Spring training, day eighteen

Day 18, Spring Training. Ed Smith Stadium, Sarasota . Game 4 of 4 to see the Cincinnati Reds.

This was my last game. It was also the last home spring training game for the Reds. The Reds have a split squad game tomorrow with the minor league players going up to Dunedin to play the Jays in dilapidated Knology Park , while the major leaguers break camp and head to Dayton to play the Marlins.

Sarasota may lose the Reds. The Reds have tired of Ed Smith Stadium. (Who hasn’t?) The Reds agreed to kick in $10M for a new stadium provided that other sources would pony up the rest. There appeared to be a deal in place, but now it looks like it might fall through. The Dodgers will move to Arizona at the end of Spring Training next year, so the Vero Beach slot opens up for the Reds. There are also rumors of the Reds relocating to Arizona as well. There were tons of empty seats for this last home game of the season. The announced attendance was 4213, but that must have been the paid attendance. I don’t think anywhere near that number of people were actually at the game. I can understand that folks don’t want to sit in the blistering sun, but there were still plenty of seats in the shade available. In fact, I moved into a shady seat in an almost empty row just past home plate on the 3^rd base side after 3 innings. The night game I went to here didn’t come close to selling out either. The Reds just aren’t well supported here. Maybe a new stadium will help. By contrast, the Pirates do fairly well up the street in Bradenton .

I saw the Reds matchup with the Devil Rays again. Despite being the local team, there were few Rays fans at the game. Come to think of it, there are few Rays fans at the regular season games at Tropicana Field. The Rays played without Carl Crawford. Without Crawford, even with the other “regulars” playing, the D-Rays are indistinguishable from a minor league team. Who are these guys? The always amusing Jorge Cantu (Cannot! Cantu!) didn’t start, but pinch hit and popped out.

Ken Griffey, Jr. finally played. He singled in a run in the 1^st and got his exercise for the day scoring on Juan Castro’s double during a Reds’ 5-run outburst that inning, which the Reds nursed to a 5-4 victory. Otherwise, Griffey walked slowly back and forth to his position in right field. He looked uninterested in the proceedings. He left after four innings. I don’t understand playing Griffey in right field rather than his usual position in center. He broke his hand, so presumably he is in good aerobic form, so covering the position shouldn’t be a problem. There is no longer throw an outfield has to make than the throw from right field to 3^rd base, so throwing can’t be the issue either.

The game started with two umpires. A third appeared at the bottom of the 1^st; and later in the game the full complement of four were on the field. Did they get lost? Couldn’t find a parking spot? Another piece of strange behavior I’ve noticed with the spring training umpires. Even when there are four available for the whole game, they don’t stay put. After a few innings, the first and second base umpires may switch bases. I’ve had a few seats near the first base bag, so I’ve seen it happen several times.

I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to see all the Grapefruit League stadiums and it’s also given me an opportunity to tour the state. Of all sports, I think baseball improves most when seen on person rather than TV. In person, you watch where all the foul balls go. You can watch a particular player or whatever you feel like watching rather than what the TV decides to show you. You can watch an entire play unfold such as an outfield hit with runners on base. It’s also much better seeing a game in smaller parks that seat 5000 - 8000 compared to big league stadiums that seat 40,000 - 60,000.

I’ve already started some preliminary planning for Spring Training 2008. I might make the journey across the state next year to see the Dodgers’ last season in Florida . The problem is that it’s about a 3 ½ hour drive – too long to see a single game. So I might try to Priceline a cheap motel room and see a couple of games on the east coast. The Nats and Mets train over in that general area as well. Otherwise, I’ll see games in Clearwater , Lakeland , Sarasota and Bradenton .

And so this spring training odyssey finally comes to an end as we bid the “Boys of Spring” a fond farewell as they make their trek north to face a promising, yet uncertain future in the regular season.

Dad

Spring training, day seventeen

Day 17, Spring Training. McKechnie Field, Bradenton. Game 4 of 4 to see the Pittsburgh Pirates. I saw the Phillies for the seventh time and matching up against the Pirates for the third time. This used to be a fairly good rivalry between the Pennsylvania teams until expansion put them into different divisions.

We have a mystery concerning the foul ball I found here on Monday. I told a local who has season tickets about the cheap foul ball I recovered from the used car parking lot across the street from the stadium. He told me he once got a foul ball and it was a regular MLB ball. The walk from the parking lot runs along a chain link fence that surrounds the outfield wall that contains most of the home runs balls. Today, a stadium employee was gathering up batting practice home runs and tossing them over the fence to passing kids. I saw a couple of them and they were in fact regulation balls. So what’s with the cheap ball I found? The only theory I can advance is that the ball was leftover from when the rookie leagues played here last summer. But it’s hard to imagine that almost the whole month of spring training went by with all of the foul balls hit into that lot and nobody looked under this car to retrieve the ball. I’m stumped.

I had another nice seat 14 rows up a little to the left of home plate in the generous McKechnie shade. All things considered, McKechnie Field has been my favorite venue. It’s a short drive; traffic and parking are not an issue; and there are plenty of close-in seats in the shade. Except for Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland and Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater, none of the other parks I’ve visited outside of the Sarasota/Bradenton area are worth going back to again considering the length of the commute and the traffic and parking hassles. I figure I’ll go to a half dozen or so games here next year. I’ll buy the premium games against the Bosox and the goddamn Yankees plus whatever tie-in games are linked to them. I’d like to see the Phillies and the Devil Rays, since they’re now my local team. Perhaps another game or two so that I’m going at least twice a week to some spring training game. A couple of mild complaints about McKechnie Field – the seats don’t flip up, so navigating down the aisle is difficult and the leg room is barely adequate for someone my size.

Three umpires worked the game again as did on Monday. On Monday, there was a play where a little bit of everything happened. There was a broken bat bloop single hit to left with part of the broken bat pin-wheeling into the infield. There was a runner on first who tried to make it to third and was thrown out on a close play. When the dust settled, the Pirates’ pitcher was on the ground injured in foul territory on the third base side. He was taken off the field in a cart. There was so much to watch on that play, I had no idea what happened to the pitcher. It turned out that the home plate umpire was huffing it up to cover third base due to the shortage of umpires and crashed into the pitcher on his way to backup third base. The pitcher stepped on the umpire’s foot and broke his ankle. Seems like a good reason to always have four umpires on the field so they don’t unnecessarily interfere with the players.

