Spring Training

2008-03-31T06:05:00.000-07:00

It must be old age. I'm turning into such a sucker for such Americana. First Ground Hog Day in Punxsatawney PA and now this. I admit it. I can't tell a one pitch from another at a live game. Baseball is the one where the specifics escape me the most. My mind tends to wander as I soak up the atmosphere. Then some lightning fast play happens and I only see the tail end of it.

Still, it was loads of fun. I pitched my tent about a mile from the Twins spring training facility and I love walking to the park on game day. The visitors don't always bring all of their good players but every day you can usually catch one of the game's best. Ken Griffey Jr, Hideki Matsui and Jonathan Papelbon have all put in appearances.

And for $1.15 I could catch a bus and go to the Red Sox spring training park in downtown Fort Myers. It's a bit more crowded and crazy there but I can see some of the established players as well as some of the prospects show us their stuff. In what other sports does half the league concentrate itself within about a 150 mile radius and put on a bunch of exhibition games for half price? ...And the bratwurst at the Twins park is pretty good also.

Scouting Report

2008-03-30T06:49:00.000-07:00

Feb 28 It's not often that I've been able to say things turned out better than I had hoped. I rented a car in Palatka Florida to look for potential campsites not knowing what I would find in Fort Myers. I drove through the night and slept in the car arriving at about 4:00 am. As luck would have it, the Twins spring training facility was off the same exit as my rest stop and there were multiple options for places to camp.

Earlier in the month I had mailed a package ahead to Lakeland after hearing that all of the Red Sox spring training games were sold out. I hadn't dared hope that I'd get a chance to get a good look at them. But the more I thought about it the more I realized I just wasn't going to be very excited to see anybody else so I decided to take my chances in Fort Myers. With the Minnesota Twins also training there it gave me a good back up plan if Red Sox tickets were hard to get.

Lakeland was a bit of a tangle to navigate through. The Detroit Tigers were playing and that added to the traffic near the PO. The post office made me fill out a form saying why I needed to send a package general delivery (if they didn't like it they should have made me fill it out before I sent it not after). Then it was back to Palatka to return the car in triumph.

Travel

2008-03-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

Feb 29. Things went so smoothly yesterday they just had to go haywire today. Amtrak is the only option from Palatka for public transportation. I booked a trip to Tampa that had a connection to Ft Myers on the phone last night. This morning when I got to the train station I called up the 800 number to find out the status of the train. TWO HOURS AND FIFTY MINUTES LATE!!! My biggest concern was making the connection to the bus to Fort Myers. And then a train whistle.

Could it be?! Yes. A train. I'm going to be on time after all.

The train approached the platform and kept on gliding by. It was the non-stop train from Lorton, VA (Washington DC) carrying people and their cars down to Orlando. What a disappointment. On the good side, I now had time to mail some stuff home that I no longer needed. When another train finally appeared, it wasn't the right train either. Finally the right train showed and we were off. To make up time it didn't go to Tampa but went from Lakeland straight to Miami and we were bused from Tampa. The connecting bus to Fort Myers it turns out is an Amtrak bus that has no choice but to wait for the train. They were so apologetic about the train being so late that when I went in to pay for the Fort Myers leg they let me ride free.

Idiot's Guide to the AL East

2008-03-27T06:12:00.000-07:00

What's the fun of seeing spring training baseball without
looking ahead to the regular season. Makes it look like I
was doing something useful instead of just spacing out and
taking in the atmosphere.

Boston Red Sox- Hardly a sense of urgency as one would
expect from a team coming off a World Series sweep. Lots
of new guys getting a chance to show their stuff. Veterans
getting a chance to work their way into shape. Defensively
the team looked quite sharp. Pitching was solid if not spec-
tacular with Schilling and Becket both sitting out to get right
physically. Hitting was a mixed bag. Manny & Papi seemed
to be feeling their way back into things with their eyes on the
regular season far more than spring training. A little concern
but not panic. The Sox have given themselves a lot of different
ways to win games. Time will tell if they do

New York Yankees- New manager Joe Girardi wasted little
time making his presence felt, limiting fan access to the players
and putting himself front and center. While hearing a different
voice in the clubhouse will be a positive there may be a period
of adjustment for a veteran team used to Torre's style. For me
the question is the veterans. If Girardi lights a spark under them
this line-up could be quite fearsome. If age and injury catch up
to them before the younger players can fill the void it may be
another year of disappointment.

Toronto Blue Jays- This to me is the team to watch. The
addition of Frank Thomas, Scott Rolen and David Eckstein make
this team part of the discussion in the AL East. I don't think
they're better than either the Red Sox or the Yankees but should
either of those teams stumble the Blue Jays will be right there.
Greg Zaun and David Eckstein are gamers and should help light
a fire under the others.

Tampa Bay Rays- Apparently the Tampa area clergy succeeded
in removing the 'Devil' from the team name. Whether that's enough
to change the team's fortunes is unlikely. However they had far and
away the best record of any team in Florida spring training and they
were definitely showing signs of improvement toward the end of
last season. Where there is Carlos Pena, there is hope.

Baltimore Orioles- They weren't very good with Miguel Tejada
and should be downright bad without him. They stink.