checking in.

Well, long time, no ramble.... The professional baseball season is now complete with every level now complete and champions crowned. The Yankees (bleah) are the World Series champs, and the Phillies will have to regroup, retool, and figure out how to climb the mountain for next season. Judging by some of the talent we saw come through City Island this year, and with a few key signings and acquisitions, they should be able to make another good run. The Nats? Any body's guess. Haven't seen much movement yet, although I haven't kept a real close eye on the scene, so we'll see what unfolds. Steven Strasburg, from what I've read, hasn't really been lighting up the Arizona Fall League and missed the Player's Showcase game with a sore shoulder, I believe. So the only real news to report is the naming of new manager, Randy Knorr. Wasn't too surprised when I heard that John Stearns had been cut loose. My guess is he didn't really ingratiate himself with the upper management. But some of the things they do sometimes leave me scratching my head. I was happy to hear Randy Knorr is coming to City Island, though. By all reports, I've heard he's a good guy, a real student of the game, and should be a good fit here. I haven't heard if they've named any other staff yet, but it would be nice to see Randy Tomlin and Troy Gingrich return, too. If they don't, I won't be all that surprised. It might be a total makeover for next year. The only things left will be us old farts on the Grounds Crew, exercising our superior intellect for "Are you smarter than..." I've been watching the pictures of the stadium renovations on the Weatherbug web cam. Moving right along, starting to look like a ballpark again. The field, as usual, looks immaculate. At last glance it looks like the basic framework for the dugouts, the seating areas behind the 3rd base dugout, the dugout box seats and some of the concourse areas are starting to take shape. I think the weather has been decent enough for them to move along at a fairly rapid pace. I really must head over there one of these days and get an up close and personal view of things for myself. Until then, I'll watch the Weatherbug web cam to keep abreast of the progress. You can too at www.weatherbug.com, punch in zip code 17105, and click on weather cams. There should be a choice for City Island that shows a view from the annex building behind 1st base. It gives a still picture and a time lapse version by the hour, several hours and for 30 days. Pretty cool. Other than that, haven't really spoken to any of the other guys in a while. It's going to be time to schedule the holiday get-together soon, to go out and eat and drink and catch up. Frank should be settled in his new house by now, hope every thing's going well there. Other than that, I've just been working, doing a lot of home remodeling stuff and tinkering with my Vanagon. I'll check back in when I catch up with the guys, or if some earth-shattering news comes along.
Until then, later....

Headin' for the Show...

Hey y'all. Been awhile, so I thought I'd check in. Its been kind of quiet for me since the end of the baseball season. I've been filling the time with work, doing all the things around the house (well, some of them) that I never got around to during the summer, and doing a little of the car show circuit. So far, I've cleaned the garage somewhat, did some major cleaning up of my VW Beetle and Vanagon. My wife and I attended a huge VW show in New Jersey on the 20th and snagged a 3rd place in the Vanagon class. (OK, so there were only 3 entries in that class, but that's beside the point) We're also getting ready for some major exterior remodeling of the house, so there are some other projects I'll have to tackle once that's finished. The ballpark renovation is going full force as w I write this. Knute sent me some pictures the other day and the old ballpark looks like a shell of its former self. I see great things for our ballpark in the future. (Apologies to Walt Whitman...) I did manage to make a little trip down south on the 27th. Knute, Asheleigh, my brother-in-law Ed, and I went to DC to see the Nationals take on the Braves. I've not been to the new ballpark yet, but I must say, I was very impressed. Everything was done right there, from location 2 blocks from the Metro, to every amenity inside. The drive is long, but taking the Metro avoids paying the $25 to $40 to park. (highway robbery) Of course, tickets aren't cheap either, but we have connections and landed in the Diamond Club section ($140 seats!!!) for nuttin'. Great seats about 25 rows back of the home plate on the 3rd base side. Waitress service (that left a lot to be desired. we were pretty much ignored the entire time), and very pricey food and drink, but we expected that going in. It was raining when we left Harrisburg, imagine that, but we slugged through and by the time we Timonium, MD it had stopped and the sun was staring to break through. After a small delay due to an accident on I-695 we made to the Metro station. My brother-in-law, Ed was already there and had purchased our train tickets, so we hopped on the train and were on our way. We made it to the stadium just after the gates opened and walked in to take in the place. Very spacious, laid out nicely, great views, and lots of food choices. It was easy to get around inside, but I suspect that was because there were not very many people there. A bit of a shame, but bad baseball will cause that. Another 100 loss season in the books. But, if you believe what you read in the program, there's light on the horizon. They've been drafting well, and if the pieces fall into place, there's better days in the offing. Dare we say it: playoffs? we'll see... The game started off well. The Nats got back-to-back homers from Ryn Zimmerman and Josh Willingham to take a 2-0 lead. It went back and forth until, by stretch time, the Braves had made it 3-3. The Nats got a lead off triple in the bottom of the 7th, but just could not push a run across. By the 8th, it started to.... wait for it.... rain. Who'da thunk it. Dammit, it follows us wherever we go! We sat through it for an inning, and then went into the Diamond Club to watch the rest on TV. It went to the 10th, with the Braves pushing across 2 runs on some dumb mistakes by the Nats. They went 1-2-3 in the bottom half and that was that. Not that we were terribly surprised. Hey, it is what it is. Wait'll next year! (insert your own cliche here...) But we had a good time on a nice day. That's all that matters. And the trip home was uneventful. ( Except for the Steelers blowing it.) We parted company and made plans for another outing soon. No details, but I'll be sure to report in when we do. So with that said, I'll leave it at that. Later...

That's all Folks...

Thursday Sept. 3rd, game 71 of the home slate, the last game at Riverside-Commerce-Metro Bank-Stadium-Park. As I made my way onto City Island tonight, a lot of things were going through my mind. It was the last home game of the regular season. But we still had a shot at the playoffs. As much as I was ready fo the season to be over, the playoff buzz still resonates with me. I've been coming to baseball games on City Island since 1988. I haven't missed a playoff series since. The 1st 4 years I worked on the grounds crew, we won championships. I know for the full time guys it just extends what is a brutally long season. But this isn't the way I make my living. But it has become a way of life for me. Nothing beats a run at the championship. So if it happens, I'll be there to drink it all in. But if it ends tonight, that's ok too. But I'll miss hanging out in the cubby with my friends every night. We had a rough year, weather-wise, probably the worst I can remember in my 14 seasons, but we slugged through it and had a helluva good time doing it. We really, really had a good time doing it! That said, as we got ready for the game, there we chairs and a podium out on the field. Festivities, one last time. They had gathered up a lot of the former staff to come back and say a few words to send off the old ballpark. Rick Redd, Todd Vanderwoude, even the first owner Jerry Mileur. And of course, the driving force, Hizzoner Mayor Steve Reed. Its gotta be a bittersweet night for him, finally getting to point of getting a proper home for his crown jewel, professional baseball on City Island, but probably on his way out as mayor. But he can be proud of what he's accomplished here. Pretty much single-handedly and with a lot of people saying it would never happen. It all came to a close with an outstanding video put together by Director of Game Entertainment, Aaron Margolis. Superb. The game finally did get under way about 7:30. After the late night last night, it didn't look like we would get out early tonight either. Not that it was in the cards anyway, with post game festivities of our own, for a change, on tap. And the whole gang was in tonight. The highlights of our night were numerous. We celebrated the last night with our last trip to The Spot stand. The eats were on the Spot tonight. Sweet! I decided to celebrate the old park's last night by breaking out the retro uniforms. My 1st crew shirt, the old crew shorts, the 1st jacket and several old hats. Stylin'. And of course, the last rendition of "Are you smarter than the Senators Grounds Crew" We went down again tonight, but are very much looking forward to next year's contests. As for the game, the Sens got out of the box quickly with a 2 run 1st. It went back and forth until the ninth, tied at 3. They worked it, got some runners on and Joel Guzman delivered the game winner, a fly ball to the wall, a perfect ending to a perfect night. The post game was a lot of handshakes and farewells to players and staff. Would we all be back next week. Who knows, so we''ll just enjoy the night. We did do a little cleaning up, not a whole lot though. After we finished, I saw Frank just sitting on the tractor behind 2nd base. I walked out to see if everything was OK. He said he was just doing a little reminiscing, thinking about all the nights we spent here and all the the people we got to know over the years. I took out my phone and snapped a few pictures of the way things looked one last time. I thought of all the good friends I'd made here over the last 14 years. Too many to count. And the way the ballpark had slowly changed. And next year it would look completely different. I'll miss the old place. once I see the new place, I'll decide how much. After we finished, we headed for the back to hang out to have a few beers, smoke a big cigar and send another season into the books. I hung in there until about 1 AM. But I knew I still had work in the morning, so I gathered all my stuff and hit the road. 14 years. That's the longest I've had any job for 1 continuous stretch. Hopefully I'll be back for a 15th. maybe I'll check in from time to time to catch up on what's going on with the guys and the ballpark construction. Until then, Tim, Knute, Ben, Frank, Doug, Izzy, and Alan, thanks for one more great year in the sun. Later.......

