3/24/11 St Louis Cardinals 3, New York Mets 16

Digital Domain Park, Port St Lucie, FL

Ahem. Did I just go out on a limb only a few days ago, by publicly announcing that, yes, I think the Cardinals will be more formidable than many people realize, and that Jaime Garcia may be one of the best pitchers in the NL that nobody's talking about (that much)? Yes, that was me. This game should be no indicator, it is Spring Training and if this one REALLY counted, LaRussa would have given Garcia the hook instead of leaving him in to 'get out of it.' What "it" was, was the Mets.



This reminded me of a Spring Training exercise 2 years ago, indeed, my very first post...I am much more comfortable with the lineup changes and a bit more adept at scoring the game...it was really the lopsided advantage displayed by the Mets, nearly making their opponent hapless in nature. But this is the CARDINALS, I mean...no way...

Chris Capuano pitched an unreasonably great game for the Mets, going 5 innings, allowing 8 hits and 3 earned runs. Garcia on the other hand...uff da! Things were going great for Garcia, just a coupla runs in the first (from a David Wright 1 out 1 on HR), no biggie...with 2 outs in the 4th, Brad Emaus reaches on a single, Schumaker commits an inning-changing error, and that really starts the commotion. Emaus' single would start a run of 9 consecutive hits for the Mets over 2 innings. Garcia leaves the game after 4 innings, 78 pitches, giving up 14 hits (OUCH), 10 runs (only 3 earned) and just one strikeout.

If you like games with gross offensive display...this game was just fine with that. the Mets launched 4 HR as a team, big blasts like those of Matt Den Dekker and pinch-hitter Josh Thole (who hit the ball so far it ended up in the alligator pond outside the stadium) were legendary; besides Wright, Emaus (who went 4-4 for the day) and Angel pagan went yard.

The Cards did their best, but just got clobbered. They thanked goodness that Miguel Batista came along in the 7th and kept the Mets quiet for the rest of the game.

And if you haven't seen Lance Berkman the outfielder yet...he's just as good as you thought he would be. Only a little bit better than Jason Bay.

3/13/11 LA Dodgers 3, Chicago Cubs 4

Cashman Field, Las Vegas, NV
(Las Vegas Exhibition Game #2)

Second game of the Las Vegas Exhibition series, this time hosting the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers. Another one run game, lower scoring than yesterday, but this time the W ended up on the right side!



Zambrano was great, 5 IP, 6H, BB, 3K, only 1 run! Kyle Smit needs to gain a few pounds!! Jeff Baker is good at baseball!!!

Starting for the Dodgers today: Rubby De La Rosa, I saw him start for the Chattanooga Lookouts this summer. Jerry Sands and Dee Gordon were also in the Lookouts lineup for that game, and made appearances in this one as well.

Dodgers' relief 1st baseman Gimenez hits a HR in the 8th inning that "killed" the inflatable cow on the RF wall.

Watching the game on WGN, I got my first glimpse of Trey Hillman in a Dodgers uniform. Ewwwww.

3/12/11 Chicago Cubs 8, Cincinnati Reds 9

Cashman Field, Las Vegas, NV
(Las Vegas Exhibition Game #1)

Always a fan favorite, the annual 2-day series at Cashman Field this year features not the typical match-up between the Cubs and the White Sox, but a game each with the Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers.



The 1-run loss by the Cubs was somewhat disappointing, but this was an exhilarating game to watch for many reasons.

Early on in Spring Training, we're getting a good look at the expanded Cubs squad (including Brett Jackson, Matt Camp, Scott Moore, Marquez Smith, and more). The bonus is seeing the expanded Reds squad, featuring several Louisville Bats roster favorites over the past couple of years (Matt Maloney, Zack Cozart, Danny Dorn, Devin Mesoraco, and our favorite here at my house, Todd Frazier). It's unusual to see them in Reds uniforms!

