Category: 2008 Spring Training Trip

Good Friday saw us trek to Scottsdale to see the White Sox play the Giants. We tailgated on the library rooftop, grilling out, and drinking frothy drinks from plastic cups, not to mention downing guacamole & pink peeps (cuisine at its best). Found out our rooftop neighbors were jamming to Sublime. I told them thanks for the heads up on their tunes, I slinked away, when they replied, anytime sir, OUCH!

The Sox tied the game by playing small ball when Josh Fields advanced the runner to 3rd by grounding to first, and then Alexi Ramirez knocked the guy in from 3rd with a sac fly. But it wasn’t to be, as SF got a hit off Chicago’s firstbaseman Paul Phillips’ nose. Things continued to unravel as the next Giant batter hit one between Josh Fields and the thirdbase bag for a double. This game felt like last year, hopefully not this year.

Our last game together for fun in the sun would be a crosstown rivalry contest between the northside and southside of Chicago at Hohokam in Mesa.

Before heading in to see the game we picnicked on the grass outside the ball yard, I refuse to call it a stadium. Drank three beers, two waters, a couple of pops, and didn’t have to use the john once.

The Sox jumped out to a 4-0 lead, some fans were highfiving each other on the Palehose victory, till 5 inning Javy (Javier Vazquez) surrendered four runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie it up at four apiece. Juan Uribe turned a an error into two bases through lack of hustle, maybe he didn’t get the memo about being placed on waivers, but then hit a big late inning homer.

Both teams were losing balls in the sun and the game reminded me of a little league game where you don’t want the ball hit to your kid. DonS’ little brother asked a Harley Guy if anybody told him he looked like Yanni? Which was answered with a question, “And Lived?”

When I was leaving the game a vendor commented on how he knew a Chicago team would win this one, I pointed out they didn’t as it ended in an 8-8 tie, he replied sadly – yeah right. Sad to see the Sox play the Cubs and neither team could win this meaningless game.

Our last night together we went to the Library Lounge in downtown Mesa, where I met an old friend whom I’d never known before. He said he hadn’t seen me in awhile, that he’d just moved back, but not where he used to live. I asked if he still frequented our old place where we met three years earlier and told him to tell our friends that I said hi. Someone asked if I recovered the twenty I’d lent him, I thought that might be pushing it from a perfect stranger.

March 20th saw another day/night doubleheader with four out of five of us going to see the first Dodger Cactus League game ever, against the White Sox, while one of us, DonS, ventured back to Tempe Diablo to watch the Angels.

Erick Aybar homered for LA, Guerrero only doubled, and DonS was rolling out the barrels (as a text message would indicate). Three wins in three days by the Halos, would mean a happy Jack in the Box eating man from Davenport, IA.

I was in my same best spot to watch a game from in the entire world as the day before, but there was a different feel as Dodger Blue replaced Oakland Green. My team with Mark Buehrle toeing the rubber was matched up versus Dodger Ace Brad Penny. Rafael Furcal launched a long homer over the leftfield fence off Mark, always thought Furcal buffed up in the Marcus Giles sort o way, not bitter, just saying what I’m seeing.

The Sox revamped bullpen was pounded into submission for seven runs to blow the game wide open, Octavio Dotel surrendered five runs in 1/3 of an inning, wonder if Kenny saw him pitch before signing him? Matt Kemp caught one off the end of the bat, with his weight on the wrong foot, and still knocked it over the centerfield wall, looks like a young Jermaine Dye or Ellis Burks for the Dodgers. And Jerry Owens made a great running catch at the wall to show why he needs to be in centerfield for the Southsiders.

Chase Headley came off the SD bench with a two run shot off Mariner reliever Eric O’Flaherty to add one inning of free baseball to the day. Mike Morse showed why he might not make the M’s depite batting .525 on the spring, he badly misplayed two balls in right, before being mercifully shifted to firstbase. Ichiro might have locked up a roster spot, with three hits, raising his average to .174. Seattle lefty Jake Woods looked sharp in two innings of work.

