So I have been blogging so much from the ballpark that some details have been lost.  I finally am sitting with my laptop open in Sarasota- waiting for a split squad of Orioles to host the Pirates.

A couple of days ago I was sitting in Clearwater, the home of the Phillies and I  met some wonderful Philly fans, who work for the Threshers and the Phillies in the spring- just want to give a bit of a shout out to Bill, Carol, Tim and Sandy- it was a pleasure to speak with you!

When I was in Jupiter, I met some friends of Cody Ransom, centerfielder for the Cards- and these were some folks that knew baseball.  They were honestly Braves fans, but Cody was their home town kid and apparently does a lot of work with young folks in the community, coaching and the like.  The man sitting next to me had lost his wife recently- and when Cody heard, he brought his son a signed ball, bat and jersey, not to make up for the young mans loss, but to just do the only thing he could.  Very generous.  If you read me often, you know its stories like this that make it all worth while.

I promised a couple of days ago to share a piece of video to compare the stands prior to the Cards game to the stands prior to the Marlins game- same day, same stadium 10 minutes after gates opened.  Not great pieces of video- I am still learning.  But, I think it does say something about both game experiences.  I should note that there were some very vocal cheering fans in the stands for the Marlins game- but the comparison makes it clear just how different the fans are. Did I mention that a man behind me at the Cards game actually mentioned Enos Slaughter?

Cards 10 minutes after gates opened:

Marlins 10 minutes after gates opened:

More from today’s game soon- though I do have to say its nice to watch the Orioles in Sarasota.