Full Weekend

Liviana, Grace, and Mellow attended their first game of the season Friday night, a good game, B-Mets 8, SeaWolves 7. Grace has to take a picture of someone doing something they love and she planned to take my picture watching the game, but I think she got too involved in the game to remember.

G&P were going to be away at a family event Saturday so G offered their tickets to us, so Liviana and the girls attended their second game this weekend as well. That was a wild one, not the game but the weather. A tremendous thunderstorm hit just as we got to the park. We had to walk from the parking lot to the Will Call window to pick up the tickets with our heads bent against the wind and all the dirt it was flinging in our faces. The rain started just as we got to the window and really let loose once we were under cover in the concourse.

One of the improvments made at NYSEG Stadium this season is the Giant Video Board, which I have mixed feelings about. So far it hasn't proved to be as annoying and as intrusive as I have experienced in other parks. The upside of it is that instead of a hard-to-view tv mounted high above, where the spider that has spun her web appears twice the size of the players, the video board contents are displayed high on the white walls of the concourse, above the concessions. During the hour rain delay, they showed the live broadcast of the Yankees-Red Sox game. There are a lot of Yankee fans in Binghamton, but quite a few Red Sox fans as well, made clear by the cheering and jeering in response to the broadcast. Once the rain let up and people were straggling in to the stands, the game was shown on the video board with full audio. We all got to see Doug Mientkiewicz take a knee to the head.

Saturday's game was a good one, SeaWolves lead 1-0 for a long time, B-Mets finally tied it up, but a two-run homer by Erie was all she wrote. Liviana was picked to be the person "caught red-handed" drinking a Coke, shown on the video board. She got a 12-pack to take home.

Sunday it was raining again; I drove through another gully-washer on my way to the park. I flipped on the radio and heard the announcement that the start of the game was delayed--stay tuned, so I went bead shopping for a while. It was hot and muggy when I left the store, warmer than before the rain. I got to the park at the top of the third and decided instead of my usual chicken spiedie to have an angus burger. They grill 'em to order and I spent an inning waiting for my burger.

The game was less than stellar, B-Mets losing 6-0, only the fourth time they've been shut out this season. The one exciting thing was when Jeff Larish 1B took exception to the way Wilson Batista turned the doubleplay on him. Not quite sure what happened out there, but both benches started to empty before everyone was hustled back to their respective dugouts, both managers were talked to by the home plate umpire and the B-Mets' pitcher was given a warning.

Stuff Happens

It's been a while.

I work in academia, in records, and May is the non-stop busy-busy month for me, so I barely have time even to glance at my fantasy roster once a week and get rid of players who have imploded or retired.

Speaking of fantasy baseball, I started in the bottom of the league, then blasted to the top, settled in between fifth and ninth, out of thirteen teams. My goal isn't to win the league, but to finish somewhere in the middle. Right now the strategy is to stay out of the double-digit range.

I got a start on my baseball tan Memorial Day. My left foot is two-toned because I was wearing sandals. As for the game, Monday was a cloudless day, unusual for Binghamton, and several players lost the fly ball in the "high" sky.

Saturday night before the game I was told the new left fielder Corey Coles was pretty good. He was the lead-off hitter for the B-Mets, hit a home run to start the bottom of the first. Yup, he's pretty good.

During Monday's game, he made a terrific throw from left field toward home. He didn't quite reach the plate, but the catcher had come forward to receive it and the Fisher Cat on third scored. Then something I've never seen happened: the catcher kept walking, not toward the mound but toward the runner who had rounded first and was well off the bag, almost strolling toward second. It finally dawned on the runner when the catcher, ball in hand, got within fifteen feet of him. It was a 2-4-3 put out, but I've never seen a catcher actively involved in a rundown between first and second.

Something I didn't see, but wish I had, happened earlier last week. The B-Mets turned a triple play in the top of the inning and hit a grand slam in the bottom of the same inning.

Another thing I haven't seen before I saw on last night's televised Syracuse Chiefs' game. The batter hit down the right field line and the first baseman Mike Cervenak (the same Mike Cervenak) went for it, his feet went out from under him but he managed to grab the ball and bounce it off the hard turf to the pitcher who was covering. My dad, watching with me, called it a billiards shot.

That turf has got to go. Syracuse Post Standard columnist last week wrote about ten things that the Chiefs should do to get more people to come to the ballpark. Reasons One and Ten were rip out that horrible, decrepit turf.