Paid way too much for a last minute trip to watch some preseason baseball out west with DonS. But as luck would have it, I got bumped to a flight 1 1/2 hours later, so in effect received a free SWA flight to Phoenix. Also met a guy who was going to see the Halos play the Brew Crew at O’Hare and hitched a ride to the ballpark with him. Life is good!

The Lady Shriners were once again working my favorite beer stand at Tempe Diablo. So I tipped them heavily and enjoyed the nector of the gods in the sunshine that is Arizona. Note: Shriners performed many surgeries on me as a child, so anytime I can pay them back, I do.

Vladimir Guerrero & Torii Hunter went yard to center off Jeff Suppan, while Casey Kotchman took Derrick Turnbow over the rightfield fence as LA pasted Milwaukee 11-4.

After the game we caught up with my cousin at Don & Charlie’s in Scottsdale. The food is great, they have over 1,500 signed baseballs there, including one signed by Babe Ruth, and even Ronnie Woo Woo was in the house. A good time was had by all.

Day #2 featured a day/night doubleheader. The first game featured the Angels, once again, this time beating up on the A’s in Phoenix 6-1. Bad Vlad drove in four with another bomb that left the yard. DonS is an Angels fan, can you tell who purchased the tickets?

I found the perfect place to watch a ballgame from, under an umbrella, in back of the concourse (where all the California girls walked by), and leaning on a rail where I could order up brews without moving a muscle. Had Angelo’s frozen gelato before the game, nothing more refreshing on a hot day. There was a blonde cutie promoting the Zoo Brew, a benefit for the Phoenix Zoo, so I had to ask about a band that would be performing there, A Flock of Seagulls. She grabbed her hairbrush like a microphone and began singing the lyrics to I Ran. Too bad I’d be back in Chicago for the big event.

That night in Peoria we saw Seattle beat Arizona 7-4, with Jarrod Washburn picking up the win over Micah Owings, when in truth, neither pitcher was impressive. Justin Upton notched three hits in three at bats, but lost points when he lazily dropped a flyball he should have caught. There was some rumblings about Ichiro only batting .119 on the spring, if that was the only Mariners worry. Oh yeah, that Cuban SS Betancourt got three hits, dunno why he bats last. And O-Dog, Orlando Hudson dressed to impress in the field, turning three hits into outs, in one inning for the Snakes.

The best laid plans of mice & men don’t always go according to plan. Today I was going to watch the Minnesota Twins play the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg. St. Pete’s about 45 minutes south of my hotel, there’s a 60% chance of severe thunderstorms, and I didn’t buy a ticket in advance for today. So I’m going to do something I don’t always do, I’m going to be smart, catch up on things around the hotel, and prepare for my tomorrow flight back to Chicago, brrr.

Just read in today’s USA Today where the Cincinnati Reds signed Corey Patterson & Jerry Hairston, Jr. These two former Cubs join their former Chicago skipper Dusty Baker in the Queen City. For some reason I have a strong feeling the Reds will break their seven losing season streak and actually win the NL Central, despite having Baker at the helm. I was actually thinking of betting on the Reds until I learned Dusty was the team’s manager.

Now it seems even more unlikely that I’ll make this sucker bet. Baker said, he wanted the club to sign either Kenny Lofton or Corey Patterson as a centerfield candidate and leadoff man. Well there’s alot of difference between Lofton & Patterson. Corey has a .298 career OBP, not something you’d want in a leadoff batter. Sparkplug Ryan Freel still seems to have the inside track on the CF job. Adam Dunn is cemented in left, have you ever seen him play the outfield? Junior’s in right, but whether he’ll remain healthy all year is a question that has yet to be answered. My guess would be that the signing of Patterson has more to do with Jay Bruce. Jay will probably start the season in Triple-A and then be called up after the All Star break to replace an injured Griffey.

Everybody knows the Reds have a very good offensive ballclub, the addition of Joey Votto at first, will do nothing but help their already impressive lineup. But pitching seems to be where this year’s Reds have really improved themselves. Aaron Harang & Bronson Arroyo are as strong as anybody’s one/two at the front of their rotation. Josh Fogg brings veteran leadership to the middle of the rotaion. I know the other two spots are slotted for Jeremy Affeldt & Mike Belisle, but Homer Bailey & Edison Volquez are a couple of youngsters who’ve got me excited. Am I starting to talk myself into betting on the Reds?