Edging closer...

Sept. 2nd, Wednesday night, 2 games to play tonight, 1 more tomorrow, and that, as they say, is that. After the exciting win last night, there's a bit of a buzz going. I've been there before. It's a playoff buzz. Do the boys have enough momentum? Not sure. They've been playing like champs for weeks now, so these last few games will show us what they're made of. I think they've got a legitimate shot. The pitching has been outstanding and the hitting timely. But with a the player movement in the last few weeks, we'll see if all the parts are in place. Even if they come up short, it bodes well for next year. That would be great. A kickass team in a kickass new ballpark tearing it up. Sol, we'll see I guess. Since tonight its a double-header the first game started at 6 o'clock and since I work until 5:30, the first game had already started byt the time I hit the Island. The crew for tonight was Frank, Alan, Izzy, Knute, and myself. There was talk of some rain, but it was a nice night for baseball. The first game moved along fairly quickly, with the Sens jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead. Things were looking good. Tonight also had several little twists, such as a bonus drag after the 3rd inning guest starring the boys from Section 13. It all went down pretty smoothly, with no incidents. After that, at the end of the 4th, it was time, once again, for "Are you smarter than the Senators Grounds Crew" The question tonight: What is the only mammal that can't jump?" Alan was the keeper of the correct answer, an elephant. The other answers: the duck-billed platypus, and the manatee. The lady was too smart for us and picked the right answer. I guess we'll have to be even more diabolically clever in the 2nd game. As for the the game, the Seawolves tied it up in the 4th inning and pushed another run across in the 6th and the boys could get no closer. Damn, back under .500. Well, we had 1 more game to climb back in. We had been keeping a close eye on the out-of-town scoreboard. Both Bowie and Reading were losing, so it would be great time to pick up some ground on them. So after a quick redo between games, we got under way for # 2. Game 2 did not start as well, with Erie jumping out to a quick lead. The Sens battled back, but just could not seems to put any runs on the board. The only brief highlight was an encore of "Are you smarter than the Senators Grounds Crew" This time we sharpened up our answers and came away victorious. I can't remember what the question was for the life of me, but I know we won. Unfortunately more than i can say for the Sens, as they did some serious damage to their playoff hopes by dropping game 2 as well. So, 2 games under .500 and 3 and half games out of a playoff spot. It was getting late, so we tried to slug through the post game work as quickly as possible. With a larger crew it didn't take long at all. So its down to 1 game. See ya tomorrow night. Later.

In search of .500

September 1st, 3 home dates and 4 games left. 1 game under .500 and 4 games back of a playoff spot. Inching ever closer to the seasons' end. It was another perfect weather night as I arrived on City Island. Maybe we really could finish this thing off without a tarp pull. The opponent tonight were the Erie Seawolves 3 games and 2 spots ahead of us in the standings. If the Sens could pull off a win tonight, and they got some help from the other teams ahead of them it could put them within shouting distance of the playoffs. (Take it Izzy: "Playoffs! Whose talking about Playoffs?!!) Nothing too out of the ordinary happening tonight as far as I knew. Just pregame prep and onto the game. That's pretty much the way it went down. Of course we did hear a little story about why the Senators supposedly suck. Seems we're not doing our job according to a player who shall remain nameless. Hmmmm. Maybe if we really didn't do our jobs very well, he'd see how bad it really could be. And opposing teams don't seem to be making quite as many errors as we are. So you do the math. Enough said about that. The game got under way, went back and forth for awhile and settled in at 7-7 at stretch time. That brought to what was quickly becoming the highlight of our evening: Are you smarter than the Senators Grounds Crew? The question for this evening: How much of the Earth's surface is covered by ice? Participants for the game tonight: Doug, Alan, and myself. Doug was provided with the correct answer which was 20 percent. We lined up on the field and the question was asked. My answer: 9.5 %, my reason being global warning and the loss of polar ice. (I personally don't believe that, but that's beside the point). Alan's answer: 45%, claiming that global warming was a huge sham perpetrated by the liberal media. Doug stated his answer of 20%, claiming that he went to school long before either me or Alan, and his teachers were right. The contestant picked correctly and we went down this evening. After Alan gave his answer, he received a huge round of applause. I guess it was Conservative Tuesday. OK by me. As for the game, the Sens put up a huge run in the bottom of the 8th and closed it down in the 9th, officially putting them at .500. A huge milestone for this team who was left for dead by the end of May. Its actually fun to watch baseball again and I'm hating to see the season come to an end. So 1 more in the books, 2 more days and 3 games to go. We play a make-up double-header tomorrow night, so I'll check back in then. Later

The Home Stretch..

Monday Aug. 31st. 4 home dates with 5 games to go. Seems like last week we were just getting started. But I can tell that we're winding down. All the signs are there: gets dark sooner, need to put on the sweatshirt when the sun goes down, and the field is looking pretty beat. And everyone has the short-timer syndrome. You know, survival mode, just trying to make it to the end. For the full time guys on the staff, its a bunch of long days strung together, fighting the unbelievably crappy weather this year. I know how it wears on me, working all day, then being at the yard until late, then going home to catch a little sleep, then doing it all over again. It catches up with you after 5 and half months. When I arrived on City Island, things were pretty much as they always were, except it wasn't raining for a change. In fact, it was beautiful and the weather forecast for the rest of the week was the same. Quite a change. Don't know if we can deal with it. We'll make do. The crew for the evening: Frank, Izzy, Knute, and myself. As always, pregame was as smooth as silk. No delays, and right to the start of the game. it game 4 of a 4 game set with Connecticut, who had already clinched the Northern division and a playoff spot. The Sens won the first game, lost games 2 and 3, so were looking for a split. A playoff spot is still a possib ility. Things of note tonight: demolition has begun on the left field bleachers. I get to drive a brand new 2010 Ford Taurus chauffeuring a Ford exec to throw out a first pitch. Nice ride. And 1 more thing I'll get to in a second. The Sens jumped on it quickly, grabbing a 5 -1 lead by the end of the 5th. At drag time, the theme was stadium construction. Hard hats all around for the drag. Actually, Frank and I wore our old fireman's helmets. Odd but totally in character for us. After the drag, we had out traditional meal, a Spot Dog. The clock was ticking on the season and Spot Dogs as well, so we wanted to squeeze in as many as we could. After that we loaded up for post-game , then went back to hang out in the cubby. About the top of the 7th, Sarah Keel, 1 of the front office people popped her head into the cubby and asked if we would like to help out with a contest. Usually that's not our thing, but the contest they were about to do usually involved the interns. But since most of the interns had departed for the season, they needed some help for " are you smarter than a Senators intern" They would ask us a question and we would provide 3 answers and they would would have to decide which answer was correct. We were provided with the correct answer before hand, so we had to come up with 2 more plausible answers. The interns just came up with an answer, but we decided to punch it up a little and give an explanation why we thought our answer was correct. Tonight's question: "What state was the potato chip invented in?" Correct answer was New York, provided by me. Izzy said PA, since he read it was the snack food capital of the USA. I said New York, because the hot dog was introduced at ConeyIsland in NY, and the potato chip was the perfect side dish to the hot dog. Frank went with Idaho, because it is the potato growing capital of the USA. The contestant picked Idaho, was wrong and had to admit she was not smarter than the Senators Grounds Crew. Kings of the County! As for the game, the Sens went on to win 8-4, putting them 1 game shy of the magical .500 mark. They haven't been at .500 since the 2nd game of the season. They were 21 games under .500 on June 1st. Its been quite a climb back, so hats off to them. They could have packed it in a long time ago, but never quit. I'd have to put this team just below the 1987 team and the 1999 team, character-wise. If they would happen to make the playoffs, it would be nothing short of amazing. So tomorrow night they go in search of another win. We'll see. So until tomorrow, later

Afternoon delight?

