A bit of controversy at the start of Spring Training this year as four teams, the White Sox, Dodgers, Reds and Angels, all sat out the annual Cactus League Kickoff Breakfast in large part because it was hosted by the Cubs. The Cubs, you see, are trying to squeeze the city of Mesa for a new Spring Stadium and are demanding public funding or else they’ll consider a move to Florida.

Those teams (with the exception of the Angels who have been in the Valley for years) are all new to the Cactus League and are demonstrating their distaste with their being forced to contribute money to a rival team/business to stay in Arizona.  I’m sure any or all of those 4 teams would be perfectly happy if the Cubs left the Cactus League and yet here they are, being asked to contribute to their staying put.

“In a nutshell, we continue to feel it’s fundamentally wrong to implement a tax on loyal baseball fans,” Angels spokesman Tim Mead said, acknowledging that his team stayed away for that reason. “We just fundamentally disagree.”

Josh Rawitch, the Dodgers vice president of communications, released a similar statement by e-mail.

“The Dodgers and White Sox simply feel it is wrong to ask fans coming to Camelback Ranch to pay for another team’s new stadium with a surcharge on their tickets,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »

Since Spring Training starts tomorrow I thought I would continue the trend of providing sage advice to all of you potential travelers by letting you know the ins and outs of your favorite team’s Spring Practice Facility.  You’re welcome.

The Peoria Sports Complex, like most of the new Spring Training facilities in the Cactus League, was built with the travelling consumer in mind. Unlike Scottsdale Stadium, Tempe Diablo or Phoenix Muni, Peoria Sports Complex and the later fields is surrounded by chain restaurants, hotels, big box shopping and everything else that makes travelling white people really comfortable. I had driven by the stadium before while looking for lunch one afternoon and noticed how very very very very very commercial the area was.  In fact, I tried to hunt down something a bit more Arizona-y for you but to do that you have to travel at least two miles in either direction and there are enough drunk drivers on the streets of Phoenix and I’d prefer not to add your stupid ass to the list of idiots who ended up in Tent City because you were too dumb to stay near your drinking hole.

I’ve never been inside this particular stadium because it houses the Padres and the Mariners and who really gives a shit about those two piles of puke amirite?

I have been to the fields outside the actual stadium and watched the team practice and I can say that the whole place looks pretty damn pristine.  If you don’t like dirt or character than this place sounds awesome.  It’s sort of like Maryvale’s Stadium except not in the middle of a shitty neighborhood.

Where to eat: Read the rest of this entry »

Nice write up about the sudden balance of power between the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues over at Fanhouse this week which only has me more excited for baseball to start (which I imagine might have been the point).

For the first time in forever, Florida and Arizona share an equal portion of the Spring Training duties with each state housing 15 teams.  This is awesome for mooks like me because now I get to see even more teams than I normally would.  For the most part I try to spend as much time catching AL teams as possible during March since Phoenix is a NL town the rest of the year

Since last year’s Spring Training Site Preview was a success (or at least we got a lot of positive feedback from it) I’m going to continue that tradition this year by visiting the new parks on the edge of Phoenix.  I’ll even take requests if anyone is visiting from out of town and needs some advice on where to stay, eat, or drink.  For now I plan on visiting: Read the rest of this entry »

In a shocking and unbelievable turn of events, Luis Castillo has 4 RBIS and is 2-3 in an Exhibition Game. Really. Settle down. I know. This is a tough pill to swallow. I, for one, welcome Satan as our new overlord. Is it possible that the pile of crap who is manning second base for the Mets is not a total pile of crap? I mean he has a fucking double. Batting lefty. I was under the impression he couldn’t hit the ball farther than 150 feet left handed. This may lead to suspicion that he may be doing something to enhance his performance. If he is, I am all for it. You go get ‘em Luis! I will get Yuri on the phone to get you some more Boli.

Today, they start playing games in Florida and Arizona. Spring Training has been underway for a week and a half and now it is time to get some reps in against some competition. To be honest, I enjoy Spring Training games in limited doses. I love checking out young players and seeing some of my guys get some reps in but it is tedious after awhile. The constant lineup changes, the split squad games, the multiple pitching changes and so on. Don’t get me wrong, the fact that they are playing real baseball as opposed to batting practice is that first big step towards the season. I can’t wait for that to start. It is my constant television viewing and my passion. So I look at today as a happy positive. I am waiting to see if Daniel Murphy can be the real deal. If Jon Neise can beat out Freddy Garcia, Livan Hernandez and Tim Redding for the Mets 5th starter spot. To see Tatis walk on water. All of these things and more. I am sure you have similar interests and concerns about your teams and over the next 6 weeks the answers will unfold and more questions will arise. With that here is the schedule of today’s games. If you watch them, enjoy: Read the rest of this entry »

I spent all of last week traveling the vast waste land that is Florida. Besides learning that some of my Dad’s new neighbors hung their American Flags at half mast upon President Obama’s election, my trip an hour south to Tampa was by far my most jarring experience. Since I was stuck on Florida’s West Coast, I was not in easy travel distance to go see my beloved Mets in Port St. Lucie. But I wanted to see a Spring Training camp. I used to visit my Grandpa in Tampa when I was a kid and he used to take me to see the Cardinals and Mets when they set up camp in St. Petersburg. This time around my two choices were the Yankees in Tampa and the Phillies in Clearwater. That was a real Hitler/Stalin right there but my Aunt is a huge Yankee fan and she had never been to Legends Steinbrenner Field so that settled the argument. Plus, I really was in no mood to deal with asshole tourists from Philly. I would rather deal with my own kind. Asshole tourists from New York.  So after the jump is a small pictorial of my trip in to enemy territory.

