2007 COOPERSTOWN ROAD TRIP Day 8: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards

We had another opportunity to sleep in on our second day in Baltimore, so our first order of business was to ship a bunch of our souvenirs home via UPS from our local Office Depot (hey, it was a Sunday, so no Post Office . . . it just means less to carry).

We were treated to a close game at Camden.  Angels starter John Lackey held the O’s to 3 runs.  Both Mike Napoli and Casey Kotchman went deep for the Halos to give us 4 runs on the board.  The O’s made it interesting in the bottom of the 9th, with Melvin Mora reaching 3rd base with 1 out off of Angels’ closer Francisco Rodriguez.  On the final play of the game, Mora tried to tag up on a fly ball hit to Angels’ right-fielder Vladimir Guererro.  Underestimating Vlad’s powerful throwing arm, Mora was gunned-down at the plate, not only ending the game on a 7-2 double play in a 4-3 victory for the Halos, but also putting both himself and Angels’ catcher Mike Napoli out of commission.  Napoli ended up on the 15-day disabled list later that afternoon.

 

Overall, the Halos took the 3-game series 2 games to 1.  The only negative thing I have to say about the Baltimore fans was that a certain group of O’s fans in the centerfield seats displayed some tasteless behavior in chanting, “HGH!” when Gary Matthews, Jr. came to bat.

On the way out of the park, we were able to catch a glimpse of Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer . . .

2007 COOPERSTOWN ROAD TRIP Day 7: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards

 

Okay, this was the day we were waiting for . . . our first Angels game on the road . . .

We made it into Baltimore with a few hours to spare. After dropping our stuff off at the hotel, we stopped in for a quick crabcake sandwich at Phillips before heading out to the Yard . . .

Camden Yards . . . what a beautiful retro park. I had actually been there once before, albeit only in the team store as it was the middle of January . . . One great place to see a ballgame. Our seats were in right centerfield, very close to the action. We were surprised to see a lot of Halos fans there, and that definitely put us at ease (add to that, the Halos had beat the Orioles 9-7 the previous night). Our friend Tamara had related an unfavorable pre-1994 strike Angels at Baltimore experience to us, so we went into this prepared for the worst . . . on the contrary, the Baltimore fans were great and didn’t give us a hard time at all. They were all rather nice, and we even had a great conversation with the fans seated directly behind us. Of course, the Halos do have one of the best records in baseball and the Orioles are having a horrible year.

One of the most consistent things we have seen in our East Coast travels is the passion of East Coast sports fans. The first thing that stood out to us was during the Star-Spangled Banner, all the Orioles fans yelled “O!” in unison at the beginning of “O, say does that Star-Spangled . . .”

Bartolo Colon got the start for the Halos and didn’t have his best stuff, going 6 innings and allowing 3 earned runs while striking out 6. The Halos stayed close, but Hector Carrasco allowed 3 earned runs of his own in just an inning of work. In the end, the Orioles had doubled up on the Halos 6-3.

The only negative comments we had about Camden Yards were: 1. The announcer didn’t always announce pitching or position changes, and 2. The scoreboard operator was WAY TOO SLOW (the scoreboard would still be reading 2 balls and 1 strike seconds after a batter was walked).

Concession-wise, Camden offers a decent hot dog, comparable to the dogs at Anaheim, but nothing special. Camden however wins the beer man award, as between every half-inning, at least three different beer-men made their way down to us with a multitude of choices including Bud, Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Light, Heineken, and Amstel Light . . . not great beers, but then again, when does beer man offer good beer?!

It was great to see the Angels fans out in force, and to be able to cheer our team on without having to worry about unruly home fans. Overall, a great baseball experience.

2007 COOPERSTOWN ROAD TRIP: The Adventure Awaits

Last year my good buddy, bassist Blake Hunter joined me in Arizona for MLB Cactus League Spring Training.  We had such a great time that we decided to make it an annual event.

