Greetings from Goodyear where it's sunny, 80 degrees, and life is good. Even an 11-5 buttwupping from the Rangers today can't harsh my mellow. Bad baseball is better than no baseball at all.
Random reflections on the day:
--No batting practice on the back fields today because the team returned from Scottsdale after midnight last night. Did get to see pitchers loosening up on the field. Said hello to Jon Lamb and Drew Hayes. Also saw Cozart fielding grounders.
--I know this is a first-world problem, but the cost at the gate for a lawn ticket was $9 instead of the normal $8 because it was purchased the day of the game. Silly surcharge by my way of thinking.
--Small crowd, so I sat where I wanted in the shade behind the plate.
--All the Reds runs came in the 9th inning from the C squad. By that time I was sitting right behind the dugout. Fun to watch the youngsters rally.
--No Reds pitcher looked good today. Mattheus and Cotham in particular got waxed.
--Nice throw from Yorman in right field to get Choo out trying to take third.
--Speaking of Choo, he got warm pre-game greetings from Bruce, Votto, and Price. So did Adrian Beltre (not sure of the connection there) and Drew Stubbs.
--Speaking of Stubbs, he chased and missed two high pitches in a row and then caught up with the third one, launching it for a long home run which landed....(wait for it...) at the base of the light tower. I'm not making this up.
Okay, that's about it for today. I'll keep this thread running while I'm in AZ and will add to it tomorrow after I return from watching the Reds battle the Rockies at Salt River Fields. Looking forward to some good eating in Scottsdale tomorrow, too. (BTW, we went to Raul and Theresa's last night for a great meal--I know Amy and Champ enjoy that place too.)