The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Pinellas County

Ok, I may not be Mark Twain, but today’s story of the Phillies baseball game does involve a jumping frog.

Baseball Ross, our visiting friend, B and I managed to snag seats in the front row along the third base side. It was a beautiful sunny day, one of the best in a long while. It was at the beginning of the fourth inning when the Hooters Girl turned and said, “Look! It’s a little frog!”

Everyone turned to look and indeed, there was a little yellow frog poking his head out from between the padding and the concrete retaining wall. When it realized we all were staring at it, it ducked back under the padding. The Hooters girl then poked the padding and that’s when it happened!

The frog jumped and easily leapt a good two feet…right onto B’s hand! She screamed and threw her hands up! I screamed thinking she had done that because a ball was coming with us! The frog then leapt and ended up under the front row. Several people screamed that they didn’t like frogs, but the gentleman on B’s other side and I became very concerned that someone would step on the little guy.

So we tried go get to where we could corral him. Eventually, the gentleman managed to grab him and toss him back on the field…the Hooters girl was not happy with that! She took the opportunity to take a bathroom break and leave the field.

The poor little guy looked traumatized by the ordeal.

It was then that Mike the security guy came by and I gave him my cup and Mike got another guard to capture the frog dubbed, “Ryan Hopper” back to the wetlands outside the stadium.

We also learned today that sitting next to the Hooters Girl (when she’s not hiding from a frog) can get you on TV.

Can you see us?

Soon after the “Celebrated Jumping Frog” Ryan Hopper was returned to the swamp, we realized we were up 9-3, we decided that since it was B’s final night here in Clearwater we’d take her to the beach and every Phillies fan’s “Mecca” the “Taj Mahal” known as Ryan Howard’s house.

Started over two years ago, Casa de Howard isn’t even nearly done.

From the street, it’s vast, three times the size of the surrounding properties.

The house is situated on a PUBLIC beach, only a few blocks from a public beach access lot.

The house is a monstrosity and the rumors of a “lazy river” running THROUGH the house are true.

You can’t quite see it, but there are concrete bridges crossing the river.

It really was larger than any house I’ve ever seen and from Ross and I just finishing having our little house built last year, let me assure you that Howard’s place isn’t even close to being done.

May be by the time B returns on her next visit, Howard’s house will be completed…..or if it’s like everything else when it comes to construction, may be not.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

For me, it was a pretty darn good day, for the Fighting Phils, not so much.

Let’s take this in reverse order:

The Ugly:
Seeing Kelly Dugan get plunked with the ball during his first plate appearance. It looked like it smarted and with the cold, I’m sure it stung.

The Bad:
Ethan Martin was taken out of the game with “shoulder soreness” before even getting an out. He didn’t look like he was feeling good about his shoulder.

Finally, The Good:

I’ve been collecting autographs for years and I’ve never managed to assemble an entire starting line-up. This is the closest I’ve come, I only need 3 more. Today, I got Ben Revere.

What was really cool was that when I tweeted him to thank him, he favorited my tweet!

Then, after the game, Baseball Ross, B and I went to dinner and when we returned home there was a “broken” FREDDY GALVIS bat! A neighbor of mine was able to get it and he brought it to me, knowing I’d love it. It’s awesome and my very first bat. Next week, we are going to get a case for it. I’ve never gotten to see a big league bat up close, let alone own one! It’s pretty cool and I’m lucky to have such a thoughtful neighbor.

So tomorrow is the game at Bright House against the Detroit Tigers. It’s B’s last game before returning to Pennsylvania and snow on Sunday. Tomorrow is “physicals day” for minor league players and Saturday is the first workouts.

I’m excited to see the “kids” and will be spending the majority of my time at the Carpenter Complex so if you’re there look for me.

Rain couldn’t dampen our fun

We were lucky when we got out tickets for the game, prime autograph seats.

My program is nearly full.

Talked to new catcher Wil Nieves, he’s a really great guy. He took time to talk to fans and signed a lot.

