Reds 3, Reds 2
Nearly 50,000 fans (or just over 40,000 depending on your source) at Chase Field/Bank One Ballpark were treated to a nip n tuck battle, in which the Reds edged a red team. Or was it the other way around?
Playing a major league caliber opponent for the first time this week, the D*Backs(formerly the Diamondbacks) scratched two runs off Bronson Arroyo, while Doug Davis kept the Cincinnati power hitters, Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr in check. Orlando Hudson won the game with a solo homer to left in the eighth.
For the second consecutive start, Davis pitched behind batters all game, remarkably avoiding the big inning with a combination of strikeouts and line drives scorched directly at Diamondback fielders.
It was hard to tell who was struggling more - Davis, closer Jose Valverde, or home plate ump Mike Winters, who gifted Jose a huge 1-0 strike on Scott Hatteberg in the ninth and squeezed Arroyo, who had a no-hitter thru 4 and 1/3, on three pitches in the game tying seventh. Team cheerleader, Daron Sutton, said it best in the wrapup:
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
Give the Ohio State Dbackeyes credit for turning three game saving double plays and Byrnsie's snag off Jeff Conine against the left center wall. Arizona's pitchers were lucky, but good defense has a way of making fortune edge a team's way. The Diamondbacks have won five in a row.
Alberto Callaspo influenced most of the scoring for both teams, battling in Arizona's first run with a groundout after spoiling several Arroyo frisbees, and misplaying a popup in short right that allowed the crafty Griffey to tag up and score. Hudson caught the ball, but Callaspo should have called him off and thrown home. In the eighth, Alberto held speedy Brandon Phillips to a single on a fly ball that almost kicked up chalk deep on the RF line, a ball Shawn Green would've played into a triple.
Broadcasters announced the "sellout" of 49,481 yet yahoo's box counts 41,803. There were green empties up in the so called $5 seats (which actually run $13.25). Maybe if the seats were $1 like every other year, or even $5 like they now claim to be, they would've earned a sellout. I imagine some people arrived at the ballpark for $1 seats just out of habit, and presumably some of them went home instead of paying the higher prices. It's hugely embarassing for a first place squad to not sellout its home opener, at night no less, with F-16s, fireworks, free shirts, etc. Imagine the attendance if this had been a day game, like traditional openers. It'll be interesting to see how many show for the red hot Diamondbacks tomorrow, without the dog and pony show.
Considering that 40,000 sedona red tee shirts were distributed at the turnstiles, the much anticipated "sea of red" in the stands never materialized, and appeared on TV as more of a dry lakebed - a fitting, desert panorama painted by Diamondback fans and a tribute to their common sense and collective decency.
On the pregame show, channel 3 hung out in the rotunda for a good 10 minutes and virtually everyone was handed a fresh shirt. They weren't in plastic bags or boxes either; everyone had a shirt in their hands, or draped over their shoulder and some even slipped it on.
When the game started, we were heartened at how few fans were actually wearing the giveaways. There couldnt have been 10,000 in red and it was impossible at a distance to tell how many were Cincinnati fans. Televison viewers shouldnt be fooled by the cameras either, purposefully focusing on every red D*Backs shirt they could find - for a counter example, check out my Tucson photo album which makes a similarly red crowd look incredibly "un-red" - it's the oldest trick in the book, cropping out what you dont want people to see, and the cameras did that all night long.
Was it a sea of purple? No, of course not. You'd need to hand out at least twenty thousand purple shirts for that to happen :-)
(photo courtesy of AP)
Matt-
You seem angry tonight, your writing is more sarcastic than normal... I like it.
I too was disappointed by the so called "sea of red" but nonetheless, there will not be one as close as this until the Boston series. That ballpark would have been identical to opening day last year if it weren't for the free shirts.
You're right its very embarrassing for a team not to sellout opening day (night). You could see it coming--why else would they squeeze it down our throats on every road telecast?
Glad to see a good percentage of people NOT Kendrick of Borg drones. I even saw little kids in their purple. That's a good sight.
Something that really pissed me off... you know the area near the team shop where I believe the small WS display case is? You remember how on the upper walls they had historical names and dates (stuff like Euclid, 500 BC or something)? Gone. In its place? Advertising.
"We are going to decrease signage at the ballpark."
Good game though, although I'm disappointed Griffey didn't do anything. I would come back tomorrow to try again... oh wait, nah... money doesn't grow on trees.
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I'm very disappointed to learn about the three story "History of Sports" murals on the rotunda walls - perhaps they'll finish off the rotunda right by replacing the inlaid floor map of Arizona with a nice, big Circle K.
These people are unbelievable.
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When was the last time there was a 'sea of purple'?
I've been to many a home opener where a free shirt or hat was given out and I've *never* felt the compulsion to slip it over whatever I was already wearing. Unless it was really, really cold.
Betcha the 'sea of red' is in as much force as the 'sea of purple' typically was well before June. No - even more so.
Get over it or stay home. All you do by attending the game is reinforce the notion that you condone such nonsense. Right, Matt?
Hypocrite?
Or did your self righteous indignation assuage the guilt you must feel after paying the evil empire for the privilege of seeing the Sedona Red in person?
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>
Luckily, that was still intact--traditional "A" and all.
Good to see the Division/LCS/World Title "A"s still traditional colors.
Man, we need to do something about this other than write about our (true) opinions. ****, I know a guy who wrote a huuuuge paper on establishing fan ownership in Phoenix, based on how the Green Bay Packers work. I lost the link to the site though..
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"When was the last time there was a 'sea of purple'?"
The last time they gave out a ton of free purple shirts, which they didnt feel a need to do very often, because they werent trying to alter fan's behavior patterns.
"Get over it or stay home. All you do by attending the game is reinforce the notion that you condone such nonsense. Right, Matt?"
I'm not sure what "nonsense" you're speaking about. If you mean the 'sideshow', anyone who buys a game ticket is theoretically contributing to that, however an occasional attendee doesnt contribute to the same degree as someone who buys ST year after year. I've said it three or four times now. Is that clear enough for you?
If by 'nonsense', you mean the new red colors, are you saying attending a few games in a purple shirt 'condones' the new colors? lol
You're other "points", unsupported accusations really, are equally unclear and not worth responding to.
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See you made the front page and the rooks are back; did you shoot Mark Newman an email? ;-)
Michael Norton - Some Ballyard
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nah, I havent emailed mark since dec/jan timeframe/ thx for the headsup - I'll be sure to put a kettle on in anticipation of all my new guests ;-)
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E-mails don't work in that regard Michael. I'm proof of that. I have a new book out and I can't get anyone over there to even mention it even though I politely asked them to. And I'm not gonna beg.
Matt, do you have a problem with the uniform switch from purple or the fact that the new ones are red? I watched part of the game on my InDemand free preview and the uniforms don't look bad.
As for Callaspo, give the kid a break. He's an infielder that they stuck in the outfield. It's not as easy as it looks out there.
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Oh, yeah. It'd help if I mentioned it myself I suppose.
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"You're other "points", unsupported accusations really, are equally unclear and not worth responding to."
Aww, I'm just taking a sip from your steaming cup of sarcasm served with a heaping teaspoon of cynicism.
'Twas bitter.
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