A 2nd pro baseball lobbed to me? REALLY?!?!?!?

Monday, July 27, 2009. Play ball!

One of Cleveland's "L'il Indians" teams came to town for some minor league baseball. This time the High-A Carolina League Kinston Indians were over in Winston-Salem for a series. Monday and Tuesday's games will coincide nicely with my work schedule, as I always circle the dates when Kinston and Lake County and Columbus come around.

The former Winston-Salem Warthogs changed their name to the horrendous Winston-Salem Dash for their new ballpark this year. "Dash"? Yeah. Dash. The thing found in between the Winston and the Salem. Awful.

Anyway, name change for the new ballpark. Except they're playing in the old ballpark. YIKES! It seems there has been some ownership whining about who knows what, so the new ballpark set to open in 2009 stands yet unfinished. UNFINISHED! In July!!! Of the year it was to open!!! And the Warthogs, er, Dash left venerable Ernie Shore Field for their new home....except their new home ain't done. Soooooo.....they apparently struck a deal with Wake Forest University to rent out their old home, which is now known as the Wake Forest Baseball Park.

I'm not sure if the whole pissing match has anything to do with what transpired tonight, but in the 3rd inning I looked around and literally HAND COUNTED all the fans in the seats and made it all the way up to 164.

164. In the seats.

Now I'm sure the church group that had a Monday night outing were all seated in the white picnic tent in left field...all thousands of them. Because surely there were more than 164 fans there to see a ballgame.

And another thing possibly tied to the pissing match, almost all of the food kiosks and vendors were closed. Boarded up. HUH???? One spot to get food. One. Good thing I nabbed my two hot dogs early....wouldn't want to wait in that long line of 164 people if we all decided to get food at the same time!

$9 gets you behind the dugout. The guy at the ticket window saw my Cleveland Indians jersey and rightfully surmised, "behind the Kinston dugout?" Why yes, good sir. Take my $9 and get me behind the visitors!

The Indians lost 3-2. A rally in the 9th fell short as 2 men on were wiped out with a game-ending double play. But I found a new friend. A new player to watch and follow during his hopefully successful career: the lanky shortstop pictured here, Ronald Rivas.

"Why Ronald Rivas?" you may ask? Before the top of the 9th, upon leaving the field and entering the dugout, he tosses me the game-used baseball. NICE!!!! 38 years and not one foul ball or game-used ball, and all of a sudden I get a Washington Nationals foul tip from Ryan Zimmerman in June, and then a Kinston Indians inning ending ball lobbed to me in July by Ronald Rivas. All in one summer. Wow.

This game used ball business may seem silly to you, but dammit if this doesn't help lift the spirits after all the shit of the past year or two!!!!