Thursday, March 10, 2016

Surprise (Rangers)


On Another Day, Another Zoo

Surprise Stadium
Surprise Stadium, 2016
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Chicago White Sox vs. Texas Rangers
Surprise Stadium
Cactus League (Spring Training)
Surprise, AZ
1:05 PM


Outside the Game: 
I had another afternoon game out in Surprise this Thursday, and I had a nice surprise of no tour groups or noisy breakfast prep waking me up, so it was a good morning in that sense at least. I fell into what had become, after nearly a week, my regular pattern: stumble into the breakfast room for food, an after-meal walk in the park to enjoy the tweakers and pets out for a walk, and then over to the gas station market across the street to grab water to last me until game time.

I went back to the room, showered up, and headed out for the game. I once again parked up easily and headed inside. In going to the Rangers training area before the game, I saw a huge crowd following around Hu Darvish, who was coming back from injury this Spring. He, his interpreter, and his son, went through some exercises, he signed some autographs, and then he was whisked away in a golf cart. The game opened up pretty soon after that, and the lines were not long.

After the game, I was going to make a visit to the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium that I was tipped off to in the program from the game. It was a short drive to the zoo, and I went in, got a combo entrance (because how could you not go to an aquarium in the middle of the desert?) and went to spend my late afternoon in the company of animals. It was a nice facility that seemed to have its "thing" as being able to get up really close to the animals. Which is a nice trick, because you really don't realize how big a rhino is until you are within arm's length of the thing. Similarly, monkey areas were just separated from the visitors by pools that the monkeys wouldn't cross. The whole experience allowed for a lot of great sight lines and easy pictures, which I certainly appreciated.
After the animal area closed, I spent some time in the smaller aquarium area on the other side of the park which was open to slightly later. After, I went to the gift shop to pay my dues. While I was in there, there was some big drama going on with a mother who was either in real trouble or trying to scam the store. Either way, she eventually left, and I was able to buy my goods. There was a restaurant attached to the park, and I went there for dinner. I watched a Republican debate that was playing on the TV. Trump was again wiping the floor with the outclassed candidates in a way I still can't explain even after seeing it with my own two eyes. The fact this half-literate idiot was cleaning the clocks of the best the Republicans have to offer did not bode well for the political party, or frankly the country.

After eating, I headed back to the hotel. It being late, I decided to forgo the hot tub for an evening and decided to just go to bed and count my blessings.


The Stadium & Fans: 
Home to center, Surprise Stadium
Home plate to center field, Surprise Stadium

There was no major changes in the stadium from the day before. The programs all were Rangers branded, as well were the uniforms of the staff, but there was not much of a difference otherwise.

Even if they didn't quite match the crowds of the World Champs, the Rangers made a big showing for their team, which had its own run of luck of late. Once again, the between-inning entertainment was on the thin side, mostly giveaways and some contests.


At the Game with Oogie: 
Scoring
Half-shade scoring

For some reason that I don't remember, I ended up sitting on the third base line again, which, in this case, was the dugout for the visiting White Sox. So, there was a smaller group around me, and it was mostly south-siders. It took until the middle innings before I was enveloped in welcome shade. Most of the fans were minding their own business and enjoying the brutal beating on the field, so there was nothing much beyond that.
I got another excellent Chuckies pork sandwich to eat, and supplemented it with an order of BBQ corndogs, because BBQ corndogs.


The Game: 
First pitch, White Sox vs. Rangers
First pitch, White Sox vs. Rangers

This contest between the White Sox and the Rangers was intense scoring for a couple of half innings, and then a lot of nothing.

The Sox started it all off with a leadoff double that was moved over to third on a ground-out and then driven in with a sacrifice fly to right. A two-out rally then began with a single and a long double to right that brought the lead run in. A walk made it first and second with two outs, and then a homer to right brought everyone in, leaving it 5-0 after a half inning. The Rangers roared back… and went in order.

Chicago stranded a double in the second, and the Rangers went in order. The White Sox found their bats in the top of the third, with a leadoff single followed by a long double that brought in the runner from first. A ground out to first moved the runner over to third with one out, and then he came home on a sacrifice fly to center, extending the lead to 7-0. Texas broke up the perfect game with a one-out error by the third baseman on a routine grounder in the bottom of the inning.

The Sox went in order in the top of the fourth, but the Rangers got on the board. A one-out single moved to second on a grounder to the pitcher and scored on a single, closing it to 7-1. In the fifth, Chicago stranded a runner, while Texas used a leadoff homer to right to make it 7-2. Chicago got the run back with a two-out homer to left in the top of the sixth, while the Rangers just stranded a runner.

And that was pretty much it for the rest of the game. Both sides went in order in the last three innings, except for a walk for Texas in the bottom of the seventh, and the pointless game ended at 8-2, Chicago.


The Scorecard: 
White Sox vs. Rangers, 03-10-16. White Sox "win," 8-2.
White Sox vs. Rangers, 03/10/16. White Sox "win," 8-2. 

The scorecard was the same centerfold in the mini-tabloid full color magazine. It wasn't marred by ads, but it was still nearly impossible to use with pencils and didn't even include any space for pitching lines (which were again added extemporaneously).

There wasn't a lot that stood out from a scoring perspective. The leadoff double in the game was lost in the sun and could be considered an error, but otherwise the game was just average baseball.


The Accommodations: 
Not much at the hotel today. I wasn't there much there at all, for once.



2016 Cactus League

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