Pre-Opening Day, Opening Day, Whatever....

April 4, 2016. The first Monday in April. Baseball is back. The Void is over. Opening Day. Except it isn't. There were 3 games yesterday. Do we call Sunday Pre-Opening Day or Opening Day Eve? Or is Opening Day now the first Sunday in April? I have embraced Sunday Night Baseball, even the Pre-Opening Day Eve game. But make the season stretching stop!! ALL teams should be in first place on Opening Day.

Today, on the REAL Opening Day, I will watch all the games on tv. I will wear my Joey Votto jersey. I will dream of being at the ball park. I will remember the sun on my face, the taste of frozen lemonade, the 7th inning stretch, the joy of keeping score. I will recall some of my favorite calls: Back, back, back, back...Gone. -Chris Berman; It's deep and I don't think it's playable. -Keith Olberman; Stick a fork in him, he's done. -Leo Durocher. And my favorite: And this one belongs to the Reds. -Marty Brennaman.

During the season, I'll watch Sunday Night Baseball, Wednesday Night Baseball, and Baseball Tonight. I'll miss Jon Miller and Joe Morgan calling the games on Sunday evening. I'll laugh at and with Dallas Braden. I'll anticipate hearing Jessica Mendoza in the booth often. Hear that ESPN? More Jessica Mendoza!! I'll admire double plays and home runs, power pitchers and strike-outs, finesse pitchers hitting the corners, a perfect sacrifice bunt. I'll keep score at the College World Series, hopefully rooting for the Arizona State Sun Devils. I'll watch the Reds at The Great American Ball Park in July. I'll pray to the Baseball Gods that the absolutely stupid idea of bring the DH to the National League is buried. Forever. I'll check box scores and standings. I'll wonder if my Reds will ever make the play-offs again. I'll watch the play-offs and the World Series no matter who plays. Baseball is back and I'm a fan.

"Sure, opening day is baseball's bandwagon. Pundits and politicians and every prose poet on the continent jumps on board for a few days. But they're gone soon, off in search of some other windy event worthy of their attention. Then, once more, all those long, slow months of baseball are left to us. And our time can begin again." -Thomas Boswell (Why Time Begins on Opening Day)

Opening Day Should Be in April

Friday? March? Really? The season isn't long enough already? Let's not wait for the first Monday in April. Next thing you know, they'll introduce some stupid rule to let another player hit for the pitcher. Oh. Yeah. That stupid DH rule.

Well. At least the Reds are playing at home. Some traditions haven't been throw out. Yet. Versus the Brewers. Not a made-for-tv matchup. I realize that. And the game isn't on ESPN. ESPN, you suck! Who cares about drawing a large audience? I'm a REDS FAN! And like the other five Reds fans in Nebraska, I can't see a Reds game on tv. EXCEPT ON OPENING DAY! Thanks, ESPN, for screwing up the entire start of the season for me. You suck!
I'm going to drown my baseball sorrows by watching a triple-header. And while I watch, I'm going to work on my Baseball Bucket List. The baseball Fan's Bucket List, 162 Things You Must See, Do, Get & Experience Before You Die, by Robert Santelli & Jenna Santelli. I know I can check off a bunch of them. I've seen Major League and The Natural, collected baseball cards, kept score, owned a glove. And more from the list. And today, I'm going to document those. I'm going to remember Pacific Coast League games and learning to keep score in high school. I'm going to make some plans to read some baseball books. I'm going to wallow in baseball, since I can't watch my beloved Reds play.

Play Ball!

This Is Going To Be A Long Season

Opening Day, 2010. St. Louis 11, Cincinnati 6. This is going to be a long season.

I did everything right. I wore my Reds jersey. My Cincy flag flew, as it does every day that the Reds play on tv (not very often), and every day they are in first place (not very often). This is going to be a long season.

Ok, so it is Cincinnati tradition for Adam Harang to start on Opening Day. Please! In this case, tradition sucks! The guy went 6-14 last year and struggled in spring training. (In his defense, he didn't have any run support in 2009). Is he really the best the Reds have to throw out there? Was there anyone on the Reds roster who was better in spring training? Maybe Bronson Arroyo deserved the start. At least he had a winning record in 2009 (15-13). Call up Chapman! This is going to be a long season.

Bullpen meltdown: Cards score 7 runs off Cincinnati relievers. Ugly. I love the name Yadier Molina. I wish he played for the Reds so I could walk around saying "Yeah!! Yadier went 2 for 4! Yadier hit a home run yesterday!" Instead, I have to say "Yadier hit a Grand Slam in the NINTH inning". :( This is going to be a long season.

ESPN broadcasters Brent Musburger and Rick Sutcliffe called the Reds the NL Central Dark Horse. From Merriam-Webster: dark horse: an entrant in a contest that is judged unlikely to succeed. This is going to be a long season.

Why does ANYONE pitch to Albert Pujols? Two home runs on Opening Day. First inning, two down, you pitch to the guy. 7th inning, one on. Dusty Baker, I love you, but please! Why didn't you give Lincoln the four finger salute - IBB! This is going to be a long season.

