Reno Aces 5 at Fresno Grizzlies 12 - April 24, 2011

One of the best things about expansion in the major leagues is that there are 10 new minor league teams that also need to be created. Such was the case in 1998, when the Arizona Diamondbacks entered the National League. The PCL's Phoenix Firebirds, affiliate of the San Francisco Giants at the time, moved to Tucson where they became the Sidewinders and began an affiliation with Arizona. However, Tucson already had a team, the Toros, who then had to become affiliated with the Giants and find another city to call home. The lucky location was Fresno, who named the team Grizzlies and have hosted AAA ball since, watching as a number of great players passed through on their way to the 2010 World Series championship.

Chukchansi Park

The Grizzlies play in downtown's Chukchansi Park, whose naming rights are owned by a local casino operated by the Chukchansi Indian tribe. The park was opened in 2002 and is apparently part of an effort to improve the downtown core, which is still rather rundown in some parts.

There are plenty of $5 lots surrounding the stadium and the streets in the immediate vicinity have meters which are apparently enforced during games. However, you can find free parking just across the railroad tracks on G street. Be aware though that the phrase "wrong side of the tracks" comes to mind in this area - I felt fine parking there for a day game, but a night game might be a different story.

The stadium has a lower level that stretches to the corners, an upper level around the infield, and five small bleacher sections above left field (view from there shown above). Tickets range from $8 for the bleachers to $16 for the Diamond Box seats near the field. Some sections are $2 cheaper if bought in advance. There is also a club section on the second level above first base which will run you $40. Capacity is over 12,000 but attendance is much less, so you can pretty much sit where you want.

There are a number of interesting features here that merit some time. In the spacious concourse behind home plate there are some displays that show the makeup of bats, balls, and gloves.

There's also a Fresno Sports Hall of Fame near one of the gates. This honours players as far back as Fresno-born Frank Chance, and includes two former Blue Jay managers in Bobby Cox and Jimy Williams. The Grizzlies do an excellent job preserving local history here and you can spend more than a few minutes reading about the local heroes, who also include Tom Seaver.

There is a display of Grizzlies memorabilia that has been loaned by some fans. The team also created an All-Decade squad and have banners lining the concourse with photos of those players in Fresno uniforms. Below is Tim Lincecum before he and his hair became famous.

As usual, starting lineups are posted but I liked how they had the visiting team's logo on the board as well.

There are two scoreboards, one is a digital board which shows the batter's photo and stats (below), the other is a hand-operated linescore, which I've shown later in the post.

Chukchansi Park is a ballpark I really like. I enjoy watching minor league games from the second level, which provides a different view than you would get from the upper deck in a major league park. Despite having a relatively short history, the Grizzlies are doing their part to commemorate both their past and that of the area. The park is a great place to relax and spend a sunny afternoon, at least early in the season. Rumour has it that the summer becomes unbearably hot and misters are required to cool down. Regardless, if you are in town, check out a game here, it's well worth it.

The Game

The Reno Aces, Arizona's affiliate, were visiting for the second of a 4-game set. Observant readers might wonder how Arizona's affiliate went from Tucson to Reno; the Sidewinders left southern Arizona for northern Nevada two seasons ago.

Kevin Mulvey (above) got the start for the visitors against Matt Yourkin (below). Mulvey pitched a no-hitter in college and was part of the Johan Santana trade, but appears to have hit his limit after appearing in 10 MLB games with Minnesota and Arizona, posting a 7.90 ERA and 1.76 WHIP. Things aren't going well for him this year either, as he was pounded in his first three starts, giving up 20 ER in just 13.2 IP. Yourkin has yet to taste his major league cup of coffee, having worked his way up the system after being undrafted out of St. Mary's College.

Given these two pitchers and the hitter friendly PCL, I expected a lot of runs and that's what I got. Fresno opened the scoring when Brandon Belt, recently sent down from the Giants, singled home Conor Gillaspie in the first inning.

Reno tied it in the third on a Collin Cowgill (below) homer, but Fresno regained the lead with three consecutive doubles in the 4th.