Never too proud

The B-Mets and the Sea Dogs were having quite the game Saturday evening, a pitcher's duel.

Portland's starter Tom Hottovy gave up only one hit over six innings. Binghamton's starter Kevin Mulvey was more generous, four hits over seven innings.

The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the eighth when it looked the B-Mets were finally going to get on the board when they loaded the bases with only one out. But the Slowest Man on Earth was on third. Jose Coronado flied out to left and Brett Harper started chugging toward home. He should be arriving any time now.

Bottom of the ninth the first two B-Met batters singled then both advanced on a passed ball. Sea Dogs intentionally walked Jose Reyes (the other Jose Reyes) to load the bases and get the Slowest Man on Earth up to bat. Not such a great idea, Brett has a swing that makes the flags in centerfield flutter.



All Brett had to do was wiggle his fingers in a "come here" motion to Mark Kiger standing on third when the Sea Dogs' pitcher let loose with a wild pitch.

B-Mets win 1-0.

Once this season

The Duke of Earl is playing for Louisville again this season and they come to Syracuse only ONCE.

Of course it was this weekend. I've got a horrible head cold; I spent Thursday in bed sleeping all day and all night.

Friday I was too tired and sick to go, but that was okay since the game was rained out.

Saturday I set out, excited that there was going to be a doubleheader, even though it was cool and damp, but before I got even halfway to Syracuse I had to give up and go home, back to bed.

Sunday I napped after reading the paper, and by the time it was time to leave for the ballpark, the sun was out. When I got there, I check the line up. No Earl. And he doesn't come out of the dugout to coach first as he often does when not playing. Crap.

Then in the top of the ninth, Mark Bellhorn (yes, of the World Champion Red Sox) hits a homerun to tie the score and Earl is sent in to pinch hit. He's posted a batting average of .154 so far this season, but they walk him on five pitches. In the bottom of the inning, he stays in at third, starts the doubleplay that ends the inning.

After the game he headed to the home end of the dugout where a couple little kids were waiting for autographs. He signed and took a moment to talk with them.

He needs a haircut.

To Laugh

4 in a row? You gotta be kidding me.

During last night's Sunday Night Baseball, Yanks at Red Sox, there was a moment when I was confused on just who and how many. With Miller and Morgan yakking about the homeruns and the video team playing and replaying Manny's, then Drew's, then Lowell's, I wasn't sure if the dinger I was seeing was a replay or a new one being hit.

And when Tek went to the plate, I knew he was going to hit one too. I told my cat Jesse James Orosco W----- that the captain was going to hit one, he hasn't hit one yet this season, now is the time. And when Tek hit the top of the wall, Jesse James Orosco was not happy with my cheering, disturbing his attempts to nap through the game.


Weather Report
Last weekend was a cold wet one, games doubled up or postponed, and on Monday we had the worst storm of the season, most snow we've had.

This weekend was glorious, sunny, warm, dry, not a cloud in the sky. It's around 80 today. And the B-Mets were on the road, of course.

They'll be back the end of this week. Forecast is for cooler and rain. Figures.

A Wet One

Opening Night for the B-Mets was mostly wet. A little on the cold side, but not bad. At least until the wind decided to kick up.

I headed to Binghamton after work knowing that the evening forecast was for rain turning to snow, temperatures dropping into the thirties. I knew I'd be shivering and probably leave early, so I decided to delay arriving at the park until just before game time, skipping all the pre-game festivities. Which meant I missed the first pitch being thrown out by the guy I usually sit with.

The visiting Sea Dogs jumped out in front, scored five runs in the top of the first. My Guys didn't get on the board until the bottom of the fourth, tied it up in the fifth. Too bad.

It was drizzling when the game started but by the second inning it was a steady rain that kept up for hours. The head groundskeeper spread drying agent a couple times on the field, around the bases and on the mound. He conferred with the umpires. The game went on. And on. And on. We thought it might be called once it reached the point of being official, four and a half innings, but the home team was trailing after the top of the fifth, and they tied it up in the bottom of the fifth.

photo from pressconnects.com

Getting wet, soaked wasn't that bad, except when the rain finally let up, the wind started. I kept thinking, a little longer, a little longer, until looking at the clock on the new video scoreboard, I decided my curfew was 9 pm. I'd stay through the end of whatever inning was in progress at 9. It was only the sixth. The game started at 6:30.

