game while I fill out other applications. I hope they call!
Instead, I want to post an update of my recent job searching experiences. The backstory: my brother's lease on his apartment at his college is up in July, so he needs to find a new place. I want to move into an apartment as his roommate so we can split rent. Win-win situation. All I need is the job so I can pay for an apartment, so on Tuesday I went out to the area around where we want to live to pound the pavement and collect applications.
However, after the first few locations I stopped at all told me that I needed to fill out applications from their websites online, I came up with a new plan. I started from the apartments we'd looked at and went up to a couple miles north, south, east, and west of there and wrote down the name of every business that I would care to work at in order to be able to come home and just fill out a plethora of applications all at once. I found that, among other things, there are six banks, five hotels, a CVS, a Walgreens, a Target, a Fry's, a Costco, a military complex, a public relations firm, a Harkins, a Wal-Mart, an IHOP, an Applebee's, at least 15 lawyer's offices, four CPAs, and a slew of other places I don't remember off the top of my head. Oh yeah, and a little place called "Iron Mountain, Inc."
If you've never heard of Iron Mountain, Inc. before, I wouldn't be surprised. My readers on this blog tend not to be the type of people who would use their services yet. From their website: "Iron Mountain is a world leader in information management services, assisting more than 140,000 organizations in 39 countries on five continents with storing, protecting and managing their information." The company is a Fortune 500 corporation traded on the New York Stock Exchange (and doing pretty well from the start of the company's shares on the NYSE). Here's a short list of services that Iron Mountain offers: document managing solutions, digital archiving, online backup, records management and storage, secure shredding, data backup and recovery, records management compliance, and film/sound archiving.
Sound familiar? My information science master's program is all about preparing us for work "concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information" (from the Wikipedia definition of Information Science). Add in the classes I plan to take in archivism (document storage, care, and preservation and digital information storage and preservation), and this company is something of a match made in Heaven! And within walking distance of these apartments!
So Tuesday night I searched their job listings, and found three positions I feel qualified for in their warehouse (two openings for "Records Center Specialists" and one for a part-time "Operations Service Specialist/Warehouse") which I promptly applied for. I wrote a tailored cover letter and everything! Suffice it to say that I would really love to get a job there... it would be ideal for my degree, for the experience I would get from it, and it would be close to "home" if we got that apartment. Now begins the waiting game while I fill out other applications. I hope they call!
06 June 2011
Karma
Karma: the mystical nature of the Universe that provides cosmic balance between good and bad. I guess it's something along the lines of Yin and Yang, but either way, I seem to notice it from time to time. You see, I've always been what one might call "lucky." I tend to be that guy who enters contests and raffles and then actually wins them. But then in a show of cosmic karma, I also am that guy who's been essentially unemployed for three years.
This is how my weekend went. Friday morning I got up with every intention of going job hunting in Phoenix near a place my brother and I would like to share an apartment. I got up, showered and shaved, put on my job huntin' clothes (slacks and a nice polo shirt), and went upstairs to print out a few copies of my resume. Sadly, sometime over the course of the past 36 hours, my father's computer (the only one in the house with a printer) had utterly crashed. I'm talking total annihilation of anything on the hard drive. It was an annoyance to be sure, but I figured it was workable. After messing with the computer for about a half-hour, I gave up trying to fix it, and decided to go to the library to print my copies out. It wouldn't be nice paper, but for retail it was at least something.
So I drove to the library, went in, and I couldn't get on the computers. Apparently I had a fine from my sister borrowing my library card and then failing to return her books on time. The system locked me out until I paid the fine (and renewed the card, which they are now making people do annually). I was... how do I say this... displeased(?) at having to shell out $30 in fines and fees just to print out 10 copies, but I needed the resume, so I did it. Finally, I got on one of the computers and opened my email. I had emailed the file I needed to myself for convenience. But wouldn't you know it? The library for some reason could not download my file from my email to the computer so I could open it! At this point, I was becoming frustrated. I'm not an IT guy or a troubleshooter. I didn't know what was wrong, but I also wasn't yet willing to give up with one more option left to try. I opened the resume file in Google Docs. It came up as a picture file, and to be able to print it as a document, I first needed to enable it for editing. I clicked "Edit", and guess what? "This file cannot be opened for editing on the Library computers." AAARRRGGGHHH!!!
Now I was finally officially unhappy. My only final resort was to print the file as a photo directly from the Google Docs screen, which I did. It cost me $0.20 per page for a total of $2.00 for ten copies. I assumed there'd be a web address at the bottom of the page, but I didn't care. It was manageable. When the printouts came through, they looked AWFUL. The type was miniscule, blurry from being printed as a photo, and the margins were all screwed up. I calmly shut down my computer terminal, took my copies, and went back to my car. And I lost it. Something as simple as printing out my resume should not be that hard to do. All my financial worries and job-hunting stress came rushing out of me as I sat in the car in the library parking lot. At first I was laughing at myself almost hysterically at the absurdity of the situation, and then I was unable to hold back a few tears as my muscles tensed up.
I was done for the rest of the day. I went back home, and immediately went down to my room where I contemplated the insanity of the situation and how much I was surprised that such a small thing as not being able to make a few printouts had caused my depression. Looking back on it, it still seems absurd. To get me out of my funk, my parents suggested I tag along with my siblings, who were going to see "X-Men: First Class." I accepted, but despite losing myself in the movie for a couple hours, when I got out of the theatre, I didn't feel all that much better. (The movie was so-so, but I think if I saw it again when I was feeling better, it would be a better movie.)
Saturday, I had my tickets for the Diamondbacks game. I slept in for a while, so I missed going to my card shop like I usually do on Saturdays, but I used my time productively when I did get up, finishing a poster for the game, and getting ready. While I had invited Ryan to join me, he was unable to come (something about work being more important than hanging out with me... haha) and so I went alone to the game. I got there about 2:00pm via the light rail, and was somewhere around 30th in line as a season ticket holder. I like going there early and getting in early (and yes, I am a season ticket holder this year) so I can try to snag baseballs during batting practice.
