Monday, March 7, 2016

Goodyear (Reds)


On Finally Getting Ribs

Goodyear Ballpark
Goodyear Ballpark, 2016
Monday, March 7, 2016
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Cincinnati Reds
Goodyear Ballpark
Cactus League (Spring Training)
Goodyear, AZ
1:05 PM


Outside the Game: 
There apparently was no tour group this morning, as I slept in until people going to breakfast woke me up. I grabbed some breakfast of my own and then went out to the park next to the hotel for another walk. Despite the tweakers around that one house (there were fewer this morning), it was nice to get out into the non-sweltering Arizona mornings to enjoy things, and since a lot of locals and people from the hotel brought their dogs out for walks, it was a nice enough place to spend some time in the AM walking off breakfast.

So, I eventually went back to my room for a shower and a little more sleep and made the short drive out to the park. I was one of the first people there, and I arrived before they set up the money collection and cones. I had to ask a guy who parked overnight there in an RV if I was in the right place. Convinced that I was, I parked up and went out to take my pictures and whatnot. A waited in a short line right before the gates opened, and I was on my way.

The drive back to the hotel was uneventful, and not looking for a repeat of the previous night, I dropped off my game gear and drove directly out to Honey Bears for dinner. I made it in respectable time, and I went in. When faced with the smells of the cooking food and the earlier patrons eating up, it was hard to heed the advice from last night and only get a half-rack, but I did, along with the sides and accouterments that comes with the meal deal. And thankfully I did, because these were some big-ass ribs. I ate them rapaciously, and then had to sit in the booth for ten minutes until I had digested enough to move. I slowly drove back to the hotel, and slowly went to my room to change into my bathing suit, and slowly went to the hot tub to soak for god knows how long.

There was no one else in the tub that night, and I eventually went back to my room, showered, and went to bed. Thanks to a scheduling snafu on my end, I was having a night game the next day, because I somehow forgot to buy a ticket for the Giants when I was first getting tickets. So every two-team stadium I was seeing for the rest of the trip were going to be back-to-back days, but I wouldn't be back for the Indians until the last day of the trip, but the night game the next day gave me actual day time to go around and do things.

And here is where the story should end, except that at 1 AM the fracking fire alarm in my room started beeping. This led to stumbling around half-awake in the darkness to get a chair and beat on the fire alarm until it stopped. I then placed an angry call to the hapless night clerk where I yelled at him about the fire alarm going off, and every last thing that was wrong in my room that I wanted fixed tomorrow. In my defense, I wasn't quite myself, but I think I was justified in this case. The teenager on the line assured me it would be addressed tomorrow, and I went back to sleep cursing just about everything I could think of at the time.


The Stadium & Fans: 
Home to center, Goodyear Ballpark
Home plate to center field, Goodyear Ballpark

Goodyear Ballpark marks among the low-points of Cactus League facilities. To each his own, I suppose, but it is a decidedly minor-league looking facility in the middle of nowhere, with an airport next door and the practice fields down the road a bit. The park isn't even that old, so I suppose there is a reason for it being like this, but with all the open space, there's really no reason for this to be a Grapefruit setup. The "Goodyear" moniker isn't just a coincidence, as the entire area used to be raw materials plantations for the Goodyear Tire Company for the fibers that they put into the tires to re-enforce them. Yes, the ballpark was built on the former locale of corporate plantations. I'm not sure what else to say about that.

The stadium has four entrances around the perimeter. The main entrance at home plate straddles the ticket office and team store. It is right behind the plaza with a statue to "Ziz," a giant bird apparently from Jewish mythology, re-imagined as a spiral baseball... thing. Two more smaller entrances are at first and third base, and a larger entrance by the main parking lot was out in center field. As per more recent minor-league stadium standards, all the entrances open out onto a main promenade that circles the park above the seating bowl. All the seats are standard stadium seats out to the short outfield, and the two outfield picnic hills as general admission. The scoreboard sits behind these in left-center, and a larger party tent sits in right-center. A smaller second level between the dugouts, holding a small section of luxury boxes, the press box, and the owners’ box.

