Ballgame

After a fairly long break–I’d only been to a pair of games in three weeks–the baseball will be fast & furious for the next fortnight.

Went to Fifth Third Ballpark last night to watch the Whitecaps host the Lugnuts.  It was a silly ballgame.  Lansing won by a 10-6 score and the game was actually less close than the score suggests.  Lansing second baseman Robinson Chirinos was the game’s star–he needed a triple for a cycle in his last AB, but that didn’t work out; all the same, he had three hits, seven total bases, & four ribbies. Needless to say, no one pitched very well; Carlos Marmol got the win, but not because of his own efforts.  The most interesting thing about the game was that relatively few balls were hit on the ground.

West Michigan’s 5/3 BP is not what I’d call a charming yard–really it’s just a big bowl–but it’s a comfortable place.  Kinda like an old sofa.  The Caps don’t really do things differently from the other successful minor league organizations, but they work harder on the ballpark ambiance.  Lansing, in a more interesting ballyard and with a similarly excellent staff, produces a harder-edged experience that’s more exciting but less cozy.  In Battle Creek, the ballpark layout and the small crowds force a focus on the game, which works well for me but less well for the business.  That I think all three are worthwhile should be pretty obvious.

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