The wheels fell off for Mulvey in the fifth. After Gillaspie walked and Belt singled, Brett Pill was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Travis Ishikawa, who played in 2 games in the World Series but is starting the season in Fresno, then sent the first pitch he saw to deep left field for a grand slam that made it 7-1. Mulvey continued to struggle, giving up a single, walk, and hitting Yourkin before finally being taken out. His replacement, Tom Layne, allowed all three inherited runners to score, plus one of his own as Fresno plated 8 runs in the frame. Interestingly, all 3 Reno outs in the top half were fly balls to centerfield (position number 8).

Cody Ransom had a 3-run homer for Reno in the 6th and Cowgill scored after tripling in the 7th, but it was way too little, way too late as Fresno won in a blowout, 12-5. There's the linescore below, but the guy was in a rush to go home and immediately began dismantling it after the game. Leave it up for a few minutes at least guys!

The Grizzlies pounded out 17 hits with their top 7 batters all enjoying a multi-hit game. Despite the high score, the game was played in a tidy 2:48, which allowed me plenty of daylight to drive south to Bakersfield.

Notes

With both teams having parent clubs in the National League, pitchers batted for themselves.

Marc Kroon, who spent six seasons in Japan with Yokohama and Yomiuri, is the Grizzlies' closer this year, and he needs just one more save to notch 250 in his pro career (177 of those coming in the NPB). Unfortunately, with the blowout here, he didn't make an appearance. With the way Brian Wilson has started the season, maybe Kroon will be called up. But I doubt it.

As it was Easter Sunday, the Grizzlies had an Easter egg hunt for kids after the game. The word "hunt" might be a bit of a stretch as they just poured 5,000 eggs in the outfield and then let the kids run wild.

An interesting promotion is a race between two eyes and a nose. One eye was blue, one was red (from too much drinking?) and the nose was running. The race is sponsored by a local eye care concern and as you can see below, the blue eye won. Yay for blue eyes!

I skipped the Braves-Giants game which turned out to be the smart move. I listened to the pre-game show on the car radio and heard that fans began lining up 4 hours before the game to get their hands on the replica World Series trophy. As one caller noted, why not giveaway enough for everyone? The game was won by Atlanta, 9-6 in 10 innings. So I didn't miss anything other than bad pitching and disgruntled fans.

Next Up

I'm in Bakersfield today. The "tough" part of the trip is over and there's just six minor league games to enjoy over the final week: two Cal League games here and in High Desert and then four PCL games in Las Vegas and Reno before I fly back to Japan a week from today. Updates will be posted as usual, so check back regularly.

Best,

Sean

Read More

Los Angeles Kings 3 at San Jose Sharks 1 - April 23, 2011

I planned this roadtrip long before the NHL playoffs had been decided, but the hockey gods smiled on me and scheduled a game while I was in town. I actually saw San Jose's first ever home playoff game in 1994 (I also saw their first game in franchise history in Vancouver in 1991) so it wasn't a must-see game for me. When I went to the box office for the AFL game the night before, I also checked the ticket situation for the hockey game. They had a slightly overpriced single in row 4 of the upper bowl. I usually like sitting there so I splurged, but it turned out to be a mistake.

HP Pavilion

Located just on the edge of downtown San Jose, the HP Pavilion was opened in 1993. It was built to house the city's new NHL team, the San Jose Sharks, who had started play in 1991 and were using the outdated Cow Palace as their home. It was originally called the San Jose Arena, until Compaq bought the naming rights in 2001. When HP bought Compaq a year later, the arena was given its current moniker, which also is one of HP's computer models.

The central location means that street parking is available and you can avoid the $20 lots. I noticed people walking over to the Alameda, which is a continuation of Santa Clara Street, where parking was plentiful and only 10 minutes away at most.

The arena has two seating bowls and only one concourse, which is still wide enough to accommodate a sell-out playoff hockey crowd. Concessions are widely available although I didn't try any as usual. The carvery located on the mezzanine behind section 110 seemed to be the best option with tables and TVs tuned to the other playoff games.

As you walk around the concourse, you will notice the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame along the walls. It honours athletes and coaches who were associated with the area in some way. Below are the plaques for former Sharks' goalie Arturs Irbe and Bruce Jenner, who trained at San Jose City College before winning the 1976 Olympic decathlon.

When the arena was built, luxury suites were only included above the lower bowl. I remember coming here to watch the Sharks first home playoff game in 1994 and sitting at the very top of the rink in a folding chair. Those cheap seats have been replaced by a new row of luxury boxes encircling the upper bowl.

