Dice K rehabs with Sea Dogs

There is something so cool about living in or near a city with minor league sports. It is uasally easier to get tickets, which happen to be far more affordable. The atmosphere is usually more festive and the hot dogs and nachos taste just as good as they do in the big leagues. You get to see the big sausage race, the mascot and kids are always a big part of the game from yellin “play ball” to on field in game promotions..

If you live in one of these cities you also understand that a couple times a year you might be treated to major league talent coming to your town on a rehab assignment. Over the years I have been lucky enough to see Brett Saberhagen in Lowell Massachusetts, I watched Jason Veritek catch a few innings in Pawrucket and in 2010 I had seats for a Jacoby Ellsbury rehab game here in Portland.

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With all of those outings I witnessed, I really can’t tell you how the player performed. Sure there are numbers, but on a rehab it’s not about the numbers so much, it’s about working towards a bigger goal, getting back to Fenway. But today is something very different and very exciting as Dice K takes the hill at Hadlock Field. The Sea Dogs attendance has averaged  4,178 so far this season, but today Hadlock is full to capacity at 7,368.  Fourty eight degrees and windy at gametime did not keep anyone away from this one, I guess that it has something to do with the sensation that is Dice K. Of the 25 or so media members here in the press box I would say that more than half are from Japan. Our little city is dealing with something global today.

I am sure that this is just another stop, just another workout for Dice K. He was expected to throw about 70 pitches. And there are plenty of interested observers in the stands. Cameras are popping and fans applaud as he approaches the dugout. For most of these fans this is as close as they will get to Fenway, be it the economy, the ticket demand or the sheer distance to Boston. So when one of these players comes the fans feel closer to the big Leagues.

With a big leaguer on the mound for the home team it is very interesting that the crowd is more involved when their team is on defense, the crowd cheered its way through a 16 pitch top of the first. I guess it didn’t hurt that all 16 pitches were for strikes in a 1-2-3 inning.

On the day Dice K threw 74 total pitches, 44 for strikes in four and two thirds innings. He left to a standing ovation and a tip of the cap to the capacity crowd. The Sea Dogs won today, on the field, at the gate, at the concession stands and in the crowd as for one day our small city was the center of Red Sox Nation.

FULL DICE K PRESS CONFERENCE


-GLENN SHELLEY-