Spring Training...and Other Travlin' Thoughts

For those of you who may be wondering where I have been for the last several days, the picture above should tell you all you need to know. Marilyn and I took off last Tuesday and headed down to Long Boat Key, a barrrier island situated halfway between Sarasota and Bradenton, Florida, and took in some Spring Training baseball.

Thanks to Bucco Prez Frank Coonelly, we had prime seats for the Pirates-Blue Jays on Wednesday and Pirates-Orioles on St. Patrick's Day. Second row, right behind the Bucs dugout. You could almost reach out and touch the batters in the on deck circle, as the pictures below will attest.

And if you are lucky enough to be a Grapefruit League game on March 17, you can see the Bucs wearing their once-a-year green caps. You may even get the new Skipper to tip his hat to you!

As for the games themselves, we were fortunate to see the Pirates start their Opening Day line-ups both days, including starting pitchers Paul Maholm and Ross Ohlendorf. In fact, the only projected regular we did not see was catcher Chris Snyder, who was sitting out both games with some sort of tweak. (On the bright side, we did see Snyder field a foul ball hit into the dugout and then roll it over the dugout roof to a kid with a glove sitting in front of us. So, kuddos the Snyder for this fan- and kid-friendly gesture!)

We also got to see Neil Walker belt a home run and Andrew McCutchen lace a gap shot double in one game. Watching Cutch steaming around the bases is one of the more fun things you can see at a ball game. Unfortunately, we also saw Maholm give up a four run inning to the Jays and Ohlendorf yield a six run inning to the O's, and both of these innings led to Pirates losses.

As we left McKechnie Field on Thursday, Marilyn said she wondered if what we saw was a preview of what we would be seeing at PNC Park in the season ahead. Unless the Pirates can manage to score about eight runs a game, I do fear that the mediocrity of the starting pitching could indeed cause us to see much of the same as we saw in Bradenton last week.

But, hey, what the hell...these were spring training exhibition games!!! Who really cares if you win or lose? It was just great to be at baseball game in gorgeous Florida sunshine!

Speaking of that Florida sunshine, we could not have asked for better weather. Temps in the high 70's each day, breezy, and not a cloud in the sky. Chamber of Commerce perfect!

Some other comments and observations about the trip....

• We flew on AirTran for the first time and give them a solid "A." All four flights (Pgh-Atlanta, Atlanta-Sarasota each way) were on time. No delays. Perfect.
• When checking our bag (which cost us $20, btw) on the flight home, we were found to be six pounds overweight. We could have checked it through for an additional $49. Instead, we made quite a picture at the Sarasota Airport check-in opening our suitcase and pulling stuff out to cram into our carry-ons. We made it with a half-pound to spare!
• Forty-nine bucks! It would have been cheaper to pack a second bag and pay whatever they were extorting, er, excuse me, charging for a second bag!
• It had been 18 months since we've traveled by plane, and AirTran's good performance aside, air travel really is a pain. I understand why this is so in these times we live, but it is still a pain.
• We stayed at the Hilton Resort Hotel on Longboat Key, which we learned is the last actual hotel on Longboat Key. The rest of the place is now given over to luxury condos.
• Very nice pool at the Hilton, but we did encounter a Sopranos-like moment. Early one morning as we sat on the side of the pool, two ducks flew in and landed in the pool! As soon as I got home today, I made an appointment for myslef with Dr. Melfi!!
• Friday evening we decided to walk up to the beach to sit for a spell, and when we opened our room door, we almost collided with a young lady in a wedding dress. Turns out there was a wedding on the beach about to take place! I wish I knew where the happy couple lives, because I got some great pictures of the Happy Event.
• Had some great meals down there, but our favorite was in a little bar in Bradenton Beach called the Bridge Tender Inn. Open air seating, ice cold beer, great food, a guy with a guitar singing 60's era music. An absolutely perfect seashore place.
• It also happened that the Bridge Tender is owned by a guy from Wisconsin and the place is covered with Packers memorabilia. I told the guy that we were Steelers fans but we were going to stay and eat anyway! Ended up having a nice conversation with the guy, and that just added to the zietgiest of the moment.
• As for the singer, if you travel to beach towns like this, you have seen the same kind of guy. He was in his 50's with a David Crosby mustache and a gray ponytail. There are hundreds of guys like this. What is his story? Is singing Jimmy Buffett and James Taylor songs for tips how he supports himself? Or, did he play in a band forty years ago and now works in a square 9-to-5 office job, and singing in a bar with a tip jar is how he recaptures his past when he was REALLY happy?
• We watched the sun set into the Gulf of Mexico for four nights in a row. Spectacular!
• I found myself to be hopelessly out of it by traveling without either an iPad or a Smart Phone of some type. It seems that everyone is now connected all of the time.
• That included the jackwagon at the pool one morning who was kind enough to share his office conference call with everyone at poolside. There oughtta be a law against that.
• Coming home last night, we had a three hour layover in Atlanta, which we learned is now the busiest airport in the world. Talk about people watching heaven! You wouldn't think an airport would be all that busy from 7:30 to 11:00 on a Saturday night, but Hartsfield Airport sure was.
• Contrast that scene to arriving at 12:15 on a Saturday night/Sunday morning in Pittsburgh. I believe that we were one of two flights arrriving at that time. It was ghost town.
• A word about Frank Coonelly here. As CEO of the Pirates, he takes a lot of heat, and not without some justification, for the performance of the team, but he could not have been nicer to Marilyn and I during our trip. I've gotten to know Frank due to my SABR connections, and let's face it, that is just a glorified fan club. Yet Coonelly was giving us the same kind of treatment - almost - as he was also giving during one game to Sy Holzer, Chip Ganassi, and Tom Reich, guys of considerably more import to the Pirates than Marilyn and Bob Sproule. There are a lot of reasons that I root for the Pirates, and not the least of them is being able to see Frank Coonelly succeed!
• At the risk of slipping into an advanced state of Geezerhood here, I note that there was no loud, ear-splitting music during every stoppage in play and between innings at the games at McKechnie, and the absence of this was absolutely delightful.
• I enjoyed running into SABR buddy Ed Luteran at the game on Thursday. Ed now lives in Winter Haven and works as an official scorer for Florida State League games. Ed is hoping for a visit to Pittsburgh in the fall, which could call for an impromteau Hot Stove Night for some of the SABR guys.
• Having a Kindle sure makes travel easier for the reader. On the down side, you have to turn it off when the airplane is taxiing, taking off, and landing.
• Read a thriller called "They're Watching" by some guy named Gregg Hurwitz. Don't bother with it.
• Started reading the new book "56" by Kostya Kennedy about the Joe DiMaggio hitting streak. Am about 25% into it, and it's a good one. I'll give it a fuller review when I'm finished with it.
• All in all a great trip, but, as always, it's good to be home once again. It is even better to be home from vacation and not have to worry about getting up for work tomorrow!