Spring Training 2003

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="03cd4c00dduajq.gif"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="95" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 46 WIDTH="91"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="46" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="91" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> To return to my home page, click <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/casaoro" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/casaoro"><U>here</U></A>!</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Spring Training 2003</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Friday"><U>Friday</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Saturday"><U>Saturday</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sunday"><U>Sunday</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Resort"><U>The Resort</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> March 7-10: Actually starting in the oh-dark-thirty morning hours <B>Friday</B>, I flew to Phoenix to experience  Baseball's Western Spring Training, the Cactus League.  Originally planning to make this a group jaunt, conditions arose and I was off to Arizona solo.  I had made arrangements in advance, so I had a wonderful flat at a golf resort timeshare, a rental car, and tickets to 3 games at 3 ballparks.</div> <bR> <div> Carefully timing my flight meant catching Southwest out of San Jose at 7:30 am, with a non-connection in Ontario.  Lots of fellow baseball fans on board, from the South Bay and Orange County.  The plane was so full that the "lap babies" actually had to sit in their parent's laps!  Each leg was an hour, and we were a minute or two late getting into Sky Harbor.  Since I was walk-on, walk-off, I got to the Hertz counter quickly (I  don't know if my Hertz #1 is still good, so I didn't bother) and upgraded twice (once with a coupon) to a bright (radar) red Toyota Corolla coupe, with sun roof and spoiler.</div> <bR> <div> Out of the airport, heading initially west on the Interstate, and then north on a beltway towards the city of Surprise.  Surprise built this ballpark this year for the Rangers and the Royals, and is a superb park.  I was there by 12:30, with game time at 1:05 giving me enough time to wander around.  Critical to any ballpark is scoping out the beer concessions - I don't like the wimpy usual fare, and hunt down something amber, if possible.  Surprise had two ambers, giving me the chance to try both during the game.  I had a chance to speak with the seating staff, who were volunteer seniors, all making everyone very welcome. <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Friday"><U>(See photos from Surprise Stadium.)</U></A></div> <div> <IMG SRC="0d22c8f0.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="143" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Hosting the Oakland Athletics (the team I root for) were the Texas Rangers, in a split squad format.  This means that more players have an opportunity to play, as the 40-man squad is split into two teams and plays in different ballparks. The game stayed close until the bottom of the eighth, when the A's closer, Ricardo Rincon, gave up the first home run of the game to tie it at 3 apiece. He then proceeded to give up home runs to the next two Ranger batters, a back-to-back-to-back scenario which is quite unusual.  All in all, it was a good game, I had a great seat on  the A's side (third base) and felt good about seeing baseball again!</div> <bR> <div> The trip back into Phoenix was slow initially - there is construction on Highway 60 and it was rush hour.  However, when I got on the loop (101) and the Interstate (10), I was getting blown off the road despite my sitting about 2-3</div> <div> miles per hour over the speed limit.  My Mapquest directions were accurate, and I got to the <A HREF="http://www.legacygolfresort.com/legacy/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.legacygolfresort.com/legacy/"><U>Legacy Golf Resort</U></A>, down near South Mountain, before dark, and got checked into a very pleasant one bedroom suite.  I entered the suite through a foyer, and walked beside the kitchen into the living room with two lounging chairs and a couch, and a 50-inch TV.  The kitchen was fully equipped with pots and pans, and had an up-to-date range, oven, microwave for cooking.  The sink and dishwasher were in the center island, which was also a bar counter.  The refrigerator had an icemaker.  Nice stoneware for 6, with real wine glasses, tumblers, etc.  The bedroom, off the dining area (which had a sliding door out to a patio facing the mountain and parking) had a king size bed, a 36" TV and opened on to a counter with two sinks and a jacuzzi tub.  