My final day in Arizona started out with us heading over to the Surprise complex, which is beautiful. It may be one of my favorites. After buying tickets for the afternoon game between the KC Royals and SD Padres, we headed to the practice fields to see what was going on.

Every field was filled with players. The two lower level teams were working on PFPs and infield practice. The upper levels were taking batting practice. It was really cool to see players I covered working on the little things. You could always hear the Latin players offering encouragement or just talking loudly in general.

There were quite a few fans on the practice fields, mainly trying to snag some balls or an autograph from prospects like Kyle Zimmer and Bubba Starling (who did not sign or acknowledge the fans). I had a chance to see Matt Fields (who I interviewed last season) hit a few bombs during BP (unfortunately that didn’t translate to the later game).

I was expecting a big crowd as we headed to the main field, but just over 4,000 showed up on the steamy afternoon. Many in attendance were disappointed in the players who came to play, as most of the regulars for both teams did not show. Prior to the game, one of the Royals coaches called out the Latin players and made them sign autographs.

I wasn’t one of the disappointed, as I got to see the minor leaguers come back and beat the big league Padres pitching, 7-5. In the 8th inning, the Royals scored four runs, capped by Alex Llanos’ two-run single. Angel Franco followed with an RBI single. In that inning, the minor leaguers collected five hits and walked twice (all of them were guys who played in Wilmington over the last two seasons).

Dan Wheeler pitched a quick and perfect ninth for another spring save. He has pitched well and I would love for him to win that final bullpen spot, but I think Ned Yost needs to get him into games against some big league hitting.

Will Smith allowed the homerun ball in his short start, including a two-run bomb to Nick Hundley. His errant pickoff throw aided in the Padres’ two-run 3rd inning. Luke Hochevar looked great out of the bullpen over his two perfect innings of work. Louis Coleman and Nate Adcock followed with fairly quick innings before the Royals minor league offense came to life in the eighth.

There was a scary moment in the game, when Billy Butler (who was playing first base) went to catch a foul pop near the first base dugout. He fell what looked from my seat to be head first into the dugout with no Padres players catching him. He came out of the dugout (with no coaches coming to check on him) and played the rest of his allotted time before heading out and signing some autographs.

David Lough continues to impress this spring, as he picked up two more hits in the start in right field. Max Ramirez also collected two hits.

The sun setting in Goodyear

After the game, we headed for our last game of our trip, in Goodyear. We checked out the Cincinnati Reds play the Colorado Rockies, mainly to see Chris Nelson (whose uncle works with my dad). Unfortunately, he went 0-for-3 and struck out in his final at-bat.

Todd Helton hit a two-run homerun in the 4th inning off Reds starter Johnny Cueto and Ben Paulsen hit a pinch-hit two-run homer off Armando Galarraga in the seventh to give the Rockies the 5-1 win.

It was a fireworks game (which I am not a fan of), so we left in the ninth inning to beat the crazy traffic. Plus, we had some annoying kids sitting behind us on the berm. I got kicked in the back one too many times and our blanket kept being trampled on by them. Plus, their dad asked me why I was taking a picture of former Royal Derrick Robinson (who was playing for the Reds). One of these times, I am going to say something smart like “because I feel like it” when people ask me why I am taking a picture of a certain player. Really, why is it their business?

I’ll be up early on Saturday, as I have a 9am flight home to Philly. I’ll be back on the East Coast sometime after 5pm. Hopefully, the flight home will be less stressful than the trip out to Arizona was. I will try to post game pictures from my trip onto this site’s FACEBOOK page in the coming days. I have a ton of them!

*The Royals also played at night against the LA Dodgers at Camelback. Yordano Ventura was on the mound and got a little rocked for the first time this spring. He allowed three runs on five hits over just three innings. The Dodgers got to the Royals bullpen, as Everett Teaford allowed three runs in the fifth (but none were earned).

The Royals collected just six hits and Alex Gordon collected two of them.

Bruce Chen will take the hill on Saturday against the Chicago Cubs. He will also be the first Royals pitcher to hit this spring. Salvador Perez will finally get a day off (he caught Wade Davis today in a minor league game) and will catch James Shields in a Sunday minor league game. Michael Mariot will pitch in relief of Chen.

**The USA lost to Puerto Rico, so Eric Hosmer and Tim Collins should re-join the team sometime soon in Surprise. Irving Falu is now headed to San Francisco for the World Baseball Classic semifinals. As is Kelvin Herrera with the Dominican Republic.