Chase Utley doubled in a run and scored in the 1st inning. Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell hit back-to-back home runs in the 3^rd inning to give the Phillies a 4-1 lead. Jason Bay doubled twice, scored once and drove in three for the Pirates. But in the end, another spring training tie. This game ended 5-5 after 9 innings. I guess the Phillies wanted to get on the bus back to Clearwater and beat the rush hour traffic, so they had no interest in playing an extra frame. With camp breaking this weekend, I suppose the coaches, players and management are eager to start the season and get the hell out of Florida before it gets too hot.

I wind up the month with another return trip to Sarasota to see the Reds tomorrow.

Dad

Spring training, day sixteen

Day 16, Spring Training. Osceola County Stadium, Kissimmee. Home of the Houston Astros.

This was the longest and farthest drive of my spring training tour. Mercifully, there were no traffic or parking problems around the stadium, although I did have to endure a series of short, expensive toll roads to get there. The Disney area has a lot of them.

Since the Astros train in the middle of the state, some of the east coast Florida teams play here, including the Nats. I wish I had planned the away teams better so that I could have seen an east coast team play rather than see the Indians again. This was the Astros’ last spring training home game and the Indians are a “premium” ticket in both Bradenton and Sarasota. So this all added up to – tons of empty seats. I get the feeling that the Astros are not the best supported of the spring training teams. A fair number of Indian fans attended the game, but not any more than any other of the away teams that I’ve seen.

There was an Astros pre-sale for spring training tickets. The pre-sale was limited to their preferred customers who needed to enter the proper password to buy their tickets ahead of the availability to the general public. I did a web search and found that the password was “Oswalt”. So my seat was in the second row behind home plate right behind the left hand batter’s box.

According to the program, the stadium is 22 years old and was renovated four years ago. There is a vague attempt at a Spanish look, but at least it’s not an ugly mound of concrete. There are modest overhangs on the first and third base sides that provide some shade, especially on the first base side. Another spacious outfield at 390’ in the power alleys and 410’ in center. Overall, it’s an average spring training venue. Luckily for me, there was a high overcast, so I was able to stay in my close-in seat the whole game.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a seat so close to the field in any professional sport. I could call the balls and strikes and see what kind of stuff the pitcher had. I could tell fastballs from off-speed pitches from other seats I’ve had, but from here I could watch the curves. In spring training, they throw mainly fastballs, though. My seat was at ground level, so I had a problem with depth perception. It was hard to tell how hard and how far fly balls were hit.

It was also the buggiest stadium I’ve attended. Swarms of these little flies were buzzing the whole game. Apparently it’s a chronic problem, since a guy in the front row brought a fly swatter with him and was active in using it. They should sell them in the souvenir store – Official Astros Flyswatters. Something to put next to your “South of the Border” mementos.

All the Astros’ regulars played, but Victor Martinez was the only marquee player from the Indians who was on the field. Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner took the day off.

The Astros regulars took a 5-1 lead, with Morgan Ensberg homering in the 1^st combined with a 4-run fourth inning against Indians’ starter Paul Byrd. But then came the parade of mediocre spring training relievers. The Indians eventually tied it in the 9^th thanks to a lead-off walk and took the lead in the top of the 10^th on a walk and two run homer by sub Luis Rivas. Then it was the Indians relievers’ turn to play give-away in the bottom of the 10^th. A walk and a couple of singles loaded the bases for reserve catcher Humberto Quintero, who hit a walk-off bases clearing double to win the game. The Indians’ center fielder, minor leaguer Jason Michaels, took a couple of steps in on the ball only to see it fly over his head for the game winning “hit”.

The final two games on my schedule are close to home. Thursday, it’s the Pirates in Bradenton and I finish up in Sarasota on Friday with the Reds.

Dad

Spring training, day fifteen

Day 15, Spring Training. McKechnie Field, Bradenton. Game 3 of 4 to see the Pittsburgh Pirates. While last Friday was my “premium” game seeing the Yankees, this is my “crappy” game seeing the Blue Jays. I guess the Jays don’t have much of a fan base in Bradenton.

The Pirates require you to buy the same seat for a specific game for each premium game, so I was back in the same seat I had for the Yankees game. No buying a good seat for the Yankees game and buying a throw away cheap seat for the crappy game. By contrast, the Reds let you buy any ticket to any other game for each premium game. Despite the tie-in sale requirement for this game, there were a fair number of empty seats. A couple of scalpers were outside trying to sell tickets, but I’ll bet they were lucky if they got face value.

So I started out in the same top row obstructed view seat. In the first inning, a foul ball was hit over the stands and bashed onto one of the used car junkers across the street. Nobody was around to shag foul balls, so I took note of about where the ball landed and went across the street after the game and found the ball under a car. They use cheap balls for these spring training games. There is a faint “Skyline” insignia on it but no other markings. No Major League Baseball emblem or the commissioner’s signature or whatever else they put on regulation baseballs.

Like most stadiums, the Pirates have a large board in the concourse where the starting lineups are posted. There are always a handful of fans that are keeping score (like me) who are standing in front of the board copying down the lineups. Invariably, some idiot will walk in front of us, notice the board and stop to contemplate it, blocking our view of the lineup board. I’ve tried saying “Excuse me” and “Hello” but these people are oblivious to everything. They’re the ones who drive slowly in the left lane. Today, the guy beside me who was trying copying the lineups yelled to one of them: “If you’re going to stand in front of us, you might try jumping up and down. That makes it worse.” That got his attention. I’m going to have to remember that line.

The Jays started only one regular (Alex Rios). No Vernon Wells, Troy Glaus or Lyle Overbay. Like the Yankees and Giambi, the Blue Jays don’t play Frank Thomas in NL road cities where there is no DH, so no “Big Skirt” either. I guess the manager is still trying to figure out who gets the last spot on the bench. After an inning, I moved down a dozen rows or so to a better seat. I was now sitting beside a Jays’ fan who cheered for everything they did. He seemed to know all of the players’ names – even the minor leaguers’. In the 4^th inning, Jays’ left fielder David Smith dropped a routine fly ball. I remarked to the Jays’ fan that the left fielder won’t make the roster. He told me that Smith’s mother and father were sitting next to him. A Southwest Airlines “Want to get away?” moment.

Jays and Bucs play to a 2-2 tie in 10 innings. Pirates’ reserve catcher Ryan Doumit managed to sneak a home run just over the wall and just inside the left field foul pole in the bottom of the 9^th inning to tie the game. I’ve seen a number of 10 inning ties in the spring training box scores. Apparently, that’s the agreement between the clubs – they’ll only play 10 innings.

