Blue Rocks Highlight Video

Just a little video snapshot of the '08 Blue Rocks Season. Thanks to Atlee for this great snippet:

Final Day In Blue Rocks Country

It's come down to this- 8 months after my first day in Wilmington, my internship, and 2nd year in baseball, comes to an end. While I will not miss my legendary commute (131 miles/day), I will miss the friends that I have made here and the thrill of 70 baseball games that were each fun and unique. By the numbers:

71 Games
25 Tarp Pulls
4800 Rocky Beanies Sold
552 Hours Spent Driving
24,104 Miles Driven

Where will my next baseball destination be? Who knows? I will keep you updated right here for all future developments...

The Sports Weekend That Was

The best thing about pessimism is that when things you thought would go wrong don't, you can experience a small amount of surprised happiness. My sports weekend was filled with that kind of happiness. If you read my previous post, you can see the things I thought would go wrong. For one, euphoria wins out. Here's the review:

Dodgers-D'Backs fight for the NL West

My prediction: Dodgers will get swept and our season will be over.

What happened: Dodgers swept the 3 games and took a 1 1/2 game lead in the NL West.

Blue Rocks-P-Nats Carolina League Playoffs

My prediction: Rocks win Friday night, forcing a game 4 during a hurricane Saturday. After a record 12 tarp pulls, we finish the game at 2AM Sunday morning, a 16-inning thriller that we lose 12-11.

What happened: A gut-wrenching 1-0 P-Nats win on Friday night as the rain beared down on us, dodging multiple bullets.

BK's Sunday Steppers Fantasy Baseball Team

My prediction: my entire team stops hitting, my pitching takes a nap, and I lose 13-12 on a walk in the final game of the weekend.

What happened: After a close weekend battle, my team pulls away on Sunday and I beat Lazardus 18-4, to move on to the 2nd round of playoffs.

Worries about PSU and the Cowboys were also unfounded, as they both crushed their opponents. And to throw a cherry on top of it all, Golden Boy Tom Brady of the Cheat-riots was hurt in the 1st quarter and appears to be done for the year. A good sports weeekend all around.

Playoff (And Stress) Overload

This weekend brings together three major playoff scenarios, all of which could leave me euphoric or miserable come Monday morning. First, the Dodgers play the Diamondbacks in a pivotal 3-game series. The Dodgers are 1 1/2 games back in the NL West and need to win 2 of 3 to make a serious shot at the division. My prediction: they will get swept and our season will be over.

The Blue Rocks play the P-Nats here tonight in game 3 of the 1st round of Carolina League playoffs. The Rocks have lost the 1st 2 games in extra innings. My prediction: they win tonight, forcing a game 4 during a hurricane tomorrow. After a record 12 tarp pulls, we finish the game at 2AM Sunday morning, a 16-inning thriller that we lose 12-11.

And my Yahoo fantasy baseball league playoffs continue- my Sunday Steppers take an 11-11 tie into the weekend. My prediction: my entire team stops hitting, my pitching takes a nap, and I lose 13-12 on a walk in the final game of the weekend.

And I haven't even mentioned the Cowboys' first game and Penn State's 1st real game, both happening this weekend as well. I could be a complete mess as Sunday turns into Monday. Stay tuned for updates on all.

Playoff Bound

It became official last night- despite losing to the P-Nats, because of a Frederick loss, the Blue Rocks are in the playoffs. It was a rare double celebration, as Potomac clinched the 2nd half division title, and Wilmington got the wild-card berth. I am happy to see my team make it, but not thrilled about a few more long nights working. Hopefully it leads to a ring.

So today, in honor of this accomplishment, I leave you with the Jim Mora "Playoff???" rant. The whole thing is funny, but around 40 seconds is the famous part.

Now Batting...

After 2 postponements because of rain, we finally got our softball game in at Frawley Stadium yesterday. It was the Interns (us) vs. Full Time (them), and I was the Frank Thomas on the A's, old man with all the kids. We won 22-18, and I am happy to say that my line reads: 2-5, 2 RBIs, 1 Run scored; also played a solid left field. We even got our own walk-up music: I had "Rock Rock Til You Drop!" by Def Leppard; "My Hero" by Foo Fighters; and "Overkill" by Men at Work. The fact that I didn't embarrass myself after not playing an organized game in 16 years (and 70 pounds lighter) is the best part to me. And to play on an actual professional baseball field for the first time in my life ranks up near the top of my 2 years in baseball.

