Dunstan, Schierholtz, Aurilia, Zito + a Brian Wilson sighting!

Tough decision today. The Brewers were playing the Rockies at Maryvale (a stadium that we really like) and the Giants were nearby in Goodyear playing the Reds. Which to choose? Neither--we decided to go back to Scottsdale Stadium, the best free entertainment in town.

The gates were already open at 10am. We found out that the players get there at 7am--yikes!There was a cameraman from CSN filming the action.

I spoke to Shawon Dunstan several times as he schmoozed with fans along the railing. When he signed our bats, he asked if we knew why baseball players signed bats in particular spots. He claimed that they are a superstitious lot and want to sign the ball where the ball should hit. And pitchers want to sign near the handle. He didn't really explain the theory behind that--they want the opposing player to hit the ball on the handle? Or to break the bat? I mentioned as part of a conversation with another fan that Shawon had tossed me a ball during the World Series in 2002. He claimed that it was good luck and the reason that he hit the home run in game six. I concurred, and as he disappeared into the dugout, I told him, "Tell that to everybody else".

I have often held that theory--give me an autograph and you have a great day at the plate. I do have a team photo signed by the 1980 Phillies team during that year's spring training, a spring training program signed by nearly everyone on the 1984 Kansas City Royals, and of course, the Giants and Athletics from each time they were in the World Series 1989 to present. (Hey at least it helps get you there guys; you have the win the Series yourself.)

We weren't at the stadium long before the general practice was over and the bus was getting ready to go.

Meanwhile Matt Cain and Ryan Verdugo were working with Dave Righetti and a select group of hitters, Aaron Rowand, Nate Schierholtz, and some that I didn't recognize. Bruce Bochy was watching closely (though he gave a few autographs to those who tossed him a ball. Tossing my bat didn't seem like such a good idea though). Schierholtz did come over afterward, no doubt to placate the rowdy Danville fans who let him know they were there.

When that was over, we stood out by the bus until it left. We intended to leave too, but there were still a lot of cars in the parking lot, so we figured that there might still be quite a few players remaining inside. Since we saw many of the players leaving the other day, we recognized a few cars and knew that at least Brian Wilson, Matt Cain and Aaron Rowand were still there. Those guys all left without giving any autographs. Once again though, Rich Aurilia (he even gave us photo ops--thanks for posing with my shy friend!) and Barry Zito were gracious. This time Barry did stay in his car while signing and posing for photos. (We still love you Barry and were really glad that you pitched so well in yesterday's game!!)

We saw a number of other random players leave, and there was a sighting of Brian Wilson. He had left at one point (zoom zoom again today) but returned not long afterward. I was pretty crispy from the sunny 80+ degree weather by then though, so my photo from when he was a Norwich NaviGATOR will remain unsigned until another day.

Photoshow recap + Manny's info

Today was a restful day--no baseball at all. But I did have time to make a Photoshow recap of the past few days. It is about 10 minutes long with 180 photos. The link is here:

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/at9cx9PX

And here is the info for Manny's www.mannysmexicanfood.com. Today's paper has the weekly specials--Mondays are 99 cent margaritas, Tuesdays are Dollar Tuesdays, Wednesdays are $6.99 combos, and various specials on Happy Hour Thursdays. They have coupons in the "Midweek" section of the Arizona Republic on Wednesdays for free stuff too. We originally went here because we had a restaurant.com gift certificate; we keep coming back cause we like the food and love the margaritas.

Spring Training Home of the Champs--Scottsdale Stadium

Today we arrived at Scottsdale Stadium at 9:40 and there was already a line to get in. Both the Dugout store and the stadium gates were scheduled to open at 10am. We enjoyed watching the team get ready for the game at Peoria against Seattle. I nearly got hit by a foul ball--I knew I had no shot at catching it, but I called it and with little competition, came up with the practice ball (it is stamped PRACTICE on the sweet spot).

Both Tracy and I took a lot of photos, and I kept running between the stadium, the bus departure area, and the fence near the back field to see who was where. Initially, I met nothing but failure. Pat Burrell signed a few in the stadium; Madison Bumgarner signed through the fence of the back field for two people. Lincecum and Cain wouldn't sign. There was a report that a few players signed as they got on the bus. So I decided to go back into the stadium to just enjoy the practice for the few players that remained and forget about autographs. Andres Torres and Pablo Sandoval were having a home run hitting contest. Pablo hit a long shot, put his arms up in victory--but the ball hit the top of the wall! However he was the winner of the next round when he hit one over the fence.

My husband saw Bill Neukom being interviewed in the walkway and approached him to shake his hand and say "Thank you!" during a pause in the interviewer's questions. Neukom replied, "No--thank YOU for being here!" and asked how long we had be coming down to spring training. He signed my mini-bat, and that started a parade of fans in his direction, now that the ice had been broken!

I started printing out a few photos and fortuitously, practice was over and first Brandon Belt (the hot rookie prospect), Pablo Sandoval, and Andres Torres started signing in the area behind home plate. I was not among the chosen (for the second year in a row) with Pablo, but I told Andres that I had a photo of him and he signed that.