My first full day in Arizona was an exciting one. Pool D in the World Baseball Classic began on Thursday at Salt River Field with Italy facing Mexico. When many people talk about the second round in Miami, they say three Latin teams and the USA.

Well, Italy may have something to say about that.

Both teams’ offenses were awake in the first inning, as Italy scored two runs off Rodrigo Lopez. They could have scored more, but Drew Butera struck out with the bases loaded to end the inning. Mexico responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning courtesy of Jorge Cantu’s bases clearing double. Mexico put across another run in the second inning before the pitching settled down.

However, Italy greeted new pitcher Alfredo Aceves with a one out single and a two-run home run from Butera to tie the game at 4-4.

Mexico finally got to Italian reliever Tiago DaSilva in the 5th inning (his fourth inning of work). However they only scored one run to take a 5-4 lead. That lead held up until the top of the ninth, as SF Giants closer Sergio Romo entered to record the save and give Mexico a 1-0 record.

Sergio Romo

Instead, maybe Romo was a little over amped to pitch for his parents’ home country. After he recorded an out, he allowed a double to Nick Punto before Chris Denorfia singled. That brought up Anthony Rizzo, who hadn’t done much of anything during the game. After a long at-bat, he hit a fly ball to deep left field (I was sitting in the grass seating beyond the left field wall). Edgar Gonzalez drifted back, but he hadn’t looked good out there the whole game. It hit off his glove and two runs scored. It was a catch he should have made. Romo escaped without further damage.

That brought in Italy’s closer, Jason Grilli of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who immediately made it interesting: he gave up a single to the first batter he faced. He did record two straight outs before walking Luis Cruz. That brought up Adrian Gonzalez and where things got interesting. Grilli was ahead in the count and looked to have struck out AGone to end the game. Instead, the home plate umpire shrunk his strike zone. Grilli was mad. He was yelling at the ump, who then looked like he wanted to fight Grilli. Butera had to come between them, as did third baseman Alex Liddi. When things settled down, Grilli hit AGone to loss the bases. He then fell behind Cantu 3-1 before getting him to ground out to second base (who had just come into the game) to end the game and set off the celebration by Italy.

Salt River Field was my first Cactus League ballpark and I loved it. It was just beautiful, and the fine day didn’t hurt matters. Tomorrow’s WBC game between Italy and Canada has been moved to Chase Field due to the incoming bad weather. I’ll be there and will I see another shocking upset?

From the game, we went to Casino Arizona for a really good buffet dinner. I had really wanted to play some Bingo, but it was crowded and full of older people who seemed like they were pros.

*On a side note, Romo was awesome prior to the game, signing autographs, taking pictures, and making fans happy. My mom and I would be two of those fans.

**I was a little disappointed in the turnout. The crowd got loud, especially in the ninth. But there were plenty of empty seats and plenty of seats on the berm to sprawl out and bask in the glorious sunny skies.

The KC Royals and Texas Rangers opened the 2013 spring training slate with a game against each other, as they share the facilities in Surprise, Arizona. They played to a 5-5 tie, as Yangervis Solarte hit a two-run homerun with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning off Blaine Boyer to tie the game for the Rangers.

It started out very well for the Royals and starter Will Smith. The lefty threw two perfect innings. Plus, the Royals gave him a 1-0 lead before he took the mound (on an Eric Hosmer RBI ground out).

The Rangers only scored in three innings: the fourth, seventh, and ninth. Prospect Yordano Ventura struggled in his second inning of work after his offense scored him two runs in the top of the 4th inning. After inducing two ground outs, he allowed a single to David Murphy. After two straight wild pitches, Nelson Cruz hit a two-run homerun to chase Ventura from the game.

Then the Royals bullpen trio of Blaine Hardy, Justin Marks, and Nate Adcock threw 2.1 shutout innings of relief. Sugar Ray Marimon allowed a run on two hits and a walk in the 7th inning. Michael Mariot followed with a perfect inning of relief before Boyer‘s implosion.

The Royals offense pounded out 14 hits, compared to just seven for Texas. Alcides Escobar and Jarrod Dyson were the only starters with multi-hit games (both went 2-for-2). Off the bench, Adam Moore and David Lough each collected two hits. Moore hit a homerun in the 5th inning off Alexi Ogando. Lough drove in a run in the 9th inning (and also stole a base). First baseman Max Ramirez went 1-for-1 with a double off the bench.

The two teams play each other again on Saturday afternoon as Guillermo Moscoso gets the start for the Royals.

