Monday, March 14, 2016

Mesa (Cubs)


On Portents

Sloan Park, 2016
Monday, March 14, 2016
San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs
Sloan Park
Cactus League (Spring Training)
Mesa, AZ
1:05 PM


Outside the Game: 
I got woken up again early by the tour groups going out to the Grand Canyon, so I didn't start the day shiny or happy, especially after being woken up by housekeeping at 11 PM the night before. I grumpily went through the motion of breakfast and my walk in the park, but running late, I didn't stop off at the gas station for water. I drove straight out to the park.

And it was quite a production. I have never seen a crowd this big this early at a Spring Training game, because Chicago doesn't play around. I walked around and took my pictures, but there was no place to get water, and it was a hot afternoon. I ended up having to go to the hotel next door to get water, where I bought about three before heading out to the Center Field entrance to line up to get in. The line was already pretty healthy, and I found myself with a lady who was separated from her husband. Apparently, she is a volunteer at Wrigley up north, and got everyone in the lines to get organized. She did it pretty well, as when the gates opened up, we all flew in, and I was on my way.

After the game, there was a bit of traffic getting out just from sheer volume, but I made it back to the hotel for a nap and a shower without much effort. Arizona is known for golf and Native Casinos, and while I had checked off the former already, I decided to bite the bullet and spend some time at the casino at Talking Stick casino, also the home of the Rockies and D-Backs' complex that I would be visiting in a couple days. I got dressed as nicely as I was able, and after some GPS problems (as the new area wasn't fully added to my TomTom's maps, as well as traffic from a nearby concert), I eventually found my way to the casino.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this place was just like Atlantic City, with less Chinese and more white trash. In my khakis and white colored shirt, I was one of the best-dressed people in the place, which was immediately sad, as was the dense smoke that covered the place, also from the white trash. I tried to make the best of it. I got a gambling card, put some money on it, and sat down to play some video poker in the least smoky place I could find.

Playing low stakes, as I was, I stayed pretty much at what I started with, until I hit a royal flush that won me $40. Whoo. You can get a printed receipt for your winnings that you can use at the bar, so I took my paper over to the bar, and I bought a nice single malt with my winnings, and left the rest for the bartender as a tip. It was then that I was approached by a well-dressed Native American lady who sat down behind me. The short version of this story is that she saw a decently dressed guy buy some top-shelf liquor with winnings, and figured I was some high roller who may be interested in some paid companionship. While it was a pretty tempting offer, I turned it down, finished my drink, and decided that I was done with this experiment. I walked around for a little while in the spa and art museum they had on site, and then headed back to the hotel with the windows open on my car to try and get some of the smoke smell out of everything.

Back at the hotel, it was too late to go to the taco shop or Hunny Bears, but I had a store of leftovers in the refrigerator, which I ate and tried to forget the entirety of the evening, before going to bed.


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

Sloan Park is the second Spring Training stadium in Mesa, about ten minutes west of the A's park. It is also much newer, opening in 2014 as "Wrigley South." The sprawling complex is right next door to a hotel featuring the "Wrigley West Conference Center," and it does get a lion's share of the Chicagoan traffic, being a short walk to the park as it is. The complex is truly immense, starting with the large main field, and the further beyond the even more extensive Spring Training complex, with practice fields and training facilities that cover quite a bit of real estate. The big leaguers practice as the closest field right by Sloan Park, making it easier for autograph seekers, but you are welcome to wander the grounds to seek out minor leaguers on the other fields as well.

The bulk of Sloan Park has sidewalks circling the park, with entrances at regular intervals at home plate, first base, right field, and center field. And all those entrances are necessary, as the dedicated Cubs fans line up early before the gates open, and the lines get long very quick. Along the outside wall of the park are displays on the evolution of the Cubs logo, as well as player posters and team shop that takes up its own large building around the perimeter of the park.

All those entrances converge on the massive main promenade that circles the entirety of the park. The seating area extends down from the promenade, and seating extends from left to right field behind home plate. The entire outfield area is a giant picnic hill, and an additional extensive picnic area is beyond right field, next to the kids’ area and giant Wiffle ball area. Two upper areas loom above the field, a more traditional one rising above first to third behind home plate, hosting party areas at the ends and press and luxury boxes in the middle, and the Budweiser 1876 party deck that sits above the concessions on top of the picnic hill in left field. The main video scoreboard sits in left-center, but a myriad of auxiliary scoreboards dot the part at all angles.

