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Sunday - May 14, 2006

Final home stand

'Got the the park about 45 minutes early today. I was thinking that was mistake as I walked in...what with there being a double-header and all. (Long long day ahead...ack!) But, what the heck? It was the last home stand of the regular season. I watched the Patriots take batting practice. Then, I watched both teams go through their infield drills. And, I checked things out 'round the top of the stands to see how they could possibly hope to include luxury/sky boxes when they do the renovations without taking the roof off the place. And, you know what? I do think there's room to add them around the outside of the stands after all. If they take out the top row of seats and knock out the concrete behind them, there's probably about 5 feet of clearance for windows. That's plenty of space. So...I mostly take it all back. Well, the part about the sky boxes at any rate. Heh.

Shortly after the starting line-ups were announced, Jan came up to say "hi" and accuse me of being "caustic" on this here web page. Me? Caustic? I don't think so.

Anyway, as I was watching the Patriots taking batting practice I noticed something that really cracked me up. If you looked at the photos I took when Nebraska came to town, you might've noticed my comment on the first page of photos under the fourth photo. The comment about the fence. Guess what? Someone bought some green duct tape. Well, it's green. May not be duct tape. And, did quite a bit of patch work on the fence. It's hysterical. I can't decide if it looks better or worse. The problem is that the tape is a much brighter shade of green than the fence material. So, for the most part, it really stands out. Honestly, I can't decide if the holes or the patches are worse. Either way, it's pretty funny. Sadly, I did not have my camera with me. None of my seat buddies had cameras either. I may have to make a special stop tomorrow at the park to get a photo or two for y'all. 'Cause, really...it's pretty noteworthy. UPDATE (added late Sunday night). By the way, I want to make it clear that I don't think the patches were made due to what I wrote on the photo page. I know the chances of that being the case are very very tiny. The timing of the whole thing just struck me as being terribly funny.

Today was Senior Day. Which is a big deal. Before the start of the first game, they made an announcement over the PA system that they were set to introduce the Senior Class of 2006. So, we all got ready for the introductions. Out come a couple of student trainer types. Clap clap. Up next: Hunter Harris. Woo hoo! And, Bryan Herrera. Woo hoo! And... That's it. Two senior players. Heh. I think there were three last year. Our team's just too damn good. All the juniors keep getting drafted and moving on. That's a good thing, right? Right.

And then the game started. I was keeping score and we all noticed a young man hovering over my shoulder. Yes? He informed me that I'd been pre-selected (Dad enjoyed the "pre-selected" part a lot) to be the recipient of the "Fan of the Day" prize from Advantage Rent-A-Car. I was rather busy trying to keep score as he asked for my seat number and told me they'd be making the announcement in the 2nd inning and I'd have to stand up and wave at the camera when he came back to make the presentation. I asked why I'd been selected but he ignored my question and told me to make sure I waved at the camera. And, he disappeared. And, sure enough, at the appropriate time, my seat number was announced. I stood up and waved at the camera. And, he gave me a piece of paper explaining what I had to do to get my free car rental (single day, for those of you that care). I asked him again, why I'd been selected and he said it was because I looked "enthusiastic." Hmmm... Jan came up again to say that she was sure the whole thing was rigged and that I'd been selected as some sort of appeasement. She seems to think someone is trying to bribe me into being less "caustic" on this here web page. I think she's off her rocker. But, then...what do I know?

So, yes...I stuck around for both games. All 18 innings. As did Esther and Michael. Dad, Jennie, Eddie, and most of the rest of the crowd (yes, that includes Jan) did not. They all drifted away. So, they missed Bryan Herrera get into the game. His last regular-season home game. It was a long day. The day before Mother's Day, no less. Lots of folks had conflicting plans or just couldn't take the heat for so long. Anyway, I guess I did deserve that "Fan of the Day" prize, right? Heh. Okay...game reports coming soon. Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 2:08 AM