With only one level of luxury boxes,the upper bowl seats are quite close. Unfortunately, as you can see above, there are some obstructions that block parts of the ice for some seats in the first few rows. What is insanely stupid is that you are not supposed to lean forward to avoid the obstruction. I couldn't believe this, especially during an NHL playoff game, when you should be on the edge of your seat. But it's true, everybody politely sits back in their seats, even when the play gets exciting. No wonder the Sharks never win in the playoffs, the intensity of the stadium is not what it could be. To me, this is just terrible arena design and should be addressed by someone who is actually a fan.

To avoid this problem, don't buy the obstructed view seats. I wasn't told that my seat had an obstructed view when I bought the ticket (it was printed on the ticket but I didn't notice until the next day and it wouldn't have changed my mind anyway) so if you want to see the whole game, choose a lower bowl or end zone seat. Or just watch it on TV.

The Game

If you've been following the playoffs, you'll know that San Jose came back from 4-0 down to beat LA in game 3. Antti Niemi (below) was pulled in that game and Antero Niittymaki backstopped the Sharks to the victory. But Niemi played game 4 as San Jose won easily 6-3 to take a 3-1 lead in the series.

So the fans in San Jose were expecting a clincher tonight. Instead, they got a replay of the first half of game 3. The Sharks broke down defensively on two occasions in the first few minutes and Niemi wasn't able to save his mates. First Wayne Simmonds tipped a Kyle Clifford deflection just 3:36 in, and 3:38 after that, a San Jose giveaway at the LA blue line resulted in a 2-on-1 with Simmonds and Clifford. Simmonds took a hard shot and Niemi saved it, but the puck bounced out of his glove and right to Clifford, who banged home the easy rebound. Just 1:28 later, another San Jose giveaway, this one in their own zone, allowed Dustin Penner a weak wrister from the high slot that somehow beat Niemi and left the fans in stunned silence.

Niemi was pulled having given up 3 goals on 4 shots, the only save being the rebound that Clifford scored on. Niittymaki came on and much like game 3, the Kings again went into a defensive mode. San Jose attacked for the remainder of the game, constantly testing Kings' keeper Jonathan Quick, but this game they could only beat him once when Patrick Marleau (below) converted a goalmouth scramble early in the second.

The Sharks kept coming but were denied again and again by Quick (and at least once by the goalpost). San Jose finished with 52 shots, which was a Kings' playoff franchise record for shots against. Quick was fantastic and his 51 saves are the best in the playoffs so far. He's been inconsistent in the first 5 games, but his performance yesterday will certainly be giving the San Jose players something to think about.

Kings' captain Dustin Brown leads his team onto the ice

The final score - check out the shots

Notes

The game didn't have much to write about, so I include this section as an excuse to post more pictures (I took very few given the problems with my seat location).

The Sharks have three ex-Leafs, including Ian White (above) and Jamal Mayers (below). They were part of the Phaneuf trade but both escaped Calgary and ended up here (White also spent a short time in Carolina). White seemed confused to be playing hockey in late April for some reason.

The Sharks also boast Calder candidate Logan Couture (below).

Sharky came to visit our section and had the crowd cheering. Despite the early deficit, the fans stayed positive and almost nobody left early, which was a good sign. Of course, their team had already completed one incredible comeback, so there was hope in the air until the final whistle.

I think Niemi is exhausted after winning the Cup last season and playing 60 games this season, but the Sharks plan to use him again in Game 6, so we shall see what happens. Regardless, after watching this game, I can safely state that neither of these teams can be considered Cup contenders. I'm sticking with my Boston/Detroit prediction.

Best,

Sean

Read More

Chivas USA 2 at San Jose Earthquakes 1 - April 23, 2011

Major League Soccer (MLS) is the 5th biggest league in North America and continues to grow in popularity. Expansion in Vancouver and Portland has brought the circuit to 18 teams in its 16th season, with the majority of the clubs (11) located west of the Mississippi, unlike other pro leagues. Just like football though, it's not roadtrip friendly with teams playing just once a week. I've been in most MLS cities before but never had the chance to see a match until today, when the San Jose Earthquakes hosted Chivas USA in a battle of bottom-feeders.

Buck Shaw Stadium

Located on the campus of Santa Clara University, Buck Shaw Stadium is named for Lawrence T. "Buck" Shaw, coach of the Santa Clara football team 1936-42. There are parking lots nearby that charge between $10 and $20 but there is street parking just off campus that is free, although it fills up early.