James Russell hung on for 3 innings, 4 R (only one of them earned). Carlos Marmol pitches a typical "cliffhanger" inning, walking his first batter, hitting the next, striking out the third, and then allowing back to back base hits (the second of which scored the hit battter) and one more walk for good measure until striking out Fred Lewis to end the inning. Casey Coleman relieved Marmol and pitched 5 solid innings (2H, 1ER, BB, 2K).

Castro and Scott Moore led the Cubs offense with 2 HRs each (3 of their combined 4 HR were given up by Reds RHP Mike Leake). The Reds maintained pace with the Cubs; Cozart and Dorn led the offense with 2 RBI each, but as the end of the game neared, they remained 2 runs behind. In the bottom of the 9th, Kris Negron's surprise walk-off base hit single with 2 on and 0 outs brought in both the tying run and the winning run.

Maryvale Baseball Park, Phoenix, AZ
Spring Training 2012

ZOMG the Cubs beat the Brewers in spring training, featuring the newly defected Aramis Ramirez.  OY.

Spring Training is HERE!!

With the official arrival of SPRING TRAINING GAMES to our collective baseball consciousness, I thought I'd post some shortcuts to previously posted Spring Training games from 2009 and 2010 to herald the End of the DARK DAYS (of no baseball). You might also get a kick at how much my scoresheets have changed over the years, if you are new to these parts.

Besides the advent of BASEBALL SEASON, what I really like most about ST games is seeing the Minor Leaguers in action, even if only for a couple of innings. Many say these games "don't count," well they DO to ME.

Plenty of games on the radio and TV coming up, you know I'll be watching/scoring as usual. Without further ado:

2009 Spring Training
3/1/09 HOU @ NYM ...the first game I ever scored. My advice to you, if you are new at scoring, please avoid Spring Training games. Like my first batch of homebrew many years ago: "What on EARTH was I thinking?!?"
3/4/09 CHC @ CWS
3/5/09 CWS @ CHC
3/14/09 LAA @ CHC
3/20/09 LAD @ KC
3/30/09 TB @ MIN ...I was at this game, this story is very special to me, read it and you'll see why!

2010 Spring Training
3/6/10 CWS @ CHC
3/14/10 CHC @ LAA
3/19/10 CHC @ CWS
3/21/10 TEX @ SD
3/21/10 COL @ KC

Enjoy, and a message from my daughter Kei: Go CUBS!!

3/21/10 Colorado Rockies 11, Kansas City Royals 11

Spring Training (Cactus League)
Surprise Stadium, Surprise, AZ

COL 11 15 0
KC 11 17 3

This is the first tie game in professional baseball I have ever scored. The game was called by Hillman at the end of the 9th due to the fact that the Royals were out of pitchers.




I scored this game on 1/17/11.

3/21/10 Texas Rangers 5, San Diego Padres 14

Spring Training (Cactus League)
Peoria Sports Complex, Peoria, AZ

TEX 5 6 3
SD 14 16 2





I scored this game 1/14/11.

3/19/10 Chicago Cubs 8, Chicago White Sox 4

Camelback Ranch, Glendale, AZ (Spring Training)

The Cubs strike back in Spring Training, at the Sox home digs in AZ, during a game that set a Cactus League attendance record of 13,413 (that's better attendance than many MLB regular season games in Oakland, Kansas City, Florida, etc).

CHC 8 10 1
CWS 4 9 0

I don't know why the Official Scorer gave Beckham a hit in the bottom of the 5th, Castro made the error and Beckham never would have hit safely. Not only that, but the umpires seemed to be on the take, as Carlos Quentin hits into what should have been a 3-6-3 DP but Castro is called 'too far from the bag' for the phantom tag @ 2B. Home rules, I guess. Cubs won anyway.

This game was on CSN Chicago, called by Steve Stone and Hawk Harrelson, "the annoying bros." Polite to Cubbies, but still annoying.

I can't believe how much Teahen is choking in Spring Training.