The best thing to happen was that as it began to sprinkle, Bobby Abreu and Domonic Brown were signing near us. Abreu signed and brown was right behind him. Just as he got to me it started to pour, those huge drops, I pulled the plastic cover back on my program and Brown signed it and pulled the plastic back up before turning and running for cover.

The game was fun as well even if we didn’t win.

Here’s a few shots I took.

And the best mascot in baseball was there!

Opening Day!

The players are being announced after CHRIS COSTE threw out the first pitch!

PLAY BALL!

Boom goes the dynamite!

It’s cool and breezy today in Clearwater. BUT it’s already fun! I’m here with Baseball Ross and my friend B. We were walking to bright house while Batting practice was going on….and we were nearly hit by not one but two fouls! Yay! Free balls!

Phillies Intra-Squad Game

It was a long day for me. After two hours of sleep (so forgive any errors contained in this post) I drove to Tampa International Airport to pick up a long time Phillies fan, my friend B. We’ve been friends since high school and she’s been planning this for a long time. She left Harrisburg at 2 AM to drive to Philly to grab her 6:30 AM flight. So her day was even longer than mine.

We went straight from the airport to the Carpenter Complex. She was excited because after being there only five minutes, she got her first autograph, Maikel Franco. (Talk about beginners luck!)

From there, we got in line for the FREE intra-squad game. We were lucky enough to snag front row seats in the area most likely for autographs. To continue her beginners luck, who did she get next? CHASE UTLEY and RYNE SANDBERG! Heck it took me several years to get Utley the first time.

All in all, it was a good day for me too. I snagged nine, on a program Ross brought me. I managed to get:

Chase Utley
Ryne Sandberg
Phillipe Aumont
Kelly Dugan
Cody Asche
Darrin Ruf
Ray Berris
Kenny Giles
Kevin Munson

Shown here with labels

I will also apologize here that I did not pay enough attention to give you details of the game. Being with a long-time friend will sometimes distract you like that, especially when they are happy when they get their favorite player’s autograph!

I did take some pictures:
Jesse Biddle was the starting pitcher

Ryan Howard rounds third after a long-hit homer

Kenny Giles brought the heat and struck out two in his second inning

And I’ll throw in this picture of Chase Utley because he’s B’s favorite

It was a really fun day. Sometimes going with someone who’s so very excited, someone who’s crossing an item off their bucket list really makes you remember why you loved the game in the first place. Seeing a kid next to you nearly cry getting THAT special autograph they’ve always wanted and the only trying that makes them happier is that mom was going to take them to the gift store to get a case for it. Or the teenage boy who flew across a section to get a foul only to give it to an older lady who wasn’t fast enough.

Ahh, my love of baseball is renewed.

One of BEST days…

One of the best things about spring training is the “thrill of the chase”, and I’m not talking Chase Utley! The thrill of the chase is deciding what guy’s autographs you need, finding out what fields they’re on, and praying you time everything right so that you can grab their autograph.

It’s not always easy. I got Jonathan Papelbon the first day, I was in the right place at the right time, that one was easy. Then again, it took me seven years to get Jimmy Rollins autograph! The key is never giving up. You just got to keep trying. One day sometime you’ll likely time at all just so, and get that autograph.

Then there was this little boy, he had been trying for days to get Chase Utley’s autograph. It was the last day of his vacation and he was desperate. So when we were standing off to the side just the two of us, I told the little fella to say, “Mr. Utley, will you please sign my ball?” As the boy leaned over the fence, he called to Utley as I instructed, (and with me pointing frantically to the little guy) Chase stopped and signed. The kid was grinning from ear to ear! It made his trip!

That’s the way it was for me, too, may be the autograph Gods smiled on me for helping the little guy because I finally got Bobby Abreu. For five days I followed him around like a puppy dog not obviously of course, but kept tabs on where he was practicing, in the hopes of catching him in a signing mood. Today I got him between two of the fields between his practice sessions. I said, “Bobby would you sign my ball, pretty please with sugar on top?” So when he signed my ball, he signed it “To Sugar, Bobby Abreu”

I thought that was pretty cool. No player has ever personalized anything to me before. It really kind of made my day. But my day only got better from there.

