O's Road Notes
Observations from St. Petersburg, Florida while working the O's-Rays series for MASN.
Indoor baseball: Tropicana Field is NOT a bad ballpark. It's my first time at the dome and I've heard so many complaints about the place over the years- but it's not nearly the awful baseball experience that so many have suggested. First of all, it's a domed stadium- so that alone is enough for some fans to hate to the place. For the record, I'm not a fan of domed baseball, but it's a matter of practicality in this area. When my plane landed at the Tampa airport Friday morning at 9:30am, the air temperature was 85 degrees and the heat index was 100 (that was at 9:30am!). Plus, it rains allot here. A retractable roof facility would be preferable, but either way- you have to have cover and air conditioning.
The other complaint about the Trop is that it's loud. Well, yes- it's pretty loud. Fans are encouraged to make noise and they've built their own tradition with fans bringing cowbells to the games. The Rays pump up the volume with music and sound effects during the game. I don't care for it, but it works for the home team. I asked O's manager Buck Showalter about the Tampa Bay home field advantage and he acknowledges that they have created one for themselves. In fact, Buck says he thought the Twins had a great advantage at the Metrodome- one that the Twins abandoned when they moved to their new outdoor park. (As I write this from the Tropicana Field press box, the crowd is doing the "chicken dance" between innings...so it's not only loud- it's annoying.)
Jones calls it: I was in the O's clubhouse following their 5-0 win over the Rays in the series opener and Adam Jones called me over to share a prediction. He says, "Andy Sonnanstine's pitching Saturday. I'm going to have some fun, I'm gonna be on base." It's not bragging if you can do it: Jones launched a 3-run homer off the Rays right-hander in the 3rd inning to give the O's a 3-0 lead. BTW- that made Jones 6-for-10 lifetime vs. Sonnanstine with 2 HR.
Ghosts: You've probably heard the stories about the Vinoy hotel in St. Petersburg. It's where visiting teams stay when they play the Rays and it's believed (by some) to be haunted. Look it up- much has been written about spooky, unexplained happenings there with Orioles Brian Roberts, Jay Gibbons and Scott Williamson providing personal testimonials. I'm staying at the Vinoy and after I showered on Friday- the bathroom mirror fogged over. I emerged from the shower to see the name "Tamara" written in the fog at the top of the mirror. If she's a ghost and she's in my room I hope Tamara is friendly! Speaking of ghosts, O's reliever Mike Gonzalez came into this series haunted by the memory of his last visit here: the season-opening series and his disastrous introduction to his new team. "Gonzo" returned to the scene of the crime and got the final 3 outs (including 2 strikeouts). He told me in a post-game interview on MASN that he had told his teammates that the place held allot of bad memories and that he hoped for a chance to get back out on the mound. He made good on that chance in what could be another step on his road to redemption.