3/14/10 Chicago Cubs 8, Los Angeles Angels 7

Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe, AZ (Spring Training)

Exciting Spring Training action as the Cubs take on the Angels 'on their turf.' The Angels strike early in a 6-run 2nd inning that left my hero Randy Wells a bit boxed around the ears and limping back to the showers, but the lineup got support from the 'second string' late in the game, particularly from Micah Hoffpauir and top prospect 'phenom' Starlin Castro.

CHC 8 12 1
LAA 7 10 1

Castro's RBI single in the 8th won the game for the Cubs, the relief pitching staff of Marmol, Grabow, Cashner, Parker, and Diamond sealed the deal by only allowing 1 run (earned) since Wells' exit after the 3rd inning.

3/6/10 Chicago White Sox 3, Chicago Cubs 15

Ho Ho Kam Park, Mesa, AZ (Spring Training)

The first WGN-TV Cubs 2010 broadcast of the year, with Len Kasper and Bob Brenly.

Here's a look at the prospects and a Cubs lineup we probably won't see much of once the season starts. My hopes that this team would continue to show better offensive power after this game would largely prove themselves out later on, but not during this game.

CWS 15 18 0
CHC 3 6 1

It is what it is, Silva gives up 2 homers and the Cubs bats start to wake up in the 3rd inning, but go right back to sleep.

Revenge would stay on hold for this traditional 2-game spring training series as game 2 would be called on account of inclement weather. The Cubs came back a few weeks later.

3/30/09 Tampa Bay Rays 2, Minnesota Twins 3

Hammond Stadium, Ft. Myers, FL (Spring Training)

I was there!

A GREAT day for Baseball, even if it was 2 AL teams playing! Final week of Spring Training in Ft. Myers, Red Sox tickets were all sold out in January but hey...the Twins are also in town, so who needs the Red Sox anyway?!?

My daighter Kei and I used my birthday gift from Mom & Dad to buy some nice field box tickets smack dab in the peak of the sunshine (with 'baseball burns' afterwards to show for it) - we had a great time (even though the parking staff wouldn't let me park on "Blyleven Boulevard") and Kei even tried scoring the game, her first time. She made it through 4 innings before the heat or the cotton candy stayed her hand for the rest of the game (except her covering two outs for me in the top of the 6th while I took a hygiene break).

Before the game, we walked over to the complex where the second squad and the minor league Twins players were working out...Kei and I saw a fellow in Twinstripes signing a ball through a fence; as we walked by he turned and headed out to the field...it was PAUL MOLITOR, a batting coach for Spring Training, missed him by about 5 minutes. We watched some Pitching/Batting drills, where Joe Mauer (still on DL) was giving some tips to the AAA folks on deck…

I was really hoping to see Bert Blyleven hanging around (as he calls Ft. Myers his home, as does Joe Mauer) but he was already up north getting things ready for opening day.

Some pictures from the game attached, we had great seats. Big event of the day: I CAUGHT A FOUL BALL, my very first time doing so...without a glove also.

It was the top of the 7th, foul tip over the LF net by Rays SS Jason Bartlett off the 2nd pitch of his plate appearance by Twins hurler Brian Duensing (a native of Omaha, NE)...the ball headed for the section next to us (second one of the day), but bounced off of the cement floor in front of a seat, over our heads, then straight off of the back of a seat 4 rows behind us...I was standing by that time, facing the direction of the ball, made a bare-handed catch with my right...YEAH!! Stood up proudly in my Cubbie Blues n stripes to display my trophy to the 5,000 or so in attendance, plus the 5 Twins fans watching on the internet.

I was really hoping to see Bert B hanging around the field somewhere (his home is in Fort Myers these days, as is Joe Mauer's) but I think he was already up north getting things ready for opening day. One humorous note, as the game was starting and it was 86 degrees, light wind, and not enough clouds to mention, the announcer gave us a weather report from 'back home'...winter storm advisory, 30 degrees, 6 inches of snow on the way, etc.

The Twins won 3-2, their game on the following day featured just about their entire second squad, so we were fortunate to see the 'real' starting lineup (except for Joe Mauer on the DL). My father-in-law asked if Bartlett was able to autograph my ball, I told him "he already did"...there's a large black mark on the ball where he signed it WITH HIS BAT.

