Preparing for my Opening Day pilgrimage bad weather or not

I'm preparing for my Opening Day pilgrimage to Cincinnati. The weather doesn't look particularly grand but I'm not going to complain about it. I'm in the same boat as Taylor over at Crosley Field Terrace - I don't want the baseball season to start later or only in warm weather cities. Baseball has operated this way for over 100 years... I like it just the way it is. The game shouldn't cater to the whiners or to the casual fans.

Reds Trade Keppinger

The Reds have traded Jeff Keppinger to the Astros for a minor league PTBNL. I have to say, I'm sorry to see this guy leave Cincy. High socks, versatile player, and a heck of a nice guy.

More reading:

• Hal McCoy
• Diamond Hoggers
  

Leyland smokin' over Sheffield release

My favorite manager of all-time, Jim Leyland, is "smoking" over the Tigers release of Gary Sheffield. Not smoking as in mad... literally.

"I lit two Marlboro at the same time," Leyland said. "I couldn't sleep..."

This should come as no surprise, everyone knows of Leyland's affinity for Marlboro Reds, even Wikipedia.

Memories and Place are Intertwined at Tiger Stadium

As a few of you have noticed, I haven't posted in a few weeks. I've been spending a lot of time on work-related stuff and just got back from a work-related trip. My on the plane reading was this book by Tom Stanton about the final season of Tiger Stadium. I never watched a game at Tiger Stadium and didn't get to see it until it had fallen into disrepair, however, I've always felt a connection to the stadium through my dad. He was a big fan of the 1968 Tigers and attended a few games at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull that summer.

This past summer I moved to northwestern Ohio, less than an hour south of Detroit (actually, I live the Jim Leyland's hometown)... anyway, in June, I took my dad to a Tigers game which celebrated the 1968 team. I considered it a special moment. Prior to that game I had planned to take my dad by Tiger Stadium, however, he said that he didn't want to see it. I didn't question it but I suspect he wanted to remember it how it was in 1968.

Stanton's book is about the connections between memories and place and I highly recommend it if you're interested in that geographic sort of thing. Here's a nice passage from the book describing Tiger Stadium that I feel is fitting to this blog:

"Our ballpark feels like Detroit. It carries no airs. It's blue-collar and industrial. When you enter the gates, you come in beneath corrugated doors that have been rolled up on tracks, like at a warehouse delivery dock. You're greeted by cement and steel, strong, riveted girders that thrust upwards and serve a purpose, hold the deck about in place. There are no architectural flourishes: no cornices, no fancy tile work, no aesthetic touches. This stadium show its secrets - pipes, wires, girders, and all. It's plain and simple, no scent of pretentiousness. It doesn't yearn to be something it is not."