The Houses That Erik & Peter Built

Ryan Braun named MVP, tests positive for banned substance

2011-12-12T18:23:00.009-07:00

It's been quite the emotional rollercoaster for the Milwaukee Brewers over the past couple of months. There was the thrill of winning their first division title in 30 years, followed by the agonizing collapse at the hands of the eventual World Series champion and division-rival St. Louis Cardinals. About a month later, Brewer fans everywhere rejoiced as All-Star slugger Ryan Braun beat out Matt Kemp for the National League MVP award, swiping 20 of 32 first-place votes. But the announcement of the regular season awards also marked the start of the offseason, and fans got daily reminders that Prince Fielder had not only most likely played his last game in Milwaukee, but even worse he had a good chance of becoming a Cub. And before we even had time to celebrate the departure of Albert Pujols, an even bigger bombshell dropped – Ryan Braun had tested positive for an illegal substance.

This news left people even more stunned than the Pujols deal, and shocked not only Brewer fans but the entire baseball world. Suddenly, one of the pillars of the game today, and one of the shining examples of how well the drug policy was working with today's modern sluggers, had cheated the system and taken us all back to a topic we thought was long past in the rear-view mirror – performance enhancing drugs. This was supposed to be over. We were supposed to be talking about exciting things like the new CBA and divisional realignement, the Athletics' ballpark saga, expanding instant replay and the playoffs – fun things. Things to foster progress in the game. But then suddenly, a giant step backwards. A week ago all that was on the minds of the common Brewer fan was who was going to play short. The signings of Alex Gonzalez, Aramis Ramirez, and K-Rod, while a week ago would have meant World Series or bust, now almost feel insignificant. What's the point without Braun? The face of this franchise has turned his back on his team and his city and has left the entire 2012 season in limbo before spring camp has even started.

I'm still kind in disbelief over the whole thing. I almost feel like somebody told me that Santa Claus isn't real. Braun is a hero and role model in Milwaukee, to myself included, and I just feel like he let down an entire city by cheating. He was the first Brewer MVP since arguably the greatest Brewer of all time, Robin Yount. Braun had a chance to be even better than Yount, but that is now forever tainted because his career will always have that shadow lurking in the court of public opinion. It really hurts when somebody you put so much faith in is not the person you thought they were. Ryan's brutal honesty and impeccable character have temporarily earned my trust; I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until all the facts are out and the appeal is over. But if he is found guilty, it will undoubtedly take some time before I can root for him with the same passion I had before.

Earlier I posed the question, what's the point without Braun? To use an analogy familiar to Wisconsinites, it's the same thing many Packer fans were asking when Brett Favre left in 2008. I certainly did. The only reason I watched the Packers for many years was to see Favre play. He was a hero and could do no wrong, and I loved how he played the game and admired him as a person. Then all of a sudden, for various reasons he became kind of an outcast, and that magical way people felt about him seemed to wane. Ryan Braun is almost the exact same situation. I'm not too old or too proud to admit that I have sports heroes, and Favre and Braun are definitely two of them. Hero or no hero, just as the Packers did, the show must go on. It's not fair to hold it against the entire team just because one player is out. And who knows, maybe the Brewers will find their “Aaron Rodgers” this year while Braun is out? I thought I would never forgive Favre for leaving the Packers the way he did. But even the next season, as he looked like an idiot donning Viking purple, I always put aside my feelings for 3 hours to watch him play and found myself instinctively rooting for him. I still loved to watch him play, and I always will. Even though Ryan Braun has a lot of explaining to do and has disappointed and hurt an entire state's worth of fans, I hope that each time he's between the chalk lines, I'll be able to put all the anger aside to watch him play for my hometown team. The Brewers have always felt like a part of my family, and what do family members do? They forgive each other, and they support each other unconditionally, for better or for worse. I will always be privileged to say to my grandchildren someday that I got to see the best hitter of his generation play his entire career as a Brewer, and no drug test or sports writer can ever tell me otherwise.

Cardinals Win World Series, LaRussa Promptly Retires

2011-10-31T16:53:00.006-07:00

All photos of NLDS Game 1 and NLCS Game 6 available on Flickr.

Congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals for winning their 11th World Series title in franchise history, 2nd only to the juggernaut that is the New York Yankees. As much as I dislike the Cardinals, they truly did deserve to win with how well they played in the last 2 months. The team's stars rarely hustle and the lineup is filled with whiners and jerks, but they also just flat out know how to play baseball and do a lot of little things right. The Cards' dangerous lineup featured all 1-8 regulars hitting near or above .300, and since the trade deadline they had also featured one of the best bullpens in the majors. In fact, against the Brewers in the NLCS, they became the first team in NL history to record more outs with the bullpen than with the starting rotation in a 7-game series. I would think that after Adam Wainwright went down in February and with all the blown saves in April-May, that most people including myself wrote this team off pretty quickly. But they persevered and continually defied the odds to write one of the greatest championship stories in the history of baseball.

The author of this book was skipper Tony LaRussa, who after a wild weekend of celebrating in St. Louis, announced his retirement after 33 years as a manager. LaRussa won 3 titles (2 with the Cardinals and one in 1989 with the A's) and leaves the game 3rd all time in managerial wins behind only Connie Mack and John McGraw. I have personally witnessed the past 14 years of LaRussa's career, since the Brewers joined the NL Central in 1998. I have come to loathe his managerial style and his attitude towards the game. He changed pitchers and lineups way too much and played way too many mind games to make the game bearable. He's also a whiner and doesn't hold a lot of accountability. But you can't argue with results - the guy just knew how to win. He put together one of his best managerial efforts in his last season, long after everybody wrote this team off. Some of his best seasons were 85, 87 win campaigns where he took a bunch of scrapheap players and ragtag arms and won despite all the odds. He always got the most out of his players and has always received nothing but high praise from players past and present who have said they would die on the field for Tony. A lot of credit generally falls to his longtime pitching coach Dave Duncan, and rightfully so, but LaRussa was certainly the star of the bench this season. Despite what I think of him, he will go down as one of the greatest in-game strategists and most cerebral managers of all time, and is certainly a lock for the Hall of Fame. The biggest compliment I can pay LaRussa is that by virtue of his retirement alone, the Brewers stand a chance at repeating as division champs in 2012.

Speaking of the Brewers, congratulations to my hometown team on a historic year! The Cardinals disposed of them in a 6-game NLCS on their way to the championship, but the Brewers fought hard all the way despite all five of their starters being absolutely gassed from the long season. Now that I've had time to digest the season and to calm down from the agony of defeat, I really couldn't be prouder of this team. They achieved a career high in wins (96) and their best ever home record as a franchise, and they made the entire season exciting to watch. Prince is probably gone in 2012, but they still have a lot of players under contract - including all five starters - and I think they have at least one more year to make a run at this thing, this time with even more playoff experience under their belts. One thing is for certain - 2011 MVP candidate Ryan Braun is locked up until 2020, which will always give me a reason to go to the ballpark, no matter how grim the team may look.

FINAL 2011 STANDINGS:
Brewers 96-66, +6.0, NL Central Champions, lost in NLCS
Reds 79-83, -17.0, 3rd in NL Central
Twins 63-99, -32.0, last in AL Central

FINAL 2011 GAMES TOTAL:
Erik - 17
Peter - 40

Brewers Clinch First Division Title since 1982

2011-09-26T10:23:00.004-07:00

Congratulations to my hometown team, the Milwaukee Brewers, for winning their first division title in 29 years!!! The Brewers clinched in dramatic fashion on Friday night in front of a home crowd of over 44,000. It was all set up by a catastrophic loss by the Cardinals to the Mets on Thursday night, which lowered the magic number to 2 and presented the opportunity for the Brewers to clinch on Friday night with a win and another Cardinals loss. Tied at 1 in the 8th, Corey Hart ripped a double and Nyjer Morgan walked to start the rally. And then one of the most memorable moments in franchise history, delivered by who else but Ryan Braun - a 3-run bomb off the scoreboard in center. K-Rod struck out 2 batters in the 8th and John Axford easily attained his 45th save in the 9th to secure the victory. Following the game, not a single person or player left the stadium, and the Cubs-Cards game was broadcast live on the jumbotron. Everyone rooted for the Cubs for perhaps the first time in their lives as they beat the Cardinals 5-1 and the champagne began to flow immediately following the final out.

It was eerily similar to the playoff run of 2008, when with the score also tied 1-1 in the 8th, Braun stepped up to the plate and drilled a 3-run homerun to give the Brewers the lead, and immediately afterwards everyone stuck around to watch the Mets lose, thus securing the Brewers' wild card berth. Both the 2008 and 2011 games also featured gutsy performances by the starting pitchers - a complete game on 3 days' rest by CC Sabathia in '08, and an 11-K gem by Yovani Gallardo this year. Hopefully this year, the team has better results in the playoffs than the '08 team, and hopefully they don't have to face the Phillies in the first round. As it stands now, the Brewers are one game ahead of the Diamondbacks for the #2 seed, which would afford them the luxury of having home field in the first round. This is crucial not only because of the Brewers' amazing home record, but because then I could actually see them play since the first game would fall on a Saturday. There are 3 days left and a lot can happen yet with the wild cards and the potential matchups, but I'll make my playoff predictions as best I can right now. One thing is for certain - the Brewers are the NL Central Division Champions!!!

PICKS AS OF 09.26
#1 Philadelphia v. #4 St. Louis* - Phillies in 5
#2 Milwaukee v. #3 Arizona - Brewers in 4

NLCS Philadelphia v. Milwaukee - Phillies in 6

AL Play-in Game - Tampa Bay over Boston
#1 New York v. #3 Detroit - Tigers in 5
#2 Texas v. #4 Tampa Bay** - Rays in 5

ALCS Detroit v. Tampa Bay - Rays in 6

World Series Philadelphia v. Tampa Bay - Phillies in 5

*Atlanta currently leading NL Wild Card by 1 game
**Boston currently leading AL Wild Card by 1 game

PRESEASON PICKS:
#1 Philadelphia
#2 San Francisco
#3 Cincinnati
#4 Milwaukee
Phillies over Giants in NLCS

#1 Boston
#2 Minnesota
#3 Oakland
#4 New York
Red Sox over Yankees in ALCS

Phillies over Red Sox in World Series, 6 games

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 09.26:
Brewers 94-65, +6.0, clinched NL Central (3 v. Pirates, NLDS starts Saturday)
Reds 77-82, -17.0, eliminated (3 @ Mets)
Twins 61-98, -31.0, eliminated (3 v. Royals)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 16
Peter - 39

Wild Card Races Heating Up

2011-09-19T17:03:00.004-07:00

Ten days ago, everything was pretty much locked up. The Phillies and Red Sox were cruising to their preseason anointing of meeting in the World Series. The Braves bullpen was absolutely unhittable. The Giants' lack of hitting finally caught up with them as they plummeted in the NL West. Now with 10 days to go in the regular season, the AL and NL Wild Cards are not so sure anymore. The Red Sox running John Lackey and Tim Wakefield out there every 5 days finally slowed the team down, and as of this post they hold a mere 1.5 game lead for the wild card spot, after losing the first game of a doubleheader to the lowly Orioles. The Sox have lost 10 of their last 14 games, including 3 out of 4 at home to the team chasing them, the Rays. Tampa Bay has managed to overcome dumping the top 4 salaries of their 2010 ALCS team and has ridden the back of a once again young, stellar rotation into a dead heat for the final playoff spot. Their road goes through the Yankees for 6 games whereas Boston only has to face the O's 6 times, so it should be interesting.

In the other league, the Braves have pretty much been in cruise control in the NL Wild Card spot since about June, largely behind their superb rotation and back end of the bullpen. But now, Jurrjens and Hanson are on the DL, Derek Lowe and Tim Hudson have been awful, and the 7-8-9 combo of O'Flaherty-Venters-Kimbrel may have finally reached their innings limit. These young arms seem to be out of gas and have blown quite a few games in the past few weeks, although Craig Kimbrel did recently break the single-season save record by a rookie. Their season officially took a turn for the worst when they were swept by the Cardinals, and now have seen their wild card lead dwindle to 3.5. And right on the Cards' heels are the Giants, who all of a sudden learned how to hit and have won 8 in a row. With the Brewers and D-Backs faltering a little in the past week, it's all starting to come together for an exciting September.

I personally think that the Rays and Cards can both catch their respective wild card leaders. The Rays are the hottest team in baseball right now and they have the best starting staff in the AL. I actually hope that both the Rays and Cards make it. I'd love for the Brewers to get another crack at St. Louis after they beat them 5 of the last 6 meetings, if for no other reason than to hit Pujols with a couple pitches square in the back. Then after the Brewers sweep them, Albert can go home and do what he does best - not hustle and stare at homeruns, which in this case would be hit by the Crew. And as for the Rays, I mean come on who doesn't root for the Rays? Joe Maddon is awesome and the team is still as fun as ever (seen above wearing letterman sweaters on the train to New York). I think this season's postseason chase is a great example of why expanding to 2 wild card teams per league would be a terrible idea. If there was a 10-team playoff, we'd already know who was in like 2 weeks ago and there would be no thrilling September baseball.

I'll post my postseason predictions next week, along with hopefully a proclamation of the Brewers winning the NL Central! And PS - congratulations to Mariano Rivera for breaking the all-time saves record with his 602nd today at Yankee Stadium.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 09.19:
Brewers 90-63, +6.5, magic number 4 (3 @ Cubs, 3 v. Marlins)
Reds 74-79, -16.0, eliminated (3 v. Astros, 3 @ Pirates)
Twins 59-93, -29.5, eliminated (1 @ Yankees, 3 v. Mariners, 4 @ Indians)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 15
Peter - 39

Top Logos, Ballparks, and Promotions

2011-09-13T10:38:00.008-07:00

I thought a nice way to wind down the regular season on the blog would be to share some articles that have come out in recent weeks: the 25 Coolest minor league ballparks and the 50 Best MLB logos of all time. Compiling various rankings and statistics is always a great way to look back on each baseball season with fond memories.

The website Complex ranks Coca-Cola Field as the #1 minor league park in America for 2011, and the coolest thing about these rankings, is just that - these are the "coolest" or most unique parks, not necessarily the best. So for instance, on most rankings you would never see a ballpark surrounded by unsightly factories on a list of "Top 25" ballparks, but the West Virginia Power and Bridgeport Bluefish come in at #8 and #22 on this list, respectively. I've been to 7 parks on this list, and I hope to someday make it to the other 18. I was glad to see Modern Woodmen and Richmond County Bank come in at 2 and 3 on this list, those are two of my favorites; I think the Staten Island Yankees' park is definitely very underrated and has one of the best views in the minors. I myself officially made it to 10 new ballparks this year: Maryvale Baseball Park, Goodyear Ballpark, Camelback Ranch, Tempe Diablo Stadium, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, Scottsdale Stadium, Parkview Field, Fifth Third Ballpark (MI), Prince George's Stadium, Copeland Park, and the newly renovated Warner Park. In terms of "coolness," Copeland Park and Warner Park should definitely be on this list.

The "Top 50 Logos" compilation is more of an all-time list, not just this year. Some notable ones are the old Seattle Pilots logo, the Mr. Met alternates, the 1960s Astrodome logo, the Swingin' Friar, the Boston Brave, the timeless Yankees 'NY', and of course the Brewers ball-and-glove logo. I was made aware of this list because the original Brewers "Barrel Man" logo came in at #2, as it should be (Philadelphia A's elephant is #1). There are so many logos these days that are just letters, and there are so many minor league teams that are just "____ Cats/Dogs/Birds." This list is a very refreshing reminder of when creativity in branding actually meant something. My personal favorites have got to be the Brewers ball-in-glove and the old Expos logo. It took me until like 2007 to realize that those logos actually had hidden letters in them.

There have also been numerous articles about the top minor league promotions of the year, which are always fun to read, but 2-for-1 Kraft Singles Tuesdays will always be #1 in my mind. It's just nice to know that once a week I can always get a free ticket almost anywhere in America, just so long as I keep some cheese in my fridge.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 09.13:
Brewers 86-62, +6.5, magic number 9 (2 v. Rockies, 3 @ Reds)
Reds 71-76, -14.5, -12.5 WC, elimination number 1 (4 v. Cubs, 3 v. Brewers)
Twins 59-87, -25.5, eliminated (2 @ Royals, 3 v. Indians)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 15
Peter - 39

Brewers Going Beast Mode

2011-08-29T16:01:00.011-07:00

In case any baseball fan has been living under a rock for the past month, the Brewers have managed to explode from the pack and take a commanding 10 1/2 game lead in the NL Central. They've been the best team in the majors by far since July 26th, and they've done it with starting pitching, a strong back end of the bullpen, timely hitting, improved defense, a little luck, and a lot of swagger. The Crew has won a ridiculous 27 out of their last 32 games, which includes 5 consecutive weekend sweeps and a 21-4 mark against their division during that span. The Brewers are on pace for the best August in team history, and one of the top ten of all time, at 21-5 currently with 2 games remaining in the month. Overall, they are a ridiculous 50-16 at home. Ryan Braun leads the league in runs and is 2nd in hitting, Prince Fielder leads the league in RBI and is tied for 3rd in homeruns, John Axford is 2nd in the majors in saves, and 4 of the team's 5 starters are in double-digit wins with an ERA under 4.00. And in the center of it all, Nyjer "Tony Plush" Morgan has been the team's major catalyst and resident goofball.

I could go on and on. The point is, no matter how you slice it, the Brewers are just flat out playing good baseball, and it shouldn't be forgotten that this team did all of this winning with the best 2nd baseman in the NL - Rickie Weeks - on the DL. Their magic number is currently at 18 and hopefully they can ride out this wave a little bit longer, at least until they play the Cardinals and Phillies next week. It's pretty unlikely that they will keep up this torrid pace for the last month of the season, but even with a .500 month and splitting the remaining 6 with the Cards, they should be able to clinch their first division title in almost 30 years. Getting the September call-ups, Weeks, and Carlos Gomez on the roster will only strengthen the Crew for the October push. Perhaps most importantly, I feel that this team can go much further than the '08 playoff bunch because they have so much more confidence and chemistry. This is most outwardly visible in the loose fashion in which they play, i.e. the "Beast Mode" celebration they do that is reminiscent of the "claw" and "antlers" that the Rangers did last season. You can just tell how much fun they're having on the field, and that makes them really fun to watch. A great attitude coupled with a lot of talent is proving to be a deadly combination.

I've got my playoff tickets ready, keep it up Brew Crew!

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 08.29:
Brewers 81-54, +10.5 (3 v. Cardinals, 3 @ Astros, 3 @ Cardinals, 4 v. Phillies)
Reds 67-66, -13.0 (4 v. Phillies, 3 @ Cardinals, 3 @ Cubs, 3 @ Rockies)
Twins 56-77, -17.0 (3 @ White Sox, 3 @ Angels, 4 v. White Sox, 3 @ Tigers)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 13
Peter - 36

Copeland Park

2011-08-15T18:33:00.008-07:00

All photos of La Crosse and Copeland Park available on Flickr.

This past weekend, I had to drive home to Milwaukee to pick up Lauren at the airport on Saturday. Given that my office has half-days on Fridays and I had nothing to do in the evening, this was all the perfect recipe to find a new ballpark to go to. My first inclination was to visit Peoria, the only Midwest League ballpark in the Western Division I haven't seen yet, but alas they were on the road. After running through a few other options, I finally settled on Copeland Park in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Erik had visited the stadium about 5 years prior and highly recommended it, and it only added about 2 hours to my total drive to Milwaukee. It was well worth the extra driving before I even got to the ballpark. The highways through northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota, particularly Allamakee County, were absolutely beautiful. Who knew that Iowa had hills and forests? I always thought that was a myth.

I rolled into town about 4:30 and checked into a hotel just north of the ballpark. My room had a nice view of the Mississippi River and I killed some time watching the Little League World Series regionals before heading out at 6. Copeland Park is also right on the river. And I mean literally on the river- many foul balls hit to the left side landed in the water. Since it is so close to the river, parking is kind of a squeeze. Your options are either a small gravel lot across the street, or to park on the street between the park and the river and risk your car almost certainly getting hit with a foul ball. I felt Yeller already had enough dents and the lot was half-empty when I arrived, so I parked there. After purchasing my standard GA seat and collecting my giveaway can coozie, I quickly found out that the stadium had been open since 5:30 for the final Fish Fry Friday of the season. The crowd was already electric as I waited in the huge line to indulge in this Wisconsin tradition, and for $6.50 it was a pretty outstanding meal. As a matter a fact, it was a pretty outstanding evening - for $15.50, I got a ticket, a program, the fish fry, and a large souvenir soda, not to mention the free parking. I came to La Crosse with only $22 in my pocket and I left with change, even after going to the bar after the game. After finishing my dinner, I walked around a bit and got a feel for the stadium. I enjoyed all of the subtle references to the team name "Loggers," such as all the trees that remained on site rather than being torn down. The one thing I didn't like about the park was that beer was unnecessarily difficult to find and the prices were not posted at either stand.

As I made my way to my seat in left field, I began to notice that there were many similarities between Copeland Park and pre-renovation Warner Park. The setup is much different as you enter, but the ballpark has standalone bleachers in left just like the old Duck Pond, and has an all-you-can-eat pavilion that looks just like the Duck Blind. There are also some suites in right field which are comparable to the left field party deck in Madison, aside from the log cabin motif. Once the game was underway, the similarities between the two parks went even further. A lot of the between-innings games were exactly the same - mascot races a child, dizzy bat race, child hits ball off a tee and runs for a homerun, and so on. The PA guy even sounds just like Aaron Sims. Most of all, this was the only Northwoods League park I've been to that is even remotely close to rivaling the energy and atmosphere of Warner Park. The Loggers would draw a sellout crowd of nearly 4000 on this night and welcomed their 100,000th fan of the season to "The Lumber Yard," and once again finished 2nd to only Madison in collegiate summer league attendance. It was also the final home game of the season, and this only added to the excitement.

The Loggers did not disappoint in front of the large home crowd, as they slipped past the Bucks 3-2 in 10 innings to temporarily keep their playoff hopes alive (they have since been eliminated). Starting pitcher Brando Tessar gave a gutsy performance, scattering 9 hits and 2 walks over 8 innings. The Bucks has several threats, including loading the bases with 1 out in the 2nd, but did not break through until a clutch RBI double down the right field line by Jordan Adams in the 8th, who was in turn knocked in by Sean Borman shortly thereafter to take the 2-1 lead. La Crosse tied it right back up in the 8th on a sac fly by Tyler Smith, and then won it in extra racks on another Smith sac fly. Louie Lechich was the spark plug for the Loggers all night, going 3-4 with a run and a steal, and a few nice defensive plays in center field as well.

After the game, I headed downtown for a couple pints at this place called Bodega Brewpub before turning in for the night. It was advertised as a brewpub online, but it really didn't brew any of its own beer. It did have over 400 beers on the menu though, so it was awesome. La Crosse is a beautiful city with a fun ballpark, but for heaven's sake stay away from the La Crosse Lager, it tastes like bleach.

park rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 4
views from park - 6 (nice view behind the stadium)
view to field - 5 (my seat was kind of far away)
surrounding area - 4 (downtown a couple miles away)
food variety - 7
nachos - 2 (of the "bag o' chips/cup o' cheese" variety)
beer - 5 (Leinie's, Pabst, Miller)
vendor price - 9
ticket price - 8 ($5 GA)
atmosphere - 8
walk to park - 6 (short but nice)
parking proximity - 10 (adjacent lot/street for free)
concourses - 3
team shop - 4 (inside covered dining area)

best food - fish fry
most unique stadium feature - log cabin suites in right
best jumbotron feature - n/a
best between-inning feature - Arcade Pumping toilet seat toss

field dimensions - 325/365/315
starters - Scott Benson (WAT) v. Brando Tessar (LAX)
opponent - Waterloo Bucks
time of game - 2:50
attendance - 3896
score - 3-2 W
Brewers score that day - 7-2 W

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 08.15:
Brewers 71-51, +6.0 (4 v. Dodgers, 3 @ Mets, 4 @ Pirates, 3 v. Cubs)
Reds 59-62, -11.5 (3 @ Nationals, 3 @ Pirates, 3 @ Marlins, 3 v. Nationals)
Twins 53-67, -10.5 (3 @ Tigers, 4 v. Yankees, 4 v. Orioles, 3 v. Tigers)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 12
Peter - 35

Prince George's Stadium

2011-08-08T18:38:00.012-07:00

All photos of Prince George's Stadium available on Flickr.

It's pretty much impossible for me to go on a summer vacation and not somehow fit a ballgame into it. I was in the DC area this past weekend with my fiance Lauren visiting friends and attending a wedding, and of course I immediately checked the local ball schedules after we booked our flights. The closest game I could attend in a stadium I hadn't yet been to was in Bowie, Maryland. Lauren stayed behind playing with her friend Claire and her baby, while Phil and I drove about a half-hour from Silver Spring southeast to Prince George's Stadium, where we met up with my friend Emilie from grad school for a little Sunday Night minor league ball.

Bowie is about 20 miles east of downtown DC, just beyond the Beltway and the end of the orange line, and is host to the Baysox, the AA-affiliate of the Orioles. As we read in the gameday program, all of the Orioles' affiliates are within about 4 hours of Baltimore, with only AAA-Norfolk actually playing outside of Maryland. It must be nice to be able to cut down on the moving and traveling if you're an O's prospect; however, Bowie seems to be just a huge suburb and nothing to write home about. The stadium is located off of a major highway and shares a parking lot with a restaurant and a Home Depot, which is a large indicator of just how rapidly the city has grown. For once, this was actually a stadium I was glad was not in an urban setting, because ballparks in outlying areas are generally cheaper, safer, and easier to get to. It was far enough outside of the Beltway that we didn't have to contend with the frustrating DC traffic, the free parking lot was a welcomed rarity in the metro area, and Prince George County does not exactly have a stellar reputation, so the lot also made me feel safe walking back to our car at night.

While most suburban ballparks boast ample parking and accessibility, they generally lack in aesthetics and context. Approaching the monumental front gate from the lot, I remarked to Phil how it actually reminded me of another O's affiliate park we'd been to in Aberdeen. I'm not sure if that's a coincidence or not. The inside was in a lot better shape than I thought it would be and gave the illusion of being "nestled" into a site because of the many trees beyond the outfield wall. It had the press box on concourse level behind homeplate like in Appleton, but unlike in Appleton there are actually suites, which look almost like motel rooms since they for some reason had curtains. The seating bowl is very tall and separated into an upper and lower section with an intermediate walkway halfway down. There is a a huge wall a few feet beyond the outfield wall laden with advertising that had to be at least 25 feet tall, which further contributed to that "nestled" feeling. There were only about two main concession stands, both of which featured the same items, but the food and beer they did have was very original and it was very hard to find even just your standard hot dog and light beer. The most unique part of the park was a children's carousel and an orange-and-white-striped, mini-golf-sized lighthouse in the right field corner. We got seats in the 2nd row right behind the 3rd base dugout and got to watch the carousel spin the whole game. Overall the setup was fairly memorable for a ballpark of that size.

Another unique thing about the ballpark is that it is pretty close to Fort Meade, so a bunch of guys from the military were there to present the colors and sing the National Anthem, which was pretty cool. It was also supposed to be "Happy Un-Birthday Night" at the ballpark but I never heard anything mentioned over the PA system about it, so that was kind of disappointing, but overall it was still a nice night for a ballgame after the rain subsided. The Baysox moved within a half game of first place in the Western Division with a win over the Fisher Cats, 5-3. I spent a fair amount of the game chatting with Phil and Emilie, whom I haven't seen in 4 years - much to the dismay of the sweaty old guy sitting in front of me that kept giving me the stink eye - so there were a few subtle aspects to the game that I missed. For instance, I see from the box score now that 2B Greg Miclat had 4 steals for the home team, giving him 46 on the season and putting him only a few away from breaking the all-time team record. Also, I knew that the starting pitcher Mike Ballard had a great game but had no idea that he racked up 10 strikeouts, en route to his 7th win of the season. Most of the offense came from 1B Joe Mahoney, who had a 2-run double in the 5th and also a sac fly. Steven Lerud also rang one off the right-field foul pole in the 6th for his 5th dinger of the year. One thing that didn't go unnoticed by me personally was the quality of the men in blue; it was such a relief to see good umpiring after what I've been subjected to in the Northwoods League for the past 2 months. The best part of the game was that former Phillie backstop Sal Fasano is the manager of the Fisher Cats and was also coaching 3rd right in front of us. His mustache is as glorious as ever, but he is not nearly as agile as he was in his playing days.

It was about an hour drive to Claire's house in Fairfax after the game, and what a wonderful way to cap off my vacation weekend back in my former city of residence. Random August stadium trip #2 is this coming Friday in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

park rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 6 (outside blah, inside not bad)
views from park - 4 (trees)
view to field - 10 (not much protective netting)
surrounding area - 2 (DC about 20 miles away)
food variety - 7 (bonus points for unique items)
nachos - 4
beer - 5 (about 10-12 kinds but expensive)
vendor price - 5
ticket price - 4 ($14 behind dugout)
atmosphere - 3
walk to park - 2
parking proximity - 10 (adjacent lot for free)
concourses - 4
team shop - 5

best food - giant hot dog w/ sauce + grilled onions
most unique stadium feature - carousel
best jumbotron feature - turtle shell shuffle
best between-inning feature - tee-ball homerun derby

field dimensions - 309/405/309
starters - Deck McGuire (NH) v. Mike Ballard (BOW)
opponent - New Hampshire Fisher Cats
time of game - 2:40 (0:29 delay)
attendance - 2156
score - 5-3 W
Brewers score that day - 7-3 W

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 08.08:
Brewers 65-50, +3.0 (3 @ Cardinals, 3 v. Pirates)
Reds 55-59, -9.5 (4 v. Rockies, 3 v. Padres)
Twins 51-65, -10.5 (3 v. Red Sox, 3 @ Indians)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 11
Peter - 33

New Marlins Park 75% Complete

2011-08-02T16:50:00.007-07:00

The Marlins have officially released a construction camera of their new ballpark through their website. Along with that, I also found a photo gallery of construction ranging from November 2010 through late July of this year, courtesy of Fox Sports Florida (see above). This yet-unnamed, 37000-seat ballpark is slated to open on the site of the former Orange Bowl in Little Havana for Opening Day 2012, and features a SAFECO Field-style retractable roof which acts as a canopy resting on two large piers off the back of the stadium when open.

