Good hops: 51s’ new infield; better hops: PBRs, chilled and cheap

If you were among the 6,197 who attended the 51s' home opener against the dreaded Sacramento River Cats on Thursday night, you might have had your hat blown off and noticed that when there's a decent crowd at the old ballyard, you still have to wait in line for a beer, a hot dog and to use the restroom.

You also may have noticed the new infield grass.

A 51s official said the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority went digging in its sofa cushions for the $20,000 or so it cost to re-sod the infield, as well as a swatch of the shallow outfield grass.

Yes, the Chia Pet infield, as I used to call it, is no more.

"It played like a Chia Pet, too," said Marty Brown, the 51s' skipper.

So now Cashman Field offers the second-best playing surface in town, next to UNLV's Wilson Stadium. If you're scoring at home, there should be fewer E-4s and E-6s, and a lot more 4-6-3 and 6-4-3 double plays this season.

In theory, anyway.

■ Tweet of the week. From pitching deity and dapper gent Old Hoss Radbourn (@OldHossRadbourn): "Nice to see R. Ibanez, the last living person to sail on the Spanish Armada, doing so well."

■ Seven cool nicknames for baseball umpires: Jocko (Conlan), Shag (Crawford), Augie (Donatelli), Beans (Reardon), Dutch (Rennert), Laz (Diaz), Durwood* (Merrill) (*might have been his real name).

■ Email of the week: From dgs 153, in response to my column that referenced the $15 million upgrade at the former Fitzgeralds, and $1 Pabst Blue Ribbon beer: "Radio City Pizza at Tivoli Village has 50-cent PBR drafts all day, every day! Hope this helps." (It does. A lot.)

■ Honorable mention email of the week: From golddigger_auag:  "Wahoo's on West Charleston will fill that void for you, serving up $1 ice cold PBR!!!!" (I'll have to wear my Wahoo, Neb., T-shirt when I go.)

■ Three dots: Kyle Wilson, UNLV's director of athletic training, has earned the National Athletic Trainers' Association and the Far West Athletic Trainers' Association 2012 Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer awards. Wilson is so good at taping ankles he's already won the 2012 awards, and it's only April. ...

Baylor went 40-0 to win the NCAA women's basketball championship, but as far as I know, there's still no bar in Las Vegas where fans gather to watch Brittney Griner hoop it up. ...

Susan Tose Spencer, former general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles, is executive producer of a new talk show, "Not Just Sports," hosted by Nick Bonsanto that airs from 10 a.m.-noon weekdays on KDWN-AM (720). I haven't tuned in yet, mostly because I'm hooked on Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius XM and I'm payin' for it. ...

The starting pitcher for San Diego State against UNLV on Friday night was Travis Pitcher. ...

MLB ballparks are expected to serve 20.5 million hot dogs this season, and maybe three bags of cotton candy.

THE WEEK AHEAD

■ Best bet: Fresno Grizzlies at Las Vegas 51s, 7:05 p.m. Thursday, Cashman Field. It's the second $1 Budweiser Beer Night of the season, and it's not supposed to be windy for this one. (Tickets: www.ticketmaster.com)

■ Worth a look: Nebraska-Omaha at UNLV baseball, 6:05 p.m. Thursday, 1:05 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Wilson Stadium. A four-game series (Saturday is a doubleheader) against Nebraska-Omaha in the middle of the conference season is what happens when Brigham Young and Utah leave for greener pastures. (Tickets: unlvtickets.com)

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski.