Running out of room

The pitchers for the Lakeland Flying Tigers must have gotten a late start on the off-day workouts recently. For the first time over the past two Summers of Baseball, we found the group still on the field when the Dunedin Stadium gates opened. Usually, the pitchers are in the clubhouse by the time we arrive, scour the stands for batting practice balls and find a prime hounding spot.

It's not that we're complaining, though, as Colin made good use of our fortune to put together a 26-signature team ball, the ninth of our 12-team Florida State League project this season. Usually, the team-signed balls average 19 signatures each.

Brent Wyatt, Rob Waite, Jared Gayhart, Jacob Turner, Luke Putkonen and Daniel Fields; and

Jose Ortega, Billy Alvino, Jon Kibler, Brandon Douglas (shown above, signing for Colin), Jon Kibler (yes, we know, that's twice), unidentified and Gustavo Nunez; and

Tyler Conn, Erik Crichton, Joe Coleman (pitching coach), Ben Guez, Wilfredo Ramirez, and Alexander Moreno; and

Brayan Villarreal, Bryan Holaday, John Murriam, Carmelo Jaime, Chris White, Larry Herndon (hitting coach) and Billy Nowlin (signed sideways).

Worth a Google

Here's the reason why any hound worth his or her salt should do homework before any hounding visit. You can get a single-signed, game-used Florida State League baseball from a top-rated prospect.

In this case, it's from Lakeland Flying Tigers pitcher Jacob Turner, taken ninth overall in 2009 by Detroit. In January, Baseball America ranked him as the Tiger's top prospect and 26th best

Hard to fill

As much as I like working these Florida State League Top Prospect sets during our Summers of Baseball, there's one improvement that I'd like to suggest: Issue the set quicker.

By the time the set's released in late June or early July, some of the players have been promoted, rendering the task of a signed set to my "never-get-done" list. To me, there's no reason -- technological, financial or legal -- why this set couldn't be published by mid to late May.

It's no surprise, then, that Detroit Tigers pitcher prospect Luke Putkonen, pitching for the FSL's Lakeland Flying Tigers, is the only player I've been able to have sign a card over the past few weeks.

There's still time left. Let's just hope the remaining players are still around.

Didn't even have to ask

Want to know what's neat about the Florida State League? Sometimes, players like Dunedin's Travis D'Arnaud walk up to a kid and hand him a bat. That's what happened Saturday night after the Blue Jays beat the Lakeland Flying Tigers.

Hitting the road

At 39 miles away, old-school McKechnie Field, the home stadium of the Bradenton Marauders of the Florida State League, was the farthest we'd travel during our 2010 Summer of Baseball. Thanks to mostly highway miles and the Sunshine Skyway, it really was nothing more than a hop, skip and a jump.

After last Thursday's visit to watch the Marauders, the Pittsburgh Pirates Advanced-A affiliate, play the Charlotte Stone Crabs, the Tampa Bay Rays' FSL club, I'm expecting we'll make a few more trips to Manatee County in the years ahead.

Though it would have been nice to get top Pittsburgh prospects Tony Sanchez and Starling Marte, this 20-signature team ball, the eighth of the 12-club FSL team ball project, works just fine:

Nathan Adcock, James Skelton, Aaron Pribanic, Jeff Locke, Melkin Laureano and Brock Holt; and

Robbie Grossman, Adam Davis, Jose De Los Santos and Adenson Chourio; and

Quincy Latimore, Casey Erickson, Wally Whitehurst (pitching coach), Brian Leach and Jordan Newton; and

Erik Huber, Greg Picart, Austin McClune, Milver Reyes and Eric Fryer.

Nice job

You have to give the Tampa Yankees staff a well-deserved round of applause for salvaging what could have been a bad night. A band of strong thundershowers soaked George M. Steinbrenner Field, rendering the outfield unplayable in the eyes of the umpires, on the Florida State League club's pre-Fourth of July Night.

Rather than sending fans home damp in disappointment, the team had the players line up across two dugouts for an autograph session, allowing fans to easily work a team item. In Colin's case, it was 21 autographs (albeit in three different inks) on his seventh team ball of the 2010 Summer of Baseball.

