Where did the week go?

Partly cloudy skies were with us this morning as the week continued down the ever-steepening slope towards the end of this fantasy camp.  There was no morning meeting as the pros were preparing to play the campers in eight 3-inning games. The first game is always played against the newly-crowned champions from the day/night before.That meant that Rocky's Raccoons would be first to take a shot at humbling the smack-talking former professionals.  Now, not all of the returning pros talk smack. That's because they can't get a word in edgewise when the commissioner, John "Bad Dude" Stearns is near a microphone.  John was a football player at the University of Colorado and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the 17th round, six picks ahead of Dave Winfield being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings.  He was the second overall draft pick of the Phillies and played exactly one game for them before being traded to the Mets. He also once roughed-up the Braves' mascot as he was running out to his teepee before a game in Atlanta.  I'm not making that up.

The pros won their game against the Raccoons and then set their sights on the Saber Met-rics.  I arrived in the bottom of the 2nd inning for this one and the Met-rics were leading 2-0. There was a very large chance that the pros could go down to a rare defeat.  The other campers who were watching this were enjoying it immensely. The Met-rics did close it out and took the game 2-0.  That meant someone would have to pay, as far as the pros were concerned.  Their next opponents proved a suitable victim as they played like they wanted to get back at the Met-rics.  

My team, Lenny's Brides, were the fourth team to take the field.  We had a couple of runners on in the first but did not score.  The top of the second was led off by your truly.  I came to the plate with Nelson Figueroa on the mound.  I stepped to the plate and he missed off the outside corner on his first two offerings. Which is good, when you consider that I've been looking at pitches which hover around the 50-55 mph range.  After Figgy's second pitch I glanced a the center field scoreboard momentarily to see that the previous pitch had sailed past me doing 77 mph.  The next two pitches were right on the outside corner and the count was 2-2.  I managed to foul off the next two gas attacks from Nelson and then he missed high on his offering to run the count full. He then threw a pitch that I only heard, as it pretty much disappeared when his hand reached the release point.  I swung under it and returned to the bench with solace in the fact that I had made contact twice. Now, when I see Figueroa on SNY broadcasts from home I can say that I've faced him.  I had hoped that the gift I gave him on Tuesday might buy me a break.  Figgy likes to talk about his "sock game" on air and will sometimes show what he's wearing that day on camera.  So, before I left home I picked up a pair of socks with the nighttime skyline picture of downtown Minneapolis on them.  He was very appreciative and I hope he shows them on a broadcast that I'm viewing.

Lenny's Brides put up a valiant fight but the pros took the victory over our squad. I was in left field enjoying the moment and seeing the kid-like looks on the faces of all of the rookies.  There were said to be 92 campers here this week, but 80 of them were rookies.  6 of the 12 veterans were members of the Brides.  

We hung around after our game to partake in the bounty of snacks which were offered by the catering staff under the tiki bar awning.  I stayed to watch teams 6 and 7 take their chances at the pros.  Team 7 actually was one out away from tying them at zero, but "Bad Dude" dropped a single into center to score Pete Schourek from second and they escaped with a 1-0 win.  

I started to make my way back toward the clubhouse and see my locker for one last time.  As I did I put on my headphones and just as I cued up "Beautiful Day" by U2 on Monday, today I cued up "These Are The Days" by Van Morrison and make a slow and deliberate walk where I looked around in an attempt to have the images linger in my cerebral iPhoto folder. If you aren't familiar with the song, you will discover how it could serve as the soundtrack to any highlight reel from a fantasy camp for any team.  

This evening the awards banquet was held at the Island Club.  Always a melancholy event in some respects as it allows us to acknowledge those who have excelled here during the week for each team, but also pulls the curtain down on yet another amazing week of memories that will not soon be forgotten.

Tonight's awards banquet was very enjoyable.  The awards were handed out in categories like best batting average, hits, best pitcher, best defensive player, best recovery from injury and one new award.  The Anthony Young Award is new this year.  Anthony Young played for the Mets from 1991-1993.  He also pitched for the Cubs and Astros during his career.  He had been a fantasy camp coach for a number of years and his personality and positive attitude made him a favorite of everyone at MFC for many, many years.  At last year's Kangaroo Court Anthony told us of his ongoing battle with brain cancer. He lost that battle on June 27th of last year at the age of 51.  He won an MFC championship last year and he won one with yours truly on his team in 2014.  The award is basically an humanitarian-style award given to someone who is a great person not only on the field but off of it as well. This season's winner was my teammate with the Brides, catcher Pat Mascarini.  Pat is a tremendous guy and I enjoyed being his teammate a great deal.  He was quite emotional when he accepted the award, as he met A.Y.'s family last week when they were here. A.Y.'s jersey hung in the first locker you come to in the clubhouse for both weeks of camp.

Each year in the past each camper received a baseball with the signatures of all of that particular camp's pros.  They changed things up this time and presented with a replica of a home plate signed by all of the coaches.  In a similar but unknown context I have asked all of the players on my team to sign a regulation-size batting helmet for myself to display.  But those things, while nice to admire when you see them, are just so bloody hard to pack.  So I opted to go to a new idea-why not try a home plate and have everyone sign that.  So, both the powers that be from the Mets and myself opted for the lower profile home plate to display the signatures.