Whereas in Seattle the roof covers a train shed when open, in Miami there is a plaza below. Other than this plaza, nothing about this park seems particularly impressive to me. I definitely appreciate the design straying from the retro style, as well as the small capacity, but from what I've seen so far from photos and renderings this ballpark is going to be pretty awful. It's hard to get a grasp on how a stadium will "feel" from aerial photos, particularly a domed stadium, but all that white metal aesthetic makes the stadium look monotonous, almost like a UFO. On the inside, the outfield configuration seems very arbitrarily angular, including a jumbotron that is for some reason rhombus-shaped. There is also a weird unidentifiable concrete oval in left-center field that Erik and I are hoping will be a marlin tank. I'll be keeping an eye on the construction over the remaining 8 months, but so far it looks atrocious and I am very disappointed.

That's not to say that we're not going to the inaugural season next year, because you know we are! Can't wait to take the bus from downtown into the hood to go to a ballgame here; I am most interested to see how the neighborhood around the ballpark takes shape in the coming years. We're hopefully going in April or May to beat hurricane season, but we have to be flexible since I'm now also planning a wedding.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 08.02:
Brewers 61-49, +3.5 (3 v. Cardinals, 3 @ Astros)
Reds 53-56, -7.5 (3 @ Astros, 3 @ Cubs)
Twins 50-58, -7.0 (3 @ Angels, 3 v. White Sox)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 11
Peter - 32

Alomar, Blyleven, Gillick elected to Hall

2011-07-25T16:13:00.007-07:00

Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven, and Pat Gillick were enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday in Cooperstown, NY. Alomar became the first player to go in as a Blue Jay and only the 3rd Puerto Rican (Clemente, Cepeda), and he is arguably the greatest defensive 2nd baseman of all time. He was also an great switch-hitting talent, amassing over 2,700 hits during his 17-year career. Blyleven finally got the call on his 14th year on the ballot and perhaps was only handicapped by his reputation during his playing days as a selfish whiner. He finished his career just 13 wins shy of 300 and 5th all-time in strikeouts with 3,701, and certainly by the numbers did not deserve to have waited this long to get into Cooperstown. Pat Gillick was a 3x World Series Champion as a general manager and was the engineer of the Toronto Blue Jays over the course of 3 decades. He retired in 2008 following his World Series Championship with the Phillies. Every single team he was a part of made the playoffs at least twice, and neither the Blue Jays, Orioles, nor Mariners have made the playoffs since his departure. Besides capturing back-to-back titles with the Jays in 1992-93 (teams that featured fellow inductee Alomar), Gillick is perhaps most known for heading the team with the highest single-season win total of all time, the 2001 Mariners (116-46).

With the advent of the MLB Network and MLB.tv, I've been able to watch parts of the induction ceremonies over the past few years, and it looks like an amazing experience. The groves of people that came in from Canada, Holland, Minnesota, and Puerto Rico to pay tribute to these three baseball greats was simply incredible. I know that being the baseball fans that we are, that Erik and I eventually have to make the trek out to rural New York to attend an Induction Sunday. But when do we go? Here are some of the players coming up for election in the next 5 years:

2012 - Bernie Williams
2013 - Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Craig Biggio, Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, David Wells, Kenny Lofton, Jose Mesa
2014 - Moises Alou, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Mike Mussina, Jeff Kent, Frank Thomas
2015 - Carlos Delgado, Nomar Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, Gary Sheffield
2016 - Ken Griffey Jr, Trevor Hoffman, Andy Pettitte, Billy Wagner

I mean, look at some of these classes, 2013 is a beast! I feel really honored that I got to see all 9 of those guys play in their final season during our '07 tour. I think holding out for Glavine and Maddux going in together would be my top choice right now but you can't go wrong with any of these years. It would be interesting to see if they intentionally don't vote in Glavine and Maddux on the first ballot so that they can go in with Smoltz in '15. The only bad part about this imminent trip to Cooperstown is that the Oneonta Tigers moved, so we'll have to drive 90 minutes to Binghamton to actually watch ball. Oh well.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 07.25:
Brewers 54-49, -- (3 v. Cubs, 3 v. Astros)
Reds 50-51, -3.0 (4 v. Mets, 3 v. Giants)
Twins 47-54, -7.0 (4 @ Rangers, 3 @ Athletics)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 10
Peter - 30

Brewers Trade for K-Rod

2011-07-13T16:14:00.008-07:00

Sabathia. Greinke. Rodriguez. In the latest in a string of bold trades, GM Doug Melvin pulled the trigger on a deal that sent two minor leaguers to be named later for Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez along with his remaining salary, shortly after the All-Star Game on Tuesday. In his career, Frankie is 32-27 with a 2.54 ERA and 291 saves. Despite supposedly being in decline, he has already logged 23 saves and is currently 2nd in the league in strikeouts per 9 innings.

The main thing to take out of this trade is that the Brewers front office is again going all-in as they did in 2008, when they acquired CC Sabathia at the trade deadline en route to their first playoff appearance in 26 years. This trade proves that the Brewers are willing to do what it takes because they believe they have a shot this year to not only make the playoffs, but to win the division and make it out of the first round. A lot of teams would have been scared off by K-Rod's $17.5 million option that vests if he finishes 55 games this year, but the Brewers are going with the "win now" mentality. With weaker teams in St. Louis and Cincinnati (thus far) and atrocious teams in Chicago and Houston, the Brewers currently tied for first, and Prince Fielder likely gone after the season, the division is prime for the taking and the time is now.

A lot is being made of this vesting option of K-Rod's, and how it will affect current closer John Axford who is having a phenomenal season. I am concerned a little bit on how it will affect Ax mentally, if he will put too much pressure on himself to be "the guy," but I think Roenicke's relationship with his players - including being a coach for Anaheim for 7 years while they had K-Rod - will help that transition. Axford knows deep down that this team just got a whole lot better and he has to play the role he's asked to to help the team win. The Twins did the same thing last year when Jon Rauch was having a great first full season as a closer, and they brought in Brian Fuentes and Matt Capps as insurance. In this scenario Rauch went back to his old role as set-up guy and the Twins ended up winning the AL Central. As for the Brewers, only time will tell how the 9th inning will be split, but one thing is for certain - the Brewers are not dumb enough and do not have the money to allow K-Rod to finish another 21 games this season to kick in his option for 2012. Besides the Brewers' payroll restrictions, K-Rod just isn't worth that much money anymore. Even though Melvin and Roenicke have been quoted as saying that Ax and K-Rod will split closing duty, I think that was just the PC thing to say. I think you'll still see Ax still get the majority of the save chances, but the idea is that if you have an opportunity to pick up the all-time single season saves leader for practically nothing, you do it. Prior to this trade, the Brewers' 8th inning options were a former starter, a guy with sleep disorder, a guy already nearing 50 appearances, and two 40-ish relievers with recent injuries. Things just got a whole lot more stable in the back end of the Brewers' bullpen. Assuming Greinke and Marcum can get back to their June form (and that the Pirates remember that they're the Pirates), I don't see any reason why this team will not run away with the NL Central.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 07.13:
Brewers 49-43, -- (4 @ Rockies, 4 @ Diamondbacks, 3 @ Giants)
Reds 45-47, -4.0 (3 v. Cardinals, 3 @ Pirates, 3 v. Braves)
Twins 41-48, -6.5 (4 v. Royals, 4 v. Indians, 4 v. Tigers)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 10
Peter - 28

Remember this date: Nationals and Pirates both above .500

2011-07-05T19:48:00.008-07:00

Following tonight's 3-2 win over the lowly Cubs, the Nationals have improved above .500 once again on the season. Perhaps even more remarkably, the Pirates moved into sole possession of 2nd place in the NL Central with a win over the even-more-lowly Astros and it's the latest in the season they've been above .500 since 1992, when they had some guy named Barry Bonds and won 96 games. I'm pretty upset with how terrible the Reds and Brewers are playing and how feeble the NL Central is in general this year, but you can't help but feel good for a team that has been downright embarrassing for nearly 2 decades. The same goes for the Nationals, who were salvaged from the scrap heap in Montreal in 2005, only to be brought to the junkyard of RFK Stadium until obtaining a pristine new ballpark in 2008. The Pirates also have a gem of a stadium in PNC Park, and both of these teams can be proud that they are playing well enough to warrant people filling the seats there.

All 30 teams should go into Spring Training with a goal of reaching the playoffs, but .500 for both of these teams would truly be an amazing accomplishment considering where they have come from. I wrote a post last year about how the Nationals, through high draft picks and keen free agent signings, are on the brink of being contenders in the NL East, and I still firmly believe that despite Ted Lerner throwing away $126 million on a 31-year old outfielder whose best years are behind him. They have a solid rotation that is only going to get better when Steven Strasburg returns from Tommy John rehab. They also have a young bullpen with power arms and 18-year-old phenom Bryce Harper was recently promoted to AA and went 2-3 with an RBI in his debut. Michael Morse is deserving to win the All-Star Final Vote and Danny Espinosa is probably the leader in the clubhouse for NL Rookie of the Year thus far. The Nationals were my NL sleeper pick this year and are showing signs of what they're capable of.

On the other hand, I don't think anyone could have predicted what the Pirates are doing right now. I mean come on, their major offseason acquisitions were Matt Diaz, Lyle Overbay, and Kevin Correia - I laughed at the time. But these veterans have been the nucleus of a team of budding stars including Andrew McCutcheon, Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez, and Jose Tabata. It seems like they get new contributors every week too - Chase d'Arnaud and Alex Presley were called up last week to fill in for injuries, and Brandon Wood is getting key hits after being released by the Angels. Most importantly, the two things that the Pirates have lacked for 20 years are coming together this season - management and starting rotation. From Clint Hurdle to the front office this team is making good moves for now and for the future, and the pitching is keeping them in games. If they can figure out a way to beat the Brewers and can lock up even one or two of their stars in a team-friendly deal a la Ryan Braun or Evan Longoria, this team will contend for the division next season. Keep an eye on the A's next year, too; the Royals are still a couple years off, they have a gifted lineup but need a legitimate staff ace.

PS - not really related to ball, but I got engaged on Sunday! She's been very supportive of my baseball fetish and I'm very excited to take a few ball trips with her as well as E.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 07.05:
Brewers 45-42, -2.0 (3 v. Diamondbacks, 4 v. Reds)
Reds 43-44, -4.0 (3 @ Cardinals, 4 @ Brewers)
Twins 38-46, -7.0 (3 v. Rays, 4 @ White Sox)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 10
Peter - 27

Jack McKeon Back in Miami

2011-06-21T20:32:00.008-07:00

Back on Memorial Day, the Marlins were one of the hottest teams in baseball and were serious contendors along with the heavily-favored Phillies for the NL East title. Then the Brewers came to town for a 4-game wraparound series, and my how the tables have turned. The Brew Crew would sweep that series, and since then the wheels have absolutely fallen off for the Fish. As of this post, the Fish are now 2-for-June, and in the past week they have fired their hitting coach and their manager has resigned. Son of Reds legend Tony Perez and former ESPN analyst Eduardo Perez was hired as the new hitting coach, and as of yesterday, Jack McKeon has taken over the reigns from Edwin Rodriguez as interim manager. After tonight's victory over the Angels to snap an 11-game skid, 80-year-old McKeon became the 2nd oldest manager to win a professional baseball game, next to the timeless Connie Mack.

This is McKeon's 2nd stint with the Marlins, the first being from 2003-05 during which he memorably won Manager of the Year and the World Series in his first season there. To quote Trader Jack: "I don't need this job, but I love it." I would argue that the team needs him. In his first act has manager, he benched slumping superstar Hanley Ramirez for showing up late to the ballpark. A poor work ethic has dogged Hanley his entire career and I'm positive that McKeon is not going to put up with his crap, or anybody else's excuses for that matter. The Marlins are a very good but very young team, and I think it's a good move to have McKeon come in - even if it's just on an interim basis - to whip this team into shape so that they don't embarrass themselves in their new ballpark next year. I will be excited to watch this team get back to playing the type of baseball they're capable of under Perez and McKeon, and I will certainly be very excited to see if Jack still sneaks a couple of stogies in the dugout when the cameras aren't looking.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.21:
Brewers 41-34, +0.5 (3 v. Rays, 3 v. Twins)
Reds 38-36, -2.5 (3 v. Yankees, 3 @ Orioles
Twins 31-39, -7.0 (3 @ Giants, 3 @ Brewers)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 8
Peter - 23

Warner Park Renovation

2011-06-14T15:56:00.008-07:00

All photos of Warner Park available on Flickr.

The turning of the calendar to June marked the beginning of another collegiate summer ball season, and like every year, I was very eager to see my local Northwoods League teams play. My patience was wearing thin as this season approached, as I could not wait to see the $1.8 million renovation the Mallards and the city of Madison invested into The Duck Pond. This renovation was Phase 2 of a 3-phase project, with Phase 1 being last year's addition of the TDS Triple Play Club and a new children's area along the left field line. This series of renovations was developed as a contingency plan for demolishing the entire stadium and starting over, for which the money just wasn't in the budget. Despite the fact that the ballpark is improperly oriented southwest instead of east, I'm glad they decided to renovate instead of rebuild.

This year's effort was actually more of a remodel than merely a renovation, as the entire grandstand was torn out and built again from scratch. The bleachers may have been at the end of their functional life as their designed use, but the bleachers live on in the new team store located behind home plate. This beautiful building was constructed out of 85% reclaimed material from the grandstand demolition, including re-purposing the bleachers as siding, the old press box canopy as its roof, and the wooden posts as part of the structure. Pretty much the entire building uses reclaimed and recycled materials except the glazing. To go along with the "green" concept, every single seat in the new seating bowl is reused from another major league park, the majority being from Camden Yards. This new seating bowl was wisely designed to have a second tier of seats on the 1st base side while the 3rd base side has only one, in response to the the fact that Warner Park is one of the only ballparks in America that faces the setting sun. This should not be too much of a problem for the remaining 3rd base seating however, as the canopy has more than doubled in size. Fans in general are now far more connected to the game, as all the seating sections in the main grandstand are now continuous and are up to 6 rows closer to the field in some areas. Lauren and I sat about 5 rows from the top of the 200 level along 1st, and Erik sat in the 1st row with his 10-pack tickets, and both offered equally stellar views of the action. Some more subtle changes include a new food stand layout in the pavilion that now features more food & beer choices, and an additional vendor in the seating bowl behind home plate. The only thing that kind of put a damper on the evening was that we arrived too late to receive a bobblehead, but we still got caps featuring the new logo. Pair that with a Mallards victory and a couple of cold Magic Hat beers, it doesn't get much better on a Friday night in Madison.

I'm not sure what Phase 3 holds in store, but over the past decade of Mallards baseball I've come to expect a lot of Vern Stenman and the gang and I'm sure the front office will not disappoint. Warner Park has changed exponentially since the team moved into Warner Park in 2001, yet has managed to maintain the same atmosphere, quality level of entertainment and competition, and affordability that fans associate with the Mallards. Warner Park was already my favorite ballpark in America to watch a ballgame before the huge renovation. Now that the aesthetics of the ballpark have finally caught up with its aura and activity, I think it rivals just about any minor league or independent league stadium in the country.

park rankings and statistics
(see also 06/21/07 original post):
aesthetics - improves to 7
views from park - 2
view to field - 10
surrounding area - 2
food variety - 7
nachos - 5
beer - improves to 9
vendor price - 9
ticket price - 8
atmosphere - 10
walk to park - 3
parking proximity - declines to 7 (lot is not big enough)
concourses - improves to 6
team shop - improves to 9

"best" items - same; ballpark now has jumbotron

field dimensions - 308/380/295 (shorter down the lines than in 2007)
starters - Chase Stevens (WAT) v. Cash Collins (MAD)
opponent - Waterloo Bucks
time of game - 2:17
attendance - 6750
score - 7-2 W
Brewers score that day - 8-0 W

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.14:
Brewers 38-29, -- (4 @ Cubs, 3 @ Red Sox)
Reds 35-33, -3.5 (3 @ Dodgers, 3 v. Blue Jays)
Twins 26-39, -9.5 (3 v. White Sox, 3 v. Padres)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 7
Peter - 22

Tour 2011: Fifth Third Ballpark

2011-06-08T10:22:00.013-07:00

All photos of Fifth Third Ballpark available on Flickr.

We only got about 6 hours of sleep following a very long Saturday, and we were back up and at 'em by 7 AM. After a fabulous free breakfast at the hotel, we hit the road about 8:15 for Grand Rapids, and the drive was a little bit less than 3 hours along I-69 and I-96. We made about an hour stop on the way to the ballpark to visit Erik's aunt and got to the park a few minutes before first pitch. Fifth Third Ballpark is very visible from US-131 and is actually outside the city a bit in Comstock Park, but despite this the team still draws very well, as indicated by the long ticket line on a scorching Sunday afternoon that caused us to miss most of the 1st inning. Fort Wayne and West Michigan were actually #3 and 4 respectively in attendance of the 16-team league at the time of this post (not surprisingly, Beloit is dead last).

We started the afternoon off in the shade of the right field picnic area, where we had full access to a bar and cooled off with a 32-oz beer and souvenir sodas. It was a very good view from out there, but we obviously wanted to see the rest of the park, so we left to find food and take a lap after the 2nd inning. Formerly Old Kent Park, Fifth Third Ballpark has that massive shell and high-pitched seating you see in a lot of early-90s minor league parks. The main entry is of the Tempe Diablo-Modern Woodmen Park variety of which you have to ascend to get onto the concourse, and this dramatically contributes to the feel of the park. We actually had to walk up quite a steep hill along the 3rd base line to get from the picnic area to the concourse. What sets this ballpark apart from other minor league parks is that the suite/press level is actually quite tall and fully enclosed, and it wraps the entire concourse from bullpen to bullpen, whereas generally it only covers portion of the concourse and the press box is more open. The suite level is actually so tall that it in itself serves as shade for the seating bowl instead of a canopy. I didn't necessarily like nor dislike this design decision, but it definitely makes the park seem much bigger and more enclosed than it really is. My only real complaint about the ballpark is that, just as at Fort Wayne, there is sort of an "entrance identity" issue, as the main ticket window is in right field, but what I would consider to be the "front" is more hidden with trees and contains no signage. And of course it would have been nice to be able to walk all the way around the perimeter; but, a lot of ballparks are missing this, as that feature substantially adds to the cost.

Now, let's get down to brass tacks here - most people go to this park because of the food, myself included. Before I saw this ballpark featured on Man v. Food in 2009, I had little interest in visiting this stadium, other than for my own personal gratification of seeing every Midwest League park. But after seeing Adam Richman take down the Fifth Third Burger, I just knew I had to get out there as soon as possible. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the ballpark because I did, but I was much more interested in lunch than watching the game. Honestly, I had built it up so much in my mind that at the time I was a little disappointed with the food variety, but looking back on it objectively, there was actually a pretty fair selection. You have your standard ballpark fare, but there are also things like elephant ears, Texas steak nachos, sundaes served in huge plastic cones, barbecue, and of course the giant burger. Enormous food and beverage items was definitely a theme of the menu. We decided to refrain from the burger, and I'm glad we did - the posted nutritional info stated it is 4,800 calories and contains nearly 2 pounds of meat! As of our visit, Mr. Richman was one of only 157 people to complete the challenge in the allotted 2 1/2 innings. I instead went with a generous helping of helmet sundae and fully-loaded steak nachos, and both made me very happy.

After finally finishing my nachos and walking around for awhile, we watched maybe 5 of the 9 innings from our ticketed seats, about 5 rows from the top behind home plate. West Michigan blew out Cedar Rapids 10-3 on Autism Awareness Day. The Kernels' starter was chased in the 3rd after giving up 7 runs on 9 hits, including a homerun by catcher Rob Brantly in the 1st that landed in the picnic area just as we were sitting down. Beau Brooks then came in and closed the door for a little while, but then the Whitecaps shoved it back open with 3 runs in the final innings off two other relievers. The Caps' starter was pretty good, giving up only 3 hits in 6 with 3 Ks. 7 of the 9 starters for West Michigan had at least 2 hits, whereas only one guy in the Kernels' lineup is currently hitting above .260, not including newly-named all-star Travis Witherspoon who for some reason did not play.

A brief and exhausting trip, yet totally worth it! Cross off Midwest League parks #9 and 10 for me, and so far the Eastern Division looks to be way better than the West as far as stadiums go. Aside from a few random ballparks I'm visiting this summer, our next big trip together will be Marlins Park next spring.

park rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 5
views from park - 2
view to field - 9
surrounding area - 2 (suburb of Grand Rapids)
food variety - 7
nachos - 10 (steak, A-1, queso, peppers & onions, good chip ratio)
beer - 8 (modest variety, but only $7 for a 32-oz beer!)
vendor price - 7 (fyi - Fifth Third Burger is $20)
ticket price - 7 ($9.50 behind home plate)
atmosphere - 7
walk to park - 1
parking proximity - 4 (adjacent lot for $5)
concourses - 5
team shop - 5 (small but some unique items)

best food - Texas Steak nachos
most unique stadium feature - Fifth Third Burger competition area
best jumbotron feature - paste a fan's face in moustached silhouette of a Whitecaps player
best between-inning feature - guys in eyeball costumes run around aimlessly and get tackled by giant chicken

field dimensions - 327/402/317
starters - Baudilio Lopez (CR) v. Patrick Cooper (WM)
opponent - Cedar Rapids Kernels
time of game - 2:55
attendance - 5955
score - 10-3 W
Brewers score that day - 6-5 W

Tour 2011: Parkview Field

2011-06-06T10:24:00.026-07:00

All photos of Fort Wayne and Parkview Field available on Flickr.

Neither Erik nor I have a lot of money or free time, but we weren't going to let anything stop us from going on at least one ball trip together this year. After Erik backed out of the Spring Training trip, we started tossing around ideas for a simple weekend driving excursion we could do together, and very quickly gravitated toward going to Grand Rapids, Michigan and Fort Wayne, Indiana. The draw to these teams was completely different in nature: the Whitecaps mainly because of the food selection made famous by the show "Man v. Food," and the TinCaps to see their heralded new ballpark (and possibly wear pots on our heads). However, we would be pleasantly surprised to discover both the ballpark and the food was great in both cities. Erik and I also had welcome company on our trip, as my girlfriend Lauren was convinced she could best Adam Richman's time on eating the Fifth Third Burger in Grand Rapids. So for the first time, she got to see what a real E & P baseball roadtrip was all about - and how easy it is to stink up a car and fill it with junk in only 36 hours.

We picked up Erik around 9:30 on Saturday and got on the road about 10 AM from Madison to our first stop, Fort Wayne. We hit an awesome hot dog stand in Merrillville, IN for lunch and arrived at the Hampton Inn about 5pm, giving us a little bit of time to unwind from the 6-hour drive and take a few laps in the hotel pool before heading the additional 15 minutes to the park. Parkview Field is located across the street from the Grand Wayne Center downtown and is in its 3rd season of operation. This ballpark replaced the atrocious Memorial Stadium built on the same site in 1993, and in celebration the team left behind its old name "Wizards" for the more locally appropriate "TinCaps," in honor of Johnny Appleseed who is buried in Fort Wayne. The mascot is now also a lovable, pot-wearing, plush rendition of this local legend, of course called "Johnny." To take this concept even further, everything from signage to food stands is apple-themed. The team store is called "The Orchard" and is one of the better ones I've seen. There is even a vendor that sells all apple products: apple sauce, apple wontons, apple crisp, etc. The crisp is what drew me to this stand, as it is served in a souvenir helmet. Aside from maybe Schaumburg, I can't think of any other ballpark I've been to that takes branding to the level that the TinCaps do. Why the TinCaps sell apples and the Cedar Rapids Kernels do NOT sell the state's #1 product of corn, I'll never know. And it wasn't just cheesy marketing either - all of the park logos, signage, and color schemes were done elegantly, and most of the food items were delicious. Being at the ballpark for over 5 hours due to a rain delay, it was hard not to try everything on the menu; there literally was a 6-page menu provided in the program.

Beyond the branding, Parkview Field is beautifully assembled and should have no problem lasting many more than the 16 years Memorial Stadium did. I'll start off with the only two things I did not like about the park. The first thing is the parking to entry sequence. I love that the parking garage was incorporated into the park, and I do understand that there are parking limitations at an urban ballpark and it probably won't end up being free. But the walk could have been a little more inviting to the front entry. There is an access point right next to the garage but it is used only as an exit, so if you park in the garage you have to walk all the way around along a brick wall. I would have liked to have been able to see into the park at a few points, or at least some interesting artwork. I think sometimes it's ok to sort of "reveal" the view in a grand way, but that would only work in this case if everyone was parking in the lot behind home plate. The second thing I think that all three of us noticed that was odd was the ratio of picnic seating to fixed seating. There are huge picnic areas along both the 1st and 3rd base lines, and it seems like there should have been more fixed seats in at least one direction. I think it's great that Parkview Field provides a plethora of seating options, but the picnic areas should always be a special section, not the norm. Visually, the picnic areas just looked weird proportionally when juxtaposed against the seating bowl.

Beyond these small complaints and the outfield grass being splotchy, the park was amazing and I can safely say it has supplanted Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport as my favorite Midwest League park so far. The main entry was done beautifully in brick and cast stone but was not overpowering as masonry can be. The stone was brought to the inside in the form of an information counter, ticket window, and a full bar behind home plate. The team store is also in this area and the concourse is very wide as you enter, which makes all the sense in the world. The concourses pinch in either direction down the lines as you are introduced to the multitude of concession stands and carts. The built-in concession stands just offer the standard fare of sausage, popcorn, nachos, etc. But in the outfield and at some of the loose carts, you can find things like corn on the cob, various apple desserts and snacks, grilled-to-order chicken and pork sandwiches, a decent variety of beers, and a superb rib joint. Parkview Field allows you to continuously circumnavigate the field, a feature that every ballpark should have. The outfield concourse is very spacious and has a nice plaza and fountain area in dead center. The team and city are committed to having Parkview Field be a year-round destination, but so far this is only evident in the abundance of picnic seating for businessmen eating lunch, and an enclosed event venue in right field that overlooks the field. Eventually there is supposed to be a Harrison Square project in left field that features retail on the ground floor and condos above, but three years into a recession and the hopes of that getting built are slimmer by the week. Completing the loop around the ballpark, there is a bank of bleachers anchored to the adjacent parking garage, behind the outfield concourse and above the venue building. Just past these bleachers is one of coolest during-game distractions you'll ever see - a full batting cage. From the food, to various points of aspect, and plenty of entertainment, Parkview Field has thought of just about everything. The cherry on top is that the TinCaps won the Midwest League title in the ballpark's inaugural season.

The TinCaps are terrible compared to that 2009 championship team, and they lost a marathon of a game on this night. If it wasn't enough that it was 96° at first pitch, there was a 2-hour thunderstorm delay, AND the game went to extra racks. We finally had to tap out and call it a day after the 10th because we were exhausted and had to get up at 7 to head to Grand Rapids. The TinCaps ended up losing in 11 to Kane County, 6-4, in what totalled 5 hours and 13 minutes including the delay. The TinCaps had this guy named Luis Domoromo, and he had 2 hits and an RBI besides having a fun name to say. Jake Blackwood chipped in another 3 hits including 2 run-producing doubles, and he was definitely the offensive star of the day. It was looking good for Fort Wayne, leading by 1 with 1 out in the 9th, when the closer gave up a booming homerun down the left field line to another guy with an awesome name, Cheslor Cuthbert. I'm not sure how the Cougars won since we left an inning early, but from the box score it looks like the same guy who gave up the homerun to Cuthbert pitched another 1 1/3 and got charged for the go-ahead runs and picked up his 3rd loss of the season.

park rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 8
views from park - 5 (nice opportunity for view, but Fort Wayne isn't much of one)
view to field - 9
surrounding area - 4 (downtown Fort Wayne)
food variety - 9
nachos - 5
beer - 6 (about 10-12 kinds and fair price)
vendor price - 7 (specialty items are more reasonable)
ticket price - 8 ($9 five rows behind dugout)
atmosphere - 7 (remaining crowd after rain delay was still higher than average Kernels attendance)
walk to park - 4
parking proximity - 3 (adjacent garage for $4, lots of traffic)
concourses - 8
team shop - 9

best food - BBQ pulled pork sandwich
most unique stadium feature - Wrigley-style bleachers anchored to parking garage
best jumbotron feature - despite the fact that I hate cats, "DJ TinCat" was pretty hilarious
best between-inning feature - The Amazing Christopher

field dimensions - 336/400/318
starters - Leondy Perez (KC) v. Andrew Werner (FW)
opponent - Kane County Cougars
time of game - 3:13 (1:56 delay)
attendance - 7075
score - 6-4 L
Brewers score that day - 3-2 W

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.06:
Brewers 34-26, -1.5 (3 v. Mets, 3 v. Cardinals)
Reds 31-30, -5.0 (3 v. Cubs, 4 @ Giants)
Twins 22-37, -11.5 (3 @ Indians, 4 v. Rangers)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 6
Peter - 18

Never a Shortage of Peculiar Injuries

2011-05-30T17:25:00.010-07:00

(Above: Joey Votto, one of many MLB players diagnosed with social anxiety disorder)

I think we can all agree that ballplayers today don't really seem to be as tough as they were in the golden era of baseball. As fans we certainly shouldn't underestimate just how mentally and physically taxing it is to play 162 games a year. But at the same time, there just aren't that many Mickey Mantles out there anymore that are going to play every single day with broken arms and bad knees and still be able to produce. The game just revolves too much around large guaranteed contracts nowadays to take any chances on long-term injury. However, over the last several years, the interpretation of what constitutes an injury has become a major gray area. It's certainly understandable that something like "elbow inflammation" or a sprained knee is just something that a guy 40 years ago would have played through and not said a word. But reading the disabled list reports these days is almost comical.