Tomorrow, I make my last long road trip and go up to Kissimmee to see the Astros.

Dad

Spring training, day fourteen

Day 14, Spring Training. McKechnie Field, Bradenton. Game 2 of 4 to see the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Like the Reds, the Pirates also have a “premium” game system. The “Gold” games are against the Braves, Indians, Red Sox, Tigers and goddamn Yankees. If you buy a ticket to one of these games, you must also buy a ticket to a specific “Red” game (also known as a “crappy” game). These tickets go on sale a week before the single game tickets. The goddamn Yankees and Red Sox I can figure, but what’s the attraction of the Tigers, Indians and Braves? Checking the Reds’ schedule, their games against the Tigers and Indians were also premium games. (The Braves don’t play at Sarasota this year.) I guess these teams must be popular locally and draw well. This is my “premium” game seeing the goddamn Yankees.

McKechnie was full, as expected. About half the crowd was rooting for the goddamn Yankees. The goddamn Yankees wore dark blue uniforms that were almost indistinguishable from the Pirates’ black. The only way to tell them apart was that the goddamn Yankees wore traveling gray pants while the Pirates wore home white pants.

Although I bought my ticket the instant they went on sale on the Internet, I was still in the top row of box seats a little to the left of home plate. This whole section is covered, so it was a shady seat. The support poles for the roof are at row 13. My view from row 22, first seat in, had a support pole block part of the first base line between home plate and first and a strip of right field. A mild nuisance, but still a good view. From the top row, I could watch a guy retrieve all the foul balls that were hit over the top of the stadium onto the used car lot across the street. All the cars in this lot looked like real junkers, so it wouldn’t particularly matter if any got hit by a foul ball. The neighborhood doesn’t appear to be the ritziest section of Bradenton.

No Jeter, ARod, Posada or Giambi. That severely limited the players I could boo at. Only the outfield of Abreu, Damon and Matsui was intact. Giambi probably never plays in NL road venues where there is no DH.

There was a stiff breeze blowing in all day that knocked down all fly balls. Pirates win 3-2. Reserve catcher Humberto Cota doubled in the go-ahead and eventual winning run in the 7th. I don’t care that it was spring training and mainly minor leaguers playing, I still enjoyed watching the goddamn Yankees lose.

It’s back-to-back seeing the Bucs as I go back to Bradenton on Monday.

Dad

Spring training, day thirteen

Day 13, Spring Training. Cracker Jack Stadium, Lake Buena Vista. Also known by the Disney folks as the Ballpark at Disney’s Wide World of Sports. Home of the Atlanta Braves.

Free parking! Having experienced the Disney magic at nearby attractions, I can assure you that the Disney folks are not bashful at finding innovative ways of getting into your wallet. My ticket was the most expensive at $22.50, so I can’t believe free parking. At 16 home games times $10/car (I’ve paid $7 twice and where else can you park?) times several thousand cars is pushing a million bucks left on the table. The programs were priced at the usual $5, but used some kind of waxy paper that made it damn near impossible to keep score with a pencil. Perhaps I was supposed to buy a special Disney pen to keep score.

The facility is very attractive. Like Bright House Networks Field, it’s Spanish style architecture. Unlike any other spring training venue I’ve visited, it has a full upper deck from third base around to first base. Disney also has the only exploding scoreboard in spring training as well as the loudest and most annoying public address system. Apparently, this stadium is an example of “Build it and they will come.” The Disney folks built this place 10 years ago and lured the Braves here.

The Mets traveled from the east coast (Port St. Lucie) and packed the place. The attendance set a spring training record at 11,591. The facility only seats 9,500, so the rest were on the berm over the left field wall, where you could hardly see a blade of grass and standing room, which ringed the lower level from the first to third base side behind the lower deck seats.

The Devil Rays are going to play three regular season games here in May. April would have been a better choice since the oppressive summer heat will have probably settled in by May. The stadium is small by Major League standards, but since the D-Rays draw flies in St. Petersburg, they may actually do better here.

Stupidly, the stadium faces south-southeast. There’s all kind of land around here, so Disney could have oriented the stadium any way they wanted. Facing basically south, only the last three rows of the lower deck get any shade. My seat was 12 rows up just to the left of home plate. While there were some clouds, I didn’t think I could take facing the bright sun for the whole game and luckily found a vacant seat behind me after the first inning that put me in the shade from the waist up. Facing south, the sun line didn’t move the whole game, so I stayed partially in the sun. A couple of innings later, I noticed some bastard had moved into my vacant seat. I felt like going down and kicking the sumbitch out of there, but under the circumstances, it didn’t seem appropriate. The other major stadium design flaw is the men’s rooms. There are only two on the ground level and one has 4 urinals and the other 6. I’m surprised this meets the building codes.

The Braves wore dark blue, the Mets medium blue and the umps were in light blue, so who knows who was on what side. John Smoltz, who turns 40 in May, pitched six strong innings for the Braves, the longest outing of any pitcher I’ve seen to date. You’d think they’d give the guy a break and not wear him out in March. It was fun seeing Smoltz face 48 year old Julio Franco, who started at first base for the Mets. You won’t see too many older starting pitcher/batter matchups. Probably makes all the retirees feel good. According to the radar info posted on the scoreboard, Smoltz’s fastball was consistently in the 93-94 MPH range, so he can still bring it.

Braves win 7-1, breaking open a close game by scoring five off Mets’ closer Billy Wagner in the 7th. The decisive blow was a three run homer by Tony Pena.

Tomorrow, I stay close to home and go back to Bradenton to see the Pirates again.

Dad

Spring training, day eleven

Day 12, Spring Training. Bright House Networks Field, Clearwater. Home of the
Philadelphia Phillies.

I can remember listing to the Phillies spring training games from Clearwater on the radio as a young boy. It always marked the promise of spring to hear baseball again on the radio. It was high on my agenda of things to do in retirement to go see the Phillies in Clearwater.

The park was brand new in 2004. It is easily the prettiest spring training park I’ve seen so far. It looks like a Spanish mission, rather than the usual ugly bare concrete stadium. The website directions claim parking is on the right as you approach the facility. There is a lot there, but it was already full when I arrived. Another larger lot is on your left before you get to the stadium, so I threw a U-turn to get back to it. No signs to help you, of course. There’s a side entrance to this lot that I would use in the future now that I know where it is.