When you first enter the stadium, the one thing every "ballhawk" does first is check the outfield seats for "Easter eggs" - balls that are just sitting there from BP before the stadium opens. If you're not first in line for this, you can kind of kiss finding an Easter egg goodbye. But even at 30th or so in line, I managed to find one that the 20 or so other people in the outfield roaming the seats had missed just sitting in the 20th row of one of the left field sections. I gave out a little "woohoo!" when I found it, and tucked it in my backpack for safekeeping. About 5 minutes later, a high fly ball came and landed on the warning track right in front of a guy in a red shirt, bounced up at him, and when he missed it, I was right there to make the catch for my second baseball of the day. Another moment later, a high home run ball came my way. I ran towards it, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get there in time. Thankfully for me, the ball clanked off another fan and bounded my way, and I was able to snag it. That was a new personal record for me: 3 baseballs at one game! Sadly though, that was all I got. I really wanted to go for five, and I had a chance on one other ball, but I ended batting practice with just the three, one of which I gave to a little kid with a glove who didn't get anything (and whose mom was very nice to me while I was running around trying not to get in her way as she was taking pictures of the kid). He seemed happy to get a ball, and the mom thanked me. (I like being nice...!)
Apparently, karma wasn't satisfied with making up for my really crappy Friday with 3 baseballs during BP though, because in the 3rd inning break of the game, I won big time! The Diamondbacks do a "Fry's VIP Rewards Giveaway" at that time during the game, and one lucky fan who holds up their Fry's rewards card gets picked by the DBacks' event staff to win a prize. Well, I grabbed my card, stood up and waved like an idiot, and immediately saw a guy with a camera streaking down into my section. A "Rally-Back" (one of the gorgeous DBacks' in-game entertainers) came and stood beside me and pointed at me as if to say "is this the guy?" At that point, I knew I was the winner! They showed me on the scoreboard, and gave me two tickets to All-Star Sunday (the XM Futures Game and Celebrity Softball Game) next month! I was so stoked I couldn't even finish scoring the game - I was texting people and updating Facebook and Twitter.... Social media user that I am.... Haha. It was awesome, and for the rest of the game, I kind of just sat there watching the action with a goofy grin on my face. Ah, karma.
Apparently, though, karma decided I was TOO happy about that, because I also got a ticket on the way home. But not for speeding (as I am sometimes wont to do), and not for aggressive driving, broken taillights, cracked windshield, or any of the other things people normally get pulled over for. No, I got a ticket for "failure to dim headlights." I was driving on a very dark road (no streetlights), and some moron blinded me with his brights. I flicked mine to get him to turn them down, but he didn't. So I flicked them again, a bit longer, and he still didn't respond. I could not see the road ahead of me, and I also could not see the Sheriff's officer behind Mr. Bright Lights who turned around and pulled me over and cited me for "getting into a headlight jousting match with oncoming traffic." I have no tickets on my driving record, nor any other infractions, but he wouldn't give me warning. I believe the ticket is kind of bogus, to be honest, and I'll go to court and explain the situation. Hopefully I can get it dismissed. If not, c'est la vie. It's karma.
This is how my weekend went. Friday morning I got up with every intention of going job hunting in Phoenix near a place my brother and I would like to share an apartment. I got up, showered and shaved, put on my job huntin' clothes (slacks and a nice polo shirt), and went upstairs to print out a few copies of my resume. Sadly, sometime over the course of the past 36 hours, my father's computer (the only one in the house with a printer) had utterly crashed. I'm talking total annihilation of anything on the hard drive. It was an annoyance to be sure, but I figured it was workable. After messing with the computer for about a half-hour, I gave up trying to fix it, and decided to go to the library to print my copies out. It wouldn't be nice paper, but for retail it was at least something.
So I drove to the library, went in, and I couldn't get on the computers. Apparently I had a fine from my sister borrowing my library card and then failing to return her books on time. The system locked me out until I paid the fine (and renewed the card, which they are now making people do annually). I was... how do I say this... displeased(?) at having to shell out $30 in fines and fees just to print out 10 copies, but I needed the resume, so I did it. Finally, I got on one of the computers and opened my email. I had emailed the file I needed to myself for convenience. But wouldn't you know it? The library for some reason could not download my file from my email to the computer so I could open it! At this point, I was becoming frustrated. I'm not an IT guy or a troubleshooter. I didn't know what was wrong, but I also wasn't yet willing to give up with one more option left to try. I opened the resume file in Google Docs. It came up as a picture file, and to be able to print it as a document, I first needed to enable it for editing. I clicked "Edit", and guess what? "This file cannot be opened for editing on the Library computers." AAARRRGGGHHH!!!
Now I was finally officially unhappy. My only final resort was to print the file as a photo directly from the Google Docs screen, which I did. It cost me $0.20 per page for a total of $2.00 for ten copies. I assumed there'd be a web address at the bottom of the page, but I didn't care. It was manageable. When the printouts came through, they looked AWFUL. The type was miniscule, blurry from being printed as a photo, and the margins were all screwed up. I calmly shut down my computer terminal, took my copies, and went back to my car. And I lost it. Something as simple as printing out my resume should not be that hard to do. All my financial worries and job-hunting stress came rushing out of me as I sat in the car in the library parking lot. At first I was laughing at myself almost hysterically at the absurdity of the situation, and then I was unable to hold back a few tears as my muscles tensed up.
I was done for the rest of the day. I went back home, and immediately went down to my room where I contemplated the insanity of the situation and how much I was surprised that such a small thing as not being able to make a few printouts had caused my depression. Looking back on it, it still seems absurd. To get me out of my funk, my parents suggested I tag along with my siblings, who were going to see "X-Men: First Class." I accepted, but despite losing myself in the movie for a couple hours, when I got out of the theatre, I didn't feel all that much better. (The movie was so-so, but I think if I saw it again when I was feeling better, it would be a better movie.)