Later in the fall, shortly after the Cards won the World Series, Blake made the comment, “Wouldn’t it be great to go to every single ballpark?”  That got me to thinking.  I found out that in the next few years, Yankee, Shea, and RFK Stadiums would all be replaced with newer ballparks, making a northeast trip even more imperative.  As soon as the 2007 season schedules came out, I started running possible scenarios and came up with some interesting itineraries, that is, until I realized I needed to factor in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to make the trip all the more worthwhile . . .

Factoring the Angels into the equation resulted in not only catching them at both Camden Yards and Yankee Stadium for two games at each park, it also meant that one of those games at Yankee Stadium would be on my birthday and we’d be spending the Fourth of July in Washington DC.  Seven ballparks in sixteen days, plus a trip to the Hall of Fame to boot.  Not too shabby, huh?  The original plan was to take Amtrak everywhere, but interestingly enough, we found flights on Southwest and JetBlue which were cheaper (not to mention shorter) than trips on Amtrak.  Here’s the rundown:

6/25  St. Louis Cardinals vs. NY Mets @ Shea Stadium
6/27  Cincinatti Reds vs. Philadelphia Phillies @ Citizens Bank Park
6/29  Washington Nationals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates @ PNC Park
6/30-7/1  LA Angels of Anaheim vs. Baltimore Orioles @ Camden Yards
7/3  Chicago Cubs vs. Washington Nationals @ RFK Stadium
7/5  Tampa Bay Devil Rays vs. Boston Red Sox @ Fenway Park
7/7-7/8  LA Angels of Anaheim vs. NY Yankees @ Yankee Stadium
7/9  Baseball Hall of Fame @ Cooperstown, NY

It’s hard to believe the adventure is just days away.  I’ve been busy packing making sure I have everything I need–this has been one of the rare times I’ve been organized, yet I feel as if I’m nowhere near ready for the trip!  The biggest challenge for me will be travelling without a horn . . . when I come home, I have just two days to woodshed to be ready for a gig!

Actually, I take that back . . . the biggest challenge for me will be shaving my head.  That’s right . . . I’ve decided that since I have no one for whom to look good for 16 days, I’m going to shave my head bald.  At least I’ll be able to say that I did it once . . .

It just so happens I had a good appetizer for the trip:  last night I went to an Angels game with another bass-playing buddy, namely Bart Broadnax.  We caught the Halos and Astros in the rubber match of their 3-game series.  The Halos came from behind to score 6 runs on 1 hit in the bottom of the 7th to beat the Astros 8-4, the big blow being a 3-run dinger by Vladimir Guerrero . . .

Since so many of our friends have said, “I wish I was going with you,” we’ve decided to take you all along with us in spirit . . . we will be blogging regularly throughout the trip, as well as posting a variety of pictures.  You’ll be able to follow along without leaving the comfort of your own home!  Check in with us online each day as we share the adventure . . .

Spring Training ’07 Wrap-up

First of all, thanks to Debbie and Philip for making the whole trip possible.  Their hospitality is gracious and unmatched.  Extra special thanks to Debbie for all the great food and for letting us steal Philip away for a week.

As much as I love going to see a game at the Big A, there is nothing like watching baseball during spring training.  It’s much more intimate, almost all the games are day games, and the vibe is so much more fun.

I will say that I likely will not have another hot dog until the summer baseball tour (for those of you who don’t know, Blake and I will visit 7 northeast ballparks plus the hall of fame this summer) . . . After living a low carb lifestyle the past year, I can honestly say that I had way too much beer this past week, and can probably do without it the rest of the year . . . thankfully, we got a couple of bike rides in, but not enough to make a difference . . . Interestingly enough, on our way out of Buckeye, Blake and I found Old Style in a Fry’s Marketplace, and purchased 3 cases to bring home . . .

