Frame Park

All photos of Frame Park available on Flickr.

After working in Waukesha for over 3 years, I finally made it out to a Carroll University game this week.  Like many college baseball teams in the more temperate regions of the US, the home season is really only a month long due to weather, and in the case of smaller colleges like Carroll, many games are played at odd afternoon times.  So, making it out to the park has proved to be a challenge.  But I was there on Tuesday for a few innings during a beautifully mild April evening to watch the Pioneers lace up against the North Park Vikings out of Chicago.

The ballpark was about what I expected for a Division III school - namely, that it wasn't really a ballpark.  Much like the UW-Milwaukee Panthers, the Pioneers actually play in a city park with a community baseball field inside of it.  If you search "Frame Park" on Google Maps, Frame Park is actually the name of the park, and the field inside is just labeled as "Baseball Field."  I would say that it is only slightly above a high-school level field, at least the high school fields I played (sat in the dugout) at.  There are 3 sections of metal bleachers, no gates, concessions, or amenities of any kinds, a couple of chain link dugouts, and an outfield fence.  Being that it is an actual college and these games do matter to somebody, there is a PA announcer and a inning-tally style scoreboard, but other than that there are zero frills.  Were I not on a mission to tally as many ballparks visited as possible, objectively I probably wouldn't even classify this as a "ballpark."  But hey, watching a ballgame on a beautiful night is never in vain, no matter where.  Outside of the ballpark itself, Frame Park as a whole is very beautiful.  There are some formal gardens, an outdoor amphitheater, a place to rent boats, a public pool, and a scenic riverwalk that runs beyond the left field fence.

The riverwalk was getting bombarded with homeruns all night in the 19-13 slugfest.  A combination of a steady south wind blowing out, lackluster D-3 pitching, and just good ol' metal bats were a lethal combo that got the scoring going right out the gates with 3-run top of the 1st by the visiting Vikings.  As you can imagine with a score like that, every single starter had a hit for both teams, and every single Viking had at least 2 hits.  Diminutive leadoff hitter Jared Cantu went 4-5 for North Park and 5 players homered in the game.  There was also a Vikings player named Tyler Kopp who at the time I thought sounded like Ty Cobb, so I was disappointed just now to learn his actual name.  He had a day that his non-relative would be proud of though, coming up a double shy of the cycle.  Starter Andrew Stone for the Pioneers had a forgettable line that did not impress the lone scout in attendance: 11 ER on 13 hits and a walk in 2.2 IP.  The Carroll University website does not post ERAs, but I don't even want to do that math.  The score was 10-4 when he exited the game and it was extended to 19-4 by the 4th inning including 7-run outing by Cam Godinsky.  The Pioneers slowly chipped away at the lead but alas the deficit was too large, even for a bandbox field like Frame Park.

I didn't stay very long because it was brutal to watch and I was a little under the weather, but nonetheless outdoor baseball in April in Wisconsin is something I always try to take advantage of.

park rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 1
views from park – 7 (Fox River)
view to field - 2
surrounding area – 6 (Frame Park)
food variety - n/a
nachos - n/a
beer - n/a
vendor price - n/a
ticket price - n/a
atmosphere - 2
walk to park – 5
parking price/proximity - 10
concourses - n/a
team shop - n/a

best food – n/a
most unique stadium feature – Fox Riverwalk beyond outfield fence
best jumbotron feature – n/a; only showed box score
best between-inning feature – hearing the cheers in the dugout

field dimensions – not listed - I would guess about 315/380
starters – Josh Ward (NPU) v. Andrew Stone (CU)
opponent – North Park Vikings
time of game – 3:00
attendance – 110 (surprisingly listed on team website and shockingly inaccurate)
score – 19-13 L
Brewers score that day – 9-1 W

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 04.28:
Brewers 12-11 (3 v. Braves, 4 @ Cardinals, 3 @ Pirates)
Reds 10-12 (3 @ Cardinals, 4 v. Pirates, 3 v. Giants)
Twins 10-11 (3 @ Royals, 3 v. Athletics, 3 v. Red Sox)

2017 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 3 (+4 worked)
Peter - 7

Return to Werner Park

All photos of Werner Park available on Flickr.

