Archive | February 19th, 2012

Baseball / Spring Training / 2012 Cactus League / White Sox / Dodgers / Glendale Real Estate

Posted on 19 February 2012.

City of Glendale: Camelback Ranch:

Welcome to Glendale, Arizona! Yes, Camelback Ranch spring training complex is on the property, owned by the City of Phoenix, but the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers are a major part of the Glendale community. Several years ago, this far western valley community became nationally known. It’s the best place to live if are a fan of the Arizona Cardinals and the Phoenix Coyotes, where the University of Phoenix Stadium and Jobing.com Arena are now situated. Its is a premier destination for fans and foes of these local professional teams.

Glendale offers more than just sports. The Historic Downtown Glendale offers plenty of shopping from arts, crafts, collectibles, imports and plenty of accessories. To top all of that, they have been named as the best places to shop in the country, according to USA Today andSunset Magazine. Plus, shoppers can go to Arrowhead Towne Center as well. If you are looking to hike, Glendale has trails to choose from Skunk Creel Linear Park and Thunderbird Park.

Last and certainly not least, there’s plenty of real estate to choose from. To conclude the previews of the 2012 season of all teams in the Cactus League, I will finally share my thoughts on the White Sox and the Dodgers.

Lets Talk Chicago White Sox Baseball:

The 2011 Chicago White Sox dealt with a difficult season of which their former manager Ozzie Guillen had no choice of doing, leaving Chicago’s southside for the Miami Marlins. He had a great run with the Sox and won them a world championship during his tenure, but a difference voice was needed and Robin Ventura is now their man. As the Sox look ahead to 2012, many of their 2011 players are gone and they feel they are ready for the season and not consider they are in a rebuilding position.

The batting team for the Sox is looking pretty good. I like what they have with a couple of good veterans in the lineup including Adam Dunn at first base, of which I expect a good comeback after a horrible 2011 season. Plus, who could ever forget Paul Konerko? They still have a few players who from previous years of which AJ Pierzynski is anticipated to provide solid punch at the bat, and provide the leadership behind the plate for pitchers. This should be an interesting year to see what manager Robin Ventura will do of handling this line-up. If he has an answer, the White Sox could be in the playoff hunt this year.

The White Sox pitching is another key factor to determine if they will succeed or not. There has been a major shift in the rotation after losing a couple of key pitchers including starter Mark Buehrle to the Marlins and closer Sergio Santos. Looking at it, they still have a couple of key starters who could make some noise this year in the likes of John Danks and Jake Peavy. Though, if Danks remains healthy, he very well could have a much better season going for him. I do like some of the young developing pitchers they have. A young Chris Sale is anticipated to start around the bottom of the rotation. Yet, who knows who the closer in the pen will be. It could be Matt Thornton or Jesse Crain.

Everyone baseball fan knows the White Sox had a transitional offseason. It’s the first year for Robin Ventura as a manager. For White Sox fans, patience is the key. If Ventura can work these guys to become good all around players on the diamond, they could surprise you and many other fans. They very well could compete with the rest of the division, but what they can do is mystery to many baseball fans.

Lets Talk Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball:

This storied franchise, the Los Angeles Dodgers team has dealt with the misfortunes of ownership issues of Frank McCourt, which led the team to declare for bankruptcy, and now are placed for sale. There many questions of where this franchise is headed. Whether or not you are a Dodgers fan, we all want answers to see where they will stand for years to come. That comes with the ownership. The Dodgers are seeking a new owner that could possibly have what it takes to get the Dodgers back into elite position. Looking at the record from last year, 82-79 really was not all that bad.

Looking at the batting squad for this year, they still have some hitters who could add the spark on this team. These positional players very well could make the rest of the franchise forget all the things going on in the front office these days. Looking at second year player, Dee Gordon, I believe will be a good leadoff hitter without the significant power, but the speed he has will go a long way if the two and three hitters will do the job. Second Baseman, Mark Ellis and Right Fielder, Andre Ethier are expected to fill the roles of getting him to score runs. The anticpated clean-up hitter Matt Kemp should have another huge year with another repeat performance of a high number Runs Batted In (RBI) this year. I am anxious to see that this lineup can do for the Dodgers. I would not be surprised if they can lead this team of many victories this year.

The Pitching staff of the Dodgers is another to look out for. They do have the advantage of playing in Dodger Stadium, a pitchers ball park. It depends how this rotation will handle their game in this stadium entering its 50^th season. The Dodgers obtained a good pick up in Aaron Harang, which he was 14-7 with an ERA of 3.64 in 2011, which was a major improvement of his 2010 season in Cincinnati. Of course, 21 game winner Clayton Kershaw should have a repeat performance from 2011. I believe Javy Guerra will have more of a closers role this year as he closed with 21 saves of 23 attempts from last year. Overall, the staff is rock solid, and it’s up to what pitching coach Rick Honeycutt can do to.