I listened to the game as long as I could get the signal on the drive home, but after giving up a run and scoring another, the B-Mets were still tied when I lost contact with the AM station.

According to this morning's newspaper, the game ended some time around 11:15. It went 11 innings, 4 hours and 40 minutes, the longest opening day game in B-Mets history.

It's going to be some season.

My Guys, in that Place

Just when I thought I wouldn't have to go to the stadium in Syracuse for more than the Louisville visit (to see the Duke of Earl play) since the Mets AAA team is in the Pacific Coast League (at least for this season), I saw the 2007 Chiefs roster.

Damn. Two of My Guys will be starting the season in Syracuse.


Russ Adams: I saw him play during his first professional season, in Auburn, when even at that stage he looked like a big league shortstop, and again when he reached AA with the New Haven Ravens. He spent some time with the Blue Jays, but has been sent back to AAA to get more playing time. Russ may not rank as the best, but he's a damn good shortstop and a good lead-off hitter.

Jeff Duncan: I saw him play in Binghamton, where he was a fan favorite. He played with enthusiasm and skill. (Silly memory: Jeff always pulled his back pockets inside out when he took his batting gloves out of them and whenever he reached first base, Howard Johnson, in the first base coach's box, would always tuck in Jeff's pocket linings.) He was a player with obvious potential, but the Mets derailed his career. He was literally pulled out of a game to go up to New York during his first season in AA, in mid-May, and the Mets expected too much too quickly. When he wasn't an instant success, not a phenom, they trashed him. The New York Mets broke him; he's spent a season in AA, Mobile, and a season in AAA, Las Vegas. Here's hoping this season is the one that sees him get another chance at the Show.

Need a Scorecard

I'm gonna need a scorecard for sure this season. I visited the B-Mets website to see if this year's roster was posted yet and see that Jose Reyes will be playing in Binghamton.

Jose Reyes, #7.

And I thought he was doing well in New York with the Big Club.

What's that? Jose A. Reyes?

He's a catcher?

Never mind.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Sunday Night Baseball back on? Check

AL and NL reports other than trades and signings on the crawl? Check

Baseball highlights on Sports Center? Check

Opening day game to watch while eating supper? Check (Red Sox, bonus check)

Wednesday Night Baseball back on, at least for a while? Check

New field at the college ready for use? Check (fingers crossed that the home opener isn't rained out as regional play was)

Report in the school district's newsletter that the school once again has a varsity baseball team, and a refurbished field including dugouts? Check

The Duke of Earl Snyder still playing? )On Louisville's roster, looking good in the media guide.) Check

Dates Louisville will be playing close enough to go see Earl play? Check, posted

New player on the horizon to look for? Check (though may be a season away)

It's BASEBALL SEASON!!!!!

Not down for long

So with the 2007 season one game old, I was in last place in the Talkin' Baseball Fantasy League. Nowhere to go but up.

Which I/they did, only 11th now. Out of 13.

Huskytown Dukes Opening Day Roster

My opening day roster

Jason Kendall

Ivan Rodriguez*

David Ortiz*

Tadahito Iguchi

David Wright*

Orlando Cabrera

Alex Rios*

Ken Griffey Jr

Shawn Green

Vernon Wells*

Scott Podsednik

Eric Hinske

Reed Johnson*

Cole Hamels*

Bronson Arroyo*

Trevor Hoffman

Anibal Sanchez*

Zach Duke

John Maine

Dennys Reyes

Jamie Moyer

Cla Meredith

Dontrelle Willis

Tim Wakefield*

Ump Update

Ria Cortesio has gotten another assignment that signals her progress to the Show is still happening, though at a glacial pace.

Last year she worked the Futures Game, the minor league hot prospects' showcase attached to the All-Star hoopla. This spring she's working a major league exhibition game, another step in moving up. Not all umpires who work MLB exhibition games end up umpiring in the majors, but it is a usual "tryout" step umpires go through. Although umpires, like players, have to work their way up through the levels, they're not subject to sudden call-ups from the lower levels of the game; there are no Nuke Lalooshes among umpires.

When Ria gets promoted to AAA, it will probably be with the Pacific Coast League. Not because there will likely be an opening there first, nor because that league is less conservative, (Pam Postema spent her years umpiring AAA in the PCL), but because I won't have a chance to see her work.

Here's hoping it happens this year. Ria deserves a hot tub of her own.

