I decided to take a day off on Saturday and explore Arizona. That’s the reason why yesterday’s recap is a little late. I’ll have my tourist report tomorrow.
Friday was probably the most beautiful day in terms of weather here in the Phoenix area. The temperature was 82 degrees, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was the perfect day to “play two” as Ernie Banks would say. I stuck with the Friday plan and drove back out to Surprise for the first of two in the West Valley. See, I’m even catching on to the lingo around here! The Cubs were in town to play the host Rangers so the crowd was bigger than it usually would be. The parking lots were packed, which surprised me initially. When I was last in Surprise on Monday for the Royals game, only one parking lot was occupied, and it was only about three-quarters full. The Cubs have a strong following here in Arizona, and it was evident on this day.
I decided to sit in the press box for the first game and take in the nightcap amongst the fans. To be honest, it can be too stuffy in the press box sometimes. I realize people have a job to do there, but they’re covering baseball for God’s sake. Lighten up! Luckily, the Texas Rangers have one of the best, and most entertaining, directors of media relations in Gregg Elkin. For the benefit of those of you who have never been in the press box, let me explain a little how things work.
There are generally two to three rows of seats with countertops in the press box. At Spring Training facilities, the seats and countertops are limited. Generally, there’s room for no more than twenty or so people. The boxes at the stadiums in Major League cities are significantly larger and can hold upwards of 50 people.
Behind the seating area is another counter or table that usually has about seven baskets. The baskets are full with stacks of paper. Each team provides game notes. There’s a scorecard with the lineups pre-filled. Then there are press releases, news clips, league leaders and standings, and sometimes copies of the organization’s media guide. Somewhere around the game notes is generally a cooler or refrigerator filled with soda and water. Depending on the team, there may be food as well.
The media relations staff has a number of responsibilities, many of which are transparent to the rest of us. The ones we do see primarily take place within the press box. They distribute the game notes, notify the press of important statistics (such as “that was Sammy Sosa’s 1st home run of the spring and it came on a 2-2 pitch”), identify player changes, and answer any questions. During the spring, they act as the official scorer as well with the help of the media!
Some of the media directors are as stiff as a board (see Milwaukee on Thursday). Others are downright entertaining! Bart Swain of the Indians is one of those guys. Gregg Elkin of the Rangers is another, and I was fortunate enough to be in the box with Gregg on Friday. It’s hard to explain what sets some of these guys and ladies apart from the others. They just understand the public, and they understand the media. They almost play to their audience. It’s not unusual to hear Gregg yell out over his microphone, “That’s a base hit. What do you guys think? That ball ate him up.” Sometimes they act as announcers. It really can be funny. I guess when you’re at the ballpark from 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM you have to do something to make the time go a little faster. It’s not all glitz and glamour as some may think.
Friday was especially entertaining. Since Alfonso Soriano played for the Rangers and is now on the Cubs, there were various exchanges between the two media departments regarding the slugger. At one point I remember Gregg asking Katelyn Thrall of the Cubs, “Did Sori bust out his sleeveless suit yet? That one is great. It’s a classic!” The images that shot through our minds made everyone laugh…almost in unison. It was a fantastic moment.
The game itself resembled the Cubs – Athletics game from earlier in the week. Basically, the pitchers didn’t show up. If you followed my live blog during the game, you’ll find all the details. There were 20 runs scored, 31 hits, 4 errors and 7 walks. Tyler Colvin and Ronny Cedeno each had 3 hits for the Cubs, and Colvin added a home run. Michael Young had a 4-for-4 day for the Rangers, and Marlon Byrd chipped in with 3 hits, 2 runs, a homer and 2 RBI.
Both starting pitchers got shelled. Neal Cotts went 2 innings for the Cubs, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits. Brandon McCarthy was even worse. He gave up 5 runs on 7 hits and a walk. He also allowed 2 home runs and hit a batter. It wasn’t pretty. Thankfully we had some entertainment from Mr. Elkin.
Baseball Observations of the Day – Game 1
- All eyes were on Sammy Sosa as he was clearly the hot topic of the afternoon. Sosa went 2-for-3 with a walk and looked pretty good. He hustled out every play and looked like a man who really wanted to make this team.
- Matt Murton is going to be an excellent hitter…if the Cubs let him play. He works the count well and makes the pitcher come to him. He’s an aggressive hitter but not afraid to take a walk.
- Word on McCarthy was that his location was the problem today. Again, it’s hard to read into one spring outing for a pitcher, but to say the Cubs had McCarthy’s number would be an understatement.
- Michael Young appears ready for the season. He sprayed the ball all over to reach base with 4 singles.
- Tyler Colvin is making the Cubs look good. The surprise 13th overall selection of the 2006 First Year Player Draft looked very comfortable at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBI
Once the Texas – Chicago game was over, I decided to take a walk around the park. It’s a neat time to wander around. The place is basically empty with the exception of the maintenance crew. It’s relatively quiet as everyone prepares for the upcoming game. The grounds crew manicures the field and sets up the cage for batting practice. The vendors replenish the food supply, and the ushers for the night shift begin to arrive.
It was about 4:30 when I sat down in the upper level to watch all these wonderful inner workings at the ballpark. It’s amazing how many things need to be organized to have an event run smoothly. There are so many little details that need to be taken care of…from making sure there are paper towels in the rest rooms to delivering enough dipping sauce for the chicken tenders at the concession stands. None of these are life threatening, of course, but they are significant since the economy of the town relies on the entertainment of baseball. They don’t want to disappoint people.
On this beautiful afternoon, I was able to watch a gorgeous sunset over the valley. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it before. It was stunning and peaceful. I could hear the birds in the background. I felt mesmerized and forgot where I was for a moment. But then the Angels arrived at the park. There’s an irony for you!
