Streets beat Avenues in 10th inning; Maxwell Mashes Moonshot.
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by Manny Stiles
Surprise, AZ (AGM) - The moon was one day waned from Full, rising over rightfield at Billy Parker Stadium in Surprise, Arizona on Friday. The Spring Training home of the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers was hosting the "Rising Stars Game". A breathtaking photo opportunity with visual and metaphorical consequence was beckoning it’s creation. Remnants of celebratory fireworks display filled the sky with a haze - the visitors from the land of Streets took to bat as the Avenue defending home team took the field.
There it was - As the just slightly less than Full Moon and stars rose through the smoky plume in the East - waiting for me; the picture that captured the essence of Arizona Fall League: Washington Nationals future star Justin Maxwell in right field at the Rising Stars game.
And I was lost. In my car, miles away. And being a man, in no mood to ask for directions.
Phoenix’s sprawled metropolitan area is lined out in a gridlike fashion. Central Avenue runs north-south and bisects the city and outlying communities. All of the north-south parallel roads to the East of Central are Streets (1st Street, 2nd Street, 3rd Street, etc) and to the West are Avenues (1st Avenue, 2nd Avenue, 3rd Avenue, etc.).
To many people, this is confusing. It is simple to grasp this logical concept by looking at a map before visiting or relocating to the Valley of the Sun. People that live in the Avenues call the Street dwellers as “snobbish” and “arrogant” whereas the Street inhabitants only knew of the Avenues by it’s constant source for News incidents. “If there’s a shooting on the news, it’s in the Avenues” they joke. There is without doubt a source of civic pride.
Being that Scottsdale (just East of 72nd ST), Phoenix (just East of 56th St) and Mesa (Which Uses a grid of it’s own) is even on Center St., and those three teams comprise the EAST Rising Stars team.
Peoria (which hosts two teams) is located on 83rd Avenue and Surprise is west of where ever 156th Avenue should be.
On Friday night, an ability to navigate Westward and refusal to bring a map caused frustration and lateness for one Armchair Contributor to the 2007 Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars game. The game was played in Surprise, Arizona. Apparently named so because it's a surprise that you can find it. “Surprise! There’s a town here!”
While the map is flat and all lines are straight, the Sonoran Desert does not operate like that. In the Wessssside (the Avenues), a straight line main artery road can turn into a dead end road barrier faster than side-striped skink in July. Regardless, after a sightseeing roughly 35% of the dead end roads of El Mirage (aptly named) and three turnarounds in Youngtown ("A place where you can die old! Youngtown!"?), I was watching the pre-game fireworks display (actual, not proverbial fireworks) from in my car. They were still miles away, but there were the light poles and yes, I now could hone in on getting to the damned place and turning my watch back an hour to get on local time.
I finally arrived at the game.
I entered the press box in time to have mlb.com reporter Lisa Winston inform me that Scottsdale Scorpion/San Francisco Giant/Speed Demon Eugenio Velez (it's a soft g like a "hey", not a "guh") - I wanted to nickname him "Exxon Velez"; because he's so slick, but... Yo-heiny-Yo it is! - he got a hit, stole second and third (not at once, but he probably could) and scored on a double. Not bad for a guy listed as 5 years old in the program! All this, even before I could get a plate of chimichangas and wash 'em down with a "diet" beverage, dammit!
The game settled into a pitcher's duel - as many "All-Star" games often are. Even in this so-called "hitter's league".
Several of the the hitters that make this a "hitter's league" were not in the game. Evan Longoria, John Jaso, Cameron Maybin, Chris Dickerson and Chin Lung Hu all were absent for various reasons, while the arms weren't. Royals stud pitching prospect Dusty Hughes is the only pitcher who went more than one inning and the coaches emptied their bullpens in the 10 inning affair.
The highlight of the night and game MVP in my book was Justin Maxwell. I didn’t miss the proverbial fireworks at all! He hit a high HR to left into the grass right of the bullpen. Was it a "moonshot"? as I called it over-poetically? No, it was more of a "blast" but with the moon glowing so prominently, it was worthy of being called a moonshot for alliterative purposes. Maxwell's Moonlight Mash was the monly mball mout of the myard and really the only I saw hit hard hit ball all night (I do tend to go through stretches of inattentiveness).
Matt LaPorta went 1-3 for the Streets with a walk and a crucial hit to set up the tying run in the 9th. Andrew McCutchen singled to lead off the top of the ninth, stole second. Then LaPorta took a 3-2 offering and turned it into a bat-splintering single to left, the speedy McCutchen rounded the sack at third and slipped on the grass, falling before returning safely to third. He scored when Jeff Baisley grounded into a double play.
Maxwell went 1-3 on the game but was also HBP in the 9th, stole a base and scored the tying run as Christian Colonel hit into a no-out, bases loaded double play to send it into extra innings. Yeah, Maxwell scored both runs for the Avenues. He's a star in the making, no doubt.
The West squandered opportunities to put the game away with bases loaded in both the 8th and 9th innings. Even the game winning hit in the top of the 10th was pretty Arizona Fall League (my new term for a "Texas-Leaguer"), a high hopper off the infield just to beyond the grass for a hit. The Avenues could not score in the bottom frame.
The players from Scottsdale, Phoenix and Mesa celebrated their victory raucously on the mound (Hey, a $500 bonus beats a $300 bonus!) as the players from Peoria, Peoria and Surprise signed autographs for the dwindling faithful that stayed to hound for autographs.
But alas, the game ended and I had to find my way back home - if I could make it to The Alienship in the rockfield (University of Phoenix Stdium) then I could make it the safe Street of the victorious East Side from there!
Check this out!
Here's a link to the "Official" game review by MLB.
If you watch that video, you can play "Where's Manny?" - I'm the fat dude with the yellow shirt on... (hint: I'm nowhere in the first 2 minutes) - Perfect example of me wandering around aimlessly looking for a story. And a perfect example of video adding 10 lbs...
I like how she says "Best of the Best of the Best" instead of going with my "Streets beat Aves" suggestion. Oh well...
Here’s my video rebuttal
Seriously, go watch the link up there first, do you can see what really happened!
(It starts out with Reid Brignac singling, but it doesn’t show him getting picked off first – neither does mine!)
Go Streets!!!
44th and Thomas, Represent!!!
- source: http://www.armchairgm.com
