Stretch Time! - Chase Field

Another Sunday game means another round of singing "God Bless America." Instead of having a soloist perform like we saw at Oakland, the Diamondbacks' organist accompanied the fans as patriotic images flashed across the big screen. Then it was time again for "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," the sixteenth time we've sung it this trip. It was fun to see the organist interact with fans as he started up the familiar tune.

Today was the fourteenth birthday celebration of D. Baxter the Bobcat, which meant that all the mascots from other teams and colleges in the area were there to celebrate with him and the fans. After the first two songs of the stretch were over, the mascots led the crowd in the chicken dance, accompanied by a recording. Watching a giant gorilla, cardinal, sundevil, snake, and more was definitely a highlight of the non-baseball aspects of the experience at Chase Field.

Reds Shutout Diamondbacks

Diamondbacks vs Reds 

The Diamondbacks hosted the Cincinnati Reds for game three of their series on Saturday night at Chase Field. The Reds starting pitcher Johnny Cueto, currently in line for the Cy Young award, who threw 106 pitches in his 7 1/3 innings. He racked up seven strikeouts and lowered his ERA from 1.83 to 1.68. Now Cueto is tied for the best ERA in the majors with Jeff Samardzija for the Cubs. The Diamondbacks had Brandon McCarthy on the hill to start. McCarthy threw 4 1/3 innings, and while he struck out four batters he gave up all of the Reds five runs of the game.  

The game was scoreless until the top of the fourth when Phillips batted in Hamilton who had reached base on a single. Phillips was followed by Schumaker, and Phillips to end up the fourth. Hamilton and Shchumaker scored again in the top of the fifth. For at least six games the Reds were not able to bring in even three runs which led them to be in last place for runs scored in the major leagues. They brought in their five runs with eleven hits for the night. 

The Diamondbacks struggled at the plate with only getting on base with six hits and two walks. The Diamondbacks were shutout, leaving 16 men on base. The Diamondbacks might have faced their biggest loss of the night when their center fielder A.J. Pollock was up to bat in the eighth inning. After a one and one count Pollock took a 92 mph fastball delivered by Cueto to his hand. This play was under review by the umpires and the initial call of him being out was over turned and it was ruled that he was hit by the pitch. He was not returned to the game and after the coach released that he was added to the disabled list. Being on the DL is major loss to the Diamondback line up for Pollock was leading the team in on base percentage, stolen bases, and batting average. This was Cueto's 106th pitch of the game and was his last of the night when he was relieved by Manny Parra. The rest of the game was scoreless and the Reds won 5-0. 

Photos from the Dodgers v. Reds and Pirates

Photos by Rachel!
...

...

Dodgers Stadium: Round Three

Our class had originally planned a tour of the scenic Grand Canyon for one of our travel days on the trip. We made the executive decision to forego the detour to the Grand Canyon due to the amount of time it would add to our travels, so we found ourselves staying at the Saga Motel in Pasadena, CA for an extra night. Originally our plans were to lay low for the day, get some reading and writing done and maybe spend some time relaxing at the pool. However, at breakfast this morning we decided that there really was only one suitable option. If we have the time, why not take in another baseball game? So that's exactly what we did! We were headed to Dodger Stadium to see the Dodgers take on the Pirates in another evening game.

Our class met earlier in the day and we searched StubHub to find tickets for the game. We found an awesome deal on seats on the 1st base line! This would be our longest stand at a single stadium on the trip, tonight's game was our third game at Dodger Stadium. We sat in very different places at each game; I love seeing all the different perspectives of a stadium, but these seats were my favorite by far!

There was a few things we noticed about L.A. 1) Fans are highly elite... I'm talking high heels and nice dresses for a baseball game! 2) People don't show up for the game until the 2nd or 3rd inning and head out around the 8th inning, leaving the stands nearly empty for 1/3 of the game. 3) There's high security at these games, policemen are at every corner (we decided the increase in security is likely due to the high profile fan base that the stadium sees). 4) Dodger stadium utilizes celebrities in almost all of their advertising. We saw stars like Hilary Duff, Lupe Fiasco, and many others featured in the fan civility video played at the beginning of every game. Spending three consecutive days at one stadium allowed us to pick up on a lot of these details that we haven't been able to observe at the other ballparks.

