DBacks-Cubs Spring Training

Yay for the start of Spring Training baseball! Yesterday, I went out to HoHoKam Stadium in Mesa to watch the Diamondbacks take on the Chicago Cubs in a battle royale between my top two favorite teams. My seats were awesome, as you can see in the photos below. I was on the right side of the Cubs' dugout about five rows back from the field. Primo foul ball territory; in fact, I did have a couple that were hit right at me, except low, so they bounced off the tarp or the bottom of the wall and flew elsewhere. This first photo is the DBacks batting practice about an hour and a half before game time.

My seats were so good, in fact, that prior to the game, people crowded the small area just in front of me to try to get players' autographs. Alfonso Soriano, #12 in the picture below, was a fan favorite as he threw during Cubs' warmups just before the national anthem.

During the national anthem, many of the Cubs' position players lined up in front of us during their warmups. You can see (from left to right) #25 1B Derrick Lee, an unnamed trainer, #4 CF Joey Gathright, #17 2B Mike Fontenot, #37 P Angel Guzman, #49 P Carlos Marmol, #62 P Marcos Mateo, #58 P Jose Ascanio, and #55 C Koyie Hill.

On the basepaths, the Diamondbacks had plenty of runners, collecting 12 hits, 3 hit batsmen, and 7 walks during the game. All told, that's 22 men on base! This photo, taken during the Diamondbacks 8th inning, shows DBacks shortstop Wilson on first just before moving to third on a single by pinch hitter Watson.Bottom of the fourth, and Josh Whitesell is ready at first base.New infielder Josh Whitesell gets time on the basepaths before being driven in by a pair of doubles by Hallberg and Wilson in the top of the ninth inning.I know you can't see it on the scoreboard via this picture, but the final score is Diamondbacks 9, Cubs 1!