Let me take this moment to thank my fantastic team.  To coaches Kevin Baez and Lenny Harris who allowed us to be ourselves and were incredibly supportive at all times.  To team MVP Dan "Squirrel" Gould (long story on the nickname, but a super guy, to say the least),who allowed me to talk a little hockey even though baseball was our focus.  To Joe "JR" Russo who is one of the kindest teammates I've ever had on any team.  Joe is the quintessential team player and was willing to play wherever he was needed.  To Larry "Goldie" Chiles, who by week's end had about a half dozen nicknames, including Denzel, Lamont Sanford and Leon Durham from the Chicago Cubs. To Elvis Diaz, who was Mr. Everything for this team, playing at least five different positions, I believe. To John "Mongo" Manfredi, who played center field and also backed me up in left at times when my blinding speed wasn't as blinding as it could have been.  To Gary "Pinky" Pincus, who is an absolute gem of a human being.  A businessman who has his heart in the right place all the time. An MFC Hall Of Famer who was Captain Clutch for us is a couple of games. It was a thrill to finally be his teammate for a week.  To Tara Zarcone, who has an incredible amount of enthusiasm and strives to be a better player for the good of the team. Who wouldn't want a teammate like that.  I taught her one of those multi-level hand shakes that the late Kirby Puckett taught me back when I worked of the Minnesota Twins.  After a day of it she had it down cold.  I hope she passes it along to someone and keeps it going.  To "Peppermint" Pat Mascarini, who caught every inning for us this week.  This, after already playing a full seven games LAST week.  He was frustrated early because after two games he'd had six or seven plate appearances and had either walked or been hit by a pitch in each and every one of them.  To Nicole "Nicky Love" Lee. A young lady who just turned the age old enough to qualify to even be here at camp. Another rookie, she pitched for the first time in her life and recorded a scoreless relief inning in her hurling debut.  Today in the pros game she struck out John Stearns and I told her that she now had something in common with Nolan Ryan.  Also during camp, she accepted a new job as an architect, so she had an amazing week.  She may never be the same again.  To Dean "Dean-O" Pflaum, another HOFer whom I had admired and respected for all of my previous years here at camp.  I got the chance to be his teammate and I tell you, it was worth the wait.  He's a class act with a great family and it's no wonder to this reporter as to why he's in the MFC Hall of Fame.  And also last but not least, Phil "Philly Dawg" Forman. My closest friend and brother at camp. An incredible talent and leader on the field but also off the field as well. Phil, too, was  in his second consecutive week of camp. The man can flat-out "Wilson Pick-it" as Keith Hernandez would say. He can do it all.  Pitch effectively, hit "like he wrote the book" as well as make the tough plays look easy and make the easy plays look easier still.  I can honestly say that I don't look forward to seeing anyone at camp more than I do this guy. I hadn't been his teammate since 2014 when we won it all, but he helped make this week an absolute pleasure.  I loves me some "Philly-Dawg".

One of the beautiful things I saw tonight, and as I have at every camp, is as I looked around the room I saw people from all walks of life. Different ages, different races, different genders, different political views, different religious views, different health issues, and other differences too numerous to name here.  But the one thing that bonded us all is the love of the New...York...Mets.  We are dyed-in-the-wool Mets fans, some of us since birth.  Others like Alan Herbert didn't even know who the Mets were when he took ownership of a Pedro Martinez #45 jersey a few years ago.  But that is our common bond.  We live is such tumultuous times right now.  I just wish that the comradeship that I saw in the room tonight could carry on to everyone from far and wide.  To be able to talk in respectful tones and not need to shout above one another.  To want to be the part of the greater good and to be compassionate to one another in times of need and stress.  It was a great experience and I'm glad that I was here for it.

It hardly seemed like twelve months had passed since the last time I cleaned it out.  Much has happened since then.  Some of it good, some of it not so good, and some of it downright awful.  But getting to hang out with people of this quality is something everyone should have the chance to do.  

Many of us will "reconvene" during the summer in New York for the reunion. The date is TBA based on the actual schedule of the New York Mets in Flushing.  Those reunions are glorious events where we get to pick up the last conversation with some people as though we saw them only 6 or 7 days earlier. Once again I will be able to see the childlike expressions on the faces of the rookies as we are introduced on the field and have our names announced on the public address system. And that's just the beginning of it....again.

Webster had a lot of words in his dictionary and Roget had a bunch in his thesaurus, but finding the right words to describe a week at fantasy camp is virtually impossible. A futile effort to say the least.  But I do know that saying that I loved every minute of it is a huge understatement.

Baseball. The Greatest Game Ever Invented.  

Thanks for spending the last few days with me.  I hope you enjoyed it.  

Do good, people.

The playoff run comes to a halt

A virtually cloudless sky greeted the campers today as we embarked upon day number three of this week's festivities.  I arrived a little later than I had wanted to, but I spent a little time on yesterday's blog entry before I left the hotel. Once again I had the same brekky that I have virtually every day.  "Brekky" is a term I picked up from my trips to Australia. But I like it and I bring it out once in a while just to change things up. 