It used to be that I made fun of somebody for having "turf toe" in football, but even that is so commonplace that it has lost all humor, much like the infamous "oblique strain" in baseball. I barely have time to laugh at a guy for having a ridiculous injury now before another one comes along. Here are just some of the illnesses and injuries that have put millionaire, adult baseball players in the infirmary in the last 5 seasons alone: tired arm, stubbed toe, bilateral leg weakness, social anxiety disorder, bleeding testicle, blisters, anal fissures, carpel tunnel, mono, emergency appendectomy, fatigue, and my personal favorite - sleep disorder. It is just seems like everyday there is something new, and they just keep getting funnier. Now, I'm not trying to say that it's funny to have anxiety disorder, I'm sure that is serious. And if your appendix bursts, I mean not much you can do about that one. But it's just strange to me that you never saw these injuries even as recent as 10 years ago, and that there is always something new cropping up. Whether that's a product of toughness or just how the times have changed, I don't know. Maybe Cal Ripken would never have admitted that he pinched a testicle or had anal leakage for fear of ridicule in Kangaroo Court. Or maybe Mickey Mantle was just too drunk to realize he ever had anything wrong with him.

And let's keep in mind that the list I presented does not include the source of any of these injuries, just what they are listed as on the DL - because that would be a whole other ballgame. I'd then have to include former Brewer reliever Matt Wise going on the DL twice - once after falling down stairs, and once after stabbing himself with salad tongs. Or the time Milton Bradley tore ligaments in his knee during a heated argument with an umpire. The list goes on and on.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 05.30:
Brewers 29-24, -2.0 (3 @ Reds, 4 @ Marlins)
Reds 27-27, -4.5 (3 v. Brewers, 3 v. Dodgers)
Twins 17-35, -14.5 (3 @ Tigers, 4 @ Royals)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 4
Peter - 15

Mallards Rubber Ducky Race

2011-05-16T18:04:00.008-07:00

All photos of the rubber ducky race available on Flickr.

A couple weeks ago, I was parousing the Mallards website looking at photos of the new Duck Pond renovation, and noticed an article about a Rubber Duck Race being held at Burr Jones park, on Madison's near east side. I was very upset with myself that there was an annual Mallards event that I didn't know about, so I emailed Erik about it and we immediately rectified that situation by purchasing 6 ducks/$10 for the fundraising event. All proceeds from this event benefit Madison Parks and the Goodman Pool Scholarship.

Of course, after 4 consecutive days of 75+ degree weather, it was in the low 50s and windy when we arrived at the park an hour early to tailgate. We now know for next year that we don't have to get there so early, as we had to kill over 2 hours by drinking in the parking lot, arm-wrestling Maynard, and figuring out what new Mallards gear we liked the best at the merchandise tent. Despite it being an event geared towards children, we still enjoyed ourselves and I was excited to see the new 2011 Mallards branding and mascot. It was a little chilly and Lauren had to spend some time in the car warming up, but we made the best of it, and by the time the race started I was too distracted to feel cold. The race was set up on a section of the Yahara River which runs through the park, and Maynard started it off by dumping a trash bin full of the ducks off of a pontoon boat into the water. The ducks traveled maybe 500 feet along the river to a couple of girls stationed in canoes by a barrier made up of plastic tubing and fish nets. The Yahara is a pretty slow moving river, and the fierce wind made the race even slower by blowing all the rubber ducks along the south bank. Eventually a winner emerged (sadly, not us) and took home 10 tickets to Opening Day. Erik and I were already on pins and needles awaiting the massive Warner Park renovation to be completed for the home opener in a few weeks, and spending an afternoon with Maynard at the Rubber Ducky Race only heightened our anticipation.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 05.16:
Brewers 19-21, -4.0 (2 @ Dodgers, 2 @ Padres, 3 v. Rockies)
Reds 23-17, +1.5 (2 v. Cubs, 2 v. Pirates, 3 @ Indians)
Twins 12-26, -12.5 (2 @ Mariners, 2 @ Athletics, 3 @ Diamondbacks)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 4
Peter - 14

Brewers Debut of Zack Greinke

2011-05-10T16:24:00.004-07:00

After spending most of spring training and the first month of the season on the DL with a cracked rib, Brewers prized trade acquisition Zack Greinke finally made his first starts for the team last week. He was limited to a 90-pitch count in his first start following 3 minor league rehab starts, and he was understandably a little shaky, giving up 4 over 4 in Atlanta. Zack's home debut was far better, as he struck out 9 Padres over 6 innings of 2-run ball. Most importantly, he didn't walk anybody, and showed the filthy command and break on all 5 of his pitches that he had shown the last 2-3 years with Kansas City. It wasn't quite the fanfare that CC Sabathia got in his first home start following the July 2008 trade, but Miller Park still drew nearly 30,000 on a rainy Monday night and gave Zack a warm welcome, rally towels in hand.

Watching Zack evolve over the final 5 (hopefully 6) months of the season will definitely be interesting. The things I like most about Zack are his intense competitiveness and athleticism, and like Ryan Braun he always willing to put it all on the line for the team and is not afraid to say whatever he's thinking. But what worries me is this is already his 8th season, so at age 27, Greinke has already logged as many innings as a typical 30-31 year old would have. For this reason, and the fact that he has only had a couple of great seasons, I feel that his talents have already peaked. But if he can stay motivated to pitch for a potential contender after years with the cellar-dwelling Royals, he is still going to help the ballclub immensely. I've gone on record saying that Shaun Marcum was the bigger trade of the offseason and will be a stud in the NL Central, but the Brewers are still going to need Zack to perform to the best of his abilities for the season to be a success, and to help them get out of the current funk they're in by staying healthy and taking the ball every 5th day. He is still young and still has the potential to be a legitimate staff ace on a team that already has two in Marcum and Gallardo. Along with our sporadic yet deadly potent offense, it is only a matter of time before the Crew goes on a big run.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 05.10:
Brewers 15-20, -5.0 (3 v. Padres, 3 v. Pirates)
Reds 19-16, -1.0 (3 @ Astros, 3 v. Cardinals)
Twins 12-21, -10.0 (2 v. Tigers, 3 v. Blue Jays)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 3
Peter - 14

10 Biggest Surprises of April

2011-05-02T16:07:00.010-07:00

1. The Cleveland Indians have the best record in baseball at 19-8. And who's in 2nd in the AL Central? The Royals, of course. The Marlins are another team off to a surprising hot start.

2. Two of the biggest disappointments this season have been Derek Jeter and Justin Morneau. I honestly thought that these two would be extremely motivated by their tumultuous 2010's to have white-hot Aprils, but that hasn't been the case. Jeter is looking every bit his age, and I'm starting to legitimately worry that Morneau may never be the same following his concussion.

3. Joey Bautista is so far proving that last season was not a fluke. The three guys I was looking for at the start of the year to have huge regressions from 2010 were Bautista, Phil Hughes, and Mike Leake, and so far Jose is the only guy proving me wrong. Not only is he on pace to repeat his 54 HR performance from last year, but he is arguably one of the top 5 best players in all of baseball right now. I'm still keeping an eye on this guy but so far he has not let up.

4. Almost every single guy that the Yankees brought back from the dead - guys that we all laughed at when they signed - is not only contributing, but playing very well. Russell Martin was brought in to back up Francisco Cervelli and now is one of the team's offensive leaders. Freddie Garcia and Bartolo Colon both made the team as spring non-roster invitees and have salvaged the staff. And no, I haven't manipulated that photo on the left - Bartolo really still is that wide. Eric Chavez is killing the ball off the bench, and probably would be playing a lot more if they didn't have $500 million worth of players already at the corner infield spots and DH. Chavez will either be the Marcus Thames of 2011, or I can see him getting traded for a bullpen arm down the stretch.

5. On the heels of a lackluster second half of last season after breaking his pinky, Andre Ethier has started this season off with a 27-game hit streak, the longest April hit streak of all time. A hit today, and he's halfway to DiMaggio.

6. Lance Berkman looked to be in rapid decline following a deadline trade to the Yankees last year. But he signed a one-year deal with the Cards and actually decided to show up to camp in shape for his first spring not with the Astros, and he is destroying the ball. He is in the top 10 in most offensive categories including batting average, home runs, and RBI. What's even more remarkable is he's doing it as the everyday right fielder, a position he hasn't played regularly in four years due to bad knees.

7. Jared Weaver, Justin Masterson, AJ Burnett, Aaron Harang, and Kyle Lohse have a combined 23 wins.

8. The Pirates actually ain't half bad. Their record won't surprise you like the Royals or Indians would, but they have a very young and talented lineup that is hitting its stride. Neil Walker and Andrew McCutchen are not far off from being perennial all-stars. Charlie Morton is 3-1 after three horrendous seasons in which he went a combined 11-29 with an ERA over 6. Kevin Correia is actually a legitimate ace of this staff so far.

9. The Twins have somehow made it through their 2nd April at their new outdoor ballpark without a snow-out.

10. Lastly, this one is off the field but I have to mention it. Ryan Braun, with 5 years remaining on his current contract, signed a 5-year extension with Milwaukee through 2020. Ryan Braun is a Brewer for at least another 10 years - it sounds better every time I say it. It is very refreshing in today's game to know that there are still guys out there like Brauny and Tulo that value hometown pride and staying with a team for life.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 05.02:
Brewers 13-14, -2.5 (4 @ Braves, 3 @ Cardinals)
Reds 14-14, -2.0 (3 v. Astros, 3 @ Cubs)
Twins 9-18, -10.0 (2 @ White Sox, 4 @ Red Sox)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 3
Peter - 13

Mike Leake Arrested for Shoplifting

2011-04-25T18:31:00.003-07:00

Apparently, the cost of living has gone up in Cincinnati since I've left. Reds pitcher Mike Leake, who makes nearly $500,000/year, was arrested for shoplifting $59.88 worth of T-shirts from the downtown Macy's early last week. The petty nature of his crime not withstanding, Leake now joins a long and storied fraternity of Cincy sportsmen having a brush with the law. Up until this arrest, Cincinnati athletes had somehow managed to stay clean since the football season ended (I'm assuming a Bengal was arrested for something last year). I can fondly recall my days at UC, where our local campus dive Uncle Woody's had a toteboard that pitted "Bengals Arrests/Suspensions v. Bengals Wins," and it was tie or victory for the arrests every year. Now with Leake's arrest and Brandon Phillips' reckless driving arrest last year, it looks like the Reds are finally giving the Bengals and Bearcats a run for their money. Maybe Ryan Braun can spare a few items from his designer T-shirt line while the Reds are in town.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 04.25:
Brewers 11-10 (3 v. Reds, 3 @ Astros)
Reds 11-11 (3 @ Brewers, 3 v. Marlins)
Twins 9-12 (3 v. Rays, 3 @ Royals)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 3
Peter - 12

Jose Canseco Comeback Attempt #5

2011-04-18T20:22:00.007-07:00

It was announced early last week that former major leaguer Jose Canseco, along with his twin brother Ozzie, is staging yet another comeback, this time as a player-manager for the Yuma Scorpions of the newly-formed North American League. Since his "retirement" in 2002, Canseco has attempted several comebacks, including with the Dodgers in 2004, and several teams in the indy ball circuit. The most notorious of these comebacks was a stint in the Golden League in 2006, during which he signed with the San Diego Surf Dawgs for one game as a knuckleball pitcher, and was then traded to the Long Beach Armada and ended up making the all-star team and winning the home run derby at the age of 42.

This latest comeback is nothing more than a gimmick to make money that he probably desperately needs. Whether it's writing, celebrity boxing, martial arts, an appearance on "The Apprentice," or baseball, nothing that Jose has done over the last decade has served any other purpose than to draw unnecessary attention to himself. Jose Canseco should have ridden off into the sunset after writing Juiced, a book which changed the landscape of baseball forever and helped shape the drug testing policies and court cases we see today. It was an enlightening book and for a brief time served as Jose's vindication and penance. But now, much like Pete Rose's futile attempts to get back into the game, Jose is just making a fool of himself. I respect a man trying to get his life back together, but managing and DH-ing for an independent league team at age 46 is getting a little ridiculous. But maybe that's just how Canseco wants it. After all, he was part of an era of players that turned baseball from just a game into entertainment. Jose's entire post-MLB life has been an incarnation of his lifelong belief that he has and always will view himself as a performer above all else. His stint in Yuma will definitely put butts in the seats, and if the Scorpions actually do well it will just be a bonus opportunity to stick it to former "Bash Brothers" teammate Mark McGwire to prove he is the better coach.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 04.18:
Brewers 8-8 (3 @ Phillies, 3 v. Astros)
Reds 9-7 (3 v. Diamondbacks, 3 @ Cardinals)
Twins 6-10 (4 @ Orioles, 3 v. Indians)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 2
Peter - 10

Minor League Opening Week 2011

2011-04-12T17:04:00.007-07:00

All photos of the Kernels home opener available on Flickr.

A week after play started in the big leagues, most full-season MiLB teams across the country started their season on Thursday, April 7th. Minor League Opening Day may not have the pomp and enthusiasm as the majors, but I of course enjoy it just the same because I love the hustle and devotion of minor league athletes. No matter what the league is or level of competition, Opening Day symbolizes the same thing everywhere - a fresh start and a new opportunity. It is the beginning of a journey for each of the thousands of minor leaguers, from new draftees to AAA veterans, that could one day see them fulfill their lifelong dream of playing under the lights of a major league ballpark.

I spent my 2nd consecutive MiLB opener at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids. The Kernels actually started out the season on the road, and the home opener was Monday against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. This also meant I was spending my 2nd consecutive MiLB opener rooting for the road team from my home state of Wisconsin. I arrived at the ballpark about a half-hour before the first pitch to make sure I could collect the Veterans Memorial Stadium 10th Season t-shirt they were giving away to the first 1,000 fans. The good news was that the crowd was only about 1500 so there were plently left, but the bad news is that they only had Adult Small left. I took one anyways - maybe I'll lose 30 pounds someday, who knows. I also collected the customary Opening Day magnet schedule. Looking around the park this year, there is nothing really new to report. There was a slew of new outerwear in the team store, and they added a roof over the beer stand in the Randy Kuehl Pavilion - that's about it. Parousing the gameday program, many of the promotions seem to be the same too: Star Wars Night, Jimmy Buffet Night, etc. It seems clear to me that after the Kernels got their new ballpark 10 years ago, they were going to be content with the way things were for awhile. This is the 3rd year I've been to a game at the Vet, and for the 3rd straight year nothing is different. The Kernels have a nice, relatively new park, a good team and fan base, and a slew of great theme nights - I guess with over 100 years of baseball tradition in Cedar Rapids, that's about all you need.

I got my beer wrist band and went with a Leine's Red and a pork tenderloin sandwich for dinner. After trying almost every single food there over the last couple years, this is probably still the best menu item. For those who don't know, the pork tenderloin is pretty much Iowa's state food, so if you can count on one food being done right at any restaurant or venue, it will be the pork tenderloin. I decided to splurge the extra $3 from my typical GA ticket to sit in the 4th row right behind home plate, which proved to be crucial because I now had protective netting in front while I concentrated on not getting mustard from my sandwich on me for the first inning. The T-Rats spoiled the Kernels' home debut with a 3-1 victory, and as a Brewers fan I was very happy with what I saw. Wisconsin played stellar defense, had pretty good pitching, and had many sound fundamental at-bats. My only criticism is that they don't have a lot of team speed. The Kernels, on the other hand, had erratic pitching, particularly their starter who walked 6 and hit a batter. The strength of this team is again supposed to be pitching but I wasn't impressed with what I saw tonight. Offensively, they hit a lot of balls right on the screws but were robbed time and time again by an outstanding Timber Rattler infield. The Kernels' lone highlight was a 405-ft bomb to dead center by Travis Witherspoon, who also collected a single and a walk. Carlos George was the star of the night for the T-Rats, going 2-3 with a double, walk, and 2 RBI out of the 9-spot, and more notably making at least four amazing defensive plays at shortstop that I can remember. As I said, the entire infield defense was pickin' it all night. The top prospects at this level for the Brewers were Reggie Keen and Cody Hawn, and they had one hit apiece. Another player I saw at the Rising Stars Game for the T-Rats was the starter Tyler Thornburg. He struck out 5 in 3 innings of work, and then gave way to Dan Britt who gave up 1 hit in 4 innings of relief, and Brian Garman who shut the door with a 4-out save. It was a good showing by the Brewers' A-affiliate, and I also look forward to rooting for the home team down in Cedar Rapids sometime soon.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 04.12:
Brewers 5-5 (3 @ Pirates, 3 @ Nationals)
Reds 7-3 (3 @ Padres, 4 v. Pirates)
Twins 3-6 (2 v. Royals, 4 @ Rays)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 2
Peter - 10

Opening Weekend 2011

2011-04-05T19:09:00.012-07:00

All photos of Brewers Rising Stars Game and the Brewers home opener available on Flickr.

It was a little weird that Opening Day was on a Thursday this year, but my excitement and anticipation of another baseball season was not diminished. Excitement, in that all 30 teams from New York to Kansas City start out tied for first. And anticipation over what is going to be at least a 4-team race all season long in the NL Central. Right out of the gates, the Reds picked up where they left off in 2010 as they came back in dramatic fashion to beat the Brewers 7-6 with a walkoff homerun and are already atop the division at 4-0. The Pirates' window of opportunity with its young talent and energetic manager is fast approaching, and hey they won their 5th consecutive season opener - who knew? The Cubs will, yet again, attempt to ride the neverending contracts of Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano into the playoffs. Even though the Cards are already down a perennial Cy Young candidate in Adam Wainwright and the Pujols contract situation looms daily, you can never count out LaRussa and Dave Duncan. To be blunt, the Astros are in a transitional phase and will be really terrible this year. Last but certainly not least, on paper the Brewers look strong and are expected to have a very successful season following the offseason acquisitions of Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, and new manager Ron Roenicke. They had to trade a lot of young talent away to get these two new horses for the rotation, but it was clear after the 2009-10 campaigns that something drastic had to be done.

To encourage fans concerned about the longterm future of the Brewers, a "Rising Stars" game was held at Miller Park the Saturday before the home opener. It allowed the Brewers to show off some of the organization's top prospects and to help alleviate concerns about the dwindling farm system and failed draft picks the last several years. Despite trading away both their top pitching prospect (Jake Odorizzi) and positional prospect (Brett Lawrie) in one winter, the Brewers still hold a number of players filing through the ranks that should make a major-league impact sooner rather than later. Pitching actually holds the most promise, as Mark Rogers, Wily Peralta, Amaury Rivas, Kyle Heckathorn, and Cody Scarpetta are all expected to compete for spots in the Brewers' rotation in the next couple years, and Tyler Thornburg and Josh Butler for spots the bullpen. Half of these guys will probably be on the 25-man roster at some point during the season. The positional players are a little bit further behind, with all of the big names now traded or on the big league squad. But the Brewers still have Mat Gamel and despite a lot of ill-timed injuries, he is still expected to rake at the big league level and it will be his job to lose at 1st next year after Prince leaves. Gamel did not play in the Rising Stars Game, but Scooter Gennett, Kentrail Davis, Eric Komatsu, Eric Farris, and Caleb Gindl all did. I wouldn't classify these guys as blue-chip prospects, but they're solid defenders who have a good approach at the plate, and the Brewers will definitely have spots at least three positions for these kids to compete for next spring.

The results of the Rising Stars Game were mostly reflective of the level of talent at the Brewers minor league level - strong on pitching and defense, a little bit lacking in hitting. But that's really not a bad thing - pitching is something a team always wants in surplus in the minors. Pitching is also cyclical - 6-8 years ago, when the Brewers were selecting big power bats like Weeks, Fielder, Braun, and Hart, who are now all in the bigs, the pitching was lacking, and now it is vice versa. I'm sure once guys like Brauny and Prince get older and start to leave, you'll see another influx of positional drafting by the Brewers. For the game, the Brewers split their top prospects into two teams of "Blue" and "White" and they faced off in a scrimmage, sort of like a minor league all-star game, except it was intrasquad. All the pitchers got about 2 innings and positional players played most of the game. It was a 2-0 win for the White team, but hey the best part was that whoever won, it was a Brewers victory! There must have been at least 20 total strikeouts in the game and all of the aforementioned pitchers simply dominated the hitters in a game that flew by in less than 2 hours. The lone offensive highlight was a solo homerun by Taylor Green. The Brewers have only had a local minor league affiliate in Wisconsin for 2 years, so it was good to see some of the AAA guys that I didn't know too much about, as well as guys like Rivas and Scarpetta that I saw pitch in Appleton. The best part of the game by far though was getting that first 2011 Miller Park tailgate under the belt, and getting a sneak preview of the brand new gigantic HD scoreboard, which is now 4th in the majors to Yankee Stadium, Kauffman Stadium, and Turner Field in size and pixels.

Saturday's event was just a warmup for the big day on Monday. Emerging from the secret path through the VA grounds (which is now paved, by the way) and smelling those brats in the parking lot almost made me forget that it was 30 degrees colder than last year with 30 mph winds. The Brewers drew the 2nd largest crowd in Miller Park history, over 46000 screaming fans. This year, the Brewers remedied Miller Park's two biggest shortcomings: the jumbotron and the food. The old jumbotron really started to show its age last season, with many bulbs out and the obsolete dot matrix board constantly flickering. The $10 million scoreboard upgrade from the stadium's tax district money is amazing. Secondly, food is an area I feel that Miller Park, as a stadium connoisseur, has always lacked in compared to some of the newer parks. Not necessarily in quality, but in quantity of options. Miller Park, up until now, has had the approach of just doing what Milwaukee does best - the best cased meats in the league, and a damn good fish fry that will compete with any in the city. The change started a little bit last year with the introduction of an Asian noodle stand and a burrito cart, but this year the influx of new foods went into high gear: carved prime rib sandwiches, barbeque parfaits, beef brisket, sausage kabobs, and poutine are all new at Miller Park in 2011. I had been full from tailgating at each of the games I've attended at the ballpark thus far, but I will definitely be on a hunger quest at my next Brewers game and will report my findings right here on HE&PB.

The great thing about Opening Day in Milwaukee is that even a 2-1 loss to a rookie pitcher on a cold April day is not enough to deter the fans from carrying their enthusiasm through all 9 innings, and even back to the parking lot to the patented re-tailgate. The Crew did not play very well - aside from starting pitcher Chris Narveson who chucked 6 scoreless - but it's a long season to go and I'm not making any bold predictions at this point. I will say that two things that already concern me are Carlos Gomez's inability to do anything semi-productive offensively, and the combined 78 years of setup guy we're running out there. The Brewers as of this post are still looking for their first win of the 2011 campaign and it will be an interesting season to say the least. Hopefully a dozen of the World Champion Green Bay Packers throwing out the 1st pitch of the home schedule will rub off a little luck on the team and get them on a roll.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 04.05:
Brewers 0-4 (4 v. Braves, 3 v. Cubs)
Reds 4-0 (3 v. Astros, 3 @ Diamondbacks)
Twins 1-3 (4 @ Yankees, 3 v. Athletics)

2011 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 1
Peter - 9

Tour 2011: Scottsdale Stadium

2011-03-31T19:25:00.011-07:00

All photos of Phoenix day 7 and Scottsdale Stadium available on Flickr.

Our final game of the trip was a 3:10 start, so it allowed us to sleep in past 9:00 for the first time all week. We started the day off at another establishment showcased on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, a fantastic little breakfast nook called Matt's Big Breakfast, just north of downtown Phoenix. The line was insane because the place only seated about 20, but it was ok because we killed part of the 90-minute wait at a bar next door. When we finally got seated, I went with a standard eggs-bacon-hashbrowns breakfast with a side of sourdough toast, and Phil and a salami scrambler. I pretty much knew going in that all of the meat products would be amazing, but I was really surprised by how good something as simple as eggs and potatoes could taste. We didn't get out of there until after 2, but it was well worth it.

Phil and I arrived in downtown Scottsdale about 2:30 and spent at least 15 minutes looking for parking. Urban ballparks have a fantastic atmosphere and can serve as a great anchor for a community, but the drawback is always parking. We eventually conceded to paying $10 in a bank parking lot 5 blocks away after driving through several free garages that were full. Since it took so long to find parking and we weren't entirely sure were the practice fields were anyways, we just went straight to the ballpark and wedged our way into the massive glob of people at the will call window. We finally got in just before first pitch and took our seats in the right field bleachers before we had a chance to get a beer. In about the 3rd inning, we quenched our thirst with a couple silos of Modelo and took a stroll around the park. The attendance was over 12,000 and the park was extremely crowded and hard to navigate through. The team store was also very crowded and was sold out of just about everything but World Series stuff. There were long lines everywhere all day, which was in stark contrast to the relaxing, open nature of Talking Stick the night before. One nice feature at this park is the outfield berm dips back down to form a hill, and the concourse wraps around the back of this at the base. This was part of a 2006 renovation to connect to left and right field berms, and it was a nice secluded area of the park to sort of hide from the commotion for a bit.

The original stadium was built in 1992 and has always held the Giants as its primary tenant. It's a very nuts-and-bolts park and in my opinion is nothing spectacular. The urban location and the atmosphere is what sells this place more than the architecture or amenities. I'd be curious to see what the crowd is like in year which they didn't win the World Series, but I'd imagine being in downtown Scottsdale that they draw lots of walk-up fans regardless. It really reminded me of Warner Park in a way, it had the same typical younger crowd and wild atmosphere, and how various sections of seating seemed very piecemeal and cramped. The way that the bleachers and seating sit on grade with the concession stands stuffed underneath, and you have to arise into the grandstand, is also similar to the Duck Pond. The whole park just didn't seem to have a cohesive design and it felt more like the architect threw in a seating bowl and a pressbox, and then over time added various bleacher sections and the exterior shell. That may not be the case, but that's just how it feels - in my mind, the park just doesn't have a good flow and is discontinuous. On the plus side, Warner Park is one of my favorite ballparks and all of its oddities and shortcomings give the park tons of character, and the same definitely applies to Scottsdale Stadium. It wasn't one of my favorite parks of the week but it definitely was the most unique of the 6. I had heard so many good things about how great the atmosphere was at this park, and how awesome Scottsdale is, so I was excited to go to Scottsdale Stadium and check it out for myself. While that end of the bargain was upheld, architecturally I was left wanting. Even though the game was exciting, the stadium had character, and it was a sellout, paying $29 for a bleacher ticket and $6 for a cold brat negated most of that.

We saw Cincinnati for the 3rd time this week take on San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum in his final spring tune-up, and the final Cactus League home game for the Giants as well. Sam LeCure got the spot start for the Reds in place of Bronson Arroyo. Unlike the Brewers and Cardinals who also have starting pitcher injuries, the Reds are about 8-deep in their rotation and have guys like LeCure and Travis Wood who can step in when Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto go on the DL, or if Arroyo misses a few starts with mono. LeCure pitched admirably but was not really stretched out yet so he was only able to make it into the 4th. The Giants got the bulk of their runs off of Aroldis Chapman, who we saw pitch in all 3 Reds games this week. The Reds had a 6-3 lead until he gave up 5 ER on 4 hits without recording an out in the 6th, and the Giants ended up winning 9-6. Cincy got all 6 of those runs off of Lincecum on 11 hits. I couldn't tell if the Reds were actually hitting The Freak that well, or if he was just out there chuckin' to get his work in and didn't really care. Offensively, Juan Francisco went 3-4 with a HR for the Reds, and Andres Torres was 3-4 with 4 RBI and a walk for the Giants.

I noticed when we were out in Scottsdale on Friday night that there was a Yard House there, so we hit that up for some chow after the game. Phil and I then met up for some farewell drinks with Rob at the same bar we ended up at the night before, playing video lawn darts and some hits on the jukebox until about 11. It was then a 5:30 AM wake-up call to drop off the rental car, and then catch 3 planes and drive 5 hours back to Iowa. What a long day on Sunday, but boy what an unbelieveable trip and a fun week in Arizona with Phil. Overall, I'd have to say that Scottsdale Stadium was my least favorite park of the week, and Camelback Ranch narrowly beat out Salt River Fields as my favorite. I enjoyed my time at every park and would certainly recommend a game at all 6 of the parks we visited. Next on tap for Tour 2011 is a potential weekend Midwest League trip with E; we'll see how that pans out. Happy Opening Day to all!!!

park rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 4
views from park - 5 (could see mountains from right field corner)
view to field - 4 (seats not angled towards field)
surrounding area - 9 (downtown Scottsdale)
food variety - 3
nachos - 5 (standard)
beer - 5 (points deducted for having $6 12-oz beers)
vendor price - 5
ticket price - 2 ($29 bleacher is outrageous)
atmosphere - 8 (sellout)
walk to park - 6 (depends where you park)
parking proximity - 2 ($10 lot 5 blocks away)
concourses - 3 (crowded, below grandstand no view of field)
team shop - 3 (good size but sold out of a lot)
complex - n/a, did not see

best food - nothing notable; go with the Asian noodles
most unique stadium feature - walk behind the berm, only urban park in Cactus League
jumbotron - yes
best between-inning feature - n/a

field dimensions - 360/430/360
starters - Sam LeCure (CIN) v. Tim Lincecum (SF)
opponent - Cincinnati Reds
time of game - 3:01
attendance - 12096
score - 9-6 W
Brewers score that day - 2-1 W

Tour 2011: Salt River Fields at Talking Stick

2011-03-31T15:49:00.014-07:00

All photos of Salt River Fields available on Flickr.

Friday was the day I was looking forward to most on the trip: a doubleheader featuring a nightcap at the brand new Salt River Fields in north Scottsdale. The day started out by picking up Frank at about 10:15 and heading all the way out to Surprise, which took over 45 minutes in traffic. We thought we would be seeing the Giants play the Royals there at 1:05, but it turns out that the Spring Training Online schedule incorrectly listed this game as a matinee instead of a 6:05 nightcap. I thought I had learned my lesson in Burlington last year about checking schedules the day of a game, but I guess not. So we made the longest drive in the Cactus League for nothing. We collected our bearings and consulted the Spring Training pocket schedule, but found no other decent daytime options so we decided to just go back to Maryvale to watch the Crew. We had rainout tickets from Monday that we had to use anyways, so it worked out fine other than me having to change out of my Rick Vaughn jersey since they were playing the Indians. We arrived at noon and got the exact same seats we had on Sunday by the Brewers' bullpen (read more about this game in the Maryvale post from 3/28/11).

