Tuesday, March 23 1999

Good morning and welcome to Day 4 of the 6th Annual Spring Training Trek 1999!

It's day four of my 1999 Spring Training Trek. I have seen 3 games in 3 dates, and I feel like I've been here a week. Mostly because I have walked almost 18 miles and laziness is integral to my personality. I think I feel like staying another week. In keeping with my Animal Kingdom theme of yesterday, my rental car taking me to Port St. Lucie, Spring home of the New York Mets, is a Chevrolet Malibu. Raspberry Red.

This is the sixth year I have gone on my Spring Training Trek, and the sixth year I have driven up and down the Florida Turnpike and I-95. And I have to tell you, it hasn't gotten any prettier. Traffic is light, and I am being carried by the Banana Winds of Jimmy Buffett. What actually is a turnpike, and what is the derivation of it? Sue, you are a school marm. Maybe you can provide some adult education for us. Ask one of your students; they probably know.

I have always thought adults should listen to children more. At the bus stop yesterday, a mother was trying to read the bus schedule sign while her son tugged on her to go to the next bus stop. Finally, she gave in and within minutes they were on their way to the Magic Kingdom.

I am 32 years old now, and I still believe that if my parents had listened to me more often, they would be better off. I guess their mistakes did not hurt me too bad, though.

Have you ever noticed how 10% seems like a lot more when it is a tax than when it is a discount? Did you know an elephant will pee 20 gallons (75 liters) in a day? Did you care? This was required reading in the men's bathroom at Animal Kingdom's Conservation Station. It was partly cloudy as I pulled into Thomas J. White stadium at Port St.

Lucie. The Mets home is more of a traditional Spring Training facility with a clam shell center and metal benches along the base lines.

Marcus Giles started at 2nd with John Smoltz doing the pitching. The Braves went 1-2-3 in the top of the 1st inning. In the bottom of the inning, Smoltz gave up a lead-off walk and a one-out single to put runners at 1st and 2nd. A pitch into the dirt moved the runners over, and a fielders choice got the 2nd out but gave up a run. A fly to left ended the inning.

Lopez led off the top of the second, sending a single into center field. Brian Hunter hit into a double play, but the Mets shortstop hesitated leaving Hunter safe at 1st. Then Danny Bautista hit into a perfectly executed double play to end the inning. In the bottom of the 2nd, Smoltz gets a fly to right for the first out, a K of Cedeno for the second out, and a fly to right for the third out.

There was nothing doing for either team in the 3rd. Someone behind me mentioned that it was announced before the game that Bobby Cox was not with the team, and Pat Corrales was managing the game. The top of the 4th inning was uneventful for the Braves. In the bottom half, a ground out to 2nd started the inning followed by a Piazza single to left.

Ventura grounded out, moving Piazza to 2nd. A cheap shot to 2nd could not be fielded in time, and Smoltz had runners on 1st and 3rd with 2 out. Smoltz threw a wild pitch but Lopez held Piazza at 3rd while the runner advanced to 2nd. Smoltz threw another into the dirt to load the bases. Smoltz throws the ball away again, and this time Piazza comes in to score before Smoltz finally gets out of the inning with a strike-out.

Brian Hunter led off the top of the 5th with a solo home run. This was followed by a solo home run by Marcus Giles. These were the only runs scored by the Braves this afternoon. In the bottom of the inning, Ozzie Guillen fielded all three outs. In the 6th inning, Randall Simon came in to play 1st and hit a double down the 3rd base line, but Bautista flied out to end the inning. John Rocker came in to effectively pitch the 7th and 8th. In the top of the 8th, Guillen led off demonstrating that wearing shirt tails outside is OK for Spring. It did not help, however, as the Braves went down in order.

With the score tied, the Braves were unable to move forward in the top of the 9th, and Kevin McGlinchy came in to hold the Mets in the bottom of the inning, striking out the side. In the 10th inning, the Garold Williams got a hit, but was thrown out trying to steal 2nd. In the bottom of the inning, McGlinchy gave up a home run to the first batter he faced to hand the Mets a hard fought victory. The Braves had 2 runs,

5 hits, no errors; the Mets had 3 runs, 6 hits, and no errors.

The drive back to Orlando was uneventful, unexciting, uninteresting, and not worth writing more about. After returning the rental and taking an hour of downtime, I headed out to the Disney Boardwalk. The Boardwalk sits on a lagoon with the elegant Swan and Dolphin hotels and the exclusive Yacht Club, and features a carnie atmosphere with a dance club on one end of the pier (where they teach dancing), and the ESPN Sports Zone club on the other (where there are sports television monitors above the urinals and in the stalls). Although the lagoon was still, pumped through hidden speakers you could hear the water lapping against the pier. Somewhere in the middle was the Big River Grille and Brewery, where I checked out a micro brew called Gadzooks Pilsner and ate a plate of Rockin' Red Ale Chicken.

Wednesday is an off day for the Braves, but no such rest for me. Stay tuned to see how a Spring Training fan relaxes at Walt Disney World.

Fuskie