Holiday Fireworks: Memorial Day Version

Sunday night was a fabulous night for a baseball game. Only a few intermittent sprinkles of rain reminded us we were in Syracuse. It was nice to see people sitting in the upper tiers of the stadium. I did miss Sandee and her husband, but my daughter, X-Chromo, and one of her friends sat with TV Stevie and me, and helped me cheer. We saw a lot of people we know. Holiday fireworks displays after the game are always popular with the casual fans. I loved seeing the players in the dugout watching the fireworks after the game.

The first base coaches last night were Carlos Maldonado and Chris McConnell. Carlos smiled and waved when we called out our hellos. There were so many fans in the stand, I'm not sure Chris heard us. Next time, Chris.

Fireworks began before the game was over. I somehow missed Randy Knorr's (manager) eviction from the game, but in the following inning, it was tough to miss Greg Booker (pitching coach) being tossed, followed by Cory Brown's ejection.

The Chiefs lost. Our fielding seemed off, allowing too many base hits. That's just my opinion.

I'm going to miss going to games this week. I'll try to listen to the radio (Sandee, you'd better be cheering your heart out!), but when I'm home, there's always something that needs my attention.

Looking Back: May 15, 2011

It rained on May 15th, the day after Michael Aubrey made history with his four home runs.

Tex Simone

Ever optimistic, many of us went to the stadium anyway, hoping for a rain delay, not a postponement. As I sat on the concourse, watching the field, I saw Syracuse Chief icon Tex Simone leave the visitors dugout and slowly cross the field to the home dugout. I admired his hands-on approach in such nasty weather. He'll be 83 in a couple of months. I guess his passion for baseball keeps him young.

Moments later, the game was postponed until the following day.

Intro: 2011 Season

Sandee and I are Syracuse Chiefs baseball fans. We met last season. We bonded. I love sitting next to someone who likes to watch baseball the same way I do. Toward the end of the 2010 season, we toyed with the idea of blogging from a fan point of view. But we both have very full plates, and neither of us was certain we could carve out the time to do justice to a blog. I've decided to give it a try. Sandee has been posting a quote of the game nearly every night on Facebook.

We've been to every home game to date this season, sitting through rain, snow, and even some sunshine. So far, it's been a very wet season. At one point, I thought I was beginning to mildew.

There are very few Chiefs from the 2010 on the 2011 roster. Most of them are pitchers. Seth Bynum (infield) and Carlos Maldonado (catcher) are still around, although both of them are on the DL.

Saturday, May 14 was historic: DH Michael Aubrey hit four home runs in one game. It was only the 2nd time in Chiefs' history that a player as done that, the 10th time in International League history, and only 15 players in the majors have ever done it. No one has ever done it twice, and no one has ever hit more. It was a fabulous day to be in the stadium. Topping that as a high point this season might be tough.

A couple of nights ago, Carlos Maldonado was coaching first, so we hooted and waved, and he waved back at us. Sandee and I have decided to see how many first base coaches will acknowledge our greetings this season. Tonight, Carlos and Adam Fox both waved back at us.

The ball park experience is about more than the game (although the Chiefs have had a great home stand this time around).  Tonight, there was a squirrel. I don't know where he came from, but he sat in front of me between games (a suspended-due-to-rain game was finished before the scheduled game began). Every time someone moved, the squirrel flinched. I felt bad for the little guy. If only he'd arrived at the stadium a little sooner, he could have seen the Chiefs win. Maybe he hung around and saw them win the second game.