Peoria (Mariners)

On Everyone Hating Dodgers Fans

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.

How they record for player pianos

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 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: 

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.

Hot dog and Gatorade

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

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.

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.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2016 Cactus League

Peoria (Padres)

On Another Day, Another Game

Peoria Sports Complex, 2016

Friday, March 11, 2016

Chicago White Sox vs. San Diego Padres
Peoria Sports Complex
Cactus League (Spring Training)
Peoria, AZ
1:10 PM

Outside the Game: 

I wasn't feeling it the morning as another tour group woke me up on their way out again. Breakfast, park, and a stop at the gas station for water was in order, and I trudged my way to Peoria for an afternoon game. Getting into the game and parking was more of a challenge than I would have liked, due to some dubious signage.

I got out and took my pictures and lined up to get in. On the way out, one of the attendants I started talking to let me know that the game the next day was going to be delayed start because of an event at the complex in the afternoon, and he also clued me in on an easier way to get into the stadium. I thanked him for the assist and went about getting out of the park.

I stopped off on the way back at Birrieria El Gordo for takeout (they remembered me and just moved past the awkward pantomime and broken Spanish and just handed be a bag full of tacos), and then was back at the hotel for dinner and then an evening soak in the hot tub. After a shower, I wasn't feeling very ambitious, so I just did my paperwork for the day and went to bed early to try and catch up on some sleep.

The Stadium & Fans: 

Home plate to center field, Peoria Sports Complex

"Peoria Sports Complex" doesn't really inspire images of grandeur. And, in fact, this stadium probably marks exactly the middle of the road in the Cactus League. Not that it is anything to shake a stick at, surely, but it is not as bad as some of the other stadiums, nor is it as good as the newer Spring Training palaces.

The complex includes training fields for both teams just outside the right field wall. A long walkway leads out to the fields, and then you either turn left for the Mariners and right for the Padres. Both section have identical field layouts, as well as concession stands so you don't die of heat stroke.

The entire park is mostly surrounded by a big parking lot, and you can walk around the entire park, which has gates at regular intervals around the facility. By main Gate A is the main facility sign, as well as the main ticket office and team store. Gates B & C are along the perimeter around from Gate A, and Gate D is in center field, the furthest away from the main parking lot, but next to the auxiliary parking lot in the back of the facility.

The entrances open out onto a main promenade that runs behind the seating bowl and all around the park. A second walkway is in the seating bowl, separating the lower and upper seating areas. All the lower section seats and the seats between the baselines are regular seats, while the upper seats in the short outfield are bleachers. Picnic lawns dominate the outfield areas, and the main old-school digital scoreboard sits above the areas in left-center. At the top of the seating bowl behind home plate are a small area of press boxes and luxury suites (which has, for no good reason, a Nippon Ham Fighters jersey on display in the hallway). Party areas are at the top of the seating bowl by third base and in the corner of both outfields.

At the right field player entrance, there is "autograph alley" for fans to line up and grab Hancocks as the players enter the stadium. A kids’ area with a Wiffle ball field sits in the promenade plaza outside first base. Most of the concessions are on the promenade, and those not behind the seating bowl offer a view of the field while you're ordering up. A food cart area in left field offers rotating eats.

The Padre doesn't make the trip east into the desert, and the between-inning entertainment was kept to a minimum of silly races and the like. The Padres didn't have that good a showing for this Friday afternoon game, with a lot of empty seats to show for the effort, such as it was.

At the Game with Oogie: 

Rough inning

Another afternoon game in the sun is what it was, really. The crowd was particularly sparse, but where I was seated behind the home dugout on the first base side, it was pretty crowded with home fans and autograph seekers. I was right above one of the entrance alcoves to the field, so I got to see most of the autograph seekers. I didn't really do much except watch the game this afternoon.

BBQ dog, pretzel, and souvenir soda

With all of the hot dog concessions in the park, I ended up getting a foot-long hot dog, a BBQ dog, and pretzel for lunch. There are worse things in the world.

The Game: 

First pitch, White Sox vs. Padres

This clash of the not titans between the White Sox and the Padres was a blow out, but all the scoring was condensed into four innings, with a lot of nothing in between.

Both teams stranded a runner in the first inning, and while the Sox repeated that feat in the second, San Diego went in order. The top of the third is our first scoring frame, as Chicago started with a home run, a single, and back-to-back home runs, to jump out to a quick 4-0 lead. A walk, single, and error loaded the bases, but they stranded them all. The Padres went in order in the bottom of the third.

The fourth was another scoring inning as the Sox got back-to-back, one-out singles, and then a two-out single brought in the lead runner. A passed ball moved up both runners, and a double brought them both in, leaving it 7-0 at the break in the fourth. San Diego stranded a runner in their half. In the top of the fifth, Chicago had a leadoff homer to right, but stranded two more base runners to leave their lead at 8-0. The Padres stranded a runner in the bottom of the frame.

The White Sox, for a change, went in order in the sixth, while San Diego found their bats. A leadoff single made it to second on a wild pitch and was driven in by a one-out double. Another double drove in the runner at second and made it to third on another wild pitch. A single brought in the runner from third, but there was no further scoring, closing the lead to 8-3.

And then the game sort of… petered out. Chicago stranded a two-out double in the seventh, and then both teams went in order until the ninth. The Sox got nothing out of two singles in the top of the inning, and San Diego squandered a leadoff single to end the pointless game at 8-3, White Sox.

The Scorecard: 

White Sox vs. Padres, 03/11/16. White Sox "win," 8-3.

The scorecard was a separate cardstock pamphlet, separate from the mini-tabloid, full-color, free program. Usually, this leads to a pleasant scoring experience, but it was not to be the case. A full 80% of the scorecard, and over half of the inside centerfold that had the scorecard proper, was taken over by ads. The actual scoring area in the scorecard was about a quarter of the centerfold real estate, with only one line per position and tiny scoring boxes that were completely inadequate for Spring Training scoring. I had to do a lot of scrunching to get everything in. On top of that, they reserved precious space in the scoring section for Double plays and extra base hits and the like. Boo.

As for the game itself, there was nothing outstanding from a scoring perspective, except maybe the three home runs in one inning. It was a rather blah game all-around, to be honest.

The Accommodations: 

After a week of this, I decided to finally take up the offer of the laminated sign in my room and emailed the manager about something not being right in the room or with my stay. I wasn't really expecting much, but at this point, I decided to see what could be done.

Click to see all the photos from this trip.

2016 Cactus League