Just about then, J.T. Snow appeared at the other end of the dugout and accommodated everyone--nice! We exited the stadium and joined the throng outside near the player parking lot. Some players ignored us (or worse, used the far exit so they could just zoom out). There were sightings of Pablo (in his shower shoes?), Jonathan Sanchez (on his cell phone) and Brian Wilson (who zoomed out of the lot loudly and at a rather high rate of speed).

But among those who did accommoodate us were Sergio Romo (he upgraded his car since last year, but his music is just as loud!), Felix Romero, Barry Zito (who tried to catch a cab--but somebody else's cab apparently--and thank goodness. It was the only way I was able to catch up with him!), Rich Aurilia (for some reason no one else along the fence recognized him but me--you're welcome guys!), and Jeremy Affeldt.

Once again, I was the only one who called out to him. The conversation went something like this:

Me:"Jeremy!"

Jeremy:"What?"

Me:"Please?"

Jeremy:"Please what?"

Me:"Please will you sign my bat?"

Jeremy:"All right, I'll be back."

Me:"I trust you."

People around me were saying "Yeah, right...", but I knew he would return! He cleaned the cans out of his car and came back over. Me:"You're probably pretty sick of all of us by now" and then he said something about trying to get whatever I could for his signature on eBay. I said "Never!"

So all in all, a very enjoyable day indeed. And thank you all, Giants!

Salt River - Rockies vs. the Dodgers

Today was warm but windy--gusts to 30mph! We had behind-the-plate tickets (section 213 row 3) for the Dodgers at the new facility that the Diamondbacks and the Rockies share at Salt River. We got there waaay too early. The gates were open at 10:30 but neither team took batting practice on the field. The Rockies were in their batting cages, so we went to both Team Stores to shop for a good Spring Training shirt for Tracy. After much debate, here is the winner.

Then I waited in section 101 until nearly 12:30 and not a single Rockies player in sight--not that I would know any of them anyway! Finally someone pointed to some Dodger players arriving and I switched sides. There were a few players signing including Trent Oeltgen, Jamie Hoffman, John Lindsey, and J.D. Closser. Andre Ethier was signing at a different spot, but was burned out by the time he got to the dugout area where I was. Neither Eugenio Velez or Juan Uribe would come over despite our pleas--but Juan did wave. I was able to get the new third base coach Tim Wallach and the new manager Don Mattingly to sign my program. Mattingly will make his managerial debut against --the Giants!

As for the game, it was OK. It was more fun talking baseball to the folks around us (we had switched seats to get into the shade for a while). One was a Padres fan who knew "Sarge" (Gary Matthews); one was a Dodgers fan--but he was pretty OK. In fact, all the Dodger fans I met were nice; some even helped me obtain a couple of the autographs.

The park is beautiful and is touting itself as "fan friendly". The people at all the concessions and in all the other jobs within the park were indeed awesomely friendly. However, from a "schmooze with the players" perspective, it didn't have much to recommend it. There was very little opportunity for interaction, and all the practice fields keep fans well away from their idols. Hello Maryvale! Even Phoenix Muni was more fun on Saturday. No reason to come here more than once. Well, maybe if the Giants are here I could be persuaded...

Post-game we got together with friends who are A's fans (and are seeing a game every day they are here this week). The margaritas at Manny's were 99 cents and a good time was had by all.

Krukow-and all those other baseball players

We got into town very late last night--way later than expected (long story), and got a later start to the ballpark than we usually do. Today it was the Giants at the A's Phoenix Municipal Stadium. As we pulled into our space in their parking lot, following the directions of the parking lot attendants, I said to my husband, "There's Kruk!" parked right next to us. He of course responded with something along the lines of "Yeah, right..."

Krukow walked unmolested through the lot, across the pedestrian bridge and into the park. After we got settled in our seats, I approached him in the press box and he signed my Giants mini bat.

The visitors parking lot/bus arrival area was packing with autograph seekers hours befor game time. I decided to go the path of least resistance and hang out with the A's fans. Just some of the autographs: Ryan Sweeney, Landon Powell, Kurt Suzuki, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Max Stassi (a friend of Giants' Brandon Belt), Gio Gonzalez, and Daric Barton.

The Giants arrived around noon. It has been a long time since I saw that many people seeking autographs and taking photos at a spring training game. I didn't have a chance!! And then, some nice official looking photographer handed my mini bat down to Aaron Rowand. After that, I joined some youngsters who were next to the tunnel leading to the Giants locker room. My bat fit perfectly through the mesh. The only trick was getting them to stop and sign. Most of the guys in today's lineup did not stop to sign, or just signed a for a few and moved on quickly. But Emmanuel Burriss, Darren Ford, Thomas Neal and a few other minor league prospects came over. I desperately wanted Brandon Belt's autograph and he signed for nearly everyone else--he just wouldn't backtrack to where I was, even when a very cute little boy offered to get him to sign a second time by telling him that it was his birthday! The game was fun even though the Giants lost 6-0. It was 78 degrees and there was a sellout crowd of 8,330--the A's had even sold Standing Room tickets! Oh, and the National Anthemn was done by a guitarist a la Jimi Hendrix!