The shady seats are to the right of home plate and on the first base side as well as in the “club” seats on the second level beside the luxury boxes. My seat was just to the right of home plate 13 rows up. I was in the sun briefly; shade found my seat just as the game started.

Bill Giles, the Phillies’ chairman, was on hand to autograph his new book. I guess he has to scratch for every cent he can after Chase Utley’s contract. Naturally, Philly cheese steaks were available at the concession stands.

It was a gorgeous day – a dry 71 degrees at game time, climbing to 76 at game’s end. The place was packed. Even the berm seating in the outfield was crowded. The announced attendance was 7992. Even though this was the third largest crowd I’ve encountered, I didn’t run into too much traffic getting out since I took the side exit to the parking lot and did an end run around the principal line of traffic. It only took a little over an hour to make the commute in each direction.

The Phils were in their home red so they looked like the Phillies to me. The also looked like the Phillies during the game, bowing to the lowly Pirates 5-1. Both Abraham Nunez and Ryan Howard got thrown out trying to stretch singles into doubles which killed what few promising innings the Phils had.

I’ll definitely come back here again. I’m thankful that the Phillies don’t play in a dump like Knology or in ugly Ed Smith.

Two days off until my next game, which is a long commute to the Orlando area near Disney World to see the Braves.

Dad

Spring training, day eleven

Day 11, Spring Training. Joker Marchant Stadium, Lakeland. Home of the Detroit Tigers. According to the Pirates program I picked up, the Tigers have the longest tenure in the same town – 62 years – of any spring training team. The Phillies are next with 61 years in Clearwater and the Dodgers have been in Vero Beach for 59 years. Fourth are the Pirates who are celebrating their 49^th year in Bradenton. The Tigers’ program said nothing about their tenure here, but the PA announcer claimed the Tigers were spending their 71^st year in Lakeland. So the numbers vary, but in any event, the Tigers have been here a long time.

It’s been dry as a bone all winter, but I was threatened with my first rainout today. It rained for the last half hour of my ride there and was sprinkling when I arrived. It rained hard about 50 minutes before game time, but quit about 20 minutes later. The game was delayed for 35 minutes for the ground crew to get the field in shape.

The stadium recently underwent a renovation and it looks great. Another spacious park – 340’ down the lines and 420’ to dead center. The power alleys are unmarked. There is an overhang all the way around the stadium (except for the bleachers in left), and as usual, there is more shade on the 1st base side. My seat was three rows up just past the first base bag. They added more rows of seats closer to the field during the renovation, so I was nearer the action than the players in the dugout. The stadium was packed except for the bleachers down the left field line and the berm seating (apparently the Florida standard term for sitting on grass on a hill) over the left field wall.

Saw the Phillies again. As usual, lots of Phillie fans in the joint. Although the Tigers wore their home white, the Phillies again sported those strange blue uniforms. I’m guessing it’s some kind of marketing campaign to get people to buy still another team jersey. But being Philadelphia born and raised and having seen the Phillies play more times than I can count, they just look bizarre to me in blue. All the stars for the Phils played; the Tigers were missing IRod and newly acquired Gary Sheffield.

Ryan Howard batted from the left side against lefty Mike Maroth. I can swear that he turned around and batted from the right side and hit a home run against CC Sabathia earlier this spring. Maybe I’ve been in the sun too long. Howard played first base, so I got a good look at him from my seat. He’s a wide body. After he left the game in the 6^th inning, I moved behind home plate as the changeable Florida weather was now bright sunshine.

As we get deeper into spring training, starting pitchers are going longer. Maroth pitched five, and Phils’ Freddie Garcia went into the 5^th, but was pulled after giving up a run and loading the bases in that frame. Tiger Brandon Inge greeted Phils’ reliever Brian Sanchez with a bases-clearing double. Sanchez was also bombed by the Reds when I saw the Phils earlier this month. After Maroth’s exit, Tigers brought on 40 year old Jose Mesa to pitch. I thought he was laughed out of baseball a couple of years ago after setting the record for highest ERA in the modern era. What can the Tigers be thinking? If Jose Mesa is the answer, what can possibly be the question? Phils quickly score three runs off him and retake the lead in the inning he pitched. But since the Tigers, who went on to win 12-9, score a pair in the bottom of the 6^th, Mesa gets the win! Curtis Granderson, Jose Guillen and reserve Timo Perez homer for the Tigers. Shane Victorino homers for the Phils. With the huge outfield, Tigers’ Brandon Inge and Phils’ reserve Mike Bourn triple.

This is the only stadium outside of Sarasota/Bradenton that I’ve seen so far that I’d consider returning to if I can score a ticket in the grandstand on the first base side. The drive was an hour and 15 minutes, but I didn’t get stuck in traffic. I also found the back entrance into and out of the parking lot making it even easier.

I’m hoping I like Bright House Networks field in Clearwater as much when I go there to see the Phillies play on Monday.

Dad

Spring training, day ten

Day 10, Spring Training. Hammond Stadium, Fort Myers. Home of the Minnesota Twins.

Hammond Stadium looked new to me. But if I understand the program right, it dates back to 1991, so they’ve maintained it well. After Legends Field, home of the goddamn Yankees, it’s the second biggest park and crowd I’ve seen during my spring training tour. The announced attendance was 8122 with not many empty seats. I expected the Yankees and Red Sox to be well supported, but I didn’t know the Twins had such a large following. Either that, or spring training games are real popular down here. The Red Sox also call Fort Myers their spring training home at another facility a few miles away. Not surprisingly, the Sox regularly sell out.

The stadium is located in the Lee County Sports Complex and has a nice piece of land for other training fields and parking. The concourse area in Hammond Stadium is kind of cramped though and navigating through it is a problem. The souvenir store was the most packed of any that I’ve seen. It may be just the layout and they simply need more cash registers. The stadium has overhangs on both the first and third base side. As with most of the parks I’ve visited, there was more shade on the first base side. I bought my ticket as soon as they went on sale, but my seat was still in the last of the box seat sections down the third base line. I was twelve rows up a little past the infield. Not a bad seat, but I’ve had much better. It was partly sunny and a humid 81 degrees at game time. As has been my practice, after one inning I moved up to a shady seat behind home plate. The press box and suites are tall enough that they shade the top half of the upper section of seats behind home plate. Like Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, the upper sections of seats are metal bleachers with backs but no armrests.

