TDA Bullpen - Our Writers' Blog

Friday, March 25, 2005

Opening Day Looms
Why April is my favorite time of year

The first pitch of the 2005 Major League season is just over a week away. No matter if your team is a perennial contender or a regular basement dweller, a high payroll or a low payroll team, you have to be at the ball park on opening day.

I've already purchased tickets for 10 Seattle Mariners games including opening day, and there isn't much doubt that I will see more games than that. Even though I live over 2 hours north of Seattle and in another country, going to the ball park to watch a major league game is about the best thing you can do on any given day.

The last few days I have begun to get really antsy. When I'm sitting at the dinner table or in front of my computer, my legs shake uncontrollably. When my wife speaks to me I am off in a fog, totally oblivious to what she is saying. I find myself very nervous at times. You would think that it was me taking the bump for the Mariners on opening day instead of their probable starter Jamie Moyer.

Training camps are beginning to wind down in Florida and Arizona. Rosters are starting to take shape, and if a player hasn't solidified a spot on their team yet they are running out of time. General managers, managers and coaches will have some last minute decisions to make, but most organizations probably have a pretty good idea as to who will be on the 25 man roster to start the season.

When the season begins, bench bosses like Seattle's new skipper Mike Hargrove have to set up their rotation and bullpen, fiddle with lineups and make key moves during the games to help their team win. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

With the Mariners opener only 9 days away I have to start thinking about some of the decisions that I have to make pertaining to the game.

It all starts the morning of the game. What Mariners jersey will I wear on opening day- the home white one or the alternate home jersey? As much as I like my authentic New Era Mariners cap, my favorite is the one the team wears during spring training and in warm-up before the game. I'll probably go with that one.

Next I have to decide what border crossing I am going to go to. I'll listen to the border report on the radio, but the wait time they give never seems right. How can 50 cars be a five minute wait? I want to get to the game as early as possible, so this decision is crucial. The border guard had better not make any wisecrack jokes about the Mariners 99 losses last season. Also, I know it's a standard question but I always find it amusing that the guard asks my best friend and I where we are going. We are both decked out in as much Mariners gear as possible. Maybe the next souvenirs I buy at Safeco Field should be a license plate holder and a bumper sticker. Maybe I should glue one of the three Ichiro bobble head dolls I own to the dashboard. These things might get me through the border a little quicker and save me from the idle chatter with the border guard.

After arriving at the park the biggest decisions of the day will soon be made. What kind of food am I going to eat? There are always vendors outside the stadium trying to sell you food at a much cheaper price than what you would pay inside. I try to avoid these people as best I can because I know that even if I eat something outside before the game, there is about a 100% chance that I will cram something down my grill when I get inside the stadium.

One of my favorite food places to hit at a Mariners game is the sushi bar. They have something called the Ichiro-roll. How creative. I wonder if Ichiro's teammate and fellow countryman Shigetoshi Hasegawa is offended that they don't have a roll named after him. I guess it makes sense that there is no such thing as a Boone roll.

During the game you must have the baseball fans ultimate munchie- sunflower seeds. I usually gaze at the empty bag in astonishment at the end of the game and wonder how I could have possibly eaten that many spits. It's amazing how many of them you can eat when you wash them down with 3 large Pepsi. I can't taste any food for a week after attending a baseball game because the salt from the seeds has eaten away at my taste buds. I guess that is the reason they use salt on icy roads.

The seventh inning stretch is a time for fans to get up out of their seats and sing baseballs long time standard "Take Me Out To The Ballgame". Myself and several thousand other fans use this time for something more important. Some use it to go to the washroom one last time before the end of the game and the long ride home. Others use it as an opportunity to get one last thing to eat before the final out is recorded. I choose the latter. I like to finish the day off with a nice bowl of clam chowder. It is a perfect way to end a great day of eating. I don't know what they put in that soup that makes it taste so good. It must be cream in the broth and not just plain milk. Maybe it's that tiny little bit of oil that you see floating at the top of the styrofoam bowl. It couldn't just be the clams that make it so satisfying!

When the game ends (hopefully after a Mariners win) it's time for the long ride home. My stomach always seems to be a bit closer to the steering wheel than it was on the trip down to the game. I've noticed that the border guard often asks me what the final score in the game was. It seems like a test and I wonder if I get the score wrong, will I be pulled aside for a thorough search of my vehicle. I wish they would just ask me what I had to eat at the game because I am sure I could recall that a lot quicker than the actual game and its final outcome.

Spring is in the air and flowers are in bloom. The NCAA Final Four is almost here. Golf fans are excited because April means The Masters, and the awarding of the coveted green jacket.

Baseball fans are excited because opening day looms and every team begins the season with the same record and every fan is optimistic about his or her team's chances.

April is my favorite month of the year.

Play Ball!

posted by Dean Swanton 11:53 PM