I’ve been recognized as Baseball Betsy before, but today was a first for me. This kind gentleman, whom I met before, actually asked for my autograph! It blew me away that he liked me so much that he would have me sign a ball. I never in my wildest dreams, when I started this blog, thought that anyone would want my autograph. So I signed the ball and took a picture of the two of us. It really made today a special day!

Tomorrow’s practice is an abbreviated one as the Phillies have their annual golf outing.

BREAKING: Ramon Hernandez out as Clearwater Manager

The Phillies announced today that Ramon Hernandez “will not manage Clearwater this season as previously announced for personal reasons.”

Williamsport Crosscutter Manager, Nelson Prada has been promoted to take the helm in Advanced-A Clearwater.

Spring training day five – old and new

As I think about today, I realize there’s two things on my mind, the old and the new. The old? Players like Abreu and Rollins even Howard and Utley. I’m also thinking of the young.

I was able to get Chase Utley’s autograph today. And seeing him up close I realize that in my mind, I still see him as a 25-year-old, even though that’s not true. I see Abreu and for some reason he does seem like he’s been a player forever.

It’s almost like what’s old is new. Baseball is a cycle. A player starts, he rises and comes down if you’re lucky you get to see him the whole way through. Like Abreu. He was my mother-in-law’s favorite player. Even when she was at the end of her life, she always wanted to see Abreu play. She’s been gone now, for several years and now her Bobby Abreu is back and it’s sort of bittersweet for me.

And I think of the new, not only like Cody Asche and Darren Ruf but also of some younger guys in the farm system.

Some of the players from the lower levels have started to trickle into camp. I’ve seen Carlos Alonzo, Steve Susdorf,Hoby Milner, Perci Garner and many others. And I’ve also seen some of last year’s Gulf Coast League Phillies trickle into camp.

One of those boys, Rivar Anguilo, made my day today. Sometimes, when you go to the rookie league games. There’s only three or four spectators. If you are one of the people who goes all the time the players get to know you and you get to know them. Last summer, I got to know quite a few of these younger players. Rivar was one of those guys. I made cookies for the boys last summer, I only did it two or three times, but I guess Rivar remembered. When he came into camp today and saw me standing there, his face lit up, it was a huge smile! He came right over and not only did he shake my hand strongly, he gave me a great big kiss on the cheek!

I think that made my weekend! Just to know that little bit of kindness meant so much to someone that six months later they are that happy to see you. People sometimes ask me why I like the lower levels of baseball and this is one reason why. Just a few minutes out of my week to make some cookies for some boys and it must have made an impression.

Just another reason to love baseball.

It was a short day for me, but an interesting one

Sometimes the worst part about living in Clearwater during spring training is that sometimes real life gets in the way of your baseball life. Baseball Ross and I had to cut today short to return home to meet with a handyman to do some work around our house.

That doesn’t mean we didn’t get to see the beginning of today’s workouts. Today’s workouts, started much like all the other workouts, The team gathers around one of the mounds and one of the coaches lecture about what they are going to work on for the day.

After that, the team spreads out over several fields to continue stretching and start the drills for their appropriate position.

At one point, I saw Ryne Sandberg apparently lecturing Chase Utley while Chase was stretching.

In what seems like some good news, Aaron Altherr was working out without wearing the brace on his right wrist. As I mentioned yesterday, Aaron told me that his wrist is coming along nicely and he hopes to be back on track soon.

Though, I have to admit my favorite picture of the day, is this one I took of Jimmy Rollins. It was one of those rare moments where it seems like he was having a lot of fun!

We hope to be back out on the fields tomorrow watching practice, however, there is some bad weather moving in and there is a chance that it may rain so outdoor practice may or may not happen. If it does, Baseball Ross and I will be there.