Home Game – Day 16

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Miami Marlins Game - Friday – March 16^th



Today was a home game against the Marlins, so the bus did not leave until 11:45 which allowed us time in the morning for whatever we wanted. We got up and dressed, and then went down to the breakfast. This time we got omelets made by the cook and David had pancakes too. However the water issue meant they did not have any juice, which was disappointing to David. But the rest of the breakfast was good. Then we sat around and read for a little while before going down to the lobby to mingle with our fellow travelers.



Today we wore our matching Spring Training t-shirts which came as souvenirs of the trip. David also wore his free baseball cap, but Janet preferred her floppy Cardinal hat. We have ample Cardinal shirts so we decided to wearing matching outfits today.



The Marlins share the facility at Jupiter but today the Cardinals were the home team. The Marlins have changed from being the Florida Marlins to the Miami Marlins so there logo has changed which caused the team shop to have much more of their items than the Cardinals. Interestingly though, there were many more Cardinals fans in the stands. An interesting fact is that the Cardinals elected to have a DH so more people could get batting practice but the Marlins had their pitcher (Mark Burhle) bat since he has been in the American League for the last few years.



The tickets we had for today’s game were almost right in front of the seats we had bought 2 days ago. At that time we had decided to splurge and get really good seats behind home plate. So today’s seats were a surprise to us but were also very good. Fortunately the Cardinals won today 5-0. It was nice comfortable weather today (about 82 degrees with a slight breeze and occasional clouds – no rain). The seats were in the shade when we got there and we never were in the direct sun all day. Basically the Cardinal’s best players started today, whereas yesterday most of the first string players did not make the long bus trip. Anyway, it was nice to see the best guys play for awhile today.



Since this is a Friday in Lent, Janet hunted around and found crab-cake sliders at one of the concession stands. They were actually very good and quite filling – a much more desirable choice than nachos (we could get those at most any ballpark, most any time).



After the game, our group had a pass to attend a post-game buffet and meeting with some of the players (called the Preseason Review). It was in a special seating area and the food was catered. We had a large dinner and it was good. Meanwhile, 3 of the Cardinal’s players showed up (John Jay, Daniel Descalso, and Alan Craig), along with the Cardinal’s announcer (John Rooney) and one of their coaches (John Mabry). Rooney gave some introductory comments and acted as MC for the event. Each of the others spoke briefly and answered questions for the audience. Then they signed autographs. It was PR and we enjoyed the chance to mingle with a couple of the players for awhile.



Back at the hotel, the Manger’s Reception had just started. We got a couple of drinks at the bar and watched the NCAA game on the TV. It was the Missouri game and unfortunately they lost. Darn! Then we went to the grocery store not far from here and got some bottled water. The water in the area is not going to be fit to drink for another couple of days so we bought a gallon bottle and refilled a bunch of empty bottles. We have plenty to drink again.



There is a wedding party at the hotel this evening. All the couples were all dressed up (most of the guys were in Marine dress uniforms) and lined up in the hall past our door, so each could get photographed as they arrived at the reception. We actually had to “cross the line” in order to get to our room. We are hoping they don’t make too much noise this evening.



When we got back to the hotel, the St Louis University basketball game was on so we watched it too. Happily SLU won and continues to play in the tournament. Go Billikens!



Tomorrow is another road trip and our bus leaves at 9:00 AM. So this will wrap up today’s blog.

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Photos

John Mozeliak
Cardinal\'s GM - in seats slightly ahead of us

Bases Loaded
First Inning - Cards scored twice

Getting Autographs
at the Preseason Review

Janet
at the Preseason Review