Welcome to HalfofCaliHalfofChicagoKam Park (9th Inning)

Boy that is no joke. What do you get when you combine the top 2 teams in fan support down here in Arizona? A setting that was even worse than the day before, crowd-wise.
We saw on the local news here Saturday that Spring Training attendance has hit an all-time high this year. We believe it! We admit, we did not stay long here. After today we can say that we did it and completed our tour, and but also that we are sick of the crowds! The stadiums are just not designed to hold so many people, while providing for a decent fan experience. We also had Lawn seats today, and the berm here was not like any we had seen in the other parks - it was a narrow steep bump that made the people all try to huddle on the top of it, or else you would have to look through the fence at the field in front or at peoples' backsides if you stand/sit behind it. Maybe we were spoiled by the larger better stadiums we had seen earlier in the week. But some of these parks it is just better to get quality seats, to at least guarantee that you will see the game. Cubs did get the win, but for Tiny it was too little too late.

Train Wreck in Tempe (8th Inning)

We made it through the week and to the final weekend, which is good and bad. Good in that we successfully navigated to the weekday games and made it this far, bad in that we were looking at a pair of games on the weekend - which means expect large, perhaps huge crowds. And guess what - huge is exactly what we got at Tempe Diablo. We made it into the park a full 1/2 hour before first pitch, and noticed right away that the outfield bleachers were already about 1/2 full. Then, considering this is an Angels game with many California fans, we knew we were in trouble, as the Cali fans have a tendency to arrive to games late. Adding it all up equaled true Standing Room only by first pitch. To add to our trouble, we had Lawn (grass) seats, which was an immediate forget about it, the lawn was so full you could not see hardly any grass. Tempe Diablo is a nice setting, with the Hills on the left and I-10 on the right. With less of a crowd, it would be a nice place to take in a game. But with as many people that were here today, it was kind of bogus - there was no place to hardly watch the game! The concourses here were built too narrow, an extra 10 feet would have gone a long way. Those of you who know Coors Field can appreciate the wide concourse. Imagine only about a 1/3 of that in width. Then consider that this is not a true "wrap-around" park (meaning you can't walk all the way around the field - the parking lot and I-10 blocks you off) you get cross-currents of people walking back in forth in a wall-to-wall crush of people. Anyway, it was a great game, tied into the 9th 4-4, but the Angels won it in the 10th. How we still do not know - we got the heck out of there early and were already on I-10! Next up, time to close it out with the same Angels at the Cubs. Tiny goes Cubs - they have not won since Sunday, and are due to win.

Peoria Part 2 (7th Inning)

We decided to take an alternate route back up to the Peoria Sports complex today, basically for the reason to find the same Fry's grocery store that had 99 cent Cracker Jacks we got the previous day (the Fry's in Buckeye only had boxes, and we wanted bags!). Anyway, we found the loot but paid for it in another way - getting stuck in gridlock traffic heading east towards the stadium. We had been lucky so far to avoid any major congestion, but on this Friday our luck ran out. There was an overhead highway traffic sign that said to expect delays due to Spring Training games. We could not believe that all of the traffic was caused by a game, on a Friday afternoon. We were wrong. By the time we finally were able to ditch the car in a Target parking lot and walk over to the stadium, we saw that it was Packed! Even fuller than Scottsdale on Sunday. The lawn was so full that we found a place to sit in the shade to where you could only see the scoreboard and the left fielder. So using our baseball knowledge, the scoreboard, roar of the crowd (and cell phone sports scores as a backup), we tried to guess what plays were happening. We did pretty good really. It added a new angle to "watch" a game, that's for sure. Rox got battered around, and lost 9-4, so we did not miss too much as Rox fans. After the game we hit the Red Robin across the street, killed some time moving the car, then headed back for the night game. By then the crowd had thinned out some and it was a nice evening. We left 7th Inning stretch, so we could avoid the crush leaving the game. There was a LOT more people there Friday as opposed to when we came here first on Monday. Next Up: heading east to Tempe to see the Angels and DBacks, the only team we have not seen so far. Tiny split on Friday, is down 4-5 and cannot afford a loss today if he wants to reach the Biggs. Going with the DBacks to win with the expected large support from their home state fans. Angels fans have been all over too, so it should be another large crowd. We better get going...

