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Monday, March 24, 2008
Fear and loathing at Spring Training
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve returned from Spring Training with lots of great memories and an irrational disdain for one player.
Let me explain:
The Little Chopper has been to several games in his 3 1/2 years, but this was the first time he really got into it. On Friday, we were enjoying a beautiful day at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, watching Jeff Bennett breeze through three innings while our little guy breezed through French fries, popcorn and two frozen lemonades in between cries of “Go Braves!” He was even given a ball by a friendly usher.
Enter Ryan Drese.
The 32-year-old right-hander never found the plate, walking five consecutive batters and bringing the game to a screeching halt. The Little Chopper got bored, and we exhausted our bag of parent tricks, leading to an abbreviated outing for us as well as for Drese, who lasted little more than an inning.
I have no idea what the future holds for Ryan Drese, but one thing is certain: Every time I hear his name, I’ll think of the two or three innings of spring baseball he cost me that day. (Insert smirk here.)
So my question for you is: Have circumstances that may or may not have anything to do with baseball ever led to an irrational dislike of (or affinity for) a certain player?
Unrelated Spring Training trip note: I can’t believe the Astros have upped their parking charge to a whopping seven bucks! (The Braves, on the other hand, don’t charge anything.)
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