Burnt Ends and Baseball

After plenty of rain, the 2014 season got underway late on Thursday night... and we played for a half an hour.  Teams across the country put so much effort in to preparing for the season and especially Opening Day.  I feel for the Legends front office staff, though we have all been through it.

Altoona, for example, was not only rained out on Opening Day, but on Friday as well and did not start their season until 4:30 Saturday afternoon.  That reminds me of 2011 when we "started" at home against Savannah.  We played in a near monsoon on Opening Night and did not play again until a Sunday doubleheader.  Along the way, we had a game canceled...  canceled... during the first weekend of the year.

On Friday, baseball resumed in the top of the third inning and the Power evened a 2-1 deficit at twos in the top of the fifth inning, only to fall on a debatable ground ball down the third base line that was fair and allowed the Legends to win in a walk-off.  If there wasn't a seven inning game to follow, third bagger Wyatt Mathisen might still be standing at the base with an incredulous look about a foul ball called fair to end the game.  No harm though as the Power won the nightcap 6-4.

For lunch Friday, I walked 0.3 miles down North Broadway to Willie's Locally Known.  It's a BBQ (and live music joint), but it was also a Friday during Lent, so I went with the vegetarian platter: a baked potato with sea salt, sour cream and butter, and three fried sides (pickle spears, green tomatoes and their truffle oil fries).  The potato was good, but if you happen to go, get the truffle fries.  It was almost sacrilege to dip these Parmesan-garlic fries in ketchup.

I went back for lunch before the early game on Saturday.  UK was playing that night, so the Legends moved the baseball game to 4:05 so that they at least had the chance of getting a crowd.  Saturday's treat was the Burnt Ends; a specialty at Willie's made from their brisket.  With a smokey barbecue sauce and some shoestring fries, this was a great choice and got my culinary quests this season off on the right foot.

On a side note, if you do find yourself in Lexington and at Willie's, sit at the bar and have a chat with Ray.  He is one of the bartenders, a musician and a big baseball fan.

After a 2-0 shutout win for our team, the staff congregated in the manager's room for pizza and Final Four basketball.  Five of the nine people in the room were a part of every trip last year and this allowed for some great stories and reminiscing.  I can see this group being very close knit in the dugout and off the field.

It is a pleasure and honor to be invited in behind closed doors to hear the stories, the venting and the insight that moments like this can provide.  I may never be able to tell those stories, but at least I can enjoy every second of hearing them.

I'll never have another bad day.