azdad1978
Championship!!!!
By Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
The Diamondbacks changed directors, the cast and supposedly the script this past offseason. So what did we get on opening day? A sequel.
"The Godfather, Part II," it wasn’t. More like, "Son of Ishtar." Chicago 16, Arizona 6, and if you were delayed on Interstate 10 so long you missed the game, well, consider yourself fortunate. This was baboon-butt ugly. Starter Javier Vazquez was pounded for seven runs and 10 hits in 1 2 /3 innings and was booed heartily as he took the long, lonely walk to the dugout. The Cubs set a franchise record for runs scored on opening day, a mark that dates back to 1876 — 36 years before Arizona became the 48th state.
EBay didn’t get as many hits as Chicago had Monday (23).
Oh, did we mention that Diamondbacks-Cubs — on opening day — wasn’t a sellout?
Other than that, it was a lovely afternoon at the ballpark.
"It felt like three losses but it only counts as one," said manager Bob Melvin.
So it does, but even if the season is just emerging from the egg, the Diamondbacks have to be concerned about Vazquez.
He looked nothing like Randy Johnson’s replacement as the No. 1 starter and everything like the pitcher who had a 6.92 ERA for the New York Yankees the second half of last season and was shelled for nine runs in five innings in his final spring training start this year.
The Cubs didn’t just hit Vazquez. They treated him like a batting practice pitcher. If a tee was set up at home plate, Chicago couldn’t have hit balls any harder.
Any more outings like that and Bank One Ballpark will be renamed "Chase the starter in the second inning" Ballpark.
"Pitchers, catchers, batboys, everybody was getting hits for them," said Luis Gonzalez.
Melvin thought Vazquez might have tipped his pitches. Vazquez didn’t know what to say, other than to express shock that the Cubs knocked him out on a day when he had "great stuff. I threw some good pitches but they were on everything I threw. It’s a little weird."
You want weird? How about Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg throwing out the first pitch?
I know Bank One Ballpark is the only place in America where the Diamondbacks and Cubs can have their home openers on the same day, but isn’t there an ex-Diamondback who should have had the honor?
How about Mark Grace, who stood at first base and received Sandberg’s throw?
Then, in a strong move from weird to embarrassing, the gaint scoreboard in center field referred to the Cubs great as Ryan Sandberg.
E - Arizona.
And to think, the day started out so glorious. General partner Jeff Moorad said he woke up Monday morning feeling "like a little kid."
(We’ll presume he went to bed Monday night feeling like an old man).
Fans were treated to a $1.50 reduction in the price of beer and the smell of garlic fries wafting from the concourse. There’s a new barbecue joint, too, but contrary to rumors, it’s not called Vazquez’s.
Then the game had to start.
"That’s why we play 162," Gonzalez said.
After Monday’s debacle, that sounds more like a threat than a pledge.
In the bottom of the second inning, first base umpire Ron Kulpa borrowed the glove of Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee and reached toward the infield dirt to gingerly pick up a bird which was flapping its wings but getting nowhere.
It’s too early to paint the scene as a metaphor for Arizona’s season.
But it sure summed up the day.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=39070
The Diamondbacks changed directors, the cast and supposedly the script this past offseason. So what did we get on opening day? A sequel.
"The Godfather, Part II," it wasn’t. More like, "Son of Ishtar." Chicago 16, Arizona 6, and if you were delayed on Interstate 10 so long you missed the game, well, consider yourself fortunate. This was baboon-butt ugly. Starter Javier Vazquez was pounded for seven runs and 10 hits in 1 2 /3 innings and was booed heartily as he took the long, lonely walk to the dugout. The Cubs set a franchise record for runs scored on opening day, a mark that dates back to 1876 — 36 years before Arizona became the 48th state.
EBay didn’t get as many hits as Chicago had Monday (23).
Oh, did we mention that Diamondbacks-Cubs — on opening day — wasn’t a sellout?
Other than that, it was a lovely afternoon at the ballpark.
"It felt like three losses but it only counts as one," said manager Bob Melvin.
So it does, but even if the season is just emerging from the egg, the Diamondbacks have to be concerned about Vazquez.
He looked nothing like Randy Johnson’s replacement as the No. 1 starter and everything like the pitcher who had a 6.92 ERA for the New York Yankees the second half of last season and was shelled for nine runs in five innings in his final spring training start this year.
The Cubs didn’t just hit Vazquez. They treated him like a batting practice pitcher. If a tee was set up at home plate, Chicago couldn’t have hit balls any harder.
Any more outings like that and Bank One Ballpark will be renamed "Chase the starter in the second inning" Ballpark.
"Pitchers, catchers, batboys, everybody was getting hits for them," said Luis Gonzalez.
Melvin thought Vazquez might have tipped his pitches. Vazquez didn’t know what to say, other than to express shock that the Cubs knocked him out on a day when he had "great stuff. I threw some good pitches but they were on everything I threw. It’s a little weird."
You want weird? How about Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg throwing out the first pitch?
I know Bank One Ballpark is the only place in America where the Diamondbacks and Cubs can have their home openers on the same day, but isn’t there an ex-Diamondback who should have had the honor?
How about Mark Grace, who stood at first base and received Sandberg’s throw?
Then, in a strong move from weird to embarrassing, the gaint scoreboard in center field referred to the Cubs great as Ryan Sandberg.
E - Arizona.
And to think, the day started out so glorious. General partner Jeff Moorad said he woke up Monday morning feeling "like a little kid."
(We’ll presume he went to bed Monday night feeling like an old man).
Fans were treated to a $1.50 reduction in the price of beer and the smell of garlic fries wafting from the concourse. There’s a new barbecue joint, too, but contrary to rumors, it’s not called Vazquez’s.
Then the game had to start.
"That’s why we play 162," Gonzalez said.
After Monday’s debacle, that sounds more like a threat than a pledge.
In the bottom of the second inning, first base umpire Ron Kulpa borrowed the glove of Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee and reached toward the infield dirt to gingerly pick up a bird which was flapping its wings but getting nowhere.
It’s too early to paint the scene as a metaphor for Arizona’s season.
But it sure summed up the day.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=39070
