Thursday, March 22 2001

Good morning and welcome to Day 6 of the 8th Annual Spring Training Trek 2001!

The sky is clear, the sun is out, and the temperature is supposed to push into the low '70s.  There is a cool morning breeze as I make my way to the Disney Transportation bus that will take me to Disney's Animal Kingdom.  Disney does not consider Animal Kingdom a zoo, but a theme park with live animals.  The entrance to Animal Kingdom leads to The Oasis, a network of paths featuring birds and animals on display.  Discovery Island is the center of the park, home of the Tree of Life, a 14 story tree carved with over 325 animals.  Surrounding the tree is Dinoland U.S.A.  Next comes Anandapur, Asia followed by Kilimanjaro, Africa and finally Camp Minnie- Mickey.

First stop was to Dinoland to pick up a FastPass at the Dino Institute for the Dinosaur ride.  This used to be the Countdown to Extinction, but then the Disney animated movie came out, and the rest was marketing. >From there I made my way to Asia and the Chicken Shop for a bite to eat: Chicken Satay in peanut sauce and pot stickers in a spicy broth.  And a (regular) diet coke.  Back to Dinoland, I stopped to visit Sue, a replica of the most complete T-Rex ever found, with 90% of her bones accounted for.  Then it was to the Institute, for a trip into prehistoric time to bring back for study an iguanodon.  Catch is the iguanodon is located the night the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaurs hit.

Successful in my mission, I returned to Asia for a FastPass to the Kali River Rapids, then took a trek through the Maharajah jungle where I saw tigers, bats, tapirs, and birds.  The Kali River Rapids took a quick trip down the turbulent Chakranadi river past a forest fire and over a small waterfall.  Got wet, got soaked, got milk.  From Asia I walked across a bridge and found myself in Africa.  I picked up a FastPass for the Kilimanjaro Safari, then walked through the Pangali Forest Exploration Trail.  There I found hippos (including a 7 month old baby), African birds, and a trop of gorillas.

Back to Discovery Island, I walked into the cavernous base of the Tree of Life to the Bugs Life Theater, where Flik hosted a 3D presentation describing why it is tough to be a bug.  Finally, I made my way to Camp Minnie-Mickey to celebrate the Festival of the Lion King, complete with singing, dancing and acrobatics.  While I was there, I bought some hand-crafted animal stone carvings from India and made a $1 contribution in my nephew's name to the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund.  Having seen all I could see and done all I could do in the single day allotted, I made my way to Disney's Wide World of Sports for tonight's game against the Detroit Tigers.

Both the Tigers and Braves went 1-2-3 in the 1st inning.  In the top of the 2nd, John Burkette gives up a single and then gets a double play.  A pop-up gets him out of the inning.  In the Braves half, Brian Jordan singles to right, Andruw Jones hits a low baller into center, and Brogna singles to left to load the bases with no outs.  Wes Helms hits into a run scoring double play.  Paul Bako strikes out to end the inning.

In the top of the 3rd, Burkette gives up a walk and then a single gets past Veras to put runners on the corners.  Burkette gets a strike-out and a pop-up to 3rd before giving up a single that scores a run. Another strike-out ends the inning , but the score is tied 1-1.  In the bottom half of the inning, Burkette strikes out, Rafael Furcal Strikes out, and Quilvio Veras, hitting .400, grounds to short.

In the 4th inning, Burkette gives up a lead-off hit to center.  A rope to 3rd, Helms fields and throws to Furcal at 2nd for the out but the runner is safe at 1st.  A stolen base attempt is easily picked off by Bako for the second out.  A pop-up to shallow right ends the inning.  In the bottom, B.J. Surhoff singles to right, Jordan singles through short to put runners on 1st and 2nd.  Andruw Jones, hitting .286, singles to right to score Surhoff.  Brogna, hitting .345, hits a 2 run double to left as Jordan and Jones cross the plate.  Helms pops up for the first out.  Bako, hitting .364, strikes out and Burkette hits it back to the mound to end the inning.

In the top of the 5th, Keith Lockhart takes 3rd, and Helms moves to 1st.  Burkette gets a strike-out, gives up a single, then fields a bunt with a throw to 2nd.  The throw to 1st is again late.  A strike-out ends the inning.  The Tigers get a hit, but that is all.  In the bottom of the 5th, Furcal flies out to right, Veras lines to 2nd, and Surhoff lines to 1st.

Top of the 6th, Mark DeRosa takes over at short, Chan Perry in left, and Travis Wilson at 2nd.  Burkette starts the inning with a strike-out, and Wes Helms makes a terrific play to save a hit.  A pop-up to 2nd ends the inning.  In the Braves half, Jordan flies to right for the first out. Andruw drives a stand-up double down the 3rd base line.  Lockhart is hitting an even .200 as he moves the runner over with a dribble to 2nd. Helms pops up to center to end the inning.

In the 7th, Bobby Rivera takes over in center, Jason Ross in right, and Kerry Ligtenberg takes over on the mound.  A fly to right starts the inning.  A come backer to the mound is an easy play for Ligtenberg.  A ground to 2nd, throw to 1st, and the inning is quickly over.  Time for the 7th Inning Stretch - Sing along with me!

Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the crowd.  Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks.  I don't care if I never get back.  Root, root, root for the home team, if they don't win it's a shame!  'Cause it's One, Two, Three strikes you're OUT! at the old ball game.

Bottom of the inning, Bako flies out to center.  Kurt Abbott pinch hits for Ligtenberg and flies out to left.  DeRosa bounces a hit off the 3rd baseman's glove for a sliding double.  Trevor Wilson, hitting .452, lines down the 3rd base line and the ball rolls into the corner.  DeRosa scores, and Travis is standing at 2nd.  Perry, hitting .237, is robbed of a hit by a diving catch.  But the Braves pick up one, and it is 5-1.

In the 8th inning, Jesse Levis is catching Joe Slusarski.  After a fly out, Slusarski gives  up a hit.  The Braves for the 3rd time are only able to get the lead runner in a double play.  A 2 run home run gives the Tigers a spark, and it is 5-3.  A ground out to 1st ends the inning.  In the bottom of the 8th, Jason Ross smacks a single to left. Bobby Rivera sends one to the wall in Center to score Ross for a triple.  Lockhart strikes out, and Rivera is caught in a rundown as Helms takes 2nd.  Jesse Levis, hitting .474, draws a walk with runners on 1st and 2nd and 2 outs.  Jesse Garcia, seeing only late inning action, strikes out to end the inning.

In the top of the 9th, Marc Valdes fields a weak hit to 1st for the first out.  The next batter is hit in the helmet to give the Tigers a base runner.  A fly ball to Center, Rivera gets under it, and there are 2 outs.  A double down the 3rd base line scores the runner.  A fly ball to center is caught to end the game.

The Braves have 6 runs on 12 hits with no errors.  The Tigers have 4 runs on 8 hits with no errors.  On the way out, I picked up a new Spring Training hat and 2001 pin.

To close the day, I returned to the Port Orleans - Riverside resort, picked up my vacation package pin and flex feature character clock from Fulton's General Store.  And that is how I spent the 6th day of Spring Training Trek 2001 - A Baseball Odyssey.  Tomorrow: When is a fish not a fish?

Fuskie