Notes from Wilmington

 The following post was written by Jason Kaul, a Wilmington Blue Rocks season ticket holder. He has offered to provide periodic updates about his experiences this year.

 

I wanted to let you all know that I was able to catch 2 of the 3 games against the Hillcats (Pirates Advanced A) this weekend, and it was VERY enjoyable!

Since I have season tickets, I was able to get into the park before the gates "officially" opened.  When I arrived opening day, the Hillcats were taking BP.  It gave me a chance to see the Pirates top prospect, and second overall pick in the '08 draft, Pedro Alvarez (I got a cahnce to meet him, and his family a couple days later... But more on that in a bit).  Simply put... the Rocks couldn't keep him off base all weekend long.  My guess is he'll actually get a call up to the big club in September... But I could be wrong.

As far as the Rocks go... They are a fun team to watch.  They play my kinda baseball (keeping in mind, I'm a Cardinal fan from the "Whitey Ball" era).  D-Rob, Li'l Papi (Adrian Ortiz), and Paulo Orlando are fun to watch on the basepaths. Moose and Johnny G Have been providing some nice pop, and new manager Brian Rupp really seems to know how to handle the team well.

The Rocks & Hillcats split the games that I saw, but the rocks won the series, taking 2 out of the 3 (good enough to be tied with the Hillcats for first in the Carolina League).

I got a chance to meet Johnny G, and got his autograph.  I'll have some for each one of you as the season progresses... I just didn't want to hit him up for several autographs all at once.  I've got a large lot of Moose's cards coming sometime this week.  I'll approach him for some autos when I get them. 

I also got a chance to talk with Brian Rupp for a minute.  I think he was a bit surprised that there was a Cardinal fan in the heart of Phillies country.  I offered to give him a couple of cards from his playing days, but he said he already had them all.  Instead, I just had him sign them for the kids that were close by.  I'm not 100% certain, but I believe my cousin played High School/American Legion ball with him back in the day... I'll have to ask my cousin to see if I'm right (small world, huh?).

I've got some good pictures (couple good ones of Moose, a nice panoramic of the stadium, and I think I got the winning run coming across the plate in extra innings from Sunday).  I'll be getting them developed later this week (yeah, I'm still using film).  When I get them developed and scanned, I'll send them your way.

Finally, as I had previously mentioned, I got a chance to meet Pedro on Friday (he signed a card for me, and one for a good buddy of mine who is AN INTENSE Pirates fan).  I also waited near the bus Sunday afternoon.  While there I noticed a car with New York Plates, and a family wearing Pirates gear standing nearby (the younger girl looked suspiciously identical to Mr. Alvarez).  So, I struck up a conversation.  Turns out it was his Mom, Dad, and Sister visiting from NY.  Nice folks.  I got a picture with Pedro just as he was about to get on the bus.  Good kid, no ego (yet).  My guess is he won't be on the team when they come back to town in June... So I'm glad I got a chance to wish him luck.

Thanks again to all of you for the great blog.  I'll likely be checking in after each series.  Next up... Old School Rap Night on Monday against the Salem Red Sox (formerly the Avalanche, and formerly affiliated with the Astros).  Hate to tell you guys, but I'm a Sox fan (not quite as much as I am a Cardinal fan... but close), so I'll likely wear my Red Sox Jersey to the game one of the nights.

Good luck to you all... and GO ROCKS!!!