The results of this year’s spring training adventure are as follows:

Best Facility
Without a doubt, the nicest of all the ballparks we visited was Surprise Stadium in Surprise, AZ.  It looked like the newest of all the facilities we visited, had the cleanest restrooms, and best of all free parking.

Best Location
Tempe Diablo Stadium is certainly the nicest setting for baseball, with a hill overlooking the left field side of the stadium.

Best Scoreboard
Peoria Sports Complex was the only facility with a modern scoreboard, which made following the player and game stats easier and more enjoyable.

Best Concessions
Peoria Sports Complex . . . let’s see . . . in addition to traditional baseball fare, there were gyros, BBQ, chicken tenders & curly fries, corn dogs, Indian fry bread, funnel cakes, a variety of sausages . . .

Best Hot Dog
Hands down, the best hot dog was at Hohokam Park . . . a flavorful mutant half-pound frankfurter that could easily feed a family of four.

Best Beer Selection
Peoria Sports Complex narrowly won in this category with their offerings of Grolsch lager and Longhammer IPA, however honorable mention goes to Hohokam Park for Old Style.

Best In-Stand Vendors
Again, the award goes to Peoria Sports Complex for “Hey, beer” man, and the beer poet.  Here are just a few of the beer poet’s sales pitches:

I’m the man with the rhyming verse
Here with beer to quench your thirst

Or how about:

Bud Light, Miller Lite, Michelob, Coors
One of these bottles could be yours

Best Microbrewery
If you’re ever in the Phoenix area, be sure to pay a visit to Four Peaks Brewing Co. in Tempe.  If you’re like us and into hoppier beers, then try the Hop Knot IPA.  If you have more of a lighter beer palate, then give the Arizona Peach a try.  Excellent items on the menu include the Italian Beef Beer Bread sandwich and the Tap Room Tenderloin sandwich.

As we drove back to Orange County,  the Angels had another split squad day.  The Angels who remained in Arizona dropped one to the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2.  The regulars made the trip to Los Angeles to defeat the Dodgers 6-1.  In this game, the Halos turned their 3rd triple play of the spring.  Kudos to the Halos’ pitching staff for holding the Dodgers to one run.

In other great Halo news, Scot Shields has been signed until 2010, locking-in the set-up role for the next four years.  Also, my all-time favorite Angel, Troy Percival, will sign a minor league contract with the Halos and retire as an Angel on Opening Day, Monday, April 2nd.

Sports Illustrated has made some bold and surprising predictions for the 2007 baseball season:  they have predicted that the Angels will play the Dodgers in the World Series, and that the Angels will win it all.  How nice to finally get some national recognition . . .

As far as next year’s spring training adventure is concerned, Philip has suggested spring training in Japan . . . he’s currently in the process of researching that possibility . . .

Until we return in June with the journal of our Northeast Baseball Excursion, enjoy the first few months of the season.  Anything can happen in 162 games . . . Go Halos!

Spring Training Day 6: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Oakland Athletics at Phoenix Municipal Stadium

 

I particularly was interested in attending this game not only because I can’t stand the A’s, but also out of concern that we had dropped every spring training game thus far to the A’s by 1 run, and Oakland had come from behind in each situation.

We arrived at Phoenix Municipal greeted by the sounds of The Tubes’ “She’s a Beauty” on the public address system–at least it set a good mood for the day . . . Good seats for this game as well–8th row behind third base, on the Angels’ side of the field.  This ballpark looked like a nice muni ballpark, but a far cry from any of the other fields we had visited.  Blake and I were so tired of dogs by this point that we decided to stop at a Waffle House before the game.  Philip had to teach again, so we decided to hold off on the beer until he got off work.

Nick Adenhart pitched 5 scoreless innings for the Halos.  It was also nice to see Brandon Wood get some work in at third base.  In the end it was the Halos over the A’s 2-0.

We met up with Philip after the game and celebrated a great week of spring training with a bike ride and dinner at Four Peaks Brewing Co.