Got to see the O’s play. The Orioles train in Ft. Lauderdale and don’t come as far north as Sarasota or Bradenton, but they do travel across the state to play in Ft. Myers. There were a fair number of O’s fans around. They yelled “O” during the National Anthem, as usual. I happened to sit near a quite a few of them. I had forgotten how grating on the ear the Bawlmore accent is. Another thing that I don’t miss from living in the DC area.

O’s get a couple of gift runs in the 1^st thanks to a couple of errors, but Mike Cuddyer starts the Twins’ rally with a solo home run and the Twins eventually win 4-2. Twinks score the winning runs in the bottom of the 8^th on a two-out, two-run double off the bat of reserve infielder Garrett Jones. O’s load the bases in the 9^th, but non-roster invitee Jon Knott grounds into an inning-ending, rally-killing, game-ending double play. Knott will not make the squad.

Traffic was miserable again both getting there and coming home. Ft. Myers is 85 miles south of me, so I can’t see making this journey again.

Tomorrow, I go up to Lakeland to see the defending AL Champion Detroit Tigers.

Spring training, day nine

Day 9, Spring Training. Ed Smith Stadium, Sarasota. Game 3 of 4 to see the Cincinnati Reds. First and only night game. Mom came to this one. “The Ed” looks better at night. Darkness hides a few of the stadium’s warts.

The Reds have two pricing plans. The “premium games”, which are all the games with the Yankees and Red Sox and all night games, cost more. They go on sale first, and for every ticket to a “premium” game you buy, you must also buy one ticket to a “crappy” game. I had planned on going to several Reds games anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal for me. Since they get more money for night games, I’m surprised they don’t have more of them. There are only three night games, and one is a split squad game with the Pirates (with the split game being a day game with the Pirates at Bradenton). By contrast, the goddamn Yankees play 7 of their 15 spring training home games at night.

The spring training games have been following a pattern. The regular starters play about five innings, give or take an inning depending on how many at-bats they’ve had, then the minor leaguers take over. Generally one or two young prospects start the game and often play the whole game when the manager gives the regular the day off. It’s like watching two games in one – about five innings of major league ball and about four innings of Class AA ball. I don’t see how the manager can evaluate his talent this way. Except for the prospects who play early, the minor league batters are only facing minor league pitchers and vice versa. How do they know if this young batter can hit major league pitching, or whether this young arm can get major league batters out?

I’ve seen a few prospects hit home runs and other strike out, but how much can you really tell from a couple at-bats? The biggest difference I notice is in the field. I’ve seen dropped fly balls and Bill Buckner-like ground balls that go through infielder’s legs. It’s not so much the inability to make the difficult play, it’s the frequent botched routine play that’s noticeable. I’ve also seen some pitching prospects throw well and others get bombed. But what can you really tell from one outing? Presumably, all of these guys must have some promise or they wouldn’t be here. So it’s how often do they get shelled or pitch well. Hard to tell when you only see them once.

It was a beautiful night to watch a game – 73 degrees at game time. Since it’s been very dry, the stadium was bugless. I couldn’t believe how many empty seats there were. I thought these night games would sell out. Saw the Devil Rays play for the second day in a row. The Rays departed from the usual substitution pattern and played almost all of their regulars for the whole game. Since they are now 1-13, I think they were actually trying to win the game. But the Reds, who lead the Grapefruit league at 11-2, edged the Rays 2-1. Rays manage only 3 hits, but all for extra bases. Rocco Baldelli homered, Carl Crawford tripled and catcher Josh Paul doubled. Reds only get five hits, but advanced what few runners they had with groundouts and stolen bases to scratch out a couple of runs. Game took only two hours, ten minutes.

I can’t figure out the use of the DH during spring training. The last time an AL club visited the Reds, they used the DH. Tonight, the pitchers hit.

Concession prices are also cheaper at these spring training venues. A good hot dog only sets you back $3.

Tomorrow, I head back down to Fort Myers to see the Minnesota Twins.

Dad

Spring Training, Day Eight

Day 8, Spring Training. Al Lang Field, St. Petersburg. Home of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Located in Progress Energy Park in downtown St. Pete’s right on Tampa Bay. A little sliver of the bay is visible from the first base side.

The stadium faces basically south. Major League Baseball clearly states in rule 1.04 "THE PLAYING FIELD: It is desirable that the line from home base through the pitchers plate to second base shall run East Northeast." Didn’t they bother reading the rules? There is a fairly large concrete overhang over the middle two-thirds over the top of the stadium, but with the stadium facing south, it casts very little shade.

I toured the park before the game and tried to walk down to an observation point down the right field line, but was barred by an usher. Only holders of “berm” tickets – sitting on a hill of grass – were permitted past that point. My seat was four rows up just past the dugout along the first base line. Shortly after I arrived, two sets of front row squatters were chased by the rightful holders of those seats. So they guard the cheap seats, but let anybody wander down to the first row.

The Rays need to get with the program – literally. I tried buying a program before the game, but they don’t sell any. You can buy a scorecard and a roster for $1, but that’s it. So the stadium faces the wrong way, there are no programs for sale and the cheap seats are guarded, but not the expensive ones – and this is “Progress” Energy Park? I’ve seen progress, and this isn’t it. No wonder the Rays are a last place franchise with no hope of improvement.

It was hot with a cloudless sky. It’s more intense facing south directly into the sun, so in the 2^nd inning, I hustled up to a seat in the shade 25 rows behind home plate before they were all gone. Past the first five rows, the “Loge Box” seats (read: Grandstand) are all metal bleachers with backs but no armrests. But bleachers in the shade were better than sitting in my sun-blasted seat. In the 7^th inning, the place was invaded by a large flock of seagulls. I’ll bet this is their regular route, for they landed in the now deserted sunny seats and foraged for leftover scraps of food. For the bottom of the 9^th inning, I went down directly behind home plate. This section must have been zoned for scouts. I saw three radar guns and at least dozen folks charting the game on yellow legal pads.

Saw the Phillies for the fourth time. Again, a fair number of Phillie fans were at the game. Although the Rays were in dark green, the Phils wore those funky blue uniforms again. Even without Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins, Phils outslug the Rays 11-8. Rays ace Scott Kazmir departed after four innings with the lead, but in the 5^th inning, the Phils put 8 runs on the board. In the 5^th, the Phils inserted Ron Calloway as a pitch runner who later came to the plate in that same inning and hit a grand slam. I wonder how many times in baseball history that has happened. Ty Wigginton hit two home runs for the Rays in a losing effort. Carl Crawford, arguably the Rays’ only legitimate major leaguer, went 0-3. The D-Rays don’t figure to win many games in the AL East this year (or any year), so they’re getting into shape by posting a 1-12 spring training record so far.