Saturday, I had my tickets for the Diamondbacks game. I slept in for a while, so I missed going to my card shop like I usually do on Saturdays, but I used my time productively when I did get up, finishing a poster for the game, and getting ready. While I had invited Ryan to join me, he was unable to come (something about work being more important than hanging out with me... haha) and so I went alone to the game. I got there about 2:00pm via the light rail, and was somewhere around 30th in line as a season ticket holder. I like going there early and getting in early (and yes, I am a season ticket holder this year) so I can try to snag baseballs during batting practice.
When you first enter the stadium, the one thing every "ballhawk" does first is check the outfield seats for "Easter eggs" - balls that are just sitting there from BP before the stadium opens. If you're not first in line for this, you can kind of kiss finding an Easter egg goodbye. But even at 30th or so in line, I managed to find one that the 20 or so other people in the outfield roaming the seats had missed just sitting in the 20th row of one of the left field sections. I gave out a little "woohoo!" when I found it, and tucked it in my backpack for safekeeping. About 5 minutes later, a high fly ball came and landed on the warning track right in front of a guy in a red shirt, bounced up at him, and when he missed it, I was right there to make the catch for my second baseball of the day. Another moment later, a high home run ball came my way. I ran towards it, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get there in time. Thankfully for me, the ball clanked off another fan and bounded my way, and I was able to snag it. That was a new personal record for me: 3 baseballs at one game! Sadly though, that was all I got. I really wanted to go for five, and I had a chance on one other ball, but I ended batting practice with just the three, one of which I gave to a little kid with a glove who didn't get anything (and whose mom was very nice to me while I was running around trying not to get in her way as she was taking pictures of the kid). He seemed happy to get a ball, and the mom thanked me. (I like being nice...!)
Apparently, karma wasn't satisfied with making up for my really crappy Friday with 3 baseballs during BP though, because in the 3rd inning break of the game, I won big time! The Diamondbacks do a "Fry's VIP Rewards Giveaway" at that time during the game, and one lucky fan who holds up their Fry's rewards card gets picked by the DBacks' event staff to win a prize. Well, I grabbed my card, stood up and waved like an idiot, and immediately saw a guy with a camera streaking down into my section. A "Rally-Back" (one of the gorgeous DBacks' in-game entertainers) came and stood beside me and pointed at me as if to say "is this the guy?" At that point, I knew I was the winner! They showed me on the scoreboard, and gave me two tickets to All-Star Sunday (the XM Futures Game and Celebrity Softball Game) next month! I was so stoked I couldn't even finish scoring the game - I was texting people and updating Facebook and Twitter.... Social media user that I am.... Haha. It was awesome, and for the rest of the game, I kind of just sat there watching the action with a goofy grin on my face. Ah, karma.
Apparently, though, karma decided I was TOO happy about that, because I also got a ticket on the way home. But not for speeding (as I am sometimes wont to do), and not for aggressive driving, broken taillights, cracked windshield, or any of the other things people normally get pulled over for. No, I got a ticket for "failure to dim headlights." I was driving on a very dark road (no streetlights), and some moron blinded me with his brights. I flicked mine to get him to turn them down, but he didn't. So I flicked them again, a bit longer, and he still didn't respond. I could not see the road ahead of me, and I also could not see the Sheriff's officer behind Mr. Bright Lights who turned around and pulled me over and cited me for "getting into a headlight jousting match with oncoming traffic." I have no tickets on my driving record, nor any other infractions, but he wouldn't give me warning. I believe the ticket is kind of bogus, to be honest, and I'll go to court and explain the situation. Hopefully I can get it dismissed. If not, c'est la vie. It's karma.
22 May 2011
Catching Up
For those of you who have missed my blog posts, I apologize for the long break. Since my last post on April 6th, I've been exceptionally busy. This post serves to catch up some of the things I've been doing over the past nearly-two months.
First, I've been attending a lot of baseball games. As I may have previously mentioned, I was awarded the weekend 28-game Season Ticket Scholarship package from the Arizona Diamondbacks this season, and so every home weekend, I've been out at Chase Field with various friends and family watching the games. I've even caught a grand total of three BP baseballs (on the fly!), and have been having a marvelous time. It's kind of fun how some of the players and ushers recognize me now when I walk by... Barry Enright, the starting pitcher who was recently sent back into the minor leagues, used to give me a nod and a greeting when I'd see him during batting practice, and he hooked me up with a baseball or two. Cool stuff.
On the job front, school is coming to a close now, so my substitute teaching gig is on hold for another three months, which means I need summer employment (I'd love full-time employment, but I need a summer job at the very least). Sadly, I've become one of those unemployed thousands who basically completely stopped looking for work. I tend to get really bad anxiety from job searching these days, which I'm not trying to use as an excuse. It's just the reaction I'm having from the many resumes I've had disappear into black holes in peoples' offices and inboxes. So I'm working hard to get over that so I can start trying to find a decent job soon. It's not very easy. (I seriously don't recommend having panic/anxiety attacks. They're not really very fun.)
But speaking of school, I've now finished my first semester as a distance learning student for my Master's degree at UA. This is the biggest reason I've been so busy (and so unwilling to do much writing). I completed one class with a twenty page research paper which took me about 20 hours of writing and research to complete over a total of four days. That one was a killer. The other final project I did was a comprehensive annotated bibliography of digital government resources for middle school science teachers. I had to find resources which corresponded to the Arizona Science Standards and which were affiliated with federal or state government agencies, and then write a couple short paragraphs analyzing them. Plus discussion board postings, other papers, and the like, and I hope you'll all understand why I needed a break from writing.
First, I've been attending a lot of baseball games. As I may have previously mentioned, I was awarded the weekend 28-game Season Ticket Scholarship package from the Arizona Diamondbacks this season, and so every home weekend, I've been out at Chase Field with various friends and family watching the games. I've even caught a grand total of three BP baseballs (on the fly!), and have been having a marvelous time. It's kind of fun how some of the players and ushers recognize me now when I walk by... Barry Enright, the starting pitcher who was recently sent back into the minor leagues, used to give me a nod and a greeting when I'd see him during batting practice, and he hooked me up with a baseball or two. Cool stuff.
