JackCentral

Diamondbacks 0, Reds 1: Crimson Flare-out

Chris Etling — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:25:55 +0000

Record: 31-47. Pace: 64-98. Change on last season: -9. Change on 2004: +3

Today’s TV broadcast brought up an interesting (albeit pretty circumstantial) stat: the Diamondbacks are 1-14 in games following Dan Haren starts. After Haren’s masterful performance in all facets last night, I suppose that meant we had reason to be less than optimistic, particularly with young phenom Johnny Cueto on the bump for the Reds. The Diamondbacks did all they could to manifest that destiny through six innings, failing to take advantage of Cueto’s wildness to get even one run across, and from…

Jack Central Review: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Gary Sundt — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:17:55 +0000

"This is Transformers, and the joy of watching cars, jets and household appliances inexplicably turn into robots is abounding for those who are into that sort of thing."

Jack Central Review: Local Color

Gary Sundt — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:14:22 +0000

"I wish I could say Local Color was a better film."

Sunday Faceoffs

Chris Etling — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:03:34 +0000

I was planning on posting something that broke down the new Suns’ roster on Friday, but then the Golden State deal fell through and now we’re staring at a roster in flux. Since we may not know anything definitively until Wednesday at the earliest, I suppose it’d be silly to put it off any longer.

For about an hour on draft night, Amare Stoudemire seemed all but gone. The package Golden State was offering (Biedrins, Belinelli, Wright, the #7 pick AND Azubuike, potentially?) was almost too good to be true, especially…

Jack Central Review: The Proposal

Gary Sundt — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:20:09 +0000

"The Proposal isn’t without a certain adherence to formula, which is as hurtful to the end result as it is charming."

Diamondbacks 1, Rangers 2: They’re No Rangers to Love

Chris Etling — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:02:32 +0000

Record: 30-42. Pace: 68-94. Change on last season: -9. Change on 2004: +3.

Dan Haren took the mound for the Diamondbacks tonight against the Rangers, looking to get the D-backs their third winning streak of the month. Yes, the previous streaks were just two games apiece; it sounds much better this way. Despite Haren’s miniscule ERA and WHIP, he found himself stuck with a 6-4 record going into tonight’s matchup, which if nothing else is a testament to how worthless wins and losses are as a measure of a pitcher’s value. Consider this…

Episode 6: Survivor Mando

Wade McMillin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:19:55 +0000

In this week’s episode Mando is left in the wilderness and will try to survive the great outdoors of Flagstaff. Special guest: Adam Swenson.

Watch “The Wade and Mando Show”

Having trouble playing our video? Download QuickTime Player 7 at: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/

Rangers series preview

Chris Etling — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:21:01 +0000

I got an e-mail from Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News asking for a preview of the Diamondbacks-Rangers series that starts tonight. Rather than repost it here, I’ll link to it on their website. Check it out.

Q&A with a Diamondbacks blogger

Word of the Week: Consistency

Lisa Bivens — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:39:49 +0000

We’ll keep it short and pissy this week, because I’m sick and the nicotine patch on my leg is itching like crazy.

This week’s meeting offered a dreadful 12-page agenda, and an additional “special city council meeting,” during which the new budget was adopted and a “state of emergency” was declared. I’d love to expand on what that means, except at no time during the meeting was that information disclosed. Which leads me to a point I’ve been meaning to address.

People have been asking me why I don’t ask for…

Diamondbacks 12, Royals 5: Crowning Achievement

Chris Etling — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:58:02 +0000

Record: 28-38. Pace: 68-94. Change on last season: -7. Change on 2004: +1.

After last night’s miserable performance, the Diamondbacks headed into the second game of their series with the Royals with nowhere to go but up. Below-average offensive performance? Great! Defense better than a little leaguer? Fantastic! But instead of merely passing over the bar, the D-backs destroyed the Royals in today’s game in just about every possible way.

It was a great matchup of youngsters on the mound. Zach Grienke’s been arguably the second-best pitcher in the American League to this point,…

Episode 5: Disc Golf From Down Under

Wade McMillin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:54:13 +0000

This week Wade and Mando share which athletes they can’t stand and which ones they bow down to. Jake the Producer also welcomes two Australian couch surfers for a round of disc golf in the second segment of Summer Boredom.
Watch “The Wade and Mando Show”

Having trouble playing our video? Download QuickTime Player 7 at: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/

Always Goes Down Smooth

Chris Etling — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:53:01 +0000

Forgot to mention before I left for San Diego this week that I was leaving for…San Diego…this week. So no Wednesday recap. Looking at the box scores from the past few days, I really don’t think I’ve missed all that much. Buckner somehow being left in long enough to give up 13 hits and 8 runs? Nah, not broken-hearted about that. More bullpen collapses? Blissfully unaware. I’ve got the beach and Sea World in my sights instead.

Regular service resumes this weekend.

Episode 4: Summer Boredom

Wade McMillin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:08:20 +0000

Join Wade and Mando as they finally field a whole shows worth of questions from viewers. This weeks topics include: Big Papi making a comeback, Jay Cutler turning the Bears around, a possible Dodgers Yanks World Series matchup and the NBA Finals. This weeks special segment, Summer Boredom with Jake the Producer, makes its debut to the Wade and Mando show. Join special guest and producer Jake Nepalm is his brand new segment. Also, stick around for a special surprise when the credits role.

Watch The Wade & Mando Show …

Friday Faceoffs

Chris Etling — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 06:52:39 +0000

The buzz around the Suns lately is about who they’ll take with the 14th pick in the draft. Personally, I’m more interested to see what they do in the second round (48 and 57), particularly if Jeff Pendergraph from ASU is still on the board. Pendergraph’s got a great work ethic and good presence with the media, not to mention he’s a 6′10″ gym rat who is athletic and benefitted from Herb Sendek’s defensive-first methodology. I could really see him coming off the bench for 10 solid minutes at the…

This is what it sounds like when govs cry

Lisa Bivens — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:32:00 +0000

The best-planned aspect of Flagstaff’s City Council meetings is that they only occur every two weeks. This gives one a full week to reel from the irritation of having to endure the previous meeting, and then another week for that irritation to fade long enough to get hyped on the idea of participatory democracy all over again. And then you attend the meeting and repeat the cycle.

The meetings really aren’t that terrible, if you can resign yourself to the novelty of voyeurism. Watching a council meeting is like watching any…