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.