Baby's First Spring Training
Round about last August, I had the notion I could use this space to write (read: vent) about baseball and baseball-related subjects on a regular basis. Of course, things like school rolled around and I forgot all about it. After my recent trip to Fort Myers, it seems the perfect time to begin actually doing some writing on the subject.
First of all - I should note that Katie and I used this trip as a one-year anniversary gift to each other. So we've been together for that long. All is swell between the two of us.
A few notes about Ft. Myers, and Florida in general: there are many, many old people. As a result, you can't turn around without spitting on a pharmacy or Chrysler Sebring. Convertibles in general are popular (duh!), although the Sebring/other convertible ratio is about 1:1. Roads are generally in fantastic shape - it must be easy without snow and ice to create potholes. Suburban style development (think Apple Valley) is rampant away from the coast, with the beaches sporting high rise condos and hotels. The people are generally polite, although our sample size consisted of baseball fans and restaurant employees.
In general, we had fantastic food. I developed a seafood craving early on and there's no better place to satisfy than a town on the Gulf of Mexico. Many, many mussels were shucked and devoured. Fish sandwiches were consumed. Drink, on the other hand, was a spotty affair. We found one great beer bar (Dusseldorf's) on Ft. Myers Beach, and a rum bar with a tasty if limited selection of premium rums. Perhaps ironically, we had the best of both food and drink at a classy Irish Pub (Dwyer's) near our hotel. Of note was a cheese platter with seven(!) premium cheeses, and tasty in-house gelato.
We were rarely carded. It was refreshing.
An overview: we saw five games, three at home and two away. Our away games were Philadelphia in Clearwater (Tampa area) and Baltimore in Ft. Lauderdale. The Twins won both away games and one at home.
Hammond Stadium, which is also the summer home of the Ft. Myers Miracle (Twins A ball), is fantastic. The Twins are truly lucky to have such a facility - not only is grounds crew guru George Toma's field the most beautiful baseball diamond I've ever seen, but the facility as a whole is friendly to both players and fans. Seats are spacious, and allow for good sightlines overall. There are plenty of places throughout the complex for fans to hang out and solicit autographs from players in transit between the practice fields and the stadium.
One major benefit for the players is that the batting cages are all of a dozen steps from the home dugout, under the left field seats. Players can take swings against a pitching machine or live pitching immediately before stepping into the on-deck circle. The other major benefit is that the team has people like Tony Olivia, Rod Carew, Paul Molitor, Harmon Killebrew, and Tom Kelly working with the players. We saw a lot of Tony O especially - while we didn't have the opportunity to speak with him, he seemed quite gregarious with players and fans.
The team as a whole seems to be about ready to go, and I am confident they will surprise people this year. At the plate, Mauer in particular looks good, hitting over .400 over 50-odd PAs this spring. Delmon Young is huge, and can definitely hold his own at the plate - the ball sounds amazing off his bat. In spite of the fact that the team still has forty players in camp, the position battles are just about over. The center field job is Carlos Gomez's to lose, IMO - he had four solid games in the five we were there. Gomez is fast enough to steal any base, and has the baserunning instincts to go with the speed. His swing looks a little goofy, but he takes well to coaching and will definitely improve with regular playing time. Homegrown prospect Denard Span, the other main candidate, shows good plate discipline and has hit well for average, but just doesn't inspire the same level of excitement. The rest of the position battles were more or less resolved by the trade for Young/Brendan Harris and the signing of former Astros 3B Mike Lamb (think Koskie, at least against right-handed pitching) and SS Adam Everett (think Punto, with a better glove) to hold down the left side of the infield. Punto will move into a utility role, and I suspect the team will bring up a left-handed bat such as Garret Jones or Brian Buscher to fill out the position players.
As for pitchers, the bullpen is solid while the starting rotation remains completely up in the air. Livan Hernandez looks terrible - he has no life on his fastball, his breaking pitches are hittable, and he is slow to the plate out of the stretch (he allows a lot of stolen bases). Scott Baker was out for a week with a minor back injury, and picked up the Death Flu floating around after that - he hasn't pitched since 5 March. Golden Boy Francisco Liriano will definitely get back to his previous dominant form, but right now he fatigues easily. We watched him pitch two good innings, and after that he lost command of his fastball. Bonser looks like Jeff Bridges, especially in the green batting practice jerseys the team wore on St. Patrick's Day. The rest of the stable of AAA+ pitchers have shown they can battle major league pitching, which further complicates the rotation issues. Predicting who will make the starting rotation out of Spring Training (besides Livan, who is in line to start Opening Day) at this point is nigh impossible, so I will refrain.
Upon our return, we found two items. Firstly, Katie's tourist information, ordered months ago, showed up the day after we left. Second, our season tickets arrived! They come in a little Cuddyer graphic'd box all their own, and with a special season ticket holder membership card. Since we got upper GA tickets, bringing along company is super easy - we'll be inhabiting the lower reaches of section 214 this season.