On the job front, school is coming to a close now, so my substitute teaching gig is on hold for another three months, which means I need summer employment (I'd love full-time employment, but I need a summer job at the very least). Sadly, I've become one of those unemployed thousands who basically completely stopped looking for work. I tend to get really bad anxiety from job searching these days, which I'm not trying to use as an excuse. It's just the reaction I'm having from the many resumes I've had disappear into black holes in peoples' offices and inboxes. So I'm working hard to get over that so I can start trying to find a decent job soon. It's not very easy. (I seriously don't recommend having panic/anxiety attacks. They're not really very fun.)
But speaking of school, I've now finished my first semester as a distance learning student for my Master's degree at UA. This is the biggest reason I've been so busy (and so unwilling to do much writing). I completed one class with a twenty page research paper which took me about 20 hours of writing and research to complete over a total of four days. That one was a killer. The other final project I did was a comprehensive annotated bibliography of digital government resources for middle school science teachers. I had to find resources which corresponded to the Arizona Science Standards and which were affiliated with federal or state government agencies, and then write a couple short paragraphs analyzing them. Plus discussion board postings, other papers, and the like, and I hope you'll all understand why I needed a break from writing.
In mid-April, my little sister was the runner up in the Arizona CD-6 Congressional Art Competition. She received a certificate from our congressman, Jeff Flake, and her art will be displayed in the congressman's Washington, DC office for one year. In the following photo, the congressman is presenting my sister with her certificate, and her art, a drawing resembling a stained glass window entitled "Kaleidoscope" is on the left. It was a nice little ceremony, and one of my sister's friends won the first prize in the competition (her artwork will be displayed in the tunnels underneath the DC Capitol Building complex for one year, and she and her parents get free plane tickets to go there for the unveiling).
Other than all that, I've been taking advantage of the nice weather the last eight weeks, though it's now getting to be actually hot, so I won't get to do any more hiking for a few months. And I've been trying to relax and de-stress. Hopefully I'll be able to find some kind of job soon, which would be a huge load off my chest.
I leave you all with an interesting video sent to me by CD-6 Member At-Large Paul Brierley. I wrote about talking to him after an LD-19 meeting in January during which we discussed youth involvement in Arizona Republican politics. He recently attended the inaugural class for the Arizona Civic Leadership Academy put on by the Flinn Foundation. It's a nonpartisan training class for up-and-coming leaders in Arizona politics focusing on helping shape leaders who will put Arizona, rather than partisan ideologies, first when analyzing and making policy decisions for the state. I'm going to try to learn more about this academy class, but in theory it sounds like a great idea. If you are also interested, this link goes to the Arizona Public Media video interview featuring the directors of the program, Paul Brierley, and several guest analysts from local media (Arizona Week Episode 19): http://originals.azpm.org/azweek/
06 April 2011
Opening Week of Baseball
Welcome back to baseball season, fans! Week one of the 2011 season has been a topsy-turvy, eventful, oddity-filled slugfest.
I've been watching a lot of games thus far, and plenty of out-of-market games thanks to the MLB Network Extra Innings package preview that goes on until this Sunday. A little Yankees-Tigers-Orioles-Twins-Giants-Dodgers-Cardinals-Mets kind of action. It's been awesome!
Of course, I've been watching the Diamondbacks the most. We have played five games, and had one "snow-out" of the DBacks-Rockies game earlier this week. And after one time through the Diamondbacks rotation, we stand at 2 wins, 3 losses. Opening Day in Colorado, the Diamondbacks fielded Ian Kennedy on the mound against Ubaldo Jimenez in a wild extra-inning affair. Gerardo Parra ended up scoring the winning run on a wild pitch in the 11th inning after the Rockies had tied it on a wild throw on a dropped third strike from Miguel Montero and a couple odd plays. I saw something I have never before seen during a Diamondbacks game (though I'm sure it's happened before): a fan interference call on a pop foul down the third base line which was (purportedly) touched by a fan before Gerardo Parra could make a play on it. I say purported because I think we caught a bit of a break there, but I'll take it.
In the second game versus the Rockies, Daniel Hudson allowed three runs over 6 innings and took a loss as the team couldn't put together any offense for him against Jorge de la Rosa. Same deal with game four (game three having been snowed out) as a Willie Bloomquist leadoff home run made everyone think we would have a great offensive game, but sadly Joe Saunders had to take a tough loss as he allowed two runs over 6 innings including a solo homer to Alfonso Soriano, and the Diamondbacks went into a hitting drought the rest of the night.
Game five showcased my guy Barry Enright (@BarryEnright54 on Twitter) taking on Andrew Cashner of the Cubbies. After a really strong Spring, Enright showed a mortal side allowing four of the Cubs' six runs over 6 innings on just 7 hits. He got off the hook for the loss, though, as the Diamondbacks tied the game up in the top of the seventh on a monster 2-out, 2-RBI single by Bloomquist (having a stupendous year thus far). Sam Demel, unfortunately, allowed two runs in the bottom of the frame, and despite a ninth-inning rally, the Snakes lost 5-6.
Today's game was the best of the season to this point by far. The Diamondbacks started out slow defensively... with two incredible diving catches to open the bottom of the first by 2011 All-Star Chris Young (too soon, Arizona?). The first, a full-out snowcone catch to his left was just snared out of midair and looked awesome. The second, all of one pitch later, tailed and dove down and away from Young as he ranged again to his left and scooped the ball inches off the grass. We might just want to call this the Chris Young Game of the Year right here. In the third inning, Young, again, with the bat this time, his a bloop single out to centerfielder Marlon Byrd of the Cubs, who tried to pull a C.Y. and dive for the ball, but it scooted an inch out of reach and wound up rolling into center. Young had a stand-up triple, but Alfonso Soriano booted the ball and allowed Chris Young to score what was termed a "Little League home run." If I were the Official Scorer, I'd have given Chris the Inside the Park Homer, but alas, a triple and error will have to suffice.