Surprise! Surprise! as Gomer Would Say (6th Inning)

Today was the first day and game that we did not have to go it alone. Rick's sister and niece joined us today for the game up in Surprise. We had great seats behind home plate and in the shade - no sunscreen was required, for once. Check out the picture of the ball right in the middle between the pitcher and batter (another great picture taken by Rick), to get a feel for how close we were. This was probably the best game that we have seen so far. It was a close competitive game, and both teams were sharp - from they way they were playing it could have been mid-July and not mid-March action. Surprise Recreation Campus is the newest park down here, and you could tell. It was very modern and with an upper deck added on it could pass for a regular big league park. The Rangers and Royals both train here, and both had nice Clubhouses adjacent to each other along the 1st and 3rd base lines. The Royals came from behind and won 6-5, and disappointed the large number of Angels fans in attendance, including us! After the game we drove back through the growing western edge of the Phoenix metro area, back down to Buckeye where we have been staying. We ended the day having a nice dinner with Rick's family at the brand new Pizza Factory in the brand new Strip mall, near the modern housing developments. It was the second night in a row we had a great time hanging out with everyone. Next up: Doubleheader Friday! Rox at Mariners (the sequel), and Brewers at Padres in the night game. Gonna be a long day. Tiny must root always for the Rox - and the Brewers have been playing pretty well, and should beat the Split-Squad Padres, whose big name starters are playing a weekend series in China.

T-Ball Tiny's Oddessy (Grounds Crew Field Touch-Up)

So who is T-Ball Tiny you may ask? First some background. The Spring Training experience from a fans perspective is relaxed and enjoyable. Most people down here taking in the games are visitors to the State, essentially on Vacation like us. Everyone is hopeful for a winning season by their team, and with the promise of a new season hope always springs eternal. It is nothing like the MLB playoffs that we experienced last year in Denver, with the pressure to win and hype that surrounds it. But underneath this relaxed atmosphere (in the stands) is a large contingent of Players (on the field) that are trying to land a job playing professional ball in the big leagues, or even break into the big leagues for the first time. For them it is their lifelong dream, and the competition for spots can be intense. One thing we noticed early on is the large number of players spilling out each dugout, upwards of 50 in some cases! [Check out the photo - though you can't see it, believe us, the benches in the dugout are full of Cubbies sitting down]. When you consider that only 25 will make each team, the cold hard reality is that a lot of players are going to be busing it in the minors with their dreams of playing in the Biggs' on hold for now, at the least. So Tiny was created to try and give everyone a feel for this "competitive underworld" that goes on here. Tiny is simply trying to pick the winner of each contest, basing each pick on sheer guts, determination, and feel - which is a requirement for any Player trying to break into the Big leagues.

Tiny's linescore through 6. Tiny needs to win in order to make the big leagues. Tiny is in trouble!

Player 123 456 789 RHE
TTiny 110 100 --- 371
Gobbs 002 011 --- 480

Can anyone guess who "Gobbs" is? Hint: it is an acronym, drop the 's' at the end: GOBB

Getting Electrified (5th Inning)

Knock Knock Knock ... KNOCK! KNOCK! "Maintenance" [door opens, bright sunshine floods the room] "Ooops, sorry, I did not know this room was occupied" [door closes] was how day 5 of our tour started. The rude awakening actually did us a favor, as it got us up and working our way out of a not-so-comfortable motel stay. We both tossed and turned all night, and generally did not sleep well. We also missed the free breakfast - by 5 minutes. Denny's anyone? After breakfast, we headed over to the Valley Health Care center to visit with Tyson's Grandpa for a few minutes. (He was doing OK Keith, he was kinda tired from the exercises when we showed up. I will pass along more info when I get back in town) . After watching the exercises and listening to Paul the Troubadour entertain, we said goodbye and went a got a sandwich to take to the game. Tucson Electric Park ("TEP" as the locals call it) is another one of the shared parks (DBacks, White Sox) was a much better parking scene than the day before. All 3 of the shared parks are newer and much better setup for parking and in general. You would think that the DiamondBacks would have a nice Spring Training park, what with it being their home state and all... Anyway, it was a nice place, and reminded us of MaryVale. We were pretty tired from the night before, and maybe the Rocks were too - they only had 3 hits and 0 runs through 8 innings, 2 of which came from catcher Yorvit. The other hit came from Sullivan - meaning that the rest of the unknown players added up to exactly 1 hit. Needless to say, the Rocks lost 4-1. Tiny is now 3-3, and struggling to make the team... Next Up: we are in for a Surprise: Angels at Royals. Since these same 2 teams played yesterday and the Royals won, the Angels will even the score today - Go Halos!

