Kj's Baseball Collection: Dbacks Opening Day 2010

At Opening Day yesterday, I got a souvenir baseball in honor of Opening Day 2010 with the Padres and Dbacks logos. Mik had hoped to find a mini bat, but they did not have one and he settled for a souvenir pin.

Mik Food Scrapbook: Chase Field All-You-Can-Eat Section

Mik loved sitting in the All-You-Can-Eat section yesterday at Opening Day. He loved the hot dogs and had three of them. He also enjoyed the potato chips and popcorn.

Opening Day 2010: San Diego Padres 3 vs. Arizona Diamondbacks 6

Yesterday we went to Opening Day at the Dbacks. It will probably be the only game the three of us go to together this season, although Dad and Mik are definitely going to the August 7 game this season to get the Gonzo bobblehead.

After 32 relatively smooth experiences last year just getting into the ballpark was a pain in the butt this time. First off, the tickets were mailed to the wrong address and ended up back at the Dbacks, so we had to pick them up at will call, which is not something you want to have to do on Opening Day or any other sellout day. There is a specific window for Accessible ticket sales, etc. We had to wait a while to get to the front despite only having one group in front of us. They were buying a 10 ticket plan deal, so it understandably took a while. However, it then took 30 minutes for us to get our tickets because they had filed them based on the very wrong spelling of our last name. Thus an hour after getting to the ballpark we finally got inside.

By then the Team Shop was ridiculous, so we could not browse, especially with Mik in his wheelchair. We quickly aborted that and later sent Dad to the Team Shop on the Club Level, which was not that crowded.

We sat in the All-You-Can-Eat section, which I think is new this season or is at least rather recent. The wheelchair seating is located in the area with the food and drinks, which is basically some suites converted for the food service purpose. The section was never specifically meant for wheelchairs, so it is kind of awkward with no numbering for the spots and Dad ending up sitting in a folding chair right above the steps that lead to the one row of seats in front of the wheelchair seating. At least the ushers are helpful, though.

The game was overall not as exciting as Mik and I would have liked, as we like to see better pitching and less hits. However, one of the most exciting things we have ever seen in person did happen, as we saw Drew hit an in the park home run for the Diamondbacks. Of course, Mik was also happy to see the Dbacks win and then also rub it in that the out of town scoreboard showed my Nats lost 11 to 1.

All the Ballparks Car Windows Mounted on Wall

Dad was going to take the stickers all off the car at the end of Spring Training 2010. Instead, though, we replaced the side windows using some of the leftover money from the trip budget (we spent way less on gas and food than budgeted). Now the windows are mounted in my bedroom.

For the most part I am going to keep them as they ended up after being on the car for almost a year. However, we lost the Cardinals sticker after we got home in August and I think I will replace that to have it complete team logo wise. I am not going to fix the missing letters from the words, though, as it gives it the used look showing they really were on the car for a while.

Kj's Baseball Collection: Dbacks Spring Training 2010

The ball I got for the final spring training season of the Dbacks in Tucson says Spring Training Dbacks Tucson, AZ 2010 on one side. The other side has the Dbacks D logo.

Mik's Food Scrapbook: Tucson Electric Park

The main thing Mik had at TEP was a bean and cheese burrito. Overall he liked it, but he thinks they should just call it a bean burrito because the cheese is so minimal you cannot taste it.

Mik also had a shaved ice that was mango flavored. He liked it as something different than Dippin' Dots for a warm Spring Training game day.

Spring Training 2010: Dodgers at Dbacks at Tucson Electric Park

Today we went to Tucson Electric Park to see the Dodgers face the Dbacks. The weather was much better than last weekend and we did actually see part of the game, but overall it was way worse and we actually left in the 6th inning. It just is not any fun to watch spring training anymore.

It was a sold out game and they cannot handle the crowds, which makes no sense because we have been to White Sox and Cubs sold out games at TEP and never found it this ridiculously handled. Dad went to get me a pretzel and came back an inning later with nothing because there were at least sixteen people in front of him and in that time only one person was served. That was the last straw for me. I was bored with the crappy playing of the teams of mostly players I had never heard of and hungry because I had assumed even though expensive I could eat at the ballpark.

Mik actually did not want to go at first, but all he was doing was sitting there playing his PSP and not even watching the game. He finally said he was bored, too, as he was not getting to see any of his favorite Dbacks play.




The funny thing is the program talks all about it is a bittersweet thing the team is leaving and that they promise this to be a great season for the fans. Well, the only thing that did not stink was the pin giveaway when we first came in. The team shop was okay, as I did get a nice Spring Training Dbacks baseball, but overall it was pretty dismal. It was nothing like how it used to have a lot of different things to chose from and more like it was when the Sidewinders were leaving. They just do not seem to care about were the team started or the fans down here anymore despite what they say in the magazine.