Fast forward to the bottom of the 4th inning: Tyler Colvin hits a BOMB out to deep left-center field which the wind blowing in helps to just barely keep in the park. Chris Young, again, ran out and jumped into the bricks of the wall making a third incredible catch to rob a double. In the top of the fifth, Young at bat again also hit a long, tailing fly ball to deep left field which the wind, like Colvin's, helped to just barely keep in the park. Unlike Colvin's, however, Soriano booted Young's fly ball and allowed Chris to reach third base with a double and an error. Armando Galarraga got his first win as a Diamonback, allowing four runs over 7 innings and doing just better than Ryan Dempster, who surrendered five runs over the same amount of time. JJ Putz, the new Diamondbacks closer, also picked up his second save, but the true hero of the night pitching-wise might just be Juan Gutierrez, who, despite loading the bases in the 8th inning on a fielder's choice, a single, and a walk, got Tyler Colvin to ground out, scoring one run, and then got a HUGE strikeout of Alfonso Soriano with runners at second and third (the tying runs).
Overall, yes, the DBacks are 2-3 with a losing record going into their first homestand. But there are glimmers of rebuilding success. The bullpen is looking much improved. You expect that over the course of 162 games the bullpen is inevitably going to blow a few saves, but you also expect the big strikeouts and double plays from time to time too. JJ Putz looks great as the closer thus far, and reliever Kam Mickolio (Mick-OH-lie-OH) has been tremendous so far. Willie Bloomquist, the replacement for the injured Stephen Drew, has hit in all five games so far, and of course, Young's defense today was a huge enjoyment for me. Some things you won't see in a box score: the Diamondbacks are playing much more aggressively than last year, something certainly attributable to Manager Kirk Gibson's new attitude for the team. Justin Upton has been fired up (even having a few words at one point with the equally fiery Miguel Montero), Bloomquist has stolen five bases to open the season (contributing to a total of eight by the team), and the competition for playing time by players like Miranda, Branyan, Nady, Roberts, and Bloomquist has been exciting to watch. Stephen Drew may not get hs job back if Willie keeps on hitting and stealing bases like he has been!
We also have a few areas where we need to work on some things movng forward. A big part of the Spring was spent on executing better pickoff plays - and the club has put on quite a few attempts in these first five games. Snap throws to first or second have been particularly poorly executed, at one point leading to a winning run against the Cubs in game one of that series. The "daylight play" whereby the shortstop sneaks in behind a runner at second seems to be a particular favorite of Bloomquist, but doing so causes him to vacate his position and opens a big hole through the left side of the infield. It should be used sparingly. Also, the Diamondbacks are a notoriously streaky club when it comes to both hitting and pitching. Once through the rotation, energy levels have been high, and pitchers have been executing pitches, but that needs to continue. Armando Galarraga, while he pitched well enough today, also was pretty wild at times. His strikes were exceptional, but his balls were seemingly in random spots. Need to watch that. Barry Enright, too, had a tough first outing, but that might just be first-start jitters. I expect good stuff from him this year if he can keep the ball down.
Overall, I give this first road trip a C+ grade. We played well enough to essentially split the trip, but we also made a few sloppy errors. Our saving grace was a few (possibly blown) calls that went our way, but we cannot and should not count on those the remainder of the season. The hitting is above average right now, and if we can get the right timely hits with runners in scoring position like in today's game, we'll be a force. Likewise with pitching: the right combination of control and proper fundamental defense behind us, and we'll be back to winning in no time.
I've been watching a lot of games thus far, and plenty of out-of-market games thanks to the MLB Network Extra Innings package preview that goes on until this Sunday. A little Yankees-Tigers-Orioles-Twins-Giants-Dodgers-Cardinals-Mets kind of action. It's been awesome!
Of course, I've been watching the Diamondbacks the most. We have played five games, and had one "snow-out" of the DBacks-Rockies game earlier this week. And after one time through the Diamondbacks rotation, we stand at 2 wins, 3 losses. Opening Day in Colorado, the Diamondbacks fielded Ian Kennedy on the mound against Ubaldo Jimenez in a wild extra-inning affair. Gerardo Parra ended up scoring the winning run on a wild pitch in the 11th inning after the Rockies had tied it on a wild throw on a dropped third strike from Miguel Montero and a couple odd plays. I saw something I have never before seen during a Diamondbacks game (though I'm sure it's happened before): a fan interference call on a pop foul down the third base line which was (purportedly) touched by a fan before Gerardo Parra could make a play on it. I say purported because I think we caught a bit of a break there, but I'll take it.
In the second game versus the Rockies, Daniel Hudson allowed three runs over 6 innings and took a loss as the team couldn't put together any offense for him against Jorge de la Rosa. Same deal with game four (game three having been snowed out) as a Willie Bloomquist leadoff home run made everyone think we would have a great offensive game, but sadly Joe Saunders had to take a tough loss as he allowed two runs over 6 innings including a solo homer to Alfonso Soriano, and the Diamondbacks went into a hitting drought the rest of the night.
Game five showcased my guy Barry Enright (@BarryEnright54 on Twitter) taking on Andrew Cashner of the Cubbies. After a really strong Spring, Enright showed a mortal side allowing four of the Cubs' six runs over 6 innings on just 7 hits. He got off the hook for the loss, though, as the Diamondbacks tied the game up in the top of the seventh on a monster 2-out, 2-RBI single by Bloomquist (having a stupendous year thus far). Sam Demel, unfortunately, allowed two runs in the bottom of the frame, and despite a ninth-inning rally, the Snakes lost 5-6.
Today's game was the best of the season to this point by far. The Diamondbacks started out slow defensively... with two incredible diving catches to open the bottom of the first by 2011 All-Star Chris Young (too soon, Arizona?). The first, a full-out snowcone catch to his left was just snared out of midair and looked awesome. The second, all of one pitch later, tailed and dove down and away from Young as he ranged again to his left and scooped the ball inches off the grass. We might just want to call this the Chris Young Game of the Year right here. In the third inning, Young, again, with the bat this time, his a bloop single out to centerfielder Marlon Byrd of the Cubs, who tried to pull a C.Y. and dive for the ball, but it scooted an inch out of reach and wound up rolling into center. Young had a stand-up triple, but Alfonso Soriano booted the ball and allowed Chris Young to score what was termed a "Little League home run." If I were the Official Scorer, I'd have given Chris the Inside the Park Homer, but alas, a triple and error will have to suffice.
