Opening Day

Opening Day!

Sixteenth Opening day at this stadium. Fourth opening day as the Triple A Affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Fifty-somethingth opening day of the franchise.

God bless baseball.

The day started out overcast and cold, then gradually morphed to sunny and cold. What a difference from last year's rain delay/rain out. We met Sandee & Anthony in the parking lot and handed off the jackets we purchased for them back in October. It was a good day for warm clothes.

There are lots of differences from last year. One of the first ones is the absence of the horse, replaced by the Welcome to Chiefsville sign. I didn't understand the concept of Chiefsville until I entered the stadium and saw all of the changes.

TV Stevie went to the new food preview earlier this week and told me that lots of things had changed with the new concessionaires. He didn't tell me about the face lifts given to all the food stands. All of the food sites have been renamed as places in Chiefsville. I love the concept and what I saw today really works. The inside of the stadium is now like a community. I think it's great branding.

The ice cream stand has a new name.

Guess what this concession sells?

We didn't eat at the stadium today, but we did wander about looking at all the new choices. The prices have gone up from last year, but word is the food is better.

Another highly visible change was the absence of the old scoreboard. There's a small, temporary scoreboard in right field. The new scoreboard should be in place in five weeks. According to the announcer at today's game, it will be the largest scoreboard in the International League. Woo-hoo! We deserve a fabulous scoreboard. 

The old scoreboard frame.

There were plenty of familiar faces: Bill DeLapp from the Syracuse New Times, Tim Fox, Maven (and his Rochester Guests), XGMan, Sandee, Anthony, Danny-the-Usher, K-Daddy. Eventually we saw Sehl and other folks we've come to know.  Dave Anthony returns as the in-game announcer. He looked for the drink cup holder, but it was hidden behind the bunting.  

The only notable absence was Suspect. He's been a fixture at the stadium for years. We hope he's all right.

Syracuse New Times' Bill DeLapp

There aren't too many players from last year on this year's roster: 

• Seth Bynum 
• Corey Brown (who switched numbers and is now using Michael Aubry's 10)
• Jhonatan Solano
• Carlos Maldonado
• Atahualpa Severino
• Yuneski Maya
• Josh Wilkie

As Sandee said, it's going to be tough for a month or so until we get to know the new players, especially without a scoreboard.

Fortunately, Doug Logan read the starting line-ups slow enough that people could write them down. Frequently that is not the case.

I realized after the fact that I should have snapped a photo of the entire team on the field after they were introduced, but I didn't. 

The team wore new jerseys, with an older logo on them. Very nice. 

As usual, there were fireworks during the national anthem, a lovely touch of rockets red glare, bombs bursting in air and all. Then someone had to clean the debris off the field before the game. 

The Taco Bell K-Man struck out in the first inning. 

We noticed that the new RF was having  issues, and decided it was because he's not used to the dimensions of the stadium yet. 

There are two "big news" stories with the Chiefs this week. John Lannan was sent down from the Nats, which is a really bizarre move on the Nats' part, but we're happy to have him even for a game. Rumor has it he's slated to pitch on Sunday.

The other "big news" story is Bryce Harper made his Triple A debut today. He hit a stand-up double his first at-bat.

Bryce Harper's first Triple A hit

Rounding first

Stand-Up Double

Then he stole third.

Stealing third

Safe at Third

Unfortunately, he was stranded there. 

And because he is unfamiliar with our outfield (he played CF) he turned a hit into a triple in the fourth inning by bobbling a ball.

His second at-bat was a single. He stole second. But that was it for him for the rest of the game.

We watched Carlos catch the pitchers warming up in the bull pen.

Corey was hit by a pitch in the fifth. 

The Chiefs lost 7-4.

The Baseball Bag

Opening Day is only a couple days off, so it's time to get my baseball bag ready. Then all I have to do when I come home from work is transfer my wallet, glasses/sunglasses, and my phone plus grab the tickets for that date's game and I'm set to go.

A properly outfitted baseball bag is a necessity. The contents will change as the season progresses -- for instance, the lap blanket will be replaced by a lightweight jacket -- but the basics remain the same.

Preparedness

 I was a Girl Scout and the mother of small children, so there are somethings I never leave home without. This is my preparedness bag, which goes inside the main bag. In it I keep wet wipes, hand sanitizer, a small first aid kit, tissues, sunblock/insect repellent wipes. You never know when you're going to need these things.

The basics for April

Some days I feel like a pack mule, especially when TV Stevie asks: "Do you have room for . . .?"

