One more in Indy

Hello PawSox Fans!

The PawSox lost earlier this evening 5-1 to the Indians and finish up the four games series tomorrow night at 7:05. After the game tomorrow night, the Penske gets loaded and its off to Rhode Island for a 6:00 game on Saturday, meaning we have a “pin cushion.” A pin cushion is a phrase i coined for being the opposite of a “cushion.”

When you have a day game or off day, that affords you a cushion of time to make the long trip. If there was a 7:00pm game on Saturday there is neither a cushion or a pin cushion because you have that 24 hour time period to play the game, get the equipment packed and the truck loaded and your on your way. A pin cushion occurs when you lose an hour as will be the case with the 6:00pm game start at McCoy on Saturday. The drive from here to McCoy is over 15 hours which leaves little cushion. There you have it!

Throughout the day today there were constant warnings of severe thunderstorms with hail. The temp was again in the 90′s with no breeze. The weather gods must have had tickets to tonight’s game because there wasnt any rain!

Earlier this the morning sitting on the patio drinking a coffee and a nice bagel I saw this kid with his dad across the street in the park trying to fly a kite. The kid ran with the kite, it would get off the ground about 6 feet and come crashing back to earth. The little fella did this time after time with the same results. I’m thinking this kid would have about the same chance of getting that kite in the air as he would have having a lawn chair tied to the end of the string.

The kid did get it in the air about 20 feet for about 37 seconds. They rolled up the string, put the kite in the trunk of their SUV and rented bikes. As they drove by and waved I told the kid he should pull the kite behind his bike. The dad laughed and continued on their ride. A nice day of bonding for son and father.

After chowing down my bagel I head to the airport to pick up my driving partner Lou. He checks into the hotel and we make plans for lunch and to head over early to the ballpark. We meet in the lobby at lunchtime and head out to the Golden Coral.

For around 10 bucks you can feast on every type of food you can imagine. Fried shrimp, pulled pork, steak, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, spaghetti and meatballs, soups, salads and even an endless supply of deviled eggs just to name a few of the items. When done with this feedbag we head over to the stadium.

They just got done posting the standings of the teams. It shows the PawSox in first by a half a game. After tonight’s win by the Scranton Yankees and the PawSox loss, the Yanks now lead by a half game.

The coaching and training staff arrive at the stadium very early every game day. Pitching coach Rich Sauveur arrives and greets us with a wave and a smile.

Today Coach Sauveur has a bullpen session with Zach Stewart. Rich stands by and watches the mechanics of Zach during the session.

Rich then meets with all the pitches to talk about any issues and/or concerns.

The pitchers have time to stretch.

The pitching staff goes through their warm-up routines.

I see Chris Hernandez in the bullpen area simulating pitching a baseball but he’s holding a towel. When I first saw it, I thought he was swatting some bugs away, but when I asked Rich about it later, he told me its a drill pitchers use to simulate throwing a ball without actually throwing a ball. The small towel is said to be around the same weight of a baseball.

Rich spends some time chatting with Daniel Bard.

When done with his pre-game routine, Daniel takes time to sign some autographs.

 

I speak with Coach Sauveur later and tell him I’m always curious of what a pitching coach tells the pitcher when they walk out to the mound. He explains to me that it depends on the situation. If the pitcher is pitching a good game he keeps things light, if the pitcher isn’t pitching he is expected to pitch, a more serious approach is taken.

The manager and coaching staff all have to complete reports for the Red Sox after every game. It’s very time-consuming and tedious. The behind the scenes work the manager and coaches do is incredible.

When the PawSox return home on Saturday, come on out to the McCoy and enjoy the game! It’s a great night to bring the family out to a game. The first 3,000 youths, 14 and under will receive a free Daniel Bard bobblehead doll. It’s a fun and affordable way to spend the weekend! Come see the coaches and players at McCoy, you wont be disappointed when you see the PawSox Staff is all……………”Here For You!”

Love to hear from you!

Yours in Baseball,

Rick Medeiros                  rickm@pawsox.com