At the "golden rope" presentation this morning I had a nomination for going 3-for-5 yesterday with a double.  I don't think much about my batting stats because this is a game where some of the greatest to play it actually fail 70% of the time.  That's why it is said that hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do in sports. I am more concerned about my defensive stats and helping my team keep our opponents from scoring if at all possible. I had my success yesterday mostly with a bat which says "Brent Gates- Oakland Athletics" on the end.  It is a product of my employment with the Minnesota Twins. Brent finished his career with the Twins, but the bat I have was actually inside of an equipment bag left behind by the Seattle Mariners for whom Gates played in 1997.  The bag contained four of Gates' bats and one from some guy named Alex Rodriguez. Apparently this Rodriguez fellow played for the M's at one time as well. I know not what ever became of his career, however.  Maybe I should Google it.

So this bat that I'm using would have to be at least 21 years old in that Gates last played for the A's in 1996.  It has served me well to this point, and hopefully it will continue to do just that.  

Our opening game today was against Mookie's Monsters, coached by Mookie Wilson, a member of the 1986 World Champs.  The game was going to mean absolutely nothing in the respect of who would make the playoffs and so we played it with that lack of intensity foremost in our collective minds.  After the their inning we were once again trailing by (any guesses? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?) yes, FIVE BLOODY RUNS! We fixed that by first scoring two to be down by three, and then finishing the game with the Monsters winning by a 13-9 score. But like I said earlier, this game meant virtually nothing to the overall scheme of things.  

After lunch we found out who our first round opponents in the playoffs would be. It turned out to be the Saber Met-Tricks whom we'd beaten 9-8 after scoring 6 in the bottom of the 7th inning.  

The game was tight from the opening pitch.  Phil Forman, currently in his 5th year and 7th week of camp was on the mound and he pitched a gem.  Not only did he allow only 5 hits but he drove in the only run of the game in the fourth inning on a double to the left field corner.  I played left field today and I will be the first to tell you that what I know about left field is how to get there from the dugout and how to get back to the dugout from there.  But I''m a "gamer" and will do whatever it takes for this team to finish on top.  I had two fly balls make their way out to my immediate vicinity and made the catch on both.  I singled in my second at bat and a made it to third with one out.  My coach instructed me that I was "going on contact" when the ball was hit.  Unfortunately it was hit to the third baseman who threw home to the catcher who make the tag on me. I boldly predict that that play will show up in a highlight reel from this week somewhere soon. 

The Kangaroo Court session was held tonight at the Island Club with Doug Flynn and Nelson Figueroa serving as our judges. As always, it was a laugh riot with everyone enjoying themselves.  The fines collected for various offenses, such as going to bat without a batting helmet on one's head, wearing the wrong uniform to the team photo session and showing up late for your game because you went back to the hotel to take a nap and overslept during the lunch break all go, this year, to a veteran's group which assists soldiers after they arrive back home from deployment.  Someone join the group even pledged that if they collected $2,500 tonight that they would match it for the charity.  Previous years have seen monies go to the Michael J. Fox foundation and the Gary Carter Foundation.  

So tomorrow will see us take the field at 9:30 am with a chance to go to the championship game at stake.  Sure, we'll be nervous, but so will they.  It should be a very good game to say the least.  Heck, after today, I'm not sure how much more some of us can take.  But it's right where we want to be.  And when it comes right down to it, isn't being "right where we want to be" one of the coolest things in the world? 

I knew you'd agree.  

With the Super Bowl only 11 days away and it's being played in the city in which I reside, Minneapolis, I leave you with this quote from former pitcher Jim Bouton:

"You want proof that baseball players are smarter than football players? How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field?"

It's a great game.  It truly is.

Cinderella was eaten by the big bad wolf early this morning on field 5 at the Mets Complex.  I know that those two characters don't actually exist in the same story, but how things could be different if they had, right?

After the usual start of the day, Lenny's Brides set off to take on the Saber Met-rics.  We were the visiting team as we were the 4 seed playing the 2 seed.  Things looked ominous in the bottom of the first inning when the Met-rics leadoff hitter hit a shot into the left center alley.  I got a decent but not great jump on it and it literally made contact with the ball with the tip of my glove.  I probably should have laid out for the play, but there may have been a call to the local medic shortly thereafter.

The batter made it to second but was stranded there and we took a shot at breaking the tie in the next inning.  We jumped out to a 3-0 lead shortly thereafter and knew that it would be a daunting task to keep the Met-rics to fewer runs than that.  They proved us to be correct by making fine defensive plays and their pitcher found his groove and kept us off balance for most of the remainder of the game.

With the number of outs available to us dwindling slowly and the determination of our opponents rising it was fairly evident that our "Cinderella story" was going to end like an episode of "Grimm".  We congratulated them after the final out was recorded and thanked each other for the efforts that had gotten us this far in the quest for a shot at a championship.  They were just a better team, plain and simple.  

