Opening Day

Yesterday I was lucky enough to participate in a great American tradition, MLB Opening Day. What made it even better was I got to experience it with 3 of the most amazing people: my dad, my 18 year old brother, and my lovely fiance.

I'm one of those people that wakes up bright and early and hits the ground running. At 7:00, I was already getting everything prepared for our small tailgate party. Hot dogs, sausage, buffalo grilled chicken, loaded potato dip, and Sweet Water 420 made up the menu that did not disappoint.

The crowd was buzzing from the second we parked, you could almost tell something special was going to happen. Derek Lowe was on the mound, but like 23 of his other teammates, they seemed to just be filler for the real show: Jason Heyward. Making his debut in RF, the Jay Hey Kid had a lot to do with the largest day game crowd in Atlanta.

The pregame festivities were enough to get me choked up, as the greatest part of baseball isn't always the game, its the people who share the game with. Thoughts of my late Grandfather, my dad, and other family members kept flashing in my head as Furman Bisher narrated a video linking important moments in Braves history to important moments in fans lives that happened to overlap. On top of this, we witnessed a potential passing of the torch as Hank Aaron threw out the first pitch to none other than Jason Heyward.

As the game started, I couldn't help but notice the lack of Cubs fans at Turner Field. Often with the Cubs are in town the stadium can get near 50% Cubs fans, but luckily the Braves faithful were spared from the most obnoxious fans outside of the Red Sox Nation Bandwagon. They started to come together a bit after Marlon Byrd's first inning wind aided homerun, but their excitement did not last for long.

Yes, to the Second City's dismay, the Cubs were only able to lead for half an inning. Big Carlos Zambrano gave up bloopers to first Martin Prado and then Brian McCann. Next, Troy Glaus unfortunately picked up the first strikeout for the good guys and was followed by a big hit from Yunel Escobar to tie the game. What happened next will go down as one of the most magical moments in Turner Field's short history.

Jason Heyward struts up to the plate with the crowd already going a little bit crazier than usual. A lets go Heyward chant breaks out in the middle of his at bat, something uncommon for any player, much less a rookie. After 2 straight balls by Zambrano, the crowd was getting even louder. However, that noise was NOTHING compared to the second after Heyward unloaded on a low fastball.

Before the ball had a chance to pass the infield in flight, Turner Field was rocking. Never have I witness such hysteria and it might be along time before I see something like it. The closest thing that comes to mind was Brain McCann's HR off of Clemens in the 2005 Playoffs, but even then, you didn't have Braves Ushers acting like a 3 year old on Christmas morning. With all the hype that surrounded Jason over the last year, which increased greatly this spring, I guess I have to ask the question: Where we expecting anything less?

Most of the game from after this was just a complete beat down of the "Lovable Losers." Here are some of my random thoughts from the game:

• As awesome as Heyward was, my personal player of the game was Yunel Escobar. 5 RBI, 2 Hits (1 double) and a flashy day on the diamond that amazed me.
• Nate McLouth's catch (or lack of) should be celebrated due to the fact he made a great effort to even get to that ball. Plus he made a great heads up play and got the ball to the infield quickly.
• I've been waiting all offseason to see Billy Wagner trot to the mound to Enter Sandman. I was not disappointed.
• They sold 433 Jason Heyward T Shirts yesterday, including the one I'm wearing right now. Thanks for standing in line for me Lea!!

Now, I'm going to start a gimmick for the blog. Every game I go to, I'm going to post a photo of the view from my seat or somewhere else on the field. To go along with that, I'll post the box score. Hopefully this blog will serve of a "scrap book" of my 2010 baseball experience.

(click to embiggen)

W: Derek Lowe (1-0)
L: Carlos Zambrano (0-1)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CHC 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 2 ATL 6 2 0 0 0 0 6 2 - 16 12 0

1 Year, 1 Month, 1 Day later.......

Last year I sent 10 4x6 photos to the Braves Spring Training Complex at Disney last year. During ST, my return percentage was absolutely horrible, as I only received one success before the players broke camp. That one success was Josh Anderson, who was traded the same day I received his autograph in the mail. Anyway, I received 1 return in May I believe (Greg Norton) and two after the season ended (Jair Jurrjens and Casey Kotchmen). So by the end of last year, I had 4 out of 10 returns from ST. Definitely not the worst percentage, but not anything to brag about. Well that 40% success rate was upgraded today to 50% as I received this today from Mr. Terry Pendelton:



Terry is now the batting coach for the Atlanta Braves, but I'm sure most of us remember him as the solid fielding 3rd Baseman in the 80's and 90's. He was a favorite player of mine growing up for really one childish reason: Pendleton sounded like my last name, Pennington. Sounds like something a 5 year old would say, right?

