Dog Days are upon us

Monday was bring a Dog to the Game Day, a rescheduling of the semi-rained out Dog Daze. I look over to 108, and Jay Rainville is sitting there with Josh "Maddog" Rabe next to him. I thought it very appropriate.

"So, it was bring your Dog to the Game Day," I say to Jay, "and so you brought Maddog?" They both lost it.

I had been looking though my card collection and had found the top prospect card, unsigned so I had it with and had him sign it.

"That's an old one," he says, and gives it to Jay so he can look at it. After I thought about it, it occured to me that he hadn't signed the Miracle one from that year either, as he left at the All-Star break and the card sets came out afterwards. So I dug that one out and I will take it with me tonight, but I'm not really expecting him to be there again.

Still, you never know.

Tonight is the last home game of the season (sad, I know) and it's against Sarasota. They are having Miracle players on the concourse to sign, but I'll be down at the Reds dugout trying to get some of the cards from the team set I got last Friday signed.

Yes, I did go to Sarasota. The game got rained out. I did get a program though, which is very well done. I did not stop to get money on the way in and they do not have an ATM at the park(!) and so I didn't end up bringing a merchandise haul back with me.

The only really interesting bit about the rain out was the old lady that was there, that I found very rude. "I'm a baseball chaplin and I've been watching this game for 27-years and..." I was talking to someone...Iris maybe...at the Miracle park and mentioned the woman and she said "She was here!" And agreed that she was very rude. Mrs. Chaplin baby sat Kevin Boles when he was a youngster and likes to make a big fuss about it.

Jeff-Jeff had purchased the 2004 Miracle set at the gift shop Monday night. "I need to look these guys up on the internet and see where they went."

"Which guys," I ask.

"Well, like this guy, Travis Bowyer."

"He was traded to the Marlins for Luis Castillo and suffered and injury coming out of spring training. That was 2 years ago, and he hasn't pitched since."

"Oh...How about..."

I take the cards from and run through them really fast for him.

He looked impressed. "You do know your Miracle." Oh yeah.



Brett stopped by GCL on his way to the airport Sunday to give me this autographed Bowman of Chad Blackwell. I thought it was very sweet of him, considering it was him and TJ who insisted I sit right by the dugout, Blackwell always comes out the dugout.

It does not however, mean I've forgiven Mr. Blackwell for breaking my heart and not signing my ball.

I got a few guys on the Threshers ball, which I need to shoot to put up, most notably major leaguer Francisco Rosario who is rehabing a right shoulder strain. After watching Andrew Carpenter pitch a 7-inning perfect game, I think I got the wrong guy. Well, I said I wanted to see a no-no this year, and I now, I did. Yohan Pino pitched one too, but he walked four.

With the season over I'll get more of the graphs up and some of the cards I've picked up too. I notice Homer Bailey is still with the Reds, so I need to take those cards as well. He seems to have been the theme for the past few days. He pitched 3 innings on the 25th, so perhaps he'll be in the stands, which would make him easy to get. Maybe I should bring all my Homer Bailey stuff in case he turns out to be a real nice guy.

I'll also have a chance to work on both the Miracle site and the GCL site, and get them both up to snuff for next season. I didn't really work on them last winter and I really need to do that this time around. I also have some changes planned for the Goalie Annex and well, there's Everblades hockey coming up.

Never a dull moment around here, let me tell you.

The GCL Twins fell to the GCL Yankees yesterday in the playoffs. Danny Rondon, who started out the season really well, but who had been exhibiting some control problems late in the season allowed 3 runs on 3 hits, a walk and a hit batter. I kind of figured, sooner or later, he'd blow up. Ah well. Nelson should have left Nolte in to close the game. He went 3 up, 3 down. It was a fun season. And now...nothing until the very short Instructional League at the end of September.

Well, must get to work now.