After the Brewers' victory we made our way east to the heralded brand new facility of the Diamondbacks and Rockies, the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Our first encounter with bad traffic on the trip was an absolute crawl from AZ-202 all the way up the 101 to the ballpark. We parked the car in an adjacent "lot" for $5 that was actually just a lawn. Why they would cover an entire field in the desert with turf just for you to park on was beyond me, so I hope that it's used for something else the other 11 months of the year. What made the parking situation even more awkward is that there wasn't really a path exiting the lot, you had to navigate this sort of drainage ditch and climb over some rocks to get onto the sidewalk. Once on the sidewalk, it led us through the D-Backs training area and up to the left field gate. We didn't really have a chance to explore the grounds more than in passing, because we got there after 6pm for a 6:40 first pitch. From what we could tell they seemed pretty fan-accessible and close to the ballpark. The practice fields also had a similar landscaped setting to Camelback, including the same type of plinth seating behind the backstops and some small creeks. Unlike at Camelback these creeks are natural, and the complex gets its name from the five "salt rivers" that converge on the site; in reality, they are just five sections of the same small dried-up river bed. There is clearly a lot of leiniency on what passes for a "river" in Phoenix. The other part of the complex's name is a historical reference to a stick used by the local Pima Indian tribe to record events. When it opened this spring, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick became the first MLB ballpark to be built on Native American land.

We collected our tickets at an automated will call kiosk (like the ones they use at Great American Ballpark) and entered in the left field corner. Just when I don't think the next day's ballpark could possibly be topped, it happens. The sight was absolutely breathtaking. To our right was a beautiful, dynamic roof form that swept over the seating at various angles and was designed specifically to shade 90% of the seats at a matinee game in March. In front of us was a fairly plain batters eye and the team offices of the Rockies. And on our left, we saw the large jumbotron, team store, and Diamondbacks offices. Behind all of this was a phenomenal view to the McDowell Mountains in the distance. I just took it all in for awhile and snapped some photos, amazed at the grandeur rolled out by these organizations just for a Spring Training facility. I then grabbed a program and we headed into the team store, which had just about everything imaginable including baseballs with the Talking Stick logo on it. Up to this point, all of the balls I had purchased just had the team logo on one side and "Spring Training" on the other, nothing about the ballpark. Exiting the team store and taking a lap around the outfield, Phil and I noticed how similar this ballpark was to Camelback Ranch. This was especially evident in the identical basic layouts - team offices in the outfield corners, ramp down to mid-level walkway through the seating bowl, expansive second level, and no pronounced entry gate. The similarities continued with color palette and materials, and both parks also have a very distinctive roof form. I was not surprised to find out just now when I looked it up that the two facilities were indeed designed by the same architect, HKS. I'm not sure if these guys have a small foothold in the ballpark monopoly that is Populous, but I thoroughly enjoyed their two stadiums. My rankings are going to show that Salt River Fields scored higher, but I'd still have to give the slight edge to Camelback Ranch if for no other reason than the sensational practice complex.

We had awesome seats for Friday night's game: 1st row of the 200 sections, just off-center from home plate. The teams took their BP in the main ballpark for this game, so we got to watch a little of that. From where we sat, the ballpark really felt like a big league ballpark. If you added 15,000 seats to the upper deck, there's absolutely no reason this park couldn't play in the major leagues. They literally have just about everything else you need and expect from an MLB ballpark except an appropriate seating capacity. There's all sorts of food and a beer stand at the top of every aisle, but most importantly it just has that intangible comfort level you feel at a major league stadium. It's a very spacious park and a relaxing place to watch a ballgame. And what better way to relax at a ballgame than with a silo of beer and a gigantic hot dog? These two items have been the standard fare offered at every park this week, but Talking Stick did it best: a Salt River Dog featuring roasted green chiles, onions, and bacon, and a 24-oz Blue Moon. All of the specialty hot dogs looked delicious and it was a hard choice. There were actually so many concession options that we made a second trip later in the game for garlic knots and daiquiris, both of which were outstanding.

The tenant of Salt River Fields that we saw on this night was Colorado, and they were hosting Texas. The Rockies plated 10 runs on 20 hits, including 8 and 13 off of Rangers starter Derek Holland. Watching Holland's long arm action I could tell that the ball was probably easy to pick up for the hitters. Catcher Chris Ianetta slugged a towering homerun in the 4th, and Rockie legend Todd Helton effortlessly collected 3 singles and an RBI. Eric Young Jr., the son of former Brewer Eric Young, got the start in center and had 2 hits and a run scored. I was really hoping we'd get to see Jason Giambi sub into the game, but he was probably off preparing his testimony in the Bonds perjury trial. Not really much action to speak of for the Rangers. Josh Hamilton went 1-2 with a walk, and Arthur Rhodes might ride into the sunset after his All-Star 2010 campaign, because he surrendered 4 hits in an inning of refief and looked pretty terrible.

After the game, we tied one on pretty hard for the first time that week. We were out in Scottsdale with Rob and Frank until bar close and didn't get to bed until after 4. Saturday is our last full day out here and we have tickets to the Giants game in downtown Scottsdale.

park rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 8
views from park - 8 (mountains)
view to field - 9
surrounding area - 7 (downtown Scottsdale nearby)
food variety - 9
nachos - 5 (standard)
beer - 6 (points deducted for ridiculous serving policy and long lines)
vendor price - 6
ticket price - 7 ($20 behind home plate)
atmosphere - 9 (sellout)
walk to park - 7
parking proximity - 4 (adjacent lot $5, hard to get from lot to path)
concourses - 9 (very spacious)
team shop - 9 (two)
complex - 7

best food - Salt River Dog
most unique stadium feature - roof
jumbotron - yes (kind of hard to read, and the "Salt River Fields" sign on top needs some lighting)
best between-inning feature - n/a

field dimensions - 345/410/345
starters - Derek Holland (TEX) v. Esmil Rogers (COL)
opponent - Texas Rangers
time of game - 3:10
attendance - 12258
score - 10-3 W
Brewers score that day - 7-4 W

Tour 2011: Tempe Diablo Stadium

2011-03-30T19:53:00.018-07:00

All photos of Tempe Diablo Stadium and Tempe available on Flickr.

Thursday was the Brewers' only road game of the week in Tempe, so we knew this would definitely be a must-see game when we were planning the trip. Tempe is near the Phoenix Airport and is the home to the Arizona State University campus. It was about a 20 minute drive and we got there at 10:45. Parking was $5 in a lot between the stadium and the practice fields and there were already many Brewers fans there when we arrived. From the looks of the parking lot, we could tell it would not be another sparse crowd as at all the other games that week. In fact, we had heard that the Angels, Giants, and the new Salt River Fields were all really tough tickets to get, so we bought the seats for our last 3 days of the trip in advance.

We picked up our tickets at Will Call and meandered over to the Angels' practice diamond to watch infield practice. Angels Camp had a real learning environment and was far more active than any other training facility we had been to thus far. You just won't see too many other managers hit fungoes and stress fundamentals as much as Mike Scioscia does, which is what makes him one of the best managers in the game. It's not a coincidence that the Angels are perennially one of the best defensive teams in baseball and contend every year in the AL West despite a wealth of young players. We watched Scioscia hit double plays for about a half hour, the same play over and over until they got it right. Down the road at the minor league fields, we also watched some of the pitching coaches work on location and delivery drills with a few pitchers. There was also some BP going on at one field, and 3 minor league intersquad games taking place on 3 other fields. Seemingly everyone in the organization had a bat or glove in their hand, or was working with a coach on something. After watching a few AB's of a minor league scrimmage, we walked back towards the stadium and noticed that the crowd had thickened around the big-league practice field to watch Scioscia switch it over to soft toss. I've had the privilege of watching some of the Angels' top prospects at their A-ball affiliate in Cedar Rapids the last couple years I've lived in Iowa, and I can not wait to see the next batch in 2011 after seeing all those young kids pick it in the infield this morning.

On our way out of the practice field area, we grabbed our "George 'The Greek Streak' Kottaras" and "Craig ' The Wizard of Whitefish Bay' Counsell" signs out of the Altima and headed into the stadium. Tempe Diablo is the type of stadium where you have to ascend a tall staircase to get up to the main entry, and in this case it is a very prominent "Spanish Stair" that doubles as a gathering place. We tried to circumnavigate the exterior but couldn't really find a way around, so we walked up a long ramp that ran from the right field pole up to the main gate behind home plate. Tempe Diablo was erected in 1968 and is the 2nd oldest ballpark in the Cactus League (Phoenix Municipal is the oldest), but the park does not show its age at all. In fact, Maryvale is actually 30 years younger than Tempe Diablo and looks to be in far worse shape. An extensive renovation completed in 2006 included the current entryway, team store, new seats, and moving the training fields on site from Mesa, making the entire complex seem much newer than it really is - not unlike the Angels' big league counterpart of Angel Stadium. Once inside, I immediately sensed a much more intimate feel and energetic crowd. This park seats less than 10,000 and is nestled inside of some roads and large rocky hills, making it seem far less open and expansive than Goodyear and Camelback. These hills provided the best view of any ballpark thus far.

The concourses were packed with fans as we made our way around the stadium. The standard second level that houses the suites and pressboxes is fairly low to the concourse level at this ballpark, and provides continuous cover from dugout to dugout. These are both features that further emphasize the smaller scale and intimacy of Tempe Diablo Stadium. The left field corner features a pavilion filled with tents and standalone vendors with a wide assortment of food and drink. It's an area you typically see at a lot of minor league parks, but at a much larger scale, almost like at the State Fair. I decided to make one attempt at a healthy food for the week and had a portobello mushroom sandwich, and Phil went with the jumbo hot dog. Lunch in hand, we walked down to our seats about 5 rows up behind the 1st base dugout. The crowd filed in fast and it was a near sellout by first pitch. This did not include Frank, who showed up a few innings late after being tied up at a work function downtown.

When we saw who the starting pitchers would be for this game, we knew we were in for a barnburner: Randy Wolf v. Scott Kazmir. After giving up another 4 earned over 5.1 on this day, Wolf's Cactus League ERA is now near 10. He's really only had one good start all spring, but he has been notoriously getting a ton of run support since signing with the Brewers in 2010, and today was no different. Milwaukee banged out 10 runs on 8 hits, including a 1st-inning 3-run bomb by Yuniesky Betancourt, the forgotten man in the Zack Greinke trade. Carlos Gomez and Erick Almonte continued their hot springs with 2 hits a piece. Casey McGehee was actually carted off the field in this game after being plunked in the knee by one of the few pitches that Kazmir through with any movement, but we later found out that it was just a bruise and he would be just fine. Edwin Maysonet spelled McGehee and made a couple of fantastic plays at 3rd in his stead. Top Los Angeles prospects Hank Conger, Peter Bourjos, Alexi Amarista, and Mark Trumbo all saw playing time. Bourjos hit a homerun off of Wolf in the 3rd and is penciled in to be the Angels' Opening Day centerfielder, moving Torii Hunter to right. Conger also has a chance to break camp on the 25-man roster as the backup catcher. The final score of the game was 11-8 Brewers, and I think we predicted 12-9 so we were close.

I was actually pleasantly surprised with the nice view and the general aesthetics and feel of the park, as I was really not expecting much after seeing the likes of Goodyear and Camelback earlier in the week. Take my word for it - in almost every category Tempe Diablo competes with all of the new complexes sprouting up in the Cactus League. After the game, we headed to Mill Street near the ASU campus to visit the local Hooters and watch some of the UW basketball game. Phil and I then dropped Frank off at his parents' hotel in the boonies, and we finished our night by closing down that brewpub by our hotel and subsequently getting kicked out of the hot tub.

park rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 4
views from park - 7 (small mountains beyond outfield berm)
view to field - 8
surrounding area - 7 (ASU/downtown Tempe nearby)
food variety - 8
nachos - 5 (standard)
beer - 8 (featuring Leinie's and local beers)
vendor price - 7
ticket price - 8 ($16 for 1st base dugout)
atmosphere - 8 (pretty full house)
walk to park - 5
parking proximity - 6 (adjacent lot $5)
concourses - 5 (a little cramped, but points for LF pavilion)
team shop - 3 (a few smaller ones, sold out of a lot)
complex - 7

best food - hot dog
most unique stadium feature - front entry/stair
jumbotron - no, scoreboard only
best between-inning feature - t-shirt toss

field dimensions - 340/420/367
starters - Randy Wolf (MIL) v. Scott Kazmir (LAA)
opponent - Milwaukee Brewers
time of game - 3:13
attendance - 7906
score - 11-8 L
Brewers score that day - 11-8 W

Tour 2011: Camelback Ranch

2011-03-29T19:34:00.010-07:00

All photos of Camelback Ranch, University of Phoenix Stadium, and Glendale available on Flickr.

We spent Wednesday at the gorgeous Spring Training home of the White Sox and Dodgers, Camelback Ranch - who also happened to be playing each other that day. It was about a half-hour drive out to 107th & Camelback Road in Glendale, and we got there at about 10:30. Just like Goodyear, Camelback Ranch was built in 2009, has shared tenants, and features free parking.

That was where the similarities ended. After buying our tickets and liberally applying sunblock, we started our walk in search of the practice fields and were greeted by a map and sign at the gated entry to the complex. Rather than be tucked away as an afterthought, the complex grounds are celebrated here at Camelback Ranch and were clearly designed as one intergral baseball experience, not just as neglected back fields. Fans are encouraged to explore the grounds on a series of paths rather than to just find their own way. Camelback is all about the procession and the pastoral experience, and I was absolutely blown away by how beautiful it was. I could have spent an entire day just walking around the back fields (which were built to have the same field dimensions as Dodger Stadium and US Cellular Field, respectively). It had a sort of "zoo" feel to it - winding paths, built-in seating at strategic places of rest and viewing, cage-like fencing, and beautiful rolling hills and landscaping. There is even a canal and lake that is filled with carp that provides inimate places to sit, wonderful little bridges, and also doubles as an irrigation system for the dozen practice fields. In an area of the country with major water shortages, I thought the manmade lake was a nice way to retain and recycle water to irrigate the fields while also providing a nice setting for fans. Phil and I actually got to see the big league teams take BP this morning as well, which only added to the total experience. Matt Kemp and James Loney, and Brett Lillibridge of the White Sox were all tagging the ball, and the sandblasted concrete plinths gave us a seat not more than 10 feet from the action. In a stunning conclusion to the journey through the practice facilities, the outfield entry of the ballpark unveiled itself on the other side of a hill and pond, right behind the Dodgers' main auxiliary field. There was a small pavilion in front of this gate, and it was what appeared to be most like a main entry even though it did not face the parking lot. I thought overall that encouraging, if not forcing, the patron to walk through the grounds to get to the stadium was a solid gesture, and placing the auxiliary fields close to the main ballpark made a lot of sense.

If you go along with my previous "zoo" analogy, then the stadium itself would be like its outdoor amphitheater. It's really just a larger piece of the whole puzzle, and the exterior is nondescript enough so as to not overpower the beauty of the site. The field is below grade, so the entries are not very tall like they are at Goodyear. The inside is a beautiful sea of tans and browns and every attempt is made to bring the outside in, both in terms of earthen materials and landscaping. There's one unique detail in particular that noticeably reoccurs throughout the entire site. HKS Architects clearly wanted that natural stone retaining wall look, but my guess is that it was too expensive or too hard to find such a large quantity of large rocks, so their novel solution was to create sort of a frame out of wire mesh in the shape of a wall and stuff them with smaller stones and rocks. I thought it peculiar at first, but from a distance you can't tell that the cage is there and it is actually pretty creative, as it also seems to somehow work structurally as a wall. Camelback is the largest of all Cactus League parks, seating over 13,000, primarily in a first floor bowl and extensive grass berms. There is also a mezzanine level that houses the pressboxes, suites, and an open bar, which gives the ballpark almost a major league feel, and features a copper-clad canopy that partially shades the first level seating.

After entering back where we parked, we hit the team store and took a lap around the ballpark. We then walked up into the aforementioned 2nd level bar area that is open to all fans and overlooks the field. This is also the same level as the suites and press box and anybody can walk up here on a mezzanine walkway and overlook the entry pavilions and field; it's a pretty interesting view you don't get to experience at many ballparks. On the way down, we found our food for the day at a standalone vendor in the right field corner - Phil had pork nachos, and I a giant burrito. We then swung around the concourse behind the outfield berm and headed to our seats after grabbing a couple $10 silos of Tecate. Our ticketed seats were about halfway up between 3rd and the left field pole, but about the 6th inning we headed for the comfort of the mezzanine bar and finished the game sitting about 30 feet from White Sox GM Kenny Williams.

The game pitted the two tenants of Camelback Ranch against each other for the 4th and final time of the spring, with Chicago designated as the "home" team. The Dodgers won behind a strong pitching performance by former Blue Jay and Cub hurler Ted Lilly. He gave up 2 over 6 with 5 K's, and his counterpart John Danks was a little wilder but still had an effective pitching line. Matt Kemp and Carlos Quentin both hit absolute bombs for their respective teams; Quentin's shot cleared the berm down the left field line. As we near the end of Spring Training, both teams ran most of their regulars out there and everyone got at least 3 at bats. We did get to see former Brewers Tony Gwynn Jr. and Gabe Kapler strap it on for LA. Gwynn was 0-2 with a run scored, and Gabe grounded into a double play in his only at bat. It was a slow and lazy ballgame, and both teams are having a pretty miserable spring, but still nothing beats weekday afternoon ball.

Following the game, we stopped at the nearby University of Phoenix Stadium where the NFL's Arizona Cardinals play, just to snap a few photos and see what Peter Eisenman's crazy ass was up to. We followed that up with a stop at another one of many Phoenix area locales featured on a food show - La Piazza al Forno of DDD fame. The pizza was delicious but I was not able to enjoy it fully because I was deathly ill by this point. When we got back to the hotel I made some signs to take to the Brewers game the next day, and then I took some Nyquil and passed out for about 12 hours. I felt 10 times better on Thursday and was ready to see the Brewers play the Angels in Tempe.

park rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 7 (could have used some variety in color)
views from park - 4 (could see Univ. of Phx. Stadium from 2nd deck)
view to field - 8
surrounding area - 5 (downtown Glendale not far, Camelback Resort)
food variety - 6 (better than other 2 parks but still not great)
nachos - 8 (pork with burrito fixins)
beer - 7
vendor price - 6
ticket price - 6 ($17 for end sections)
atmosphere - 5 (crowds more lively at practice fields)
walk to park - 10 (assuming walk through grounds)
parking proximity - 9 (adjacent lot for free)
concourses - 8
team shop - 6 (two smaller ones)
complex - 10

best food - Sonoran Hot Dog
most unique stadium feature - practice field complex, mezzanine level bar
jumbotron - yes
best between-inning feature - giveaways

field dimensions - 345/410/345
starters - Ted Lilly (LAD) v. John Danks (CWS)
opponent - Los Angeles Dodgers
time of game - 3:03
attendance - 6037
score - 6-2 L
Brewers score that day - off

Tour 2011: Goodyear Ballpark

2011-03-29T17:32:00.013-07:00

All photos of Goodyear Ballpark available on Flickr.

Day 3 of the trip took us into the western suburb of Goodyear to see the Reds battle the A's. The Brewers are actually only 1 of 2 teams that still plays in Phoenix proper, because the surrounding area has so much open land that teams can build new ballparks pretty much wherever they want. This fact, and a lucrative offer from the city, was enough to entice the Reds and Indians away from Florida in 2009 into a brand new $33 million facility in Arizona. The drive was about a half-hour to the edge of the Phoenix metro area.

Exiting off I-10, the city of Goodyear seemed sparkling new, as if it had formed overnight. The sprawl of Phoenix into the Sonoran Desert knows no bounds, and this small town that was once just a plot of land that housed a Goodyear tire plant is now a city of over 65,000 people, and is one of the fastest growing cities in Arizona. It kind of reminds me of how my hometown of Oak Creek, WI was nothing more than a couple of big box retailers 20 years ago but is now one of the biggest Milwaukee suburbs. A definite drawback of this wild growth is that Goodyear definitely does not have the character or charm of suburbs like Glendale and Scottsdale, and that is also evident at the Reds & Indians' training facility. While it is a nice facility, it was a little disconcerting entering an empty parking lot in a barren nothingness, only to find a brand new building arising from the sand in the distance. Goodyear looks like it just sort of "arrived" on the site, much like the city itself. Perhaps this was a conscious acknowledgement by the design team or perhaps not, but either way Goodyear makes absolutely no attempt to relate to its surroundings. There were even palm trees in the outfield, which I don't really associate with an arid climate. There is also no paved path from the parking lot to the stadium and the park was surrounded acres of empty land, making the whole project seem unfinished and, again, as if it just appeared on site.

I don't want to make it sound as if I didn't like the ballpark though. Other than the practice fields being about a 20 minute walk away, I thought it was pretty nice. I honestly appreciated the unapologetic use of materials, and it was refreshing to go somewhere that was not done in the same Southwest color palette and forms as almost every other building I saw that week. The exterior is very rigid, boxy, and vertically oriented, and uses materials like precast concrete, metal, and glass curtainwall - none of which you rarely seen in Phoenix. Aside from the use of some locally trendy weathered copper, you'd never know this ballpark was in Arizona. This was one of the few parks we saw this week with a delineated major entry, and although atrocious, the tall statue in the entry pavilion was a nice subtle touch as a vertical marker amidst the expansive landscape. Architecturally speaking, this park was my favorite exterior of the trip.

As I mentioned, the practice facilities are kind of a hoof from the main ballpark. After we bought tickets and hit the huge team store, we walked what was probably 3/4 mile down some backroads, past the Goodyear airport to the Indians practice facility. The Reds' facilities wer even further away, so we just watched a few minutes of an Indians minor league game before walking back. Each club has its own facility of 6-7 practice fields, a clubhouse, and a team office, and all are designed to reflect similar colors and forms of the main ballpark. We got back to the main yard a little after noon and took our standard lap around the concourse to find our food & drink spoils for the afternoon. Goodyear features mostly hot dogs on the menu, as well as a pizza stand and an all-you-can-eat covered pavilion in right field, and a decent beer & alcohol selection as well. I was extremely pleased to find Skyline Coneys and PBR silos right by our lawn seats in left, but it was a warmer day so I went with a refreshing margarita. The interior probably seats about 10,000 and had the look and amenities of a AAA ballpark. The inside was kind of plain compared to the outside, but I did enjoy the park being appropriately very open for its site; it didn't try to feel "closed in" like so many parks do.

The game itself was a 10-8 win for the Athletics. 2010 rookie sensation Mike Leake - who famously skipped the minor leagues altogether and went right into the rotation - was roughed up by a revamped Oakland lineup that now features Josh Willingham, Hideki Matsui, David DeJesus, Coco Crisp, Andy LaRoche, and Kevin Kouzmanoff. Leake gave up 7 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks and didn't make it out of the 3rd. I'm really hoping that Dusty Baker doesn't run this kid into the ground like he did last year, because he already looked tired and it's March. Coco Crisp was 2-3 with a homer and was impressive in the outfield, and top prospects Chris Carter and Landon Powell also saw time in the game. Joey Votto had a standard MVP-like game for the Reds, going 3-5 with a HR and 4 RBI. We got to see Aroldis Chapman pitch again, as well as former Brewers closer Francisco Cordero.

After the game, we drove over an hour in traffic from one end of the city to the other to meet up with our friends Frank and Rob in Old Town Scottsdale, which was totally night-and-day compared to Goodyear. We had baskets of pizza rolls for $3 and beers for $2, pretty outstanding. I was starting to feel under the weather on this day, so we called it a night at about 8 and watched the new Robin Hood movie for about the 2nd of 4 times back at the hotel room.

park rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 8 (most of these points come from the exterior aesthetics)
views from park - 2
view to field - 6
surrounding area - 3 (Goodyear Airport and residential)
food variety - 4
nachos - 5 (standard)
beer - 7 (similar prices, greater variety than Maryvale)
vendor price - 7
ticket price - 7
atmosphere - 4
walk to park - 2 (partially not paved)
parking proximity - 9 (adjacent lot for free, get there early)
concourses - 6 (open, wide, full circumference, but not much activity)
team shop - 8
complex - 3 (major points deducted for being so far away)

best food - Cleveland Dog or Cincinnati Dog
most unique stadium feature - right field pavilion, materials
jumbotron - yes
best between-inning feature - condiment race

field dimensions - 345/410/345
starters - Brett Andreson (OAK) v. Mike Leake (CIN)
opponent - Oakland Athletics
time of game - 3:03
attendance - 3540
score - 10-8 L
Brewers score that day - 7-0 W

Tour 2011: Maryvale Baseball Park

2011-03-28T19:38:00.031-07:00

All photos of Maryvale Baseball Park and days 1-2 in Phoenix available on Flickr.

I just got back from Arizona yesterday, and what a week it was! The first ball trip of the year did start on a somber note a couple of months ago, as Erik regrettably had to back out. But on the bright side, E had previously been to Tempe, Surprise, Maryvale, and Scottsdale Stadium in 2008. So although I kicked off the season without Erik, it was satisfying to know that we were able to cross yet another trip off the list. I would say that you can't count out a return visit from the both of us though, since we both had such a great time on our separate visits, and new parks and teams in the Cactus League is inevitable.

I did not venture out into the Valley of the Sun alone, however. My good high school friend Phil was already planning on going along and the two of us had tons of fun, gallons of alcohol, and a barrel of laughs. The trip began on Sunday, March 20th - I from Milwaukee after a Saturday night Huey Lewis concert, and Phil from Las Vegas following a bachelor party. We both planned our flights to arrive well before 1 so that we could catch a Brewer game, which happened to be one of the closer ballparks to the airport and our hotel for the week. There was a slight hiccup in the beginning when it took me 20 minutes to figure out how to start the rental car. The Nissan Altima push-start was certainly a far cry from my Focus with the manual crank sunroof and 155,000 miles. But after a few tries I finally sucked it up and asked the rental counter guy (who was seemingly expecting me to ask a dumb question) how to start the car, and I drove back up to the terminal to pick up Phil, who landed about 45 minutes after I did. It was a very intersting car ride to Maryvale, as he was still drunk and wearing his standard vest & tie, and I'm pretty sure he hadn't been to bed in 2 days and had no idea where he was. We got to the yard about 12:30 and all of the things I had heard about Maryvale being in a sketchy part of town were confirmed. I wouldn't go so far as to say I felt unsafe, but it was easy to see why the Brewers don't play home night games. Exiting the freeway on 51st Street, we saw many of the typical signs of a poor neighborhood - convenience stores with bars on the windows, cell phone stores, check-cashing places, and low-income housing. For this reason I was not at all surprised to see that parking was $6 when we arrived and was glad to pay it rather than search for a free option.

We paid the cheapest ticket prices and got our biggest laugh of the week right out of the gate. When I got my card out to pay, the ticket lady asked if we were together, and Phil, in a half-stupor and without hesitation, leaned in and said "He's my rock!" We cracked up hysterically and it was a running joke for the rest of the trip. Anyways, after we got our tickets I bought a program at the gate and we walked in. Walking into Maryvale was kind of how I felt when I walked into my very first minor league baseball park in Woodbridge VA 6 years ago. I had not known what to expect really, and had I not gone to any more parks that week, I would have thought very highly of it. But after later seeing the likes of Tempe Diablo, Camelback, Talking Stick, etc., Maryvale pales in comparison. To be perfectly objective, if you're only down at Spring Training for a week or so, there's really no reason to go to Maryvale unless you're a big fan of one of the teams playing. It has the look and feel of a AA stadium at best and is not that appealing aesthetically, other than a brise-soleil covering the concourse that was once white and has now taken some abuse from sandy desert winds. The pressbox looked like it needed some upgrading and the batter's eye was just a standalone wall covered in blue siding. The team store is also small and there is a poor food selection, and as we found out the following day, the rest of the grounds are nothing to write home about. But much like Miller Park, for me Maryvale is pretty hard to think of in a bad light since it has the home-team advantage. There's still the great sausages, relatively cheap beer selection, and mixed drinks in souvenir cups you find at the big league ballpark, and the italian beef sandwich with jardiniere was heavenly. The Sausage Race in the 6th and "Roll out the Barrel" in the 7th also made us feel at home. The Racing Sausages must have needed a little spring warmup just like the players, because they only ran about half the usual distance. An aside on the food - 5 of the 6 parks we went to had the same wok noodle tent. You wouldn't think that Asian food at the ballpark would be that good, but I tried it on Friday and it was the best food I ate anywhere all week. So if you get sick of hot dogs while you're in Phoenix next spring, that's a tasty option.

Our seats were in the first row of about 25, literally right next to the Brewers bullpen. At my first spring training game and with Phil in his vivacious state, I could not have asked for better seats. In general, I would definitely say that sitting as close as you can to a bullpen is the way to go in Spring Training. We got to watch all of the Brewers relievers warm up not more than 5 feet away, and we carried on conversations with Yovani Gallardo and the bullpen catcher Marcus Hanel throughout the contest. Being that close to the Brewers bullpen for a couple of games that week, I really learned that Hanel and the bullpen coach Stan Kyles are more than just a couple of spots on the payroll and they actually really do know their stuff and help out the team. At one point I was ready to get Hanel's autograph, but when he proceded to dazzle the nearby children by holding 7 baseballs in his hand at one time, I was too distracted to ask.

The game itself was a 9-8 defeat at the hands of the Reds, the first of three times we'd be seeing both teams. It left the Brewers at 13-9 on the spring at the time and they now own one of the best Cactus League records as we near the end. Chris Narveson was on the bump for the Crew and struggled with command, giving up 7 runs and pitching into the 5th. As best I can tell he was throwing well over 50% breaking stuff so he may have just been working on some things. George "the Greek Streak" Kottaras had a 3-run shot and Casey McGehee had a bases-loaded single in a losing effort; now-returned Rule 5 pick Pat Egan and Mitch Stetter were among the relievers. The Brewers sported a mostly-regular lineup and the starters played about 5 innings. On the Reds side, we were treated to a start by Edinson Volquez, who is one of the few Reds starters not hurt. He also struggled with command and had 5 walks over 2.1. Cuban sensation Aroldis Chapman had a rare multi-inning outing, and he showed fatigue in his 2nd inning of work, proving that he is in fact human. Former Marlins great Dontrelle Willis has latched on to Cincinnati with a minor league deal this year and gave up 3 over 3 in relief. Offensively, only a couple of regulars played and Chris Heisey fell a double shy of the cycle.

