[Jazzmosis]

Chapter 14: A Fresh Start


I started the season in San Diego, against the Padres. I had come acquainted with most of the players, but had only spent any off-field time with Look. Much like last year, I got the distinct impression the players did not take me seriously. And I couldn’t blame them - I was only 19. I had gauged through the exhibition games the kind of fielding team I would be piloting - in spring training, that’s about the one thing you can take seriously. Guys may be trying out new swings or new pitches, but nobody is trying a new way to catch a ball - because there’s only way to do it. The bottom line was, this team looked about even with Florida, fielding-wise. Rodriguez at short was a little worse than Hanover, but Casablanca was far better defensively at second than the platoon of George Aiken and whoever Raymond Fistell had claimed off the waiver wire. And Aaron Delph - what a nightmare at third. In the first month alone, he made 9 errors. It almost made me long to have Kendrick Rizzo and Franky Devries back. However, Delph had an excuse, and a replenishing quality. The former first round selection was originally a first baseman.

His other quality was that he could hit the ball a mile and a half. It was not a big surprise, since he was built like a tank. All the scouts originally said he’d be better suited as a DH in the American League, but he worked hard to slim down and learn first. Then, one month before his first big league call-up in 2000, he was told to learn third. Barely fielding poor enough to even be considered a third baseman, an injury threw him to the fracas of the major leagues and he was learning on the go.

He was generally a nice guy, but had a serious drinking problem. He liked to party and womanize, and had been in a lawsuit involving “forced sexual actions” previously.

At first base, Antonio Moreno had gone to the free agent period and then resigned with Arizona after the Bales-Look trade guaranteed him more playing time. He was a 31 year old African-American player that you wouldn’t hear much about in sports shows. Moreno kept to himself, mostly - he did not have a wife, kids, or a girlfriend. He owned a modest house in Kansas, and did whatever he could to stay out of the limelight. I grew liking to him, since he was a good defender and an underrated bat that could produce.

In the outfield, there was solid players. In right, I had Michael Gongora. William Schuldt, a crisp, well-aged veteran, played centre. He had fabulous instincts, but absolutely no arm. Runners would round third at will on little loopers, and score easily. His nickname, “The Red Baron”, came to him many years ago, in the early 90's. The Dallas born All-Star would make outstanding leaping and diving catches, showing no regard for his body. “The Red Baron”, named after the German pilot from the first world war, garnished the name when he robbed not one, but four home run balls in one game. Two of them off the bat of hall-of-famer and manager, Franz McKeller. On the fourth catch, he actually broke a part of the wall. It was only an ad, but he took the top piece of it off by resting his weight on it when reaching for the ball.

Of course, The Red Baron did not make those reckless plays as often as he once did, as a few harsh injuries limited his playing time over the last few years. But every now and then, he would flash the leather in a diving snag or a leaping catch at the wall.

And in left field, was oft-forgotten Yong Renick. The half-Korean, half-American ballplayer was looking to bounce back after a tough year at the plate - his average was fine, but his home run production was low. Many thought he was losing the gift, but he was still relatively young (28) and had spent much of the offseason pumping iron.

The starters and bullpen were an odd bunch. Much of the bullpen was in their mid to late twenties, with the exception of Look, who had recently turned 35. And the starters were mainly in their early 30's, headed by Ken Giichi. Giichi was a homegrown Arizonian, but was drafted by Los Angeles in 1992 and had signed with Arizona in his first arbitration-free year. He was the kind of guy most players would call a ‘pickup’ player. He was professional and businesslike on and off the mound, and a real competitor. When we were down, he was the kind of player that would be telling guys to get their heads back in the game. He intimidated some guys and a few others did not like him all that much, but if you talked to him, he was rather pleasant. Just so long as he wasn’t losing.

The Arizona Diamondbacks first run of 2005 was scored by Ronnie Smith in the 5th, off the bat of Jerry Greenwald. Smith was a known lefty killer, so he got the start over Renick in left field. The first home run? A pinch hit home run, no less, by Thomas Westra, in the 10th inning, to break a 2-all tie. To close it out, Look got his first save, giving Arizona its first win.

Undoubtedly, this was a much better start than in Florida.

We got off to a hot start, winning our first 6 of 8. Look saved 4 nights in a row, bumping his tally to 6. He had a save for every win.

Boston was the last undefeated team in the league, winning their first seven games in a row.

On the 11th of April, Arizona played the first game against San Francisco and I was reunited with Dewberry once again. He and I went out for lunch, and caught up. It was good to talk to him again, and he promised to find some more girls for me after I told him about Lacey.

“Just go look for one down near the red light district, Jazzy.”

I smiled. “Is that why you spend so much time away from your wife?”

Dewberry cracked up in the middle of the restaurant, garnishing unwanted attention from others.


On the 14th, I saw Yong Renick make what he called the finest defensive play of his career. San Diego had runners on second and third with one out, when centrefielder Ron Woodcock lined a sinking fastball to shallow leftfield. Renick broke for the ball immediately, sliding and making a sprawling catch just before the ball hit the grass. A grass-angel in the field, he lifted his head to see Sebastian Maker rounding third. The out was called by the umpire for the catch, and Yong calmly stood up, tossing the ball to Casablanca and doubling off Maker at second. Threat over, Arizona holding a 4-2 lead. A ball that could have tied the game ended the inning.

The next day, I finally got my first ejection of the year. It seemed to be long overdue - I almost missed the feeling of walking off the field and into the clubhouse. There was something very warming about it - I guess it was because I had the record, and it was what I was known for the most. People expected it every time I went out to argue a call, but I was making a conscious effort to not be “The Angry Jazz.”

April 16th cruised in, with the team holding onto first place in the west. Most sports shows and columnists were predicting that it wouldn’t last, but I was optimistic that it would. This club was good. There was a lot of offense, a lot of getting along - many of the players were friends - and nobody got down on each other.

Rookie Benjamin Sizer was sent to AAA though, to make room for Yo****ora, who had just returned from the DL after shoulder surgery late last year. He provided an instant boost for the rotation - a proven veteran with a good track record. Too bad he couldn’t speak English. Everything I wanted to say to him went through his translator.

I was sleeping soundly after another win on the 26th when I got a call in the morning. It was Dewberry.

“What’s up?” I asked, still groggy.

“Bad.” He responded.

“What’s bad?”

“San Francisco released me.”

I was shocked. He was hitting poorly (.133) but he was a solid presence
and a great teacher for the new guys on the Giants.

“What are you going to do?” I asked.

“I called my agent, he’s going to see if I can sign with another team. For now, I’m going be with my family. I’ll keep in touch.” He hung up.

Now it may just seem like a simple release, but Dewberry was a class act. San Francisco hadn’t even offered him a minor league option, which Jerrold would have undoubtedly taken. This guy loved baseball - and just wanted to play. I wanted to get him back under my wing, but I knew that first base was a position of strength for Arizona and they wouldn’t sign him.

That phone call put a damper on the day, despite our dramatic 9th inning comeback.

Slowly I recovered, and before I knew it, May had rolled in. Not only that, Arizona had the best NL record (17-10), second best overall (Anaheim being the best), a two game lead, Ken Giichi was 5-0, and Look had the MLB lead in saves at 11.

Better yet, the Marlins were worse off this year without my management. They sat in the gutter of the East. That was better justice than stealing Canon’s placard.