Looking back on his playing days now, however, he merited his status in my eyes much beyond his last name. 3 Gold Gloves and a NL MVP, but more importantly to me, a member of the worst-to-first 1991 Braves team. Any player on that team is held in VERY high regard in my mind.

Scan Courtesy of Photobucket.com/atlantabraves
2009 Spring Training TTM 5/10 (Never give up, you'll be surprised what you get back!!)

Hello Old Friend

Everyone has there first favorite player. Typically, the one you like above all when you first start taking your sport of choice seriously. Sometimes its a very established player that has been around for a while, other times it can be a younger player breaking through. For me, it was the latter.

I seriously started following baseball on a daily basis in 2005. I had watched baseball off and on throughout childhood, as my granddad was a big Braves fan, and went to games a few times a year, but baseball wasn't a part of my nightly routine. In 2005, something about the Braves youth movement, dubbed the "Baby Braves," got me really excited about baseball. During this time, a lot of fans were drawn into two players particularly: Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur.

From 2005-2009, Jeff Francoeur was my player. I'm sure some of you have seen my Jeff Francoeur collection and I'm sure some of you also know I was obsessed. Even through the struggles in 2008 and 2009, I was still a fan. I might have defended him a bit to much, but it still annoys me to see some of the bashing from a portion of Braves fans. It seems some that still trash him even though he's gone might have been bought into the hype and got burned when he didn't live up to expectations.

All that being said, I'm still a fan, just not to the extent I was. Why? Because I have to say, favorite player or not, I'm a bigger fan of the name on the front of the jersey, opposed to the name on the back.

However, I still respect what he did for Atlanta, and most importantly, making me into the baseball fan I am. So, here it is, my TTM from Mr. Francoeur:



2010 Spring Training TTM Success 6 of 20.
Scan Courtesy of Photobucket.com/atlantabraves

More Than I Bargined For?

Anyone who sends out cards to be signed through-the-mail knows never to mail anything in the mail you can't live without. Well, unfortunately, one or more Todd Redmond fans learned might have learned that the hard way, as not only did I receive back the card I sent him, but three others signed and one unsigned. Here's a look at two of the cards:

Todd Redmond 2007 Bowman Chrome Rookie Card

Todd Redmond 2007 Bowman Heritage Rookie Card


I didn't scan them all, as the extra two signed cards are the same as the above. For now, I have one of the Heritage cards spoken for(I had one signed a few years ago when I was lacking a Chrome card) but I might give away the others and keep one Chrome in my collection.

Anyway, Todd Redmond is a favorite farmhand of mine. Acquired in 2008 by the Braves in a Spring Training trade, he was shipped from the Pirates for righty reliever Tyler Yates. If I recall correctly, Yates was out of minor league options and was in danger of being the odd man out of the Braves bullpen. Enter Mr. Redmond.

I think the first time I saw Todd pitch was in the Southern League playoffs in 2008. That night, he pitched 8 scoreless innings in the first round of the playoffs against the Birmingham Barons. It was great to see post-season baseball again, as I haven't seen a MLB playoff game since 2005. The Mississippi Braves would go on to win that series and the next to become the 2008 Southern League Champions. He would also be named 2008 Pitcher of the Year by the Southern League. To top off these honors, he was named AA Braves pitcher of the year for their 2008 Minor League Awards Day.

2009 was not a kind year to Todd in the minors, but he did receive the honor of representing the United States in the 2009 in the World Cup of baseball. He shined with 3 wins and 17 strikeouts in route to the USA winning the World Cup.

Now, he is currently a part of the Atlanta Braves 40 Man roster. Hopefully, he'll bring good luck to the Braves this year in the form of a 2010 World Series. Seriously, 2008 - SL Champs, 2009 - World Cup Champs, 2010 World Series Champs. That'd be an impressive resume, whether or not he is a key player.