Shaeffer Hall, who signed before the game was rained out; and

Myron Leslie, Zoilo Almonte, Jose Pirela and Dellin Betances; and

Mitch Abeita (I believe), Melky Mesa (I believe), Ray Kruml and Adam Olbrychoski; and

Walter Ibarra, Corban Joseph (shown above, signing for Colin), Ryan Baker, Trent Lockwood, Jonathan Ortiz and unidentified and;

Manuel Banuelos, Jack Rye, Trent Lare, Bradley Suttle, Noel Castillo and Juan Marcano.

Pinch-hitting appearance

After a short, but long, day at work Saturday, as well as a mad dash to the rink to watch Colin play hockey, I had little energy left for hounding of any sort. That's when Momma stepped up to the plate and got these three cards signed by Tampa's Dellin Betances and Corban Joseph in the post-rainout autograph session last Friday.

Summer project

Before every game we attend at Dunedin Stadium, I make a point of poking my head inside the team store to inquire about a 2010 Dunedin Blue Jays team set. Up until last Thursday, I've left empty-handed.

Even though the team set isn't due to arrive until later this season, I believe this 2009 game-used D-Jays batting helmet, size 7 1/4, will keep us busy until the cards arrive. At $25, it's on the high-end of any autograph platform we'll use this summer. Still, though, it'll be a nice team piece and memento of the campaign.

I'm not sure whether we'll knock it out in one trip, as we'll be chasing team balls for Lakeland and Fort Myers in our next two trips to Dunedin. Chances are, we'll take the rest of the season to complete it.

Making new friends

Who says you need nine innings of baseball to be entertained? Sometimes, all it takes is a friendly, curious lizard. Emerging from a rolled-up field tarp, this little critter kept Colin occupied for quite a few innings last week as the Brevard County Manatees played the Dunedin Blue Jays.

That's not to say, though, that Colin didn't score his sixth Florida State League team ball of the 2010 Summer of Baseball. Nope, he knocked that out of the park before the game, getting 20 signatures to reach the halfway point of his 12-team goal.

Bob Miscik (manager) in the sweet spot; and

Sergio Miranda, Sean Halton (who also gave Colin a bat), Scott Krieger, Mike Ramlow and Matt Cline; and

Jeremy Jeffress, Josh Prince, Corey Frerichs, Cody Scarpetta and Andre LaMontagne; and

Michael Fiers, Michael Roberts, Angel Salome and Juan Sanchez; and

Fred Dabney (pitching coach), Steve Braun, Evan Anundsen, Peter Fatse and unidentified.

Back-to-back bats

Even Colin recognized a developing trend. After coming up batless during the first five Florida State League games of our 2010 Summer of Baseball, Brevard County's Sean Halton, a first base prospect within the Milwaukee Brewers organization, gave Colin the second broken bat of his campaign in as many games.

While the first broken bat, from Daytona's David Macias, looks like a generic model, it's pretty neat to see a personalized bat for an FSL player.

Got one

For the most part, I've spent the 2010 Summer of Baseball in an advisory capacity, helping Colin fill up team balls for Florida State League clubs. Now that the FSL has released its Top Prospects 2010 set, I have something to do.

Brevard County's Cody Scarpetta, a pitching prospect within the Milwaukee Brewers system, was the first to sign. I hope to add a few more later this week., with trips to Bradenton, for the Marauders, and Dunedin, for the Lakeland Flying Tigers.

We got the set for $10 at the Dunedin Blue Jays team store at Dunedin Stadium.

Completing the Advanced-A set will be difficult. Already, some players like Daytona's Brett Jackson have been promoted and Kentrail Davis, another Brewers prospect got sent down from Brevard County to the Midwest League (Class A).

One in the books

When it comes right down to it, the biggest reason we went to Saturday's game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Rays was to hear the Barenaked Ladies perform after the '90s Night game.

Even after the hour-plus-long show by the Toronto-based band, the biggest thing I'll take away from the game is Colin's effort to score an entire game. Sure, it was fun hearing the band's hits If I Had $1000000, One Week, Old Apartment, Brian Wilson and Who Needs Sleep, but for the kid to satisfy one of our goals for the 2010 Summer of Baseball -- learning how to score a game -- was decidedly more cool.

Having had to work until five minutes before the 4:05 p.m. start, I didn't join Momma and Colin in Section 308 until the top of the second inning (The paper's offices are a good 10- to 15-minute walk from Tropicana Field). He'd scored the first inning without a hitch, even writing the players' last names in cursive.

