Alright, where to begin? Since I have last updated this bad boy there has been some pretty cool stuff that has happened down here in the Sunshine state. I have made about 6 more starts, against the Phillies, Pirates, and Yankees, been throwing well and now just waiting to hear where I will be spending my season. Hopefully that destination lies in the Northwest which would take me back to Vancouver.
Life is pretty repetitive and days start to blur together going to and from the field, playing games everyday, it's baseball as a job so I can't complain and I don't know too many jobs that aren't repetitive especially as sweet as this one. In the afternoons after our days are done we have time to head to the beach, golf, nap, hangout by the pool, and do other relaxing activities, so I'd say this is a pretty stress free environment.
As I was saying, there have been some noteworthy things taking place. A few weeks ago, Vladimir Guerrero signed with the Blue Jays, for those of you who are asking yourselves who the hell that is, I will supply a brief resume. Vladimir Guerrero or Vlad, as he is called by those around the game, has played in the majors for 15 years, been an all-star many a time, won an MVP, hit over 400 home runs and is more than likely a first ballot hall of famer. He is a guy that many of us grew up watching kill pitchers and more personally the Phillies. When he arrived many of us were star-struck. As I turned the corner coming out of breakfast I saw a man at the other end of the hall walking towards me. By man I mean 6'4" brick shit house with dreadlocks, arms as big as my thighs, and appearing as though Wesley Snipes and Wyclef Jean had a baby and fed it steroids until it was finished with puberty. Despite playing in the big leagues for 15 years the man's English is brutal so I was naturally inclined to use the old español on him to achieve a line of communication. The first day he took batting practice, everyone was climbing on top of each other to watch. Security guards were there to keep out the public (they were a joke, glorified use cell phones to call the police if something happens people... I mean lets call a spade a spade here, what jackass is going to mess with Vlad Guerrero when his dumps are bigger than most people?). His batting practice is a laser show, hitting towering home runs off of buildings with relative ease and never meeting a pitch he didn't like.As Vlad began to get back in his groove, he becomes an everyday player for us and my left fielder on days I pitch, its pretty cool.
So now, in the 2nd inning 2 weeks ago against the Yankees, one of their hitters lofts a ball into left field. Vlad begins to pursue it running as if it hurts and his knees will give out at any time. The ball goes under his glove and rolls past him to the fence. I begin to curse him and everyone of his family members in every language I can think of knowing anyone else in the world can make that play. As he loafs after the ball, which is now lying still against the fence, the runner rounds second to go to third. Shouts of 3, 3, 3 echo and it appears as though Vlad hits a switch in his head. He grabs the white ball (looking like an aspirin tablet in his bare-hand) and with the wrath of God, the mammoth Caribbean man unleashes a missile that hits the third basemen in the chest, stopping the runner 15 feet short of the base who raises the white flag admitting defeat. The entire complex starts laughing, struck with amazement and wondering if Vlad had just baited that poor kid into being his lunch. As he walked off the field I gave him a hug and a firm slap on the butt and crossed that off the bucket list. Hands down one of the coolest things I have seen on a baseball field. Since I have been down here, I have crossed paths with the likes of Jim Thome and Ryan Howard and I'm sure Roy Halladay and Chase Utley will be around the Phillies complex shortly. For all those Phillies fans out there, Ben Francisco is down here rehabbing with us...yes I can hear you voicing your displeasure, but needless to say, he is just a name drop.
So that has been whats going on from a baseball standpoint. Life wise, everything is good, Kelsey visited me for a week over my birthday which was great. We had a blast and it was awesome to see her. All the guys down here went to the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Jays game down here. We took two buses from the complex to the Trop (the Rays field) and sure enough the breakdown went something like this. The latin players filled one bus, the english speakers filled the other. As if this scene was directly taken from Remember the Titans, Denzel should have stepped in and put offense on one and defense on the other. It was a laughable scenario that Randy Thompson and I tried to embrace by bringing an olive branch from our bus to the latin one. Our gesture was greeted with smiles and then loud boos and a hurricane of spanish curses and insults informing us of their displeasure with our boarding of their bus. Point...Latin America. Other than that, not much has been going on. We have been on a monopoly binge at the hotel and golf has become a hobby although I am as bad as it gets.
Until next time...I'm just going to keep throwing it and getting outs, working hard and moving forward. I'd like to extend congratulations to the West Chester Baseball team on their national championship as well as to Coatesville High School (my alma mater) on their run in the state tournament right now. Keep looking up.
-Ben
