The construction of the outfield wall for the Dodgers-D-Backs series in Australia this weekend "was one of several obstacles" architect Scott Eggelton overcame to prepare the Sydney Cricket Ground, and "chief among the concerns was time," according to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. TIMES. The 38,000-seat venue's "final cricket game of the season was played Feb. 26." MLB Field & Facilities Coordinator Murray Cook said, "We started building Feb. 27." SCG Curator Tom Parker said that in his 18 years in the role, he had "never undertaken a project that required so much work in so little time." The architects and construction workers "not only had to move quickly, they had to be careful not to disturb the historic venue's elements." The SCG dates to the mid-19th century and is "one of the world's most revered cricket venues." Parker "didn't want the integrity of the SCG to be compromised -- particularly the pitch." The pitch "compared with the other parts of the ground" is "harder and slightly elevated." Parker said that "leveling the area was impermissible." Cook instead "called for the planting of longer grass." The ground there "remains rock-hard, which could present challenges to the center fielders on both teams." Building the pitcher's mound "was also problematic." Originally, a mound was "constructed using Australian clay," and the firmness was "similar to that of mounds built with American clay." Several other features, "including the backstop, dugouts, and clubhouses, had to be built from scratch." From an "American vantage point, the field has an extraordinary amount of foul territory because of the grounds' oval shape" (L.A. TIMES, 3/19).
UNFRIENDLY CONFINES? In L.A., Steve Dilbeck wrote if MLB "wants this pair of games to actually spur interest and grow the game Down Under, you would think they’d make it as media friendly as possible," instead of "the opposite, which is more like what they’re doing." Unlike "every other regular season game, the media are not allowed in the clubhouses prior to a game in Sydney," nor are they "allowed in after the game." They have "no clubhouse access at all." MLB said that the clubhouses at the Sydney Cricket Ground are "just too small, which seems strange, since they were specially built for this series." News organizations "spending thousands of dollars to cover these two games better hope their readers/views like plenty of color." Dilbeck: "If you want your media representative to be able to privately sidle up to a player in the postgame clubhouse to find out what he really thinks about that play in the eighth, forget it. Insight will be hard to come by." This is "the same way it’s done at the World Baseball Classic, the Olympics and at soccer’s World Cup, which is not the same as daily coverage of a team where relationships can become important" (LATIMES.com, 3/18).