Another (Mail)Day

After a homework filled weekend, I'm finally getting a chance to sit down and blog about my passion, baseball. Today and Saturday, I got envelopes post marked from Orlando, FL, which only means one thing: A Braves Spring Training TTM. Saturday's envelope contained this:



A Jeff Lyman 2005 Bowman Chrome Rookie Card. I've been holding on to this card for two years now hoping to get it signed in person, but never had the opportunity while he was with the Mississippi or Gwinnett Braves. So since he is now on the 40 man roster, the card was sent to the Braves spring training complex at Disney. I thought about sending it before, but I backed off because of two reasons:
1. I really prefer to get minor league autographs in person.
2. My confidence in minor league clubhouse attendants is not very high.

With that being said, I'm glad I finally got his autograph. Jeff is a pitcher in the Braves minor league system, and I've seen him pitch a few times, including a start, when he's came to town to face Southern League rivals the Birmingham Barons or the Montgomery Biscuits. Now that he's on the 40 man roster, I hope to see him in Atlanta someday soon.

As for Today, 3/8/10, I received this:

2009 Topps James Parr (Rookie Card) Not truly a rookie card, but whatever floats MLBP boat. Similar story behind this card as the Jeff Lyman card earlier, never got the chance to get him to sign it in person, so I sent it to the Disney complex.

James is also on the 40 man roster for the Braves, but unlike Lyman, he has had a cup of coffee in the majors. His MLB debut came in late 2008 against the Washington Nationals. In his start, he pitched 6 innings, gave up 2 hits, and allowed no runs on his way to his first win.

While neither autographs are cornerstones to a collection, they represent what I like most in baseball: watching players develop their way through the minors and eventually getting their shot in the majors.

An Underutilized Blogger

Will Somerset would be wise to go against his original instincts and keep Glove Girl as part of Lancaster-Webb. Outside of the marketing scheme of Lancaster-Webb, Glove Girl has made a name for herself and established her blog as a top source for industry information. However, she has shown tendencies to be disobedient and highly controversial. The potential positive impact of her blog should be valued over its negative aspects and her blog should be eased into the marking strategy of Lancaster-Webb. The company should establish loose boundaries to protect the company, but not too strict so the blog can keep its personal feeling.

Implementing Glove Girl’s blog as an informal part of Lancaster-Webb’s marketing strategy would provide an international, free, high traffic, interactive advertisement. She has great experience in the medical world and that she can hold her own with top industry professionals. Her blog is too valuable to dismiss, as seen by her promotion of the SteriTouch gloves and the subsequent boost in sales. Also, her high organic Google ranking is priceless. This high profile advertisement on Google has unlimited potential for network possibilities and most importantly, new sales.

The only way this can work, though, is if her blog is more in sync with the company’s objectives. Her past disobedience on controversial subjects has been recorded and can obviously be very costly to the company, which is likely the case with the Houston Clinic. The misinformation put out on her blog about C-sections was simply unacceptable, but such missteps can be avoided in the future with a closer relationship between Glove Girl and Lancaster-Webb.

To simply fire Glove Girl would be an incredible waste of resources. Her informal blog has already given Lancaster-Webb an advantage to some clients. Hopefully the blog can be retooled in an attempt to avoid complications with potential clients in the future and provide nothing but a positive experience for the readers, its author, and the company behind it.

First Surprise of The Season

I always have a hard time paying attention in the spring semester. Why? Because during the last week of February, a magical thing starts: Baseball Spring Training. Every team is in first place and has the ability to win the next 3 World Series, at minimum, in the minds of us fans. Even better is the first week of March, when they actually play exhibition games.

However, the best part to me is the the first through-the-mail autograph I get in the mailbox. Every spring, I spam fill clubhouse mailboxes with about 10-20 different autograph requests for different players. I send a note and a baseball card or two for particular players I can never seem to 1. sign at the ball park or 2. have public signings in the ATL area. For two stamps, my autograph collecting spirit is given hope and enthusiasm. Today, my hope paid off with the arrival of these two cards to my collection: Former Braves Farmhand Elvis Andrus and Former Braves Closer Mike Gonzalez. If you didn't notice, I have a fetish obsession for "throwback" style baseball cards.



Photos, as always, courtesy of Photobucket.com/atlantabraves