10/10/11

Tuesday October 4th - NLDS game 3

Well, rough start for tueasday as we tried to figure out if and how we will get our tickets to see the possibly deciding game 3 of the NLDS between the club hosting us and the club from the city where we are based.

We called the agency and they don't really know what happened. No real valid information about how we will get our precious passes.

Filip is on the field with the infielders, hitting some fungoes with Ned Yost Jr (Son of the Royals manager) Matt Erickson (manager of class A Wisconsion Timber Rattlers) and infield coordinator Bob Miczick.

Twenty minutes later, theboutfielders get out of the cages and on the field for the IPS (Individual Position Skills) while infielder sand catcher shead to the cages to take care of their hitting routines.

We have a full staff again as all the coaches who were in Milwaukee during the play-off week-end are back.

At 9.00 AM, we take the bus to Glendale to face the Dodgers.
Glendale, like more and more MLB facilities in Arizona, is hoting 2 MLB clubs. The Dodgers and the White Sox.  
Rockies and Diamondbacks share the newest Stadium in Scottsdale's Salt River Fields, Royals and Rangers in Surprise, Padres and Mariners in Peoria, Indians and Reds in Goodyear.
It's a relatively new complex and the stadium, Camelback ranch, is shared by both teams. A way for the host city to make sure they have a home game every day during Spring Training.
For the rest, each team has its individual facilities (gym, offices, practice fields...) and you can spend a lot of time on the site without seeing a players from the other organization.

Pitching coach Elvin Nina walking towards the field on the gorgeous Dodgers' side of Glendale complex

Josh Wilson stays sharp with the Instructional League team, waiting to maybe be added to the play-off roster.




Two Brewers Major leaguers show up for that game. They are not on the NLDS roster but may be added for next round. They practice with the big club but are sent by the Brewers staff in order to get some at bats and stay sharp.
Josh Wilson (UT) and Martin Maldonado (C) get their work in and it doesn't take a scientist to understand the difference of level between them and the rest of the players. The sound of the bats and the flawless defensive plays speak for themselves.

Back to our tickets...

We find out that the only way to get our tickets in time is to drive 30 minutes and get them at the seller's place. The good news however, is that we will be refunded from all the handling fees and we also receive a coupon valid for next tickets. That would be really useful in the event the Brewers couldn't seal the deal tonight.

After we meet the seller, who happens to have lived in Brussels for a few years and speaks french fluently, we are headed to Chase Field.

We are pretty early and attend the batting practice.

No baseballs for us as we have no luck in our positioning.
It's also true that we don't want it as badly as most fans there.

Teams line-up during the National Anthem

The game startst and it's a wild one.
Some brewers fans brought their brooms, hoping to celebrate of sweep over the D-backs.
The resilient Snakes don't go that way however, as they stay alive in the series, thanks to a grand slam, the third in 3 straight home games and the 2nd we get to see live.

Seems like we will see another game at Chase Field...

Chase Field during BP










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