The Los Angeles Dodgers are in Arizona. There's no surer sign that the Cactus League experiment --- which began in 1946 with the arrival of the Cleveland Indians in Tucson --- is catching on than the arrival of the Dodgers. When you though of spring training in Florida, you thought of Dodgertown. The Dodgers left Brooklyn in 1958. They stayed in Vero Beach for fifty-one more years. But as of last year, in March the former Bums put on their legendary white uniforms at the Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.
Today I watched the Dodgers take on the defending American League champs, the Texas Rangers. I considered waiting until the third inning to show up to get the authentic LA experience, but thought better of it. My punctuality paid off as I got to see Tommy Lasorda holding court in front of the Dodgers' dugout while the players did their pregame stretching. One enthusiastic fan yelled out, "Hey Tommy, who's pitching today?" Lasorda shot back, "You are!" "No, I can't," the fan replied, "I'm playing third base."
It's true what they say about Lasorda, best comedy straight man in the business.
I rounded out my Dodgers experience by enjoying a pair of footlong Dodger Dogs. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear Vin Scully extol the virtues of Farmer John while partaking in the ballpark classic. And, while I was tempted to leave early, I stayed until the last pitch to hear Randy Newman's "I love LA" after the Dodgers beat the Rangers, 7-6.
In many ways, the Dodgers' move from Florida to Arizona makes a lot of sense. Obviously, they're a lot closer to their home base in California. Now that the Diamondbacks and the Rockies moved here from Tucson, all the Cactus League teams are in the Phoenix metro area. In Florida the teams are spread out all over the state. And if you've ever driven to Miami, you know that it's not a small state.
The Camelback Ranch facility, which Los Angeles shares with the Chicago White Sox, is in Glendale, on the far west side of Phoenix. The Salt River Fields at Talking Stick complex is on the far east side of the city. It's close to the longest distance between stadiums in the Cactus League. But driving from the day game at Camelback to tonight's D'Backs game took less than an hour in rush hour traffic. In Florida that's about the time it takes to get between the stadiums that are the closest together.
And the final advantage Arizona has over Florida that I'm going to mention: Very few rain delays out here. I've sat through some real downpours in March in Florida.
But it ain't Dodgertown.
Odd note of the day, number one: The same saxophone trio played The Star Spangled Banner at both games I went to today. I wouldn't be surprised if they somehow made it to the Silver Hawks' National Anthem try-outs in between.
In tonight's Diamondbacks game the ball was really flying out of the park. The Diamondbacks and the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants combined for five home runs. In the bottom of the first inning Chris Young led off Arizona's offensive efforts with a home run to center field. Two batters later, Justin Upton (SB '06) sent the ball to the right field stands. An opposite field home run, which some in the press box thought might broken his bat in the process. In the bottom of the eighth, Gerardo Parra (SB '07) sent a shot straight into the right field stands, to tie the game. Unfortunately for the home team, the Giants put another run on the board in the top of the eighth, on their way to a 5-4 victory.
Last night my dinner was at Scottsdale's classic steakhouse, the Pink Pony. The Pony is definitely old school. The first course is an iceberg lettuce wedge with blue cheese dressing. My New York Strip was perfectly pink in the middle and bursting with flavor.
Odd note of the day, number two: I saw my first Brian Wilson tribute beard at the other end of Pink Pony's bar. A Giants fan --- well, I'm guessing he's a Giants fan from his Giants t-shirt and Giants cap --- was sporting a dyed-black full beard in the style of the enigmatic San Francisco closer. The bartender assured me that it was not the pitcher himself, and that this was not his first Brian Wilson beard customer this spring. So far, I have not seen anyone dressed as The Machine. Thankfully.
I had the Seven Dollar Buffet for dinner in the media dinning room. I briefly considered heading out after tonight's game for a second dinner at one of the Mexican places I've heard a lot of good things about. However, I've got a flight tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. Which means I should get to the airport between 5:30 and 6 a.m. And it's a 45 minute drive from the hotel to the airport. Just writing that makes me sleepy! I'm headed back to the hotel to hastily pack my bag and then right to bed.
Odd note of the day, number three: Here's a tweet that you might find amusing, from one of the working media a couple of spots down from me in the press box: http://twitter.com/#!/Kyndra620/status/47844487153717248. The picture definitely shows my good side. That's the back of my head. And, for the record, the ball that came into the press box, and then bounced back into the stadium after those guys failed to field it, was no where near me. I never had a chance at it, despite what you may read on the internet.
I was grabbing my laptop and moving out of the way as fast as I could. If Owen's not buying my $7 lunch, he's definitely not buying me a new computer. (Owen's Note: You got that right!)
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