Tonight's game was a low-scoring game. Josh Beckett was pitching for the Dodgers, his first game pitching since he pitched a shutout in Philadelphia on the 25th. Unfortunately, we did not get to see Beckett make history with two consecutive shutouts; he gave up the first hit of the game in the top of the second to Russell Martin. In the top of the third, Pirates scored on a single by Neil Walker. The fourth inning produced another run for the Pirates when Ike Davis hit the only home run of the game, Pirates lead the Dodgers 2-0. In total, the Dodgers had 7 hits, but they just couldn't seem to turn them into anything substantial. Francisco Liriano was pitching for the Pirates and did a good job keeping the Dodgers at bay. L.A. came back to finalize the score 2-1 in the bottom of the 8th when Hanley Ramirez singled, allowing Chone Figgins to score.

Despite their best efforts, the Dodgers ended up falling short to the Pirates. Even with seeing two consecutive loses for the Dodgers, we all had a great time! The game even concluded with a fireworks show set to a 'California-themed' playlist, a perfect ending to our California tour! I'm sad to be leaving California, but I can't wait to see more great games!

Until Next Time -
Kaylie

Stretch Time! - AT&T Park, O.co Coliseum, and Dodger Stadium

The San Francisco's AT&T Park is the first ballpark that we have visited where the seventh inning stretch was remarkably different in each of the two games we saw there. The first game there, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" was lead, a cappella, by a fan. She started with an introductory verse that I had never heard before leading the crowd in the well known chorus. After the singing, there was the Dignity Health Stretch Cam, which panned around the park showing shots of fans engaged in loosening tight muscles before settling back in for the final two innings.

The stretch the next day took on a completely different character, partially due to the fact that it was a day game and a Sunday. Before the official announcement of the stretch, we were asked to stand for the singing of "God Bless America," a tradition that started in Major League baseball after the September 11 attacks in 2001. The came the official stretch and song. This game, the tune was led by the Giants' organist, who was shown on screen throughout the duration of the song, with the words scrolling along the bottom. Follow that up with the Beatles "Twist n Shout" for the Stretch Cam, and the fans are ready to watch baseball again.

The next day, Memorial Day, we headed south to see the Oakland A's in play at O.co Coliseum. Due to the patriotic nature of this holiday, it was another day game again with "God Bless America" performed before the usual proceedings. Master Gunnery Sergeant Peter Wilson, who had played the National Anthem before the game, performed this song for the audience as well. A violinist with "The President's Own" United States Marine Chamber Orchestra for the last twenty-four years, Wilson offered a wonderful rendition of both songs, each filled with amazing runs and countless double stops. It was breath taking to listen too.

Then it was time for the interactive part of the break. The Coliseum is home of the Oakland Raiders football team as well as the A's, so the scoreboards are set up over the corners of the left and right field, more for football than for baseball. Each board is split into two sections, so the words were displayed on the right half of the boards, while the left was devoted to images of the fans dancing and singing along. It was followed by another popular song. This part of the stretch remained the same at the second Oakland game we saw.

Continuing farther south, we got to our third and final California ballpark, Dodger Stadium. The Coco Cola sponsorship was prevalent with the red and white advertisement splashing across both jumbotrons and around all the side boards as the announcer asked fans to rise while Nancy Bea, the Dodgers' organist, played the tune. The right field board started with a shot of Nancy Bea and then panned around the stadium, even for one moment lighting on a fan wearing a "I heart Nancy Bea" t-shirt. I was glad to see that she was getting recognized for her fine work at the organ.

The words were displayed on the lower board on left field side of the stadium, which was fine for most of the ballpark. The second night in LA we sat directly underneath the left side board, and I discovered that the words are not displayed anywhere else in the park. Only seasoned baseball fans should sit there, as uninformed participants around us were dismayed to discover that they had no idea what everyone else was singing.

Dodgers Stadium was also different because after the verse ended, Nancy Bea modulated up a step and the whole crowd sang the chorus again. Two times through in one night? How exciting! After that, Nancy Bea continued elevating the festive mood with more organ music until it was time to settle in for the rest of the game.

Yankee Ends Real Corker of a Mystery

Baseball: A Literary Anthology edited by Nicholas Dawidoff, includes an excerpt of the story Yankee Ends Real Corker of a Mystery by Buster Olney. This piece discusses the story of James Grimsley and his 'mission impossible' to retrieve Albert Belle's illegally corked bat from the umpire's room. This piece was by far the most humorous one we have read yet. In our class discussion, we envisioned what it would be like for Grimsley to be crossing the complicated terrain of a drop ceiling, that without a doubt, included many wires and pipes, something that would not be an easy task for 6'3", 180 pound Grimsley to accomplish. 
Our class shared many good laughs while talking about this mission. We envisioned the sly grin on Grimsley's face when Mike LaValliere, Chicago's catcher, complimented the Red Sox outfield players on their beautifully orchestrated mission impossible. This piece not only allowed a good laugh to be shared, but it also brought a new perspective to the game of baseball.
Often times we think of baseball players as the untouchables, the elitists if you will. This narration provides a behind-the-scenes look into the dugout. Onley makes you feel as though these players are the beloved friends from your high school friend group. We see that although these players are paid millions and millions of dollars, they risk it all to save a friend from getting in trouble. It speaks to the camaraderie that is associated with game of baseball. All in all, this piece was very enjoyable and did an excellent job of bringing the game of baseball down to a real-world level. Not to mention, the stellar pun in the title provided our pun-loving class a good laugh. 