There was a fan who entertained himself whenever Jorge Cantu came to the plate by shouting: “If I can hit a home run, you Cantu”. It pays to have a sense of humor if you’re a Rays fan. God knows that the product they put on the field isn’t big league quality.

Tomorrow, it’s back to Sarasota again to see the Reds in a night game.

Dad

Spring Training, Day Seven

Day 7, Spring Training. Ed Smith Stadium, Sarasota. Game 2 of 4 to see the Cincinnati Reds. There’s no substitute for knowing what you’re doing. Now that I knew where the entrance to the overflow lot was, I mapped out a way to get there from the other direction, so I had little trouble getting to the lot and parking. There is one potentially troublesome left hand turn, but if it’s backed up, I can just go past it a throw a U-turn, Florida’s most popular traffic maneuver.

According to the program, “The Ed” as the announcer calls the stadium, was built for the Chicago White Sox. But after training in Sarasota for 38 years, the White Sox up and left for the Cactus League in Tucson in 1997. The Blue Jays were the most likely successor, as they were looking to leave Dunedin. After seeing shitty Knology Park, that’s understandable. But the City of Dunedin demanded the Jays buy out the remaining two years on their lease.

The Jays balked, so instead the Reds moved to Sarasota from Plant City. The Plant City facility must be a real pigsty since the Jays could have moved there after their lease ran out. So for want of a few bucks, the Jays are stuck up at Knology. Serves the cheap bastards right. The Jays were also the Reds’ opponent today, so I saw them for the second game in a row.

“The Ed” has not improved since my last visit. The seats are worn, the paint is chipping off the armrests and the hardware holding the seats down is all rusted. It’s better than Knology, but that damns it with faint praise. The field is in good shape and fairly spacious at 340’ down the lines, 375’ in the power alleys and 400’ to dead center. The clubhouse is not connected to the dugout, since when the Reds’ regulars are taken out the game, they have to tote their gear and walk down the right field line and out the park.

My seat was almost the same a last time – four rows up from the field down the first base line a little past the infield. Parks with little shade are now worse with daylight savings time. The games essentially are starting an hour earlier so it takes lengthening shadows an hour longer to arrive. But today there was a mix of sun and clouds with a mild breeze, so it was pleasant throughout the game.

They played the game with three umpires. That happened at the Yankees game too. What’s the deal with that? Did one of them get the shits right before the game? They also played with the DH. At the two other NL home games I attended, the pitchers batted. Both of those games were against NL opponents, so it looks like when the visiting team is AL, they use the DH

Reds win 3-0 in a fast two hours, seven minutes. Even though most of the pitchers were minor leaguers, Jays manage only two hits and the Reds seven, with the sole extra base hit an RBI double by Reds’ sub Norris Hopper. The “Big Skirt” and Vernon Wells didn’t play for the Jays today. Griffey is still a no-show.

Tomorrow, it’s up to St. Petersburg to see the Devil Rays.

Dad

Spring Training, Day Six

Day 6, Spring Training. Knology Park, Dunedin. Home of the Toronto Blue Jays. The recommended route to the stadium on the Jays’ web page put you right past the Phillies’ stadium in Clearwater. I checked the schedule and since the Phils were home today as well, I plotted my own course since I didn’t want to get caught in traffic for two stadiums. I got there early since I knew parking was going to be a problem. I was able to park in a small lot for the VFW lodge across the street.

Knology Park is a real dump. It is an old, weather-beaten, ugly concrete stadium. The plastic seats are all faded from the sun and heads of the metal bolts holding the armrests are all rusted. There is a slight overhang at the top of the stands that provides shade only for the upper rows in the mid-day sun. There is the carcass of one old abandoned concrete light tower down the left field line standing forlornly beside its metal replacement. I sat at a picnic table in the concession area before the game to avoid being in the sun any longer than necessary. Looking up at the concrete overhangs, I saw lots of wasp nests, although I saw no wasps.

I have never seen stubbier foul poles. They were only about 15 feet high. Fortunately, there were no long fly balls hit down the lines, because it would be anybody’s guess whether the ball was fair or foul. A high school team would be ashamed to play here. The best thing you could hear about this place are three little words – scheduled for demolition. All this added up to the smallest attendance at any of the games I’ve been to so far – a measly 3162. And I think that was generous. Although the stadium is small, there were oceans of empty seats in the third base sun field.

My seat was three rows behind the Jays’ dugout, but all things considered, at $18 for my ticket, this was by far the worst value. I kept my eye on seats in the shade at the top of the stands on the third base side and after three innings, I went up there. I’m glad I went when I did, because lots of other folks wandered up there as time went on. It was still a good view from there, since it was only about 20 rows up about halfway between home plate and third base. By the middle of the 7^th inning, the seats a few rows up behind home plate found the shade, so I moved down there.

The Blue Jays also have the crappiest program. There was only one little article about the team and nothing about the history of the park or baseball in the area. The scorecard page was filled with ads so that there wasn’t enough room to write in all the replacement players. At least they charged a buck less ($4) than the programs elsewhere.

I guess a lot of crazy Canuks are down here, because more people sang the Canadian anthem than the American anthem. Maybe Canadians just like to sing more, eh?

Blue Jays power to an early 6-1 lead with homers by Vernon Wells, Lance Overbay and Alex Rios. As is often the case with these spring training games, things turned around once the minor leaguers came in. The Jays put Beau Kemp in to pitch the 6^th, but it was an inning too soon since the Astros kept their starters in and torched Beau for 5 runs. Astros go on to win 9-7, scoring all but one of their runs against the weak relievers.

Monday, it’s back to Sarasota to see the Reds again.

Dad

Spring Training, Day Five

Day 5, Spring Training. Chain of Lakes Park, Winter Haven. Home of the Cleveland Indians. A somewhat more pleasant place to visit compared to the “mistake on the lake” in northern Ohio. I don’t know what the “Chain of Lakes” is all about. I suppose there may be some lakes in the area, but there are none within eyeshot of the park. It’s a serviceable ballpark. The outfield is huge – 340’ down the lines, 380’ in the power alleys and 420’ to deep center. Three outfielders kind of look lost in all that acreage.

