Saturday, March 24 2001

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

It is a beautiful day at Disney World, clear skies and temperatures expected in the high 70's.  Today's game is a make-up of the March 3rd game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  Because there was already an away game scheduled against the Royals in Baseball City, this is a split squad game.  Tom Glavine gives up a lead-off home run before getting a pop-up to right for the first out.  A fly out to center and a ground out to second and Glavine is out of the inning.  Rafael Furcal leads off the bottom of the first with a double.  Quilvio Veras fouls one through the 3rd base umpire.  The umpires have light colored shirts for day games instead of the traditional blue.  A hit and run play, Veras is out at 1st but Furcal makes it to 2nd.  Ground to short for Jordan, Wes Helms pops up to 1st to end the inning.

Top of the 2nd, Jesse Garcia takes over at 2nd, and Mike Glavine takes over at 1st.  A ground ball to 2nd, easy throw to first, one out.  An excuse me swing, fielded by Paul Bako, and there are two outs.  Garcia bobbles a ground ball and the runner is safe on the error.  A second chance, and this time Garcia fields, throws to 1st, and the inning is over.  In the bottom of the inning, Chan Perry lines down the 3rd base line, it bounces off the fielder's glove and to the fence.  Glavine gets a hit and Junior Brignac flies out to right center.  Bako draws a walk for Tom Glavine with runners at 1st and 2nd with 2 outs.  A strikeout ends the inning.

In the 3rd, Glavine gets a fly to right to start the inning.  Mike Glavine lets a grounder get passed him for a Tampa Bay hit.  A single over Garcia's head and runners are at the corners.  A 3-run home run puts the Devil Rays out front 4-0, and Tom Glavine is in a hole.  A double to left bounces over the wall.  A ground to 3rd, Helms looks the runner back, and throws the runner out at 1st.  A strong wind begins blowing trash all around.  A ground to first, and the inning is over. Furcal leads off the bottom of the 3rd with a ground ball dropped by the fielder.  Garcia singles to left, putting runners on 1st and 2nd.  Brian Jordan singles to left, scoring Furcal.  Helms grounds into a double play, the runner moves to 3rd.  Perry launches a 2 run homer over the left field wall.  Mike Glavine grounds to 2nd, the fielder misses the ball, and Glavine is safe at first.  Brignac strikes out and the inning is over, but the Braves score 3 to narrow the deficit.

In the 4th, a hit, a bundled double play, and Tom Glavine has runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs.  A pop-up to the catcher, fly out to center, and ground out ends the inning.  In the bottom, Bako strikes out, Glavine singles, Furcal grounds to short, and Garcia pops up to 1st base.  In the 5th, Glavine gets a strikeout then gives up a hit to left.  A ground out to 3rd moves the runner over, and a double to the center field wall scores the run.  A funny hop to 2nd, fielded and throw to 1st, and the inning is over.  But the Rays add to their lead 5-3.

Brian Jordan leads off the bottom of the 5th with a home run to center, and the Braves close the gap.  Helms pops out to center, Perry grounds to short, and Mike Glavine draws a walk.  Brignac grounds to 3rd to end the inning.  Matt Woodside comes in to pitch the 6th.  Apparently, he has recovered from whatever pulled him out of his last appearance.  A single past Glavine to right is followed by a pop-up to short.  A stolen base attempt, Bako throws to 2nd and Garcia nails the runner for the 2nd out.  A single to right gets past Garcia.  Another stolen base attempt, another throw to 2nd, another out.

In the bottom of the 6th, Bako strikes out, Woodside draws a walk, Furcal singles to right, and Garcia singles to center moving Woodside to 3rd.  Jordan launches one over the left field fence.  There is a crowd around the plate as Jordan comes home with a GRAND SLAM!!!!!  Helms flies out to center and Perry strikes out but the Braves end the inning with an 8-5 lead.

In the top of the 7th, a liner back to Woodside for the first out.  A pop-up to shallow right for out number 2, and a fly ball to right for out number 3.  Mike Glavine leads off the bottom of the inning taking a 3-2 count to right for a hit.  Glavine takes 2nd on a pass ball. Brignac grounds to 3rd and Glavine holds at 2nd.  Steve Torrealba grounds to 1st moving Glavine to 3rd in a pinch hit appearance.  Jeff Horn pinch hits with a ground to short ending the inning.

Your attention please, these changes for Atlanta.  Now catching, Steve Torrealba.  Now pitching, Mike Remlinger.  Now playing right field, Damien Jones.  Called strike.  Called strike. Swinging strike, one out. Ground to short, throw to 1st, 2 outs.  A single to left and a ground to short, and the inning is over.  In the bottom of the inning, Furcal triples to the right field corner showing his speed on the bases.  A pick-off attempt escapes to left field and Furcal strolls home to extend the lead 9-5.  Garcia pops up to 1st for the first out.  A funny bounce over the 3rd baseman's glove gives Damien Jones a hit.  Then Wes Helms hits a 2 run homer to extend the Braves lead 11-5.  With only one out, Perry singles to right, Mike Glavine strikes out, and Brignac pops up.

The top of the 9th, a cheer goes out as John Rocker comes running in from the bullpen.  Rockers starts the inning with a ground out, a walk, and a strikeout.  A single to center puts runners at 1st and 2nd with 2 outs.  A hit batter loads the bases.  Strike 3 called, and the game is over.

Braves 11 runs, 15 hits, 2 errors.  Devil Rays 5 runs, 12 hits, 3 errors.

Next we journey by from Disney's Wide World of Sports to the Magic Kingdom for a quick trip to Tomorrowland and the ExtraTERRORestrial encounter with X.S. Technologies.  Another check at the lost and found verifies that my hat is still rabbit food at Splash Mountain.  Taking the ferry back to the transportation center, I took the monorail to Epcot and settled into Morocco just in time for the Tapestry of Nations parade.  Then it is out through the International Gateway for a boat ride to Disney's Boardwalk for dinner at the Big River Grill & Brewery Works.  Then it was back to the bus to continue on to Downtown Disney.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.  Do you know what it means to me?  It means Live from the House of Blues, it's the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin!  That's right, you have now attended a virtual concert.  And you had a great time. Aretha Franklin sang some soul, some gospel, even some opera.  And we, in turn, sung her Happy Birthday.  She had a stuffed up nose and has put on way too much weight, but the concert was fantastic and a fun time was had by all.

By now, however, you are used to the ultimate not being the end, so naturally our day is not yet done.  Across the street at Downtown Disney -  West Side is DisneyQuest, 5 floors of interactive adventure.  My sole interested, however, was on the 2nd floor where the Cyber Mountain Roller Coaster is located.  I designed a level 3 coaster called Astro Shredder, then loaded it up in the simulator and went on a full motion right, flipping over left, flipping over right, tumbling forward, and spinning out of control.

Finally, I called it a day and returned to Port Orleans - Riverside to begin packing up.  The next and final report will be filed from back in Atlanta, so stay tuned!

Fuskie