It didn't take long, though, for me to realize that he was in this game for the long haul. Usually, we go for a two-inning walk during Rays games, checking out souvenirs and other amenities at the Trop. This time, however, he took a pass.

Inning by inning, he kept score, remembering to write a backward "K" if a player struck out looking, telling me if a double play was 6-4-3 or 4-6-3 and asking about fielder's choices and getting an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

As much as hockey forms a strong bond between us, it's quickly becoming apparent that baseball, too, will be a fluid line of communication for this father and his son. I couldn't be happier.

Plenty of energy

One would think after four full days of ice hockey camp, with all of the skating, passing and shooting drills as well as daily off-ice conditioning sessions, that Colin might not have enough energy to sit through nine innings of Florida State League baseball, let alone work a team ball.

Well, nothing could be further than the truth. Not only did Colin make it through all nine innings, but he loaded up his fifth team ball of the 2010 Summer of Baseball, getting 19 autographs from the Daytona Cubs before last Thursday's game against the Dunedin Blue Jays.

Chris Siegfried, Matt Matulia (coach), Rebel Ridling, Kyler Burke, David Macias and Luis Flores; and

Smaily Borges, Brett Jackson, Christopher Archer and Dae-Eun Rhee; and

Tom Pratt (pitching coach), Mark Reed, DJ LeMahieu (shown above, signing the ball), Jose Valdez and Mike Perconte; and

Jake Opitz, James Leverton, Ryan Flaherty and Junior Lake (we believe).

David Macias was also kind enough to give Colin this broken bat, even returning to the Cubs' locker room to find the souvenir.

Funny moment

Beyond the team balls, broken bats and baseballs we pick up at Florida State League games, there's often a moment that makes our outings much more memorable. Last week's came when the Daytona Cubs visited Dunedin for a Florida State League game.

Brett Jackson, Chicago's No. 1 pick in 2009, drew a lot of attention from the handful of autograph hounds at Dunedin Stadium. Of course, Colin was among the group, working his fifth FSL team ball of the season. He made sure, too, to add Jackson's autograph to his effort.

It wasn't that, though, that provided the memory. It was Jackson's farewell, so to speak, that drew chuckles as he handed the ball back to Colin.

"Here you go, stud," he said.

My bad

As part of a break from hockey during Colin's first hockey camp last week, we planned to take in a Tampa Yankees-Dunedin Blue Jays game last Wednesday. Well, it didn't happen.

After camp closed for the day Wednesday, Colin and I joined rush-hour traffic and headed north to Dunedin. About 45 minutes later, we pulled into Dunedin Stadium. The parking lot was empty, the ticket windows were closed and the gate was locked shut.

At first, I thought I'd mixed up who was the home team. Once I got home and checked my schedule, I discovered my mistake. The game started at 11 a.m., not 7 p.m.

After blowing off the Tampa Yankees a few weeks ago to get an autograph from Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito, Wednesday's trip was to be our last chance to get a team-signed ball from them. Now, we'll try to get one July 29.

An old friend

A trip to Dunedin Stadium to watch the Dunedin Blue Jays, the Advanced-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, wouldn't be complete without a visit from D-Jay, the Florida State League squad's mascot.

Special thanks to Miss Laura, one of my colleagues at the newspaper, for taking this picture of Colin with D-Jay during Karate Kid 2 Night against the Clearwater Threshers earlier this month. In case you're wondering, that's Colin, on the left, clutching a bag of Cracker Jack

We'll be busy

With three games scheduled for this week -- actually, three within four days -- you'd think we'd be busy enough. Ha! I wish that was the case. No, we're not content enough to take in two Florida State League games as well as a Tampa Bay Rays game.

Starting in about an hour, Colin hits the ice, taking part in his first-ever summer hockey camp. For the next five days, he'll work on his skating, stickhandling, shooting, passing and conditioning at the Pinellas Police Athletic League camp in Clearwater.

On Wednesday and Thursday, after spending nearly four hours on the ice, we'll head north to Dunedin to watch and hopefully get team balls from the Tampa Yankees and Daytona Cubs of the Advanced-A Florida State League. On Saturday, a day after Colin's hockey camp ends, we'll watch the Arizona Diamondbacks play the Rays. After that game, the Barenaked Ladies (one of my favorite bands) will perform.

Sounds like a full week to me.