We prepared to face our final opponent in the 2pm game. We had fun with the contest, even pulling the "fake baseball" trick on one of our veteran players, one Bobby Whelan.  I hear that it was pulled last week on someone and has become somewhat of a staple at camp in recent years.  For those do not know how this is done, an apple is wrapped, usually, in gauze tape.  Red stitches are drawn on to give it the illusion of being an actual Rawlings spheroid.  At some point in the action, someone gets the apple to the pitcher in exchange for or instead of the ball he formerly had.  I got to be the pitcher for this trick in 2013 when we pulled it on a guy named Mike Arunzullo.  Mike crushed the pitch and it was instant applesauce!  Now, in 2014, Arunzullo was again the target, but this time he was my teammate, in the process of leading us to a championship of our own.  So this made for my third "Mott's" experience.

The game was a close one and with one down in the 7th inning I came to the plate with the tying run at third.  I got down in the count early and swung through a pitch that I should have at least made contact on. The final out of the game followed after that and we'd dropped our final game by a one-run deficit.  

We gathered around and thanked each other for the fun we had had during the week and congratulated each other on our achievements.  I had the great fortune to play  with some fine people. I will go down the roster in a later post, but it was a thrill to play alongside each and every one of them.  

The championship game was to follow over at First Data Field. The Saber Met-rics vs Rocky's Raccoons.  The Raccoons jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first and added on a pair in the 5th. The final score was 5-0 and it was a well-deserved victory to say the least. I was especially pleased for a number of the Raccoons, such as my good friend Tom Formicola with whom I'm played with in past camps, and "Bobble Ed" Moore, who even though his team won in 2012, he was unable to play due to injury in the finals, so this was his first as an actual participant. Also, I had four other Raccoons who had closely-adjacent locker spots to mine whom I made friends with during the week.  All of them rookies, it was fun for me to watch them each day with the wonderment that I had during my rookie year.

After the championship game the campers all met over at Tutto Fresco, and Italian restaurant right near the hotel.  It was great to sit down with people whom I had not seen for much of the week during the week because we were on different fields so often.  I tried to pass along sage advice about what the experience of playing the pros tomorrow will be like.  The pros take this game rather seriously.  They got tied last week, and that was too close for comfort for them.  They actually got beaten in 2014 by the second-place team who were coached by one of my coaches for THIS year, one Lenny "All-Time" Harris.  As a matter of fact, a photo of their celebration at the pro game made the cover of the information brochure for the 2015 camp.  

I don't anticipate a chance to hit off of Doc Gooden this year, but "one never knows, do one?"  I forget where that quote is from, but it just seemed to fit right there.  The pro game will have plenty of food and beverage for all involved and they put out a fine spread in the Budweiser Tiki Bar behind third base. Tomorrow evening is the awards banquet where we hand out individual and team awards before dinner and have a great time before camp breaks and everyone heads back to their real lives.  

One full day to go.  Once again it has flown by like a comet, but I have been so pleased and blessed to be here with so many great people.  I've gotten so much great feedback from players about the blog and it means so much to me that I'm able to give them something to read even though they aren't able to be here or even they are.  Gary Pincus told me today that he sometimes reads them during the year to kinda take his mind back to these fun weeks for a few moments when you need a temporary escape from the day-to-day.  That was a huge compliment. I am finding out how my wife Bryn, a 14-time published author herself, feels when people tell her how much they enjoy her work.  

My English teachers in high school in Connecticut would be shocked and amazed.  They should be, because I have no idea where this stuff is coming from. I'm just glad that it is.

 Rusch Hour has started

Day 3 started like the first two. A little brekky in the morning and then we broke to go to the fourplex for photos. We took a couple of the entire group and then we did individual pix with the coaching staff. Our first game was played on the turf field. The field is entirely turf except for the pitchers mound. All of the base paths and the areas around the there bases and home are turf as well. This didn't deter us from putting up a very good effort in a game which saw Seth Carini wheel and deal us through the first six innings of a game which we dominated from the start.

I had two hits myself in the game, a wristed liner to center and solid line drive to right. The hit to right felt better to me because it was the result of my plan when I went to the plate. Lenny Harris taught me years ago that when you get to the place you need to "have a plan. If you get to a place where there are two strikes on you, scrap the plan and try to get a base hit without it. "Scrap" was not the original term he used when he explained this theory to me, but I got the point.

So I went 2-for-4 on the game as in my other two at bats I hit balls which traveled a combined distance of 9-1/2 feet. So it was kind of an all or nothing situation to say the least. 

Game 2 was on field 1. Field 1, which used to be field 7, is made to the same dimensions as Citi Field in New York. The field re-numbering was done by current Mets manager Buck Showalter last year. Kinda makes sense in that the four fields that you come to as you leave the clubhouse used to be numbered 4-7 for some reason, not 1-4. 

We got off to another fast start in this game. Everyone contributed. Top to bottom. My new glove has even worked pretty well this week. I had a bit of an issue with my fielding in 2019 when I was also coached by Figgy. We turned in some very nice defensive plays today. A double play that was major-league caliber from Sean Gagnon and Paul Isserles. I even got into the mix as I stretched far to my right to lasso an errant throw to end an inning when the game was still very much up for grabs. I followed immediately by leading off the bottom of the inning by hitting a frozen rope off the glove of the third baseman. I later scored another run. I think I reached base 5 of the six plate appearances I had in game 2. Seth Carini hit a ball toward the left center field alley that missed clearing fence by 4 feet. It must've traveled about 380 feet. 

