Sunday, May 27, 2012

Washington

On Even More Wonderment

Consol Energy Park
Consol Energy Park, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
River City Rascals vs. Washington Wild Things
Consol Energy Park
Frontier League
Washington, PA
7:05 PM


Outside of the Game:
There was yet another morning and afternoon of practicing the nerdy arts, with breaks for breakfast and lunch. Because Washington, PA, was even closer than Pittsburgh, we had an extra hour or so with which to do things that would have gotten us stuck in lockers had we still been in high school.

Washington is nowhere near the size of relative metropolis Pittsburgh, so we had no fears about the drive out, nor were any warranted. The drive there and back went without much notice, except that on the way back, I tried out using the "automatic" manual option on my rental car, marking the first and only time that I had driven a manual transmission car. You're all desperately interested, I'm sure.


The Stadium & Fans:
Home to center, Consol Energy Park
Home plate to center field, Consol Energy Park

Consol Energy Park is located right door to the Pony League National Headquarters. I wasn't aware that the Pony Leagues even had a national headquarters, but it is apparently located right next door to Consol Energy Park in Washington, PA.

The nomenclature of the park was a delicate subject, it seemed. Out in front of the park was a statue dedicated Angelo Falconi, who apparently brought the team to Washington, and there are several places around the park where references to "Falconi Field" still reside. However, Consol Energy's money apparently meant a little bit more, as Angelo now stands in front of a park that no longer bears his name.

Consol Enrgy Park (nee' Falconi Field) was a nice little establishment, about the equivalent of a A or AA minor-league park. Two rows of seats extend from base to base around home, with special seating areas extending out into the outfield on either side, with no bleachers or seating behind the outfield.

Left field held some special concessions, the kids play area, and the "Party Pavillion" for rental by groups, while the right field side had the "Party Deck" and the team store. Out beyond the right field stands was the back entrance to the park, which had a long walkway of concessions and a giant bobble head of the Wild Things' mascot between the league standings and line-ups for the game. Former Pittsburgh Steeler and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Dermontti Dawson was on hand there signing autographs before performing his ceremonial duties with the game's first pitch.

The game featured all the between-inning events that you'd expect at an indie or minor-league game. It was all orchestrated by a head MC and his fun team of marketing interns who jumped in and out of several costumes through the course of the game, the most extravagant being the ones to promote the circus that was appearing next door for the holiday week. Of particular note was the musical chairs event they had on yoga balls. The thing about yoga balls is that the average adult-sized yoga ball can hold more than one average-sized child. This led to a lot of grappling for the last seat open, and the last two contestants both sat perched on the last yoga ball until someone on the staff arbitrarily declared a winner to the satisfaction of none.

Mascot
The Wild Thing

There was a large crowd out, mostly of families and baseball fanatics, even with the other baseball options available in the general area. With certain exceptions, everyone was out for a good time.


At the Game with Oogie:
Messy meatballs

We sprung for some "expensive" indie-league seats behind the home dugout. This has become something of a tradition for me at the minor and indie level, as you get the best view, unimpeded by the netting, that makes for a good place to score a game and take some pictures to boot. We both grabbed dinner before the start of the game at a stand that sold meatball subs, and both enjoyed a guilty and messy pleasure wolfing them down on the top of the dugout.

Sadly, our good luck from the night previous did not hold up. We were sitting by some couples, one set of which was from Europe and were being explained the game by another of their group. However, the one couple at the end had a Bench Manager who was riding the home team incessantly, and was less than sober for most of the night, to the great embarrassment of his lady friend. Though coming just short of the "I thought this was America" speech from South Park, he repeatedly ignored all blandishments from his compatriots to reduce  the tone and fervor of his comments. He thankfully headed for the gates in the later innings, sparing the rest of us his insightful commentary on the play of the game for the remainder of its length.


The Game:
First pitch, Rascals vs. Wild Things
First pitch, Rascals vs. Wild Things

After last night's event, I think I was about ready for anything. I expected about a AA-level of play from the Frontier League (as that is about the level of ball that the players wash out of to end up in these indie leagues), and that is about what I got, with a lot of hits, and less pitching and glovework.

