“Everyone knows that if I don’t call you, it means that the game is taking place,” Senese said. “We don’t have a switchboard operator that is going to make calls to everyone to tell them to show up.”

While Senese was correct that the Diamondbacks do not have a switchboard in place to reach their players in an expedited manner, sources within the organization say that funding was approved in 2007 to purchase the communications system.

“I’ve been a member on this team since 1998,” said veteran pitcher Ed Sochacki, “and I know that we had raised concerns about the speed in which information was delivered to the players. I had thought that (Senese) made the purchase.”

Other team members agreed and have now begun questioning other apparent purchases made on behalf of the organization and have never seemed to materialize.

“I purchased a whole new set of catcher’s gear for the team just last year, and here we are on Opening Day and it’s missing,” said Jim Cezak. “I’m not going to point any fingers at anyone, but is it possible that someone traded that in, along with their gold chains in a Cash4Gold.com scam? I don’t know… but certainly I’m starting to open my eyes.”

Fortunately for the Diamondbacks, the Cicero Devils showed why they are a class-act organization and allowed the Diamondbacks to utilize their catcher’s helmet and several batters’ helmets.

Senese, when questioned, said that there was some confusion as to whether former manager Joe Cipolla was going to be coming to the game and whether he would be bringing the equipment.

“It’s all safe and nobody traded it in for cash – neither at Cash4Gold.com or at Play It Again Sports. We have it. It’s here. Everyone can call off the dogs,” he said.

But the response from Senese is a familiar one to a number of players on the team. As of the start of the 2010 season, the Diamondbacks are missing more than 15 team jerseys from former players that either didn’t return to play another year or, didn’t pay team fees for the jerseys they kept. Several jerseys have been spotted in recent months on eBay, selling for just over $165 – well above retail and the back-of-the-trunk pricing found on Maxwell Street.

“I don’t know where the jerseys are,” said Senese – who just so happened to be sporting a new Rawlings 6-finger glove and mobile phone, “but I’ll look into these allegations and keep everyone posted.”

In the meantime, Diamondback players that are uncertain about the status of Sunday morning games should call Senese directly on his mobile phone hotline with questions. And, as Senese eventually figures out how to record a message on his phone, he’ll provide updates through the voicemail feature.

That should be all the D-Backs need to field a full team for the rest of the season, jerseys or not.

With the Diamondbacks taking the first game of a three game series against the Lansing Nuts, one win was needed to advance the team into the divisional finals, but as fate would have it, the Diamondbacks found themselves searching for answers after back-to-back losses on Sunday night.

“We had our opportunities in the first game,” said manager Joe Cipolla. “The game was there for us to take, but once again, we didn’t capitalize on the other team’s mistakes and we made mistakes of our own that came back and bit us in the ass.”

The Diamondbacks were leading through most of Sunday night’s first game when a rash of errors let the Nuts take the lead back. The end result was a disappointing 7-5 loss for the D-Backs.

“That was a game we should have won,” said veteran infielder Pete Gubricky. “It was a let down, a mental collapse – if you will. It was like a flashback to the 2008 Presidential Elections, where Barack Obama promised so many things, and 7 months later, nothing materialized.” Continuing on, Gubricky said “It was as if we won, but in the end, when it was all said and done and the final tally was in, we walked away utterly disappointed. We will look back on this years later and wonder ‘what were we doing?’.”

Game Two on Sunday was more of the same for the Diamondbacks. With the life sucked out of them from the Game One loss, little could be done to get the team out of their rut as they fell, 11-4.

“We tried to get Eddie Milas out for Game Two, despite having a very contagious case of Pink Eye,” said Cipolla. “Thad Sochacki was out as he was preparing for surgery on his torn ACL, but Sergio Senese found a pig ligament we were going to let him borrow for the game as a temporary solution, but (Thad) was having none of it.”

Pitcher Ed Sochacki was also not present at the game on Sunday as he was icing down his shoulder from Saturday’s 7-4 victory. “Everything was already on ice,” he said. “In addition to my shoulder, arm and the right half of my body on ice, I also had a bottle of Cristal Brut 1990 “Methuselah” champagne, which retails for $17,625 sitting next to me, waiting to be popped. I guess that will have to wait for the 2012 elections when the Republicans take the White House back.”

All-in-all, the 2009 Diamondback season will go down in the record books as a giant disappointment despite the team battling through major injuries to their star players, including Thad Sochacki (torn ACL), Eddie Milas (Pink Eye), and Jim Cezak (dislocated thumb) and the retirement of soon-to-be Pro Bowler, Teddy Andrysiak.