I decided that since we were wearing our stark white jerseys for game 2, I'd wear my "old school" stirrups (not the ones sewn onto the white socks) and along with my vintage Reggie Jackson Puma cleats I was stepping back in time. I'm not sure if they had anything to do with our results in game 2, but I'm not going to give them a little credit.

But the biggest thrill I had was seeing Justin Vogt pitch a complete game with his father catching. When the final out was recorded they each ran towards each other and embraced as only a father and son could as adults. Never having kids of my own and never having a similar event with my own father, I was enjoying seeing this moment from a distance. I know it will be talked about by each of them for a long time to come. I'm glad that I was a part of it. 

Tonight was Casino Night at Clover park for the campers. They set up poker, blackjack and roulette tables and we spend "Monopoly money" which can be used toward coupons which will let us bid on as many as around 20 autographed items. As I did last at last year's Casino Night, I broke out my Mets polyester suit. The guys thought is was great. Those who know me know that wearing such a piece of clothing is not like me whatsoever, surprising a bunch of people.

Those of you who were in high anticipation about my gold rope nomination need to slow your roll a bit. I sat up from purposely in order to be close to the awarding location. But the brown rope actually went to a pitcher who gave up 8 runs on 1 base hit in the game in which I played yesterday afternoon. I believe he hit a couple of batters, one of whom was yours truly. So it wasn't the result I'd expected. But trust me on this, Judges Bobby Wine and Doug Flynn will be on my case tomorrow in Kangaroo Court.

Tomorrow's games? Who knows right now. There are many different scenarios which would give us a bye in the first round of the playoffs. But even Figgy didn't know what time we might play tomorrow. So we're just gonna "wing it", I guess. 

We've won 3 of our first four games and we are 'hittin'and stickin' like Mama's fried chicken" right now. We're edging closer to our goal.

To all of you players who have told me how much you enjoy these daily blog entries, I appreciate it. 

Do good things, people.  Talk to you tomorrow.

The playoff run takes shape

A virtually cloudless sky greeted the campers today as we embarked upon day number three of this week's festivities.  I arrived a little later than I had wanted to, but I spent a little time on yesterday's blog entry before I left the hotel. Once again I had the same brekky that I have virtually every day.  "Brekky" is a term I picked up from my trips to Australia. But I like it and I bring it out once in a while just to change things up. 

At the "golden rope" presentation this morning I had a nomination for going 3-for-5 yesterday with a double.  I don't think much about my batting stats because this is a game where some of the greatest to play it actually fail 70% of the time.  That's why it is said that hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do in sports. I am more concerned about my defensive stats and helping my team keep our opponents from scoring if at all possible. I had my success yesterday mostly with a bat which says "Brent Gates- Oakland Athletics" on the end.  It is a product of my employment with the Minnesota Twins. Brent finished his career with the Twins, but the bat I have was actually inside of an equipment bag left behind by the Seattle Mariners for whom Gates played in 1997.  The bag contained four of Gates' bats and one from some guy named Alex Rodriguez. Apparently this Rodriguez fellow played for the M's at one time as well. I know not what ever became of his career, however.  Maybe I should Google it.

So this bat that I'm using would have to be at least 21 years old in that Gates last played for the A's in 1996.  It has served me well to this point, and hopefully it will continue to do just that.  

Our opening game today was against Mookie's Monsters, coached by Mookie Wilson, a member of the 1986 World Champs.  The game was going to mean absolutely nothing in the respect of who would make the playoffs and so we played it with that lack of intensity foremost in our collective minds.  After the their inning we were once again trailing by (any guesses? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?) yes, FIVE BLOODY RUNS! We fixed that by first scoring two to be down by three, and then finishing the game with the Monsters winning by a 13-9 score. But like I said earlier, this game meant virtually nothing to the overall scheme of things.  

After lunch we found out who our first round opponents in the playoffs would be. It turned out to be the Saber Met-Tricks whom we'd beaten 9-8 after scoring 6 in the bottom of the 7th inning.  

The game was tight from the opening pitch.  Phil Forman, currently in his 5th year and 7th week of camp was on the mound and he pitched a gem.  Not only did he allow only 5 hits but he drove in the only run of the game in the fourth inning on a double to the left field corner.  I played left field today and I will be the first to tell you that what I know about left field is how to get there from the dugout and how to get back to the dugout from there.  But I''m a "gamer" and will do whatever it takes for this team to finish on top.  I had two fly balls make their way out to my immediate vicinity and made the catch on both.  I singled in my second at bat and a made it to third with one out.  My coach instructed me that I was "going on contact" when the ball was hit.  Unfortunately it was hit to the third baseman who threw home to the catcher who make the tag on me. I boldly predict that that play will show up in a highlight reel from this week somewhere soon. 