After the game, we checked into the Days Inn about 10 minutes from Maryvale in the center of town, and we hit the hot tub and rocked out to some Huey, and then grabbed a bite at a delicious brewpub a couple blocks down the road. We tried to get in some more ball at Maryvale on Monday, but the forecast was looking grim from the start. It was about 50 and raining when we left, and it let up just enough for us to watch an hour of a AAA game at one of the Brewers' minor league fields. Yovani Gallardo was the scheduled starter in the 'A' game but was bumped up to 10AM on the back fields so he could get his work in ahead of the rain. They don't really keep stats for those games, but I heard that he gave up 4 over 7 and the 3 innings we saw were flawless. He also hit one to the warning track in an at bat, but took his homerun trot anyways, much to the dismay of Sounds manager Don Money. Again, as I said for the main ballpark itself...had I not gone to any other practice fields complexes, I would have thought the Brewers facility was just fine. But other places later in the week definitely raised the bar and sadly put the Maryvale facilities to shame. The players certainly didn't seem to be lacking anything as far as a proper field or workout facility, but from a fan experience it was lacking compared to other complexes we visited. The Brewers practice/minor league fields were just simple chain link fences and dugouts and were not really conducive to actually watching a game, but I suppose that's the intent. With Spring Training becoming more and more popular for fans, some of the newer parks have a very integrated and welcoming complex, but the Brewers setup is older and is really more about the players and are just a bunch of fields tucked in the back. I did appreciate that they other fields were very close to the main ballpark, a luxury a couple of complexes for whatever reason did not have. At about noon we collected our giveaway bobblehead at the main gate (which was just leftover Hank Aaron from Miller Park last year) and proceeded to drink Bloody Marys until the game was officially cancelled. Afterwards Phil and I caught up on some sleep at the hotel, and then hit up the Heartattack Grill near Chandler, AZ. It's a place that has been on several food shows in which people who weigh over 350 lbs eat for free. It's the total opposite of the current American health-conscientious restaurant, featuring a menu of burgers and fries fried in lard, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Lucky Strikes, and butterfat creme milkshakes. Anybody who successfully finishes a quad-patty burger gets wheelbarrowed out to their car by a waitress in a skimpy nurse outfit. We attempted to go out near the ASU campus on the way home but after one drink the meat coma got the best of us, and we called it a night.

We also went to a game at Maryvale on Friday to use our raincheck tickets from Monday. This game was in the low 70s and sunny and we went with our buddy Frank, who arrived in town on Tuesday on "business." This was also the game that I tried those outstanding Asian noodles at, and we had the exact same seats we had on Sunday by the bullpen. We again saw Chris Narveson, this time against Mitch Talbot and the Indians. Both squads had nearly full major league lineups, both of which played most of the game. Narvy was serviceable but still not great, giving up 2 over 5 and striking out 7. Stetter, Sean Green, Loe, Braddock, and Axford were all pretty lights out and the Ax Man got the save in the 7-4 victory. Carlos Gomez's grand slam to center as part of a 5-run 6th proved to be the game winner. He only had the one hit but continued his torrid spring with some good at bats. Speaking of torrid springs, the Brewers' bench stayed hot with 8 of their 15 hits coming from non-starters. Career minor leaguer Erick Almonte had another 3 hits and looks to have earned himself a much deserved spot on the 25-man roster. Kottaras also went big fly and Rickie Weeks was 3-3 to raise his average to .500 on the spring. Most of the regulars look like they've been ready to go for about 3 weeks now. The Brewers as of this game were 16-9 in the Cactus League, going 2-1 in the 3 games we saw them. Maryvale was not the snazziest of facilities but it was a great starting point for the trip and it was very fun to see some of the non-roster guys play and get me excited for the upcoming Rising Stars Game at Miller Park.

park rankings and statistics (for purposes of Spring Training parks, "jumbotron" is a yes/no question, and the category of "complex" is added):

aesthetics - 5
views from park - 2
view to field - 8
surrounding area - 2 (bad area of town)
food variety - 4
nachos - 5 (standard)
beer - 6 (same price as other Cactus League parks, smaller variety)
vendor price - 5 (I thought everything but the sausage and soda was pretty expensive)
ticket price - 9 ($13 1st row by dugout)
atmosphere - 4 (smaller crowds)
walk to park - 7 (past practice fields, landscaped walk)
parking proximity - 5 (adjacent lot $6)
concourses - 7 (open; brise soleil nice feature)
team shop - 4 (small)
complex - 5 (points for proximity, but very bare bones)

best food - italian beef
most unique stadium feature - brise soleil over concourse
jumbotron - no, scoreboard only
best between-inning feature - Sausage Race

field dimensions - 350/395/340
starters - Edinson Volquez (CIN) v. Chris Narveson (MIL); Mitch Talbot (CLE) v. Chris Narveson (MIL)
opponent - Cincinnati Reds; Cleveland Indians
time of game - 3:27; 2:31
attendance - 6089; 4775
score - 9-8 L, 7-4 W
Brewers score that day - 9-8 L, 7-4 W

Tour 2011

2010-12-12T14:28:00.011-07:00

It's been a few months since I've written on the blog, and I thought that being snowed in after the first big snowstorm of the season was as good a time as any to update our readers on Erik and myself. Erik is once again through another campaign, with Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett losing a heartbreaker for the Wisconsin governorship. He is now putting the second half of his resume to use at a Madison sandwich shop. I am still working in Iowa and trying hard to find a job back in Wisconsin. On the ballfield, the 2010 season ended in disappointment for the Brewers again, as they finished below .500 for the 2nd straight season. Manager Ken Macha has since been fired and replaced with former Angels bench coach Ron Roenicke, and Erik and I are both optimistic that it will be an exciting season in Milwaukee in 2011.

It is also shaping up to be an exciting 2011 Tour Plus schedule. This is our first year since the main tour that there is not a new MLB stadium opening, so our options of what to cross off the list were wide open. Our tentative plan for a few years was to fly into Anchorage and spend a week exploring the great state of Alaska and its collegiate summer league. We always thought that going to Alaska in a year before the both of us were married made the most sense. But, several factors including cost, Erik's perennial job insecurity, and me having an abundance of weddings to attend all weighed in on us postponing this trip for another year. Not to mention the fact that this was the first trip we ever brought up to the girls that they too seemed excited about, so it would be nice to save that adventure for a time when the 4 of us could go together. Spring Training was something we've been putting off for a number of years, and with the Brewers' future in Arizona in limbo after the 2012 season, the Cactus League was our first logical choice to replace the ABL. In true Houses E&P Built fashion, we are basically just trying to cram as much ball into a week as possible. There are 10 ballparks shared by 15 of the 30 MLB teams in the Cactus League, and we plan on seeing at least 7 or 8 of them, as well as a Phoenix Coyotes NHL game, schedule permitting. Every park except HoHoKam (Cubs) and Phoenix Municipal (Athletics) is supposed to be fairly new and nice. Erik had previously been to Spring Training in 2008 and a couple of my friends from high school follow the Brewers around every year, so we should have ample research before the trip to know what parks/cities/eateries are the best, and I could not be more excited. As of now we are shooting for the 4th week in March. I always love those years when I have a few ballgames under my belt even before Opening Day!

Traditionally we have been planning at least two trips a year, but this year's 2nd trip is kind of in jeopardy. Our 2nd trip was to be the Golden League v. Northern League All-Star Game at Kevin Costner's new park in Illinois. But it seems official now that the Northern, United, and Golden Leagues have in essence merged into a super-league, the North American League. So we kind of have to wait it out for the schedules to see if an All-Star Game is still being played at the Lake County Fielders' park this summer. Another idea of ours to take a day trip to Green Bay to see what was supposed to be the opening season of the Bullfrogs' new park also seems to be a no-go, as I don't believe that the team was able to procure financing. Right now our contingency plan is just a weekend excursion to some Midwestern ballparks we haven't found time to see, which I assume includes the parks in Grand Rapids and Fort Wayne, but Erik and I haven't talked in depth about it. Either way I am sure we'll have a great time, and either way we'll eventually have to hit up a North American League game. 109 days until Opening Day, and even less so until we fly to Phoenix!

Odds and Ends

2010-09-28T16:11:00.012-07:00

All photos of the Brewers' final 2010 home game available on Flickr.

As the regular season draws to a close, it's time to tie up some loose ends and cover all of the stories I didn't get a chance to write about this year.

- One night when watching the news at my girlfriend's house in Madison this summer, I saw scores for the "Home Talent League" scrolling across the bottom during the sports report. The teams were all playing in small towns in the south-central Wisconsin area, primarily in Dane County. Was this an independent league I'd never heard of? I did some research and discovered it was an adult amateur baseball league founded in 1929. From what I can tell, it's almost akin to a softball or bowling league. Players pay league dues rather than receive any salary and there are tryouts annually for the now 44-team league. Since teams seem to play at local ballfields and county parks it might not be worth "ranking" these fields on this blog but I sure do hope to get to one of these games next season to see some old guys duke it out for the love of the game.

- There were no first-ballot Hall-of-Famers in this year's class, as Andre Dawson was the lone inductee. That might not be the case in upcoming years as there are many big names approaching their eligibility. The next 5 years alone could see Jeff Bagwell, Edgar Martinez, Craig Biggio, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling, Frank Thomas, Mike Mussina, Randy Johnson, and Ken Griffey Jr all welcomed into Coooperstown. The big year to keep an eye on is 2015, because there is a lot of talk that Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux will intentionally not be voted in in '14 so that they could go in together with John Smoltz the following year. All 3 were long-time, Cy Young award winning members of the great Braves teams of the '90s. An induction ceremony is definitely on our list and that would certainly be an awesome year to go. Although it dates myself, it's great to start seeing players I grew up watching getting inducted into the Hall, starting with Ripken and Gwynn 3 years ago.

- In July, there was a vendor inspection report released by ESPN. In it, it very simply lists every team in the 4 major sports and how they faired on their most recent health inspections. The results were given as a percentage of vendors with "critical violations" and listed some of the most heinous for each team. The results were staggering to me, as only the Cubs and White Sox reported no health code violations - this probably speaks to a stricter health code in Chicago. Back home, Miller Park reported that 33% of its vendors had a "critical violation" and that "mold was growing near ice machines in 6 locations." All 3 of the Tampa area's sports venues had at least 75% of its vendors having violations, with the Trop astonishingly having all 100% of its vendors reporting a violation. It's worth noting that Angel Stadium, where Erik and I were told not to eat certain foods in 2007 because of rat infestation, showed an improvement to 12% violations in this study. It's also worth noting that all 30 MLB stadiums passed basic health inspections and standard levels of cleanliness which allowed them to operate despite having violations. I personally don't want to know what is in most of my food as long as it tastes good, let alone ballpark fare, but it's just something interesting to think about.

- A couple notable stories off of Ballpark Digest. The Phillies are now making it possible to order food using an app on your iPhone and having delivered to your seat in 30 minutes or less. Also, the Rays and Athletics ballpark proposals have gone nowhere for another season. The Rays have been drawing very poorly despite having a very good, young team, and the A's are trying to get rights in the San Jose area (Giants territory) to build a stadium there. On a side note, I encourage anyone who wants to read more about these and other ballpark stories to go to Ballpark Digest's website, as it is a fantastic source of information and is very well written and organized. However, I discourage anyone and everyone from become a fan on Facebook. The guy who writes on that fan page is the most pompus and arrogant jerk I have ever come across in my entire life and it is not worth your time.

- I wrote earlier this month about Trevor Hoffman's 600th career save, and I mentioned how Ken Macha getting ejected in the 2nd paved the way for the opportunity. What I did not mention in that post was how the umpire had also tossed 3 other people that game, including an apparently rowdy fan in sitting in the front row by the Brewers dugout. Just one other thing to make Trevor's milestone even more memorable - the first fan ejected by an umpire in Miller Park history. Apparently, Yadier Molina was complaining about some of the comments he was making and asked the ump to do something about it. This was not too long after Molina had started a fight with Brandon Phillips of the Reds which led to a bench-clearing brawl. Looks like the Cards finally having an off year has gotten the best of Yadi.

- Ending on a lighter note, there was a pretty funny story released a few weeks ago - around the same time as the aforementioned umpire-fan story - about Arizona's Ryan Roberts sleeping in the Aces' clubhouse when he was at AAA Reno this summer. He spent most of the 2009 season with the Diamondbacks and figured to be on the club in 2010. But after buying a new car and signing a lease in Phoenix, he ended up getting beat out by Rusty Ryal for the 25th spot on the roster. After a brief callup in May, his family decided it wasn't worth the hassle of moving back to Reno again. So, with the help of the cleaning crew, he proceded to live for most of the season at the ballpark while his wife and daughter were back in Phoenix.

PS - Cincinnati can clinch the NL Central today with a win over the Astros or a Cardinals loss to Pittsburgh - go Redlegs!

STANDINGS & UPCOMING GAMES AS OF 09.28:
Brewers 73-82, -13.5 (4 @ Mets, 3 @ Reds)
Reds 87-69, +6.0 (3 v. Astros, 3 v. Brewers)
Twins 92-64, AL Central Champs, -1.0 AL Best Record (3 @ Royals, 4 v. Blue Jays)

FINAL 2010 GAMES ATTENDED TOTAL:
Erik - 20
Peter - 52

600 for Trevor

2010-09-08T20:58:00.007-07:00

Congratulations to Trevor Hoffman, who became the first pitcher in Major League history to collect his 600th save in a 4-2 win against the Cardinals last night. The Brewers grabbed the lead in the 5th off of Kyle Lohse, and manager Ken Macha's ejection in the 2nd all but sealed the deal that Trevor would get his 14th save opportunity, as he did not have the chance to blow the game with middle relief as he always does. Instead, bench coach Willie Randolph allowed Chris Narveson to twirl a 9-strikeout, 7-inning gem. John Axford was the setup man in the 8th, and Trevor got his 3 outs in the 9th on a double play ball to second, and a harmless grounder to the sure-handed Craig Counsell at short. The crowd stuck around for a standing ovation, his family embraced him on the field, and he was eventually carried off by team leaders Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. He never wanted any of the pomp and circumstance associated with his quest for 600, but there could not be a more deserving man of all the adoration in all of baseball than Trevor Hoffman. As humble as he is, he even addressed the team with a motivational speech about the value of hard work following his monumental acheivement, in lieu of a celebration.

The save has only been a major league statistic for about 40 years, and Trevor Hoffman has dominated the closer's role for over half of those years throughout his Hall of Fame career. He got 552 of his 600 saves with the San Diego Padres, 1 with the Marlins early in his career, and the remainder with the Brewers, including 9 this season. Although he lost his closer's role early in May to Axford, he was always the consumate professional, and handled his new undefined role with dignity and determination. After amassing a sub-3 ERA following his demotion from the closers role, Hoffman slowly started getting more save opportunities to achieve the unthinkable milestone of 600. I was lucky enough to see save #599 on the Brewers' previous homestand, and hopefully now with the Brewers out of playoff contention, maybe Trevor will get a few more save opportunities and I can see #601 on Friday against the reeling Cubs.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING GAMES AS OF 09.08:
Brewers 65-74, -14.0 (3 v. Cubs, 3 @ Astros, 3 @ Giants)
Reds 79-60, +6.0 (3 v. Pirates, 4 v. Diamondbacks, 3 @ Astros)
Twins 83-57, +5.5 (3 @ Indians, 3 @ White Sox, 3 v. Athletics)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 20
Peter - 49

Chapmania in Cincinnati

2010-09-01T16:56:00.006-07:00

With all of the hype and excitement surrounding Steven Strasburg, Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman's callup to the Reds yesterday met with little fanfare outside of Cincinnati. After an easy 1-2-3 inning against the Brewers on only 8 pitches in his Major League debut last night, and with Strasburg done for this year and probably next with Tommy John surgery, all eyes are now on Chapman. I've been keeping track of him on various Reds blogs as best I can this season, but the few Team Cuba and AAA highlights I've seen hardly do his stuff justice. If you were to create a pitcher from scratch, he would have Chapman's long body type, fluid mechanics, and dynamic stuff. He has a fastball that consistently sits around 100 mph with pretty decent command, a filthy slider in the low 90s, and once in awhile mixes in a changeup that still probably averages a higher speed than half the league's fastballs. Last night he topped out at 103, and just a couple days ago it was reported by several scouts that he hit 105 on the gun in his last appearance for the Louisville Bats. Discounting Bob Feller's famously wild assertions that he was once clocked at 109, Chapman's has got to be the hardest pitch ever legitimately recorded. In a previous blog entry, I discussed how the show Sports Science calculated that it was physically impossible to throw more than 110 without your arm tendons shattering, so that makes his feat even more amazing.

The Reds were smart to call Aroldis up a day before the rosters expanded in order to make him eligible for the postseason roster. There is no doubt he will have an impact on Cincinnati's burned-out middle relief corps, but they're not paying him $30 million to pitch the 7th inning. At some point next season he is going to be stretched out as a starter again, where he struggled mightily in AAA, and the true test will be if he can consistently get major league hitters out or if he will become the next Joel Zumaya. The hardest part is over for Chapman - defecting from Cuba and being dumped in Kentucky for 5 months. I think Chapman will do very well for the Reds this September and hopefully October in a situational role, but his next challenge will be developing a good 3rd pitch in the offseason. You can throw 105 mph fastballs all day, but if they're not located well and the hitter knows it's coming, any big leaguer can turn one around. He may only be 22, but he has over 5 years of experience logging many innings for the Cuban National Team so he will not have to be coddled as so many rookies are. He can and will make an immediate impact on next year's club if he can develop his offspeed pitches, and if his arm doesn't explode.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING GAMES AS OF 08.18:
Brewers 62-70, -15.0 (3 @ Reds, 3 @ Phillies, 3 v. Cardinals)
Reds 77-55, +7.5 (3 v. Brewers, 3 @ Cardinals, 4 @ Rockies)
Twins 76-56, +3.5 (3 v. Tigers, 3 v. Rangers, 3 v. Royals)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 20
Peter - 48

The Elusive Triple Crown

2010-08-18T16:04:00.011-07:00

August is typically the time of the season when people stop talking about the Triple Crown races and start talking about the Wild Card races. However, this season the talk does not seem to be going away. With 6 weeks left in the season, there are still several viable candidates in each league. Josh Hamilton leads the American League in hitting by over 20 points with a .356 average as of the time of this post, and is also 5th in homers and 8th in RBI. Miguel Cabrera was the leading all 3 categories for most of the 1st half, and is still 2nd in RBI and average. Jose Bautista is pretty much running away with the AL homerun title, so I do not think anybody from the American League will be winning the Triple Crown. The guy who still has the most realistic chance is the National League's Joey Votto. An NL Final Vote All-Star, Joey is putting together his best season ever and is 2nd in homeruns and average, and 8 back in the RBI category. Carlos Gonazlez of the Rockies has also come on strong since the break. And in the NL, you can never count out Albert Pujols to win a Triple Crown.

There are a lot of guys putting up monster offensive seasons, despite 2010 being the so-called "Year of the Pitcher." However, I just don't see anybody winning the Triple Crown. Not this year, not next year, not ever. I think that it is just one of those unattainable season goals that will probably never happen again. I think that a pitcher might have a slightly better chance of winning the Pitcher's Triple Crown - wins, strikeouts, and ERA - but this is also near impossible. The game has just changed so much since the last Triple Crown in 1967 by Carl Yastremski, and it is so hard to maintain a high average AND hit for power in the middle of the lineup in today's game. I could be wrong - a lot of people never thought that any NFL team would ever go 16-0 again and that happened a few years ago. It is something that is fun to think about, but I personally do not like all of the talk devoted on Baseball Tonight every summer to Triple Crown chances. There is absolutely no reason to be discussing Triple Crown candidates and All-Star voting in April and May. I think it is a waste of time and I'd much rather hear about something more tangible like the Rookie of the Year and MVP races, which almost never get talked about until September. With baseball being the most statistics-oriented of all sports, the dreams and hopes of a Triple Crown winner will never, ever go away.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING GAMES AS OF 08.18:
Brewers 57-64, -12.0 (3 v. Padres, 3 v. Dodgers, 3 v. Pirates)
Reds 68-51, +2.5 (3 @ Dodgers, 3 @ Giants, 3 v. Cubs)
Twins 69-50, +4.0 (3 v. Angels, 4 @ Rangers, 3 @ Mariners)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 20
Peter - 47

Return to Warner Park

2010-08-11T16:00:00.008-07:00

With the 2010 Northwoods League regular season coming to a close, I finally made it to a Madison Mallards game last weekend. I was very anxious to get there and see what changes Vern and Steve had in store for the Duck Pond this year. Lauren and I arrived about 20 minutes before first pitch, and the parking lot was as full as I'd ever seen it. I did not think this would bode well since I had not purchased tickets before hand, but thankfully I was able to obtain my free Bucks Season Ticket Holder bleacher ticket that I get at all NWL games away from Riverfront Stadium. We barely made it inside the gate and I already noticed many new features at the ballpark. I know I've said this many times - but more than any other team I know, the Mallards reinvest annually in their ballpark, and every year there is something new. Warner Park is still as fun a place to watch a ballgame in 2010 as it was when the team started in 2001, but boy has it changed! This year when you walk in to your left, there is a covered gazebo area paved with masonry units and filled with patio furniture, sponsored by a local company. The 1-millionth Fan statue added last year now resides in this area.

The other big change is past the children's sand pit, where there is a new section called the TDS Triple Play Club, the 4th "party" section now available at the Duck Pond. They tore down a standalone section of GA bleachers to add this section and it is a welcome improvement. The most popular section to sit by far at Warner Park has and will always be the Duck Blind in right, but the problem is that it sells out so quickly and is always jam-packed, and there really aren't good views to the game over there since it is mostly picnic tables. This new section is actually a few rows of seats with a standing-room rail on a platform at the top. The section features its own bar only for people in that section, and you get all-you-can-eat plus 3 beers included in the $23 ticket price, whereas the Duck Blind is $36 for all-you-can-drink beer and food sales end in the 5th. They even use original wooden seats salvaged from a Wrigley Field renovation in this section, which is a nice touch and adds to the piecemeal theme of the park.

Lauren and I really wanted to sit there, and it came highly recommended by Erik, but my free ticket limited us to seats between home and 3rd near the top of the grandstand. It was a warm night, and Warner Park is one of the few parks in the country where the sun sets in the right field corner as opposed to the 3rd base side, so it was right in our faces for a few innings. But beyond that, we had a hell of a time. It was Bacon Appreciation Night so there was an entire food stand devoted to the most delicious food on the planet. I had a "Pigsicle" - chocolate dipped thick-cut bacon on a stick - and the best food in the park, beer-battered fries. Lauren got something from the new Willy Street Co-op stand, as she is still somehow successfully dieting during a Wisconsin summer. A couple of cold Great Dane beers, a slew of runs by the home team, and the always hilarious PA guy capped off a great night at the ballpark.

I couldn't help but brainstorm during the game what would be new for next year. The grandstand seems to be in good shape and there is not much room left to add anything. Major needs of a new team store and a scoreboard have been addressed the last two seasons, and new clubhouses is probably going to be on the docket eventually. The playing field is now 310 and 295 down the lines and is shrinking every year as seats are added - capacity is now up to 7500, hands down the largest stadium in all of college summer league baseball. Bullpens were even added last year and pushed in the fences at the gaps. There were a number of players that sliced lazy pop flies to the warning track in right field, and 2 of the 3 homeruns were banged off of the back wall and would have been doubles two years ago, but this season cleared the inset bullpens for round-trippers. My point is that the field is getting dangerously small and the only logical way to expand is out. I think a nice outfield section is the next logical progression at Warner Park. There was also some talk a few years ago of completing starting from scratch and flipping the field 180 degrees to address the sun angle issue, but I think the eclectic, patchwork character would be too much to sacrifice to achieve that. For now, expect great things in small packages every single year at Warner Park in Madison.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING GAMES AS OF 08.11:
Brewers 53-61, -11.5 (3 @ Rockies, 2 @ Cardinals)
Reds 64-51, -1.0 (3 v. Marlins, 3 @ Diamondbacks)
Twins 64-49, +1.0 (3 v. Athletics, 3 v. White Sox)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 20
Peter - 45

Tour 2010: Franklin Rogers Park

2010-08-04T17:19:00.011-07:00

All photos of Franklin Rogers Park available on Flickr.

As usual, we made every effort to cram as much ball into our trip as possible, which meant a doubleheader on Sunday. When the Sunday Twins-Mariners game ended at a brisk pace of just over 2 hours, we knew we'd have plenty of time to make it down to Franklin Rogers Park for a 6:05 first pitch. It took me quite awhile to find where I parked and to find the freeway, but we still got to the park with about 20 minutes to spare. Mankato was only slightly out of the way on my way home to Waterloo, and the 90 minute drive took us through a very scenic route past rolling hills and forests.

To be honest, after a busy weekend with a lot of driving, and after just seeing two major league games in a beautiful new ballpark, part of me just wanted to go home and I was not too thrilled with the idea of stopping in Mankato. But when we got into the game action and I noticed all of the dirt cheap concessions, I was instantly reminded of why I loved the Northwoods League, and my attitude changed quickly. I won't lie and say that Franklin Rogers Park is a gem, but it was nicer than I expected and was definitely worth the stop. "The Frank" has a three-section covered grandstand setup similar to a lot of parks of its size (about 1400 capacity). There is also a picnic area down the left field line, and a private party deck on the roof of a concessions/restrooms building beyond first base. As you enter the stadium from the 1st base side, concessions are arranged around a paved square, mostly in tents. The team store is also unfortunately under a tent, but did have a pretty nice selection. I just could not pass up buying a Moondogs cap with that sweet logo of a lowercase 'm' set inside a crescent moon. From a fan's perspective, the park has been updated just enough over the years to be a very comfortable place to watch a ballgame. However, a major drawback from a player's perspective is that the stadium does not appear to have locker rooms, as visiting players had to change on the field following the game before getting on the bus. Franklin Rogers Park is in its 50th year and is operated by the Mankato Parks & Recrecation Dept. It served as the original home to the old Mankato Mets farm club in the 1960s, and then had no real permanent tenants besides high school teams until the Moondogs joined the Northwoods League in 1999.

The game pitted the hometeam Moondogs against the Border Cats of Thunder Bay, Ontario. We saw yet another strong pitching performance on this trip - this one was turned in by starter Blake Schwartz of Mankato, who also happens to attend nearby Minnesota State. He dazzled friends, family, and the home crowd by tossing a 2-hit shutout with no walks and 8 strikeouts. He unfortunately had to come out after 7.2 innings due to Northwoods League pitch count rules, but he was absolutely brilliant in the 5-0 win. The Moondogs got on the board with 3 in the 4th, and also notched single tallies in the 6th and 7th. Mike Moore went 2-4 with 2 RBI for the home team and was hitting .417 on the season as of Monday. The guy we saw start the game against the Lunkers in Brainerd, Jeff Deblieux, played right field and led off for the Border Cats in this game and went hitless.

After the game, I had about a 3-hour drive home, and Erik about 5. We were both very tired on Monday but what an excellent trip, 6 games in 5 days! I enjoyed all of the parks very much, except for Brainerd's. We are currently kicking the tires on a few ideas for next year's trip(s), but nothing is set in stone yet, so check back this offseason for more updates.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 4
views from park - 3
view to field - 5 (net & pole obstructions, lots of foul ground)
surrounding area - 3
food variety - 5 (one stand had state fair foods)
nachos - 5 (standard)
beer - 6 (Busch products only for $3.50)
vendor price - 8
ticket price - 9 ($6 GA)
atmosphere - 7
walk to park - 4 (walk from left field gate is nice)
parking proximity - 10 (adjacent lot for free)
concourses - 5
team shop - 5 (pts deducted for being a tent)

best food - cheese curds
most unique stadium feature - rooftop party deck, atop of which cameraman cheats death
best jumbotron feature - n/a
best between-inning feature - fans try to throw balls into back of groundskeeper vehicle from rooftop deck

field dimensions - 320/386/330
starters - Garrett Yount (TB) v. Blake Schwartz (MAN)
opponent - Thunder Bay Border Cats
time of game - 2:22
attendance - 914
score - 5-0 W
Brewers score that day - 5-2 L

STANDINGS & UPCOMING GAMES AS OF 08.04:
Brewers 50-59, -11.0 (3 v. Astros, 4 v. Diamondbacks)
Reds 61-48, +1.0 (3 @ Cubs, 3 v. Cardinals)
Twins 59-48, -1.5 (3 @ Indians, 3 @ White Sox)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 20
Peter - 39

Tour 2010: Target Field

2010-08-03T17:00:00.030-07:00

All photos of Minneapolis and Target Field available on Flickr.

Saturday was the big day - Target Field! After getting in late from Willmar, we slept in until about 10 and lounged around our luxurious hotel room before heading out for the day around 1. Erik lived in Minneapolis for nearly 3 years, and I have been there many times before, so we really didn't have a big agenda before the game at 6:10. In lieu of sightseeing, we decided to go to the 5-8 Club for some Juicy Lucys. Erik and I had visited Matt's Bar on our last trip to Minneapolis in May 2009, and I was really excited to sink my teeth into the 5-8's version of this local delicacy. The 5-8 Club uses more meat of a higher grade, and they offer options of what you can get your burger stuffed with - mine was filled with wild rice and swiss cheese, and Erik's with mozzerella and pepperoni. But I recall Matt's version was greasier and cheesier, and therefore tastier. I don't think you can go wrong with either option, but I know I also speak for Erik when I say that my vote goes to Matt's. After downing our burgers and a pitcher of Leinie's, we headed back downtown and had a pregame beer at Hubert's. We always used to drink there before games at the Metrodome and were very pleased to see a new location open next to Target Field.

We knew we'd have a lot to see so we got to the park as early to gates opening as possible, about 4:15. We approached the stadium from the east and spent a few minutes in Gate 34 Plaza, taking our pictures with the Kirby Puckett, Tony Olivo, and Gold Glove statues. Each gate at Target Field is numbered after a famous Twin - Gate 3 (Killebrew), 29 (Carew), 14 (Hrbek), 6 (Olivo), and of course 34 for Kirby Puckett. The distinct numbering of the gates is very crucial at this park for wayfinding, since there really isn't a main entry. Gate 34 is probably the closest thing resembling a main gate since it is the only area connected at street level, but no entry can be said to be "in the back" or off to the side. This is one of my favorite things about this park - every entry is designed and all sides of the ballpark were given the architect's full attention. As a comparison, the absolute worst thing about Miller Park in Milwaukee is approaching the huge ugly green wall on what is very clearly the back of the stadium from the General Parking lot, the area where most people park. Whether by design or by constraints of the site, Target Field simply does not have that problem. The only sort of shady side of the ballpark is the west end railyard. For now, there is a chain link fence with banners and posters strategically blocking the view, but this is something that will be more permanently addressed by the "Tradition Wall" to be built in Phase II.