Tu-scon We Go (4th Inning)

We got off to a later start on Tuesday, that put us into rush mode on our way down to Tucson. Still, we were able to see some great desert scenery on the route we took. The SH 85 to I-8 to I-10 eastbound route takes you through a state park, which is as "Arizona" as you will ever get.
Traffic was not too bad until we got on I-10 on the outskirts of town. A big 3-year road widening project is underway, and needless to say it was a mess. When we got to Hi Corbett, we found zero parking and had to go over to Home Depot to catch a bus. Reminded us both of the RTD to Coors field method that many of us know so well. Hi Corbett field, Spring Training home of the Rockies, is the oldest of the 9 parks down here, and it showed. While aged and not as nice as the others, it still had a charm to it and fits right into the surrounding area of Tucson. It is part of a greater recreation area, and you could hear other games and activities going on all over. We got to see the some Rockies players up close, and we watched Jeff Francis thank the heavens when the Mariners pitcher threw a wild pickoff attempt that allowed the tying run to score, getting him off the hook for the loss. The other 3 highlights were 1) watching Tulo and Holliday racing on the warning track. Tulo kept winning, even after spotting Matt 2 steps - pretty funny. 2) Matt playing with his Son (see the great photo by Rick with the ball in midair, and 3) Helton taking extra BP after a poor outing on the day. He hit into a Double Play and struck out, and was not happy about it. Rox did win the game 4-1 on the strength of an Ian Stewart HR that we saw sail over the RF fence. After a few minutes in the Team Store spending some cash getting some cool gear, it was back to the bus to the car and onto find the La Quinta for the night. All in all a great day!

Sweet Home Peoria (Bottom 3rd Inning)

After hanging out at Maryvale as long as we could after the first game (to avoid the traffic mess), we got our bearings and mapped a route up north to the Peoria Sports complex where the Padres and Mariners play. We made good time so we decided to kill the time at Famous Dave's BBQ right across the street. That's right - within walking distance - which was not possible at Maryvale. Seeing a night game was a great, especially during such a nice evening. The ballpark was very nice, probably the best yet. We will be back here Friday so we will pass along a few highlights of this place. The most memorable events from this game were the foul ball follies. In two cases, a ball bounced around and avoided the mad rush of kids and some grown men to end up rolling right up to a woman just sitting in her seat. The second time, this Girl was busy texting on her phone and the ball rolled right up to her. She picked it up and through it to the nearest person, so she could get back to her conversation. She did not even care! Rangers won the game with some timely hits and took advantage of a struggling Trevor Hoffman, the alltime MLB save leader. Next up, Rocks at White Sox in Tucson. The Rox are gonna win again!

M-M-M-ilwaukee in M-M-M-aryvale (Top 3rd Inning)

After crashing for the night at the Taylor's in the northern Phoenix area (thanks Shauna & Jim!), we hauled it down the 101 in search of the Spring Training home of the Brewers. What we quickly found out was that the Traffic to and Parking at the Stadium was pretty bad. A lot of stop and go gridlock, in not the best part of town. Maryvale came across as pretty bland from outside, but once we got inside it was a really nice place. Plenty of grass areas in the outfield to watch the game or for the kids to play. We spent a good 4 innings watching while leaning up against the concrete wall in left field, in between the Scoreboard and the first tree to the left of it. One thing we noticed right off is that the Brewers organization went above and beyond to add value to the fan experience than the 2 prior venues we visited. They had sing-alongs, T-shirt tosses, and the famous Sausage race that they do in Milwaukee all season (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sausage_Race). After the race, the Polish, Chorizo, Italian, Brat and Hot Dog signed autographs, and we were lucky to get them all to sign (Ty is holding it up in the photo). Finally, we got see the Cubs fans cry in their beer for the 2nd time in 3 days, as they blew a lead again and lost 6-4. Oh yeah, the Hot Dog won! We got a photo with the 2007 Racing Sausage series champ!

RoadTrip Day! (Pitching Change)

We are running behind today, as we have to push it to make it down to Tucson (from Buckeye) by 1:00 PM to see the Rockies try to defend the home turf. We will post a recap of the games to date sometime this evening. You are all going to have to wait until later to see who one the Sausage race! Tiny calls the Rox to win by 3 runs.

