Ready to go
Every Opening Day I feel like I should write a thoughtful post about the start of the new season. Every year, instead, I find myself (figuratively) running frantically down the train station platform, camera bag over the shoulder, tickets clutched in one hand while the other grabs for the rail of the still-open doorway of the moving train with the big MLB banner waving from the engine. So here’s a random collection of notes, instead...
The slight disappointment of Opening Day becoming Opening Night got way overblown, just like every other philosophical disagreement seems to these days. I’m delighted to be going tonight. I’d rather have celebrated in the daytime. To me it’s as though every year you went to the BEST New Year’s Eve party, and had a raucous good time connecting with old friends, meeting new ones, and ringing in the new year... and then one year the hosts decided that instead, they’d have a brunch. Would you still go and enjoy it? Sure. Would it feel a little off? Yes.
And there’s the small matter that I can’t shoot as well at a NIGHT game...!
Speaking of shooting, while I’m not done with my Spring Training shots, I’m a lot closer to done than I ever have been before at this stage! Everything’s over on Smugmug; most of the shots (not quite all) are also keyworded by name if there’s one player in particular you want to see, and there's a quick link to the Spring Training galleries here. I had a great time; missed out on a couple of BP sessions thanks to the weather, and saw very little of a few favorite players (Bowden, Buchholz and Reddick, for starters!) but got to see a lot of the minor leaguers on the whole:
Jose Iglesias
Mark Wagner
Nate Spears
Kyle Weiland
Dusty Brown
and plenty more! (Going to have to get to Portland more this year, as that team’s looking like one for the ages!)
You'll find my usual assortment of everything from action shots
(I did see Reddick, just not as often as I'd hoped!)
to unusual expressions
(Can anyone spare a hug for Dustin Richardson?)
to distractions
(It's a bulldog's life at the minor league complex!)
And now, if you'll excuse me... I've got a game to go to.
Happy Opening Day!
The slight disappointment of Opening Day becoming Opening Night got way overblown, just like every other philosophical disagreement seems to these days. I’m delighted to be going tonight. I’d rather have celebrated in the daytime. To me it’s as though every year you went to the BEST New Year’s Eve party, and had a raucous good time connecting with old friends, meeting new ones, and ringing in the new year... and then one year the hosts decided that instead, they’d have a brunch. Would you still go and enjoy it? Sure. Would it feel a little off? Yes.
And there’s the small matter that I can’t shoot as well at a NIGHT game...!
Speaking of shooting, while I’m not done with my Spring Training shots, I’m a lot closer to done than I ever have been before at this stage! Everything’s over on Smugmug; most of the shots (not quite all) are also keyworded by name if there’s one player in particular you want to see, and there's a quick link to the Spring Training galleries here. I had a great time; missed out on a couple of BP sessions thanks to the weather, and saw very little of a few favorite players (Bowden, Buchholz and Reddick, for starters!) but got to see a lot of the minor leaguers on the whole:
Jose Iglesias
Mark Wagner
Nate Spears
Kyle Weiland
Dusty Brown
and plenty more! (Going to have to get to Portland more this year, as that team’s looking like one for the ages!)
You'll find my usual assortment of everything from action shots
(I did see Reddick, just not as often as I'd hoped!)
to unusual expressions
(Can anyone spare a hug for Dustin Richardson?)
to distractions
(It's a bulldog's life at the minor league complex!)
And now, if you'll excuse me... I've got a game to go to.
Happy Opening Day!