D’backs up to go Down Under
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ . The Arizona Diamondbacks packed their suitcases, stuffed their duffel bags and loaded their backpacks with all of their favorite movies Sunday evening, treating their weeklong Australia trip like a weekend getaway.
The Diamondbacks staged news conferences for five players and club executives in the morning, and the theme was exhilaration and anticipation. They’re making it sound as if their 34hour round-trip flight is no more of an inconvenience than standing in line at the local grocery store. They’re acting as if their exhibition game against Team Australia is for an Olympic medal. They’re treating their two games against the Los Angeles Dodgers as if they could determine the fate of the National League West.
They’re even going to wear matching warm-up suits when they get off the plane in Australia, as if they’re a collegiate football team invited to the Rose Bowl, with 400 season ticketholders coming along separately from the 190-member traveling party. As for the Dodgers? They are treating this like a day-night doubleheader of a prostate exam and root canal surgery.
Well, at least that’s the public
perception, slyly fueled in part by the Diamondbacks, with manager Kirk Gibson ridiculing the Dodgers last fall for taking just one goodwill trip while the D’backs took three trips featuring several of their best players.
“I know we’re honored to be part of it,” Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall said. “We appreciate the way our players are embracing it. Our guys never complained. They never soured on the idea. They embraced it. The fans and residents there feel that and sense it.”
In other words, the Diamondbacks want you to believe they are the anti-Dodgers.
The Dodgers haven’t uttered a negative word about the trip since All- Star pitcher Zack Greinke said, “There is absolutely zero excitement for it,” but the perception refuses to fade.
Greinke, when asked about his remarks again during the weekend, said, “I don’t want to make any more public comments on it.”
Still, even if his teammates now are saying the politically right things about the trip, there is resentment in a few pockets of the clubhouse and certainly apprehension.
“We’re preparing for a 162game season,” Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said, “so it’s no secret that this is something that disrupts it and our preparation for it. It’s up to us to be mature enough and professional enough to handle this little hiccup.
“Still, I think this will be a great experience.”
Yet you get the sense in the Dodgers clubhouse the most excited players are the ones staying behind at their spring training headquarters. Injuries and a baby on the way are keeping Matt Kemp, Greinke and Carl Craw- ford back in Phoenix.
“You don’t have to like it,” said former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who also is missing the trip, “but you have to do it. Basically, you’re at their mercy.”
The Diamondbacks understand the Dodgers’ reluctance, and some players might agree with Greinke. But they’re not going to let those words come out of their mouths and still have a locker the next day.
“Most guys here are really excited to go over there,” Diamondbacks reliever J.J. Putz said. “A lot of the guys know it’s going to be pretty special. I’m definitely excited to be a part of history.”
The strangest part, Putz said, will be missing St. Patrick’s Day. The Diamondbacks were scheduled to depart at 11:40 p.m. ET Sunday and arrive in Australia at 9:10 ET Tuesday morning.
Yet when they return in a week, they’ll have two Sundays, departing from Australia on March 23 and arriving back in Phoenix the same day.
Australian and Major League Baseball officials wanted to make sure the Diamondbacks and Dodgers didn’t arrive at the same time for logistical reasons, particularly since they’re sharing the same hotel. The Dodgers had about eight hours between the end of their spring training game Sunday and a 3:30 a.m. ET flight.
So while the Dodgers will be asleep at the start of their trip, the Diamondbacks will be awake.
The Diamondbacks were told to stay awake for the first eight hours of their flight. Stretch. Drink plenty of water. And when the cabin lights dim, off to sleep. They have a workout scheduled for seven hours after their arrival.
There will be two days of workouts for the Dodgers, who play Team Australia on Thursday before playing their season opener Saturday at 4:10 a.m. ET, followed by a 10:10 p.m. ET game.
And then on the plane to Los Angeles for their exhibition Freeway Series against the Angels.
“It’s tough to go all of the way there for two games that count, after one scrimmage against Team Australia,” Dodgers AllStar first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said. “That doesn’t get you ready for that two-seamer on your hands on opening night.
“Then again, they have to face (Cy Young Award winner) Clay- ton Kershaw, so they have to go through the same thing.”
The rigorous travel should be identical for both teams, but the public perception of their viewpoints couldn’t be more different.
Diamondbacks pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith, 31, who grew up in Australia, says he’ll be bursting with pride, playing for Team Australia against the Dodgers one night and two days later representing the Diamondbacks.
Maybe now his family can understand what he does for a living in a country where baseball takes a back seat to cricket, rugby, sailing and a few other sports.
“I had a cousin call me and say, ‘I heard the Razorbacks are coming to Australia,’ ” RowlandSmith said. “I’m not joking. Then he said, ‘ Any chance I can get a couple of tickets?’ ”
Wade Miley didn’t even know he was making the trip, let alone becoming Arizona’s opening-day starter, until Saturday night when teammate Patrick Corbin suffered a torn elbow ligament.
“I was 0% packed,” said Miley, who has never traveled outside the USA. “I’m trying to sleep at 3 in the morning, and I can hear my wife packing. We tried to shop before the stores closed. She’s still in shock.”
Said catcher Miguel Montero: “It’s a challenge. It’s part of the deal. It’s part of the job. It’s hard, but it is what it is.
“You’ve just got to go with the flow, right?”
Exactly.