Spring Training 2009: Day One: Honoring the Fallen Officers

Just one more piece about today. Before the national anthem, the public announcer explained the flags at half mast, and asked that we take a moment of silence for the fallen Oakland police officers, as "they paid the ultimate sacrifice."

This from the Oakland A's:

"The A’s players and staff were reeling from news that four Oakland police officers were shot and killed on Saturday following a traffic stop a mile away from the Coliseum. Two of the officers had worked games at the Coliseum, providing extra security, escorting players and officials and handling some road block duties.

"The team will hold a moment of silence before today’s game against the White Sox and there were discussions about whether the players might honor the officers in some way on their uniforms. I’m told there will be more formal recognition of the officers during the home opener on April 10, with some kind of ceremony.

"Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen is wearing “OPD” in silver lettering on his cap today and he spoke at length before the game about how devastated he was by the news of the officers’ death because he has such great respect for law enforcement and military members."

Rich Hurd interviewed Ozzie today, and the White Sox manager told him this (from Hurd's blog):

"'There’s no reason to take peoples’ lives. It should be a hard day for the Bay Area,' Guillen said. 'I’ve never seen anything sadder than a police funeral. To take anybody’s life, especially when you’re a policeman or fireman (and) you’re protecting this country. … How come we only worry about police when they get killed? We don’t give them enough credit for making our life easier.'"

My God. And I thought Ozzie Guillen was a clown. I have a lot more respect for him now. (Even though you do have to wonder why the Chicago manager had to say something, and not the Oakland manager...)

I won't be at the April 10th tribute, but I hope radio/T.V. covers it.

Spring Training 2009: Day One: Hit for More than Average

I actually rented a GPS, and I have to say it was no help getting me to the ballpark. At first. But I re-set it, and the GPS finally came on (I guess it was just maps before), and told me to go on the freeway (202). I didn't want to, but since I couldn't find the north or the east direction, I decided to do what it told me to. The menu did not have Papago Park or Phoenix Municipal Stadium, so I plugged in the hotel address and figure once it found Van Buren for me, I could take it from there. And that's what happened.

Phoenix Muni appeared to be sold out. LOTS of White Sox fans. Maybe 50-50 A's fans vs. Sox fans. My neighbors were all A's fans, and it was interesting how much they did not know about the team, especially the Sacramento couple behind me "Who's that? Has he been here before?" It wasn't until they started asking around that I would answer questions. "No, Corey Wimberley probably isn't 5'7"." "The starting pitcher is Vin Mazzaro."

Mazzaro got lit up and was taken out in the 2nd inning. He's one of those new phenom pitchers for the A's that has a chance at one of the two open spots in the A's rotation. Yes, the rotation is that bad. No, I don't think Mazzaro is going to be one of those after today's performance. Dallas Braden, who replaced him, got him with a homerun in his 2nd pitch, but settled down after that. However, the game was just a hitfest from both sides. I believe the score was 11-8 White Sox at the end, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Oakland A's outhit the Chicago White Sox.

It was great -- and surprising -- to see how well Kurt Suzuki hit. He's back from the offseason in Maui, and he continued right where he left off: being Oakland's most consistent hitter. He's dwarfed by the big guys in the lineup: Jason Giambi, Matt Holliday, even Ryan Sweeney. But he appears to know how to hit. And he has speed. He nearly went for the cycle today. I don't have the box scores in front of me, but he seemed to go 4 for 5. Just amazing.

Holliday still hasn't found the handle. And he failed to run out a pop fly, a fly which actually dropped in for a hit. He actually went from a dead standstill to a full run and beat out the throw, much to this fan's amazement. But after that, the woman next to me wouldn't let him forget it. "Love Oakland or leave it! And run out those pop flies!" She's convinced that he's just here for the year, or maybe even half a year -- Billy might dump him off if the A's are not in contention by July, and his heart is not into the Oaktown struggle for greatness. She may have a point.

And it was a thrill to see Mark Ellis play for the first time this spring. He was the designated hitter. The Sac couple behind me said, Well, then why isn't he playing 2nd base? I didn't bother filling them in.

First Day at Spring Training, and Taking a Break from Oakland

I'm sitting here at Oakland Airport, and able to post this thanks to free Wi-Fi.

Clearing TSA wasn't as bad this time. I didn't have to take off my watch. There were the usual jokes about "at least we don't have to take off our pants, but it's darn close," and a young woman in the Southwest security line who asked, "What's this line for?" after standing there a few minutes. She saw the longer line inside, and all those people looked warm, but stuck it out in our outside line. Our line was freezing, but our line was a great deal shorter.

Today the game starts at 1 pm, a contest between the Oakland A's and the Chicago White Sox. I'm trying to think if I know anybody still (which usually means: did they once play for the A's), and I think there are a few left like Jermaine Dye. All of this is as Phoenix Municipal. I just realized I forgot to bring a hat, so I'll buy one there. I probably would've done that anyway.