Fun is good.
Mike Veeck

2-fer Day

Today was Draft Day. Had a good draft, seemed most people were around, at least for part of the draft, though some had technical glitches. Somebody had Starbucks and didn't bring enough for everyone.

Have to let the dust settle before I prune my roster, took only one of my four keepers during the draft, David Wright as my final pick. And to make sure keepers didn't go astray for others; we think nobody's keepers got drafted elsewhere, but we know absolutely last year's catastrophe wasn't repeated.

The second part which came first was I ordered my tickets for the season this morning! The B-Mets spend a lot of the early part of the season at home on weekends, parkas at the park, and are on the road more weekends in June and July, but at least they finish at home. I love spending Labor Day at the ballpark.

And one other good baseball thing happened today. As I drove past the new baseball diamond on my way in to work this morning, I could see the snow has mostly melted and the grass is visible. Now it just needs to dry out.

A month too soon

My friend Craig posted a blog of his trip through blues country, which was darn close to heaven on earth for him, but each time he listed his next stop, I could only think of what team was nearest and how a month later he could have gone to a minor league game there.

He's resisted so far, mostly out of circumstance, but partly out of sheer cussedness, going to a ball game, but some day I will drag him, kicking and screaming, to a minor league game. Not in Syracuse, unless they oust the Simones, the dinosaur BofDs, and demolish P&B/Alliance Stadium. Once there, I know his Eastern leanings will make/allow him to become one with the game. If only one of the local teams would hold a B.B. King night.....

Keepers Set

I didn't go with another "D" guy for the Dukes, I took the "W" route, Vernon Wells. He's a decent outfielder, and I actually saw him play when he was in AAA. If the guys in the league paid attention, they'd know I'm pretty much a sucker for guys I've seen play in the minors, so they could trade me a broken down wreck for a premier player if the wreck once played in Binghamton or Syracuse, or even Rochester.

I pre-ranked my queue, which sounds a touch dirty, but it amounts to tossing a big bunch of names into a box on the screen, hoping that I actually might get one or two in the draft. By the later rounds, we're at the "is he still breathing?" level of ability in our draftees.

The End - Begin Again

I finally finished the first draft of my baseball novel, last night at 11:30. I would have done a Happy Diva Dance, but I was too tired and my legs hurt from sitting at the computer for hours at a time several days in a row for several weeks in a row.

I'm happy that it's done. Now maybe I can do something anything else with my weekends. At least for a week or two. Then I'll need to get started on the revisions of which there will be many.

Soon, soon

We're another step closer to the Season; I set up the fantasy league yesterday. Eight people so far are on board. I probably should give them more than 24 hours to login before I start dunning them.

Keepers: David Wright, Dontrelle Willis, David Ortiz. I'll have to see if I have any other "D" guys, go with a theme this year. Other than how quickly I can drop to the bottom of the standings.

I've already watched Fever Pitch three times in the past week.

And last night I was watching SNY reporting from Legends Field, the he said-he said faldolral about Pay-Rod and Deter. I'm loving it 'cause it's taking me back to the good old days of the Bronx Zoo, when the Yankees had the best soap opera around.

There Be Baseball Players Here!

My office overlooks the gym and I've complained, a lot, about having to listen to the basketball teams and the volleyball team practice. After today, I can cut them a lot of slack.

The college's reborn baseball team, after a 20-or-so years' hiatus, is working out in the gym today.

How can they expect me to get any work done when there's baseball just outside my door?!

Diva Happy Dance Time

Weather

We've had an extremely mild winter so far here in Central New York. (I say Central rather than Upstate because too many people think of Yonkers or Orange County as Upstate, and trust me, to people north of the Pennsylvania state line, that's still Downstate).

It's been warm and virtually snowless, which I haven't minded at all. I don't mind not having to scrap ice from the car every morning. I don't mind not having to clear snow from the car and steps every day. I don't mind not having to wear boots and gloves and scarves and hats every day.

But last week winter finally showed up. We got some snow, though the wind causing drifts and whiteouts is more of a hazard than the snow itself, and the temperature has been checking in at a crispy 0-to-10F above, and I hate cold more than I do snow so I've been grumbling.

But the sudden appearance of winter has been important because it's only now, that it's cold and blowy and snowy that I miss baseball and have a reborn eagerness for the pre-season to start.

Some vegetation needs to have that cold snap to start certain biological processes and without it the plants fail to thrive.

I needed winter to long for baseball.

24 more days before pitchers and catchers report.