I went to one of the last Storm Chasers games of the season, and last week I attended the 2nd home game of the 2017 season.  As my monthly work trips to Omaha have passed the one-year mark and seem to be extending into perpetuity, I am going to grow more and more familiar with Werner Park.  It was a beautiful 70° April evening when I arrived at the ballpark just before first pitch.  This time around, I discovered a free parking lot just north of the stadium completely by accident.  I realized as I turned towards the stadium that I didn't have any cash on me, so I continued past the lot towards a subdivision not far away and thought I could find a spot on the street.  On my way I saw several people exploiting the same loophole and parking in an unpaved gravel lot just north of the main lot and followed them in.  I'm not sure if the team allows this or if this is on the up-and-up, but for anybody planning on attending a Storm Chasers game in the near future - don't pay for parking.  This incident restored my faith in my personal policy to never pay full price for anything you can get cheaper or free with a little effort.

I wasn't expecting much to have changed in the park in the span of about 8 months, and the park was about as I remembered.  As far as AAA parks go it is nothing spectacular, but given its rural setting and size, it is a more than comfortable place to watch a game.  I was still miffed at the lack of beer and food options especially given it is a pretty new ballpark.  Most of the stands typically only offer a couple of Busch products and it takes some hunting to find anything else.  However I was not about to complain on 25-cent hot dog night.  Despite eating dinner before my arrival, I felt obligated to scarf one down (to go along with an obscene $4 bottle of water - mostly because I did not want to charge only a Quarter to my debit card).  I sat on the 1st base side for this game and even despite the nice weather and being the first homestand of the year, the stadium was maybe 1/4th full if that.  The poor staff had to practically beg the crowd just to stand up for the 7th inning stretch.  What this park lacks in pizzazz and atmosphere it makes up for in just damn good baseball.  The Storm Chasers have been to the playoffs each of the last 4 years and won back-to-back championships in 2013-14, back when their parent Royals club was good.

Omaha won on this night 6-3 behind a solid starting performance by Eric Skoglund.  He pitched 5 shutout innings with 4 strikeouts and only 73 pitches.  Ryan O'Hearn was the offensive star of the day for the Chasers.  He went 2-4 with a booming homerun and a rope double, knocking in a run on each hit.  He looks poised to be the Royals first baseman of a future, were it not for a multiple gold-glover named Eric Hosmer blocking his path.  Former Royal Jorge Bonifacio mashed a homer as well.  O'Hearn and Bonifacio actually hit back-to-back jobs in the 2nd that caused the opposing pitcher to be tossed.  He plunked the next guy up right in the back and that was a quick end to his night.  Two former Red Sox top prospects and 2016 Brewers 3rd Base farmhands also got the start in this game.  Garin Cecchini has an unimpressive night for the Chasers, with only a meager infield hit to show for his effort.  He is only hitting .143 on the season and it's probably a good thing we cut him.  Conversely, Will Middlebrooks hit 3rd in the lineup for the visiting Express (Rangers) and went 3-4 with 2 doubles.  Perhaps we gave up too early on Middlebrooks but with The Mayor of Ding Dong City now locking down third for the Crew, we probably don't need either of these guys anymore.

I'm sure many more Storm Chasers will await me this summer and beyond, and I'm hoping I can make it back to the College World Series again this year as well.

park rankings and statistics
(see original post from 8/26/16):

starters – Allen Webster (RR) v. Eric Skoglund (OMA)
opponent – Round Rock Express
time of game – 2:57
attendance – 2347
score – 6-3 W
Brewers score that day – 2-0 W

STANDINGS AS OF 04.19:

Brewers 8-7 (4 v. Cardinals, 3 v. Reds)
Reds 9-5 (3 v. Cubs, 3 @ Brewers)
Twins 7-7 (3 v. Tigers, 3 @ Rangers)

2017 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 3 (+1 worked)
Peter - 4

Concessions Overhaul at Miller Park

All photos of Brewers Opening Week 2017 @ Miller Park available on Flickr.

Another baseball season is upon us and another home opener at Miller Park has come and gone, making it 10 in a row for me this year!  No matter how long the offseason may seem, all it takes is to pull into that parking lot at 9 AM and see all those cars, and the doldrums of winter are all but forgotten.  This year was a manageable 50 degrees, but whatever the weather, the thousands of grills always seem to keep us just warm enough until that next drink.

