Easy like Sunday morning (Day 5)

Home away from home.

Ballparks are different everywhere. Each one has its own unique intricacies and if you're really interested in my take on ballparks then you could read the article I wrote when I saw my 20th:

http://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/articles/one-one-more-ball-park-makes-an-even-20/

Since I wrote that article in May, I have been to even more parks. I visited the Major League stadiums in Washington, Miami and Tampa Bay (though I had already been to TB six years ago) since then, along with one in Lansing (where the Blue Jays Class A affiliate happens to be) and now RNA (Ramps of Natural Astonishment?).

And what do they all have in common?

They're not hockey arenas.

And they all feel like home to me. For whomever might be reading this, if you don't know me all that well, you probably think I'm nuts. If you know me, you know I'm crazy about baseball. Me and the game, well we have a good relationship. And this year it didn't even break my heart and leave me for the winter.

As I ran around the track thinking about the game, the park, the volunteers, the guys that I've met and have worked with...I realized that there is no better place for me to be. I don't know if all of those people would agree with me, but I'm not asking because I'm staying for the season either way.

What would I be doing if I were at home right now? Who cares? This place is awesome.

After my run around the track, size still to be determined, I did what I have been doing for the last several days. I showered and immediately came back. I am lucky enough to be living in a place within walking distance of the park. I have come to discover that really no one else has that privilege. My situation is pretty spectacular.

Back at the ballpark we had a leisurely Sunday afternoon. It seemed like everyone was stress-free and having a good time. There weren't a great number of fans but at least I get the feeling that every fan at these games is a real fan. I don't know that there are too many people that would come late or leave early or (the ultimate) leave when the game is tied, and those are just a few of my un-fanlike pet peeves. But the 600 or so people at the stadium were putting out their best.

I started the game with a major mistake though. I played the Australian national anthem, which by the way I really want to learn, and didn't realize it was on repeat. When the anthem had finished, it definitely started up again before I figured it out and turned it off. My bad. the rest of the game went a lot more smoothly than that, which was great because someone from the league was taking it in. He was very complimentary on the announcing (Coshi's forte) and the sound effects (alllll me...boom! Okay, maybe a little Coshi in there too). So that was nice to hear. I'm glad people are enjoying themselves and their surroundings. Not everyone has the innate love for America's favourite pastime that I do. So I feel it is my duty to help them learn to love it.

After taking last night's game 2-0, today's game was another low-scoring affair. It would have been lower if I hadn't jinxed the bullpen yesterday too. Oops.

I can't believe more runs aren't being produced though in a stadium with such short porches in left and right field. The exact dimensions seem a bit exaggerated to me, but whatever I could say about them, they're very shy of 300 feet. Use your imagination.

The Bandits took a 1-0 lead into the ninth in this one and I thought they had it locked up. Team closer Chris "Kenny Powers" Mowday, who by the way was a Blue Jays farmhand for five seasons, came into the game in the top of the ninth. This was just after having cut off all of his hair for charity in the third through fifth innings or so. What a sport. He did give up a game-tying home run though, so no more haircuts during the games. New rule. Fortunately for the team, and not so much for starter Steven Chambers, Mowday managed to vulture himself a win when the Bandits came back in the bottom half of the inning with a fluke walkoff hit. It was a ground ball up the first baseline that happened to hit awkwardly off the bag and fly in the opposite direction of the first baseman, allowing the runner to score from second. Exciting win.

But that's the series, folks. Brisbane is 3-1 at home and 2-2 on the road. And as a wise man once told me, if you can go .500 on the road and win your home series, you're cruising. So let's just hope they stay on this boat.

The baseball here has been fantastic so far. The games have been exciting, the lineups have been offensively impressive and the pitching in this tiny ball park has been astonishing. I can't stress how great the ball has been and if anyone has any doubts about the league,  I will try my best to make them disappear.

Having an afternoon game left an abundance of free time that I had no idea what to do with. Lucky for me though, Carl offered to show me around a little bit and take me to some awesome places. He's from New York City and has been here for a couple months (I think?) so he has the lay of the land a little better than I do, seeing as I have only been at the park or the office or showering.

So we started off on our adventure to walk to South Bank. South Bank is a place with shops and restaurants and a movie theatre and it's right on the river (or some body of water). There's a ferris wheel and all kinds of exciting stuff. There was even an outdoor movie theatre, but much to my dismay they were having the last viewing of its seasonal existence as we walked past. Disappointing.

We went to the other movie theatre to check out what was playing and temporarily decided that we might come back and see Moneyball. Though I've seen it twice, there's nothing better than leaving the ballpark after being there for five straight days and seeing a baseball movie. Honestly, don't think that was sarcastic. If you do, you are sorely mistaken my friend. But none of the movies started for awhile and I was hungry so we decided to get some food first.

We stopped for dinner at one of the restaurants in the area and I ordered some combination of food that sounded relatively normal to me. When I got it, I didn't really understand what was lost in translation, but it was edible and I was happy with that. And my new friend Carl (with this statement I am forcing my friendship upon him) and I ate some food and drank some beers until the bar closed. Moneyball was not seen by us. Australian beer was had and my ever-curious self had enough questions for Carl to last the entire time.

One question remained. What would become of tomorrow, my first day without a game? Gonzo had actually asked if I could come to the park and help with the deconstruction of all things baseball, so at least I know I will be getting in some ballpark time. Everything has to be taken down because there is some sort of concert going on while the team is either on the road or during their bye week.

So really, no questions remain.