The shower and commode were to the right, behind a door, and one could walk out to the foyer from a door on the other side. <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Resort"><U>(Pictures at the resort and of the suite.)</U></A></div> <bR> <div> I called my friend Linda immediately.  I know Linda from my American Express days in New York City.  We chatted for about half an hour, and set up a meeting for breakfast the following day.  She advised me to plan on visiting the Trader Joe's in Scottsdale after breakfast for provisions, and I figured I'd head there to get dinner and breakfast fixings.   Checking with the front desk, the TJ's in Tempe was closer, so I headed there and stocked up on pasta, sausage, tangerine juice, peanuts (for the ballgame), bread, cheese, wine and trail mix.</div> <bR> <div> On my return I fixed the angel hair pasta (flavored with roasted garlic and sundried tomatoes) as I sautéed the Italian chicken sausage.  Swilling down a few glasses of "2-buck Chuck" which costs $3 in Arizona, and nibbling on cheese and bread, I unpacked and organized for the next two days.  Dinner was yummy, I was full, and finishing my glass of cabernet, I realized I was tired so took a shower and went to sleep.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Saturday </B>morning was brilliantly sunny, warm.  Perfect for baseball!  I headed north across the Salt River to my rendezvous with Linda, arriving early and getting a table at the Original Pancake House in easy view of the front door.</div> <div> Linda was right on time, and we began to catch up on one another. (We correspond regularly by eMail, but we hadn't seen one another since I left NYC in November 1988.  In fact, Linda and I went to a cabaret featuring Barbara Cook as one of my last outings before coming to California.)  Big breakfasts, delicious, and time flew by.  I had forgotten  reading material, and had lots of time before the game, so went back to collect a New Yorker before heading to Phoenix Municipal Stadium.</div> <bR> <div> This is the home stadium for the Oakland A's for spring ball.  I parked across the roadway, and walked up a spiraling ramp, across a pedestrian bridge and down another ramp to the ballpark entrance.  I was an hour early, and the A's were taking batting practice before their game with the Angels.  Lots of fans trying to get autographs (like the day before) and the red shirts of the World Champs were lined up on the third base side, signing away.  Apparently Angel management requires that each player spend 10 minutes giving autographs - a practice that should probably be league-wide.  Again I scoped out the beer offerings (most interesting, there was no Budweiser, which is the MLB beer sponsor!) and got a Shiner to go with my bag of peanuts.  I was over behind the dugout, with a lot of other A's fans, to see the AL Cy Young pitcher (Barry Zito) and the AL MVP (Miguel Tejada) as well as most of the team I'd watched last season play great ball.  The lead went back and forth with a run or so each until after singing "Take me out to the ballgame".  Then the A's broke it open with a 9-run seventh inning, including a grand slam (and ending with 3 men left on base!)  Sure went home feeling terrific.  <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Saturday"><U>(See pictures from Phoenix Municipal Stadium.)</U></A></div> <bR> <div> Again, I waited in the stadium, checking out souvenirs and the like, and then headed over to the parking lot.  With 10 thousand in attendance, it emptied out quickly, and I headed back to the resort, and made another run to TJ's, as I was low on wine and needed another bag of peanuts.  I also picked up a salad.  I got back to the suite, read for a bit on the patio until it got too dark, and then checked out TV which was uninteresting (and the reception wasn't good,  but then I'm not sure I was working it correctly,) so I read and sipped wine while nibbling on cheddar and gorgonzola with bread.  Not hungry, I skipped a "real meal."  I hit the sheets after a shower, but stayed up a bit later that night.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Sunday</B> - another gorgeous day!  Temperatures were projected to go into the 80's, but I wasn't hanging out in Phoenix.  I was out of the resort about 8:30 on my way to Tucson - a 115 mile ride south.  The Interstate is fairly straight, rather flat and the countryside you pass through (at the 75 mph speed limit) is not that varied.  The hills/mountains in the distance get closer, and then you pass them and on to the next view of the horizon.  I stayed in the right lane at the speed limit most of the way, although I didn't figure out how to activate the cruise control, unfortunately.