Saturday, March 14 1998

Good morning and welcome to Day 1 of the 5th Annual Spring Training Trek 1998!

It's that time of the year again, when some experience March Madness.  People like us, however, suffer from Spring Training Fever.

For the 5th consecutive (non-strike) year, I am wasting my precious vacation time in order to hit the road for Braves Spring Training 1998.  In just a few short hours, I will be catching an early flight (Delta) for Orlando to spend 9 days and eight nights (5 home games and 3 away) following the Atlanta Braves as they wrap up their first year at the new Disney's Wide World of Sports.

Now, I visited the park last year for the inaugural game (before flying back to Atlanta for the first game at Turner Field), and I remember it being a spectacular place, so I am really looking forward to this trip. Accommodations on the property and tickets in hand, all I have to do is finish packing and catch 5 minutes sleep before heading to the airport. And yes, I will have my trusty laptop with me so I can post daily reports from the land of the mouse.  And you can vicariously (or virtually) go with me by sticking close to your inbox for the latest game report.

So sit back, ignore the standings, and get ready for a new year of Braves Baseball!

Fuskie

So you've always dreamed of spending a week at Spring Training, but your significant other has suggested you keep dreaming.  I work hard, maybe to hard, so when I go on vacation, I go where they play hard and that means Walt Disney World where the Braves have their Spring Training camp.  All this week I will be following the Braves away and at home, and reporting back to you, the loyal stuck-at-home reader.

Since you can get game details off the internet, or from the CyberChop newsletter I am not going to try and play-by-play it for you other than to touch on some highlights, like Andres Galarraga's 2 monster home runs
this afternoon in the 5-2 victory over the KC Royals.  The game was carried by FoxSportsSouth and over the radio by AM750WSB (who also simulcast the game over the internet).  Chipper also sent one to Tomorrowland, and Neagle gave up 2 runs in his 5 innings pitched.

Due to travel delays, I was unable to reach the Disney All-Star Sports complex until the 4th inning, but I did get to my seat in time to see Galarraga's 2nd home run and it was impressive.  Chipper also hit one (right before Andres) straight over the center field wall.  If Klesko is going to concentrate on power hitting line drives rather than home runs at Turner Field,  then maybe the lineup should put Ryan before Chipper and Galarraga.  Talk about a pitcher's nightmare!

Spring Training is about more than watching baseball.  You talk with people who also enjoy baseball, and then there is the nightlife.  During the game, I spoke with one woman who claimed to live 3 blocks from Ryan Klesko's Florida home.  Another gentleman was a frequent fan of the minor leagues up in the Boston area.  And there was an interesting discussion as to why the Cubs can have outstanding talent and management but still go nowhere.  After the game, I went into Disney Downtown for dinner at Planet Hollywood and checking out the shops in the downtown district.

That's it for now.  Tomorrow I travel to Winterhaven for an away game against the Cleveland Indians.

Fuskie