SCRANTON / WILKES-BARRE, PA - APRIL 9, 2008: I almost didn't go to this game. It was after midnight by the time I got home from the previous night's game, and I had to get up for work at 6:00am the next morning. Going to three games in a row seemed like a good idea at the beginning of the week, but, well, I guess I'm not a college kid any more. My butt was seriously dragging the next day. And the weather forecast was awful. I didn't want to drive over two hours if the game was going to be called.

But I got my usual burst of energy as quitting time neared. And the weather forecast improved a great deal. It looked like the game would be played. I had been planning to leave directly from the office, but made a quick detour home to grab a rain cover for my camera. Then it was off to Scranton again.

I got a seat in the same section as before. Most people want to be behind home plate, but I prefer to sit further out. So I had the whole section to myself...at least at first.

The view from my seat:

I remember one-time Yankee prospect Kevin Thompson (now in the Pirates system) talking about the ballpark in Scranton. He said there was "a forest in the outfield with deer and everything." As you can see, the forest isn't exactly in the outfield. And it really isn't much of a forest. But I guess if you're from Ft. Worth, Texas, it's impressive. ;-) I didn't see any deer myself, but I'm sure there are some. Deer sleep in highway medians around here, fer crissakes.

Thompson also said the hotel where the visiting teams stay, the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel Scranton, is supposed to be haunted. One of these days I'd like to stay there and do a little ghost-hunting. If I don't find any ghosts, I can at least check out the architecture. It sounds interesting; it's actually a converted train station.

Tom Shearn was pitching for the Bats.

Steven White was starting for SWBYankees.

A couple of years ago, when the Yankees were desperately seeking pitching, many fans were clamoring for Steven White to get his chance. He still hasn't gotten his chance, and, well, judging from his performance in this game, I can understand why.

Alvin Colina was catching for the Bats. He would have a big night.

The first inning was scoreless, but the Bats broke it open in the 2nd. Andy Phillips started the inning by flying out. Jolbert Cabrera, up next, hit a double.

Rosales flew out, then Anderson walked.

Janish singled, loading the bases:

Colina singled, scoring Cabrera and Anderson.

Chris Dickerson doubled...

...scoring Janish.

Hairston singled, scoring Colina and Dickerson.

I think Colina is signalling to Dickerson to come on home, no need to slide.

Bruce singled, moving Hairston to 3B.

The inning finally ended when Andy Phillips went down swinging. (Yup, the Bats batted around.) Looked like someone in the dugout was teasing Andy about his strikeout.

I guess everyone's in a good mood after putting five runs on the board in one inning.

Andy was DHing for this game. The locals clearly remembered him from his Yankee days. Little kids were leaning over the railing, peering into the dugout and yelling, "Andy, Andy," trying to get him to sign stuff.

I have to say, that made me feel old. When I was that age, I would never have called a grownup by his first name. It would have been "Mr. Phillips." Heck, even now, it probably be "Mr. Phillips," "Mr. Crosby," "Mr. Votto," etc., unless they told me otherwise. Blogging about them on the Internet, sure, I use first names, but in person, I probably wouldn't.

(FWIW, I once heard that Roger Maris would never give an autograph to a kid who called him "Roger." It had to be "Mr. Maris." Of course, he was from a different era.)

Shearn made short work of the SWBYankees in the bottom of the second, giving up only a walk to Jason Lane. Then the scoring continued for the Bats.

Cabrera reached on an error, Anderson singled, then Colina homered.

Cabrera and Anderson wait for Colina at home plate:

Meanwhile, I no longer had an entire section to myself. What I thought was a bunch of drunken sailors showed up, sat behind me, and began yelling at other fans, the players, the umpires, etc. (I found out later they were actually Air Force.) They started out by shouting about how much they loved Republicans, and how they wanted to kill all Democrats. Then they started harassing me a little, which made me slightly nervous. Kinda reminded me of being in middle school, when I was the geeky kid the cool kids always picked on.

Then I remembered I wasn't in middle school any more, and they weren't likely to follow me home and beat me up when I lived two hours away. I started giving it back to them, and we ended up kind of friends. They kept trying to buy me beers. I don't drink much, and I sure wasn't about to start with a two-hour drive home in the dark after the game. Finally, I told them I wasn't old enough to drink, and they backed off. I don't know if they believed me, or if they just appreciated my sense of humor. ;-)

The game was pretty uneventful after those early innings. The Bats tacked on another run in the 4th. (Cabrera was hit by a pitch, and came home on an Anderson double.) It started to rain in the fifth inning. (I broke out the rain cover, which greatly amused my new friends, who couldn't believe I had a condom for my camera.) With the home team down 9-0 and the rain heavy at times, people started to leave.

The game continued, however. Every time it seemed like they'd have to call it, the rain would stop.

In the fifth inning, Steven White got the hook and Heath Phillips came in.

No relation to Andy, so far as I know. Or Brandon. :-) Cashman does seem to love the big, beefy pitchers. It was six batters, six outs for Heath.

Nick Green hit a double off Shearn in the 5th, but ended up stranded.

Jon Adkins took over for Shearn in the 6th.

In the 7th, Janish singled off Scott Patterson (who took over for Heath Phillips).

Colina worked a walk, but they ended up stranded.

The Bats added a couple more in the 8th. With one out, none on, Bruce walked.

Andy Phillips doubled to left, moving Bruce to 3B.

A Jolbert Cabrera sac fly would score Bruce and move Andy to 3B. Manager Rick Sweet was the 3B coach, and seemed to have a lot to say to Andy.

Andy came home on an Adam Rosales double.

Sweet is wearing the number Bubba wore last year: 16. Sweet 16, get it?

I tried to get a photo of the SWBYankees manager - some guy named Dave Miley - but he's apparently one of those managers who never comes out of the dugout. This was the best I could do:

The SWBYankees' first base coach was the starting pitcher from the day before: Kei Igawa.

Jose Veras came in to pitch the ninth inning for Scranton.

He hit Colina with a pitch, and gave up singles to Hairston...

...and Bruce.

He got out of it without giving up any runs, though. Though it's not like the Bats needed any more runs at that point.

Marcus McBeth pitched the ninth inning for Louisville.

He gave up a single to Juan Miranda, but other than that, made short work of the Yankees.

Celebrating the victory:

Final score: Bats 11, Yankees 0.