Also, plans are already in the works for a grand return to Ft. Myers for MOST or ALL of Spring Training next season. We will definitely acquire a condo or other type of locale suitable for ENTERTAINING VISITORS. Make your 2009 travel plans accordingly.
First of all - I should note that Katie and I used this trip as a one-year anniversary gift to each other. So we've been together for that long. All is swell between the two of us.
A few notes about Ft. Myers, and Florida in general: there are many, many old people. As a result, you can't turn around without spitting on a pharmacy or Chrysler Sebring. Convertibles in general are popular (duh!), although the Sebring/other convertible ratio is about 1:1. Roads are generally in fantastic shape - it must be easy without snow and ice to create potholes. Suburban style development (think Apple Valley) is rampant away from the coast, with the beaches sporting high rise condos and hotels. The people are generally polite, although our sample size consisted of baseball fans and restaurant employees.
In general, we had fantastic food. I developed a seafood craving early on and there's no better place to satisfy than a town on the Gulf of Mexico. Many, many mussels were shucked and devoured. Fish sandwiches were consumed. Drink, on the other hand, was a spotty affair. We found one great beer bar (Dusseldorf's) on Ft. Myers Beach, and a rum bar with a tasty if limited selection of premium rums. Perhaps ironically, we had the best of both food and drink at a classy Irish Pub (Dwyer's) near our hotel. Of note was a cheese platter with seven(!) premium cheeses, and tasty in-house gelato.
We were rarely carded. It was refreshing.
An overview: we saw five games, three at home and two away. Our away games were Philadelphia in Clearwater (Tampa area) and Baltimore in Ft. Lauderdale. The Twins won both away games and one at home.
Hammond Stadium, which is also the summer home of the Ft. Myers Miracle (Twins A ball), is fantastic. The Twins are truly lucky to have such a facility - not only is grounds crew guru George Toma's field the most beautiful baseball diamond I've ever seen, but the facility as a whole is friendly to both players and fans. Seats are spacious, and allow for good sightlines overall. There are plenty of places throughout the complex for fans to hang out and solicit autographs from players in transit between the practice fields and the stadium.
One major benefit for the players is that the batting cages are all of a dozen steps from the home dugout, under the left field seats. Players can take swings against a pitching machine or live pitching immediately before stepping into the on-deck circle. The other major benefit is that the team has people like Tony Olivia, Rod Carew, Paul Molitor, Harmon Killebrew, and Tom Kelly working with the players. We saw a lot of Tony O especially - while we didn't have the opportunity to speak with him, he seemed quite gregarious with players and fans.
The team as a whole seems to be about ready to go, and I am confident they will surprise people this year. At the plate, Mauer in particular looks good, hitting over .400 over 50-odd PAs this spring. Delmon Young is huge, and can definitely hold his own at the plate - the ball sounds amazing off his bat. In spite of the fact that the team still has forty players in camp, the position battles are just about over. The center field job is Carlos Gomez's to lose, IMO - he had four solid games in the five we were there. Gomez is fast enough to steal any base, and has the baserunning instincts to go with the speed. His swing looks a little goofy, but he takes well to coaching and will definitely improve with regular playing time. Homegrown prospect Denard Span, the other main candidate, shows good plate discipline and has hit well for average, but just doesn't inspire the same level of excitement. The rest of the position battles were more or less resolved by the trade for Young/Brendan Harris and the signing of former Astros 3B Mike Lamb (think Koskie, at least against right-handed pitching) and SS Adam Everett (think Punto, with a better glove) to hold down the left side of the infield. Punto will move into a utility role, and I suspect the team will bring up a left-handed bat such as Garret Jones or Brian Buscher to fill out the position players.
As for pitchers, the bullpen is solid while the starting rotation remains completely up in the air. Livan Hernandez looks terrible - he has no life on his fastball, his breaking pitches are hittable, and he is slow to the plate out of the stretch (he allows a lot of stolen bases). Scott Baker was out for a week with a minor back injury, and picked up the Death Flu floating around after that - he hasn't pitched since 5 March. Golden Boy Francisco Liriano will definitely get back to his previous dominant form, but right now he fatigues easily. We watched him pitch two good innings, and after that he lost command of his fastball. Bonser looks like Jeff Bridges, especially in the green batting practice jerseys the team wore on St. Patrick's Day. The rest of the stable of AAA+ pitchers have shown they can battle major league pitching, which further complicates the rotation issues. Predicting who will make the starting rotation out of Spring Training (besides Livan, who is in line to start Opening Day) at this point is nigh impossible, so I will refrain.
Upon our return, we found two items. Firstly, Katie's tourist information, ordered months ago, showed up the day after we left. Second, our season tickets arrived! They come in a little Cuddyer graphic'd box all their own, and with a special season ticket holder membership card. Since we got upper GA tickets, bringing along company is super easy - we'll be inhabiting the lower reaches of section 214 this season.
Also, plans are already in the works for a grand return to Ft. Myers for MOST or ALL of Spring Training next season. We will definitely acquire a condo or other type of locale suitable for ENTERTAINING VISITORS. Make your 2009 travel plans accordingly.