Brewers Spring Training 2014

The majority of the Spring Training games in Arizona are played during the day. This afternoon the Brewers played the San Diego Padres in Peoria (a suburb waaaaay on the outskirts of town) and won 8-0. Made me wish that I went to that game instead of the pitiful 12-2 loss against the Anaheim Angels yesterday. But I had a really great time hanging out with my cousin Tyler. Since he is 15 years younger than me, we didn't have much in common growing up. But now that he's in college we could talk like two adults. This made for a really nice afternoon but now it was time for more baseball. There are 1 or 2 night games so I decided to go watch the Colorado Rockies take on the Oakland A's at their home ballpark in Phoenix. Tyler wasn't up to it so I was flying solo tonight.

When I was hanging out in the leftfield corner I decided to film another entry for my "25 Brewers in 25 Days" feature for the 2014 Milwaukee Brewers. Tonight I decided to talk about 1st base and how it won't be as much of a mistake as it was last year when everyone and their Mom was given a chance to play 1st.

Phoenix Municipal Stadium is one of the oldest stadiums in the Cactus League. It was built in 1964 and this will be the last year the Athletics call this place home before they move in HoHokam Park, the former home of the Chicago Cubs. Sure, it didn't have the amenities of the modern Spring Training parks, but it had a certain kind of old school charm that can't be replicated. I'm all about old school when it comes to baseball. I was excited to go and watch a game in which I had no vested interest. Rockies vs. A's. Who cares which team wins?

The only negative thing I can say about Phoenix Municipal Stadium is that there was no left field bleachers or grass area. As you know, that is the home of the Sombrero. So when the Sombrero doesn't have a home to go to, it picks the next best thing. At PMS (heh heh, PMS) that meant home was now in the left field corner. All things considered it really wasn't all that bad. But I miss Miller Park.

I had a couple of drinks out in the parking lot and smuggled in my own booze, so I was just fine with spending the evening alone. Besides, when I'm watching a baseball game I actually prefer to be alone because it allows me to watch all of the little nuances of the sport that makes this the greatest game ever. I was kind of rooting for the A's to win because they are small market like the Brewers are they hardly get the respect they deserve despite being a damn good team. They've been my choice in the MLB Playoffs the last few years.

There were a couple of Oakland A "Superfans" in front of me and they were heckling Colorado relief pitcher Matt Belisle. They were asking him where the party was at tonight and where was the best place to get chicken wings in this town. These guys were awesome and kept me entertained throughout the game.