Big League Weekend brings a Vegas getaway

By Brett Okamoto

Saturday, April 4, 2009 | 1:07 a.m.

The Colorado Rockies will finish up their grueling spring training period at Cashman Field today when they take on the Seattle Mariners at 1:05 p.m. The game will mark the end of a 36-game stretch that started Feb. 25, and it's the longest spring training schedule manager Clint Hurdle can recall.

According to the players, who have spent the majority of that schedule at the Rockies’ facilities in Tucson, Ariz., it’s felt like the longest, too.

“It’s definitely nice to come here, especially for us since we’ve been in Tucson,” said Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. “It’s not the best place in the world, there’s nothing to do. Here, it’s the exact opposite. You come to Vegas and you have all kinds of things to do. We’ve had dinners, walked around the Strip, shopped a bit – we haven’t had that all spring.”

The Rockies will be headed right back to Arizona after their rematch with the Mariners today. Colorado took the first of two games Friday night with a 6-3 win over Seattle. It was the Rockies’ third all-time appearance at Cashman Field and first since 2003.

Although Hurdle said he’s happy with the results of the lengthy spring training, he said players were right about Tucson: It lost its appeal over the past few weeks.

“I would have to agree with them. We were there for an extended period of time,” Hurdle said. “It’s the longest spring training we’ve had. But we’ve gotten a vast amount of work done during the spring and I think we’re finishing very strong.”

This Big League Weekend in Las Vegas is the spring training finale for both teams, with Opening Day on April 6. The Rockies will face the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix, while the Mariners will travel to Minnesota for the Twins’ home opener.

Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu said the Las Vegas trip is a way for his team to ease into its road games to start the season. This weekend marked the fifth consecutive year the Mariners chose to make the preseason trip to Las Vegas.

“It’s great just to get out of Arizona and start that journey to Minnesota,” Wakamatsu said. “I think it’s a big step towards where we want to be.”

Neither team is treating the trip to Vegas as a vacation. With the regular season only days away, it’s the final opportunity to work out any kinks before the stakes rise.

“I think in the beginning of spring training you’re very highly focused,” said Rockies infielder Ian Stewart. “Then in the middle you still are but you just work on the little things. Then towards the end you start to really turn it on because you know the season is only days away.”