Tickets range from $20 for benches facing the goals to $50 for box seats. No reason to splurge here, but be aware that the Earthquakes do draw well and you can't just sit anywhere. Sections 108 and 109 are for the San Jose fans who stand and sing, while the visitor supporters sit in section A. Be aware of that if you are getting tickets on the street.

I tried to enter by the George Best Gate (the famous Manchester United player also spent a couple of seasons as a member of the NASL's San Jose Earthquakes in 1980-81) but was told to go around to gate A for some reason.

When you enter by gate A, there are a few concession trucks but the real action is at the other side of the stadium at Alumni Green, where there are plenty of pre-game activities for kids as well as some interesting concessions such as the ice cream/karaoke truck. I stopped to take a picture and then hurried away. Public karaoke is not something anybody should have to endure.

The pictures below are of the field from 3 different angles as you walk from Gate A over to the Alumni Green.

The Earthquakes won two MLS Cups in 2001 and 2003, and have two retired numbers for John Doyle and Ronald Cerritos; these are commemorated shields and jerseys respectively.

I had a seat in the first row looking at one of the goals. This was a mistake. I expected nothing in front of me, but there was a pathway that was in use for the entire game. So I saw some soccer, but also a lot of asses as people walked back and forth during the match. Sit about 10 rows up to avoid this annoyance. Before the game though, you can stand here to take photos of the players as they warm up.

Quake Brandon McDonald

The stadium is OK for college sports, but as a professional league venue, especially one of this stature, it is sorely lacking in amenities. For soccer, it might not be such a big deal as the games are less than two hours, but the team knows that their digs are inferior and there are plans to build a new stadium. In the meantime, if you are in San Jose at the same time as the Earthquakes, try to attend a game; it can be good fun if you are sitting high enough.

I should note that some games are played in Stanford's football stadium when the visiting team is more of a draw, such as the New York Red Bulls with former Arsenal star Thierry Henry.

The Game

San Jose came in with a record of 1-2-2 while Chivas was winless on season, with 3 draws from their 5 matches.

The first 10 minutes were played mostly in the midfield as the teams tried to feel each other out. Chivas had a chance early with a ball off the post, but it was San Jose who opened the scoring when Chris Wondolowski, last season's scoring leader, headed home from a sharp angle. That's him celebrating below as Chivas keeper Dan Kennedy picks himself up off the ground.

After that, Chivas took over. I was sitting in the other end for that half and I'd say that San Jose had maybe 3 rushes into the Chivas goal area over the final 30 minutes, none of which resulted in a serious scoring chance. I spent the half craning my neck to see the action 100 metres away.

The visitors were rewarded for their persistence with a goal in stoppage time when Alejandro Moreno flicked a header past Jon Busch to send the game to halftime tied at 1.

The second half saw Chivas continue to create chances. Below is a shot of Busch making a kick stop on a point-blank shot from Marcos Mondaini.

It looked like a draw was on the cards, but a late defensive collapse by San Jose allowed Justin Braun a clean break on the right side. His shot was saved by Busch but the rebound went into the feet of Mariano Trujillo, who bundled it home. I was making my way upstairs to take some pictures from a different angle and turned around just in time to see the goal, but could only capture a picture of the Chivas celebration below. Both Braun and Trujillo were substitutes and their energy was apparent on this goal.

There were few fouls in this game and only a couple of times when players rolled around in pain. Below is Jorge Flores recovering from a tackle.

Simon Elliot with a free kick

San Jose had no reply and Chivas went on to win 2-1 for their first victory of the young season. San Jose skipper Frank Yallop, a former Canadian national player and coach, bemoaned his squad's lack of effort after the game. Highlights can be found at the MLS Matchcenter.

Notes

There was an exhibition wrestling match on the Alumni Green before the soccer match. It featured two masked wrestlers from Pro Wrestling Revolution. It was great fun to watch as the hero and villain did battle for a few minutes, including some moves on the lawn outside the ring.

The photo above is the hero jumping from the ring post onto the lawn, where fans were scattering. Below is the winning move, the sitting suplex or something similar.

Frankly, the wrestling was more interesting than the soccer game, at least I had a clear view.

Best,

Sean

Read More