Apparently, it has been a little cold in Surprise, Arizona as the KC Royals officially start spring training. There has been frost on the grass and car windshields, something Royals fans are used to, but maybe not the players (like Kelvin Herrera, who is from the Dominican Republic). I hope it warms up for when I get there in March.

Despite the cold, there has been some good news. Lefty Danny Duffy threw 18 fastballs off the mound on Tuesday for the first time since having Tommy John surgery. He is expected to have another session on Friday. Duffy told Kansas City Star reporter Bob Dutton that he felt great.

Via Luis Mendoza (Twitter)

Lefty Bruce Chen, who is competing for the fifth starter’s spot and a spot on the Opening Day roster, has decided to not play for Team China in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. He was expected to leave for exhibition games in Japan on February 24th, but official approval of his participation (his grandparents immigrated from China to Panama) is still pending. Chen said that he cannot provide any more documentation and has decided to stay in Arizona and fight for a roster spot with the Royals.

Oh and the new spring training hats look pretty cool (even Luis Mendoza thinks so). I cannot wait to see them in person.

Now the not so good news.

Shortstop Alcides Escobar will not report to Surprise in time for full workouts on Friday. He got married recently and wants to bring his new wife with him, but she needs a visa. It is Carnival time in Venezuela and the visa office is not open. So until the visa is taken care of, Escobar will stay in Venezuela. The plan is for him to arrive Friday night if all goes well (fingers crossed).

This morning, the KC Royals sent their trucks from Kauffman Stadium, packed full of equipment, to Surprise, Arizona, their spring training home.

With pitchers and catchers set to report on February 11th and full workouts set for February 15th, it is time to start getting excited.

*I wonder if someone was on hand to see the trucks off, like James Shields was in Tampa for his old team.

I have been putting together a KC Royals guide to spring training over the last few days. Maybe it was for my readers or maybe it was for me in case I ever get to Arizona for spring training. Trust me, I want to get away from the brutal cold that has settled into New Jersey.

But for those of you in the Kansas City area who cannot make the trip to Arizona this spring training, you are in luck.

You can listen to your radio and pretend that you are in sunny Arizona watching the Royals play. Plus all spring training games will be webcast on royals.com.

The following games will be aired on 610 Sports Radio (though four more games will be added once the NCAA Tournament dates are announced due to the station’s commitment to the University of Kansas):

• Friday, February 22nd at Texas (2:05pm CT)
• Sunday, February 24th at Texas (2:05pm CT)
• Monday, February 25th vs Arizona (2:05pm CT)
• Thursday, February 28th at San Diego (2:05pm CT)
• Sunday, March 3rd at Cincinnati (2:05pm CT)
• Tuesday, March 5th vs Oakland (2:05pm CT)
• Thursday, March 7th vs Seattle (ss) (2:05pm CT)
• Friday, March 8th at Colorado (8:10pm CT)
• Sunday, March 10th vs LA Angels (3:05pm CT)
• Tuesday March 12th at Oakland (3:05pm CT)
• Sunday, March 17th vs Chicago White Sox (3:05pm CT)
• Tuesday, March 19th vs Colorado (3:05pm CT)
• Wednesday, March 20th vs LA Dodgers (3:05pm CT)
• Monday, March 25th vs LA Dodgers (8:10pm CT)
• Tuesday, March 26th at Seattle (3:05pm CT)
• Wednesday, March 27th at Milwaukee (3:05pm CT)

According to the Royals press release

For the 45th year, Royals Hall of Famer Denny Matthews will call Spring Training play-by-play action.  Matthews will be joined by Ryan Lefebvre, Steve Physioc and Steve Stewart.  The exhibition webcasts will be anchored by Stewart.

So, say you are heading to Arizona to see the KC Royals during spring training, but you only want to attend a few games, not spend your whole vacation at a ballpark.

There are PLENTY of things to do in Arizona and not far from the Royals spring training home of Surprise, Arizona.

You can head over to the Cactus League’s website, where they have a link to a trip planner that takes you to the towns’ in Arizona (that have spring training facilities) visitors bureau sites.

You can also check out Arizona Scenic Tours, which tells you about popular destinations in Arizona and different types of tours you can take. They offer a variety of Day Tours that pick you up and drop you off at your Metro Phoenix location. They include tours such as a wineries tour, a Tuscon tour, a Grand Canyon tour, a Historic Route 66 loop, and a Sedona tour.

Or you can request an Arizona travel guide or a Phoenix area travel guide (especially if you plan on flying into the Phoenix airport).

