Cactus League Spring Training Baseball

For those of you who have read the previous post about Shasta's encounter with an Agave, you know we spent an extra night in Palm Springs. With postponing our scheduled arrival in Phoenix, I missed the first Cactus League Spring Training baseball game I had a ticket for. I was looking forward to experiencing the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, the Spring home for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies. Of course, Shasta’s well being took precedence over baseball. Still, when I read the Sunday Phoenix paper’s sport section and found out Zack Greinke pitched 2 innings against the A’s, I was bummed. 

Attending a couple of Cactus League Spring Training Baseball games was a treat! The first game was at the A’s recently rehabbed Hohokam Stadium in Mesa. Previously this facility was claimed by the Chicago Cubs.

Bo Mel survying his domain.

(# 22) Josh Reddick posing with a fan for a picture.

A's fans clamoring for Nerd Power!
Eric Sogard, # 28, is a popular player here at Hohokam Stadium.

Personable Ryan Madson, # 44, a new acquisition to bolster the A's bullpen.

The second game was at Sloan Park, the new outrageously extravagant Chicago Cubs Spring home. Mesa forked out a lot of money and, with over the top water features, a great deal of water for this park (this is the desert, folks).

The posted starting lineup for the game I attended.

Joe Maddon, the stellar leader of the Chicago Cubs, smiles in the
direction of the famous, to those who attend the Cubs home games,
man in the lower left of the picture who sang the national anthem.

All the while I was at enjoying Spring baseball, Dwight and Shasta enjoyed our comfortable and fabulously located digs in the Arcadia District of Phoenix.

Even though we were not able to hike out into the wildness, the wild inhabitants came to us for our viewing and enjoyment. While sitting at our dining table we were able to look out in this small back yard to view Great-tailed Grackle floating about on the cleaning hose of the swimming pool and a pair of Bendire's Thrashers building a nest in a small palm tree. And while walking about the neighborhood we saw a number of coveys of Gambel's Quail. And the first evening, upon our arrival, we saw a small coyote running along the street and into a nearby backyard.

At the silliness of all the hoopla of Cactus League Spring Training Baseball may each of you