Fun Filled Frawley Stadium

The 14 in 17 finally came to an end last night, and even though I am still sleep-deprived, vacation is now less than 2 days away. A few highlights of the homestand:



- 80's wrestling superstar King Kong Bundy(above) made an appearance on Friday, and he was a big draw. He looks exactly the same as he did in the days of taking on Hulk Hogan. Still wearing the same uni-tard as well.



- Judy Johnson/ Negro League Tribute Night was Saturday, and it was amazing to see some of the remaining living legends grace the field here. It won't be long till we only have memories of these fine gentleman, so it's nice to see them in the flesh.



- Current Phillie and former Blue Rock Chad Durbin (above) was here to promote his charity work, and signed autographs. I got to speak with him and he is a very down-to-earth guy. How nice it would be to see more major leaguers recognize their roots and be a positive influence.

- And on a personal note, I was the winner of the Blue Rocks Intern Spelling Bee, which took place on the field during the game on Sunday. Ranks up there with the Sauerkraut Award. It's nice to know I can still do something that I was able to do in 4th grade. You can see the link to my profile here.

Star Wars Night at Frawley Stadium

I am excited about this one, as are most of the front office. So in honor of tonight, here's a couple of clips from Family Guy's take on the Star Wars universe:

14 Games In 17 Days...

...starting tonight. The good news is that after this, all that is left is 4 more games (and possible playoff games). To get to that point, there will be no sleep, lots of money spent on gas, and probably more rain than Seattle. But the finish line is out in the distance...

King of the Kraut

I was bestowed the Sauerkraut Award at work during our last staff meeting. You may ask yourself, what the heck is the Sauerkraut Award? Well, it is a fun award to break up the monotony, given to the person who has gone above and beyond during the last couple of weeks. I was awarded it for personalizing hundreds of kid camp shirts for the marketing department. There are many rules to the Sauerkraut Award, including not forming alliances to award to friends or department buddies, but the most important rule is that you do not eat the Sauerkraut Award. I will keep this proudly displayed at my desk as I try to find the next recipient.

Where's BK?

There is a picture of our tarp pull from last night on the homepage of bluerocks.com. I am on the far left end in the gray shirt & black shorts and blue and white hat. On my way to superstardom...

Longest. Four-Game. Homestand. Ever.

This is how the field looked for the last few days when we've had to pull tarp:





OK, not really, but close. I really cannot remember such a hellish 4 game homestand, last year or this year. And the first game on Monday was fine. Since then, everything that could go wrong or against my hope for ever sleeping again has occurred.

Tuesday- game started at the normal 7:05 time. In the bottom of the ninth with the Rocks losing 2-1, they tie it up and the rains came. If they had not tied, the game would have been over. Instead, after it took the semi-retarded umpires over an hour to decide the monsoon was not stopping, it was decided play would pick up at 5PM on Wednesday, followed by the normally-scheduled game at 7(yes, even if suspended game finished in 5 minutes, we would have to wait till 7. Nice).

Wednesday- after getting 4 hours of sleep, I prepare for 3:45 gates that nobody will be here for. The rains continues till 6:30, so the tarp comes off and the suspended game finally gets going. Thankfully, it only lasts one more inning (the Rocks lose 6-2), and the 7PM game gets pushed to 8PM. Sometime during the 6th inning, with the Rocks losing 3-1, the sky looks ominous again. We all gather by the tarp (on the plus side, this is the most of a game I've seen all year- and got to see an inside-the park homer as well). The drizzle turns into a monsoon, and yet they play on. The umpires are trying to squeeze every second in. In the bottom of the 7th, the Rocks score 2 runs and tie it- and then the umpires delay the game. Then they proceed to take 1 1/2 hours to decide that THIS rain is not stopping either. If they had called it one out earlier, the game would be over. Instead, yup, you guessed it, we have another 5PM start today before the 7PM regular game. That is, if the 60% chance of rain doesn't cause more havoc.

This is part of what I do, I accept that, but the ineptitude of 2 guys who have all the power in this situation is mind-numbing. Trying to get the game in is one thing- making horrible errors in judgement 2 nights in a row is quite another. OK, I'm done. :)

*thanks for the pic Ian!