Overall, I feel optimistic about this Dodgers team despite of the distractions from the front office. I felt General manager Ned Colletti did what he has to do during the off season, and felt he did a good job of getting what the Dodgers needed by replenishing with good players after losing good players. It looks good on paper, but lets see what Manager, Don Mattingly does with this club. If he can operate to the point these players can buy into his system, I feel the Dodgers could be alive for the playoff hunt into September this year.

Glendale Real Estate For Sale for Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers Fans:

Showing properties 1 – 10 of 500+. See more city of Glendale real estate.
(all data current as of 2/19/2012)

$75,000 : 17818 N 57th Drive, Glendale

3 beds, 1.75 baths

Home size: 1,372 sq ft

Lot size: 7,891 sq ft
$124,700 : 4510 W Brown Street, Glendale

3 beds, 2.00 baths

Home size: 1,500 sq ft

Lot size: 9,508 sq ft
$85,000 : 10246 N 44th Drive, Glendale

3 beds, 1.75 baths

Home size: 1,733 sq ft

Lot size: 8,596 sq ft
$119,900 : 10613 N 45th Drive, Glendale

3 beds, 2.00 baths

Home size: 1,436 sq ft

Lot size: 9,108 sq ft
$154,900 : 4546 W Beryl Avenue, Glendale

4 beds, 1.75 baths

Home size: 2,023 sq ft

Lot size: 8,288 sq ft
$147,000 : 4608 W North Lane, Glendale

3 beds, 1.75 baths

Home size: 1,873 sq ft

Lot size: 10,450 sq ft
$194,200 : 6162 W Wikieup Lane, Glendale

4 beds, 2.50 baths

Home size: 2,394 sq ft

Lot size: 6,900 sq ft
$55,000 : 7121 N 53rd Avenue, Glendale

2 beds, 1.00 baths

Home size: 780 sq ft

Lot size: 8,000 sq ft
$74,900 : 5608 W Gardenia Avenue, Glendale

2 beds, 2.00 baths

Home size: 1,012 sq ft

Lot size: 6,547 sq ft
$96,900 : 6649 W Christy Drive, Glendale

3 beds, 2.00 baths

Home size: 1,438 sq ft

Lot size: 7,937 sq ft

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

In vicinity of Camelback Ranch:

Showing properties 1 – 10 of 60. See more 85037 zip code real estate.
(all data current as of 2/19/2012)

$129,900 : 4815 N 96th Lane, Phoenix

4 beds, 3.00 baths

Home size: 2,663 sq ft

Lot size: 6,050 sq ft
$79,900 : 10605 W Heatherbrae Drive, Phoenix

3 beds, 2.00 baths

Home size: 1,638 sq ft

Lot size: 5,471 sq ft
$84,000 : 8902 W Vernon Avenue, Phoenix

4 beds, 2.00 baths

Home size: 1,010 sq ft

Lot size: 6,351 sq ft
$98,000 : 4737 N 94th Avenue, Phoenix

4 beds, 3.00 baths

Home size: 1,907 sq ft

Lot size: 9,545 sq ft
$119,900 : 10317 W Monterosa Avenue, Phoenix

3 beds, 2.50 baths

Home size: 1,362 sq ft

Lot size: 2,767 sq ft
$86,400 : 8415 W Lewis Avenue, Phoenix

3 beds, 2.50 baths

Home size: 1,652 sq ft

Lot size: 2,196 sq ft
$119,888 : 10705 W Roma Avenue, Phoenix

3 beds, 2.00 baths

Home size: 1,587 sq ft

Lot size: 7,910 sq ft
$105,000 : 4102 N 84th Lane, Phoenix

3 beds, 1.75 baths

Home size: 2,124 sq ft

Lot size: 8,224 sq ft
$79,400 : 4719 N 95th Lane, Phoenix

3 beds, 2.00 baths

Home size: 1,329 sq ft

Lot size: 6,449 sq ft
$89,500 : 4648 N Guadal Drive, Phoenix

3 beds, 2.50 baths

Home size: 1,942 sq ft

Lot size: 4,617 sq ft

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

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Blue Ridge Neighborhood Album

Posted on 19 February 2012.

Today was one of those rain-sun-rain-sun-rain Saturdays in our Ballard neighborhood. Blue Ridge, nestled just north of Crown Hill and Golden Gardens, is a pretty, cosy area of early and mid century homes, many with views of Puget Sound. Encouraged by one twenty-minutes-straight bout of sunshine we set out on a walk, only to note it start sprinkling again. No worries, like most Seattleites we had our hoodies so we could just pull up the hood. We were rewarded by a beautiful double rainbow right over the Blue Ridge rooftops. Maybe gets a top rating for best walk of the month. I kept noticing the really great landscaping that so many of the bungalow owners have put into place. Why let your lawn stretch from doorstep to sidewalk when you can create interest and a sense of expansive privacy with an irregular island of shrubs and interesting plants that finishes off the look into one of polished elegance. Of course, as soon as I decided these homes were hands down the most finished looking, I found several with straight walks intersecting a full lawn which impressed me too. What do you think?