The alarm on my BlackBerry went off at 3:45 this morning in my Lauderdale by the Sea hotel room. Six hours later, my airplane touched down at BWI and, just like that, Spring Training was over. For me, at least.
This was the third time I traveled to Fort Lauderdale for O's Spring Training, and each time it gets more difficult to leave South Florida. As I stepped off my plane this morning and the cold March-in-Baltimore air came flooding into the tunnel to the terminal, I couldn't help but think the tourism commercials are right; even though it rained for a large portion of the trip, a bad day in Florida beats a good day just about anywhere else.
So now I'm lounging on my couch, fighting the urge to sleep and watching the-school-which-has-yet-to-send-me-a-damn-decision-letter-for-grad-school get pummeled by Memphis, grimacing at the sight of Greivis Vasquez's face turn red in stunning HD. But before I fall into a coma-like sleep, let's recap my three days at the Spring Training home of our Birds:
1) Fort Lauderdale beach is almost perfect. There is no blockade of buildings between the beach and 1A, the ocean road that runs down the coast. Rather, the road runs right down the side of the beach, with a small sidewalk on one side and hotels and restaurants on the other. Jogging on that sidewalk, along the beach and the ocean, is something that I don't think a runner would ever get tired of. I know I'll miss it.
2) Lauderdale by the Sea, less than two miles north of Fort Lauderdale beach, is charming. The small town square has everything a vacationer needs in shops, good restaurants and open-air bars. While during the week the area is mostly populated by local residents, the action picks up on the weekend. Mostly, however, it's a quiet village and mere minutes away from Fort Lauderdale Stadium.
3) Speaking of the stadium, as my dad noted, there's nothing wrong with it. The stands were filled -- as they have been every other time I've been there -- as the O's took on the New York Mets Friday. It's a shame the Birds will likely be flying away from Fort Lauderdale after this spring training. I'll miss it.
Spring Training baseball has its quirks, of course. Given that I likely won't get to attend another game at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, I decided to buy a program and keep score. At Camden Yards in Balmer, your $5 program and scorecard comes with a mini pencil. At Fort Lauderdale Stadium during Spring Training, a pen to keep score with is an extra 50 cents.
4) Now, to the baseball:
- Danys Baez started the game and cruised for two innings. But as hitters got around for the second time, Baez struggled. Baez is a reliever who is being tried out as a starter. Either he tired, the Mets lineup was able to figure him out the second time around, or maybe his struggles were coincidence. But while Baez earned himself another shot to start with a modest performance, it's probably safe to say that his candidacy at this point is a bad sign for the 2009 Balmer rotation.
- Maybe it was the wind, but offseason acquisition Felix Pie badly misplayed two balls in left field. On one, Pie was able to recover and record the out. On Ike Davis' RBI double, however, Pie turned the wrong direction at the crack of the bat and seemed to have trouble reading the ball's trajectory before it soared past his outstretched glove.
The wind generally blows straight in from the outfield, and I don't know how Pie has looked the rest of the Spring. But it was an ugly display in the field and at the plate (0-for-4, two strike outs) for the former Chicago Cubs star prospect.
- 26-year-old Bob McCrory threw one very impressive inning, going after hitters and striking out two. McCrory was a 2003 draft pick by the O's and appeared in eight games last season for the big club, but he may make it difficult for Dave Trembley to not include him in the bullpen when camp breaks.
- Finally, the one we're all curious about, Matt Wieters. Wieters caught a few innings and earned a couple of trips to the plate on Friday, walking twice in those appearances with the O's down 4-0. Wieters was patient, but Mets pitchers seemed to be avoiding him, as well. Wieters will start the season at Triple-A Norfolk, but if the catcher is already showing discipline and striking fear in the heart of opposing pitchers, he may not be there long.
Fans know it; when Wieters steps to the plate, those in orange who have spent most of their day making wise cracks and sun bathing sit up a little straighter in their seats.
If only the O's would let the catcher pitch, too.
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