Baseballhead:
Road Rave

Michael Cox

With a ceremonial drenching in Northwest rain, I'm back home in one piece and bustin' to write a new Baseballhead after surviving a land where REO Speedwagon apparently never went away.

I do have to say I'm somewhat torn -- I was originally intending to give you Part II in my series on the Great Southwest Trip of '99, but there's so much to tell that I had decided to wait and give you a full-size arti-cule later in the week. However, MLB threw a monkeywrench in my plans by not doing anything even remotely exciting in the past week, so:

I couldn't have picked a more exciting series for my Phoenix stay -- three games against Les Expos, and three last-at-bat Diamondback wins. Each climax was more suspenseful than the last, with the May 10 Jay Bell blast preceding a tenth-inning shot by Luis Gonzalez that not only won the game on May 11, but prolonged his hitting streak, which seemed dead when he was walked in the eighth. In the series finale, Matt Williams was the hero, hitting the last of three ninth-inning homers to come back from a three-run deficit.

Unfortunately, fan support has not yet followed in the footsteps of the team. You've probably already heard that attendance is down a whopping 25% from last season, and unfortunately many of those still attending have taken their cues from the West Coast teams, arriving late and leaving early. In fact, on the 10th, so many people left the game after the ninth inning I couldn't help wondering whether people thought that the game had ended in a tie.

Also, I've never seen even close to that many cell phones at a ball game anywhere, and that includes Dodger Stadium. On the other hand, maybe that explains the early exits -- gotta put in a full day's work to keep in good standing with Airtouch.

As usual, very little of this diatribe goes for the fans in the outfield and upper deck. Enduring the 10-degree-higher temperatures in the cheaper seats, most cheers began up top and spread to the front of the stereo spectrum. Again, I blame teams for charging a premium for behind-the-plate seats, which results in more disinterested "fans," and worse, a high percentage of vacant seats.

This was even more true at Edison International Field of Anaheim, where the ultraposh restaurant for the high rollers has a view of the field, so many who are at the game never sit in their actual seats. I'd estimate that about half the "Diamond Club" seats were empty at both games, as were many of the "MVP Club" seats, where I sat much of the time.

I do like the return of the former Anaheim Stadium to its baseball-only status, despite the apparent relocation of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to the center field bleachers. With the football seats knocked out, the upper decks have a great view of...well, the freeway and The Pond, but you can't really expect much more, unless they move the park to the beach.

The renovation still is far from complete: the lower concourses are still decorated in Mid-'60s Concrete Bunker, as are all restrooms except for (of course) the "MVP" johns, which ironically seem to have messier patrons (or at least less accurate ones, if you get my drift).

On the plus side, the old Anaheim Stadium led baseball in the category of between-inning video ads, which appears (knock on wood) to be relegated to the failed experiment file. The Angels' A/V club needs to brush up their skills, though -- the graphics on their new, expensive scoreboards are the worst I've seen in years. Keep the cartoon monster doing the "Cabbage Patch," though.

And yes, they call their employees "cast members." Disney still hasn't been able to talk pitching coach Dick Pole into a stage name, however.

Item: Joe Torre returned to the helm of the Yankees, and one can't help but wonder if their recent losing streak might not have helped the decision along a little. After being swept by the Angels, team unity seemed to be suffering some, and Don Zimmer didn't help much by throwing a tantrum when the team attempted to hold a players-only meeting last Wednesday night.

Torre had been talking about taking another week before returning to the dugout, but in the world that orbits around George Steinbrenner, such decisions can be changed with a phone call. It may even have been Torre himself who was antsy enough over the team's play of late to declare his recovery over. Either way, the Yanks' recent fortunes may well have enhanced Torre's recuperative powers...

Item: Richard "Stop Calling Me Dick!" Jacobs is looking to sell the Tribe -- but only if the offering price is right. Not much to comment on here, as it fits perfectly with Jacobs' pattern of making all his moves from a strategic money-earning standpoint. He's shrewd enough to realize that the sellout crowds and the dominance of the AL Central (which go hand in hand) can't last forever, and wants to find a media mogul willing to pay a Dodger-level price before the team's fortunes take a turn for the worse.

One thought does stick in the back of one's mind, however: Faced with growing sympathy towards deposing the team's Wahoo logo, Jacobs has maintained a stony-faced, stubborn resolve about the whole matter, and a sale now would enable him to save face while placing the matter on the shoulders of someone else.

Early odds are 3-1 for the Indians' ballpark being renamed Cablevision Field, and 1,900,301-1 against Strikethree.com Park.

Item: Last but not least, the "new" strike zone, featuring newly-squeezed sides but without the mandated higher upper limit, is the talk of the game, if only because there's little else. There isn't much to add, because it is being squeezed, with the walk rate climbing and home runs coming from the most improbable places. I'm not sure about the homers, because there's nobody on pace to break the new record, but the increase in bases on balls is a good sign.

Players have noticed, broadcasters have noticed (although in the latter case, it tends to be along the lines of "not many hitters would have laid off that pitch"), and the umps themselves are keeping mum, as they usually do. There are a few writers who say it's being done with the full knowledge and consent of MLB to generate more offense, but anyone who says that is ignorant of just how acrimonious relations have become between baseball and its umps. If Bud Selig or Sandy Alderson had wanted to simply shrink the zone, you can bet the umpires would be calling it bigger right now.

On the other hand, perhaps the umps were told to make the zone larger because Selig and Alderson knew they'd go the other way?

I guess that depends on your assessment of the intelligence of the principals, I guess.

about the author

Michael Cox has one recommendation for fellow travelers: Do not use the rest stop bathrooms in Nevada or those on the club level at Edison Field. He'll be happy to provide a location map at mc@strikethree.com.