2005 Fantasy Camp Diary

Day One with the Grizzlies

(Mon., Jan. 31, 2005)

By Meg Goldsmith for Kerry and Craig

The Grizzlies got off to a good start on the first day of the regular tournament, winning both of their games.  And Kerry seemed pleased that his hitting finally seemed to be coming around.  He was feeling more comfortable at the plate but still wasn't completely satisfied with the results.  It's worth noting that he did hit one memorable ball all the way to the warning track, but well foul.  Kerry explained that they use ground up seashells for the warning track so when a ball lands there a big "puff" of seashell dust rises from the ground.  And that's what he saw when he hit this particular ball.  He's never done that before in all his years attending Fantasy Camp.

The first game was a nailbiter between Wayne's Grizzlies and Gulliver's Travellers.  They went up 1-0 in the top of the first, thanks to a ground ball RBI by Craig to drive in Kerry.  But they lost the lead until they scored two runs in the top of the sixth.  With one out, John Reed doubled to start the rally.  The next batter tripled to bring him in and tie the game.  Then Craig came up.  He hit a grounder to short but the runner on third broke for home so the shortstop threw to the plate.  The runner managed to stay in the rundown long enough for Craig to reach second.  Craig then scored the winning run on a clean single to left.  And the Grizzlies held onto the lead in the bottom of the sixth for their first victory.

Both Kerry and Craig played the field in this game, with Kerry spending 4 innings in center and two at short.  Craig played four innings in the field, all in left.  Neither of them had any plays to make in this game.

The second game was played against Jack Voight's Vultures.  Davidwb plays for the Vultures and actually pitched against the Grizzlies and they managed to score one or two runs off him.  But since they won the game 12-6 (and according to Kerry it was never that close) it didn't really matter.  Kerry started the game on the mound and left after four innings with a 6-1 lead.  The Vultures scored two in the top of the fifth but the Grizzlies answered with six more runs in the bottom of the fifth.  The Vultures got three more in the top of the sixth but it wasn't enough to mount a comeback.  If you're keeping track, Kerry got credit for the win in this one.  He said he threw a lot of offspeed pitches and had them guessing for most of the game.

At the plate, Craig had a really good game going 2 for 2 with a walk, 2 RBI's and 1 run scored.  Kerry was 1 for 2 with a walk and two runs scored.  Craig played the first three innings in left, one in center and then moved to first base.  While in left, he caught a ball that was foul.  That was his only play while in the outfield.  Kerry finished the game playing the final two innings at shortstop but had no chances.

As for the injury report, the trainers (all four minor league trainers) drained his toe.  He said it didn't hurt at all when they drilled through the nail but hurt like crazy when they pressed on the nail to get all the blood out from under it.  Then they wrapped it.  He said it felt significantly better afterwards and that he'd have them check it every morning.  Craig is holidng up pretty well, with his ribcage area still sore and with some tight hamstrings.  But no strains or pulls.  So far, so good on that front.  

Craig's Stats:

Kerry's Stats:

Previous Reports:

Veteran's Tournament Day 2

Veteran's Tournament Day 1

Preparing for Camp