Arizona Fall League Championship Game
I caught the game on a live stream from MLB.com. My narrow tube wasn't quiet enough to fully enjoy a live game without interruptions, but it was close most of the time.
Victor Rojas and Tony Clark from the MLB Network, visited briefly by figures like Joe Garagiola Sr, handled coverage of this game from the press box. It looked like a pleasant sunny day at Scottsdale Stadium. It looked like all the dedicated seats at the lower level were pretty much sold out, while few sat in the aluminum bleachers further away from the action. I saw a few younger people parked out on the berm just over the fences. They would scatter quickly to retrieve the couple of homers I saw late in the game. The crowd mostly conformed to prejudices about Scottsdale, Arizona, in that seniors did make up a large part of the crowd. But there were a number of very loud kids somewhere, too, including one that kept emiting the same birthday shoutout during the middle innings.
What really stood out for me in this Javelinas/Desert Dogs matchup was how heavily the American League represented the two teams. With the exception of the Dodgers, I can't recall an image of a National League uniform in the game. I swear I noticed Nationals and Tigers jerseys the most.
At first I was encouraged by all the commercial spots I was seeing in the coverage, because internet streams have so much trouble selling ad space. Then I thought about it, and decided they were probably just simulcasting the same ads that were bought for the MLB Network. I made a note to myself to check the Google TV Ads program to see if MLB Network sold spots for their web property, but I haven't done that yet. For all I know, they could be running the internet spots gratis to improve relations with thier sponsors (don't laugh, that goes on in the advertising world).
MLB.com has their own write-up of the game, but they don't focus on what stood out for me, that both teams depended fully on the bullpens to handle this one. I don't remember either starter going beyond three innings, and from there, no reliever went beyond two innings. With Strasburg scratched from this one and how knows who else disabled, I didn't know how either team would have handled extra innings, but for all I know, the Arizona Fall League would just call it a draw.
Oh, and while MLB.com lists only 3,521 in attendence, the seats didn't feel empty from my perspective.
The Peoria Javelinas won 5 to 4.
Victor Rojas and Tony Clark from the MLB Network, visited briefly by figures like Joe Garagiola Sr, handled coverage of this game from the press box. It looked like a pleasant sunny day at Scottsdale Stadium. It looked like all the dedicated seats at the lower level were pretty much sold out, while few sat in the aluminum bleachers further away from the action. I saw a few younger people parked out on the berm just over the fences. They would scatter quickly to retrieve the couple of homers I saw late in the game. The crowd mostly conformed to prejudices about Scottsdale, Arizona, in that seniors did make up a large part of the crowd. But there were a number of very loud kids somewhere, too, including one that kept emiting the same birthday shoutout during the middle innings.
What really stood out for me in this Javelinas/Desert Dogs matchup was how heavily the American League represented the two teams. With the exception of the Dodgers, I can't recall an image of a National League uniform in the game. I swear I noticed Nationals and Tigers jerseys the most.
At first I was encouraged by all the commercial spots I was seeing in the coverage, because internet streams have so much trouble selling ad space. Then I thought about it, and decided they were probably just simulcasting the same ads that were bought for the MLB Network. I made a note to myself to check the Google TV Ads program to see if MLB Network sold spots for their web property, but I haven't done that yet. For all I know, they could be running the internet spots gratis to improve relations with thier sponsors (don't laugh, that goes on in the advertising world).
MLB.com has their own write-up of the game, but they don't focus on what stood out for me, that both teams depended fully on the bullpens to handle this one. I don't remember either starter going beyond three innings, and from there, no reliever went beyond two innings. With Strasburg scratched from this one and how knows who else disabled, I didn't know how either team would have handled extra innings, but for all I know, the Arizona Fall League would just call it a draw.
Oh, and while MLB.com lists only 3,521 in attendence, the seats didn't feel empty from my perspective.
The Peoria Javelinas won 5 to 4.