Fast forward to the bottom of the 4th inning: Tyler Colvin hits a BOMB out to deep left-center field which the wind blowing in helps to just barely keep in the park. Chris Young, again, ran out and jumped into the bricks of the wall making a third incredible catch to rob a double. In the top of the fifth, Young at bat again also hit a long, tailing fly ball to deep left field which the wind, like Colvin's, helped to just barely keep in the park. Unlike Colvin's, however, Soriano booted Young's fly ball and allowed Chris to reach third base with a double and an error. Armando Galarraga got his first win as a Diamonback, allowing four runs over 7 innings and doing just better than Ryan Dempster, who surrendered five runs over the same amount of time. JJ Putz, the new Diamondbacks closer, also picked up his second save, but the true hero of the night pitching-wise might just be Juan Gutierrez, who, despite loading the bases in the 8th inning on a fielder's choice, a single, and a walk, got Tyler Colvin to ground out, scoring one run, and then got a HUGE strikeout of Alfonso Soriano with runners at second and third (the tying runs).
Overall, yes, the DBacks are 2-3 with a losing record going into their first homestand. But there are glimmers of rebuilding success. The bullpen is looking much improved. You expect that over the course of 162 games the bullpen is inevitably going to blow a few saves, but you also expect the big strikeouts and double plays from time to time too. JJ Putz looks great as the closer thus far, and reliever Kam Mickolio (Mick-OH-lie-OH) has been tremendous so far. Willie Bloomquist, the replacement for the injured Stephen Drew, has hit in all five games so far, and of course, Young's defense today was a huge enjoyment for me. Some things you won't see in a box score: the Diamondbacks are playing much more aggressively than last year, something certainly attributable to Manager Kirk Gibson's new attitude for the team. Justin Upton has been fired up (even having a few words at one point with the equally fiery Miguel Montero), Bloomquist has stolen five bases to open the season (contributing to a total of eight by the team), and the competition for playing time by players like Miranda, Branyan, Nady, Roberts, and Bloomquist has been exciting to watch. Stephen Drew may not get hs job back if Willie keeps on hitting and stealing bases like he has been!
We also have a few areas where we need to work on some things movng forward. A big part of the Spring was spent on executing better pickoff plays - and the club has put on quite a few attempts in these first five games. Snap throws to first or second have been particularly poorly executed, at one point leading to a winning run against the Cubs in game one of that series. The "daylight play" whereby the shortstop sneaks in behind a runner at second seems to be a particular favorite of Bloomquist, but doing so causes him to vacate his position and opens a big hole through the left side of the infield. It should be used sparingly. Also, the Diamondbacks are a notoriously streaky club when it comes to both hitting and pitching. Once through the rotation, energy levels have been high, and pitchers have been executing pitches, but that needs to continue. Armando Galarraga, while he pitched well enough today, also was pretty wild at times. His strikes were exceptional, but his balls were seemingly in random spots. Need to watch that. Barry Enright, too, had a tough first outing, but that might just be first-start jitters. I expect good stuff from him this year if he can keep the ball down.
Overall, I give this first road trip a C+ grade. We played well enough to essentially split the trip, but we also made a few sloppy errors. Our saving grace was a few (possibly blown) calls that went our way, but we cannot and should not count on those the remainder of the season. The hitting is above average right now, and if we can get the right timely hits with runners in scoring position like in today's game, we'll be a force. Likewise with pitching: the right combination of control and proper fundamental defense behind us, and we'll be back to winning in no time.
23 March 2011
2011 Diamondbacks Roster
As Spring Training finally winds to a close with the first games of the 2011 regular season coming on March 31st, here's a look at the 2011 Arizona Diamondbacks roster. There are few spots remaining that have remained unfilled until now.
Pitcher:
Ian Kennedy was announced as the 2011 Opening Day starter on April 1st against the Rockies in Denver, to be followed by Daniel Hudson, Joe Saunders, and Barry Enright, who was just told he'd be in the rotation a couple days ago. I personally am happy to see that. Barry had a great spring and deserved the #4 spot. The number 5 spot in the rotation is still up for grabs between Aaron Heilman and Armando Galarraga. It would have also included Zach Duke, but since he broke a couple bones in his hand last week, he's going to be out for at least 8 weeks. I assume the final rotation spot will go to Armando.
Relief Pitchers:
Led by JJ Putz as our closer, we'll have a mildly different bullpen than last year. Juan Gutierrez is likely to be the 8th inning setup guy, and Esmerling Vazquez is back for another season, as is Jordan Norberto. Some of the new names in reliever spots are Kam Mickolio (mick-oh-lie-oh), David Hernandez, Sam Demel, Joe Paterson, and Brian Sweeney. Okay, yes, some of them pitched a little last year, but for all intents and purposes, these are "new" guys.
Catcher:
The ever-popular Diamondback Miguel Montero will be the everyday catcher for the club, but this year he is supplemented by the veteran Henry Blanco, who I can see being one of the clubhouse leaders. John Hester is the 3rd stringer again this year.
1st Base:
This is the up-for-grabs position to end all up-for-grabs positions. Juan Miranda is making quite a case for himself to start at first this year with flashy defense backed up by solid offense. He's no Mark Grace, perhaps, but he's still young. If the Diamondbacks decide to go with a power bat, they might choose Russell "The Muscle" Branyan, whom they acquired in the offseason. His defense is sloppier than Miranda's, though it seems to be improving as Spring goes on, but boy can he hit. Think Mark Reynolds-style long balls. Unfortunately, that also kind of comes with high strikeout totals. The third option, which I don't expect the club to choose, is to start Brandon Allen at first. To me, Allen is more of a utility guy who will get shifted around to various positions this year when guys need a rest day.
2nd Base:
This position belongs to Kelly Johnson, who will look to build upon a decent 2010 season and maybe hit a few more long balls.
3rd Base:
With Mark Reynolds gone to the Orioles, this position is kind of open, too. Melvin Mora and Geoff Blum are likely to be the number one and two choices for the hot corner. If it's me, I go with the better defense of Mora, backed up by Blum on the bench to pinch hit.