All the concessions are on the main promenade, which makes it easy to grab food and still see the game. Dos Gringos has a special "On Deck" bar area out in the right field corner, and a replica of the classic Wrigley Field sign sits on the promenade by first base--and is a huge picture stop.
New mascot Clark made his Spring Training debut at the park this year. It is a little impressive that he can actually play baseball in his outfit, with an oversized fielding glove and opposable fingers that lets him throw and catch. The Cubs are one of the biggest Spring Training draws in the Cactus League, as this Monday sell-out showed. Say what you will about Cubbies fans, but they are here for the game, and the between-inning activity is kept to a minimum, although Take Me Out To The Ballgame during the Seventh Inning Stretch is an appropriately extensive production.


At the Game with Oogie: 
Scoring
Scoring in the shade

The game was sold out, so there were a bunch of people, as you might imagine. I ran across a guy wearing a Cubs hat and a Mets shirt, so I had to have a chat with him about what his major malfunction was. He claimed to be a Mets fan who was just rooting for the Cubs today. I pointed out that he didn't need to buy a cap for that. This eventually led to a discussion with some other Cubs fans in the area. Despite the post-season the previous year, we had a civil discussion of mutual admiration. They firmly believed that it was their this year, but I'm sure they've been thinking that every year for over a hundred years. [Annotation after the season: Well, they were right this year, but what are the chances?]

I had seats down the first base line in the lower area. There is exactly one section of seats that is in the sun for most of the game, due to a gap in the stadium super-structure. I'm sure you'll guess exactly where I was sitting in the center of. The desert hat came out until the shadows moved over in the late innings. Not only did I have another scorer sitting next to me in the person of an older lady, but she was doing some sort of long-form stream of consciousness scoring in a notebook she had for the purpose. After each play, she would write a line or two about it, and then go back to watching the game.

Grub
Portillo's steak sandwich

With all the Chicago food imported in the stadium, I started with a brat, as I would up north, and then switched over to a Portillo’s steak sandwich to top it off. The heavy food did not exactly go with sitting in the sun all day, but I do not regret the experience.


The Game: 
First pitch, Padres vs. Cubs
First pitch, Padres vs. Cubs

This was a one-sided contest between the Padres and the Cubs, and it would be a mirror image of how the teams would end up doing this historic year.

The Pads went in order in the first, but the Cubs combined a two-out walk and double into an early 1-0 lead. Both teams had just a walk in the second, but San Diego tied in up in the top of the third with a leadoff single and stolen base driven in by a one-out double. The Chicago was unable to rise to the challenge and went in order in the bottom half. Both teams again only had a walk to show for the fourth, but the Padres were back at it in the fifth. A single was followed by a two-out single to left that was completely misplayed by the fielder, leading to a three-base error as the runner beat the throw home to extend it to a 3-1 lead. The Cubs struck back in their half, wit ha leadoff single and two, one-out singles to drive in a run to close it to 3-2.

That was as close as it would get, as the wheels began to come off in the top of the sixth. San Diego began the inning with a single, and two quick fly-outs to left looked to be all of the inning, but then there was a homer to left, a walk, and another homer to deep center, which extended the lead to 6-2, Padres. Chicago only managed a walk in their half. The hits kept coming in the top of the seventh, with a leadoff single, two more quick outs that moved the runner to second, and then the floodgates open. A single drove in the lead runner. A grounder to third looked to end the half, but it went through the wickets, making it first and second with two outs. A single brought in the lead runner, and the top of the inning ended at 8-2, Padres. The Cubbies stranded a double and a single in the bottom of the seventh.

San Diego got a one-out-double in the top of the eighth driven in by a following single to extend the lead to 9-2. The Cubs went in order. The top of the ninth saw a one-out double moved to third on a passed ball. A deep sacrifice to right brought in the run, making it 10-2. Chicago had two one-out walks in the bottom of the ninth, but they left them on the pond to cement the Padres’ pointless 10-2 victory.


The Scorecard: 
Padres vs. Cubs, 03-14-16. Padres "win," 10-2.
Padres vs. Cubs, 03/14/16. Padres "win," 10-2.

The scorecard was a $1 letter-sized pamphlet on light cardboard, separate from the $5 program. It was very similar to the Wrigley scorecard, with one side of the inside spread devoted to the scorecard and the Cubs roster, while the other side had the opposing teams' rosters, which continued on the back cover. Being on only one side of the pamphlet, the scorecard and squares were a little cramped, but certainly workable.

With the exception of the three-base error in the top of the fifth that let the runner score on a single, there were no scoring plays really out of the ordinary; it was just a high-scoring game, for at least one team. Each team used six pitchers, for a total of twelve arms in the game. Otherwise, it was just baseball.


The Accommodations: 
So, I finally heard back from my email to the manager. The story that was being slung was that he just started the first week I was there and didn't get into the email accounts until now. Given my experience so far, the saddest part of that story was that it was probably true. He wanted to know what he could do to help. I started by telling him that not having room service vacuuming in the room above mine at 11 PM would be a great start.



2016 Cactus League

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