</div> <bR> <div> I was in south Tucson by 11, and the gates didn't open until 11:30.  As I'd had juice before leaving, and sucked down a bottle of water on the ride down, my first stop was the facilities, and then I walked around Edison Field.  Two options for acceptable beer, charming ushers, a recommendation for which stand to get lunch at, and a circuit past the big green wall in midfield.  The A's were taking batting practice prior to their game with the White Sox.  I got a chicken burrito and went to my seat.</div> <bR> <div> I walked down the wrong aisle, arriving at the dugout and wondering where my row was - I was over a bit to the right  on the first base line, sitting in the 4 seats in the 4 rows alongside the ChiSox dugout.  Many fans, particularly</div> <div> youngsters, were hanging out asking every player in uniform, plus a coach or two, for an autograph on their ball.  I had great fans to sit with, and we adults chatted as the younger ones jockeyed for a memory.  This was another</div> <div> split squad match, with half the A's team remaining in Phoenix, while the ChiSox would be playing later in the evening.  Another close match, until the sixth, when the A's jumped ahead with another grand slam.  Got to say, I saw some great offense! <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sunday"><U>(See pictures from Tuscon Electric Field.)</U></A></div> <bR> <div> After the game, as I had done at the other two parks, I hung around, and the guys sitting in front of me gave me a game ball - their son had collected 7 in the course of the day, and wanted to send me home with a souvenir.  I went into the souvenir shop and picked up a "hat pin" for the park, commemorating Cactus League 2003 ball to put with my other similar pins collected earlier that weekend, and got back into the car.  Back onto the freeway, and raced north, getting to Tempe/Phoenix before sundown.</div> <bR> <div> I'd remembered to bring my gym card, and packed gear, so I found the 24 hour Fitness "Sport" facility down the road from the resort.  I went in and made sure I could use the facilities - talk about an impressive spot.  Lots of space in</div> <div> the locker room, a 25-yard lap pool.  The sauna and steam room were both 10x14 feet and temperature was kept constant.  There was a 15-person hot tub.  The showers had privacy panels.  And that was just on the first floor!  Upstairs (after changing) were areas for free weights, nautilus, aerobic equipment, a large room for classes, and an area specifically set aside for warm up/down stretching.  Lots of equipment, but not spaced so tightly that maneuvering would be a problem.  As it was Sunday evening, the place was fairly empty, but I got my workout in and then used the steam room and pool before showering and heading back to the resort, filling up the tank with gas on my way back.</div> <bR> <div> Back "home", I prepared dinner and began organizing for my departure the following morning.  I had the rest of the pasta and sausage, and half the salad, finishing up the blue cheese and wine and taking the remains of the salad,</div> <div> cheddar and trail mix with me for the ride home.  I ran the jacuzzi, filling it quickly with too much hot water, so I had to put some cold water in. I added bath salts I'd brought, plus the shower gel, which created too many soap bubbles, so I just soaked in the tub for 30 minutes without running the jets.</div> <bR> <div> Up <B>Monday </B>morning, I finished off the tangerine juice, finished packing, and checked out, with only a 50-cent charge for my one phone call.  Got to Hertz, turned in the car, into the airport where the check-in at the Southwest counter</div> <div> was backed up, so I used the kiosk.  Then upstairs to security - that took 30-40 minutes.  I had to remove my shoes and they needed to look into my bag's end compartment.  Was able to be among the first half dozen to board, so I was off the plane in San Jose and on my way to long term parking to retrieve my car quickly.  Home by 2, so I was able to prepare a bit before heading off to my first client of the week.</div> <bR> <div> While in Phoenix I took 3 rolls of film, all at the ballparks.  And I used the digital camera to take some 120+ shots, including some of the resort.  This web site includes mainly digital shots, but I've added several "real" (aka film) shots too, at the end of each page.  I thoroughly enjoyed my trip, and will plan on going back to Phoenix next spring.  Might tack on an extra day, and will look at the schedule to see if I could make a twilight game too.  If you're interested in maybe going when I go, let me know and we can plot and scheme!</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>