Thursday, Aug. 20th. Only 9 home games in 8 days remaining in the 2009 season. After this home stand, the old ballpark will start to change shape. The left field bleachers will be taken out to prepare for the next phase of renovations to the old ball field. It was hot and humid again as I headed to City Island from work. The game was under way when I arrived, so I changed and headed to the cubby to meet up with the boys. When I arrived it was Knute and Cullen. (Cullen is one of the day guys. This is his last game, since he is heading back to school next week) Altoona had already jumped out to a 2-1 lead, so the boys were working from behind again. The game moved along nicely, but it was starting to cloud over again. We were keeping an eye on the radar, watching a small storm heading our way. We managed to dodge the rain until the 7th inning when a light rain began. It looked like it would be short-lived, but wasn't stopping. After the top of the 7th, the umps called for some Turface, so we went out en mass to spread what we had. We were running low on Turface trying to stretch it to the end of the season and save the budget, so we could only do so much. It became apparent that the rain wasn't stopping, so we ran for the tarp. The tarp was covered with Turface and still pretty wet from the night before, so we knew it was going to be a bear to roll out. We finally got it to the home stretch, when the back of the tarp hit the infield dirt. The infield, at this point, was wet and sticky like glue. Add to that the fact that it was covered with water and the tarp stuck to it like a magnet. We hadn't gotten past the 3rd base line yet, and it would not move another inch as hard as we pulled. So that was that. The 3rd base line was like a moat. It was obvious that this game was in the book. When it finally stopped raining, we took the tarp back off to survey the damage. There was still standing water everywhere and the infield was a muddy mess. The umps and managers took a quick look around and decided that that was it. We rolled up the tarp, cleaned up as best we could, and called it a day. It was only 3:15, so we had a few beers and then headed for home. I know things will look a lot different when I come back next week, so it should be interesting. And it will be the final home stand of the season, the end of my 14th year in the dirt. So I"ll talk to you then. Later.

A Late Night...

As uneventful as Tuesday night was, Wednesday night was just the opposite. Rain, heavy rain, as usual, was forecast for this evening. It did not disappoint. The tarp was on when I arrived on City Island. It had not yet started to rain, but it was only a matter of time.It started around 6:20 and got heavier as the time went along. I really didn't think that this game would be played, as hard as it was raining. Altoona had no desire to play it. Our guys really didn't want to play. The alternative, however, was a double-header on Thursday, ordinarily not a big deal. But tomorrow's game was a 12:00 start, our guys were leaving for Portland after the game, and, surprise-surprise, there was a 60% chance of rain. So we were waiting it out. It was also 80's night, so there were some interesting outfits on the office staff this evening, and a lot of 80's music and trivia from the scoreboard. The rain finally stopped about 8:30 and now the task of getting the field playable began. We got to it and and the game was able to start just after 9:00 pm. If we played our usual 3 hour game, that meant we'd finish around midnight. And after post game work, we'd get home around 1:15 or 1:30 am. Really looking forward to that. The crew tnight was a repeat of Tuesday, Izzy, Alan, Knute, and myself. The game limped along and the 2 teams traded leads for a while. The Sens finally took a 6-5 lead after the 7th and were able to hang on to take the win. We blew through the post game work as fast as we could, not really giving it our A game. It would have to do, since it was starting to rain again. We headed for the back, and had a few beers, while we recapped the evening. We all agreed that it was probably the worst weather night of the year. After that, we packed it in and headed for home. I'll be back in for Thursday's game, cutting out of work for half a day. Until then, later.

Drawing a blank...

I must admit, I was definitely on City Island on Tuesday Aug. 18th. I'm just now getting around to an entry for this game. Its Sat. Aug. 22nd. What do I remember about this game? Not much. We were opening a 3 game series against Altoona. It rained earlier in the day, but was dry by the time I arrived at the ballpark and the game was scheduled to start on time. I think pre-game went well, and I think the crew was definitely Knute and myself, and , I think Izzy, and Alan. Our guys didn't play particularly well, as the final was 7-2. That's as much as I can report. Something else significant probably happened, but I just can't remember any of it. So I'll leave it at that. Later.

A Quick Shot...

Didn't work Aug. 15th or 16th, due to family obligations. The Sens won both games. Monday is an off day, so I'll be back in Tuesday Aug. 18th. Later

Into the dark....

Friday August 14th, 13 home dates until the end. This particular night should be interesting, if nothing else. It is billed as "Halloween Night at the Ballpark". On a hot, humid night in August. Like I said, interesting. As I made my way onto City Island, I fully expected to see staff members in costume. I wasn't disappointed. There were several different things happening at the ballpark tonight. It being a Friday, of course there would be fireworks. As I already mentioned, it was "Halloween Night". And a personal appearance by Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. The guys had been talking about this since last home stand. We were all fans of Elvira. If you know anything about her, you'll understand why. If not, Google her and it should become readily apparent. When I arrived, pregame prep was underway. Doug was manning the chalker this evening, and had some issues with it while he was putting in the batter's boxes. The left hand box was a little thick. We referred to it as the western wall. After we finished up, Tim came over to inform us of our additional duties for the evening. We were to make sure that Elvira's trip down the warning track, to the pitcher's mound, and out the left field gate was as smooth as silk. I would be the chauffeur's assistant, helping Art Mattingly, the team bus driver and supplier of the convertible, get Elvira on and off the field. Frank and Doug would assist with the red carpet and escorting her to and from the mound. Frank was taking his work seriously tonight. Things went as smoothly by our standards, and she made to the left field boardwalk with a minimum of difficulty. And the game almost started on time. We grabbed our usual spots in the cubby and chatted about the pregame events. Elvira, from distance, still looked pretty good, fit and slim, with the large accouterments, which I, based on my observations, are unenhanced. She's 58 years old and up close, she looks it. no bad, mind you, just 58. At one point, we got a call from Tim. Seems we needed to provide some valet parking services for some VIP's. I had the pleasure of driving a Mercedes SUV. If I win the lottery, I'm getting one of those babies. Very nice. As the game rolled along, it was a low-scoring affair. There were some missed opportunities, some plays that were not so heads-up, but they were only down 3-2 heading to the 9th. The pitcher in the top of the 9th, threw 1 gopher ball that the batter laid into and parked it, giving Trenton a 4-2 lead. The boys managed to get some runners on and get 1 run, but came up short 4-3. Post game was the usual Friday fiasco, fireworks, Launch-a-Ball, etc. We did manage to get through post game fairly quickly and had time for a beer before wrapping it up for the night. Next outing for me, Sunday. Talk to you then. Later.

Can you dig it???