Bittersweet Symphony

Last night was the first game here between my former and current teams- and it was strange. Unfortunately, none of the P-Nats front office were able to make it up, but I did run into pitching coach Randy Tomlin and pitcher Jack Spradlin, both of whom remembered me and exchanged pleasantries. It was the most of a game I had seen all year here, and I found myself not knowing who to root for- the P-Nats, who are well on their way to the first half title, or the Rocks, who are foundering in third and hoping for a regrouping in the 2nd half. I decided to stay neutral, and the P-Nats won 5-2 behind future pitching star Ross Detwiler. I'm sure it won't be as strange in the future, but if I work for a third Carolina League team next year, that's when it gets complicated.

Wilmington in NYC Paper

Well, kinda. Article in the New York Post about Salem Avalanche's Koby Clemens, son of you-know-who, and his struggles because of unnamed father. The Post was here on Monday to interview Clemens as Salem has been playing the Blue Rocks. Full text below:


May 7, 2008 -- WILMINGTON, Del. - As Koby Clemens travels to Carolina League stadiums from Delaware to South Carolina, he hears the hecklers. As he walks past the clubhouse TVs tuned to ESPN, he hears the commentators joking about his family. He tries to tune it out, but sometimes he'd like to yell back.

"I just want people to look themselves in the mirror before they judge," Koby said. "People make mistakes. I'm not perfect. I'm sure you're not perfect. Nobody's perfect."

Switching from third base to catcher should have been the most difficult part of this season for Koby Clemens. Instead he's spent bus rides from Delaware to Myrtle Beach thinking of his family back home in Texas, trying to tune out TV talking heads screaming about what his father may or may not have done. The 21-year-old is Roger ClemensRoger Clemens ' oldest son and is in his fourth year in the Astros farm system, currently playing for the Salem (Va.) Avalanche.

His father's inclusion in the Mitchell Report and the subsequent fallout overturned his life. Since then, he's watched his father get beat up in the media, the latest round dealing with whether his father was faithful to his mother.

He sat down with The Post last night before his team faced Wilmington and acknowledged the last few months have been difficult, but the recent storm has not fractured his family.

"We're strong and closer than ever," Clemens said. "No matter what anybody can write, no matter what anybody can say, you'll never break our family. That's how I feel about it. I'm not even going to give him a name because I'm not as low as that guy."

That guy is, of course, Brian McNamee, his father's former trainer and the man who has accused his father of using steroids.

"There's a lot of people that you think are your real friends. As it's gone further and further there aren't that many people pulling for my dad anymore, which really hurts. There's a lot of people that have done tons and tons of worse stuff, including the man that is against him."

Koby Clemens has thrown himself into baseball. He was batting .292 with one home run and 12 RBIs before last night, but the harder part has been adjusting to his new position. Koby has leaned on his father for advice on how to call games and how to communicate with pitchers.

"I can say that there is no person that could say that they could possibly ever have a better dad than I've had," he said. "My dad's always been there for me. My dad's done so much for other people. That's what really fires me up and (ticks) me off."

This Tripleheader Brought To You By..

..Excederin and Pepto Bismol. 3 games in 18 hours- doubleheader last night and 11AM game today. At least I get to crash after this..and Toronto on Friday!!

BK Becomes Bluewinkle K

The one thing you're told when interviewing for baseball jobs is: "Be prepared to pull tarp, and you WILL be a mascot several times." So today, I got to be Rocky BLuewinkle, the lovable moose mascot of the Blue Rocks. We're doing Random Acts of Fun, showing up at random places around town and handing out pocket schedules. Here are some of the pics:

One In The Books

Last night went smoother than expected, as the rain held off and we played 13 innings to start the Blue Rocks season. Blake Wood(above) pitched a heck of a game, but no offense as it was 0-0 for 12 innings. As for me, well, it went well, though my ego already misses hearing my name every 5 seconds over the radio. 69 more to go.

Ready, Set..?

It's finally here- after 2 1/2 months of waiting, Opening Night in Wilmington is here. Or is it? Forecast calls for rain pretty much till Noah and his ark arrive. Right now, it's only cloudy, so we shall see. As I learned last year, the forecast is not always, or even often, correct. The worst thing that could happen is on-and-off rain, which would cause multiple tarp pulls. But, even with all of this, there is a collective buzz around the office. Nothing quite like it that I can compare it to in my experience. So for now- let's play ball!