Good to be back home (Written as I pack for another road trip)

Former Pirates and Cardinals outfielder Andy Van Slyke was once asked what the difference between playing at home and playing on the road. His response? "At home if I wander down to the kitchen in my underwear to get a cup of coffee, they don't call security."

Minor league life is a life of extremes. You get to be a part of a baseball game almost everyday. You are doing what you love for a living. You get to see different cities and meet people from all over the country. You get to hear funny accents. On the downside most players are paying a mortgage AND a rent. The flights leave at 6:30 AM in most cases, which can mean that you get back to the hotel at 12 midnight after the final game of the series and have to get up at 3:00 AM to catch a 4:30 AM shuttle to catch a 6:30 AM flight that has a two hour layover in Dallas and finally lands in Nashville at 3:00 PM allowing you to get your luggage at 3:45 PM and get home at 4:15 PM and drop your bags off so you can head to the ballpark for a 5:00 PM stretch before a 7:00 PM game. This is why minor league ballplayers (and broadcasters) have become experts at sleeping. Anywhere. On the plane, in the airport, on the shuttle to the hotel, on the clubhouse floor, anywhere. But ask any ballplayer or broadcaster if they would trade with you and you'll get a big fat no. As Willie Stargell once said, "I ain't complaining. I ASKED for this job."

The travel is a lot easier when the team is winning. Nobody wants to fly 5,000 miles roundtrip to get stomped like Luxemborg or (shudder) the Kansas City Royals. Last year a Sounds win was not uncommon. After all they did win the whole enchilada. So far this season it has not been too bad. The Sounds came home at 3-5 after splitting the series with Iowa and the guys got to play behind Ben Sheets, who not only is an incredible pitcher, but an incredible teammate. Some players are intense on game day like Roger Clemens. Others, like Sheets, are pretty loose. Someday soon Ben Sheets is going to take the mound with a flower on his lapel and when the umpire goes to the mound to tell Sheets to take it off, he'll squirt the ump with water. He keeps the players loose behind him and it seems that his teammates have an extra spring in their step whenever he takes the hill.

Coming back from Iowa the Sounds made thir return to Greer a memorable one, sweeping the Oklahoma Redhawks. They even treated the fans to a little extra excitement when Nelson Cruz put on a show with a two-run, walk-off home run with two outs in the ninth. It showed the type of potential Cruz has as he stayed with two straight Scott Feldman pitches down and away. His first line drive went foul down the right field line by five feet. The next time Feldman threw the same pitch Cruz hit a line drive fair over the wall. The team and the fans and I went crazy.


One part of the game that has been exciting to watch has been the defense, anchored up the middle by Chris Barnwell and Jermaine Clark. Last season when Barnwell was promoted from AA Huntsville he seemed like a scrappy player who hustled and got the most out of his ability. This season Barnwell is a leader. He is doing all the things you need to do to win games. Hitting to all fields, running the bases, getting the runner home from third with less than two outs. He has even made an appearance on the mound for Nashville.......That didn't go so well. Defensively Chris looks comfortable and confident. And he looks like Harry Potter, a FACT I constantly reminded him of last year. Vinny Rottino deservedly got a lot of attention in spring training. Barnwell deserves some as well. Before he gets sent off to Hogwarts Magic School or something.

That will wrap up this blog. The laundry is almost done, I've picked up the dry cleaning and my neighbor has agreed to watch my dog for the next nine days while I am on the road **NOTE: For those of you thinking of robbing my place while I am gone my dog is a mixed breed Rottweiler, Pit Bull and Raiders Fan so don't try it.

If you have any questions you want to ask, feel free to email me at chuck@nashvillesounds.com. As soon as I figure out how to make that a link to email me instead of crashing my hard drive I will.