Thursday August 6th, counting tonight's game there are 14 home dates left in the 2009 season. There are actually 15 games to be played, due to a double-header to make up a rain-out from earlier in the year. Tim made the call for all hands for tonight's game. There was some speculation of an announcement at tonight's game. What could it be? Presentation of the Eastern League Groundskeeper/ crew Award? Turns out, no. It was for extra help due to the Diamond Dig after tonight's game. As we were leaving Wednesday night, the lights had all been turned off and Tim and Knute were taking measurements for the burying of the box that would contain the fake diamond necklace. The real McCoy would be given to the woman who dug up the box later on this evening. When I arrived on City Island, the whole gang was there. Knute, Alan, Frank, Doug, Izzy, and even day-guy Ben. Pre-game prep was under way and, with that much help, we were done in record time. There were several big topics to discuss tonight. First and foremost was the suspension of 2 Senator players, Edgardo Baez and Offilio Castro. Seems they had tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, each drawing a 50 game suspension. So that will do it for their respective seasons and probably do some serious damage to their careers. i don't believe either was either on or high up on the prospect list. Not good. So there was at least 1 new face in the lineup tonight and a lot of juggling of position players. As we expected, the boys fell behind quickly, with the usually reliable Erik Arneson struggling on the mound. by the end of the 3rd they had fallen behind 5-0. By the way that the Mets were smacking the ball around, it seemed like it should be a lot more. The Sens were able to post up 3 runs in the later innings with a few small rallies, but came up short in the end. After the game, the "fun" was about to begin. We had heard there were about 120 women registered for the Diamond Dig. It sure looked like a lot more than that lined up outside the gates. The attendance tonight was surprisingly larger than what was expected, with about 4500 or so in the park. The pre-sale was less than a quarter of that, so the walk-ups must have heard about $2 beers and a shot at a $2500 diamond. We roped off the infield and lined off 4 sections for the women to dig in. As we were setting up, the office personnel were handing out plastic spoons to the participants and boxes of spares to us to hand out in case of breakages. Once the women had all chosen a spot, the rules were announced. They could dig anywhere in the infield dirt in their chosen section for 5 minutes. If no one had located the diamond in that time, which they hadn't they would eliminate 2 sections and the women would move to those sections. As they started, it soon became apparent that it wasn't going to bee all that easy. The infield was almost as hard as the street and digging with a plastic spoon was, well, difficult. I had several offers of cash for any insight as to where the diamond might be, but, alas, I had no idea. As I met up with the rest of the guys from the crew, we all agreed that the best part of this event was the B & B Show (boob and butts). The women were so focused on what they were doing, some fanatically so, that modesty had flown out the window. That was the upside. The downside was the huge mess they were making of the field. After the 2nd segment had ended with no one locating the diamond again, the women all moved to section 1 near 1st base. While they were there, we started picking up all the broken spoon pieces, filling in the holes they had managed to dig, and raking the dirt that had been thrown into the infield grass back into the infield. When the time had finally expired, no one had located the diamond. At that point, the map and locator string was brought out. The women were instructed to place their right foot on the spot they thought the diamond was located and hang tight. Once the spot was located, and it took a little digging, the box was uncovered and 1 woman was very happy indeed. The rest, not so much. After we had herded everyone off the infield, we finished picking up pieces of spoons and brought out the tractor to try and return the infield to its previous state. All told they girls went through almost 1000 spoons. My guess is we'll be finding little pieces of them until the end of the season. After all that hoopla, what could top off the evening? Why another visit from a skunk! A small skunk came waddling through the 1st base gate, and right in to the 1st base cubby. We had it cornered and were waiting for Ben to bring the pellet gun. In the meantime, the skunk was trying to make a break for it. When he made it to the top step, Izzy nailed it with a rake, mortally wounding it. needless to say, the smell was powerful indeed. we managed to scoop it up with a shovel and deposit it in the garbage can from the dugout. My guess is that the garbage can stayed there until the next morning. After that, we all sat down to have a beer and cool off for a few minutes. After a beer it was pretty late, so we all packed it in for the evening. Next game is not until the 14th, so we'll take a break until then. Talk to you on the 15th...

Groooovy, baby

Wednesday night, City Island. Promotions, promotions, promotions. Cheap gets cheaper night. Notre Dame night. 70's night. If you couldn't find a reason to come to a baseball game Wednesday night, then there's just no pleasing you. I headed down to the Island Wednesday evening, still a little bleary-eyed form the late night before. Since it was 70's night, I decided to bring a little 70's of my own to the ballpark, and drove my '73 Volkswagen Beetle. The plan there was to, at some point, possibly take it out onto the warning track and throw t-shirts or softee balls to the crowd from it. When I arrived, a decent crowd was staring to file in, including a return appearance of the Middletown H.S. Band. They were scheduled to perform the National Anthem earlier in the season at a game that was, imagine this, rained out. Also in attendance tonight was my youngest sister Michelle and her 2 children Ryan and Haley. They had stopped in Harrisburg for the evening, on their way to our hometown of South Fork, for the yearly family reunion. When I got to the field, the guys were already underway. We got things done in our usual efficient, speedy manner. In attendance this evening, Frank, Doug, Jordan, Knute and myself. I noticed several of the staff had very authentic 70's attire on for the evening. I wish I had saved some of the clothes I wore in high school in the 70's. I would have been cool. The conversation in the cubby was about the clothes we wore back then, laughing about the double-knit leisure suits, platform shoes, lapels that could put an eye out, and ties as wide as the Susquehanna river. Good stuff. The game itself started off with the guys in a hole, trying to dog out. They never really did, dropping a 4-2 decision, wasting several good opportunities. The game actually had potential to finish in under 3 hours, defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory. I did make it out at a semi-decent hour, with no skunk visits or tarp pulls for a change. Thursday is the last game of the home stand, with all hands called in. Something special is going on tomorrow night. I don't know if some kind of announcement will be made (Eastern League Grounds Crew of the Year, maybe?) or what. Or maybe it has something to do with the little box Tim and Knute were burying in the infield as we were leaving. Tomorrow's promotion is the Diamond Dig. That'll be a hundred or so jewelry-crazed women destroying our infield. Oh well, I guess we'll see what tomorrow brings. Until then, later..

It's a celebration...

Tuesday night we were back at it after an off day Monday, kind of weird scheduling with a 6 game home stand split by an off day, but a nice break nonetheless. Tuesday night would be a special one. it was Tim Foreman's birthday, his 40th. We had been planning a little post game celebration for about week, so we were looking forward to this evening. Tim had no idea what was going down, so that made it even better. All the guys would be in for tonight, with Doug, Frank, Knute, and myself working the game, and Izzy, Alan, and the day guys sneaking in later to hang out, eat and drink after the game. It was a nice night for baseball on City Island, hot, hazy, and humid which is typical for August, but as you know, the weather has been anything but typical this year. We knocked out our pregame work, while chatting about how we were going to get things setup for the after-game festivities as we were watering the infield. As the game got under way, the Binghamton Mets, out opponent for this series, jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. The boys fought back and put up a 5 spot in the bottom of the 5th and took charge. They tacked on 2 more in the 7th and it finished 7-2. After the game, the party got started. Tim was still unaware of what was going on, I could even smell the turkey frying out back. He was making noises about taking off, so I had to spill the beans. Once we made it to the back, it was time to pull the turkey out of the fryer. I had turned the heat up too high initially, so the oil turned a little dark. When we pulled the bird out, the skin was black. It looked like we had actually fried one of the skunks we shot the other night. Actually, once we peeled back all the blackened skin, the meat underneath was tender, juicy and delicious. Frank had gotten some fresh sausage earlier in the day and had thrown it on the grill, so it was a nice post game feast for all of us. Tim had also accumulated 3 birthday cakes during the course of the evening, so there was plenty of cake as well. We all sat down and had something to eat and then it was time for the birthday toast. Tim poured out the cups of blackberry brandy and we all raised a glass to his 40 years. But it seems we would have a party crasher. Lo and behold, but who should show up, but one of the family of skunks. Knute ran for the pellet gun and the hunt was on. We followed that skunk around (at a safe distance, of course), but in all the time I was there were never quite able to track it down. It was getting late, so it was time to head out. Work in the AM, and another game Wednesday night. So until tomorrow, later..

