I’m sitting here on Thursday afternoon, looking outside at the trees covered with a thin layer of ice. It’s a far cry from the beautiful 63 degree day we had in Rochester, NY only three days prior. The week before that, we had blizzard conditions with wind-chill temps in the minus-twenties. This winter has seemed to go on forever and have more personalities than Sybil, and it’s still only the end of the first week of February.
Despite Old Man Winter being firmly parked here across the United States, I’m dreaming of warm temperatures and baseball.
I took this photo at PNC Field in Moosic, PA last July 4, when I went to a game between the Buffalo Bisons and the Scranton Wilkes Barre RailRiders. I’ll describe this scene as I remember it. It rained and stormed most of the afternoon, but it all cleared out about an hour before I took this photo, taking the humidity with it. It was a pleasant 72 degrees, the air and grass smelled fresh and the smell of popcorn and hot-dogs were in the air. The PA system was playing upbeat music and there was a buzz of excitement in the crowd because New York Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka (on rehab assignment) was the RailRiders starting pitcher this day. Tanaka pitched well, allowing a pair of runs over five innings in a 4-2 win over Buffalo.
Spring training begins next week, with exhibition games beginning within a couple weeks. It’s still cold outside, but us baseball die-hards are most of the way through the darkness of the off-season. In the meantime, I’ll just enjoy the smells and sounds of the ballparks. 😎🌭🍿⚾
The Titanium Spine 