Everyone, including the fans, is awaiting what the 2010 season will bring. For this reporter though, and like the Evergreen Park Diamondbacks, plenty of work remains during the offseason before talks of next Summer can be taken serious.

Trailing 7-3, the Diamondbacks mounted a late-inning comeback in the bottom of the 7th. With the bases loaded, veteran Sergio Senese sent a 2-1 fastball deep to right-center field, clearing the bases for the D-Backs, putting them within one run of tying the game. The extra-base hit by Senese was his first since last year’s steroid allegations resurfaced in Jose Canseco’s second book, His buttock, my needle, your entertainment.

Senese advanced to third on a pass ball, but was stranded there when Ted Andrysiak grounded out to the shortstop for the third out in the inning.

Said Senese, “I was looking for a pitch to drive. I wanted to pull the ball, but my bat speed is down from last year. I’m just fortunate to make contact with the ball, seeing that my eyes were closed.”

Although the Diamondback rally fell short, signs of their hitting slump coming to an end were evident. In his first at-bat with the Diamondbacks, rookie catcher Karl Gotsch smashed a 385-foot solo homer to left-center field and the rest of the offense contributed with 8 additional hits.

“Next week, we should finally be at full strength,” said manager Joe Cipolla. “We have a hole that we’ve dug for ourselves, and the only way out of it will be by throwing our opponents in this ditch with us.”

As a follower of professional baseball, Jalana slowly distanced himself from the sport he so loved when Major League baseball turned a blind eye to the illegal drug dealings taking place in the locker rooms of many professional teams. The influx of steroids, HGH and other “unknown” substances, in Jalana’s mind, were directly responsible for the shattered records that were once held so sacred.

In 2005, he decided to start his independent publication, TomJalana.com, reporting on people that play for the true love of the game – the Amateur Baseball Association players. Week in and week out, Jalana watched as these grown men would don their uniforms and take to the field each weekend providing example to their children of what it meant to play for the love of the game. It was in this moment, he decided that these were the individuals – their lives, their stories, that he would dedicate his skill to report.

With the newly redesigned site and the signs of Spring around the corner, TomJalana.com invites you to become a part of the tradition of baseball by following your local teams on this site. While the information may not always be accurate, and hints of sarcasm abound, it takes nothing away from the men that play the game of baseball the way it should be played – honest and pure.

We welcome you to TomJalana.com!

The Evergreen Park Diamondback pitchers last year resembled the great Dutch Masters, or perhaps, the famous Italian artists of the Renaissance. While the D-back staff lacked the likes of da Vinci, Michaelanglo, Botticelli, Raphael or Caravaggio, they did have Myczek, Milas, Gass, Senne and Sochacki painting fastballs and curves on the outside of the plate. The result was an artful team ERA of 3.25 – a club record.

Leading the rotation for the team are veteran right-handers Ed Sochacki and Don Myczek. Sochacki, while posting his lowest win total in five years and a .500 record (4-4), managed to lead the team in innings pitched (59), strikeouts (44), ERA (2.14) and tied for wins with Mycek (4). His low win total was the result of three, one-run losses where he gave up 2 runs or less. Myczek is coming off a career season for the Diamondbacks where he posted a 4-1 record and held opposing batters to a .237 batting average. The rotation will be rounded out with flame-throwing RHP Eddie Milas (32K in 18 innings) and Nate Gass (17K in 12 innings; 2.33 ERA).

The Diamondbacks also possess a potent middle-relief crew with rookie sensation Trent Senne (14K in 9 2/3 innings; 2.14 ERA), veteran Matt Flavin (1-0; 1.56 ERA), and crafty RHP Thad Sochacki (.100 Opp. Avg; 0.00 ERA) – all of which can easily step in for a spot start should any of the starting rotation go down for a period of time. Closing duties for the Diamondback will fall on the shoulders of Pete Gubricky.

With a team that is full of pitchers, the Diamondbacks possess the most depth at the position in the league. “Our team’s seventh pitcher on our depth charts would be most teams’ number one or two starter,” said manager Sergio Senese. “We are very lucky we have the talent that we do at that position.”

With that type of talent, the Diamondback pitching staff is looking for a Renaissance period of their own with a league championship at the center of their attention. Said Myczek, “Anything less just wouldn’t be picture perfect.”

“We all appreciate the work that Senese puts into this league and with this team,” said first baseman Ted Andrysiak, “but the consistent yelling and arm-chair quarterbacking he does from the outfield when he’s playing needs to stay there.”

