(Note: Section 220 commenter JimCrikket is at spring training … and the dog track … and the bar, where he gallantly bailed out a bartender who got stiffed by some wings-walking customers.)

I just got back from the Monday game with the Rays and for the record, this was a much better day.

Technically, since the game has been over for something like three hours as I right this, I suppose it’s a bit inaccurate to say I just got home from the game. But since you aren’t my wife, I really don’t have to explain where I’ve been to you… or what that dogracing form is doing in my back pocket.

Boys and girls, days like this are exactly what God had in mind when he invented baseball as an outdoor sport.  Blue skies and low 80s temperatures. Be honest… how many of you have ever seen TC Bear at a ballgame armed with a supersoaker? We are gonna LOVE baseball in 2010, gang.

Not that 2009 is shaping up all that bad, either.

I’m not sure how I ended up with a seat literally 10 feet away from where the Rays’ on-deck hitters awaited their turns to hit, but that’s just about the perfect place to watch a ballgame. I could literally listen to the conversations of the Rays’ hitters, manager and coaches. Very cool and one heck of a vantage point from which to take some decent pictures… if you know how to use your camera.

You would think someone who got started in photography back in the days of the Polaroid Swinger would know how to use a moderately expensive digital camera that he’s owned for almost a year. But when that someone is me, you’d be wrong. You see… I’ve gotten lazy. Yes, my camera can be focused manually, but I’ve figured that Olympus has put millions of dollars in to research and development to come up with an autofocus camera so who am I to think I could focus better?

And for a year, that philosophy has worked for me. But when you are trying to take pictures of a baseball game from 6 feet behind backstop netting, that autofocus insists on focusing on the netting… letting all the action on the field blur in to nothingness. So it was time to flip the little AF switch to MF and… hmmm… apparently you have to do something else, too.

So, just as was the case on Saturday, it was time once again to “phone a friend.” The same friend, even. Amazingly, after I trashed her publicly in this blog for not knowing #95 was Matt Moses on Saturday, she took my call again today. You see, Babs’ dad has the exact same camera I do so I naturally assumed she would know how to manually focus my camera. I’d like to say she knew exactly what to do. Well, Babs is good, but she isn’t THAT good. She did, however, put me in touch with DaddyBabs who knew exactly what to do to help me out. A big thanks to both of them. Not that this does any of the rest of you any good, because you can’t see the beautiful pictures I took (unless of course you are one of my Facebook friends).

In any event, I had a great seat and had a great time, even if the guy sitting next to me was big enough to play offensive tackle for the Vikes. Tomorrow’s ticket for the Pirates’ game is back about 10 rows so still not bad, but I’m definitely spoiled after today.

I understand the game was shown on FSN and MLB networks. If you watched, you got an opportunity to see a very good pitching match up. Garza was throwing well for the Rays and Perkins had a very nice outing. The dang pitch-speed gizmo on the spanking new scoreboard wasn’t working (or wasn’t turned on) during the first five or so innings, so I have no idea how hard those guys were throwing, but based on the way they were missing bats, they both must have been bringing it pretty well.

The highlight of the first part of the game was Michael Cuddyer’s rifle shot to gun down Pena at the plate. Yes, the oh-fer at the plate didn’t look good for Cuddy, but I’ve missed seeing that arm out in RF. Honorable mention goes to Carlos Gomez who, as a late inning defensive replacement for Denard Span in CF, showed off his arm as well… keeping the potential tying run from tagging up and scoring on a fly ball. I don’t know how you put a value on this type of thing, but teams are simply not going to run on the Twins OF this summer.

The “cringe of the day” came when Joe Crede got hit on the hand by a pitch. It sounded ugly and I’ll be surprised if he’s not out of the lineup for a while. I’m just hoping it doesn’t turn out to be anything serious. I also had to cringe a bit when Brian Duensing gave up an opposite field HR to Pena in the 8th. That can’t be helpful when you’re trying to shoehorn yourself in to that last bullpen spot heading north.

The game only took about two and a half hours, though, which means it was over almost about the same time of day that yesterday’s rain-delayed game got started. That left me with considerable (some might say too much) free time on my hands. Imagine my surprise to find out that there is legalized gambling in Florida!

Not only can you watch dogs run around in circles very fast (though not fast enough if you’re the dang #5 dog in the first race!), but they have a very nice poker room where you can play cards with perfect strangers. And just because Floridians are SO nice, these perfect strangers also give you their money! In fact the nice people I played cards with for about 90 minutes gave me enough money to cover the cost of my tickets for four of the six ballgames this week. Is this a great place, or what!?

I stopped for pizza at Shoeless Joe’s (one of LEN’s listed recommended establishments earlier this spring) and had a great visit with the friendly bartender in the outdoor bar section of the restaurant. Unfortunately, we apparently had too good a visit, because a couple of other patrons at the bar managed to slip out without paying for their two orders of wings… sticking said bartender for their bill. Good thing for him that one of his other customers had a good day at the card table.

I’m not sure what it is about me that draws fans from the opposing team to sit around me. Yesterday, I was surrounded by Cardinal fans and today I had Rays fans on either side of me. I suspect there are only 2 Pirate fans in all of south Florida, but I’m quite certain they will be sitting to my left and right tomorrow afternoon.

Just in closing… I want to send my best wishes to any of you in the Fargo/Moorhead area or with family up there. Having gone through the flooding in Cedar Rapids, last June, I can relate to what’s going on up there and I wish you the best.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 8:49 am and is filed under Guest post. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.