Until Next Time - 
Kaylie & Ryan

Culinary Discoveries: Blaze Pizza

By far one of the favorite restaurants we have encountered on the trip so far, Blaze Pizza deserves nothing less than a blog post of its own!

On the recommendation of Ryan, we made a walk to the pizza place from where we were staying. It was about a mile away from our hotel in Pasadena, CA. As we walked through the doors, we were met with a crowd. While it was technically lunch hour for many people, I’d like to think that, after having experienced this awesome pizza, the place was just that popular. We grabbed a menu and began to figure just how getting a pizza here works.

The ordering area is set up like what you would find in a Subway or a Chipotle, promoting the idea that customers have the ability to choose what is on their pizza. The pizzas themselves are personal pan size, allowing a person to have complete control on what they want on their pizza since they will be the one eating it. The menu even gives the customer some basic options for starting their pizza ranging from a simple, cheaper one topping or cheese pizza options to templates for specialty pizzas to a completely custom-built pizza. The real bonus in the last two options is, no matter what you mix and match on the pizza (you can even add to or take away ingredients from the template option!), it’s still the same price. After being populated with ingredients, the pizzas are then put into an oven for about three minutes and cooked brick-oven style while the customers wait for their creations. The pizza could be accompanied by some freshly made original or blood orange lemonade (either one was delicious), soda, or water for drink options and a s’more sandwich for desert. Most everyone in the class had either styles of lemonade and a s’more cookie and the vote for deliciousness was unanimous.

While some of us in the class stayed conservative with our pizza building, others chose to be adventurous. One of our pizzas ended up having two different sauces, four different cheeses, an assortment of meat, and a multitude of topping (spinach, onions, mushrooms, etc.).  No matter what everyone put on their pizzas, we could all agree that the taste was excellent. Our astounding flavor experience was only heightened by the quality and kindness of the staff working at Blaze. Many of us were asked multiple times if the food was good and other questions as well (Have you been here before? What sauce did you choose? Etc.).

All in all, our time at Blaze Pizza was overwhelmingly positive. If any of us have the fortunate opportunity of coming back to the LA area, we certainly know where to go for some of the best pizza humans have ever tasted. Keep up the good work, Blaze Pizza!

Pirates take down the Dodgers

For the second consecutive night, we took the trip from our hotel in Pasadena, braving Los Angeles traffic to make our way to Dodger Stadium.  Tonight, however, our group saw the Dodgers face the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.  Our seats for the night were in the left field bleachers.  Despite their 2013 wildcard win, the Pirates found themselves 7 games under .500 and struggling to remain in the race in the National League playoffs.

Pitching for the Pirates was young fireballer Gerrit Cole who was 4-3 on the year with an ERA in the high 3s.  His opponent for Los Angeles was Dan Haren.  Haren had a good start for 2014 coming into the game, with an ERA near 3.0.

The game started off quick in the bottom of the first when Yasiel Puig hit a double that drove in Andre Ethier to give the Dodgers a quick 1-0 lead.  The lead did not last long as Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates hit a towering home run down the right field line to even the score at 1-1 in the top of the 2nd inning which was quickly answered by a Dee Gordon RBI single to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.  The Pirates once again evened the score at 2 with a Josh Harrison RBI single.

Russell Martin made the game interesting for our group with a long home run to make the score 3-2 in favor of the Pirates.  The ball landed 1 row and about 6 seats to our right.  That homer was quickly equalized by a Hanley Ramirez RBI single in the bottom of the 6th inning to tie the score 3-3.

The game was lost for the Dodgers in the top of the 7th when Brandon League came in to relive Haren.  League gave up 2 runs followed by another run given up Paul Maholm to make the score 6-3.

After the 8th inning, I decided to go on a bit of an adventure.  I had found the exit of the Press Box and stood outside of it hoping to catch a glimpse of longtime legendary Dodger announcer Vin Scully.  To say the least, I did manage to do that.  He walked past and looked in my direction after I said, "Hey Vin, how ya doin?"  He responded with a quick, "Hi, how are you?" and continued on to the elevator.  It was easily one of the coolest things I have ever experienced.