I sprang for a more expensive lower box ($13) rather than an upper box ($11) seat. Unfortunately, the upper box seats are all under cover in the shade while my lower box seat was in the full sun when I got there. However, past the first few rows in the upper box, there could be some obstructed view issues due to the support poles. By the third inning though, the sun cleared the top of the stands and I was in the shade. My seat was five rows up from the field just past the 3^rd base bag.

Bob Feller, hall of fame pitcher for the Indians was on hand signing autographs – if you were willing to pay him whatever was the going rate. I walked over to where he was doing the signing and saw money changing hands at the signing table.

I planned none of the visiting teams, so it’s by chance that I saw the Phillies for the third straight game. Checking my schedule, I see the Phils at total of seven times, including one at their home in Clearwater. Since the Indians wore dark blue, the Phillies were clad in their usual red. Now they looked recognizable to me. There were a lot of Phillie fans here too. They must travel well or there are more retired Philadelphians in the area than I realized.

In the second inning, Indian reserve first baseman Mike Aubrey lashed a foul ball into the Phillie dugout and broke some plumbing fixture. Water erupted like a geyser from the dugout and arched onto the field. It was quite spectacular. It took them a while to find the right valve to turn it off.

Indian all-star catcher Victor Martinez staked the Indians to a lead with a 3-run homer in the first. Ryan Howard, batting from the right side against lefty C.C. Sabathia, crushed a solo shot well over the wall between the 380’ and 420’ signs to start the Phillie comeback in the 2^nd inning. Phils eventually take a 6-5 lead into the 9^th, but Jim Ed Warden takes the 7-6 loss and the blown save when Tribe outfielder Shin-Soo Choo hits a walk-off 2-run single off him in the bottom of the 9^th. Old Jim Ed can pack his bags and head back to the minors. Choo is a local fan favorite. The chant of “Choooooooo” goes up when he takes his turn at bat.

It took about an hour and a half to get up to Winter Haven. I took the Interstate there, but took the back roads through scrubby, rural Polk County on the way home. There’s not much in this state between the two coasts.

Tomorrow, I venture up to Dunedin to see the Blue Jays.

Dad

Spring Training, Day Four

Day 4, Spring Training. McKechnie Field, Bradenton. Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Actually the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates is “Pirate City”, a few miles away in the middle of some orange groves. The McKechnie Field complex doesn’t have much land – just the one field - so while the Pirates play their games at McKechnie Field, they actually train at Pirate City. It’s a nice little stadium. I had a great seat behind home plate in the shade. No lights at McKechnie yet, but lights are planned to be added in the near future. This is the first of four games that I’ll go to here.

Online aerial maps came in handy. I had gone to McKechnie before to buy some of my Pirates tickets and saw absolutely no place to park. I looked at an aerial map of the area and saw what appeared to be an empty lot northeast of the stadium and off the major roads on which the park is located. McKechnie is fairly close to downtown Bradenton and it’s well built up around the area. Sure enough, there was a parking lot there. When I walked around the park to the entrance on the main drag, I saw no signs directing you to the lot. You’re really on your own down here. Signage varies from poor to non-existent. It’s going to be a thrill parking at the Blue Jays facility in Dunedin. It’s in an old section of town just a few blocks from the gulf. I see no lots of any kind anywhere nearby on aerial maps. I go there Friday.

I pity small market teams like the Pirates. Whatever good looking young players they have (like Jason Bay, who didn’t play today), they are essentially grooming them for the Yankees, or whatever other team buys them once they hit free agency. They have no chance of winning the Series and little chance of winning more games than they lose. A reasonable goal would be to avoid another 90-plus loss season. Kind of grim for March.

Saw the Phillies again – still in their funky blue uniforms. Another fair amount of Phillie fans in the stands. I sat near quite a few. Ryan Howard played today and doubled in a pair. It would have likely been a home run under normal wind conditions, but the wind was blowing in a gale early in the game. Aided by a bunch of walks, Phils sprint to a 9-0 lead. Biggest blow was a three-run double by Rod Barajas. Phillies haven’t changed much. They gave in all back, including 6 unearned runs on 5 errors. Pirates finally tie it at 9-9 in the bottom of the 9^th, but the hapless Pirates, still winless in spring training, lose 11-10 in 10.

The minor league outfielders had a lot a fun with the wind. One dropped ball, one misplayed ball that fell for a triple and several last second stabs at catches. It put excitement back into the routine fly ball.

Wednesday is an off day for me. Next up are the Cleveland Indians in Winter Haven on Thursday.

Dad

Spring Training, Day Three

Day 3, Spring Training. Ed Smith Stadium, Sarasota. Home of the Cincinnati Reds. The crappiest stadium I’ve been in so far. Very little shade available – only in the top 5 or so rows on the third base side and about 10 rows on the first base side, although the shadows lengthened on the first base side as the game went on. If I were Ed Smith, I’d get them to name the damn place after someone else. I understand that a stadium replacement is planned, and the sooner the better. Seat was in the second row down the first base line somewhat past the edge of the infield/outfield grass. I bought tickets to three other Reds games since it was so close to home so I guess I had better get used to it. At least one of them is a night game. Parking was OK, although the route they sent me to the overflow lot was somewhat convoluted. I think they like convoluted routes in Florida. The weather was a little cool – 62 at game time, so sitting in the sun the whole day wasn’t too bad.

Griffey, Jr. is hurt – again. Seems like he broke his hand wrestling with his kids. Or so he says. He would lose big bucks if he was engaging in some activity prohibited by his contract. But breaking your hand wrestling with kids? How big are his kids? 6’8”, 270#?

The Reds wore, well, red. That’s the Phillies’ color – or at least it used to be. They used to wear grey uniforms on the road, but they wore these funky blue uniforms today. The Phillies looked strange in blue. Ryan Howard didn’t play for the Phils. I get to see the Phillies at least three times more, so I hope to see him at another game. Either there were a lot of Phillies’ fans at the game or these people cheer for everything.

Reds rally from 5 down to win 9-8. Both sides combine for 27 hits. The Reds (and the goddamn Yankees) are undefeated so far in Grapefruit League play. Homers by Brandon Phillips and sub Jerry Gil for the Reds and backup catcher Carlos Ruiz for the Phillies. Although he started the game, I guess he’s the backup because I never heard of him before. Suicide squeeze brings home the winning run in the bottom of the 8^th.

