The stadium faces basically south. Major League Baseball clearly states in rule 1.04 "THE PLAYING FIELD: It is desirable that the line from home base through the pitchers plate to second base shall run East Northeast." Didn’t they bother reading the rules? There is a fairly large concrete overhang over the middle two-thirds over the top of the stadium, but with the stadium facing south, it casts very little shade.
I toured the park before the game and tried to walk down to an observation point down the right field line, but was barred by an usher. Only holders of “berm” tickets – sitting on a hill of grass – were permitted past that point. My seat was four rows up just past the dugout along the first base line. Shortly after I arrived, two sets of front row squatters were chased by the rightful holders of those seats. So they guard the cheap seats, but let anybody wander down to the first row.
The Rays need to get with the program – literally. I tried buying a program before the game, but they don’t sell any. You can buy a scorecard and a roster for $1, but that’s it. So the stadium faces the wrong way, there are no programs for sale and the cheap seats are guarded, but not the expensive ones – and this is “Progress”
It was hot with a cloudless sky. It’s more intense facing south directly into the sun, so in the 2nd inning, I hustled up to a seat in the shade 25 rows behind home plate before they were all gone. Past the first five rows, the “Loge Box” seats (read: Grandstand) are all metal bleachers with backs but no armrests. But bleachers in the shade were better than sitting in my sun-blasted seat. In the 7th inning, the place was invaded by a large flock of seagulls. I’ll bet this is their regular route, for they landed in the now deserted sunny seats and foraged for leftover scraps of food. For the bottom of the 9th inning, I went down directly behind home plate. This section must have been zoned for scouts. I saw three radar guns and at least dozen folks charting the game on yellow legal pads.
Saw the Phillies for the fourth time. Again, a fair number of Phillie fans were at the game. Although the Rays were in dark green, the Phils wore those funky blue uniforms again. Even without Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins, Phils outslug the Rays 11-8. Rays ace Scott Kazmir departed after four innings with the lead, but in the 5th inning, the Phils put 8 runs on the board. In the 5th, the Phils inserted Ron Calloway as a pitch runner who later came to the plate in that same inning and hit a grand slam. I wonder how many times in baseball history that has happened. Ty Wigginton hit two home runs for the Rays in a losing effort. Carl Crawford, arguably the Rays’ only legitimate major leaguer, went 0-3. The D-Rays don’t figure to win many games in the AL East this year (or any year), so they’re getting into shape by posting a 1-12 spring training record so far.
There was a fan who entertained himself whenever Jorge Cantu came to the plate by shouting: “If I can hit a home run, you Cantu”. It pays to have a sense of humor if you’re a Rays fan. God knows that the product they put on the field isn’t big league quality.
Tomorrow, it’s back to
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