Willie Mays, the "say hey kid", turns 80 today. It is not an exaggeration to call him the greatest baseball player of all time. And certainly one of the classiest.

On afternoon back in May of 1964, I was sitting in a grade school classroom, when my Father showed up. He told my teacher that I had a dentist appointment, and took me out of class. But he didn't take me to the dentist. Instead, we went to Candlestick Park, where my Dad got us center field bleacher seats. My first baseball game. Dad told me to watch Willie, as he was (according to Dad) "the greatest ballplayer you'll ever see." 47 years later, Dad was still right. I've never seen another player who's as good at every facet of the game. Willie Mays remains the greatest baseball player I've ever seen.

If you doubt me, take a look at the Willie Mays page at Baseball Reference. Other players may have been better at one part of the game or another. But Willie was among the best at hitting, power, speed, fielding, and throwing of all time. He was the complete package.

So, Happy Birthday, Willie. Thank you for letting me watch, and learn to appreciate, the greatness of baseball.

Baseball is a nice, relaxing, idyllic game played at a leisurely pace on a field of calming green grass. Like today's stress free victory...

Oh, who am I kidding. These are the Diamondbacks, where easy victories are a rarity. Still, we did find another unusual way to win while almost finding a way to lose. At least the game wasn't boring...

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As Yogi said "it ain't over 'til it's over", which is why they play 9 innings. In a game that had more ups and downs than a kangaroo in the mating season, the Diamondback prevailed. This in spite of a starting disaster and a grey hair inducing finish against a team that many have picked for the playoffs. The beauty and glory of winning baseball after the jump...

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The passing of Ron Santo yesterday brought a twinge of nostalgia for me. My first "real" baseball glove was a "Ron Santo" edition (I think it was made by Wilson, but I may be mis-remembering) that I received when I was eight, about to turn nine. I spent a number of years dreaming of playing like Santo, even though I was a Giants fan and he was a Cub, because third was my position of choice. And Santo was a truly class baseball player.

Now I'm thinking about baseball gloves for another reason entirely. My son (who I had no hand in raising) called me last week with a request: my grandson (who is now eight) wants a baseball glove more than anything else for Christmas. For clarity, my son knows absolutely nothing about baseball while my grandson loves the game and dreams of being a ballplayer. When I asked my grandson what position he wants to play, he said without hesitation "third base" which certainly warmed my heart. So my son wanted advice about what would be a good glove for an eight year old, but I told him "I'll take care of it" because I'm going to have to shop around a bit. I'll be glove shopping this weekend with a kind of 'holiday spirit' that I don't usually indulge in.

The memories of that first "real" baseball glove and a child's dream of being a ballplayer are such an essential part of baseball's everlasting romantic beauty. It feels good to be passing a tradition on to a new generation (even though I'm sure that they don't make a "Ron Santo" model anymore).

Do you remember your first baseball glove?

Sad news for all the Snakepit ladies: former heartthrob Trent Oeltjen has joined the evil empire known as the LA Dodgers:

"The Dodgers signed one former big league outfielder and released another. John Traub, the GM of the Dodgers' Triple A affiliate, confirmed to MLBTR via e-mail that the Albuquerque Isotopes added Trent Oeltjen and cut Timo Perez."

MLBTradeRumors

How will the women of the 'pit respond to this? In this "Twilight" era, will there still be the thrill for the cute guy even after his evil intentions are clear?

Facing this year's phenom, one could accept low expectations. Facing a pitcher with an ERA below one after eleven starts, when your team is...well...struggling, and 'hope' isn't the first thing that comes to mind. No Upton (0-15 against Ubaldo) or Drew (injured finger) in the lineup, though. I had a great script for a dramatic victory and the sweep of the Rockies planned, but reality refused to cooperate.

Jimenez and the Rockies won, 3-2. Not what we wanted, but at least the game had some drama, and Jimenez's ERA went up. Always look on the bright side, right? We still won the series, and even had a few positive things to take away from the loss.

Gory details after the jump.

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Kansas City fired their manager. I'll let Dave Pinto tell the story:

Trey Hillman, despite a Kansas City win today, gets fired and replaced by Ned Yost:

The 47-year-old Hillman was in his third season with the Royals and went 152-207. Kansas City was 75-87 in 2008 but then dropped into a last-place tie in 2009 at 65-97.