Hey, we remember you

It was a bit weird, in a sense, viewing the Clearwater Threshers as the visitors. Over the past few summers, we've taken in quite a few games at Bright House Field, the home park of the Philadelphia Phillies' Advanced-A squad. This time, though, it was different.

Rather than hang out along the left-field seats in Clearwater, Colin took his customary spot near the visitor's bullpen at Dunedin Stadium, home of the nearby (it's only 6 miles away) rival Dunedin Blue Jays, Toronto's Florida State League affiliate. It's no surprise, either, that the outcome was the same -- plenty of ballplayers willing to make a kid's day.

All told, Colin snagged 16 signatures for his fourth team ball of the 2010 Summer of Baseball campaign:

Cody Overbeck (that's him, above, signing for Colin), Korey Noles, Kevin Jordan (hitting coach) and J.C. Ramirez; and

Darrin Ruf, Jesus Sanchez (we believe), Derrick Mitchell and Brian Gump; and

Tyler Cloyd, Justin DeFratus and Jon Velasquez; and

Chris Kissock, Steve Susdorf, Korby Mintken, Harold Garcia and D'Arby Myers.

Game-used souvenir

More than a month ago, when the Clearwater Threshers were hosting the Jupiter Hammerheads, our game tickets put us in the first row behind the home team's dugout -- a good spot for getting a game-used ball.

As a result of our prime perch, Clearwater infielder Korby Mintken tossed Colin a ball as he made his way back to the Threshers' dugout.

Colin caught up with Mintken a few weeks later, when the Threshers made the short ride from Clearwater to Dunedin to play the Blue Jays. As you can see, Mintken willingly signed it, making it Colin's first single-signed Florida State League game-used ball of the summer.

Baseball lessons

One of our goals during the 2010 Summer of Baseball is for Colin to learn how to keep score at a baseball game. We took another stab at it a couple weeks ago, during a Clearwater Threshers-Dunedin Blue Jays game. He got in a couple innings of practice, asking good questions ("It's a backwards K when the batter strikes out looking, right?" and "Can I have some Cracker Jacks?") early on before I took over for a few innings.

I know there are different ways to score a game, but I'm showing him the method I learned back in the mid-1970s. Either way, it provides another father-son memory that, perhaps, he'll pass on someday to his children.

We'll get in a few more practice sessions here over the next few weeks. Who knows, maybe he'll sit still long enough to score a complete game. If not, we'll have plenty of time together at ballparks.

Rays concert: Dierks Bentley

Colin was all decked out Saturday for the Tampa Bay Rays' Country Night at Tropicana Field. The blue wig showed he's a Rays fan. The cowboy hat was a nod to Dierks Bentley, the postgame entertainment. The smile? That's all his. After all, the Rays beat cross-state rivals, the Florida Marlins, 6-5.

On select Saturday nights, the Rays host postgame concerts. Sure, the tickets may cost a little more ($18) than a midweek ($9) game, but it's a cool twist on a doubleheader. In a couple Saturdays, we'll see the Barenaked Ladies on '90s Night.

Bentley's show was our third Country Night concert. Trace Adkins kicked it off in 2008. Last year, it was Big & Rich. Maybe next year, the Rays will bring in Darius Rucker or the Zac Brown Band.

As the sign says, Bentley, who performed for more than an hour, was part of the Rays' Summer Concert Series.

Sitting where we were, the jumbo screen provided a much closer look.

The stage set-up that keeps folks from running through the infield. Our view from Row H in the 300s at the Trop. We'll go down to field level next time.

Staying cool

For as hot as it gets in July and August down here in Florida, air-conditioning is a fact of daily life. It's pretty useful in June, too.

Had it not been for fortuitous timing Saturday, we might not have made it inside a local credit union, where the Tampa Bay Rays' Reid Brignac was putting in an hourlong signing session. At a balmy 90-plus degrees outside, we were, for a moment, soaking up the AC, one step inside the doorway.

After another family showed up, a credit union rep said the line might have to resume outside the door. Customers, you see, had to be directed to the "real" customer line.

In time, the line sorted itself out. In all, we spent about 25 minutes waiting for our turn. After getting these three items, it was time well spent, I'd say.

Brignac joined the work-in-progress Rays team helmet. That's his signature, just to the left of the logo. Pitchers J.P. Howell, left, and James Shields are among the others who've signed.