A heavy heart (and a happy giveaway!)
::brushes away cobwebs::
Hi folks! Long time, no see! Though in fact there’s been plenty to see… I just haven’t been that good about writing about it. Got a couple of things on my mind today, though–not least a terrific giveaway from the folks at Tickets-For-Charity! But first…
… well, but first, I’m feeling a little heavy-hearted about the start of this season. And I think I have good reason to.
No, I’m not talking about the Red Sox record, which I firmly believe is an aberration that we will all be sick of hearing about come October when the Sox are playing in the postseason and every writer begins the story with “Not a single Red Sox fan still believed in the team in those dark days in early April…”
I’m talking about the saddest aspect of the business of baseball: the players released at the end of Spring Training. This year, for whatever reason, the cuts felt more personal, because many of them were guys I enjoyed watching and shooting in the minors (and some in the majors). This won’t be an exhaustive list, but guys like Aaron Bates
March 22, 2011
T.J. Large
March 23, 2011
Ryan Khoury
March 23, 2011
and Adam Mills
March 22, 2011
Thanks to commenter soxfc for pointing out that though he might have a hard time fighting back onto the roster, longtime favorite of sittingstill’s camera Mark Wagner is still with the organuization, somewhere!
March 21, 2011
The PawSox open at home tonight, and I’ll be there, shooting, but it won’t just be Ben Mondor whose presence will be missed.
Of course, the Red Sox home opener is tomorrow, and after the game there’ll be a Welcome Home Party at the House of Blues. Tickets for this event are sold out… but thanks to the folks at Tickets-For-Charity I have a pair of passes to give away! Tickets-for-Charity is an initiative where buyers can get great seats to sporting events, concerts, etc. and benefit charities at the same time. The face value of your purchase goes to the team/concert venue/etc…. and everything over that goes not into a scalper’s pocket but to charity! With the Red Sox, it goes to the Red Sox Foundation, but often with other tickets you actually get to specify the charity you want to benefit! It’s not an auction site, so you do get to see up front how much money would come out of your pocket. So let’s see… leave me a note in the comments, here or on Facebook, about your favorite former or current PawSox player, and I’ll draw an entry from those who participate. Quick turnaround on this… comment BEFORE 3:00PM TODAY, APRIL 7, TO BE ELIGIBLE. (I’ve got to get to Pawtucket tonight!)
As always, find all my shots at SmugMug… and don’t miss the new (and still being updated) Player Name page!