I mentioned the constraints of the site - the use of the site is probably one of the most unique things about Target Field. Most ballparks take up about 12 acres, but the architect Populous was only given about 2/3 of that to work with. Populous could have tried to wedge a smaller stadium into its site such as in Boston, but instead chose to place the actual field level below grade, and to cantilever some of the concourses and exterior walkways over railroad tracks, streets, and parking garages. This results in the user being able to walk around the entire park unobstructed despite it being on a downtown site. The exterior walkways, plazas at each entry, and the light rail station station on the north end all sort of "float" at or above street level and are a very nice way to enjoy the urban setting before gametime without having to contend with street traffic. The other very noticeable thing about Target Field other than the "floating site" is obviously the choice in material - locally quarried limestone, which is rarely seen at ballparks today. The limestone is most definitely a nod to the many masonry retro parks of recent years, but the fact that it's a very thin veneer that is very clearly hung off of a steel frame is sort of a play on the whole "floating" concept of the site. The limestone facade is broken up very nicely by a pattern of varying shades of tan, nonrectilinear angles, and a random array of punched window openings. At points of emphasis such as the team store or at a gate, metal and walls of glass are used to further contrast the heaviness of the stone.

As you can tell, there were many exciting and distinctive stadium features before we even set foot inside. Once we completed our lap around the park, we entered back through Gate 34 and collected our giveaway Twins caps. We could immediately see that the same attention to detail on the exterior was given to the interior. Everything from the smallest details of bar & stool design, to something commonly overlooked such as drywall ceilings covering ductwork, to the most subtle gesture of bringing some of that limestone inside the park, was all thought of at Target Field. I would say Erik and my only real complaint is that a lot of areas feel crowded due to the small site. A lot of it could also have to do with the fact that the Twins have been drawing standing-room only crowds since the park opened, but there's no denying that the concourses have pinch points at each entry gate and get very crowded. Things like team store lines kind of overflow into lines for the escalators and bathrooms, simply because there wasn't one more inch of room to widen the park. I think the architects did the best they could with what they had to work with, and all of the community areas and attention to detail more than make up for the crowded concourses and the incredibly steep bleacher sections shoved into the outfield. A big win for me as far as the interior goes is all of the standing room areas and gathering spaces. Even myself as a huge baseball fan, it's hard for me to sit still for 9 innings. Target Field has dozens of great areas where you can stand and watch a game, pull up a stool at a bar, or even full-service pubs to seek shelter in during the cold spring months and humid summer days.

It was very hot and humid as Erik and I walked around snapping photos and just soaking in the atmosphere, before finding our seats in right-center field. Erik sat and watched T.C. Bear entertain the crowd while I set out in search of food. The Twins pulled out all the stops for concessions too, as almost everything is locally made and can be found at no other ballpark. I went with the Tony O's Cuban pork sandwich and it was weak-in-the-knees delicious. After all of the hype and excitement, it was finally time for first pitch, and the game was just as much of a treat as the ballpark itself. Felix Hernandez got the start for the opposing Mariners and gave up 3 quick runs in the 1st inning off of run-scoring hits by Joe Mauer, Delmon Young, and Jim Thome. Mauer had a typical day, going 3-4 with an RBI, and the hot-hitting Young had 2 RBI of his own. King Felix settled down after that and ended up throwing 6 consecutive scoreless innings to earn a quality start. The Mariners' weak offense made Kevin Slowey look like...well, Felix Hernandez. He tossed 8 outstanding innings of 3-hit ball before giving way to Jose Mijares to complete the 4-0 victory. Following the game, we stopped at Hooters for a pint and then walked over to one of our old haunts from Erik's U of M days, Brit's Pub. It was a beautiful night to be sitting outside with a cold beer and it was a perfect end to the day.

We also had tickets to the series finale on Sunday. We said goodbye to our 10th floor hotel room at the Hilton and got to the yard about an hour before 1:10 first pitch. Today we approached the park from the #29 Carew gate and got to see the Rod Carew statue and the "money shot" Target Field sign above the team store. Our seats this day were excellent, in the 14th row on the first level, third base side. We had a beautiful view of downtown, and the sun wasn't directly in our face as it was the previous night. Before settling in for the game, we dominated the team store, and bought a couple of Killebrew root beers in souvenir aluminum bottles from Hrbek's Pub. Erik then decided to go with the Murray's steak sandwich, while I had a handmade polish sausage with fresh kraut from the Kramarczuk's stand. These locally made sausages were the talk of the park when it opened and did not disappoint, but I'd still have to say I liked the cuban pork sandwich better. Erik and I clearly needed at least another three games to try all of the food options at Target Field. Today's pitching matchup was Minnesota's ace Francisco Liriano against Seattle rookie Luke French, and it was another 4-0 victory for the Twins to complete the sweep. Liriano struck out 11 over 7 and the strikeout-counter guy in left field nearly ran out of empty spots for K's. Mauer and Thome both had the matinee off, so Jason Kubel provided the offense for the day with a 3-run double off the 23' high right field wall in the 6th, later scoring on hit by Danny Valencia. We were disappointed we didn't get to see Justin Morneau in the series as he is still on the DL with a concussion, but seeing ex-Brewer J.J. Hardy lace 'em up for both games was a treat, even though he contributed absolutely nothing to either win.

Twins fans deserved outdoor baseball in Minneapolis again, and the Twins delivered. And if it isn't enough that Populous crammed this beautiful open-air stadium into an 8-acre site and a $440 million budget, Target Field is also certified LEED Silver and has taken the crown of "world's greenest ballpark" away from Nationals Park. I think Target Field has the potential to be like Camden Yards in the 90s and could start a new design wave in future ballparks. Marlins Park, and renderings for the Rays and A's parks, already look to have strayed greatly from the retro ballpark motif, just as Target Field has. Erik and I thoroughly enjoyed our time here and we both definitely agree that this is without a doubt in the top 3 of all the major league stadiums.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 9
views from park - 8 (downtown)
view to field - 7 (cannot see entire field from bleachers, but great view angles and pitch)
surrounding area - 8 (downtown/Warehouse District)
food variety - 9
nachos - 8 (large portion, taco fixins)
beer - 7 (some local beers, several pub areas with good variety, expensive)
vendor price - 5
ticket price - 8 (excellent for a good major league team)
atmosphere - 9 (sellouts both games)
walk to park - 8
parking price/proximity - 6 (I parked 4 blocks away for $10, can also take light rail)
concourses - 4 (cramped, stairs are narrow)
team shop - 7 (seemed like mostly t-shirts)

best food - Tony O cuban pork sandwich
most unique stadium feature - site & materials
best jumbotron feature - Race to Target Field
best between-inning feature - pre-game homerun derby featuring T.C. Bear

field dimensions - 339/403/328
starters - Felix Hernandez (SEA) v. Kevin Slowey (MIN); Luke French v. Francisco Liriano
opponent - Seattle Mariners
time of game - 2:07; 2:14
attendance - 40799; 40374
score - 4-0 W; 4-0 W
Brewers score that day - 5-0 L; 5-2 L

Tour 2010: Bill Taunton Stadium

2010-07-31T09:39:00.013-07:00

All photos of Bill Taunton Stadium available on Flickr.

We couldn't leave the Brainerd Lakes Area without taking a dip in one of those lakes. So after enjoying the hotels continental breakfast and reading a recap of the previous night's game in the Brainerd Dispatch, we headed to Lower Whipple Lake. The beach was very nice and the water cool and refreshing, but it was mostly deserted on an overcast and breezy day. We swam for a bit, played some catch on the beach, and then showered and shaved at the park's pavillion before setting out to explore downtown Brainerd. We took some pics with the Paul Bunyan & Babe statue that Brainerd is famous for, and then spent some time looking for a brew pub that we never did locate before settling in at Matty's Bar for lunch. Pete had a steak sandwhich and I enjoyed some Pimps Chicken while we both downed a couple of Grain Belt Premiums. With lunch finished, it was time to set out on the 3 hour drive to Willmar.

Once we got to Willmar, Google Maps lead us astray for the third consecutive day, taking us out of town on a county road and past the ballpark. Eventually we made our way to Bill Taunton stadium and struggled through a few horrible brews in the parking lot that Pete bought at the local liquor store, before heading into the game. Tonight was Hat Night at the Stingers game and after acquiring our giveaways and hitting the team store for our usual purchases of a souvenir ball and helmet, we walked around for a bit and then found our seats.

Taunton Stadium is very nice and reminded me a lot of Community Field in Burlington, IA and Pete of Wildwood Park in Sheboygan. The stadium consists of a covered grandstand with rows of box seats seperated from reserved bleacher seats by a narrow walkway. Down the right field line is a lonely grandstand and three rickety bleacher sections. Down the left field line, above the Stingers dugout is a bar rail with stools where fans can sit, have a beer, and see what's going on in the dugout and bullpen. All the seating, with the exception of the right field berm area, is very close to the field and offers excellent views. Having now been to both of the inaugural franchises in the Northwoods League this season, I'd have to give the nod to Willmar. They seemed much better prepared to be hosting a team this season, with a much newer park that has Northwoods League experience (hosted some Beetles games last year) and a better sense of order and direction than Wisconsin Rapids.

Back to the game, it was clear from the top of the 1st that we would not be in for another pitching duel. Stingers starter Charley Olson gave up 4 runs in the top of the first and didn't fair much better in his second and final inning, including a home run to Huskies' 3B Cody Asche. The bullpen didn't fair any better for the Stingers, surrending another 6 runs over the final 7 innings. Duluth, on the other hand, got an excellent start from Connor Hulse, who went 6 innings, struggling only to retire Stingers leadoff batter Isaac Ballou. Ballou was 1 for 2 on the night with 3 walks. He created trouble all night on the base paths with his speed and accounted for 2 of the Stingers 4 runs. The home team is now sadly 0-2 on this trip, and 0-4 for Pete.

After the game we hopped in our cars for the 2-hour drive to Minneapolis and checked into the Hilton by the Metrodome, which appears to be WAY too classy for us but we'll take it. Today and tomorrow, we will finally check out Target Field, the new home of the Twins.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 6
views from park - 5
view to field - 7 (sit in the grandstand, not down the right field line)
surrounding area - 2
food variety - 3
nachos - 5 (bag of chips, lukewarm cheese)
beer - 5 ($3.50 for 16 oz bottles, Miller Lite, MGD, Heiniken, and Corona)
vendor price - 9
ticket price - 9 ($6 GA)
atmosphere - 7 (stadium was packed and fans were into the game)
walk to park - 3
parking proximity - 10 (adjacent lots for free)
concourses - 4 (very crowded between innings)
team shop - 5 (no inaugural season merchandise)

best food - hand-made local hot dog
most unique stadium feature - bar seating above dugout and bullpen
best jumbotron feature - n/a
best between-inning feature - player v. fan bags competition

field dimensions - 326/373/324
starters - Connor Hulse (DUL) v. Charley Olson (WIL)
opponent - Duluth Huskies
time of game - 2:45
attendance - 884
score - 13-4 L
Brewers score that day - 5-0 L

Tour 2010: Stewart C. Mills Field

2010-07-30T07:30:00.015-07:00

All photos of Cloquet, Brainerd, and Mills Field available on Flickr.

I spent my Thursday afternoon exploring Duluth on a beautiful sunny day, while Erik spent his driving 8 hours to meet me in Brainerd. I got up around 9 so that I could go for a run on the Bong Bridge. I didn't quite make it all the way across to Minnesota but I was still energized for the day. After a shower and checking out, I made stops at the Aerial Lift Bridge and the Starkey House. The lift bridge is an iconic piece of infrastructure in downtown Duluth, in which the entire bridge section lifts up on towers like London Bridge, rather than opens like a traditional bridge. I sat by the lake for about a half hour and got to see it open and close. There were a ton of ships and people crowding the harbor that day for the Tall Ships Festival that I did not know about, and all of downtown was very active. I negotiated through traffic to snap a couple photos of the Starkey House on the east end of the city, designed by Marcel Breuer in the 1950s, and then headed to Fitger's Brewhouse for some lunch and a couple beers. Again, I cannot emphasize how impressed I was with Duluth, it was an absolutely gorgeous city and I could have spent several days there. I also have to mention though that Google Maps gave me wrong directions to just about everything I wanted to see, so there may be some sort of conspiracy against me making a return visit.

Erik and I converged at the Rodeway Inn in Baxter, Minnesota at around the same time, 4:30. I would have been there sooner if not for a lot of construction and a stop in Cloquet to fill up at a gas station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. We checked into the hotel and spent some time checking out the latest trade deadline moves on ESPN. At 6:00 we headed over to the park. Stewart C Mills, Sr. Field is located in one of Brainerd's city parks and surrounded by softball and little league diamonds. When we first arrived we expected a large crowd due to the high volume of traffic around the field. Turns out that most of those cars were there for the local softball league, and the crowd was a more modest but respectable 865. There isn't much to Mills Field, just three grandstand sections that wrap behind the plate from dugout to dugout and a party deck down each baseline. The team store is three folding tables of gear set up beneath the grandstand and there is a small concession stand on the first base side. Its layout reminded us a lot of Dutchess County Stadium in New York.

Last night was Dukes of Hazzard Night at the ballpark, featuring an appearance by the actor who played Roscoe P. Coltraine in the original series. I was very excited to get my picture taken with Roscoe but was disappointed to find out that, unlike Potsie from Happy Days and Sgt. Slaughter, whom we've met at Northwoods League stadiums in the past, Roscoe was charging for his autograph and pictures.

After Roscoe finished goofing around with the first pitch, we were treated to an excellent game between the Lunkers and Thunder Bay Border Cats. Both starters held the opposition scoreless and kept the bases clear for the first three innings. The Lunkers put something together in the bottom of the 4th, loading the bases and plating two on a soft ground ball that just eluded the Cats' 2nd baseman by Matt Hillsinger. Thunder Bay tied the game in the top of the 6th on a 2-run HR by Tanner Nivins. The Border Cats took the lead for good in the 8th when Lunkers reliever Aaron Sapp suffered from a lack of control, walking two and giving up a single to load the bases before Tyler Wosleger sent a grounder to 2nd that should have ended the inning. However, Lunkers 2B mishandled the ball and rushing his throw to second, sent the ball into left field, allowing two runs to score. Despite many opportunities and baserunners over the final 3 innings, the Border Cats bullpen kept the Lunkers off the board to secure the win.

After the game, we headed to downtown Brainerd for a few drinks. We spent some time shooting darts and pool at the Blue Ox, a dive bar that was empty on a Thursday night but had very cheap drinks, so we ended up sticking around for a while. This morning, we are off to swim in one of the many lakes that surround Brainerd, then to a brewpub for lunch before heading south to Willmar to take in a Stingers game.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 2
views from park - 5 (Minnesota's Northwoods)
view to field - 5
surrounding area - 3 (downtown located a short drive away)
food variety - 2 (can't even get a cheeseburger in Brainerd)
nachos - 2 (not a lot of cheese)
beer - 4 ($3.50 for 16 oz bottles, but only Miller Lite, MGD, and MGD 64 available)
vendor price - 10 (most expensive sandwichs were $3.50)
ticket price - 9 ($6 GA)
atmosphere - 6
walk to park - 4
parking proximity - 9 (ample adjacent lots and side streets for free)
concourses - 5 (beneath grandstand)
team shop - 4 (Team Store attendant: "We're outta balls." Two innings later balls appear.)

best food - Pulled pork sandwich
most unique stadium feature - concourses beneath grandstand
best jumbotron feature - n/a
best between-inning feature - child catches balls shot from catapult in a fishing net

field dimensions - 324/406/324
starters - Jeff Deblieux (TB) v. Charlie Henderson (BLA)
opponent - Thunder Bay Border Cats
time of game - 2:21
attendance - 865
score - 4-2 L
Brewers score that day - off

Tour 2010: Wade Stadium

2010-07-28T20:54:00.011-07:00

All photos of Duluth/Superior and Wade Stadium available on Flickr.

After over a year of anticipation, our Minnesota trip finally kicked off today. With Erik not being able to attend the College World Series with me in Omaha, this trip marks our only "official" Tour Plus trip of 2010, and I could not be more excited! It's been over a year since our last ball trip, and that's just way too long. So long in fact that I couldn't wait just one more day to meet up with Erik in Brainerd, and decided to get in an extra day of ball myself in Duluth. Wade Stadium is the first of three Northwoods League parks I/we will be visiting, and then the trip will culminate with a couple games at the Twins' new home, Target Field.

I have no idea if I've read or heard that Duluth was awesome, or if I fabricated it in my mind, but for whatever reason I've just always wanted to go there. When Erik was not able to get Wednesday off of work for this trip and the Huskies' homestand ending that day, I decided I could not pass up the opportunity to see this city, as long as I was already that far north. I left work around noon and rolled into my hotel in Superior - which is across St. Louis Bay in Wisconsin - at nearly 6pm. The drive into town was just incredible. It was nothing special until I got to St. Paul, but beyond that it was a thick wooded area, and the final five miles into Duluth you sort of descend into the city from a hill, and the view to Lake Superior and the gigantic bridges crossing the bay is an amazing sight. It was like Tampa Bay meets Washington state. After checking in, the night did not start off too well, as I got lost on the way to the park. All the parks and driving we've done and this is the first time this has ever happened to me. Both the directions I had, and the directions I called Erik to confirm, told me the park was downtown, but it is actually on the west end of the city. So for those of you thinking of going to Wade Stadium, it is on 34th & Grand, NOT 2nd & Superior, as Google Maps and Mapquest both indicate. Compounded on my faulty directions was the ridiculous amount of construction and what I can only describe as a "spaghetti of bridges." Duluth looks absolutely beautiful and the downtown is very pretty, but getting there leads you over, under, and through about a dozen 2-lane bridges and freeway interchanges, and it was very unsettling to me as a visitor.

I finally employed the time-tested Erik P. Bal navigation method of "look for signs and drive towards the light towers," and found the park. Wade Stadium is a very old stadium, built in the 1940s as part of the federal goverment's Works Progress Administration projects. This ballpark has hosted teams for about 50 of its 70 years of existence, and the current tenant Duluth Huskies have been there since 2003. As one of the few remaining WPA stadiums in America, the community has a very special bond with its teams and the ballpark. "The Wade" remains a treasure in the city of Duluth, not to mention one of the top ballparks in all of college summer league baseball - but make no mistake, this park definitely shows if not flaunts its age. There is a ridiculous amount of spackle work on the masonry exterior, paint job after paint job on the benches, and visible rust on the steel structure and canopy. Protective nets are weighted down with buoys and are patch-repaired with twine, and makeshift fences obstruct views. However, for whatever the reason, The Wade just has that certain intangible quality that won't show up in my stadium rankings that simply makes it charming. I'm not one of those people who is mystified by older parks just because they're old and they have history - they have to at least have the illusion of being updated, maintained, and structurally sound, while still keeping its character intact. As both an architect who believes in the importance of historic preservation, and as a ballpark enthusiast, I greatly appreciate the city of Duluth's efforts to make the best of their situation and keep Wade Stadium standing for generations to come.

I arrived at the park at what I thought was about 20 minutes before first pitch, but after I purchased my GA seat I heard the crack of a bat and cheering. I put 2 and 2 together and figured that last night's game must have been rained out, and today was a doubleheader. This gave me time to circumnavigate the park a bit before game two. The ballpark is surrounded by very massive masonry walls down the lines with almost no apertures to speak of, even at the entrance. These walls jut out well past the bleachers and were at first very intimidating, but the good mason craftsmanship and the use of warm brick as opposed to cold concrete, coupled with hearing crowd noise on the other side, helped negate this. Beyond the outfield wall (and I do mean wall - again, massive) was another parking lot, and several little league diamonds. After doing a lap, I finally made my way into the park and took a seat for the final inning of game one. The visiting team Mankato won the game, 4-1. In between games, I hit the team store and got my customary ball and program, and then got something to eat. I was disoriented at first, since the concourses are narrow, white, and flourescently lit - I felt like I was in a correctional facility. After getting my bearings, I was quite pleased with the food and drink selection. Very good prices, a decent variety, and even a great system assembly line ordering system, sort of like ordering from a drive-through. I also liked that the beer and food stands were separate, this reduced the lines greatly in the small corridor space.

The second game of the doubleheader was a 7-inning affair, as all independent and minor league doubleheaders are. The starting pitchers for each team pitched 6 of the 7 innings and were both fairly dominant. Alex Blackford of Mankato struck out 11 Husky hitters and was overmatching them all night with a very sharp breaking ball. Duluth's Chris Jensen kind of came unraveled in the 6th a bit but struck out 8 men of his own, mostly on fastballs. Errors proved to be the key factor in the outcome, as 3 of the 4 runs Mankato scored were unearned. In the 7th, the Huskies' second and first basemens' feet both came off their respective bases on the same double play grounder and both Moondogs were called safe, leading to an insurance run. This run proved to be crucial as Duluth mounted a small comeback in the bottom half of the inning, but fell short and got swept in the doubleheader, 4-3.

It was great to remember what "cold" felt like, as it got down into the 50s after sunset. After the game, I somehow navigated all of the construction and retired to my incredibly spacious hotel room to blog and relax. I figured Erik and I have 72 drunken hours ahead of us and I should probably rest up. Tomorrow I'm going to explore Duluth a bit before I meet up with E two hours away in Brainerd for a Lunkers game.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 7 (brick walls intimidating, but charming and unique)
views from park - 4 (can see lift bridge and Lake Superior from top row)
view to field - 4 (many obstructions)
surrounding area - 3 (residential)
food variety - 7
nachos - 6 (lots of cheese and pulled pork; pts deducted for being out of pulled pork)
beer - 9 ($10 for souvenir mug with $2.25 refills)
vendor price - 9 (nothing over $5)
ticket price - 9 ($6 GA)
atmosphere - 8
walk to park - 5 (walk around periphery is nice)
parking proximity - 9 (ample adjacent lots for free)
concourses - 3 (cramped, below grandstand)
team shop - 5 (pts deducted for being a booth)

best food - Chicago-style hot dog
most unique stadium feature - exterior walls
best jumbotron feature - n/a
best between-inning feature - no-hands cake eating contest between opposing players

field dimensions - 340/380/340
starters - Logan Odom (MAN) v. Frank De Jiulio (DUL); Alex Blackford v. Christopher Jensen
opponent - Mankato Moondogs
time of game - 2:01; 2:14
attendance - 2596 (total)
score - 4-1 L, 4-3 L
Brewers score that day - 10-2 L

STANDINGS & UPCOMING GAMES AS OF 07.28:
Brewers 48-55, -9.0 (3 @ Astros, 3 @ Cubs)
Reds 57-46, -- (3 v. Braves, 3 @ Pirates)
Twins 56-46, -1.0 (3 v. Mariners, 4 @ Rays)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 15
Peter - 34

Giants Spooked out of Milwaukee Hotel

2010-07-22T17:11:00.005-07:00

One of the hardest things about being a professional ballplayer is being on the road over a third of the year. A four-game road sweep would normally be something that would help a visiting player sleep better at night, but not in the case of the San Francisco Giants. A couple weeks ago, Pablo Sandoval and Edgar Renteria checked out of the historic Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee after being "spooked by ghosts." Had this been an isolated incident it might be pretty hilarious, but it turns out that Sandoval and Renteria are just two of hundreds who have experienced paranormal activity at this hotel.

At first I was skeptical, because the hotel is well over a century old, and I figured players were just creeped out being in such an old building that creaks and groans - I certainly would be uncomfortable staying there. But after I read about this incident, I dug deeper. It turns out that this has been going on for many seasons at the Pfister. Guests have reported hearing voices, flickering lights, electronics going haywire, and seeing the apparition of a "portly, smiling gentleman" roaming the halls, who could be none other than Charles Pfister himself. He opened the regal hotel with his father in the late 1800s and it has hosted every US president since McKinley. My dad's good friend, Jim Ksczinski, was the visiting clubhouse manager for the Brewers for over 30 years, and he also confirmed that there were several incidents over the years at this hotel with visiting ballplayers.

I was born and raised in Milwaukee, and I never knew until I read this article that the Pfister was haunted. Even more shocking to me was that players still stay at this ridiculously old hotel when there are other newer, more posh places to stay downtown. I would say that it's the Brewers trying to gain a competitive advantage if they didn't have the worst home record in baseball.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING GAMES AS OF 07.22:
Brewers 43-53, -11.0 (4 v. Nationals, 3 v. Reds)
Reds 53-44, -1.5 (3 @ Astros, 3 @ Brewers)
Twins 50-45, -2.5 (4 @ Orioles, 3 @ Royals)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 15
Peter - 32

A Rough Week for the Yankees

2010-07-14T17:17:00.008-07:00

In the past few days, the New York Yankees have lost two of their most beloved, influential, and memorable off-the-field figures. On Sunday, longtime public address announcer Bob Sheppard died quietly in his Baldwin, New York home, only three months shy of his 100th birthday. He announced over 4,500 games at Yankee Stadium from 1951 through 2007, when illness and old age finally forced his retirement. From Mantle to Jeter, and 13 World Championships in between, Bob Sheppard was and is among the most recognizable voices in baseball history. One thing the new Yankee Stadium can never recreate is the smooth, distinctive player introductions of Sheppard.

Now batting, for the Yankees...#2, Derek Jeter...#2.

Only two days after Sheppard's passing, Yankees owner George M. Steinbrenner III died of a massive heartattack in Tampa at the age of 80. Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees in 1973 for what was then a very large sum of money to buy a team - $8.7 million. Seven World Titles later, the team was estimated to be worth over $1.5 billion by Forbes this year. "The Boss," as he was called, was controversial, and butted heads with a lot of his players and managers, but was also said by many to be a very caring, generous, and passionate person. He will perhaps be known for two things in particular: the hiring and firing of 20 different managers in his first 23 years at the helm (including Billy Martin five different times), and his brainchild of the YES network. This Yankees broadcast station brought in unimaginable revenue streams for the team and helped finance the new ballpark that opened last year. Unfortunately, illness forced Steinbrenner to relinquish control of everyday operations to his sons following the 2006 season. Never has an owner been more in the public eye and more influential on his team in the history of sports than George Steinbrenner.

Owning the Yankees is like owning the Mona Lisa.

Both Sheppard and Steinbrenner were honored with a moment of silence before the 81st Midsummer Classic on Tuesday night in Anaheim. Erik and I are both grateful that we got to be in the presence of these two Yankee giants while they were still with the team in 2007.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING GAMES AS OF 07.14:
Brewers 40-49, -8.5 (4 @ Braves, 4 @ Pirates)
Reds 49-41, +1.0 (3 v. Rockies, 4 v. Nationals)
Twins 46-42, -3.5 (4 v. White Sox, 3 v. Indians)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 15
Peter - 31

Mets-Marlins in Puerto Rico

2010-06-30T17:31:00.006-07:00

As I write this, Chris Volstad is throwing the first pitch of game 3 of the series in San Juan, Puerto Rico between the Mets and the Marlins. It is the first time a regular season game has been played outside of the United States or Canada since 2004, when the Montreal Expos played 22 "home games" as part of their schedule, due to poor attendance at Olympic Stadium and as part of Puerto Rico's bid have the team move there. Crowds have been well over capacity for this series at historic Hiram Bithorn Stadium, which opened for business in 1962. This series is part of an ongoing effort by MLB to expand baseball's world impact and to play to the increasing international popularity of the sport. Every major league team now has scouting camps, winter leagues, and training facilities in some Latino/Carribbean nation, and it is only a matter of time before MLB is playing in a 3rd country on a more permanent basis. Just watching even one inning of this Marlins-Mets series, one can see how enthusiastic and devoted some foreign countries are to the game, and are not just having our American sport crammed down their throat like the NFL or NBA. Continuing to develop international talent and spread baseball acadamies across the globe is the next big step in MLB's life cycle (now that the Steroid Era is more or less over) and events like this series in Puerto Rico, Japanese barnstorming tours in Spring Training, and the World Baseball Classic are all big steps in the right direction. Erik and I are eager to someday visit an international league and to witness the passion and excitement firsthand.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.30:
Brewers 35-43, -8.5 (4 @ Cardinals, 4 v. Giants, 3 v. Pirates)
Reds 44-35, +0.5 (4 @ Cubs, 3 @ Mets, 4 @ Phillies)
Twins 43-35, +1.5 (4 v. Rays, 3 @ Blue Jays, 3 @ Tigers)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 14
Peter - 27

Lewis & Clark Park

2010-06-23T16:29:00.012-07:00

All photos of Lewis & Clark Park available on Flickr.

After a long day of college baseball at The Blatt, I decided to spend a few hours seeing the rest of Omaha, rather than get to Sioux City any earlier than I had to. Omaha is actually a pretty nice city, once you get past the ungodly summer heat, which I have coined as "Oma-hot." I took streets to downtown from my hotel instead of I-80, and I drove past the University of Nebraska-Omaha campus and the Gene Leahy Mall. It is not uncommon for a metropolitan area to have a scenic riverwalk, a tree-lined historic district with cobbled streets, or an urban commuter rail system, but it is pretty rare to have all three as Omaha does. I walked part of the Papillion Creek riverwalk and into the historic part of downtown, where my walking tour of Omaha abruptly ended when I located the Upstream Brewing Company and stopped in for some beer and grub in refuge of the Oma-hot. After sampling a few housemade brews and some tasty mac & cheese, my stay in Omaha concluded with a drive through northern downtown (NoDo) to see the new TD Ameritrade Park, slated to open in 2011 as the new home of the College World Series. It looks nice and NoDo seems like a cool area, but I will still miss Rosenblatt and was glad I got to go to a couple games in its final season.

From there, it was on to I-29 for the 90-minute drive north to Sioux City, coming in as Iowa's 4th largest city with a population of over 80,000. All I really got to see in Sioux City was the Motel 6, a dinky airport, a bunch of big-box and fast food stores, and the ballpark. The downtown may very well be amazing - the park is south of the city center - but obviously I was not at all impressed with my time there. On top of my lack of enthusiasm towards the town, I had to pay $2 to park and $10 general admission for an independent league park in the middle of nowhere. Factored in with the ridiculous prices and being so far from civilization, there was a threat of storms in the area, all of which contributed to a low attendance on what turned out to be a good home team performance on a comfortable night for baseball.

