In an attempt to knock off another MWL ballpark and city off my list, I’ve spent the last 20 hours in Lansing, Michigan. The less than 4 hour drive from Cas Bob made it all the more attractive. Initially, I considered attending Saturday’s 4pm game and Sunday’s 1:05 tilt, but Mother Nature intervened.

Thursday night’s game was postponed due to crappy Midwestern weather and rescheduled for Saturday at 1:05 as part of a doubleheader. Both games were scheduled for 7 innings (as per minor league rules). As a result, I’ll be on the road later this morning.

Due to the earlier start time, I didn’t have as much time to explore downtown Lansing (Michigan’s state capitol)) and that was fine by me-as there isn’t much to see or do. I saw the world’s largest lug nut and it’s not all that. I grabbed a late breakfast at the nicest restaurant downtown-Batter’s Up Bistro (no not a baseball theme) instead of a diner (which there wasn’t).

There are only two hotels in downtown Lansing and both are easy walks to the ballpark. I managed to nab a room in one and enjoyed free street parking (on the weekend) and hope my car is still in one piece.

Jackson Field (formerly Oldsmobile Park although nobody seemed to know that) is a newer park (1996) and opens up onto the main boulevard. Like Four Winds Field in South Bend, there are loft apartments beyond the outfield terrace-a rip off of Wrigley Field.

While I’m not going to focus on the rated prospects for both teams (Oakland and Dodgers) listed on both teams rosters, I will note that neither team is stocked with top prospects. MLBPipeline rated the better prospect laden minor league teams for each franchise and this season, only one MWL team made the list.

Spoiler Alert: While not among the Dodgers top 30 prospects, 23-year-old, righthanded pitcher, Jared Karros started game one and pitched 5 solid innings for his second victory on the young season.

Karros is the son of former Dodger, Eric Karros who was nowhere to be seen. Like dad, he’s a UCLA product and goes 6’7.

Somehow, the temperature for game 1 was only 54 degrees (in the sun) and as a result I camped out in the sunnier spots all afternoon. Cutting to the chase, I understand why the Athletics are such a horrible organization. Their underlying foundation is shaky at best. Think about those recent earthquake pictures we’ve seen.

More on the specifics of the 12- 1 drubbing later. I’ll leave you with this photo of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and Big Lug to whet your appetite. Editor’s note: I believe their initial mascot was a Lugnut named Louie but can’t get confirmation from the newly minted staff.