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...

The View from the Cheap Seats

After skipping Saturday's game to attend a wedding, on Sunday I"ve done something I haven't done in more than a few years. I actually attended a game as a plain old fan. And my wife came too, something else that doesn't happen very often. My wife wanted to go to see a friend of hers throw out a first pitch, and I was not on the work schedule for Sunday, so we loaded up in the Bug (my '73 VW Super Beetle) and headed for the ballpark. It was a gorgeous day for baseball and the boys were riding a 5, count 'em, 5-game winning streak. That's a season high, folks. Were we starting to peek around the corner? Maybe. Even if they lost today, it would still be a pretty good home stand by anybodies standards. We made our way into the park and staked out a spot to watch the first pitch. After they were done, we went over to visit with the boys in the cubby for a few minutes and then headed out to the boardwalk to sample the venues. Since all of the bar stools were occupied, we made our way over to center field and took a spot at the rail by the flagpoles. The view from there is a commanding one. The field looked picture perfect. Even though I know where all the problems and imperfections are, from being up close and personal most nights, I couldn't see any of them. Kudos to Knute, Tim, and the rest of the guys. After hanging there for a few innings, we made our way over to the seats above the left field wall. We found a few and sat for a while, enjoying another great view. Those seats, unfortunately, on a day like today were way too warm for us. The green plastic of the seats absorbed the heat, and they actually got hotter than the aluminum railings. We then moved over to the deck in the left field corner and took a spot along the rail. The view there was also good and the breeze was very refreshing. After that we headed to the Spot stand for a little snack. My wife and I both had one of my favorites, a Grounder. We headed back to the boardwalk to find a place to sit and eat, while we watched the game. I found the surroundings there both delightful and appalling. It was delightful to sit at a picnic table in the shade from the hot sun, with a great view of the game, and eat. The people around me, at times, left a lot to be desired. Please don't get me wrong, I love kids. I have 2 of my own (now grown). I have a slew of nieces and nephews, from toddlers on up. And I understand kids can get rowdy and want to have fun. But for parents to let their kids run absolutely wild is unacceptable. I never let my kids do it, and I can't accept from others either. I cast a shadow on what was, otherwise a very nice afternoon. Maybe I'll suggest to the higher-ups to have some tighter control out there. I think there is a potential to alienate a lot of fans. OK, I'm stepping down off my soapbox now. The game got a little out of hand through the later innings, with New Britain seemingly hitting everything they saw. The Sens managed to get a few back but not quite enough to break through. It was an 11-7 final. We spent the last inning and a half back in the cubby, chatting with the guys. and after the last out, headed to the car. It felt good to just be a fan for a day. maybe I'll do it again someday. In a couple of years. We're out for 7 days, so until next week, later.