Adding a closer in Francisco Coco Cordero is a move that needed to be made. Setup men David Weathers, Jared Burton, & Todd Coffey are still there, along with southpaw Mike Stanton. Kent Merker & Scott Sauerbeck are also competing for lefthanded spots in the pen. Then there’s youngster Johnny Cueto, don’t if he’s ready yet, but he has a lively arm, and would be a welcome addition to the bullpen.

What Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde did was nothing compared to the first two big league seasons in the career of Fausto Carmona. Last year Carmona followed up a 1-10, 5.42 ERA, with a sophomore jinx of 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA. Today I went to Dunedin to see which Fausto would take the mound for the Tribe. Luckily for the hometown Jays, it was Rookie Carmona, as Fausto allowed five hits, one walk, and two runs in 1 1/3 innings pitched. I know this was just his first time out, but Cleveland has to be a little concerned because of his all or nothing seasons the past two, especially if these bad performances were to continue.

There was another second year Tribester taking a different path from Carmona, while Fausto hitched his career to a shooting star, Josh Barfield sputtered, and eventually lost his starting secondbase job in Cleveland. The Indians obtained the son of former big league outfielder Jesse Barfield from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Kevin Kouzmanoff. Barfield enjoyed a very good rookie season in southern California batting .280, with 13 homers, 32 doubles, and 21 stolen bases, in 150 games for the Pads. Last year Josh struggled with Cleveland with a .270 OBP, hitting just .243, with only three long balls, 19 doubles, and 14 steals in 130 games, before being replaced in the starting lineup by Asdrubal Cabrera. There were several good rookie secondbasemen to step up to the bigs when Barfield came up. As luck would have it, my Illowa APBA League team needed a secondbaseman. When Howie Kendrick was chosen early in the rookie draft, I decided to grab Josh, so I wouldn’t get stuck with either Dan Uggla or a guy who wasn’t even picked by anyone, Ian Kinsler. Could I please have a mulligan? To rub it in, Barfield went 0-4 today, with a couple of strikeouts, and now it looks like I may drop my highly touted secondbaseman after picking him just one short year ago. I know he has talent, but he looks hopeless out there right now.

I also got to see an old friend from the Arizona Fall League, Trevor Crowe. At 21 years of age while at the University of Arizona, he batted .403 with 15 triples, 25 doubles, to go along with 27 steals, and a .477 OBP, which is what prompted the Indians to select the switch-hitting Crowe with the 14th pick in the 2005 amateur draft. Trevor impressed me when I saw him a couple of years ago at the AFL, then he followed that up hitting just .259 in Double-A, today he lined a single off the pitcher’s glove in four at bats, but was promptly picked off first base.

A couple of Blue Jay players I hadn’t seen until today were Marco Scutaro & Adam Lind. Scutaro will be a utility infielder for Toronto, after filling that role for the A’s in recent years. It was surprising to see the Jays bring in Scutaro, with slick fielding John McDonald around, and little David Eckstein brought in to play SS. Today Marco was on his game, with a single and a double. Adam Lind tripled today, scoring Travis Snider from 1st, it was good to see the powerfully built Snider circle the bases. Today Travis got the call as starting DH, working two walks, lining a base hit, having a liner to left plucked off tall blades of grass by the Indians leftfielder, and then he struckout in his other AB, not a bad afternoon.

Shaun Marcum started for the Jays and looked really good, striking out two, allowing one hit, in two innings. There were also two Toronto relievers who didn’t allow a thing. Jeremy Accardo, ISU Redbird Alum, struckout one in one inning, while Brian Wolfe worked a perfect 1 2/3 innings, striking out one.

There was one other player I was looking forward to seeing, but Beau Mills kind of disappointed, grounding harmlessly to second in his only time up. Mills is a highly touted prospect and the son of former reliever Alan Mills.