Shortstop:
Stephen Drew. Nothing more to say.
Outfield:
The X-Man, Xavier Nady, is likely to start in left field, backed up by perpetual fan favorite Gerardo Parra, who made some great plays out there last year and will probably be the roving outfielder for the Diamondbacks, moving around to cover if anyone gets injured or needs a day off. Center belongs, once again, to All-Star Chris Young, and right goes once again to All-Star Justin Upton. (Is it too early for me to call All-Stars for 2011?)
Bench:
Of those I haven't mentioned, Willie Bloomquist (outfield), Ryan Roberts (2nd Base), and Tony Abreu (Ultility) are likely to be on the bench this year as depth for the Diamondbacks' infield and outfield.
This is, of course, a major rebuilding year for the Diamondbacks. I'd love to honestly say that they'll win the World Series this year, and while any team can come together at any time and click, I'll be very happy with a third place (or higher) finish in the NL West - above the Dodgers and Padres, below the Giants and Rockies.
Pitcher:
Ian Kennedy was announced as the 2011 Opening Day starter on April 1st against the Rockies in Denver, to be followed by Daniel Hudson, Joe Saunders, and Barry Enright, who was just told he'd be in the rotation a couple days ago. I personally am happy to see that. Barry had a great spring and deserved the #4 spot. The number 5 spot in the rotation is still up for grabs between Aaron Heilman and Armando Galarraga. It would have also included Zach Duke, but since he broke a couple bones in his hand last week, he's going to be out for at least 8 weeks. I assume the final rotation spot will go to Armando.
Relief Pitchers:
Led by JJ Putz as our closer, we'll have a mildly different bullpen than last year. Juan Gutierrez is likely to be the 8th inning setup guy, and Esmerling Vazquez is back for another season, as is Jordan Norberto. Some of the new names in reliever spots are Kam Mickolio (mick-oh-lie-oh), David Hernandez, Sam Demel, Joe Paterson, and Brian Sweeney. Okay, yes, some of them pitched a little last year, but for all intents and purposes, these are "new" guys.
Catcher:
The ever-popular Diamondback Miguel Montero will be the everyday catcher for the club, but this year he is supplemented by the veteran Henry Blanco, who I can see being one of the clubhouse leaders. John Hester is the 3rd stringer again this year.
1st Base:
This is the up-for-grabs position to end all up-for-grabs positions. Juan Miranda is making quite a case for himself to start at first this year with flashy defense backed up by solid offense. He's no Mark Grace, perhaps, but he's still young. If the Diamondbacks decide to go with a power bat, they might choose Russell "The Muscle" Branyan, whom they acquired in the offseason. His defense is sloppier than Miranda's, though it seems to be improving as Spring goes on, but boy can he hit. Think Mark Reynolds-style long balls. Unfortunately, that also kind of comes with high strikeout totals. The third option, which I don't expect the club to choose, is to start Brandon Allen at first. To me, Allen is more of a utility guy who will get shifted around to various positions this year when guys need a rest day.
2nd Base:
This position belongs to Kelly Johnson, who will look to build upon a decent 2010 season and maybe hit a few more long balls.
3rd Base:
With Mark Reynolds gone to the Orioles, this position is kind of open, too. Melvin Mora and Geoff Blum are likely to be the number one and two choices for the hot corner. If it's me, I go with the better defense of Mora, backed up by Blum on the bench to pinch hit.
Shortstop:
Stephen Drew. Nothing more to say.
Outfield:
The X-Man, Xavier Nady, is likely to start in left field, backed up by perpetual fan favorite Gerardo Parra, who made some great plays out there last year and will probably be the roving outfielder for the Diamondbacks, moving around to cover if anyone gets injured or needs a day off. Center belongs, once again, to All-Star Chris Young, and right goes once again to All-Star Justin Upton. (Is it too early for me to call All-Stars for 2011?)
Bench:
Of those I haven't mentioned, Willie Bloomquist (outfield), Ryan Roberts (2nd Base), and Tony Abreu (Ultility) are likely to be on the bench this year as depth for the Diamondbacks' infield and outfield.
This is, of course, a major rebuilding year for the Diamondbacks. I'd love to honestly say that they'll win the World Series this year, and while any team can come together at any time and click, I'll be very happy with a third place (or higher) finish in the NL West - above the Dodgers and Padres, below the Giants and Rockies.
16 March 2011
Arizona Diamondbacks Spring Training 2011
Every once in a while, I like to do one of those "by the numbers" types of posts where I showcase how the Diamondbacks are doing numbers-wise. With Spring Training about half over, my team has a 5-16 win-loss record, the worst in all of baseball right now (and as I write this, we're losing to the Angels 9-7 at Salt River Fields today). Even with our .238 win percentage, just below the Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees, I believe there is cause for some optimism. First, no team ever plays in the regular season the way they do in Spring Training (except perhaps the Pirates). Historically, while the worst teams in the spring don't really end up making the playoffs, they also do better than anticipated, so there's that to look forward to.
But by the numbers, Arizona shouldn't really necessarily have such a poor record. We have the 5th best batting average at .290 in the majors with 213 hits (4th), 43 doubles, a triple, and 28 home runs (#1 in the majors) in 814 plate appearances. We've also taken 59 walks and stolen 13 bases. Granted, we've also been caught stealing 11 times, but it's better to be aggressive and get thrown out than to sit back and not be aggressive and roll into a bunch of double plays. (Here's looking at you, Tigers, Braves, Rangers, Marlins, and Cubs, who have combined to ground into 95 double plays and stolen a combined 35 bases.)