Close Encounters of the Smelly Kind.

This is another one of those " If you hang around long enough" entries. Saturday's game started off normal enough, 'normal' being a relative term, of course. There was no rain in the forecast until late night or early Sunday morning, so that was a huge relief. As I arrived at home plate, batting practice was just finishing up, so we packed it all up and go ready for pre-game,which was slightly delayed due to Portland taking infield practice,which is really unusual this time of year. As the season goes along, teams generally fore go infield practice and, a lot times, batting practice as well.
After they finished up, we got started. I set up everything to put down the baselines, then checked the chalker. I twas almost empty, so I headed to the cubby, remembering that there was a bag there from last night. When the guys came back with the truck, I noticed 2 other partial bags of chalk as well. I said to Frank " Are you lining tonight? Looks like we have enough chalk." (If you read my previous post, you'll understand that one.) Once the game got started I decided to stop and get a drink and some popcorn. Bad idea. The concession stand underneath the 3rd base grandstand was not all that packed, but the service was slow. God awful slow. (Note to SportService: your stands are understaffed, your customer service is bad) After that we just hung out in the cubby and watched the game. The boys put up a nice effort and staked themselves to a quick 3-0 lead after 3 innings, with some good pitching, timely hitting, and some good defensive plays. Hey good pitching, clutch hitting, good defense, sounds like good baseball. It actually is a pleasure to watch them play now. The first 2 months of the season were pretty hard to watch, with all the mental mistakes and just a serious lack of sticking to the fundamentals. They now do all of the small things that win games, making the routine plays and hitting with guys in scoring position. The pitching has been strong as well, even with all the movement to Triple A. They've been able to send capable replacements most times. That all translates into a bunch of wins. As I write this, they're only 10 games under .500 and 10 games out of a playoff. Depending on the mindset of the team, finishing at .500 or better is not out of the question, and if they can keep it up, they could match last year's 3rd place finish. Playoffs? I'm not even thinking about playoffs! It should be interesting. That said, the boys hung on for a tasty little 4-2 win. Afterwards, we had the usual post-game festivities, Launch-a-Ball, and the kiddies base race. Once we got all of that out of the way, the rest of the post-game work went pretty quickly and then it was time to tarp. because tomorrow it was supposed to rain. Imagine that... We all headed out back to unload and guess what was waiting for us. No, not beer. A skunk. We kept a close eye on it while Knute got the pellet gun. Just that quick, the little sucker disappeared. I didn't think anymore about it and headed underneath to the locker area to change. I heard some shuffling and chatter outside, so i started out to see what was going on. Knute yelled "Jeff, stay there!" Right after that, the skunk came scurrying in and ran right into the tool room. I got my stuff and got the hell out. We kept watching for it at the doorway. it kept peeking its head out, but Knute could never get a clear shot at it. In the meantime, one of the guys turned around towards the back fence and said" There's another one!" This one was a little bigger and almost completely white. Knute drew a bead on it and popped it once with a pellet. It seemed dazed and squeezed back out under the fence. It was wandering around in the grass behind the fence, when he popped it again. It seemed a little more hurt this time, so Frank decided to try and hit it with a cinder block. It took off and headed back under the fence towards the boardwalk. it was going up the ramp, stunned, when Frank got above it and tried to hit it with a bat. he missed it and the skunk headed underneath the boardwalk. We never did see it after that after a lot of very careful searching. We decided to declare victory and go home at that point. Too close for comfort, too many times. That is certainly one for the books. I won't be in Sunday, Monday is an off day, so I'll report back in after Tuesday's game. Until then, later.

The Great White Way...

Friday July 31st, the 1st game of an unusual home stand. 3 games, an off day and 3 more games. And after tonight, 18 games to go until Riverside Stadium-Commerce Bank Park-Metro Bank Park ceases to exist as we've known it for the last 23 baseball seasons. As usual, we had a nice little (big) blast of rain earlier in the day to make things nice and wet, just perfect for a hot steamy evening. The tarp was off, but still rolled out, when I arrived on City Island. The boys, Alan, Frank, Doug and Knute, had gotten an early start and were watering as I came around the corner and down the field. When I got there, they were all giving Frank crap about something. Apparently, he decided he would put down the lines for tonight's game. Knute said to me "check out that third base line." It was a little wavy, not all that unusual, considering our chalker is from the 1920's, I think. (It's not really that old, its just seen better days, like the rest of our equipment. Note to the big boss: We really could use some new field equipment!) Then he said " Now check out the first base line." I did and said "Wow!!!" Wavy didn't even begin to cover it. And it was more like a small wall of chalk than a line. Seems he'd gotten it a little heavy towards the first base bag. At one point Tim had taken the digout tool and stuck it down into the chalk and it was almost an inch thick. The guys said Tim told him " Its supposed to be 4 inches wide, not 4 inches thick. The Great White Way. I guess we'll just use the tractor and scoop it up with the bucket after the game. As for the game, also in attendance were Alan's fiance, her parents and her sister to see tonight's opponents, the Portland Sea Dogs, AA affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. As I suspected, The Red Sox crazies were all in attendance. As I've said before, every time you think you've seen it all, something new comes along. A few enterprising fans had cut the top off a gallon milk jug, attached a rope to it, put a baseball and a pen inside, and were "fishing" for autographs form above the dugout. Very clever and very weird. As the game got under way, our starter, Matt Chico, did not appear to have his best stuff. The Sea Dogs hit pretty much everything he threw and by the 3rd inning had staked themselves to a 5-0 lead. I was mildly surprised that it was only 5-0. The boys did rally back and put up 3 runs to make it close, but couldn't hold it or get any closer, with the final being 8-3. As usual, the game dragged on, and it was after 11:00 until we finished. Post game was was a particular challenge on several fronts. The guys couldn't either of the Gators to start, so we had to bring all the tools, clay, etc. on the infield machine or carry it. With it being a damp night, the infield dirt was a sticky mess. The clay was also a little on the wet, sticky side (do you see a pattern here?) and the day guys put way too much new dirt on home plate, so I had my work cut out for me. I did the best I could without making a bigger mess and covered it up, knowing it would probably dry out nicely tomorrow during the day and look good by game time. As we were finishing up, the umpire crew came by on their way out and said "You guys still have the best playing surface in the Eastern League" Always nice to hear something like that. We go back at it Saturday night, looks the weather will be a little better. Until then, later.

It's all starting to run together...