Dare to dream, the Sequel

Well, Friday's game wasn't looking too good as I made my way down Front St. after work. I had texted Knute around 3:00 pm looking for some insight as to whether we were playing or not. With the way the rain was still falling, I couldn't imagine we were still on. However, that wasn't the case. Knute replied "We're playing". So I resigned myself to another night of playing in the mud. As I made my way onto the Island, it looked like a bigger crowd than I thought was starting to arrive. Not 5 or 6 thousand big, but a lot more than i thought would be here on a rainy night. As I made my way down the field, it looked like they had just taken off the tarp. The warning track looked like a tributary of the Susquehanna and the umpires box behind first base was a quagmire. The rest of the guys were getting things cleaned up in the bullpens and Tim had started to drag the infield. I got my tools and the chalker and started to prep, wondering if it was all going to come together by game time. A light mist was falling, still, so watering the infield was off the checklist tonight. The chalk in the chalker was of typical consistency on nights like these, thick and chunky. Nothing was going smoothly so far, so I prepared to battle the chalker down the first base line, hoping I wouldn't end up with a 'wall' instead of a line. it actually went far better than I had thought it would, and didn't take near as long. Some wet nights like these, it might take 3 or 4 passes with the chalker to get something resembling a line, and not one that's all that straight. As we finished up, we had the now traditional sprinkling of the Turface and left it to the ballplayers. Being a Friday night, there was a long list of festivities on the slate, starting with a marching band to play the National Anthem. They marched right out to center field, non-standard on a night like tonight, to play. More than a few raised eyebrows. As the game got under way, we staked out out spots in the cubby, with full buckets of Turface as seats tonight. The conversation quickly turned to several different off-color subjects, none of which will be discussed at length here. I wondered a couple of things. Could we get the game in? Could we finish at a reasonable hour? And could we win? We were on a roll this week, so I was hoping that tonight would keep the streak alive. Well we did get the game in, although it was in serious doubt at times, with several visits to the mound and plate for the ritualistic sprinkling of the Turface. Finishing at a reasonable hour just wasn't in the cards tonight. The boys fell behind early, but clawed their way back to tie it up. They had some chances in the 7th and 9th with bases loaded, but couldn't push one across, so to the 10th inning it was. The Rock Cats(New Britain) went 1-2-3 in the top half and the the Sens came to bat. The quickly put runners on 1st and 2nd, with Bill Rinehart due up. He punched a ball over the center fielder's head, plating the winning run, touching off a mini celebration at home plate. A good win. 4 in a row. I guess we can dare to dream. Maybe 5 in a row Saturday night? Stay tuned. Afterwards, it was the usual Friday night post game festivities. The first was a dance troupe on the field to perform. All dressed like Heidi or the Von Trappe kids (from the Sound of Music, don't ask why I know this...).Again, if you hang around long enough you see some weird or should I say, out of the ordinary stuff. And then, of course, Launch-a-ball, and my personal favorite, fireworks. All that plus we got to clean up a muddy mess of a field. Just think, all that and we got paid to do it. Things that make you go hmmmmm. I won't be in attendance Saturday night due to a wedding, so I'll do a combined entry on Sunday evening. Until then, later.

Work quickly, change speeds, throw strikes..

Wednesday evening, game 3 of the home stand, rain in the forecast. What? Rain you say. Why it hasn't rained since, when, yesterday. Definitely not looking forward to tonight's game. We dodged the bullet the last couple of nights, but I think our luck is going to run out tonight. We also had some fast games the past 2 nights, with good pitching and good defense and low scores. That tends to speed things up. In fact the title of the post are the words of Ray 'the Rabbit" Miller, who I remember as the pitching coach of those, oh so close to being champions, Pittsburgh Pirates teams of the early 90's. I grew up in western PA, and it was all Pittsburgh, all the time. That was his mantra, and I believe it still rings true today. Games usually take at least 3 hours to play today and there's a lot of farting around by pitchers and batter. In fact, way too much. I was reading an article in this weeks' Sport Illustrated that really magnified the difference between today's game and the players and those of 30-40 years ago. The article was "The Greatest Game Ever Pitched" it was about the perfect game that Harvey Haddix threw for 12 innings against the Milwaukee Braves in 1959. I was all of about a 10 months old at the time, so i don't have any first hand knowledge of the game, just what I've read since. When Haddix took the mound in the bottom of the 13th inning, the article states that the game was 'approaching its third hour' Approaching the 3rd hour. That's quick work. The other thing I thought was kind of funny was that after the 2nd inning, Dick Groat lit his cigarette in the dugout while the Pirates were batting. Smoking in the dugout? Its just weird to think about it today. The game did move along at a brisk pace, and like the evening before, the Sens had 1 big inning and it was all they would need. The rain picked up pretty well after the no-drag drag. Just raking tonight. Every half inning we made a trip to the mound and plate to rake the junk off and spread some Turface. We even had to spread some out on the infield at short and second, because it was even getting a little slick out there, too. The 2 relief pitchers were exact opposites when it came to the mound. Andrew Kown was slipping on the Turface and wanted it raked off. Dave Williams wanted a lot. To each his own I guess. After the game was over, the post game cleanup was short and to the point. We just raked off the junk, quickly filled what few holes there were threw some more Turface around and covered everything up. Bing, bang, boom, just the way I like it. Tomorrow's game is a day game. I'd like to be there, but can't make it. Maybe they boys can get their third win in a row. It would be the first time this year I think. Well, we'll see. I check back in after Friday night's game. The forecast is for, you guessed it, rain. Later.

