It's over.

The Rox lost in the first round of the playoffs... won the first game of the series but even then with very little power. Proceeded to drop the next three in order. Ouch. Well played Pittsfield, you were the stronger team for sure. While the first two were played in Brockton, the series wrapped up in Pittsfield and I had quite a few adventures out that way.

For one thing, I was facing three consecutive days off. WOW. Unheard of. Friday through Sunday. Three hours of driving and jamming, and then I crossed into Pittsfield territory, where Yankees fans roam free without the threat of Boston leaning over them. The team was an hour behind schedule, so I reached Wahconah Park before anyone else did. I had a 20 minute wait, but they eventually showed up and I hung out with Grant outside of the concrete box of a locker room. Boys.. so much fun. I hope the playful moments stay with me. They'd peek out of the high vent windows at me and tell me how much clothing they were or were not wearing. Eventually Grant and I headed onto the field where guys were getting some pregame work in. Wahconah is a very cool park.. you get an authentic, old-time baseball feel there. The stands are wooden and I tripped or scuffed my feet many times when walking through them, just because they're imperfect and uneven. Much smaller than Campanelli, only one level of seating.. no video board! 

(no idea what that mascot is.. it's not the Colonials' mascot)

Overall, very charming. I liked a few things that they had going on there, one of which was their picnic/beer garden area, which looks like a party space down beyond first base but is open to everyone. They sell chicken dinners- barbeque chicken breasts, salad, bread I think... a picnic meal. They also sold wings, I believe. 

We stood and chatted on the field with players and owners as they would come and go. Made a coffee run for Brac and Nooch, and then it was as good as game time really. A few front office people showed up, along with some other Brockton regulars. Freddy pitched 4 or 5 strong innings, but in the end we lost our lead and dropped the game to Pittsfield. In the process, as things started going wrong, I stalked away from the group out by the picnic area and slunk onto the first row bench as far down the first base line as I could get to watch with dark eyes. A guy my age came over and sat a little ways down the bench, and over the course of the next 3.5 innings proceeded to slide closer and closer to me, I kid you not, until he was pretty much right next to me and within range to strike up a conversation. Hey, definitely a cute guy, but I know myself enough to say that anyone who is meeting me or getting to know me at a baseball game wont necessarily have the easiest time doing it, nor will they have the best side of me. Especially when my team is losing. I tried really hard to be a good sport for Joe. He wasnt too put off, because he asked for my number and we planned tentatively to meet up if I went out with any players that night. It never happened; to my surprise, none of the guys I know well enough went out, and I wasnt going to meet up with a stranger in a strange town. I watched tv with our broadcaster until well after 2 and slept on the floor that night, and throughout our portion of the hotel (all doors led to the outside though.. kind of like a motel) morale was sunk.

The next day held too much nothing. I was awake hours earlier than anyone else, but I didnt want to move as I knew that the people around me needed the rest they were currently enjoying. So as daylight hours ticked on, I fidgeted on the hard floor. Finally, we all got up and everyone went their own ways to get food/coffee. The bus wasnt leaving until 2:30pm...... the sun was beautifully bright and the temperature was blissful. We got bumped out of our rooms, a few of us, and while our room was switched to a comparable one, Scott's was upgraded to what looked like a honeymoon suite:

Yep, jacuzzi right in the main room. Nice.

I found Dom standing outside his room and he beckoned me over to show me about 10 loaves of fresh-baked specialty bread that he had been given earlier that morning. He'd gone out on a walk over towards a health food store that he knows called Guido's, and had seen the bread shop beyond it and ended up making friends there with the people who were running it. We shared some bread and some tuscan bean salad that he had bought at Guido's and had a little impromptu Bible/book study. Dom is awesome, the conversation was insightful and challenging per usual. We read from Isaiah, and after our time I crashed on Scott's bed for the afternoon once the team bus had left and read more of Isaiah. "Stop bringing useless offerings" is the passage that stuck out at me at the time... if it means something to you, maybe we're on the same page right now. Too bad I didnt meet a single other person beyond Dom who could relate to me on the faith wavelength... then again, it was great that there was even one person who could.

I stopped by Guido's on the way to the park (to pick up some of that bean salad for dinner, mmm) and ended up making a friend myself. The guy who was serving me started chatting me up- i was having a fantastic hair day- and it turned out that he worked a second job on some nights at a bar just down the street from the stadium. I told him we might stop in if we had reason to celebrate, and he gave me his card/number. I ended up leaving a ticket for him at will call, and he came to the game once he was done with his day job. John was an interesting guy- he talked about planes and flying like I talk about baseball. His dream is to become a pilot and he was telling me that he was a few months of courses away from being able to start a career. Pretty sweet. Well- we lost. We lost the game. The decision was reached, however, that we wouldnt be heading back to Brockton but that we would stay the night and that everyone would party. I drove Grant to the liquor store, then back to the park, and I decided I would take it easy and visit John at his bar. I was there for a couple hours, and for the record I consumed one beer/drink that night- a pumpkinhead with cinnamon sprinkled on top. Turned out that the bar was the Colonials' spot, so I had them in my view the whole night, which didnt exactly make me feel any better about the loss. The end of the season had consequences for me too, so I was feeling pretty low initially. After too much Colonials glee, I decided I should be with my own team and eventually found them at a bar across the street from the hotel called Halpin's. Things were pretty loose when I arrived, and it got weird for me. There were some cheerleaders who had come out for the game, but the ratio of guys to girls was still pretty dangerous and I was not about to even risk becoming a statistic. No compromising situations. So I left and had nothing to do with the "celebrations" that ensued back at the hotel.

And that was it. Up not-really-so-early to meet up with Dom, DK, Grant, and others in the breakfast room. Soon, everyone was on the bus, and I was heading east in my outback.

I was feeling unsettled about the end of the season on a few different levels. The next couple days saved everything, and I'll surely go into them very soon. For now, it's time for sleep... we've got our 2nd Annual Brew Fest tomorrow afternoon so it's gonna be a busy one!

Top 5 days of the summer (to be expounded upon soon):

Birthday Red Sox

Applepicking

Rained out Game

Family reunion

Bill Lee Game

Great moments:

Eating lunch in a seat on the concourse, my first day

Getting to run the scoreboard

Laser tag

Wiffle ball

Clinics

Batting practice on the field and in the cage

Pancakes

Race to deliver pocket schedules

Fireman carry

Going to Worcester

2nd time being invited to Owen's

Dancing on the concourse at the end of the night

T-shirt toss

Playing with Reyes

Intern softball

Armwrestling victory

Kittens

Jean's Church

Peaceful Meadows

All Star game at Falu's

Chat with Mac in the dugout

Hanging with Brendan

Running the bases to Grant, my last day