It's Sunday night and I'm finally starting to get around to making an entry for Wednesday's game, Thursday's rain out, Friday's game, Saturday's game and Sunday's game. It's a bit of a blur. So individual details about each night are a little sketchy, but I shall do my best.
Wednesday. As usual, rain in the forecast. The crew: Alan,Izzy, Knute and myself. It looked like it would hold off until later in the evening, so we hung out and watched the sky. The boys got behind quickly, and the final was 7-1. The most memorable thing happened was when Alan and I were in the back waiting for the game to finish. There some kids up in the picnic area throwing ice down over the rail. That annoys me to no end. When I asked hem to please stop, they said " There's a skunk down there". I looked around, carefully, but didn't see any skunks. They kept whispering about a skunk, when out of the corner of my eye, I caught some movement. A skunk popped its head out of the tarps rolls underneath the steps to the picnic area. We gave it a very wide berth, while keeping an eye on it. It finally went under the back fence and out across the parking lot. We got a call from Knute saying post game work was cancelled, we were tarping immediately. After the last out, he hauled ass to the tarp,as it was already raining. Unbeknownst to me, another skunk followed me down the warning track, then changed its mind and headed back out back. great. We managed to get the tarp on and bagged, when it really opened up and poured. That's all i got to say about Wednesday.
Thursday night. It was raining when I left the office. It was raining when I got to the ballpark. The tarp was already on. Highlight of the evening: Mass tarp slide by the entire Bowie Baysox team. Very impressive. As was the early exit, home at a decent hour.
Friday night: against the Trenton Thunder, the little Yankees. That usually means larger crowds. But, as usual, we had a little pre-game shower, which kept the crowd down and we had a short delay. And a long game, which we won, by the way. And a long post game, with the usual Friday night festivities. Exit time, about 11:40 pm.
Saturday night: I was late arriving, due to attending my company picnic. (good time had by all, I finished 2nd in the belly flop contest. I'm getting old). When I got there, the tarp was on. Imagine that. It looked ugly. We took the tarp off, finally about 6:20 and rushed through pregame prep. They rolled the tarp up and we thought we were all set. At 6:55 it started to rain, so we put the tarp on again. As soon as it was on, it stopped raining. So we took it back off. It was a hot sticky night so after the rain shower most of the infield dirt was attached to the tarp. After we took the tarp off, most of the infield dirt was stuck to us. And we got paid to do it. Is this a great country or what? The most memorable event of the evening? Hands down, the video presentation for Autism Awareness night. Randy Tomlin, our pitching coach, has 3 children. His oldest, Coy, is autistic. Randy narrated a very moving presentation about his son, his autism, and how they deal with it in everyday life. very inspiring. At the end, Coy came racing out of the bullpen to the pitcher's mound, grabbed a ball from his dad and threw a perfect strike to home plate. With some heat. Made my night, and my week for that matter. We did get a little more rain later in the game, but nothing to bothersome. Also got another win. We managed to get our regular post game work finished, then put the tarp on and headed for home,late again.
Sunday's game: I wasn't really supposed to be there, since I was going to a car show in York. The show wasn't all that exciting, so I left about 1:30 and headed back to the 'burg and changed clothes and headed for City Island. I arrived in the top of the 6th, so I loaded the truck for post game and went in search of a Spot Dog. After procuring one, I took a seat in he cubby and caught up with the guys. The boys had another lead, that they extended, and at the end we had a sweep of Trenton. Turned out to be a pretty decent week after all. 7 games, 4 wins, 1 rain out.
Afterwards, we did the quick turnaround for the PA Legion All-Star game. With one brief interruption for a tarp pull. The perfect ending to a perfect week.
So until July 31st, later.

The Beginning of the End...

Well, its the first night of a 7 game home stand, the longest home stand left in the 2009 season. After tonight, there are only 25 homes left to go. And things around the old ballpark will change. It will be a completely new look. Will the faces be the same? Maybe, maybe not. Will I still be around? I think so, at least that's my plan. But one never knows. It should be very interesting and exciting to see a new, first-rate facility. I'm sure I'll miss the old layout that I've hung around for the last 14 years. But, Tempus Fugit. (time marches on) OK, enough maudlin, let's lighten it up a little. I've seen the ads for the new luxury suites. Very snazzy. They can accommodate 20 people. I think the Grounds Crew will only need a Junior Suite though, since there are only 5 of us. I don't really see that happening, though. Unless I win the lottery this weekend. Right.... OK, there was a game tonight, too. It's 60' s Night at the ball park tonight. Groovy, baby. I'm looking forward to 70's night, though. I've offered to make an appearance with my 73 Bug to help the atmosphere. If this entry seems a little fragmented and all over the place, I apologize. It's late and its Wednesday, so a the details are not fresh in my mind. Actually its Thursday. Yikes... So, in short, Monday's game was long, it was hot, and the Senators won 2-0. Our buddy, Bowie's manager Brad Komminsk, wasn't on the field tonight. Seems he had a few run-ins with tonight's umpire crew in the past few weeks, and was tossed 3 times. And he's serving the last game of his suspension. Knute's girlfriend, Asheleigh, stopped in to visit tonight, too. Other than that, not too much else to tell. I'm off Tuesday night, so I'll check back in with a report of Wednesday's, hopefully by Friday. Until then, later.

Supplemental-EL All-Star game-vacation

I'm on vacation this week, so i have some extra time on my hands. Thought I'd throw in an extra edition of the blog to report on the EL All-Star game plus some vacation thoughts. First of all, vacation at the beach is THE Life. I love sleeping in, hanging on the beach in the warm sun, checking out the bikini babes, etc... A week is not near enough time. That's basically what we've been doing here in Ocean City, Md. The weather has been perfect, no tarp pulls or rain outs to date. We took a trip down to Assateague Island on Wed. to bike ride, see the wild ponies, and hit the beach for awhile. The beach there was great, except it was very windy, and we felt like we were being sand blasted the entire time. The wild ponies were awesome, hanging out, eating and generally putting on a show for us tourists. Other than that, we've just been hanging on the beach during the day, biking in the mornings, and eating out and drinking at night. My idea of a perfect vacation. My sister-in-law is visiting today from up the road in Delaware, so we're hanging at the beach today, too. As for the EL All-Star game, i see the South won 5-3, with Marvin Lowrance going 1-2 with 2 RBI's and Josh Wilkie pitching 2 perfect innings of relief. Unfortunately, Jack Spradlin did not get into the game. With the stadium project on track and scheduled to be finished by the start of next season, 2010 might be a good time for the All-Star game to make an appearance at MBP. Hey Eastern League, how about it????. I haven't heard any announcements to that effect, so I guess we wait. My son Alan promised to write an entry for the blog while i was away, but I haven't seen anything yet. So I'll just leave it until next week's home stand. Later

In and Out, Part whatever is French for 3

A trend? Perhaps. Due to family obligations and summer vacation, I've had a lot of one night stands(?) at the ballpark lately. For this home stand I will only make it in for the first game of the home stand. The good news: today is the first day of my vacation, and there's no rain in the forecast. The bad news: can't think of any. Tonight's crew: Knute, Doug, Alan, and myself. Batting practice was still going as I arrived on City Island, which was looking to fill up nicely, judging by the amount of cars in the parking lots. We got through the BP tear down rather quickly and started to prep for the game. The field looked in fine condition, due to some outstanding work by Knute and the boys on the off-days. Oh, did I forget to mention, it was Star Wars night at the ballpark. And I forgot my light sabre. What a non-dork I am. After we finished up, we settled into the cubby. One thing I must mention. During the National Anthem, I was appalled by the boorish behavior by some of the Reading players. Come on guys, the anthem is not that long. Surely you can stand still, not stretch and fiddle with your socks, and keep your mouth shut for 2 minutes. I don't care if you're not an American, but your in America, and a little decorum is appropriate. The 1st topic of conversation was Knute's dog. Seems like he fell off the couch and was limping. They took him to the vet and turns out, he tore a ligament and cracked the bone in his hind leg. So a trip to the doggie orthopedic surgeon is in the future. ($$$$) Next topic was the Harrisburg Sentaors, Double A affiliate of the Washington Natinals. The scoreboard misspelled Senators, just like the Nationals did on their uniforms earlier in the season. Amusing.
The game moved right along for the first 5 innings, We even had a guest dragger tonight. Alan's fiancee, Sarah was in attendance tonight. Knute got pulled away for some problem on the concourse, so we needed an extra body for the drag. Sarah filled in admirably. After the 5th inning, the game started to get away from the boys. The bullpen was not sharp and by the 8th, they were down 10-2. And that's the way it finished. Post-game was another exercise in "How long can we drag this out.." Launch-a-ball and fireworks. It was a rather quick game sabotaged by the post game extras. Once we finished up, we retired to Club Shag (a.k.a. the back storage area) for some post game refreshment. I had, earlier in the day, purchased some adult beverages to take along on vacation. Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy and Berry Weiss, which, when mixed, produced a Pink lemonade flavor with a beer base. Very tasty on a warm humid night, which we haven't had many of this year. After a few rounds and some lively conversation, we parted company. I won't be back until July 20th. I'm heading to the shore for a week and looking forward to it. So until then, later.