Tomorrow, it’s on to Bradenton to see the Pirates.

Dad

Spring Training, Day Two

Day 2, Spring Training. City of Palms Park, Fort Myers. Home of the beloved Boston Red Sox. Traffic and parking around the facility is nightmarish. Wound up parking on some guy’s lawn for $7 a few blocks from the park. I’ve got a feeling a lot of the spring training sites are going to be like this. There is NO parking for the Pirates’ McKechnie Field in Bradenton (where I go Tuesday). I have no clue where I’ll park there.

Nice facility. As the name implies there are a ring of palm trees just over the outfield wall from foul pole to foul pole. No green monster, though. The outfield wall is only about 8 feet high all the way around. They had a local theatre group that is currently doing “Damn Yankees” sing the National anthem. Nice touch.

Good news was that my seat was in the first row. Bad news was that it was the last seat all the way down the left field line. The Sox games went on sale real early and I missed it. My first few choices for games were already sold out, so I guess I was lucky to get a ticket at all. This game might not have been as popular since it was a split squad game, where you risk seeing few of the stars. But the other split squad game is against – of all teams – Boston College later tonight. Management is not about to let some hot shot college pitcher throw at the starters, so all of the big names started in the day game against the Blow Jays. There was a mix of clouds and sun, so it wasn’t too bad sitting out in the open. The covered stands end about at the end of the infield. Unlike the Yankees fans yesterday, the Red Sox fans hung around for most of the game. I didn’t see a lot of empty seats until the 9^th inning, when I moved down behind home plate. Very laid back atmosphere. Pitchers ran wind sprints around the edge of the warning track during the game.

From my vantage point in left field, I got to keep an eye on Manny. Manny never broke a sweat. In the top of the 3^rd, he slept-walked a single into a double. When he walked in the bottom of the 3^rd, they inserted a pinch runner for him. Since he had no intention of running in the outfield, I’m sure he wasn’t about to run the bases either. I guess it doesn’t make sense for Manny to pull his hammy in March. He can wait for April for that.

Sox lose 9-6 in 10. Reserve catcher Alberto Castillo gives the Sox the lead with a 3-run dinger in the 2^nd, but Bosox non-roster spring training invitee Runelvys Hernandez gets lit for 6 runs in the 3^rd. I doubt he makes the roster. Sox tie it in the 9^th when minor leaguer Bryan Pritz hits a 2-run homer. But some clown named Sturge, whose name wasn’t even in the program gives up three to the Jays in the top of the 10^th. I don’t think he was warmed up properly. I think the bullpen was caught by surprise when the Sox tied it and didn’t have anybody warming up. The bullpen is hidden by the outfield wall, so I don’t know for sure, but he was late getting to the mound to start the 10^th.

On Monday, I see the Reds in Sarasota, so I get an easy commute for a change.

Dad

Spring Training, Day One

Day 1, Spring Training. Legends Field, Tampa. Home of the New York Fucking Yankees. Had to jump in the shower as soon as I got home because my flesh was crawling after being in close proximity to so many Yankee fans.

Yanks trotted out a few of their legends as “guest instructors”, including Reggie Jackson and Yogi Berra. Reggie was animated; Yogi looked dead. Maybe he was. The Yankees had 101 guys on the roster. 101! 8 coaches, 14 instructors, 9 guest instructors, 3 support staff, 2 equipment staff, 30 pitchers, 9 catchers, 9 outfielders, 16 infielders plus Joe Torre. Makes it fun trying to figure out who is who when two guys are wearing # 43, two wearing # 58, etc. I guess they just didn’t want to go to triple digits on the uniforms. The dugout was so packed that about 15-20 of the wannabees had to stand on the top step of the dugout until the regulars left the game and headed for the showers. I don’t see how Torre can possibly play them all.

Highlight of the game was when Carlos Silva plunked AFraud in the 1^st inning. Alas, it just grazed him. Wouldn’t it have been great for ARod to get a season-ending (maybe even career-ending!) broken wrist in the first inning of the first spring training game? ARod already looked like he was in post-season form. He made a crappy throw to second on a ground ball so the Yanks couldn’t turn a double play in the 3^rd, following an ugly strikeout in the 2^nd. He did manage a single to left in the 4^th, but got thrown out at second to end the inning stupidly trying to stretch it into a double. I’m sure that really pissed off Matsui, because all of the other Yankee regulars were pulled after end of the 4^th, but Torre sent Matsui back into the field to play the 5^th, since he was now first up in the bottom of the 5^th. Matsui figured he was done for the day, so somebody must have had to pull his ass out of the locker room since he was real late taking the field for the top of the 5^th. By the way, Matsui made a nice diving catch in left, but what was he thinking? A diving catch in a spring training game? Steinbrenner probably pissed his pants when he saw that.

Speaking of Steinbrenner, I saw him by his luxury box. My seat wasn’t bad – down the third base line a little past the bag. But when the Yankee “faithful” vacated the place in droves after the regulars were pulled, I moved over to behind home plate a little up the first base line. I saw everybody looking behind me, so I turned around and Steinbrenner had come out of his luxury box to get a breath of air between innings. (It doesn’t look like the luxury boxes are air conditioned since all the doors and windows were all wide open. It was a little hot – low 80s – but a nice breeze if you were outside.) I figured if this seat was good enough for The Boss, it was good enough for me. I was in the full sun for about an hour until it came over the top of the stands (which by the way have a faux Yankee Stadium façade). I don’t think I’ll be able to take the full sun on a hot day for 9 innings.

I didn’t recognize a soul on the field on either team by the 7^th inning. I looked at the program trying to identify folks. Who is this #74? What position is he playing? Left Tackle? By the way, the Yanks beat the listless Twinks 6-1. Damon homers to open the game and Giambi adds a two run shot in the 2^nd, by which time the Yanks were up 5-0. Justin Morneau of the Twinkies edged Jeter for the AL MVP last year, so Morneau drew a smattering of boos when he made his first trip to the plate. Gotta love those Yankee fans. The most popular T-Shirt in the place was “Got Rings”? It showed the Yankees’ 26 World Championships beside the few that the Red Sox won with a caption that it won’t take 86 years for them to win their next one. Good to see that they’re still smarting from the ALCS collapse from a couple of years ago.

Well, tomorrow I get to see the Bahston Red Sox in the City of Palms Park in Fort Myers. I’ll feel safer wearing my Red Sox hat to that one.

Dad