We went on a tour of the Diamondbacks’ home, AKA Chase
Field, yesterday. Yes it was a sales promotion and yes, we bought tickets, six
games, including the Giants in mid-August (Kathy and Ken, you could join us!)
after we have recovered from our lengthy SBT (Super Baseball Trip).
It really was a kick to go onto a “real” major league field
and see just HOW FAR it is to the window that Mark “steroids” McGuire hit a
ball through! And to see the players’ clubhouse. As do most (all?) baseball
clubs, the Diamondbacks give their players everything and the visiting team—NOTHING!
The D’backs have a beautiful batting cage (indoors—remember, in the summer it’s
110 in the shade here!). The visitors have a room. That’s it, a room to hit in.
In one of the hallways they had an auto tire protruding from
the wall. That’s so the players can vent their frustrations on the tire and not
on the pipes on the wall, the fixtures in the bathroom, or anything else that
will cost a lot of money to fix (which is what they used to do)!
The trip to Phoenix was really just a shakedown cruise for
our refurbished motorhome. And we did find a few things that need tweaking. And
a lot of stuff that is just plain old and working adequately or some not
working very well at all. So we are thinking about a newer motorhome. Our
Residency is 18 years old and has about 60,000 miles on it so it is getting a
bit long in the tooth. But the minor annoyances are getting to us. The drawers
that don’t want to open easily. The switches that don’t want to turn on easily.
The satellite antenna that was working in the morning but isn’t working in the
afternoon. The showerhead that leaks just a little bit. Nothing earthshaking
but for a lengthy period of daily use might start turning into major flaws. So
we’re looking.
And why do the Fenway fans sing “Sweet Caroline” in the
middle of the 8th inning? Because, “On Opening Night 2010, Mr.
Diamond made a surprise appearance in the Fens in the middle of the eighth.
With a microphone in hand, a Red Sox hat on his head, and the words “Keep the
Dodgers in Brooklyn” scrawled across his blue blazer, he led the sing-along.
Then, the Red Sox finished off a 9 – 7 win over the [hated!] Yankees.” (From The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip).
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