We made sure to get inside a little earlier than usual this year so that we had time to explore all of the highly-anticipated new concessions.  It seems like the Brewers do something new inside the park just about every year, but this year the city and team were abuzz with the excitement of a nearly complete overhaul of the concessions and branding.  It was long overdue, and it was certainly a good move by the team to roll this out now while the team is admittedly not too good in an effort to draw fans.  The Brewers have certainly come a long way in terms of food quality the last few years, adding ballpark fare beyond the standard sausages and nachos (which are still very good).  But unlike a lot of parks, the way the stands were set up and branded was rather generic.  In the past, often times you had to get up real close to the menu to even see what they have, which is incredibly inconsistent from stand to stand.  This creates a bottleneck of patrons and a lot of confusion.  The new concessions fix this problem with giant, bold signage.  There are also a few bars nearer to home plate now that are 4-sided like you would see at a festival tent, rather than one-sided as a typical bar cart would be at a stadium.  This relieves a lot of congestion and creates another bold branding opportunity, not to mention a great place to meet.  In a ballpark that is largely devoid of public shared spaces and communal areas, these new "Zing Boom Tararrel" bars are crucial. 

It would have been easy to just slap up some signs and paint and call it a day, but the Brewers also revamped their entire food and drink menu as well.  The Klements and Miller Lite stands still rightfully have their place, but this year, AJ Bombers and Smoke Shack have been given much more prominence in the park, beyond just the corner outdoor stand they had the last few years.  There are several locations on all levels that serve the delicious burgers and BBQ.  Local favorite Zaffiro's Pizza and a gourmet Mac & Cheese stand are new players this year, as is a giant "Local Brews" stand on the loge level.  It's a beer bar that is latching onto the craft beer craze sweeping the league and the nation, offering over 20 kinds of local beers, many from the dozen or so breweries that have popped up in metro Milwaukee in the past couple of years.  Perhaps the most anticipated addition and another Wisconsin staple - Brandy Old Fashioneds are now served on tap.  It's something I guarantee you won't find at any other stadium in the country.  After the home opener, Megan and I just had to go to another game on Wednesday to fully experience as much of the new foods and drinks as possible.  I think I can now objectively say that Miller Park is in the top 5 for food & drink concessions in MLB now, and I think that even the 100,000 Cubs fans that were here over the weekend would agree with that.

As for the team, well I guess the nicest thing I can say is that they will be fun to watch.  These kids can absolutely rake, and we've got a couple of decent starters with nice depth in the minors, but beyond that, the bullpen and defense are going to be problems all year.  Almost every Brewer that has recorded a save in the last 2 years has been traded and we are left with another reclamation project in Neftali Feliz to close games now, with a hodgepodge of mid-tier prospects and veteran long relievers filling out the middle innings.  The new heart of our order will be the most exciting to watch this year in my opinion - Eric Thames and Travis Shaw.  Thames put up video-game numbers in the KBO, averaging .348 with 41 HR and 126 RBI per season over 3 years.  Shaw was the key piece of the Thornburg trade to Boston, and I really don't have to say much else other than his nickname is "Mayor of Ding Dong City."  They've both more than held their own so far in the first week.  It will also be interesting to see how Orlando Arcia plays over a full season.  I think a lot of people expected him to hit better than he did last year, but honestly with his defense, I'd take .250 out of him.  With Villar, Arcia, Broxton, and eventually Lewis Brinson up the middle, the Brewers have an exciting future ahead of them.

updated park rankings
(see also previous post from 4/2/14):

aesthetics - 8
views from park – 4
view to field - 4
surrounding area – 3
food variety - 9
nachos - 9
beer - improves to 9
vendor price - 7
ticket price - 10 (pretty hard not to find discounted/free tickets)
atmosphere - decreases to 8 (team is not good)
walk to park – 6
parking price/proximity - decreases to 4
concourses - increases to 8
team shop - 10

best food – AJ Bombers or Smoke Shack
most unique stadium feature – roof, Bernie's slide
best jumbotron feature – can you name more of something than a Brewer?
best between-inning feature – Klements Sausage Race

STANDINGS AS OF 04.11:
Brewers 2-5 (2 @ Blue Jays, 4 @ Reds, 3 @ Cubs)
Reds 5-2 (3 @ Pirates, 4 v. Brewers, 3 v. Orioles)
Twins 5-1 (3 @ Tigers, 3 v. White Sox, 4 v. Indians)

2017 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 3 (+0 worked)
Peter - 3