Hillman was a huge disappointment to me. He understood the statistics and probabilities of the game, but couldn’t translate that into getting a poor team to play well. He was a poor motivator who at times couldn’t seem to get this team to play hard. He wasn’t given much to work with by the front office, but he couldn’t even seem to get 100% out of the players he was given.

Baseball Musings

The analogy is that the manager had a really good amount of talent, but a losing team. I'm not giving up on Hinch yet, but I'm unhappy with the teams energy and complacency. I've never been convinced that a good manager can makes players better, but they can make teams better. I want a new attitude.

I had this fantasy that my first recap would be the Diamondbacks winning a 12-0 no-hitter. But reality frequently falls short of my fantasies. Fortunately, tonight didn't fall too short.

In fact, it was a pretty fantastic game....

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Looks like our rule 5 pick cleared waiver, and is on his way to Reno:

Lefty reliever Zach Kroenke has cleared waivers and been optioned to Triple-A Reno by the Diamondbacks, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Arizona selected Kroenke from the Yankees with the sixth overall pick in December's Rule 5 Draft.

Since this was Kroenke's second time through the process (the Marlins selected him in last year's Rule 5 Draft), he had the right to declare free agency if someone claimed him. As Jack Magruder of FoxSportsArizona.com explains, New York was told that Kroenke would elect to become a free agent if they wanted to take him back, so they never bothered to put a claim in. ESPN's Keith Law confirmed with Kroenke's agent that the Diamondbacks' chose to keep him on the 40-man roster even though he cleared waivers.

The 26-year-old Kroenke was the Yankees' fifth round pick in the 2005 draft, and posted a 1.99 ERA with a 6.8 K/9 and a 3.7 BB/9 in 72.1 Triple-A innings last year. He has held lefties to a .256 batting average during his minor league career. MLB Trade Rumors

So it looks like Jordan Norberto will be our LOOGY, at least to start the season.

Reading MLBTradeRumors, I came across this tidbit:

"At least two teams are interested in Boof Bonser, sources tell Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com. McAdam hears that the Cubs and D'Backs are interested in the right-hander. Bonser is out of options, so the Red Sox would have to attempt to put him through waivers if they want to send him to the minors.

trade rumor

I have to admit that my main reason for wanting to make such a trade is the simple stupid fact that I like the name "Boof Bonser", but there is the reality that we really could use an upgrade for the 5th starter role. While there's no guarantee that Bonser would actually be effective, I think he could be worth a shot.

So, what are your thoughts? Should we make such a trade? Who should we offer? Does the name "Boof Bonser" amuse you as much as it does me?

Tony's going to the MLBPA:

"Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Michael Weiner today announced that former 15-year Major League veteran Tony Clark has been hired by the MLBPA as director of player relations. In this newly-created position, Tony will oversee the Union’s expanded efforts in the areas of membership
communications and education. Tony also will play a major role in future rounds of collective bargaining."

(Oops, almost forgot a link :http://baseballmusings.com/?p=4799)

Seems like a great role for him. As much as we may have been frustrated by his play last season, I've never heard anyone say a bad word about his character, intelligence, or love for the game.

Your thoughts?

I've been looking at the list of free agents, and I'm not seeing anyone that I'm in any rush to buy. Matt Holliday is going to cost a fortune as a hitter, as is pitcher John Lackey. Both are very good, but overpriced in the current market. So, who's left? Jason Bay? Chone Figgins? For pitching, Randy Wolf or Rich Harden? Maybe Mark DeRosa as a utility player?

I'm just not seeing any quick fixes on the list. We could always bring back past mediocrity, such as Jose Valverde, or Orlando Hudson, or Felipe Lopez, Doug Davis, or Jon Garland.

Would Nick Johnson or Adam LaRoche really be better than a Jackson/Allen platoon? Jermaine Dye or Mike Cameron or Marlon Byrd as outfield help? Maybe Coco Crisp?

Is there anybody on the free agent list that you really want? Because I'm not seeing any obvious answers.

Top Free Agents

Just wondering if any of my Snakepit buddies will be at the Widespread Panic show at the Dodge next week? One of the rare times I'll be down in the valley, so if you're going to the show and want to meet up, let me know. I'll buy the first beer, as long as it's nearby.

(some of you may remember that my original tag line was a Panic lyric from the song 'Rebirtha'

"I know a place where life is a game, and Baseball's really real")

Anyway, if you're planning on being at the show, I'd like to meet ya'

saarey@hotmail.com