In and Out...Part Deux

Monday's game was another one of those short stays for me on City Island. I had some family social obligations over the weekend, so I missed Saturday and Sunday's games. Just as well from what I read in the web news. However I was confident that the boys could snag a win before the Akron Aeros left town. When I arrived, I was confused at first. The sun was shining and there was no forecast for rain. In fact, this could be the first home stand in quite a while, that we could play and finish without a tarp pull. Not a huge accomplishment in any other season, but this hasn't been any other season, especially in the precipitation column. So pregame work was standard fare this evening, no extra Turface, standard watering of the infield, no tarps on standby, and the cubby buckets were for sitting on tonight, not ready with Turface. We settled into our seats in the cubby and the first topic of the evening was mound clay and techniques for keeping it in the mound and plate. Knute tried a new watering technique tonight, so we'll see if it works any better. The problem with the clay we use now is twofold: If its too wet, its soft and slippery. If its too dry, it breaks up and disintegrates. the pitchers like the mound on the harder side, which means it as to be drier. Trying to get a happy medium with this clay is difficult on a good day. The black clay we used to use was much better, but more expensive, so here we are.
After we finished that conversation, our next discussion was about food, specifically Spot Dogs. The Spot guys came up with a new dog last home stand called the Ollie. It has spicy mustard, barbecue sauce, pepper jack cheese, grilled onions, chili sauce, and ranch dressing.Very tasty. We then decided that we should come up with our own concoction. After much discussion, we came up with nothing. So I guess we"ll think on it on the off days and brainstorm some more when we come back. As for the game, the boys got off to a slow start and were down 2-0, and it was beginning to look like a sweep for Akron. But they chipped away and were up 3-2 after the 7th. In the bottom of the 8th, the wheels really came off for Akron. They made 3 errors and the Sens hit everything that was thrown at them. The final ended up 8-2 and it turned out to be the only win against Akron this year. Until the playoffs. (Playoffs! Whose talking about playoffs?!, But I digress) And it didn't rain. And we didn't have to put the tarp on. Good morning, good afternoon, and good night. Until next time, later.

In and Out...

It seems like a month has passed since I last made an entry here. As i mentioned in my last post, I didn't see too much of the current home stand due to attending my youngest sister's wedding up in Connecticut. I took an extra day off from my regular job to to attend today's game. Several of my male coworkers also took half a day of to attend also, so it was nice day out for the boys. It was a very nice day for a change, too, with no rain at all in the forecast. I arrived early to make sure he boys had tickets for the game, and then headed for the field. When I made up to the dugouts, the gang was all there. The "gang" today was Izzy, Ben, Justin, Cullen, and Cullen's brother, whose name escapes me at this moment. The last 4 are daytime guys and were here to help us get things rolling. The field was pretty much ready to go, it just needed lined and watered. We got both done rather quickly and then took up our usual spots in the cubby as the game started. The Sens had won the 1st 4 games of this unusual 5 game series, (due to a Sunday double-header) so Erie was looking to salvage at least 1 win. They jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead as the Sens struggled a bit at the plate. One of the stranger things I have ever seen happened around the 3rd or 4th inning. With runners on 1st and 2nd for Erie, their next batter dropped a bunt down the 3rd base line. It rolled right down the chalk line. The Sens hoping it would go foul, followed it down the line, and catcher Luke Montz, tried to help it along by getting down on the ground and trying to blow the ball foul. I didn't put down a real heavy line, but the ball followed the line and came to a stop right on top of the line. Safe all around. Erie was able to add 1 more run to make it 3-0. The Sens were able to climb back in with back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the 4th. It see-sawed back and forth until finally it was tied in the 9th. The game had moved along pretty well until the 8th inning when it came to a screeching halt. The Sens had a chance to win it in the bottom of the 9th, but couldn't push a run across. So we went to the 1th, then the 11th. Finally in the bottom of the 11th, the boys loaded the bases with 2 outs. Mike Daniel hit one in the hole to short and beat the throw with the winning run crossing the plate,giving them a 6-5 win and a 5 game home sweep. This team is starting to make a believer out of me. After the game we went out to check out, what we speculated, was a rather large hole in the pitcher's landing area on the mound. We were right. Our earlier conversation in the cubby was all about clay and repair techniques on the mound and plate. The type of clay we have been using, the gray stuff, leaves a lot to be desired. We used to use a different brand, that was black in color, that was much better to use and stayed together far longer than the gray stuff. Unfortunately, its more expensive, and the field budget doesn't allow for it. So we do the best we can, trying to figure out ways to make the gray stuff work better. Hey, Eastern League! How about negotiating a group agreement with an exclusive supplier to get us what works for less money. Well, its a nice thought and with that I'll take my leave. Until next weekend's home stand, later.

The gang's all here...

I headed for City Island Thursday evening, thinking "Maybe we'll sneak one in without any rain"
It had been a mostly dry day and I was hopeful it would stay that way. I think this has been the longest 3 day home stand on record. It seemed like a week. As I arrived on City Island, late due to being hung up at work, I saw the tarp still rolled out on the field. Everything looked a lot wetter than I had anticipated, too. I found out why when I made it to the infield. They had gotten a heavy downpour around 3:00. Now I had been watching the weather outside my office and monitoring the radar most of the day, and we hadn't had any rain to speak of all day. This definitely has been the weirdest weather season I can remember. The sun was out now and it was a very pleasant evening, just a little humid. We knocked out pregame in our usual efficient manner, even watered the infield. The cast tonight was the same as the past 2 nights, Doug, Izzy, Knute, and myself. Alan is still on vacation, and Frank is dealing with some personal issues that I won't go into here. Tim had talked to him as we were finishing up pre game, trying to convince him to stop by, just to hang out and take his mind off other things. As the game started, we settled in to our usual spots. The usual comments and responses were flying back and forth. Around the end of the 2nd, i decided to head to the back and get my soda mug from my locker and get a drink. As I stepped outside the gate, lo and behold, there stood Frank. We talked for a few minutes, he seemed a little down, but happy to be here. He headed into the cubby between innings, as I headed back to the back. When I got back, we were all in our usual spots and we brought Frank up to speed on the events of the last 2 nights. Of course, it quickly degenerated in to the usual off-color humor and by the 4th inning, everyone's mood had improved greatly, especially Frank's. Frank is a good guy, a good friend, and its hard to see him have to deal the kind of thing he's going through right now. He headed out after the 6th inning and thanked us for helping to cheer him up. I hope things work out ok for him. As for the game, the boys had dug themselves a 6-0 hole. Didn't look like a sweep was happening tonight. But, in the bottom of the 6th, shazam. They put up 6 runs to tie it. That's good, but we were all grousing about the possibility of extra innings. Binghamton put up a couple of more runs in the 7th and 8th to make it 9-6, so it came to the bottom of the 9th. Earlier in the season, I would have said , this one's over, but its a different team with a different attitude now. Their lead off man got on base and they started stringing some hits together. They pulled to within 9-8 with 1 out and runners on 1st and 3rd. The next guy up, Edgardo Baez, stepped in, facing a former Senator from last year's team, Jim Ed Warden. Warden looked a little shaky and after a visit from the pitching coach settled in to throw. Unfortunately for him, good for us, he threw a big fat one that Baez crushed over the left field fence giving the Sens an 11-9 walk-off win. Pretty exciting stuff. And a sweep of the series, the first one all year. Gettin' further around that corner. We're out again for 7 days and I won't be back until June 29th, due to attending my youngest sister's wedding this coming Saturday. And speaking of weddings, I can officially announce that my son and grounds crew member Alan is engaged and will be getting married next summer. Talk about turning some corners. Later.

That's what she said.......