Reds vs Cards on Wednesday. Johnny Cueto. 2009: 11-11, ERA 4.41. At least the Reds don't play the Cardinals every day, or This. Would. Be. A. Long. Season.

Bright spot: The Reds did have some offense, hitting two home runs, a third stolen when Colby Rasmus reached over the center field fence to catch what would have been Scott Rolen's 2nd home run of the game. I am Forever Optimistic. But it is going to be a long season.

Give Me A Child......

After the laissez-faire attitude of my younger days produced two non-Reds fans, I took a different approach with my younger children. I truly believed that strict adherence to the Jesuit motto "give me a child until she is seven and I will give you a Reds fan" would work! Note the mismatched, yet stylish outfit - a sunflower print skirt with Reds shirt and hat in this picture of Alyssa & Caitlin taken at Riverfront Stadium in 1997. Years later, my faith is shaken.


Caitlin competed in the National Catholic Forensic League Tournament in Albany, NY this past weekend. She had a great time, made some new friends, but didn't break (meaning she didn't advance to the next round). She was polite to others, chewed with her mouth closed, took a shower every day and was generally kind to babies and small animals for the entire trip. All this Good Behavior took its' toll. Before she got on her plane at the Albany airport, she bought a NY Yankees t-shirt!

O M G !!!!!!

Even worse, she has not shown ANY remorse! And she plans to WEAR the shirt to school tomorrow. Top layer of clothing, right side out. The logo of The Team We Love To Hate right out there for God & everyone to see. I may not be able to show my face at the grocery store for a month or more. And I can just imagine what my "friends" will be saying behind my back. Woe is me. The only bright spot in this otherwise horrific evening is that she had the good sense to pass on the Cubs t-shirt when they changed planes in Chicago. Thank God for small favors :)

In the spirit of locking the barn door after the horse has been stolen, I sent a strongly worded email to her Forensics coach, suggesting (nicely of course - Caitlin gets those manners from me :) that perhaps her chaperoning skills need some updating to prevent a similar ugly incident with an Atlanta Braves shirt later this summer at the NFL National Tournament. I remain a baseball fan by birth, Reds fan by the grace of God.

Why Time Begins on Opening Day

People ask me what I do in the winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. -- ­Rogers Hornsby

Opening Day - the two most beautiful words in the English language. -- Tim Kirkjian

I've re-read Thomas Boswell's collection of baseball essays and I'm ready to watch the Reds first game of the season on ESPN. Spring has officially arrived.

Play ball!

One reason NOT to celebrate today: The introduction of the Designated Hitter (DH) on this day in 1973. I'm Old School - pitchers should go to the plate!

Another Day at the Ballpark

We got to Rosenblatt Stadium about 4:45 pm for a 6 pm game, to find the earlier game was still in progress. The game between Cal State Fullerton & UC Irvine went 13 innings (5+ hrs) setting a record for the longest CWS game ever. And I had GIVEN my tickets to the nephew of a friend who left in the 5th inning. Who does that? Even Dodger fans stay until the 7th!

Since we had time to kill, we wandered around the Fan Fest area, shopped (I bought another ASU t-shirt) and went over to Zesto's to eat. The two lines were each about 30 people long when we got there. By the time we got our food (GREAT burgers & fries!), they were twice that long. Which meant that standing in line to get ice cream was out of the question.

And finally, a baseball game. ASU's loss to Oregon State was ugly and painful. The final score was 12-6, but it wasn't anywhere near that close. I quit keeping score around the 4th inning, when I got tired of coloring in little boxes on the OSU side of the score sheet. The high point of the game was the blow-up doll that fell into the field from the right field bleachers. Pathetic, but the Sun Devils gave us very little to cheer about tonight. The security guys who confiscated her set her up on the bench beside them. They usually get booed for taking the beach balls, but the crowd gave them a round of applause this time. And by the time we left Rosenblatt around 11 pm, I wasn't too unhappy that I missed that LONG first game!

The Greatest Show On Dirt

What a slogan! What a day at Rosenblatt! What made it such a good day? Since I like to make lists.....

1.On a HOT HOT day, we watched the Arizona State Sun Devils beat the UC Irvine Anteaters by a single run.

2. The frozen lemonade was incredibly and wonderfully cold. (Did I mention it was HOT?)
3. Eavesdropping on the conversation in the row behind me, I met a quilter who had come from Grand Island for the game. She & her husband were rooting for ASU because their son lives in Scottsdale, AZ. As the innings passed. I gave her directions to two local quilt shops, we talked about sewing machines, I invited her to Quilt Nebraska, and I showed her my quilting tattoo. We talked about the differences in humidity between Omaha and Grand Island, and the dry heat of Phoenix.
4. During the 7th inning stretch, we sang Take Me Out To The Ballgame. Then we got to watch a young man get down on one knee, offer a diamond ring to his girlfriend, and cheer excitedly when she said yes.
5. I bought a new ASU shirt to wear on Monday, when the Sun Devils play again.
6. Since ASU was designated the home team for this game, my seats were right in the middle of a huge crowd of ASU fans from all over. It was lots of fun to share the thrill of victory!
7. My favorite vendor visited our section. He talks non-stop, offering to shut up & go away for just $3. AND, he throws in a free cherry sno-cone! Lots of takers - did I mention it was HOT?
8. The wave went around the stadium 4 times before falling victim to action on the field.

