March 25 2007

Our first outdoor practice! It was the Indians' best turnout for a practice in a decade, give or take 10 years. Just two guys weren't there. If this keeps up all season, the players who make the long drives to practices will actually be rewarded. It is just the first outdoor practice so we may well be getting ahead of ourselves, but still, we have hope, and hope is good, unless you're hoping you stub your toe, then not so much..

We had infielders taking grounders and outfielders taking flies and occasional grounders and it was grand. It was sunny, but due to the recent rain the field was very soggy. We stayed off the Whalley Field to avoid longterm damage, and trekked to a nearby available area. Brad was late, he "stepped into a marsh puddle and it took 20 minutes to get out of it".

After roughly 40 minutes of flies and grounders we made our way to the cages and took some hacks. There is much enthusiasm watching the newbies in the cage, as they appear able to make contact - quality contact - with great frequency. Our new additions are sure to help us get our playoff legs up and over that final hurdle.

Talk of our first game, versus the Delta Tigers, had some players displaying some trepidation. You see, there are rumors afoot that the Tigers have been practicing indoors three times a week for a couple of months now. But, the game on April 15th is not going to be played in a gymnasium. It's not being played in a gym is it? No, we didn't think so. So with our outdoor practice today, and upcoming outdoor practices on Wednesday the 28th and Saturday the 31st, we feel we have the edge. Some of us feel that way anyway...