The Kangaroo Court session was held tonight at the Island Club with Doug Flynn and Nelson Figueroa serving as our judges. As always, it was a laugh riot with everyone enjoying themselves.  The fines collected for various offenses, such as going to bat without a batting helmet on one's head, wearing the wrong uniform to the team photo session and showing up late for your game because you went back to the hotel to take a nap and overslept during the lunch break all go, this year, to a veteran's group which assists soldiers after they arrive back home from deployment.  Someone join the group even pledged that if they collected $2,500 tonight that they would match it for the charity.  Previous years have seen monies go to the Michael J. Fox foundation and the Gary Carter Foundation.  

So tomorrow will see us take the field at 9:30 am with a chance to go to the championship game at stake.  Sure, we'll be nervous, but so will they.  It should be a very good game to say the least.  Heck, after today, I'm not sure how much more some of us can take.  But it's right where we want to be.  And when it comes right down to it, isn't being "right where we want to be" one of the coolest things in the world? 

I knew you'd agree.  

With the Super Bowl only 11 days away and it's being played in the city in which I reside, Minneapolis, I leave you with this quote from former pitcher Jim Bouton:

"You want proof that baseball players are smarter than football players? How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field?"

It's a great game.  It truly is.

5-run lead. WHAT 5-run lead?

There's a scene in the movie, "The Rookie", starring Dennis Quaid where he's in the bathroom area of the clubhouse of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  In this scene he looks in the mirror and says to a teammate standing next to him, "Ya know what we get to do today, Brooks?............We get to play baseball." It's one of the coolest lines in film, as far as I'm concerned.  

2018 New York Mets Fantasy Camp is now underway.  I'm playing catch-up right now, as I have not had an opportunity to give any pre-camp information.  My trip to camp this year has seen me change weeks from week 1 to week 2.  The group of campers has changed almost entirely, excluding a half dozen or so who are here for, believe it or not, BOTH weeks.

I arrived in the south Florida area on Saturday evening.  The drive north on I-95 was fast.  How fast? How about 100 miles in 80 minutes-fast. Even for me, that's a brisk pace.  I saw a couple of players in the lobby of the Hilton Garden Inn and then checked in to my room.  I was pretty beat and looked forward to getting to the complex on Sunday afternoon to really have it all get real to me.

Sunday afternoon arrived and I made my way to the Mets' spring training complex.  My locker had actually moved from its original location of week 1 to a different section for week 2.  I saw my new uniforms, this year showing a new number, 10, on the back.  I changed to 10 this year in honor of now-former Mets manager, Terry Collins, who retired following the 2017 season.  Since players can only show their actual last names on the backs of their uniforms (no nicknames allowed) I would be the only one who could actually display the name "Collins" over the number 10.  So that's what I've done. I also added a Minnesota Vikings jersey as my favorite NFL team will be playing in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday following the Minneapolis Miracle win over New Orleans just the other day. 

I made my way out to the fields where I did some fielding practice and two rounds of batting practice before I left around 2pm. I needed to get to the hotel in order to prepare for a drive north to Kissimmee for the memorial service for my cousin, Kimberly, who passed away after a 17-year battle with breast cancer on December 17th at the age of 58.  

This would prevent me from attending the welcome dinner for the campers this year.  Given the facts that the welcome dinner is really designed for rookies and that my brother would be arriving from San Francisco, I couldn't let the opportunity to see him pass me by.  

I left the hotel this morning about 7:30 and made my way to the dining room for a little brekky.  I was disappointed that there was no bacon on today's bill of fare, but settled for sausage patty, grits and toast.  For those of you who have not had grits before, they're a southern thing, but I had them fairly often as a kid in Connecticut. I once heard a comedian say that grits, if left too long in a bowl, will multiply.  I'm not sure this is true, but it's not that far-fetched of a theory.

I put my uniform on for the first time this year and headed for the tent for the morning meeting.  After a rundown of the day's events, it was time to head out for some stretches and exercises.  Usually referred to as "the morning drag", it was much more enjoyable in my current weight class.  From there we moved to the fields for evaluations which would form the information needed for this afternoon's player draft.  

After the lunch break, the draft results were announced.  Unlike previous years, the draft results were real aloud to the group, with each coach taking the mic and reading his list of players and announcing the name of his respective team. I awaited the calling of my name and found myself on the team coached by Kevin Baez and Lenny "All-Time" Harris.  He's called "All-Time" as he is the all-time leader in pinch hits in major league history.  If you don't think he's proud of this distinction, think again.  Deservedly so, however.

Our team is called Lenny's Brides, as he was actually absent from the aforementioned draft as he needed to attend a wedding ceremony here in the state. We quickly assembled the group along with Kevin Baez, introduced ourselves by name and where we are from.  We reconvened at the field where we prepared for game 1 versus a the team known as Fair & Honest.  

We jumped to a quick 5-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning.  From there we pretty much coasted.  Our number 1 and 2 batters went a combined 8-for-8 with two walks.  It's far easier to score runs when the top of your order produces like that.  I went 1-for-4 myself and my only hit traveled about 88 feet in length.  It was a swinging bunt down the third base line, essentially, but it scored a run and I reached base.  I scored one run and we went on to top our opponents by a 13-3 score. 

