Saturday, March 12, 2016

Peoria (Mariners)


On Everyone Hating Dodgers Fans

Peoria Sports Complex
Peroia Sports Complex, 2016
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Seattle Mariners
Peoria Sports Complex
Cactus League (Spring Training)
Peoria, AZ
7:40 PM


Outside the Game: 
This was a semi-rare evening game, which meant I could have a lazier morning than usual. Which was good, because they were particularly loud in getting breakfast set up again, so I was up early, staring at the ceiling angrily.

I eventually got myself some breakfast and went out to the park for a morning walk. It was particularly, I almost want to say "cool," but that word only has relative meaning in this world of dry and ash and heat. There were a particularly large number of dogs out for walks today, so I got to pet a great deal of things, which helped my mood tremendously. I went back to my room for a mid-morning nap and then headed out to the world.

My stop for this afternoon was the Musical Instrument Museum, which was at the north end of Phoenix. As you might surmise from the name, it was the largest collection of musical instruments from around the world. They included instruments from nearly every country, all organized by geographic location. Additional exhibits included a collection of Stradivarius violins, modern music artifacts (including a Johnny Cash stage outfit and guitar), and a room filled with self-playing instruments such as player pianos and calliopes. They even had a type of player piano that was used to "record" the player piano loops. I went through the whole museum with the audio tour, and it was endlessly fascinating.

I had lunch at the museum cafeteria and spent too much money in the gift shop before heading back to the hotel for a shower and pre-game nap. As the game was slightly later than usual, I had even more time to lounge around. Completely forgetting the back-door directions from the staff member the night before, I found out that the parking lot was even more packed, and after parking, visiting Dodgers fans were already making the lines to get into the stadium rather extensive. I walked around and got on the shortest line at the outfield entrance and waited to get in.


The Stadium & Fans: 
Home to center, Peoria Sports Complex
Home plate to center field, Peoria Sports Complex

There wasn't a lot of change in the stadium from the night before to now. A tribute sign to Dave Niehaus was up under the press box and the lines were longer to get in. But the biggest change was the visiting team: The Dodgers.

This apparently equaled huge lines to get in, especially in back by the lawn seats, where Dodger Blue dominated the proceedings. I didn't have a great first impression of Dodgers fans for my first game in the Cactus League, and they certainly didn't do much to improve that opinion this evening. Loud, drunk, obnoxious. And those were their good qualities. They pretty much took over the outfield GA seating and most of the places by the visiting dugout. It was a less than pleasant experience.

The Mariner's moose does make the trip into the desert, and the between-inning entertainment was just as sparse as the day before.


At the Game with Oogie: 
Scoring
It ends.

Dodgers fans, everywhere, is pretty much the story of the night, here. No one seemed to enjoy having the Dodgers come to town, least of all the stadium staff. I ended up just having a hot dog and Gatorade for dinner, and I was very sympathetic to the concessions staff when I asked about the Dodgers fans. They put on forced smiles and said they appreciated any fans visiting, in exactly the way you would if you really didn't like Dodgers fans, which is everyone, including Dodgers’ fans.
Thankfully, I had seats on the third-base side by the Seattle dugout, and so was surrounded by Mariners fans, most of whom skewed older. There were a lot of scorers in my area, including a young lady across the aisle from me, who I strongly suspected was a girlfriend of one of the Mariners' players. As I got to talking to the folks around me, there was universal dislike of when the Dodgers came to the stadium.


The Game: 
First pitch, Dodgers vs. Mariners
First pitch, Dodgers vs. Mariners

It was a case of the bullpen falling apart in this contest between the Dodgers and Mariners, where a tight game turned blowout in extra innings.

Things took a while to get going, as both teams went in order through two. The Dodgers got two runners on in the third, but brought no one home, although Seattle did better. A leadoff single was brought in by a following double, who came in after advancing on a ground-out and scoring with a one-out single, staking the M’s to an early 2-0 lead.

Los Angeles came back in the top of the fourth with back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, but a double-play came close to ending the rally. The double-play did, however, advance the lead runner to third, where a yip to the first baseman brought him in to close the tally to 2-1. The Mariners went in order in the bottom of the inning. LA came out swinging again in the fifth with a leadoff single and then a towering homer to left, grabbing a 3-2 lead, which held up as the Padres were unable to convert two walks in the bottom of the inning.

The Dodgers had nothing to show for back-to-back, one-out singles in the sixth, while Seattle tied it up at 3 with a leadoff homer to right, but the tie would be short-lived. A leadoff two-base error in the top the seventh made it home on a following single, giving LA the lead back at 4-3. But the Mariners tied it right back up in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff walk who stole second, made it third on a throwing error by the catcher on the attempt, and came home on a deep ground-out to second.

Both sides stranded two baserunners in the eighth, and the Dodgers repeated the trick in the top on the ninth. Seattle started the ninth with back-to-back walks that got bunted over to second and third. An intentional walk loaded the bases, and a new reliever slipped out of trouble with a strikeout and fly to center.

So, we went to extras, which I was to find out was the exception and not the rule in the Cactus League. The wheels on the bus came off in the top of the tenth, as a leadoff walk for LA came in on a one-out homer to left. A walk and fielder's choice followed, as did a one-run triple to center. A single brought the runner from third home, and by the end of the half, the Dodgers ran up an 8-4 lead. The Mariners had a two-out rally with a double and a walk, but a strikeout ended the threat and cemented the pointless Dodgers 8-4 victory.


The Scorecard: 
Dodgers vs. Mariners, 03-12-16. Dodgers "win," 8-4.Dodgers vs. Mariners, 03-12-16. Dodgers "win," 8-4.
Dodgers vs. Mariners, 03/12/16. Dodgers "win," 8-4.

As with the day before, the scorecard is a cardstock four-page separate from the free mini-tabloid program. It was still overly cramped by ads that took over half the inside of the scorecard not conducive to scoring a Spring Training game.

There were a few plays worth special note. In the bottom of the third, although judged a single to right, the right fielder completely dropped the ball without getting an error. In the top of the seventh, a simple ground-out to short got thrown into the dugout for a two-base error (that eventually scored).

Otherwise, it was just a high-scoring spring game.


The Accommodations: 
Not much new on the hotel front. There was no answer to my email yet, which wasn't too surprising. And since I had a night game, I didn't even get to soak in the hot tub.



2016 Cactus League

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