In 2007, Senese’s rookie year, the Diamondbacks captured the league title after former manager and Diamondback founder, Joe Cipolla took a leave of absence from the team. Senese stepped in and guided the team to a 19-6 record and the league title that year. But, as with all championship teams, they become targets for the opposition and with that too, became Senese at the end of the 2008 season when the team failed to repeat.

“Look,” said Senese, “I have a league to run, a team to manage, and players to coach. Sometimes, people don’t like what I have to say, but until someone steps up to run the team or Coach Cipolla comes back, this is what it is,” he said.

It’s exactly the type of comment that has Senese under fire from his veteran players.

“There are at least 7 players on this team that have been here for over 8 years,” said Pete Gubricky. “We don’t need Sergio to tell us what to do and how to go about doing it.”

Tensions started to flair after a number of games at the beginning of the 2008 season were rained out. Some teams went nearly a month without having played a scheduled game. On days when the teams were to play, the umpires didn’t show up to the game, forcing yet another reschedule.

“I live 20 miles from the ballpark and last Summer, for those of you who can’t remember, gas was $4.20 a gallon,” said veteran Thad Sochacki. “Make that drive to the park and back, only to discover that you won’t be having a game – you’ll quickly find out how pissed players will get. I don’t have high-paying job as I work in the Health Care industry,” he said, “so coming out here for shits and giggles isn’t something I think is funny.”

Sochacki’s words are echoed by fellow teammates.

“Commitment is something that you make and you back it up with actions by showing up to the field when a game is scheduled,” said catcher Martin Will. “This ain’t no fishing trip and it certainly isn’t like stringing around a girlfriend for 8 years without putting a ring on it.”

If Senese wants to do right by the team and his players, he has this off-season to fix it. Otherwise, the heat in the kitchen could become too much and it may be time for Senese to find the nearest fire exit.

Has Diamondback Manager Sergio Senese has lost control of the umpire association as well as the weather?

If the Spartan invasion of Troy took as long as it has taken for the Evergreen Park Diamondbacks to play their next game, perhaps history would have been much different.

Facing their longest streak of inactivity since the franchise’s creation in 1996, the Diamondbacks have played 5 games since the start of the season on April 29th. At a perfect 5-0, the Diamondbacks have had a harder time with the elements than they have with the opposing teams.

It all started on opening day, as the Diamondbacks had both games rained out. The following week, the Diamondbacks made quick work of the Hawks, winning both games by the mercy rule in 5 innings each. Then on May 13th, Mother’s Day, the umpiring association failed to have a crew show up for the game, causing both teams to call balls and strikes for their teams. Only one game was played.

“I don’t know what happened there,” said manager Sergio Senese. “I can’t control the weather, and apparently, I can’t control the umpires either. It’s an unfortunate situation.”

The following week, the Diamondbacks squared off against their arch-rivals, the Chicago Devils. Again, the Diamondbacks posted two easy wins to move to 5-0 on the year.

The team is off to a very good start, although our record doesn’t show that,” said catcher Martin Will. “We should be 10-0 right now, and would be 12-0 by Sunday, but we just have not been playing any games.”

Will was referencing the fact that the Diamondbacks last game was on May 20th. Since then, they’ve had a league-wide bye on May 27th, a water-soaked field leading to a make-up series with the date still to be determined, and now, a two-game forfeit by the Northside Fury (who have dropped out of the league – most likely for lack of talent).

Said Senese, “Perhaps the Fury can’t play with the talent that’s on the city’s South side. It’s a well-know fact that all the good ballplayer and fans are found on the south side.”

“It’s a shame we don’t get to play yet again,” said third baseman Pete Gubricky, “but this is a veteran team and all the guys here will be ready when somebody finally want to play us.”

Ed Sochacki Sr. was named as Bench Coach this offseason for the Diamondbacks.

The start of the baseball season may still be months away but the Evergreen Park Diamondbacks announced Friday that Ed Sochacki Sr. will be joining the team in an official advisory role as Bench Coach.

The elder Sochacki (pictured here with sons Thad (left) and Ed (right)) will assist the team with everything from personnel decisions and well as advanced scouting. The addition to the coaching staff will allow manager Sergio Senese to concentrate on improving his batting average this year by paying more attention to belt-high, center-cut fastballs./wildstallions2.jpg” alt=”Ed Sochacki Sr. was named bench coach by the Diamondbacks this offseason.” title=”wildstallions2″ width=”412″ height=”232″ class=”size-full wp-image-142″ />[/caption]