I shared this story with my Uncle John, who fondly remembered he and my Grandfather listening to Twins games at the Lakes years ago. My Grandpa gave me a Twins T-shirt when I was a kid (I think I still wore it when I was in junior high!!), I sure was thinking about him that day.

Akinori Iwamura on deck! Sugoi desu ne!!


Look, honey! No hands! JASON BARTLETT SIGNED MY BALL!!

3/20/09 Los Angeles Dodgers 4, Kansas City Royals 9

Surprise Stadium
Surprise, AZ

I had been anxiously waiting to see some of Luke Hochevar’s ‘stuff’ and when he gave up 4 hits, 3 runs with 1 K and 1 BB (facing 8 of the 9 in the order) in only the first inning, I could feel my lunch slowly returning to its origin. I stayed nervous in the 2nd, when he walked Kemp (2nd batter of the inning) and then hit Ausmus right after. Fortunately, a 2-4 PO (Olivo to Bloomquist) caught Kemp at 2nd, then Ethier flew out to LF finishing the inning with no runs, no hits. Hochevar’s next two innings saw him chilling out, showing his true stuff after a wild start. The Royals allowed no more runs to score until Luna’s GRD (off of Peralta) scored lead-off batter Matt Kemp.

The Royals’ offense went crazy in the 5th, the entire order plus one showed up at the plate as Eric Milton (earning an L and a BS) allowed 5 hits and 6 runs, 1 BB, and committed an error that allowed CoCo Crisp to reach first and eventually score when Mike “Big League Chew” Jacobs hit a GRD. The nightmare continued for Milton in the 6th, when Chris Lubanski homered in his first plate appearance, scoring Crisp again (who reached on another error, this one charged to Luna). Milton retired the next 3 batters, but that was it for him; giving the ball to Josh Lindblum who kept the Royals scoreless for the rest of the game. Brandon Duckworth gets the W for being the pitcher-at-hand when Milton gave up the game for the Dodgers.

DODGERS 4 11 2
ROYALS 9 10 0

It was a drag that Mark Teahen didn’t play, but Bloomquist was great offensively and defensively (1 huge PO and 6 Assists), playing the entire game. The game was called by Frank White, Ryan Lefevre and Joel Goldberg, and was lavishly seasoned with a handful of great interviews during innings: Dennis Leonard (top of 3rd), Willie Wilson (bottom of 4th), David DeJesus (bottom of 6th) and the highlight, an impromptu chat with the legendary Steve Palermo, who told some great stories (including the Phil Niekro ‘Foul Ball’ story).

Scoring Notes: Still trying to keep track of which side of the plate batters are working from…see the dots on each side of the ‘diamond’? I am still forgetting from time to time. The “-S” after each batter’s name indicates ‘Switch Hitter’ – that way I don’t have to write “LH” and “RH” for each of them. Keep an eye on the ‘Switch Hitter,’ let the dots speak to the rest.

(I scored this game 6/15/2009)

3/14/09 Los Angeles Angels 6, Chicago Cubs 4

Hohokam Park, Mesa, AZ (Spring Training)

ARGH – a great 6th inning rally during a scoreless game seemed to be great, at first. The Angels’ response in the 7th was a nightmare.

The first time I ever proved my score, it worked out on 3/25/09.

3/1/09 Houston Astros 1, New York Mets 13

Traditon Field, St. Lucie, FL (Spring Training)

First game I ever scored; what a mess! Lots of crazy substitutions also, and not the kind that I found would be typical…no position-for-position changes, both teams scrambled around the batting order like me at a Chinese buffet. On top of that, the insane 3rd inning the Mets had just about fried my pencil.

My first time seeing Louisvillian Sean Green in action for the Mets, even though his performance was a bit lackluster. Darren O’Day, that guy has quite a crazy throw. Putz really got the W because Hensley allowed all those runs in the 3rd inning.

I gave up trying to prove this one because it was so chaotic – like my first batch of beer, it was great but a disaster all the way through.