Spring training, day eighteen

Day 18, Spring Training. Ed Smith Stadium, Sarasota . Game 4 of 4 to see the Cincinnati Reds.

This was my last game. It was also the last home spring training game for the Reds. The Reds have a split squad game tomorrow with the minor league players going up to Dunedin to play the Jays in dilapidated Knology Park , while the major leaguers break camp and head to Dayton to play the Marlins.

Sarasota may lose the Reds. The Reds have tired of Ed Smith Stadium. (Who hasn’t?) The Reds agreed to kick in $10M for a new stadium provided that other sources would pony up the rest. There appeared to be a deal in place, but now it looks like it might fall through. The Dodgers will move to Arizona at the end of Spring Training next year, so the Vero Beach slot opens up for the Reds. There are also rumors of the Reds relocating to Arizona as well. There were tons of empty seats for this last home game of the season. The announced attendance was 4213, but that must have been the paid attendance. I don’t think anywhere near that number of people were actually at the game. I can understand that folks don’t want to sit in the blistering sun, but there were still plenty of seats in the shade available. In fact, I moved into a shady seat in an almost empty row just past home plate on the 3^rd base side after 3 innings. The night game I went to here didn’t come close to selling out either. The Reds just aren’t well supported here. Maybe a new stadium will help. By contrast, the Pirates do fairly well up the street in Bradenton .

I saw the Reds matchup with the Devil Rays again. Despite being the local team, there were few Rays fans at the game. Come to think of it, there are few Rays fans at the regular season games at Tropicana Field. The Rays played without Carl Crawford. Without Crawford, even with the other “regulars” playing, the D-Rays are indistinguishable from a minor league team. Who are these guys? The always amusing Jorge Cantu (Cannot! Cantu!) didn’t start, but pinch hit and popped out.

Ken Griffey, Jr. finally played. He singled in a run in the 1^st and got his exercise for the day scoring on Juan Castro’s double during a Reds’ 5-run outburst that inning, which the Reds nursed to a 5-4 victory. Otherwise, Griffey walked slowly back and forth to his position in right field. He looked uninterested in the proceedings. He left after four innings. I don’t understand playing Griffey in right field rather than his usual position in center. He broke his hand, so presumably he is in good aerobic form, so covering the position shouldn’t be a problem. There is no longer throw an outfield has to make than the throw from right field to 3^rd base, so throwing can’t be the issue either.

The game started with two umpires. A third appeared at the bottom of the 1^st; and later in the game the full complement of four were on the field. Did they get lost? Couldn’t find a parking spot? Another piece of strange behavior I’ve noticed with the spring training umpires. Even when there are four available for the whole game, they don’t stay put. After a few innings, the first and second base umpires may switch bases. I’ve had a few seats near the first base bag, so I’ve seen it happen several times.

I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to see all the Grapefruit League stadiums and it’s also given me an opportunity to tour the state. Of all sports, I think baseball improves most when seen on person rather than TV. In person, you watch where all the foul balls go. You can watch a particular player or whatever you feel like watching rather than what the TV decides to show you. You can watch an entire play unfold such as an outfield hit with runners on base. It’s also much better seeing a game in smaller parks that seat 5000 - 8000 compared to big league stadiums that seat 40,000 - 60,000.

I’ve already started some preliminary planning for Spring Training 2008. I might make the journey across the state next year to see the Dodgers’ last season in Florida . The problem is that it’s about a 3 ½ hour drive – too long to see a single game. So I might try to Priceline a cheap motel room and see a couple of games on the east coast. The Nats and Mets train over in that general area as well. Otherwise, I’ll see games in Clearwater , Lakeland , Sarasota and Bradenton .

And so this spring training odyssey finally comes to an end as we bid the “Boys of Spring” a fond farewell as they make their trek north to face a promising, yet uncertain future in the regular season.

Dad