Blackberry Brandy and a Birthday Kiss

Tuesday evening on City Island started out much the same as most others. Another game, same-old, same old. It looked like it was going to rain at some point, so nothing different there . Frank, Alan, Knute, and myself in attendance. Just like Monday. But I had forgotten, today was Frank's birthday. The middle man on the "senior crew" he turned 52 today. We really didn't have anything special planned, though, other than having his name announced with the other birthdays. I heard someone mention that he was asking for kisses before the game. Enough said there. Nothing out of the ordinary for pregame, we blew through it as always. We settled into the cubby and tuned in the Weather Channel to keep an eye on the sky. It was hockey night, too, so we waited for both the Penguins and Bears games to start. Pens at 8, Bears at 8:30. It turned out to be a good night for the Pens and Sens, but a tough one for the Bears. The game rolled along at a brisk pace as it had the night before. Could we get home at a decent hour again? Dare to dream... As it turned out, the game finished a little after 9:30. And the Sens got a nice win, 3-0. We got things cleaned up fairly quickly, and then put the tarp on, as it looked like rain after midnight. . We milled around for a few minutes, chatting, and were going to head out when Tim came up and said "everybody in the back." We made our back to the equipment storage area, where Tim produced a large bottle of blackberry brandy and a bunch of cups. He poured all around and we all drank a toast to Frank. Good stuff! After that we headed out to take advantage of the early exit time. Until tomorrow, here's a big birthday kiss for Frank. XXXXXXX

Life in the fast lane

I may or may not have mentioned in previous posts, that I thought that Monday night games always seem to go faster. This Monday's game was another one in the fast column. As I arrived on City Island, the weather, once again, looked iffy. Once we started with pre game, though, things were starting to clear out. In attendance, Frank Alan, Ryan and myself, as well as Knute. No problems with pregame, although I noticed that the areas on the infield that usually show wear the earliest were lot worse than they usually are this time of year. All the rain, the tarp coverings, and the early work are starting to take their toll. It doesn't generally look this bad until around the 4th of July. But Knute said they've got renovation plans for the next break, which is a little longer than the last few. He said he didn't feel too bad, because a lot of the major league fields on the East Coast have re sodded the wear areas already. The weather is beating them up too. The heavy wear areas on a baseball field are in front and back of the pitcher's mound, the inside corners in front of home plate, the walk up areas from the dugouts behind home plate, the infield edges where the 2nd baseman and shortstop stand, and the areas where the outfielders usually stand. So after we finished up, we took up residence in our usual spot in the 3rd base cubby and watched/listened to a very pretty young lady sing the National Anthem. It was a typical, thin Monday evening crowd. A shame, since it was a decent Monday night. The foe this evening were the New Hampshire FisherCats, in for their only visit of the season. Once again, is was a little "Old Home Week", as their pitching coach this year is Tom Signore. Tom was the Senators' pitching coach back in '04 or '05. As the game progressed, none of us wanted to say it out loud, but it was moving at a rather quick pace. Before we knew it, it was the top of the 5th and the interns had joined us to prep for the drag and their "routine". Tonight's dance was to be to 'Greased Lightning'. They changed their stop point, so there would be less confusion as to which way to go when they were done. Well it was a nice thought. They still screwed it up, so I don't think the little 'chalk talk' I gave them, complete with diagram, before we went out helped much. Oh well, back to the drawing board, so to speak. After that, the game just kept rolling. It was a close one with New Hampshire only leading 2-1 going to the 9th. And it was only 9:10pm. Win or lose, it would be an early night for a change. The Sens lead off with a base hit and and then bunted the runner over to 2nd. another out was recorded and that left the man at 2nd with 2 outs and Luke Montz to the plate. he worked the count and the drove a pitch to deep right center field. From our vantage point in the new bullpen we couldn't see too well, but found out it was caught at the wall. If it had been hit to any other part of the park (except left-center) it would've been gone. And it would've been a walk-off win. But that' sour luck. Afterwards, it was a quick cleanup and we went happily on our way, about 40 minutes earlier than usual. Bonus. See you tomorrow,same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.