Lewis & Clark Park and the Explorers are both named for Merriweather Lewis and William Clark, who helped settle the area and whose famous expedition claimed its only life, Sgt. Charles Floyd, in what is today Sioux City. Lewis & Clark Park opened for business in 1993 and has hosted the Explorers every season since. It's a ballpark in that crossroads between new and old, in a situation where it is certainly not showing any signs of aging, but yet is not going to have the customary amenities and luxuries afforded by parks of the 21st century. For now, this 3600-seat stadium serves the fans and the team adequately enough. Not much is happening as you enter the park, with the lone concession stand directly in front of you, and a small team store just off to the side. The walk down both lines is very disconcerting, as the grandstand towers overhead and the patron is presented with just a tall blank wall with only a couple doors for staff and team access, making one feel as if they're trespassing when in certain areas of the stadium. Looking out from the grandstand, you can see US-20 beyond left field and acres of rolling hills and empty land past right field. The outfield wall stands alone with only the scoreboard behind it, and a grass buffer to the freeway and outlying bosque of trees, no seating or equipment whatsoever. The entire park just feels very isolated, as if baseball just "appeared" at this site - kind of like the Field of Dreams, but not in a good way. Also, prices did not get much better once I got inside; the most reasonable deal of any food worth getting was a Grande Nacho at $6.

All of my previous American Association experiences involved the Saints, and the Saints were again the opponent this night in a 10-0 defeat to the X's. Sioux City played very well in all facets of the game, and St. Paul just looked god awful. They played some of the worst infield defense I've ever seen, most notably the first baseman Ole Sheldon who could barely bend or move in any direction. Leading the league in homeruns won't get you on a minor league roster if you miss four plays a game on defense. The guy I was hoping to see at first base for the Saints was veteran Major Leaguer Kevin Millar, who started his pro career with the Saints and signed a contract with them in the offseason after getting cut by the Cubs. Unfortunately, he is on the DL, so Erik and I will have to hope he's ok by July when we head up there. Anyways, the X's all but put the game away in the 8-run 4th, during which they sent 12 men to the plate. Catcher Ray Serrano went 2-2 in that inning and 4-5 on the night with a HR, 2 RBI, and 3 runs scored. He also made a couple nice plays at the plate and called a really nice game for Jae Jung, who hurled 7 scoreless. There is probably not a big market for 29-year old overweight catchers, but he's now hitting nearly .400 on the season and just made it look way too easy at the plate all night. He was recently playing AAA ball for the Braves, so let's see if Serrano can't fight his way back to affliated ball. Another player of note who was recently cut by a pro team was DH Chris Errecart. I had never heard of him, but apparently he played for the Helena Brewers last year, and he went 3-5 with a 2-run HR in his first game of the season for the X's.

My brief trip concluded with a rough 8 AM wakeup call followed by a 3 1/2 hour drive, all so I could make the 1:05 first pitch at Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo. Hey, nobody said the life of a season ticket holder was easy! The next new ballpark(s) I'll be attending is with Erik on our July trip to Minnesota.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 2
views from park - 6 (set in hillside, US-20 and fields)
view to field - 8
surrounding area - 2 (Walmart, fast food, empty lots, etc)
food variety - 3
nachos - 8 (large portion, full array of taco toppings)
beer - 3 (low variety, $6 for large)
vendor price - 3
ticket price - 1 ($10 GA in independent league is ridiculous)
atmosphere - 4
walk to park - 2
parking proximity - 4 (adjacent lot, but parking should have been free)
concourses - 1
team shop - 4 (small but good variety, pts deducted for being a booth and not walk-in shop)

best food - Grande Nachos
most unique stadium feature - unobstructed view to US-20 not more than 30ft from OF wall
best jumbotron feature - "Ring 'em Up" strikeout animation
best between-inning feature - all kids cha-cha on field with mascot Slider for a Pepsi

field dimensions - 330/400/330
starters - Todd Mathison (StP) v. Jae Jung (SC)
opponent - St. Paul Saints
time of game - 2:08
attendance - 788
score - 10-0 W
Brewers score that day - 7-5 W

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.23:
Brewers 30-40, -9.0 (3 v. Mariners, 3 v. Astros)
Reds 40-33, -0.5 (3 v. Indians, 3 v. Phillies)
Twins 40-30, +1.5 (3 @ Mets, 3 v. Tigers)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 14
Peter - 23

College World Series: Final Season of Rosenblatt Stadium

2010-06-22T07:19:00.017-07:00

All photos of Omaha and Rosenblatt Stadium available on Flickr.

The College World Series has been at the heart of Omaha summers since 1950, and all 61 fields of 8 have played at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. In 2009, the city and the NCAA renewed its CWS lease through 2035, but with the caveat that Omaha build a new downtown stadium by 2011. The series, with attendance increasing above capacity almost every season since 1991, was outgrowing the stadium and the players, and a larger ballpark with modern amenities would be needed to generate more revenue for Omaha and the NCAA. On the other side of the coin, Rosenblatt's other tenant, the AAA Omaha Royals, were obviously struggling to fill this 23000+ seat ballpark on a regular basis - the O-Royals typically draw at less than 1/4 capacity. The plan for next season is for the O-Royals and the CWS to have separate stadiums that fit each of their needs, one downtown and one outside of the city. With that being said, I just had to go see a game during the final College World Series ever played at Rosenblatt Stadium. Erik and I had planned a week-long trip to Omaha, but his job prevented him from going. So, I condensed the same trip into a couple of days and journeyed on solo. Normally I would not cross things off of "the list" without Erik, but I feel that seeing Rosenblatt in its last season was warranted.

Erik and I both passed by Rosenblatt on the way from Lincoln to Des Moines on the tour, and even though we did not go inside, it has stood out in my mind these past 3 years among the many mindless minor and independent league structures we visited. Rosenblatt Stadium may not look flashy on the surface, but is very unique in a couple of ways. First, several additions have made this ballpark into the largest minor league park in the country. This gives it a much different look and feel than most of the more intimate ballparks in the minors, particularly at a CWS game. Secondly, the ballpark was opened for the 1948 season. Much like Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City (ironically the O-Royals' parent club), the era in which it was built gives it a motif unmatched anywhere else. It postdates all of the wood frame ballparks erected earlier in the century, and predates the smaller, amenity-filled parks we see today in the minors that all have the same basic layout. The blue steel webframe structure and original "Rosenblatt" signage are both instantly recognizable. With the Royals moving to a 7,500 seat ballpark in outlying Papillion, and the College World Series moving to the 30,000 seat TD Ameritrade Park downtown, efforts have been ongoing to save the historic ballpark. The nearby Doorly Zoo will take ownership of the land starting in 2011 and intend on using the land for parking. The latest proposal I have seen presents a compromise of repurposing over total demolition, with the front entry gate and diamond remaining as a park, and the outfield behind being converted to parking stalls. Much of Rosenblatt's charm will be lost to generations forever, but this compromise or something like it would allow Omaha to keep a small piece of history alive. Rosenblatt Stadium is definitely a hidden gem that many people do not know about because they may not be college baseball fans, but make no mistake - it has the same character and memories as the Fenway Parks of the world and will definitely be missed.

I arrived in Omaha at about 1:00 on Monday, about a 4 hour drive from Waterloo. After checking in at the Super 8 - hiked up to $80/night for the CWS, and every room was full - I figured I had a little bit of time to kill before heading to the park. Big mistake. Wasting a half-hour watching the World Cup in my room almost prevented me from gaining access to the 3:30 game. It took me about a half-hour to get from the off-ramp to the the lawn I parked on 5 blocks away for $30. The neighborhood and the atmosphere was unbelievable. Never in all my visits to Lambeau field or Yankee Stadium, or all of my college football experiences, have I seen the crowds and activity like I did there. Like Lambeau Field, parking at the field is insufficient and nearby residents charge a ridiculous fee for them to park on your lawn. I read a lot of articles about how neighbors are glad to see the CWS leave Rosenblatt, but for making $100-200 a day in parking fees for two weeks, I'd put up with the madness. Like Yankee Stadium, there are merchandise tents, stores, and bars lined all up and down Bert Murphy Drive and 12th Streets, interspersed between and in front of houses. And like a college football Saturday at Ohio State, Notre Dame, Iowa, or any other big university, the crowd is electric. People tailgate and drink on their porches from first pitch to the last out. Thousands of students wander the streets supporting their schools with the little clothing they have on. Lines form around the stadium and onto the street.

The College World Series experience combines the most insane atmospheres of the NFL, MLB, and college football all in one, packed into 10 days. On top of that, throw in that people converge from all over the country to see this event, and you have a scene that will likely never be fully recreated after this year. A downtown ballpark may provide much deserved revenue and development opportunities, but will never recreate the neighborhood feel and chaos that is present every June at the Blatt, and that to me is a big loss. Having now attended the CWS at Rosenblatt, I will (as a lifelong Cubs hater) finally reverse my stance on tearing down Wrigley Field. Yes, the stadium will crumble and require significant structural renovations, but who cares? It's all about the fans and the neighborhood. Having that gameday aura in Chicago, or Omaha, or anywhere else, is something very special. The Yankees had the opportunity to rebuild their new stadium across the street, but the Cubs and CWS unfortunately do not have that luxury.

After finding my way through the crowd and the muck from the overnight rain, I finally arrived on the hallowed Rosenblatt grounds. The College World Series and the NCAA host a FanFest outside the ballpark every year, which was kind of like the scene outside the Winter Classic at Wrigley. There were tents selling food and merchandise, some bands playing, fan activities, and just a general gathering spot before and after the games. The festival led me to the front gate, and I tried as best I could to get some unobstructed photos of the "Road to Omaha" statue and the front gate signage, but the crowd was very thick. Flags of the 8 schools flanked both sides of the statue - TCU, Oklahoma, Florida, Florida State, UCLA, South Carolina, Clemson, and #1 ranked Arizona State. By this time it was an hour to first pitch, and I thought I had time to circumnavigate the park quick. I made my way through the makeshift "ESPN Camp" past left field, and discovered two things: (1) you can't circumnavigate a park perched on a hill, and (2) I'd better get in line right now! They had set up a line with ropes and posts, not unlike waiting in line at a roller coaster park, and I snaked my way through it as fast as I could and got into the park at about 3:00. At the CWS, general admission ticket holders like myself are not guaranteed entry - only about 5800 per game - so getting into the stadium was an accomplishment in itself. OK, I found parking, and I got in - now to find a seat. Being there alone, I was able to wedge in at the top row of the lower section in left field to take in an elimination game between Florida and Florida State.

Just as with being outside the park, inside was no different - no glitz and glamour, but still distinctly original, and the fans totally made the experience. Rosenblatt appears much more massive than the web frame and metal bleachers seen from the outside would indicate. It's a very tall one-deck park, with seats surrounding all sides, and a small standing area beyond the batters eye. All of the concessions were under the bleachers offering a limited palette, but most importantly lots of water, soda, and frozen treats on this hot day. The only bad part of my day was that the GA sections and the reserved seating areas were separated, so I was not able to see the entire park. The afternoon game was just under capacity, probably because of the 90+ degree heat and the threat of rain. Eventually the skies turned partly cloudy and the rain held up, so it turned out to be a relaxing game, despite its nearly 4-hour length. Amidst the constant confiscation of beach balls and taunting of the right field fans - "Right Field Sucks! Right Field Sucks!" - I was able to witness Florida State edge out Florida 8-5, thus making the Gators the first team eliminated from the CWS. Brian Busch overcame a shaky start for the Seminoles, giving up a tape measure shot to the first batter of the game, but ended up going 5.1 innings for the victory. Florida made it interesting in the 9th with a 3-spot, but Mike McGee came in from left field for the 'Noles to pick up his 13th save of the season. The star of the game was undoubtedly McGee. He not only hit the tie-breaking 3-run homerun in the 3rd, but as I said also picked up the save. McGee is not surprisingly a finalist for the John Olerud award, given each year to NCAA baseball's top two-way player. Austin Maddox was the big-name player I recognized in the game, and he went 2-5 with an RBI as the Gators' DH.

For the last game, I had to exit the park and re-enter for an 8:00 first pitch. Since the afternoon game did not end until 7:15, lines were already very long to get into the TCU-UCLA nightcap. At first glance at the gathered crowd, I thought that there was zero chance I'd get back in. But with nothing better to do on a Monday night in Omaha and with ticket already in hand, I gave it a shot, and was literally in the last 20 or so people to gain entry. I walked down the concourse to get a burger, and when I walked back past the gate, the people behind me in line had not yet left. Security was actually letting in handfuls of people at a time as people exited throughout the game. I tried to sit in right for this game so that I could see the jumbotron, and to see if right field did in fact suck. I searched for about two innings all across the outfield for a seat and finally decided to just stand in the aisle illegally in right-center with about 2,000 screaming TCU fans. This game was much more rowdy than the first, and it seemed to be mostly TCU fans aside from a section behind the UCLA dugout. There were a lot of shirtless guys walking around with Bruins caps on, but being from LA they probably weren't at the park to watch the game anyways and were no doubt leaving early. Again surrounded by a sea of beach balls, bleacher bums trying to start waves and chants, and security removing people left and right, I was able to see an amazing game. Gerrit Cole completely dominated the Horned Frogs for 8 innings in a gutsy performance. Aside from the 7th in which he loaded the bases and gave up a bases-clearing triple to Taylor Featherston, he had TCU hitters looking foolish all night. The best half-inning of the entire day was when Cole, a first-round draft pick this year of the Yankees, remarkably came back out for the 8th after looking to be tapped out in the rocky 7th. He proceeded to strikeout the side on mid-90s fastballs, making it a total of 13 for the night on 122 pitches. After heading for the dugout with a fist-pump following the 3rd out, a barrage of beach balls and inflatable animals engulfed the entire outfield in one final act of defiance towards the beleaguered security crew. Players including Cole himself came out to the outfield to help restore order, and after a strategic playing of "Sweet Caroline" by PA guy, the crowd was distracted enough to let the final inning play out and UCLA to prevail 6-3. The Bruins' leadoff hitter Beau Amaral was the offensive star of the game, going 3-3 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.

I would conclude this long post with a list of tips for anyone visiting the CWS, but I doubt any of the same problems will exist at the downtown ballpark next year. All I can say is to get there plenty early if you hold a GA ticket and hang on for a wild ride! I had an absolute blast and cannot wait to visit TD Ameritrade Field with Erik in the near future. My brief roadtrip will conclude today with finding a good brewpub to watch the World Cup this afternoon, and a 90-minute drive to Sioux City to watch the Explorers.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 5
views from park - 2 (some views of the zoo through the back fence)
view to field - 6 (obstructions in the gaps, behind the plate, and from massive crowds)
surrounding area - 4 (zoo, residential - bump it up to a 9 for CWS FanFest)
food variety - 2
nachos - 4 (standard)
beer - not sold at NCAA event
vendor price - 5 ($4 for water)
ticket price - 9 ($10 GA is pretty good for a championship event)
atmosphere - 10
walk to park - 9
parking proximity - 3 (relatively close, but $15-20 per game on surrounding lawns)
concourses - 3
team shop - 7 (pts deducted for almost everything in & out of park sold out by end of gm 2)

best food - Omaha Steak burger
most unique stadium feature - "Road to Omaha" statue
best jumbotron feature - Rosenblatt CWS memories
best between-inning feature - beach balls in bleachers

field dimensions - 335/408/335
starters - Hudson Randall (FLA) v. Brian Busch (FSU); Kyle Winkler (TCU) v. Gerrit Cole (UCLA)
opponent - Florida Gators v. Florida State Seminoles; Texas Christian Horned Frogs v. UC-Los Angeles Bruins
time of game - 3:33; 3:18
attendance - 19500+; 23100+
score - 8-5 FSU, 6-3 UCLA
Brewers score that day - off

Witter Field

2010-06-15T19:10:00.013-07:00

All photos of Witter Field available on Flickr.

Over the off-season the Northwoods League announced it would be adding two new teams for this season. There had been a lot of speculation that one would be located in Waukesha, but the location of the proposed ballpark was too controversial for the city to move forward with construction and greener pastures were sought. When one of the expansion teams found a home in Wisconsin Rapids, Pete and I were very excited to make the trip up I-39 to watch some more home-state ball. The team is owned, in part, by the owner of the Madison Mallards, and run by the former assistant GM of the Mallards, so we knew they would put on a good show. In February the team announced a "Name the Team" contest. After a little research, I submitted the names Rafter, Rivermen, and Boggers. Fans voting eventually determined the team would be known as the Rafters and I won a free 9-pack for my efforts.

On Sunday, June 6, my girlfriend Katie and I made the 2 hour drive from
Madison to Wisconsin Rapids to take in the Rafters inaugural home opener. Pete had been in attendance at the first ever Rafters game earlier that week in Waterloo. We arrived a half hour before the game was scheduled to start and I was immediately impressed. Wisconsin Rapids had been home to a Midwest League affiliate of the Twins for many years, but the team moved away in 1983 and this was professional baseball's return to the Rapids. Witter Field is located in a small park which serves as the practice fields for the high school located across the street. While the ballpark dates to 1953, it felt almost brand new. The grandstand bleachers all had a fresh coat of paint and were sparkling for opening day. There is a new team store, built to resemble a log cabin, and concession stand located down the left line and a children's play are in right field. The team store is small and was quite crowded before first pitch. The fans were very excited about the return of baseball to the Rapids and were snapping up team gear very quickly. The menu at the concession stand was adequate but not spectacular. Lines were long as the staff was still learning how to operated their equipment, but that problem should be solved as the season wears on.

The Rafters have struggled in their first campaign. On the night we were there, starting pitcher Matt Baudino gave the Rafter 4 solid innings, aided RF Cody Koback's throwing out Eau Claire's Steve McGuiggan trying to score to end the third, before loading the bases and leaving with one out in the 5th. The Rafters bullpen could not hold the Express, allowing four runs in the 5th and 2 more in the 6th to put the game away. The Rafters also struggled at the plate, scraping together only 5 hits and striking out 8 times.

Like a Mallards game, the was more entertainment than just the ballgame. In-game events included the dizzy bat race and Roscoe P. Rafter, the team mascot pulling children around the diamond on a tractor. After the game, the human cannonball soared over the infield and there were fireworks beyond the outfield fence. In all, it was an excellent opener for the Rafters and I look forward to my next visit to the Rapids.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 6
views from park - 4 (residential neighborhood)
view to field - 8 (room supports obstruct some views)
surrounding area - 5
food variety - 5
nachos - not available!
beer - 8 (wide variety, $3 for 16 oz)
vendor price - 9 (9-pack includes all you can eat dogs, brats, burgers, chicken, and soda)
ticket price - 8 ($6 for bleachers)
atmosphere - 10
walk to park - 6
parking proximity - 10 (lots available also plenty of parking on neighborhood streets)
concourses - 7
team shop - 7

best food - pulled pork philly
most unique stadium feature - fully covered grandstand
best jumbotron feature - n/a
best between-inning feature - dizzy bat race

field dimensions - 320/375/320
starters - Matthew McDaniel (EC) v. Matt Baudino (WR)
opponent - Eau Claire Express
time of game - 2:51
attendance - 2,065
score - 7-0 L
Brewers score that day - 4-3 W

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.16:
Brewers 27-37, -9.0 (3 @ Rockies, 3 v. Twins)
Reds 36-28, +0.5 (3 @ Mariners, 3 @ Athletics)
Twins 37-27, +2.5 (3 @ Phillies, 3 @ Brewers)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 13
Peter - 19

Northwoods League Opening Week 2010

2010-06-03T21:19:00.007-07:00

All photos of Waterloo Bucks home opener available on Flickr.

June signals the end of the NCAA season and the beginning of collegiate summer leagues across the nation. Our favorite baseball league, the Northwoods League, began its 17th season on Wednesday in seven cities across the Midwest. This year the league expands to 16 teams, with expansion franchises starting up in Wisconsin Rapids and Willmar, Minnesota. Like most teams in the NWL, these cities may be new to the league but are not without their local baseball history. Wisconsin Rapids was a long-time affiliate of the Twins and amateur baseball before the Rafters came to town, and the Stingers are now the 6th permanent tenant of Bill Taunton Stadium in Willmar, along with several VFW and Legion ball teams also playing there each summer. We are excited and lucky enough to get to see both of these new teams this season - Erik won a 9-pack of Rafters tickets for winning a "Name the Team" contest, and we plan on tacking a Stingers game onto our Target Field trip next month. I was also fortunate to be in attendance at the first two game in Wisconsin Rapids Rafters history on Wednesday and Thursday at the Waterloo Riverfront Stadium.

I always look forward to Opening Day, but this particular Opening Day was special to me because it would be my first as a season ticket holder! Being a resident of Waterloo for almost a year now, I know just about every place that one can score a free Bucks ticket in this city (which is almost everywhere), but I decided that I could afford to support the team for the modest price of $105 for a 35-game home schedule. Even if I miss one-third of the games, I am still coming out ahead on this deal! It sure looks like the team can use my monetary support this year, because there were absolutely zero fan improvements to the ballpark in the offseason. After the 2008 floods, new batting cages and clubhouses were installed for the players, and a new entry/ticket booth, but much of the seating bowl remains in bad shape and the concessions are still a joke. For my first meal of the season, I was denied two items that are still on the menu but they have never actually had, and ended up settling for a cheeseburger that was made up of a microwaved hamburger patty with ice-cold shredded taco cheese on top. Another lack of improvement in the park was the turf - it still has an inauspicious upward slope at the warning track, which when combined with the field's poor drainage means that any heavy storm the day of a game pretty much means a postponement.

Most importantly, however, the product on the field does seem to have significantly improved over the Bucks' last-place performance of the 2009 season. Aside from a few defensive miscues in Thursday's game, the Bucks played solidly and were in control in both wins. In both games, the starters went at least 6 and the bullpen was excellent - which is more than the Brewers can say about their staff. Both games were low scoring and fast, which was a result of pitching efficiency and good infield defense. The Bucks also took advantage of whatever the defense gave them, including most of their RISP opportunities. Early on, the team does not seem to have a lot of power, so smart baserunning and on-base percentage are going to be keys for this team to contend in the South Division this year.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.03:
Brewers 22-32, -9.0 (3 @ Cardinals, 3 v. Cubs, 3 v. Rangers, 3 @ Angels)
Reds 31-23, -- (3 @ Nationals, 4 v. Giants, 3 v. Royals, 3 v. Dodgers)
Twins 31-22, +3.0 (3 @ Athletics, 3 v. Royals, 3 v. Braves, 3 v. Rockies)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 12
Peter - 11

Nationals on the Verge of Greatness

2010-05-28T15:00:00.009-07:00

Let me just be clear about something before I get into this post - I said at the beginning of the season that Nats were going to be the most improved team in the Major Leagues this season. Not quite a playoff contender, but certainly around .500. Everybody laughed at me at the time, but so far in the first two months of the season, the Nats aren't making me look like a idiot - a feat that is usually pretty easy to accomplish. The last couple of seasons, I've noticed that this team can actually rake quite a bit, and if they were to just get some solid pitching, they would contend in the NL East. Enter the 2009 Draft. The Washington Nationals selected two incredible power arms in the first round: Stephen Strasburg (San Diego State, #1 overall) and Drew Storen (Stanford #10 overall). Strasburg has been touted as the best raw pitching talent drafted since Dwight Gooden, and Storen dominated as The Cardinal's closer for two seasons. Both pitchers began in AA, breezed through to AAA after about a month, and now both are already making an impact on the big league roster. Storen made his MLB debut last week against the Cardinals and struck out slugger Matt Holliday for his first major league out, and it was recently announced that Strasburg will make his debut against in the June 7-9 series against the Pirates. The Nats have reportedly sold over 60,000 tickets for those three games already, which will be almost a year to the day since Stephen was drafted.

So you already had a solid lineup. Good on-base guys in Nyjer Morgan and Cristian Guzman, big run producers in Zimmerman, Dunn, and Willingham, and perhaps most importantly a veteran backstop in Ivan Rodriguez to guide a Nationals staff that averages about 24 years old, if you exclude the ageless wonder Livan Hernandez - who has been dealing, by the way. Guys like Stammen, Lannon, and Luis Atiliano are finally starting to come into their own with Ivan's and Livan's tutelage. To add to this lineup and their young starting staff, Washington's front office had a productive offseason. Despite giving over $50 million to a guy who's never thrown a pitch in his professional career, the Nationals decided not to just sit on this goldmine in Strasburg and went and acquired the aforementioned Hernandez, Jason Marquis, Chien-Ming Wang, and Matt Capps. Not necessarily good moves on paper, but Hernandez is an innings-eater and has an ERA under 2 and Capps leads the league in saves. You also can't overlook that maybe the best moves the Nats made in the offseason were the guys they released - injury-prone Nick Johnson and perennial clubhouse cancer Elijah Dukes. Incidentally, Johnson is back on the Yankees and is on the DL again and Dukes remains unsigned and is out of baseball.

The bottom line is that Marquis, Wang, and Strasburg have not even thrown a pitch this season yet (Marquis and Wang are injured) and the team is 24-24. When this team is at full strength, I suspect this team will be very good and will make a run at the division title, for this year and for years to come. The scariest part is that the Nats again have the #1 pick in the 2010 draft and will undoubtedly select catcher Bryce Harper out of the College of Southern Nevada, another absolute star in waiting. This kid is being called the "LeBron James of baseball" and was the first high school sophmore ever to be selected as a first-team All-American. If I was a betting man, I'd be putting my money on the Nationals next year.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 05.28:
Brewers 19-28, -8.5 (3 v. Mets, 4 @ Marlins)
Reds 28-20, +0.5 (3 v. Astros, 3 @ Cardinals)
Twins 27-20, +1.5 (3 v. Rangers, 4 @ Mariners)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 10
Peter - 9

The Brewers are Terrible

2010-05-20T16:16:00.007-07:00

I may have spoken too soon last week when I wrote a post about the Indians being the laughing stock of the league. Maybe Bruce Drennan can do piece on the Brewers, because they are playing the worst baseball I've seen them play in over 5 years. I vividly remember the 2003 season when the Tigers lost 119 games, and the Crew is not far off that pace right now. They are 15-25 and have lost 9 straight games as of this post. Even as I type this right now, they are already down 3-0 in the 1st inning, so it does not look like the end is near for their losing ways.

Everyone always loves to blame the manager when a team goes into a prolonged funk, and for good reason: the manager's job is more psychological than anything else. This is precisely why Ken Macha's lack of emotion makes him such an easy target. In-game strategy and filling out the lineup is only a small part of the job, things that I think Macha does really well. But his lack of intensity, stubbornness, and the day-to-day inconsistency of the team are big red flags that he is not the man for the job any more. Despite that, the only real reason to fire a manager mid-season is to appease the fans, and that may be enough for Melvin to send Macha packing this year, since the Brewers rely on so much of their revenue from attendance. Whether it's this year or next, the Brewers need a new manager.

Fixing the manager situation is only half the battle. That might help our feast-or-famine offense, or team morale, or even our crummy home record. It's pretty obvious to even the casual fan that the team's biggest problem the past couple seasons is pitching. Granted, Macha only has so much to work with, but this team won 80 games last year with an atrocious pitching staff, and you would figure with the signings of LaTroy Hawkins, Doug Davis, and Randy Wolf - albeit they're not all-stars - that the staff would improve. That has not been the case, as the Crew is 29th in bullpen ERA, and 28th in team ERA. It seems like the Brewers haven't had a clean game from the bullpen all season, and the entire staff is dragging like it's mid-September. Todd Coffey has 20 appearances and Trevor Hoffman has 5 blown saves, and it's not even Memorial Day.

I'm really angry with the team's play, but the worst part is there's no quick fix. Removing Hoffman as closer, for instance, is only a knee-jerk reaction to a more glaring problem: lack of young pitching talent. Thus, my main proposal for the Brewers would be to trade Prince Fielder in the offseason, regardless of how we end up in the standings. It would alienate the fan base less after the season than if this trade occurred at the break. It just makes me really uncomfortable that the Brewers have gotten away from building their farm system in the last few years, and that's something that needs to be addressed if they want to remain competitive. You might struggle for a little bit as players develop, but stocking a farm system perennially helps you avoid situations like we're in now. Yes, Ken Macha has been terrible, but he also came into this job in the midst of our poorest minor league talent pool of the Melvin-Attansio era. We've had to overpay free agents and hodgepodge together a bullpen for a couple seasons now because there is almost no talent at the AAA level. The Brewers need to get younger, and trading Prince and perhaps other sluggers for blue-chip prospects is the way to go. If we can get some major-league ready prospects for next season, combined with the pitching talent we have coming at the lower ranks, the Brewers can both rebuild and compete simultaneously, while leaving themselves cap room to go make that blockbuster deal at the deadline, a la Sabathia in 2008. I haven't checked out on this season yet, but I am very excited for what is certain to be a busy trade deadline and winter.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 05.20:
Brewers 15-25, -8.0 (3 @ Twins, 3 v. Astros)
Reds 23-18, -0.5 (3 @ Indians, 4 v. Pirates)
Twins 24-16, +0.5 (3 v. Brewers, 3 v. Yankees)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 10
Peter - 9

Here in Cleveland? I didn't know they still had a team.

2010-05-14T13:13:00.003-07:00

I mentioned recently that the Indians broke a single game low-attendance mark in April. With the front office trading away the reigning Cy Young award winner in consecutive seasons (CC Sabathia 2008, Cliff Lee 2009) and star catcher Victor Martinez to the Red Sox, and the team's poor offense, the low attendance can be expected. But it wasn't always this way. Throughout the 90s and early '00s, what was then known as Jacobs Field had a string of 455 consecutive sellouts, and not to mention some great teams. Even as recently as 2007, the Indians were only one game away from the AL pennant. Now it seems that the Tribe is regressing back to their days as the laughing stock of the league. Cleveland was just voted the 6th most miserable sports city in the country by Forbes (Seattle was #1), and the Indians were reported as being the most hated team in baseball by the Wall Street Journal.