Tomorrow's games should be more of a challenge. 

Tonight we had dinner in the hotel's restaurant as a team with our coaches and it was nice to learn more about my teammates. My team is predicted to finish 6th in an 8-team camp.  We probably have more veterans on one team (6) than any other team.  But our goal is to prove our detractors wrong and make them  eat their words.  And tomorrow that goal will be foremost on our minds.

I walked out to the field for game 1 with "Beautiful Day" by U2 in my head. Because that's what it was.  The weather back home in Minneapolis is dreadful but here the temperature is in the low 70s.  There's rain in the overnight forecast but nothing for the remainder of the week.  

While I was playing first base today I thought that if this place were a scene from "Field of Dreams" and Shoeless Joe Jackson asked me if this were heaven, my response to him would be, "You could say that, Joe.  You could say that".

In hockey, it is often said that a 2-goal lead is the worst lead to have.  Your team tends to sit back, killing time, because they know that, basically, they have a goal to spare and they would STILL have the lead.  Oh so often not only do they allow the goal that brings the deficit to one, but they very often allow the game-tying goal before the game concludes.  

With that in mind we take a look at the day that was- Tuesday, January 23rd.  

The day began much like yesterday's did.  There indeed WAS bacon on the bill of fare this morning.  After the usual (remember, baseball players are a very superstitious lot.  You stick with what works until........until it no longer works). 

We had team photos over at First Data Field (formerly Thomas J. White Stadium, formerly Tradition Field, formerly Digital Domain formerly Mets Stadium). On the way over, my group of about 15, including Dwight Golden, noticed that there were some guys working out in the cages next to the stadium.  He recognized that one of them was Yoenis Cespedes. Dwight wandered over in an attempt to have "La Potencia" meet us.  Cespedes graciously came over to see us for a short visit.  He shook hands with about a dozen or so of us, myself included.  After that excitement, team photos were taken and it was off to the fields for Game 2 of the week.

Our game against Mookie's Monsters was a see-saw affair.  We held the lead for most of the game, but the Monsters would not let up.  The game was tied at 8 when the Monsters had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the 7th.  With the infield in, looking to convert an innings-ending double play, the batter strokes a pitch high over my head into the right field corner, clearing the bases and scores himself to go up 12-8. Another insurance run scored to make the score 13-8 as we came to bat.  We knew that we had our work cut out for us but we pieced together a few walks to start our half of the final frame.  The second batter walked to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no out.  I pinch-ran at 1st base and as I took my lead I said to coach Lenny Harris, in the same jingle-tone as Peyton Manning in the  Nationwide insurance commercials, "Epic comeback starts right here".

I was forced out on a ground ball and returned to the bench, but we had kept the inning alive with a few clutch walks and some timely base hits.  At one point the score was 13-11 as I came to the plate with one out. I got ahead in the count 2-1 and looked for a pitch to drill.  I got one but hit it on top and hit a a ground ball toward the hole between third and short.  I literally stepped on the handle of my bat as I headed toward first base.  The throw to the first baseman was low and skipped past him and rolled to the side fence as I took off for second base.  The tying run had just scored and I was now on second base.  The winning run was now on third and I was merely a spectator with a great seat for the end of this ballgame.  Our next batter, Gary Pincus, got a pitch to hit and laced one over my head and the game had been won.  I touched third and ran home to be part of the celebration.  We had come back from a 5-run deficit and were now 2-0 on the week! 

We had but little time to revel in our success as the afternoon game, game 3, would start after lunch, in about 90 minutes. 

Game 3 was tight from the start we actually led most of the way but never were in control of things in a comfortable fashion.  A couple of fielding mishaps by yours truly did not help things for the Brides.  Once again in the late innings we found ourselves trailing by, you guessed it, 5 runs.   

In the top of the 6th I batted with one out and the bases loaded.  I got a good pitch to hit and popped it up to the pitcher.  I had wanted to hit in that situation and had the opportunity, only to come up short and not even advance a runner. The seventh inning started with the score 8-3 in favor of our opponents.  We once again strung together some good at bats which produced a couple of runs to get us closer.  The beauty of this game is that, like life itself, you get a second or even third chance to redeem one's self and this game would be no different for myself.  I came to the plate with the score 8-5 and runners on second and first . I wanted to crush a pitch so badly that I could taste it. A 2-1 count produced a crushable pitch and I did just that over the head of the left fielder.  The lead runner scored and was closely followed by the trailing runner.  The arrived at home plate almost simultaneously, with the lead runner scoring on a slide but preventing the trailing runner from scoring as now home plate was no longer accessible for touching.  I stopped at second, even though I should have kept onto third during the confusion, but we were now down 8-7.  Once again Pincus hit a ball in the hole that was not fielded cleanly and I scored from second to tie the score at 8! Incredibly, we had once again come back from 5 runs down! We were ecstatic, but we still had work to do.  

The bottom of the 7th was a nail-biter. The Saber-Met Tricks got the first two batters on but we got two outs without a run scoring and looked to move on to inning number 8. But that was not to be the case as our opponents managed to score the game-winner with two outs and our attempt to "repeat the feat" had been put to rest.  The games showed that this team, no matter how beaten up and no matter our talent level will not give up under any circumstances and that we will be a force to be reckoned with as we head toward a potential playoff run.  

