Arziona Spring Break

Today was St. Patrick's Day, so as a person of non-Irish heritage, I was obligated to wear green + drink. Because why should St. Patrick's Day be just for the Irish? We all love to wear green + drink. The only green I own is this BBFE VII shirt, which is acceptable. But the Corona is not, so I gingerly covered the label.

I ran into my friend Kim (who I work with at Miller Park) on Saturday, and she told me that the Brewers hold batting practice at Maryvale Park before heading off to an away game. So Tuesday morning, before they went to play the San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale, me and like 10 other people gathered to watch BP.

Dad was still feeling like shit, so he sat out in the car while I hung out here. I really do feel bad for dragging him around to all these things, but he insisted that he wouldn't ruin my vacation. Plus he didn't really feel like staying home in bed, hoping that the nice weather would help. It's didn't, but at least he felt better knowing that he at least tried to have some fun while he was down here. So I stood out in the left field grass as Prince Fielder crushed homers in my direction, and since there was just me and 2 other people out there, we threw most of them back. I decided to keep one, because it would be a nice memento of my trip out here. Plus I haven't had much success catching foul or home run balls in all of my years at games, so I had to take advantage of this opportunity to secure another keepsake in my baseball collection.

As you can see from all of the empty seats, two conclusions can be drawn. #1 - this is one of those hidden gems that very few people know about. Or #2 - nobody gives a damn about watching batting practice. I hope that it is #1, because then I feel like I'm in an exclusive club for being a witness to this batting practice session. It was so relaxed, and you were so close to the players that you could hear them making fun of each other and clowning around. But in between the goof-off session, some baseball fundamentals were being practiced on the field. And the coaching staff was very hands-on in assisting these "young" players. Life isn't all fun and games after all.

People make a big deal about how the Brewers clubhouse is pretty tight knit that it has such a great group of guys in it. It must be because most teams aren't like that. But as I sat in the front row, I watched as Prince and JJ played keep away from Rickie Weeks, as they took turns hiding his bat so that he couldn't use it for batting practice. They were giving each other shit about the oddest of things, and it was evident that these guys truly were good friends, because they acted just like I do with my good friends. We are truly fortunate to have this group of guys in Milwaukee, and I sadly mourn the day when free agency or trades breaks up this clubhouse. And since it was batting practice, the scoreboard would be blank today. Well at least at Maryvale. The Brewers would have their chance to light up the one at Scottsdale Stadium later today.