So what is this all leading up to? This blog post is titled with a quote from the movie "Major League," the first of two movies that humorously portrayed the atrophy of the Indians franchise. Many of you probably remember the team's colorful play-by-play announcer in the movie, played by Milwaukee's own Bob Uecker. I couldn't help but think of Harry Doyle when Erik sent me this video last week of Indians' television announcer Bruce Drennan going off on how terrible the team was. If I was a player, seeing this would be just the spark I'd need to get going. Either that, or a life-size cutout of Mark Shapiro with peel-away suit sections.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 05.14:
Brewers 15-19, -4.5 (3 v. Phillies, 2 @ Reds, 2 @ Pirates)
Reds 19-15, -0.5 (3 v. Cardinals [Civil Rights Game], 2 v. Brewers, 2 @ Braves)
Twins 22-12, +2.5 (3 @ Yankees, 2 @ Blue Jays, 2 @ Red Sox)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 9
Peter - 7

Thoughts on the All-Star Game

2010-05-07T07:21:00.007-07:00

This year’s Midsummer Classic will be held in Anaheim, CA, and I’m still totally confused why Angel Stadium will be honored with hosting the game this year. Yes, the ballpark has undergone significant renovations since the Edison International Field days, but it is still a ballpark that is very old and nothing spectacular. There are at least five teams with new ballparks that have not hosted yet, excluding Chase Field, who is hosting in 2011 – more on that later. PETCO Park is one of the most beautiful and unique ballparks in the league, and Great American Ballpark is in one of America’s greatest baseball town and is already in its 8th season. The Reds would totally sell out the All-Star Game in about 20 minutes, and if the city can put together a half-assed ridiculous bid for the Olympics every four years, they can make a push to host the game. Neither the Reds’ park nor PETCO is even on the horizon of getting a game, as Kauffman Stadium is reportedly slated for 2012 (substantial outfield renovation), and Citi Field for ’13. And come on, if you’re going to have an ASG in Los Angeles, it should be at Dodger Stadium – at least that park is in a nice area and doesn’t have rats. Unfortuantely, despite my rant, I realize that Angel Stadium probably just got the game by default since it switches leagues every year and almost every other AL park has hosted recently.

Major League Baseball announced four changes to the ASG last week. First, the DH will now be used in all games regardless of host league. Second, any pitcher who starts the Sunday before the game will not be allowed to pitch in the game, and although he will still be recognized as an All-Star, his spot will be replaced in the lineup. Third, managers are allowed to re-enter a player into the game to replace any injured player (rule expanded from previously being allowed to only replace an injured catcher). Lastly, rosters will expand once again by one player to 34. I am in favor of all of these rule changes, particularly the DH rule. Even though I am generally opposed to the designated hitter, nobody is coming to the All-Star Game to watch Tim Lincecum or Roy Halladay swing the bat, and I think that for this one game it should be okay. The other three rules are all undoubtedly related to the All-Star Game’s major loophole and nemesis – extra innings. The worst thing any manager can go through is having to run out of players and use pitchers on one days’ rest just because an exhibition game went extra racks. I would even expand that injury replacement rule to say that you could replace any player at any point in the game, for whatever reason.

There has also been a lot of talk that many Latino-American players will boycott the aforementioned 2011 ASG at Chase Field if the new Arizona immigration law passes. I don’t want to get political on this blog, and I admittedly know very little about the law, but I’d have to think that if so many people in the players union are opposed, that Major League Baseball will work something out. It’s not a politician’s responsibility to vote for or against a law just to accommodate overpaid ballplayers, so the hones for this should fall squarely on Bud Selig’s shoulders, who has been an excellent problem solver in his tenure as commissioner. Latino-American player comprise a large and important portion of baseball today, and Selig and the city of Phoenix will not sit idly by and watch half of its stars sit this one out. I’m sure that only a few more weeks of Ozzie Guillen blabbering to the media will help the issue work itself out.

Just a note: Brewers’ beloved broadcaster Bob Uecker underwent successful heart surgery last week for a leaking valve, and after 6 days in the hospital, returned home yesterday with no complications. He has been texting various friends throughout baseball and is doing well, and I’m sure will be listening to Cory Provost’s call on 620 WTMJ until he is slated to return in about 3 months.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 05.07:
Brewers 12-16, -5.5 (3 @ Diamondbacks, 3 v. Braves)
Reds 14-14, -3.5 (3 v. Cubs, 3 @ Pirates)
Twins 19-10, +3.0 (4 v. Orioles, 2 v. White Sox)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 8
Peter - 7

Community Field

2010-04-29T10:34:00.017-07:00

All photos of Burlington and Community Field available on Flickr.

Erik's line of work affords him little time to go to the ballpark. So, in what is seemingly becoming an annual tradition, we took an impromptu roadtrip this past weekend before he starts his next campaign in May. It'll be nice for both of us when the day comes that Erik decides to live in one city permanently and work 8-hour days like a normal person, but for now it gives us a good excuse to go watch ball - as if we needed an excuse.

The main point of the weekend tour was to visit a ballpark we haven't seen yet in Burlington, Iowa, but before I get to that I'll briefly go over the rest of the weekend. We started by meeting at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport on Friday night to see the River Bandits. This was the 4th year in 5 I've been to Davenport, but we just couldn't pass up Salute to Grilled Cheese Night. This is still my favorite Midwest League park, and I find "MoWood" to have some of the better promotions and team-following in the entire league. Grilled Cheese Night turned out to be a little disappointing though. We found out after the game that the celebration was actually just a 50-cent reduction in price of the grilled cheese they regularly have on the menu for $2.50. They also ran out of bread and served us our grilled cheese on charred brat buns. It was advertised that there would be varieties of grilled cheese, but they also failed at that. However, it was supposed to rain all night and the weather held up, and that's all we really cared about. Add on top of that the fireworks show, a River Bandits win, and a couple good bars after the game, and it turned out to be a fun night. The following day was supposed to be a 90-minute drive down to Burlington to see the Bees, but we found out around 3pm that the game was moved to 2 that day to beat the rain, so we ended up staying an extra night in Davenport and using our free grilled cheese coupons at Hooters from Friday's game.

We finally made our way into Burlington on Sunday morning, this time making sure beforehand to check that the game was still on. Skies were ominous and the wind was cold as we rolled into town, but 3 years later, the luck of the tour is still with us and the Bees and Kernels would play a full 9 at Community Field. We got there early enough that we even beat the visiting team bus, so we walked down the street, past the $175/week motel and local waterpark, to the gas station for some silos of cheap beer and had our second beverage-only tailgate of the weekend.

I think Erik and I both had the same reaction when we walked into the park - it was by far not the nicest minor league park we've ever been to, but the distinct design features were very welcome. At this point in our ballpark-going careers, "nice" to us just means that the park is unique and it has a good beer selection, both of which Community Field possesses. As we later found out from Burlington's general manager Chuck Brockett (who came and talked to us for two innings), the Bees put in about $3 million a few years ago to renovate the ballpark. Part of the renovation was a tall, sweeping metal roof canopy straddling the grandstand and the new ticket window building in the front. Below this canopy is the main concourse, with one side having restrooms and picnic tables under the grandstand, and the other side having concessions and the team store. The rest of the renovation included a small brick out-building in left with a party area, and a new scoreboard. Brockett walked right up to us and told us all these things, because he could just tell we were from out of town and that we loved baseball. We had a great conversation and a great time talking to him about the Midwest League. Burlington understandably will never be able to compete financially with teams like Dayton or Great Lakes, but the Bees put whatever money they can gather back into their park so they can remain a competitive farm club. Brockett is smart and realized early on that the most crucial element in the park was a well-maintained field so the guys can get their work in, and the thing I was most impressed with was how good the grass looked even after 24+ hours of rain. The Bees have been a professional team in some form for over 60 years, including a Brewers affiliate from 1975-81. They are now regionally affiliated with the Royals, which I would guess helps the attendance of such a small-town team.

On this day however, there were only about 300 fans present to watch the Bees fall to the Cedar Rapids Kernels, 7-6. The Kernels got the scoring started with 2 in the first on a Jose Jimenez double, and added another run in the 2nd. The big play for the Bees in the game was a 3-run double by 1B Joey Lewis in the 3rd. The Bees led for most of the way after that and it looked like they were going to pull in out, until the Kernels' DH Casey Haerther rang a towering homerun off the left-field foul pole on reliever Dusty Odenbach's first pitch of the game in the 8th. The stars of the game were the DHs - Haerther, and Ryan Stovall for the Bees who went 3-4 with two doubles.

Erik and I watched a good ballgame in Burlington for very little money, I caught a foul ball in the 1st inning, and I got to talk baseball with the team's general manager. Aside from being in rural Iowa in April, it was just about the perfect day. We only wish we could have had more $2.50 Old Style, but we had to drive the 2 1/2 hours back to Waterloo for the night to conclude the great day by watching Braves-Mets on Sunday Night Baseball. Community Field marks the 8th Midwest League stadium I've been to out of 16, and this now leaves only one remaining professional ballpark I have yet to visit in Iowa - Lewis and Clark Park in Sioux City.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 7 (a nuts-and-bolts park but unique canopy feature/concourse)
views from park - 2 (lovely downtown Burlington from top of bleachers)
view to field - 5 (close but obstructed by nets)
surrounding area - 4 (FunCity and fast food joints)
food variety - 4 (standard)
nachos - 6 (sloppy joe meat & cheese)
beer - 9 (good variety of cans for $2.50)
vendor price - 9
ticket price - 9
atmosphere - 4
walk to park - 2
parking proximity - 8 (adjacent lot for free, but points deducted for "lot" just being a lawn)
concourses - 6
team shop - 7

best food - Bees Rite, the Bees' version of a "maid rite" i.e. Iowa term for sloppy joe
most unique stadium feature - canopy over concourse
best jumbotron feature - player information
best between-inning feature - trivia

field dimensions - 338/403/318
starters - Patrick Corbin (CR) v. Tyler Sample (BUR)
opponent - Cedar Rapids Kernels
time of game - 2:30
attendance - 335
score - 7-6 L
Brewers score that day - 12-2 L

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 04.29 :
Brewers 9-12, -5.5 (4 @ Padres, 3 @ Dodgers)
Reds 11-11, -4.0 (3 @ Cardinals, 3 v. Mets)
Twins 14-8, +1.5 (3 @ Indians, 3 v. Tigers)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 7
Peter - 6

Seats Available

2010-04-23T11:27:00.005-07:00

In the early weeks of the 2010 season, four teams have already set record lows in attendance: Baltimore 9,129 (4/12), Cleveland 10,071 (4/14), Seattle 14,528 (4/19), and Washington 11,623 (4/19). Toronto also recorded their lowest attendance since moving to the Rogers Centre 22 years ago, with a measly 10,314 fans attending a game on April 19th. As you can see, three of these record low games occurred on one day, which was what originally made me take notice of this trend. Further research will show that although Major League Baseball attendance is up this year, that figure is mostly skewed by the Twins' new ballpark - which has already sold out over 50 games - and of course teams like the Red Sox and Cubs that sell out every game. The entire Rays-Orioles series last week took in fewer fans (33,000+) than for a typical game at Fenway, the ballpark with the smallest capacity in baseball. Aside from a small handful of teams, almost every team in the majors is down at least 5% in attendance from 2009.

So what can we take away from this? For one thing, it is April, so I'm not panicking too much. It's also interesting to note that the other three teams in the AL East besides Boston and New York all draw well below the league average. The Rays are currently tied for the best record in baseball right now, and the Jays have been far from slouches so far in '10. Could it be because of the old, artificial-turf parks they play in? Maybe. It could just be that fans in Toronto, Baltimore, and Tampa are just sick of losing to the big market teams. I'm not one of those baseball fans that likes to complain about the lack of a salary cap, but it's just something to think about.

For many years, the Brewers only drew large crowds when the Cubs were in town, and now they are well on their way to surpassing 3,000,000 fans for a 3rd straight season. I think more of these teams that don't draw just need to look to the Brewers for how to run a small to mid-market team. Sure, new stadiums and promotions are great, but the novelty wears off - you have to put a consistent product on the field through a well-stocked farm system to stay competitive in this league, and to draw fans on a regular basis. League contraction, moving teams, divisional realignment, and fixing revenue sharing are all just bandaids for the real problem - there are way too many terrible upper managements and scouting departments in baseball. It's easy for a bystander to yell at Orioles fans for being fair-weather, or to call the Astros terrible, but the blame should be placed almost solely on the GM and his scouts. It's understandable that winning for a smaller market team will go in cycles, but the years of suffering that some cities have had to endure is beyond ridiculous. It would be nice if the Pirates would draw a crowd once in awhile so they would actually be allowed to show a panorama of that beautiful ballpark on TV, instead of me just having to text Erik "seats available behind home plate at PNC Park."

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 04.23:
Brewers 8-7, -2.0 (3 v. Cubs, 3 v. Pirates)
Reds 7-9, -3.5 (3 v. Padres, 3 @ Astros)
Twins 11-5, +2.0 (3 @ Royals, 3 @ Tigers)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 3
Peter - 3

Duane Banks Field

2010-04-15T16:29:00.016-07:00

All photos of Duane Banks Field available on Flickr.

Happy Jackie Robinson Day everybody! Following the excitement of opening week, I came to the grim realization that I wouldn't be back in Milwaukee - and thus unable to attend a Brewers game - for over two months, which would be by far my longest in-season drought since high school. This means I will have to explore other opportunities to watch live ball, and God forbid, I may have to go a week or two without going to the ballpark! I began preparing for this scenario last month by researching all of the local universites I could find. Iowa State does not have a team...the Upper Iowa University Peacocks only play day games...UNI's baseball team folded after the 2009 season...University of Iowa, jackpot! Ever though the Kernels were home this week, I decided on Tuesday to drive the extra 15 minutes to Iowa City because the Hawkeyes were playing my alma mater, UW-Milwaukee.

Exiting off of I-80, I immediately noticed how much nicer the drive was to the ballpark than when I went to Kinnick Stadium in November. Hwy 6 through Coralville is lined on one side with hundreds of shops and eateries to satisfy the student population, and a beautiful pasture on the other. Duane Banks Field itself is situated in a very quiet area of the campus and offers free parking in a side lot just outside of the left field foul pole. The path to the front gate is in a park-like setting, lined with pear trees on the right, and with a clear view into the concourse on the left hand side. The pear trees were in full spring blossom with white flowers just in time for baseball season, and gave the approach a simple beauty you'd be hard-pressed to find even at a professional ballpark. Even more beautiful then the path was that at the end of it, I only had to pay $3 for a ticket - nevermind that the ticket stubs are torn off a roll and say "Iowa Gymnastics" on them.

The concourse is of the Mayo Field/Knology Park variety. On the field side, you can see the underside of the seating bowl, and aside from one vending stand and some bathrooms, there are no rooms or walls built up underneath the grandstand. The other side of the concourse just has a chain-link fence that looks out onto campus buildings along 1st, and the entry path along 3rd. The coolest part of the ballpark for me was the plaque in the concourse behind home plate that honored former Brewer pitcher and Hawkeye alum Cal Eldred for donating the money for Duane Banks Field to install lights. After reading this plaque, I ascended into the stands via ramp, and was greeted by two sections of metal bleachers along the lines, and one section of actual plastic folding seats behind home plate, topped by a concrete-block media booth. I took my seat behind the UWM dugout along 3rd, about 5 rows from the top and next to two UWM coaches. The crowd was in the low-hundreds as I expected, and the park looked to hold about 3-4,000. This was only the 3rd collegiate ballpark I have been to, but I thought it was pretty nice. Normally if I go to a minor league game that has free surface-lot parking and 300 people in the stands, I would make some sort of snide comment, but at an NCAA game I didn't seem to mind the small crowd. That's not to say that there wasn't any life there - the fans and announcer got into it and cheered for the home team, and there were surprisingly even some minor-league staples like between-innings entertainment and t-shirt tosses. Overall it was a very relaxing night at the ballpark.

The fast pace of collegiate baseball and the constant changing of pitchers kept my attention for the entire game. The game looked bleak for the Panthers at first, as I arrived a little late and it was 3-0 before I even sat down. Both teams put up zeros through the next 4 frames before UWM tied it with 3 of their own in the 6th. The pace of the game slowed considerably towards the end of the game, as UWM gave up an additional 6 runs with 5 different pitchers in the latter innings, and ended up falling 9-3 to the Hawkeyes. Phil Keppler and Zach McCool - two players I saw a lot of as members of the 2009 Waterloo Bucks - were the stars of the game for Iowa with a combined 4 hits and 4 RBI. McCool had the at-bat of the game in the 7th when he managed to work a full count and foul off a bunch of tough pitches before stroking a 3-run double to right-center field. Second basemen Paul Hoenecke had 2 hits for UWM.

A lot of things surprised me in this game. There were quite a few guys who knew how to work the count, and the infield defense was much better than I expected given the aluminum thundersticks that NCAA baseball uses. I was also very surprised to see that nearly all of UWM's relief core throw sidearm or has some sort of unorthodox delivery, even the guys that just warmed up in the pen and didn't get into the game. To me this is a smart move by whoever the pitching coach is, because it says that if you want to have a chance to make it to the bigs from a small school like UW-Milwaukee, you have to show the scouts something unique. I was also surprised to find out that Wisconsin is the only Big Ten team without a baseball program. Baseball is usually one of the first programs to go when there's a finance or Title 9 issue, and I was happy to see that the other 10 schools in the conference still had a team. Lastly, I was also very pleasantly surprised that there was a team store at the park and that they gave away magnet schedules! I immediately placed said magnet schedule in its rightful place on my fridge when I got home, and quickly noted a return trip to Iowa City in early May when the Kernels are on the road.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 3
views from park - 3
view to field - 9 (obstructed by fence behind home plate)
surrounding area - 7 (University of Iowa campus)
food variety - 2
nachos - 5 (standard)
beer - n/a
vendor price - 5 ($3.50 for 20oz bottle of soda, rest of prices are fair)
ticket price - 9
atmosphere - 6
walk to park - 8 (tree-lined path or through campus)
parking proximity - 10 (adjacent lot for free)
concourses - 3 (not a lot of activity)
team shop - 3 (more of a shed, but decent selection for its size)

best food - brat
most unique stadium feature - pear trees outside concourse
best jumbotron feature - n/a
best between-inning feature - Paper-Rock-Scissors contest

field dimensions - 330/400/330
starters - Jayme Sukowaty (UWM) v. Zach Robertson (IA)
opponent - University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers
time of game - 2:42
attendance - 315
score - 9-3 W
Brewers score that day - off

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 04.15 :
Brewers 4-5, -2.0 (3 @ Nationals, 3 @ Pirates)
Reds 5-5, -1.5 (3 @ Pirates, 3 v. Dodgers)
Twins 7-3, +0.5 (3 v. Royals, 3 v. Indians)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 3
Peter - 3

Opening Week 2010

2010-04-09T12:26:00.011-07:00

All photos of the Brewers' home opener and the Kernels' home opener available on Flickr.

After another long winter, the 2010 season is finally upon us, and I could not be more excited! Is it just me, or does Spring Training keep getting longer and longer? Maybe it was because I decided to renew my MLB.tv subscription after a 2-season hiatus, but listening to all of those Spring games on my computer got me more revved up for this season than ever. Or, maybe all of the Brewers offseason signings got me really excited for the season. Perhaps it was watching new time-lapse videos every week and reading articles about how fast the construction time was at Target Field and how the new Twins' home is supposed to be the new gem of the big league ballparks. It could be that my fantasy baseball team is loaded with Cy Young and MVP candidates that I'm so anxious for this season. But really, there's no one specific reason, other than I'm just ready for the warm weather to roll in and to watch ball. It's also great to be watching Baseball Tonight again and listening to all of the pundits make bold claims for what player is going to break out of the pack or what team will dominate. It's easy for me to write a blog post predicting that the Phillies are gonna win it all or that Brian Matusz and Jason Heyward are going to win Rookie of the Year, but what makes baseball's Opening Day so much more awesome than any other sport, is that there really is no way to predict this early who will be left standing after 162 games. You could make 10 predictions for the season right now knowing you'll probably get 9 wrong, but you just can't help but watch for 7 months how the story will unfold. For instance, if someone were to tell you that a new pitcher was going to skip the minor leagues entirely and start in the Majors this year, you would most certainly have guessed either Cuban star Aroldis Chapman or the Nationals' phenom pitcher Steven Strasburg. Low and behold, Mike Leake will become the first pitcher since Darren Dreifort in 1994 to forgo the minor leagues to be the 5th starter in the Cincinnati Reds' rotation. That's right, the Reds are sending Leake to the big leagues and Chapman to AAA. Unbelievable!

The Brewers opened their 2010 season at home this season, and for the 3rd consecutive year I had tickets to the game, along with my family. Erik and I had no offseason trips planned this year, so Opening Day at Miller Park was that much more special to me since it was the first time I'd set foot in a ballpark in over 6 months. There's the obvious thrill of skipping work to go to Opening Day, and the tradition and atmostphere of the first tailgate, but other than that I'm always anxious to get to my first Brewers game to see all of the upgrades to Miller Park. Even if nothing has changed, I still love to snap photos because after being away for the offseason, everything seems so new. Owner Mark Attanasio has been notorious for putting profit and revenue sharing money back into the ballpark, but this year there aren't many visible changes. As far as I could tell, there were a couple vendor additions (a burrito cart and a pasta stand) and a few new sponsors, but the biggest change was behind the scenes with clubhouse and video room upgrades. Supposedly on the slate for next year is a new $1 million HD scoreboard, because at 10 years old, Miller Park's is already out of date. It's not really a ballpark upgrade, but it is also worth noting that there is a "Countdown to 600 Saves" banner in left-center for Trevor Hoffman. He entered this season as the all-time saves leader with 591 and has already notched two more.

In front of the second largest crowd in Miller Park history, the Brewers dropped a heartbreaker to the Rockies, 5-3. Newly-signed ace Yovani Gallardo gave up 4 over 7 for the Brewers in a servicable outing, but the Crew could never really muster enough offense against fireballer Ubaldo Jimenez. Even when they had him on the ropes in the 6th, a fatigued Jimenez still got out of it with only one run allowed. The Brewers made a game of it with a Carlos Gomez homer in the 7th and a 9th inning rally against the Rockies' wild closer Franklin Morales, but it was too little too late. The Carloses were the stars of the day - Gomez and Gonzalez went 8-10 for their repsective teams with 4 runs. After losing the opener, the Brewers would go on to win games 2 and 3 and take the series against a team many have picked to win the NL West. I thought the Brewers played outstanding in all 3 games and I'm very confident that they will be fighting for the postseason in September. The most encouraging sign is the true team effort it took to win, particularly the bullpen hierarchy. Everybody single person on the 25-man roster except Gregg Zaun contributed, and with his .471 spring I'll let a couple poor games slide.

The Brewers' first off day of the season coinciding with Minor League Opening Day could not have worked out any better. However, the weather across the midwest on Thursday was a far cry from the 70s we had for Opening Day on Monday. Erik was supposed to attend the Timber Rattlers' home opener in Appleton, but it was snowed out! There was no snow in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, but it was still pretty darn cold. Despite the cold weather, I was hoping for a bigger crowd, but paid attendance was announced at only 1300-something. Everything's pretty much the same at Veterans Memorial Stadium this year, other than some new items in the team store. In mid-season last year, the Kernels added a concessions tent that grills specialty burgers and sausages, and that still looks to be the best food option there. There are also the same promotional nights, in which beer is on sale for 4 of the 7 nights of the week. And perhaps most importantly, Mr. Shucks is still his usual jovial self. As for the game, the outcome was fairly predictable for a low-level minor league game in April: 2-0, Cedar Rapids loses in 10 innings. I say "predictable" because many of these young A-ball kids are not used to playing in 30 and 40-degree temps. When you throw in the fact that for many of these kids, this was also their first professional baseball game, what you get are amped-up pitchers blowing hitters away and being kept warm by adrenaline, and hitters taking homerun cuts on every pitch so that they can get back in the dugout and put on a jacket. Maybe it's different in the SAL, I don't know, but all the April MWL games I've been to were far from barnburners. The guy who finally sent everybody home was DH Derek McCallum of the Snappers, who laced a 2-run bases-loaded single to right in the top of the 10th. Over half of the 60 outs in this game were made via the strikeout.

I was thrilled to get 19 innings under my belt this week and to finally ring in the start of the MLB and MiLB seasons. I'm looking forward to attending a handful of Kernels and Iowa Hawkeyes games before the Northwoods League starts in June, for which I purchased Waterloo Bucks season tickets at the whopping price of $104.

STANDINGS & UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 04.09:
Brewers 2-1, -- (3 v. Cardinals, 3 @ Cubs)
Reds 1-2, -0.5 (3 v. Cubs, 4 @ Marlins)
Twins 3-1, +1.0 (3 @ White Sox, 3 v. Red Sox)

2010 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 1
Peter - 2

Brewers Offseason News

2010-02-10T14:20:00.013-07:00

A lot has been going on with the Crew in the last couple weeks, so I thought I'd put up a quick post.

First and foremost, the Brewers have been signing players at an unbelievable rate. I mentioned in a post I wrote in July that the team needed another lefty reliever, a 7th-inning guy, another outfield bat, and another starter to be competitive, and they achieved all of that and more this offseason. The Brewers now have over 50 players with invitations to camp, 32 of which are pitchers vying for 12 spots. On the one hand, it's probably good to have the insurance given what has happened the last two seasons, but at the same time, I wonder if it will prohibit the Brewers' coaching staff from evaluating everyone fairly and every pitcher getting a decent amount of work in. With the recent signing of Doug Davis, the rotation looks to have at least four guaranteed spots in Davis, Gallardo, December free-agent signing Randy Wolf, and Manny Parra and/or Dave Bush. The bullpen will have at the most 1 spot available. So that's like 20 pitchers competing for 2-3 spots. The Brewers have also signed veteran outfielder Jim Edmonds and utility man Joe Inglett to compete for the 4th outfield spot with Jody Gerut. I've always like Edmonds, and I'm a big advocate of having veterans on your bench that can contribute 2-3 games a week, rather than wasting younger prospects who probably could use the regular ABs in the minors, so I hope he makes the team. With that being said, the competition between McGehee and Gamel at 3rd should be interesting. It seems like McGehee is going to have to prove himself in camp to win the job, despite outplaying Gamel all season and having his knee cleaned up in the winter, and if Gamel doesn't win the starting job I don't see the point of keeping him on the bench. The other big spring training story to watch will be the battle for the backup catcher spot behind Gregg Zaun. There's a lot of talk of Jonathan Lucroy making the jump from AA, but again, if he's not going to start why waste his talent on the bench? Spring Training should be interesting to say the least.

Speaking of Spring Training, I've been asking various Brewers and baseball sources about the future of the Brewers in Arizona after their lease expires in 2012. The answers I've received seemed to indicate the Brewers staying in Maryvale was a sure thing, but an article posted today by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel basically says the Brewers are negotiating to stay, but it's far from certain. There's always a chance that a lucrative stadium deal may entice them to move to the Grapefruit League after 40+ years in the Cactus League. Erik and I would much rather see the Crew in Arizona on our eventual spring training trip and we hope they can work out a new deal to stay in suburban Phoenix.

The last major piece of offseason news was the announcement of 40th anniversary plans for the team. It is the franchise's 40th anniversary of the move from Seattle, and the team plans to celebrate with series of four Retro Weekends, each featuring former players as guests, uniforms reflective of each era, and a bobblehead depicting one of the greatest moments of each decade. The team will wear a 40th Anniversary patch (seen at top) on their uniform sleeve all season long. It is also the Brewers' 10th season at Miller Park, and they are celebrating that by unveiling a Bud Selig statue by the front gate. Before taking over as Commissioner in 1992, Selig was the owner of the Brewers, and was almost single-handedly responsible for the team moving to Milwaukee in 1970 and getting a new ballpark in 2001.

Pitchers and catchers report next week, and 54 days 'til Opening Day 2010!

Tour 2010

2010-01-15T10:22:00.009-07:00

Above: May 2009 progress of Target Field
Below: Day 64 of the main tour in Omaha

It may only be mid-January, but with pitchers & catchers reporting in a month, and the release of the Northwoods & independent league schedules last week, Erik and I couldn't help but start brainstorming our tour stops for this year. For me, the planning is half the fun of our baseball trips, and the anticipation for Opening Day makes the long, cold Midwest winters bearable. This year, we have a couple of wedding/bachlor party dates we have to work around for my brother and a friend, but we still plan on making two Tour Plus stops - the College World Series and Target Field.

The College World Series is hosted by Omaha annually for 12 days at the end of June. Just as in 2009, we briefly tossed out the idea of going to Spring Training, but we again decided to postpone that because starting next year, Omaha is getting two new ballparks. One park will be for the O-Royals, and the other for the CWS and possibly Creighton University. We realize this means that we'll now have to return to Omaha again someday to see these new parks, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see this event in the last season of historic Rosenblatt Stadium. Erik and I are admittedly not the biggest NCAA baseball fans, but the atmosphere at this event is supposed to be electric and unparalleled, and we are both eager to scout future major league talent. Right now, we're thinking of either going early in the Series when all the doubleheaders are so we could see more games, or just going for the last 3 days to see the finals; both options definitely have their advantages. This trip would also involve an independent league stop to nearby Sioux City, IA and/or Sioux Falls, SD.

Our second trip is a little more vaguely defined at this point, but the crux of it will be a couple games at the new home of the Twins, Target Field. Erik said a heartfelt goodbye to the Metrodome last season, but we're both excited for the return of outdoor baseball in Minneapolis. We would obviously love to see the Brewers play the Twins there, but we're not stupid enough to spend a couple spring nights at an open-air ballpark in Minnesota. I've attended enough April games at the GAB in Cincinnati to know that would be a bad idea. So, we're looking at a variety of weekends, ranging from mid-July to mid-August. Our final decision is going to be based on a number of factors: which CWS option we choose, the Twins promotional calendar, the Northwoods League schedule, Erik's job situation, and working around a couple of wedding events I have to attend. We have a few tentative options right now that all also include a couple of Northwoods games, and spending a day in Duluth.

After the main tour in 2007 (wow it's been almost 3 years already!), we pretty much had our 2008-10 trips quasi-mapped out. Starting in 2011, we only have some rough ideas, and a long list of baseball events and ballparks we have to see before we die. The ultimate goal is still to see as many professional and semi-pro stadiums as we can, and the next major league park opening up after this season will be Marlins Park in 2012.