Ultimate Baseball
Road Trip Blog

Do you by chance remember hearing the news that MVP Joey Votto was on the DL? Perhaps youare a fan of another NL Central team and you cheered on your chances, but I for one sat devastated and hoped he wouldn’t be gone long. My confession: I thought I could kiss post-season play goodbye all because my favorite first baseman was out of the lineup. 

Joey’s teammates, however, thought otherwise. Over the past several weeks I’ve gleefully watched my team step up to the plate by making amazing double plays, hitting back-to-back single and two-run homers and have even watched a few heart attack comeback victories. What an amazing and flat out fun team to watch right now! Make no mistake, Votto is a great asset to the Cincinnati Reds baseball organization, and thankfully he will be back. My advice Joey, don’t rush it! Get yourself healthy. Your team has things under control! Have you seen Todd Frazier and Zach Cozart?! Have you glanced at the MLB Standings? The Reds are seven games up on the second place Pirates. SEVEN!  

How exciting to be attending the Reds Road Trip to Pittsburgh and see this great matchup at PNC Park on September 29th and 30th! If you haven’t already booked your tour, do it today!

I awoke to a light blanket of white covering my lawn and the smallest of snowflakes falling from gray skies this morning. As my eye caught a bird (not the spring-announcing robin I’d hope to see) consuming berries from a snow-covered tree outside my kitchen window, I was left wondering when spring will truly be here to stay.

Super Bowl XLVI was blessed last week when central Indiana’s temperatures roared past unseasonably warm status.  As temperatures hovered near 60°, my boys were able to get outdoors and rid their young bodies of excessive amounts of stored energy, breathe in fresh air and, yes, slip their hands into their worn, leather mitts and play some baseball. I was so eager to shout aloud that Punxsutawney Phil's forecast was dead wrong, but had to remind myself that it was the first week of February and the weather would continue to be anything but consistently full of sunshine, warm and beautiful here in Indiana.  

But February, sweet February! It’s during THIS gloomy, chilled time of the year when pitchers and catchers report to prepare for the upcoming baseball season. It’s February that marks the beginning of spring training. It’s February when MLB teams begin speaking publicly of their new prospects.  Can you feel the excitement? Is it rushing through your veins and warming your soul? If not, hop on Twitter! Players are tweeting of workouts and preparing to pack, the media are counting down the days, and blog writers are itching to once again find the daily rhythm of writing about the sport that has captured their hearts.

The warm streak of last week has passed. The cold, frigid air is real. But as I watch the blanket of snow disappear as we approach the noon hour I ask myself, who really needs a robin to tell you spring is coming? You don’t have to look hard to see that all the signs indicate it’s already well on its way. Baseball games are fast approaching, are you ready? If not, start preparing! It’s already February!

While I don’t mind sitting around and taking it easy at the beginning of each new year in front of the television watching more than a dozen football games, I must say, I prefer to be watching 9 innings of baseball. Many argue with me that football provides a more exciting and thrilling product. Perhaps that is true in their minds, and perhaps there is some truth to the fact that I have a far too simplistic mind that just flat doesn’t enjoy time clocks. Yet maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’m okay with baseball being a less physical sport, but a dramatically neat game (as in tidy). I’m not sure. All I know is that I love the game of baseball and cannot wait for the new season to begin.

So while the NHL plays its Winter Classic in a baseball stadium today, college football continues to crown bowl victors, NFL teams prepare for the playoffs or talk strategy for future draft picks, and while my own hometown counts down the days until she will host her very first Super Bowl, I will continue to count down the days until Opening Day for Major League Baseball.

After today, my countdown will end in ninety-four days when my Cincinnati Reds take on the Florida Marlins on April 5, 2012 following a bunch of Opening Day ceremonies. How about you? How long do you have to wait until your team takes the field?

Vintage or retro, call it what you will. I love it! I’m talking about the change in the Orioles and Blue Jays logos that were recently announced. Have you seen the changes? They are as I remember them as a kid, and in my opinion how they should’ve remained all along. I’m thrilled to see the return of both birds, cartoon-style. 
 
It’s been fun in recent years to watch teams utilize “throw back” uniforms, but it’s nice to see that some things simply stay the same. While I’m not a fan of the Yankees, I love their traditional blocked letter “NY” and timeless pinstripes. The Red Sox “B” stirs emotion of either love or dread. Then there is Detroit’s Old English “D” and the Chicago Cubs red “C” that have remained constant throughout time. While the Indians and the Braves have gotten a bit more politically correct over the years, logos will always define their teams.
 
I’m an old-time traditionalist who loves the game of baseball. I love the relaxing atmosphere at baseball games. I love baseball pants (high ones). I love seeing socks, but don’t prefer skater-boy hat bills. I love that baseball is still just baseball after all this time.
 
This traditionalist can hardly wait to begin cheering on her Cincinnati Red Stockings again!

October 21, 2011 - You’ve probably all heard the Rogers Hornsby quote, "People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."

The World Series can be such an exciting end to the baseball season, unless you think like Mr. Hornsby.  The fact about the World Series is the first team to win four games officially brings the end the baseball season.  Does that make your heart ache the way it does mine? 

While I’ll continue to root for my favored champion for the next several days, deep down I’ll be preparing my mind for what is to come...the saddest day of the year for a baseball fan. Then, like Mr. Hornsby, I'll spend the winter waiting for spring, dreaming about baseball. And planning which stadiums I'll visit with Big League Tours!

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