Read the rest of this entry »

Since Spring Training Games start next weekend and some of you out there are starting to put some serious thought into flying out to the Great State of Arizona for some Cactus League action, I thought I’d do you a solid and help you figure out where to stay and where to eat. Who better to trust than a rabid baseball fan who’s lived in Phoenix for 20+ years?

Today we’re heading East to the land of Mesa where the Chicago Cubs play.  Mesa is a Spanish word that means “oh my god this town is fucking filled to the bleachers with Mormons.”  Is that a bad thing?  Not if you’re just visiting.  [Ed--Can you imagine the outcry if I had written "jews" instead of "mormons?"  I love acceptable discrimination].

The thing about going to see a game at Hohokam Park is this: there a million Cubs fans who live in Phoenix and do nothing but talk about how great Chicago is all day, everyday, to everybody.  They’re all fat and mustachioed and they can’t get enough of their wonderful Midwest paradise despite the fact that they haven’t lived there in 20+ years.  I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: if you love it so much, get the fuck out.  I refuse to go to Hohokam Park out of moral indignation but also because those assholes charge extra for the “premium” games.  As if any game that ever included the losingest losers in the history of loserdom could ever be considered “premium.”  Please, charge me extra to watch the Cubs play the Brewers.  Whoopee, two teams who, despite their extensive tenure in the bigs, have never won a World Series.  Fucking premium alright. Read the rest of this entry »

The baseball is normal size. That's just a gate designed for midgets.

Yesterday, under the guise of getting work done, I snuck down to Scottsdale Stadium to watch the Giants practice.  I got there a little late and there were only a few players still playing catch but I was still able to walk around the stadium a bit in the middle of the day, grab a front row seat, and smell the grass.

It’s always nice to skip out on work in the middle of the day to watch overgrown children throw a ball around.  There’s this whole little kid mentality going on in everyone’s mind as they watch.  Between the hero worship of watching athletes practice (not even play a game, but practice a game they won’t even play for real for another month and a half) to sneaking around on a workday it’s very easy to get caught up in the “magic” of spring training.  I half expected my dad to tap me on the shoulder and say, “young man, what do you think you’re doing?”  And then I remembered that I’m becoming an old man and no one gets to boss me around anymore (except my wife–let’s not kid ourselves).

Because there really is a strange feeling you experience when you walk into an empty stadium and grab a seat you didn’t pay for and watch other people play catch.  It’s like you’re spying on a secret game plan or something.  “Now Randy, when I throw you the ball, hide it in your glove and pretend to throw it back.  Only don’t throw it back, tuck it into your pocket.”  I almost felt like jumping onto the field after all the players left and taking a lap around the bases.  I almost forgot that they’d probably arrest an asshole like me for doing that whereas a little kid would probably get a bunch of smiles and autographs. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s spring, and all is right with the world.

And what the hell Jordans is he wearing?!?! (unzips pants on the way to restroom)

Update: Read the rest of this entry »

Tempe Diablo Stadium

Since pitchers and catchers report today, some of you out there are starting to put some serious thought into flying out to the Great State of Arizona for some Cactus League action, I thought I’d do you a solid and help you figure out where to stay and where to eat. Who better to trust than a rabid baseball fan who’s lived in Phoenix for 20+ years?

I decided to combine these two teams because the stadiums are close enough together that you’re going to want to stay in one place: Tempe.  The Holy Grail when it comes to Spring Training because ASU is in session and the weather is warming up.  And you know what that means, right?  Am I right?  Do I need to spell it out for you?  Really?

Tempe is a great place to be in the Spring.  Lots of day drinking along Mill Ave and University.  Lots of foot traffic.  Lots of joggers.  Lots of everything people enjoy doing when the weather is great.  [Quick aside on day drinking: I wrote my Thesis on a bottle of rum per day and I'll be damned if anyone's gonna try to tell me you can't cram for a test on the proper declensions of irregular Greek words while drunk.  Anyone want to hear me recite the first 10 lines of The Iliad?  Put a ton of booze in me and you just might.]

I haven’t been to Tempe Diablo since they renovated it two years ago, but I’ve heard it’s great.  It’s right up against a mountain so it’s got the scenic/desert feel that some of the other parks around town are lacking.  I’ve already got tickets for when the Angels play the Indians on March 10th so I’ll take some pictures and post them for those of you who are curious.

Phoenix Municipal is another story.  We went there all the time when I was a kid and it was a real dump but I loved it.  They used to have uncomfortable bleachers and lousy concessions but they have since sunk another $8M into it so as to avoid the redheaded-stepchild tag of Cactus League ballparks.  But don’t worry, it hasn’t lost it’s old-timey charm.  Catch a game here, you won’t be disappointed.  My boss, who’s an Angels fan, decided we should have a meeting during the Angels/A’s game on March 9th and I’m not one to disappoint.  Who wants an autograph?

Where to Eat (warning: all of these will be close to campus): Read the rest of this entry »