SRO In Scottsdale (2nd Inning)

After pulling off a brilliant evasive traffic maneuver to avoid the I-1o construction traffic gridlock, we were ready to take on the next challenge of trying to find parking in downtown Scottsdale. The world famous Scottsdale Art Fair was going on this weekend, so it figured not to be easy. After a couple of circles around Scottsdale Stadium, we found $5 parking a Church, and jumped on it. We then walked over to the Stadium to join in a mass of 11,000+ strong. Check out the photos of the outfield grass seating - standing room only! We could see why so many showed up, it was a great day in a very nice ballpark. The Rockies started only 3 regulars, and still beat the Giants 10-2. In a crazy play, Torrealba got thrown out at the plate by a wild pitch that came back from the backstop right to the pitcher. You don't see that everyday. We tried to snap the scoreboard, but were not fast enough to get it all - notice that the Rockies linescore is gone! Darn Giants sore losers! It should be 000 251 020 10 9 0 (I think). Finally, in probably the funniest thing we have seen so far, look at the picture of the bleacher seat. Is it a 11 or a 12? We can see it now: "Excuse me, but I think you are in my seat" "No, I think you are in mine!" Ha Ha. Next Up: Twinbill #1. We are getting ready to head down the 101 to Maryvale and check out the racing sausages of the Brewers. Then it will be over to Peoria tonight for the Rangers/Padres. Tiny calls the Cubbies to beat the Brew Crew, and the Pads to down the Rangers.

Play Ball! (1st Inning)

After a quick flight down from Denver, we grabbed a rental car and jetted right over to Phoenix Muni, thanks to perfect directions from a very nice helpful lady at Alamo. Pulling up to the ballpark, we were surprised to see a bunch of Cubbies fans with their flags flying high tailgating - although they really should not have been. The Cubs have a solid and loyal following, expect to see a strong contingent of Chicago blue anytime they play anywhere. Phoenix Muni was a very cool park with a long history, which is told by inscriptions in concrete lining the concourse. Cubbies fans were cheering loud and proud as their team jumped out to a 4-0 lead. But the A's battled back to tie it late in the game. Then the Cubs let it slip away in the bottom of the 9th by loading the bases and then giving up the winning single. After the game, the Cubs fans were still at it in the parking lot, and from what I could tell a mini-keg of Heineken was involved. One last thing about the Cubs. You know how Wrigley field is known for it's ivy? It is good but it has nothing on this Ivy covered post under the stadium we saw! On Deck: Rockies at Giants in Scottsdale. T-Ball looks to keep the streak going: Rocks 10, Gnats 6. GO ROCKIES!

Prepare for Takeoff! (Take the Field Boys!)

T-minus a few hours till we go. I just had to post this pooch-of-a-plane. What a great excuse to be able to!

Getting Ready Time... (WarmUps and Batting Practice)

Ok, so the time is growing short to prepare for this trip, and we are both pretty much ready to go....or so we think. Getting up a 4 AM is not going to be our favorite thing to do. We touchdown in Phoenix at 10:30, and plan on making a mad dash over to Phoenix Muni to catch the first game, the Cubs (ss) at the A's. at 1 PM. Lucky for us that the Ballpark is very close to Sky Harbor (and the Phoenix Zoo too!). T-ball Tiny is picking the A's to win in a blowout. I mean how much of a fight can a team put up with only a split squad (games when one team is scheduled for two games in one day, so the team splits into two squads and each squad plays in each of the games)? This is the first of 2 split-squad teams we will see. We tried to avoid seeing split-squad games - we want to see the whole team! Splits are for Bananas anyway!

So why do you guys do what you do? (Donning the Uni in the Locker Room)

Q: So why drive all over the desert for 9 days in the first place? Taking in 11 games? I mean come on - why so much! A: Why not! Baseball is the only major team sport (and even minor team sport that I can think of) where they play pretty much every day. So that is what we are going to do - go see a game everyday for 9 straight, which is what real ball players routinely do. Only they actually play ha ha. So now you may ask again: but... WHY! A: Well we guess we have 9 days (innings) to try and answer that question! Let's see at the end if you can understand why we do what we do... In the meantime, here is a quote for thought...

"You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the gosh darn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all" ~Earl Weaver