Quakes

Last night all the kids (L and C, C and B) and I went out to watch the Lancaster Jethawks beat the Cucamonga Quakes. Every time I go there is something a little different from the last time I went. Here are a few shots from the game.

All fans in attendance got a pack of cards of the players. Including cards for Tremor, Aftershock and Crazy J.

Dodger Justin Turner, in a rehab stint, walked twice, got on base on error and also got a base hit.

Tremor sprayed kids with water after it cooled off

Section 8 in the Club. Not many people behind to bother us.

Dodgers Magic Number - 2

Great to see Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramierez not only back in the lineup, but hitting and scoring!

Matt Kemp at the Quakes

On Wednesday the Dodgers confirmed that Matt Kemp would start a rehab stint with the RC Quakes on Thursday. We decided that we not only wanted to go to the game, but we also wanted to spring for the expensive tickets, so we bought the $13 Superbox seats in section 5 - just to the right of the section immediately behind the plate. There were still a few seats in the second row, so we snapped them up.

When we arrived at Will Call, we saw that our section was sold out, so we felt good about our purchase the night before. When we went to see the Quakes in July, there were so few people at the field, but with Kemp in the lineup (hitting DH in the #2 spot), we knew the crowds would be there. The Quakes website says today that tonight's game is already sold out.

Here is a photo taken from our seats with no zoom. I did, however, bring the good camera with the long lens. We also enjoyed the fact that the seats in the super boxes have padding!

Unfortunately, in Matt's 4 at-bats, he made 6 outs. He hit into two double plays, struck out and grounded out. Actually, we left after the 7th inning, and Matt had one more at-bat. He got out.

Here he is, hanging in the dugout, blowing a bubble.

We got a great view of the High Desert Mavericks when they were on deck. Several of them had these holes in their left leg. The minor leagues are a different beast than the majors.

This view shows a full crowd. Too bad the Quakes lost 14-3.

Gotta love minor league shenanigans - even easier to see up close....

Quakes

Every summer we make at least one (and usually one) pilgrimage to a Quakes game. Often we make a group outing with the chemistry summer research students. The stars aligned for these two last night. 

During the game I heard something about a Flickr page for the Quakes, so I looked it up this morning. You can see many fan photos here. 

Of National Poetry Month and Baseball

"Poets are like baseball pitchers. Both have their moments. The intervals are the tough things." 

- Robert Frost

Coming through the entire month of March offers its rewards for me, and I don't even live in a place where we get real winter. But after the short month of February and before the glorious greening of April, the long, long month of March stretches out.

And now it's April, and there is baseball to watch, baseball to listen to, and every team has a clean start. This is the next year for which we've waited.

April is also National Poetry Month, which often means little to the general public, but for the occasional NPR stories. 

In honor of baseball season and National Poetry Month, you can peruse this website which has complied baseball poems and songs.

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Day 3 - Clutter Cleanse: I found a little salt and pepper shaker combo that I don't even remember getting. Who needs more than one set? Donated.