Tomorrow Lenny's Brides are right back at it bright and early.  We issue this warning to our future opponents. A 5-run lead isn't gonna be enough to make us go away.  It's gonna take at least 15.

2018 Camp. Scene 1.

There's a scene in the movie, "The Rookie", starring Dennis Quaid where he's in the bathroom area of the clubhouse of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  In this scene he looks in the mirror and says to a teammate standing next to him, "Ya know what we get to do today, Brooks?............We get to play baseball." It's one of the coolest lines in film, as far as I'm concerned.  

2018 New York Mets Fantasy Camp is now underway.  I'm playing catch-up right now, as I have not had an opportunity to give any pre-camp information.  My trip to camp this year has seen me change weeks from week 1 to week 2.  The group of campers has changed almost entirely, excluding a half dozen or so who are here for, believe it or not, BOTH weeks.

I arrived in the south Florida area on Saturday evening.  The drive north on I-95 was fast.  How fast? How about 100 miles in 80 minutes-fast. Even for me, that's a brisk pace.  I saw a couple of players in the lobby of the Hilton Garden Inn and then checked in to my room.  I was pretty beat and looked forward to getting to the complex on Sunday afternoon to really have it all get real to me.

Sunday afternoon arrived and I made my way to the Mets' spring training complex.  My locker had actually moved from its original location of week 1 to a different section for week 2.  I saw my new uniforms, this year showing a new number, 10, on the back.  I changed to 10 this year in honor of now-former Mets manager, Terry Collins, who retired following the 2017 season.  Since players can only show their actual last names on the backs of their uniforms (no nicknames allowed) I would be the only one who could actually display the name "Collins" over the number 10.  So that's what I've done. I also added a Minnesota Vikings jersey as my favorite NFL team will be playing in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday following the Minneapolis Miracle win over New Orleans just the other day. 

I made my way out to the fields where I did some fielding practice and two rounds of batting practice before I left around 2pm. I needed to get to the hotel in order to prepare for a drive north to Kissimmee for the memorial service for my cousin, Kimberly, who passed away after a 17-year battle with breast cancer on December 17th at the age of 58.  

This would prevent me from attending the welcome dinner for the campers this year.  Given the facts that the welcome dinner is really designed for rookies and that my brother would be arriving from San Francisco, I couldn't let the opportunity to see him pass me by.  

I left the hotel this morning about 7:30 and made my way to the dining room for a little brekky.  I was disappointed that there was no bacon on today's bill of fare, but settled for sausage patty, grits and toast.  For those of you who have not had grits before, they're a southern thing, but I had them fairly often as a kid in Connecticut. I once heard a comedian say that grits, if left too long in a bowl, will multiply.  I'm not sure this is true, but it's not that far-fetched of a theory.

I put my uniform on for the first time this year and headed for the tent for the morning meeting.  After a rundown of the day's events, it was time to head out for some stretches and exercises.  Usually referred to as "the morning drag", it was much more enjoyable in my current weight class.  From there we moved to the fields for evaluations which would form the information needed for this afternoon's player draft.  

After the lunch break, the draft results were announced.  Unlike previous years, the draft results were real aloud to the group, with each coach taking the mic and reading his list of players and announcing the name of his respective team. I awaited the calling of my name and found myself on the team coached by Kevin Baez and Lenny "All-Time" Harris.  He's called "All-Time" as he is the all-time leader in pinch hits in major league history.  If you don't think he's proud of this distinction, think again.  Deservedly so, however.

Our team is called Lenny's Brides, as he was actually absent from the aforementioned draft as he needed to attend a wedding ceremony here in the state. We quickly assembled the group along with Kevin Baez, introduced ourselves by name and where we are from.  We reconvened at the field where we prepared for game 1 versus a the team known as Fair & Honest.  

We jumped to a quick 5-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning.  From there we pretty much coasted.  Our number 1 and 2 batters went a combined 8-for-8 with two walks.  It's far easier to score runs when the top of your order produces like that.  I went 1-for-4 myself and my only hit traveled about 88 feet in length.  It was a swinging bunt down the third base line, essentially, but it scored a run and I reached base.  I scored one run and we went on to top our opponents by a 13-3 score. 

Tomorrow's games should be more of a challenge. 

Tonight we had dinner in the hotel's restaurant as a team with our coaches and it was nice to learn more about my teammates. My team is predicted to finish 6th in an 8-team camp.  We probably have more veterans on one team (6) than any other team.  But our goal is to prove our detractors wrong and make them  eat their words.  And tomorrow that goal will be foremost on our minds.

I walked out to the field for game 1 with "Beautiful Day" by U2 in my head. Because that's what it was.  The weather back home in Minneapolis is dreadful but here the temperature is in the low 70s.  There's rain in the overnight forecast but nothing for the remainder of the week.  

While I was playing first base today I thought that if this place were a scene from "Field of Dreams" and Shoeless Joe Jackson asked me if this were heaven, my response to him would be, "You could say that, Joe.  You could say that".