Lars Anderson: Multi-talented First Base Coach

Saturday, I got to miss the mess that was the Red Sox game in favor of checking out our talented farm system. Portland is just a short, and very enjoyable, two hour drive from where I live. I managed to get tickets for free through my sister's company. Hadlock Field was just great. I loved it. Plenty of leg room, comfortable seats... well, comfortable for a baseball stadium, no matter where you sat, you had a good view, and the stadium was packed with talented kids who will probably be up in the big league some day.

I wanted to go more because of Lars Anderson than anything else. After hearing his name thrown around so often as being the best Red Sox prospect, I just wanted to see what he had. Unfortunately for me, Lars was playing the role of 1B coach for a large portion of the game. I did, however, get to take a picture with him and get his autograph. If he ever makes it big, I can say I met him when his ego was still relatively in check. Come on, when you're the number one prospect in a deep farm system like the Red Sox have, you're bound to have an ego. He seemed very nice though.

The Sea Dogs pitcher for the day, Jarrod Plummer, seemed to be having a few control issues but he pitched 5 and only gave up 3 ER. The other pitcher who seemed to be struggling, Bryce Cox, had the misfortune of being the 'closer' for the day. We shouldn't have needed a closer. We were up by 5 runs going into the top 9th... but Cox just couldn't get that final out. I think the New Brittian Rock Cats scored all four runs with 2 outs in the 9th. Either way, the Dogs held on to win 8-7.

We've got a few kids down there I had heard of before, such as Bubba Bell, Argenis Diaz, and Jorge Jiminez. They definitely didn't disappoint. Good game, well played, and very exciting. By the 9th, we were all biting our nails. I'm glad they came away with a win.

I also came away with a rather nasty sunburn. I don't know why I thought that not bringing a hat or sunscreen was a good idea, but I guess I learned my lesson.

I'm hoping to catch another game at Hadlock sometime this season. If not, definitely next year. It's worth it if you have the time. Go out and show the kids some support. They need love, too!