The View From Third Base

Baseball! Almost like Opening Day, without the stress of wanting my team to win! We saw the NC Tarheels come from behind to beat the Mississippi Bulldogs. I cheered for both teams, leaving the NC fan sitting beside me scratching his head.

I love my seat location. My seat looks straight down the basepath from 3rd base to 2nd. The sun is always behind us. I don't like the new seats in Rosenblatt. The seat portion is not as deep, making them less comfortable. The new lack of depth is supposed to make up for the seat portion not folding up, but what is does is make the "may I get past you dance" even more awkward.

I'm leaving for Rosenblatt Stadium in a little while to see Arizona State (go Sun Devils!) play UC. I've got my Sparky tattoo on my cheek and am still sporting my "Born to Quilt" tattoo on my forearm. Not exactly Biker Babe stuff, but they work for me!

Opening Day

It is the end of The Void, the beginning of a new season. The Boys Of Summer are back. The Reds are in first place. Oh, I can dream! My afternoon will be spent watching my Cincinnati Reds take a whupping stick to the Chicago Cubs. Oh, I can dream!

Reasons why Opening Day is one of my favorite days of the year:
-- My playoff fantasies are still realistic.
-- The Reds game is always on tv.
-- I get to sing my version of Take Me Out to the Ballgame (and it's root, root, root for Cincinnati, if they don't win it's a shame!) during the 7th inning stretch for the first of many times this year.
-- I will take calls from my sisters (Margery & Patience) who are celebrating Opening Day at Coors Field.
-- I will win the first of many squares in my baseball swap.
-- Winter is truly over (I hate snow!).

The day could only be better if I were actually at the ballpark. Play ball!

More Thoughts From the Ballgame

Championship Game 1 of the College World Series. It was a good game, but what I enjoyed more than the baseball was the rain delay. We sat dry under our rain ponchos (ponchoes?), watching the tarp get pulled out, laughing as the slow exodus to the exits turned frantic when the rain changed from a light sprinkle to a cold downpour.



Best of all was the rainbow that formed to the east of the stadium. It started as part of an arc and grew until it formed a complete semicircular stripe of color.



A 2nd rainbow seemed to be a reflection of the first. I've never seen the colors mirror-imaged like they were on these two.



Best Shout From the Stands: Still the trading of insults between the right field and left field bleachers - "Left/Right Field Sucks!"

Best T-shirt: You can't fix stupid.

And the Wave - that unique American institution which unites everyone at the ballpark, regardless of race, religion, color, sex, or team affliation, into a single organism enjoying the moment. Carpe Diem!

Random Thoughts from the College World Series

After 10 years on the waiting list, I was able to buy season tickets this year! Great location on the 3rd base side, so the sun never shines directly into our faces. The CWS started last Friday (Happy Birthday Kyra!) and the two-game-per-day pace is catching up with me. I don't feel much of an allegiance to any of the teams playing, so I can just enjoy good baseball.

Best T-shirt seen so far: "Don't Run Over the Parking Lot Guy"
Best name: Yonder Alonso of the Miami Hurricanes.
Shortest Rain Delay: 4 minutes. The rain started hard, the tarp was rolled onto the field, the rain stopped. Tarp unfolding halted, meetings were held. Tarp rolled off the field, game restarted.
Worst Almost-No-Hitter: Rice pitcher Eddie Degerman had a no-hitter going into the 7th inning vs Georgia. His 8 walks (including walking the bases loaded early in the game) overshadowed the no-hit bid.
Most Annoying Traffic Control: Traffic control which doesn't allow right turns off the 13th Street exit, which meant that even though I had less than a 100 yard drive to my permit parking area, I was forced to drive a looping path through the neighborhoods for 20 minutes in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Someone has an inane theory that slow-moving traffic is better than getting a vehicle off the street & parked. I'm guessing this traffic pattern designer owns a gas station or two. Same guy must be the one who decided to have the signs that list what you cannot bring into the ballpark where you don't see them until AFTER you've gone through the inspection of carry-in stuff. I've pointed it out every time I've walked into the ballpark, but no one seems to notice the irony but me.
Best Food: $1/slice Freschetta pizza stand directly across 13th St from the Stadium. Second place (because of the $4 ballpark price tag) goes to the frozen lemonade which is heaven on earth on a 90 deg day.
Best Shout From the Stands: "Right Field Sucks" from the 10 people in the left-field bleachers after a long rain delay. (Right Field Bleachers have a answering shout, but couldn't get the job done this time.)

There is no where like Rosenblatt Stadium during the College World Series. See you there at 4 pm today!