The second batter for the visiting Rascals put one over the right field wall, staking them to a 1-0 lead. The Wild Things did not let that stand, stringing together a one-out walk and a single. The sacrifice bunt to move them over (and potentially be a suicide squeeze) got botched by the pitcher, bringing home a run and leaving it second and third with one out. The pitcher calmed down, however, and got the last two outs, but not before walking another batter to load up the bases. The first ended in a 1-1 tie.

The Rascals had a lead-off double in the second, but the Wild Things set the next two down in order. However, the first baseman muffed an easy throw, bringing in the runner from second. A short single made it first and second with two outs, and then the pitcher balked them over to second and third, before a strikeout ended further damage. The Wild Things got a cheap single and nothing else in their half, leaving it 2-1 Rascals.

The top of the third went in order, but the Wild Things got three straight singles to drive in a run and leave it first and third with no one out. A grounder back to the pitcher got the runner from third trying to score, but another single loaded up the bases before the pitcher bore down and struck out the next two he faced to end the inning in a 2-2 tie.

The Rascals again went in order in the fourth, but the Wild Things had a one-out double moved to third on a ground-out and brought home on an E6 to make it 3-2 Wild Things, with their first lead of the night. In the fifth, an error and a walk gave the Rascals some base runners they couldn't bring in, and the Wild Things only managed a walk erased on a double play. The sixth had a walk and a hits batmen left on by the Rascals, while the Wild Things went in order.

The Rascals stranded a lead-off double in the seventh, while the Wild Things lost a one-out walk to a caught stealing, and then stranded a back-to-back walk and a single with two outs. The long ball came to the Rascals again with a lead-off homer in eighth, to make it 3-3, while the Wild Things went in order. The top of the ninth went in order, while the Wild Things made a bid to end it in walk-off fashion. A lead-off single got sacrificed over to second. The next batter was intentionally walked, and the batter after him was unintentionally walked, to load up the bases. Both of the next two batters got three balls on their counts, nearly forcing a literal walk-off win, but both struck out, sending the game to extra innings.

Apparently wanting to go home, the Rascals got a one-out single and a two-out triple to bring home a run, making it 4-3 before the end of their half. Unable to muster anything else, the Wild Things went in order in the bottom of the tenth, leaving the final score 4-3 Rascals.


The Scorecard:
Rascals vs. Wild Things, 05-27-12. Rascals win, 4-3.
Rascals vs. Wild Things, 05/27/12. Rascals win, 4-3.

For the first time in what seemed like a pretty long time, I had a new home scorecard to use. It was part of the free program you were given on the way into the park. It was a bi-fold pamphlet-sized booklet on shiny paper. It was easy enough to write and erase on without undue smudging, and it held an extra-inning game well, to the point of having no summary columns defined at all, just innings through fourteen. An extension of its small dimensions were scoring boxes on the smaller side.

There were a number of weird plays in this one, including an insane amount of errors, leading to few of the runs in the game being earned, and a balk in the second. The oddest notation came from a come-backers that wacked off the pitcher's arm to the shortstop, leading to a 1-6-3 putout at first.


The Accommodations:
The guest room at my friend's house again.




On Leaving

Mister Roger's Neighborhood
The Neighborhood
Monday, May 28, 2012
Hoboken, NJ


Outside of the Game:
On Memorial Day, it was time to head home. As I had flown down this time, it was more a matter of driving to the airport for a short flight home than driving for most of the day. Subsequently, I was able to get up much later, and have breakfast and lunch with my friend before heading out a little after noon to go to the airport.

I got to Pittsburgh "International" with plenty of time to spare. It was very quick to drop off my rental, and I even found a semi-secret pathway to a secondary screening area that got me through security with absolutely no wait, which left me with a bunch of time just walking around the entirety of the airport.

As is always the case when I arrive super early for a flight, my plane back was delayed, but it was only fifteen minutes or so, so it wasn't all that bad. I slept on most of the flight back to New Jersey, and my father helpfully picked me up and dropped me back at the apartment without incident, leaving me just to ponder and dread another week at work.


The Accommodations:
Hoboken



2012 Western PA
 

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