Arziona Spring Break

Prince Fielder so far has had a pretty good spring. He started out with a bit of a power drought, but up to this point in the spring (including today) he is batting .286 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs. Not too bad for 16 games if you ask me. The Prince of Power is back! The doubters need to shut up and get aboard the Prince train.

A long time ago I learned that drinking more than a few in the parking lot and then sneaking in your own beer/booze saves you a ton of money once you are inside the park. I pocketed a beer in my cargo shorts, then went to the bathroom stall to slam it. Not the ideal place to hang out and drink, but it was better than getting caught and thrown out by the ushers. But hey, it's cheaper beer.

Goodyear field is a brand new ballpark in the brand new city of Goodyear, Arizona. And this place sure was classy. It was like they took a Major League ballpark and subtracted 40,000 seats and made it a more intimate environment. It had all of the amenities of a modern stadium, but unfortunately with that came the price of a modern stadium. I wasn't very happy about that.

Seth McClung got the start today, and gave up 2 runs in 3 innings of work. They were down 3-1 when Big Prince Fielder smacked a 2 run homerun to cut the deficit down to 1. Casey McGehee (in the on-deck circle) would later hit a 2-run home run that would put the Brewers ahead for good. His spectacular play in Spring Training would later earn him a spot on the opening day roster.

Former Brewers top prospect Matt LaPorta was the centerpiece in the CC Sabathia trade last summer. I do wish that he would've eventually cracked the big leagues with the Brewers, but I understand that we wouldn't have made the playoffs without CC. So it was worth giving up a Matt LaPorta for the playoffs.

One of the reasons that I was excited to see the Brewers in action in Spring Training was to see what Ken Macha (the Manager) and Willie Randolph (the Bench Coach) would bring to the team. Macha managed well in Oakland a few years ago and Randolph had a few successful years with the Mets. I was also looking forward to seeing the baseball knowledge (bunting, small ball defense) that they could teach this (still) young team.

I really did enjoy my time here at Goodyear ballpark. I suppose it helps that the Brewers won today, but above all it was a wonderful experience. I always love to go to road games, and although you are obviously in the minority (with some exceptions) it is always exciting to see a new stadium. I will always like Maryvale Ballpark because it is the Brewers Spring Training Home, but a place like this is more my style. I just wish that my Dad was feeling better. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem drinking alone, but sometimes it's nice when someone else gets hyped and rowdy with you. I can't always be that one guy who is the only one cheering for their team. You'd think that at least a few random fans would join with me and start the revolution. I guess not. Maybe I need to bring my siblings and cousins out here if I intended to start the revolution. I suppose that is what it takes to get it done.

Brad Nelson was one of the Brewers top 1st prospects a few years ago. He was tearing it up in the minor leagues, and seemed to be the 1st baseman of the future. And then the Brewers drafted Prince Fielder. The rest is history, as Prince put up some ridiculous numbers in both the minors and the big leagues. Until he is traded or becomes a free agent, Prince Fielder is our 1st baseman. So Brad Nelson started playing the corner outfield positions, hoping to someday make the big league club. He came into 2009 Spring Training out of minor league options, which meant that if he didn't make the big league team, he would become a free agent. Sop what did he do? He went apeshit on pitching and compiled some pretty impressive Spring Training numbers. And although a lot of people (including me) will argue that Spring Training numbers don't count, nor do they really mean anything, they were hard to ignore and Brad Nelson found himself on the team on Opening Day for the 1st time in his career. So far (as of May 14th) he has yet to record a hit during the regular season, but I hope that he does so we don't lose him to free agency if we attempt to send him down to the minors to call someone else up. But it could happen, and that would be baseball.

So the Brewers would come away victorious in this battle today, and I would now be 1-1 on my trip down here. Towards the end of the game, we walked around the ballpark to get a view from every area. Like Maryvale Ballpark (and the majority of the Cactus League stadiums), Goodyear Ballpark had an expansive lawn seating area in the outfield. While I did like our 5th row seats right behind the Brewers dugout, I could certainly see myself chilling out here in the future. I know that some of my friends have expressed interest in going to Spring Training, so who know - maybe I'll be back here next year. We watched the remainder of the game from the outfield, and by the time that we made it to the right field corner, the game was over. So there was nothing left to do but trek back to the car and make the long drive home.