I'm still trying to get over that stunning gun battle in Oakland yesterday. Four police officers were shot by apparently one suspect, who died on the scene. He shot the first two, I believe, during a routine traffic cop. Then he ran from the vehicle and hid in the neighborhood. An anonymous tip led them to an apartment complex, where the killer used another weapon -- semi-automatic -- to gun down two more. It is so horrible to think that those men lost their lives just a few miles from where I live.

Oakland has had its share of violence in the last year. Some really bad stuff is going down. I'm glad to take a break from it. But the latest in mayhem won't leave me easily.

Waiting for the A's

I kept telling people that I'd rather go to Phoenix a little earlier in the season. It's difficult to do that because of tax season. However, this year, I think it's going to work out perfectly.

You see, several A's are injured. Yes, already. Mark Ellis has yet to play 2nd base. Eric Chavez has yet to hit. Reliever Joey Devine was pulled from the rotation because of his right elbow. And the other reliever, Brad Ziegler, is playing for the USA in the World Baseball Classic.

There is a good chance that all these players will play for the A's while I'm there, and that I'll get to see them.

I don't think there's any chance I'll see pitcher Justin Duchsherer, however. I think Duke has a longer way to go.

Wicked

We had a blast at Wicked, which has been at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco for the last few months. Ruth had read the book (make that "books"), and knew the storyline. I did not. Let's just say that it turns the Wizard of Oz myth on its ear.

During the curtain call, Nicolas Dromard, who plays Fiyero, appealed to us to join in with charitable contributions for shirts, etc., a chance to appear as a walk-on in a future performance, or a photo with the two leads, Elphaba and Glinda. We chose the last two.

Surprisingly, once we found the right place to be to buy these things, there was no line for the photo op. Once I saw the price, I figured out why. However, it was a chance to contribute to AIDS and breast cancer research, and a fun thing for the two of us. Plus, Ruth bought a chance at that walk-on. A star could be born!

So the photo is of stars Kendra Kassebaum, who played Glinda, and Vicki Noon, who understudied in that performance as Elphaba. Let me say that both were just excellent, and it was very nice of them to give up their time for this very worthy cause.

And, I have to add, I thought that witches would be taller. Who knew?

Getting Ready for Phoenix

In a couple of days I'll be making my 5th trip to Phoenix for Spring Training. It's not consecutive: I skipped a year in there after Rick and I first went.

I keep switching hotels, hoping I'll find something I really like. This may be the one. I know I want to stay somewhere along N. 44th Street. It's just a skip and a jump from there to Phoenix Municipal, which is where I'll attend two games and where the A's claim their home. And it's very close to Phoenix International Airport, where I'll be flying in. AND it's easy to find my way back to the rental car hub from there, all on surface streets.

I will actually have a chance to see the new Dodger stadium, Camelback. And it's a night game. I'm a little nervous about finding my way there -- it's a good deal west of the hotel -- not to mention my way back. I'll be going right after the day game, so I should be able to get there during daytime hours. I hear it's very nice.

I actually see the Dodgers twice. I think the second time is at Hohokam Park, home of the Cubs. I didn't really pick the teams to see. I'd much rather see the Giants, but they were impossible to get to after Sunday and Monday (and those days are reserved for the A's at Phoenix Muni). I wanted games that were still in Phoenix. I didn't want to go to Tempe Stadium; the seats are antiquated and right in the sun there. So I ended up with the games I ended up with. What does it matter? It's baseball!

I'm flying in this time rather than taking 17 hours or 2 days (which is what it took to drive there last year). So it should be fairly easy. If I could just pack lightly, I'll be fine. Ha!

Removing the 'Ol Tree

I brought landscapers out to look at installing a drip and spray system in order to water my lawn and the plants. I rejected their exhorbitant offer quickly enough, but when the three of us stood around, they casually mentioned, oh, that's a big acacia tree. And I not-so-casually noticed (actually, with much alarm), that it was towering towards the deck and roof of the house. They told me I could have it removed, and said they would send me the name of the arborist they deal with.

I knew I'd never get that name, and I haven't yet, but I really welcomed that idea.

So I went on Yelp and found The Professional Tree Care Company. They had two good refererences.


Craig Hancock, Consulting Arborist, came out today, and agreed with me that the giant black acacia should be removed. He said that, because the tree grows quickly, the cells are not densely packed, and limbs tend to break off easily. And it also rots easily. We went around to the side and looked at the massive tree trunk.

It's cheaper and easier to leave the trunks of the two trees. He agreed to treat them so that the proliferous plant shoots wouldn't grow back. I will see an estimate by email within a few days. Yes!!!