Other posts in this series:

Greetings from scenic Sarasota (Reds at Pirates, March 21, 2008)

The agony of defeat (Reds vs. Rays, March 23, 2008)

Frozen in Florida (Reds vs. Jays, March 24, 2008)

I love the Club Seats (Reds at Phillies, March 25, 2008)

I had originally planned to return home on Wednesday, but then I realized that the Yankees played the Phillies Wednesday afternoon, while the Reds played the Jays Wednesday night. The Phillies and Jays stadiums are very close together (though an hour away from Sarasota), so I could go to both games. A "crosstown doubleheader" was irresistible, so I waited until I was sure it wouldn't be rained out, then made arrangements to stay another day.

 

I'll spare you the gory details of the Yankees game. Except that it was brutally hot, and the Yankees were blanked. Wang struggled, so did Joba. A-Rod had an error at 3B and was 0 for 3 with a GIDP. The fans around me complained that the lineup was suspect this year, and the pitching was worse. And Jeter didn't play, causing much wailing and gnashing of teeth among female fans of all ages. A lady who came down from Queens and looked old enough to be a grandmother was heartbroken; she said her dream was to get Jeter's autograph.

Knology Park is a mere swallow's flight away from Bright House Field. It's an easy five or ten-minute drive. I got there really early, since the Yankees game went quickly (funny how that happens when you don't hit). I drove around the neighborhood a little, just to see what it was like. Nice enough, but it was mostly homes and offices; there was really nothing to do. So I parked in the Lowe's parking lot across the street (they charged $10) and bought a ticket. (Unlike the other games I attended, there were plenty of good seats still available. There weren't many scalpers, and the ones there were weren't doing well.)

The Reds were warming up on the field when I got there. Dusty Baker was keeping a close eye (ear?) on batting practice.

 

 

I wandered around stadium for awhile, then "borrowed" a box seat along on the third base line. It was the least crowded part of the park, and the view was not marred by netting. (I don't like watching through netting. It doesn't bother the camera, as long as you focus beyond the netting, but it bugs me.)

Andy Phillips and Jeff Keppinger were doing fielding drills right in front of me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My actual seat was in the upper bleachers on the first base side. The guy at the ticket booth tried to sell me tickets behind home plate, but I asked for a seat further out. Like I said, I don't like being behind the netting if I can avoid it. (As it turns out, one of the Jays threw a ball into the stands that almost landed on my head. I put my hand up to catch it - or at least deflect it. But the guy next to me, who was well over 6' feet tall, jumped up and caught it. He brought a glove. No, I wasn't upset he took the ball. I was glad it didn't hit my camera. And he got the ball for his kid.)

The lineup hadn't been posted yet, so I was surprised when I looked across the field before the game and saw David Ross.

 

 

This game was very different from the other ones I attended in Florida. It was more like a minor league game. People participated a lot more in the claps, cheers, etc. (and there were a lot more of them). They sang along to the national anthems to the point that the singer was pretty much drowned out. (At Ed Smith a couple days earlier, no one even knew the words to "O Canada.")

Also curious was that even though there were plenty of empty seats, no one moved from their assigned seat. My row was full, but the two rows in front of me were empty. Yet no one moved up, even when it was clear that whoever had those seats wasn't coming.

And nobody left early. Perhaps it was because there was a fireworks show after the game. Or because it was a beautiful night. I left my jacket in the car, because it was so wicked hot during the Yankees game. I later heard it was supposed to drop to 60F that night, and feared I'd be freezing in my shirt sleeves. But it was a gorgeous night for baseball. The best weather of my entire trip.

Starting for the Reds was Harang.

 

 

 

 

And yes, Ross was catching.

 

 

Going for the Jays was Jesse Litsch. The kid had a no-hitter going into the 7th.

 

 

(No, I didn't say, "Hey, wow, Litsch has a no-hitter!" - though I was tempted. ;-)

Litsch is a Florida boy, and a lot of the people in the stands, including those next to me, were friends of his family. (They were also talking about former Yankee phenom Tyler Clippard, now with the Nats. He's another Florida boy. Apparently, he's quite the party animal...)

ALS-in-chief David Eckstein lived up to his title, going 3 for 4 with a double.

 

 

I think we may have an ALS of our own in Jeff Keppinger, who was in the two-hole for this game.

 

 

He did not beat the throw in his first at-bat, but it was close.

 

 

Greg Zaun has struggled in spring training this year, but he was 1 for 3 with a double in this game.

 

 

Ross was 0 for 2 and was pulled after four innings. Bako took over in the bottom of the fifth.

 

 

Andy Phillips made a great diving stop in the 5th. His throw was not in time, but it was pretty impressive that he made it at all, considering that he was flat on his face.

 

 

Also during the 5th inning, there was a loud double boom. The people around me said it was the space shuttle, on a rare night landing. They don't usually like to do landings at night, but weather delayed the planned daylight landing. The sound was the sonic boom as the shuttle entered the atmosphere. (Actually two booms, one for the nose and one for the tail. For most aircraft, they are so close together it sounds like one boom, but the shuttle is so large you actually hear the double boom.)

The no-hitter was finally broken up in the 7th inning. By you guessed it...Jeff Keppinger, who hit a seeing-eye single to center.

 

 

Yup, Keppy is definitely an ALS. The Jays fans were irate, yelling things like, "What a cheap little hit!"

But Litsch had run out of gas. Hatteberg singled, Votto walked, Cabrera grounded into a forceout but scored Keppinger, and Andy Phillips hit a sac fly to deep center. Litsch eventually got out of the inning, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk.

But in the bottom of the inning, Harang immediately gave back one run on a Frank Thomas homer. Bill Bray came in in relief. There was a murmur from the fans around me as Bray threw his warm up pitches. "Wow, this guy has some serious heat." There's no radar gun at Knology, but he looked fast.

 

 

The Jays hitters were not as impressed. They kept fouling off his fastball...and they were going straight back out of the stadium behind home plate.

 

 

Bray got the hook after giving up three hits, three runs, and a walk in only a third of an inning. Mike Lincoln finished up the inning. He gave up one hit...to former Red Buck Coats.

Coats might be an ALS in training. He was 1 for 1, and is batting .379 this spring.

 

 

Brian Tallet came in for the Jays in the top of the eighth. Drew Stubbs walked and Juan Castro singled, but no runs scored. Afflack also held the line in the 8th, giving up only one hit (a single to Rod Barajas).

 

 

Last licks for the Reds came against RHP Brandon League. Votto went down swinging, then Jolbert Cabrera doubled to right.

 

 

Andy Phillips singled to center, scoring Cabrera.

 

 

Andy took 2B on a passed ball, but Hairston went down swinging, and Rosales grounded out to end the inning and the game. This one doesn't belong to the Reds.

Final score: Toronto 6, Reds 3.