The opening banquet last night was quite enjoyable. The rookies introduced themselves individually and told us how they found themselves here at fantasy camp. Most of them received this as a gift from a spouse or their families. A few were crossing off a "bucket list" item. One gentleman received it from his wife who, tragically, passed away before he came down for 2015 camp. He postponed it until this year and he finally made it.
My great friend Phil Forman finally made it into town last evening, just prior to the banquet. The poor guy found out that his LaGuardia flight had cancelled, so he high-tailed it to Philadelphia where he got a direct flight for which he arrived at the gate with just 15 minutes to spare. The airline only got one of his bags to him, but at least it was his equipment bag. He actually received his other bag as it was delivered to the Hilton Garden Inn at about 3 am this morning. There were even players who arrived this afternoon. Amazing that some of these guys stuck it out for nearly three days to get here. I applaud their efforts and are glad they are here safely.
Today's tripleheader started at about 9 am. My team, Phil's Bombers, coached by Phil Regan and Lance Johnson, took the field looking to win the opener. Mike Aranzullo, the guy who basically willed our team to a championship in 2014 was our starting pitcher today. It was the first time I'd seen him since our championship trophies were given out. It was great to see him and it's great to have him as a teammate once again.
Lance Johnson as one of my coaches is a "small world" event. When I was employed by the Twins I often got to know many of the visiting players, especially those who played against our division rivals. Lance would often say hello I would sometimes greet him with a greeting of "One-Dawg! What's up?" as that was his nickname. So as we were walking to the field this afternoon I reminded him of this and he actually recalled who I was. Granted, it'd been nearly 20 years since we'd seen each other, but he did remember those days on the field at the Metrodome.
As the game started I was on the bench. But as I looked through the fencing at my teammates in their first at bat I thought to myself one thing. I could not imagine one place on this earth that I would have wanted to be other than right there. Full road Mets uniform on my frame, in good health, mostly sunny skies overhead, playing the game I love. It was a great moment in time.
We dropped the first game by a 3-2 score. It was a good game and we hung in there all the way to the end. We just couldn't seem to get on top again after we had a 2-0 lead. Game two was against the team that I believe will win it all. We were never really in it and we dropped an 11-3 decision. Game three was played after lunch but once again we came up a run short, losing 4-3 in the bottom of the 7th after tying the contest in the top of said inning. I actually came to the plate with the bases loaded after we tied it in the top of inning seven. There were two down and I wanted to get a base hit in the worst way. After hitting a couple of foul balls I went down swinging on a pitch that was up near my corneas. I just couldn't hold the swing back. In the bottom of the inning we gave up the winning run with two down. Rob Thomson threw a great game. He was down on himself but he shouldn't be because he kept us in the game from start to finish. "Zulo" also threw a great game and deserved a better fate than his offense afforded him.
I went 1-for-6 with a walk on the day. I'm disappointed with my output but tomorrow, weather permitting, I will make a valiant attempt to raise my batting average. Tomorrow's weather may hold off long enough for us to get in the scheduled games. I certainly hope so.
Tonight we had the "bull session" where campers get to ask the pros about their playing careers and things such as that. It was fun to hear some of the stories they told. They raffled off a number of signed items during the event which included a bbq dinner. I took no new signed items but that's okay as the proceeds are going to the families of two NYC police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty last year.
I took a look at Jim Breuer's daily video on Facebook earlier this evening and I saw myself in the background. I was thankful that I had a pair of shorts on as I had just gotten back to my locker after some time in the whirlpool. 45 seconds earlier and I could have become a social media outcast or something like that.
I dare not give you the link to the video as no one needs to see that.
No one.
Like I said, the weather was a total Buzz Killington today. Having lived in Florida for nine years I recognized this weather. Sheets of water followed by wind and then a sliver of sunshine through the clouds, just to mess with one's sense of optimism. It became quickly obvious that the day would be a washout as far as games being played today.
I had a fun conversation with my buddy Phil Forman, Sarah Phillips, who is in her third camp, and Jim Breuer. Jim enlightened us with his tales of his time on Saturday Night Live and what he's up to these days. It was very interesting and a lot of fun.
We had the first day of awards in the tent this morning as the rain continued to fall. Commissioner John Stearns, who is suffering from a laryngitis condition, led the meeting. The brown ropes were handed out this morning. The nominees are announced and the first two nominees arose, moved to the front of the room and took their plaques back to their respective seats. Keep in mind that they were only NOMINEES. Stearnsie had made a faux pas and he was now a target himself. Doug Flynn took the mic and said something to the effect that Steve Harvey was hosting this morning. That got a pretty good laugh. The ropes were won by two of my teammates. That's not good.
The golden ropes were handed out as well. There were some pretty good performances turned in yesterday to be sure.
The day then moved to the batting cages which allowed many of us the chance to get close instruction. My team gathered around the cage which had one of our coaches, Lance Johnson. Lance played 14 years in the majors, stole over 300 bases and batted .291 lifetime. He took the time to help us with each of our hitting quirks. It was instruction that I had never received before. It was great. I learned more today about hitting than I have since I started playing this great game. So the rain was not as bad as it could have been, in all actuality.
Today we were honored by a visit from the manager of the N.L. Champions one Terry Collins. It was great to see him and thank him for his efforts last season. I got him to sign a World Series ball and the back of my new blue road jersey. It was a real treat for all of us in attendance. He is so gracious and warm and he truly understands what he means to us Met fans.
Lunch was served shortly after that and the organizers set up a bowling excursion for anyone who wished to participate in a little afternoon keggling. I passed on the outing in order to take it easy on myself after the three games of yesterday. I knew that the Kangaroo Court would be the highlight of the evening in about 5 hours or so. 
Kangaroo Court was great. Terry Collins spoke at the beginning and had the room hanging on every word. He answered questions and gave props to his coaching staff for their efforts last fall. Terry is a class act in every sense and we were lucky to have him there both at the cages and at the court proceedings.
Kangaroo Court is a meeting where players are handed out fines for errors, both mental and physical, which occur during camp both during games and during other times of the day. Doug Flynn and Bobby Wine don colonial wigs and robes to preside over the players and coaches. It's a laugh riot as fines are handed out for offenses ranging from wearing putting your equipment in an unconventional manner to showing up late to your game. I got knicked for $10 just for bring a member of Phil Regan's team which is currently 0-3. The first team that Regan has been with that went 0-3 in his 60 years in baseball. We're not really that bad, considering that two of our losses are by one run each.
The meeting is fast-paced and full of laughs. The Court ended with fellow camper Jim Breuer doing a bit of storytelling about his time at camp along with a bit of his stand up routine. It was a scream. Everyone was laughing their heads off.
Tomorrow we will make another attempt to beat the rains, but right now it looks like it could be "deja vu all over again", to quote the late, great Yogi Berra. But we will do the best we can with the cards we are dealt.
Tune in tomorrow.
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