Let me get this straight...

Let me get this straight. The Arizona Diamondbacks are on schedule to lose 100 games this season. Defensively, outs are hard to come by and on the offensive side of things, well finding a player capable of putting together a timely hit just doesn't seem to be in the cards. So what do the Diamondbacks' powers to be do? They shuffle the cards and deal their star pitcher Dan Haren to the Angels. Now Haren, who had pitched 141 innings for the D'backs and for most of the season has led the National League in strikeouts, is probably a happy camper as he joins a team with playoff aspirations. Gone is one of the best pitchers in baseball. He left the D'backs after posting 141 strikeouts. That's one K per every inning pitched. That alone takes a lot of pressure off the position players. Well, now the pressure is really on the Diamondbacks' defense. There is a lot of games left and I doubt the entire D'backs' pitching staff can accumulate 141 strikeouts by September. I hate to get down on the Diamondbacks, but who's making these crazy decisions? As for Haren, he pitched 4 2/3 innings last night with the Angels and struck out eight. He left the game after being hit by a line drive off the bat of Boston's Kevin Youkilis. The Angel didn't give Haren any support offensively. Sound familiar. He allowed no earned runs and the Angels lost the game,6-3. Let's hope things get better for the Diamondbacks in 2011.

Trigger finger is next on my list!

I've been 65 for three weeks now and wouldn't you know it, I've come up with another medical problem.

This time I've got what is known as trigger finger. Now that's a new one, even for me. I have it so bad it is keeping me awake at night. I can't put a finger on how to get rid of it. I've had arthritis in my left thumb for a year or two and to tell you the truth there has been times when it has been painful to get my hand in my baseball mitt and over the last year or so I've taken some line shots at third base that well, I'll put it mildly, it feels like being stung by a couple of Scorpions.

Now that I'm on Medicare, I guess I can expect more of these annoyances. But a trigger finger. My goodness. Fifty five years ago, I figured a trigger finger was an ailment Roy Rogers' horse would have to deal with. At the rate I'm going, I might just have to get a handicap sticker for my glove.

On second thought, that is a great idea. I know for a fact that many of my buddies on my over-60 baseball team have their own ailments to deal with. Maybe it is time for a new rule for senior baseball. If you have a handicap sticker on your ball glove and you boot a grounder, you don't get charged with an error.

Well, that's not going to happen, so maybe it is time for a Cortisone shot. I hope to be back on the field soon.

It's the heat...

Hello everyone. I hope to get back to writing soon. I think I'll blame my lack of entries for the month of July on the Arizona heat.

Day after day of 100-plus and a very quiet monsoon season is a deadly combination. My mind is mush, although I did realize that this past weekend marked an anniversary of sorts.

Bookemdanosports is a year old. On July 19th in a hotel room in Greer, Arizona, Bookemdanosports was born. I'm edging closer to the 300 mark in little clips into my daily life. It has been fun talking sports and at times running into some old-time athletes from the past and posting their endeavors.

And besides, the summer is nearing the halfway mark. My goodness, we're just five weeks away from college football. And it is just three months away from the Men's Senior baseball World Series (MSBL) in Phoenix. Do I have what it takes to tangle in the 60-and-over and the 65-and-over divisions again this year?

I hope so. It'll be nice to see the guys again. Maybe we can bring home a championship this time around. As for July, there hasn't been to much to holler about. The British Open was a dud. Not too many Americans on the leaderboard in that one, although I did follow Big John Daly for a while. Not to bad for Big John. He was 1-over-par after his four rounds. That's scratch golf at St. Andrews. Heck I can't card a 1-over-par at El Dorado's executive course over on Speedway.

As for soccer, the USA bowed out early, but I did become a fan of world soccer and watched with interest all the way through to the finals. Back home, I have a hard time watching my D'backs. I do like having Kirk Gibson at the controls. But right now, you could have Hoot Gibson, Bob Gibson, Kirk, or a dozen Gibsons' in the Diamondbacks' dugout and it wouldn't make a bit of difference.

I hope they can win at least another 30 games. If not, they are on their way to the worst record in baseball. Oh well, let's pray for a Diamondbacks' winning streak and some rain at my house in Tucson!