My sweetie took me to Spring Training as a birthday gift. My birthday is mid February, so it is always at the begining of baseball for a new season. This year we are empty nesters so a quick trip to Tucson was that much easier to do, and here we are.

We went to today's game against the White Sox. Of course it is a disappointment to lose, but any day at the ball park is a great day. Spring training is kinda funny. There are fewer than 6500 in attendance (6427 to be exact), and I imagine there are even some High School games in competitive markets at have that kind of crowd, yet you get the watch the pro's. There are no t-shirt sales, no batting cages, no flash and dash at all. The score board has probably got fewer bells and whistles than a new High School system, but there they are, the guys who will make us laugh and cry and cheer and holler for the next 7 months, playing a kid's game. I was thinking that this must be a lot of fun for the guys who are certain to play next week. They are playing the game they love, in perfect weather, their bodies aren't worn out or tired yet, and they can experiment with new stuff or try something different without having to worry about the game really counting. I got to see EY Jr. make an amazing play, Helton hit a screaming double off the center field fence, and Hawpe drive him in a couple of batters later. We've had such crowds in Tucson that they were out of programs and score cards, I had to make up one of my own on the back of a comment/suggestions page (er...suggestion, expect a big crowd for the National League Champions), so I don't have much to show for it, but a couple of pictures on my cell phone and a makeshift score card. We go again tomorrow. I hope we go out of Hi Corbett with a solid win and put a little hurt on the Diamondbacks, but win lose or draw, it's baseball, and there's nothing else like it.