I don't know if it's Bob Castellini's influence or if everyone was just in a good mood yesterday, but everyone we interacted with at the stadium was friendlier than in previous years. The woman at the souvenir stands was a character, the people selling the pizza and nachos were chatty, and the players were anxious to give the autographs.

As if they somehow knew that I'd be in attendance on the right-field line, Red after Red came up to the wall to sign autographs. Since we were sitting just beyond the end of the tarp, they all came up right in front of us. If I were an autograph collector, it would have been a great day for me.

When Ryan Freel took the field and came over to sign some autographs, I wasn't too surprised. Now that Sean Casey's gone, Freel's the one known best for his willingness to sign for the kiddies. But when Adam Dunn came over, I was pretty surprised. What a nice guy, I thought.

I was standing in an interminable line for an ice cream cone when Edwin Encarnación came by to do the autograph thing. Three starters giving autographs in the same day? Amazing!

I was still away when Brandon Phillips was giving his autographs. Phillips was flashing the smile all day, especially after a great double play maneuver. That guy's got some an energy, I tell ya!

Josh Hamilton came by to give autographs before the game as well, and during the game came over to start his stretching before taking over in the field. He was chatting with the fans in the stands. One guy in the second row says, “You gonna show that old man in right field what it takes to play the game?” Hamilton turned around to look who was in right (as if he didn't know), turned back, and smirked. Very cute.

Perhaps the most impressive of the autographers to come by was the Sarasota Reds Gator. He actually plopped down in a seat in the row in front of me to interact with the kiddies. One kid asked for an autograph, which was cool, but that set off all these other kids who would get an autograph, run back to their seat, grab something else, and come ask for another one. It degenerated fast, and soon they were asking for multiple autographs on pieces of trash. Empty water bottles, peanut wrappers, cardboard cup holders. Most of the trash he refused, though he did autograph a napkin.

And you wonder why people grow weary of signing autographs.

We arrived in Sarasota well before we could check in to our condo for the week, so we headed straight over to Ed Smith Stadium. However, we were also a touch early for the game. Thank goodness Mr. Castellini changed the schedule to have the stadium open two hours before game time instead of 90 minutes, or we would have been chillin' in the parking lot for a while.

The early opening time seemed to be very popular all-around. There were lots of people already at the stadium when we arrived, enjoying batting practice.

We recently got a new camera, and the Crack Photography Staff has been diligently practicing. Even more recently, we got a zoom lens to let us take even more obsessive-fan-type photos. Dude, you can see the sweat on these guys' faces.

When you're not zoomed in all the way, though, the zoom lens gives sort of a halo effect. You can almost hear the chorus of angels sing about David Ross and the orthopedic surgeon advertised in the billboard behind him.

Here you can see Adam Dunn looking trim. I even like the hair.

What luck! We were there to see Ken Griffey's first game of the spring. He looked just fine to me, though, to be fair, I was nearly delirious with exhaustion at the time.

Bronson Arroyo was our starting pitcher, and here he is with his favorite catcher. How nice. Ross was out getting ready WAY before Arroyo. Bronson's preparation routine must involve some inside time.

The Budweiser clydesdales were in full effect. And you thought Arroyo was a workhorse!

Outside the stadium we were able to walk fairly close to the beasts, which my five-year old thought was cool. I've never seen such a large horse.

And all of this was before th first pitch! More photos to come.

So, here's how my day has gone so far:
2:00 a.m. The alarm goes off. The CTS and I stagger around a little to get dressed and ready to go. We made a few last-minute runs back into the house for things we forgot, thanks to which we seem to actually have most everything, with the exception of my Reds necklace. I'm probably better off without it. I don't really need a sunburn set off by a brilliant white wishbone C on my chest.

4:45 a.m. Arrive at the Dayton International Airport. Enjoy a bag of baked Cheetos and a bag of M&Ms. Breakfast of champions.

6:00 a.m. Plane takes off for Atlanta. It's my son's first plane ride. After the adventure of take-off, he fell asleep. Kids grow up so fast.

8:50 a.m. After a snack at Checkers in the Atlanta International Airport, we take off for Sarasota. This flight was more interesting, as the sun had come up.

11:30 a.m. Finally in possession of our luggage and our rental car, arrive at Ed Smith Stadium. We stuck around for the first seven innings before our exhaustion got the best of us and we took off to find our condos.

4:00 p.m. Collapsed in condo bed for a quick nap before starting this entry.

I'll write some more about the game when I get back from dinner. We've got lots of pictures. It was awesome to see Griffey play. Ryan Freel, Adam Dunn, Josh Hamilton, Edwin Encarnación, and Brandon Phillips all signed autographs directly in front of my seat. What a bunch of nice-niks.

The weather is wonderful. I wish you were here.

We'll be heading straight to Ed Smith Stadium from the Sarasota airport when we arrive in Florida tomorrow, so I'm putting up a game thread way, way early. C. Trent will probably have a line-up, but not yet.

The Reds got their asses handed to them tonight by the Devil Rays, of all teams. (Though, to be fair, the Rays have been quite hot lately.) Theoretically, they'll be facing stiffer competition tomorrow when the Phillies come to town, but they'll also have the benefit of a Mama's love in the stadium, so hopefully it will more than even out.

If any of you readers are going to be at Ed Smith tomorrow (or for any of the games in the next week) be on the lookout for me. You won't be able to miss the glint of the sun off my lily white skin on the first base side.

As usual, C. Trent has the line-up:

Ryan Freel CF
Alex Gonzalez SS
Brandon Phillips 2B
Josh Hamilton RF
David Ross C
Juan Castro DH
Chris Denorfia LF
Mark Bellhorn 1B
Enrique Cruz 3B

Though there may well be subs in by now, late as I am posting about it.

In addition to taking off for vacation tomorrow, we've also just listed our house with a new real estate company with the understanding that our house is available for showings the whole time we're gone. So, today not only have I been collecting stuff together to pack, I've been getting the house “show ready.”

Since people who are checking out houses with the knowledge that the owners are a thousand miles away probably feel more free to open closets and poke around in bathrooms, I've felt the need to get everything super-clean. I'm sort of weird like that.

It's been at tired day, but I really feel like I've earned my trip to Sarasota now.