Wednesday evening on City Island was starting off like a lot of others this season. It looked like rain. I resigned myself to another long evening at Metro Bank Park, dodging the rain drops. As I arrived I noticed the tarp was off, but still rolled out on the outfield. As I started down the warning track, I saw that Doug and Izzy were already there. Doug doesn't usually work on Monday or Wednesday nights, since he plays senior league softball. Tim was on the tractor, and starting to drag, what looked like, a very damp infield. My guess was the tarp had been on all day, since it rained almost all day. I was mildly surprised that we were even playing tonight, since it had rained almost non-stop for the past 2 days. But it seems that the new philosophy is to get the game in no matter what. Whatever, not my call. I'm just here to do my job. My philosophy is simple: I do this for fun, so I'm not going to let anyone spoil my good time. Our group likes to have fun and keep it light. We're all business when it comes to out work, but when we're not working, we make our own fun. That's what leads me to the title of tonight's entry. Most of our fun comes when we settle into the cubby to what the game. It usually consists of busting each others chops. Tonight, though, we seemed to settle on using the catch phrase "That's what she said..." I'm not really sure of the origination of the phrase, but with us, it started during the first stand in the 2nd series with Akron. The first 3 games with Reading were atypical as the weather was summer like, totally not what we were used to in early April. However the 2nd set with Akron was pretty much what it has been the rest of the way, raining. We were hanging in the cubby, watching the radar, talking, when one of the Akron pitchers came in to see what was happening. He turned out to be quite a character. And that's when the catchphrase popped up for the first time. After that, we were off to the races, and it appeared periodically as the season went along. But Wednesday night, "That's what she said..." was the theme for the evening. Pretty much everything we said turned into a sexual reference and the obligatory use of the catch phrase. We were laughing our asses off between trips to the mound and plate to spread Turface, as there was a steady drizzle for most of the game. The game moved along at a fairly brisk pace, with the Sens jumping out to a quick lead. There was a bit of drama later in the game, with the Sens winning 4-1, loaded the bases, and Ian Desmond at the plate. He unloaded on one and sent towards the right field fence. The guy on first base base, unsure whether it was out or not, due to a nifty acting job by the B-Mets right fielder, held close at 1st. Desmond didn't realize it, or assumed he was going to take off and apparently passed him by a few steps. We were all watching the fence and the ump for the call, so the only people who saw it was the Binghamton bench. They immediately protested and the umps huddled to sort it out. As it turned out, 1 ump was watching the fence, 1 was watching the runner on 2nd and 1 was watching the runner on 3rd, so nobody saw what was happening on 1st base. So it was a grand slam for Desmond. It didn't affect the outcome of the game in the end, but I don't think that was any consolation to the B-Mets. It was an 8-1 final and the end of a very crappy weather night. It was actually a quick game by today's standards. We finished cleaning up the mess and put the tarp on and were out of there by 10:50. Maybe we'll catch a break tomorrow and get a dry night for a change. Until then, later

A Night of Cups and Buckets...

Hey the boys are back in town for a quick 3 game set, and guess what? There's a chance of rain all 3 nights. Didn't see that one coming... It was overcast and cool with a few stray rain drops hitting the windshield as I arrived on City Island I was looking forward to tonight's game though, as the recently crowned AHL Champion Hershey Bears would be in attendance with the Calder Cup. If I played my cards right, I might get to mingle with the players and get a picture with the Cup. As I headed down the warning track, There was a noticeable absence in at the home bullpen mound. It was the home bullpen mound. Apparently the work for the new bullpen behind the right field fence was complete. The warning track was now a flat, straight shot down the line now. That will make it much nicer getting equipment in and out of the gate, no more dodging players, chairs, baseball equipment and the like. And more importantly, it will be easier on the grass edge at the corner, which usually takes a severe beating from all the dodging. And no more uncoupling of the BP equipment trailer as we come over the bullpen mound edge. I've left the trailer behind more than a few times in the past few years. In attendance tonight, Doug, Izzy, myself, and our fearless leader, Knute. Pre-game was the usual, with the infield looking extra primo this evening, due to some outstanding work by Knute and the boys during the layoff. I noticed the outfield cut was different, looking just like the "vortex" cut currently being used at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. I'll have to get a picture if it from centerfield before the homestand ends. The only issue with pregame prep was a stiff breeze blowing in from the east (unusual) which gave us a all a nice little shower while we watered. After we finished, I noticed a glint of silver over in the 1st base cubby. Yes, it was indeed, the Calder Cup, live and in person!
I made my way over and stepped down into the cubby to get an upclose look. One of the interns said" Don't you want me to take your picture with the cup?" Hell yeah! So I hoisted it up in the appropriate manner and got my photo op. By that time a group of people had made their way onto the field. Looking closer I realized it was several of the Hershey bears players and coach Bob Woods. There was quite a buzz in the ballpark tonight and a lot more people than usually attend Tuesday night games. Looking through the crowd, I saw a lot of Bears T-shirts and jerseys, so the Hockey fans were out in force. As I looked through the crowd, I heard someone call my name. Up on top of the 1st base dugout were my friends Ann and Andy Phillips sporting their Bears championship t-shirts. There was the usual pregame festivities, with the Bears throwing first pitches (and Coco umpiring) and then it was onto the game. The boys had an excellent road trip, winning 4 of 7, including a 16-2 beating of the team they were playing tonight, the Binghamton Mets, and an 11-0 pasting of the R-Phils. Hopefully, they could keep the ball rolling and get even further around the corner. Once the game started, we took our usual spots in the cubby. Now usually some of us grab empty (or Turface filled) buckets for seats. Tonight, buckets were scarce, just 2. And once was actually 2 buckets stuck together. Our mission over the next few innings was to tray and separate these buckets. It was, at times, extremely entertaining to watch the efforts of each other to try and get these buckets apart. In the end, the buckets won, but not after what was some true entertainment. as the game moved along, we kept a watchful eye on the skies. Although, nothing was showing on the radar, it looked as if it could start pouring at any time. The game went back and forth and by the end of the 7th, the Sens held a slim 3-2 lead. Doug and I headed to the back to load up for post game work and then stopped over to check out the new bullpen. Tim and Knute and the boys did an outstanding job. I picked up a loose ball leftover from batting practice that was laying under the cage and then Doug and I headed up to the boardwalk to catch the last few innings. As I started up the stairs, there were 3 men standing on the stairs talking, one them with a little girl on his shoulders. The little girl asked her dad (I assumed) if he could get her a baseball. I said" Like this one?" and handed her the ball. The gentleman turned out to be Bryan Helmer, captain of the Hershey Bears. And the other 2 guys, Alexandre Giroux and Keith Aucoin. I congratulated them all on a great season and shook their hands, saying I hoped we would see them all back next season. It was a little selfish, as they all deserved a shot at the Big Show, especially Giroux, with the record-breaking season he had. After they moved on, signing more autographs along the way, we realized it was the top of the 9th, so we headed down to the gate and manned our machines. After a lead-off single, the new guy, Clint Everts, got the rest of the side 1-2-3 and the boys put up another W. That's 5 out of the last 8. "Startin' to come together, Pepper, startin' to come together... ( Manager Lou Brown, 'Major League') We're back at again Wednesday night with, you guessed it, rain in the forecast. Until then, later.

Special edition

As advertised, this is a special extra edition. No home games this weekend, but nonetheless a very special weekend for the hockey fans on the grounds crew. If you've read any of my previous entries, you may have noticed that we are serious hockey fans. Pens, Caps, Flyers and our hometown Hershey Bears. Friday night was the pinnacle of playoff nights, with the Pens ans Bears trying to lock the championships of their respective leagues. Both games were on TV and my wife Leslie, my son Alan and his girlfriend Sarah were gathered round to see if history could be made.
When it was all said and done it was a 2-1 nail biter win for the Penguins and a decisive 4-1 win for the Bears. Both teams were on the road, which to me made it even more impressive. I don't know for sure, but I think it is unprecedented for 2 professional hockey from the same state to win championships in the same night. It probably hasn't happened in 2 different sports. I believe we saw a unique piece of history right there. Hockey heaven. And Pennsylvania is now Hockeytown USA. I was able to attend the victory celebration for the Bears on Saturday night at GC. Absolutely awesome! As an added bonus, the Bears and the cup will be in attendance at Tuesday night's game. I will be there. Oh, and I forgot to mention, the Sens put an 11-0 pounding on Reading Friday night as well. I think we might be getting a better look around that corner....Until Tuesday night, later...