Maybe you just want to stay in Surprise, which is considered one of America’s fastest growing cities. According to About.com, here are some things to do in Surprise:

• There is a 10,562 square foot Aquatics Center
• West Valley Art Museum
• White Tank Regional Park, where there is a rare desert waterfall. There is also Waterfall Trail, which is popular and an easy hike. It is also a great place to have a picnic lunch with beautiful views.
• Eight championship golf courses, like Cimarron at San City Grand
• Speedworld Dragstrip
• Surprise Tennis and Raquet complex, where from February 18-24 the USTA Pro Circuit Event will take place.

I mentioned in yesterday’s first post that Glendale is about 20 minutes away from Surprise. On their site, they have a link to 101 Things to Do in Glendale and West Valley. Yup, 101. However, the list isn’t exactly updated (like a few of the places have closed).

Maybe you like animals and would like to visit the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium, where they just opened a fourth building to their aquarium. Or would like to see what it would be like to go to space at the Challenger Space Center, where they offer Family Star Nights from 6:30-9pm to check out stars such as the Orion Nebula (February 23rd), the March Sky (March 9th), and the Equinox and Solstice (March 23rd).

» Continue reading “Guide to Royals Spring Training Part 2″

Looking to get away from the cold winter in Kansas City?

Well, Arizona is a great place to take a little vacation, where the average temperatures during the day are 74 degrees at the end of February. Just in time for spring training.

There is a lot of hype surrounding the Royals this year, now that they hopefully made their rotation better. They start playing games in the Cactus League on February 22nd against the Texas Rangers. That’s just when the winters are getting unbearable.

You can fly into Phoenix, which is about a 36 minute drive to Surprise, the spring training home of the Royals (and Rangers). Phoenix is also home to the Oakland A’s (and the NHL Coyotes and NBA Suns). The Royals play the A’s in Phoenix on March 12th. Maryvale Stadium is also in the vicinity, so you could check out Milwaukee there (or the Royals playing the Brewers there on March 27th). Or you could just stay in Phoenix.

If you choose to stay in Surprise and want to spend your vacation strictly watching baseball, there is plenty of that less than an hour away.

If you head to Arizona in the beginning of March, Pool D of the World Baseball Classic will be taking place. There will be two games at Salt River Field at Talking Stick (March 7 & 8). Three more WBC games involving the USA will be played at Chase Field, home to the Arizona Diamondbacks during the regular season.

If you want to strictly just see spring training baseball, there is still plenty of that. I mentioned earlier that the Royals and Rangers share the Surprise facility, meaning there is a game every day.

Peoria is a short 15 minutes away, where Seattle and San Diego share the complex. Both teams don’t have the money to spend, but have wreaked havoc in their respective divisions. The Royals play the Padres on February 28th. They head to play the Mariners on March 26th.

» Continue reading “Guide to Royals Spring Training Part 1″

KC Royals 2013 spring training tickets are on sale now, as spring training is right around the corner.

The Royals open up their Cactus League schedule on the road against the Texas Rangers on February 22nd. On the road when playing the Rangers just means being the road team at Surprise Stadium. Their first home game is the following afternoon against the Rangers. They end their Cactus League season on March 29th at home against Cleveland.

The Royals lone off day is on Monday, March 11th.

Which spring training games do you find most intriguing? Which ones would you want to attend?

I would want to check out the Rangers and see how good that offense is going to be without Josh Hamilton (and it wasn’t too good at the end of last season). You can check out the Rangers on February 22, 23, and 24 and then again on March 18.

Both the LA Dodgers and LA Angels spent a ton of money this off season (or in the Dodgers case, since last July). The Dodgers are in Surprise on March 20th and 25th. The Angels travel to Surprise on March 10th.

Want to see a team that is a World Champion? Well, the SF Giants visit Surprise on March 2nd.

With Houston joining the American League, there will be more Interleague Games during the regular season. But if you want to check out some National League teams, there are two good times to head to Arizona.

One is February 27th thru March 3rd. The Royals are home on three of those days. They play Milwaukee on the 27th, Cincinnati on the first, and the Giants on the second. They head to Peoria to play San Diego on the 28th and to Goodyear on the third to play the Reds.

The second trip is March 27-28. They have two games on the 27th: in the afternoon they are in Maryvale playing the Brewers and at night they are home playing the Chicago Cubs. The following day, the Royals are in Goodyear playing the Reds.

I have never been to Arizona for spring training, but I have heard that the cities are not too far away. So if you are heading out to Surprise to check out the Royals, why not head out on the road to support them.

Most hope 2013 will be an exciting season for the Royals so why not check out the team in a warmer climate.