Tuesday, Feb. 4
First, my apologies. Things were sufficiently crazy today that tonight's report will be quite brief. The guys and I will try to "make up for it" tomorrow night.
Starting with the highlights: Craig and Kerry's teams teed off against one another and Grant Jackson's team wallopped Dave Ford's team 10-0. If you're paying attention, that's the same score they lost by in their first game. Craig played some in LF, RF, and 2B. He's not normally a middle infielder but he said they were trying to find someone who could plug the leaks in the middle of the infield. In the second game, he spent the entire game at third. He's not sure if that made the difference or not but they were able to garner a 9-5 victory and he commented that he'd gladly play third for the rest of the week if this is what it'll take for the team to win. He also commented that he thinks they're starting to "gel" and I pointed out that they don't have a lot of time to do that down there. Major league teams get 162 games plus Spring Training but the Campers only get 10 games to get their act together before hitting the playoffs. At the plate, Craig managed three walks, one K, and went 0-for-2, with one of those being a popup. He did manage to score two runs in the second game to help with the victory.
Kerry visited the orthopedist first thing in the morning and got a more manageable splint on his arm. He can now move his left thumb and the first two fingers on that hand. After talking to the doc, he actually played in both games thanks to a camper with an extra left-handed glove. That's right-- Kerry, a natural right-hander, played LF with a left-handers glove. I asked him if he pulled a move similar to Jim Abbott's and he said he can't do that because sticking the glove under his left arm prevents him from throwing properly. So he'd drop it on the ground instead. I asked "Why LF instead of RF?" and he said Jackson wants his wheels out there to run down balls. He also served as a pinch runner but he has to pay attention to what he's doing on the bases so he doesn't slide. That's a natural thing for him to do but with his left arm in a splint, it's not advised that he land on it and his natural slide is a hook slide where he grabs the base with his left hand. He can't bat, can't play the infield, and can't pitch--all things that he normally does at Fantasy Camp, but at least he's able to contribute something to his team. Who knows... maybe he'll yet earn one of the MVP honors that's handed out at the end of camp. <g>
I'll try to provide some stories tomorrow. Time prevented a lengthy chat tonight.
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