Guest Sunday: Jim McLennan talks D-Backs/Sox connection

Jim McLennan has been writing and talking about the Arizona Diamondbacks since probably before their inception. He can be found at AZ Snakepit, and chimes in this Sunday, talking about the Red Sox from a Diamondbacks’ perspective. Always good to get an outsider’s look. (PS: Jim, feel free to ship us Stephen Drew to further strengthen our baseball connections!)

So, Evan hit me up and asked me to write a guest post for his site. “Something at least vaguely Red Sox-related,” he asked. Good, I thought. I can do “vaguely.” Because at first, it seemed that there was only the most tenuous of connections between the Red Sox and the Diamondbacks. We’ve only met nine times on the field – we actually hold a 5-4 edge, though that’s only thanks to a sweep the first time we met, in 2002 – y’know, back when Boston was still a bunch of lovable losers, trying to break the curse of the Babe. Boy, how long ago does that seem now? And we don’t even get to see you in March. You guys have your spring training down in Florida, rather than enjoying the non-humid, alligator-free conditions to be found in our state. [And Mexican food kicks Cuban food's butt!]

But Boston does occasionally flit across the minds of Arizona fans, for there are links. Tenuous ones, as I said, and not necessarily good at that, but they are there. I think you’re like a rich distant cousin, whom we occasionally bump into semi-drunkenly, at weddings. We certainly envy your history. That’s something we don’t have much of: let’s face it, Arizona was the last continental state to join the Union – curiously, however, both the state of Arizona and Fenway Park came into being in 1912, with us having the edge on your stadium by a couple of months. Our baseball team… Not so much: I have shoes older than the Diamondbacks.

Still, give us a hundred years or so: we’ll have people making films about us too. Which is as good a link as I can manage to Fever Pitch, which is one of my favorite baseball movies. Frankly, I find myself identifying rather too closely with the Jimmy Fallon character to be comfortable, but if you don’t have something in your eye at the end, you’re a harder man than I am. Which brings me to the main thing which bonds us to the Red Sox: our mutual dislike of the Yankees. Admittedly, 28 other teams in the majors feel much the same way, but we also ended their dynasty in 2001 opening the door for everyone else, including the Red Sox.

Then there’s Curt Schilling. Frankly, you should thank us for that 2004 World Series title, and the whole bloody sock thing. Because we basically gave you Schilling, in exchange for… Well, Brandon Lyon was pretty good in relief for a couple of seasons. In the interests of harmony, let’s not dwell on that trade any further and move rapidly on, shall we? [Call it revenge for the Byung-Hyun Kim trade, perhaps?] His post-championship A-ring/B-ring comments still rankle with Arizona fans, but as I’m sure you know: Schilling is not exactly known for thinking things through for possible offense, before he opens his mouth.

On the other hand, there’s our General Manager, Josh Byrnes, who came to the Diamondbacks from the Red Sox and was instrumental in helping turn Arizona around from 111 losses to the National League Championship Series in only three years. Of course, we’ve then plummeted back down to the cellar of the NL West, but such is cyclical life in a small/mid-market team. There’s been a good number of gaffes too, naturally – I suspect he would probably be better if allowed to run things his way, instead of having the likes of Jeff Moorad signing Eric Byrnes to disastrous contracts.

Speaking of our underperforming outfielder, we almost had a couple of trades with you last winter. Byrnes was rumored to be involved in a swap of bad deals for Julio Lugo; not quite sure how that would have helped either team much. There was also significant discussion that Miguel Montero, then our back-up catcher, would be going to Boston in exchange for some pitching. Boy, we’re kinda glad that didn’t happen, as he batted .294 with 16 home-runs, and is now our front-line starter. We’ve had our share of bad deals with the American League for a bit – the name “Carlos Quentin” is still forbidden to be mentioned on the SnakePit.

As for next season, I imagine both teams will be looking to improve on 2009, though at least the Red Sox reached the playoffs this year. We’ll be coming to see you at Fenway in the middle of June, and that should be a fun series: we’ll be bringing one of the best young players in the game, Juston Upton, and hopefully, Brandon Webb will be back to full health and dealing like he had before last year. Outside of those three games, I want to wish the best of luck to Boston and their fans for 2010. Especially when you’re playing the Yankees, naturally.