There was a section of "club seats" in short left field that were more expensive for some reason that confused me when buying tickets. It turns out just this seating section has an overhang to keep off the sun. In retrospect, I would have paid more for the shade. Beyond right field is a Wiffle-ball field for the kids, while the play area is off in left, along with Zizzy's clubhouse and bunghole games for drunk adults. Another section of the "Cactus League Experience" was on the promenade by home plate, along with some displays on the ballpark. There is a POW/MIA seat by home plate, and the center field promenade wall has tributes to players and staff for both teams. Concessions ran along the promenade, letting you see the game while you grabbed some food.
The roommates Reds and Indians are among the worst draws in the Cactus League, and that was underlined by this Monday afternoon game, which was probably the least-attended game I saw. The stadium was maybe 25% filled. In a unique turn, only the stadium mascot, Zizzy, shows up for the between-inning entertainment, which was a full docket of minor-league standards such as races, balloon wrestling, and the like, and even included a post-game catch in the outfield.


At the Game with Oogie: 
Scoring
Sun scoring

This was as sparsely attended game as I ran across in the Cactus League. Even in my seats right behind the home dugout, there were plenty of empty seats. I wasn't even sitting directly next to anyone, so I didn't end up talking to anyone. I just kept scoring in the sun, waiting for the inevitable heat stroke to provide sweet release.
At least I ate well. I got some Ohio sliders and a Polish boy hot dog, with a giant-assed souvenir soda to wash it all down.


The Game: 
First pitch, Angels vs. Reds
First pitch, Angels vs. Reds

The Angels and Reds faced off in a match with a lot of scoring early and a late run, but a middle-inning stretch largely devoid of activity.

The Angels went in order in the first, but Cincinnati had a two-out rally started with a bunt single and walk. Another single brought in the lead runner for a 1-0 lead. In the second, Anaheim stranded a leadoff runner on second, while the Reds kept on going, with a leadoff homer to dead center. That was followed by a single, a steal of second, and another short single that made it first and third with no outs. A double-play to second scored the lead runner but left two outs. A great grab by the second baseman ended the inning at 3-0, Reds.

LA again stranded a runner on the bases in the top of the third, while the red-hot Reds lead off the bottom of the third with back-to-back homers to left and right. A third homer to left by the next batter was robbed by the left fielder going over the wall for a gem of a play. The next batter got a single and was driven in by a triple. A double completed the cycle for the inning, driving in the runner at third. By two outs ended the damages at 7-0, Reds.

The Angels got themselves in gear in the fourth with a one-out double. A short single made it first and third, and a homer to deep left brought everyone in. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with two outs, but a convenient grounder to short ended the scoring at 7-3, Reds. Cincinnati immediate got one back in the bottom of the inning, as a leadoff single stole second and third. A walk made it first and third with no outs, and a sacrifice fly to right brought in the lead runner. A double made it first and third again with one out, but the scoring ended there at 8-3, Cincinnati.

And then the game shifted into low gear. Anaheim stranded a runner in the top of the fifth, two in the sixth, and only had only single in the seventh. The Reds went in order in the fifth, stranded two in the sixth, and went in the order in the seventh. The Angels made one last run in the top of the eighth. A one-out walk was driven in by a two-out double, himself driven in by a single. He stole second and made it to third on an error on the throw by the catcher, but was stranded by a foul-tip caught for a strikeout, leaving it 8-5, Reds. Cincinnati mustered a double in the bottom of the frame, and the Angels went in order in the ninth against the Reds closer, cementing the pointless 8-5 Cincinnati victory.


The Scorecard: 
Angels vs. Reds, 03-07-16. Reds "win," 8-5.Angels vs. Reds, 03-07-16. Reds "win," 8-5.
Angels vs. Reds, 03/07/16. Reds "win," 8-5.

The Reds-branded scorecard was part of the $7 (kind of a rip-off, but it went to charity) full-sized, full-color magazine program, but in a nice turn of events, the centerfold scorecard was cardstock and unsullied by ads, giving a comfortable and spacious place to score even a Spring-Training game. There were even places for bench and bullpen players, but as they weren't announced or posted, I couldn't fill them in. For some reason, however, the home team was on the left side of the scorecard, which was just weird.

It was mostly a conventional game, but there were some plays of note. An F-7! in the bottom of the third had the Angels left fielder going over the wall to rob a home run. A stolen base the next inning was because of blown 1-3-4 pickoff without an error. A double in the top of the eighth was actually an E7 lost in the sun, but because it didn't hit his glove, it wasn't ruled an error. The Angels' started had the unenviable pitching line of 3 IP 10 H 7 ER 1 BB 1 K.


The Accommodations: 
Things were exciting in the middle of the night, as I mentioned earlier. The room, after a generous tip, was looking a lot cleaner. It was all about whether the problems were ever going to get fixed at this point.



2016 Cactus League

No comments:

Post a Comment