Now, while our hitting is there (thanks in part to some big hits from the prospects in our organization like Colin Cowgill and Paul Goldschmidt), our pitching is shaky at best. Our club's team ERA is a rather dismal 5.67, second only to the Cubs' 5.73 as the worst. Breaking that number down, Our starting pitching is kind of shaky, with Barry Enright (2.25 ERA) and Daniel Hudson (3.48 ERA) leading the way. Our other potential starters are perhaps not quite ready for Opening Day yet as Ian Kennedy and Zach Duke each have 7.88 ERAs (and Duke took a liner off his pitching hand the other night, breaking two bones, so he'll be sidelined for a few weeks), Armando Galarraga and Aaron Heilman - each vying for the #5 spot on the team - have 8.18 and 5.15 ERAs respectively, and our workhorse Joe Saunders from last year's Dan Haren deal is sporting a 15.88 ERA. Ouch. That's 10 runs on 13 hits in 5.2 innings over 3 starts.
And again, we have problems with the bullpen guys. Gutierrez is getting hit very hard, and Micah Owings and Mike Hampton both have high ERAs. However, I am encouraged by the numbers from Sam Demel (a 1.50 ERA with 7 K's in 6.0 innings, Leyson Septimo (a 2.25 ERA in 4 innings), and the 1.93 ERA of lefty Jordan Norberto. Some other numbers: we're 3rd in earned runs allowed as a team with 115, above average in walks issued (67), and have a team 1.55 WHIP - tied for the second highest in baseball. Showcasing our pitchers' wildness, we are also #1 in wild pitches with 19 and balks with 4, and are tied for 2nd with 26 stolen bases against. Finally, some of the more exotic pitching numbers: pitches per inning pitched (P/IP) is 8.36, and hits against per 9 innings (H/9) is 10.64. Not great.
But to speak ill of only the pitching staff would be irresponsible. Our fielding leaves something to be desired as well. In today's game against the Angels, Chris Young booted a ball out in center field for a single and a 3-base error, allowing a runner and the batter to score. Overall, in 182.2 innings and 805 total chances, we've made 26 errors (3rd most behind the Cubs and Padres), and our fielding percentage is .969, tied for 23rd in the majors. On the plus side, we've turned 20 successful double plays (15th) and achieved 575 putouts (2nd). However, our DER (a statistical rating called the Defensive Efficiency Rating, measuring the rate at which balls put into play by the offense are converted into outs by the defense) is a very low .6722, the lowest in all of baseball.
I love my Diamondbacks, but I am again concerned that poor pitching from our relievers combined with high strikeout totals (we've whiffed 145 times so far, second in baseball) combined with sloppy play on defense could again spell C-E-L-L-A-R for the team come September. This is the third "rebuilding" year in a row now for the Diamondbacks, and I think fans of the club deserve to see results. Fortunately, with a real manager at the helm in Kirk Gibson, a plethora of solid big league managers surrounding our players, and plenty of young, raw talent, something is eventually going to click that will catapult the team back into greatness.
But by the numbers, Arizona shouldn't really necessarily have such a poor record. We have the 5th best batting average at .290 in the majors with 213 hits (4th), 43 doubles, a triple, and 28 home runs (#1 in the majors) in 814 plate appearances. We've also taken 59 walks and stolen 13 bases. Granted, we've also been caught stealing 11 times, but it's better to be aggressive and get thrown out than to sit back and not be aggressive and roll into a bunch of double plays. (Here's looking at you, Tigers, Braves, Rangers, Marlins, and Cubs, who have combined to ground into 95 double plays and stolen a combined 35 bases.)
Now, while our hitting is there (thanks in part to some big hits from the prospects in our organization like Colin Cowgill and Paul Goldschmidt), our pitching is shaky at best. Our club's team ERA is a rather dismal 5.67, second only to the Cubs' 5.73 as the worst. Breaking that number down, Our starting pitching is kind of shaky, with Barry Enright (2.25 ERA) and Daniel Hudson (3.48 ERA) leading the way. Our other potential starters are perhaps not quite ready for Opening Day yet as Ian Kennedy and Zach Duke each have 7.88 ERAs (and Duke took a liner off his pitching hand the other night, breaking two bones, so he'll be sidelined for a few weeks), Armando Galarraga and Aaron Heilman - each vying for the #5 spot on the team - have 8.18 and 5.15 ERAs respectively, and our workhorse Joe Saunders from last year's Dan Haren deal is sporting a 15.88 ERA. Ouch. That's 10 runs on 13 hits in 5.2 innings over 3 starts.
And again, we have problems with the bullpen guys. Gutierrez is getting hit very hard, and Micah Owings and Mike Hampton both have high ERAs. However, I am encouraged by the numbers from Sam Demel (a 1.50 ERA with 7 K's in 6.0 innings, Leyson Septimo (a 2.25 ERA in 4 innings), and the 1.93 ERA of lefty Jordan Norberto. Some other numbers: we're 3rd in earned runs allowed as a team with 115, above average in walks issued (67), and have a team 1.55 WHIP - tied for the second highest in baseball. Showcasing our pitchers' wildness, we are also #1 in wild pitches with 19 and balks with 4, and are tied for 2nd with 26 stolen bases against. Finally, some of the more exotic pitching numbers: pitches per inning pitched (P/IP) is 8.36, and hits against per 9 innings (H/9) is 10.64. Not great.
But to speak ill of only the pitching staff would be irresponsible. Our fielding leaves something to be desired as well. In today's game against the Angels, Chris Young booted a ball out in center field for a single and a 3-base error, allowing a runner and the batter to score. Overall, in 182.2 innings and 805 total chances, we've made 26 errors (3rd most behind the Cubs and Padres), and our fielding percentage is .969, tied for 23rd in the majors. On the plus side, we've turned 20 successful double plays (15th) and achieved 575 putouts (2nd). However, our DER (a statistical rating called the Defensive Efficiency Rating, measuring the rate at which balls put into play by the offense are converted into outs by the defense) is a very low .6722, the lowest in all of baseball.
I love my Diamondbacks, but I am again concerned that poor pitching from our relievers combined with high strikeout totals (we've whiffed 145 times so far, second in baseball) combined with sloppy play on defense could again spell C-E-L-L-A-R for the team come September. This is the third "rebuilding" year in a row now for the Diamondbacks, and I think fans of the club deserve to see results. Fortunately, with a real manager at the helm in Kirk Gibson, a plethora of solid big league managers surrounding our players, and plenty of young, raw talent, something is eventually going to click that will catapult the team back into greatness.
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