I moved to the lower level to watch the Angels split squad take batting practice. Before long, the crowd began making its way in so I went back upstairs to the press box. Everyone was gathered around watching the various college basketball tournaments on TV. I grabbed a soda and went over to watch the Georgetown – Notre Dame game.
Prior to my arrival, I had made arrangements to meet up with Ryan Armbrust of The Pastime and Beyond the Boxscore. Ryan was in Surprise to do a story on Alex Gordon. If you haven’t read Ryan’s work, YOU REALLY SHOULD. He’s done some great stuff and is a true baseball fan through and through. It was an absolute pleasure to meet Ryan and talk about baseball and Spring Training. He’s a great guy, soft spoken, and an up-and-coming all-star caliber baseball journalist. I wish we had more time to talk on Friday evening.
On to the game and some very interesting and funny stuff…
It’s not everyday that the National Anthem becomes an event. On this night it was, but not really because of the anthem itself. At the point in the song when the words “bombs bursting in air” were being sung, fireworks shot out behind the centerfield wall. Usually this is a short lived piece of entertainment to dramatize the effect of the anthem. Well that wasn’t the case on Friday! The fireworks kept going, and going, and going, and still going. They even lasted a few minutes past the end of the anthem. Clearly something was wrong. The Royals started out onto the field, came back, started again and stopped. Meanwhile, back in the press box, people were hysterical. One joke after another flew across the room. Some wondered if the fireworks were delivered to the wrong place. Others wanted to know if the game would be delayed or cancelled if the cloud of smoke settled over the pitcher’s mound. It was very, very funny.
After the amusement upstairs died down, I left the press box and moved down to the lower level seats along the left field line. As beautiful as the day had been, the night was just as nice. The temperature was perfect and everything was calm and tranquil…that is until a balk was called on Angels pitcher Matt Willhite, forcing in a run. Mike Scioscia stormed out of the first base dugout and ran toward the third base umpire. He must have used the wrong word because he had barely reached the mound when the umpire threw him out of the game. Scioscia proceeded to get his money’s worth. I thought it was a little odd to go so nuts during an exhibition game on March 9th, but I guess that’s just Scioscia. Who knows. It certainly added some excitement to the game.
A few minutes later, I had some excitement of my own. While I was sitting and enjoying the spectacular evening, Robb Quinlan had the audacity to hit a towering foul ball down, you guessed it, the left field line. I sat and watched the ball for a moment before realizing that is was coming down right at me…
Flashback…circa April 1989…Yankee Stadium…There I was sitting in rightfield as the Yankees played the Blue Jays. The only reason I remember it was Toronto is because Jesse Barfield was in front of me the whole game. Anyway, it was about the 8th inning, the game was a blowout, it was around 30 degrees on a cold April night, and most of the fans had left the ballpark. Why I was still there, I have no idea. Next thing I know, a high foul ball is coming down right at me. Thinking I actually want the ball, I jumped out into the aisle to track its path. I put my hands up and watch the ball into my palms…and through my hands…and off my head, down the aisle, and into someone else’s hands! I couldn’t believe it. I properly considered the physics of the flight, but what I completely forgot was the fact that my hands were frozen! In fact, I didn’t even feel the ball hit them!
Back to Friday…so here comes the ball. Obviously it wasn’t 30 degrees, but I wanted nothing to do with this baseball. I was relaxing. If I really want a baseball, I’d buy a baseball. It’s not important to me. Just like in 1989, I jumped out into the aisle behind me. But this time, I actually backed up a little further. It was pretty empty around me so the chance was good that the ball would find a seat or concrete. A few kids came running over and jumped and lunged and tried valiantly to get to the ball. As expected, the ball smacked a seat (the one in front of where I was sitting), rolled down a few rows and into the hands of a couple of 20 year-olds who looked drunk. How fitting I thought. To their credit, after throwing the ball back and forth to each other for two innings, they gave it to a little kid sitting nearby.
That was it. I had enough. The reserves started to enter the game anyway. It was 9:00 PM, and I’d had been at the park since 12:30. Time to go back to the hotel.
Baseball Observations of the Day – Game 2
- Angels super prospect Nick Adenhart started the game on the mound and was brilliant. Adenhart pitched 3 hitless and scoreless innings. He walked two batters but only because he tried to nibble too hard at the corners. His curveball was sharp and he knew who to pitch to and who to work around.
- Ross Gload is going to play a lot more for the Royals than I think anyone expects. By the way, the guy is a physical specimen and in great shape.
- Luke Hudson started the game for the Royals and pitched well. Hudson just looks like a pitcher.
- Another Angels super prospect, Erick Aybar, wasn’t too shabby himself on Friday. All he did was go 5-for-6 at the plate.
- I’m starting to wonder if it may not be for the best to have the Royals start Alex Gordon off at AAA. The expectations from the press and the fans are extremely high right now. I’d hate to see this guy disappoint out of the gate and lose all his confidence.
General Observations of the Day
- After a second look, I really like the park at Surprise. It’s pretty cool. Once the area around it develops a bit, it may be one of the top venues in the Cactus League.
- From now on, I’m only sitting behind the backstop net!
- Aside from the traffic, I could see myself living in Arizona. I think I may have mentioned this three or four or five times this week, huh?
- Lastly, I tried to think of a way to sum up the feeling in the press box. I felt rather uncomfortable during much of this trip. I wasn’t sure until I read what Ryan wrote…
The Royals press box in Surprise, Ariz. is air-conditioned, has really comfortable leather chairs, and a wide selection of cans of pop. However, if there were a place to plug in my laptop down in the box seats along the third-base line, I’d rather be there. There’s a disconnect from the ballgame that you feel up here.
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