The bag contains:

• camera and spare batteries 
• baseball hats (TV Stevie's in addition to mine)
• lap blanket 
• faux binoculars
• notebook and pen
•  lip balm
• drink cup holder 
• lightweight rain ponchos 
• a fan
• microfiber clothes for wiping down wet seats
• black-bean-filled bat*
• Chiefs water bottle for filling up at the water fountain

Not shown is my umbrella, which must be in my car. I always take an umbrella. This is Syracuse. It rains. I also plan to wear my new Starter Skychiefs Jacket (see my post about Superman's closet back in October), so I didn't pack an extra jacket. This is April in Syracuse. It gets cold.

*Black-bean-filled bat: Last season, Sandee found candy-filled baseball bats and bought one for me. We used them as noisemakers. The baseball-shaped candy inside them soon pulverized to dust. So Sandee experimented with rice, lentils, who knows what else. Black beans worked the best. So that's what we now have in our bats. Little kids see our bats and want them. TV Stevie wants me to give mine to the next kid who wants it. Nope. I love my bat.

So now my bag is set for Opening Day. (Except for the umbrella. Gotta chase that down.) Two days! (Tuesday and Wednesday.) I am very excited.

Stories from the Stadium

Less than two weeks until Opening Day. I can't wait.

TV Stevie has been invited to an introducing-the-new-food event at the stadium. I am incredibly jealous. Okay, he's a client, but I'm a blogger. That should count for something.
But my envy is not the subject of today's blog.

In her book Safe at Home, author Alyssa Milano writes, "Baseball is all about stories."

Jean Hastings Ardell wrote in her book, Breaking Into Baseball: Women and the National Pastime, "As [Vanalyne Green] studied the game, she came to believe that essential aspects of baseball culture came out of the feminine tradition of oral history, storytelling, and gossip."

Stories. Not just about the game or the players, but because there is time and space in baseball, there are also opportunities to learn the stories of the people around you. When you're a season ticket holder, sitting with other season ticket holders, you form a community. Alyssa Milano writes: "A big part of what allows me to be in the moment is the community that surrounds the game . . . This is a big part of why I am a season ticket holder. I go to games not just for the baseball, but for the people, and for the feeling of community I get while there. My neighborhood is Dodger Stadium. My neighbors are the fans that sit in my section."

For us in Section 207, it's not just the fans, but also the interns, ushers, vendors, and other staffers. Like Danny, the usher who usually works our section. Over the years, Danny has told us about his children, his grandchildren, and other general stuff, but one hot July early evening, Danny told me the rest of his story.

Dante "Danny" looking over the field

His real name is Dante. His speech contains the faintest trace of an accent, hinting that English might not be his native tongue. I'm right. Danny was born in Italy. At age eight, he wanted to be a super star soccer player. Scouts wanted to sign him, but his mother said no. He didn't go to school in Italy. Eventually he came to the US, where he met his father for the first time. He says he was a skeleton from being sea sick and that his father was cooking hotdogs, which Danny had never had before.

Danny's uncle asked him if he liked baseball. All Danny knew was soccer. His uncle asked, "Haven't you ever heard of Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig?" Danny said no. So his uncle took him to Yankee Stadium. In 1951, they traveled to Washington, DC to see Joe DiMaggio and the Yankees play there, and that's where Danny was fortunate enough to get DiMaggio's autograph, but as he stood there with the piece of paper in his hand, some kid ran by and snatched it from him. Even now, one can hear the regret in his voice. Danny's father and uncle loved baseball and taught Danny to love it too, which is why he ushers at Alliance Bank Stadium.

Dante "Danny" ready to clean seats

Danny has lots of other stories -- about being drafted and spending 18 months in Munich, with trips to Italy to visit his family, about meeting his wife there -- she was Miss Rome -- and insisting that he meet her parents; about being shipwrecked in the English Channel; how his mother was afraid of water, but still came to this country by boat and learned speak English in only two years. Lots of stories. Danny says he could write a book.

But it's his baseball stories that I love.

Woot!

Bryce Harper has been optioned to Syracuse!

I've been waiting to see this kid bat for a couple of years.

Maya

Yunesky Maya has been assigned to Syracuse.

The team is shaping up.

The Nats Have Starting Culling

 According to their website, the Nats have started assigning players to their minor league teams.

Guess who's coming (back) to Syracuse, even though the Nats really need a center fielder?

Corey Brown. It's a new season, we have a fresh slate. That's all I'm going to say.

26 Days (But Who's Counting?)

Drove by the stadium last night. The sign read 27 days. Yes!

Someone asked me what was going on over there, were they adding more seats or something?

My guess (and fervent hope) is that the new scoreboard is going in. Management has said in published reports and podcasts that they would try to have the new scoreboard in by opening day . . . which is a mere 26 days away!